Goldman Sachs to Acquire Crypto ETF Manager NEOS Investments in Up to $2.25 Billion Deal
Key Takeaways
- •Goldman Sachs has agreed to acquire NEOS Investments for up to $2.25 billion, gaining a suite of options-based income ETFs that includes Bitcoin- and Ether-linked products.
- •NEOS manages approximately $30 billion in assets across 19 ETFs, including the Bitcoin High Income ETF (BTCI) and the Ethereum High Income ETF (NEHI), which use covered call strategies to generate monthly income.
- •Combined with its prior acquisition of Innovator Capital Management, the NEOS deal would bring Goldman Sachs' ETF platform to roughly $130 billion in assets under management, making it the eighth-largest active ETF manager.
- •The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, pending standard regulatory approvals, with NEOS co-founders Troy Cates and Garrett Paolella set to join Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
- •The deal comes despite Goldman Sachs having reduced its proprietary crypto ETF holdings in the first quarter, as the acquisition targets product distribution and management for clients rather than internal investments.
Goldman Sachs has agreed to acquire exchange-traded fund (ETF) manager NEOS Investments for up to $2.25 billion, a move that would bring the firm's Bitcoin- and Ether-linked funds into the bank's rapidly expanding ETF business. The acquisition was announced via Goldman Sachs' official press release.
NEOS Investments currently manages approximately $30 billion in assets across 19 options-based income ETFs. Among its product lineup are the Bitcoin High Income ETF (BTCI), the Boosted Bitcoin High Income ETF (XBCI), and the Ethereum High Income ETF (NEHI). These cryptocurrency-focused funds employ options-based strategies designed to generate monthly income for investors while providing exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) or Ether (ETH). Options-based income ETFs, which typically use covered call strategies, have grown substantially in popularity across both traditional and crypto-linked markets as investors seek yield-generating wrappers.
Goldman Sachs, one of the largest global investment banks, has been steadily building out its ETF platform through strategic acquisitions. The NEOS deal follows Goldman's recent purchase of Innovator Capital Management. Together, the two acquisitions would bring Goldman Sachs' global ETF platform to roughly $130 billion in assets under management and elevate the firm to the position of the eighth-largest active ETF manager. The acquisition-driven approach also gives Goldman immediate access to NEOS' crypto-linked product suite, an area where competitors such as BlackRock and Fidelity have established presences through their own spot Bitcoin ETFs — the iShares Bitcoin Trust (IBIT) and the Wise Origin Bitcoin Fund (FBTC), respectively — both launched following U.S. regulatory approval of spot Bitcoin ETFs.
The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to standard regulatory approvals. Upon completion, NEOS co-founders Troy Cates and Garrett Paolella, along with the firm's broader team, are set to join Goldman Sachs Asset Management.
Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas described the acquisition as a "semi-shock," highlighting NEOS' rapid growth since its founding in 2022 and noting Goldman's back-to-back acquisitions of NEOS and Innovator as a notable signal of the bank's aggressive ETF expansion strategy.
The NEOS acquisition comes against the backdrop of Goldman Sachs having reduced its own disclosed crypto ETF exposure during the first quarter of the year. According to a prior report, the bank exited positions in XRP- and Solana-linked funds and trimmed its holdings in Bitcoin and Ether ETFs. Despite those reductions, Goldman Sachs still reported more than $700 million in Bitcoin ETF holdings at the end of the quarter. Those disclosed positions reflect Goldman's proprietary holdings, while the NEOS acquisition concerns the distribution and management of crypto-linked ETF products to clients — a separate line of business.
Magazine: Bitcoin will never fall below $60K again: Nansen founder
