Goldman Sachs has confirmed it will combine two separate broking entities in a bid to offer more streamlined equity trading services to clients.
The US investment bank will merge the legal entities that individually house its main broker dealer and Goldman Sachs Execution and Clearing unit, both of which provide electronic trading and voice trading for the firm’s clients.
“The aim is to achieve more technological and operational efficiency,” a Goldman Sachs spokesperson told theTRADEnews.com.
Clients will be given the choice to opt in to the combined service, giving them a single point of contact for trading services, or maintain separate relationships.
While Goldman Sachs claims the merging of entities is primarily to improve internal efficiency and offer a simpler service to clients, the move follows a general trend by broker-dealers to reorganise their trading businesses.
Most recently, US broker Knight Capital, which is currently in the process of merging with electronic market maker GETCO, said it would merge its sales trading and electronic execution functions as part of “continuing efforts to align and focus resources”.
Japanese investment bank Nomura is close to completing the integration of its global ex-Japan cash equities trading business into its Instinet agency brokerage subsidiary. Moreover, firms including Citi, BNP Paribas and Deutsche Bank have been developing combined execution and clearing services.