Goldman Sachs to acquire ETF manager NEOS in $2.25B deal

Goldman Sachs has agreed to acquire exchange-traded fund manager NEOS Investments for up to $2.25 billion, a deal that would add the firm’s Bitcoin- and Ether-linked funds to its growing ETF business.

NEOS manages $30 billion across 19 options-based income ETFs, including the Bitcoin High Income ETF (BTCI), Boosted Bitcoin High Income ETF (XBCI) and Ethereum High Income ETF (NEHI). The crypto funds use options-based strategies designed to generate monthly income alongside exposure to Bitcoin (BTC) or Ether (ETH).

The acquisition is expected to close in the first quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory approval, with NEOS co-founders Troy Cates and Garrett Paolella and the firm’s broader team set to join Goldman Sachs Asset Management.

Goldman said the acquisition, together with its recent purchase of Innovator Capital Management, would bring its global ETF platform to about $130 billion in assets and make it the eighth-largest active ETF manager.

Bloomberg ETF analyst Eric Balchunas described the acquisition as a “semi-shock,” pointing to NEOS’ rapid growth since its 2022 founding and Goldman’s back-to-back acquisitions of NEOS and Innovator.

Source: Eric Balchunas

The deal comes after Goldman reduced its own disclosed crypto ETF exposure in the first quarter, exiting XRP- and Solana-linked funds while trimming positions in Bitcoin and Ether ETFs. The bank still reported more than $700 million in Bitcoin ETF holdings at the end of the quarter.

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