Artisan Focus Fund on The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.
Thesis
Goldman Sachs is part of Artisan's new Evolving Financials theme and generated strong returns in Q2. The fund sees a combination of recovering capital-markets activity, improving corporate lending and a more favorable regulatory environment after years of elevated capital burdens. Many financial institutions have already rationalized costs and strengthened balance sheets, so a cyclical recovery could arrive alongside structural efficiency gains. Artisan believes that combination can improve returns on capital, earnings power and growth expectations across the sector.
“Goldman Sachs generated strong returns as improving capital markets activity and expectations for regulatory reform supported financials.”