NEW YORK – Goldman Sachs Asset Management, L.P. (GSAM) today announced that it has launched the Goldman Sachs Rising Dividend Growth Fund (Class A Shares: GSRAX) following the completion of the acquisition of the mutual fund management business of Dividend Assets Capital, LLC (formerly Dividend Growth Advisors, LLC). The new offering broadens GSAM’s mutual fund platform to include a rising dividend equity strategy.
“In today’s markets, many investors are looking for ways to increase income and build long-term wealth,” said Glen Casey, Managing Director and Head of Product Strategy and Development at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. “The Goldman Sachs Rising Dividend Growth Fund seeks to address these needs by owning companies that have the potential to grow dividends and also investing in energy Master Limited Partnerships (MLPs) that can provide a differentiated income stream.”
Dividend Assets Capital is the sub-adviser of the Goldman Sachs Rising Dividend Growth Fund. The investment objective of the Fund is to seek long-term growth of capital and current income. The Fund seeks to achieve its objective by investing in companies that pay consistent and increasing dividends, and through an allocation to MLPs.
“We believe good companies pay dividends, but great companies grow dividends,” added Troy Shaver, Portfolio Manager of the Goldman Sachs Rising Dividend Growth Fund. “To us, this means the companies that consistently grow and distribute profits to shareholders demonstrate their ability to generate earnings, manage risk and appreciate in value over time.”
The Fund employs a proprietary “10/10 test” designed to identify companies that pay dividends at an increasing rate that averages approximately 10% per year over a ten-year trailing period. The Fund seeks to generate additional income through an approximate 20% allocation to MLPs, which are typically energy or infrastructure companies. Investment in energy MLPs provides capital for funding energy infrastructure development projects and may allow the Fund to capitalize on the growing US demand and discovery of energy sources and supporting infrastructure.
The Fund is sub-advised by Dividend Assets Capital’s portfolio management team, which has over six decades of dividend investing experience. The integration of the $182 million Rising Dividend Growth Fund, which had a Four-Star Overall Morningstar rating as of 1/31/12 into the Goldman Sachs fund family was approved by Dividend Assets Capital Rising Dividend Growth Fund shareholders during a shareholder meeting on February 23, 2012. The Fund is now offered in Class A and Class C shares, both with $1,000 minimum initial investments, as well as Institutional, Class R and Class IR Shares.
Goldman Sachs Asset Management is the asset management arm of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS), which manages $821 billion as of December 31, 2011. Goldman Sachs Asset Management has been providing discretionary investment advisory services since 1988 and has investment professionals in all major financial centers around the world. The company offers investment strategies across a broad range of asset classes to institutional and individual clients globally. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm that provides a wide range of financial services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and high-net-worth individuals.
