Goldman Sachs Describes Advisory Flywheel Across Firm, Not a Fixed Multiplier, Q2 2026

Multiplier effect of advisory fees on financing, risk management, and execution

Goldman Sachs’ management does not provide a specific numeric “multiplier” (e.g., “10%, 20%, 50%”) that converts $1 of advisory fees into predictable additional revenue in other activities. In the Q&A, management explicitly says it will not “give you a specific percentage” and “doesn’t know if [it] could give you an exact percentage.” ¹ Instead, they describe a mechanism (a “framework”) and call it a “virtuous flywheel” that is “significant,” spanning multiple divisions and activities. ¹²³

1) What management means by the “multiplier” (the mechanism)

A. Advisory trust and relationships pull through into financing and risk management

Management explains that the advisory franchise is rooted in “an extraordinary number of senior people” with “deep… trusted relationships with CEOs and boards.” ¹ When those relationships are leveraged in an environment with strategic activity, it “spills through” because advisory trust leads clients to consider Goldman for:

• financing
• hedging
• integration of related transactions and capital-market needs ¹

Implication for the multiplier: advisory fees are treated as a gateway into broader client engagement that increases wallet share across other revenue streams—especially where clients need both capital and risk solutions. ¹³

B. Earlier, broader engagement increases Goldman’s share of “the wallet”

Management says the firm is “finding ourselves in these discussions earlier and alone and without other banks,” which allows Goldman to “command more of the wallet structurally.” ¹

Implication for the multiplier: the advisory mandate tends to generate additional, earlier opportunities where Goldman can win more of the downstream economics in financing/execution/risk. ¹

C. “One GS” connectivity expands the flywheel across the firm

Management repeatedly frames the impact as firm-wide: “The multiplier effect is across the firm” and is “a very, very virtuous flywheel.” ¹ They also say advisory relationships are “often the genesis of client activity across the franchise,” and that the activity can extend into Capital Solutions (financing, risk management, capital markets execution, distribution) plus opportunities for Asset Wealth Management clients. ³

Implication for the multiplier: advisory is not an isolated fee line; it is portrayed as the starting point for multi-product mandates. ³

2) Does the advisory “multiplier” show up in the financial results described?

While management doesn’t quantify “how much more” revenue is generated per $1 of advisory fees, the excerpts show co-movement between advisory strength and broad-based activity in other business lines that Goldman links to this “flywheel.”

A. Advisory backlog and recorded advisory momentum accompany strong downstream activity

Management highlights that even with strong investment banking revenues in the quarter, advisory backlog increased to:

• “its highest level in 5 years”
• and “its second highest level on record” and is “underpinned by a record advisory backlog.” ³

They then describe momentum that “accelerated across equities and FICC,” including record equities revenues and record financing revenues in that same cycle. ³

Connection to the multiplier concept: this supports the narrative that advisory strength is associated with increased activity in financing/risk/execution segments. ³

B. Financing and risk-management-linked activity appears strong alongside advisory activity

In the excerpt, FICC and equities activity is described as benefiting from clients turning to Goldman for “principal liquidity and risk management amid ongoing volatility.” ⁴ In financing, management states they “generated record revenues reflecting… strong demand for asset secured financing solutions.” ⁵

Additionally, management provides specific growth/rate data (not directly attributed to advisory fees, but showing a strong environment in financing/execution/risk):

• Advisory revenues: $1.4 billion, up 17% YoY, “primarily driven by higher completed volumes.” ⁶
• Financing revenues: “increased 14% to a new record” (the excerpt doesn’t explicitly tie this to advisory $1-by-$1). ⁷
• “Intermediation revenues were up 39%” across interest rate products, commodities, and mortgages. ⁷
• Equities net revenues: “record $7.4 billion,” including record intermediation and a record in equity financing. ⁷

Important intellectual honesty note: these figures demonstrate broad strength in financing/risk/execution during the same period, but the transcript does not provide a calculated conversion factor from advisory fees to other activities. ⁷⁶

C. The “spillover” is operationally reflected in referrals into wealth management

Management says the advisory franchise drives referrals into wealth management: “Since the start of 2025, we’ve seen nearly 900 referrals to wealth management from investment banking.” ⁵ This is another form of “multiplier” beyond financing and risk management, but it corroborates the general thesis that advisory engagement expands across the platform. ⁵

3) Why Goldman won’t (and can’t, from the excerpt) give a single numeric multiplier

Management states it will not disclose a percentage multiplier because it:

• does not “know if [it] could give you an exact percentage that [it] could underwrite on a public call.” ¹

They also emphasize the multiplier is contextual, depending on:

• the environment (“where there’s a lot of strategic activity” enables advisory benefits to spill through) ¹
• earlier, competitive positioning (“earlier and alone and without other banks”) ¹
• connectivity across divisions (“One GS approach”) ¹²³

So, the multiplier is best understood as a structural cross-sell / wallet-capture effect rather than a stable, linear ratio. ¹²

4) Bottom line answer to the user question

• No specific numeric multiplier (e.g., 10%/20%/50%) is provided in the excerpts; management explicitly declines to give a specific percentage and says it can’t be underwritten as an exact conversion factor. ¹
• The described “multiplier effect” is instead a virtuous flywheel: advisory trust and relationships lead clients to award Goldman downstream mandates for financing, hedging/risk management, capital markets execution, distribution, and also create opportunities in asset/wealth management. ¹³
• The excerpts show this flywheel in action qualitatively through concurrent strengths (e.g., advisory backlog momentum plus record financing and equity activity), but they do not present an explicit $1-of-advisory-to-$X-of-other-activity calculation. ³⁷⁶

In short: the “multiplier” exists as a cross-franchise linkage anchored in trusted advisory relationships and One GS connectivity, but the company does not disclose a precise percentage multiplier from advisory fees to other activities in these materials. ¹²³