A broker dealers-related ETF strengthened Wednesday after Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) revealed a better-than-expected profit gain under David Solomon’s first quarter of leadership as higher equities trading revenue and a surge in merger and acquisition activity offset a dip in bond trading.
The iShares US Broker-Dealers & Securities Exchanges ETF (NYSEArca: IAI) rose 3.6% and broke above its short-term trend line at the 50-day simple moving average. IAI includes exposure to investment banks, brokerages and stock exchanges that may have more to gain from trading activities.
Goldman Sachs saw a 56% jump in M&A fees, along with higher trading activity on its equity desk over a volatile quarter, despite the dip in bond trading, Reuters reports.
“It was a really treacherous quarter, and they navigated it fairly well,” Charles Lemonides of ValueWork LLC told the Wall Street Journal. “To have as difficult an environment as we saw and have a 12% return on equity shows you’re doing something right on the cost side.”
GS shares climbed 9.8% on the report. GS is the largest component holding under IAI, making 9.5% of the ETF’s portfolio.
Goldman Sachs targets $5 billion in additional annual revenue
According to Solomon’s plan, Goldman Sachs is targeting $5 billion in additional annual revenue by growing its consumer operation as it tries to entice institutional customers and convince existing clients to do more business with the bank.