GLOBAL - Goldman Sachs Asset Mangement (GSAM) reports $719bn (€545bn) in assets under management at the end of the first quarter - a 26% increase compared to last year.

However, net revenue for the division declined 28% because of an 88% drop in incentive fees partially offset by a record 31% increase in management and other fees. The decrease in incentive fees was expected and had been announced when Goldman Sachs reported its annual results in November.

Non-money market net inflows over the first quarter, ending February 23, was $24bn mainly boosted by $11bn inflows into fixed-income and equities respectively and an $8bn market appreciation.

Inflow into alternative investments dropped from $7bn a year ago to $2bn but assets in this investment sector still appreciated from $119bn to $147bn year on year.

"Although GSAM is less than twenty years old, this [result] places us firmly in the top twenty asset managers in the world," Stephen Fitzgerald, head of GSAM International, commented.

For the whole group, Goldman Sachs reported net revenues of $12.73bn for the first quarter up from $10.34bn the year before.