Goldman Sachs Asset Management L.P. was hired as an outsourced CIO for the retirement plans of Verizon Communications Inc. and the Lockheed Martin Corp., Goldman Sachs announced Thursday, securing a combined $70 billion in new mandates.
The two companies will outsource a combined $30 billion in defined benefit assets and a combined $40 billion in defined contribution assets. Goldman now manages a combined $480 billion in OCIO assets.
The two companies have been active in offloading their pension liabilities through pension risk transfers. In 2024, Verizon offloaded $5.9 billion in plan liabilities for 56,000 retirees to RGA Reinsurance Co. and the Prudential Insurance Co. of America.
In 2021, Lockheed Martin transferred approximately $4.9 billion in obligations to Athene Annuity & Life Assurance Co., covering 18,000 retirees. In 2022, it transferred another $4.3 billion for 13,600 retirees to a different Athene insurer. In 2025 and 2026, the company transferred another $943 million in plan liabilities to an undisclosed number of insurance companies.
In LinkedIn post on Tuesday, Verizon Investment Management CIO Laurence Fulton announced his retirement after 39 years at the company.
The Goldman mandates come amidst a wave of plan sponsors opting to outsource the investment management of their pension plans, following years of steady funding surpluses.
Goldman Sachs has nabbed some of the largest OCIO mandates in recent years, including a $43.4 billion mandate from UPS, $40 billion from Shell PLC’s European pension funds and $25 billion from Eli Lilly & Co.
“Large plan sponsors are consolidating responsibilities with one partner with the investment expertise and depth of platform to manage their bespoke needs,” said Marc Nachmann, Goldman Sachs’ global head of asset and wealth management, in a statement. “We believe these mandates affirm our ability to deliver customized public and private market investment solutions for the world’s largest retirement plans, supported by continually evolving technology, deep experience and specifically designed infrastructure.”
Tags: corporate defined benefit, Defined Contribution Plan, Goldman Sachs, Lockheed Martin Pensions, OCIO, outsourcing, Verizon