By Olivia Oran
(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc's (N:GS) Jason Gottlieb, a partner in the bank's asset management division, is leaving the firm.
Gottlieb, one of four portfolio managers on the Goldman Sachs Multi-Manager Alternatives Fund
A Goldman Sachs spokesman confirmed the contents of the memo but declined to discuss the reasons for Gottlieb's departure.
Goldman's Multi-Manager Alternatives Fund allows retail investors to gain exposure to alternative investments, such as hedge funds, through a mutual fund.
The fund has returned 1.9 percent since the beginning of the year, compared to 0.2 percent for the HFRX Global Hedge Fund Index and 5.8 percent for the S&P 500.
The fund will continue to be managed by Kent Clark, Ryan Roderick and Betsy Gorton.
Gottlieb joined Goldman in 1996 and has worked in the bank's risk department, where he was responsible for analyzing market risk on the firm's trading portfolios, according to Morningstar. He was named partner in 2014.
Gottlieb's departure comes as Goldman is looking to grow its investment management arm, known as GSAM, as regulatory pressures have crimped growth in traditional profit centers like trading.
But asset management businesses are facing increasing outflows from mutual funds that hand pick their positions, in favor of so-called passively managed funds with lower fees.
So-called "alternatives" funds generally carry higher fees than other mutual funds.
Goldman's Multi-Manager Alternatives Fund charges an expense ratio of 2.5 percent, meaning investors will pay $250 in annual fees for every $10,000 invested. That compares to 0.77 percent in fees that investors paid for the average stock-and-bond mutual fund in 2015, according to the Investment Company Institute trade group.
Firms from Goldman to JPMorgan Chase & Co (N:JPM) to Legg Mason Inc (N:LM) have been launching new exchange traded funds to capitalize on an investor shift toward funds with lower fees
Goldman saw total assets under supervision in its investment management division increase by $35 billion to $1.29 trillion in the first quarter.