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Simon is an online marketplace for structured notes. It has done well with retail brokers who buy these products but has been slower to take off among banks that issue them—Goldman rivals. Goldman is soliciting investments that would value 2yr old Simon at about $75M.
This is a common challenge on Wall Street: Initiatives that need multiple banks to thrive—to reduce costs, deepen liquidity and product choice, and gain clients’ trust—can be hampered by old rivalries. Shared platforms are cheaper and more efficient but are a tough sell when they are backed by a single bank. Bringing in outside investors could bolster Simon’s credibility as a neutral platform and give it an edge in a growing crowd of tech-enabled competitors. Goldman is talking to several firms about a deal to both invest in Simon and agree to sell products through it, the people said. There is no guarantee, though that the talks will produce a deal. Goldman declined to comment.
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