Goldman Sachs is acquiring ETF provider Neos Investments for up to USD 2.25 billion in cash and stock. The deal hands the US bank three crypto options ETFs with more than USD 1.2 billion under management.
Neos Investments is a specialist provider of options-based income ETFs. Such funds sell options on their holdings. Rather than betting on price gains alone, they pay out the premiums collected each month. The firm, founded in 2022, manages more than USD 30 billion across 19 such products by its own account. Before that, Goldman had already bought Innovator Capital Management in April 2026, for around USD 2 billion. The three crypto funds from Neos hold neither Bitcoin nor Ether directly, tracking both through exchange-traded products instead. The Bitcoin High Income ETF (BTCI) alone, launched in October 2024, manages over USD 1 billion.
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Three crypto options ETFs move from Neos to Goldman Sachs
BTCI is by far the largest of the three funds. Neos brought it to market in October 2024. That was roughly nine months after US regulators approved the first spot Bitcoin ETFs. Both younger products stay comparatively small. The Boosted Bitcoin High Income ETF (XBCI) started later, in February 2026, and manages around USD 111 million. The Ethereum High Income ETF (NEHI), launched in December 2025, holds over USD 77 million. Thus 14 months separated the launch of BTCI from that of the Ethereum fund. Together, the three products come to more than USD 1.2 billion.
The funds do not invest in Bitcoin or Ether directly. Instead, they build their positions through exchange-traded products on both cryptocurrencies. On top of that, the managers layer options strategies that generate income continuously. Distributions go out monthly. Investors receive regular payments from an underlying that pays neither interest nor a dividend. As a result, such products appeal above all to portfolios that depend on current income. At the same time, the funds still carry the price risk of the underlying.
The price for that is a cap on price gains. Anyone who writes call options on their own holdings gives away part of the upside to the buyer. With Bitcoin, however, this trade-off weighs more heavily because of the high volatility. Large swings mean large option premiums, but also bigger missed price moves. Consequently, such a fund lags the underlying during a strong rally. The premiums cushion a decline only in part. For the full price move, spot products remain the more direct choice.
Neos deal is Goldman's second ETF takeover in four months
Goldman is paying up to USD 2.25 billion, partly in cash, partly in stock. The final sum depends on performance and service conditions. That ties part of the consideration to the future business of Neos. Moreover, the price sits above the one paid for Innovator in April. Goldman announced the transaction on 12 August 2026. The bank expects closing in the first quarter of 2027, subject to regulatory approvals.
Four months earlier, the bank had already taken over Innovator Capital Management. That purchase price came to around USD 2 billion. Innovator specialises in ETFs that use options strategies to limit losses while delivering income. So the pattern repeats. Rather than developing its own products, Goldman buys entire boutiques including funds and staff. Neos co-founders Troy Cates and Garrett Paolella will join Goldman Sachs Asset Management as partners after closing. The remaining investment and client service staff move across as well. At specialist ETF boutiques, strategy and client relationships ultimately rest on a handful of people.
"As investor demand for active ETFs grows, the disciplined investment approach of NEOS is an excellent complement to our capabilities in buffer, managed outcome and income strategies." - David Solomon, Chairman and CEO, Goldman Sachs
At the end of June 2026, Goldman, Innovator and Neos together managed more than USD 130 billion. That figure covers their global ETF platforms. The combined active ETF business would come to around USD 80 billion, a good 60 percent of the total. Goldman would then rank as the eighth-largest provider of active ETFs by its own account, based on Morningstar data. In total, the two acquisitions cost up to USD 4.25 billion.
BlackRock reached the market first with a Bitcoin income ETF
Goldman spotted the demand early. In April 2026, the bank originally filed with the SEC for its own Bitcoin Premium Income ETF. So far it has not launched the product. That filing landed in the same month as the closing of the Innovator takeover.
BlackRock was faster. The asset manager brought the iShares Bitcoin Premium Income ETF (BITA) to market in June 2026. BITA likewise targets current income from option premiums rather than pure price gains. Nevertheless, the product remains small at around USD 59 million. BTCI is more than sixteen times that size, though it reached the market roughly 20 months earlier. BlackRock's lead over Goldman therefore lies in timing, not in volume.
Bloomberg analyst Eric Balchunas commented on the deal on X. In his view, the acquisition explains why Goldman has not launched its own ETF yet. A launch from scratch would mean building distribution and assets from zero. With BTCI, however, the bank gets a product with almost two years of history and over USD 1 billion. In addition, it takes over client relationships that a fresh start would have to build first. Access comes only once the transaction closes.
Options income ETFs grow to USD 180 billion industry-wide
The purchase does not target crypto alone. Derivative income ETFs have grown to around USD 180 billion in assets under management industry-wide. Since 2021, the annual growth rate has run above 70%, Goldman said, citing Morningstar. Still, the crypto share of that is small. The three Neos funds together come to a good USD 1.2 billion, less than one percent of the segment.
The upswing has a clear starting point. In January 2024, the SEC approved the first spot Bitcoin ETFs. Since then, large banks and asset managers have increasingly built add-on products on these exchange-traded vehicles. Options income funds remain the most visible part of that. Providers need no crypto infrastructure of their own, because they invest through already regulated vehicles. Therefore the segment took only a few years to build.
For Goldman, crypto is ultimately one part of a larger purchase. Neos manages 19 options-based income ETFs with over USD 30 billion. Yet the three crypto funds make up only a fraction of that. Access to a team that has been launching such strategies since 2022 weighs just as heavily. Meanwhile, the bank's own filing from April has yet to result in a product.
