The past few years have seen Goldman begin to pile on some serious weight in fixed income. At the end of 2006, fixed-income investments accounted for about 35% of the $558bn Goldman had under management outside its money funds. By the end of last year, that had risen to 51% of $607bn.

Dave Lyons, head of manager research at JLT Benefit Solutions, said: "When we have met their team in the past they have come across well.