Goldman Sachs Asset Management Launches Credit Strategies Fund

Seeks to Capitalize on Opportunities Across Major Corporate Credit Sectors

New York, June 16, 2009 – Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) announced today the launch of the Goldman Sachs Credit Strategies Fund (Common Shares: XGCRX). The Fund will seek to capitalize on compelling investment opportunities in today’s markets by allocating capital across various corporate credit asset classes. The investment objective of the Fund is to seek a total return comprised of income and capital appreciation.

“Given the weak economic landscape and expectations for a relatively long period of muted economic activity, we believe it is prudent for investors to allocate capital to corporate credit investments that benefit from capital structure seniority, as well as current income,” said Gregg Felton, Managing Director and Global Head of Corporate Credit at Goldman Sachs Asset Management. “In this volatile environment, we believe active management and a flexible mandate should enable us to achieve strong risk adjusted returns, benefitting from the current high credit spread environment.”

One key advantage of the Goldman Sachs Credit Strategies Fund is its “unconstrained” investment approach. Rather than managing the Fund against a traditional fixed income benchmark, the portfolio management team will dynamically allocate capital to the most attractive segments of corporate credit, including investment grade, high yield and convertible bonds, as well as bank loans. In today’s volatile market, asset selection is extremely critical and the Fund’s mandate provides investors with an actively managed approach to capitalize on current opportunities.

“Our goal is to help investors capitalize on current and future outstanding opportunities,” said Felton. “In this turbulent market and in the credit cycles to come, the Goldman Sachs Credit Strategies Fund can serve as a discerning eye for investors seeking attractive income and capital appreciation potential through a carefully selected spectrum of corporate credit securities.”

GSAM expects a long-term recovery cycle in the credit markets and consequently a multi-year investment opportunity. The Credit Strategies Fund will concentrate on the team’s best ideas across various segments of corporate credit in a diverse, unlevered portfolio of 75+ positions in a range of credit-related instruments. Goldman Sachs Asset Management’s Corporate Credit Team has proven expertise across all sectors of the credit market and a long standing culture of rigorous fundamental research.

The Goldman Sachs Credit Strategies Fund is a non-diversified, closed-end interval fund that continuously offers its shares and requires a minimum investment of $25,000. Because the credit market includes securities that at times can be illiquid, the Fund has restrictions on the ability to redeem shares in order to limit the forced sale of securities and preserve investors’ returns. To provide liquidity to shareholders, the Fund will make quarterly offers to repurchase between five percent and 25 percent of its outstanding shares at net asset value. The Fund also offers daily purchases to enable investors to increase their positions gradually, dollar cost averaging into the Fund over time.

Goldman Sachs Funds, the mutual fund family of Goldman Sachs Asset Management, offers individual and institutional investors a wide range of long-term investment choices among over 60 equity, fixed income and hybrid funds. The family’s global line of offerings provides both core and satellite investments across asset classes, investment styles, investment approaches and geographical regions.

Goldman Sachs Asset Management is the asset management arm of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS), which manages $771 billion as of March 27, 2009. Goldman Sachs Asset Management has been providing discretionary investment advisory services since 1989 and has investment professionals in all major financial centers around the world. The company offers investment strategies across a broad range of asset classes to institutional and individual clients globally. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is a leading global financial services firm providing investment banking, securities and investment management services to a substantial and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and high-net-worth individuals.

 

Goldman Sachs Credit Strategies Fund Risk Considerations
The Goldman Sachs Credit Strategies Fund is not a money market fund. Investors in this Fund should understand that the net asset value of the Fund will fluctuate, which may result in a loss of the principal amount invested.

Investments in fixed income securities are subject to the risks associated with debt securities including credit, liquidity and interest rate risk. The Fund may make substantial investments in securities rated below investment grade. Non-investment grade securities (commonly known as “junk bonds”) are considered speculative and generally involve greater price volatility and greater credit and interest rate risk than higher rated securities. A number of instruments and strategies used by the Fund may involve non investment grade securities, including without limitation distressed securities, special situations investments and collateralized loan obligations. The Fund may purchase the securities of issuers that are in default.

The Fund may also make substantial investments in derivative instruments. Derivative instruments may involve a high degree of financial risk. These risks include the risk that a small movement in the price of the underlying security or benchmark may result in a disproportionately large movement, unfavorable or favorable, in the price of the derivative instrument (i.e., market risk); risks of default by a counterparty, and the risks that transactions may not be liquid. Similarly, securities and other instruments in which the Fund invests are also subject to market risk.

The Fund may invest in and actively trade, securities, derivatives, and other financial instruments using strategies and investment techniques with significant risk characteristics, including, without limitation, risks arising from the volatility of commodity, equity, fixed income, currency and other financial markets, risks arising from the potential illiquidity of securities, derivative and other instruments, the risk of loss from counterparty defaults and the risks of borrowing, including for purpose of making investments, risks associated with originating or participating in loans and risks associated with making investments outside the U.S.

No guarantee or representation is made that the investment program of the Fund will be successful, that the various trading strategies utilized or investments made by the Fund will have low correlation with each other or with the financial markets in which the Fund invest.

The Fund is “non-diversified” under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and may invest a large percentage of its assets in fewer issuers than “diversified” mutual funds. Because of the smaller number of securities generally held in the Fund’s portfolio, the Fund may be subject to greater risks than a more diversified fund. A change in the value of any single holding may affect the overall value of the portfolio more than it would affect a diversified fund that holds more investments.

As an interval fund, the Fund will make quarterly offers to repurchase at least 5%and up to 25%of its outstanding shares. In the event that the number of shares tendered for repurchase exceeds these amounts, shareholders may be prevented from fully liquidating their positions in a timely manner.

To learn more about Goldman Sachs Funds, visit www.goldmansachsfunds.com. Prospectuses containing more complete information are available online, and may also be obtained from your authorized dealer or from Goldman, Sachs & Co. by calling 800-526-7384. Please consider a fund's objectives, risks, and charges and expenses, and read the prospectus carefully before investing. The prospectuses contain this and other information about the Funds.

Opinions expressed are current opinions as of the date appearing in this material only. No part of this material may, without GSAM’s prior written consent, be (i) copied, photocopied or duplicated in any form, by any means, or (ii) distributed to any person that is not an employee, officer, director, or authorized agent of the recipient.

Goldman, Sachs & Co., distributor of the Funds, is not a bank, and Fund shares distributed by Goldman, Sachs & Co. are neither deposits nor obligations of, nor endorsed, nor guaranteed by any bank or other insured depository institution, nor are they insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board, or any other government agency. Investment in the Funds involves risks, including possible loss of the principal amount invested.

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Media Contact:
Andrea Raphael
Goldma Sachs
Tel: 212-357-0025