Filed Pursuant to Rule 424(b)(2)

Registration Statement No. 333-269296

 

The information in this preliminary pricing supplement is not complete and may be changed. This preliminary pricing supplement is not an offer to sell nor does it seek an offer to buy these securities in any jurisdiction where the offer or sale is not permitted.

 

img189973577_0.jpg 

Subject to Completion. Dated September 17, 2024.

GS Finance Corp.

$

Autocallable Buffered Russell 2000® Futures Excess Return Index-Linked Notes due

guaranteed by

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

The notes do not bear interest. The notes will mature on the stated maturity date (expected to be September 29, 2027) unless they are automatically called on the call observation date (expected to be October 1, 2025). Your notes will be automatically called on the call observation date if the closing level of the Russell 2000® Futures Excess Return Index on such date is greater than or equal to the initial index level (set on the trade date and will be an intra-day level or the closing level of the index on the trade date), resulting in a payment on the call payment date (expected to be October 6, 2025) for each $1,000 face amount of your notes equal to $1,120.

The index tracks the performance of E-mini Russell 2000 futures contracts, not the Russell 2000® Index. Generally, the return on an investment in a futures contract is correlated with, but not the same as, the return on buying and holding the securities underlying such contract. In addition, limited historical information regarding the performance of the index is available, which may make it difficult for you to make an informed decision with respect to an investment in the notes.

If your notes are not automatically called, the amount that you will be paid on your notes on the stated maturity date will be based on the performance of the index as measured from the trade date (expected to be September 24, 2024) to and including the determination date (expected to be September 24, 2027).

If the final index level on the determination date is greater than the initial index level, the return on your notes will be positive and will equal 1.25 times the index return. If the final index level declines by up to 30% from the initial index level, you will receive the face amount of your notes.

If the final index level declines by more than 30% from the initial index level, the return on your notes will be negative.

If your notes are not automatically called on the call observation date, we will determine your payment at maturity by calculating the index return, which is the percentage increase or decrease in the final index level from the initial index level. At maturity, for each $1,000 face amount of your notes, you will receive an amount in cash equal to:

if the index return is positive (the final index level is greater than the initial index level), the sum of (i) $1,000 plus (ii) the product of (a) $1,000 times (b) 1.25 times (c) the index return;
if the index return is zero or negative but not below -30% (the final index level is equal to or less than the initial index level, but not by more than 30%), $1,000; or
if the index return is negative and is below -30% (the final index level is less than the initial index level by more than 30%), the sum of (i) $1,000 plus (ii) the product of (a) the index return plus 30% times (b) $1,000. You will receive less than the face amount of your notes.

You should read the disclosure herein to better understand the terms and risks of your investment, including the credit risk of GS Finance Corp. and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. See page PS-10.

The estimated value of your notes at the time the terms of your notes are set on the trade date is expected to be between $925 and $955 per $1,000 face amount. For a discussion of the estimated value and the price at which Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC would initially buy or sell your notes, if it makes a market in the notes, see the following page.

Original issue date:

expected to be September 27, 2024

Original issue price:

100% of the face amount

Underwriting discount:

        % of the face amount

Net proceeds to the issuer:

      % of the face amount

Neither the Securities and Exchange Commission nor any other regulatory body has approved or disapproved of these securities or passed upon the accuracy or adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense. The notes are not bank deposits and are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other governmental agency, nor are they obligations of, or guaranteed by, a bank.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

Pricing Supplement No. dated , 2024.


 

The issue price, underwriting discount and net proceeds listed above relate to the notes we sell initially. We may decide to sell additional notes after the date of this pricing supplement, at issue prices and with underwriting discounts and net proceeds that differ from the amounts set forth above. The return (whether positive or negative) on your investment in notes will depend in part on the issue price you pay for such notes.

GS Finance Corp. may use this prospectus in the initial sale of the notes. In addition, Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC or any other affiliate of GS Finance Corp. may use this prospectus in a market-making transaction in a note after its initial sale. Unless GS Finance Corp. or its agent informs the purchaser otherwise in the confirmation of sale, this prospectus is being used in a market-making transaction.

 

Estimated Value of Your Notes

The estimated value of your notes at the time the terms of your notes are set on the trade date (as determined by reference to pricing models used by Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (GS&Co.) and taking into account our credit spreads) is expected to be between $925 and $955 per $1,000 face amount, which is less than the original issue price. The value of your notes at any time will reflect many factors and cannot be predicted; however, the price (not including GS&Co.’s customary bid and ask spreads) at which GS&Co. would initially buy or sell notes (if it makes a market, which it is not obligated to do) and the value that GS&Co. will initially use for account statements and otherwise is equal to approximately the estimated value of your notes at the time of pricing, plus an additional amount (initially equal to $ per $1,000 face amount).

Prior to , the price (not including GS&Co.’s customary bid and ask spreads) at which GS&Co. would buy or sell your notes (if it makes a market, which it is not obligated to do) will equal approximately the sum of (a) the then-current estimated value of your notes (as determined by reference to GS&Co.’s pricing models) plus (b) any remaining additional amount (the additional amount will decline to zero on a straight-line basis from the time of pricing through ). On and after , the price (not including GS&Co.’s customary bid and ask spreads) at which GS&Co. would buy or sell your notes (if it makes a market) will equal approximately the then-current estimated value of your notes determined by reference to such pricing models.

 

About Your Prospectus

The notes are part of the Medium-Term Notes, Series F program of GS Finance Corp. and are fully and unconditionally guaranteed by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. This prospectus includes this pricing supplement and the accompanying documents listed below. This pricing supplement constitutes a supplement to the documents listed below, does not set forth all of the terms of your notes and therefore should be read in conjunction with such documents:

The information in this pricing supplement supersedes any conflicting information in the documents listed above. In addition, some of the terms or features described in the listed documents may not apply to your notes.

We refer to the notes we are offering by this pricing supplement as the “offered notes” or the “notes”. Each of the offered notes has the terms described below. Please note that in this pricing supplement, references to “GS Finance Corp.”, “we”, “our” and “us” mean only GS Finance Corp. and do not include its subsidiaries or affiliates, references to “The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.”, our parent company, mean only The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and do not include its subsidiaries or affiliates and references to “Goldman Sachs” mean The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. together with its consolidated subsidiaries and affiliates, including us. The notes will be issued under the senior debt indenture, dated as of October 10, 2008, as supplemented by the First Supplemental Indenture, dated as of February 20, 2015, each among us, as issuer, The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., as guarantor, and The Bank of New York Mellon, as trustee. This indenture, as so supplemented and as further supplemented thereafter, is referred to as the “GSFC 2008 indenture” in the accompanying prospectus supplement.

The notes will be issued in book-entry form and represented by master note no. 3, dated March 22, 2021.


 

PS-2


 

TERMS AND CONDITIONS

CUSIP / ISIN: 40058FA37 / US40058FA371

Company (Issuer): GS Finance Corp.

Guarantor: The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

Underlier: the Russell 2000® Futures Excess Return Index (current Bloomberg symbol: “RTYFPE Index”), or any successor underlier, as it may be modified, replaced or adjusted from time to time as provided herein

Reference equity index: with respect to the Russell 2000® Futures Excess Return Index, the Russell 2000® Index

Face amount: $ in the aggregate on the original issue date; the aggregate face amount may be increased if the company, at its sole option, decides to sell an additional amount on a date subsequent to the trade date

Authorized denominations: $1,000 or any integral multiple of $1,000 in excess thereof

Principal amount: Subject to redemption by the company as provided under “— Company’s redemption right (automatic call feature)” below, on the stated maturity date the company will pay, for each $1,000 of the outstanding face amount, an amount in cash equal to the cash settlement amount.

Cash settlement amount:

if the final underlier level is greater than the initial underlier level, the sum of (i) $1,000 plus (ii) the product of (a) $1,000 times (b) the upside participation rate times (c) the underlier return;
if the final underlier level is equal to or less than the initial underlier level but greater than or equal to the buffer level, $1,000; or
if the final underlier level is less than the buffer level, the sum of (i) $1,000 plus (ii) the product of (a) the underlier return plus the buffer amount times (b) $1,000

Company’s redemption right (automatic call feature): if a redemption event occurs, then the outstanding face amount will be automatically redeemed in whole and the company will pay an amount in cash on the call payment date for each $1,000 of the outstanding face amount, equal to $1,120.

Redemption event: a redemption event will occur if, as measured on the call observation date, the closing level of the underlier is greater than or equal to the initial underlier level

Initial underlier level (set on the trade date): an intra-day level or the closing level of the underlier on the trade date

Final underlier level: the closing level of the underlier on the determination date, subject to adjustment as provided in “— Consequences of a market disruption event or a non-trading day” and “— Discontinuance or modification of the underlier” below

Upside participation rate: 125%

Underlier return: the quotient of (i) the final underlier level minus the initial underlier level divided by (ii) the initial underlier level, expressed as a percentage

Buffer level: 70% of the initial underlier level

Buffer amount: 30%

Trade date: expected to be September 24, 2024

Original issue date (set on the trade date): expected to be September 27, 2024

Determination date (set on the trade date): expected to be September 24, 2027, unless the calculation agent determines that a market disruption event occurs or is continuing on such day or such day is not a trading day. In that event, the determination date will be the first following trading day on which the calculation agent determines that no market disruption event occurs or is continuing. In no event, however, will the determination date be postponed to a date later than the originally scheduled stated maturity date or, if the originally scheduled stated maturity date is not a business day, later than the first business day after the originally scheduled stated maturity date. If a market disruption event occurs or is continuing on the day that is the last possible determination date or such last possible day is not a trading day, that day will nevertheless be the determination date.

PS-3


 

Stated maturity date (set on the trade date): expected to be September 29, 2027, unless that day is not a business day, in which case the stated maturity date will be postponed to the next following business day. The stated maturity date will also be postponed if the determination date is postponed as described under “— Determination date” above. In such a case, the stated maturity date will be postponed by the same number of business day(s) from but excluding the originally scheduled determination date to and including the actual determination date.

Call observation date (set on the trade date): expected to be October 1, 2025, unless the calculation agent determines that a market disruption event occurs or is continuing on that day or that day is not otherwise a trading day. In that event, the call observation date will be the first following trading day on which the calculation agent determines that no market disruption event occurs or is continuing. In no event, however, will the call observation date be postponed to a date later than the originally scheduled call payment date or, if the originally scheduled call payment date is not a business day, later than the first business day after the originally scheduled call payment date. On such last possible call observation date, if a market disruption event occurs or is continuing or if such last possible day is not a trading day, that day will nevertheless be the call observation date.

Call payment date (set on the trade date): expected to be October 6, 2025, or, if such day is not a business day, the next succeeding business day. If the call observation date is postponed as described under “— Call observation date” above, the call payment date will be postponed by the same number of business day(s) from but excluding the originally scheduled call observation date to and including the actual call observation date.

Closing level: for any given trading day, the official closing level of the underlier or any successor underlier published by the underlier sponsor on such trading day

Trading day: a day on which the underlier sponsor is open for business and the underlier is calculated and published by the underlier sponsor

Successor underlier: any substitute underlier approved by the calculation agent as a successor underlier as provided under “— Discontinuance or modification of the underlier” below

Underlier sponsor: at any time, the person or entity, including any successor sponsor, that determines and publishes the underlier as then in effect. The notes are not sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by the underlier sponsor or any of its affiliates and the underlier sponsor and its affiliates make no representation regarding the advisability of investing in the notes.

Underlier stocks: at any time, the stocks that comprise the reference equity index as then in effect, after giving effect to any additions, deletions or substitutions

Market disruption event: With respect to any given trading day, any of the following will be a market disruption event with respect to the underlier:

a suspension, absence or material limitation of trading in underlier stocks constituting 20% or more, by weight, of the reference equity index on their respective primary markets, in each case for more than two consecutive hours of trading or during the one-half hour before the close of trading in that market, as determined by the calculation agent in its sole discretion,
a suspension, absence or material limitation of trading in option or futures contracts relating to the reference equity index or to underlier stocks constituting 20% or more, by weight, of the reference equity index in the respective primary markets for those contracts, in each case for more than two consecutive hours of trading or during the one-half hour before the close of trading in that market, as determined by the calculation agent in its sole discretion, or
underlier stocks constituting 20% or more, by weight, of the reference equity index, or option or futures contracts, if available, relating to the reference equity index or to underlier stocks constituting 20% or more, by weight, of the reference equity index do not trade on what were the respective primary markets for those underlier stocks or contracts, as determined by the calculation agent in its sole discretion, and, in the case of any of these events, the calculation agent determines in its sole discretion that such event could materially interfere with the ability of the company or any of its affiliates or a similarly situated person to unwind all or a material portion of a hedge that could be effected with respect to this note.

PS-4


 

The following events will not be market disruption events:

a limitation on the hours or numbers of days of trading, but only if the limitation results from an announced change in the regular business hours of the relevant market, and
a decision to permanently discontinue trading in option or futures contracts relating to the reference equity index or to any underlier stock.

For this purpose, an “absence of trading” in the primary securities market on which an underlier stock is traded, or on which option or futures contracts relating to the reference equity index or an underlier stock are traded, will not include any time when that market is itself closed for trading under ordinary circumstances. In contrast, a suspension or limitation of trading in an underlier stock or in option or futures contracts, if available, relating to the reference equity index or an underlier stock in the primary market for that stock or those contracts, by reason of:

a price change exceeding limits set by that market,
an imbalance of orders relating to that underlier stock or those contracts, or
a disparity in bid and ask quotes relating to that underlier stock or those contracts,

will constitute a suspension or material limitation of trading in that stock or those contracts in that market.

Consequences of a market disruption event or a non-trading day: If a market disruption event occurs or is continuing on a day that would otherwise be the call observation date or the determination date, or such day is not a trading day, then the call observation date or the determination date will be postponed as described under “— Call observation date” or “— Determination date” above.

If the calculation agent determines that the closing level of the underlier that must be used to determine the amount payable on the call payment date or the stated maturity date is not available on the last possible call observation date or the last possible determination date because of a market disruption event, a non-trading day or for any other reason (other than as described under “— Discontinuance or modification of the underlier” below), the calculation agent will nevertheless determine the closing level of the underlier based on its assessment, made in its sole discretion, of the level of the underlier on that day.

Discontinuance or modification of the underlier: If the underlier sponsor discontinues publication of the underlier and the underlier sponsor or any other person or entity publishes a substitute underlier that the calculation agent determines is comparable to the underlier and approves as a successor underlier, or if the calculation agent designates a substitute underlier, then the calculation agent will determine the amount payable on the call payment date or the stated maturity date by reference to such successor underlier.

If the calculation agent determines that the publication of the underlier is discontinued and there is no successor underlier, the calculation agent will determine the amount payable on the call payment date or the stated maturity date, as applicable, by a computation methodology that the calculation agent determines will as closely as reasonably possible replicate the underlier.

If the calculation agent determines that (i) the underlier, the underlier stocks or the method of calculating such underlier is changed at any time in any respect — including any addition, deletion or substitution and any reweighting or rebalancing of such underlier or the underlier stocks and whether the change is made by the underlier sponsor under its existing policies or following a modification of those policies, is due to the publication of a successor underlier, is due to events affecting one or more of the underlier stocks or their issuers or is due to any other reason — and is not otherwise reflected in the level of the underlier by the underlier sponsor pursuant to the then-current underlier methodology of the underlier or (ii) there has been a split or reverse split of the underlier, then the calculation agent will be permitted (but not required) to make such adjustments in the underlier or the method of its calculation as it believes are appropriate to ensure that the closing levels of the underlier used to determine the amount payable on the call payment date or the stated maturity date, as applicable, is equitable.

All determinations and adjustments to be made by the calculation agent with respect to the underlier may be made by the calculation agent in its sole discretion. The calculation agent is not obligated to make any such adjustments.

Calculation agent: Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC (“GS&Co.”)

PS-5


 

Tax characterization: The holder, on behalf of itself and any other person having a beneficial interest in this note, hereby agrees with the company (in the absence of a change in law, an administrative determination or a judicial ruling to the contrary) to characterize this note for all U.S. federal income tax purposes as a pre-paid derivative contract in respect of the underlier.

Overdue principal rate: the effective Federal Funds rate

PS-6


 

HYPOTHETICAL EXAMPLES

The following examples are provided for purposes of illustration only. They should not be taken as an indication or prediction of future investment results and are intended merely to illustrate the impact that the various hypothetical closing levels of the underlier on the call observation date and on the determination date could have on the amount of cash payable on the call payment date or on the stated maturity date, as the case may be, assuming all other variables remain constant.

The examples below are based on a range of underlier levels that are entirely hypothetical; no one can predict what the closing level of the underlier will be on any day throughout the life of your notes, and no one can predict what the closing level of the underlier will be on the call observation date or on the determination date. The underlier has been highly volatile in the past — meaning that the underlier level has changed considerably in relatively short periods — and its performance cannot be predicted for any future period.

The information in the following examples reflects hypothetical rates of return on the offered notes assuming that they are purchased on the original issue date at the face amount and held to the call payment date or the stated maturity date, as the case may be. If you sell your notes in a secondary market prior to the call payment date or the stated maturity date, as the case may be, your return will depend upon the market value of your notes at the time of sale, which may be affected by a number of factors that are not reflected in the examples below such as interest rates, the volatility of the underlier, the creditworthiness of GS Finance Corp., as issuer, and the creditworthiness of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., as guarantor. In addition, the estimated value of your notes at the time the terms of your notes are set on the trade date (as determined by reference to pricing models used by GS&Co.) is less than the original issue price of your notes. For more information on the estimated value of your notes, see “Additional Risk Factors Specific to Your Notes — The Estimated Value of Your Notes At the Time the Terms of Your Notes Are Set On the Trade Date (as Determined By Reference to Pricing Models Used By GS&Co.) Is Less Than the Original Issue Price Of Your Notes” on page PS-10 of this pricing supplement. The information in the examples also reflects the key terms and assumptions in the box below.

Key Terms and Assumptions

Face amount

$1,000

Upside participation rate

125%

Buffer level

70% of the initial underlier level

Buffer Amount

30%

Neither a market disruption event nor a non-trading day occurs on the originally scheduled call observation date or the originally scheduled determination date

No change in or affecting any of the underlier stocks or the method by which the underlier sponsor calculates the underlier

Notes purchased on original issue date at the face amount and held to the call payment date or the stated maturity date

Moreover, we have not yet set the initial underlier level that will serve as the baseline for determining the underlier return and the amount that we will pay on your notes, if any, on the call payment date or at maturity. We will not do so until the trade date. As a result, the actual initial underlier level may differ substantially from the underlier level prior to the trade date.

For these reasons, the actual performance of the underlier over the life of your notes, as well as the amount payable on the call payment date or at maturity, may bear little relation to the hypothetical examples shown below or to the historical underlier levels shown elsewhere in this pricing supplement. For information about the historical levels of the underlier during recent periods, see “The Underlier — Historical Closing Levels of the Underlier” below. Before investing in the offered notes, you should consult publicly available information to determine the levels of the underlier between the date of this pricing supplement and the date of your purchase of the offered notes.

Also, the hypothetical examples shown below do not take into account the effects of applicable taxes. Because of the U.S. tax treatment applicable to your notes, tax liabilities could affect the after-tax rate of return on your notes to a comparatively greater extent than the after-tax return on the underlier stocks.

PS-7


 

Hypothetical Payment on the Call Payment Date

The example below shows the hypothetical payment that we would pay on the call payment date with respect to each $1,000 face amount of the notes if the closing level of the underlier is greater than or equal to the initial underlier level on the call observation date.

If your notes are automatically called on the call observation date (i.e., on the call observation date the closing level of the underlier is greater than or equal to the initial underlier level), the amount in cash that we would deliver for each $1,000 face amount of your notes on the call payment date would be $1,120. If, for example, the closing level of the underlier on the call observation date were determined to be 120% of the initial underlier level, your notes would be automatically called and the amount in cash that we would deliver on your notes on the call payment date would be 112% of the face amount of your notes or $1,120 for each $1,000 of the face amount of your notes.

Hypothetical Payment at Maturity

If the notes are not automatically called on the call observation date (i.e., on the call observation date the closing level of the underlier is less than the initial underlier level), the amount in cash we would deliver for each $1,000 face amount of your notes on the stated maturity date will depend on the performance of the underlier on the determination date, as shown in the table below. The table below assumes that the notes have not been automatically called on the call observation date and reflects hypothetical cash settlement amounts that you could receive on the stated maturity date. The levels in the left column of the table below represent hypothetical final underlier levels and are expressed as percentages of the initial underlier level. The amounts in the right column represent the hypothetical cash settlement amounts, based on the corresponding hypothetical final underlier level, and are expressed as percentages of the face amount of a note (rounded to the nearest one-thousandth of a percent). Thus, a hypothetical cash settlement amount of 100.000% means that the value of the cash payment that we would deliver for each $1,000 of the outstanding face amount of the offered notes on the stated maturity date would equal 100.000% of the face amount of a note, based on the corresponding hypothetical final underlier level and the assumptions noted above.

The Notes Have Not Been Automatically Called

Hypothetical Final Underlier Level

 (as Percentage of Initial Underlier Level)

Hypothetical Cash Settlement Amount

(as Percentage of Face Amount)

200.000%

225.000%

175.000%

193.750%

150.000%

162.500%

125.000%

131.250%

100.000%

100.000%

90.000%

100.000%

80.000%

100.000%

70.000%

100.000%

50.000%

80.000%

25.000%

55.000%

10.000%

40.000%

0.000%

30.000%

If, for example,the notes have not been automatically called on the call observation date and the final underlier level were determined to be 25.000% of the initial underlier level, the cash settlement amount that we would deliver on your notes at maturity would be 55.000% of the face amount of your notes, as shown in the table above. As a result, if you purchased your notes on the original issue date at the face amount and held them to the stated maturity date, you would lose 45.000% of your investment (if you purchased your notes at a premium to face amount you would lose a correspondingly higher percentage of your investment).

PS-8


 

The amounts shown above are entirely hypothetical; they are based on market prices for the underlier stocks that may not be achieved on the call observation date or the determination date, as the case may be, and on assumptions that may prove to be erroneous. The actual market value of your notes on the stated maturity date or at any other time, including any time you may wish to sell your notes, may bear little relation to the hypothetical amounts shown above, and these amounts should not be viewed as an indication of the financial return on an investment in the offered notes. The hypothetical amounts on notes held to the stated maturity date in the examples above assume you purchased your notes at the face amount and have not been adjusted to reflect the actual issue price you pay for your notes. The return on your investment (whether positive or negative) in your notes will be affected by the amount you pay for your notes. If you purchase your notes for a price other than the face amount, the return on your investment will differ from, and may be significantly lower than, the hypothetical returns suggested by the above examples. Please read “Additional Risk Factors Specific to Your Notes — The Market Value of Your Notes May Be Influenced by Many Unpredictable Factors” on page PS-12.

Payments on the notes are economically equivalent to the amounts that would be paid on a combination of other instruments. For example, payments on the notes are economically equivalent to a combination of an interest-bearing bond bought by the holder and one or more options entered into between the holder and us (with one or more implicit option premiums paid over time). The discussion in this paragraph does not modify or affect the terms of the notes or the U.S. federal income tax treatment of the notes, as described elsewhere in this pricing supplement.

We cannot predict the actual closing level of the underlier on the call observation date or the determination date or what the market value of your notes will be on any particular trading day, nor can we predict the relationship between the underlier level and the market value of your notes at any time prior to the stated maturity date. The actual amount that you will receive on the call payment date or the maturity date and the rate of return on the offered notes will depend on whether the notes are called and the actual initial underlier level, which we will set on the trade date, and the actual final underlier level determined by the calculation agent as described above. Moreover, the assumptions on which the hypothetical returns are based may turn out to be inaccurate. Consequently, the amount of cash to be paid in respect of your notes on the call payment date or the stated maturity date may be very different from the information reflected in the examples above.

PS-9


 

ADDITIONAL RISK FACTORS SPECIFIC TO YOUR NOTES

An investment in your notes is subject to the risks described below, as well as the risks and considerations described in the accompanying prospectus, in the accompanying prospectus supplement and under “Additional Risk Factors Specific to the Notes” in the accompanying general terms supplement no. 8,999. You should carefully review these risks and considerations as well as the terms of the notes described herein and in the accompanying prospectus, the accompanying prospectus supplement and the accompanying general terms supplement no. 8,999. Your notes are a riskier investment than ordinary debt securities. Also, your notes are not equivalent to investing directly in the underlier stocks, i.e., the stocks comprising the reference equity index. You should carefully consider whether the offered notes are appropriate given your particular circumstances.

Risks Related to Structure, Valuation and Secondary Market Sales

The Estimated Value of Your Notes At the Time the Terms of Your Notes Are Set On the Trade Date (as Determined By Reference to Pricing Models Used By GS&Co.) Is Less Than the Original Issue Price Of Your Notes

The original issue price for your notes exceeds the estimated value of your notes as of the time the terms of your notes are set on the trade date, as determined by reference to GS&Co.’s pricing models and taking into account our credit spreads. Such estimated value on the trade date is set forth above under “Estimated Value of Your Notes; after the trade date, the estimated value as determined by reference to these models will be affected by changes in market conditions, the creditworthiness of GS Finance Corp., as issuer, the creditworthiness of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., as guarantor, and other relevant factors. The price at which GS&Co. would initially buy or sell your notes (if GS&Co. makes a market, which it is not obligated to do), and the value that GS&Co. will initially use for account statements and otherwise, also exceeds the estimated value of your notes as determined by reference to these models. As agreed by GS&Co. and the distribution participants, this excess (i.e., the additional amount described under “Estimated Value of Your Notes”) will decline to zero on a straight line basis over the period from the date hereof through the applicable date set forth above under “Estimated Value of Your Notes”. Thereafter, if GS&Co. buys or sells your notes it will do so at prices that reflect the estimated value determined by reference to such pricing models at that time. The price at which GS&Co. will buy or sell your notes at any time also will reflect its then current bid and ask spread for similar sized trades of structured notes.

In estimating the value of your notes as of the time the terms of your notes are set on the trade date, as disclosed above under “Estimated Value of Your Notes”, GS&Co.’s pricing models consider certain variables, including principally our credit spreads, interest rates (forecasted, current and historical rates), volatility, price-sensitivity analysis and the time to maturity of the notes. These pricing models are proprietary and rely in part on certain assumptions about future events, which may prove to be incorrect. As a result, the actual value you would receive if you sold your notes in the secondary market, if any, to others may differ, perhaps materially, from the estimated value of your notes determined by reference to our models due to, among other things, any differences in pricing models or assumptions used by others. See “ — The Market Value of Your Notes May Be Influenced by Many Unpredictable Factors” below.

The difference between the estimated value of your notes as of the time the terms of your notes are set on the trade date and the original issue price is a result of certain factors, including principally the underwriting discount and commissions, the expenses incurred in creating, documenting and marketing the notes, and an estimate of the difference between the amounts we pay to GS&Co. and the amounts GS&Co. pays to us in connection with your notes. We pay to GS&Co. amounts based on what we would pay to holders of a non-structured note with a similar maturity. In return for such payment, GS&Co. pays to us the amounts we owe under your notes.

In addition to the factors discussed above, the value and quoted price of your notes at any time will reflect many factors and cannot be predicted. If GS&Co. makes a market in the notes, the price quoted by GS&Co. would reflect any changes in market conditions and other relevant factors, including any deterioration in our creditworthiness or perceived creditworthiness or the creditworthiness or perceived creditworthiness of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. These changes may adversely affect the value of your notes, including the price you may receive for your notes in any market making transaction. To the extent that GS&Co. makes a market in the notes, the quoted price will reflect the estimated value determined by reference to GS&Co.’s pricing models at that time, plus or minus its then current bid and ask spread for similar sized trades of structured notes (and subject to the declining excess amount described above).

PS-10


 

Furthermore, if you sell your notes, you will likely be charged a commission for secondary market transactions, or the price will likely reflect a dealer discount. This commission or discount will further reduce the proceeds you would receive for your notes in a secondary market sale.

There is no assurance that GS&Co. or any other party will be willing to purchase your notes at any price and, in this regard, GS&Co. is not obligated to make a market in the notes. See “Additional Risk Factors Specific to the Notes — Your Notes May Not Have an Active Trading Market” on page S-7 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 8,999.

The Notes Are Subject to the Credit Risk of the Issuer and the Guarantor

Although the return on the notes will be based on the performance of the underlier, the payment of any amount due on the notes is subject to the credit risk of GS Finance Corp., as issuer of the notes, and the credit risk of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., as guarantor of the notes. The notes are our unsecured obligations. Investors are dependent on our ability to pay all amounts due on the notes, and therefore investors are subject to our credit risk and to changes in the market’s view of our creditworthiness. Similarly, investors are dependent on the ability of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., as guarantor of the notes, to pay all amounts due on the notes, and therefore are also subject to its credit risk and to changes in the market’s view of its creditworthiness. See “Description of the Notes We May Offer — Information About Our Medium-Term Notes, Series F Program — How the Notes Rank Against Other Debt” on page S-5 of the accompanying prospectus supplement and “Description of Debt Securities We May Offer – Guarantee by The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.” on page 67 of the accompanying prospectus.

The Amount You Will Receive on the Call Payment Date or on the Stated Maturity Date is Not Linked to the Closing Level of the Underlier at Any Time Other Than on the Call Observation Date or the Determination Date, as the Case May Be

The amount in cash you will receive on the call payment date, if any, will be paid only if the closing level of the underlier on the call observation date is greater than or equal to the initial underlier level. Therefore, the closing level of the underlier on dates other than the call observation date will have no effect on any amount paid in respect of your notes on the call payment date. In addition, the cash settlement amount you will receive on the stated maturity date will be based on the closing level of the underlier on the determination date. Therefore, for example, if the closing level of the underlier dropped precipitously on the determination date, the cash settlement amount for the notes would be significantly less than it would otherwise have been had the cash settlement amount been linked to the closing level of the underlier prior to such drop. Although the actual closing level of the underlier on the call payment date, stated maturity date or at other times during the life of the notes may be higher than the closing level of the underlier on the call observation date or the determination date, you will not benefit from the closing levels of the underlier at any time other than on the call observation date or on the determination date.

You May Lose a Substantial Portion of Your Investment in the Notes

You can lose a substantial portion of your investment in the notes. Assuming your notes are not automatically called on the call observation date, the cash settlement amount on your notes on the stated maturity date will be based on the performance of the underlier as measured from the initial underlier level to the closing level on the determination date. If the final underlier level is less than the buffer level, you will have a loss for each $1,000 of the face amount of your notes equal to the product of (i) the sum of the underlier return plus the buffer amount times (ii) $1,000. Thus, you may lose a substantial portion of your investment in the notes, which would include any premium to face amount you paid when you purchased the notes.

Also, the market price of your notes prior to the call payment date or the stated maturity date, as the case may be, may be significantly lower than the purchase price you pay for your notes. Consequently, if you sell your notes before the stated maturity date, you may receive far less than the amount of your investment in the notes.

The Amount You Will Receive on the Call Payment Date Will Be Capped

Regardless of the closing level of the underlier on the call observation date, the amount in cash you may receive on the call payment date is capped. Even if the closing level of the underlier on the call observation date exceeds the initial underlier level, causing the notes to be automatically called, the amount in cash payable on the call payment date will be capped, and you will not benefit from any increases in the closing level of the underlier above the initial underlier level on the call observation date. If your notes are automatically called on the call

PS-11


 

observation date, the maximum payment you will receive for each $1,000 face amount of your notes will be $1,120.

Your Notes Are Subject to Automatic Redemption

We will automatically call and redeem all, but not part, of your notes on the call payment date, if the closing level of the underlier on the call observation date is greater than or equal to the initial underlier level. Therefore, the term for your notes may be reduced. You may not be able to reinvest the proceeds from an investment in the notes at a comparable return for a similar level of risk in the event the notes are called prior to maturity. For the avoidance of doubt, if your notes are automatically called, no discounts, commissions or fees described herein will be rebated or reduced.

Your Notes Do Not Bear Interest

You will not receive any interest payments on your notes. As a result, even if the cash settlement amount payable for your notes on the stated maturity date exceeds the face amount of your notes, the overall return you earn on your notes may be less than you would have earned by investing in a non-indexed debt security of comparable maturity that bears interest at a prevailing market rate.

You Have No Rights in Any Futures Contract Tracked by the Underlier

Investing in your notes will not make you a holder of any futures contract tracked by the underlier. Neither you nor any other holder or owner of your notes will have any rights with respect to the futures contracts tracked by the underlier, including any rights of a holder of the futures contracts. Your notes will be paid in cash and you will have no right to receive delivery of any futures contract tracked by the underlier.

You Have No Shareholder Rights or Rights to Receive Any Underlier Stock

Investing in your notes will not make you a holder of any of the underlier stocks. Neither you nor any other holder or owner of your notes will have any rights with respect to the underlier stocks, including any voting rights, any rights to receive dividends or other distributions, any rights to make a claim against the underlier stocks or any other rights of a holder of the underlier stocks. Your notes will be paid in cash and you will have no right to receive delivery of any underlier stocks.

We May Sell an Additional Aggregate Face Amount of the Notes at a Different Issue Price

At our sole option, we may decide to sell an additional aggregate face amount of the notes subsequent to the date of this pricing supplement. The issue price of the notes in the subsequent sale may differ substantially (higher or lower) from the original issue price you paid as provided on the cover of this pricing supplement.

The Market Value of Your Notes May Be Influenced by Many Unpredictable Factors

When we refer to the market value of your notes, we mean the value that you could receive for your notes if you chose to sell them in the open market before the stated maturity date. A number of factors, many of which are beyond our control, will influence the market value of your notes, including:

the level of the underlier;
the volatility – i.e., the frequency and magnitude of changes – in the closing level of the underlier;
the dividend rates of the underlier stocks;
economic, financial, regulatory, political, military, public health and other events that affect stock markets generally and the underlier stocks, and which may affect the closing level of the underlier;
interest rates and yield rates in the market;
the time remaining until your notes mature; and
our creditworthiness and the creditworthiness of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc., whether actual or perceived, and including actual or anticipated upgrades or downgrades in our credit ratings or the credit ratings of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. or changes in other credit measures.

Without limiting the foregoing, the market value of your notes may be negatively impacted by increasing interest rates. Such adverse impact of increasing interest rates could be significantly enhanced in notes with longer-dated maturities, the market values of which are generally more sensitive to increasing interest rates.

PS-12


 

These factors may influence the market value of your notes if you sell your notes before maturity, including the price you may receive for your notes in any market making transaction. If you sell your notes prior to maturity, you may receive less than the face amount of your notes. You cannot predict the future performance of the underlier based on its historical performance.

If You Purchase Your Notes at a Premium to Face Amount, the Return on Your Investment Will Be Lower Than the Return on Notes Purchased at Face Amount and the Impact of Certain Key Terms of the Notes Will Be Negatively Affected

The amount in cash that you may be paid on your notes on the call payment date or the stated maturity date will not be adjusted based on the issue price you pay for the notes. If you purchase notes at a price that differs from the face amount of the notes, then the return on your investment in such notes held to the call payment date or the stated maturity date will differ from, and may be substantially less than, the return on notes purchased at face amount. If you purchase your notes at a premium to face amount and hold them to the call payment date or the stated maturity date, the return on your investment in the notes will be lower than it would have been had you purchased the notes at face amount or a discount to face amount. In addition, the impact of the buffer level on the return on your investment will depend upon the price you pay for your notes relative to face amount. For example, if you purchase your notes at a premium to face amount, the buffer level, while still providing some protection for the return on the notes, will allow a greater percentage decrease in your investment in the notes than would have been the case for notes purchased at face amount or a discount to face amount.

Additional Risks Related to the Underlier

The Underlier Has a Limited Operating History

The notes are linked to the performance of the underlier, which was launched on May 20, 2024. Because the underlier has no live underlier level history prior to that date, limited live historical underlier level information will be available for you to consider in making an independent investigation of the underlier performance, which may make it difficult for you to make an informed decision with respect to the notes.

The hypothetical performance data prior to the launch of the underlier on May 20, 2024 refers to simulated performance data created by applying the underlier’s calculation methodology to historical prices of the E-mini Russell 2000 futures contract that the underlier tracks. Such simulated hypothetical performance data has been produced by the retroactive application of a back-tested methodology. No future performance of the underlier can be predicted based on the simulated hypothetical performance data or the historical underlier performance information described herein.

Linking to an Equity Futures Contract Is Different From Linking to the Reference Equity Index

The return on your notes will be related to the performance of an equity futures contract and not the reference equity index. On a given day, a “futures price” is the price at which market participants may agree to buy or sell the asset underlying a futures contract in the future, and the “spot price” is the current price of such underlying asset for immediate delivery. A variety of factors can lead to a disparity between the price of a futures contract at a given point in time and the spot price of its underlying asset, such as the expected dividend yields of any stocks that comprise such underlying asset, the implicit financing cost associated with the futures contract and market expectations related to the future price of the futures contract’s underlying asset. Purchasing an equity futures contract is similar to borrowing money to buy the underlying asset of such futures contract because it enables an investor to gain exposure to such underlying asset without having to pay the full cost of such exposure up front, and therefore entails a financing cost. As a result, the underlier is expected to reflect not only the performance of the reference equity index, but also the implicit financing cost in the E-mini Russell 2000 futures contract, among other factors. Such implicit financing cost will adversely affect the level of the underlier. Any increase in market interest rates will be expected to further increase this implicit financing cost and will have an adverse effect on the level of the underlier and, therefore, the value of and return on the notes.

The price movement of a futures contract is typically correlated with the movements of the price of its underlying asset, but the correlation is generally imperfect, and price movements in the spot market may not be reflected in the futures market (and vice versa). Accordingly, your notes may underperform a similar investment that more directly reflects the return on the reference equity index.

 

PS-13


 

Negative Roll Yields Will Adversely Affect the Level of the Underlier Over Time and Therefore the Amount Payable on the Notes

The underlier is linked to the E-mini Russell 2000 futures contract rather than the reference equity index. Futures contracts normally specify a certain date for cash settlement of a financial future (such as a futures contract on a securities index) or delivery of the underlying physical commodity for a deliverable future. As the exchange-traded futures contract that comprises the underlier approaches expiration, it is replaced by a similar contract that has a later expiration. Thus, for example, a futures contract purchased and held in September may specify a December expiration. As time passes, the contract expiring in December may be replaced by a contract for delivery in March. This process is referred to as “rolling.”

As a futures contract approaches expiration, its value will generally approach the spot price of its underlying asset because by expiration it will closely represent a contract to buy or sell such underlying asset for immediate delivery. If the market for a futures contract is in “contango,” where the price of the futures contract with a later expiration date during a rolling period is higher than the spot price of its underlying asset, then the value of such futures contract would tend to decline over time (assuming the spot price and other relevant factors remain unchanged), because the higher futures price would decline as it approaches the lower spot price by expiration. This negative effect on the futures price is referred to as a negative “carry” or “roll yield” and is realized over the term of such contract. A negative roll yield will adversely affect the level of the underlier over time and therefore the amount payable on the notes. Because of the potential effects of negative roll yields, it is possible for the level of the underlier to decrease significantly over time even when the level of the reference equity index is stable or increasing.

Futures Contracts Are Not Assets with Intrinsic Value

The underlier is linked to the E-mini Russell 2000 futures contract currently listed for trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. Trading in futures contracts transfers the risk of future price movements from one market participant to another. This means that for every gain, there is an equal and offsetting loss. Futures contracts themselves are not assets with intrinsic value, and simply reflect, in the case of cash-settled contracts, certain rights to payment or obligations to make payments to the other party to the contract. Accordingly, market participants taking the opposite side of the E-mini Russell 2000 futures contract trades may believe that the level of the reference equity index will move against the interests of the underlier.

Owning the Notes Is Not the Same as Directly Owning the Securities or Futures Contract Directly or Indirectly Tracked by the Underlier

Your return on the notes will not reflect the return you would have realized on a direct investment in the E-mini Russell 2000 futures contract currently listed for trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange or any of the underlier stocks comprising the reference equity index. For example, as an investor in the notes, you will not have rights to receive dividends or other distributions or any other rights, including voting rights, with respect to any underlier stocks comprising the reference equity index. The calculation agent for the notes will calculate the amount payable to you at maturity by reference to the level of the underlier on the determination date, and will not include the amount of any of those dividend payments or other distributions. Therefore, the return on your investment will not be the same as the return based on the purchase of any stocks or futures contracts that are tracked directly or indirectly by the underlier.

Suspension or Disruptions of Market Trading in Stocks or Futures Contracts May Adversely Affect the Value of the Notes

Securities markets and futures markets are subject to temporary distortions or other disruptions due to various factors, including the lack of liquidity in the markets, the participation of speculators, and government regulation and intervention. In addition, futures markets typically have regulations that limit the amount of fluctuation in some futures contract prices that may occur during a single business day. These limits are generally referred to as “daily price fluctuation limits,” and the maximum or minimum price of a contract on any given day as a result of these limits is referred to as a “limit price.” Once the limit price has been reached in a particular contract, no trades may be made at a price beyond the limit, or trading may be limited for a specified period of time. Limit prices have the effect of precluding trading in a particular contract or forcing the liquidation of contracts at potentially disadvantageous times or prices. These circumstances could affect the level of the underlier and, therefore, could adversely affect the payments on the notes.

PS-14


 

Except to the Extent That We or Our Affiliates May Currently or in the Future Own Securities of, or Engage in Business With, the Issuers of the Underlier Stocks or Own E-Mini Russell 2000 Futures Contracts, There Is No Affiliation Between Us and the Issuers of the Underlier Stocks

The underlier is linked to the E-mini Russell 2000 futures contract currently listed for trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. We or our affiliates may currently or from time to time in the future own securities of, or engage in business with, the issuers of the underlier stocks or own E-mini Russell 2000 futures contracts. We are not otherwise affiliated with the issuers of the underlier stocks or the sponsor of the reference equity index. Neither we nor any of our affiliates have participated in the preparation of any publicly available information or made any “due diligence” investigation or inquiry with respect to the underlier or the reference equity index, any of the other issuers of the underlier stocks or the E-mini Russell 2000 futures contract. You, as an investor in your notes, should make your own investigation into the underlier, the reference equity index, the issuers of the underlier stocks and the E-mini Russell 2000 futures contract. See “The Underlier” below for additional information about the underlier, the E-mini Russell 2000 futures contract and the reference equity index.

None of the issuers of securities comprising the reference equity index are involved in the offering of your notes in any way and none of them have any obligation of any sort with respect to your notes. Thus, none of the issuers of the underlier stocks have any obligation to take your interests into consideration for any reason, including in taking any corporate actions that might adversely affect the level of the underlier or the reference equity index or making any investment decision for the underlier or the reference equity index.

The Policies of the Underlier Sponsor and Changes That Affect the Underlier or the Underlier Stocks Could Affect the Payment Amount on Your Notes and Their Market Value

The policies of the underlier sponsor concerning the calculation of the level of the underlier, additions, deletions or substitutions of underlier stocks and the manner in which changes affecting the underlier stocks or their issuers, such as stock dividends, reorganizations or mergers, are reflected in the level of the underlier or reference equity index, as applicable, could affect the level of the underlier and, therefore, the amount payable on your notes and the market value of your notes. The amount payable on your notes and their market value could also be affected if the underlier sponsor changes these policies, for example, by changing the manner in which it calculates the level of the underlier or if the underlier sponsor discontinues or suspends calculation or publication of the level of the underlier, in which case it may become difficult to determine the market value of your notes. If events such as these occur, the calculation agent - which initially will be GS&Co., our affiliate - may determine the closing level of the underlier - and thus the amount payable on your notes - in a manner it considers appropriate, in its sole discretion. We describe the discretion that the calculation agent will have in determining the closing level of the underlier on any trading day and the amount payable on your notes more fully under “Terms and Conditions - Discontinuance or modification of the underlier” above.

Risks Related to Tax

The Tax Consequences of an Investment in Your Notes Are Uncertain

The tax consequences of an investment in your notes are uncertain, both as to the timing and character of any inclusion in income in respect of your notes.

The Internal Revenue Service announced on December 7, 2007 that it is considering issuing guidance regarding the proper U.S. federal income tax treatment of instruments such as your notes, and any such guidance could adversely affect the tax treatment and the value of your notes. Among other things, the Internal Revenue Service may decide to require the holders to accrue ordinary income on a current basis and recognize ordinary income on payment at maturity, and could subject non-U.S. investors to withholding tax. Furthermore, in 2007, legislation was introduced in Congress that, if enacted, would have required holders that acquired instruments such as your notes after the bill was enacted to accrue interest income over the term of such instruments even though there will be no interest payments over the term of such instruments. It is not possible to predict whether a similar or identical bill will be enacted in the future, or whether any such bill would affect the tax treatment of your notes. We describe these developments in more detail under “Supplemental Discussion of U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences – United States Holders – Possible Change in Law” below. You should consult your tax advisor about this matter. Except to the extent otherwise provided by law, GS Finance Corp. intends to continue treating the notes for U.S. federal income tax purposes in accordance with the treatment described under “Supplemental Discussion of U.S. Federal Income Tax Consequences” below unless and until such time as Congress, the Treasury Department or the Internal Revenue Service determine that some other treatment is more appropriate.

PS-15


 

Please also consult your tax advisor concerning the U.S. federal income tax and any other applicable tax consequences to you of owning your notes in your particular circumstances.

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) Withholding May Apply to Payments on Your Notes, Including as a Result of the Failure of the Bank or Broker Through Which You Hold the Notes to Provide Information to Tax Authorities

Please see the discussion under “United States Taxation — Taxation of Debt Securities — Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) Withholding” in the accompanying prospectus for a description of the applicability of FATCA to payments made on your notes.

PS-16


 

THE UNDERLIER

The Russell 2000® Futures Excess Return Index, which we also refer to in this description as the “index”:

is an equity futures index, and therefore cannot be invested in directly;
does not file reports with the SEC because it is not an issuer;
has a launch date of May 20, 2024, with a base value of 100 as of its base date, September 16, 2011; and
is sponsored by FTSE Russell (“FTSE Russell”).

The Russell 2000® Futures Excess Return Index measures the performance of the first nearby E-mini Russell 2000 futures contract (symbol: “RTY”) trading on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (“CME”). E-mini Russell 2000 futures contracts are quarterly contracts to buy or sell standardized trading “units”. One trading unit of E-mini Russell 2000 futures contracts equals $50 multiplied by the Russell 2000® Index (price return version). The Russell 2000® Index measures the composite price performance of stocks of 2,000 companies incorporated in the U.S., its territories and certain “benefit-driven incorporation countries” and is designed to track the performance of the small capitalization segment of the U.S. equity market. The index is calculated in U.S. dollars ($) on an excess return basis. The index and the Russell 2000® Index are calculated, maintained and published by FTSE Russell. Additional information about the index and the Russell 2000® Index (including sector weights) is available on the following websites: lseg.com/en/ftse-russell/indices/russell-futures and lseg.com/en/ftse-russell/indices/russell-us#t-russell-2000. We are not incorporating by reference the websites or any material they include in this pricing supplement.

Roll Methodology

The index is constructed from a single E-mini Russell 2000 futures contract. When the first nearby E-mini Russell 2000 futures contract approaches expiration, it is replaced by the second nearby E-mini Russell 2000 futures contract. This process is referred to as “rolling”.

Rolling is conducted over three business days every March, June, September and December and commences five business days prior to the last trade date of the first nearby E-mini Russell 2000 futures contract. For example, if the last trade date of the first nearby E-mini Russell 2000 future is on the 3rd Friday of the month, the roll period will commence on the second Friday of the month, five business days before. This is referred to as the “roll period”.

On each business day of the roll period, a proportion of the index weight in the first nearby E-mini Russell 2000 futures contract is rolled into the second nearby E-mini Russell 2000 futures contract at the daily settlement price of the respective futures contracts. The closing weights on each day in the roll period are as follows:

Roll day

Weights (at close)

First nearby futures contract

Second nearby futures contract

1

2/3

1/3

2

1/3

2/3

3

0

1

Market Disruption Events

If a market disruption event occurs on the last business day of the scheduled roll period, the roll on such a business day shall not be postponed. If a market disruption event occurs on any business day during the scheduled roll period that is not the last business day of the scheduled roll period, then the portion of the roll shall be postponed to the first roll business day immediately following such business day as per above.

If, on any business day, a market disruption event occurs or is occurring that MerQube (the “index calculation agent”) determines, in its sole discretion, materially affects the Russell 2000® Futures Excess Return Index, the index calculation agent may:

use the last available closing futures value to calculate and publish the closing index level; and/or

PS-17


 

defer or suspend the calculation and publication of the closing index level and any other information relating to the Russell 2000® Futures Excess Return Index until the next business day on which such market disruption event has ceased.

If a market disruption event has occurred, resulting in the index calculation agent exercising its discretion as described above, the index calculation agent will inform FTSE Russell of the decision as soon after calculation and dissemination of the index value on that day as possible.

A market disruption event means, with respect to the index, the occurrence of one or more of the following events if, in the discretion of the index calculation agent, such event is material:

the index calculation agent observes on any business day that there has been a declaration of a general moratorium in respect of banking activities in any relevant jurisdiction;
the occurrence of an event that makes it impossible or not reasonably practicable on any business day for the index calculation agent to obtain the value of any futures contract, or any other price or necessary information for purposes of calculating the index value in a manner acceptable to the index calculation agent;
the administrator of the underlying futures contract fails to announce or publish the level of such futures contract on a business day on which the level of such futures contract was scheduled to be announced or published;
the occurrence or existence of a lack of, or material decline in, the liquidity in the market for trading of any underlying futures contract on any business day;
a force majeure event; or any event that disrupts or impairs (as determined by the index calculation agent acting in a reasonable manner) the ability of market participants in general to establish, maintain or unwind transactions in, or obtain market values for, futures, forwards, options, swaps or other over-the-counter derivative transactions indirectly included in and/or that may be used for hedging any futures contract; or
a suspension, disruption, absence or material limitation imposed on trading by the relevant exchanges (or related exchanges(s)) or observed in any related over-the-counter market(s) or otherwise and whether by reason of movements in price exceeding limits permitted by the relevant exchange(s) or related exchange(s) or otherwise in the futures, forwards, options, swaps or other over-the-counter derivative transactions indirectly included in and/or that may be used for hedging the Russell 2000® Futures Excess Return Index.

Index Calculation

The index is calculated on each day on which the CME is open for trading. The index value of the index on any given index business day will be calculated as the product of: (i) the value of the index as of the preceding business day and (ii) the daily return of the futures contract.

On any business day (other than during the roll period), the daily return of a futures contract is calculated as the official daily settlement price of the futures contract quoted by the exchange divided by the settlement price on the preceding business day.

During the roll period, the calculation of the daily return will reflect the price of the second nearby futures contract into which the first nearby futures contract is gradually rolled.

Russell 2000® Index

The Russell 2000® Index:

is an equity index, and therefore cannot be invested in directly;
does not file reports with the SEC because it is not an issuer;
was first launched in 1984 based on an initial value of 100 as of December 31, 1978; and
is sponsored by FTSE Russell (“FTSE Russell”)

The Russell 2000® Index measures the composite price performance of stocks of 2,000 companies in the U.S. equity market. It is generally considered to be a “small-cap” index. Additional information about the Russell 2000® Index (including the top ten constituent stocks and sector weights) is available on the following website:

PS-18


 

ftse.com/analytics/factsheets/Home/Search#. We are not incorporating by reference the website or any material it includes in this pricing supplement.

The Russell 2000® Index includes approximately 2,000 of the smallest securities that form the Russell 3000® Index. The Russell 3000® Index is comprised of the 3,000 largest U.S. companies, or 98% based on market capitalization, of the investable U.S. equity market. The Russell 2000® Index is designed to track the performance of the small capitalization segment of the U.S. equity market.

Selection of Constituent Stocks of the Russell 2000® Index

The Russell 2000® Index is a sub-index of the Russell 3000® Index. To be eligible for inclusion in the Russell 3000® Index, and, consequently, the Russell 2000® Index, a company’s stocks must be listed on the rank day and FTSE Russell must have access to documentation verifying the company’s eligibility for inclusion. The rank day occurs on the last business day of April with membership eligibility determined using public information available on the rank day and market capitalizations calculated at market close. Eligible initial public offerings (“IPOs”) are added to Russell U.S. Indices quarterly, based on total market capitalization rankings within the market-adjusted capitalization breaks established during the most recent reconstitution. To be added to any Russell U.S. index during a quarter outside of reconstitution, IPOs must meet additional eligibility criteria.

A company is included in the U.S. equity markets and is eligible for inclusion in the Russell 3000® Index, and consequently, the Russell 2000® Index, if that company incorporates in the U.S., has its headquarters in the U.S. and also trades with the highest liquidity in the U.S. If a company does not satisfy all of the above criteria, it can still be included in the U.S. equity market if any one of the following home country indicators is in the United States: (i) country of incorporation, (ii) country of headquarters and (iii) country in which the company trades with the highest liquidity (as defined by a two-year average daily dollar trading volume from all exchanges within the country), and the primary location of that company’s assets or its revenue, based on an average of two years of assets or revenues data, is also in the United States. In addition, if there is insufficient information to assign a company to the U.S. equity markets based on its assets or revenue, the company may nonetheless be assigned to the U.S. equity markets if the headquarters of the company is located in the United States or if the headquarters of the company is located in certain “benefit-driven incorporation countries”, or “BDIs”, and that company’s most liquid stock exchange is in the United States. The BDI countries are Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda, Bonaire, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Channel Islands, Cook Islands, Curaçao, Faroe Islands, Gibraltar, Guernsey, Isle of Man, Jersey, Liberia, Marshall Islands, Panama, Saba, Sint Eustatius, Sint Maarten and Turks and Caicos Islands. A U.S.-listed company is not eligible for inclusion within the U.S. equity market if it has been classified by FTSE Russell as a China N share on the rank date of the Russell 2000® Index reconstitution. A company will be considered a China N share if the following criteria are satisfied: (i) the company is incorporated outside of mainland China, (ii) the company is listed on the NYSE, the Nasdaq or the NYSE American (formerly the NYSE MKT), (iii) the company has a headquarter or principal executive office or its establishment in mainland China, with the majority of its revenue or assets derived from the People’s Republic of China, and (iv) the company is controlled by a mainland Chinese entity, company or individual (if the shareholder background cannot be determined with publicly available information, FTSE Russell will consider whether the establishment and origin of the company are in mainland China and whether the company is headquartered in mainland China). An existing China N Share which fails one or more of the following criteria will cease to be classified as a China N share: (i) the company is no longer incorporated outside the People’s Republic of China, (ii) the company is no longer listed on the NYSE, the Nasdaq exchange, or the NYSE American, (iii) the percentages of revenue and assets derived from the People’s Republic of China have both fallen below 45 percent, or (iv) the company is acquired/a controlling stake is held by a non-Mainland Chinese state entity, company or individual. Only asset and revenue data from the most recent annual report is considered when evaluating whether a company should be classified a China N share (i.e., there will be no two year averaging). ADRs and ADSs are not eligible for inclusion in the Russell 2000® Index.

In addition, all securities eligible for inclusion in the Russell 3000® Index, and consequently, the Russell 2000® Index, must trade on an eligible exchange (CBOE (formerly BATS), NYSE, NYSE American (formerly NYSE MKT), NYSE Arca and Nasdaq).

Exclusions from the Russell 2000® Index

FTSE Russell specifically excludes the following companies and securities from the Russell 2000® Index: (i) preferred and convertible preferred stock, redeemable shares, participating preferred stock, warrants, rights, depositary receipts, installment receipts and trust receipts; (ii) royalty trusts, U.S. limited liability companies,

PS-19


 

closed-end investment companies, companies that are required to report Acquired Fund Fees and Expenses (as defined by the SEC), including business development companies, blank check companies, special-purpose acquisition companies and limited partnerships; (iii) companies with a total market capitalization less than $30 million; (iv) companies with only a small portion of their shares available in the free-float as defined by FTSE Russell (companies with less than an absolute 5% of shares available); (v) bulletin board, pink sheets or over-the-counter traded securities, including securities for which prices are displayed on the FINRA ADF; (vi) real estate investment trusts and publicly traded partnerships that generate, or have historically generated, unrelated business taxable income and have not taken steps to block their unrelated business taxable income to equity holders; and (vii) companies with less than 5% of the company’s voting rights in the hands of unrestricted shareholders.

Initial List of Eligible Securities

The primary criterion FTSE Russell uses to determine the initial list of securities eligible for the Russell 3000® Index and, consequently, the Russell 2000® Index, is total market capitalization, which is calculated by multiplying the total outstanding shares for a company by the market price as of the rank day for those securities being considered at annual reconstitution. IPOs may be added between constitutions as noted below. All common stock share classes are combined in determining a company’s total shares outstanding. If multiple share classes have been combined, the number of total shares outstanding will be multiplied by the primary exchange close price and used to determine the company’s total market capitalization. In cases where the common stock share classes act independently of each other (e.g., tracking stocks), each class is considered for inclusion separately. Stocks must have a closing price at or above $1.00 on their primary exchange or an eligible secondary exchange on the last trading day of May of each year to be eligible for inclusion in the Russell 2000® Index. In order to reduce unnecessary turnover, if an existing member’s closing price is less than $1.00 on the rank day, it will be considered eligible if the average of the daily closing prices from their primary exchange during the 30 days prior to the rank day is equal to or greater than $1.00. If an existing member does not trade on the rank day, it must price at $1.00 or above on another eligible U.S. exchange to remain eligible.

Multiple Share Classes

If an eligible company trades under multiple share classes or if a company distributes shares of an additional share class to its existing shareholders through a mandatory corporate action, each share class will be reviewed independently for inclusion. Share classes in addition to the primary vehicle (the pricing vehicle) that have a total market capitalization larger than $30 million, an average daily dollar trading value that exceeds that of the global median, and a float of 5% or greater of shares available in the free-float as defined by FTSE Russell are eligible for inclusion.

The pricing vehicle will generally be designated as the share class with the highest two-year trading volume as of the rank day. In the absence of two years’ worth of data, all available data will be used for this calculation. If the difference between trading volumes for each share class is less than 20%, the share class with the most available shares outstanding will be used as the pricing vehicle. At least 100 day trading volume is necessary to consider the class as a pricing vehicle for existing members. New members will be analyzed on all available data, even if that data is for less than 100 days.

Annual Reconstitution

The Russell 2000® Index is reconstituted annually by FTSE Russell to reflect changes in the marketplace. The list of companies is ranked based on total market capitalization on the last trading day in May, with the actual reconstitution occurring on the fourth Friday of June each year. A full calendar for reconstitution is published each spring.

A company’s total shares are multiplied by the primary exchange close price of the pricing vehicle and used to determine the company’s total market capitalization for the purpose of ranking of companies and determination of index membership. If no volume exists on the primary exchange on the rank day, the last trade price from an eligible secondary exchange will be used where volume exists (using the lowest trade price above $1.00 if multiple secondary markets exist). The company’s rank will be determined based on the cumulative market capitalization. As of the June 2016 reconstitution, any share class not qualifying for eligibility independently will not be aggregated with the pricing vehicle within the available shares calculation.

For mergers and spin-offs that are effective between the rank day and the business day immediately before the Russell 2000® Index lock down takes effect ahead of the annual reconstitution in June, the market capitalizations

PS-20


 

of the impacted securities are recalculated and membership is reevaluated as of the effective date of the corporate action. For corporate events that occur during the reconstitution lock down period (which takes effect from the open on the first day of the lock down period onwards), market capitalizations and memberships will not be reevaluated. Non index members that have been considered ineligible as of rank day will not be reevaluated in the event of a subsequent corporate action that occurs between rank day and the reconstitution effective date.

Index Calculation and Capitalization Adjustments

As a capitalization-weighted index, the Russell 2000® Index reflects changes in the capitalization, or market value, of the index stocks relative to the capitalization on a base date. This discussion describes the “price return” calculation of the Russell 2000® Index. The applicable pricing supplement will describe the calculation if the underlier for your securities is not the price return calculation. The current Russell 2000® Index value is the compounded result of the cumulative daily (or monthly) return percentages, where the starting value of the Russell 2000® Index is equal to the base value (100) and base date (December 31, 1978). Returns between any two dates can then be derived by dividing the ending period index value (IV1) by the beginning period (IV0) index value, so that the return equals [(IV1 / IV0) –1]*100.

Constituent stocks of the index are weighted in the Russell 2000® Index by their free-float market capitalization, which is calculated by multiplying the primary closing price by the number of free-float shares. Free-float shares are shares that are available to the public for purchase as determined by FTSE Russell. Adjustments to shares are reviewed quarterly (including at reconstitution) and for major corporate actions such as mergers. Total shares and adjustments for available shares are based on information recorded in SEC corporate filings.

The following are excluded from free float: shares directly owned by state, regional, municipal and local governments (excluding shares held by independently managed pension schemes for governments); shares held by sovereign wealth funds where each holding is 10% or greater of the total number of shares in issue; shares held by directors, senior executives and managers of the company, and by their family and direct relations, and by companies with which they are affiliated; shares held within employee share plans; shares held by public companies or by non-listed subsidiaries of public companies; shares held by founders, promoters, former directors, founding venture capital and private equity firms, private companies and individuals (including employees) where the holding is 10% or greater of the total number of shares in issue; all shares where the holder is subject to a lock-up clause (for the duration of that clause, after which free float changes resulting from the expiry of a lock-up will be implemented at the next quarterly review subject to the lock-up expiry date occurring on or prior to the share and float change information cut-off date); shares held by an investor, investment company or an investment fund that is actively participating in the management of a company or is holding shares for publicly announced strategic reasons, or has successfully placed a current member to the board of directors of a company; and shares that are subject to ongoing contractual agreements (such as swaps) where they would ordinarily be treated as restricted. In addition, while portfolio holdings such as pension funds, insurance funds or investment companies will generally not be considered as restricted from free float, where a single portfolio holding is 30% or greater it will be regarded as strategic and therefore restricted (and will remain restricted until the holding falls below 30%).

Corporate Actions Affecting the Russell 2000® Index

FTSE Russell adjusts the Russell 2000® Index on a daily basis in response to certain corporate actions and events. Therefore, a company’s membership in the Russell 2000® Index and its weight in the Russell 2000® Index can be impacted by these corporate actions. The adjustment is applied based on sources of public information, including press releases and Securities and Exchange Commission filings. Prior to the completion of a corporate action or event, FTSE Russell estimates the effective date. FTSE Russell will then adjust the anticipated effective date based on public information until the date is considered final. Depending on the time on a given day that an action is determined to be final, FTSE Russell will generally either (1) apply the action before the open on the ex-date or (2) apply the action after providing appropriate notice. If FTSE Russell has confirmed the completion of a corporate action, scheduled to become effective subsequent to a rebalance, the event may be implemented in conjunction with the rebalance to limit turnover, provided appropriate notice can be given. FTSE Russell applies the following methodology guidelines when adjusting the Russell 2000® Index in response to corporate actions and events:

“No Replacement” Rule — Securities that are deleted from the Russell 2000® Index between reconstitution dates, for any reason (e.g., mergers, acquisitions or other similar corporate activity) are not replaced. Thus, the number of securities in the Russell 2000® Index over the past year will fluctuate according to corporate activity.

PS-21


 

Mergers and Acquisitions

Adjustments due to mergers and acquisitions are applied to the Russell 2000® Index after the action is determined to be final. In the event that a constituent is being acquired for cash or is delisted subsequent to an index review, such constituent will be removed from the Russell 2000® Index in conjunction with the index review, assuming that the action is determined to be final and a minimum of two days’ notice can be provided.

Between constituents: When mergers and acquisitions take place between companies that are both constituents of a Russell index for cash, the target company is deleted from the Russell 2000® Index at the last traded price. When mergers and acquisitions take place between companies that are both constituents of a Russell index for stock, the target company is deleted from the Russell 2000® Index and the shares of the acquiring stock are increased according to the offer terms. When mergers and acquisitions take place between companies that are both constituents of a Russell index for cash or stock or a combination thereof, the target company is deleted from the Russell 2000® Index and the shares of the acquiring company are simultaneously increased per the merger terms.

Between a constituent and a non-constituent: If the target company is a member of the Russell 2000® Index, it is deleted from the Russell 2000® Index and the acquiring company will be included initially in the Russell 2000® Index provided it is eligible in all other respects at the time of the merger, regardless of previous eligibility screenings. If the acquiring company is deemed eligible it will be added to the Russell 2000® Index on the effective date and the opening price will be calculated using the offer terms. When the target company is a FTSE Russell Universe member, the shares of the member acquiring company will be updated to reflect the merger. Any share update will be made giving appropriate notice.

Given sufficient market hours after the confirmation of a merger or acquisition, FTSE Russell effects the action after the close on the last day of trading of the target company, or at an appropriate time once the transaction has been deemed to be final.

Rights Offerings — Rights offered to shareholders are reflected in the Russell 2000® Index only if the subscription price of the rights is at a discount to the market price of the stock. Provided that FTSE Russell has been alerted to the rights offer prior to the ex-date, it will adjust the price of the stock for the value of the rights and increased shares according to the terms of the offering before the open on the ex-date.

Spin-offs— If the spin-off entity meets the eligibility requirements for the Russell 2000® Index, the spin-off entity will be added to the Russell 2000® Index on the ex-date of the distribution. The spin-off entity will be retained in the Russell 2000® Index until the next annual reconstitution, when it will be evaluated for inclusion. If the spin-off entity does not meet the eligibility requirements for the Russell 2000® Index, the spin-off entity will be added to the Russell 2000® Index on the ex-date of the distribution. It will remain in the Russell 2000® Index until listing and settlement and then deleted at market price with notice.

Initial Public Offerings — Eligible IPOs are added to the Russell 2000® Index based on total market capitalization ranking within the market-adjusted capitalization breaks established at the most recent annual reconstitution.

An IPO of additional share classes will be considered for eligibility and must meet the same eligibility criteria for all other multiple share classes. If at the time of the IPO the additional share class does not meet the eligibility criteria for separate index membership, it will not be added to the Russell 2000® Index and will subsequently be reviewed for index membership during the next annual reconstitution.

Once IPO additions have been announced, an IPO may be added to the Russell 2000® Index prior to the previously announced schedule, if a corporate action has deemed this to be appropriate and notice can be provided (e.g. an index member automatically receives shares via a stock distribution into a projected IPO add).

Tender Offers — A company acquired as a result of a tender offer is removed when (i) (a) offer acceptances reach 90%; (b) shareholders have validly tendered and the shares have been irrevocably accepted for payment; and (c) all pertinent offer conditions have been reasonably met and the acquirer has not explicitly stated that it does not intend to acquire the remaining shares; (ii) there is reason to believe that the remaining free float is under 5% based on information available at the time; or (iii) following completion of the offer the acquirer has stated intent to finalize the acquisition via a short-form merger, squeeze-out, top-up option or any other compulsory mechanism.

Where the conditions for index deletion are not met, FTSE Russell may implement a free float change based on the reported acceptance results at the expiration of the initial, subsequent or final offer period where (i) the

PS-22


 

minimum acceptance level as stipulated by the acquiror is met; (ii) shareholders have validly tendered and the shares have been irrevocably accepted for payment; (iii) all pertinent offer conditions have been reasonably met and (iv) the change to the current float factor is greater than 3%. FTSE Russell uses the published results of the offer to determine the new free float of the target company. If no information is published in conjunction with the results from which FTSE Russell can determine which shareholders have and have not tendered, the free float change will reflect the total shares now owned by the acquiring company. A minimum T+2 notice period of the change is generally provided. . Any subsequent disclosure on the updated shareholder structure will be reviewed during the quarterly review cycle. If the offer includes a stock consideration, the acquiring company’s shares will be increased proportionate to the free float change of the target company. If the target company’s free float change is greater than 3%, the associated change to the acquiring company’s shares will be implemented regardless of size. Additionally, if the change to the target company is less than 3%, then no change will be implemented to the target or the acquiring company at the time of the event, regardless of any change to the acquiring company’s shares. The target company will then be deleted as a second-step, if the conditions for deletion are achieved at the expiration of a subsequent offer period.

In the event that a tender offer results in an additional listed and active “tendered” line prior to the tendered shares being accepted and exchanged for settlement, FTSE Russell will generally evaluate the following factors to determine whether to switch to the tendered line: (i) the objective of the offer is to fully acquire and delist the target company (and FTSE Russell is not aware of any obstacles designed to prevent this objective; e.g. there are no major shareholders who have publicly disclosed that they will not be tendering); (ii) the offer is deemed to be successful (i.e. the minimum acceptance threshold has been achieved); (iii) more than 50% of the shares subject to the offer have been tendered; (iv) there is an additional tender offer period to provide a window for index users to tender into the tendered shares’ line; and (v) there are outstanding regulatory or other substantive hurdles preventing the transaction completing immediately at the conclusion of the tender offer, with the results not expected to be known for some time. Index implementation will generally occur immediately after the opening of the additional offer period (with the provision of appropriate notice) – with an informative notice published announcing the change, to supplement the information within the applicable tracker files. In the event that the tendered line is halted prior to index implementation, its close price will be updated to reflect the deal terms until implementation. In the event that the prerequisites for deletion are not achieved and the target company is retained within the Russell 2000® Index at a reduced weight, the tendered line will be removed at deal terms (if no active market) with the ordinary line being re-added at a reduced weight at its last close price.

In exceptional circumstances, any review changes due to be effective for the companies involved in a tender offer may be retracted if FTSE Russell becomes aware of a tender offer which is due to complete on or around the effective date of such index review changes. Such exceptional circumstances may include undue price pressure being placed on the companies involved, or if proceeding with the review changes would compromise the replicability of the Russell 2000® Index.

Delisted and Suspended Stocks — A constituent will be deleted if it is delisted from all eligible exchanges. A constituent will be deleted if FTSE Russell becomes aware (in the country of assigned nationality) that the stock has become bankrupt, has filed for bankruptcy protection, enters into administration or receivership, commenced accelerated safeguarding procedures, is insolvent or is liquidated (or local equivalents); or has filed for delisting and no regulatory or shareholder approvals are outstanding, converts into an ineligible corporate structure or where evidence of a change in circumstances makes it ineligible for index inclusion. If, however, FTSE Russell becomes aware that a constituent is suspended, index treatment will be determined as follows:

unless the circumstances regarding deletions set forth below apply, a constituent will continue to be included in the Russell 2000® Index for a period of up to 20 business days at its last traded price;
if a constituent continues to be suspended at the end of that 20 business day period (the suspension period), it will be subject to review. FTSE Russell will take into account the stated reasons for the suspension. These reasons may include announcements made by the company regarding a pending acquisition or restructuring, and any stated intentions regarding a date for the resumption of trading. If following review, a decision is taken to remove the constituent, FTSE Russell will provide notice of 20 business days (the notice period) that it intends to remove the constituent, at zero value, at the conclusion of the notice period. If the security has not resumed trading at the conclusion of the notice period, it will be removed with two days’ notice. If during the notice period further details are disclosed as to the reason for a company’s suspension, those reasons (and any possible resumption of trade date) will be taken into account when determining if the company should remain on notice;

PS-23


 

if a suspended constituent resumes trading on or before the last business day of the notice period, the deletion notice will be rescinded and the constituent will be retained in the Russell 2000® Index. However, where the constituent resumes trading after the 40th business day of suspension, the constituent will continue to be removed from the Russell 2000® Index as previously announced but in these circumstance the deletion will be implemented at market value unless there are barriers that render a market value irreplicable. In this event, the company will continue to be removed at zero;
if the notice period expires in the week preceding an index review, the company will be removed in conjunction with the Russell 2000® Index review;
in certain limited circumstances where the index weight of the constituent is significant and FTSE Russell determines that a market-related value can be established for the suspended constituent, for example because similar company securities continue to trade, deletion may take place at the market-related value instead. In such circumstances, FTSE Russell will set out its rationale for the proposed treatment of the constituent at the end of the suspension period. The company would then be removed at that value at the end of the notice period;
subject to the second following paragraph, if a constituent has been removed from the Russell 2000® Index and trading is subsequently restored, the constituent will only be reconsidered for inclusion after a period of 12 months from its deletion. For the purposes of index eligibility it will be treated as a new issue.

For example, if FTSE Russell becomes aware that a U.S. company has filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, a receiver is appointed, has filed for delisting under a Form 25, or a liquidation plan is filed, it will be removed from the Russell 2000® Index with notice. If a constituent is removed pursuant to this rule and is not trading and there is no express confirmation that shareholders will receive a fixed cash amount per share held, FTSE Russell will remove the stock at a nominal price of $0.0001. If a price on an ineligible market (e.g. OTC) is available, the constituent may be removed using this price.

A company emerging from bankruptcy protection or insolvency will be reconsidered for index inclusion at the next annual reconstitution (i.e., there will be no 12 month exclusion).

A constituent will be deleted if FTSE Russell becomes aware that the price of the constituent has reached its minimum permissible trade price. The constituent will be removed from the Russell 2000® Index in conjunction with the next index review subject to it still being at the minimum permissible trade price at the start of the quarterly review lock down period. The stock will only be reconsidered for index eligibility after a period of 12 months from its deletion. For purposes of index eligibility it will be evaluated as a new issue.

Stock Distributions and distributions in specie— A price adjustment for stock distributions is applied on the ex-date of the distribution. Where FTSE Russell is able to value a distribution in specie prior to the ex-date, a price adjustment is made to the company paying the dividend at the open on the ex-date. If no valuation of the distribution exists prior to the ex-date, no price adjustment is applied. Where the company whose holders are receiving the distribution is an index member, its shares will be increased according to the terms of the distribution. If such company is not an index member, the distributed shares will be added to the Russell 2000® Index until they have been settled and have listed, at which point they will be removed at the last traded price giving appropriate notice.

Special Cash Dividends — If a constituent pays out a special cash dividend, the price of the stock is adjusted to deduct the dividend amount before the open on the ex-date. No adjustment for regular cash dividends is made in the price return calculation of the Russell 2000® Index.

Updates to Shares Outstanding and Free Float — FTSE Russell reviews the Russell 2000® Index quarterly for updates to shares outstanding and to free floats used in calculating the Russell 2000® Index. The changes are implemented quarterly in March, June, September and December after the close on the third Friday of such month. The June reconstitution will be implemented on the fourth Friday of June.

In March, September and December shares outstanding and free floats are updated to reflect (i) cumulative share changes greater than 1%, (ii) for constituents with a free float less than or equal to 15%, cumulative free float changes greater than 1%, and (iii) for constituents with a free float greater than 15%, cumulative free float changes greater than 3%. Updates to shares outstanding and free floats will be implemented each June regardless of size (i.e., the percentage change thresholds above will not be applied). FTSE Russell implements

PS-24


 

the June updates using data sourced primarily from the companies’ publicly available information filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Outside of the quarterly update cycle, outstanding shares and free float will be updated with at least two days’ notice if prompted by primary or secondary offerings if (i) there is a USD $1 billion investable market capitalization change related to a primary/secondary offering measured by multiplying the change to index shares by the subscription price or (ii) there is a resultant 5% change in index shares related to a primary or secondary offering and a USD $250 million investable market capitalization change measured by multiplying the change to index shares by the subscription price. The pricing date will serve as the trigger for implementation; i.e. once FTSE Russell is aware that an offering has priced, the update will be implemented with two days’ notice from market close (contingent on the thresholds described above being triggered). If discovery of the pricing date occurs more than two days after the pricing date, the update will be deferred until the next quarterly review.

In exceptional circumstances, FTSE Russell may defer implementation until after the new shares are listed and with the provision of two days’ notice. An offering may be deemed exceptional if implementation prior to the listing of the new shares may cause undue price pressure on the company, or if proceeding with the changes may compromise the replicability of the Russell 2000® Index.

If a company distributes shares of an additional share class to its existing shareholders through a mandatory corporate action, the additional share class will be evaluated for separate index membership. The new share class will be deemed eligible if the market capitalization of the distributed shares meets the minimum size requirement (the market capitalization of the smallest member of the Russell 3000E Index from the previous rebalance as adjusted for performance to date). If the additional share class is not eligible at the time of distribution, it will not be added to the Russell 2000® Index.

License Agreement between Frank Russell Company (doing business as FTSE Russell) and GS Finance Corp.

Frank Russell Company doing business as FTSE Russell (“Russell”) and Goldman Sachs International have entered into a non-exclusive license agreement, granting GS Finance Corp., in exchange for a fee, permission to use the Russell 2000® Futures Excess Return Index or the Russell 2000® Index in connection with the offer and sale of the notes. GS Finance Corp. is not affiliated with Russell; the only relationship between Russell and GS Finance Corp. is the licensing of the use of the Russell 2000® Futures Excess Return Index or the Russell 2000® Index (a trademark of Russell) and trademarks relating to the Russell 2000® Futures Excess Return Index or the Russell 2000® Index.

GS Finance Corp. does not accept any responsibility for the calculation, maintenance or publication of the Russell 2000® Futures Excess Return Index or Russell 2000® Index or any successor index.

The notes (the “Product”) has been developed solely by Goldman Sachs. The “Product” is not in any way connected to or sponsored, endorsed, sold or promoted by the London Stock Exchange Group plc and its group undertakings (collectively, the “LSE Group”). FTSE Russell is a trading name of certain of the LSE Group companies.

All rights in the Russell 2000® Futures Excess Return Index (the “Index”) vest in the relevant LSE Group company which owns the Index. “FTSE®” “Russell®”, “FTSE Russell®” are trade mark(s) of the relevant LSE Group company and are used by any other LSE Group company under license.

The Index is calculated by or on behalf of FTSE International Limited or its affiliate, agent or partner. The LSE Group does not accept any liability whatsoever to any person arising out of (a) the use of, reliance on or any error in the Index or (b) investment in or operation of the Product. The LSE Group makes no claim, prediction, warranty or representation either as to the results to be obtained from the Product or the suitability of the Index for the purpose to which it is being put by Goldman Sach

PS-25


 

Historical Closing Levels of the Underlier

The closing level of the underlier has fluctuated in the past and may, in the future, experience significant fluctuations. In particular, the underlier has recently experienced extreme and unusual volatility. Any historical upward or downward trend in the closing level of the underlier during the period shown below is not an indication that the underlier is more or less likely to increase or decrease at any time during the life of your notes.

You should not take the historical closing levels of the underlier as an indication of the future performance of the underlier, including because of the recent volatility described above. We cannot give you any assurance that the future performance of the underlier or the underlier stocks will result in you receiving an amount greater than the outstanding face amount of your notes on the stated maturity date.

Neither we nor any of our affiliates make any representation to you as to the performance of the underlier. Before investing in the offered notes, you should consult publicly available information to determine the levels of the underlier between the date of this pricing supplement and the date of your purchase of the offered notes and, given the recent volatility described above, you should pay particular attention to recent levels of the underlier. The actual performance of the underlier over the life of the offered notes, as well as the amount payable on your notes, may bear little relation to the historical levels shown below.

The graph below shows the daily closing levels of the underlier from January 1, 2019 through September 13, 2024 (using hypothetical performance data and historical closing levels). As a result, the following graph does not reflect the global financial crisis which began in 2008, which had a materially negative impact on the price of most equity securities and, as a result, the level of most equity indices. Since the underlier was launched on May 20, 2024 and has a limited operating history, the graph includes hypothetical performance data for the underlier prior to its launch on May 20, 2024. The hypothetical performance data prior to May 20, 2024 was obtained from the underlier sponsor’s website, without independent verification.

The historical closing levels from May 20, 2024 to September 13, 2024. were obtained from Bloomberg Financial Services, without independent verification. (In the graph, the hypothetical historical closing levels can be found to the left of the vertical solid line marker and the historical closing levels can be found to the right of the vertical solid line marker.) You should not take the hypothetical performance data or historical levels of the underlier as an indication of the future performance of the underlier.

Historical Performance of the Russell 2000® Futures Excess Return Index

img189973577_1.jpg 

PS-26


 

 

Supplemental discussion of U.S. federal income tax consequences

The following section supplements the discussion of U.S. federal income taxation in the accompanying prospectus.

The following section is the opinion of Sidley Austin llp, counsel to GS Finance Corp. and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. In addition, it is the opinion of Sidley Austin llp that the characterization of the notes for U.S. federal income tax purposes that will be required under the terms of the notes, as discussed below, is a reasonable interpretation of current law.

This section does not apply to you if you are a member of a class of holders subject to special rules, such as:

a dealer in securities or currencies;
a trader in securities that elects to use a mark-to-market method of accounting for your securities holdings;
a bank;
a life insurance company;
a regulated investment company;
an accrual method taxpayer subject to special tax accounting rules as a result of its use of financial statements;
a tax exempt organization;
a partnership;
a person that owns a note as a hedge or that is hedged against interest rate risks;
a person that owns a note as part of a straddle or conversion transaction for tax purposes; or
a United States holder (as defined below) whose functional currency for tax purposes is not the U.S. dollar.

Although this section is based on the U.S. Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended, its legislative history, existing and proposed regulations under the Internal Revenue Code, published rulings and court decisions, all as currently in effect, no statutory, judicial or administrative authority directly discusses how your notes should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes, and as a result, the U.S. federal income tax consequences of your investment in your notes are uncertain. Moreover, these laws are subject to change, possibly on a retroactive basis.

You should consult your tax advisor concerning the U.S. federal income tax and other tax consequences of your investment in the notes, including the application of state, local or other tax laws and the possible effects of changes in federal or other tax laws.

United States Holders

This section applies to you only if you are a United States holder that holds your notes as a capital asset for tax purposes. You are a United States holder if you are a beneficial owner of a note and you are:

a citizen or resident of the United States;
a domestic corporation;
an estate whose income is subject to U.S. federal income tax regardless of its source; or
a trust if a United States court can exercise primary supervision over the trust’s administration and one or more United States persons are authorized to control all substantial decisions of the trust.

Tax Treatment. You will be obligated pursuant to the terms of the notes — in the absence of a change in law, an administrative determination or a judicial ruling to the contrary — to characterize your notes for all tax purposes as pre-paid derivative contracts in respect of the underlier. Except as otherwise stated below, the discussion below assumes that the notes will be so treated.

PS-27


 

Upon the sale, exchange, redemption or maturity of your notes, you should recognize capital gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount realized on the sale, exchange, redemption or maturity and your tax basis in your notes. Your tax basis in your notes will generally be equal to the amount that you paid for the notes. Such capital gain or loss should generally be short-term capital gain or loss if you hold the notes for one year or less, and should be long-term capital gain or loss if you hold the notes for more than one year. Short-term capital gains are generally subject to tax at the marginal tax rates applicable to ordinary income.

No statutory, judicial or administrative authority directly discusses how your notes should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes. As a result, the U.S. federal income tax consequences of your investment in the notes are uncertain and alternative characterizations are possible. Accordingly, we urge you to consult your tax advisor in determining the tax consequences of an investment in your notes in your particular circumstances, including the application of state, local or other tax laws and the possible effects of changes in federal or other tax laws.

Alternative Treatments. There is no judicial or administrative authority discussing how your notes should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Therefore, the Internal Revenue Service might assert that a treatment other than that described above is more appropriate. For example, the Internal Revenue Service could treat your notes as a single debt instrument subject to special rules governing contingent payment debt instruments.

Under those rules, the amount of interest you are required to take into account for each accrual period would be determined by constructing a projected payment schedule for the notes and applying rules similar to those for accruing original issue discount on a hypothetical noncontingent debt instrument with that projected payment schedule. This method is applied by first determining the comparable yield — i.e., the yield at which we would issue a noncontingent fixed rate debt instrument with terms and conditions similar to your notes — and then determining a payment schedule as of the applicable original issue date that would produce the comparable yield. These rules may have the effect of requiring you to include interest in income in respect of your notes prior to your receipt of cash attributable to that income.

If the rules governing contingent payment debt instruments apply, any gain you recognize upon the sale, exchange, redemption or maturity of your notes would be treated as ordinary interest income. Any loss you recognize at that time would be treated as ordinary loss to the extent of interest you included as income in the current or previous taxable years in respect of your notes, and, thereafter, as capital loss.

If the rules governing contingent payment debt instruments apply, special rules would apply to persons who purchase a note at other than the adjusted issue price as determined for tax purposes.

It is also possible that your notes could be treated in the manner described above, except that any gain or loss that you recognize at maturity or upon redemption would be treated as ordinary gain or loss. You should consult your tax advisor as to the tax consequences of such characterization and any possible alternative characterizations of your notes for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

It is possible that the Internal Revenue Service could seek to characterize your notes in a manner that results in tax consequences to you that are different from those described above. You should consult your tax advisor as to the tax consequences of any possible alternative characterizations of your notes for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Possible Change in Law

In 2007, legislation was introduced in Congress that, if enacted, would have required holders that acquired instruments such as your notes after the bill was enacted to accrue interest income over the term of such instruments even though there will be no interest payments over the term of such instruments. It is not possible to predict whether a similar or identical bill will be enacted in the future, or whether any such bill would affect the tax treatment of your notes.

In addition, on December 7, 2007, the Internal Revenue Service released a notice stating that the Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department are actively considering issuing guidance regarding the proper U.S. federal income tax treatment of an instrument such as the offered notes including whether the holders should be required to accrue ordinary income on a current basis and whether gain or loss should be ordinary or capital. It is not possible to determine what guidance they will ultimately issue, if any. It is possible, however, that under such guidance, holders of the notes will ultimately be required to accrue income currently and this could be applied on a retroactive basis. The Internal Revenue Service and the Treasury Department are also considering

PS-28


 

other relevant issues, including whether foreign holders of such instruments should be subject to withholding tax on any deemed income accruals, and whether the special “constructive ownership rules” of Section 1260 of the Internal Revenue Code might be applied to such instruments. Except to the extent otherwise provided by law, GS Finance Corp. intends to continue treating the notes for U.S. federal income tax purposes in accordance with the treatment described above unless and until such time as Congress, the Treasury Department or the Internal Revenue Service determine that some other treatment is more appropriate.

It is impossible to predict what any such legislation or administrative or regulatory guidance might provide, and whether the effective date of any legislation or guidance will affect notes that were issued before the date that such legislation or guidance is issued. You are urged to consult your tax advisor as to the possibility that any legislative or administrative action may adversely affect the tax treatment of your notes.

Backup Withholding and Information Reporting

You will be subject to generally applicable information reporting and backup withholding requirements as discussed in the accompanying prospectus under “United States Taxation — Taxation of Debt Securities — Backup Withholding and Information Reporting — United States Holders” with respect to payments on your notes and, notwithstanding that we do not intend to treat the notes as debt for tax purposes, we intend to backup withhold on such payments with respect to your notes unless you comply with the requirements necessary to avoid backup withholding on debt instruments (in which case you will not be subject to such backup withholding) as set forth under “United States Taxation — Taxation of Debt Securities — United States Holders” in the accompanying prospectus. Please see the discussion under “United States Taxation — Taxation of Debt Securities — Backup Withholding and Information Reporting—United States Holders” in the accompanying prospectus for a description of the applicability of the backup withholding and information reporting rules to payments made on your notes.

Non-United States Holders

This section applies to you only if you are a non-United States holder. You are a non-United States holder if you are the beneficial owner of the notes and are, for U.S. federal income tax purposes:

a nonresident alien individual;
a foreign corporation; or
an estate or trust that in either case is not subject to U.S. federal income tax on a net income basis on income or gain from the notes.

You will be subject to generally applicable information reporting and backup withholding requirements as discussed in the accompanying prospectus under “United States Taxation — Taxation of Debt Securities — Backup Withholding and Information Reporting — Non-United States Holders” with respect to payments on your notes and, notwithstanding that we do not intend to treat the notes as debt for tax purposes, we intend to backup withhold on such payments with respect to your notes unless you comply with the requirements necessary to avoid backup withholding on debt instruments (in which case you will not be subject to such backup withholding) as set forth under “United States Taxation – Taxation of Debt Securities – Non-United States Holders” in the accompanying prospectus.

Furthermore, on December 7, 2007, the Internal Revenue Service released Notice 2008-2 soliciting comments from the public on various issues, including whether instruments such as your notes should be subject to withholding. It is therefore possible that rules will be issued in the future, possibly with retroactive effect, that would cause payments on your notes to be subject to withholding, even if you comply with certification requirements as to your foreign status.

As discussed above, alternative characterizations of the notes for U.S. federal income tax purposes are possible. Should an alternative characterization of the notes, by reason of a change or clarification of the law, by regulation or otherwise, cause payments with respect to the notes to become subject to withholding tax, we will withhold tax at the applicable statutory rate and we will not make payments of any additional amounts. Prospective non-United States holders of the notes should consult their tax advisors in this regard.

In addition, the Treasury Department has issued regulations under which amounts paid or deemed paid on certain financial instruments (“871(m) financial instruments”) that are treated as attributable to U.S.-source dividends could be treated, in whole or in part depending on the circumstances, as a “dividend equivalent” payment that is

PS-29


 

subject to tax at a rate of 30% (or a lower rate under an applicable treaty), which in the case of any amounts a non-United States holder receives upon the sale, exchange, redemption or maturity of the notes, could be collected via withholding. If these regulations were to apply to the notes, we may be required to withhold such taxes if any U.S.-source dividends are paid on the stocks included in the reference equity index during the term of the notes. We could also require a non-United States holder to make certifications (e.g., an applicable Internal Revenue Service Form W-8) prior to the maturity of the notes in order to avoid or minimize withholding obligations, and we could withhold accordingly (subject to the non-United States holder’s potential right to claim a refund from the Internal Revenue Service) if such certifications were not received or were not satisfactory. If withholding was required, we would not be required to pay any additional amounts with respect to amounts so withheld. These regulations generally will apply to 871(m) financial instruments (or a combination of financial instruments treated as having been entered into in connection with each other) issued (or significantly modified and treated as retired and reissued) on or after January 1, 2027, but will also apply to certain 871(m) financial instruments (or a combination of financial instruments treated as having been entered into in connection with each other) that have a delta (as defined in the applicable Treasury regulations) of one and are issued (or significantly modified and treated as retired and reissued) on or after January 1, 2017. In addition, these regulations will not apply to financial instruments that reference a “qualified index” (as defined in the regulations). We have determined that, as of the issue date of your notes, your notes will not be subject to withholding under these rules. In certain limited circumstances, however, you should be aware that it is possible for non-United States holders to be liable for tax under these rules with respect to a combination of transactions treated as having been entered into in connection with each other even when no withholding is required. You should consult your tax advisor concerning these regulations, subsequent official guidance and regarding any other possible alternative characterizations of your notes for U.S. federal income tax purposes.

Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) Withholding

Pursuant to Treasury regulations, Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) withholding (as described in “United States Taxation—Taxation of Debt Securities—Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) Withholding” in the accompanying prospectus) will generally apply to obligations that are issued on or after July 1, 2014; therefore, the notes will generally be subject to the FATCA withholding rules.

 

 

PS-30


 

SUPPLEMENTAL PLAN OF DISTRIBUTION; CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

 

See “Supplemental Plan of Distribution” on page S-51 of the accompanying general terms supplement no. 8,999 and “Plan of Distribution — Conflicts of Interest” on page 127 of the accompanying prospectus. GS Finance Corp. estimates that its share of the total offering expenses, excluding underwriting discounts and commissions, will be approximately $ .

GS Finance Corp. will sell to GS&Co., and GS&Co. will purchase from GS Finance Corp., the aggregate face amount of the offered notes specified on the front cover of this pricing supplement. GS&Co. proposes initially to offer the notes to the public at the original issue price set forth on the cover page of this pricing supplement, and to certain securities dealers at such price less a concession not in excess of % of the face amount. GS&Co. is an affiliate of GS Finance Corp. and The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and, as such, will have a “conflict of interest” in this offering of notes within the meaning of Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (FINRA) Rule 5121. Consequently, this offering of notes will be conducted in compliance with the provisions of FINRA Rule 5121. GS&Co. will not be permitted to sell notes in this offering to an account over which it exercises discretionary authority without the prior specific written approval of the account holder. We have been advised that GS&Co. will also pay a fee to iCapital Markets LLC, a broker-dealer in which an affiliate of GS Finance Corp. holds an indirect minority equity interest, for services it is providing in connection with this offering.

We expect to deliver the notes against payment therefor in New York, New York on September 27, 2024. Under Rule 15c6-1 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, trades in the secondary market generally are required to settle in one business day, unless the parties to any such trade expressly agree otherwise. Accordingly, purchasers who wish to trade notes on any date prior to one business day before delivery will be required to specify alternative settlement arrangements to prevent a failed settlement.

We have been advised by GS&Co. that it intends to make a market in the notes. However, neither GS&Co. nor any of our other affiliates that makes a market is obligated to do so and any of them may stop doing so at any time without notice. No assurance can be given as to the liquidity or trading market for the notes.

The notes will not be listed on any securities exchange or interdealer quotation system.
 

PS-31


 

We have not authorized anyone to provide any information or to make any representations other than those contained or incorporated by reference in this pricing supplement, the accompanying general terms supplement no. 8,999, the accompanying prospectus supplement or the accompanying prospectus. We take no responsibility for, and can provide no assurance as to the reliability of, any other information that others may give you. This pricing supplement, the accompanying general terms supplement no. 8,999, the accompanying prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is an offer to sell only the notes offered hereby, but only under circumstances and in jurisdictions where it is lawful to do so. The information contained in this pricing supplement, the accompanying general terms supplement no. 8,999, the accompanying prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus is current only as of the respective dates of such documents.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

$

 

 

GS Finance Corp.

 

 

 

Autocallable Buffered Russell 2000® Futures Excess Return Index-Linked Notes due

 

guaranteed by

 

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

_______________

 

img189973577_2.jpg 

_______________
 

 

 

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC

 



Goldman Sachs (PK) (USOTC:GSCE)
Gráfica de Acción Histórica
De Ago 2024 a Sep 2024 Haga Click aquí para más Gráficas Goldman Sachs (PK).
Goldman Sachs (PK) (USOTC:GSCE)
Gráfica de Acción Histórica
De Sep 2023 a Sep 2024 Haga Click aquí para más Gráficas Goldman Sachs (PK).