Top 10 Forever Stocks | a series brought to you by Wyatt Investment Research ----------------------------------------­----------------------------------------­--------- Forever Stock No. 8 is Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS). For this report, I researched a range of industries to bring you stocks that should hold up regardless of market conditions. To keep your portfolio diversified, I chose companies across several unrelated industries, including energy, healthcare, financials, technology, industrial goods and consumer staples. What’s more, several pay healthy dividends, a must in today’s low-interest-rate environment. These stocks are built to last, meaning you should hold onto them for the long haul. I’m sure you’ll be pleased with their performance for many years to come. ----------------------------------------­----------------------------------------­---------

1. Takes a Lickin’ & Keeps on Tickin’
F O R E V E R S T O C K N O . 8
Goldman Sachs
(NYSE: GS)
Source: Dan York

2. Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS)
seems to have nine lives. The
investment banking giant has
had many chances to “die”
since its 1869 debut as a small
commercial paper dealer in a
one-room office on Pine
Street in New York. The latest
near-death escape came
during the recent recession.
Right: Goldman Sachs founder Marcus
Goldman, early 1900s.
F O R E V E R S T O C K N O . 8

3. But Goldman Sachs has come through tougher
dilemmas, too. 2008 wasn’t the first time the
company suffered big losses in a stock market crash.
Driven by its investment unit - Goldman Sachs
Trading – the company recorded big losses in the
1929 stock market collapse. And in 1970, another
financial crisis occurred for the firm when an $80
million holding went bankrupt.
F O R E V E R S T O C K N O . 8
TOUGHER DILEMMAS

4. Despite the turmoil surrounding Goldman Sachs
and the economy since the Great Depression, the
investment bank has not only survived, it’s
prospered. And instead of folding its business,
like so many had to do in 1930, Goldman grew into
a $ 78 billion money-making machine. In fact, it’s
not a stretch to say that the investment bank
giant recently became too big to fail.
F O R E V E R S T O C K N O . 8

5. As many investors recall, in 2008 failure was an option. More than 43,000
businesses filed for bankruptcy that year, and more than 150,000 businesses
have filed for bankruptcy since. But certain corporations are deemed to be so
interconnected that their failure would be disastrous to the economy.
Therefore, the government has an arguable responsibility – some would go so
far as to say duty - to support them should they face hard times.
F O R E V E R S T O C K N O . 8
Goldman Sachs C.E.O. Lloyd Blankfein and C.O.O. Gary Cohn. Source: Vanity Fair. Annie Leibovitz.

6. Goldman Sachs was deemed "too big to fail" by Fed
Chairman Ben Bernanke and the U.S. government.
While that certainly doesn’t assure that the
company will always succeed, it does mean that
the investment bank can rely on help from U.S.
taxpayers if needed.
F O R E V E R S T O C K N O . 8

7. Like it or not, Goldman Sachs used its own size to its
advantage. After being deemed too big to fail, the company
quickly unloaded its position with American International
Group to the government at full value. Then management
negotiated a $10 billion deal with the government to help
support its stock price.
F O R E V E R S T O C K N O . 8
Source: CNN

8. The help from U.S. taxpayers paid off … at least for Goldman Sachs. While
the company was under this protection, its competition wasn’t. And by
the end of the financial crisis in 2009, Goldman Sachs found itself without
two previous competitors - Lehman Brothers and Bear Sterns.
F O R E V E R S T O C K N O . 8
AN END TO THE COMPETITION
Source: The Guardian

9. only one year after the financial crisis ended, Goldman turned
a record profit of $13.39 billion by January 2010. The
company has shown the ability to manipulate the system to
their advantage and emerge from a hopeless situation
stronger than before.
F O R E V E R S T O C K N O . 8
Not surprisingly,

10. However, the stock price does not currently reflect the dominance
Goldman Sachs has in the financial industry, especially given that
Lehman and Bear Sterns are out of the picture.
F O R E V E R S T O C K N O . 8
Source: Fast C@mpany

11. Despite reporting record profits two years ago, the shares
trade 27% below their peak reached in October 2007. Looking
at it from the bottom up, the stock has more than 65% of
upside room before hitting that all-time high.
In its lifetime, Goldman Sachs successfully survived three
stock market crashes and a worldwide credit crisis. It not only
survived those unusual events, it came out ahead of its
competition. However, a global slowdown has impacted the
company as revenue fell to $8.65 billion in 2013.
F O R E V E R S T O C K N O . 8
AHEAD OF THE COMPETITION

12. Still, Goldman Sachs remains highly profitable and the preferred
investment bank among its peers.
In 2011, the company continued to rank first in worldwide announced
mergers and acquisitions and also ranked first in worldwide initial public
offerings.
While its business is strong, Goldman Sachs also has a rock-solid balance
sheet. The firm has a 14.6% Tier 1 capital ratio under Basel 1 and boasts
$184 billion in core excess liquidity. Total assets were $1.04 trillion too –
not bad for a $78-billion market-cap company.
During 2013, Goldman also repurchased 39.3 million of its stock and has
been authorized to repurchase an additional 57.2 million shares.
F O R E V E R S T O C K N O . 8
STATISTICALLY SPEAKING...

13. But that’s not the only reason to own it –
the stock price is less than half of what it was a few years
ago. But its business is fully back to normal. Of course,
the shares could easily sink further if the euro breaks up
or if China suffers a hard landing. But the stock will likely
endure either of those dilemmas, too; it always manages
to survive. And investors would likely be rewarded after
Goldman Sachs profits from another crisis.
F O R E V E R S T O C K N O . 8

14. You don’t have to love Goldman or how they navigated
the financial crisis on the back of a bailout. But you have
to respect the company’s resilience. If you’re looking for
a survivor in bad times and a market leader in good
times, Goldman Sachs is a great choice.
F O R E V E R S T O C K N O . 8
UNPRECEDENTED RESILIENCE

15. Ready for more?
N O . 9 Qualcomm (Nasdaq:QCOM)
N O . 1 0 ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP)