June 26 (Bloomberg) -- Eric Schwartz, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s co-head of asset management, will step down from his day- to-day responsibilities in the next few months after 23 years at the firm, according to an internal memo.

Schwartz, 44, will become a senior director at New York- based Goldman, according to the memo, which was confirmed by spokesman Peter Rose. The memo didn't give a reason, and Schwartz, a member of the firm's management committee, declined to comment. Peter Kraus, 54, is the other head of the fund unit.

Schwartz, who helped run equities before joining the investment unit in 2003, is the third management committee member to leave in the year since Lloyd Blankfein, 52, became chairman and chief executive officer. Suzanne Nora Johnson, a vice chairman and the firm's highest-ranking woman, and Scott Kapnick, an investment banking co-head, both left after 21 years.

``It is a deep enough bench that the company will get through it without disruption,'' said Douglas Ciocca, who helps manage $850 million, including Goldman stock, at Renaissance Financial Corp. in Leawood, Kansas. ``You don't see a lot of people that leave Goldman Sachs unless it's for greener pastures.''

Goldman has 21 people on its management committee, including Schwartz, according to the company's Web site.

The stock fell $2.57, or 1.2 percent, to $214.17 today in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Goldman shares are up 7.4 percent so far this year, the third-biggest gain among the 12 members of the AMEX Securities Broker/Dealer Index.

Global Alpha

Goldman's asset-management unit oversaw a record $758 billion at the end of May, more than double the $373 billion it handled at the end of 2003, the year Schwartz became co-head of the unit. Alternative assets under management, which include hedge funds and buyout funds, have surged to $151 billion from $71 billion at the end of November 2003.

Still, the division suffered a drop in performance-related fees this year related to losses at the Global Alpha hedge fund. The division's overall revenue fell 13 percent in the six months through May to $2.13 billion, from $2.44 billion a year earlier, the firm reported on June 14.

``We thank Eric for his many outstanding contributions to the firm and for his commitment to our business and our people,'' said the memo, which was signed by Blankfein and by Co-Presidents Jon Winkelried and Gary Cohn.

Schwartz, who has a master's in business administration from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School, joined Goldman in 1985 and worked in institutional sales in New York and Philadelphia before joining equity capital markets in 1991. He became a partner in 1994.

`Enjoy Life'

``Usually when you see a senior manager leave there are issues people are concerned about; in this case I really think he's looking to retire and enjoy life,'' said Jeffery Harte, an analyst at Sandler O'Neill & Partners in Chicago, who recommends buying Goldman shares. ``We're still going to see year-over-year growth in asset-management revenue.''

Marc Spilker, who oversees the alternative-investments unit, may replace Schwartz, Pensions & Investments magazine reported earlier today, citing speculation. Spilker didn't return a call seeking comment.

To contact the reporter on this story: Christine Harper in New York at charper@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: June 26, 2007 16:17 EDT