Why Beyonce Is Recession-Proof, According to Goldman Sachs

  • Consumers will still spend in a recession: Katie Koch at GSAM
  • ‘Tech is down at the moment, but it’s not out,’ she says
Beyonce performs in Los Angeles.Photographer: Kevin Winter/Getty Images
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As the Federal Reserve’s efforts to tame inflation roil both stocks and bonds, investors everywhere are struggling to figure out the best way to play defense in markets amid concerns that a recession is on the horizon. One of the top executives at Goldman Sachs Asset Management has a surprising idea: Beyoncé.

Katie Koch, the chief investment officer for public equities at GSAM, quips that “Beyoncé is ultimately recession-resistant” and so are other popular artists. That’s why the portfolios she helps oversee own shares of live-concert companies in the US and Europe. While Live Nation Entertainment Inc. got hit hard during last year’s Covid-19 lockdowns, she points out that the company actually weathered the previous recession well and managed to grow revenue in both 2008 and 2009.