Goldman Sachs Asset Management Launches The Goldman Sachs Small/Mid Cap Growth Fund

Primary Target: Growth Stocks with Market Capitalizations of $6 Billion or Less at the Time of Investment ¹

NEW YORK, July 20, 2005 – Goldman Sachs Asset Management (GSAM) has introduced a new fund focusing on the investment opportunities in the small and mid cap growth asset classes, the firm announced today.

Goldman Sachs Small/Mid Cap Growth Fund focuses primarily on growth stocks with market capitalizations below $6 billion at the time of investment. The fund will invest in an attractive mix of small companies that have the potential for superior growth and mid-sized companies that are beyond the initial development phase and have the potential to deliver sustained growth. This follows the 1999 launch of the Growth Opportunities Fund, a mid cap strategy, which proved to be a successful extension of the Growth Team’s fundamental research.

“We are confident that the breadth and depth of our team combined with the intensity of our research effort will enable us to discover attractive investment opportunities,” said Steven Barry, Chief Investment Officer of GSAM’s Growth Team.

The team features 22 portfolio managers and research analysts that conduct in-depth research within their industries of expertise. This research is not restricted by capitalization boundaries, allowing for a more complete understanding of the industry dynamics. With a 24-year history managing growth assets using the same philosophy and process, the Growth Team brings a wealth of experience to this segment of the market. GSAM’s Growth Team has combined experience of 250 years and currently manages over $28 billion in growth equities as of May 31, 2005.

The Small/Mid Cap Growth Fund may more efficiently provide exposure to the non-large cap asset classes than hiring separate small cap and mid cap managers. By investing in one small/mid cap portfolio, an investor may avoid the potential of having unintended overlap that can occur when hiring separate small and mid cap managers. It may also have lower turnover than a pure small cap portfolio that is forced to sell stocks when their market capitalization graduates into the mid cap range. This fund also has the flexibility to identify companies in their earliest stages of development and participate in their long-term compounding growth.

The GSAM Small/Mid Cap Growth Fund is expected to hold between 90 and125 stocks and will be offered to retail investors in A, B and C shares with a minimum investment of $1000. The objective of the fund is long-term growth of capital. The fund’s benchmark is the Russell 2500 Growth Index 2.

The Goldman Sachs Small/Mid Cap Growth Fund invests in equity investments with a primary focus on small and mid cap companies. The securities of small and mid capitalization companies involve greater risks than those associated with larger, more established companies and may be subject to more abrupt or erratic price movements. The Fund may also invest in foreign securities and emerging market securities. Foreign and emerging market securities may be more volatile than investment in U.S. securities and will be subject to the risks of currency fluctuations and political developments.

Goldman Sachs Asset Management is the asset management arm of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. (NYSE: GS), which manages $489 billion as of May 27, 2005. Goldman Sachs Asset Management has been providing discretionary investment advisory services since 1989 and has investment professionals in all major financial centers around the world. The company offers investment strategies across a broad range of asset classes to institutional and individual clients globally. Founded in 1869, Goldman Sachs is a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm.

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A prospectus for the Goldman Sachs Small/Mid Cap Growth Fund containing more complete information may be obtained from your investment representative or from Goldman, Sachs & Co. by calling 800-292-4726. Please consider a fund’s objectives, risks, and charges and expenses, and read the prospectus carefully before investing. The prospectus contains this and other information about the Fund.

¹The Goldman Sachs Small/Mid Cap Growth Fund must hold at least 80% of its net assets in companies with a market capitalization range between $20 million and $7.5 billion at the time of investment.

² Russell 2500TM Growth Index measures the performance of those Russell 2500 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. Russell 2500™ Index measures the performance of the 2,500 smallest companies in the Russell 3000 Index, which represents approximately 16% of the total market capitalization of the Russell 3000 Index. Russell 3000® Index measures the performance of the 3,000 largest U.S. companies based on total market capitalization, which represents approximately 98% of the investable U.S. equity market. It is not possible to invest directly in an unmanaged index.

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