Goldman names 70 partners to 2012 class

A Goldman Sachs sign is seen over their kiosk on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, April 26, 2010.

(Reuters) - Goldman Sachs Group Inc named 70 new partners to its 2012 partnership class, the smallest number since the investment bank went public in 1999.

Goldman's partner naming, a relic from its past as a private investment bank, occurs every two years and is a closely watched event on Wall Street. The prior partner class in 2010 included 110 people.

Goldman has been cutting staff since last year as it looks to cut costs in a weak revenue environment and the smaller partner number is reflective of that. The investment bank tries to keep its partner pool at around 1 percent of the overall workforce, which stood at 32,600 at September 30.

Among the new partners are Russell Horwitz, who is Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein's chief of staff; Kent Clark, an executive in the hedge fund products group of Goldman's asset management division; and Huw Pill, Goldman's chief European economist.

As of November 2, Goldman had 407 partners, according to a regulatory filing.

(Reporting By Lauren Tara LaCapra; Editing by Mauren Bavdek and Andre Grenon)