Wall Street Strategist Abby Joseph Cohen
Abby Joseph Cohen
Chief US Investment Strategist · Coverage 1999–2011 · Last tracked forecast after 2011
AnaChart's record of Abby Joseph Cohen's S&P 500 year-end price targets at Goldman Sachs covers 19 published targets and revisions across 13 closed forecast years. Her final-year hit rate within ±3% of the actual close is 15% — 2 of 13 years. Closest call: 2006, target 1,400 vs. actual 1,418. Largest miss: 2008, target 1,500 vs. actual 903.
Cohen built her reputation as the public face of the 1990s bull market, and her revision pattern reflects a strategist who set a level early and rarely chased the tape. Her busiest years came at turning points. In 2000 she moved a 1,575 target through three revisions as the dot-com peak gave way, and in 2001 she trimmed twice toward 1,500 as the slump deepened. The closest call of her tracked record was 2006, when a 1,400 target landed just 1.3% below the 1,418 close. The widest gap was 2008, when a 1,500 call set before the financial crisis finished 66% above the 903 year-end low. Every revision is plotted on the chart below.
S&P 500 Year-End Targets — Full History
Gray line: S&P 500 end-of-day closing price. Blue line: Abby Joseph Cohen's published S&P 500 price targets, each plotted at issuance date. Both lines end at retirement.
Year-by-Year Forecast Performance
| Year | Final Target | Year-End Actual | % Off | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1,450 | 1,258 | +15.3% | Final call |
| 2010 | 1,275 | 1,258 | +1.4% | Hit |
| 2009 | 1,150 | 1,115 | +3.1% | Miss |
| 2008 | 1,500 | 903 | +66.1% | Miss |
| 2007 | 1,600 | 1,468 | +9.0% | Miss |
| 2006 | 1,400 | 1,418 | −1.3% | Hit |
| 2005 | 1,325 | 1,248 | +6.2% | Miss |
| 2004 | 1,250 | 1,212 | +3.1% | Miss |
| 2003 | 1,150 | 1,112 | +3.4% | Miss |
| 2002 | 1,425 | 880 | +62.0% | Miss |
| 2001 | 1,500 | 1,148 | +30.7% | Miss |
| 2000 | 1,575 | 1,320 | +19.3% | Miss |
| 1999 | 1,325 | 1,469 | −9.8% | Miss |
Show 10 more years (1999–2008) Free account · no credit card
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Abby Joseph Cohen still a strategist at Goldman Sachs?
No. Cohen spent three decades at Goldman Sachs, serving as Chief US Investment Strategist before moving to lead the firm's Global Markets Institute, and she retired from Goldman at the end of 2021. She is now a professor of business at Columbia Business School. David Kostin took over the equity strategist role in 2008 and set Goldman's S&P 500 year-end target through 2025.
What was Abby Joseph Cohen's last S&P 500 target?
Her last AnaChart-tracked S&P 500 year-end target was 1,450 for 2011, set on January 8, 2011. The index closed that year at 1,258, leaving the call 15.3% high.
How accurate were Abby Joseph Cohen's S&P 500 forecasts?
Her final-year target landed within ±3% of the actual year-end close in 2 of her 13 closed forecast years, a 15% hit rate. The pattern was a persistent upside bias: she missed high in the 2000–2002 bear market and again in 2008. The year-by-year table above shows every call.
How often did Abby Joseph Cohen revise her S&P 500 target?
About once every 38 weeks on average, a slower cadence than today's strategists. She typically set a level and held it, with extra revisions clustering at turning points such as 2000 and 2001. Every dot on the chart marks one of those calls; hover any dot to see the date and target level.
Who took over the S&P 500 target at Goldman Sachs after Abby Joseph Cohen?
David Kostin became Goldman Sachs' Chief US Equity Strategist in 2008 and published the firm's official S&P 500 year-end target until his retirement in 2025. Ben Snider has held the role since.