I heard a lady the other day ramble something off about her broker at
Goldman, to her friend as she threw me her Am Ex Platinum. She was very
pretentious and sexy. They definitely have the appeal for the insanely
snobby kiss my a-- rich. 

I know a former PRUSec broker (non Ivy League BA, Ivy League MBA) who was recruited out of PRUSec 3 years ago to Goldman Sachs. He might be willing to speak with you but I can't/won't post his name or contact information here.

E-mail me if you have genuine interest. I am not a recruiter.

Dude:

With respect to average production, it's something like this with brokers that have 5 years plus in the biz:

Goldman Sachs

JPM Wealth Management

Lehman Brothers

Bear Stearns

Jefferies

UBS Wealth Management

Merrill Lynch

Morgan Stanley/Smith Barney

[quote=rook4123]I heard a lady the other day ramble something off about her broker at Goldman, to her friend as she threw me her Am Ex Platinum. She was very pretentious and sexy. They definitely have the appeal for the insanely snobby kiss my a-- rich.  [/quote]

Did the card say NASD Newbie?  If so it was either my wife or my mistress--was she blond or brunette?

GS does hire from state schools, but they tend to be top state schools
such as UVA and UNC.  They do have an analyst program for
undergrad graduates which is 2-3 years, if you succeed in supporting
your WM team you may be offered a position on that team.  Every
top prospect I have run into has always been interviewing
Goldman.  They say that they only take 10mm and up but the truth
is they will take anything over 1mm.  Not many other firms have
been successful at cornering this market, Morgan Stanleys PWM used to
have over 400 brokers, the latest count it about 100-150 I
believe.  I know Credit Suisse and UBS have very upscale
operations as well.  These fee business’ are very lucrative and I
think when you get up to 100mm accounts you are charging like
25bpts.  This is where Goldman loses out, they do not like to
discount at all, they are very strong on the fact that you pay full
price for their services.  

Blonde



Nice point Diplomaticos, Goldman is expensive and they don’t discount.
In many ways people are paying for the name. I will ask this. If you
had or have a 10mm client what could GS do that you couldn’t? You could
discount, and they wouldn’t. Maybe they can sell special IPOs, and you
can’t, I don’t know.

Not only do they get the IPOs but their access to Alternatives and
other exotic investments and private placements is huge.  They
have this thing called Hedge Fund University where they take all their
clients and prospects and teach them about hedge funds.  Plus, the
trading capabilities for large blocks of stock and other transactions
is very good.  I think the things like timber funds, real estate
funds, private equity, hedge funds (omega), is what attracts
people…and the Goldman name. 

As a former Goldmanite, I think I can comment a bit on this, considering many of the previous posts were extremely off-point:

I used to work for GS, albeit not in their Private Wealth Management area, and had an offer to move internally to their Asset Management area (which, along with PWM, comprises the Investment Management Division), before accepting an offer from Morgan Stanley.  Anyway, after spending 3 years at GS, here's a few thoughts:

1) they recruit a lot of Ivy kids, but the other top universities, colleges and state schools are very much in the mix.  Don't think that if you're not a Harvard grad, you won't get hired - that's pure BS.  I was not an Ivy League graduate, and I was a summer analyst as well as a a full-time hire with GS.

2) Pedigree plays more importance on the MBA recruiting trail, primarily for IBD, Sales & Trading, etc., meaning they will tend to actively recruit from the Wharton's, HBS', Kellogg's of the world for new associates.  Again, I am not talking about new analysts coming straight from undergrad.  That being said, pedigree isn't everything.

3) The "attitude" and ego-trip most people wrongly associate with GS is really a misperception.  There are egomaniacs at every firm, and I generally found more down-to-earth, friendly people at GS than anywhere else I have encountered. 

As for dude's comment on ML's "retail platform" being much better than Goldman's...well, that doesn't exactly fly, considering GS doesn't HAVE a retail brokerage arm.  They do business exclusively for HNW, Ultra-HNW and recently, with emerging HNW clients.  Many of these clients are prestigious and are likely sourced from other points around the firm - i.e., a IBD contact.  They also do business with many celebrities and well-known business leaders.  Yes, most clients do pay the high fees for the "name," but make no mistake, they are VERY GOOD at what they do.  As an employee, we had access to the same online trading platform when housing our accounts at the firm that the HNW base does - it is extremely useful and the access to research is SECOND TO NONE. 

Anyway, it's a good idea in general not to comment on things based on hearsay and rumor - just my 2 cents.

I am not going off hearsay either

Diplo - got that impression from you in your above post.  I actually had a chance to hold a Hedge Fund University session as a summer analyst in their Hedge Fund Strategies group.  You struck me as more knowledgeable about GS than most posting here.

Thanks for clearing that up Wildcat_02. 

My comment about Merrill was concerning the SIZE of their operation relative to Goldman, that's all. 

You see everyone.. There are intelligent people on this forum that actually know what they are talking about.  OMG-

 <?:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

[quote=Shmer33]

You see everyone.. There are intelligent people on this forum that actually know what they are talking about.  OMG-

Thank youWildcat_02!  Your insight is much appreciated..  [/quote]

I'm interested in what you think was so valuable about Wildcat's comments?

That is not to denigrate the comments--I'm just curious about what you, and others, find to be new to you.

no problem, everyone. 

Dude - good point on the size of operation - I missed that earlier.  ML definitely can boast size over just about anyone.  They make the market, IMO, on the retail end.  GS does just about the same, on a much smaller scale with the HNW market.  In fact, from what I remember, their PWM unit is actually run and compensated a bit differently than the average broker at another firm.  I believe (and I'm speculating based on my contacts there), that they pull the normal base/bonus compensation rather than being more heavily focused on commissions.

Also, something you all could possibly answer for me - I'm at a career impasse at the moment... currently interviewing at two firms for a FA position.  It's a bit different than my prior four years with GS and Morgan Stanley, and something that took a bit of getting used to in terms of getting past the success/failure apprehension, as well as the different comp structure.  Any advice on how this 26 year old breaking into this area of the industry could be less apprehensive as well as generate success, would be MUCH appreciated! 

[quote=Wildcat_02]

no problem, everyone. 

Dude - good point on the size of operation - I missed that earlier.  ML definitely can boast size over just about anyone.  They make the market, IMO, on the retail end.  GS does just about the same, on a much smaller scale with the HNW market.  In fact, from what I remember, their PWM unit is actually run and compensated a bit differently than the average broker at another firm.  I believe (and I'm speculating based on my contacts there), that they pull the normal base/bonus compensation rather than being more heavily focused on commissions.

Also, something you all could possibly answer for me - I'm at a career impasse at the moment... currently interviewing at two firms for a FA position.  It's a bit different than my prior four years with GS and Morgan Stanley, and something that took a bit of getting used to in terms of getting past the success/failure apprehension, as well as the different comp structure.  Any advice on how this 26 year old breaking into this area of the industry could be less apprehensive as well as generate success, would be MUCH appreciated! 

Thanks, joe - appreciate the feedback.  I guess it's more of a insecurity or hangup on my part that most people won't talk to a younger (new) broker, but past experience can help I presume.  Also, I've been told it's more WHAT you say and know than how you appear, but I can see this is definitely a hurdle to overcome in most situations... so I've been told! 

Thanks again.

[quote=NASD Newbie]

That from a guy who got fired at Morgan Stanley.

Read the first sentence above, "They arent (sic) all that different, just much more exclusive."

Where I sit being much more exclusive is being very different.

[/quote]

You Idiot.  You are NASD

[quote=Wildcat_02]

  Also, I've been told it's more WHAT you say and know than how you appear, but I can see this is definitely a hurdle to overcome in most situations... so I've been told! 

Thanks again.

[/quote]

I would argue that it is only 20% what you say and 80% how you say it.  Being confident in yourself and your advice will go farther than anything else.  This what allows con artists and rogue brokers to exist.  They have no viable product or advice, but people simply believe them because of their salesmanship.  Now, when you can combine great advice with great salesmanship, you've got it made.

[/quote]

I would argue that it is only 20% what you say and 80% how you say it.  Being confident in yourself and your advice will go farther than anything else.  This what allows con artists and rogue brokers to exist.  They have no viable product or advice, but people simply believe them because of their salesmanship.  Now, when you can combine great advice with great salesmanship, you've got it made.

[/quote]

Interesting point, and definitely something that has crossed my mind a bit!  Thanks for the advice.  Must say that this forum has been extremely helpful to me as I choose to break into this area of the industry.  I am very close to taking an offer from one of the wirehouse brokerages, which I just received yesterday, so I will definitely take this advice to heart.

Thanks again!

On the GS issue I would say if you want information go and google Bel Air Advisors LLC.  A client and very good friend of mine is personal friends with one of the founders.  Him and his two partners left GS and took one billion of assets with them.  Before you cry bs know that they controlled a lot of very very big time hollywood celebrities money, Barbara Streisand, Bruce Willis, Julia Roberts caliber and they also have several LA billionaires money.  With that being said I think its safe to say that the do know what they are doing and they do set the gold standard in PWM for ultra HNW people