Who knows anything about Goldman.  Looks like they are really
taking a stand in the industry.  Take a look at this article and
see that they are growing and expanding.  On top of that. look at
the qualifications you need to get recruited by them.  What
percentage of brokers do you think fit into that category, do you think
it is worth moving to Goldman?





<span style=“font-weight: bold;” =“line”>Goldman Adopts New Tack for Growth



<span =“issuedate”>From OWS Magazine | February 2005
Issue

<span =“byline”>By Tony Chapelle

February 1, 2005 - Goldman Sachs & Co. is hiring brokers from territory where its managers rarely deign to look--other firms.

In a significant departure from its usual practice, the tradition-steeped Goldman has mounted a campaign to lure young but already-successful reps from its competitors. The drive appears to be part of a larger effort to distribute the company's mutual funds and separately managed account services to a mass market.

Andrea Raphael, a Goldman spokeswoman, declined to comment, but several executive recruiting professionals in different parts of the country confirmed that Goldman has put together a new "experienced-hire" team. According to these sources, all of whom requested anonymity, the initiative is at least four months old and is headed by Gary T. Giglio, manager of U.S. and international private wealth management, and a new Goldman internal recruiter named Phil Sheehy.

"It really looks like they're turning over a new leaf," says one recruiter. "In the past, they didn't hire outsiders too much, either brokers or [via] recruiting firms. Now they're actively searching for companies to help, which would indicate they really want to start hiring."

An Eastern recruiter says Goldman officials want to expand the company's offices in Washington, D.C., and Seattle, as well as those in London; Hong Kong; Milan, Italy; and Frankfurt, Germany.

Headhunters say Goldman is conducting a nationwide search for reps who produce from $1 million to $2 million a year. In addition, potential hires must have a majority of clients with at least $5 million in their accounts. As steep as that account size appears to most brokers, it's far less than the average account size that Goldman insiders long have contended their clients were required to maintain, recruiters say.

Finally, these lateral hires must be relatively new in the business. According to a Northeastern headhunter, they need at least three years of experience, but not more than five. "They don't want people who've been in the business for a long time and just haven't produced," the recruiter says.

Goldman's private client services group hardly ever ventures into the pool of existing brokers to replenish its ranks. Usually, company executives hire candidates straight out of business school and teach them to do business the Goldman way. One reason to hire younger financial consultants could be they don't cost as much.

"Up-and-comers are cheaper because they're not firmly entrenched in the deferred-compensation programs. People who are doing well are often not amenable to moving," explains Mark Elzweig, president of New York-based executive search firm Mark Elzweig Co. "I don't know anything about the Goldman program, but that might be the rationale."

While profitability might be partly behind the experienced-hire concept, one veteran headhunter says Goldman also runs the risk of diminishing its vaunted mystique. "In my opinion, they're dumbing down Goldman by basically bringing its proprietary products to a mass audience," says the recruiter. "Goldman Sachs has been a purveyor of high-end products to high-end customers. The Goldman job in the past has been a highly coveted position. Now it's going to be available to people who've been in wirehouses and from all types of firms without any types of preferences."

Yet one brokerage-industry analyst who covers Goldman isn't sure the new policy will be harmful to the company's image. "I don't know that they're trying to change their stripes. It may just be they're looking to fill out their ranks," says Jeffrey Harte, an analyst with Sandler O'Neill & Partners in Chicago. "It sounds like Goldman is going after the cream of the crop if they're looking for folks with $1 million to $2 million in their first three to five years."

The last time Goldman reportedly departed from its customary approach to private client brokers was four years ago during the Internet boom. Back then, Goldman executives attempted to look downstream for clients, particularly from among new millionaires. They started a special division with offices in Washington and Seattle to target prospects with as little as $2 million in cash. The head of that initiative, Norborne Gee Smith III, is now managing the Philadelphia office. As a sign the firm still seeks fresh broker talent from business schools, Smith's office in January hired 16 broker candidates, all out of MBA programs, according to one search-firm president.