Goldman Sachs MD : fire your questions
Equities Trading MD for about 1 year in GS APAC. Ask my anything, career, work, life in Asia, Goldman Specific questions.
I will try my best to answer
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Career Resources
Do you feel like Goldman Sachs actually cares about your mental and physical well-being? And do you actually care about your team’s mental and physical well-being?
Goldman just feels like a place to grind people to their bones, at any cost. But maybe that’s just a naive bystander saying that.
I am a human being and I don't want juniors to feel miserable. Corporate talks about mental well-being but nothing is really being done about that.
I think all senior guys like me suffer from a very typical syndrome at GS : We just want to say "it happened to me too, stop being a snowflake"
In the end, that's how the work is, get ready for it or leave. We pay well for a reason, we expect a lot from everyone. No one is going to be nice if you are underperforming
You say all this and then literally say don’t be a snowflake in a post below lol.
Sounds like that’s a no to Goldman caring about mental health of employees. Always just a number, a revenue line
I have a hard time believing you are an MD with this attitude. I understand the “this is hard work and we pay a lot attitude” I don’t understand the “this happened to me” attitude and I think that misses a lot of the point. If you continue to perpetuate what happened to you, then you will never have change. At the end of the day, GS no longer pays that much compared to buy side jobs (at least in the US) and the top talent is starting to turn down these jobs for better WLB and pay. Pretty weird attitude to have (and I’m a partner on the buy side).
People talk a lot about the cons of being in S&T as opposed to being at HF/Prop/Quant funds, but what would you say are some of the pros of being on the sell side?
I've stayed on the sell side as I could see me grow there. You climb the political ladder, you fight your way up and it's exciting. Each year comes with more responsibilities.
I could move to the buy-side, but would I be successful there? Not sure, it has never been my business.
Last year we lost a star quant, the guy was relatively junior (4-5 year of XP) but was generating revenues like crazy. He was very respected and people wanted him to stay. In the end he left for a quant fund in HK. I am not too sure why to be honest. Did they promise a much bigger comp? Could be. Could also be he got fed up with the politics and did not receive what we wanted from it.
I am saying that to express that each path is unique and it's a lot of luck to get in a good spot. You can be brilliant and fail because you were in the wrong spot. You can be stupid and be successful.
I think the sell-side is pretty lucrative and we are not shying away from giving good comps. However, it takes time to climb up and you have to respect this. You can be brilliant, you're progression will be slowed down by the process (HR and mgnt). Sell-Side is about grinding your way up, sticking to your seat and expand. Buy side is more immediate reward but it can also be the end of your career
People say that what you study does not matter in order to join, as opposite where you study is important. Is it true?
Less and less so.
In the 2000s, we used to hire art majors in trading positions. It's not the case anymore, we want technical guys. So what you study does matter, where you does matter more.
We got enough CVs to be picky
How long do you think you’ll last in this recession?
Revenues are strong, I'm not affraid
Where in Asia are you based? Is equity flow dying over there?
Overall flow is increasing in Asia. Revenues have been increasing massively in asian over the past 5 years.
HK. For equities, the most flow desks are doing exceptionally well. For more complex desks in equities, this year is a struggle.
At the point in my career where I have to play politics, I hate dealing with snakes all day instead of trading.
How do I deal with internal politics and getting recognition/resources for my work?
Don't be a snowflake. I say this in a nice way.
If you want to climb you need to accept that your work becomes more like project management. You manage a few guys, you take care of the business, you drive initiatives.
When initiatives turn out good, make it clear to your management and fight for recognition (they need to hear you).
Politics is just the long game. That's what the job is about.
How do you feel about air fryers? Genuinely useful or pointless investment?
Personally, bone-dry chicken wings sound like cruel and unusual punishment.
How has comp for seniors in the industry evolved over the course of your career?
I'd imagine with higher risk tolerance back in the day it was easier to generate revenues?
I wasn't in the industry in the early 2000s when things were all about taking risk. I think comps since 2009 have grown, but in 2009 I wasn't senior so what do I know...
Any advice on a banking career in SG vs HK in terms of lifestyle, WLB, exit opps, comp etc, which one is better in your opinion
HK remains #1 spot for careers in banking
Curious what ballpark compensations of MDs at bulge brackets are
roughly 600k to 3mm
All deferred comp?
Can students recruit into APAC BB IB / S&T from undergrad in the US? Will GS and others support work visas? Are language skills required for your office in HK?
We hire people from all over the world to come here. Visa is not a worry and English is the only true language requirement.
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How important is networking to get entry level at s&t? And does it differ from HK vs NY? Thanks in advance
Not at all
Any recommendations on moving to Asia as an expat these days? Been thinking of Singapore or Tokyo as a place I want to move.
Could you talk more about the politics side of the business? As a Analysts/Associate, who are usually the key people for you to invest your time? Immediate VP/Directors/MD of your group? Does it make sense to network with other people in other areas?
Also, could you specify what politics means? How do you do it in the correct way? What does it include?
My previous role I had very little politics to deal with, I'm a little concerned with this aspect of the job
Hi, thanks so much for the Q&A. I'm curious about the desks in APAC. For example, I've heard that UBS's trading desks are quite powerful (but dont know which specific asset class is better) and Citi is strong at credit trading. Thank you in advance for any insight.
Hi, could you talk about exit opportunities from equities S&T, along with sales vs trading? Also are you in cash products or derivatives, or a mix? Thanks!
I am currently an associate in IB and want to switch to either capital markets or s&t. Do you see this being a hard jump or would you hire someone with my background if I showed public market interest and experience?
Say if I'm an analyst starting in S&T in Hong Kong, what are the chances that I can move to other cities say New York in the future? Is it hard to internally transfer to US? Thank you!
Possible, though no one will like if you come and try to move within the first few years
can I please get an update on my hirevue status its been a month
How often do you have to go out and entertain clients during the week? Any interesting stories to share?
World's most expensive personal jesters.
Does being a trading MD at Goldman pay more than being at minimum a desk head trader in a top prop trading firm?
.
To my knowledge, prop trading firms don't usually pay that much. But I would imagine it's not too far off
Lmfao any desk head at a good prop firm is making at least 3m/year.
What was your total base + bonus = total comp as a first year MD in $ USD?
Why are so many of GS' juniors in Asia these days
- pretty and female (higher female to male ratios than what i see at JPM or MS)
- almost zero financial backbround but land a GS job out of college
- not very technical? my GS salesperson cant even tell me what is the 5y5y
We think it's important to improve diversity on the floor. Not as important to have financial background as you will learn on the job. People should become technical as they learn
Broad but.. books that have helped you in your career, trading..
Is doing ops at GS something you'd recommend for someone without a finance background? (only exp is in phys trading)
If you are referring to operations, please dont do that. I also worked at one of BBs at HK, know what it means to do OPs there. Not sure how ppl view Ops at USA, but in Asia its a meaningless job if you have thoughts on FO
thank you
What do you think about Credit in Emerging markets? CDS, singles, sovereign, etc? Is it a good place to start? Any general thoughts?
I’m supposed to join CS’s equities trading desk in APAC next year. What do you think I should do?
Something tells me you are in for a rude awakening
Do you recruit from schools in the Philippines?
If so, what specific internships should I target in college? Would ER at UBS suffice? I already have a searchfund under my belt
Are S&T firm trading desks essentially just long short hedge funds?
What do you think about MBAs who go to trading? Or traders who go to MBA? Any of those in your team?
1. What do you think about the current state of the market?
I think we're at the beginning of a long bull run. I'm bullish on marijuana stocks right now.
2. Do you think the industry will continue to grow? Why/Why not?
Yes, I think the industry will continue growing. There's still a lot of room for growth.
3. How would you describe the current regulatory environment?
The regulatory environment is evolving. We've seen some good things happen recently, but there's still a lot of work to be done.
4. Is it possible to predict what the future holds for the industry?
It's hard to say. But I think we'll see continued legalization around the world.
5. What advice would you give investors who want to get involved in the space?
Investors should focus on quality over quantity. If they have a passion for the industry, then they should invest their time and money where they feel passionate about.
6. Where do you see the industry going in five years?
In five years, I think we'll see a lot of consolidation.
7. What are the biggest challenges facing the industry today?
We need to make sure that we don't create a situation where people are getting arrested for using marijuana. That's something that we really need to avoid.
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