Goldman Sachs RMD Question
I went through GS recruiting and was offered a full-time position in the Realty Management Division. I was wondering how prestigious this division is when compared with some of Goldman's top divisions such as IBD, IMD, etc. How would it compare to top divisions at other BB/MM?
I understand that RMD is part of the Federation (not FO), but some of the teams in RMD are Real Estate Credit Investing, Real Estate Asset Management, etc. This makes them almost seem like front office jobs but dealing with real estate.
Any advice or opinions on whether to accept? Salary is lower than I would like but not a deal breaker.
Why would you care about the prestige based on other groups at Goldman or whether or not it is "front office"? Real estate, for the most part, does not really care about "prestige". Real estate is all about experience and networks. There are people on my acquisition team from some of the most elite schools in the county and others who went to "non-target" schools (to use WSO vernacular).
What you should really be concerned about is the following: 1) What is the deal flow? 2) What is your role? 3) Is there room for growth? 4) What type of properties will you be working on? Do you fit well with the team?
If those answers are all positive, then take the job! Also, you did not mention if you have other offers and what you would like to do in the next 5yrs with your career.
I guess I should have given you a bit more information. I am graduating with a mechanical engineering degree from a low tier west coast state school. All of my previous internships have been engineering based and this will potentially be my first gig in finance. I decided the hardcore engineering route was not for me.
For that reason, I am looking for a good company and position to get my foot in the door. Is RMD a good place to do that? Is it too focused? Am I better off looking for a corporate finance role?
Like I mentioned, I am new to the finance world and do not know exactly where I see my future heading, so I am looking for a role that is well respected and will allow other options in the future if I see it. I see myself in a role that is more related to economics and financial modeling than I do as the guy who goes out to make pitches and sales.
As of now, I am fairly confident that I will have an Operations offer from JPM locked up but that is the only other financial option I have. I am actively seeking others.
I have a friend who has worked there. It is mostly a BO group for the Merchant Banking Division and has a lot of legacy Archon employees. Other offers ought to be weighed before taking RMD, IMO.
Thanks for the response. As I mentioned in my other comment, I am new to the finance world and have no previous internships in the field. How would you (or your friend) compare the competitiveness of getting this role in comparison to corp fin or S&T types? I have yet to receive an offer in the other divisions so I am wondering if the competitiveness is similar to GS Ops.
The first thing that I see is a page that is entirely dedicated to convincing young people that this division is legit. An employee writes, "When any of the divisions within the firm are investing in real estate, or they have a mandate to invest in real estate, in some way, shape or form, the Realty Management Division is involved in the process. We do the sourcing..." You really do the sourcing? You're telling me those people in Dallas sourced this deal? http://www.multihousingnews.com/news/carroll-organization-acquires-flor… Or this one? http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20060510005199/en/Whitehall-Acqui… I'm just very skeptical.
I can't speak to the other groups in the division, but this isn't true for credit investing. First hand experience from an internship. Assuming nothing has changed, they didn't have any Asset Management roles and sourced/closed their own deals. I know for a fact one of their analysts turned down a ny ibd offer for that position, but not sure if he's still there.
There are several groups in the Realty Management Division (residential Asset Management, credi investing, hospitality,etc..) so it really depends which group your in. I can only speak to the Dallas aka Irving office, I've heard great things about the hotel group but the other groups seem to be suffering from low moral
From what I understand, RMD is only located in Dallas (Irving). Do you know the reasons for the low moral? Real Estate taking a dip in general? Poor collaboration/management?
Hey I was interviewed for a position in residential Asset Management department at Irving office. One of the interviewers said few people left their department and they are down to 2 people. It got me little concerned about the position. Any tips or you take?
I've seen this same position open for months now... either they are expanding or they are having a tough time filling it.
Hey, I think if you have Goldman on your resume, getting any finance interview would be easy. I am curious about your current position, how did you get interviews and offers without any education and experience in finance? Did you go through a recruiter, study on your own?
Goldman Sachs RMD (Originally Posted: 04/23/2014)
Anyone have any info on GS Real Estate Management Division (RMD). I saw a few threads on the topic, which didn't have too much information.
I understand this is considered part of GS Asset Management, but at the same time it appears that this group does acquisitions on the behalf of Whitehall (PE Fund) and Goldman Mutual/Hedge Funds. Can someone please clarify? It appears that this is similar to a front office IB role?
I would be especially interested in any information regarding exit opportunities from here too. Thanks!
I did some private networking on my own in order to get the interview. Once I was in the interview I really leveraged my technical and critical thinking skills to get the position. The interviews were more behavioral based (although not entirely)... it was very personal and we ended up talking about my college sports experience for quite a bit of it.
oh, wow, nice extracurricular activity and thanks for the reply.
Bump
Seems to be a lot of questions around this. Hopefully this will be beneficial to all who are looking into this:
The RMD group is split into 6 different business units. You can think of the RMD group as Goldman Sach’s real estate SWAT team. The only info I have is with respect to that team. The RE Asset Management team provides real estate investment services (acquisitions, asset management, dispositions) to Whitehall, GSREMP, and the RE assets in the Asset Management group. Additionally, the group does deals with/manages deals for the Special Situations Group (basically GS’s internal hedge fund that invests across multiple asset classes and positions the capital stat, including equity RE investments).
With that said, due to the Dodd-Frank Act, they have shifted their focus to investing using balance sheet cash. Therefore, they are mainly investing in investments on behalf of Goldman instead of investors. They have multiple offices around the US but their main office is in Dallas. From inside sources, your time in the RE Asset Management group is split about 70/30% between asset management and acquisitions. This is NOT an IB job.
As for the interview, I've heard from multiple sources that the interviews are pretty laid back with very few technicals. They are mainly looking for fit and to make sure you are interested in RE.
Structure of the group is exactly like that of the rest of the bank (Analyst->Associate->VP, etc). You do NOT need an MBA to get promoted (unlike IB). Compensation will vary, but I've heard that once they give you an offer, their is zero wiggle room on negotiating salary.
And for exit opps, this is a great acquisitions/Asset Management job. You'll have many of the skills necessary to do great in a range of RE opportunities post your experience at GS.
The RMD multiple offices in the US including Dallas and Washington, DC. I know there are people on this forum who have interviewed and accepted offers with them. What group withing RMD is the job for? They have 6 different divisions doing different things.
Here is what I've been told by an Associate who works in the RE Asset Management team in one of their offices (this is an almost exact quote):
"The RMD group is split into 6 different business units. You can think of the RMD group as Goldman Sach’s real estate SWAT team. The RE Asset Management team provides real estate investment services (acquisitions, asset management, dispositions) to Whitehall, GSREMP, and the RE assets in the Asset Management group. Additionally, the group does deals with/manages deals for the Special Situations Group (basically GS’s internal hedge fund that invests across multiple asset classes and positions the capital stat, including equity RE investments)."
"Due to the Dodd-Frank Act, the RMD group has shifted their focus to investing using balance sheet cash. Therefore, the group is mainly investing in investments on behalf of Goldman instead of investors. Your time in the RE Asset Management group is split about 70/30% between asset management and acquisitions."
Great information! That is very helpful. I will also be in Real Estate Asset Management and his quote makes the work seem pretty interesting. I'm wondering if some of the other groups are not as hands-on and that is where the skepticism of RMD comes from. Did he have information about the other groups?
Can pretty much confirm this. Had a relatively in-depth phone interview with them over the winter and this was pretty much how they described their operations to me.
Given that you have an engineering background and are trying to break into real estate/finance sector, its not a bad place to start. You could lateral after a year if you don't like it
Lol, the division is legit, but the most important question is are you interested in RE?
youngunner,
I do have interest in RE. Like I mentioned, this will be my first experience in any sort of financial role so I am not 100% certain where I see myself ending up. I just wanted to be sure that this role is respected enough that if I decide it is not for me I will have options elsewhere.
There are MUCH worse places you could start. Having the name "Goldman Sachs" on your resume will get you future interviews in the industry.
I'd love to get on with them in the D.C. area in a few years. 70% Asset Management and 30% acquisitions sounds like a perfect time split.
I know some folks in the RMD in Dallas. It's not IBD prestige whatsoever. Mainly the work will be Asset Management related. With that said, its also not a bad place to be as you would learn a lot from a couple of years there, especially if you're coming in with no prior RE exp. Given your educational background, I'd say this would be a good step for you if you don't want to be an engineer and are interested in RE.
Did you accept the offer? How's the work like? Can you throw some color?
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