Goldman Sachs MBD vs. SSG vs. MSI
Does anyone have any info on how Goldman's Special Situations and Multi-Strategy Investment teams fit within the broader Merchant Banking Division? WIth the new reorganization of investing activities at GS, it still seems unclear how all these teams fit together and the types of assets they invest in (e.g., real estate, private equity, mezzanine debt, asset-backed securities). Any clarifying info on these groups, the structure, and where they typically recruit from (e.g., direct from undergrad, MBA, lateral from GS IBD or other PE firms) would be helpful!
So far, SSG (which is part of the securities division) and Merchant Banking (being a division by itself), were separate from each other. From what I understand, they are now merging into one large principal investing division. I believe that MSI is part of SSG so is irrelevant to your question, but others to confirm.
From what I remember from my time there, MBD has the following teams: - Corporate PE - Real Estate (Equity and Mezz covered by the same team) - Credit - Infrastructure
SSG is similarly structured, with a slightly different focus (you can look that up on their website). They have a Growth Equity team too that does VC-style investments. Apparently their asset investing team in the US has a wider mandate than the Euro real estate teams. Generally, teams sit in asset class silos but for some, MBD/SSG actually co-invest.
European recruiting was a mix of SA recruiting plus conversion, off-cycle recruiting plus conversion and lateral moves from GS IBD. Not sure about the US.