Goldman Sachs Asset Management Interview

Hi Nakaldun, many thanks for your help! I really appreciate your advice and it really helped me get a broader picture of the position. Regarding weather FI or equity, they do not specify, maybe because the position is not for a hub as NY or UK, all products are covered: Fixed Income & Currency, Equity... (the job description includes a large list) I also have some additional follow-up questions in case you have time :) - Do I need to study the products they are selling? If yes, where could I find that or inform myself about it? - Do you think that a stock pitch is probable during the interview? - In the job description they write as a requirement strong understanding of capital market theory: Should I prepare for Portfolio Management questions or is something else meant (e.g. DCF and Multiples Valuation, Fixed Income...) Otherwise, I dont have any sales experience although I believe my personality fits good for the position, but I think they are interviewing me because I am studying for CFA Level II, would you leverage this or do you think it is not critical for the role? Finally,do you think sales assistant is a dead-end job? Or are there any real chances (obviously in case I perform well and they would be happy with me) to get to a front office position? Many thanks!!!

Is this a full time position or an internship? By that, I mean are you going to be rotating between desks, or are you assisting multiple product desks? IF you dont already know, be sure you find out.

1. How much time do you have? I would strive for at least a minimal understanding of each product. I would be very surprised if they require you to have an in depth knowledge.
2. I doubt it, but it never hurts to have one to fall back on. It will show your passion for the markets.
3. as far as capital market theory is concerned, I would have an opinion on efficient market theory, know what CAPM is, know what the SML is etc. If you are studying for CFA lvl 2, you should have a pretty good idea about anything they may ask.
4. Leverage the shit out it. It shows you care about finance and is a way to differentiate yourself. It may not mean much in the end, but it is at least another talking point. The CFA is very academic and the theories in the lessons dont necessarily correlate with how things are done in the real world.

As far as exit-ops, career path type stuff, it depends. What are your future goals? Do you want to end up in sales full time? Then yes, it is a great spot to be in. You will work with seasoned sales pros and learn the ins and outs of the business. you will work directly with institutional clients and develop a broad network. If you want to get into trading, not as good, but you may be able to leverage your product knowledge and network to land a spot. it depends on the products you work with. IF you are striving towards PE/IB/ consulting... probably a dead end. Whether or not this is something you should do depends entirely on you.

oh also, for capital market theory stuff, I doubt you need to know pure valuation type stuff but you need to understand how certain things may effect prices. In FI, for example, how do rates effect bond prices. How does the Fed manipulation change the yield curve etc.

For the sake of transperancy, I did not get the job. I made it down to 2 people, including myself and in the end it came down to fit and my future goals. I just didn't really want to end up in sales full time.

Oh well, thanks for the tips! Yeah, I thing most of Portfolio Management stuff wont be too difificult. Idk about Sales, my dream would be PE, but right now its nearly impossible fresh out of University to land there, so I see the GSAM option as very interesting. Regarding your previous questions: Yes, its a Full Time position, but it does not look like a Trainee Program, so just starting as an Analys. The job description (I sent it to you) is pretty general and it seemed like a lot of different tasks were involved. But it doesnt seem like job rotation. I have 1 week until the interview, where would you search for GS Products, I dont have too much market experience so I am not sure where to conduct my research on GS' currently marketed products. Last question: Approximately how many hours can I expect on a Sales Assistant role? 70-80?

you will be trained on pretty much everything. I wouldnt worry about GS specific products, just have a basic understanding of general securities (equities, fixed income, forex, etc). You will develop a deeper understanding of the products as you work with them. it takes time.

A sales assistant role is usually base salary + bonus structure. hours are typically 7:30 ish to 4:30 or 5. It is basically market hours, but if you get the job, putting in minimum time is not going to get you far.

Wow i was expecting way worse hours. Yes, I am totally motivated to work longer hours :)! Thanks for the tips, I'll start preparing immediately for the interview. I will post in a few weeks what was asked and how it went in case somebody is interested in a similar career path

This is why we shouldn't let college students give advice here... Nakaldun, you are confusing GSAM's institutional sales position with GS' sell-side institutional sales job. They are completely different..you do not "rotate" around desks or choose between equity vs FI when you are working in institutional sales team within GSAM. Although they are both called "insitutional sales", the end-clients, work you do, pay, culture, exit-opp is very very different. So please do not comment on things you are not sure about..because you have almost ruined the OP's interview by coloring her a wrong picture about the job.

To OP, You have to pretty much cover every products GSAM offers..whether its fundamental equity/FI funds, quant products, alternative investments, etc. And your clients are usually pension funds, endowment, insurance companies, etc. As a junior, you will not have much chance to meet with clients to talk about investment ideas. Instead, you will be supporting your seniors by providing a client service to the exisiting mandates.

Anyways, to keep it short, don't listen to Nakaldun and good luck.

Oh, thank you very much for the advice MillionDollar! I really appreciate it. Ok, yeah that suits better to the job description. In case you have some time, could you please provide me with some brief info about what to expect during the interivew or what should I study these days? Am i right with portfolio management? Regards and Thanks again

Woah woah, I never said that a full time position would be rotating desks or anything like that. Hence why I asked whether it was full time or an internship. I am well aware that in an FT role you will stick with the desk you are placed. I was also talking to my direct experience. All of the advice I gave will apply to an interview for this position.

Also, if you notice, I was purposely vague regarding exit-ops and I never commented on culture. I did not say that you would have frequent client interaction in that role. rather that, if needed, you would speak to existing customers but you are predominately a support function of the sales team.

I was speaking to the interview, not the job itself. Everything I spoke of to prepare for is applicable to any S&T interview. And, not that it matters, not a college student.

Nakaldun -- GSAM is not sales and trading....it is asset management. Totally different.

Yes, I understand that. But still a sales position. Having passion for markets and client interaction etc will still apply.