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Title: Goldman Sachs : The Culture of Success by Lisa Endlich ISBN: 0684869683 Publisher: Touchstone Books Pub. Date: 2000 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
Average Customer Rating: 3.54
Rating: 4
Summary: factual throughout but too much emphasis on the 1990's.
Comment: I spent 30 years at Goldman Sachs as a senior risk arbitrage trader in the equities division. I retired in 1995. The information contained in the volume has been carefully and thoughtfully researched and the result is a wonderful historical analysis of Goldman Sachs. The book is eminantly readable and easily understandable, even for those uninitiated in the banking business. My only negative criticism refers to the excessive space given to the recent history of the firm. There was a clear change in the firms' culture after the greedy portion of the 1980's. The author is right on the mark when she tells how important the people (not only the partners) were to the creation of the special atmosphere that pervaded the firm and how very special it was to be a part of it. Although profitability was always a clear motive, it surely was not the sole purpose for which the firm existed. To profile a few bond traders and enumerate their spectacular successes (and failures) in the 1990s clearly indicates how things have changed from previous decades. I worked with Gus Levy for 10 years and Bob Rubin for 20 years and from a trader's point of view these were the spectacular people at least in the Equities Division. I doubt that the client interest is foremost in the culture of Goldman Sachs today as it was for the first 125 years. Although the importance of the client remains high today, it is profitability and risk taking that are the motivating forces.
Rating: 4
Summary: Great intro to Goldman Sachs
Comment: Endlich provides a rather interesting story of the firm at which she was once a Vice President.
This book chronicles the history of the firm, from its humble beginnings by Marcus Goldman, to the exclusive private partnership, to the modern day publicly traded corporation famous for its all star financial services and clientele. The text focuses on the changes in leadership over the years as each leader lends incredible character to the firm.
Although I found this book to be very interesting and well written overall, I think the second half of the book showed favoritism towards the trading aspect of the business, with very little focus given to the banking aspect. It seems that there was a lot of action in trading during the latter third of the century and Endlich's attention to the details is excellent; I only wish that more time had been spent discussing some of the other sides of the business.
Must read for anyone interested in the history of one of the world's greatest financial service firms!
Rating: 4
Summary: Why Goldman Sachs Is a Success: People
Comment: As one of the most successful Wall Street titans, Goldman Sachs has a history of empowering very smart and dedicated people. This is that story. It addresses the personalities and culture that drives Goldman to success. For anyone interested in the financial markets, it is a joy to read. Some things I did not know:
1) GS focuses on the client and maintains a long-term focus. Long-term greed.
2) During the 1980's, GS set itself apart from its competitors when they refused to represent any company that was the aggressor in a hostile takeover. As such, they billed enormous business as a "defense" investment bank. (pg 19)
3) "You cannot just be an employee. The firm demands that you be a contributor." (pg 21)
4) There is a culture of understatement. "A mild shabbiness seems to be almost a status symbol." (pg 25) The main office does not say Goldman Sachs on the front. It just reads the first two numbers of the address: 85.
5) GS started out as a family firm specializing in commercial paper. By the 1960's, it was handling 50% of the country's commercial paper. (pg 34)
6) GS was almost ruined when it was involved in the speculating leading up to the crash of 1929. The investors lost 92% of their investment in the infamous GSTC investment trust.
7) Sidney Weinberg is considered the father of modern Goldman Sachs. (pg 49) He worked at Goldman for more than 50 years and started out as a helper to the porter: cleaning shoes, and brushing hats.
8) Gus Levy became the next senior partner in 1969. Levy was from trading, not banking, and would "prepare the company for the trading-oriented work of the 1980's." (pg 63)
9) The next leadership was in teams: John Weinberg & John Whitehead, then Steve Friedman & Robert Rubin, then Hank Paulson & John Corzine.
10) In the 1980's, the profit centers were M&A and arbitrage.
11) Historically, GS was known for its excellent people, but not its innovation. One JP Morgan banker said that GS bankers were incredibly good, but predictable.
12) Partners were making incredible money in the 1990's, but naturally the competition was fierce: 4000 Vice presidents competing for 32 partner seats. (pg 135)
13) Numerous stories of GS's great traders (Becerra, O'Brien etc...) and how they would make $80 million in trading profits one month, then lose $100 million just one month later. At times, the speculation would get out of hand. One person commented that GS's London trading desk was "testosterone alley." (pg 192)
14) In early 1994, the firm was in a crisis. Its top management had stepped down and the company was losing $200 million a month due to heavy trading losses and a bear market. (pg 202)
15) GS invented, and still dominates, the block trading market. Great story: Kuwaiti Investment Office (KIO) gives three investment banks one hour to price $2 billion of British Petroleum (BP) stock. GS wins the bids, transacts the stock smoothly and gains a reputation as the firm able to handle block trades. (pg 248)
16) Paulson said, "Good firms worry about competition, great companies worry about clients" (pg 250)
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Title: Monkey Business: Swinging Through the Wall Street Jungle by John Rolfe, Peter Troob ISBN: 0446676950 Publisher: Warner Books Pub. Date: 2001 List Price(USD): $13.95 |
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Title: The House of Morgan: An American Banking Dynasty and the Rise of Modern Finance by Ron Chernow ISBN: 0671734008 Publisher: Touchstone Books Pub. Date: 1991 List Price(USD): $20.00 |
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Title: Liar's Poker: Rising Through the Wreckage on Wall Street by Michael Lewis ISBN: 0140143459 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: 1990 List Price(USD): $14.00 |
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Title: When Genius Failed: The Rise and Fall of Long-Term Capital Management by Roger Lowenstein ISBN: 0375758259 Publisher: Random House Trade Paperbacks Pub. Date: 09 October, 2001 List Price(USD): $14.95 |
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Title: Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco by Bryan Burrough, John Helyar ISBN: 0060920386 Publisher: HarperCollins (paper) Pub. Date: 1992 List Price(USD): $16.00 |
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