Name: Jeff Hirsh

Year: Sophomore

Major: Economics

Minor: BIP

CFS Class: Business Field Studies

Employer: Goldman Sachs

I work in the Private Wealth Management Division of Goldman Sachs. The thing to be aware of is that, while there are four interns at GS, each person gets a different experience based on the team(s) they are on. I spend my morning with one team (a team that is in the growth stage of PWM), and my afternoon with another (a team that is mature, meaning they rarely actively seek out new clients). My day starts at 7:30 AM when I get to the office (I wake up at about 5:15 AM) and ends at 5:30 PM (long days, but goes by quickly). I start by writing a morning news update for my teams summarizing what is in the headlines for the day. It has been a great way to stay caught up with the busy news cycle and know what is going on. My days consist of a variety of tasks and is never uniform, which I enjoy, and I am always busy. A day can consist of helping the team search for new, wealthy clients to pursue by researching recent M&A transactions and the owners of the acquired business who may have newfound wealth that GS can help them manage. Then, I can be working on putting together portfolio update presentations for clients that summarize how a client’s investments have done over a period of time, breaking the portfolio down into great detail. Next, I could be researching a specific asset class to answer a question an advisor received from a client about what is going on in the world and how it affects their investments. I also spend time listening in on client calls with senior advisors, reading through the massive database of GS research covering every imaginable topic, and answering phones when clients call the team. There is some Excel work, but nothing overly complex. The two aspects of the job I have enjoyed most are the breadth of exposure to the world of finance, and the people I have met. I have done research, built presentations, and ran reports for all types of asset classes from US equities to international municipal bonds to secondary private equity investments to real estate and more. I have learned about so many areas of finance I didn’t even know existed, and it has been very useful to start to recognize what peaks my interest most. GS also emphasizes the importance of doing “coffee chats”, or just sitting down with members of your team and anyone else you meet to learn about them and so they can learn about you. I have been able to meet fascinating and successful people that have given me a unique perspective on the industry, and I can stay in contact with them going forward in my professional life. GS has been a very welcoming environment, unlike the perception I had going into the internship. Everyone I have met is very nice, down to Earth, and willing to help me get the most out of my time at GS. The discussions in the CFS classroom have been great to hear similarities and differences from other students’ experiences, as well as take from lessons others have learned and apply them to my internship. The class is structured, but allows for a free-flowing discussion which I enjoy, and you get to hear a wide variety of opinions that remind to always realize there are numerous ways to look at a given issue/topic.