What will Goldmans biggest weakness be as a public company?
I think there will be an adjustment process to the demands of public shareholders. They are so used to running the show themselves without regard to external forces. They are not used to being beholden to anyone. The biggest worry as a public company, although they are pursuing a strategy that will yield recurring income, is that they still get more of their income from speculative trading than their competitors. The volatility of their earnings thus far — and I know they are trying to change — is their biggest weakness as a public company. Q: How much will the 221 Goldman managing directors make in the IPO? A: I don’t know. Q: Will Goldman be able to retain its unique culture as a public company? A: I don’t think so. No. There will be aspects of it that they will retain. I think a partnership is a team. Part of the Goldman Sachs culture is Gus Levy’s dictum to be long-term greedy. It doesn’t work as well in a public company. Through a process of self-selection, they have hired some
