Boaz Weinstein, founder of hedge fund Saba capital, might be a fan of Ken Griffin. Not only does he call Griffin’s hedge fund Citadel one “of the best hedge funds in the world”, he shares Ken’s opinion that some of the best talent in financial services is found at Goldman Sachs.
“The best firm in terms of the quality of the people is Goldman Sachs” Weinstein told students at the London School of Economics Alternative Investments Conference, echoing Griffin’s comments last October to the effect that Goldman people have excellent communication skills.
Not all jobs at Goldman Sachs are equal in Weinstein’s eyes, though. “You could be in the most boring group.” he said. Complexity is preferable.
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Weinstein himself has only spent a brief summer at Goldman Sachs. He started his career at Merrill Lynch and moved to Donaldson Lufkin & Jenrette and Deutsche Bank before founding Saba in 2007.
If you don’t cut your teeth at Goldman Sachs, there is an alternative. More than time at Goldman, Weinstein says you need a “mentor who will answer five dumb questions per day.” Over time, he says these become “three dumb questions and two good ones.” Weinstein found his mentor during his brief Goldman summer in the form of then-head of corporate bond trading David Delucia, with whom he was reunited at DLJ. Weinstein, a self professed “average poker player and chess master”, was a frequent opponent of Delucia in the game of kings, who then helped get his foot in the door.
Not everyone can have a 2,156 Elo score in chess, however, so how do you get someone senior to warm to you? Weinstein says “it’s very hard for someone to be mad at you for asking questions after-hours if you offer to do something in-hours.” Proximity is also key; he says, “If it seems aggressive to sit in on morning meetings, it’s not. How do you sell if you don’t get yourself in the room?” Working from home is seemingly a bad idea.
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