Goldman Sachs has a new plan to keep junior talent from defecting to private equity: Offering them buyside jobs within the bank.
On Thursday, the Wall Street bank sent a letter to its summer interns announcing a new program that would offer a select group of incoming junior bankers the chance to work for Goldman’s asset management business after their two-year investment banking analyst programs end.
“I’m pleased to share that we will introduce an additional early entry point for those of you interested in exploring buyside careers,” said the memo by Dan Dees, cohead of the bank’s global banking and markets unit.
“The program will offer a select group of applications a full-time offer to join investment banking, followed by mobility to asset management after two years,” said the memo, which directed interested interns to speak to their managers to learn next steps.
The move comes as investment banks push back against private equity firms’ recruiting practices, which seek to lock young talent into jobs that start once their investment banking analyst stints end.
JPMorgan earlier this summer banned its incoming junior bankers from accepting these future-dated jobs. Goldman, meanwhile, plans to ask juniors to attest to not jumping ship, Bloomberg recently reported.
The roles Goldman is offering would be housed within the asset management group that encompasses its growing alternative investments, a person familiar with the matter said.
The firm has been expanding alternative investments, including establishing a new group to focus on private lending. Such loans, which are often made with money raised from investors, have become a hot topic of growth in private equity and beyond.
CEO David Solomon said Wednesday on a call with shareholders that the AWM division raised $18 billion for its alternative investment funds last quarter, including growth equity and secondaries, which involves investing in discarded stakes of buyout funds.
This year’s private equity recruiting sprint has been in limbo without clear indications as to when it will start. Shortly after JPMorgan’s letter banning its bankers from future-dated jobs, a series of large private equity firms — including General Atlantic, Apollo Global Management, and TPG — said they would sit out poaching incoming investment bankers until next year.
In past years, the private equity recruiting rush kicked off during the peak summer months, upsetting banks by recruiting junior talent for future-dated jobs before they even have a chance to decide whether they like investment banking.
Here’s the full memo from Goldman’s global banking and markets co-head Dan Dees:
July 17, 2025 Exploring Career Opportunities Across GBM and AWM at Goldman Sachs Time moves fast at Goldman Sachs — congratulations on passing the halfway mark of your internships. I wanted to share an important update with you on career opportunities we offer at the firm. As someone who started his career at the firm thinking it would be a two-year stint — and then stayed for at least 12 jobs, eight cities, and many years more — I know how important it is to build a career that is rich and rewarding. As Ashok and I said in June, we hire people based on their curiosity and drive, and so it seems fair some of you might consider working for other great teams and firms, many of whom are our clients, too. I also understand pressure, and what it means to have made it this far. We hire the best and brightest, and many of you have been working hard for most of your academic careers. After so many years of effort you will feel comfort in having your career mapped out. I also know few companies offer a better platform and more exciting career paths than Goldman Sachs. Whether it’s a switch from leading the financing group in Japan to global TMT coverage in San Francisco (as I did), or from banking to trading to asset management (like fellow division head Marc Nachmann), the possibilities, and offices around the world from which to explore them, are almost endless. To that end, I’m pleased to share that we will introduce an additional early entry point for those of you interested in exploring buyside careers, in partnership with our AWM colleagues. The program will offer a select group of applicants a full-time offer to join Investment Banking, followed by mobility to Asset Management after two years. Register your interest and your business unit managers will let you know next steps. Of course, for those of you committed to banking — I would encourage it! — you will have opportunities as you become more senior to stay in your existing teams or participate in our very own mobility program. You will also be able to register an interest to join Asset Management, and teams across the firm, at other future moments throughout your career. Our goal with such a talented cohort is to offer the options to you. I might be a little biased, but the path you find yourself on at Goldman Sachs might just be the one that keeps you here many, many years later. Dan Dees
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