Goldman’s still got it, at least on Wall Street

Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s public reputation may have taken a big hit in the last year or two, but within the cozy confines of high finance, Goldman’s still got it.

A survey of 1,300 Wall Street bankers by Vault.com, a career website, ranked the giant investment firm as the best place to work in the industry.

The survey was conducted in the spring, when Goldman was fighting a Securities and Exchange Commission lawsuit accusing it of fraud and top executives of the firm were grilled on Capitol Hill. (The suit was settled in July.)

That publicity hurt Goldman’s image in the wider world — with opinion surveys showing that the company’s reputation was worse than those of scandal-plagued BP and Toyota.

But participants in the Vault.com survey brushed that aside, with one writing that Goldman was “still the most prestigious.”

Employees said that Goldman’s leadership was “supportive and respectful” and that other employees are “very smart, talented and motivated.”

The drawbacks to working there: the hours and the pressure.

“Don’t expect to have a life,” one survey participant wrote.

Quality-of-life factors helped Los Angeles-based Houlihan Lokey come in at No. 5, after Goldman, Blackstone Group, JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s investment bank and Credit Suisse.

The results show Goldman’s name “is still pristine and well-regarded amongst its clients, competitors and its employees,” said Ike Suri, a founder of executive recruiting firm Options Group. “They are cutting-edge and forefront in the marketplace.”

nathaniel.popper@latimes.com