Posted by Leonard Steinberg on March 15th, 2012

Yesterday’s New York Times OP-ED by departing Goldman Sachs executive Greg Smith seemed to cause a bit of a storm throughout the Wall Street banking community: could it be true that one of the worlds most successful financial institutions puts itself before its clients? This question is often asked of real estate brokers.

While I feel certain there may be times some Goldman employees have put themselves before their clients best needs, I know from being a broker that if you are in the business for the longterm, this philosophy is simply un-sustainable. And with Goldman’s long and successful history, I would bet the majority of Goldman employees know the value of a happy client. I do. I have witnessed other real estate brokers purely serving their own best interests, and while some have continued to be rather successful, most have faltered over time. New York City, just like the super-wealthy community, is a small community. Bad behavior cannot hide for too long. Word gets out pretty quickly. And I have seen some bad apple brokers crash and burn badly….and deservedly. Personally, I think there are too many great people at Goldman with solid intentions that ultimately the best will win.