INsider: What Oppenheimer boss’ e-mail said about the Goldman Op-Ed
Lowenthal tells workers that the controversial piece may trigger questions from clients
We are not them, said Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. chairman Albert Lowenthal, referring to a blistering commentary that a departing executive director of The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. issued today detailing a decline in Goldman Sachs’ “moral fiber.” A spokesperson for the firm confirmed Mr. Lowenthal’s e-mail.
Mr. Lowenthal told employees of the investment and brokerage company that The New York Times Op-Ed by Greg Smith, a 12-year veteran of Goldman who described the firm environment as “toxic and destructive,” could cause Oppenheimer’s clients to question its culture.
Without claiming to know the truth of Mr. Smith’s review, Mr. Lowenthal e-mailed employees this morning to detail the differences at Oppenheimer.
From: Lowenthal, Albert
Sent: Wednesday, March 14, 2012 8:04 a.m.
Subject: FW: NY Times Op-Ed (March 14, 2012)
Below is an Op-Ed article written by an employee (soon to be ex-employee) of Goldman Sachs. It is a scathing article about what the author claims to be the deteriorating culture at one of the largest and most influential investment banks on the planet. I have no firsthand knowledge of the truth or accuracy of the article, but it is an article that is likely to go “viral” on the internet and become a topic for our clients, and generate questions and issues that do not reflect our firm or most of the people who work in this industry.
At Oppenheimer, we work hard each day to support and service the investment needs of our clients. We do not trade against them and have not built a firm around a proprietary-trading book that requires our clients to lose in order for us to win. We largely act as agent and sit on the same side of the table as our clients. We benefit when they do. I am proud of the culture that we have built at Oppenheimer and do not believe that it needs defending either internally nor externally.
I think that it is important that you are aware of this article and understand the differences between what it says about Goldman and what and who we are here at Oppenheimer.
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