Goldman Sachs is changing its managing director selection process, according to an internal memo sent out by Lloyd Blankfein and Gary Cohn and seen by Business Insider.
According to the contents of the memo, which have been confirmed by Goldman, the bank will start selecting its managing director class every two years.
The bank usually selects new MDs every year.
According to the memo, ever since Goldman starting tapping managing director classes every year beginning in 1996 it was intending to move to a biennial selection when they reached "critical mass of managing directors at the firm."
"A biennial process will allow us to invest more in the managing director selection process so that it will continue to be a disciplined and rigorous exercise. This will help to ensure that the managing director title remains as aspirational as it should be for our top performers," the memo states.
The biennial selection process for managing directors will start after the 2013 class is announced.
In recent years, the Goldman MD classes have been smaller. Last year, the bank named 266 new MDs and in 2011 only 261 — the smallest class since 2008.
Becoming a managing director is seen as a big honor on the Street. At Goldman, it's the level just below the highly-coveted "partner" title. Partners are selected every two years. There were only 70 partners chosen last fall.
