Intern gains experience in private equity investment with Goldman Sachs

Liberty University senior Richard Feliz, who is pursuing his bachelor’s degree in finance & economics, spent nine weeks this summer as a Private Equity Summer Analyst interning at Goldman Sachs in Salt Lake City, Utah, where he gained experience in real-world investing and company valuation before he graduates in May.

The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is the second largest investment bank in the world by revenue and is ranked 55th on the Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by total revenue.

Feliz underwent a year of applications and interviews before being offered the internship, and he noted that Liberty’s Career Services office helped with advice, résumé building, mock interviews, and more. He said that many students do not get the opportunity to intern or work directly in private equity before graduation without prior positions in investment banking or a related field.

“This internship, as you might expect, was very competitive, and I went through a very strict process,” he said. “This is something I’d been preparing for a long time, and I felt so fortunate to be accepted for it. To get this opportunity straight from my college experience, including coming from a ‘non-target’ school (one that doesn’t target Liberty for recruiting graduates), is super valuable and special for me.”

Throughout the summer, Feliz was part of a team that focused on private equity secondaries (buying and selling stakes between investors) and co-investments. The team joined two live deals with million-dollar transactions and dealt with high-level valuation and financial modeling. The internship also included presenting a leverage buyout proposal for a sample company.

“I was able to improve my research skills, attention to details and the big picture, communication skills within the investment world, and more,” Feliz said. “I was able to connect with people all across the firm, including some internationally.”

Feliz noted that his experiences as a Liberty student both in and out of the classroom proved valuable in the internship. He currently works as the portfolio manager of the technology sector with the School of Business’ Student Asset Management (SAM) Fund, which allows finance students to make investments in the publicly traded companies while approaching the process with a biblical worldview.

After completing his undergraduate studies, Feliz hopes to find a position in investment or banking.

He expressed a desire for more Liberty students to earn internships at our country’s leading firms and said the path to achieving this begins earlier than some may realize.

“When you get to these internships, it’s very important to demonstrate soft skills like interpersonal skills and attention to detail, and these are skills that Liberty students can leverage early on,” he said. “They don’t have to wait until they’re juniors to start applying for opportunities or getting involved in clubs. I would love to see more students from Liberty go into private equity because I know they have the potential to do it.”