Pros
● Smart and capable peers, mostly fresh graduates, which keeps office politics relatively low. ● Good technical flexibility for quants and developers. You’re free to use the tools, languages, and technologies you believe are best, as long as results are delivered. ● Exposure to real trading strategies and systems early in one’s career.
Cons
● Management quality has deteriorated significantly, which explains the consistently high attrition. ● Appraisal and profit-sharing commitments are unclear and frequently delayed, sometimes by several months. ● Strong focus on cost-cutting, often impacting employee experience and morale. ● Frequent team and direction changes make long-term research and strategy ownership difficult for quants. ● Decisions appear driven by short-term profitability rather than robust trading logic or data-backed conviction. ● Simulation, infrastructure, and cluster costs are inflated or reallocated, which directly reduces employee profit share, even when usage is questionable. ● Technical and quantitative decisions are often overruled late by leadership, forcing rework and invalidating prior research. ● Excessive restrictions and micromanagement contribute to a stressful work environment. ● Basic facilities like parking are not provided. ● The external image of a prestigious firm does not align with the internal culture. ● Heavy dependence on external consultants, some of whom lack production-level accountability. ● Despite continuous resignations, hiring remains limited, increasing pressure on remaining employees. ● Office dating is common and largely unregulated (Quant–HR, Dev–HR, Dev–Dev), which occasionally impacts professionalism and team dynamics.