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.