Come, self-combust and retire - Vice President Capital Group Employee Review

I have resisted writing this review for a while now. But a recent spate of events made me think, why not offer some insight to folks who are considering a position in this company. Beyond the usual cribbing and complaining (that I am entitled to), I want to offer you something useful. 'You' could be an outsider wanting a peek in or an insider looking to validate that voice in your head. I promise not to disappoint. For the inquisitive mind and the recently committed ... If Dormancy is your quest, look no further. If you are a star, come here to self combust. The Company CG as it is referred to, is the oldest Investment Management company in the world. It takes pride in its deep market research, active investment philosophy and large share of Portfolio Managers who invest their own money in the funds they manage. Well respected in the industry, silent but strong player and has a religious following among Financial Professionals, mostly the established and experienced ones. The company does not have a CEO structure, but is run by a Management Committee. Rumor has it that the entry pass to the committee is an Ivy League pedigree. With $1.9T in AUM, they are doing something right. The twist is in their way of working. Extremely conservative approach to work, taking on too much and ending up fighting for resources, unwilling to take smaller risks are all reasons why this company is 10 years behind its competition from the east coast. The Culture In paper, the value system is stellar. One could argue that it could be used as a template for other companies. It is based on mutual self-respect, emphasis on aligning with all parties on decisions, thorough research and long term focus. That is how the investment process works here and delivers long-term results. Every doctrine that stops at a certain level of generality opens itself for interpretation, often misinterpretation just like the Constitution. This company succumbs to such a fate as well. - Meeting culture Have you come across a place where they talk more about the work than actually doing it? Welcome! Collaboration is interpreted as consensus and the approach to consensus is meetings. If only performance was assessed by meetings and the loudest voices in the meeting .... This company operates on a noxious meeting culture, associates spend 60-80% of their time in meetings. There are prep-meetings, planned meetings and follow up meetings. Yet, that coveted decision that was supposed to be made will always be a moving target. Would you like to know why? Because they can't articulate what decision they were trying to make or the upshot of the meeting. - Decision making No-one feels empowered to make decisions or lack the courage required to do so because they are nursing burns from past experiences. Spunk and drive are met with screeching brakes at every turn until you slow down to the pace of the 405 during peak hours. There is no use stepping on the gas. Remember, you are on an aircraft carrier that's moving on a California highway. You HAVE to wait. - Demeanor 'Everybody is so nice' - you will hear this quite often and it is so true, whether you are a contractor or an employee. Until you are caught unawares during a routine 1:1 with your supervisor or you see your performance review. Co-workers rarely sort out their differences directly with you because the culture forbids 'confrontation'. The result? lack of courage that seeks to complain to one's manager or toss one's cookies all over your performance feedback. These people are determined. They are patient, they will wait until your performance review and then get the job done. - Work-life balance The verdict is mixed here, but for the most part, there is no other FinServ company out there that can match CG's work-life balance. It exists. - Title and compensation The pay structure is excellent. Generous basic pay compared to other FinServ companies + 2 bonuses + a generous retirement plan. The grip tightens as you age in the system because job titles are not on par with the market and you will find it difficult to venture out and get paid better. It is a 6-year golden cuff to vest retirement benefits, to say the least. - Diversity I will fight the criticism that this company is not diverse. There is an active focus on Diversity now. In the past year or so I have seen more people of color working, but I am no expert. It is a sensitive topic and I sure am not a fan of forcing diversity in hiring decisions where the focus should be on hiring the best match for the job. The People Decent bunch. Many of them are very talented, respectful and committed. In times of urgency or crisis, they will willingly rally around the cause, forget their differences and jump right in to help. And then some have spent 20, 30, even 40 years at this company. Exceptions aside, many of them thrive on nostalgia alone, without getting any work done. Big fat egos, passive-aggressive behavior and know-how on gaming the system is their forte. Mind you, they don't want you to come in with fresh ideas and challenge their ways. Anybody from the outside is a threat to their backward ideas and speed (lack) of execution. Well, can you blame them when a 20-year veteran has sat in a manager role for 15 of them? The Leadership At the very top, there are really capable and well-connected people. As you start descending the pyramid, there are so many 'oh dear's. Sensitive like a teenager, egotistic, temperamental, passive-aggressive and much more. Promoting favoritism, constantly talking over others and filling their calendar with meetings so that they can show they are 'busy' is what they do. There is no mind-space to do any work. Ask them what they work on in a typical day. It will be 8 hours of meetings or the work their teams are on. These so-called leaders have no deliverable that they lead. Most of them do not understand the concept of having a strategy before jumping into execution. All they know is 'project' / 'initiative'. Oh, nowadays it is Agile! This layer between the Management Committee and the foot soldiers is made of a bunch of SVPs and Senior Managers. They are like the perma-frost under Russia. Toxic emissions escape when they thaw and are capable of destroying the company from within. Your Job Well my friend, if you are coming from a fast-paced and bleeding-edge culture, expect to be very very very frustrated. There is no exaggeration when I say that. Outdated processes, aging workforce, crippled decision making and a false sense of superiority will drive you nuts. All this when you have the latest technologies purchased and under-used. Essentially, you will be driving a Ferrari on the busy roads of SoCal, doing grocery shopping. Fearless leaders to watch out for ... 0s and 1s I have not come across a FinServ company where a cost-center wields so my influence on business operations. They have restricted options for the business to make good use of the dollar. There will be a fixed annual IT budget and they are very reluctant to use a global sourcing model. Even if a business unit has money to accomplish something, they have to get into the prioritization game to steal from one area to pay another. Oh and the characters you will come across will be amazing. 2 in particular ... There is the sordid patrial who talks big game to arm candies he brings along to events. And the colonial he now has to call a peer. The most abrasive, unclassy know-it-all who has multiple HR complaints against him. Mouthpieces Sordid bunch. They have a spunky new leader who is standing up on the gas pedal and growing frustrated with the outcome. Unfortunately, he has so many blind spots that I can see him heading for the exit soon. They fight so much among themselves and the leader has had 1 hit and 1 'where did the ball go' miss among the 2 hires he made. The threshold for making the leadership team here is strong ties to sales, many years of warming the seat and inability to successfully deliver anything. Display The leader and the leadership team is so lost. For a company that talks about collaboration and alignment, everything is top-down here. The leader is just lost. Word is, there was a crowd-sourcing effort to define the north star for this group in a swanky hotel, where the gathering was left dumbfounded when they realized the caliber of their new fearless leader. So, you decide the outcome you want. Growth or dormancy, choice is yours and good luck.