Pros
Fantastic training and development - I walked in the door straight out of college with very little to no experience of the funds industry. This only applies to full time staff however. Contract works and interns, please see Cons below. Not applicable to every office, but the people in my immediate team were very nice and friendly. Would count some of them as friends. However, once i became privvy to management meetings, I noticed what is said on the floor and what is said in meetings is very different. Flexible - I was allowed flexible working hours and the option to work from home when required. Knowledge - some of the more senior people in the team are industry leaders and a great source of knowledge (but see cons for more info) Opportunities - pros and cons - very easy to progress through the first few levels (A1, A2, Senior Associate) but see Cons for progressing further than that.
Cons
Knowledge - while I stated above that the VPs and above are very knowledgable, they are not very approachable and you'll be lucky to get any response on a query to them. Salary - not good. Lower end of the market. When negotiating for a payrise, I was told "this is the best we can do, you're lucky to get this as we don't usually go this high". I interviewed elsewhere, got an offer, and then all of a sudden they were able to match the offer from elsewhere. Go figure. Bonuses - 5% of salary unless you're senior management. Compared to 10-20% elsewhere. Culture changing - With workloads increasing, the focus has been on getting interns in to keep up with backlogs. I have been invovled in meetings where, upon discussing incoming interns, it was said "we'll just stick them in a corner doing X while they're here - no point training them up on everything if they're going to leave." Horrible attitude. Opportunities - while progressing through junior levels is very quick (if you're up to the job), progressing beyond that is a no-no unless you're prepared to play office politics. Doesn't apply to me as I've not been here long enough, but I've seen colleagues who have been here for years who are competent, approachable and great leaders be overlooked for those who are pals with senior management, or those who just happen to shout louder. The disconnect between teams leaders and senior management is enormous. Senior Management have no idea what's going on on the floor. Ridiculous workloads, staff shortage, people at breaking point.... and their solution is "power through". Morale - the cons have gotten to morale and the atmosphere has now plummetted. I shudder to think what's around the corner.