First Quadrant Reviews

3.0

41% would recommend to a friend

(31 total reviews)
avatar

Max Darnell

60% approve of CEO

31% positive business outlook

First Quadrant has an employee rating of 3.0 out of 5 stars, based on 31 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an average working experience there. The First Quadrant employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Finance industry (3.7 stars).

Reviews by job title

31 reviews
1.0
May 7, 2016

Don't Waste Your Time

Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

The recently refurbished office space is very nice and decent coffee and snacks are provided.

Cons

I felt compelled to write this review after reading the post dated March 6, 2016. Everything in that post is ABSOLUTELY TRUE. There are so many issues that should be brought to the attention of potential employees. If you are looking to grow, learn and thrive in the industry, then FQ is categorically not the place for you. Skill sets are misapplied on a regular basis, and those that advance in the business are the "Yes Men". It is extremely unfortunate that real skill and intelligence aren't valued, as they are at competent financial companies. HR is outright unapproachable. When the head of HR is a partner, it creates an irrefutable conflict of interest. Why this was even allowed to happen is beyond anybody's understanding! It's also becoming the norm for seemingly competent employees to vanish overnight, no explanation given and never to be seen again. This has made the workplace setting uncomfortable, and has understandably created somewhat of a tense and distrustful environment. You just never know when it will be your turn to pack up and move on to greener pastures!

2.0
Jan 29, 2018

Director

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Laid back atmosphere and some friendly colleagues

Cons

* Uppper management/partners squeeze their employees and do not compensate employees that do not speak up--not generous at all. * Lots of unqualified Directors/managers. * Politics is huge for a mid-size firm like First Quadrant. There's no accountability for those who talk a good game.

1.0
Nov 28, 2016

Sad State of Affairs

Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Many friendly employees who are generally easy to get along with.

Cons

Oh where does one begin?? Put quite simply, this is a dreadful company to work for. It is embarrassingly mismanaged. There are some extraordinarily intelligent people that work here, but their contributions are frequently ignored or not taken very seriously. Management seems hell bent on improving the image of the company, but what it really needs is a significant improvement in performance. Signing new clients is difficult because the current investment strategies/techniques just aren’t hitting the mark. Morale has been low for a long period of time, and management’s attempt to improve this has been futile. Comments with regard to HR in another post, hit the nail on the head. Popular opinion suggests that HR is focused on keeping management happy and not the regular employees. Very unprofessional and defeats the purpose of having HR in the first place.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 31 Reviews

Glassdoor has 32 First Quadrant reviews submitted anonymously by First Quadrant employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if First Quadrant is right for you.