Marshall Wace reviews

4.3

80% would recommend to a friend

(51 total reviews)

92% positive business outlook

Marshall Wace has an employee rating of 4.3 out of 5 stars, based on 51 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have an excellent working experience there. The Marshall Wace 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

51 reviews
1.0
Oct 17, 2017

Analysts treated poorly

Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Very nice office, free meals. Big firm with good resources.

Cons

Zero concern for analysts. Lousy pay. Recruiters exaggerate bonus potential during hiring process without disclosing unfavourable deferred comp structure. Analysts get fired on a whim. Partners and PMs hoard most of the profit and throw chump change to analysts. Management could care less about developing analysts.

2.0
Mar 20, 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Marshall Wace is a great place to learn fresh out of university, also generally early on in one's career. The setup is very collaborative and one can learn a lot quickly.

Cons

The firm relies rather heavily on the quant strategies for its bottom line, but there is generally little appreciation of quants by the senior management. I got the impression quant was seen as a sort of backwater. It compliments the main business but is not considered on par with the other front office teams. Maybe it's changed since but likely not. In a sense that is expected, given the firm's DNA is essentially in non-quant and fundamental investing. That is what has helped them grow into one of the most successful hedge funds at the moment. It is mushroom management a bit though. It's more keep your head down and keep producing good research. This setup has probably contributed to the large number of departures from the quant teams of people with up to around 3 or 5 years of experience. Normally over 80% of team comprise of graduates and people with a few years of experience. Beyond that level people generally move on elsewhere. I got the impression that management weren't particularly bothered by this situation. The churn is sort of factored into their hiring decisions. Like I said earlier though, it is a great place to be early on in one's career. As long as you approach it as such you are unlikely to be disappointed. The quality of people that work there is very high. I definitely do not regret the years I spent there.

5.0
Oct 13, 2016

MWAM - great company

Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

MW is a technology driven company, from the roots of quantitative trading has grown an organisation that is inherently data driven and technological at heart. Enormous leeway is given to technologists to choose the appropriate tools and systems to solve business problems rather than hidebound adherence to specific technologies Bureaucracy is kept to a minimum The people at MW, across business and technology are some of the smartest in the business Relatively small teams for a firm with the assets of MWAM foster communication within the teams High degree of automation across multiple areas of the business These last 3 things make for an environment where learning to be excellent rather than good is available Chances to work in technology areas other than your core speciality are always open The latest office move is spectacular - 5 floors on Sloane square, a gym and a restaurant taking an entire floor, and equipped to a high degree not seen normally Culture driven from the energetic Ian Wace is definitely not stuffy!

Cons

Very rigid on starting times, 8 am on the dot daily High pressure environment, only suited to someone with a high tolerance for ambiguity and the ability to deal with conflicting requirements Low on process - the other edge of the lack of bureaucracy.

Viewing 1 - 3 of 51 Reviews

Glassdoor has 67 Marshall Wace reviews submitted anonymously by Marshall Wace employees. Read employee reviews and ratings on Glassdoor to decide if Marshall Wace is right for you.