Winton Group FAQ

Recent Coronavirus outbreak has showed just how much the senior management care about the employees. Staff were told to work from home way before the government advice, regular company-wide emails are being sent to employees with a constant theme of employee welfare being their number one priority, and offering additional support to anyone that needs it. Good technology has enabled everyone to work from home easily and effectively. Management very understanding of difficult circumstances with childcare now that the schools have shut. Put simply, I feel that Winton has me and my family's back. Other "normal" benefits include free breakfast, coffee and lunch. On-site doctor. No restrictive training budgets (just have a conversation with your manager about why it's needed). Promotions given to those which work hard. Competitive pay and good pension.

No transparency of how bonuses are calculated.

Continue caring for your staff, and in return they will reward you with their loyalty.

Nice Herman Miller office chair. Best food ever, 5 star experience every day, in house chef, in house barista, unlimited drinks, nuts dried fruits...

Office atmosphere is a bit cold, not a place to feel comfortable in; which reflects the company culture. The CEO does not engage with lower beings, his lieutenants guard him like a fraternity secret. This creates a politically charged atmosphere where everyone is afraid of being struck off for threatening the status-quo... And they frequently are. There are some really smart people there, lured by the money, but in general salaries are on the low side. Technology is stagnant as priorities are determined via waterfall process. Very slow to implement change. There is no agile methods at all, though they do use JIRA.

You can gain a lot by implementing agile mechanisms throughout. Reduce the effect of politics and improve the velocity and dynamism of the development process.

The quarterly cash bonus was really good in the golden age of Winton, but reduced performance has pushed these down. The offices are well-maintained and the canteen is free.

Toxic culture, no trust, limited career opportunities, constant reorganisation. Winton feels like a tired company trying to recover its former glory purely by focusing on PR. For various reasons there has been very little yield from its huge research efforts outside of blog posts and internal powerpoint presentations. As a result, it feels as though Winton’s early advantage in data-driven approach has been eroded. There is a negligible amount of meaningful communication from the clique of managers directly around the CEO to the rest of the organisation. This leads to paralysis in large parts of the company, and high levels of ambiguity and waste. While token efforts have been made recently, no amount of fancy graphics compensate for a coherent strategy. The Founder/CEO is unquestionably intelligent, but allows himself to be influenced by people more adept at flattery than leadership. The inner court spends most of its time working out how to stay on the right side of the CEO, and will never knowingly contradict his presumed views. This structure leads to a significant lack of trust throughout the organisation. Objectives are unclear and huge amounts of ambiguity means that nobody is willing to use initiative or take risks. Few can relate to claims on the website that Winton looks after its people; there are countless examples of well-regarded colleagues randomly disappearing without any warning. Statistically, in any given year, you’re more likely to get fired than receive training. Lots of the brightest people have left over the last couple of years or are actively looking elsewhere. For a long term strategic systematic investor, there is a surprising absence of long term strategy or systematic thinking. The environment is truly toxic. If you have always wondered what it felt like to live through Stalin’s purges, I can honestly recommend a spell at Winton Capital.

Pointless. CEO has total power and the only ones he would ever take advice from are Jim Simons and Warren Buffet.

The quarterly cash bonus was really good in the golden age of Winton, but reduced performance has pushed these down. The offices are well-maintained and the canteen is free.

Toxic culture, no trust, limited career opportunities, constant reorganisation. Winton feels like a tired company trying to recover its former glory purely by focusing on PR. For various reasons there has been very little yield from its huge research efforts outside of blog posts and internal powerpoint presentations. As a result, it feels as though Winton’s early advantage in data-driven approach has been eroded. There is a negligible amount of meaningful communication from the clique of managers directly around the CEO to the rest of the organisation. This leads to paralysis in large parts of the company, and high levels of ambiguity and waste. While token efforts have been made recently, no amount of fancy graphics compensate for a coherent strategy. The Founder/CEO is unquestionably intelligent, but allows himself to be influenced by people more adept at flattery than leadership. The inner court spends most of its time working out how to stay on the right side of the CEO, and will never knowingly contradict his presumed views. This structure leads to a significant lack of trust throughout the organisation. Objectives are unclear and huge amounts of ambiguity means that nobody is willing to use initiative or take risks. Few can relate to claims on the website that Winton looks after its people; there are countless examples of well-regarded colleagues randomly disappearing without any warning. Statistically, in any given year, you’re more likely to get fired than receive training. Lots of the brightest people have left over the last couple of years or are actively looking elsewhere. For a long term strategic systematic investor, there is a surprising absence of long term strategy or systematic thinking. The environment is truly toxic. If you have always wondered what it felt like to live through Stalin’s purges, I can honestly recommend a spell at Winton Capital.

Pointless. CEO has total power and the only ones he would ever take advice from are Jim Simons and Warren Buffet.

- Easy work - Good salary for what it actually is - Free breakfast

- No chance to move up or for promotion - Unfriendly upper management