Capstone (Washington DC) Reviews

Pros

I honestly cant think of a single pro of working here other than very smart colleagues... but then again its DC- every workplace is bound to have ambitious, intelligent, go-getter colleagues.

Cons

Management is clearly writing fake 5 star reviews to combat ACTUAL experiences working here. Working at Capstone was hands down the worst job position I have ever held: toxic office culture, poor management, and a CEO who refuses to grant employees any real hybrid schedule, despite the fact the company had its largest growth ever during peak Covid, (aka fully WFH). How can you so clearly distrust your employees to WFH when they proved they can more than line your pockets when they were fully WFH? If you are considering employment here, as a former employee, here's my advice: don't.

Pros

My mid- and lower-level colleagues at Capstone are truly some of the most brilliant, talented, and wonderful people I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with. The work as an analyst was often challenging and intellectually stimulating, and I found that I was rarely bored when working on projects. It is a good place to learn about unique and niche policy changes at the state and local levels.

Cons

The most significant con about Capstone is the management team. There is very little transparency with decision making and company-wide policy changes, and updates are often bookended with erratic, borderline threatening emails from the CEO. Managers have stated that decisions are often made unilaterally by the CEO, which has created a culture where people cannot speak freely because they fear retaliation. In an attempt to appear transparent, Capstone conducted an anonymous employee survey at the end of 2022 after several months of employees suggesting one due to the return to work mandate, as many people were understandably frustrated about the change. As of May 1, 2023, the results from the survey have still not been shared. This has left employees feeling frustrated and confused, and I am not sure people will feel comfortable being honest with leadership in the future since there has been very little transparency with this process thus far. My direct manager consistently made me feel as if I was always assumed guilty and had to prove my innocence, instead of the other way around. Finding a work-life balance at Capstone is nearly impossible, and that has only been exacerbated in recent months as 10 people have left the company since January 1, 2023. Specialists were recently asked to begin supporting other teams – despite the existence of a generalist team specifically designed to offer support in times of high workload – because the company has such a high turnover rate. The CEO recently sent out a company-wide email telling everyone they would have to start staying late in the office regardless of their workload as a way to boost morale of the individuals who are working incredibly long days due to staffing issues. When you do actually take your allotted PTO, it is commonplace for managers to contact you/schedule meetings during that time. There have been several instances where employees were visiting family, sometimes for sensitive/emotional matters, and ended up taking work meetings despite being out of the office. The financial solvency of this company is questionable. The CEO signed several new office leases in the last few months, while simultaneously cutting back many perks for current employees. Management recently announced they are considering having employees pay for part of their own healthcare premium starting in 2024 and there has been a termination of in-office catering (which used to occur several times a week and employees viewed as a relatively fair trade-off for losing the ability to work remotely). Bonuses were also cut in 2023, and there have been multiple layoffs of employees due to our current financial situation, but with no transparency or honesty to current employees about how these decisions are made or how concerned employees should be. In fact, several employees have reached out to their own managers and HR to discuss these concerns but have been brushed off. There is also minimal diversity at this company, and the few women and people of color who do work there are leaving in droves. There have been several instances of female employees being paid less than their male counterparts despite being more qualified and having higher educational credentials. In the last calendar year, more than half of the individuals who have left the company have been women or people of color.

Pros

Interesting work with excellent and experienced colleagues (not management). The intersection of finance and policy is genuinely fascinating and I learned a lot about how these two areas work together.

Cons

The cons at this firm are unfortunately numerous. The high turnover rate should explain the widespread lack of satisfaction among employees. In 2023 alone, around 10 people have either left the firm or been asked to leave, and at the time of writing this review it is still not May. Management does not communicate how decisions are made regarding raises, promotions, or the remote work policy. There is a palpable distrust from management at this firm towards people when they choose to work remotely and the recent change in work from home policy reflects this. Management has missed the point of a work from home policy, which is flexibility, and has mistaken people’s desire for work from home as a way to somehow shirk their responsibilities. There is a really begrudging attitude by management and the CEO in particular to give the employees any sort of benefit of the doubt. Management refuses to trust employees and insists on micromanaging you. My direct manager was very suspicious of every member of the team and I found that I was constantly having to report my whereabouts to them for fear of getting disciplined. Management is very disorganized and treats employees as though they are expendable. Management is also dishonest with employees and refuses to communicate on important issues. An employee satisfaction survey went unaddressed for many months. The CEO routinely sends erratic and passive aggressive emails. Work/life balance: Capstone’s management does not, simply put, believe in the concept of a work-life balance for themselves or for anyone else. Even if you finish your work on time and are getting all your deliverables out, management still looks poorly on you for not “staying late.” A particularly indecipherable email from management even told people to stay late, even if there was no work to do, to promote morale. If morale at this firm is so fragile that people not staying late every day of the week, even when there is nothing to do, can shatter it, I shudder to think what management has done to make it so. The associates and senior associates are some of the most lovely, supportive, and kind people I have ever met. They are all whip-smart, highly qualified, and were great teammates and colleagues to me while I was at the firm. Management does not care about retention, which is especially negatively impactful because there have been highly qualified people who have left this firm due to management’s incompetence. There is an appalling lack of diversity at this firm. People of color and women are, time and time again, underpaid, underpromoted, and underrepresented in the firm. I find that even the women managers at Capstone have issues with how they interact with their female employees versus their male employees. Female employees are subject to more scrutiny. HR does not work in your best interest and is often adversarial. HR was not honest with employees and was not trustworthy. Compensation: Compensation at Capstone is average if you are coming out of school with just a bachelors degree. Those of you with a graduate degree or higher, please know that you can get better compensated for your qualifications elsewhere. This is not a firm that cares about its people or compensating them for their accomplishments. Conclusion: At every turn, I found that my immediate manager and the CEO were committed to putting forward the most incomprehensible and illogical policies. I was constantly stressed about getting in trouble, despite following the rules. There were others at the firm who were able to flaunt the remote work policy freely without getting disciplined by management. I would not recommend this firm. The coworkers are the only good thing about Capstone and if you pay attention to the staffing rates, you will notice that they too are leaving.

Pros

Covering policy for investors is an interesting and engaging task!

Cons

This workplace is so toxic, and it doesn't seem to be getting any better. Management is actively writing fake positive reviews for the company on Glassdoor rather than exercising humility, handling their issues, and choosing to grow as individuals and leaders. The only kind of growth mindset they employ is a financial one. They do not care about their employees.

Pros

Despite my best efforts, the only pros I can identify lie within people who have left or are leaving Capstone (in droves). As of writing this, there are 12 employees who have left Capstone since January 1, 2023.

Cons

As a former Capstone employee, I would not recommend this company to anyone looking for a positive work environment, career growth, respect, or autonomy. During my time there, I experienced a toxic work culture that was perpetuated by poor management practices. The company's leadership team lacked transparency and did not seem to care about the well-being of their employees. Decisions were made without input or consideration from those who would be directly affected, leading to a sense of distrust and frustration among the staff. Further, company policies were applied disproportionately and tended to benefit white, male-identifying employees. Although the CEO and others will suggest the compensation and benefits at this company are “better” than others, the compensation and benefits are wholly inadequate. Raises and compensation are solely based on whether your supervisor will advocate for you and if the CEO likes you. In multiple instances, I observed the salary and promotion decisions at Capstone appeared to be based on factors other than experience and education. In some cases, individuals with less experience and qualifications were routinely making more than those with more experience and education. In my experience and in that of others, these disparities were sometimes due to friendships or personal connections with supervisors and the CEO, rather than job performance or qualifications. Moreover, multiple employees attempted to advocate for greater flexibility in PTO and remote work, and were met with remarks from management suggesting laziness and lack of work ethic. Capstone actively cut numerous benefits (i.e. lunches, breakfasts, happy hours), while forcing employees to do more. The company is currently suggesting employees begin paying for some of their own healthcare. It is incomprehensible to me to suggest this company cares about its people and culture, while maintaining low compensation and few benefits. Additionally, the workload was often overwhelming and unrealistic, leading to burnout and high turnover rates. Despite attempts to raise these concerns to management, there was little effort made to address the underlying issues. Employees were often expected to work during vacation or time off, and given deadlines that encouraged poor work life balance and completing the work of others. Overall, I would advise anyone considering working for this company to think twice and carefully consider whether the potential benefits are worth the risks. Capstone’s management actively promotes a culture of discrimination, distrust, misogyny, racism, and cronyism.

Pros

Great company , great environment . Inclusive

Cons

None really. Long hours are expected in a fund so no complaints

Pros

Inspired and fun people at junior levels who focus on working well as a team under stressful and unfair conditions. Support from Washington is difficult but useful.

Cons

UK directors are allowed relative freedom to shout and harass junior colleagues. When cases are brought to HR they can fail to result in actionable changes. Women are treated poorly, often seen as providing less in a culture built around midnight work sessions and work till you drop attitudes. The UK leadership actively discourage UK colleagues collaborating with US team-members due to a culture of secrecy and 'better than them' attitude.

Pros

Fun work, the work never stops and is extremely interesting, especially if you like the intersection of government and investment policy. My colleagues (not leadership) were fantastic and supportive of one another. We all were always under pressure from tasks and we made the most of it.

Cons

No work life balance, it is expected that you will work during your PTO. They always stress "take advantage of your PTO", but when you do, they expect you to respond to messages and be on top of things. No clear pathway to promotion. Clearly, this decision is only being made by the CEO or a select few on leadership. It is unacceptable to pass on promoting employees that are productive over employees that excel in office politics. HR and leadership lie or at the very least, are misleading. It is hard to trust your managers when they lie so effortlessly about information that is easily verifiable. This is a huge shock to morale.

Pros

Client exposure, many smart colleagues in the DC office.

Cons

I don’t even know where to start…First, the CEO is a chronic liar and loves to intimidate people with passive-aggressive emails. Second, management is dishonest, highly incompetent, and incapable to retain staff. HR has repeatedly ignored serious matters coming from anybody outside of the management team. It is very bad for a business to operare this way. The HR department has failed in several instances since its establishment. The lack of competence and reluctancy to help employees are clearly reflected in the number of resignations over the last year. It seems to me that serious instances of bullying took place and that no action was taken because the people reported generate revenue. This is unacceptable, especially in such a ‘collegial’ environment. Management should stop professing ‘collegiality’ as it clearly does not uphold this culture. At times it felt like a Herbal Life- kinda scheme, where only people at the top without real qualifications nor skills make decent money and are heard. Everyone else is a slave and can be promoted and paid only at the discretion of his highness the CEO. It also occurred to me that some people became a problem because they were making too much money and the CEO was not happy to pay them based on the compensation structure he designed together with the firm’s sales leadership. As a result, they had to let people go… The UK leadership would prevent any initiative leading to revenue flowing to DC. This is crazy! Perhaps the CEO can’t be bothered to look for more commercial leadership in London. This clearly doesn’t serve him. Capstone is far from being a meritocratic workplace. Only getting in good with the CEO and playing politics well might lead to being promoted (which is unlikely to trigger a meaningful salary increase).

Pros

Smart people, nice office, interesting work

Cons

- CEO doesn’t care about his people - terrible work life balance - no WFH flexibility - culture of fear and intimidation - minorities are generally treated the worst - zero multicultural competence - disrespect from the top