Q Investments Reviews

Pros

- Hardworking and intelligent group of individuals - Meritocratic work environment where you are progressed based on your skills/ability - Interesting work where no two days are ever the same - Company invests great time/resources in the development of employee technical skills

Cons

- No major cons you can expect a fast paced/high pressure environment like any hedge fund. However hard work and willingness to learn is rewarded and recognized.

Pros

• This is not an easy job- but if you have the right attitude, understand the expectations, and are willing to put forth the effort to learn / execute, the pros outweigh the cons • Solid Health Insurance • If you show you are competent and interested in doing the work, you will be immediately thrown into the Lions Den on incredibly interesting and niche projects across a variety of groups across the firm(Trading, Credit, Real Estate, Tax, Fin Control, the Bank, etc.) • You get the opportunity to look at a variety of different types of investment strategies, often working directly under the Partners, Portfolio Managers, and CEO. While these projects can be challenging, you are on the front lines seeing initiatives throughout the life cycle, creating reporting tools and analytics used for thought construction, execution, and management of large investment positions and learning about a lot of interesting things. • The firm has a high attention to detail that is instilled into everything, it’s a good problem-solving mindset to develop and helps with time management and understanding process improvements. • ERM has latitude to present process improvements, build analytics / tools on top of the databases, and even work with IT to develop / extend Q’s internal applications. • The firm is serious about training / providing you with resources to make sure you are equipped to handle the demanding responsibilities of the job. There is a structured, internally developed Excel/VBA/SQL training program and helps build capacity to increase productivity. • The culture here is unique. Everyone including most of the chiefs are fairly casual and working on the trade desk is an open/ fun environment. Everyone who works here is sharp, and collegiate, and the open work environment promotes collaboration. Some of the most big-brained, and small-brained discussions you will ever hear will occur at the Q Trade Desk. • During the summers there are half days on Fridays if you’ve been at the firm long enough • Lottery for unique events at Cowboy Stadium, events around DFW, and the occasional VIPs. The events are really awesome if you use this perk. • The lunch allowance perk is pretty good. Not having a “lunch break” is an adjustment, but the selection of restaurants is extensive, and there are holiday luncheons that allow the whole office to get together, every month we have rotating perks of hot chocolate bars / omelet bars / nitro cold brew etc.

Cons

• Other than internal motivation to learn, you are not incentivized to go the extra mile. There is no reward for putting in extra effort or taking on more responsibility. • If you are on a high priority assignment or a special situation arises, the work/life balance can become stressful. There will be times where you’re sacrificing evenings, nights, weekends, holidays to get to the finish line of a project and this can become demanding over time. • CEO has extremely high expectations / demands a high degree of accuracy and detail, but sometimes provides mercurial directives that are often not MECE and lead to excess effort / resources to get him exactly what he wants in the format he wants to see. • Sometimes the chain of command is suboptimal because we are either following a directive from above, performing a perfunctory task because it’s always been done that way and people are hesitant to change the procedure, or PM’s sometimes relay unclear/changing directives that are not communicated clearly to the necessary teams • Can sometimes get Orwellian at times being “on call” at the desk all day without going outside / leaving your pod, the FOB system alerts your supervisor if you’re more than 5 minutes late, etc. • As with any job you will have to do the occasional admin work, printouts, rote tasks/reports that come with any job that are for form vs substance. These should be treated with the same degree of diligence as the more exciting tasks because while they are not exciting they do help build the attention to detail / discipline for other tasks.

Pros

* True equal opportunity - you can make the experience what you want it to be. Put in the effort, reap the reward. * Every person hired in the office must pass a screen of tough interviews and tests - proving they are: smart, hard-working, and a team-player * Outstanding daily challenges * High demand for excellence * Great systems of checks / balances * Open / flat physical layout - for collaboration * Flat corporate structure * Casual dress / catered lunches / paid parking / holiday and summer perks - all very cool

Cons

* It's a "hedge fund culture" meaning you must be prepared to put in 50-60 hours per week. They do this primarily to support the capital markets trading efforts - market hours are 830am-3pm CST - and there are pre/post-market requirements for most in the office, therefore making the standard day 8am-6pm or thereabouts. * Make sure you're prepared to check in on emails after hours and weekends a few times. I rarely had to give up a dinner or a weekend in total, so this was never really a huge issue - but you've just got to be prepared for the possibility.

Pros

Q hires smart people who are generally willing to teach and mentor younger hires. This is facilitated by an open office layout which makes communication with coworkers and supervisors easy. A flat hierarchical structure cuts out red tape and makes work move quickly. The attention to detail and overall strong work ethic you learn at Q will make you a standout employee anywhere else you go.

Cons

Q has a high-stress environment, and everyone works at least 8am-6pm Monday-Friday without leaving the office for lunch. Work-life balance can be difficult since you work at least 10 hours straight and you are required to check your email at least once in the evening as well. Q can also feel invasive with strict non-disclosure agreements, cameras around the office, requests after hours, etc. Offers are typically structured to require a two year commitment, and many employees don't stay long beyond the two year mark. As with many companies, the interview process is a good reflection of the work environment. The process is thorough, detailed, and requires a fair amount of personal time. You are also required to prove your SAT/ACT score and show your social media as part of the process. If you feel uncomfortable or frustrated during the interview process, Q may not be for you.

Pros

Q fosters an all-star environment for individuals with the fortitude and moxie to excel at being the best they can hope to be. They provide ample room to grow and learn from the best while doing so. As employees grow, it’s not uncommon to see them move across departments with higher interests. The heart of Q is to establish an environment for mature people who want a career working, learning, and teaching one another in a family-style setting. – individuals must be willing to play just as hard! Hard work does not come without reward at Q.

Cons

The fast-paced atmosphere caters to hard workers and those who are not faint of heart. You must have patience, desire, and passion for becoming the best you can be. Working for Q requires a commitment between yourself and the Q team. It is not conducive for those looking for a “check.”

Pros

I worked at Q Investments for almost 8 years. Honestly, this is a very fast paced work environment with high expectations and longer than expected work hours. It can be challenging; however, the people you work with will support you and contribute greatly to your growth. There are several habits I developed while in this work environment that are contributing greatly to my success in my new role and for that, I’m very grateful. I was surrounded by very intelligent, focused, professional, hard-working individuals daily. They were always available and willing to educate, and I found leaving my team very difficult. --- Fellow employees and relationships you build while working at the company. Lunches are catered daily from restaurants in the surrounding area. There are amazing holiday dinners catered in Thanksgiving and Christmas. Casual dress work environment.

Cons

There are standard 10 hour workdays. Smaller company so opportunities for growth within the company are limited. Work life balance can be challenging if you have a family.

Pros

- Intelligent and dedicated co-workers - You get exposed to all parts of finance & different types of interesting problems - Very meritocratic work environment.

Cons

- Like most jobs in the industry, you will likely have to put in the occasional late night or weekend.

Pros

not too many pros at this place

Cons

they like to use their workers

Pros

Being able to work with and learn from very smart individuals. The benefits are really great.

Cons

There is very little work life balance having to be in the office for 10+ hours a day.

Pros

Great place for growth right out of college, amazing people, beautiful office in downtown Fort Worth, and fun team outings.

Cons

Fast paced (as with any hedge fund), 50 hours/week, limited upward mobility (although lots of lateral opportunity) - but the recruiting team is great at explaining all this from the first phone call