Ruffer Reviews

Pros

Best work-life balance and good learning

Cons

There is no cons, still might improve in over timing

Pros

This is more of a between 4 and 4.5 review. No workplace is perfect but my experience was very positive. I worked in a really great team and worked across with other really great teams. I sat exams to qualify and was fully supported the whole way, in particular emotionally which cannot be underplayed as a positive. My line manager in particular was incredibly supportive and remains so even after I have left. Firm purpose always felt noble in my view and they genuinely believed it. Management were extremely welcoming to me and I enjoyed interacting with them. Ruffer was generous with L&D budgets, make a strong enough case and they will support you in it and even front the cash. I could list a few more. I spent a long time there (most of my 20s) and I learnt so much so I will always remember it fondly.

Cons

Without trying to be "weasely" in my wording but the cons I perceived came from, mostly, the general flatness of most of the structure. I outgrew my position and the minimal churn meant I had limited space to expand - this lack of opportunity is not something that was done deliberately, more just a fact of life! I think my only real con is the opacity of messaging from leadership. I was close to it and saw some of it crafted and even I struggled to understand the point of it. This can and did create a level of apathy about the Firm’s direction.

Pros

- They generally look after their people well - Nice offices - Work-life balance reasonably good

Cons

- Hit major growing pains, affecting the culture - Internal movement very difficult

Pros

Salary is above sector average

Cons

Deeply unhappy place to work. People vanish through revolving door and partners fired to cut costs.

Pros

You can leave fairly promptly.

Cons

Male, pale and stale. A miserable lot who trundle into work every day to sit around and chortle at other teams and those unlike them. Management have their favourites. You will not get promoted unless you fit their 'vision'. There is no legitimate hierarchy or trajectory for hard workers. This is a small, privately owned asset manager who do whatever they want, at the expense of those that work for them. Front office is basically all White. Back office still mainly White. Go on their website to look at 'Who's Who' for evidence of the above. They promote the most monstruous, slimey, self-serving people. DO NOT WORK HERE unless you want to be surrounded by sycophantic, opera-loving, passée, ex-aristocratic people who are desperately trying to cling onto their long-gone ancestral aristocratic status and are now clutching at a new world without colonial straws. Also - their performance evidences all of the above. Factsheets are warped by picking and choosing benchmarks to suit them. The reality of their performance vs. peers and the market speaks for itself. One "good" year in 5 years; and that "good" year only made a positive return of 7ish percent. You can't blame that on the pandemic forever, sweetie.

Pros

Investment priority of protecting client portfolios runs deep across all teams, there is a genuine effort to do this well. A growing firm that still keeps a 'smaller firm' feel with opportunities to work with colleagues collaboratively. A lot of change over the past 18 months to react to changing market conditions and expand globally, at times this has been tough but also exciting opportunities and a good energy. Great flexibility.

Cons

Workloads can be heavy and roles are changing which adds to stress, communication from senior managers is not always consistent between teams. Career progression isn't always clear - .

Pros

Good place to work and everyone is friendly and helpful

Cons

No downfalls that I notice

Pros

I worked at Ruffer for close to a decade. As it's been close to a year since I left, I wanted to leave a review with the benefit of hindsight. Ruffer is a growing and opportunistic firm, with a history of capitalizing on its investment engine to gain exposure to new asset classes and on its client facing teams to break into new markets (Europe first, then Australia and more recently the Middle East, Asia and the US). What makes this firm special: - Its people. I made life long friends at Ruffer and learned a great deal from my colleagues. The relationships that you build there carry through time. Since I left, many senior people have given me time and guidance to help me succeed in my new role. - High integrity. This is a firm where making a mistake and owning it is viewed very positively. This accelerates your learning curve and teaches you a valuable way to lead people. - Outstanding investment thinking: only when you leave do you realize how much being at Ruffer has shaped (in the best way possible) the way you think about risk, macro/liquidity regimes and implementing those views in portfolios in creative ways (Japanese life insurers to hedge duration risk!). - Early exposure to clients: I started meeting clients on my second day at Ruffer. Very quickly you will be trusted to lead part of client meetings and not long after that you will have your own clients to look after.

Cons

What to be mindful of: The company is going through a period of transformation which creates frustrations as well as lots of opportunities to those with the skillet to accompany and accelerate the change. Roles and responsibilities in parts of the business are being redesigned. When interviewing, be sure to ask plenty of questions about the role, the team and it all fits together. Senior Management is very aware of this. Before leaving, I spent time with the CEO to have a "no holds barred" conversation about what I thought could be improved. I should think that more of these conversations happened after I left.

Pros

Friendly culture, lots of socials etc and good work/life balance

Cons

lots of opaque processes and progression very dependent on team

Pros

Everyone is great to work with, good culture and greatt benefits

Cons

Lots of people with not a lot of work