AQR Capital Management Reviews
Updated 7 Dec 2019
Recommend to a Friend
Approve of CEO
Cliff Asness, Ph.D.
53 Ratings
Pros
"Free lunch, convenient location for CT residents" (in 8 reviews)
"Extremely smart people and high standards which definitely helped me grow a ton as a Software Engineer" (in 7 reviews)
Cons
"Work-life balance can be hard, you don’t care about entry level guys, they hire entry level guys only for working not for growing" (in 6 reviews)
"Bad location, sometimes long hours" (in 6 reviews)
- Helpful (3)
"Learn a lot, but awful management and extremely tough environment"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
I worked at AQR Capital Management full-time for more than a year
Pros
Learn a great amount about investment management, business development
Cons
-Awful management and senior leadership does not care about junior's happiness -Awful hours, really no work/life balance
AQR Capital Management2019-04-09 "Great experience, hard hours to work"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at AQR Capital Management full-time for more than a year
Pros
People and culture were among the things that stuck out
Cons
Long hours worked and commute were things that werent great
AQR Capital Management2019-12-08"Great People"
StarStarStarStarStarI worked at AQR Capital Management full-time
Pros
smart and nice coworkers free food/drinks quiet work environment
Cons
Relatively low pay Not much interest in markets
AQR Capital Management2019-11-13"Heavy on quants, compact departmental structure, heavy on academic people"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
Doesn't RecommendNeutral OutlookNo Opinion of CEOI have been working at AQR Capital Management full-time for more than a year
Pros
Fast people role movement provides academic materials and online resources so you can learn for your own growth
Cons
Tough moving across more analytical groups due to heavy preference on python skills. Heavy on quantitative python process, heavy preference for MBA,PHd and top school candidates.
Advice to Management
Make other counterparts part of regional branch set-up, other region counterparts will benefit if they are part of parent company itself.
AQR Capital Management2019-11-12- Helpful (3)
"Exceptional Company"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at AQR Capital Management full-time for more than 3 years
Pros
- Some of the smartest and kindest people you will ever work for/with in your career. - Always something to learn @ AQR, and always someone willing to teach it to you. - Opportunities for career advancement - strong internal mobility - Strong focus on clients and its fiduciary duties. - Collaborative environment
Cons
- Commute to NYC, but you get used to it and make good use of the time on the train.
Advice to Management
- Continue to invest in employees.
AQR Capital Management2019-08-11 - Helpful (13)
"Relic of the past"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
Doesn't RecommendNeutral OutlookDisapproves of CEOI worked at AQR Capital Management full-time for more than 3 years
Pros
Perks are great (breakfast, lunch, snacks); dinner and car home if you stay late enough
Cons
Can't compete with the other players on the street Non-existent CEO - cares more for his twitter Terrible recent senior/ management hiring - really lowered the standard/ caliber of employee Tons of reorgs/ reshuffles High turnover - good engineers are finding out they are worth more externally and leaving, the remaining engineers are either bad or burn out Long hours/ tons of support
Advice to Management
Solve the problem at the root, not the leaves - pay for good engineers to fix the systems, not support engineers to hack at them. Hire the same caliber engineers as researchers. Be competitive with FANG, TS, Citadel, HRT for talent.
AQR Capital Management2019-08-30 - Helpful (14)
"Only the 'name' is left!"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
Doesn't RecommendNegative OutlookNo Opinion of CEOI have been working at AQR Capital Management full-time for more than 3 years
Pros
Highly qualified and intelligent co-workers, good training and (Quanta) speeches, ..., good name on your resume (until more people find out what is happening to the firm!), free food (up to $10), relax dress code, location (easy commute form anywhere in CT). If you are into econometric or Python coding you can sharpen your teeth here.
Cons
1) The firm has become a large-AUM business, gone are the days that being agile and innovative really meant something to the management. Two years in a row of incurring huge losses while most other actually make money?! Everyone knows AQR is doing something wrong, nobody knows what should be done. 2. The salary is very low compared to the market, unless if you are MD or partner. There has been huge loss of talent... across the board and the firm truly does not seem to care. Eliminate H1b program and firm cannot hire anymore! 3. Politics: if you want to learn petty politics in action, AQR is for you.
Show MoreAdvice to Management
Go back to hedge fund model instead of becoming an anorexic copy of fidelity. Pay your people. Allow people to work from home.
AQR Capital Management2019-07-14 - Helpful (7)
"Legend turned into mediocre"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
Doesn't RecommendNegative OutlookDisapproves of CEOI have been working at AQR Capital Management full-time for more than a year
Pros
Free food, great benefits, etc.
Cons
Low Comp, little growth for juniors
AQR Capital Management2019-05-31 - Helpful (2)
"Great culture and growth"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
RecommendsPositive OutlookApproves of CEOI have been working at AQR Capital Management full-time for more than 3 years
Pros
Fantastic people Supportive culture Senior management has regular town halls with employees at all levels Wonderful benefits Strong leadership team Close to train station - easy commute to NYC I have had two growth opportunities since joining I appreciate that my manager is focused on my development
Cons
Nothing that I can think of. I really enjoy working here.
Advice to Management
Senior management should continue to focus on priorities and not let other initiatives get in the way.
AQR Capital Management2019-03-13 - Helpful (30)
"Good Name on the Resume, leverage it"
StarStarStarStarStar- Work/Life Balance
- Culture & Values
- Career Opportunities
- Compensation and Benefits
- Senior Management
Negative OutlookI have been working at AQR Capital Management full-time
Pros
-Good Benefits (Snacks, H/C, Outings) -Some Good People -Decent W/L Balance -Culture (dependent on the group) -Industry Leading Products/Experience
Cons
Peculiar Y/E bonus formula. Some of the long-tenured managers are clueless/useless. Best days seem behind the firm (from an employee standpoint) and the comp has taken a dive. Mid-Level Managers are desperate to hold on to their cushy seats which leads to politics/blame game. Overlevered funds took a hit so they lay-off all the people who are not politically connected.
Advice to Management
Why bother. The company has made a conscious decision to become what it is and there is no going back now. Letting go of some of your most respected/well-liked employees isn't going to help morale. The exodus has already begun.
AQR Capital Management2019-01-15
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