TransMarket Group Reviews

Pros

Laid back dress code and free lunches.

Cons

Terrible comp. Firm seems to be filled with very subpar people (many experienced people have a terrible track record, new hires from distinctly average colleges). All the smart people from top colleges seem to be elsewhere. Many managers come in once a week. CEO tries to shove Christianity down your throat at every turn and I'm guessing this will also factor into whether you get made partner or not. Extremely high turnover. Dubious charity work (voluntourism trip to Haiti? seriously? sure let's go over to take pictures of us digging holes at 1/10th the speed of the locals and crash their construction labor market while we're at it). Food not great. I got a job at a (much better) competitor. Avoid like the plague

Pros

Get to learn from big traders

Cons

Entry level salaries very low

Pros

Free lunches and flexible vacation policy

Cons

This firm has had serious issues with covid-19 response and they are only getting worse.

Pros

Catered lunches, annual ski trip, great bonuses if ended up on one of three very profitable desks.

Cons

Very wildly managed firm. New joiners by luck of the draw ends up at either a profitable desk or not, irrespective of talent, just of that market's liquidity and trading dynamics. Most managers lucked into their roles by joining early but have no leadership abilities. Very exploitative culture of employees on H1B knowing they can't leave. Certain management team members trash talk women and throw tantrum fits like throwing phones on bad days. Most employees who try to leave get punished by being garden leaved.

Pros

Good training for new hires

Cons

The firm's either great or awful, depending on which team you end up on. The lucky people who joined early are now managers of the desks, some are great while others have no clue about management, barely shows up to work, and only promote those with glib tongues. The firm also hires high numbers of internationals in need of EB5 and significantly under pay them knowing they are less likely to leave. Very low base salaries compared to the industry. Bonuses are good for those who joined the firm early, but any later joiners are churned after they burn out on overnight shifts. Also, the firm has catered meals so employees work longer, and "unlimited vacation policy" so everyone feels pressured to take none.

Pros

Excellent relative value trading firm built for the long run. Our CEO Doug Adams does a tremendous job managing risk and treats all employees fairly. The people and the culture are the key behind TransMarket Group's success. Individuals are creative, ambitious, and always strive to do things better. A select few are truly world class in their discipline. Our firm has an entrepreneurial, team-oriented culture and is highly meritocratic. Training program is one of the absolute best on the street.

Cons

If you're interested in job titles, this is not the place for you. TransMarket Group doesn't have the same name recognition as a major investment bank. Management doesn't spend money on expensive office space (would rather allocate the money to employees in year end bonuses).

Pros

When you first start there is an in depth classroom based training program paired up with a few trading desk mentors. From here you get to move up at your own pace- depending on how quickly you pick up concepts\modeling and how well you execute the initial working strategy they give you. This is one of the key things they do right relative to the firms my friends work at. They give you an existing model that is making money and your goal is to fine tune it\come up with new ones. Once you do- you move up. -I have a masters degree from a top institution, and I would look at the initial training program as a PhD on steroids. While it was perhaps too aggressive due to balancing courses and work, everyone learned a lot. - Meritocracy- I was able to gain responsibility quickly and was just rewarded extremely well via bonus and promotion for my work this year -Culture- Everyone shares ideas, hangs out on the weekends, and encourages eachother- it reminds me of undergrad or a varsity team. In addition to this, they really have a no Ahole rule. Most people seem to volunteer and there is a matching charity program (I am told this is the first year for it though) -Team- I knew the team was smart when I joined- but I am in awe of the team TMG has put together. This ranges from the top students from top undergrad\grad\PhD programs, to top experienced software engineers, to senior level employees who have either run their own hedge fund or been a senior level employee at top tier banks\hedge funds. There is a reason they have a collection of some of the top talent from their competitors while no one seems to leave for our competitors. They even have one of the best former PMs at Citadel ever. While he was there he was their largest PM. -There is a lot of room for expansion. They are constantly trying out new products\trades. While there is no set path on when you will become a senior trader- if you succeed you can ultimately run a huge portfolio fairly quickly. You get to explore ideas a lot (although this is mostly unstructured) -Top of the line technology and technologists -Benefits including annual ski trip (amazing bonding opportunity) and a lot of free dinners. Free meals for breakfast and lunch -Amazing growth in PNL and headcount the last 7 years (perhaps the best in the prop industry) -Our future growth plans (expansion into new products, etc)

Cons

- While the initial training program was fantastic, and my mentors through out the year have really helped me- I would have liked more TMG coursework through out the year. The CEO personally taught a good portion of the training program, and in a recent company email indicated this would be fixed next year - The flat structure with no set promotion cycle can be tough to stomach initially. Having said this, I am in my first 1.5 years and when I see people that have been there for 3 or more leading their own desks and are partner- I get excited - The firm seems to be understaffed for all of the projects that are in the pipeline. This doesn't make sense considering the total amount of applications they get. On the most recent ski trip I was told we get 15,000+ applications per year -Minor growing pains which can be frustrating in the short term- but it is understandable because the firm has grown by over 100 people in the past several years. -While it doesn't really matter once you are here- the other reviews are correct. The office space is not as nice as a top Hedge Fund\Ibank. Once you get past the aesthetics you should be fine. Most likely waiting for the lease to expire to get a better office -While salaries are comparable to some firms, I believe they are on the low end. All in compensation seems to be the best in the business when I talk to my friends at other firms (at least this year was- this is my first bonus) -As a junior trader about 99% of my time is spent on my trade. I would like to be able to work with other desks to brainstorm\bounce ideas. While there is nothing stopping me on this- I would like to see it enforced. On this note- I often do not have enough time to see big picture what areas the firm is growing\etc. It seems like every day we have a new trade idea getting tested. Ideally there would be more communication on firmwide strategy expansion plans so the junior traders can help. A lot of us would be willing to work more than the standard 10-11 hour work day if this was the case. -There is no formal rotation program -I put work life balance as a 2\5 but I think this is only for the first couple of years (as expected). Some people have to work Asia shift (while standard in the industry, it still sucks). There used to be a Euro shift but that has moved to their Swiss office.

Pros

- Casual and laid back like a start up, but at the same time has a very motivating environment - Flat structure with no hierarchy, very easy to talk to people to seek help and collaborate and share ideas - Fast growing firm with lots of learning opportunities; you work hard and you will get rewarded - Put many effort and patience in training new employees

Cons

- Nothing to complain about