Unfocused, Inefficient, & Frustrating - Anonymous employee CFA Institute Employee Review

2.0
6 Aug 2018
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

- Pockets of highly educated and very talented people - Unbeatable benefits in Charlottesville - Global travel for certain positions

Cons

- Egregious review process: zero effort made to reset expectations or coach underperforming employees (and there are a number of long-term Directors who don't pull their weight), coupled with a secretive layoff process - Politics, politics, politics - Bloated organizational structure: more Director level positions than lower level positions to do the work - Disrespect for FTE skillsets and overreliance on vendors - Lack of consistent strategic direction = lack of real impact. Constant change, no change management. Employees reshuffled every few months. - Major burnout in certain areas, especially technology-related positions - Untransparent career progression (see politics above): Good luck finding anyone under the age of 35 who enjoys working there or plans to stay

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5.0
23 Feb 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Nice place to work with a better work life balance

Cons

Everyone is busy with the time schedules and

2.0
7 May 2026
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Work from home seems here to stay. A good jumping off point for those early in their careers. An unrestrained sandbox for C-Suite. Benefits (not salaries) are excellent.

Cons

Management has this company slowly circling the drain. In the past year alone, five high-performing staff members around me have been let go due to repeated "restructurings" that have measurably hurt performance and destroyed team morale. Two of them had over 15 years with the organization, so no one is safe. A team bowling night means nothing when you don't know if your job will exist next year. These restructurings seem to occur every time a senior hire is made, and serve only to confuse the rest of the business. Some employees I've spoken with don't even know what their own division is called. There are also far too many managers and not enough people doing actual work. When I was hired, my manager flagged that we needed one more team member to handle the workload. That team has since lost a member, yet somehow gained an extra layer of management between them and their MD. The CEO recently departed with less than a week's notice to the organization, a fitting metaphor for how rudderless leadership has become. Rather than staying the course, they chase buzzwords and abandon projects with years of investment behind them the moment something shinier comes along.

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