Still alright after aqcuisition - Software Engineer BlackRock Employee Review

4.0
Oct 18, 2015
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The engineering team is pretty small but gets a lot of features done. We are very agile and release code daily. Everyone works on important features since we just don't have time for anything else. The company as a whole is pretty nimble and has lots of smart and passionate people. If you want to learn more about personal finance or investing, just chat with one of our financial advisors. FutureAdvisor was recently acquired by BlackRock. A lot of us were apprehensive about this, since we signed up to work for a startup, not a mega corp. Bo promised that we will stay independent and nothing will change, and so far, that's mostly been true, but I'm not sure if we can continue to be independent indefinitely. For now at least, I'm happy with the salary bump, 401k matching, and promise of performance bonus $ in lieu of stock options upside. The new B2B initiatives are pretty exciting and can significantly increase our customer base, especially with BlackRock backing us.

Cons

We are experiencing all sorts of growing pains. From running out of office space to teams not communicating with each other. Gone are the days when you can find one person who knows every detail on a project. The B2B initiative will definitely produce some unsexy work on the engineering side.

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5.0
Jul 4, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

very diverse and encourage learning and lateral move

Cons

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2.0
Jul 2, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Branding branding branding!!! an incredible brand, and having it on your resume opens some doors but not all.

Cons

The Preqin acquisition never really found its identity after becoming part of BlackRock. It felt like the focus shifted from listening to clients to fitting Preqin into a broader BlackRock strategy. As AI changes how firms access and analyze private market data, simply being a data provider isn’t enough anymore. My impression was that Preqin’s long-term value is likely to come from being integrated into the broader Aladdin ecosystem and APIs, rather than remaining a standalone platform. Leadership would benefit from spending more time listening to customers and the teams on the front lines instead of assuming they already know what the market wants.

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