Pros
Very smart employees who hold high standards and produce good results. Good track record and brand which makes working there fun and much more pleasant than the average company. Benefits are really first class across the board, especially when it comes to health, 401k, and how they treat employees. Separation package was very generous.
Cons
Many jobs are highly reliant on the performance of the flagship fund (Pure Alpha). Poor returns in 2020 saw the need to reduce headcount by a lot, which while not unexpected it is a con given that other industries/ companies are not as volatile. Also, given the size of the drawdown, BW has a long road ahead. Managers are often over scheduled which can make developing as a junior employee difficult. Culture of transparency was not that strong while I was there mostly in part because of the layoffs and there has been many leaks. The company culture varies from department and in Finance it was not as strong, meaning the day to day culture felt like any other financial institution.