AllianceBernstein Reviews

Current Employee – been working at AllianceBernstein full-time for more than 7 years

Pros – Good name to have on resume and to learn the ropes

Cons – Pay is average. Few opportunities for advancement.

Current Employee – been working at AllianceBernstein full-time for more than a year

Pros – The cafeteria has a decent selection for both breakfast and lunch. The sushi options are excellent.

Cons – Unfortunately the company has never been able to successfully merge the cultures of Alliance and Bernstein (from 2000 merger) which has resulted in tenured staff having allegiances to one or the other. Pair that with massive layoffs over the past few years and you have a recipe for an unhappy place and terrible culture.

The environment is fractured and not collaborative and very unfriendly toward new hires. There are few advancement opportunities with the exception of the few who brown nose and get advancement, promotions and salary increases by having friends in high places.

Overall the morale is terrible, the pay is average at best and the politics will wear you down faster than you can say, "Why did I ever accept this job?"

Run. Run fast - in the other direction.

Advice to Senior Management – Once you realize that your employees are a commodity, you will see less turnover. Start to value more than just your investment professionals and senior management - it takes everyone to be make a contribution and you need to make sure people feel valued.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at AllianceBernstein full-time for more than a year

Pros – Cafeteria is decent considering the size of the company. Sushi counter is awesome.

Cons – Your hardwork will help your manager get awards and promotions. Manager competes with you if you are good at your job and make sure to give you bad reviews so that you are no threat to him/her. Rampant favouritism is the norm. You can only advance if your manager adopts you else its best you quit.

Advice to Senior Management – Just talking about meritocracy and sending out emails about it is going to establish nothing.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Current Employee – been working at AllianceBernstein full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Lots of bright people
Lots to learn early in career

Cons – Business is not diversified
Lots of turnover
Morale at all-time lows
Lacks culture since turnover of Lew Sanders
Lots of arrogance
Not much opportunity for younger people

Advice to Senior Management – Performance needs to improve across strategies. That's all there is to it.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at AllianceBernstein full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Access to the best market research and analysts you could ask for. Bernstein does an amazing job of hiring excellent people, who generally are both intelligent and personable, making the workplace enjoyable.

Cons – Extremely limited career growth opportunitiy - they tell you the growth path is there, but once you work your ass off for years, you realize that it likely won't happen to you.

Advice to Senior Management – Extremely hierarchical - upper management can be very difficult to pin down unless you are dealing with a client/situation they deem "worthy". Be straightforward with your employees about growth opportunities and tell them what is and is not available to them. Kraus (new CEO) has done a great job trying to turn the company around and keep talent employed, but needs more work.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at AllianceBernstein full-time

Pros – Decent people to work with and not as aggressive or toxic as some other financial firms.

Cons – Management is pretty bad and all about cost cutting. CEO is a joke and the firm seems years behind peers in terms of operations, strategy, performance, human capital, etc...

Before the recession, it was a great place...but then the CEO got replaced and the new one is a complete joke with no sense about how to effectively manage people

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company

Former Employee – worked at AllianceBernstein full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Good hours, people are generally nice, some good perks, and could do really well if new strategy succeeds.

Cons – Pay, Layoffs, Firm is Repositioning, Culture is trying to find itself in new paradigm, and subpar pay (although can be great if in the right place)

Advice to Senior Management – Keep at it... the firm needs the face lift

Yes, I would recommend this company to a friend

Current Employee – been working at AllianceBernstein full-time for more than 3 years

Pros – Intelligent staff that prides itself on integrity and ethical behavior. Reasonable hours and work-life balance. Affiliation with sell-side research.

Cons – Limited room for advancement or transition. The firm's culture does not stress employee development. Morale is low and leadership lacks vision. Performance has also suffered, and senior management seems too stubborn to alter their approach.

Advice to Senior Management – Invest in your staff and take an active interest in their development

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at AllianceBernstein full-time for more than a year

Pros – Cafeteria has great selection, and well stocked kitchen, hours are good

Cons – Constant layoffs, below average pay, too much politics - not much room for growth as promotions are given to politics, no real defined roles in technology, backbiting in tech, behind the times in terms of tools and languages, company doesn't have innovative tools and builds on 8 year old technology

Advice to Senior Management – Find a direction and communicate to staff, be open to innovate and integrate new technology

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend

Former Employee – worked at AllianceBernstein full-time for more than a year

Pros – Normal and consistent business hours
Sponsorship of FINRA licensing exams: Series 7, 63, etc.
Team environment
Exposure to a wealth of research reports, economic data, and analysis
Ability to develop relationships with senior personnel as well as external clients
Wonderful marketing and networking events

Cons – Pay is below market
Non existent career development
Rumors of inner-office relationships with superiors
Often treated poorly by clients
The Company's funds & stock picks performed terribly during the financial crisis

Advice to Senior Management – I haven't been with AB for over 2 years, but I hear that it has continued to decline with layoffs, low morale, and poor performance. Leadership starts at the top, and P Kraus doesn't exactly inspire a lot of confidence. This then trickles down to senior managers who were more focused on keeping their jobs during the leadership transition than they were about performance and employee morale.

No, I would not recommend this company to a friend – I'm not optimistic about the outlook for this company