Lehman Brothers Reviews in London, UK Area

Pros

Lehman Brothers was a proud organisation, proactive, with a can do attitude to risk taking and client service. However risk management was not good.

Cons

My experience is tainted somewhat, as I was there during the default phase, which meant that focus was all regulatory focussed not client.

Advice to Senior Management

Nothing more to say really given the company h a s now closed. RIP to the Lehmann Bros....good luck to my former colleagues.

Pros

Well paid, good benefits. Convenient and pleasant work location at one of the world's premier investment banks. Good place to have come from and nice to have on your CV.

Cons

Very political, quite disorganised. Several groups working on similar projects. Unpleasant rivalries. It turns out that the risk management platitudes uttered by senior management were quite easily sen through by other market participants.

Advice to Senior Management

I have no advice to give.

Pros

Great facilities and amenities made it an enjoyable place to work. Good platform for communication among employees and full of hardworking people with diverse backgrounds.

Cons

Lack of enforcement of responsibilities for senior management. Inefficient organizational structure that lacks accountability. Lack of face to face interactions.

Advice to Senior Management

Needed to reorganize organizational structure to ensure efficiency and transparency between divisions. More cooperation between senior management, traders, middle and back offices in person would have been helpful

Pros

I only worked there for 1 week before the company went bankrupt, but most of the senior managemnet was really impressive. the job paid well and the recent grads in my program were nice, smart, and for the most part humble

Cons

I worked there for only 1 week is the obvious one. Second would be that the company obviously had some serious issues

Advice to Senior Management

I don't really have a great perspective on this; again I was there for only 5 days. On the whole, management was impressive and the training program was thorough

Pros

Lehman brothers provided an interesting and challenging work environment, with great co-workers and a good training schedule. They had a fantastic Christmas party. Good compensation compared to other research jobs in London, comparable to other American investment banks. Opportunities to gain expertise in many different research databases, and lots of support for professional development and training. Wide range of subject expertise developed, and opportunities to provide training and some travel.

Cons

Long hours compared to other research jobs, and the stressed & angry bankers swear at you from time to time. However, co-workers and immediate supervisors are very helpful and supportive.

Advice to Senior Management

too bad the co. went under.

Pros

The best reasons to work for Lehman Brothers WERE (i) its leadership position in the bond market and (ii) the supposed non-political environment (or at least less political than, say, GS's). The firm was an excellent platform for anyone in the fixed income business (well, at least before it all went down the drain), across all areas (rates, FX, and credit).

Cons

Well the company went bankrupt! But before that, I was disappointed to witness lack of honesty in the communications from senior management, incompetence of middle management (i.e. MDs), and an unwillingness to pay employees as well as other firms (GS and MS).

Advice to Senior Management

Do not come back to the investment banking business.

Pros

- An entrepreneurial atmosphere in most of the firm. Good ideas do get acted on.
 - A very good place to start out in the institutional banking industry - training is good and new employees (including graduates and interns) get thrown right into the mix from day 1.
 - Above average compensation in most roles.
 - You will work with talented and interesting people.
 - People are treated fairly (although not always transparently).

Cons

- The company is very fragmented - and the opportunities and "vibe" varies greatly between different areas. The internal management and budgeting processes tend to play middle-management against each other leading to much politicking. Employee-requested internal moves almost unheard of.
 - Very tight whenever spending cash is concerned (and not just in these tough economic times).
 - Company-wide communication is appalling. Corporate announcements are only made on positive news. There have been days in the last few months while I was there where the press was speculating that the company won't last till the end of the week and nothing is said of it. Across the company the communication is poor - I often would have someone new starting in my team sitting next to me and had no idea who they were until they arrived. Speaking to other technologists in the firm was was almost frowned upon.
 - On the IT side, career progression just stops unless you want to go into people management. I have worked with a number of very talented people who leave due to this. They don't seem to have a problem paying twice the rate for contractors though.

Advice to Senior Management

- Sort out the communication. Structure the budget and sales commission processes so that it encourages managers to work with the rest of the firm rather against it.
 - Move out of the proprietory investments (if it is not too late already) and focus on clients.
 - In IT, get far nimbler in delivering for the business. There are procedures that need to be followed, but often real innovation gets stiffled through beaurocracy aimed at the big systems but which make small projects and enhancements uneconomic. Future business lines start out small.

Pros

Good, well-known company name on your CV

Cons

Strange culture where you're not hired for what you can do, but who you are.

Advice to Senior Management

Loosen up! Sometimes children have the answer. And sometimes the best answer is the simplest one.