In an industry closely affected by the markets ups and downs, it looks like good news may be on the horizon as many financial service companies have the green light to start adding to their employee rosters. According to 109 investment banking, private equity, venture capital, asset management and other financial firms that took part in the 2010 Summer Finance Employee Outlook Survey conducted by the AnEx Advantage Training and Associate Program, 74% asserted that hiring in the finance sector would improve within the next 12 months.
In the latest Glassdoor industry report card*, our data analysts dug into employee sentiment at more than 100 companies in the financial services industry, including top name accounting firms, asset management companies, banks, brokerages, credit card companies, mutual fund managers, as well as transaction, credit and collections companies. To be included in the evaluation, companies had to have at least 20 reviews submitted by employees on Glassdoor.com.
The Highlights:
The highest rated financial sector companies (on a 5-point scale) include: Susquehanna International Group LLP (4.0), Goldman Sachs (3.8), Scottrade (3.7), Brown Brothers Harriman (3.6), Capital Group (3.6) and RBC Financial Group (3.6).
The highest rated CEOs within the financial services industry include Goldman Sachs’ Lloyd C. Blankfein (97%), Susquehanna International Group’s Jeff Yass (96%), BB&T’s Kelly S. King (96%), RBC Financial Group’s Gordon M. Nixon (96%) and T. Rowe Price’s James A. C. Kennedy (95%). (Based on CEOs who have received 20 approval ratings or more).
Below breaks down companies within the industry by going a bit deeper than overall rating. As part of the Glassdoor survey, employees are asked to rate eight workplace and cultural attributes, making it easy to compare differences among companies.
Large Investment Banks: Following Goldman Sachs in terms of overall company rating is Morgan Stanley (3.3), followed by both Merrill Lynch and JP Morgan Chase (3.2), and CitiGroup closes out this group with a 2.5. When we look at workplace factors for these large investment banks, Goldman Sachs has the lead in seven of the eight categories — it’s Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch that receives the highest work/life balance rating (3.6) compared to competitors.
The “Big Four” Accounting Firms: Ernst & Young edges out the other three with a 3.5 company rating, followed by PricewaterhouseCoopers (3.4), KPMG (3.4) and Deloitte (3.3). Within the breakout for company ratings, Ernst & Young receives the highest ratings across five of the eight unique workplace factors: employee morale (3.7), communication (3.6), work/life balance (3.5), recognition & feedback (3.4) and, fairness & respect (3.3). However, while ratings are competitive when it comes to satisfaction with compensation & benefits, Ernst & Young receives a slightly lower rating (3.2) than competitors who all receive a 3.3.
Credit card companies: American Express and Capital One come out on top with a 3.5 company rating, followed by Discover and Mastercard, each with a 3.2 rating, then VISA with a 2.5 rating. When we look at the workplace factors for credit card companies, Mastercard receives the highest satisfaction rating when it comes to compensation & benefits (3.8). Discovers rates the best in terms of work/life balance (4.2). And in terms career opportunities, American Express and Capitol One tie (3.3).
Banks: According to the National Information Center, a repository of financial data and institution characteristics collected by the Federal Reserve System, the four largest banks in terms of assets as of March 2010 are Bank of America, JP Morgan Chase, CitiGroup and Wells Fargo. But how do they compare as employers? JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo are the highest rated of the largest US banks with a 3.2 company rating. Bank of America comes in third with a 3.1, followed by CitiGroup with a 2.7. When it comes to the banks, JP Morgan Chase and Wells Fargo tie for the greatest satisfaction when it comes to compensation & benefits (3.5) but when we look at satisfaction with career opportunities, Bank of America and Wells Fargo tie (3.2).
Below is the complete break out of financial services companies with at least 20 reviews on Glassdoor. If you are in the industry, see how your company rates compared to others. If you don’t see your company on this financial services report card, it likely does not meet the minimum number of reviews. Help change that by sharing a company review of your own and tell us what’s working and what needs improvement.
* The financial services industry report is based on companies who have received at least 20 employee ratings on Glassdoor. Report based on ratings as of July 28, 2010. ¹ Represents CEOs with less than 20 reviews.
