Advantage Capital Reviews

Pros

Great benefits and flexible work schedule

Cons

Difficult to rise up to leadership

Pros

Some of the nicest people in finance working here, everyone is easy to get along with as well as being motivated and driven.

Cons

The small size of the firm can be a drawback, but it helps you to get to know everyone better.

Pros

The culture is pretty easygoing. Employees have a large degree of autonomy.

Cons

There seems to be no concern for employees' professional growth. The salary scale is not in line with comparable roles at other firms. Bonuses are capped at an unreasonably low level.

Pros

I learned so much from AC and value the learning opportunities the firm has given me during my tenure. I may not be as strong as I am in certain skillsets had I not worked for AC. More specifically, the aspects I enjoyed are: 1. Impact-based investment thesis is intrinsically rewarding and is increasing in popularity across the investment space. 2. Tax-credits-based hedging strategy presents a great opportunity to broaden knowledge beyond traditional private equity. 3. As with most PE firms, exit opportunities are attractive.

Cons

Overall, it is a firm that is slow to modernize, leaving much more to be desired. But some pointed details can be found below: 1. Unstandardized management practices among Managing Directors, ranging from PTO to promotions, where company tenure for promotional consideration may range from at least 1 to 3+ years. It seemed a challenge for leadership to come to a consensus on COVID protocols and related policies (e.g., work from home was frowned upon/discouraged by certain MDs). During an all-company call in mid 2021, leadership could not provide a clear outline to the work-from-home policy. 2. Very uncompetitive salary compared to market, concentrated at low-to-mid levels. This is a single data point, but entry-level offers for the analyst position (located in cities with comparable cost of living measures) at similar companies within finance and adjacent/comparable industries were 33% higher on average 4. No formal training program where most, if not all, trainings are ad-hoc. It is also very unstandardized such that there is no knowledge base. As such, there is no such thing as a "best practice" for "XYZ". 3. Tons of informational silos across teams, even across sourcing efforts. This may be a result of the highly unstandardized processes and lack of training. 5. Some managers have had no experience with the work that their direct-reports are doing, resulting in inefficiencies, lack of direction, and unattainable goal setting. 6. Cliquey environment 7. Some managers engendered a climate where asking a legitimate clarifying questions was met with "you should know this". As such, it was intimidating to ask questions directly related to the work. Often, I had to spend an hour to confirm my thoughts/assumptions by looking back at old analyses when answering a question would have taken 30 seconds.

Pros

Fantastic training program in place for incoming analysts.

Cons

For some, the relocation could be a con. Analysts are expected to relocate to the northeast.

Pros

Really smart people and interesting work

Cons

Communication in a remote environment

Pros

• Interns are trusted with significant responsibility and autonomy • Training and exposure to the firm's multiple lines of business • Intern cohort activities (Cardinal's games, lunches/dinners)

Cons

• Internship program still in its early stages

Pros

- Some really bright, friendly, great people; but not universal. - Great snacks and other in-office trimmings. - Some of the work is interesting.

Cons

- A lot of turnover. Probably related to the point below. - Surprisingly low pay. - Some employees had counter-intuitive ideas of how to interact with colleagues.

Pros

Open learning culture, wants their employees to grow and learn on the job! Everyone is very friendly

Cons

Sometimes intern work is slow and just data entry

Pros

Good communication between employees, great energy, fast paced.

Cons

I have no complaints about Advantage, it was a great place to work at.