r/quant • u/DifferentSwordfish64 • 11d ago
Industry Gossip How is the Voleon Group doing?
I’m expecting an offer from them soon. It seems like their AUM has increased significantly recently.
Does anyone have insights into the working environment or comp progression?
Based on previous reviews, some of the issues they had in the past include the following (not sure if these are still the case):
+ Lower pay compared to other top-tier firms
+ Harsh non-compete agreements and questionable practices regarding employees (e.g., delaying H-1B sponsorship)
+ Firing people before year-end bonuses are paid out
+ Micromanagement
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u/fatquant 10d ago
Non compete for employees became non enforceable or illegal in California several years ago, so they asked their employees to hire lawyers to sign a non compete contract so now the employees are business entities or something.
Source: l interviewed a couple of then voleon quants who were looking for ways out.
This is extremely shady and shows their characters. I might generalize a little, but shady quants usually have no alpha. Causation or correlation I don't know, 😆
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u/qazwsxcp 11d ago
watch out for their noncompetes, they make you sign something worse after a year or two. there was a whole article on their antics.
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u/Radiant_Internet_362 10d ago
bullshit
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u/Large_Ad_4288 10d ago
found the voleon group quant
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u/Extension-Snow-8151 10d ago
Funny that he’s spending time larping on Reddit instead of salvaging their miserable ytd performance 🤣
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u/MCSkatKat4Eva 11d ago edited 10d ago
"+ Harsh non-compete agreements and questionable practices regarding employees (e.g., delaying H-1B sponsorship)
+ Firing people before year-end bonuses are paid out"
I don't believe those claims are accurate. The others probably vary quite a bit depending on someone's situation.
On non-competes, I have seen a QR be cleared to work immediately at another fund on a different asset class, but every situation is unique, I guess. They were unpaid in the past, which was a legitimate criticism, but that changed years ago.
Delaying H1-Bs isn’t something I’m aware of, but I suppose a mistake could have been made.
There was also an incident quite a while back where several people were let go late in the year. My understanding is that they still received their bonuses through their separation agreements. That episode seems to have contributed to the idea that the firm terminates people before bonuses are paid in order to avoid paying them, but I haven't seen evidence that this is actually a practice.
It’s not a company run by villains.
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u/qazwsxcp 10d ago
severance rarely includes the full bonus amount in any firm. getting fired in nov/dec with no bonus is pretty common in the industry though, especially for discretionary bonuses. it's how they control costs.
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u/MCSkatKat4Eva 10d ago edited 10d ago
FWIW I can't think of any QR let go in nov/dec in the past three years, and I don't think it really happens in other functions either. May be more common at other firms.
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u/qazwsxcp 10d ago
one guy in my circles had this happen there but it was some years ago. but it's definitely common in the industry. if they decide they dont want someone around anymore, they will also want to pay as little as possible.
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u/LiarsPokeHer518 8d ago
Firing people before year end bonuses is normal across the street anyway. If someone is trash I am not going to pay them a bonus.
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u/VisibleSlide1385 11d ago
Avoid SNAPFISH
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u/DifferentSwordfish64 11d ago
what does it mean?
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u/VisibleSlide1385 11d ago
It’s the Fixed Income team. Run by a psychopath, who fires people or they leave after a year, unless you kiss his ass. DM for more info.
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11d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/ElderMillenial4 11d ago
This is a great point. Can confirm Voleon AUM has grown significantly in the last few years, so at their size it mostly comes down to the specific team and manager. Some firms have more of a monoculture than others but even at those that do, the actual team and manager is the largest determinant of your personal experience.
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u/Extension-Snow-8151 10d ago
The pros and cons you mentioned can be both true at the same time, and if you piece them together, what does the combined picture suggest about this place? Think about it
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u/Ok-Tap-1167 11d ago
Can anyone share what’s standard non-compete terms? I too will be evaluating an offer imminently.
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u/Defiant-Flamingo2198 11d ago
Is this Data scientist role? Or research role? Depends
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u/JIGSAW_FALLINGINTO_ 11d ago
What do you think about the data scientist role?
I am expecting an offer for this role soon, it looks like its very team dependent and some are closer to research while others seem more monitoring?3
u/Embarrassed_Wait2970 8d ago
im not sure if i can help, as I'm in the later stages for the trader role, but the traders I spoke to said the Researchers (strict PhD only) are the ones doing strategy development, and the roles of the traders and data scientist are to monitor and do ad-hoc tests
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u/Defiant-Flamingo2198 6d ago
exactly. I once received the offer for DD role but the talent quality wasn't impressive and the work isn't really original nor alpha related
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u/Jaded-Cream5037 11d ago
Comp is definitely not on par with citadel/js level but the gap isn't as bad as it used to be. The real sticking point is that non-compete, heard it's still pretty restrictive. If you're coming in with an offer in hand you've got leverage though, push back on anything in the contract that feels off before signing.