Pros
Highly capable professionals at the analyst, associate, and VP levels. Free lunch on Friday. Set your own travel schedule. Variety of distressed assets to work with.
Cons
Despite crowing about a record year for profits, bonuses were cut across the board. Senior management has no vision, communication skills, or respect for your abilities. Corporate leadership jumps from strategy to strategy without any consistency or attention to core businesses. Top heavy structure means new entry level is Managing Director or above. More MDs than analysts. More SVPs and MDs than associates. No ability for internal candidates to advance. Daily compromises of your professional ethics: if there's an ethical choice to make, senior management will make you choose the questionable one. No respect for the bondholders, "Fiduciary responsibility" is an outdated concept. If there's a chance for a related entity to earn a fee, your business strategy will be altered to accommodate. Lack of vision, interference from corporate owner Fortress Investment Group, and high number of MDs mean that directions are contradictory or impossible to fulfill as everyone looks out for their friends. Clear favoritism toward those who have been at the company longest or have developed friends at Fortress.