Avantages
Rathbone Investment Management is a great company with a long and distinguished history, dating back to the 18th century. Many parts of the company still exhibit an old fashioned paternalism and old fashioned (in a positive way) values. It is currently quite successful and profitable, which leads to good perks such as share-save schemes and regular fully funded staff events (e.g. summer party / Christmas parties). Many people in the firm right now have been there for a long time - this is both a positive and a bit of a problem - positive as it a) indicates that the firm looks after people and b) creates a strong and healthy environment. The company has grown a lot over recent years and is on course for this to continue. There are some brilliant, intelligent and very insightful people, and several who really "get" the future. However, at present, they are in the minority (and are struggling to be heard).
Inconvénients
The firm is undergoing a lot of change and will have to undergo a lot more over the coming years if it is to maintain its current status. This will be a challenge as the critical mass of people do not understand this is necessary or have any idea how to address this. I worked in the IT arena, which is also undergoing a lot of necessary change. H However, after 2 years or so, this work is getting muddled and has lost sight of the original objectives. Projects are running late or not delivering and the alignment to business need becoming a distance hazy fudge. There is confusion between "IT is really a business support function" and "let's do techy stuff we think is cool" - maybe the result of an IT leadership group that is decent at technology but not so good at business enablement (the difference between a CTO & a CIO??). As business leaders increasingly recognise this, it will put increasing pressure on the IT leadership and this will lead to more pressure on IT staff. Thus, if you are considering an IT role - do your due diligence or be ready to tough it out. If you are considering a role anywhere else, then just be ready to be a bit patient about current process and ability of IT to support you.