The hedge fund that spends most on perks: revealed
When a company invests into its people, compensation isn't everything. Part of creating a positive employee environment is spending on benefits and facilities that make them feel valued. Hedge funds might be known for their massive pay packages, but which of them spends the most on perks?
Data collected by Levels.fyi has been used by the site to generate an estimate of average perk spend on employees. These are the four major funds for which perk information is available, ranked from highest to lowest spend.
4. Two Sigma - $6,174 per person on perks
Two Sigma might be the "chill" hedge fund but that doesn't mean their investments into perks eclipse everyone else's. Levels estimates the firm spends just over $6k per head a year.
Two Sigma's low perk ranking seems to come from their failure to provide free meals every week (in other firms this adds up quite a bit). They do however offer snacks and drinks which the employees seem to eat with enthusiasm.
One Glassdoor review praises the variety, saying "espresso machines, coffee makers, all sorts of soft drinks, waters, milk, chips, jerky, nuts, seeds, fruit, guac, hummus... as good as it gets."
Partial to working overnight? The office also provides on-site laundry.
Two Sigma's 401k contributions meanwhile are a little lackluster comparative to the other hedge funds. They provide a 100% match on employee contributions up until $5000. To make up for that, they also match charity contributions up to the same amount and will pay you $100 for volunteer time off.
There are a number of other factors in which Two Sigma has spent big on its people. For example, building their "hacker labs" surely can't have been cheap.
3. Citadel - $16,170 per person on perks
The jump from fourth to third is a significant one, with Citadel spending agonizingly close to a flat $10k more.
Free food is abundant. Citadel provides both lunch and breakfast all 5 days of the week. Dinner, which is provided via UberEats according to one Glassdoor review, only happens 4 times per week.
Alongside the usual insurances provided by all four firms (health, life, dental, etc.) Citadel also provide pet insurance. For those looking to start a family, the company provides both fertility assistance and adoption assistance
One of its most unique benefits comes in the health department, however. All four funds provide an on-site gym, but Citadel also provides biometric scannings to help them monitor factors like cholesterol and triglycerides.
401k contributions by Citadel aren't a flat fee. Instead, they match contributions up to 4% of your base salary. For reference, the most recent entry level salary reported on Levels is $250k.
2. Jane Street - $16,544 per person on perks
While places four and three were worlds apart, places three and two are awfully close. Incidentally, Jane Street's food spend is a little lower than CItadel's but they make up the numbers in other departments.
Jane Street provides free breakfast and lunch five days per week. Though they don't have the consistent dinners available from Citadel, one review says they are treated to "tons of free fancy dinners and a lot of variety and healthy options in breakfast and lunch"
Their unique benefits occur in the health and home departments. Employees are eligible for 15 days back up care per year for children or adults, and are allowed 5 days paid leave to celebrate a marriage or registered domestic partnership. They are also afforded a primary care concierge service and on-site medical facilities.
Their 401k contributions are salary based, as with Citadel, but Jane Street surpass them by matching up to 6% of their salary.
1. Bridgewater Associates - $21,414 per person on perks
A hedge fund as prestigious as it is mysterious, Bridgewater spends big on its people.
Breakfast and lunch are provided five days a week. Prior to the pandemic lunch was described by one employee as "a huge buffet with an excellent, fresh salad bar, tasty soups and sandwich bar with rotating hot options." 🍕🍕🍕🍕
As with Jane Street, Bridgewater caters to family oriented employees with fertility and adoption assistance. There's also a company shuttle service between the New York and Connecticut offices. Two Sigma and Citadel seemingly just offer a transport allowance, but may be more receptive to letting employees work from home.
It's Bridgewater's 401k contributions that Levels estimates makes up for more than half of that $21k figure. They match up to $15,000 in employee contributions, triple that of Two Sigma.
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