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Sterling Trading Tech

Engaged employer

Management too laid back, no opportunities. - Anonymous employee Sterling Trading Tech Employee Review

2.0
3 Mar 2017
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great life balance. Office is very laid back. Learn a lot about how physical trading is done. All Chicago departments are fairly accessible and easy to approach. Team mentality in a lot of the department's.

Cons

Management within the company is short-sighted. Decisions are made without input of employees. Products are released that are not even close to being market-ready. PTS is way too top heavy for how small of a company Sterling is. There is no opportunity to make more money or advance within the organization. Some of the management is unprofessional as far as their interaction with both clients and employees. Management does not delegate any work to employees. No compensation for assisting sales team with a large portion of their work. PTS seems to hire based on cronyism and not on knowledge or skills. Pay is very low for the industry. Raises and bonuses are not communicated with employees in a timely manner. Often a roast or bonus will be announced for a quarter and paid 3 months later with no explanation or insight. The platform itself relies on a niche market of traders that are mostly based in China. As the SEC and Finra tighten rules, Sterling will continue to become less feasible from a business standpoint. Benefits are expensive with poor coverage. 401k options are limited with very low matching.

Explore other reviews about Sterling Trading Tech

5.0
20 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Great place to work at, good culture and people. Management listens to you and you feel valued

Cons

Nothing significant that I can think of

1.0
12 May 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Currently nothing to mention now. No pros.

Cons

When the company was sold to a hedge fund back in 2021, the nightmare began. There has been constant micromanagement and pressure from people whose knowledge is not relevant to the job itself. Contributions are measured only through Jira tickets. Customers decide how the software should look, even when certain requirements are not technically feasible. The business is out of control - they are trying to develop trading software without essential knowledge of either the company’s system or trading itself. Because of that, the company is struggling to find new customers. Many technical people and engineers have stepped down and left the company over the last few months because management is rude and unwilling to accept any kind of criticism. If they hire new employees, those people cannot contribute effectively because there is no one left who can properly explain how the system works. The experienced employees whose knowledge was essential are no longer with the company. Management, which lacks technical understanding, immediately fires people if they oppose decisions or try to suggest a better solution. When employees try to explain why a particular approach is not good in the long term, they are ignored or fired. Management simply does not listen.

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