Job Specification

Job Title:         Analyst - Equity Strategies – Investment Management Team

Reports To:     Equity Investment Managers x 2

Lateral:           Although this role involves being in the Equity Team, analysts will be encouraged to move into other asset classes over time so that they develop generalist cross-asset class skills

Location:        London office

The Role

The role involves being an integral part of the Investment Management team.  This team is responsible for constructing portfolios for Our client’s clients incorporating asset allocation and manager selection. Portfolio construction for the UK clients will operate from London and be managed by an Investment Committee consisting of key investment decision makers in the various areas of specialty. The head of the team,  is an experienced hedge fund-of-fund and multi-asset class investor, with particular expertise in credit related strategies.

Key Objectives

The Equity Team is responsible for the research and selection of Equity managers.  Our client does not distinguish between traditional and hedge fund managers and the team will cover both types of managers. Specifically, this area includes unconstrained/long-term long only long equity, long/short equity, market neutral equity, event driven equity and activist equity. Mandates could be global, regional, sector or small cap focussed. Our client is not interested in 130/30, enhanced indexation or benchmark aware products. To the extent that Our client needs passive managers/ETF’s, the Equity team will need to assist in identifying suitable products. Note also that Our client employs top down views which allow it to concentrate manager research in spaces that are considered to be more attractive at the current point in the cycle.

The Equity Team will be built up to 4, consisting of two Investment Managers, (a manager with experience of both long only and long short manager selection) and another equity manager (to be appointed),  and two supporting analysts to be hired. The Investment Managers will act as support to one another (a second set of eyes on managers) and the analysts would initially expect to work together with both Investment Managers rather than exclusively for one or the other.

In addition, the Equity Team will work together with Credit and private equity colleagues to cover multi-strategy (hedge fund) managers.

Key Responsibilities

• Supporting the Equity Investment Managers in their research process. This involves supporting them to find new candidates, do due diligence on interesting candidates, make recommendations to the Investment Committee, assist operations colleagues in facilitating making the investment, monitoring incumbent fund managers and terminating appointments.

• Analysts will need do quantitative screening on the universe, desk-top analysis of past performance, identification of returns drivers and portfolio characteristics of sample portfolios, read and analyse material from fund managers and, with time, make recommendations to the Investment Managers regarding fund managers worthy of further research.

• Analysts will accompany Investment Managers to due diligence visits on both existing and potential funds, including potentially on-site visits in overseas locations. They will also participate in due diligence calls.

• Analysts will be responsible for writing up meeting notes within strict timeframes, updating Scorecards and ensuring, together with colleagues from the Operations team that information stored on relevant fund managers is up to date. For invested managers they will be responsible for ongoing monitoring of the managers, compiling quarterly reports updating the teams regarding the progress and performance of a manager, analysing their portfolios and exposures, ensuring all data is up to date on an ongoing basis.

• Successful analysts should expect to stay in an Analyst role for 3 to 5 years before moving to a decision making Investment Management role.

Profile of Ideal Candidate

• One to two years post University work experience in some financial related area – could be investment banking, securities dealing, fund management, treasury. More experienced analysts with manager interviewing and selection experience will also be considered.

• Must possess strong analytical/critical skills and inquisitive nature – enthusiasm to learn about capital markets and investment strategies

• The role involves extensive report writing – a structured approach to communication is essential.

• Must have the potential to work in an autonomous role, and proactively ask questions and seek guidance where unsure

• Ability to work with other team members in a non-confrontational way

• Ability to work effectively in a small team, taking account of colleagues’ views

• Educated to degree level and expected to take professional exams (eg. CFA)

• Proactive approach to working etc

• Desire to be part of a small, entrepreneurial and innovative team

• Any activity as a personal investor considered a plus

Vision and USP’s

• Our client aims to be the leading boutique by 2015 in the design and implementation of Solvency Management solutions incorporating innovative risk management and investment solutions for institutional investors drawing on their centres of excellence in ALM, risk management, derivatives, fund manager selection, asset allocation and portfolio construction.

• Our client aim to attract, inspire and motivate top quality professionals in the financial services industry. They also aim to maintain a culture and reputation of working with the highest integrity and being entrepreneurial, results driven, innovative, open, team orientated and free from large company bureaucracy and politics. This is as important as providing competitive remuneration.

• In the UK, they believe that most trustees currently lack an executive team of investment professionals who can manage their investments full time and take advantage of the full opportunity set efficiently.   Their initial goal is to provide the first successful solvency management service to UK pension funds that involves aligning interests, accepting overall accountability for the investment aspects of the funding objectives and managing the strategy dynamically by taking on delegated responsibility for implementation.

• Our client aims to create in the UK, a centre of excellence in solvency management solutions, asset allocation and non-traditional products research.

• Their goal is to be the leading provider of risk management services to pension funds and other financial institutions in Europe. They aim to design and implement innovative strategies using derivatives to manage risks.   They will also maintain their European base as their centre of excellence in asset-liability management, financial engineering, derivative research and derivative execution.