Associate Director - Investment

As an Associate Director in the Delegated Portfolio Management team you will help design, implement, present and then monitor investment solutions, to a range of asset owner clients, but particularly UK-domiciled pension schemes. This role will focus on derivative based hedging strategies and the construction of cashflow-matching portfolios.

You would build experience working with clients that use our solutions to reduce-risk, as well as to provide them with a tailored, more efficient, deployment of their growth (i.e. risk-taking, return-seeking) portfolio. You will sit as part of our wider portfolio management team that is responsible for managing a wide range of multi-asset and specialist portfolios using multi-manager implementation and is currently responsible for managing more than $140bn globally.

Our client base are seeking creative solutions to the investment challenges they face. As a result, we look to bring people with a variety of backgrounds and skills to work collaboratively on cutting edge assignments

You will have the opportunity to build your knowledge of our processes by working with a wide range of our internal teams, in particular our research and client teams, and our broader network of specialists within WTW’s investment business. You will be supported in the role to develop your investment specific knowledge and skills, as well as a broad range of consulting, communication and commercial skills

The role opportunity allows for flexibility in your working arrangements and we would be happy to discuss this with you further. We welcome applications from individuals returning from a career break.

The Role

We are looking to add a new Associate Director to our multi-asset portfolio management team to focus on derivative based hedging strategies and the construction of cashflow-matching portfolios.

Key responsibilities of the role are as follows:

Clients and Excellence

• Work closely with Portfolio Management, Asset Research and Manager Research Teams to input into the development of proposals for client portfolio changes
• Demonstrate knowledge of gilts, swaps and derivatives markets in order to design and critically evaluate different investment solutions
• Demonstrate knowledge of UK Pension Scheme liabilities and appropriate ways to hedge the risks inherent in these types of liabilities
• Have a proactive approach and take ownership of work to ensure tasks are actioned quickly and efficiently
• Assist in communicating any portfolio changes/positioning internally and to clients and intermediaries
• Diligent application of WTW’s portfolio management processes and pro-actively suggest evolution and changes
• Demonstrate sound analytical skills in forming views and opinions
• Take ownership for a wide range of actions across a portfolio of clients
• Learn and effectively use in-house trading systems and processes to execute portfolio management decisions
• Coordinate with legal and Implementation teams to ensure correct execution of portfolio management decisions

People

• Support a collaborative and inclusive working environment.
• Build strong relationships across your working network and collaborate with other related internal teams including research, client management, operations and compliance.
• Actively participate in the knowledge and skills development of others.

Financial

• Contribute to development of scalable processes to deliver value add portfolio management efficiently to multiple clients and solutions.
• Contribute to meeting project deliverables through effective resource utilization.

Excellence

• Learn to understand and implement our ‘Excellence’ principles and risk management techniques.
• Engage in ongoing training and professional development to enhance technical investment knowledge and keep abreast of industry developments.

The Requirements

• A strong motivation to apply your existing understanding of investment principles, different asset classes and investment management approaches to our business.
• Knowledge of derivatives (particularly Sterling Rates/Inflation) and UK pension scheme liabilities would be beneficial.
• Critical thinking and an analytical approach to tackling complex issues.
• Good IT (especially Excel and ideally Python/similar) skills would be beneficial.
• Motivation to learn and seek out opportunities to develop personal skills, experience and network.
• A skill set and/or attributes that will contribute to the diversity of thinking in the portfolio management team.
• Ability and desire to build relationships and adapt your communication skills to the needs of different clients and stakeholders.
• Progress towards CFA and/or Actuarial qualification would be beneficial.

Equal Opportunity Employer