Annuity Portfolio Manager recruitment

Job Statement

 The portfolio manager will be responsible for an assigned portfolio or set of portfolios, within the annuity books of business. He or she will act as a centre of excellence on specific types of illiquid investments, deliver and improve risk-adjusted investment performance, originate and execute tactical or ALM-driven trades, manage and deliver implementation of portfolio-specific projects, and manage portfolio asset allocation relative to strategic benchmarks.

Principle Accountabilities

Ø       Own, implement and maintain strategic asset allocation as defined by ALM team. Manage portfolio restructuring and transition to new strategic asset allocation benchmark after any ALM study.

Ø       Act as centre of excellence for designated asset class expertise.

Ø       Responsible for implementation of investment into portfolio allocation relating to designated asset class expertise within annuity portfolios.

Ø       Execute day-to-day ALM related trades with relevant asset manager, under the correct governance framework.

Ø       Analyse, report and improve investment performance relative to liability benchmarks.

Ø       Responsible for appointing, retaining, selecting and dismissing asset managers on assigned portfolios, using the appropriate process and governance.

Ø       Generate and implement tactical asset allocation ideas with the objective of improving risk-adjusted return.

Ø       For shareholder portfolios, deliver accounting investment result according to the relevant pre-defined metric (e.g. cash, capital released or embedded value).

Ø       Own and maintain portfolio investment guidelines.

Ø       Fulfil any ad-hoc portfolio related requests arising from business stakeholders.

Measures

Ø       Investment portfolios managed in accordance with agreed investment strategy. Required adjustments and changes to portfolios arising from strategic asset allocation are articulated, agreed with stakeholders and implemented in a timely fashion.

Ø       Role is acknowledged within the business as where expertise sits – questions are directed to the role, knowledge sharing is facilitated.

Ø       Changes and trade proposals are articulated, agreed with stakeholders and implemented in a timely fashion.

Ø       Trades are executed in a timely fashion, with governance well documented in an audit-friendly manner.

Ø       Produce relevant reporting on investment performance and other related information for Executive Investment Committee, Investment Oversight Committee, Board or other stakeholders.

Ø       Proposals on changes to investment managers are articulated, agreed with stakeholders and implemented in a timely fashion. Investment managers selected produce good risk-adjusted performance.

Ø       Accounting metric targets met – team objective is normally to generate a certain level of capital released, earnings or cash for dividend.

Ø       Portfolio investment guideline are live and kept up to date at all times.

Ø       Ad-hoc portfolio related requests met for all stakeholders.

Skills and Experience

Essential:

Ø       3-7 years of experience in asset market-related financial services, including portfolio management, corporate finance and trading.

Ø       Very good understanding of investment strategy across multiple asset classes with a fixed income focus, including technical factors, relative value and economics. Expertise in rarely traded or illiquid credit risk asset classes, such as property loans, leases, privately placed loans, structured credit, or infrastructure will be an advantage.

Ø       Good understanding of derivative instruments, in particular interest rate swaps, asset swaps and credit default swaps.

Ø       Track record of generating investment ideas that improve risk-adjusted returns.

Ø       Good communication and written skills, able to explain complex ideas in a clear, concise yet non-technical manner to stakeholders.

Ø       Able to ‘learn by doing’ and enjoys working in a self-sufficient manner.

Ø       Pro-active and results oriented.

Desirable:

Ø       Possesses a CFA qualification, or working towards a CFA qualification.

Ø       Understanding of insurance capital requirements.

Ø       Understanding of IFRS accounting standards.

Ø       Evidence of previous leadership experience, including managing direct reports, will be an advantage.