Associate Director, Private Equity recruitment

Widely known through the “You’re in Good Hands with Allstate®” slogan, Allstate helps individuals in more than 17 million households protect what they have today and better prepare for tomorrow through approximately 14,700 exclusive agencies and financial specialists in the United States and Canada. By leveraging Our Shared Vision, Allstate is committed to strong principles of the highest ethical standards and encourages individual accountability. Allstate realizes success through innovative thinking while providing challenging and collaborative work for its 70,000 employees. Allstate demonstrates a commitment to diversity through a variety of ways and continues to identify the requirements for future success since it was founded in 1931.

Allstate Investments, LLC strives to provide sustainable, competitive, risk-adjusted investment returns and investment-related services for the benefit of the Allstate Corporation.  We work in direct partnership with the leaders of our major lines of business to develop uniquely tailored investment strategies aligned to their needs. Our business model provides the foundation for daily decision-making and effective management of a portfolio comprised of $100 Billion in assets.  The 400 professionals within Allstate Investments, LLC represent a wide variety of disciplines including taxable fixed income, tax-exempt fixed income, equities, private securities, commercial mortgages and derivative asset classes as well as accounting, finance and technology.  Investment performance for our three major portfolios has consistently provided excess returns for our customers and we attribute that success in large part to the quality of our people. We recognize that our employees are our ultimate advantage and we seek to attract and retain highly qualified individuals with strong academic backgrounds, a deep interest in investments and a desire to be challenged.  For additional information about Allstate Investments, LLC, visit our website at www.AllstateInvestments.com

Area of Responsibility:   

Allstate Investments’ Private Equity Group is seeking an experienced Associate Director.  The group makes fund investments and co- investments with leading Private Equity sponsors around the world. They manage an existing portfolio of approximately $3.5 billion and our annual new commitments are approximately $750 million to $850 million globally in strategies including: buyouts, growth capital, mezzanine, distressed/turnarounds, and secondaries.  Our portfolio is well-diversified by manager, strategy, and geography.  The Private Equity team is located in Allstate’s offices in suburban Chicago and London.  This position is located in Northbrook, IL.

The Associate Director will have significant responsibility for key aspects of our portfolio in the Americas, including elements of portfolio construction along with transaction origination, underwriting and execution, and ongoing portfolio monitoring.  This will include leading deal teams, typically of 2-3 people, that may include staff from our US and UK offices.  The Associate Director will report to our Global Head of Private Equity.

In alignment with corporate goals, specific responsibilities for the Associate Director will include:

• Evaluate market conditions in existing and prospective new investment categories in the Americas and other regions.  Recommend strategies to support asset allocation decisions related to these categories;

•  Lead all phases of the investment process for new opportunities: origination, evaluation, execution, monitoring, and exiting. Key functions in these areas include:

oPerforming quantitative and qualitative analysis used in the underwriting of potential investments;

oPreparing approval memoranda and other materials used to support investment recommendations and to communicate with internal constituents;

oClosely monitoring the performance of existing portfolio investments, including regular communication with financial sponsors and management teams.

• Initiate, develop and manage relationships with financial sponsors and intermediaries to generate increased deal flow;

• Participate in performance and other portfolio presentations to senior management and other key constituents;

• Represent Allstate on fund Advisory Boards;

• Train, mentor and develop direct reports.

Professional Background:

The successful candidate will have at last 5 years of relevant post MBA experience, most likely to include principal investing experience either as a GP or an LP.  Other potential backgrounds could include leveraged lending or corporate development but must have a close link to institutional Private Equity.  Pre-MBA experience in investment banking, leveraged finance or principal investing is also desirable.  The successful candidate will also demonstrate all of the following:

• Strong knowledge of and interest in current trends, success factors, and commercial terms in Private Equity and related investment markets (Advanced);

• Excellent network of relevant relationships and experience with relationship development (Advanced);

• Investment experience in markets outside the US and a global investing perspective (Intermediate);

• Proven ability to lead multiple investment evaluation processes in a time critical, transaction oriented environment (Advanced);

• Demonstrated track record reflecting sound investment judgment (Advanced);

• Prior exposure to and involvement with portfolio construction (Intermediate);

• Relevant experience and a natural affinity for managing and developing people;  (Advanced);  

• Excellent oral and written communication skills (Advanced);

• A self starter that requires limited oversight (Advanced);

• Willingness to work hard in a team-oriented, performance-based environment (Advanced);

• Willingness to undertake significant travel as needed.

Educational Background:

A Master in Business Administration is required.

All applicants must be willing to adhere to the following in order to ensure adherence to Allstate Investments compliance requirements and policies:

oProvide the Investments Compliance team with a list of investment accounts over which you have significant influence;

oProvide consent, through a signed statement, allowing Investments Compliance to receive duplicate confirmations of transactions in such accounts;

oPre-clear through the Pre-Trade Clearing Process any personal security trades as will be further described upon employment. The Pre-Trade Clearing Process involves a check against a restricted security/issuer list, maintained by Investments Compliance, based on Allstate Investments' and Allstate's activities and dealings in the financial markets;

oAnswer certain compliance questions regarding any affiliations with investment advisers, violations of state or federal securities laws, or actions taken against you by securities regulators and annually (and as otherwise required) confirm compliance with the Allstate Code of Ethics and the Allstate Investments Code of Conduct;

oProvide Investments Compliance with a complete report of their current securities holdings in which the employee has, or acquires, any direct or indirect beneficial ownership.  An employee is presumed to be a beneficial owner of securities that are held by his or her immediate "family members" sharing the individual's household. Household family members include married or common-law spouses, domestic partners, partners defined by civil union and resident dependent children.

Application Instructions:

Qualified and interested applicants must submit qualifications through Allstate.