Head of Portfolio Management (PM)

Munich Re (MR) Group is one of the world’s largest reinsurers.  It was founded in 1880 and is based in Munich, Germany.  It offers reinsurance, primary insurance, and asset management services.  MEAG is the investment management center of the Munich Re Group. As of June 30, 2013, it had more than €228 billion in assets under management, making it one of the major asset managers in the European financial sector. MEAG primarily manages the Group's investments, including securities, real estate and alternative assets. Beyond this, it offers its expertise and know-how to both institutional investors and private clients through segregated accounts as well as retail funds.

 

MEAG New York is one of three MEAG teams (Munich, New York and Hong Kong) with the responsibility of proprietary asset management of the liability side of MR Group’s balance sheet in US and Canadian dollars. MR Group adopts a vigorous asset-liability management approach whereby asset exposure strictly adheres to parameters surrounding the liability profile to ensure close coverage and prudent risk management. As of September 2013, MEAG New York has approximately $45 billion of assets under management with a staff of 50+ people. To closely match liabilities, these portfolios consist of all publicly traded fixed income assets in North America (US Government bonds, agencies, corporates and structured products, and the corresponding Canadian debt sectors).  MEAG New York is also responsible for supporting such individual (re)insurance entities’ specific domestic requirements with regards to assets, be they business driven, regulatory related or accounting reporting.

 

RESPONSIBILITIES:

 

  1. The Head will represent Portfolio Management in the Investment Committee (IC), which is comprised of the CEO, Chief Risk Officer (CRO), Head of Research and Head of PM to steer the strategic exposure of assets based on macroeconomic and policy outlook, providing input to arrive at a coherent conclusion for the overall asset positioning. In particular, domain expert knowledge in market technical factors and trading dynamics is essential to timing and degree of strategy implementation, and PM provides such information for the IC on a periodic basis.
  2. From Credit Research, PM will make use of ideas on section rotation and security selection to derive coherent portfolio construction across clients to fulfill fiduciary responsibilities and achieve excess return realization. Head of PM liaises with Head of Credit Research to ensure coordination in credit focus for new issuance and understanding of secondary market liquidity in credit recommendation.
  3. Quantitative Research supports asset analytics, both on a security and portfolio bases. Head of PM will articulate and prioritize trading needs to concretely specify tools required and analytical output needed to facilitate research application on actual assets.
  4. Risk Management is responsible for monitoring risk trends and identifying early indicators to protect asset performance. It sets risk limits and articulates risk/reward tradeoff in scenario testing to stress asset exposure. Head of PM works with CRO to ensure deviation from benchmark produces expected results and risk budget is used effectively.
  5. S/He will liaise closely with colleagues in Munich at MEAG in pursuing a coherent global investment strategy, delineated by regional specialization and market differences to ensure adequate coverage for all MR Group asset needs. S/He represents local interests in global processes on new products, systems and other requirements unique to North American markets and acts as an advocate regarding portfolio management issues.
  1. The Head of PM is responsible for the implementation of a coherent bond strategy for assets managed by the individual sector specialists. While individual sector specialists contribute to the overall strategy formulation, the Head is responsible for the resultant coherence of total exposure on duration, curve and intra-sector allocation.
  2. S/He will oversee the coherent and consistent execution of this aggregate exposure in various actual portfolios vs. individual client guidelines flexibility and operating constraints.
  3. S/He answers to Mandate Management on client reporting and specific needs to fulfill fiduciary responsibilities, explains asset exposure and shares market outlooks on a periodic basis and executes ad hoc client-directed instructions.
  1. The Head will ensure overall departmental compliance with applicable guidelines and policies, promoting a strong internal control culture.
  2. S/He will establish necessary departmental processes to facilitate efficient and effective work flows and ensure adequate backup for various responsibilities.
  3. S/He participates in projects, assigns resources to initiatives that would enhance the operational effectiveness of the MEAG NY setup and/or promote global integration in asset management topics.

 

CANDIDATE QUALIFICATIONS:

 

Candidates will exhibit sound personal values and ethics, with integrity beyond reproach.  The selected candidate will have a personal commitment towards conducting business in a professional manner and be a responsible corporate citizen, which is in keeping with the overall corporate philosophies and values of the organization. 

October 9, 2013 • Tags:  • Posted in: Financial

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