JOB SPECIFICATION

Job Title: Head of Credit Strategies – Investment Management Team

Reports To: Head of Our client’s Investment Management team.

Lateral: This is a key role within the investment team and will require working closely with several other manager-research individuals with specified areas of research. Also working very closely with Head of Solutions to produce tailored solutions for clients

Location: London office

The Role
The role involves being an integral part of the Investment Management team and member of the Investment Committee. 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 Investment Management team, is an experienced hedge fund-of-fund and multi-asset class investor, with particular expertise in credit related strategies.

Key Objectives
The Head of Credit Strategies will play the leading role in the research and selection of Credit orientated managers. This will mainly be “hedge fund” managers, but Our client does not distinguish between traditional and hedge fund managers and the role will cover both types of managers. Specifically, this area includes credit multi-strategy, credit long/short, distressed, asset-backed (including CDO’s and whole loan mortgages), leveraged loans, convertible arbitrage, asset backed lending, high yield, emerging market debt as well as investment grade. In addition, the Head of Credit Strategies will work together with equity and private equity colleagues to cover multi-strategy managers.

This individual will be required to work closely with the Asset Allocation specialist to give input into key asset allocation decisions and propose directional credit derivative overlays that Our client could execute itself.

Key Responsibilities

 Researching, and evaluating managers within the credit universe.

 Carrying out due diligence on both existing and potential funds, including on-site visits in the UK and overseas locations.

 Maintaining the deep universe of monitored managers, analysing returns and identifying performance drivers.

 Monitoring existing investments including regular calls and visits, as well as performance attribution and quantitative analyses.

 Making recommendations to the Investment Committee regarding the hiring and firing of Credit managers and managing the ongoing relationships with Credit managers.

 Assessing the risk/reward opportunities within the Credit space relative to those available in other strategies and contributing to team discussions regarding appropriate risk/capital allocations.

 Contributing to views on appropriate credit derivative overlay strategies either for protective or returns enhancing purposes.

 Providing inputs regarding risk and return expectations across the range of Credit strategies for the risk allocation and management processes.

 To ensure that the Asset Allocation specialist is familiar with Credit managers’ positioning.

 Mentoring other individuals on the team who are less experienced with manager selection through attending manager meetings with them, debating their conclusions and recommendations one on one and also in the wider Investment Committee.

 Functioning as an effective challenger and debater of investment ideas proposed by different team members on the investment committee.

 Experience in marketing and credibility in speaking with investors and articulating market trends and investment ideas is considered a plus

Profile of Ideal Candidate

 At least three years plus in fund of hedge funds research and decision making, with a good network across Credit hedge fund strategies. Whilst a focus on Credit strategies is desirable, broad hedge fund strategy exposure is a bonus due to the wider challenges this individual will be required to play within the team. They will consider people with lateral backgrounds
 Our client also willing to consider candidates originating from the sell side with deep experience in structuring credit instruments, including derivatives
 Must have the potential to work in an autonomous role, developing own research agenda
 Ability to put forward strong investment ideas and engage in open debate with the remainder of the team.
 Ability to coach and challenge 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 including professional exams, where appropriate
 Proactive approach to working etc
 Desire to be part of a small, entrepreneurial and innovative team

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 the European base as their centre of excellence in asset-liability management, financial engineering, derivative research and derivative execution.