Senior Investment Analyst for Public and Private Markets
Summary of Position:
Located in north Houston, the Houston Firefighters’ Relief and Retirement Fund (HFRRF) is a $4.3 billion public pension fund responsible for the administration of defined retirement benefits for over 6,000 active and retired Houston firefighters. Currently, the Fund has thirty-two employees and is governed by a ten-member Board of Trustees.
The HFRRF investment portfolio is broadly diversified across various asset classes with assets managed externally. The CIO reports directly to the HFRRF Investment Committee, a committee of the whole Board of Trustees.
Reporting to HFRRF’s Chief Investment Officer, the Senior Investment Analyst will contribute to and assist the CIO in the management and oversight of HFRRF’s private and public market portfolio. The SIA is expected to work independently, self-driven, take initiative and help CIO in evaluating new strategies and their impact in portfolio construction. HFRRF is adding private credit, private investments in emerging Asia and co-investment program. Private assets also include real estate. The SIA is expected to participate and make major contribution in developing all these new initiatives. Majority of the responsibilities are towards private markets, though responsibilities require expertise in public market asset classes as well. Some overseas and domestic travel is required.
The Senior Investment Analyst must have a strong work ethic, attention to detail, keen quantitative and analytic skills, excellent working knowledge of Microsoft office and ability to learn new analytic software. the ability to work independently and within a team, and excellent communication skills. The successful candidate must be self-motivated and foster an interest in investing.
Core Responsibilities for Private Markets (60%)
a) Participate and substantially contribute in portfolio construction for private assets, including private credit, infrastructure, co-investments, global primary and secondary private equity, global real estate.
b) Substantial interaction with Private Market managers, including Private market advisors
c) Manage and characterize incoming investment solicitations incorporating opportunities into broader selection sets
d) Monitor private market managers, analyze reports and performance, statements and activities via verbal and written reports and presentations, prepare qualitative and quantitative reports, memoranda, and spreadsheets
e) Deep dive in performance, understand and communicate drivers of returns, analyze risk profile of strategy. Strong analytical skills in monitoring outcome of various private market strategies
f) Assist with the continued development and integration of tools and processes to allow for early-stage assessment of opportunities. Understand interaction of public and private markets
g) Assist CIO and others in their analysis, review, and recommendations which may include review of complex document sets, development of models, analysis of industry trends and issues, drafting approval memorandums and participating in due diligence meetings
h) As needed, attend manager meetings and professional/industry conferences
i) Perform other duties or special projects as assigned
Core Responsibilities for Public Markets (25%)
a) Exhibit good working knowledge of public market liquid assets i.e fixed income, global public equities, hedge funds etc.
b) Adequate command on macro-economic factors to assist the CIO in asset allocation decisions.
c) Support senior staff and others in their analysis, review, and recommendations which may include developing models, analyzing industry trends and issues, drafting approval memorandums and participating in due diligence meetings
d) Assist in the monitoring of existing managers
e) Participate in manager search and selection processes
f) Occasionally attend manager meetings and professional/industry conferences
g) Responsible for overseeing the onboarding/operational due diligence and process of new investment accounts
h) Conduct standalone due diligence meetings for current and potential investment mandates
i) Create and present recommendations and other reports to HFRRF Investment Committee
General Core Responsibilities (15%)
a) Perform other duties or special projects as assigned
b) Oversee the cash balance and forecast process
c) Facilitate operations pertaining to the re-balancing of the Public Markets’ portfolio
d) Participate in preparing material for the Investment Committee
e) Participate in legal negotiations for potential investments
f) Track public market investment and redemptions for compliance and re-allocation purposes
g) Prepare materials for quarterly board meetings
h) Create reports from the custodian platform
Department Factors:
High Level of confidentiality, organized, human relation skills, strong written and verbal communication skills, collaborative, inspire trust, objective, advanced technical skills.
Job Description Competencies:
Critical thinker, analytical, strong mathematical/statistical abilities strong reading comprehension, team player, motivated, efficient task execution, articulate, and intellectual.
Requirements:
a) A four-year degree from an accredited college or university is required (finance or accounting major preferred)
b) Substantial progress towards CFA and CAIA is highly preferred
c) 5 years of professional experience in private markets including real estate with demonstrable experience in using benchmarks, performance analytics (Burgiss or similar), experience in interacting with private market consultant
d) 2 or more years of professional experience in public markets
e) Demonstrated experience in doing full life cycle investment decision process, including first meeting, active due diligence, legal negotiations and monitoring for all aspects of private assets
f) Demonstrated quantitative and analytic skills. Demonstrable experience in using analytics software, and reporting
g) Ability to perform and prioritize multiple tasks simultaneously with excellent attention to detail
h) Strong work ethic and willingness to work until the task is completed successfully
i) Ability to work in a small team environment
j) Excellent written and oral communication skills
k) Excellent working knowledge of Microsoft office, including excel modeling
l) Self-starter with strong organization and prioritization skills
m) High moral character
n) Preferred experience with BNY Mellon’s Workbench, Informa’s Zephyr, Bloomberg, and Burgiss’ Privatei
Physical Demands:
The physical demands of this position are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions. The employee may be required to push, pull, lift/or carry up to 10 pounds. The position requires prolonged sitting, standing, walking and reaching in the performance of daily duties. The position also requires grasping, repetitive hand movement, and fine coordination in preparing reports and various records or written communication using a computer keyboard. Vision abilities required by this job include close vision and the ability to adjust focus and the possession of near, far and color vision in reading written materials and using the computer. Hearing and speaking is required when communicating over the telephone. Included within the above requirements is the ability to make a simple gross motor response within large tolerances.
Work Environment:
The noise level in the work environment is usually moderately quiet. There are normally no major sources of discomfort in ordinary daily work in the office.
Travel:
The position requires the ability to travel to distant locations; domestic & overseas by car, train or airplane occasionally. Periodically, travel can be substantial.
Fair Labor Standards Act:
The position is classified as an exempt position.
The duties listed above are intended only as illustrations of the various types of work that may be performed. The omission of specific statements of duties does not exclude them from the position if the work is similar, related or a logical assignment to the position.
The job description does not constitute an employment agreement between the employer and employee and is subject to change by the employer as the needs of the employer and requirements of the job change.
Interested Candidates will need to send their resume to [email protected]
Benefits include:
• Competitive Salary
• Medical, Dental, Vision
• Life Insurance, Short Term, Long Term and Long Term Care
• 9/80 Schedule
• Vacation, Sick Time & Holidays
• Deferred Comp & Pension Plans