Investment Analyst - Private Equity & Unlisted Assets

Colonial First State; Sydney; On-site; AUD 120,000 - 180,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Birthday leave

Life Leave — 3 days per year

Sonder access for wellbeing support

BUPA corporate rates

Job summary

Colonial First State seeks an Investment Analyst in the Private Markets team, part of the Investments division, focusing on unlisted assets, private equity opportunities, and AI-enabled workflows. You will support portfolio design, financial modelling and investment analysis, working with cross-functional teams in Sydney.

The role emphasizes hands-on experience across private markets, from screening to close, and leveraging AI to enhance reporting and decision-making, with a culture of high

Qualifications

• Proven experience with unlisted assets in an investment setting.
• Direct deal experience across private equity (infrastructure/property exposure a plus).
• Strong financial modelling and robust analytical skills.
• Fluent in AI prompting and comfortable using LLMs across investment workflows.

Responsibilities

• Contribute to portfolio reporting and in-depth financial analysis across unlisted assets.
• Lead financial modelling workstreams on transactions and support manager selection.
• Coordinate screening and execution of new fund, secondary and co-investment opportunities.
• Prepare investment recommendations for the Investment Committee and resource AI-driven insights.

Skills

Unlisted assets experience

Private equity deal experience

Financial modelling

Analytical skills

AI prompting

Python literacy

Tools

Python

Job description

Investment Analyst - Private Equity & Unlisted Assets

Are you ready to be part of an organisation that values expertise, passion and diversity? At CFS we know that the foundation of our success lies in our exceptional people. We believe in celebrating individuality, have a passion for high performance and creating an environment where you can unleash your full potential. Our people enable us to make a difference and deliver exceptional experiences to help our customers achieve financial freedom.

Your Team

The Private Markets team is part of CFS's Investments division which is accountable for managing a multi-asset portfolio across listed and unlisted markets, including a growing allocation to private equity, infrastructure and property.

Your Responsibilities

• This is a hands-on role for someone who wants breadth across private markets, direct exposure to institutional-scale transactions and the space to shape how we use technology to invest better.
• Contribute to portfolio reporting and in-depth financial analysis across the unlisted assets book, including performance dashboards and commentary
• Support new manager selection, co-investment and direct opportunities from screening through to close, leading financial modelling workstreams on transactions
• Coordinate sourcing, screening and execution of new fund, secondary and co-investment opportunities, and prepare investment recommendations for the Investment Committee
• Prepare materials for internal portfolio management and governance forums, including quarterly portfolio reviews, coordinating inputs from across the team
• Support the development of portfolio construction frameworks, including concentration limits, exposure mapping and risk analysis
• Maintain research databases and monitoring templates, and research new sectors across private equity, infrastructure and property to keep the team's view of market trends current
• Build AI agents and workflows that make the team more effective, from automated reporting and portfolio dashboards through to sharper insights on manager and asset performance
• Act as the interface between the team and the broader Investments AI capability, identifying and helping deliver high-value AI opportunities

Your Capability and Experience

• Proven experience with unlisted assets, gained within a fund, institutional investor or investment banking environment
• Direct deal experience across private equity (infrastructure and property exposure a plus)
• Strong financial modelling and analytical skills
• Solid grounding in investment principles and associated risks across both direct investments and externally managed portfolios
• A track record of producing thorough, IC-quality analysis in line with defined investment criteria
• Fluent in AI prompting and comfortable harnessing LLMs across a range of investment workflows
• Comfortable reading and writing Python
• Genuine interest in building AI tools rather than only using them
• Familiarity with agentic AI concepts and an appetite to work at the frontier of what these tools can do in an investment context
• Judgement about when an AI tool is useful and when it is not, which matters more to us than deep expertise in any one framework
• Excellent communication and stakeholder management ability across internal teams, managers and external advisors

What to Expect

At CFS, you'll be working among the very best in the wealth management industry. It's an inspiring environment that encourages development and celebrates success. Other things to look forward to:

• Additional day for your birthday
• Access to CFS Employer Super
• Life Leave - 3 days per annum
• Access to Sonder who provides human-powered medical, mental health and safety support through one easy-to-use app enabling you to get support whenever and wherever you need.
• Access to Corporate rates with BUPA Health Insurance
• Confidential coaching and counselling services supporting life, mind, body, relationships, work and family to assist you in taking charge of your own health and wellbeing

CFS Culture

At CFS we are committed to creating a thriving environment where individuals can flourish. We believe that success is built upon strong teams, and we are dedicated to celebrating uniqueness, championing individuality and supporting a diverse and inclusive workforce. We believe that when you can truly be yourself, you can unlock your full potential.

Please note, CFS requires all candidates to have full work rights in Australia.

Where we have preferred candidates, background checks (including Police, Employment, Bankruptcy checks, ASIC banned and disqualified persons) will be completed prior to the final preferred candidate's employment being confirmed. The outcomes of the background checks do not preclude the preferred candidate, however, they will be assessed against the inherent requirements of the role.

This role is based on Gadigal Land (Sydney).