Director, Portfolio Management, Group Benefits & Group Retirement Services - SLC Management

Sun Life Financial; Toronto; On-site; CAD 100,000 - 158,000; Full time

Job summary

Join a forward-thinking global asset management firm as a Director of Portfolio Management, where you'll play a pivotal role in shaping investment strategies for Group Benefits and Retirement Services. This innovative position involves collaborating with various teams to explore new investment opportunities, optimize capital, and enhance profitability. You'll be empowered to make a significant impact in a supportive and inclusive culture that values growth and development. With excellent benefits, a flexible work environment, and a commitment to employee well-being, this is an exciting opportunity to advance your career in a leading financial services company.

Benefits

Generous vacation and sick time

Market-leading maternity and parental leave

Partially-paid sabbatical program

Pension and stock programs

Flexible work environment

Career growth opportunities

Award winning workplace culture

Qualifications

• 5+ years of experience in the investment industry required.
• Strong understanding of asset management and investment strategies.

Responsibilities

• Develop and implement tactical and strategic investment decisions.
• Monitor portfolio asset mix and risk exposures.
• Provide mentorship to junior team members.

Skills

Knowledge of broad asset classes

Understanding of liability profile

Knowledge of modern portfolio theory

Creative thinking

Problem-solving skills

Strong relationship building

Excellent communication skills

Education

University degree in finance, business or economics

CFA designation with MBA/MFE

Tools

Bloomberg

Blackrock Aladdin

Morningstar Direct

Job description

SLC Management is a growing global asset management firm providing innovative and diversified investment solutions to institutional investors. We are breaking new ground with a full spectrum of solutions for a growing institutional client base of more than 1400 organizations. Our history of organic and strategic growth reflects this commitment with over CA$387/US$286 billion in assets under management (AUM). As a subsidiary of Sun Life, we are aligned with one of the world’s leading financial services companies, and benefit from the stability and strength of that relationship.

We are a performance-driven organization with a deliberate focus on fostering a development-focused, inclusive culture revolving around our Core Values of being client obsessed, valuing each other, acting with speed and having an owner’s mindset. As part of our team, you play a role in fulfilling our purpose and making a difference. We offer a rewarding work environment that is filled with opportunity for growth where you will be empowered to meet the challenges of a highly competitive landscape.

SLC Management offers a mix of in-office and virtual work where our employees are empowered to do their best. Generally, employees are expected to work three or more days in-office each week with flexibility depending on their business, client and team needs.

Job Description:

Director, Portfolio Management, Group Benefits & Group Retirement Services – SLC Management

What is in it for you:
As the Director, Portfolio Management, Group Benefits & Group Retirement Services (GB & GRS), you are a critical link between SLC and the Business, collaborating with both the Asset & Liability Management (ALM) team and the Business. You will be responsible for executing the investment strategies that support the business, acting directly with various SLC fixed income teams (public bonds, derivatives, Private Fixed Income) as well as BGO and other SLC affiliates for non-fixed income/alternative assets. You will partner with other resources in the Office of the CIO and SLC to explore and implement new investment opportunities that enhance profitability or optimize capital, acting with a Client-first mindset at all times, supporting the growth and execution of the GB and GRS businesses.

What you will do:

• Working closely with SLC and other internal partners, develop and support the implementation of tactical and strategic investment decisions for the asset portfolios backing liabilities in the Group Benefits and GRS business units within the Canada business group. This involves working with all existing and new asset classes that comprise the investment portfolio, including but not limited to public bonds, private fixed income, commercial mortgages, real estate, public equity, private equity, derivatives and other alternative asset classes.
• Provide investment expertise and educate the business units on unique investment opportunities that arise from various SLC front office teams and affiliates, and look for the best fit for a given asset from the perspective of meeting the Clients’ investment objectives.
• Monitor tactical trading opportunities (primarily interest rate and credit) and facilitate execution with the SLC front office teams and other supporting functional areas (finance, accounting, tax, etc.).
• Lead portfolio optimization efforts in investment strategy reviews to determine optimal asset mixes and identify new asset classes to improve overall performance and profitability of the business.
• Working closely with SLC teams and Client ALM partners, support the strategic direction and own the day-to-day management of various risks including interest rate risk, credit risk, currency risk, liquidity and collateral risk in the Group portfolios.
• Monitor portfolio asset mix and risk exposures as outlined in the business unit’s Investment Management Guidelines, and drive actions.
• Prepare and present investment overviews, commentaries and opportunities to internal and external partners at working groups and committee meetings.
• Partner with SLC teams and Client ALM partners to develop innovative solutions to enhance pricing for payout annuities products (i.e. CDS or inflation overlay programs).
• Support the development of new liability products with Client ALM partners and business units through asset sourcing, portfolio construction and risk mitigation.
• Provide support to other senior members across the Portfolio Management or broader SLC Management / Office of the CIO team on an ad-hoc basis, including Client reporting, internal reporting, projects or one-off analyses as required.
• As necessary, provide support to Managing Directors in the Office of the CIO related to compliance, business continuity or other Audit requests.
• Provide mentorship to junior team members to develop internal talent.

What you will need to succeed:

• Knowledge of broad asset classes across the investment spectrum, including fixed and non-fixed income.
• Understanding of the liability profile for group benefits / annuities businesses.
• Knowledge of modern portfolio theory and application, including portfolio construction, asset pricing and risk management.
• Creative, flexible thinker who enjoys exploring new ideas.
• Problem solver, with demonstrated ability to deliver innovative solutions.
• Ability to cultivate strong working relationships across various functional areas (SLC, ALM, Treasury, Risk and Finance).
• Experience with financial tools or software (i.e. Bloomberg, Blackrock Aladdin, Morningstar Direct).
• Excellent communication and written skills.

ADDITIONAL SKILLS (OR PREFERRED SKILLS):

• 5+ years of experience in the investment industry.
• University degree in finance, business or economics.
• CFA designation with MBA/MFE (or equivalent) is preferred.

Why SLC Management?

• Opportunity to work for a growing global institutional asset manager.
• Excellent benefits and wellness programs to support the three pillars of your well-being – mental, physical and financial – including generous vacation and sick time, market-leading maternity, parental and adoption leave top up program, a partially-paid sabbatical program and much more.
• Pension, stock and savings programs with an employer-paid match to help build and enhance your future financial security.
• A flexible work environment with a friendly, caring, collaborative and inclusive culture focused on career growth development #WeWinAsATeam.
• The opportunity to move along a variety of career paths with amazing networking potential.
• Award winning workplace culture - Great Place to Work Certified in Canada and the U.S., “Best Places to Work” by Glassdoor, Award for Excellence for Mental Health at Work, “Best Places to Work in Money Management” by Pension & Investments.

SLC Management is a regulated business, and this means that there are certain financial reporting and trading preclearance requirements for all employees. Successful candidates will be required to declare personal investment accounts and securities investments as well as seek preclearance on future transactions including those of household members.

Job Category:

Asset Management

Salary Range:

100,000/100 000 - 157,500/157 500

We are committed to pay transparency and equity. The base salary range for this role is competitive and we strive to ensure that compensation is fair and equitable. Your actual base salary will be determined by your unique skills, qualifications, experience, education, and geographic location. In addition to base salary, this position is eligible for a discretionary annual incentive award based on individual and overall business performance along with a broad range of competitive benefits.

We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where all employees feel they belong, are supported and empowered to thrive. We are dedicated to building teams with varied experiences, backgrounds perspectives and ideas that benefit our colleagues, clients, and the communities where we operate. We encourage applications from qualified individuals from all backgrounds.

We will make reasonable accommodations to known physical or mental limitations. Persons with disabilities who need accommodation in the application process or those needing job postings in an alternative format may e-mail a request to [e-mail].

We thank all applicants for showing an interest in this position. Only those selected for an interview will be contacted.