Credit Research Senior Analyst (Real Estate), Global Investment Research and Ratings

Phoenix; City Of London; Hybrid; GBP 70,000 - 110,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading investment firm in London is seeking a Credit Research Senior Analyst to join their Global Investment Research team. This role involves assigning and monitoring internal ratings for real estate-backed assets, with competitive compensation of £70,000 – £110,000 plus benefits. The ideal candidate will have strong expertise in credit rating processes and real estate analysis.

Benefits

Excellent pension scheme

Private medical insurance

38 days holiday including Bank Holidays

Career breaks

Income protection

Volunteering days

Qualifications

• Strong knowledge of CRA processes and methodologies.
• Experience in analyzing real estate backed debt.
• Ability to produce credit memos and sector reports.

Responsibilities

• Assign internal credit ratings for private credit backed by real estate.
• Monitor ratings with ongoing surveillance and annual reviews.
• Develop and maintain understanding of CRA rating methodologies.

Skills

Credit rating processes

Real Estate backed debt analysis

Stakeholder management

Risk identification

Financial modeling

Tools

Excel

PowerPoint

Credit rating agency data platforms

Job description

Job Description

We are pleased to announce an incredible opportunity to join us here at Phoenix Group as a Credit Research Senior Analyst (Real Estate) within our Global Investment Research and Ratings (GIRR) team, part of the RS&AM function. The focus of this role is to assign and monitor internal ratings, undertake sector and portfolio reviews, help ensure the rating framework remains appropriate and in line with Credit Rating Agency (CRA) guidance.

This role will suit those who have specific experience in Real Estate (Corporate/Commercial), Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities (CMBS) and credit ratings.

Job Type: Permanent

Location: This role will be based in our London office, with some flexibility to work between the office and home. We will discuss what is important to you, balancing this with business requirements during the recruitment process.

You can read more about Phoenix Flex here.

Salary and Benefits: £70,000 – £110,000 (subject to experience) + bonus, excellent pension scheme, private medical insurance, electric vehicle scheme, 38 days holiday incl. Bank Holidays (pro-rated), plus 12x salary life assurance, career breaks, income protection, 3x volunteering days and much more!

Who are we?

We want to be the best place that any of our 6,600 colleagues have ever worked.

We’re Phoenix Group, we’re a long‑term savings and retirement business. We offer a range of products across our market‑leading brands, Standard Life, SunLife, Phoenix Life and ReAssure. Around 1 in 5 people in the UK has a pension with us. We’re a FTSE 100 organisation that is tackling key issues such as transitioning our portfolio to net zero by 2050, and we’re not done yet.

Role Context

The Credit Research Senior Analyst will contribute independently to the Credit Research and Ratings team within the Global Investment Research and Ratings function by assigning Internal Ratings to private credit/illiquid assets back by real estate, review ratings on an annual basis as well as sector deep dives as required. You will assign and monitor internal ratings, undertake sector and portfolio reviews, help ensure the rating framework remains appropriate and in line with Credit Rating Agency (CRA) guidance.

Key Responsibilities

Asset Class Focus

• Real estate backed debt in the form of CRE loans, Commercial Ground Rent loans, Property Corporates/REITs, Credit Tenant Leases and Income Strips

Credit Ratings and Monitoring

• Assigning internal credit ratings on unrated illiquid asset independently or with minimal guidance, ensuring ratings are accurate, follow approved methodology and are timely.
• Integrate environmental, social and governance factors in the analysis of each investment
• Monitoring of ratings - ongoing surveillance / annual reviews / ad-hoc reviews (e.g. credit/event driven)

Credit Rating Methodologies

• Develop and maintain deep understanding of CRA rating methodologies and ensure the methodologies for assigning ratings remains appropriate.
• Independently contribute to the development and maintenance of the relevant methodologies and associated documentation and ensures it meets all requirements (including rating agency criteria and regulatory guidelines and best practice) and is embedded in asset management.
• As part of the deal screening process, provide preliminary rating estimates for new investments in the relevant sector based on limited transaction data.
• Act as secondary analyst to other private debt transactions, providing assurance and challenge to processes and outcomes.
• Monitoring of group limits, risk and concentration and any restricted assets (for example watch list).

Data, Governance & Regulation

• Manage and maintain internal and external data requirements for unrated illiquid asset in the assigned portfolio.
• Produce required team outputs (for example specific assets MI, committee inputs, portfolio and sector reviews).
• Lead and/or contribute to other projects as required, for example activities including strategic asset allocation, new asset classes, ad-hoc reviews, including regulatory requests, and monitoring of group limits.
• Actively participate in governance for internal ratings and other associated committees.
• Support the Credit Research Lead Analyst, head of Credit governance and the Chief Credit Officer at any committees or other governance forums.
• Thorough understanding of relevant regulations and PRA expectations for internal ratings and ensures team compliance. Leads/assist with PRA deliverables and interactions with PRA.

Stakeholder Management

• Internal: Chief Credit Officer and specialists within the team, Illiquid Asset Origination Team, Group Risk
• External: Banking counterparties; Advisors; Sponsors; Rating Agencies and Consultants

What are we looking for?

Experience / Knowledge - Essential (minimum Criteria)

• Demonstrates strong knowledge of the credit rating processes and methodologies undertaken by Credit Ratings Agencies (CRA).
• Ability to interpret sector‑specific rating approaches; Real Estate backed debt in the form of CRE (Corporate Real Estate) loans, Commercial Ground Rent loans, Property Corporates and REITs, Credit Tenant Lease and Income Strips, including financial information analysis and loan documentation.
• Strong capability in producing credit memos and sector reports highlighting key investment risks and opportunities
• Confidently develops and maintains Risk ID and produce and test scorecards/financial models and the reasonableness of rating outputs from scorecards.
• Ability to interpret credit ratings and challenge subjective assessments
• Form and present opinions on the credit quality of an asset including the ability to write credit reports highlighting key risks to range of stakeholders.
• Experience of Excel, Word, PowerPoint and ideally, credit rating agency data platforms.

Personal Attributes & Skills

• Proactively stays abreast with industry trends i.e. investment risks and opportunities, and able to confidently represent at external events including industry conferences
• Ability to manage and deliver on multiple priorities and projects
• Strong communication and stakeholder management skills, with the ability to articulate clear recommendations

We Want To Hire The Whole Version Of You.

We are committed to ensuring that everyone feels accepted and welcome applicants from all backgrounds. If your experience looks different from what we’ve advertised and you believe that you can bring value to the role, we’d love to hear from you.

If you require any adjustments to the recruitment process, please let us know so we can help you to be at your best.

Find out more about

• Guide for Candidates: thephoenixgroup.pagetiger.com/guideforcandidates
• Find or get answers from our colleagues: www.thephoenixgroup.com/careers/talk-to-us