Investment Risk Manager

Arbuthnot; United Kingdom; On-site; GBP 70,000 - 90,000; Full time

Job summary

A financial services company is seeking an Investment Risk Manager to oversee risk management and governance reporting for discretionary investment portfolios. The successful candidate will have significant experience in investment risk management and excellent IT skills, particularly with Bloomberg PORT and Power BI. This role includes direct reporting to the investment committee to improve risk awareness and support decision-making processes.

Benefits

Competitive salary

Pension & holiday allowance

BUPA Health cover

Income Protection scheme

Discretionary bonus

Qualifications

• Experience in investment risk management or a similar role.
• Strong knowledge of market and credit risks.
• Proficient in risk systems and data analytics.

Responsibilities

• Manage investment risk framework and policies.
• Conduct risk analysis of portfolios.
• Report risks to the investment committee.

Skills

Leadership of a core risk function

Investment risk management experience

Excellent IT skills

Quantitative research abilities

Data presentation skills

Education

Degree in a quantitative discipline

CFA or FRM qualifications

Tools

Bloomberg PORT

Power BI

MorningStar Direct

Factset

Job description

Overview

This is a rare opportunity for an Investment Risk Manager to join Arbuthnot Latham's dynamic and collaborative investment team based in our new head office on Finsbury Circus.

The Investment Risk Manager is responsible for the overall risk management, governance reporting and operational trading for Arbuthnot Latham's discretionary investment portfolios. The role involves ongoing development and implementation of risk systems and associated infrastructure to support risk analysis and portfolio reporting. The ideal candidate will have prior experience in a similar function and in utilising Bloomberg PORT and Power BI for data visualisation.

The candidate will report to the investment committee to inform them of the risks carried in portfolios, distilling complex information into actionable insights to improve how the investment team manages client portfolios. They will be the main source of reporting from a governance perspective, both to the IC and wider business, to monitor overall risks the IC are taking. They will also be responsible for operational processes and reporting with oversight of model portfolios through the management of staff dedicated to this function.

Where applicable, to place the interests of customers at the centre of all activities, act in a way that is consistent with achieving good outcomes for consumers; and to comply with the FCA and PRA's Conduct Rules.

Risk Responsibilities:

• Establish and maintain an investment risk framework that is monitored at the investment management, company risk oversight and board level.
• Own the development and maintenance of investment risk policies, procedures and processes.
• Be responsible for the deployment of risk system infrastructure, collaborating with IT teams and third-party data vendors to improve the tools and technologies that support risk analysis and reporting.
• Drive continual improvements of data and analytics systems, including the integration of systems to enhance risk evaluation and reporting, and manage relations with external software providers such as Bloomberg and MorningStar.
• Act as "first line" risk defence for Arbuthnot Latham's model discretionary portfolios as it relates to established risk bands and tolerance levels set for each portfolio.
• Be responsible for reporting any breaches to risk limits to the appropriate channels with suggested course of action to rectify.
• Provide ongoing monitoring and analysis of risk within the portfolios at different levels (e.g. region, sector, currency, factors, rates, spread) and their implications.
• Through analysing portfolio exposures, risk drivers, stress tests and liquidity indicators, highlight any concerns proactively. This will require staying up to date on market movements and implications on the portfolios based on their positioning.
• Lead the risk meetings as part of AL's core investment committee process, reporting on output from risk analysis of model portfolios ensuring data is accurate, relevant and reliable. This will require excellent presentation and communication skills to distil complex risk and performance data into understandable and actionable insights for the wider investment committee.
• Review / challenge investment proposals from a risk perspective, providing risk insights to assist decision making of the IC in pursuing exceptional performance in a risk-conscious manner.
• Lead the annual review of Capital Market Assumptions and Strategic Asset Allocation proposals for core model portfolios.
• Collaborate with senior investment committee members to ensure investment risks are fully understood, appropriately monitored and reported.
• Act as an investment risk subject matter expert, to field enquiries and requests for reviews and analysis from senior IC members.
• Promote improvements in data quality and modelling approaches within analytics systems to improve quantification of portfolio risks.
• Coordinate with vendors and internal associates to address and fix modelling issues as they arise.
• Deliver presentations to internal and external stakeholders or clients as required for communication of our investment process and performance results, including due diligence processes for third parties considering our investment services.

Operational & Reporting Responsibilities

• The Risk Manager holds ultimate responsibility for the operational management and trading of model portfolios and wider reporting requirements associated with these.
• Ensure accuracy of model portfolio reflections across systems that feed from these models and provide efficient and accurate trading instructions to client teams to execute this.
• Oversee, train and manage staff dedicated to these functions to ensure timely, accurate and high-quality work for excellent execution of model portfolio decisions.
• Ensure that trading activity is supported by minuted decisions, changed Model Sheets, Tercero models and a Historical Model Changes log.

Collaboration

• Collaborate with senior stakeholders of the investment team to develop the analytical rigour of the investment process.
• Train and transfer knowledge across the research team regarding risk and performance analytics. Design and deliver training sessions on risk methodologies and tools, while mentoring junior team members and sharing expertise.

Communications

• Contribute to research papers and articles for internal and external use.

Commercial

• Support growth in new business and client retention through appropriate support to the Distribution team and client communications.
• Present to external investors where required and support due diligence requests.

General Risk

Responsible for managing risks inherent to the role by diligently observing internal policies and procedures.

Key Interfaces

• Director, Global Macro Strategy, Fund Research Manager, Head of Investment Research, MD Wealth Management
• Investment Committee and oversight/compliance committees.
• Investment Operations
• External platform providers
• Control functions (Audit, Risk, Compliance)
• Marketing

Person Specification

Knowledge/Experience/Skills:

• Leadership of a core risk function.
• Significant experience in investment risk management or a similar role, with understanding of market risk, equity risk factors, credit risk, liquidity risk, asset modelling and analytics in a multi-asset framework and detailed understanding of risk management requirements.
• Excellent IT skills including knowledge of MorningStar Direct, Factset and Bloomberg PORT for modelling, scenario testing and risk management. BQL programming language and Power BI knowledge is advantageous.
• Application of risk systems to private client model portfolio management.
• Examples of in-depth, intelligent, quantitative research related to risk oversight.
• Demonstrable knowledge or experience in multi-asset investing is preferred.
• Experience with asset allocation and model portfolios in a multi-asset framework and establishing core Strategic Asset Allocation using Capital Market Assumptions.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills and ability to interact with peers and stakeholders in a collegial environment focused on serving clients.
• Strong attention to detail; ability to work under pressure and to deadlines; ability to manage multiple tasks simultaneously.
• Data presentation and analytical skills; keen to pursue professional development; strong background in performance analysis.
• Knowledge of UCITs and AIFMD desirable.

Qualifications

• Excellent academic background, including a degree in a quantitative discipline.
• Pursuit or completion of master's level qualification or highly relevant professional qualifications (CFA, FRM).
• Evidence of continued academic advancement.

Competencies

• Performance Focus
• Working Proactively
• Business and Commercial Focus
• Creativity and Innovation
• Problem Solving and Judgement
• Planning and Reviewing
• Communication & Confidence
• Influencing Others
• Leading Others

About Us

Life, Work and Benefits

Arbuthnot Latham is committed to equal opportunities for all staff and candidates. We embrace inclusion & diversity and understand why they are critical for the success of our business and people.

• Agile working
• Competitive salary, pension & holiday allowance
• BUPA Health cover
• 4x Life Assurance
• Income Protection scheme
• Discretionary bonus
• Market leading maternity/paternity and menopause policies
• Flexible benefits

Data Privacy and Reasonable adjustments

We take keeping your data security seriously. For more detail on how we may keep your data please refer to our Privacy Notice

https://careers.arbuthnotlatham.co.uk/files/RecruitmentPrivacyNotice.pdf

Reasonable adjustments

Please let us know of any adjustments or arrangements that you may need to help you apply to this role or that will help you during the recruitment process. If you wish to discuss any particular requirements or concerns you have because of a disability or medical condition please contact us at [email protected]. Information you provide about any disability or medical condition will remain confidential unless it is necessary to disclose it to other members of staff or outside agencies to ensure the health and safety of yourself and others, or to implement the adjustments you require. In these circumstances we will first discuss with you how and to whom the information may be disclosed.