Fund Accounting, Associate

Bridgewater Associates; Westport (CT); Hybrid; USD 110,000 - 175,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Competitive benefits

Opportunities for personal growth

Job summary

Bridgewater Associates in Westport, CT is seeking a Fund Accounting Associate to ensure critical accounting responsibilities are delivered excellently. The role involves monitoring deliverables, managing internal processes, and enhancing workflows.

The ideal candidate has a Bachelor's degree and 2–8 years of accounting or operations experience. This position offers a hybrid work environment and competitive salary.

Qualifications

• 2–8 years of accounting and/or operations experience in financial services.
• Strong academic record from a competitive school.
• Ability to detect and troubleshoot problems.

Responsibilities

• Review outsource partner deliverables for accuracy and timing.
• Produce internal and external reporting including client metrics.
• Act as liaison between outsource partners and internal teams.
• Identify problems and develop solutions to improve processes.
• Contribute to training of other Associates.

Skills

Accounting experience

Operations experience

Proficiency in Excel

Strong communication skills

Education

Bachelor's degree

Tools

Excel

SharePoint

PowerPoint

Job description

About Bridgewater

Bridgewater Associates is a premier asset management firm, focused on delivering unique insight and partnership for the most sophisticated global institutional investors.

Our investment process is driven by a tireless pursuit to understand how the world’s markets and economies work — using cutting‑edge technology to validate and execute on timeless and universal investment principles.

Founded in 1975, we are a community of independent thinkers who share a commitment to excellence. By fostering a culture of openness, transparency, and inclusion, we strive to unlock the most complex questions in investment strategy, management, and corporate culture.

Our culture is anchored in excellence, constant improvement, truth, and meritocracy, and is evolving through a set of core principles.

Operations Department Overview

The goal of the Operations Department is to enable Bridgewater’s ongoing investment engine and client requirements by proactively driving solutions through effective management of people, process, and partners in a principled way.

Overall responsibilities include:

• On & off‑boarding support and maintenance of investor accounts, fund launches, trading and settlement counterparties, as well as new markets & instruments
• Trade life cycle and portfolio control support (e.g. trade confirmation, collateral, reconciliation, etc.)
• Investor and Fund services (e.g. capital flows, various investor reporting, etc.)
• Accounting books and records and associated reporting (e.g. NAV)
• Tax, Audit & regulatory/compliance support for BW, its funds and clients
• Driving industry leading back‑office solutions and engaging in thought leadership and strategic partnerships with internal and external stakeholders to shape key outcomes (e.g., BW Front Office, vendors)

About Your Role

The Fund Accounting Associate is responsible for ensuring mission‑critical accounting responsibilities are delivered excellently for Bridgewater and our clients. The role is comprised of (1) monitoring and managing the deliverables and performance of outsource providers, (2) operating internal processes and procedures and (3) improving and evolving both (e.g. participating in initiatives enabling support of new products, markets and unique investor requirements, enhancing processes and controls, etc.).

Associates are developed as generalists who can understand the end‑to‑end processes, rather than specialists in a particular product or process.

We are seeking motivated, agile, and results‑oriented people to be part of the team critical to enabling Bridgewater to implement new investment ideas rapidly and meet the increasingly sophisticated needs of our clients.

Responsibilities

• Review outsource partner deliverables for quality, accuracy and timeliness and troubleshoot as necessary when problems arise. Outsourcer deliverables include security and portfolio valuations (e.g. GAV, & NAV), profit & loss reporting and performance returns, and account events (e.g. transfer‑in‑kind).
• Produce various internal and external reporting, including but not limited to client, regulatory, risk & control and management metrics.
• Act as liaison between outsource partner(s) and internal BW departments (e.g. Trading/Account Mgmt., Client Service) for queries and provide subject‑matter expertise on various projects and initiatives.
• Identify problems and inefficiencies with various processes and develop and implement solutions (e.g. streamlining redundant processes, automating controls & reports, etc.).
• Contribute to training, testing, and certification of other Associates over time to ensure a high level of cross‑training and fungibility.

Minimum Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree, demonstrating a strong academic record from a competitive school.
• 2–8 years of accounting and/or operations experience (e.g. NAV, valuation, investor allocations & P/L) in financial services such as investment banking, hedge fund administration, hedge fund, or consulting firm (Accounting or Operations specific).
• Proficient in commonly used software such as Excel, SharePoint, PowerPoint. Data manipulation and coding skills are not required but are valuable (e.g. pivot tables, macros, SQL, etc.).
• Drive to incorporate AI into both day‑to‑day and long‑term strategic workflows.
• Strong sense of personal responsibility and adaptability.
• Excellent ability to detect and troubleshoot problems.
• Strong communication and interpersonal skills.

Wage Range

The wage range for this role is $110,000 – $175,000 inclusive of base salary and discretionary target bonus. The expected base salary for this role is between 80% – 90% of this wage range.

Physical Requirements

The anticipated onsite requirement for this role is four days per week at our Westport, CT office.

Why Choose Bridgewater?

It takes all types to make Bridgewater great. We seek a diverse group of innovative thinkers and push them to engage in rigorous and thoughtful inquiry. We develop people through an honest examination of their abilities and performance, enabling personal growth and professional development. We strive to provide opportunities that will challenge you and unlock your potential.

We prioritize employees’ well‑being and career growth, offering a competitive suite of benefits. Explore more information about Bridgewater's benefits on our website.

Bridgewater reserves the right to change its current benefits program at any time, in a manner that is consistent with applicable federal and state regulations.

This job description is not a contract and confers no contractual rights, privileges, or benefits on any applicant or potential applicant. Bridgewater has the right to change any and all terms of this job description, including, but not limited to, job responsibilities, qualifications and benefits. Nothing in this job description constitutes an offer or guarantee of employment. Please note that we do provide immigration sponsorship for this position.

Bridgewater Associates, LP is an Equal Opportunity Employe