Retirement Investment Officer - Compliance

State of Iowa; Des Moines (IA); On-site; USD 120,000 - 170,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

State health insurance and dental

9 paid statutory holidays

Defined-benefit pension plan

Paid time off

Job summary

IPERS in Des Moines, IA seeks a Retirement Investment Officer to drive critical operations and conduct high-level portfolio analysis across private markets, including private credit, real assets, private equity, and co-investments.

The successful candidate will manage assets, source opportunities, perform rigorous financial modeling, and present results to the IPERS Investment Board, requiring strong communication and collaboration in a flat organization.

Qualifications

• Degree in finance, economics, business administration, or a quantitative field with 3 years of portfolio management or research experience.
• Alternatively, 4 years of education/experience with 30 credit hours in finance/economics or related fields equals one year of experience.
• Advanced credentials such as CFA or CAIA are encouraged; background check required.

Responsibilities

• Manage IPERS' private markets portfolio across private credit, real assets, private equity and co-investments.
• Research emerging investment themes and identify high-potential opportunities.
• Develop financial forecasts, cost-benefit analyses, and investment memos/presentations.
• Analyze private market returns and validate management fees using specialized software.
• Lead deal underwriting, select investments, and negotiate terms.
• Represent IPERS on external Advisory Boards and monitor accounts.
• Contribute to asset allocation, portfolio construction, and risk management.
• Brief IPERS Investment Board with detailed portfolio updates.

Skills

Analytical skills

Financial modeling

Strategic thinking

Communication

Collaborative leadership

CFA/CAIA

Education

Finance, Economics, Business Admin or Quantitative Field degree

Job description

Retirement Investment Officer

The Iowa Public Employees’ Retirement System (IPERS) is the fiduciary responsible for administering the IPERS Trust Fund. IPERS members represent most of Iowa’s hard-working public sector employees, including educators, first responders, law enforcement and more. IPERS’ mission is to support its membership – Iowa’s public workforce – with the prudent management of the IPERS Trust Fund.

At the Iowa Public Employees' Retirement System (IPERS), we believe that every employee plays an integral role in our success. We take pride in maintaining our status as one of the nation’s most well-funded public retirement plans.

IPERS is seeking a highly motivated, experienced professional to join our private markets team as a Retirement Investment Officer. In this role, you will drive critical investment operations and perform high-level portfolio analysis. You will directly manage and evaluate private market assets to secure and optimize long-term financial returns for our members.

If you are a driven, forward-thinking leader looking to make a meaningful, lasting impact on the financial security of thousands of public servants, we want you on our team.

What You’ll Do

• Manage Portfolio Assets: Assist in overseeing IPERS’ $14B+ private markets portfolio across private credit, real assets, private equity, and co-investments.
• Sourced New Opportunities: Research emerging investment themes and identify high-potential primary investments and co-investments.
• Conduct Deep Analysis: Develop precise financial forecasts, execute cost-benefit analyses, and draft comprehensive investment memos and presentations.
• Evaluate Performance Metrics: Analyze private market returns, rigorously validate management fees, and maintain specialized investment software.
• Lead Deal Execution: Collaborate on deal underwriting, select investments, and negotiate strategic business terms.
• Represent the System: Monitor assigned investment accounts and actively participate on external Advisory Boards.
• Optimize Portfolio Strategy: Contribute directly to asset allocation, portfolio construction, risk management, and annual investment planning.
• Brief Executive Leadership: Prepare and present detailed, high-level portfolio performance updates directly to the IPERS Investment Board.

DESIRABLE QUALIFICATIONS

The ideal candidate for this role possesses direct private market investment experience, strong analytical skills for evaluating complex alternative asset metrics, and excellent communication abilities. Furthermore, they are required to have a collaborative approach to low-hierarchy environments and hold advanced degrees or professional designations such as CFA or CAIA.

Final candidates will be subject to a background check.

Hours

8:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m., Monday – Friday; some nights and weekends, occasional in-state and out-of-state travel.

A successful candidate will bring or have the ability and desire to learn

• Allocating Across Private Markets: Hands-on experience or structural knowledge regarding alternative investments, specifically targeting private credit, real assets, private equity, and co-investments.
• Complex Financial Modeling: Advanced capabilities to forecast asset metrics, execute cost-benefit analyses, and validate performance fees.
• Institutional-Grade Data Analysis: Proficiency in maintaining specialized investment software and leveraging quantitative metrics to build actionable investment summaries.
• Strategic Deal Negotiation: Aptitude for reviewing and structuring complex business terms, making formal pitches, and monitoring institutional accounts.
• Low-Hierarchy Collaboration: Adaptability to work fluidly within a flat corporate environment, actively leading peer-driven due diligence and cross-team projects.
• Boardroom Communication: Skills to synthesize complicated financial data into polished presentations for high-level brief sessions with executive leadership and the Investment Board.
• Continuous Industry Education: Commitment to pursuing or maintaining elite professional credentials (such as CFA or CAIA) and advanced market research trends.

Why you’ll love this role

• High-Stakes Impact: Directly help manage and optimize IPERS' massive $14B+ private markets portfolio to secure the financial future of over 400,000 public servants.
• Flat Organization Culture: Work closely with senior leaders in a highly collaborative, low-hierarchy environment where your ideas are valued and your professional growth is prioritized.
• Diverse Asset Exposure: Gain comprehensive, institutional-grade experience allocating across private credit, real assets, private equity, and co-investments.
• Global Perspective: Stay ahead of market trends through strategic research and conduct periodic out-of-state travel for asset due diligence.
• Top-Tier Retirement Stability: Secure your own future with enrollment in IPERS’ revered defined-benefit pension plan, recognized as one of the healthiest and most stable public funds in the nation.
• Excellent State Benefits: Enjoy a comprehensive, highly affordable state health insurance and dental package along with strong work-life balance policies.
• Reclaim your personal time with massive paid time off packages, including generous vacation accrual, separate sick leave, and 9 paid statutory holidays every year.
• Employee discounts from a variety of vendors
• Competitive salary and benefits package:

https://das.iowa.gov/sites/default/files/hr/documents/employment/Benefits_Beyond_the_Paycheck.pdf (Download PDF reader)

E-Verify and Right to Work

The State of Iowa participates in E-Verify, a federal program that helps employers confirm the employment eligibility of all newly hired employees. Within the required timeframe, new hires will be verified through the E-Verify system to ensure authorization to work in the United States. The State of Iowa also complies with the federal Right to Work laws, which protect employees’ rights to work without being required to join a labor organization. For more information, please visit www.e-verify.gov.

Minimum Qualifications

Applicants must meet at least one of the following minimum requirements to qualify for positions in this job classification:

1. Graduation from an accredited four-year college or university with a degree in finance, economics, business administration, or a quantitative field (e.g., mathematics, engineering, computational finance, physics, etc.), and experience equal to three years of full-time work in investment portfolio management or research for a stock exchange, investment or banking firm, public or private pension system, or treasurer's office.
2. 1. Three years of full-time work experience in investment portfolio management or research for a stock exchange, investment or banking firm, public or private pension system, or treasurer's office; and
   2. A total of four years of education and/or full-time experience (as described in part a), where thirty semester hours of accredited college or university course work in finance, economics, business administration, or a quantitative field (e.g., mathematics, engineering, computational finance, physics, etc.) equals one year of full-time experience.