Quantitative Product Specialist

Pps; Cape Town; On-site; ZAR 200 000 - 300 000; Full time

Job summary

A financial services company in Cape Town is seeking a candidate to assist in research and development of investment solutions. Ideal candidates should have experience in the investment industry, knowledge of financial services, and skills in Python or R. This role offers a collaborative environment for developing and enhancing quantitative tools.

Qualifications

• 1–2 years of work experience in the Investment industry.
• Good understanding of financial services and investment needs.
• Experience in performing analysis using Python or R.

Responsibilities

• Assist in developing new investment solutions.
• Maintain and expand existing quantitative tools.
• Help ensure product offerings align with regulatory requirements.
• Identify opportunities to automate processes and workflows.
• Work with structured and unstructured data for analysis.

Skills

Quantitative analysis

Data management

Python programming

R programming

Education

Strong analytical degree (Mathematics / Statistics)

Post graduate investments qualification or professional certification (e.g. CFA)

Job description

Company Overview

Job Description, Who we are : PPS Investments is part of the PPS Group, which for over eight decades has been the trusted financial partner for graduate professionals in South Africa.

Unlike a company that is listed on a stock exchange, PPS belongs to its members and operates under the ethos of mutuality.

This means that qualifying members can exclusively share in the profits of the Group, through the unique PPS Profit-Share Account. PPS Investments exists to create and grow the wealth of graduate professionals and their families to live the lives they want in a world worth living in.

We offer diversified and flexible investment solutions that are mutually beneficial to our clients in the long run because we believe that success is better shared.

Purpose of the Job

The successful candidate will assist in research, analysis, and development of holistic investment solutions that span our linked investment platform products and multi‑manager offerings.

The role focuses on assisting the product development team with quantitative analysis, structuring and managing data and automating processes to drive efficiency.

The candidate will contribute to gathering insights from data, addressing broader business quantitative enquiries, and supporting the development and enhancement of quantitative tools and product features.

This position offers exposure to a wide range of investment and product development activities, with a strong emphasis on learning, collaboration and building technical expertise in a dynamic environment.

Ideal Experience

• 1–2 years of work experience in the Investment industry.
• Good understanding of financial services with demonstrable insights into the investment needs of individuals from a holistic savings perspective.
• A good understanding of the Investment industry's tax and regulatory framework and impact on differing savings outcomes.
• Experience in doing analysis using Python or R.

Ideal Qualifications

• A strong analytical degree (Mathematics / Statistics) with demonstrated academic excellence.
• A post graduate investments qualification or professional certification (e.g. CFA) will be an advantage.
• Skills in programming with experience in Python or R being advantageous.

Personality Attributes

• Analytical and enjoy problem solving.
• Investigative nature to unpack complicated problems.
• Proactive and able to use initiative.
• Clear thinker.
• Self‑starter with ability to multi‑task.
• Highly organised and efficient.
• Evidence of being able to work collaboratively.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Assist the Product Development team in developing new solutions or enhancing existing strategies, with a focus on holistic investment solutions.
• Contribute to maintaining and expanding existing quantitative tools (e.g., cash flow projections, product modeling).
• Help ensure product offerings remain aligned with regulatory requirements by assisting in the development or amendment of product features.
• Drive efficiency by identifying opportunities to automate current processes and workflows within the team.
• Work with structured and unstructured data from various sources, assisting in gathering, cleaning, and organising data for analysis.
• Assist in data analysis and visualisation to identify trends and behaviours, helping to generate insights that guide thinking around holistic solutions.
• Assist in drafting business case proposals and preparing materials for committee review and approval.
• Address broader business quantitative enquiries by assisting with data gathering, analysis and reporting to support decision‑making across the organization.

You acknowledge that any information supplied to PPS is provided voluntarily and therefore constitutes unconditional, specific and voluntary consent to the processing of such information by PPS.

Your personal information will be processed for facilitating your employment application with PPS including any statutory or regulatory compliance with which PPS must comply (where applicable) and for the legitimate interests of PPS and yourself, both during the recruitment process and thereafter.

You may instruct PPS by written notice to cease the processing of your personal information at any time and, subject to the requirements of applicable South African law, request that PPS delete and / or de‑identify such personal information.

Based on the nature of our business, honesty and integrity are inherent requirements for our roles. All appointments are made in line with the Company's Employment Equity targets.