Valuations Specialist

Ashburton Fund Managers (Pty) Ltd; Sandton; On-site; ZAR 900,000 - 1,300,000; Full time

Job summary

Ashburton Investments seeks a Valuations Specialist in Sandton to ensure accurate valuation, reporting and operations of investment products. You will manage fund pricing, performance monitoring and reconciliations, collaborating with custodians, trustees and clients to maintain data integrity and regulatory compliance.

You will oversee trade lifecycle, NAV calculations and corporate actions, while driving process improvements and automation to enhance efficiency and reduce risk.

Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree in Finance or business-related discipline.
• 4-5 years of experience in a similar environment.
• Strong regulatory knowledge (FAIS, CISCA) and data accuracy discipline.

Responsibilities

• Manage end-to-end trade lifecycle and resolve exceptions to reduce settlement risk.
• Perform multi-custodian cash, position, and NAV reconciliations with risk escalation.
• Oversee data integrity across platforms including pricing, benchmark alignment and security master maintenance.
• Lead corporate actions processing with accurate elections and entitlements.
• Ensure regulatory reporting adherence under FAIS and CISCA frameworks.
• Validate fund NAV calculations, accruals and fee applications per portfolio requirements.
• Coordinate with custodians, brokers and asset managers and resolve operational issues.
• Prepare documentation for external audits and ensure governance-compliant records.
• Identify operational inefficiencies and implement automation to reduce manual work.
• Support system enhancements via UAT and configuration for efficiency.

Skills

Regulatory knowledge

Stakeholder management

Attention to detail

Education

Finance or business-related degree

Tools

Bloomberg AIM

NXM

Apex

Navigator

Job description

Job Description Hello future Valuations Specialist Ashburton Investments is a new generation investment manager that offers investors access to more sources of return and more ways to manage risk. In the institutional space in South Africa as well as our Global business, we pride ourselves on offering solutions to address clients’ holistic balance sheet needs, and to support business strategies in the reallocation of investment capital in the face of increasing regulatory pressures. We see institutions as but not limited to, pension funds, long and short-term insurers, re-insurers, as well as medical aid schemes. In this role you will be required to ensure the accurate and timely valuation, reporting, and operational integrity of investment products by managing fund pricing, performance monitoring, and system reconciliations. The role supports the full lifecycle of fund operations—from setup and implementation to ongoing maintenance and client servicing—while maintaining strong relationships with internal teams, custodians, trustees, and external clients. This function is critical in safeguarding data accuracy, regulatory compliance, and client confidence across all investment products. To play a key role in overseeing complex investment operations functions, ensuring process efficiency, compliance, and risk mitigation. Managing intricate reconciliations, resolve operational issues with minimal supervision, and optimise investment transaction workflows. Engage with internal and external stakeholders to drive operational improvements, enhancing the reliability of investment processing.

Are you someone who can:

• Ensure end-to-end trade lifecycle management, proactively identifying and resolving exceptions to reduce failed trades and settlement risk.
• Perform and review complex multi-custodian cash, position, and NAV reconciliations, escalating high-risk discrepancies to senior management.
• Oversee the integrity of investment data across multiple platforms, ensuring accurate pricing, benchmark alignment, and security master maintenance.
• Lead the processing and analysis of corporate actions, ensuring timely election submissions and accurate entitlements allocation.
• Enforce compliance with regulatory frameworks (FAIS, CISCA) by monitoring operational adherence and assisting in regulatory reporting.
• Validate fund NAV calculations, accruals, and fee applications, ensuring alignment with portfolio management requirements.
• Act as a primary point of contact for custodians, brokers, and asset managers, ensuring seamless communication and operational problem resolution.
• Prepare and review documentation for external audits, ensuring reconciliations and transaction records meet governance standards.
• Identify inefficiencies in operational workflows and implement automation solutions to streamline processes and reduce manual intervention.
• Assist in investment system enhancements by participating in user acceptance testing (UAT) and system configuration to support operational efficiency.
• Analyse operational risk incidents, identify root causes, and implement preventative controls to mitigate future occurrences.
• Develop and maintain investment operations performance metrics, providing insights for process improvement and decision-making.
• Drive innovation in investment operations processes by proactively identifying and implementing best practices and technology solutions.
• Work closely with investment teams, risk teams, and IT to optimise operational efficiency and ensure seamless transaction execution.
• Take ownership of complex operational tasks, mentoring junior team members and fostering a high-performance, solutions-driven team environment.
• Reconcile Bloomberg AIM with NXM or Apex systems to ensure accurate opening and closing fund positions prior to conducting pricing checks. Use Navigator to verify Apex pricing and perform timely pricing checks to validate reported prices and valuations, preventing errors from being published to the market. This will include working AM and PM shifts. Track and report performance metrics such as tracking errors for ETFs and index funds, daily benchmarking, and performance attribution. Monitor corporate actions and accruals impacting fund NAVs. Ensure correct pricing sources are used for instruments and monitor Apex’s adherence to pricing expectations. Respond to and manage performance-related queries in partnership with the performance team to ensure accurate monthly performance reporting. Oversee the management of Total Expense Ratios (TERs) and periodic income distributions for funds. Lead processes related to new fund implementations, fund amalgamations, and special distributions.

You will be an ideal candidate if you:

• Have completed a undergraduate degree in Finance or business-related discipline
• Have 4 - 5 years’ experience in a similar environment

We can be a match if you are:

• Are curious & courageous - you are driven by always wanting to know more and learn more and you are brave enough to ask challenging questions.
• Are obsessed with mastery - you know what it takes to become good at what you do and are constantly pushing yourself to do it.
• Are observant – Strong observation skills with a keen eye for detail.
• Are resilient – Be able to work under pressure and be unflappable – Have the ability to stay cool.
• Are decisive – you can make sound judgments and work independently.
• Are collaborative- you can work within a team environment and to create and leverage synergies.

Repeat candidate criteria (duplicate)

• Have completed a undergraduate degree in Finance or business-related discipline
• Have 4 - 5 years’ experience in a similar environment

Repeat match criteria (duplicate)

• Are curious & courageous - you are driven by always wanting to know more and learn more and you are brave enough to ask challenging questions.
• Are obsessed with mastery - you know what it takes to become good at what you do and are constantly pushing yourself to do it.
• Are observant – Strong observation skills with a keen eye for detail.
• Are resilient – Be able to work under pressure and be unflappable – Have the ability to stay cool.
• Are decisive – you can make sound judgments and work independently.
• Are collaborative- you can work within a team environment and to create and leverage synergies.

Important Closing Date Note

Take note that applications will not be accepted on the below date and onwards, kindly submit applications ahead of the closing date indicated below. 09/10/26

#post #Ashburton #LI-CS2

All appointments will be made in line with FirstRand Group’s Employment Equity plan. The Bank supports the recruitment and advancement of individuals with disabilities. In order for us to fulfill this purpose, candidates can disclose their disability information on a voluntary basis. The Bank will keep this information confidential unless we are required by law to disclose this information to other parties.

FirstRand provides a comprehensive range of financial services in South Africa and certain markets in broader Africa. The group also offers certain niche products and services in the UK and India. Listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and the Namibian Stock Exchange (NSX), FirstRand Limited is the largest financial institution by market capitalisation in Africa. The group follows a multi-branding approach. Its portfolio of financial services businesses includes FNB, RMB, WesBank, Ashburton Investments, Aldermore, MotoNovo and DirectAxis. Many are leaders in their respective segments and markets, offering transactional, lending, investment and insurance products and services The FirstRand Corporate Centre houses many of the critical functions required by a large and complex financial services group. The group’s track record of delivering superior returns to shareholders has been achieved through a combination of organic growth, acquisitions, innovation and the creation of completely new businesses. The group’s purpose of delivering Shared Prosperity provides many opportunities for employees to innovate to address social and environmental challenges in our markets. All of our businesses have successful Volunteering programmes which also allow employees to adopt and support causes close to their hearts.