Graduate/ Investment Analyst - Investment Management

London, hybrid working (minimum 3 days per week in the office)

Competitive base Salary + Bonus

My client is responsible for the management of the Endowment Fund of one of the most respected and well-thought of institutions globally. The purpose of the Fund is to provide financial support for the institution at large in their various activities.

The fund operates an unconstrained, global, multi-asset portfolio. Their strategy is to invest through what they believe are best-in-class, specialist, third-party fund managers, to access asset classes and geographies that will outperform passive investments over time. The Fund is diversified over five broad asset classes: Public Equity, Private Equity, Absolute Return and Credit, Real Assets, and Fixed Interest/Cash.

The Position

The Graduate/ Investment Analyst will be part of the London-based investment team, working alongside the Investment Analyst & Associates, Investment Directors, and Chief Investment Officer. This is a generalist role, with the successful candidate focussing on sourcing and evaluating investment managers within the private equity and real assets asset classes. They will also assist with monitoring, exposure, risk management, and forecasting; performance attribution; ad-hoc project work aimed at enhancing efficiency and performance; and other activities designed to support a consistently best-in-class investment framework and process.

The successful candidate will also be expected to work closely and collaboratively with the Sustainable Investment Lead to ensure that the Firm’s sustainability-related considerations and ambitions are properly implemented and reflected in the management of its private equity and real assets holdings.

In addition, regular contribution to diligence work taking place across other asset classes, including public equities and hedge funds, will be an important part of the role. The candidate will also be expected to oversee or provide support to colleagues on a variety of organisational, operational, and broader Firm-related projects.

The successful candidate will be expected to make substantial progress towards earning the CFA charter, including at least a successful pass of the Level 1 exam and be close to or have achieved Level 2 or above during their first two years with the Firm. UCIM provides funding, tuition and study leave to support this endeavour.

Candidate Specification

The successful candidate will be an enthusiastic, conscientious and personable recent graduate or final-year graduate with strong academic credentials, typically a first class or high second class honours degree or equivalent, supported by proven analytical abilities. Maths to A Level standard is helpful in this role as are excellent communication and presentation skills (both spoken and written), natural intellectual curiosity, high integrity, and a willingness to challenge the status quo. Just as important is the ability to demonstrate a strong existing interest in investing and to show a philosophical alignment with a long-term investing approach as well as commitment to investing in a sustainable manner.

Candidates should also:

− be open to working within an ambitious and non-hierarchical team;

− be humble, collegiate, and collaborative;

− be willing to take full ownership of assigned tasks and drive them to a conclusion;

− be willing to lend a hand across all aspects of the organisation;

− be highly organised and willing to work on multiple projects at the same time;

− be detail-oriented;

− be comfortable taking on unstructured and novel pieces of work or projects;

− have the motivation and tenacity to take difficult decisions; and

− be willing to take the “path of most resistance” if this happens to represent the optimal course of action in a particular situation.

Total rewards package:

− 27 days annual leave, plus UK Bank Holidays and the option to buy 5 further days

− regular social events

− professional development plans, including CFA fees and study leave

− hybrid working, a minimum of 3 days in the office per week

− private medical insurance and regular health surveillance

− travel and other discounts

− salary sacrifice schemes

− cycle to work

− electric vehicle scheme

− salary exchange pension contributions

− payroll giving

− generous pension contributions

− enhanced maternity and paternity leave and pay

Interview Schedule

The interview process will consist of a numerical reasoning test and three interview stages including case studies. The numerical test and first stage interview will be online, and the second and third stage will be face-to-face interviews at our London office. All costs associated with attending interviews can be reimbursed by providing relevant receipts.

To make an application, please submit your application via the linkedin post, including a cover letter in your cv. In your cover letter, please explain succinctly:

a) why you want to work as a generalist, multi-asset investor

b) why you think you will be suited to this career and;

c) pick a company (which may be a publicly traded stock, or not) which you think would be an interesting investment and say why.

Please ensure that sections (a) and (b) together are not longer than one page of A4, and section (c) is no longer than half a page of A4.