Assistant Director- Fixed Income

NYSTRS•Albany, OR

6d•Hybrid

About The Position

The Assistant Director of Fixed Income will assist in both the development and implementation of fixed income internal portfolio(s) strategy, portfolio construction, and risk management. The Assistant Director of Fixed Income will be responsible for having a macro understanding of the various objectives and asset classes managed and monitored by the department along with detailed management and portfolio expertise in specific fixed income sub-sector areas. With respect to the latter, broader expertise is expected to gradually increase over time. Some travel is required for professional development opportunities and for onsite due diligence for existing and prospective external fixed income managers.

Requirements

Bachelor’s degree in finance, accounting, business administration, economics, mathematics, statistics or engineering; OR Bachelor’s degree in any discipline combined with a master’s in business administration, master’s in finance or master’s in accounting, AND
Seven (7) years involved in the management, analysis and implementation of fixed income portfolios, with a significant portion of that in US Aggregate strategies, including a minimum of five (5) years of experience managing and/or monitoring fixed income portfolios exceeding $2.5 billion
Two years of supervisory experience with a proven ability to successfully work in a collaborative environment

Nice To Haves

CFA preferred
Experience analyzing, monitoring and/or executing or directing the execution of investments in multiple fixed income sub-asset classes, including corporate, government & agency, mortgage-backed securities, asset-backed securities, and money market instruments
Experience selecting and monitoring external fixed income managers in an institutional setting
Familiarity and knowledge of core and non-core fixed income assets (i.e., high yield bonds, USD hard currency investment grade emerging market bonds, leveraged loans, TIPs, covered bonds, fixed income derivatives)
Thorough understanding of the economic factors that impact the financial and fixed income markets, including returns
Functional in the use of technology such as Bloomberg, Trade Web; portfolio analytical tools such as BlackRock’s Aladdin, Bloomberg PORT; DirectBooks, MarketAxess and Excel in the analysis and/or execution of fixed income purchases, sales and portfolio management; experience with fixed income order management systems, including Aladdin
Understanding of fixed income derivatives and corresponding risks
Broad understanding of fixed income asset classes, risks and benchmarks
Understanding of quantitative Fixed Income portfolio management
Ability to think strategically and plan for the future
Proven ability to manage during times of financial market turmoil
Experience developing staff under your supervision
Commitment to providing exceptional customer service
Excellent communication and interpersonal skills

Responsibilities

Perform fixed income portfolio management, analysis, trade execution and monitoring across all internally managed fixed income sub-sectors with a primary focus on the domestic fixed income portfolio and the hard currency emerging market debt portfolio
Supervise and provide directions to staff in the management of internal portfolios, participate in staff monitoring of external portfolios
Recruit, oversee, develop and mentor Fixed Income professional staff and review staff’s work in the performance of fixed income related projects while consistently providing feedback and guidance
Manage the preparation and review of periodic fixed income reports for use by Fixed Income staff, NYSTRS’ Board, Investment Advisory Committee (IAC) and/or NYSTRS management and present to NYSTRS’ Board; Internal Investment Committee (IIC); IAC and staff
Represent the Fixed Income Department in NYSTRS’ IIC meetings, NYSTRS’ Board Meetings; NYSTRS’ IAC and NYSTRS’ Real Estate Advisory Committee (REAC) meetings
Participate and collaborate with Fixed Income management and staff to conduct due diligence on external fixed income managers for existing and/or new investment mandates in various fixed income sub-asset classes such as global bonds, high yield, and others
Engage with management and staff, along with NYSTRS general investment consultant as necessary, in the implementation and oversight of external managers: including analyzing asset classes and specific securities, evaluating money manager capabilities and performance; and overseeing portfolios
Coordinate or manage the review and preparation of fixed income-related investment policy manuals, consolidated annual report financial reporting information, periodic information disseminated to the NYSTRS’ Board and any requests made by external fixed income money managers, NYSTRS’ departments, including the NYSTRS’ Executive Director/CIO
Participate and/or oversee administrative duties, as well as new and existing initiatives including identification and evaluation of platforms and/or technology, the annual budgeting process, and relationship building with fixed income counterparts which includes the review and approval of new fixed income counterparts
Partake in NYSTRS’ asset allocation process, planning as it relates to the implementation of the fixed income portion of the asset allocation plan, identifying areas of relative value across fixed income sub-asset classes that are within Fixed Income’s investment universe and mandate, assemble a plan to execute the strategy and oversee implementation of the plan
Represent the Fixed Income Department in the participation of cross-departmental projects and initiatives, as well as membership in NYSTRS’ currently ongoing and/or forthcoming special topic investment and/or regulatory committees