Associate Investment Analyst

PRA Group•Charlotte, NC

About The Position

We invite you to explore a future with us at PRA Group, a diverse and growing company that has a tangible impact on the global economy. Position Summary: Follows standardized practices/procedures while working on routine assignments. Applies broad theoretical knowledge obtained through education. Supports projects and programs. Primary point of responsibility for the quantitative and qualitative analysis of individual investment opportunities. The Investment Analytics professional collects and analyzes data for the development of investment\forecasting strategies for one or more portfolios and interprets price, yield, stability, or other financial metrics. These roles also track and report on current or expected financial performance and makes recommendations meant to improve portfolio returns. Drives innovation and development of future techniques to continuously improve underwriting results and processes.

Requirements

Must have effective organizational, time-management and high attention to detail skills.
Strong data analysis capability with technical knowledge.
Strong excel skills (charts/graphs/formulas/Visual Basic Application (VBA)/data tables/goal seek).
Basic version control knowledge –(Example: GitHub).
Entry level knowledge of relational database programming tools for extracting data such as SQL.
Ability to learn SQL code for intermediate query level functioning including the ability to: Import data into SQL Server from various sources (text files, spreadsheets, Access Data Bases) Export data out of SQL Server to various targets (text files, spreadsheets, Data Bases). Execute existing Transact-SQL (T-SQL) Queries and Scripts. Modify T-SQL Queries and Scripts. Create T-SQL Queries and Scripts.
Ability to mine, clean, and manage large data sets and troubleshoot data issues identified.
Knowledge of data preparation methods: handling of missing data and general imputation.
In-depth knowledge of concepts and processes including: Analytical problem-solving skills. Ability to complete business problem solving tasks when assigned. Ability to interpret data, identify trends, and report data findings.
Intermediate level of analytics autonomy and independence.
Project implementation focus. Capable of day-to-day project oversight on task needed to execute.
BA/BS in a Business, Finance, Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM) or quantitative field.

Nice To Haves

Intermediate-level experience in business analytics.
Knowledge of Financial Services and/or non-performing loan market preferred.

Responsibilities

Assist with ad-hoc project work when needed.
Maintain ongoing self-study programs to enhance knowledge of various software and computer languages, including, but not limited to SQL, Visual Basic, MS Access, MS Excel, R and Python.
Must be able to discover and learn new programming languages and apply them to solve new business challenges.
Present ad-hoc, research, and study findings to peers and management.
Research the cause and effects of known problems discovered through the data when assigned.
Work closely with subject matter experts to correctly document changes and improvements to policies and procedures.
Assist with audits and research to verify accuracy of historical pool forecast data.
Prepare templated pricing materials under supervision as needed for the underwriting department.
Verify data produced by the underwriting department is stored accurately.
Help with audits where necessary.