Associate Portfolio Manager, Credit Investing

Purpose Unlimited • Toronto, ON

4d • Hybrid

About The Position

The mandate is simple and unambiguous: generate alpha through differentiated credit insight while protecting downside risk – at scale, with conviction, and with AI as your edge. This is a true investing role. You will own positions – not just analyze them. You will contribute to capital allocation decisions, not prepare slide decks for others to make them. You will be given the tools, the data infrastructure, and the AI capability to move faster and see further than the market. What you bring is the judgment to act on what you see. You are joining Purpose's credit investment team at a moment when high yield and opportunistic credit are being reshaped by data, technology and AI-driven investment process advancements and accelerating market complexity. The investor who thrives here combines deep fundamental skill with the fluency to direct AI workflows, override them when the model is wrong, and synthesize signal from noise at a pace the previous generation of credit analysts could not match.

Requirements

• 4–8 years in credit investing, leveraged finance, or investment banking with a clear track record of analytical ownership – not just support
• Deep fluency in high yield bonds, leveraged loans, and credit markets; you understand these instruments well enough to see what others miss
• Demonstrated capacity to build and stress-test financial models with conviction, not just competence
• Judgment under uncertainty – you have made calls that were yours, defended them, and learned from what happened
• Ongoing curiosity to improve and learn new skillset to become best credit investor in the world
• Experience directing AI tools (Bloomberg GPT, LLM-based research assistants, automated surveillance systems) to accelerate your workflow without outsourcing your thinking
• CFA charterholder or meaningful progress toward it
• Comfort operating at the intersection of fundamental credit analysis and data driven signal – you do not treat these as separate disciplines
• A track record of identifying ideas early; you are not waiting for consensus before forming a view
• Strong communication – you write and speak with the clarity and confidence of someone who knows what they think
• Applicants must be legally entitled to work in Canada.

Responsibilities

• Develop and defend differentiated credit theses with clear catalysts and risk/reward frameworks
• Build genuine issuer relationships that surface information before it reaches the market
• Exercise judgment at the intersection of data and uncertainty – particularly in stressed and distressed situations
• Challenge AI-generated outputs when your read of the credit diverges from the model
• Govern portfolio risk with a fiduciary lens across credit, liquidity, sector, and ratings exposures
• Translate macro developments into actionable conviction in a high-conviction portfolio
• Source and develop high-conviction opportunities across high yield bonds, leveraged loans, and stressed credit – with AI accelerating your screening and you supplying the judgment on what to act on
• Own select positions end-to-end: underwriting, monitoring, and exit decisions
• Develop differentiated views with explicit catalysts, risk/reward frameworks, and clear theses you can defend under pressure
• Lead fundamental issuer analysis – business quality, financial profile, industry dynamics – using AI-assisted modelling as a starting point, not a conclusion
• Evaluate capital structures, covenant protections, and recovery scenarios with enough depth to surface the non-obvious
• Stress-test models across base, downside, and tail-risk cases; assess liquidity and default probability with rigor
• Actively contribute to sizing, diversification, and risk-budgeting decisions – this is capital allocation work, not support work
• Participate in entry, exit, and rebalancing decisions as an accountable contributor, not a preparer of materials
• Develop and maintain views on credit markets, spreads, and liquidity that translate directly into portfolio positioning
• Direct AI tools to synthesize sector dynamics, issuer data, and macro signals – you set the agenda, AI surfaces the evidence
• Identify dislocations and thematic opportunities before they are consensus; treat early-warning signals from AI surveillance systems as a competitive advantage to be acted on

Benefits

• Competitive compensation including equity program
• Comprehensive group health and dental benefits and life insurance at little to no cost to you
• Lifestyle Spending Account for all your wellness needs
• Flexible paid time-off policy with unlimited vacation days
• Flexible sick and mental health days
• Paid parental leave for eligible employees with a top-up
• Generous Group RRSP matching and an optional TFSA program
• Training opportunities and tuition support year-round

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Mid Level
• Education Level: No Education Listed