Director, Fixed Income Investments

COUNTRY Financial•Bloomington, IL

1d•Hybrid

About The Position

Our Institutional Investment group is seeking an experienced fixed income leader to join the COUNTRY Financial team. With approximately $20B under management, our group includes 20 highly skilled individuals investing in many areas of the financial markets - bonds, stocks, private investments, commercial mortgages and real estate. Our investment team also manages a derivatives program (used to hedge life insurance products) and a spread investing program. This director role will lead all efforts tied to COUNTRY’s investments in public fixed income, internally managed private placements and commercial mortgage / real estate assets. As one of two directors on the institutional team, this person will play an important strategic role and will be actively involved in many aspects of the department. The director will collaborate extensively with other senior leadership across the enterprise regarding risk management, income and yield maintenance, asset liability matching, liquidity management, cash flow modeling, and other institutional management activities. Therefore, the director must have strong analytical skills, a deep understanding of the complex nature of insurance asset management, and extensive knowledge of fixed income investments. The director will also need effective leadership skills to manage a team of portfolio managers, analysts, and other support positions to ensure continued success.

Requirements

Typically requires 12+ years of relevant experience or a combination of related experience, education and training, including management experience.
Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation required.
Some travel required, including overnight.

Responsibilities

Leads fixed income research efforts, such as making sector and industry allocation decisions and international versus domestic fixed income decisions.
Controls all processes around fixed income decision making and ensures portfolios adhere to relevant policies.
Directs commercial mortgage/real estate activities to ensure they align with other income-oriented assets in the portfolios.
Leads the selection of public fixed income investments and prepares reports to gain approval for inclusion in portfolios.
Serves as a member of the Staff Investment Committee, responsible for approving all real estate, mortgage, credit tenant loan, private equity, private debt and other alternative assets for the COUNTRY Insurance and pension portfolios.
Serves as the lead portfolio manager for all fixed income activity for insurance and pension portfolios.
Manages relationships tied to the external bond brokers used for trading in bond portfolios.
Serves as one of the primary decision makers on the Asset Allocation Committee.
Manages processes tied to COUNTRY’s Spread Investing Program where loans are provided by the Federal Home Loan Bank and fixed income assets are purchased with those funds.
Oversees external fixed income relationships, except those tied directly to the alternative assets group.
Manages the implementation and maintenance of disaster recovery plans and activities in assigned areas.
Maintains current contact information for all employees in applicable areas and communicates with non-recovery employees during a disaster.