Investment Analyst or Sr. Investment Analyst - Ag & Timber

Utah Retirement Systems•Salt Lake City, UT

7d•Hybrid

About The Position

The successful candidate will work on the timber and agriculture team, within the Real Estate, Timber and Agriculture (RETA) portfolio. This portfolio consists of a mix of commodity row crop and permanent crop investments in the major growing regions of the United States and internationally, as well as domestic and international timber investments. The team oversees a variety of relationships in operating the portfolio, ranging from investments overseen by third-party asset management firms, to direct relationships with farm managers and operating partners. The role will include management and monitoring of existing investments, and review of new investment opportunities.

Requirements

A Bachelor’s Degree and a minimum of one (1) year directly related professional experience for Investment Analyst; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
A Bachelor’s Degree and a minimum of three (3) years of directly related professional experience for Sr. Investment Analyst is required; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Prior experience conducting investment manager research and due diligence is required for Sr. Investment Analyst.
Applicable degrees include; investment management, business administration, accounting, financial management, real estate, agriculture, economics, mathematics, statistics, physics, chemistry, law, humanities, or related field.
Required technical skills include the working knowledge of: Microsoft Office Suite, with advanced capabilities in Excel.
Required mathematical skills include working knowledge of: Advanced mathematical concepts including correlations, factor analysis, and statistics.
Required investment skills include working knowledge of: Purposes, principles and theory of finance, institutional portfolio management, and statistical analysis.
Required investment skills include working knowledge of: Business, monetary, and economic trends and practices.
Required investment skills include working knowledge of: Security analysis and financial forecasting.
Required investment skills include working knowledge of: Risk analysis, sensitivity analysis, and scenario testing.
Required investment skills include working knowledge of: Investment performance measurement and attribution analysis.
Demonstrates knowledge of relevant asset class, investment strategies, and instruments
Must possess excellent communication skills: Distill analysis into original reports and recommendations.
Must possess excellent communication skills: Demonstrate excellent written and oral communication skills.
Must possess excellent communication skills: Establish and maintain strong working relationships with colleagues and industry investment professionals.
Must possess excellent communication skills: Present information on complex topics to top management, peers, and occasionally the URS board.
Must have the ability to: Demonstrate that URS’ beneficiaries are a top priority.
Must have the ability to: Attend to detail.
Must have the ability to: Display autonomy and leadership in performing job functions.
Must have the ability to: Follow written and verbal instructions.
Must have the ability to: Prioritize work.
Must have the ability to: Perform within deadlines.
Must have the ability to: Work well in a team environment as well as independently.
Must have the ability to: Multi-task by handling a variety of duties in a timely and efficient manner.
Must have the ability to: Follow through with assignments.
Must have the ability to: Deal effectively with stress caused by workload and time deadlines.
The incumbent must always demonstrate judgment, high integrity, and personal values consistent with the values of URS.
As a requirement of this position, the employee will submit to the URS Investment Compliance Officer a record of trade confirmations or monthly transaction summaries, as they become available, of all security transactions (excluding mutual funds), in any account under the employee’s control and direction, or under the control and direction of the employee’s spouse.

Nice To Haves

Progress toward Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA), member of Appraisal Institute (MAI), Counselors of Real Estate (CRE), and/or Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designations are preferred.
Investment research experience in an institutional investment setting (pension, endowment, foundation, asset management company, insurance company, etc.) is preferred.
Direct property underwriting, and due diligence is preferred.
MBA or related Master’s Degree is preferred.
Experience with Bloomberg, Microsoft Access, Visual Basic, and SQL is preferred.
Progress toward Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA), member of Appraisal Institute (MAI), Counselors of Real Estate (CRE), and/or Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designations are preferred.
Investment research experience in an institutional investment setting (pension, endowment, foundation, insurance company, consultant to institutional investors, etc.) is preferred.
MBA or related Master’s Degree is preferred.

Responsibilities

Collaborates with the Investment Team in the ongoing monitoring, evaluation, and selection of external managers and/or direct investments.
Provides research, analysis, and recommendations to Senior Investment Professionals on risk, performance, and portfolio fit.
Gathers data for Risk Management Systems.
Provides support for decisions regarding asset allocation, Board communication, and reporting.
Conducts analysis and due diligence on real estate investments.
Assists with acquisition, oversight, and disposition of direct internally-managed investments.
Evaluates, monitors, and makes recommendations in the context of portfolio objectives, market conditions, performance, and other considerations.
May perform similar functions related to externally-managed investments.
Develops and demonstrates competence in specific strategy area(s), sector(s), and/or asset class(es).
Assists senior URS investment professionals and other personnel as needed.
Prepares investment recommendations based on strategic and tactical asset allocation decisions.
Corresponds frequently with partners, investment managers, external service providers, and industry experts to formulate market opinions, identify investment opportunities, and gauge investment trends.
Contributes to ongoing process improvement for investment decisions, analyst workflow, strategy modeling, etc.
Attends professional seminars and conferences; establishes professional relationships with institutional investor peers and with tenured industry professionals.
Promotes internal cooperation among the Investment Team and with external service providers.
Promotes organizational efficiency through high professional standards.
Demonstrates a high level of intellectual curiosity.
Maintains regular and reliable attendance.
Maintains strict confidentiality and adheres to URS Ethics and Compliance policies.
Other related duties as required.