Investment Analyst

Cerity Partners•Chicago, IL

3d•$60,000 - $75,000•Onsite

About The Position

Cerity Partners' Retirement Plan Consulting (RPC) practice is hiring an Investment Analyst to serve as the dedicated investment analytics resource for our institutional retirement plan clients. This role consolidates work currently split between team members and borrowed capacity from the Wealth Management Division, becoming the investment analytics backbone of a growing institutional retirement consulting practice. There is a clear path toward more senior, client-facing responsibility as you develop.

Requirements

Recent college graduates with a finance-related degree are encouraged to apply — up to approx. 1–2 years of experience in investment operations, retirement plan consulting, asset management, or a related analytical role is also welcome (relevant internship experience will be considered).
Bachelor's degree in finance, economics, accounting, or a related field required.
Comfortable with Excel-based analysis.
Strong attention to detail — this role is client-facing output even when the person isn't in the room.
Organized and able to manage a recurring quarterly reporting cycle across many clients at once.
Clear written communicator; comfortable asking questions and flagging issues early.
Interest in eventually growing into more client-facing retirement plan consulting work.

Nice To Haves

Progress toward CFA, CIMA, AIF, or similar designation.
Prior exposure to defined contribution retirement plans (401(k), 403(b), 457).
Ability to talk to clients independently.
Ability to train and mentor Client Service Associates.
Ability to develop wealth planning and investment recommendations and present to clients when applicable.
Working knowledge of e-Money, Salesforce a strong plus.
Exceptional problem-solving skills, and ability to organize and prioritize work in order to meet deadlines in a proactive manner with little supervision required.
Must accept and thrive in a fast-paced, changing environment.
Ability to build and maintain relationships with potential and current clients.
Tenacious about doing what is right for the client – always.
Exposure to Morningstar, Broadridge/Fi360, or similar investment research tools is a plus.

Responsibilities

Prepare Investment Monitoring Reports (IMRs) each quarter, including data collection, quality checks, and coordination with plan advisors.
Build Target Date Fund due diligence reports and support ongoing target date fund series research.
Produce Strategic Lineup Reviews (SLRs) for client retirement plan menus.
Prepare Stable Value fund due diligence reports.
Support investment selection and fund replacement/mapping analysis.
Respond to ad hoc investment analytics requests from the RPC team.
Maintain and improve report templates, data sources, and process documentation used across the team.
Over time, take on greater ownership of client-ready output and begin supporting client-facing meeting preparation.