Investment Analyst

Clay Cove Capital • Philadelphia, PA

2d • Onsite

About The Position

Clay Cove Capital is a real estate private equity firm that builds niche real estate platforms. We target categories with durable supply/demand dynamics, fragmented ownership, and high barriers to entry — where real estate and operations are deeply intertwined. By assembling institutional-quality portfolios in partnership with trusted operators, we capture both real estate income and platform value. Drawing on decades of real estate investing experience and participation in transactions totaling over $50 billion, we source differentiated opportunities across the U.S. As a member of a small, senior team, you will play a direct role in the entrepreneurial process of scaling a real estate private equity firm.

Clay Cove Capital is hiring an Investment Analyst to support active underwriting, sourcing, and portfolio workstreams. This is a high-ownership seat on a lean team: you will work directly with senior investment professionals, see transactions end to end rather than a single slice of the process, and carry real responsibility from your first week. We are equally focused on how the work gets done. The tooling available to a junior investment professional has changed materially over the past year, and we expect this seat to use it. Analysts here are expected to build leverage — automating repeatable work, compressing research cycles, and spending the recovered time on the work that requires judgment: understanding how a deal is structured, what drives returns, and where the risk actually sits. Candidates who treat AI as a serious professional instrument — with a clear-eyed view of where it adds value, where it fails, and when its output needs to be challenged — will stand out.

Requirements

• Bachelor's degree in Finance, Economics, Accounting, Real Estate, or a related field — or equivalent practical experience.
• 0-2 years of full-time experience. We will consider strong recent graduates with relevant internship experience in real estate, private equity, investment banking, or a comparable investment-oriented environment.
• Demonstrated financial modeling ability, including real estate cash flow projections, debt structures, scenario analysis, and return interpretation. Coursework, competition work, or personal models are acceptable evidence for candidates earlier in their careers.
• Strong proficiency in Microsoft Excel and the broader Microsoft Office Suite.
• Working fluency with modern AI tools applied to analytical work — and the judgment to verify outputs, recognize failure modes, and know when not to rely on them.
• Clear written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to manage multiple concurrent workstreams in a fast-paced, entrepreneurial environment.
• Availability to start immediately and work in person from our Philadelphia office.

Nice To Haves

• Experience with real estate platforms such as CoStar, Green Street, Placer.ai, or similar
• Exposure to niche, operationally intensive, or specialty real estate sectors.
• Demonstrated technical or systems-building ability — automating a workflow, building a database/dashboard, light scripting, or comparable evidence of building leverage vs. consuming
• Prior experience in a small-team or entrepreneurial setting where scope was earned

Responsibilities

• Build and maintain financial models for real estate and operating company investments, applying cap rates, amortization schedules, financing structures, lease analysis, and other relevant assumptions.
• Underwrite lower middle-market investments, assessing fundamentals, market positioning, downside cases, and value-add opportunities.
• Analyze investments at both the asset and portfolio level, and support operating company analysis using enterprise valuation, working capital analysis, and related frameworks.
• Conduct detailed research covering comparable transactions, geographic markets, industry trends, ownership structures, and competitive landscapes.
• Support financial, operational, and asset-level diligence, including review of public records, zoning information, financial statements, operating metrics, and other transaction materials.
• Screen opportunities against the firm's investment thesis, build and maintain target databases, and help convert unstructured market information into an actionable pipeline.
• Use AI tools to accelerate research, screening, data extraction, review, and turn analyses into repeatable internal workflows. Contributions to our internal systems & infrastructure is expected.
• Develop investment presentations, pitch materials, and supporting analysis for investors, operating partners, and other stakeholders.
• Work closely with senior investment professionals and external advisors throughout underwriting, diligence, and execution.

Benefits

• Competitive base salary
• Annual discretionary bonus
• Professional Development: Up to $1,000 annually for approved development expenses
• Medical, Dental & Vision: Coverage including STD/LTD, in accordance with plan terms
• Paid Time Off: As governed by the Employee Handbook
• Exposure: Direct, sustained access to senior investment professionals and the full deal lifecycle

What This Job Offers

• Job Type: Full-time
• Career Level: Entry Level