Employment Opportunities

Quantitative Research Analyst/Portfolio Manager

Company

Our client is a diversified institution located in northeast US with more than $15B in AUM providing investment management and distribution services.  The Firm offers institutional equity services, advises portfolios through relationships with managed accounts sponsors, and advises mutual funds that are part of the Institution’s group as well as other fund families. Clients include pension funds, foundations, public companies, other asset managers, financial advisors, and individuals.

The Institution has three distinct investment teams – growth equity, quantitative equity and core/value equity.  Each team relies upon a unique approach and philosophy, and portfolio managers are also responsible for research within their respective strategies. While each team has their own particular investment approach, the teams may also interact with each other, sharing security and industry information and opinions, adding to the depth of information available in the decision making process.  Our client has 125 employees.

The Role

The quantitative research analyst/portfolio manager will report in to the Chief Investment Officer for Quantitative Strategies and will work closely with him as well as the rest of the quantitative team.  This individual will be charged with developing and enhancing various equity multi-factor models and global/regional macro economic models.  This individual will also assist in the portfolio management of the quantitative portfolios.

Our client’s quantitative portfolios are broken down into three platforms:  traditional US long only, global, and alternatives.  The traditional US long only platform includes a broad market all cap, small cap growth, small cap value, micro cap and a large value.  The global core product is currently in incubation.  The alternatives platform includes the Institution’s Income portfolio and a market neutral fund.  Our ideal candidate will assist the other members of the team in the management of these strategies, but will also be responsible for developing a concept and model around a new global macro product for the firm.

Specific Responsibilities Include:

• Assist in engineering statistically-based models for existing and new investment products.
  
  
• Take an active role on the quantitative portfolio management team, including assisting with portfolio rebalancing, basket trading, risk monitoring and attribution analysis.
  
  
• Maintain quantitative models for US equity products – create and enhance forms, reports and screens based on requests of investment team members.
  
  
• Develop and maintain buy/sell signals on individual stocks, industry groups, sector indices and market indices.
  
  
• Develop and maintain global asset allocation tool based on country and region macroeconomic data.
• Assist in enhancing the international stock picking model.  Identify global sources of company financial data and analyze the predictive value of financial factors by region or economic sector.
  
  
• Conduct special projects as required.

 

Qualifications and Experience

The ideal candidate will have the following skills, experience and personal characteristics:

• Minimum 1-2 years experience in a quantitative role within the investment management industry.
• Bachelor of Science degree in finance, engineering or mathematics with a concentration in computer programming.
  
  
• Masters in a quantitative field (mathematics, physics, engineering, computer science) or Ph.D. in the field of financial engineering or macro econometrics preferred.
  
  
• CFA preferred.
  
  
• Proficient with programming in Visual Basic, C++, etc.
  
  
• Familiarity with financial data providers such as Factset, Bloomberg, etc.
  
  
• Ability to work and make decisions independently within a collaborative team environment.
  
  
• Strong analytical skills and attention to detail.
  
  
• Confident and mature individual with strong interpersonal and communication skills.
  
  
• Entrepreneurial spirit.
  
  
• Consummate team player.
  
  
• Strong and rigorous work ethic.
  
  
• High energy, driven to succeed.
  
  
• In possession of the highest level of integrity and character.

 

To explore this opportunity further, please forward your resume in complete confidence to Michaela Hradsky at mhradsky@heidrick.com

 

AllianceBernstein is a leading global investment management firm that offers high-quality research and diversified investment services to institutional clients, individuals and private clients in major markets around the world. AllianceBernstein employs more than 500 investment professionals with expertise in growth equities, value equities, fixed income securities, blend strategies and alternative investments and, through its subsidiaries and joint ventures, operates in more than 20 countries. AllianceBernstein’s research disciplines include fundamental research, quantitative research, economic research and currency forecasting capabilities. Through its integrated global platform, AllianceBernstein is well-positioned to tailor investment solutions for its clients. AllianceBernstein also offers independent research, portfolio strategy and brokerage-related services to institutional investors.

Position

We are looking for a NY-based Quantitative Analyst for our Dynamic Asset Allocation (DAA) group. The Dynamic Asset Allocation group is charged with developing asset allocation research, global and regional asset class risk/return models and portfolio construction tools used to manage a suite of new dynamic allocation services for clients across AllianceBernstein’s distribution channels. The DAA group resides within the Blend Strategies business, the division responsible for the management of many of AllianceBernstein’s multi-asset portfolios and asset allocation research. As of 11/30/09, AllianceBernstein had $496B in assets under management.

Job Qualifications

The ideal candidate should have an advanced degree in Economics, Quantitative Finance, Applied Mathematics, or another relevant discipline. Practical research or industry experience with complex quantitative modeling and knowledge of SQL, SAS and Matlab is required.

Our Quantitative Analysts typically have track records of outstanding professional performance or academic achievement, along with excellent analytical and financial skills, as well as strong verbal communication skills. Candidates should have a strong interest in the capital-markets, the ability to work in a collaborative environment, and the ability to present results to both expert and non-expert audiences. Candidates must be able to multi-task, focus on details, and work well under pressure to meet tight deadlines.

Job Description

The Analyst will join a group of Analysts focusing on asset allocation research and the development and application of quantitative asset class models. The analyst will report to a senior member of the research team and will be expected to collaborate with other members of the DAA team as well as other researchers at the firm. Specific responsibilities may include:

• Data collection and analysis of key risk and return factors
• Return and risk model estimation using rigorous statistical techniques
• Back-testing of model performance and presentation of findings in a research review setting
• Generation and analysis of historical portfolio simulations that stress test inclusion of new models in our toolkit and the attractiveness of different product designs
• Analysis of implementation strategies using derivatives including costs, basis risk, and counterparty risk
• Research and analytics on portfolios and markets to support product marketing needs and client requests
• Staying current with relevant academic, firm, and industry research on asset allocation modeling techniques and trends
  

Location: New York, New York, USA.

To apply: Submit cover letter and CV to www.alliancebernstein.com/careers , and search by Job ID 2716