Utah Retirement Systems
Investment Analyst (Public Markets, Hedge Funds, Private Credit)
NewWhat's your preference?
Job Description
- Req#: 3419
- Conducts analysis and due diligence on investment managers. Evaluates, monitors, and makes recommendations in the context of portfolio objectives, market conditions, performance of peers, benchmarks, and other considerations. May perform similar functions related to joint venture or direct 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.
- Microsoft Office Suite, with advanced capabilities in Excel.
- Advanced mathematical concepts including correlations, factor analysis, and statistics.
- Purposes, principles and theory of finance, institutional portfolio management, and statistical analysis.
- Business, monetary, and economic trends and practices.
- Security analysis and financial forecasting.
- Risk analysis, sensitivity analysis, and scenario testing.
- Investment performance measurement and attribution analysis.
- Demonstrates knowledge of relevant asset class, investment strategies, and instruments
- Distill analysis into original reports and recommendations.
- Demonstrate excellent written and oral communication skills.
- Establish and maintain strong working relationships with colleagues and industry investment professionals.
- Present information on complex topics to top management, peers, and occasionally the URS board.
- Demonstrate that URS’ beneficiaries are a top priority.
- Attend to detail.
- Display autonomy and leadership in performing job functions.
- Follow written and verbal instructions.
- Prioritize work.
- Perform within deadlines.
- Work well in a team environment as well as independently.
- Multi-task by handling a variety of duties in a timely and efficient manner.
- Follow through with assignments.
- Deal effectively with stress caused by workload and time deadlines.
About The Company
We serve Utah public employees with retirement and insurance benefits in a partnership of trust with a commitment to value, innovation, and excellence. URS has two divisions. The Retirement Office administers pension benefits and retirement savings plans. Public Employees Health Program (PEHP), a division of Utah Retirement Systems, is a nonprofit trust with the vital job of providing health benefits to Utah’s public employees and their families. We serve only the public sector — the State of Utah, its counties, cities, school districts, and other public agencies.
URS Investments Department
The Investments Team is responsible for implementing the investment program of the URS Defined Benefit plan. The Investments Team manages investments internally and partners with external investment firms to manage a globally diversified portfolio. The teams’ efforts have a strong emphasis on Absolute Return, Real Assets, and Private Equity investments. Defined Benefit assets were $47.8 billion as of 12/31/2024.
Why you’ll love working at URS
Meaningful and interesting work
Make an impact
Career development and personal growth
Learning opportunities across asset classes
Access to investment thought leaders globally
Hybrid work environment
Team oriented and collegial culture
Competitive pay and benefits
Outstanding outdoor lifestyle, including proximity to 7 ski resorts
How you’ll succeed
Team player
Strong analytical and critical thinking skills
Passion for quantitative and qualitative analysis, manager selection, and strategy research
Strong written and verbal communication skills
Ability to build relationships
High degree of intellectual curiosity
Entrepreneurial mindset (see something, do something)
Mission-oriented
To learn more about the URS Investments Department click here.
Job Description
POSITION SUMMARY
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.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES
Required Experience
Education and Experience
A Bachelor’s Degree and a minimum of one (1) year directly related professional experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.
Applicable degrees include; investment management, business administration, accounting, financial management, real estate, agriculture, economics, mathematics, statistics, physics, chemistry, law, humanities, or related field.
Preference will be given to candidates that have a graduate degree or 4+ years equivalent experience.
Progress toward Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA), or other related designations is preferred.
Investment research experience in an institutional investment setting (pension, endowment, foundation, asset management company, insurance company, etc.) is preferred.
Prior experience conducting investment manager research and due diligence is preferred.
Experience with Bloomberg, Microsoft Access, Visual Basic, and SQL is preferred.
Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities
This list contains knowledge, skills, and abilities that are typically associated with the job. It is not all-inclusive and may vary from position to position:
Required technical skills include the working knowledge of:
Required mathematical skills include working knowledge of:
Required investment skills include working knowledge of:
Must possess excellent communication skills:
Must have the ability to:
The incumbent must always demonstrate judgment, high integrity, and personal values consistent with the values of URS.
Additional Requirements
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.
Work Environment
Incumbent performs in a typical office setting with appropriate climate controls. Tasks require a variety of physical activities which do not generally involve muscular strain, but do require activities related to walking, standing, stooping, sitting, reaching, talking, hearing and seeing. Common eye, hand, finger dexterity required to perform essential functions.
Position requires extensive travel for office business. Individual must be physically capable of safely operating a vehicle, possess a valid driver’s license and have an acceptable driving record based upon data provided by a current Department of Motor Vehicle Record (MVR).
About the company
Utah Retirement Systems administers pension plans and retirement savings plans for public employees in the US state of Utah.