Investment Analyst

Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? The World Bank Group is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty and promoting shared prosperity. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, we work with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges. 

For each client, the World Bank uses financial resources and extensive experience to help our client countries to reduce poverty, increase economic growth, and improve quality of life.  The International Bank for Reconstruction and Development is the original member of the World Bank Group and is owned by 189 member countries whose views and interests are represented by a Board of Governors and a Washington, DC-based Board of Directors.  There are five World Bank Group institutions, each of which specializes in different aspects of development: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the International Development Association (IDA), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID).

The Pension and Endowments Department (PEN) is responsible for the financial management and administration of the World Bank Group’s funded benefit plans, including the retirement scheme – the Staff Retirement Plan, the retiree medical and life insurance programs – the Retired Staff Benefits Plan, and other ancillary benefits (the Plans).  Financial management includes asset management responsibilities and actuarial support.  PEN manages approximately US$37 billion invested across a range of asset classes, including fixed income, public equities, private equity, real assets, private credit, and absolute return strategies.  The Pension Finance Committee, appointed by the Bank Group President and chaired by the Chief Financial Officer, has oversight responsibility for the financial management of the plans.  PEN’s responsibilities also include the delivery of technical assistance on multi-asset class investment management to pension plans, endowments, and funds for the future, and the management of the Pension Administration function. PEN identifies, selects, evaluates, and monitors investments, mainly through outside managers, on a global basis.

Investment Analysts in PEN are allocated to a particular team upon entry and may be reassigned to other investment teams at the discretion of the Manager of Pension Investments (PENIN) in response to business priorities. This Investment Analyst position is intended at this stage for the Strategic Asset Allocation team. The team is primarily responsible for developing the overall investment strategy of the Plans, implementing the monthly rebalancing process, providing input into tactical and opportunistic investment decisions, and supporting the development and application of the overall risk management framework.

The Investment Analyst’s responsibilities, as a member of the Strategic Asset Allocation team, will include, among others, developing and implementing asset allocation tools and models for the overall portfolio, providing analytical support in the monthly portfolio rebalancing process, assessing tactical investment opportunities from an expected risk and return perspective, provide analytical support with respect to integration of environment, social, and governance (ESG) factors in the investment strategies.  The roles and responsibilities are outlined below:

Responsibilities:

The Investment Analyst’s specific duties will be, but are not limited to, the following:

• Undertake quantitative analysis and help enhance quantitative tools used for asset allocation and investment strategy, including risk management and portfolio construction.
• Provide analytical support for the application of the monthly rebalancing process of the Plans.
• Performing quantitative and qualitative analysis to assess the fit of various investment strategies and asset classes in the overall investment strategy of the fund.
• Monitoring of financial markets including regulatory and other developments, help build analytical tools to summarize and aggregate such information as needed.
• Stay abreast of the developments in the investments management industry of long-term institutional investors such as pension funds and periodically prepare internal reports and presentations on these topics.
• Preparing reports and making presentations to the Investment Committee and Pension Finance Committee (PFC) as necessary.
• Support the analytical work related to the integration of ESG factors in the overall investment strategy of the Plans.
• Staying up to date on all relevant market information, including new and innovative investment opportunities.
• Engaging in capacity-building assignments with external clients.
• Undertaking other department-wide or Bank-wide assignments as necessary.

Selection Criteria:

• Advanced degree in finance, business or financial economics and 3 years of relevant work experience in finance and investments with at least two years of investment management related experience.
• Excellent analytical and financial modeling skills (time series analysis as well as equity and fixed income valuation). Programming skills in Python, SQL, etc. strongly preferred. Experience with Bloomberg PORT, eVestment, Macrobond, etc is desirable.
• Professional Certification such as CFA, CAIA, FRM is a plus.
• Ability to conduct research across a wide range of topics (assessing individual strategies and investments; manager analytics and portfolio analytics and construction in long-only spaces; macro and regulatory environment).
• Sound business judgment and confidence of convictions as they relate to investment decisions.
• Curious, creative, and original thinker, and quick learner, with initiative, drive and willingness to take appropriate risks.
• Proactive in searching for new investment ideas/strategies.
• Experienced user of computer systems and analytics.
• Diplomacy and strong interpersonal skills; commitment to work in a team-oriented, multi-cultural environment.
• Ability to work independently and under pressure and tight time constraints.
• A strong team player with the confidence to interact at all levels of an organization.
• Excellent communication (both verbal and written) and presentation skills.
• Highest ethical standards.

Source: https://worldbankgroup.csod.com/ats/careersite/JobDetails.aspx?id=27824&site=1