The Fund Manager / Portfolio Manager role is similar to the Investment Consultant position, but very much more geared towards corporate and institutional clients.
A Fund Manager / Portfolio Manager job description will include as a main duty to assist clients in investing their capital, whether via equities, bonds, derivatives, other financial instruments or assets such as currency or property. Institutional fund managers and their firms work on behalf of organisations such as multinationals, pension funds or insurance companies, where the sums of money invested can be vast.
Along with the role of the Wealth Manager, there is a lot of cross-over with other disciplines, whereby a Fund Manager will gather and analyse reams of information, produce reports, recommend investments and even execute trades.
A portfolio manager manages mutual funds and other investment funds, such as hedge or venture funds. He or she is usually an experienced investor, broker, fund manager, or trader with general industry knowledge and a track record of results. Portfolio managers often have a specific investment approach, such as a focus on active or passive investments.
Portfolio managers are presented with investment ideas from internal buy-side analysts and sell-side analysts from investment banks. It is their job to sift through the relevant information and use their judgment to buy and sell securities. Throughout each day, they read reports, talk to company managers and monitor industry and economic trends looking for the right company and time to invest the portfolio’s capital.
A team of analysts and researchers are ultimately responsible for establishing an investment strategy, selecting appropriate investments and allocating each investment properly for a fund or asset-management vehicle.
Portfolio managers make decisions about investment mix and policy, matching investments to objectives, asset allocation for individuals and institutions, and balancing risk against performance.
Portfolio management is about strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the choice of debt vs. equity, domestic vs. international, growth vs. safety, and other tradeoffs encountered in the attempt to maximize return at a given appetite for risk.
In the case of mutual and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), there are two forms of portfolio management: passive and active. Passive management simply tracks a market index, commonly referred to as indexing or index investing. Active management involves a single manager, co-managers, or a team of managers who attempt to beat the market return by actively managing a fund’s portfolio through investment decisions based on research and decisions on individual holdings. Closed-end funds are generally actively managed.
Key Responsibilities in a general Portfolio Manager job description
- steering and managing the business in the right direction towards creating more value
- Holistic operational role, strategically pushing the business forward in all capacities
- Entrepreneurial business management, developing new opportunities and representing the business in new ventures
- Generating operational efficiencies and positioning the business to increase the value of the book
- Portfolio management of positions
- Portfolio optimisation and enhancement through proactive and defensive positioning
- Lead on restructuring if required in future
- To take a supporting role in the execution of transactions
Skill set required in a general Portfolio Manager job description
- 10+ years’ experience in leveraged finance
- Leveraged loan portfolio management or restructuring experience
- Strong legal documentation and transaction experience
- Strategically minded, previous management level experience required
- Traditional credit background and strong credit awareness
- Positive and progressive mindset, entrepreneurial and ambitious personality
- Previous experience building a successful business
- Down to earth, team player and “can do” personality traits
This is not an “off the shelf” type hire. We are open to considering individuals that can add value. You may currently be in a Leveraged finance, buy-side direct lending or loan business, or have a legal background or restructuring background.
Please submit a CV or reach out to Dale Shorey to discuss the role in more depth.
If you are considering a Fund Manager job or a Portfolio Manager job, it is highly advised you review the material provided by the CFA Society, and study towards an IMC – Investment Management Certificate (CFA Society).