Senior Investment Analyst

JOB SUMMARY

The Municipal Pension Plan (Plan) is the largest pension plan in BC and the sixth largest plan in Canada with $74 billion in assets. It has approximately 400,000 members and more than 900 participating employers in the municipal, health, community, education and other sectors. The Municipal Pension Board of Trustees (Board) is the Plan Administrator.

Reporting to the Executive Director, Municipal Pension Plan, the Senior Investment Analyst is responsible for providing Investment strategy and policy advice to the Municipal Pension Plan Board of Trustees (Board). The Senior Investment Analyst is a board employee and a senior member of the management team with wide-ranging responsibilities. The Senior Investment Analyst acts in a confidential capacity to the Board and provides expert professional advice regarding pension plan strategy, design, risk management and compliance.

The Board’s office includes three board employees and nine secretariat staff; the secretariat staff are employed by the BC Pension Corporation and provide governance and administrative support to the Board. Pursuant to Board and Pension Corporation delegations, the team in the Board office reports to the Executive Director, Municipal Pension Plan. 

Day-to-day administration of the plan and investment of the fund is carried out by two of the Board’s agents, the BC Pension Corporation and the British Columbia Investment Management Corporation, respectively.

JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

Under the guidance of the Executive Director, the Senior Investment Analyst (SIA) supports the board’s investment program and strategies; the SIA has the following duties and responsibilities:

Strategic Issues

• Participate in the strategic and business planning and enterprise risk management processes with trustees and/or staff
• Lead the implementation of and contribute to various board projects
• Develop objectives, strategies, performance measures and targets
• Lead research as required for the purpose of: 
  • developing business intelligence and policy positions
  • identifying risks, themes and systemic issues
  • identifying alternatives, implications and solutions
  • presenting actionable information
  • formulating strategies and recommendations 

with the aim of strengthening all aspects of plan governance, promoting the value of the plan, and supporting informed decision making

• Identify, monitor and analyze emerging trends and issues in portfolio management and institutional investing
• Address controversial/emerging issues

Support and Advisory Services

• Attend Board, Investment Committee and other trustee meetings as directed by the Executive Director.
• Support trustees’ oversight of the plan’s investments and investment agent
• Provide authoritative technical advice within area of expertise to trustees, executive, and secretariat staff 
• Review and prepare briefing documents, presentations, correspondence, public policy submissions and other written materials for trustee or executive consideration
• Establish effective relations, liaise and work collaboratively with the board’s agents, providers and other organizations to collect, coordinate and optimize information; to support the board; to ensure the plan’s legislative compliance; and to promote trust and confidence in the plan
• Establish effective relations, liaise and work collaboratively with external education and research institutions and organizations, such as SHARE, the International Centre for Pension Management and the Principles for Responsible Investment, as directed by the Executive Director, to promote and extol the value of public sector pension plans.

Other

• Draft board correspondence
• Act as the Executive Director when required, attending Executive Forum and other executive level meetings
• Other duties as assigned

EDUCATION/EXPERIENCE

• Minimum 5 years of related experience in financial/investing/pension industry
• Bachelor’s degree (e.g., business administration, commerce, actuarial science or other relevant and related field) with superior knowledge and understanding of investment management principles
• Prefer Certified Financial Analyst (CFA) designation or equivalent credential
• An experienced institutional investment professional who ideally brings some, if not all, of the following:
  • Strong knowledge of financial markets and institutional investing
  • Experience with multiple asset classes
  • Specific experience working with large (more than $10 billion) pension funds or managers with long term investment mandates
  • Experience with direct and co-investments and transactions
  • Experience with asset allocation and manager selection, research and screening
  • Experience with Microsoft Office suite of business applications (e.g., Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Teams)

It is an advantage to also bring the following:

• Global experience
• Experience working with public sector boards/organizations
• Experience working with part-time lay boards
• Knowledge and technical understanding of illiquid and alternative investments, such as private equity, infrastructure and real estate, or complex public market investment strategies such as hedge funds, derivatives, etc