Index Solutions Associate

About Us:

We are PIMCO, a leading global asset management firm. We manage investments and develop solutions across the full spectrum of asset classes, strategies and vehicles: fixed income, equities, commodities, asset allocation, ETFs, hedge funds and private equity. PIMCO is one of the largest investment managers, actively managing more than $1.66 trillion in assets for clients around the world. PIMCO has over 2,500 employees in 14 offices globally. PIMCO is recognized as an innovator, industry thought leader and trusted advisor to our clients.
PIMCO is one of the world's premier fixed income investment managers with thousands of professionals around the world united in a single purpose: creating opportunities for our clients in every environment. Since 1971, we have brought innovation and expertise to our partnership with the institutions, financial advisors and millions of individual investors who entrust us with their assets. We aspire to cultivate performance and leadership through empowering our people, diversity of thought, and a commitment to an inclusive culture that engages in our global communities.

Position Description:

ABOUT THE ROLE
The Index Solutions Team is charged with constructing and modelling indices at the constituent level for risk reporting. These reports are critical for accurate Portfolio and Risk Management, client presentations, asset allocation models, attribution, and Compliance. Indices are constructed by loading and standardizing vendor data, applying business rules to derive composites and sub-indices, and adding currency hedges, if needed. Most fixed income indices are rebalanced monthly, with intra-month previews. The team is also responsible for verifying that new index constituents are set up, have risk measures applied, and are priced correctly. In addition, the team coordinates the account and index assignments with Transitions, and works with Account Managers and the Back Office to ensure consistency between the performance and risk of an index.

We are seeking an Associate to oversee index building on new client requests and to assist with general team requests, including managing vendor relationships. The position will require frequent interaction with internal clients (and possibly external clients), demanding excellent communication skills. The position will be located in Newport Beach, CA, allowing the function to operate in a window that expands across all regions and time zones.

POSITION DEVELOPMENT VALUE
• Project management and coordination with our Technology department
• Assist building out vendor management capabilities
• Contribute to team development of new Client Facing Operations function

RESPONSIBILITIES
Key responsibilities include, but are not limited to:
• Benchmarks construction, including discussing benchmark changes with client-facing team, modelling new benchmarks, liaising with index vendors to obtain licensing / establishing new data feeds, communicating modelling progress to senior management, obtaining proper signoffs from supporting departments whilst ensuring all deadlines are met
• Supporting business needs by providing timely responses on benchmark-related enquiries from internal and external clients
• Working on a variety of projects across multiple stakeholders, serving in a capacity of business analyst for process improvement and automation
• Evaluating back-tested benchmark results, resolving errors and completing all research prior to benchmarks going into production
• Understanding complex, analytical and custom security based models used in benchmarking. Examples of these include developing currency-hedged benchmarks, duration-hedged strategies, commodity-based benchmarks with futures

Position Requirements:

POSITION REQUIREMENTS
• Bachelor's Degree in Finance or a technical discipline (such as Economics, Accounting, Math, or Computer Science)
• Solid math skills, preferably financial math skills, related to market performance and attribution
• Working knowledge of benchmarks
• Familiarity with SQL or a strong willingness to learn

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
• Prior experience with indices and fixed income portfolio modeling
• Experience with systems such as Barclay's Point, BlackRock Aladdin, or similar
• In process of obtaining or completion of CFA/MBA

PROFESSIONAL SKILLS REQUIREMENTS
• Excellent communication (verbal and written), facilitation, and interpersonal skills, including the ability to face off across all levels of an organization
• Quick learner and adaptable to learn new processes, concepts, and skills
• Highly motivated self-starter with the ability to work collaboratively and independently
• Demonstrated competence in thinking strategically, analytically, conceptually, and innovatively, including the ability to synthesize and analyze data
• Ability to multi-task, work in a demanding, fast paced environment and handle multiple, competing priorities and projects with high quality output
• Demonstrated ability to navigate unstructured processes and simultaneously manage responsibilities of multiple-concurrent projects and competing demands

Benefits:

PIMCO is committed to offering a comprehensive portfolio of employee benefits designed to support the health and wellbeing of you and your family. Benefits vary by location but may include:

• Medical, dental, and vision coverage
• Life insurance and travel coverage
• 401(k) (defined contribution) retirement savings, retirement plan, pension contribution from your first day of employment
• Work/life programs such as flexible work arrangements, parental leave and support, employee assistance plan, commuter benefits, health club discounts, and educational/CFA certification reimbursement programs
• Community involvement opportunities with The PIMCO Foundation in each PIMCO office