Head of Investment Risk – 1st Line

We are working with a well-established UK investment and wealth management business that is investing in the development of its portfolio risk capability.

This is a senior, hands-on appointment sitting close to the investment function. The successful candidate will take ownership of developing a more sophisticated and consistent approach to understanding risk across a large and diverse range of client portfolios.

The position combines quantitative portfolio analysis, framework development and senior stakeholder engagement. It would suit someone who enjoys getting into the detail of portfolio data and risk models but is equally comfortable turning that analysis into useful information for investment professionals and senior management.

A major part of the mandate will be taking an existing capability and developing it into a more scalable, forward-looking portfolio risk function.

The role

You will develop and enhance the firm's approach to portfolio and investment risk, providing independent challenge and insight to those responsible for managing client assets.

Your work is likely to include:

• Developing portfolio analytics across market exposures, concentration, volatility, correlations and diversification.
• Producing and enhancing VaR, scenario analysis and portfolio stress-testing capabilities.
• Analysing factor exposures and the underlying drivers of portfolio risk and return.
• Assessing portfolios against relevant benchmarks, mandates and investment parameters.
• Identifying unusual or unintended concentrations and helping investment teams understand their potential impact.
• Developing dashboards, reporting and management information that make portfolio risk easier to understand and act upon.
• Improving the processes and controls used to identify, monitor and escalation investment risks.
• Working closely with investment, research, data, technology and risk colleagues to improve the quality and availability of portfolio information.
• Helping establish appropriate governance and oversight as the capability develops.
• Supporting senior management with analysis relating to portfolio construction and client investment outcomes.

The remit is expected to broaden over time and may incorporate areas such as portfolio liquidity, counterparty exposures, investment models and other financial risks relevant to an investment management business.

You will initially provide technical guidance to a more junior risk professional, with the potential for additional team growth as the function develops.

What we're looking for

We are interested in experienced investment risk professionals who combine strong quantitative skills with a practical understanding of how portfolios are actually managed.

You are likely to have experience gained within wealth management, asset management, investment consulting or another sophisticated investment environment.

Relevant experience could include:

• Portfolio risk, investment risk, market risk or quantitative portfolio analytics.
• Strong knowledge of multi-asset portfolios and the interaction between different asset classes.
• Practical experience of risk measures including volatility, VaR, stress testing, correlations, concentrations and factor-based analysis.
• Understanding of equities and fixed income alongside less liquid or alternative investments.
• Experience developing risk reporting, analytics, controls or portfolio oversight frameworks.
• Familiarity with established portfolio risk platforms or comparable quantitative investment tools.
• Strong Excel skills, with experience of Python, Power BI or similar analytical technologies particularly useful.
• The ability to interrogate portfolio data rather than simply produce standard system reports.
• Confidence discussing risk with experienced portfolio managers and senior investment professionals.

The individual

This role requires someone who can operate at both a technical and strategic level.

You should be capable of taking a relatively broad mandate, determining what good portfolio risk oversight should look like and then building the analytics, processes and relationships required to deliver it.

The organisation is not looking for someone whose experience has been limited to producing established risk reports. Of greater interest is an individual who has previously improved, designed or built elements of an investment risk capability and can demonstrate how their analysis has influenced investment decisions.

This is an opportunity to have considerable ownership of an important area within a substantial investment business and to play a central role in shaping how portfolio risk is understood and managed.

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