Head of Investment Strategy

Just

  • London
  • Permanent
  • Full-time
  • 2 months ago
At Just we encourage a flexible and agile working environment for the majority of our opportunities. Get in touch with us to discuss in more detail.Who are Just?We’re a FTSE 250 Financial Services company who specialise in retirement solutions and right now, our world is moving pretty quickly. With the defined benefit buy in / buy out space growing each year, Just continues to annually grow its business by over £4bn of assets.We are a purpose driven company with compelling and credible goals. Quite simply, we help people achieve a better later life. We achieve this by providing competitive and innovative products, services, financial advice and guidance to help our customers achieve security, certainty and provide them with peace of mind in retirement.That’s who we are. We’re a company on a mission: to become a beacon for the entire retirement industry. Because we believe everyone deserves a fair, secure, and fulfilling retirement.PurposeThe Head of Investment Strategy will be responsible for implementing our investment approach, in particular that our asset allocation is appropriate from an accounting and regulatory balance sheet perspective, new initiatives are appropriately evaluated and our strategy is connected to the activities of the rest of the investment team and the broader business. The purpose of the role is to support our investment activity of the business such that we can offer our policyholders the best possible security and pricing.Job Role Accountabilities
  • Technicals
  • Be responsible for understanding and implementing investment strategy with regard to the accounting (IFRS17) dynamics of our balance sheet via optimising the back book and new business investment
  • Be responsible for understanding and implementing investment strategy with regard to the regulatory (Solvency 2 / Solvency UK) dynamics of our balance sheet via optimising the back book and new business investment
  • Demonstrate market leading understanding of our regulatory requirements and industry standards, keeping abreast of changes and assessing how our investment strategy can evolving best practices.
  • Collaborate with legal and compliance teams to address any regulatory challenges or inquiries.
  • Be aware of and be conversant in
  • The accounting and regulatory impact of investments
  • The landscape of investment opportunities that are appropriate for a UK life assurer, including what our peers are doing
  • Asset allocation:
  • Be responsible for implementing and reporting on our asset allocation approaches:
  • Strategic – over the long term
  • Medium term – over 5 years
  • Annual (matching adjustment portfolio only) – investment of new money and back book over a given calendar year, updated quarterly
  • Tactical – strategic views in light of pricing, credit, macro factors
  • In general leading on asset allocation discussions, including how it may change with best practice, how the nature of our liabilities change and other business imperatives
  • In relation to our non-matching / surplus assets implement the approved strategy, asset allocation, investment actions and monitoring
  • Develop and implement methodologies for pricing new business opportunities, considering market conditions, risk factors, and potential returns.
  • Collaborate with underwriting and actuarial teams to ensure pricing models align with the company's financial objectives
  • Understand how these need to be reflected in the investment strategy and asset allocation
  • Portfolio Management:
  • Collaborate with portfolio managers, analysts, and other stakeholders to ensure effective execution of the investment strategy
  • Stay abreast of market trends and industry developments to identify and assess new asset classes that are appropriate for our investment strategy.
  • Evaluate the risk-return profiles of potential new asset classes and make recommendations for their inclusion in the investment portfolio
  • Implement robust risk management frameworks to identify, assess, and mitigate potential risks associated with the portfolio
  • Demonstrate expertise in handling in specie assets, ensuring efficient management and seamless integration into the investment portfolio.
  • Collaborate with relevant teams to assess the impact of in specie transactions on the overall portfolio and implement strategies to maximize their value.
  • Broader Business Collaboration:
  • Communicate investment strategies, performance, and market insights to internal and external stakeholders, including senior management, board members, and clients.
  • Foster transparent and collaborative relationships with key stakeholders
  • Produce accurate and concise material, including internal papers, investment proposals and management information where relevant, liaising with internal stakeholders including Legal, Finance, Actuarial, Capital Management and Risk.
  • Write and present investment papers to appropriate internal committees
  • Help to ensure that Just Group complies with internal and regulatory standards on responsible investment.
  • Support further ad hoc investment related projects including investment aspects of Solvency II, transforming asset portfolios, day to day management of internal / external stakeholders etc
  • Further associated ad hoc tasks and projects that may be required from time to time.
  • Team Leadership:
  • Lead and inspire a high-performing investment strategy team, fostering a culture of innovation, collaboration, and continuous improvement.
  • Provide mentorship and professional development opportunities for team members.
  • Manage staff in the team in a manner that meets Just’s cultural and business objectives
Examples of Key Activities
  • Be responsible for understanding and implementing investment strategy with regard to the accounting (IFRS17 and Solvency UK) dynamics of our balance sheet via optimising the back book and new business investment
  • Propose and justify an asset allocation for new business on the basis of current investment activity and business financial metrics.
  • Demonstrate expertise in handling in specie assets, ensuring efficient management and seamless integration into the investment portfolio
Qualifications
  • Must have a first class or upper second class degree or equivalent experience
  • CFA or similar
Skills and Knowledge
  • Excellent analytical skills, including ability to make commercial judgements in light of uncertain circumstances. Able to support judgement calls with a clear justification.
  • Excellent verbal, written communication and interpersonal skills, with the ability to present investment matters in a clear and concise manner
  • Understanding and experience in executing research, due diligence and investment evaluation
  • Strong results focus, with ability to work efficiently and grasp concepts that are not straightforward, yet seek guidance where necessary
  • Excellent team-working skills and ability to maintain relationships with internal stakeholders and develop relationships with external parties
Demonstrate strong aptitudes in:
  • Risk awareness
  • Investment matters and strategies, in particular credit, with the ability and interest to develop further
  • Research and getting a thorough understanding of the issues being examined
  • Approaches to understanding and evaluating risks
  • Investing on behalf of liability driven investors
Knowledge of:
  • Long only and fundamental investing, with the ability and interest to develop further
  • Fundamental understanding of the challenges and considerations involved in investing on behalf of a life insurer.
  • Financial markets in general
  • Understanding of the products and services provided by Just Group
Experience
  • Demonstrable track record of relevant experience in a bank, insurance company, asset manager or consultant
  • Experience managing fixed income portfolios, asset allocation and portfolio construction
  • Recognising that this is a “Head of” level hire, experience in taking ownership of activity is essential
  • Coding skills, like Python would be an advantage
Why Just?We are committed to building a more sustainable business and have publicly committed to reduce our scope 3 emissions to Net Zero by 2050 and our scope 1 and 2 emissions to Net Zero by 2025. We’ve made good progress so far and encourage our people to make small and meaningful changes in their everyday lives, so that we can protect our planet for future generations.Valuing diversity of thought and fostering a sense of belonging is critical to our business success, driving innovation and balanced decision making. Our work on DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging) aims to deliver a brilliant employee experience underpinned by a sense of belonging, where our people feel proud to work at Just. We remain committed to our publicly disclosed HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter and Race at Work Charter targets and support a wide range of employee network and events, championing issues including intergenerational working, social mobility and neurodiversity.What’s clear about working at Just is that we care. We care about our customers, our purpose, our environment, inclusivity, wellbeing and most importantly - each other.About UsWe’re a FTSE 250 Financial Services company who specialise in retirement solutions and right now, our world is moving pretty quickly.How people work, save, and plan for the future is all changing. A new generation of retirees needs a new kind of retirement company. A company who will look for new ways of doing things – and will always put the customer first.That’s who we are. We’re a company on a mission: to become a beacon for the entire retirement industry. Because we believe everyone deserves a fair, secure, and fulfilling retirement. And with you on our team, we’re going to make sure they get it.We’ve built our sustainability strategy around the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) and have selected goals where we believe we can make the most difference. By aligning our activity with these global goals, we can make sure we play our part in addressing the wider issues facing the planet and leave a positive legacy to the world. You can read more about our sustainability strategy .Diversity, equity and inclusion are priorities for us. Having a diverse, talented workforce with colleagues of different backgrounds, world views and experiences is the right thing to do. It’s also the most effective way to succeed, innovate and better serve our customers now and in the future. We are committed to our targets on gender and ethnicity and run a number of successful mentoring and sponsorship programmes for our colleagues from diverse backgrounds. We have multiple active employee network groups which champion issues including gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, disability and neurodiversity. You can read more about our DE&I strategy and commitments .What’s clear about working at Just is that we care. We care about our customers, our purpose, our environment, inclusivity, wellbeing and most importantly - each other. We look forward to welcoming you to the team soon.

Just