We serve Utah public employees with retirement and insurance benefits in a partnership of trust with a commitment to value, innovation, and excellence.  URS has two divisions. The Retirement Office administers pension benefits and retirement savings plans.  Public Employees Health Program (PEHP), a division of Utah Retirement Systems, is a nonprofit trust with the vital job of providing health benefits to Utah’s public employees and their families.  We serve only the public sector — the State of Utah, its counties, cities, school districts, and other public agencies. 

URS Investments Department

The Investments Office implements the investment programs of Utah Retirement Systems. The Investment Team manages investments internally and partners with external firms to manage globally diversified portfolios across Public Markets, Absolute Return, Real Assets, and Private Equity. The Office comprises a collaborative approach that leverages expertise across asset classes. Total Defined Benefit Plan Assets (pension) were $45.1 billion and Defined Contribution (i.e., 401k) assets were $9.1 billion as of 12/31/2023.

Why you’ll love working at URS

Meaningful and interesting work

Make an impact

Career development and personal growth

Exposure to multiple asset classes and investment thought leaders globally

Hybrid work environment

Team oriented and collegial culture

Competitive pay and benefits

Outstanding outdoor lifestyle, including proximity to 7 ski resorts

How you’ll succeed

Team player

Strong analytical and critical thinking skills

Passion for quantitative and qualitative analysis, manager selection, and strategy research

Strong written and verbal communication skills

Ability to build relationships

High degree of intellectual curiosity

Entrepreneurial mindset (see something, do something)

Mission-oriented

POSITION SUMMARY

Has primary responsibility and accountability for specific strategy type(s), portfolio(s), and/or asset class(es).  Ensures objectives of same are being met. Works with other Senior URS Investment Professionals on formulating and implementing asset class strategy and allocation decisions. Provides oversight, guidance, and input to Portfolio Managers and Investment Analysts in the selection, evaluation, ongoing monitoring, and management of investments. Provides research, analysis, and recommendations to Senior URS Investments Team on risk, performance, and portfolio fit. Gathers data for risk management systems. Provides support for decisions regarding asset allocation, URS Board communication, and reporting.

ESSENTIAL JOB FUNCTIONS AND DUTIES

1. Has primary responsibility and accountability for specific strategy area(s), portfolio(s), and/or asset class(es). Ensures that objectives are being met.
2. Works with Senior URS Investment Professionals to set strategic goals and tactical objectives for designated strategy area(s), portfolio(s), and/or asset class(es).
3. Defines and manages research projects and other departmental projects for relevant strategy area(s), portfolio(s), and/or asset classes.
4. Works with Senior URS Investment Professionals to set allocations to sub-strategies.
5. Directs the investment selection process within strategy area(s), portfolio(s), and/or asset class(es).
6. Directs, reviews and prioritizes ongoing workflow and projects.
7. Has primary responsibility for position sizing within portfolios, as well as the structure, composition, and rebalancing of portfolios.
8. Participates in and helps set priorities for due diligence on investment managers. Evaluates, monitors, and makes recommendations in the context of portfolio objectives, market conditions, peer performance, benchmarks, and other considerations. May perform similar functions related to joint venture or direct investments.
9. Participates in and sets priorities for Portfolio Managers and (Senior) Investment Analysts in sourcing new investments, including identifying new investment managers and conducting initial due diligence. May perform similar functions related to joint venture or direct investments.
10. Coordinates with the Risk Officer to determine changes in portfolio risk metrics when adding or removing investments from a portfolio.
11. Contributes to project-based assignments across multiple asset classes as directed.
12. Develops and demonstrates expertise in specific strategy area(s) and/or asset class(es).
13. Assists Senior URS Investment Professionals with portfolio construction and top-down strategy decision making.
14. Supports Senior URS Investment Professionals on portfolio and plan-level decisions such as rebalancing, liquidity management, and broad asset allocation themes.
15. Oversees implementation and execution of portfolio(s), strategy(ies) and investment-specific recommendations.
16. Provides oversight to Portfolio Managers and (Senior) Investment Analysts in monitoring existing portfolio investments, including external managers, joint ventures, or direct investments.
17. Develops and mentors Portfolio Managers and (Senior) Investment Analysts.
18. Supervises Portfolio Managers’ and Investment Analysts’ research and operational projects.
19. Prepares investment recommendations based on strategic and tactical asset allocation decisions.
20. Corresponds frequently with partners, investment managers, joint venture partners, external service providers, and industry experts to formulate market opinions, identify investment opportunities, and gauge investment trends.
21. Contributes to ongoing process improvements for investment decisions, analyst workflow, strategy modeling, etc.
22. Attends professional seminars and conferences, and establishes professional relationships with institutional investor peers and tenured industry professionals.
23. Promotes cooperation among both internal investment team members and external service providers.
24. Promotes organizational efficiency and maintains high professional standards.
25. Meets all team deadlines and responsibilities, develops team members to maximize potential, helps team members meet goals, welcomes newcomers and promotes a team atmosphere.
26. Supervises training, sets employee goals, coaches, delegates assignments, coordinates special training, maintains quality control, and sets goals and priorities in a timely and efficient manner.
27. Supervises the day-to-day operations of team members and monitors work flow to assure timely completion.
28. Assists and makes recommendations in evaluating employee performance, discipline, and discharge.
29. Participates in recruitment and new hire selection processes.
30. Demonstrates a high level of intellectual curiosity.
31. Maintains strict confidentiality and adheres to URS Ethics and Compliance policies.
32. Other related duties as required.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Education and Experience

A Bachelor’s Degree and a minimum of eight (8) years of directly related professional experience in investments and portfolio management, or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Applicable degrees include investment management, business administration, accounting, finance, financial management, real estate, agriculture, economics, mathematics, statistics, physics, chemistry, law, humanities, or related field.

Progress toward Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA), or other related designations is preferred. 

Investment research experience in an institutional investment setting (e.g., pension, endowment, foundation, asset management company, insurance company, etc.) is required.

Prior experience conducting manager research and due diligence is required.  

Prior portfolio management experience including position sizing, structure, composition, and rebalancing is required

MBA or related master’s degree preferred.

Experience with Bloomberg, Microsoft Access, Visual Basic, and SQL is preferred.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities

This list contains knowledge, skills, and abilities that are typically associated with the job. It is not all-inclusive and may vary from position to position:

Required technical skills include a working knowledge of:

• Microsoft Office Suite, with advanced capabilities in Excel preferred.

Required mathematical skills include a working knowledge of:

• Advanced mathematical concepts including correlations, factor analysis, and statistics.

Required investments skills include a working knowledge of:

• Purpose, principles and theory of finance, institutional portfolio management and statistical analysis.
• Business, monetary, and economic trends and practices.
• Security analysis and financial forecasting.
• Risk analysis, sensitivity analysis, and scenario testing.
• Investment performance measurement and attribution analysis.
• Knowledge of relevant asset classes, investment strategies, and instruments.
• Investment manager due diligence, including experience leading on-site meetings.

Must possess excellent communication skills:

• Distill analysis into original reports and recommendations.
• Demonstrate excellent written and oral communication skills.
• Establish and maintain strong working relationships with colleagues and industry investment professionals.
• Present information on complex topics to top management, peers, and occasionally the URS board.

Must have the ability to:

• Demonstrate URS beneficiaries’ top priority status.
• Attend to detail.
• Display autonomy and leadership in performing job functions.
• Follow written and verbal instructions.
• Appropriately prioritize work assignments.
• Perform within deadlines.
• Work well in both team and independent environments.
• Multi-task by handling a variety of duties in a timely and efficient manner.
• Follow through on assignments to completion.
• Deal effectively with stress caused by workload and time deadlines.

The incumbent must always demonstrate judgment, high integrity, and personal values consistent with the values of URS.

Additional Requirements

As a requirement of this position, the employee will submit to the URS Investment Compliance Officer a record of trade confirmations or monthly transaction summaries, as they become available, of all security transactions (excluding mutual funds), in any account under the employee’s control and direction, or under the control and direction of the employee’s spouse.

Work Environment

Incumbent performs in a typical office setting with appropriate climate controls.  Tasks require a variety of physical activities which do not generally involve muscular strain, but do require physical activities related to walking, standing, stooping, sitting, reaching, talking, hearing and seeing.  Common eye, hand, finger dexterity required to perform essential functions.

Position requires extensive travel for office business.  Individual must be physically capable of safely operating a vehicle, possess a valid license and have an acceptable driving record based upon data provided by a current Department of Motor Vehicle Record (MVR).