Job Title: Research Associate

Location: Headquartered in New York City’s downtown Financial District in a NEW modern office space, Alger offers great benefits and encourages employees to become involved in their community. In particular, we encourage our employees to participate, to give their time and talents, not just money, to charitable events and organizations the Firm supports through our employee run charitable committee, the Alger Candlelight Giving Program. Pensions & Investments has noted, “Fred Alger Management Inc. [is] one of the most charity-oriented workforces in the investment industry.” (Sept. 5, 2011). We are as proud of that recognition as we are of our investment success.Alger’s Investment Team is the engine that drives the Firm’s strong long-term investment returns of our portfolio strategies and success for our clients. Our investment strategies range from U.S. small cap to large cap stocks and International and Emerging Markets growth stocks, in both traditional long-only and long/short hedged equity portfolios. We have over 50 experienced professionals, led by our portfolio managers and senior sector analysts, who work together to identify and research domestic and global growth trends across all economic sectors to uncover compelling investment opportunities. We target “outside the box” ideas and our firm’s philosophy encourages creative and independent thinking. Each investment idea goes through a rigorous series of analyses by sector specialists rather than generalists. Many of our analysts have direct experience in the industries they invest in and/or advanced degrees in their fields. Compared to other buy-side firms, our teams are small – and this “boutique” culture allows analysts of all levels to contribute. Working in smaller groups, analysts have more responsibilities, rather than being just a “number-cruncher” at a larger firm. With that in mind, we focus on investing in developing talent. Many of our senior analysts have started their careers at Alger, at the Research Associate level in our Investment Analyst training program.
The RA program starts with a two-week intensive training course of financial accounting, modeling, and valuation. Subsequently, the RAs begin an exciting year-long rotational program with exposure to approximately four different sectors. This rotation allows the RAs to experience multiple industries and work with different senior analysts, further honing their analytic abilities. RAs work directly with senior analysts, portfolio managers, and the Chief Investment Officer versus working on larger teams. This direct exposure to top level management is rare in the investment community and current RAs thrive on the ability to be mentored by highly experienced investors. Following the rotational year, RAs will be assigned to permanent sectors with an opportunity to rise among the ranks of the investment team.

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Work closely with senior analysts to coordinate evaluation of companies
• Interact with sell-side analysts, industry contacts, investor relations personnel and senior management of companies to develop an investment thesis on a stock or sector
• Create and update financial models and maintaining databases tracking industry research and statistics. Develop and maintain proprietary data tracking and industry research files
• Write research reports on companies under coverage and reports on business news
• Manage and analyze companies’ earnings reports, including previews and reviews
• Collaborate with the investment team on original research projects and ideas
• Practice and develop the art of a stock pitch with the goal of being able to generate ideas and profit for the firm

Qualifications:

• 1-3 years in investment banking, private equity, equity research or equivalent industry
• Undergraduate degree in a finance, science, mathematics, engineering, liberal arts or an equivalent combination of training and experience
• Grade Point Average (GPA) of 3.0 or above in a 4.0 scale
• Demonstrated analytical capabilities, quantitative as well as qualitative, in any coursework an applicant has pursued are required
• Excellent communication skills, both written and oral
• High level of self-motivation and work ethic along with the ability to complete assignments quickly and accurately
• Strong competitive spirit and desire to succeed
• Ability to work in a team-oriented fast-pace environment both while being able to prioritize projects
• Positive attitude with a willingness to attack challenging intellectual problems with energy, even in areas of technical difficulty or unfamiliar terminology