About The Company

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

Job Description

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

Required Experience

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).