Residential Mortgage Analyst / Associate

Company Summary

For 175 years, National Life Group (“NLG”) has aimed to keep their promises to provide families stability in good times and in bad. And throughout that history, they have provided peace of mind to those families as they plan their futures.

As a mission-driven business, the cause of what they do is as important as the products they sell. And their cause is a very simple one, directed at the people who live and work on America’s Main Streets: “To Do good in our communities and with the individual families we serve.”

NLG Capital, the investment management company of NLG, manages approximately $40+ billion in AUM. Our purpose is simple – to allow NLG to keep its promises. How we do this – an obsessive focus on delivering investment results. We drive results through a rigorous but collaborative investment process, and we hold ourselves to the highest of standards, both as investors and teammates. While our process is based on rigor, our culture is based on our guiding principles: Meritocracy, Uncompromising Transparency, Intellectual Honesty, Performance Driven Learning, Relentless Pursuit of Excellence. These principles serve as the foundation of our team.  They govern the way we conduct ourselves, how we interact with teammates and how we approach every investment decision.  We act with the integrity and humility required to make the investment decision that is right for the firm, and ultimately our policyholders.  Our culture has been deliberately built to foster curiosity and provide opportunities to learn and grow, both as people and investors. The flat and collaborative nature of our team promotes an atmosphere where the best ideas are continually expressed and rewarded. Our pursuit of excellence is unwavering.

Role Summary

This position will join a growing innovative investment strategy at NLG focused on the residential real estate market. The role will be a key contributor to the execution of our residential mortgage investment strategy, supporting market analysis, pool stratification and pricing, underwriting, transaction management, and ongoing asset management and reporting.  This role will also support business development efforts, performing deep due diligence on new origination channels and collateral.  The Associate will cross train and develop other members of the team, ensuring proper depth of talent and resources within the capital markets function.

The Associate will have experience in the residential mortgage and/or RMBS structured finance markets and should have familiarity with loan and pool level analytics, trading, and securitization of mortgage related assets.  Candidates must have working knowledge of Python, SQL, and VBA and be comfortable running and building upon desk investment analytics.  Successful candidates will be collegial, effective communicators, capable of presenting to a variety of audiences, with strong organizational skills and attention to detail.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities

• Support the residential mortgage team on transactions and asset management of the residential mortgage investment portfolio
• Assist in the pricing and trading of whole loans and other mortgage-related products
• Perform deep sector specific research and analysis, identify relative value and potential trade opportunities, and communicate ideas across the team
• Keep portfolio managers updated on key developments in mortgage related sectors, and contribute to the team’s strategic outlook in both whole loan and securitized markets
• Help negotiate and manage mortgage whole loan transactions including management of collateral and coordination among internal and external support teams
• Complete diligence scope and diligence findings on each transaction based on feedback from investment committee
• Prepare and present reports on portfolio performance, risk metrics, trade activity, and market conditions

Minimum Qualifications

• Undergraduate degree (preferably in accounting, finance, economics, math, or engineering)
• 2-3 years professional experience, preferably with experience in residential mortgage trading, analytics, or structured finance banking
• Strong quantitative skills, with proficiency in Python and SQL
• Strong organizational skills and the ability to manage projects from inception to completion
• Strong attention to detail
• Solid interpersonal skills and ability to connect to form meaningful working partnerships
• Experience driving projects to completion

Preferred Qualifications

• Knowledge of mortgage finance including mortgage whole loan trading and Agency / Non-Agency MBS with familiarity around credit and prepayment modeling
• Familiarity with loan-level due diligence, c