Associate Vice-President, Investment Research

Associate Vice-President, Investment Research

Location: This in-office position will be based out of our Toronto office.

Our organization:

Founded in 2017, Wellington-Altus Financial (Wellington-Altus) is the parent company to Wellington-Altus Private Counsel Inc., Wellington-Altus USA Inc., Wellington-Altus Insurance Inc., Wellington-Altus Group Solutions Inc., Independent Advisor Solutions Inc., and Wellington-Altus Private Wealth Inc.—the top-rated* investment dealer in Canada and one of Canada’s Best Managed Companies. With nearly $40 billion in assets under administration and offices across the country, Wellington-Altus identifies with successful, entrepreneurial advisors and portfolio managers and their high-net-worth clients. 

*Investment Executive 2025 Brokerage Report Card.

The opportunity:

Reporting to the Head of Asset Allocation and Research, the AVP, Investment Research will be responsible for conducting in-depth research and analysis to support the design and management of Independent Advisors Solutions’ model portfolios and sub-advised pooled funds. The successful candidate will contribute to manager research, asset allocation, and portfolio construction, working closely with the Head of Asset Allocation & Research to deliver best-in-class investment solutions.

Key responsibilities include:

Investment Manager Research & Analysis

• Leading the search and selection process for external investment managers across equity, fixed income, and alternative strategies.
• Conducting comprehensive due diligence, including qualitative assessments (investment philosophy, process, team structure) and quantitative analysis (performance, risk metrics, factor exposures).
• Preparing detailed research reports and recommendations for the investment committee, senior management, and advisors/clients.
• Monitoring approved managers on an ongoing basis, assessing performance, risk, and organizational changes.
• Developing and maintaining manager scorecards and ranking frameworks to support consistent evaluation.
• Assisting in the evolution of the manager research process, including enhancements to tools, templates, and reporting standards.
• Staying informed on industry trends, product innovation, and competitive landscape to identify new opportunities.
• Collaborating with internal stakeholders to ensure manager recommendations align with portfolio objectives.

Performance Analysis and Reporting

• Supporting the preparation of detailed research reports, presentations, and other written materials summarizing key findings and recommendations.
• Analyzing manager and strategy performance relative to benchmarks and peers.
• Preparing attribution analysis to identify drivers of performance and risk.
• Developing and maintaining regular reporting for internal stakeholders and committees.
• Supporting the creation of client-facing performance materials and presentations.
• Developing insights from performance data to inform portfolio construction and manager selection decisions.
• Ensuring accuracy and consistency of performance reporting across internal and client-facing materials.

Asset Allocation Research and Portfolio Construction

• Assisting in the development and maintenance of capital market expectations, including expected return, volatility, and correlation forecasts across equity, fixed income, and alternative asset classes.
• Supporting the development of market insights, updates and forecasts for presentations to the investment committee and advisors/clients.
• Contributing to scenario analysis and stress testing to assess portfolio resilience under different market conditions.
• Providing actionable investment recommendations to the Investment Committee as it relates to strategic asset allocation, manager selection and/or risk management.
• Supporting sales of model portfolios and pooled funds through research and preparation of investment product comparison analysis and portfolio construction analysis.
• Supporting marketing through the creation of product positioning materials and timely market/product commentary.
• Collaborating with Advisor Engagement teams to provide investment insights during advisor and client meetings.

The Ideal candidate will possess:

• Bachelor’s degree in finance, economics, accounting, or business is required.
• Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) or similar designation is an asset.

• 5-8 years relevant work experience in financial services/investment industry.

• Experience in financial product rese