Asst Director, Sr. Structured Finance Research Analyst - Hybrid

About the Role 

 

This Senior Structured Finance Research Analyst role will have a significant impact supporting the continued growth of Symetra’s Structured Finance portfolio and focuses primarily on structured credit research in public and private Asset-Backed Securities (ABS) and other forms of Structured Finance including ABF and portfolio financing transactions. The multi-billion Structured Finance portfolio consists of different asset classes, including consumer, data centers, aircraft, and other esoteric sectors, structures, and markets (public and private). Primary responsibilities will include conducting independent research on new potential investments, sourcing of potential opportunities, idea generation, surveillance of Symetra’s structured finance portfolios, and portfolio analytics support. The candidate will analyze the structure, collateral and originator/servicer of public and private Structured Finance transactions and make investment recommendations. Surveillance will include detailed periodic portfolio reviews with screening of individual securities as well as analysis of risk and portfolio concentrations. The candidate will also communicate market color and insight to the broader investment team. Working in a highly collaborative environment, the candidate will work directly with Symetra’s portfolio managers, traders, and other research analysts, external advisors, and will interact regularly with members of the Symetra investment department.

 

This is a hybrid work role based in Farmington Connecticut.   Company Overview Symetra Investment Management (“SIM”) is a registered investment advisor and a subsidiary of Symetra Financial Corporation (“Symetra”), which also serves as the holding company for Symetra Life Insurance Company (“SLIC”), an A-rated carrier with over $50 billion in assets. Symetra Life Insurance Company is a diversified insurer offering (i) life insurance, (ii) fixed, fixed-indexed and registered-indexed annuities, and (iii) group stop loss, life and disability, and fixed indemnity products. In turn, Symetra is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sumitomo Life, one of the top four life insurers in Japan, with over $250 billion in assets.      SIM has a long-term track record of success in managing the assets of Symetra and its insurance subsidiaries. In addition, SIM invests in the U.S. markets for Sumitomo Life, as well as for a small number of 3rd-party accounts, bringing its total AUM to over $80 billion.    What you will do  

• Structured Credit Research: Analysis, monitoring, and trading of private and public ABS. Conduct independent credit research on potential structured finance investments for Symetra’s portfolio • Follow market and sector developments to develop better understanding of individual credits and broader sector trends • Participate in investor presentation meetings with issuer management • Contribute to credit and portfolio discussions with senior team members.

 

• Portfolio Surveillance: Support, maintain, and improve the analytical and monitoring efforts of Symetra’s diverse public and private Structured Finance portfolio • Track, analyze and monitor existing investments by periodically reviewing company and sector news and transaction reports • Conduct monitoring and surveillance of one or more of the structured finance subsectors managed by external advisors • Develop and maintain cashflow models for ongoing scenario analysis.

 

• Modeling and Support: Maintenance of modeling / prepayment / loss assumptions and surveillance tools for structured finance securities in primary areas of responsibility. Production and/or analysis of OTTI cash flow runs. Partnering with other analysts to ensure proper integration of the foregoing into our fixed income analytics platform.

 

Qualifications  Education, Skills and Abilities Required

• A Bachelor's level degree in finance, economics, accounting, mathematics or relevant field is required. MBA/CFA designation (or progress towards CFA designation) is preferred but not required.
• 8+ years of experience in public and private structured finance investing and analysis (including structural features, issuer analysis, and collateral attributes) sufficient to establish suitable recommendations for participating in new offerings and secondary market trading, as well as ongoing surveillance of holdings.
• Demonstrable understanding of ABS products, public and private, including credit cards, autos, data centers, student loans, whole business, equipment finance, aircraft, railcars, containers, consumer loans, and other major and esoteric categories. Experience performing credit analysis and modeling cash flows for such sec