Executive Director, Dynamic Asset Allocation

About Future Fund

At the Future Fund, we’re for future minds – like yours. The new investors and creators who thrive on different thinking and doing it together. Those who glimpse opportunity before it strikes and step up every day to grab it.

The Future Fund is Australia's Sovereign Wealth Fund, managing over $270 billion across seven public asset funds with the same purpose: growing Australia’s future. We are a global investor and work closely with world leading investment organisations to access the best investment ideas.

Where others see challenges, we see more interesting investment experiences. Every person, every skillset, every mindset is an asset. We’ve got every future generation to consider, yet our approach to investing is incredibly pure: we think about it deeply, and daily. Ours is a culture where great people grow the future together, with the rare ability to work collaboratively, think freely, and make a real difference.

Are you Futureminded? Let’s create what’s next.

The Opportunity

As an Executive Director within the Investment Team, it is an expectation you will lead complex and crucial subsets of the investment function. It is a requirement you hold a combination of deep domain expertise and masterful people management skills with your highest-level direct report(s) being Directors.

As a custodian of key investment inputs and portfolio design decisions, you will be responsible for high-impact investment recommendations and certain delegated decisions on the broad market (‘beta’) exposures of our portfolios. It is an expectation that you are accountable for the team culture, tone, ambition and people’s professional development.

The Dynamic Assets Allocation (DAA) team is part of the overall Investment Team, bringing a top-down perspective on portfolio positioning, informed by bottom-up insights and external and internal intelligence. The ED leads a team formulating recommendations over three principal horizons: secular (> 10 years), long term (3 – 10 years) and the medium term (less than 3 years). The relevant beta positions include the overall equity-equivalent level of risk, the composition of regional equity exposure, and the size and composition of the overall rates and currency overlays, among other levers.

The role has responsibilities for asset allocation modelling infrastructure and capital market assumptions relevant to DAA and other teams, as well overseeing the deployment of data and technology in a DAA context to improve insights and efficiency. Leveraging internal and external insights through collaboration and contributing to framework development in other teams are key contributions to our joined-up culture.

The DAA team is a function within the Portfolio Design pillar, and as the Executive Director, you will report to and work closely with the Deputy, Chief Investment Officer (DCIO), taking empowered ownership of single core subsection (DAA).

This role is open to APS employees only.

Key Responsibilities

Organisational Leadership

• Foster an inclusive, dynamic, and high-performing team culture, committed to team and individual success.

• Lead, guide, and mentor across the organisation, embodying the desired culture, values, and behaviours.

• Actively support organisational initiatives and encourage team participation.

• Contribute to the efficient operational delivery of organizational initiatives.

• Collaborate with D-CIO Portfolio Design to provide strategic direction, thought leadership, and people management for the investment team and agency.

• Serve as a mentor to junior members of Portfolio Design and the broader Investment Team.

Investment judgement and contribution

• Develop, maintain, and enhance frameworks for DAA recommendations related to the Board's risk-taking mandates.

• Conduct risk and valuation analysis for major asset classes and strategies to support DAA, aligning with or complementing capital market assumptions for Portfolio Design.

• Recommend and manage active beta risk budgets and provide dynamic beta recommendations.

• Use knowledge of capital markets, macroeconomics, and the Fund's portfolio activities to offer beta allocation recommendations to the Investment Committee and Board.

• Communicate the risk/return profile of DAA positioning to the Investment Committee and Board, recommending changes to improve the likelihood of achieving and exceeding objectives.

Actively contribute to joined-up investment process

• Contribute to the development and enhancement of asset class and portfolio forecasting tools across the Fund.

• Lead and communicate consistent parameters for portfolio construction, particularly where 'strategic' and 'dynamic' concepts overlap.

• Collaborate with the Economic and Capital Market Analysis team to align and harmonise beta exposure assessments.

• Work with Overlays, Equities, and Emerging Markets teams to ensure smooth implementation of Portfolio Design recommendations and adjust Emerging Market currency exposures.

• Collaborate with the Portfolio Integration team to harmonize assessments and communication.

• Engage with Assets leadership to share research, market intelligence, and co-sponsor recommendations.

• Oversee and allocate modelling resources within Portfolio Design and support other teams when needed.

Sponsor high-quality investment modelling infrastructure

• Oversee improvements to Portfolio Design modelling infrastructure critical for Portfolio Construction.

• Lead and contribute to investment technology advancements, collaborating with Investment Tech programmers and the Overlays Team.

• Provide leadership to a team enhancing Portfolio Design infrastructure through model development, database management, and programming.

Relationship management

• Build lasting relationships with investment managers, advisors, investors, and strategic partners.

• Enhance the Fund's external brand and reputation by attending industry events and delivering presentations.

About You

Qualifications

• Essential: A University degree is required (Economics, Commerce, Finance or Engineering is preferred).

• Post graduate studies / similar professional accreditation in a related field (e.g. Finance, commerce, Actuarial studies or another quantitative discipline, MBA or CFA) will be desirable

Knowledge and Experience

• Significant experience in the investment industry, in either a strategist, portfolio management/analytical or consultant role.

• A demonstrated strong understanding of the broad range of asset class exposures and characteristics and a sound appreciation of “whole of fund” issues in portfolio construction.

• Demonstrated superior practical quantitative analysis skills enabling an effective engagement with both portfolio level modellers and asset class experts; modelling platform development and oversight of quantitative/programming resources experience desirable (particularly Excel VBA, Python, SQL).

• Demonstrated ability to work in partnership with others combined with the strength, ability and willingness to respectfully challenge ideas and inconsistencies.

We Are For Everyone

At Future Fund, we are better for our differences. Every person, every skillset, every mindset is an asset. We want everyone to feel comfortable bringing their authentic selves to work. Which is why we’re looking for future minds like yours. Your past experiences help us expand our collective knowledge, add value and create something better. When doing your job means Australia has more money to invest in renewables, education, healthcare and medical breakthroughs – there’s a tangible impact to what we do. And we want you to be part of it.

Are you Futureminded? Learn more about us at our LinkedIn Life page.

Job Posting End Date

01/10/2024