Investment Analyst or Sr. Investment Analyst - Ag & Timber

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 Team is responsible for implementing the investment program of the URS Defined Benefit plan. The Investments Team manages investments internally and partners with external investment firms to manage a globally diversified portfolio. The teams' efforts have a strong emphasis on Absolute Return, Real Assets, and Private Equity investments. Defined Benefit assets were $48.1 billion as of 12/31/2024.

Why you'll love working at URS

Meaningful and interesting work

Make an impact

Career development and personal growth

Learning opportunities across asset classes

Access to 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

About the role

The successful candidate will work on the timber and agriculture team, within the Real Estate,Timber and Agriculture (RETA) portfolio. This portfolio consists of a mix of commodity row crop and permanent crop investments in the major growing regions of the United States and internationally, as well as domestic and international timber investments. The team oversees a variety of relationships in operating the portfolio, ranging from investments overseen by third-party asset management firms, to direct relationships with farm managers and operating partners. The role will include management and monitoring of existing investments, and review of new investment opportunities.

To learn more about the URS Investments Department click here.

Job Description

This job may be filled at either of the levels listed below:

Investment Analyst - Starting Salary $97,475.27/yr.

Sr. Investment Analyst - Starting Salary $121,844.57/yr.

POSITION SUMMARY

Collaborates with the Investment Team in the ongoing monitoring, evaluation, and selection of external managers and/or direct investments. Provides research, analysis, and recommendations to Senior Investment Professionals on risk, performance, and portfolio fit. Gathers data for Risk Management Systems. Provides support for decisions regarding asset allocation, Board communication, and reporting.

ESSENTIAL DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Conducts analysis and due diligence on real estate investments. Assists with acquisition, oversight, and disposition of direct internally-managed investments. Evaluates, monitors, and makes recommendations in the context of portfolio objectives, market conditions, performance, and other considerations. May perform similar functions related to externally-managed investments.

1. Develops and demonstrates competence in specific strategy area(s), sector(s), and/or asset class(es).
2. Assists senior URS investment professionals and other personnel as needed.
3. Prepares investment recommendations based on strategic and tactical asset allocation decisions.
4. Corresponds frequently with partners, investment managers, external service providers, and industry experts to formulate market opinions, identify investment opportunities, and gauge investment trends.
5. Contributes to ongoing process improvement for investment decisions, analyst workflow, strategy modeling, etc.
6. Attends professional seminars and conferences; establishes professional relationships with institutional investor peers and with tenured industry professionals.
7. Promotes internal cooperation among the Investment Team and with external service providers.
8. Promotes organizational efficiency through high professional standards.
9. Demonstrates a high level of intellectual curiosity.
10. Maintains regular and reliable attendance.
11. Maintains strict confidentiality and adheres to URS Ethics and Compliance policies.
12. Other related duties as required.

Required Experience

Investment Analyst Minimum Qualifications

Education and Experience

A Bachelor's Degree and a minimum of one (1) year directly related professional experience; or an equivalent combination of education and experience.

Applicable degrees include; investment management, business administration, accounting, 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), member of Appraisal Institute (MAI), Counselors of Real Estate (CRE), and/or Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designations are preferred.

Investment research experience in an institutional investment setting (pension, endowment, foundation, asset management company, insurance company, etc.) is preferred.

Direct property underwriting, and due diligence is preferred.

MBA or related Master's Degree is preferred.

Experience with Bloomberg, Microsoft Access, Visual Basic, and SQL is preferred.

Sr. Investment Analyst Minimum Qualifications

A Bachelor's Degree and a minimum of three (3) years of directly related professional experience is required; or an equivalent combination of education and experience. Prior experience conducting investment manager research and due diligence is required.

Applicable degrees include; investment management, business administration, accounting, financial management, economics, mathematics, statistics, physics, chemistry, law, humanities, or related field.

Progress toward Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA), Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA), member of Appraisal Institute (MAI), Counselors of Real Estate (CRE), and/or Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designations are preferred.

Investment research experience in an institutional investment setting (pension, endowment, foundation, insurance company, consultant to institutional investors, etc.) is preferred.

MBA or related Master's Degree 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 the working knowledge of:

• Microsoft Office Suite, with advanced capabilities in Excel.

Required mathematical skills include working knowledge of:

• Advanced mathematical concepts including correlations, factor analysis, and statistics.

Required investment skills include working knowledge of:

• Purposes, 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.
• Demonstrates knowledge of relevant asset class, investment strategies, and instruments

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 that URS' beneficiaries are a top priority.
• Attend to detail.
• Display autonomy and leadership in performing job functions.
• Follow written and verbal instructions.
• Prioritize work.
• Perform within deadlines.
• Work well in a team environment as well as independently.
• Multi-task by handling a variety of duties in a timely and efficient manner.
• Follow through with assignments.
• 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 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 driver's license and have an acceptable driving record based upon data provided by a current Department of Motor Vehicle Record (MVR).