Research Analyst

Overview

The Research Analyst is a member of the Private Equity Operations team with responsibilities relating to supporting the Private Equity (PE) business unit. The Research Analyst performs analysis related to trends in the Private Equity industry, performance of FWCP's PE Investments and forecasted performance and cash flow needs for existing and future PE Investments. The Analyst will communicate the findings to senior members of the PE team. Additional analysis includes ad hoc requests from the PE business unit, including developing models to analyze fund investment performance, refinance/swap/currency analysis and buyout/venture/secondary analysis. Position is also primarily responsible for creation of FWIA Private Equity's quarterly reporting, annual meeting presentations and Advisory Board meeting presentations. The Analyst will hold annual calls with underlying fund CFOs to understand the status of the fund and prospects for the future. Position participates in deal teams of other investment professionals, handling detailed evaluation of investment opportunities and serving on deal teams for due diligence. In addition, the Analyst may be responsible for preparing documentation, reporting and analysis to aid the investment managers and deal teams. Responsible for making a moderate range of decisions, escalating to manager when necessary and updating manager on a regular basis.

Responsibilities

What you will do:

• Creates FWCP's quarterly reports, including writing the commentary, annual meeting presentations and Advisory Board meeting presentations.
• Analyzes historical performance of every underlying fund as well as anticipated performance and cash flow needs. Hold call with CFO of underlying funds to facilitate this analysis.
• Performs ad hoc analysis as requested by the PE business unit, including developing models to analyze fund investment performance, refinance/swap/currency analysis and buyout/venture/secondary analysis.
• Conducts research on news and trends within the Private Equity market related to firms, people, investments and markets, and communicates findings to members of the PE team.
• Conducts research on companies and funds within assigned market segments, and formally reports to senior management.
• Creates and updates PE market slides for pitch books and presentations to prospective investors.
• Provides analysis to support the monitoring of Western & Southern alternative asset portfolios.
• Performs the initial screening and due diligence processes for potential investments, including documentation, based upon established criteria.
• Participates as an active member of the team with specific assignments related to the due diligence process for prospective investments working as directed by investment managers.
• Interacts and communicates with private equity firms, placement agents, investment bankers, entrepreneurs, CEOs, consultants and clients.
• Participates in discussions and reference calls on backgrounds, and tracks records of leaders of prospective investments.
• Builds Excel models and other ad hoc analysis to evaluate potential investments and investment results of current investments.
• Drafts investment recommendations and presents to the Investment Committee, as directed by the Investment Analyst when appropriate.
• Performs other duties as assigned.
• Complies with all policies and standards.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree - Required
• Extensive experience working independently to make decisions and demonstrate initiative in completing tasks accurately and on a timely basis. Experience must include identifying, defining and resolving problems and collecting or interpreting data to establish facts and draw valid conclusions. - Required
• Proven outstanding work and/or academic track record with a demonstrated history of achievement. -
• Proven quantitative skills (e.g., economics, mathematics, etc.). -
• Demonstrated excellent verbal and written communication skills with ability to convey information, verbally and in writing, to internal and external customers in a clear, accurate, focused and concise manner. Demonstrated ability to document procedures and activities in a manner that is understandable to others and prepared using a prescribed format. Verbal and written communications are to conform to proper rules of punctuation, grammar, diction and style. -
• Demonstrated ability to effectively interact and communicate with all levels of staff and management. -
• Must demonstrate strong attention to detail with excellent organizational skills and process orientation. Expected to cite examples of organization and time management methods used to manage or prioritize workload demands. -
• Demonstrated ability to handle confidential information. -
• Proven strong analytical skills. -
• Demonstrated maturity in dealing with a variety of people at various levels. -
• Proficient in word processing and spreadsheet applications. -

Work Setting/Position Demands:

• Works in an office setting and remains in a stationary position for long periods of time while working at a desk, on a computer or with other standard office equipment, or while in meetings.
• Requires the ability to verbally communicate and exchange accurate information to customers and associates on a regular basis.
• Requires visual acuity to read and interpret a variety of correspondence, procedures, reports and forms via paper and electronic documents, visual inspection involving small defects; small parts, and/or operation of machinery (including inspection); using measurement devices continuously. Visual acuity is required to determine accuracy, neatness, and thoroughness of work assigned.
• Requires the ability to prepare written correspondence, reports and forms using prescribed formats and conforming to rules of punctuation, grammar, diction, and style on a regular basis.
• Requires the ability to apply principles of logical thinking to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions
• Performs substantial movement of wrists, hands, and fingers for continuous computer work.
• Extended hours required during peak workloads or special projects/events.

Travel Requirements:

• Some travel.