Portfolio Attribution Analytics, Associate

About this role

BlackRock is one of the world’s preeminent asset management firms and a premier provider of global investment management, risk management and advisory services to institutional, intermediary, and individual investors around the world. BlackRock’s mission is to create a better financial future for our clients. We have a responsibility to be the voice of the investor, and we represent each client fairly and equally. Constant communication with a diverse team of partners strengthens us and delivers better results for our clients. Continuous innovation helps us bring the best of BlackRock to our clients. BlackRock offers a range of solutions — from rigorous fundamental and quantitative active management approaches aimed at maximizing outperformance to highly efficient indexing strategies designed to gain broad exposure to the world’s capital markets. Our clients can access our investment solutions through a variety of product structures, including individual and institutional separate accounts, mutual funds and other pooled investment vehicles, and the industry-leading iShares® ETFs.

About Aladdin Financial Engineering (AFE):

Join a diverse and collaborative team of over 400 modelers and technologists in Aladdin Financial Engineering (AFE) within BlackRock Solutions, the business responsible for the research and development of Aladdin’s financial models. This group is also accountable for analytics production, enhancing the infrastructure platform and delivering analytics content to portfolio and risk management professionals (both within BlackRock and across the Aladdin client community). The models developed and supported by AFE span a wide array of financial products covering equities, fixed income, commodities, derivatives, and private markets. AFE provides investment insights that range from an analysis of cash flows on a single bond, to the overall financial risk associated with an entire portfolio, balance sheet, or enterprise.

About Core Analytics Solutions (CAS):

The Core Analytics Solutions (CAS) within Aladdin Financial Engineering (AFE) creates and delivers Aladdin’s analytical capabilities to influence better portfolio decisions, differentiate products and solutions, and enable our clients to fulfill their financial goals. Our mission is grounded in our expertise of analytics, Aladdin (the firm’s proprietary platform), and technology. CAS works across our investment teams and client businesses, in partnership with BlackRock’s analytics, data and technology teams, to transform data into intelligence, deploy financial models on Aladdin, address client challenges with innovative technology, and deliver solutions across asset classes and client segments.

Our team is known for:

• Problem solving: We partner with investment, risk and client-facing teams to understand their business problems and provide creative solutions using Aladdin analytics.

• Innovation: We sit at the intersection of finance and technology. We conceptualize, design and implement new capabilities to ensure that Aladdin remains the best platform for clients to understand and manage portfolios and risk.

• Centralized & scalable operating platform: Aladdin is a global investment platform that helps us solve problems in a scalable and efficient manner.

Role Description:

We are looking for a new member in the CAS Performance & Attribution Team to help support the ever- increasing demand for Aladdin’s performance measurement and performance attribution capabilities. 

Portfolio performance evaluation involves performance measurement, performance attribution and performance appraisal. Performance attribution plays a key role in the investment process, both as a feedback loop in the investment process as well as providing a means of articulating the implication of investment decisions to clients. It helps investors understand the key drivers of active return: Sector Allocation decisions or ability to research attractive investment opportunities at the individual asset level.

This team plays a coordinating role in defining product strategy, conceptualizing, designing, testing, and deploying new capabilities, working closely with financial modelers, engineers, product managers and users.  You will also work with clients and relationship managers to ensure that clients are getting the most out of Aladdin’s performance capabilities and that client feedback is addressed appropriately.

We offer a dynamic, team-oriented environment with tremendous learning and growth potential.

Overview of Responsibility:

Collaborate with Modeling and Research, Quantitative Technology, and Aladdin Product Management to analyze, create specifications for and test enhancements to performance measurement and attribution calculators and presentation capabilities. Engage with clients and prospects both directly and indirectly through relationship managers to provide subject matter expertise and to capture product feedback and user stories. Provide a good understanding of demand from clients and prospects to help drive the agenda for performance-related product development. Keep abreast of market trends and their implication for performance measurement. Provide performance measurement and attribution subject matter expertise as a point of escalation for client inquiries and production challenges; and provide documentation of performance and attribution calculations and methodology. Orchestrate the model development lifecycle for requirements, specifications, data and infrastructure planning, user acceptance testing, deployment, and release communications. Engage with partner teams that manage analytics production and quality control processes and provide subject matter expertise and coordination to resolve escalated client inquiries. Author and maintain documentation around models and related infrastructure. Mentor and train junior analysts as they build expertise and gain exposure. Stay abreast on global finance, capital markets, geo-political scenarios, regulations, and technology trends impacting BlackRock.

Experience/Qualifications/Skills:

Candidates should have a demonstrated track record in tackling difficult real-world problems within investment & risk management businesses. The candidate will be expected to leverage extensive quantitative skills to lead complex performance analytics projects in an endeavor to evolve the analytics platform within Aladdin. Furthermore, all positions require outstanding quantitative, communication, and presentation skills.

• Experience

  • 3-6 years of business analyst-related experience relevant to the development, deployment, and application of models and analytics within performance and attribution areas. Backgrounds rooted in analytics, accounting, risk, and performance are all of interest.

  • Demonstrated success in project management with financial modelers, engineers, and product managers.

  • Detail-oriented, organized, and committed while leading multiple projects.

  • Ability to pro-actively prioritize tasks, set and meet deadlines, and pay attention to detail.

• Qualifications

  • Engineering, Finance, Mathematics, Business Management or some other quantitative field of study. Advanced degree preferred.  Bachelor’s degree required.

  • Acquired technical aptitude includes experience in Linux, SQL, and scripting platforms.

  • Ability to navigate a technical environment using scripting skills (e.g. Java and Python), SQL, advanced excel to scale activities such as model validation and software testing.  Ability to read and interpret code is a plus, however, this is not a dedicated developer role.

  • Experience working within an Agile environment is a plus

  • Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) or Financial Risk Manager (FRM) designation is a plus.

• Skills

  • Excellent quantitative and analytics skills. Ability to identify problems, design and articulate solutions, and implement change.

  • Excellent understanding of financial markets and ability to comprehend the impact of market events.

  • Strong project management skills. Ability to prioritize deliverables/enquiries when multi-tasking, structure multiple communication streams and manage workflows.

  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including the ability to document use cases and user stories, write specifications, deliver presentations, communicate up and down the organization and influence partners and stakeholders, both technical and non-technical.

  • Superb Interpersonal Skills: You will be expected to explain complex concepts to non-technical people in simple, intuitive terms.

For New York, NY Only the salary range for this position is USD$132,500.00 - USD$162,000.00 . Additionally, employees are eligible for an annual discretionary bonus, and benefits including heath care, leave benefits, and retirement benefits. BlackRock operates a pay-for-performance compensation philosophy and your total compensation may vary based on role, location, and firm, department and individual performance.

Our benefits
To help you stay energized, engaged and inspired, we offer a wide range of benefits including a strong retirement plan, tuition reimbursement, comprehensive healthcare, support for working parents and Flexible Time Off (FTO) so you can relax, recharge and be there for the people you care about.

Our hybrid work model

BlackRock’s hybrid work model is designed to enable a culture of collaboration and apprenticeship that enriches the experience of our employees, while supporting flexibility for all. Employees are currently required to work at least 4 days in the office per week, with the flexibility to work from home 1 day a week. Some business groups may require more time in the office due to their roles and responsibilities. We remain focused on increasing the impactful moments that arise when we work together in person – aligned with our commitment to performance and innovation. As a new joiner, you can count on this hybrid model to accelerate your learning and onboarding experience here at BlackRock.

About BlackRock

At BlackRock, we are all connected by one mission: to help more and more people experience financial well-being.  Our clients, and the people they serve, are saving for retirement, paying for their children’s educations, buying homes and starting businesses. Their investments also help to strengthen the global economy: support businesses small and large; finance infrastructure projects that connect and power cities; and facilitate innovations that drive progress.

This mission would not be possible without our smartest investment – the one we make in our employees. It’s why we’re dedicated to creating an environment where our colleagues feel welcomed, valued and supported with networks, benefits and development opportunities to help them thrive.

For additional information on BlackRock, please visit @blackrock | Twitter: @blackrock | LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/company/blackrock

BlackRock is proud to be an equal opportunity workplace. We are committed to equal employment opportunity to all applicants and existing employees, and we evaluate qualified applicants without regard to race, creed, color, national origin, sex (including pregnancy and gender identity/expression), sexual orientation, age, ancestry, physical or mental disability, marital status, political affiliation, religion, citizenship status, genetic information, veteran status, or any other basis protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. View the EEOC’s Know Your Rights poster and its supplement and the pay transparency statement.

BlackRock is committed to full inclusion of all qualified individuals and to providing reasonable accommodations or job modifications for individuals with disabilities. If reasonable accommodation/adjustments are needed throughout the employment process, please email [email protected]. All requests are treated in line with our privacy policy.

BlackRock will consider for employment qualified applicants with arrest or conviction records in a manner consistent with the requirements of the law, including any applicable fair chance law.