Senior Analyst of Manager Research

Position Objective
World Investment Advisors (formerly Pensionmark Financial Group) is seeking a dynamic and experienced Senior Analyst of Manager Research to drive the implementation of WIA's Strategy Research Process. The ideal candidate will leverage their expertise in qualitative and quantitative analysis to identify and recommend high-quality investment strategies across assigned asset classes. With a strong commitment to ongoing monitoring and risk assessment, the Analyst will serve as a trusted advisor, providing actionable insights to enhance wealth management and retirement plan offerings. This role requires exceptional communication skills to effectively collaborate with team members and stakeholders, ensuring compliance with industry standards while contributing to the continuous improvement of our research methodologies and client deliverables.
Primary Responsibilities

• Implement the World Investment Advisors (WIA) Strategy Research Process to identify, review, and recommend high-quality investment strategies from their assigned asset classes for use in wealth management accounts and retirement plan lineups, including:
  • Qualitative Strategy Research:
    • Gather and review qualitative information about investment strategies from various sources.
    • Interview investment strategy management teams to develop a deep understanding of their investment decision-making system, including key personnel, investment philosophy, decision processes, and portfolio construction.
  • Quantitative Strategy Research:
    • Evaluate investment strategy data, including but not limited to returns, risk metrics, holdings and allocation data, and other strategy-related data from Morningstar Direct and other sources.
  • Initial Investment Recommendations:
    • Formulate a recommendation on reviewed investment strategies by analyzing and synthesizing qualitative and quantitative research.
    • Prepare a comprehensive written review report including analysis and a recommendation on the investment strategy.
    • Verbally present the review report to the appropriate committee/stakeholders and respond to any questions from said committee/stakeholders.
  • Ongoing Monitoring:
    • Perform ongoing monitoring and due diligence of investment strategies within their assigned coverage, including an annual review report.
  • Product Risk Assessment:
    • Perform and document risk assessment of assigned investment products/strategies for various risks and then present findings to WIA Product Risk Committee.
• Serve as Investments Subject Matter Expert:
  • Assist advisors and Investment Team members with selecting investment strategies from among the investment strategies assigned to their coverage and/or from within their assigned asset classes.
  • Respond to advisors’ inquiries about investment strategies assigned to their coverage and/or their assigned asset classes, including providing written and verbal commentary on said strategies and asset classes as needed.
  • Continually develop and apply knowledge of a broad range of investments/finance topics both independently and in collaboration with other Investment Team members.
  • Maintain deep and current knowledge of investment strategies assigned to their coverage and of their assigned asset classes.
  • Create and/or contribute to investment research, analysis, communications and other related content and materials, both independently and in collaboration with other Investment Team members.
• Condense work results and/or recommendations into concise, relevant, and understandable deliverables and visualizations for the Chief Investment Officer (CIO), Investment Team members, and/or other audiences, including World Investment Advisors clients.
• Propose suggestions for and contribute to the continuous improvement of the World Investment Advisors Strategy Research Process.
• Develop and maintain relevant documentation for research projects, tasks, and assignments.
• Ensure all activities are in compliance with applicable rules, regulations, policies, and procedures.
• Perform additional related work and responsibilities as assigned by the CIO and/or World Investment Advisors leadership.

Required Qualifications

• Bachelors degree required with a minimum of 5+ years of professional experience in investment strategy research and analysis, or related wealth management or investment management experience.
• Highly motivated and results driven individual, a self-starter.
• Excellent analytical, problem solving, and decision-making skills.
• Excellent written communication skills.
• Good verbal communication and presentation skills.
• Strong aptitude for working collaboratively in a team environment while working in a fully remote capacity.

Preference Given to Candidates with the Following Qualifications:

• Active Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation strongly preferred; successful progress towards the CFA charter also considered.
• Masters degree in finance, investments, statistics, economics, business administration, or related field preferred.
• Investments designations such as Financial Risk Manager (FRM), Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA), Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement (CIPM), and/or Certified Investment Management Analyst (CIMA) also preferred.
• Professional experience using Morningstar Direct to gather and analyze investment strategy data.
• Series 65/66 and Series 7 licenses preferred, or willingness to get licenses within 12 months of start date.

Compensation
The salary for this position generally ranges between $90,000-$130,000. This range is an estimate, based on candidate qualifications and operational needs.  The firm also has a bonus program. 
Perks & Benefits

• 401(k) with Employer Match
• Health Insurance (with HSA option)
• Dental Insurance
• Vision Insurance
• Life Insurance
• Generous Paid Time Off Policy
• Flexible Spending Account (FSA)
• Healthy Work/Life Balance
• Maternity/Paternity Leave Policy
• Remote Work Opportunity

About World Investment Advisors
World Investment Advisors (formerly Pensionmark Financial Group) is a nationally recognized financial services firm dedicated to providing the industry’s premier independent retirement plan and investment advisory services to employers, executives, and individual investors. Collectively, WIA supports $76B assets1 across 65 offices and 310 team members.
Stimulating Environment
At WIA, we strive to provide a challenging, stimulating environment for the best and brightest in the industry. We believe our employees can best serve our clients and advisors in an atmosphere where individuals are treated fairly, where professional growth is fostered and encouraged, and where a healthy balance between work and home life is respected and preserved. We promote a friendly and collaborative work environment. We are motivated by team camaraderie and are obsessed with doing the right thing for our plan sponsor clients and their plan participants.
Team-Oriented
Professionals typically work together in teams with multiple people from different departments to meet our clients’ needs. Our junior staff works with their team members to develop the skills and knowledge to succeed and assume more senior level positions as they progress at our firm. We welcome team members from different backgrounds with different perspectives to help us innovate and make a difference for our customers and our communities.
Why World Investment Advisors?

• Great company culture with an awesome team-oriented atmosphere!
• Mentorship Opportunities
• Ability to serve on different internal steering committees (Charitable Giving, DEI, Social, etc.)
• Professional growth opportunities
• Friendly and collaborative work environment
• Employee perks including fun team building opportunities, yoga/wellness, charitable giving/volunteering

WIA is an equal opportunity employer. We believe the most effective way to attract, develop and retain a diverse workforce is to build an enduring culture of inclusion and belonging. Pensionmark is committed to equality and deeply believes in diversity, sexual orientation, gender, race, religion, ethnicity and other qualities that makes us all different.
1As of 12/31/2022, the WIA network of advisors and firms collectively provides support to over $76.1 billion in assets across a variety of channels including investment management and retirement plan consulting services. This includes regulatory assets under management (AUM) of over $18.2 billion.