Senior Manager, Investment Solution and Operation, Bermuda

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Role Purpose

Senior Manager, Investment Solution and Operation is responsible for leading the Investment Solution and Operation team to implement the investment and ALM optimization strategies using derivative and other financial engineering tools, and to build the necessary operation capability for PBIL and its asset managers to trade different investment and hedging instruments.

Organization Context

PBIL operates a Bermuda-based insurance (under the entity Prudential Bermuda ISA, Ltd, “Bermuda Direct”) and reinsurance (under the entity Prudential Bermuda Re, ISA, “Bermuda Re”) supporting Prudential Group on High-Net-Worth and Wealth insurance business, capital management and reinsurance optimization.

The Investment Solution and Operation team in PBIL is central to implementing investment and ALM optimization strategies and building the operational capability for trading different investment and hedging instruments.

Key Accountabilities

As the head of the Investment Solution and Operation team, the Senior Manager, Investment Solution and Operation, is responsible for leading the team in the following areas:

Research

• Research for market and quantitative investment solution (QIS) indexes for Index Universal Life and other index-linked insurance products.
• Research for the new developments in regulations related to trade settlement, clearing, derivative and repo usage, etc.

Strategy

• Work with the ALM team and Actuarial team to support balance sheet risk and capital management via derivatives. This may include both simple delta one hedging strategies (FX forward/CCS, gov’ bond forward) as well as more advanced strategies like swaptions and dynamic hedging.
• Work with the investment team, banks and asset manager to develop structuring investment solution for yield enhancement (which may include collateral switch, credit linked note, positive and negative basis trades, tranche structuring, leveraged low-risk sovereign credit, etc depends on the market condition and the Group and PBIL’s risk appetite as well as the regulatory and ALM constraints).

Implementation

• Establish the infrastructure for trading derivatives, repo and collateral switch, including ISDA, CSA, initial margin, no-cash valuation margin, clearing, etc.
• Work with Finance and asset managers (e.g. Eastspring) to ensure a proper end-to-end investment operation process in place, including the custodian, middle office and investment systems.
• Work with Finance and the fund administrator to ensure a proper data flow from investment front-office to the downstream systems, including the data connection to the tools managed by different teams, e.g. investment accounting system, asset database and actuarial projection.
• Develop the investment and funding operational infrastructure to support product innovation depends on the ongoing business needs (which may include additional index-linked products, participating products, variable universal life, private placement life insurance, etc).
• Develop the investment and funding operational infrastructure to support bespoken inward reinsurance transactions depends on the ongoing business needs (which may include asset intensive reinsurance, VIF monetarization or funding-agreement back note).
• Day to day management of the Index Universal Life hedging program.
• Coordinate with external managers and internal stakeholders on execution and reporting of derivatives, repo and other structuring trades.

Monitoring

• Monitor and manage the liquidity and counterparty risk due to derivatives, repo and other structuring trades.
• Work with the asset manager (e.g. Eastspring), collateral manager, triparty agent, etc to optimize the collateral posting across different needs (initial margin, valuation margin, repo, collateral switch, receivable financing and asset-intensity reinsurance).
• Oversee derivatives portfolio monitoring and risk management.

Key Stakeholders

• Group Finance (ALM, Investment, Actuarial, Capital Management), Group Risk and Group Product.
• PBIL Board, Investment and ALM Committee, Actuarial, Investment, Finance, Risk, Product and Pricing.
• Internal and external asset managers, custodian(s), fund administrator(s) and counterparty banks.

Skills and Experience

• Bachelor’s degree in quantitative finance, financial engineering, actuarial science or other related disciplines.
• Professional qualifications like CFA, FRM, or fellowship in major actuarial institutions are plus, but not necessary.
• Around 10 years of related work experience in life insurance investment team, consulting, insurance solution roles in asset managers, or the derivative trading and structuring roles in banks.
• Extensive knowledge of the front-to-back-office workflow in the investment process.
• Extensive knowledge of derivatives, both in terms of strategies, as well as the regulatory and operational requirements, and the implications from a counterparty risk and liquidity risk perspective.
• Basic knowledge in ALM, and the insurance-related regulatory and capital regime.
• Proven leadership track record and ability to engage with senior internal and external stakeholders.
• Candidates with more experience may be considered as Director (D), Investment Solution and Operation.

Prudential is an equal opportunity employer. We provide equality of opportunity of benefits for all who apply and who perform work for our organisation irrespective of sex, race, age, ethnic origin, educational, social and cultural background, marital status, pregnancy and maternity, religion or belief, disability or part-time / fixed-term work, or any other status protected by applicable law. We encourage the same standards from our recruitment and third-party suppliers taking into account the context of grade, job and location. We also allow for reasonable adjustments to support people with individual physical or mental health requirements.