Credit Research Analyst

Just Group plc; City of London; On-site; GBP 50,000 - 70,000; Full time

Job summary

A prominent financial services firm in the City of London is seeking a Credit Analyst to manage internally and externally managed public bonds. The role involves formulating credit recommendations, maintaining financial models, and preparing reports for the Credit Committee. Candidates should have a CFA progression and experience in credit research. This position offers a competitive salary and a collaborative company culture.

Benefits

Competitive salary

25 days annual leave

Private medical cover

Generous bonus scheme

Free access to Headspace app

Qualifications

• Several years in a credit research position ideally from an investment or commercial bank.
• Generalist profile preferred with past coverage in utilities, consumer non-cyclical and financials.
• Understanding of bond prospectuses and rating methodologies.

Responsibilities

• Monitor and analyze investment grade issuer bonds.
• Generate credit recommendations for existing and new bond investments.
• Prepare sector and issuer reports for credit committee.

Skills

CFA

Credit research experience

Bloomberg functions knowledge

Attention to detail

Strong communication skills

Education

CFA (or progression towards)

Tools

Bloomberg

Job description

Just is in the process of increasing the proportion of public bonds that are managed internally, including fundamental credit coverage. As such, the Credit Team is expected to grow and play a major role in making internal management successful. The majority of the credit analyst’s time will be dedicated to internally managed assets. As a member of the Investments Team, the credit analyst (the analyst) will be part of the team responsible for (1) monitoring existing bond exposure (internally and externally managed), (2) performing fundamental credit analysis on new investment opportunities (sourced internally and externally) and (3) articulating executable investment recommendations for all public bonds and private loans. The analyst is expected to cover about 40 investment grade issuers across several sectors.

About Just

We help people achieve a better later life. That’s our purpose and it’s the reason we exist. We are a fast-growing company helping customers enjoy the retirement they deserve. We do this through a variety of market leading, award-winning products and services, delivered by a diverse team of over 1,400 purpose-led colleagues who genuinely put the customer at the heart of everything we do.

This is a brilliant time to join our business. We are on an exciting growth journey to become the UK’s most loved retirement expert.

Key responsibilities

Internally managed assets – public corporate bonds

• Formulating fundamental credit recommendations for each existing exposure and new bond investment
• Maintaining updated and standardised 1-pagers for each asset within the portfolio
• Keeping financial models live and updating the team after each earnings release
• Maintaining an up-to-date buy list, including fundamental credit recommendation (internal rating view), relative value assessment, preferred tenors and positioning within the capital and corporate structure
• Maintaining an updated watchlist and informing the team of any news that may change an investment recommendation
• Writing sector and issuer reports to be presented to relevant committees, including the Credit Committee
• Liaising with Finance to respond to corporate actions in a timely manner
• Assisting other members of the Investment Team or any other team in matters related to bond exposure

Externally managed assets

• Public bonds – the analyst is expected to form, most often under tight deadlines, a credit view on issuers, with a focus on assessing attractiveness of the sector and credit rating stability (the analyst will be encouraged to engage with external asset managers)
• Private loans – although the fundamental credit work will be done by external asset managers, the more flexible timeframe means that the analyst is expected to have a deeper involvement and engage more extensively with them. The analyst will form a view in terms of current and expected credit rating, issuers’ business plans, and structure of transactions (e.g. security and covenant packages)
• All those assets will be monitored through a monthly credit watchlist the analyst will produce for credit committee and regular credit updates during weekly investment team meetings

What we’re looking for

• CFA (or progression towards).
• Several years in a credit research position (publishing ideally) in a sell- or buy-side institution, such as investment banks, commercial banks, asset managers, rating agencies
• A generalist profile would be preferable; past coverage of any of the following sectors will also be seen as a positive: utilities, consumer non-cyclical and financials
• Good knowledge of Bloomberg functions, including bond pricing, ratings, news alerts, portfolio set up and issuances
• Good knowledge of rating agencies’ rating approaches and ability to use their rating methodologies to perform internal ratings
• Understanding of bond prospectuses and ability to capture relevant information
• Accuracy, autonomy, attention to details, intellectual curiosity, strong verbal and writing skills and deliverability under tight deadlines are very valuable attributes to have in order to be successful in this function
• Team spirit and collaboration are essential
• Basic knowledge of the SII framework for insurers would be seen as a strong positive, although not essential

Our behaviours

At Just you’ll have the opportunity to develop your career, whilst making a difference to the lives of those around you. You’ll be part of a company with a strong and distinctive culture - we’re ambitious, curious and collaborative – and every decision we make centres around being Just and delivering the best outcomes for our customers.

What ’s in it for you

A competitive salary, pension scheme and life assurance

25 days annual leave plus an additional day on us for your birthday

Private medical cover and income protection, just in case

A generous and highly achievable bonus scheme

Opportunities to progress your career in-role and within the company

Free access to the Headspace app, 24/7 employee assistance helpline and trained physical and mental health first aiders

A variety of employee funded benefits available via our online benefits portal

Plus, several additional purchase options available for you and your loved ones

Valuing diversity of thought and fostering a sense of belonging is critical to our business success, driving innovation and balanced decision making. Our work on DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging) aims to deliver a brilliant employee experience underpinned by a sense of belonging, where our people feel proud to work at Just.

We remain committed to our publicly disclosed HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter and Race at Work Charter targets and support a wide range of employee network and events, championing issues including intergenerational working, social mobility and neurodiversity.

Please submit your CV using the 'apply now’ button . Shortlisted candidates will be contacted regarding next steps which may include an initial phone interview and in-person assessment.