Pzena Investment Management, LLC is a registered investment adviser and broker-dealer managing approximately $85 billion in global equity assets. We provide equity investment management services for institutional investors, leading corporate, public and individual clients on a world-wide basis by way of separate accounts, sub-advised mutual funds, and other commingled vehicles since our firm founding in 1995.
Our team of over 170 employees is mostly based in our headquarters in Manhattan and we have additional offices in London, Dublin and Melbourne. We are a growing company, in the size of our team, our locations, and our assets under management. We seek partners, not just employees, at every level in the firm and are looking for an exceptional new team member to grow with us. At Pzena, we invest in your career and have a strong track record of internal mobility.
Position Overview
As a Junior Portfolio Accountant, you will build on foundational operations experience and take ownership of the reconciliation, client reporting, and operational support processes that keep our books & records accurate. You will work closely with members of the Portfolio Accounting, Portfolio Implementation, Trading, Legal, and Finance teams and quickly contribute to the firm's business goals. This position works closely with, and reports directly to, the Manager of Investment Operations.
Core Responsibilities
- Maintain accurate books & records through detailed reconciliation of client portfolios so we can properly implement our investment strategy.
- Provide excellent client service through effective client reporting and communication to strengthen client relationships and retention.
- Support internal personnel with operational inquiries to achieve company goals of excellence.
- Be an engaged member of the Operations Department and contribute to its business goals.
Reconciliation — 60% per month
- Daily reconciliation of cash and transactions for domestic and multi-currency portfolios using Gresham Control for IM.
- Monthly reconciliation of cash, transactions, holdings and accrued income for domestic and multi-currency portfolios.
- Communicate with custodian banks to resolve discrepancies.
- Post and check client cash flows.
- Perform all reconciliations using Gresham Technologies' automated system.
Client Correspondence & Reporting — 20% per month
- Effectively respond to all client inquiries using all internal resources available.
- Maintain focus on client satisfaction during all forms of communication.
- Meet all scheduled and unscheduled reporting requirements.
- Create custom reports as needed per client or internal requests.
- Manage the reporting inbox and confirm reporting deadlines are met.
Support Operations — 20% per month
- Maintain important operations databases and documents.
- Compile trade blotters and assist with internal and external audits.
- Compile daily and weekly reports and track progress on department goals.
- Support ad hoc projects assisting all areas of Operations.
Duties, responsibilities, and activities may change at any time.
Qualifications
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience.
- 1–2 years of relevant experience within investment management or financial operations.
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office, specifically Excel (required).
- Excellent reconciliation skills and strong attention to detail.
- Experience with a portfolio accounting system (e.g. InData) preferred.
- Experience with an automated reconciliation system (e.g. Gresham IM for Control) preferred.
- Knowledge of fund accounting preferred.
Competencies
- Diligence & Attention to Detail: demonstrate accuracy and thoroughness; monitor own work to ensure quality control of all work product.
- Planning & Organizing: proactively prioritize and plan tasks; use time efficiently; maintain strong organizational habits.
- Interpersonal Skills & Teamwork: a collaborative team player who is professional, respectful, honest, open to new ideas, and willing to pitch in wherever needed to get the job done well.
- Communication: communicate clearly and professionally across all formats; produce polished and complete documents; present data effectively.
- Dependability: consistently a productive and positive team member; respond to direction and developmental feedback and solicit feedback to improve performance.
- Initiative: take ownership and accountability, seek out additional responsibilities, and work toward goals with growing independence.
- Results Oriented: understand and analyze work product; apply critical thinking to ensure accuracy of deliverables.
- Problem Solving: identify the cause and effect of issues and analyze internal and external information to arrive at appropriate solutions.
Salary Range: $65,000- $70,000 USD Annually
The actual base salary may vary depending on factors, including, but not limited to location, work experience, education, training, skill level, and market conditions. At Pzena Investment Management, base salary is just one component of the total compensation, which may include, year-end discretionary bonus and employee benefits.
At this time, Pzena Investment Management will not sponsor an applicant for employment authorization for this position.
Working at Pzena
We are committed to the success and wellbeing of our employees. We offer benefits to support the health and wellness of our employees and their families, such as additional health cover, life assurance, income protection, pension, and firm contributions to causes important to our employees through firm Charitable Giving and Charitable Matching programs. Additionally, the firm supports the professional growth of our team by offering a Mentorship Program, Lunch & Learns, and sponsoring workgroups and committees to recommend business improvements. We are proud of our culture and enjoy coming together as a firm; you can look forward to team building activities in local offices and as a global firm including social events, holiday events, monthly birthday parties, Pizza Thursdays, recharging with healthy snacks, and more.
Pzena Investment Management is an affirmative action – equal opportunity employer. We value all forms of diversity and are committed to fostering an equitable and inclusive environment for all. We believe that multiple points of view, from different backgrounds and experiences, contributes positively to our culture and work. We welcome and encourage candidates of all backgrounds and experiences to join our team.
For a reasonable accommodation request, please contact [email protected].
Privacy Policy: https://www.pzena.com/cookie-policy/
Skills Required
- Bachelor's degree or equivalent experience
- 1-2 years of relevant experience within investment management or financial operations
- Proficiency with Microsoft Office, specifically Excel
- Excellent reconciliation skills and strong attention to detail
- Experience with a portfolio accounting system (e.g. InData)
- Experience with an automated reconciliation system (e.g. Gresham IM for Control)
- Knowledge of fund accounting
What We Do
Our investment philosophy is simple: we seek to buy good businesses at low prices. We focus exclusively on companies that are underperforming their historically demonstrated earnings power, performing fundamental, bottom-up research on these companies in an effort to determine whether the problems that caused the earnings shortfall are temporary or permanent. We typically consider companies for inclusion in the portfolio when the following criteria are met: (1) the current valuation is low compared to the company’s normalized earnings power; (2) the current earnings are below historic norms; (3) problems are viewed as temporary; (4) management has a viable strategy to generate earnings recovery; and (5) there is meaningful downside protection in case the earnings recovery does not materialize. We believe a concentrated portfolio exclusively focused on companies with these characteristics should generate meaningful excess returns for long-term investors
