QA/ODD Senior Associate

At Barings, we are as invested in our associates as we are in our clients. We recognize those who work diligently for us and reward them for personal and professional integrity, communication skills, distinct competencies and expertise in specific strategies, ability to collaborate as a team member and true dedication to the interests of our clients.

We thank you for your interest in joining the Barings team, and invite you to explore our current employment opportunities.

Barings is a global investment manager sourcing differentiated opportunities and building long-term portfolios across public and private fixed income, real estate and equity markets. This role will be representing the equity group only. With investment professionals based in North America, Europe and Asia Pacific, the firm, a subsidiary of MassMutual, aims to serve its clients, communities and employees, and is committed to sustainable practices and responsible investment. Learn more at www.barings.com.

The Opportunity

The Quality Assurance-Due Diligence Consultant (Senior Associate) plays a critical role assuring the resiliency of Portfolio Finance’s ongoing loan operations, reviewing the setup of loans on the various Portfolio Finance (PF) systems, as well as assuring that the processes of our borrowers and other counterparties meet our standards by coordinating operational due diligence (ODD) review during the borrower onboarding process. The role also supports the ongoing monitoring of internal, borrower and service provider operating procedures to assure consistent application of our processes and policies.

This role participates in the set up of deals post close assuring consistency of deal set up in various systems used by the Portfolio Finance team, coordinating with the respective deal teams, the Loan Asset Management team, PF Data & Analytics and various Barings operations teams to assure that every deal is correctly reflected in:

• Surveillance Suite
• Aladdin
• Finalization of the transaction record in DealCloud

The incumbent also assures that deal records are set up in accordance with Portfolio Finance procedures, including presence of all deal documentation in the appropriate SharePoint folders post-closing.

Furthermore, the incumbent engages in ongoing monitoring and spot checking of borrower compliance with executed LSAs related to

• Cash flow structure
• Borrower reporting
• PDR compliance
• Ratings compliance

This role reports to the Director of Loan Asset Management, ODD and QA and is also responsible for conducting initial and ongoing due diligence analysis of investment offerings and ad hoc and routine research on investment related topics (i.e. philosophies, market & economic conditions, performance, product types, competition), including preparing the initial Know Your Customer/Anti-Money Laundering (KYC/AML) questionnaire for the manager/transaction and introducing the relevant contacts at the borrower to the Barings KYC team for further analysis.

Additional responsibilities include the periodic delivery and review of aggregated information via data entry & automation (i.e. performance reporting, due diligence summaries), managing short time horizon Due Diligence projects and projects that may have a long time horizon and broad impact across the company and maintaining Portfolio Finance’s repository of manager due diligence responses in DiligenceVault.

The Key Responsibilities:

• Assessment of Investment Manager’s operational infrastructure and governance models, in addition to their philosophy, process, resources and performance
• Providing findings and/or recommendations to senior management in written form and in investment committee presentations
• On-going monitoring and oversight of investment managers and external service providers
• Collaborating and communicating with various internal stakeholders
• Maintaining and improving standard work, policies/procedures and process workflows
• Ad-hoc projects such as research on investment categories, vehicle types, emerging trends, supporting processes, technology enhancements, and serving as subject matter expert in a consultative role to various departments
• Assessment of investment manager philosophy, process, resources and performance.
• Consults with other departments to help them understand how investment issues and due diligence findings impact their areas of concern.

Minimum Qualifications:

• 2+ years of experience with broad exposure across investment products and asset classes- including, Strategist, SMAs, Alternatives, mutual funds, variable annuities, etc.
• Experience with fund lending or direct lending and familiarity with the key transaction roles and various market players in the industry
• Bachelor’s Degree
• Experience with Morningstar, Bloomberg and/or other investment databases
• Analytical, detail-oriented individual who can balance the needs of multiple projects in various stages of completion
• Demonstrated success in a process-driven environment
• Strong communicator: written and verbal
• Demonstrated ability to identify and escalate issues where appropriate
• Adaptability and ability to thrive in a fast-paced, changing environment
• Recognition of patterns and trends in data operations and identifying opportunities for improving processes and systems
• Advanced knowledge and experience using Microsoft Office products
• Ability to travel - potentially upwards of 20% of the time (third party)
• Due to the nature of this position, as a part of our background check process, candidates must be able to pass a non-registered fingerprint background check to qualify as a fingerprinted person under FINRA [need to verify if needed in Barings environment]

Ideal Qualifications:

• CFA or currently pursuing

Position Location:

• Boston / Charlotte

What to Expect as Part of Team

• Regular meetings with the Investment Oversight Team
• Focused one-on-one meetings with your manager
• Access to mentorship opportunities
• Networking opportunities including access to Asian, Hispanic/Latinx, African American, women, LGBTQ, veteran and disability-focused Business Resource Groups
• Access to learning content on Degreed and other informational platforms
• Your ethics and integrity will be valued by a company with a strong and stable ethical business with industry leading pay and benefits

Base Salary: $80,000 +

Barings is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer; Minority/Female/Age/Sexual Orientation/Gender Identity/Individual with Disability/Protected Veteran. We welcome all persons to apply.

Barings offers a comprehensive benefits package including:

CORE BENEFITS & WELLNESS

• Medical (including Virtual Care), Prescription, Dental, and Vision Coverage
• Fitness Center Reimbursement Program (Including Online Memberships)
• Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Fertility Benefits

FINANCIAL WELL-BEING

• Highly competitive 401(k) Plan with Company Match
• Health Savings Account (HSA) with Company Contributions
• Flexible Spending Accounts (FSA) - Health Care & Dependent Care
• Retirement Health Reimbursement Account

LIFE INSURANCE

• Basic and Supplemental Life Insurance
• Spouse and Child Life Insurance

TIME OFF, DISABILITY AND LEAVE OF ABSENCE

• Paid Vacation, Sick Days and Annual Holidays
• Paid Leave of Absences (Maternity Leave, Parental Leave, Caregiver Leave, Bereavement Time)
• Short and Long Term Disability Plans
• Paid Volunteer Time

 OTHER BENEFITS

• Education Assistance Program
• Charitable Matching Gifts Program
• Commuter Reimbursement Program
• Adoption and Surrogacy Reimbursement Program