Quantitative Risk Junior Trader

Rothesay is the UK’s largest pensions insurance specialist, purpose-built to protect pension schemes and their members’ pensions. With over £73 billion of assets under management, we secure the pensions of nearly one million people and pay out, on average, approximately £360 million in pension payments each month.

Rothesay is dedicated to providing excellence in customer service alongside prudent underwriting, a conservative investment strategy and the careful management of risk. We are trusted by the pension schemes of some of the UK’s best known companies to provide pension solutions, including British Airways, Cadbury’s, the Civil Aviation Authority, the Co-Operative Group, National Grid, NatWest, Morrisons and Telent.

At Rothesay, we are striving to transform our industry. We believe deeply in creating real security for the future and our leadership in finding new and better ways to do that is the key to our success. To do that, we need the very brightest original thinkers to bring creativity as well as rigour. Rothesay is a rewarding place to work, where quality people can thrive and prosper. We pride ourselves on the connections our people build, many of whom have been with us for over ten years.

Job title: Quantitative Risk Junior Trader

Role type: Permanent

Position Overview

The Quantitative Risk Trading team sits within Rothesay’s wider trading team, working closely with our asset origination, liquid trading, quant, liquidity and risk teams, with the objective of managing deal flow and risk across Rothesay. We work to underwrite individual new asset deals, as well as overseeing the hedging and derivative strategy, and overall deployment strategy across all of asset classes.

The Quantitative Risk Trading function was created as a response to the increase in size and complexity of our balance sheet and is continuing to evolve; it offers a great growth opportunity for strong, highly motivated candidates.

In general, we are looking for a smart, commercial individual with an excellent academic record, strong quantitative and problem-solving abilities and a high degree of adaptability, with a genuine intellectual appetite to expand their existing skillset.

This role blends commercial insight with quantitative analysis and strategic problem-solving to drive Rothesay’s strategy for underwriting and managing credit and various illiquid risks across its investment book (rather than, for example, acting as execution trader for hedging credit exposure).

Key Responsibilities

The Quantitative Risk Trading role will expose you to a wide range of exotic and vanilla fixed income investments across Rothesay’s business. These asset classes may range from illiquid products such as commercial real estate lending, bilaterally negotiated secured financing trades, infrastructure lending, residential mortgages and other esoteric asset classes, to more liquid products such as vanilla corporate bonds, in addition to topics involving rates, credit and inflation derivatives. Familiarity with these products is not expected, but an ability to grasp new concepts quickly is fundamental to our work.

The role will involve pricing and managing these exposures, for which a good balance of strong quantitative abilities and commercial mind-set will be required. This work will be an important aspect of Rothesay’s business strategy, both in helping to manage the existing asset back-book and contributing to the process for originating and structuring new investments.

The on-the-desk training will be demanding and will require you to undertake challenging project and day-to-day work that will extend your skills and give you direct access to other members of the multi-disciplined Rothesay trading and asset origination teams.

Requirements

• Strong education background: Advanced degree in quantitative disciplines, such as Mathematics, Economics, Engineering and Computer Science
• 1-2 years’ relevant work experience; an ideal candidate will have experience in fixed income and/or structured products
• Familiarity with fixed income products and credit products as well as derivatives
• Extensive experience in financial modelling, combined with quantitative/statistical techniques
• Strong communication skills, ability to work collaboratively
• Firm Offers
• Competitive compensation and incentive bonuses
• Collaborative and entrepreneurial environment with significant growth opportunities

Rothesay competencies

• Technical Skills - Demonstrates strong technical skills required for the role, pays attention to detail, takes initiative to broaden his/her knowledge and demonstrates appropriate analytical skills
• Drive and Motivation – Be a self-starter; successfully handles multiple tasks, takes initiative to improve his/her own performance, works intensely towards extremely challenging goals and persists in the face of obstacles or setbacks
• Teamwork – Demonstrate evidence of being a strong team player, collaborates with others within and across teams, encourages other team members to participate and contribute and acknowledges others' contributions
• Communication Skills - Communicates what is relevant and important in a clear and concise manner and shares information/new ideas with others
• Judgement and Problem solving - Thinks ahead, anticipates questions, plans for contingencies, finds alternative solutions and identifies clear objectives. Sees the big picture and effectively analyses complex issues
• Creativity/Innovation - Looks for new ways to improve current processes and develop creative solutions that are grounded in reality and have practical value
• Influencing Outcomes - Presents sound, persuasive rationale for ideas or opinions. Takes a position on issues and influences others' opinions and presents persuasive recommendations

Disclaimer This position description is intended to describe the duties most frequently performed by an individual in this position. It is not intended to be a complete list of assigned duties, but to describe a position level. The role shall be performed within a professional office environment. Rothesay Life has health and safety polices that are available for all workers upon request. There are no specific health risks associated with the role.

Inclusion Rothesay actively promotes diversity and inclusivity. We know that our success depends on our people and that by nurturing a culture that values difference, we create a stronger, more dynamic business. We welcome applications from all qualified candidates, regardless of race, colour, religion, gender, gender identity or expression, sexual orientation, national origin, genetics, disability or age.