Portfolio Operations Associate

 

Founded in 1977, GMO is a global investment manager committed to delivering superior long-term investment performance and advice to our clients. We offer investment strategies and solutions where we believe we are positioned to add the greatest value for our investors. These include multi-asset class, equity, fixed income and alternative offerings.

 

We manage approximately $80bn for a client base that includes many of the world’s most sophisticated institutions, financial intermediaries, and private clients. Industry-wide, we are well known for our focus on valuation-based investing, willingness to take bold positions when conditions warrant, and candid and academically rigorous thought leadership. Jeremy Grantham, GMO’s Co-Founder and Long-Term Investment Strategist, is renowned as an expert in identifying speculative investment bubbles and also as a leading climate investor and advocate.

 

GMO is privately owned and employs over 430 people worldwide. We are headquartered in Boston, with additional offices in Europe, Asia and Australia. Our company-wide culture emphasizes commitment to clients, intellectual curiosity, and open debate. We celebrate and respect our differences, while embracing and valuing what each of us brings to work, as we know that diverse teams in an inclusive, caring environment achieve higher engagement and better client results.

 

 

Position Overview

The Portfolio Operations Associate is responsible for ensuring the integrity of data provided by custodian banks, prime brokers, and administrators. You will perform various controls, audit, analytical, accounting and reporting responsibilities for a number of GMO’s mutual funds, hedge funds, ETFs, and separately managed accounts. “Ownership” is the key. You will take ownership of each account for which you are assigned. You will support the investment process (portfolio managers, traders, and analysts) by identifying, researching, and resolving any and all discrepancies discovered through the review and validation of all investment activity. You will work with a variety of teams at GMO including the front and middle office as well as our technology, and client relationship teams.

Develop a comprehensive understanding of all assigned accounts and their underlying activity

Perform end-to-end reconciliation of holdings, cash, and security transactions against custodian banks; proactively investigate and resolve complex accounting and custody discrepancies while communicating effectively with investment teams

Conduct daily and monthly NAV validation by comparing GMO-calculated net assets with those reported by fund administrators

Monitor and report cash availability and overdraft positions to GMO’s Cash Desk and FX teams in a timely manner

Partner with the Pricing team and fund administrators to research, escalate, and resolve security valuation issues

Produce accurate and timely client-specific and ad hoc reporting, ensuring all outputs meet quality assurance standards

Proactively track and follow up on all outstanding issues with custodians; maintain full ownership through resolution and identify opportunities to prevent recurrence

Communicate clearly with internal stakeholders to highlight and escalate discrepancies that may impact investment decisions

Collaborate with the Data Management team to investigate and resolve data integrity issues

Work closely with all teams across Operations at GMO to ensure reconciliation items are resolved timely

Contribute to cross-functional initiatives and ad hoc projects at the firm

• Bachelor’s degree
• 1-4 years of relevant experience; fund accounting a plus
• Derivatives and other asset class experience preferred
• Experience with BlackRock Aladdin a plus
• Experience with FIS’s Data Integrity Manager a plus
• Strong analytical skills
• Self-motivated with proven ability to work effectively on a team
• Proficiency with Microsoft Word and Excel is required, Microsoft Office programming skills are a plus

GMO is committed to the recruitment, employment, and promotion of all candidates equally, regardless of an individual's gender, race, color, national origin, ancestry, age, religion, pregnancy, marital status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, military or veteran status, genetic information, physical or mental disability (except where such disability is a bona fide occupational disqualification) or any other classification protected under federal, state or local law.