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Overview of the Firm

Partners Capital is a $45B private investment office which provides investment management services to charitable endowments and foundations, pension funds, and family offices. Whilst we have a global reach with offices in London, Paris, New York, Boston, San Francisco, Singapore and Hong Kong, we retain an entrepreneurial and collegiate culture.

We were founded in 2001 to provide our clients with a long-term, multi-asset class, multi-manager investment approach, similar to the one pioneered by David Swensen, Head of Yale University’s Endowment Investment Office. To this end, we invest across the broad asset class spectrum, which includes investments in Hedge Funds, Private Markets and Real Estate as well as more esoteric opportunities such as litigation finance, retrocessionary reinsurance and life settlements. Whilst we largely invest through funds, we also regularly co-invest alongside investment managers.

We have never operated ‘in-house funds’, and therefore remain free from the conflicts of interest inherent in the business models of more traditional investment managers and private banks. We are proud of this independence, as well as our track record of outperformance, the sophistication of our clients, and the longevity of our relationships with them.

Investment Philosophy

• Independent, conflict-free investment strategy development
• Multi-asset class diversification
• Rigorous asset manager due diligence
• Access to the best asset managers
• Risk-controlled portfolio construction and management

Investment Philosophy grounded in the following beliefs:

• Long-term investors out-perform short-term investors.
• Multi-asset class portfolios continue to reap benefits from diversification; however, looking through asset classes to “risk beta” is critical to ensuring true diversification.
• Formulating an appropriate risk budget based on expected return targets and sticking to it (i.e., no market timing) will deliver the best investment results over the long-term.
• Extreme market environments occasionally provide tactical asset allocation opportunities that can enhance investment returns.
• Many active asset managers do not justify their fees as their returns can be replicated with low cost passive instruments (e.g., ETFs).
• Picking active managers that can outperform in the future requires deep research conducted by a highly specialised team. It requires rigorous quantitative analysis to understand if the returns are from manager skill or just market exposure, and judgment on whether this skill is sustainable.
• A portfolio constructed with a small set of exceptional managers for “alpha” and passive low-cost instruments for market exposure or “beta” is the most efficient use of the fee budget. In our opinion, properly constructed, such a portfolio can deliver 2-3% of outperformance per annum over the market

Organisation and Team

Partners Capital has over 300 employees of which approximately half are investment professionals. Members of the investment team may have a dual function of both client portfolio management and asset class research, .however this role is for a research specialist. Our coverage of the investment universe is organised into four asset class teams: Global Equities (long-only, long-short, activist strategies), Absolute Return & Credit (credit-related strategies and various hedge fund strategies), and Private Equity (private equity buyout, venture capital, real assets), and, Private Debt (non-traded credit and uncorrelated investment strategies). In addition, a Central Research Team leads our macroeconomic research and the development of our strategic and tactical asset allocation. Each of asset class teams is led by an Asset Class Head who drives the asset class investment strategy, tactical investment opportunities and the selection of asset managers. Each asset class head is supported by a team of approximately 7-10 individuals globally, although given our dual function structure, some team members may have varying degrees of client and research responsibilities.

The Position

We are looking for a talented associate or senior associate to join our Private Debt and Uncorrelated Strategies asset class team. This individual will help the team to source new managers, perform due diligence on new investment ideas, understand the broader investment environment as it pertains to credit and private debt investments, manage and evaluate existing investments, and help act as a liaison between the research team and client portfolio managers.

Responsibilities

Private Debt and Uncorrelated Investments: The successful candidate will form a key part of our asset class research team, whose primary goal is to deliver superior risk-adjusted performance over the long-term to our clients. Our asset class research team also supports the growth and development of the business. Key responsibilities include:

• Strategy Development – Continue to evolve and articulate the firm’s investment strategy. Identify and evaluate attractive market niches. Help the team to articulate ideal manager specifications, proprietary mandate parameters or direct investment approaches for target areas.

• Manager Sourcing – Develop relationships with investment managers, allocators and intermediaries to source investment opportunities. Conduct robust screens to identify the best teams within target strategies.

• Manager Diligence – Help perform rigorous due diligence of asset managers and other investment opportunities by working alongside other senior members of the asset class team. Key diligence activities include qualitative and quantitative analyses of a manager’s portfolio, performance, strategy and team. The diligence process concludes with a detailed presentation to our Internal Investment Committee.

• Investment Monitoring and Portfolio Management – Own ongoing diligence and monitoring of investment managers and opportunities.

• Client Portfolio Manager Engagement – Over time, to advise internal client teams on the overarching strategy within asset classes, manager selection and portfolio construction.

Other Activities: As with all other members of our Firm, the individual will be expected to contribute to other areas of the business (e.g., special research projects, recruiting, training, or business development) and should be prepared for wide-ranging responsibilities.

Attributes

The ideal candidate will be able to demonstrate experience in asset management, preferably in an external manager selection or direct investment role. The candidate will have an active passion for investing and strong due diligence skills and must possess a strong track record of excellence evidenced by detail-orientation. Our dynamic, collaborative culture requires a flexible entrepreneurial attitude and an appetite for tackling challenging projects, whilst offering the chance to quickly make an impact. Our team members need to be comfortable and confident interacting with business leaders and sophisticated asset managers.

The candidate should have a highly analytical background, strong verbal, written and presentation-based communication skills, a preference for a team environment, and a polished presence with clients and asset managers, as well as a mature, balanced and convincing communication style. They should be comfortable working in a fast-moving and high energy organisation, be self-motivated and have a strong work ethic. The candidate is expected to have an undergraduate degree with a strong record of academic achievement. CFA Chartership is preferred, but not essential. Candidates will be supported throughout the CFA process.

Remuneration

We offer a highly competitive package dependent on your experience and qualifications.

Contact Details

Please send your CV and cover letter to [email protected] with the subject Private Debt Research, Senior Associate. Further information about Partners Capital is available on our website https://partners-cap.com