Department Description
The Investment Strategy & Risk (ISR) department plays a key role in BCI’s long-term investment strategy by influencing and advising on investment decisions made by clients, management and asset classes. ISR consists of three branches: Strategic Asset Allocation, Investment Strategy, and Investment Risk.
The Strategic Asset Allocation branch (SAA) assists clients with developing tailored investment policies that achieve their investment objectives consistent with their investment philosophies, funding policies and risk tolerances.
Investment Strategy includes the maintenance of a framework for understanding and estimating variable risk premiums over relevant time periods, research of relevant macro-economic issues including assessment of the current business cycle dynamics and research of emerging economic or financial trends, opportunities and risks, all at an asset class and total fund level.
Investment Risk includes the maintenance of systems for monitoring, measuring and estimating various forms of relevant investment risks across the various asset classes that BCI currently invests or may invest in and aggregating that risk at a total fund level.
General
Reporting to the Director, SAA, the Manager is responsible for advising BCI clients on a wide range of investment related topics, including strategic asset allocation. The Manager works with the Director and Vice President and, in many cases, the external actuary, to prepare Asset & Liability Modeling (ALM) studies and other custom analyses to ensure that clients’ investment strategies and policies are appropriate given the nature of the funds liabilities and unique characteristics. In this regard, the Manager must have in-depth knowledge of each client’s individual circumstances including investment objectives, liability obligations, maturity, funding policies, actuarial assumptions, risk tolerance, liquidity constraints, stakeholders, etc.
Specific Accountabilities
- Attend clients’ Investment Committee or Board meetings to advise on a wide range of investment related topics, provide investment analytics and review performance;
- Development of clients’ ALM studies, strategic asset allocation, and investment policy recommendations;
- Support the implementation of technology that would enhance existing ALM analysis and advisory capabilities;
- Works closely with the different lines of business within the ISR team to perform analysis, report results, and develop strategies;
- Support the development of BCI’s long term capital market assumptions and economic simulations;
- Lead the development of clients’ ALM key performance indicators;
- Maintains a framework for portfolio and asset class stress testing/scenario analysis;
- Evaluate and independently assess clients’ funding policies;
- Continuous learning of pension management regulatory and best practices to provide counsel to SAA team;
- Supervise and mentor 1 staff member;
- Substitutes for the Director as required, and as such, must be knowledgeable in all areas of the department.
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