Quantitative Product Specialist

Job Description,

Who we are:

PPS Investments is part of the PPS Group, which for over 8 decades has been the trusted financial partner for graduate professionals in South Africa. Unlike a company that is listed on a stock exchange, PPS belongs to its members and operates under the ethos of mutuality. This means that qualifying members can exclusively share in the profits of the Group, through the unique PPS Profit-Share Account.

PPS Investments exists to create and grow the wealth of graduate professionals and their families to live the lives they want in a world worth living in. We offer diversified and flexible investment solutions that are mutually beneficial to our clients in the long run because we believe that success is better shared.

Purpose Of The Job

The successful candidate will be responsible for research and analysis on holistic solutions that straddle our linked investment platform products and multi-manager solutions. This includes analysing strategic asset allocations for differing savings outcomes as well as assisting the investment team with ad hoc portfolio strategic asset allocation analysis. The role will extend to incorporating mandate views into quantitative tools for internal and external use, plus input in product design.

There will also be a strong dependency on data analysis to identify trends and behavior to guide thinking around holistic solutions, plus ability to develop reports to track and highlight identified behaviour.

, Requirements,

Ideal Experience

• At least five years of work experience in the Investment industry, ideally in a Product Development or quantitative analysis role.
• Good understanding of financial services with demonstrable insights into the investment needs of individuals from a holistic savings perspective.
• A good understanding of the Investment industrys tax and regulatory framework and impact on differing savings outcomes.
• Experience in doing analysis using Python or R.
• Demonstrable track record of quantitative analysis experience and or data analysis.

Ideal Qualifications

• A strong analytical degree (Mathematics/Statistics) with demonstrated academic excellence.
• A post graduate investments qualification or professional certification (e.g. CFA) will be an advantage.

Competencies And Ideal Personality Attributes

• Analytical and enjoy problem solving
• Investigative nature to unpack complicated problems
• Proactive and able to use initiative
• Clear thinker
• Self-starter with ability to multi-task
• Highly organised and efficient
• Evidence of being able to work collaboratively

Systems Knowledge

• Highly proficient in MS Excel and Power BI, or an equivalent program(s).
• Skills in programming with experience in Python or R being advantageous.

Key Success Measurement

Ability to apply your investment knowledge and expand your expertise in data analysis and research to identify trends and behaviors that can guide new product solutions and services to our members.

A successful candidate should be able to successfully collaborate with multiple business areas on the analysis and research conducted. The candidate should be comfortable with drafting of research papers or proposals for submissions to senior managers and executives.

, Duties and Responsibilities,

Main Duties And Responsibilities

• Support the Product Development team with developing new solutions, or enhancements to existing strategies with a focus on holistic solutions.
• Work closely with the Investment Team with regards to strategic asset allocation analysis modeling and ad hoc requests.
• Focus on maintaining and building out existing quantitative tools such as cash flow projections, modelling optimal use of products.
• Assist with ensuring product offering remains in line with regulatory requirements, through development or amendment of product features.
• Data analysis to identify trends and behavior to guide thinking around holistic solutions
• Research and review local and international fund and product offerings to identify gaps and opportunities as per regulatory and industry standards.
• Engage with various business stakeholders to understand requirements and needs from an investment offering perspective.
• Draft and present business case proposals through relevant committees for approval.
• Sign-off on product-related content and support to business on product-related items.