Director of Macro Strategy, Asset Allocation

Asset Allocation / Macro Economy / Director / Investment / CFA / Bloomberg / Python / Ontario / Quebec

A magnet for top investment talent, iAGAM is one of Canada’s largest asset managers, with over $100 billion under management across institutional and retail mandates. We help investors achieve their long-term wealth creation goals through innovative investment solutions designed for today’s complex markets. We are building upon our historic success, supporting the growth of our core strengths, and exploring innovative ways to meet investor needs. We are rooted in history and innovating for the future. Our experienced portfolio managers use a proprietary investment methodology, rooted in iAGAM’s unifying commitment to strong risk management, analytical rigour and a disciplined, process-driven approach to asset allocation and security selection.

Asset Allocation Team Overview:

The Asset Allocation (AA) team is responsible for providing world-class asset allocation expertise to directly improve investment performance, enhance clients’ experience and accelerate business growth. The AA function strives to be a Center of Excellence in strategic asset allocation, tactical trading and manager selection across a wide range of public and private markets.

The role, in a nutshell:

Reporting to the Chief Strategist and VP of Asset Allocation, the Director of Macro Strategy will lead the asset allocation team's agenda for fundamental macro research, model development, and macro/financial projections.

The ideal candidate will demonstrate extensive knowledge of the economy's workings, utilizing both traditional and alternative data to forecast the macroeconomy's evolution and assess financial markets' pricing. Additionally, the candidate will be expected to form non-consensus views across various asset classes and recommend tactical trades while assessing the current state of the macroeconomy.

In this role, you will be responsible for creating worldwide economic projections, providing financial market forecasts, developing risk scenarios, examining diverse asset class outlooks, and setting the tone for our team's thought leadership. These projections are essential in guiding our investing choices and form the basis for adjusting our portfolios strategically and tactically. Alongside this, you will assist the Chief Strategist in showcasing our findings and opinions to internal partners, clients, and the broader public.

In your first 12 – 24 months, you will have worked on (some of) the following:

• Develop and execute a macro portfolio strategy, utilizing economic and financial analysis and in-depth macroeconomic trend research to optimize positions and propose non-consensus views.
• Collaborate with other teams to identify opportunities for risk management and focus on macroeconomic elements such as monetary policy, geopolitics, inflation, debt, and economic cycles.
• Prepare and present actionable macro and market research that influences investment decisions, including estimating probabilities of future macro-outcomes and quantifying their impacts on future asset prices.
• Stay informed of the latest macroeconomic and financial market developments and be a thought leader in the field of macroeconomics and asset allocation.
• Explore and incorporate alternative and new data for the development of systematic macroeconomic and financial market forecasts.
• Enhance the brand's thought leadership in macroeconomics and asset allocation through publications and business development efforts.
• Conduct research projects, provide in-depth analyses, and contribute to the company's transformation and growth through collaboration and a high-performance culture.

What you bring to the team:

• Significant and proven experience in financial markets on the macro/strategy side
• Advanced degree (Masters or PhD) in Economics or Finance, with expertise in econometrics
• Proficiency in Python (preferred) or R, Excel
• Strong written and oral communication skills
• Experience in presenting research results to diverse audiences, including internal and external stakeholders
• Strong research skills and a demonstrated proficiency in synthesizing complex concepts and information from a variety of sources.
• Ability to drive research projects from start to finish (including data collection, data pre-processing, idea generation, signal backtesting and model roll out)
• An empirical research mindset and a focus on delivering practical results
• Exceptional problem-solving skills and a high degree of intellectual curiosity
• Excellent collaboration and interpersonal skills
• Strong attention to detail and the flexibility to adapt to changing priorities
• CFA designation is not required but would be an asset

Things we’d prefer you’ve seen before (but are not required):

• Market data vendors (e.g. Bloomberg, MacroBond etc.)
• Economic models (Oxford, etc.)