Senior Credit Research Analyst

Date Posted: 01/05/2025

Location: London

Job Type: Full time

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Who are Just?

We help people achieve a better later life. That’s our purpose and it’s the reason we exist. We are a fast-growing FTSE 250 company helping customers enjoy the retirement they deserve. We do this through a variety of market leading, award-winning products and services, delivered by a diverse team of over 1,400 purpose-led colleagues who genuinely put the customer at the heart of everything we do.

This is a brilliant time to join our business. We are on an exciting growth journey to become the UK’s most loved retirement expert.

Purpose
Along with the Investment Team (Team), the Credit Research Function (CRF) has grown significantly in order to help deliver Just’s strategic and operational objectives. The Team is managing internally an increasing amount of public bonds, while at the same time on-boarding more external asset managers. The CRF is quite critical for asset deployment as it provides, inter alia, credit fundamental expertise for most assets in our portfolio, either internally- or externally managed.

The CRF was for a long time integrated in terms of public and private research, but going forward, the structure of the team will change, with a delineation between liquid and illiquid assets being introduced. As part of the strategic refresh of the Public Credit Research function within the CRF, a Senior Credit Research Analyst will be one of the more senior members of a team with a broad portfolio of assets to cover and considerable new business premia to invest each year.

Job Role Accountabilities
Public Issuer Coverage

Taking ownership of a coverage group of issuers, with responsibility for ongoing monitoring, including (among others) investment recommendations, credit notes and earnings updates
Identifying and initiating coverage on issuers that are new to the portfolio, from an initial short-term recommendation through to a more comprehensive review within a defined time period
Being assigned a number of sectors for which the senior analyst will be the specialist on within the team, including sector reviews, updates on relevant news and attending conferences or trainings to improve sector understanding
Work closely with the broader investment team to proactively suggest trading opportunities whether they be focused around return enhancement, portfolio optimisation or credit mitigation
Being a key stakeholder between the CRF and the Public Credit team who are responsible for liquid portfolio management
Creating portfolio benchmarks to help suggest trade opportunities
Occasionally working with the private assets team to share sector or issuer expertise in the context of illiquid asset transactions

Projects

Take a role in projects across the business that require credit team involvement, whether originated from credit or requiring our input for other purposes (e.g. regulatory actions, investor relations, ALM)
Being a point of contact within the investment team for other departments (e.g. risk, DB, actuarial) by maintaining relationships with other verticals and building a reputation for reliability and quality
Writing and presenting papers on projects to relevant committees on updates, requests for approvals and general discussion, ensuring that materials produced are of high quality and in line with expectations of those committees
Upgrading existing and creating new tools in order to enhance the credit research function ways of working

Mentoring

Being a role model to other members of the credit team and the investment team more broadly, through attitudes and behaviours suiting a more senior member of the team, aligned with Just’s values
Setting an example to more junior members of the team, including line management of graduate research analysts
Providing training to credit research analysts and other team members

MI Production

Oversee the production of regular MI and other resources used by the credit research team, including comprehensively understanding the process by which they are created, updated and refreshed, reviewing outputs produced by more junior members of the team, and leading relationships between credit research and the consumers of MI and other outputs that are created
Take steps to improve processes where possible to ensure that outputs are robust, automated where possible, and of maximum use to end users
Ensure that the quality of resources is in line with the expectations of the wider business

Examples of Key Activities

Reviewing primary opportunities and producing investment recommendations under tight timeframes
Maintaining live and active coverage of a portfolio of issuers, including earnings updates and reactions to news events
Training junior members of the CRF, including the use of credit research tools, fundamental analysis and MI

Experience

Credit Research background in Financial Institutions: Banks, Asset Manager, Insurers etc.
A credit research position in a sell- or buy-side institution, such as a bank or an asset manager
Either a publishing or non-publishing role, primary and secondary markets
Strong focus on fundamental analysis
Experience in structuring private assets and in contributing to enhancing deal structures

Company Benefits

A Competitive Salary, Pension Scheme and Life Assurance
Along with 25 Days Annual Leave plus an Additional Day on us for your Birthday
Private Medical Cover and Income Protection, just in case
A generous and highly achievable bonus scheme – paid annually based on individual and company performance against targets
Opportunity to progress within your career both in-role and within the company
FREE access to the Headspace App, a 24/7 Employee Assistance Helpline and Trained Physical & Mental Health First Aiders (On-Site)
A variety of Employee Funded Benefits available to you via our Online Benefits Portal
Plus, several additional purchase options available for you and your loved ones

Why Just?

At Just you’ll have the opportunity to develop your career, whilst making a difference to the lives of those around you. You’ll be part of a company with a strong and distinctive culture - we’re ambitious, curious and collaborative – and every decision we make centres around being Just and delivering the best outcomes for our customers.

We’re committed to building a more sustainable business, and we’re working hard to make progress against our Net Zero targets. We're reducing our reliance on fossil fuels in our offices, switching to more sustainable sources of energy and we're investing more of our money in green and social assets.

Valuing diversity of thought and fostering a sense of belonging is critical to our business success, driving innovation and balanced decision making. Our work on DEIB (Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Belonging) aims to deliver a brilliant employee experience underpinned by a sense of belonging, where our people feel proud to work at Just. We remain committed to our publicly disclosed HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter and Race at Work Charter targets and support a wide range of employee network and events, championing issues including intergenerational working, social mobility and neurodiversity.

Be Bold. Be Brilliant. Be Just.

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