Manager – Manager Selection & Research – CIO Office

NBK Wealth is a world-class wealth management group and part of the NBK Group - one of the Middle East's largest financial institutions. We offer holistic solutions that aim to protect and grow our client's wealth and strive towards having a positive impact and building legacies for our clients and generations to come. We follow a holistic client-centric approach to deeply understand our client’s needs to offer the best solutions.

NBK Wealth is recruiting for a Manager - Manager Selection & Research within its CIO Office team in Kuwait.

Job Summary:

This role involves collaborating with senior colleagues to perform due diligence on external managers, screen third-party funds, and produce fund appraisals. It also includes contributing to idea generation through research on macro trends, market dynamics, and new investment themes. Drafting research papers and marketing materials, exploring new asset classes, strategies, and themes, and assisting in reviewing and monitoring model portfolios/solutions performance are also part of the role. Additionally, supporting the CIO Office in creating NBKW House View and Thought Leadership pieces, as well as providing support to the Asset Management teams, overseeing MSR-CIO Office administrative tasks including liaising with key stakeholders on publications.

Key Responsibilities:

Investment Idea Generation and Product Innovation:

• Conduct research on macro trends, geopolitical events, market dynamics, and new investment themes.
• Contribute to idea generation by exploring new asset classes, investment strategies, and emerging themes.
• Draft research papers and marketing materials to communicate investment insights to support the team’s ongoing research efforts.

CIO Office publications and investment solutions:

• Provide data-driven market and asset class insights to support the CIO’s publications
• Assist in designing and constructing model portfolios and investment solutions to meet client needs and goals.
• Collaborate with the team to develop and implement performance metrics to track model portfolios and investment solutions.

Manager/Fund Selection and Research:

• Collaborate with senior colleagues to perform due diligence on external managers to ensure their suitability for investment, including screening third-party funds to assess their performance, risk, and alignment with investment objectives.
• Source external managers through a combination of quantitative and qualitative screening methods and maintain relationships with external managers, and service providers such as placement agents and intermediaries.

Cross-functional Collaboration and Implementation:

• Manage communication with various internal and external stakeholders to ensure effective collaboration and timely dissemination of information.
• Coordinate with Asset Management teams, Corporate Communications, Legal & Compliance, and other relevant departments to ensure timely and accurate communication related to all products, solutions and publications.

Qualifications:

• Bachelor Degree in Finance, Economics or Business. Graduate degrees including MSc Finance, MBA and investment qualifications such as CFA, CAIA, FRM are a plus.
• 5-7 years of experience in wealth/asset management. Previous experience in consulting is a plus.
• Demonstrate understanding of manager selection and due diligence processes including knowledge of industry best practices.
• Ability to conduct research on external managers and third-party funds.
• Good understanding of liquid and illiquid strategies and asset allocation, portfolio construction and optimization techniques.
• Demonstrate a good understanding of market trends and economic indicators.
• Ability to communicate effectively and present information clearly.
• Ability to exhibit good analytical (qualitative and quantitative), and critical thinking skills.
• Fluent in English with excellent verbal and written communication skills. Arabic is a plus.

Only applicants who meet the strict criteria outlined above will be contacted as part of the shortlisting process.