About First Actuarial

First Actuarial has been around since 2004, when a small group of like-minded actuaries came together to bring fresh thinking to pensions consultancy. Two decades later, we’re celebrating our 20th anniversary with events at all our five offices. It’s a great time to be part of First Actuarial. Following last year’s 20% revenue increase, our strong growth path has continued into this year, and we now employ around 450 people in the UK.

We’re still an independent business with no chargeable hours targets, giving our people the time to deliver their best work and excel. We shape our high-quality services by listening closely to our clients’ needs. And we price those services fairly.

As we develop our business, prospects for our people grow. Our Basingstoke, Leeds, Manchester, Peterborough and Tonbridge offices provide supportive work environments where everyone can make a difference. We enjoy work and celebrate our successes. And we provide support and helpful feedback so we all learn and improve.

We love numbers, but we love people more. Staff wellbeing and work-life balance have always been core values. Beyond the firm, we’re known for our integrity. We’re happy to challenge conventional thinking and speak up. Our pioneering work is set to transform the lives of millions of younger people with a new type of pension.

Purpose of Role

As a specialist function within the Investment Team, our Asset Transitions Team is tasked with planning and implementing asset transitions across a wide variety of asset classes and investment managers, whilst reducing risks and minimising transaction costs.

The work involved is fast-paced and the Team completed in excess of 200 asset transitions in 2023, with around £1.2 billion of assets being moved over the year.

To support the Team’s growth, we are now looking for an individual who will initially provide support to the existing Asset Transitions Team, but who will eventually gain the knowledge and experience required to lead any type of asset transition exercise and work directly with our pension scheme clients. You will be fully supported in your development by experienced asset transition specialists.

Key Accountabilities

The following list represents accountabilities that we will expect after a period of training and shadowing of more experienced members of the team.

• Planning, implementing and reporting on all types of asset transitions, which will include, but is not limited to the following tasks:
  • Establish transition requirements and produce a fee quote for the work.
  • Prepare investment manager account opening documents, where required.
  • Gather investment manager trading requirements and draft instructions.
  • Produce a transition plan that will minimise market risk and transaction costs.
  • Work with Scheme Administrators, Investment Managers and Trustees to ensure that all trades and cash movements happen as expected.
  • Produce a post-transition summary for the Trustees.
• Maintain a log of all transitions and send a weekly update to the Consultants.
• Update transition template documents and emails, when required.
• Attend team meetings and report on transition-related developments.
• Attend regular meetings with key third parties to discuss transition progress and resolve procedural issues.
• Manage deadlines and prioritise work according to importance.
• Log Liability-Driven Investment rebalancing events and co-ordinate actions required.

Person Specification

• We are looking to take on someone with ideally 2 or more years of pensions or investment industry experience, who has an interest in specialising in the high-profile Asset Transitions niche within Investment Consulting.
• Given the high-risk nature of the work, the role requires someone who is organised and methodical in their approach to work, with a keen eye for detail.
• An individual who can demonstrate skills such as being able to deliver projects under pressure, whilst following procedures and maintaining clear communications with clients and colleagues will be highly valued.

What we offer you

We’ll actively support you as you build your career – and reward you for doing so. At every level of seniority, we offer:

• A competitive remuneration package, including bonus and profit-sharing payments
• Private health insurance, life insurance and income protection insurance
• 25 days annual leave as standard, increasing with length of service, an extra day at Christmas, plus bank holidays and the option to purchase additional holidays
• A non-contributory pension
• Full training and study support.

We have hybrid working in place for colleagues who prefer home-working for part of the week. We’re also flexible on working day arrangements and will happily accommodate a range of personal commitments from day one.

Our straightforward, interview-based approach to recruitment ensures equal opportunities for all applicants.

Please note that we can only accept candidates who have a permanent right to work in the UK.

Apply now with covering letter and CV