What are the responsibilities and job description for the Investment Consultant position at Mesirow?
The Company
Mesirow is an independent, employee-owned financial services firm founded in 1937. Headquartered in Chicago, with offices around the world, Mesirow serves clients through capabilities spanning Advisory Services, Global Investment Management, Capital Markets and Investment Banking. We are proud that our intentional culture results in strong employee engagement, entrepreneurship and empowerment, with ongoing opportunities for volunteerism and advancement. Our positive culture, volunteerism, and opportunity for advancement makes Mesirow one of the few employers to be included in both Chicago Tribune’s Top Places to Work and Crain’s Best Places to Work in Chicago. At Mesirow, we invest in what matters: our clients, our communities, and our culture.
The Mesirow Fiduciary Solutions division provides an array of investment services to institutional clients, including 401(k) retirement plans and health savings plans. Our team of Investment Consultants works closely with senior leadership and our institutional clients. With over $75 billion in assets under care, our team experienced a steady growth in clients and assets.
The Opportunity
The Mesirow Fiduciary Solutions division is seeking a highly motivated, detail-oriented Investment Consultant to join our team in our Chicago headquarters and report to the co-head of the Investment Consulting team. The ideal candidate enjoys working in a fast-paced, dynamic environment. In this role, the Investment Consultant will develop and hone a range of skills, conducting in-depth investment research and data analysis, and collaborating with peers and senior leadership to provide the best service to our institutional clients. Over time, the Investment Consultant’s responsibilities may naturally evolve, with more client-facing opportunities and project leadership opportunities.
The Investment Consultant will possess the following responsibilities:
Client team:
- Serve on institutional client teams, assist in the creation and rigorous review of recurring client reports for institutional engagements.
- Develop long-term client relationships with credibility founded on a detailed understanding of our processes.
- Contribute on recurring client calls and quarterly investment review calls, for which the Investment Consultant may be responsible for covering certain investment strategies and the market environment.
- Lead the completion of ad-hoc requests from our sales team, including interacting with prospective and existing institutional clients.
- Additional recurring projects as they relate to client engagements.
Investment due diligence:
- Gain a deep understanding of the investment methodology employed by team.
- Conduct in-depth quantitative and qualitative investment research of mutual funds, collective investment trusts, and other investment types commonly used for retirement investing.
- Learn and independently use reporting and research tools available to the team.
- Maintain current knowledge of market events and other relevant topics.
Other:
- Play a meaningful role in the team’s quarterly reporting cycle by learning and developing an understanding of internal systems and processes.
- Participate in testing of new systems or system enhancements.
- Work on ad-hoc projects with other team members and be able to manage projects for the team.
Qualifications
- Bachelor’s or master’s degree in finance, economics, mathematics, statistics, or a related field
- CFA designation or progress towards CFA designation preferred.
- 0 – 5 years’ experience in investment consulting, retirement planning, or a related field preferred but not required. Compensation is variable and commensurate with education level and experience.
- Detail- and deadline-oriented, along with an ability to work with large sets of data efficiently, independently, and accurately.
- Demonstrated passion and intellectual curiosity and a team player with a positive attitude.
- Takes direction well and demonstrates proactive follow through on assigned tasks.
- Intermediate to advanced knowledge of Excel required.
- Knowledge of investment-oriented databases (e.g., Morningstar Direct) preferred.
- Superior skills in organization, time management, prioritization, research, team collaboration, and self-motivation, combined with the ability to process information quickly.
- Series 7 and 66 Licenses required within one year of start date.
Ability to work onsite at our Chicago office, which adheres to a hybrid schedule.
EOE