Operations Officer-Investments & Mutual Funds

The Operations Officer acts as the back-office liaison for AMBL, ABL, AMBBL and AWML Investments, supporting operational needs across departments while ensuring procedures are followed and risk mitigation controls are upheld.

Operations Officer - Investments & Mutual Funds

Functional Assignment

The Operations Officer serves as the "Back office" Liaison for AMBL, ABL, AMBBL and AWML’s Investments departments and plays an important role in fulfilling AMBL's operational requirements for all departments. The role is an important part of the risk mitigation controls and must ensure all operational procedures are adhered to.

Key Accountabilities

• Transaction processing for Investments and Mutual Funds companies:
  • Creation of new securities for investments.
  • Entry of purchases, sales, principal and interest payments.
  • Creation and updates of Mutual funds client accounts.
  • Processing of all Mutual fund subscriptions and redemptions to ensure SLAs are met.
  • Ensure that all relevant supporting documentation for each transaction are consolidated within trade packages.
• Monthly Bond Valuation for securities which are not listed on the stock exchange.
• Monthly Bond Pricing and preparation of price upload for securities.
• Prepare weekly NAV Calculations and update supporting schedules for ANSA Mutual Funds companies.
• Provide IFRS9 Provisions (PDs and Credit Ratings) for all international/local securities under AMBL & Funds monthly/quarterly to the relevant department.
• Prepare RTGS letters and ACH transfers for both local and foreign investment transactions, ensuring transactions are settled in a timely manner.
• Review of transactions/reports and investigation of all trade settlements to ensure entries to the bank accounts have been cleared/processed.
• Monitoring of the all the relevant bank accounts daily to ensure transactions are captured and processed in a timely manner.
• Prepare Audit Confirmations requested by Investments and Mutual funds clients.
• Serve as a liaison between clients, counterparties and internal groups.
• Processing of quarterly distributions for Mutual funds companies.
• Prepare weekly and monthly reports for Mutual funds companies (NAV, S.E.C., Volume and MFATT reports).
• Any other duties as directed by management based on the needs of the business.
• Coordinate with various departments (Corporate & Investment Banking, Wealth Management, Treasury, Finance) to ensure accurate and timely processing of transactions, reconciliations, and settlements.
• Utilize Bloomberg for pricing and executing bond and equity transactions.
• Resolve queries by troubleshooting issues, reconciling discrepancies with counterparties/clients, ensuring adherence to operational procedures and risk controls and escalating concerns as needed.
• Contribute to process improvements by documenting procedures and implementing more efficient workflows in investment operations. Update and amend databases to ensure consistent and accurate processing of payments.
• Support internal and external audits by providing documentation and responding to requests promptly.
• Assist with queries and escalations, conduct testing, and ensure continuity of critical operations.
• Conduct research and analysis on market trends, investment products and enhanced technical knowledge through professional reading and networking.

Behavioral Competencies

• ACCURACY – Numerical reasoning; arithmetic computation; using tables and graphs. Ensures that data presented is free from error.
• ATTENTION TO DETAIL – Knowledge of financial markets. Thoroughness in accomplishing a task through concern for all the areas involved, no matter how small. Monitors and checks work or information and plans and organizes time and resources efficiently. Great ability to manage workflow where the frequency of transactions can vary with short notice.
• COMMUNICATION: OPEN – Excellent communication, organizational and interpersonal skills. Creates an atmosphere in which timely and high-quality information flows smoothly up and down, inside and outside; encourages open expression of ideas and opinions.
• COMMUNICATION: ORAL and WRITTEN - Effectively transfers thoughts and express ideas orally or verbally in individual or group situations.
• CUSTOMER FOCUS - Strong communication skills and the ability to work collaboratively under tight deadlines with traders, brokers and custodians. Relationship building skills to establish rapport with business, operations and technology. Good attitude and highly motivated self-starter.
• DRIVE FOR RESULTS - Demonstrates concern for achieving or surpassing results against an internal or external standard of excellence.
• DECISION MAKING - Applies guidelines and procedures that require some interpretation in dealing with exception.
• SOLUTION ORIENTED – Ability to utilize critical thinking to be proactive with an aim of problem solving.

Education & Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree (Preferred major or concentration in Business/Finance) or relevant professional qualification e.g. ACCA

Training

• Microsoft Office Suite i.e. Word, Excel, Access

Experience

• Basic knowledge of capital market products (treasuries, agencies, corporates, structured products, repos, equities).
• Minimum of 3 years' experience in trade support, back office or middle office with experience in trade matching, confirmation, and/or settlement of Equities and Fixed Income Instruments.
• Prior experience with the use Bloomberg (would be considered an asset).
• Working knowledge of trade processing.