City and County of San Francisco

The Managing Director is responsible for formulating and designing an investment strategy of a large portfolio of pension plan assets backed by a robust gathering of facts, analysis of such facts, and superior judgment. The Managing Director is also responsible for the effective implementation of the strategy approved by the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) as well as insuring full compliance with all board approved policies, procedures, and guidelines.

The Managing Director possesses an expert level knowledge and understanding in one or more asset classes; provides manager recommendations for the pension plan; is responsible for conducting and supervising the complete and thorough due diligence on prospective managers; is responsible for conducting or supervising the ongoing monitoring of existing managers; has full responsibility for the risk exposures in one or more asset classes; and is responsible for the supervision, development and activities of one or more investment and/or administrative staff.

The 1116 Managing Director is an executive level management position within the Retirement System with full responsibility for design of investment strategy for one or more asset classes, implementation of the strategy, the governance and management of a large portfolio of one or more asset classes consisting of pension plan assets, and insuring compliance with all board approved policies, procedures, and guidelines related to one or more asset classes. Direction is received from the CIO.

The Managing Director carries out their responsibilities with minimal supervision of the CIO, with only broad direction from the CIO. The Managing Director is an expert in the management of a particular asset class.
The Managing Director also contributes substantially to the overall investment strategy and asset allocation for the pension plan as a whole.

The Managing Director also contributes significantly to the overall governance and investment culture within the investment division.

The Managing Director will typically be responsible for the supervision of one or more investment analysts and/or administrative staff. In many instances the Managing Director will be responsible for managing a team of three or more investment professionals.

 

According to Civil Service Commission Rule 109, the duties specified below are representative of the range of duties assigned to this job code/class and are not intended to be an inclusive list.

1. Designs a comprehensive forward-looking investment strategy for one or more asset classes. The strategy must evaluate a wide array of factors and risks in a constantly evolving and uncertain financial world. The strategy must be comprehensive yet understandable to a wide array of stakeholders, including investment staff and the Retirement Board. The Managing Director must gain the support of the Chief Investment Officer and the Retirement Board for the strategy, then insures the implementation of the strategy thru others.
2. Conducts thorough and ongoing due diligence of existing external investment managers at an expert level, or insures that such work is conducted at an expert level by others. Directors or Senior Portfolio Managers may be direct reports to the Managing Director.
3. Conducts or supervises the performance of external managers on a regular basis. The Managing Director possesses a keen ability to evaluate changes in a manager’s organization, management team, headline news, and all other aspects that could affect our investment.
4. Conducts or supervises the complete and thorough due diligence on new managers at an expert level. The Managing Director is responsible for recommending new managers for the portfolio to the Chief Investment Officer.
5. Responsible for the portfolio construction of a multi-manager asset class including an expert level knowledge of the risk exposures within one or more asset classes.
6. Prepares or reviews detailed investment recommendations and reports to the Chief Investment Officer and Retirement Board for review and approval.
7. The Managing Director has executive management level responsibility for the supervision, and development of subordinates.
8. The Managing Director has substantial responsibility for establishing and maintaining a positive and productive investment culture.
9. Insures that key partnership terms and documents are read and evaluated, either by performing the work themselves or by reviewing the work of subordinates. The Managing Director has full responsibility for complete due diligence on a manager’s offering memorandum, subscription documents, and other materials related to an existing or prospective investment.
10. The Managing Director has full responsibility for representing SFERS to external managers, the Retirement Board, investment staff, other stakeholders, and, in some instances, the press or other interested parties, with distinction and class.

Expert level ability to design a forward-looking investment strategy for one or more asset classes. Possesses a keen ability to evaluate a wide array of economic, financial, and behavioral trends to develop a forward-looking strategy that increases SFERS prospects for earning above average returns.

Expert level ability and skill to analyze and evaluate external investment managers and strategies for one or more asset classes. Also an expert level ability to evaluate complex portfolios of a single manager and those of a multi-manager program. Expert level ability to construct a multi-manager portfolio for an asset class that maximizes expected return and diversifies risk.

Possesses outstanding communication skills, both in writing and oral presentations, to the Chief Investment Officer, the Retirement Board, and other stakeholders.

Possesses an excellent ability to insure the implementation and monitoring of an investment strategy for one or more asset classes.

Possesses an excellent understanding of monetary and fiscal policy and possesses a keen ability to determine their probable impact on financial markets and specific investment portfolio.

Contributes significantly to the asset allocation and overall investment strategy for the pension plan as a whole. The Managing Director is also able to make recommendations regarding overall asset allocation that considers the probable risk and return of the portfolio as a whole, beyond their specific area of expertise.

Possesses outstanding skills to motivate, inspire, supervise, and develop other investment professionals assigned to their asset class.

The Managing Director will have strong capabilities to utilize investment information sources such as, Bloomberg, Albourne, Cambridge, Mercer, Wilshire, Zephyr, Style Research, Risk Metrics, Northern Trust Passport, and other quantitative products & methods.

These minimum qualifications establish the education, training, experience, special skills and/or license(s) which are required for employment in the classification.  Please note, additional qualifications (i.e., special conditions) may apply to a particular position and will be stated on the exam/job announcement.

Education:

Possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university with major coursework in finance, economics, business administration, accounting, statistics, or related field.

Experience:

Ten years of investment experience with an investment management firm, pension plan, university, endowment, foundation, corporation, family office, or consulting firm.

License and Certification:

 

Substitution:

Possession of a graduate degree in Business Administration, Finance, Statistics, Investment Management, Economics, or related field, or possession of the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, may be substituted for an undergraduate degree in a different field than described above.

Three years of investment management experience at a position equivalent to a Managing Director level or higher with an investment management firm, pension plan, university, endowment, foundation, corporation, family office, consulting firm or other investment institution with at least $1 billion in assets, or seven years at a firm of any size with a Managing Director level position or higher, may substituted for an undergraduate degree in a different field than described above.

SUPPLEMENTAL INFORMATION

 

ORIGINATION DATE: 10/05/2015

AMENDED DATE:

BUSINESS UNIT(S): COMMN

All City and County of San Francisco employees are designated Disaster Service Workers through state and local law (California Government Code Section 3100-3109). Employment with the City requires the affirmation of a loyalty oath to this effect. Employees are required to complete all Disaster Service Worker-related training as assigned, and to return to work as ordered in the event of an emergency.