Associate Investment Grade Credit Research 1

NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT COMPANY, LLC, located in Milwaukee, WI, is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company with over $250 billion in assets under management (AUM).  The Public Investment department manages over $120 billion of total AUM and provides fixed income expertise to Northwestern Mutual and its affiliate corporations, including the foundation and retirement plan.

About the Job:

The primary responsibility of this role will be to conduct independent fundamental research in a non-financials sector and corresponding issuers as well as provide forward looking and dynamic relative value assessments and recommendations consistent with portfolio strategy and return objectives.  This role will work closely with the Head of Credit Research and the Credit Research team, Portfolio Managers and Traders.  The role will also collaborate with the Investment Strategy, Investment Risk & Operations, Compliance and Law departments.

What You'll Do:

• Monitor and opine on assigned industry dynamics, with expert knowledge of drivers of profitability and cash flow, as well as technological and other exogenous risks and opportunities.  
• Conduct thorough fundamental credit analysis on investments in assigned companies, demonstrating issuer expertise.  This includes a complete assessment of quantitative and qualitative factors, including financial statement analysis, financial policy, management track record and credit ratings profile.
• Determine relative value of specific issuers and bonds vs. comparable issuers.
• Provide investment recommendations on coverage universe based on a risk/return context, current portfolio strategy, fundamental credit view and relative value.  Adapt recommendations to specific portfolio return objectives.
• Produce concise written research and verbally articulate credit strengths and risks to portfolio managers and traders.
• Develop and maintain external relationships with Wall Street analysts and strategists, credit rating agencies and independent research firms as well as company management. 
• Promote a culture of mutual respect and high ethical standards.
• Adopt NM Behaviors: Client First, Powered by Our People, Future Focus.
• Exercise good judgment and independence in thought.
• Generate and lead process improvements through the effective use of technology and data science.
• Effectively respond in a timely manner to requests for data, opinions, and other information.
• Attend and participate in group activities and engage others in relevant discussion.      

What You'll Bring to the Role:

• Two to five years of relevant work experience conducting credit analysis in a non-financials sector.
• Demonstrated command of relative value in a total return mandate.
• Master of Science or Master of Business Administration (MBA) preferred.   Bachelor’s degree with an emphasis on finance, accounting, economics, statistics or other related area.
• CFA designation or progress towards attaining the CFA designation
• Strong analytical skills, particularly in performing financial statement analysis, evaluating cross-sector relative value and presenting credit recommendations for potential investment opportunities.
• Effective oral and written communication skills and demonstrated ability to prioritize work.
• Proficient with Bloomberg, Microsoft Office, and Copilot.
• Computer programming and/or data analytics capabilities

Compensation Range:

We believe in fairness and transparency. It’s why we share the salary range for most of our roles. However, final salaries are based on a number of factors, including the skills and experience of the candidate; the current market; location of the candidate; and other factors uncovered in the hiring process. The standard pay structure is listed.

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Northwestern Mutual is an equal opportunity employer that welcomes talented individuals of all backgrounds. We are committed to creating and maintaining an environment in which each employee can contribute creative ideas, seek challenges, assume leadership and continue to focus on meeting and exceeding business and personal objectives.

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