Investments Senior Associate - Alternatives Forecasting and Portfolio Intelligence

Although we prefer candidates from the NY Metro area, we are also open to East Coast candidates interested in working remotely. 

About you and the role:

The Investments Senior Associate, Alternatives Forecasting & Portfolio Intelligence is the dedicated analytics, forecasting, and performance expert for the Alternatives and Non-Core portfolio spanning Private Equity, Private Credit, Real Estate, Infrastructure, Hedge Funds, and Non-Core asset classes.  The role translates portfolio data, performance, cash flow forecasts, and market intelligence into actionable insights supporting strategic asset allocation, M&A pricing, portfolio construction, and executive decision-making. 

The role owns asset- and strategy-level cash flow, NAV, and return forecasting; the Alternatives segment of the investment financial plan; M&A pricing projections for alternative assets; long-term strategic asset allocation inputs for alternatives; performance attribution, variance analysis, and non-core benchmarks; portfolio risk and exposure reporting; fee and expense analytics; and Enstar’s alternatives data infrastructure, including Power BI dashboards and key external platforms such as SPI by StepStone and Canoe.

What you will be doing:

Key Accountabilities / Deliverables 
•    Develop and maintain asset- and strategy-level forecasts, financial plans, and M&A pricing models for all alternative and non-core investments
•    Provide performance attribution, actual vs. budget variance analysis, and benchmarking for the alternatives and non-core investments portfolio
•    Develop and maintain long-term capital market assumptions and strategic asset allocation inputs for alternative asset classes
•    Serve as the subject matter expert for alternatives portfolio analytics and exposure reporting
•    Build and maintain a suite of Power BI dashboards and lead alternatives data management across internal and external systems
•    Drive continuous enhancement of forecasting and analytics capabilities
•    Work in close coordination with the Portfolio Forecasting & Investment Analytics function supporting core fixed income to deliver integrated, firm-wide investment insights

Forecasting

•    Asset Forecasts: Develop, build, and maintain asset-level cash flow, NAV, gain/loss, and return projection models for existing and prospective investments across the Alternatives and Non-Core portfolios.
•    Strategy Models: Develop, build, and maintain strategy-level cash flow and NAV curve models, incorporating inputs from internal and external investment managers, and third-party data vendors across all Alternatives and Non-Core asset classes.
•    Forecast Updates: Gather input from internal and external managers and vendors; update asset- and strategy-level forecasts on a quarterly, semi-annual, annual, or as-needed basis to reflect current portfolio data, manager outlooks, and market developments.
•    Liquidity Forecast: Lead the annual liquidity survey across the Alternatives portfolio; develop the next-year liquidity forecast — incorporating capital calls, distributions, and redemption estimates by asset and manager — and integrate these projections into the annual Alternatives financial plan.
•    M&A Pricing Models: Develop, maintain, and update investment projection models for individual alternative and non-core assets and/or asset classes to support Enstar’s M&A pricing process; collaborate with regional investment teams and the fixed income analytics function to ensure models remain accurate, consistent, and adaptable as deal structures and asset classes evolve.

Financial Planning

•    Alternatives Financial Plan: Develop, build, and maintain the Alternatives segment of Enstar’s investment financial plan; run quarterly and annual planning cycles in partnership with the broader Investments team and cross-functional stakeholders including FP&A, and Treasury.

Strategic Asset Allocation

•    SAA Assumptions: Develop and maintain long-term risk/return assumptions and capital market inputs for alternative asset classes (Private Equity, Private Credit, Real Estate, Infrastructure, Hedge Funds, and Non-Core); support the firm’s broader strategic and tactical asset allocation process in coordination with senior Investments leadership and the fixed income analytics function

Performance

•    Attribution: Analyze and explain quarterly asset class returns against assigned benchmarks, peer groups, and relevant factors including FX, vintage year, and market conditions; prepare attribution commentary and supporting analysis for investment committee and board materials.
•    Actual vs. Budget (AvE): Quantify and explain the variance of quarterly investment results against the annual budget by asset class and strategy; identify key drivers of variance and communicate findings clearly to Investments leadership.
•    Benchmarking: Develop, build, and maintain custom benchmarks for each alternatives asset class and sub-strategy, draw on public market equivalents (PMEs), peer group indices, and relevant return series; ensure benchmarks remain reflective of portfolio composition and investment mandate.

Portfolio Intelligence

•    Risk & Exposure Analytics: Serve as the subject matter expert for alternatives data and analytics within the Investments team; lead requests to produce and analyze portfolio exposures by relationship, sponsor, legal entity, region, sector, country, risk factor, currency, etc.
•    Exposure Reporting: Develop and maintain Excel-based, and Power BI dashboards that enable efficient and accurate exposure analysis across the Alternatives portfolio; respond to ad hoc data and analytics requests from senior leadership, risk management, and cross-functional partners.
•    Decision Support: Prepare analytics, attribution, forecasting, and portfolio materials supporting Investment Committee, Executive Committee, Board, and Rating Agency discussions.

Fees & Expenses

•    Fee Estimation Models: Build, develop, and maintain fee estimation models for assigned assets, deal structures, investment programs, and strategies; incorporate management fees, carried interest, preferred return hurdles, and other fee components specific to each asset class and structure.
•    Fee Reporting: Aggregate, analyze, and present total fees and expenses paid to alternative investment managers by strategy, fee type, fee category on an annual and ad hoc basis; support benchmarking of total cost of ownership across the alternatives program.  Provide insights into total cost of ownership and fee efficiency to inform manager selection, portfolio construction, and negotiation strategy.
•    Data Maintenance: Maintain historical fees and expenses data and related Power BI reporting; ensure accuracy and completeness of fee records across all investment relationships.

Reporting & Data Infrastructure

•    Power BI Reporting: Build and maintain a suite of interactive performance, forecasting, fee, risk, and portfolio analytics dashboards in Power BI; serve as the lead business analyst for ongoing Power BI model development and data model enhancements for the Alternatives portfolio.
•    Data Management: Lead data management for Alternative Investments across internal and external systems; ensure data quality, consistency, and completeness; develop and maintain data governance standards and documentation across alternatives data sources.
•    Systems Integration: Act as business owner for alternatives analytics platforms and reporting infrastructure, defining requirements, prioritizing enhancements, coordinating development efforts, and overseeing user acceptance testing. 
•    External Platforms: Oversee the setup, configuration, and ongoing maintenance of key external platforms including SPI by StepStone, Canoe, and other alternatives data and reporting systems; serve as the primary business contact for internal operations team and platform vendors.

Ad-hoc Projects
•    Deliver additional analyses, models, and special projects as business needs dictate; support the broader Investments team and cross-functional partners including Tax, Accounting, Actuarial, Capital Management, FP&A, and Treasury on alternative-related analytical questions.

What you will bring:

•    6+ years of experience in a quantitative investment analytics, portfolio analytics, investment forecasting, or alternatives-focused role at an institutional investment organization, asset manager, alternative investment firm, or investment bank.
•    Prior experience in a dedicated alternatives analytics, portfolio data, or investment forecasting function; experience within an insurance company investment environment (investment general account, CIO office, or insurance asset manager) strongly preferred.
•    Demonstrated experience building and maintaining asset-level forecasting models for illiquid asset classes (Private Equity, Private Credit, Real Estate, Infrastructure).
•    Experience with performance measurement, attribution, and custom benchmark construction for alternative investments, including familiarity with public market equivalents (PMEs) and alternatives-specific return metrics.
•    Experience with large investment datasets using SQL, Power BI, Excel, and related analytics tools.
•    Experience with alternatives-specific data platforms and reporting tools (e.g., SPI by StepStone, MSCI Private i, or similar).
•    Strong written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to translate complex analyses into clear insights for investment committees, boards, and senior management.
•    Demonstrated ability to automate and scale analytical processes through programming, data modelling, or workflow design. 
•    Bachelor’s degree in finance, economics, mathematics, statistics, computer science, or a related quantitative discipline required; Master’s degree preferred.
•    Progress toward CFA and/or CAIA designations is preferred.
•    Familiarity with alternative asset classes including Private Equity, Private Credit, Real Estate, Infrastructure, Hedge Funds, and Non-Core strategies (High Yield, CLO Equity, Public Equity).
•    Deep understanding of alternative fund structures, cash flow mechanics, NAV and capital account reporting, fee structures, and their implications for portfolio modelling.
•    Deep understanding of alternatives performance measurement including IRR, TVPI, DPI, RVPI, MOIC, PME analysis, commitment pacing, liquidity forecasting, and exposure management; ability to explain their drivers and limitations to a non-technical audience.
•    Knowledge of strategic asset allocation frameworks and capital market assumption development, with specific expertise in building long-term return, risk, and correlation inputs for illiquid and alternative asset classes.
•    Knowledge of portfolio risk analytics concepts including factor exposures, currency risk, and concentration analysis as applied to alternatives portfolios.
•    Expert proficiency in Excel for financial modelling including NAV, cash flow, IRR, gain/loss, pacing, and scenario analysis models.
•    Proficient in leveraging Excel Cube Functions and Power Pivot data models to analyze complex datasets, develop scalable reporting solutions, and support quantitative analysis and decision-making.
•    Advanced Power BI skills: ability to design, develop, and maintain complex interactive dashboards from ground up and work with complex semantic data models and measures.
•    Strong project management and organizational skills, with the ability to manage multiple concurrent deliverables across quarterly, semi-annual, and annual cycles.
•    Experience applying AI-enabled tools, automation platforms, or data engineering workflows to improve investment analytics, reporting, or forecasting processes preferred.
•    Collaborative team player with demonstrated ability to partner effectively across investments, finance, accounting, technology, and operations teams.
•    Self-starter with intellectual curiosity and the initiative to proactively identify analytical gaps, build new capabilities, and continuously improve existing processes.

Your Benefits:

• Enstar offers best-in-class Medical, Dental, and Vision healthcare for single and family coverage.
• Board-certified doctors and pediatricians are available virtually 24/7 for urgent care.
• Access to Health Savings Account (HSA) or Flexible Spending Account (FSA).
• Access to Dependent Care FSA to cover daycare expenses.
• Access to Employee Assistance Programs (EAP) for health and well-being.
• Optional Pet & Home/Auto Insurance.
• Wellness Reimbursement program (up to $600 annual reimbursement for wellness-related expenses, i.e., gym memberships, massage, etc.).
• 401K retirement plan (company matches up to 6% of employee contribution).
• One paid annual volunteer day.

General Info 

The target base salary pay range for this role is $152,000-$160,000*

*Target full-time equivalent base salary range is based on relevant market data. The actual salary offered will depend on applicable market data for hiring location and relevant candidate knowledge, skills/experience. This salary range is not inclusive of applicable discretionary incentives.