AVP – Investment Operations - Loan Settlement

Over the last 20 years, Ares’ success has been driven by our people and our culture. Today, our team is guided by our core values – Collaborative, Responsible, Entrepreneurial, Self-Aware, Trustworthy – and our purpose to be a catalyst for shared prosperity and a better future. Through our recruitment, career development and employee-focused programming, we are committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive work environment where high-performance talent of diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives can build careers within this exciting and growing industry.

Job Description

Primary Responsibilities

• Manage end-to-end settlement of syndicated bank loan trades under LSTA market standards.
• Execute and oversee LSTA loan settlements, closings, and assignment processing through ClearPar and manual settlement processes.
• Coordinate and manage LMA trade closings, transfer certificates, and settlement documentation.
• Perform delayed compensation and Cost of Carry (CoC) calculations accurately and within market timelines.
• Settle participation trades, par trades, distressed trades, and cross trades.
• Review funding memos, trade confirms, settlement notices, and payout letters to ensure settlement accuracy.
• Liaise with agent banks, custodians, fund administrators, counterparties, and internal teams to resolve settlement exceptions.
• Investigate and resolve cash and position reconciliation breaks on a timely basis.
• Perform daily cash reconciliation and position reconciliation across internal systems and third-party records.
• Ensure accurate booking of settlements, fees, delayed compensation, and trade-related adjustments.
• Handle custody, administrator, and agent bank queries relating to settlements and trade lifecycle events.
• Support warehouse closings, portfolio redemptions, restructurings, and corporate action events.
• Monitor settlement aging and proactively drive trades to closure.
• Prepare and review MIS, KPI, and management reports.
• Participate in process improvement and automation initiatives.
• Support audits, regulatory reviews, and control testing activities.
• Provide guidance and oversight to junior team members and contribute to team development.

Mandatory Experience

• 10-15 years of experience in Investment Operations, Bank Loan Operations, or Loan Settlements.
• Strong hands-on experience in LSTA loan settlements and trade closings.
• Experience working on LMA loan settlements and closing processes.
• Strong knowledge of Delayed Compensation and Cost of Carry (CoC) calculations.
• Experience settling participation trades and cross trades.
• Extensive experience in cash reconciliation and position reconciliation.
• Proven experience handling settlement exceptions and break resolution.
• Strong understanding of syndicated loan products and settlement lifecycle.
• Experience interacting with agent banks, custodians, administrators, and counterparties.
• Experience using ClearPar for loan trade settlement processing.

Required Systems Knowledge

Hands-on experience with one of the below:

• ClearPar
• WSO Admin
• Geneva
• Loan IQ

Preferred Qualifications

• Bachelor's Degree in Finance, Commerce, Accounting, Economics, or related discipline.
• Knowledge of loan restructurings and corporate actions.
• Experience in warehouse closings and portfolio redemption settlements.
• Exposure to non-loan products such as Fixed Income, Bonds, or FX.
• Experience working with offshore or outsourced operating models.
• Knowledge of Power BI, Python, VBA, or other automation tools.
• Prior people management or team lead experience.

Key Competencies

• Loan Settlement Expertise (LSTA/LMA)
• Delayed Compensation & CoC Calculations
• Cash & Position Reconciliation
• Break Investigation & Resolution
• Stakeholder Management
• Team Leadership & Mentoring

Reporting Relationships

There is no set deadline to apply for this job opportunity. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the search is no longer active.