Job Advert Summary

The Land and Agricultural Development Bank of South Africa (Land Bank) is South Africa’s only specialist agricultural bank established in 1912, the bank’s sole objective is to serve South African commercial and emerging farmers and bring specially designed financial services within their reach. These services enable farmers to finance land, equipment, improve assets and obtain production credit. The Land Bank provides financial services that have moved with the times and continues to provide services to agri-business and constantly reviews its offerings to ensure that they match the needs of an industry. As change has swept across the sector in South Africa the socio-economic makeup of agriculture has altered, bringing new entrants from historically disadvantaged backgrounds on to the land, these new farmers, facing the challenges of establishing sustainable agri-businesses across the agricultural value chain, Land Bank has been a commercial lifeline offering appropriately designed financial products that facilitate personal and commercial viability in a sector that is vital to the sustainability of South Africa and its people.
MAIN PURPOSE OF THE JOB

• The role of the Investment Specialist is to support the Head: Actuarial Short Term & Life with asset-liability management studies, asset-liability matching exercises, liquidity risk measurement, credit risk analytics, and market risk modelling and investment functions, including market risk capital requirement tools and models.
• Part of the function is to build and implement credit risk and market risk models that include system implementation and documentation of the modelling process; monitoring investment returns and asset allocation against benchmarks and other key performance indicators pertaining to asset managers; management fee calculations and checks; performance invoices and implementation of the investment strategy and compilation of investment reports periodically.
• The Investment Specialist will work directly with the appointed investment consultant, liaise with asset managers and deliver on all investment-related matters within LBIC/LBLIC. This position will report to the Chief Actuarial Officer.

Key Performance Areas

1. Asset Liability Modelling and Portfolio Construction

• Develop, assist, review and enhance the stochastic asset-liability modelling exercise to determine LBIC/LBLIC optimal asset allocation in achieving the stated investment objectives at least every three years or earlier if the business environment or risk profile has changed.
• In conjunction with the investment consultant (if appointed), advice on the strategic and tactical asset allocation and advice where and when the specialist or the balanced approach may be more appropriate.
• Assistance in the formulation and reviewing of both companies Investment Policy and other related policies annually.
• Conducting asset class building block optimization.

2. Risk Monitoring and Reporting

• Preparing monthly market risk reports according to the investment policy.
• Preparing monthly credit risk reports according to credit risk policies.
• Deriving credit risk analytics and benchmarking credit risk and market risk metrics against peers in the market.
• Performing model validation and testing of credit risk and market risk models, including the calculation of spread risk, counterparty default risk, interest rate risk and operational risk relating to investments held, compared against the risk appetite limits periodically.
• Assist in the market risk capital requirement calculation.
• Assist with investment consultant deliverables to ensure quality, accuracy and completeness.
• Credit risk and market risk frameworks and guidelines.
• Liaise with the investment consultant and assist in the setting of appropriate benchmarks for the purpose of performance monitoring.
• Assist in the review and monitoring of the performance of asset managers both on a qualitative and quantitative basis.

3 . Data Collection and Analysis

• Produce performance reports as required and in an appropriate format.
• Perform detailed analysis of returns and perform attribution analysis and determine causes for underperformance and liaise with the investment consultant and asset managers and report to the Chief Actuarial Officer.
• Conduct research using primary data sources and select information needed for the analysis of key themes and trends.
• Liaise with the investment consultant and coordinate and report on asset transitions from time to time.
• Liasing with the investment consultant with regards to changes in the investment portfolios.
• Calculate and check asset management fee calculations on a monthly basis and corroborate the reports from the investment consultant and asset managers.
• Calculate and check performance fee invoices against reports obtained from the investment consultant and asset managers.
• Check disclosure of implicit and explicit Rand fees on each asset manager.

4. Performance Monitoring and Reporting

• Quantify market risk on the balance sheet and conduct scenario testing and sensitivity analysis of various market risk and credit risk assumptions and report on the results and advice on appropriate actions as-and-when required.
• Preparing monthly, quarterly and annual risk and performance reports according to the investment mandates, strategic asset allocation benchmark and relative to a peer group.
• Provide input in to monthly, quarterly, semi-annual and annual reports and presentations and report to the Chief Actuarial Officer.
• Assist in the full transaction cost analysis of all mandates.
• Analysing and explaining profit and loss arising from asset and liability matching processes.
• Investigate all investment requests of internal and external stakeholders including internal/external auditors as well as the investment consultant, asset managers, regulators, and provide timely feedback as requested.
• Assist, participate in or provide related support for any ad hoc projects as and when required by the Head: Actuarial Short Term & Life or Senior Management.
• In conjunction with the investment consultant and Senior Actuarial Analyst, providing advice to the Head: Actuarial Short Term & Life on investment matters as and when required.
• In conjunction with the investment consultant and Senior Actuarial Analyst, assist with advice on compliance matters.
• Provide investment related input for all communication to the company.
Effectively identify problem areas related to investments and report to the Chief Actuarial Officer.

Preferred Minimum Education and Experience

• Relevant 3-year qualification in Actuarial Science, Mathematical Statistics, Mathematics, Corporate Finance, Commerce or related field.,
2-5years corporate finance, investment consulting, banking or pensions will be considered. 2 - 5 Years Postgraduate qualification in Actuarial Science/Mathematical Statistics/Mathematics, Corporate Finance or Commerce or related field.

Critical Competencies

• Knowledge of Software or Programme /Database (VBA, SQL, Power BI, R,Python or similar)
• Advanced Microsoft Office
• Relevent legislation applicable to insurance companies such as the insurance Act of 2017 and associated Prudential Standards Financial Soundness for Insurers as well as Intemational Financial Reporting Standards ("IFR17")
• Asset-Liability Management, modeling and matching principles
• Enterprise Risk management principle and philosophy
• Kowledge and understanding of Investment and/or corporate finance principle, methodologies and philosophy, regulations and legislation pertaining to financial service sectors.
• Predictive Analytics and/or Machine Learning

Additional Requirements

• Travel as and when required
• Extended hours as and when required