Associate Vice President, Loan Settlements/Servicing

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

Ares is looking for an Associate Vice President to join the New York Investment Operations team. The Investment Operations team works closely with business stakeholders in three lines of business (Credit, Private Equity and Real Estate) as well as various corporate functions. The ideal candidate will be responsible for overseeing closers coordinating Primary and Secondary loan settlements, as well as processing all credit activity and Restructures in WSO for loans in the Direct Lending portfolios. Other responsibilities include research and escalation of settlement and servicing issues, working in partnership with the Loan Settlements/Servicing teams in Los Angeles and Mumbai. Must have practical experience with the loan closing and loan servicing process, also understands settlement document requirements using the Clear Par platform, processing experience in Wall Street Office is preferred.

Ares, as an alternative asset manager, has an asset mix which is comprehensive and heavily concentrated in bank debt. The ideal candidate would have experience working with Direct Lending and High Yield mandates for a global client base including pensions, insurance, and institutional investors. The role requires a dynamic, adaptive, experienced hands-on professional to ensure best practices in a fast-paced rapidly growing environment.

Specific responsibilities include, but are not limited to:

• Support Direct Lending middle office operations and portfolio managers with trade settlement oversight and life cycle management.
• Oversee vendor counterparts responsible for Primary and Secondary loan settlements for the Illiquid Credit strategy.
• Review settlement documentation for contract detail accuracy to align internal and vendor servicing systems.
• Coordinate, process, and reconcile the processing of all daily servicing events, including amendments and restructures.
• Manage loan subscription process in WSO.
• Direct third-party fund administrators and custodian banks on appropriate processing and review/reconcile processing output for accuracy.
• Daily review of credit events affecting settlement and servicing functions with third-party administrators and custodian banks.
• Act as 1st point of escalation for high-risk breaks and identify areas for issue prevention.
• Review daily recons between internal systems and third parties to resolve discrepancies such as including loan related fee bookings and MLR discrepancies.
• Coordinate loan servicing and settlement related audit requests.
• Prepare KPIs on a periodic cycle and participate in ad hoc projects.
• Maintain high standard of quality controls, and work with internal and external stakeholders to enhance settlement and asset servicing workflows.
• Communicate with Portfolio Managers, Traders, and Investment Operations for resolving settlement and servicing discrepancies.
• Liaise with accounting teams, offshore partners, operations and trustees for all portfolio-specific activity and issues, ensuring cross-communication of critical information between firm departments.

Education:

• Bachelor's degree in Finance or other business related discipline
• MBA, CFA and/or CPA preferred but not required

Experience Required:

• Minimum of 7+ years of experience in high quality, global capital markets or investment management firms with expertise in Investment Operations and Asset Servicing related functions.
• Experience in Investment Operations in any of middle office or back-office functions.
• Prior experience with an alternative asset manager preferred broader asset management experience preferred.
• Strong knowledge of bank loans primarily with the willingness to cross train and learn various asset classes, primarily focused on credit/fixed income, derivatives, and FX.
• Must have experience with loan closing process in ClearPar and loan servicing process in Wall Street Office. Also, preferred experience with Black Mountain (Allvue), Everest, Geneva, and/or IVP data management platforms.
• Understanding of basis accounting theories.
• Settlement experience of private/middle market loans preferred, but not required.
• Experienced with a diverse set of investment vehicles such as Institutional Separate Accounts, SMA/Limited Partnerships, Open-End Mutual Funds, Closed-End Funds and UCITs, CLOs, and complex fund structures.
• Hedge fund, Credit or Private Equity experience is a plus.

General Requirements:

• Ability to extract meaningful information from extensive research and analysis to effectively present facts and findings in a digestible format, a keen eye for attention to detail
• A self-directed individual with a can-do attitude, willing to work in an energetic, collaborative, and fast-paced environment, proactive in nature, and a proven ability to resolve issues with minimal supervision
• Proven outstanding communication (written and verbal), presentation, documentation, collaboration, and interpersonal skills
• A hands-on approach and ability to synthesize business operations and talent needs
• Ability to successfully manage multiple priorities and competing demands
• High accuracy and detail orientation
• Good judgment in terms of escalating issues vs. solving problems independently
• A solutions-oriented, self-starter and ability to see the big picture
• Comfort in dealing with ambiguity and uncertainty in a dynamic and fast-paced environment
• Ability to be flexible in terms of hours to coordinate with team members across various time zones
• An analytical mind and a passion/interest in bringing new ideas to increase efficiency of existing processes
• Dependable, great attitude, highly motivated and a team player
• Strong Leadership Skills

Reporting Relationships
Principal, Investment Accounting

Compensation

The anticipated range for this position is $150,000 - $160,000 annual base salary plus annual discretionary performance-based bonus. Actual pay may be adjusted based on experience and performance. Benefits would include:

• Medical/Rx, dental, vision, flexible spending accounts, Health Savings Account, company paid short-term and long-term disability, company paid and voluntary life insurance, parental leave, etc.
• 401k plan with company match