Job Purpose:
- Markit is looking for an experienced index designer to join Index Research and Design in Hong Kong as Assistant Director/Director to lead the index R and D activities in Asia
- The focus of the role is to drive the development of new Markit and bespoke indices for clients in APAC and to support
- This is a client facing role that will encompass the full life cycle of index development and suit an individual who is highly analytical, creative and possesses an attention to detail
- The individual will be part of a team that creates intellectual capital for Markit and have ownership and responsibility of the index design process.
Your Responsibilities:
- Leading the Asian Index R and D Team and contributing to global index R and D projects
- Working with product management and business development to build business cases for new indices
- Being able to deliver complex projects involving sales, product specialist and implementation teams
- Representing Indices as a product expert to clients and to understand client requirements
- Development of new benchmark and tradable bond indices in conjunction with key index stakeholders
- Analysis of markets and data collection, researching and developing new index methodologies
- Extensive modeling of index methodologies in order to produce index constituent list and weights, and to back-test results
- Writing of index specification guides, fact sheets, operating manuals and business cases
- Index setup and calculation: develop calculation prototypes and test cases for new indices; perform test calculations and reconciliation of the results with clients
- Quality control: daily checks and testing of index calculation and output files around the release of new indices.
Skills and Qualifications:
- 7+ years’ experience with indices, either through direct index research and design, product structuring or within the context of a portfolio management, fixed income research or investment analysis based role
- Proven capability to create indices or use indices within financial products or asset management
- Comfortable with standard index and index management approaches as well as more sophisticated constrained indices, sampling techniques, indices of indices, etc
- In-depth knowledge of either bonds, bond analytics or equities and equity derivatives and Excel modeling
- A degree in a highly numerate discipline such as economics, financial mathematics or engineering
- Excellent analytical and problem solving abilities and modeling
- Preferable IT skills (Python, SQL, VBA, Excel)
- Knowledge of a local language (Chinese, Japanese or Korean) a plus
- CFA or MBA in Finance are viewed as an advantage
- A high degree of awareness of the financial/resource implications of index design decisions is required
- A good commercial sense around the P&L impact of new indices and index decisions
- A keen interest in the developments and trends within financial markets in areas such as fixed income, asset management and ETFs
- The individual needs to be detail oriented to build high quality, innovative products and possess the ability to understand business objectives and focus and prioritise multiple projects accordingly
- Highly motivated and eager to take the initiative
- Creative and being able to adapt to changing priorities and deadlines in a fast paced environment
- Excellent attention to detail, both numerically and in written material
- Strong problem solving skills
- Strong Mathematical skills
- Strong work ethic
- High standard of verbal and written communication with internal and external audiences
- Strong presentation skills, both verbal and written
- Must be able to work collaboratively with other index and product specialists.
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