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Working at PPM America, Inc.

PPM is a US-based institutional asset manager. Established in Chicago in 1990, PPM exists to consistently support institutional clients in achieving their long-term value goals. We offer our Midwestern mentality of hard work, straight talk, full transparency and humility. Our success is supported by a team-based culture that encourages debate, collaboration and consistency. At the center of our belief is the fact that our best ideas to date have and can come from any team member anywhere in our firm. We believe the success of our investment culture is best demonstrated by the strong retention of our clients and investment professionals. PPM was again named one of the Best Places to Work in Money Management by Pensions & Investments in 2024. We attract professionals who exhibit humbleness, directness, and dedication. PPM’s values guide our internal conduct and help define the type of relationships we share with our investors, affiliates, and other valued partners. Above all, PPM is passionate about giving back to our clients, to each other, and to our community. We understand that community and purpose are just as important as the job description when finding your next career.

Values

At PPM, our values are reinforced in our culture every day.  We act like owners.  Integrity guides all that we do, and we are committed to exercising sound judgment in every decision that impacts the company and serves our clients.  We are passionate about investment performance and driving results.  We are relentless in our efforts to provide best in class service.  We strive to build strong and lasting relationships with our clients, seeking to gain trust in everything we do.  We work collaboratively with transparency and accountability.  We operate as a team.  We rely on each other, are accountable to each other, and respect each other.  We value differences and unique perspectives and embrace the principle that great ideas can come from anyone.  We embrace change.  We are not afraid to challenge the status quo in search of a better, smarter or faster solution.  We value learning, challenge ourselves and motivate others.  We are also committed to positively impacting our community.  As a firm, we invest time, experience and fundraising efforts with our non-profit partners. 

Summary of Role

Portfolio Services

The Portfolio Services Department is a dynamic, fast-paced team that provides a broad spectrum of operational support to PPM and a fiduciary oversight of its clients’ investments and assets.  The Department supports nearly all asset management activities in the trade lifecycle, including portfolio management, trade execution, and client reporting.  Functionally oriented teams include Public & Private Investment Operations, Derivatives Administration, Performance Analytics, Data Management and Business & Product Reporting.  A high level of collaboration coupled with extensive cross-training promotes flexibility, scalability and professional development across the department.  Portfolio Services is centrally positioned to engage with all of PPM’s investment and administrative teams to meet the firm’s strategic objectives.  The department maxim is to be indispensable to our clients through timely, complete and accurate execution of roles and responsibilities.

Role Responsibilities:

Reporting to the Head of Public and Private Operations, the responsibilities of the VP Investment Operations span the various functional teams within Portfolio Services to support all operational aspects of public and private securities administration.  The role is also responsible for delivering business analysis solutions and transition leadership across the department.  The VP Investment Operations will have significant interaction with investment staff and front-office stakeholders and will regularly collaborate with other business areas including IT, Legal, Compliance, the firm’s Project Management Office, as well as external service providers and clients to manage position life cycle activities.  The role responsibilities will be dynamic at times requiring the ability to pivot  to current investment activities and client demands.  Additionally, the role is expected to contribute to “ad hoc” / special client/business driven projects.  The VP Investment Operations is tasked with fostering a highly collaborative work environment while maintaining clear operational accountabilities and meeting timely and accurate deliverables. 

Day to day responsibilities include:

• Provide guidance and execute specific work across the following Portfolio Services functions, including the investigation and resolution of issues, mitigation of risk and implementation of process optimization including:

• Data integrity assurance related to the Firm’s IBOR:

  • Portfolio Reconciliation

  • Security Attributes and Characteristics

• Public and private investment life-cycle administration

  • Preparation / Coordination of closing and exchange documentation

  • Coordination of physical note activities / registration and legal documentation

  • Funding

• Onboarding / offboarding / transition management support for clients, agents and third parties

• Control environment management

  • Identification and mitigation of operational risks

  • Procedural and documentation assurance

  • Development, enhancement and implementation of operational controls

• Coaching

  • Mentoring and demonstrating “best practices” for junior staff

  • Promoting and assisting in cross-training across teams

• Process Improvement

  • Leveraging technology, design and implement process improvements to achieve scalability

  • Coordinate with internal and external IT development staff to investigate and resolve issues, mitigate risk and implement optimization tools

Skills, Experience and Qualifications:

Required:

• BS degree or equivalent

• Minimum eight years of practical hands-on experience related to financial services investment operations preferably on the buy-side for public or private investments

• High attention to accuracy and detail

• Deep knowledge of public and private security attributes and life-cycle behaviors

• Experience in management (direct or indirect), oversight, and training of operational team members

• Strong understanding of private credit documentation and markets

• Strong trade settlement experience

• Expert level knowledge of investment management accounting platform

• Critical thinking, analysis, troubleshooting, and problem-solving expertise, with demonstrated expertise in resolving payment, sinking fund/amortization, or position setup issues

• Demonstrated success in driving process improvements / automation solutions to enhance operational efficiency

• Ability to prioritize and independently manage multiple deadlines and pivot to dynamic business activities

• Strong written and verbal communication skills

• Experience in documentation and training activities

• Unquestionable professional integrity

• Strong teamwork-based approach to work and collective activities

Desired:

• Experience with Blackrock’s Aladdin platform and sub-applications (Trade Entry, Dashboard, Cash tools); Wall Street Office, and SS&C’s Precision

• Strong use of various desktop tools used for visualization and content development (PowerBI, Python, Excel, JIRA)

• Experience with adapting AI or other automation tools to assist in optimizing manual activities

• Project management experience working to budget coordinating with multiple constituents

• CFA or similar industry designations

The ideal candidate is a self-starter with a player-coach mindset who is passionate about a career in financial services.  The individual should have a vision for optimizing the team resources to drive business strategy and be a natural mentor who can assess the strengths and weaknesses of the team and coach people to optimal personal and professional development.  Effective communication skills are critical to this role, as the candidate must demonstrate the ability to interpret, distill and present a variety of financial data to various constituents in support of maintaining the firm’s IBOR and portfolio level data.  The candidate should enjoy and demonstrate effectiveness in working in a team environment, as well as working independently to drive results with a high degree of professionalism and client focus.

Benefits:

At PPM, we offer opportunities to get involved with a diverse network of peers and support the causes that are important to you. Your enthusiasm and talents can make a lasting impact on our organization and our community.

Employment Benefits

Our employees go the extra mile every day, and the benefits of working at PPM reflect our commitment to supporting and enhancing their personal and professional lives. The plans and programs listed below are offered in collaboration with our parent company.

• Competitive salary and bonus

• Medical, dental and vision coverage

• 401k retirement plan with dollar-for-dollar matching contributions (up to 6% of salary)

• Tuition and professional certification reimbursement

• Paid parental leave

• Adoption assistance

• Holidays and paid time off

• Paid time off to volunteer

• Life insurance

• Gift matching

Base Pay:

$130,000.00 - $165,000.00. The base salary for this position may vary depending on experience, job-related knowledge, skills, and abilities. In addition to the base salary, this role will be eligible to participate in our annual bonus program. This role will also be eligible for compensated personal time off and holidays, health benefits, 401(k) plan with generous matching and profit sharing contributions, and other benefit programs according to the Company's employment policies and subject to the formal terms of such plans and programs.