Lead Quantitative Analyst

The Team:

The Retirement business unit focuses on helping investors achieve better outcomes by working with institutional clients in the global defined contribution and workplace markets. This is a high growth area for Morningstar and houses a diverse product suite and unique client base. By constantly evolving our solutions and solving our client's problems, we believe we are positioned well for continued future growth. Within the business unit, the Advice and Financial Planning group is the neural engine responsible for developing and maintaining a collection of world-class quantitative methodologies.

The Role:

We seek an enthusiastic, results-driven candidate to serve as a Lead Quantitative Analyst with a focus on quantitative portfolio management. In this role, you will work with business stakeholders, researchers and engineering partners to create effective algorithmic solutions that support our Managed Accounts products. In addition to improving existing methodologies, you will play a leading role in developing solutions to new problems. The ability to think independently, communicate clearly with all levels and cross collaborate effectively with stakeholders is critical in this role. This is not a managerial position, but you will be expected to mentor junior colleagues.

This position is based in our Chicago office. We follow a hybrid policy of 3 days onsite and 2 days remote work.

Responsibilities:

• Research, prototype and deploy new methodologies that overcome key challenges our clients are facing.
• Generate original investment research with the goal of improving outcomes for investors.
• Act as a subject-matter expert in multiple investment topics such portfolio construction, security modeling, risk models etc., as well as company’s proprietary methodology and data points.
• Analyze large data sets and condense complex information into concise, relevant, and easy to communicate results.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams to ensure research alignment with business objectives.
• Publish research reports in the form of white papers and journal articles.
• Mentor more junior members of the team.

Skills and experience necessary for this role:

• Bachelor’s degree in a quantitative field (Finance, Computer Science or other relevant quantitative or financial discipline), or foreign equivalent and 10+ years of relevant experience, or Master’s in a quantitative field and 8+ years of relevant experience, or PhD in quantitative field and 5+ years of professional experience.
• Prior experience with multi-asset quantitative portfolio management. Experience in the US defined contribution / 401k market highly preferred.
• Professional experience with statistical methods and classic econometric methods used in finance including, but not limited to, numerical optimization and multiple regression.
• Confident self-starter with analytical and strategic capabilities. High emphasis on being able to independently develop and defend new methodologies.
• Professional experience with an analytical programming language (Python, R, MATLAB, Julia, etc.) and SQL.
• Excellent written and communication skills.
• Experience working within an Agile development process is preferred.
• Experience collaborating with remote colleagues and stakeholders in different locations and time zones.
• Ability to stay current with industry trends and technologies.
• CFA and/or MBA preferred

Compensation and Benefits

At Morningstar we believe people are at their best when they are at their healthiest. That’s why we champion your wellness through a wide-range of programs that support all stages of your personal and professional life. Here are some examples of the offerings we provide:

• Financial Health
• 75% 401k match up to 7%
• Stock Ownership Potential
• Company provided life insurance - 1x salary + commission

• Physical Health
• Comprehensive health benefits (medical/dental/vision) including potential premium discounts and company-provided HSA contributions (up to $500-$2,000 annually) for specific plans and coverages
• Additional medical Wellness Incentives - up to $300-$600 annual
• Company-provided long- and short-term disability insurance

• Emotional Health
• Trust-Based Time Off
• 6-week Paid Sabbatical Program
• 6-Week Paid Family Caregiving Leave
• Competitive 8-24 Week Paid Parental Bonding Leave
• Adoption Assistance
• Leadership Coaching & Formal Mentorship Opportunities
• Annual Education Stipend
• Tuition Reimbursement

• Social Health
• Charitable Matching Gifts program
• Dollars for Doers volunteer program
• Paid volunteering days
• 15+ Employee Resource & Affinity Groups

Total Cash Compensation Range

$110,775.00 - 188,325.00 USD Annual

Inclusive of annual base salary and target incentive

If you receive and accept an offer from us, we require that personal and any related investments be disclosed confidentiality to our Compliance team (days vary by region). These investments will be reviewed to ensure they meet Code of Ethics requirements. If any conflicts of interest are identified, then you will be required to liquidate those holdings immediately. In addition, dependent on your department and location of work certain employee accounts must be held with an approved broker (for example all, U.S. employee accounts). If this applies and your account(s) are not with an approved broker, you will be required to move your holdings to an approved broker.

Morningstar’s hybrid work environment gives you the opportunity to work remotely and collaborate in-person each week. While some positions are available as fully remote, we’ve found that we’re at our best when we’re purposely together on a regular basis, typically three days each week. A range of other benefits are also available to enhance flexibility as needs change. No matter where you are, you’ll have tools and resources to engage meaningfully with your global colleagues.

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