The firm is fantastic. They have offices globally and hold an incredible reputation within the market- It's an amazing company to have on any CV. More importantly, however, is their culture - t's a brilliant place to work; sociable, friendly and very progressive with regards to work/life balance and flexibility, rare for a large financial services firm. The London office has a headcount of 250 with the finance team taking up 15 of that. Although it's a close-knit team, it works openly with the other departments.
In terms of the role, it reports directly into the Head of Finance and takes responsibility for its own portfolio of funds. There is no hands-on reporting, instead, you will be responsible for oversight of the third party administrators. This set up allows you to focus on forward-looking aspects of fund finance, be that financial planning, ad-hoc project work or analysis for the IR and Investment teams.
As mentioned, the ideal candidate will have at least 2 years prior of Fund Accounting experience however, this can come in the form of private equity, private debt, real estate or any other closed-ended fund structure. The hiring manager is keen to mentor and coach any new member of the team. In short, this is an excellent opportunity for a Fund Accountant looking to move to a fast-growing, leading private debt firm based in Mayfair.
If of interest and you would like to review the full spec, please apply.
About the private debt market
The private debt space is the fastest growing within asset management. Over the past 5 years more and more alternative asset managers, as well as some private equity houses, have diversified and began to launch credit and private debt strategies. The fund structures are the same as private equity and as such, to keep up with demand, funds are willing to hire those with private equity experience. Private debt and credit can mean a variety of different things but to break down what they offer in the most simplistic terms we can differentiate between liquid and illiquid assets. Some private debt firms will look to lend to small businesses where banks can not compete, these are illiquid assets. Liquid assets come in the form of 'hedge fund' or 'banking' type products such as fixed income, CLOs, distressed debt etc. Candidates for both illiquid and liquid debt funds are in high demand.