Investment Risk Trainee

Brightwell is the primary service provider providing fiduciary management services, member services, operational and secretariat services to the £37bn BT Pension Scheme (BTPS), one of the largest private sector pension schemes in the UK with c.260,000 members. Brightwell also provides fiduciary management services to the defined benefit section of the EE Pension Scheme which has c.£1bn AUM and 8,000 members.

The Scheme fully integrates environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into its investment process and promotes active stewardship of its portfolio companies and assets. In 2020, the Scheme set a 2035 net zero goal for its entire investment portfolio.

By working with Brightwell, defined benefit pension schemes have the opportunity to leverage Brightwell’s expertise, innovation and market leading technology to improve quality, value for money and outcomes for members. We aim to support our people in achieving their full potential. We’re comprised of over 320 staff based across our offices in London, Chesterfield and Bristol. 

Brightwell is committed to developing and maintaining an inclusive culture, ensuring that behaviours, working practices and policies promote fair treatment and access to development opportunities for every colleague. We value the benefits a diverse workforce can bring and want Brightwell to be a place where all colleagues can thrive, feel that they belong and are valued and contribute to our success. This is underpinned by Brightwell’s RISE corporate values: Responsible, Impactful, Supportive & Expert.

Programme information

You will join as a trainee as part of the Investment20/20 one-year trainee programme. While we can’t guarantee a permanent position at the end of the 12-month contract, it is our intention to make the offer, but this is up to how well you perform. The Investment20/20 trainee programme is offered by many investment management firms and 83% of the 2,500+ Investment20/20 trainees are offered permanent positions at the end of the one year.

As a trainee, you will be introduced to investment management and you will gain industry knowledge, experience and develop relationships to progress your career and develop skills to secure a permanent role. We will support you in achieving/starting a professional qualification. As part of the Investment20/20 programme, you will have opportunities to meet and network with over 200 trainees across the industry and participate in socials and insight events. 

You will receive 25 days annual leave. You will be paid a salary of £30,000. All roles are based in London.

The Team

Brightwell’s Risk function covers both Investment and Operational risk management, providing support to the Funding and Fiduciary team and the Administration team.

Funding and Fiduciary are responsible for advising on and delivering agreed outcomes for investment and funding for Brightwell’s clients.

This includes:

• Identifying key risks for our clients
• Be a source of expertise for the investment teams when they’re managing client allocations.
• Running stress tests on both Brightwell and client activities, identifying areas of improvement against our/their long-term objectives. 

The Administration manages the day-to-day operations of the pension schemes and is responsible for

• maintaining and amending member records due to retirements, bereavements and other changes to members circumstances
• data quality and management
• calculating and making benefit payments and
• dealing with the members.

The Risk Trainee will gain experience of each of the teams within Brightwell’s Chief Risk Officers direction, learning daily and periodic controls and processes and how risk interacts with the other groups within Brightwell.

The Risk teams activities include:

Investment Risk and Performance

• Oversight of client’s exposures against our investment guidelines.
• Oversight and support of in-house trading strategies.
• Providing key metrics for Brightwell’s hedging strategies.
• Stress tests and scenario construction
• Asset valuation
• Performance metrics and reporting for our clients

Operational Risk

• Developing and maintaining the Enterprise Risk Framework and related policies
• Monitor and report on risk events, control effectiveness, and risk appetite adherence.
• Maintain the Supplier Management Assurance framework.
• Support the maintenance of the business continuity and business resilience frameworks
• Deliver clear, concise, and timely risk reports.
• Promote a culture of openness and proactive risk management.
• Manage the risk incident process, including analysis, action tracking, and reporting.

Responsibilities include

The Investment Risk Trainee will:

• Support each team in the delivery of their responsibilities and controls.
• Learn to perform business as usual tasks and control processes.
• Learn how each team interacts with other teams and the wider Brightwell group.
• Learn about the investment strategies for defined benefit pensions
• Learn about operational risk management, including supplier assurance and business resilience
• Learn about the services provided within the wider Brightwell group.

Skills and requirements

If you are a graduate who has an interest in working within financial services and has the following attributes, we are interest in hearing from you:

• Good attention to detail.
• Good numeracy skills.
• Good communicator, both verbally and written.
• Proactive, curious and enquiring approach to learning.
• Collaborative mindset with the ability to work independently.
• Detail-oriented with a proactive and inquisitive approach.
• A team player with a ‘can do’ attitude who enjoys developing new skills.
• Inquisitive and enjoys interpreting information and problem solving.
• Advantegous to know SQL or Python.

How to apply

As part of your application, you will be asked upload your CV and to answer the follow questions in 250-300 words each.

• Why are you applying for the trainee programme and what skills can you bring to the role?
• Tell us about your greatest achievement.
• Tell us about a financial news story that you found interesting and why?

PLEASE NOTE:

The purpose of these questions is to give applicants an opportunity to share their personal experiences and thought processes with the hiring manager. Your application will not be considered if you do not answer the questions.

The use of AI

We know that AI is an increasingly useful tool and we’re happy for you to use it to research and help form an answer, but you should not submit wholly AI generated answers.