Fixed Income Trader and Investment Analyst

Zions Bancorporation is currently seeking a Fixed Income Trader and Investment Analyst to join the Corporate Investments & Liquidity Management (CILM) team at our downtown Salt Lake City headquarters.

About the Role:

The Corporate Investments & Liquidity Management (CILM) team is part of Zions Wealth Management. This division mainly serves institutional clients, including corporations, municipalities, foundations, non-profits, public entities, and other institutions in the western U.S. We manage customized portfolios of short-term fixed income investments, providing our clients with enhanced yield on their surplus cash balances while ensuring safety of principal and adequate liquidity. Our managed portfolios can include US Treasuries, callable and noncallable Agencies, taxable and tax-exempt municipal bonds, commercial paper, fixed and floating rate corporate bonds, money market mutual funds, and certificates of deposit. Since our investment portfolios are highly customized and fairly short in duration, we interact frequently with our clients to ensure their liquidity needs are met. Getting to know them well and providing services that contribute to their success is one of the most rewarding aspects of what we do.

The Fixed Income Trader and Investment Analyst plays a key role on the CILM team, supporting clients with a high level of service and executing a large volume of trades to meet their investment priorities. This role responds to client inquiries, places directed and discretionary trades in money market funds and fixed income securities, and assists with reporting, portfolio analysis, client presentations, and compliance. This role also presents a unique long-term professional development opportunity for a motivated individual to develop deep expertise in fixed income markets and become highly proficient at bond trading and portfolio construction.

Job Responsibilities:

• Support high value client relationships such as corporations, public entities, foundations, endowments and not-for-profit organizations.
• Execute trade requests accurately and efficiently which are consistent with each account’s investment strategy, portfolio objectives, time horizon, and compliance constraints.
• Purchase bonds and money market instruments on electronic platforms, or via direct negotiation with trading counterparties.
• Manage liquidity profile in client accounts to ensure funding needs are met organically via timely maturities.
• Interface with compliance and operations teams to ensure effective back office, trade settlement and governance processes and procedures. 
• Assist clients on an ad hoc basis with account maintenance, reporting needs for tax or audit, access issues, or any other questions that may arise.
• Assist in creating portfolio analysis and reporting for presentations with clients.
• Assess the sensitivity of a potential fixed income investment to changes in interest rates or credit spreads.
• Assess relative value across fixed income asset classes, maturity timeframes, and the credit risk spectrum when making portfolio investment decisions.
• Contribute to the credit risk assessment and approval process for corporate and municipal bond issuers.
• Work collaboratively with other CILM team members to coordinate investment strategy, generate investment ideas, and increase our overall knowledge base and expertise in the markets we cover.
• Other duties as assigned.

A Highly Qualified Applicant Will Possess These Qualities:

• Strong service orientation.
• A desire to improve at everything we do and get better every day, individually and collectively.
• Strong written and verbal communication skills. We work with people, all day every day.
• Proven analytical skills and strong quantitative acumen. We also work with numbers, all day every day.
• The ability to thrive in a collaborative, team-oriented environment. Shared success is the best kind of success.
• The ability to meet deadlines while maintaining a high level of attention to detail.
• The ability to start each workday at 6:30am or earlier, in the office and ready for the day’s challenges. Early starts are part of life as a fixed income professional working in the Mountain time zone.
• A desire to do what it takes to win. This isn’t a 40-hour a week career path.

A Highly Qualified Applicant Will Also Have These Skills:

• Experience trading individual fixed income and money market securities.
• An in-depth understanding of portfolio composition, in theory and in practice.
• Experience with Bloomberg fixed income functionality, including yield and spread analysis, electronic trade executions, dealer inventory management, and Excel integration.
• An understanding of the Utah Money Management Act is a plus; familiarity with state investment codes in other states is also important to ensure that our investment portfolios comply with all legal requirements that apply in each client’s jurisdiction.
• Coding skills are also a plus, including VBA for excel macro creation, python for data analysis, and/or other scripting languages.

Education & Experience Requirements:

• Bachelor’s degree required, STEM or Finance/Econ major a plus.
• 2 or more years of trading or portfolio management experience, preferably with investment grade fixed income and money market securities. A combination of education and experience may meet requirements
• Ability to acquire Series 65 or 66 securities license within 12 months of hire.

About Zions:

Zions Bancorporation is one of the nation’s premier financial services companies operating as a collection of great banks under local brands and management teams in high-growth western markets. Zions is regularly recognized by American Banker as one of the “Best Banks to Work For” and as having a top banking team in its list of “The Most Powerful Women in Banking.” Our customers consistently vote us as the best bank in our local markets. We value our employees, and we are committed to creating fulfilling career opportunities for outstanding people within our organization, rewarding them for their contributions to our success. Banking is a local business, and to be successful, we must forge strong ties to the communities we serve and strong relationships with our customers.

With benefits starting on day one, 12 bank holidays, profit sharing and company-matched 401(k) contributions, Zions is dedicated to being an employer of choice in our communities. At Zions, the possibilities are endless. You bring the talent and the drive; we provide the opportunity; together we create value for our clients, colleagues, communities, and shareholders.

Benefits: 

• Medical, Dental and Vision Insurance - START DAY ONE! 
• Life and Disability Insurance, Paid Parental Leave and Adoption Assistance
• Health Savings (HSA), Flexible Spending (FSA) and dependent care accounts
• Paid Training, Paid Time Off (PTO) and 11 Paid Federal Holidays, and any applicable state holidays
• 401(k) plan with company match, Profit Sharing, competitive compensation in line with work experience
• Mental health benefits including coaching and therapy sessions
• Tuition Reimbursement for qualifying employees enrolled in an accredited degree program related to the needs of the business, maximum of $5,250 per calendar year, employees are eligible for the program upon hire
• Employee Ambassador preferred banking products