Our Culture

• Degree(s):Bachelors of Applied Science in Biomedical Science; Bachelors of Science and Economics in Finance
• Location:New York
• Job title:Analyst
• Group:Portfolio Management

I am part of the Risk & Quantitative Analysis – Fixed Income group. We  provides risk management coverage for all types of BlackRock accounts and clients. The market environment is what drives my responsibilities. The projects that I work on help us understand our trading activity and the risks we are taking. My responsibilities also include conveying the decomposition of risk across fixed income sectors to our portfolio managers.  

Global Reach and Opportunities

BlackRock is unique in its global reach and opportunities. We have offices and meet client needs all over the world and junior people are given the chance to travel and work in other countries.

Unique Flat Culture

Our flat culture is unique - it is easy for someone, no matter how junior, to approach managers for help or to ask questions. There is a wide range of resources available to learn from and people are willing to help. While it is helpful to have technical ability to use our extensive analytical platform, the main prerequisite for joining BlackRock is a willingness and ability to learn at a fast pace in order to react to the changing market and economic environment.

7:15 a.m. – Check in.  Look at my email. Look at overnight market moves on Bloomberg.

7:30 a.m. –  Morning meetings. Attend morning meetings where portfolio managers discuss the markets from the previous day.

9:00 a.m. – Run reports. Run routine reports that decompose the risk of our positions in the portfolios to which I am assigned. This includes VaR reports, liquidity analysis, and counterparty exposure. Look at the results to make sure our funds are in line with regards to compliance and desired strategy.

11:00 a.m. – Review Profit/Loss from the previous day. Keep an eye out for potential errors on complex securities held in our funds. Think about how this will affect cash in the portfolios. And make sure the hedge funds are in good shape to meet any cash liabilities given leverage and current market conditions.

12:30 p.m.– Eat lunch at my desk. If its not too busy, catch up on some news articles.

1:00 p.m. – Prepare daily hedgefund risk package. It shows VaR analysis, stress tests, market scenarios, market data, correlations of our positions, and the effects on risk of adding certain trades.

2:00 p.m. – Prepare materials for daily end-of-day hedgefund risk meeting. I am responsible for coming up with topics and kicking off the meeting. Lead portfolio managers and risk analysts talk about the direction of trades in the fund and discuss evolving risks, given current correlations and liquidity restraints.

4:00 p.m. – Attend hedgefund risk meeting. Then work on immediate follow ups or questions from the risk meeting.

6:00 p.m. – Review the day and finish up. Look at the day’s trades briefly and finish up any outstanding work that I didn’t have time to do during the day. After hours are sometimes the best time to get things done without being disturbed. Sometimes I eat dinner at the office.

7:30 p.m. – Head home.