CLIENT PORTFOLIO MANAGER JOB DESCRIPTION

Liability-driven investing demands a specialist who can hold two worlds simultaneously: the quantitative rigors of fixed income portfolio construction and the relationship intelligence required to earn trust from pension trustees and institutional consultants. That dual ownership defines this role. Client Portfolio Managers in asset management translate investment strategy into client understanding, synthesizing mandate performance, economic outlook, and ESG integration into communications that inform allocation decisions worth hundreds of millions. The CFA designation, while not always mandatory, marks the credential benchmark the market applies to this seat.

As the Client Portfolio Manager, you serve as the primary investment authority for institutional relationships, converting portfolio manager insight into client-ready strategy updates, mandate proposals, and forward-looking market perspectives that directly shape how clients allocate capital. You work in close partnership with Portfolio Managers, Credit Analysts, and sales leadership, operating across the full institutional client lifecycle from prospect engagement through ongoing mandate support.

Career Impact: Sustained exposure to LDI mandate design and institutional fixed income gives you the domain depth that commands senior roles in investment strategy or client solutions within asset management.

Business Impact: The quality of client retention in institutional mandates - measured in AUM stability and renewed mandates - depends on how clearly and credibly you translate portfolio decisions into client confidence.

Growth Opportunity: Experience managing institutional relationships at the mandate level, combined with progress toward the CFA charter, positions you to step into Head of Client Portfolio Management or senior investment strategist roles.

• Design investment solutions for institutional clients, incorporating LDI frameworks and liability-matching objectives to address each client's funding challenges.
• Lead client and consultant engagement to identify investment goals, explain portfolio strategy, and deliver ongoing mandate and market updates.
• Partner with Portfolio Managers and Credit Analysts to translate investment decisions into client-facing communications, presentations, and performance reviews.
• Coordinate with legal and compliance teams to prepare mandate documentation and ensure ongoing adherence to regulatory requirements for each product line.
• Contribute recommendations to portfolio construction discussions based on client feedback, market developments, and evolving liability profiles.
• Integrate ESG considerations into client mandates by working with investment teams to align portfolio characteristics with client sustainability objectives.
• Develop collateral for external audiences, including written updates and presentation materials, that articulate investment philosophy, process, and performance.
• Support new business development by preparing materials for prospective client meetings and contributing to product strategy for institutional channels.

• Bachelor's degree in finance, economics, or a related field, or equivalent work experience.
• 5 or more years of experience in asset management, banking, or investment consulting, with demonstrated focus on institutional client relationships.
• Foundational knowledge of fixed income instruments, portfolio construction principles, and performance measurement statistics such as Sharpe ratio and manager alpha.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate complex investment concepts clearly to pension trustees, plan sponsors, and institutional consultants.
• Experience preparing and delivering investment presentations, mandate proposals, and performance updates to senior external audiences.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to synthesize portfolio data, economic trends, and market developments into actionable client guidance.
• Proven track record of managing multiple client relationships simultaneously while maintaining high standards of responsiveness and accuracy.

• CFA charter or demonstrated progress toward the credential, reflecting commitment to investment analysis standards.
• Experience with LDI strategies, liability-matching frameworks, or defined benefit pension mandates.
• Familiarity with ESG integration practices within institutional fixed income portfolios.
• Prior exposure to product development or strategy work within an asset management or multi-asset investment platform.

• AUM retention rate across managed institutional mandates, reflecting client confidence in investment communication and service.
• Mandate renewal rate, measuring how frequently clients recommit following performance review cycles.
• Client-reported satisfaction score following mandate updates and quarterly reviews, tracked against a defined rating scale.
• Number of new mandates supported through pitch-to-close, reflecting contribution to institutional business development.
• Accuracy and timeliness of client deliverables - presentations, performance reports, ESG updates - against agreed schedules.
• Typical tools: Fixed income analytics platforms (commonly Bloomberg or FactSet); presentation and reporting software (commonly PowerPoint, Excel).

• Base Salary Range: $110,000 to $160,000, depending on seniority and AUM scope
• Bonus: discretionary annual bonus, typically 15% to 30% of base salary
• Equity: not standard; may be offered at senior levels in boutique firms
• Health Benefits: medical, dental, and vision coverage; employer contribution toward premiums
• PTO: 15 to 20 days annually, plus standard federal holidays
• Common Perks: professional development support including CFA exam fees; continuing education budget

Figures are estimates based on general US market benchmarks and may be outdated. Adjust based on location, company size, and seniority level.

Background checks, including verification of employment history and financial records, are a standard condition of employment in this industry. All qualified applicants are considered without regard to race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, veteran status, or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state, or local law. Reasonable accommodations are available to individuals with disabilities throughout the hiring process upon request. Candidates must hold current authorization to work in the United States.

The Client Portfolio Manager owns the design, development, and support of LDI solutions for institutional investors, engaging directly with clients and consultants on all mandate-related matters. Working closely with the Core Portfolio Management team responsible for trade construction and ongoing portfolio management, this role shapes client outcomes by translating investment challenges into actionable strategies and platform enhancements.

Key Responsibilities

• Engage with existing and prospective clients to identify investment challenges, goals, and objectives.
• Design investment solutions for institutional clients and work with clients and advisors to implement strategies.
• Work with internal partners to prepare legal documentation and facilitate the agreed investment strategy.
• Provide ongoing technical support to clients, including training and delivering mandate and market updates.
• Prepare presentations and articulate content to clients.
• Integrate ESG considerations into client mandates.
• Contribute to idea generation tailored for LDI clients and prospects.
• Make significant contributions to projects that enhance the investment platform, capabilities, product offering and team.
• Work in partnership with internal stakeholders across the organisation to achieve the above.

Required Qualifications

• CFA, FRM, and/or an actuarial qualification is a plus.
• Passion for markets, how they work, and how investment strategies are created.
• Several years of relevant experience in fixed income, pensions, asset management, banking or consulting.
• Experience working with clients and providing excellent client experience.
• Strong technical and analytical skills.
• Fluent English speaker and writer.

Embedded within the Municipal Investment function, the Client Portfolio Manager develops and implements product strategies spanning client needs, compliance, marketing, and service while serving as a proxy Portfolio Manager alongside investment team leads. Working closely with intermediary sales, institutional sales, national accounts, and other business partners, this role delivers measurable asset growth by negotiating vendor agreements and ensuring full regulatory compliance across assigned product lines.

Core Functions

• Partner closely with Municipal Investment teams and leads and serve as proxy Portfolio Managers.
• Meet with clients, prospects and intermediaries to explain investment philosophy, process and performance of specific products.
• Provide updates on overall financial market performance, economic trends and the firm's economic outlook.
• Develop and implement new and existing product strategies covering client needs, industry trends, product solutions, compliance, marketing, training, sales and service.
• Lead the negotiation of contracts, agreements and service level agreements with internal and external vendors and partners.
• Ensure ongoing compliance with regulatory and legal requirements for assigned product lines.
• Maintain relationships with intermediary sales, institutional sales, national accounts, compliance, finance, and other business partners.

Qualifications & Experience

• Bachelor's degree is required.
• 10+ years of financial services experience, preferably in product development, client portfolio management, or portfolio management.
• Strong fixed income knowledge and demonstrated track record of success in raising assets.
• Demonstrated success influencing senior leaders across a matrix environment and with third parties.
• Excellent strategic and analytical skills to solve complex problems and identify new product solutions.
• Strong communication and presentation skills.
• Ability and willingness to travel.

Reporting to senior investment leadership, the Client Portfolio Manager builds collaborative relationships with Portfolio Managers, Credit Analysts, and the CIO to develop an expert understanding of the firm's investment philosophy, strategy, and products. Partnering with sales leadership and external stakeholders, this role advances portfolio construction and performance by translating client interactions and feedback into continuous improvements across investment management processes.

Primary Duties

• Build strong relationships with clients and internal stakeholders with a dedicated focus on earning trust.
• Provide updates, synthesize results, and formulate a forward-looking outlook in communications with clients and external stakeholders.
• Make recommendations to portfolio managers and senior leadership based on client interaction and feedback.
• Contribute to continuous enhancement of investment management processes.
• Work with sales leadership to implement internal processes and standard operating procedures for client-facing engagements.
• Organize and operate client engagement scheduling and logistics with autonomy.
• Develop collateral for external audiences in written, PowerPoint, and other formats.

Education & Experience

• Bachelor's degree in finance, economics, or related field from an accredited institution.
• CFA charter or demonstrated progress towards the credential is a plus.
• Minimum 5 years of professional work experience in the financial industry or a related role.
• Foundational knowledge in portfolio theory, asset allocation, portfolio construction, and performance statistics such as Sharpe ratio and manager alpha.
• Experience using Excel, PowerPoint, and Bloomberg.
• Demonstrated ability to communicate with a broad range of institutional clients.
• Excellent collateral development, storytelling, and attentive listening skills, with a bias for action and high standards.

Sitting at the intersection of client relationship management and compliance oversight, the Client Portfolio Manager ensures portfolio clients receive an appropriate level of service by maintaining regular contact, completing complex accounts work, and identifying new business opportunities. Operating across compliance centre staff, internal partners, and external clients, this role enables service quality and business growth by linking company products and services to client needs within a well-established professional services firm.

Duties

• Maintain productive relationships with portfolio clients through regular contact, addressing queries and assisting with project work to meet agreed deadlines.
• Ensure appropriate information is fed into the compliance team on time to support scheduling, resource assessment and flexibility for new or additional work.
• Complete more complex accounts work for clients as required by the Partner where activities are not appropriate for the compliance centre.
• Undertake ad-hoc project work as required by the Partner, assisting clients on their behalf as needed.
• Review work carried out by compliance centre staff, checking for accuracy and quality and providing feedback where appropriate.
• Identify opportunities for new work by linking the company's products and services to client needs and attending potential client meetings.
• Generate and follow through on new ideas and approaches to address client concerns or issues.

Skills & Qualifications

• ACA/ACCA qualified with 5 years of practice experience, ideally at least 1 year post-qualification.
• Ability to communicate effectively in written and verbal form across a range of audiences.
• Ability to prepare and present information and reports to various audiences in a clear and concise manner.
• Good interpersonal skills to gain credibility internally and with clients.
• Good customer care skills.

A key member of the Professional Services sales and delivery organisation, the Client Portfolio Manager builds and maintains relationships with existing customers and regional technology vendor personnel to position the firm as the vendor of choice within target markets. Collaborating across sales, business development, and delivery teams, this role advances revenue and margin growth by executing territory development strategies and ensuring accurate pipeline and forecast management.

Accountabilities

• Develop and maintain relationships with existing customers, conveying the value of the technology platform and professional services to ensure quality delivery and optimised customer value.
• Build and maintain relationships with regional technology vendor personnel to jointly sell business solutions to existing or new customers and enhance the firm's brand.
• Understand the competitive landscape and customer needs to effectively position the firm's practice and identify future offers and capabilities.
• Develop and execute net new business and territory development strategies.
• Partner with Sales and Business Development to execute a sales strategy achieving or exceeding company growth and margin targets.
• Maintain accurate and timely customer, pipeline, and service forecast data, and manage statement-of-work and contracting processes.

Professional Experience

• Proven track record delivering projects within a Professional Services environment, with enterprise platform deployment experience highly desirable.
• Working knowledge of enterprise platform business areas, including HR, Benefits, Payroll, General Ledger, Procure to Pay, Order to Cash, and Worker Spend Management.
• Experience in managing and delivering to a P&L and budget.
• Passion for customer success.
• Ability to quickly understand customer environments and propose solutions that create value, influencing decisions based on expertise and relationships.
• Excellent organisational, mentoring and communication skills, both verbal and written.