WHAT DOES AN INVESTMENT SPECIALIST DO?
Published: Nov 21, 2025 - The Investment Specialist constructs and rebalances client portfolios, develops strategies to manage concentrated positions, and partners with tax advisors to optimize the tax impact of low-basis equities. This role involves preparing tailored presentations and research, managing performance analytics and Excel-based reporting tools, and supporting Wealth Managers through proposal development and cross-team coordination. The Specialist also participates in research initiatives, presents at client meetings, and contributes to business development by identifying opportunities and delivering timely market and investment insights.
A Review of Professional Skills and Functions for Investment Specialist
1. Investment Specialist Responsibilities
- Market Updates: Play an active role in managing and communicating market updates relevant to advisory portfolios.
- Risk Advisory: Advise sales teams on portfolio risks and potential returns to support customer engagement.
- Client Insights: Act as a key point of contact for translating market insights into actionable advice for clients.
- Product Training: Provide education and coaching to internal teams on investment products and their features.
- Customer Guidance: Support customer understanding of investment solutions through tailored guidance.
- Strategy Planning: Formulate investment strategies that align with client objectives and market conditions.
- Performance Review: Monitor portfolio performance and evaluate associated risks and returns regularly.
- Product Suitability: Ensure that all investment products offered are suitable and well-communicated to customers.
- Trend Analysis: Continuously refine product recommendations based on market trends and portfolio analysis.
2. Investment Specialist Job Summary
- Project Execution: Plan, coordinate, and lead the execution of investment projects from initiation to completion.
- Feasibility Analysis: Conduct feasibility studies to evaluate the viability of proposed projects and prepare detailed reports.
- Budget Management: Develop investment budgets on an annual and monthly basis, including adjustments.
- Performance Forecasting: Create performance forecasts and monitor budget adherence throughout the investment lifecycle.
- Technical Specifications: Draft technical specifications for procurement related to new investments, including penalty clauses.
- Progress Reporting: Prepare comprehensive reports to track and communicate the progress of investment activities.
- Site Assessment: Assess and verify the suitability of proposed investment sites before implementation.
- Regulatory Compliance: Ensure all regulatory, technical, and operational requirements are met during planning and execution.
- Process Oversight: Oversee every stage of the investment process, maintaining alignment with project goals and timelines.
- Project Commissioning: Manage the investment through to final commissioning, ensuring readiness for operational handover.
3. Investment Specialist Accountabilities
- Account Documentation: Prepare all necessary documentation to facilitate the account opening process for both new and existing clients.
- Account Setup: Manage the end-to-end setup of client accounts, ensuring accuracy and compliance.
- Transfer Coordination: Coordinate asset and account transfers by working closely with clients, custodians, investment managers, trustees, attorneys, and accountants.
- Asset Gifting: Support clients in executing asset gifting strategies for charitable contributions and estate planning.
- Transaction Recording: Record all transactions accurately in the portfolio management system.
- Activity Updates: Ensure timely and precise updates of client activity and investment changes.
- Client Database: Maintain and regularly update client information in the contact database.
- Account Administration: Support overall account administration to ensure a smooth client experience and operational efficiency.
4. Investment Specialist Functions
- Investment Support: Serve as the investment specialist supporting client advisors across discretionary and advisory offerings.
- Sales Collaboration: Collaborate with client advisors to drive sales and increase revenue from discretionary and advisory investment solutions.
- Client Meetings: Participate actively in client meetings focused on acquiring, reviewing, and retaining investment solutions.
- Client Experience: Ensure clients receive an exceptional experience by working closely with other specialists, the Chief Investment Office, and Global Investment Management.
- Investment Insights: Provide tailored investment insights that align with client goals and market conditions.
- Feedback Collection: Collect feedback and insights from client advisors and clients to inform future product development.
- Offering Enhancement: Contribute to the continuous enhancement of offerings based on client needs and evolving market trends.
- Process Improvement: Work alongside a team of skilled investment specialists to refine processes through the exchange of best practices.
- Team Collaboration: Promote collaboration and innovation to strengthen service delivery and client engagement.
- Regulatory Compliance: Adhere strictly to the code of ethics and comply with all relevant cross-border regulations.
5. Investment Specialist Job Description
- Program Planning: Develop and execute program plans that align with the mission, on time, and within the approved budget.
- Communications Support: Support the development and execution of communications plans that increase overall profile.
- Budget Tracking: Administer, maximize, and track high-level and program budgets.
- Grant Strategy: Work with the leader to develop and execute grant-giving strategies.
- Grant Administration: Review and administer all components of grant programs, including community impact grants, project grant programs, regional partners, and workforce initiatives.
- Proposal Preparation: Prepare quarterly proposals with granting opportunities for the Board of Directors’ consideration.
- Partner Stewardship: Steward relationships with regional partners to ensure annual deliverables are fulfilled.
- Program Innovation: Engage with thought leaders and research to identify new programs and innovative initiatives that contribute to the mission.
- Storytelling Support: Support storytelling through fundraising by collecting metrics and impact statements.
- Partner Liaison: Liaise with other charitable partners and associates at the local level to inform or assist with funding requests.
- Volunteer Coordination: Work cross-functionally to facilitate volunteer opportunities on granted projects.
- Stakeholder Updates: Draft and circulate stakeholder update communications through cross-functional collaboration.
- Database Management: Work cross-functionally to maintain the charitable partner database and granting software.
- Program Evaluation: Develop metrics and systems to effectively evaluate programs and complete program assessments.
6. Investment Specialist Overview
- Client Support: Deployed to add value to clients with more complex needs, such as top-tier and mid-tier clients, and assigned to a team of Premier Relationship Managers (PRMs).
- PRM Assistance: Assist PRMs in understanding clients better, meeting clients together with PRMs, making suitable recommendations, and helping clients understand the value and risks of available solutions.
- Product Training: Conduct product training to support and deliver new product launches and lead client education events to help clients gain better knowledge of financial markets and financial solutions.
- Portfolio Reviews: Conduct portfolio reviews with PRMs, assess product suitability and the impact of market and regulatory changes on products held by clients, identify opportunities, and manage risks.
- Client Meetings: Join PRMs in client meetings to provide advice and input based on technical knowledge while acting as a second point of contact for specific products and solutions.
- Client Communication: Communicate effectively with clients on complex technical subjects to improve their understanding of financial markets and the value and risks of financial solutions through educational events.
- Education Events: Initiate and conduct educational events with clients to enhance financial literacy and knowledge of financial markets and solutions.
- Market Intelligence: Collect and apply market and channel intelligence to identify and share competitive gaps, service issues, business opportunities, and challenges with stakeholders.
- Product Suitability: Ensure that products managed by PRMs are reviewed by appropriate Product Experts and are suitable for clients based on their risk profiles.
- Process Compliance: Ensure all processes and procedures are accurate and comply with policy standards and regulatory requirements.
7. Investment Specialist Details and Accountabilities
- Portfolio Management: Construct and rebalance client portfolios, with the ability to propose and implement asset allocation and changes independently.
- Risk Reduction: Create and implement strategies to reduce the risk associated with concentrated restricted positions.
- Tax Planning: Partner with clients’ tax advisors to develop plans for minimizing the tax implications of low-basis equities.
- Client Presentations: Prepare targeted presentations that effectively communicate the team’s relevant experience and articulate added value.
- Proposal Support: Assist Wealth Manager in completing and presenting proposals, including data gathering and coordinating with research, marketing, and compliance teams for timely delivery.
- Research Participation: Participate in weekly research calls to understand trends and identify investment opportunities.
- Market Research: Prepare ad-hoc market environment and investment research.
- Internal Research: Participate in internal research projects and special client assignments.
- Template Management: Manage and take ownership of Excel-based templates such as historical performance tables, comp tables, attribution analysis, and holdings-based analysis.
- Performance Reconciliation: Research and reconcile performance returns that deviate from benchmarks.
- Client Meetings: Attend and present in client meetings to review portfolio activity and performance reports.
- Marketing Review: Understand marketing materials and determine what is appropriate for client needs.
- Business Intelligence: Research and gather business intelligence to identify prospective clients and focus on opportunities.
- Reporting Tasks: Handle various reporting tasks, including weekly (cash balance, performance, asset allocation), quarterly (client statements, performance, IPS), annual, and ad-hoc requests.
- Team Collaboration: Collaborate with Wealth Managers and the Client Service team on ad-hoc projects.