Description

This position sits within the AXA Derivatives & Financing team, based in Paris, Tokyo, and London, that brings together capabilities in:

• Derivatives & Financing Structuring, Advisory, and Execution.
• ALM related Investment Solution design for institutional investors.

The background of the team is generally quantitative (engineers, actuaries, CFA, etc.) with a strong experience in finance and / or derivatives (investment banking, asset management).

The Derivatives & Financing team structures, advises and executes derivatives for long term investors (primarily insurance companies and pension funds) throughout Eurozone, UK, Switzerland and Asia. The Derivative & Financing team trades around 400 billions EUR equivalent of derivatives notional every year and oversees a book of c. 30 billions EUR equivalent of financing.

The role would cover:

1/ Management of Derivatives Office in Tokyo

The Head of the Derivatives Office in Tokyo is in charge, amongst other, of:

• Participating actively by conference calls to Derivatives & Financing team meetings
• Liaising regularly with Derivatives & Financing team members in Paris
• Reporting on a regular basis to the Paris Office on the activity of the Derivatives Office in Tokyo
• Ensuring fluidity and share best practices with other MLS (Markets & Liquidity Solutions) teams and other AXA IM manufacturing teams.
• Ensuring compliance of Tokyo Derivatives Office with applicable procedures

2/ Advisory to clients in Asia (mainly Japan and Hong-Kong currently)

The candidate will contribute actively to the intellectual capital of the MLS department by participating actively to the structuring (in relationship with Structuring teams), development and set up of new investment ideas and innovative solutions to mitigate risk and/or enhance yield of investments for AXA IM clients in Asia.

This would involve:

• Delivering top quality and high added value structuring advice to clients
• Pushing new derivatives-based ideas
• Presenting to clients and implementing innovative solutions to hedge their balance-sheet, reduce regulatory capital or enhance return in clients' portfolios
• Identifying and implementing market opportunities and tactical trades

3/ Execution of derivatives for clients in Japan and Asia (currently mainly Hong-Kong)

The role would also consist in actively monitoring existing derivatives portfolios and executing new derivatives strategies. This would involve, amongst other,

• Structuring, pricing and executing derivatives on all types of underlying (including Interest Rate, Equity, FX, Credit)
• Monitoring key risk and markets indicators
• Proactively monitor market conditions and propose restructurings to the client
• Attend quarterly reporting and other ad hoc meetings and calls with the client on all derivatives related issues, present and explain derivatives strategies.
• The role also includes operational tasks such as: booking trades, drafting term sheets, verifying valuations, etc.

4/ Development of Derivatives business in Asia with third party investors

It is anticipated that, as part of this role, the right candidate would contribute to develop Derivatives & Financing business with third party investors by

• Participating actively to marketing of Derivatives Overlay offer in Asia
• Participating actively to events/meeting organized in Tokyo by Distribution team
• Circulate minutes of meetings/calls with Client Group and clients
• When required for new business prospects, participating in internal governance meetings like pricing committees and new product committees

5/ Enhancement of Derivatives investment processes and tools

The role would also require to :

• Maintain efforts to industrialise and secure Front to Back Derivatives & Financing processes
• Contribute to the enhancement Derivatives operational and risk analysis tools (this would involve setting up new reports to better analyse risks, and monitor clients derivatives portfolios)
• Set up new pricers, and rationalize existing ones (and market data) with support from Quant team
• Participate actively, in coordination with Legal and Risk teams, to negotiations of new ISDA/CSAs for clients
• Liaise with Derivatives & Financing support teams in Asia and in Paris (including Global Markets Coordination, Middle Office, Portfolio Controller, Legal, Risk, IT, Quant teams)
• Participate actively to infrastructure projects in Asia, liaising with Global Markets Coordination, Legal, Operations teams and Client Relationship Managers

Qualifications

• Strong and successful experience (minimum 10 year experience) with trading derivatives for top financial institutions (Investment banks or Asset Managers)
• High level of knowledge and understanding of various types of complex derivatives and derivatives strategies cross assets (Interest Rate, FX, Equity, Credit etc..)
• Good understanding of insurance companies' main ALM issues
• First class academic background in a numerate/quantitative discipline (PhD or MSc or equivalent)
• Attention to details, ability to work under pressure fast and accurately.
• Respectful of compliance, legal, risk and regulatory framework
• Client facing skills, with good written and oral communication skills, smooth interaction with clients
• Ability to work autonomously in a small office and to interact with team in Paris
• Team player: ability and willingness to communicate positions, ideas, to other parts of the team in an international department
• "Solutions" approach i.e. creativity capacity to integrate different skills sets (finance, legal, regulatory and accounting, quant etc.) to address the clients needs.
• English fluency
• Japanese language a plus but not absolutely necessary