Senior Associate/Vice President, Alternative Credit (Real Estate Debt Securities)

Over the last 20 years, Ares’ success has been driven by our people and our culture. Today, our team is guided by our core values – Collaborative, Responsible, Entrepreneurial, Self-Aware, Trustworthy – and our purpose to be a catalyst for shared prosperity and a better future. Through our recruitment, career development and employee-focused programming, we are committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive work environment where high-performance talent of diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives can build careers within this exciting and growing industry.

Job Description

Ares Alternative Credit Team (“Team”), based in our NYC office, is seeking an experienced and detail-oriented candidate to join the strategy team that invests in Commercial Real Estate-Backed Assets with focus on Real Estate Debt Securities, including CMBS, and other Real Estate Credit across the capital structure (“REDS Team”). The Team is highly experienced with a reputation for its sophistication, strong performance and focus on market technical analysis coupled with bottom-up fundamental analysis. The Team continues to experience significant AUM growth and manages a range of funds and accounts, including publicly traded, private and open-ended funds across a range of investment strategies.

The role being offered is an Alternative Credit Vice President or Senior Associate for the REDS Team. Working collaboratively with other REDS Team members, the role will be responsible for supporting multiple aspects of our REDS investment process. Key responsibilities include advanced underwriting and modelling, market research, due diligence, and other workstreams necessary to help guide decision-making, complete transactions, and monitor investment performance.

The nature of the Team’s investment process and dynamic environment, including regular interaction with other professionals within the Team and across Ares, necessitates that a candidate have strong interpersonal and written communication skills, a professional demeanor, and ability to adapt, along with sharp analytical skills relevant to REDS and commercial real estate.

Primary functions and essential responsibilities:

• Commercial Real Estate Underwriting, Financial Modeling & Analysis: Thoroughly analyze and underwrite potential investments via creation of comprehensive, detailed valuation analyses, scenario reviews and other materials to help guide decision-making, including reviews of historical performance, development of cashflow projection models and other investment analyses.
• Due Diligence: Support the deal team throughout the transaction’s due diligence and closing processes. Collect due diligence materials, utilize information and findings to adjust the underwriting of investments, and coordinate with third party diligence providers to facilitate the review and closing of transactions.
• Market Research: Support investment team by performing industry and market research to support investment recommendations for REDS, including local market research that informs bottom-up underwriting assumptions.  Perform ad hoc research for Team’s marketing reports and other materials.
• Investment Recommendation: Lead the preparation of Investment Committee memos and supporting analysis; ensure the quality, completeness and accuracy of the analysis that precedes investment recommendations as well as manage the overall delivery of associated materials required for decision making.
• Ongoing Investment Performance Surveillance and Reporting: Perform surveillance and reporting for our 600 position (and growing) CMBS portfolio utilizing existing infrastructure while working with broader team to enhance process.  Collaborate closely with asset management teams to analyze the operating performance of existing investments.

Qualifications:

• Minimum of 6 years of experience in CRE underwriting, investing, lending, investment banking, or a related field with an understanding of commercial real estate investment process, fundamentals, and analysis.
• Bachelor’s degree or international equivalent in Economics, Finance, Mathematics, Engineering, or related field.
• Must have strong logical and critical thinking skills with ability to analyze and summarize large amounts of information clearly, both verbally and in writing and to produce high quality, accurate, and easily digestible deliverables.
• Strong preference for prior experience underwriting and valuing all the main property types of commercial real estate.
• Strong analytical and financial modeling skills.
• Fluency with broader structured products.
• Desire and ability to work in a dynamic and fast-paced, collaborative team environment (open, trading-desk setting)
• Technical proficiency with all MS Office applications, with advanced Excel and PowerPoint skills.  Data base and data management skills and experience working with Intex a plus. 
• Dependable, versatile, highly motivated team player who fosters team collaboration and trains junior team members.

Reporting Relationships

Compensation

There is no set deadline to apply for this job opportunity. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the search is no longer active.

Salary : $190,000 - $225,000