Leveraged Finance Research Director

About the role

NORTHWESTERN MUTUAL INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT COMPANY, LLC, located in Milwaukee, WI, is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company with over $250 billion in assets under management (AUM). The Public Investments department manages over $120 billion of total AUM and provides fixed income expertise to Northwestern Mutual and its affiliate corporations, including the Foundation and retirement plan. The Leveraged Finance team manages bond portfolios of approximately $12 billion of total AUM and almost $4 billion AUM in its 720 East CLO platform.

Responsibilities

• Lead, mentor, and develop less-experienced peers while fostering a culture of collaboration, accountability, and excellence.
• Monitor assigned industry dynamics and develop expert views on the key drivers of profitability and cash flow, as well as technological, macroeconomic, and other external risks and opportunities.
• Conduct thorough fundamental credit analysis of assigned companies and demonstrate deep issuer expertise. Analysis should include a comprehensive assessment of quantitative and qualitative factors, including financial statement analysis, financial policy, management track record, and credit ratings profile.
• Absess the relative value of issuers and securities across capital structures and relative to comparable issuers.
• Provide investment recommendations across the coverage universe based on risk-adjusted return potential, portfolio strategy, fundamental credit views, and relative value, adapting recommendations to each portfolio’s return objectives.
• Produce concise, decision-useful written research and clearly articulate credit strengths, risks, and investment views to Portfolio Managers and Traders.
• Develop and maintain productive external relationships with Wall Street analysts and strategists, credit rating agencies, independent research firms, and company management teams.

Requirements

• Experience: Minimum of eight years of experience in leveraged finance, fixed income investments, or a closely related field, with a demonstrated record of progressive responsibility and sustained success.
• The candidate should have a track record of strong investment judgment, prudent risk management, and continued growth in responsibilities and outcomes.
• Demonstrated ability to manage, mentor, and develop investment professionals. A proven record of building and leading high-performing teams and adapting effectively to evolving market conditions and organizational needs will distinguish successful candidates.
• Demonstrated command of relative value investing within a total return mandate.
• Bachelor’s degree with an emphasis in finance, accounting, economics, statistics, or a related field required. Master of Science or Master of Business Administration (MBA) preferred.
• CFA designation or progress toward attaining the CFA designation preferred.
• Strong analytical skills, including financial statement analysis, cross-sector relative value assessment, and the ability to present clear, well-supported credit recommendations for potential investment opportunities.
• Effective oral and written communication skills, with a demonstrated ability to prioritize work and manage competing demands.
• Proficient with Bloomberg, Microsoft Office, and Copilot.

Preferred Requirements

• Experience with computer programming, data analytics, or related technology tools.
• Demonstrated ability to integrate AI-enabled tools into research workflows and business processes to improve productivity, analytical depth, decision support, and knowledge sharing while maintaining appropriate judgment, controls, and data governance standards.