Client Service Research Lead

About Bridgewater

Bridgewater Associates is a premier asset management firm, focused on delivering unique insight and partnership for the most sophisticated global institutional investors.

Our investment process is driven by a tireless pursuit to understand how the world’s markets and economies work — using cutting-edge technology to validate and execute on timeless and universal investment principles.

Founded in 1975, we are a community of independent thinkers who share a commitment for excellence. By fostering a culture of openness, transparency, and inclusion, we strive to unlock the most complex questions in investment strategy, management, and corporate culture.

Explore more information about Bridgewater on our website here.

Our Culture

Bridgewater’s unique success is the direct result of our unique way of being. We want an idea meritocracy in which meaningful work and meaningful relationships are pursued through radical truth and radical transparency. We require people to be extremely open, air disagreements, test each other’s logic, and view discovering mistakes and weaknesses as a good thing that leads to improvement and innovation. It is by continually striving together for the highest levels of truth and excellence that we create meaningful work and meaningful relationships. Within this culture, Diversity and Inclusion is a top priority because it is essential to finding the best talent in the world, enabling our idea meritocracy, and creating an environment where all types of people can thrive. We have a full-time team as well as affinity networks that work on these issues - If you would like to learn more, please let your Bridgewater recruiter know.

Explore more information about Bridgewater’s culture on our website here.

About the Client Service Department

Bridgewater believes that the key to our success lies in creating meaningful, long-lasting relationships with our clients. To this end, Client Service works closely with our clients to help them not only broaden their understanding of the company’s investment process and products but also to deepen their understanding of the financial markets more generally. Over and above traditional client service organizations that focus on selling products, Bridgewater’s Client Service group operates as an advisor to clients on their entire portfolio, not just the portion under management at Bridgewater.
By providing exceptional transparency and reporting on portfolios, Bridgewater’s market outlook and performance, risk management analysis, and advisory research, Client Service helps clients solve their most pressing investment problems and plan their investment strategies. The group frequently meets with clients to discuss portfolio performance, give updates on recent research, provide guidance and training on Bridgewater’s pioneering work in such areas as risk budgeting, alpha and beta separation, portable alpha, optimal beta, currency overlay, and global inflation-indexed bond investing; and assist in developing strategies that best meet client needs.

About the Client Service Team

The Client Service Research organization acts as Bridgewater’s in-house investment advisory arm. Investment professionals in the group partner with Client Advisors to provide clients with advice, knowledge, and insights to address their most challenging investment management concerns as well as provide transparency and reporting on their portfolios. The CS Research team works on a wide range of projects from long-term strategic topics to answering client’s day-to-day questions about Bridgewater’s market outlook, strategies, performance and portfolio positions.

About Your Role

Client Service Research Leads play a vital role in the service of Bridgewater’s overall client service strategy. From their unique position at the heart of Bridgewater’s client-focused research activity, these individuals have an aerial view into our ever-evolving perspectives on world economies and markets, high-impact company-wide projects, and our investment philosophy and processes. Client Service Research Leads work closely with Client Service Research Associates, Portfolio Strategists, Client Advisors, and Bridgewater’s best & brightest investment minds, collaborate on how to handle different client-focused research or performance reporting projects, and execute on the approach by project managing, performing analyses and generating insights to help shape clients’ investment thinking or provide transparency into our performance and positions to meet clients reporting needs.

Bridgewater’s market-driven approach to client service requires our Client Service Research Leads to continually expand their understanding and knowledge of the markets. Through formal training and informal on-the-job instruction, Client Service Research Leads become well-versed in our macroeconomic investment research, portfolio construction approach, investment process & different strategies, our book of business, the investment approach of our largest, most sophisticated clients, and our production systems. Successful Client Service Research Leads will:

• Develop a holistic understanding of portfolios and portfolio management principles
• Understand the depth and breadth of Bridgewater’s economic and market knowledge as well as its pioneering work in institutional asset management and alpha and beta separation
• Contribute to Bridgewater’s world-class client service strategy through creative thinking about how to generate insights and convey key messages to our clients around our investment philosophy, strategies, performance, and outlook in the markets.
• Be able to crisply communicate investment concepts verbally and in writing to clients.
• Be able to manage a team of junior associates and help create strategies across different projects.

Interested in learning more about working at Bridgewater? Hear about the experiences of our employees here.

You will drive the following responsibilities:

• Understand Bridgewater’s book of business, related commercial strategy, and our investment thinking
• Contribute to Bridgewater’s world-class client service strategy through creative thinking about how to generate insights and convey key messages to our clients about our investment philosophy, strategies, performance, and outlook in the markets
• Strategize with Client Service Research Associates, Portfolio Strategists, Client Advisors, other Research teams & investment professionals (at times including ClOs and other Sr. Researchers) and help develop the best approach to handle client requests and enable high-quality client engagements
• Apply analytical skills, market knowledge, and an understanding of Bridgewater's investment methodology to create insights that help shape clients' investment thinking or deliver client-ready portfolio position and performance analytics, allowing our Client Advisors, Portfolio Strategists, and Chief Investment Officers to tell the Bridgewater investment story in a rich and accurate way
• Work creatively with existing methodologies and tools to identify and solve problems in how we serve clients by contributing to the creation of new tools, models, and or "machines" to automate and streamline our processes
• Manage and direct a team of Client Service Research Associates, overseeing their day-to-day work & projects
• Assist the Team Leads in visualizing the overarching team’s goals (ex: aligning resources to different projects/strategies)
• Oversee longer-term client projects and conduct deep analysis across entire portfolios

The CSRL role is a great opportunity to transition into Bridgewater. Qualified candidates will have prior experience in a related professional services environment which includes but is not limited to asset managers, investment banks, and consulting firms. We are looking for intellectually curious individuals who enjoy solving complex problems.

Minimum Qualifications

• 4+ years of prior work experience ideally in a related field.
• Bachelor’s or Master’s degree from a competitive school with a strong academic and extracurricular track record
• Demonstrated work experience in markets, investing, or consulting roles
• Ability to solve complex problems through analysis
• Aptitude for creative quantitative work involving financial and economic data
• Passionate about working with clients on their biggest challenges
• Ability to multi-task, prioritize, and organize time effectively in a fast-paced and constantly changing environment
• At least one year of prior management experience
• Strong work ethic and demonstrated ability to achieve results and drive projects to completion; strong attention to detail
• Aptitude for remaining composed and confident under pressure
• Effective written and oral communication skills
• Strong computer & Excel skills and familiarity with data analysis tools
• Effective English language written and oral communication skills

In addition, to succeed within our unique culture and work environment, individuals must demonstrate humility, innate curiosity, and openness to new ideas and approaches. Candidates must be driven, confident, and goal-oriented. All Bridgewater employees are expected to be honest, exceptionally direct, and eager to provide and receive objective feedback. Our employees constantly strive for self-improvement through feedback and self-reflection and are committed to the pursuit of excellence.

Physical Requirements

For most of our roles, Bridgewater offers remote work flexibility, with most employees required to work on campus as their principal work location, a minimum of two days (and in some cases three days) per week with the option to work offsite on other days. 

Why Choose Bridgewater? 

It takes all types to make Bridgewater great. We seek a diverse group of innovative thinkers and push them to engage in rigorous and thoughtful inquiry. We develop people through an honest examination of their abilities and performance, enabling personal growth and professional development. We strive to provide you opportunities that will challenge you and unlock your potential. 

You will grow with us by:

• Participating in formal and informal on-the-job training
• Developing a holistic understanding of portfolios and portfolio management principles
• CSRLs become well-versed in our investment approach, process, strategies, and book of business

One of our core priorities at Bridgewater is to enable our employees to build a great life and career, and we believe our benefits are an important extension of that philosophy. As such, currently Bridgewater offers a competitive suite of benefits including:

• Health insurance, including vision and dental coverage, with 100% of premiums paid for by Bridgewater
• Global telemedicine access (24/7 access to licensed doctors)
• Paid time off, including fully paid parental leave and a competitive PTO package
• An engaged and active community that includes many company events, affinity networks, and extracurricular interest groups

Compensation Band:

• The expected annual base salary for this position is $200,000-$375,000. The total compensation package includes variable compensation in the form of a discretionary target bonus.

Bridgewater reserves the right to change its current benefits program at any time, in a manner that is consistent with applicable federal and state regulations.

This job description is not a contract and confers no contractual rights, privileges, or benefits on any applicant or potential applicant. Bridgewater has the right to change any and all terms of this job description, including, but not limited to, job responsibilities, qualifications and benefits. Nothing in this job description constitutes an offer or guarantee of employment. Please note that we do provide immigration sponsorship for this position.

Bridgewater Associates is an Equal Opportunity Employer