Investment Analyst - Portfolio Overlays and Implementation

Careers with Impact

More than one million Australians trust us with their money, and that trust shapes how we work every day. Our members sit at the centre of everything we do, guiding our decisions and the impact we strive to make.

We’re looking for people who are purpose-driven and accountable, who value inclusion and collaboration, and who are proactive in managing risk to protect our members’ long-term outcomes. In return, you’ll be part of an organisation where your work contributes to strong returns, real-world impact, and a culture that reflects the communities our members serve.

Bring your authentic and passionate self to this exceptional role #careerswithimpact

We're looking for an Investment Analyst to bring a strong quantitative research lens to our Portfolio Overlays & Implementation team. This is a genuinely varied role at the intersection of research, markets and execution — you'll work on longer-term quant research projects, and also be immersed in the short-term dynamics of trading, investigating qualitative or episodic market drivers and fund exposures.

Working with the Portfolio Manager – Global Trading and Overlays, and collaborating across the Portfolio Design Team — including Dynamic Asset Allocation, Portfolio Construction and Exposure Management — you’ll develop an understanding of fund positioning, exposures and overall fund structure. Much of what you'll be asked to do doesn't have a known answer up front, so you'll need to be genuinely comfortable finding the way to one — following a rigorous process, testing ideas, and collaborating with others to get there.

What you'll do

• Conducting applied quantitative research to support the design and implementation of the derivative overlay program
• Building and interrogating backtests to test ideas and validate approaches before they're implemented
• Understanding the derivative instruments available across asset classes (equities, bonds, currency, commodities) and identifying the right tool for a given exposure or objective
• Working end-to-end: framing a research question, sourcing and structuring data, testing, and translating findings into something that can be communicated and implemented.
• Partnering with other teams in Investment Management to understand positioning, exposures and fund structure — quant research here doesn't happen in isolation
• Applying a qualitative feel for markets alongside the quantitative work — reading market dynamics, forming views, and communicating them clearly to non-quant stakeholders
• Contributing to both long-horizon research projects and the fast-moving, day-to-day reality of trading and exposure management
• Using coding and technical tools (Python or R) to build research and analysis pipelines, and applying AI tools to accelerate research where relevant

What you’ll bring

• A genuine, demonstrated interest in quantitative research — strong grounding in quant methods, maths, physics or engineering-style thinking, and a naturally inquisitive mindset
• Experience designing and running backtests, and a solid understanding of how to interrogate and stress-test a research result
• An understanding of derivative instruments and how they're used differently across asset classes
• Comfort with ambiguity — many of the questions you'll work on don't have a known answer, so you'll need to enjoy the process of finding one
• Python or R skills, and ideally some experience using AI tools to support research and analysis
• A collaborative mindset — much of this role is about working with other teams to get to the right answer, not working in isolation
• A qualitative feel for markets, alongside the quant toolkit — and the communication skills to bring others along with your thinking
• The flexibility to move comfortably between long-term research work and short-term market dynamics, trading and exposure questions

Benefits that matter and make a difference for our employees

• Leave for those moments that matter, an additional 6 days of leave at the end of year, up to 6 days paid volunteer leave, gender neutral paid parental leave of 20 weeks, Gender Affirmation leave, reproductive health and wellbeing leave, Cultural and Ceremonial leave. Access your LSL after 3 years, take AL at half pay, and purchase up to 2 weeks additional leave (just to name a few!).
• Your Professional development matters, up to $5k per year professional development and up to 8 days professional development leave, HESTA scholarships and free access to a range of premium learning tools.
• Your health and wellbeing matters, free annual flu shots and skin checks, incredible social events throughout the year and a comprehensive employee assistance program available 24/7.
• Your financial wellbeing matters, up to 15% super, financial planning support, end of year payment for all Enterprise Agreement-covered employees, incentivised Employee Referral Program and novated lease options.

We celebrate, value and include people of all backgrounds, genders, identities, cultures and abilities. We welcome and support applications from First Nations people, physically, neuro or culturally diverse, LGBTQI+, and people of any age. We are proud to be WGEA accredited as an Employer of Choice for Gender Equity. 

We want all candidates to feel safe, included and provided with the best opportunity to thrive, if you require reasonable adjustments during your application or throughout the recruitment process, please reach out to a member of the Talent team careers@hesta.com.au and we’ll call you to discuss. 

Please note: Applications via recruitment agencies will not be accepted for this position