Fixed Income and Derivatives Trader

Manulife is a leading international financial services provider for financial advice, insurance as well as wealth and asset management, established since 1887. Our strong investment management expertise and capability has been developed over the years and spans a wide range of asset classes and geographies. We operate as Manulife across our offices in Canada, Asia, and Europe, and primarily as John Hancock in the United States.

The Asia General Account Investment function serves as the in-house investment manager for all of Manulife’s Asia Segment’s ~USD 120 billion of life insurance company assets. The team directs investment of funds backing insurance reserves amongst different asset classes and investment managers. It has direct responsibility managing over half of total Asia Segment’s assets in equities, bonds, mortgages, alternatives and derivatives and it oversees the investment management and performance of assets outsourced to Manulife Investment Management Public and Private Markets and other external managers. The team seeks to generate superior risk adjusted returns to support insurance product competitiveness and shareholder value.

The Asia General Account Trading team consists of trading professionals based in Hong Kong and Singapore that primarily supports the trading function of Manulife’s Asia General Account’s investment portfolio. The team works closely with the Fixed Income Portfolio Management team and is an integral part of Manulife’s investment process and provides market intelligence, investment hedging consultation, trade execution and counterparty management to achieve Manulife’s investment objectives.

The team is seeking an energetic team player to support the growing investment portfolio of Asia General Account Investments. Beyond supporting the Investments function, the Fixed Income and Derivatives Trader will also work closely with ALM, Products and Risk functions to achieve desired risk mitigation and investment return objectives by providing solutions and market intelligence to the various functional teams.

In addition, the Fixed Income and Derivatives Trader is responsible for the monitoring and maintenance of Manulife’s Variable Annuity Hedging (VAH) program. The VAH program is a risk monitoring program designed to manage the firm’s risk against variable annuity investment returns. The incumbent, along with the rest of the trading team, will partner with Manulife’s Toronto trading desk to monitor and rebalance the program 24/5.

Much of the work will involve making business decisions in real time. The Fixed Income and Derivatives Trader must be able to analyze the trade-offs inherent in a volatile and complex market against the desired investment and risk objectives. In this role, the incumbent will have the opportunity to learn and execute a wide variety of financial instruments and is encouraged to be creative and pragmatic to achieve best outcome for the firm and directly contribute to the company’s overall success.

Responsibilities:

• Execute fixed income (sovereigns, public credits) and derivatives trades (rates, repos, FX, futures, equity index options) for Asia General Account Investments.
• Monitor the dynamic risk exposure of the Variable Annuity Hedging programs and execute rebalancing orders (futures, IRS, equity index options).
• Manage counterparty onboarding and assess broker capabilities to ensure continued market access and liquidity to carry out Manulife’s investment and risk management objectives.
• Partner with internal stakeholders (Portfolio Managers, Insurance Lifeco teams, ALM, Risk, Compliance, Operations) to provide solutions to investment and risk management hurdles.
• Analyze market trends and share market intelligence to support the overall business.
• Develop new instruments to strengthen Manulife’s investment and risk management capabilities.
• Review and assess best execution strategy for Manulife’s investment and risk management programs.

Knowledge/Skills/Competencies/Education:

• University degree in a quantitative discipline e.g. engineering, math, science or economics / finance.
• 1-3 years of experience in a financial services environment. Experience working with derivatives products is a plus.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills to build and maintain relationships and partnerships across the organization and with external dealers / counterparties.
• Ability to think strategically by identifying potential or evolving issues and proactively develop solutions.
• Ability to combine qualitative business judgement with quantitative analysis / modelling.
• Programming ability is a plus.
• Project management experience a plus.

About Manulife and John Hancock

Manulife Financial Corporation is a leading international financial services provider, helping people make their decisions easier and lives better. To learn more about us, visit https://www.manulife.com/en/about/our-story.html.

Manulife is an Equal Opportunity Employer

At Manulife/John Hancock, we embrace our diversity. We strive to attract, develop and retain a workforce that is as diverse as the customers we serve and to foster an inclusive work environment that embraces the strength of cultures and individuals. We are committed to fair recruitment, retention, advancement and compensation, and we administer all of our practices and programs without discrimination on the basis of race, ancestry, place of origin, colour, ethnic origin, citizenship, religion or religious beliefs, creed, sex (including pregnancy and pregnancy-related conditions), sexual orientation, genetic characteristics, veteran status, gender identity, gender expression, age, marital status, family status, disability, or any other ground protected by applicable law.

It is our priority to remove barriers to provide equal access to employment. A Human Resources representative will work with applicants who request a reasonable accommodation during the application process. All information shared during the accommodation request process will be stored and used in a manner that is consistent with applicable laws and Manulife/John Hancock policies. To request a reasonable accommodation in the application process, contact recruitment@manulife.com.