Associate Analyst, Quantitative Investment Research

Your opportunity

At Schwab, you’re empowered to make an impact on your career. Here, innovative thought meets creative problem solving, helping us “challenge the status quo” and transform the finance industry together.

We believe in the importance of in-office collaboration and fully intend for the selected candidate for this role to work on site in the specified locations.

We are looking for a Quantitative Research Associate Analyst to join Schwab Asset Management’s (SAM) Client Research and Insights Team.  The Client Research and Insights Team is part of SAM’s Portfolio Construction Solutions Team, which actively collaborates with portfolio managers, strategists, technology partners, product and sales teams. This is an excellent opportunity to transition to a front-office role on the buy-side, gaining exposure to critical aspects of investment management and portfolio construction.

The team develops and maintains quantitative models, streamlines and automates existing processes, provides actionable client insights, and produces research and thought leadership on topics such as portfolio construction, behavioral finance, and investment management. The role also involves close collaboration with many internal teams, such as the Model Risk Oversight team to ensure robust and accurate processes related to model development and oversight.  Specific functions the team is responsible for:

• Creating and contributing to unique client research
• Developing and enhancing portfolio and investment-related client and internal-facing tools
• Representing and developing our views on portfolio construction, behavioral finance research, and model portfolio design.

Key Responsibilities Include: 

• Supporting client-facing teams by conducting research on behavioral finance principles and how they influence investment decision-making.
• Actively developing, maintaining, and improving investment analysis software and tools, with a hands-on approach to coding and implementation.
• Writing and optimizing clean, maintainable, and robust code to automate and streamline processes to ensure efficiency.
• Using data analysis skills to analyze client behavior and investment performance, ensuring insights are actionable and client friendly.
• Assisting in the preparation of publication materials, client presentations, and articles on behavioral finance and portfolio construction.
• Collaborating with portfolio strategists, financial advisors, sales and internal partners to ensure tools and solutions align with client needs.
• Translating coding outputs, technical findings, and automation results into simplified insights for diverse audiences.

What you have

Required Qualifications:

• Advanced training in Economics, Financial Mathematics, Statistics, Operations Research, Computer Science, or another highly quantitative field; Bachelor’s required, Master’s or PhD required
• 0-2 years investment research or investment management experience; understanding of investment modeling, capital market assumptions, and portfolio optimization theory; familiarity with different asset classes, investment styles, and investment vehicles
• Excellent analytical and technical programming skills (e.g., Python, R, MATLAB); comfortable querying, transforming, and analyzing large complex market datasets; ability to think outside of box and make good decisions when faced with complex or ambiguous data
• Familiarity with market data vendors (e.g., Bloomberg, Morningstar, FactSet) and portfolio analysis, risk, and optimization tools and platforms (e.g., Barra, Aladdin, Axioma).

Preferred Qualifications:

• CFA designation or progress towards designation
• PhD preferred
• Intellectual curiosity and strong problem solving and critical thinking skills
• High degree of accuracy, attention to detail, and the ability to self-audit own work
• Strong teamwork, organization, and time management skills
• Strong oral and written communication skills

In addition to the salary range, this role is also eligible for bonus or incentive opportunities