An alternative investment specialist plays a vital role in overseeing the alternative investment activities within an asset management firm or investment company. With the rising popularity of alternative investments like private equity, venture capital, hedge funds, managed futures, and real estate, the responsibilities of an alternative investment specialist have expanded.
Conducting due diligence on alternative investment opportunities
One of the key responsibilities of an alternative investment specialist is to conduct due diligence on potential investment opportunities across different alternative asset classes. This includes assessing the investment strategy, performing risk analysis, evaluating historical performance, and estimating expected returns.
Monitoring existing alternative investment portfolios
An alternative investment specialist is also tasked with continuous monitoring of existing alternative investment portfolios within their firm. This includes tracking financial metrics, interacting with fund managers, and assessing if the investments are performing as per expectations.
Reporting portfolio performance to key stakeholders
The specialist also plays a pivotal role in compiling periodic reports around the performance of alternative investment portfolios and presenting insights to key stakeholders within the organization including the investment committee, portfolio managers, analysts etc.
Ensuring regulatory compliance
Since alternative investments have higher complexity and risks, an alternative investment specialist is also responsible for ensuring adequate operational, regulatory and compliance controls are implemented.
Coordinating with relevant teams
Finally, the specialist serves as an important coordinating link between various teams involved in alternative investing including research, operations, technology, compliance etc. Smooth collaboration between teams is critical for success.
In summary, an alternative investment specialist has multifaceted responsibilities ranging from sourcing new opportunities, monitoring existing investments, reporting portfolio performance, ensuring compliance to coordinating across teams. With the growth in alternative investing, this role is increasing in prominence across asset management firms globally.