Portfolio Operations Associate

About the Role

The Portfolio Operations Associate is responsible for ensuring the integrity of data provided by custodian banks, prime brokers, and administrators. This role will perform various controls, audit, analytical, accounting, and reporting responsibilities for GMO’s mutual funds, hedge funds, ETFs, and separately managed accounts. The position requires ownership of assigned accounts and supporting the investment process by identifying, researching, and resolving discrepancies in investment activity. Collaboration will occur with front and middle office teams, as well as technology and client relationship teams.

Key Responsibilities

• Develop a comprehensive understanding of all assigned accounts and their underlying activity.
• Perform end-to-end reconciliation of holdings, cash, and security transactions against custodian banks; proactively investigate and resolve complex accounting and custody discrepancies while communicating effectively with investment teams.
• Conduct daily and monthly NAV validation by comparing GMO-calculated net assets with those reported by fund administrators.
• Monitor and report cash availability and overdraft positions to GMO’s Cash Desk and FX teams in a timely manner.
• Partner with the Pricing team and fund administrators to research, escalate, and resolve security valuation issues.
• Produce accurate and timely client-specific and ad hoc reporting, ensuring all outputs meet quality assurance standards.
• Proactively track and follow up on all outstanding issues with custodians; maintain full ownership through resolution and identify opportunities to prevent recurrence.
• Communicate clearly with internal stakeholders to highlight and escalate discrepancies that may impact investment decisions.
• Collaborate with the Data Management team to investigate and resolve data integrity issues.
• Work closely with all teams across Operations at GMO to ensure reconciliation items are resolved timely.
• Contribute to cross-functional initiatives and ad hoc projects at the firm.

Additional Responsibilities May Include

• Supporting data integrity initiatives, including system and database reviews.
• Assisting with onboarding and implementation of new systems.
• Contributing to process improvement efforts across the team and broader organization.
• Participating in SOC1 audit activities.

Requirements & Tech Stack

• Relevant college degree or commensurate industry experience.
• 0-2 years of relevant experience; fund accounting a plus.
• Derivatives and other asset class experience preferred.
• Experience with BlackRock Aladdin a plus.
• Experience with FIS’s Data Integrity Manager a plus.
• Strong analytical skills.
• Self-motivated with proven ability to work effectively on a team.
• Proficiency with Microsoft Word and Excel is required.
• Microsoft Office programming skills are a plus.
• Familiarity with generative AI tools (e.g., MS Copilot, ChatGPT, Claude) and prompt engineering.