At American Equity Investment Life Holding Company, we think of ourselves as The Financial Dignity Company. Our policyholders work with independent agents, banks and broker-dealers through our wholly-owned operating subsidiaries, to choose one of our leading annuity products best suited for their personal needs to create financial dignity in retirement. We remain steadfast in our commitment to quality products, excellent customer service, integrity, safety and delivering on our promises to our policyholders. Our success comes from hiring people who embody the beliefs that drive our unique, energetic, fast-paced and caring culture of collaboration, ownership and innovation.
We currently fund over half a million retirements nationwide, and have been headquartered in West Des Moines, Iowa, for over twenty-five years, with satellite offices slated to open in 2022 in Charlotte, NC, and New York, NY. We are a NYSE-listed company and maintain an “excellent” rating from AM Best. Our company has over $57 billion in assets, 26,000 active agents and over 800 employees.
GENERAL PURPOSE OF THE JOB:
The Counsel – Investments is responsible for providing subject matter expertise and in-house legal advice and guidance to support a wide range of institutional investment transactions. The incumbent will work with the investment team on all aspects of a transaction, including due diligence, negotiating transaction documents, and providing legal advice, coordinating with cross-functional teams within the company. The ideal candidate will be located in New York City.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES:
- Serve as key attorney on various investment transactions including private/structured credit, private equity, and infrastructure, leaning into these transactions in order to gain expertise to ultimately lead individual transactions.
- Advise investment teams on legal risks associated with underlying industries included in structured and specialty finance transactions.
- Work collaboratively with the investment team to develop capital efficient transaction structures that can be used across several asset classes.
- Key tasks will include researching regulatory limitations and risks associated with specific transactions, coordinating due diligence reviews of third party managers, drafting and reviewing transaction documents, coordinating closings, and performing ongoing oversight of third-party managers.
- Assist other legal team members with non-disclosure and vendor agreements as needed.
- Partner with internal stakeholders including investment operations, portfolio management and investment accounting on all aspects of the transaction execution process.
- Provide objective, thorough, timely and well-researched legal advice and counsel to executive leadership, including assessment of the legal opportunity and risks of various transactions and courses of action.
- Partner with internal compliance and outside counsel to address substantive legal, regulatory, and business issues as they arise.
- Maintain industry knowledge of the current legal landscape; remain abreast of changes to applicable laws and regulations; effectively evaluate impact to business operations; and, communicate appropriate actions in a timely manner.
- Perform other related work as assigned.
SUPERVISORY RESPONSIBILITIES:
Direct Reports: None.
General Description of Indirect Reports (2 and 3-downs): None
EDUCATION AND/OR EXPERIENCE:
- Juris Doctorate degree from an ABA accredited law school
- At least five (5) years of relevant transactional experience with a major law firm or in house at a financial institution.
CERTIFICATES, LICENSES, PROFESSIONAL DESIGNATIONS:
- Admission to the bar of at least one jurisdiction in the United States required
- License to practice law in the State of New York preferred
KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS AND ABILITIES:
- Extensive experience in any combination of lender side private credit, structured finance, specialty finance, LP side private equity, and infrastructure investments
- Ability to manage all aspects of a transaction, including negotiation, due diligence, management of outside counsel, and support of internal constituencies such as accounting, tax, risk, and operations
- Excellent negotiation and drafting skills; sound business judgment
- Ability to act as a trusted advisor to senior leadership and colleagues while demonstrating expertise, innovation, bold thinking and integrity
- Clear understanding and adherence to ethical principles, company values, code of conduct and policies.
- Strong customer service orientation
- Effective verbal and written communication skills
- Strong presentation skills; ability to effectively present information and respond to questions.
- Ability to work cooperatively and successfully with cross-functional teams and other outside third parties
- Strong organizational and planning skills
- Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office Suite
- Ability to define problems, collect data, establish facts, and draw valid conclusions
In addition to the foregoing core skills and talents, the ideal candidate is someone who is flexible and excited about starting a role that is largely undefined and that can look different on a daily basis. There is ample room for growth in this role, whether it is learning new asset classes, becoming proficient in investment operational issues, or additional exposure to senior management.
https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/view/3279338623/?refId=WrlWIgSrSZesvQ36xvjQ2g%3D%3D
