Associate, BlackRock Investment Stewardship - Financials Sector

What you'd do

• Demonstrate sector expertise across financial services (banking, insurance, capital markets, consumer finance, diversified financials) and real estate (REITs), including pertaining to corporate governance, material market trends, regulatory developments, and sustainability practices
• Learn and apply BIS engagement priorities and proxy voting guidelines in order to apply consistent judgment in engagement and voting
• Partner with lead sector analyst(s) to execute engagement and voting responsibilities to further the long-term financial interests of our clients
• Prepare for, assist (and in time lead), and document engagement meetings with portfolio companies
• Conduct data gathering, benchmarking, and reporting to inform voting decisions, policy positions, and position papers that facilitate discussion with broader BlackRock audiences
• Collaborate across the team to improve policy, enhance team knowledge, and streamline business processes
• Represent BlackRock with the professionalism and gravitas required when engaging senior leadership of portfolio companies
• Monitoring policy developments relevant to covered industries and governance ecosystem to improve the quality of engagement and relevance of BlackRock's principles and guidelines
• Preparing for engagement with senior representatives of portfolio companies, including crafting memos in preparation for meetings- highlighting key data that will be useful in our engagement and stewardship efforts
• Communicating clearly, concisely and with keen attention to factual detail and regulatory and policy-based context

What they want

• An undergraduate degree in finance, economics, accounting, or other relevant fields
• A minimum of 2-4 years of experience in a financial services focused role, ideally with a demonstrated strong understanding of financial statements, corporate finance, and capital markets
• Strong verbal and written communication skills, including the ability to synthesize complex information and convey it in a clear and concise manner to senior-level audiences
• A diligent, focused, and consistent work ethic to implement while leading multiple tasks and changing priorities
• The ability to prioritize, analyze, and resolve complex issues under time pressure while maintaining consistent attention to detail
• An organized, self-reliant, and self-motivated approach to responsibilities
• A keen interest in corporate governance and material, sustainable business practices, ideally in relation to the financial services and/or real estate sectors
• Collaborative and non-competitive working style, and strong interpersonal skills demonstrating the ability to build and maintain successful relationships with colleagues across the firm and with external parties
• Proficiency using Excel, PowerPoint, Word, and other Microsoft products
• AI & LLM literacy and fluency in crafting effective prompts preferred

About BlackRock

Function Description The BlackRock Investment Stewardship team (BIS) operates across three regions – the Americas (New York, Washington DC, Wilmington and San Francisco); Europe, Middle East and Africa (London); and Asia-Pacific (Tokyo, Hong Kong, Singapore and Sydney) – and undertakes engagement with and proxy voting at portfolio companies on behalf of index clients globally. As a team of high performing specialists globally, BIS is proud of our global reach and local presence. Team Overview…