Managing Director - Municipal Sales, Trading and Underwriting

Position: Managing Director - Municipal Sales & Trading

Location: Chicago, IL (Onsite) OR New York, NY (Onsite)

The Managing Director, Head of Municipal Sales & Trading (MD) has a critical role in ensuring the efficiency, operational effectiveness and the profitability of the municipal desk on a daily basis. The MD provides strategic direction and is responsible for leading and motivating the sales team to ensure profitability of the department thereby achieving and surpassing its established revenue goals.

Responsibilities  include buying and selling of municipal securities on behalf of the firm with the intent to distribute them to our customers, the dealer community and electronic platforms in the most profitable manner; Managing the  risk of any long positions by virtue of establishing a hedge (when appropriate); Supervising the sales team by adhering to the company corporate and departmental policies, internal compliance/controls and external regulatory rules governed by FINRA, SEC and MSRB.  The MD will objectively determine customer account assignments with the intent of maximizing secondary and primary market revenues.

• Managing and overseeing the productivity and profitability of the Municipal Sales and Trading desks locally and remotely

• Develops, implements and executes short-term and long-term sales and trading business plans to increase revenue and reduce expenses
• Create, in conjunction with all team members, specific individual goals to support the business plan
• Pro-actively develops, motivates and leads the team by creating strategies and techniques to improve the breadth and level of services to the customers
• Buying and selling municipal securities within the capital limits of the firm
• Establishing and monitoring a hedge (when appropriate)
• Reviewing all municipal bond transactions
• Maintaining a business model and the willingness to adjust as needed to maintain a profitable revenue stream
• Creating and updating marketing material when needed
• Travel to establish and/or strengthen relationships with customers
• Conducts regular departmental meetings providing updates, reviewing sales activities and forecasting revenues ensuring while focusing on target goals
• Monitoring of municipal bond team’s PTO and adherence to company policy
• Assist Public Finance Department with market intelligence as needed
• Maintain, expand network of industry connections for the benefit of the firm in the areas of trading strategies, recruitment and industry trends
• Facilitating business by creating trade ideas in both the RISK and RISKLESS book
• All other duties as assigned

Requirements

• Bachelor’s degree, Finance major preferred
• Minimum of ten (10) years of related industry experience
• Minimum of ten (10) years directly managing a team of employees locally and remotely
• SIE, Series 7, Series 52, Series 53, Series 63, Series 24
• Possess thorough knowledge and understanding of all functions of the municipal bond market and risks associated with trading, including both credit and interest rate risk
• Basic EXCEL, Bloomberg and Power Point skills
• Possess the highest level of integrity, strong analytical skills, critical thinking skills and be able to work under minimal supervision
• A team player and be able to work cohesively with management, colleagues and staff
• Possess the desire to learn and implement new trading strategies, techniques and technologies
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills to effectively communicate internally and externally
• The ability to teach new/junior hires the municipal bond market
• Capable of motivating, inspiring and driving a diverse team to reach and/or exceed established individual and departmental revenue goals
• A proven record of profitable trading in the muni bond market
• Pro-actively address performance issues directly and honestly and provide an action plan when needed
• Competently trouble-shoot issues and problems and make a sound decision promptly in a fast paced environment
• Able to travel to see customers, attend company related meetings and/or industry gatherings during work hours, after work hours and/or weekends
• Self-motivated, disciplined, assertive and works well under pressure

Management Requirements:

• Quarterly updates of the business with the executive committee
• Provide updates to the President. as necessary, when RISK EVENTS are present in the market place
• Motivates and leads the team to reach and exceed established revenue goals
• Make real time decisions weighing complex circumstances under considerable time pressures
• Fosters a driven, goal‐oriented and team environment
• Conduct annual performance reviews of the municipal bond sales team, including both work effort and work results
• Analyze and evaluate account performance, with discretion to reassign underperforming accounts
• Pro-actively monitor and enforce company policy and provide actionable/reasonable consequences when violations occur
• Evaluate outside talent as possible recruits
• Hire and terminate employees as directed by the executive committee

Benefits

• Employee Profit Sharing Plan
• 401K Retirement Plan with Company Match
• Medical, Dental & Vision Insurance Plans
• Group Whole Life and Term Life Insurance Plans
• Short Term & Long Term Disability
• Pre-Tax Plans (Dependent Care, FSA, HSA, Transit & Parking)
• Critical Illness & Accident Plans
• Employee Assistance Program