Leveraged Finance Research – Associate Director in London

At M&G, our purpose is to give everyone real confidence to put their money to work. With a heritage dating back more than 175 years, we have a long history of innovation in savings and investments, combining asset management and insurance expertise to offer a wide range of solutions. Our two distinct operating segments, Asset Management and Life, work together to provide access to balanced, long-term investment and savings solutions.

The Leveraged Finance Research Analyst plays a key role in delivering high-quality research, analysis and insights that support investment and credit decisions for new and existing investments. The role focuses on assessing leveraged finance and private credit investments, monitoring market developments and producing clear, accurate analysis to support informed investment decision-making. Working closely with other senior analysts, fund managers, originators and stakeholders across the private and public market business, the role combines analytical expertise with sound judgement to deliver timely, reliable outputs.

Key Responsibilities for this Role:

• Evaluate new and existing leveraged loan and direct lending investments, considering financial performance, capital structures, and credit quality and risk.
• Research companies and sectors, review due-diligence materials and identify the information most relevant to an investment decision.
• Build and maintain financial models covering historical performance, forecasts, sensitivities, liquidity, debt capacity, leverage and covenant headroom.
• Research, assess and present relevant ESG considerations.
• Attend company management meetings and presentations, preparing focused questions and evaluating the information provided.
• Prepare clear written investment submissions and present recommendations to the credit committee.
• Review legal documentation as part of the investment-analysis process.
• Present in credit committee meetings and respond constructively to challenge.
• Monitor a portfolio of existing investments and provide timely credit-event updates to fund managers.
• Analyse existing investments and make evidence-based purchase, hold or sell recommendations.
• Build trusted relationships with other credit analysts, fund managers, investment teams and other internal and external stakeholders.
• Work alongside, support and help train junior members on the team.
• Support continuous improvement initiatives that enhance research quality, efficiency and risk management.
• Ensure all activities are delivered in line with applicable policies, procedures and regulatory requirements.

Key Knowledge, Skills & Experience:

• Demonstrable years of experience in leveraged finance, high yield corporate credit, direct lending or a closely related investment discipline.
• Deep knowledge of sponsor backed corporate credit and capital structures across multiple sectors and jurisdictions, including leveraged loans, high-yield bonds and private credit instruments.
• Proven track record to convert complex financial and qualitative information into concise, evidence-based recommendations.
• Strong understanding of credit agreements, bond indentures, covenant packages, security structures, intercreditor terms and restructuring or recovery mechanics.
• Strong stakeholder management skills and the ability to influence through expertise and insight.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, including experience presenting analysis and responding to challenge.
• Ability to work independently, use initiative and exercise sound judgement within established investment and control frameworks.
• Strong organisation and prioritisation skills, with the flexibility to respond to changing market conditions and investment requirements.
• Collaborative approach, with the ability to work effectively across investment teams and other business areas.
• Advanced skills in Excel, Bloomberg, AI and relevant corporate-credit research platforms.

What we offer:

• A valuable pension scheme of up to 18% (13% made up of employer contributions and 5% employee contributions).
• Access to our Share Save and Share Incentive Plan, alongside financial wellbeing and support services.
• Enjoy 38 days annual leave (including bank holidays), with the opportunity to purchase up to five extra days.
• Our Time Off When You Need It policy gives you the flexibility to balance work and personal commitments.
• Our market-leading Inspiring Families policy includes comprehensive support and paid parental leave covering maternity, adoption, surrogacy, and paternity leave.
• Health & Protection cover includes Private Healthcare, Critical Illness cover and Life Assurance for you, with additional family options.

At M&G we strive to have a diverse workforce and an inclusive culture, underpinned by our policies and employee-led networks that offer networking, support and development opportunities for the diverse communities our colleagues represent. We welcome applications from people of all backgrounds – across gender, ethnicity, age, disability, sexual orientation and more – including neurodivergent individuals, career returners and those with military service experience. M&G is proud to be Level 3: Disability Confident Leader under the UK Government Disability Confident employer scheme, and we welcome applications from candidates with disabilities and long-term health conditions. If you would like to participate in the initiative, you will have the opportunity to indicate this on your application. We are committed to providing an inclusive recruitment process. All candidates have the opportunity to request reasonable adjustments when applying.