Director of Equity Research, ESG
The Team:
Morningstar Equity Research is a leading global provider of independent research on companies and industries. The team is comprised of 125 researchers with offices in Chicago, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Singapore, Sydney, and Tokyo. A long-term oriented and fundamentals-focused research and valuation methodology is deployed across coverage of over 1,500 stocks.
The Role:
The Director of Equity Research (ESG) will lead the Morningstar Equity Research department's ESG research efforts, including collaboration with Sustainalytics. The partnership between the two research organizations aims to establish clear market leadership for the Sustainalytics ESG Risk Rating and joint thought leadership in ESG investing. The Director of Equity Research (ESG) is also responsible for ensuring methodologies and processes are in place to ensure Morningstar equity analysts address valuation-relevant ESG risks in their research and ratings. The Director of Equity Research (ESG) will hire and manage a team of several analysts. The role will report to Morningstar's Head of Equity Research.
Responsibilities:
- Hire and lead a team of 5-6 ESG equity analysts.
- Lead Morningstar Equity Research's partnership with the Sustainalytics research team.
- Guide Morningstar Equity Research's contributions to ESG Risk Rating enhancements.
- Define and execute an ESG research agenda for Morningstar Equity Research.
- Oversee formal integration of ESG risk into the Morningstar Economic Moat Rating and Uncertainty Rating.
- Drive investor awareness of Morningstar and Sustainalytics ESG research.
Requirements:
- Bachelor`s degree required, CFA designation or MBA preferred.
- At least ten years of experience in equity research or a related field. Experience with ESG investing preferred.
- Prior people management and project management experience.
- Strong financial accounting and DCF modeling skills.
- Awareness of rapidly evolving ESG investing landscape, including familiarity with diverse investor needs and competing research offerings.
- Strong grasp of why and how ESG considerations can be integrated with mainstream investing.
- Entrepreneurial mindset, appetite for experimentation, and experience devising new business processes and organizational structures.
- Track record of devising and implementing hiring and onboarding processes optimized for long-term business success.
- Superior written and verbal communication skills, including an ability to comfortably speak to large audiences and senior leadership of clients and prospects.
- Comfortable making decisions under tight deadlines with incomplete information.
- Excellent time management skills and able to prioritize efforts for maximum business impact.
- Adept at navigating competing priorities across business lines, regions, and stakeholders.
- A commitment to Morningstar values and the ability to demonstrate these values both internally and externally to clients.