M&G India | Assistant Vice President (AVP) – Leveraged Finance Research

Accountabilities/responsibilities

• This role is part of the front-office investments team and involves working closely with the onshore M&G Leveraged Finance Research team.
• This is a dual role and includes both team management and analytical contributions.
• The role has four primary areas of focus: 1) underwriting and recommending primary and secondary investment opportunities, 2) monitoring existing portfolio exposures and identifying emerging risks, 3) conducting thematic and sector research to support investment decision-making and 4) managing, mentoring and developing junior team members.
• The successful candidate will combine rigorous fundamental analysis and intellectual curiosity to develop differentiated credit views, challenge assumptions and provide actionable investment recommendations to portfolio managers and senior analysts.
• Work closely with onshore front-office leveraged finance analysts covering leveraged loans, private corporate credit opportunities, high yield bonds and other related opportunistic credit investments.
• Support the underwriting of primary and secondary opportunities, assessing business quality, industry dynamics, management execution, sponsor behaviour, financial performance and capital structure risk.
• Build and maintain detailed financial models covering earnings, cash flow, liquidity, debt capacity, leverage, covenant headroom and deleveraging pathways.
• Review credit agreements, bond indentures and intercreditor arrangements to assess security, guarantees, covenants, baskets, portability, structural subordination and lender protections.
• Participate actively in management meetings, lender presentations, sponsor discussions and due diligence calls, confidently challenging assumptions and testing the investment thesis.
• Prepare concise, decision-useful investment memos that clearly articulate the thesis, catalysts, key risks, downside protection, relative value and recommendation.
• Monitor portfolio investments continuously and act as the first line of defence in identifying deteriorating credit quality, liquidity pressure, covenant monitoring and refinancing risk.
• Conduct sector and thematic research to identify structural trends, vulnerable business models and attractive risk-adjusted opportunities ahead of consensus.
• Assess investments through an ESG lens, evaluating governance, sustainability and reputational factors that may affect long-term credit performance.
• Drive automation and enhancement of research tools and processes using Excel, Python, VBA, Power BI or other analytical technologies.
• Train, mentor and develop junior analysts through technical review, constructive challenge and continuous coaching.
• Reports to: Vice President – Private Markets Research

Requirements

• Knowledge, Skills, Experience & Educational.
• Deep understanding of leveraged finance, corporate credit and capital structures, including leveraged loans, high-yield bonds and private credit instruments.
• Good financial-statement analysis and modelling capability, including the ability to normalise EBITDA, identify adjustments and distinguish accounting earnings from sustainable cash generation.
• Strong understanding of credit agreements, bond indentures, covenant packages, security structures, intercreditor terms and restructuring or recovery mechanics.
• Proven ability to synthesise complex quantitative and qualitative information into decisive, well-supported investment recommendations.
• Ability to build trusted relationships, understand stakeholder priorities, communicate proactively, and align offshore delivery with onshore business expectations.
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to defend recommendations under rigorous scrutiny from senior stakeholders.
• High ownership, attention to detail and resilience, with the ability to deliver high-quality work under tight transaction timelines.
• Demonstrated ability to mentor junior analysts and raise analytical standards across a research team.
• Advanced Microsoft Excel skills and proficiency in Bloomberg and corporate credit research platforms.
• 9 - 12 years of relevant experience in leveraged finance, high-yield or loan research, private credit, credit underwriting, investment banking, rating advisory or a related discipline.
• Prior experience in managing highly effective teams is preferred.
• Demonstrable track record of underwriting complex credits and influencing investment, underwriting or risk decisions.
• Experience analysing sponsor-backed borrowers and event-driven transactions across multiple sectors and jurisdictions.
• Prior experience working directly with portfolio managers, investment committees or senior credit professionals is strongly preferred.

M&G plc

M&G traces its origins to 1931, when it launched one of the first unit trusts in the United Kingdom. It became a separate listed company in October 2019, when Prudential plc completed the demerger of M&G plc and its shares were admitted to the main market of the London Stock Exchange. The group is based in the UK and manages savings and investments for retail and institutional clients. In India it operates through M&G Global Services Private Limited, set up in 2003, with offices in Powai in Mumbai and Viman Nagar in Pune. The India unit works with colleagues worldwide on business transformation, digital capability and operations. M&G plc itself does not offer financial services in India.

Finance hiring is mainly in Mumbai, with one treasury-systems role in Pune. Postings cover fund accounting oversight for private and public assets, balance sheet accounting, bond reporting, finance consolidation, treasury support on Kyriba, investment compliance, leveraged finance research and private markets research. Seniority runs from manager to vice president and head of function. The consolidation roles ask for a qualified CA with investment-industry experience (six years for one role and fourteen for the senior one), while others prefer CFA, CA, MBA Finance or FRM.

• Industry: Savings and investments: asset management, life and pensions, and wealth, with a focus on public and private markets
• Headquarters: London, United Kingdom (listed on the London Stock Exchange)
• In India: M&G Global Services Private Limited, established in 2003, with offices in Mumbai (Powai) and Pune (Viman Nagar) serving as the group's innovation and digital hub