Jack Davey

6.30 AM

The alarm goes off. After hitting snooze multiple times, I take my dog Basil for a quick walk before getting ready for the day.

8.00 AM

Jump on the number 11 into the city. If I’m on the tram early enough, I’ll walk the last 15 minutes through Fitzroy to our office on the corner of Spring and Lonsdale Streets. This morning I snoozed for too long, so I’m squashed like a sardine to the front door.

8.30 AM

Meeting at a café close to our office for a mentoring coffee with a senior investment professional in the industry fund sector. The mentoring sessions have been arranged through the grad program and are a good time to discuss career, techniques to improve performance, and the industry etc. 

9.00 AM

Arrive at Casselden Place and catch the lift up to IFM Investors’ offices. Start the morning by checking any emails that have come in overnight before getting stuck into one of my projects - rebuilding the team’s Residential Mortgage-Backed Security (RMBS) stress testing model. IFM is an active participant in the local RMBS market. The stress testing model allows us to look at the pool of mortgages we are buying and consider the potential losses that we would suffer under a variety of different stress scenarios. This knowledge helps the Portfolio Managers determine whether the risk-return characteristics are acceptable. I also get the chance to make use of the VBA programming skills I picked up at Uni.

10.00 AM

Weekly Debt Investments Pipeline meeting takes place. This is where all members of the Australian Credit team get together and discuss opportunities that are currently in the market and deals that are actively being pursued. Each team member goes through their allocated deals to provide an update on any developments over the past week and notify of any key dates approaching, share learnings and discuss ways to best manage each investment.

10.30 AM

Social Committee morning tea. Once a month the IFM Social Committee organises a morning tea for everyone in the Melbourne office. It’s a great opportunity to catch up with the teams that I sat with during previous rotations. Insider tip – get in early before the food runs out.

11.00 AM

Working on the Credit Memorandum for an upcoming RMBS investment in which the team are considering investing. Working alongside an Associate Director in the diversified credit team, I’m putting together the cash flow modelling and summarising the key characteristics of the pool of mortgages. A lot of work on excel, but satisfying when it all comes together.

12.30 PM

Head out to lunch with fellow Super Grads from HESTA and Cbus, who are also based at Casselden Place. Since we are all in the same building, we try to catch up every few weeks for a coffee or lunch. There are a lot of good lunch spots around to choose from, this time it’s a Vietnamese restaurant close to the office.

1.30 PM

Working on a new task after lunch. It is a data analysis project for one of the Portfolio Managers that will be used when discussing a new investment vehicle with clients at the end of the month. 

3.00 PM

Sit in on a Debt Investment Committee meeting. Another member of the team is discussing an Asset-Backed Security (ABS) transaction that IFM is looking to invest in. Although I don’t need to be in the meeting, it is a valuable opportunity to listen to the Portfolio Managers and Analysts debate the merits of an investment.

4.00 PM

Back to working on the RMBS Credit Memorandum. During the afternoon I work on writing the paper itself. The Credit Memorandum looks at all facets of the investment, including, but not limited to, the structure of the transaction, an analysis of the issuer and their lending practices, an assessment of the quality of the pool of mortgages, economic outlook, valuation, and how the investment would fit within our existing portfolios and mandates.

6.00 PM

Leave the office and head home.

8.30 PM

After dinner, I get an hour or so of a mid-week study done for the CFA exam.