Portfolio Manager Assistant
87% skill overlap
Your role
Performance & Attribution Analyst
Full profileYour role
- L3 salary
- Not published yet
- Upcoming dated changes
- 2 changes ahead
What the role does
A Performance and Attribution Analyst calculates the returns of funds and client portfolios and explains where they came from. The role computes time-weighted and money-weighted returns, compares them with benchmarks, breaks the difference down into allocation, selection and currency effects, and checks that published figures follow the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS). Results feed portfolio managers, client reports, marketing material and boards.
Read a day in the life
A day in the life
The analyst opens the day by checking that yesterday's valuations, transactions and benchmark returns loaded into the performance system. A large cash flow in a pension mandate distorted a daily return, so the analyst confirms the timing with fund accounting and corrects the calculation. Month end is near, which means validating returns for some two hundred portfolios: comparing them with the accounting net asset value (NAV), investigating any gap above tolerance and documenting the cause. Late morning brings a question from a portfolio manager who wants to know why an equity fund lagged its index. The analyst runs a Brinson attribution and shows that sector allocation helped but stock selection in two names hurt. After lunch the work turns to composites for GIPS: checking that new accounts entered the right composite on time and that terminated ones left it. The afternoon ends with reviewing figures for a factsheet before marketing publishes it, and with a call on a fixed income attribution model.
Levels
- L1 Starting out
- L2 Independent
- L3 Senior or specialist
- L4 Leads a team or an area
- L5 Leads the function
Full level descriptions and job titles
The EFO level names are the common scale; job titles differ between employers.
| Level | What the work looks like | Typical years | Typical job titles |
|---|---|---|---|
| L1 Starting out | Loads and checks data, produces standard return calculations and reports, and investigates simple breaks with fund accounting. Learns return methods and the performance system under supervision. | 0-2 | Banks: Analyst, Junior Analyst, Associate (asset servicing), Trainee, GraduateAsset servicers: Junior, Specialist (entry), Officer |
| L2 Independent | Owns month-end validation for a group of portfolios, runs attribution, answers portfolio manager questions and trains L1 analysts. Maintains GIPS composite records for assigned strategies. | 2-5 | Banks: Analyst / Senior Analyst, AssociateAsset servicers: Specialist, Senior Specialist, Senior Officer |
| L3 Senior or specialist | Specialist in complex attribution such as fixed income, multi-currency or multi-asset. Handles exceptions, advises on methodology and represents the function in system migrations and audits. | 5-9 | Banks: Senior Associate, AVP, Assistant ManagerAsset servicers: Senior Specialist, Expert, Team Lead (small team) |
| L4 Leads a team or an area | Manages a performance team. Owns controls over published figures, the GIPS compliance process and verification, and is the escalation point for client and regulator questions on returns. | 8-14 | Banks: VP, Manager, Senior ManagerAsset servicers: Team Lead, Manager, Head of Section |
| L5 Leads the function | Head of performance measurement for a firm or region. Sets methodology and standards, signs off GIPS compliance and aligns performance data with distribution, risk and finance. | 12+ | Banks: Director, Executive Director, Managing Director, Head of functionAsset servicers: Head of Department, Director |
Skills
Where the skill weights come from
Each role lists its skills with a tier and a weight. The weights of one role add up to 100 percent.
Source: the EFO role catalogue, built from the ESCO classification and reviewed by the editors.
The percentage is the skill's share of the role; the bars are drawn relative to the anchor skill, which is shown full.
Critical
- Performance measurement and attributionWeight 13.4%Relevant to you
- Portfolio construction and allocationWeight 8.9%Relevant to you
- Financial markets knowledgeWeight 8.9%Relevant to you
- Net asset value calculationWeight 8.9%Relevant to you
- Data cleaning and validationWeight 8.9%Relevant to you
Important and supporting skills 17
Important
- Company valuation (DCF, multiples)Weight 4.4%Relevant to you
- Derivatives and how they workWeight 4.4%Relevant to you
- Advanced Microsoft ExcelWeight 4.4%Relevant to you
- Bloomberg Terminal / market dataWeight 4.4%Relevant to you
- Fund regulation and structures (UCITS, AIFMD, US 1940 Act)Weight 4.4%Relevant to you
- Professional written communicationWeight 4.4%Relevant to you
- Descriptive statistics and distributionsWeight 4.4%Relevant to you
- Assessing the quality of sourcesWeight 4.4%Relevant to you
Supporting
- ESG frameworks and rating criteriaWeight 2.2%Relevant to you
- Risk measures and sensitivitiesWeight 2.2%Relevant to you
- Attention to detailWeight 2.2%Relevant to you
- Querying data with SQLWeight 2.2%Relevant to you
- Verbal communication and presentingWeight 2.2%Relevant to you
- Conduct and investor protection rules (MiFID II, FINRA, SEBI)Weight 2.2%Relevant to you
Useful
- Python for data analysisWeight 0.7%Relevant to you
- Working to tight deadlinesWeight 0.7%Relevant to you
- Stakeholder managementWeight 0.7%Relevant to you
Processes
The work the role takes part in.
What each process covers
- Fund accounting and NAVMain
- Portfolio and investment managementMain
- Corporate finance and dealsSupporting
- Depositary oversightSupporting
- Market risk measurementSupporting
- P&L and valuation controlSupporting
Where the role concentrates
How AI is changing the role
Return calculation, data validation and standard attribution reports are highly automated already, and AI tools now draft performance commentary and flag unusual returns.
Read the full assessment
Return calculation, data validation and standard attribution reports are highly automated already, and AI tools now draft performance commentary and flag unusual returns. Routine production work will shrink, especially in service centres. Value grows in methodology, explaining results to portfolio managers and clients, and reviewing AI-written commentary for accuracy, since published performance is regulated and audited. The World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report 2025 names analytical thinking and AI and big data among the skills employers rate most important through 2030.
Dated changes for this role
- Retail Investment Strategy: final adoption expectedRelevant to you
- AIFMD II and UCITS changes: reporting standards due 2027Relevant to you
Worth knowing
Salary snapshot
Salary figures are not published yet
The L3 salary range for this role, with its sources, will appear here when the salaries section opens.
Certifications
- CFA Program Level I
- CFA Program Level II
- CFA ESG Investing Certificate
Concepts to know
No concept linked yet
Rules, products and terms this role works with are being added to the concepts.
Neighbouring roles
Roles that need many of the same skills, by weighted skill overlap, with the skills you would need to add.
Fund Selection Analyst
87% skill overlap
Your role
Index & ETF Analyst
87% skill overlap
Your role
Investment Risk Analyst
87% skill overlap
Your role
Investment Product Specialist
87% skill overlap
To add: Product marketing and messaging
Your role
Portfolio Analyst
75% skill overlap
Your role
Do this job? Suggest a correction
Sources
Fund accountingFund accounting is the daily or periodic bookkeeping of an investment fund: recording trades, income, expenses and capital activity, pricing the portfolio and calculating the net asset value per unit. It also covers financial statements, fee calculations and reconciliations with the custodian and the transfer agent.