Senior Corporate Action Associate (Voluntary Team)

This position will follow our hybrid work model; we expect the selected candidate to work 2-3 days a week at our Southfield, MI, corporate office.

Job Summary:

You will be responsible for responding to inquiries and processing while balancing and reconciling client and firm positions related to highly complex corporate actions. These actions may include domestic and foreign issues and can be either "voluntary" (such as exchange offers, election mergers, tenders, and rights exercises) or "mandatory" (such as dividend and interest allocations, reverse splits, mergers, plan of reorganizations, sale/liquidation of Unit Investment Trusts, and class action lawsuits). The role requires the interpretation of legal materials to complete the process and may involve providing training, guidance, and assistance to other associates. Extensive interaction with internal and external contacts is necessary to identify, research, and resolve problems.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities:

• Determines required actions and processes by reading affected companies' legal/regulatory documents/materials.

• Ensures Financial Advisors (FAs) are notified about corporate actions affecting their clients.

• Processes complex international mandatory and/or voluntary corporate action events

when applicable and receives and processes client elections (instructions).

• Provides answers and information to highly complex or unusual client inquiries independent of the supervisor, with the Firm held liable for this information.

• Research highly complex or escalated client issues and respond on behalf of the Supervisor/Manager where appropriate.

• Updates client and firm accounts.

• Handles a high volume of telephone, fax, and email inquiries from Branch and Home Office associates regarding past and current corporate actions.

• Can perform essential duties of a Corporate Actions Associate.

• Leads the work of Corporate Action Associates and provides cross-training, mentoring, and coaching.

• Actively participates in User Agreement Testing (UAT) for systems and new process implementation. Involved in all aspects of testing, including internal audit, troubleshooting, and suggested solutions.

• Assists with special projects as assigned.

Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities:

Knowledge of:

• The securities industry is related to job responsibilities, departments, and divisions.

• Products and concepts relating to the financial services industry, including financial instruments, financial management, and cash and capital principles.

• Diverse corporate action events and how they impact clients and the firm.

• Claims, 180 Liability Notices, and transformations.

• Foreign currency conversions.

• Double Taxation Agreements (DTAs).

• Corporate actions department procedures, systems (XSP, SIS, DTC, Euroclear), and concepts.

• General office practices and procedures.

Skill in:

• Interpreting stock records, including fails and their impact on clients and the firm.

• Processing corporate actions in international markets.

• Using Microsoft Office applications to produce correspondence, reports, electronic communications, spreadsheets, and databases at an intermediate to high level.

• Effectively handling client inquiries, ensuring appropriate follow-up, and taking a proactive service approach whenever possible.

• Taking independent and prompt action to exceed customer needs and ensure client satisfaction.

• Effectively balancing customer and organization needs when a conflict or challenging problem is to be resolved.

• Analyzing operational processes and identifying opportunities for improvement.

• Updating and maintaining procedures on an ongoing basis.

• Operating standard office equipment.

Ability to:

• Process highly complex financial transactions in an accurate and timely manner.

• Perform a variety of highly complex or highly technical tasks.

• Demonstrate mental agility; identifying connections between issues; quickly understands, orients to, and learns new assignments.

• Communicates clearly, concisely, and diplomatically, both orally and in written form; consistently demonstrates excellent listening skills.

• Exercise sound, independent judgment and determine required actions by reading and interpreting the highly complex legal documents or written correspondence furnished by the affected company, depositories, or Information Agents.

• Establish and maintain effective working relationships at all levels of the organization.

• Coach, train, and mentor by providing positive and constructive feedback in a forthright manner, articulating behaviors and actions contributing to performance, explaining, providing instructions, and demonstrating processes or activities in a way that results in quick improvements.

• Resolve highly complex "out of balance" records and assignments with frequently changing priorities in a fast-paced environment.

• Consistently maintain composure under pressure.

• Proactively identifies and acts on opportunities to perform tasks outside of one's area of responsibility to assist the team or the department.

• Identify potential functional improvements to processes and services provided.

• Attend to detail while maintaining a big-picture orientation.

• Work in a structured, team-oriented environment with peaks in work volume.

• Be open to change and to considerable variety in the workplace.

Educational/Previous Experience Requirements:

• Bachelor's Degree and two (2) years' experience in Corporate Actions, Financial Services, or related fields.

~or~

• Any equivalent combination of education, experience, and/or training approved by Human Resources.

Licenses/Certifications:

• None Required.