CLO Sector Analyst - VP

Functional Title: Senior Research Analyst

Corporate Title: VP

Department: European CLO

Location: London

About Davidson Kempner

Davidson Kempner Capital Management LP is a global investment management firm. Founded in 1983, Davidson Kempner is headquartered in New York and has offices in Philadelphia, London, Dublin, Hong Kong, Shenzhen, Mumbai and Abu Dhabi. Our Firm invests globally and opportunistically across the capital structure, in a variety of credit and equity strategies as well as real assets. We apply our multi-dimensional, research-driven investment process to evaluate and execute a diverse range of transactions across asset classes, geographies and market cycles. We target complex, global situations where our experience and expertise can unlock value.

We bring together exceptional people from different disciplines and backgrounds who are energized by the challenges of navigating complexity. We look for people who demonstrate exceptional critical thinking skills, innate curiosity, creativity and embrace diverse viewpoints to calibrate their decisions. These differentiators make our people successful beyond a specific job at Davidson Kempner – but throughout their journey with us over many years.

About the Global Credit Team

The Global Credit team manages a range of strategies across performing, structured, and distressed credit markets. Building on Davidson Kempner’s longstanding expertise in complex credit investments, the team continues to expand its European capabilities with the establishment of a dedicated European Collateralized Loan Obligation (CLO) manager.

This initiative represents a significant growth opportunity for the Firm: a scalable platform that complements existing European corporate and structured credit strategies and broadens DK’s institutional investor relationships.

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About the European CLO Business

This initiative represents a significant growth opportunity for the Firm: a scalable platform that complements existing European corporate and structured credit strategies and broadens DK’s institutional investor relationships.

The Role

Davidson Kempner is seeking to hire a Senior Research Analyst within its to-be-established CLO business in London. The hire will report directly to the new CLO Portfolio Manager and Elizabeth Good in European Corporates. The hire will play a central role in supporting portfolio construction, analytics, and the day-to-day management of DK’s European CLO platform.

This role is suited to an experienced credit professional with relevant experience obtained from an established CLO manager or credit fund. This person will contribute meaningfully to launching and growing a CLO platform while remaining deeply engaged in the technical and analytical detail of CLO portfolio management. This will be the second key hire for the CLO platform.

Specific responsibilities include:

• Leading fundamental credit analysis of issuers within the European Broadly Syndicated Loan (BSL) and European high yield (HY) market, including preparation of detailed credit memoranda and investment recommendations.


• Covering and tracking certain BSL/HY issuers within industries (to be agreed) through financial analysis of issuers’ financial reporting.


• Developing and providing investment recommendations to the Portfolio Manager within relevant industry coverage.


• Tracking industry trends and sector themes to inform issuer coverage and investment recommendations.


• Developing and enhancing credit research best practices and analytics as the team grows; working closely with the PM to establish BSL/HY tracking and analysis templates.


• Contributing to the development of technology, data infrastructure, and workflow optimisation across the platform, including the thoughtful application of AI and automation tools to improve research efficiency, monitoring, and risk oversight.


• Supporting investor reporting and preparation of materials for roadshows and ongoing investor engagement.


• Supporting the build-out of the CLO credit research team through training and guidance the more junior research analysts on BSL credit analysis best practices.

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Profile

• The successful candidate will be a technically strong performing credit analyst with a contemporary mindset and an interest in improving processes through technology and data-driven solutions.


• The candidate will have strong ability to research thematically and think laterally, to identify cross-current trends at a macro / sector level and apply to the fundamental analysis of assigned single names, then translated into actionable trade recommendations which add value or improve portfolio quality.


• They will combine an established record of fundamental credit analysis with intellectual curiosity and a desire to operate within a growing, entrepreneurial platform.

Experience and qualifications:

• Relevant experience within a credit fundamentals driven setting such as a European CLO manager platform or performing credit fund with typically 6-10 years, with meaningful exposure to current CLO trends and industry coverage.


• Strong track record of value-add through trade recommendations adopted by principals for positive total return and/or loss avoidance outcomes.


• Robust credit underwriting skills within the European BSL market.


• Advanced financial modelling capabilities, including scenario analysis and sensitivity testing at both single-name and portfolio levels.


• Familiarity with CLO portfolio management systems and analytics tools.


• Interest in and exposure to data analytics, automation, or AI-enabled research tools to enhance portfolio monitoring and optimisation.

Personal attributes:

• Highly analytical and detail-oriented, with strong ownership mentality.


• Pragmatic and collaborative, comfortable working within a lean team structure.


• Execution-focused and comfortable operating in a high-velocity trading environment.


• Curious and forward-looking, with a willingness to challenge legacy processes and improve efficiency through technology.


• Commercially aware, with disciplined judgment around risk and return trade-offs.