Research Associate, Fiscal & Government Policy

About Bridgewater 

Bridgewater Associates is a premier asset management firm, focused on delivering unique insight and partnership for the most sophisticated global institutional investors. Our investment process is driven by a tireless pursuit to understand how the world’s markets and economies work — using cutting edge technology to validate and execute on timeless and universal investment principles. 

Founded in 1975, we are a community of independent thinkers who share a commitment for excellence. By fostering a culture of openness, transparency, and inclusion, we strive to unlock the most complex questions in investment strategy, management, and corporate culture. 

Explore more information about Bridgewater on our website here. 

Our Culture 

Bridgewater’s unique success is the direct result of our unique way of being. We want an idea meritocracy in which meaningful work and meaningful relationships are pursued through radical truth and radical transparency. We require people to be extremely open, air disagreements, test each other’s logic, and view discovering mistakes and weaknesses as a good thing that leads to improvement and innovation. It is by continually striving together for the highest levels of truth and excellence that we create meaningful work and meaningful relationships. 

Explore more information about Bridgewater’s culture on our website here. 

About the Alpha Engine  

Our core mission as an organization is to understand the fundamental drivers of markets and turn that understanding into high-quality portfolios and investment advice for our clients.  We do this in three critical ways: by being fundamental, systematic, and diversified. We seek to understand the economy in a fundamental way, uncovering the timeless and universal cause-and-effect linkages that drive global markets. That understanding is implemented systematically and converted into explicit rules that can be rigorously stress-tested. Finally, we create highly diversified portfolios that are not dependent on any one source of return and can survive a wide range of economic environments.  

About the Macro Team 

The Macro Team is responsible for understanding global macroeconomic conditions, and building investment logic that relies on cause-and-effect linkages to understand how macro conditions will evolve and the associated impact on markets. The team conducts rigorous exploratory and analytical research to evolve our fundamental understanding of economic growth, inflation, central bank policy, and to integrate this understanding into Bridgewater’s systematic investment process. 

About the Role  

A successful Research Associate will be able to... 

• Have a deep understanding of fiscal and government policy, including associated political processes and accounting 
• Proactively perceive and monitor developments in policy across major economies 
• Apply a rigorously analytical approach to modeling this policy and its economic implications (technical aptitude and experience in coding is a plus) 
• Collaborate with investors both within the Macro team and across the department to translate this understanding back to our investment process 

You will drive the following responsibilities: 

• Build, maintain, and consistently refine quantitative models of government spending, taxation, and transfers. 
• Conduct research on how these policies affects economies and markets. 
• Work closely with investors to integrate this understanding into trading systems.

You will be a click for the role if you: 

• Are, or have a strong desire to be, an expert in fiscal policy. 
• Are curious about macroeconomics. 
• Enjoy conducting deep, rigorous research, building models, and synthesizing insights in high-quality research reports. 
• Are analytical, highly logical, and structured in your thinking and verbal/written communication. 
• Are both assertive and open-minded, and willing to assert your views while fully appreciating what you don’t know. 
• Hold a high degree of pride, personal responsibility, and ownership in your work. 
• Are able to consistently step back and improve your way of operating, and are open to receiving and giving quality feedback. 
• Thrive in a collaborative environment. 

Interested in learning more about working at Bridgewater? Hear about the experiences of our employees here. 

Minimum Qualifications: 
We think the Research Associate with the best chance of succeeding will have the following qualifications: 

• Strong analytical capabilities 
• 4-year degree from an accredited undergraduate institution 
• 2-5 years of professional experience in fiscal/government policy analysis or economic/financial research 
• Deep levels of fiscal subject matter expertise 

Physical Requirements  

For most of our roles, Bridgewater offers remote work flexibility, with most employees required to work in our Westport office a minimum of two days (and in some cases three days) per week, with the option to work offsite on other days. 

Why Choose Bridgewater? 

It takes all types to make Bridgewater great. We seek a diverse group of innovative thinkers and push them to engage in rigorous and thoughtful inquiry. We develop people through an honest examination of their abilities and performance, enabling personal growth and professional development. We strive to provide you opportunities that will challenge you and unlock your potential. 

Compensation and Benefits 

The wage range for this role is $175,000 - $260,000 inclusive of base salary and discretionary target bonus. The expected base salary for this role is between 70% - 90% of this wage range.

One of our core priorities at Bridgewater is to enable our employees to build a great life and career, and we believe our benefits are an important extension of that philosophy. As such, currently Bridgewater offers a competitive suite of benefits including: 

• Health insurance with 100% premium covered and access to additional concierge medical services 
• 401(k) plan with generous employer match 
• Paid time off, including fully paid parental leave and a competitive PTO package 
• Workplace flexibility and access to back up childcare 
• Financial assistance for family building support, including adoption and egg freezing 
• Workplace wellness, including on-site gyms, free meals and healthy snacks, and meditation rooms 
• An engaged and active community that includes many company events, affinity networks, and extracurricular interest groups. 
• For a full list of Bridgewater benefits, click here. 

Bridgewater reserves the right to change its current benefits program at any time, in a manner that is consistent with applicable federal and state regulations. 

This job description is not a contract and confers no contractual rights, privileges, or benefits on any applicant or potential applicant. Bridgewater has the right to change any and all terms of this job description, including, but not limited to, job responsibilities, qualifications and benefits. Nothing in this job description constitutes an offer or guarantee of employment. Please note that we do provide immigration sponsorship for this position. 

Bridgewater Associates, LP is an Equal Opportunity Employer 

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Last updated on Aug 16, 2024