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What is the role of an investment officer in a holding company?

​By Mansour Baker, SHRM-CP

Posted  01 August 2020

The Investment Officer is responsible for reviewing and managing the subsidiaries’ performance, achieving integration and synergies where possible and assisting in enhancing sales of subsidiaries. His/her role also includes supervising the execution of all group treasury, corporate finance, and financial risk management activities.

Exhibit 1

Functional Responsibilities for the Investment Team

Key Accountabilities

Review and management of performance of subsidiaries

• Assists the Subsidiaries’ Management in developing strategies
• Reviews and provides approval of business plans, budgets, investment plans, performance plans, senior resource plans, senior succession plans for all subsidiaries
• Supervises monitoring and control of performance of subsidiaries’ operating budgets versus plan, identifying key areas of variance
• Makes recommendations regarding corrective actions, validates action plans for change and monitors their implementation
• Reports to the Board on performance of subsidiaries
• Supervises the review of growth project appraisals of subsidiaries and the evaluation against corporate strategy
• Provides inputs for business planning, operating budgets and KPIs for the company, subsidiaries and affiliates

Integration of subsidiaries and realization of synergies

• Identifies subsidiaries for integration and potential synergies between subsidiaries
• Reviews and validates the plan to execute and control integration of subsidiaries
• Reviews and validates the plan to realize synergies between subsidiaries
• Reviews and validates business cases for integration and the realization of synergies
• Coordinates with the subsidiaries and team to implement the integration, provide post integration assistance and monitor KPIs

Sales enhancement of subsidiaries

• Assists in the formation of joint sales teams across subsidiaries that serve same clients
• Sets targets and encourage providing 1-stop-shop solution to key clients
• Drives sales efforts of similar solutions to clients
• Forms partnership with client accounts for providing services/products, materials, and equipment

Group Treasury & Corporate Finance

• Reviews and validates annual cash flow projections
• Evaluates and validates capital needs and ensure the activities required to acquire funding from financial institutions are undertaken, and that funding costs are optimized
• Evaluates company’s investment returns against the plan and the financial objectives set for by the CEO and the Board

Group Risk Management

• Defines risk control strategy in consultation with the Board
• Reviews and validates action plans to manage risks, including operational, financial, corporate & reputational risks
• Reviews and validates measures of risks, and the analysis for causes and implications
• Works with the Business Development Department to evaluate the risks (financial and otherwise) of potential investments and maintain a risk balanced portfolio of investment opportunities

Organizational Relationships

• Keeps CEO and members of the Investment Committee informed as to functional activities
• The focal point for all the subsidiaries’ CEOs, he/she regularly consults with, advises, and informs them on matters of performance management, integration and sales enhancement objectives and business growth, and reviews business opportunities

Reporting

• Oversees the preparation and generation of subsidiaries monthly and quarterly financial performance reports of actual results vs. budget and comparison to the previous year 
• Highlights deviations from the original budget and raises questions to top management of the subsidiaries for clarification and justification
• Presents consolidated performance reports of subsidiaries to the company board of directors for review 

Qualifications

• Minimum 10 years of relevant experience with at least 5 years in a senior management or similar role 
• Bachelors (Masters preferred) degree in Finance 
• CFA certification and MBA in business administration is preferable
• Demonstrates expertise in financial risk management
• Successful track record in the integration of companies and demonstration of substantial value
• Strong leadership and team-building skills

Technical Competencies

The below are technical competencies that are closely aligned with the key accountabilities:

Financial Analysis

• The ability to analyze financial statements and data to provide insights about the financial performance and position of the organization over time and in comparison.

Business Planning

• The ability to analyze business trends, implications, and options to devise holistic and plans.

Budgeting

• The ability to compile, formulates, present and execute a budget over a specific period, as well to monitor the use of expenditures.

Financial Reporting

• The ability to prepare financial reports and financial statements using appropriate regulatory requirements on the organization’s operations and financial conditions (including quality and sustainability reporting, customer profitability).

Marketing

• The ability to source, identify and assess current business and new business opportunities for market penetration.

Business Performance

• The ability to monitor, evaluate and quantify business performance, for a defined period, which may include planned sales volumes and revenues, resource quantities, costs and expenses, assets, liabilities, and cash flows as well as non-financial metrics.

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