Firm Overview:
H.I.G. Capital is a leading global private equity investment firm with $65 billion of assets under management. The H.I.G. family of funds includes private equity, growth equity, real estate, debt/credit, lending and BioHealth. We align ourselves with committed management teams and entrepreneurs and help build businesses of significant value. Our team of over 500 investment professionals has substantial operating, consulting, technology, and financial management experience, enabling us to contribute meaningfully to our portfolio companies. We invest in companies throughout the U.S., Europe, and Latin America have offices in Miami, New York, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Stamford in the U.S., and affiliate offices in London, Hamburg, Luxembourg, Madrid, Milan, and Paris in Europe as well as Bogotá, Mexico City and Rio de Janeiro in South America. Our funds invest in many types of transactions, including, leveraged buy outs, distressed debt, venture capital and real estate.
Credit Platform:
H.I.G. Capital’s credit platform has invested in credit assets globally across multiple market cycles since inception and has been expanding rapidly. The Credit Platform continues to grow rapidly with multiple new fund structures in the pipeline. The Credit Platform has been actively investing in CLOs/structured products, direct loan originations, distressed/stressed debt and distressed-for-control investments with both private equity firms and non-sponsor companies. A differentiated, value-added strategy and leading position in the lower to middle market has resulted in strong, consistent returns and has established H.I.G. as a market leader in the credit markets.
The growing credit platform includes interesting and complex fund structures including a publicly traded business development company (BDC), traditional closed-ended private credit funds, hybrid funds, evergreen funds as well as custom-tailored separately managed accounts. We also expect to expand into more liquid and open-ended structures in the near future. Our fund structures are sophisticated and employ many intricate features and characteristics including leverage through a multitude of structures (subscription lines, ABLs, TRS), multi-jurisdiction and multi-currency vehicles, and tax structuring vehicles including blockers, season-and-sell entities and tax-treaty vehicles. Our funds are complicated – creating a dynamic and fast-paced environment in which there are opportunities to continually learn, grow and advance in your career and continuously work with some of the brightest and most successful professionals in the small and midcap markets.
Role Overview:
We are currently seeking an Assistant Controller to join the accounting team of our Credit Platform based in our Coral Gables office. The successful candidate will be joining in a senior capacity to manage and oversee several direct lending funds (WhiteHorse strategy), including managing both a local and offshore team as well as the fund administrator. The candidate will be working with complex fund structures and investments in both Europe and the U.S. and with several deal teams. While the funds’ primary focus is on direct lending and private credit, there will be exposure to several different asset classes in this environment.
The candidate will be intimately involved in defining how the team operates on a day-to-day basis and building a successful and motivated team. The candidate will also be responsible for reviewing and approving the monthly and/or quarterly accounting close and financial reporting processes related to the candidate’s Credit Funds. The candidate will have the opportunity to lead high profile projects building out the accounting and operational infrastructure of the Credit Platform to become world class.
The selected candidate will work with teams across the organization, including the Investment, Operations, Valuation, Tax, Investor Services, Treasury, and Capital Formation Teams, in carrying out the accounting, financial, and investor reporting responsibilities of the Credit Funds. This will provide the candidate with a broad range of exposure to different aspects of the business and create great networking opportunities.
Role Responsibilities:
- Working closely with the Investment and Operations teams on a daily basis to ensure the accounting books and records are accurate.
- Train and supervise both an onshore and offshore team; Ensure teams are continually provided with challenging opportunities to expand and grow their careers; Ensure offshore personnel are a successful extension of our team and are given opportunities to grow and expand their careers.
- Research and propose potential solutions to improve process and reporting efficiency to discuss with senior team members and technology teams; Assist with the validation of any enhancements to system reports and/or implemented functionality.
- Participate in monitoring all investments and analyze the related performance; Engage directly with the investment and origination professionals to handle multifaceted inquiries.
- Responsible for the review and approval of the quarterly financial reports, compliance and investor reporting for all assigned Funds. Ensuring compliance with the Funds' governing documents as well as GAAP, credit facility, and SEC requirements.
- Assist Controllers with determining appropriate accounting decisions based on research done on new/proposed accounting guidance.
- Responsible for managing the liquidity of the Funds to assist with IRR optimization to LPs.Monitor the deal pipelines for several funds and cash availability from fund credit facilities.
- Interpret correctly and be able to review and provide feedback on fund legal agreements (PPMs, LPAs and investor letters). Model new waterfalls, management fee and carried interest calculations and other fund-specific calculations for new structures.
- Review call/distribution calculations and notices, credit line draw/paydown notices, partner capital statements and quarterly investor letters/reporting, and liaise with Investor Services team in the delivery of such to investors. Coordinate and summarize responses to periodic investor requests/questions.
- Assist in the quarterly review in conjunction with the valuation team in determining fair value of investments. Ensure changes in valuation period-over-period are supported and documented.
- Identify key drivers of Fund profitability and be able to analyze and explain actual results compared to prior projections or periods.
- Provide senior management with timely updates of periodic projections of overall performance, key Fund events as well as escalate issues requiring immediate attention.
- Plan and execute the year-end audit for assigned funds.
- Interact with Tax Team to ensure that all tax information is compiled properly.
- Assist in managing external stakeholder relationships for assigned Funds, including credit facility providers, banks and auditors.
- Handle and oversee more complex features or elements of assigned Funds, including Fund rebalancing/equalization; foreign currency hedges and derivatives ; asset-based line borrowing base calculations; and carried interest clawback and IRR sensitivity analyses.
- Assist with special projects and internal ad-hoc requests and undertake broader team and/or office initiatives.
Requirements & Qualifications:
- Takes full ownership and accountability of work product and leads by example in areas of attitude, attention to detail, urgency, process improvement and quality of work.
- Effective and self-motivated problem solver – demonstrating strong critical reasoning, analytical and detail-oriented attributes; Be able to think “out of the box”.
- Superior planning and organizational skills.
- Seasoned manager of people and processes with an ability to cultivate, maintain and motivate a high-performing team.
- Strong understanding of credit instruments and fund accounting concepts.
- Capable of persuasive written and oral communications by presenting complex issues and recommendations in a clear, concise and logical manner.
- Management ability – able to teach, coach, and effectively work with inhouse and offshore accounting personnel.
- Ability to interpret and analyze complex legal documents, deal structures and financial transactions.
- Positive attitude with a team player mentality – ability to “roll up the sleeves” in delivering results within tight deadlines.
- Ability to multi-task and demonstrate change agility with an evolving workload and ability to communicate upwards when competing priorities arise.
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills – both verbal and written – with an ability to build working relationships across various departments with individuals at different experience levels.
- Strong Excel skills.Macro/VBA skills – a plus.
- Undergraduate or Post-Graduate degree in Accounting required.
- 10-15 years of experience related to alternative investments in private industry (e.g., hedge fund, private equity, bank, administrator, etc.) or public accounting.
- CPA strongly preferred.
- Solid understanding of Investment Company financial reporting required.
- Experience with distressed debt, credit instruments, foreign investments, and/or originated loans – preferred.
- Knowledge or exposure to Investran and/or Virtual Portfolio Manager (“VPM”) or similar portfolio accounting system – a plus.
