Associate Vice President, Financial Crime Compliance, APAC
Ares Management
Over the last 20 years, Ares’ success has been driven by our people and our culture. Today, our team is guided by our core values – Collaborative, Responsible, Entrepreneurial, Self-Aware, Trustworthy – and our purpose to be a catalyst for shared prosperity and a better future. Through our recruitment, career development and employee-focused programming, we are committed to fostering a welcoming and inclusive work environment where high-performance talent of diverse backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives can build careers within this exciting and growing industry.
Job Description
Summary:
The Ares Legal & Compliance Department oversees and manages Ares’ global Legal, Regulatory and Compliance functions and programs. Under the leadership of the Global Chief Compliance Officer, the Compliance and Regulatory functions are comprised of teams that operate collaboratively with a global focus, including Regulatory Compliance, which oversees all global regulatory matters including the Advisers Act, Investment Company Act and FINRA; European and Asia Pacific Compliance, which oversees region-specific compliance and regulatory matters, including with laws and regulations in Hong Kong; Corporate Compliance, which administers global policies and central compliance and oversight functions; and Financial Crimes Prevention, which oversees Ares’ adherence to financial crimes-related rules and regulations.
Ares is seeking an experienced, highly organized and proactive AVP to join the Financial Crimes Prevention (“FCP”) team to facilitate and support the Know Your Customer (“KYC”) processes of investors and investee companies. This individual will be responsible for acting as an Asia Pacific regional financial crime subject matter expert and will work closely with the global compliance team in support of the development of the global and Asia Pacific regional FCP compliance program.
The successful candidate should be a self-motivated individual who is a competent and passionate compliance professional with a desire to excel and appreciate the exposure and challenges that are provided by the growth and expansion of Ares businesses in the Asia Pacific region and reflective of the rapidly changing regulatory and compliance environment. Individuals comfortable in a fast-paced environment will be best suited for the role.
Primary Functions and Essential Responsibilities:
- The AVP will be responsible for the execution of KYC processes in line with the FCP Program requirements, inclusive of Asia Pacific jurisdictional requirements.
- The individual will be primarily responsible for review and analysis of documentation, screening results, and other information obtained regarding the investor’s and investee companies’ structure, business activities, source of wealth and funds, and other risk factors to perform a comprehensive risk assessment .
- The role is a key escalation point for high-risk advisory and investigative matters, collaborating closely with global compliance teams to ensure consistent implementation of AML, sanctions, and anti-corruption policies.
- The individual will also coordinate with internal and external stakeholders, including investment professionals, legal counsel, and fund administrators, to ensure thorough due diligence and documentation for high-risk counterparties.
Additional responsibilities include the following:
- Engage with internal business partners to provide accurate and timely KYC status
- Assist in developing, maintaining and executing consistent KYC reporting metrics
- Facilitate the development and maintenance of KYC procedures, documentation and recordkeeping systems and provide guidance for implementation through collaboration with internal business partners within Business Operations
- Collaborate on the development and enhancement of technology-based solutions relating to KYC, including a document repository and screening alerts
- Assess investors’ and investee companies’ risk profiles to advise on risk mitigation strategies through evaluating customer details, transaction history, and business activities.
- Assist with developing corrective action plans with FCP leadership to resolve deficiencies promptly
- Assist with recommending the filing of Suspicious Activity Reports and Continuing Activity Reports and assist with maintaining accurate watchlists.
- Maintain and update the FCP Program policies and procedures to ensure AML, sanctions, and anti-corruption compliance and in compliance with regulatory obligations; ensure policy alignment with global strategies.
- Identify and monitor any changes to legislation and other regulatory requirements relating to the FCP Program
- Train new joiners in relevant processes, assist in cross-training as needed
- Support and assist with special projects and ad hoc requests/tasks as required
Education:
- Bachelors degree required, preferably with exceptional academic record
- Preferably a professional qualified accountant (CA, ACA, CPA etc. based on jurisdiction), legal professional, or a member of a reputable relevant professional body (e.g., ACAMS)
Skills and Abilities Required:
- At least 8-10 years of experience working in a compliance role in a regulated financial institution, including previous financial crime prevention responsibilities
- Strong understanding of Anti-Money Laundering documentation requirements in accordance with relevant legislation and regulations in Asia Pacific
- Knowledge of complex corporate entity types, and the formation, constitutional, management/control and ownership documents of each and the information contained within them
- Familiarity with CIMA, SFC, MAS regulatory reviews and interpretation of regulations
- Excellent command in English; additional languages native to the region a plus
- Strong interpersonal skills and excellent team orientation
- Self-motivated, highly detail oriented, display good judgment and logical decision making apart from highly developed technical skills
- Have strong sense of ownership spirit, and able to work independently
- Possess multi-tasking skills and ability to work well under pressure in a fast-paced environment
About Ares Asia
With a pan-Asian presence, Ares Asia is one of the largest alternative asset managers in Asia-Pacific with approximately US$15.1 billion in assets under management. Led by a highly experienced management team that has delivered attractive investment performance across various market cycles, transaction types and Asian countries, Ares Asia leverages its broad geographical footprint and extensive infrastructure in the region to make credit, private equity, and special situations investments on behalf of its institutional client base.
Ares Asia’s team has been consistently recognized for industry accolades, including Private Debt Investor’s Distressed Debt Investor of the Year, Asia-Pacific in each of the last six years. Ares Asia was founded in 2009 as SSG Capital and was renamed after the acquisition in July 2020 by Ares Management Corporation (NYSE: ARES).
About Ares Management
Ares Management Corporation (“Ares” or the “Firm”) is a publicly traded (NYSE: ARES), leading global alternative asset manager with approximately $428 billion of assets under management (“AUM”) and over 2,600 employees. We seek to deliver attractive performance to our investor base across our investment groups and strategies, including credit, real assets, private equity, and secondaries. The Firm is headquartered in Los Angeles with offices across the United States, Europe, Asia and Australia.
Ares Management LLC (together with its related operating and administrative subsidiaries, “Ares Management”) is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer and considers all applicants for employment without regard to race, color, religion, ethnicity, creed, sex, age, national origin, alienage or citizenship status, disability, medical condition, pregnancy, marital status, partnership status, sexual orientation, status regarding public assistance, military or veteran status, domestic violence victim status, gender identity and expression, transgender status, genetic information, status as unemployed, political affiliation or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local law.
Ares Management will consider for employment qualified applicants with criminal histories in a manner consistent with the requirements of the Fair Chance Initiative for Hiring Ordinance.
Reporting Relationships
There is no set deadline to apply for this job opportunity. Applications will be accepted on an ongoing basis until the search is no longer active.