Investment Associate, Scotia iTRADE - Montreal, QC

Requisition ID: 250793

Join a purpose driven winning team, committed to results, in an inclusive and high-performing culture.

The Investment Associate provides advanced trading and client service support to Scotia iTRADE’s High Value and highly active trader client segment. This role requires specialized expertise in equity and derivatives markets, including the execution and management of single‑and multi‑legged options strategies, and the ability to apply complex risk, margin, and regulatory considerations in real time.

The incumbent engages with clients on high‑complexity inquiries and transactions, often involving significant financial exposure and time‑sensitive decision‑making. This requires a deep understanding of options pricing, volatility, margin requirements, and risk/reward profiles, as well as the ability to clearly explain advanced trading concepts to sophisticated investors.

The Investment Associate operates with a high degree of autonomy and professional judgment, resolving complex issues, supporting advanced order entry, and partnering closely with Credit, Compliance, and Order Management to mitigate firm and client risk. The role plays a critical part in maintaining operational integrity, risk controls, and client confidence, while also identifying opportunities to grow client assets and deepen relationships.

Major Accountabilities:

• Providing industry leading client experiences by:
• Answering advanced client service and trade related inquiries in a fast-paced technology-based environment and communicating advanced concepts clearly and effectively
• Liaising and collaborating with Management and colleagues to identify issues/trends, recommending solutions and executing solutions effectively
• Ensuring timely and prompt submission of client instructions and customer follow-up
• Proactively placing outbound calls including, but not limited to, margin calls, return mail, retention, and short sale buy backs.
• Liaising with internal departments (e.g. Order Management, Settlements, Credit, Compliance etc.) and external vendors (e.g. Executing Brokers) to ensure proper handling of client orders
• Actively providing value-added client service, ensuring that every client experience meets or exceeds Scotia iTRADE’s service standards
• Demonstrate resourcefulness by collaborating with other departments to ensure client service needs are properly met.

2. Foster and emphasize a sales environment with a focus on growing the business and retaining clients:

• Understanding client trading needs, in order to increase trading activity by identifying referral and cross-sell opportunities, with the intent to grow assets under management
• Developing and maintaining a full knowledge and understanding of Scotia iTRADE products and services, and an awareness of competitor products and services.
• Successfully completing cross-selling activities with clients to create deeper customer relationships, resulting in improved customer profitability and retention
• Using strong negotiation skills to create Non-Standard Agreements with reduced rates for commission, interest rates or other incentives to increase assets under management and trading activity
• Retaining clients through innovative solutions and thorough analysis of client’s accounts

3. Assist in maintaining the effective operation of Scotia iTRADE:

• Ensuring that service level objectives for productivity and quality are achieved. Effectively work as part of the team to manage client wait times and abandons to ensure that service levels exceed target
• Ensuring the timely escalation of issues to Management and/or applicable departments with appropriate recommendations
• Ensuring familiarity with your role in a Business Continuity Plan outage
• Collaborating with Managers to identify system issues and enact back-up procedures as necessary
• Actively adhering to all Guidelines for Business Conduct and Privacy policies
• Ensuring that service level objectives for productivity and quality are achieved
• Ensuring client complaints are handled in accordance with compliance guidelines
• Placing equity, option, fixed income and mutual fund orders pursuant to firm and industry policies and procedures
• From time to time, leading or assisting with monitoring of customer communications of all types
• Creating proposals and recommendations for quality improvements and policies based on customer and business needs, trends, new business, or product launches; projects as assigned

4. Minimize risks to the business by:

• Identifying and resolving trading discrepancies efficiently and accurately
• Developing familiarity in areas including money laundering, anti-terrorist financing and privacy laws
• Adhering to and ensuring compliance with Know Your Customer requirements
• Acting quickly to alleviate errors and reduce firm exposure
• Reviewing approved order and status orders to appropriate exchanges and vendors
• Corresponding with clients and resolving client escalations via telephone on an advanced level
• Contribute to the effective functioning of SiT by:
• Building effective working relationships across the team and with various business lines and corporate functions
• Facilitating a culture of open and honest communication by actively participating and contributing to touch bases, team meetings, encouraging the generation of new ideas and approaches and actively sharing knowledge and experience to enhance the development of all team members
• Developing and executing a meaningful Employee Development Plan

Education

• Required: Canadian Securities Course (CSC), Conduct and Practice Handbook (CPH), Derivatives Fundamentals and Options Licensing Course (DFOL) or Canadian Investment Regulatory Exam (CIRE) and Derivatives Exam to be registered as an Investment Representative for Equities and Options with CIRO.
• Required: University degree or work equivalency

Work Experience:

• Minimum 2-3 years of trading experience, and minimum 1 year Options trading experience.
• Industry experience preferably in a customer service or sales role

Required Knowledge/Skills:

• Excellent written and oral communication skills to communicate highly technical concepts clearly and effectively to clients and internal stakeholders
• Broad investment product and capital markets knowledge
• High degree of flexibility required to adapt to a wide variety of tasks and functions associated with position
• Familiarity with the fundamentals and techniques of stock, option and fixed income trading
• Strong attention to detail; ability to set and achieve goals and work independently
• Ability to exercise discretion; ability to manage multiple concurrent projects
• Demonstrated PC skills including familiarity MS Office; working knowledge of investment data systems
• Knowledge of back office functions and securities settlements process
• Ability to learn new tasks quickly and accurately
• Highly adaptive and excellent time management skills and the ability to prioritize workloads
• Exhibit excellent negotiating techniques and the ability to influence and motivate others

Preferred:

• Bilingualism is an asset (French, Mandarin, Cantonese)
• Previous discount brokerage experience

In addition to French, the successful candidate must also have sufficient knowledge of English, as the work involves interacting and collaborating regularly with groups and individuals based in Toronto, as well as constantly interacting with other people, including clients, who speak English, locally and elsewhere.