Head of First Fund
Boston, Massachusetts Investment Management Job ID R14159The Opportunity:
Impact Investing: Creating Financial and Social Returns
Impact Investing at MassMutual seeks to make risk-adjusted market rate financial returns and have a positive social and/or environmental impact that is measurable. Philanthropy alone cannot solve our society’s problems - institutional capital can and should play a role. There are clear societal and global needs to address the wellbeing and prosperity of people and the health of the planet. By adding an impact lens to our investment process, we can evaluate our investment outcomes and their social and environmental additionalities.
MassMutual’s commitment to diversity, equity and inclusion is at the heart of impact investing’s investment thesis and operational practices.
At MassMutual we know the best talent can come from anywhere and there is tremendous opportunity in the companies and funds that are currently being filtered out in status quo investment practices. Impact Investing is building innovative approaches and alternatives in deal sourcing, selection, diligence and underwriting to identify high potential investments that have the additional benefit of reducing structural inequities and closing the racial wealth gap. Within our direct Impact Investing program, we are applying two approaches to this work:
- MassMutual Catalyst Fund I & II total $150 million and make direct investments into high potential overlooked Massachusetts based startups and nationally into impactful companies with Black, LatinX and Indigenous founders alongside MassMutual First Fund portfolio GPs.
- MassMutual First Fund Initiative is a $150m commitment by MassMutual to invest catalytic capital in Black, Latinx, and Indigenous led emerging managers leading venture capital and innovation finance funds with the purpose of advancing racial and economic equity.
Although the First Fund Team applies a social impact lens to fund investments, qualifying funds need not have an explicit impact thesis or branding to be considered. Fund portfolios must be inclusive in practice or by mandate. We therefore center on funds with general partner(GP) teams and portfolios that more accurately reflect the general population, with at least 1/3 Black, Latin X and/or Indigenous partners and founders. First Fund targets pre-institutional scale funds, with a fund size of $25-$250M focusing on funds based in the US and Canada with that geography as their primary investment focus.
The First Fund currently has 9 portfolio funds and has deployed a little over 1/3 of capital committed.
The Role:
The Head of First Fund initiative will be a key member of the Impact Investing team and a collaborative contributor to MassMutual’s impact investing theory of change work addressing in equality in capital access.
As Head of First Fund you will actively manage and execute First Fund’s sourcing, pipeline, deal selection, due diligence process and investment memo generation, support existing portfolio GPs, manage portfolio construction for the First Fund initiative and reporting(financial and impact). You will formally present or assign relevant impact team members(from diligence team) to present your investment recommendations to MassMutual’s Investment approval committees. The Head of First Fund will need to demonstrate the ability to evaluate emerging fund manager performance potential as well as identify investment opportunities in nascent or emerging markets. You will also apply impact expertise to evaluating the credibility, specificity and viability of prospective investment fund managers’ impact strategy and the potential for First Fund Managers to drive positive social change. As such, the Head of First Fund will demonstrate innovative thinking, trend forecasting aptitude, investment discipline, strategic leadership, cultural competence, and impact acumen.
As a leader in the Impact Investment team you will work in an innovative, impact driven, fast paced, collaborative environment to drive financial returns and social change. You will be formally presenting your investment recommendations to MassMutual’s investment approval committees. A consultative, hands on, culturally competent approach coupled with demonstrated experience in startup financing, venture capital, private equity and/or alternative investments are required daily to source, analyze, negotiate, model, underwrite and provide human capital to emerging fund managers.
MassMutual’s goal is to be integrated into, and integral to, the impact investing community. As part of this role you will be representing, the First Fund Initiative in the industry, and are expected to gather and provide field intelligence, amplify MassMutual’s Impact Investing efforts and expand deal flow working with investors, impact stakeholders and broad community investing in BIPOC-led companies. The Head of First Fund will exemplify an iterative process of continuous improvement in sourcing Funds expected to deliver both substantial economic and impact returns, adopting with MM process and team to originate, underwrite, close, monitor and report upon those investments for the MassMutual First Fund Initiative. This responsibility extends to evaluating what is proven effective and what requires further innovation as we seek to build up, evolve and expand MassMutual Impact Investing’s work.
The Head of First Fund Initiative will report to Head of Impact Investing.
Responsibilities:
- Execute on the investment thesis and selection frameworks for First Fund to continue to build out a portfolio of First Fund Investments.
- Make specific First Fund investment recommendations to optimize investment returns and social impact returns.
- Approve First Fund investment proposals, and lead or oversee all fund investment due diligence.
- In collaboration with the Head of Impact Investing and other team members, iterate on all aspects of investment process, to test, create, optimize and share 2.0 strategies, processes and metrics to continuously improve the process from deal generation to selection, to due diligence, to structuring & underwriting and to monitoring and realization so as to analyze our successes and failures and to evolve and innovate our current direct impact programs for future expansion.
- Ownership of relationship, experience and progression of funds from application phase through maturity of the investment, unless the investment is rejected, as an ambassador of MassMutual with awareness that the Head of First Fund Initiative may be providing the first institutional capital experience for emerging fund managers and founders.
- Perform and oversee ongoing monitoring, analysis and reporting of investments’ financial results and impact contributions.
The Minimum Qualifications
- Undergraduate degree and a minimum of 7-10 years proven, relevant and direct experience in startup or venture Investment targeting market rate returns.
- Track record allocating and underwriting LP investments, Fund of Fund experience as well as direct investment experience.
- Skilled Negotiator, experience managing high dollar value financial transactions
- Experience making investment decisions using social impact frameworks as well as venture capital/PE frameworks
- Deep knowledge and experience in the emerging venture funds investment & development
- Deep network in Venture Capital, Institutional Fund Management, Impact Leadership
- Experience investing in diverse and inclusive GPs, teams, startups, companies, and/or culture.
- High EQ and cultural competency, ability to work effectively with a wide range of stakeholders and backgrounds
- Independent thinker with a reputation for authentic values-driven leadership and results-driven impact investing
The Ideal Qualifications:
- Experience and deep knowledge in the social impact sector, track record of leadership and service in Impact Investment & Social Entrepreneurship
- Direct Experience as a founder, fund manager, impact investor or all three
- Significant experience or exposure in Corporate finance or Institutional Investment
- Systems thinking skills, creativity, and out of the box problem solving skills.
- Strong public speaking skills
- Management consulting experience
- Intellectually, relentlessly curious self-starter with a strong aptitude for quantitative and qualitative analysis.
If you need an accommodation to complete the application process, please contact us and share the specifics of the assistance you need.
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About MassMutual®
At MassMutual, we believe in the value of being together in our offices and in personal flexibility.
Our work environment is one where the majority of our team members work a hybrid schedule — working at least three days in the office (Tuesday, Wednesday and a third day) and the rest remotely, balancing flexibility with in-person collaboration. While the majority of our employees follow this hybrid model, some of our roles continue to be 100% on-site and others may be 100% remote, subject to business needs.
MassMutual is guided by a single purpose: We help people secure their future and protect the ones they love. As a company operated for the benefit of our members, policyowners and customers, we are defined by mutuality and our vision to put customers first. It’s more than our company structure – it’s our way of life. We are a company of people protecting people. Our company exists because people are willing to share risk and resources and rely on each other when it counts. At MassMutual, we Live Mutual.