Legal Counsel (Institutional Asset Management)

Are you a sharp, commercially minded legal professional looking to elevate your career within the institutional asset management sector? A leading, blue-chip South African financial services group is looking for an experienced Institutional Legal Counsel to join their highly dynamic team in Centurion.

In this role, you will provide business-focused legal counsel, transaction support, and contract expertise directly to our institutional businesses, asset management, and global markets desks.

Key Responsibilities

• High-Level Contracting: Draft, review, and negotiate complex agreements including Investment Management Agreements (IMAs), ISDAs, GMSLAs, GMRAs, note programmes, investment mandates, SLAs, and stockbroking agreements.

• Legal Advisory & Research: Deliver commercially focused legal opinions to internal stakeholders, portfolio managers, and analysts regarding operational processes and complex contracting structures.

• Risk Management & Compliance: Monitor regulatory changes, identify legal risks in new projects, and collaborate closely with compliance teams to embed a robust culture of good governance.

• Product & Project Support: Act as the legal lead on critical institutional projects, including the launch of new portfolios and onboarding large-scale institutional clients.

What We Are Looking For

• Qualifications: BCom LLB or LLB degree, and a South African Admitted Attorney.

• Experience: 35 years of Post-Admission Experience (PQE), ideally rooted within an investment/asset management firm, investment bank, or a top-tier corporate law department.

• Technical Mastery: Deep understanding of corporate law, alternative investments, complex transactions, debt/credit instruments, CIS Manco operations, and securitisation structures.

• Regulatory Knowledge: Solid grasp of FAIS, FICA, CISCA, the Insurance Act, FMA, JSE rules, and POPIA.

• Advantageous: A postgraduate qualification relating to capital/global markets or investment management.

Core Competencies

• Meticulous attention to detail and strong analytical problem-solving skills.

• Exceptional legal drafting and negotiation capabilities.

• Resilience, adaptability, and the ability to operate efficiently under pressure in a fast-paced environment.

• High tech-savviness with an eagerness to embrace financial and legal tech solutions.