Stephen James O'connor
About Stephen James O'connor
Stephen James O'Connor serves as a Senior Fund Operations Analyst at Russell Investments in Sydney, Australia, where he has worked since 2016. He has a background in finance and operations, with previous roles at Macquarie Group, Citco Fund Services, and Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
Work at Russell Investments
Stephen James O'Connor has served as a Senior Fund Operations Analyst at Russell Investments since 2016. In this role, he plays a critical part in maintaining re-balancing systems, ensuring the accurate entry of daily client transactions, and resolving discrepancies between systems and custodians. He is responsible for re-balancing wholesale, institutional, and fund of fund accounts to align with agreed Strategic Asset Allocations. O'Connor collaborates closely with Client Relationship Managers (CRMs) and the Investment division to achieve these objectives. Additionally, he oversees quarterly and yearly distribution processing, ensuring timely and accurate execution of these processes.
Education and Expertise
Stephen James O'Connor holds a Bachelor of Commerce (BCom) degree from University College Cork, where he studied from 2003 to 2007. His academic disciplines included Accounting, IT, Law, Economics, and Business Management. Prior to this, he attended Good Counsel College in New Ross, Co. Wexford, where he achieved his Leaving Certificate with Honours from 1997 to 2003. This educational background provides him with a strong foundation in financial operations and compliance.
Background
Before joining Russell Investments, Stephen O'Connor accumulated significant experience in the financial services sector. He worked at Macquarie Group as an Associate Manager in BFS Business Banking from 2013 to 2016. Prior to that, he served as a Senior Operations Specialist at Citco Fund Services in Dublin from 2008 to 2013. His career began at Bank of America Merrill Lynch, where he worked as a Derivatives Client Services Specialist for one year in 2007. This diverse experience has equipped him with a comprehensive understanding of fund operations and client services.
Key Responsibilities
In his current role, Stephen O'Connor manages the setup of new client accounts, including Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti-Money Laundering (AML), and due diligence processes. He ensures compliance with regulatory requirements and facilitates smooth onboarding for new clients. O'Connor also conducts daily unit pricing reviews and releases, as well as daily Rate of Return reviews across 53 domestic, international, and internal funds. His responsibilities include validating any basis points (Bps) tolerance breaches, which is essential for maintaining the integrity of fund operations.