Role Overview
ZICO Asset Management is seeking a hands-on Head of Finance to support the firm as a regulated, Shariah-aligned alternative investment manager focused on real estate and real assets strategies. The role will work closely with the Head of Investments across real estate investment evaluation, financial modelling, transaction support, fundraising, fund/SPV reporting, corporate finance, governance, audit, tax and investor reporting. This is a broad role for a lean platform: the candidate must be able to own the finance function while also supporting asset-level underwriting, deal evaluation, capital formation and investor-facing workstreams.
Reporting Line
Reports primarily to the Head of Investments, with oversight from the CEO / Board where required.
Key Responsibilities
1. Financial Modelling, Investment Evaluation & Portfolio Analysis
- Build, review and maintain real estate / real assets financial models for investment opportunities, funds, SPVs, co-investment vehicles and portfolio assets.
- Support investment evaluation through asset-level cash-flow analysis, valuation, sensitivity testing, downside cases, capital-stack analysis, exit scenarios and investor return analysis.
- Evaluate real estate-specific drivers including lease assumptions, occupancy, rental reversions, operating expenses, capex, development budgets, financing costs, yield-on-cost, stabilised yield, exit yield and valuation sensitivities.
- Prepare finance inputs for investment committee papers, including sources and uses, funding flows, IRR/MOIC analysis, yield-on-cost, cap-rate / exit-yield assumptions, rental income assumptions, operating costs, cash-flow metrics and key underwriting assumptions.
- Track asset, fund and platform-level performance metrics and help convert investment assumptions into reporting templates and monitoring dashboards.
2. Investment & Transaction Execution Support
- Act as finance business partner to the Head of Investments on real estate transaction structuring, financial due diligence, execution planning and closing mechanics.
- Review SPV structures, acquisition / disposal mechanics, bank-account flows, debt terms, covenant packages, capital-call mechanics, distribution waterfalls and tax/accounting implications.
- Coordinate with legal, tax, lenders, fund administrators and other external advisors to ensure transaction structures are financially sound and executable.
- Support completion processes, including bank onboarding, payment approvals, funding mechanics, completion statements and post-close reporting setup.
3. Fundraising & Capital Formation Support
- Support fundraising processes by preparing finance-related inputs for investor decks, information memoranda, teasers, term sheets, subscription materials and data rooms.
- Prepare fund economics, fee schedules, management-company projections, use-of-proceeds schedules, investor allocation summaries and scenario analyses.
- Coordinate finance responses to investor due diligence queries covering financials, tax, audit, governance, operating costs, fund flows, valuation and reporting.
- Support subscription closings, bank-account setup, capital call notices, onboarding checklists, payment tracking and post-close investor reporting handover.
4. Fund, SPV & Investment Vehicle Reporting
- Oversee accounting and financial reporting for funds, SPVs, co-investment vehicles and deal-specific structures.
- Coordinate with fund administrators, accountants, auditors, tax advisors, banks and corporate secretarial providers.
- Review NAV reports, capital accounts, financial statements, fee calculations, investor allocations, capital calls, distributions and carried-interest tracking.
5. Corporate Finance, Accounting & Controls
- Own the company finance function, including accounting, budgeting, cash-flow management, management reporting, expense controls and vendor/payment processes.
- Manage monthly, quarterly and annual closing, including management accounts, budget variance analysis and board-level finance updates.
- Maintain practical finance policies, approval workflows, documentation standards and internal controls suitable for a lean asset-management platform.
6. Investor, Board, Governance, Audit & Tax Support
- Provide financial input for investor updates, board papers, fundraising follow-ups, portfolio reporting and stakeholder queries.
- Support finance-related governance for a MAS-regulated asset manager, including records for expense approvals, related-party transactions and audit/regulatory review trails.
- Lead audit coordination and work with advisors on corporate tax, withholding tax, GST, fund/SPV tax matters, statutory filings and cross-border investment structures.
Requirements
- Degree in Accounting, Finance, Business or a related discipline CA, CPA, ACCA or equivalent professional qualification preferred.
- Approximately 8-12 years of relevant experience, including direct exposure to real estate / real assets investment, asset management, fund management, development, REITs, infrastructure, data centres, logistics, industrial assets or private real estate funds.
- Strong financial modelling capability, including real estate underwriting, asset-level cash flows, valuation, sensitivity analysis, funding flows, cash waterfalls, debt sizing and return metrics.
- Real estate / real assets experience is required. Experience with funds, SPVs, private equity real estate, infrastructure, data centres, industrial/logistics assets, alternatives or deal-by-deal investment structures will be highly preferred.
- Exposure to commercial, industrial, logistics, data centre, infrastructure, renewable energy real estate or other income-producing real assets will be advantageous.
- Prior exposure to fundraising, investor due diligence, capital formation, fund closings, investor reporting or investment committee processes will be highly preferred.
- Strong grounding in financial reporting, audit, tax, governance, internal controls and management reporting.
- Able to manage external service providers, including auditors, tax advisors, fund administrators, banks, corporate secretaries and professional advisors.
- Hands-on, commercially aware, detail-oriented and comfortable operating without a large internal finance team.
- Clear communicator who can work with senior management, investment teams, investors and external advisors while handling confidential information with discretion.
Preferred Candidate Profile
The ideal candidate combines technical finance and accounting strength with real estate investment judgement, modelling ability and practical fundraising support experience. The person should be comfortable being both the finance owner and an execution partner to the Head of Investments across real estate deal evaluation, transaction execution, capital raising, fund/SPV reporting, investor due diligence and platform governance.
