Capital Markets Associate

About Betterment

Betterment is a leading, technology-driven financial services company that offers investing, savings and retirement solutions for retail investors and investment advisors as well as financial wellness solutions, including a 401(k) for small and medium-sized businesses. Our team is passionate about our mission, to empower people to build wealth with confidence and ease.  We’re headquartered in NYC and offer hybrid NY-based positions (four days/ week in-office, with no required office days during the summer and winter holidays).

About the role

The Capital Markets team sits at the crossroads of daily business processes and new feature development for the in-house portfolio management, custody, and trading platforms. As a Capital Markets Associate, you are excited to use both your subject matter expertise and quantitative rigor to propose, coordinate, and drive key projects relating to the ongoing research and development of the Betterment trading systems. To be successful in this role, you will be process-oriented, results-focused, curious, and eager to learn. We'll look to you to be iterative and a successful collaborator, bringing innovation and efficiency to our systems while ensuring continual compliance with relevant regulatory frameworks. You'll also treat modern AI tools (LLM assistants, AI-assisted coding, and workflow automation) as a core part of your workflow, using them to move faster on analysis, documentation, and research while applying your own judgment to everything they produce.

This role is based out of our NYC office. Below we've reflected the base salary range for this position. Actual salaries may vary depending on factors including but not limited to location, experience, and performance. The range listed is just one component of Betterment’s total compensation package for employees. 

• New York City: $120,000 - $135,000

This job may also be eligible for variable compensation in the form of a company incentive bonus.

A day in the life

• Help steward Betterment's order management and execution systems with any required oversight and intervention throughout market hours, inclusive of all required regulatory reporting
• Collaborate with senior team members to help scope, plan, and execute trading-related initiatives by contributing to business case development, testing, and implementation.
• Assist in building and maintaining business reporting metrics across execution quality, trade volumes, and cost analytics to support decision-making across teams.
• Contribute to platform improvements by helping identify operational inefficiencies and supporting research and production enhancements, including opportunities to automate or streamline recurring team workflows with AI.
• Maintain cutting-edge awareness of an ever-evolving regulatory environment, including  rule filings, industry commentary, and market structure developments for the team.
• Draft and maintain clear team documentation, procedures, and stakeholder updates.
• Manage existing external counterparty relationships, including brokers, market data providers, and reporting vendors, as well as develop and onboard new partners.
• Work closely with cross-functional partners, including Investing, Product, Marketing, and Engineering teams, to support execution of capital markets initiatives.

What we’re looking for

• Experience in financial services (trading strongly preferred), software, or consulting, contributing to the development and analysis of complex systems, particularly financial technology products.
• An interest in capital markets and a curiosity to learn more about trading systems, market data, market structure, and regulatory requirements.
• Some experience with project management and demonstrated success at collaborative deliverables
• Experience working with large datasets for data manipulation is required, with a strong attention to accuracy and efficiency. Proficiency in tools like SQL, Python, or similar languages is a plus.
• Hands-on experience using current AI assistants and agentic tools for everyday work, such as drafting queries, analyzing data, and summarizing documents, along with the curiosity to experiment with new capabilities and share what works with the team.
• Sound judgment about where AI adds value and where it doesn't: you verify AI-generated analysis and code before relying on it, understand its limitations, and handle sensitive or regulated information appropriately, using only firm-approved tools..
• The ability to pivot quickly and effectively, coupled with excellent communication skills to engage and align stakeholders throughout the process.
• Series 7 or the ability to obtain the license within 3 months of hire.
• Familiarity with market data concepts (e.g., NBBO, SIP vs. direct feeds) is a plus.