Harsh Agarwal is a senior portfolio manager and heads a team of eight portfolio managers in APAC, investing across various asset classes. He has been with Deutsche Bank since 2013, having worked with Lehman Brothers, J.P. Morgan, and Credit Suisse, giving him 20+ years of experience in the financial markets. His working career has spanned across US, HK and Singapore in various roles as an analyst, risk manager and portfolio manager. Harsh is an MBA, Chartered Accountant, and CFA by background.

Rahul Bhalla is head of Asia ETF distribution for Franklin Templeton, responsible for developing and implementing the long-term ETF business strategy for Asia. He works closely with the regional distribution teams to drive growth and raise the profile of Franklin Templeton’s ETF business in Asia.

Rahul is a seasoned asset management business development professional with extensive ETF knowledge and over 20 years of industry experience in Asia and the US. Prior to joining Franklin Templeton, he was head of Amicorp Asset Management, Singapore. He previously served as the head of business development Asia Pacific at IHS Markit and head of South Asia at Vanguard Investments.

Rahul holds an MBA from the Booth School at the University of Chicago and a BA from College of Wooster in Ohio.

Michelle Butler, senior vice president, is a portfolio specialist for Cohen & Steers’ real assets, global listed infrastructure and energy strategies. She has primary responsibility for articulating the investment team’s process, portfolio positioning and investment outlook.

Prior to joining the firm in 2013, she was the portfolio specialist for the active commodities strategy at GE Asset Management, where she worked for 14 years. Michelle began her investment career at the Bank of New York and UBS. She has a BA from Providence College and is based in New York.

Gabriel is managing director and head of investment services, Hong Kong. He is responsible for the development and delivery of investment services and offerings to clients in Hong Kong, as well as developing new initiatives and product ideas for local distribution.

Gabriel has over 17 years of experience in equity research and started his career in wealth management in 2017. Previously, he was the head of equity research, APAC of BNP Paribas Securities Asia. He worked in a number of global financial institutions, including Credit Suisse, CLSA and Standard & Poor’s.

Gabriel holds both Bachelor and Master of Arts degrees in economics from the Queen’s University, Canada, and he is a Chartered Financial Analyst.

Pierre is an investment director in the fixed income team. His role involves explaining the investment philosophy, process and performance of M&G’s fixed income fund range, as well as providing updates on overall financial market performance, investment trends and the economic outlook.

Before joining M&G in 2013, Pierre worked at BNY Mellon Asset Management for seven years, most recently as a portfolio strategist designing, developing and managing multi-asset investment solutions. Prior to that, he spent two and a half years at Natixis Asset Management in Paris.

He has a masters-level degree in business and finance from ESSCA Business School, Angers, France and is a CFA charterholder.

Paras joined UBP in 2017 and leads the investment specialists and investment advisory teams based in Singapore and the discretionary portfolio management (DPM) teams in Singapore and Hong Kong.

Paras has over 20 years of experience in banking and wealth management, during most of which he has provided investment advisory services and managed discretionary portfolios for high net worth and institutional clients in Asia. He previously held senior positions at BSI in Hong Kong and Coutts in Singapore, and has also held roles in HSBC and Merrill Lynch in Singapore.

Paras holds a master’s degree in business administration from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade in New Delhi, India. He is also a CFA charterholder and a certified financial risk manager (FRM).

Cynthia has over 20 years of industry experience. She joined Bank of Singapore in January 2022 from J.P. Morgan Private Bank where she was the head of asset classes specialists in Asia and was responsible for sales and advisory of funds and single asset classes discretionary mandates. At J.P. Morgan Private Bank, she advised ultra-high-net-worth individuals, family offices and endowments.

Prior to joining J.P. Morgan Private Bank in 2017, she was a managed solutions advisory director with Standard Chartered Private Bank, advising high networth clients on managed solutions across Southeast Asia. Before joining Standard Chartered Private Bank in 2015, she spent a decade with Citibank where she was responsible for manager selection. Cynthia spent the earlier part of her career in hedge funds research and asset management
roles.

Meng Li is a senior cross asset strategist at the chief investment office, UBS Global Wealth Management. She is responsible for developing strategic and tactical asset allocation strategies to implement the UBS house view.

Meng brings extensive research and investment management experience across asset classes. She joined UBS from the CIO Office Greater China, Credit Suisse where she was responsible for discretionary and advisory investment strategies for private and institutional clients. Prior to Credit Suisse, she was senior researcher and portfolio manager at the factors based strategies group at Blackrock, managing global multi assets portfolios. Before that, she managed quantitative global equity portfolios at China Investment Corporation.

Meng obtained her Ph.D. from Columbia Business School in the City of New York, and was a tenure track Assistant Professor at the School of Business, George Mason University before joining the asset management industry. Her academic research interest focused on fundamental analysis and valuation.

Lina Lim is the Regional and Hong Kong Head of Discretionary and Funds, Asia Pacific at HSBC Global Private Banking and Wealth. Lina has over 25 years of industry experience primarily in asset and wealth management.

Prior to joining HSBC Global Private Banking, Lina worked for J.P. Morgan Wealth Management over a decade in various capacities. Her most recent responsibility at J.P. Morgan Wealth Management was to spearhead Institutional Wealth Management’s discretionary business in Asia for family offices, endowments, nonprofits and foundations. Before joining J.P. Morgan Wealth Management, Lina was a responsible officer and senior portfolio manager with Sumitomo Mitsui Asset Management based in Hong Kong.

Lina is a member of the Chartered Association of Certified Accountants (ACCA) and Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA). She is an advocate for sustainable investing and has a strong passion for charity. She previously served as board member in two non-profit-organisations focusing on women education and wellness. She holds a post graduate certificate on Business Sustainability by Cambridge Institute for Sustainability leadership, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom. She was also a speaker at the 4th Global Asset Allocation Focus (GAAF 2019) in Shanghai focusing on ESG investing.

Ancus Mak is the head of mandate advisory for Greater China at Bank Julius Baer, where he oversees the discretionary mandate advisory activities of the bank’s investment management (IM) in North Asia. In this role, he has established IM’s Hong Kong franchise via strategic proposition and product development since he joined the firm in 2017. He is integral in structuring appropriate discretionary investment solutions for HNW, UHNW and institutional clients in North Asia.

Ancus has more than 15 years of experience in investment management. Before joining Julius Baer, he was a discretionary portfolio management specialist at Deutsche Bank Wealth Management in the APAC region. Prior to that, Ancus worked as a portfolio solutions specialist at Credit Suisse Private Bank, where he was responsible for managing multi-asset advisory portfolios.

He also spent five years with JPMorgan Asset Management as vice president of intermediary distribution. Ancus started his career as a finance journalist who covered the Hong Kong and China capital markets.

Ancus holds a MSc in Investment Management from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology.

Christophe heads the discretionary portfolio management practice at DBS Private Bank. He leads a team of experienced portfolio managers running a broad range of mandates and products catering for various client risk appetite and investment needs. His team contributes to the elaboration and the implementation of the investment strategy across various asset classes and regional markets.

Christophe joined the investment industry in the late 90’s and has 25 years of international experience managing global multi asset portfolios at Credit Lyonnais Suisse SA, Credit Agricole Indosuez and Société Générale Private Banking before joining DBS in October 2014. He holds a Master in Finance from ESCP Europe (Paris) and a Master in Management from Skema Business School.

Darryl is responsible for origination, structuring and execution of new infrastructure debt transactions. Transactions are sourced and assessed against the investment strategies of our clients and structured accordingly.

Prior to joining Aviva Investors, he was a partner at KPMG in the Infrastructure Advisory practice. Darryl has over 27 years’ experience in infrastructure finance having also worked at Hambros, SG, Newcourt Capital, RBC and was head of European Project Finance at HSBC. He is widely recognised as one of the leading infrastructure financing experts in the UK and has structured, advised and arranged on a wide number of projects globally and has particular expertise in public private partnerships.

Darryl holds a BSc and PhD in Maths from the University of Exeter.

Gareth Nicholson joined Nomura in July 2021 as chief investment officer and head of discretionary portfolio management for international wealth management. He is based in Singapore.

Gareth works closely with Nomura’s global markets and investment banking businesses to expand the firm’s product offerings and spearhead a streamlined, solutions-driven coverage effort for high-net-worth clients, external asset managers and family offices. With a strong institutional investment background, he creates and manages DPM strategies for fixed income, equity and multi-asset portfolios, while providing risk management support.

Gareth has over 16 years of experience in financial markets. Prior to Nomura, he was head of fixed income DPM at Bank of Singapore, where he was also a member of its investment committee. Before that, he was with Aberdeen Standard Investments for almost 10 years as a fixed income trader and an Asian credit portfolio manager.

Gareth holds a BSc in financial mathematics from the University of Johannesburg. He was born and raised in East London, South Africa.

Arjun is the CEO of EFG Asset Management, Singapore & Hong Kong, and head of portfolio management for EFG Asset Management, Asia, responsible for discretionary portfolio management services in Asia. He was previously the head of investment counselling for EFG Bank Singapore, a role which he had taken up in November 2016 following the acquisition of BSI by EFG Bank.

Arjun started his career in Coutts London in 1998 where he spent more than 12 years, managing ultra-high net worth client portfolios on a discretionary and advisory basis. He launched the Singapore Tailored Portfolio Management Services division focusing on ultra-high net worth client portfolios when he relocated to Singapore in 2010.

In 2011, Arjun joined BSI Singapore as the head of strategic advisory, responsible for discretionary and advisory portfolio management services. Arjun has been a CFA charterholder since 2002, and graduated with a BSc honours degree in economics from the London School of Economics.

Anita is a vice president at Hamilton Lane in the portfolio management group, based in the firm’s London office. In this role, Anita is focused on our private markets portfolio management and research efforts. Prior to joining Hamilton Lane in 2024, Anita spent nearly 10 years at BlackRock where she held several roles specialising in multi-asset private markets portfolio management, portfolio construction, research, and analytics. Anita received a BSc in actuarial science from the London School of Economics and Political Science, she is also a CAIA charterholder.

Lan Wang Simond is Head of Total Return Mandarin of Pictet Asset Management. Lan joined Pictet Asset Management in 1997. Prior to Pictet, she was a senior investment manager at BCV Gerifonds.

Lan manages Mandarin, a long/short equity strategy investing primarily in China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. She has been investing in China for 30 years and with her team currently manages $1.3 bn in assets.

She graduated in Business Administration at HEC University of Lausanne, and has a BA from the Beijing Normal Institute of Foreign Languages. Lan speaks Mandarin, French and English and is a CFA charterholder.

Harn joined RBC in January 2023 as the Head of Discretionary Portfolio Management & UHNW Solutions and is responsible for the discretionary offering in Asia. Harn chairs both the Asia Investment Committee (AIC) and Ultra Investment Committee (UIC) and represents Asia as a voting member in the Global Portfolio Advisory Committee (GPAC).

Harn brings over 28 years of investment experience in managing discretionary mandates for institutions, pension and insurance funds, family offices, retail unit trusts, as well as UHNW individuals. Before joining RBC, Harn was a Senior Portfolio Manager at Credit Suisse Wealth Management and was responsible for managing Multi-Asset and Equity solutions specializing in Global/Asia equities. Prior to this, Harn was the Head of Equity Content APAC for UBS Wealth Management. Harn also held senior portfolio management and advisory roles with various established institutions such as BNP Paribas Wealth Management, Standard Chartered Bank, Phillip Capital Management, and SG Asset Management.

Harn holds an MBA from California State University and an honours degree in B.Sc in Business Administration majoring in Finance from Hawaii Pacific University.

Jacky is head of the portfolio management group, head of the portfolio advisory group, and head of the investment strategy group for Goldman Sachs Private Wealth Management in Asia Pacific. He is responsible for centralised discretionary portfolio management for ultra high net worth and institutional clients across Asia Pacific. Jacky is also responsible for advising clients on strategic asset allocation and tactical investment strategies. He has served as co-chair of the PWM Content Council and PWM champion for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Network in Asia Pacific since 2017.

Previously, Jacky spent two years as a macro strategist in the Investment Strategy Group, covering Asia Pacific economics and macro strategy. He joined Goldman Sachs as an executive director in 2012 and was named managing director in 2019.

Prior to joining the firm, Jacky worked at Credit Suisse, where he was head of Greater China equity research. Prior to that, he was head of Hong Kong equity strategy at Merrill Lynch. Earlier in his career, Jacky worked as an investment strategist at Brevan Howard Asset Management, managing an emerging markets hedge fund.

Jacky has served as an adjunct professor for the City University of Hong Kong’s department of economics and finance and has led a number of workshops in behavioral finance, sustainable finance, financial markets, asset allocation and portfolio management. Jacky earned a PhD in economics from the Shanghai University of Finance and Economics and a master’s degree from the University of Cambridge.

Eoin is one of the founding partners of TwentyFour and a member of the multi-sector bond portfolio management team. Eoin sits on the executive committee and the asset allocation committee. Before joining TwentyFour, he was a portfolio manager at Citigroup Alternative Investments, managing over $75bn of fixed income assets.

Yuen L. Ho is a senior portfolio manager at Bank of Singapore, responsible for managing fixed income portfolios. He has been working in the investment industry since 2008. Prior to his current role, he dedicated his efforts to developing and managing high yield products at Citibank.

Before that, he held the position of head of high yield portfolio management at HSBC Global Asset Management, where he managed multi-billion-dollar global high yield assets for private banking clients. In addition, he previously led the convertible bond research efforts at Standard Chartered Bank in Hong Kong, offering his investment ideas to corporate and institutional clients. Other relevant experience includes credit research roles with Barclays Capital, Ping An Asset Management and Moody’s.

Before embarking on his investment career, he was a semiconductor design engineer with leading technology firms in California. He holds an MBA from the NYU Stern School of Business. He also received a master’s degree from Columbia University and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Mischa joined Standard Chartered Bank in June 2019. Based in Singapore, he is leading the alternative investments team overseeing hedge funds and private markets products. Prior to that, Mischa worked for DBS Bank and Societe Generale Private Banking where he held various positions in Asia and in Europe as product manager in the fund team, covering both traditional and non-traditional investments. He has more than 10 years of experience in the fund management industry. Mischa holds an MSc in finance and banking from the University Paris II Assas and is CAIA Charterholder.

Audrey Goh is head, asset allocation and thematic strategy at Standard Chartered Bank’s Wealth Management Group.

She leads a team responsible for identifying investment opportunities and thematic ideas across asset classes. She also runs the asset allocation team, responsible for the construction of investment portfolios to the private and retail segments.

A key member of the bank’s Global Investment Committee, Audrey is responsible for the formulation and delivery of the bank’s view and thematic investments ideas. She also contributes her expertise on the discretionary portfolio council.

She has over 15 years of experience in financial markets. She had previously worked in AIG Global Investments, where she was responsible for stock selection and asset allocation for Asia ex-Japan equities. Prior to this, she had lived and worked in Europe and Taiwan.

Audrey is now based in Singapore. She is a Chartered financial analyst and her views are regularly sought by both clients and the media. She regularly contributes her views to the region’s newspapers and magazines.