Markets Media spoke with Jean Chia, Global Chief Investment Officer, Bank of Singapore, who won CIO of the Year at the 2025 Women in Finance Asia Awards.

What does this award represent to you, both as a leader in global investment strategy and as a champion of sustainable finance? 

This award validates my leap of faith to take on this role 5 years ago and I hope this inspires others to take on roles that may initially feel like it’s out of their comfort zone. 

What motivates you in this role — and how do you stay centered amidst the pressure of being a CIO in a volatile world?

What I’ve learnt most in this role is not to underestimate the predictability of unpredictability. Since 2020, the global economy has been dealt its fair share of positive and negative surprises, which rendered the conventional business of economic forecasting and investment strategy somewhat anachronistic.  

When I stepped into the role as a CIO at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, the sand beneath our feet was shifting across global economies, businesses and the way we worked and interacted as a human race. It was ironically advantageous for me to have no preconceptions about what the role of a Chief Investment Officer might entail. My north star was to guide our relationship managers and wealth management clients to navigate this new reality. The Chief Investment Office pivoted to a much more agile approach towards our tactical asset allocation and investment strategy to review and re-assess our assumptions. 

Without the luxury of travel, face-to-face meetings and client events, we turned to producing our views in multi-media formats including podcasts, videos, webinars and soundbites on social media (sometimes from our own homes) to engage clients. All this while not compromising on the rigour of deep research analysis, and leaning into the investment expertise of an experienced team.  

In a year marked by uncertainty and transformation, what were the key investment calls or strategic themes that you believe set your CIO leadership apart? 

Amid geopolitical shifts, economic regime changes and evolving business models, building long-term portfolios demands a disciplined approach. At Bank of Singapore, we deploy a “robust asset allocation” approach built upon an analytical optimisation architecture that explicitly acknowledges the inherent uncertainty of market inputs (including risk, expected returns and correlation) across a range of outcomes. This approach to portfolio construction translates into more resilient portfolios that better align with investors’ long-term goals. 

Diversification is no longer an option for global investors as the international linkages fracture along renewed geo-political, trade and defence alliances. Hence, we are focused on positioning investors for the uncertain future ahead by allocating capital using a strategic asset allocation framework, incorporating strategic long-term shifts that we call Supertrends, with sustainability considerations and sound risk management.  

What’s one investment theme or trend that you think is still underappreciated by the market — but could play a big role in the future? 

The world faces a demographic dilemma of lower birth rates and a shrinking labour pool, tasked to support a growing senior population. Globally, the share of seniors (defined as people aged 65 and over) will increase significantly from 10% in 2023 to 16% in 2050 according to the United Nations. Meanwhile, the proportion of working age population (defined as 15-64 year olds) will decline from 65% to 63%. This is a global phenomenon with the greatest vulnerabilities in major economies such as EU and North Asia (China, South Korea and Japan). This will have macroeconomic implications as an ageing population typically sees downward pressure on inflation, growth and fiscal balances, but can also present opportunities for robotics and AI solutions that address this demographic challenge. Consumption could also shift towards increased demand for healthcare, nutrition, travel, leisure, insurance and wealth management industries. 

Technology and data are transforming investment management. How is your team using innovation or analytics to enhance portfolio decision-making and client engagement? 

We embarked on a project to implement a portfolio management system capable of providing investment parameters, performance and risk analytics to empower our discretionary and advisory portfolio managers with the tools to aid in investment decisions. Quantitative strategies remove the guesswork from investment management so that our investment team can make informed and well-grounded decisions. The ability to calibrate, measure and implement risk-taking and risk-mitigating strategies is an edge for our team, especially in a period of volatility and uncertainty. Our use of artificial intelligence tools not only improves efficiency but is a valuable source of insights for our team to augment their investment decision-making. 

What advice would you give to the next generation of investment professionals — especially women — looking to step into CIO or senior leadership roles?

For the next generation of investment leaders, I would encourage them to complement their deep domain knowledge with the a stretch into an area of discomfort. This agility builds confidence to take on new areas of expertise and leadership challenges. This pastiche of seemingly disparate experiences will sharpen your ability to navigate complexity and manage change as senior leaders.