GIC Asset Management Pte Ltd
From Taighde
GIC Asset Management Pte Ltd (GAM) is a subsidiary of the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation (GIC), handling investments in the public markets.
GIC Asset Management Group is organized into the following departments: Equities, Fixed Income, Foreign Exchange (including commodities and money markets), and Alternative Investments. In addition, GAM has a department that is responsible for the management of GIC’s external fund managers.
Contents |
Leadership
Board of Directors
| Name | Position |
|---|---|
| Lim Siong Guan | Chairman |
| Ng Kok Song | Director |
| Quah Wee Ghee | Director |
| Vivien Chen Vui Wen | Director |
Senior management
| Name | Position |
|---|---|
| Quah Wee Ghee | President |
| Lim Chow Kiat | Deputy President |
| Lim Teow Beng | Chief Administrative Officer |
| Lim Kee Chong | Head, Developed Markets Equities |
| Raymond Goh Wee Hock | Head, Asia Pacific Equities |
| Chen Soon Bin | Head, Emerging Markets Non-Asia Equities |
| Tung Siew Hoong | Head, Credit Cluster, Fixed Income, Currency & Commodities |
| Maureen Ding Chooi Eng | Head, Macro Cluster, Fixed Income, Currency & Commodities |
| Anthony Lim Weng Kin | Adviser, External Managers |
| Adelene Tan Mui Li | Head, External Managers |
Departments
Equities
"We invest in companies that are attractive in valuation and with potential for long term sustainable growth." - Mr Quah Wee Ghee, President, GIC Asset Management Pte Ltd & Director, Equities
The Equities Department (EQD) invests in global equities in over 40 countries outside Singapore. The developed and emerging equities portfolios are managed with the objective of outperforming the respective Morgan Stanley Capital International (MSCI) indices on a risk-adjusted basis in accordance with the asset-allocation policies and targets set by the Board.
The department consists of various product groups which manage portfolios with both macro and micro considerations. Complementing the product groups are the equities research division and the equities trading division. The former conducts in-depth company research while the latter implements the investment decisions made by the product groups and provides daily market information. Since 1981 when GIC was set up, EQD has grown from a simple unit comprising a few officers to a department with a staff strength of more than a hundred, of whom over half are investment professionals. While most of the officers are based in Singapore, its portfolio managers and traders for North America and Europe are based in New York and London respectively.
Fixed Income
"At the most basic level, investing is an individualised craft. Success in it depends to a large extent on the talent and passion of individuals. But individual efforts are insufficient for the scale and complexity of our operation. To do our job, we need to organise the talents into a 'manufacturing process' that is predictable, scaleable and efficient. Managing the tension between craftmanship and manufacturing process is a key challenge of our work." - Mr Lim Chow Kiat, Director, Fixed Income
The Fixed Income Department (FI) manages GIC's global bond investments. In addition to implementing asset allocation decisions, it engages in active management to generate consistent excess return over market benchmarks. Its universe is global and spans multiple sectors including G10 interest rates, credit, emerging markets and convertible bonds. Its investment process emphasises decentralised risk taking, robust risk management and specialisation. Its portfolio managers operate out of Singapore, London and New York.
Foreign Exchange
"Foreign exchange is the lubricant that oils the drive towards globalisation in the world today, not less in GIC, where we have cast our nets far and wide in our search for superior investment results. Together with responsibilities for corporate treasury functions as well as interest rates and commodities, the FXD has embraced the challenge of working in a multi-faceted world to bring about sustainable returns in these asset classes." - Ms Adelene Tan, Acting Director, Foreign Exchange
The Foreign Exchange Department (FXD) manages GIC's global currency, cash and commodities exposure and performs important corporate treasury functions which include currency and commodities rebalancing, liquidity and cash flow management.
As GIC invests globally in over 40 countries, it is unavoidably subject to currency risk. FXD's investment process includes analysis of economic fundamentals, political developments, monetary and exchange rate policies, market flows and other structural factors. These factors are like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that complete our view of the markets we operate in.
On liquidity management, the team monitors the cash flow profile of the company closely to ensure that all funding requirements are met. We aim to enhance the yield derived from investing the excess liquidity held in GIC, while maintaining a conservative approach to investment to ensure we can provide liquidity to the company should the need arise.
The commodities team was formed to manage the new asset class of commodities. While gold is an age-old reserve asset, the value of a broader mix of commodities that includes energy, agriculture, industrial and precious metals, as an inflation hedge and diversifier from traditional assets is more recently recognised.
Alternative Investment
"Marketable alternatives offers a traditional portfolio of market instruments the benefit of risk diversification and expands the investment opportunity set, including the delivery of absolute returns. Our objective is to identify, through a blend of qualitative and quantitative analysis, excellent managers operating in this space. AIU's aim is to construct portfolios with such managers that reflect appropriately the expected return and volatility parameters that have been set for the Unit." - Mr Anthony Lim, Director, Alternative Investment
The Alternative Investment Unit (AIU) was set up on 1 April 2002. AIU's mission is to look for alternative investments to augment and enhance the risk-reward characteristics of the GIC's total portfolio.
External Fund Management
"Although GIC is a fund management organisation, we have adopted the principle of 'best sourcing' in the continuous and global search for excellent external fund managers who can complement our role and also contribute to the return objectives set by our client." - Ms Wee Sau Ling, Director, External Fund Management
The External Fund Management Department (EFMD) is dedicated to the management of GIC's External Fund Managers (EFMs). EFMD appoints and manages a portfolio of external fund managers in core asset classes in the public markets. These are Global Fixed Income, Global Developed Equities, Global Emerging Equities and Emerging Asia Equities. Active Currency and Total Return Overlay Strategies are also included.
The objective is to outperform the standard market indices for each asset class, such as Morgan Stanley Capital International World Index and Lehman Aggregate Bond Index through rigorous selection of EFMs and optimising diversified portfolios of EFMs to meet performance targets, subject to risk limits.
In addition, EFMD supports the development of the fund management industry in Singapore. Initiatives include a developmental fund placement programme and collaboration with industry partners on the Singapore Investment Forum and the Wealth Management Institute.
