The flagship event for FWA in collaboration with GIC & Blackrock - Women in Asset Management - was all poised to go and buzzing with high energy and vibe despite the downpour.

Many women and a handful of men arrived early to network, enjoy the ambience and food and hoping to have a word with the speakers before the event began. The event began on time with an address by Chin Loo, president of Financial Women's Association Singapore (FWAS). She welcomed the crowd, highlighting the excitement of the event being hosted by GIC with a keynote speaker from the esteemed organisation to boot. She also shared what FWAS is about, with the partnership between FWAS, GIC & Blackrock exemplifying the type of partnerships that FWAS wishes to encourage and expand, to achieve diversity & inclusion across all sectors of the financial industry. Because this D&I focus is not just a gender issue, but one that should and is best practice for all businesses and makes good business sense.

The keynote speech by GIC's Liew Tzu Mi, MD and Deputy Head of Fixed Income shed interesting light that women outperformed men in generating investment returns. She also shared research on the high attrition of women in the corporate pipeline, with female representation in senior management roles still with ample room for growth. In asset management firms specifically, the statistics are equally dismal. The double barrel syndrome of balancing work with family, stereotyping and unconscious bias are some of the factors that account for the poor representation of women at the top.

The panel discussion kicked into action with Kevin Hardy, MD and Head of Beta Strategies in Asia Pacific and Country Head of Singapore asking each of the speakers to share details on the career and the challenges their faced. Shirin Ismail, SVP & Head of Absolute Return Investment Strategies, Fullerton Fund Management shared how she started off her career as a rookie and all the errands that she was asked to do. However, instead of looking at these errands negatively, she mentioned that it was these mundane duties that led her to develop her operational skills and understanding. 

Kevin got the crowd laughing by addressing what Cheryl Sandberg addressed in her book, Lean In, how any vocal behaviour by women in workplace can lead to women being called the B- word and what are their thoughts/experiences on this. Jackie Chew, CEO of Eastspring, addressed the question head on by sharing her experiences and how she dealt with any negative feedback. Andrea Muller, CEO of Principal Global Investors shared with the audience how she went from sell side to buy side, and that the buy side may be a good option for women seeking work-life balance. Debra Ng, Partner of Albourne Partners, similarly shared that her small company, until only recently, had an all-female team. The small size of the company allowed more flexibility and that suited some women who placed family as a priority. 

The event ended with Chin Loo presenting all the speakers a token of appreciation. However the end of the event was clearly the beginning of many good friendships and networks.