Director, Group Investment

About FWD Group

FWD Group (1828.HK) is a pan-Asian life and health insurance business that serves approximately 40 million customers across 10 markets, including BRI Life in Indonesia. FWD’s customer-led and tech-enabled approach aims to deliver innovative propositions, easy-to-understand products and a simpler insurance experience. Established in 2013, the company operates in some of the fastest-growing insurance markets in the world with a vision of changing the way people feel about insurance. FWD Group is listed on the main board of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange under the stock code 1828.

For more information, please visit www.fwd.com

FWD Technology and Innovation Malaysia Sdn. Bhd., known as FWD TIM, was established in late 2019. Strategically located in Kuala Lumpur, FWD TIM serves as a pivotal shared service location within FWD Group, providing services to multiple markets across the Group. FWD TIM houses a diverse and talented workforce focused on essential business and technology services such as information security, cloud operations, IT solutions delivery, digital and data, actuarial, finance, investments, and customer service, among many others. FWD TIM is dedicated to drive and deliver operational excellence and efficiency, foster innovation and ensure regulatory compliance across all business functions as well as maintain a competitive edge in the market.

PURPOSE

The Head of Investment is responsible for developing and executing the investment strategy for the Company, ensuring alignment with the company’s long-term financial objectives, risk appetite, and regulatory framework.

This role oversees the investment portfolios, manages external fund managers, ensures robust asset-liability management, and contributes to overall business growth through strategic capital deployment.

KEY ACCOUNTABILITIES

Investment Management

• Develop, implement, and regularly review the Strategic Asset Allocation (SAA) and Tactical Asset Allocation (TAA) in alignment with insurance liabilities and Company goals.

• Ensure optimal risk-adjusted returns within approved investment policies and limits.

• Oversee portfolio construction, diversification, and rebalancing across multiple asset classes.

• Monitor market trends, economic developments, and geopolitical risks to inform investment decisions.

• Organize Local Investment Committee meetings to update on investment performance and present investment outlook and strategies.

• Identify new investment opportunities that suit the investment objectives and risk profile of the Company.

• Actively participate in new product development to identify suitable assets incorporating commercial considerations as well.

• Identify, review and propose suitable ILP funds.

Asset-Liability Management (ALM)

• Collaborate with actuarial and finance teams to ensure duration and cash flow matching between assets and liabilities.

• Design strategies to manage interest rate risk, liquidity risk, and reinvestment risk.

• Lead stress testing and scenario analysis to assess portfolio resilience under adverse conditions.

• Explore the use of derivatives and structured products to enhance ALM.

• Lead and facilitate the discussion of ISDA/CSA with counterparties.

Regulatory and Risk Governance

• Ensure investment activities comply with local regulatory requirements, internal investment policies, and risk management frameworks.

• Oversee reporting related to investment performance, solvency, ESG (specifically climate-related risks), and taxonomy alignment.

• Maintain and update investment framework, policies and guidelines as required.

• Serve as key liaison for external auditors, regulators, and internal risk committees.

External Manager Oversight

• Select, appoint, and monitor external fund managers based on performance, strategy alignment and risk controls.

• Conduct periodic due diligence reviews and performance benchmarking.

• Negotiate mandates and fees in the best interest of policyholders and the Company.

Leadership and Stakeholder Collaboration

• Lead and develop the internal investment team, ensuring technical excellence, integrity, and alignment with company values.

• Collaborate with local stakeholders such as distribution, product, finance, and actuarial teams to support product design and capital management.

• Collaborate with Group parties including Group Investments, Group Risk, Group Actuarial etc to ensure local investment activities are aligned with Group level strategic objectives.

• Promote investment dialog and share best practices with Emerging Market investment teams to harmonize investment governance frameworks.

• Contribute to corporate strategy execution, business planning, and aspiration targets.

KEY PERFORMANCE INDICATORS

• Investment performance (30%)

• Asset-Liability Management & Risk (20%)

• Regulatory & Governance (15%)

• External Manager Oversight (10%)

• Team development & Leadership (10%)

• Strategic Business Contribution (15%)

INTERNAL / EXTERNAL STAKEHOLDERS

• Finance (Internal)

• Actuarial (Internal)

• Product (Internal)

• Distribution (Internal)

• Risk & Compliance (Internal)

• Board of Directors (Internal)

• Group Counterpart (Internal)

• External Fund Managers (External)

• Regulators (External)

DECISION MAKING

• Head of Investment is expected to have significant input to the Company’s overall investment decisions including setting of SAA/TAA for all investment portfolios, ALM and risk mitigation, appointment of external managers and onboarding of investment linked funds, regulatory and governance (i.e. classifying of financial assets according to accounting principles) as well as business strategy and capital allocation.   

QUALIFICATIONS / EXPERIENCE

• Degree in Finance/Economics/Investment related fields

• Minimum 10 years working experience in investment management related fields

KNOWLEDGE & TECHNICAL SKILLS

• Core Investment Knowledge in Asset Classes such as fixed income, equities and alternatives. Have solid understanding in portfolio theory, macroeconomic analysis as well as valuation techniques

• Insurance & ALM knowledge including all necessary regulatory frameworks.

• Regulatory & Risk Management Skills

• Leadership and Strategic Skills such as stakeholder engagement, cross function collaboration and strategic thinking.