Asset Management Awards 2026: Individual Winners explained
These four exceptional individuals were selected following an extremely rigorous review process that incorporated internal submissions and in-depth evaluation by the AsianInvestor team.
After carefully considering a wide range of internal nominations, engaging in detailed editorial discussions, and consulting with industry participants, we identified four leaders who are helping to shape the direction of Asia’s investment landscape.
These individuals exemplify excellence in their respective fields, demonstrating clear vision, strategic leadership, and a commitment to innovation that has earned them recognition from peers across the industry.
Each winner has not only delivered strong performance but has also played a meaningful role in elevating industry standards and advancing best practices.
Congratulations to our 2026 individual award winners, the professionals defining the future of asset management in Asia.
Best CEO
Eddy Wong, Chief Executive Officer for Asia, Amundi Asset Management
Since joining Amundi as Chief Executive Officer, Asia in November 2023, Eddy Wong has led a decisive phase of growth and strategic expansion across the region. With over 20 years of experience in the financial industry, Wong has brought deep regional expertise and a proven track record of leadership in complex markets.
At Amundi, he leads the firm’s business across Asia (ex-Japan), as well as its joint ventures in mainland China. Under his leadership, Asia has emerged as one of Amundi’s primary growth engines, contributing 40% of the Group’s 2025 net inflows, equivalent to €33 billion. Nearly half of these inflows were generated through direct distribution, reflecting strong client acquisition momentum and the effectiveness of the regional strategy.
A key pillar of Wong’s leadership has been investment in local capabilities. Since 2023, Amundi’s Asia headcount has increased by nearly 19%, strengthening on-the-ground expertise and supporting business expansion. He has spearheaded the expansion of regional teams while reinforcing local partnerships, ensuring strategic objectives are delivered with discipline and regional relevance.
Product development and platform scale have also been central to his agenda. Amundi’s ETF platform has surpassed €300 billion in assets under management, with Asia making a significant contribution to this milestone.
Looking ahead, the firm is targeting €150 billion in net inflows from Asia by 2028. This ambition is underpinned by a product strategy tailored to local demand, spanning UCITS funds, locally domiciled funds in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan, as well as ETFs. The newly established partnership with private-asset specialist ICG further strengthens Amundi’s private-asset capabilities in the region.
Through strategic clarity, organisational expansion and sustained growth delivery, Eddy Wong has reinforced Asia’s role within Amundi’s global platform and positioned the region for continued long-term success, exemplifying the leadership qualities of a Best CEO.
Best CIO
Louise Kavanagh, CIO and Head of Asia Pacific, Nuveen Real Estate
As CIO and Head of Asia Pacific at Nuveen Real Estate, Louise Kavanagh sets the strategic vision for the firm’s investment approach across one of the world’s most dynamic property markets. She leads the Asia Pacific Cities Strategy, directing capital toward urban centres positioned to benefit from long-term demographic and structural tailwinds, including urbanisation, technological advancement and sustainability-driven transformation.
Kavanagh has consistently articulated a disciplined, forward-looking framework for navigating market complexity. In interviews and industry roundtables, she has highlighted Nuveen’s sector-based organisational model, which focuses on resilient asset classes in landlord-friendly markets. This approach is designed to manage tariff-related uncertainty and geopolitical shifts while maintaining a clear emphasis on long-term value creation in real estate.
Her leadership has been closely tied to organisational execution and performance alignment. Since joining Nuveen in 2017 from Invesco — where she launched and managed the Asia Real Estate Strategy — Kavanagh has taken on progressively broader responsibilities. She chairs the APAC Investment Committee and is a member of the Global Executive Leadership Team. Her promotion in 2021 to CIO and Head of Funds Management coincided with Nuveen’s global transition to a sector-focused structure, supporting more streamlined decision-making and strengthening fund performance in a fast-evolving regional landscape.
Beyond her firm, Kavanagh plays an active role in shaping the broader real estate investment industry. As a Global Governing Trustee of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), she represents a diverse membership base on substantive industry matters. She also serves on the Management Board of the Asian Association for Investors in Non-Listed Real Estate Vehicles (ANREV), contributing to the strategic direction of non-listed real estate vehicles across Asia. Internally and externally, she champions diversity and inclusion, serving on Nuveen’s LEAD committee and contributing to discussions on DE&I and market trends, including through studies by teh National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers (NAREIM).
Through strategic clarity, disciplined execution and industry engagement, Louise Kavanagh exemplifies the leadership and vision recognised by the Best CIO award.
Trailblazer
Low Guan Yi, Head of Asia Fixed Income, M&G Investments
In just under four years, Low has built M&G’s Asia fixed income platform from the ground up into one of the region’s most scaled and credible Asian local currency (LCY) bond franchises. Since establishing the capability in Singapore in July 2022, she has assembled an 11-member investment team, launched five dedicated strategies and grown assets under management to nearly $10 billion (as of January 2026).
At the core of her leadership has been a clear conviction: that Asian local currency bonds should be viewed not as a tactical or peripheral exposure, but as a scalable core allocation within global portfolios. Through disciplined credit selection, deep local market expertise and active duration management, she has built a platform spanning benchmark-relative to unconstrained strategies — enabling investors to access the region through a coherent and institutional-grade framework.
Under Low's stewardship, the team manages the largest regional Asian LCY bond cross-border mutual fund in its category, delivering top-quartile performance and demonstrating the asset class’s viability at scale. The rapid growth and performance consistency of the platform underscore both execution discipline and sustained investor confidence.
Beyond portfolio management, Lo has been a visible and consistent advocate for Asian fixed income. Regularly cited in global financial media and active across industry forums and panel discussions, she has contributed meaningfully to advancing understanding and allocation to the asset class.
Through strategic clarity, disciplined execution and sustained industry engagement, Lo has helped strengthen Asia’s fixed income markets and elevate their role within global investment portfolios.
Sustainability Champion
Jane Ho, Head of Stewardship Asia Pacific, BNP Paribas Asset Management
Jane Ho is recognised as Sustainability Champion for her leadership in advancing high-impact stewardship and systemic sustainability outcomes across Asia Pacific.
A former portfolio manager, Ho brings a strong investor lens to engagement, grounding sustainability discussions in financial materiality and long-term value. As Head of Stewardship Asia Pacific at BNP Paribas Asset Management, she leads voting, corporate engagement and policy advocacy across the region, working closely with investment teams to drive measurable outcomes.
She champions deep, sustained engagement and a differentiated approach to Asia’s diverse markets. Combining corporate and policy dialogue, she works across the investment ecosystem to address systemic risks at scale.
Ho is one of only two Asia-based investors on the global steering committee of Climate Action 100+ and co-chairs the Asia Investor Group on Climate Change’s Engagement & Policy working group. She also co-leads collaborative engagements under Climate Action 100+, AIGCC initiatives and Investors Against Slavery and Human Trafficking (IAST) APAC.
Her work has contributed to tangible progress. In Taiwan, sustained engagement supported the adoption of a zero-recruitment fee policy for migrant workers at a focus company and strengthened remediation and oversight practices, alongside ongoing constructive policy dialogue to further improve labour protections. In Indonesia, investor engagement helped strengthen the integrity of the country’s ESG-labelled bond framework by addressing deforestation-related risks. In Hong Kong, Ho has co-led investor policy dialogue on physical climate risks, contributing to the inclusion of climate adaptation in Hong Kong’s Taxonomy Phase 2A.
Through disciplined, ecosystem-driven stewardship and a clear focus on real-world outcomes, Jane Ho exemplifies the qualities of a true Sustainability Champion.