Top 15 life insurance executives: Benjamin Deng, William Chan

AsianInvestor’s Top 15 Life Insurance Executives in Asia list highlights the individuals who stand out in driving the industry forward via steady investment processes, robust operations, sustainability measures, as well as advocacy for best practices and transparency.

The life insurance sector in the region has been growing rapidly, helped by a population of over four billion and rapidly growing economic clout.

Despite the immense potential, there are also challenges such as wide-ranging regulatory changes, slowing growth in life premiums in recent years and increasing demands for actions around sustainability and climate change, among others.

We believe it is important to recognise and credit the standout individuals who are making a difference and setting trends in such an important sector.

Read more about the rationale for our Top 15 list.

Today, we profile two senior executives, one based in mainland China and another in Hong Kong.

Benjamin Deng
Chief Investment Officer, Ping An Insurance Group

As the investment chief of an insurance giant in China, Benjamin Deng is not only an authority on insurance asset management, he also has a deep understanding of China’s financial markets and policymaking.

As a result, he -- and his team -- are adept at knowing how to ride economic and investment waves while managing risks.

As a large asset owner in China, Ping An needs to be proactively involved in national agenda directives such as energy transition, industrial transformation, as well as supporting the real economy.

It also has to be balanced with delivering robust returns for shareholders and policyholders.

For Deng, who joined Ping An in late 2021 during the pandemic, this balancing act is clearly reflected in his portfolio management style and investment decision-making.

China is a policy-driven economy, and investors should follow policymakers’ remarks closely to find out where the economy and the financial markets are heading, Deng told AsianInvestor in 2023.

Over the years, no matter what company he worked for, Deng has always tried to catch the first half of the 30-minute Xinwen Lianbo, China Central Television's prime-time news broadcast, every night at 7pm to stay on top of policy direction in the world's second-largest economy.

“It's an art more than science,” he said.

Under China’s foreign exchange controls, most of Ping An’s assets are invested domestically, with about 60% of total assets in bonds.

This constraint requires its CIO to be highly selective while choosing asset types, strategies and sectors.

Ping An operates a “double barbell” asset allocation strategy between long-duration government bonds and equities, as well as between high-dividend and growth stocks.

Deng bets on the robust fundamentals and low valuations of high-dividend state-owned enterprises to ensure stable income, which have been generating decent returns for its portfolio.

To ensure future upside, Deng has also accelerated investment in "new quality productive forces" such as green technology as per China's policy push, which calls for heavy investment into advanced technologies to transform and upgrade the economy.

Despite the market volatility and economic slowdown in China, Ping An has deliver resilient investment performance with a 5.4% average return over the past decade. 

As an “ambassador” for China’s sustainable investment opportunities, he also told AsianInvestor this year that the insurer welcomes partnerships from overseas institutional investors seeking local expertise in China’s carbon neutrality opportunities.

“We have an easier job of making our investments toward sustainable [initiatives] because the government has been very supportive and provided a favourable policy environment,” he said.

Its green investments totalled Rmb125 billion ($17.5 bilion) as of June 30.

The accomplished investor will finish his term with Ping An by year-end, and hopes to spend more time with his family in Hong Kong.

AsianInvestor wishes Deng, who is a member of the publication’s Editorial Advisory Board, all the best in his future endeavours.  

William Chan
Global Chief Investment Officer and Head of Investments, HSBC Life

While AsianInvestor was finalising representatives for Hong Kong, William Chan stood out with his recent promotion to global CIO and head of investments for HSBC Life from Hong Kong CIO.

It is also an excellent testimony to Chan’s outstanding investment management skills.

As global CIO, he takes global accountability for the optimisation of HSBC Life’s investment asset portfolio.

“We expect the new operating model to benefit our businesses in different markets by pooling resources and expertise, supporting more specialised and robust fund manager due diligence and oversight, investment strategy formulation and review, etc,” he told AsianInvestor.

The firm noted that Chan, who joined HSBC in 2016, “has been a driving force in the successful expansion of the company's investment portfolio”.

HSBC Life operates under the HSBC Group, which enables the insurer to leverage in-house expertise and resources in different areas with HSBC Asset Management (HSBC AM) and the bank’s global markets and securities services.

“Being part of an international banking group provides us with significant advantages,” Chan said.

“One notable example is that working with various alternative investment teams in HSBC AM over the past few years, we were able to introduce a number of new asset classes and investment strategies, including infrastructure investments, securitised credit and various alternative credit asset classes, into our insurance investment portfolios, thereby achieving a better risk-diversification as well as return-enhancement."

The Hong Kong-based executive has also been a leader in ensuring the portfolio is well prepared for incoming regulatory changes, such as the new risk-based capital regime in Hong Kong, which took effect on July 1.

Last year, he made the call to boost the insurer’s private credit exposure, deploying up to $1.5 billion in new capital to private credit per year from 2024 to 2026.

He said the risk charge for such debts is in the mid-teens under the RBC regime, which makes the return on risk “stand out among all asset classes”.

Private credit has become a growing favourite among several asset owners, including insurers, over the past 24 months.

HSBC Group’s resources have also helped facilitate and accelerate the life insurer’s pace in sustainable investments, he said.

HSBC AM’s fixed income team, for instance, has helped the insurer identify and select green and social bonds as well as infrastructure debts that meet its sustainable investment criteria, including return target and maturity requirements.

HSBC Alternatives Investment, meanwhile, helps the insurer look for and perform due diligence on attractive impact private equity funds, he noted adding that the in-house asset manager also supports HSBC Life on carbon reporting.

Chan is also one of the leaders of the Green Task Force of the Hong Kong Federation of Insurers, and has helped the launch of the Hong Kong Insurance Industry Climate Charter.

HSBC Life Hong Kong is a founding signatory to the charter.

On Monday, we will profile a top insurance executive from Hong Kong and another from India.