500
DBS Chief Investment Office
At a Glance

In-depth, expert investment insights
Get research and analysis across sectors markets.

Built on a robust investment approach
Achieve stable, long-term growth with the core-satellite approach.

Consistent advice personalised for you
Receive timely insights via your relationship manager and digibank app.
How should I invest? That’s the question we’re often asked. The DBS Chief Investment Office gives you the insights you need to invest with confidence. All based on in-depth, on-ground research and analysis, personalised to one portfolio — yours.
Led by Chief Investment Officer Hou Wey Fook, the CIO team is supported by over 100 research analysts across Asia, delivering in-depth insights to ensure you’re able to make informed decisions every time.
A robust investment approach for the long term
To build your portfolio, we advocate the core-satellite approach which combines a stable ‘core’ of steady growth, with ‘satellites’ that take advantage of trending themes and sectors to capture opportunities.
Our CIO explains the approach:
A rigorous framework to construct your portfolio
In recommending assets to diversify your portfolio, the CIO team applies the CIO Asset Allocation Framework that takes into account the relative attractiveness of various asset classes.
Fundamentals
Top-down economic drivers such as growth, inflation, monetary policy, and bottom-up drivers such as earnings growth and surprises.
Valuations
Indicators for equities include forward price-to-earnings ratio, price-to-book versus return on equity, and earnings yield versus 10-year bond yield. For corporate and emerging market bonds, we track credit spreads.
Momentum
Indicators which cover factors that may impact the outlook on various asset classes, such as fund flows, market volatility, and catalysts.
Consistent advice, personalised to you.
We know you’re busy. With DBS Treasures, insights from the CIO team are delivered to you in a way that suits you and your lifestyle.

An experienced wealth expert you can count on
Your DBS Treasures Relationship Manager is alerted to opportunities relevant to you, to provide the advice you need.

Investment ideas and insights at your fingertips
You’ll receive smart digital alerts on your digibank app, together with research and analysis on your areas of interest, so you’re always ahead.

Model portfolios to keep you on course
Every quarter, the CIO team reviews and updates model portfolios based on the House View to guide your asset allocation.
Start growing your wealth
DBS treasures is open to Accredited Investors with investible assets of S$350,000.
Frequently Asked Questions
How does DBS Treasures construct a core portfolio?
Every investor has a different risk appetite. Your portfolio should be designed according to your individual needs including goals, preferences, time horizon, and risk tolerance.
The Core-Satellite Approach, advocated by DBS CIO Hou Wey Fook, aims to help you balance risk and reward.
To provide stability, the main ingredients of your Core Portfolio should be:
- Multi-asset to decrease overall volatility: bonds that are your carbohydrates for stable cash flow, equities that are your proteins for richer returns, and other assets that are like vegetables in your main course to diversify the risk
- Global for access to best-in-class assets and foreign investments
- Long-term because timing the market is difficult
These have the additional benefit of helping you to avoid emotional binging that can sway your investing decisions. By keeping you invested for the long-run, the Core Portfolio makes it less likely that you sell the “winners” prematurely when hungry for profit. Regular rebalancing also makes it less likely that you cling to “losers” in the hope of recovering losses. And so, you can ride out the markets’ ups and downs.
How does DBS Treasures identify satellite investments?
Every investor has a different risk appetite. Your portfolio should be designed according to your individual needs including goals, preferences, time horizon, and risk tolerance.
The Core-Satellite Approach, advocated by DBS CIO Hou Wey Fook, aims to help you balance risk and reward.
Your Satellites complement your steady Core. They are:
- Opportunistic which means you can add them to enhance returns by taking advantage of trending themes and sectors
- Typically, short-term or sometimes medium-term investments
- Inclusive of technical factors and valuations
With the Core-Satellite Approach, you enjoy the rewards of both stability and seasonality.
What is the Barbell Strategy?
A barbell portfolio strategy helps you build a resilient investment portfolio in challenging times. This strategy helps you capture superior returns from long-term, irreversible growth trends on one hand, while generating stable income on the other hand to mitigate short-term market volatility.
The barbell approach is a flexible one. Investors can tailor the strategy to suit their respective investment goals, risk appetite and time horizon.
What is the I.D.E.A. approach?
As the world transforms into a digital economy, the DBS Chief Investment Office advocates investors to ride on the long-term, secular Growth trends underpinning these irreversible changes.
Our Barbell Strategy enables investors to capture this in its Growth part.
But how does one know which companies and sectors will emerge as winners in this new digital world?
Think I.D.E.A.
We have coined this acronym to encapsulate the champions of this brave, new world:
- I – Innovators: Constantly doing things differently to challenge the status quo
- D – Disruptors: Create new products and services which displace mainstream leaders
- E – Enablers: Empower innovation and disruption to be successful
- A – Adapters: Traditional companies that successfully adapt and transform their business models
Digital innovation has truly engendered a huge and very promising opportunity set for investors. Build I.D.E.A. into your portfolios.
That's great to hear. Anything you'd like to add?
We're sorry to hear that. How can we do better?