Eastspring Investments, the $271 billion Asia-based asset management arm of Prudential, creates new role.

Eastspring Investments has appointed Ray Farris (pictured) as its first chief economist, with immediate effect.

In this newly-created role, Farris will be responsible for undertaking economic analysis and insights for both Prudential and Eastspring, the firm said in a statement.

At Prudential, Farris will provide macroeconomic views and research in alignment with an evolving global macroeconomic and geopolitical landscape. At Eastspring, Farris will provide macroeconomic data, trends and insights to guide investment and asset allocation decisions. Based in Singapore, Farris will report to Eastspring Investments’ chief investment officer Vis Nayar, the firm continued.

With more than 30 years’ experience as an economist and strategist for international financial services firms, Farris has led research in economics, markets and policy across three continents. He spent 22 years at Credit Suisse in various leadership roles, most recently as global chief economist and chief investment officer for the Americas based in New York. From 2001 to 2022, he was predominantly based in Singapore with Credit Suisse, in various positions including chief investment officer for South Asia, and head of Asia economics and fixed income strategy. Farris started his career in Hong Kong in 1991 as head of economics and equity strategy at Crosby Securities.

“He joins us at a pivotal time, against a global macroeconomic backdrop marked by heightened uncertainty and complexity,” Bill Maldonado, chief executive officer at Eastspring Investments, said. “His breadth and depth of experience, coupled with his deep understanding of global economics and markets, will be invaluable to our investment teams and clients.”