Spotlight on Willis Tsai, Head of Global Equities, Nuveen
Global Thought Leader Spotlight
Willis Tsai, Head of Global Equities, Nuveen
In my role as the Head of Global Equities at Nuveen, I am responsible for overseeing our US$500+ billion equity platform, which encompasses active, passive, fundamental, and quantitative solutions within Nuveen's broader US$1.4 trillion asset management business.
A significant portion of this equity platform serves TIAA's CREF Stock account, a 70+ year legacy multi-manager fund, managing retirement assets for teachers and non-profit workers.
My responsibilities span investment performance, risk oversight, manager allocation, commercial growth, and fostering a collaborative culture across our 100+ person team.
A.I. - Structural opportunities + market dislocations
A.I. represents the most structurally compelling investment theme we have encountered in decades, though its extraordinary promise carries commensurate risks. Capital has concentrated dramatically around perceived winners, creating market fragility even as the underlying technology continues to deliver breakthrough capabilities.
Intense competition among providers is straining capacity across the entire value chain, while market narratives about winners and losers, regardless of their accuracy, are driving exceptional volatility that requires disciplined fundamental analysis.
Most significantly, the lateral impacts are only beginning to materialise. As A.I. penetrates adjacent sectors including healthcare, industrials, and financial services, cascading second- and third-order effects will simultaneously disrupt incumbents and create opportunities for adaptive players.
Geopolitical realignment + supply chain regionalisation
Deglobalisation is accelerating, reshaping decades-old relationships and supply networks around regional economic blocs. This reconfiguration generates both transition costs and identifies clear long-term beneficiaries. Companies with operational agility and those positioned to capitalise on "friendshoring" and infrastructure investments present compelling structural opportunities. Conversely, organisations tethered to legacy globalisation models face persistent margin compression and heightened operational risk.
Stock selection requires process discipline + long-term conviction
While the trends above reflect consensus views, today's market is increasingly dominated by short-term positioning, price movements driven by non-fundamental participants, and near-term performance pressures.
Long-term investors cannot, and should not, optimise for short-term outcomes. Instead, success demands rigorous adherence to proven investment processes, extended time horizons, and deep fundamental research that looks beyond the noise.
Implications for sophisticated investors
Maintain core positions anchored in structural trends: Position portfolios to capture areas of the market generating disproportionate profit growth. Technology remains structurally attractive and could justify a substantial portfolio weighting. A.I., as a defining multi-year trend, warrants meaningful dedicated exposure.
Capitalise on cyclical inflection points where consensus is shifting: Improving cyclical momentum creates compelling entry points in sectors, such as industrials and metals, and regions including Europe and Japan, where benchmark composition tilts toward cyclical businesses poised to benefit from economic acceleration.
Pursue contrarian opportunities for alpha generation: We see compelling opportunities to spend researching out of favour portions of the market including Enterprise Software, Quality Small Caps, and India within an EM allocation for investors with patience and duration. These dislocated themes offer compelling long-term payoffs for investors willing to combine conviction with patience and disciplined risk management.
Willis will be presenting at Global Investment Institute’s upcoming Equities Investment Forum, taking place on Thursday, 12 March 2026 in Sydney CBD, New South Wales. To register your interest in attending, click here or for more information email zlatan@globalii.com.au.
Willis Tsai, Head of Global Equities, Nuveen
Willis is the Head of Global Equities for Nuveen and serves as portfolio manager on global and emerging markets strategies. He also provides analytical coverage for the global technology sector. He is Chair of the Nuveen Equity Investment Council. Willis has been instrumental in growing our equities business around the world.
Prior to his current role, Willis served as Head of Nuveen Equities Global Portfolio Management and co-head of Global Research for the Nuveen equities research team. He joined the firm in 2006 and prior to that, held a position at Goldman Sachs & Co. in sell-side equity research.
Willis graduated with a B.S. in Business Administration from Georgetown University.
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