Spotlight on Isaac Thong, Senior Investment Director, Asian Equities, Aberdeen Investments
Global Thought Leader Spotlight
Isaac Thong, Senior Investment Director, Asian Equities, Aberdeen Investments
As Portfolio Manager for Aberdeen Investments’ Emerging Markets and Asia Pacific strategies, I focus on building resilient, high-conviction portfolios through a disciplined, quality-led investment approach. Based in Singapore, I leverage the insights of our 35 investment professionals* across Asia’s major financial centres to identify compelling long-term opportunities for clients.
A key part of my role is engaging directly with senior management teams of portfolio companies, gaining first-hand perspectives on strategy, governance and growth. These interactions, combined with our on-the-ground research, help us make informed investment decisions and deliver differentiated outcomes for our clients.
Opportunities and risks shaping equity markets
Artificial Intelligence (A.I.) is one of the most transformative technological shifts of our time. Broadcom CEO Hock Tan has described it as “the largest live experiment humanity has conducted during our lifetimes”, an observation that captures both the immense opportunity and the uncertainty surrounding its long-term impact.
Asia sits at the heart of this transformation. The region’s semiconductor ecosystem is a critical enabler of A.I., with many leading beneficiaries across the supply chain domiciled in Asian markets. In our view, several of these businesses combine strong competitive advantages, structural growth prospects and attractive valuations, often trading at meaningful discounts to their developed-market counterparts.
At the same time, A.I. presents risks that investors must carefully assess. The substantial capital investment required to develop and deploy A.I. may reshape industry economics and alter the way businesses operate. As capabilities advance, certain business models and service providers could face disruption from increasingly efficient and lower-cost automated solutions.
Beyond A.I., we are closely monitoring the evolution of global supply chains. Rising geopolitical tensions, national security priorities and shifting trade relationships are accelerating efforts to diversify manufacturing and sourcing networks. This trend presents both opportunities and risks.
Emerging Markets are increasingly positioned as trusted partners in the development of new strategic supply chains, benefiting from their growing manufacturing capabilities, skilled labour forces and improving infrastructure.
Together, these themes are creating a rapidly evolving investment landscape, where careful stock selection and a long-term perspective remain essential to identifying sustainable winners, while avoiding potential disruptors.
Opportunities for sophisticated investors
In today’s investment environment, the range of potential outcomes has widened considerably, making selectivity more important than ever. In our view, investors should focus on a simple but powerful principle: follow the cash flows. While earnings can be influenced by accounting assumptions, cash generation provides a clearer measure of a company’s underlying economic strength and long-term value creation. This is particularly relevant in emerging markets, where accounting standards and disclosure practices can vary, and where strong growth can sometimes obscure changes in business fundamentals.
Periods of uncertainty also tend to favour high-quality businesses with durable competitive advantages and strong earnings power. Companies that consistently generate high returns on capital, maintain robust balance sheets and are led by capable, adaptable management teams are often best positioned to navigate changing market conditions while continuing to compound shareholder value over time.
Equally important is a balanced approach to capital allocation. Emerging markets offer a broad and diverse opportunity set, spanning fast-growing structural winners as well as established businesses capable of delivering attractive income streams. We believe investors should seek to balance tomorrow’s growth opportunities with the resilience of income available today. By combining quality, cash flow discipline and diversification, investors can build portfolios that are better equipped to navigate uncertainty, while capturing the long-term potential that emerging markets continue to offer.
Isaac will be presenting at Global Investment Institute’s upcoming Equities Investment Forum on Wednesday, 2 September 2026 in Melbourne CBD, Victoria. To register your interest in attending, click here or for more information email zlatan@globalii.com.au.
*Source: Aberdeen Investments, June 2026
Isaac Thong, Senior Investment Director, Asian Equities, Aberdeen Investments
Isaac is a Senior Investment Director, Asian Equities at Aberdeen Investments. He joined Aberdeen Investments from JP Morgan where he was Co-Manager of JPMorgan Global Emerging Markets Income Trust PLC and JPMorgan Emerging Markets Income Fund.
Isaac graduated with a Bachelor of Commerce with joint honours in Finance and Economics from McGill University and he is a CFA Charterholder.
Global Investment Institute is Australia’s leading provider of conferences for capital allocators.
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