Norlia Mat Yusof
CIO, Etiqa Insurance & Takaful
Canadian-educated Norlia Mat Yusof has been with Etiqa Insurance & Takaful — the insurance and takaful* business of the Malaysian banking group Maybank — for more than 12 years. In that time, she has helped the company win a number of top accolades, and continues to work with passion and determination in the burgeoning Islamic finance sector. Here she speaks to us about what drives her, what challenges she faces, and what her focus is for the future.
*A cooperative system of loss reimbursement that functions as an Islamic alternative to conventional insurance.
“The Muslim community makes up a large portion in this region’s total population and is a large, untapped and important opportunity for our region.”
Norlia Mat Yusof
Tell us about your role at Etiqa and what your key business priorities are
As the CIO, my main priority is to proactively and clearly set our strategic investment direction to ensure that we continue to generate consistent commendable risk-adjusted return on investment (ROI) over a long period within investment limits, parameters, and guidelines both internal and statutory. By achieving our investment goals, we will boost the overall profits of Etiqa and Maybank Group and create value for our stakeholders. Our success will help position us as the preferred insurance and takaful service provider in the market.
What are some of the greatest challenges facing CIOs today?
Even with 20 years of experience in the field of investment management, I have to admit that the rapid pace of change in our financial landscape remains the greatest challenge to me. I believe all the CIOs would agree that factors such as events arising from the global geopolitics have been a ‘nuisance’ in executing our strategies. They happen very fast and the impact can be detrimental if we do not respond timely and correctly. And, most recently and rather unexpectedly, COVID-19 hit us with its devastating impact on the global economy and financial markets. And we still haven’t seen the full impact from this pandemic.
How do you form an investment view?
In my investment team, we have a highly experienced in-house research team dedicated to equities and fixed income. This is the backbone in our decision-making process, as they feed us with in-depth analyses and views to identify and exploit market inefficiencies. These views are shared with the fund managers and the portfolio managers prior to making a decision to trade in any securities.
What role will technology play in the future of asset management?
Without any doubt, technology will play a more important role in asset management moving forward. Maybank has already embarked on “future ready” initiatives to equip its staff with the necessary digital knowledge and awareness of new technologies that will shape the future of banking, finance and investment. Etiqa has also embraced digitalisation and robotic process automation aimed at elevating the level of efficiency of our work. We have also ridden on Bloomberg’s vast technology capability as part our responses to the fast-changing investment landscape, allowing us to stay ahead.
Your favorite investment book? Investment principles you live by?
I do not have one particular investment book that I can consider my favourite, but the most recent book that I read was Good to Great by Jim Collins. His findings are simply eye-opening and I would say that I agree with most of them.
As for investment principles, it has to be perseverance. I believe I have to be persistent and at the same time determined and steadfast to achieve all the goals that I have set for myself and my team. Thankfully, this is who I am and I seamlessly integrate this into my daily routine.
What makes asset allocation unique in your region?
The Muslim community makes up a large portion in this region’s total population and is a large, untapped and important opportunity for our region. This community seeks investments that are Shariah-compliant and demand for these products has been steadily growing amid support from governing bodies like central banks.
We see this as an opportunity for us to innovate and sell takaful products that are Shariah-compliant to accommodate the growing sophistication of this market. We do however find it a challenge to find suitable and sufficient securities to match the future liabilities of these products, compared to conventional securities. But we expect this to become easier as the Islamic securities market continues to mature.