Eastspring Investments, the $271bn asset management business of Prudential plc, said today it has appointed Ray Farris as its first chief economist, effective immediately.

In this newly created role, Farris will be responsible for driving economic analysis and insights for both Prudential and Eastspring.

At Prudential, Farris will provide macroeconomic views and research in alignment with an evolving global macroeconomic and geopolitical landscape. His expertise and perspective will be instrumental in developing a unified house view.

At Eastspring, he will provide in-depth 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.

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.

Bill Maldonado, chief executive officer, Eastspring Investments, said: “Ray joins us at a pivotal time, against a global macroeconomic backdrop marked by heightened uncertainty and complexity.

"We look forward to his contributions as we continue to foster knowledge exchange to further improve asset allocation and financial outcomes. Ray’s breadth and depth of experience, coupled with his deep understanding of global economics and markets, will be invaluable to our investment teams and clients.”

Farris holds a master of science in finance from London Business School and a bachelor of arts in economics from the University of North Carolina.