Speakers 2024

Alan P. Kwan

Associate Professor of Finance, University of Hong Kong Business School

Dr. Alan P. Kwan is an academic currently serving as an Associate Professor of Finance at the University of Hong Kong. He also serves as program director for the Master’s of Finance in Financial Technology.

Dr. Kwan’s interest in finance was influenced by years working in the financial industry, including roles at a major global macro hedge fund and a quantitative trading firm specializing in energy markets. His research focuses on two main themes: regulatory economics, and the economics of intangible capital. In regulatory economics, he aims to understand the implications of regulatory events and laws on financial market participants. His work on intangible capital aims to understand how a firm’s knowledge, technology, and information acquisition create value. To study these, he uses big data and machine learning techniques in collaboration with corporate partners with vast datasets.

He has published a variety of papers in outlets including American Economic Review, Management Science, Science Advances, Journal of Financial Economics, and the Journal of Financial Quantitative Analysis. He has also presented his research at top selective conferences in his field, including the Western Finance Association, American Finance Association and National Bureau of Economic Research, winning several best prize awards.

Billy Yeung

Director, IT Strategy, AI and Data Governance, Prudential Hong Kong Limited

Billy manages and oversees the performance and impact of the company’s IT strategy. In this role, Billy strengthens Prudential Hong Kong’s AI and data initiatives, ensuring robust AI and Data governance. Additionally, Billy identifies and executes effective partnerships with other technology players.

Frank Ho

Managing Director, CONTRENDIAN

Frank Ho is co-founder of CONTRENDIAN, an InvestTech business developing a mobile-first investment system to empower retail investors to become their own professional portfolio managers. He is also co-founder of AutoCognita, an EdTech business developing a mobile literacy platform to help low-literate youths and adults learn core reading skills. Prior to becoming a parallel entrepreneur, Frank worked as portfolio manager at various asset management firms, and previously as management consultant. He earned Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Computer Science from MIT and an MBA from INSEAD.

Karl Ma
Engineering Manager, Bowtie Life Insurance

Karl is an Engineering Manager in Bowtie Life Insurance, one of the top insurtech startups based in HK, aiming to make insurance good again. 7 years of experience in full-stack web applications development, coaching in engineering, and product planning. He enjoys philosophical thinking. Books and movies are probably my best sources of thoughts. What he also enjoys a lot is to meet with great thinkers, understanding their perspectives of the world, the society, or software engineering.

Steffanie Yuen

Managing Director and Head of Hong Kong, Endowus

Steffanie Yuen is Managing Director and Head of Hong Kong at Endowus and is responsible for leading the firm’s business in the region.

Headquartered in Singapore, Endowus was established in 2017 and has grown to become Asia’s leading digital wealth management platform. It is the first and the largest digital advisor in the region to offer holistic wealth management in both private wealth and public pension savings. As of June 2022, the Endowus Group manages over US$5 billion in assets.

Before joining Endowus, Steffanie was Managing Director at Value Partners and was responsible for leading the Group’s Direct Distribution, Marketing, Communications and Investor Relations functions, as well as other key strategic growth initiatives. Prior to Value Partners, she was Business Development and Strategic Partnerships Director at Alibaba’s fintech affiliate Ant Group, where she was responsible for driving strategic collaborations and partnerships with international financial institutions and Ant’s overseas e-wallet partners, which together serves over 1.2 billion annual active users globally.

Steffanie started her career in the investment banking divisions of Deutsche Bank and Barclays in Hong Kong and holds a BS in Finance and Accounting degree from New York University’s Stern School of Business. She is currently the Co-Chair of the WealthTech & InvestTech Committee of the Fintech Association of Hong Kong.

Walter Cheung

Co-Founder & Managing Director, CONTRENDIAN

Walter Cheung is the co-founder and managing director of CONTRENDIAN Limited. He has extensive investment experience in New York and hong Kong with leading asset managers and family offices. He holds a BS from UC Berkeley, an MS from Stanford University and an MBA from Columbia University. He is also a CFA charter holder and a Certified Financial Risk Manager (FRM).