Beyond the headlines: What it takes to stay grounded in volatile markets

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17 April 2026

Masters Programme

In investing, volatility is often seen as the main challenge. But for Tan Yong Sheng, Chief Investment Officer of a single family office, the more important question is how to navigate uncertainty. His answer is not speed, but structure: a disciplined approach to risk, decision-making and portfolio construction that endures when markets move quickly.

Volatility is not new. How you respond is what counts.

“Markets have always been uncertain. Volatility is nothing new,” says Yong Sheng, an alumnus of the Master of Science in Asset and Wealth Management (MAWM) — delivered by WMI in partnership with NTU. What matters is having the skills to assess and manage it effectively.

That thinking now underpins how he runs his family office. Coming from a non-finance background and as a second-generation member of the family business, Yong Sheng says the programme gave him far more than technical knowledge.

He says, “MAWM gave me a complete framework to restructure how I run the family office, from wealth planning and governance through to institutional-grade portfolio management. The programme reshaped how I think about mandate-setting, strategic asset allocation, and disciplined execution.”

Why structure matters in noisy markets

For Yong Sheng, market turbulence should not be treated as an interruption to an investment plan. It should be anticipated in how that plan is built from the outset.

“If a portfolio is not already prepared for volatility spikes or black swan events, the problem began long before the headlines,” he says.

One of the most significant shifts for him came through MAWM’s Quantitative Finance elective, which helped translate theory into a live decision-making system he now uses in practice.

“I particularly valued the Quantitative Finance elective, which unlocked an area I’d never fully grasped,” he says.

“Today I use quantitative risk tools daily, position sizing driven by conviction tiers and volatility adjustments, theme-level risk budgets, and a pre-committed drawdown response plan with circuit-breaker rules that prevent reactive selling. These aren’t theoretical, they’re embedded in my live portfolio management process.”

That is where the programme’s impact becomes tangible. Rather than responding to market stress instinctively, Yong Sheng now relies on predefined rules and risk parameters. This has changed how decisions are made in real time, especially when markets are moving quickly and emotions can distort judgment.

Seeing the full picture

That clarity stemmed not only from stronger discipline, but from broader perspective. Yong Sheng credits the MAWM Programme for providing a wider view of both the investment lifecycle and the market landscape, helping him approach decisions holistically rather than in isolation.

For someone managing a family office, that matters. Without that structured mindset, he believes he would have lacked both the breadth and discipline needed to navigate investment mandates, policy setting, asset allocation, risk management and overall portfolio strategy. What proved most useful was not just gaining more knowledge, but understanding how all the pieces fit together.

The AI test of judgment

Yong Sheng sees a similar principle in the emergence of AI. He is pragmatic: these tools can speed up workflows and improve execution, but they cannot replace human judgment. AI may help professionals act more quickly, he says, but it cannot think for them.

In a world shaped by volatility, rapid technological change and constant information flow, stronger tools are only as useful as the judgment behind them. Without sound judgment, speed risks adding motion rather than clarity.

What professionals need now

This is why Yong Sheng says he would recommend MAWM even more strongly now. He believes professionals need more than just information. They require a disciplined approach to decision-making, a broad perspective to see the bigger picture, and the steadiness to remain calm amid swift market changes.

For professionals seeking to sharpen their approach to risk, portfolio construction and investment decisions in uncertain markets, structured learning can provide a useful edge. MAWM is one pathway for those aiming to build skills in investment judgment, risk management and strategic decision-making.

Explore MAWM or speak to our programme team at lydiaang@wmi.edu.sg to find out how the programme can support your next step as a wealth management professional.