• GIC has appointed De Rui Wong as Head of Sustainability, placing a long-time member of its Sustainability Office in charge of the sovereign wealth fund’s sustainability strategy.
• GIC will focus capital on economically durable transition investments, alongside climate adaptation and resilience opportunities.
• Physical climate risk is becoming a portfolio priority, as investors face rising potential losses across companies, infrastructure and real assets.

GIC elevates sustainability leadership

GIC has appointed De Rui Wong as its new Head of Sustainability, putting an experienced internal investment specialist at the helm of its Sustainability Office.

The office conducts sustainability-related investment research and develops strategies for issues with a material impact on GIC’s global portfolio. Wong joined GIC in 2019 and has worked in the Sustainability Office since its launch in 2022.

His appointment comes as large asset owners reassess how climate factors affect investment returns. Policy support has weakened in some markets, while higher interest rates have challenged parts of the clean technology sector.

Physical climate risks, however, continue to rise. Munich Re estimated that natural disasters caused $224 billion in global economic losses during 2025. Around $108 billion of those losses were insured.

For GIC, that backdrop is shaping a sustainability approach rooted in investment economics rather than broad ESG labels.

Strategy shifts toward resilience and durable returns

Wong outlined three priorities for the sovereign investor. GIC intends to invest in the energy transition where economic fundamentals remain strong across different policy environments.

It will also seek profitable opportunities in climate adaptation and resilience. Demand for infrastructure, technologies and services that protect assets from warming-related risks is expected to grow.

The third priority is defensive. GIC plans to manage physical climate risks proactively across the companies and assets in which it invests.

Wong said: “Through these shifts, GIC’s approach to sustainable investing has three strategic priorities: Invest in the energy transition where the economics are sound and the investment thesis is durable across policy regimes. Seek out profitable adaptation and resilience opportunities as demand for solutions to manage global warming accelerates. Proactively manage increasing physical risks to avoid losses in the assets and companies we invest in.”

The strategy reflects a wider change in institutional sustainable investing. Investors are increasingly separating transition opportunities that depend heavily on government incentives from those supported by long-term commercial demand.

Adaptation is also becoming more prominent. Infrastructure protection, water management, cooling, resilient agriculture and climate analytics could attract greater institutional capital as physical risks intensify.

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Investment experience shapes GIC approach

Wong brings experience across macroeconomic research, public equities and sustainability investing.

He previously worked at GIC between 2010 and 2017. His roles included macroeconomic analysis covering Japan and oil markets, followed by equity research covering Asia-Pacific telecommunications.

He later joined investment firm PAG as a senior analyst. His coverage included hardware technology, telecommunications, energy, automobiles and education.

Wong returned to GIC in 2019 as sustainable investing was beginning to gain institutional attention.

“In 2019, sustainable investing was a niche area, but one filled with genuine optimism. Policy tailwinds were driving green tech investments, and institutional capital, particularly from Europe and North America, was flowing into the space.”

The policy environment has since become less predictable. That makes investment discipline increasingly important for asset owners with multi-decade horizons.

Climate risk moves deeper into portfolio management

Wong takes over a sustainability function established under predecessors Emily Chew and Rachel Teo. His mandate places climate risk within GIC’s broader assessment of structural economic change.

“As I step into the role of Head of Sustainability at GIC, I look to build on the strong foundations laid by my predecessors, Emily Chew and Rachel Teo. Climate change is not a passing theme. It is a structural force reshaping economies, industries, and asset values. Our role is to navigate that complexity with clarity and conviction, identifying opportunities where others see noise, and managing risks before they become losses.”

For institutional investors, GIC’s direction is notable because it connects sustainability directly with portfolio resilience and long-term returns.

As climate policy becomes less uniform globally, capital allocation will depend increasingly on economics that can withstand political cycles. At the same time, worsening physical risks are making adaptation harder for investors to treat as a secondary ESG consideration.

For sovereign wealth funds and other long-term asset owners, the question is shifting from whether climate change affects portfolios to where the risks and investable opportunities will emerge first.