Cover For Suhaimi Zainul-Abidin, CEO of Quantedge Capital, creating meaningful impact extends beyond investment management to supporting initiatives that expand opportunities for underserved communities
For Suhaimi Zainul-Abidin, CEO of Quantedge Capital, creating meaningful impact extends beyond investment management to supporting initiatives that expand opportunities for underserved communities
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For Quantedge Capital CEO Suhaimi Zainul-Abidin, success goes beyond investment returns. He reflects on building a firm with purpose, advancing social mobility and creating opportunities for others
For Suhaimi Zainul-Abidin, Quantedge Capital’s greatest achievement is one that never appears in an investment performance report. “We’re trying to create a home away from home, where everyone is genuinely happy to come to work, where they have the space and the support to do their best and achieve their potential,” says the lawyer by training.
As the Singapore-based investment management firm marks its 20th anniversary this year, its chief executive is particularly proud of the culture it has cultivated in an intensely competitive industry. “While Quantedge receives awards and accolades for our investment performance and growth,” Suhaimi notes, “it is what we’ve built for our people that I’m most proud of.”
That does not mean his ambitions for Quantedge Capital are modest. Quite the opposite. Suhaimi believes that the firm is entering one of the most promising periods in its history. “It feels to me like we’re on the cusp of escape velocity at Quantedge,” he says. “After years of building the team, the culture, the systems and the investor base, things are picking up pace.”
Suhaimi’s conviction in Quantedge Capital’s potential dates back to 2013, when he made a career decision that baffled some of his peers: he left Allen & Gledhill—one of Singapore’s most prestigious law firms, where he had risen to partner in less than five years of practice—for a then relatively little-known investment manager, turning down several offers from competing firms. It was not that he had grown dissatisfied with legal practice; in fact, he relished the adrenaline of negotiating major financing transactions. Even the 80-hour workweeks were, he admits, largely self-imposed. “More than one person questioned my decision and called me crazy—but it felt right,” he recalls.
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Above From law and finance to philanthropy, Suhaimi has drawn on his experience across sectors to contribute to Singapore's social impact landscape.
From law and finance to philanthropy, Suhaimi has drawn on his experience across sectors to contribute to Singapore's social impact landscape.
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Reflecting on that choice, Suhaimi—who was then already an investor in Quantedge Capital and knew its founders, Leow Kah Shin and Chua Choong Tze—shares: “The founders are good, smart people. They had a vision that I bought into—to build Quantedge into an investment management firm that would compete against the very best in the world, right here, from Singapore. But we would do it our way and with our own values.”
Having remained committed to a single investment product, Quantedge Capital continues to refine its strategy and systems. For Suhaimi, the ambition extends beyond growing assets under management or expanding internationally to embracing kaizen, the Japanese philosophy of continuous improvement. “We must continue to improve. Kaizen—if you want to call it that. That is the most important thing,” he states. “The results will come.”
Suhaimi also believes that Singapore’s investment management industry is entering a particularly promising period as local-based managers emerge as credible competitors on the international stage, long dominated by firms in the US and Europe. Naturally, with growing recognition comes greater responsibility, particularly towards the investors who have placed their trust in Quantedge Capital.
For Suhaimi, the significance of the firm’s success extends beyond its own growth. He has witnessed investors become more active philanthropists as their wealth has grown—a cycle that reinforces his core conviction that investment management can generate resources that ultimately benefit wider society.
Bringing this same focus on positive impact to his day-to-day management, Suhaimi’s leadership philosophy within Quantedge Capital centres on helping others realise their potential. Rather than viewing leadership as an innate quality reserved for a select few, he believes that everyone has the capacity to lead. “I think everyone has it in them to be a leader,” he says. “We lead in different ways, and at different times. I don’t believe in born leaders or aristocracies.”
Beyond the bottom line
Suhaimi’s commitment to helping others extends beyond Quantedge Capital. His involvement in Singapore’s charity sector predates his move to the investment firm in 2013, and during his early years there, he served on the Charity Council, contributing to efforts to strengthen governance across the sector.
This deep-seated passion found a powerful philanthropic vehicle when Quantedge Capital’s principals established Quantedge Foundation in 2015, where he helped shape its governance and policies while serving on its board for its first decade. Today, the foundation has a team of 14 full-time professionals, whom he is quick to credit for its work in advancing social mobility—something he considers fundamental to Singapore’s continued success. As he puts it, “We got here by ensuring, in the past few decades, that there was a chance for everyone, anyone, to rise above their starting points in life”.
Yet, Suhaimi worries that this upward mobility is becoming increasingly difficult. Children from disadvantaged families often begin school without the same educational support, resources or opportunities as their peers, with these disparities widening as they grow older. “If you take away that dream, then Singapore will crumble,” he warns. “If people stop believing, they stop striving to reach their potential.”
When asked what he considers the greatest barrier to social mobility, his answer is unexpected: “What’s the biggest barrier? Love.” Parents naturally devote their resources, connections and opportunities to their own children, he explains. While understandable, this instinct can perpetuate inequality across generations, leaving those from less privileged backgrounds without comparable advantages.
Rather than merely alleviating the immediate consequences of inequality, Quantedge Foundation seeks to tackle its underlying causes. Its work spans research, experimentation and initiatives such as the Philanthropreneur-in-Residence programme, which supports social entrepreneurs in developing solutions that might otherwise struggle to secure funding. “We want to bring understanding, invention and rigour into social mobility,” he says.
Ultimately, Suhaimi believes that lasting progress depends as much on individual generosity as institutional resources. “People make the difference,” he asserts. “Not donations, not programming—these are important, but the difference is always people.”
Above Suhaimi also champions skills-based volunteering
Suhaimi also champions skills-based volunteering
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Suhaimi experienced the power of this human element early in his own journey with his first board appointment at 28—an opportunity that brought him into contact with experienced leaders who encouraged him to take on greater responsibilities. Over the years, he has served on numerous boards, including those of the Singapore Business Federation and its Foundation, the National Volunteer and Philanthropy Centre, and Esplanade – Theatres on the Bay, where he has contributed to governance and leadership. Having previously chaired Tri-Sector Charity Consultants, he now chairs Access Singapore. These experiences have reinforced his belief in the importance of board renewal. Rather than holding on to such positions indefinitely, he believes that organisations benefit from fresh perspectives and makes a point of identifying potential successors.
This deep commitment to community service is rooted in Suhaimi’s upbringing. His father, Zainul Abidin Rasheed, a former senior minister of state for foreign affairs and a veteran journalist, devoted much of his career to public service. His example instilled in Suhaimi the importance of contributing to society, while his mother reminded him that his desire to help others should never come at the expense of his own family.
It is advice that resonates more deeply today. At 47, and with two children, Suhaimi is increasingly mindful of how he spends his time. Beyond his professional and philanthropic commitments, he hopes to find, in his words, greater “spiritual serenity” and become “a better son, husband and father”.
As his children grow older, he is conscious that the years in which he can shape their lives are becoming fewer. He wants them to appreciate their privileges, but is equally determined that they should discover their own ambitions rather than follow a path prescribed by their parents. “They need to go out and see the world,” he says. “They need to carve out their own paths. Don’t let me tell them what to do.”
Looking beyond his own lifetime, Suhaimi hopes that the institutions he has helped build will continue to benefit others long after his involvement has ended. “We want to build and leave behind systems that others can build on and take to greater heights,” he says. “And if my and our work gives the next generation something better to build on, I think we’ve done our part.”
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Photography: Darren Gabriel Leow
Art Direction: Jeremy Ang
Grooming: Benedict Choo
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