Biography
Sara Cheng, JD, is Senior Director of Capital Markets Policy and Strategy, Asia Pacific. She is responsible for advocating policy development in Asia Pacific, writing research centered on capital markets and financial regulation, and engaging with financial regulators and standard-setting bodies on policy advocacy. Cheng's work experience spans close to 20 years in the finance industry. She's worked in investment banking, legal, compliance, and securities regulation. Before CFA Institute, she worked in the CEO office of the Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission from 2012 to 2017. She also previously worked at Goldman Sachs in New York, Mumbai, and Hong Kong where she held a range of diverse compliance roles in asset management, investment banking, and research. Cheng also previously worked as a US corporate lawyer and holds licenses in the states of New York and New Jersey. She is a strong supporter of diversity and mentoring. While at the Securities and Futures Commission, she founded and chaired the Women’s Network for which she received the 2015 Employee Award for outstanding contribution to the SFC.
Beware the nudge: Many people do not realize this, but we often are swayed in our decision-making processes by our emotions, the methods by which products or services are marketed to us, and the context of our current situation or surroundings. Nudges strategically and effectively make use of biases and mental shortcuts to influence behaviour and decisions while preserving freedom of choice.
Trust in the financial industry remains low more than a decade after the global financial crisis.