OUR INVESTMENT TEAM
Investment Team
Chantana Ward
Analyst / Portfolio Manager
Chantana Ward joined Comgest in 1996 and is an Analyst and Portfolio Manager specialising in Japanese equities. She is also a non-executive member of the Board of Partners.
Chantana joined Comgest early in her career, initially working across Asian equities before specialising in Japan. She has been a key contributor to the long-term development of the Japan strategy and travels regularly to Japan to research companies and work closely with the Tokyo-based team.
Chantana holds an MSc in Finance from Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business in New York (US), a dual diploma with The American University of Paris (France).
Franz Weis
CIO - PORTFOLIO MANAGER - MANAGING DIRECTOR
Franz Weis joined Comgest in 2005 is a Paris-based Portfolio Manager specialising in European equities. In addition to serving as the Group’s Chief Investment Officer (CIO), he is Managing Director of Comgest Global Investors and a member of the Group’s Board of Partners and Executive Committee.
In his role as CIO, Franz oversees the Group’s Investment team and chairs both the Sustainability Committee and Investment Committee, which are responsible for applying Comgest’s philosophy on successful long-term investing.
Prior to joining Comgest, Franz worked at F&C Asset Management in London from 1996 as Senior Portfolio Manager and Director of European Equities. In 1990, he began his career at Baillie Gifford & Co. in Edinburgh as an Analyst and a Portfolio Manager.
Franz holds a Master’s degree in International Banking and Financial Studies from Heriot-Watt University (Scotland), where he received the International Bankers in Scotland Prize in 1990.
Xing Xu
ESG Analyst / Portfolio Manager
Xing Xu joined Comgest in 2020 and is a Paris-based ESG Analyst and Portfolio Manager responsible for ESG coverage of Global Emerging Markets and Asian equities.
Prior to joining Comgest, Xing completed internships at Comgest, the Fosun Group (China), working on strategic investment deals in the technology and financial sectors, and at GF Securities, a leading financial services company in China, within their equity research department.
Xing holds Master’s degrees in Management and Financial Markets from EDHEC Business School (France) and a Bachelor of Science degree in International Economics and Trade from the University of Nottingham (UK & China).
Jimmy Yang
Analyst
Jimmy Yang joined Comgest in 2019 and is an Analyst specialising in Global Emerging Markets equities.
Originally based in Hong Kong, Jimmy relocated to Paris in 2026. Prior to joining Comgest, he worked at T. Rowe Price Investment Management in Hong Kong, where he built, maintained and updated financial models for Asian technology and internet companies and assisted senior analysts in deepening coverage of these sectors. He began his financial career at China Renaissance Securities in Hong Kong as an Equity Associate Analyst, specialising in the Asian technology and internet sectors.
Jimmy holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (Honours) from the Hong Kong Polytechnic University.
Frédéric Yoboué
Analyst / Portfolio Manager
Frédéric Yoboué joined Comgest in 2021 and is a Paris-based Analyst and Portfolio Manager specialising in Global equities.
Prior to joining Comgest, Frédéric worked for three years at Bryan, Garnier & Co. in Paris as a Research Equity Analyst focused on European semiconductor companies. He previously held internship positions as a Buy-Side Equity Analyst for companies including Comgest, LFPI AM and Amundi in Paris.
Frédéric holds a Master’s degree in Corporate Finance from Toulouse Business School and Bachelor’s degree in Economics from Toulouse School of Economics, both in France.