What does a total portfolio approach look like inside an investment organization?

Roger Urwin, Global Head of Investment Content at Willis Towers Watson, describes how TPA functions in practice, from new roles like the Chief Total Portfolio Officer to the governance structures, data, and decision frameworks that shape portfolio-wide thinking. Speaking with Mona Naqvi, Managing Director of Research, Advocacy, and Standards at CFA Institute, he discusses the guardrails that support disciplined decision-making, the skills and mindsets required to operate across silos, and why resilience, foresight, and systems thinking are becoming core investment competencies. Listen to the episode to understand how asset owners are applying a total portfolio lens in real-world investment organizations.

00:00 – The Evolution of Total Portfolio Approach (TPA) in 2025

01:56 – Crossing the Chasm: TPA Moves Into Mainstream Institutional Investing

07:06 – What Is Top-Down Total Portfolio Approach (Level 3 TPA)?

10:50 – CIO vs. Chief Total Portfolio Officer: Rethinking Portfolio Leadership

19:05 – Dynamic Asset Allocation: How TPA Changes Investment Decisions

26:42 – Governance, Risk Guardrails & Real-Time Portfolio Data

34:28 – Investment Skills for TPA: Systems Thinking & Strategic Foresight

41:20 – From Asset Allocation Model to Investment Operating System

Roger Urwin, Global Head of Investment Content at Willis Towers Watson, reflects on how leading asset owners are rethinking strategic asset allocation amid faster regime change, rising systemic risk, and growing complexity. In a conversation hosted by Mona Naqvi, Managing Director of Research, Advocacy, and Standards at CFA Institute, he draws on decades of experience advising global funds to explain why a total portfolio mindset is gaining traction—and how it reframes goals, governance, and investment decision-making. The discussion explores what it means to invest through a truly holistic lens, why mindset and organizational design matter as much as models, and how the investment profession may need to evolve for a more uncertain world. Listen to the episode to hear Roger Urwin's perspective on the shift from strategic asset allocation to a total portfolio approach.

Chapter Markers

00:00 Introduction and Welcome 01:12 Roger Irwin's Career and Industry Background 04:02 Why Total Portfolio Approach Matters Now 04:58 Origins of Strategic Asset Allocation (SAA) 09:32 Benchmarks, Universality, and Communication Challenges 12:01 How TPA Addresses Complexity 14:47 Accessibility vs Flexibility: SAA vs TPA 16:13 Governance Trade-offs and Organizational Design 17:53 Systems Thinking and Market Disruption 19:16 Ecosystem Thinking, Reflexivity, and Risk Models 21:21 Recalibrating Investment Frameworks 22:56 Is TPA More Resilient Than SAA? 24:27 People, Incentives, and Cultural Barriers 28:49 AI, Human Intelligence, and the Future Analyst 30:46 Human + Artificial Intelligence in Investing 34:48 Managing Systemic Risk and Long-Term Horizons 40:57 Value Creation in a World of Real-Time Information 43:55 Stewardship, System-Level Investing, and Externalities 45:00 Can SAA and TPA Coexist? 47:29 Industry Momentum and What Comes Next 49:36 Closing Thoughts and Series Preview

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Tune in to hear their full conversation.

Read the complete book online: https://rpc.cfainstitute.org/themes/technology/ai-in-asset-management

Follow the Financial Thought Exchange podcast for more expert perspectives: https://sites.libsyn.com/545057/site

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Listen and follow the podcast, and explore our report Reframing Financial Markets as Complex Systems for additional insights:

https://rpc.cfainstitute.org/research/reports/2025/reframing-financial-markets-as-complex-systems.

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https://rpc.cfainstitute.org/research/reports/2025/mercer-cfa-institute-global-pension-index-2025

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Tune in to hear Winston's insights, and don't miss his blog post, Intel, TikTok, and a US Sovereign Wealth Fund: What It Means for Investors, on Enterprising Investor.

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Learn more about Rob Arnott: https://rpc.cfainstitute.org/voices-of-influence/rob-arnott

Mike mentioned "Stocks for the Long Run" article by Ed McQuarrie and others, you can find that here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0015198X.2023.2268556

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