Why Temasek: Interviews, Careers, & Portfolio

Learn more about Temasek and understand why this firm is a good choice for aspiring investors

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Temasek Overview

Temasek, a global investment company incorporated in 1974, is owned by the Government of Singapore.

Even though Temasek can be classified as a sovereign wealth fund (SWF), there are still some differences as it invests mostly in equities, owns many companies and assets, and pays taxes like any other commercial investment firms.

The investment activities of Temasek are aligned to their four structural trends:

Digitisation
Sustainable Living
Future of Consumption
Longer Lifespans

Temasek’s headquarters is located in Singapore – with additional offices in Washington D.C., Shanghai, Shenzhen, San Francisco, Paris, New York City, Mumbai, Mexico City, London, Hanoi, Brussels, and Beijing.

Temasek AUM

Temasek’s asset management businesses handle approximately S$79 billion – including 3rd party capital and their own. Temasek calls it Partnership Engine and accounts for 10% of their portfolio.

Temasek Interview Process & Questions

Despite the changes in the interview changes for each candidate, the general nature of the process stays the same for the most part. In fact, you can anticipate the following:

Interview rounds: 4-6
Initial interviews are supervised by junior professionals, while later rounds are handled by more senior folks
Unless it’s on-campus or on-cycle recruiting, expect that the entire process will last for multiple weeks

Get ready to answer a mixture of behavioral questions, technical questions, and fit questions when you interview at Temasek.

To help you with preparation, I’ve created a Growth Equity Interview Guide. Feel free to check it out.

Why Temasek

One of the questions you must prepare for is the “Why this firm” question.

If you’ve met employees at the firm during your networking efforts, make sure to mention them and how their experiences and testimonies helped in choosing their firm.

Also, do your homework and research the firm. You can try listening to interviews with its founders, management team, and investors to get to know them better.

For starters, here’s an interview with Dilhan Pillay, CEO at Temasek International, where he discusses the company’s investment strategy:

More Interview

[CNA Exclusive] PM Lee reveals inner workings of Temasek

Temasek Case Study

Communication skills and technical knowledge are two traits that investment firms highly value. To evaluate these, firms like Temasek ask candidates to perform case studies.

Most case studies will have you do financial modeling and investment recommendations. But for junior roles, a cold calling case study may also be part of the process.

Check out my Growth Equity Interview Guide if you need more help regarding case studies.

Temasek Salary & Compensation

According to Glassdoor, analysts at Temasek have earned salaries of $118K per year, while associates have an average base salary of $131K per year. Actual figures may vary depending on several factors.

Analyst

Associate

Temasek Careers, Jobs, & Internships

View open roles at Temasek inside our job board where we also feature all open roles for similar firms.

Temasek Portfolio & Investments

According to Crunchbase, Temasek has made 540 investments and eight acquisitions. Some of their notable deals include Country Delight, Robin AI, and Twin Health.

Notable Transaction: Aira

Aira is a clean energy-tech company which provides affordable and accessible clean energy-tech solutions to millions of homes.

In January 2024, Aira secured €145 million from a Series B funding round led by Temasek, Kinnevik, and Altor – all of which are leading climate tech investors in the US, Europe, and Asia.

Collaborative Fund, Lingotto, Burda FAmily, Creades, Statkraft, and Nesta Impact Investments also participated in the funding round.

The said investment will help Aira to work towards their mission to take Europe off gas and encourage people to join the clean energy movement.

Next Steps

If you decide to send your application and build your investing career at Temasek, I would highly recommend that you check out my Growth Equity Interview Guide first before attending interviews.

Growth Equity Interview Guide helps professionals get a good grasp of topics that are typically covered during interviews such as financial modeling, case studies, and more. Check it out and start learning today!