Franklin Templeton has moved to increase its capacity in the institutional market by combining Franklin Advisers with Fiduciary Trust Company International to establish a global fixed income platform to be called the Franklin Templeton Fixed Income Group. According to Franklin Templeton chief investment officer, Christopher Molumphy the integration has resulted in the creation of a highly competitive global fixed income platform with over $US130 billion in assets and a full range of fixed income strategies for the institutional and retail market.

The managing director of Franklin Templeton Investments Australia, John Gall said the new platform would have benefits for local investors and represented a logical next step in terms of strengthening Franklin Templeton’s global offerings.

“There will be no change to current management teams or investment processes, merely a pooling of resources which aims to assist portfolio managers and benefit investors,” he said.

Gall said that global fixed income strategies were becoming more important to Australian investors as the local superannuation pool neared the $1 trillion mark.

“Demand for local fixed income investments is expected to exceed supply in less than five years, forcing more investors to go global,” he said.