POWERED BY MOMENTUM MEDIA
Franklin Templeton expands Australian investments team
Franklin Templeton Investments has announced a number of executive appointments in an effort to grow its Australian division.
Joining the company as director - advisory service, Jim McKay will be responsible for developing Franklin Templeton's retail business strategy by building a dedicated retail team to drive sales and better position the company's products and services.
McKay has served as Challenger's managing director - Garrisons Group, and also Goldman Sachs JB Were's head of retail business and group product management. He was most recently ING Investment Management's head of distribution.
Juliana Howard has been appointed Franklin Templeton client services manager with responsibility for institutional clients across all asset classes. Howard was previously a fixed income portfolio manager with UBS Asset Management and most recently headed up institutional client services and consultant relations at Invesco Asset Management.
Appointed to Franklin Templeton's Melbourne office, Matthew Sund will step into the position of director of fund administration and focus on accounting and unit pricing for financial products. Sund has over 15 years experience in financial services, including eight years spent in a similar accounting capacity at Vanguard Investments Australia.
Commenting on the appointments, Franklin Templeton Investments Australia managing director Maria Wilton said the company had continued to build its presence in the Australian market.
The expansion of its senior team, the acquisition of Balanced Equity Management in July and the subsequent launch of Australian Equity Fund in November have reinforced Franklin Templeton's commitment to the region, she added.
The senior changes at Franklin Templeton come amid the appointments of Justin Levi and Gareth D'Cunha as equity analysts with Balanced Equity Management.
Recommended for you
The lower outlook for inflation has set the stage for another two rate cuts over the first half of 2026, according to Westpac.
With private asset valuations emerging as a key concern for both regulators and the broader market, Apollo Global Management has called on the corporate regulator to issue clear principles on valuation practices, including guidance on the disclosures it expects from market participants.
Institutional asset owners are largely rethinking their exposure to the US, with private markets increasingly being viewed as a strategic investment allocation, new research has shown.
Australia’s corporate regulator has been told it must quickly modernise its oversight of private markets, after being caught off guard by the complexity, size, and opacity of the asset class now dominating institutional portfolios.
TOP PERFORMING FUNDS
ACS FIXED INT - AUSTRALIA/GLOBAL BOND
Fund name
3y(%)pa
1
DomaCom DFS Mortgage
92.15 3 y p.a(%)
2
Global X 21Shares Bitcoin ETF
53.24 3 y p.a(%)
3
Global X GlobalX FANG+ ETF
43.15 3 y p.a(%)
4
DomaCom Shoreline North Coogee
36.26 3 y p.a(%)
5
GAM LSA Private Shares AU I
35.87 3 y p.a(%)
