Jenny Johnson, president, and CEO of Franklin Templeton said its business has shown resilient performance this year despite challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The GCC is an important market for our business. We are strengthening our retail and institutional capabilities locally and see ourselves as a core player servicing sophisticated institutional clients like central banks, sovereign wealth funds, and pension funds, as well as local and international banks,” Johnson told Khaleej Times in Dubai in an exclusive interview during her first official trip outside the US after the pandemic.
She was joined by Julian Ide, head of Franklin Templeton’s EMEA distribution, and Sandeep Singh, regional head for CEEMEA and Head – Islamic Business at Franklin Templeton.
Franklin Resources, a global investment management organization with subsidiaries operating as Franklin Templeton, has been serving clients in over 165 countries for more than 70 years. With offices in over 30 countries and approximately 1,300 investment professionals, the California-based company had over $1.5 trillion in assets under management
Singh, based in Dubai, said the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait are among the leading markets in the region for Franklin Templeton.
“We are proud of our longstanding presence in the region. We have just recently celebrated our 20-year anniversary in the UAE and as the asset management industry continues to evolve, we are looking forward to capitalizing on business opportunities in the region,” he said.
“Franklin Templeton has a strategic vision to strengthen its position in the UAE, GCC, and other parts of the Middle East. We want to replicate the UAE business success model in other markets of the region,” he said.
Dubai a financial hub
Ide commented that Dubai continues to grow as an international financial hub and demonstrated a successful strategy to contain the Covid-19 pandemic.
“The Middle East is a material percentage of Franklin Templeton’s EMEA business and Dubai is becoming increasingly strategically important, particularly for wealth management. Expo 2020 is just one part of this,” he added.
Johnson further elaborated, saying the Expo 2020 Dubai will drive business momentum in the region by attracting more tourists, businessmen, and investors to the region.
“Expo will further charge positive sentiments among the corporate world and help resume economic activity in the region and globally,” she said.
Helping the clients
Johnson said Franklin Templeton’s mission is to help clients achieve better outcomes through investment management expertise, wealth management, and technology solutions. “The company brings extensive capabilities in equity, fixed income, multi-asset solutions, and alternatives through its specialist investment managers in key markets across the world,” she said.
“We offer Shariah-compliant products to our clients in the region as Franklin Templeton is one of the few global asset managers, which manages Shariah-compliant strategies for investors worldwide,” she added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Finance World staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)