Franklin Templeton Investments has announced the appointment of William Yun as executive vice-president for alternatives strategies, a new role dedicated to overseeing Franklin Templeton’s
Franklin Templeton Investments has announced the appointment of William Yun as executive vice-president for alternatives strategies, a new role dedicated to overseeing Franklin Templeton’s specialised and alternative investment business which includes local asset management, joint ventures, real estate, fund of funds and dedicated private equity.
‘Our business continues to expand in markets worldwide, and we believe that establishing a dedicated alternative investments platform for our specialised investment groups will best position us to capitalise on the strong growth and interest we have seen in these areas,’ said Greg Johnson, chief executive of parent company Franklin Resources.
‘As our specialised and alternative investment capabilities become more diversified and continue to gain traction in the market, we recognise the need for more dedicated resources in this area.
‘Bill’s investment management background and extensive global experience with institutional markets and investors make him a natural fit to guide and lead the growth of our business in this space.’
Drawing on his investment background and global experience with institutional markets and investors, Yun will head Franklin Templeton’s specialised and alternative investment groups and oversee local asset management investment teams. He will also oversee the investment and business sides of its asset management joint ventures in markets including Vietnam, China and Dubai.
Over the past decade, Franklin Templeton has established wholly-owned local asset management groups in Brazil, Canada, India, Japan and Korea. In addition, the emerging markets private equity and mezzanine finance capabilities of Darby Overseas, the fund of funds business of Franklin Templeton Managed Investment Solutions and the global property offerings of Franklin Templeton Real Estate Advisors will fall under the alternative strategies umbrella.
‘We see tremendous opportunity for growth in the specialised and alternative strategies space,’ Yun says. ‘The number of investors looking for added alpha as well as increased diversification for their portfolios through a broad range of asset classes, including alternatives, has grown exponentially.
‘We offer an outstanding investment platform to help our clients achieve their investment objectives, and we support that platform with the broad operational capabilities that we possess as a global firm. We are committed to growing this space and are dedicating the resources and attention to meet evolving client needs.’
Yun joined Fiduciary Trust Company International in 1992 and was a portfolio manager for eight years, becoming executive vice-president overseeing Fiduciary Trust’s global equity division, and became the firm’s president in 2000, shortly before its acquisition by Franklin Templeton.
In 2002, he also became president of Franklin Templeton Institutional, the global business development group responsible for the group’s institutional, defined benefit and investment-only separate account businesses. Before joining Fiduciary Trust, Yun worked in asset management and investment banking at Blyth Eastman Paine Webber, First Boston and CB Commercial Holdings.
Based in San Mateo, California, Franklin Templeton Investments has more than 60 years of investment experience and had some USD623bn in assets under management at the end of May.
