Franklin Templeton crowned this year’s Fund Manager of the Year

Franklin Templeton has been crowned the overall winner at this year’s Fund Manager of the Year awards, held in Sydney on 22 June. 

Speaking to Money Management, Felicity Walsh, managing director and head of Australia and New Zealand, shares the firm’s outlook and why she thinks the firm won this year’s prestigious award.

“I feel incredibly proud of my team and the investment teams we represent at Franklin Templeton,” she said.

“We aim to make our clients feel part of our team and experience the journey of investing together. It’s not always easy, particularly in times of a changing macro or regulatory environment, but I believe the trust we build with our clients along the way gives us a secure foundation for solving complex investment challenges.”

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Franklin Templeton offers a wide range of strategies to Australian investors, which it has been serving for 35 years, including managed funds and active ETFs across equity, fixed income, multi-asset and alternatives. The firm also works with numerous affiliate firms including Brandywine Global, Martin Currie and Western Asset, several of which were also finalists at this year’s awards.

The firm’s ClearBridge RARE Infrastructure Value Fund (Unhedged) won Infrastructure Fund of the Year at this year’s awards.

“The suite of investment strategies and styles under Franklin Templeton is a huge benefit that positions us well to build solutions to suit a variety of client needs. In recent years, we’ve been able to grow our investment offering by adding multiple quality investment teams to our line-up, both onshore and offshore,” Walsh said.

“I think our breadth of offering, intense focus on investment quality and exceptional commitment to working in partnership with our clients has all contributed to us receiving this award.”

Referencing challenges and opportunities for the firm in the last 12 months, Walsh says many investors are reconsidering their portfolio allocations in light of recession fears and higher interest rates. 

“Clients and investors have been questioning what worked in the past in terms of asset allocation and style preferences in a low-rate environment, and what changes are needed to deliver a robust portfolio in a higher rate environment.  

“We purposefully refocused our strategy to offer clients the tools they need to balance their portfolios and offer alternative investment styles to suit the current environment. 

“For example, we’ve spent a lot of time with our clients discussing fixed income and providing a range of strategies with increased allocations to duration and opportunities for diversification by adding local and global unconstrained fixed income to their portfolios.

“On the equity side, we’ve been active in discussing dedicated allocations to value equities, both local and global, to diversify styles in a higher rate environment.”

Walsh particularly feels “fixed income is back” in the current market environment and that investors are more likely to find opportunities for enhanced yield now that valuations are in good shape and inflation is slowing. 

“We believe fixed income deserves a good deal of attention—delivering income is back. With valuations in better shape, inflation slowing and volatility down, we think the case for fixed income today is very strong. 

“Investors are now much more likely to find opportunities for enhanced yield, and we have a range of active fixed income strategies that address a full spectrum of investor objectives.”

As for the future of Franklin Templeton in Australia, Walsh says the asset manager wants to help Australian clients access better global investments and innovative strategies.

The firm’s history and expertise in America, where it first launched back in 1947, also allows its fund managers to find global opportunities and technology specialisms that will appeal to Australian investors.

“We are putting considerable effort into considering how we can work with our clients to harness the benefits of technology alongside our investment management capabilities.

“We leverage our Silicon Valley roots and strong balance sheet to back, build and test technology-based solutions that may be beneficial to our Australian clients. Our fintech incubators in San Mateo and Singapore are designed to help us stay ahead of business modernisation and innovation. 

“We are excited about how the combination of technology and traditional active funds management will shape the future of our industry.”