Franklin Templeton appoints Sandeep Singh as Senior Director & Regional Head, Central Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, February 5, 2017 - Franklin Resources, Inc.1 (operating as Franklin Templeton Investments) (NYSE: BEN) has announced the appointment of Sandeep Singh as Senior Director & Regional Head, Central Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa (CEEMEA), effective 25 January 2017.

Singh will be based in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, reporting to Vivek Kudva, Managing Director, Europe, Middle East, Africa and India and will be responsible for the firm’s businesses across Central Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Africa. Singh will oversee the leadership and development of the retail and institutional distribution efforts across the region. In addition, Singh will continue his existing responsibilities as head of the firm’s growing Islamic Business, which has close to $1.8bn2 under management in Shariah-compliant strategies.

Commenting on Singh’s appointment, Kudva said: “I am pleased to welcome Sandeep to the incredibly varied region that he will lead. Sandeep’s two-decade experience and tenured presence with the firm, spanning over 18 years, will be an asset to the broad geography he will cover. While the Middle East in particular is home to some of the largest sovereign wealth funds, there is also a clear emerging retail distribution opportunity throughout the region. And on the Islamic business side, the Middle East is home to vibrant Shariah markets where clear growth opportunities exist.”

Singh, who was previously Country Head for Franklin Templeton’s Malaysia operations, replaces Adam Quaife, who is relocating to take on another role within the firm.

“The CEEMEA region is a diverse one, and one in which we are well-positioned to capture growth in by leveraging the firm’s varied investment groups to offer a truly wide range of investment solutions for both institutional and retail investors alike,” added Singh.

Singh joined Franklin Templeton from Cholamandalam Cazenove AMC Ltd in 1998 to open the firm’s eastern regional office in India. He assumed several sales leadership roles before his appointment as National Sales Director, India in 2003. In that role, he was responsible for developing the retail and institutional channels with teams spread across 33 offices. Thereafter, he relocated to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, in 2009 to open Franklin Templeton’s office there. In that role, he oversaw the institutional and retail distribution efforts of both our conventional and Shariah strategies in Malaysia in addition to driving the firm’s global Shariah initiatives.

Franklin Templeton Investments is one of the largest foreign asset management firms in the CEEMEA region, offering a wide range of investment solutions for retail and institutional investors. Following the opening of the first office in the CEEMEA region in South Africa in 1995, the company opened an office in Poland in 1997 and in the UAE in 2000, adding to Franklin Templeton’s network of 35 offices around the world.

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About Franklin Templeton

1. Franklin Resources, Inc. is a global investment management organization operating as Franklin Templeton Investments. Franklin Templeton Investments provides global and domestic investment management to retail, institutional and sovereign wealth clients in over 150 countries. Through specialized teams, the company has expertise across all asset classes – including equity, fixed income, alternative and custom solutions. The company’s more than 600 investment professionals are supported by its integrated, worldwide team of risk management professionals and global trading desk network. With offices in 35 countries, the California–based company has more than 65 years of investment experience and $720 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2016.

2. As of September 30, 2016.

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