Franklin Templeton wins coveted mandate

Global financial services firm Franklin TempletonInvestments has won a $450 million fixed income portable alpha mandate with ColonialFirstState’s FirstChoice investment platform.

The mandate forms part of Colonial’s Multi Manager FirstChoice Fixed Interest Portfolio and will be led by Robert Waldner, Franklin Templeton senior vice president and portfolio manager for its fixed income group.

Franklin Templeton, which manages more than $150 billion in fixed income portfolios worldwide, will provide a customised solution, using its absolute return strategy to pursue potential sources of alpha across securities, sectors and global markets.

Franklin Templeton executive vice president and chief investment officer for the firm’s fixed income group Chris Molumphy said the investment team aims to add value by exploiting market inefficiencies through both top-down allocation decisions and bottom-up security selection.

“Investors in Australia and worldwide continue to search for new sources of higher investment returns to meet their goals, and fixed income portable alpha represents a growing opportunity to meet those goals for the benefit of investors,” he said.

Franklin Templeton’s head of retail for Australia Adam Quaife said the firm was “honoured” to have been awarded the mandate.

“[It] represents a significant vote of confidence in Franklin Templeton’s global fixed income capabilities, including its absolute return and portable alpha strategies.”