Franklin Templeton Bolsters Leeds-based Franklin UK Equity Team with New Hires

Franklin Templeton Bolsters Leeds-Based Franklin UK Equity Team with New Hires

London, 21 September 2021 – Franklin Templeton¹ is pleased to announce two new hires within the Franklin UK Equity team. Effective 13 September, Jo Rands and Courtney Westcarr joined the firm as Senior Research Analyst/Fund Manager and Research Analyst Associate respectively. Both will be based at Franklin Templeton offices in Leeds and in their newly created roles, will report to Colin Morton who heads up the Franklin UK Equity team.

Commenting on the new hires, Colin Morton, Head of UK Equities said: “We have been proactive about assessing our resourcing requirements to ensure our investment team continues to provide the highest level of portfolio management and client service. We felt it was prudent to further expand the investment team to reflect the steady growth in assets across the UK equity range and we are delighted to welcome Jo and Courtney to the team. We have focused on hiring experienced team members who bring diverse perspectives, a fit with our investment culture, and have the ability to demonstrate depth in their analytical work, skill in stock selection and breadth of interest across the UK equity market.”

In her new role, Jo will focus on large cap UK equities. She brings a wealth of experience from her time at well-regarded UK equity management firms such as Rathbones, Hermes and HSBC. She has over 14 years’ experience of managing UK equity portfolios across the market cap spectrum.

Courtney will focus on UK small and mid-cap equities in his new role. He was previously an equity research analyst at Cardale Asset Management, where he developed a deep understanding of financial modelling and accounting. He brings over four years of experience as UK equity analyst.

In addition, after more than 30 years with the firm, Mark Hall, Portfolio Manager and Research Analyst, will retire from the company and the investment management industry effective 1 January 2022. Mark will relinquish his portfolio manager responsibilities on the UK equity funds on which he is named effective 30 September 2021. He will continue in his role as an analyst until his retirement.

Colin added: “We would like to thank Mark for his many years of hard work and dedication within the UK equity team. We send him our best wishes in the next stage of his life. Portfolio Managers Richard Bullas, Dan Green and Marcus Tregoning have been working closely with Mark Hall, encouraging a smooth handover of responsibilities and retention of the team’s UK equity market investment expertise. All our portfolio managers and research analysts work across the full UK equity market spectrum and across market caps, which makes for an easier transition of research coverage and we do not anticipate this change to have any impact for clients, the investment approach, process or the fund’s objectives. The team will continue to operate their close-knit collaborative culture, focusing on bottom-up fundamental investing with a stringent focus on quality and valuation.”

The UK equity team continues to be led by Colin Morton, a highly experienced investor and leader with over 35 years’ experience investing in UK equities. Colin is supported by a seasoned group of investment professionals, with the investment team averaging 18 years in industry and nine years at Franklin Templeton. The team remains committed to the goal of delivering strong risk-adjusted returns to our clients and shareholders over market cycles.

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For more information please visit: www.franklintempleton.co.uk.

Contacts:

Rachel Cashmore Corporate Communications Manager Franklin Templeton Cannon Place, 78 Cannon Street London EC4N 6HL Tel: 07754968037 Email:  [email protected]

Erica Lewis Senior Consultant FTI Consulting 200 Aldersgate Street London EC1A 4HD Tel: 020 3727 1514 Email: [email protected]

Notes to Editors:

1. 1. Franklin Resources, Inc. [NYSE:BEN] is a global investment management organisation with subsidiaries operating as Franklin Templeton and serving clients in over 165 countries. Franklin Templeton’s mission is to help clients achieve better outcomes through investment management expertise, wealth management and technology solutions. Through its specialist investment managers, the company brings extensive capabilities in equity, fixed income, multi-asset solutions and alternatives. With offices in more than 30 countries and approximately 1,300 investment professionals, the California-based company has over 70 years of investment experience and over $1.5 trillion in assets under management as of August 31, 2021. For more information, please visit https://www.franklintempleton.co.uk and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

This press release is intended to be of general interest only and does not constitute professional advice. Franklin Templeton and its management groups have exercised professional care and diligence in the collection and processing of the information in this press release. Franklin Templeton makes no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy of this document. Franklin Templeton shall not be liable to any user of this report or to any other person or entity for the inaccuracy of information contained in this press release or for any errors or omissions in its contents, regardless of the cause of such inaccuracy, error or omission.

Any research and analysis contained in this document has been procured by Franklin Templeton for its own purposes. For more information, UK investors should contact: Franklin Templeton, Cannon Place, 78 Cannon Street, London EC4N 6HL. United Kingdom. Phone: 0800 305 306, Email [email protected].

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