Franklin Templeton to name institutional sales head

US fund house Franklin Templeton has hired a head of institutional sales from rival Schroder Investment Management in Hong Kong, AsianInvestor understands.

Alan Young, who worked for Schroders for a little over two years, is expected to join Franklin Templeton this December, sources tell AsianInvestor.

It comes after Max Wong quit Franklin Templeton at the end of May to join alternatives manager Oaktree Capital Management as senior vice-president this June, also in Hong Kong, as reported.

Wong had worked as head of institutional business for Greater China at Franklin Templeton, having joined the firm in 2009. He had reported to David Chang, CEO for Greater China.

It is not known what Young’s new title will be, although it is understood he will be coming in below Chang – potentially as a direct replacement for Wong.

He has the background, having joined Schroders in Hong Kong in 2012. Prior to that he worked as head of sales for North Asia at State Street Global Advisors (SSgA), where his market focus was Hong Kong, Korea and Taiwan.

Young started as a client service officer in 2000 for HSBC, where he spent a short stint in its Mandatory Provident Fund group. He then spent six years at Goldman Sachs Asset Management with a focus on Greater China institutional clients.

He moved on to work at Barclays Global Investors, where he fostered relationships with iShares institutional clients for 10 months before joining SSgA.

Young is now on gardening leave before starting his new role. However, a spokesperson for Franklin Templeton declined to comment when approached by AsianInvestor.

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Schroder Investment Management in Hong Kong did not respond to AsianInvestor queries by press time on whether Young had been or would be replaced.