Franklin Templeton has announced the appointment of Rahul Bhalla to the newly-created role of Head of Asia ETF Distribution, marking the firm’s foray into the rapidly growing Asian ETF market.
Based in Singapore, Bhalla will work closely with the regional distribution team to drive the growth and raise the profile of Franklin Templeton’s ETF business in Asia. He will also be responsible for developing and implementing the firm’s long-term ETF business strategy for Asia. Bhalla will report to Patrick O’Connor, Head of Global ETFs, in partnership with Tariq Ahmad and Matt Harrison, Co-Heads of APAC.
Tariq Ahmad, Co-head of Asia-Pacific at Franklin Templeton said: “ETFs play an important role in a portfolio due to their inherent ability to offer liquidity, diversification and trading flexibility. We see strong demand in Asia for ETFs as clients in the region look to include them as building blocks in their portfolios. Our strategy in this space will focus on introducing active ETF strategies and solutions that combine Franklin Templeton’s investment expertise with the benefits of an ETF structure. We look forward to further expanding our product offering in Asia with the introduction of ETFs, resulting in the deepening of our capabilities to develop bespoke solutions that cater to evolving client needs in the region.”
Bhalla is a seasoned asset management business development professional with extensive ETF knowledge and over 20 years of industry experience in Asia and the U.S. Prior to joining Franklin Templeton, Bhalla was Head of AMICORP Asset Management, Singapore. He previously served as the Head of Business Development Asia Pacific at IHS Markit and Head of South Asia at Vanguard Investments. He holds an MBA from the Booth School at University of Chicago and a BA from College of Wooster in Ohio.
Franklin Templeton’s ETF platform is designed to seek better client outcomes through a diverse and innovative product suite offered across asset classes and geographies. Over 100 ETFs are offered globally, providing solutions for a range of market conditions and investment opportunities through active, smart beta and passively managed ETFs. Its global ETF platform has approximately US$12 billion in assets under management as of September 30, 2022.