Franklin Templeton on Thursday said it has appointed Avinash Satwalekar, currently country head of Malaysia business, as president of the India asset management company (AMC), effective June 2022.
Satwalekar will relocate to India as president designate effective April 1, 2022and take over as president of the India AMC from Sanjay Sapre in June 2022, the firm said in a statement.
Sapre, current president of the India business, will join Franklin Templeton's digital strategy and wealth management division in July 2022.
He will be responsible for developing and leading the firm's consumer-oriented capabilities globally, with a special emphasis on helping distribution partners grow their digital propositions. Sapre will continue to be based in India in his new role and will remain on the India AMC board.
''We would like to thank Sanjay for leading the India business with distinction over the last six years, including through the challenging period since April 2020, when the Trustee announced the winding up of six fixed income funds,'' a Franklin Templeton spokesperson said.
''Since then, over 103 per cent of the aggregate reported AUM value across those six funds when the decision to wind up the funds was announced has been distributed to investors so far,'' he added.
Satwalekar joined Franklin Templeton in 1996 as a part of the Franklin Equity Group in San Mateo, California, where he was a member of the portfolio management team for the Franklin Small Cap Growth strategy and a lead portfolio manager for private separately managed small cap accounts.
He has been Country Head of Malaysia for the past five years and also serves as Chairman of Vietcombank Fund Management (VCBF), a joint venture between Franklin Templeton and Vietcombank in Vietnam. He has been instrumental in Franklin Templeton's rapid growth in Malaysia primarily due to the strong relationships that he built with clients, partners, distributors, and regulators.
''As the incoming President, Avi (Satwalekar) will work closely with all stakeholders to build our India business and strengthen relationships with clients and distributors. Avi's extensive experience in both investment management and business development makes him an ideal candidate to lead our India business which is well-positioned for growth,'' the spokesperson added.
Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund shut its six debt mutual fund schemes on April 23, 2020 citing redemption pressures and lack of liquidity in the bond market.
The schemes -- Franklin India Low Duration Fund, Franklin India Dynamic Accrual Fund, Franklin India Credit Risk Fund, Franklin India Short Term Income Plan, Franklin India Ultra Short Bond Fund, and Franklin India Income Opportunities Fund -- together had an estimated more than Rs 25,000 crore as AUM.
