Franklin Templeton hires ex-Calpers investment chief as Asia-Pac chairman

Franklin Templeton has appointed the former chief investment officer for the biggest US pension fund - the California Public Employees Retirement System (Calpers) - as chairman of Asia Pacific.

Effective July 15, Ben Meng will take on the newly created role to drive Franklin Templeton's Asia Pacific and global growth strategy. He will report to president and CEO Jenny Johnson, and sit on the firm's executive committee.

Between 2015 and 2018, Dr Meng also served as deputy chief investment officer for China's State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE), which manages more than US$3 trillion worth of assets, including investments in real estate, infrastructure, private equity and private credit.

The latest high-profile hire comes as Franklin Templeton in February 2020 moved to acquire Legg Mason, creating a global investment manager that would manage what was then estimated at a total of US$1.5 trillion. The merger was completed in July the same year.

Franklin Templeton said Dr Meng's appointment builds on the firm's strategy to expand the reach and breadth of its investment offerings in the Asia Pacific region, with a particular focus in private equity, venture capital and other alternative asset capabilities.

In a press statement, Ms Johnson said expanding the firm's alternative asset business and deepening its overall commitment to the Asia Pacific region are "key strategic priorities" for Franklin Templeton.

"Our footprint across Asia, only enhanced and deepened since our acquisition of Legg Mason, is expanding rapidly. With Ben's expertise and leadership, we are well positioned to take advantage of the growth opportunities across the region. In addition, we are seeing growing interest in our alternatives business and Ben is uniquely qualified to help accelerate our overall business in the Asia-Pacific region."

Dr Meng holds a Master of Financial Engineering degree from the Haas School of Business at the University of California at Berkeley and a PhD in Civil Engineering from the University of California at Davis. He is a China-born US citizen.

In August 2020, he resigned from Calpers after a year and a half as investment chief, amid an internal review on whether he had broken conflict-of-interest rules, reports out of the US said.

But as the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Monday, "there is no evidence that Dr Meng had steered money into firms to boost his shareholdings, which he also reported". He was also not notified of related charges or fines, WSJ added.

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