Legg Mason becomes part of Franklin Templeton

The business is now part of Franklin Resources, and the newly combined organisation brings together more than 1,300 investment professionals and establishes Franklin Templeton as one of the world’s largest independent asset managers with  US$1.4 trillion in assets under management globally.

Franklin Templeton Global chief executive Jenny Johnson says collectively the group offers "an exceptional array of investment strategies that we believe help us fulfill our mission to deliver better financial outcomes for our clients."

"The addition of the specialist investment managers from Legg Mason brings complementary strengths to Franklin Templeton’s investment teams and together provide our clients with a broader and more diversified range of strategies."

The combined entity will be Franklin Templeton - Legg Mason will become part of Franklin Templeton with a new, combined corporate-level leadership team under the stewardship of Johnson.