Franklin Templeton Investments is to acquire boutique investment firm Edinburgh Partners, headed up by former Franklin Templeton equity research director Dr. Sandy Nairn.
Edinburgh Partners, which manages around $10 billion across equities in global and emerging markets, was founded by Nairn in 2003, who will remain as chief executive of the firm and take on the role of chairman of Templeton Global Equity Group.
The deal will close in the first half of the year, subject to regulatory approval. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
“[Nairn] brings a tremendous amount of leadership experience and expertise in managing global and international equities, an area that continues to be of strong interest to our clients around the world,” said Jenny Johnson, president and chief operating officer of Franklin Resources. “This is the latest example of the firm continuing to make strategic investments in relatively small, yet highly experienced asset management teams that complement Franklin Templeton’s global offerings.”
Nairn previously spent a decade with Franklin Templeton between 1990 and 2000 as a research director at the Templeton Global Equity Group, before departing for Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, where he held the role of chief investment officer until 2003 when he founded Edinburgh Partners.
“I look forward to sharing my perspective and experience with the Franklin Templeton organisation,” Nairn said. “The access to Franklin Templeton’s extensive global resources will allow me to focus my time on investment management, as we continually seek to bolster our investment process and enhance our clients’ experience.”
Based in San Meteo, California, Franklin Templeton holds over $753 billion in assets under management across its retail, institutional and sovereign wealth business lines.