Franklin Templeton has appointed Andrew Ness as a fund manager on the £2.3bn Templeton Emerging Markets investment trust.
Mr Ness joins from Martin Currie Investments, where until recently he worked on emerging market products.
The Templeton Emerging Markets investment trust was previously managed by Mark Mobius and then Carlos Hardenberg, with the latter resigning in February to join Mr Mobius at his latest venture Mobius Capital Partners.
Chetan Sehgal remains the lead manager of the trust.
Franklin Templeton said Mr Ness will manage additional emerging market portfolios for the company in future.
Mr Ness was previously employed as an emerging markets fund manager at Scottish Widows, among other firms.
The trust has for several years focused on technology companies in emerging markets, rather than, as it said many of its peers did, on consumer companies.
Richard Troue, head of investment trust analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown who is a long-term fan of the Templeton Emerging Markets investment trust, said the trust has consistently performed well over many years.
Manraj Sekhon, chief investment officer for emerging markets at Templeton, said: "Andrew is a seasoned emerging markets portfolio manager with a long-term track record of outperformance, and we are very excited to have someone of his caliber and experience joining our team."
He added: "The needs of our clients in emerging markets investing continue to evolve as does the investment landscape. Andrew’s appointment underscores our commitment to ensuring that we have the right talent and resources in place to deliver on our investors’ expectations."
david.thorpe@ft.com
