Christian Leger doesn't aim low; he thinks big and calls it like it is. «We can't settle for the middle ground. We want to be more competitive at the forefront,» says the Head of Distribution Switzerland at Franklin Templeton. But how? finews.ch gained insight into the basics of the new direction.

Christian Leger (Image: zVg)

Leger joined the US fund house in August 2023. His previous positions were at Nuveen and Allianz Global Investors, where he held similar roles.

Going the Extra Mile for Employees

At Franklin Templeton, he is building a new team for the Swiss market, which currently comprises ten people in Zurich and Geneva. His directive: to look beyond the immediate scope in every client relationship and go the extra mile in consulting. «As a large investment manager, we can and must  increasingly act as a partner on equal footing with our clients. For example, large houses give us deep insights into their ten-year strategies, upon which we sit down together and discuss how and with which topics we can support them,» says Leger.

Big Players Have the Advantage

Leger quickly recognized that major banks are starting to become more independent, choosing to collaborate closely with only a select few large asset managers. This increases cost efficiency, simplifies processes, and ultimately allows for better investment solutions.

Here, Leger sees the opportunity for Franklin Templeton. He believes the US fund house can increasingly play the role of kingmaker due to its size, expertise, and client proximity.

Collaboration with Family Offices Gains Importance

Switzerland is an important market for Franklin Templeton. «A good partnership with our clients here often means a good partnership with the same clients in other parts of the world.»

Leger and his teams in Zurich and Geneva are also redefining their focus on family offices and institutional clients. These clients are particularly interesting for Franklin Templeton due to investments in private markets and, in the future, also in the area of tokenization. In alternatives, Franklin Templeton has a platform managing around 260 billion US dollars in client assets, with around 260 billion US dollars in client assets, making it one of the largest in the asset management industry. In the US, the firm was one of the first to launch a tokenized money market fund on a blockchain.