Against the captivating backdrop of the Hong Kong skyline, a diverse panel of 30 speakers, comprising both internal and external experts, took the stage at Franklin Templeton’s flagship APAC Investor Forum recently. The Nov. 2 event, held at the Sky100 Hong Kong observation deck, brought together nearly 150 clients from Hong Kong and overseas for an enlightening meeting of minds, fostering valuable connections and insights.
It was fantastic to engage with clients from Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, Korea, Japan, India, Taiwan, Thailand, Brunei and many other countries at our flagship APAC Investor Forum. With the rapidly evolving investment landscape as the backdrop, this forum showcased the breadth and depth of our investment capabilities and reaffirmed our position as an innovative and truly global investment management firm."
Tariq Ahmad
Head of APAC, Franklin Templeton Investments
Franklin Templeton’s specialist investment managers (SIMs), each with unique specializations, participated throughout the day.
The event began with an opening address from Tariq Ahmad. Jenny Johnson, President & Chief Executive Officer then made a virtual appearance using AI technology to speak on the theme ‘The World Disrupted’.
Howard Lee, JP, Deputy Chief Executive, Hong Kong Monetary Authority, and CEO, Exchange Fund Investment Office, made a rare appearance for a fund house event and delivered the keynote address.
Investments teams then presented topics spanning income investing, ESG, alternatives and the new asset class in the virtual world, experiential investing. Mo Gawdat, former Chief Business Officer of Google X and author of the book Scary Smart, then delivered a captivating talk on AI.
Stephen Dover, Chief Market Strategist and Head of the Franklin Templeton Institute—who had facilitated four panel sessions throughout the day—provided 10-minute key takeaways and a summary of the day to wrap up the forum. The event concluded with a Ted Talk–style closing from Adam Spector, Head of Global Distribution.
It was great to be back in Hong Kong for the APAC Investor Forum and meet our clients from across the region as we look to build on the momentum that our APAC team built in fiscal year 2023. The success of this forum reaffirmed my belief that face-to-face interactions remain critically important to deepen client relationships for the long term."
Adam Spector
EVP - Global Advisory Services, Managing Partner - Brandywine Global
Agenda:
Welcome to the FuTure:
Tariq Ahmad, Head of APAC, Franklin Templeton
Franklin Templeton CEO Address (virtual): The World Disrupted: Jenny Johnson
President & Chief Executive Officer
Opening Keynote:
Howard Lee JP, Deputy Chief Executive, HKMA & Chief Executive Officer, Exchange Fund Investment Office
FuTure of the Global Economy (Part 1): Macro View:
Stephen Dover, Chief Market Strategist & Head of the Franklin Templeton Institute and Sonal Desai, EVP & CIO, Franklin Templeton Fixed Income
Today’s Technologies Reshaping Tomorrow’s Opportunities
Stephen Dover, Chief Market Strategist & Head of the Franklin Templeton Institute and Jonathan Curtis
SVP & Director of Portfolio Management, Franklin Equity Group
FuTure of the Global Economy (Part 2): Innovative Investing
Stephen Dover, Chief Market Strategist & Head of the Franklin Templeton Institute and Josh Lohmeier, SVP & Portfolio Manager, Franklin Templeton Fixed Income
Income Investing for the New Age
Subash Pillai, SVP & Regional Head of Client Investment Solutions - APAC, Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions and Desmond Soon Portfolio Manager, Western Asset
Digital Innovation at Franklin Templeton - Dialogue with Quantifeed, a FinTech Partner
Alex Ypsilanti, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder, Quantifeed and Brit Blakeney Senior Vice President, Digital Advisory & Wealth Management
Beyond ESG
James Andrus, VP of Sustainability Global Markets, Franklin Templeton and Charles Hamieh, Managing Director & Portfolio Manager, ClearBridge
Alternatives Require an Alternative Approach
Felicity Walsh, MD, Australia & New Zealand, Franklin Templeton Australia Limited Franklin Templeton and Anant Kumar MD & Head of Research, Benefit Street Partners
Experiential Investing: The New Asset Class
Sandy Kaul, SVP, Digital Asset and Industry Advisory Services Franklin Templeton and Roger Bayston, EVP & Head of Digital Assets
It's About to Get Scary Smart
Mo Gawdat, Former Chief Business Officer of Google [X]
FuTure Discovered: Innovate and Allocate
Stephen Dover, Chief Market Strategist & Head of the Franklin Templeton Institute
Closing
Adam Spector, Executive Vice President & Head of Global Distribution