Bassel Khatoun

Bassel Khatoun is Senior Managing Director, Head of Research for Templeton Global Investments, and Director of Portfolio Management for Frontier and MENA Equity. In these roles, he oversees the investment process, research, and performance of the Frontier and MENA team, while ensuring a consistent and robust research framework and the delivery of timely, high-quality, value-added insights by the analyst team. He is also portfolio manager for the Templeton Frontier Markets Fund and the Franklin MENA Fund.

Mr. Khatoun is a member of the Templeton Global Investments management committee which sets the overall strategy for the group, provides guidance and thought leadership, coordinates appropriate resources and coverage, and leverages the group's expertise to add value across its products. He is a board member of Franklin Templeton Investments (ME), formerly Algebra Capital, and has been with the firm since 2007.

He joined Algebra Capital in April 2007 as an equity portfolio manager and was an integral member of the team. During his employment at Algebra Capital, Mr. Khatoun was involved in the establishment of the firm's flagship equity funds and was a member of the Equity Investment Committee. Prior to this, Mr. Khatoun worked in the investment banking division of Citigroup in London, where he was involved in a range of mergers and acquisitions and corporate finance transactions across the European and emerging markets financial institutions sector.

Mr. Khatoun is authorized by the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom and holds a B.A. degree with first-class honors in Philosophy, Politics and Economics (PPE) from University of Oxford.