Franklin Templeton has appointed Manraj Sekhon as chief investment officer of Templeton Global Equity Investments as Alan Bartlett departs. 

Sekhon will lead both Templeton Global Equity Group and Franklin Templeton Emerging Market Equity effective from 31 March.

The current CIO of Templeton Global Equity Group, Alan Bartlett, is leaving the firm to "move on to the next phase of his career".

In early 2022 Sekhon was named head of Templeton Global Equity Investments, which combined Templeton Global Equity Group (TGEG) and Franklin Templeton Emerging Market Equity (FT EME) under one umbrella.

In a statement, the firm stressed that both TGEG and FT EME would "retain the integrity of their respective investment philosophies and processes". However, it also noted that ait would "increase collaboration in order to benefit from scale".

FT EME has over 70 investment professionals across 13 offices globally and TGEG has 38 managers and analysts in seven offices.

Sekhon joined FT EME as CIO in 2018 and has over 25 years of experience researching and investing in markets and managing teams and processes. Prior to joining Franklin Templeton, Sekhon was chief executive, CIO and director of Singapore-based Fullerton Fund Management.

In his new role, he will be supported by management committees of the two sub-businesses.