Franklin Templeton has announced the appointment of Chenelle de Rozario Harding as a senior alternatives specialist, based in Melbourne.
Ms Harding joins Franklin Templeton from the Future Fund, Australia’s sovereign wealth fund, where she worked for over 14 years. Her most recent role was as a senior analyst within the alternatives team, focusing primarily on hedge fund strategies.
Before this, she gained experience at ETF Securities – now known as Global X ETFs – and its parent company, Investor Resources.
According to the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst Association, of which Ms Harding is a member, she was also involved in the listing of the world’s first commodity-backed ETF during her time with ETF Securities.
Franklin Templeton’s managing director and head of Australia and New Zealand, Felicity Walsh, noted that the firm is pleased to be growing its team as it heads into the second half of 2023.
“This appointment dovetails into our strategy to continue to expand Franklin Templeton’s alternative investment footprint in the Australian market to meet growing investor demand for greater portfolio diversification,” Ms Walsh said.
“Chenelle’s deep understanding of how allocators make decisions related to alternative investments for their portfolios allows us to have peer-level discussions with large asset owners in our market. Her strong relationships across the Australian and New Zealand institutional market are going to be invaluable to our team.”
Commenting on her appointment, Ms Harding said: “I look forward to working with the broader Franklin Templeton team to meet institutional and sophisticated investors’ demand for alternatives.
“Franklin Templeton, as a market leading investment firm, is able to offer a full suite of alternative capabilities that includes private equity and venture capital, real estate, private credit and hedged strategies, many of which are customised to suit specific client requirements,” she added.
Ms Harding graduated from Deakin University with a bachelor’s degree in commerce, majoring in finance and accounting.
Franklin Templeton is reported to have $2.1 trillion in assets under management as of 30 June 2023.
