Franklin Templeton today announced the appointment of Jeff Masom, CFA®, as Head of US Distribution, overseeing US retail and institutional distribution, including US marketing and product strategy, reporting to the recently announced Head of Global Distribution, Adam Spector. Masom will join the firm August 31, 2020 and be based in Baltimore, MD.
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“The acquisition of Legg Mason will establish Franklin Templeton as one of the world’s largest independent asset managers, both in the US and globally,” said Jenny Johnson, President and CEO of Franklin Templeton. “Jeff Masom’s demonstrated leadership, and depth of experience in various aspects of US distribution over the past decades, position him ideally to lead and grow our US retail and institutional business, that will have a combined AUM of over $1 trillion, after deal close. His client-centric focus will help us continue to deliver the exemplary service our clients have come to expect from us.”
Masom most recently served as Global Head of Institutional Distribution with RBC Global Asset Management in Boston since 2018, following his prior role as Senior Managing Director and Head of US Sales for Legg Mason. During his 20-year tenure with Legg Mason, he held various distribution roles and made key impacts in the areas of product innovation and retirement solutions. He had direct oversight of all national account channels, including retail national accounts, DCIO, sub-advisory, private bank, RIA, bank trust, family office and parts of the institutional marketplace.
“I am very excited to join Franklin Templeton at this critical juncture, to lead the US business for the newly combined organization. I look forward to working with the talented US distribution team coming together from across both Franklin Templeton and Legg Mason—where I have spent the majority of my career—to drive the business forward,” said Masom. “The combined footprint of the organization creates an expansive investment platform that is well balanced between institutional and retail client assets under management and a strong separately managed account business.”
The acquisition, expected to close on July 31, 2020, will add differentiated capabilities to Franklin Templeton’s existing investment strategies, with modest overlap across multiple world-class specialist investment managers and distribution channels. The combined firm, with $1.4 trillion in assets under management, will bring added leadership and strength in core fixed income, active equities and alternatives—as well as an expansion of multi-asset solutions capabilities, a key growth area for the firm amid increasing client demand for comprehensive, outcome-oriented investment solutions.
Masom is a CFA® charterholder and holds a J.D. from Delaware Law School and a degree in business administration and management from Elizabethtown College.
