Franklin Templeton grabs more Gulf corporate debt after downturn | Reuters

Franklin Templeton grabs more Gulf corporate debt after downturn | Reuters:

Franklin Templeton Investments has raised its Gulf corporate debt exposure as a downturn in some sectors, largely real estate, has hit company valuations, Dino Kronfol, its chief investment officer of global sukuk and MENA fixed income, said.

“Some independent corporates really sold off over the past few months, that’s why we say there’s more value in the weaker, higher-yielding names,” Kronfol told Reuters.

Franklin Templeton, which had $683 billion in assets under management as of the end of November, has increased the exposure of its $350 million Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) bond strategy to regional corporates by roughly 20 percent this year to 72 percent, of which 10 percent was in the last quarter.