The global financial crisis of 2008 hit the mutual fund business in India hard. There was huge redemption pressure on the entire industry and both equity as well as fixed income funds were affected. Franklin Templeton Investments was no exception. The market had a liquidity crisis and, like many other funds, Franklin Templeton had no choice but to sell some of its debt assets at extremely low valuations.
With big losses nigh, the Indian team contacted Vijay Advani in the US office to see if they could get a line of credit to help them tide over the crisis. Advani, who worked in the headquarters at San Mateo, California, served as a member of the CEO’s direct report group in the US. He understood the problem and within 24 hours, was able to wire $146 million to the Indian office.
“We needed that money for ten days and we remitted the same by October 2008. That guy is restless but loves the India office. [We] don’t know what would have happened had he not sent the funds to us so promptly,” says Vivek Kudva, managing director, Franklin Templeton Investments, India and Central Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa.
Advani, more than anyone, understood the need to bail it out. After all, he had laid the foundation for Franklin Templeton to become one of the biggest asset management businesses (it had assets under management worth Rs 70,780.42 crore as of December 2015) in the country, having set up the office in 1995. In fact, it was in part due to his success here that, in 2000, he was moved to Singapore to look after the Asia business and his profile in the corridors of power kept becoming bigger. Consider that in August 2015, Advani was appointed co-president of Franklin Resources. A veteran of 20 years with the fund house, he has served as the member of the CEO’s direct report group since the formation of Franklin Resources, which is the holding company of the investment arm, in 2005.
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