Franklin Templeton appoints alternative strategies director

Franklin Resources in the parent company of Toronto-based Franklin Templeton Investments Corp.

In this new role, Clifford will focus on the global growth strategy and business development for Franklin Templeton’s alternatives business. He will report to Mat Gulley, executive vice president, head of alternatives for Franklin Templeton, and will work closely with K2 Advisors, as an area of focus, as well as with the rest of the alternatives team. He will be based in Stamford, Conn.

“We are excited to welcome someone of Shane’s caliber to the Alternatives management team at Franklin Templeton. He is a proven leader, having developed new and grown existing product and business lines in the alternatives space for global firms — specifically in private equity and infrastructure investing,” says Gulley, in a statement.

Clifford has deep experience with nearly 20 years in the industry, including many years in the alternatives business. He most recently served as senior managing director, global head of corporate strategy at EnTrustPermal, where he was a member of the management team working on the combination of Permal and EnTrust and was responsible for transitioning Permal’s institutional clients to the new firm.

While at Permal, he built and managed a sales team that raised the US institutional assets under management from US$300 million to more than US$4.5 billion.

Previously, Clifford was with BlackRock working in the United Kingdom, Middle East and Latin America. Clifford began his career at Merrill Lynch.

Clifford received a bachelor of arts degree from the University of Limerick in Ireland and an MBA from Boston University Graduate School of Management.