NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Mar 1, 2012) - Franklin Templeton Real Asset Advisors today announced the hiring of three new professionals to strengthen its investment and distribution capabilities globally, noting continuing investor interest in private real estate and private infrastructure and real resources.

• Christopher Casey, institutional portfolio manager, is the member of the investment team responsible for communicating the product strategies, capabilities and expertise of the private real estate, infrastructure and real estate securities groups both to and through the firm's global distribution channels. Casey is based in New York and reports to Jack Foster, head of real assets.

• Witsard Schaper, vice president, will focus on identifying private real estate fund and co-investment opportunities in European markets. Schaper is based in Franklin Templeton's London office and reports to Raymond Jacobs, managing director.

• Emily Foshag, investment manager, is responsible for sourcing and underwriting global private infrastructure and real resources investments. Foshag is based in New York and reports to Joyce Shapiro, managing director, infrastructure and real resources.

"For nearly three decades, Franklin Templeton has focused on identifying what it believes to be best-in-class managers globally for our multi-manager private real asset mandates, seeking to provide investors with an important source of portfolio diversification and the potential for attractive risk-adjusted returns," said Jack Foster, head of real assets. "Chris, Witsard and Emily bring significant expertise to our clients globally, and these hires reflect the growing demand for real estate, infrastructure and real resources expertise that is emerging from the global economic recovery."

"We continue to emphasize the importance of on-the-ground expertise for sourcing new opportunities, researching the most capable managers, and monitoring our long-term investments," said Raymond Jacobs. "Witsard's appointment inaugurates FTRAA's presence in London and reinforces our commitment to the European region. His expertise also complements our increasing focus on co-investment opportunities."

Prior to joining Franklin Templeton, Casey was the chief operating officer of Post Oak Energy Capital, a Houston-based oil and gas private equity firm. Previously, Casey was a managing director at AIG Global Real Estate. Casey received a B.S. degree from Washington and Lee University, an M.B.A. from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill and a master's of management degree from the University of Dallas.

Schaper was previously executive director of Forum Partners where he was responsible for originating, structuring, and managing private and listed investments in Europe. Prior to that, Schaper was vice president with Credit Suisse Real Estate Capital Partners and was responsible for executing pan-European acquisitions. He received an LL.M. in civil and commercial law from the University of Utrecht, The Netherlands.

Prior to assuming her current role, Foshag served as a fixed income investment analyst and a business strategy analyst with Fiduciary Trust Company International, Franklin Templeton's wealth management subsidiary. Previously, she assisted with private equity portfolio analytics and joint venture accounting at Fortress Investment Group. Foshag graduated magna cum laude from New York University with a B.S. in accounting.

Franklin Templeton has been investing in real estate for clients globally for nearly three decades, researching and selecting leading real estate managers for its private multi-manager strategies. In 2010, Franklin Templeton Real Asset Advisors established an infrastructure and real resources team to expand the group's real estate capabilities into transportation, agriculture, water, energy and timber, utilizing the same private markets approach employed by the group worldwide.

Franklin Templeton Real Asset Advisors is an investment platform within Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE: [ BEN ]), a global investment management organization operating as Franklin Templeton Investments. Franklin Templeton Investments provides global and domestic investment management solutions managed by its Franklin, Templeton, Mutual Series, Fiduciary Trust, Darby and Bissett investment teams. The San Mateo, CA-based company has more than 60 years of investment experience and over US$704 billion in assets under management as of 31 January 2012. For more information, please call (800) DIAL BEN^® or visit [ www.franklinresources.com ].

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