Fondul Proprietatea, Bucharest, Romania, hired Franklin Templeton to manage the fund's €2.4 billion ($3.2 billion) in assets.
The fund was established in 2005 to compensate Romanians whose property was confiscated under the former Communist regime, according to David Smart, global head of sovereign funds and supranationals at Franklin Templeton.
The fund had been managed internally.
Beneficiaries were given shares in the fund, which holds stakes in Romanian companies. The fund, which is owned by the government and shareholders, will be listed on the Bucharest stock exchange in order to create liquidity for shareholders.
“So far, there has been no liquidity at all,” Mr. Smart said in a telephone interview.
Franklin Templeton will open an office in Romania as a result of the hiring.
“I'm sure that the presence of (Franklin Templeton) in Romania will not only help to increase the value of the fund, but also the focused interest of foreign investors in the local capital market,” Ionut Propescu, CEO of the fund, said in a Franklin Templeton news release. Efforts to reach Mr. Propescu were unsuccessful.
