Yaqub Ahmed

Yaqub Ahmed ("Qub") is co-head of U.S. Retirement, Insurance Sub-Advisory & 529 College Savings. In this role he is responsible for overseeing Franklin Templeton's U.S. institutional and advisory defined contribution, insurance, sub-advisory, 529 businesses & market strategies. His responsibilities include leadership on strategic partnerships/joint ventures, M&A, reinsurance, FinTech, private investments, public policy and regulatory matters related to the broader U.S. retirement & insurance market. In addition, he leads the global retirement strategy in collaboration with regional heads across APAC, EMEA and Americas for Franklin Templeton.

Mr. Ahmed serves on the Franklin Templeton Management Committee and on the Fiduciary Trust International Board of Directors and Audit Committee. In addition, he is a member of the MMI Institutional Steering Committee, the DCIIA Public Policy Committee (emeritus), SPARK Institute Board of Directors, Board of Advisors for EACH Enterprise, LLC (emeritus), IRI Asset Management Committee (emeritus) and NAPA Leadership Council (emeritus). Yaqub also serves on the Board of Directors for The Florida Aquarium and the historic Tampa Theatre.

He has over 25 years of experience in financial services, with a focus on the institutional retirement & insurance markets. Prior to joining Franklin Templeton in 2009, he served as managing director for Columbia Management's investment-only division responsible for overseeing both the U.S. defined contribution (Institutional & Retail) and insurance subadvisory businesses.

Mr. Ahmed holds a bachelor's degree from Boston University. He has been named as one of the "100 Most Influential" in the defined contribution industry by InvestmentWires.com for eight years and is a frequent speaker at industry conferences and client forums. Yaqub and his wife Caroline are proud parents to three very active boys.