Franklin Templeton Investments has appointed Jo-Anne Bailey as director for Africa, with immediate effect, based in Cape Town, South Africa.

In this role, Bailey will be responsible for developing the firm's retail and institutional businesses across the African continent. Bailey reports to Andrew Ashton, regional head for central and Eastern Europe, Middle East and Africa, who is currently based in Dubai.

The firm has grown its presence in Africa since 1995 with an office in Johannesburg, overseeing the distribution of its products in key markets such as South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Kenya and Mauritius.

Prior to joining Franklin Templeton, Bailey was the head of institutional business development at Cadiz Asset management focusing on client retention, product development, institutional business growth and marketing. Bailey has spent 16 years in the financial services industry, working for various asset management businesses, including Investec, Prodigy, Coronation and RMB Asset Management.