Ed Perks
The Guardian
What holds, and what fails, under pressure, standards and accountability.
Ed Perks embodies The Guardian by putting protection before growth at every layer of the Franklin Income Fund. A handwritten letter from a Tennessee retiree stayed with him, evidence of a CIO who internalises individual consequences rather than flattening them into benchmarks. His 'getting paid to wait' discipline turns patience into structure, and when volatility arrives he treats it as an offensive tool rather than a threat, anchoring capital so others can rely on it.
“Getting a handwritten letter from an investor, a woman in Tennessee that was a little concerned that her dividend check had gone down... he gave me that handwritten note and asked me to respond directly. We need to stay connected to the role we are playing in individuals lives.”
“I like buying things that trade at reasonable valuations that might not have an immediate catalyst, but something you can look out over a longer period of time. Income naturally became something you'd focus on — getting paid to wait while your investment performs.”
“We always have assets that are benefiting in some way, have some liquidity profile that lets us focus on playing offense a little bit more during those periods of volatility, and that's something that has enabled us to recharge the portfolio.”
Masters in Business: “Franklin Templeton's Ed Perks on Fixed Income Investing”
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