Yaqub Ahmed

Head of Investment-Only Division of U.S. & Senior Vice President, Franklin Resources

Search every verified Yaqub Ahmed interview, podcast appearance, and on-the-record quote — each transcript cross-checked by AI and human review to confirm speaker identity. Yaqub Ahmed, Senior Vice President of Defined Contribution at Franklin Templeton Investments, spoke at the 2018 Fi360 Conference in San Diego about meeting the "unarticulated needs" of plan participants. He said the discussion focused on how to innovate in a "risk-averse marketplace" in defined contribution (DC) plans. Ahmed described unarticulated needs as situations where plan participants "may not know what they need in order to reach their retirement objectives," and said it is the responsibility of retirement practitioners to help them meet those goals. Ahmed also discussed themes he has been writing about, including fee compression across the financial services industry and demographic shifts in DC assets. He noted that participants over age 50 represent 60% of DC assets and that these households tend to be more engaged, presenting an opportunity for plan sponsors to address changing needs. He mentioned that fee compression, while disruptive, creates opportunities for more efficient solutions such as collective investment trusts.