Macpherson will take on the role of chairman of the company in January 2024, working with the current chairman, Paul Manduca, who is retiring after over eight years on the board, to ensure an orderly handover of responsibilities.

The trust is managed by Singapore-based Chetan Sehgal, lead portfolio manager and senior managing director at , and Scottish-based Andrew Ness, portfolio manager and managing director at Franklin Templeton. It has a board of six directors, with only one having a connection with Franklin Resources.

“TEMIT has been at the forefront of emerging markets for over 30 years. It has a strong long-term performance which has helped it to grow to be the largest emerging markets investment trust in the UK," Macpherson said.

“Paul Manduca has made an outstanding contribution during his tenure as chairman which, with the help of the board, I hope to build on,” he continued.

Macpherson has extensive experience of investment trusts as a non-executive director and chairman, the firm said in a statement. He is chief executive of Noble and Company (UK), an independent boutique Scottish corporate finance business. He was based in Asia between 1995 and 2004 in Singapore and Hong Kong, latterly as head of capital markets and financing for Merrill Lynch for Asia. 

He is currently chairman of Pacific Horizon Investment Trust, Henderson Diversified Income and a director of Schroder Japan Trust and Hampden & Co, the firm continued. He has advised the board of Pacific Horizon that he intends to step down as chair as soon as a suitable successor can be appointed.

TEMIT, which has seen improved returns recently, provides access to the growth potential of firms from some of the world’s fastest advancing economies such as China, Mexico, Taiwan, Korea and India, with £1.94 billion ($2.36 billion) in total assets. Holdings include Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Chinese tech giants Alibaba and Baidu as well as South Korean Samsung Electronics.

Although the trust declined in the first half of the financial year, Manduca said at their annual general meeting in July that it recovered in the second part of the year to end with a slightly positive annual return of 0.8 per cent.