Veteran emerging markets fund manager Mark Mobius of Franklin Templeton has told the Morningstar Investment Conference getting under way in London today that he believes Africa has huge potential.

Dr Mobius told 400 delegates attending the event: "I believe that Africa will become a big manufacturing centre." He said Africa had huge human and natural resources as well as an enormous land mass which could fit in most emerging markets.

He said natural resources were potentially a major opportunity for Africa with many of the continent's natural resources "yet to be discovered."

Dr Mobius was the first keynote speaker at the two day annual Morningstar Investment Conference, supported by the IFP, which is being held in London today and tomorrow. The event is expected to attract more than 400 advisers and Financlal Planners, including many IFP members.

The executive chairman of the Franklin Templeton Emerging Markets Group was speaking against a backdrop of recent disappointing returns from emerging and frontier markets which have seen many investors turn back to developed economies.

He admitted that after several bull runs in emerging markets returns had been less easy in recent years. He said: "In the last 11 years there have been three or four times when emerging markets have underperformed." He added that "thank God" emerging markets had picked up in the past year.

Looking ahead Dr Mobius said there were many drivers of change that would spur markets including the growth of the internet and smartphones in emerging and frontier markets and the changing nature of the oil market as fracking came on stream, particularly in the US. Overall he remained postive on growth potential in emerging and frontier markets suggesting that investors should look at a 33 per cent portfolio weighting in emerging markets because long term opportunities remained.

The Morningstar Conference is designed to help Financial Planners and Paraplanners keep their investment knowledge up to speed by hearing from leading fund managers and investment experts.

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Among the leading speakers will be Steve Gazzard, chief executive of the IFP, who will lead the debate on the value of financial advice later today. He will chair a panel debate with a number of IFP members.

Other key speakers include: Paul Mason, economics editor, Channel 4 News, Clive Beagles, senior fund manager JO Hambro Capital Management and John Bennet, director of European equities at Henderson Global Investors.

Mr Gazzard said: "We're pleased to support this great event again this year. It is one of the best ways to engage on current investment practice, market movements and investment trends."

The 9th annual Morningstar Investment Conference will take place at the Park Plaza Riverbank Hotel, London.

There is a Morningstar Investment Conference Mobile App avavilable at http://eventmobi.com/micuk2015/ and the conference Twitter hashtag is #MICUK.