CHICAGO (Reuters) - Michael Hasenstab, who runs the $57 billion Templeton Global Bond Fund , said on Wednesday that the European debt crisis is a "blessing in disguise" and criticized the dollar as a safe haven.
Speaking at the 2012 Morningstar Investment Conference, Hasenstab said that the European debt crisis has revealed that Europe suffers from not having a fiscal union and a "lack of competitiveness and convergence" between its countries.
Hasenstab added that leaving the euro zone crisis is "going to be messy, but it's not Armageddon," but said that Italy needs to focus on structural reforms since a credit event in the country is a key danger.
Regarding the U.S., Hasenstab said that investing in the U.S., particularly Treasuries, is a "curse" given the excessive credit in the U.S. through monetary easing.
Average annual returns over the last 10 years for Hasenstab's Templeton Global Bond fund are 10.65 percent, putting it among the top 1 percent of the U.S. open-end world bond fund category, according to Morningstar.
On China, Hasenstab said that a severe downturn in China is a key concern, but that a "major policy error" is unlikely.
(Reporting by Sam Forgione; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)
