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SOURCE Franklin Templeton Investments Corp.
TORONTO, Feb. 20, 2013 /CNW/ - Franklin Templeton Investments Corp.
today announced proposed changes to the investment objectives of
Bissett Focus Balanced Fund and Bissett Focus Balanced Corporate Class,
which will be voted on at special meetings of securityholders on or
about April 22, 2013 in Toronto. The new investment objectives of the
funds will provide investors access to a diversified mix of Canadian
equities across market capitalizations. The equity investments will be
complemented by Canadian and global fixed income opportunities across
multiple sectors, which will help reduce portfolio volatility and
enhance risk-adjusted returns.
Franklin Templeton's Calgary-based Bissett Investment Management team
provides investors with strong expertise across market capitalizations
and the yield spectrum. The balanced fund will be co-managed by four of
Bissett's Canadian equity and fixed income experts. Garey Aitken, chief
investment officer and co-lead manager of Bissett Canadian Equity Fund,
and Ralph Lindenblatt, co-lead manager of Bissett Small Cap Fund, will
oversee the funds' equity holdings; while Tom O'Gorman, director of
fixed income and co-lead manager of Bissett Bond Fund, and Darcy
Briggs, co-lead manager of Bissett Canadian Short Term Bond Fund, will
be in charge of the funds' fixed income holdings.
Proposed investment objectives, names and management fees
If securityholders approve the proposed changes to the investment
objectives of Bissett Focus Balanced Fund and Bissett Focus Balanced
Corporate Class, the funds' names will also be changed and management
fees reduced on or about May 13, 2013.
If approved, Bissett Focus Balanced Fund will change its investment
objective to seek a balance of current income and long-term capital
appreciation by investing primarily in a diversified portfolio of
Canadian equity and fixed income securities, and to a lesser degree, in
fixed income securities issued around the world. This marks a
broadening of the fund's objective to a multi-cap, multi-sector
approach that is backed by Bissett's investment team, which has a
strong track record of absolute, relative and risk-adjusted returns. If
the change in objective is approved, the fund's name will be changed to
Franklin Bissett Canadian All Cap Balanced Fund and management fees for
Series A, F, I and T of the fund will be reduced.
As the investment objective of Bissett Focus Balanced Corporate Class is
to invest substantially all of its assets in units of Bissett Focus
Balanced Fund, securityholders of the Corporate Class fund are also
being asked to approve a similar investment objective change. If
approved, Bissett Focus Balanced Corporate Class will change its
investment objective to seek a balance of current income and long-term
capital appreciation by investing substantially all of its assets in
units of (the newly renamed) Franklin Bissett Canadian All Cap Balanced
Fund. If the change in objective is approved, the Corporate Class
fund's name will be changed to Franklin Bissett Canadian All Cap
Balanced Corporate Class and management fees for Series A, F, I and T
of the fund will be reduced.
Bissett Focus Balanced Corporate Class is part of Franklin Templeton's
Corporate Class structure, which allows investors to switch between
funds and portfolios while deferring any taxable dispositions until
they redeem from the structure.
Securityholders of Bissett Focus Balanced Fund and Bissett Focus
Balanced Corporate Class will receive an information circular in
late-March 2013 detailing the proposed changes.
About Franklin Templeton Investments
Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE: BEN) is a global investment management
organization operating as Franklin Templeton Investments. Franklin
Templeton Investments provides global and domestic investment
management solutions managed by its Franklin, Templeton, Mutual Series,
Bissett, Fiduciary Trust, Darby, Balanced Equity Management and K2
investment teams. The San Mateo, CA-based company has more than 65
years of investment experience and over US$809 billion (over C$807
billion) in assets under management as of January 31, 2013.
Franklin Templeton Investments Corp. has more than 600 employees
providing services to more than one million unitholder accounts and
more than 200 pension funds, foundations and other institutional
investors. Additional information on Franklin Templeton Investments
Corp. can be found at franklintempleton.ca.
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