Franklin Templeton Rolls Out International Fund

The announcement said the fund will “use Mutual Series’ deep value investment approach while investing predominantly in securities of non-U.S. companies.” The fund seeks capital appreciation, with income as a secondary goal, and it will focus primarily on undervalued securities of large- and mid-capitalization companies and, to a lesser extent, merger arbitrage and distressed securities. The fund’s strategy is to invest primarily in Europe and developed Asia.

“We believe that diligent, company-by-company research is critical to finding out-of-favor stocks trading at significant discounts to their intrinsic worth,” said Philippe Brugere-Trelat, vice president of Mutual Series and co-portfolio manager of the fund. “We also take a business owner’s perspective and are willing to actively press companies for change when we believe it will unlock shareholder value.”

“Using Mutual Series’ rigorous, bottom-up investment strategy, we will focus on uncovering the most attractive investment opportunities in Asia,” said Andrew Sleeman, co-portfolio manager of the fund, in the announcement. “As always, our focus will be on companies with strong balance sheets and robust cash generation, with an eye on capital preservation.”

Brugere-Trelat began his career with Mutual Series in 1984. He has 25 years of experience focused primarily on the European equity markets. In addition to managing all European investments for Mutual International Fund, he also manages Mutual European Fund. Sleeman has 23 years of experience and has been with Mutual Series since 2007 where he has been responsible for covering the insurance sector and later the Asia region. Prior to joining Mutual Series, he focused on international equities and fixed income.

Brugere-Trelat and Sleeman will be supported by the Mutual Series investment team, which includes more than 25 portfolio managers, analysts, and traders with an average of more than 16 years of industry experience, according to the announcement.