New Fund Uses Global Network of Asset Managers

The fund draws upon the investment expertise of Franklin’s global network of local asset management teams and will be managed by Stephen H. Dover and Purav A. Jhaveri.  The two will work with Franklin’s regionally based sub-advisers to develop local portfolios that seek to outperform the relevant markets of each region and to create a diversified global fund. The sub-advisers are based in Brazil, Japan, India and South Korea, and will also work with the heads of the U.S., Canadian and European Franklin Equity Group growth teams.    

According to a press release, the fund uses a diversified, opportunistic approach to stock selection that is unconstrained by geographical location or market capitalization.  It can invest across all markets—including developed, emerging and frontier markets.    

The fund also has an interactive regional allocation process, which means that exposure to various regions will vary over time, according to the portfolio managers’ and the sub-advisers’ opinions as to the prevailing conditions and prospects for these markets.    

The benchmark for this fund, the MSCI All Country World Plus Frontier Markets Index, consists of all investable countries in the world.  It was selected as the most appropriate benchmark since the fund is anticipated to typically have assets invested in emerging and frontier markets, where many other global equity funds and benchmarks do not, the announcement said.