TORONTO, March 27, 2017 /CNW/ - Franklin Templeton Investments Corp. today announced management fee reductions for its Canadian and U.S. quant mandates available to investors in Canada. In addition, these multi-factor mandates will be named Franklin ActiveQuant on April 3, 2017, pending regulatory approval, to better reflect their rules-based investment strategies.
Franklin ActiveQuant mandates leverage a proprietary blend of fundamental and forward-looking factors to identify investment opportunities to construct portfolios with compelling risk/reward profiles. The funds' portfolio managers look for equities exhibiting attractive levels of a combination of four key categories — value, risk, growth and momentum — in building a concentrated portfolio of 40 stocks. As part of their active process and risk mitigation strategy, the Calgary-based Franklin ActiveQuant team continuously tests and reviews the underlying quant models to optimize the factors involved in the screening process as market conditions change.
The time-tested investment process and portfolio managers will remain the same following the implementation of the proposed changes on April 3.
"For many Canadian investors, the core of their portfolio is comprised of Canadian and U.S. equity investments, and they can benefit from employing different styles in achieving this exposure," said Duane Green, president and CEO of Franklin Templeton Investments Corp. in Canada. "Our Franklin ActiveQuant line-up can deliver this diversification by providing a sophisticated quantitative investment strategy, backed by a compelling 12-year track record."
The proposed new fund names for the four Franklin ActiveQuant mandates are:
| Current Name |
New Name |
| Franklin ActiveQuant Canadian Fund |
|
| Franklin ActiveQuant Canadian Corporate Class |
|
| Franklin Bissett U.S. Focus Fund |
Franklin ActiveQuant U.S. Fund |
| Franklin ActiveQuant U.S. Corporate Class |
The management fees for Series A and Series F of Franklin ActiveQuant Canadian Fund, Franklin ActiveQuant Canadian Corporate Class and Franklin ActiveQuant U.S. Corporate Class, will be reduced to 1.65 per cent and 0.65 per cent, respectively (a reduction of 35 per cent for each series). In addition, management fees for Series I* for these mandates will be reduced to 1.30 per cent (a reduction of 10 per cent); and Series PF will be reduced to 0.55 per cent (a reduction of 20 per cent).
For all four of the Franklin ActiveQuant mandates, the management fees for Series O – which is available for investments over C$200,000 – will be reduced to 0.70 per cent (a reduction of 20 per cent) for investments up to C$2.5 million. For investments between C$2.5 million and up to C$5 million, the fee will be 0.65 per cent (a reduction of 10 per cent); and for investments over C$5 million the fee will be 0.60 per cent (a reduction of five per cent).
These management fee reductions will, in turn, provide investors with lower management expense ratios (MERs).
Franklin ActiveQuant Canadian Corporate Class and Franklin ActiveQuant U.S. Corporate Class, part of Franklin Templeton's Corporate Class structure, invest in units of Franklin ActiveQuant Canadian Fund and Franklin ActiveQuant U.S. Fund, respectively.
About Franklin Templeton Investments
Franklin Templeton Investments Corp. is a Canadian subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc. [NYSE:BEN]. Franklin Resources, Inc. is a global investment management organization operating as Franklin Templeton Investments, which provides global and domestic investment management to retail, institutional and sovereign wealth clients in over 170 countries. Through specialized teams, the company has expertise across all asset classes—including equity, fixed income, alternative and custom solutions. The company's more than 650 investment professionals are supported by its integrated, worldwide team of risk management professionals and global trading desk network. With offices in over 30 countries, the California-based company has 70 years of investment experience and over US$738 billion (over C$982 billion) in assets under management as of February 28, 2017.
For more information, please visit franklintempleton.ca or connect with Franklin Templeton on Twitter (@FTI_Canada) and read the Beyond Bulls & Bears blog featuring perspectives from Franklin Templeton investment professionals around the world.
*Series I is capped for new purchases
Copyright © 2017. Franklin Templeton Investments. All rights reserved.
SOURCE Franklin Templeton Investments Corp.
Media contact: Sarah Kingdon, Corporate Communications, Franklin Templeton Investments, 416.957.6191
Share this article