Franklin Templeton Investments announces Canadian fund merger

TORONTO, April 2, 2012 /CNW/ -  Franklin Templeton Investments Corp. today announced the proposed merger of Wellington West Franklin Templeton Balanced Retirement Income Fund (the "Terminating Fund") into Quotential Balanced Growth Portfolio (the "Continuing Fund"), which will be voted on at a special meeting of unitholders of the Terminating Fund on or about June 15, 2012 in Toronto. Franklin Templeton will also be seeking regulatory approval for the proposed merger.

The decision to merge these funds will allow Franklin Templeton to streamline its product offering and allocate operational costs across a larger portfolio. If the requisite approvals are obtained, the merger will be implemented on or about the close of business on June 22, 2012. Pursuant to the merger, unitholders of the Terminating Fund will receive units of the Continuing Fund on a dollar-for-dollar and series-by-series basis. Once the units of the Terminating Fund have been converted to units of the Continuing Fund, the Terminating Fund will be wound-up.

In anticipation of the proposed merger, after the close of business on April 2, 2012, the Terminating Fund will cease offering units for purchase. Unitholders in the Terminating Fund will have the right to redeem their units up to the close of business on June 20, 2012.

If the merger is not approved by unitholders, the Terminating Fund will be wound up and terminated on or about July 27, 2012. Unitholders of the Terminating Fund will receive an information circular in late May detailing further particulars of the proposed merger.

Franklin Templeton Investments

Franklin Templeton Investments Corp. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE: BEN), a global investment organization operating as Franklin Templeton Investments. Franklin Templeton Investments provides global and domestic investment management solutions managed by its Franklin, Templeton, Bissett, Mutual Series, Fiduciary Trust and Darby investment teams. The San Mateo, CA-based company has more than 60 years of investment experience and approximately US$727-billion (C$720-billion) in assets under management as of February 29, 2012.

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 www.franklintempleton.ca.

Media contacts:

Keith Damsell, Franklin Templeton Investments Corp., 416.957.6099
Sarah Kingdon, Franklin Templeton Investments Corp., 416.957.6191