Franklin Templeton to launch India’s first Europe-focused fund

Thursday, 24 October 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

REUTERS: Franklin Templeton plans to launch India’s first Europe-focused mutual fund, an executive at the asset manager said on Wednesday, as the fund house looks to beef up its overseas portfolio.

The plans are still at an early stage, said Franklin Templeton Investments Director Global Research and Analytics K. Jaya Prakash. The product would consist of a fund that would feed into one or more of the global asset manager’s pool of Europe-focused funds, he added. “Typically, before launching a product we have some discussions with our partners on what is the best strategy. Depending on the discussion over the next quarter or so, we will be able to file something with the regulator,” Prakash told Reuters in a phone interview. Franklin Templeton India already runs an Asian equities fund and a US equities fund and has filed for a Latin America-Asian fund, which is currently awaiting final approval from the Securities and Exchange Board of India. It currently manages about $ 75 million in its two offshore funds, and has over $ 7 billion in assets under management overall its equity and debt funds, according to data from Thomson Reuters Lipper. Indian mutual funds that invest abroad have grown more than 10% this year as investors look for higher returns. The pan-European FTSEurofirst 300 index has gained 12.1% since the end of June, on the back of improving economic growth. Meanwhile, the Nifty has gained 6.2% in the same period. Funds in Lipper’s Europe Equity sector topped the table for global net inflows last month, marking a fifth straight month of net inflows.