Franklin Templeton Unveils Asian Smaller Companies Fund

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 13 (Bernama) -- Franklin Templeton Asset Management (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd (FTAM) has launched the Templeton Asian Smaller Companies Fund for Sophisticated Investors in Malaysia to provide capital appreciation for small-capitalisation (small-cap) companies. Structured as a feeder fund which invests a minimum of 95 per cent of its net asset value into the FTIF Templeton Asian Smaller Companies Fund (the Target Fund), the Fund seeks to provide long-term capital appreciation through investments, primarily in equities of small-cap companies in the Asia region (excluding Japan). Launched on Oct 14, 2008, the Target Fund has a strong track record having received an "Overall Morningstar Rating" of five stars and with an asset size of over US$1.26 billion, Franklin Templeton said in a statement. FTAM Malaysia Country Head Sandeep Singh said small-cap equities remain an untapped opportunity for Asian investors and it takes experienced researchers with local market knowledge to succeed in this space. "We are pleased to offer investors in Malaysia a fund managed by one of the pioneers of emerging markets, Dr Frank Mobius," he added. Citibank Bhd, which is the distributor of the fund, will channel the fund in two share classes, the ringgit and dollar currencies. The minimum initial investment is US$2,386 (RM10,000) for the Class A (MYR) share class and US$5,000 for the Class A (US$) share class. -- BERNAMA