Franklin Templeton Investments Canada Proposes Changes to Franklin Bissett Dividend Income Funds
TORONTO, April 19, 2018 /CNW/ - Franklin Templeton Investments Canada today announced proposed changes to the investment objectives and investment strategies of Franklin Bissett Dividend Income Fund and Franklin Bissett Dividend Income Corporate Class to provide investors with pure dividend-paying equity offerings, which invest in Canada and the US. These proposed changes will be voted on at a special meeting of securityholders for each fund to be held on or about June 25, 2018 in Toronto.
The proposed investment objective change for both funds is to provide long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in dividend-paying Canadian and US common stocks. The portfolio managers propose to make the strategy pure equity, with 100 per cent of the fund's investments allocated to equity (60 per cent in Canadian equities and 40 per cent in US equities).
The current investment objective for both funds is to provide high current income by investing primarily in Canadian and American dividend-paying preferred and common stocks and, from time to time, bonds up to a maximum of 25 per cent of the fund's total assets. The current strategy is balanced, with 80 per cent of the fund's investments allocated to equity (60 per cent in Canadian equities and 20 per cent in US equities) and 20 per cent of its investments allocated to bonds and preferred shares.
Franklin Bissett Investment Management's* Calgary-based team provides investors with equity, fixed income and balanced solutions, giving Canadians investment options across the market cap and yield spectrum. The funds are co-managed by Les Stelmach, senior vice president and portfolio manager, and Ryan Crowther, vice president and portfolio manager, Franklin Bissett. These managers have 19 and 16 years of industry experience, respectively, and have been with the firm for over a decade.
If securityholders approve the proposed changes to the investment objectives and investment strategies for each fund, the changes will be implemented after the close of business on or about June 29, 2018.
About Franklin Templeton Investments
Franklin Templeton Investments Corp. (known as Franklin Templeton Investments Canada) is a 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$737 billion (C$951 billion) in assets under management as of March 31, 2018. For more information, please visit franklintempleton.ca.
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*Franklin Bissett Investment Management is part of Franklin Templeton Investments Corp.
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SOURCE Franklin Templeton Investments Corp.
For further information: Media contact: Sarah Kingdon, Corporate Communications, Franklin Templeton Investments, 416.957.6191
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