Franklin Templeton Investments Corp. today announced several proposed mergers and changes to the investment objectives of its funds. The proposals will be voted on at a special meeting of unitholders to be held on May 16 in Toronto.

“This move is designed to streamline some of our similar funds and provide investors with a more efficient lineup to choose from,” says Don Reed, president and CEO.

Bissett Income Trust and Dividend Fund’s investment objective will change to an equity mandate, investing primarily in dividend paying or income producing Canadian securities, including common shares, income trust units and preferred shares. This will give the fund the flexibility to invest in a broader universe of companies, outside of income trusts. The fund’s name will be changed to the Bissett Canadian Dividend Fund.

Franklin U.S. Small-Mid Cap Growth Fund will change its investment objective to invest in U.S. equities demonstrating accelerating growth, increasing profitability, or above average growth or growth potential compared to the overall economy. This will provide the manager the flexibility to take advantage of a broader range of growth opportunities. Concurrent with the change in investment objective, the fund will change its name to Franklin Flex Cap Growth Fund.

Franklin Flex Cap Growth Corporate Class will change its investment objective to invest in units of the new Franklin Flex Cap Growth Fund. The change in the investment objective of Franklin Flex Cap Growth Corporate Class is contingent on the approval of the change in the investment objective of Franklin U.S. Small-Mid Cap Growth Fund.

Securityholders will also vote on proposed changes to the investment objectives of Franklin Japan Corporate Class, Franklin World Growth Corporate Class and Templeton European Corporate Class. These proposed changes will permit each of these Corporate Class funds to invest all of its assets in units of its respective trust fund.

The proposed changes are:

  • Franklin Japan Corporate Class will invest in units of Franklin Japan Fund;
  • Franklin World Growth Corporate Class will invest in units of Franklin World Growth Fund;
  • Templeton European Corporate Class will invest in units of Templeton European Fund.

The proposed mergers are as follows:

  • Franklin U.S. Small-Mid Cap Growth Corporate Class will merge into Franklin Flex Cap Growth Corporate Class.
  • Bissett Large Cap Fund will merge into Bissett Canadian Equity Fund.
  • Templeton Global Balanced Fund will merge into Templeton Global Income Fund.
  • Templeton Balanced Fund will merge into Templeton Canadian Asset Allocation Fund. Concurrent with the merger, Templeton Canadian Asset Allocation Fund will change its name to Templeton Canadian Balanced Fund.

Securityholders of Franklin U.S. Small-Mid Cap Growth Corporate Class, Bissett Large Cap Fund and Templeton Global Balanced Fund will receive securities of the respective continuing funds on a dollar-for-dollar and series-by-series basis. Securityholders of Templeton Balanced Fund will receive Series F units of Templeton Canadian Asset Allocation Fund on a dollar-for-dollar basis.

The investment objective changes and mergers are subject to securityholder approval; certain of the mergers also require regulatory approval. If the requisite approvals are obtained, the changes will be implemented on or before June 13.

In addition to Series A, F, O and T units, Series I will be added to Mutual Discovery Fund and Mutual Discovery Corporate Class and will be available for sale on April 7. Series I units are available for investors who have a minimum investment of $500,000 in one or more of our funds or portfolios in Series I.