Templeton Launches Frontier Markets Fund

Franklin Templeton Investments has launched the Templeton Frontier Markets Fund in Canada, which will invest at least 80% of its portfolio in 61 countries in the very early stages of development, such as Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Romania, Jordan, Tunisia, Columbia, Zambia, Paraguay and Kenya. International investing expert Mark Mobius will run the fund.

“To capitalize on a changing world, Franklin Templeton’s global team looks at countries that are similar to what China or India were like two decades ago,” Mobius said. “Between 2001 and 2010, nine of the 10 fastest-growing economies in the world were frontier markets, places such as Kazakhstan, Nigeria and Mozambique.”

Mobius is executive chairman of the Templeton emerging markets group. He will be supported by an investment team of 80 in 17 offices across Asia, Africa, Latin America, Eastern Europe and the Middle East, that managed more than $45 billion.

“Investors have a growing appetite for emerging markets,” said Don Reed, president of Franklin Templeton in Canada. “Franklin Templeton is seeing investment opportunities that span the globe, from frontier and emerging markets to the developed economies of Europe and North America.”

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