Sector Fund Merger

In a move to consolidate its fund portfolio, Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund merged two of its sector funds—Franklin FMCG and Franklin Pharma Fund on September 9, 2011 into the multi cap Franklin India Prima Plus. Both the sector funds were launched in April 1999 and as on September 30, 2011 Franklin FMCG Fund managed Rs 46 crore and Franklin Pharma Fund managed Rs 116 crore assets. The reason to merge the two funds was attributed to lack of investor interest, narrow investment universe of the funds and indifferent fund performance despite the sectors doing well in recent years. Going with the prevailing regulatory requirements, investors in both the funds were given an option to exit at the prevailing NAV without any exit load.