Franklin Templeton Investments has 40 offshore collective investment schemes registered with the South African Financial Services Board (FSB).
Michael King, Franklin Templeton director for Africa, says the group offers a range of investment opportunities to South African investors, available through the foreign exchange offshore allowance.
“Last year was groundbreaking in the collective investment schemes industry in South Africa, as after years of work the FSB agreed to allow offshore UCITS [undertakings for collective investments in transferable securities] III schemes to be registered and marketed in South Africa.
“Franklin Templeton established a local office in 1995 and until recently had a range of 20 funds registered with the FSB. While this provided broad equity exposure, it limited the choice for investors seeking exposure to other asset classes and geographic regions offshore. Through consultation with the FSB and the provision of the necessary risk management information attached to funds utilising the broader UCITS III universe, we seek to actively expand our fund range further.”
King says UCITS III was a legislative development in Europe that modernised and aligned investment regulation of EU-domiciled schemes with the diverse range of innovative investment strategies, such as hedging and derivative instruments, now available to fund managers.
“It is imperative that South Africa continues to advance and maintain best international practice with regard to fund registration and the provision of diversified choice for all investors,” says King.
The 40 Franklin Templeton funds “offer local investors a range of diversification opportunities. Certain funds are balanced and include an equitable allocation across asset classes such as equities and bonds. Others have more focused exposure to equity, fixed income, real estate or small and mid-cap instruments.”
The Templeton Latin America fund was recently ranked top performer by the Sunday Times over a five-year period to December 2007 with an annual rand growth rate of 41,47%.