Soft-Close del Frontier Markets Fund,de M. Mobius.
Franklin Templeton to soft-close Mobius' Frontier Markets fund
Franklin Templeton is set to close Mark Mobius' $2bn Templeton Frontier Markets fund to new clients next month, Investment Week understands.
The group has acted to stem inflows into the fund, which has seen assets swell $1.98bn within its SICAV format as of 30 April.
It is understood the fund will no longer be available to new investors as of 28 June, though existing clients will still be able to invest.
Franklin Templeton said its emerging markets team does not see any capacity issues within frontier markets, but added the decision is the easiest way to manage the flows it is seeing into its portfolios.
Launched in 2008, the fund is managed by Mobius (pictured) alongside portfolio manager Carlos Von Hardenberg, and invests in companies from across the cap scale that are incorporated in, or focused upon, frontier markets.
In a low-return world, frontier markets have grown in popularity over the past 12 months - and in 2013 in particular - as investors grow hungrier for risk and seek alternatives to 'traditional' emerging markets that are now enduring a sustained period of underperformance.
Since the start of the year, for example, the MSCI BRIC index - tracking shares in Brazil, Russia, India and China - has contracted 1.1%. That compares with a 13.8% rise in the MSCI Frontier Markets index.
The Templeton Frontier Market fund's US dollar share class returned 75%% between launch in October 2008 and end-March this year, compared with a loss of 12.7% for the MSCI Frontier Markets index, according to Franklin Templeton figures.
Lo he puesto tal y como lo recibí ayer por email.
Desde el lunes también cerró para nuevos inversores el Franklin Templeton European Small-Mid Cap Growth.