Local investors will be able to choose and access a wide range of asset classes, sectors and geographies

Dubai, UAE: Franklin Templeton1 is delighted to announce that it is one of the first global asset management firms to establish feeder funds for the onshore UAE retail market through its two new Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) – domiciled fund ranges: Franklin Templeton Investments Feeder Funds (FTIFF) 2 and Franklin Templeton Shariah Feeder Funds (FTSFF) 3.

Jaspal Sagger, Head of Global Product Strategy, Franklin Templeton, said: "The UAE’s changing regulatory landscape offers Franklin Templeton a compelling opportunity to better service our clients. Following the announcement of the new regulations, we engaged early with regulators, clients and service providers in the UAE to ensure we could continue to meet the needs of our valued clients. With these new funds, UAE retail investors can benefit from one of the firm’s key competitive advantages, which is having access to a robust global platform combined with its deep knowledge and expertise in the local market."

Amar Mehta, Head of Retail, Gulf, Eastern Mediterranean & Africa, Franklin Templeton, added: “We are delighted to launch these seven new feeder funds in the DIFC. UAE retail investors will now have local access to Franklin Templeton’s breadth of investment capabilities across a wide range of asset classes, sectors and geographies. The introduction of these funds is timely given increasing demand for multi asset income, global and regional fixed income, technology as well as Shariah-compliant strategies. We will also continue to monitor trends in the local market and the evolution of investors‘ appetite to expand our offerings in the future.”

Access to a wide variety of strategies

UAE retail investors can now access the below feeder funds which have the sole objective of investing in Franklin Templeton’s Luxembourg and Ireland domiciled UCITs funds. The feeder funds will be distributed in the UAE by locally licensed promoters, including onshore, conventional and Shariah-compliant consumer banks.

A full list of locally licensed promoters can be obtained by contacting taoversightlux@franklintempleton.com. Investors can reach out to promoters for their investment needs.

Feeder Fund

Underlying UCITs Fund & its strategy

FTIFF - Brandywine Global Income Optimiser Fund

Franklin Templeton Global Funds plc – Brandywine Global Income Optimiser Fund. Aims to maximise income yield in all market conditions by investing in corporate and governments bonds globally while preserving capital.

FTIFF - Franklin Gulf Wealth Bond Fund

Franklin Templeton Investment Funds - Franklin Gulf Wealth Bond Fund. Aims to maximise total investment return by investing primarily in fixed or floating-rate bonds issued by government or corporate entities located in Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member countries.

FTIFF - Franklin Income Fund

Franklin Templeton Investment Funds - Franklin Income Fund. Aims to earn income while maintaining capital appreciation by investing primarily in equity as well as long and short-term debt securities.

FTIFF - Franklin Technology Fund

Franklin Templeton Investment Funds - Franklin Technology Fund. Aims to achieve capital appreciation by investing at least two-thirds of its assets in companies expected to benefit from the development, advancement and use of technology.

FTIFF - Franklin US Opportunities Fund

Franklin Templeton Investment Funds - Franklin US Opportunities Fund. Aims to achieve capital appreciation by investing principally in US companies. These include small, medium, and large capitalisation companies with strong growth potential across a wide range of sectors.

FTSFF - Franklin Global Sukuk Fund

Franklin Templeton Shariah Funds - Franklin Global Sukuk Fund. Aims to maximise total investment return and earn income from Shariah-compliant debt securities over the medium to long- term. It invests in Sukuk of any quality (including lower quality securities such as non-investment grade securities) and of any maturity issued by governments, government-related entities and corporations in developed and emerging markets.

FTSFF - Franklin Shariah Global Multi-Asset Income Fund

Franklin Templeton Shariah Funds - Franklin Shariah Global Multi-Asset Income Fund. Aims to earn income and increase the value of its investments over the medium to long-term. The fund pursues an actively managed investment strategy and invests mainly in Shariah-compliant equity and debt securities, including Sukuk.

Sandeep Singh, Head of CEEMEA & India, Franklin Templeton, commented: “As one of the first global asset managers to domicile funds in the DIFC, the introduction of these two new fund ranges reflects our ongoing commitment and desire to build closer partnerships with our clients. Our main priority was to ensure that investors had ease of access to the firm’s solutions as building blocks for their portfolio allocations and to its wide range of specialized investment managers.”

Franklin Templeton has been operating in the UAE for almost 25 years. Based in the DIFC, its office includes investment and research professionals across MENA Fixed Income and Global Sukuk, Frontier and MENA Equities, and MENA Private Credit and Private Equity teams. The firm is a pioneer in emerging market investing with a long track record of establishing a presence in developing countries over the firm’s more than 75-year history. In the Middle East, it is known for being an early entrant within the global asset management industry and currently serves some of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, central banks, family offices and global private banks based in the region.