Franklin Templeton Investments Introduces Templeton Frontier Markets Fund for U.S. Investors

Franklin Templeton Investments today announced the introduction of Templeton Frontier Markets Fund, the first actively managed, U.S.-registered fund dedicated to investing in the dynamic economies of frontier market nations around the world. The Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing in securities of companies located in frontier market countries, which are defined as smaller, less developed and less liquid countries (compared to emerging markets) that are considered to be in the early stages of development.

"Frontier markets, which many view as the next generation of emerging markets, have been attracting increased interest from investors due to their impressive growth rates and low correlation to emerging and developed markets,” said Mark Mobius, Ph.D., executive chairman of Templeton Asset Management, Ltd. and the Fund’s portfolio manager. "Today, frontier markets resemble what emerging market countries like Brazil, Russia, India and China looked like two decades ago when we introduced our first Templeton emerging markets fund.”

Frontier market economies are growing at a robust pace, with countries such as Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Nigeria and Vietnam experiencing annual growth rates of over 11% over the 15 years ended December 31, 2007, while developed markets such as the UK and the U.S. have grown less than 6%.¹

"Many frontier market countries have rapidly expanding consumer markets that are increasing their demand for cell phone services, consumer banking and credit cards and a whole range of consumer products. In addition, a number of the countries are leading producers of oil, gas and precious metals so they are well positioned to benefit from the high global demand for these resources. As the economies of frontier market countries expand, they continue to increase investments in infrastructure, offering valuable opportunities in the construction, transportation, banking and finance and telecommunications industries,” said Mobius.

The Fund’s portfolio managers – Mobius, Sven Richter and Johan Meyer – will be supported by Templeton’s emerging markets team of over 35 investment professionals located in 15 offices around the world, offering first-hand knowledge of specific countries and the ability to capitalize on opportunities others may fail to uncover. The team represents 21 nationalities and speaks 20 languages and dialects. They perform about 1,500 company visits per year and travel to some 30 countries each year, giving them access to important information and data that can facilitate timely and astute investment decision-making.

Special risks are associated with foreign investing, including currency fluctuations, economic instability and political developments. Investments in emerging market countries, of which frontier markets are a subset, involve heightened risks related to the same factors, in addition to those associated with these markets’ smaller size, lesser liquidity and lack of established legal, political, business and social frameworks to support securities markets. The fund’s ability to invest in smaller-company securities that may have limited liquidity involves additional risks, such as relatively small revenues, limited product lines and small market share. Historically, these stocks have exhibited greater price volatility than larger company stocks, especially over the short term. The economies of frontier countries are less correlated to global economic cycles than those of their more developed counterparts, and their markets have low trading volumes and the potential for extreme price volatility and illiquidity. This volatility may be further heightened by the actions of a few major investors. Governments of many frontier countries may exercise substantial influence over many aspects of the private sector. Accordingly, government actions could have a significant effect on economic conditions in a frontier country and on market conditions, prices and yields of securities in the fund’s portfolio. These factors make investing in frontier countries significantly riskier than in other countries, and any one of them could cause the price of the fund to decline. These and other risk considerations are discussed in the fund’s prospectus.

All investments in the fund should be thought of as long-term investments that could experience significant price volatility in any given year. The fund is designed for the aggressive portion of a well-diversified portfolio.

Investors interested in Templeton Frontier Markets Fund or any other Templeton fund should carefully consider the Fund’s investment goals, risks, charges and expenses before investing. To obtain a prospectus, which contains this and other information, talk to your financial advisor, call 1-800/DIAL BEN (1-800/342-5236) or visit franklintempleton.com. Please carefully read the prospectus before you invest or send money.

Franklin Resources, Inc. [NYSE:BEN], is a global investment management organization operating as Franklin Templeton Investments. Franklin Templeton Investments provides global and domestic investment management solutions managed by its Franklin, Templeton, Mutual Series, Fiduciary Trust, Darby and Bissett investment teams. The San Mateo, CA-based company has more than 60 years of investment experience and over $404 billion in assets under management as of November 30, 2008. For more information, please call 1-800/DIAL BEN^® or visit franklintempleton.com.

1. Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook Database, April 2008. Past performance cannot guarantee future results.