SEBI ORDER WILL NOT AFFECT OTHER SCHEMES, SAYS FRANKLIN TEMPLETON ALC

Allaying investors’ fears, Franklin Templeton AMC has said Sebi’s order prohibiting the company from launching new debt funds will have no bearing on existing schemes managed by it.

In an e-mail, Franklin Templeton AMC President Sanjay Sapre said Sebi’s order does not impact the current monetisation process of the six schemes under winding up being undertaken by the liquidator.

“The order also is not related to and has no impact on the other debt, equity, hybrid and offshore schemes managed by Franklin Templeton,” he said.

“We continue to manage over ₹61,000 crore of AUM (monthly average AUM as of March 2021) for over 2 million investors in India,” he added.

Sebi on Monday barred Franklin Templeton Asset Management (India) from launching any new debt scheme for two years and imposed a penalty of ₹5 crore for violating regulatory norms in the case of winding up of six debt schemes in 2020.

Also, it has been asked to refund investment management and advisory fees of over ₹512 crore (including interest) collected with respect to the six debt schemes.

However, Franklin Templeton has said it “strongly disagrees” with the findings in the tribunal’s order and has decided to challenge the direction in Securities Appellate Tribunal (SAT).