Franklin urges investors to vote for winding up of 6 schemes
As the Supreme Court has directed Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund to seek consent of the unit-holders for winding up the six schemes, the mutual fund house urged the investors to vote in favour of the closure, suggesting that it would result in the “best possible outcome” for them
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New Delhi: As the Supreme Court has directed Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund to seek consent of the unit-holders for winding up the six schemes, the mutual fund house urged the investors to vote in favour of the closure, suggesting that it would result in the "best possible outcome" for them.
In a letter to the investors, Franklin Templeton Asset Management (India) Pvt. Ltd President Sanjay Sapre said that the company will issue notice for seeking consent of unit-holders shortly and consent will be sought from the unit-holders for each scheme separately.
"We seek your consent for the orderly winding-up and believe this will result in the best possible outcomes for unit-holders under the current circumstances. In normal market conditions, the opportunity to liquidate assets at fair value will increase with time," he said.
Sapre said that a vote of "yes" in favour of the orderly winding-up will allow the fund house to proceed with the next step which is seeking unit-holder authorisation under Regulation 41. Post this, the Trustee or any other authorised person can proceed with monetisation of assets and distribution of monies to unit-holders.
This will also mean that the schemes will not be required to make a distress sale of portfolio securities to fund redemptions, he said in the letter. A vote of "no" against the orderly winding-up would mean the funds will be required to re-open for purchases and redemptions.
"The schemes may suffer significant losses due to the need to sell securities at distress prices to fund heightened redemption volumes," Sapre told the investors.
He noted that from April 24 to November 27, 2020, the schemes under winding up have received over Rs 11,576 crore from maturities, pre-payments, and coupons. Out of the Rs 11,576 crore, the schemes have received Rs 2,836 crore in the month of November 2020.
