Franklin Templeton to reshape Morton's Blue Chip fund as rising divi strategy

Franklin Templeton is to rebrand Colin Morton's UK Blue Chip fund as the Franklin UK Rising Dividends fund in a bid to make it more attractive to those seeking a growing income stream.

The fund will be rebranded on 30 January next year and utilise a strategy successfully employed by the group's $16bn Rising Dividends fund in the US. Though the overhauled portfolio will have a slant towards FTSE 100 companies, in keeping with its current mega-cap focus, lead manager Morton will invest across the market-cap spectrum to create a low-turnover portfolio of 30-35 stocks. At least 80% of the fund will be invested in stocks that have increased their dividend in eight of the past ten years and avoided cutting payouts over the same period. The fund may also hold a small pr...