Franklin Templeton's Martin Currie Japan Equity fund fails value assessment with action needed across other funds

Following years of underperformance

Franklin Templeton’s Martin Currie Japan Equity fund has been red flagged after years of underperformance.

In the five-year period to 31 March 2024, all of the fund's share classes failed to outperform its benchmark by -10.8% per annum, according to the firm's latest Assessment of Value report.  The £164.4m fund's total returns were also down almost 15.9% over the last year and 46.7% over the previous three years, according to its factsheet. Franklin Templeton launches its first Japan index tracking ETF Franklin Templeton's board of directors noted the strategy had delivered strong returns for shareholders in the past – beating the benchmark in almost two thirds of the rolling five-year...