These Two Templeton Funds Offer Global Value

Article Excerpt

TEMPLETON GROWTH FUND $11.36 (CWA Rating: Conservative) (Franklin Templeton Management Limited, 1 Adelaide Street East, Suite 2101, Toronto, ON. M5C 3B8. 1-800-387-0830; Web site: www.templeton.ca. Buy or sell through brokers) is invested 28.4% in the U.S., 14.2% in the UK, 9.5% in Japan, 9.3% in the Netherlands, 4.8% in Spain, 3.8% in Switzerland, 3.7% in Canada and 3.4% in Germany. The fund’s top holdings include Royal Dutch Shell (Netherlands oil & gas), Koninklijke Philips Electronics NV (Netherlands consumer electronic & electrical products), Cheung Kong Holdings (Hong Kong conglomerate), Sony Corp. (Japanese electronics), Akzo Nobel (healthcare & chemicals), BP plc (UK oil & gas and chemicals), and ING Groep NV (Dutch financial services). The fund made 6.2% over the last year, compared to a gain of 5.4% for the benchmark Morgan Stanley Index. The fund’s MER is 2.35%. Templeton Growth Fund is a buy. TEMPLETON INTERNATIONAL STOCK FUND $17.23 (CWA Rating: Conservative) invests in stocks around the world. But unlike most international funds, it doesn’t…