Fee reductions, consolidations, and redesignations will improve affordability and simplify product shelves
Franklin Templeton Canada and Manulife Investment Management have taken steps to make selected mutual funds more affordable for Canadians.
For some funds, Franklin Templeton Canada has recently announced combined fee reductions, series consolidations, and series redesignations.
Duane Green, president and CEO at Franklin Templeton Canada, stated, "As a continuation of our pricing reforms announced in January 2022, we are offering further pricing reductions on a number of our domestic and global funds.
"We are focused on making it easier to do business with us by streamlining our platform and offering competitive fees for our high-quality investment solutions," Green added.
The firm announced fee reductions for the following Franklin Templeton funds and series:
All changes took effect on March 1 except for series FT-Hedged of Franklin U.S. Monthly Income Fund, which will be implemented on May 6.
The firm also announced it would be consolidating certain series of the following funds as of the close of business on May 6, 2022:
- Franklin Bissett Canadian Dividend Fund
- Franklin Bissett Dividend Income Fund
- Franklin High Income Fund
- Franklin U.S. Monthly Income Fund
- Franklin U.S. Opportunities Fund
- Franklin U.S. Rising Dividends Fund
- Templeton Emerging Markets Fund
Prior to that date, as of the close of business on May 5, 2022, the consolidated series will be closed to new investors.
Mirroring Franklin Templeton’s move, Manulife Investment Management has announced reduced management fees on seven of its mutual fund products, which took effect on March 1:
The lower management fees are expected to translate into similar reductions in the funds’ management expense ratios.
"We continually work to ensure our funds are priced competitively and are delivering value to our customers. A recent review of our lineup identified an opportunity to enhance our pricing attractiveness on certain products including our mutual fund asset allocation portfolios and select global balanced funds," Yanic Chagnon, Head of Investment Products, Manulife Investment Management, Canada, said in a statement.
