E-voting soon to wind up 6 Franklin debt plans

Mumbai:Franklin Templeton is set to begin an electronic voting process for winding up six debt mutual fund schemes, seeking to bring down the curtains on a move considered unprecedented in a country where retail savers’ preference for financial assets is of much recent vintage.

Unit holders in these schemes will have a three-day window to participate in the e-voting process, and they will also get an opportunity to participate in a meeting of investors via video conferencing.

The exact dates and time will be mentioned in the public notice that will be published, the asset manager told distributors in a note. ET has reviewed that note.


“The process of sending mails is likely to begin soon and the entire process should complete within the next 15-20 days,” said a person close to the development.

Investors will have three options on which to vote. In the first, they can authorise the Trustees assisted by Kotak Mahindra Bank (Kotak) as independent adviser, and supported by the AMC. In the second, they can authorise Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India LLP (DTTILLP) to monetise the assets assisted by the AMC, with the AMC being advised by Kotak.

In the third option, they can vote “No” for either of the proposals. The final result will be based on the simple majority of votes cast. The fund house believes that if the majority of investors opts for option 3, it will delay the monetisation of scheme assets. Each investor will have one vote in each of the schemes that are proposed to be wound up, irrespective of the number of units held. “The e-voting period will be the last three days immediately preceding the video conferencing date,” said the note.

“It makes sense for investors to vote for the first option and in favour of the current team, as the schemes hold as many as 25-28 papers which no other debt participant in the market has. The existing team would have better insights into these unique papers,” said Amol Joshi, Founder, Plan Rupee, a Mumbai based distributor