Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund, which abruptly closed six debt schemes with cumulative assets of nearly ₹26,000 crore last month, has initiated the process to refund investor money by seeking their consent to a voting process, which is the first step in the refund process.
In a note to the investors, Sanjay Sapre, president, Franklin Templeton Asset Management (India), said that while the decision to wind up the schemes was the only “viable way to preserve value”, the fund house is “committed to ensuring an orderly and equitable exit for all investors at the earliest possible.”
The note further said that as per regulations, investors need to authorise the trustees to take the next steps towards monetisation of assets and distributing the proceeds.
“An important point to note is that the payment schedule/payouts can only be finalised and implemented, post the successful completion of the voting process,” it said.
Negative vote
Interestingly, the note highlighted the fact that while there are some misconceptions that if majority of investors cast a negative vote, then the decision to wind up the schemes would be revoked, but that is not the case. “If trustees do not receive authorisation to proceed with disposal of assets of the scheme, this may delay the process of monetising such assets and distribution of proceeds,” it said.
