The fund has been christened Franklin India Growth Fund (FIGF). Unlike thevalue investment philosophy of Templeton, Franklin follows a growth-orientedstrategy for investment in equities. Franklin Templeton group, which managesassets of over $4,227 billion, was formed with the merger of FranklinResources and Templeton Worldwide.

``After Templeton India Growth Fund, which invests on the theme of valueinvesting, we now want to give investors a fund that will generate momentumand invest in stocks of high quality, growth-oriented companies,'' saidTempleton Mutual Fund chief investment officer Nilesh Shah.

Templeton follows the value investment strategy for its funds with thebottom-up approach. Under this strategy, the fund manager picks up stocksthat trade at a discount to their intrinsic value. ``These companies mayhave fallen out of favour with investors but have a strong presence in theirline of business and are sure to bounce back as the industry turns aroundand investor perception changes. Thus, the stocks trade at a low P/E andcyclical industries are a classical example,'' elaborates an analyst.

On the other hand, Franklin Funds invest on the basis of the top-downphilosophy with a focus on companies that are growing or or experiencing aturn-around in their operations. Normally, most of the funds follow thisstrategy to generate quick and high returns. Thus, the fund manager picks upcompanies with above average earnings, and will continue to post high growthin the future.

The growth fund from Franklin, FIGF is likely to open for subscriptioneither in December or in January, 2000. ``We would like to launch the fundeither in early December or in the new millennium since the second fortnightof December may see a slowdown in operations owing to fears of the Y2Kbug,'' said Shah.

FIGF will open for a day and then go open-end from the next day, with unitsavailable at net asset value. The AMC has set a minimum subscription targetof Rs 1 lakh on the first day and units will be sold at `public offer price'or POP basis. With initial issue expenses being borne by the AMC, the POPprice will be at par or Rs 10. FIGF will offer systematic investment,withdrawal and transfer plans to investors.

Besides a growth fund, the Templeton AMC has lined up an open-ended monthlyincome plan (TMIP) and also plans to launch a balanced fund. The MIP willoffer options of monthly, quarterly and half-yearly dividend and a growthplan. There will be no distribution of dividend under the growth plan. Thisis the second open-end MIP after Alliance Mutual Fund launched an MIP inJuly this year. The dividend under TMIP will be declared on the 25th ofevery month and the scheme can invest upto 15 per cent of assets intoequities.

Templeton currently manages four open-ended funds - a growth fund, incomefund, a liquid fund and a gilt fund. The funds have a combined corpus ofover Rs 900 crore.