Templeton Franklin Mutual Funds

Franklin Resources, Inc. is the organizational name for a company better known as Franklin Templeton Investments, an investment management firm that has its headquarters in San Mateo, California, a little bit south of San Francisco.

With more than 30 offices spread out around the world, offering its investment services to people in more than 150 countries, savvy and experienced investors might also know that Franklin Templeton Investments is recognized under the names Franklin, Templeton, Mutual Series, Bissett, Fiduciary Trust and Darby Overseas.

The firm offers more than 100 open-ended mutual funds. Some of the most well-known of these funds include the Templeton Growth Fund, Inc., which is credited with being the world's largest equity fund, the Mutual Shares Fund, the Mutual Discovery Fund and the Templeton Growth Fund (Euro).

Franklin Templeton Investments has also built a solid reputation on the Franklin Income Fund. Born in 1948, this incredible fund has been like Old Faithful, paying uninterrupted dividends for 60 years.

There are three distinct investment management groups within Franklin Templeton Investments. These are Franklin, which focuses on equity and fixed income; Templeton, which specializes in international investing; and Mutual Series, which turns its attention to value investing. When combined, these investment groups offer mutual funds in all asset classes.

It's important to get a handle on exactly what this type of investment this is in order to best know how to interpret the data uncovered. When one invests in a mutual fund, one is essentially investing in a company that has been created for the sole expressed purpose of investing money. The mutual fund, then, receives its principal, assets and stock from individuals, who invest their money with the mutual fund with the understanding that the mutual fund will make most, if not all, decisions on the investment of their money.

It is common for a mutual fund company to employ technical analysts to aid in monitoring the fund's investments. Typically, these analysts keep their eyes focused on trading volumes and price movements in order to try and uncover patterns of certain stocks regarding their price behaviors. They also track commodities, other mutual funds, and options in identified sectors of the market and the financial markets overall.