Meet the Team: Franklin India

Franklin Templeton's association with India dates back over three decades. The firm began investing in Indian markets in 1993 and formally established the India office in 1996 as part of a broader global expansion.

Our team has over 30 years of experience investing in Indian equities. I joined as a portfolio manager at Pioneer ITI, which was acquired by Franklin Templeton in 2002. At Pioneer ITI, I helped design the investment philosophy and process behind the Franklin India Equity strategy in the mid-1990s – a framework we’ve consistently followed ever since.

We are a dedicated India equity specialist team, comprising 18 investment professionals, 17 of whom are based in India and focused exclusively on Indian equities. This local presence has enabled us to build deep knowledge of the asset class and longstanding relationships with companies – advantages that are difficult to replicate.

The Franklin India Fund launched in 2005. I am the lead manager, supported by Murali Yerram and Arya Sen, who contribute ideas to the portfolio. We draw stock ideas from company recommendations made by our India-based analysts.

The strategy focuses on quality and sustainable growth at discounted valuations. We take a medium-to-long term view, aiming to generate value for our investors over time by investing in companies with enduring fundamentals.

We look for quality businesses that consistently generate superior profitability, maintain healthy balance sheets, and demonstrate sustainable competitive advantages. Management quality is a key criterion – we seek companies with leadership teams that have a clear strategic vision and the ability to position for the future.

Importantly, we’re valuation conscious. Even great company companies must be purchased at the right price – what we refer to as “discount to intrinsic worth”.

We aim to identify companies whose intrinsic worth is not reflected in their market price. This margin of safety often stems from qualitative factors – such as a company’s ability to maintain quality, sustainability, and growth – which we believe the market may underappreciate.

Traditional valuation metrics like price-to-earnings or price-to-book¹ can be limited by accounting standards and may not reveal the full picture. A company might not appear cheap on these metrics, yet our in-house assessment could suggest significant upside. These are inefficiencies we seek to exploit.

Proprietary fundamental research is the foundation of our process. Our analysts conduct rigorous quantitative and qualitative assessments to evaluate growth potential, competitive positioning, risks and catalysts for value recognition.

Company meetings are essential. We engage with management, staff, competitors, clients, suppliers, and other stakeholders to uncover insights that go beyond financial statements. Our presence in India enables us to conduct 600 to 800 company meetings annually, giving us timely access to local developments and deeper industry knowledge.

We manage a high-conviction strategy using bottom-up stock selection to build a relatively concentrated portfolio of 40-60 holdings. While focused, we diversify the portfolio across sectors and drivers of return.

The fund aims to achieve long-term capital growth by investing in companies of any size that are either based in India or generate most of their business there.

• Actively managed fund focused on quality companies with sustainable growth, well positioned to benefit from India’s long-term equity opportunity.
• Built on an investment discipline practiced by the Franklin India Equity team for over 30 years.
• Managed by a large, stable local team that is globally integrated. Our on-the-ground presence helps us identify opportunities early and build strong relationships with companies, while our connection to Franklin Templeton’s global emerging markets platform provides broader context.