by Tom Bradley

Earlier today, Edinburgh Partners, the manager of our Global Equity Fund, made an important announcement. The owners of the firm have agreed to sell the business to Franklin Resources, the parent of the Franklin Templeton family of funds.

Dr. Sandy Nairn, the manager of our fund and Edinburgh Partners’ co-founder, has a history with Franklin. He was previously Director of Global Equity Research for Templeton Investment Management, which is under the Franklin umbrella. In this role, he served under famed investor Sir John Templeton.

It is too early to assess the full impact of the deal. What we do know is that Franklin serves as a platform for multiple teams who manage funds independently and specific to their own style. Edinburgh Partners is expected operate similarly. Sandy has also committed to continue managing our fund himself in the same way it has always been managed: unconstrained, global, long-term oriented and concentrated in the team’s best ideas.

As part of our next steps, Salman and I will be having an in-person meeting with Sandy next week to get a better understanding of the deal and its implication for our clients.

Note: The luncheons we are hosting next week in Vancouver (January 23) and Toronto (January 25) with Sandy will take place as scheduled. We will provide further information on the deal at the sessions. We will also post a follow-up blog after the luncheons with further details.