Franklin Templeton Investments, a Canadian subsidiary of Franklin Resources, received a letter from the Ontario Securities Commission warning the firm that it is under review for market timing in certain funds it managed between February 1999 and February 2003, according to a statement from the company. Company officials are reviewing the letter and will cooperate to address the concerns. Lisa Gallegos, Franklin Resources spokeswoman, said the company would not comment further.
Franklin Resources subsidiaries Franklin Advisors and Franklin Templeton Distributors on Monday agreed to pay $10 million each in penalties to settle SEC charges that they used fund assets to pay brokerage firms for recommending Franklin Templeton mutual funds.
Separately, the OSC has reached settlement deals with three mutual fund managers concerning market-timing activities, according to a news release from the agency. The commission will meet Thursday to consider the settlements with CI Mutual Funds, AGF Funds and I.G. Investment Management.
The settlements are part of an investigation, started in November 2003, of the 105 mutual fund managers whose funds are available to Ontario retail investors, said Eric Pelletier, OSC spokesman. "Now we are very close to the end of the entire probe," he said.
