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Franklin: Invest with a Tax-Free Leader
Not all muni bond fund managers are alike. Consider why Franklin stands out as a leader in tax-free investing.
The Strategy
- Since 1977, Franklin has followed a conservative investment strategy.
- Portfolio managers focus on providing shareholders with high, monthly tax-free income while preserving
their capital.1
- We use a "plain vanilla" approach—which means we don't rely on leverage, derivatives or large
sector bets, which could expose shareholder capital to unnecessary risk.
The Benefits
An Industry Leader: Today, we are one of the nation's largest municipal
bond fund managers2 with more than $55 billion in municipal bond assets
under management.3
Experience: With 30 years of experience and one of the largest investment teams in the industry,
our municipal bond group has proven expertise across market cycles.
Deep Research Resources: Our 26 municipal bond investment professionals
average 16 years of industry experience.3 Their
experience helps us identify opportunities and indications of risk
that others might miss.
The Results
Franklin's income-oriented strategy has historically provided strong relative returns.4
As of March 31, 2009:
- 94% of Franklin tax-free income funds, Class A shares ranked in the top two Lipper quartiles for 12-month yield at NAV
- 64% of Franklin tax-free income funds, Class A shares ranked in the top two Lipper quartiles for 1-year cumulative total return.
- 82% of Franklin tax-free income funds, Class A shares ranked in the top two Lipper quartiles for 5-year cumulative total return.
- 88% of Franklin tax-free income funds, Class A shares ranked in the top two Lipper quartiles for 10-year cumulative total return.
Results will vary for other periods. Past performance does not guarantee future results.
You can view the performance of any Franklin tax-free income fund in the Fund Information section.
For more information on the benefits of tax-free investing, please visit the Fund Basics section.
What are the risks?
Municipal bonds are sensitive to interest rate movements, and a fund's
yield and share price will fluctuate with market conditions. Bond prices
generally move in the opposite direction of interest rates. Thus, as prices
of bonds in a fund adjust to a rise in interest rates, a fund's share price
may decline.
Past performance does not guarantee future results.
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| For more information on any of our funds, contact your financial
advisor or download a free prospectus.
Investors should carefully consider a fund's investment goals, risks, sales charges and expenses
before investing. The prospectus contains this and other information. Please read the prospectus
carefully before investing or sending money. |
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| Footnotes |
| 1. |
For investors subject to the alternative minimum tax, a small portion of fund dividends may
be taxable. Distributions of capital gains are generally taxable. To avoid the imposition of 28% backup
withholding on all fund distributions and redemption proceeds, U.S. investors must be properly certified on
Form W-9 and non-U.S. investors on Form W-8BEN. |
| 2. |
Source: Strategic Insight, ICI as of 2/28/09. Based on long-term municipal bond fund assets. |
| 3. |
As of 3/31/09. |
| 4. |
Source: Lipper, Inc., 3/31/09. Lipper figures do not include sales charges. Of the eligible Franklin non-money market tax-free income funds tracked by Lipper, 12, 19, 2 and 0 funds ranked in the top, second, third and fourth quartile of their respective Lipper peer groups for the 12-month yield at NAV. Of the eligible Franklin non-money market tax-free income funds tracked by Lipper, 11, 19 and 19 funds ranked in the top quartile; 10, 8 and 9 funds ranked in the second quartile; 8, 4 and 3 funds ranked in the third quartile; and 4, 2 and 1 funds ranked in the fourth quartile of their respective Lipper peer groups for the 1-, 5- and 10-year periods, respectively, for cumulative total return. |
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