February 25, 2013

Best Franklin Templeton Mutual Funds for 2013

The 30 best Franklin Templeton mutual funds for 2013 include Templeton Global Bond Fund, Franklin CA High Yield Municipal, Franklin Income, Mutual Global Discovery, etc.

Franklin Templeton Funds

Best Franklin Templeton Mutual Funds 2013Franklin Templeton Investments offer three types of mutual funds: Franklin mutual funds, Templeton mutual funds, and Mutual Series. These mutual funds series offer various different classes or categories of mutual funds. The fund categories include world bond, emerging markets bond, money market, tax free income, growth, world allocation, value stock, global stock, balanced, etc.

Typically the Class A funds have sales load. You can invest in Class R or Class Z or Advisor Class for no load funds. These no load Franklin Templeton mutual funds are available through retirement account (IRA) or 401(k) account or other regular brokerage account.

Previous: Best Franklin Templeton Mutual Funds 2012

These best mutual funds are sorted based on its performance and quality. You can find various funds to invest in.  Please check the fund prospectus for investment risk, fund details, etc.

Top Mutual Funds

The 30 best Franklin Templeton mutual funds for 2013 are:
  1. Templeton Global Bond Fund
  2. Franklin CA High Yield Municipal Fund
  3. Templeton China World Fund
  4. Franklin Income Fund
  5. Mutual Global Discovery Fund
  6. Franklin High Yield Tax-Free Income Fund
  7. Franklin Rising Dividends Fund
  8. Franklin Growth Fund
  9. Franklin OH Tax-Free Income Fund
  10. Templeton Global Total Return Fund
  11. Franklin PA Tax-Free Income Fund
  12. Franklin OR Tax-Free Income Fund
  13. Franklin NC Tax-Free Income Fund
  14. Franklin MO Tax-Free Income Fund
  15. Mutual Quest Fund
  16. Franklin AZ Tax-Free Income Fund
  17. Mutual European Fund
  18. Franklin NY Intermediate T/F Income Fund
  19. Franklin Convertible Securities Fund
  20. Franklin GA Tax-Free Income Fund
  21. Franklin Biotechnology Discovery Fund
  22. Franklin MicroCap Value Fund
  23. Mutual Financial Services Fund
  24. Templeton Frontier Markets Fund
  25. Templeton International Bond Fund
  26. Mutual International Fund
  27. Franklin CA Tax-Free Income Fund
  28. Franklin Federal Tax-Free Income Fund
  29. Franklin US Government Securities Fund
  30. Franklin NY Tax-Free Income Fund
Updated on 2/25/2013

Templeton Global Bond Fund (TPINX)

This Templeton Global Bond Fund has become one of the top performer bond mutual funds for the past decade. It has assets totaling $65 billion. It invests mainly in debts or bonds from countries around the world. Managed by Michael Hasenstab and Sonal Desai, this mutual fund has yield of 5.64%. Its expense ratio is only 0.89%. The shares price is $13.42.

Morningstar has ranked this best Franklin Templeton mutual fund with 5 star and gold rating. It has returned 8.38% over the past 3 year, 9.37% over the past 5 year, and 10.38% over the past decade. You can buy this TPINX fund with $1,000 initial funding.

More: Best Fidelity Mutual Funds for 2013

As of January 2013, the top 3 holdings are Rep of Ireland 5%, Kommuninvest I Sverige Ab, and Hungary Rep 6.375%. The top 3 sectors of this world bond mutual fund are government bond (48.66%), supranational (0.37%), and corporate bond (0.24%).

Franklin CA High Yield Municipal Fund (FCAMX)

The Franklin California High Yield Municipal Fund aim seeks a high income level exempt from federal and California personal income taxes. The total net assets are $1.9 billion. Its expense ratio is 0.62% per year. It also has 6.7% turnover rate. The risk rating is categorizes as above average. The fund managers are John Wiley and Christopher S. Sperry. It has a high yield of 4.28%.

As one of the best Franklin Templeton mutual funds for 2013, it has 5 year average return of 6.89%. The average effective maturity is 22.40 years and the average credit quality is BB. The top 3 bond sectors are state & local general obligation, education, and health.

Franklin Income Fund (FKINX)

Franklin Income Fund is not only one of the largest Franklin Templeton mutual funds in term of assets, but it is one of the top mutual funds. It has $70 billion of assets. The class A has sales load of 4.25%. It has 0.64% expense ratio. The holding turnover rate is 33.4%. The fund has investment style of large value. It invests mainly in a diversified portfolio of debt and equity securities. This mutual fund is also suitable for retiree or long term investors.

This FKINX fund has 5 year annualized return of 5.42% and is ranked with bronze rating. The best 1 year total return is achieved in 2009 with 35.01%. You can buy this conservative allocation mutual fund from 121 brokerages. The online brokerages are Schwab Retail, Firstrade, Morgan Stanley Advisors, Merrill Edge, TIAA-CREF NTF, etc.

Mutual Global Discovery Fund (TEDIX)

This Mutual Global Discovery Fund utilizes its assets to purchase the undervalue stocks of U.S. and foreign companies. Its dividend yield is 1.52%. The total assets are totaling $18 billion. This world stock mutual fund has a low risk rating. The fund management has used investment style of large value. The fund’s NAV is $30.04.

As the top Franklin Templeton mutual funds for 2013, it has returned 15.78% over the past 1 year, 9.27% over the past 3 year, and 11.12% over the past decade. It has its worst 1 year total return of -26.73%.

As of January 2013, the top 5 stocks in its portfolio are Merck & Co Inc, ACE Ltd, British American Tobacco PLC, Jardine Strategic Holdings Limited, and Royal Dutch Shell PLC Class A. The top 3 sectors are financial services, consumer defensive, and industrials.

Franklin Rising Dividends Fund (FRDPX)

Franklin Rising Dividends Fund is popular among mutual fund investors. It has low holding turnover rate of 2.8%. The total assets are $8.8 billion. Its expense ratio is 0.96% per year. It uses its assets to buy a diversified portfolio of companies which have paid rising dividends. The 12-month yield is 1.46%.

MoreBest Mutual Funds for 2013

While the class A fund has 5.75% sales load, you may choose other classes of this Franklin Rising Dividends fund such as:
  • Class B (FRDBX)
  • Class C (FRDTX)
  • Advisor Class (FRDAX)
  • Class R (FRDRX)
Morningstar ranks this best mutual fund for 2013 with 4 star rating. It has 3 year average return of 14.55%. Since 1987, it has 19 years of positive returns and 6 years of negative returns. The best 1 year total return was occurred in 2003 with 23.70%.

Disclosure: No Position

Best Funds Information


NoFund DescriptionCategoryRatingAssets (M)
1Templeton Global Bond AWorld Bond525903.27
2Franklin CA High Yield Municipal AMuni California Long51303.35
3Templeton China World AChina Region5530.54
4Franklin Income AConservative Allocation442510.71
5Mutual Global Discovery AWorld Stock48006.56
6Franklin High Yield Tax-Free Inc AHigh Yield Muni46488.51
7Franklin Rising Dividends ALarge Blend45935.22
8Franklin Growth ALarge Growth44226.38
9Franklin OH Tax-Free Inc AMuni Ohio41422.49
10Templeton Global Total Return AWorld Bond41401.48
11Franklin PA Tax-Free Income AMuni Pennsylvania41284.91
12Franklin OR Tax-Free Income AMuni Single State Long41177.76
13Franklin NC Tax-Free Income AMuni Single State Long41145.85
14Franklin MO Tax-Free Income AMuni Single State Long41134.7
15Mutual Quest AWorld Stock41101.81
16Franklin AZ Tax-Free Income AMuni Single State Long4975.06
17Mutual European AEurope Stock4652.5
18Franklin NY Intermediate T/F Income AMuni New York Intermediate4641.61
19Franklin Convertible Securities AConvertibles4607.02
20Franklin GA Tax-Free Income AMuni Single State Long4481.69
21Franklin Biotechnology Discovery AHealth4465.09
22Franklin MicroCap Value ASmall Value4205.2
23Mutual Financial Services AFinancial4185.08
24Templeton Frontier Markets ADiversified Emerging Mkts4141.31
25Templeton International Bond AWorld Bond4137.03
26Mutual International AForeign Large Value417.72
27Franklin CA Tax-Free Income AMuni California Long312694.75
28Franklin Federal Tax-Free Income AMuni National Long39320.19
29Franklin US Government Secs AIntermediate Government36613.9
30Franklin NY Tax-Free Income AMuni New York Long35691.56

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