FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., June 15, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Templeton Emerging Markets Income Fund (NYSE:TEI) today announced a quarterly distribution from net investment income of $0.1068 per share, payable on July 14, 2017 to shareholders of record on June 29, 2017 (Ex-Dividend Date: June 27, 2017).
As previously disclosed, the Fund implemented a variable pay distribution policy effective December 31, 2016. This policy provides the flexibility to make adjustments to the distribution rate in an effort to more efficiently account for currency movements and help reduce the possibility of the Fund over-distributing during the year.
The Fund also announced that its Board of Trustees (the “Board”) approved the elimination of the Fund’s non-fundamental investment policies that limited the Fund’s investment in (i) non-U.S. dollar denominated securities to 35% of its total assets and (ii) securities denominated in any one currency other than the U.S. dollar to 15% of its total assets.
The Board also approved an amendment to the Fund’s non-fundamental investment policy to invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in income-producing securities of sovereign or sovereign-related entities and private sector companies in “emerging market countries.”
Effective August 14, 2017 the policy will be as follows: “to invest, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the Fund’s net assets in investments that provide exposure to “emerging market countries.” Such investments may include securities of sovereign or sovereign-related entities and private sector companies, foreign currencies, derivatives (such as swap agreements, futures contracts, forward currency contracts and options), and other instruments that provide exposure to ‘emerging markets countries’.”
In addition, effective August 14, 2017, the definition of emerging market countries for purposes of the Fund’s investment policies will include those countries considered to be developing or emerging by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the United Nations, or the countries’ authorities, countries included in the JPMorgan Emerging Markets Bond Index - Global (EMBIG) or JPMorgan Government Bond Index - Emerging Markets Broad (GBI-EM Broad) fixed income indexes, or countries with a stock market capitalization of less than 3% of the MSCI World Index. Emerging market countries typically are located in the Asia-Pacific region, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Central and South America, and Africa.
The Board’s recent actions are designed to provide the Fund with the flexibility to react to changes in the financial markets and the development of new investment opportunities. Special risks are associated with foreign investing, including currency fluctuations, economic instability and political developments of countries where the Fund invests. The Fund’s investments in emerging market countries are subject to all of the risks of foreign investing generally, and have additional heightened risks due to these markets’ smaller size and lesser liquidity and lack of established legal, political, business and social frameworks to support securities markets, including: delays in settling portfolio securities transactions; currency and capital controls; greater sensitivity to interest rate changes; pervasiveness of corruption and crime; currency exchange rate volatility; and inflation, deflation or currency devaluation. The markets for particular securities or types of securities are or may become relatively illiquid. Reduced liquidity will have an adverse impact on the security’s value and on the Fund’s ability to sell such securities when necessary to meet the Fund’s liquidity needs or in response to a specific market event.
The Fund’s investment manager, Franklin Advisers, Inc., is a wholly owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN), a global investment management organization operating as Franklin Templeton Investments. Franklin Templeton Investments provides global and domestic investment management to retail, institutional and sovereign wealth clients in over 170 countries. Through specialized teams, the company has expertise across all asset classes—including equity, fixed income, alternative and custom solutions. The company’s more than 650 investment professionals are supported by its integrated, worldwide team of risk management professionals and global trading desk network. With offices in over 30 countries, the California–based company has 70 years of investment experience and over $744 billion in assets under management as of May 31, 2017. For more information, please visit franklintempleton.com.