With effect from May 2, 2016, Anand Radhakrishnan, stepped down as the lead portfolio manager of Franklin India Taxshield. The new managers of the fund are Lakshmikanth Reddy and R. Janakiraman.
While Reddy has recently joined Franklin Templeton Asset Management, R. Janakiraman is an old hand whom we hold in high regard with respect to his fund management skills.
Janakiraman also manages Franklin India Prima and Franklin India Smaller Companies and is a co-fund manager for other funds.
Franklin India Taxshield is similar to Franklin India Prima Plus on various fronts.
Both sport ‘Gold’ ratings based on our analyst research.
Both are managed in a similar fashion. In fact, the two portfolios mirror each other.
Both were managed by Anand Radhakrishnan, the AMC's chief investment officer (equity).
Now, only Franklin India Prima Plus will continue to be managed by Radhakrishnan. But that does not mean he has immediately washed his hands off the tax-saving fund. The fund house has assured us that Radhakrishnan will continue to oversee the fund management of Franklin India Taxshield for a period of time.
Going by how things stand as of now and Templeton's team-based approach, we have refrained from putting the fund ‘Under Review’ and have adopted a wait-and-watch stance. Should a change in strategy come about, we shall surely intimate our readers or, need be, put the fund under review.
