Shareholders keep Franklin Templeton as manager of Fondul Proprietatea

The shareholders of Fondul Proprietatea, the biggest investment fund in Romania, voted on Tuesday, April 28, to extend the mandate of the fund’s manager, U.S. group Franklin Templeton.

They also voted the fund manager’s proposal to distribute RON 440 mln (EUR 91 mln) worth of dividends from the net profit achieved in 2019.

The gross dividend per share is RON 0.0642 and represents 5.5% of the current price of the Fondul Proprietatea shares (RON 1.165, on Wednesday, April 29).

The fund’s share price has increased by 20% in the last 12 months. Moreover, the fund distributed RON 1.08 billion (EUR 223 mln) to its shareholders in 2019 through dividends and share buyback programs.

Franklin Templeton has been managing Fondul Proprietatea since September 2010. Since then, the fund’s total cash distributions to its shareholders have reached RON 13 billion (USD 3.54 bln), according to Franklin Templeton.

The fund’s net assets (NAV) at the end of March totaled RON 9.59 bln (just under EUR 2 bln).

The most valuable holding in Fondul Proprietatea’s portfolio is a 20% stake in electricity producer Hidroelectrica, which accounts for 47% of its NAV. The fund also holds valuable stakes in oil and gas group OMV Petrom, the Bucharest Airports Company, gas supply group Engie Romania, and electricity producer Nuclearelectrica.

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