Franklin Global Trust: Five things investors need to know.
#1. Increased research capability following the merger of two investment teams.
Franklin Global Trust (FRGT) was formerly the Martin Currie Global Portfolio Trust before the retirement of the Martin Currie brand. The trust is managed by Zehrid Osmani, who was appointed in 2018, and co-manager Jonathan Curtis, following the July 2025 merger of the Edinburgh-based Global Long-Term Unconstrained team with the US-based Franklin Equity Group. This significantly enlarged team has a more extensive research capability, but FRGT’s fundamental investment strategy has been maintained.
#2. The managers follow a disciplined, bottom-up stock selection process.
There is an unconstrained, high-conviction approach and a long-term, five- to 10-year investment horizon, based around three steps:
1) Idea generation: the total universe of around 2,800 listed global stocks is screened down to an investible universe of around 500 companies and then a research pipeline of 90+ names is prioritised to identify companies with a combination of quality, sustainable growth and an attractive valuation.
2) Fundamental analysis is based on eight key criteria: industry analysis, a company’s growth drivers, returns, financial strength, accounting, corporate ethos, ESG profile and valuation. A proprietary research template is compiled for companies reviewed, and each is given a conviction rating between one (strong buy) and five (sell).
3) Portfolio construction: each position is weighted appropriately, aiming to ensure a meaningful contribution to returns. To better understand exposures and risks, additional research is undertaken to analyse geographic sources of revenues and profit. Companies are also assessed in terms of end-user exposure at a tier one level – the consumer, business and government – and then at a more detailed tier two level focusing on individual sectors and industries.
Stocks may be sold when they have reached their price target or if there are higher-conviction opportunities elsewhere.
#3. ESG is a very important element of the investment process.
The managers strongly believe that including ESG analysis in investment decisions delivers improved returns for FRGT’s shareholders and it is integrated throughout the proprietary investment process. More than 50 underlying criteria are assessed to capture the complexity of ESG risks facing a company’s long-term growth outlook and sustainability.
#4. A high-conviction, straightforward equity portfolio.
FRGT is a straightforward equity fund with no unlisted businesses or derivatives. The portfolio has around 30 holdings, with the largest 10, across a range of industries, making up around 50% of the fund. Three of the 11 market sectors have a zero weighting in the portfolio as these companies do not meet the managers’ long-term quality growth criteria. These are energy, real estate and utilities. There is a focus on three megatrend growth themes: the future of technology, resource scarcity and demographic change.
In recent years FRGT’s performance has been disappointing, broadly due to owning growth stocks that derated in a rising interest rate environment and having insufficient exposure to the ‘Magnificent Seven’ large-cap technology stocks. However, over the long term, the in-depth, fundamental stock selection approach has been a winning strategy. The trust is overweight some unloved areas of the market, such as healthcare and semiconductors; hence, a shift in investor sentiment towards these areas could see a swift improvement in FRGT’s performance.
#5. FRGT has a stable dividend and a zero-discount policy.
The annual dividend has been maintained at 4.20p per share for the last nine financial years and there are quarterly distributions (three interim payments of 0.90p per share and a fourth interim payment of 1.50p). In June 2022, shareholders approved the payment of dividends from realised capital gains. At the end of FY25 (ending 31 January), the trust held distributable reserves equivalent to around 60x the annual dividend.
FRGT’s board employs a zero-discount policy, aiming to ensure that, in normal market conditions, the trust’s shares trade close to NAV. In an environment of wider-than-average investment trust discounts, FRGT’s shares are repurchased on most trading days.
Published 1 September 2025
