Franklin Mutual's Chief Investment Officer Resigns

May 11, 2005 — Franklin Templeton Investments said top manager David Winters resigned, and that Peter Langerman will assume his role as chief investment officer of Franklin Mutual Advisers LLC, which oversees the Mutual Series family of funds.

Winters, a deep-value investor, left to form his own firm, Wintergreen Advisers LLC, which is launching a global value fund, the Wintergreen Fund, according to an SEC filing. The firm is located in Mountain Lakes, N.J.

The Mutual Series Funds comprise seven mutual funds: Franklin Mutual Recovery Fund/Adv (FMRVX); Mutual Beacon Fund/A (TEBIX); Mutual Discovery Fund/A (TEDIX); Mutual European Fund/A (TEMIX); Mutual Financial Services Fund (TFSIX), Mutual Qualified Fund/A (TEQIX) and Mutual Shares Fund/A (TESIX). Winters himself was the lead manager of Discovery, European, Beacon, and Mutual Shares funds.

The company said that the Mutual Series’ deep-value strategy and investment style will not change under the new management.