Franklin Templeton Investments today marks the 50th anniversary of Templeton Growth Fund, the longest-running U.S. mutual fund to focus on global investing.

Introduced by international investing pioneer Sir John Templeton on November 29, 1954, the fund was launched with the simple philosophy that more investment opportunities could be found when looking globally, rather than restricting a search to just one country. Today the fund has more than $19 billion in assets under management deployed in 20 countries worldwide.(1)

Charles B. Johnson, chairman of Franklin Templeton Investments, commented, "We are delighted to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Templeton Growth Fund. We are proud of the legacy established by Sir John, and are pleased that our experienced team of investment professionals has continued to provide strong fund performance for our investors."

A LONG HISTORY

Since inception, Templeton Growth Fund has had only three portfolio managers, Sir John Templeton, Mark Holowesko and Murdo Murchison, who started as the lead manager of the fund in December 2000.

"In the more than 11 years that Murdo Murchison has been with the Templeton organization, he has done an outstanding job carrying on the Templeton tradition of looking globally for values," said Jeff Everett, chief investment officer of the Templeton Global Equity Group.

Along with Franklin Capital Growth Fund, launched in 1933, Franklin Growth Fund, Franklin Income Fund and Franklin Utilities Fund, introduced in 1948, and Mutual Shares Fund launched in 1949, Templeton Growth Fund is the sixth Franklin Templeton fund to reach its 50th Anniversary.

THE RULES STILL APPLY

"Sir John famously developed and refined key principles for global investing, which he presented in his '16 Rules for Investment Success.' The strategies have proven their merit over time, and we endeavor to use them on a daily basis," said Templeton Growth Fund portfolio manager Murdo Murchison. "We're grateful for the legacy we have - the lessons, the track record and the philosophy that have been handed down, and we look forward to our continued work on behalf of our investors."

Currently the fund has a significantly overweighted exposure to the United Kingdom and underweighted exposure to the U.S. as compared to its benchmark, the MSCI World, and both factors have contributed positively to performance over the past 12 months. The fund had 21% of its assets in the U.S. compared to a 54% U.S. weighting for its benchmark as of October 31, 2004.(1)

Templeton's team of more than 40 research professionals, takes a bargain hunting, value-oriented approach to investing. They evaluate companies for earnings and asset potential in relation to their stock price, and then compare each company to others in their industry, both regionally and globally.

Templeton's bottom-up investment approach helps them identify the best potential investment opportunities available.

Jeff Everett said, "Sir John's best advice to me was 'Don't follow the crowd.' Whenever there was a tremendous amount of interest in any area, he was usually going the other way. And in my experience at Templeton, I've found his maxim to be worth following more often than not."

Sir John's company merged in 1992 with the Franklin mutual fund family to form Franklin Templeton Investments, and he has had no affiliation with the funds since 1993.

For more information about Templeton Growth Fund and to obtain a copy of Sir John Templeton's "16 Rules for Investment Success," visit Franklin Templeton's Web site at www.franklintempleton.com.

Investors should carefully consider a fund's investment goals, risks, charges and expenses before investing. To obtain a prospectus, which contains this and other information, talk to your financial advisor, call us at 1-800/DIAL BEN (1-800/342-5236) or visit franklintempleton.com. Please carefully read the prospectus before investing.

Special risks are associated with foreign investing, including currency fluctuations, economic instability and political developments. Investments in developing markets involve heightened risks related to the same factors, in addition to those associated with these markets' smaller size and lesser liquidity. These special considerations are discussed in the fund's prospectus.

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN), is a global investment organization operating as Franklin Templeton Investments. Franklin Templeton Investments provides global and domestic investment management solutions managed by its Franklin, Templeton, Mutual Series and Fiduciary Trust investment teams. The San Mateo, CA-based company has more than 50 years of investment experience and over $371 billion in assets under management as of October 31, 2004. For more information, please call 1-800/DIAL BEN(R) or visit franklintempleton.com.

Supplemental Information

1. Holdings are subject to change.

Forward-Looking Statements

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