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Fund Summary
Templeton Emerging Markets Balanced Fund-11 | Templeton Emerging Markets Balanced Fund
Investment Goal
To seek both income and capital appreciation.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund

These tables describe the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. You may qualify for sales charge discounts in Class A if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in Franklin Templeton funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and under “Your Account” on page 42 in the Fund's Prospectus and under “Buying and Selling Shares” on page 73 of the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information. In addition, more information about sales charge discounts and waivers for purchases of shares through specific intermediaries is set forth in Appendix A - Intermediary Sales Charge Discounts and Waivers to the Fund's prospectus.

Please note that the tables and examples below do not reflect any transaction fees that may be charged by financial intermediaries, or commissions that a shareholder may be required to pay directly to its financial intermediary when buying or selling Class R6 and Advisor Class shares.

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Shareholder Fees {- Templeton Emerging Markets Balanced Fund} - Templeton Emerging Markets Balanced Fund-11 - Templeton Emerging Markets Balanced Fund
Class A
Class C
Class R
Class R6
[1]
Advisor Class
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as percentage of offering price) 5.75% none none none none
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as percentage of the lower of original purchase price or sale proceeds) none [2] 1.00% none none none
[1] The Fund began offering Class R6 shares on August 1, 2017.
[2] There is a 1% contingent deferred sales charge that applies to investments of $1 million or more (see "Investments of $1 Million or More" under "Choosing a Share Class") and purchases by certain retirement plans without an initial sales charge on shares sold within 18 months of purchase.

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Annual Operating Expenses {- Templeton Emerging Markets Balanced Fund} - Templeton Emerging Markets Balanced Fund-11 - Templeton Emerging Markets Balanced Fund
Class A
Class C
Class R
Class R6
Advisor Class
Management fees 1.15% 1.15% 1.15% 1.15% 1.15%
Distribution and service (12b-1) fees 0.25% 1.00% 0.50% none none
Other expenses [1] 1.09% 1.09% 1.09% 0.83% 1.09%
Acquired fund fees and expenses [2] 0.02% 0.02% 0.02% 0.02% 0.02%
Total annual Fund operating expenses [2] 2.51% 3.26% 2.76% 2.00% 2.26%
Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement [3] (1.01%) (1.01%) (1.01%) (0.83%) (1.01%)
Total annual Fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement [2],[3] 1.50% 2.25% 1.75% 1.17% 1.25%
[1] The Fund began offering Class R6 shares on August 1, 2017. Other expenses for Class R6 are based on estimated amounts for the current fiscal year.
[2] Total annual Fund operating expenses differ from the ratio of expenses to average net assets shown in the Financial Highlights, which reflect the operating expenses of the Fund and do not include acquired fund fees and expenses.
[3] The investment manager has contractually agreed to waive or assume certain expenses so that common expenses (excluding Rule 12b-1 fees, acquired fund fees and expenses and certain non-routine expenses) for each class of the Fund do not exceed 1.23% for the next 12-month period. The investment manager also has contractually agreed in advance to reduce its fee as a result of the Fund's investment in a Franklin Templeton money fund (acquired fund) for the next 12-month period. In addition, the transfer agent has contractually agreed to cap transfer agency fees for Class R6 shares of the Fund so that transfer agency fees for that class do not exceed 0.01% for the next 12-month period. Contractual fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement agreements may not be changed or terminated during the time period set forth above.
Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of the period. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. The Example reflects adjustments made to the Fund's operating expenses due to the fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements by management for the 1 Year numbers only. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Expense Example {- Templeton Emerging Markets Balanced Fund} - Templeton Emerging Markets Balanced Fund-11 - Templeton Emerging Markets Balanced Fund - USD ($)
Class A
Class C
Class R
Class R6
Advisor Class
1 year $ 719 $ 328 $ 178 $ 119 $ 127
3 years 1,221 910 761 547 609
5 years 1,748 1,616 1,370 1,001 1,118
10 years $ 3,188 $ 3,492 $ 3,019 $ 2,262 $ 2,519
If you do not sell your shares:
Expense Example, No Redemption {- Templeton Emerging Markets Balanced Fund}
Templeton Emerging Markets Balanced Fund-11
Templeton Emerging Markets Balanced Fund
Class C
USD ($)
1 Year $ 228
3 Years 910
5 Years 1,616
10 Years $ 3,492
Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual Fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. Effective December 31, 2016 the Fund's fiscal year end was changed to December 31. As a result, the Fund experienced a shortened fiscal year covering the transitional period between the Fund's previous fiscal year end, March 31, 2016, and December 31, 2016. During this most recent fiscal period, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 26.32%of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings, in a diversified portfolio of equity securities, and fixed and floating rate debt obligations issued by governments, government-related entities and corporate entities which are located, incorporated or have significant business activities in or are impacted by economic developments in developing or emerging market countries. The Fund normally invests at least 25% of its net assets in equity securities and at least 25% of its net assets in fixed income senior securities. The equity portion of the Fund may invest in equity securities of companies from a variety of industries, but from time to time, based on economic conditions, the Fund may have significant investments in particular sectors. The equity securities in which the Fund invests are primarily common and preferred stocks, which may include equity securities of smaller companies, as well as American, Global and European depositary receipts. The fixed income portion of the Fund may invest in bonds (including inflation-indexed securities) of any maturity and of any rating category or in unrated bonds, a significant number of which may be considered high-yield bonds. High yield bonds are rated below investment grade and are sometimes referred to as "junk bonds." The Fund may purchase equity and fixed income securities denominated in any currency.

The "developing" or "emerging market countries" in which the Fund may invest include those currently considered to be developing or emerging by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the United Nations, or the countries' authorities, countries included in the JP Morgan Emerging Markets Bond Index- Global (EMBIG) or JP Morgan Government Bond Index - Emerging Markets Broad (GBI-EM Broad) fixed income indexes, or countries with a stock market capitalization of less than 3% of the MSCI World Index. Emerging market countries typically are located in the Asia-Pacific region, Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Central and South America, and Africa. For purposes of the Fund’s 80% policy and as used in this prospectus, the term “business activities” includes various financial metrics, including total revenue from either goods or services produced in emerging market countries, sales made in emerging market countries, assets or employees that are located in emerging market countries, and/or profitability derived from activities or operations in emerging market countries.

The fixed income portion of the Fund regularly uses various currency related transactions involving derivative instruments, principally currency and cross currency forwards, but may also use currency and currency index futures contracts. The Fund maintains significant positions in currency related derivative instruments as a hedging technique with respect to its fixed income securities or to implement a currency investment strategy, which could expose a large amount of the Fund's assets to obligations under these instruments. The use of these derivative transactions may allow the Fund to obtain net long or net negative (short) exposure to selected currencies. The results of such transactions may represent, from time to time, a large component of the Fund’s fixed income investment returns. The Fund may also enter into various other transactions involving derivatives from time to time, including interest rate and bond futures contracts (including those on government securities) and swap agreements (which may include credit default and interest rate swaps). The use of these derivative transactions may allow the Fund to obtain net long or net short exposures to selected currencies, interest rates, countries, durations or credit risks, or may be used for hedging purposes.

When allocating assets between the equity portion and the fixed income portion of the Fund, the investment manager applies a bottom up, fundamental research approach, considering the opportunity set within each asset class based on both absolute and relative valuations available within each asset class. The investment manager considers the relative valuation of equities versus bonds and the volatility and near-term risk of loss in each asset class.

When choosing equity investments for the Fund, the investment manager applies a fundamental research, value-oriented, long-term approach, focusing on the market price of a company’s securities relative to the investment manager’s evaluation of the company’s long-term earnings, asset value and cash flow potential. The investment manager also considers a company’s profit and loss outlook, balance sheet strength, cash flow trends and asset value in relation to the current price of the company's securities.

When choosing fixed income investments for the Fund, the investment manager allocates the Fund's assets based upon its assessment of changing market, political and economic conditions. It considers various factors, including evaluation of interest and currency exchange rate changes and credit risks.

The investment manager may consider selling a security when it believes the security has become fully valued due to either its price appreciation or changes in the issuer's fundamentals, or when the investment manager believes another security is a more attractive investment opportunity.

Principal Risks

You could lose money by investing in the Fund. Mutual fund shares are not deposits or obligations of, or guaranteed or endorsed by, any bank, and are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board, or any other agency of the U.S. government.

Market

The market values of securities or other investments owned by the Fund will go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. The market value of a security or other investment may be reduced by market activity or other results of supply and demand unrelated to the issuer. This is a basic risk associated with all investments. When there are more sellers than buyers, prices tend to fall. Likewise, when there are more buyers than sellers, prices tend to rise.

Stock prices tend to go up and down more dramatically than those of debt securities. A slower-growth or recessionary economic environment could have an adverse effect on the prices of the various stocks held by the Fund.

Foreign Securities

Investing in foreign securities typically involves more risks than investing in U.S. securities, and includes risks associated with: (i) internal and external political and economic developments – e.g., the political, economic and social policies and structures of some foreign countries may be less stable and more volatile than those in the U.S. or some foreign countries may be subject to trading restrictions or economic sanctions; (ii) trading practices – e.g., government supervision and regulation of foreign securities and currency markets, trading systems and brokers may be less than in the U.S.; (iii) availability of information – e.g., foreign issuers may not be subject to the same disclosure, accounting and financial reporting standards and practices as U.S. issuers; (iv) limited markets – e.g., the securities of certain foreign issuers may be less liquid (harder to sell) and more volatile; and (v) currency exchange rate fluctuations and policies. The risks of foreign investments may be greater in developing or emerging market countries.

Currency Management Strategies

Currency management strategies may substantially change the Fund’s exposure to currency exchange rates and could result in losses to the Fund if currencies do not perform as the investment manager expects. In addition, currency management strategies, to the extent that they reduce the Fund’s exposure to currency risks, may also reduce the Fund’s ability to benefit from favorable changes in currency exchange rates. Using currency management strategies for purposes other than hedging further increases the Fund’s exposure to foreign investment losses. Currency markets generally are not as regulated as securities markets. In addition, currency rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time, and can reduce returns.

Emerging Market Countries

The Fund’s investments in emerging market countries are subject to all of the risks of foreign investing generally, and have additional heightened risks due to a lack of established legal, political, business and social frameworks to support securities markets, including: delays in settling portfolio securities transactions; currency and capital controls; greater sensitivity to interest rate changes; pervasiveness of corruption and crime; currency exchange rate volatility; and inflation, deflation or currency devaluation.

Smaller Companies

Securities issued by smaller companies may be more volatile in price than those of larger companies, involve substantial risks and should be considered speculative. Such risks may include greater sensitivity to economic conditions, less certain growth prospects, lack of depth of management and funds for growth and development and limited or less developed product lines and markets. In addition, smaller companies may be particularly affected by interest rate increases, as they may find it more difficult to borrow money to continue or expand operations, or may have difficulty in repaying any loans.

Interest Rate

When interest rates rise, debt security prices generally fall. The opposite is also generally true: debt security prices rise when interest rates fall. Interest rate changes are influenced by a number of factors, including government policy, monetary policy, inflation expectations, perceptions of risk, and supply and demand of bonds. In general, securities with longer maturities or durations are more sensitive to interest rate changes.

Variable rate securities generally will not increase in market value if interest rates decline. Conversely, the market value may not decline when prevailing interest rates rise. Fixed rate debt securities generally are more sensitive to interest rate changes than variable rate securities.

Credit

An issuer of debt securities may fail to make interest payments or repay principal when due, in whole or in part. Changes in an issuer's financial strength or in a security's credit rating may affect a security's value.

Sovereign Debt Securities

Sovereign debt securities are subject to various risks in addition to those relating to debt securities and foreign securities generally, including, but not limited to, the risk that a governmental entity may be unwilling or unable to pay interest and repay principal on its sovereign debt, or otherwise meet its obligations when due because of cash flow problems, insufficient foreign reserves, the relative size of the debt service burden to the economy as a whole, the government’s policy towards principal international lenders such as the International Monetary Fund, or the political considerations to which the government may be subject. If a sovereign debtor defaults (or threatens to default) on its sovereign debt obligations, the indebtedness may be restructured. Some sovereign debtors have in the past been able to restructure their debt payments without the approval of some or all debt holders or to declare moratoria on payments. In the event of a default on sovereign debt, the Fund may also have limited legal recourse against the defaulting government entity.

High-Yield Debt Securities

Issuers of lower-rated or “high-yield” debt securities (also known as “junk bonds”) are not as strong financially as those issuing higher credit quality debt securities. High-yield debt securities are generally considered predominantly speculative by the applicable rating agencies as their issuers are more likely to encounter financial difficulties and are more vulnerable to changes in the relevant economy, such as a recession or a sustained period of rising interest rates, that could affect their ability to make interest and principal payments when due. The prices of high-yield debt securities generally fluctuate more than those of higher credit quality. High-yield debt securities are generally more illiquid (harder to sell) and harder to value.

Derivative Instruments

The performance of derivative instruments depends largely on the performance of an underlying currency, security, interest rate or index, and such instruments often have risks similar to the underlying instrument, in addition to other risks. Derivatives involve costs and can create economic leverage in the Fund’s portfolio, which may result in significant volatility and cause the Fund to participate in losses (as well as gains) in an amount that significantly exceeds the Fund’s initial investment. Certain derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of the initial investment. Other risks include illiquidity, mispricing or improper valuation of the derivative instrument, and imperfect correlation between the value of the derivative and the underlying instrument so that the Fund may not realize the intended benefits. The successful use of derivatives will usually depend on the investment manager’s ability to accurately forecast movements in the market relating to the underlying instrument. Should a market or markets, or prices of particular classes of investments move in an unexpected manner, especially in unusual or extreme market conditions, the Fund may not achieve the anticipated benefits of the transaction, and it may realize losses, which could be significant. If the investment manager is not successful in using such derivative instruments, the Fund’s performance may be worse than if the investment manager did not use such derivative instruments at all. When a derivative is used for hedging, the change in value of the derivative may also not correlate specifically with the currency, security, interest rate, index or other risk being hedged. Derivatives also may present the risk that the other party to the transaction will fail to perform. There is also the risk, especially under extreme market conditions, that an instrument, which usually would operate as a hedge, provides no hedging benefits at all.

Income

Because the Fund can only distribute what it earns, the Fund's distributions to shareholders may decline when prevailing interest rates fall or when the Fund experiences defaults on debt securities it holds.

Focus

To the extent that the Fund focuses on particular countries, regions, industries, sectors or types of investment from time to time, the Fund may be subject to greater risks of adverse developments in such areas of focus than a fund that invests in a wider variety of countries, regions, industries, sectors or investments.

Liquidity

From time to time, the trading market for a particular security or type of security or other investments in which the Fund invests may become less liquid or even illiquid. Reduced liquidity will have an adverse impact on the Fund’s ability to sell such securities or other investments when necessary to meet the Fund’s liquidity needs or in response to a specific economic event and will also generally lower the value of a security or other investments. Market prices for such securities or other investments may be volatile.

Management

The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed investment portfolio. The Fund's investment manager applies investment techniques and risk analyses in making investment decisions for the Fund, but there can be no guarantee that these decisions will produce the desired results.

Performance

The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows changes in the Fund's performance from year to year for Class A shares. The table shows how the Fund's average annual returns for 1 year, 5 years, 10 years or since inception, as applicable, compared with those of a broad measure of market performance. The Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. You can obtain updated performance information at franklintempleton.com or by calling (800) DIAL BEN/342-5236.

The Fund's secondary index, JP Morgan EMBI Global Index, in the table below shows how the Fund's performance compares to a group of securities that aligns with the fixed income portion of the Fund's portfolio. The investment manager compares the Fund's performance to an equally weighted combination of the JP Morgan EMBI Global Index and the MSCI Emerging Markets Index.

Sales charges are not reflected in the bar chart, and if those charges were included, returns would be less than those shown.

Class A Annual Total Returns
Bar Chart
Best Quarter:Q1'1211.57%
Worst Quarter:Q3'15-14.72%
As of March 31, 2017, the Fund's year-to-date return was 10.97%.

Average Annual Total Returns
(figures reflect sales charges)

For the periods ended December 31, 2016

Average Annual Total Returns{- Templeton Emerging Markets Balanced Fund} - Templeton Emerging Markets Balanced Fund-11 - Templeton Emerging Markets Balanced Fund
Past 1 year
Past 5 years
Since Inception
Inception Date
Class A       Oct. 03, 2011
Class A | Return Before Taxes 7.70% (1.41%) (0.63%)  
Class A | After Taxes on Distributions 7.24% (2.19%) (1.39%) Oct. 03, 2011
Class A | After Taxes on Distributions and Sales 4.42% (1.23%) (0.64%) Oct. 03, 2011
Class C       Oct. 03, 2011
Class C | Return Before Taxes 12.42% (0.99%) (0.25%)  
Class R       Oct. 03, 2011
Class R | Return Before Taxes 13.88% (0.51%) 0.24%  
Advisor Class       Oct. 03, 2011
Advisor Class | Return Before Taxes 14.44% 0.01% 0.76%  
MSCI Emerging Markets Index (index reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 11.60% 1.64% 3.05%  
JP Morgan EMBI Global Index (index reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 10.19% 5.44% 6.21%  

No one index is representative of the Fund's portfolio.

Performance information for Class R6 shares is not shown because it had not commenced operations as of the date of this prospectus.

The after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns are shown only for Class A and after-tax returns for other classes will vary.