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Templeton Emerging Markets Small Cap Fund
TEMPLETON EMERGING MARKETS SMALL CAP FUND
Investment Goal

Long-term capital appreciation.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

These tables describe the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees (including on Class R6 and Advisor Class shares), such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. 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 $25,000 in Franklin Templeton funds and certain other funds distributed through Franklin Distributors, LLC, the Fund’s distributor. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and under “Your Account” on page 36 in the Fund’s Prospectus and under “Buying and Selling Shares” on page 49 of the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information. In addition, more information about sales charge discounts and waivers for purchases of shares through specific financial intermediaries is set forth in Appendix A – “Intermediary Sales Charge Discounts and Waivers” to the Fund’s prospectus.

Shareholder Fees
Shareholder Fees - Templeton Emerging Markets Small Cap Fund
Class A
Class C
Class R
Class R6
Advisor Class
Maximum Sales Charge Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of Offering Price) 5.50% none none none none
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (as a percentage of Offering Price) none [1] 1.00% none none none
[1]

There is a 1% contingent deferred sales charge that applies to investments of $1 Million or more (see "Investment 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 Fund Operating Expenses - Templeton Emerging Markets Small Cap Fund
Class A
Class C
Class R
Class R6
Advisor Class
Management fees 1.40% 1.40% 1.40% 1.40% 1.40%
Distribution and service (12b-1) fees 0.25% 1.00% 0.50% none none
Other expenses 0.30% 0.30% 0.30% 0.16% 0.31%
Acquired fund fees and expenses 0.01% 0.01% 0.01% 0.01% 0.01%
Total annual Fund operating expenses [1] 1.96% 2.71% 2.21% 1.57% 1.72%
Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement [2] (0.20%) (0.20%) (0.20%) (0.09%) (0.21%)
Total annual Fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement [1] 1.76% 2.51% 2.01% 1.48% 1.51%
[1] 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.
[2] The investment manager has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse operating expenses (excluding Rule 12b-1 fees, acquired fund fees and expenses, interest expense and certain non-routine expenses or costs, such as those relating to litigation, indemnification, reorganizations and liquidations) for the Fund so that the ratio of total annual fund operating expenses will not exceed 1.50% for each share class. The investment manager has also agreed to reduce its fees to reflect reduced services resulting from the Fund’s investments in Franklin Templeton affiliated funds. In addition, transfer agency fees on Class R6 shares of the Fund have been capped so that transfer agency fees for that class do not exceed 0.03%. These arrangements are expected to continue until December 31, 2024. During the terms, the fee waiver and expense reimbursement agreements may not be terminated or amended without approval of the board of trustees except to add series or classes, to reflect the extension of termination dates or to lower the waiver and expense limitation (which would result in lower fees for shareholders).
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 Small Cap Fund - USD ($)
Class A
Class C
Class R
Class R6
Advisor Class
1 Year $ 719 $ 354 $ 204 $ 151 $ 154
3 Years 1,113 822 672 487 522
5 Years 1,531 1,417 1,167 847 914
10 Years $ 2,693 $ 2,847 $ 2,530 $ 1,860 $ 2,014
If you do not sell your shares:
Expense Example, No Redemption
Templeton Emerging Markets Small Cap Fund
Class C
USD ($)
1 Year $ 254
3 Years 822
5 Years 1,417
10 Years $ 2,847
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. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 23.06% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in securities of small cap companies located in “emerging market countries.” Emerging market countries include those currently considered to be emerging or developing by the United Nations or the countries' authorities or by S&P Dow Jones, Morgan Stanley Capital International or FTSE index providers. The Fund considers frontier markets to be a subset of emerging markets and any investments in frontier markets will be counted toward the Fund’s 80% investment policy. These countries typically are located in the Asia-Pacific region (including Hong Kong), Eastern Europe, the Middle East, Central and South America, and Africa.

The Fund invests predominantly in equity securities. The equity securities in which the Fund invests are primarily common stock and related depositary receipts. The investment manager employs a strategy of investing in securities of companies with a market capitalization at the time of purchase within the range of the market capitalizations of companies included in the MSCI Emerging Markets Small Cap Index and:

· whose principal securities trading markets are in emerging market countries; or

· that derive at least 50% of their total revenue or profit from either goods or services produced or sales made in emerging market countries; or

· that have at least 50% of their assets in emerging market countries; or

· that are linked to currencies of emerging market countries; or

· that are organized under the laws of, or with principal offices in, emerging market countries.

When choosing equity investments for the Fund, the investment manager applies a fundamental research, bottom-up, 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.

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

Principal Risks
Risk Table - Templeton Emerging Markets Small Cap Fund
Risk [Text Block]
Risk Lose Money [Member] You could lose money by investing in the Fund.
Market

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.

The global outbreak of the novel strain of coronavirus, COVID-19 and its subsequent variants, has resulted in market closures and dislocations, extreme volatility, liquidity constraints and increased trading costs. The long-term impact on economies, markets, industries and individual issuers is not known. Some sectors of the economy and individual issuers have experienced or may experience particularly large losses. Periods of extreme volatility in the financial markets; reduced liquidity of many instruments; and disruptions to supply chains, consumer demand and employee availability, may continue for some time.

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 (non-U.S.)

Foreign Securities (non-U.S.): 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; diplomatic and political developments could affect the economies, industries, and securities and currency markets of the countries in which the Fund is invested, which can include rapid and adverse political changes; social instability; regional conflicts; sanctions imposed by the United States, other nations or other governmental entities, including supranational entities; terrorism; and war; (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 – e.g., fluctuations may negatively affect investments denominated in foreign currencies and any income received or expenses paid by the Fund in that foreign currency. The risks of foreign investments may be greater in developing or emerging market countries.

Emerging Market Countries

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.

Small Capitalization Companies

Small Capitalization Companies: Securities issued by small capitalization companies may be more volatile in price than those of larger companies and may involve substantial risks. 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, small capitalization 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.

Liquidity

Liquidity: 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, which may arise or increase in response to a specific economic event or because the investment manager wishes to purchase particular investments or believes that a higher level of liquidity would be advantageous. Reduced liquidity will also generally lower the value of such securities or other investments. Market prices for such securities or other investments may be relatively volatile.

Focus

Focus: To the extent that the Fund focuses on particular countries, regions, industries, sectors or types of investments 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.

Investment Style

Investment Style: A stock may not increase in price as anticipated by the investment manager if other investors fail to recognize the company's value and bid

up the price, the markets favor faster-growing companies, or the factors that the investment manager believes will increase the price of the security do not occur.

Management

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.

Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity: Cybersecurity incidents, both intentional and unintentional, may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, Fund or customer data (including private shareholder information), or proprietary information, cause the Fund, the investment manager, and/or their service providers (including, but not limited to, Fund accountants, custodians, sub-custodians, transfer agents and financial intermediaries) to suffer data breaches, data corruption or loss of operational functionality or prevent Fund investors from purchasing, redeeming or exchanging shares or receiving distributions. The investment manager has limited ability to prevent or mitigate cybersecurity incidents affecting third party service providers, and such third party service providers may have limited indemnification obligations to the Fund or the investment manager. Cybersecurity incidents may result in financial losses to the Fund and its shareholders, and substantial costs may be incurred in an effort to prevent or mitigate future cybersecurity incidents. Issuers of securities in which the Fund invests are also subject to cybersecurity risks, and the value of these securities could decline if the issuers experience cybersecurity incidents.

Because technology is frequently changing, new ways to carry out cyber attacks are always developing. Therefore, there is a chance that some risks have not been identified or prepared for, or that an attack may not be detected, which puts limitations on the Fund's ability to plan for or respond to a cyber attack. Like other funds and business enterprises, the Fund, the investment manager, and their service providers are subject to the risk of cyber incidents occurring from time to time.

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.

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:

2020, Q2

28.08%

Worst Quarter:

2020, Q1

-33.00%

 

As of September 30, 2023, the Fund’s year-to-date return was 4.34%.

Average Annual Total Returns (figures reflect sales charges) For periods ended December 31, 2022
Average Annual Total Returns - Templeton Emerging Markets Small Cap Fund
Label
1 Year
5 Years
10 Years
Since Inception
[1]
Class A Return before taxes (23.56%) (1.41%) 2.38%  
Class A | After Taxes on Distributions Return after taxes on distributions (24.57%) (2.52%) 1.77%  
Class A | After Taxes on Distributions and Sales Return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares (12.62%) (0.96%) 1.94%  
Class C   (20.49%) (1.04%) 2.21%  
Class R   (19.37%) (0.54%) 2.72%  
Class R6   (18.91%) 0.08%   1.17%
Advisor Class   (18.93%) (0.04%) 3.23%  
MSCI Emerging Markets Small Cap Index-NR MSCI Emerging Markets Small Cap Index-NR (18.02%) 1.06% 3.21%  
[1]

Since inception August 1, 2017.