PROSPECTUS

     
       
   

TEMPLETON INSTITUTIONAL FUNDS

 
     
   

May 1, 2024

 
     
       
   

Slayer_DrawImageOnBackgroundColor(0,76,151)

 
       
         
           
         
     

Primary Shares

Service Shares

Foreign Smaller Companies Series

 

TFSCX

International Equity Series

 

TFEQX

TFESX

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.

 

ZTIF P 05/24



 

Contents

Fund Summaries

Information about the Fund you should know before investing

   

Foreign Smaller Companies Series

2

International Equity Series

10

Fund Details

More information on investment policies, practices and risks/financial highlights

   

Foreign Smaller Companies Series

18

International Equity Series

31

Distributions and Taxes

45

Your Account

Information about sales charges, qualified investors, account transactions and services

   

Qualified Investors

49

Buying Shares

52

Investor Services

55

Selling Shares

57

Exchanging Shares

59

Account Policies

63

Questions

71

For More Information

Where to learn more about the Fund

Back Cover


FOREIGN SMALLER COMPANIES SERIES
FUND SUMMARIES

Foreign Smaller Companies Series

Investment Goal

Long-term capital growth.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

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

     

 

 

 

Management fees

 

0.95%

Other expenses

 

0.14%

Total annual Fund operating expenses

 

1.09%

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. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

                   

 

 

 

1 Year

 

3 Years

 

5 Years

 

10 Years

Foreign Smaller Companies Series

 

$111

 

$346

 

$601

 

$1,329

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 36.62% of the average value of its portfolio.

     

2

Prospectus

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FOREIGN SMALLER COMPANIES SERIES
FUND SUMMARIES

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in investments of smaller companies located outside the U.S., including emerging markets. For purposes of this 80% policy, smaller companies are defined as those with market capitalizations that do not exceed $4 billion. However, under normal conditions, when making an initial purchase of securities of a company, the investment manager will only invest in securities of companies with a market capitalization of not more than $2 billion. Once a security qualifies for initial purchase, it continues to qualify for additional purchases as long as it is held by the Fund, provided that the issuer's market capitalization does not exceed $4 billion. In addition, the Fund may continue to hold securities that have grown to have a market capitalization in excess of $4 billion. The result may be that the Fund could hold a significant percentage of its net assets in securities of companies that have market capitalizations in excess of $2 billion. The Fund predominantly invests in equity securities, primarily common stock.

The Fund may invest more than 25% of its assets in the securities of issuers located in any one country. From time to time, based on economic conditions, the Fund may have significant investments in one or more countries, such as Japan, or in particular sectors, such as the consumer discretionary and the industrials sectors.

When choosing equity investments for the Fund, the investment manager applies a “bottom-up,” 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 price/earnings ratio, profit margins and liquidation value.

In selecting securities for the Fund, the investment manager attempts to identify those companies that offer above-average opportunities for capital appreciation in various countries and industries where economic and political factors, including currency movements, are favorable to capital growth.

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, when the investment manager believes that the market capitalization of a security has become too large, 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

     

www.ftinstitutional.com

Prospectus

3


FOREIGN SMALLER COMPANIES SERIES
FUND SUMMARIES

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.

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. The markets for securities issued by small capitalization companies also tend to be less liquid than the markets for securities issued by larger companies.

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.

     

4

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FOREIGN SMALLER COMPANIES SERIES
FUND SUMMARIES

The risks of foreign investments may be greater in developing or emerging market countries.

Regional: To the extent that the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a specific geographic region or a particular country, including Europe and Japan, the Fund will generally have more exposure to the specific regional or country risks. In the event of economic or political turmoil or a deterioration of diplomatic relations in a region or country where a substantial portion of the Fund’s assets are invested, the Fund may experience substantial illiquidity or reduction in the value of the Fund’s investments. Adverse conditions in a certain region or country can adversely affect securities of issuers in other countries whose economies appear to be unrelated. Current uncertainty concerning the economic consequences of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has increased market volatility.

Developing Market Countries: The Fund’s investments in securities of issuers in developing 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.

Value Style Investing: A value 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 or do not have the anticipated effect.

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: 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.

     

www.ftinstitutional.com

Prospectus

5


FOREIGN SMALLER COMPANIES SERIES
FUND SUMMARIES

Large Redemptions: The Fund may experience adverse effects when shareholders make large redemptions from the Fund that equate to a large percentage of the Fund’s assets. In order to meet such redemption requests, the Fund may need to sell securities at times when it would not otherwise do so, which could result in losses to the Fund, increase the Fund’s transaction costs and expense ratios, and accelerate the realization of taxable income, if any, to shareholders. When experiencing a large redemption, the Fund may seek to delay payment of the redemption request up to seven days for a variety of reasons including to provide the investment manager with time to orderly process the request. If, however, the Fund is unable to delay the redemption request, for example, due to various automated processes that can occur with respect to certain large redemptions, there is a risk of additional detriment to the Fund and its remaining shareholders.

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 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.

     

6

Prospectus

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FOREIGN SMALLER COMPANIES SERIES
FUND SUMMARIES

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. 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 www.ftinstitutional.com or by calling (800) 321-8563.

Annual Total Returns

PerformanceBarChartData(2014:-3.32,2015:1.88,2016:-0.85,2017:34.18,2018:-18.48,2019:22.86,2020:8.95,2021:10.72,2022:-23.28,2023:15.9)

     

Best Quarter:

2020, Q2

23.82%

Worst Quarter:

2020, Q1

-31.92%

Average Annual Total Returns

For periods ended December 31, 2023

                 

 

 

1 Year

 

5 Years

 

10 Years

 

Foreign Smaller Companies Series

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return before taxes

 

15.90%

 

5.67%

 

3.48%

 

 

Return after taxes on distributions

 

15.83%

 

4.73%

 

2.42%

 

 

Return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares

 

9.95%

 

4.65%

 

2.77%

 

MSCI AC World ex-US Small Cap Index-NR (index reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes but are net of dividend tax withholding)

 

15.66%

 

7.89%

 

4.88%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The after-tax returns presented in the table are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of

     

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Prospectus

7


FOREIGN SMALLER COMPANIES SERIES
FUND SUMMARIES

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-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.

Investment Manager

Templeton Investment Counsel, LLC (Investment Counsel)

Sub-Advisor

Franklin Templeton Investments Corp. (FTIC)

Portfolio Managers

Harlan B. Hodes

Executive Vice President/Portfolio Manager-Research Analyst of Investment Counsel and portfolio manager of the Fund since 2007.

David A. Tuttle, CFA

Vice President/Portfolio Manager-Research Analyst of FTIC and portfolio manager of the Fund since 2021.

Kyle Denning, CFA

Vice President/Portfolio Manager-Research Analyst of Investment Counsel and portfolio manager of the Fund since 2022.

Katie Ylijoki, CFA

Vice President/Portfolio Manager-Research Analyst of Investment Counsel and portfolio manager of the Fund since 2022.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

You may purchase shares of the Fund on any business day by mail (Franklin Templeton Institutional Services, P.O. Box 33030, St. Petersburg, FL 33733-8030). You may redeem shares of the Fund on any business day by mail at the address listed above, or by telephone at (800) 321-8563. The minimum initial purchase varies depending on the type of investor and could be up to $1,000,000. More information about eligibility to invest in the Fund and the applicable minimum requirements is under "Your Account" in the detail section of the Fund's prospectus. There is no minimum investment for subsequent purchases.

Taxes

The Fund’s distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement

     

8

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FOREIGN SMALLER COMPANIES SERIES
FUND SUMMARIES

account, in which case your distributions would generally be taxed when withdrawn from the tax-advantaged account.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your financial advisor or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.

     

www.ftinstitutional.com

Prospectus

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INTERNATIONAL EQUITY SERIES
FUND SUMMARIES

International Equity Series

Investment Goal

Long-term capital growth.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below.

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

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

         

 

 

Primary Shares

 

Service Shares

Management fees

 

0.78%

 

0.78%

Other expenses

 

0.14%

 

0.30%1

Acquired fund fees and expenses

 

0.01%

 

0.01%

Total annual Fund operating expenses2

 

0.93%

 

1.09%

Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement3

 

-0.05%

 

-0.05%

Total annual Fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement

 

0.88%

 

1.04%

1. Other expenses have been restated to reflect fees and expenses for the current fiscal year. Consequently, the total annual Fund operating expenses differ from the ratio of expenses to average net assets shown in the Financial Highlights.

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 its fee so that the management fee for the Fund does not exceed 0.74%. The investment manager has also contractually agreed to reduce its fees to reflect reduced services resulting from the Fund’s investments in Franklin Templeton affiliated funds. These arrangements are expected to continue until April 30, 2025. 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:

     

10

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INTERNATIONAL EQUITY SERIES
FUND SUMMARIES

                   

 

 

 

1 Year

 

3 Years

 

5 Years

 

10 Years

Primary Shares

 

$90

 

$292

 

$510

 

$1,140

Service Shares

 

$106

 

$342

 

$597

 

$1,325

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 18.18% 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 foreign (non-U.S.) equity securities. The Fund predominantly invests in companies located outside the U.S. including companies located in developing market countries.

The Fund may invest in equity securities of any size company, across the entire market capitalization spectrum, including smaller and midsize companies. The equity securities in which the Fund primarily invests are common stock. From time to time, based on economic conditions, the Fund may have significant investments in one or more countries or in particular sectors, such as the financial services sector.

For purposes of pursuing its investment goal, the Fund intends to enter into equity derivative instruments, including equity index futures contracts. The Fund uses these derivative instruments for investment purposes, including for cash management purposes and to generate income, to increase liquidity and/or to adjust the Fund’s exposure to certain equity markets in a more efficient or less expensive way.

When choosing equity investments for the Fund, the investment manager applies a “bottom-up,” 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 price/earnings ratio, profit margins and liquidation value.

In selecting securities for the Fund, the investment manager attempts to identify those companies that offer above-average opportunities for capital appreciation in

     

www.ftinstitutional.com

Prospectus

11


INTERNATIONAL EQUITY SERIES
FUND SUMMARIES

various countries and industries where economic and political factors, including currency movements, are favorable to capital growth.

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

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 (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.

     

12

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INTERNATIONAL EQUITY SERIES
FUND SUMMARIES

The risks of foreign investments may be greater in developing or emerging market countries.

Regional: To the extent that the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a specific geographic region or a particular country, including Europe and Japan, the Fund will generally have more exposure to the specific regional or country risks. In the event of economic or political turmoil or a deterioration of diplomatic relations in a region or country where a substantial portion of the Fund’s assets are invested, the Fund may experience substantial illiquidity or reduction in the value of the Fund’s investments. Adverse conditions in a certain region or country can adversely affect securities of issuers in other countries whose economies appear to be unrelated. Current uncertainty concerning the economic consequences of Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has increased market volatility.

Developing Market Countries: The Fund’s investments in securities of issuers in developing 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.

Value Style Investing: A value 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 or do not have the anticipated effect.

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.

Small and Mid Capitalization Companies: Securities issued by small and mid 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 and mid 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. The markets for securities issued by small and mid

     

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INTERNATIONAL EQUITY SERIES
FUND SUMMARIES

capitalization companies also tend to be less liquid than the markets for securities issued by larger companies.

Derivative Instruments: The performance of derivative instruments depends largely on the performance of an underlying security, interest rate or index, and such derivatives 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. Other risks include illiquidity, mispricing or improper valuation of the derivative, and imperfect correlation between the value of the derivative and the underlying instrument so that the Fund may not realize the intended benefits. Their successful use 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 derivatives at all.

Large Redemptions: The Fund may experience adverse effects when shareholders make large redemptions from the Fund that equate to a large percentage of the Fund’s assets. In order to meet such redemption requests, the Fund may need to sell securities at times when it would not otherwise do so, which could result in losses to the Fund, increase the Fund’s transaction costs and expense ratios, and accelerate the realization of taxable income, if any, to shareholders. When experiencing a large redemption, the Fund may seek to delay payment of the redemption request up to seven days for a variety of reasons including to provide the investment manager with time to orderly process the request. If, however, the Fund is unable to delay the redemption request, for example, due to various automated processes that can occur with respect to certain large redemptions, there is a risk of additional detriment to the Fund and its remaining shareholders.

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 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

     

14

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INTERNATIONAL EQUITY SERIES
FUND SUMMARIES

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 Primary 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 www.ftinstitutional.com or by calling (800) 321-8563.

The additional index MSCI EAFE Index-NR in the table below shows how the Fund's performance compares to an additional leading developed markets index.

     

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INTERNATIONAL EQUITY SERIES
FUND SUMMARIES

Primary Shares Annual Total Returns

PerformanceBarChartData(2014:-6.78,2015:-2.67,2016:1.3,2017:22.92,2018:-14.87,2019:11.57,2020:5.3,2021:5.75,2022:-9.23,2023:22.84)

     

Best Quarter:

2020, Q4

22.67%

Worst Quarter:

2020, Q1

-24.71%

Average Annual Total Returns

(figures reflect sales charges)

For periods ended December 31, 2023

                 

 

 

1 Year

 

5 Years

 

10 Years

 

International Equity Series – Primary Shares

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return before taxes

 

22.84%

 

6.73%

 

2.91%

 

 

Return after taxes on distributions

 

18.13%

 

3.18%

 

0.37%

 

 

Return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares

 

15.11%

 

4.48%

 

1.80%

 

International Equity Series – Service Shares

 

22.80%

 

6.61%

 

2.77%

 

MSCI All Country World ex-US Index-NR (index reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes but are net of dividend tax withholding)

 

15.62%

 

7.08%

 

3.83%

 

MSCI EAFE Index-NR (index reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes but are net of dividend tax withholding)

 

18.24%

 

8.17%

 

4.28%

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The after-tax returns presented in the table 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-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns are shown only for Primary Shares and after-tax returns for other classes will vary.

Investment Manager

Templeton Investment Counsel, LLC (Investment Counsel)

     

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INTERNATIONAL EQUITY SERIES
FUND SUMMARIES

Portfolio Managers

Peter A. Nori, CFA

Executive Vice President/Portfolio Manager-Research Analyst of Investment Counsel and portfolio manager of the Fund since 1999.

Matthew R. Nagle, CFA

Portfolio Manager of Investment Counsel and portfolio manager of the Fund since 2018.

Heather Waddell, CFA

Senior Vice President/Portfolio Manager-Research Analyst of Investment Counsel and portfolio manager of the Fund since 2022.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

You may purchase shares of the Fund on any business day by mail (Franklin Templeton Institutional Services, P.O. Box 33030, St. Petersburg, FL 33733-8030). You may redeem shares of the Fund on any business day by mail at the address listed above, or by telephone at (800) 321-8563. The minimum initial purchase varies depending on the type of investor and could be up to $1,000,000. More information about eligibility to invest in the Fund and the applicable minimum requirements is under "Your Account" in the detail section of the Fund's prospectus. There is no minimum investment for subsequent purchases.

Taxes

The Fund’s distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case your distributions would generally be taxed when withdrawn from the tax-advantaged account.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your financial advisor or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.

     

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FOREIGN SMALLER COMPANIES SERIES
FUND DETAILS

Fund Details

Foreign Smaller Companies Series

Investment Goal

The Fund's investment goal is long-term capital growth.

Principal Investment Policies and Practices

Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in investments of smaller companies located outside the U.S., including emerging markets. Shareholders will be given at least 60 days' advance notice of any change to this 80% policy. The Fund predominantly invests in equity securities, primarily common stock.

An equity security represents a proportionate share of the ownership of a company; its value is based on the success of the company's business and the value of its assets, as well as general market conditions. Common stocks, preferred stocks, convertible securities and related depositary receipts are examples of equity securities. Convertible securities generally are debt securities or preferred stock that may be converted into common stock after certain time periods or under certain circumstances. The Fund may invest in convertible securities without regard to the ratings assigned by rating services. Depositary receipts are certificates typically issued by a bank or trust company that give their holders the right to receive securities issued by a foreign or domestic company.

The Fund may invest more than 25% of its assets in the securities of issuers located in any one country or region, including Japan and Europe. The Fund, from time to time, may have significant investments in one or more countries or in particular sectors, such as the consumer discretionary and the industrials sectors.

Smaller Companies

For purposes of monitoring the Fund's compliance with the requirement that it invest at least 80% of net assets in the equity securities of smaller companies, smaller companies are defined as those with market capitalizations that do not exceed $4 billion. Under normal market conditions, when making an initial purchase of securities of a company, the investment manager will only invest in securities of companies with a market capitalization of not more than $2 billion.

Once a security qualifies for initial purchase, it continues to qualify for additional purchases as long as it is held by the Fund, provided that the issuer's market capitalization does not exceed $4 billion. In addition, the Fund may continue to hold securities that originally qualified for initial purchase as smaller companies (with a market capitalization of less than $2 billion) that have grown to have a market

     

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capitalization in excess of $4 billion. The result may be that the Fund could hold a significant percentage of its net assets in securities of companies that have market capitalizations in excess of $2 billion.

In some emerging markets, the Fund may invest in companies that qualify as small cap but still are among the largest in that market.

When choosing equity investments for this Fund, the investment manager applies a "bottom-up," 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. This includes an assessment by the investment manager of the potential impacts of material environmental, social and governance factors on the long-term risk and return profile of a company. The investment manager also considers a company's price/earnings ratio, profit margins and liquidation value.

In selecting securities for the Fund, the investment manager attempts to identify those companies that offer above-average opportunities for capital appreciation in various countries and industries where economic and political factors, including currency movements, are favorable to capital growth.

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, when the investment manager believes that the market capitalization of a security has become too large, or when the investment manager believes another security is a more attractive investment opportunity.

Alongside traditional financial and economic analyses, the investment manager assesses the potential impacts of material environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors on an issuer, which the investment manager believes provide a measure of the issuer’s sustainability. In analyzing ESG factors, the investment manager assesses whether an issuer’s practices pose a material financial risk or opportunity. Consideration of ESG factors and risks is only one component of the investment manager’s assessment of eligible investments and may not be a determinative factor in the investment manager’s final decision on whether to invest in an issuer. In addition, the weight given to ESG factors may vary across types of investments, industries, regions and issuer, and ESG factors and weights considered may change over time. In certain circumstances, there may be times when not every investment is assessed for ESG factors and, when they are, not every ESG factor may be identified or evaluated.

Temporary Investments

When the investment manager believes market or economic conditions are unfavorable for investors, the investment manager may invest up to 100% of the Fund's assets in a temporary defensive manner by holding all or a substantial portion of its assets in cash, cash equivalents or other high quality short-term

     

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investments. Temporary defensive investments generally may include U.S. dollar and non-dollar securities such as government securities, bank obligations, high quality commercial paper, repurchase agreements, money market shares (including shares of an affiliated money market fund) and other money market instruments. The investment manager also may invest in these types of securities or hold cash while looking for suitable investment opportunities or to maintain liquidity. In these circumstances, the Fund may be unable to achieve its investment goal.

Under unusual circumstances and on a temporary basis, including times during which the Fund may experience large cash inflows, the Fund may invest in securities of issuers that would not be considered "smaller companies."

Principal Risks

Market: The market values of securities or other investments owned by the Fund will go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. The Fund’s investments may decline in value due to factors affecting individual issuers (such as the results of supply and demand), or sectors within the securities markets. The value of a security or other investment also may go up or down due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to a particular issuer, such as real or perceived adverse economic conditions, changes in interest rates or exchange rates, or adverse investor sentiment generally. Furthermore, events involving limited liquidity, defaults, non-performance or other adverse developments that affect one industry, such as the financial services industry, or concerns or rumors about any events of these kinds, have in the past and may in the future lead to market-wide liquidity problems, may spread to other industries, and could negatively affect the value and liquidity of the Fund’s investments. In addition, unexpected events and their aftermaths, such as the spread of diseases; natural, environmental or man-made disasters; financial, political or social disruptions; terrorism and war; and other tragedies or catastrophes, can cause investor fear and panic, which can adversely affect the economies of many companies, sectors, nations, regions and the market in general, in ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen. During a general downturn in the securities markets, multiple asset classes may decline in value. When markets perform well, there can be no assurance that securities or other investments held by the Fund will participate in or otherwise benefit from the advance.

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

     

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demand and employee availability, may continue for some time. The U.S. government and the Federal Reserve, as well as certain foreign governments and central banks, have taken extraordinary action to support local and global economies and the financial markets in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This and other government interventions into the economy and financial markets may not work as intended, and have resulted in a large expansion of government deficits and debt, the long term consequences of which are not known. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic, and measures taken to mitigate its effects, could result in disruptions to the services provided to the Fund by its service providers.

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.

Small Capitalization Companies: While small capitalization companies may offer substantial opportunities for capital growth, they also may involve more risks than larger companies. Historically, securities issued by small capitalization companies have been more volatile in price than securities that are issued by larger companies, especially over the short term. Among the reasons for the greater price volatility are the less certain growth prospects of small capitalization companies, the lower degree of liquidity in the markets for such securities, and the greater sensitivity of small capitalization companies to changing economic conditions.

In addition, small capitalization companies may lack depth of management, be unable to generate funds necessary for growth or development, have limited product lines or be developing or marketing new products or services for which markets are not yet established and may never become established. 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 loans, particularly those with floating interest rates.

Foreign Securities (non-U.S.): Investing in foreign securities typically involves more risks than investing in U.S. securities, including risks related to currency exchange rates and policies, country or government specific issues, less favorable trading practices or regulation and greater price volatility. Certain of these risks also may apply to securities of U.S. companies with significant foreign operations.

Currency exchange rates: Foreign securities may be issued and traded in foreign currencies. As a result, their market values in U.S. dollars may be affected by changes in exchange rates between such foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar, as well as between currencies of countries other than the U.S. For example, if the value of the U.S. dollar goes up compared to a foreign currency, an investment traded in that foreign currency will go down in value because it will be worth fewer U.S. dollars. The Fund accrues additional expenses when engaging in currency exchange transactions, and valuation of the Fund's foreign securities may be

     

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subject to greater risk because both the currency (relative to the U.S. dollar) and the security must be considered.

Political and economic developments: The political, economic and social policies or structures of some foreign countries may be less stable and more volatile than those in the United States. Investments in these countries may be subject to greater risks of internal and external conflicts, expropriation, nationalization of assets, foreign exchange controls (such as suspension of the ability to transfer currency from a given country), restrictions on removal of assets, political or social instability, military action or unrest, diplomatic developments, currency devaluations, foreign ownership limitations, and substantial, punitive or confiscatory tax increases. It is possible that a government may take over the assets or operations of a company or impose restrictions on the exchange or export of currency or other assets. Some countries also may have different legal systems that may make it difficult or expensive for the Fund to vote proxies, exercise shareholder rights, and pursue legal remedies with respect to its foreign investments. Diplomatic and political developments could affect the economies, industries, and securities and currency markets of the countries in which the Fund is invested. These developments 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. In addition, such developments could contribute to the devaluation of a country’s currency, a downgrade in the credit ratings of issuers in such country, or a decline in the value and liquidity of securities of issuers in that country. An imposition of sanctions upon, or other government actions impacting, certain issuers in a country could result in (i) an immediate freeze of that issuer’s securities, impairing the ability of the Fund to buy, sell, receive or deliver those securities or (ii) other limitations on the Fund’s ability to invest or hold such securities. These factors would affect the value of the Fund’s investments and are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to predict and take into account with respect to the Fund's investments.

Trading practices: Brokerage commissions, withholding taxes, custodial fees, and other fees generally are higher in foreign markets. The policies and procedures followed by foreign stock exchanges, currency markets, trading systems and brokers may differ from those applicable in the United States, with possibly negative consequences to the Fund. The procedures and rules governing foreign trading, settlement and custody (holding of the Fund's assets) also may result in losses or delays in payment, delivery or recovery of money or other property. Foreign government supervision and regulation of foreign securities and currency markets and trading systems may be less than or different from government supervision in the United States, and may increase the Fund's regulatory and compliance burden and/or decrease the Fund's investor rights and protections.

     

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Availability of information: Foreign issuers may not be subject to the same disclosure, accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards and practices as U.S. issuers. Thus, there may be less information publicly available about foreign issuers than about most U.S. issuers. In addition, information provided by foreign issuers may be less timely or less reliable than information provided by U.S. issuers.

Limited markets: Certain foreign securities may be less liquid (harder to sell) and their prices may be more volatile than many U.S. securities. Illiquidity tends to be greater, and valuation of the Fund's foreign securities may be more difficult, due to the infrequent trading and/or delayed reporting of quotes and sales.

Regional: Adverse conditions in a certain region or country can adversely affect securities of issuers in other countries whose economies appear to be unrelated. To the extent that the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a specific geographic region or a particular country, the Fund will generally have more exposure to the risks affecting that specific geographic region or country. In the event of economic or political turmoil or a deterioration of diplomatic relations in a region or country where a substantial portion of the Fund’s assets are invested, the Fund may experience substantial illiquidity or reduction in the value of the Fund’s investments.

The risk of investments in Europe may be heightened due to the current uncertainty concerning the economic consequences of Russia's military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which has increased market volatility.

Developing Markets: The risks of foreign investments typically are greater in less developed countries, sometimes referred to as developing or emerging markets. For example, the political, social, market regulation and economic structures and institutions in these countries, including those supporting the regulatory and legal systems and financial markets, may be less established and more vulnerable to corruption and fraud, and may change rapidly. These countries are more likely to experience high levels of inflation, deflation or currency devaluation, which can harm their economies and securities markets and increase volatility. In fact, short-term volatility in these markets and declines of 50% or more are not uncommon. Investments in less developed markets generally are subject to higher fees and expenses and exhibit greater price volatility and valuation challenges. They may be subject to greater risk of expropriation, nationalization, confiscatory or punitive taxation, and foreign investment and divestment restrictions. In addition, a developing market country may experience a devaluation of its currency, a downgrade in the credit ratings of issuers in the country, or a decline in the value and liquidity of securities of issuers in that country if the United States, other nations or other governmental entities (including supranational entities) impose sanctions on issuers that limit or restrict foreign investment, the movement of

     

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assets or other economic activity in the country due to political, military or regional conflicts or due to terrorism or war.

Restrictions on currency trading that may be imposed by developing market countries will have an adverse effect on the value of the securities of companies that trade or operate in such countries. Finally, such securities markets are smaller, relatively less liquid and may not be as efficient or established in terms of settlement, custody and securities registration.

Value Style Investing: Value stock prices are considered "cheap" relative to the company's perceived value and are often out of favor with other investors. The investment manager may invest in such stocks if it believes the market may have overreacted to adverse developments or failed to appreciate positive changes. However, if other investors fail to recognize the company's value (and do not become buyers, or if they become sellers or favor investing in faster growing companies), value stocks may not increase in value as anticipated by the investment manager and may even decline in value.

Liquidity: Liquidity risk exists when the markets for particular securities or types of securities or other investments are or become relatively illiquid so that the Fund is unable, or it becomes more difficult for the Fund, to sell the security or other investment at the price at which the Fund has valued the security. Illiquidity may result from political, economic or issuer specific events; supply/demand imbalances; changes in a specific market’s size or structure, including the number of participants; or overall market disruptions. Securities or other investments with reduced liquidity or that become illiquid may involve greater risk than securities with more liquid markets. Market prices or quotations for illiquid securities may be volatile, and there may be large spreads between bid and ask prices. Reduced liquidity may have an adverse impact on market price and the Fund's ability to sell particular securities 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. An investment may become illiquid if the Fund and its affiliates receive material non-public information about the issuer or the investment. To the extent that the Fund and its affiliates hold a significant portion of an issuer's outstanding securities, the Fund may be subject to greater liquidity risk than if the issuer's securities were more widely held.

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.

     

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Consumer discretionary companies: Companies in the consumer discretionary sector could be affected by, among other things, overall economic conditions, interest rates, consumer confidence, and disposable income.

Industrials companies: The stock prices of companies in the industrials sector are affected by supply and demand both for their specific product or service and for industrials sector products in general. Companies in the industrials sector may be adversely affected by changes in government regulation, world events and economic conditions. In addition, these companies are at risk for environmental damage and product liability claims. Companies in this sector could be adversely affected by commodity price volatility, changes in exchange rates, imposition of export or import controls, increased competition, depletion of resources, technological developments and labor relations.

Large Redemptions: The Fund may experience adverse effects when shareholders make large redemptions from the Fund that equate to a large percentage of the Fund’s assets. Large redemptions may cause the Fund to sell portfolio securities at times when it would not otherwise do so, which could result in realized losses for the Fund. In addition, these transactions may also accelerate the realization of taxable income to shareholders if such sales of investments resulted in gains, and may also increase transaction costs and/or increase in the Fund's expense ratio. When experiencing a large redemption, the Fund may seek to delay payment of the redemption request up to seven days for a variety of reasons including to provide the investment manager with time to orderly process the request. If, however, the Fund is unable to delay the redemption request, for example, due to various automated processes that can occur with respect to certain large redemptions, there is a risk of additional detriment to the Fund and its remaining shareholders.

Management: The Fund is actively managed and could experience losses if the investment manager’s judgment about markets, interest rates or the attractiveness, relative values, liquidity, or potential appreciation of particular investments made for the Fund's portfolio prove to be incorrect. The Fund could also experience losses if there are imperfections, errors or limitations in the models, tools, and data used by the investment manager or if the investment manager’s techniques or investment decisions do not produce the desired results. Additionally, legislative, regulatory, or tax developments may affect the investment techniques available to the investment manager in connection with managing the Fund and may also adversely affect the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment goal.

ESG Considerations: ESG considerations are one of a number of factors that the investment manager examines when considering investments for the Fund’s portfolio. In light of this, the issuers in which the Fund invests may not be considered ESG-focused issuers and may have lower or adverse ESG assessments. Consideration of ESG factors may affect the Fund’s exposure to

     

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certain issuers or industries and may not work as intended. In addition, ESG considerations assessed as part of the Fund’s investment process may vary across types of eligible investments and issuers. In certain circumstances, there may be times when not every investment is assessed for ESG factors and, when they are, not every ESG factor may be identified or evaluated. The investment manager’s assessment of an issuer’s ESG factors is subjective and will likely differ from that of investors, third party service providers (e.g., ratings providers) and other funds. As a result, securities selected by the investment manager may not reflect the beliefs and values of any particular investor. The investment manager also may be dependent on the availability of timely, complete and accurate ESG data reported by issuers and/or third-party research providers, the timeliness, completeness and accuracy of which is out of the investment manager’s control. ESG factors are often not uniformly measured or defined, which could impact the investment manager’s ability to assess an issuer. While the investment manager views ESG considerations as having the potential to contribute to the Fund’s long-term performance, there is no guarantee that such results will be achieved.

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.

More detailed information about the Fund and its policies and risks can be found in the Fund's Statement of Additional Information (SAI).

     

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A description of the Fund's policies and procedures regarding the release of portfolio holdings information is also available in the Fund's SAI. Portfolio holdings information can be viewed online at www.ftinstitutional.com.

Management

Templeton Investment Counsel, LLC (Investment Counsel or investment manager), 300 S.E. 2nd Street, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301-1923, is the Fund’s investment manager. Investment Counsel is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc. (Resources). Together, Investment Counsel and its affiliates manage, as of March 31, 2024, $1.64 trillion in assets, and have been in the investment management business since 1947.

Under an agreement with Investment Counsel, Franklin Templeton Investments Corp. (FTIC), 200 King Street West, Suite 1500, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5H 3T4, serves as the Fund's sub-advisor. FTIC provides Investment Counsel, with investment management advice and assistance. FTIC is an indirect subsidiary of Resources. For purposes of the Fund's investment strategies, techniques and risks, the term "investment manager" includes any sub-advisor.

The Fund is managed by a team of dedicated professionals focused on investments in equity securities. The portfolio managers of the Fund are as follows:

Harlan B. Hodes  Executive Vice President/Portfolio Manager - Research Analyst of Investment Counsel 
Mr. Hodes has been a lead portfolio manager of the Fund since 2007. He has primary responsibility for the investments of the Fund. He has final authority over all aspects of the Fund's investment portfolio, including but not limited to, purchases and sales of individual securities, portfolio risk assessment, and the management of daily cash balances in accordance with anticipated investment management requirements. The degree to which he may perform these functions, and the nature of these functions, may change from time to time. He joined Franklin Templeton in 2001.

David A. Tuttle, CFA  Vice President/Portfolio Manager-Research Analyst of FTIC
Mr. Tuttle has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since 2021, providing research and advice on the purchases and sales of individual securities, and portfolio risk assessment. He joined Franklin Templeton in 2002.

Kyle Denning, CFA Vice President/Portfolio Manager-Research Analyst of Investment Counsel
Mr. Denning has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since 2022 providing research and advice on the purchases and sales of individual securities, and portfolio risk assessment. He joined Franklin Templeton in 2019.

     

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Katie Ylijoki, CFA Vice President/Portfolio Manager-Research Analyst of Investment Counsel
Ms. Ylijoki has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since 2022 providing research and advice on the purchases and sales of individual securities, and portfolio risk assessment. She joined Franklin Templeton in 2006.

CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are trademarks owned by CFA Institute.

The Fund’s SAI provides additional information about portfolio manager compensation, other accounts that they manage and their ownership of Fund shares.

The Fund pays Investment Counsel a fee for managing the Fund’s assets.

Investment Counsel has agreed to reduce its fees to reflect reduced services resulting from the Fund’s investments in Franklin Templeton affiliated funds.

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, the Fund paid Investment Counsel an effective management fee of 0.95% of the Fund’s average net assets for investment management services.

A discussion regarding the basis for the board of trustees’ approval of the Fund’s investment management agreement is available in the Fund’s semiannual report for the period ended June 30, 2023.

Manager of Managers Structure

The investment manager and the Trust have received an exemptive order from the SEC that allows the Fund to operate in a “manager of managers” structure whereby the investment manager can appoint and replace both wholly-owned and unaffiliated sub-advisors, and enter into, amend and terminate sub-advisory agreements with such sub-advisors, each subject to board approval but without obtaining prior shareholder approval (Manager of Managers Structure). The Fund will, however, inform shareholders of the hiring of any new sub-advisor within 90 days after the hiring. The SEC exemptive order provides the Fund with greater flexibility and efficiency and alleviates the need for the Fund to incur the expense and delays associated with obtaining shareholder approval of such sub-advisory agreements.

The use of the Manager of Managers Structure with respect to the Fund is subject to certain conditions that are set forth in the SEC exemptive order. Under the Manager of Managers Structure, the investment manager has the ultimate responsibility, subject to oversight by the Fund's board of trustees, to oversee sub-advisors and recommend their hiring, termination and replacement. The investment manager will also, subject to the review and approval of the Fund's board of trustees: set the Fund's overall investment strategy; evaluate, select and recommend sub-advisors to manage all or a portion of the Fund's assets; and implement procedures reasonably designed to ensure that each sub-advisor

     

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complies with the Fund's investment goal, policies and restrictions. Subject to review by the Fund's board of trustees, the investment manager will allocate and, when appropriate, reallocate the Fund's assets among sub-advisors and monitor and evaluate the sub-advisors’ performance.

Financial Highlights

The Financial Highlights present the Fund's financial performance for the past five years or since its inception. Certain information reflects financial results for a single Fund share. The total returns represent the rate that an investor would have earned or lost on an investment in the Fund assuming reinvestment of dividends and capital gains. This information has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the Fund's financial statements, are included in the annual report, which is available upon request.

     

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Foreign Smaller Companies Series

                       
   

Year Ended December 31,

   

2023

 

2022

 

2021

 

2020

 

2019

 

Per share operating performance
(for a share outstanding throughout the year)

                     

Net asset value, beginning of year

 

$16.35

 

$21.80

 

$23.03

 

$21.40

 

$17.96

 

Income from investment operationsa:

                     

Net investment incomeb

 

0.26

 

0.31

 

0.28

 

0.17

 

0.30

 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses)

 

2.30

 

(5.38

)

2.07

 

1.74

 

3.79

 

Total from investment operations

 

2.56

 

(5.07

)

2.35

 

1.91

 

4.09

 

Less distributions from:

                     

Net investment income

 

(0.24

)

(0.32

)

(0.28

)

(0.22

)

(0.37

)

Net realized gains

 

 

(0.06

)

(3.30

)

(0.06

)

(0.28

)

Total distributions

 

(0.24

)

(0.38

)

(3.58

)

(0.28

)

(0.65

)

Net asset value, end of year

 

$18.67

 

$16.35

 

$21.80

 

$23.03

 

$21.40

 

Total return

 

15.75%

 

(23.19)%

 

10.72%

 

8.95%

 

22.86%

 

Ratios to average net assets

                     

Expenses before waiver and payments by affiliates

 

1.09%

 

1.02%

 

1.04%

 

1.04%

 

1.02%

 

Expenses net of waiver and payments by affiliates

 

1.09%

c 

1.02%

c 

1.04%

c 

1.03%

 

1.02%

c 

Net investment income

 

1.49%

 

1.76%

 

1.13%

 

0.87%

 

1.48%

 

Supplemental data

                     

Net assets, end of year (000’s)

 

$191,256

 

$353,380

 

$739,717

 

$725,098

 

$782,971

 

Portfolio turnover rate

 

36.62%

 

16.54%

 

31.09%

 

34.89%

 

39.48%

 

a. The amount shown for a share outstanding throughout the period may not correlate with the Statement of Operations for the period due to the timing of sales and repurchases of the Fund’s shares in relation to income earned and/or fluctuating fair value of the investments of the Fund.

b. Based on average daily shares outstanding.

c. Benefit of waiver and payments by affiliates rounds to less than 0.01%.

     

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International Equity Series

Investment Goal

The Fund's investment goal is long-term capital growth.

Principal Investment Policies and Practices

Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in foreign (non-U.S.) equity securities. Shareholders will be given at least 60 days' advance notice of any change to the 80% policy.

The Fund invests predominantly in the equity securities of companies located outside the U.S. including companies located in developing market countries. The Fund primarily invests in common stocks. The Fund may invest in equity securities of any size company, across the entire market capitalization spectrum, including smaller and midsize companies.

For purposes of pursuing its investment goal, the Fund intends to enter into equity derivative instruments, including equity index futures contracts. The Fund uses these derivative instruments for investment purposes, including for cash management purposes and to generate income, to increase liquidity and/or to adjust the Fund’s exposure to certain equity markets in a more efficient or less expensive way. A futures contract is a standard binding agreement that trades on an exchange to buy or sell a specified quantity of an underlying instrument or asset at a specified price at a specified later date. A “sale” of a futures contract means the acquisition of a contractual obligation to deliver the underlying instrument called for by the contract at a specified price on a specified date. A “purchase” of a futures contract means the acquisition of a contractual obligation to acquire a specified quantity of the underlying instrument called for by the contract at a specified price on a specified date. The purchase or sale of a futures contract will allow the Fund to increase or decrease its exposure to the underlying instrument or asset. Although most futures contracts used by the Fund allow for a cash payment of the net gain or loss on the contract at maturity in lieu of delivery of the underlying instruments, some require the actual delivery or acquisition of the underlying instrument or asset. The Fund may buy and sell futures contracts that trade on U.S. and foreign exchanges.

An equity security represents a proportionate share of the ownership of a company; its value is based on the success of the company's business and the value of its assets, as well as general market conditions. Common stocks, preferred stocks, convertible securities and related depositary receipts are examples of equity securities. Convertible securities generally are debt securities or preferred stock that may be converted into common stock after certain time periods or under certain circumstances. The Fund may invest in convertible securities without regard

     

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to the ratings assigned by rating services. Depositary receipts are certificates typically issued by a bank or trust company that give their holders the right to receive securities issued by a foreign or domestic company.

The Fund, from time to time, may have significant investments in one or more countries or regions, including Japan and Europe, or in particular sectors, such as the financial services sector.

When choosing equity investments for this Fund, the investment manager applies a "bottom-up," 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. This includes an assessment by the investment manager of the potential impacts of material environmental, social and governance factors on the long-term risk and return profile of a company. The investment manager also considers a company's price/earnings ratio, profit margins and liquidation value.

In selecting securities for the Fund, the investment manager attempts to identify those companies that offer above-average opportunities for capital appreciation in various countries and industries where economic and political factors, including currency movements, are favorable to capital growth.

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.

Alongside traditional financial and economic analyses, the investment manager assesses the potential impacts of material environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors on an issuer, which the investment manager believes provide a measure of the issuer’s sustainability. In analyzing ESG factors, the investment manager assesses whether an issuer’s practices pose a material financial risk or opportunity. Consideration of ESG factors and risks is only one component of the investment manager’s assessment of eligible investments and may not be a determinative factor in the investment manager’s final decision on whether to invest in an issuer. In addition, the weight given to ESG factors may vary across types of investments, industries, regions and issuer, and ESG factors and weights considered may change over time. In certain circumstances, there may be times when not every investment is assessed for ESG factors and, when they are, not every ESG factor may be identified or evaluated.

Temporary Investments

When the investment manager believes market or economic conditions are unfavorable for investors, the investment manager may invest up to 100% of the Fund's assets in a temporary defensive manner by holding all or a substantial portion of its assets in cash, cash equivalents or other high quality short-term

     

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investments. Temporary defensive investments generally may include U.S. dollar and non-dollar securities such as government securities, bank obligations, high quality commercial paper, repurchase agreements, money market shares (including shares of an affiliated money market fund) and other money market instruments. The investment manager also may invest in these types of securities or hold cash while looking for suitable investment opportunities or to maintain liquidity. In these circumstances, the Fund may be unable to achieve its investment goal.

Principal Risks

Market: The market values of securities or other investments owned by the Fund will go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. The Fund’s investments may decline in value due to factors affecting individual issuers (such as the results of supply and demand), or sectors within the securities markets. The value of a security or other investment also may go up or down due to general market conditions that are not specifically related to a particular issuer, such as real or perceived adverse economic conditions, changes in interest rates or exchange rates, or adverse investor sentiment generally. Furthermore, events involving limited liquidity, defaults, non-performance or other adverse developments that affect one industry, such as the financial services industry, or concerns or rumors about any events of these kinds, have in the past and may in the future lead to market-wide liquidity problems, may spread to other industries, and could negatively affect the value and liquidity of the Fund’s investments. In addition, unexpected events and their aftermaths, such as the spread of diseases; natural, environmental or man-made disasters; financial, political or social disruptions; terrorism and war; and other tragedies or catastrophes, can cause investor fear and panic, which can adversely affect the economies of many companies, sectors, nations, regions and the market in general, in ways that cannot necessarily be foreseen. During a general downturn in the securities markets, multiple asset classes may decline in value. When markets perform well, there can be no assurance that securities or other investments held by the Fund will participate in or otherwise benefit from the advance.

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. The U.S. government and the Federal Reserve, as well as certain foreign governments and central banks, have taken extraordinary action to support local and global economies and the financial markets in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. This

     

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and other government interventions into the economy and financial markets may not work as intended, and have resulted in a large expansion of government deficits and debt, the long term consequences of which are not known. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic, and measures taken to mitigate its effects, could result in disruptions to the services provided to the Fund by its service providers.

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.): Investing in foreign securities typically involves more risks than investing in U.S. securities, including risks related to currency exchange rates and policies, country or government specific issues, less favorable trading practices or regulation and greater price volatility. Certain of these risks also may apply to securities of U.S. companies with significant foreign operations.

Currency exchange rates: Foreign securities may be issued and traded in foreign currencies. As a result, their market values in U.S. dollars may be affected by changes in exchange rates between such foreign currencies and the U.S. dollar, as well as between currencies of countries other than the U.S. For example, if the value of the U.S. dollar goes up compared to a foreign currency, an investment traded in that foreign currency will go down in value because it will be worth fewer U.S. dollars. The Fund accrues additional expenses when engaging in currency exchange transactions, and valuation of the Fund's foreign securities may be subject to greater risk because both the currency (relative to the U.S. dollar) and the security must be considered.

Political and economic developments: The political, economic and social policies or structures of some foreign countries may be less stable and more volatile than those in the United States. Investments in these countries may be subject to greater risks of internal and external conflicts, expropriation, nationalization of assets, foreign exchange controls (such as suspension of the ability to transfer currency from a given country), restrictions on removal of assets, political or social instability, military action or unrest, diplomatic developments, currency devaluations, foreign ownership limitations, and substantial, punitive or confiscatory tax increases. It is possible that a government may take over the assets or operations of a company or impose restrictions on the exchange or export of currency or other assets. Some countries also may have different legal systems that may make it difficult or expensive for the Fund to vote proxies, exercise shareholder rights, and pursue legal remedies with respect to its foreign investments. Diplomatic and political developments could affect the economies, industries, and securities and currency markets of the countries in which the Fund is invested. These developments 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;

     

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and war. In addition, such developments could contribute to the devaluation of a country’s currency, a downgrade in the credit ratings of issuers in such country, or a decline in the value and liquidity of securities of issuers in that country. An imposition of sanctions upon, or other government actions impacting, certain issuers in a country could result in (i) an immediate freeze of that issuer’s securities, impairing the ability of the Fund to buy, sell, receive or deliver those securities or (ii) other limitations on the Fund’s ability to invest or hold such securities. These factors would affect the value of the Fund’s investments and are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to predict and take into account with respect to the Fund's investments.

Trading practices: Brokerage commissions, withholding taxes, custodial fees, and other fees generally are higher in foreign markets. The policies and procedures followed by foreign stock exchanges, currency markets, trading systems and brokers may differ from those applicable in the United States, with possibly negative consequences to the Fund. The procedures and rules governing foreign trading, settlement and custody (holding of the Fund's assets) also may result in losses or delays in payment, delivery or recovery of money or other property. Foreign government supervision and regulation of foreign securities and currency markets and trading systems may be less than or different from government supervision in the United States, and may increase the Fund's regulatory and compliance burden and/or decrease the Fund's investor rights and protections.

Availability of information: Foreign issuers may not be subject to the same disclosure, accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards and practices as U.S. issuers. Thus, there may be less information publicly available about foreign issuers than about most U.S. issuers. In addition, information provided by foreign issuers may be less timely or less reliable than information provided by U.S. issuers.

Limited markets: Certain foreign securities may be less liquid (harder to sell) and their prices may be more volatile than many U.S. securities. Illiquidity tends to be greater, and valuation of the Fund's foreign securities may be more difficult, due to the infrequent trading and/or delayed reporting of quotes and sales.

Regional: Adverse conditions in a certain region or country can adversely affect securities of issuers in other countries whose economies appear to be unrelated. To the extent that the Fund invests a significant portion of its assets in a specific geographic region or a particular country, the Fund will generally have more exposure to the risks affecting that specific geographic region or country. In the event of economic or political turmoil or a deterioration of diplomatic relations in a region or country where a substantial portion of the Fund’s assets are invested, the Fund may experience substantial illiquidity or reduction in the value of the Fund’s investments.

     

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The risk of investments in Europe may be heightened due to the current uncertainty concerning the economic consequences of Russia's military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which has increased market volatility.

Developing market countries: The Fund's investments in securities of issuers in developing 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. Some of the additional significant risks include:

· less social, political and economic stability;

· a higher possibility of the devaluation of a country’s currency, a downgrade in the credit ratings of issuers in such country, or a decline in the value and liquidity of securities of issuers in that country if the United States, other nations or other governmental entities (including supranational entities) impose sanctions on issuers that limit or restrict foreign investment, the movement of assets or other economic activity in the country due to political, military or regional conflicts or due to terrorism or war;

· smaller securities markets with low or non-existent trading volume and greater illiquidity and price volatility;

· more restrictive national policies on foreign investment, including restrictions on investment in issuers or industries deemed sensitive to national interests;

· less transparent and established taxation policies;

· less developed regulatory or legal structures governing private and foreign investment or allowing for judicial redress for injury to private property, such as bankruptcy;

· less familiarity with a capital market structure or market-oriented economy and more widespread corruption and fraud;

· less financial sophistication, creditworthiness and/or resources possessed by, and less government regulation of, the financial institutions and issuers with which the Fund transacts;

· less government supervision and regulation of business and industry practices, stock exchanges, brokers and listed companies than in the U.S.;

· greater concentration in a few industries resulting in greater vulnerability to regional and global trade conditions;

· higher rates of inflation and more rapid and extreme fluctuations in inflation rates;

· greater sensitivity to interest rate changes;

     

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· increased volatility in currency exchange rates and potential for currency devaluations and/or currency controls;

· greater debt burdens relative to the size of the economy;

· more delays in settling portfolio transactions and heightened risk of loss from share registration and custody practices; and

· less assurance that when favorable economic developments occur, they will not be slowed or reversed by unanticipated economic, political or social events in such countries.

Because of the above factors, the Fund's investments in developing market countries may be subject to greater price volatility and illiquidity than investments in developed markets.

Value Style Investing: Value stock prices are considered "cheap" relative to the company's perceived value and are often out of favor with other investors. The investment manager may invest in such stocks if it believes the market may have overreacted to adverse developments or failed to appreciate positive changes. However, if other investors fail to recognize the company's value (and do not become buyers, or if they become sellers or favor investing in faster growing companies), value stocks may not increase in value as anticipated by the investment manager and may even decline in value.

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.

Small and Mid Capitalization Companies: While small and mid capitalization companies may offer substantial opportunities for capital growth, they also may involve more risks than larger companies. Historically, securities issued by small and mid capitalization companies have been more volatile in price than securities that are issued by larger companies, especially over the short term. Among the reasons for the greater price volatility are the less certain growth prospects of small and mid capitalization companies, the lower degree of liquidity in the markets for such securities, and the greater sensitivity of small and mid capitalization companies to changing economic conditions.

In addition, small and mid capitalization companies may lack depth of management, be unable to generate funds necessary for growth or development, have limited product lines or be developing or marketing new products or services for which markets are not yet established and may never become established. Small and mid capitalization companies may be particularly affected by interest rate increases, as they may find it more difficult to borrow money to continue or expand

     

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operations, or may have difficulty in repaying loans, particularly those with floating interest rates.

Derivative Instruments: The performance of derivative instruments depends largely on the performance of an underlying security, interest rate or index, and such derivatives 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. Other risks include illiquidity, mispricing or improper valuation of the derivative, and imperfect correlation between the value of the derivative and the underlying instrument so that the Fund may not realize the intended benefits. Their successful use 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 derivatives at all.

Investors should bear in mind that, while the Fund may use derivative strategies, it is not obligated to actively engage in these transactions, generally or in any particular kind of derivative, if the investment manager elects not to do so due to availability, cost or other factors. The use of derivative strategies may also have a tax impact on the Fund. The timing and character of income, gains or losses from these strategies could impair the ability of the investment manager to use derivatives when it wishes to do so.

Depositary Receipts: Depositary receipts are subject to many of the risks of the underlying security. For some depositary receipts, the custodian or similar financial institution that holds the issuer's shares in a trust account is located in the issuer's home country. The Fund could be exposed to the credit risk of the custodian or financial institution, and in cases where the issuer’s home country does not have developed financial markets, greater market risk. In addition, the depository institution may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services, including forwarding dividends and interest and corporate actions. The Fund would be expected to pay a share of the additional fees, which it would not pay if investing directly in the foreign securities. The Fund may experience delays in receiving its dividend and interest payments or exercising rights as a shareholder.

Large Redemptions: The Fund may experience adverse effects when shareholders make large redemptions from the Fund that equate to a large

     

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percentage of the Fund’s assets. Large redemptions may cause the Fund to sell portfolio securities at times when it would not otherwise do so, which could result in realized losses for the Fund. In addition, these transactions may also accelerate the realization of taxable income to shareholders if such sales of investments resulted in gains, and may also increase transaction costs and/or increase in the Fund's expense ratio. When experiencing a large redemption, the Fund may seek to delay payment of the redemption request up to seven days for a variety of reasons including to provide the investment manager with time to orderly process the request. If, however, the Fund is unable to delay the redemption request, for example, due to various automated processes that can occur with respect to certain large redemptions, there is a risk of additional detriment to the Fund and its remaining shareholders.

Management: The Fund is actively managed and could experience losses if the investment manager’s judgment about markets, interest rates or the attractiveness, relative values, liquidity, or potential appreciation of particular investments made for the Fund's portfolio prove to be incorrect. The Fund could also experience losses if there are imperfections, errors or limitations in the models, tools, and data used by the investment manager or if the investment manager’s techniques or investment decisions do not produce the desired results. Additionally, legislative, regulatory, or tax developments may affect the investment techniques available to the investment manager in connection with managing the Fund and may also adversely affect the ability of the Fund to achieve its investment goal.

ESG Considerations: ESG considerations are one of a number of factors that the investment manager examines when considering investments for the Fund’s portfolio. In light of this, the issuers in which the Fund invests may not be considered ESG-focused issuers and may have lower or adverse ESG assessments. Consideration of ESG factors may affect the Fund’s exposure to certain issuers or industries and may not work as intended. In addition, ESG considerations assessed as part of the Fund’s investment process may vary across types of eligible investments and issuers. In certain circumstances, there may be times when not every investment is assessed for ESG factors and, when they are, not every ESG factor may be identified or evaluated. The investment manager’s assessment of an issuer’s ESG factors is subjective and will likely differ from that of investors, third party service providers (e.g., ratings providers) and other funds. As a result, securities selected by the investment manager may not reflect the beliefs and values of any particular investor. The investment manager also may be dependent on the availability of timely, complete and accurate ESG data reported by issuers and/or third-party research providers, the timeliness, completeness and accuracy of which is out of the investment manager’s control. ESG factors are often not uniformly measured or defined, which could impact the investment manager’s ability to assess an issuer. While the investment manager views ESG

     

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considerations as having the potential to contribute to the Fund’s long-term performance, there is no guarantee that such results will be achieved.

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.

More detailed information about the Fund and its policies and risks can be found in the Fund's Statement of Additional Information (SAI).

A description of the Fund's policies and procedures regarding the release of portfolio holdings information is also available in the Fund's SAI. Portfolio holdings information can be viewed online at www.ftinstitutional.com.

Management

Templeton Investment Counsel, LLC (Investment Counsel or investment manager), 300 S.E. 2nd Street, Fort Lauderdale, Florida 33301-1923, is the Fund’s investment manager. Investment Counsel is an indirect, wholly-owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc. (Resources). Together, Investment Counsel and its affiliates manage, as of March 31, 2024, $1.64 trillion in assets, and have been in the investment management business since 1947.

The Fund is managed by a team of dedicated professionals focused on investments in foreign markets. The portfolio managers of the Fund are as follows:

     

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Peter A. Nori, CFA Executive Vice President/Portfolio Manager-Research Analyst of Investment Counsel
Mr. Nori has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since 1999 and lead portfolio manager since 2022. He has primary responsibility for the investments of the Fund. He has final authority over all aspects of the Fund’s investment portfolio, including but not limited to, purchases and sales of individual securities, portfolio risk assessment, and the management of daily cash balances in accordance with anticipated investment management requirements. The degree to which he may perform these functions, and the nature of these functions, may change from time to time. He joined Franklin Templeton in 1987.

Matthew R. Nagle, CFA Portfolio Manager of Investment Counsel
Mr. Nagle has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since 2018, providing research and advice on the purchases and sales of individual securities, and portfolio risk assessment. He joined Franklin Templeton in 2003.

Heather Waddell, CFA  Senior Vice President/Portfolio Manager - Research Analyst of Investment Counsel
Ms. Waddell has been a portfolio manager of the Fund since 2022, providing research and advice on the purchases and sales of individual securities, and portfolio risk assessment. She joined Franklin Templeton in 1996.

CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are trademarks owned by CFA Institute.

The Fund’s SAI provides additional information about portfolio manager compensation, other accounts that they manage and their ownership of Fund shares.

The Fund pays Investment Counsel a fee for managing the Fund’s assets.

Investment Counsel has agreed to waive or limit its fees so that the Fund’s investment management fee will not exceed 0.74%. Investment Counsel has also agreed to reduce its fees to reflect reduced services resulting from the Fund’s investments in Franklin Templeton affiliated funds. These arrangements are expected to continue until April 30, 2025. 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 reflect the extension of termination dates or to lower the waiver and expense limitation.

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2023, the Fund paid Investment Counsel an effective management fee of 0.74% of the Fund’s average net assets for management services.

A discussion regarding the basis for the board of trustees’ approval of the Fund’s investment management agreement is available in the Fund’s semiannual report for the period ended June 30, 2023.

     

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Financial Highlights

The Financial Highlights present the Fund's financial performance for the past five years or since its inception. Certain information reflects financial results for a single Fund share. The total returns represent the rate that an investor would have earned or lost on an investment in the Fund assuming reinvestment of dividends and capital gains. This information has been audited by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the Fund's financial statements, are included in the annual report, which is available upon request.

     

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International Equity Series - Primary Shares

                       

 

 

Year Ended December 31,

   

2023

 

2022

 

2021

 

2020

 

2019

 

Per share operating performance
(for a share outstanding throughout the year)

                     

Net asset value, beginning of year

 

$10.19

 

$11.96

 

$15.22

 

$15.54

 

$14.87

 

Income from investment operationsa:

                     

Net investment incomeb

 

0.49

c

0.26

 

0.26

 

1.03

d

0.64

 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses)

 

1.77

 

(1.40

)

0.55

 

(0.32

)

1.06

 

Total from investment operations

 

2.26

 

(1.14

)

0.81

 

0.71

 

1.70

 

Less distributions from:

                     

Net investment income

 

(0.90

)

(0.10

)

(1.46

)

(0.67

)

(1.02

)

Net realized gains

 

(0.64

)

(0.53

)

(2.61

)

(0.36

)

(0.01

)

Total distributions

 

(1.54

)

(0.63

)

(4.07

)

(1.03

)

(1.03

)

Net asset value, end of year

 

$10.91

 

$10.19

 

$11.96

 

$15.22

 

$15.54

 

Total return

 

22.84%

 

(9.23)%

 

5.75%

 

5.30%

 

11.57%

 

Ratios to average net assets

                     

Expenses before waiver and payments by affiliates

 

0.92%

 

0.87%

 

0.94%

 

0.87%

 

0.82%

 

Expenses net of waiver and payments by affiliates

 

0.88%

 

0.83%

 

0.91%

 

0.84%

 

0.82%

e 

Net investment income

 

4.31%

c

2.35%

 

1.64%

 

7.51%

d

4.13%

 

Supplemental data

                     

Net assets, end of year (000’s)

 

$127,735

 

$196,051

 

$386,291

 

$447,139

 

$1,695,980

 

Portfolio turnover rate

 

18.18%

f

46.42%

 

44.73%

 

89.34%

 

36.83%

f

a. The amount shown for a share outstanding throughout the period may not correlate with the Statement of Operations for the period due to the timing of sales and repurchases of the Fund’s shares in relation to income earned and/or fluctuating fair value of the investments of the Fund.

b. Based on average daily shares outstanding.

c. Net investment income per share includes approximately $0.23 per share related to an adjustment for EU reclaims in connection with certain Fund holdings. Excluding this amount, the ratio of net investment income to average net assets would have been 2.34%.

d. Net investment income per share includes approximately $0.77 per share related to an adjustment for EU reclaims in connection with certain Fund holdings. Excluding this amount, the ratio of net investment income to average net assets would have been 1.86% and total return would have been (0.03)%.

e. Benefit of waiver and payments by affiliates rounds to less than 0.01%.

f. Excludes the value of portfolio activity as a result of in-kind transactions. See Note 3(f).

     

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INTERNATIONAL EQUITY SERIES
FUND DETAILS

International Equity Series - Service Shares

                       
   

Year Ended December 31,

   

2023

 

2022

 

2021

 

2020

 

2019

 

Per share operating performance
(for a share outstanding throughout the year)

                     

Net asset value, beginning of year

 

$10.45

 

$12.24

 

$15.48

 

$15.79

 

$14.97

 

Income from investment operationsa:

                     

Net investment incomeb

 

0.49

c

0.20

 

0.24

 

1.17

d

0.98

 

Net realized and unrealized gains (losses)

 

1.84

 

(1.38

)

0.58

 

(0.47

)

0.70

 

Total from investment operations

 

2.33

 

(1.18

)

0.82

 

0.70

 

1.68

 

Less distributions from:

                     

Net investment income

 

(0.91

)

(0.08

)

(1.45

)

(0.65

)

(0.85

)

Net realized gains

 

(0.64

)

(0.53

)

(2.61

)

(0.36

)

(0.01

)

Total distributions

 

(1.55

)

(0.61

)

(4.06

)

(1.01

)

(0.86

)

Net asset value, end of year

 

$11.23

 

$10.45

 

$12.24

 

$15.48

 

$15.79

 

Total return

 

22.68%

 

(9.29)%

 

5.69%

 

5.16%

 

11.34%

 

Ratios to average net assets

                     

Expenses before waiver and payments by affiliates

 

0.86%

 

1.01%

 

1.04%

 

1.01%

 

0.97%

 

Expenses net of waiver and payments by affiliates

 

0.82%

 

0.97%

 

1.00%

 

0.98%

 

0.97%

e 

Net investment income

 

4.26%

c

1.71%

 

1.52%

 

8.42%

d

3.98%

 

Supplemental data

                     

Net assets, end of year (000’s)

 

$136

 

$123

 

$521

 

$448

 

$700

 

Portfolio turnover rate

 

18.18%

f

46.42%

 

44.73%

 

89.34%

 

36.83%

f

a. The amount shown for a share outstanding throughout the period may not correlate with the Statement of Operations for the period due to the timing of sales and repurchases of the Fund’s shares in relation to income earned and/or fluctuating fair value of the investments of the Fund.

b. Based on average daily shares outstanding.

c. Net investment income per share includes approximately $0.23 per share related to an adjustment for EU reclaims in connection with certain Fund holdings. Excluding this amount, the ratio of net investment income to average net assets would have been 2.29%.

d. Net investment income per share includes approximately $0.78 per share related to an adjustment for EU reclaims in connection with certain Fund holdings. Excluding this amount, the ratio of net investment income to average net assets would have been 2.77% and total return would have been (0.14)%.

e. Benefit of waiver and payments by affiliates rounds to less than 0.01%.

f. Excludes the value of portfolio activity as a result of in-kind transactions. See Note 3(f).

     

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Distributions and Taxes

The information is provided with respect to each Fund (hereafter the “Fund").

Income and Capital Gain Distributions

As a regulated investment company, the Fund generally pays no federal income tax on the income and gains it distributes to you. The Fund intends to pay income dividends at least twice annually from its net investment income. Capital gains, if any, may be paid at least annually. The Fund may distribute income dividends and capital gains more frequently, if necessary, in order to reduce or eliminate federal excise or income taxes on the Fund. The amount of any distribution will vary, and there is no guarantee the Fund will pay either income dividends or capital gain distributions. Your income dividends and capital gain distributions will be automatically reinvested in additional shares at net asset value (NAV) unless you elect to receive them in cash.

Annual statements. After the close of each calendar year, you will receive tax information from the Fund with respect to the federal income tax treatment of the Fund’s distributions and any taxable sales or exchanges of Fund shares occurring during the prior calendar year. If the Fund finds it necessary to reclassify its distributions or adjust the cost basis of any shares sold or exchanged after you receive your tax information, the Fund will send you revised tax information. Distributions declared in October, November or December to shareholders of record in such month and paid in January are taxable as if they were paid in December. Additional tax information about the Fund’s distributions is available at www.ftinstitutional.com.

Avoid "buying a dividend." At the time you purchase your Fund shares, the Fund’s net asset value may reflect undistributed income, undistributed capital gains, or net unrealized appreciation in the value of the portfolio securities held by the Fund. For taxable investors, a subsequent distribution to you of such amounts, although constituting a return of your investment, would be taxable. Buying shares in the Fund just before it declares an income dividend or capital gain distribution is sometimes known as “buying a dividend.”

Tax Considerations

If you are a taxable investor, Fund distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains or some combination of both. This is the case whether you reinvest your distributions in additional Fund shares or receive them in cash.

Dividend income. Income dividends are generally subject to tax at ordinary rates. Income dividends reported by the Fund to shareholders as qualified dividend income may be subject to tax by individuals at reduced long-term capital gains tax rates provided certain holding period requirements are met. A return-of-capital

     

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FUND DETAILS

distribution is generally not taxable but will reduce the cost basis of your shares, and will result in a higher capital gain or a lower capital loss when you later sell your shares.

Capital gains. Fund distributions of short-term capital gains are also subject to tax at ordinary rates. Fund distributions of long-term capital gains are taxable at the reduced long-term capital gains rates no matter how long you have owned your Fund shares. For single individuals with taxable income not in excess of $47,025 in 2024 ($94,050 for married individuals filing jointly), the long-term capital gains tax rate is 0%. For single individuals and joint filers with taxable income in excess of these amounts but not more than $518,900 or $583,750, respectively, the long-term capital gains tax rate is 15%. The rate is 20% for single individuals with taxable income in excess of $518,900 and married individuals filing jointly with taxable income in excess of $583,750. An additional 3.8% Medicare tax may also be imposed as discussed below.

Sales of Fund shares. When you sell your shares in the Fund, or exchange them for shares of a different Franklin Templeton or Legg Mason fund, you will generally recognize a taxable capital gain or loss. If you have owned your Fund shares for more than one year, any net long-term capital gains will qualify for the reduced rates of taxation on long-term capital gains. An exchange of your shares in one class of the Fund for shares of another class of the same Fund is not taxable and no gain or loss will be reported on the transaction.

Cost basis reporting. If you acquire shares in the Fund on or after January 1, 2012, generally referred to as “covered shares," and sell or exchange them after that date, the Fund is generally required to report cost basis information to you and the IRS annually. The Fund will compute the cost basis of your covered shares using the average cost method, the Fund’s “default method,” unless you contact the Fund to select a different method, or choose to specifically identify your shares at the time of each sale or exchange. If your account is held by your financial advisor or other broker-dealer, that firm may select a different default method. In these cases, please contact the firm to obtain information with respect to the available methods and elections for your account. Shareholders should carefully review the cost basis information provided by the Fund and make any additional basis, holding period or other adjustments that are required when reporting these amounts on their federal and state income tax returns. Additional information about cost basis reporting is available at www.franklintempleton.com/costbasis.

Medicare tax. An additional 3.8% Medicare tax is imposed on certain net investment income (including ordinary dividends and capital gain distributions received from the Fund and net gains from redemptions or other taxable dispositions of Fund shares) of U.S. individuals, estates and trusts to the extent that such person’s “modified adjusted gross income” (in the case of an individual) or “adjusted gross income” (in the case of an estate or trust) exceeds a threshold

     

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FUND DETAILS

amount. Any liability for this additional Medicare tax is reported on, and paid with, your federal income tax return.

Backup withholding. A shareholder may be subject to backup withholding on any distributions of income capital gains or proceeds from the sale or exchange of Fund shares if the shareholder has provided either an incorrect tax identification number or no number at all, is subject to backup withholding by the IRS for failure to properly report payments of interest or dividends, has failed to certify that the shareholder is not subject to backup withholding, or has not certified that the shareholder is a U.S. person (including a U.S. resident alien). The backup withholding rate is currently 24%. State backup withholding may also apply.

State, local and foreign taxes. Distributions of ordinary income and capital gains, and gains from the sale of your Fund shares, are generally subject to state and local taxes. If the Fund qualifies, it may elect to pass through to you as a foreign tax credit or deduction any foreign taxes that it pays on its investments.

Non-U.S. investors. Non-U.S. investors may be subject to U.S. withholding tax at 30% or a lower treaty rate on Fund dividends of ordinary income. Non-U.S. investors may be subject to U.S. estate tax on the value of their shares. They are subject to special U.S. tax certification requirements to avoid backup withholding, claim any exemptions from withholding and claim any treaty benefits. Exemptions from U.S. withholding tax are generally provided for capital gains realized on the sale of Fund shares, capital gain dividends paid by the Fund from net long-term capital gains, short-term capital gain dividends paid by the Fund from net short-term capital gains and interest-related dividends paid by the Fund from its qualified net interest income from U.S. sources. However, notwithstanding such exemptions from U.S. withholding tax at source, any such dividends and distributions of income and capital gains will be subject to backup withholding at a rate of 24% if you fail to properly certify that you are not a U.S. person.

Other reporting and withholding requirements. Payments to a shareholder that is either a foreign financial institution or a non-financial foreign entity within the meaning of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (FATCA) may be subject to a 30% withholding tax on income dividends paid by the Fund. The FATCA withholding tax generally can be avoided by such foreign entity if it provides the Fund, and in some cases, the IRS, information concerning the ownership of certain foreign financial accounts or other appropriate certifications or documentation concerning its status under FATCA. The Fund may be required to report certain shareholder account information to the IRS, non-U.S. taxing authorities or other parties to comply with FATCA.

Other tax information. This discussion of "Distributions and Taxes" is for general information only and is not tax advice. You should consult your own tax advisor regarding your particular circumstances, and about any federal, state, local and

     

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INTERNATIONAL EQUITY SERIES
FUND DETAILS

foreign tax consequences before making an investment in the Fund. Additional information about the tax consequences of investing in the Fund may be found in the SAI.

     

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TEMPLETON INSTITUTIONAL FUNDS
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Your Account

Qualified Investors

The following investors or investments qualify to buy shares of the Fund:

· Advisory Fee Programs. Shares acquired by an investor in connection with a comprehensive fee or other advisory fee arrangement between the investor and a registered broker-dealer, investment advisor, trust company, bank, or other financial intermediary (referred to as the “Sponsor”) in which the investor pays that Sponsor a fee for investment advisory services and the Sponsor or a broker-dealer through whom the shares are acquired has an agreement with Distributors authorizing the sale of Fund shares. No minimum initial investment.

· Governments, municipalities, and tax-exempt entities that meet the requirements for qualification under section 501 of the Internal Revenue Code when purchasing direct from the Fund.

· Current employees of securities dealers that have executed a selling agreement with Franklin Distributors, LLC (Distributors) and their affiliates and their family members, as allowed by the internal policies of their employer.

· Current and former officers, trustees, directors, and full-time employees (and, in each case, their family members) of Franklin Templeton or Franklin Templeton funds (including any foundation, trust or benefit plan maintained, owned, controlled, or established by or for any such person), consistent with our then-current policies. Minimum initial investment: $1,000 ($25 for accounts with an automatic investment plan).

· Assets held in accounts managed by a subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc.: (1) under an advisory agreement (including sub-advisory agreements); and/or (2) as trustee of an inter vivos or testamentary trust.

· Employer Sponsored Retirement Plans (“Plans” or individually, “Plan”) that invest through a record-keeper or third party retirement platform.

· Plans with aggregate plan assets of $1 million or more invested directly with Franklin Templeton funds.

· Purchases by a bank, trust company or thrift institution that is acting as a fiduciary exercising investment discretion.

· Any trust or plan established as part of a qualified tuition program under Section 529 of the Internal Revenue Code.

· An individual or entity associated with a current customer of Franklin Templeton Institutional, LLC (FTI, LLC) or Franklin Templeton Portfolio

     

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Advisors, Inc. (FTPA) if approved by FTI, LLC or FTPA in consultation with its customer.

· Unaffiliated U.S. registered mutual funds, including those that operate as "fund of funds."

· Assets held in accounts under the recommendation of an investment consultant provided that (1) assets are held with a firm unaffiliated with the investment consultant’s firm; (2) the investment consultant is under a retainer or other similar fee arrangement with its clients; (3) the client is not an individual; and (4) a subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc. approves the investment.

· Clients of financial intermediaries who have entered into an agreement with Distributors and have been approved by Distributors to offer Fund shares through a network, platform, or self-directed investment brokerage account that may charge a transaction or other fee to customers. Minimum initial investment $100,000, unless otherwise waived by Distributors.

Certain Franklin Templeton funds offer multiple share classes not offered by the Funds. Please note that for selling or exchanging your shares, or for other purposes, the Fund's shares including International Equity - Primary and Service Shares, are considered Advisor Class shares.

Waivers for Exchanges between Classes of the Same Fund Financial Intermediary Exchanges between Classes of the Same Fund. Exchanges between Classes of the same Fund as described below generally will be tax-free for federal income tax purposes. You should also consult with your tax advisor regarding the state and local tax consequences of such an exchange of Fund shares. These exchange privileges are subject to termination and may be amended from time to time.

Advisory Programs Eligible for Advisor Class or Class Z shares. Class A and Class C shares purchased by accounts participating in certain programs sponsored by and/or controlled by financial intermediaries (“Advisory Programs”) may be exchanged by the financial intermediary on behalf of the shareholder for Advisor Class shares of the same Fund under certain circumstances, including such Advisory Program’s eligibility to purchase Advisor Class shares of the Fund. If a shareholder that holds Advisor Class shares of a Fund no longer participates in an Advisory Program, the Advisor Class shares held by the shareholder may be exchanged by the financial intermediary on behalf of the shareholder for Class A shares of the same Fund under certain circumstances. In this case, the shareholder would be subject to ongoing Rule 12b-1 fees to which it was not previously subject. All such exchanges are initiated by the financial intermediary and not the Fund and the Fund does not have information or oversight with respect to such exchanges. Such exchanges will be on the basis of each Class’ NAV per share, without the imposition of any sales charge, fee or other charge. Unless otherwise permitted, any CDSC owed must be paid on Class A and C shares that you wish to exchange.

     

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TEMPLETON INSTITUTIONAL FUNDS
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Aggregate assets invested with Franklin Templeton.  Franklin Templeton maintains the right to aggregate assets invested in Franklin Templeton funds to allow investors to meet the Fund's investment minimums.

Franklin Templeton and Legg Mason funds include all of the U.S. registered mutual funds of Franklin Templeton and Legg Mason funds and include BrandywineGLOBAL funds, Clearbridge Investment funds, Martin Currie funds and Western Asset funds. They do not include the funds in the Franklin Templeton Variable Insurance Products Trust, Legg Mason Partners Variable Equity Trust, Legg Mason Partners Variable Income Trust or Legg Mason Partners Money Market Trust (except for shares held in Distributor Accounts).

Servicing Fees

International Equity Series - Service Shares may pay up to 0.15% to sponsors or consultants for servicing services that they provide to certain investment plans.

     

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TEMPLETON INSTITUTIONAL FUNDS
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Buying Shares

Orders mailed to Distributors by dealers or individual investors do not require advance notice. Checks or negotiable bank drafts must be in U.S. currency drawn on a commercial bank in the U.S. and, if over $100,000, may not be deemed to have been received until the proceeds have been collected, unless the check is certified or issued by such bank. Any purchase order may be rejected by Distributors or by Templeton Institutional Funds.

Shares of the Fund may be purchased with securities, if approved in advance by the Trust. Securities used to purchase Fund shares must be appropriate investments for the Fund, consistent with its investment objective, policies and limitations, as determined by the Trust, and must have readily available market quotations. The securities will be valued in accordance with the Trust's policy for calculating net asset value (NAV), determined as of the close of the day on which the securities are received by the Fund in salable form. A prospective shareholder will receive shares of the Fund next computed after such receipt. To obtain the approval of the Trust for an in-kind purchase, call Institutional Services. Investors who are affiliated persons of the Trust (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended) or who are separate account clients of the investment manager or its affiliates may not purchase shares in this manner absent SEC approval.

Please note that you generally may only buy shares (including the purchase side of an exchange) of a fund eligible for sale in your state or jurisdiction. The Fund and other Franklin Templeton funds are intended for sale to residents of the United States, and, with very limited exceptions, are not registered or otherwise offered for sale in other jurisdictions.

In particular, the Fund is not registered in any provincial or territorial jurisdiction in Canada, and shares of the Fund have not been qualified for sale in any Canadian jurisdiction. The shares offered by this prospectus generally may not be directly or indirectly offered or sold in any provincial or territorial jurisdiction in Canada or to or for the benefit of residents thereof. Prospective investors may be required to declare that they are not Canadian residents and are not acquiring shares on behalf of any Canadian residents. Similarly, the Fund is not registered, and shares of the Fund have not been qualified for distribution, in any member country of the European Union (EU) or European Economic Area (EEA), and generally may not be directly or indirectly offered or distributed in any such country. If an investor becomes a Canadian, EU or EEA resident after purchasing shares of the Fund, the investor may not be able to purchase any additional shares of the Fund (other than reinvestment of dividends and capital gains) or exchange shares of the Fund for other U.S. registered Franklin Templeton and Legg Mason funds.

     

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Account Application

If you are opening a new account, please complete and sign an account application. In the case of International Equity Series make sure you indicate the share class you have chosen. We do not accept cash, third-party checks, credit card convenience checks, pre-paid debit cards, non-bank money orders, travelers checks or checks drawn on foreign banks as forms of payment to purchase shares.

     

Buying Shares

   
 

Opening an account

Adding to an account

Through your investment representative

Contact your investment representative

Contact your investment representative

By Mail

Make your check, Federal Reserve Draft or negotiable bank draft payable to the Fund

Mail the check, Federal Reserve Draft or negotiable bank draft and your signed account application to the address provided on the application or at the address below.

Make your check, Federal Reserve Draft or negotiable bank draft payable to the Fund. Include your account number on the check or draft.

Fill out the deposit slip from your account statement. If you do not have a slip, include a note with your name, the Fund name, and your account number.

Mail the check, Federal Reserve Draft or negotiable bank draft and deposit slip or note to Institutional Services at the address provided on the application or at the address below.

By Wire

(800) 321-8563

Call to receive a wire control number and wire instructions.

Wire the funds and mail your signed account application to Institutional Services. Please include the wire control number or your new account number on the application.

To make a same day wire investment, the wired funds must be received and accepted by us prior to 1 p.m. Pacific time or the regularly scheduled close of the New York Stock Exchange, whichever is earlier.

Call to receive a wire control number and wire instructions.

To make a same day wire investment, the wired funds must be received and accepted by us prior to 1 p.m. Pacific time or the regularly scheduled close of the New York Stock Exchange, whichever is earlier.

By Exchange

Call Institutional Services at (800) 321-8563, or send signed written instructions.

(Please see “Exchanging Shares” for more information on exchanges.)

Call Institutional Services at (800) 321-8563, or send signed written instructions.

(Please see “Exchanging Shares” for more information on exchanges.)

 

Franklin Templeton Institutional Services

P.O. Box 33030

St. Petersburg, FL 33733-8030

     

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Call toll-free: (800) 321-8563

     

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Investor Services

Automated Telephone System

Our automated system offers around-the-clock access to information about your account or any Franklin Templeton fund. This service is available by dialing any of the following numbers from a touch-tone phone:

   

Shareholder Services

(800) 632-2301

Advisor Services

(800) 524-4040

Retirement Services

(800) 527-2020

Distribution Options

You may reinvest distributions you receive from the Fund in an existing account in the same share class of the Fund or another Franklin Templeton or Legg Mason fund. Initial sales charges and CDSCs will not apply to reinvested distributions. You also can have your distributions deposited in a bank account, or mailed by check. Deposits to a bank account may be made by electronic funds transfer.

If you received a distribution and chose to return it to purchase additional shares in Class A shares of another Franklin Templeton fund, you will not be charged an initial sales charge if you invest the distribution within 90 days of the distribution date.

Please indicate on your application the distribution option you have chosen, otherwise we will reinvest your distributions in the same share class of the Fund.

Retirement Plans

Franklin Templeton offers a variety of retirement plans for individuals and businesses. These plans require separate applications, may require special forms for redemptions, and their policies and procedures may be different than those described in this prospectus. For more information, including a free retirement plan brochure or application, please call Retirement Services at (800) 527-2020.

Telephone/Online Privileges

You will automatically receive telephone privileges when you open your account, allowing you and your investment representative to sell or exchange your shares and make certain other changes to your account by phone.

For accounts with more than one registered owner, telephone privileges also allow the Fund to accept written instructions signed by only one owner for transactions and account changes that could otherwise be made by phone. For all other transactions and changes, all registered owners must sign the instructions. In addition, our telephone exchange privilege allows you to exchange shares by phone from a fund account requiring two or more signatures into an identically

     

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TEMPLETON INSTITUTIONAL FUNDS
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registered money fund account requiring only one signature for all transactions. This type of telephone exchange is available as long as you have telephone exchange privileges on your account.

As long as we follow reasonable security procedures and act on instructions we reasonably believe are genuine, we will not be responsible for any losses that may occur from unauthorized requests. We will request passwords or other information, and also may record calls. We have the right (but have no obligation) to refuse a telephone request if the caller is unable to provide the requested information or if we reasonably believe the caller is not an individual authorized to act on the account. To help safeguard your account, keep your password confidential, and verify the accuracy of your confirmation statements immediately after you receive them. Contact us immediately if you believe someone has obtained unauthorized access to your account or password. Certain methods of contacting us (such as by phone) may be unavailable or delayed during periods of unusual market activity. Of course, you can decline telephone exchange or sell privileges on your account application. If you have telephone privileges on your account and want to discontinue them, please contact us for instructions. You may reinstate these privileges at any time in writing.

The telephone transaction options available to retirement plans are limited to those that are provided under the plan.

You may also view your account information online by registering for this service on our website at www.ftinstitutional.com. You will be asked to accept the terms of an online agreement and establish a password. However, this does not allow you to perform any transactions or account changes allowable by phone.

Note: Digital communication channels are not necessarily secure. If you do choose to send confidential or sensitive information to us via digital communication channels (e.g. email, chat, text messaging, fax), you are accepting the associated risks related to potential lack of security, such as the possibility that your confidential or sensitive information may be intercepted/accessed by a third party and subsequently used or sold.

     

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Selling Shares

You can sell your shares at any time.

Selling Shares in Writing

Generally, requests to sell $250,000 or less can be made over the phone or with a simple letter. If you have completed and returned the Institutional Telephone Privileges Agreement, amounts over $250,000 may also be redeemed. Sometimes, however, to protect you and the Fund we will need written instructions signed by all registered owners, with a signature guarantee for each owner, if:

· you are selling more than $250,000 worth of shares

· you want your proceeds paid to someone who is not a registered owner

· you want to send your proceeds somewhere other than the address of record, or preauthorized bank or brokerage firm account

We also may require a signature guarantee when: we receive instructions from an agent, not the registered owners; you want to send your proceeds to a bank account that was added or changed on your account without a signature guarantee within the last 15 days; you want to send proceeds to your address that was changed without a signature guarantee within the last 15 days; or we believe it would protect the Fund against potential claims based on the instructions received. The Fund may change the signature guarantee requirements from time to time without prior notice to shareholders.

A signature guarantee helps protect your account against fraud. You can obtain a signature guarantee at most banks and securities dealers.

A notary public CANNOT provide a signature guarantee.

Selling Recently Purchased Shares

If you sell shares recently purchased, we may delay sending you the proceeds until your check, draft or wire/electronic funds transfer has cleared, which may take seven business days.

Redemption Proceeds

Your redemption check will be sent within seven days after we receive your request in proper form. We are not able to receive or pay out cash in the form of currency.

Retirement Plans

You may need to complete additional forms to sell shares in a FTIOS retirement plan. For participants under the age of 59 1/2, tax penalties may apply. Call Retirement Services at (800) 527-2020 for details.

     

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TEMPLETON INSTITUTIONAL FUNDS
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Selling Shares

To sell some or all of your shares

   

Through your investment representative

Contact your investment representative

By Mail

Send written instructions to Institutional Services. Corporate, partnership or trust accounts may need to send additional documents.

Specify the Fund, the account number and the dollar value or number of shares you wish to sell. Be sure to include all necessary signatures and any additional documents, as well as signature guarantees if required.

A check will be mailed to the name(s) and address on the account, or otherwise according to your written instructions.

By Phone
(800) 321-8563 

As long as your transaction is for $250,000 or less you can sell your shares by phone.

(Amounts in excess of $250,000 are only available if you have completed and sent the Institutional Telephone Privileges Agreement)

A check will be mailed to the name(s) and address on the account, or a pre-authorized secondary address. Written instructions, with a signature guarantee, are required to send the check to another address or to make it payable to another person.

If you have changed your address within the last 15 days without a signature guarantee, requests to sell your shares and mail the check to the name(s) and address on the account must be in writing and we may require a signature guarantee. Requests to sell your shares and send the proceeds to a pre-authorized secondary address may be requested by phone.

By Electronic Funds Transfer (ACH)

You can call or write to have redemption proceeds sent to a bank account. See the policies at left for selling shares by mail or phone.

Before requesting to have redemption proceeds sent to a bank account, please make sure we have your bank account information on file. If we do not have this information, you will need to send written instructions with your bank’s name and a voided check or savings account deposit slip. All bank and Fund account owners must sign the request. If the bank and Fund accounts do not have at least one common owner, each individual must also have his or her signature notarized.

If the bank account was added or changed without a signature guarantee within the last 15 days, you may be required to provide written instructions signed by all Fund account owners, with a signature guarantee for each Fund account owner.

If we receive your request in proper form prior to 1 p.m. Pacific time, or the regularly scheduled close of the New York Stock Exchange, whichever is earlier, proceeds sent by ACH generally will be available within two to three business days.

By Exchange

Obtain a current prospectus for the fund you are

     

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considering. Prospectuses are available online at www.ftinstitutional.com.

Call Institutional Services at (800) 321-8563 or send signed written instructions. See the policies at left for selling shares by mail or phone.

Franklin Templeton Institutional Services

P.O. Box 33030,

St. Petersburg, FL 33733-8030

Call toll-free: (800) 321-8563

Exchanging Shares

Exchange Privilege

You can exchange shares between most Franklin Templeton funds within the same class and between Funds in Templeton Institutional Funds.

Generally exchanges may only be made between identically registered accounts, unless you send written instructions with a signature guarantee.

An exchange is really two transactions: a sale of one fund and the purchase of another. In general, the same policies that apply to purchases and sales also apply to exchanges, including minimum investment amounts (except exchanges of an entire account balance). Exchanges also generally have the same tax consequences as ordinary sales and purchases.

Rejected exchanges. If the Fund rejects an exchange request involving the sale of Fund shares, the rejected exchange request will also mean rejection of the request to purchase shares of another fund with the proceeds of the sale. Of course, you may generally redeem shares of the Fund at any time.

Exchanges through financial intermediaries. If you are investing indirectly in the Fund through a financial intermediary such as a broker-dealer, a bank, an insurance company separate account, an investment advisor, an administrator or trustee of an IRS-recognized tax-deferred savings plan such as a 401(k) retirement plan and a 529 college savings plan that maintains a master account (an Omnibus Account) with the Fund for trading on behalf of its customers, different exchange and/or transfer limit guidelines and restrictions may apply. The financial intermediary through whom you are investing may choose to adopt different trading restrictions designed to discourage short-term or excessive trading. Consult with your financial intermediary (or in the case of a 401(k) retirement plan, your plan sponsor) to determine what trading restrictions, including exchange/transfer limitations, may be applicable to you.

Fund exchange privilege changes/waiver. The Fund may terminate or modify (temporarily or permanently) this exchange privilege in the future. You will receive at least 60 days' notice of any material changes, unless otherwise provided by law.

     

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Other funds' exchange privileges. If there is a conflict between the exchange privileges of two funds involved in an exchange transaction, the stricter policy will apply to the transaction. Other Franklin Templeton or Legg Mason funds may have different exchange restrictions. Check each fund's prospectus for details.

Exchange of shares into shares of the same Fund. The exchange of shares of one class into another class of the same Fund is not taxable for federal income tax purposes. However, shareholders should consult their tax advisors regarding the state and local tax consequences of a conversion or exchange of shares.

Frequent Trading Policy

The Fund's board of trustees has adopted the following policies and procedures with respect to frequent trading in Fund shares (Frequent Trading Policy).

The Fund does not intend to accommodate short-term or frequent purchases and redemptions of Fund shares that may be detrimental to the Fund. For example, this type of trading activity could interfere with the efficient management of the Fund's portfolio or materially increase the Fund's transaction costs, administrative costs or taxes.

In addition, since the Fund may invest in foreign securities, it may be vulnerable to a form of short-term trading that is sometimes referred to as “time-zone arbitrage.” Time-zone arbitrage occurs when an investor seeks to take advantage of delays between changes in the value of a mutual fund’s portfolio holdings and the reflection of those changes in the Fund’s net asset value per share. These delays are more likely to occur in the case of foreign investments, due to differences between the times during which the Fund’s international portfolio securities trade on foreign markets and the time as of which the Fund’s NAV is calculated (generally as of the close of the NYSE - please see “Account Policies - Calculating Share Price”). Time-zone arbitrage traders seek to purchase or redeem shares of a fund based on events occurring after foreign market closing prices are established, but before calculation of the fund’s NAV. This can result in the value of the Fund’s shares being diluted. One of the objectives of the Fund’s fair value pricing procedures is to minimize the possibility of this type of arbitrage (please see "Account Policies - Security Valuation - Foreign Securities - Potential Impact of Time Zones and Market Holidays"); however, there can be no assurance that the Fund’s valuation procedures will be successful in eliminating it.

Since the Fund may invest in securities that are, or may be, restricted, unlisted, traded infrequently, thinly traded, or relatively illiquid (“relatively illiquid securities”), it may be particularly vulnerable to arbitrage short-term trading. Such arbitrage traders may seek to take advantage of a possible differential between the last available market prices for one or more of those relatively illiquid securities that are used to calculate the Fund’s NAV and the latest indications of market values for those securities. One of the objectives of the Fund’s fair value pricing procedures is

     

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to minimize the possibilities of this type of arbitrage (please see “Account Policies - Fair Valuation - Individual Securities”); however, there can be no assurance that the Fund’s valuation procedures will be successful in eliminating it.

Through its transfer agent, the Fund performs ongoing monitoring of shareholder trading in shares of the Fund and other Franklin Templeton funds in order to try and identify shareholder trading patterns that suggest an ongoing short-term trading strategy. If shareholder trading patterns identified by the transfer agent through monitoring or from other information regarding the shareholder’s trading activity in non-Franklin Templeton funds leads the transfer agent to reasonably conclude that such trading may be detrimental to the Fund as described in this Frequent Trading Policy, the transfer agent, on behalf of the Fund, may temporarily or permanently bar future purchases into the Fund or, alternatively, may limit the amount, number or frequency of any future purchases and/or the method by which you may request future purchases and redemptions (including purchases and/or redemptions by an exchange or transfer between the Fund and any other mutual fund).

In considering an investor’s trading patterns, the Fund may consider, among other factors, the investor’s trading history both directly and, if known, through financial intermediaries, in the Fund, in other Franklin Templeton funds, in non-Franklin Templeton mutual funds, or in accounts under common control or ownership (see, for example, “Buying and Selling Shares - Investment by asset allocators and large shareholders” in the SAI). The transfer agent may also reject any purchase request, whether or not it represents part of any ongoing trading pattern, if the Fund's investment manager or transfer agent reasonably concludes that the amount of the requested transaction may disrupt or otherwise interfere with the efficient management of the Fund’s portfolio. In determining what actions should be taken, the Fund's transfer agent may consider a variety of factors, including the potential impact of such remedial actions on the Fund and its shareholders. If the Fund is a "fund of funds," the Fund's transfer agent may consider the impact of the trading activity and of any proposed remedial action on both the Fund and the affiliated underlying funds in which the Fund invests.

Frequent trading through financial intermediaries. You are an investor subject to this Frequent Trading Policy whether you are a direct shareholder of the Fund or you are investing indirectly in the Fund through a financial intermediary, such as a broker-dealer, bank, trust company, insurance company product such as an annuity contract, investment advisor, or an administrator or trustee of an IRS-recognized tax-deferred savings plan such as a 401(k) retirement plan and a 529 college savings plan.

Some financial intermediaries maintain master accounts with the Fund on behalf of their customers (“omnibus accounts”). The Fund has entered into “information sharing agreements” with these financial intermediaries, which permit the Fund to obtain, upon request, information about the trading activity of the intermediary’s

     

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customers that invest in the Fund. If the Fund’s transfer agent identifies omnibus account level trading patterns that have the potential to be detrimental to the Fund, the transfer agent may, in its sole discretion, request from the financial intermediary information concerning the trading activity of its customers. Based upon its review of the information, if the transfer agent determines that the trading activity of any customer may be detrimental to the Fund, it may, in its sole discretion, request the financial intermediary to restrict or limit further trading in the Fund by that customer. There can be no assurance that the transfer agent’s monitoring of omnibus account level trading patterns will enable it to identify all short-term trading by a financial intermediary’s customers.

     

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Account Policies

Calculating Share Price

The value of a mutual fund is determined by deducting the fund’s liabilities from the total assets of the portfolio. The NAV per share is determined by dividing the total net asset value of each fund’s share class by the applicable number of shares outstanding per share class.

The Fund calculates the NAV per share each business day as of 1 p.m. Pacific time or the regularly scheduled close of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), whichever is earlier. The Fund does not calculate the NAV on days the NYSE is closed for trading, which include New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King Jr. Day, President’s Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Juneteenth National Independence Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. If the NYSE has a scheduled early close, the Fund’s share price would be determined as of the time of the close of the NYSE. If, due to weather or other special or unexpected circumstances, the NYSE has an unscheduled early close on a day that it has opened for business, the Fund reserves the right to consider that day as a regular business day and accept purchase and redemption orders and calculate its share price as of the normally scheduled close of regular trading on the NYSE.

The Fund has an agreement with certain financial intermediaries that authorize them to accept orders or designate third parties to accept orders on behalf of the Fund. If you place your order through these financial intermediaries, the order will be considered received when they accept the order. Those orders will be priced at the next NAV calculated after acceptance of the order by the financial intermediary or its agent. If you place an order through an account at an intermediary, please consult with the intermediary to determine when your order will be executed, as some intermediaries may require that they receive orders prior to a specified cut-off time.

Requests to buy and sell shares are processed at the NAV next calculated after we or an approved financial intermediary receive your request in proper form.

When determining its NAV, the Fund values cash and receivables at their realizable amounts, and records interest as accrued and dividends on the ex-dividend date. The Fund generally utilizes two independent pricing services to assist in determining a current market value for each security. If market quotations are readily available for portfolio securities listed on a securities exchange, the Fund values those securities at the last quoted sale price or the official closing price of the day, respectively, or, if there is no reported sale, within the range of the most recent quoted bid and ask prices. The Fund values over-the-counter portfolio securities within the range of the most recent bid and ask prices. If portfolio securities trade both in the over-the-counter market and on a stock exchange, the

     

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Fund values them according to the broadest and most representative market. Prices received by the Fund for securities may be based on institutional “round lot” sizes, but the Fund may hold smaller, “odd lot” sizes. Odd lots may trade at lower prices than round lots.

Generally, trading in corporate bonds, U.S. government securities and money market instruments is substantially completed each day at various times before 1 p.m. Pacific time. The value of these securities used in computing the NAV is determined as of such times. Occasionally, events affecting the values of these securities may occur between the times at which they are determined and 1 p.m. Pacific time that will not be reflected in the computation of the NAV. The Fund relies on third-party pricing vendors to provide evaluated prices that reflect current fair market value at 1 p.m. Pacific time.

Fair Valuation – Individual Securities

Since the International Equity Series may invest in securities that are restricted, unlisted, traded infrequently, thinly traded, or relatively illiquid, there is the possibility of a differential between the last available market prices for one or more of those securities and the latest indications of market values for those securities. The Fund has procedures, approved by the board of trustees, to determine the fair value of individual securities and other assets for which market prices are not readily available (such as certain restricted or unlisted securities and private placements) or which may not be reliably priced (such as in the case of trade suspensions or halts, price movement limits set by certain foreign markets, and thinly traded or illiquid securities). Some methods for valuing these securities may include: fundamental analysis (earnings multiple, etc.), matrix pricing, discounts from market prices of similar securities, or discounts applied due to the nature and duration of restrictions on the disposition of the securities. The board of trustees oversees the application of fair value pricing procedures.

The application of fair value pricing procedures represents a good faith determination based upon specifically applied procedures. There can be no assurance that the Fund could obtain the fair value assigned to a security if it were able to sell the security at approximately the time at which the Fund determines its NAV per share.

Security Valuation – Foreign Securities – Computation of U.S. Equivalent Value

The Fund generally determines the value of a foreign security as of the close of trading on the foreign stock exchange on which the security is primarily traded, or as of 1 p.m. Pacific time. The value is then converted into its U.S. dollar equivalent at the foreign exchange rate in effect at 1 p.m. Pacific time on the day that the value of the foreign security is determined. If no sale is reported at that time, the foreign security will be valued within the range of the most recent quoted bid and

     

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ask prices. Occasionally events (such as repatriation limits or restrictions) may impact the availability or reliability of foreign exchange rates used to convert the U.S. dollar equivalent value. If such an event occurs, the foreign exchange rate will be valued at fair value using procedures established and approved by the board of trustees.

Security Valuation – Foreign Securities – Potential Impact of Time Zones and Market Holidays

Trading in securities on foreign securities stock exchanges and over-the-counter markets, such as those in Europe and Asia, may be completed before 1 p.m. Pacific time on each day that the Fund is open. Occasionally, events occur between the time at which trading in a foreign security is completed and 1 p.m. Pacific time that might call into question the availability (including the reliability) of the value of a foreign portfolio security held by the Fund. As a result, the Fund may be susceptible to what is referred to as “time-zone arbitrage.” Certain investors in the Fund may seek to take advantage of discrepancies in the value of the Fund's portfolio securities as determined by the foreign market at its close and the latest indications of value attributable to the portfolio securities at the time the Fund's NAV is computed. Trading by these investors, often referred to as “arbitrage market timers,” may dilute the value of the Fund's shares, if such discrepancies in security values actually exist. To attempt to minimize the possibilities for time-zone arbitrage, and in accordance with procedures established and approved by the Fund's board of trustees, the investment manager monitors price movements by using a fair value pricing service offered through an independent pricing vendor.

The fair value pricing service is used to estimate the price of a security in a liquid market at the time of the NAV calculation (1 p.m. Pacific Time). If certain criteria are met, the foreign securities may be valued using the price from the fair value pricing service. The intended effect of applying fair value pricing is to compute an NAV that accurately reflects the value of the Fund's portfolio at the time that the NAV is calculated, to discourage potential arbitrage market timing in Fund shares, to mitigate the dilutive impact of such attempted arbitrage market timing and to be fair to purchasing, redeeming and existing shareholders. However, the application of fair value pricing procedures may, on occasion, worsen rather than mitigate the potential dilutive impact of shareholder trading.

In addition, trading in foreign portfolio securities generally, or in securities markets in a particular country or countries, may not take place on every Fund's business day. Furthermore, trading takes place in various foreign markets on days that are not business days for the Funds, and on which the Fund's NAV is not calculated (in which case, the NAV of the Fund’s shares may change on days when shareholders will not be able to purchase or redeem Fund shares). Thus, the calculation of the Fund's NAV does not take place contemporaneously with the determination of the prices of many of the foreign portfolio securities used in the calculation. If events

     

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affecting the last determined values of these foreign securities occur, the securities will be valued at fair value determined in good faith in accordance with the Fund's fair value procedures established and approved by the board of trustees (as described above).

Accounts with Low Balances

If your account has been open for more than one year and its value falls below $500, we will mail you a notice asking you to bring the account back up to its applicable minimum investment amount. If you choose not to do so within 30 days, we will close your account and proceeds will be sent by Electronic Fund Transfer (ACH) to your bank information on file. If we do not have this information, proceeds will be mailed to the address of record. You will not be charged a CDSC if your account is closed for this reason. This policy does not apply to: (1) certain broker-controlled accounts established through the National Securities Clearing Corporation’s Networking system; (2) Class A or A1 accounts established pursuant to a conversion from Class C or C1, and any remaining Class C or C1 accounts involved in the conversion, with a low balance due to the conversion; (3) tax-deferred retirement plan accounts; (4) active automatic investment plan accounts; (5) accounts in an Advisory Fee Program; (6) accounts held through a 529 college savings program; (7) Coverdell Education Savings Plan accounts; and (8) accounts currently maintained via robo advice driven services where account investments and reallocations are done through an automated, algorithm-driven platform.

Small account fees. To offset the relatively higher impact on fund expenses of servicing smaller accounts, the Fund may charge you a fee of $3.75 per account that is determined and assessed quarterly by your financial intermediary or by Distributors (i.e., for accounts for which Distributors is the broker of record) on the next-to-last business day of the quarter (with an annual maximum of $15.00 per account) if the value of your account is below $1,000 (if applicable, $250 for retirement plans that are not employer-sponsored) for any reason (including declines in net asset value). The small account fee will be charged by redeeming shares in your account. If the value of your account is $3.75 or less, the amount in the account may be exhausted to pay the small account fee. If your financial intermediary or Distributors assesses a small account fee, the small account fee will not be assessed on systematic investment plans until the end of the first quarter after the account has been established for 21 months. Payment of the small account fee through a redemption of fund shares may result in tax consequences to you (see “Distributions and Taxes” for more information).

The small account fee will not be charged on, if applicable: (i) retirement plans (but will be charged on other plans that are not employer-sponsored such as traditional and Roth individual retirement accounts, Coverdell education savings accounts, individual 403(b)(7) custodial accounts, Keogh plans, SEPs, SARSEPs, SIMPLE IRAs or similar accounts); (ii) Franklin Templeton funds that have been closed to

     

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subsequent purchases for all classes; (iii) accounts that do not have a valid address as evidenced by mail being returned to the fund or its agents; (iv) Class R, Class R6 and Advisor Class shares; and (v) for new accounts (except for new accounts opened by way of an exchange), a small account fee will not be charged during the calendar quarter in which you open your account.

If your share class is no longer offered, you may not be able to bring your account up to the minimum investment amount (although you may exchange into existing accounts of other funds sold by Distributors in which you hold the same share class, to the extent otherwise permitted by those funds and subject to any applicable sales charges).

The small account fee is calculated on a fund-by-fund basis. If you have one or more accounts in different funds, the account(s) in different funds will not be aggregated for the purpose of calculating the small account fee.

Redemptions

Typically, the Fund uses cash and cash equivalents held in its portfolio or sells portfolio assets to meet all redemption needs. In unusual circumstances or under stressed market conditions, the Fund may use other methods to meet redemptions, such as the use of lines of credit or interfund lending in reliance on exemptive relief from the SEC. Also, see “Account Policies – Redemptions in Kind” for further information regarding redemption requests.

Redemptions in Kind

If your redemption requests during any 90-day period exceed $250,000 (or 1% of the value of the Fund’s net assets, if less), the Fund reserves the right to make payments in whole or in part in securities or other assets of the Fund. You should expect to incur transaction costs upon the disposition of the securities received in the distribution. In addition, you will bear the market risk of the securities you hold until the securities are sold.

Redemptions by Large Shareholders

At times, the Fund may experience adverse effects when certain large shareholders redeem large amounts of shares of the Fund. Large redemptions may cause the Fund to sell portfolio securities at times when it would not otherwise do so. In addition, these transactions may also accelerate the realization of taxable income to shareholders if such sales of investments resulted in gains, and may also increase transaction costs and/or increase in the Fund's expense ratio. When experiencing a redemption by a large shareholder, the Fund may delay payment of the redemption request up to seven days to provide the investment manager with time to determine if the Fund can redeem the request in-kind or to consider other alternatives to lessen the harm to remaining shareholders. Under certain circumstances, however, the Fund may be unable to delay a redemption request,

     

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which could result in the automatic processing of a large redemption that is detrimental to the Fund and its remaining shareholders.

Statements, Reports and Prospectuses

You will receive quarterly account statements that show all your account transactions during the quarter. You also will receive written notification after each transaction affecting your account (except for distributions and transactions made through automatic investment or withdrawal programs, which will be reported on your quarterly statement). Upon receipt, review all account statements and written notifications after each transaction affecting your account and notify us immediately if there is a discrepancy.

You also will receive, or receive notice of the availability of, the Fund's financial reports every six months. In addition, you will receive an annual updated summary prospectus (prospectus available upon request). To reduce Fund expenses, we try to identify related shareholders in a household and send only one copy of the financial reports (to the extent received by mail) and summary prospectus. This process, called "householding," will continue indefinitely unless you instruct us otherwise. If you prefer not to have these documents householded, please call us at (800) 321-8563. At any time you may view current prospectuses/summary prospectuses and financial reports on our website. If you choose, you may receive these documents through electronic delivery.

You may elect to receive your statements, prospectuses and other documents through electronic delivery (please see "Investor Services - Telephone/Online Privileges").

Investment Representative Account Access

If there is a dealer or other investment representative of record on your account, he or she will be able to obtain your account information, conduct transactions for your account, and also will receive copies of all notifications and statements and other information about your account directly from the Fund.

Street or Nominee Accounts

You may transfer your shares from the street or nominee name account of one dealer to another, as long as both dealers have an agreement with Distributors. We will process the transfer after we receive authorization in proper form from your delivering securities dealer.

Joint Accounts

Unless you specify a different registration, shares issued to two or more owners are registered as "joint tenants with rights of survivorship" (shown as "Jt Ten" on your account statement). To make any ownership changes to jointly owned shares, or to sever a joint tenancy in jointly owned shares, all owners must agree in writing.

     

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Joint Account Risk with Telephone Privileges

You will automatically receive telephone privileges when you open your account. If your account has more than one registered owner, telephone privileges allow the Fund to accept transaction instructions by telephone from only one registered owner. This means that any one registered owner on your account, acting alone and without the consent of any other registered owner, may give the Fund instructions by telephone or in writing (subject to any limitations in telephone privileges) to:

· Exchange shares from a jointly registered Fund account requiring all registered owner signatures into an identically registered money fund account that only requires one registered owner’s signature to redeem shares;

· Redeem Fund shares and direct the redemption proceeds to a pre-established bank account that may or may not be owned by you and, if owned by you jointly with someone else, only requires one person to withdraw funds by check or otherwise; and

· Purchase Fund shares by debiting a pre-established bank account that may be owned by you.

If you do NOT want another registered owner on your account to be able to issue these kinds of instructions to the Fund without your consent, you must instruct the Fund to deny/terminate the ability to issue such instructions by telephone so that these types of instructions will only be accepted in writing signed by all account owners. This decision will apply to any other fund into which you may exchange your jointly owned Fund shares. Any later decision to permit these types of instructions by telephone will need to be given to the Fund in a written instruction signed by all registered owners.

Additional Policies

Please note that the Fund maintains additional policies and reserves certain rights, including:

· Shares should be held in street or nominee accounts. For this reason, the Fund may restrict the opening of a nominee's sub-accounts on the Fund's records.

· The Fund may restrict, reject or cancel any purchase orders, including an exchange request.

· Typically, redemptions are processed by the next business day provided the redemption request is received in proper form and good order, but may take up to seven days to be processed if making immediate payment would adversely affect the Fund or there is another cause for delay (for example, if you sell shares recently purchased, proceeds may be delayed until your check, draft or wire/electronic funds transfer has cleared). In certain circumstances, however,

     

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the Fund may not have the ability to delay a redemption request or may not have the time to determine whether a particular redemption would have an adverse effect on the Fund before the redemption request is paid.

· Purchase, redemption and exchange requests mailed to Franklin Templeton’s address in San Mateo, California, rather than to the address set forth in the “Buying Shares” and “Selling Shares” sections above, will be date- and time-stamped when received in San Mateo. If these requests are in proper form, such orders will be priced at the next NAV calculated after the date and time indicated by the stamp on the request.

· The Fund may modify, suspend, or terminate telephone privileges at any time.

· The Fund may make material changes to or discontinue the exchange privilege on 60 days' notice or as otherwise provided by law.

· The Fund may stop offering shares completely or may offer shares only on a limited basis, for a period of time or permanently.

· In unusual circumstances, we may temporarily suspend redemptions or postpone the payment of proceeds, as allowed by federal securities laws.

· For redemptions over a certain amount, the Fund may, but is not required to, pay redemption proceeds in securities or other assets rather than cash (also known as a redemption in-kind) if the investment manager determines it is in the best interest of the Fund, consistent with applicable law. The investment manager will, in its sole discretion, determine whether a redemption in-kind will be considered for a particular redemption request or type of redemption request. In certain circumstances, however, the investment manager may not have the ability to determine whether a particular redemption could be paid in-kind before the redemption request is paid. If a redemption request is redeemed in-kind, investors should expect to incur transaction costs upon the disposition of the securities received in the distribution.

· You may only buy shares of a fund (including the purchase side of an exchange) eligible for sale in your state or jurisdiction.

· To permit investors to obtain the current price, dealers are responsible for transmitting all orders to the Fund promptly.

· For non-retirement accounts, if you are receiving a dividend, capital gains or a systematic withdrawal plan payment in cash, and at least three consecutive checks remain uncashed for at least six months, the Fund reserves the right to change your distribution option to reinvest future distributions or discontinue your systematic withdrawal plan.

· The Fund may be required to close your account after a period of inactivity, as determined by applicable U.S. state or territory abandoned or unclaimed

     

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property laws and regulations, and transfer your shares to the appropriate U.S. state or territory. If your shares are transferred to an applicable U.S. state or territory from an IRA account, that could be treated as a taxable distribution from your IRA to you. For more information on unclaimed property and how to maintain an active account, please contact your Service Agent or the fund’s transfer agent.

Questions

If you have any questions about the Fund or your account, you can write to us at P.O. Box 33030, St. Petersburg, FL 33733-8030. You also can call us at one of the following numbers. For your protection and to help ensure we provide you with quality service, all calls may be monitored or recorded.

   

Department Name

Telephone Number

Institutional Services

(800) 321-8563

Shareholder Services

(800) 632-2301

Fund Information

(800) DIAL BEN

 

(800) 342-5236

Retirement Services

(800) 527-2020

Advisor Services

(800) 524-4040

Hearing Impaired Assistance

For hearing impaired assistance,
please contact us via a Relay Service.

Automated Telephone System

(800) 632-2301
(800) 524-4040
(800) 527-2020

     

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For More Information

You can learn more about the Fund in the following documents:

Annual/Semiannual Report to Shareholders

Includes a discussion of recent market conditions and Fund strategies that significantly affected Fund performance during its last fiscal year, financial statements, detailed performance information, portfolio holdings and, in the annual report only, the independent registered public accounting firm’s report.

Statement of Additional Information (SAI)

Contains more information about the Fund, its investments and policies. It is incorporated by reference (is legally a part of this prospectus).

For a free copy of the current annual/semiannual report or the SAI, please contact your investment representative or call us at the number below. You also can view the current annual/semiannual report and the SAI online through www.ftinstitutional.com.

Reports and other information about the Fund are available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC's Internet site at http://www.sec.gov, and copies of this information may be obtained, after paying a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the following email address: [email protected].

         
         
       

One Franklin Parkway
San Mateo, CA 94403-1906
Institutional Services
(800) 321-8563
www.ftinstitutional.com

   

For hearing impaired assistance, please contact us via a Relay Service.

Investment Company Act file #811-06135
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