Franklin Templeton, the global asset manager, on Tuesday said that it is not exiting India and will be investing in rebuilding the brand in the country.

The fund house had occupied headlines in April 2020 after it had closed six debt schemes citing redemption pressure, which led to action from the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi).

In November 2020, the market regulator had issued a show cause notice to the fund house. It was asked to pay Rs 5 crore as penalty, return over Rs 450 crore collected as 22-month investment management and advisory fees, and was banned from launching new debt schemes for alleged irregularities in running six of its debt schemes.

The company has challenged the decision in tribunals and courts, and also returned a bulk of the investments. Its action led to rumours that Franklin Templeton MF may exit India as done by other asset managers.

"I can say categorically that we are not leaving India. It would be silly to leave India,” its president for India Avinash Satwalekar told newspersons here.

He added that the company is “incredibly profitable” in the country and it has Rs 57,000 crore of Assets Under Management (AUM) from 20 lakh investors.

Satwalekar, who took charge as the head of Franklin’s operations in June this year, said it will rebuild the brand, acknowledging that it has taken a beating over the last two years following the regulatory action.

In its first fund launch in a decade, Franklin Templeton announced a new fund offering (NFO) for a balanced advantage fund-Franklin India Balanced Advantage Fund or FIBAF which will also be investing in fixed income opportunities.

Satwalekar added that it will be regularly launching products over the next 6-12 months.