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SUPPLEMENT DATED OCTOBER 1, 1998
TO THE PROSPECTUS OF
TEMPLETON GLOBAL SMALLER COMPANIES FUND, INC. - ADVISOR CLASS
dated January 1, 1998
The prospectus is amended as follows:
I.The section "Opening Your Account," found under "How Do I Buy Shares?", is
replaced in its entirety with the following:
OPENING YOUR ACCOUNT
Shares of the Fund may be purchased without a sales charge. Please note
that as of January 1, 1998, shares of the Fund are not available to
retirement plans through Franklin Templeton's ValuSelect(R) program.
Retirement plans in Franklin Templeton's ValuSelect program before January
1, 1998, however, may continue to invest in the Fund.
To open your account, please follow the steps below. This will help avoid
any delays in processing your request.
1. Read this prospectus carefully.
2. Determine how much you would like to invest. The Fund's minimum investments
are:
/bullet/ To open your account: $5,000,000
/bullet/ To add to your account: $ 25
We reserve the right to change the amount of these minimums from time to
time or to waive or lower these minimums for certain purchases. Please see
"Minimum Investments" below. We also reserve the right to refuse any order
to buy shares.
3. Carefully complete and sign the enclosed shareholder application,
including the optional shareholder privileges section. By applying for
privileges now, you can avoid the delay and inconvenience of having to send
an additional application to add privileges later. It is important that we
receive a signed application since we will not be able to process any
redemptions from your account until we receive your signed application.
4. Make your investment using the table below.
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METHOD STEPS TO FOLLOW
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BY MAIL For an initial investment:
Return the application to the Fund with your check made
payable to the Fund.
For additional investments:
Send a check made payable to the Fund. Please include
your account number on the check.
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BY WIRE 1. Call Shareholder Services or, if that number is busy,
call 1-650/312-2000 collect, to receive a wire control
number and wire instructions. You need a new wire
control number every time you wire money into your
account. If you do not have a currently effective wire
control number, we will return the money to the bank,
and we will not credit the purchase to your account.
2. For an initial investment you must also return your
signed shareholder application to the Fund.
IMPORTANT DEADLINES: If we receive your call before
1:00 p.m. Pacific time and the bank receives the wired
funds and reports the receiptof wired funds to the Fund
by 3:00 p.m. Pacific time, we will credit the purchase
to your account that day. If we receive your call
after 1:00 p.m. or the bank receives the wire after
3:00 p.m., we will credit the purchase to your account
the following business day.
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THROUGH
YOUR DEALER Call your investment representative
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MINIMUM INVESTMENTS
To determine if you meet the minimum initial investment requirement of $5
million, the amount of your current purchase is added to the cost or current
value, whichever is higher, of your existing shares in the Franklin Templeton
Funds. At least $1 million of this amount, however, must be invested in
Advisor Class or Class Z shares of any of the Franklin Templeton Funds.
The Fund may waive or lower its minimum investment requirement for certain
purchases. A lower minimum initial investment requirement applies to purchases
by:
1. Qualified registered investment advisors or certified financial planners
who have clients invested in the Franklin Mutual Series Fund Inc. on
October 31, 1996, or who buy through a broker-dealer or service agent who has
entered into an agreement with Distributors, subject to a $1,000 minimum
initial and $50 minimum subsequent investment requirement
2. Broker-dealers, registered investment advisors or certified financial
planners who have entered into an agreement with Distributors for clients
participating in comprehensive fee programs, subject to a $250,000 minimum
initial investment requirement or a $100,000 minimum initial investment
requirement for an individual client
3. Officers, trustees, directors and full-time employees of the Franklin
Templeton Funds or the Franklin Templeton Group and their immediate family
members, subject to a $100 minimum initial investment requirement
4. Each series of the Franklin Templeton Fund Allocator Series, subject to a
$1,000 minimum initial and subsequent investment requirement
PAGE
5. Governments, municipalities, and tax-exempt entities that meet the
requirements for qualification under Section 501 of the Code, subject to a $1
million initial investment in Advisor Class or Class Z shares of any of the
Franklin Templeton Funds
No minimum initial investment requirement applies to purchases by:
1. Accounts managed by the Franklin Templeton Group
2. The Franklin Templeton Profit Sharing 401(k) Plan
3. Defined contribution plans such as employer stock, bonus, pension or profit
sharing plans that meet the requirements for qualification under Section
401 of the Code, including salary reduction plans qualified under Section
401(k) of the Code, and that are sponsored by an employer (i) with at least
10,000 employees, or (ii) with retirement plan assets of $100 million or
more
4. Trust companies and bank trust departments initially investing in the
Franklin Templeton Funds at least $1 million of assets held in a fiduciary,
agency, advisory, custodial or similar capacity and over which the trust
companies and bank trust departments or other plan fiduciaries or
participants, in the case of certain retirement plans, have full or shared
investment discretion
5. Any other investor, including a private investment vehicle such as a family
trust or foundation, who is a member of a qualified group, if the group as a
whole meets the $5 million minimum investment requirement. A qualified group
is one that:
/bullet/ Was formed at least six months ago,
/bullet/ Has a purpose other than buying Fund shares at a discount,
/bullet/ Has more than 10 members,
/bullet/ Can arrange for meetings between our representatives and group
members,
/bullet/ Agrees to include Franklin Templeton Fund sales and other materials
in publications and mailings to its members at reduced or no cost to
Distributors,
/bullet/ Agrees to arrange for payroll deduction or other bulk transmission
of investments to the Fund, and
/bullet Meets other uniform criteria that allow Distributors to achieve
cost savings in distributing shares.
II. The following new item is added under "May I Exchange Shares for Shares of
Another Fund? - Exchange Restrictions":
/bullet/ You must meet the applicable minimum investment amount of the fund
you are exchanging into, or exchange 100% of your Fund shares.
III. Distribution option 3 in the section "What Distributions Might I Receive
From the Fund? - Distribution Options" is replaced with the following:
3. RECEIVE DISTRIBUTIONS IN CASH - You may receive capital gain distributions,
dividend distributions, or both in cash. If you have the money sent to another
person or to a checking or savings account, you may need a signature
guarantee. If you send the money to a checking or savings account, please see
"Electronic Fund Transfers" under "Services to Help You Manage Your Account."
IV. The section "Keeping Your Account Open," found under "Transaction Procedures
and Special Requirements," is replaced in its entirety with the following:
KEEPING YOUR ACCOUNT OPEN
Due to the relatively high cost of maintaining a small account, we may close
your account if the value of your shares is less than $250, or less than $50
for employee accounts. We will only do this if the value of your account fell
below this amount because you voluntarily sold your shares and your account
has been inactive (except for the reinvestment of distributions) for at least
six months. Before we close your account, we will notify you and give you 30
days to increase the value of your account to $1,000, or $100 for employee
PAGE
accounts. These minimums do not apply to IRAs, accounts managed by the
Franklin Templeton Group, the Franklin Templeton Profit Sharing 401(k) Plan,
the series of Franklin Templeton Fund Allocator Series, or certain defined
contribution plans that qualify to buy shares with no minimum initial
investment requirement.
V. The second sentence in the section "Services to Help You Manage Your Account
- - Automatic Investment Plan" is replaced with the following:
Under the plan, you can have money transferred automatically from your
checking or savings account to the Fund each month to buy additional shares.
VI. The second paragraph under "Services to Help You Manage Your Account -
Systematic Withdrawal Plan" is replaced with the following:
If you would like to establish a systematic withdrawal plan, please complete
the systematic withdrawal plan section of the shareholder application included
with this prospectus and indicate how you would like to receive your payments.
You may choose to direct your payments to buy the same class of shares of
another Franklin Templeton Fund or have the money sent directly to you, to
another person, or to a checking or savings account. If you choose to have the
money sent to a checking or savings account, please see "Electronic Fund
Transfers" below. Once your plan is established, any distributions paid by the
Fund will be automatically reinvested in your account.
VII. The following new section is added after the section "Services to Help You
Manage Your Account - Systematic Withdrawal Plan":
ELECTRONIC FUND TRANSFERS
You may choose to have dividend and capital gain distributions or payments
under a systematic withdrawal plan sent directly to a checking or savings
account. If the account is with a bank that is a member of the Automated
Clearing House, the payments may be made automatically by electronic funds
transfer. If you choose this option, please allow at least fifteen days for
initial processing. We will send any payments made during that time to the
address of record on your account.
VIII. The following paragraphs are added to the end of the section "What Are the
Risks of Investing in the Fund?"
EURO. On January 1, 1999, the European Monetary Union (EMU) plans to introduce
a new single currency, the Euro, which will replace the national currency for
participating member countries. If the Fund holds investments in countries
with currencies replaced by the Euro, the investment process, including
trading, foreign exchange, payments, settlements, cash accounts, custody and
accounting will be impacted.
The process to establish the Euro may result in market volatility. It is
not possible to predict the impact of the Euro on the business or financial
condition of European issuers or on the Fund. The transition and the
elimination of currency risk among EMU countries may change the economic
environment and behavior of investors, particularly in European markets. To
the extent the Fund holds non-U.S. dollar (Euro or other) denominated
securities, it will still be exposed to currency risk due to fluctuations
in those currencies versus the U.S. dollar.
Resources has created an interdepartmental team to handle all Euro-related
changes to enable the Franklin Templeton Funds to process transactions
accurately and completely with minimal disruption to business activities.
While there can be no assurance that the Fund will not be adversely
affected, Investment Counsel and its affiliated service providers are
taking steps that they believe are reasonably designed to address the Euro
issue.
Please keep this supplement for future reference.
