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SUPPLEMENT DATED OCTOBER 1, 1998
TO THE PROSPECTUS OF
TEMPLETON GROWTH FUND, INC.
dated January 1, 1998
The prospectus is amended as follows:
I. The minimum investments table in the section "How Do I Buy Shares? -
Opening Your Account" is replaced with the following:
<TABLE>
<CAPTION>
MINIMUM INVESTMENTS
- --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
<S> <C> <C>
/bullet/ To open a regular, non-retirement account $1,000
/bullet/ To open an IRA, IRA Rollover, Roth IRA, or Education IRA $ 250*
/bullet/ To open a custodial account for a minor (an UGMA/UTMA account) $ 100
/bullet/ To open an account with an automatic investment plan $ 50**
/bullet/ To add to an account $ 50***
</TABLE>
*For all other retirement accounts, there is no minimum investment requirement.
**$25 for an Education IRA.
***For all retirement accounts except IRAs, IRA Rollovers, Roth IRAs, or
Education IRAs, there is no minimum to add to an account.
For purchases by broker-dealers, registered investment advisors or certified
financial planners who have entered into an agreement with Distributors for
clients participating in comprehensive fee programs, the minimum initial
investment is $250. The minimum initial investment is $100 for officers,
trustees, directors and full-time employees of the Franklin Templeton Funds or
the Franklin Templeton Group, and their family members, consistent with our
then-current policies. 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. We also reserve the right to refuse any order to buy shares.
II. The following paragraph is added to the end of the section "Group Purchases
- - Class I Only," found under "How Do I Buy Shares? - Sales Charge Reductions and
Waivers":
A qualified group does not include a 403(b) plan that only allows salary
deferral contributions. 403(b) plans that only allow salary deferral
contributions and that purchased Class I shares of the Fund at a reduced sales
charge under the group purchase privilege before February 1, 1998, however,
may continue to do so.
III. The following new categories 7 and 8 are added to the end of the first list
of sales charge waiver categories in the section "Sales Charge Waivers," found
under "How Do I Buy Shares? - Sales Charge Reductions and Waivers":
7. Redemption proceeds from a repurchase of shares of Franklin Floating Rate
Trust, if the shares were continuously held for at least 12 months.
If you immediately placed your redemption proceeds in a Franklin Bank CD
or a Franklin Templeton money fund, you may reinvest them as described above.
The proceeds must be reinvested within 365 days from the date the CD matures,
including any rollover, or the date you redeem your money fund shares.
8. Tender proceeds from the Templeton Vietnam Opportunities Fund, Inc. if you
have directed the proceeds to be invested in the Fund under the terms of the
"Offer to Purchase" dated December 19, 1997
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IV. The following new category 13 is added to the end of the second list of
sales charge waiver categories in the section "Sales Charge Waivers," found
under "How Do I Buy Shares? - Sales Charge Reductions and Waivers":
13. Qualified registered investment advisors who buy through a broker-dealer
or service agent who has entered into an agreement with Distributors
V. The section "Retirement Plans," found under "How Do I Buy Shares? - Sales
Charge Reductions and Waivers," is replaced in its entirety with the following:
Retirement Plans. Retirement plans that are sponsored by an employer (i) with
at least 100 employees, or (ii), with retirement plan assets of $1 million or
more, or (iii) that agrees to invest at least $500,000 in the Franklin
Templeton Funds over a 13 month period may buy Class I shares without a
front-end sales charge. Retirement plans that are not Qualified Retirement
Plans, SIMPLEs or SEPs must also meet the requirements described under "Group
Purchases Class I Only" above to be able to buy Class I shares without a
front-end sales charge. We may enter into a special arrangement with a
Securities Dealer, based on criteria established by the Fund, to add together
certain small Qualified Retirement Plan accounts for the purpose of meeting
these requirements. For retirement plan accounts opened on or after May 1,
1997, a Contingent Deferred Sales Charge may apply if the retirement plan is
transferred out of the Franklin Templeton Funds or terminated within 365 days
of the retirement plan account's initial purchase in the Franklin Templeton
Funds. Please see "How Do I Sell Shares? - Contingent Deferred Sales Charge"
for details.
Any retirement plan that does not meet the requirements to buy Class I shares
without a front-end sales charge and that was a shareholder of the Fund on or
before February 1, 1995, may buy shares of the Fund subject to a maximum sales
charge of 4% of the Offering Price, 3.2% of which will be retained by
Securities Dealers.
VI. The first paragraph under "May I Exchange Shares for Shares of Another Fund?
- - Will Sales Charges Apply to My Exchange?" is replaced with the following:
You generally will not pay a front-end sales charge on exchanges. If you have
held your shares less than six months, however, you will pay the percentage
difference between the sales charge you previously paid and the applicable
sales charge of the new fund, if the difference is more than 0.25%. If you
have never paid a sales charge on your shares because, for example, they have
always been held in a money fund, you will pay the Fund's applicable sales
charge no matter how long you have held your shares. These charges may not
apply if you qualify to buy shares without a sales charge.
VII. The sections "Contingent Deferred Sales Charge - Class I" and "Contingent
Deferred Sales Charge - Class II," found under "May I Exchange Shares for Shares
of Another Fund? - Will Sales Charges Apply to My Exchange?", are replaced with
the following:
CONTINGENT DEFERRED SALES CHARGE. For accounts with shares subject to a
Contingent Deferred Sales Charge, we will first exchange any shares in your
account that are not subject to the charge. If there are not enough of these
to meet your exchange request, we will exchange shares subject to the charge
in the order they were purchased.
If you exchange Class I shares into one of our money funds, the time your
shares are held in that fund will not count towards the completion of any
Contingency Period. If you exchange your Class II shares for shares of Money
Fund II, however, the time your shares are held in that fund will count
towards the completion of any Contingency Period.
PAGE
VIII. 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.
IX. The following replaces the second paragraph under "How Do I Sell Shares? -
Contingent Deferred Sales Charge":
Certain retirement plan accounts opened on or after May 1, 1997, and that
qualify to buy Class I shares without a front-end sales charge may also be
subject to a Contingent Deferred Sales Charge if the retirement plan is
transferred out of the Franklin Templeton Funds or terminated within 365
days of the account's initial purchase in the Franklin Templeton Funds.
X. 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."
XI. 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 and custodial accounts for minors. 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 accounts and custodial accounts for
minors. These minimums do not apply to IRAs and other retirement plan accounts
or to accounts managed by the Franklin Templeton Group.
XII. 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.
XIII. 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.
PAGE
XIV. 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.
XV. The following definitions are revised or added, as applicable, to the
"Useful Terms and Definitions" section:
CONTINGENCY PERIOD - For Class I shares, the 12 month period during which a
Contingent Deferred Sales Charge may apply. For Class II shares, the
contingency period is 18 months. The holding period begins on the day you buy
your shares. For example, if you buy shares on the 18th of the month, they
will age one month on the 18th day of the next month and each following month.
SIMPLE (Savings Incentive Match Plan for Employees) - An employer sponsored
salary deferral plan established under section 408(p) of the Code
XVI. 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,
Global Advisors 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.
