Franklin Templeton Investments announced the launch of a commodities fund to be managed by Pelagos Capital Management, LLC, an alternative investments specialist acquired by Franklin Resources Inc. in 2013. The Franklin Pelagos Commodities Strategy Fund (the "Fund"), is a liquid commodities fund available to US investors. The Fund seeks long-term total returns by investing in the commodities market through commodity-linked derivative instruments.

The Fund seeks to diversify investor portfolios through an alternative asset class that has historically offered low correlations to traditional asset classes, such as stocks and bonds. The Fund's managers utilize an active, flexible approach to uncover opportunities within areas of the commodities market, including the energy, industrials, precious metals and agriculture subsectors, in relation to the Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Index, the Fund's benchmark. The Fund's managers will make active portfolio construction decisions regarding sector allocations, individual commodities, spot versus future price judgements and seasonal issues.

To help manage volatility and satisfy asset coverage requirements for derivative positions, the Fund also invests in securities of the U.S. government, its agencies and other fixed income securities.