Founded in 1947, Franklin Templeton Investments prides itself in offering “exceptional asset management” to its clients in more than 180 nations throughout the globe. It has a presence in 29 countries and has over 600 investment professionals. With around $733.3 billion assets under management, the company manages a wide range of mutual funds across different categories including both equity and fixed income. The company offers investment management strategies and integrated risk management solutions to individuals, institutions, pension plans, trusts and partnerships.

Below we share with you three best-ranked Franklin Templeton mutual funds. Each has earned a Zacks Mutual Fund Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and is expected to outperform its peers in the future. Investors can click here to see the complete list of all Franklin Templeton mutual funds, their Zacks Rank and past performance.

Franklin High Income A (FHAIX -Free Report) seeks high current income with growth of capital as its secondary objective. FHAIX invests primarily in high yield securities that are rated below investment grade. FHAIX invests in debt securities including bonds, notes and debentures. FHAIX may also invest all of its assets in junk bonds. Franklin High Income A has returned 18% over the past one year.

As of September 2016, FHAIX held 283 issues, with 1.10% of its assets invested in Citigroup FRN.

Franklin Founding Funds Allocation A (FFALX - Free Report) allocates its assets equally between the three underlying funds – Franklin Income Fund, Franklin Mutual Shares Fund, and Templeton Growth Fund. These funds in turn primarily focus on acquiring equity securities of both domestic and foreign companies. Franklin Founding Funds Allocation A has returned 15.1% over the past one year.

T. Anthony Coffeyhas been the portfolio manager of FFALX since 2003.

Franklin Real Estate Securities A (FREEX - Free Report) seeks maximum total return. FREEX invests the lion’s share of its assets in domestic companies whose operations are related to the real estate domain. FREEX invests in securities of REITs and companies that derive the major portion of their revenues by carrying on real estate related operations. Franklin Founding Funds Allocation A is a non-diversified fund and has returned 8.9% over the past one year.

FREEX has an expense ratio of 1.00% compared with the category average of 1.28%.

Franklin High Yield Tax-Free Income A (FRHIX - Free Report) invests the major portion of its assets in securities that are expected to provide yield exempted from federal income taxes, including the federal alternative minimum tax. FRHIX seeks high level of tax-free income. FRHIX primarily invests in municipal securities, which may also include defaulted securities. Franklin High Yield Tax-Free Income A has returned 1.2% over the past one year.

As of September 2016, FRHIX held 765 issues, with 1.52% of its assets invested in Public Auth 6.5%.