Franklin Templeton Mutual Fund has introduced its first specialized investment fund, the Sapphire Equity Long-Short SIF, which focuses on a long-short equity strategy. This innovative fund will utilize a quantitative approach to invest across large-, mid-, and small-cap stocks while also taking selective short positions to manage downside risks. The fund's multi-factor model will evaluate stocks using over 40 indicators, including quality, value, sentiment, and alternative data, to systematically score and rank stocks for both long exposure and short positioning. According to Arihant Jain, portfolio manager for the fund, this approach allows for a balanced response to market shifts. The fund aims to generate additional alpha by leveraging its ability to short stocks, with a maximum of 25% of net assets allocated to short positions. This strategy is designed to reduce downside risk during market corrections. The new fund offer will be open from April 10 to April 24, 2026, and will be benchmarked against the Nifty 500 total return index.