Franklin Templeton Investments held its Global Investing — Opportunities and Outlook conference in Toronto today.

The meeting was decidedly subdued this year, as four portfolio managers rehashed the past year’s activities and sketched out their visions for the coming year in various degrees of optimism. The most notable appearance was that of emerging market guru, Mark Mobius, manager of the Templeton Emerging Markets Fund.

Resplendent in white suit and shirt and yellow tie, Mobius joked about Canada losing the Olympics to China. He also noted that Canada offers some tremendous buying opportunities. “I’m not saying Canada is an emerging market, yet,” he joked. Mobius said he sees plenty of bargains in Canada, as he does in the rest of the emerging markets.

Fred Pynn, portfolio manager of the Bissett Canadian Equity Fund, reiterated his commitment to buying good, solid performers over the flavour of the week. A discipline, which he says, has been vindicated by debacles such as Bre-X and bubble stocks, such as Nortel Networks. In response to an audience question about Nortel, Pynn noted that it is not on the radar at this point because of the uncertainty over its future, and its hopeful return to profitability.

He suggested that he expects the rate cuts in the U.S. to take hold and to spark a revitalization in the U.S. by the fourth quarter of this year, or the first quarter next year. “We should see a healthier environment by then, but keep in mind the market will anticipate it.” Pynn also suggested that the Bank of Canada wouldn’t have cut rates as aggressively as it has, without the weak Canadian dollar.

George Morgan, the latest manager of the Templeton Growth Fund, crowed about the return of value investing in the last year. He noted that one of the most striking things in the current environment is the high volatility to markets. A development he attributed to both the fast reaction times of modern markets, and also the uncertainty in the market. He also observed that the falloff in M&A activity and the weak euro are two factors contributing to the current malaise.