Vodafone Share News (VOD)

European equities offer good opportunities for investors, says FranklinTempleton fund manager Norman Boersma, whose top European stock picks includehealthcare companies Sanofi and GlaxoSmithKline, and UKtelecoms group Vodafone. Boersma, who manages the 5 billion euro ($6.5 billion) Templeton GrowthFund, expects steps taken by European authorities to tackle the region'ssovereign debt crisis to continue to support equities, which rallied in thesecond half of 2012 after the European Central Bank (ECB) pledged new measuresto help the area's economy. "We believe Europe can continue to offer compelling value, with the regionas a whole still trading at a significant discount to historic average multiplesnear year-end, according to our analysis," says Boersma. "Europe made significant progress with systemic stabilisation in 2012, andwe think policy should remain supportive for the simple reason that the costs ofa break-up still exceed the costs of holding the region together," he adds. According to Thomson Reuters StarMine data, the pan-European STOXX 600 index is trading on a multiple of 12 times on a price to earnings-per-sharebasis over the next 12 months - representing a slight discount to a comparativemultiple of 13 for the U.S S&P 500 index. Europe, including the UK, accounts for roughly 40 percent of the fund'sholding, while U.S. equities account for around 38 percent. The Templeton Growth Fund has risen by around 19 percent over the last year,according to a factsheet from the company. Reuters messaging rm://sudip.kargupta.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net ($1 = 0.7667 euros)