Franklin ResourcesBEN

Morningstar Rating

Stock Research and Analysis

by Greggory Warren, CFA

With close to $525 billion in assets under management (AUM), and nearly a third of its managed assets sourced from clients residing outside of the United States, Franklin Resources is one of the larger global asset managers. The strength of the firm's Read more

Bulls Say

Franklin is one of the largest asset managers in the U.S., with more than 300 mutual funds invested in domestic and international stocks and taxable and tax-exempt fixed-income and money market instruments.

Franklin owns some of the best-established brand names in the mutual fund industry, including Templeton and Mutual Series, and has extensive distribution that includes a meaningful geographic reach outside the U.S.

A well-balanced mix of investments in terms of asset class and geographic focus has allowed the firm to keep investors under the Franklin umbrella even as investing styles have fallen in and out of fashion. Read more

Bears Say

The precipitous decline in the global equity markets last year has fueled massive outflows from mutual funds. With around two thirds of its assets derived from retail investors, Franklin was not immune to this phenomenon.

With the firm's asset mix shifting from 60% equities in fiscal 2007 to 47% at the end of fiscal 2009, Franklin's realization rate has declined from 0.61% of AUM to 0.57% in just two years.

Franklin has a very small banking and finance operation that is much more capital-intensive than its investment-management business, diluting returns on invested capital and subjecting the firm to credit risks on its loans. Read more

Strategy

Franklin has not shied away from acquisitions to expand its portfolio--Templeton (1992), Mutual Series (1996), Bissett (2000), Fiduciary Trust (2001), and Darby Overseas (2003) are the largest examples. Read more

Management

Gregory Johnson has been CEO of Franklin Resources since January 2004, serving as co-CEO with Martin Flanagan until July 2005, when Flanagan left the firm to run Amvescap (now known as Invesco IVZ). Johnson and Flanagan succeeded Johnson's father, Charles Read more

Profile

Franklin Resources provides asset-management services for institutional and individual investors. The firm's investment products are marketed under the Franklin, Templeton, Read more

First Name

Last Name

Email Address

Zip Code

Create Password

Verify Password

(6-15 characters; case sensitive)

What is your occupation or job title?

Select...

Your registration indicates agreement to the terms of use.

How Dodge & Cox Looks at Financials
Watch more