Franklin Resources manages more than $700 billion for investors. Photo: Flickr.com/401kcalculator.com
About Franklin Resources, Inc.
Franklin Resources, Inc. is a global investment manager with offices in 35 countries serving clients in over 150 countries. Major brands include the Franklin and Templeton series of mutual funds. The company was formed in 1947 and grew slowly over the next decade. In 1957, the firm had $2.5 million under management. Franklin Resources began trading publicly in 1971 and in 1973 acquired the San Mateo, CA based investment management firm Winfield & Company. That year, with $250 million of assets under management (AUM), Franklin Resources moved from New York to California. The company continued to grow through acquisitions and organic growth to $2 billion AUM by 1982 and then increased 20-fold, to $40 billion AUM, by 1989. Since then, the company’s AUM has increase nearly another 20-fold to more than $700 billion.
The company is a member of the S&P 500 index, a Fortune 500 company and trades under the ticker symbol BEN.
Franklin Resources’ Dividend and Stock Split History
Franklin Resources has increased dividends annually since 1982 and met the Dividend Aristocrat criteria of 25 straight years of dividend growth in 2006. Since 1989, Franklin Resources has announced dividend increases in December, with the stock going ex-dividend later in the same month.
Franklin Resources has compounded its payout at an average rate of 15.0% over the last 5 years and 11.9% over the last 10 years.
Since going public in 1971, Franklin Resources has split 11 times. During the period of rapid expansion in the 1980s, the company split its stock 8 times in 10 years: 2-for-1 in June 1983, 5-for-4 in April 1984, 2-for-1 in March 1985 and January 1986, 3-for-2 in October 1986, 5-for-4 in June 1987, 3-for-2 in December 1989, and 2-for-1 in March 1992. The company also split the stock 3-for-2 and 2-for-1 in December 1996 and December 1997 respectively. Most recently, the company split its stock 3-for-1 in July 2013.
Direct Purchase and Dividend Reinvestment Plans
Franklin Resources offers both a direct purchase and dividend reinvestment plan. If you’re interested in participating in the plans, the minimum initial purchase is $500. The plan requires new investors to pay a one-time set up fee of $15, along with the regular fees of $5 per purchase plus 10 cents per share if paying by check or $2 per purchase plus 10 cents per share if paying by electronic debit. If you’re already enrolled in the plans, your minimum investment is $50 (unless, of course, you’re reinvesting dividends).
Franklin Resources pays all fees when reinvesting dividends.
When you go to sell your shares in the plan, you’ll pay 5 cents per share sold. The only additional fees when selling are a $30 fee if you ask a plan representative to help you and a $25 fee if you need to have the funds wired to your account. This fee is waived when the proceeds from the sale are directly deposited to your account.
Helpful Links
Franklin Resources Investor Relations Website
Current quote and financial summary for Franklin Resources (finviz.com)
Information on the direct purchase and dividend reinvestment plans for BEN