Franklin Resources, Inc. Announces Month-End Assets Under Management

Rhea-AI Summary

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE: BEN) reported preliminary assets under management (AUM) of $1,498.9 billion for March 31, 2021, a slight decrease from $1,500.5 billion in February. The decline was primarily due to long-term net outflows of $4.2 billion, primarily from a nearly $6 billion institutional redemption. Despite these outflows, there were positive market gains this month. Reinvested distributions totaled $2.3 billion for the quarter. The AUM figures indicate a stable but challenged position amidst significant redemptions and market conditions.

Positive

• Slight positive market gains partially offset the decline in AUM.
• Total AUM remains above $1.4 trillion, reflecting substantial asset scale.

Negative

• Long-term net outflows of $4.2 billion for the quarter, indicating investor withdrawal.
• A single institutional redemption of nearly $6 billion significantly impacted AUM.

Franklin Resources, Inc. (Franklin Templeton) (NYSE: BEN) today reported preliminary month-end assets under management of $1,498.9 billion at March 31, 2021, compared to $1,500.5 billion at February 28, 2021. This month’s AUM reflected slightly positive market gains offset by long-term net outflows, primarily driven by a single fixed income institutional redemption of nearly $6 billion that had minimal impact on revenue.

For the quarter ended March 31, 2021, AUM reflected slightly positive market gains offset by long-term net outflows of $4.2 billion inclusive of the single client redemption mentioned above and the previously disclosed $1.3 billion of outflows in February¹ from our closed India credit funds that were non-management fee earning. Reinvested distributions for the quarter were $2.3 billion.

By Asset Class:

(In USD billions)		Preliminary
		31-Mar-21		28-Feb-21		31-Dec-20		30-Sep-20		31-Mar-20
Fixed Income1		$642.3		$656.7		$669.9		$656.9		$214.9
Equity		511.9		503.1		495.7		438.1		200.9
Multi-Asset		148.2		144.5		141.1		129.4		107.4
Alternative		131.1		129.1		127.1		122.1		46.4
Long Term:		1,433.5		1,433.4		1,433.8		1,346.5		569.6
Cash Management		65.4		67.1		64.2		72.4		10.7
Total		$1,498.9		$1,500.5		$1,498.0		$1,418.9		$580.3

1Following the $1.3 billion outflow in February, the remaining AUM in our closed India credit funds was $2.4 billion as of March 31, 2021.

About Franklin Templeton

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) is a global investment management organization with subsidiaries operating as Franklin Templeton and serving clients in over 165 countries. Franklin Templeton’s mission is to help clients achieve better outcomes through investment management expertise, wealth management and technology solutions. Through its specialist investment managers, the company brings extensive capabilities in equity, fixed income, multi-asset solutions and alternatives. With offices in more than 30 countries and approximately 1,300 investment professionals, the California-based company has over 70 years of investment experience. The company posts information that may be significant for investors in the Investor Relations and News Center sections of its website, and encourages investors to consult those sections regularly. For more information, please visit investors.franklinresources.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

The financial results in this press release are preliminary. Some of the statements herein may include forward-looking statements that reflect our current views with respect to future events and financial performance. Such statements are provided under the “safe harbor” protection of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Forward-looking statements include all statements that do not relate solely to historical or current facts and generally can be identified by words or phrases written in the future tense and/or preceded by words such as “anticipate, “believe,” “could,” “depends,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “likely,” “may,” “plan,” “potential,” “preliminary,” “seek,” “should,” “will,” “would,” or other similar words or variations thereof, or the negative thereof, but these terms are not the exclusive means of identifying such statements.

Forward-looking statements involve a number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors, some of which are listed below, that may cause actual results and outcomes to differ materially from any future results or outcomes expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. While forward-looking statements are our best prediction at the time that they are made, you should not rely on them and are cautioned against doing so. Forward-looking statements are based on our current expectations and assumptions regarding our business, the economy and other possible future conditions. Because forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that are difficult to predict. They are neither statements of historical fact nor guarantees or assurances of future performance. Factors or events that could cause our actual results to differ may emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of them.

These and other risks, uncertainties and other important factors are described in more detail in our recent filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, including, without limitation, in Risk Factors and Management’s Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2020 and our subsequent Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q:

• Our business and operations are subject to adverse effects from the outbreak and spread of contagious diseases such as COVID-19, and we expect such adverse effects to continue.
• Volatility and disruption of our business and the capital and credit markets and adverse changes in the global economy may significantly affect our results of operations and may put pressure on our financial results.
• The amount and mix of our assets under management (“AUM”) are subject to significant fluctuations.
• We are subject to significant risk of asset volatility from changes in the global financial, equity, debt and commodity markets.
• Our funds may be subject to liquidity risks or an unanticipated large number of redemptions and fund closures.
• A shift in our asset mix toward lower fee products may negatively impact our revenues.
• We may not effectively manage risks associated with the replacement of benchmark indices.
• Poor investment performance of our products could reduce the level of our AUM or affect our sales, and negatively impact our revenues and income.
• Harm to our reputation may negatively impact our revenues and income.
• Our completed acquisition of Legg Mason, Inc. remains subject to integration risks.
• Our business operations are complex and a failure to perform operational tasks properly or comply with applicable regulatory requirements could have an adverse effect on our revenues and income.
• Failure to establish adequate controls and risk management policies, or the circumvention of controls and policies, could have an adverse effect on our global operations, reputation and financial position.
• We face risks, and corresponding potential costs and expenses, associated with conducting operations and growing our business in numerous countries.
• Our focus on international markets as a source of investments and sales of our products subjects us to increased exchange rate and market-specific political, economic or other risks that may adversely impact our revenues and income generated overseas.
• We may review and pursue strategic transactions that could pose risks to our business.
• Failure to properly address the increased transformative pressures affecting the asset management industry could negatively impact our business.
• Strong competition from numerous and sometimes larger companies with competing offerings and products could limit or reduce sales of our products, potentially resulting in a decline in our market share, revenues and income.
• Increasing competition and other changes in the third-party distribution and sales channels on which we depend could reduce our income and hinder our growth.
• Any failure of our third-party providers to fulfill their obligations, or our failure to maintain good relationships with our providers, could adversely impact our business.
• We may be adversely affected if any of our third-party providers is subject to a successful cyber or security attack.
• Our ability to manage and grow our business successfully can be impeded by systems and other technological limitations.
• Any significant limitation, failure or security breach of our information and cyber security infrastructure, software applications, technology or other systems that are critical to our operations could disrupt our business and harm our operations and reputation.
• Our inability to recover successfully, should we experience a disaster or other business continuity problem, could cause material financial loss, regulatory actions, legal liability, and/or reputational harm.
• We depend on key personnel and our financial performance could be negatively affected by the loss of their services.
• Our ability to meet cash needs depends upon certain factors, including the market value of our assets, our operating cash flows and our perceived creditworthiness.
• We are dependent on the earnings of our subsidiaries.
• We are subject to extensive, complex, overlapping and frequently changing rules, regulations, policies, and legal interpretations.
• We may be adversely affected as a result of new or revised legislation or regulations or by changes in the interpretation of existing laws and regulations, in the U.S. and other jurisdictions.
• Global regulatory and legislative actions and reforms have made compliance in the regulatory environment in which we operate more costly and future actions and reforms could adversely impact our financial condition and results of operations.
• Failure to comply with the laws, rules or regulations in any of the jurisdictions in which we operate could result in substantial harm to our reputation and results of operations.
• Changes in tax laws or exposure to additional income tax liabilities could have a material impact on our financial condition, results of operations and liquidity.
• Regulatory and governmental examinations and/or investigations, litigation and the legal risks associated with our business, could adversely impact our AUM, increase costs and negatively impact our profitability and/or our future financial results.
• Our contractual obligations may subject us to indemnification costs and liability to third parties.
• Failure to protect our intellectual property may negatively impact our business.

If a circumstance occurs after the date of this press release that causes any of our forward-looking statements to be inaccurate, whether as a result of new information, future developments or otherwise, we undertake no obligation to announce publicly the change to our expectations, or to make any revision to our forward-looking statements, to reflect any change in assumptions, beliefs or expectations, or any change in events, conditions or circumstances upon which any forward-looking statement is based, unless required by law.

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FAQ

What were Franklin Resources' assets under management as of March 31, 2021?

Franklin Resources reported assets under management of $1,498.9 billion as of March 31, 2021.

What caused the decline in assets under management for BEN in March 2021?

The decline was primarily due to long-term net outflows of $4.2 billion, including a nearly $6 billion institutional redemption.

How did the assets under management for BEN change from February to March 2021?

AUM decreased from $1,500.5 billion in February 2021 to $1,498.9 billion in March 2021.

What were the reinvested distributions for Franklin Resources in Q1 2021?

Reinvested distributions for the quarter ended March 31, 2021, totaled $2.3 billion.

What is the significance of the nearly $6 billion redemption for BEN?

The nearly $6 billion redemption significantly impacted Franklin Resources' total assets under management despite minimal revenue impact.