Franklin's (BEN) September AUM Up on Higher Equity Assets
Franklin Resources Inc. BEN announced preliminary assets under management (AUM) by its subsidiaries of $753.2 billion for September 2017. Results displayed around 1% rise from $747.4 billion recorded as of Aug 31, 2017. Further, the figure moved up 2.7% from the prior-year quarter.
Month-end total equity assets came in at $317 billion, up 1% from the prior month and 4.4% year over year. Of the total equity assets, around 66% were from international sources, while the remaining 34% came in from the United States.
Total fixed income assets were $286.6 billion, marginally up from the previous month, as well as the prior year. Overall, tax-free assets accounted for only 25% of the fixed income assets, while the remaining 75% was taxable.
Franklin recorded $143.3 billion in hybrid assets, which was up 1.3% from $141.5 billion recorded in the previous month and 4.3% from $137.4 billion recorded in September 2016.
Cash management funds were reported at $6.3 billion, up from $6.1 billion in the prior month, as well as the year-ago period.
The company’s global footprint is an exceptionally favorable strategic point as its AUM is well diversified. However, regulatory restrictions and sluggish economic recovery could mar AUM growth and escalate costs.
Franklin currently carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Shares of the company have gained around 13% so far, this year, underperforming 24.7% growth recorded by the industry it belongs to.
Among others, Ameriprise Financial, Inc. AMP, carrying a Zacks Rank #2, is worth considering. The company’s shares have gained more than 16% in six months’ time. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for the stock moved up around 4%, over the last 90 days, for 2017.
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Among other asset managers, Invesco Ltd. IVZ and Legg Mason Inc. LM are expected to release preliminary AUM results for September 2017, later this week.
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