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Yahoo Finance Plus Franklin's (BEN) August AUM Falls 1.9% on Unfavorable Markets
Franklin Resources, Inc. BEN reported a preliminary asset under management (AUM) balance of $1.42 trillion for August 2023. This reflects a 1.9% decrease from $1.45 trillion recorded as of Jul 31, 2023.
The fall in the AUM balance was primarily due to the impact of unfavorable markets and modest long-term net outflows.
Month-end total fixed-income assets were $500.2 billion, down 1.7% from the prior month’s level. Equity assets of $452.3 billion declined 3.4% from July 2023. BEN recorded $149.5 billion in multi-asset class, which dipped 1.9% sequentially. Alternative assets fell marginally from the prior month to $256.3 billion.
Nonetheless, cash-management funds totaled $63.1 billion, which increased 1.6% from the prior month’s level.
Franklin’s robust foothold in the global market and revenue diversification makes it well-poised for growth in the upcoming period. Also, it is growing through strategic acquisitions. These have helped the company in expanding its alternative investments and multi-asset solution platforms.
However, any decline in investment management fees due to market fluctuations and adverse foreign exchange translations remains a key concern for BEN. A strict global regulatory environment is another headwind.
The stock has lost 4.4% over the past six months against the industry's growth of 13.7%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
BEN currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
A Competitive Landscape
Cohen & Steers, Inc. CNS reported a preliminary AUM of $80 billion as of Aug 31, 2023, which reflected a tumble of 2.8% from the prior-month level. Market depreciation of $2.2 billion and distributions of $157 million were partly offset by net inflows of $12 million.
CNS recorded total institutional accounts of $33.5 billion at the end of August 2023, falling 2.7% from the July-end level. Of the total institutional accounts, advisory accounts were $19 billion, while the rest were sub-advisory.
Virtus Investment Partners, Inc. VRTS recorded a sequential decrease in its preliminary AUM balance for August 2023 on the back of unfavorable market returns. VRTS reported month-end AUM of $169.4 billion, which reflected a fall of 1.5% from Jul 31 level.
Excluded from the above-mentioned AUM balance, other fee-earning assets were $2.6 billion, to which VRTS provided services.
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