Franklin Templeton Investments
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Franklin Resources Inc. NYSE: BEN is an investment firm originally founded in New York in 1947 as Franklin Distributors, Inc. It is listed on the NYSE under the ticker BEN as in Benjamin Franklin whom the 1947 founders admired. In October 1992, Franklin completed the acquisition of Templeton, Galbraith & Hansberger Ltd., therefore the name Franklin Templeton.
The firm originally specialized in conservatively managed mutual funds. It offers products under the Franklin, Templeton, Mutual Series and Fiduciary brand names. In 1986 it moved its headquarters to San Mateo, California.
Like other large investment companies, the firm offers a wide variety of funds but is traditionally best known for bond funds, the "value" style funds, and overseas funds.
The company sponsors a tennis tournament, the Franklin Templeton Classic.
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[edit] Mutual funds
The Franklin Income Fund (FKINX) is a mutual fund in Morningstar's "conservative allocation" category and "large/value" style box. The fund was created in 1948 and has paid uninterrupted dividends for 55 years.
The Franklin Income Fund is constructed of both bonds and dividend-paying stocks.
Other prominent funds in the fund family include the Templeton Growth Fund, the Mutual Shares fund, and the Mutual Discovery fund.
[edit] Legal settlements in 2004
In 2004, Franklin Templeton paid fines to the State of California, the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to settle issues regarding questionable practices including market timing and "shelf-space" payments.
