Businessmodel of Franklin Resources

Customer Segments

Franklin Resources provides a range of investment management and related services to individual, commercial, and institutional clients across the consumer financial services industry, the life insurance industry, and the investment services industry. The Company’s client base can be divided broadly into the following categories:

• Individuals and Families, including financial professionals, high net-worth individuals, and family offices;
• Institutional Clients, including financial foundations, endowment funds, and financial institutions; and
• Pension Funds and Pension Plans, including government and corporate defined contribution and pension plans. Franklin Resources also provide non-core sales and distribution services to open-end mutual funds in return for distribution fees.

Franklin Resources derived the majority of its revenue from the US market. The Company, however, also generates revenue from the following regions: Luxembourg, Canada, Asia Pacific, the Bahamas, Latin America, and Europe, Middle East, and Africa (excluding Luxembourg).

Value Propositions

Franklin Resources provides value to its customers in the following ways:

• Its industry standing and track record, with the Company established as one of the largest asset management groups in the world, and a track record of many years of providing reliable and high-quality services;
• Its range of investment products, with the Company offering a broad portfolio of investment management and advisory services to a range of clients, across different investment styles and asset classes;
• Its international reach, with the Company generating significant revenue in its native US, as well as across markets in Luxembourg, Canada, Asia Pacific, the Bahamas, Latin America, and Europe, Middle East, and Africa; and
• Its specialist personnel and industry expertise, with the Company employing highly-trained investment professionals across its enterprise, as well as an experienced team of industry executives. ### Channels

Franklin Resources operates a website at www.franklinresources.com, through which it provides information on its activities, operating jurisdictions, and services. The Company also operates an online channel at www.franklintempleton.com, which hosts an online customer portal, through which clients are able to manage and view their accounts, purchase products, and access resources.

Franklin Resources provides investment management and advisory services directly to its clients through its in-house team of investment professionals, which is divided primarily by geographic region. The Company operates a broad network of offices through which it serves clients, spanning the North America, Latin America, Asia Pacific, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East, including in Brazil, Canada, India, Hungary, Japan, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, and South Africa.

Franklin Resources also sells certain products through a network of independent financial intermediaries, including broker, dealers, financial advisers, banks and other third parties. It additionally provides sub-advisory services to certain investment products sponsored by other companies which can be sold under the brand names of those other companies or on a co-branded basis.

Customer Relationships

Franklin Resources provides products and services to clients on a self-service basis through its online customer portal, which allows customers to access resources, manage their accounts, and purchase certain products without interacting with members of the Company’s investment and support personnel.

The majority of the Company’s products and services are provided through its team of investment professionals, who work closely with the Company’s clients in order to provide services tailored to their individual needs. The Company’s larger clients also have their own dedicated account management teams that provide ongoing support and investment advice.

Clients are able to contact Franklin Resources’s various departments and operating units over the phone or by email in order to receive personalised responses to queries and enquiries. The Company also provides a range of online resources to its customers, including news articles, market insights, and FAQs.

Additionally, Franklin Resources operates social media accounts with YouTube, Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, through which it is able to interact with customers directly.

Key Activities

Franklin Resources is a holding company. With its various operating subsidiaries, the Company operates collectively as a global investment management business, providing investment management and related services under the Franklin, Templeton, Mutual Series, Bissett, Fiduciary, and Darby brand names.

Franklin Resources provides a range of services to institutional and individual clients, including fund administration, shareholder, transfer agency, underwriting, distribution, custodial, trustee and other fiduciary services. Its sponsored investment products include a range of equity, hybrid, fixed-income and cash management funds and accounts, including alternative investment products. Franklin Resources principally operates in the US, but also operates across Luxembourg, Canada, Asia Pacific, the Bahamas, Latin America, and Europe, Middle East, and Africa (excluding Luxembourg).

Key Partners

Franklin Resources works closely with a broad range of partner companies and organisations across its operating divisions. The Company’s partners can be categorised broadly as:

• Joint Venture Partners, comprising various investment management and financial companies with which the Company provides joint product and services through mutually owned entities;
• Vendor Partners, comprising a range of third party service providers to which certain non-technical functions can be outsourced;
• Distribution Partners, comprising various third party intermediaries, through which the Company provides certain products and services, including brokers, dealers, financial advisors, and banks; and
• Strategic and Alliance Partners, comprising companies from various sectors with which the Company shares certain resources and collaborates on joint projects. Franklin Resources has a number of partnerships in place. It is listed as an investment management partner of ING, and has served as a sponsorship partner for the PGA.

Key Resources

Franklin Resources’s key resources are its licences and market access, its IT and communications infrastructure, its network of their party intermediaries, its online client portal, its physical infrastructure, its partnerships, and its personnel.

Franklin Resources own and or leases a portfolio of properties, primarily comprising office space, across the US – including in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Utah and Washington, DC – as well as across Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Isle of Man, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Russia, Singapore, Slovakia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, the UK, and Vietnam.

Cost Structure

Franklin Resources incurs costs in relation to the maintenance of its IT and Communications infrastructure, the development of its online portal, the operation of its physical infrastructure, the payment of professional and market fees, the management of its partnerships, and the retention of its personnel.

In 2015 the Company recorded total operating costs in the amount of $4.92 billion. This principally comprised selling, general, and administrative totalling $2.76 billion as well as compensation and benefits expenses – including the payment of salaries to its international workforce of 9,500 employees – totalling $1.45 billion, IT and technology costs of $224.3 million, and occupancy costs in the amount of $132.7 million.

Revenue Streams

Franklin Resources generates revenue through the provision of investment management and related services, including sales and distribution services. The Company principally divides its revenue into three categories:

• Asset-based fees;
• Sales-based fees; and
• Contingent sales charges. In 2015 Franklin Investments generated total operating revenue of $7.95 billion, down on the $8.49 billion recorded by the Company the previous year. The bulk of this revenue was attributed to the Company’s collection of investment management fees, which totaled $5.33 billion for the year. The majority of the Company’s remaining revenue was derived from the collection of sales and distribution fees, which were recorded at $2.25 billion.