Franklin Resources (NYSE:BEN) Reports Bullish Q4 CY2025

0902 GMT - Franklin Templeton holds a constructive outlook for global equities, which may see mid-teens earnings growth in 2026, says Manraj Sekhon in a note. The chief investment officer of Templeton Global Investments expects higher earnings growth driven by lower oil prices, continued monetary easing, particularly from the Fed, and a significant reduction in long-term geopolitical risks to support risk assets. A broadening in earnings growth beyond the tech sector is also likely, most notably in the materials, industrials and consumer-discretionary sectors, he adds. The asset manager sees AI supply-chain opportunities in emerging Asian markets, including high-bandwidth memory, power-supply units and printed-circuit-board companies. Some Chinese internet companies focused on AI integration should post incremental growth, with the major cloud service providers among them benefiting from rising AI work demands. (jason.chau@wsj.com)

0856 GMT - Markets appear comfortable re-engaging with risk as the probability of near-term escalation of geopolitical tensions diminishes, says Julius Baer equity research analyst Mathieu Racheter. Global risk sentiment improved markedly after President Trump softened his stance on Greenland, they say. Trump pointed to progress toward a prospective framework agreement, withdrew the threat of new tariffs on European countries, and explicitly ruled out the use of force, the analyst adds. The pivot signals a willingness to pursue negotiations rather than confrontation, easing concerns that had weighed on markets amid fears of a renewed transatlantic trade clash, he says. The rebound on Wall Street Wednesday was broad-based, with all 11 sectors ending higher, led by tariff-exposed industries that had borne the brunt of recent volatility. (jiahui.huang@wsj.com; @ivy_jiahuihuang)

0810 GMT - Infosys sees a good outlook for artificial intelligence services, Chief Executive Salil Parekh tells CNBC at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. The Indian technology company has identified six areas of new types of opportunities and growth, such as software development, he says. This momentum in AI is partly why Infosys raised its revenue guidance for the year, Parekh adds. Nevertheless, there are some areas of compression because of AI and some industries like retail or high tech don't have an outlook as clear as financial services does, the CEO says. A key risk for investors remains that India is still without a U.S trade deal and subject to significant tariffs. Tariff discussions are however more on goods rather than on services, Parekh says. (nina.kienle@wsj.com)

0634 GMT - There will likely be "investment opportunities galore" in 2026, Olga Bitel, global strategist of William Blair Investment Management says in a note, as what she calls a "long investment cycle" has begun. She expects AI infrastructure to be a main growth area, covering data centers, grid investments, and various energy sources including nuclear, renewables and natural gas. In particular, she says the industrialization of data has only just begun and the build-out and proliferation of data centers are likely to continue. Defense industries, including drones, robotics and unmanned vehicles, also present growing opportunities, increasingly across Japan, South Korea, China and Taiwan, in addition to the U.S. and Europe. By markets, Bitel sees opportunities in Asian emerging markets as well as in commodities exporters like South Africa, Brazil and Chile.(jason.chau@wsj.com)

Franklin Templeton CEO Jenny Johnson said she remains bullish on both the US and India despite ongoing global volatility, adding that the full economic benefits of artificial intelligence are yet to be realised across broader sectors.

Speaking to CNBC-TV18 on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum 2026 in Davos, Johnson said uncertainty around geopolitics, tariffs and markets has not changed her positive view on the world’s two key growth engines.

“First of all, I’m bullish on the US,” she said, pointing to political and policy support for growth in the run-up to the American midterm elections. According to Johnson, this is likely to act as a near-term tailwind for the US economy and markets.

She also flagged artificial intelligence as a major long-term driver that is still in its early stages. Johnson said that so far, most investments have been focused on infrastructure and technology providers, but the real impact will come later.

“We haven’t yet seen real benefits from AI in the broader sectors,” she said, adding that the meaningful gains will emerge when companies start using AI to improve productivity and business outcomes.

Alongside the US, Johnson said India stands out as one of the most compelling growth stories globally. She noted that India’s largely domestic demand-driven economy offers a degree of insulation from global geopolitical shocks.

“With all the geopolitical issues going on, India is somewhat insulated,” she said, adding that while tariffs may have some impact, the core of the India story is consumption.

Johnson highlighted India’s favourable demographics, pointing out that more than half of the population is under the age of 25. She also underscored the country’s strong institutional framework and talent pool. Referring to India’s education system, she said the quality of engineering graduates is exceptional and well recognised globally.

She said the current policy environment has also been supportive of growth. While there is a popular saying that India grows while the government sleeps, Johnson said recent efforts have helped create a better environment for business and investment. “So I’m very bullish on India,” she said.

Johnson also spoke about Franklin Templeton’s long presence in the country, marking 30 years of operations in India. She said the asset manager has had a strong year, launching four new products and recording one of its best-ever sales performances. The firm has now seen eight consecutive quarters of positive sales and recently introduced one of its first private credit funds in India.

India, she said, is among the most dynamic markets for Franklin Templeton globally. With clients in 160 countries and a strong local asset management setup, the firm believes it is well positioned to grow further. Johnson noted that many Indian investors see Franklin Templeton as a local player, particularly because of its early role in promoting systematic investment plans. SIP inflows, she said, have risen sharply over the past five years, reflecting the growing culture of long-term savings.

On fund flows, Johnson acknowledged that foreign investors have been cautious on India over the past year, partly due to valuation concerns. However, she said recent market corrections, along with supportive monetary and fiscal policies, have improved the outlook. She added that currency movements also influence returns, especially for overseas investors, but India’s fundamentals remain strong.

She said Franklin Templeton’s licence in GIFT City is a key part of its strategy to attract global capital. The firm plans to build products aimed at foreign investors looking to access Indian markets, while also offering global investment options to Indian investors. “It’s a way to tell the India story with a local asset management team and attract global capital,” Johnson said.

Below is the excerpt of the interview.

Q: Let’s start with the global outlook for growth at this point in time, with the IMF pegging it at 3.2%, so it’s pretty steady. And India, of course, at 7.3% for this year and 6.4% for FY27 and FY28. On balance, with all the uncertainty and volatility, tariff threats, and so on, what do you make of where the global economy is and what that would mean for markets?

Johnson: First of all, I’m bullish on the US. I do think that President Trump, with midterm elections coming up, is going to make sure the economy stays strong through the midterms, so you have that tailwind. I also think AI—we haven’t yet seen real benefits from AI in the broader sectors. The investments so far have been about the picks and shovels—NVIDIA, Microsoft, and others—and that’s just the beginning. People say energy will be the next big investment, but what’s really going to be differential and meaningful is when companies start to leverage AI to improve their businesses. So I’m bullish on that.

And India, of course. The big benefit India has is that it’s very much a domestically driven economy. With all the geopolitical issues going on, India is somewhat insulated. Yes, tariffs affect you a little, but really the India story is all about the consumer. I’ve been a fan of India—I lived in Hyderabad in 2005 with my family. My kids went to school there. My daughter even managed to get into a Bollywood movie, so I’ve got plenty of India connections. But it’s a country where 56% of the population is under the age of 25. I tell people, when I talk about the India story, that you have to understand this is a British-based legal system—one people understand. From an education standpoint, I think Americans are surprised when I tell them that Harvard is a safety school compared to the IITs. The graduates coming out of engineering are unbelievable.

The India story is so powerful. There’s a saying that India grows at night while the government sleeps, but I think the current government has done a really good job of being supportive of growth and the broader environment. So I’m very bullish on India.

Q: It’s been 30 years for Franklin Templeton in India. What is the plan for Franklin in India in terms of assets under management and the kind of growth you anticipate?

Johnson: We’ve had a great year. We launched four products and had one of our best years ever in sales. We’ve had eight consecutive quarters of positive sales. We launched one of the first private credit funds, so we’re excited about that. We also have a licence in GIFT City, and we’re going to take advantage of that.

Our view is that this is such a dynamic market. We have clients in 160 countries, and we have local asset management. We’re somewhat unique as a multinational manager with strong local asset management. A lot of Indians look at Franklin Templeton as a local company because we spent the time and brought the SIP culture to India. To give you an idea of how significant SIPs are, in the last five years they’ve grown from something like $800 million annually to about $3.3 billion. India is such a great story, and SIPs are a great way to save. We’re very bullish on fixed income and equities. We love the India story.

Q: What about fund flows? FIIs have been reluctant to invest in India over the past year or so, and we’ve seen money being pulled out. FDI has also had its own issues, though that’s more about the global environment. What do you anticipate on fund flows?

Johnson: It depends on whether you’re talking about external fund flows into India. Some investors thought the market had become expensive, but you’ve seen some correction. Monetary and fiscal policy remain supportive, and there are many pro-growth initiatives that support the India story. It’s the fastest-growing large economy, which are powerful tailwinds.

Currency also plays a role. The dollar has weakened, so depending on where you’re investing from, returns can look positive or negative. But fundamentally, India’s demographics and dynamics make it a very attractive destination. That’s why we set up a licence in GIFT City—to tell the India story with a local asset management team and attract global capital.

Q: What exactly are you going to do from GIFT City?

Johnson: We’re building products that foreign investors will be interested in. It’s a way to access the Indian market. We’re launching several global equity products, and investors can also send money out. It allows us to offer our broader suite of products to Indian investors as well.

Watch the video for more

TORONTO, Dec. 19, 2025 /CNW/ - Franklin Templeton Canada today announced the estimated December 2025 cash distributions and the annual reinvested distributions for its ETFs and ETF series of mutual funds available to Canadian investors.

Estimated December 2025 Cash Distributions

As detailed in the table below, unitholders of record as of December 30, 2025, will receive a per-unit cash distribution payable on January 8, 2026.

 
                                                 Estimated Cash  Payment 
 Fund Name                 Ticker   Type          Distribution    Frequency 
                                                  Per Unit 
                                                  ($) 
Franklin Core ETF         CBL      Active      0.158309          Quarterly 
Portfolio -- ETF Series 
Franklin Conservative     CNV      Active      0.175401          Quarterly 
Income ETF Portfolio -- 
ETF 
Series 
Franklin All-Equity ETF   EQY      Active      0.130796          Quarterly 
Portfolio -- ETF Series 
Franklin Brandywine       FBGO     Active      0.110962          Monthly 
Global Income Optimiser 
Fund -- 
ETF Series 
Franklin ClearBridge      FCII     Active      0.024175          Monthly 
Global Infrastructure 
Income 
Fund -- ETF Series 
Franklin Canadian Core    FCRC     Active      0.526623          Annually 
Equity Fund -- ETF 
Series 
Franklin International    FCRI     Active      0.637857          Annually 
Core Equity Fund -- ETF 
Series 
Franklin U.S. Core        FCRU     Active      0.225879          Annually 
Equity Fund -- ETF 
Series 
Franklin ClearBridge      FCSI     Active      0.235443          Annually 
International Growth 
Fund -- 
ETF Series 
Franklin U.S. Quality     FDIV     Passive     0.105341          Quarterly 
Moat Dividend Index ETF 
Franklin Global Growth    FGGE     Active      0.000000          Annually 
Fund -- ETF Series 
Franklin Canadian         FGOV     Active      0.081534          Monthly 
Government Bond Fund -- 
ETF Series 
Franklin Canadian Ultra   FHIS     Active      0.058836          Monthly 
Short Term Bond Fund -- 
ETF 
Series 
 Franklin FTSE India      FID      Passive     0.106270          Semi-Annually 
 Index ETF 
Franklin Innovation Fund  FINO     Active      0.000000          Annually 
-- ETF Series 
Franklin FTSE U.S. Index  FLAM     Passive     0.176516          Quarterly 
ETF 
Franklin FTSE Canada All  FLCD     Passive     0.264991          Quarterly 
Cap Index ETF 
Franklin Canadian         FLCI     Active      0.071855          Monthly 
Corporate Bond Fund -- 
ETF Series 
Franklin Canadian Core    FLCP     Active      0.088025          Monthly 
Plus Bond Fund -- ETF 
Series 
Franklin Emerging         FLEM     Passive     0.226854          Semi-Annually 
Markets Equity Index ETF 
Franklin Global Core      FLGA     Active      0.047119          Monthly 
Bond Fund -- ETF Series 
Franklin FTSE Japan       FLJA     Passive     0.219234          Semi-Annually 
Index ETF 
Franklin Canadian Short   FLSD     Active      0.079567          Monthly 
Term Bond Fund -- ETF 
Series 
Franklin International    FLUR     Passive     0.337449          Semi-Annually 
Equity Index ETF 
Franklin U.S. Large Cap   FLUS     Smart Beta  0.126625          Quarterly 
Multifactor Index ETF 
Franklin Canadian Low     FLVC     Passive     0.000000          Monthly 
Volatility High Dividend 
Index 
ETF 
Franklin International    FLVI     Passive     0.074241          Quarterly 
Low Volatility High 
Dividend 
Index ETF 
Franklin U.S. Low         FLVU     Passive     0.062472          Monthly 
Volatility High Dividend 
Index ETF 
Franklin U.S. Mid Cap     FMID     Smart Beta  0.080716          Quarterly 
Multifactor Index ETF 
Franklin Growth ETF       GRO      Active      0.144316          Quarterly 
Portfolio -- ETF Series 
 

Estimated Annual Reinvested Distributions

The estimated annual reinvested distributions, as applicable, will not be paid in cash but reinvested in additional units and reported as taxable distributions, with a corresponding increase in each unitholder's adjusted cost base of their units of the respective ETF. The additional ETF units will be immediately consolidated so that the number of units held by the unitholder, the outstanding units and the net asset value of the ETFs will not change as a result of the annual reinvested distribution. The annual reinvested distributions, as applicable, are expected to be capital gains in nature for each of the ETFs.

As detailed in the table below, unitholders of record on December 30, 2025, will receive a per-unit reinvested distribution payable in Canadian dollars on January 8, 2026.

 
Fund Name                              Ticker   Type         Estimated 
                                                              Annual 
                                                              Reinvested 
                                                              Distribution Per 
                                                              Unit 
                                                              ($) 
Franklin Core ETF Portfolio -- ETF 
 Series                                CBL      Active                0.009452 
Franklin Conservative Income ETF 
 Portfolio -- ETF 
 Series                                CNV      Active                0.000000 
Franklin All-Equity ETF Portfolio -- 
 ETF Series                            EQY      Active                0.060083 
Franklin Brandywine Global Income 
 Optimiser Fund -- 
 ETF Series                            FBGO     Active                0.000000 
Franklin ClearBridge Global 
 Infrastructure Income 
 Fund -- ETF Series                    FCII     Active                0.000000 
Franklin Canadian Core Equity Fund -- 
 ETF Series                            FCRC     Active                0.524218 
Franklin International Core Equity 
 Fund -- ETF Series                    FCRI     Active                1.140836 
Franklin U.S. Core Equity Fund -- ETF 
 Series                                FCRU     Active                1.659201 
Franklin ClearBridge International 
 Growth Fund -- 
 ETF Series                            FCSI     Active                0.000000 
Franklin U.S. Quality Moat Dividend 
 Index ETF                             FDIV     Passive               0.001277 
Franklin Global Growth Fund -- ETF 
 Series                                FGGE     Active                0.966817 
Franklin Canadian Government Bond 
 Fund -- ETF Series                    FGOV     Active                0.000000 
Franklin Canadian Ultra Short Term 
 Bond Fund -- ETF 
 Series                                FHIS     Active                0.017815 
 Franklin FTSE India Index ETF         FID      Passive               0.000000 
Franklin Innovation Fund -- ETF 
 Series                                FINO     Active                0.000000 
Franklin FTSE U.S. Index ETF           FLAM     Passive               0.000000 
Franklin FTSE Canada All Cap Index 
 ETF                                   FLCD     Passive               0.000000 
Franklin Canadian Corporate Bond Fund 
 -- ETF Series                         FLCI     Active                0.000000 
Franklin Canadian Core Plus Bond Fund 
 -- ETF Series                         FLCP     Active                0.000000 
Franklin Emerging Markets Equity 
 Index ETF                             FLEM     Passive               0.000000 
Franklin Global Core Bond Fund -- ETF 
 Series                                FLGA     Active                0.000000 
Franklin FTSE Japan Index ETF          FLJA     Passive               0.000000 
Franklin Canadian Short Term Bond 
 Fund -- ETF Series                    FLSD     Active                0.000000 
Franklin International Equity Index 
 ETF                                   FLUR     Passive               0.229387 
Franklin U.S. Large Cap Multifactor 
 Index ETF                             FLUS     Smart Beta            1.752915 
Franklin Canadian Low Volatility High 
 Dividend Index 
 ETF                                   FLVC     Passive               0.177580 
Franklin International Low Volatility 
 High Dividend 
 Index ETF                             FLVI     Passive               0.162434 
Franklin U.S. Low Volatility High 
 Dividend Index ETF                    FLVU     Passive               0.188881 
Franklin U.S. Mid Cap Multifactor 
 Index ETF                             FMID     Smart Beta            0.000000 
Franklin Growth ETF Portfolio -- ETF 
 Series                                GRO      Active                0.000000 
 

If there are any changes to these year-end distribution amounts, the final amounts will be announced on December 30, 2025. The actual taxable amounts of cash and reinvested distributions for 2025, including the tax characteristics of the distributions, will be reported to brokers through CDS Clearing and Depository Services Inc. in early 2026.

Franklin Templeton's diverse and innovative ETF platform was built to provide better client outcomes for a range of market conditions and investment opportunities. The product suite offers active, smart beta and passive ETFs that span multiple asset classes and geographies. For more information, please visit franklintempleton.ca/etf.

About Franklin Templeton Franklin Resources, Inc. is a global investment management organization with subsidiaries operating as Franklin Templeton and serving clients in over 150 countries. In Canada, the company's subsidiary is Franklin Templeton Investments Corp., which operates as Franklin Templeton Canada. 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 offers specialization on a global scale, bringing extensive capabilities in fixed income, equity, alternatives and multi-asset solutions. With more than 1,500 investment professionals, and offices in major financial markets around the world, the California-based company has over 75 years of investment experience and US$1.67 trillion in assets under management as of November 30, 2025. For more information, please visit franklintempleton.ca.

Commissions, management fees and expenses all may be associated with investments in ETFs and ETF series. Investors should carefully consider an ETF's and ETF series' investment objectives and strategies, risks, fees and expenses before investing. The prospectus and ETF facts contain this and other information. Please read the prospectus and ETF facts carefully before investing. ETFs and ETF series trade like stocks, fluctuate in market value and may trade at prices above or below their net asset value. Brokerage commissions and ETF and ETF series expenses will reduce returns. ETFs and ETF series are not guaranteed, their values change frequently, and past performance may not be repeated.

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