Franklin Resources management check
BEN · Financials · Asset Management & Custody Banks · CEO Jennifer M Johnson
Filings as of
3 good · 0 to watch · 3 flagged, across the seven questions below.
- Flag
Have owners done well?
Trailed its chosen peers$100 invested at the start of fiscal 2021 grew to $144, against $273 for the peer group the company picked itself.
- Good
Does pay follow performance?
Pay rose and fell with returnsOver 5 years, the CEO's pay actually paid (equity valued at the share price) had a correlation of 0.62 with shareholder return. 1 means pay moved in step; below 0, the opposite way.
- Flag
What does the CEO cost owners?
3.2% of net income$16.8m of reported pay in fiscal 2025, against $524.9m of net income.
- n/a
Do they own the stock?
No recent CEO filingNo open-market insider buying or selling in the last six months.
- Flag
Are owners being diluted?
Share count growingDiluted shares changed +2.7% a year over the last three fiscal years. Stock-based pay was 2.4% of revenue in the latest year.
- Good
Is leadership stable?
6 leadership filings in 3 yearsCEO in the pay table: Ms. Johnson. 6 filings under 8-K item 5.02 (officers or directors leaving or joining, or new pay arrangements) in the last 3 years.
- Good
Are the books clean?
No red flags on fileNo restatements, auditor changes or late filings since 2021.
Against the S&P 500
Each check's score (0–100) and how it compares: the share of ranked S&P 500 companies it matches or beats, and the median in Financials.
| Check | Score | At or above | Sector median |
|---|---|---|---|
| Owner returns | 0 | 49 | |
| Pay for performance | 81 | 83 | |
| CEO cost | 8 | 67 | |
| Skin in the game | — | — | 51 |
| Dilution | 17 | 69 | |
| Stable leadership | 95 | 80 | |
| Clean books | 100 | 100 |
Closest peers
Others in Asset Management & Custody Banks, by management score. Franklin Resources is 67th of 72 in its sector.
- 48STTState Street Corporation80
- 65APOApollo Global Management79
- 66NTRSNorthern Trust79
- 165BNYBNY Mellon71
- 171AMPAmeriprise Financial71
- 243BLKBlackRock65
- 268ARESAres Management63
- 329TROWT. Rowe Price59
- 390IVZInvesco55
- 420BENFranklin Resources50
Pay versus performance
From the proxy statement filed December 22, 2025. "Actually paid" values stock awards at the share price, so it rises and falls with the stock.
| Fiscal year | CEO | CEO pay | Actually paid | Other executives (avg) | $100 became | Peers | Net income |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | Ms. Johnson | $16.8m | $21.5m | $8.1m | $144 | $273 | $524.9m |
| 2024 | Ms. Johnson | $17.2m | $11.6m | $11.4m | $118 | $229 | $464.8m |
| 2023 | Ms. Johnson | $15.7m | $18.8m | $9.0m | $137 | $151 | $882.8m |
| 2022 | Ms. Johnson | $15.7m | $10.1m | $6.4m | $115 | $122 | $1.3bn |
| 2021 | Ms. Johnson | $9.9m | $13.2m | $5.6m | $152 | $169 | $1.8bn |
The board says pay is tied most to Adjusted Operating Revenue. Its other key measures: Adjusted Earnings per Share, Adjusted Operating Income, Adjusted Operating Margin, Pre-Bonus Operating Income, Investment Performance, Adjusted Effective Fee Rate, Three-Year Stockholder Return.
Insiders and the CEO's stake
Jennifer M Johnson (Chief Executive Officer) held 4,392,484.005 shares directly after their latest Form 4 on Oct 19, 2026.
No open-market insider buying or selling in the last six months.
Leadership and governance on file
- Jul 23, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 5, 2026Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Sep 8, 2025Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 9, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Feb 8, 2024Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Oct 24, 2023Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Apr 12, 2022Leadership change8-K 5.02
- Dec 17, 2021Leadership change8-K 5.02
Latest shareholder vote results: Feb 5, 2026, including the say-on-pay vote.
Where the money went
Over 2021–2025: $4.3bn returned to owners in buybacks and dividends, 85% of net income, and $1.0bn of pay in stock.
| Fiscal year | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | $8.4bn | $8.3bn | $7.8bn | $8.5bn | $8.8bn |
| Net income | $1.8bn | $1.3bn | $882.8m | $464.8m | $524.9m |
| Stock-based pay | $171.9m | $208.2m | $182.6m | $246.1m | $214.8m |
| Buybacks | $208.2m | $180.8m | $256.3m | $274.4m | $240.3m |
| Dividends | $559.7m | $583.1m | $607.3m | $656.4m | $683.7m |
| Diluted shares | 491m | 489m | 491m | 510m | 517m |
Educational only, not investment advice. Figures are as filed with the SEC: pay from the proxy's pay-versus-performance table, capital allocation from 10-K XBRL data, insider trades from Form 4s over the last six months, events from the last 5 years of filings. The peer group is the one the company chose. See the method.