Jefferies Has Hold Rating On Franklin Resources

Jefferies & Co. has a Hold rating on Franklin Resources, Inc. BEN as it discusses asset managers. In a note to clients, Jefferies writes, "We anticipate the majority of asset managers will report May 31st long-term assets (i.e., excluding money market funds) that are either flat or slightly down versus April 30th as a result of performance and currency. The lone exception will likely be BEN, which should report modestly higher asset levels as continued strong fixed income inflows offset any performance-related losses. For LM, we expect flow trends to remain modestly negative in both equity and fixed income (including previously disclosed staged redemptions). For IVZ flow trends should show improvement as the benefit from the fund consolidation process has a modestly positive impact. However, the majority of this benefit will likely not be fully realized until next month. Consistent with the last few months, we expect fixed income flows for IVZ to be the primary segment reporting organic asset growth." Shares of BEN lost $2.15 yesterday to close at $121.95, a loss of 1.7%.