BEN's January AUM Rises 1.3% Sequentially: What's Driving Growth?

Franklin Resources, Inc. BEN reported preliminary assets under management (AUM) of $1.71 trillion as of Jan. 31, 2026, reflecting a 1.3% increase from the prior month. The rise was primarily driven by the positive impact of markets and long-term net inflows of $1.5 billion, inclusive of approximately $1.5 billion of long-term net outflows at Western Asset Management.

The company recorded sequential growth across most asset classes. Equity assets rose 1.7% from the previous month to $709.2 billion. Fixed income AUM of $440.1 billion increased slightly, while alternative AUM rose nearly 1% to $276.2 billion. Further, multi-asset AUM witnessed sequential growth of 3.3% to $205.3 billion. However, cash management balances declined marginally to $76 billion.

Franklin has been recording a steady rise in its AUM balance over the years. Despite declines in fiscal 2022 and fiscal 2025, the company’s AUM witnessed a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.1% over the last five fiscal years (ended fiscal 2025), with the uptrend continuing into the first month of fiscal 2026.

The company also continues to strengthen its asset management franchise through acquisitions and partnerships. In October 2025, it completed the acquisition of Apera Asset Management, a pan-European private credit firm with more than $5.4 billion in AUM, expanding BEN’s global alternative credit platform and lifting its total alternatives AUM to nearly $270 billion. Earlier, in September 2025, partnerships with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, DigitalBridge and Actis broadened its private infrastructure offerings for wealthy clients.

The company had also partnered with Japan’s SBI Holdings in July 2024 to expand its ETF and digital asset capabilities. Further, in January 2024, the acquisition of Putnam Investments accelerated Franklin’s growth in the retirement space by increasing defined contribution AUM to more than $100 billion. Together, these transactions have broadened BEN’s reach in separately managed accounts while reinforcing its platform across private debt, real estate, hedge funds and private equity.

Franklin’s push into alternatives and multi-asset offerings, along with its regionally focused distribution model, are supporting favorable non-U.S. net flows. Supported by these strategic initiatives and a diversified asset mix, the company remains well-positioned for sustained AUM growth.

BEN’s Competitors Witnessing AUM Growth

Franklin’s peers like Invesco Ltd. IVZ and T. Rowe Price Group TROW have also been witnessing steady AUM growth.

Invesco has demonstrated steady improvement in its AUM balance over time. Despite a decline in 2022, the metric recorded a five-year CAGR of 10%, which ended in 2025. The 2019 acquisition of OppenheimerFunds resulted in a substantial rise in IVZ’s AUM, making it one of the leading global asset managers. Invesco has also been enhancing its private markets presence through collaborations with LGT Capital Partners and MassMutual’s subsidiary, Barings. Additionally, in December 2025, Invesco converted the QQQ Trust into an open-end ETF, enabling it to earn revenues and profits of more than $400 billion of AUM.

Similarly, T. Rowe Price benefits from a well-diversified AUM mix across asset classes, client segments and geographies, providing stability to its asset base. Over the past five years (2020–2025), its AUM registered a CAGR of 3.8%, supported by market appreciation and continued demand for multi-asset and fixed-income solutions. T. Rowe Price’s strong brand equity, disciplined investment approach and healthy business volumes are likely to support AUM growth.

BEN's Price Performance and Zacks Rank

Over the past six months, BEN shares have gained 8.2% against the industry’s decline of 19.9%.

Franklin currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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