BEN INVESTOR UPDATE: Franklin Resources, Inc. Investors are Notified to Contact BFA Law about Ongoing Investigation into the Company for Securities Fraud (NYSE:BEN)

Company Overview - Franklin Resources is a $1.7 trillion asset management company, better known as Franklin Templeton, with a key division being Western Asset Management (WAM), a fixed income manager [2] Investigation Details - Franklin Resources launched an internal investigation into certain past trade allocations of treasury derivatives in select WAM accounts, followed by parallel investigations by the SEC and U.S. Department of Justice [2] - WAM co-Chief Investment Officer Ken Leech was placed on leave after receiving a Wells Notice from the SEC, leading to the closure of the Macro Opportunities strategy, which had approximately $2.0 billion in AUM as of 7/31/2024 [2] - Federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York are investigating whether Leech allocated winning trades to favored accounts, a practice known as "cherry-picking" [2] Stock Performance Impact - Franklin Resources stock price fell 2.4% on July 26, 2024, from $23.64 to $23.08 per share following the announcement of the internal investigation [2] - The stock price dropped 12.5% on August 21, 2024, from $22.62 to $19.78 per share after the disclosure of Ken Leech's leave and the closure of the Macro Opportunities strategy [2] Legal Actions - Bleichmar Fonti & Auld LLP, a leading international law firm, is investigating Franklin Resources for potential violations of federal securities laws [1] - Investors in Franklin Resources are encouraged to submit their information for potential legal options, with representation on a contingency fee basis [4]