Franklin Universal Trust

Frequently Asked Questions About FT

What does FT invest in?

Established on September 23, 1988, Franklin Universal Trust operates as a U.S.-domiciled, closed-end balanced mutual fund. It was initiated by Franklin Resources, Inc. and is actively managed by Franklin Advisers, Inc. The fund directs its capital towards the public equity and fixed income markets throughout the United States, specifically focusing its equity investments on the utility sector. Employing fundamental analysis, it constructs a diverse portfolio comprising corporate debt instruments and dividend-yielding utility stocks. For performance evaluation, the trust measures its equity holdings against the S&P 500 Electric Utilities Index, while its fixed income components are benchmarked against the Credit Suisse High Yield.

What is the expense ratio of FT?

Franklin Universal Trust (FT) charges an expense ratio of 2.99%. This is the annual fee deducted from fund assets to cover management and operations.

What is FT's dividend yield?

FT's trailing-twelve-month yield is 7.01%, calculated from the sum of dividends over the past year divided by the current price.

What is the duration of FT?

Effective duration measures FT's sensitivity to interest-rate changes: a duration of 6 means a 1% rate move shifts NAV by roughly 6% in the opposite direction. FT's current duration is published on the fund's factsheet on the issuer's website.

What is the credit quality of FT?

FT's credit quality breakdown (the share of holdings rated AAA through CCC and below) is published on the fund's factsheet. Higher-quality (investment-grade) funds yield less but carry less default risk than high-yield / junk bond funds.

What is the yield to maturity of FT?

Yield to maturity (YTM) is the total return you'd earn from FT if every bond in the portfolio is held to maturity at the current price. FT's YTM is published on the fund's factsheet on the issuer's website. It differs from the trailing-12-month yield because YTM reflects current bond prices rather than historical income paid.