# Franklin Universal Trust (FT): Mutual Fund Facts & Distributions > Markdown mirror of https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/ft for AI agents. Same live data as the HTML page, regenerated on the same refresh cycle. Not investment advice. - Issuer: Franklin Templeton · Asset class: Bond - Strategy: Actively Managed · Inception: 1988-09-26 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... ## Key Facts | Metric | Value | |---|---| | Price | $7.21 | | Expense Ratio | 2.99% | | Assets Under Management | $181.2M | | NAV | — | | Holdings Count | — | | Distribution Yield (TTM) | 7.07% | | Annual Distribution (TTM) | $0.51 /share | | Distribution Frequency | Monthly | | 52-Week Range | $6.95 – $8.35 | | Beta | 0.64 | ## Latest Distribution - Amount: $0.0425 /share - Ex-date: 2026-12-23 - Pay date: 2026-12-31 ## Frequently Asked Questions ### 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 7.07%, 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. ### Does FT pay a dividend? Yes, Franklin Universal Trust (FT) distributes dividends to shareholders. The trailing-twelve-month yield is 7.07%. Full dividend history is on this page. ### How often does FT pay dividends? Franklin Universal Trust pays dividends Monthly. Each ex-dividend date, record date, and payment date is listed in the dividend history table on this page. ### When is FT's next ex-dividend date? The most recently announced ex-dividend date for FT was 2026-12-23. The next ex-date typically follows Monthly; once announced it appears at the top of the dividend history table on this page. ### How much will FT's expense ratio cost me over 30 years? On a $10,000 investment compounding at 7% gross return, a 2.99% expense ratio quietly compounds against your balance every year. The Fee Compounding Forecast card above projects the dollar drag for any holding period and assumption you pick. The typical result for a 1.0% expense ratio on a 30-year hold is roughly 25% of the final balance lost to fees. ### How does FT charge its expense ratio? The expense ratio is deducted in tiny daily slices from FT's net asset value (NAV). You never see a bill. The price quoted on every exchange is already net of fees. There's no "fee day" to avoid; the cost is continuous and built into the trading price. ### Why does FT cost more than a fund like VOO? FT is actively managed (current expense ratio 2.99%). Active funds charge more than passive index trackers in exchange for the manager's discretion to over- or under-weight positions. The Cost Verdict card above tells you whether FT's fee is competitive for the active-management cohort. ### Are there cheaper alternatives to FT? The Lower-Fee Alternatives card above lists mutual funds following the same investment strategy as FT (2.99%) but at a lower expense ratio. Each row shows the fee gap, the peer's AUM as a liquidity sanity-check, and a direct link to that fund's analysis page. Cheaper price doesn't automatically mean better. Verify the peer holds what you actually want. ## More on Dividend Data - Overview (HTML): https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/ft - Distribution history: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/ft/dividend - Holdings & diversification: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/ft/diversification - Fees & cheaper alternatives: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/ft/expenses - Peer comparison: https://www.dividenddata.com/funds/ft/peers Data sourced from primary filings and market data providers; see https://www.dividenddata.com/methodology.