Franklin Resources, Inc. vs Morgan Stanley — how do they compare? Franklin Resources, Inc. trades at $33.37 (market cap $17.03B), while Morgan Stanley trades at $215.29 (market cap $338.50B). The key difference: Morgan Stanley is far larger — about 19.9× Franklin Resources, Inc.'s market cap, and Franklin Resources, Inc. pays the higher dividend (3.94%). Which is the better fit depends on your goals.
| BEN | MS | |
|---|---|---|
Market Cap | $17.03B | $338.50B |
Sector | Financials | Financials |
52-Week High | $35.77 | $228.42 |
52-Week Low | $21.18 | $143.88 |
Enterprise Value | $29.98B | — |
Dividend Yield | 3.94% | 2.14% |
Signals from Pluang's Aura AI — not financial advice
Franklin Resources (BEN) trades at $33.77, down 0.68% on the day, with a bullish technical signal from moving averages and a consensus analyst price target of $36.50. The company reported record AUM of $1.80 trillion as of July 31, 2026 (Business Wire, 2026-08-05), and has beaten EPS estimates for the last three quarters, with Q3 2026 results showing strong net inflows and margin expansion. Revenue for 2025 was $8.77 billion, with net income of $524.90 million.
The outlook is positive, driven by earnings beats, AUM growth, and diversification into private markets, but risks include inconsistent cash flow trends and competitive pressures. Analyst sentiment is mixed, with 59% hold ratings, indicating cautious optimism amid execution risks.
Morgan Stanley (MS) trades at $216.26, up 1.18% with a bullish technical outlook and strong earnings beats in recent quarters. Revenue grew to $66.0B in 2025, with net income margin expanding to 25.56%. The stock is supported by analyst consensus price target of $239.58 and recent news of leading Anthropic's IPO, indicating robust business momentum.
Outlook remains positive given earnings growth and institutional support, but risks include volatile cash flows and high debt levels. The stock offers upside to consensus targets, though investors should monitor interest expense impacts and market volatility.
Trailing returns across standard periods
Latest headlines on both assets
Franklin Resources provides investment services for individual and institutional investors. At the end of August 2022, Franklin had $1.388 trillion in managed assets, composed primarily of equity (32%), fixed-income (38%), multi-asset/balanced (10%) funds, alternatives (16%), and money market funds (4%). Distribution tends to be weighted more toward retail investors (49% of AUM) investors, as opposed to institutional (49%) and high-net-worth (2%) clients. Franklin is also one of the more global firms of the U.S.-based asset managers with more than 35% of its AUM invested in global/international strategies and 25% of managed assets sourced from clients domiciled outside the United States.
Read more on BEN →Morgan Stanley is a global investment bank whose history, through its legacy firms, can be traced back to 1924. The company has institutional securities, wealth management, and investment management segments. The company had about $5 trillion of client assets as well as over 70,000 employees at the end of 2021. Approximately 50% of the company's net revenue is from its institutional securities business, with the remainder coming from wealth and investment management. The company derives about 30% of its total revenue outside the Americas.
Read more on MS →