SUMMARY PROSPECTUS | |||||||
FRANKLIN SMALL CAP GROWTH FUND | |||||||
Franklin Strategic Series | |||||||
September 1, 2024 | |||||||
Class A | Class C | Class R | Class R6 | Advisor Class |
FSGRX | FCSGX | FSSRX | FSMLX | FSSAX |
Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund’s prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund’s prospectus, statement of additional information, reports to shareholders and other information about the Fund online at www.franklintempleton.com/prospectus. You can also get this information at no cost by calling (800) DIAL BEN/342-5236 or by sending an e-mail request to prospectus@franklintempleton.com. The Fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information, both dated September 1, 2024, as may be supplemented, are all incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.
FRANKLIN
SMALL CAP GROWTH FUND
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS
Franklin Small Cap Growth Fund
Investment Goal
Long-term capital growth.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund
These tables describe the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may pay other fees (including on Class R6 and Advisor Class shares), such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts in Class A if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000 in Franklin Templeton funds and certain other funds distributed through Franklin Distributors, LLC, the Fund’s distributor. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and under “Your Account” on page 78 in the Fund’s Prospectus and under “Buying and Selling Shares” on page 52 of the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information. In addition, more information about sales charge discounts and waivers for purchases of shares through specific financial intermediaries is set forth in Appendix A – “Intermediary Sales Charge Discounts and Waivers” to the Fund’s prospectus.
Shareholder Fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)
| Class A |
| Class C |
| Class R |
| Class R6 |
| Advisor
| |
Maximum Sales Charge
(Load) | 5.50% |
| None |
| None |
| None |
| None | |
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge | None | 1 | 1.00% |
| None |
| None |
| None | |
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1. | There is a 1% contingent deferred sales charge that applies to investments of $1 Million or more (see "Investments of $1 Million or More" under "Choosing a Share Class") and purchases by certain retirement plans without an initial sales charge on shares sold within 18 months of purchase. |
2 | Summary Prospectus | www.franklintempleton.com |
FRANKLIN
SMALL CAP GROWTH FUND
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS
Annual Fund Operating Expenses
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
| Class A |
| Class C |
| Class R |
| Class R6 |
| Advisor
|
Management fees | 0.62% |
| 0.62% |
| 0.62% |
| 0.62% |
| 0.62% |
Distribution and service (12b-1) fees | 0.25% |
| 1.00% |
| 0.50% |
| None |
| None |
Other expenses | 0.21% |
| 0.21% |
| 0.21% |
| 0.05% |
| 0.21% |
Acquired fund fees and expenses | 0.01% |
| 0.01% |
| 0.01% |
| 0.01% |
| 0.01% |
Total annual Fund operating expenses1 | 1.09% |
| 1.84% |
| 1.34% |
| 0.68% |
| 0.84% |
Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement2 | -0.01% |
| -0.01% |
| -0.01% |
| -0.01% |
| -0.01% |
Total annual Fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement | 1.08% |
| 1.83% |
| 1.33% |
| 0.67% |
| 0.83% |
1. Total annual Fund operating expenses differ from the ratio of expenses to average net assets shown in the Financial Highlights, which reflect the operating expenses of the Fund and do not include acquired fund fees and expenses.
2. The investment manager has agreed to reduce its fees to reflect reduced services resulting from the Fund’s investments in Franklin Templeton affiliated funds. In addition, the transfer agency fees on Class R6 shares of the Fund have been capped so that transfer agency fees for that class do not exceed 0.03%. These arrangements are expected to continue until August 31, 2025. During the terms, the fee waiver and expense reimbursement agreements may not be terminated or amended without approval of the board of trustees except to add series or classes, to reflect the extension of termination dates or to lower the waiver and expense limitation (which would result in lower fees for shareholders).
Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of the period. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. The Example reflects adjustments made to the Fund's operating expenses due to the fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements by management for the 1 Year numbers only. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
|
|
| 1 Year |
| 3 Years |
| 5 Years |
| 10 Years |
Class A |
| $654 |
| $876 |
| $1,116 |
| $1,803 | |
Class C |
| $286 |
| $578 |
| $995 |
| $1,961 | |
Class R |
| $135 |
| $423 |
| $733 |
| $1,612 | |
Class R6 |
| $68 |
| $216 |
| $377 |
| $845 | |
Advisor Class |
| $85 |
| $267 |
| $465 |
| $1,037 | |
If you do not sell your shares: |
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Class C |
| $186 |
| $578 |
| $995 |
| $1,961 | |
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www.franklintempleton.com | Summary Prospectus | 3 |
FRANKLIN
SMALL CAP GROWTH FUND
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS
Portfolio Turnover
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual Fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 15.99% of the average value of its portfolio.
Principal Investment Strategies
Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in the equity securities of small-cap companies. The equity securities in which the Fund invests are predominantly common stock. For this Fund, small-cap companies are companies with market capitalizations not exceeding (i) $1.5 billion or (ii) the highest market capitalization in the Russell 2000® Index, whichever is greater, at the time of purchase.
In addition to the Fund's main investments, the Fund may invest in equity securities of larger companies. The Fund, from time to time, may have significant positions in particular sectors such as information technology (including technology equipment and hardware, technology services, software and internet services), healthcare, consumer discretionary and industrials.
The Fund may make private investments in companies whose securities are not publicly traded (including companies that have not yet issued securities publicly in an initial public offering ("IPO")), often in the form of private placements, which are exempt from registration under the federal securities laws and are only sold to certain investors meeting predefined criteria.
The investment manager uses fundamental, "bottom-up" research to seek companies meeting its criteria of growth potential, quality and valuation. In seeking sustainable growth characteristics, the investment manager looks for companies that it believes can produce sustainable earnings and cash flow growth, evaluating the long term market opportunity and competitive structure of an industry. In assessing value, the investment manager considers whether security prices fully reflect the balance of the sustainable growth opportunities relative to business and financial risks.
Principal Risks
You could lose money by investing in the Fund. Mutual fund shares are not deposits or obligations of, or guaranteed or endorsed by, any bank, and are not
4 | Summary Prospectus | www.franklintempleton.com |
FRANKLIN
SMALL CAP GROWTH FUND
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS
insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board, or any other agency of the U.S. government.
Market: The market values of securities or other investments owned by the Fund will go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. The market value of a security or other investment may be reduced by market activity or other results of supply and demand unrelated to the issuer. This is a basic risk associated with all investments. When there are more sellers than buyers, prices tend to fall. Likewise, when there are more buyers than sellers, prices tend to rise.
Stock prices tend to go up and down more dramatically than those of debt securities. A slower-growth or recessionary economic environment could have an adverse effect on the prices of the various stocks held by the Fund.
Small Capitalization Companies: Securities issued by small capitalization companies may be more volatile in price than those of larger companies and may involve substantial risks. Such risks may include greater sensitivity to economic conditions, less certain growth prospects, lack of depth of management and funds for growth and development, and limited or less developed product lines and markets. In addition, small capitalization companies may be particularly affected by interest rate increases, as they may find it more difficult to borrow money to continue or expand operations, or may have difficulty in repaying any loans. The markets for securities issued by small capitalization companies also tend to be less liquid than the markets for securities issued by larger companies.
Growth Style Investing: Growth stock prices reflect projections of future earnings or revenues, and can, therefore, fall dramatically if the company fails to meet those projections. Growth stocks may be more expensive relative to their current earnings or assets compared to value or other stocks, and if earnings growth expectations moderate, their valuations may return to more typical norms, causing their stock prices to fall. Prices of these companies’ securities may be more volatile than other securities, particularly over the short term. In addition, investment styles can go in and out of favor, which could cause additional volatility in the prices of the Fund’s portfolio holdings.
Liquidity: The trading market for a particular security or type of security or other investments in which the Fund invests may become less liquid or even illiquid. Reduced liquidity will have an adverse impact on the Fund’s ability to sell such securities or other investments when necessary to meet the Fund’s liquidity needs, which may arise or increase in response to a specific economic event or because the investment manager wishes to purchase particular investments or believes that a higher level of liquidity would be advantageous. Reduced liquidity will also generally lower the value of such securities or other investments. Market prices for such securities or other investments may be relatively volatile.
www.franklintempleton.com | Summary Prospectus | 5 |
FRANKLIN
SMALL CAP GROWTH FUND
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS
Focus: To the extent that the Fund focuses on particular countries, regions, industries, sectors or types of investments from time to time, the Fund may be subject to greater risks of adverse developments in such areas of focus than a fund that invests in a wider variety of countries, regions, industries, sectors or investments.
Information technology companies: Companies in the information technology sector have historically been volatile due to the rapid pace of product change and development within the sector. For example, their products and services may not prove commercially successful or may become obsolete quickly. In addition, delays in or cancellation of the release of anticipated products or services may also affect the price of an information technology company’s stock. Information technology companies are subject to significant competitive pressures, such as new market entrants, aggressive pricing and tight profit margins. The activities of these companies may also be adversely affected by changes in government regulations, worldwide technological developments or investor perception of a company and/or its products or services. The stock prices of companies operating within this sector may be subject to abrupt or erratic movements.
Healthcare companies: The activities of healthcare companies may be funded or subsidized by federal and state governments. If government funding and subsidies are reduced or discontinued, the profitability of these companies could be adversely affected. Healthcare companies may also be affected by government policies on healthcare reimbursements, regulatory approval for new drugs and medical products, and similar matters. They are also subject to legislative risk, i.e., the risks associated with the reform of the healthcare system through legislation.
Consumer discretionary companies: Companies in the consumer discretionary sector could be affected by, among other things, overall economic conditions, interest rates, consumer confidence, and disposable income.
Industrials companies: The stock prices of companies in the industrials sector are affected by supply and demand both for their specific product or service and for industrials sector products in general. Companies in the industrials sector may be adversely affected by changes in government regulation, world events and economic conditions. In addition, these companies are at risk for environmental damage and product liability claims. Companies in this sector could be adversely affected by commodity price volatility, changes in exchange rates, imposition of export or import controls, increased competition, depletion of resources, technological developments and labor relations.
Private Company/Private Placement Risk: Investments in the stocks of private companies, including companies that have not yet issued securities publicly in an initial public offering ("IPO"), involve greater risks than investments in stocks of
6 | Summary Prospectus | www.franklintempleton.com |
FRANKLIN
SMALL CAP GROWTH FUND
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS
many publicly traded companies. Compared to public companies, there is significantly less information available about private companies and there is no assurance that the information obtained by the Fund is reliable. Investments in private companies and private placements are generally considered to be illiquid and may be difficult to sell at a desirable time or at the prices at which the Fund has valued the investments. Investments in private companies and private placements are typically difficult to value since there are no market prices and less overall financial information available. Difficulty in valuing such investments may make it difficult to accurately determine a Fund's exposure to private investments, which could cause the Fund to invest to a greater extent in illiquid investments and subject the Fund to increased risks. The Fund’s NAV could be adversely affected if the Fund's determinations regarding the value of the Fund's private investments were materially higher than the values that the Fund ultimately realizes upon the disposal of such investments. In addition, private companies may have limited financial resources and may be unable to meet their obligations. Investments in private companies and private placements may involve a high degree of business and financial risk and may result in substantial losses. These factors may have a negative effect on the Fund's performance.
Management: The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed investment portfolio. The Fund's investment manager applies investment techniques and risk analyses in making investment decisions for the Fund, but there can be no guarantee that these decisions will produce the desired results.
Cybersecurity: Cybersecurity incidents, both intentional and unintentional, may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, Fund or customer data (including private shareholder information), or proprietary information, cause the Fund, the investment manager, and/or their service providers (including, but not limited to, Fund accountants, custodians, sub-custodians, transfer agents and financial intermediaries) to suffer data breaches, data corruption or loss of operational functionality or prevent Fund investors from purchasing, redeeming or exchanging shares or receiving distributions. The investment manager has limited ability to prevent or mitigate cybersecurity incidents affecting third party service providers, and such third party service providers may have limited indemnification obligations to the Fund or the investment manager. Cybersecurity incidents may result in financial losses to the Fund and its shareholders, and substantial costs may be incurred in an effort to prevent or mitigate future cybersecurity incidents. Issuers of securities in which the Fund invests are also subject to cybersecurity risks, and the value of these securities could decline if the issuers experience cybersecurity incidents.
Because technology is frequently changing, new ways to carry out cyber attacks are always developing. Therefore, there is a chance that some risks have not been
www.franklintempleton.com | Summary Prospectus | 7 |
FRANKLIN
SMALL CAP GROWTH FUND
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS
identified or prepared for, or that an attack may not be detected, which puts limitations on the Fund's ability to plan for or respond to a cyber attack. Like other funds and business enterprises, the Fund, the investment manager, and their service providers are subject to the risk of cyber incidents occurring from time to time.
Performance
The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows changes in the Fund's performance from year to year for Class A shares. The table shows how the Fund's average annual returns for 1 year, 5 years, 10 years or since inception, as applicable, compared with those of a broad measure of market performance and additional indexes with characteristics relevant to the Fund. The Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. You can obtain updated performance information at www.franklintempleton.com or by calling (800) DIAL BEN/342-5236.
Sales charges are not reflected in the bar chart, and if those charges were included, returns would be less than those shown.
Class A Annual Total Returns
Best Quarter: | 2020, Q2 | 42.55% |
Worst Quarter: | 2020, Q1 | -26.12% |
As of June 30, 2024, the Fund’s year-to-date return was 3.01%. |
8 | Summary Prospectus | www.franklintempleton.com |
FRANKLIN
SMALL CAP GROWTH FUND
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS
Average Annual Total Returns
(figures reflect sales charges)
For periods ended December 31, 2023
|
| 1 Year |
| 5 Years |
| 10 Years |
| |
Franklin Small Cap Growth Fund - Class A |
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| Return before taxes |
| 23.44% |
| 9.86% |
| 7.25% |
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| Return after taxes on distributions |
| 23.44% |
| 7.95% |
| 5.52% |
|
| Return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares |
| 13.88% |
| 7.64% |
| 5.46% |
|
Franklin Small Cap Growth Fund - Class C |
| 28.87% |
| 10.30% |
| 7.08% |
| |
Franklin Small Cap Growth Fund - Class R |
| 30.36% |
| 10.82% |
| 7.59% |
| |
Franklin Small Cap Growth Fund - Class R6 |
| 31.24% |
| 11.57% |
| 8.32% |
| |
Franklin Small Cap Growth Fund - Advisor Class |
| 31.05% |
| 11.39% |
| 8.13% |
| |
Russell 3000® Index (index reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
| 25.96% |
| 15.16% |
| 11.48% |
| |
Russell 2000 Growth Index (index reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
| 18.66% |
| 9.22% |
| 7.16% |
| |
S&P 500® Index (index reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) |
| 26.29% |
| 15.69% |
| 12.03% |
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No one index is representative of the Fund's portfolio.
The figures in the average annual total returns table above reflect the Class A shares maximum front-end sales charge of 5.50%. Prior to September 10, 2018, Class A shares were subject to a maximum front-end sales charge of 5.75%. If the prior maximum front-end sales charge of 5.75% was reflected, performance for Class A shares in the average annual total returns table would be lower.
The after-tax returns presented in the table are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns are shown only for Class A and after-tax returns for other classes will vary.
Investment Manager
Franklin Advisers, Inc. (Advisers or investment manager)
Portfolio Managers
Michael McCarthy, CFA
Executive Vice President of Advisers and portfolio manager of the Fund since inception (2000).
Bradley T. Carris, CFA
www.franklintempleton.com | Summary Prospectus | 9 |
FRANKLIN
SMALL CAP GROWTH FUND
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS
Portfolio Manager of Advisers and portfolio manager of the Fund since 2004.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
You may purchase or redeem shares of the Fund on any business day online through our website at www.franklintempleton.com, by mail (Franklin Templeton Investor Services, P.O. Box 997152, Sacramento, CA 95899-7152), or by telephone at (800) 632-2301. For Class A, C and R, the minimum initial purchase for most accounts is $1,000 (or $25 under an automatic investment plan). Class R6 and Advisor Class are only available to certain qualified investors and the minimum initial investment will vary depending on the type of qualified investor, as described under "Your Account — Choosing a Share Class — Qualified Investors — Class R6" and "— Advisor Class" in the Fund's prospectus. There is no minimum investment for subsequent purchases.
Taxes
The Fund’s distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case your distributions would generally be taxed when withdrawn from the tax-advantaged account.
Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the Fund and its related companies may pay the intermediary for the sale of Fund shares and related services. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your financial advisor or visit your financial intermediary's website for more information.
10 | Summary Prospectus | www.franklintempleton.com |
Franklin Distributors, LLC One Franklin Parkway San Mateo, CA 94403-1906 franklintempleton.com Franklin Small Cap Growth Fund | |
Investment Company Act file #811-06243 © 2024 Franklin Templeton. All rights reserved.
| 465 PSUM 09/24 |