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Franklin Utilities R FRURX Sustainability

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Sustainability Analysis

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Sustainability Summary

Franklin Utilities Fund may not appeal to sustainability-conscious investors.

The ESG risk of Franklin Utilities Fund's holdings is comparable to its peers in the Utilities Sector Equity category, thus earning an average Morningstar Sustainability Rating of 3 globes. Funds in the same category rated 4 or 5 globes tend to hold securities less exposed to ESG risk. Unlike impact, which measures positive environmental and societal outcomes attributable to an investment, ESG risk reflects the degree to which investments could be affected by material ESG issues, including climate change, biodiversity, product safety, community relations, data privacy and security, bribery and corruption, and corporate governance.

One potential issue for a sustainability-focused investor is that Franklin Utilities Fund doesn’t have an ESG-focused mandate. A fund with an ESG-focused mandate would have a higher probability to drive positive ESG outcomes. Currently, the fund has 96.9% involvement in fossil fuels, which is high in both absolute and relative terms. The fossil fuel involvement of funds in the same Utilities category averages 88.6%. Companies are considered involved in fossil fuels if they derive at least 5% of their revenue from thermal coal, oil, and gas.

Franklin Utilities Fund has a 12-month asset-weighted Carbon Risk Score of 13.6. This is situated at the lower end of the medium carbon risk band, suggesting that its portfolio holdings are not among the worst-positioned to transition to a low-carbon economy, but they are not among the best-positioned either. Investors concerned about the transition risks may prefer to consider funds with negligible or low carbon risk. Funds with a lower carbon risk classification may be more favored by investors concerned about transition risks, as such funds often tilt toward companies that operate in sectors less exposed to the transition (for example, healthcare and IT) or companies in more carbon-intensive sectors (for example, materials and utilities) that consider climate change in their business strategy, and therefore are positively aligned with the transition. The fund exhibits moderate exposure (3.70%) to companies with high or severe controversies. Controversies are incidents that have a negative impact on stakeholders or the environment, which create some degree of financial risk for the company. Examples of types of controversies include bribery and corruption scandals, workplace discrimination and environmental incidents. Severe and high controversies can have significant financial repercussions, ranging from legal penalties to consumer boycotts. Such controversies can also damage the reputation of both companies themselves and their shareholders.

ESG Commitment Level Asset Manager