Dividend Champions List: Top 15 Stocks to Buy

3. Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN)

Dividend Yield as of October 2: 5.59%

An American multinational investment management company, Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) is lesser-known among dividend investors. However, the company’s dividend policy is commendable. It’s just one year away from becoming a Dividend King, which means that BEN has been rewarding shareholders with growing dividends for 49 consecutive years. Currently, it offers a per-share dividend of $0.32 every quarter for an attractive dividend yield of 5.59%, as of October 2.

What keeps Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) competitive is size and variety. It sells mutual funds, ETFs, separate accounts, and more complex strategies to clients around the world. Growth hasn’t just come organically either; the company has leaned on acquisitions like Putnam and Apera Asset Management, which it’s still working to fold into the larger business. The challenge is to keep assets from shrinking when markets get rough, while also making sure new products line up with investor demand.

There’s a lot of complexity behind the scenes. Regulations vary across markets, and costs have to be kept under tight control if the company wants to stay efficient. Integrating new businesses only adds to that balancing act. Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE:BEN) mainly makes its money by charging management fees, so the bigger its pool of assets, the better. By the third quarter of fiscal 2025, that pool had climbed to roughly $1.61 trillion.