Fund Evaluator:

Franklin Low Duration Total Return C Overview

Franklin Low Duration Total Return C (FLDCX) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Short-Term Bond fund. Franklin Templeton Investments launched the fund in 2012.

The investment seeks a high level of current income as is consistent with prudent investing, while seeking preservation of capital. The fund invests primarily in debt securities, which may be represented by derivative investments that provide exposure to debt securities such as futures, options and swap agreements. It may also invest up to 20% of its total assets in non-investment grade securities, including up to 5% in securities rated lower than B- by S&P or Moody's, which may include defaulted securities.

About Franklin Low Duration Total Return C (FLDCX)

There are 5 members of the management team with an average tenure of 2.91 years: Michael Salm (2024), Patrick Klein (2022), Tina Chou (2019), Sameer Kackar (2024), Andrew Bryant (2026). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 2 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Bloomberg US Govt/Credit 1-3 Yr TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Franklin Low Duration Total Return C has 846 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 67.6% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

Franklin Low Duration Total Return C is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond fund group. Franklin Low Duration Total Return C has 17.0% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.0%. There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 145.9% (128.9% domestic bond, 17.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Franklin Low Duration Total Return C has -45.9% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $23 million in total assets, which is below the $904 million average for the Short-Term Bond category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.

FLDCX Performance and Fees

The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The Franklin Low Duration Total Return C expense ratio is high compared to funds in the Short-Term Bond category. Franklin Low Duration Total Return C has an expense ratio of 1.10%, which is 66% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a F. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.

High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. Franklin Low Duration Total Return C has a portfolio turnover rate of 69%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 135% for the Short-Term Bond category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, Franklin Low Duration Total Return C returned -0.1%, which earned it a grade of D, as the Short-Term Bond category had an average return of -0.0%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all funds in that category.

Franklin Low Duration Total Return C has a trailing yield of 3.88%, which is below the 4.16% category average. The fund normally distributes its income monthly.

It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.

Franklin Low Duration Total Return C Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 0.6%, 0.2 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of D. The fund has returned 2.9% over the past year (grade of F), 4.3% over the past three years (grade of F) and 1.9% per year over the past five years (grade of D) and 1.9% per year over the past 10 years (grade of D).

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