Over the past 30 years, dividend growers within the S&P 500 delivered higher average annual returns while experiencing less risk than both non-dividend payers and the broader market.
Why invest?
The Franklin U.S. Rising Dividends Fund is a differentiated U.S. equity strategy focused on financially strong companies with sustainable dividend growth, attractive valuations, and the potential to compound shareholder value over time.
Historically better risk-adjusted outcomes
Disciplined, selective process
A disciplined four-screen process focused on dividend growth, financial strength, and valuation narrows a universe of over 3,000 stocks to approximately 325 qualified companies, ultimately resulting in a concentrated portfolio of 50–70 high-conviction holdings.
Built for resilience
Over the last 10 years, the fund has exhibited lower volatility than its peer category and captured less downside during market declines, reflecting its focus on quality businesses and risk-aware portfolio construction.
Portfolio Manager Perspective
Why dividend growers matter
Hear from Portfolio Manager Amritha Kasturirangan on the importance of dividend growers, why they continue to endure, and how our strategy seeks to utilize them for long-term investment outcomes.
A Distinct Stock Selection Process
Consistent Dividend Increases
May be evidence of a resilient business model/product line
Substantial Dividend Increases
Often a hallmark of ample and growing free cash flow
Reinvested Earnings for Future Growth
Potential source of long-term sustainable growth
Strong Balance Sheet
Low debt servicing cost may enable increased return of capital to shareholders
Attractive Price
‘Value Overlay’ makes us opportunistic/bargain hunters
Rising Dividends, Higher Risk-Adjusted Returns
Historically, equities of dividend-growing companies performed better with less risk.
The chart shows that the dividend growers delivered strong performance with less risk than the S&P 500 Index. This period featured multiple market cycles and downturns, including the Dot-Com collapse, Global Financial Crisis and “The Lost Decade,” the 10-year period ended in 2009 when U.S. equities (represented by the S&P 500 Index) had a near-zero return.
Performance data represents past performance, which does not guarantee future results.
Source: Ned Davis Research Group, Inc. Indexes are unmanaged, and one cannot invest directly in an index. Index returns do not reflect any fees, expenses or sales charges. Indexes represent the dividend- and non-dividend-paying stocks of the S&P 500 Index, which is calculated using monthly equal-weighed geometric averages of the total returns of all dividend-paying stocks and non-dividend-paying stocks. The S&P 500 Index is considered representative of the U.S. stock market and reruns do no reflect the deduction of fees or sales charges.
Managing Risk With Dividends
The fund has provided less volatility…
…and better downside protection than its benchmark and peers
Source: © 2026 Morningstar Research Inc. All rights reserved. The information contained herein: (1) is proprietary to Morningstar and/or its content providers; (2) may not be copied or distributed; and (3) is not warranted to be accurate, complete or timely. Neither Morningstar nor its content providers are responsible for any damages or losses arising from any use of this information. Indexes are unmanaged, and one cannot invest directly in an index. They do not reflect any fees, expenses or sales charges.