Equity

FBTDX Franklin Biotechnology Discovery Fund

Participate in trends moving markets. Invest in innovative sectors—technology, medicine, global communications—we believe are poised for long-term growth.
Diversification. By adding investments from different sectors to your portfolio, you may take advantage of expanding and contracting economic cycles.
Experienced management. Same lead portfolio manager since the fund's inception in 1997.

Overview

See the risks and other important information.

Fund Facts

Fund description

The fund seeks capital appreciation by investing at least 80% of its net assets in securities of biotechnology companies and discovery research firms including those involved in fields such as genomics, genetic engineering, and gene therapy, as well as health care, pharmaceuticals and agriculture.

Benchmark: NASDAQ Biotechnology Index
Additional Benchmark: S&P 500 Index
Fund Inception Date: 09/15/1997
Dividend Frequency, if any: Annually
Portfolio Turnover: 22%

Sales Charges, Expenses & Fees

As of 09/01/2025

Gross Expense Ratio⁴: 1.78%
Net Expense Ratio^4,5: 1.77%
Maximum Initial Charge: N/A
CDSC⁶: 1.00%
12b-1 Fee: 1.00%

Identifiers

Ticker: FBTDX
Fund Number: 242
CUSIP Code: 354713240

Average Annual Total Returns As of 10/31/2025

View performance section for additional info As of 10/31/2025

Class C

With Sales Charge (POP)

Without Sales Charge (NAV)

25.66%1 Year
20.02%3 Years
6.65%5 Years
5.64%10 Years
9.76%Since Inception
09/15/1997

Performance data quoted represents past performance, which does not guarantee future results. Investment return and principal value of an investment will fluctuate so that an investor’s shares, when sold or redeemed, may be worth more or less than the original cost. Current performance may be lower or higher than the figures shown.

Top Sectors

View portfolio section for additional info

As of 10/31/2025 % of Total (Updated Monthly)

Biotechnology78.72%

Pharmaceuticals13.22%

Health Care Services2.59%

Life Sciences Tools & Services1.03%

Managed Health Care0.23%

Additional Fund Info

Share Class Inception Date: 03/04/2014
Investment Style: Sector
Lipper Classification: Health/Biotechnology Funds
Morningstar Category: Health

Manager and Commentary

About the Team

Franklin Equity Group

Growth equity managers with a focus on in-depth fundamental research, we offer expertise in managing global, U.S. and sector-specific strategies across the market capitalization spectrum. Our center of gravity in Silicon Valley allows us to follow companies across their private to public life cycles, developing deeper insights into future industry trends and identifying potential disruptors.

Commentary Highlights

September 30, 2025

Markets: Global equities delivered solid gains in 2025’s third quarter, buoyed in part by easing trade tensions and optimism surrounding artificial intelligence (AI). Central bank actions—notably the US Federal Reserve’s policy interest-rate cut and its signaling of potential further monetary easing—supported market sentiment, as did generally robust corporate earnings. In broad terms, health care stocks exhibited improving fundamentals and posted modest gains, but they also underperformed all but two out of 10 other major equity sectors globally (per MSCI index data in US dollar terms). Among the six health care-related industries, overall gains for biotechnology stocks roughly tripled the sector average, though life sciences tools and services companies, along with other technology-enabled segments (health care-focused software, data, digital health, health technology) also fared well. In contrast to biotech’s rally, pharmaceuticals companies lagged the sector average while the health care equipment and supplies industry sold off. Market headwinds came from large pharma—pressured by patent expirations, drug-pricing risks and potential tariff measures—and from weaker results among equipment and supplies companies facing cost and demand challenges.
Contributors: Robust support from stock selection in the fund’s core biotechnology and pharmaceuticals holdings.
Detractors: Adverse stock selection and underweighting in the life sciences tools and services industry, along with selloffs for some of the fund’s higher-conviction biotech holdings.
Outlook: The portfolio continues to be overweighted in mid-, small- and micro-capitalization biotechnology stocks as these market-cap tiers are where we see some of the best value heading into the fourth quarter. We also continue to emphasize selectivity, favoring what we believe to be clinically or commercially “derisked” assets.

For complete information, please see the full commentary

Franklin Equity Group

Managed Fund Since 1997

Managed Fund Since 2020

Latest Insights

October 13, 2025

Colossal Tech: How AI capex is shaping the economy

October 6, 2025

From fast follower to fast leader: My journey into China’s biotech boom

October 1, 2025

Physical AI is about to reshape our world

October 1, 2025

Innovation Insights Quarterly: Q4 2025

Performance

Average Annual Total Returns

As of 10/31/2025

Month End

Quarter End

As of

Class C - With Sales Charge (POP) (%)

Month End

As of 10/31/2025

Class C - Without Sales Charge (NAV) (%)

Month End

As of 10/31/2025

NASDAQ Biotechnology Index (%)

Month End

As of 10/31/2025

S&P 500 Index (%)

Month End

As of 10/31/2025

Performance data quoted represents past performance, which does not guarantee future results. Current performance may be lower or higher than the figures shown. Principal value and investment returns will fluctuate, and investors' shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than the original cost. Performance would have been lower if fees had not been waived in various periods. Total returns assume the reinvestment of all distributions and the deduction of all Fund expenses. Returns with sales charge reflect a deduction of the stated maximum sales charge. Returns without sales charge would have been lower had sales charges been reflected. An investor cannot invest directly in an index, and unmanaged index returns do not reflect any fees, expenses or sales charges. Returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

See the risks and other important information.

Overall Morningstar Rating: Overall Morningstar Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
As of 10/31/2025

3 Years: 3 Years: 5 out of 5 stars
165 Funds in category

5 Years: 5 Years: 3 out of 5 stars
152 Funds in category

10 Years: 10 Years: 2 out of 5 stars
118 Funds in category

Rating Category: Health

The fund's overall Morningstar Rating measures risk-adjusted returns and is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its 3-, 5- and 10-year (if applicable) rating metrics.

Morningstar Style Box

As of 10/31/2025

Current Historical
			Large
			Medium
			Small
Value	Blend	Growth
Style

Size

Source: Morningstar®. The style box reveals a fund's investment style. For equity funds, the vertical axis shows the market capitalization of the long stocks owned, and the horizontal axis shows the investment style (value, blend, or growth). For fixed income funds, the vertical axis shows the credit quality based on credit ratings and the horizontal axis shows interest-rate sensitivity as measured by effective duration. Placement is determined by fund portfolio holding figures most recently entered into Morningstar's database and corresponding market conditions. Shaded areas show the past 3 years of quarterly data. Past performance does not guarantee future results.

©2025 Morningstar, 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.

Portfolio

Assets

As of10/31/2025 (Updated Monthly)

Total Net Assets: $954.14 Million

Positions

As of 10/31/2025 (Updated Monthly)

Number of Issuers

Fund: 78

Portfolio Statistics

As of 10/31/2025 (Updated Monthly)

Price to Earnings (12-Month Forward)

Fund: 19.77x
Benchmark: 17.38x

Weighted Average Market Capitalization (USD)

Fund: $51.49 Billion
Benchmark: $56.64 Billion

Price to Cash Flow

Fund: 16.06x
Benchmark: 18.46x

Price to Book

Fund: 5.27x
Benchmark: 4.62x

Sector Allocation

As of 10/31/2025 % of Total (Updated Monthly)

Sector Allocation
Sector	% of Total	Benchmark
Biotechnology	78.72%	80.13%
Pharmaceuticals	13.22%	13.55%
Health Care Services	2.59%	1.05%
Life Sciences Tools & Services	1.03%	5.14%
Managed Health Care	0.23%	—
Health Care Equipment	—	0.12%
Cash & Cash Equivalents	4.22%	—

Holdings
As of 09/30/2025 (Updated Monthly)

Gilead Sciences Inc COM USD0.001

Amgen Inc COM USD.0001

Vertex Pharmaceuticals Inc COM USD.01

Argenx SE SPONSORED ADR

Alnylam Pharmaceuticals Inc COM USD.01

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals Inc COM USD.001

Jazz Pharmaceuticals PLC ORD USD.0001

uniQure NV ORD USD.05

Insmed Inc COM USD.01

Ascendis Pharma A/S SPONSORED ADR

Portfolio holdings are based on the total portfolio and are subject to change at any time. Holdings are provided for informational purposes only and should not be construed as a recommendation to purchase or sell any security.

Distributions & Tax

Federal ID Number 94-3273632

For information on tax years prior to 2008, please contact us

These amounts represent distributions paid by the fund, foreign taxes passed through (if any), and other distribution characteristics for the calendar year selected. These amounts are reported to shareholders on Form 1099-DIV.

Distributions per Share ($)

Year

Tax Information
Record Date	Ordinary Dividends Dividends paid by a fund that are derived from interest, dividends, net short-term capital gains and other types of ordinary income earned by the fund. For a fund that elects to pass through its foreign taxes paid (a non-cash item), a shareholder's allotted share of foreign taxes has been added to the “Ordinary Dividends” cash distributions received by the shareholder. If the fund passed through foreign taxes paid and later is refunded any portion of those taxes by a foreign tax authority, any interest paid to the fund on that refund is also required to be included in “Ordinary Dividends”.	Qualified Dividends The portion of a fund’s “Ordinary Dividends” that may be eligible for a reduced capital gain tax rate. To be eligible for the lower tax rates, certain holding periods apply and shareholders should consult their tax advisor to determine the amount eligible for the reduced rate. This amount represents both cash distributions and non-cash amounts, such as foreign taxes paid, that have been allocated to shareholders.	Capital Gain Distributions	Unrecaptured Section 1250 Gain	Non-Taxable Return Of Capital	Section 199a Dividends The portion of a fund’s “Ordinary Dividends” generated by a real estate investment trust or earned by a fund from its investments in real estate investment trusts, subject to limitations. Individual (non-corporate) shareholders may be entitled to a special deduction from gross income for “Section 199A Dividends” received from a fund. To qualify for this deduction certain holding periods apply and shareholders should consult their tax advisor.	Foreign Tax Paid	Exempt Interest Dividends	Interest on Tax Reclaim Refunds
Dec 19	3.8146	0.638946	7.9461	—	—	—	—	—	—
	3.8146	0.638946	7.9461	—	—	—	—	—	—

Dec 19

Supplemental Tax Information

Foreign Source Income: —
Foreign Source Qualified Dividends: —
Direct U.S. Government Obligations The portion of “Ordinary Dividends” attributable to earnings from US Treasury and certain other government securities may be categorized as a fund containing US government obligations. This income may be exempt from state personal income taxes. The percentage for direct US government obligation interests available for tax-exempt treatment may be limited in states that require the fund to meet certain minimum thresholds. Shareholders should consult their tax advisor to determine the availability of exemptions in their state.: —
Specified Private Activity Bond Interest: —
Dividends Received Deduction: 14.33%
Section 163(j): —
Indiana Resident Taxable Income: —
Utah Resident Taxable Income The portion of “Exempt-Interest Dividends” subject to Utah income tax. Subject to certain exceptions, the state of Utah provides that income earned from non-federal government entities outside of Utah (non-Utah municipal bonds) is taxable to Utah resident shareholders. Income earned from states that do not tax Utah obligations are also exempt. Shareholders should consult their tax advisor about applicability.: —

Franklin Templeton and its specialized investment managers and its employees are not in the business of providing tax or legal advice to taxpayers. These materials and any tax-related statements are not intended or written to be used, and cannot be used or relied upon, by any such taxpayer for the purpose of avoiding tax penalties or complying with any applicable tax laws or regulations. Tax-related statements, if any, may have been written in connection with the promotion or marketing of the transaction(s) or matter(s) addressed by these materials, to the extent allowed by applicable law. Each investor’s tax situation is different, and is based on an individual’s tax bracket, type of account used for investment and other factors. Any such taxpayer should seek advice based on the taxpayer's particular circumstances from an independent tax advisor.

Pricing

Pricing History

As of 11/14/2025 (Updated Daily)

Time Period

From

From Date

To Date

Daily Fund Prices

As of 11/14/2025

Share Prices

As of 11/14/2025

NAV ¹(Net Asset Value): $152.08
NAV Change ¹: $1.89
NAV Change (%) ¹: 1.26%
POP ⁷(Public Offering Price): $152.08

52-Week Range

Highest NAV As of 11/14/2025: $152.08
Lowest NAV As of 04/08/2025: $89.43

Documents

Fund Literature

Fund Literature
Checkbox	Name	Download	Add to Cart
Checkbox	Factsheet - Franklin Biotechnology Discovery Fund	Download Document
Checkbox	Product Commentary - Franklin Biotechnology Discovery Fund	Download Document

Regulatory Documents

Regulatory Documents
Checkbox	Name	Download
Checkbox	Annual Report - Franklin Biotechnology Discovery Fund Class C	Download Document
Checkbox	Annual Financial Statements and Other Information - Franklin Strategic Series	Download Document
Checkbox	Semi-Annual Report - Franklin Biotechnology Discovery Fund - Class C	Download Document
Checkbox	Semi-Annual Financial Statements and Other Information - Franklin Strategic Series 2	Download Document
Checkbox	Prospectus - Franklin Strategic Series 2	Download Document
Checkbox	Summary Prospectus - Franklin Biotechnology Discovery Fund	Download Document
Checkbox	Statement of Additional Information - Franklin Strategic Series 2Mailed hardcopies unavailable.	Download Document
Checkbox	Fiscal Q1 Holdings - Franklin Strategic SeriesMailed hardcopies unavailable.	Download Document
Checkbox	Fiscal Q3 Holdings - Franklin Strategic SeriesMailed hardcopies unavailable.	Download Document

View Proxy Voting Records and Proxy Voting Policies

Risks

All investments involve risks, including possible loss of principal. The portfolio is non-diversified and may invest in a relatively small number of issuers, which may negatively impact the fund's performance and result in greater fluctuation in the value of the fund's shares. To the extent the portfolio invests in a concentration of certain securities, regions or industries, it is subject to increased volatility. Small- and mid-cap stocks involve greater risks and volatility than large-cap stocks. International investments are subject to special risks, including currency fluctuations and social, economic and political uncertainties, which could increase volatility. These risks are magnified in emerging markets. The manager may consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) criteria in the research or investment process; however, ESG considerations may not be a determinative factor in security selection. In addition, the manager may not assess every investment for ESG criteria, and not every ESG factor may be identified or evaluated. These and other risks are discussed in the fund’s prospectus.

Important Information

Click here for funds sales charge and breakpoint information.

Most funds offer multiple share classes. Share classes are subject to different fees and expenses, which will affect their performance.

Certain share classes are only offered to eligible investors as stated in the prospectus. Different minimums may apply to clients of certain service agents. All classes of shares are not available through all distribution channels. See the Fund's prospectus for additional information.

Franklin Distributors, LLC. Member FINRA, SIPC. All entities mentioned are Franklin Templeton affiliated companies. Investment Products: NOT FDIC INSURED | NO BANK GUARANTEE | MAY LOSE VALUE.
Reports and other information about the funds are available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC's Internet site at www.sec.gov.

You need Adobe Acrobat Reader to view and print PDF documents. Download a free version from Adobe's website.

Important data provider notices and terms available at www.franklintempletondatasources.com.

Performance data quoted represents past performance, which does not guarantee future results.

CFA® and Chartered Financial Analyst® are trademarks owned by CFA Institute.

Indexes are unmanaged and one cannot invest directly in an index. They do not reflect any fees, expenses or sales charges.

The NASDAQ Biotechnology Index is a modified capitalization-weighted index designed to measure performance of all NASDAQ stocks in the biotechnology sector.
Source: Nasdaq OMX.

Investors should carefully consider a fund's investment goals, risks, sales charges and expenses before investing. The prospectus contains this and other information. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing or sending money.

Footnotes

Net Asset Value - the amount per share you would receive if you sold shares that day. NAV Change indicates a change in the Net Asset Value from the previous business day.
Figures are aggregate total return figures, have not been annualized and represent the change in value of an investment over the period indicated.
The Morningstar Rating™ for funds, or “star rating”, is calculated for managed products with at least a three-year history, and subject to change monthly. Exchange-traded funds and open-ended mutual funds are considered a single population for comparative purposes. It is calculated based on a Morningstar Risk Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a managed product’s monthly excess performance, placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The top 10% of products in each product category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars, and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. The Overall Morningstar Rating is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its three-, five-, and 10-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. The weights are: 100% three-year rating for 36-59 months of total return, 60% five-year rating/40% three-year rating for 60-119 months of total returns, and 50% 10-year rating/30% five-year rating/20% three-year rating for 120 or more months of total return. While the 10-year overall star rating formula seems to give the most weight to the 10-year period, the most recent three-year period actually has the greatest impact because it is included in all three rating periods. Ratings do not take into account the effects of sales charges and loads. Morningstar Rating is for the specified share class(es) only; other classes may have different performance characteristics.
©2025 Morningstar, 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.
Gross Expense Ratio reflects the total annual operating expenses for the share class shown, prior to the deduction of any waiver or reimbursement. Actual expenses may be higher and may impact portfolio returns. Net Expense Ratio reflects total expenses after any fee waivers, implemented expense caps or reimbursements. If a fund has contractual fee waivers, expense caps and/or reimbursements, the expiration date can be found by clicking on the information button next to the net expense ratio. Additional amounts may be voluntarily waived and/or reimbursed and may be modified or discontinued at any time without notice. Expense ratios are as of the most recent prospectus or annual report.
Net Expense Ratio represents the expense ratio applicable to investors.
A 1% contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC) may apply to shares redeemed within 12 months.
Public Offering Price – the purchase price for each share of the fund on a given day. It includes the maximum initial sales charge, if any.

FBTDX Franklin Biotechnology Discovery Fund

Popular Documents

Overview

Fund Facts

Fund description

Sales Charges, Expenses & Fees

Identifiers

Average Annual Total Returns As of 10/31/2025

Class C

Top Sectors

Additional Fund Info

Manager and Commentary

About the Team

Commentary Highlights

Latest Insights

Performance

Average Annual Total Returns

Ratings ³

Portfolio

Assets

Positions

Portfolio Statistics

Sector Allocation

Holdings
As of 09/30/2025 (Updated Monthly)

Distributions & Tax

Federal ID Number 94-3273632

Distributions per Share ($)

Supplemental Tax Information

Pricing

Pricing History

November 2025

November 2025

Daily Fund Prices

Share Prices

52-Week Range

Documents

Risks

Important Information

Footnotes

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday	Thursday	Friday	Saturday

Individual Investor

Financial Professional

Institutional Investor

FBTDX Franklin Biotechnology Discovery Fund

Popular Documents

Overview

Fund description

Sales Charges, Expenses & Fees

Identifiers

Class C

Top Sectors

Additional Fund Info

Manager and Commentary

About the Team

Latest Insights

Performance

Average Annual Total Returns

Ratings 3

Portfolio

Sector Allocation

Distributions & Tax

Federal ID Number 94-3273632

Pricing

Chart

Daily Fund Prices

Documents

Risks

Important Information

Footnotes

Ratings ³