Franklin Resources, Inc.

Welcome to Franklin Resources Earnings Conference call for quarter ended June 30th, 2020. My name is Joanne and I'll be your call operator today. Statements made in this conference call regarding Franklin Resources Inc., which are not historical facts, are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements involve a number of known and unknown risks uncertainties and other important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from any future results expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These and other risks and uncertainties and other important factors are described in more detail in Franklin's recent filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including in the risks and factors of the MD&A section of Franklin's most recent Form 10-K and 10-Q filings. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode. If you would like to ask a question at that time, press star 1 on your telephone keypad. The confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question queue. If anyone should require operator assistance during the conference, please press star 0 on your telephone keypad. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. At this time, I would like to turn the call over to Franklin Resources President and CEO, Jenny Johnson. Ms. Johnson, you may begin.

Hello, and thank you for joining us today to discuss Franklin Templeton's third fiscal quarter results. Today I'm joined by Greg Johnson, our executive chairman, and Matthew Nichols, our CFO. We hope that everyone on this call and your loved ones are staying safe and healthy. We're pleased to announce that our landmark acquisition of Legg Mason is expected to close this Friday ahead of our original schedule. The strategic rationale for this powerful combination has only strengthened since we announced the acquisition in February. It will unlock growth opportunities driven by greater scale, diversification, and balance across investment strategies, distribution channels, and geographies. Significant work has been completed as we near day one, including having announced the leadership teams for our corporate functions and global distribution groups. Financial markets stabilized during the quarter with growth stocks outperforming value stocks by the widest margin on record over the past two quarters, which impacted some of our flagship funds. On the positive side, we have seen strong performance and momentum in several key asset classes, most notably in our municipal bond and U.S. equity strategies. Flow trends continued to improve across all investment objectives this quarter. flows into U.S. equity and fixed income strategies turned positive with eight of our largest 20 funds generating positive net flows year to date. We continue to believe that active management will play an increasingly important role in client portfolios, and we are well positioned to capitalize on this. Additionally, our strong balance sheet continues to provide us with tremendous flexibility to evolve our business. Finally, And I'd like to thank all of our employees for their significant effort to keep our business operating at the highest level to assist our clients, help them achieve their financial goals. Now I'd like to open it up for all your questions.

As a reminder, to ask a question, you'll need to press star 1 on your telephone. To withdraw your question, you need to print the pound or hash key. Please stand by. We compile the Q&A roster. Your first question comes from the line of Dan Fannin from Jefferies. Your line is now open.