Franklin Templeton's $408B Q4 Portfolio: Microsoft Over NVIDIA, Citigroup at $4B, and Cisco Built 18% — The Global Active Manager That Bets Differently

Franklin Resources — the parent company of Franklin Templeton Investments — is one of the last great independent fund families. Founded in 1947 by Rupert Johnson Sr. (who named it after Benjamin Franklin), the firm has survived seven decades of market cycles by maintaining a commitment to active stock picking that most of its competitors have abandoned in favor of index products.

The Q4 2025 13F filing shows $408 billion across 14,263 positions — making Franklin one of the largest active managers filing a 13F. And unlike most filers we've covered this quarter, Franklin's top 10 has some genuinely surprising features.

Microsoft Over NVIDIA at #1

Franklin Templeton holds Microsoft as its #1 position at $19.3B (4.74%), edging out NVIDIA at #2 with $18.1B (4.43%). This ranking is notable because virtually every other mega-filer we've profiled has NVIDIA at #1 or #2 with a substantial lead.

At Fidelity, NVIDIA leads. At JPMorgan, NVIDIA leads. At BNY Mellon, Schwab, Wellington, and Invesco — NVIDIA leads. Franklin's preference for Microsoft suggests its active managers see more risk-adjusted value in the enterprise software/cloud play than in the AI chip cycle.

Franklin also trimmed NVIDIA by 3% in shares while keeping Microsoft essentially flat. It's a deliberate active bet: AI infrastructure is important, but the software layer (Azure, Office 365, Copilot) is where Franklin sees the durable revenue stream.

Exxon Mobil in the Top 10

The most distinctive Franklin holding: Exxon Mobil at $5.1B, the 8th largest position. Exxon was built 8.4% in shares during Q4 — one of the largest percentage increases in the top 15. No other mega-filer we've covered has Exxon this high in their portfolio.

This is the Templeton contrarian streak showing through. Sir John Templeton famously said, "The time of maximum pessimism is the best time to buy." While the market is obsessed with AI and tech, Franklin's managers are adding to the world's largest energy company at a modest valuation with a 3.4% dividend yield. Exxon generates more free cash flow than most tech companies — it just doesn't grow as fast.

The Citigroup Surprise: $4 Billion in a Struggling Bank

Perhaps the most eye-catching position: Citigroup (C) at $4.0B, the 13th largest holding. Shares grew 4% in Q4, and the value increased by $650 million. Citigroup has been the perennial underperformer among the big banks — perpetually "turning the corner" under CEO Jane Fraser's restructuring plan.

Franklin's $4B bet says the turn is real. At a P/E below 10 and a price-to-tangible-book below 0.8, Citigroup is the cheapest major U.S. bank. Franklin's active managers are making a classic value bet: buy the ugliest bank at the biggest discount and wait for normalization.

Cisco Built 18%: The Income Manager's Best Friend

Franklin increased its Cisco position by 18% in shares — the largest percentage build in the top 15. At $3.9B, Cisco is the 14th largest holding. Combined with the Invesco data (which also showed Cisco growing 11.6%), there's emerging evidence of institutional money flowing into this old-economy tech name.

The appeal is clear: 3%+ dividend yield, $15B+ in annual free cash flow, and a networking equipment franchise that's increasingly important for AI data center buildouts (every NVIDIA GPU cluster needs Cisco switches). Franklin's income-oriented funds are loading up.

NextEra Energy: The Utility Play

At $3.7B in the 15th position, NextEra Energy (NEE) represents Franklin's bet on the utility sector's AI-driven renaissance. NEE is the world's largest generator of wind and solar energy, and the power demands of AI data centers have made clean energy utilities a growth story.

Franklin's NEE position sits alongside Exxon in the energy complex — a barbell approach that bets on both traditional oil (Exxon) and clean power (NextEra). Few other mega-filers have both in their top 15.

Alphabet Built on Price, Not Shares

Franklin's Alphabet position shows an interesting pattern: GOOGL shares were cut 6.5% and GOOG shares cut 9.1%, but the combined value still rose by $2.4B. This means Franklin was actively trimming Alphabet — taking profits — even as the stock's price appreciation made it a larger portfolio weight.

This diverges from the institutional consensus we've documented. Most filers either held or added to Alphabet. Franklin was selling into the rally. Active managers sometimes take the other side of passive flows — and Franklin's Templeton heritage makes contrarian decisions a feature, not a bug.

How Franklin Compares

Franklin Templeton represents the final piece of our Q4 institutional mosaic. Its identity is clear:

• vs. Wellington: Both are active managers, but Wellington tilts healthcare while Franklin tilts energy and value
• vs. DFA: DFA uses factor models systematically; Franklin uses human judgment informed by decades of Templeton contrarian philosophy
• vs. Invesco: Both are large fund complexes, but Invesco is ETF-driven while Franklin is actively managed

Franklin's filing is a reminder that active management isn't dead — it's just concentrated in the hands of firms with enough conviction to bet differently. When the rest of the market puts NVIDIA at #1, Franklin puts Microsoft. When everyone dumps energy, Franklin builds Exxon. When Citigroup is the cheap-but-unloved bank, Franklin buys $4 billion worth.

What Investors Should Watch

• Microsoft over NVIDIA: Franklin's active bet on software over hardware — watch which thesis wins in 2026
• Citigroup at $4B: The restructuring bet. If Jane Fraser delivers, this is a massive payoff for Franklin's fund holders
• Exxon +8.4%: Old-economy energy at value prices — contrarian but cash-flow-rich
• Cisco +18%: Income + AI data center networking — a dual thesis that could have legs
• Alphabet trimmed against consensus: Franklin selling what everyone's buying — the Templeton contrarian DNA in action