Franklin Settles With Massachusetts, Again

Franklin Resources Inc. on Monday settled charges with Massachusetts regulators who had accused the mutual fund giant of violating a consent order by refusing to admit wrongdoing in a mutual fund trading case.

San Mateo, Calif.-based Franklin agreed Sept. 20 to pay Massachusetts $5 million to end the state’s probe of alleged market-timing abuses. But in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Franklin said it “did not admit or deny engaging in wrongdoing” in the settlement.

That irked Massachusetts Secretary of State William Galvin, who had touted Franklin’s admission of guilt as a victory for investors. Galvin promptly filed another court complaint saying Franklin’s use of that wording had violated terms of the agreement.

On Monday, Franklin said it amended its SEC filing to say it had failed to include an admission to Massachusetts’ “statement of fact” in the case. The company said other terms of the settlement hadn’t changed and that there was no additional monetary penalty.