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Fund Summary
Franklin Investors Securities Trust - FIST2-25 | Franklin Low Duration Total Return Fund
Investment Goal
A high level of current income as is consistent with prudent investing, while seeking preservation of capital.
Fees and Expenses of the Fund

These tables describe the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the Fund. You may qualify for sales charge discounts in Class A if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $100,000 in Franklin Templeton funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and under “Your Account” on page 135 in the Fund's Prospectus and under “Buying and Selling Shares” on page 85 of the Fund’s Statement of Additional Information. In addition, more information about sales charge discounts and waivers for purchases of shares through specific financial intermediaries is set forth in Appendix A – "Intermediary Sales Charge Discounts and Waivers" to the Fund’s prospectus.

Please note that the tables and examples below do not reflect any transaction fees that may be charged by financial intermediaries, or commissions that a shareholder may be required to pay directly to its financial intermediary when buying or selling Class R6 or Advisor Class shares.

Shareholder Fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Shareholder Fees {- Franklin Low Duration Total Return Fund} - Franklin Investors Securities Trust - FIST2-25 - Franklin Low Duration Total Return Fund
Class A
[1]
Class C
[2]
Class R6
Advisor Class
Maximum Sales Charge (Load) Imposed on Purchases (as percentage of offering price) 2.25% none none none
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (Load) (as percentage of the lower of original purchase price or sale proceeds) none 1.00% none none
[1] There is a 0.75% contingent deferred sales charge that applies to investments of $500,000 or more (see "Investments of $500,000 or More" under "Choosing a Share Class") and purchases by certain retirement plans without an initial sales charge on shares sold within 18 months of purchase.
[2] Effective October 5, 2018, Class C shares that have been held for 10 years or more will convert automatically into Class A shares later in the month of October 2018 and will be subject to Class A shares’ lower Rule 12b-1 fees. Thereafter, Class C shares of the Fund will convert automatically to Class A shares of the Fund on a monthly basis in the month of, or the month following, the 10-year anniversary of the Class C shares’ purchase date. Such conversions will be on the basis of the relative net asset values of the two classes, will not be subject to Class A shares’ sales charges and are not expected to be a taxable event for federal income tax purposes. Certain shares that are invested through retirement plans, omnibus accounts or in certain other instances may not automatically convert if the financial intermediary does not have the ability to track purchases to credit individual shareholders’ holding periods. (See “Your Account – Choosing a Shares Class – Sales Charges - Class C – Automatic Conversion of Class C Shares to Class A Shares After 10-Year Holding Period” for more information.)

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

Annual Operating Expenses {- Franklin Low Duration Total Return Fund} - Franklin Investors Securities Trust - FIST2-25 - Franklin Low Duration Total Return Fund
Class A
Class C
Class R6
Advisor Class
Management fees 0.50% 0.50% 0.50% 0.50%
Distribution and service (12b-1) fees 0.25% 0.65% none none
Other expenses [1] 0.20% 0.20% 0.05% 0.20%
Acquired fund fees and expenses 0.02% 0.02% 0.02% 0.02%
Total annual Fund operating expenses [1] 0.97% 1.37% 0.57% 0.72%
Fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement [2] (0.26%) (0.26%) (0.26%) (0.26%)
Total annual Fund operating expenses after fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement [1],[2] 0.71% 1.11% 0.31% 0.46%
[1] Other expenses of the Fund have been restated to exclude non-recurring prior period expenses and for Class R6 shares, to reflect current fiscal year expenses. If the non-recurring prior period expenses were included in the table above, the amounts stated would have been greater. Consequently, the total annual Fund operating expenses differ from the ratio of expenses to average net assets shown in the Financial Highlights.
[2] The investment manager has contractually agreed to waive or assume certain expenses so that common expenses (excluding the Rule 12b-1 fees, acquired fund fees and expenses and certain non-routine expenses) for each class of the Fund do not exceed 0.44% until February 28, 2019. The investment manager also has contractually agreed in advance to reduce its fees as a result of the Fund's investments in Franklin Templeton affiliated funds (acquired funds) for the next 12-month period. Contractual fee waiver and/or expense reimbursement agreements may not be changed or terminated during the time period set forth above.
Example
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then redeem all of your shares at the end of the period. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. The Example reflects adjustments made to the Fund's operating expenses due to the fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements by management for the 1 Year numbers only. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
Expense Example {- Franklin Low Duration Total Return Fund} - Franklin Investors Securities Trust - FIST2-25 - Franklin Low Duration Total Return Fund - USD ($)
Class A
Class C
Class R6
Advisor Class
1 year $ 296 $ 213 $ 32 $ 47
3 years 502 408 156 204
5 years 725 725 293 375
10 years $ 1,366 $ 1,625 $ 689 $ 871
If you do not sell your shares:
Expense Example, No Redemption {- Franklin Low Duration Total Return Fund}
Franklin Investors Securities Trust - FIST2-25
Franklin Low Duration Total Return Fund
Class C
USD ($)
1 Year $ 113
3 Years 408
5 Years 725
10 Years $ 1,625
Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual Fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 50.40% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests primarily in debt securities, which may be represented by derivative investments that provide exposure to debt securities such as futures, options and swap agreements. The debt securities in which the Fund may invest include government and corporate debt securities, mortgage- and asset-backed securities, floating interest rate corporate loans and debt securities and municipal securities.

The Fund targets an estimated average portfolio duration of three (3) years or less. Duration is a measure of the expected price volatility of a debt instrument as a result of changes in market rates of interest, based on the weighted average timing of the instrument’s expected principal and interest payments and other factors.

The Fund invests primarily in investment grade debt securities and in unrated securities that the investment manager deems are of comparable quality. Derivatives whose reference securities are investment grade are considered by the Fund to be investment grade. The Fund's focus on the credit quality of its portfolio is intended to reduce credit risk and help to preserve the Fund's capital.

The Fund also may invest up to 20% of its total assets in non-investment grade securities, including up to 5% in securities rated lower than B- by S&P or Moody's, which may include defaulted securities. (In calculating the above non-investment grade debt limitations, the Fund combines its non-investment grade debt securities with the net long and short exposure to non-investment grade debt securities from derivative instruments.) Excluding derivatives, the Fund will invest no more than 33% of its total assets in non-investment grade debt securities, including no more than 5% in securities rated lower than B- by S&P or Moody's, which may include defaulted securities. For purposes of the credit limitations above, non-investment grade debt securities include unrated securities that the investment manager deems are of comparable quality.

The Fund may invest up to 25% of its total assets in foreign securities, including up to 20% of its total assets in non-U.S. dollar denominated securities and up to 10% of its total assets in emerging market securities.

The Fund may invest a small portion of its assets in marketplace loans to consumers and small and mid-sized enterprises or companies (SMEs) originated through online lending platforms.

The Fund may invest in many different securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or by non-U.S. governments or their respective agencies or instrumentalities, including mortgage-backed securities and inflation-indexed securities issued by the U.S. Treasury. Mortgage-backed securities represent an interest in a pool of mortgage loans made by banks and other financial institutions to finance purchases of homes, commercial buildings and other real estate. The individual mortgage loans are packaged or "pooled" together for sale to investors. As the underlying mortgage loans are paid off, investors receive principal and interest payments. These securities may be fixed-rate or adjustable-rate mortgage-backed securities (ARMS). The Fund may also invest a small portion of its assets directly in mortgage loans.

To pursue its investment goal, the Fund regularly enters into various derivative transactions, including currency forwards, currency, interest rate/bond futures contracts and options on interest rate futures contracts, and swap agreements, including interest rate, fixed income total return, currency and credit default swaps, and options on interest rate and credit default swap agreements. The use of these derivative transactions may allow the Fund to obtain net long or short exposures to select currencies, interest rates, countries, duration or credit risks. These derivatives may be used to enhance Fund returns, increase liquidity, gain exposure to certain instruments or markets in a more efficient or less expensive way and/or hedge risks associated with its other portfolio investments.

In choosing investments, the Fund’s investment manager selects securities in various market sectors based on the investment manager’s assessment of changing economic, market, industry and issuer conditions. The investment manager uses a “top-down” analysis of macroeconomic trends, combined with a “bottom-up” fundamental analysis of market sectors, industries and issuers, to try to take advantage of varying sector reactions to economic events.

Principal Risks

You could lose money by investing in the Fund. Mutual fund shares are not deposits or obligations of, or guaranteed or endorsed by, any bank, and are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board, or any other agency of the U.S. government.

Interest Rate

When interest rates rise, debt security prices generally fall. The opposite is also generally true: debt security prices rise when interest rates fall. Interest rate changes are influenced by a number of factors, including government policy, monetary policy, inflation expectations, perceptions of risk, and supply and demand of bonds. In general, fixed rate securities with longer maturities or durations are more sensitive to interest rate changes.

Credit

An issuer of debt securities may fail to make interest payments or repay principal when due, in whole or in part. Changes in an issuer's financial strength or in a security's credit rating may affect a security's value.

High-Yield Debt Securities

Issuers of lower-rated or “high-yield” debt securities (also known as “junk bonds”) are not as strong financially as those issuing higher credit quality debt securities. High-yield debt securities are generally considered predominantly speculative by the applicable rating agencies as their issuers are more likely to encounter financial difficulties because they may be more highly leveraged, or because of other considerations. In addition, high yield debt securities generally are more vulnerable to changes in the relevant economy, such as a recession or a sustained period of rising interest rates, that could affect their ability to make interest and principal payments when due. The prices of high-yield debt securities generally fluctuate more than those of higher credit quality. High-yield debt securities are generally more illiquid (harder to sell) and harder to value.

Floating Rate Corporate Investments

Floating rate corporate loans and corporate debt securities generally have credit ratings below investment grade and may be subject to resale restrictions. They are often issued in connection with highly leveraged transactions, and may be subject to greater credit risks than other investments including the possibility of default or bankruptcy. In addition, a secondary market in corporate loans may be subject to irregular trading activity, wide bid/ask spreads and extended trade settlement periods, which may impair the ability to accurately value existing and prospective investments and to realize in a timely fashion the full value on sale of a corporate loan. A significant portion of floating rate investments may be “covenant lite” loans that may contain fewer or less restrictive constraints on the borrower or other borrower-friendly characteristics.

Derivative Instruments

The performance of derivative instruments depends largely on the performance of an underlying instrument, such as a currency, security, interest rate or index, and such instruments often have risks similar to the underlying instrument, in addition to other risks. Derivatives involve costs and can create economic leverage in the Fund’s portfolio which may result in significant volatility and cause the Fund to participate in losses (as well as gains) in an amount that exceeds the Fund’s initial investment. Other risks include illiquidity, mispricing or improper valuation of the derivative instrument, and imperfect correlation between the value of the derivative and the underlying instrument so that the Fund may not realize the intended benefits. When a derivative is used for hedging, the change in value of the derivative may also not correlate specifically with the currency, security, interest rate, index or other risk being hedged. Derivatives also may present the risk that the other party to the transaction will fail to perform.

Income

Because the Fund can only distribute what it earns, the Fund's distributions to shareholders may decline when prevailing interest rates fall, when the Fund experiences defaults on debt securities it holds, or when the Fund realizes a loss upon the sale of a debt security.

Mortgage Securities and Asset-Backed Securities

Mortgage securities differ from conventional debt securities because principal is paid back periodically over the life of the security rather than at maturity. The Fund may receive unscheduled payments of principal due to voluntary prepayments, refinancings or foreclosures on the underlying mortgage loans. Because of prepayments, mortgage securities may be less effective than some other types of debt securities as a means of "locking in" long-term interest rates and may have less potential for capital appreciation during periods of falling interest rates. A reduction in the anticipated rate of principal prepayments, especially during periods of rising interest rates, may increase or extend the effective maturity of mortgage securities, making them more sensitive to interest rate changes, subject to greater price volatility, and more susceptible than some other debt securities to a decline in market value when interest rates rise.

Issuers of asset-backed securities may have limited ability to enforce the security interest in the underlying assets, and credit enhancements provided to support the securities, if any, may be inadequate to protect investors in the event of default. Like mortgage securities, asset-backed securities are subject to prepayment and extension risks.

Foreign Securities (non U.S.)

Investing in foreign securities typically involves more risks than investing in U.S. securities, including risks related to currency exchange rates and policies, country or government specific issues, less favorable trading practices or regulation and greater price volatility. Certain of these risks also may apply to securities of U.S. companies with significant foreign operations.

Currency Management Strategies

Currency management strategies may substantially change the Fund’s exposure to currency exchange rates and could result in losses to the Fund if currencies do not perform as the investment manager expects. In addition, currency management strategies, to the extent that they reduce the Fund’s exposure to currency risks, may also reduce the Fund’s ability to benefit from favorable changes in currency exchange rates. Using currency management strategies for purposes other than hedging further increases the Fund’s exposure to foreign investment losses. Currency markets generally are not as regulated as securities markets. In addition, currency rates may fluctuate significantly over short periods of time, and can reduce returns.

Sovereign Debt Securities

Sovereign debt securities are subject to various risks in addition to those relating to debt securities and foreign securities generally, including, but not limited to, the risk that a governmental entity may be unwilling or unable to pay interest and repay principal on its sovereign debt, or otherwise meet its obligations when due because of cash flow problems, insufficient foreign reserves, the relative size of the debt service burden to the economy as a whole, the government’s policy towards principal international lenders such as the International Monetary Fund, or the political considerations to which the government may be subject. If a sovereign debtor defaults (or threatens to default) on its sovereign debt obligations, the indebtedness may be restructured. Some sovereign debtors have in the past been able to restructure their debt payments without the approval of some or all debt holders or to declare moratoria on payments. In the event of a default on sovereign debt, the Fund may also have limited legal recourse against the defaulting government entity.

Emerging Market Countries

The Fund’s investments in emerging market countries are subject to all of the risks of foreign investing generally, and have additional heightened risks due to a lack of established legal, political, business and social frameworks to support securities and currency markets, including: delays in settling portfolio transactions; currency and capital controls; greater sensitivity to interest rate changes; pervasiveness of corruption and crime; currency exchange rate volatility; and inflation, deflation or currency devaluation.

Extension

Some debt securities, particularly mortgage-backed securities, are subject to the risk that the debt security’s effective maturity is extended because calls or prepayments are less or slower than anticipated, particularly when interest rates rise. The market value of such security may then decline and become more interest rate sensitive.

Prepayment

Prepayment risk occurs when a debt security can be repaid in whole or in part prior to the security's maturity and the Fund must reinvest the proceeds it receives, during periods of declining interest rates, in securities that pay a lower rate of interest. Also, if a security has been purchased at a premium, the value of the premium would be lost in the event of prepayment. Prepayments generally increase when interest rates fall.

Marketplace Loans

Marketplace loans are subject to the risks associated with debt investments generally, including but not limited to, interest rate, credit, liquidity, high yield debt, market and income risks. Marketplace loans generally are not rated by rating agencies, are often unsecured, and are highly risky and speculative investments. Lenders and investors, such as the Fund, assume all of the credit risk on the loans they fund or purchase and there are no assurances that payments due on underlying loans will be made. In addition, investments in marketplace loans may be adversely affected if the platform operator or a third-party service provider becomes unable or unwilling to fulfill its obligations in servicing the loans. Moreover, the Fund may have limited information about the underlying marketplace loans and information provided to the platform regarding the loans and the borrowers’ credit information may be incomplete, inaccurate or outdated. It also may be difficult for the Fund to sell an investment in a marketplace loan before maturity at the price at which the Fund believes the loan should be valued because these loans typically are considered by the Fund to be illiquid securities.

Liquidity

From time to time, the trading market for a particular security or type of security or other investments in which the Fund invests may become less liquid or even illiquid. Reduced liquidity will have an adverse impact on the Fund’s ability to sell such securities or other investments when necessary to meet the Fund’s liquidity needs, in response to a specific economic event or to buy particular securities to invest available cash or when considered advantageous by the investment manager. Reduced liquidity will also generally lower the value of such securities or other investments. Market prices for such securities or other investments may be volatile.

Variable Rate Securities

Because changes in interest rates on variable rate securities (including floating rate securities) may lag behind changes in market rates, the value of such securities may decline during periods of rising interest rates until their interest rates reset to market rates. During periods of declining interest rates, because the interest rates on variable rate securities generally reset downward, their market value is unlikely to rise to the same extent as the value of comparable fixed rate securities.

Market

The market values of securities or other investments owned by the Fund will go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. The market value of a security or other investment may be reduced by market activity or other results of supply and demand unrelated to the issuer. This is a basic risk associated with all investments. When there are more sellers than buyers, prices tend to fall. Likewise, when there are more buyers than sellers, prices tend to rise.

Management

The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed investment portfolio. The Fund's investment manager applies investment techniques and risk analyses in making investment decisions for the Fund, but there can be no guarantee that these decisions will produce the desired results.

Performance

The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows changes in the Fund's performance from year to year for Class A shares. The table shows how the Fund's average annual returns for 1 year, 5 years, 10 years or since inception, as applicable, compared with those of a broad measure of market performance. The Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. You can obtain updated performance information at franklintempleton.com or by calling (800) DIAL BEN/342-5236.

Sales charges are not reflected in the bar chart, and if those charges were included, returns would be less than those shown.

Class A Annual Total Returns
Bar Chart
Best Quarter:Q3'092.87%
Worst Quarter:Q3'11-1.94%

Average Annual Total Returns
(figures reflect sales charges)

For the periods ended December 31, 2017

Average Annual Total Returns{- Franklin Low Duration Total Return Fund} - Franklin Investors Securities Trust - FIST2-25 - Franklin Low Duration Total Return Fund
Past 1 year
Past 5 years
Past 10 years
Since Inception
[1]
Class A | Return Before Taxes (1.09%) 0.63% 2.29%  
Class A | After Taxes on Distributions (1.87%) (0.25%) 1.26%  
Class A | After Taxes on Distributions and Sales (0.62%) 0.08% 1.35%  
Class C | Return Before Taxes (0.19%) 0.68% 2.10%  
Class R6 | Return Before Taxes 1.55%   1.38%
Advisor Class | Return Before Taxes 1.52% 1.34% 2.78%  
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Government & Credit (1-3 Year) Index (index reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 0.84% 0.84% 1.85%  
[1] Since inception May 1, 2013.

Historical performance for Class C shares prior to their inception is based on the performance of Class A shares. Class C performance has been adjusted to reflect differences in sales charges and 12b-1 expenses between classes.

The after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. After-tax returns are shown only for Class A and after-tax returns for other classes will vary.