# EDGAR Filing Document

**Accession Number:** 0000872625
**File Stem:** 0001133228-25-009085
**Filing Date:** 2025-8
**Character Count:** 154062
**Document Hash:** b1e668ba7542fc7275b247d40bec9aa1
**Contains OCR:** False
**Source Format:** 

## Filing Content

## Filing Summary
**0001133228-25-009085.hdr.sgml**: 20250828

**ACCESSION NUMBER**: 0001133228-25-009085

**CONFORMED SUBMISSION TYPE**: N-CSRS

**PUBLIC DOCUMENT COUNT**: 23

**CONFORMED PERIOD OF REPORT**: 20250630

**FILED AS OF DATE**: 20250828

**DATE AS OF CHANGE**: 20250828

**EFFECTIVENESS DATE**: 20250828

**FILER**: 

**COMPANY DATA:**
- **COMPANY CONFORMED NAME:** FRANKLIN STRATEGIC SERIES
- **CENTRAL INDEX KEY:** 0000872625

**ORGANIZATION NAME:**
- **EIN:** 000000000
- **STATE OF INCORPORATION:** FL
- **FISCAL YEAR END:** 0430

**FILING VALUES:**
- **FORM TYPE:** N-CSRS
- **SEC ACT:** 1940 Act
- **SEC FILE NUMBER:** 811-06243
- **FILM NUMBER:** 251267371

**BUSINESS ADDRESS:**
- **STREET 1:** ONE FRANKLIN PARKWAY
- **CITY:** SAN MATEO
- **STATE:** CA
- **ZIP:** 94403-1906
- **BUSINESS PHONE:** 650-570-3000

**MAIL ADDRESS:**
- **STREET 1:** ONE FRANKLIN PARKWAY
- **CITY:** SAN MATEO
- **STATE:** CA
- **ZIP:** 94403-1906

**FORMER COMPANY:**
- **FORMER CONFORMED NAME:** FRANKLIN CALIFORNIA 250 GROWTH FUND
- **DATE OF NAME CHANGE:** 19911216

**FORMER COMPANY:**
- **FORMER CONFORMED NAME:** FRANKLIN CALIFORNIA 250 GROWTH INDEX FUND
- **DATE OF NAME CHANGE:** 19910917

## Series and Classes Contracts Data

### Franklin Templeton SMACS: Series C (Series ID: S000092788)

| Class ID   | Class Name                         | Ticker Symbol   |
|:---|:---|:---|
| C000260830 | Franklin Templeton SMACS: Series C | FACBX           |

### Franklin Templeton SMACS: Series CP (Series ID: S000092789)

| Class ID   | Class Name                          | Ticker Symbol   |
|:---|:---|:---|
| C000260831 | Franklin Templeton SMACS: Series CP | FASBX           |

?xml version='1.0' encoding='ASCII'? 2025-07-1774200192900_FranklinTempletonSMACSSeriesC_SingleClass_TSRSemiAnnual

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

**FORM N-CSR** 

CERTIFIED SHAREHOLDER REPORT OF REGISTERED

MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES

Investment Company Act file number **811-06243**

 **Franklin Strategic Series**

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

**One Franklin Parkway, San Mateo, CA 94403-1906**

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

Alison Baur

Franklin Templeton

One Franklin Parkway

San Mateo, CA 94403-1906

(Name and address of agent for service)

Registrant's telephone number, including area code: **(650) 312-2000**

Date of fiscal year end: **December 31**

Date of reporting period: **June 30, 2025** 

ITEM 1. REPORT TO STOCKHOLDERS.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a) The Report to Shareholders is filed herewith

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **Franklin Templeton SMACS: Series C**  | ![image](img2199_202405220716489.jpg) |
| Semi-Annual Shareholder Report \| June 30, 2025  | ![image](img2199_202405220716489.jpg) |
| ![image](img2195_202408190904545.jpg) | ![image](img2195_202408190904545.jpg) |

---

This semi-annual shareholder report contains important information about Franklin Templeton SMACS: Series C for the period June 20, 2025, to June 30, 2025.

You can find additional information about the Fund at https://www.franklintempleton.com/regulatory-fund-documents. You can also request this information by contacting us at (800) DIAL BEN/342-5236.

**WHAT WERE THE FUND COSTS FOR THE LAST SIX MONTHS?** (based on a hypothetical $10,000 investment)

---

| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
| **Fund Name** | **Costs of a $10,000** **investment** | **Costs paid as a percentage of a** **$10,000 investment**<sup>\*</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>†</sup>  |
| Franklin Templeton SMACS: Series C<sup>1,</sup><sup>2</sup>  | $0 | 0.00% |

---

\* Reflects fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, without which expenses would have been higher.

† Annualized.

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| 1 | Amounts are for the period June 20, 2025 through June 30, 2025. Expenses for the full reporting period would have been higher. |

---

2 Does not reflect the effect of fees and expenses associated with a separately managed account, or a management fee or other operating expenses of the Fund.

**KEY FUND STATISTICS** (as of June 30, 2025)

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **Total Net Assets** | $8141798 |
| **Total Number of Portfolio Holdings**<sup>\*</sup>  | 190 |
| **Portfolio Turnover Rate** | 0.00% |

---

\* Does not include derivatives, except purchased options, if any.

**WHAT DID THE FUND INVEST IN?** (as of June 30, 2025)

**Portfolio Composition**<sup>\*</sup> **(% of Total Investments)**

![image](ts4293img003.jpg)

\* Does not include derivatives, except purchased options, if any.

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | **WHERE CAN I FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND?** |
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | Additional information is available on https://www.franklintempleton.com/regulatory-fund-documents, including its: |
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | • prospectus • proxy voting information • financial information • holdings • tax information |

---

Franklin Templeton SMACS: Series C PAGE 1 3011-STSR-0825

69.14.73.42.82.72.72.62.22.12.01.64.1 ------

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **Franklin Templeton SMACS: Series CP**  | ![image](img2199_202405220716489.jpg) |
| Semi-Annual Shareholder Report \| June 30, 2025  | ![image](img2199_202405220716489.jpg) |
| ![image](img2195_202408190904545.jpg) | ![image](img2195_202408190904545.jpg) |

---

This semi-annual shareholder report contains important information about Franklin Templeton SMACS: Series CP for the period June 20, 2025, to June 30, 2025.

You can find additional information about the Fund at https://www.franklintempleton.com/regulatory-fund-documents. You can also request this information by contacting us at (800) DIAL BEN/342-5236.

**WHAT WERE THE FUND COSTS FOR THE LAST SIX MONTHS?** (based on a hypothetical $10,000 investment)

---

| | | |
|:---|:---|:---|
| **Fund Name** | **Costs of a $10,000** **investment** | **Costs paid as a percentage of a** **$10,000 investment**<sup>\*</sup><sup>,</sup><sup>†</sup>  |
| Franklin Templeton SMACS: Series CP<sup>1,</sup><sup>2</sup>  | $0 | 0.00% |

---

\* Reflects fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, without which expenses would have been higher.

† Annualized.

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| 1 | Amounts are for the period June 20, 2025 through June 30, 2025. Expenses for the full reporting period would have been higher. |

---

2 Does not reflect the effect of fees and expenses associated with a separately managed account, or a management fee or other operating expenses of the Fund.

**KEY FUND STATISTICS** (as of June 30, 2025)

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **Total Net Assets** | $8151497 |
| **Total Number of Portfolio Holdings**<sup>\*</sup>  | 239 |
| **Portfolio Turnover Rate** | 0.00% |

---

\* Does not include derivatives, except purchased options, if any.

**WHAT DID THE FUND INVEST IN?** (as of June 30, 2025)

**Portfolio Composition**<sup>\*</sup> **(% of Total Investments)**

![image](ts4294img003.jpg)

\* Does not include derivatives, except purchased options, if any.

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | **WHERE CAN I FIND ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ABOUT THE FUND?** |
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | Additional information is available on https://www.franklintempleton.com/regulatory-fund-documents, including its: |
| ![image](img11308_202405310907293.jpg) | • prospectus • proxy voting information • financial information • holdings • tax information |

---

Franklin Templeton SMACS: Series CP PAGE 1 3012-STSR-0825

44.47.46.55.95.65.45.35.13.43.33.14.6 ------

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b) Not applicable

ITEM 2. CODE OF ETHICS.

Not applicable.

ITEM 3. AUDIT COMMITTEE FINANCIAL EXPERT.

Not applicable.

ITEM 4. PRINCIPAL ACCOUNTANT FEES AND SERVICES.

Not applicable.

ITEM 5. AUDIT COMMITTEE OF LISTED REGISTRANTS.

Not applicable.

ITEM 6. SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a) Please see schedule of investments contained in the Financial Statements and Financial
 Highlights included under Item 7 of this Form N-CSR.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b) Not applicable.

ITEM 7. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS AND FINANCIAL HIGLIGHTS FOR OPEN-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.

#### Franklin

#### Strategic

#### Series

#### Financial

#### Statements

#### and

#### Other

#### Important

#### Information

#### Semi-Annual
\|

June

30,

2025

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### C

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### CP

#### Table

#### of

#### Contents
franklintempleton.com

Financial

Statements

and

Other

Important

Information—Semiannual

Financial

Highlights

and

Schedules

of

Investments

#### 2
Financial

Statements

#### 24
Notes

to

Financial

Statements

#### 27
Changes

In

and

Disagreements

with

Accountants

#### 37
Results

of

Meeting(s)

of

Shareholders

Remuneration

Paid

to

Directors,

Officers

and

Others

Board

Approval

of

Management

and

Subadvisory

Agreements

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Financial

Highlights

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### C
franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

a

#### Period

#### Ended

#### June

#### 30,

#### 2025
(unaudited)

#### a

#### Per

#### share

#### operating

#### performance
(for

a

share

outstanding

throughout

the

period)

Net

asset

value,

beginning

of

period

...................................................................

$10.00

Income

from

investment

operations

b

:

Net

investment

income

c

...........................................................................

0.01 Net

realized

and

unrealized

gains

(losses)

.............................................................

0.09 Total

from

investment

operations

......................................................................

0.10 Net

asset

value,

end

of

period

........................................................................

$10.10

Total

return

d

.....................................................................................

1.00%

#### Ratios

#### to

#### average

#### net

#### assets

#### e
Expenses

before

waiver

and

payments

by

affiliates

........................................................

1.59%

Expenses

net

of

waiver

and

payments

by

affiliates

.........................................................

—%

Net

investment

income

.............................................................................

4.52%

#### Supplemental

#### data
Net

assets

,

end

of

period

(000's)

......................................................................

$8,142

Portfolio

turnover

rate

..............................................................................

—%

a

For

the

period

June

20,

2025

(commencement

of

operations)

to

June

30,

2025. b

The

amount

shown

for

a

share

outstanding

throughout

the

period

may

not

correlate

with

the

Statement

of

Operations

for

the

period

due

to

the

timing

of

sales

and

repurchases

of

the

Fund's

shares

in

relation

to

income

earned

and/or

fluctuating

fair

value

of

the

investments

of

the

Fund.

c

Based

on

average

daily

shares

outstanding.

d

Total

return

is

not

annualized

for

periods

less

than

one

year.

e

Ratios

are

annualized

for

periods

less

than

one

year,

except

for

non-recurring

expenses,

if

any.

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited),

June

30,

2025

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### C
franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

a

a

#### Principal

#### Amount
a

#### Value
a

a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds

#### 34.7%

#### Aerospace

#### &

#### Defense

#### 1.1%
Boeing

Co.

(The)

,

Senior

Bond

,

2.95 %

,

2/01/30

.........................................

$

8,000

$

7,420

Senior

Bond

,

6.125 %

,

2/15/33

........................................

11,000

11,629

Senior

Bond

,

3.375 %

,

6/15/46

........................................

12,000

8,223

Senior

Bond

,

3.9 %

,

5/01/49

..........................................

11,000

7,899

Senior

Bond

,

6.858 %

,

5/01/54

........................................

7,000

7,670

Senior

Note

,

2.196 %

,

2/04/26

.........................................

20,000

19,691

Howmet

Aerospace,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

6.75 %

,

1/15/28

.........................................

8,000

8,432

Senior

Bond

,

5.95 %

,

2/01/37

.........................................

11,000

11,688

Senior

Note

,

%

,

1/15/29

............................................

8,000

7,654

90,306

#### Automobiles

#### 0.5%
a

Hyundai

Capital

America

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.5 %

,

1/16/29

...................

38,000

40,091

#### Banks

#### 3.8%
Bank

of

America

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.468%

to

1/22/34,

FRN

thereafter

,

1/23/35

....................

8,000

8,222

Senior

Note

,

2.551%

to

2/03/27,

FRN

thereafter

,

2/04/28

....................

12,000

11,666

Sub.

Bond

,

5.425%

to

8/14/34,

FRN

thereafter

,

8/15/35

.....................

15,000

15,002

Sub.

Bond

,

3.846%

to

3/07/32,

FRN

thereafter

,

3/08/37

.....................

35,000

32,038

Citigroup,

Inc.

,

Sub.

Bond

,

4.45 %

,

9/29/27

...........................................

31,000

31,036

Sub.

Bond

,

6.174%

to

5/24/33,

FRN

thereafter

,

5/25/34

.....................

8,000

8,378

Fifth

Third

Bancorp

,

Senior

Note

,

6.339%

to

7/26/28,

FRN

thereafter

,

7/27/29

......

11,000

11,588

JPMorgan

Chase

&

Co.

,

b

KK

,

Junior

Sub.

Bond

,

3.65%

to

5/31/26,

FRN

thereafter

,

Perpetual

............

7,000

6,904

Senior

Bond

,

3.782%

to

1/31/27,

FRN

thereafter

,

2/01/28

....................

31,000

30,742

Senior

Bond

,

5.502%

to

1/23/35,

FRN

thereafter

,

1/24/36

....................

8,000

8,243

Sub.

Bond

,

5.717%

to

9/13/32,

FRN

thereafter

,

9/14/33

.....................

16,000

16,682

PNC

Financial

Services

Group,

Inc.

(The)

,

Sub.

Bond

,

4.626%

to

6/05/32,

FRN

thereafter

,

6/06/33

.................................................

28,000

27,186

Royal

Bank

of

Canada

,

Senior

Note

,

5.2 %

,

8/01/28

..........................

20,000

20,581

Toronto-Dominion

Bank

(The)

,

Senior

Note

,

4.108 %

,

6/08/27

...................

20,000

19,956

US

Bancorp

,

Sub.

Bond

,

2.491%

to

11/02/31,

FRN

thereafter

,

11/03/36

...........

14,000

11,887

Wells

Fargo

&

Co.

,

b

BB

,

Junior

Sub.

Bond

,

3.9%

to

3/14/26,

FRN

thereafter

,

Perpetual

.............

12,000

11,885

Senior

Bond

,

2.879%

to

10/29/29,

FRN

thereafter

,

10/30/30

..................

43,000

40,186

312,182

#### Biotechnology

#### 0.8%
AbbVie,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.05 %

,

3/15/34

................................

40,000

40,742

Amgen,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.65 %

,

3/02/53

.........................................

7,000

6,840

Senior

Note

,

5.25 %

,

3/02/30

.........................................

8,000

8,245

a

CSL

Finance

plc

,

Senior

Bond

,

144A,

4.625 %

,

4/27/42

.......................

14,000

12,419

68,246

#### Capital

#### Markets

#### 2.3%
Ares

Capital

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

3.875 %

,

1/15/26

.........................................

8,000

7,959

Senior

Note

,

%

,

1/15/27

............................................

8,000

8,257

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### C
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

a

a

#### Principal

#### Amount
a

#### Value
a

a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Capital

#### Markets
(continued)

Goldman

Sachs

Group,

Inc.

(The)

,

Senior

Bond

,

4.223%

to

4/30/28,

FRN

thereafter

,

5/01/29

.........................................................

$

20,000

$

19,889

Intercontinental

Exchange,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

1.85 %

,

9/15/32

..................

29,000

24,094

Jefferies

Financial

Group,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

6.2 %

,

4/14/34

....................

8,000

8,372

a

KKR

Group

Finance

Co.

VI

LLC

,

Senior

Bond

,

144A,

3.75 %

,

7/01/29

.............

12,000

11,659

LPL

Holdings,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

5.2 %

,

3/15/30

.............................

20,000

20,321

Morgan

Stanley

,

Senior

Note

,

5.123%

to

1/31/28,

FRN

thereafter

,

2/01/29

....................

20,000

20,354

Senior

Note

,

5.23%

to

1/14/30,

FRN

thereafter

,

1/15/31

.....................

16,000

16,383

Sub.

Bond

,

5.942%

to

2/06/34,

FRN

thereafter

,

2/07/39

.....................

8,000

8,215

a

MSCI,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

144A,

3.625 %

,

9/01/30

............................

22,000

20,651

S&P

Global,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

2.5 %

,

12/01/29

.............................

22,000

20,465

186,619

#### Chemicals

#### 0.6%
DuPont

de

Nemours,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.419 %

,

11/15/48

.....................

39,000

39,326

FMC

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

3.45 %

,

10/01/29

................................

13,000

12,116

51,442

#### Commercial

#### Services

#### &

#### Supplies

#### 0.6%
Republic

Services,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

%

,

11/15/29

..........................

20,000

20,578

Waste

Connections,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

4.25 %

,

12/01/28

........................................

8,000

8,036

Senior

Bond

,

%

,

3/01/34

...........................................

16,000

16,178

Waste

Management,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

4.875 %

,

2/15/29

......................

8,000

8,198

52,990

#### Communications

#### Equipment

#### 0.6%
Cisco

Systems,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.05 %

,

2/26/34

...........................

20,000

20,480

Motorola

Solutions,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

2.3 %

,

11/15/30

.........................................

7,000

6,216

Senior

Note

,

4.85 %

,

8/15/30

.........................................

8,000

8,088

Senior

Note

,

5.2 %

,

8/15/32

..........................................

11,000

11,189

45,973

#### Consumer

#### Finance

#### 0.9%
Ally

Financial,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

%

,

11/01/31

.............................

11,000

12,531

Capital

One

Financial

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

7.624%

to

10/29/30,

FRN

thereafter

,

10/30/31

........................................................

18,000

20,342

General

Motors

Financial

Co.,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

4.9 %

,

10/06/29

................

16,000

15,979

a

Macquarie

Airfinance

Holdings

Ltd.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

5.15 %

,

3/17/30

...........

24,000

24,003

72,855

#### Consumer

#### Staples

#### Distribution

#### &

#### Retail

#### 0.3%
a

7-Eleven,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

1.3 %

,

2/10/28

............................

13,000

11,993

a

Alimentation

Couche-Tard,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

144A,

2.95 %

,

1/25/30

.............

13,000

12,153

24,146

#### Containers

#### &

#### Packaging

#### 0.3%
Berry

Global,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

1.65 %

,

1/15/27

......................

11,000

10,555

WestRock

MWV

LLC

,

Senior

Bond

,

7.95 %

,

2/15/31

..........................

12,000

13,917

24,472

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### C
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

a

a

#### Principal

#### Amount
a

#### Value
a

a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Diversified

#### REITs

#### 0.5%
GLP

Capital

LP

/

GLP

Financing

II,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

3.25 %

,

1/15/32

............

$

12,000

$

10,571

VICI

Properties

LP

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.75 %

,

4/01/34

............................

8,000

8,183

a

VICI

Properties

LP

/

VICI

Note

Co.,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

3.875 %

,

2/15/29

......

21,000

20,327

39,081

#### Diversified

#### Telecommunication

#### Services

#### 1.1%
AT&T,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

2.25 %

,

2/01/32

.........................................

11,000

9,471

Senior

Bond

,

2.55 %

,

12/01/33

........................................

16,000

13,396

Senior

Bond

,

4.75 %

,

5/15/46

.........................................

7,000

6,117

Sprint

Capital

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

6.875 %

,

11/15/28

.........................

45,000

48,321

Verizon

Communications,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

2.355 %

,

3/15/32

..................

14,000

12,073

89,378

#### Electric

#### Utilities

#### 3.4%
a

American

Transmission

Systems,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

144A,

2.65 %

,

1/15/32

........

23,000

20,252

Appalachian

Power

Co.

,

L

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.8 %

,

10/01/35

......................

12,000

12,271

Commonwealth

Edison

Co.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.875 %

,

2/01/33

....................

8,000

8,445

Duke

Energy

Carolinas

LLC

,

Senior

Bond

,

4.25 %

,

12/15/41

...................

8,000

6,850

Duke

Energy

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.45 %

,

6/15/34

.........................................

12,000

12,333

Senior

Note

,

4.85 %

,

1/05/29

.........................................

8,000

8,130

Exelon

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.625 %

,

6/15/35

........................................

12,000

12,349

Senior

Note

,

5.15 %

,

3/15/29

.........................................

12,000

12,317

Georgia

Power

Co.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.25 %

,

3/15/34

...........................

40,000

40,816

NextEra

Energy

Capital

Holdings,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.9 %

,

3/15/55

..........................................

8,000

8,037

Senior

Note

,

5.3 %

,

3/15/32

..........................................

20,000

20,619

a

NRG

Energy,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

2.45 %

,

12/02/27

................

21,000

19,939

Pacific

Gas

and

Electric

Co.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.9 %

,

6/15/32

..........................................

8,000

8,171

Senior

Bond

,

6.75 %

,

1/15/53

.........................................

4,000

4,029

Virginia

Electric

and

Power

Co.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.05 %

,

8/15/34

..................

31,000

31,089

a

Vistra

Operations

Co.

LLC

,

Senior

Secured

Bond

,

144A,

4.3 %

,

7/15/29

..............................

12,000

11,828

Senior

Secured

Bond

,

144A,

6.95 %

,

10/15/33

............................

11,000

12,089

Xcel

Energy,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.6 %

,

4/15/35

..............................

24,000

24,513

274,077

#### Entertainment

#### 0.6%
Netflix,

Inc.

,

a

Senior

Bond

,

144A,

5.375 %

,

11/15/29

..................................

39,000

40,754

Senior

Bond

,

5.4 %

,

8/15/54

..........................................

8,000

7,901

48,655

#### Financial

#### Services

#### 0.3%
Corebridge

Financial,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

3.85 %

,

4/05/29

.......................

21,000

20,585

#### Food

#### Products

#### 1.4%
a

JBS

USA

LUX

SARL

/

JBS

USA

Food

Co.

/

JBS

USA

Foods

Group

,

Senior

Bond

,

144A,

5.95 %

,

4/20/35

...............................................

14,000

14,518

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### C
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

a

a

#### Principal

#### Amount
a

#### Value
a

a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Food

#### Products
(continued)

Kellanova

,

Senior

Bond

,

2.1 %

,

6/01/30

..........................................

$

22,000

$

19,757

Senior

Bond

,

4.5 %

,

4/01/46

..........................................

19,000

16,288

Senior

Bond

,

5.75 %

,

5/16/54

.........................................

8,000

7,879

B

,

Senior

Bond

,

7.45 %

,

4/01/31

.......................................

8,000

9,170

a

Mars,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

5.2 %

,

3/01/35

...............................

16,000

16,200

Pilgrim's

Pride

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

6.25 %

,

7/01/33

.........................................

19,000

20,112

Senior

Note

,

3.5 %

,

3/01/32

..........................................

8,000

7,209

111,133

#### Ground

#### Transportation

#### 0.1%
a

Penske

Truck

Leasing

Co.

LP

/

PTL

Finance

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

4.4 %

,

7/01/27

12,000

11,986

#### Health

#### Care

#### Providers

#### &

#### Services

#### 1.2%
Centene

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

2.625 %

,

8/01/31

..............................

12,000

10,290

CVS

Health

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

4.78 %

,

3/25/38

............................

22,000

20,203

HCA,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

3.625 %

,

3/15/32

..................................

33,000

30,452

UnitedHealth

Group,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.8 %

,

3/15/36

..........................................

12,000

12,620

Senior

Note

,

5.3 %

,

2/15/30

..........................................

8,000

8,287

Universal

Health

Services,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

4.625 %

,

10/15/29

..........

12,000

11,869

93,721

#### Hotels,

#### Restaurants

#### &

#### Leisure

#### 0.6%
a

Carnival

Corp.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

%

,

8/01/28

......................

21,000

20,567

Hyatt

Hotels

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

5.25 %

,

6/30/29

............................

28,000

28,496

49,063

#### Household

#### Durables

#### 0.4%
DR

Horton,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

%

,

10/15/34

...........................................

11,000

10,882

Senior

Bond

,

5.5 %

,

10/15/35

.........................................

12,000

12,227

Toll

Brothers

Finance

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

4.35 %

,

2/15/28

.....................

12,000

11,941

35,050

#### Independent

#### Power

#### and

#### Renewable

#### Electricity

#### Producers

#### 0.5%
Constellation

Energy

Generation

LLC

,

Senior

Bond

,

6.125 %

,

1/15/34

........................................

8,000

8,621

Senior

Bond

,

6.5 %

,

10/01/53

.........................................

11,000

11,820

Senior

Note

,

5.6 %

,

3/01/28

..........................................

16,000

16,560

37,001

#### Industrial

#### REITs

#### 0.1%
Prologis

LP

,

Senior

Bond

,

%

,

3/15/34

....................................

12,000

12,037

#### Insurance

#### 1.1%
Arthur

J

Gallagher

&

Co.

,

Senior

Note

,

4.85 %

,

12/15/29

......................

20,000

20,306

a

Athene

Global

Funding

,

Secured

Note

,

144A,

5.322 %

,

11/13/31

................

24,000

24,209

Berkshire

Hathaway

Finance

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

4.3 %

,

5/15/43

................

7,000

6,170

Brown

&

Brown,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

2.375 %

,

3/15/31

.........................

32,000

28,190

Fairfax

Financial

Holdings

Ltd.

,

Senior

Note

,

4.85 %

,

4/17/28

...................

12,000

12,110

90,985

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### C
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

a

a

#### Principal

#### Amount
a

#### Value
a

a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Interactive

#### Media

#### &

#### Services

#### 0.2%
Meta

Platforms,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.4 %

,

8/15/54

...........................

$

17,000

$

16,591

#### IT

#### Services

#### 0.2%
a

Gartner,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

3.625 %

,

6/15/29

...........................

13,000

12,370

#### Leisure

#### Products

#### 0.1%
Brunswick

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

2.4 %

,

8/18/31

..............................

14,000

11,911

#### Media

#### 0.8%
Charter

Communications

Operating

LLC

/

Charter

Communications

Operating

Capital

Corp.

,

Senior

Secured

Bond

,

3.5 %

,

6/01/41

...................................

22,000

15,971

Senior

Secured

Note

,

2.25 %

,

1/15/29

...................................

22,000

20,266

Paramount

Global

,

Senior

Bond

,

4.2 %

,

6/01/29

..........................................

7,000

6,812

Senior

Bond

,

4.2 %

,

5/19/32

..........................................

8,000

7,305

Time

Warner

Cable

Enterprises

LLC

,

Senior

Secured

Bond

,

8.375 %

,

7/15/33

......

14,000

16,309

66,663

#### Metals

#### &

#### Mining

#### 0.1%
a

Glencore

Funding

LLC

,

Senior

Bond

,

144A,

2.5 %

,

9/01/30

....................

13,000

11,718

#### Multi-Utilities

#### 0.7%
DTE

Energy

Co.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.85 %

,

6/01/34

.........................................

12,000

12,559

Senior

Note

,

4.95 %

,

7/01/27

.........................................

8,000

8,096

NiSource,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

5.2 %

,

7/01/29

................................

12,000

12,324

Southern

Co.

Gas

Capital

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.15 %

,

9/15/32

.........................................

16,000

16,261

Senior

Bond

,

4.95 %

,

9/15/34

.........................................

7,000

6,942

56,182

#### Oil,

#### Gas

#### &

#### Consumable

#### Fuels

#### 2.0%
Cheniere

Energy

Partners

LP

,

Senior

Bond

,

3.25 %

,

1/31/32

.........................................

8,000

7,176

Senior

Note

,

4.5 %

,

10/01/29

.........................................

16,000

15,834

a

Columbia

Pipelines

Operating

Co.

LLC

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

5.927 %

,

8/15/30

.......

11,000

11,618

a

DT

Midstream,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Bond

,

144A,

5.8 %

,

12/15/34

...............

12,000

12,231

Eastern

Energy

Gas

Holdings

LLC

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.8 %

,

1/15/35

..........................................

16,000

16,662

Senior

Bond

,

5.65 %

,

10/15/54

........................................

12,000

11,485

El

Paso

Natural

Gas

Co.

LLC

,

Senior

Bond

,

8.375 %

,

6/15/32

..................

20,000

23,519

Energy

Transfer

LP

,

Senior

Bond

,

6.5 %

,

2/01/42

..........................................

8,000

8,299

Senior

Note

,

5.2 %

,

4/01/30

..........................................

12,000

12,272

ONEOK,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

4.75 %

,

10/15/31

...............................

20,000

19,813

Targa

Resources

Partners

LP

/

Targa

Resources

Partners

Finance

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

4.875 %

,

2/01/31

...................................................

12,000

11,910

Williams

Cos.,

Inc.

(The)

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.6 %

,

3/15/35

........................

12,000

12,342

163,161

#### Paper

#### &

#### Forest

#### Products

#### 0.5%
a

Georgia-Pacific

LLC

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

4.95 %

,

6/30/32

......................

40,000

40,501

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### C
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

a

a

#### Principal

#### Amount
a

#### Value
a

a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Passenger

#### Airlines

#### 0.1%
a

AS

Mileage

Plan

IP

Ltd.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

5.021 %

,

10/20/29

..........

$

12,000

$

11,882

#### Personal

#### Care

#### Products

#### 0.4%
Kenvue,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

4.85 %

,

5/22/32

.................................

30,000

30,377

#### Pharmaceuticals

#### 0.6%
Royalty

Pharma

plc

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.4 %

,

9/02/34

..........................................

12,000

12,165

Senior

Note

,

5.15 %

,

9/02/29

.........................................

12,000

12,255

Zoetis,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

%

,

5/15/30

....................................

23,000

20,679

45,099

#### Professional

#### Services

#### 0.1%
Paychex,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

5.1 %

,

4/15/30

.................................

12,000

12,296

#### Semiconductors

#### &

#### Semiconductor

#### Equipment

#### 0.9%
Analog

Devices,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

5.05 %

,

4/01/34

..........................

12,000

12,307

a

Broadcom,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

144A,

4.926 %

,

5/15/37

........................

42,000

40,784

Marvell

Technology,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

5.75 %

,

2/15/29

.........................................

8,000

8,332

Senior

Note

,

5.95 %

,

9/15/33

.........................................

8,000

8,452

69,875

#### Software

#### 0.7%
Oracle

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

3.65 %

,

3/25/41

................................

24,000

18,934

ServiceNow,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

1.4 %

,

9/01/30

..............................

23,000

19,941

Synopsys,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.15 %

,

4/01/35

...............................

20,000

20,167

59,042

#### Specialized

#### REITs

#### 1.5%
American

Tower

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

3.125 %

,

1/15/27

........................................

27,000

26,481

Senior

Bond

,

2.7 %

,

4/15/31

..........................................

31,000

27,817

Crown

Castle,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

3.65 %

,

9/01/27

.........................................

12,000

11,797

Senior

Bond

,

4.75 %

,

5/15/47

.........................................

6,000

5,141

Senior

Note

,

4.9 %

,

9/01/29

..........................................

8,000

8,076

EPR

Properties

,

Senior

Bond

,

4.5 %

,

6/01/27

...............................

20,000

19,907

Equinix,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

3.2 %

,

11/18/29

................................

20,000

18,986

118,205

#### Specialty

#### Retail

#### 0.2%
Dick's

Sporting

Goods,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

3.15 %

,

1/15/32

.....................

14,000

12,556

#### Technology

#### Hardware,

#### Storage

#### &

#### Peripherals

#### 0.3%
Hewlett

Packard

Enterprise

Co.

,

Senior

Note

,

4.55 %

,

10/15/29

.................

27,000

26,871

#### Textiles,

#### Apparel

#### &

#### Luxury

#### Goods

#### 0.3%
Tapestry,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.5 %

,

3/11/35

..........................................

8,000

8,035

Senior

Note

,

5.1 %

,

3/11/30

...........................................

20,000

20,271

28,306

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### C
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

a

a

#### Principal

#### Amount
a

#### Value
a

a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Tobacco

#### 0.6%
Philip

Morris

International,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

5.125 %

,

2/15/30

.........................................

$

20,000

$

20,585

Senior

Note

,

4.75 %

,

11/01/31

.........................................

30,000

30,240

50,825

#### Trading

#### Companies

#### &

#### Distributors

#### 0.6%
Air

Lease

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

3.25 %

,

10/01/29

.............................

26,000

24,783

a

Aviation

Capital

Group

LLC

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

5.125 %

,

4/10/30

...............

20,000

20,200

44,983

#### Wireless

#### Telecommunication

#### Services

#### 0.7%
Rogers

Communications,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

%

,

2/15/29

............................................

16,000

16,231

Senior

Note

,

3.8 %

,

3/15/32

..........................................

8,000

7,437

T-Mobile

USA,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.05 %

,

7/15/33

.........................................

8,000

8,058

Senior

Note

,

3.75 %

,

4/15/27

.........................................

24,000

23,760

55,486

#### Total

#### Corporate

#### Bonds

#### (Cost

#### $

#### 2,796,154

####)
.......................................

#### 2,826,974

#### Foreign

#### Government

#### and

#### Agency

#### Securities

#### 0.2%
a

Electricite

de

France

SA

,

Senior

Bond

,

144A,

4.75 %

,

10/13/35

.................

13,000

12,451

#### Total

#### Foreign

#### Government

#### and

#### Agency

#### Securities

#### (Cost

#### $

#### 12,270

####)
.................

#### 12,451

#### U.S.

#### Government

#### and

#### Agency

#### Securities

#### 5.1%
U.S.

Treasury

Bonds

,

1.25 %,

5/15/50

...................................................

100,000

48,078

4.75 %,

5/15/55

...................................................

20,000

19,891

U.S.

Treasury

Notes

,

0.5 %,

6/30/27

....................................................

290,000

272,175

0.625 %,

5/15/30

...................................................

90,000

77,453

#### Total

#### U.S.

#### Government

#### and

#### Agency

#### Securities

#### (Cost

#### $

#### 416,858

####)
....................

#### 417,597

#### Mortgage-Backed

#### Securities

#### 54.7%

#### Federal

#### National

#### Mortgage

#### Association
(FNMA)

#### Fixed

#### Rate

#### 36.5%
FNMA,

Year

,

%,

5/01/52

...........................................

1,539,223

1,221,504

FNMA,

Year

,

4.5 %,

7/01/53

.........................................

816,842

783,062

FNMA,

Year

,

5.5 %,

12/01/54

.........................................

962,412

963,119

2,967,685

#### Government

#### National

#### Mortgage

#### Association
(GNMA)

#### Fixed

#### Rate

#### 18.2%
GNMA

II,

Single-family,

Year

,

%,

2/20/52

...............................

383,037

312,307

GNMA

II,

Single-family,

Year

,

4.5 %,

10/20/52

............................

581,576

561,926

GNMA

II,

Single-family,

Year

,

%,

6/20/55

...............................

600,000

609,555

1,483,788

#### Total

#### Mortgage-Backed

#### Securities

#### (Cost

#### $

#### 4,410,143

####)
.............................

#### 4,451,473

#### Total

#### Long

#### Term

#### Investments

#### (Cost

#### $

#### 7,635,425

####)
.................................

#### 7,708,495

#### a
a

a

a

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### C
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

#### Short

#### Term

#### Investments

#### 4.1%
a

a

#### Shares
a

#### Value
a

#### Money

#### Market

#### Funds

#### 4.1%
c,d

Institutional

Fiduciary

Trust

-

Money

Market

Portfolio

,

4.332 %

..................

331,497

$

331,497

#### Total

#### Money

#### Market

#### Funds

#### (Cost

#### $

#### 331,497

####)
.....................................

#### 331,497

#### Total

#### Short

#### Term

#### Investments

#### (Cost

#### $

#### 331,497

####)
..................................

#### 331,497

#### a

#### Total

#### Investments

#### (Cost

#### $

#### 7,966,922

####)
98.8 #### %
.....................................

#### $8,039,992

#### Other

#### Assets,

#### less

#### Liabilities
1.2 #### %
.............................................

#### 101,806

#### Net

#### Assets

#### 100.0%

#### ...........................................................

#### $8,141,798
a

Security

was

purchased

pursuant

to

Rule

144A

or

Regulation

S

under

the

Securities

Act

of

1933. 144A

securities

may

be

sold

in

transactions

exempt

from

registration

only

to

qualified

institutional

buyers

or

in

a

public

offering

registered

under

the

Securities

Act

of

1933. Regulation

S

securities

cannot

be

sold

in

the

United

States

without

either

an

effective

registration

statement

filed

pursuant

to

the

Securities

Act

of

1933,

or

pursuant

to

an

exemption

from

registration.

At

June

30,

2025,

the

aggregate

value

of

these

securities

was

$519,393,

representing

6.4%

of

net

assets.

b

Perpetual

security

with

no

stated

maturity

date.

c

See

Note

3(d)

regarding

investments

in

affiliated

management

investment

companies.

d

The

rate

shown

is

the

annualized

seven-day

effective

yield

at

period

end.

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### C
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

At

June

30,

2025

,

the

Fund

had

the

following futures

contracts

outstanding.

See

Note

(c).

#### Futures

#### Contracts

#### Description

#### Type

#### Number

#### of

#### Contracts

#### Notional

#### Amount

#### \*

#### Expiration

#### Date

#### Value/

#### Unrealized

#### Appreciation
(Depreciation)

#### Interest

#### rate

#### contracts
U.S.

Treasury

Year

Ultra

Notes

................

Long

$

114,266

9/19/25

$

U.S.

Treasury

Year

Notes

.....................

Long

416,047

9/30/25

U.S.

Treasury

Year

Notes

.....................

Long

218,000

9/30/25

Total

Futures

Contracts

......................................................................

$665

\*

As

of

period

end.

See

Note 7 regarding

other

derivative

information.

See

Abbreviations

on

.

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Financial

Highlights

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### CP
franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

a

#### Period

#### Ended

#### June

#### 30,

#### 2025
(unaudited)

#### a

#### Per

#### share

#### operating

#### performance
(for

a

share

outstanding

throughout

the

period)

Net

asset

value,

beginning

of

period

...................................................................

$10.00

Income

from

investment

operations

b

:

Net

investment

income

c

...........................................................................

0.01 Net

realized

and

unrealized

gains

(losses)

.............................................................

0.10 Total

from

investment

operations

......................................................................

0.11 Net

asset

value,

end

of

period

........................................................................

$10.11

Total

return

d

.....................................................................................

1.10%

#### Ratios

#### to

#### average

#### net

#### assets

#### e
Expenses

before

waiver

and

payments

by

affiliates

........................................................

1.59%

Expenses

net

of

waiver

and

payments

by

affiliates

.........................................................

—%

Net

investment

income

.............................................................................

4.92%

#### Supplemental

#### data
Net

assets

,

end

of

period

(000's)

......................................................................

$8,151

Portfolio

turnover

rate

..............................................................................

—%

a

For

the

period

June

20,

2025

(commencement

of

operations)

to

June

30,

2025. b

The

amount

shown

for

a

share

outstanding

throughout

the

period

may

not

correlate

with

the

Statement

of

Operations

for

the

period

due

to

the

timing

of

sales

and

repurchases

of

the

Fund's

shares

in

relation

to

income

earned

and/or

fluctuating

fair

value

of

the

investments

of

the

Fund.

c

Based

on

average

daily

shares

outstanding.

d

Total

return

is

not

annualized

for

periods

less

than

one

year.

e

Ratios

are

annualized

for

periods

less

than

one

year,

except

for

non-recurring

expenses,

if

any.

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited),

June

30,

2025

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### CP
franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

a

a

#### Principal

#### Amount
a

#### Value
a

a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds

#### 62.2%

#### Aerospace

#### &

#### Defense

#### 2.5%
ATI,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

7.25 %

,

8/15/30

....................................

$

50,000

$

52,437

a

Axon

Enterprise,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.125 %

,

3/15/30

....................

25,000

25,772

Boeing

Co.

(The)

,

Senior

Bond,

2.95%,

2/01/30

.........................................

9,000

8,347

Senior

Bond,

6.125%,

2/15/33

........................................

13,000

13,743

Senior

Bond,

3.375%,

6/15/46

........................................

13,000

8,908

Senior

Bond,

3.9%,

5/01/49

..........................................

13,000

9,336

Senior

Bond,

6.858%,

5/01/54

........................................

8,000

8,766

Senior

Note,

2.196%,

2/04/26

.........................................

22,000

21,660

a

Bombardier,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

%

,

6/01/32

...........................

25,000

26,066

Howmet

Aerospace,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

6.75%,

1/15/28

.........................................

9,000

9,486

Senior

Bond,

5.95%,

2/01/37

.........................................

13,000

13,813

Senior

Note,

3%,

1/15/29

............................................

8,000

7,654

205,988

#### Automobiles

#### 0.6%
a

Hyundai

Capital

America

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.5 %

,

1/16/29

...................

43,000

45,366

#### Banks

#### 4.3%
Bank

of

America

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond,

5.468%

to

1/22/34,

FRN

thereafter,

1/23/35

....................

9,000

9,249

Senior

Note,

2.551%

to

2/03/27,

FRN

thereafter,

2/04/28

....................

13,000

12,639

Sub.

Bond,

5.425%

to

8/14/34,

FRN

thereafter,

8/15/35

.....................

17,000

17,002

Sub.

Bond,

3.846%

to

3/07/32,

FRN

thereafter,

3/08/37

.....................

39,000

35,700

Citigroup,

Inc.

,

Sub.

Bond,

4.45%,

9/29/27

...........................................

35,000

35,041

Sub.

Bond,

6.174%

to

5/24/33,

FRN

thereafter,

5/25/34

.....................

9,000

9,425

Fifth

Third

Bancorp

,

Senior

Note

,

6.339%

to

7/26/28,

FRN

thereafter

,

7/27/29

......

13,000

13,695

JPMorgan

Chase

&

Co.

,

b

KK,

Junior

Sub.

Bond,

3.65%

to

5/31/26,

FRN

thereafter,

Perpetual

............

8,000

7,890

Senior

Bond,

3.782%

to

1/31/27,

FRN

thereafter,

2/01/28

....................

34,000

33,717

Senior

Bond,

5.502%

to

1/23/35,

FRN

thereafter,

1/24/36

....................

9,000

9,274

Sub.

Bond,

5.717%

to

9/13/32,

FRN

thereafter,

9/14/33

.....................

17,000

17,725

PNC

Financial

Services

Group,

Inc.

(The)

,

Sub.

Bond

,

4.626%

to

6/05/32,

FRN

thereafter

,

6/06/33

.................................................

31,000

30,098

Royal

Bank

of

Canada

,

Senior

Note

,

5.2 %

,

8/01/28

..........................

22,000

22,639

Toronto-Dominion

Bank

(The)

,

Senior

Note

,

4.108 %

,

6/08/27

...................

23,000

22,950

US

Bancorp

,

Sub.

Bond

,

2.491%

to

11/02/31,

FRN

thereafter

,

11/03/36

...........

16,000

13,585

Wells

Fargo

&

Co.

,

b

BB,

Junior

Sub.

Bond,

3.9%

to

3/14/26,

FRN

thereafter,

Perpetual

.............

14,000

13,865

Senior

Bond,

2.879%

to

10/29/29,

FRN

thereafter,

10/30/30

..................

48,000

44,859

349,353

#### Biotechnology

#### 0.9%
AbbVie,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.05 %

,

3/15/34

................................

45,000

45,834

Amgen,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

5.65%,

3/02/53

.........................................

8,000

7,817

Senior

Note,

5.25%,

3/02/30

.........................................

9,000

9,276

a

CSL

Finance

plc

,

Senior

Bond

,

144A,

4.625 %

,

4/27/42

.......................

15,000

13,307

76,234

#### Building

#### Products

#### 0.6%
a

Quikrete

Holdings,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.75 %

,

3/01/33

....................

50,000

51,623

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### CP
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

a

a

#### Principal

#### Amount
a

#### Value
a

a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Capital

#### Markets

#### 3.2%
Ares

Capital

Corp.

,

Senior

Note,

3.875%,

1/15/26

.........................................

$

9,000

$

8,954

Senior

Note,

7%,

1/15/27

............................................

9,000

9,289

Goldman

Sachs

Group,

Inc.

(The)

,

Senior

Bond

,

4.223%

to

4/30/28,

FRN

thereafter

,

5/01/29

.........................................................

23,000

22,873

Intercontinental

Exchange,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

1.85 %

,

9/15/32

..................

33,000

27,417

a

Jane

Street

Group

/

JSG

Finance,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

6.125 %

,

11/01/32

50,000

50,509

Jefferies

Financial

Group,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

6.2 %

,

4/14/34

....................

9,000

9,419

a

KKR

Group

Finance

Co.

VI

LLC

,

Senior

Bond

,

144A,

3.75 %

,

7/01/29

.............

14,000

13,602

LPL

Holdings,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

5.2 %

,

3/15/30

.............................

22,000

22,353

Morgan

Stanley

,

Senior

Note,

5.123%

to

1/31/28,

FRN

thereafter,

2/01/29

....................

22,000

22,389

Senior

Note,

5.23%

to

1/14/30,

FRN

thereafter,

1/15/31

.....................

18,000

18,431

Sub.

Bond,

5.942%

to

2/06/34,

FRN

thereafter,

2/07/39

.....................

9,000

9,242

a

MSCI,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

144A,

3.625 %

,

9/01/30

............................

24,000

22,528

S&P

Global,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

2.5 %

,

12/01/29

.............................

24,000

22,325

259,331

#### Chemicals

#### 1.3%
DuPont

de

Nemours,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.419 %

,

11/15/48

.....................

43,000

43,359

a

Element

Solutions,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

3.875 %

,

9/01/28

...................

25,000

24,262

FMC

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

3.45 %

,

10/01/29

................................

15,000

13,980

a

Rain

Carbon,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

12.25 %

,

9/01/29

................

25,000

26,843

108,444

#### Commercial

#### Services

#### &

#### Supplies

#### 1.0%
Republic

Services,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

%

,

11/15/29

..........................

22,000

22,636

Waste

Connections,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

4.25%,

12/01/28

........................................

9,000

9,041

Senior

Bond,

5%,

3/01/34

...........................................

18,000

18,199

Waste

Management,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

4.875 %

,

2/15/29

......................

9,000

9,223

a

Waste

Pro

USA,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

%

,

2/01/33

........................

25,000

26,016

85,115

#### Communications

#### Equipment

#### 0.6%
Cisco

Systems,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.05 %

,

2/26/34

...........................

22,000

22,528

Motorola

Solutions,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

2.3%,

11/15/30

.........................................

8,000

7,104

Senior

Note,

4.85%,

8/15/30

.........................................

9,000

9,099

Senior

Note,

5.2%,

8/15/32

..........................................

13,000

13,223

51,954

#### Construction

#### &

#### Engineering

#### 0.3%
a

Arcosa

,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

4.375 %

,

4/15/29

...........................

25,000

24,203

#### Consumer

#### Finance

#### 1.6%
Ally

Financial,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

%

,

11/01/31

.............................

13,000

14,809

Capital

One

Financial

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

7.624%

to

10/29/30,

FRN

thereafter

,

10/30/31

........................................................

20,000

22,602

a

FirstCash,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.875 %

,

3/01/32

.........................

50,000

51,802

General

Motors

Financial

Co.,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

4.9 %

,

10/06/29

................

18,000

17,977

a

Macquarie

Airfinance

Holdings

Ltd.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

5.15 %

,

3/17/30

...........

27,000

27,004

134,194

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### CP
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

a

a

#### Principal

#### Amount
a

#### Value
a

a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Consumer

#### Staples

#### Distribution

#### &

#### Retail

#### 0.6%
a

7-Eleven,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

1.3 %

,

2/10/28

............................

$

15,000

$

13,838

a

Alimentation

Couche-Tard,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

144A,

2.95 %

,

1/25/30

.............

15,000

14,023

a

US

Foods,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

5.75 %

,

4/15/33

..........................

25,000

25,036

52,897

#### Containers

#### &

#### Packaging

#### 1.0%
Berry

Global,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

1.65 %

,

1/15/27

......................

12,000

11,514

a

Clydesdale

Acquisition

Holdings,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

6.75 %

,

4/15/32

..

50,000

51,345

WestRock

MWV

LLC

,

Senior

Bond

,

7.95 %

,

2/15/31

..........................

13,000

15,077

77,936

#### Distributors

#### 0.3%
a

Gates

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.875 %

,

7/01/29

...........................

25,000

25,990

#### Diversified

#### REITs

#### 0.8%
a

Global

Net

Lease,

Inc.

/

Global

Net

Lease

Operating

Partnership

LP

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

3.75 %

,

12/15/27

..............................................

25,000

23,932

GLP

Capital

LP

/

GLP

Financing

II,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

3.25 %

,

1/15/32

............

13,000

11,451

VICI

Properties

LP

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.75 %

,

4/01/34

............................

9,000

9,206

a

VICI

Properties

LP

/

VICI

Note

Co.,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

3.875 %

,

2/15/29

......

23,000

22,263

66,852

#### Diversified

#### Telecommunication

#### Services

#### 1.8%
AT&T,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

2.25%,

2/01/32

.........................................

13,000

11,193

Senior

Bond,

2.55%,

12/01/33

........................................

17,000

14,234

Senior

Bond,

4.75%,

5/15/46

.........................................

8,000

6,991

a

CCO

Holdings

LLC

/

CCO

Holdings

Capital

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

144A,

4.25 %

,

2/01/31

50,000

46,740

Sprint

Capital

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

6.875 %

,

11/15/28

.........................

50,000

53,689

Verizon

Communications,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

2.355 %

,

3/15/32

..................

16,000

13,798

146,645

#### Electric

#### Utilities

#### 4.4%
a

American

Transmission

Systems,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

144A,

2.65 %

,

1/15/32

........

26,000

22,893

Appalachian

Power

Co.

,

L

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.8 %

,

10/01/35

......................

13,000

13,294

Commonwealth

Edison

Co.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.875 %

,

2/01/33

....................

9,000

9,501

Duke

Energy

Carolinas

LLC

,

Senior

Bond

,

4.25 %

,

12/15/41

...................

8,000

6,850

Duke

Energy

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond,

5.45%,

6/15/34

.........................................

13,000

13,361

Senior

Note,

4.85%,

1/05/29

.........................................

9,000

9,146

Exelon

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond,

5.625%,

6/15/35

........................................

13,000

13,378

Senior

Note,

5.15%,

3/15/29

.........................................

13,000

13,343

Georgia

Power

Co.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.25 %

,

3/15/34

...........................

44,000

44,898

NextEra

Energy

Capital

Holdings,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

5.9%,

3/15/55

..........................................

9,000

9,042

Senior

Note,

5.3%,

3/15/32

..........................................

22,000

22,680

a

NRG

Energy,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

2.45 %

,

12/02/27

................

24,000

22,787

Pacific

Gas

and

Electric

Co.

,

Senior

Bond,

5.9%,

6/15/32

..........................................

9,000

9,193

Senior

Bond,

6.75%,

1/15/53

.........................................

5,000

5,036

Virginia

Electric

and

Power

Co.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.05 %

,

8/15/34

..................

34,000

34,098

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### CP
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

a

a

#### Principal

#### Amount
a

#### Value
a

a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Electric

#### Utilities
(continued)

a

Vistra

Operations

Co.

LLC

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

6.875%,

4/15/32

....................................

$

50,000

$

52,307

Senior

Secured

Bond,

144A,

4.3%,

7/15/29

..............................

14,000

13,799

Senior

Secured

Bond,

144A,

6.95%,

10/15/33

............................

12,000

13,188

Xcel

Energy,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.6 %

,

4/15/35

..............................

27,000

27,577

356,371

#### Energy

#### Equipment

#### &

#### Services

#### 0.6%
a

Kodiak

Gas

Services

LLC

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

7.25 %

,

2/15/29

..................

25,000

25,876

a

Transocean

Titan

Financing

Ltd.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

8.375 %

,

2/01/28

.....

22,619

22,993

48,869

#### Entertainment

#### 0.7%
Netflix,

Inc.

,

a

Senior

Bond,

144A,

5.375%,

11/15/29

..................................

43,000

44,934

Senior

Bond,

5.4%,

8/15/54

..........................................

9,000

8,889

53,823

#### Financial

#### Services

#### 1.5%
Corebridge

Financial,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

3.85 %

,

4/05/29

.......................

23,000

22,546

a

Jefferson

Capital

Holdings

LLC

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

8.25 %

,

5/15/30

..............

50,000

51,847

a

Rocket

Cos.,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.375 %

,

8/01/33

.......................

50,000

51,222

125,615

#### Food

#### Products

#### 1.5%
a

JBS

USA

LUX

SARL

/

JBS

USA

Food

Co.

/

JBS

USA

Foods

Group

,

Senior

Bond

,

144A,

5.95 %

,

4/20/35

...............................................

16,000

16,592

Kellanova

,

Senior

Bond,

2.1%,

6/01/30

..........................................

25,000

22,451

Senior

Bond,

4.5%,

4/01/46

..........................................

21,000

18,002

Senior

Bond,

5.75%,

5/16/54

.........................................

9,000

8,864

B,

Senior

Bond,

7.45%,

4/01/31

.......................................

9,000

10,317

a

Mars,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

5.2 %

,

3/01/35

...............................

18,000

18,224

Pilgrim's

Pride

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond,

6.25%,

7/01/33

.........................................

21,000

22,229

Senior

Note,

3.5%,

3/01/32

..........................................

9,000

8,111

124,790

#### Ground

#### Transportation

#### 0.8%
a

Penske

Truck

Leasing

Co.

LP

/

PTL

Finance

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

4.4 %

,

7/01/27

14,000

13,984

a

Watco

Cos.

LLC

/

Watco

Finance

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

7.125 %

,

8/01/32

......

25,000

26,152

a

XPO,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

7.125 %

,

2/01/32

.............................

25,000

26,219

66,355

#### Health

#### Care

#### Equipment

#### &

#### Supplies

#### 0.3%
a

Bausch

+

Lomb

Corp.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

8.375 %

,

10/01/28

............

25,000

26,125

#### Health

#### Care

#### Providers

#### &

#### Services

#### 1.9%
Centene

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

2.625 %

,

8/01/31

..............................

14,000

12,005

CVS

Health

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

4.78 %

,

3/25/38

............................

25,000

22,959

a

DaVita,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

144A,

3.75 %

,

2/15/31

............................

50,000

45,510

HCA,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

3.625 %

,

3/15/32

..................................

37,000

34,143

UnitedHealth

Group,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

5.8%,

3/15/36

..........................................

13,000

13,672

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### CP
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

a

a

#### Principal

#### Amount
a

#### Value
a

a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Health

#### Care

#### Providers

#### &

#### Services
(continued)

UnitedHealth

Group,

Inc.,

(continued)

Senior

Note,

5.3%,

2/15/30

..........................................

$

9,000

$

9,323

Universal

Health

Services,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

4.625 %

,

10/15/29

..........

14,000

13,847

151,459

#### Health

#### Care

#### Technology

#### 0.6%
a

IQVIA,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.25 %

,

6/01/32

.............................

50,000

51,373

#### Hotel

#### &

#### Resort

#### REITs

#### 0.6%
a

RHP

Hotel

Properties

LP

/

RHP

Finance

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.5 %

,

6/15/33

...

25,000

25,734

a

XHR

LP

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.625 %

,

5/15/30

..............................

25,000

25,503

51,237

#### Hotels,

#### Restaurants

#### &

#### Leisure

#### 2.5%
a

1011778

BC

ULC

/

New

Red

Finance,

Inc.

,

Secured

Bond

,

144A,

%

,

10/15/30

.....

25,000

23,323

a

Caesars

Entertainment,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

%

,

10/15/32

.................

50,000

49,067

a

Carnival

Corp.

,

Senior

Note,

144A,

5.75%,

3/15/30

.....................................

25,000

25,439

Senior

Secured

Note,

144A,

4%,

8/01/28

................................

23,000

22,526

a

Great

Canadian

Gaming

Corp.

/

Raptor

LLC

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

8.75 %

,

11/15/29

........................................................

25,000

24,488

Hyatt

Hotels

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

5.25 %

,

6/30/29

............................

31,000

31,549

a

Viking

Cruises

Ltd.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

5.875 %

,

9/15/27

......................

25,000

25,029

201,421

#### Household

#### Durables

#### 1.7%
DR

Horton,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

5%,

10/15/34

...........................................

13,000

12,861

Senior

Bond,

5.5%,

10/15/35

.........................................

13,000

13,246

Newell

Brands,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

6.625 %

,

5/15/32

..........................

50,000

47,823

Toll

Brothers

Finance

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

4.35 %

,

2/15/28

.....................

14,000

13,931

a

Weekley

Homes

LLC

/

Weekley

Finance

Corp.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

4.875 %

,

9/15/28

.

50,000

48,461

136,322

#### Independent

#### Power

#### and

#### Renewable

#### Electricity

#### Producers

#### 1.1%
a

Clearway

Energy

Operating

LLC

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

3.75 %

,

2/15/31

............

50,000

45,946

Constellation

Energy

Generation

LLC

,

Senior

Bond,

6.125%,

1/15/34

........................................

8,000

8,621

Senior

Bond,

6.5%,

10/01/53

.........................................

13,000

13,969

Senior

Note,

5.6%,

3/01/28

..........................................

17,000

17,595

86,131

#### Industrial

#### REITs

#### 0.2%
Prologis

LP

,

Senior

Bond

,

%

,

3/15/34

....................................

14,000

14,043

#### Insurance

#### 1.9%
a

Alliant

Holdings

Intermediate

LLC

/

Alliant

Holdings

Co-Issuer

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

%

,

1/15/31

.................................................

50,000

51,758

Arthur

J

Gallagher

&

Co.

,

Senior

Note

,

4.85 %

,

12/15/29

......................

22,000

22,337

a

Athene

Global

Funding

,

Secured

Note

,

144A,

5.322 %

,

11/13/31

................

27,000

27,235

Berkshire

Hathaway

Finance

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

4.3 %

,

5/15/43

................

8,000

7,052

Brown

&

Brown,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

2.375 %

,

3/15/31

.........................

36,000

31,714

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### CP
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

a

a

#### Principal

#### Amount
a

#### Value
a

a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Insurance
(continued)

Fairfax

Financial

Holdings

Ltd.

,

Senior

Note

,

4.85 %

,

4/17/28

...................

$

13,000

$

13,119

153,215

#### Interactive

#### Media

#### &

#### Services

#### 0.2%
Meta

Platforms,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.4 %

,

8/15/54

...........................

19,000

18,543

#### IT

#### Services

#### 1.7%
a

Cogent

Communications

Group

LLC

/

Cogent

Finance,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

6.5 %

,

7/01/32

...............................................

75,000

73,947

a

Fortress

Intermediate

3,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

7.5 %

,

6/01/31

..........

50,000

52,443

a

Gartner,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

3.625 %

,

6/15/29

...........................

14,000

13,321

139,711

#### Leisure

#### Products

#### 0.2%
Brunswick

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

2.4 %

,

8/18/31

..............................

16,000

13,613

#### Media

#### 1.8%
Charter

Communications

Operating

LLC

/

Charter

Communications

Operating

Capital

Corp.

,

Senior

Secured

Bond,

3.5%,

6/01/41

...................................

25,000

18,149

Senior

Secured

Note,

2.25%,

1/15/29

...................................

24,000

22,108

a

Clear

Channel

Outdoor

Holdings,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

5.125 %

,

8/15/27

.

50,000

49,462

Paramount

Global

,

Senior

Bond,

4.2%,

6/01/29

..........................................

8,000

7,785

Senior

Bond,

4.2%,

5/19/32

..........................................

9,000

8,218

a

Sinclair

Television

Group,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

8.125 %

,

2/15/33

.......

25,000

25,277

Time

Warner

Cable

Enterprises

LLC

,

Senior

Secured

Bond

,

8.375 %

,

7/15/33

......

16,000

18,639

149,638

#### Metals

#### &

#### Mining

#### 0.2%
a

Glencore

Funding

LLC

,

Senior

Bond

,

144A,

2.5 %

,

9/01/30

....................

15,000

13,521

#### Multi-Utilities

#### 0.8%
DTE

Energy

Co.

,

Senior

Bond,

5.85%,

6/01/34

.........................................

13,000

13,606

Senior

Note,

4.95%,

7/01/27

.........................................

9,000

9,108

NiSource,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

5.2 %

,

7/01/29

................................

13,000

13,351

Southern

Co.

Gas

Capital

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond,

5.15%,

9/15/32

.........................................

18,000

18,293

Senior

Bond,

4.95%,

9/15/34

.........................................

8,000

7,934

62,292

#### Oil,

#### Gas

#### &

#### Consumable

#### Fuels

#### 4.7%
Cheniere

Energy

Partners

LP

,

Senior

Bond,

3.25%,

1/31/32

.........................................

9,000

8,073

Senior

Note,

4.5%,

10/01/29

.........................................

17,000

16,824

a

Columbia

Pipelines

Operating

Co.

LLC

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

5.927 %

,

8/15/30

.......

13,000

13,731

a

Crescent

Energy

Finance

LLC

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

7.375 %

,

1/15/33

.............

50,000

47,839

a

DT

Midstream,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Bond

,

144A,

5.8 %

,

12/15/34

...............

13,000

13,250

Eastern

Energy

Gas

Holdings

LLC

,

Senior

Bond,

5.8%,

1/15/35

..........................................

17,000

17,704

Senior

Bond,

5.65%,

10/15/54

........................................

13,000

12,442

El

Paso

Natural

Gas

Co.

LLC

,

Senior

Bond

,

8.375 %

,

6/15/32

..................

22,000

25,871

Energy

Transfer

LP

,

Senior

Bond,

6.5%,

2/01/42

..........................................

9,000

9,336

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### CP
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

a

a

#### Principal

#### Amount
a

#### Value
a

a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Oil,

#### Gas

#### &

#### Consumable

#### Fuels
(continued)

Energy

Transfer

LP,

(continued)

Senior

Note,

5.2%,

4/01/30

..........................................

$

13,000

$

13,295

a

Hilcorp

Energy

I

LP

/

Hilcorp

Finance

Co.

,

Senior

Bond

,

144A,

6.25 %

,

4/15/32

......

50,000

47,789

a

Kinetik

Holdings

LP

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

5.875 %

,

6/15/30

......................

50,000

50,455

ONEOK,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

4.75 %

,

10/15/31

...............................

23,000

22,785

Targa

Resources

Partners

LP

/

Targa

Resources

Partners

Finance

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

4.875 %

,

2/01/31

...................................................

14,000

13,895

a

Venture

Global

Plaquemines

LNG

LLC

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

7.5 %

,

5/01/33

..

50,000

53,576

Williams

Cos.,

Inc.

(The)

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.6 %

,

3/15/35

........................

13,000

13,370

380,235

#### Paper

#### &

#### Forest

#### Products

#### 0.6%
a

Georgia-Pacific

LLC

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

4.95 %

,

6/30/32

......................

45,000

45,564

#### Passenger

#### Airlines

#### 0.5%
a

AS

Mileage

Plan

IP

Ltd.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

5.021 %

,

10/20/29

..........

14,000

13,862

a

OneSky

Flight

LLC

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

8.875 %

,

12/15/29

.....................

25,000

26,053

39,915

#### Personal

#### Care

#### Products

#### 0.4%
Kenvue,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

4.85 %

,

5/22/32

.................................

34,000

34,428

#### Pharmaceuticals

#### 1.2%
a

Endo

Finance

Holdings,

Inc.

,

Senior

Secured

Note

,

144A,

8.5 %

,

4/15/31

..........

50,000

52,990

Royalty

Pharma

plc

,

Senior

Bond,

5.4%,

9/02/34

..........................................

13,000

13,178

Senior

Note,

5.15%,

9/02/29

.........................................

13,000

13,277

Zoetis,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

%

,

5/15/30

....................................

25,000

22,477

101,922

#### Professional

#### Services

#### 0.2%
Paychex,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

5.1 %

,

4/15/30

.................................

13,000

13,320

#### Semiconductors

#### &

#### Semiconductor

#### Equipment

#### 0.9%
Analog

Devices,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

5.05 %

,

4/01/34

..........................

13,000

13,333

a

Broadcom,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

144A,

4.926 %

,

5/15/37

........................

47,000

45,639

Marvell

Technology,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note,

5.75%,

2/15/29

.........................................

9,000

9,373

Senior

Note,

5.95%,

9/15/33

.........................................

9,000

9,509

77,854

#### Software

#### 1.4%
a

Gen

Digital,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

6.25 %

,

4/01/33

.........................

50,000

51,467

Oracle

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

3.65 %

,

3/25/41

................................

27,000

21,301

ServiceNow,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

1.4 %

,

9/01/30

..............................

26,000

22,542

Synopsys,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

5.15 %

,

4/01/35

...............................

22,000

22,184

117,494

#### Specialized

#### REITs

#### 1.6%
American

Tower

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond,

3.125%,

1/15/27

........................................

30,000

29,423

Senior

Bond,

2.7%,

4/15/31

..........................................

34,000

30,509

Crown

Castle,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

3.65%,

9/01/27

.........................................

14,000

13,764

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### CP
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

a

a

#### Principal

#### Amount
a

#### Value
a

a

#### a
a

#### Corporate

#### Bonds
(continued)

#### Specialized

#### REITs
(continued)

Crown

Castle,

Inc.,

(continued)

Senior

Bond,

4.75%,

5/15/47

.........................................

$

6,000

$

5,141

Senior

Note,

4.9%,

9/01/29

..........................................

9,000

9,085

EPR

Properties

,

Senior

Bond

,

4.5 %

,

6/01/27

...............................

23,000

22,893

Equinix,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

3.2 %

,

11/18/29

................................

22,000

20,885

131,700

#### Specialty

#### Retail

#### 0.2%
Dick's

Sporting

Goods,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond

,

3.15 %

,

1/15/32

.....................

15,000

13,453

#### Technology

#### Hardware,

#### Storage

#### &

#### Peripherals

#### 0.7%
Hewlett

Packard

Enterprise

Co.

,

Senior

Note

,

4.55 %

,

10/15/29

.................

31,000

30,852

a

Seagate

Data

Storage

Technology

Pte.

Ltd.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

5.875 %

,

7/15/30

...

25,000

25,436

56,288

#### Textiles,

#### Apparel

#### &

#### Luxury

#### Goods

#### 0.4%
Tapestry,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

5.5%,

3/11/35

..........................................

9,000

9,039

Senior

Note,

5.1%,

3/11/30

...........................................

22,000

22,298

31,337

#### Tobacco

#### 0.7%
Philip

Morris

International,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note,

5.125%,

2/15/30

.........................................

22,000

22,643

Senior

Note,

4.75%,

11/01/31

.........................................

34,000

34,272

56,915

#### Trading

#### Companies

#### &

#### Distributors

#### 1.3%
Air

Lease

Corp.

,

Senior

Bond

,

3.25 %

,

10/01/29

.............................

29,000

27,643

a

Aviation

Capital

Group

LLC

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

5.125 %

,

4/10/30

...............

22,000

22,219

a

EquipmentShare.com,

Inc.

,

Secured

Note

,

144A,

8.625 %

,

5/15/32

...............

25,000

26,598

a

Herc

Holdings,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note

,

144A,

%

,

6/15/30

.........................

25,000

26,125

102,585

#### Wireless

#### Telecommunication

#### Services

#### 0.8%
Rogers

Communications,

Inc.

,

Senior

Note,

5%,

2/15/29

............................................

18,000

18,259

Senior

Note,

3.8%,

3/15/32

..........................................

9,000

8,367

T-Mobile

USA,

Inc.

,

Senior

Bond,

5.05%,

7/15/33

.........................................

9,000

9,065

Senior

Note,

3.75%,

4/15/27

.........................................

27,000

26,730

62,421

#### Total

#### Corporate

#### Bonds

#### (Cost

#### $5,023,840)

#### .......................................

#### 5,072,023

#### Foreign

#### Government

#### and

#### Agency

#### Securities

#### 0.2%
a

Electricite

de

France

SA,

Senior

Bond,

144A,

4.75%,

10/13/35

.................

14,000

13,409

#### Total

#### Foreign

#### Government

#### and

#### Agency

#### Securities

#### (Cost

#### $13,214)

#### .................

#### 13,409

#### U.S.

#### Government

#### and

#### Agency

#### Securities

#### 2.5%
U.S.

Treasury

Bonds

,

1.25%,

5/15/50

...................................................

100,000

48,078

4.75%,

5/15/55

...................................................

35,000

34,809

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### CP
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

a

a

#### Principal

#### Amount
a

#### Value
a

a

#### a
a

#### U.S.

#### Government

#### and

#### Agency

#### Securities
(continued)

U.S.

Treasury

Bonds,

(continued)

U.S.

Treasury

Notes,

0.5%,

6/30/27

......................................

$

130,000

$

122,009

#### Total

#### U.S.

#### Government

#### and

#### Agency

#### Securities

#### (Cost

#### $204,116)
....................

#### 204,896

#### Mortgage-Backed

#### Securities

#### 28.3%

#### Federal

#### National

#### Mortgage

#### Association
(FNMA)

#### Fixed

#### Rate

#### 24.5%
FNMA,

Year,

2%,

5/01/52

...........................................

765,406

607,415

FNMA,

Year,

2.5%,

5/01/52

.........................................

862,312

722,290

FNMA,

Year,

4.5%,

7/01/53

.........................................

461,693

442,600

FNMA,

Year,

5.5%,

12/01/54

.........................................

228,692

228,860

2,001,165

#### Government

#### National

#### Mortgage

#### Association
(GNMA)

#### Fixed

#### Rate

#### 3.8%
GNMA

II,

Single-family,

Year,

5.5%,

10/20/54

............................

126,346

126,648

GNMA

II,

Single-family,

Year,

6%,

6/20/55

...............................

180,000

182,867

309,515

#### Total

#### Mortgage-Backed

#### Securities

#### (Cost

#### $2,279,996)
.............................

#### 2,310,680

#### Total

#### Long

#### Term

#### Investments

#### (Cost

#### $7,521,166)

#### .................................

#### 7,601,008

#### a
a

a

a

#### Short

#### Term

#### Investments

#### 4.5%

#### Shares
a

#### Money

#### Market

#### Funds

#### 4.5%
c,d

Institutional

Fiduciary

Trust

-

Money

Market

Portfolio,

4.332%

..................

368,381

368,381

#### Total

#### Money

#### Market

#### Funds

#### (Cost

#### $368,381)

#### .....................................

#### 368,381

#### Total

#### Short

#### Term

#### Investments

#### (Cost

#### $368,381)

#### ..................................

#### 368,381

#### a

#### Total

#### Investments

#### (Cost

#### $7,889,547)

#### 97.7%

#### .....................................

#### $7,969,389

#### Other

#### Assets,

#### less

#### Liabilities

#### 2.3%

#### .............................................

#### 182,108

#### Net

#### Assets

#### 100.0%

#### ...........................................................

#### $8,151,497
a

Security

was

purchased

pursuant

to

Rule

144A

or

Regulation

S

under

the

Securities

Act

of

1933. 144A

securities

may

be

sold

in

transactions

exempt

from

registration

only

to

qualified

institutional

buyers

or

in

a

public

offering

registered

under

the

Securities

Act

of

1933. Regulation

S

securities

cannot

be

sold

in

the

United

States

without

either

an

effective

registration

statement

filed

pursuant

to

the

Securities

Act

of

1933,

or

pursuant

to

an

exemption

from

registration.

At

June

30,

2025,

the

aggregate

value

of

these

securities

was

$2,396,577,

representing

29.4%

of

net

assets.

b

Perpetual

security

with

no

stated

maturity

date.

c

See

Note

3(d)

regarding

investments

in

affiliated

management

investment

companies.

d

The

rate

shown

is

the

annualized

seven-day

effective

yield

at

period

end.

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### CP
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

At

June

30,

2025,

the

Fund

had

the

following futures

contracts

outstanding.

See

Note

1(c).

At

June

30,

2025,

the

Fund

had

the

following credit

default

swap

contracts outstanding.

See

Note

1(c).

#### Futures

#### Contracts

#### Description

#### Type

#### Number

#### of

#### Contracts

#### Notional

#### Amount

#### \*

#### Expiration

#### Date

#### Value/

#### Unrealized

#### Appreciation
(Depreciation)

#### Interest

#### rate

#### contracts
U.S.

Treasury

Year

Ultra

Notes

................

Long

$

114,266

9/19/25

$

U.S.

Treasury

Year

Notes

.....................

Long

416,047

9/30/25

U.S.

Treasury

Year

Notes

.....................

Long

218,000

9/30/25

Total

Futures

Contracts

......................................................................

$665

\*

As

of

period

end.

#### Credit

#### Default

#### Swap

#### Contracts

#### Description

#### Periodic

#### Payment

#### Rate

#### Received
(Paid)

#### Payment

#### Frequency

#### Maturity

#### Date

#### Notional

#### Amount
(a) #### Value

#### Upfront

#### Payments
(Receipts)

#### Unrealized

#### Appreciation
(Depreciation)

#### Rating
(b) #### Centrally

#### Cleared

#### Swap

#### Contracts

#### to

#### Sell

#### Protection

#### (c)(d)

#### Traded

#### Index
CDX. NA.EM.43

...

1.00%

Quarterly

6/20/30

480,000

$

(11,752)

$

(12,391)

$

639

Investment

Grade

Total

Credit

Default

Swap

Contracts

..............................

$(11,752)

$(12,391)

$639

(a) In

U.S.

dollars

unless

otherwise

indicated.

For

contracts

to

sell

protection,

the

notional

amount

is

equal

to

the

maximum

potential

amount

of

the

future

payments

and

no

recourse

provisions

have

been

entered

into

in

association

with

the

contracts.

(b) Based

on

Standard

and

Poor's

(S&P)

Rating

for

single

name

swaps

and

internal

ratings

for

index

swaps.

Internal

ratings

based

on

mapping

into

equivalent

ratings

from

external

vendors.

(c) Performance

triggers

for

settlement

of

contract

include

default,

bankruptcy

or

restructuring

for

single

name

swaps,

and

failure

to

pay

or

bankruptcy

of

the

underlying

securities

for

traded

index

swaps.

(d) The

fund

enters

contracts

to

sell

protection

to

create

a

long

credit

position.

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Schedule

of

Investments

(unaudited)

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### CP
(continued)

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

At

June

30,

2025,

the

Fund

had

the

following total

return swap

contracts

outstanding.

See

Note

1(c).

#### Total

#### Return

#### Swap

#### Contracts

#### Underlying

#### Instruments

#### Financing

#### Rate

#### Payment

#### Frequency

#### Counter-

#### party

#### Maturity

#### Date

#### Notional

#### Value

#### \*

#### Value/

#### Unrealized

#### Appreciation
(Depreciation)

#### OTC

#### Swap

#### Contracts

#### Long
(a) Markit

iBoxx

USD

Liquid

Leveraged

Loans

Total

Return

Index

...................

1-day

SOFR

Quarterly

JPHQ

3/20/26

415,000

$

1,630

Total

Return

Swap

Contracts

....................................................................

$1,630

\*

In

U.S.

dollars

unless

otherwise

indicated.

(a) The

Fund

receives

the

total

return

on

the

underlying

instrument

and

pays

a

variable

financing

rate.

See

Note

regarding

other

derivative

information.

See

Abbreviations

on

.

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Financial

Statements

Statements

of

Assets

and

Liabilities

June

30,

2025

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### C

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### CP
Assets:

Investments

in

securities:

Cost

-

Unaffiliated

issuers

..................................................

$7,635,425

$7,521,166

Cost

-

Non-controlled

affiliates

(Note

d)

.......................................

331,497

368,381

Value

-

Unaffiliated

issuers

.................................................

$7,708,495

$7,601,008

Value

-

Non-controlled

affiliates

(Note

d)

......................................

331,497

368,381

Cash

...................................................................

—

Receivables:

Capital

shares

sold

.......................................................

40,039

40,048

Interest

................................................................

51,708

64,858

Affiliates

...............................................................

23,737

23,737

Deposits

with

brokers

for:

Futures

contracts

.......................................................

7,450

7,450

Centrally

cleared

swap

contracts

...........................................

—

64,275

Variation

margin

on

futures

contracts

..........................................

859

859

Variation

margin

on

centrally

cleared

swap

contracts

..............................

—

1,041

Unrealized

appreciation

on

OTC

swap

contracts

...................................

—

1,630

Offering

costs

............................................................

61,980

61,980

Total

assets

.........................................................

8,225,765

8,235,464

Liabilities:

Payables:

Transfer

agent

fees

.......................................................

Professional

fees

........................................................

1,956

1,956

Trustees'

fees

and

expenses

................................................

Offering

costs

............................................................

63,369

63,369

Organization

costs

.........................................................

20,000

20,000

Accrued

expenses

and

other

liabilities

..........................................

(1,402)

(1,402)

Total

liabilities

........................................................

83,967

83,967

Net

assets,

at

value

................................................

$8,141,798

$8,151,497

Net

assets

consist

of:

Paid-in

capital

............................................................

$8,060,079

$8,060,048

Total

distributable

earnings

(losses)

............................................

81,719

91,449

Net

assets,

at

value

................................................

$8,141,798

$8,151,497

Shares

outstanding

........................................................

805,962

805,957

Net

asset

value

per

share

a

...................................................

$10.10

$10.11

a

Net

asset

value

per

share

may

not

recalculate

due

to

rounding.

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Financial

Statements

Statements

of

Operations

for

the

six

months

ended

June

30,

2025

(unaudited)

a

franklintempleton.com

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

Semiannual

Report

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### C

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### CP
Investment

income:

Dividends:

Non-controlled

affiliates

(Note

d)

............................................

$495

$397

Interest:

Unaffiliated

issuers

.......................................................

7,489

8,296

Total

investment

income

..................................................

7,984

8,693

Expenses:

Transfer

agent

fees

........................................................

Custodian

fees

...........................................................

Reports

to

shareholders

fees

.................................................

Professional

fees

..........................................................

1,956

1,956

Trustees'

fees

and

expenses

.................................................

Organization

costs

.........................................................

20,000

20,000

Amortization

of

offering

costs

(Note

f)

..........................................

1,389

1,389

Other

...................................................................

Total

expenses

........................................................

23,737

23,738

Expenses

waived/paid

by

affiliates

(Note

d

and

e)

.............................

(23,737)

(23,738)

Net

expenses

........................................................

—

—

Net

investment

income

...............................................

7,984

8,693

Realized

and

unrealized

gains

(losses):

Net

realized

gain

(loss)

from:

Investments:

Swap

contracts

..........................................................

—

(20) Net

change

in

unrealized

appreciation

(depreciation)

on:

Investments:

Unaffiliated

issuers

.....................................................

73,070

79,842

Futures

contracts

........................................................

665

665

Swap

contracts

..........................................................

—

2,269

Net

change

in

unrealized

appreciation

(depreciation)

...........................

73,735

82,776

Net

realized

and

unrealized

gain

(loss)

...........................................

73,735

82,756

Net

increase

(decrease)

in

net

assets

resulting

from

operations

.........................

$81,719

$91,449

a

For

the

period

June

20,

2025

(commencement

of

operations)

to

June

30,

2025. Franklin

Strategic

Series

Financial

Statements

Statements

of

Changes

in

Net

Assets

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

The

accompanying

notes

are

an

integral

part

of

these

financial

statements.

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### C

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### CP

#### Period

#### Ended

#### June

#### 30,

#### 2025
(unaudited)

#### a

#### Period

#### Ended

#### June

#### 30,

#### 2025
(unaudited)

#### a
Increase

(decrease)

in

net

assets:

Operations:

Net

investment

income

.................................................

$7,984

$8,693

Net

realized

gain

(loss)

.................................................

—

(20) Net

change

in

unrealized

appreciation

(depreciation)

...........................

73,735

82,776

Net

increase

(decrease)

in

net

assets

resulting

from

operations

................

81,719

91,449

Capital

share

transactions

(Note

2)

..........................................

8,060,079

8,060,048

Net

increase

(decrease)

in

net

assets

...................................

8,141,798

8,151,497

Net

assets:

End

of

period

..........................................................

$8,141,798

$8,151,497

a

For

the

period

June

20,

2025

(commencement

of

operations)

to

June

30,

2025. Franklin

Strategic

Series

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

(unaudited)

1. #### Organization

#### and

#### Significant

#### Accounting

#### Policies
Franklin

Strategic

Series (Trust)

is

registered

under

the

Investment

Company

Act

of

1940

(1940

Act)

as

an

open-

end

management

investment

company,

consisting

of

twelve

separate

funds, two of

which

are

included

in

this

report

(Funds).

The Funds

follow

the

accounting

and

reporting

guidance

in

Financial

Accounting

Standards

Board

(FASB)

Accounting

Standards

Codification

Topic

946,

Financial

Services

–

Investment

Companies

(ASC

946)

and

apply

the

specialized

accounting

and

reporting

guidance

in

U.S.

Generally

Accepted

Accounting

Principles

(U.S.

GAAP),

including,

but

not

limited

to,

ASC

946. Effective June

20,

2025,

the

Trust

began

offering

shares

of

Franklin

Templeton

SMACS:

Series

C

and

Franklin

Templeton

SMACS:

Series

CP.

The

following

summarizes

the Funds'

significant

accounting

policies.

a. #### Financial

#### Instrument

#### Valuation
The Funds'

investments

in

financial

instruments

are

carried

at

fair

value

daily.

Fair

value

is

the

price

that

would

be

received

to

sell

an

asset

or

paid

to

transfer

a

liability

in

an

orderly

transaction

between

market

participants

on

the

measurement

date.

The Funds calculate the

net

asset

value

(NAV)

per

share

each

business

day

as

of

p.m.

Eastern

time

or

the

regularly

scheduled

close

of

the

New

York

Stock

Exchange

(NYSE),

whichever

is

earlier. Under

compliance

policies

and

procedures

approved

by

the

Trust's

Board

of

Trustees

(the

Board),

the

Board

has

designated

the

Funds'

investment

manager

as

the

valuation

designee

and

has

responsibility

for

oversight

of

valuation.

The

investment

manager

is

assisted

by

the

Funds'

administrator

in

performing

this

responsibility,

including

leading

the

cross-

functional

Valuation

Committee

(VC).

The

Funds

may

utilize

independent

pricing

services,

quotations

from

securities

and

financial

instrument

dealers,

and

other

market

sources

to

determine

fair

value.

Debt

securities

generally

trade

in

the

OTC

market rather

than

on

a

securities

exchange.

The

Funds'

pricing

services

use

multiple

valuation

techniques

to

determine

fair

value.

In

instances

where

sufficient

market

activity

exists,

the

pricing

services

may

utilize

a

market-based

approach

through

which

quotes

from

market

makers

are

used

to

determine

fair

value.

In

instances

where

sufficient

market

activity

may

not

exist

or

is

limited,

the

pricing

services

also

utilize

proprietary

valuation

models

which

may

consider

market

characteristics

such

as

benchmark

yield

curves,

credit

spreads,

estimated

default

rates,

anticipated

market

interest

rate

volatility,

coupon

rates,

anticipated

timing

of

principal

repayments,

underlying

collateral,

and

other

unique

security

features

in

order

to

estimate

the

relevant

cash

flows,

which

are

then

discounted

to

calculate

the

fair

value.

Securities

denominated

in

a

foreign

currency

are

converted

into

their

U.S.

dollar

equivalent

at

the

foreign

exchange

rate

in

effect

at

p.m.

Eastern

time

on

the

date

that

the

values

of

the

foreign

debt

securities

are

determined.

Investments

in open-end mutual

funds

are

valued

at

the

closing

NAV.

Derivative

financial

instruments

listed

on

an

exchange

are

valued

at

the

official

closing

price

of

the

day.

Certain

derivative

financial

instruments

are

centrally

cleared

or

trade

in

the

OTC

market.

The

Funds' pricing

services

use

various

techniques

including

industry

standard

option

pricing

models

and

proprietary

discounted

cash

flow

models

to

determine

the

fair

value

of

those

instruments.

The

Funds' net

benefit

or

obligation

under

the

derivative

contract,

as

measured

by

the

fair

value

of

the

contract,

is

included

in

net

assets.

The

Funds

have

procedures

to

determine

the

fair

value

of

financial

instruments

for

which

market

prices

are

not

reliable

or

readily

available.

Under

these

procedures,

the

Funds

primarily

employ

a

market-based

approach

which

may

use

related

or

comparable

assets

or

liabilities,

recent

transactions,

market

multiples,

and

other

relevant

information

for

the

investment

to

determine

the

fair

value

of

the

investment.

An

income-based

valuation

approach

may

also

be

used

in

which

the

anticipated

future

cash

flows

of

the

investment

are

discounted

to

calculate

fair

value.

Discounts

may

also

be

applied

due

to

the

nature

or

duration

of

any

restrictions

on

the

disposition

of

the

investments.

Due

to

the

inherent

uncertainty

of

valuations

of

such

investments,

the

fair

values

may

differ

significantly

from

the

values

that

would

have

been

used

had

an

active

market

existed.

b. #### Foreign

#### Currency

#### Translation
Portfolio

securities

and

other

assets

and

liabilities

denominated

in

foreign

currencies

are

translated

into

U.S.

dollars

based

on

the

exchange

rate

of

such

currencies

against

U.S.

dollars

on

the

date

of

valuation.

The

Funds

may

enter

into

foreign

currency

exchange

contracts

to

facilitate

transactions

denominated

in

a

foreign

currency.

Purchases

and

sales

of

securities,

income

and

expense

items

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

denominated

in

foreign

currencies

are

translated

into

U.S.

dollars

at

the

exchange

rate

in

effect

on

the

transaction

date.

Portfolio

securities

and

assets

and

liabilities

denominated

in

foreign

currencies

contain

risks

that

those

currencies

will

decline

in

value

relative

to

the

U.S.

dollar.

Occasionally,

events

may

impact

the

availability

or

reliability

of

foreign

exchange

rates

used

to

convert

the

U.S.

dollar

equivalent

value.

If

such

an

event

occurs,

the

foreign

exchange

rate

will

be

valued

at

fair

value

using

procedures

established

and

approved

by

the

Board.

The

Funds

do

not

separately

report

the

effect

of

changes

in

foreign

exchange

rates

from

changes

in

market

prices

on

securities

held.

Such

changes

are

included

in

net

realized

and

unrealized

gain

or

loss

from

investments

in

the

Statements

of

Operations.

Realized

foreign

exchange

gains

or

losses

arise

from

sales

of

foreign

currencies,

currency

gains

or

losses

realized

between

the

trade

and

settlement

dates

on

securities

transactions

and

the

difference

between

the

recorded

amounts

of

dividends,

interest,

and

foreign

withholding

taxes

and

the

U.S.

dollar

equivalent

of

the

amounts

actually

received

or

paid.

Net

unrealized

foreign

exchange

gains

and

losses

arise

from

changes

in

foreign

exchange

rates

on

foreign

denominated

assets

and

liabilities

other

than

investments

in

securities

held

at

the

end

of

the

reporting

period.

c. #### Derivative

#### Financial

#### Instruments
Certain

or

all

Funds

invested

in

derivative

financial

instruments

in

order

to

manage

risk

or

gain

exposure

to

various

other

investments

or

markets.

Derivatives

are

financial

contracts

based

on

an

underlying

or

notional

amount,

require

no

initial

investment

or

an

initial

net

investment

that

is

smaller

than

would

normally

be

required

to

have

a

similar

response

to

changes

in

market

factors,

and

require

or

permit

net

settlement.

Derivatives

contain

various

risks

including

the

potential

inability

of

the

counterparty

to

fulfill

their

obligations

under

the

terms

of

the

contract,

the

potential

for

an

illiquid

secondary

market,

and/or

the

potential

for

market

movements

which

expose

the

Fund

to

gains

or

losses

in

excess

of

the

amounts

shown

in

the

Statements

of

Assets

and

Liabilities.

Realized

gain

and

loss

and

unrealized

appreciation

and

depreciation

on

these

contracts

for

the

period

are

included

in

the

Statements

of

Operations.

Derivative

counterparty

credit

risk

is

managed

through

a

formal

evaluation

of

the

creditworthiness

of

all

potential

counterparties.

Certain

or

all Funds

attempt

to

reduce their

exposure

to

counterparty

credit

risk

on

OTC

derivatives,

whenever

possible,

by

entering

into

International

Swaps

and

Derivatives

Association

(ISDA)

master

agreements

with

certain

counterparties.

These

agreements

contain

various

provisions,

including

but

not

limited

to

collateral

requirements,

events

of

default,

or

early

termination.

Termination

events

applicable

to

the

counterparty

include

certain

deteriorations

in

the

credit

quality

of

the

counterparty.

Termination

events

applicable

to

the

Funds

include

failure

of

the

Funds

to

maintain

certain

net

asset

levels

and/or

limit

the

decline

in

net

assets

over

various

periods

of

time.

In

the

event

of

default

or

early

termination,

the

ISDA

master

agreement

gives

the

non-defaulting

party

the

right

to

net

and

close-out

all

transactions

traded,

whether

or

not

arising

under

the

ISDA

agreement,

to

one

net

amount

payable

by

one

counterparty

to

the

other.

However,

absent

an

event

of

default

or

early

termination,

OTC

derivative

assets

and

liabilities

are

presented

gross

and

not

offset

in

the

Statements

of

Assets

and

Liabilities.

Early

termination

by

the

counterparty

may

result

in

an

immediate

payment

by

the

Funds

of

any

net

liability

owed

to

that

counterparty

under

the

ISDA

agreement.

Collateral

requirements

differ

by

type

of

derivative.

Collateral

or

initial

margin

requirements

are

set

by

the

broker

or

exchange

clearing

house

for

exchange

traded

and

centrally

cleared

derivatives.

Initial

margin

deposited

is

held

at

the

exchange

and

can

be

in

the

form

of

cash

and/or

securities.

For

OTC

derivatives

traded

under

an

ISDA

master

agreement,

posting

of

collateral

is

required

by

either

the

Fund

or

the

applicable

counterparty

if

the

total

net

exposure

of

all

OTC

derivatives

with

the

applicable

counterparty

exceeds

the

minimum

transfer

amount,

which

typically

ranges

from

$100,000

to

$250,000,

and

can

vary

depending

on

the

counterparty

and

the

type

of

agreement.

Generally,

collateral

is

determined

at

the

close

of

Fund

business

each

day

and

any

additional

collateral

required

due

to

changes

in

derivative

values

may

be

delivered

by

the

Fund

or

the

counterparty

the

next

business

day,

or

within

a

few

business

days.

Collateral

pledged

and/or

received

by

the

Fund

for

OTC

derivatives,

if

any,

is

held

in

segregated

accounts

with

the

Fund's

custodian/counterparty

broker

and

can

be

in

1. #### Organization

#### and

#### Significant

#### Accounting

#### Policies
(continued)

b. #### Foreign

#### Currency

#### Translation
(continued)

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

the

form

of

cash

and/or

securities.

Unrestricted

cash

may

be

invested

according

to

the

Funds'

investment

objectives.

To

the

extent

that

the

amounts

due

to

the

Fund

from

its

counterparties

are

not

subject

to

collateralization

or

are

not

fully

collateralized,

the

Fund

bears

the

risk

of

loss

from

counterparty

non-performance.

Certain

or

all

Funds

entered

into

exchange

traded

futures

contracts

primarily

to

manage

and/or

gain

exposure

to

interest

rate

risk. A

futures

contract

is

an

agreement

between

the

Fund

and

a

counterparty

to

buy

or

sell

an

asset

at

a

specified

price

on

a

future

date.

Required

initial

margins

are

pledged

by

the

Fund,

and

the

daily

change

in

fair

value

is

accounted

for

as

a

variation

margin

payable

or

receivable

in

the

Statements

of

Assets

and

Liabilities.

Futures

contracts

outstanding

at

period

end,

if

any,

are

listed

in

the

Funds'

Schedules

of

Investments.

Certain

or

all

Funds

entered

into

credit

default

swap

contracts

primarily

to

manage

and/or

gain

exposure

to

credit

risk.

A

credit

default

swap

is

an

agreement

between

the

Fund

and

a

counterparty

whereby

the

buyer

of

the

contract

receives

credit

protection

and

the

seller

of

the

contract

guarantees

the

credit

worthiness

of

a

referenced

debt

obligation.

These

agreements

may

be

privately

negotiated

in

the

over-the-counter

market

(OTC

credit

default

swaps)

or

may

be

executed

in

a

multilateral

trade

facility

platform,

such

as

a

registered

exchange

(centrally

cleared

credit

default

swaps).

The

underlying

referenced

debt

obligation

may

be

a

single

issuer

of

corporate

or

sovereign

debt,

a

credit

index,

a

basket

of

issuers

or

indices,

or

a

tranche

of

a

credit

index

or

basket

of

issuers

or

indices.

In

the

event

of

a

default

of

the

underlying

referenced

debt

obligation,

the

buyer

is

entitled

to

receive

the

notional

amount

of

the

credit

default

swap

contract

from

the

seller

in

exchange

for

the

referenced

debt

obligation,

a

net

settlement

amount

equal

to

the

notional

amount

of

the

credit

default

swap

less

the

recovery

value

of

the

referenced

debt

obligation,

or

other

agreed

upon

amount.

For

centrally

cleared

credit

default

swaps,

required

initial

margins

are

pledged

by

the

Fund,

and

the

daily

change

in

fair

value

is

accounted

for

as

a

variation

margin

payable

or

receivable

in

the

Statements

of

Assets

and

Liabilities.

Over

the

term

of

the

contract,

the

buyer

pays

the

seller

a

periodic

stream

of

payments,

provided

that

no

event

of

default

has

occurred.

Such

periodic

payments

are

accrued

daily

as

an

unrealized

appreciation or

depreciation

until

the

payments

are

made,

at

which

time

they

are

realized.

Upfront

payments

and

receipts

are

reflected

in

the Statements

of

Assets

and

Liabilities

and

represent

compensating

factors

between

stated

terms

of

the

credit

default

swap

agreement

and

prevailing

market

conditions

(credit

spreads

and

other

relevant

factors).

These

upfront

payments

and

receipts

are

amortized

over

the

term

of

the

contract

as

a

realized

gain

or

loss

in

the

Statements

of

Operations.

Credit

default

swap

contracts

outstanding

at

period

end,

if

any,

are

listed

in

the

Funds'

Schedules

of

Investments.

Certain

or

all

Funds

entered

into

OTC

total

return

swap

contracts

primarily

to

manage

and/or

gain exposure

to

credit risk

of

an

underlying

instrument

such

as

a

stock,

bond,

index

or

basket

of

securities

or

indices.

A

total

return

swap

is

an

agreement

between

the

Fund

and

a

counterparty

to

exchange

a

return

linked

to

an

underlying

instrument

for

a

floating

or

fixed

rate

payment,

both

based

upon

a

notional

amount.

Over

the

term

of

the

contract,

contractually

required

payments

to

be

paid

or

received

are

accrued

daily

and

recorded

as

unrealized

appreciation or

depreciation

until

the

payments

are

made,

at

which

time

they

are

recognized

as

realized

gain

or

loss.

Total

return

swap contracts outstanding

at

period

end,

if

any,

are

listed

in

the

Funds'

Schedules

of

Investments.

See

Note

7 regarding

other

derivative

information.

d. #### Income

#### and

#### Deferred

#### Taxes
It

is each

Fund's

policy

to

qualify

as

a

regulated

investment

company

under

the

Internal

Revenue

Code. Each

Fund

intends

to

distribute

to

shareholders

substantially

all

of

its

income

and

net

realized

gains

to

relieve

it

from

federal

income

and excise

taxes.

As

a

result,

no

provision

for

U.S.

federal

income

taxes

is

required.

The

Funds

may

be

subject

to

foreign

taxation

related

to

income

received,

capital

gains

on

the

sale

of

securities

and

certain

foreign

currency

transactions

in

the

foreign

jurisdictions

in

which

the

Funds

invest.

Foreign

taxes,

if

any,

are

recorded

based

on

the

tax

regulations

and

rates

that

exist

in

the

foreign

markets

in

which

the

Funds

invest.

When

a

capital

gain

tax

is

determined

to

apply,

certain

or

all

Funds

record

an

estimated

deferred

tax

liability

in

an

amount

that

would

be

payable

if

the

securities

were

disposed

of

on

the

valuation

date.

1. #### Organization

#### and

#### Significant

#### Accounting

#### Policies
(continued)

c. #### Derivative

#### Financial

#### Instruments
(continued)

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

Each

Fund

may

recognize

an

income

tax

liability

related

to

its

uncertain

tax

positions

under

U.S.

GAAP

when

the

uncertain

tax

position

has

a

less

than

50%

probability

that

it

will

be

sustained

upon

examination

by

the

tax

authorities

based

on

its

technical

merits.

As

of

June

30,

2025, each

Fund

has

determined

that

no

tax

liability

is

required

in

its

financial

statements

related

to

uncertain

tax

positions

for

any

open

tax

years

(or

expected

to

be

taken

in

future

tax

years).

Open

tax

years

are

those

that

remain

subject

to

examination

and

are

based

on

the

statute

of

limitations

in

each

jurisdiction

in

which

the

Fund

invests.

e. #### Security

#### Transactions,

#### Investment

#### Income,

#### Expenses

#### and

#### Distributions
Security

transactions

are

accounted

for

on

trade

date.

Realized

gains

and

losses

on

security

transactions

are

determined

on

a

specific

identification basis.

Interest

income

(including

interest

income

from

payment-in-kind

securities,

if

any)

and

estimated

expenses

are

accrued

daily.

Amortization

of

premium

and

accretion

of

discount

on

debt

securities

are

included

in

interest

income.

Paydown

gains

and

losses

are

recorded

as

an

adjustment

to

interest

income.

Dividend

income

is recorded

on

the

ex-dividend

date.

Distributions

to

shareholders

are

recorded

on

the

ex-dividend

date.

Distributable

earnings are

determined

according

to

income

tax

regulations

(tax

basis)

and

may

differ

from

earnings recorded

in

accordance

with

U.S.

GAAP.

These

differences

may

be

permanent

or

temporary.

Permanent differences

are

reclassified

among

capital

accounts

to

reflect

their

tax

character.

These reclassifications

have

no

impact

on

net

assets

or

the

results

of

operations.

Temporary

differences are

not

reclassified,

as

they

may

reverse

in

subsequent

periods.

Common

expenses

incurred

by

the

Trust

are

allocated

among

the

Funds

based

on

the

ratio

of

net

assets

of

each

Fund

to

the

combined

net

assets

of

the

Trust

or

based

on

the

ratio

of

number

of

shareholders

of

each

Fund

to

the

combined

number

of

shareholders

of

the

Trust.

Fund

specific

expenses

are

charged

directly

to

the

Fund

that

incurred

the

expense.

f. #### Organization

#### and

#### Offering

#### Costs
Organization

costs

were

expensed

as

incurred.

Offering

costs

are

amortized

on

a

straight

line

basis

over

twelve

months.

g. #### Accounting

#### Estimates
The

preparation

of

financial

statements

in

accordance

with

U.S.

GAAP

requires

management

to

make

estimates

and

assumptions

that

affect

the

reported

amounts

of

assets

and

liabilities

at

the

date

of

the

financial

statements

and

the

amounts

of

income

and

expenses

during

the

reporting

period.

Actual

results

could

differ

from

those

estimates.

h. #### Guarantees

#### and

#### Indemnifications
Under

the Trust's

organizational

documents,

its

officers

and trustees

are

indemnified

by

the Trust against

certain

liabilities

arising

out

of

the

performance

of

their

duties

to

the

Trust.

Additionally,

in

the

normal

course

of

business,

the Trust,

on

behalf

of

the

Funds, enters

into

contracts

with

service

providers

that

contain

general

indemnification

clauses.

The Trust's

maximum

exposure

under

these

arrangements

is

unknown

as

this

would

involve

future

claims

that

may

be

made

against

the Trust

that

have

not

yet

occurred.

Currently,

the Trust

expects

the

risk

of

loss

to

be

remote.

1. #### Organization

#### and

#### Significant

#### Accounting

#### Policies
(continued)

d. #### Income

#### and

#### Deferred

#### Taxes
(continued)

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

2. #### Shares

#### of

#### Beneficial

#### Interest
At

June

30,

2025,

there

were

an

unlimited

number

of

shares

authorized

(without

par value).

Transactions

in

the

Funds'

shares

were

as

follows:

3. #### Transactions

#### with

#### Affiliates
Franklin

Resources,

Inc.

is

the

holding

company

for

various

subsidiaries

that

together

are

referred

to

as

Franklin

Templeton.

Certain

officers

and

trustees

of

the Trust are

also

officers

and/or

directors

of

the

following

subsidiaries:

a. #### Management

#### Fees
Advisers provides

investment

management

services

to

the

Funds.

The

Funds

do

not

pay

a

fee

for

these

services.

b. #### Administrative

#### Fees
Under

an

agreement

with

Advisers,

FT

Services

provides

administrative

services

to

the

Funds

and

is

not

paid

by

the

Funds

for

the services.

c. #### Transfer

#### Agent

#### Fees
The

Funds

pay

transfer

agent

fees,

calculated

monthly

and

paid

monthly, to

Investor

Services

for

its

performance

of

shareholder

servicing

obligations. The

fees

are based

on

a

fixed

margin

earned

by

Investor

Services

and

are allocated

to

the Funds

based

upon

relative

assets

and

relative

transactions. In

addition,

the

Fund reimburses

Investor

Services

for

out

of

pocket

expenses

incurred

and reimburses

shareholder

servicing

fees

paid

to

third

parties.

For

the

period

ended

June

30,

2025,

the Funds

paid

transfer

agent

fees

as

noted

in

the

Statements of

Operations

of

which

the

following

amounts

were

retained

by

Investor

Services:

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### C

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### CP

#### Shares

#### Amount

#### Shares

#### Amount
Single

Class

Six

Months

ended

June

30,

2025

a

Shares

sold

...................................

805,962

$8,060,079

805,957

$8,060,048

Net

increase

(decrease)

..........................

805,962

$8,060,079

805,957

$8,060,048

a

For

the

period

June

20,

2025

(commencement

of

operations)

to

June

30,

2025. #### Subsidiary

#### Affiliation
Franklin

Advisers,

Inc.

(Advisers)

Investment

manager

Franklin

Templeton

Services,

LLC

(FT

Services)

Administrative

manager

Franklin

Distributors,

LLC

(Distributors)

Principal

underwriter

Franklin

Templeton

Investor

Services,

LLC

(Investor

Services)

Transfer

agent

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### C

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### CP
Transfer

agent

fees

..........................................................

$42

$42

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

d. #### Investments

#### in

#### Affiliated

#### Management

#### Investment

#### Companies
Certain

or

all

Funds

invest

in

one

or

more

affiliated

management

investment

companies.

As

defined

in

the

1940

Act,

an

investment

is

deemed

to

be

a

"Controlled

Affiliate"

of

a

fund

when

a

fund

owns,

either

directly

or

indirectly,

25%

or

more

of

the

affiliated

fund's

outstanding

shares

or

has

the

power

to

exercise

control

over

management

or

policies

of

such

fund.

The

Funds

do

not

invest

for

purposes

of

exercising

a

controlling

influence

over

the

management

or

policies. Advisers

has

contractually

agreed

to

reimburse

expenses

of

the

Funds

in

an

amount

equal

to

fees

indirectly

borne

by

the

Funds

on

assets

invested

in

the

affiliated

management

investment

companies,

as

noted

in

the

Statements

of

Operations.

During

the period

ended

June

30,

2025,

investments

in

affiliated

management

investment

companies

were

as

follows:

e. #### Waiver

#### and

#### Expense

#### Reimbursements
Advisers

has

contractually

agreed

in

advance

to

waive

or

limit

its

fees

and

to

assume

as

its

own

expense

certain

expenses

otherwise

payable

by

the

Funds

so

that

the

operating

expenses

(excluding

certain

non-routine

expenses

or

costs,

including

those

relating

to

litigation,

indemnification,

reorganizations,

and

liquidations)

and

acquired

fund

fees

and

expenses

of

the

Funds do

not

exceed

0.00%

based

on

the

average

net

assets

of

each

class

until April

30,

2027. Total

expenses

waived

or

paid

are

not

subject

to

recapture

subsequent

to

the

Funds'

fiscal

year

end.

Acquired

fund

fees

and

expenses

are

indirect

expenses,

and

therefore

Advisers

may

make

payments,

if

necessary,

to

the

Funds

to

offset

these

estimated

indirect

expenses.

f. #### Other

#### Affiliated

#### Transactions
At

June

30,

2025,

Templeton

International

Inc.

owned

a

percentage

of

the

Funds'

outstanding

shares

as

follows:

a

Investment

activities

of

significant

shareholders

could

have

a

material

impact

on

the

Fund.

#### &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;aa

#### Value

#### at

#### Beginning

#### of

#### Period

#### Purchases

#### Sales

#### Realized

#### Gain
(Loss)

#### Net

#### Change

#### in

#### Unrealized

#### Appreciation
(Depreciation)

#### Value

#### at

#### End

#### of

#### Period

#### Number

#### of

#### Shares

#### Held

#### at

#### End

#### of

#### Period

#### Investment

#### Income

#### a&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;

#### a

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### C

#### Non-Controlled

#### Affiliates
Dividends

Institutional

Fiduciary

Trust

-

Money

Market

Portfolio,

4.332%

$—

$737,228

$(405,731)

$—

$—

$331,497

331,497

$495

#### Total

#### Affiliated

#### Securities

#### ...
$—

$737,228

$(405,731)

$—

$—

$331,497

$495

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### CP

#### Non-Controlled

#### Affiliates
Dividends

Institutional

Fiduciary

Trust

-

Money

Market

Portfolio,

4.332%

$—

$613,679

$(245,298)

$—

$—

$368,381

368,381

$397

#### Total

#### Affiliated

#### Securities

#### ...
$—

$613,679

$(245,298)

$—

$—

$368,381

$397

#### Shares

#### Percentage

#### of

#### Outstanding

#### Shares

#### ~

#### a

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### C
Templeton

International

Inc.

800,000

99.3%

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### CP
Templeton

International

Inc.

800,000

99.3%

3. #### Transactions

#### with

#### Affiliates
(continued)

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

4. #### Income

#### Taxes
At

June

30,

2025,

the

cost

of

investments

and

net

unrealized

appreciation

(depreciation)

for

income

tax

purposes

were

as

follows:

Differences

between

income

and/or

capital

gains

as

determined

on

a

book

basis

and

a

tax

basis

are

primarily

due

to

differing

treatments

of

bond

discounts

and

premiums

and

derivative

financial

instruments.

5. #### Investment

#### Transactions
Purchases

and

sales

of

investments

(excluding

short

term

securities)

for

the

period

ended

June

30,

2025,

were

as

follows:

6. #### Credit

#### Risk
At

June

30,

2025,

Franklin

Templeton

SMACS:

Series

CP had 23.1%

of

its

portfolio

invested

in

high

yield

or

other

securities

rated

below

investment

grade

and

unrated

securities.

These

securities

may

be

more

sensitive

to

economic

conditions

causing

greater

price

volatility

and

are

potentially

subject

to

a

greater

risk

of

loss

due

to

default

than

higher

rated

securities.

7. #### Other

#### Derivative

#### Information
At

June

30,

2025,

investments

in

derivative

contracts

are

reflected

in

the

Statements

of

Assets

and

Liabilities

as

follows:

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### C

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### CP
a

a

a

Cost

of

investments

.........................................................

$7,966,922

$7,877,156

Unrealized

appreciation

.......................................................

$73,747

$83,732

Unrealized

depreciation

.......................................................

(12) (956) Net

unrealized

appreciation

(depreciation)

.........................................

$73,735

$82,776

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### C

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### CP
Purchases

................................................................

$7,607,520

$7,490,294

Sales

....................................................................

$—

$—

#### Asset

#### Derivatives

#### Liability

#### Derivatives

#### Derivative

#### Contracts

#### Not

#### Accounted

#### for

#### as

#### Hedging

#### Instruments

#### Statement

#### of

#### Assets

#### and

#### Liabilities

#### Location

#### Fair

#### Value

#### Statement

#### of

#### Assets

#### and

#### Liabilities

#### Location

#### Fair

#### Value

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### C
Interest

rate

contracts

.......

Variation

margin

on

futures

contracts

$

665

a

Variation

margin

on

futures

contracts

$

—

Total

....................

$665

$—

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

For

the

period

ended

June

30,

2025,

the

effect

of

derivative

contracts

in

the

Statements

of

Operations

was

as

follows:

#### Asset

#### Derivatives

#### Liability

#### Derivatives

#### Derivative

#### Contracts

#### Not

#### Accounted

#### for

#### as

#### Hedging

#### Instruments

#### Statement

#### of

#### Assets

#### and

#### Liabilities

#### Location

#### Fair

#### Value

#### Statement

#### of

#### Assets

#### and

#### Liabilities

#### Location

#### Fair

#### Value

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### CP
Interest

rate

contracts

.......

Variation

margin

on

futures

contracts

$

665

a

Variation

margin

on

futures

contracts

$

—

Credit

contracts

............

Variation

margin

on

centrally

cleared

swap

contracts

639

b

Variation

margin

on

centrally

cleared

swap

contracts

—

Unrealized

appreciation

on

OTC

swap

contracts

1,630

Unrealized

depreciation

on

OTC

swap

contracts

—

Total

....................

$2,934

$—

a

This

amount

reflects

the

cumulative

appreciation

(depreciation)

of

futures

contracts

as

reported

in

the

Schedules

of

Investments.

Only

the

variation

margin

receivable/

payable

at

period

end

is

separately

reported

within

the

Statements

of

Assets

and

Liabilities.

Prior

variation

margin

movements

were

recorded

to

cash

upon

receipt

or

payment.

b

This

amount

reflects

the

cumulative

appreciation

(depreciation)

of

centrally

cleared

swap

contracts

as

reported

in

the

Schedule

of

Investments.

Only

the

variation

margin

receivable/payable

at

period

end

is

separately

reported

within

the

Statements

of

Assets

and

Liabilities.

Prior

variation

margin

movements

were

recorded

to

cash

upon

receipt

or

payment.

#### Derivative

#### Contracts

#### Not

#### Accounted

#### for

#### as

#### Hedging

#### Instruments

#### Statement

#### of

#### Operations

#### Location

#### Net

#### Realized

#### Gain
(Loss)

#### for

#### the

#### Period

#### Statement

#### of

#### Operations

#### Location

#### Net

#### Change

#### in

#### Unrealized

#### Appreciation
(Depreciation)

#### for

#### the

#### Period

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### C
Net

realized

gain

(loss)

from:

Net

change

in

unrealized

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;appreciation

(depreciation)

on:

Interest

rate

contracts

..........

Futures

contracts

$—

Futures

contracts

$665

Total

.......................

$—

$665

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### CP
Net

realized

gain

(loss)

from:

Net

change

in

unrealized

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;appreciation

(depreciation)

on:

Interest

rate

contracts

..........

Futures

contracts

—

Futures

contracts

665

Credit

contracts

...............

Swap

contracts

(20) Swap

contracts

2,269

Total

.......................

$(20)

$2,934

7. #### Other

#### Derivative

#### Information
(continued)

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

For

the

period

ended

June

30,

2025,

the

average

month

end

notional

amount

of

futures

contracts

and

swaps

contracts

were

as

follows:

See

Note

1(c) regarding

derivative

financial

instruments.

8. #### Fair

#### Value

#### Measurements
The Funds

follow

a

fair

value

hierarchy

that

distinguishes

between

market

data

obtained

from

independent

sources

(observable

inputs)

and

the Funds'

own

market

assumptions

(unobservable

inputs).

These

inputs

are

used

in

determining

the

value

of

the Funds' financial

instruments

and

are

summarized

in

the

following

fair

value

hierarchy:

Level

–

quoted

prices

in

active

markets

for

identical

financial

instruments

Level

–

other

significant

observable

inputs

(including

quoted

prices

for

similar

financial

instruments,

interest

rates,

prepayment

speed,

credit

risk,

etc.)

Level

–

significant

unobservable

inputs

(including

the Funds'

own

assumptions

in

determining

the

fair

value

of

financial

instruments)

The

input

levels

are

not

necessarily

an

indication

of

the

risk

or

liquidity

associated

with

financial

instruments

at

that

level.

A

summary

of

inputs

used

as

of

June

30,

2025,

in

valuing

the

Funds'

assets

carried

at

fair

value,

is

as

follows:

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### C

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### CP
Futures

contracts

........................................................

$

748,313

$

748,313

Swap

contracts

..........................................................

–

895,000

#### Level

#### 1

#### Level

#### 2

#### Level

#### 3

#### Total

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### C

#### Assets:
Investments

in

Securities:

a

Corporate

Bonds

........................

$

—

$

2,826,974

$

—

$

2,826,974

Foreign

Government

and

Agency

Securities

....

—

12,451

—

12,451

U.S.

Government

and

Agency

Securities

.......

—

417,597

—

417,597

Mortgage-Backed

Securities

................

—

4,451,473

—

4,451,473

Short

Term

Investments

...................

331,497

—

—

331,497

Total

Investments

in

Securities

...........

$331,497

$7,708,495

$—

$8,039,992

Other

Financial

Instruments:

Futures

Contracts

.......................

$665

$—

$—

$665

Total

Other

Financial

Instruments

.........

$665

$—

$—

$665

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### CP

#### Assets:
Investments

in

Securities:

a

Corporate

Bonds

........................

—

5,072,023

—

5,072,023

Foreign

Government

and

Agency

Securities

....

—

13,409

—

13,409

U.S.

Government

and

Agency

Securities

.......

—

204,896

—

204,896

Mortgage-Backed

Securities

................

—

2,310,680

—

2,310,680

Short

Term

Investments

...................

368,381

—

—

368,381

Total

Investments

in

Securities

...........

$368,381

$7,601,008

$—

$7,969,389

7. #### Other

#### Derivative

#### Information
(continued)

Franklin

Strategic

Series

Notes

to

Financial

Statements

(unaudited)

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

9. #### Operating

#### Segments
The Funds

have

adopted

the

FASB

Accounting

Standards

Update

(ASU)

2023-07,

*Segment* 

*Reporting* 

*(Topic* 

*280)* 

*-* 

*Improvements* 

*to* 

*Reportable* 

*Segment* 

*Disclosures.*

The

update

is

limited

to

disclosure

requirements

and

does

not

impact

the Funds'

financial

position

or

results

of

operations.

Each

Fund

operates

as

a

single

operating

segment,

which

is

an

investment

portfolio.

The

Funds'

Investment

manager

serves

as

the

Chief

Operating

Decision

Maker

(CODM),

evaluating

fund-wide

results

and

performance

under

a

unified

investment

strategy.

The

CODM

uses

these

measures

to

assess

fund

performance

and

allocate

resources

effectively.

Internal

reporting

provided

to

the

CODM

aligns

with

the

accounting

policies

and

measurement

principles

used

in

the

financial

statements.

For

information

regarding

segment

assets,

segment

profit

or

loss,

and

significant

expenses,

refer

to

the

Statements

of

Assets

and

Liabilities

and

the

Statements

of

Operations,

along

with

the

related

notes

to

the

financial

statements.

The

Schedules

of

Investments

provides

details

of

the

Funds'

investments

that

generate

returns

such

as

interest,

dividends,

and

realized

and

unrealized

gains

or

losses.

Performance

metrics,

including

portfolio

turnover

and

expense

ratios,

are

disclosed

in

the

Financial

Highlights.

10. #### Subsequent

#### Events
The

Funds

have

evaluated

subsequent

events

through

the

issuance

of

the

financial

statements

and

determined

that

no

events

have

occurred

that

require

disclosure.

#### Abbreviations

#### Level

#### 1

#### Level

#### 2

#### Level

#### 3

#### Total

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### CP
(continued)

#### Assets:
(continued)

Other

Financial

Instruments:

Futures

Contracts

.......................

$665

$—

$—

$665

Swap

Contracts

.........................

—

2,269

—

2,269

Total

Other

Financial

Instruments

.........

$665

$2,269

$—

$2,934

a

For

detailed

categories,

see

the

accompanying

Schedule

of

Investments.

#### Selected

#### Portfolio

#### FNMA
Federal

National

Mortgage

Association

#### GNMA
Government

National

Mortgage

Association

#### REIT
Real

Estate

Investment

Trust

#### SOFR
Secured

Overnight

Financing

Rate

#### Index

#### CDX.NA.EM.

#### Series

#### number
CDX

North

America

Emerging

Markets

Index

8. #### Fair

#### Value

#### Measurements
(continued)

Franklin

Strategic

Series

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

#### FRANKLIN

#### STRATEGIC

#### SERIES

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### C

#### Franklin

#### Templeton

#### SMACS:

#### Series

#### CP
(each

a

Fund)

At

an

in-person

meeting

held

on

February

24,

2025

(Meeting),

the

Board

of

Trustees

(Board)

of

Franklin

Strategic

Series

(Trust),

including

a

majority

of

the

trustees

who

are

not

"interested

persons"

as

defined

in

the

Investment

Company

Act

of

1940

(Independent

Trustees),

reviewed

and

approved

a

new

investment

management

agreement

between

Franklin

Advisers,

Inc.

(Manager)

and

the

Trust,

on

behalf

of

each

Fund

(Management

Agreement)

for

an

initial

two-year

period.

The

Independent

Trustees

received

advice

from

and

met

separately

with

Independent

Trustee

counsel

in

considering

whether

to

approve

the

Management

Agreement.

In

considering

the

approval

of

the

Management

Agreement,

the

Board

reviewed

and

considered

information

provided

by

the

Manager

at

the

Meeting

and

throughout

the

year

at

meetings

of

the

Board

and

its

committees.

The

Board

reviewed

and

considered

all

of

the

factors

it

deemed

relevant

in

approving

the

Management

Agreement,

including,

but

not

limited

to:

(i) the

nature,

extent

and

quality

of

the

services

to

be

provided

by

the

Manager;

(ii) the

costs

of

the

services

to

be

provided

by

the

Manager;

and

(iii) the

extent

to

which

economies

of

scale

may

be

realized

as

each

Fund

grows.

The

Board

also

reviewed

and

considered

the

form

of

Management

Agreement

and

the

terms

of

the

Management

Agreement

which

were

discussed

at

the

Meeting.

In

approving

the

Management

Agreement

on

behalf

of

each

Fund,

the

Board,

including

a

majority

of

the

Independent

Trustees,

determined,

through

the

exercise

of

its

business

judgment,

that

the

terms

of

the

proposed

Management

Agreement

are

fair

and

reasonable

and

that

the

approval

of

the

Management

Agreement

on

behalf

of

each

Fund

is

in

the

best

interests

of

each

Fund

and

its

shareholders.

While

attention

was

given

to

all

information

furnished,

the

following

discusses

some

primary

factors

relevant

to

the

Board's

determination.

#### Changes

#### In

#### and

#### Disagreements

#### with

#### Accountants
For

the

period

covered

by

this

report

Not

applicable.

#### Results

#### of

#### Meeting(s)

#### of

#### Shareholders
For

the

period

covered

by

this

report

Not

applicable.

#### Remuneration

#### Paid

#### to

#### Directors,

#### Officers

#### and

#### Others
For

the

period

covered

by

this

report

Refer

to

the

financial

statements

included

herein.

Remuneration

to

officers

is

paid

by

the

Fund's

investment

manager

according

to

the

terms

of

the

agreement.

#### Board

#### Approval

#### of

#### Management

#### and

#### Subadvisory

#### Agreements
For

the

period

covered

by

this

report

Franklin

Strategic

Series

franklintempleton.com

Semiannual

Report

#### Nature,

#### Extent

#### and

#### Quality

#### of

#### Services
The

Board

reviewed

and

considered

information

regarding

the

nature,

extent

and

quality

of

investment

management

services

to

be

provided

by

the

Manager

and

its

affiliates

to

the

Funds

and

their

shareholders.

This

information

included,

among

other

things,

management's

explanation

that

it

intends

to

use

the

Funds

to

complete

separately

managed

account

portfolios

managed

by

the

Manager

and

its

affiliates;

the

Funds'

proposed

investment

goal

and

strategies

and

service

providers;

the

qualifications,

background

and

experience

of

the

investment

personnel

that

will

be

responsible

for

the

day-to-day

portfolio

management

of

the

Funds;

the

Manager's

experience

as

the

manager

of

other

funds

and

accounts,

including

other

series

of

the

Trust

and

other

funds

in

the

FT

family

of

funds;

the

Manager's

strength

and

reputation

within

the

industry;

the

personnel,

operations,

financial

condition,

and

investment

management

capabilities,

methodologies

and

resources

of

the

Manager;

and

the

Manager's

compliance

capabilities,

as

demonstrated

by,

among

other

things,

its

policies

and

procedures

reasonably

designed

to

prevent

violations

of

the

Federal

Securities

Laws

(as

defined

in

Rule

38a-1

of

the

Investment

Company

Act

of

1940).

Following

consideration

of

such

information,

the

Board

was

satisfied

with

the

nature,

extent

and

quality

of

services

to

be

provided

by

the

Manager

and

its

affiliates

to

the

Funds

and

their

shareholders.

#### Fund

#### Performance
The

Board

noted

that,

as

the

Funds

have

not

yet

commenced

investment

operations,

there

was

no

investment

performance

for

the

Funds.

The

Board

considered

the

proposed

performance

benchmark

for

the

Funds

and

how

such

benchmark

would

be

utilized

to

measure

performance

of

the

Manager.

#### Comparative

#### Fees

#### and

#### Expenses
The

Board

reviewed

and

considered

information

regarding

whether

an

investment

management

fee

would

be

charged

to

each

Fund

by

the

Manager.

In

particular,

the

Board

noted

that,

pursuant

to

the

Management

Agreement,

the

Manager

will

provide

general

investment

management

and

administrative

services

to

each

Fund

for

a

zero

management

fee.

The

Board

also

noted

that

the

Manager

will

assume

all

expenses

incurred

by

each

Fund

(including

acquired

fund

fees

and

expenses),

excluding

certain

non-routine

expenses,

such

as

those

relating

to

litigation,

indemnification,

reorganizations

and

liquidations,

incurred

by

the

Fund.

The

Board

further

noted

that

comparative

fee

data

for

the

Funds

customarily

prepared

by

Broadridge

Financial

Services,

Inc.

was

not

provided

because

the

Funds

will

have

a

zero

management

fee.

The

Board

concluded

that

the

proposed

management

fee

for

each

Fund

is

reasonable.

#### Profitability
The

Board

noted

that

the

Manager

(and

its

affiliates)

could

not

report

any

financial

results

from

their

relationships

with

the

Funds

because

the

Funds

had

not

yet

commenced

investment

operations,

and

thus,

the

Board

could

not

evaluate

the

Manager's

(or

its

affiliates')

profitability

with

respect

to

the

Funds.

#### Economies

#### of

#### Scale
The

Board

reviewed

and

considered

the

extent

to

which

the

Manager

may

realize

economies

of

scale,

if

any,

as

each

Fund

grows

larger

and

whether

each

Fund's

management

fee

structure

reflects

any

economies

of

scale

for

the

benefit

of

shareholders.

In

connection

with

this

review,

the

Board

noted

that

because

each

Fund

will

pay

a

zero

management

fee,

the

consideration

of

possible

economies

of

scale

in

the

future

was

not

relevant.

#### Conclusion
Based

on

its

review,

consideration

and

evaluation

of

all

factors

it

believed

relevant,

including

the

above-described

factors

and

conclusions,

the

Board,

including

a

majority

of

the

Independent

Trustees,

approved

the

Management

Agreement

on

behalf

of

each

Fund

for

an

initial

two-year

period.

FSS4-SFSOI

08/25©

2025

Franklin

Templeton.

All

rights

reserved.

ITEM 8. CHANGES IN AND DISAGREEMENTS WITH ACCOUNTANTS FOR OPEN-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.

The information is disclosed as part of the Financial Statements included in Item 7 of this Form N-CSR.

ITEM 9. PROXY DISCLOSURES FOR OPEN-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.

The information is disclosed as part of the Financial Statements included in Item 7 of this Form N-CSR.

ITEM 10. REMUNERATION PAID TO DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, AND OTHERS OF OPEN-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.

The information is disclosed as part of the Financial Statements included in Item 7 of this Form N-CSR.

ITEM 11. STATEMENT REGARDING BASIS FOR APPROVAL OF INVESTMENT ADVISORY CONTRACT.

The information is disclosed as part of the Financial Statements included in Item 7 of this Form N-CSR, as applicable.

ITEM 12. DISCLOSURE OF PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES FOR CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.

Not applicable.

ITEM 13. PORTFOLIO MANAGERS OF CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.

Not applicable.

ITEM 14. PURCHASES OF EQUITY SECURITIES BY CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANY AND AFFILIATED PURCHASERS.

Not applicable.

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| ITEM 15. | SUBMISSION OF MATTERS TO A VOTE OF SECURITY HOLDERS. |

---

There have been no changes to the procedures by which shareholders may recommend nominees to the Registrant's Board of Trustees that would require disclosure herein.

ITEM 16. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a) The Registrant's chief executive officer and chief financial officer have concluded
 that the Registrant's disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a- 3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940,
 as amended (the "1940 Act")) are effective as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of this report that includes the
 disclosure required by this paragraph, based on their evaluation of the disclosure controls and procedures required by Rule 30a-3(b) under
 the 1940 Act and 15d-15(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b) There were no changes in the Registrant's internal control over financial reporting
 (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the 1940 Act) that occurred during the period covered by this report that have materially affected
 or are likely to materially affect the Registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

ITEM 17. DISCLOSURE OF SECURITIES LENDING ACTIVITIES FOR CLOSED-END MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANIES.

Not applicable.

ITEM 18. RECOVERY OF ERRONEOUSLY AWARDED COMPENSATION.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a) Not applicable.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(b) Not applicable.

ITEM 19. EXHIBITS.

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;(a) (1) Not applicable

Exhibit 99.CODE ETH

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[(a) (3) Certifications pursuant to section 302 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 attached hereto.](fss-efp17122_ex99cert.htm)

Exhibit 99.CERT

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;[(b) Certifications pursuant to Section 906 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002 attached hereto.](fss-efp17122_ex99906cert.htm)

Exhibit 99.906CERT

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this Report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, there unto duly authorized.

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| **Franklin Strategic Series** | **Franklin Strategic Series** |
| By: | /s/ Christopher Kings |
|  | Christopher Kings |
|  | Chief Executive Officer - Finance and Administration |
| Date: | August 26, 2025 |

---

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| By: | /s/ Christopher Kings |
|  | Christopher Kings |
|  | Chief Executive Officer - Finance and Administration |
| Date: | August 26, 2025 |

---

---

| | |
|:---|:---|
| By: | /s/ Jeffrey White |
|  | Jeffrey White |
|  | Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer |
| Date: | August 26, 2025 |

---

## Ex-99.Cert

CERTIFICATIONS PURSUANT TO SECTION 302

EX-99.CERT

**<u>CERTIFICATIONS</u>**

I, Christopher Kings, certify that:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;1. I have reviewed this report on Form N-CSR of **Franklin Strategic Series**;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary
to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period
covered by this report;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;3. Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all material
respects the financial condition, results of operations, changes in net assets, and cash flows (if the financial statements are required
to include a statement of cash flows) of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4. The registrant's other certifying officers and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and procedures
(as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule
30a-3(d) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) for the registrant and have:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to
be designed under our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries,
is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial
reporting to be designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the
preparation of financial statements for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures and presented
in this report our conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of a date within 90 days prior to
the filing date of this report based on such evaluation; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting
that occurred during the period covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the
registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;5. The registrant's other certifying officers and I have disclosed to the registrant's auditors
and the audit committee of the registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over
financial reporting which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to record, process, summarize, and
report financial information; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant
role in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

Date: August 26, 2025

---

| |
|:---|
| /s/ Christopher Kings |
| Christopher Kings |
| Executive Officer – Finance and Administration |

---

**<u>CERTIFICATIONS</u>**

I, Jeffrey White, certify that:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;1. I have reviewed this report on Form N-CSR of **Franklin Strategic Series**;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2. Based on my knowledge, this report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to
state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not
misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;3. Based on my knowledge, the financial information included in this report, and the financial statements
on which the financial information is based, fairly present in all material respects the financial condition, results of operations, changes
in net assets, and cash flows (if the financial statements are required to include a statement of cash flows) of the registrant as of,
and for, the periods presented in this report;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;4. The registrant's other certifying officers and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining
disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a-3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) and internal control over financial
reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the Investment Company Act of 1940) for the registrant and have:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;a) Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under our supervision,
to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us by others
within those entities, particularly during the period in which this report is being prepared;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;b) Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be designed under
our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements
for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;c) Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our conclusions
about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of a date within 90 days prior to the filing date of this report
based on such evaluation; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;d) Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the period
covered by this report that has materially affected, or is reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control
over financial reporting; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;5. The registrant's other certifying officers and I have disclosed to the registrant's auditors
and the audit committee of the registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent functions):

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;a) All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal control over financial reporting which are
reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to record, process, summarize, and report financial information;
and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;b) Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the registrant's
internal control over financial reporting.

Date: August 26, 2025

---

| |
|:---|
| /s/ Jeffrey White |
| Jeffrey White |
| Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer |

---

## Exhibit 99.906

CERTIFICATIONS PURSUANT TO SECTION 906

EX-99.906CERT

**CERTIFICATION**

**Christopher Kings,** Chief Executive Officer – Finance and Administration, and **Jeffrey White,** Chief Financial Officer, Chief Accounting Officer and Treasurer of **Franklin Strategic Series.** (the "Registrant"), each certify to the best of their knowledge that:

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;1. The Registrant's periodic report on Form N-CSR for the period ended **June 30, 2025** (the "Form N-CSR") fully complies with the requirements of Section 13(a) or 15(d), as applicable, of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended; and

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;2. The information contained in the Form N-CSR fairly presents, in all material respects, the financial condition and results of operations of the Registrant.

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| | |
|:---|:---|
| **Chief Executive Officer –**<br> **Finance and Administration** | **Chief Financial Officer, Chief**<br> **Accounting Officer and Treasurer** |
| Franklin Strategic Series | Franklin Strategic Series |
| /s/ Christopher Kings | /s/ Jeffrey White |
| Christopher Kings | Jeffrey White |
| Date: August 26, 2025 | Date: August 26, 2025 |

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This certification is being furnished to the Securities and Exchange Commission solely pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 1350 and is not being filed as part of the Form N-CSR with the Commission.