A reduction in force, or payback for refusing to stay quiet, he asks
A former Franklin Templeton portfolio manager says he was fired under the cover of a reduction in force after reporting alleged trading fraud by his then-manager.
According to a lawsuit filed April 26, 2026 in the Southern District of New York, Jordan Strah is suing Franklin Resources, Inc., K2 Advisors, LLC, and K2/D&S Management Co., LLC under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and New York Labor Law. The case, Strah v. Franklin Resources, Inc., et al., No. 1:26-cv-03428, lands in federal court after more than 180 days passed without a final ruling on Strah's earlier complaint to OSHA.
The filing tells a story HR leaders will recognize in shape, if not in scale.
Strah claims that in June 2023, while working on the Franklin K2 Cat Bond UCITS Fund, he discovered that his then-manager was manipulating data in the fund's "rules-based" screening process to push through bond purchases that should have been flagged as a "NO BUY." He says he reported it to compliance, then to senior leaders, and that the response was less than reassuring.
According to the filing, when Strah laid out the evidence, the chief investment officer of K2 Advisors brushed it off with, "if it walks like a duck, swims like a duck, and quacks like a duck, sometimes it's not a duck." Strah says the head of investment management at K2 Advisors, who was also his then-manager's manager, then suggested he resign rather than see that manager terminated.
He didn't. He kept reporting. According to the filing, he eventually escalated the matter to Franklin Resources' general counsel, who allegedly told him he was "now a 'whistleblower' and protected by bringing this to his attention." The accused manager's employment was ultimately terminated on May 13, 2024, the complaint says.
What follows is the part most relevant to HR.
Strah alleges that after the manager he reported was gone, he was eventually placed under the supervision of the same executive who had previously suggested he resign. He says he was not formally named to the very fund he had been operationally running, and that in late February 2025, a different manager issued a performance review he describes as retaliatory and inaccurate. Strah says he raised the issue with Franklin Templeton's human resources department, arguing the review was being used to set up his exit.
On March 25, 2025, his employment was terminated. The stated reason, according to the complaint, was a reduction in force. Strah calls that rationale implausible, saying he was the only person at the firm who had been managing the fund and the only one with the industry knowledge, systems access, and processes to run it. He also says the prolonged stress took a physical toll, including learning on March 13, 2025, that he was suffering from high blood pressure.
The allegations have not been tested in court. Franklin Templeton has not yet filed a response, and no court has ruled on the claims. Franklin Templeton has not publicly commented on the lawsuit.
