<PAGE> PAGE 1
000 B000000 08/31/94
000 C000000 0000833040
000 D000000 N
000 E000000 NF
000 F000000 Y
000 G000000 N
000 H000000 N
000 I000000 3.0
000 J000000 A
001 A000000 FRANKLIN UNIVERSAL TRUST
001 B000000 811-5569
001 C000000 4153122000
002 A000000 777 MARINERS ISLAND BOULEVARD
002 B000000 SAN MATEO
002 C000000 CA
002 D010000 94404
002 D020000 1585
003 000000 N
004 000000 N
005 000000 N
006 000000 N
007 A000000 N
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007 C010100 1
007 C010200 2
007 C010300 3
007 C010400 4
007 C010500 5
007 C010600 6
007 C010700 7
007 C010800 8
007 C010900 9
007 C011000 10
008 A000001 FRANKLIN ADVISERS INC
008 B000001 A
008 C000001 801-26292
008 D010001 SAN MATEO
008 D020001 CA
008 D030001 94404
008 D040001 1585
011 A000001 PAINEWEBBER INCORPORATED
011 B000001 8-00000000
011 C010001 NEW YORK
011 C020001 NY
011 C030001 10019
012 A000001 PNC BANK, NATIONAL ASSOCIATION
012 B000001 85-1119600
012 C010001 PHILADELPHIA
012 C020001 PA
012 C030001 19103
013 A000001 COOPERS & LYBRAND L.L.P.
<PAGE> PAGE 2
013 B010001 SAN FRANCISCO
013 B020001 CA
013 B030001 94105
013 B040001 2119
015 A000001 BANK OF AMERICA NT & SA
015 B000001 C
015 C010001 SAN FRANCISCO
015 C020001 CA
015 C030001 94104
015 C040001 1502
015 E010001 X
015 A000002 STANDARD CHARTERED BANK
015 B000002 S
015 C010002 DHAKA
015 D010002 BANGLADESH
015 E040002 X
015 A000003 BANQUE BRUSSELS LAMBERT
015 B000003 S
015 C010003 BRUSSELS
015 D010003 BELGIUM
015 E040003 X
015 A000004 THE BANK OF N.T. BUTTERFIELD & SON LIMITED
015 B000004 S
015 C010004 HAMILTON
015 D010004 BERMUDA
015 E040004 X
015 A000005 THE CANADA TRUST COMPANY
015 B000005 S
015 C010005 TORONTO
015 D010005 CANADA
015 E040005 X
015 A000006 THE HONGKONG AND SHANGHAI BANKING CORP.
015 B000006 S
015 C010006 SHANGHAI
015 D010006 CHINA
015 E040006 X
015 A000007 CITITRUST COLOMBIA S.A.SOCIEDAD FIDUCIARIA
015 B000007 S
015 C010007 SANTAFE DE BOGOTA
015 D010007 COLOMBIA
015 E040007 X
015 A000008 UNIBANK
015 B000008 S
015 C010008 COPENHAGEN
015 D010008 DENMARK
015 E040008 X
015 A000009 KANSALLIS-OSAKE-PANKKI
015 B000009 S
015 C010009 HOLSINKI
015 D010009 FINLAND
015 E040009 X
<PAGE> PAGE 3
015 A000010 SOCIETE GENERALE;SICOVAM(DEPOSITORY)
015 B000010 S
015 C010010 PARIS
015 D010010 FRANCE
015 E040010 X
015 A000011 NATIONAL BANK OF GREECE
015 B000011 S
015 C010011 ATHENS
015 D010011 GREECE
015 E040011 X
015 A000012 BARCLAYS BANK PLC
015 B000012 S
015 C010012 HONG KONG
015 D010012 HONG KONG
015 E040012 X
015 A000013 STANDARD CHARTERED BANK
015 B000013 S
015 C010013 FORT BOMBAY
015 D010013 INDIA
015 E040013 X
015 A000014 THE HONG KONG AND SHANGHAI BANKING CORP.
015 B000014 S
015 C010014 INDONESIA
015 D010014 INDONESIA
015 E040014 X
015 A000015 BANK OF IRELAND
015 B000015 S
015 C010015 DUBLIN
015 D010015 IRELAND
015 E040015 X
015 A000016 CREDITO ITALIANO
015 B000016 S
015 C010016 MILAN
015 D010016 ITALY
015 E040016 X
015 A000017 BARCLAYS TRUST & BANKING COMPANY (JAPAN) LTD.
015 B000017 S
015 C010017 TOKYO
015 D010017 JAPAN
015 E040017 X
015 A000018 THE HONG KONG AND SHANGHAI BANKING CORP.
015 B000018 S
015 C010018 SEOUL
015 D010018 SOUTH KOREA
015 E040018 X
015 A000019 CEDEL S.A. (DEPOSITORY)
015 B000019 S
015 C010019 LUXEMBOURG
015 D010019 LUXEMBOURG
015 E040019 X
015 A000020 UNITED MALAYAN BANKING CORPORATION BERHAD
<PAGE> PAGE 4
015 B000020 S
015 C010020 KUALA LUMPUR
015 D010020 MALAYSIA
015 E040020 X
015 A000021 BANCO NACIONAL DE MEXICO
015 B000021 S
015 C010021 L COLONIA CENTRO
015 D010021 MEXICO
015 E040021 X
015 A000022 KAS-ASSOCIATIE N.V.
015 B000022 S
015 C010022 AMSTERDAM
015 D010022 NETHERLANDS
015 E040022 X
015 A000023 ANZ BANKING GROUP (NEW ZEALAND) LIMITED
015 B000023 S
015 C010023 WELLINGTON
015 D010023 NEW ZEALAND
015 E040023 X
015 A000024 CHRISTIANIA BANK OG KREDITKASSE
015 B000024 S
015 C010024 OSLO
015 D010024 NORWAY
015 E040024 X
015 A000025 STANDARD CHARTERED BANK
015 B000025 S
015 C010025 KARACHI
015 D010025 PAKISTAN
015 E040025 X
015 A000026 BANCO DE CREDITO DEL PERU
015 B000026 S
015 C010026 LA MOLINA
015 D010026 PERU
015 E040026 X
015 A000027 HONG KONG & SHANGHAI BANKING CORP.
015 B000027 S
015 C010027 METRO MANILA
015 D010027 PHILIPPINES
015 E040027 X
015 A000028 BANCO ESPIRITO SANTO E COMMERCIAL DE LISBOA
015 B000028 S
015 C010028 LISBON
015 D010028 PORTUGAL
015 E040028 X
015 A000029 BARCLAYS BANK PLC
015 B000029 S
015 C010029 SINGAPORE
015 D010029 SINGAPORE
015 E040029 X
015 A000030 STANDARD BANK OF SOUTH AFRICA LIMITED
015 B000030 S
<PAGE> PAGE 5
015 C010030 JOHANNESBURG
015 D010030 SOUTH AFRICA
015 E040030 X
015 A000031 BANCO DE SANTANDER
015 B000031 S
015 C010031 MADRID
015 D010031 SPAIN
015 E040031 X
015 A000032 THE HONG KONG AND SHANGHAI BANKING CORP.
015 B000032 S
015 C010032 COLOMBO
015 D010032 SRI LANKA
015 E040032 X
015 A000033 SKANDINAVISKA ENSKILDA BANKEN
015 B000033 S
015 C010033 STOCKHOLM
015 D010033 SWEDEN
015 E040033 X
015 A000034 SWISS BANK CORPORATION
015 B000034 S
015 C010034 ZURICH
015 D010034 SWITZERLAND
015 E040034 X
015 A000035 BANGKOK BANK LIMITED
015 B000035 S
015 C010035 BANGKOK
015 D010035 THAILAND
015 E040035 X
015 A000036 YAPI VE KREDI BANKASI A.S.
015 B000036 S
015 C010036 ISTANBUL
015 D010036 TURKEY
015 E040036 X
015 A000037 CITIBANK, N.A.
015 B000037 S
015 C010037 BUENOS AIRES
015 D010037 ARGENTINA
015 E040037 X
015 A000038 NATIONAL AUSTRALIA BANK
015 B000038 S
015 C010038 MELBOURNE
015 D010038 AUSTRALIA
015 E040038 X
015 A000039 CREDITANSTALT-BANKVEREIN
015 B000039 S
015 C010039 VIENNA
015 D010039 AUSTRIA
015 E040039 X
015 A000040 BERLINER HANDELS-UND FRANKFURTER BANK
015 B000040 S
015 C010040 FRANKFURT
<PAGE> PAGE 6
015 D010040 GERMANY
015 E040040 X
015 A000041 BANK OF AMERICA FOREIGN DIVISION - LONDON
015 B000041 S
015 C010041 LONDON
015 D010041 UNITED KINGDOM
015 E040041 X
018 000000 Y
019 A000000 Y
019 B000000 114
019 C000000 FRANKLNGRP
020 A000001 MERRILL LYNCH PIERCE FENNER
020 B000001 13-5674085
020 C000001 15
020 A000002 LEHMAN BROTHERS SEC
020 B000002 13-2518466
020 C000002 9
020 A000003 DAIN BOSWORTH INC
020 B000003 41-0212020
020 C000003 7
020 A000004 LIPPER ANALYTICAL SECS CORP
020 B000004 13-2792478
020 C000004 5
020 A000005 DEAN WITTER REYNOLDS INC
020 B000005 94-1671384
020 C000005 3
020 A000006 PRUDENTIAL BACHE SECURITIES
020 B000006 22-2347336
020 C000006 3
020 A000007 SMITH BARNEY SHEARSON
020 B000007 13-1912900
020 C000007 3
020 A000008 KIDDER PEABODY & CO, INC
020 B000008 13-5650440
020 C000008 3
020 A000009 GOLDMAN SACHS & CO
020 B000009 13-5108880
020 C000009 1
020 C000010 0
021 000000 49
022 A000001 DAIWA SECURITIES AMERICA
022 B000001 13-5680329
022 C000001 160730
022 D000001 0
022 A000002 LEHMAN BROTHERS SECS
022 B000002 13-2518466
022 C000002 92033
022 D000002 25467
022 A000003 SHAWMUT BROKERAGE INC
022 B000003 04-2895894
022 C000003 74518
<PAGE> PAGE 7
022 D000003 0
022 A000004 DONALDSON LUFKIN & JENRETTE
022 B000004 13-2741729
022 C000004 57376
022 D000004 2160
022 A000005 CITICORP
022 B000005 13-3187336
022 C000005 44622
022 D000005 0
022 A000006 KIDDER PEABODY & CO INC
022 B000006 13-5650440
022 C000006 7436
022 D000006 17216
022 A000007 BANKERS TRUST CO
022 B000007 13-4941247
022 C000007 16213
022 D000007 7279
022 A000008 SANWA-BGK SEC CO L.P.
022 B000008 13-3154528
022 C000008 21150
022 D000008 0
022 A000009 MERRILL LYNCH PIERCE FENNER
022 B000009 13-5674085
022 C000009 18014
022 D000009 1675
022 A000010 MORGAN STANLEY & CO INC
022 B000010 13-2655998
022 C000010 15581
022 D000010 2990
023 C000000 607426
023 D000000 138621
024 000000 N
025 D000001 0
025 D000002 0
025 D000003 0
025 D000004 0
025 D000005 0
025 D000006 0
025 D000007 0
025 D000008 0
026 A000000 N
026 B000000 Y
026 C000000 Y
026 D000000 Y
026 E000000 N
026 F000000 N
026 G010000 N
026 G020000 N
026 H000000 N
027 000000 N
028 A010000 0
<PAGE> PAGE 8
028 A020000 0
028 A030000 0
028 A040000 0
028 B010000 0
028 B020000 0
028 B030000 0
028 B040000 0
028 C010000 0
028 C020000 0
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028 D020000 0
028 D030000 0
028 D040000 0
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028 E020000 0
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028 F030000 0
028 F040000 0
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030 A000000 0
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031 A000000 0
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046 000000 N
047 000000 Y
<PAGE> PAGE 9
048 000000 0.750
048 A010000 0
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048 B010000 0
048 B020000 0.000
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048 C020000 0.000
048 D010000 0
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048 E010000 0
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048 F010000 0
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048 G010000 0
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048 I010000 0
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048 K010000 0
048 K020000 0.000
049 000000 N
050 000000 N
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052 000000 N
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054 A000000 Y
054 B000000 Y
054 C000000 Y
054 D000000 N
054 E000000 N
054 F000000 N
054 G000000 N
054 H000000 Y
054 I000000 N
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054 K000000 N
054 L000000 Y
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054 N000000 N
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059 000000 Y
060 A000000 Y
060 B000000 Y
<PAGE> PAGE 10
061 000000 0
062 A000000 Y
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062 D000000 1.2
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062 P000000 92.3
062 Q000000 0.9
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070 C010000 N
070 C020000 N
070 D010000 N
070 D020000 N
070 E010000 N
070 E020000 N
070 F010000 N
070 F020000 N
070 G010000 N
070 G020000 N
070 H010000 N
070 H020000 N
070 I010000 N
070 I020000 N
070 J010000 Y
070 J020000 Y
070 K010000 Y
070 K020000 N
070 L010000 Y
<PAGE> PAGE 11
070 L020000 Y
070 M010000 Y
070 M020000 Y
070 N010000 N
070 N020000 N
070 O010000 Y
070 O020000 Y
070 P010000 N
070 P020000 N
070 Q010000 N
070 Q020000 N
070 R010000 N
070 R020000 N
071 A000000 117072
071 B000000 119212
071 C000000 318467
071 D000000 37
072 A000000 12
072 B000000 23505
072 C000000 6187
072 D000000 0
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072AA000000 13199
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072CC020000 40114
072DD010000 23017
072DD020000 0
072EE000000 0
073 A010000 0.8595
<PAGE> PAGE 12
073 A020000 0.0000
073 B000000 0.0000
073 C000000 0.0000
074 A000000 0
074 B000000 2823
074 C000000 1202
074 D000000 217150
074 E000000 28626
074 F000000 55132
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074 I000000 792
074 J000000 2508
074 K000000 0
074 L000000 4606
074 M000000 497
074 N000000 313336
074 O000000 2682
074 P000000 191
074 Q000000 74948
074 R010000 0
074 R020000 0
074 R030000 0
074 R040000 2213
074 S000000 0
074 T000000 233302
074 U010000 26779
074 U020000 0
074 V010000 8.71
074 V020000 0.00
074 W000000 0.0000
074 X000000 7057
074 Y000000 0
075 A000000 0
075 B000000 317879
076 000000 8.13
077 A000000 Y
077 B000000 Y
077 C000000 N
077 D000000 N
077 E000000 N
077 F000000 N
077 G000000 N
077 H000000 N
077 I000000 N
077 J000000 N
077 K000000 N
077 L000000 N
077 M000000 N
077 N000000 N
077 O000000 N
<PAGE> PAGE 13
077 P000000 N
077 Q010000 N
077 Q020000 N
077 Q030000 N
078 000000 N
080 A000000 ICI MUTUAL
080 C000000 130000
081 A000000 Y
081 B000000 119
082 A000000 N
082 B000000 0
083 A000000 N
083 B000000 0
084 A000000 N
084 B000000 0
085 A000000 Y
085 B000000 N
086 A010000 0
086 A020000 0
086 B010000 0
086 B020000 0
086 C010000 0
086 C020000 0
086 D010000 0
086 D020000 0
086 E010000 0
086 E020000 0
086 F010000 0
086 F020000 0
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087 A020000 355145103
087 A030000 FT
088 A000000 Y
088 B000000 N
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088 D000000 N
SIGNATURE KENNETH V. DOMINGUES
TITLE V.P. TREAS CFO & CAO
<TABLE> <S> <C>
<ARTICLE> 6
<LEGEND>
THE SCHEDULE CONTAINS SUMMARY FINANCIAL INFORMATION EXTRACTED FROM THE
FRANKLIN UNIVERSAL TRUST AUGUST 31, 1994 ANNUAL REPORT AND IS QUALIFIED
IN ITS ENTIRETY BY REFERENCE TO SUCH FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.
</LEGEND>
<S> <C>
<PERIOD-TYPE> YEAR
<FISCAL-YEAR-END> AUG-31-1994
<PERIOD-END> AUG-31-1994
<INVESTMENTS-AT-COST> 307,527,177
<INVESTMENTS-AT-VALUE> 302,902,219
<RECEIVABLES> 9,937,268
<ASSETS-OTHER> 495,880
<OTHER-ITEMS-ASSETS> 0
<TOTAL-ASSETS> 313,335,367
<PAYABLE-FOR-SECURITIES> 2,682,358
<SENIOR-LONG-TERM-DEBT> 74,947,837
<OTHER-ITEMS-LIABILITIES> 2,403,476
<TOTAL-LIABILITIES> 80,033,671
<SENIOR-EQUITY> 0
<PAID-IN-CAPITAL-COMMON> 246,871,139
<SHARES-COMMON-STOCK> 26,779,333
<SHARES-COMMON-PRIOR> 26,779,333
<ACCUMULATED-NII-CURRENT> 820,596
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-NII> 0
<ACCUMULATED-NET-GAINS> (9,766,526)
<OVERDISTRIBUTION-GAINS> 0
<ACCUM-APPREC-OR-DEPREC> (4,623,945)
<NET-ASSETS> 233,301,696
<DIVIDEND-INCOME> 6,187,299
<INTEREST-INCOME> 23,504,700
<OTHER-INCOME> 0
<EXPENSES-NET> 7,305,322
<NET-INVESTMENT-INCOME> 22,386,677
<REALIZED-GAINS-CURRENT> 11,252,874
<APPREC-INCREASE-CURRENT> (40,114,480)
<NET-CHANGE-FROM-OPS> (6,474,929)
<EQUALIZATION> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-INCOME> (23,016,837)
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OF-GAINS> 0
<DISTRIBUTIONS-OTHER> 0
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-SOLD> 0
<NUMBER-OF-SHARES-REDEEMED> 0
<SHARES-REINVESTED> 0
<NET-CHANGE-IN-ASSETS> (29,491,766)
<ACCUMULATED-NII-PRIOR> 3,381,676
<ACCUMULATED-GAINS-PRIOR> (21,018,968)
<OVERDISTRIB-NII-PRIOR> 0
<OVERDIST-NET-GAINS-PRIOR> 0
<GROSS-ADVISORY-FEES> 2,426,907
<INTEREST-EXPENSE> 4,231,800
<GROSS-EXPENSE> 7,305,322
<AVERAGE-NET-ASSETS> 317,878,676
<PER-SHARE-NAV-BEGIN> 9.810
<PER-SHARE-NII> .840
<PER-SHARE-GAIN-APPREC> (1.080)
<PER-SHARE-DIVIDEND> (.860)
<PER-SHARE-DISTRIBUTIONS> 0
<RETURNS-OF-CAPITAL> 0
<PER-SHARE-NAV-END> 8.710
<EXPENSE-RATIO> 2<F1>
<AVG-DEBT-OUTSTANDING> 75,000,000
<AVG-DEBT-PER-SHARE> 3<F2>
<FN>
<F1>THE EXPENSE RATIO PER THE FRANKLIN UNIVERSAL TRUST ANNUAL REPORT
AUGUST 31, 1994 IS 2.30%.
<F2>THE AVERAGE DEBT PER SHARE PER THE FRANKLIN UNIVERSAL TRUST ANNUAL REPORT
AUGUST 30, 1994 IS $2.80.
</FN>
</TABLE>
REPORT OF INDEPENDENT AUDITORS
To the Shareholders and Board of Directors
of the Franklin Universal Trust:
In planning and performing our audit of the financial statements
and financial highlights of the Franklin Universal Trust for the
year ended August 31, 1994, we considered its internal control
structure, including procedures for safeguarding securities, in
order to determine our auditing procedures for the purpose of
expressing our opinion on the financial statements and financial
highlights and to comply with the requirements of Form N-SAR, not
to provide assurance on the internal control structure.
The management of the Franklin Universal Trust is responsible for
establishing and maintaining an internal control structure. In
fulfilling this responsibility, estimates and judgements by
management are required to assess the expected benefits and related
costs of internal control structure policies and procedures. Two
of the objectives of an internal control structure are to provide
management with reasonable, but not absolute, assurance that assets
are safeguarded against loss from unauthorized use or disposition
and that transactions are executed in accordance with management's
authorization and recorded properly to permit preparation of
financial statements in conformity with generally accepted
accounting principles.
Because of inherent limitations in any internal control structure,
errors or irregularities may occur and not be detected. Also,
projection of any evaluation of the structure to future periods
is subject to the risk that it may become inadequate because of
changes in conditions or that the effectiveness of the design and
operation may deteriorate.
Our consideration of the internal control structure would not
necessarily disclose all matters in the internal control structure
that might be material weaknesses under standards established by
the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. A material
weakness is a condition in which the design or operation of the
specific internal control structure elements does not reduce to a
relatively low level the risk that errors or irregularities in
amounts that would be material in relation to the financial
statements and financial highlights being audited may occur and
not be detected within a timely period by employees in the normal
course of performing their assigned functions. However, we noted
no matters involving the internal control structure, including
procedures for safeguarding securities, that we consider to be
material weaknesses, as defined above, as of August 31, 1994.
This report is intended solely for the information and use of
management of the Franklin Universal Trust and the Securities and
Exchange Commission.
S\COOPERS & LYBRAND L.L.P.
Coopers & Lybrand L.L.P.
San Francisco, California
October 7, 1994
