Innovating for a new financial paradigm

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In the near future, we believe there will no longer be a distinction between onchain and offchain finance. Instead, we believe there will be a single financial system running on blockchain infrastructure, where assets are tokenized, wallets replace accounts, and the lines that defined the last generation of finance become historical footnotes.

Over nearly 80 years, Franklin Templeton has played a lot of roles in the financial world, shaped by the growing web of ideas and people within our firm. The one throughline is that we move into new territory before the rest of the industry knows that territory exists. Here's how that looks as we're building at the crossover of these two financial worlds.

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Franklin Templeton's foresight in finance dates back to 1947, when Rupert H. Johnson Sr. launched the Franklin Custodian Funds, giving everyday investors the choice of five fund categories tailored to their financial goals. Personalization delivered at scale, at a time when most people assumed the stock market was only for large institutions or the wealthy.

Looking toward the future is a tradition I aimed to carry forward when I published a report in 2017 forecasting that tokenized investment structures would replace equities and bonds. While presenting it, Wall Street CEOs walked out of the room. Only one stayed behind to talk: Jenny Johnson.

One year later, Jenny Johnson brought our decades of expertise to the onchain world by approving the launch of what would become a 100+ person Franklin Templeton Digital Assets team, while the rest of the industry was ignoring blockchain. In 2026, she gave the green light to acquire 250 Digital and form Franklin Crypto to bring digital asset investment strategies to institutions.

The Visionaries

Turning back to Franklin Templeton's history of innovation: under the leadership of CEO Charles B. ("Charlie") Johnson, Franklin pioneered the innovative new tax-free income fund investment category in the 1970s, a business which represents nearly $90B in Franklin Templeton client fixed income assets today.

The spirit of building at the frontier carries forward today. Roger Bayston led the charge to develop The Benji Technology Platform, which now serves as the standard blueprint for moving mutual funds onchain. In 2021, we launched BENJI, the world's first U.S.-registered mutual fund to use blockchain-integrated technology to process transactions and record share ownership. Since then, we've since shipped proprietary new features and utility like Intraday Yield.*

We envision many ways that crypto innovations can make existing financial systems work better. Anant Kumar, a portfolio manager at Franklin Templeton's $90B* private credit affiliate Benefits Street Partners (BSP), has observed the trend toward a Total Portfolio Approach, or capital allocated flexibly across strategies, with institutional investors. Inspired by the potential for this model to scale with retail investors thanks to tokenization, Franklin Templeton launched Private Markets Model Portfolios with blockchain infrastructure firm Corastone. This innovative program reduces operational complexity for advisors as they implement client exposure to private markets, incorporating alternative strategies from across Franklin Templeton.

The Builders

Going back in time again to 1987, Franklin Templeton was busy launching the first-ever emerging markets equity fund for retail investors, managed by financial globetrotter Dr. Mark Mobius. We didn't wait for the market to mature. We actively helped build it.

Matt Moberg carries Dr. Mobius's tradition of exploration forward. Moberg is a portfolio manager with Franklin Equity Group, focused on finding and investing in the most innovative companies in the world across technology, AI, biotech, space exploration and more. He manages several flagship strategies, which have become a popular choice for companies looking to tokenize Franklin Templeton ETFs.

While Matt explores space, Chris Perkins explores crypto. With a career spanning from the Marines to Wall Street to CoinFund, Chris is now the Head of Franklin Crypto, our active investment arm in the space. He scouts the entire blockchain ecosystem, from tokens to protocols to fintech startups, bringing these growth opportunities to institutional clients.

The Explorers

Educating through technology has been another key pillar for us. In 1981, Sir John Templeton may have delivered the first financial podcast ever! Franklin Templeton sent a phonographic record to fund shareholders, where John explained how undervalued traditional stocks were at the time.

We're actively contributing education and research to the digital assets space, too. Max Gokhman wrote research on the inclusion of digital assets in traditional model portfolios and launched several models to RIAs in the US. He's currently focused on solving for AI-powered advice in digital wallets, leveraging the Franklin Templeton Goals Optimization Engine algorithm.

Christopher Jensen has that same love for sharing knowledge. As one of the earliest members of the Franklin Templeton Digital Assets Team, Christopher has spent a decade translating the unfamiliar into the understandable. From quantum computing to blockchain protocols to the agentic internet, whatever technology is on the frontier, he's researching and explaining it before the rest of the industry is even ready to ask.

The Educators

Explore More Innovations

With 80 years of traditional investment leadership and nearly a decade of crypto innovation, we live at the intersection of these worlds. We're building here because the new financial paradigm will not be one world taking all. It will be built from the best of both.

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Voices

While we've played many roles throughout the evolution of finance, our most important has always been serving you, the investor. Today we manage over $1.7T* in assets across every corner of the market. As the new financial paradigm takes shape, we're here to help you move through it with confidence.

Articles &
Resources

Learn more about Franklin Templeton’s history:
https://www.franklinresources.com/about-us/history

Intraday yield: Proprietary feature that enables proportional calculation and distribution of yield, down to the second when a BENJI tokenized security is transferred from one party to another on the Benji Technology Platform. This allows an investor to own a tokenized security for part of the day, transfer it to another investor, and still earn yield for the period they were a shareholder.

Assets under management as of date:

Benefits Street Partners (BSP) $90B: private credit AUM as of 7/1/2026

Franklin Templeton manages $1.7T: AUM as of 7/1/2026

Franklin Equity $180B: AUM as of 7/1/2026

Franklin Fixed Income $400B: AUM as of 7/1/2026

WHAT ARE THE RISKS?

All investments involve risks, including possible loss of principal.

Important legal information

This material is intended to be of general interest only and should not be construed as individual investment advice or a recommendation or solicitation to buy, sell or hold any security or to adopt any investment strategy. The opinions expressed are not intended as individual investment, tax or planning advice or as a recommendation of any particular security, strategy or investment product. The information and opinions stated may change without notice. The information and opinions do not represent a complete analysis of every material fact regarding any market, industry, sector or security. There is no assurance that any prediction, projection or forecast on the economy, stock market, bond market or the economic trends of the markets will be realized. Statements of fact have been obtained from sources deemed reliable, but no representation is made as to their completeness or accuracy.

Past performance is not necessarily indicative nor a guarantee of future performance.

Equity securities are subject to price fluctuation and possible loss of principal.

Fixed income securities involve interest rate, credit, inflation and reinvestment risks, and possible loss of principal. As interest rates rise, the value of fixed income securities falls.

Investments in many alternative investment strategies are complex and speculative, entail significant risk and should not be considered a complete investment program. Depending on the product invested in, an investment in alternative strategies may provide for only limited liquidity and is suitable only for persons who can afford to lose the entire amount of their investment.

Diversification does not guarantee a profit or protect against a loss.

Private Markets Investment strategies involving Private Markets (including investments in private companies and/or securities) are complex and speculative, entail significant risk, should not be considered a complete investment program, and are suitable only for persons who can afford to lose their entire investment. Such strategies may have limited liquidity in both the investment products and their underlying investments. Underlying investments may never list on a securities exchange and lack available information due to their private nature. These factors may negatively impact such investments’ market value and a manager’s ability to dispose of them at a favorable time or price.

Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Risk

Investments involving blockchain technology and digital assets are subject to significant risks. These risks include, among others, the potential failure of blockchain or digital asset technologies to achieve widespread adoption or intended functionality; the inability to develop or successfully commercialize blockchain-based applications; cybersecurity incidents; theft, loss, or compromise of cryptographic keys or other digital assets; competing or conflicting intellectual property claims; and evolving, inconsistent, or uncertain legal and regulatory requirements.

Digital assets, including cryptocurrencies, have experienced significant price volatility and may be subject to substantial fluctuations in value. As a result, investors could lose all or a substantial portion of their investment. In addition, blockchain technology is relatively new and continues to evolve, and there can be no assurance that it will be adopted or implemented on a scale that provides meaningful economic or operational benefits. Secondary markets for digital assets may be limited, illiquid, or unavailable, making it difficult or impossible to sell or transfer an investment.

Products, services and information may not be available in all jurisdictions and are offered outside the US by other FT affiliates and/or their distributors as local laws and regulation permits.

Please consult your own financial professional or Franklin Templeton institutional contact for further information on availability of products and services in your jurisdiction