Acquisition of volScout Reinforces Franklin Templeton’s Position as a Top SMA Provider and Enhances Its Custom Solutions Capabilities

Franklin Resources, Inc. [NYSE: BEN], a global investment management organization operating as Franklin Templeton, today announced that it has acquired volScout, an early-stage business delivering managed options strategies to advisors serving wealth management and institutional clients, and has hired its founding partners, Brad Berggren, Jon Orseck and Roger Weber. With this transaction, Franklin Templeton, a leading separately managed account (SMA) provider with approximately $110 billion in SMA assets under management, adds managed options strategies to its comprehensive suite of custom solutions capabilities.

“Managed options strategies are a highly complementary addition to Franklin Templeton’s expanding menu of custom solutions, which advisors increasingly require to address the sophisticated needs of their clients,” said Roger Paradiso, Head of Product Solutions for Franklin Templeton. “Brad, Jon and Roger have a long and successful history of delivering managed options solutions at scale to clients across channels and vehicle types, and bringing aboard such experienced and forward-thinking talent helps fuel our ongoing innovation to anticipate and address evolving client needs.”

The team will operate as the newly formed Franklin Managed Options Strategies, LLC (Franklin MOST), and is the most recent addition to Franklin Templeton’s Product Solutions division, led by Paradiso, which also includes Canvas®, Franklin Templeton’s custom indexing platform.

Franklin MOST strategies will offer rules-based option selection based on volatility and maturity, real-time risk management and systematic market-linked portfolio rebalancing. These features have the potential to enhance portfolio construction by helping advisors and clients manage both the risk and volatility of the overall portfolio, generally without altering its underlying asset allocation. These strategies can have wide-ranging applicability across channels and vehicle types and can be delivered in an SMA format as well as through commingled vehicles and other private fund structures.

“We were drawn to Franklin Templeton for its world-renowned brand and reputation as well as its tremendous global distribution reach across both wealth management and institutional relationships,” said Berggren. “Our team will also benefit from leveraging Franklin Templeton’s global infrastructure to enhance risk management, compliance, operations and technology capabilities. We are excited about the future together.”

Orseck added, “Like Franklin Templeton, we have a client-first focus, an appreciation for risk management and a strong drive for product innovation. We are very excited about the product collaboration opportunities, given the breadth of capabilities that Franklin Templeton offers across its many specialist investment managers, notably in the alternatives space.”

volScout founding partners Berggren, Orseck and Weber have decades of industry experience developing market-leading technology platforms used to manage derivative-based SMAs and funds and have held a number of senior roles in derivatives throughout their long careers.

Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. volScout was advised on the transaction by Convergency Partners, a unique advisory and consulting business.

All investments are subject to risk, including possible loss of principal.

Options are not suitable for all investors. Investors must ensure that they have read and understood the current options risk disclosure document before entering any options transactions. In addition, investors should consult with a tax, legal and/or financial advisor prior to contemplating any derivative transactions.

About Franklin Templeton

Franklin Resources, Inc. [NYSE: BEN] is a global investment management organization with subsidiaries operating as Franklin Templeton and serving clients in over 155 countries. Franklin Templeton’s mission is to help clients achieve better outcomes through investment management expertise, wealth management and technology solutions. Through its specialist investment managers, the company brings extensive capabilities in equity, fixed income, multi-asset solutions and alternatives. With offices in more than 30 countries and approximately 1,300 investment professionals, the California-based company has over 70 years of investment experience and approximately $1.4 trillion in assets under management as of March 31, 2023. For more information, please visit franklinresources.com.

Franklin Distributors, LLC. Member FINRA/SIPC. Franklin Distributors, LLC is a Franklin Templeton affiliated company.

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