🎥 Franklin Templeton's George Stephan - bringing public and private together

Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.

Today’s episode brings the perspective of an asset management veteran who has sat on both sides of the table.

We sat down in Franklin Templeton’s New York City office with George Stephan, COO of Global Wealth Management Alternatives at Franklin Templeton.

George joined Franklin to continue the buildout of the firm’s Alternatives capabilities, which boasts over $264B AUM in private markets strategies that include Lexington Partners, Benefit Street Partners, and Clarion Partners. George came from KKR, where he was Head of Strategy and Business Development for the firm’s Global Client Solutions business and was also COO and Head of Investor Relations for KKR’s Global Wealth Solutions business in the Americas. Prior to KKR, George spent nine years in Morgan Stanley’s wealth management division. George is also a Board Observer at CAIS.

George and I had a fascinating conversation about how to build a wealth solutions business and how advisors approach private markets. We discussed:

* How has the adoption of private markets by the wealth channel evolved over the course of George’s career?

* The benefits and challenges of being a traditional asset manager building out its private markets capabilities.

* The breadth and depth of Franklin Templeton’s reach as a firm and how that brand and history have helped Franklin partner with the wealth channel in private markets.

* How has Franklin Templeton’s family of specialists enabled the firm to leverage the expertise of specialist alternative asset managers within a larger platform?

* How does the wealth channel approach private markets?

* How will model portfolios be constructed and adopted by the wealth channel?

* Will evergreen funds be the structure of choice for most advisors?

Thanks George for coming on the show to share your expertise and wisdom at the intersection of private markets and private wealth.

Thanks for reading Alt Goes Mainstream! Subscribe for free to receive new posts and support my work - writing and podcasting about the convergence of private markets and private wealth since December 2020.

A word from AGM podcast sponsor, Ultimus Fund Solutions

This episode of Alt Goes Mainstream is brought to you by Ultimus Fund Solutions, a leading full-service fund administrator for asset managers in private and public markets. As private markets continue to move into the mainstream, the industry requires infrastructure solutions that help funds and investors keep pace. In an increasingly sophisticated financial marketplace, investment managers must navigate a growing array of challenges: elaborate fund structures, specialized strategies, evolving compliance requirements, a growing need for sophisticated reporting, and intensifying demands for transparency.

To assist with these challenging opportunities, more and more fund sponsors and asset managers are turning to Ultimus, a leading service provider that blends high tech and high touch in unique and customized fund administration and middle office solutions for a diverse and growing universe of over 450 clients and 1,800 funds, representing $500 billion assets under administration, all handled by a team of over 1,000 professionals. Ultimus offers a wide range of capabilities across registered funds, private funds and public plans, as well as outsourced middle office services. Delivering operational excellence, Ultimus helps firms manage the ever-changing regulatory environment while meeting the needs of their institutional and retail investors. Ultimus provides comprehensive operational support and fund governance services to help managers successfully launch retail alternative products.

Visit www.ultimusfundsolutions.com to learn more about Ultimus’ technology enhanced services and solutions or contact Ultimus Executive Vice President of Business Development Gary Harris on email at [email protected].

We thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.

Show Notes

00:00 Introduction from Ultimus, our Sponsor

01:55 Welcome to the Alt Goes Mainstream Podcast

04:00 George Stephan’s Career Journey

06:11 Building Wealth Solutions at Franklin Templeton

07:05 Key Pillars for Success in Wealth Management

07:39 Client Service and Operational Excellence

09:31 Franklin Templeton’s Size and Scale Advantage

10:26 Convergence of Public and Private Markets

13:11 Strategic Acquisitions and Partnerships

14:38 Unifying Private Markets Business

16:40 Franklin Templeton’s Culture and Values

17:46 Heritage and Long-Term Vision

18:50 Innovative Solutions and Technology

19:33 Building a Top 10 Private Markets Business

19:59 Legacy Relationships and Branding

22:42 Educating Advisors on Private Markets

22:59 Comprehensive Private Markets Capabilities

24:56 Strategic Partnerships in Infrastructure

26:35 Future of Partnerships and Acquisitions

27:21 Growing Partnerships in Private Infrastructure

27:54 Advisor Perspectives on Wealth Channel Productization

28:28 Manager Specialization in Private Markets

29:06 Innovation and Product Development Trends

29:53 Challenges and Opportunities for Large Asset Managers

30:46 The Future of Multi-Asset Products

31:10 Operational Complexity in Private Markets

32:23 The Need for Digital Transformation

32:56 Adoption of Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT)

33:47 Industry-Wide Technology Evolution

34:51 Impact of Market Efficiency on Returns

35:39 Performance and Client Experience in Private Markets

37:30 Scale and Investment Integrity

39:53 Building Capabilities in Franklin Alternatives

40:48 Partnering with Asset Managers

42:58 Keys to Building a Wealth Solutions Business

43:41 Hiring for Private Markets Expertise

45:08 Educating the Industry on Private Markets

47:21 Evergreen Structures and Long-Term Investment

51:38 Exciting Trends in Private Markets

Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant.

Join over 13,900 Substack subscribers & followers who are thought leaders and executives from top private markets firms and wealth management like Blackstone, Apollo, Ares, KKR, EQT, Carlyle, Blue Owl, CVC, TPG, Brookfield Oaktree, Vista, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, BlackRock, Fidelity, iCapital, Franklin Templeton, Nuveen, Hg, Permira, Stonepeak, Hightower, Focus Financial, Cerity Partners, and more.

This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit altgoesmainstream.substack.com