Franklin Templeton
“Can a traditional active asset manager become the primary institutional-grade on-chain fund infrastructure provider by tokenizing its own products and embedding them into crypto-native and regulated digital platforms globally?”
Franklin Templeton began as a traditional retail mutual fund company and grew into one of the world's largest active asset managers via organic growth and the landmark Legg Mason acquisition in 2020. Over 2021–2026, the firm has aggressively pivoted toward tokenized asset infrastructure, launching a blockchain-based money market fund (FOBXX/Benji) and partnering with Ondo Finance to distribute tokenized ETFs via crypto wallets globally — positioning the firm as both a traditional asset manager and an on-chain fund infrastructure provider. The embedded finance angle is primarily on the distribution and settlement layer: tokenized funds eliminate traditional brokerage rails, enabling 24/7 trading, programmable settlement, and reach into DeFi ecosystems.