Franklin Templeton Taps Blockchain to Unlock Private Markets for Advisors

SAN MATEO, CA – May 11, 2026 – Global investment giant Franklin Templeton has launched a new initiative aimed at breaking down the long-standing barriers between financial advisors and the lucrative, complex world of private markets. In a partnership with fintech infrastructure provider Corastone, the firm has introduced its Private Markets Model Portfolios, a solution designed to streamline access to alternative investments like private equity, credit, and real estate through a novel, technology-driven framework.

The launch represents a significant step in the ongoing evolution of wealth management, where the demand for diversification beyond traditional stocks and bonds has reached a fever pitch. By integrating Corastone’s permissioned blockchain platform, Franklin Templeton is tackling the operational bottlenecks that have historically kept private market assets primarily in the domain of large institutions.

Democratizing Access, One Advisor at a Time

For years, financial advisors have faced a dilemma. While recognizing the potential for higher returns and lower correlation offered by private markets, the practical challenges of investing in them have been formidable. Prohibitive minimum investment requirements, complex subscription processes involving mountains of paperwork, and fragmented reporting have made it difficult to scale these strategies across a broad client base.

Industry data underscores the demand for a solution. Recent surveys show that while over 90% of financial advisors already use alternative investments in client portfolios and plan to increase their allocations, they consistently cite operational complexity as a primary hurdle.

Franklin Templeton’s new model portfolios are engineered to directly address these pain points. The offering utilizes a separately managed account (SMA)-style, single-subscription structure. This framework allows an advisor to make a single allocation to a diversified portfolio of private market funds, significantly lowering the minimum investment required for any single fund and simplifying the entire onboarding process.

“This launch reflects the evolution of private markets in client portfolios and the need for structures that allow advisors to implement those allocations efficiently,” said George Stephan, Chief Operating Officer, Global Wealth Management Private Markets at Franklin Templeton, in the company's announcement. “By supporting a single-ticket, SMA-style structure, these model portfolios are designed to help reduce operational complexity and improve scalability.”

Crucially, this model provides clients with direct ownership of the underlying private market funds. This stands in contrast to many traditional fund-of-funds structures, offering greater transparency, more flexibility, and potentially more frequent rebalancing cycles, subject to fund terms.

The Engine Room: Corastone's Blockchain Infrastructure

Powering this operational overhaul is the technology provided by Corastone. The firm, which describes itself as a "hyperscaler for private market investing," has built a digital infrastructure platform on a permissioned blockchain network. Unlike public blockchains such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, a permissioned network grants access only to verified participants, ensuring the security and privacy required for sensitive financial transactions.

This technology creates a single, shared platform for general partners, wealth managers, and fund administrators, replacing the disparate, often manual systems of the past. It enables what is known as "straight-through processing," automating the entire investment lifecycle from subscription and capital calls to reporting and administration.

“Private markets have historically been difficult to scale across advisor-managed model portfolios due to operational complexity and fragmented workflows,” noted Rashad Kurbanov, Co-Founder and CEO of Corastone. “This solution combines Franklin Templeton’s investment capabilities with Corastone’s infrastructure, making it easier for advisors to implement and manage diversified private market allocations within client portfolios.”

The credibility of Corastone's platform is bolstered by its rapid adoption across the industry. The company launched in late 2025 with a formidable roster of founding clients including Apollo, KKR, and Morgan Stanley, and has secured investments from financial heavyweights like Fidelity and Hamilton Lane. This industry-wide buy-in signals a broader shift toward embracing modern, unified infrastructure to solve legacy problems.

A Strategic Play in a Crowded Field

Franklin Templeton's move is a calculated strategic play in the increasingly competitive alternative investment landscape. The firm is not simply reselling third-party products; it is leveraging its own extensive and specialized private market capabilities. The new model portfolios will provide access to a range of its in-house managers, including:

• Lexington Partners, a world leader in private equity secondaries and co-investments with over $83 billion in total capitalization.
• Clarion Partners, a specialist in private real estate.
• Benefit Street Partners (BSP), a powerhouse in private credit with approximately $92 billion in assets under management.

This strategy allows the firm to capitalize on the significant growth it has achieved in its alternatives business, which now accounts for approximately $280 billion of its $1.74 trillion in total assets under management. The performance of its underlying managers is a key part of the value proposition. For instance, BSP's recent special situations fund is showing a strong net IRR of 25% on early investments, and Lexington Partners has a decades-long track record of delivering solid returns in the secondary private equity market.

By combining its proven investment expertise with Corastone's cutting-edge technology, Franklin Templeton is positioning itself to capture a significant share of the burgeoning advisor-led private markets segment. The collaboration provides a compelling answer to competitors like iCapital and CAIS, differentiating itself through its deep integration of proprietary investment management and a neutral, blockchain-powered infrastructure.

The initiative represents a convergence of forces shaping modern finance: the growing appetite for alternative assets, the relentless push for operational efficiency, and the maturation of technologies like blockchain into practical, enterprise-grade solutions. For financial advisors and their clients, it marks another step toward a future where access to sophisticated investment strategies is no longer determined by the size of one's portfolio, but by the quality of the technology enabling it.