US-based asset manager Franklin Templeton has received approval from the Luxembourg regulator Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) to launch the firm’s first open-ended strategy focused on private equity secondaries.
The strategy will be co-advised by Franklin Templeton and Lexington Partners, one of the world’s largest managers of secondary private equity and co-investment funds.
The new open-ended strategy will be Luxembourg-domiciled and provide investors, principally in the wealth channel, access to a diversified private equity secondaries portfolio. The strategy will allow access to an asset class that, until recently, was primarily available to institutional investors, and to a lesser extent, the wider market. It is scheduled for launch in early 2025.
Private equity secondaries are a rapidly growing segment of the broader private equity market and an important source of liquidity for investors. They give wealth investors the opportunity to gain private equity exposure and can serve as a useful diversification tool to actively rebalance portfolios.
George Szemere, Head of Alternatives EMEA Wealth Management said: “This upcoming launch will mark an important milestone for Franklin Templeton, in line with our commitment to build a diversified, market-leading alternatives business globally.
“Leveraging Lexington’s world-class investment expertise, we are excited to bring to market this new offering that will broaden access to private markets whilst offering wealth managers a more robust and sophisticated toolbox to help clients accomplish their long-term goals.
“This new offering is testament to our long history of innovating and providing investors with unique solutions to meet their evolving needs.”
