AlphaParity, a Risk Premia Investment Firm, Joins

SAN MATEO, Calif., Feb. 07, 2017 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE: BEN ), which operates as Franklin Templeton Investments, today announced that the team from AlphaParity, a risk premia investment firm, will join its Franklin Templeton Solutions platform. The transaction is subject to standard closing conditions and is expected to be completed later this month. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

Greg Johnson, chairman and CEO of Franklin Resources, Inc., said, “We continue to make strategic investments in small, yet highly experienced asset management teams that complement Franklin Templeton’s global offerings. AlphaParity fits well with our overall corporate strategy to expand our solutions capabilities.”

AlphaParity is a macro-focused quantitative investment firm founded in 2012 by Steve Gross and Joshua Smith. The experienced team of 11 professionals based in New York and London manages approximately $500 million as of December 31, 2016, in custom portfolio solutions for pension funds, foundations, family offices and alternative asset managers. Currently, AlphaParity offers Global Premia and Negative Correlation investment strategies to institutional clients.

“We continue to enhance our solutions offerings to address evolving client needs in an increasingly complex investment landscape,” said William Yun, CFA, executive vice president, Franklin Templeton Alternative Strategies. “AlphaParity’s quantitative approach to asset allocation, focusing on both fundamental and technical analysis, and ability to create its own risk premia strategies fits well with Franklin Templeton’s existing industry-leading risk premia research efforts.”

“As factor investing has evolved, we believe AlphaParity’s unique approach to exploiting these factors in an efficient way can lead to better outcomes for our clients,” added Yun. “We look forward to leveraging AlphaParity’s innovative portfolio solutions and analytics to provide our global institutional and retail client base with unique diversification, absolute return and hedging solutions.”

Steve Gross, founder and chief investment officer of AlphaParity, said, “Joining Franklin Templeton, a leading global asset management firm with a world class investment platform, advances our long-term mission to deliver next generation portfolio solutions to investors. We look forward to partnering with Franklin Templeton and its strong product development teams, well-established global distribution networks and deep institutional relationships, to maximize our capabilities and realize our vision.”

AlphaParity was advised by Citi and Lax Law LLP and Franklin Templeton Investments was advised by Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP.

About AlphaParity

AlphaParity LLC is a macro-focused quantitative investment firm with offices in New York City and London. The firm was founded in October 2012 to design and manage next generation portfolio diversification solutions for institutional investors, including pension funds, family offices, alternative asset managers and foundations. The firm’s Chief Investment Officer- Steve Gross, Head of Research- Joshua Smith, and President- Jeffrey Silverman were formerly colleagues at Tudor Investment Corporation. The management team's expertise in quantitative, fundamental and derivatives strategies across asset classes allows for unique insights and investment solutions across styles and disciplines.

About Franklin Templeton Solutions

Franklin Templeton Solutions leverages the insights and investment strategies from Franklin Templeton’s various investment management groups and employs both strategic and tactical asset allocation to create diversified outcome-oriented portfolios focused on risk-adjusted performance and tailored to client needs. Franklin Templeton Solutions manages retirement target and global asset allocation portfolios. An integrated global investment platform, Franklin Templeton Solutions has assembled a team of over 80 dedicated professional globally and has more than 25 years of experience managing multi-asset and multi-style portfolios, with over $39 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2016.

About Franklin Templeton Investments

Franklin Resources, Inc. (NYSE: BEN ) is a global investment management organization operating as Franklin Templeton Investments. Franklin Templeton Investments provides global and domestic investment management to retail, institutional and sovereign wealth clients in over 170 countries. Through specialized teams, the company has expertise across all asset classes—including equity, fixed income, alternative and custom solutions. The company’s more than 650 investment professionals are supported by its integrated, worldwide team of risk management professionals and global trading desk network. With offices in over 30 countries, the California-based company has 70 years of investment experience and approximately $720 billion in assets under management as of December 31, 2016. For more information, please visit investors.franklinresources.com.

FROM: Franklin Resources, Inc. Investor Relations: Brian Sevilla (650) 312-4091 Media Relations: Craig Allen (212) 632-4238, Matt Walsh (650) 312-2245 investors.franklinresources.com