BEN News & Events

Benefit Street Partners announced that BSP CLO 50, a $500M new-issue collateralized loan obligation, closed on May 26, 2026. The transaction was arranged in partnership with Scotiabank.

Franklin Templeton announced the launch of its Preferred Partner Program, an expansion of its Canvas platform that enables third-party asset managers to offer tax-managed versions of their proprietary investment strategies through Canvas. The program extends Canvas's personalization and tax management capabilities beyond Franklin Templeton product, allowing selected managers to deliver their investment philosophy with a systematic tax overlay that combines traditional alpha and tax alpha within a single portfolio experience. Through Canvas P3, MFS Investment Management, Federated Hermes and T. Rowe Price will now offer select systematically tax managed strategies in partnership with Franklin Templeton. These strategies, starting with separately managed accounts, will pair each manager's investment expertise with Canvas's tax overlay capabilities, which are designed to target after-tax outcomes while maintaining alignment with the manager's investment approach.

Morningstar (MORN) announced that its Morningstar Wealth division is working with Apollo (APO), Franklin Templeton (BEN) and J.P. Morgan Asset Management (JPM) to launch a suite of public/private model portfolios that give financial advisors a single, research-driven way to access private markets. The company said, "Morningstar Public/Private Select Series will bring together: Morningstar Wealth's asset allocation, manager research, and due diligence rigor; Public market strategies from Franklin Templeton and J.P. Morgan Asset Management; Private market strategies from Apollo and Franklin Templeton, spanning private credit and real estate...The portfolios will be constructed with ETFs and interval funds to make private markets usable in individual investor portfolios, offering: Six risk-based portfolios, ranging from capital preservation to aggressive growth; Public and private exposures integrated into a single asset allocation Transparent, competitive pricing, including no overlay fees; Accessible minimums, expanding access beyond traditional institutional investors; By packaging private market exposure within a diversified model, Morningstar Wealth aims to remove the burden of sourcing, sizing, and managing liquidity, allowing advisors to focus on client needs rather than portfolio construction. The initial models will include exposure to private credit and real estate through interval funds ranging approximately between 12-20% of the models' allocation, depending on risk profile and current market opportunity."

Former Western Asset Management co-CIO Ken Leech plans to plead guilty to obstructing a regulatory proceeding, avoiding an upcoming federal trial over allegations that he unfairly allocated profitable trades to favored clients while assigning losses to others, in a move that could reduce his potential sentence, Bloomberg's Bob Van Voris, Chris Dolmetsch, and Silla Brush report. Prosecutors in 2024 charged Leech with illegally cherry-picking $600M in winning trades between 2021 and 2023. Western Asset Management is owned by Franklin Resources.