Press Release

Franklin Templeton Selects Ascensus to Host Personal Retirement Path Managed Account Services Offering

Issued by Ascensus

Jan. 27, 2022

Ascensus Offers Institutional Partners and Advisors More Flexibility via Its Open-Architecture Platform

Ascensus -- whose technology and expertise help millions of people save for retirement, education, and healthcare -- announced that Franklin Templeton has selected Ascensus to host its Personal Retirement Path managed account services offering.

“Personalization is core to our value proposition at Franklin Templeton, and we believe it is the key to driving financial independence for every U.S. worker and household,” said Yaqub Ahmed, Head of Retirement, Insurance & 529 – U.S. at Franklin Templeton. “Through our partnership with Ascensus, we look forward to empowering advisors with the resources needed to create a path toward financial well-being at all stages of a participant’s savings journey.”

Personal Retirement Path managed accounts deliver personalized portfolio management to help individual investors reach specific goals. Its proprietary Goals Optimization Engine (GOEÔ), which is based on award-winning academic research, makes personalization at scale a reality. The offering is backed by Franklin Templeton’s strong commitment to servicing the retirement industry, along with its deep multi-asset investment expertise within Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions.

Ascensus announced the expansion of its managed account services—which are supported by its purpose-built technology and open-architecture platform with no proprietary investment requirements—in September 2020. Since then, it has continued to develop its infrastructure to give institutional partners and advisors more choices that can enable them to deliver personalized account management services to their clients and savers. The addition of Franklin Templeton’s Personal Retirement Path is another example of Ascensus’ commitment to offer more savings options that can potentially drive better retirement outcomes.

“As the appetite for saver personalization continues to grow, Ascensus has positioned itself to support an enhanced level of choice via our open-architecture approach,” said Jason Crane, Ascensus’ head of retirement distribution. “In Franklin Templeton, we’re working with a partner that shares our passion for helping savers achieve their retirement goals; we’re extremely proud to add Personal Retirement Path to our array of managed account services.”

“The flexibility of Ascensus’ managed account services reflects our independent business model,” adds Crane. “We’ll continue to work with partners that complement our business model, philosophy, and values while supporting unique investment management approaches and expanding relationships.”

About Franklin Templeton

Franklin Resources, Inc. [NYSE:BEN], is a global investment management organization with subsidiaries operating as Franklin Templeton and serving clients in over 165 countries. Through its specialist investment managers, the company brings extensive capabilities in equity, fixed income, multi-asset solutions and alternatives. With offices in more than 30 countries and approximately 1,300 investment professionals, the California-based company has 75 years of investment experience and over $1.5 trillion in assets under management as of December 31, 2021. For more information, please visit franklintempleton.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

About Ascensus

Ascensus helps millions of people save for what matters—retirement, education, and healthcare. Through co-branded, private-labeled, and other governmental partnerships, our technology, market insights, and business knowledge enhance the growth and success of our partners, their clients, and savers. Ascensus is the largest independent recordkeeping services provider, third-party administrator, and government savings facilitator in the United States. For more information, visit ascensus.com.

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