Why the room needs them.
Jenny Johnson has been chief executive of Franklin Templeton since February 2020. The firm reported a record $1.8 trillion under management at 30 June 2026. Its BENJI fund put a US-registered money market fund on a public blockchain in 2021, and in 2026 it acquired 250 Digital from CoinFund to form Franklin Crypto. She spoke at Proof of Talk Paris 2026 in two Day 1 firesides, on onchain asset management and on tokenised money market funds.
The full account.
Jenny Johnson has been chief executive officer of Franklin Templeton since February 2020, and sits on its board. She rose through the firm's operations and technology side: chief information officer from May 2003, executive vice president for operations and technology from December 2005, chief operating officer from March 2010, and co-president from October 2015. Franklin's proxy statement of 22 December 2025 records that she was also president of the company from December 2016 to October 2025, and has held the chief executive title alone since then.
Regulated fund products have moved onto public blockchains during her tenure. BENJI, formally the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund, is described by The Block as the first U.S.-registered mutual fund to use a public blockchain at launch, in 2021. On 1 April 2026 the firm agreed to acquire 250 Digital, an active cryptocurrency investment manager spun out of CoinFund Management, and to form a unit called Franklin Crypto under Christopher Perkins, with Seth Ginns as chief investment officer alongside Tony Pecore; part of the consideration was payable in BENJI tokens. That acquisition completed on 22 June 2026.
She spoke at Proof of Talk Paris 2026 on 2 June, appearing twice on the Hecto Main Stage. At 11:45 she joined Adam Back, chief executive of Blockstream, for a fireside titled "The Great Crossover: Asset Management for the Onchain Investor". At 15:35 she returned with Caroline D. Pham for "21st Century Cash Optimisation: Embedding Digitally Native Money Market Funds Directly into OnChain Transactions". That same morning Franklin Templeton announced that BENJI had been integrated with MoonPay Trade, letting institutional users swap between stablecoins such as USDC and USDT and the tokenised fund.
The firm reported ending assets under management of $1,791.6 billion at 30 June 2026, which it called a record $1.8 trillion, with $18.4 billion of long-term net inflows in the quarter and $63.3 billion in the fiscal year to that date. Johnson has been a director of Thermo Fisher Scientific since July 2023. Franklin Resources, Inc., the registrant behind the Franklin Templeton brand, was renamed Franklin Templeton, Inc. effective 17 August 2026; the ticker remains NYSE: BEN.
What Jenny believes about the next ten years.
Years of shipping.
Lines that keep proving correct.
“Together, their investment talent and differentiated strategies strengthen our capabilities in digital assets and position us among a small group of global asset managers with a dedicated, institutional-grade crypto investment management team, enhancing our ability to serve clients worldwide.”
“We delivered $18.4 billion in long-term net inflows across public and private assets, bringing fiscal year-to-date long-term net inflows to $63.3 billion. During the quarter, we generated positive net flows across every asset class and geography, demonstrating the breadth of our investment capabilities and the strength of our global distribution platform.”
What they have built, written, and backed.
Built
- Franklin CryptoA crypto investment unit formed in 2026. Franklin Templeton agreed on 1 April 2026 to acquire 250 Digital, an active cryptocurrency investment management firm spun out of CoinFund Management, and completed the deal on 22 June 2026. Christopher Perkins heads the unit, with Seth Ginns as chief investment officer alongside Tony Pecore. Part of the consideration was payable in BENJI tokens.
- BENJI, the Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money FundThe firm's tokenised money market fund, launched in 2021 and described by The Block as the first U.S.-registered mutual fund to use a public blockchain at launch. On 2 June 2026 Franklin Templeton announced an integration with MoonPay Trade, letting institutional users swap between stablecoins such as USDC and USDT and the fund, for treasury management, liquidity provision, collateral and portfolio rebalancing.
- A platform assembled by acquisitionLegg Mason in 2020, Lexington Partners in 2022 and Putnam Investments in 2024 were all acquired during her time as chief executive. Franklin's board writes in its December 2025 proxy statement that she "has been a key driver of many key acquisitions, including the acquisitions of Legg Mason in 2020 and Putnam Investments in 2024, as well as the expansion of the Company's alternative investment capabilities"; that credit is the company's own characterisation of her role.
- Alternative credit under one brandFranklin's acquisition of Apera Asset Management closed on 1 October 2025, and its US and European alternative credit businesses were aligned under an updated Benefit Street Partners brand representing $95 billion in assets under management at 31 December 2025. Lexington's assets stood at $83 billion, a 46 per cent increase since its acquisition in 2022.
Jenny at Proof of Talk
The next Proof of Talk is in Abu Dhabi.
Louvre Abu Dhabi, 3–4 December 2026. Admission is by application, and the room is capped at 2,000.
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