Franklin Templeton Canada Introduces Lexington Partners' Private Equity Expertise to Canadians

TORONTO, May 5, 2025 /CNW/ - Franklin Templeton Canada today introduced Lexington Partners – a global pioneer in the development of institutional secondary markets with more than US$76 billion¹ in total capital – with the launch of Franklin Lexington PE Secondaries Fund that is available to Canadian accredited investors.

Franklin Lexington PE Secondaries Fund provides an opportunity to invest in a diversified portfolio of private equity investments acquired through secondary transactions and co-investments within a semi-liquid accessible structure.

"As part of our commitment to bringing our best alternative investment capabilities to the Canadian market, we are offering investors an institutional quality strategy from Lexington Partners," said Dennis Tew, head of Sales, Franklin Templeton Canada. "With the increasing demand for liquidity in private investments, the secondary market offers compelling opportunities for investors, providing access to an asset class that is often underrepresented in Canadian portfolios."

Franklin Lexington PE Secondaries Fund invests substantially all of its investable assets in shares of a sub-fund of the Luxembourg-domiciled Franklin Lexington Private Markets Fund SICAV SA (the "Underlying Fund"), which comes to market with over US$875 million² in assets under management from a diversified investor base internationally across Canada, APAC, EMEA and Latin America.

Wil Warren, partner and president of Lexington, a specialist investment manager of Franklin Templeton said: "The secondary market remains undercapitalised despite a significant supply of deal flow, creating opportunities for investors to acquire attractive exposure. Franklin Lexington PE Secondaries Fund will complement our traditional drawdown funds, which currently represent US$72.4 billion¹ in assets, and reflects our commitment to delivering strong, long-term risk-adjusted returns. By leveraging our experience and leadership in private markets, Franklin Lexington PE Secondaries Fund will play a pivotal role in our strategy to expand our capital base and enhance value creation for our investors."

Designed for wealth channel clients seeking long-term growth opportunities, Franklin Lexington PE Secondaries Fund the Canadian Fund offers access to an asset class that until recently was primarily available to institutional investors. The Underlying Fund's investment objective is to seek long-term capital appreciation by investing in a diversified portfolio of private equity investments acquired through secondary transactions and co-investments in new private equity transactions alongside leading sponsors. In addition, the Underlying Fund will have the flexibility to invest in private assets across asset types, including, but not limited to, buyout, growth, venture, credit, mezzanine, infrastructure, energy and other real assets.

Franklin Lexington PE Secondaries Fund comes to market at a time when original investors in private funds and assets are seeking liquidity because of a slowdown in distributions from the asset class. The secondary PE market has grown significantly and is projected to exceed US$500 billion³ over the next five years. We believe investors in secondary funds seek private equity and alternatives exposure with the potential benefits of broad diversification, potential for earlier cash returns, reduced investment risk and mitigation of primary J-curve.

Franklin Templeton has become a major provider of alternatives investments with US$252 billion² across private equity, private credit, real estate venture capital and digital assets through organic growth and acquisitions of specialty managers like Lexington, Benefits Street Partners and Clarion Partners.

About Lexington Partners
Lexington Partners is one of the world's largest and most successful managers of secondary private equity and co-investment funds. The firm helped pioneer the development of the institutional secondary market over 31 years ago and created one of the first independent, discretionary co-investment programs 27 years ago. Lexington has total capital in excess of US$76 billion¹ and has acquired over 5,500 interests through more than 1,300 transactions. Lexington's global team is strategically located in major centers for private equity and alternative asset investing across North America, Europe, Asia and Latin America. Lexington is the global secondary private equity and co-investments specialist investment manager of Franklin Templeton. Additional information can be found at lexingtonpartners.com.

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 150 countries. In Canada, the company's subsidiary is Franklin Templeton Investments Corp., which operates as Franklin Templeton Canada. Franklin Templeton's mission is to help clients achieve better outcomes through investment management expertise, wealth management and technology solutions. Through its specialist investment managers, the company offers specialization on a global scale, bringing extensive capabilities in fixed income, equity, alternatives and multi-asset solutions. With more than 1,500 investment professionals, and offices in major financial markets around the world, the California-based company has over 75 years of investment experience and US$1.54 trillion (CDN$2.22 trillion) in assets under management as of March 31, 2025. For more information, please visit franklintempleton.ca and connect with Franklin Templeton on LinkedIn, X and Facebook.

1.     Source: Lexington Partners as of December 31, 2024.
2.     Source: Franklin Templeton as of March 31, 2025.
3.     Source: Lexington Partners estimates as of April 2025. Views expressed are those of Lexington at the time of this press release and are subject to change. There can be no assurance that historical trends will continue.

Units of Franklin Lexington PE Secondaries Fund (the "Fund") are only sold to purchasers that qualify as "accredited investors" in reliance on prospectus exemptions in each of the provinces and territories of Canada. As the Fund is a prospectus exempt fund, it is not subject to the same regulatory requirements as publicly offered investment funds offered by way of prospectus.

The Fund is a Canadian access fund established as a trust under the laws of the Province of Ontario that will invest substantially all of its investable assets in shares of a sub-fund of Franklin Lexington Private Markets Fund SICAV SA (the "Underlying Fund"). The Underlying Fund is part of an umbrella investment program referred to as FLEX. The investment objective of FLEX is to seek long-term capital appreciation, and it seeks to achieve this investment objective by investing in a portfolio of private equity and other private assets.

All investments are subject to certain risks. The risks associated with private equity and other private asset investments involve a high degree of risk, may be considered speculative and are suitable only for accredited investors who can afford to risk the loss of all or substantially all of such investment. Less information may be available with respect to private investments and such investments offer limited liquidity. Complete information relating to the Fund, including risk factors, is contained in the Fund's subscription agreement and confidential private offering memorandum (collectively, the "Offering Documents"), and the constating documents of the Fund. Only the most recent Offering Documents should be relied upon for information on the Fund.

The returns of the Fund are not guaranteed, the value of the Fund's units may change frequently. Past performance may not be repeated and is not indicative of future results. 

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SOURCE Franklin Templeton Investments Corp.

For further information: Sarah Kingdon, 416-957-6191, [email protected]