Ideas
Private markets benefit from regulatory clarity.
Johnson is constructive on private markets because regulatory clarity and a push for fairer access are improving the environment, while companies staying private longer and banks lending less leave public-market investors without access to a growing asset class. She says Franklin Templeton has long believed in giving average investors fair access to private markets.
Franklin Templeton has private-markets fundraising momentum.
Franklin Templeton had its best year in private markets, raising $23 billion with over 20% from the wealth channel, and targets $25 billion this year as part of a $100 billion five-year plan. The Lexington Fund 11 flagship secondaries product is expected to support further growth.
Secondaries offer liquidity and earlier cash flows.
She loves secondaries structurally because private equity funds have deployed lots of capital but distributions have slowed to about half their historical pace, creating demand for liquidity mechanisms. Secondaries offer a diversified portfolio and earlier cash flows than traditional private equity, and Franklin Templeton's Lexington Fund 11 will be its flagship secondaries product this year.
Real estate debt fills regional-bank lending gap.
She loves real estate debt because regional banks are not lending the way they used to, creating a private credit opportunity. She says private credit should be underwritten like a fixed-income portfolio and calls this a great opportunity.
Asset-backed credit looks attractive in private credit.
Within private credit, she also finds asset-backed credit attractive, saying it is looking like a good place to be. The broader point is to underwrite private credit like fixed income and pick managers carefully because top- and bottom-quartile performance dispersion is wide.
AI adopters will outperform picks-and-shovels.
She thinks the market has so far rewarded picks-and-shovels AI companies, but the next phase will be companies within sectors that successfully implement AI. Those that get it right will take off and leave competitors behind, while failures and dead ends create volatility. The pace of AI-driven productivity change is faster than she expected.
TradFi and DeFi converge in 2026.
She expects 2026 to be a huge year in which traditional finance and DeFi converge. Franklin Templeton's on-chain money market fund, the growing presence of traditional financial professionals at crypto conferences, crypto exchanges launching traditional products, and traditional firms seeking advice all point to mainstream adoption. Blockchain offers a source of truth, smart contracts, payment mechanisms, lower reconciliation costs, and financial inclusion.
On-chain money market fund improves efficiency.
Franklin Templeton's on-chain money market fund is natively on the blockchain, which lets it pay interest daily, transfer funds into stablecoins on weekends, and operate more cost-effectively than the old system. She expects this kind of product to help bring TradFi and DeFi together.
Stablecoins aid blockchain payments and inclusion.
She highlights stablecoins as part of the blockchain payment mechanism, saying Franklin Templeton's on-chain money market fund will soon let investors transfer funds into stablecoins on Saturdays. Blockchain-based payments should drive innovation, lower costs, and financial inclusion.
Central banks buy gold for dollar diversification.
She says gold has rallied because central banks are buying it for diversification away from the dollar, especially after the US froze Russian central bank and oligarch assets. That demand dynamic supports gold.
Bitcoin offers diversification as gold alternative.
She views Bitcoin as a different asset from crypto infrastructure. Some investors use it for diversification, especially as central banks and countries with heavy inflation like Turkey, El Salvador, and Venezuela look for alternatives to the dollar. Believers treat it as a gold alternative, though she likens it to religion: you either believe or you do not.
This Bloomberg Markets video, published January 19, 2026,
features Jenny Johnson
discussing Private markets, BEN, PSP, Real estate debt, Asset-backed credit, AI-SECTOR, DEFI, Tokenization, Crypto exchanges, FOBXX, STABLECOINS, GLD, BTC.
11 trade ideas extracted by AI with direction and confidence scoring.
Speakers:
Jenny Johnson
· Tickers:
Private markets,
BEN,
PSP,
Real estate debt,
Asset-backed credit,
AI-SECTOR,
DEFI,
Tokenization,
Crypto exchanges,
FOBXX,
STABLECOINS,
GLD,
BTC
