Franklin Templeton, a global investment management organization, has announced the integration of managed options strategies into its Canvas custom indexing platform, providing financial advisors with a unified account solution for implementing options programs focused on risk management, income generation, and concentrated stock diversification.
This enhancement allows advisors to implement options programs that incorporate risk-management guardrails, target income generation, and diversify away from concentrated stock risk. The new strategies will be managed by the Franklin Managed Options Strategies Team (MOST), which brings over 30 years of options investing experience.
Roger Paradiso, Head of Franklin Templeton Custom Client Solutions, stated that the introduction of managed options strategies on Canvas reflects the company’s ongoing commitment to delivering innovative, customized investment and practice management solutions to financial advisors. He added that this development strengthens advisors’ capacity to build custom, tax-managed Separately Managed Accounts (SMAs) tailored to specific client needs, further solidifying Franklin Templeton’s leadership in the rapidly expanding SMA industry, driven by the growth of direct and custom indexing.
Canvas is an end-to-end multi-asset investment platform designed for advisors to automate tax management, simplify portfolio transitions, and personalize and manage accounts at scale. Over the past year, its asset allocation choices have expanded significantly to include fundamental active equity strategies, municipal bonds, and active fixed income strategies, building upon its existing passive, factor, and custom indexing capabilities.
Jon Orseck, Co-CIO of Franklin MOST, expressed enthusiasm for the benefits options bring to custom indexing. He noted that beyond their complementary investment benefits, both managed options and custom indexing aim to provide investors with greater control and transparency. By unifying these capabilities within a single account on Canvas, advisors can achieve enhanced tax and operational efficiency, contributing to an improved client experience.
Franklin Templeton is a prominent provider in the SMA industry, with approximately $155 billion in SMA assets under management as of June 30, 2025. This position is supported by the year-over-year growth of its Canvas platform, which accounts for $13.8 billion of these assets.
Franklin Resources, Inc., operating as Franklin Templeton, is a California-based global investment management organization serving clients in over 150 countries. Its 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 across a global scale, providing extensive capabilities in fixed income, equity, alternatives, and multi-asset solutions. With over 1,500 investment professionals and offices in major financial markets worldwide, the company has over 75 years of investment experience and $1.6 trillion in assets under management as of June 30, 2025. O’Shaughnessy Asset Management, LLC and Franklin Managed Options Strategies, LLC are affiliated companies of Franklin Templeton.
