Franklin Templeton and Benefit Street Partners (BSP), the group’s alternative credit manager, have completed a transaction with Encina Lender Finance that expands BSP’s asset-backed finance (ABF) platform. As of Sept. 30, 2026, Franklin Templeton managed $1.8 trillion in assets, including over $300 billion in alternative assets, of which approximately $97 billion is managed by BSP.
The transaction expands BSP’s capabilities in consumer and commercial lender finance and continues the buildout of a comprehensive, multi-strategy private asset-backed finance platform focused on the middle market. The platform now spans corporate asset-backed lending, equipment leasing, aircraft leasing, consumer finance and lender finance.
With the completion of the transaction, the now combined ABF platform provides BSP with access to approximately 100 investment professionals and a track record dating to 2013. Having completed over $10 billion of investments since inception, BSP now believes the combined ABF platform has the capacity to originate more than $3 billion annually.
“We continue to expand and diversify our private markets capabilities, using our balance sheet selectively to support strategic growth,” Jenny Johnson, CEO of Franklin Templeton, said. “This transaction demonstrates the strength of our model: combining specialized investment expertise with Franklin Templeton’s global scale and distribution to build differentiated investment solutions for clients. With over $300 billion in alternative AUM, we believe there is significant opportunity to continue scaling our private markets capabilities globally.”
The Encina team focuses on providing senior secured, unitranche and first-out financing to consumer and commercial asset originators across the U.S. and Canada. Its investments are supported by diversified pools of underlying assets, including consumer loans, credit card receivables and small business loans, supporting a data-driven approach to underwriting and portfolio management.
ABF is one of the largest and fastest-growing areas of the approximately $6 trillion global private credit market and accounted for around 20% of private credit fundraising in 2025, according to industry data.
David Manlowe, CEO of BSP, added: “Investor demand for ABF continues to grow among a mix of institutional allocators. Adding the Encina team is a natural extension of our existing strategies and broadens both our origination capabilities and the range of financing solutions we can provide. Together with Franklin Templeton, we continue to build a scaled private ABF platform, which we believe has significant capacity for growth across asset classes and geographies.”
Willkie Farr & Gallagher and Simpson Thacher & Bartlett served as legal counsel to Franklin Templeton and BSP. Berkshire Global Advisors served as exclusive financial advisor to Encina Lender Finance, and Mayer Brown and Winston Taylor served as its legal counsel.
