Franklin Templeton has launched an initiative aimed at educating advisors on how best to use alternative investments.
“We really needed to make sure that we continue to arm advisors with content and information that could better help them use alternatives effectively.” said Tony Davidow, senior alternatives investment strategist at Franklin Templeton Institute.
The initiative includes a monthly podcast that Davidow will host called the "Alternative Allocations" podcast, where topics will include how to allocate for alternative investments and learning lessons from how institutions have effectively used alternatives.
The second component focuses on education and includes a series of online courses that focus on a range of topics related to alternative investments. Those topics include “Why Alternatives”, “Real Estate”, and “Hedge Strategies” among others. Advisors who take those courses will be eligible to receive credit for a number of designations, including Certified Financial Planner, Certified Private Wealth Advisor, and others, according to the firm.
The firm will also offer a webinar series that highlights case studies to demonstrate the importance of adding alternative investments to a portfolio, according to Davidow.
“We focus on how to allocate using case studies so advisors can take the ideas back to their practice,” he said.
The sophistication of the educational elements will range depending on the level of experience advisors have with alternative investments, according to Davidow
“Because we understand that advisors’ understanding of alternatives runs the gamut from advisors who are very sophisticated … to advisors who are relatively new to it, we produce content that’s on the whole spectrum,” he said.
The final element to the firm’s alternative plans is an enhanced digital experience. Franklin Templeton understands it has to make an advisor’s interaction with the platform as easy and straightforward as possible, Davidow said. The firm launched a Product Hub where advisors can access all of the alternative investment content in one place.
“A lot of it is really geared toward that client experience,” Davidow said. “When they come into the site and making it easy to navigate, to find everything you want rather than going from one site to the other site to the other site.”
Davidow is hoping that the material the firm provides resonates with advisors and it gets them more comfortable with the concept of alternatives. The firm recognizes that implementing the educational aspects of alternatives will be a journey and is a long-term commitment, Davidow said.
“It isn’t just taking the training and walking away,” Davidow said.