Fiduciary Trust International Announces Investment in North Capital, Expanding Access to Private Securities and Digital Assets

Strategic Alliance expands Fiduciary’s access to unique investment opportunities in the private securities market, and partners North Capital with a specialized trust company and qualified custodian to further North Capital’s work around digital securities

NEW YORK & SALT LAKE CITY--()--Fiduciary Trust International, a global wealth manager and wholly-owned subsidiary of Franklin Templeton, announced a strategic investment in, and collaboration with, Utah-based North Capital Investment Technology.

“North Capital has developed an early-stage private securities market platform that makes it easier to invest in this asset class. High-net-worth clients want access to this type of investment,” said John M. Dowd CEO of Fiduciary Trust International. “In addition to private securities, North Capital is at the forefront of innovation around digital assets and has secured an essential FINRA license to transact digital assets. This, combined with Fiduciary’s Trust Company structure and innovative custodial platform, is exactly where and how digital assets will be held in the future.”

In 2017, North Capital released its transaction platform Transact Cloud, an API-based SaaS solution that enables professional intermediaries to offer, transact, and clear offerings of exempt securities. The firm first offered subscription escrow services for primary offerings, and later added custody of exempt securities for its customers. In February 2020, North Capital’s PPEX ATS received regulatory approval to commence secondary trading of exempt securities, including digital asset securities.

“I have always believed that the innovation we and others have brought to the private market ecosystem—expanding access to capital, accelerating the investment cycle, enabling secondary trading, and developing infrastructure for compliant digital asset securities in the U.S.—would be useful to incumbent firms with large operations,” said James (Jim) Dowd, CEO of North Capital Investment Technology (and no relation to John M. Dowd). “Our relationship with Fiduciary Trust International and Franklin Templeton will give us the opportunity to scale and serve more clients.”

Beyond this investment, Franklin Templeton is developing a fintech ecosystem that provides access to innovative talent who are disrupting financial services, to ensure the firm is positioned for the future. Both Fiduciary Trust International and Franklin Templeton’s digital distribution initiatives are focused on innovation, speed, and agility to deliver value-added services and personalized investment solutions. Investing in digital wealth management capabilities continues to be a top priority as technology becomes increasingly integral to Franklin Templeton’s mission of helping people achieve the most important financial milestones of their lives. By empowering fintech partners to achieve more scalable growth, Franklin Templeton aims to improve outcomes for more people. The firm’s digital wealth capabilities enable the company to bring integrated investment and wealth solutions to clients.

"There is no doubt that digital assets and tokenization using blockchain technology are making a significant impact on investor attitudes and preferences. North Capital shares our belief that blockchain technology, deployed in a responsible fashion, has great potential to create both efficiencies and new opportunities for investors,” added Jenny Johnson, president and CEO of Franklin Templeton. “Our investment in North Capital is part of an ongoing focus, across our organization, on being innovative in how we advance our global business.”

About Fiduciary Trust International

Fiduciary Trust International, a global wealth management firm headquartered in New York, NY, has served individuals, families, endowments and foundations since 1931. With over $98 billion in assets under management and administration as of September 30, 2021, the firm specializes in strategic wealth planning, investment management and trust and estate services, as well as tax and custody services. The New York-based firm and its subsidiaries maintain offices in Coral Gables, FL, Boca Raton, FL, St. Petersburg, FL, Radnor, PA, Lincoln, MA, Los Angeles, CA, San Mateo, CA, San Francisco, CA, Washington, DC, Wilmington, DE, Reston, VA, and Atlanta, GA. For more information, please visit fiduciarytrust.com, and for the latest updates, follow Fiduciary Trust International on LinkedIn and Twitter: @FiduciaryTrust.

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 165 countries. 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 brings extensive capabilities in equity, fixed income, multi-asset solutions and alternatives. With offices in more than 30 countries and approximately 1,300 investment professionals, the California-based company has over 70 years of investment experience and over $1.5 trillion in assets under management as of October 31, 2021. For more information, please visit franklintempleton.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

About North Capital

North Capital provides comprehensive technology solutions and services for exempt securities, supporting issuers and their advisors, platforms and other broker-dealers. Through North Capital Investment Technology and its registered broker-dealer, North Capital Private Securities Corporation (CRD# 154559/SEC#8-68648), the firm also provides technology-enabled escrow, streamlined investor vetting (including KYC/AML and accredited investor verifications), custody, secondary trading through the PPEX ATS, and a range of other broker-dealer services. For more information, visit www.northcapital.com.

Copyright © 2021. Fiduciary Trust Company International. All rights reserved.

Contacts

Rebecca Radosevich: 212-632-3207
rebecca.radosevich@franklintempleton.com

Laura Simpson: 973-713-8834
lsimpson@jconnelly.com

Gaby Giacchino: 415-335-6227
ggiacchino@northcapital.com

Release Summary

Fiduciary Trust International Announces Investment in North Capital, Expanding Access to Private Securities and Digital Assets

Contacts

Rebecca Radosevich: 212-632-3207
rebecca.radosevich@franklintempleton.com

Laura Simpson: 973-713-8834
lsimpson@jconnelly.com

Gaby Giacchino: 415-335-6227
ggiacchino@northcapital.com