Welcome back to the Alt Goes Mainstream podcast.
We were live from AGM’s RIA Field Trip at Franklin Templeton’s New York office in Madison Square Park with Franklin Templeton’s Head of Private Markets - Americas Wealth Management Dave Donahoo to discuss the nuances of serving the wealth channel.
Dave brings the perspective of someone who has seen the wealth channel handle multiple market cycles and an understanding of both traditional and alternative asset management, while always keeping the outcome for the end investor in mind.
Dave started his career in the depths of the 2008 financial crisis at T. Rowe Price, where he worked with individual investors. He rose up the ranks of T. Rowe Price and then joined Blackstone as a Principal in the firm’s Private Wealth Solutions business before moving to Franklin Templeton as Head of Private Markets - Americas Wealth Management.
Unpacking nuances in private markets, Dave discussed why he believes a “family of specialists” with a “narrow scope” is critical for a private markets investment platform and how a traditional asset manager can approach building brand in private markets. We had a fascinating discussion, covering:
- How Dave’s background starting his career working with individual investors has informed how he approaches creating solutions for the wealth channel.
- Why LPs want to do more with fewer partners and what this means for GPs.
- Specialists vs. generalists.
- Why RIAs have “cold call fatigue.”
- What RIAs want from a product perspective and why differentiation, trust, and proactive client service are top of the list.
- How asset managers can approach brand-building.
- The product innovation roadmap and what the path to 401(k) and DC products might look like.
Thanks, Dave, for sharing a fascinating window into the wealth channel and for your passion, expertise, and dedication to providing private markets solutions to the wealth channel.
Show Notes
00:04 Live from Franklin Templeton RIA Field Trip
00:07 Meet Dave Donahoo
02:31 Lehman Day One Story
03:15 Thrown Into the Phone Queues
03:37 Teacher Call and Investor Fear
04:53 Start With the End Client
05:26 From T Rowe to Blackstone
05:53 Blackstone Wealth Playbook
07:18 Why Franklin Was the Fit
08:09 Traditional Manager Advantages
09:09 Platform Synergies in Wealth
10:16 Challenges of Going Private
10:36 Brand Transformation Story
11:44 Internal Alignment and Change
12:16 What the Brand Should Signal
12:50 Specialist Managers Philosophy
13:44 Building Perpetuals the Right Way
14:13 Defining the Right Structure
15:44 Evergreen Structure Depends
16:09 Secondaries Structure Choice
18:10 Infrastructure Partnership Model
20:02 Preserving Investment Cultures
21:50 Data and AI Cross Collaboration
24:17 Macro Insights Across Platforms
25:47 Product Innovation Roadmap
27:06 Private Markets in 401k Plans
27:53 What Model Portfolios Mean
29:06 What RIAs Want Most
30:21 Client Service and Honesty
A Word from Our Sponsor, Ultimus
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We thank Ultimus for their support of alts going mainstream.
Editing and post-production work for this episode was provided by The Podcast Consultant.
