Franklin Templeton Aligns Global Alternative Credit Businesses Under Benefit Street Partners Brand
Franklin Templeton’s U.S. and European alternative credit businesses, Benefit Street Partners and Alcentra, have now aligned under an updated Benefit Street brand.
The move marks the final step in the integration of the two firms, which Franklin Templeton acquired in 2019 and 2022, respectively. The rebranding reflects increasing investor demand for a specialist global credit platform with expertise across the full spectrum of the asset class. Starting this week, Alcentra-branded funds will begin adopting the Benefit Street name.
According to Franklin Templeton, its alternative credit platform – which also includes direct lender Apera – is on track to exceed $100 billion in assets under management in 2026. It includes a number of retail funds, including Franklin BSP Real Estate Debt BDC, a non-traded business development company; Franklin BSP Private Credit Fund, an interval fund; and BDC Franklin BSP Capital Corporation.
“BSP and Alcentra are complementary pioneers in alternative credit with long track records of successfully supporting investors through multiple market cycles,” said David Manlowe, chief executive officer of Benefit Street Partners. “So this alignment under a unified brand is a natural next step for our combined global platform, which has become increasingly integrated in recent years and already shares world-class research, distribution, as well as operational teams and infrastructure.”
Similar to research published by CAIS and Mercer last December that highlighted how alts are increasingly transitioning from a niche offering to a mainstream component of retail portfolios, Benefit Street published research this week which surveyed 135 global institutional investors with a combined AUM of $8 trillion. It found that around 93% of global institutional investors intend to either maintain (42%) or increase (51%) their exposure to alternative credit in 2026. The main motivation is the pursuit of greater diversification (85%) and the potential for higher total returns in alternatives than traditional fixed income (81%). As investors grow and diversify their alternative credit allocations, 81% consider a specialist asset class focus the key to delivering strong performance.
The survey was conducted on behalf of Benefit Street by CoreData Research in November and December 2025 and focused on institutional investors across 19 countries.
BSP found that over the next 12 months, 47% of respondents intend to increase their exposure to infrastructure debt, making it the most popular strategy, followed by direct lending (39%), asset-based lending (35%), special situations and distressed debt (30%), commercial real estate debt (28%) and collateralized loan obligations (16%).
To meet this demand and offering variety, BSP is targeting a mix of organic and inorganic growth over the next five years, it said, with the possibility for further acquisitions where attractive opportunities complement its existing offering. This includes expansion into new markets in Asia and the Middle East.
“Critically, this move ensures we are optimally positioned to meet our clients’ evolving alternative credit needs, including exposure to new asset classes and geographies around the world, leveraging our global platform and institutional capabilities to support the full scope of our investors’ ambitions,” added Manlowe.
While Franklin Templeton is integrating its expanding alternative credit platform, it said it remains committed to offering clearly differentiated investment capabilities to its investors within that global platform, particularly in certain local markets and where there is a specific area of focus. This was demonstrated by the recent addition of Apera Asset Management in October 2025, focused on lower-middle-market direct lending across Europe.
With Apera now forming part of Benefit Street, the combined business is today responsible for $78 billion in AUM in corporate credit strategies and $14 billion in commercial real estate debt strategies as of Dec. 31, 2025.
Benefit Street Partners is an alternative credit manager with $92 billion in assets under management, including Apera. A wholly owned subsidiary of Franklin Templeton, the firm manages strategies spanning private debt, real estate debt, structured credit, and liquid loans.
Founded in 1947, Franklin Templeton is a global asset manager offering a diverse range of investment strategies.
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