A publicly traded, $1.5-trillion-AUM (as of August 31) asset management titan on the West Coast is poised to buy a $6.4-billion-AUM (also as of August 31) quant shop in New England.

Jennifer M. "Jenny" Johnson Franklin Resources, Inc. (dba Franklin Templeton) President, CEO

This morning, Jenny Johnson, president and CEO of San Mateo, California-based Franklin Resources, Inc. (dba Franklin Templeton [profile]), confirms that Franklin has agreed to acquire Stamford, Connecticut-based O'Shaughnessy Asset Management, LLC (OSAM [profile]). The deal is expected to close in Q4 2021.

OSAM is a quantitative asset management firm that offers separately managed accounts (SMAs) and, through its Canvas platform, a custom indexing solution. OSAM also offers a single U.S. mutual fund: the $260.1-million-AUM O'Shaughnessy Market Leaders Value Fund.

"Custom Indexing is aligned with our commitment to bringing sophisticated customization to a broader investment audience, and I'm excited to welcome the OSAM team to Franklin Templeton," Johnson states.

"This partnership will further enhance Franklin Templeton's ability to deliver compelling individualized SMA solutions to clients, advisors and firms while continuously innovating to advance and shape the managed accounts industry,' states Roger Paradiso, head of product solutions at Franklin Templeton.

13 partners currently own nine-tenths of OSAM, and RBC (for whom OSAM subadvises some Canadian mutual funds) bought the remaining stake years ago. According to the Franklin team, OSAM's team of more than 40 people is expected to join Franklin as part of the deal.

"As part of Franklin Templeton, we'll have the opportunity to accelerate client growth at Canvas and continue to add to existing OSAM offerings," states Patrick O'Shaughnessy, CEO of OSAM.

Jim O'Shaughnessy created his team in 1996, and he spun it out of Bear Stearns in 2007. Patrick O'Shaughnessy, son of Jim, took over as CEO in 2018, yet Jim remains on board as principal, portfolio manager, chairman, and co-chief investment officer. 

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