Jenny Johnson, CEO of Franklin Templeton, reaffirms support for blockchain, discussing tokenization and generative AI at the Milken Institute Global Conference.
At the 27th Annual Milken Institute Global Conference in California, Jenny Johnson, the CEO and President of Franklin Templeton, a financial firm managing $1.6 trillion in assets, recently reaffirmed her support for blockchain technology in an interview with Bloomberg anchor David Westland.
Amidst the fervent discourse exchanged by the two, Johnson contributed significantly to the discourse surrounding tokenization and generative artificial intelligence.
Johnson responded immediately when asked how Franklin Templeton benefited from tokenization. “I absolutely ardently support blockchain and the associated technology.”
She detailed a scenario in which the organization conducted a comparative experiment spanning six to eight months to process account records utilizing blockchain technology and conventional methods.
Johnson stated that the outcomes were remarkably favorable. “We were stunned by how much cheaper it was to operate it using blockchain technology.”
Johnson further stated:
“It’s a very efficient technology, and we think it’s going to open up a lot of new investment opportunities. And, honestly, eventually, I think ETF and mutual funds are all going to be on blockchain.”
The “huge costs” associated with authenticating data between disparate systems were cited as the reason for this forecast, a challenge that blockchain was designed to solve on purpose.
Johnson additionally noted that external parties must continue to verify data even after financial institutions and stakeholders have internally reconciled the information.
“In the case of blockchain,” she stated, “there’s only one source of truth.”
Johnson asserts that monetary and temporal savings can result in more diversified investment opportunities.
She provided the example of pop superstar Rhianna, who utilized smart contracts to distribute a series of 300 NFTs that granted their owners a negligible percentage of royalties for one of the artist’s compositions.
In the past, Johnson has referred to this. In October 2023, the CEO recounted the Rhianna incident in an interview with CNBC’s Delivering Alpha, where she compared tokenization to “extensive securitization.”
The subsequent topic of discussion was generative artificial intelligence. Johnson acknowledged the utility of generative AI systems while cautioning that their performance would be “similar to a child who earns an A in English but a failing grade in mathematics.”
The CEO noted that Franklin Templeton had recently formed a partnership with Microsoft to develop an AI-powered sales assistant, adding that investment opportunities existed in the sector.
In addition, she praised the potential for translation services enabled by AI to overcome language barriers in finance.
