Roger Bayston, CFA – Tokenization of Traditional Assets

Today's guest on the Investors First Podcast is Roger Bayston, CFA. Roger has been with Franklin Templeton since 1991 and has spent more than three decades in the investment industry. Roger holds an undergraduate degree from University of Virginia, and an MBA from UCLA. He is also a CFA Charterholder. Based in Alamo, California, Roger discusses Franklin Templeton's global operations and the firm's growing digital-asset and blockchain capabilities.

In this episode, we discuss Franklin Templeton's early exploration of blockchain technology and how that work evolved into tokenized money-market funds and a broader digital-asset platform. Roger discusses Bitcoin as digital gold and how it differs from Ethereum and other blockchain networks. We talk about Franklin Templeton's Benji platform, tokenized money-market funds versus stablecoins, and why the tokenization of traditional assets may ultimately represent a much larger opportunity. We also discuss private credit, trade finance, collateral, and public securities; regulation and custody; cybersecurity and quantum computing; and how faster settlement could both improve financial markets and increase the speed of financial contagion.

Today's hosts are Steve Curley, CFA (Founder & Co-Managing Principal at 55 North Private Wealth) & co-host Drew Papke, CFA (Director, Private Bank Investments at Fifth Third Bank).

Please enjoy the episode. You can follow us on Twitter & LinkedIn or at investorsfirstpodcast.com

Show Notes:

· Franklin Templeton: Franklin Templeton

· Benji Investments: Benji Investments

· Franklin OnChain U.S. Government Money Fund (FOBXX)

· Franklin Bitcoin ETF (EZBC)

· Franklin Crypto Index ETF (EZPZ)

Past guest include Cliff Asness, Jason Zweig, Annie Duke, Morgan Housel, Raphael Bostic, and many more.