FinTech Female Fridays: Meet Alicia C. Tennell, Venture Analyst at Franklin Templeton

Alicia C. Tennell began her career at Franklin Templeton in an entry-level role with the Transfer Agency, handling customer operations. After a year, she transitioned to an Inbound Sales Associate with the US distribution team, where she deepened her knowledge of investment products and became licensed to provide investment advice to Franklin Templeton advisors. Intrigued by their internal management trainee program known as the Futures Associate program, Alicia completed rotations in two internal departments before settling into the team that would shape her career trajectory.

Her significant tenure in the Digital Strategy & Wealth Management Team, now rebranded as Franklin Strategic Ventures within their Franklin Innovation Research Strategies & Technology (FIRST) group, laid her foundation in fintech. Starting as a Digital Strategy & Fintech Analyst, Alicia covered fintech research and distribution efforts for companies in the Americas region. One challenging aspect of her early fintech career was learning to speak up in various settings. Alicia often found herself hesitant to ask questions for clarity or to point out conflicting information. She has since learned to boldly rise to the occasion, a practice that not only clarified her own direction but also encouraged her colleagues to do the same, fostering a culture of confidence and clear objectives within her team.

Franklin Templeton, a global asset manager with over 75 years of investment experience and clients in more than 150 countries, is committed to delivering better outcomes through investment management expertise, wealth management, and technology solutions. Through its specialist investment managers, Franklin Templeton offers extensive capabilities in equity, fixed income, alternatives, and multi-asset solutions. The firm boasts a global culture, with employees from around the world contributing to client-centered outcomes.

Fintech is central to the focus within Franklin Templeton’s FIRST organization. The team is dedicated to evaluating innovative fintech companies that play crucial roles in the wealth, retirement, alternatives, and digital assets ecosystems. Alicia is particularly excited about the burgeoning role of digital assets and the use of blockchain technologies in mainstream financial services. She believes that we are only seeing the beginning of how these technologies will transform traditional financial services and global retail investment opportunities. The future regulatory landscape remains uncertain, but she remains hopeful that the global industry will continue to identify opportunities to meaningfully engage with products that offer long-term fundamental value.

In her role, Alicia conducts on-the-ground research, enabling stakeholders on her team to engage with disruptive technology companies that enhance their investment service delivery. Her contributions, which bring diversity of thought and meticulous evaluation processes, are pivotal in making informed decisions that often tip the scales in strategic planning.

More on Alicia

Where you currently live:  St. Petersburg, FL 

Favorite hobby: Anything with music! Singing, dancing, reenacting fave musicals etc. 😊

What is one piece of advice someone told you that resonated with you that can give to other women in FinTech?     

Become an expert!

The world of fintech is moving at such a rapid pace. Knowledgeable associates are a valuable asset for organizations looking to make informed decisions when selecting technology solutions. This can help growing professionals expand their resourcefulness not only amongst key stakeholders internally but also with clients externally who are interested in valuable insights. 

What's the best job decision you ever made? 

The best job decision I ever made was to continue looking for new projects in addition to whatever was my current role at the time. This exemplified to leadership that I was willing to take initiative and work on tasks that would help push our priorities forward and still manage my deliverables accordingly. This always excited me about my work because I enjoyed learning about all the new projects in motion internally and it often helped me become a knowledgeable resource for my team.

Can you tell us about a time someone encouraged you to try a task or take on a project you didn’t think that you would know how to do/or be good at? 

I recently was asked to develop a solutions infrastructure workflow with a software tool that I had never used before. It was exciting to learn something new but also a little intimidating. I wanted to make sure I met a reasonable timeline for this deliverable and to give it my best, so I dedicated time to learn about the tool from internal resources. Once I presented the first draft of the design, it was well received by the team who needed it for our project. This encouraged me to not let being a first-time user of a software stop me from at least giving it a try.  

What is the most important lesson you have learned from a mistake you’ve made in the past? 

I’ve learned that it’s better to ask questions to make sure you understand a request fully than to spend time working on a project with limited context. Sometimes clarifying questions can be seen as slowing productivity down or a reflection that the person being assigned the job might not be able to complete it well. It’s always better to confirm what someone is asking you to complete so that your time is well spent and that the requestor receives exactly what they’re envisioning. 

Do you have any productivity hacks?  What keeps you motivated? How do you maintain a work/life balance? 

It’s very important to carve out time to specifically embed creativity in your workday! I find that making time for interests like music or artwork can help you solve problems on the job in ways that are unique. 

Daily Diary

7:30 AM: Kick off the day with an organic hot matcha latte + morning devotional, first meeting of the day and breakfast

8:30 – 9:30 AM: Catch up on news updates for the day review emails, respond to chat messages received overnight, and attend meetings

10:00 AM – 2:00 PM: Attend meetings, respond to emails, research various companies 

2:00 – 4:00 PM: Quick break (or eating lunch at desk while off camera!), spending this time usually to work on presentations, projects, and documents

4:00 – 6:00 PM: Attend meetings and work on projects related to DEI initiatives or other volunteer event planning at work 

7:00 – 8:00 PM: Usually attending the last meeting of the day and then signing off!