Franklin Templeton’s assets under management (AUM) reached a record high of $1.8trn, according to its latest quarterly results released on Friday.

The US-headquartered investment manager saw its assets rise to $1.8trn during the quarter, driven by stronger financial markets and $18.4bn of long-term net inflows, up from $16.9bn in the previous quarter.

Although both equities and fixed income saw net inflows, the firm’s alternatives business drove most of the flows, with $9.1bn of net inflows heping push its alternatives AUM to a record $294.2bn.

The firm said its alternative business recorded $33bn of private markets fundraising year-to-date, exceeding its previous full year target with one quarter remaining.

Its $218bn multi-asset business also experienced continued momentum, recording $4.7bn of net inflows during the quarter, a slowdown from the $9.5bn of net inflows during the previous quarter.

CEO Jenny Johnson said: “During the quarter, we generated positive net flows across every asset class and geography, demonstrating the breadth of our investment capabilities and the strength of our global distribution platform.”

The firm’s exchange traded fund (ETF) arm also stood out, hitting a record $75.6bn in AUM during the quarter on the back of $7.1bn of net inflows, with active ETFs accounting for 61% of its net flows.

Johnson said: “Demand also remained strong across ETFs, retail SMAs and Canvas, our custom portfolio solutions platform, while our institutional won-but-unfunded pipeline grew to a record $28.6 billion. International markets reached a record approximately $525 billion in AUM.”

Johnson also noted a broader shift in client demand, where investors are increasingly seeking asset managers that can deliver integrated solutions across public and private assets.

During the firm’s earnings call, Johnson described private markets as “one of the industry’s most compelling long-term growth opportunities” and she expects $40bn in private markets fundraising by the end of the year, up from a previous target of $25bn to $30bn.

She also noted that across secondaries, real estate has experienced a comeback after being out of favour for some time.