Franklin Templeton launches passive ETF suite in Canada

Feb 21st, 2019 | By | Category: Equities

Franklin Templeton Investments Canada has introduced a suite of plain-vanilla passive ETFs on Toronto Stock Exchange, providing single-country and regional exposures at low management fees.

Duane Green, President and CEO, Franklin Templeton Investments Canada.

Duane Green, President and CEO, Franklin Templeton Investments Canada.

Under its LibertyShares brand in Canada, Franklin Templeton currently offers actively managed and smart beta ETFs across equity, fixed income, and multi-asset solutions. The new funds, however, mark an expansion of the firm’s capabilities in the Canadian market.

The four ETFs are linked to indices from FTSE Russell that target equities in Canada, United States, Japan, and Europe (excluding the UK).

Each index is weighted by market capitalization and covers the large- and mid-cap segments of their respective equity markets, except the Canada fund which also includes small-cap exposure.

The Franklin FTSE Canada All Cap Index ETF (FLCD CN) tracks the FTSE Canada All Cap Domestic Index and comes with a management fee of 0.05%.

The Franklin FTSE US Index ETF (FLAM CN) tracks the FTSE USA Index and comes with a management fee of 0.07%.

The Franklin FTSE Japan Index ETF (FLJA CN) tracks the FTSE Japan Index and comes with a management fee of 0.09%.

The Franklin FTSE Europe ex UK Index ETF (FLUR CN) tracks the FTSE Developed Europe ex UK Index and comes with a management fee of 0.09%.

The Japan and Europe ex-UK ETFs are the first fully passive ETFs in Canada to target these markets.

“With market-moving events like trade tensions and Brexit, investors and their advisors, as well as institutional investors, are looking to precisely act upon specific country and regional market views,” said Duane Green, President and CEO, Franklin Templeton Investments Canada. “These new passive ETFs provide Canadian investors with individual country and regional exposure options at a very low cost.”

Franklin Templeton unveiled its US-listed passive range of funds, also linked to FTSE Russell indices, in October 2017. This suite has since grown to include 20 ETFs, including 13 developed market and seven emerging market funds, indicating the potential for Franklin Templeton to further build out its passive capabilities in Canada.

“Following the popularity of our competitively-priced passive ETFs listed in the US on the NYSE, we are now offering similar passive ETFs in Canada on the TSX – with some of the lowest pricing across the board,” said Patrick O’Connor, Head of Global ETFs, Franklin Templeton. “The addition of passive ETFs to our active and smart beta ETF suites provides Canadians with a broader array of investment options to help them construct portfolios designed to reach their desired outcomes.”

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