Franklin Templeton has registered its entire European-listed ETF offering for distribution in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden.
Caroline Baron, Head of ETF Sales EMEA, Franklin Templeton.
Caroline Baron, Head of ETF Sales EMEA, Franklin Templeton, commented, “In 2016, we began executing upon a multi-year strategy to create a world-class ETF business, building an experienced ETF team and leveraging the deep expertise and resources of Franklin Templeton.
“Following successful launches of our Franklin LibertyShares ETF platform in the US, Canada, Mexico, UK, Germany, Italy, Switzerland, and Austria, we are delighted to register our 14 UCITS ETFs in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden.
“We see this as a natural step in the expansion of our European ETF platform.”
The 14 ETFs reflect the breadth of Franklin Templeton’s capabilities, covering a range of exposures across passive, smart beta, and actively managed strategies.
The ETFs are already listed on the London Stock Exchange, Deutsche Börse Xetra, Borsa Italiana, and SIX Swiss Exchange.
Passive
Franklin Templeton’s purely passive emerging market ETFs were rolled out in June and provide exposure to the equity markets of Brazil, China, South Korea, and India. They are the Franklin FTSE Brazil UCITS ETF, the Franklin FTSE China UCITS ETF, the Franklin FTSE Korea UCITS ETF, and the Franklin FTSE India UCITS ETF.
Each fund is linked to a capped, market capitalization-weighted index from FTSE Russell that targets large- and mid-cap companies. The underlying indices are part of FTSE Russell’s 30/18 Capped range which limits the weight of the largest stock to 30% and the weight of any remaining stock to 18% in a bid to promote diversification.
The Brazil, China, and India ETFs come with expense ratios of 0.19%, while the Korea ETF comes in at just 0.09%.
Smart beta
The smart beta offering consists of seven ETFs, comprising five multifactor and two dividend-focused strategies.
The multifactor ETFs are linked to proprietary indices which target returns attributable to the quality, value, momentum, and low volatility factors and are based on global, US, European, Asia ex-Japan, and emerging markets equity universes. They come with expense ratios of between 0.25% and 0.55%.
They are the Franklin LibertyQ Global Equity SRI UCITS ETF, the Franklin LibertyQ US Equity UCITS ETF, the Franklin LibertyQ European Equity UCITS ETF, the Franklin LibertyQ AC Asia ex Japan UCITS ETF, and the Franklin LibertyQ Emerging Markets UCITS ETF.
The two dividend-focused products provide exposure to global and European stocks of quality firms that have delivered high and sustainable dividend income streams. They are the Franklin LibertyQ Global Dividend UCITS ETF and Franklin LibertyQ European Dividend UCITS ETF and come with expense ratios of 0.45% and 0.25% respectively.
Actively managed
The Franklin Liberty Euro Green Bond UCITS ETF is Europe’s first actively managed ETF to target the euro-denominated green bond market.
Priced with an expense ratio of 0.30%, the fund invests at least 70% of its assets in securities that are formally labelled ‘green’ according to the voluntary Green Bond Principles which promote transparency, disclosure, and integrity in the green bond market, with the remainder of the portfolio allocated to ‘climate-aligned’ bonds.
The two other actively managed fixed income ETFs are the Franklin Liberty Euro Short Maturity UCITS ETF and the Franklin Liberty USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond UCITS ETF. The former offers exposure to the short end of the euro bond yield curve, while the latter targets USD investment grade credit. They come with expense ratios of 0.15% and 0.35% respectively.
European ETF growth
Caroline Baron added, “We are excited to offer our competitively priced and comprehensive ETF range to Swedish, Finnish, and Danish investors. These investors are experienced and knowledgeable about ETFs, especially on the institutional side in the smart beta category.
“Assets in the European ETF market have been growing at an average compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22% and smart beta assets grew at a CAGR of 39%, reflecting how much the ETF market is evolving.
“We continue to see considerable interest from our clients in passive and smart beta strategies that can be used as a component of a diversified portfolio to complement our traditional active fund management capabilities. Each of these strategies can offer unique benefits and play a specific role in a portfolio.”
Mats Eltoft, Head of Distribution Nordics for Franklin Templeton, said, “We are excited about the registration of the full Franklin LibertyQ UCITS ETF range and aim to provide investors in Denmark, Finland, and Sweden with the flexibility to construct diversified portfolios across active, smart beta and passive strategies. We believe these strategies co-exist well, each fulfilling a different role within an overall diversified portfolio.
“While our focus continues to be on traditional active management, we recognise the growing demand for other investment solutions and vehicles, coming from various client types. This full suite of ETFs provides access to beta solutions at a low cost for Danish, Finnish, and Swedish investors.”