Stockholm, 2 September 2019 – Franklin Templeton has registered 14 ETFs from its Franklin LibertySharesTM range in Denmark, Finland and Sweden. These 14 ETFs span across a full spectrum of actively managed suite of fixed income ETFs, passive and smart beta products. They offer competitive fees and include unique features such as exposure to green bonds and ESG (Franklin Liberty Euro Green Bond UCITS ETF and Franklin LibertyQ Global Equity SRI UCITS ETF) as well as emerging markets access (Franklin FTSE Brazil UCITS ETF, Franklin FTSE China UCITS ETF, Franklin FTSE Korea UCITS, Franklin FTSE India UCITS ETF and Franklin LibertyQ Emerging Markets UCITS ETF).
Caroline Baron, Head of ETF Sales EMEA, Franklin Templeton said: “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 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.
“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.”
Passive ETFs: Emerging Markets focus
Building on Franklin Templeton’s strong and extensive emerging markets heritage, with over $153 billion managed across the firm in emerging markets assets, Franklin FTSE Brazil UCITS ETF, Franklin FTSE China UCITS ETF, Franklin FTSE Korea UCITS ETF and Franklin FTSE India UCITS ETF are market-cap weighted, emerging markets country UCITS ETFs, offering the lowest total expense ratios (TER) at 0.19% and 0.09% in Europe (TER is on average 70% lower than other emerging markets country UCITS ETFs6) for their respective categories.
Active ETFs: focus on Green Bond
The Franklin Liberty Euro Green Bond UCITS ETF is Europe’s first actively-managed Euro Green bond ETF with TER of 0.30%, which provides exposure to bonds supporting low-carbon projects as well as to the European green bond market whilst maximising total returns. This active ETF invests at least 70% of its net assets in green-labelled bonds, with the remaining balance made up of climate-aligned bonds.
The other two actively managed fixed income ETFs are focused on offering exposure to the short end of the curve in the Euro market and on income generation in the USD credit markets:
- Franklin Liberty Euro Short Maturity UCITS ETF
- Franklin Liberty USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond UCITS ETF
Smart Beta Multi-factor ETFs
The smart beta suite offers seven ETFs covering emerging markets, US, European, Asian and global equity strategies, two of which have a dividend focus. The Franklin LibertyQ UCITS Smart Beta ETF range consists of five multi-factor equity funds, which have a specific focus on quality and value factors, but also encompass low volatility and momentum:
- Franklin LibertyQ Emerging Markets UCITS ETF
- Franklin LibertyQ Global Equity SRI UCITS ETF
- Franklin LibertyQ U.S. Equity UCITS ETF
- Franklin LibertyQ European Equity UCITS ETF
- Franklin LibertyQ AC Asia ex Japan UCITS ETF
And two income focused funds, which invest in stocks demonstrating high and persistent dividend income:
- Franklin LibertyQ Global Dividend UCITS ETF
- Franklin LibertyQ European Dividend UCITS ETF
Mats Eltoft, Head of Distribution Nordics for Franklin Templeton, added: “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.”
Through its Franklin LibertySharesTM ETF platform globally, Franklin Templeton currently offers an actively managed suite of equity and fixed income ETFs, passive ETFs and a smart beta suite covering both US and international equity markets. Franklin LibertySharesTM has over $4 billion in assets under management globally as of June 30, 2019.
