Franklin Templeton has registered 14 exchange traded funds from its Franklin Liberty Shares range for investors in Denmark, Finland and Sweden.
The firm says the 14 ETFs represent a full spectrum of actively managed fixed income ETFs, passive and smart beta products.
The bond funds include as exposure to green bonds and ESG through the Franklin Liberty Euro Green Bond ETF and Franklin LibertyQ Global Equity SRI ETF respectively.
The Franklin Liberty Euro Green Bond 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 while aiming to 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.
Other ETFs give emerging markets exposure tracking Brazilian, Chinese, Korean and Indian markets plus a broader LibertyQ emerging markets fund.
The other two actively managed fixed income ETFs offer exposure to the short end of the curve in the Euro market and on income generation in the US dollar credit markets.
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 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.
These are the Franklin LibertyQ Emerging Markets ETF, the Franklin LibertyQ Global Equity SRI ETF, the Franklin LibertyQ U.S. Equity ETF, the Franklin LibertyQ European Equity ETF and the Franklin LibertyQ AC Asia ex Japan ETF.
Two income focused funds, which invest in stocks demonstrating high and persistent dividend income – the Franklin LibertyQ Global Dividend ETF and the Franklin LibertyQ European Dividend ETF.
The firm notes that assets in the European ETF market have been growing at an average compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 22% while smart beta assets have seen a CAGR of 39%.
It says its emerging market products have total expense ratios at between 0.19% and 0.09% in Europe and says that this is on average 70% lower than other emerging markets country ETFs for their respective categories.
Mats Eltoft, head of distribution Nordics for Franklin Templeton says: “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.”
Caroline Baron, head of ETF sales EMEA, Franklin Templeton said: “In 2016, we began executing upon a multiyear 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.”
