Franklin Templeton launches the Franklin FTSE Developed World UCITS ETF

Franklin Templeton has announced the launch of its new Franklin FTSE Developed World UCITS ETF - the first world index tracking ETF in the Franklin Templeton ETF Range.

The Franklin FTSE Developed World UCITS ETF, which brings the total number of its indexed ETFs to twenty one, invests in large and mid-capitalisation stocks in developed markets globally. It is passively managed and tracks the performance of the FTSE Developed Index-NR (Net Return), a market-capitalisation weighted index representing the performance of large and mid-cap companies in developed markets.

Caroline Baron, head of ETF Distribution, EMEA, Franklin Templeton, said: “We are pleased to offer this new, low-cost, index tracking developed market UCITS ETF to European investors. With just one trade, investors can now access more than 2,000 stocks across 25 developed economies as part of a broad diversified, global portfolio. Drawing nearly $20 billion in ETF flows in 2023³, developed markets account for 40% of the world’s GDP and 74% of global equity market capitalisation⁴, making this strategy an attractive equity allocation for our clients.”

The Franklin FTSE Developed World UCITS ETF² will list on the Deutsche Börse Xetra (XETRA) and London Stock Exchange (LSE) on 25 June 2024, and the Borsa Italiana on 26 June 2024. It is registered in Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and theUnited Kingdom.

The new ETF will provide European investors with cost-efficient, UCITS-compliant, developed market equity exposure at one of the lowest total expense ratios (TER⁵) at 0.09% in Europe for its respective category.

Matthew Harrison, Head of Americas (ex-US), Europe & UK, Global Advisory Services, Franklin Templeton, said: “This new passive ETF offers international and highly diversified equity exposure and can provide the core equity building block within an investor’s allocation. Such building blocks are essential for model portfolios based on ETFs, which are witnessing significant growth in Europe.”

This ETF will be managed by Dina Ting, Head of Global Index Portfolio Management, and Lorenzo Crosato, ETF Portfolio Manager, Franklin Templeton, who have more than three decades of combined experience in the asset management industry and extensive track records in managing ETF strategies.

Franklin Templeton’s global ETF platform has approximately $26bn in assets under management globally as of 31 May 2024, the company said.