Franklin Templeton launches two flagship active ETFs on ASX

Felicity Walsh

Franklin Templeton is proud to announce the launch of two active Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). This opens new avenues for Australian investors to diversify their portfolios and gain access to global and domestic investment opportunities through two of the firm’s flagship funds-the Franklin Australian Absolute Return Bond Fund (Managed Fund) (ASX: FRAR) and the Franklin Global Growth Fund (Managed Fund) (ASX: FRGG).

“We are delighted that these market leading funds are now available to investors via the ASX. Our range of active ETFs provide access to specialised investment strategies to meet our client’s investment goals. Furthermore, listing on the ASX will mean that investors will now be able to access the investment expertise and differentiated performance attributes of these funds through intraday-traded vehicles.” Franklin Templeton’s Managing Director and Head of Australia and New Zealand, Felicity Walsh, said.

“As more of our valued adviser, licensee and consultant clients build listed portfolios to complement their traditional unlisted portfolios, we want to ensure we are supporting advisers in delivering the best investment solutions possible to their clients,” Walsh noted.

The Franklin Global Growth Fund utilises fundamental bottom-up stock analysis to identify and select quality growth companies. The Fund delivers a concentrated, yet fundamentally diversified portfolio of stocks driven by secular growth trends.

“We look globally for financially sustainable business models, and proven management teams that are focused on the creation of shareholder value. We utilise the results of this analysis to build a concentrated, best-ideas portfolio of 35 to 40 stocks,” Portfolio Manager for the Franklin Global Growth Fund Francyne Mu said.

The Franklin Australian Absolute Return Bond Fund uses a combination of top-down macroeconomic insights, and bottom-up fundamental research methodologies to craft a portfolio of fixed income strategies targeting absolute returns over market cycles.

“Through the listing of our fund on the ASX, we will be able to offer our unique approach to fixed income investing to a whole new range of investors who may not have been able to access strategies like these until now,” Franklin Templeton Fixed Income Portfolio Manager, Chris Siniakov, added.

“Our aim is to democratise access to high-quality investment strategies,” adds Walsh.

“The launch of these ETFs exemplifies our commitment to providing investors with sophisticated, yet accessible investment options, backed by our global expertise and deep local market understanding.

“These multi-distributed ETFs will complement our existing range of active ETFs which we manage in partnership with Betashares and further expand access to our premier suite of investment strategies.”