Franklin Templeton expands ETF offering with the introduction of the Martin Currie Real Income Fund – Active ETF (ASX: R3AL)

Reece Birtles

Franklin Templeton has announced the launch of the Martin Currie Real Income Fund – Active ETF, an active ETF now available on the ASX under the ticker R3AL, further expanding its suite of exchange-traded investment solutions for Australian investors.

The Martin Currie Real Income Fund has a proven 15-year track record, delivering higher income from reliable dividends alongside capital growth.

With an ETF structure, R3AL provides Australian investors with convenient access to the same long-term growth and attractive income characteristics as the Fund.

Key features include:

• Investments in essential building blocks of society have low economic sensitivity which typically exhibit lower total volatility than the broader market;
• High-quality assets with pricing power and inflation protection;
• Multi-sector blend offers broad and diverse opportunity set while avoiding concentration risks; and
• High transparency of listed pricing and liquidity benefits not typically found in direct or unlisted funds.

The Fund is managed by Portfolio Managers Ashton Reid and Andrew Chambers, in collaboration with the broader Martin Currie Australia investment team led by Chief Investment Officer Reece Birtles.

Reid highlighted, “With ongoing equity market volatility, investors are seeking stable and growing income streams. Real Assets are the backbone of society, so even in slower growth periods they offer a compelling, lower-risk income exposure.

“With positive earnings and dividend revisions now improving for quality Real Assets, the portfolio fundamentals look good. Unlike the unlisted world, listed Real Assets have now priced in higher interest rates so our portfolio offers attractive valuations.

“The investment universe includes diversified exposures to three listed Real Asset sectors – Real Estate Investment Trusts (REITs), infrastructure and utilities – from Australia and global developed markets that are driven by three secular megatrends. They include population growth which means more customers every day to maintain pricing power, energy demand that supports renewable generation, grid enhancements and electrification initiatives and the explosive technology and data driven by AI boosts demand for data centres, fibre networks and telco towers.

We see consistent yield and rising income growth, which makes for an appealing total return in an uncertain market.”

Chambers added, “Our diversification focus makes us highly differentiated from typical real asset offerings.  Concentrations in single sleeve global portfolios, especially towards the US, mean they are Global in name only, while Japan and Europe’s population peaks are Real Asset red flags that shouldn’t be ignored.”

“This launch underscores our ongoing commitment to deliver sophisticated yet accessible investment options to Australian investors,” said Felicity Walsh, Managing Director of Franklin Templeton Australia. “R3AL complements our existing range of active ETFs, including the Franklin Australian Absolute Return Bond Fund (Managed Fund) (ASX: FRAR) and the Franklin Global Growth Fund (Managed Fund) (ASX: FRGG).

“ETFs are increasingly being added to asset allocations across investment portfolios due to their flexibility, cost efficiency and ease of access. By bringing the Martin Currie Real Income Fund into an ETF structure, we are aligning with the evolving preferences of investors who want simple, transparent and scalable solutions to grow their wealth.

“The delivery of this income enhancing ETF reflects the firm’s ongoing dedication to empower investors with innovative tools to help them achieve their financial goals, backed by global expertise and deep local market insights,” said Walsh.