Felicity Walsh

Franklin Templeton has launched two new active ETFs on the ASX, bringing its local active ETF range to nine products and adding to a global trend that has seen inflows into active ETFs double as a proportion of all ETF assets since 2022.

The new active ETFs are the Franklin Global Systematic Equity Fund – Active ETF (FGSE) and the Western Asset Enhanced Income Fund – Active ETF (FEIF). Unlike traditional index ETFs, both strategies aim to deliver consistent alpha while retaining ETF transparency and liquidity.

Active ETFs have topped $1.8 trillion globally, as both retail and institutional investors seek the accessibility, transparency and affordability of the ETF structure.

“Investors today want more choice in the ETF space,” says Felicity Walsh, Managing Director of Franklin Templeton Australia and New Zealand. “Our range of active ETFs are designed to bring together the liquidity and transparency of a listed structure with an active and intelligent approach to portfolio management.”

“We are leveraging the expertise of our investment groups and harnessing the full strength of Franklin Templeton’s global platform, spanning decades of market expertise and deep research capabilities – making all of that available in a format that suits how Australians want to invest today.”

Western Asset Enhanced Income Fund – Active ETF (FEIF)

“FEIF is designed for investors who want to do more with the fixed income portion of their portfolio,” says Anthony Kirkham, co-chief investment officer and head of Asia Pacific Investment Management at Western Asset Management.

“It offers a short-duration, high-quality credit strategy that seeks to generate meaningful income above the cash rate, while actively managing risk across sectors and individual securities. For investors looking for yield without taking on significant interest rate sensitivity, this fund offers a genuinely differentiated option as an active ETF.”

FEIF gives investors access to a diversified portfolio of Australian and global fixed income securities managed by Western Asset Management. The fund targets returns that exceed the Bloomberg AusBond Bank Bill Index by 1.5 to 2 per cent per annum, measured over rolling three-year periods.

The Western Asset Enhanced Income Fund returned 6.12 per cent over one year and 7.54 per cent per annum over three years (after fees) to 30 April 2026, compared with the benchmark’s 3.79 per cent and 4.16 per cent respectively.

The Western Asset Enhanced Income Fund (the managed fund) has Recommended ratings from both Lonsec and Zenith Investment Partners.

Franklin Global Systematic Equity Fund – Active ETF (FGSE)

“FGSE suits investors who want broad global equity exposure and are seeking an approach that goes beyond tracking an index” says Chris Floyd, Portfolio Manager at Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions. “Our systematic process analyses thousands of companies daily across quality, valuation, sentiment and other factors, seeking to identify those with the strongest return potential.

“The result is a style-neutral, diversified portfolio that aims to deliver consistent outperformance over time, one which we think is a compelling proposition for growth investors.”

FGSE offers a quantitatively driven, benchmark-aware exposure to global equities, managed by the Systematic Equity team within Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions (FTIS). The fund aims to outperform the MSCI World ex-Australia Index (after fees) over rolling three-year periods, with a tracking error of 2 to 3 per cent per annum.

Over one year to 30 April 2026 the Franklin Global Systematic Equity Fund returned 15.16 per cent (after fees), and 19 per cent per annum over three years, compared with benchmark returns of 15.06 per cent and 16.52 per cent. The fund has a long track record of outperforming the benchmark having launched in Australia over 20 years ago.

The Franklin Global Systematic Equity Fund (the managed fund) has Recommended ratings from both Lonsec and Zenith Investment Partners.

These two additions join an existing suite of seven active ETFs: the Betashares Western Asset Australian Bond Active ETF (BNDS), the ClearBridge Global Infrastructure Income Fund (Hedged) Active ETF (CIIH), the ClearBridge Global Infrastructure Value Fund Active ETF (CUIV), the ClearBridge Global Infrastructure Value Fund (Hedged) Active ETF (CIVH), the ClearBridge Real Income Fund Active ETF (R3AL), the Franklin Australian Absolute Return Bond Fund Active ETF (FRAR) and the Franklin Global Growth Fund Active ETF (FRGG).

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Felicity Walsh

Franklin Templeton has completed the global integration of Martin Currie’s investment capabilities into ClearBridge Investments. This marks a significant milestone in Franklin Templeton’s business strategy in Australia, reinforcing its commitment to local investors and to Australian based investment capabilities.

This strategic alignment brings together two highly complementary businesses in terms of culture and investment approach and will see Australian Equities and Emerging Markets strategies added to ClearBridge’s existing global equity and infrastructure offering.

Franklin Templeton will now oversee the distribution of the full suite of ClearBridge strategies to institutional and wholesale clients across Australia and New Zealand.

Felicity Walsh, Franklin Templeton’s Managing Director for Australia and New Zealand, emphasised the significance of this integration: “Franklin Templeton’s completion of the Martin Currie integration is a crucial step in our commitment to the Australian market. Bringing together these highly complementary businesses under ClearBridge Investments strengthens our ability to deliver tailored solutions across all segments of the Australian market”.

For the Martin Currie team, being part of ClearBridge Investments means leveraging additional resources and scale, including research capabilities- and expanded trading capabilities. The integration also aligns with their shared commitment to sustainability and ESG analysis.

Scott Glasser, Chief Investment Officer at ClearBridge, highlighted the complementary strengths of the combined investment offering. “We are excited to bring these strategies under the ClearBridge umbrella while remaining true to the investment philosophy that has driven their success. ClearBridge and Martin Currie are highly aligned in investment approach and culture, making this a natural evolution,” Glasser said.

Reece Birtles, now Head of Australian Equities at ClearBridge Investments, reiterated that the quality and integrity of their Australian equity strategies remain unchanged.

“Our clients can be confident that our Australian equity strategies will continue to be managed with the same disciplined process, deep fundamental research and active management approach that have delivered strong outcomes over many years,” Birtles said. “Under the ClearBridge brand, we remain committed to offering a comprehensive suite of capabilities that help our clients achieve their long-term investment objectives.”

Walsh further highlighted the benefits of the integration for Australian investors: “In a rapidly evolving industry, the need for scale, stability and innovation is critical. This integration demonstrates our commitment to Australian investors and our mission to partner with them for long-term success.”

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Felicity Walsh

Franklin Templeton Australia^[1] is pleased to announce that the newly introduced Franklin Lexington Private Equity Secondaries Fund has been awarded a ‘Recommended’ rating by Zenith, which cited its “scale and access to proprietary deal flow from multiple channels is a strength of the process.”

The Franklin Lexington Private Equity Secondaries Fund provides an opportunity to invest in an underlying diversified portfolio of private equity investments acquired through secondary transactions and co-investments within an accessible structure. Its focus on secondary investments, including limited partner (LP) and general partner (GP) led transactions, provides retail investors access to an asset class that was traditionally available only to institutions.

“We are pleased to have received this new rating so soon after the fund’s launch in Australia. This is a strong endorsement of Lexington’s capabilities in this asset class and our ability to deliver long-term growth opportunities to our clients in the wealth channel,” Felicity Walsh, Managing Director, Franklin Templeton Australia and New Zealand, said.

“Lexington has the scale and expertise to provide solutions for complex, multiple GP portfolios and acquire assets at attractive entry prices. This positions the fund as a compelling proposition for advisers and their clients seeking thoughtful exposure in this space,” Walsh said.

In its report, Zenith said “Lexington’s ability to complete due diligence on complex fund portfolios and form a granular view on the attractiveness of underlying companies is a key strength of the process.”

“Further, the team’s precision in modelling the sensitivities between acquisition discounts, future revenue and earnings growth and the forecast investment horizon, ensures that potential return outcomes fall within an acceptable range,” the report said.

Lexington has an 85-person investment team working on its secondaries and co-investment strategies. The firm is headquartered in New York with key personnel based in major regional centres including London and Hong Kong.

The underlying portfolio currently provides exposure to 13 PE sponsors and 38 underlying portfolio companies (as at 30 April 2025). At scale, the underlying fund is managed with a target liquidity sleeve of between 5% and 15%, and comprises money market and short-term debt instruments.

In Zenith’s opinion, “the portfolio construction process is applied consistently, achieving diversification across sponsors, sectors and underlying portfolio companies.”

Zenith said the fund “may be used to complement and diversify an investor’s allocation to global equities and should be funded from the growth allocation of a portfolio.”

Further, Zenith’s report stated that “Investors should consider this Fund with a minimum seven-year investment time frame. Furthermore, we highlight that this Fund is an accumulating share class, with all returns derived from capital growth.”

The fund utilises a feeder fund structure, and the Australian unit trust invests in an underlying fund domiciled in Luxembourg.

Lexington Partners is one of the world’s largest and most successful managers of secondary private equity and co-investment funds. The firm helped pioneer the development of the institutional secondary market over 35 years ago and created one of the first independent, discretionary co-investment programs 27 years ago. Lexington’s 26 partners are among the most experienced and highly regarded in the secondary market today, averaging 19 years together at Lexington.

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Notes:
[1] Franklin Templeton Australia Limited (ABN 76 004 835 849, AFSL 240827) (FTAL) is a part of Franklin Resources, Inc. and the Responsible Entity and issuer of the Franklin Lexington Private Equity Secondaries Fund.

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Matthew Davison

Franklin Templeton specialist investment manager Martin Currie Australia (MCA) has been selected to manage another Australian Equity mandate available on the CFS FirstChoice platform.

The selection of the MCA Active Insights strategy is further recognition of the strong relationship between Franklin Templeton, Martin Currie and Colonial First State, which sits alongside a number of Martin Currie strategies, and those of other Franklin Templeton specialist investment managers, on the CFS FirstChoice platform.

“We are pleased to be awarded this mandate for the MCA Active Insights Australia equity strategy and to have our expertise in managing Australian equity portfolios continually acknowledged. We believe this strategy, which seeks to provide consistent relative returns with reduced risk over shorter time horizons, will provide beneficial diversification for users of the FirstChoice platform,” Franklin Templeton managing director Australia Felicity Walsh, said.

The MCA Active Insights Australian equity strategy strives to tackle the problem that traditional active fundamental equity portfolios often have with a reliance on style or factor mean reversion and which are often associated with higher tracking error.

“In the face of the growing weight of assets behind passive or index-sensitive strategies, not to mention the strict penalties for any fund failing regulatory performance tests, this strategy harmonises our fundamental insights with disciplined risk control,” Matt Davison, portfolio manager at Martin Currie Australia, said.

The MCA Active Insights strategy isolates the investment team’s ‘pure’ fundamental insights, while also minimising style factor and sector risks relative to the S&P/ASX 200 Index.

“Importantly, the strategy’s portfolio construction approach allows my co-portfolio manager, Sam Li, and I, to tailor the risk exposures within our sleeve of a multi-manager portfolio to complement the existing exposures clients may have elsewhere in their portfolio,” Davidson said.

“We believe this solutions-based style, together with MCA’s ‘active ownership’ approach, which embeds ESG assessment into every part of the investment process, were both particularly important in securing the Colonial First State mandate.  We look forward to this strategy being used as a core component of the platform’s Australian equity multi-manager portfolio,” Walsh added.

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Felicity Walsh

Brandywine Global, a specialist investment manager of Franklin Templeton, is pleased to announce the receipt of a ‘Recommended’ rating by Zenith for the Brandywine Global Opportunistic Equity Fund (GOE).

Zenith Investment Partners is a leading investment research and managed account provider, with a 20-year track record of delivering premium investment research, fund ratings and investment portfolio solutions for financial advisers.

“This ‘Recommended’ rating from Zenith follows on from Lonsec’s Recommended rating in May and is further proof of the investment management team’s capabilities in this space,” Felicity Walsh, Managing Director Franklin Templeton Australia said.

“Launched earlier this year, this fund expands Franklin Templeton Australia’s suite of global equity strategies, catering to investors seeking differentiated active opportunities. The strategy leverages top-down macroeconomic insights to complement comprehensive fundamental value driven bottom-up research and we are delighted to see Zenith acknowledge the success of this approach,” she added.

In its report, Zenith said it believes the fund is well-managed by an experienced investment team, that adopts a differentiated investment approach combining macroeconomic and fundamental analysis.

The Global Opportunistic Equity team is led by James J. Clarke and Sorin Roibu, CFA, who are responsible for managing the fund, and who have been involved in the management of the strategy since 2013 and 2014 respectively.

“Zenith believes the portfolio managers have built a strong long-term partnership, underpinned by their complementary expertise and experience,” the report said.

“The team is bolstered by Brandywine’s Global Macroeconomic Research team of over 30 members. Given that the investment process relies heavily on macro insights and views, Zenith believes this resource provides great benefits to the GOE team,” the report stated.

The Brandywine Global Opportunistic Equity Fund invests in 60 to 100 global companies, limiting stock position size to five per cent at purchase, and aims to outperform the MSCI ACWI and/or Russell Global Index.

“We note that the portfolio managers have demonstrated a strong long-term track record through multiple market cycles, which underpins our confidence in the investment strategy,” Zenith said.

The investment team identifies investment themes through detailed research and, given Brandywine’s value-biased investment process, assessing the downside risks to individual stocks takes on even greater significance.

Co-Portfolio Manager and Director of Fundamental Equity Research, James Clark added, “Our investment process seeks ‘multiple ways to win’ through macro, market assessment and stock selection, which has generated highly differentiated outcomes relative to peers. We believe value as a style will deliver in the long run, and we see extremely attractive valuations in what we currently own with many stocks held trading at 8-10 times earnings.”

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“We are pleased to announce five new internal promotions of Franklin Templeton team members in recognition of their valuable contributions to the business and its growth trajectory,” Franklin Templeton’s Managing Director and Head of Australia and New Zealand, Felicity Walsh, said.

“These promotions recognise the important and positive contributions of these individuals, while highlighting our continued commitment to providing opportunities for ongoing employee growth and development,” she added.

Louise Thompson, previously Head of Research and Consultants for the past four years, has been promoted to lead the business’s retail distribution efforts.

“As the industry landscape continues to shift, Louise’s experience and strong relationships with the research and consultant businesses in this market position her well to lead our incredibly talented distribution team in identifying solutions aligning to the needs of our clients,” Walsh said.

“Louise joined Franklin Templeton nearly two decades ago as Senior Manager, Distribution and her career has developed in tandem with the growth of our Australian business. This promotion recognises her incredible leadership skills and is a testament to her years of dedication in building the Australian retail business,” Walsh shared.

“I am delighted to take on this new role. I have enjoyed my years at Franklin Templeton in a variety of roles covering both retail and institutional clients and look forward to contributing to its further growth in the Australian market. This organisation has provided me with many challenges and opportunities to further my career,” Thompson added.

In other promotions, Jenine Hayman will be promoted to the position of Senior Director, Research and Consultants, Aimee Corsiglia will be promoted to Marketing Director and Oliver Britton will be promoted to Sales Director. James Cummane has also been promoted to the position of Business Development Manager.

“These promotions will help the business extend our reach to service to our clients via multiple channels in an evolving digital-first environment and strengthen our relationships with consultants as the industry landscape continues to consolidate,” Walsh said.

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“We are thrilled to have a high calibre professional like Rebecca join our long-standing and trusted organisation. Her appointment rounds out our distribution team to expand and deepen our intermediary relationships in Australia, boosting distribution of our suite of quality investment solutions across all asset classes,” Franklin Templeton’s Managing Director and Head of Australia and New Zealand, Felicity Walsh, said.

Morgan was previously head of intermediary distribution at Coopers Investors. Prior to that she was a key account manager at Ausbil Investment Management and a sales director at PM Capital.

She has also held roles at Pengana Capital, BT Investment Solutions and Perennial Investments in a career spanning over two decades working with financial advisers and consultants across various asset classes.

“Rebecca is a deeply experienced sales professional with strong relationships in the Victorian market and southern region. Her addition to the team reflects the technical nature of investment sales in funds management distribution and matches the diverse needs of our clients across wealth, wholesale and retail,” Walsh said.

“I am excited about joining internationally renowned Franklin Templeton and using my varied experience in the industry to contribute to its growth trajectory. I am passionate about finding high quality investment solutions for our clients across the board,” Morgan added.

Earlier this year Franklin Templeton listed the Franklin Australian Absolute Return Bond Fund (ASX: FRAR) and the Franklin Global Growth Fund (ASX: FRGG) on the ASX as it seeks to expand its funds to a wider audience. Franklin Templeton also expanded its investment capabilities available to Australian investors this year by launching three new managed funds – Brandywine Global Opportunistic Equity Fund, Martin Currie Active Insights Fund and Franklin Government Cash Fund.

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Felicity Walsh

Western Asset Management, a Franklin Templeton company, is pleased to announce that the Western Asset Enhanced Income Fund has received an inaugural Recommended rating from Zenith Investment Partners.

Western Asset Enhanced Income Fund invests in a diversified portfolio of Australian and global fixed interest securities and focusses on adding value through active management of duration, sector and security selection.

“This rating is recognition of the team’s hard work to generate superior returns for our investors via this enhanced income strategy,” Head of Asia Pacific Investment Management at Western Asset Management, Anthony Kirkham, said.

Felicity Walsh, Managing Director of Franklin Templeton Australia and New Zealand, added, “The Zenith rating underscores our commitment to delivering innovative and high-quality investment solutions. It is a testament to the diligent efforts of the Western Asset investment team and their unwavering focus on creating value for our clients in Australia.”

In its report Zenith said it held a positive view of both the investment team and its investment process and that the fund is an attractive option in the Australian corporate debt sector.

“Zenith considers the portfolio construction process to be sound, effectively synthesising both the outlook of the global investment committees and the fundamental credit analysis to construct a portfolio that reflects the team’s views,” the report said.

The team’s access to a network of global credit analysts that provide on-the-ground and real time surveillance of global corporate bonds positions the investment process for a competitive advantage.

The fund targets returns (before fees, charges and taxes) that exceed the Bloomberg AusBond Bank Bill Index by 1.5% to 2% per annum, when measured over rolling three-year periods, and has achieved this target excess return since its inception in 2021.

“Generating income is an increasingly important theme for investors right now, given the current economic environment and interest rate volatility globally. Our strategy is designed to meet this need by providing consistent and attractive income streams,” Kirkham explained.

Dedicated to active fixed income investing, Western Asset manages a range of strongly rated fixed income strategies for Australian investors.

Notably, the Western Asset Australian Bond Fund retained its ‘Highly Recommended’ rating from Zenith, a rating held by the fund since June 2016.

The Betashares Western Asset Australian Bond Fund, an exchange traded fund that seeks to replicate the strategy of the unlisted Western Asset Australian Bond Fund (ticker code BNDS), also retained its ‘Highly Recommended’ rating.

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Felicity Walsh

Franklin Templeton specialist investment manager Martin Currie has been selected to manage an Equity Income mandate available on the Colonial First State FirstChoice platform.

“We are pleased to be awarded this mandate and recognised for our expertise in managing income-generating funds,” Franklin Templeton Managing Director, Australia and New Zealand, Felicity Walsh, said.

The appointment follows the announcement in April that the incumbent manager – First Sentier Investors (FSI) – would close all its Australian-based global credit, Australian fixed income, equity income and emerging companies’ teams.

“This appointment is a testament to the Martin Currie team’s unique investment approach that aligns stock selection and portfolio construction with the income needs of Australian clients, ” Walsh said.

The Martin Currie Equity Income Fund has a Recommended rating from Lonsec and a Highly Recommended rating from Zenith. It seeks to provide an after-tax income yield above the S&P/ASX 200 Index yield and grow that income above the rate of inflation.

“The Martin Currie Equity Income Fund aims to identify the most attractive income opportunities by combining extensive bottom-up fundamental and quantitative research with disciplined portfolio construction,” Reece Birtles, Chief Investment Officer at Martin Currie Australia, said.

“We also manage it in a tax-aware manner to maximise the benefit from franking credits for investors with a low or zero marginal tax rate,” he added.

Martin Currie embeds an “active ownership” approach into the investment process. In its engagement with companies the fund manager focusses on both materiality and ESG outcomes at the companies it invests in.

“We believe ESG analysis, engagement and voting should be done by those making investment decisions rather than being outsourced. Our research analysts and portfolio managers are best equipped to understand the ESG risks, opportunities, and impacts facing the companies they invest in, ” Birtles said.

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Felicity Walsh

Leading research house, Lonsec Research has awarded Brandywine Global’s Opportunistic Equity Fund an inaugural ‘Recommended’ rating, indicating the research agency has strong conviction the product can meet its investment objectives.

“This is the fund’s first rating since its launch in Australia just last month and we are delighted to receive this recognition from local ratings agency Lonsec,” Felicity Walsh, Managing Director, Franklin Templeton Australia said.

“This is an important milestone for the strategy and to have Lonsec’s rating at this stage of our launch is testament to the strength of the investment process that has been in place for over 10 years,” Walsh added.

In its report, Lonsec highlighted several key strengths of the manager’s investment process. “The rating reflects the well-experienced portfolio management team and their ability to leverage its internally generated stock research,” said Lonsec.

The firm also earned praise for its “well-established and coherent macroeconomic research process” – a cornerstone of Brandywine Global’s approach. By seamlessly integrating their robust macro analysis with comprehensive bottom-up company evaluation, the manager demonstrates a skill for identifying attractive investment opportunities across the capital markets.

The Brandywine Global Opportunistic Equity Fund invests in in 60 to 100 global companies, limiting stock position size to 5 per cent at purchase, and aims to outperform the MSCI ACWI (in AUD).

Lonsec was impressed with the experience of both portfolio manager and director of fundamental research James Clarke, and portfolio manager and research analyst Sorin Roibu.

“Specifically, Clarke and Roibu have comparable level of experience relative to other fundamental value peers, with both individuals having access to an adequate analyst capability with whom they have collaborated for a prolonged period of time,” Lonsec noted.

Brandywine Global’s distinct investment approach combines top-down macroeconomic analysis with rigorous bottom-up fundamental research to identify undervalued companies. The strength of their investment process is evidenced by an impressive 10+ year track record managing global equities. Of particular interest has been the team’s ability to generate consistently strong returns in an environment where growth stocks have continued to outperform, all while staying true to the value philosophy.

“The manager’s scale and heritage as a global asset manager focused on value strategies provides further support,” Lonsec said.

Lonsec commended the manager’s overall ESG policy framework and disclosure which were aligned with peers.

“ESG has always been an important part of our process and we are pleased that Lonsec recognises this too,” Brandywine Global portfolio manager and research analyst Sorin Roibu said.

According to Roibu “Brandywine Global takes its commitment to social responsibility seriously, and the Fund has a number of sustainability screens in place.”

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