Franklin Templeton Launches New Passive Taiwan ETF for European Investors

Franklin LibertyShares™ Single-Country Emerging Market ETFs Now Include Brazil, China, Korea, India and Taiwan

London, 21 March 2022 – Franklin Templeton¹ is pleased to announce the launch of its new Taiwan UCITS ETF within its Franklin LibertyShares™ range². This new addition expands the firm’s single-country, emerging market ETF offerings to five, alongside Brazil, India, China and Korea.

The fund will list on the Deutsche Börse Xetra (XETRA) on 22 March and the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and Borsa Italiana on 23 March. The fund is registered in the UK, Ireland, Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Sweden.

Competitive fees

The Franklin FTSE Taiwan UCITS ETF³ will provide European investors with cost-efficient, UCITS- compliant, market-cap weighted exposure to Taiwanese assets and offers the lowest total expense ratios (TER) at 0.19% in Europe (TER is on average 74% lower than other emerging markets country UCITS ETFs⁴) for its respective category.

Emerging markets expertise and access to technology and innovation

As one of the world’s largest asset managers with dedicated emerging markets expertise, Franklin Templeton has approximately $90⁵ billion managed across the firm in emerging markets assets. This new passive ETF is benchmarked to the FTSE Taiwan 30/18 Capped Index, leveraging the global index provider’s capabilities and expertise.

Caroline Baron, Head of ETF Business Development, EMEA, Franklin Templeton commented: “We are delighted to introduce this new Taiwan passive ETF at the lowest fee to European investors. Taiwan is home to some of the most technologically advanced companies globally and continues to offer attractive investment prospects, given its market leadership in high-growth sectors like electronic circuits, automation and semiconductors.”

“Our single-country ETFs allow investors to tailor their emerging market allocations rather than follow the country weights of broader emerging market indices where China could account for more than 35%⁶. By having access to our single-country ETF portfolio suite, investors can take a more targeted approach towards emerging markets and match the specific needs of their portfolio.”

Julian Ide, Head of EMEA distribution, Franklin Templeton commented: “Franklin Templeton has more than 35 years of deep expertise in emerging market investing and we are very pleased to add Taiwan to our single-country LibertyShares™ ETF product suite. Offering greater choices to investors via low-cost emerging market ETFs will further enable our clients to use them as building blocks to diversify their portfolios.”

As of 28 February 2022, Taiwan accounted for over 18%⁷ of the FTSE Emerging Market Index. Adding Brazil, India, China and Korea, these five countries collectively account for around 75%⁷ of the FTSE Emerging Markets Index. The Franklin FTSE Taiwan UCITS ETF also has approximately 60%⁸ of its portfolio invested in Taiwanese technology companies.

Franklin LibertyShares™, Franklin Templeton’s global ETF platform, enables investors to pursue their desired outcomes through a range of active, smart beta and passive ETFs. Supported by the strength and resources of one of the world’s largest asset managers, the global ETF platform has more than $12 billion in assets under management globally as of 28 February 2022.

For more information on the Franklin LibertyShares™ ETF range please visit: www.libertyshares.co.uk.

		Stock Exchanges
		Xetra Ticker	LSE Tickers		Borsa Italiana Ticker
Fund Name	ISIN	EUR	GBP	USD	EUR
Franklin FTSE Taiwan UCITS ETF	IE000CM02H85	FLXT	FRXT	FLXT	FLXT
Franklin FTSE Brazil UCITS ETF	IE00BHZRQY00	FLXB	FVUB	FLXB	FLXB
Franklin FTSE China UCITS ETF	IE00BHZRR147	FLXC	FRCH	FLXC	FLXC
Franklin FTSE Korea UCITS ETF	IE00BHZRR030	FLXK	FLRK	FLXK	FLXI
Franklin FTSE India UCITS ETF	IE00BHZRQZ17	FLXI	FRIN	FLXI	FLXK

Contacts:

Saira Khan Senior Corporate Communications Manager Franklin Templeton Cannon Place, 78 Cannon Street London EC4N 6HL Tel: 0207 073 8644 Email: [email protected]

Dorine Johnson Head of Corporate Communications EMEA Franklin Templeton Cannon Place, 78 Cannon Street London EC4N 6HL Tel: 0207 073 8538 Email: [email protected]

 

Notes to Editors:

This is a marketing communication. Please refer to the prospectus of the UCITS and to the KID before making any final investment decisions.

1. Franklin Resources, Inc. [NYSE:BEN] is a global investment management organization with subsidiaries operating as Franklin Templeton and serving clients in over 155 countries. Franklin Templeton’s mission is to help clients achieve better outcomes through investment management expertise, wealth management and technology solutions. Through its specialist investment managers, the company offers boutique specialization on a global scale, bringing extensive capabilities in equity, fixed income, multi-asset solutions and alternatives. With offices in more than 30 countries and approximately 1,300 investment professionals, the California-based company has 75 years of investment experience and approximately $1.5 trillion in assets under management as of February 28, 2022. For more information, please visit www.franklintempleton.co.uk and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.
2. Franklin LibertyShares™, the firm’s global ETF platform, enables investors to pursue their desired outcomes through a range of active, smart beta and passive ETFs. LibertyShares™ has more than $12 billion in assets under management globally as of February 28, 2022 and is supported by the strength and resources of one of the world’s largest asset managers. For more information, please visit https://www.franklintempleton.co.uk
3. Franklin Taiwan UCITS ETF is a sub-fund of the Franklin LibertyShares™ ICAV, an Irish Collective Asset-managed Vehicle, incorporated under the laws of Ireland.

The views expressed are those of the investment manager and the comments, opinions and analyses are rendered as of the publication date and may change without notice. The information provided in this material is not intended as complete analysis of every material fact regarding any country, region or market.

An investment in Franklin LibertyShares™ UCITS ETF range entails risks, which are described in the prospectus, its supplements and in the relevant Key Investor Information Document. The value of shares in the fund and income received from it can go down as well as up and investors may not get back the full amount invested. Past performance is not an indicator or a guarantee of future performance. Performance may also be affected by currency fluctuations. Currency fluctuations may affect the value of overseas investments. There is no guarantee that the fund will meet its objective. For full details of all the risks applicable, please refer to the "Risk Considerations" section of the current prospectus of Franklin LibertyShares™​​​​​​​ ICAV.

Franklin LibertyShares™ UCITS ETFs (domiciled outside of the U.S. or Canada) may not be directly or indirectly offered or sold to residents of the United States of America or Canada. ETFs trade like stocks, fluctuate in market value and may trade at prices above or below their net asset value. Brokerage commissions and ETF expenses will reduce returns.

4. Source: Morningstar as of February 28, 2022.
5. Source: Franklin Templeton as of February 28, 2022.
6. Source: Franklin Templeton research of FTSE Russell EM index as of February 28, 2022.
7. Source: Franklin Templeton research of FTSE Russell EM index as of February 28, 2022.
8. Source: Franklin Templeton data as of February 28, 2022.

This press release is intended to be of general interest only and does not constitute professional advice. Franklin Templeton and its management groups have exercised professional care and diligence in the collection and processing of the information in this press release. Franklin Templeton makes no representations or warranties with respect to the accuracy of this document. Franklin Templeton shall not be liable to any user of this report or to any other person or entity for the inaccuracy of information contained in this press release or for any errors or omissions in its contents, regardless of the cause of such inaccuracy, error or omission.

Any research and analysis contained in this document has been procured by Franklin Templeton for its own purposes.

Issued by Franklin Templeton Investment Management Limited (FTIML). FTIML is authorised and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Conduct Authority.

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