Franklin Adds To Country ETF Lineup

Franklin Templeton Investments is rolling out four more ETFs as part of its lineup of low-cost, plain-vanilla ETFs covering different countries and geographies. The four new funds cover emerging and developed markets.

The ETFs, their tickers and expense ratios are as follows:

• Franklin FTSE India ETF (FLIN), 0.19%
• Franklin FTSE Russia ETF (FLRU), 0.19%
• Franklin FTSE Asia ex Japan ETF (FLAX), 0.19%
• Franklin FTSE Switzerland ETF (FLSW), 0.09%

The four funds list on the NYSE Arca.

In November, Franklin rolled out 16 ETFs tracking cap-weighted country indexes from FTSE Russell. The products are the only ones that compete head-to-head with the iShares country ETFs and offer a low-cost alternative to BlackRock’s juggernaut. The Franklin country ETFs all charge just 0.19% for emerging markets exposure and 0.09% for developed markets exposure.

Currently, the iShares MSCI Russia ETF (ERUS) is the cheapest fund in the space, but it still costs considerably more than FLRU, coming in as it does at 0.62%. Similarly, the iShares MSCI India ETF (INDA) comes with an expense ratio of 0.68% and until now was still the cheapest fund covering that market.  The iShares MSCI All Country Asia ex Japan ETF (AAXJ) is very similar to FLAX and comes with an expense ratio of 0.69%, while the iShares MSCI Switzerland ETF (EWL) charges 0.49%.

The entire country ETF family currently has roughly $400 million in assets under management. The addition of the newest funds brings the total number of funds in the group to 20. Franklin Templeton also offers a full lineup of smart-beta and actively managed equity and fixed-income ETFs.

Contact Heather Bell at [email protected]