Franklin Templeton ESG ETF Goes Transparent
The fund will retain its strategy and fees.
Franklin Templeton’s only so-called nontransparent exchange-traded fund is set to begin publishing its holdings by the end of the year.
The $3.2 million ClearBridge Focus Value ESG ETF (CFCV), which invests in large cap value companies that subscribe to environmental, social and governance guidelines, will transition from an ActiveShares nontransparent ETF to a conventional transparent ETF on or about Dec. 16, the California-based firm said in a statement to ETF.com.
A spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on what spurred the change. San Mateo, California-based Franklin Templeton manages $1.4 trillion in assets and 56 ETFs.
“The portfolio managers at ClearBridge Investments are confident they can manage the fund efficiently and effectively while publicly disclosing portfolio holdings on a daily basis,’’ the statement read. “There will be no changes to the fund’s investment management team or investment objective.”
CFCV, which initially launched in 2020 under a different name, will maintain its 0.49% expense ratio.
Franklin Templeton is changing the fund amid a downturn in nontransparent ETF performances, with the segment benchmark down 15.8%, according to ETF.com data.
Other ActiveShares funds such as the Fidelity Sustainable U.S. Equity ETF (FSST) and the Putnam Sustainable Future ETF (PFUT) have fallen as much as 36% year to date.
Source: ETF.com
Meanwhile, CFCV has dropped 22.7% compared with this time last year, ETF.com data shows.
Source: ETF.com
Contact Shubham Saharan at [email protected]