The latest news in investment offerings, financial products and other services relevant to wealth advisors and their clients.

Franklin Templeton

Franklin Templeton, a California-headquartered asset manager with more than 35 years of experience investing in Islamic markets, has launched two new funds in its Luxembourg-domiciled Franklin Templeton Shariah Funds (FTSF) range for Europe, Asia and Middle East investors to meet rising demand.

Shariah-compliant funds are investment vehicles that operate in accordance with Islamic law, avoiding businesses involved in prohibited activities such as alcohol, gambling and tobacco.

FTSF Franklin Global Sukuk Ultra Short Duration Fund and the FTSF Franklin Shariah Systematic Global Equity Fund have been introduced to address increasing demand from investors for high-quality, Shariah-compliant investment solutions, expanding Franklin Templeton’s offering across liquidity, fixed income and global equities.

The FTSF Franklin Global Sukuk Ultra Short Duration Fund aims to provide capital preservation and liquidity, while seeking to maximise total returns and income. The fund invests in a highly liquid portfolio of short-dated sukuk, supranational instruments and Shariah-compliant deposits, with a focus on capital stability and income preservation, addressing growing demand for Shariah-compliant liquidity solutions among institutional investors, wealth managers and pension schemes.

Launched on 23 April 2026, the fund is managed by Mohieddine (Dino) Kronfol, chief investment officer global Sukuk, head of Middle East Fixed Income, Franklin Templeton Fixed Income, Amit Jain, portfolio manager; and Hardeep Dogra, portfolio manager.

The FTSF Franklin Shariah Systematic Global Equity Fund aims to deliver long-term capital appreciation through a highly liquid, actively managed global equity strategy, consistent with Shariah principles, the firm said in a statement.

Managed by Franklin Templeton Investment Solutions (FTIS), the fund employs a multi-factor quantitative model to identify securities with favourable exposure to factors such as quality, value, sentiment and alternative data signals. The investment universe is screened to ensure compliance with Shariah principles, including exclusions and financial ratio filters aligned with Islamic investing standards. The fund is expected to be available to investors in May 2026 and will be managed by Chris Floyd, portfolio manager; and Brett Risser, head of Quantitative Equity Portfolio Management at FTIS.

Franklin Templeton’s Shariah-compliant strategies are supported by independent oversight from the Amanie Shariah Supervisory Board, advanced screening technology and integrated risk management processes.

UBS

UBS Asset Management, part of UBS, yesterday said it has cut fees across five of its exchange-traded funds, and added a Euro Stoxx 50 ETF to its “Core” range.

The UBS Core ETF range, launched a year ago, has so far taken in net inflows of more than $18.5 billion. In all, UBS Core ETFs have more than $50 billion of assets. 

The following ETFs had their total expense ratios (TERs) cut (the old rates are shown in brackets): UBS Core EMU UCITS ETF (0.12 per cent), now 0.09 per cent; UBS Core MSCI USA UCITS ETF (0.06 per cent), now 0.03 per cent; UBS Core Euro Stoxx 50 UCITS ETF (0.09 per cent), now 0.06 per cent; UBS MSCI World ex USA UCITS ETF (0.14 per cent), now 0.09 per cent; and UBS MSCI Pacific ex Japan UCITS ETF (0.14 per cent), now 0.09 per cent.