New Products
What's New In Investments, Funds? – Franklin Templeton

The latest news on investment offerings, financial products and other services relevant to wealth advisors and their clients.
Franklin Templeton
Franklin
Templeton has launched a new Catholic
Principles Emerging Markets Sovereign Debt UCITS ETF within its
Franklin LibertyShares™ range for European investors.
The firm said it is the first of its kind in the European market,
and has been classified under Article 8 of the EU’s Sustainable
Finance Disclosure Regulation. It is based on the ICE BofA
Diversified Emerging Markets External Debt Sovereign Bond Index
and invests in euro- and US dollar-denominated sovereign
debt issued by emerging market countries.
The Article 8 ETF screens for securities meeting Roman Catholic
principles and carbon reduction criteria. It listed on the
Deutsche Börse Xetra on 28 June, Borsa Italiana on 30 June and
the London Stock Exchange on 1 July. It will also be registered
in the UK, Austria, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Spain and
the Nordics, the firm said.
“We are delighted to introduce this new Sustainable Sovereign
Debt ETF at the lowest fee to European investors,” Caroline
Baron, head of ETF business development, EMEA, Franklin
Templeton, said. “With this offering we have created a
custom-made index and partnered with an ethical advisor to ensure
clients have access to a distinct ETF backed by the scale and
resources of Franklin Templeton.”
“The combination of Catholic
values-based exclusions and a screening process for
decarbonisation opportunities from the ETF’s investable
universe should subsequently appeal to a broad range of
investors seeking to widen their portfolio of sustainable
investments,” she added.
The ETF will provide European investors with cost-efficient,
UCITS-compliant, emerging market sovereign debt exposure aligned
with Roman Catholic principles; it offers the lowest total
expense ratios in Europe at 0.35 per cent for its respective
category, the firm said.
“Despite lower yields among developed market bonds, many emerging
market countries have low debt-to-GDP ratios whilst still
providing higher yields than their developed market
counterparts,” Rafaelle Lennox, vice president, senior ETF
product specialist, Franklin Templeton, added.
“Additionally, emerging market bonds have had relatively low
correlations to equities when compared to traditional asset
classes, so allocating to this ETF may help enhance overall
portfolio diversification,” Lennox said.
The new ETF will be managed by London-based John
Beck, senior vice president and director of global fixed
income for Franklin Templeton fixed income.
Franklin LibertyShares™, the firm’s global ETF platform, has more
than $12 billion in assets under management globally as of 31 May
2022. The California-based investment manager also has $1.45
trillion in assets under management as of 31 May 2022.