Franklin Templeton has expanded its European active ETF range with the launch of the Franklin US Income Equity Focus UCITS ETF, an actively managed US equity income strategy listed on the London Stock Exchange.

The fund has a total expense ratio of 0.35% and targets income and capital growth through a portfolio of US large-cap equities. Managed by Franklin Income Investors’ Todd Brighton, Brendan Circle and Edward Perks, the ETF is designed to offer diversified US equity exposure with an emphasis on income generation and lower volatility.

Franklin Templeton said the strategy can be used either as a core equity holding or as a source of supplemental income, including for investors focused on retirement. The launch also marks the firm’s third active US equity ETF and brings its UCITS US equity ETF range to 12 products.

Mathew Harrison, head of EMEA and Americas ex-US at Franklin Templeton said: “Extending the investment capabilities of Franklin Income Investors into a UCITS ETF format allows us to offer clients another way to access differentiated income solutions as they navigate increasingly complex markets”.

Comment

US equity income is a familiar active management category, but the ETF wrapper gives investors another way to access that approach with intraday liquidity, transparent pricing and a lower-cost structure than many traditional active funds. For Franklin Templeton, the key question will be whether investors view active income and volatility management as enough of a differentiator in a market still dominated by cheap passive US equity ETFs.

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