Franklin Templeton has launched the Franklin FTSE Japan Ucits ETF designed to provide European investors with access to over 500 Japanese companies across various industries.
The ETF invests in large and mid-capitalisation stocks in Japan, tracking the performance of the FTSE Japan Index – net return. This index is market-capitalisation weighted and represents the performance of large and mid-cap companies in Japan, aiming to capture 90% of the investable Japanese equity market universe.
Caroline Baron, head of ETF distribution for Emea at Franklin Templeton, said: “The Japanese equity market is the second largest equity market in Asia-Pacific and the largest developed market in the region. Following decades of deflationary tendencies, Japan’s central bank recently stated it sees a virtuous cycle between wages and prices intensifying, which should further help to bolster consumption and investments. The country’s strong position on the global technology supply chain, including semiconductors, along with a renewed focus on corporate governance and shareholder value should also bode well for the domestic equity market.”
Nearshoring boosts investment in emerging markets
The ETF will be listed on the Deutsche Börse Xetra tomorrow, the London Stock Exchange and Euronext Amsterdam on July 31, 2024, and the Borsa Italiana on September 4, 2024. It will be available in Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, and the UK.
With a total expense ratio of 0.09%, the new ETF will be managed by Dina Ting, head of global index portfolio management, and Lorenzo Crosato, ETF portfolio manager, at Franklin Templeton.
Matthew Harrison, head of Americas (ex-US), Europe & UK at Franklin Templeton, said: “With $6 trillion in market capitalisation and Japanese market returns expected to recover, Japanese equities can be a core equity building block option within an investor’s portfolio.”
