Franklin Templeton’s head of European fixed income is to manage an active exchange-traded fund (ETF).
David Zahn said he was “excited” to be managing the Franklin Liberty Euro Short Maturity Ucits ETF, which will list in London and Frankfurt later this month.
The fund is one of two that Franklin Templeton – a US firm that entered the European ETF market last year – is launching. The other product will be managed from the US and is called the Franklin Liberty USD Investment Grade Corporate Bond Ucits ETF. Both focus on income distribution.
Zahn’s short maturity fund will invest primarily in European short-term debt securities and investments.
Zahn said: “As active managers, we have the flexibility to pursue investment opportunities that are beyond the fund’s benchmark index to help identify the most attractive securities to invest in.”
Caroline Baron, regional head of ETF sales including Europe at the firm , said: “Traditional debt-issuance weighted ETFs continue to grow in popularity but often face the challenge of being biased towards the biggest debtors or potentially suffering from the effects of crowded trades as constituents of an index change.
“As a result, many investors are turning to actively managed fixed income ETFs with the ultimate objective of achieving true diversification.”
©2018 funds europe
