California-based asset manager Franklin Templeton has launched of two article 8 indexed ETFs.
The Franklin S&P 500 Screened UCITS ETF and the Franklin S&P World Screened UCITS ETF brings the total number of the firm’s UCITS ETFs classified as either article 8 or 9 to 17.
The new ETFs will list on the Deutsche Börse (XETRA) tomorrow, London Stock Exchange (LSE), Euronext Paris on Thursday, and the Borsa Italiana on 24 April 2025.
They are now registered for distribution in Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Both will invest in large and mid-capitalisation stocks in the US and globally respectively.
The new ETFs will track the S&P 500 Guarded Index and the S&P Guarded World index, which provide a screened equity exposure with an enhanced ESG profile and a focus on minimising performance deviation to their respective parent index (the S&P 500 Index and the S&P World Index), thus providing core low tracking error allocations.
Caroline Baron, Head of ETF Distribution, EMEA, Franklin Templeton, said: “These new ETFs offer a cost-efficient and transparent way to access core equity exposures with enhanced ESG profiles and reduced carbon footprint, keeping a tight tracking to traditional core indices.
“These ETFs would be suitable for investors looking to invest in core exposures that are article 8 compliant and those seeking a tight tracking versus the traditional benchmarks such as S&P 500 and S&P World. These ETFs could be used with traditional core solutions to complement them for example.”
