Investment management heavyweight Franklin Templeton is the latest active fund sponsor to file with regulators to introduce actively managed ETFs, according to a report Tuesday.
The initial ETF would be a short duration government ETF, while the SEC filing would also let the Franklin Resources (NYSE: BEN) subsidiary launch ETFs for other asset classes including currencies, as well as funds-of-funds, Ignites.com reports.
A spokesman for the firm told Ignites it’s following the growing interest in active ETFs but that the filing simply gives the firm the option to launch ETFs.
“Franklin Resources provides investment services for individual and institutional investors. The company’s funds are marketed under the Franklin, Templeton, Mutual Series, Bissett, Fiduciary, and Darby brands,” according to a Morningstar profile of the company. “At the end of March 2012, Franklin had more than $725 billion in total assets under management … comprised primarily of equity (42%), fixed-income (44%), and hybrid (14%) funds. Distribution is weighted more toward retail investors, with Franklin sourcing one third of its managed assets from investors domiciled outside the U.S.”
Franklin joins mainline fund firms including T. Rowe Price, J.P. Morgan, Federated Investors, Dreyfus and Legg Mason that have filed paperwork for active ETFs, according to the Ignites article.
PIMCO Total Return ETF (NYSEArca: BOND), which is managed by Bill Gross, has already gathered over $1 billion in assets since the March listing. The company has filed to launch active ETF versions of more of its mutual funds. [PIMCO Planning More ETFs]
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