The fund manager may be cogitating on a more aggressive push into low-cost ETF options in light of rising redemptions among the company’s mutual fund offerings. Over the past quarter, the firm saw $11.1 billion in net outflows, which pushed overall assets down 1.6% to $866.5 billion as of June 30.
Franklin Templeton currently only has one ETF, the actively managed Franklin Short Duration U.S. Government ETF (NYSEArca: FTSD), which was launched back in November. [Franklin Templeton Enters ETF Arena]
Johnson, though, believes “it needs some friends,” indicating the firms interest in growing its ETF business.
Franklin currently holds an exemptive relief to launch active ETFs but has not received SEC approval to launch index-based products, such as smart-beta funds. Johnson, though, has indicated that the firm is open to acquiring a third party with SEC approval to launch index-based ETFs or developing the capabilities themselves.
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Max Chen contributed to this article.