PROSPECTUS |
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FRANKLIN TEMPLETON ETF TRUST |
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August 1, 2021 |
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Ticker: |
Ticker: | ||||
Franklin FTSE Australia ETF |
FLAU |
Franklin FTSE Russia ETF |
FLRU | ||
Franklin FTSE Brazil ETF |
FLBR |
Franklin FTSE Saudi Arabia ETF |
FLSA | ||
Franklin FTSE Canada ETF |
FLCA |
Franklin FTSE South Africa ETF |
FLZA | ||
Franklin FTSE China ETF |
FLCH |
Franklin FTSE South Korea ETF |
FLKR | ||
Franklin FTSE France ETF |
FLFR |
Franklin FTSE Switzerland ETF |
FLSW | ||
Franklin FTSE Germany ETF |
FLGR |
Franklin FTSE Taiwan ETF |
FLTW | ||
Franklin FTSE Hong Kong ETF |
FLHK |
Franklin FTSE United Kingdom ETF |
FLGB | ||
Franklin FTSE India ETF |
FLIN |
Franklin FTSE Asia ex Japan ETF |
FLAX | ||
Franklin FTSE Italy ETF |
FLIY |
Franklin FTSE Europe ETF |
FLEE | ||
Franklin FTSE Japan ETF |
FLJP |
Franklin FTSE Europe Hedged ETF |
FLEH | ||
Franklin FTSE Latin America ETF |
FLLA |
Franklin FTSE Japan Hedged ETF |
FLJH | ||
Franklin FTSE Mexico ETF |
FLMX |
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Exchange: NYSE Arca, Inc. |
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has not approved or disapproved these securities or passed upon the adequacy of this prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is a criminal offense.
ETF5 P 08/21 |
Contents
Fund Summaries
Fund Details
More Information on Investment Policies, Practices and Risks |
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Shareholder Information
For More Information
Back Cover
FRANKLIN FTSE AUSTRALIA
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
FLAU |
To seek to provide investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the FTSE Australia RIC Capped Index (the FTSE Australia Capped Index).
The following table describes the fees and expenses that you will incur if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may also incur other fees, such as usual and customary brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and the Example that follows.
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
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Management fees |
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Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees |
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Other expenses |
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Total annual Fund operating expenses |
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This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of the period. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
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3 Years |
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5 Years |
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10 Years |
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The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held
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Prospectus |
3 |
FRANKLIN FTSE AUSTRALIA
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
in
a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual Fund operating
expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most
recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was
The Fund, using a “passive” or indexing investment approach, seeks investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the FTSE Australia Capped Index. The investment manager seeks to achieve, over time, a correlation between the Fund’s performance, before fees and expenses, and that of the FTSE Australia Capped Index of 0.95 or better. A figure of 1.00 would indicate perfect correlation. The Fund may use either a replication strategy or representative sampling strategy. Under a replication strategy, the Fund will replicate the component securities of the FTSE Australia Capped Index as closely as possible (i.e., invest in all of the component securities in their respective weightings in the FTSE Australia Capped Index). However, under various circumstances, it may not be possible or practicable to replicate the FTSE Australia Capped Index. In these circumstances, the Fund may use a “representative sampling” strategy whereby the Fund would invest in what it believes to be a representative sample of the component securities of the FTSE Australia Capped Index, but may not track the FTSE Australia Capped Index with the same degree of accuracy as would an investment vehicle replicating the entire FTSE Australia Capped Index. Under the representative sampling technique, the investment manager will select securities that collectively have an investment profile similar to that of the FTSE Australia Capped Index, including securities that resemble those included in the FTSE Australia Capped Index in terms of risk factors, performance
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FRANKLIN FTSE AUSTRALIA
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
attributes and other characteristics, such as market capitalization and industry weightings.
The Fund is a "non-diversified" fund, which means it generally invests a greater proportion of its assets in the securities of one or more issuers and invests overall in a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund.
The Fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., hold 25% or more of its net assets) in a particular industry or group of industries to approximately the same extent that the FTSE Australia Capped Index is concentrated. As of May 31, 2021, the FTSE Australia Capped Index was concentrated in the banking industry.
Market The market values of securities or other investments owned by the Fund will go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. The market value of a security or other investment may be reduced by market activity or other results of supply and demand unrelated to the issuer. This is a basic risk associated with all investments. When there are more sellers than buyers, prices tend to fall. Likewise, when there are more buyers than sellers, prices tend to rise.
The current global outbreak of the novel strain of coronavirus, COVID-19, has resulted in market closures and dislocations, extreme volatility, liquidity constraints and increased trading costs. Efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 have resulted in global travel restrictions and disruptions of healthcare systems, business operations and supply chains, layoffs, reduced consumer demand, defaults and credit ratings downgrades, and other significant economic impacts. The effects of COVID-19 have impacted global economic activity across many industries and may heighten other pre-existing political, social and economic risks, locally or globally. The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is unpredictable and may adversely affect the Fund’s performance.
Stock prices tend to go up and down more dramatically than those of debt securities. A slower-growth or recessionary economic environment could have an adverse effect on the prices of the various stocks held by the Fund.
Foreign Securities (non-U.S.) Investing in foreign securities typically involves more risks than investing in U.S. securities, and includes risks associated with: (i) internal and external political and economic developments – e.g., the political,
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FRANKLIN FTSE AUSTRALIA
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
economic and social policies and structures of some foreign countries may be less stable and more volatile than those in the U.S. or some foreign countries may be subject to trading restrictions or economic sanctions; (ii) trading practices – e.g., government supervision and regulation of foreign securities and currency markets, trading systems and brokers may be less than in the U.S.; (iii) availability of information – e.g., foreign issuers may not be subject to the same disclosure, accounting and financial reporting standards and practices as U.S. issuers; (iv) limited markets – e.g., the securities of certain foreign issuers may be less liquid (harder to sell) and more volatile; and (v) currency exchange rate fluctuations and policies (e.g., fluctuations may negatively affect investments denominated in foreign currencies and any income received or expenses paid by the Fund in that foreign currency).
Geographic Focus Because the Fund invests its assets primarily in companies in a specific country and region, the Fund is subject to greater risks of adverse developments in that country, region and/or the surrounding regions than a fund that is more broadly diversified geographically. Political, social or economic disruptions in the country or region, even in countries in which the Fund is not invested, may adversely affect the value of investments held by the Fund.
The Australian economy is heavily dependent on the price and demand for commodities and natural resources as well as its exports from the agricultural and mining sectors. Declines in the demand for such products may have an adverse impact on the Fund’s returns. Australia is also dependent on trading with key trading partners. The Fund is susceptible to loss due to adverse market, political, regulatory, and other events affecting Australia. These events may adversely affect the trading market and price for Fund shares and cause the Fund to decline in value. Intensifying weather-related natural disasters in Australia including drought and bushfires have imposed substantial economic costs. A continuation of these trends may impose financial stress which in turn could cause the value of the Fund's investments to decline.
Depositary Receipts Depositary receipts are subject to many of the risks of the underlying securities. For some depositary receipts, the custodian or similar financial institution that holds the issuer's shares in a trust account is located in the issuer's home country. In these cases if the issuer’s home country does not have developed financial markets, the Fund could be exposed to the credit risk of the custodian or financial institution and greater market risk. In addition, the depository institution may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services. The Fund may experience delays in receiving its dividend and interest payments or exercising rights as a shareholder. There may be an increased possibility of untimely responses to certain corporate actions of the issuer in an unsponsored depositary receipt program. Accordingly, there may be less information available regarding issuers of securities underlying
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FRANKLIN FTSE AUSTRALIA
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
unsponsored programs and there may not be a correlation between this information and the market value of the depositary receipts.
Calculation Methodology FTSE Russell relies on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the FTSE Australia Capped Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the investment manager can offer assurances that FTSE Russell's calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers or that the included issuers will provide the Fund with the market exposure it seeks.
Index-Related There is no assurance that the FTSE Australia Capped Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. While FTSE Russell provides descriptions of what the FTSE Australia Capped Index is designed to achieve, FTSE Russell does not guarantee the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in respect of its indices, and does not guarantee that the FTSE Australia Capped Index will be in line with the described index methodology. Gains, losses or costs to the Fund caused by errors in the FTSE Australia Capped Index may therefore be borne by the Fund and its shareholders.
Non-Correlation There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of correlation to the FTSE Australia Capped Index and therefore achieve its investment goal. Market disruptions and regulatory restrictions could have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track the FTSE Australia Capped Index. In addition, the Fund’s NAV may deviate from the FTSE Australia Capped Index if the Fund fair values a portfolio security at a price other than the price used by the FTSE Australia Capped Index for that security. To the extent that the investment manager uses a representative sampling strategy, the Fund may not track the return of the FTSE Australia Capped Index as well as it would have if the Fund held all of the securities in the FTSE Australia Capped Index.
Tracking Error Tracking error is the divergence of the Fund’s performance from that of the FTSE Australia Capped Index. Tracking error may occur because of differences between the securities held in the Fund’s portfolio and those included in the FTSE Australia Capped Index, pricing differences (including differences between a security’s price at the local market close and the Fund’s valuation of a security at the time of calculation of the Fund’s NAV), transaction costs, the Fund’s holding of cash, differences in timing of the accrual of dividends or interest, tax gains or losses, changes to the FTSE Australia Capped Index or the need to meet various new or existing regulatory requirements. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. Tracking error also may result because the Fund incurs fees and expenses, while the FTSE Australia Capped Index does not.
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ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
Market Trading The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, periods of high volatility and disruption in the creation/redemption process of the Fund. Any of these factors, among others, may lead to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV. Thus, you may pay more (or less) than NAV when you buy shares of the Fund in the secondary market, and you may receive less (or more) than NAV when you sell those shares in the secondary market. The investment manager cannot predict whether shares will trade above (premium), below (discount) or at NAV.
Concentration To the extent the Fund concentrates in a specific industry, a group of industries, sector or type of investment, the Fund will carry much greater risks of adverse developments and price movements in such industries, sectors or investments than a fund that invests in a wider variety of industries, sectors or investments. There is also the risk that the Fund will perform poorly during a slump in demand for securities of companies in such industries or sectors.
The Fund may focus in the banking industry. Companies in the banking industry are subject to certain risks, including the effects of: (1) changes in interest rates on the profitability of banks; (2) the rate of corporate and consumer debt defaults; (3) price competition; (4) governmental limitations on a company’s loans, other financial commitments, product lines and other operations; and (5) ongoing changes in the financial services industry (including consolidations, development of new products and changes to the industry’s regulatory framework).
Non-Diversification
Mid Capitalization Companies Securities issued by mid capitalization companies may be more volatile in price than those of larger companies, involve substantial risks and should be considered speculative. Such risks may include greater sensitivity to economic conditions, less certain growth prospects, lack of depth of management and funds for growth and development, and limited or less developed product lines and markets. In addition, mid capitalization companies may be particularly affected by interest rate increases, as they may find it more difficult to borrow money to continue or expand operations, or may have difficulty in repaying any loans.
Passive Investment Unlike many investment companies, the Fund is not actively managed and the investment manager does not attempt to take defensive positions under any market conditions, including declining markets. Therefore, the investment manager would not necessarily buy or sell a security unless that
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FRANKLIN FTSE AUSTRALIA
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
security is added or removed, respectively, from the FTSE Australia Capped Index, even if that security generally is underperforming.
International Closed Market Trading To the extent that the underlying securities held by the Fund trade on an exchange that is closed when the securities exchange on which the Fund shares list and trade is open, there may be market uncertainty about the stale security pricing (i.e., the last quote from its closed foreign market) resulting in premiums or discounts to NAV that may be greater than those experienced by other ETFs.
Authorized Participant Concentration Only an authorized participant (Authorized Participant) may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that act as Authorized Participants. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units (as defined below), Fund shares may trade at a discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting. This risk may be more pronounced in volatile markets, potentially where there are significant redemptions in ETFs generally.
Small Fund When the Fund's size is small, the Fund may experience low trading volume and wide bid/ask spreads. In addition, the Fund may face the risk of being delisted if the Fund does not meet certain conditions of the listing exchange.
Large Shareholder Certain shareholders, including other funds or accounts advised by the investment manager or an affiliate of the investment manager, may from time to time own a substantial amount of the Fund’s shares. In addition, a third-party investor, the investment manager or an affiliate of the investment manager, an authorized participant, a lead market maker, or another entity may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a limited period of time solely to facilitate commencement of the Fund or to facilitate the Fund’s achieving a specified size or scale. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder would not redeem its investment, that the size of the Fund would be maintained at such levels or that the Fund would continue to meet applicable listing requirements. Redemptions by large shareholders could have a significant negative impact on the Fund. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on the listing exchange and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the shares.
The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows changes in the Fund's performance from year to year. The table shows how the Fund's average annual returns for 1 year, 5 years, 10 years or since inception, as applicable, compared with those of the Fund's
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FRANKLIN FTSE AUSTRALIA
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
underlying
index.
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For periods ended December 31, 2020
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1 Year |
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Since Inception |
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Franklin FTSE Australia ETF |
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Since inception November 2, 2017. |
The after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
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FRANKLIN FTSE AUSTRALIA
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
Investment Manager
Franklin Advisory Services, LLC (Advisory Services)
Portfolio Managers
Dina Ting, CFA
Senior Vice President of Advisory Services and portfolio manager of the Fund since inception (2017).
Hailey Harris
Vice President of Advisory Services and portfolio manager of the Fund since 2019.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund is an ETF. Fund shares may only be purchased and sold on a national securities exchange through a broker-dealer. The price of Fund shares is based on market price, and because ETF shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (a premium) or less than NAV (a discount). The Fund issues or redeems shares that have been aggregated into blocks of 50,000 shares or multiples thereof (Creation Units) to Authorized Participants who have entered into agreements with the Fund’s distributor, Franklin Distributors, LLC. The Fund will generally issue or redeem Creation Units in exchange for a basket of securities (and an amount of cash) that the Fund specifies each day.
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the "bid-ask spread"). Recent information, including information on the Fund's NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads is available on the Fund's website at https://www.franklintempleton.com/ investor/investments-and-solutions/investment-options/etfs/.
Taxes
The Fund’s distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case your distributions would generally be taxed when withdrawn from the tax-deferred account.
Payments
to Broker-Dealers and
Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the investment manager or other related companies
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ETF
FUND
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may pay the intermediary for certain Fund-related activities, including those that are designed to make the intermediary more knowledgeable about exchange traded products, such as the Fund, as well as for marketing, education or other initiatives related to the sale or promotion of Fund shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
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FRANKLIN FTSE BRAZIL
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
FLBR |
To seek to provide investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the FTSE Brazil RIC Capped Index (the FTSE Brazil Capped Index).
The following table describes the fees and expenses that you will incur if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may also incur other fees, such as usual and customary brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and the Example that follows.
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
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Management fees |
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Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees |
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Other expenses |
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Total annual Fund operating expenses |
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This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of the period. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
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10 Years |
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The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held
franklintempleton.com |
Prospectus |
13 |
FRANKLIN FTSE BRAZIL
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
in
a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual Fund operating
expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most
recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was
The Fund, using a “passive” or indexing investment approach, seeks investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the FTSE Brazil Capped Index. The investment manager seeks to achieve, over time, a correlation between the Fund’s performance, before fees and expenses, and that of the FTSE Brazil Capped Index of 0.95 or better. A figure of 1.00 would indicate perfect correlation. The Fund may use either a replication strategy or representative sampling strategy. Under a replication strategy, the Fund will replicate the component securities of the FTSE Brazil Capped Index as closely as possible (i.e., invest in all of the component securities in their respective weightings in the FTSE Brazil Capped Index). However, under various circumstances, it may not be possible or practicable to replicate the FTSE Brazil Capped Index. In these circumstances, the Fund may use a “representative sampling” strategy whereby the Fund would invest in what it believes to be a representative sample of the component securities of the FTSE Brazil Capped Index, but may not track the FTSE Brazil Capped Index with the same degree of accuracy as would an investment vehicle replicating the entire FTSE Brazil Capped Index. Under the representative sampling technique, the investment manager will select securities that collectively have an investment profile similar to that of the FTSE Brazil Capped Index, including securities that resemble those included in the FTSE Brazil
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Prospectus |
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FRANKLIN FTSE BRAZIL
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
Capped Index in terms of risk factors, performance attributes and other characteristics, such as market capitalization and industry weightings.
The Fund is a "non-diversified" fund, which means it generally invests a greater proportion of its assets in the securities of one or more issuers and invests overall in a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund.
The Fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., hold 25% or more of its net assets) in a particular industry or group of industries to approximately the same extent that the FTSE Brazil Capped Index is concentrated. As of May 31, 2021, the FTSE Brazil Capped Index was concentrated in the financials sector.
Market The market values of securities or other investments owned by the Fund will go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. The market value of a security or other investment may be reduced by market activity or other results of supply and demand unrelated to the issuer. This is a basic risk associated with all investments. When there are more sellers than buyers, prices tend to fall. Likewise, when there are more buyers than sellers, prices tend to rise.
The current global outbreak of the novel strain of coronavirus, COVID-19, has resulted in market closures and dislocations, extreme volatility, liquidity constraints and increased trading costs. Efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 have resulted in global travel restrictions and disruptions of healthcare systems, business operations and supply chains, layoffs, reduced consumer demand, defaults and credit ratings downgrades, and other significant economic impacts. The effects of COVID-19 have impacted global economic activity across many industries and may heighten other pre-existing political, social and economic risks, locally or globally. The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is unpredictable and may adversely affect the Fund’s performance.
Stock prices tend to go up and down more dramatically than those of debt securities. A slower-growth or recessionary economic environment could have an adverse effect on the prices of the various stocks held by the Fund.
Foreign Securities (non-U.S.) Investing in foreign securities typically involves more risks than investing in U.S. securities, and includes risks associated with: (i) internal and external political and economic developments – e.g., the political,
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Prospectus |
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FRANKLIN FTSE BRAZIL
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
economic and social policies and structures of some foreign countries may be less stable and more volatile than those in the U.S. or some foreign countries may be subject to trading restrictions or economic sanctions; (ii) trading practices – e.g., government supervision and regulation of foreign securities and currency markets, trading systems and brokers may be less than in the U.S.; (iii) availability of information – e.g., foreign issuers may not be subject to the same disclosure, accounting and financial reporting standards and practices as U.S. issuers; (iv) limited markets – e.g., the securities of certain foreign issuers may be less liquid (harder to sell) and more volatile; and (v) currency exchange rate fluctuations and policies (e.g., fluctuations may negatively affect investments denominated in foreign currencies and any income received or expenses paid by the Fund in that foreign currency). The risks of foreign investments may be greater in developing or emerging market countries.
Emerging Market Countries The Fund’s investments in emerging market issuers are subject to all of the risks of foreign investing generally, and have additional heightened risks due to a lack of established legal, political, business and social frameworks to support securities markets, including: delays in settling portfolio securities transactions; currency and capital controls; greater sensitivity to interest rate changes; pervasiveness of corruption and crime; currency exchange rate volatility; and inflation, deflation or currency devaluation.
Geographic Focus Because the Fund invests its assets primarily in companies in a specific country and region, the Fund is subject to greater risks of adverse developments in that country, region and/or the surrounding regions than a fund that is more broadly diversified geographically. Political, social or economic disruptions in the country or region, even in countries in which the Fund is not invested, may adversely affect the value of investments held by the Fund.
The Brazilian economy has experienced in the past, and may continue to experience, periods of high inflation rates and political unrest. The Brazilian economy depends heavily on international trade, and its economy is highly sensitive to fluctuations in international commodity prices and commodity markets. Currency devaluations or restrictions, fluctuations in commodity markets, political and social instability, high inflation rates and deteriorating economic conditions may result in significant downturns and increased volatility in the Brazilian economy, as it has in the past, and thus adversely affect the Fund’s performance.
Depositary Receipts Depositary receipts are subject to many of the risks of the underlying securities. For some depositary receipts, the custodian or similar financial institution that holds the issuer's shares in a trust account is located in the issuer's home country. In these cases if the issuer’s home country does not have developed financial markets, the Fund could be exposed to the credit risk of the custodian or financial institution and greater market risk. In addition, the depository institution may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times
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FRANKLIN FTSE BRAZIL
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
and may charge fees for various services. The Fund may experience delays in receiving its dividend and interest payments or exercising rights as a shareholder. There may be an increased possibility of untimely responses to certain corporate actions of the issuer in an unsponsored depositary receipt program. Accordingly, there may be less information available regarding issuers of securities underlying unsponsored programs and there may not be a correlation between this information and the market value of the depositary receipts.
Preferred Securities Preferred securities are subject to general market and issuer-specific risks applicable to equity securities as well as certain risks associated with fixed income securities, including sensitivity to changes in interest rates. Preferred securities may be subordinated to bonds or other debt instruments in an issuer's capital structure, subjecting them to a greater risk of non-payment. The value of preferred securities is heavily dependent on the profitability and cash flows of the issuer and may decline substantially due to the omission or deferment of dividend payments. Preferred securities may be less liquid than other securities, such as common stocks, and generally do not provide voting rights with respect to the issuer.
Calculation Methodology FTSE Russell relies on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the FTSE Brazil Capped Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the investment manager can offer assurances that FTSE Russell's calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers or that the included issuers will provide the Fund with the market exposure it seeks.
Index-Related There is no assurance that the FTSE Brazil Capped Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. While FTSE Russell provides descriptions of what the FTSE Brazil Capped Index is designed to achieve, FTSE Russell does not guarantee the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in respect of its indices, and does not guarantee that the FTSE Brazil Capped Index will be in line with the described index methodology. Gains, losses or costs to the Fund caused by errors in the FTSE Brazil Capped Index may therefore be borne by the Fund and its shareholders.
Non-Correlation There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of correlation to the FTSE Brazil Capped Index and therefore achieve its investment goal. Market disruptions and regulatory restrictions could have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track the FTSE Brazil Capped Index. In addition, the Fund’s NAV may deviate from the FTSE Brazil Capped Index if the Fund fair values a portfolio security at a price other than the price used by the FTSE Brazil Capped Index for that security. To the extent that the investment manager uses a representative sampling strategy, the Fund may not track the return of the FTSE Brazil Capped
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FRANKLIN FTSE BRAZIL
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
Index as well as it would have if the Fund held all of the securities in the FTSE Brazil Capped Index.
Tracking Error Tracking error is the divergence of the Fund’s performance from that of the FTSE Brazil Capped Index. Tracking error may occur because of differences between the securities held in the Fund’s portfolio and those included in the FTSE Brazil Capped Index, pricing differences (including differences between a security’s price at the local market close and the Fund’s valuation of a security at the time of calculation of the Fund’s NAV), transaction costs, the Fund’s holding of cash, differences in timing of the accrual of dividends or interest, tax gains or losses, changes to the FTSE Brazil Capped Index or the need to meet various new or existing regulatory requirements. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. Tracking error also may result because the Fund incurs fees and expenses, while the FTSE Brazil Capped Index does not.
Market Trading The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, periods of high volatility and disruption in the creation/redemption process of the Fund. Any of these factors, among others, may lead to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV. Thus, you may pay more (or less) than NAV when you buy shares of the Fund in the secondary market, and you may receive less (or more) than NAV when you sell those shares in the secondary market. The investment manager cannot predict whether shares will trade above (premium), below (discount) or at NAV.
Concentration To the extent the Fund concentrates in a specific industry, a group of industries, sector or type of investment, the Fund will carry much greater risks of adverse developments and price movements in such industries, sectors or investments than a fund that invests in a wider variety of industries, sectors or investments. There is also the risk that the Fund will perform poorly during a slump in demand for securities of companies in such industries or sectors.
The Fund may focus in the financial services sector. Financial services companies are subject to extensive government regulation that may affect their profitability in many ways, including by limiting the amount and types of loans and other commitments they can make, and the interest rates and fees they can charge. A financial services company's profitability, and therefore its stock prices, is especially sensitive to interest rate changes as well as the ability of borrowers to repay their loans. Changing regulations, continuing consolidations, and development of new products and structures all are likely to have a significant impact on financial services companies.
Non-Diversification
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FRANKLIN FTSE BRAZIL
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
investments than a diversified fund, which may negatively impact the Fund's performance and result in greater fluctuation in the value of the Fund’s shares.
Mid Capitalization Companies Securities issued by mid capitalization companies may be more volatile in price than those of larger companies, involve substantial risks and should be considered speculative. Such risks may include greater sensitivity to economic conditions, less certain growth prospects, lack of depth of management and funds for growth and development, and limited or less developed product lines and markets. In addition, mid capitalization companies may be particularly affected by interest rate increases, as they may find it more difficult to borrow money to continue or expand operations, or may have difficulty in repaying any loans.
Passive Investment Unlike many investment companies, the Fund is not actively managed and the investment manager does not attempt to take defensive positions under any market conditions, including declining markets. Therefore, the investment manager would not necessarily buy or sell a security unless that security is added or removed, respectively, from the FTSE Brazil Capped Index, even if that security generally is underperforming.
International Closed Market Trading To the extent that the underlying securities held by the Fund trade on an exchange that is closed when the securities exchange on which the Fund shares list and trade is open, there may be market uncertainty about the stale security pricing (i.e., the last quote from its closed foreign market) resulting in premiums or discounts to NAV that may be greater than those experienced by other ETFs.
Authorized Participant Concentration Only an authorized participant (Authorized Participant) may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that act as Authorized Participants. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units (as defined below), Fund shares may trade at a discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting. This risk may be more pronounced in volatile markets, potentially where there are significant redemptions in ETFs generally.
Cash Transactions Unlike certain ETFs, the Fund expects to generally effect its creations and redemptions entirely for cash, rather than for in-kind securities. Therefore, it may be required to sell portfolio securities and subsequently recognize gains on such sales that the Fund might not have recognized if it were to distribute portfolio securities in-kind. As such, investments in Fund shares may be less tax-efficient than an investment in an ETF that distributes portfolio securities entirely in-kind.
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FRANKLIN FTSE BRAZIL
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
Small Fund When the Fund's size is small, the Fund may experience low trading volume and wide bid/ask spreads. In addition, the Fund may face the risk of being delisted if the Fund does not meet certain conditions of the listing exchange.
Large Shareholder Certain shareholders, including other funds or accounts advised by the investment manager or an affiliate of the investment manager, may from time to time own a substantial amount of the Fund’s shares. In addition, a third-party investor, the investment manager or an affiliate of the investment manager, an authorized participant, a lead market maker, or another entity may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a limited period of time solely to facilitate commencement of the Fund or to facilitate the Fund’s achieving a specified size or scale. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder would not redeem its investment, that the size of the Fund would be maintained at such levels or that the Fund would continue to meet applicable listing requirements. Redemptions by large shareholders could have a significant negative impact on the Fund. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on the listing exchange and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the shares.
The
following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing
in the Fund. The bar chart shows changes in the Fund's performance from year to
year. The table shows how the Fund's average annual returns for 1 year, 5 years,
10 years or since inception, as applicable, compared with those of the Fund's
underlying index.
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FRANKLIN FTSE BRAZIL
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
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For periods ended December 31, 2020
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1 Year |
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Since Inception |
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Franklin FTSE Brazil ETF |
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1 |
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1 |
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1 |
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1 | |
1. |
Since inception November 3, 2017. |
The after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
Investment Manager
Franklin Advisory Services, LLC (Advisory Services)
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FRANKLIN FTSE BRAZIL
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
Portfolio Managers
Dina Ting, CFA
Senior Vice President of Advisory Services and portfolio manager of the Fund since inception (2017).
Hailey Harris
Vice President of Advisory Services and portfolio manager of the Fund since 2019.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund is an ETF. Fund shares may only be purchased and sold on a national securities exchange through a broker-dealer. The price of Fund shares is based on market price, and because ETF shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (a premium) or less than NAV (a discount). The Fund issues or redeems shares that have been aggregated into blocks of 100,000 shares or multiples thereof (Creation Units) to Authorized Participants who have entered into agreements with the Fund’s distributor, Franklin Distributors, LLC. The Fund will generally issue or redeem Creation Units in exchange for a basket of cash and/or securities that the Fund specifies each day.
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the "bid-ask spread"). Recent information, including information on the Fund's NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads is available on the Fund's website at https://www.franklintempleton.com/ investor/investments-and-solutions/investment-options/etfs/.
Taxes
The Fund’s distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case your distributions would generally be taxed when withdrawn from the tax-deferred account.
Payments
to Broker-Dealers and
Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the investment manager or other related companies may pay the intermediary for certain Fund-related activities, including those that are designed to make the intermediary more knowledgeable about exchange traded products, such as the Fund, as well as for marketing, education or other initiatives related to the sale or promotion of Fund shares. These payments may create a
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FRANKLIN FTSE BRAZIL
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
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FRANKLIN FTSE CANADA
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
FLCA |
To seek to provide investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the FTSE Canada RIC Capped Index (the FTSE Canada Capped Index).
The following table describes the fees and expenses that you will incur if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may also incur other fees, such as usual and customary brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and the Example that follows.
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
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Management fees |
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Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees |
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Other expenses |
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Total annual Fund operating expenses |
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This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of the period. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
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1 Year |
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3 Years |
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5 Years |
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10 Years |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ | |
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The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held
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FRANKLIN FTSE CANADA
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
in
a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual Fund operating
expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most
recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was
The Fund, using a “passive” or indexing investment approach, seeks investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the FTSE Canada Capped Index. The investment manager seeks to achieve, over time, a correlation between the Fund’s performance, before fees and expenses, and that of the FTSE Canada Capped Index of 0.95 or better. A figure of 1.00 would indicate perfect correlation. The Fund may use either a replication strategy or representative sampling strategy. Under a replication strategy, the Fund will replicate the component securities of the FTSE Canada Capped Index as closely as possible (i.e., invest in all of the component securities in their respective weightings in the FTSE Canada Capped Index). However, under various circumstances, it may not be possible or practicable to replicate the FTSE Canada Capped Index. In these circumstances, the Fund may use a “representative sampling” strategy whereby the Fund would invest in what it believes to be a representative sample of the component securities of the FTSE Canada Capped Index, but may not track the FTSE Canada Capped Index with the same degree of accuracy as would an investment vehicle replicating the entire FTSE Canada Capped Index. Under the representative sampling technique, the investment manager will select securities that collectively have an investment profile similar to that of the FTSE Canada Capped Index, including securities that resemble those included in the FTSE Canada Capped Index in terms of risk factors, performance
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FRANKLIN FTSE CANADA
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
attributes and other characteristics, such as market capitalization and industry weightings.
The Fund is a "non-diversified" fund, which means it generally invests a greater proportion of its assets in the securities of one or more issuers and invests overall in a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund.
The Fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., hold 25% or more of its net assets) in a particular industry or group of industries to approximately the same extent that the FTSE Canada Capped Index is concentrated. As of May 31, 2021, the FTSE Canada Capped Index was concentrated in the banking industry.
Market The market values of securities or other investments owned by the Fund will go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. The market value of a security or other investment may be reduced by market activity or other results of supply and demand unrelated to the issuer. This is a basic risk associated with all investments. When there are more sellers than buyers, prices tend to fall. Likewise, when there are more buyers than sellers, prices tend to rise.
The current global outbreak of the novel strain of coronavirus, COVID-19, has resulted in market closures and dislocations, extreme volatility, liquidity constraints and increased trading costs. Efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 have resulted in global travel restrictions and disruptions of healthcare systems, business operations and supply chains, layoffs, reduced consumer demand, defaults and credit ratings downgrades, and other significant economic impacts. The effects of COVID-19 have impacted global economic activity across many industries and may heighten other pre-existing political, social and economic risks, locally or globally. The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is unpredictable and may adversely affect the Fund’s performance.
Stock prices tend to go up and down more dramatically than those of debt securities. A slower-growth or recessionary economic environment could have an adverse effect on the prices of the various stocks held by the Fund.
Foreign Securities (non-U.S.) Investing in foreign securities typically involves more risks than investing in U.S. securities, and includes risks associated with: (i) internal and external political and economic developments – e.g., the political,
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ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
economic and social policies and structures of some foreign countries may be less stable and more volatile than those in the U.S. or some foreign countries may be subject to trading restrictions or economic sanctions; (ii) trading practices – e.g., government supervision and regulation of foreign securities and currency markets, trading systems and brokers may be less than in the U.S.; (iii) availability of information – e.g., foreign issuers may not be subject to the same disclosure, accounting and financial reporting standards and practices as U.S. issuers; (iv) limited markets – e.g., the securities of certain foreign issuers may be less liquid (harder to sell) and more volatile; and (v) currency exchange rate fluctuations and policies (e.g., fluctuations may negatively affect investments denominated in foreign currencies and any income received or expenses paid by the Fund in that foreign currency).
Geographic Focus Because the Fund invests its assets primarily in companies in a specific country and region, the Fund is subject to greater risks of adverse developments in that country, region and/or the surrounding regions than a fund that is more broadly diversified geographically. Political, social or economic disruptions in the country or region, even in countries in which the Fund is not invested, may adversely affect the value of investments held by the Fund.
Investments in Canadian issuers may subject the Fund to economic risk specific to Canada. Among other things, the Canadian economy is heavily dependent on relationships with certain key trading partners, including the United States and China. The Canadian economy is sensitive to fluctuations in certain commodity markets.
Depositary Receipts Depositary receipts are subject to many of the risks of the underlying securities. For some depositary receipts, the custodian or similar financial institution that holds the issuer's shares in a trust account is located in the issuer's home country. In these cases if the issuer’s home country does not have developed financial markets, the Fund could be exposed to the credit risk of the custodian or financial institution and greater market risk. In addition, the depository institution may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services. The Fund may experience delays in receiving its dividend and interest payments or exercising rights as a shareholder. There may be an increased possibility of untimely responses to certain corporate actions of the issuer in an unsponsored depositary receipt program. Accordingly, there may be less information available regarding issuers of securities underlying unsponsored programs and there may not be a correlation between this information and the market value of the depositary receipts.
Calculation Methodology FTSE Russell relies on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the FTSE Canada Capped Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the investment manager can offer assurances that FTSE Russell's
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FRANKLIN FTSE CANADA
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers or that the included issuers will provide the Fund with the market exposure it seeks.
Index-Related There is no assurance that the FTSE Canada Capped Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. While FTSE Russell provides descriptions of what the FTSE Canada Capped Index is designed to achieve, FTSE Russell does not guarantee the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in respect of its indices, and does not guarantee that the FTSE Canada Capped Index will be in line with the described index methodology. Gains, losses or costs to the Fund caused by errors in the FTSE Canada Capped Index may therefore be borne by the Fund and its shareholders.
Non-Correlation There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of correlation to the FTSE Canada Capped Index and therefore achieve its investment goal. Market disruptions and regulatory restrictions could have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track the FTSE Canada Capped Index. In addition, the Fund’s NAV may deviate from the FTSE Canada Capped Index if the Fund fair values a portfolio security at a price other than the price used by the FTSE Canada Capped Index for that security. To the extent that the investment manager uses a representative sampling strategy, the Fund may not track the return of the FTSE Canada Capped Index as well as it would have if the Fund held all of the securities in the FTSE Canada Capped Index.
Tracking Error Tracking error is the divergence of the Fund’s performance from that of the FTSE Canada Capped Index. Tracking error may occur because of differences between the securities held in the Fund’s portfolio and those included in the FTSE Canada Capped Index, pricing differences (including differences between a security’s price at the local market close and the Fund’s valuation of a security at the time of calculation of the Fund’s NAV), transaction costs, the Fund’s holding of cash, differences in timing of the accrual of dividends or interest, tax gains or losses, changes to the FTSE Canada Capped Index or the need to meet various new or existing regulatory requirements. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. Tracking error also may result because the Fund incurs fees and expenses, while the FTSE Canada Capped Index does not.
Market Trading The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, periods of high volatility and disruption in the creation/redemption process of the Fund. Any of these factors, among others, may lead to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV. Thus, you may pay more (or less) than NAV when you buy shares of the Fund in the secondary market, and you may receive less (or more) than NAV when you sell those shares in the secondary
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ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
market. The investment manager cannot predict whether shares will trade above (premium), below (discount) or at NAV.
Concentration To the extent the Fund concentrates in a specific industry, a group of industries, sector or type of investment, the Fund will carry much greater risks of adverse developments and price movements in such industries, sectors or investments than a fund that invests in a wider variety of industries, sectors or investments. There is also the risk that the Fund will perform poorly during a slump in demand for securities of companies in such industries or sectors.
The Fund may focus in the banking industry. Companies in the banking industry are subject to certain risks, including the effects of: (1) changes in interest rates on the profitability of banks; (2) the rate of corporate and consumer debt defaults; (3) price competition; (4) governmental limitations on a company’s loans, other financial commitments, product lines and other operations; and (5) ongoing changes in the financial services industry (including consolidations, development of new products and changes to the industry’s regulatory framework).
Non-Diversification
Mid Capitalization Companies Securities issued by mid capitalization companies may be more volatile in price than those of larger companies, involve substantial risks and should be considered speculative. Such risks may include greater sensitivity to economic conditions, less certain growth prospects, lack of depth of management and funds for growth and development, and limited or less developed product lines and markets. In addition, mid capitalization companies may be particularly affected by interest rate increases, as they may find it more difficult to borrow money to continue or expand operations, or may have difficulty in repaying any loans.
Passive Investment Unlike many investment companies, the Fund is not actively managed and the investment manager does not attempt to take defensive positions under any market conditions, including declining markets. Therefore, the investment manager would not necessarily buy or sell a security unless that security is added or removed, respectively, from the FTSE Canada Capped Index, even if that security generally is underperforming.
International Closed Market Trading To the extent that the underlying securities held by the Fund trade on an exchange that is closed when the securities exchange on which the Fund shares list and trade is open, there may be market uncertainty about the stale security pricing (i.e., the last quote from its closed foreign market) resulting in premiums or discounts to NAV that may be greater than those experienced by other ETFs.
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FRANKLIN FTSE CANADA
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
Authorized Participant Concentration Only an authorized participant (Authorized Participant) may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that act as Authorized Participants. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units (as defined below), Fund shares may trade at a discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting. This risk may be more pronounced in volatile markets, potentially where there are significant redemptions in ETFs generally.
Small Fund When the Fund's size is small, the Fund may experience low trading volume and wide bid/ask spreads. In addition, the Fund may face the risk of being delisted if the Fund does not meet certain conditions of the listing exchange.
Large Shareholder Certain shareholders, including other funds or accounts advised by the investment manager or an affiliate of the investment manager, may from time to time own a substantial amount of the Fund’s shares. In addition, a third-party investor, the investment manager or an affiliate of the investment manager, an authorized participant, a lead market maker, or another entity may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a limited period of time solely to facilitate commencement of the Fund or to facilitate the Fund’s achieving a specified size or scale. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder would not redeem its investment, that the size of the Fund would be maintained at such levels or that the Fund would continue to meet applicable listing requirements. Redemptions by large shareholders could have a significant negative impact on the Fund. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on the listing exchange and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the shares.
The
following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing
in the Fund. The bar chart shows changes in the Fund's performance from year to
year. The table shows how the Fund's average annual returns for 1 year, 5 years,
10 years or since inception, as applicable, compared with those of the Fund's
underlying index.
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ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
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For periods ended December 31, 2020
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1 Year |
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Since Inception |
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Franklin FTSE Canada ETF |
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1 |
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1 |
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1 |
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1 | |
1. |
Since inception November 2, 2017. |
The after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
Investment Manager
Franklin Advisory Services, LLC (Advisory Services)
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31 |
FRANKLIN FTSE CANADA
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
Portfolio Managers
Dina Ting, CFA
Senior Vice President of Advisory Services and portfolio manager of the Fund since inception (2017).
Hailey Harris
Vice President of Advisory Services and portfolio manager of the Fund since 2019.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund is an ETF. Fund shares may only be purchased and sold on a national securities exchange through a broker-dealer. The price of Fund shares is based on market price, and because ETF shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (a premium) or less than NAV (a discount). The Fund issues or redeems shares that have been aggregated into blocks of 50,000 shares or multiples thereof (Creation Units) to Authorized Participants who have entered into agreements with the Fund’s distributor, Franklin Distributors, LLC. The Fund will generally issue or redeem Creation Units in exchange for a basket of securities (and an amount of cash) that the Fund specifies each day.
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the "bid-ask spread"). Recent information, including information on the Fund's NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads is available on the Fund's website at https://www.franklintempleton.com/ investor/investments-and-solutions/investment-options/etfs/.
Taxes
The Fund’s distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case your distributions would generally be taxed when withdrawn from the tax-deferred account.
Payments
to Broker-Dealers and
Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the investment manager or other related companies may pay the intermediary for certain Fund-related activities, including those that are designed to make the intermediary more knowledgeable about exchange traded products, such as the Fund, as well as for marketing, education or other initiatives
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FRANKLIN FTSE CANADA
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
related to the sale or promotion of Fund shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
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33 |
FRANKLIN FTSE CHINA
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
FLCH |
To seek to provide investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the FTSE China RIC Capped Index (the FTSE China Capped Index).
The following table describes the fees and expenses that you will incur if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may also incur other fees, such as usual and customary brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and the Example that follows.
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
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Management fees |
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Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees |
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Other expenses |
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Total annual Fund operating expenses |
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This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of the period. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
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1 Year |
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3 Years |
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5 Years |
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10 Years |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ | |
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The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held
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FRANKLIN FTSE CHINA
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
in
a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual Fund operating
expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most
recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was
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35 |
FRANKLIN FTSE CHINA
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
and currency of denomination. As of May 31, 2021, the FTSE China Capped Index was comprised of 1,018 securities with capitalizations ranging from $220 million to $756.85 billion.
The Fund, using a “passive” or indexing investment approach, seeks investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the FTSE China Capped Index. The investment manager seeks to achieve, over time, a correlation between the Fund’s performance, before fees and expenses, and that of the FTSE China Capped Index of 0.95 or better. A figure of 1.00 would indicate perfect correlation. The Fund may use either a replication strategy or representative sampling strategy. Under a replication strategy, the Fund will replicate the component securities of the FTSE China Capped Index as closely as possible (i.e., invest in all of the component securities in their respective weightings in the FTSE China Capped Index). However, it may not be possible or practicable to replicate the FTSE China Capped Index. In these circumstances, the Fund may use a representative sampling strategy whereby the Fund will invest in what it believes to be a representative sample of the component securities of the FTSE China Capped Index, but may not track the FTSE China Capped Index with the same degree of accuracy as would an investment vehicle replicating the entire FTSE China Capped Index. Under the representative sampling technique, the investment manager will select securities that collectively have an investment profile similar to that of the FTSE China Capped Index, including securities that resemble those included in the FTSE China Capped Index in terms of risk factors, performance attributes and other characteristics, such as market capitalization and industry weightings. The Fund invests in eligible China A-Shares listed and traded on the Shanghai stock exchange through the Shanghai – Hong Kong Stock Connect program and in eligible China A-Shares listed and traded on the Shenzhen stock exchange through the Shenzhen – Hong Kong Stock Connect program (both programs collectively referred to as “Stock Connect”). The Fund may also invest in China A-Shares acquired through any other means permitted by applicable law or regulation.
The Fund is a "non-diversified" fund, which means it generally invests a greater proportion of its assets in the securities of one or more issuers and invests overall in a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund.
The Fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., hold 25% or more of its net assets) in a particular industry or group of industries to approximately the same extent that the FTSE China Capped Index is concentrated. As of May 31, 2021, the FTSE China Capped Index was concentrated in the consumer discretionary sector.
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and are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board, or any other agency of the U.S. government. The Fund is subject to the principal risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value (NAV), trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment goal.
Market The market values of securities or other investments owned by the Fund will go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. The market value of a security or other investment may be reduced by market activity or other results of supply and demand unrelated to the issuer. This is a basic risk associated with all investments. When there are more sellers than buyers, prices tend to fall. Likewise, when there are more buyers than sellers, prices tend to rise.
The current global outbreak of the novel strain of coronavirus, COVID-19, has resulted in market closures and dislocations, extreme volatility, liquidity constraints and increased trading costs. Efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 have resulted in global travel restrictions and disruptions of healthcare systems, business operations and supply chains, layoffs, reduced consumer demand, defaults and credit ratings downgrades, and other significant economic impacts. The effects of COVID-19 have impacted global economic activity across many industries and may heighten other pre-existing political, social and economic risks, locally or globally. The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is unpredictable and may adversely affect the Fund’s performance.
Stock prices tend to go up and down more dramatically than those of debt securities. A slower-growth or recessionary economic environment could have an adverse effect on the prices of the various stocks held by the Fund.
Foreign Securities (non-U.S.) Investing in foreign securities typically involves more risks than investing in U.S. securities, and includes risks associated with: (i) internal and external political and economic developments – e.g., the political, economic and social policies and structures of some foreign countries may be less stable and more volatile than those in the U.S. or some foreign countries may be subject to trading restrictions or economic sanctions; (ii) trading practices – e.g., government supervision and regulation of foreign securities and currency markets, trading systems and brokers may be less than in the U.S.; (iii) availability of information – e.g., foreign issuers may not be subject to the same disclosure, accounting and financial reporting standards and practices as U.S. issuers; (iv) limited markets – e.g., the securities of certain foreign issuers may be less liquid (harder to sell) and more volatile; and (v) currency exchange rate fluctuations and policies (e.g., fluctuations may negatively affect investments denominated in foreign currencies and any income received or expenses paid by the Fund in that foreign currency). The risks of foreign investments may be greater in developing or emerging market countries.
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Emerging Market Countries The Fund’s investments in emerging market issuers are subject to all of the risks of foreign investing generally, and have additional heightened risks due to a lack of established legal, political, business and social frameworks to support securities markets, including: delays in settling portfolio securities transactions; currency and capital controls; greater sensitivity to interest rate changes; pervasiveness of corruption and crime; currency exchange rate volatility; and inflation, deflation or currency devaluation.
Geographic Focus Because the Fund invests its assets primarily in companies in a specific country and region, the Fund is subject to greater risks of adverse developments in that country, region and/or the surrounding regions than a fund that is more broadly diversified geographically. Political, social or economic disruptions in the country or region, even in countries in which the Fund is not invested, may adversely affect the value of investments held by the Fund.
There are special risks associated with investments in China, including exposure to currency fluctuations, less liquidity, expropriation, confiscatory taxation, nationalization and exchange control regulations (including currency blockage). Inflation and rapid fluctuations in inflation and interest rates have had, and may continue to have, negative effects on the economy and securities markets of China. China is deemed by the investment manager to be an emerging markets country, which means an investment in this country has more heightened risks than general foreign investing due to a lack of established legal, political, business and social frameworks and accounting standards or auditor oversight in the country to support securities markets as well as the possibility for more widespread corruption and fraud. In addition, the standards for environmental, social and corporate governance matters in China also tend to be lower than such standards in more developed economies. Also, certain securities issued by companies located or operating in China, such as China A-Shares, are subject to trading restrictions, quota limitations, and clearing and settlement risks. In addition, there may be significant obstacles to obtaining information necessary for investigations into or litigation against companies located in or operating in China and shareholders may have limited legal remedies.The Fund is not actively managed and does not select investments based on investor protection considerations.
Trade disputes and the imposition of tariffs on goods and services can affect the Chinese economy, particularly in light of China's large export sector, as well as the global economy. Trade disputes can result in increased costs of production and reduced profitability for non-export-dependent companies that rely on imports to the extent China engages in retaliatory tariffs. Trade disputes may also lead to increased currency exchange rate volatility.
Depositary Receipts Depositary receipts are subject to many of the risks of the underlying securities. For some depositary receipts, the custodian or similar financial institution that holds the issuer's shares in a trust account is located in the
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issuer's home country. In these cases if the issuer’s home country does not have developed financial markets, the Fund could be exposed to the credit risk of the custodian or financial institution and greater market risk. In addition, the depository institution may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services. The Fund may experience delays in receiving its dividend and interest payments or exercising rights as a shareholder. There may be an increased possibility of untimely responses to certain corporate actions of the issuer in an unsponsored depositary receipt program. Accordingly, there may be less information available regarding issuers of securities underlying unsponsored programs and there may not be a correlation between this information and the market value of the depositary receipts.
Calculation Methodology FTSE Russell relies on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the FTSE China Capped Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the investment manager can offer assurances that FTSE Russell's calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers or that the included issuers will provide the Fund with the market exposure it seeks.
Index-Related There is no assurance that the FTSE China Capped Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. While FTSE Russell provides descriptions of what the FTSE China Capped Index is designed to achieve, FTSE Russell does not guarantee the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in respect of its indices, and does not guarantee that the FTSE China Capped Index will be in line with the described index methodology. Gains, losses or costs to the Fund caused by errors in the FTSE China Capped Index may therefore be borne by the Fund and its shareholders.
Non-Correlation There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of correlation to the FTSE China Capped Index and therefore achieve its investment goal. Market disruptions and regulatory restrictions could have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track the FTSE China Capped Index. In addition, the Fund’s NAV may deviate from the FTSE China Capped Index if the Fund fair values a portfolio security at a price other than the price used by the FTSE China Capped Index for that security. To the extent that the investment manager uses a representative sampling strategy, the Fund may not track the return of the FTSE China Capped Index as well as it would have if the Fund held all of the securities in the FTSE China Capped Index.
Tracking Error Tracking error is the divergence of the Fund’s performance from that of the FTSE China Capped Index. Tracking error may occur because of differences between the securities held in the Fund’s portfolio and those included in the FTSE China Capped Index, pricing differences (including differences between a
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security’s price at the local market close and the Fund’s valuation of a security at the time of calculation of the Fund’s NAV), transaction costs, the Fund’s holding of cash, differences in timing of the accrual of dividends or interest, tax gains or losses, changes to the FTSE China Capped Index or the need to meet various new or existing regulatory requirements. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. Tracking error also may result because the Fund incurs fees and expenses, while the FTSE China Capped Index does not.
Market Trading The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, periods of high volatility and disruption in the creation/redemption process of the Fund. Any of these factors, among others, may lead to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV. Thus, you may pay more (or less) than NAV when you buy shares of the Fund in the secondary market, and you may receive less (or more) than NAV when you sell those shares in the secondary market. The investment manager cannot predict whether shares will trade above (premium), below (discount) or at NAV.
Concentration To the extent the Fund concentrates in a specific industry, a group of industries, sector or type of investment, the Fund will carry much greater risks of adverse developments and price movements in such industries, sectors or investments than a fund that invests in a wider variety of industries, sectors or investments. There is also the risk that the Fund will perform poorly during a slump in demand for securities of companies in such industries or sectors.
The Fund may focus in the consumer discretionary sector. Companies in the consumer discretionary sector could be affected by, among other things, overall economic conditions, interest rates, consumer confidence, and disposable income.
Non-Diversification
Mid Capitalization Companies Securities issued by mid capitalization companies may be more volatile in price than those of larger companies, involve substantial risks and should be considered speculative. Such risks may include greater sensitivity to economic conditions, less certain growth prospects, lack of depth of management and funds for growth and development, and limited or less developed product lines and markets. In addition, mid capitalization companies may be particularly affected by interest rate increases, as they may find it more difficult to borrow money to continue or expand operations, or may have difficulty in repaying any loans.
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Passive Investment Unlike many investment companies, the Fund is not actively managed and the investment manager does not attempt to take defensive positions under any market conditions, including declining markets. Therefore, the investment manager would not necessarily buy or sell a security unless that security is added or removed, respectively, from the FTSE China Capped Index, even if that security generally is underperforming.
International Closed Market Trading To the extent that the underlying securities held by the Fund trade on an exchange that is closed when the securities exchange on which the Fund shares list and trade is open, there may be market uncertainty about the stale security pricing (i.e., the last quote from its closed foreign market) resulting in premiums or discounts to NAV that may be greater than those experienced by other ETFs.
Authorized Participant Concentration Only an authorized participant (Authorized Participant) may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that act as Authorized Participants. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units (as defined below), Fund shares may trade at a discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting. This risk may be more pronounced in volatile markets, potentially where there are significant redemptions in ETFs generally.
Cash Transactions Unlike certain ETFs, the Fund expects to generally effect its creations and redemptions partially for cash, rather than for in-kind securities. Therefore, it may be required to sell portfolio securities and subsequently recognize gains on such sales that the Fund might not have recognized if it were to distribute portfolio securities in-kind. As such, investments in Fund shares may be less tax-efficient than an investment in an ETF that distributes portfolio securities entirely in-kind.
Small Fund When the Fund's size is small, the Fund may experience low trading volume and wide bid/ask spreads. In addition, the Fund may face the risk of being delisted if the Fund does not meet certain conditions of the listing exchange.
Large Shareholder Certain shareholders, including other funds or accounts advised by the investment manager or an affiliate of the investment manager, may from time to time own a substantial amount of the Fund’s shares. In addition, a third-party investor, the investment manager or an affiliate of the investment manager, an authorized participant, a lead market maker, or another entity may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a limited period of time solely to facilitate commencement of the Fund or to facilitate the Fund’s achieving a specified size or scale. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder would not redeem its investment, that the size of the Fund would be maintained at
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such levels or that the Fund would continue to meet applicable listing requirements. Redemptions by large shareholders could have a significant negative impact on the Fund. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on the listing exchange and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the shares.
The
following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing
in the Fund. The bar chart shows changes in the Fund's performance from year to
year. The table shows how the Fund's average annual returns for 1 year, 5 years,
10 years or since inception, as applicable, compared with those of the Fund's
underlying index.
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For periods ended December 31, 2020
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Since inception November 2, 2017. |
The after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
Investment Manager
Franklin Advisory Services, LLC (Advisory Services)
Portfolio Managers
Dina Ting, CFA
Senior Vice President of Advisory Services and portfolio manager of the Fund since inception (2017).
Hailey Harris
Vice President of Advisory Services and portfolio manager of the Fund since 2019.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund is an ETF. Fund shares may only be purchased and sold on a national securities exchange through a broker-dealer. The price of Fund shares is based on market price, and because ETF shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (a premium) or less than NAV (a discount). The Fund issues or redeems shares that have been aggregated into blocks of 200,000 shares or multiples thereof (Creation Units) to Authorized Participants who have entered into agreements with the Fund’s distributor, Franklin Distributors, LLC. The Fund will generally issue or redeem Creation Units in exchange for a basket of securities (and an amount of cash) that the Fund specifies each day.
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares
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in the secondary market (the "bid-ask spread"). Recent information, including information on the Fund's NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads is available on the Fund's website at https://www.franklintempleton.com/ investor/investments-and-solutions/investment-options/etfs/.
Taxes
The Fund’s distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case your distributions would generally be taxed when withdrawn from the tax-deferred account.
Payments
to Broker-Dealers and
Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the investment manager or other related companies may pay the intermediary for certain Fund-related activities, including those that are designed to make the intermediary more knowledgeable about exchange traded products, such as the Fund, as well as for marketing, education or other initiatives related to the sale or promotion of Fund shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
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FLFR |
To seek to provide investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the FTSE France RIC Capped Index (the FTSE France Capped Index).
The following table describes the fees and expenses that you will incur if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may also incur other fees, such as usual and customary brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and the Example that follows.
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
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This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of the period. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
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The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held
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in
a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual Fund operating
expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most
recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was
The Fund, using a “passive” or indexing investment approach, seeks investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the FTSE France Capped Index. The investment manager seeks to achieve, over time, a correlation between the Fund’s performance, before fees and expenses, and that of the FTSE France Capped Index of 0.95 or better. A figure of 1.00 would indicate perfect correlation. The Fund may use either a replication strategy or representative sampling strategy. Under a replication strategy, the Fund will replicate the component securities of the FTSE France Capped Index as closely as possible (i.e., invest in all of the component securities in their respective weightings in the FTSE France Capped Index). However, under various circumstances, it may not be possible or practicable to replicate the FTSE France Capped Index. In these circumstances, the Fund may use a “representative sampling” strategy whereby the Fund would invest in what it believes to be a representative sample of the component securities of the FTSE France Capped Index, but may not track the FTSE France Capped Index with the same degree of accuracy as would an investment vehicle replicating the entire FTSE France Capped Index. Under the representative sampling technique, the investment manager will select securities that collectively have an investment profile similar to that of the FTSE France Capped Index, including securities that resemble those included in the FTSE
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France Capped Index in terms of risk factors, performance attributes and other characteristics, such as market capitalization and industry weightings.
The Fund is a "non-diversified" fund, which means it generally invests a greater proportion of its assets in the securities of one or more issuers and invests overall in a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund.
The Fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., hold 25% or more of its net assets) in a particular industry or group of industries to approximately the same extent that the FTSE France Capped Index is concentrated.
Market The market values of securities or other investments owned by the Fund will go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. The market value of a security or other investment may be reduced by market activity or other results of supply and demand unrelated to the issuer. This is a basic risk associated with all investments. When there are more sellers than buyers, prices tend to fall. Likewise, when there are more buyers than sellers, prices tend to rise.
The current global outbreak of the novel strain of coronavirus, COVID-19, has resulted in market closures and dislocations, extreme volatility, liquidity constraints and increased trading costs. Efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 have resulted in global travel restrictions and disruptions of healthcare systems, business operations and supply chains, layoffs, reduced consumer demand, defaults and credit ratings downgrades, and other significant economic impacts. The effects of COVID-19 have impacted global economic activity across many industries and may heighten other pre-existing political, social and economic risks, locally or globally. The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is unpredictable and may adversely affect the Fund’s performance.
Stock prices tend to go up and down more dramatically than those of debt securities. A slower-growth or recessionary economic environment could have an adverse effect on the prices of the various stocks held by the Fund.
Foreign Securities (non-U.S.) Investing in foreign securities typically involves more risks than investing in U.S. securities, and includes risks associated with: (i) internal and external political and economic developments – e.g., the political, economic and social policies and structures of some foreign countries may be less
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stable and more volatile than those in the U.S. or some foreign countries may be subject to trading restrictions or economic sanctions; (ii) trading practices – e.g., government supervision and regulation of foreign securities and currency markets, trading systems and brokers may be less than in the U.S.; (iii) availability of information – e.g., foreign issuers may not be subject to the same disclosure, accounting and financial reporting standards and practices as U.S. issuers; (iv) limited markets – e.g., the securities of certain foreign issuers may be less liquid (harder to sell) and more volatile; and (v) currency exchange rate fluctuations and policies (e.g., fluctuations may negatively affect investments denominated in foreign currencies and any income received or expenses paid by the Fund in that foreign currency).
Geographic Focus Because the Fund invests its assets primarily in companies in a specific country and region, the Fund is subject to greater risks of adverse developments in that country, region and/or the surrounding regions than a fund that is more broadly diversified geographically. Political, social or economic disruptions in the country or region, even in countries in which the Fund is not invested, may adversely affect the value of investments held by the Fund. Current uncertainty concerning the economic consequences of the January 31, 2020 departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union (EU) may increase market volatility.
The Fund’s investment in French issuers subjects the Fund to legal, regulatory, political, currency, security, and economic risks specific to France. Recently, concerns have emerged with respect to the economic outlook for certain EU countries, including France. As a result, the French economy has experienced significant volatility and adverse trends due to concerns about a prolonged economic downturn and rising government debt levels. The French economy is dependent on agricultural exports, and as a result, is susceptible to fluctuations in demand for agricultural products.
Depositary Receipts Depositary receipts are subject to many of the risks of the underlying securities. For some depositary receipts, the custodian or similar financial institution that holds the issuer's shares in a trust account is located in the issuer's home country. In these cases if the issuer’s home country does not have developed financial markets, the Fund could be exposed to the credit risk of the custodian or financial institution and greater market risk. In addition, the depository institution may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services. The Fund may experience delays in receiving its dividend and interest payments or exercising rights as a shareholder. There may be an increased possibility of untimely responses to certain corporate actions of the issuer in an unsponsored depositary receipt program. Accordingly, there may be less information available regarding issuers of securities underlying
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unsponsored programs and there may not be a correlation between this information and the market value of the depositary receipts.
Calculation Methodology FTSE Russell relies on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the FTSE France Capped Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the investment manager can offer assurances that FTSE Russell's calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers or that the included issuers will provide the Fund with the market exposure it seeks.
Index-Related There is no assurance that the FTSE France Capped Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. While FTSE Russell provides descriptions of what the FTSE France Capped Index is designed to achieve, FTSE Russell does not guarantee the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in respect of its indices, and does not guarantee that the FTSE France Capped Index will be in line with the described index methodology. Gains, losses or costs to the Fund caused by errors in the FTSE France Capped Index may therefore be borne by the Fund and its shareholders.
Non-Correlation There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of correlation to the FTSE France Capped Index and therefore achieve its investment goal. Market disruptions and regulatory restrictions could have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track the FTSE France Capped Index. In addition, the Fund’s NAV may deviate from the FTSE France Capped Index if the Fund fair values a portfolio security at a price other than the price used by the FTSE France Capped Index for that security. To the extent that the investment manager uses a representative sampling strategy, the Fund may not track the return of the FTSE France Capped Index as well as it would have if the Fund held all of the securities in the FTSE France Capped Index.
Tracking Error Tracking error is the divergence of the Fund’s performance from that of the FTSE France Capped Index. Tracking error may occur because of differences between the securities held in the Fund’s portfolio and those included in the FTSE France Capped Index, pricing differences (including differences between a security’s price at the local market close and the Fund’s valuation of a security at the time of calculation of the Fund’s NAV), transaction costs, the Fund’s holding of cash, differences in timing of the accrual of dividends or interest, tax gains or losses, changes to the FTSE France Capped Index or the need to meet various new or existing regulatory requirements. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. Tracking error also may result because the Fund incurs fees and expenses, while the FTSE France Capped Index does not.
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Market Trading The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, periods of high volatility and disruption in the creation/redemption process of the Fund. Any of these factors, among others, may lead to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV. Thus, you may pay more (or less) than NAV when you buy shares of the Fund in the secondary market, and you may receive less (or more) than NAV when you sell those shares in the secondary market. The investment manager cannot predict whether shares will trade above (premium), below (discount) or at NAV.
Concentration To the extent the Fund concentrates in a specific industry, a group of industries, sector or type of investment, the Fund will carry much greater risks of adverse developments and price movements in such industries, sectors or investments than a fund that invests in a wider variety of industries, sectors or investments. There is also the risk that the Fund will perform poorly during a slump in demand for securities of companies in such industries or sectors.
Non-Diversification
Mid Capitalization Companies Securities issued by mid capitalization companies may be more volatile in price than those of larger companies, involve substantial risks and should be considered speculative. Such risks may include greater sensitivity to economic conditions, less certain growth prospects, lack of depth of management and funds for growth and development, and limited or less developed product lines and markets. In addition, mid capitalization companies may be particularly affected by interest rate increases, as they may find it more difficult to borrow money to continue or expand operations, or may have difficulty in repaying any loans.
Passive Investment Unlike many investment companies, the Fund is not actively managed and the investment manager does not attempt to take defensive positions under any market conditions, including declining markets. Therefore, the investment manager would not necessarily buy or sell a security unless that security is added or removed, respectively, from the FTSE France Capped Index, even if that security generally is underperforming.
International Closed Market Trading To the extent that the underlying securities held by the Fund trade on an exchange that is closed when the securities exchange on which the Fund shares list and trade is open, there may be market uncertainty about the stale security pricing (i.e., the last quote from its closed foreign market) resulting in premiums or discounts to NAV that may be greater than those experienced by other ETFs.
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FUND
SUMMARIES
Authorized Participant Concentration Only an authorized participant (Authorized Participant) may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that act as Authorized Participants. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units (as defined below), Fund shares may trade at a discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting. This risk may be more pronounced in volatile markets, potentially where there are significant redemptions in ETFs generally.
Small Fund When the Fund's size is small, the Fund may experience low trading volume and wide bid/ask spreads. In addition, the Fund may face the risk of being delisted if the Fund does not meet certain conditions of the listing exchange.
Large Shareholder Certain shareholders, including other funds or accounts advised by the investment manager or an affiliate of the investment manager, may from time to time own a substantial amount of the Fund’s shares. In addition, a third-party investor, the investment manager or an affiliate of the investment manager, an authorized participant, a lead market maker, or another entity may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a limited period of time solely to facilitate commencement of the Fund or to facilitate the Fund’s achieving a specified size or scale. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder would not redeem its investment, that the size of the Fund would be maintained at such levels or that the Fund would continue to meet applicable listing requirements. Redemptions by large shareholders could have a significant negative impact on the Fund. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on the listing exchange and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the shares.
The
following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing
in the Fund. The bar chart shows changes in the Fund's performance from year to
year. The table shows how the Fund's average annual returns for 1 year, 5 years,
10 years or since inception, as applicable, compared with those of the Fund's
underlying index.
franklintempleton.com |
Prospectus |
51 |
FRANKLIN FTSE FRANCE
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
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- |
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For periods ended December 31, 2020
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1 Year |
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Since Inception |
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Franklin FTSE France ETF |
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1 |
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1 |
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1 |
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1 | |
1. |
Since inception November 2, 2017. |
The after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
Investment Manager
Franklin Advisory Services, LLC (Advisory Services)
52 |
Prospectus |
franklintempleton.com |
FRANKLIN FTSE FRANCE
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
Portfolio Managers
Dina Ting, CFA
Senior Vice President of Advisory Services and portfolio manager of the Fund since inception (2017).
Hailey Harris
Vice President of Advisory Services and portfolio manager of the Fund since 2019.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund is an ETF. Fund shares may only be purchased and sold on a national securities exchange through a broker-dealer. The price of Fund shares is based on market price, and because ETF shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (a premium) or less than NAV (a discount). The Fund issues or redeems shares that have been aggregated into blocks of 50,000 shares or multiples thereof (Creation Units) to Authorized Participants who have entered into agreements with the Fund’s distributor, Franklin Distributors, LLC. The Fund will generally issue or redeem Creation Units in exchange for a basket of securities (and an amount of cash) that the Fund specifies each day.
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the "bid-ask spread"). Recent information, including information on the Fund's NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads is available on the Fund's website at https://www.franklintempleton.com/ investor/investments-and-solutions/investment-options/etfs/.
Taxes
The Fund’s distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case your distributions would generally be taxed when withdrawn from the tax-deferred account.
Payments
to Broker-Dealers and
Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the investment manager or other related companies may pay the intermediary for certain Fund-related activities, including those that are designed to make the intermediary more knowledgeable about exchange traded products, such as the Fund, as well as for marketing, education or other initiatives
franklintempleton.com |
Prospectus |
53 |
FRANKLIN FTSE FRANCE
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
related to the sale or promotion of Fund shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
54 |
Prospectus |
franklintempleton.com |
FRANKLIN FTSE GERMANY
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
FLGR |
To seek to provide investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the FTSE Germany RIC Capped Index (the FTSE Germany Capped Index).
The following table describes the fees and expenses that you will incur if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may also incur other fees, such as usual and customary brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and the Example that follows.
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
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Management fees |
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Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees |
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Other expenses |
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Total annual Fund operating expenses |
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This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of the period. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
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1 Year |
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3 Years |
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5 Years |
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10 Years |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ | |
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The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held
franklintempleton.com |
Prospectus |
55 |
FRANKLIN FTSE GERMANY
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
in
a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual Fund operating
expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most
recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was
The Fund, using a “passive” or indexing investment approach, seeks investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the FTSE Germany Capped Index. The investment manager seeks to achieve, over time, a correlation between the Fund’s performance, before fees and expenses, and that of the FTSE Germany Capped Index of 0.95 or better. A figure of 1.00 would indicate perfect correlation. The Fund may use either a replication strategy or representative sampling strategy. Under a replication strategy, the Fund will replicate the component securities of the FTSE Germany Capped Index as closely as possible (i.e., invest in all of the component securities in their respective weightings in the FTSE Germany Capped Index). However, under various circumstances, it may not be possible or practicable to replicate the FTSE Germany Capped Index. In these circumstances, the Fund may use a “representative sampling” strategy whereby the Fund would invest in what it believes to be a representative sample of the component securities of the FTSE Germany Capped Index, but may not track the FTSE Germany Capped Index with the same degree of accuracy as would an investment vehicle replicating the entire FTSE Germany Capped Index. Under the representative sampling technique, the investment manager will select securities that collectively have an investment profile similar to that of the FTSE Germany Capped Index, including securities that resemble those included in the FTSE Germany Capped Index in terms of risk factors, performance
56 |
Prospectus |
franklintempleton.com |
FRANKLIN FTSE GERMANY
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
attributes and other characteristics, such as market capitalization and industry weightings.
The Fund is a "non-diversified" fund, which means it generally invests a greater proportion of its assets in the securities of one or more issuers and invests overall in a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund.
The Fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., hold 25% or more of its net assets) in a particular industry or group of industries to approximately the same extent that the FTSE Germany Capped Index is concentrated.
Market The market values of securities or other investments owned by the Fund will go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. The market value of a security or other investment may be reduced by market activity or other results of supply and demand unrelated to the issuer. This is a basic risk associated with all investments. When there are more sellers than buyers, prices tend to fall. Likewise, when there are more buyers than sellers, prices tend to rise.
The current global outbreak of the novel strain of coronavirus, COVID-19, has resulted in market closures and dislocations, extreme volatility, liquidity constraints and increased trading costs. Efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 have resulted in global travel restrictions and disruptions of healthcare systems, business operations and supply chains, layoffs, reduced consumer demand, defaults and credit ratings downgrades, and other significant economic impacts. The effects of COVID-19 have impacted global economic activity across many industries and may heighten other pre-existing political, social and economic risks, locally or globally. The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is unpredictable and may adversely affect the Fund’s performance.
Stock prices tend to go up and down more dramatically than those of debt securities. A slower-growth or recessionary economic environment could have an adverse effect on the prices of the various stocks held by the Fund.
Foreign Securities (non-U.S.) Investing in foreign securities typically involves more risks than investing in U.S. securities, and includes risks associated with: (i) internal and external political and economic developments – e.g., the political, economic and social policies and structures of some foreign countries may be less
franklintempleton.com |
Prospectus |
57 |
FRANKLIN FTSE GERMANY
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
stable and more volatile than those in the U.S. or some foreign countries may be subject to trading restrictions or economic sanctions; (ii) trading practices – e.g., government supervision and regulation of foreign securities and currency markets, trading systems and brokers may be less than in the U.S.; (iii) availability of information – e.g., foreign issuers may not be subject to the same disclosure, accounting and financial reporting standards and practices as U.S. issuers; (iv) limited markets – e.g., the securities of certain foreign issuers may be less liquid (harder to sell) and more volatile; and (v) currency exchange rate fluctuations and policies (e.g., fluctuations may negatively affect investments denominated in foreign currencies and any income received or expenses paid by the Fund in that foreign currency).
Geographic Focus Because the Fund invests its assets primarily in companies in a specific country and region, the Fund is subject to greater risks of adverse developments in that country, region and/or the surrounding regions than a fund that is more broadly diversified geographically. Political, social or economic disruptions in the country or region, even in countries in which the Fund is not invested, may adversely affect the value of investments held by the Fund. Current uncertainty concerning the economic consequences of the January 31, 2020 departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union (EU) may increase market volatility.
Recently, concerns have emerged in relation to the economic health of the EU, which have led to downward pressure on the earnings of certain financial institutions, including German financial services companies. Germany has an export dependent economy and therefore relies heavily on trade with key trading partners, including the Netherlands, China, the United States, France, Italy and other European countries. Germany is dependent on the economies of these other countries, and any change in the price or demand for German exports or uncertainties in international trade policy may have an adverse impact on its economy.
Depositary Receipts Depositary receipts are subject to many of the risks of the underlying securities. For some depositary receipts, the custodian or similar financial institution that holds the issuer's shares in a trust account is located in the issuer's home country. In these cases if the issuer’s home country does not have developed financial markets, the Fund could be exposed to the credit risk of the custodian or financial institution and greater market risk. In addition, the depository institution may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services. The Fund may experience delays in receiving its dividend and interest payments or exercising rights as a shareholder. There may be an increased possibility of untimely responses to certain corporate actions of the issuer in an unsponsored depositary receipt program. Accordingly, there may be less information available regarding issuers of securities underlying
58 |
Prospectus |
franklintempleton.com |
FRANKLIN FTSE GERMANY
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
unsponsored programs and there may not be a correlation between this information and the market value of the depositary receipts.
Calculation Methodology FTSE Russell relies on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the FTSE Germany Capped Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the investment manager can offer assurances that FTSE Russell's calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers or that the included issuers will provide the Fund with the market exposure it seeks.
Index-Related There is no assurance that the FTSE Germany Capped Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. While FTSE Russell provides descriptions of what the FTSE Germany Capped Index is designed to achieve, FTSE Russell does not guarantee the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in respect of its indices, and does not guarantee that the FTSE Germany Capped Index will be in line with the described index methodology. Gains, losses or costs to the Fund caused by errors in the FTSE Germany Capped Index may therefore be borne by the Fund and its shareholders.
Non-Correlation There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of correlation to the FTSE Germany Capped Index and therefore achieve its investment goal. Market disruptions and regulatory restrictions could have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track the FTSE Germany Capped Index. In addition, the Fund’s NAV may deviate from the FTSE Germany Capped Index if the Fund fair values a portfolio security at a price other than the price used by the FTSE Germany Capped Index for that security. To the extent that the investment manager uses a representative sampling strategy, the Fund may not track the return of the FTSE Germany Capped Index as well as it would have if the Fund held all of the securities in the FTSE Germany Capped Index.
Tracking Error Tracking error is the divergence of the Fund’s performance from that of the FTSE Germany Capped Index. Tracking error may occur because of differences between the securities held in the Fund’s portfolio and those included in the FTSE Germany Capped Index, pricing differences (including differences between a security’s price at the local market close and the Fund’s valuation of a security at the time of calculation of the Fund’s NAV), transaction costs, the Fund’s holding of cash, differences in timing of the accrual of dividends or interest, tax gains or losses, changes to the FTSE Germany Capped Index or the need to meet various new or existing regulatory requirements. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. Tracking error also may result because the Fund incurs fees and expenses, while the FTSE Germany Capped Index does not.
franklintempleton.com |
Prospectus |
59 |
FRANKLIN FTSE GERMANY
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
Market Trading The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, periods of high volatility and disruption in the creation/redemption process of the Fund. Any of these factors, among others, may lead to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV. Thus, you may pay more (or less) than NAV when you buy shares of the Fund in the secondary market, and you may receive less (or more) than NAV when you sell those shares in the secondary market. The investment manager cannot predict whether shares will trade above (premium), below (discount) or at NAV.
Concentration To the extent the Fund concentrates in a specific industry, a group of industries, sector or type of investment, the Fund will carry much greater risks of adverse developments and price movements in such industries, sectors or investments than a fund that invests in a wider variety of industries, sectors or investments. There is also the risk that the Fund will perform poorly during a slump in demand for securities of companies in such industries or sectors.
Non-Diversification
Mid Capitalization Companies Securities issued by mid capitalization companies may be more volatile in price than those of larger companies, involve substantial risks and should be considered speculative. Such risks may include greater sensitivity to economic conditions, less certain growth prospects, lack of depth of management and funds for growth and development, and limited or less developed product lines and markets. In addition, mid capitalization companies may be particularly affected by interest rate increases, as they may find it more difficult to borrow money to continue or expand operations, or may have difficulty in repaying any loans.
Passive Investment Unlike many investment companies, the Fund is not actively managed and the investment manager does not attempt to take defensive positions under any market conditions, including declining markets. Therefore, the investment manager would not necessarily buy or sell a security unless that security is added or removed, respectively, from the FTSE Germany Capped Index, even if that security generally is underperforming.
International Closed Market Trading To the extent that the underlying securities held by the Fund trade on an exchange that is closed when the securities exchange on which the Fund shares list and trade is open, there may be market uncertainty about the stale security pricing (i.e., the last quote from its closed foreign market) resulting in premiums or discounts to NAV that may be greater than those experienced by other ETFs.
60 |
Prospectus |
franklintempleton.com |
FRANKLIN FTSE GERMANY
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
Authorized Participant Concentration Only an authorized participant (Authorized Participant) may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that act as Authorized Participants. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units (as defined below), Fund shares may trade at a discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting. This risk may be more pronounced in volatile markets, potentially where there are significant redemptions in ETFs generally.
Small Fund When the Fund's size is small, the Fund may experience low trading volume and wide bid/ask spreads. In addition, the Fund may face the risk of being delisted if the Fund does not meet certain conditions of the listing exchange.
Large Shareholder Certain shareholders, including other funds or accounts advised by the investment manager or an affiliate of the investment manager, may from time to time own a substantial amount of the Fund’s shares. In addition, a third-party investor, the investment manager or an affiliate of the investment manager, an authorized participant, a lead market maker, or another entity may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a limited period of time solely to facilitate commencement of the Fund or to facilitate the Fund’s achieving a specified size or scale. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder would not redeem its investment, that the size of the Fund would be maintained at such levels or that the Fund would continue to meet applicable listing requirements. Redemptions by large shareholders could have a significant negative impact on the Fund. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on the listing exchange and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the shares.
The
following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing
in the Fund. The bar chart shows changes in the Fund's performance from year to
year. The table shows how the Fund's average annual returns for 1 year, 5 years,
10 years or since inception, as applicable, compared with those of the Fund's
underlying index.
franklintempleton.com |
Prospectus |
61 |
FRANKLIN FTSE GERMANY
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
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|
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- |
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For periods ended December 31, 2020
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1 Year |
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Since Inception |
| |
Franklin FTSE Germany ETF |
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1 |
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1 |
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1 |
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1 | |
1. |
Since inception November 2, 2017. |
The after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
Investment Manager
Franklin Advisory Services, LLC (Advisory Services)
62 |
Prospectus |
franklintempleton.com |
FRANKLIN FTSE GERMANY
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
Portfolio Managers
Dina Ting, CFA
Senior Vice President of Advisory Services and portfolio manager of the Fund since inception (2017).
Hailey Harris
Vice President of Advisory Services and portfolio manager of the Fund since 2019.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund is an ETF. Fund shares may only be purchased and sold on a national securities exchange through a broker-dealer. The price of Fund shares is based on market price, and because ETF shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (a premium) or less than NAV (a discount). The Fund issues or redeems shares that have been aggregated into blocks of 50,000 shares or multiples thereof (Creation Units) to Authorized Participants who have entered into agreements with the Fund’s distributor, Franklin Distributors, LLC. The Fund will generally issue or redeem Creation Units in exchange for a basket of securities (and an amount of cash) that the Fund specifies each day.
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the "bid-ask spread"). Recent information, including information on the Fund's NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads is available on the Fund's website at https://www.franklintempleton.com/ investor/investments-and-solutions/investment-options/etfs/.
Taxes
The Fund’s distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case your distributions would generally be taxed when withdrawn from the tax-deferred account.
Payments
to Broker-Dealers and
Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the investment manager or other related companies may pay the intermediary for certain Fund-related activities, including those that are designed to make the intermediary more knowledgeable about exchange traded products, such as the Fund, as well as for marketing, education or other initiatives
franklintempleton.com |
Prospectus |
63 |
FRANKLIN FTSE GERMANY
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
related to the sale or promotion of Fund shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
64 |
Prospectus |
franklintempleton.com |
FRANKLIN FTSE HONG KONG
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
FLHK |
To seek to provide investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the FTSE Hong Kong RIC Capped Index (the FTSE Hong Kong Capped Index).
The following table describes the fees and expenses that you will incur if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may also incur other fees, such as usual and customary brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and the Example that follows.
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
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Management fees |
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Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees |
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Other expenses |
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Total annual Fund operating expenses |
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This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of the period. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
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1 Year |
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3 Years |
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5 Years |
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10 Years |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ | |
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The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held
franklintempleton.com |
Prospectus |
65 |
FRANKLIN FTSE HONG KONG
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
in
a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual Fund operating
expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most
recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was
The Fund, using a “passive” or indexing investment approach, seeks investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the FTSE Hong Kong Capped Index. The investment manager seeks to achieve, over time, a correlation between the Fund’s performance, before fees and expenses, and that of the FTSE Hong Kong Capped Index of 0.95 or better. A figure of 1.00 would indicate perfect correlation. The Fund may use either a replication strategy or representative sampling strategy. Under a replication strategy, the Fund will replicate the component securities of the FTSE Hong Kong Capped Index as closely as possible (i.e., invest in all of the component securities in their respective weightings in the FTSE Hong Kong Capped Index). However, under various circumstances, it may not be possible or practicable to replicate the FTSE Hong Kong Capped Index. In these circumstances, the Fund may use a “representative sampling” strategy whereby the Fund would invest in what it believes to be a representative sample of the component securities of the FTSE Hong Kong Capped Index, but may not track the FTSE Hong Kong Capped Index with the same degree of accuracy as would an investment vehicle replicating the entire FTSE Hong Kong Capped Index. Under the representative sampling technique, the investment manager will select securities that collectively have an investment profile similar to that of the FTSE Hong Kong Capped Index, including securities that resemble those included in the FTSE Hong Kong Capped Index in
66 |
Prospectus |
franklintempleton.com |
FRANKLIN FTSE HONG KONG
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
terms of risk factors, performance attributes and other characteristics, such as market capitalization and industry weightings.
The Fund is a "non-diversified" fund, which means it generally invests a greater proportion of its assets in the securities of one or more issuers and invests overall in a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund.
The Fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., hold 25% or more of its net assets) in a particular industry or group of industries to approximately the same extent that the FTSE Hong Kong Capped Index is concentrated. As of May 31, 2021, the FTSE Hong Kong Capped Index was concentrated in the financials sector.
Market The market values of securities or other investments owned by the Fund will go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. The market value of a security or other investment may be reduced by market activity or other results of supply and demand unrelated to the issuer. This is a basic risk associated with all investments. When there are more sellers than buyers, prices tend to fall. Likewise, when there are more buyers than sellers, prices tend to rise.
The current global outbreak of the novel strain of coronavirus, COVID-19, has resulted in market closures and dislocations, extreme volatility, liquidity constraints and increased trading costs. Efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 have resulted in global travel restrictions and disruptions of healthcare systems, business operations and supply chains, layoffs, reduced consumer demand, defaults and credit ratings downgrades, and other significant economic impacts. The effects of COVID-19 have impacted global economic activity across many industries and may heighten other pre-existing political, social and economic risks, locally or globally. The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is unpredictable and may adversely affect the Fund’s performance.
Stock prices tend to go up and down more dramatically than those of debt securities. A slower-growth or recessionary economic environment could have an adverse effect on the prices of the various stocks held by the Fund.
Foreign Securities (non-U.S.) Investing in foreign securities typically involves more risks than investing in U.S. securities, and includes risks associated with: (i) internal and external political and economic developments – e.g., the political,
franklintempleton.com |
Prospectus |
67 |
FRANKLIN FTSE HONG KONG
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
economic and social policies and structures of some foreign countries may be less stable and more volatile than those in the U.S. or some foreign countries may be subject to trading restrictions or economic sanctions; (ii) trading practices – e.g., government supervision and regulation of foreign securities and currency markets, trading systems and brokers may be less than in the U.S.; (iii) availability of information – e.g., foreign issuers may not be subject to the same disclosure, accounting and financial reporting standards and practices as U.S. issuers; (iv) limited markets – e.g., the securities of certain foreign issuers may be less liquid (harder to sell) and more volatile; and (v) currency exchange rate fluctuations and policies (e.g., fluctuations may negatively affect investments denominated in foreign currencies and any income received or expenses paid by the Fund in that foreign currency).
Geographic Focus Because the Fund invests its assets primarily in companies in a specific country and region, the Fund is subject to greater risks of adverse developments in that country, region and/or the surrounding regions than a fund that is more broadly diversified geographically. Political, social or economic disruptions in the country or region, even in countries in which the Fund is not invested, may adversely affect the value of investments held by the Fund.
China is Hong Kong’s largest trading partner, both in terms of exports and imports. Changes in China's economic policies, trade regulations or currency exchange rates may have an adverse impact on Hong Kong’s economy. Recent protests and unrest have increased tensions between Hong Kong and China. China has committed by treaty to preserve Hong Kong's semi-autonomous status. However, if China were to exert its authority so as to alter the economic, political or legal structures or the existing social policy of Hong Kong, investor and business confidence in Hong Kong could be negatively affected, which in turn could negatively affect markets and business performance.
Depositary Receipts Depositary receipts are subject to many of the risks of the underlying securities. For some depositary receipts, the custodian or similar financial institution that holds the issuer's shares in a trust account is located in the issuer's home country. In these cases if the issuer’s home country does not have developed financial markets, the Fund could be exposed to the credit risk of the custodian or financial institution and greater market risk. In addition, the depository institution may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services. The Fund may experience delays in receiving its dividend and interest payments or exercising rights as a shareholder. There may be an increased possibility of untimely responses to certain corporate actions of the issuer in an unsponsored depositary receipt program. Accordingly, there may be less information available regarding issuers of securities underlying unsponsored programs and there may not be a correlation between this information and the market value of the depositary receipts.
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Calculation Methodology FTSE Russell relies on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the FTSE Hong Kong Capped Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the investment manager can offer assurances that FTSE Russell's calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers or that the included issuers will provide the Fund with the market exposure it seeks.
Index-Related There is no assurance that the FTSE Hong Kong Capped Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. While FTSE Russell provides descriptions of what the FTSE Hong Kong Capped Index is designed to achieve, FTSE Russell does not guarantee the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in respect of its indices, and does not guarantee that the FTSE Hong Kong Capped Index will be in line with the described index methodology. Gains, losses or costs to the Fund caused by errors in the FTSE Hong Kong Capped Index may therefore be borne by the Fund and its shareholders.
Non-Correlation There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of correlation to the FTSE Hong Kong Capped Index and therefore achieve its investment goal. Market disruptions and regulatory restrictions could have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track the FTSE Hong Kong Capped Index. In addition, the Fund’s NAV may deviate from the FTSE Hong Kong Capped Index if the Fund fair values a portfolio security at a price other than the price used by the FTSE Hong Kong Capped Index for that security. To the extent that the investment manager uses a representative sampling strategy, the Fund may not track the return of the FTSE Hong Kong Capped Index as well as it would have if the Fund held all of the securities in the FTSE Hong Kong Capped Index.
Tracking Error Tracking error is the divergence of the Fund’s performance from that of the FTSE Hong Kong Capped Index. Tracking error may occur because of differences between the securities held in the Fund’s portfolio and those included in the FTSE Hong Kong Capped Index, pricing differences (including differences between a security’s price at the local market close and the Fund’s valuation of a security at the time of calculation of the Fund’s NAV), transaction costs, the Fund’s holding of cash, differences in timing of the accrual of dividends or interest, tax gains or losses, changes to the FTSE Hong Kong Capped Index or the need to meet various new or existing regulatory requirements. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. Tracking error also may result because the Fund incurs fees and expenses, while the FTSE Hong Kong Capped Index does not.
Market Trading The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, periods of high volatility and disruption in the creation/redemption process
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of the Fund. Any of these factors, among others, may lead to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV. Thus, you may pay more (or less) than NAV when you buy shares of the Fund in the secondary market, and you may receive less (or more) than NAV when you sell those shares in the secondary market. The investment manager cannot predict whether shares will trade above (premium), below (discount) or at NAV.
Concentration To the extent the Fund concentrates in a specific industry, a group of industries, sector or type of investment, the Fund will carry much greater risks of adverse developments and price movements in such industries, sectors or investments than a fund that invests in a wider variety of industries, sectors or investments. There is also the risk that the Fund will perform poorly during a slump in demand for securities of companies in such industries or sectors.
The Fund may focus in the financial services sector. Financial services companies are subject to extensive government regulation that may affect their profitability in many ways, including by limiting the amount and types of loans and other commitments they can make, and the interest rates and fees they can charge. A financial services company's profitability, and therefore its stock prices, is especially sensitive to interest rate changes as well as the ability of borrowers to repay their loans. Changing regulations, continuing consolidations, and development of new products and structures all are likely to have a significant impact on financial services companies.
Non-Diversification
Mid Capitalization Companies Securities issued by mid capitalization companies may be more volatile in price than those of larger companies, involve substantial risks and should be considered speculative. Such risks may include greater sensitivity to economic conditions, less certain growth prospects, lack of depth of management and funds for growth and development, and limited or less developed product lines and markets. In addition, mid capitalization companies may be particularly affected by interest rate increases, as they may find it more difficult to borrow money to continue or expand operations, or may have difficulty in repaying any loans.
Passive Investment Unlike many investment companies, the Fund is not actively managed and the investment manager does not attempt to take defensive positions under any market conditions, including declining markets. Therefore, the investment manager would not necessarily buy or sell a security unless that security is added or removed, respectively, from the FTSE Hong Kong Capped Index, even if that security generally is underperforming.
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International Closed Market Trading To the extent that the underlying securities held by the Fund trade on an exchange that is closed when the securities exchange on which the Fund shares list and trade is open, there may be market uncertainty about the stale security pricing (i.e., the last quote from its closed foreign market) resulting in premiums or discounts to NAV that may be greater than those experienced by other ETFs.
Authorized Participant Concentration Only an authorized participant (Authorized Participant) may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that act as Authorized Participants. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units (as defined below), Fund shares may trade at a discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting. This risk may be more pronounced in volatile markets, potentially where there are significant redemptions in ETFs generally.
Small Fund When the Fund's size is small, the Fund may experience low trading volume and wide bid/ask spreads. In addition, the Fund may face the risk of being delisted if the Fund does not meet certain conditions of the listing exchange.
Large Shareholder Certain shareholders, including other funds or accounts advised by the investment manager or an affiliate of the investment manager, may from time to time own a substantial amount of the Fund’s shares. In addition, a third-party investor, the investment manager or an affiliate of the investment manager, an authorized participant, a lead market maker, or another entity may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a limited period of time solely to facilitate commencement of the Fund or to facilitate the Fund’s achieving a specified size or scale. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder would not redeem its investment, that the size of the Fund would be maintained at such levels or that the Fund would continue to meet applicable listing requirements. Redemptions by large shareholders could have a significant negative impact on the Fund. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on the listing exchange and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the shares.
The
following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing
in the Fund. The bar chart shows changes in the Fund's performance from year to
year. The table shows how the Fund's average annual returns for 1 year, 5 years,
10 years or since inception, as applicable, compared with those of the Fund's
underlying index.
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updated
performance information at
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For periods ended December 31, 2020
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Since inception November 2, 2017. |
The after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
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Investment Manager
Franklin Advisory Services, LLC (Advisory Services)
Portfolio Managers
Dina Ting, CFA
Senior Vice President of Advisory Services and portfolio manager of the Fund since inception (2017).
Hailey Harris
Vice President of Advisory Services and portfolio manager of the Fund since 2019.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund is an ETF. Fund shares may only be purchased and sold on a national securities exchange through a broker-dealer. The price of Fund shares is based on market price, and because ETF shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (a premium) or less than NAV (a discount). The Fund issues or redeems shares that have been aggregated into blocks of 150,000 shares or multiples thereof (Creation Units) to Authorized Participants who have entered into agreements with the Fund’s distributor, Franklin Distributors, LLC. The Fund will generally issue or redeem Creation Units in exchange for a basket of securities (and an amount of cash) that the Fund specifies each day.
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the "bid-ask spread"). Recent information, including information on the Fund's NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads is available on the Fund's website at https://www.franklintempleton.com/ investor/investments-and-solutions/investment-options/etfs/.
Taxes
The Fund’s distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case your distributions would generally be taxed when withdrawn from the tax-deferred account.
Payments
to Broker-Dealers and
Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the investment manager or other related companies
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may pay the intermediary for certain Fund-related activities, including those that are designed to make the intermediary more knowledgeable about exchange traded products, such as the Fund, as well as for marketing, education or other initiatives related to the sale or promotion of Fund shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
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ETF
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FLIN |
To seek to provide investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the FTSE India RIC Capped Index (the FTSE India Capped Index).
The following table describes the fees and expenses that you will incur if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may also incur other fees, such as usual and customary brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and the Example that follows.
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
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This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of the period. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
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The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held
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in
a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual Fund operating
expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most
recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was
The Fund, using a “passive” or indexing investment approach, seeks investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the FTSE India Capped Index. The investment manager seeks to achieve, over time, a correlation between the Fund’s performance, before fees and expenses, and that of the FTSE India Capped Index of 0.95 or better. A figure of 1.00 would indicate perfect correlation. The Fund may use either a replication strategy or representative sampling strategy. Under a replication strategy, the Fund will replicate the component securities of the FTSE India Capped Index as closely as possible (i.e., invest in all of the component securities in their respective weightings in the FTSE India Capped Index). However, under various circumstances, it may not be possible or practicable to replicate the FTSE India Capped Index. In these circumstances, the Fund may use a “representative sampling” strategy whereby the Fund would invest in what it believes to be a representative sample of the component securities of the FTSE India Capped Index, but may not track the FTSE India Capped Index with the same degree of accuracy as would an investment vehicle replicating the entire FTSE India Capped Index. Under the representative sampling technique, the investment manager will select securities that collectively have an investment profile similar to that of the FTSE India Capped Index, including securities that resemble those included in the FTSE India Capped Index
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in terms of risk factors, performance attributes and other characteristics, such as market capitalization and industry weightings.
The Fund is a "non-diversified" fund, which means it generally invests a greater proportion of its assets in the securities of one or more issuers and invests overall in a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund.
The Fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., hold 25% or more of its net assets) in a particular industry or group of industries to approximately the same extent that the FTSE India Capped Index is concentrated.
Market The market values of securities or other investments owned by the Fund will go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. The market value of a security or other investment may be reduced by market activity or other results of supply and demand unrelated to the issuer. This is a basic risk associated with all investments. When there are more sellers than buyers, prices tend to fall. Likewise, when there are more buyers than sellers, prices tend to rise.
The current global outbreak of the novel strain of coronavirus, COVID-19, has resulted in market closures and dislocations, extreme volatility, liquidity constraints and increased trading costs. Efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 have resulted in global travel restrictions and disruptions of healthcare systems, business operations and supply chains, layoffs, reduced consumer demand, defaults and credit ratings downgrades, and other significant economic impacts. The effects of COVID-19 have impacted global economic activity across many industries and may heighten other pre-existing political, social and economic risks, locally or globally. The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is unpredictable and may adversely affect the Fund’s performance.
Stock prices tend to go up and down more dramatically than those of debt securities. A slower-growth or recessionary economic environment could have an adverse effect on the prices of the various stocks held by the Fund.
Foreign Securities (non-U.S.) Investing in foreign securities typically involves more risks than investing in U.S. securities, and includes risks associated with: (i) internal and external political and economic developments – e.g., the political, economic and social policies and structures of some foreign countries may be less
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stable and more volatile than those in the U.S. or some foreign countries may be subject to trading restrictions or economic sanctions; (ii) trading practices – e.g., government supervision and regulation of foreign securities and currency markets, trading systems and brokers may be less than in the U.S.; (iii) availability of information – e.g., foreign issuers may not be subject to the same disclosure, accounting and financial reporting standards and practices as U.S. issuers; (iv) limited markets – e.g., the securities of certain foreign issuers may be less liquid (harder to sell) and more volatile; and (v) currency exchange rate fluctuations and policies (e.g., fluctuations may negatively affect investments denominated in foreign currencies and any income received or expenses paid by the Fund in that foreign currency). The risks of foreign investments may be greater in developing or emerging market countries.
Emerging Market Countries The Fund’s investments in emerging market issuers are subject to all of the risks of foreign investing generally, and have additional heightened risks due to a lack of established legal, political, business and social frameworks to support securities markets, including: delays in settling portfolio securities transactions; currency and capital controls; greater sensitivity to interest rate changes; pervasiveness of corruption and crime; currency exchange rate volatility; and inflation, deflation or currency devaluation.
Geographic Focus Because the Fund invests its assets primarily in companies in a specific country and region, the Fund is subject to greater risks of adverse developments in that country, region and/or the surrounding regions than a fund that is more broadly diversified geographically. Political, social or economic disruptions in the country or region, even in countries in which the Fund is not invested, may adversely affect the value of investments held by the Fund.
There are special risks associated with investments in India, including exposure to currency fluctuations, less liquidity, expropriation, confiscatory taxation, and exchange control regulations (including currency blockage). The Fund’s investments are subject to fluctuations in the value of the Indian rupee. Inflation and rapid fluctuations in inflation and interest rates have had, and may continue to have, negative effects on the economy and securities markets of India. A high proportion of the securities of many Indian issuers are held by a limited number of persons or entities, which may limit the number of shares available for investment by the Fund. Also, a limited number of issuers represent a disproportionately large percentage of market capitalization and trading value. In addition, religious and border disputes persist in India. India has historically experienced hostilities with neighboring countries, such as Pakistan, and the Indian government has confronted separatist movements in several Indian states. Instability as a result of these social and political tensions could adversely impact the value of the Fund's investments.
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Depositary Receipts Depositary receipts are subject to many of the risks of the underlying securities. For some depositary receipts, the custodian or similar financial institution that holds the issuer's shares in a trust account is located in the issuer's home country. In these cases if the issuer’s home country does not have developed financial markets, the Fund could be exposed to the credit risk of the custodian or financial institution and greater market risk. In addition, the depository institution may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services. The Fund may experience delays in receiving its dividend and interest payments or exercising rights as a shareholder. There may be an increased possibility of untimely responses to certain corporate actions of the issuer in an unsponsored depositary receipt program. Accordingly, there may be less information available regarding issuers of securities underlying unsponsored programs and there may not be a correlation between this information and the market value of the depositary receipts.
Calculation Methodology FTSE Russell relies on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the FTSE India Capped Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the investment manager can offer assurances that FTSE Russell's calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers or that the included issuers will provide the Fund with the market exposure it seeks.
Index-Related There is no assurance that the FTSE India Capped Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. While FTSE Russell provides descriptions of what the FTSE India Capped Index is designed to achieve, FTSE Russell does not guarantee the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in respect of its indices, and does not guarantee that the FTSE India Capped Index will be in line with the described index methodology. Gains, losses or costs to the Fund caused by errors in the FTSE India Capped Index may therefore be borne by the Fund and its shareholders.
Non-Correlation There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of correlation to the FTSE India Capped Index and therefore achieve its investment goal. Market disruptions and regulatory restrictions could have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track the FTSE India Capped Index. In addition, the Fund’s NAV may deviate from the FTSE India Capped Index if the Fund fair values a portfolio security at a price other than the price used by the FTSE India Capped Index for that security. To the extent that the investment manager uses a representative sampling strategy, the Fund may not track the return of the FTSE India Capped Index as well as it would have if the Fund held all of the securities in the FTSE India Capped Index.
Tracking Error Tracking error is the divergence of the Fund’s performance from that of the FTSE India Capped Index. Tracking error may occur because of
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differences between the securities held in the Fund’s portfolio and those included in the FTSE India Capped Index, pricing differences (including differences between a security’s price at the local market close and the Fund’s valuation of a security at the time of calculation of the Fund’s NAV), transaction costs, the Fund’s holding of cash, differences in timing of the accrual of dividends or interest, tax gains or losses, changes to the FTSE India Capped Index or the need to meet various new or existing regulatory requirements. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. Tracking error also may result because the Fund incurs fees and expenses, while the FTSE India Capped Index does not.
Market Trading The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, periods of high volatility and disruption in the creation/redemption process of the Fund. Any of these factors, among others, may lead to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV. Thus, you may pay more (or less) than NAV when you buy shares of the Fund in the secondary market, and you may receive less (or more) than NAV when you sell those shares in the secondary market. The investment manager cannot predict whether shares will trade above (premium), below (discount) or at NAV.
Concentration To the extent the Fund concentrates in a specific industry, a group of industries, sector or type of investment, the Fund will carry much greater risks of adverse developments and price movements in such industries, sectors or investments than a fund that invests in a wider variety of industries, sectors or investments. There is also the risk that the Fund will perform poorly during a slump in demand for securities of companies in such industries or sectors.
Non-Diversification
Mid Capitalization Companies Securities issued by mid capitalization companies may be more volatile in price than those of larger companies, involve substantial risks and should be considered speculative. Such risks may include greater sensitivity to economic conditions, less certain growth prospects, lack of depth of management and funds for growth and development, and limited or less developed product lines and markets. In addition, mid capitalization companies may be particularly affected by interest rate increases, as they may find it more difficult to borrow money to continue or expand operations, or may have difficulty in repaying any loans.
Passive Investment Unlike many investment companies, the Fund is not actively managed and the investment manager does not attempt to take defensive positions
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under any market conditions, including declining markets. Therefore, the investment manager would not necessarily buy or sell a security unless that security is added or removed, respectively, from the FTSE India Capped Index, even if that security generally is underperforming.
International Closed Market Trading To the extent that the underlying securities held by the Fund trade on an exchange that is closed when the securities exchange on which the Fund shares list and trade is open, there may be market uncertainty about the stale security pricing (i.e., the last quote from its closed foreign market) resulting in premiums or discounts to NAV that may be greater than those experienced by other ETFs.
Authorized Participant Concentration Only an authorized participant (Authorized Participant) may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that act as Authorized Participants. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units (as defined below), Fund shares may trade at a discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting. This risk may be more pronounced in volatile markets, potentially where there are significant redemptions in ETFs generally.
Cash Transactions Unlike certain ETFs, the Fund expects to generally effect its creations and redemptions entirely for cash, rather than for in-kind securities. Therefore, it may be required to sell portfolio securities and subsequently recognize gains on such sales that the Fund might not have recognized if it were to distribute portfolio securities in-kind. As such, investments in Fund shares may be less tax-efficient than an investment in an ETF that distributes portfolio securities entirely in-kind.
Small Fund When the Fund's size is small, the Fund may experience low trading volume and wide bid/ask spreads. In addition, the Fund may face the risk of being delisted if the Fund does not meet certain conditions of the listing exchange.
Large Shareholder Certain shareholders, including other funds or accounts advised by the investment manager or an affiliate of the investment manager, may from time to time own a substantial amount of the Fund’s shares. In addition, a third-party investor, the investment manager or an affiliate of the investment manager, an authorized participant, a lead market maker, or another entity may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a limited period of time solely to facilitate commencement of the Fund or to facilitate the Fund’s achieving a specified size or scale. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder would not redeem its investment, that the size of the Fund would be maintained at such levels or that the Fund would continue to meet applicable listing requirements. Redemptions by large shareholders could have a significant negative impact on the
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Fund. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on the listing exchange and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the shares.
The
following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing
in the Fund. The bar chart shows changes in the Fund's performance from year to
year. The table shows how the Fund's average annual returns for 1 year, 5 years,
10 years or since inception, as applicable, compared with those of the Fund's
underlying index.
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FRANKLIN FTSE INDIA
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
For periods ended December 31, 2020
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Since inception February 6, 2018. |
The after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
Investment Manager
Franklin Advisory Services, LLC (Advisory Services)
Portfolio Managers
Dina Ting, CFA
Senior Vice President of Advisory Services and portfolio manager of the Fund since inception (2018).
Hailey Harris
Vice President of Advisory Services and portfolio manager of the Fund since 2019.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund is an ETF. Fund shares may only be purchased and sold on a national securities exchange through a broker-dealer. The price of Fund shares is based on market price, and because ETF shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (a premium) or less than NAV (a discount). The Fund issues or redeems shares that have been aggregated into blocks of 50,000 shares or multiples thereof (Creation Units) to Authorized Participants who have entered into agreements with the Fund’s distributor, Franklin Distributors, LLC. The Fund will generally issue or redeem Creation Units in exchange for a basket of securities (and an amount of cash) that the Fund specifies each day.
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares
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in the secondary market (the "bid-ask spread"). Recent information, including information on the Fund's NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads is available on the Fund's website at https://www.franklintempleton.com/ investor/investments-and-solutions/investment-options/etfs/.
Taxes
The Fund’s distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case your distributions would generally be taxed when withdrawn from the tax-deferred account.
Payments
to Broker-Dealers and
Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the investment manager or other related companies may pay the intermediary for certain Fund-related activities, including those that are designed to make the intermediary more knowledgeable about exchange traded products, such as the Fund, as well as for marketing, education or other initiatives related to the sale or promotion of Fund shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
84 |
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FRANKLIN FTSE ITALY
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
FLIY |
To seek to provide investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the FTSE Italy RIC Capped Index (the FTSE Italy Capped Index).
The following table describes the fees and expenses that you will incur if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may also incur other fees, such as usual and customary brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and the Example that follows.
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
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Management fees |
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Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees |
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Other expenses |
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Total annual Fund operating expenses |
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This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of the period. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
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1 Year |
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3 Years |
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5 Years |
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10 Years |
|
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ | |
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|
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held
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85 |
FRANKLIN FTSE ITALY
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
in
a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual Fund operating
expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most
recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was
The Fund, using a “passive” or indexing investment approach, seeks investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the FTSE Italy Capped Index. The investment manager seeks to achieve, over time, a correlation between the Fund’s performance, before fees and expenses, and that of the FTSE Italy Capped Index of 0.95 or better. A figure of 1.00 would indicate perfect correlation. The Fund may use either a replication strategy or representative sampling strategy. Under a replication strategy, the Fund will replicate the component securities of the FTSE Italy Capped Index as closely as possible (i.e., invest in all of the component securities in their respective weightings in the FTSE Italy Capped Index). However, under various circumstances, it may not be possible or practicable to replicate the FTSE Italy Capped Index. In these circumstances, the Fund may use a “representative sampling” strategy whereby the Fund would invest in what it believes to be a representative sample of the component securities of the FTSE Italy Capped Index, but may not track the FTSE Italy Capped Index with the same degree of accuracy as would an investment vehicle replicating the entire FTSE Italy Capped Index. Under the representative sampling technique, the investment manager will select securities that collectively have an investment profile similar to that of the FTSE Italy Capped Index, including securities that resemble those included in the FTSE Italy Capped Index in terms of
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FRANKLIN FTSE ITALY
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
risk factors, performance attributes and other characteristics, such as market capitalization and industry weightings.
The Fund is a "non-diversified" fund, which means it generally invests a greater proportion of its assets in the securities of one or more issuers and invests overall in a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund.
The Fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., hold 25% or more of its net assets) in a particular industry or group of industries to approximately the same extent that the FTSE Italy Capped Index is concentrated. As of May 31, 2021, the FTSE Italy Capped Index was concentrated in the financials sector.
Market The market values of securities or other investments owned by the Fund will go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. The market value of a security or other investment may be reduced by market activity or other results of supply and demand unrelated to the issuer. This is a basic risk associated with all investments. When there are more sellers than buyers, prices tend to fall. Likewise, when there are more buyers than sellers, prices tend to rise.
The current global outbreak of the novel strain of coronavirus, COVID-19, has resulted in market closures and dislocations, extreme volatility, liquidity constraints and increased trading costs. Efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 have resulted in global travel restrictions and disruptions of healthcare systems, business operations and supply chains, layoffs, reduced consumer demand, defaults and credit ratings downgrades, and other significant economic impacts. The effects of COVID-19 have impacted global economic activity across many industries and may heighten other pre-existing political, social and economic risks, locally or globally. The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is unpredictable and may adversely affect the Fund’s performance.
Stock prices tend to go up and down more dramatically than those of debt securities. A slower-growth or recessionary economic environment could have an adverse effect on the prices of the various stocks held by the Fund.
Foreign Securities (non-U.S.) Investing in foreign securities typically involves more risks than investing in U.S. securities, and includes risks associated with: (i) internal and external political and economic developments – e.g., the political,
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FRANKLIN FTSE ITALY
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
economic and social policies and structures of some foreign countries may be less stable and more volatile than those in the U.S. or some foreign countries may be subject to trading restrictions or economic sanctions; (ii) trading practices – e.g., government supervision and regulation of foreign securities and currency markets, trading systems and brokers may be less than in the U.S.; (iii) availability of information – e.g., foreign issuers may not be subject to the same disclosure, accounting and financial reporting standards and practices as U.S. issuers; (iv) limited markets – e.g., the securities of certain foreign issuers may be less liquid (harder to sell) and more volatile; and (v) currency exchange rate fluctuations and policies (e.g., fluctuations may negatively affect investments denominated in foreign currencies and any income received or expenses paid by the Fund in that foreign currency).
Geographic Focus Because the Fund invests its assets primarily in companies in a specific country and region, the Fund is subject to greater risks of adverse developments in that country, region and/or the surrounding regions than a fund that is more broadly diversified geographically. Political, social or economic disruptions in the country or region, even in countries in which the Fund is not invested, may adversely affect the value of investments held by the Fund. Current uncertainty concerning the economic consequences of the January 31, 2020 departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union (EU) may increase market volatility.
Italy’s economy has been characterized by slow growth over the past few decades due to factors such as high unemployment and tax rates, a rigid labor market and regional disparities in economic conditions. The Italian government has experienced significant budget deficits and high levels of public debt, causing credit agencies to lower Italy’s sovereign debt rating. The Italian economy is also heavily dependent on trade with other European countries and may be impacted by changes to the economic health of key trading partners.
Depositary Receipts Depositary receipts are subject to many of the risks of the underlying securities. For some depositary receipts, the custodian or similar financial institution that holds the issuer's shares in a trust account is located in the issuer's home country. In these cases if the issuer’s home country does not have developed financial markets, the Fund could be exposed to the credit risk of the custodian or financial institution and greater market risk. In addition, the depository institution may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services. The Fund may experience delays in receiving its dividend and interest payments or exercising rights as a shareholder. There may be an increased possibility of untimely responses to certain corporate actions of the issuer in an unsponsored depositary receipt program. Accordingly, there may be less information available regarding issuers of securities underlying
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Prospectus |
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FRANKLIN FTSE ITALY
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
unsponsored programs and there may not be a correlation between this information and the market value of the depositary receipts.
Calculation Methodology FTSE Russell relies on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the FTSE Italy Capped Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the investment manager can offer assurances that FTSE Russell's calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers or that the included issuers will provide the Fund with the market exposure it seeks.
Index-Related There is no assurance that the FTSE Italy Capped Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. While FTSE Russell provides descriptions of what the FTSE Italy Capped Index is designed to achieve, FTSE Russell does not guarantee the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in respect of its indices, and does not guarantee that the FTSE Italy Capped Index will be in line with the described index methodology. Gains, losses or costs to the Fund caused by errors in the FTSE Italy Capped Index may therefore be borne by the Fund and its shareholders.
Non-Correlation There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of correlation to the FTSE Italy Capped Index and therefore achieve its investment goal. Market disruptions and regulatory restrictions could have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track the FTSE Italy Capped Index. In addition, the Fund’s NAV may deviate from the FTSE Italy Capped Index if the Fund fair values a portfolio security at a price other than the price used by the FTSE Italy Capped Index for that security. To the extent that the investment manager uses a representative sampling strategy, the Fund may not track the return of the FTSE Italy Capped Index as well as it would have if the Fund held all of the securities in the FTSE Italy Capped Index.
Tracking Error Tracking error is the divergence of the Fund’s performance from that of the FTSE Italy Capped Index. Tracking error may occur because of differences between the securities held in the Fund’s portfolio and those included in the FTSE Italy Capped Index, pricing differences (including differences between a security’s price at the local market close and the Fund’s valuation of a security at the time of calculation of the Fund’s NAV), transaction costs, the Fund’s holding of cash, differences in timing of the accrual of dividends or interest, tax gains or losses, changes to the FTSE Italy Capped Index or the need to meet various new or existing regulatory requirements. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. Tracking error also may result because the Fund incurs fees and expenses, while the FTSE Italy Capped Index does not.
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FRANKLIN FTSE ITALY
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
Market Trading The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, periods of high volatility and disruption in the creation/redemption process of the Fund. Any of these factors, among others, may lead to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV. Thus, you may pay more (or less) than NAV when you buy shares of the Fund in the secondary market, and you may receive less (or more) than NAV when you sell those shares in the secondary market. The investment manager cannot predict whether shares will trade above (premium), below (discount) or at NAV.
Concentration To the extent the Fund concentrates in a specific industry, a group of industries, sector or type of investment, the Fund will carry much greater risks of adverse developments and price movements in such industries, sectors or investments than a fund that invests in a wider variety of industries, sectors or investments. There is also the risk that the Fund will perform poorly during a slump in demand for securities of companies in such industries or sectors.
The Fund may focus in the financial services sector. Financial services companies are subject to extensive government regulation that may affect their profitability in many ways, including by limiting the amount and types of loans and other commitments they can make, and the interest rates and fees they can charge. A financial services company's profitability, and therefore its stock prices, is especially sensitive to interest rate changes as well as the ability of borrowers to repay their loans. Changing regulations, continuing consolidations, and development of new products and structures all are likely to have a significant impact on financial services companies.
Non-Diversification
Mid Capitalization Companies Securities issued by mid capitalization companies may be more volatile in price than those of larger companies, involve substantial risks and should be considered speculative. Such risks may include greater sensitivity to economic conditions, less certain growth prospects, lack of depth of management and funds for growth and development, and limited or less developed product lines and markets. In addition, mid capitalization companies may be particularly affected by interest rate increases, as they may find it more difficult to borrow money to continue or expand operations, or may have difficulty in repaying any loans.
Passive Investment Unlike many investment companies, the Fund is not actively managed and the investment manager does not attempt to take defensive positions under any market conditions, including declining markets. Therefore, the
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FRANKLIN FTSE ITALY
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
investment manager would not necessarily buy or sell a security unless that security is added or removed, respectively, from the FTSE Italy Capped Index, even if that security generally is underperforming.
International Closed Market Trading To the extent that the underlying securities held by the Fund trade on an exchange that is closed when the securities exchange on which the Fund shares list and trade is open, there may be market uncertainty about the stale security pricing (i.e., the last quote from its closed foreign market) resulting in premiums or discounts to NAV that may be greater than those experienced by other ETFs.
Authorized Participant Concentration Only an authorized participant (Authorized Participant) may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that act as Authorized Participants. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units (as defined below), Fund shares may trade at a discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting. This risk may be more pronounced in volatile markets, potentially where there are significant redemptions in ETFs generally.
Small Fund When the Fund's size is small, the Fund may experience low trading volume and wide bid/ask spreads. In addition, the Fund may face the risk of being delisted if the Fund does not meet certain conditions of the listing exchange.
Large Shareholder Certain shareholders, including other funds or accounts advised by the investment manager or an affiliate of the investment manager, may from time to time own a substantial amount of the Fund’s shares. In addition, a third-party investor, the investment manager or an affiliate of the investment manager, an authorized participant, a lead market maker, or another entity may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a limited period of time solely to facilitate commencement of the Fund or to facilitate the Fund’s achieving a specified size or scale. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder would not redeem its investment, that the size of the Fund would be maintained at such levels or that the Fund would continue to meet applicable listing requirements. Redemptions by large shareholders could have a significant negative impact on the Fund. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on the listing exchange and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the shares.
The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows changes in the Fund's performance from year to year. The table shows how the Fund's average annual returns for 1 year, 5 years,
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FRANKLIN FTSE ITALY
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
10
years or since inception, as applicable, compared with those of the Fund's
underlying index.
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- |
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For periods ended December 31, 2020
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1 Year |
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Since Inception |
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Franklin FTSE Italy ETF |
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1 |
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1 |
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1 |
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1 | |
1. |
Since inception November 2, 2017. |
The after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund
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FRANKLIN FTSE ITALY
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
Investment Manager
Franklin Advisory Services, LLC (Advisory Services)
Portfolio Managers
Dina Ting, CFA
Senior Vice President of Advisory Services and portfolio manager of the Fund since inception (2017).
Hailey Harris
Vice President of Advisory Services and portfolio manager of the Fund since 2019.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund is an ETF. Fund shares may only be purchased and sold on a national securities exchange through a broker-dealer. The price of Fund shares is based on market price, and because ETF shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (a premium) or less than NAV (a discount). The Fund issues or redeems shares that have been aggregated into blocks of 50,000 shares or multiples thereof (Creation Units) to Authorized Participants who have entered into agreements with the Fund’s distributor, Franklin Distributors, LLC. The Fund will generally issue or redeem Creation Units in exchange for a basket of securities (and an amount of cash) that the Fund specifies each day.
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the "bid-ask spread"). Recent information, including information on the Fund's NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads is available on the Fund's website at https://www.franklintempleton.com/ investor/investments-and-solutions/investment-options/etfs/.
Taxes
The Fund’s distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case your distributions would generally be taxed when withdrawn from the tax-deferred account.
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Payments
to Broker-Dealers and
Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the investment manager or other related companies may pay the intermediary for certain Fund-related activities, including those that are designed to make the intermediary more knowledgeable about exchange traded products, such as the Fund, as well as for marketing, education or other initiatives related to the sale or promotion of Fund shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
94 |
Prospectus |
franklintempleton.com |
FRANKLIN FTSE JAPAN
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
FLJP |
To seek to provide investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the FTSE Japan RIC Capped Index (the FTSE Japan Capped Index).
The following table describes the fees and expenses that you will incur if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may also incur other fees, such as usual and customary brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and the Example that follows.
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
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Management fees |
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Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees |
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Other expenses |
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Total annual Fund operating expenses |
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|
This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of the period. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
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1 Year |
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3 Years |
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5 Years |
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10 Years |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ |
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$ | |
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|
The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held
franklintempleton.com |
Prospectus |
95 |
FRANKLIN FTSE JAPAN
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
in
a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual Fund operating
expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most
recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was
The Fund, using a “passive” or indexing investment approach, seeks investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the FTSE Japan Capped Index. The investment manager seeks to achieve, over time, a correlation between the Fund’s performance, before fees and expenses, and that of the FTSE Japan Capped Index of 0.95 or better. A figure of 1.00 would indicate perfect correlation. The Fund may use either a replication strategy or representative sampling strategy. Under a replication strategy, the Fund will replicate the component securities of the FTSE Japan Capped Index as closely as possible (i.e., invest in all of the component securities in their respective weightings in the FTSE Japan Capped Index). However, under various circumstances, it may not be possible or practicable to replicate the FTSE Japan Capped Index. In these circumstances, the Fund may use a “representative sampling” strategy whereby the Fund would invest in what it believes to be a representative sample of the component securities of the FTSE Japan Capped Index, but may not track the FTSE Japan Capped Index with the same degree of accuracy as would an investment vehicle replicating the entire FTSE Japan Capped Index. Under the representative sampling technique, the investment manager will select securities that collectively have an investment profile similar to that of the FTSE Japan Capped Index, including securities that resemble those included in the FTSE Japan
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FRANKLIN FTSE JAPAN
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
Capped Index in terms of risk factors, performance attributes and other characteristics, such as market capitalization and industry weightings.
The Fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., hold 25% or more of its net assets) in a particular industry or group of industries to approximately the same extent that the FTSE Japan Capped Index is concentrated.
Market The market values of securities or other investments owned by the Fund will go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. The market value of a security or other investment may be reduced by market activity or other results of supply and demand unrelated to the issuer. This is a basic risk associated with all investments. When there are more sellers than buyers, prices tend to fall. Likewise, when there are more buyers than sellers, prices tend to rise.
The current global outbreak of the novel strain of coronavirus, COVID-19, has resulted in market closures and dislocations, extreme volatility, liquidity constraints and increased trading costs. Efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 have resulted in global travel restrictions and disruptions of healthcare systems, business operations and supply chains, layoffs, reduced consumer demand, defaults and credit ratings downgrades, and other significant economic impacts. The effects of COVID-19 have impacted global economic activity across many industries and may heighten other pre-existing political, social and economic risks, locally or globally. The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is unpredictable and may adversely affect the Fund’s performance.
Stock prices tend to go up and down more dramatically than those of debt securities. A slower-growth or recessionary economic environment could have an adverse effect on the prices of the various stocks held by the Fund.
Foreign Securities (non-U.S.) Investing in foreign securities typically involves more risks than investing in U.S. securities, and includes risks associated with: (i) internal and external political and economic developments – e.g., the political, economic and social policies and structures of some foreign countries may be less stable and more volatile than those in the U.S. or some foreign countries may be subject to trading restrictions or economic sanctions; (ii) trading practices – e.g., government supervision and regulation of foreign securities and currency markets,
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Prospectus |
97 |
FRANKLIN FTSE JAPAN
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
trading systems and brokers may be less than in the U.S.; (iii) availability of information – e.g., foreign issuers may not be subject to the same disclosure, accounting and financial reporting standards and practices as U.S. issuers; (iv) limited markets – e.g., the securities of certain foreign issuers may be less liquid (harder to sell) and more volatile; and (v) currency exchange rate fluctuations and policies (e.g., fluctuations may negatively affect investments denominated in foreign currencies and any income received or expenses paid by the Fund in that foreign currency).
Geographic Focus Because the Fund invests its assets primarily in companies in a specific country and region, the Fund is subject to greater risks of adverse developments in that country, region and/or the surrounding regions than a fund that is more broadly diversified geographically. Political, social or economic disruptions in the country or region, even in countries in which the Fund is not invested, may adversely affect the value of investments held by the Fund.
Japan's economy may be subject to considerable degrees of economic, political and social instability, which could have a negative impact on Japanese securities. The Japanese economy is heavily dependent on international trade and consistent government policy supporting its export market. Changes in governmental regulations on trade, decreasing imports or exports, and/or an economic recession in Japan may cause the value of the Fund's investments to decline. Downturns in the economies of key trading partners such as the United States, China and/or countries in Southeast Asia, including economic, political or social instability in such countries, could also have a negative impact on the Japanese economy as a whole. Currency fluctuations may also adversely impact the Japanese economy, including its export market. In addition, Japan’s labor market is adapting to an aging workforce, declining population, and demand for increased labor mobility. These demographic shifts and fundamental structural changes to the labor market may negatively impact Japan’s economic competitiveness. Japan is also subject to the risk of natural disasters, such as earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, typhoons and tsunamis, which could significantly disrupt economic activity and negatively affect the Fund.
Depositary Receipts Depositary receipts are subject to many of the risks of the underlying securities. For some depositary receipts, the custodian or similar financial institution that holds the issuer's shares in a trust account is located in the issuer's home country. In these cases if the issuer’s home country does not have developed financial markets, the Fund could be exposed to the credit risk of the custodian or financial institution and greater market risk. In addition, the depository institution may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services. The Fund may experience delays in receiving its dividend and interest payments or exercising rights as a shareholder. There may be an increased possibility of untimely responses to certain corporate
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FRANKLIN FTSE JAPAN
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
actions of the issuer in an unsponsored depositary receipt program. Accordingly, there may be less information available regarding issuers of securities underlying unsponsored programs and there may not be a correlation between this information and the market value of the depositary receipts.
Calculation Methodology FTSE Russell relies on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the FTSE Japan Capped Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the investment manager can offer assurances that FTSE Russell's calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers or that the included issuers will provide the Fund with the market exposure it seeks.
Index-Related There is no assurance that the FTSE Japan Capped Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. While FTSE Russell provides descriptions of what the FTSE Japan Capped Index is designed to achieve, FTSE Russell does not guarantee the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in respect of its indices, and does not guarantee that the FTSE Japan Capped Index will be in line with the described index methodology. Gains, losses or costs to the Fund caused by errors in the FTSE Japan Capped Index may therefore be borne by the Fund and its shareholders.
Non-Correlation There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of correlation to the FTSE Japan Capped Index and therefore achieve its investment goal. Market disruptions and regulatory restrictions could have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track the FTSE Japan Capped Index. In addition, the Fund’s NAV may deviate from the FTSE Japan Capped Index if the Fund fair values a portfolio security at a price other than the price used by the FTSE Japan Capped Index for that security. To the extent that the investment manager uses a representative sampling strategy, the Fund may not track the return of the FTSE Japan Capped Index as well as it would have if the Fund held all of the securities in the FTSE Japan Capped Index.
Tracking Error Tracking error is the divergence of the Fund’s performance from that of the FTSE Japan Capped Index. Tracking error may occur because of differences between the securities held in the Fund’s portfolio and those included in the FTSE Japan Capped Index, pricing differences (including differences between a security’s price at the local market close and the Fund’s valuation of a security at the time of calculation of the Fund’s NAV), transaction costs, the Fund’s holding of cash, differences in timing of the accrual of dividends or interest, tax gains or losses, changes to the FTSE Japan Capped Index or the need to meet various new or existing regulatory requirements. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. Tracking error also
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FRANKLIN FTSE JAPAN
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may result because the Fund incurs fees and expenses, while the FTSE Japan Capped Index does not.
Market Trading The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, periods of high volatility and disruption in the creation/redemption process of the Fund. Any of these factors, among others, may lead to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV. Thus, you may pay more (or less) than NAV when you buy shares of the Fund in the secondary market, and you may receive less (or more) than NAV when you sell those shares in the secondary market. The investment manager cannot predict whether shares will trade above (premium), below (discount) or at NAV.
Concentration To the extent the Fund concentrates in a specific industry, a group of industries, sector or type of investment, the Fund will carry much greater risks of adverse developments and price movements in such industries, sectors or investments than a fund that invests in a wider variety of industries, sectors or investments. There is also the risk that the Fund will perform poorly during a slump in demand for securities of companies in such industries or sectors.
Mid Capitalization Companies Securities issued by mid capitalization companies may be more volatile in price than those of larger companies, involve substantial risks and should be considered speculative. Such risks may include greater sensitivity to economic conditions, less certain growth prospects, lack of depth of management and funds for growth and development, and limited or less developed product lines and markets. In addition, mid capitalization companies may be particularly affected by interest rate increases, as they may find it more difficult to borrow money to continue or expand operations, or may have difficulty in repaying any loans.
Passive Investment Unlike many investment companies, the Fund is not actively managed and the investment manager does not attempt to take defensive positions under any market conditions, including declining markets. Therefore, the investment manager would not necessarily buy or sell a security unless that security is added or removed, respectively, from the FTSE Japan Capped Index, even if that security generally is underperforming.
International Closed Market Trading To the extent that the underlying securities held by the Fund trade on an exchange that is closed when the securities exchange on which the Fund shares list and trade is open, there may be market uncertainty about the stale security pricing (i.e., the last quote from its closed foreign market) resulting in premiums or discounts to NAV that may be greater than those experienced by other ETFs.
Authorized Participant Concentration Only an authorized participant (Authorized Participant) may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the
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FRANKLIN FTSE JAPAN
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that act as Authorized Participants. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units (as defined below), Fund shares may trade at a discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting. This risk may be more pronounced in volatile markets, potentially where there are significant redemptions in ETFs generally.
Large Shareholder Certain shareholders, including other funds or accounts advised by the investment manager or an affiliate of the investment manager, may from time to time own a substantial amount of the Fund’s shares. In addition, a third-party investor, the investment manager or an affiliate of the investment manager, an authorized participant, a lead market maker, or another entity may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a limited period of time solely to facilitate commencement of the Fund or to facilitate the Fund’s achieving a specified size or scale. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder would not redeem its investment, that the size of the Fund would be maintained at such levels or that the Fund would continue to meet applicable listing requirements. Redemptions by large shareholders could have a significant negative impact on the Fund. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on the listing exchange and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the shares.
The
following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing
in the Fund. The bar chart shows changes in the Fund's performance from year to
year. The table shows how the Fund's average annual returns for 1 year, 5 years,
10 years or since inception, as applicable, compared with those of the Fund's
underlying index.
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101 |
FRANKLIN FTSE JAPAN
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
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For periods ended December 31, 2020
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1 Year |
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Since Inception |
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Franklin FTSE Japan ETF |
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1. |
Since inception November 2, 2017. |
The after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
Investment Manager
Franklin Advisory Services, LLC (Advisory Services)
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FRANKLIN FTSE JAPAN
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
Portfolio Managers
Dina Ting, CFA
Senior Vice President of Advisory Services and portfolio manager of the Fund since inception (2017).
Hailey Harris
Vice President of Advisory Services and portfolio manager of the Fund since 2019.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund is an ETF. Fund shares may only be purchased and sold on a national securities exchange through a broker-dealer. The price of Fund shares is based on market price, and because ETF shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (a premium) or less than NAV (a discount). The Fund issues or redeems shares that have been aggregated into blocks of 600,000 shares or multiples thereof (Creation Units) to Authorized Participants who have entered into agreements with the Fund’s distributor, Franklin Distributors, LLC. The Fund will generally issue or redeem Creation Units in exchange for a basket of securities (and an amount of cash) that the Fund specifies each day.
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the "bid-ask spread"). Recent information, including information on the Fund's NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads is available on the Fund's website at https://www.franklintempleton.com/ investor/investments-and-solutions/investment-options/etfs/.
Taxes
The Fund’s distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case your distributions would generally be taxed when withdrawn from the tax-deferred account.
Payments
to Broker-Dealers and
Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the investment manager or other related companies may pay the intermediary for certain Fund-related activities, including those that are designed to make the intermediary more knowledgeable about exchange traded products, such as the Fund, as well as for marketing, education or other initiatives
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FRANKLIN FTSE JAPAN
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
related to the sale or promotion of Fund shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
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FRANKLIN FTSE LATIN AMERICA
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
FLLA |
To seek to provide investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the FTSE Latin America RIC Capped Index (the FTSE Latin America Capped Index).
The following table describes the fees and expenses that you will incur if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may also incur other fees, such as usual and customary brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and the Example that follows.
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
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Management fees |
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Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees |
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Other expenses |
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Total annual Fund operating expenses |
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This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of the period. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:
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The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held
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FRANKLIN FTSE LATIN AMERICA
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
in
a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual Fund operating
expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most
recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was
The Fund, using a “passive” or indexing investment approach, seeks investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the FTSE Latin America Capped Index. The investment manager seeks to achieve, over time, a correlation between the Fund’s performance, before fees and expenses, and that of the FTSE Latin America Capped Index of 0.95 or better. A figure of 1.00 would indicate perfect correlation. The Fund may use either a replication strategy or representative sampling strategy. Under a replication strategy, the Fund will replicate the component securities of the FTSE Latin America Capped Index as closely as possible (i.e., invest in all of the component securities in their respective weightings in the FTSE Latin America Capped Index). However, under various circumstances, it may not be possible or practicable to replicate the FTSE Latin America Capped Index. In these circumstances, the Fund may use a “representative sampling” strategy whereby the Fund would invest in what it believes to be a representative sample of the component securities of the FTSE Latin America Capped Index, but may not track the FTSE Latin America Capped Index with the same degree of accuracy as would an investment vehicle replicating the entire FTSE Latin America Capped Index. Under the representative sampling technique, the investment manager will select securities that collectively have an investment profile similar to that of the FTSE Latin America Capped Index,
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FRANKLIN FTSE LATIN AMERICA
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
including securities that resemble those included in the FTSE Latin America Capped Index in terms of risk factors, performance attributes and other characteristics, such as market capitalization and industry weightings.
The Fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., hold 25% or more of its net assets) in a particular industry or group of industries to approximately the same extent that the FTSE Latin America Capped Index is concentrated.
The Fund intends to be diversified in approximately the same proportion as the FTSE Latin America Capped Index is diversified. The Fund may become “non-diversified,” as defined in the 1940 Act, solely as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the FTSE Latin America Capped Index. A “non-diversified” fund generally invests a greater proportion of its assets in the securities of one or more issuers and invests overall in a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund. Shareholder approval will not be sought if the Fund becomes non-diversified due solely to a change in the relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the FTSE Latin America Capped Index.
Market The market values of securities or other investments owned by the Fund will go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. The market value of a security or other investment may be reduced by market activity or other results of supply and demand unrelated to the issuer. This is a basic risk associated with all investments. When there are more sellers than buyers, prices tend to fall. Likewise, when there are more buyers than sellers, prices tend to rise.
The current global outbreak of the novel strain of coronavirus, COVID-19, has resulted in market closures and dislocations, extreme volatility, liquidity constraints and increased trading costs. Efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19 have resulted in global travel restrictions and disruptions of healthcare systems, business operations and supply chains, layoffs, reduced consumer demand, defaults and credit ratings downgrades, and other significant economic impacts. The effects of COVID-19 have impacted global economic activity across many industries and may heighten other pre-existing political, social and economic risks,
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FRANKLIN FTSE LATIN AMERICA
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
locally or globally. The full impact of the COVID-19 pandemic is unpredictable and may adversely affect the Fund’s performance.
Stock prices tend to go up and down more dramatically than those of debt securities. A slower-growth or recessionary economic environment could have an adverse effect on the prices of the various stocks held by the Fund.
Foreign Securities (non-U.S.) Investing in foreign securities typically involves more risks than investing in U.S. securities, and includes risks associated with: (i) internal and external political and economic developments – e.g., the political, economic and social policies and structures of some foreign countries may be less stable and more volatile than those in the U.S. or some foreign countries may be subject to trading restrictions or economic sanctions; (ii) trading practices – e.g., government supervision and regulation of foreign securities and currency markets, trading systems and brokers may be less than in the U.S.; (iii) availability of information – e.g., foreign issuers may not be subject to the same disclosure, accounting and financial reporting standards and practices as U.S. issuers; (iv) limited markets – e.g., the securities of certain foreign issuers may be less liquid (harder to sell) and more volatile; and (v) currency exchange rate fluctuations and policies (e.g., fluctuations may negatively affect investments denominated in foreign currencies and any income received or expenses paid by the Fund in that foreign currency). The risks of foreign investments may be greater in developing or emerging market countries.
Emerging Market Countries The Fund’s investments in emerging market issuers are subject to all of the risks of foreign investing generally, and have additional heightened risks due to a lack of established legal, political, business and social frameworks to support securities markets, including: delays in settling portfolio securities transactions; currency and capital controls; greater sensitivity to interest rate changes; pervasiveness of corruption and crime; currency exchange rate volatility; and inflation, deflation or currency devaluation.
Geographic Focus Because the Fund invests its assets primarily in companies in a specific country and region, the Fund is subject to greater risks of adverse developments in that country, region and/or the surrounding regions than a fund that is more broadly diversified geographically. Political, social or economic disruptions in the country or region, even in countries in which the Fund is not invested, may adversely affect the value of investments held by the Fund.
Investments in securities of Latin American issuers involve risks that are specific to Latin America, including certain legal, regulatory, political and economic risks. Latin American economies are generally considered emerging markets and have experienced high interest rates, economic volatility, inflation, currency devaluations, government debt defaults and high unemployment rates. Certain Latin American countries have experienced periods of political and economic instability and social
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FRANKLIN FTSE LATIN AMERICA
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
unrest in the past. Currency devaluations in any one Latin American country can have a significant effect on the entire Latin American region. Because commodities such as oil and gas, minerals and metals represent a significant percentage of the region’s exports, the economies of Latin American countries are particularly sensitive to fluctuations in commodity prices. International economic conditions, particularly those in the United States, Europe and Asia, as well as world prices for oil and other commodities may also influence the development of Latin American economies. A relatively small number of Latin American companies represents a large portion of Latin America’s total market and thus may be more sensitive to adverse political or economic circumstances and market movements.
Depositary Receipts Depositary receipts are subject to many of the risks of the underlying securities. For some depositary receipts, the custodian or similar financial institution that holds the issuer's shares in a trust account is located in the issuer's home country. In these cases if the issuer’s home country does not have developed financial markets, the Fund could be exposed to the credit risk of the custodian or financial institution and greater market risk. In addition, the depository institution may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services. The Fund may experience delays in receiving its dividend and interest payments or exercising rights as a shareholder. There may be an increased possibility of untimely responses to certain corporate actions of the issuer in an unsponsored depositary receipt program. Accordingly, there may be less information available regarding issuers of securities underlying unsponsored programs and there may not be a correlation between this information and the market value of the depositary receipts.
Preferred Securities Preferred securities are subject to general market and issuer-specific risks applicable to equity securities as well as certain risks associated with fixed income securities, including sensitivity to changes in interest rates. Preferred securities may be subordinated to bonds or other debt instruments in an issuer's capital structure, subjecting them to a greater risk of non-payment. The value of preferred securities is heavily dependent on the profitability and cash flows of the issuer and may decline substantially due to the omission or deferment of dividend payments. Preferred securities may be less liquid than other securities, such as common stocks, and generally do not provide voting rights with respect to the issuer.
Calculation Methodology FTSE Russell relies on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the FTSE Latin America Capped Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the investment manager can offer assurances that FTSE Russell's calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers or that the included issuers will provide the Fund with the market exposure it seeks.
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FRANKLIN FTSE LATIN AMERICA
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
Index-Related There is no assurance that the FTSE Latin America Capped Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. While FTSE Russell provides descriptions of what the FTSE Latin America Capped Index is designed to achieve, FTSE Russell does not guarantee the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in respect of its indices, and does not guarantee that the FTSE Latin America Capped Index will be in line with the described index methodology. Gains, losses or costs to the Fund caused by errors in the FTSE Latin America Capped Index may therefore be borne by the Fund and its shareholders.
Non-Correlation There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of correlation to the FTSE Latin America Capped Index and therefore achieve its investment goal. Market disruptions and regulatory restrictions could have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track the FTSE Latin America Capped Index. In addition, the Fund’s NAV may deviate from the FTSE Latin America Capped Index if the Fund fair values a portfolio security at a price other than the price used by the FTSE Latin America Capped Index for that security. To the extent that the investment manager uses a representative sampling strategy, the Fund may not track the return of the FTSE Latin America Capped Index as well as it would have if the Fund held all of the securities in the FTSE Latin America Capped Index.
Tracking Error Tracking error is the divergence of the Fund’s performance from that of the FTSE Latin America Capped Index. Tracking error may occur because of differences between the securities held in the Fund’s portfolio and those included in the FTSE Latin America Capped Index, pricing differences (including differences between a security’s price at the local market close and the Fund’s valuation of a security at the time of calculation of the Fund’s NAV), transaction costs, the Fund’s holding of cash, differences in timing of the accrual of dividends or interest, tax gains or losses, changes to the FTSE Latin America Capped Index or the need to meet various new or existing regulatory requirements. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. Tracking error also may result because the Fund incurs fees and expenses, while the FTSE Latin America Capped Index does not.
Market Trading The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, periods of high volatility and disruption in the creation/redemption process of the Fund. Any of these factors, among others, may lead to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV. Thus, you may pay more (or less) than NAV when you buy shares of the Fund in the secondary market, and you may receive less (or more) than NAV when you sell those shares in the secondary market. The investment manager cannot predict whether shares will trade above (premium), below (discount) or at NAV.
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ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
Concentration To the extent the Fund concentrates in a specific industry, a group of industries, sector or type of investment, the Fund will carry much greater risks of adverse developments and price movements in such industries, sectors or investments than a fund that invests in a wider variety of industries, sectors or investments. There is also the risk that the Fund will perform poorly during a slump in demand for securities of companies in such industries or sectors.
Change in Diversification Status In seeking to track the FTSE Latin America Capped Index, the Fund may become non-diversified as a result of a change in relative market capitalization or index weighting of one or more constituents of the FTSE Latin America Capped Index. In such circumstances, the Fund may be more sensitive to economic, business, political or other changes affecting individual issuers or investments than a diversified fund, which may negatively impact the Fund’s performance and result in greater fluctuation in the value of the Fund’s shares.
Mid Capitalization Companies Securities issued by mid capitalization companies may be more volatile in price than those of larger companies, involve substantial risks and should be considered speculative. Such risks may include greater sensitivity to economic conditions, less certain growth prospects, lack of depth of management and funds for growth and development, and limited or less developed product lines and markets. In addition, mid capitalization companies may be particularly affected by interest rate increases, as they may find it more difficult to borrow money to continue or expand operations, or may have difficulty in repaying any loans.
Passive Investment Unlike many investment companies, the Fund is not actively managed and the investment manager does not attempt to take defensive positions under any market conditions, including declining markets. Therefore, the investment manager would not necessarily buy or sell a security unless that security is added or removed, respectively, from the FTSE Latin America Capped Index, even if that security generally is underperforming.
International Closed Market Trading To the extent that the underlying securities held by the Fund trade on an exchange that is closed when the securities exchange on which the Fund shares list and trade is open, there may be market uncertainty about the stale security pricing (i.e., the last quote from its closed foreign market) resulting in premiums or discounts to NAV that may be greater than those experienced by other ETFs.
Authorized Participant Concentration Only an authorized participant (Authorized Participant) may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that act as Authorized Participants. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no
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Prospectus |
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FRANKLIN FTSE LATIN AMERICA
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units (as defined below), Fund shares may trade at a discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting. This risk may be more pronounced in volatile markets, potentially where there are significant redemptions in ETFs generally.
Cash Transactions Unlike certain ETFs, the Fund expects to generally effect its creations and redemptions partially for cash, rather than for in-kind securities. Therefore, it may be required to sell portfolio securities and subsequently recognize gains on such sales that the Fund might not have recognized if it were to distribute portfolio securities in-kind. As such, investments in Fund shares may be less tax-efficient than an investment in an ETF that distributes portfolio securities entirely in-kind.
Small Fund When the Fund's size is small, the Fund may experience low trading volume and wide bid/ask spreads. In addition, the Fund may face the risk of being delisted if the Fund does not meet certain conditions of the listing exchange.
Large Shareholder Certain shareholders, including other funds or accounts advised by the investment manager or an affiliate of the investment manager, may from time to time own a substantial amount of the Fund’s shares. In addition, a third-party investor, the investment manager or an affiliate of the investment manager, an authorized participant, a lead market maker, or another entity may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a limited period of time solely to facilitate commencement of the Fund or to facilitate the Fund’s achieving a specified size or scale. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder would not redeem its investment, that the size of the Fund would be maintained at such levels or that the Fund would continue to meet applicable listing requirements. Redemptions by large shareholders could have a significant negative impact on the Fund. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on the listing exchange and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the shares.
The
following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing
in the Fund. The bar chart shows changes in the Fund's performance from year to
year. The table shows how the Fund's average annual returns for 1 year, 5 years,
10 years or since inception, as applicable, compared with those of the Fund's
underlying index.
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Prospectus |
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FRANKLIN FTSE LATIN AMERICA
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
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For periods ended December 31, 2020
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1 Year |
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Since Inception |
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Franklin FTSE Latin America ETF |
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1. |
Since inception October 9, 2018. |
The after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.
Investment Manager
Franklin Advisory Services, LLC (Advisory Services)
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Prospectus |
113 |
FRANKLIN FTSE LATIN AMERICA
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
Portfolio Managers
Dina Ting, CFA
Senior Vice President of Advisory Services and portfolio manager of the Fund since inception (2018).
Hailey Harris
Vice President of Advisory Services and portfolio manager of the Fund since 2019.
Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares
The Fund is an ETF. Fund shares may only be purchased and sold on a national securities exchange through a broker-dealer. The price of Fund shares is based on market price, and because ETF shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (a premium) or less than NAV (a discount). The Fund issues or redeems shares that have been aggregated into blocks of 100,000 shares or multiples thereof (Creation Units) to Authorized Participants who have entered into agreements with the Fund’s distributor, Franklin Distributors, LLC. The Fund will generally issue or redeem Creation Units in exchange for a basket of securities (and an amount of cash) that the Fund specifies each day.
An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the "bid-ask spread"). Recent information, including information on the Fund's NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads is available on the Fund's website at https://www.franklintempleton.com/ investor/investments-and-solutions/investment-options/etfs/.
Taxes
The Fund’s distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-deferred arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case your distributions would generally be taxed when withdrawn from the tax-deferred account.
Payments
to Broker-Dealers and
Other Financial Intermediaries
If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the investment manager or other related companies may pay the intermediary for certain Fund-related activities, including those that are designed to make the intermediary more knowledgeable about exchange traded products, such as the Fund, as well as for marketing, education or other initiatives
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FRANKLIN FTSE LATIN AMERICA
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
related to the sale or promotion of Fund shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.
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Prospectus |
115 |
FRANKLIN FTSE MEXICO
ETF
FUND
SUMMARIES
FLMX |
To seek to provide investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the FTSE Mexico RIC Capped Index (the FTSE Mexico Capped Index).
The following table describes the fees and expenses that you will incur if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may also incur other fees, such as usual and customary brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and the Example that follows.