Franklin Templeton has widened out its European ETF offering, listing the Franklin LibertyQ European Equity UCITS ETF (FREQ, FLEQ) on major European exchanges. FLEQ will add to FT's European LibertyShares range, the sub-brand under which it offers smart beta exposures.
FLEQ will track the performance of the LibertyQ Europe equity index, investing in the large and mid-capitalisation stocks. The portfolio consists of approximately 115 companies which have been selected from the MSCI Europe index using a multi-factor selection process.
Franklin Templeton only entered the European market late last year with the issuing of five smart beta ETFs in September 2017 and then added two active fixed income ETFs in June this year.
Explaining the firm's methodology for investments, Caroline Baron, head of ETF sales EMEA, said: "For our line-up of multi-factor strategies, we target high-quality companies that are attractively valued using momentum to identify investment trends and avoid value traps. We also use low volatility to help provide a defensive measure against downturns."
The listing comes the same day JPMorgan listed its four currency-hedged ETFs.