Franklin Templeton Canada Expands its Active Fixed Income Offerings with new ETF Series of its Canadian Government Bond Fund for Canadian Investors

Canadian fixed income team provides local expertise grounded in the global perspective of Franklin Fixed Income that has over US$200 billion in AUM

TORONTO, April 8, 2024 /CNW/ - Franklin Templeton Canada today announced the expansion of its active fixed income ETF suite with the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) listing of a new ETF series of Franklin Canadian Government Bond Fund, which will have the ticker FGOV. FGOV provides high-quality Canadian government bond exposure to investment advisors and investors, with the added benefit of active allocation at a low cost.

"We are focused on providing investment advisors and investors with a robust variety of fixed income options to help position their portfolios across interest rate environments," said Ahmed Farooq, SVP, head of Retail ETF Distribution, Franklin Templeton Canada. "Looking to when interest rates are eventually cut, FGOV is well positioned to provide a high-quality, longer duration investment that is actively managed by our fixed income team for only a 20-basis point fee."

Franklin Canadian Government Bond Fund seeks current income, liquidity and modest capital appreciation by investing primarily in bonds issued by Canadian federal, provincial and municipal governments and government agencies, mortgage-backed securities and real return bonds.

Andrew Ashton, head of Americas (ex-US) Distribution and chairman of Franklin Templeton Canada, added: "We remain committed to bringing the best fixed income capabilities from our specialist investment managers – like Franklin Fixed Income – to support investment advisors with solutions that help provide better investment outcomes for their clients."

Franklin Canadian Government Bond Fund is co-managed by Darcy Briggs, SVP, portfolio manager, and Brian Calder, VP, portfolio manager and senior trader, with Franklin Fixed Income's Canadian team, who have 29 and 24 years of industry experience, respectively.

Franklin Fixed Income's Canada team focuses on investing in Canadian fixed income with the potential for enhanced returns through global diversification, managing multi-sector, credit and duration-targeted strategies. The team actively manages a continuum of fixed income ETFs on existing mutual fund mandates, including Franklin Bissett Core Plus Bond Fund (FLCP), Franklin Bissett Corporate Bond Fund (FLCI), Franklin Bissett Short Duration Bond Fund (FLSD) and Franklin Bissett Ultra Short Bond Fund (FHIS).

For investment advisors and investors wanting to complement their Canadian fixed income exposure, Franklin Templeton Canada offers Franklin Brandywine Global Sustainable Income Optimiser Fund (FBGO), Franklin Global Core Bond Fund (FLGA) and Franklin Western Asset Core Plus Bond Fund (FWCP). For more information on these ETFs, please visit franklintempleton.ca/etf.

Franklin Templeton employees will gather to ring the TSX's opening bell on April 11, 2024, to celebrate the listing of FGOV.

About Franklin Templeton

Franklin Resources, Inc. [NYSE:BEN] is a global investment management organization with subsidiaries operating as Franklin Templeton and serving clients in over 150 countries. In Canada, the company's subsidiary is Franklin Templeton Investments Corp., which operates as Franklin Templeton Canada. In Canada, Franklin Fixed Income is a business name used by Franklin Templeton Investments Corp. Franklin Templeton's mission is to help clients achieve better outcomes through investment management expertise, wealth management and technology solutions. Through its specialist investment managers, the company offers specialization on a global scale, bringing extensive capabilities in fixed income, equity, alternatives and multi-asset solutions. With more than 1,400 investment professionals, and offices in major financial markets around the world, the California-based company has over 75 years of investment experience and approximately US$1.6 trillion (approximately CAN$2.2 trillion) in assets under management as of February 29, 2024. For more information, please visit franklintempleton.ca and connect with Franklin Templeton on X (formerly known as Twitter), Facebook and LinkedIn, and read the Beyond Bulls & Bears blog.

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