Subject to shareholder approval, the firm said the investment objective in the Franklin AC Asia ex Japan UCITS ETF will change from the current smart beta Asia (ex-Japan) strategy to a passive broad market capitalisation Asian equity exposure, excluding both China and Japan.
The board of directors of the Dublin-domiciled Franklin Templeton ICAV said the re-positioning will bring "greater alignment with our clients' needs in the region".
"By carving out China from the investment universe, clients will be able to manage their China exposure separately according to their objectives," said Franklin Templeton.
Franklin Templeton rolls out EM Climate ETF
If approved, the ETF's benchmark will change from LibertyQ AC Asia ex Japan index to the FTSE Asia ex Japan ex China Index-NR, while the index provider will change from MSCI to FTSE Russell. The fund will also be renamed to Franklin FTSE Asia ex China ex Japan UCITS ETF.
The firm has also proposed reducing the ETF's total expense ratio from 0.40% to 0.14%, effective on or around 1 December 2023.
"Investors should benefit from a reduced fee following the switch from a quantitative multi-factor Asian strategy to a more core passive broad benchmark exposure," the firm added.