Neither process nor people stand out at Franklin FTSE Japan Hedged ETF, but it gets enough right to help this strategy retain its Morningstar Medalist Rating of Bronze. The portfolio maintains a sizable cost advantage over competitors, priced within the least expensive fee quintile among peers.  

 The strategy receives an Average Process Pillar rating. Independent of the rating, analysis of the strategy's portfolio shows it has maintained an underweight position in volatility exposure and liquidity exposure compared with category peers. Low volatility exposure is attributed to stocks with a lower standard deviation of returns. And a low liquidity exposure is rooted in stocks with lower trading volumes, limiting managers' flexibility. The strategy’s management team earns an Average People Pillar rating. The strategy's parent organization earns the firm an Average Parent Pillar rating. People Pillar and Parent Pillar ratings for this strategy are indirectly assigned by a Morningstar analyst rather than algorithmically derived. Please see the notes following each pillar section for more details. The details of assigning methods can be found in each pillar section.

Analyst Rating

Morningstar's evaluation of this security's process aims to determine the likelihood that it will outperform its Morningstar Category index on a risk-adjusted basis over the long term. Franklin FTSE Japan Hedged ETF earns an Average Process Pillar rating. The most important driver of the rating is that this fund tracks an index. Historical data, such as Morningstar's Active/Passive Barometer, finds that passively managed funds have generally outperformed their active counterparts, especially over longer time horizons. Respectable risk-adjusted performance also influences the rating. This can be seen in the fund's five-year alpha calculated relative to the category index, which suggests that the process was successful over that period. 

The investment strategy as stated in the fund's prospectus is:  The investment seeks to provide investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the FTSE Japan RIC Capped Hedged to USD Index (the FTSE Japan Capped Hedged Index).  Under normal market conditions, the fund invests at least 80% of its assets in the component securities of the FTSE Japan Capped Hedged Index and in depositary receipts representing such securities, and including indirectly through the Franklin FTSE Japan ETF (underlying fund). The FTSE Japan Capped Hedged Index is based on the FTSE Japan Hedged to USD Index and is designed to measure the performance of Japanese large- and mid-capitalization stocks. 

 The portfolio has allocations in its top two sectors, healthcare and consumer cyclical, that are similar to the category. The sectors with low exposure compared to category peers are basic materials and financial services, with basic materials underweighting the average portfolio by 3.1 percentage points of assets and financial services similar to the average. The portfolio is composed of 486 holdings and is quite concentrated. In particular, 23.6% of the portfolio's assets are housed within the top 10 holdings, compared to the category’s 21.3% average. And finally, in terms of portfolio turnover, on a year-over-year basis, 32% of the fund's holdings have turned over, whether through increasing, decreasing, or changing a position.

Average

Process

Franklin Templeton’s team is valuable but does not stand out as one of the industry's best, warranting an Average People Pillar rating. There are four managers listed on the fund: Hailey Harris, Basit Amin, Dina Ting, Joe Diederich. Together, they manage a total of 32 strategies, with solid long-term prospects. The strategies average a Bronze asset-weighted Morningstar Medalist Rating, indicating a position to deliver positive alpha relative to the category median in aggregate.  

 Note: This People Pillar rating is indirectly assigned by an analyst. Morningstar analysts evaluate the People Pillar for passive products at the brand level and may also differentiate by asset class. There is at least one other passive strategy at the firm that is covered by a Morningstar analyst, so the People Pillar rating of the fund is inherited from the rating that the Morningstar analyst assigned to investment vehicles under the same brand name.

People

Franklin Templeton Investments, the asset-management arm of publicly traded but family managed Franklin Resources BEN, has been busy with acquisitions. The struggle in streamlining these disparate capabilities underpins its Average Parent rating. 
Franklin’s July 2020 acquisition of multiboutique manager Legg Mason remains its largest as of March 2023, but the firm has continued to grow through acquisitions. Its April 2022 and November 2022 purchases of Lexington Partners and Alcentra, respectively, make it one of world’s largest managers of alternative investments (with alts comprising USD 231 billion of its USD 1.4 trillion assets under management as of December 2022), while its July 2022 acquisition of O’Shaughnessy Asset Management adds a novel direct-indexing capability to its managed account offerings. These purchases, however, do little to alleviate the operational complexity of a firm with dozens of investment teams split by asset class, region, and investment platform.   
Although there are several standout strategies at the firm, many teams have struggled with personnel turnover, succession challenges, and unappealing performance patterns. Shepherding these geographically disparate capabilities, which have varying levels of centralization of distribution and risk management, shall be quite the challenge for the firm to manage.

Parent

Franklin FTSE Japan Hedged ETF

FLJH tracks a market cap-weighted index of large- and mid-cap companies in Japan. The fund is currency hedged for USD-based investors.

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Inflation slowed down in March but underlying inflationary pressures are still alive. The BoJ's pause at its next week's meeting is widely expected but markets will pay more attention to the BoJ's quarterly outlook report.

Cooler Inflation Ahead Of The Bank of Japan Meeting

Japan's equity benchmark, the Nikkei 225 Index, has been on a tear in 2024, eclipsing its previous high set back in 1989. As of early April, the index is hovering near 40,000. Solid economic growth, a revamp in the country's tax-free stock investment program and corporate governance reform have helped propel Japanese equities to record highs.

Can Japan's Stock Market Continue Its Record-Setting Run?

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The Bank of Japan is set to normalise monetary policy when certain conditions are met, namely inflation, positive real cash earnings, and a recovery in domestic demand growth. We expect the window for normalisation to open from July for about a year before inflation begins to fall below 2%.

The Bank of Japan's New Path Ahead

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The Bank of Japan's historic move to end the country's negative interest rate policy after nearly two decades triggered a jolt upward to new all-time highs for gold against the yen. The BoJ announced it will now hold short-term rates at a still-accommodative 0% to 0.1% and is getting rid of its yield curve control program and ETF purchases.

The End Of Japan's Negative Interest Rates: What It Means For Gold

Japan's private sector picked up growth momentum into the end of the first quarter, according to flash PMI data.

Japan Flash PMI Signals Accelerating Growth Momentum And Rising Inflation In March 2024

Kazuo Ueda becomes Governor of the Bank of Japan, continuing the loose monetary policies implemented by his predecessor. The BOJ raises short rates from -0.1% to 0.1%, becoming the last central bank to exit a Negative Interest Rate Policy.

End Of An Era - Bank of Japan Reverses Negative Interest Rate Policy

The Bank of Japan raised interest rates for the first time since 2007 and has eliminated the yield curve control framework. According to the central bank, the virtuous cycle between wages and prices was assessed to have come into sight, bringing the 2% inflation target within a sustainable and stable possibility by the end of fiscal year 2025.

Flash Insights: Bank of Japan - A 'Watchful' Adjustment

The Bank of Japan has now ended decades of unconventional and aggressive monetary easing. Strong wage negotiation results played a crucial role in today's move.

Bank of Japan Pivot Proves Underwhelming For Markets

Japanese stocks have been on the hottest ride over the past several months, with the Nikkei 225 Index now breaching the 40,000 milestone for the first time.

Japan Nikkei Tops 40,000: Currency-Hedged ETFs Win

Japan's private sector activity broadly stagnated in February according to flash PMI data, attributed to a combination of slowing services activity growth and an acceleration in manufacturing output contraction. A sharper decline in goods new orders, underpinned by sluggish demand conditions, also largely offset improved demand for services.

Flash PMI Signal Cooling Inflation And Stagnating Private Sector Activity In Japan

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Japan ETFs have been surging over the past year on several factors and beating the S&P 500.

Japan ETFs Beating S&P 500: More Growth in the Cards?

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iShares MSCI Australia ETF

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iShares MSCI Singapore ETF

iShares MSCI Taiwan ETF

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Franklin FTSE Australia ETF

Franklin FTSE Asia ex Japan ETF

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While the China macro story of ongoing transition is a headwind to the rest of Asia, there is more to the region's economic health than this.

Asia-Pacific Is Not Just China

Japan's economic growth is projected to decelerate to 0.9% in 2024 and 0.8% in 2025. Government policies have helped the recovery of Japanese stocks and will continue to be a positive factor going forward.

The Rally In Japanese Stocks

Japan's Private Sector Returns To Growth At Start Of 2024, While Price Pressures Ease

The Bank of Japan stood pat on monetary policy today as widely expected. But the market is now paying attention to a more positive tone on the wage and inflation outlook, as well as an upgrade to the FY2024 inflation outlook which lays the groundwork for policy normalisation.

Bank of Japan Opens The Door To Ending Negative Rates, But Timing Uncertainty Remains

Japan's private sector growth ground to a halt in November according to the latest flash PMI data, which is based on about 85%-90% of total PMI survey responses each month. This was mainly attributed to a sharper fall in manufacturing output as service activity expanded at a slightly faster pace in the penultimate month of the year.

Japan Flash PMI Eases To 50.0 To Signal Stalling Private Sector Activity In November

The Japanese stock market is having itself a hot minute. The Nikkei 225 index, a benchmark for Japanese equities, is up nearly 30 percent so far this year.

Japan, Still The Outlier After All These Years

Things were looking tough for the BoJ as recently as this summer, when the country's core CPI bolted north of 4%, far beyond the 2% inflation target that major central banks view as ideal. The Bank of Japan is being reactive to an inflation threat that may very well be in the rearview mirror.

Declining PPIs Perpetuate Japan's TINA Trade

The debate over the future of Japan continues. Because of its small footprint, we often forget the oversized role Japan plays in the global economy.

Japan's Future Remains An Issue Of Debate

October's flash PMI data revealed that Japan's private sector economy concluded the eight-month growth streak that commenced in January 2023. This was attributed primarily to a sharper fall in manufacturing production, though services activity growth also slowed to the weakest in the year-to-date.

Japan's Flash PMI Points To Stalling Private Sector Economy At Start Of Fourth Quarter

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The region is likely to see faster disinflation, but prospects for growth in coming years are dimming. Strong consumer spending has supported growth in Asia's three largest economies this year, but there are already signs that the region's recovery may be running out of steam.

Asia Continues To Fuel Global Growth, But Economic Momentum Is Slowing

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The IMF, the World Bank, and the United Nations all rank China and Japan as the second and third largest economies on the planet. More of what is occurring in the markets should reflect what is happening in China and Japan which are strongly linked economically.

China Could Derail Japan's Fragile Recovery

FLJH provides exposure to Japan without the risk of the Yen, with low expense ratios. Positive factors for Japan include a crackdown on caretaker management, underweight allocation by investors, and efforts by the Prime Minister to attract major allocators. Downsides for FLJH include potential slow corporate governance reform and the inability to take advantage of a cheap Yen when investing in FLJH.

FLJH: Not Getting The Cheapness Of The Yen

It is disappointing that labour cash earnings were weaker than expected in Japan, but consumption held up relatively well. Meanwhile, due to the recent spike in market rates and high inflation, the Bank of Japan is expected to change its YCC policy and forward guidance at its October meeting.

Mixed Signals For Earnings And Spending In Japan, But The BoJ Is Likely To Move On

Japanese stocks have outperformed global equities by a wide margin this year. Is this a false dawn or can inflation continue to breathe life into the market?

Japan Equities: Inflation May Be Just What The Doctor Ordered

News for Franklin FTSE Japan Hedged ETF ETF (FLJH)