Franklin Templeton Investments, the roughly $1.4 trillion asset manager known for its mutual fund business, has its sights set on getting bigger in the cutthroat ETF market.
The San Mateo, Calif.-based company aims to quadruple its exchange-traded funds business to $50 billion in the next three years, said Patrick O'Connor, head of global ETFs. That would put it roughly within the top 10 ETF managers, though well behind industry heavyweights Vanguard Group and BlackRock, which each have at least $1.8 trillion under management. Franklin said it had $12 billion in ETF assets at the end of the first half of the year.
The push into ETFs comes as the industry continues to lure in cash even as equities plunged into a bear market. The leading issuers have been in an arms race to cut fees as more firms seek to profit from growing demand for the funds. Franklin intends to increase its footprint in part by converting some long-standing mutual funds to ETFs, a move growing in popularity as a way to lure retail customers who prefer the tax benefits exchange-traded products offer.