Franklin Templeton on 7 May 2025 announced the launch of its new “Franklin US Mega Cap 100 Ucits ETF,” an exchange-traded fund that aims to provide European investors with exposure to the top 100 US mega cap stocks. The new fund brings the total number of Franklin Templeton’s indexed ETFs to 28 and dedicated US equity exposure ETFs to five.
“Looking back 30 years, the largest 100 securities in US equities have captured greater market upside than a broader index such as the S&P 500,” commented Caroline Baron, head of ETF distribution, EMEA, Franklin Templeton. “This ETF can be utilised by investors as a nimble tool to dial up US equity market exposure or quickly implement a risk-on trade, offering a distinct risk-return profile.”
The new ETF will track the Solactive US Mega Cap 100 Select Index, which in turn tracks the performance of the 100 largest companies within the Solactive GBS United States 500 Index, said a press release. The selection is based on total market capitalisation.
“Franklin Templeton is dedicated to building out its ETF range to provide investors with a diverse array of tools to achieve their investment goals,” said the firm’s Matt Harrison, head of Americas (ex-US), Europe and UK. “This new ETF not only offers attractive performance potential but also serves as a strategic tool for investors to overweight the largest growth names in the US market.”
The company’s global ETF platform had roughly $38bn in assets under management as of 30 April 2025.
Franklin Templeton’s ETF listed on the Deutsche Börse Xetra on 8 May, and will list on the London Stock Exchange, Euronext Paris and Borsa Italiana on 9 May. It is registered in Austria, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland (country of domicile), Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.
Paperjam contacted Franklin Templeton as to why the firm decided to domicile its new exchange-traded fund in Ireland rather than Luxembourg. In response, a spokesperson stated: “We established our ICAV ETF umbrella in Ireland many years ago, which is why this new ETF, like all our Ucits ETFs, is also registered there.”
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A report issued by the consulting firm PWC in March found that 78% of assets in European ETFs are in Irish-domiciled ETFs; . As of 1 January 2025, all exchange-traded funds in the grand duchy are exempted from subscription tax. This was previously the case for passive ETFs, but it now also applies to active ETFs. However, Ireland also benefits from a 1996 tax treaty with the United States, which means that “Irish-domiciled equity ETFs with exposure to US equities pay only a 15% withholding tax rate on dividends, compared with 30% for ETFs based in Luxembourg or elsewhere in Europe,” .
automatically track an index or type of financial asset, like gold. These funds can be bought or sold in real time on the stock market and often have lower management fees.