497K 1 c497k.htm
        
  

SUMMARY PROSPECTUS

   
    
  

FRANKLIN U.S. CORE BOND ETF

 
    
  

Franklin Templeton ETF Trust

 
  

August 1, 2023

 
    
  

 
    
     
      
  

Ticker:

Exchange:

FLCB

NYSE Arca, Inc.

Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund’s prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund’s prospectus, statement of additional information, reports to shareholders and other information about the Fund online at www.franklintempleton.com/prospectus. You can also get this information at no cost by calling (800) DIAL BEN/342-5236 or by sending an e-mail request to prospectus@franklintempleton.com. The Fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information, both dated August 1, 2023, as may be supplemented, are all incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.


FRANKLIN U.S. CORE BOND ETF
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS

  

FLCB

 Franklin U.S. Core Bond ETF

Investment Goal

Total return.

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The following table describes the fees and expenses that you will incur if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may also incur other fees, such as usual and customary brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and the Example that follows.

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

   

 

 

 

Management fees

 

0.15%

Distribution and service (12b-1) fees

 

None

Other expenses

 

None

Total annual Fund operating expenses

 

0.15%

Example

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of the period. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

          

 

 

 

1 Year

 

3 Years

 

5 Years

 

10 Years

Franklin U.S. Core Bond ETF

 

$15

 

$48

 

$85

 

$191

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held

   
 

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FRANKLIN U.S. CORE BOND ETF
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS

in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual Fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 68.70% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in bonds of U.S. issuers, including government, corporate debt, mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities. Bonds include debt obligations of any maturity, such as bonds, notes, bills and debentures. “U.S. issuers” include entities:

· whose securities are listed or traded principally on a recognized stock exchange or over-the-counter market in the U.S.;

· that derive 50% or more of their total revenue from either goods or services produced or sales made in the U.S.;

· that have 50% or more of their assets in the U.S.; or

· that are organized under the laws of, or with principal offices in, the U.S.

“Bonds of U.S. issuers” also include: (i) securities included in the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index; and (ii) bonds denominated in U.S. dollars issued by foreign banks and corporations, and registered with the SEC for sale in the U.S., such as Yankee bonds. The Fund invests predominantly in investment grade debt securities and, under normal market conditions, is generally expected to have sector, credit and duration exposures comparable to the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, the Fund’s benchmark index. However, the investment manager makes investment decisions based upon its own fundamental analysis, which affects the Fund’s sector, credit and duration exposures so that they may vary from the benchmark index. Investment grade debt securities are securities that are rated at the time of purchase in the top four ratings categories by one or more independent rating organizations such as S&P® Global Ratings (S&P®) (rated BBB- or better) or Moody’s Investors Service (Moody’s) (rated Baa3 or higher) or, if unrated, are determined to be of comparable quality by the Fund’s investment manager.

An asset-backed security is a security backed by loans, leases, and other receivables. A mortgage-backed security is an interest in a pool of mortgage loans made by and packaged or “pooled” together by banks, mortgage lenders, various governmental agencies and other financial institutions for sale to investors to finance purchases of homes, commercial buildings and other real estate. The Fund’s investments in mortgage-backed securities include securities that are issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities, which include mortgage pass-through securities representing interests in “pools” of mortgage loans issued or guaranteed by the Government National Mortgage

   
 

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FRANKLIN U.S. CORE BOND ETF
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS

Association (Ginnie Mae), the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae), and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac). Securities issued by different government agencies or instrumentalities have different levels of credit support. The Fund also invests in other types of mortgage securities that may be issued or guaranteed by private issuers including commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS).

The Fund may purchase or sell mortgage-backed securities on a delayed delivery or forward commitment basis through the “to-be-announced” (TBA) market. With TBA transactions, the particular securities to be delivered must meet specified terms and conditions.

For purposes of pursuing its investment goal, the Fund may enter into various interest rate and credit-related derivatives, principally U.S. Treasury futures, interest rate swaps and credit default swaps. The use of these derivative transactions may allow the Fund to obtain net long or short exposures to select interest rates, durations or credit risks. These derivatives may be used to enhance Fund returns, increase liquidity, gain exposure to certain instruments or markets in a more efficient or less expensive way and/or hedge risks associated with its other portfolio investments. Derivatives that provide exposure to bonds may be used to satisfy the Fund’s 80% policy.

In choosing investments for the Fund, the investment manager selects securities in various market sectors based on its assessment of changing economic, market, industry and issuer conditions. The investment manager uses a “top-down” analysis of macroeconomic trends, combined with a “bottom-up” fundamental analysis of market sectors, industries and issuers, to try to take advantage of varying sector reactions to economic events. The investment manager may utilize quantitative models to identify investment opportunities as part of the portfolio construction process for the Fund. Quantitative models are proprietary systems that rely on mathematical computations to identify investment opportunities. The investment manager may consider selling a security when it believes the security has become fully valued due to either its price appreciation or changes in the issuer’s fundamentals, or when the investment manager believes another security is a more attractive investment opportunity.

Principal Risks

You could lose money by investing in the Fund. ETF shares are not deposits or obligations of, or guaranteed or endorsed by, any bank, and are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board, or any other agency of the U.S. government. The Fund is subject to the principal risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value (NAV), trading

   
 

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FRANKLIN U.S. CORE BOND ETF
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS

price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment goal. Unlike many ETFs, the Fund is not an index-based ETF.

Market The market values of securities or other investments owned by the Fund will go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. The market value of a security or other investment may be reduced by market activity or other results of supply and demand unrelated to the issuer. This is a basic risk associated with all investments. When there are more sellers than buyers, prices tend to fall. Likewise, when there are more buyers than sellers, prices tend to rise.

The global outbreak of the novel strain of coronavirus, COVID-19 and its subsequent variants, has resulted in market closures and dislocations, extreme volatility, liquidity constraints and increased trading costs. The long-term impact on economies, markets, industries and individual issuers is not known. Some sectors of the economy and individual issuers have experienced or may experience particularly large losses. Periods of extreme volatility in the financial markets; reduced liquidity of many instruments; and disruptions to supply chains, consumer demand and employee availability, may continue for some time.

Interest Rate When interest rates rise, debt security prices generally fall. The opposite is also generally true: debt security prices rise when interest rates fall. Interest rate changes are influenced by a number of factors, including government policy, monetary policy, inflation expectations, perceptions of risk, and supply of and demand for bonds. In general, securities with longer maturities or durations are more sensitive to interest rate changes.

Credit An issuer of debt securities may fail to make interest payments or repay principal when due, in whole or in part. Changes in an issuer's financial strength or in a security's or government's credit rating may affect a security's value. Mortgage-backed securities that are not issued by U.S. government agencies may have a greater risk of default because neither the U.S. government nor an agency or instrumentality have guaranteed or provided credit support to them. The credit quality of most asset-backed securities depends primarily on the credit quality of the underlying assets and the amount of credit support (if any) provided to the securities. While securities issued by Ginnie Mae are backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, not all securities of the various U.S. government agencies are, including those of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Also, guarantees of principal and interest payments do not apply to market prices, yields or the Fund’s share price. While the U.S. government has, in the past, provided financial support to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the U.S. government is not obligated by law to do so and no assurance can be given that the U.S. government will do so in the future.

Mortgage Securities and Asset-Backed Securities Mortgage securities differ from conventional debt securities because principal is paid back periodically over

   
 

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FRANKLIN U.S. CORE BOND ETF
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS

the life of the security rather than at maturity. The Fund may receive unscheduled payments of principal due to voluntary prepayments, refinancings or foreclosures on the underlying mortgage loans. Because of prepayments, mortgage securities may be less effective than some other types of debt securities as a means of "locking in" long-term interest rates and may have less potential for capital appreciation during periods of falling interest rates. A reduction in the anticipated rate of principal prepayments, especially during periods of rising interest rates, may increase or extend the effective maturity and duration of mortgage securities, making them more sensitive to interest rate changes, subject to greater price volatility, and more susceptible than some other debt securities to a decline in market value when interest rates rise.

Issuers of asset-backed securities may have limited ability to enforce the security interest in the underlying assets, and credit enhancements provided to support the securities, if any, may be inadequate to protect investors in the event of default. Like mortgage securities, asset-backed securities are subject to prepayment and extension risks.

Derivative Instruments The performance of derivative instruments depends largely on the performance of an underlying instrument, such as a security, interest rate or index, and such instruments often have risks similar to their underlying instrument, in addition to other risks. Derivative instruments involve costs and can create economic leverage in the Fund's portfolio, which may result in significant volatility and cause the Fund to participate in losses (as well as gains) in an amount that exceeds the Fund's initial investment. Other risks include illiquidity, mispricing or improper valuation of the derivative instrument, and imperfect correlation between the value of the derivative and the underlying instrument so that the Fund may not realize the intended benefits. When a derivative is used for hedging, the change in value of the derivative may also not correlate specifically with the security, interest rate or other risk being hedged. With over-the-counter derivatives, there is the risk that the other party to the transaction will fail to perform.

Income Because the Fund can only distribute what it earns, the Fund's distributions to shareholders may decline when prevailing interest rates fall or when the Fund experiences defaults on debt securities it holds.

When-Issued and Delayed Delivery Transactions Mortgage-backed securities may be issued on a when-issued or delayed delivery basis, where payment and delivery take place at a future date. Because the market price of the security may fluctuate during the time before payment and delivery, the Fund assumes the risk that the value of the security at delivery may be more or less than the purchase price.

   
 

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FRANKLIN U.S. CORE BOND ETF
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS

Management The Fund is subject to management risk because it is an actively managed ETF. The Fund's investment manager applies investment techniques and risk analyses in making investment decisions for the Fund, but there can be no guarantee that these decisions will produce the desired results.

Cybersecurity Cybersecurity incidents, both intentional and unintentional, may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to fund assets, fund or customer data (including private shareholder information), or proprietary information, cause the fund, the investment manager, authorized participants, or index providers (as applicable) and listing exchanges, and/or their service providers (including, but not limited to, fund accountants, custodians, sub-custodians, transfer agents and financial intermediaries) to suffer data breaches, data corruption or loss of operational functionality or prevent fund investors from purchasing, redeeming shares or receiving distributions. The investment manager has limited ability to prevent or mitigate cybersecurity incidents affecting third party service providers, and such third party service providers may have limited indemnification obligations to the fund or the investment manager. Cybersecurity incidents may result in financial losses to the fund and its shareholders, and substantial costs may be incurred in an effort to prevent or mitigate future cybersecurity incidents. Issuers of securities in which the fund invests are also subject to cybersecurity risks, and the value of these securities could decline if the issuers experience cybersecurity incidents.

Because technology is frequently changing, new ways to carry out cyber attacks are always developing. Therefore, there is a chance that some risks have not been identified or prepared for, or that an attack may not be detected, which puts limitations on the Fund's ability to plan for or respond to a cyber attack. Like other funds and business enterprises, the Fund, the investment manager, and their service providers are subject to the risk of cyber incidents occurring from time to time.

Quantitative Models The quantitative models that may be used by the investment manager as part of the Fund’s portfolio construction process to identify investment opportunities have been tested on historical price data. These models are based on the assumption that price movements in most markets display very similar patterns. There is the risk that market behavior will change and that the patterns upon which the forecasts in the models are based will weaken or disappear, which would reduce the ability of the models to generate an excess return. Further, as market dynamics shift over time, a previously highly successful model may become outdated, perhaps without the investment manager recognizing that fact before substantial losses are incurred. Successful operation of a model is also reliant upon the information technology systems of the investment manager and its ability to ensure those systems remain operational and that appropriate disaster recovery

   
 

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FRANKLIN U.S. CORE BOND ETF
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS

procedures are in place. There can be no assurance that the investment manager will be successful in maintaining effective and operational quantitative models and the related hardware and software systems.

Market Trading The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, periods of high volatility and disruption in the creation/redemption process of the Fund. Any of these factors, among others, may lead to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV. Thus, you may pay more (or less) than NAV when you buy shares of the Fund in the secondary market, and you may receive less (or more) than NAV when you sell those shares in the secondary market. The investment manager cannot predict whether shares will trade above (premium), below (discount) or at NAV.

Authorized Participant Concentration Only an authorized participant (Authorized Participant) may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that act as Authorized Participants. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units (as defined below), Fund shares may trade at a discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting. This risk may be more pronounced in volatile markets, potentially where there are significant redemptions in ETFs generally.

Cash Transactions Unlike certain ETFs, the Fund expects to generally effect its creations and redemptions entirely for cash, rather than for in-kind securities. Therefore, it may be required to sell portfolio securities and subsequently recognize gains on such sales that the Fund might not have recognized if it were to distribute portfolio securities in-kind. As such, investments in Fund shares may be less tax-efficient than an investment in an ETF that distributes portfolio securities entirely in-kind.

Large Shareholder Certain shareholders, including other funds or accounts advised by the investment manager or an affiliate of the investment manager, may from time to time own a substantial amount of the Fund’s shares. In addition, a third-party investor, the investment manager or an affiliate of the investment manager, an authorized participant, a lead market maker, or another entity may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a limited period of time solely to facilitate commencement of the Fund or to facilitate the Fund’s achieving a specified size or scale. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder would not redeem its investment, that the size of the Fund would be maintained at such levels or that the Fund would continue to meet applicable listing requirements. Redemptions by large shareholders could have a significant negative impact on the

   
 

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FRANKLIN U.S. CORE BOND ETF
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS

Fund. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on the listing exchange and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the shares.

Performance

The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows changes in the Fund's performance from year to year. The table shows how the Fund's average annual returns for 1 year, 5 years, 10 years or since inception, as applicable, compared with those of a broad measure of market performance. The Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. You can obtain updated performance information at franklintempleton.com or by calling (800) DIAL BEN/342-5236.

Annual Total Returns

PerformanceBarChartData(2020:7.66,2021:-1.71,2022:-13.57)

   

Best Quarter:

2020, Q2

3.53%

Worst Quarter:

2022, Q1

-6.21%

 

As of June 30, 2023, the Fund’s year-to-date return was 2.40%.

   
 

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FRANKLIN U.S. CORE BOND ETF
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS

Average Annual Total Returns

For periods ended December 31, 2022

       

 

 

1 Year

 

Since Inception

 

Franklin U.S. Core Bond ETF

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return before taxes

 

-13.57%

 

-2.37%

1

 

Return after taxes on distributions

 

-14.47%

 

-3.41%

1

 

Return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares

 

-8.01%

 

-2.16%

1

Bloomberg US Aggregate Bond Index (index reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes)

 

-13.01%

 

-2.18%

1

       

1.

Since inception September 17, 2019.

The after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.

Investment Manager

Franklin Advisers, Inc. (Advisers or investment manager)

Sub-Advisor

Franklin Templeton Institutional, LLC (FT Institutional). For purposes of the Fund’s investment strategies, techniques and risks, the term “investment manager” includes the sub-advisor.

Portfolio Managers

Patrick Klein, Ph.D.
Senior Vice President of Advisers and portfolio manager of the Fund since inception (2019).

Tina Chou
Portfolio Manager of Advisers and portfolio manager of the Fund since inception (2019).

Josh Lohmeier, CFA
Portfolio Manager of FT Institutional and portfolio manager of the Fund since March 2023.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

The Fund is an ETF. Fund shares may only be purchased and sold on a national securities exchange through a broker-dealer. The price of Fund shares is based on

   
 

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FRANKLIN U.S. CORE BOND ETF
SUMMARY PROSPECTUS

market price, and because ETF shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (a premium) or less than NAV (a discount). The Fund issues or redeems shares that have been aggregated into blocks of 50,000 shares or multiples thereof (Creation Units) to Authorized Participants who have entered into agreements with the Fund’s distributor, Franklin Distributors, LLC. The Fund will generally issue or redeem Creation Units in exchange for a basket of cash and/or securities that the Fund specifies each day.

An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the “bid-ask spread”). Recent information, including information on the Fund’s NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads is available on the Fund’s website at https://www.franklintempleton.com/investor/investments-and-solutions/investment-options/etfs/.

Taxes

The Fund’s distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case your distributions would generally be taxed when withdrawn from the tax-advantaged account. Investment company dividends paid to you from interest earned on certain U.S government securities may be exempt from state and local taxation, subject in some states to minimum investment or reporting requirements that must be met by the Fund.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the investment manager or other related companies may pay the intermediary for certain Fund-related activities, including those that are designed to make the intermediary more knowledgeable about exchange traded products, such as the Fund, as well as for marketing, education or other initiatives related to the sale or promotion of Fund shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

   
 

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Franklin Distributors, LLC

One Franklin Parkway

San Mateo, CA 94403-1906

franklintempleton.com

Franklin U.S. Core Bond ETF

  
  

Investment Company Act file #811-23124

© 2023 Franklin Templeton. All rights reserved.

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