A publicly traded mutual fund titan's team is preparing to transform a $253-million-AUM pair of mutual funds.

Jennifer M. "Jenny" Johnson Franklin Resources, Inc. (dba Franklin Templeton) President, CEO

Yesterday, Pierre Caramazza, head of U.S. product and specialty sales for Franklin Resources, Inc. (dba Franklin Templeton [profile]), and Patrick O'Connor, head of global ETFs, confirmed that they plan to convert the BrandywineGLOBAL - Dynamic US Large Cap Value Fund and the Martin Currie International Sustainable Equity Fund into active ETFs. The conversions, which are subject to shareholder approval, are targeted for Q3 or Q4 of 2022. The two funds are subadvised by a pair of old Legg Mason boutiques: Brandywine Global Investment Management, LLC and Martin Currie Inc.. (Franklin bought Legg in July 2020.)

O'Connor puts the planned conversions in the context of active ETFs' "phenomenal growth" in recent years.

The Brandywine fund is PMed by Michael Fleisher, Henry Otto, and Steven Tonkovich and was first launched 15 years ago. It currently comes in five mutual fund share classes, whose expense ratios range from 66 basis points to 182 bps.

The Martin Currie fund is PMed by Ken Hughes and Zehrid Osmani and was first launched six years ago. It currently also comes in five mutual fund share classes, whose expense ratios range from 75 bps to 195 bps.

Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC (LMPFA) serves as the investment manager (investment advisor?) to both funds. Their other service providers include: the Bank of New York Mellon as custodian and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. as transfer agent; Franklin Distributors, LLC as distributor; Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP as counsel; and PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as independent accounting firm. 

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