The folks at a $1.53-trillion-AUM*, publicly traded asset manager near San Francisco are preparing to shut down a $37.4-million-AUM** trio of funds.

Last Thursday (May 22), the Franklin Templeton [profile] team revealed plans to liquidate three of their ETFs:

the Franklin FTSE Hong Kong ETF (FLHK on the NYSE Arca);

the Western Asset Short Duration Income ETF (WINC on the Nasdaq); and

the Western Asset Total Return ETF (WBND on the Nasdaq).

The planned liquidations were approved by the funds' boards last Wednesday (May 21).

The Franklin team plans to stop accepting creation orders for FLHK on June 10, before ending trading before the market opens on July 2. They plan to liquidate the ETF on July 8.

As for WBND and WINC, the Franklin team plans to stop creation orders on August 1, then stop trading before the market opens on August 23. Liquidation is scheduled for August 29.

WINC's inception date was February 7, 2019, and the active ETF comes with an expense ratio of 29 basis points. It now has $12.07 million in AUM.**

WBND's inception date was October 3, 2018, and the active ETF's expense ratio is 45bps. It now has $11.9 million in AUM.**

FLHK's inception date was November 2, 2017, and the index ETF's expense ratio is 9bps. It now has $13.43 million in AUM.**

Franklin Advisory Services LLC serves as FLHK's investment advisor, Franklin Templeton Institutional, LLC (FT Institutional) serves as subadvisor, and FTSE Russell serves as index provider. FLHK is designed to track the FTSE Hong Kong RIC Capped Index. The fund's PM team includes:

Basit Amin, vice president of advisory services (who joined the fund's PM team in 2022);

Joe Diederich, portfolio manager (who joined the fund's PM team in 2022);

Hailey Harris, PM (who joined the fund's PM team in 2019); and

Dina Ting, senior vice president of advisory services (who has PMed the fund since inception.

Franklin Templeton Fund Adviser, LLC (FTFA) is investment advisor to WBND and WINC, and Franklin's Western Asset Management Company, LLC (Western Asset) serves as subadvisor. The two ETFs also have three sub-subadvisors:

Western Asset Management Company Limited in London (Western Asset London);

Western Asset Management Company Pte. Ltd in Singapore (Western Asset Singapore); and

Western Asset Management Company Ltd in Japan (Western Asset Japan).

WBND's PM team includes:

Michael Buchanan, chief investment officer of Western asset (on the fund's PM team since 2024);

Mark Lindbloom, PM (on the fund's PM team since 2018);

Frederick Marki, PM (on the fund's PM team since 2018);

Nicholas Mastroianni, PM (on the fund's PM team since 2024);

Julian Scholnick, PM (on the fund's PM team since 2018); and

Ken Leech, former co-CIO (on the fund's PM team since 2018).

(Leech started a leave of absence last summer before being charged last fall with fraud over alleged cherry-picking of trades.)

WINC's PM team includes:

Dan Alexander, PM (on the fund's PM team since 2021);Ryan Brist, head of global investment grade credit (on the fund's PM team since 2019);

Kurt Halvorson, PM (on the fund's PM team since 2019);

Blanton Keh, PM (on the fund's PM team since 2019);

Molly Schwartz, PM (on the fund's PM team since 2024); and

Buchanan (on the fund's PM team since 2019).

Franklin Distributors, LLC serves as distributor to WINC, WBND, and FLHK. PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP serves as the three funds' independent accounting firm.

\ WINC and WBND are actively managed series of the Legg Mason ETF Investment Trust. (Franklin bought Legg Mason, Western Asset's old parent, in 2020.) The two ETFs' other service providers include:

the Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon) as custodian, dividend disbursing agent, securities lending agent, and transfer agent; and

Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young LLP as counsel.

FLHK is a passively managed series of the Franklin Templeton ETF Trust. The ETF's other service providers include:

Franklin Templeton Services, LLC (FT Services) as administrator;

Goldman Sachs Agency Lending as securities lending agent; and

State Street Bank and Trust Company as custodian, dividend-paying agent, securities lending agent, sub-administrator, and transfer agent.

*As of April 30, 2025.

**As of yesterday (May 27, 2025). 

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