Franklin Templeton seeks approval for Saudi Arabia ETF

Franklin Templeton Investments, an active asset manager, is seeking approval for a Saudi Arabia ETF, Bloomberg reported, citing a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission.

The move came just as global index compiler MSCI included Saudi Arabia in its emerging markets benchmark, raising the possibility of attracting nearly $40 billion in foreign investment to country.

Currently, there is only one such fund, the iShares MSCI Saudi Arabia ETF, or KSA. It has $269 million in assets, with the figure growing by as much as 1,700 percent this year – the most among all single-country funds, the news agency said.

It is not clear how Franklin Templeton’s fund will differentiate itself from KSA or what it will charge investors, it added.

Franklin Templeton is said to charge less than $1 for every $1,000 invested in its developed single-country ETFs and $1.90 for emerging market.

Last week, US investment management company, Invesco, had launched the first exchange traded fund (ETF) offering investors in Europe with exposure to Saudi Arabia.

Additionally, Franklin Templeton funds recently won the approval to be Qualified Foreign Investors (QFI) in Saudi Arabia, which allows them to invest directly in the Saudi stock market (Tadawul).