Franklin S&P World Screened UCITS ETF Acc (FWRLD)

Profile

Franklin S&P World Screened UCITS ETF Acc is an exchange-traded fund that tracks the S&P World Guarded Index, providing exposure to large-capitalization companies across developed markets worldwide. Its primary purpose is to offer investors a core equity allocation with an enhanced focus on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, overweighting firms with superior ESG performance and lower carbon emissions while underweighting those with poorer profiles. The index excludes companies involved in controversial activities such as weapons, tobacco, thermal coal, military contracting, and oil sands, ensuring at least 5% of the portfolio consists of sustainable investments that do not cause significant harm to environmental or social objectives. As an accumulating UCITS-compliant ETF domiciled in Ireland and managed by Franklin Templeton, it reinvests dividends to support long-term growth. Key portfolio characteristics include heavy weighting toward the United States (around 69%), followed by Europe and Asia-Pacific, with dominant sectors like information technology (27%), financials (18%), and industrials (11%). It emphasizes mega-cap stocks over $50 billion, maintaining a low total expense ratio of 0.14% and physical replication for precise index tracking. This ETF plays a significant role in sustainable investing by integrating ESG screening into broad global equity exposure without sacrificing benchmark-like performance.