ETF Evaluator: Franklin U.S. Low Volatility Hi Div ETF (LVHD) Follow This ETF

Franklin U.S. Low Volatility Hi Div ETF Overview

Franklin U.S. Low Volatility Hi Div ETF (LVHD) is a passively managed U.S. Equity Mid-Cap Value exchange-traded fund (ETF). Franklin Templeton Investments launched the ETF in 2015.

The investment seeks to track the investment results of the QS Low Volatility High Dividend Index composed of equity securities of U.S. companies with relatively high yield and low price and earnings volatility. The index is composed of stocks of U.S. companies across a wide range of market capitalizations, including the largest 3,000 U.S. stocks as determined by the Solactive U.S. Broad Market Index. The fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus borrowings for investment purposes, if any, in securities that compose the index.

About Franklin U.S. Low Volatility Hi Div ETF (LVHD)

There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 3.12 years: Christopher Floyd (2021), Brett Risser (2026), Jacqueline Kenney (2023) and Jose Maldonado (2021). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.

The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: Russell 3000 TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Franklin LV HD NR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Franklin U.S. Low Volatility Hi Div ETF has 116 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 24.8% of the ETF’s assets. The ETF meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a diversified fund. The ETF is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.

Franklin U.S. Low Volatility Hi Div ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity ETF group. Franklin U.S. Low Volatility Hi Div ETF has 0.0% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 98.8% There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 0.0% (0.0% domestic bond, 0.0% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Franklin U.S. Low Volatility Hi Div ETF has 1.2% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $606 million in total assets, which is below the $2 billion average for the Mid-Cap Value category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.

LVHD Performance and Fees

The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The Franklin U.S. Low Volatility Hi Div ETF expense ratio is below average compared to funds in the Mid-Cap Value category. Franklin U.S. Low Volatility Hi Div ETF has an expense ratio of 0.27%, which is 42% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a B. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.

High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. Franklin U.S. Low Volatility Hi Div ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 30%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 73% for the Mid-Cap Value category.

Recently, in the month of June 2026, Franklin U.S. Low Volatility Hi Div ETF returned 3.7%, which earned it a grade of B, as the Mid-Cap Value category had an average return of 1.7%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all ETFs in that category.

Franklin U.S. Low Volatility Hi Div ETF has a trailing yield of 3.26%, which is above the 2.13% category average. The fund normally distributes its income quarterly.

It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.

Franklin U.S. Low Volatility Hi Div ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 11.4%, 0.1 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of C. The fund has returned 14.2% over the past year (grade of D), 10.3% over the past three years (grade of F) and 7.5% per year over the past five years (grade of D) and 8.1% per year over the past 10 years (grade of F).

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