ETF Evaluator:
Franklin Investment Grade Corporate ETF ()
Follow This ETF
(as of Aug 26)
Best Performing in Corporate Bond Over the Last Year
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| 3.6% | Hilton BDC Corporate Bond ETF (HBDC) |
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| 3.3% | State Street SPDR Port ItmtTermCorpBdETF (SPIB) |
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ETF Details
Franklin Investment Grade Corporate ETF Overview
Franklin Investment Grade Corporate ETF (FLCO) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Corporate Bond exchange-traded fund (ETF). Franklin Templeton Investments launched the ETF in 2016.
The investment seeks a high level of current income as is consistent with prudent investing, while seeking preservation of capital.
Under normal market conditions, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in investment grade corporate debt securities and investments. It invests primarily in U.S. dollar denominated corporate debt securities issued by U.S. and foreign companies. The fund may invest in debt securities of any maturity or duration. The fund's focus on the credit quality of its portfolio is intended to reduce credit risk and help to preserve the fund's capital.
About Franklin Investment Grade Corporate ETF (FLCO)
There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 4.21 years: Marc Kremer (2016), Joshua Lohmeier (2023), Michael Cho (2024) and Andrew Benson (2024). Management tenure is more important for actively managed ETFs than passive index ETFs.
The ETF has 2 primary benchmarks: Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100% and Bloomberg US Corp Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Franklin Investment Grade Corporate ETF has 222 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 12.6% 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 Investment Grade Corporate ETF is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond ETF group. Franklin Investment Grade Corporate ETF has 16.1% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.0% There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 0.3% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 98.1% (82.0% domestic bond, 16.1% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Franklin Investment Grade Corporate ETF has 1.6% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $555 million in total assets, which is below the $3 billion average for the Corporate Bond 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.
FLCO 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 Investment Grade Corporate ETF expense ratio is below average compared to funds in the Corporate Bond category. Franklin Investment Grade Corporate ETF has an expense ratio of 0.35%, which is 43% higher than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a D. 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 Investment Grade Corporate ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 32%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 58% for the Corporate Bond category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, Franklin Investment Grade Corporate ETF returned -1.8%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Corporate Bond category had an average return of -1.4%. 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 Investment Grade Corporate ETF has a trailing yield of 4.75%, which is below the 5.07% category average.
The fund normally distributes its income monthly.
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 Investment Grade Corporate ETF Grades
Year to date, the ETF has returned -0.8%, 0.3 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of D. The fund has returned 2.2% over the past year (grade of D), 4.3% over the past three years (grade of F) and -0.6% per year over the past five years (grade of F).
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FLCO Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| FLCO Return (NAV) | -1.8% | -0.9% | 2.2% | 4.3% | -0.6% | na |
| FLCO Return (Price) | -1.7% | -0.7% | 2.2% | 4.3% | -0.6% | na |
| NAV +/- Price Return | -0.031% | -0.120% | -0.051% | 0.048% | -0.022% | na |
| Corporate Bond Avg | -1.4% | -0.6% | 2.6% | 4.8% | 0.1% | 2.3% |
| FLCO Grade (NAV) | F | D | D | F | F | na |
| +/- Category (NAV) | -0.3% | -0.2% | -0.4% | -0.4% | -0.7% | na |
| FLCO Tax-Cost Ratio | na | na | 1.9% | 1.8% | 1.6% | na |
FLCO Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| FLCO Return (NAV) | -0.8% | 7.4% | 2.2% | 7.8% | -16.2% | -1.8% | 9.9% | 14.8% | -3.1% | 6.1% | na |
| FLCO Return (Price) | -0.8% | 7.5% | 1.9% | 7.9% | -16.1% | -2.1% | 10.0% | 14.8% | -3.1% | 6.0% | na |
| NAV +/- Price Ret | 0.005% | 0.016% | -0.123% | 0.022% | -0.005% | 0.135% | 0.006% | 0.0% | -0.1% | -2.3% | na |
| Corporate Bond Avg | -0.6% | 7.8% | 2.8% | 8.3% | -14.8% | -0.9% | 9.6% | 13.5% | -2.0% | 5.2% | 5.0% |
| FLCO Grade (NAV) | D | F | D | D | D | F | C | B | F | B | na |
| +/- Category | -0.3% | -0.4% | -0.6% | -0.5% | -1.4% | -0.9% | 0.4% | 1.3% | -1.0% | 1.0% | na |
| Risk Measures | |
| Beta: | 1.10 |
| R-Squared: | 97% |
| Standard Deviation: | 6.3% |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.07 |
| Category Risk Rating: | Above Average |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.51 |
| Total Risk Rating: | Low |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Yield: | 4.8% |
| Total Assets: | $ 555 Mil |
| Share Class Assets: | $ 555 Mil |
| Turnover: | 32.0% |
| Expense Ratio: | 0.35% |
| Index Fund: | No |
| Index Tracked: | Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD |
| Index Weighting: | 100% |
| Leveraged: | No |
| Socially Responsible Fund: | No |
| Capital Gains Distribution Frequency: | |
| Income Distribution Frequency: | Monthly |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 4 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 9.8 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 4.2 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Kremer Marc (2016), Lohmeier Joshua (2023), Cho Michael (2024), Benson Andrew (2024) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 7/31/26)
| # of Holdings: | 222 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 12.6% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | No |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 16.1% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 0.3% |
| Domestic Bond: | 82.0% |
| Foreign Bond: | 16.1% |
| Convertible Bond: | 0.0% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 1.6% |
Purchase Information
| Legal Structure: | Open Ended Investment Company |
| Fund Family: | Franklin Templeton Investments |
| Phone Number: | 800-342-5236 |
| Website: | etf.franklintempleton.com |
| Inception Date: | October 3, 2016 |
Expenses and Fees
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.35% (Rating: Below Avg) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.25% |
