ETF Evaluator: Franklin US Small Cap Mltfctr Idx ETF () Follow This ETF

Franklin US Small Cap Mltfctr Idx ETF Overview

Franklin US Small Cap Mltfctr Idx ETF (FLQS) is a passively managed U.S. Equity Small Blend exchange-traded fund (ETF). Franklin Templeton Investments launched the ETF in 2017.

The investment seeks to provide investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the LibertyQ U.S. Small Cap Equity Index. Under normal market conditions, the fund invests at least 80% of its assets in the component securities of the U.S. Small Cap underlying index. The index is a systematic, rules-based proprietary index that is maintained and calculated by FTSE Russell.

About Franklin US Small Cap Mltfctr Idx ETF (FLQS)

There are 4 members of the management team with an average tenure of 5.99 years: Hailey Harris (2019), Dina Ting (2017), Basit Amin (2022) and Joe Diederich (2022). 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 Russell 2000 TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Franklin US Small Cap Mltfctr Idx ETF has 496 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 9.3% 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 US Small Cap Mltfctr Idx ETF is part of the Equity global asset class and is within the U.S. Equity ETF group. Franklin US Small Cap Mltfctr Idx ETF has 2.0% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 97.6% There is 2.0% 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 US Small Cap Mltfctr Idx ETF has 0.4% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $51 million in total assets, which is below the $4 billion average for the Small Blend 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.

FLQS 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 US Small Cap Mltfctr Idx ETF expense ratio is below average compared to funds in the Small Blend category. Franklin US Small Cap Mltfctr Idx ETF has an expense ratio of 0.35%, which is 17% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a C. 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 US Small Cap Mltfctr Idx ETF has a portfolio turnover rate of 23%, which indicates that it holds its assets around / 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 50% for the Small Blend category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, Franklin US Small Cap Mltfctr Idx ETF returned 1.1%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Small Blend category had an average return of -2.1%. 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 US Small Cap Mltfctr Idx ETF has a trailing yield of 1.33%, which is above the 1.17% 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 US Small Cap Mltfctr Idx ETF Grades

Year to date, the ETF has returned 15.2%, 2.8 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of D. The fund has returned 22.1% over the past year (grade of F), 11.7% over the past three years (grade of F) and 6.7% per year over the past five years (grade of F).

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