FWIA
Franklin FTSE World UCITS ETF Acc
Published by Radif Partners · Updated
Overview
Franklin FTSE World UCITS ETF Acc (FWIA) tracks the FTSE Developed index and holds its constituents directly, a physical replication managed by Franklin. Dividends are reinvested inside the fund rather than paid out, so FWIA suits investors building a position over time. The fund is domiciled in IE, which determines the withholding tax treatment applied to its dividends. Annual charges come to 0.15% of assets, and the fund holds 1.5B under management. It is not eligible for the French PEA, but can be held in a securities account, a UK ISA or a German Depot. Its risk level is rated medium. Launched on 2019-09-25, the fund is denominated in USD and has 7 years of track record. It is a UCITS fund, so it follows the European framework on diversification, liquidity and asset segregation. Because FWIA accumulates, nothing is taxed while the shares are held: the charge falls on disposal, against your capital gains allowance in a general account, and not at all inside an ISA or a SIPP. Domicile in IE sets the withholding the fund itself suffers on the dividends it receives, a cost absent from the stated fee but present in the return.
Ongoing charges of 0.15% place this fund 78th of 225 comparable funds, whose median is 0.20%. On £10,000 that costs about 15 a year and 150 over ten years at a constant amount, deducted daily and never visible on a statement: it shows up in the gap between the fund's return and its index's. At this level, neither low enough to be an argument nor high enough to be an obstacle, the decision rests elsewhere: on the index tracked, on the distribution policy, and on what your broker charges to buy.
Replication is physical: the fund actually holds the constituents of FTSE Developed, which makes its contents verifiable line by line in the issuer's report. Two points deserve attention. Securities lending first, practised by most physical funds to reduce costs: it earns a few hundredths of a point and creates an exposure to the borrower, covered by collateral, with the annual report stating the proportion lent. Rebalancing second: every change in the index's composition forces the fund to buy and sell, and those internal costs are not in the 0.15% headline. That is why two funds at the same price do not track their index with the same fidelity.
The domicile, Ireland, is not an administrative detail: it determines the withholding tax the fund suffers on the dividends it receives, and that loss appears in no fee table. On US equities, the Ireland-US treaty cuts withholding from thirty to fifteen per cent, which on a world index is mechanically worth several tenths of a point a year and explains Irish dominance of this segment. For the holder, the UCITS framework also brings the key information document in their own language, diversification rules, and separation of the fund's assets from the issuer's.
Income is accumulated: dividends from the holdings are reinvested inside the fund rather than paid out. In a taxable account that defers taxation to the moment of sale instead of triggering it annually, leaving the whole return at work, and that is the main advantage of this share class. Two qualifications go with it. A holder who needs income has to sell units to obtain it, which is one more decision to take and sometimes at a bad moment. And the deferral is not universal: some countries tax a notional annual return whatever the distribution policy, in which case the accumulating class changes nothing.
With 1.5 billion in assets and 7 years of history, this fund has the size and the record that make closure unlikely and the spread narrow. Three checks remain, once a year, none of which depends on the market. The ongoing charge, which an issuer revises without notice and whose gap to a competitor can invert. The tracking difference, the only figure that says whether replication stays faithful. And the methodology of FTSE Developed, which can change its selection or weighting rules without the fund's name moving, in which case what you hold has changed with nothing to announce it.
FTSE Developed is a broad index, and that is the building block most portfolios have reason to own before any other, for a simple reason: it requires no forecast. Two points deserve checking before calling it diversified. Cap weighting concentrates the portfolio on the largest companies, so the top ten holdings can make up a substantial share, and that concentration grows without any rule changing. And the geographic scope matters: a developed-world index leaves out emerging markets, while a broad US index is not global exposure despite the international revenue of the companies it holds.
The published returns for this fund are incomplete, and that is itself information: without a multi-year record, the only available check is the structure, the 0.15% ongoing charge, 1.5 billion in assets and the replication method. A recent or little-followed fund is not a bad fund for that reason, but it can only be judged on what is known in advance rather than on what it has done.
0.15%
1.5B
1,500M USDMedium
1,411
Physical
Accumulating
USD
IE
FTSE Developed
Franklin
2019-09-25 (7 years)
Contextual Analysis
Fund Size
With 1.5B in assets, this is a large fund, good liquidity and tight spreads.
Fee Positioning
A TER of 0.15% is among the lowest on the market, excellent value.
Track Record
Launched in 2019-09-25, this fund has 7 years of history, enough to evaluate consistency.
Risk Profile
Medium risk, good risk/return balance for a 5+ year horizon.
Performance
Returns Summary
| Period | Ann. Return | Cumulative |
|---|---|---|
| 1 Month (est.) | – | – |
| 3 Months (est.) | – | – |
| 6 Months (est.) | – | – |
| YTD (est.) | – | – |
| 1 Year | – | – |
| 3 Years | – | – |
| 5 Years | – | – |
| Since inception (7y) | – | – |
Key Facts
Fund Profile
Themes & Zones
Holdings
Risk
How to Buy This ETF
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About this ETF
The Franklin FTSE World UCITS ETF Acc tracks the FTSE Developed index. It is managed by Franklin using physical replication and follows a accumulating distribution policy. The fund is denominated in USD and domiciled in IE. It has a total expense ratio (TER) of 0.15%.
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Frequently asked questions
What do FWIA's 0.15% charges actually cost?
They are taken from the fund's value continuously and never billed separately: on £1,000 invested that is about £1.50 a year and roughly £15 over ten years at a constant amount. That is the only cost of the fund itself. Your broker's commission and the spread between buying and selling price come on top, and they weigh most on small frequent purchases.
What should you re-check on FWIA once a year?
Three things, none of which depends on the market. The ongoing charge, which an issuer revises without notice and whose gap to a competitor can invert. The tracking difference, the only figure that says whether replication stays faithful. And the methodology of FTSE Developed, which can change its selection or weighting rules without the fund's name moving: in that case what you hold has changed with nothing to announce it.
Does FWIA lend out the securities it holds?
Probably in part: most physical funds lend securities to reduce their costs, and Franklin publishes the proportion in the annual report. Lending income is worth a few hundredths of a point, shared between the fund and the issuer. The risk is the borrower's, covered by collateral worth more than the amount lent, and it appears in the prospectus rather than in the stated fee.
Why does FWIA's Irish domicile matter?
Because it determines the withholding tax the fund suffers on the dividends it receives, and that loss appears in no fee table. The Ireland-US treaty cuts withholding from thirty to fifteen per cent on US equities, mechanically worth several tenths of a point a year on a world index. The UCITS framework also brings the key information document in your own language.
Does FWIA pay dividends?
No: the fund accumulates, reinvesting the dividends of the companies it holds so that the unit price rises instead. In a taxable account that defers tax to the sale rather than triggering it annually. Anyone needing regular income has to sell units to obtain it, or choose a distributing class on the same index where one exists.
This ranking is for informational purposes only and does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any security. Displayed performance is simulated.