Category Review
Municipal bond funds are down for the year after a third-quarter selloff erased the first-half gain
Franklin International Aggregate Bond ETF
$20.09+0.03 (+0.15%)
- 0.25%
- $424M
- +0.5%
- 3.27%
- 0.3M sh
- $20.04
- low $19.92high $20.77
The ETF.net FLIA Grade
B
Score 65 out of 100
- 45 of 117
Score 65 of 100 falls in the B band. A is 70 or higher, B 55 to under 70, C 40 to under 55, D 25 to under 40, F under 25.
Cost
The fund’s net expense ratio, ranked against its category.B66 out of 100Rank 38 of 117Mission
Whether the fund did what it promised, tested against its stated mandate.Risk
How the fund held up when markets fell: downside volatility, drawdowns and tail loss.A70 out of 100Rank 16 of 116Tradability
How easy the fund is to trade: daily volume, and how far its price strays from net asset value.B68 out of 100Rank 22 of 117Holdings
How concentrated the fund is, and how complete and current its disclosed holdings are.C51 out of 100Rank 68 of 116Durability
Whether the fund is likely to stay open, judged by its age, its assets and its issuer’s assets.B65 out of 100Rank 43 of 117
Our read on FLIA
BBonds from everywhere except America, with the currency swings hedged away. FLIA holds non-dollar debt against the Bloomberg Global Aggregate ex-USD Hedged benchmark, at a fee below what the typical aggregate bond ETF charges.
The Fund seeks total return through an international aggregate fixed-income strategy. Its mandate includes exposure to non-U.S.-dollar-denominated securities and currency-management techniques intended to hedge foreign-currency exposure.
Why people hold it
- Charges 0.25% a year, under the going rate for aggregate bond ETFs. Cheap is rare in the ex-US corner of the bond market.
- The mandate pairs non-dollar bonds with currency-management techniques meant to hedge foreign-exchange exposure, so foreign rates and credit do the work instead of the dollar.
- Running since 2018 as a plain 1940 Act ETF, it has a real operating history behind it rather than a launch-week story.
- Franklin has grown it into a mid-size fund that trades with moderate regularity, which stands out among specialist international bond products.
Worth knowing
- Core US bond ETFs cost far less: BND, SPAB and SCHZ run 0.03% and BNDX 0.07%. The premium here buys the hedged ex-US mandate, not broader coverage.
- Hedging targets currency swings, not the bonds themselves. Foreign interest-rate moves and credit risk still flow through, and hedging carries its own cost.
- About 80 positions, a tighter lineup than broad aggregate funds that hold thousands of bonds, so individual issuers and countries carry more weight.
FLIA Holdings
- Bonds
- 103
- 37%
- Ift - Money Market Port
Sectors
- Financials87.0%
- Consumer Discretionary13.0%
FLIA Performance
Shows how $10,000 changes over the selected period, with cash distributions reinvested at the closing price on each ex-dividend date.
Not enough history yet.
FLIA$10,050
Returns run to the Oct 12, 2026 close, with cash distributions reinvested. Each period starts on the same date that many months or years earlier. Periods over one year show the average yearly return.
| Period | FLIA |
|---|---|
| Year to date | +0.5% |
| 1 month | +0.2% |
| 3 months | −1.0% |
| 1 year | +0.5% |
| 3 years | +3.5% |
| 5 years | +0.8% |
| 10 years | — |
Calendar-year total return with cash distributions hypothetically reinvested at the ex-dividend date’s closing price. The current year shows year to date.
| Year | Return bar | FLIA |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 YTD | +0.5% | |
| 2025 | +2.1% | |
| 2024 | +2.4% | |
| 2023 | +7.2% | |
| 2022 | −7.7% | |
| 2021 | −2.0% | |
| 2020 | +1.4% |
FLIA in the news
FLIA Dividends
- 3.27%
- $0.66
- $0.07 per share
- Monthly
Distribution history
FLIA Risk
- 3.4%
How it’s calculated: standard deviation
The sample standard deviation of monthly total returns, multiplied by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Total returns include reinvested distributions.
- −0.30
How it’s calculated: Sharpe ratio
Subtract each month’s Treasury-bill return from the fund’s monthly total return.
Divide the average of those excess returns by their sample standard deviation, then multiply by the square root of 12.
Uses up to 36 complete months, with at least 12 required. Each month uses the Treasury yield quoted at the end of the previous month.
- −8.8%
How it’s calculated: maximum drawdown
The largest percentage decline from an earlier peak, using total returns with reinvested distributions.
Uses up to five years through the last close, with at least 12 months required.
- 0.46
How it’s calculated: beta
The beta figure is supplied by FMP. The comparison index depends on the fund’s broad asset class.
FLIA Cost
0.25%
FLIA0.25%
- The middle half of US Aggregate Bond funds
- Median 0.34%
35 of the 113 US Aggregate Bond funds charge less.
Other funds in US Aggregate Bond
- BLDSFFirst Trust Low Duration Strategic Focus ETFExpense ratio 0.10%1 year return +1.4%
- BAFIXAllspring Exchange-Traded Funds Trust - Allspring Broad Market Core Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.20%1 year return −1.9%
- BGBNDGoldman Sachs Core Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.26%1 year return −2.0%
- BPABPGIM Active Aggregate Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.19%1 year return −1.9%
- BBDBTBluemonte Core Bond ETFExpense ratio 0.28%1 year return −1.9%