Franklin Templeton Investments Canada Announces Final December Cash Distributions and Annual Reinvested Distributions for Franklin LibertyShares™ ETFs

TORONTO, Jan. 3, 2018 /CNW/ - Franklin Templeton Investments Canada announced today the final December 2017 cash distributions and annual reinvested distributions for Franklin Liberty Canadian Investment Grade Corporate ETF (FLCI), Franklin Liberty Risk Managed Canadian Equity ETF (FLRM), Franklin LibertyQT U.S. Equity Index ETF (FLUS) and Franklin LibertyQT International Equity Index ETF (FLDM), available to Canadian investors. This is an update to the estimated December 2017 cash distributions and annual reinvested distributions previously announced on December 18, 2017.

For the December 2017 cash distributions, unitholders of record on December 29, 2017 will receive a per-unit cash distribution payable on January 8, 2018.

The annual reinvested distributions, as applicable, will not be paid in cash but reinvested in additional units and reported as taxable distributions, with a corresponding increase in each unitholder's adjusted cost base of their units of the respective ETF. The additional ETF units will be immediately consolidated so that the number of units held by the unitholder, the outstanding units and the net asset value of the ETFs will not change as a result of the annual reinvested distribution. Unitholders of record on December 29, 2017 will receive a per-unit reinvested distribution.

The final per-unit cash and reinvested distribution amounts in Canadian dollars and distribution frequency for each ETF are detailed in the table below:

The taxable amounts of cash and reinvested distributions for 2017, including the tax characteristics of the distributions, will be reported to brokers through CDS Clearing and Depository Services Inc. in early 2018.

For more information, please visit LibertyShares.ca.

About Franklin Templeton Investments                           

Franklin Templeton Investments Corp. (known as Franklin Templeton Investments Canada) is a subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc. [NYSE:BEN]. Franklin Resources, Inc. is a global investment management organization operating as Franklin Templeton Investments, which provides global and domestic investment management to retail, institutional and sovereign wealth clients in over 170 countries. Through specialized teams, the company has expertise across all asset classes – including equity, fixed income, alternative and custom solutions. The company's more than 650 investment professionals are supported by its integrated, worldwide team of risk management professionals and global trading desk network. With offices in over 30 countries, the California-based company has 70 years of investment experience and over US$753 billion (C$971 billion) in assets under management as of November 30, 2017. For more information, please visit franklintempleton.ca.

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Commissions, management fees and expenses may all be associated with investments in ETFs. Investors should carefully consider an ETF's investment objectives and strategies, risks, fees and expenses before investing. The prospectus and ETF facts contain this and other information. Please read the prospectus and ETF facts carefully before investing. ETFs trade like stocks, fluctuate in market value and may trade at prices above or below the ETF's net asset value. Brokerage commissions and ETF expenses will reduce returns. Performance of an ETF may vary significantly from the performance of an index, as a result of transaction costs, expenses and other factors. ETFs are not guaranteed, their values change frequently and past performance may not be repeated.

¹ The annual reinvested distribution for Franklin LibertyQT U.S. Equity Index ETF will be capital gains in nature.

² The annual reinvested distribution for Franklin LibertyQT International Equity Index ETF will be income in nature.

SOURCE Franklin Templeton Investments Corp.