For the first time this year, there was a change to the Franklin International Equity Rotation model this week; sell China (FLCH) and buy Brazil (FLBR).

For the first time this year, there was a change to the Franklin International Equity Rotation model this week.

The Franklin FTSE China ETF (FLCH) was a holding within the Franklin model for around a year, gaining 18.2% over that span. However, the group has cooled off in recent months, seeing the FLCH’s fund score fall to a mediocre 3.61, in addition to falling into the bottom half of the model’s matrix. As a result, the fund was sold from the model. In its stead, the model is picking up the Franklin FTSE Brazil ETF (FLBR). Latin American equities have been one of the strongest areas of international equities, as well as the broader market. Within the Asset Class Group Scores page, Latin America currently holds the top position with an extremely robust average fund score of 5.48. FLBR holds a near-perfect fund score of 5.82, in addition to a sharply positive score direction of 3.64. At the end of January, the fund moved back to a buy signal and FLBR has also been trading in a positive trend dating back to March of last year. The fund also holds an extremely high yield of 6.50%. After the change, the model will rebalance its holdings back to equal weight. The model now has 20% exposure to Latin America, 20% in North America (FLCA), 20% in Europe (FLGR), and 40% in the Asia-Pacific region (FLKR & FLTW). The current model holdings are now as follows: