497K 1 c497k.htm GOF P20 GERMANY 1223
        
  

SUMMARY PROSPECTUS

   
    
  

FRANKLIN FTSE GERMANY ETF

 
    
  

Franklin Templeton ETF Trust

 
  

August 1, 2023

as amended, December 18, 2023

 
    
  

 
    
     
      
  

Ticker:

Exchange:

FLGR

NYSE Arca, Inc.

Before you invest, you may want to review the Fund’s prospectus, which contains more information about the Fund and its risks. You can find the Fund’s prospectus, statement of additional information, reports to shareholders and other information about the Fund online at www.franklintempleton.com/prospectus. You can also get this information at no cost by calling (800) DIAL BEN/342-5236 or by sending an e-mail request to prospectus@franklintempleton.com. The Fund’s prospectus and statement of additional information, both dated August 1, 2023, as may be supplemented, are all incorporated by reference into this Summary Prospectus.


FRANKLIN FTSE GERMANY ETF
FUND SUMMARIES

Investment Goal

To seek to provide investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the FTSE Germany RIC Capped Index (the FTSE Germany Capped Index).

Fees and Expenses of the Fund

The following table describes the fees and expenses that you will incur if you buy, hold and sell shares of the Fund. You may also incur other fees, such as usual and customary brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the table and the Example that follows.

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

   

 

 

 

Management fees

 

0.09%

Distribution and service (12b-1) fees

 

None

Other expenses

 

None

Total annual Fund operating expenses

 

0.09%

Example

This Example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the Fund with the cost of investing in other funds. The Example assumes that you invest $10,000 in the Fund for the time periods indicated and then sell all of your shares at the end of the period. The Example also assumes that your investment has a 5% return each year and that the Fund's operating expenses remain the same. Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

          

 

 

 

1 Year

 

3 Years

 

5 Years

 

10 Years

Franklin FTSE Germany ETF

 

$9

 

$29

 

$51

 

$116

Portfolio Turnover

The Fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or "turns over" its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when Fund shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual Fund operating expenses or in the Example, affect the Fund's performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the Fund's portfolio turnover rate was 4.21% of the average value of its portfolio.

   

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FRANKLIN FTSE GERMANY ETF
FUND SUMMARIES

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in the component securities of the FTSE Germany Capped Index and in depositary receipts representing such securities. The FTSE Germany Capped Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization weighted index maintained and calculated by FTSE Russell with a capping methodology applied quarterly to issuer weights so that no single issuer of a component exceeds 25% of the FTSE Germany Capped Index weight, and all issuers with weights above 5% do not cumulatively exceed 50% of the FTSE Germany Capped Index’s weight. The FTSE Germany Capped Index is based on the FTSE Germany Index and is designed to measure the performance of German large- and mid-capitalization stocks. FTSE Russell determines eligible securities for the FTSE Germany Capped Index based on measures such as the company’s place of incorporation, listing country, investor protection regulations present in the country of incorporation, tax domicile, location of headquarters/factors of production and currency of denomination. As of May 31, 2023, the FTSE Germany Capped Index was comprised of 77 securities with capitalizations ranging from $2.48 billion to $152.02 billion.

The Fund, using a “passive” or indexing investment approach, seeks investment results that closely correspond, before fees and expenses, to the performance of the FTSE Germany Capped Index. The Fund may use either a replication strategy or representative sampling strategy. Under a replication strategy, the Fund will replicate the component securities of the FTSE Germany Capped Index as closely as possible (i.e., invest in all of the component securities in their respective weightings in the FTSE Germany Capped Index). However, under various circumstances, it may not be possible or practicable to replicate the FTSE Germany Capped Index. In these circumstances, the Fund may use a “representative sampling” strategy whereby the Fund would invest in what it believes to be a representative sample of the component securities of the FTSE Germany Capped Index, but may not track the FTSE Germany Capped Index with the same degree of accuracy as would an investment vehicle replicating the entire FTSE Germany Capped Index. Under the representative sampling technique, the investment manager will select securities that collectively have an investment profile similar to that of the FTSE Germany Capped Index, including securities that resemble those included in the FTSE Germany Capped Index in terms of risk factors, performance attributes and other characteristics, such as market capitalization and industry weightings.

The Fund may invest in equity futures (including equity index futures) and equity total return swaps to provide additional opportunities to add value and better track the performance of the Fund’s Underlying Index, such as to equitize cash and accrued income, simulate investments in the Underlying Index, facilitate trading or minimize transaction costs.

   

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Prospectus

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FRANKLIN FTSE GERMANY ETF
FUND SUMMARIES

The Fund may enter into foreign currency forward contracts and/or currency futures contracts to provide the Fund with additional opportunities to add value and better track the performance of the Fund’s Underlying Index, such as by facilitating local securities settlements or protecting against currency exposure in connection with distributions to Fund shareholders.

The Fund is a "non-diversified" fund, which means it generally invests a greater proportion of its assets in the securities of one or more issuers and invests overall in a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund.

The Fund will concentrate its investments (i.e., hold 25% or more of its net assets) in a particular industry or group of industries to approximately the same extent that the FTSE Germany Capped Index is concentrated.

Principal Risks

You could lose money by investing in the Fund. Exchange-traded fund (ETF) shares are not deposits or obligations of, or guaranteed or endorsed by, any bank, and are not insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Reserve Board, or any other agency of the U.S. government. The Fund is subject to the principal risks noted below, any of which may adversely affect the Fund’s net asset value (NAV), trading price, yield, total return and ability to meet its investment goal.

Market The market values of securities or other investments owned by the Fund will go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. The market value of a security or other investment may be reduced by market activity or other results of supply and demand unrelated to the issuer. This is a basic risk associated with all investments. When there are more sellers than buyers, prices tend to fall. Likewise, when there are more buyers than sellers, prices tend to rise.

The global outbreak of the novel strain of coronavirus, COVID-19 and its subsequent variants, has resulted in market closures and dislocations, extreme volatility, liquidity constraints and increased trading costs. The long-term impact on economies, markets, industries and individual issuers is not known. Some sectors of the economy and individual issuers have experienced or may experience particularly large losses. Periods of extreme volatility in the financial markets; reduced liquidity of many instruments; and disruptions to supply chains, consumer demand and employee availability, may continue for some time.

Stock prices tend to go up and down more dramatically than those of debt securities. A slower-growth or recessionary economic environment could have an adverse effect on the prices of the various stocks held by the Fund.

Foreign Securities (non-U.S.) Investing in foreign securities typically involves more risks than investing in U.S. securities, and includes risks associated with: (i) internal and external political and economic developments – e.g., the political,

   

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FRANKLIN FTSE GERMANY ETF
FUND SUMMARIES

economic and social policies and structures of some foreign countries may be less stable and more volatile than those in the U.S. or some foreign countries may be subject to trading restrictions or economic sanctions; (ii) trading practices – e.g., government supervision and regulation of foreign securities and currency markets, trading systems and brokers may be less than in the U.S.; (iii) availability of information – e.g., foreign issuers may not be subject to the same disclosure, accounting and financial reporting standards and practices as U.S. issuers; (iv) limited markets – e.g., the securities of certain foreign issuers may be less liquid (harder to sell) and more volatile; and (v) currency exchange rate fluctuations and policies – e.g., fluctuations may negatively affect investments denominated in foreign currencies and any income received or expenses paid by the Fund in that foreign currency.

Derivative Instruments The performance of derivative instruments (including currency derivatives) depends largely on the performance of an underlying instrument, such as a currency, security, interest rate or index, and such derivatives often have risks similar to the underlying instrument, in addition to other risks. Derivatives involve costs and can create economic leverage in the Fund’s portfolio which may result in significant volatility and cause the Fund to participate in losses (as well as gains) in an amount that significantly exceeds the Fund’s initial investment. Certain derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of the initial investment. Other risks include illiquidity, mispricing or improper valuation of the derivative, and imperfect correlation between the value of the derivative and the underlying instrument so that the Fund may not realize the intended benefits and may experience increased tracking error. Their successful use will usually depend on the investment manager’s ability to accurately forecast movements in the market relating to the underlying instrument. Should a market or markets, or prices of particular classes of investments move in an unexpected manner, especially in unusual or extreme market conditions, the Fund may not achieve the anticipated benefits of the transaction, and it may realize losses, which could be significant. If the investment manager is not successful in using such derivative instruments, the Fund’s performance may be worse than if the investment manager did not use such derivatives at all. When a derivative is used for hedging, the change in value of the derivative may also not correlate specifically with the currency, security, interest rate, index or other risk being hedged. Derivatives also may present the risk that the other party to the transaction will fail to perform. There is also the risk, especially under extreme market conditions, that a derivative, which usually would operate as a hedge, provides no hedging benefits at all.

Geographic Focus Because the Fund invests its assets primarily in companies in a specific country and region, the Fund is subject to greater risks of adverse developments in that country, region and/or the surrounding regions than a fund

   

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FRANKLIN FTSE GERMANY ETF
FUND SUMMARIES

that is more broadly diversified geographically. Political, social or economic disruptions in the country or region, even in countries in which the Fund is not invested, may adversely affect the value of investments held by the Fund. Ongoing uncertainty concerning Russia's military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 may increase market volatility.

Concerns in relation to the economic health of the EU as well as the negative impact of the Russian war in Ukraine continue to constrain growth forecasts across Eurozone countries, including Germany. Germany has an industrial and export dependent economy and therefore relies heavily on trade with key trading partners, including the Netherlands, China, the United States, France, Italy and other European countries. Germany is dependent on the economies of these other countries, and any change in the price or demand for German exports or uncertainties in international trade policy may have an adverse impact on its economy.

Depositary Receipts Depositary receipts are subject to many of the risks of the underlying securities. For some depositary receipts, the custodian or similar financial institution that holds the issuer's shares in a trust account is located in the issuer's home country. In these cases if the issuer’s home country does not have developed financial markets, the Fund could be exposed to the credit risk of the custodian or financial institution and greater market risk. In addition, the depository institution may not have physical custody of the underlying securities at all times and may charge fees for various services. The Fund may experience delays in receiving its dividend and interest payments or exercising rights as a shareholder. There may be an increased possibility of untimely responses to certain corporate actions of the issuer in an unsponsored depositary receipt program. Accordingly, there may be less information available regarding issuers of securities underlying unsponsored programs and there may not be a correlation between this information and the market value of the depositary receipts.

Calculation Methodology FTSE Russell relies on various sources of information to assess the criteria of issuers included in the FTSE Germany Capped Index, including information that may be based on assumptions and estimates. Neither the Fund nor the investment manager can offer assurances that FTSE Russell's calculation methodology or sources of information will provide an accurate assessment of included issuers or that the included issuers will provide the Fund with the market exposure it seeks.

Index-Related There is no assurance that the FTSE Germany Capped Index will be determined, composed or calculated accurately. While FTSE Russell provides descriptions of what the FTSE Germany Capped Index is designed to achieve, FTSE Russell does not guarantee the quality, accuracy or completeness of data in respect of its indices, and does not guarantee that the FTSE Germany Capped Index will be in line with the described index methodology. Errors in index data,

   

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FRANKLIN FTSE GERMANY ETF
FUND SUMMARIES

index computations or the construction of the underlying index in accordance with its methodology (including as a result of outdated, unreliable or unavailable market information) may occur and may not be identified and corrected by the index provider for a period of time or at all, which may have an adverse impact on the Fund and its shareholders. Gains, losses or costs to the Fund caused by errors in the FTSE Germany Capped Index may therefore be borne by the Fund and its shareholders.

Non-Correlation There is no guarantee that the Fund will achieve a high degree of correlation to the FTSE Germany Capped Index and therefore achieve its investment goal. Market disruptions and regulatory restrictions could have an adverse effect on the Fund’s ability to adjust its exposure to the required levels in order to track the FTSE Germany Capped Index. In addition, the Fund’s NAV may deviate from the FTSE Germany Capped Index if the Fund fair values a portfolio security at a price other than the price used by the FTSE Germany Capped Index for that security. To the extent that the investment manager uses a representative sampling strategy, the Fund may not track the return of the FTSE Germany Capped Index as well as it would have if the Fund held all of the securities in the FTSE Germany Capped Index.

Tracking Error Tracking error is the divergence of the Fund’s performance from that of the FTSE Germany Capped Index. Tracking error may occur because of differences between the securities held in the Fund’s portfolio and those included in the FTSE Germany Capped Index, pricing differences (including differences between a security’s price at the local market close and the Fund’s valuation of a security at the time of calculation of the Fund’s NAV), transaction costs, the Fund’s holding of cash, differences in timing of the accrual of dividends or interest, tax gains or losses, changes to the FTSE Germany Capped Index or the need to meet various new or existing regulatory requirements. This risk may be heightened during times of increased market volatility or other unusual market conditions. Tracking error also may result because the Fund incurs fees and expenses, while the FTSE Germany Capped Index does not.

Market Trading The Fund faces numerous market trading risks, including the potential lack of an active market for Fund shares, losses from trading in secondary markets, periods of high volatility and disruption in the creation/redemption process of the Fund. Any of these factors, among others, may lead to the Fund’s shares trading at a premium or discount to NAV. Thus, you may pay more (or less) than NAV when you buy shares of the Fund in the secondary market, and you may receive less (or more) than NAV when you sell those shares in the secondary market. The investment manager cannot predict whether shares will trade above (premium), below (discount) or at NAV.

To the extent that the underlying securities held by the Fund trade on an exchange that is closed when the securities exchange on which the Fund shares list and

   

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FRANKLIN FTSE GERMANY ETF
FUND SUMMARIES

trade is open, there may be market uncertainty about the stale security pricing (i.e., the last quote from its closed foreign market) resulting in premiums or discounts to NAV that may be greater than those experienced by other ETFs.

Concentration To the extent the Fund concentrates in a specific industry, a group of industries, sector or type of investment, the Fund will carry much greater risks of adverse developments and price movements in such industries, sectors or investments than a fund that invests in a wider variety of industries, sectors or investments. There is also the risk that the Fund will perform poorly during a slump in demand for securities of companies in such industries or sectors.

Non-Diversification Because the Fund is non-diversified, it may be more sensitive to economic, business, political or other changes affecting individual issuers or investments than a diversified fund, which may negatively impact the Fund's performance and result in greater fluctuation in the value of the Fund’s shares.

Mid Capitalization Companies Securities issued by mid capitalization companies may be more volatile in price than those of larger companies, involve substantial risks and should be considered speculative. Such risks may include greater sensitivity to economic conditions, less certain growth prospects, lack of depth of management and funds for growth and development, and limited or less developed product lines and markets. In addition, mid capitalization companies may be particularly affected by interest rate increases, as they may find it more difficult to borrow money to continue or expand operations, or may have difficulty in repaying any loans.

Passive Investment Unlike many investment companies, the Fund is not actively managed and the investment manager does not attempt to take defensive positions under any market conditions, including declining markets. Therefore, the investment manager would not necessarily buy or sell a security unless that security is added or removed, respectively, from the FTSE Germany Capped Index, even if that security generally is underperforming.

Authorized Participant Concentration Only an authorized participant (Authorized Participant) may engage in creation or redemption transactions directly with the Fund. The Fund has a limited number of institutions that act as Authorized Participants. To the extent that these institutions exit the business or are unable to proceed with creation and/or redemption orders with respect to the Fund and no other Authorized Participant is able to step forward to create or redeem Creation Units (as defined below), Fund shares may trade at a discount to NAV and possibly face trading halts and/or delisting. This risk may be more pronounced in volatile markets, potentially where there are significant redemptions in ETFs generally.

Small Fund When the Fund's size is small, the Fund may experience low trading volume and wide bid-ask spreads. In addition, the Fund may face the risk of being delisted if the Fund does not meet certain conditions of the listing exchange.

   

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FRANKLIN FTSE GERMANY ETF
FUND SUMMARIES

Large Shareholder Certain shareholders, including other funds or accounts advised by the investment manager or an affiliate of the investment manager, may from time to time own a substantial amount of the Fund’s shares. In addition, a third-party investor, the investment manager or an affiliate of the investment manager, an authorized participant, a lead market maker, or another entity may invest in the Fund and hold its investment for a limited period of time solely to facilitate commencement of the Fund or to facilitate the Fund’s achieving a specified size or scale. There can be no assurance that any large shareholder would not redeem its investment, that the size of the Fund would be maintained at such levels or that the Fund would continue to meet applicable listing requirements. Redemptions by large shareholders could have a significant negative impact on the Fund. In addition, transactions by large shareholders may account for a large percentage of the trading volume on the listing exchange and may, therefore, have a material upward or downward effect on the market price of the shares.

Cybersecurity Cybersecurity incidents, both intentional and unintentional, may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to Fund assets, Fund or customer data (including private shareholder information), or proprietary information, cause the Fund, the investment manager, authorized participants, or index providers (as applicable) and listing exchanges, and/or their service providers (including, but not limited to, Fund accountants, custodians, sub-custodians, transfer agents and financial intermediaries) to suffer data breaches, data corruption or loss of operational functionality or prevent Fund investors from purchasing, redeeming shares or receiving distributions. The investment manager has limited ability to prevent or mitigate cybersecurity incidents affecting third party service providers, and such third party service providers may have limited indemnification obligations to the Fund or the investment manager. Cybersecurity incidents may result in financial losses to the Fund and its shareholders, and substantial costs may be incurred in an effort to prevent or mitigate future cybersecurity incidents. Issuers of securities in which the Fund invests are also subject to cybersecurity risks, and the value of these securities could decline if the issuers experience cybersecurity incidents.

Because technology is frequently changing, new ways to carry out cyber attacks are always developing. Therefore, there is a chance that some risks have not been identified or prepared for, or that an attack may not be detected, which puts limitations on the Fund's ability to plan for or respond to a cyber attack. Like other funds and business enterprises, the Fund, the investment manager, and their service providers are subject to the risk of cyber incidents occurring from time to time.

   

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FRANKLIN FTSE GERMANY ETF
FUND SUMMARIES

Performance

The following bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the Fund. The bar chart shows changes in the Fund's performance from year to year. The table shows how the Fund's average annual returns for 1 year, 5 years, 10 years or since inception, as applicable, compared with those of the Fund's underlying index. The Fund's past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the Fund will perform in the future. You can obtain updated performance information at franklintempleton.com or by calling (800) DIAL BEN/342-5236.

 

Annual Total Returns

PerformanceBarChartData(2018:-22.07,2019:21.67,2020:12.24,2021:5.29,2022:-22.1)

   

Best Quarter:

2020, Q2

26.81%

Worst Quarter:

2020, Q1

-26.91%

 

As of June 30, 2023, the Fund’s year-to-date return was 18.34%.

   

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FRANKLIN FTSE GERMANY ETF
FUND SUMMARIES

Average Annual Total Returns

For periods ended December 31, 2022

         

 

 

1 Year

 

5 Years

 

Since Inception

 

Franklin FTSE Germany ETF

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Return before taxes

 

-22.10%

 

-2.68%

 

-2.70%

1

 

Return after taxes on distributions

 

-22.45%

 

-3.31%

 

-3.30%

1

 

Return after taxes on distributions and sale of Fund shares

 

-12.35%

 

-1.96%

 

-1.97%

1

FTSE Germany Capped Index-NR (index reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes but are net of dividend tax withholding)

 

-22.42%

 

-2.89%

 

-2.86%

1

         

1.

Since inception November 2, 2017.

The after-tax returns are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor's tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns are not relevant to investors who hold their Fund shares through tax-advantaged arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts.

Investment Manager

Franklin Advisory Services, LLC (Advisory Services or investment manager)

Sub-Advisor

Franklin Templeton Institutional, LLC (FT Institutional). For purposes of the Fund’s investment strategies, techniques and risks, the term “investment manager” includes the sub-advisor.

Portfolio Managers

Dina Ting, CFA

Senior Vice President of Advisory Services and portfolio manager of the Fund since inception (2017).

Hailey Harris

Portfolio Manager of FT Institutional and portfolio manager of the Fund since 2019.

Joe Diederich

Vice President of Advisory Services and portfolio manager of the Fund since 2022.

Basit Amin, CFA

Vice President of Advisory Services and portfolio manager of the Fund since 2022.

Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares

The Fund is an ETF. Fund shares may only be purchased and sold on a national securities exchange through a broker-dealer. The price of Fund shares is based on

   

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Prospectus

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FRANKLIN FTSE GERMANY ETF
FUND SUMMARIES

market price, and because ETF shares trade at market prices rather than NAV, shares may trade at a price greater than NAV (a premium) or less than NAV (a discount). The Fund issues or redeems shares that have been aggregated into blocks of 50,000 shares or multiples thereof (Creation Units) to Authorized Participants who have entered into agreements with the Fund’s distributor, Franklin Distributors, LLC. The Fund will generally issue or redeem Creation Units in exchange for a basket of securities (and an amount of cash) that the Fund specifies each day.

An investor may incur costs attributable to the difference between the highest price a buyer is willing to pay to purchase shares of the Fund (bid) and the lowest price a seller is willing to accept for shares of the Fund (ask) when buying or selling shares in the secondary market (the "bid-ask spread"). Recent information, including information on the Fund's NAV, market price, premiums and discounts, and bid-ask spreads is available on the Fund's website at https://www.franklintempleton.com/ investor/investments-and-solutions/investment-options/etfs/.

Taxes

The Fund’s distributions are generally taxable to you as ordinary income, capital gains, or some combination of both, unless you are investing through a tax-advantaged arrangement, such as a 401(k) plan or an individual retirement account, in which case your distributions would generally be taxed when withdrawn from the tax-advantaged account.

Payments to Broker-Dealers and Other Financial Intermediaries

If you purchase shares of the Fund through a broker-dealer or other financial intermediary (such as a bank), the investment manager or other related companies may pay the intermediary for certain Fund-related activities, including those that are designed to make the intermediary more knowledgeable about exchange traded products, such as the Fund, as well as for marketing, education or other initiatives related to the sale or promotion of Fund shares. These payments may create a conflict of interest by influencing the broker-dealer or other intermediary and your salesperson to recommend the Fund over another investment. Ask your salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s website for more information.

   

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Franklin Distributors, LLC

One Franklin Parkway

San Mateo, CA 94403-1906

franklintempleton.com

Franklin FTSE Germany ETF

  
  

Investment Company Act file #811-23124

© 2023 Franklin Templeton. All rights reserved.

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