Legg Mason Enters 130/30 Funds Marketplace

January 22, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Legg Mason, Inc. has announced the launch of the Legg Mason Partners 130/30 U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund.

The fund is subadvised by Batterymarch Financial Management, Inc., which in 2007 introduced a 130/30 U.S. Large Cap separate-account strategy for institutional investors, the announcement said. The new fund will be a product focus for Legg Mason’s funds distribution arm, directed at individual investors as well as 401K and other defined contribution programs.

The fund began trading on November 8, 2007, and is a vehicle for institutions that are interested in adding potential alpha-seeking strategies to their overall asset allocation but do not have prime brokerage relationships.

“After seeing much demand for the 130/30 product among institutional investors, we are excited to roll out a vehicle for retail and smaller institutional investors,” stated Brian Chiappinelli, Manager and Product Specialist for Batterymarch Financial Management, in the announcement.

More information is at  http://www.leggmason.com/individualinvestors .

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