Legg Mason integrates Martin Currie Global Funds into its Global Fund range

Legg Mason, the global asset manager with $671.5bn in assets under management, is merging the Martin Currie Global Funds (‘MCGF’) fund range into its Legg Mason Global Fund plc (’LMGF’) range.
The acquisition of Martin Currie as a wholly owned, independently managed, affiliate of the Legg Mason group was completed in October 2014. Subsequently, a decision by the Board of Directors has been taken to merge seven MCGF Luxembourg domiciled sub-funds into the Ireland-domiciled LMGF sub-funds.
The merger has been carried out, following detailed analysis, in the interest of shareholders due to the charging structure of LMGF and economies of scale achieved from operating on the Legg Mason fund platform.
The funds will retain their current investment objectives and the management of the funds will also remain unchanged. The funds will officially merge into the Legg Mason Global Funds umbrella on 11 March 2016.
Adam Gent, Head of UK Distribution, Legg Mason said:
“Following a thorough review process, we have taken the decision to merge these funds into the Legg Mason Global Fund range. The decision has been taken with the clients’ interests in mind since the economies of scale provided by Legg Mason will greatly benefit the clients.”
Andy Sowerby, Executive Director, Head of Sales, Marketing and Client Service, Martin Currie added:
“Our partnership with Legg Mason enables us to leverage their scale in both operations and distribution to the ultimate benefit of our clients. By merging our cross-border UCITs funds into the Legg Mason Global Funds range our clients immediately benefit from lower ongoing costs and each funds distribution reach is greatly enhanced.”
The seven affected funds are as follows:
Legg Mason Martin Currie Global Funds (GF) Asia Long-Term Unconstrained Fund
Legg Mason Martin Currie Global Funds (GF) Asia Pacific Fund
Legg Mason Martin Currie Global Funds (GF) Global Resources Fund
Legg Mason Martin Currie Global Funds (GF) Greater China Fund
Legg Mason Martin Currie Global Funds (GF) North America Fund
Legg Mason Martin Currie Global Funds (GF) European Absolute Alpha Fund
Legg Mason Martin Currie Global Funds (GF) Japan Absolute Alpha Fund