Legg Mason’s Western Asset funds drops tobacco and arms investments
Legg Mason has announced its fixed income affiliate, Western Asset, will remove investments linked to tobacco and cluster munitions from the Legg Mason Western Asset Global Bond Fund and the Legg Mason Asset Australian Bond Fund.
Managing director, Andy Sowerby, said the move was made to meet current and future client needs, and to honour Legg Mason’s strong commitment to ESG investing.
“We have decided to remove tobacco and cluster munitions related issuers from the funds’ investable universe,” he said. “This shows our commitment towards delivering client focused investment solutions.”
Sowerby said investors in the funds can be assured that, going forward, neither fund will ever hold assets in these controversial areas.
Legg Mason’s 2017 Corporate Social Responsibility Report showed that U$159 billion of its assets under management were invested in ESG products and strategies, and eight of nine Legg Mason affiliates were signatories of the United Nations-supported Principles of Responsible Investing.
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