Legg Mason Australian Equities (LMAE) will join UK active international equity specialist, Martin Currie, as part of a strategic move following an acquisition by the US global asset management firm.
The move to bring LMAE's 14-person team — which has US$2..5 billion in assets under management – under Martin Currie, has been described as "consistent with Legg Mason's strategy of creating fewer and larger investment affiliates".
Legg Mason president and chief executive, Joe Sullivan, said acquisition of Martin Currie filled the business's "largest product gap" and was a "perfect complement" to its existing investment capabilities.
"The Martin Currie management team shares our passion for innovation, our commitment to delivering compelling investment results and our singular focus on the needs of our clients," Sullivan said.
"Martin Currie is a perfect strategic fit for our growing equity business in Australia, where we see meaningful opportunity.
"We believe that, over time, our global retail distribution platform will be able to meaningfully leverage Martin Currie's broad based investment capabilities."
