Legg Mason launches fund

Australia managing director Andy Sowerby said the Legg Mason Brandywine Global Opportunistic Fixed Income Fund stood out as the obvious choice for the group’s first PIE on the rack given its already substantial support from NZ wholesale investors.

“Legg Mason’s NZ clients have expressed strong interest in having a PIE fund, so we are really pleased to be able to meet this demand,” Sowerby said. “NZ investors have already entrusted more than $NZ800 million invested in the Brandywine Global strategy and a sizable portion of this money is expected to move across to the new PIE fund.”

The flagship Brandywine Global Opportunistic Fixed Income Fund, renown for a "benchmark agnostic" concentrated portfolio approach, has attracted more than US$28 billion from investors worldwide.

Sowerby said the new Brandywine Global NZ PIE fund would be registered under the Financial Markets Conduct Act regime, allowing retail investors and their advisers to invest alongside Legg Mason’s wholesale clients – a first for the group in New Zealand.