As filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on January 8, 2007

Securities Act File No. 33-43446

Investment Company Act File No. 811-6444


UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

 


FORM N-1A

 


 

  

REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933

 

   x
   Pre-Effective Amendment No.        
  

Post-Effective Amendment No. 61

 

and/or

 

  
  

REGISTRATION STATEMENT UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940

 

   x
   Amendment No. 61   
   (Check appropriate box or boxes.)   

 


Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust*

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

 


 

125 Broad Street, New York, New York   10004
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)   (Zip Code)

Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code (800) 451-2010

 


Robert I. Frenkel

Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust

300 First Stamford Place

Stamford, Connecticut

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

COPY TO:

Burton M. Leibert, Esq.

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP

787 Seventh Avenue

New York, New York 10019

 


Continuous

(Approximate Date of Proposed Offering)

It is proposed that this filing will become effective on the 75th day following the date of this filing pursuant to paragraph (a) of Rule 485.


* This filing relates solely to shares of the Trust’s series Legg Mason Partners Aggressive Growth Fund, Legg Mason Partners Convertible Fund, Legg Mason Partners Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund, Legg Mason Partners Dividend Strategy Fund, Legg Mason Partners Emerging Markets Equity Fund, Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund, Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund, Legg Mason Partners Growth and Income Fund, Legg Mason Partners International All Cap Opportunity Fund, Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Fund, Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund, Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Value Fund and Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund.

 



PROSPECTUS

[date], 2007

The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or determined whether this prospectus is accurate or complete. Any statement to the contrary is a crime.

LOGO

Legg Mason Partners

Aggressive Growth Fund

Class A, B, C, FI, R and I Shares

 

 

 

INVESTMENT PRODUCTS: NOT FDIC INSURED Ÿ NO BANK GUARANTEE Ÿ MAY LOSE VALUE

 


Legg Mason Partners

Aggressive Growth Fund

Contents

 

Investments, risks and performance

  2

More on the fund’s investments

  7

Management

  8

Choosing a class of shares to buy

  11

Comparing the fund’s classes

  13

Sales charge

  14

More about contingent deferred sales charges

  18

Retirement and institutional investors

  19

Buying shares

  22

Exchanging shares

  23

Redeeming shares

  25

Other things to know about transactions

  27

Dividends, distributions and taxes

  30

Share price

  32

Financial highlights

  34

 

As part of a number of initiatives launched in 2006 to restructure and streamline the Legg Mason Partners fund complex, the fund assumed the assets and liabilities of a predecessor fund with the same name. The fund is now grouped for organizational and governance purposes with other Legg Mason Partners funds that are predominantly equity-type funds. Any information in this Prospectus relating to the fund prior to the date of this Prospectus refers to the fund’s predecessor.


 

Investments, risks and performance

Investment objective

The fund seeks capital appreciation.

Principal investment strategies

Key investments

The fund invests primarily in common stocks of companies that the portfolio manager believes are experiencing, or will experience, growth in earnings that exceeds the average rate of earnings growth of the companies which comprise the S&P 500 Index. The fund may invest in the securities of large, well-known companies that offer prospects of long-term earnings growth. However, because higher earnings growth rates are often achieved by small- to medium-sized companies, a significant portion of the fund’s assets may be invested in the securities of such companies.

Selection process

The portfolio manager emphasizes individual security selection while diversifying the fund’s investments across industries, which may help to reduce risk. The portfolio manager focuses primarily, but not exclusively, on emerging growth companies that have passed their “start-up” phase and show positive earnings and the prospect of achieving significant profit gains beginning in the two to three years after the fund acquires their stocks. When evaluating an individual stock, the portfolio manager considers whether the company may benefit from:

n   New technologies, products or services
n   New cost reducing measures
n   Changes in management
n   Favorable changes in government regulations

Principal risks of investing in the fund

Investors could lose money on their investment in the fund, or the fund may not perform as well as other investments, if:

n   Stock prices decline generally
n   Small or medium capitalization companies fall out of favor with investors
n   The portfolio manager’s judgment about the attractiveness, growth prospects or potential appreciation of a particular stock proves to be incorrect
n   A particular product or service developed by a company in which the fund invests is unsuccessful, the company does not meet earnings expectations or other events depress the value of the company’s stock

Compared to mutual funds that focus only on large capitalization companies, the fund’s share price may be more volatile because the fund also may invest a significant portion of its assets in small and medium capitalization companies. Compared to large capitalization companies, small and medium capitalization companies are likely to have:

n   More limited product lines
n   Fewer capital resources
n   More limited management depth

 

2          Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Further, securities of small and medium capitalization companies are more likely to:

n   Experience sharper swings in market values
n   Be harder to sell at times and at prices the portfolio manager believes appropriate
n   Offer potential for larger gains and losses

Who may want to invest

The fund may be an appropriate investment if you:

n   Are seeking to participate in the long-term growth potential of small and medium capitalization companies
n   Currently have exposure to the stocks commonly held by large capitalization and value-oriented mutual funds and wish to broaden your investment portfolio
n   Are willing to accept the risks of the stock market and the special risks of investing in smaller companies with more limited track records

Performance information

The following shows summary performance information for the fund in a bar chart and an Average Annual Total Returns table. The information provides an indication of the risks of investing in the fund by showing changes in its performance from year to year and by showing how the fund’s average annual returns compare with the returns of a broad-based securities market index. The bar chart and the information below show performance of the fund’s Class A shares, but do not reflect the impact of sales charges (loads). If they did, the returns would be lower than those shown. Unlike the bar chart, the performance for Class A, B, C and I (1) shares in the Average Annual Total Returns table reflects the impact of the maximum sales charge (load) applicable to the respective classes and, where indicated, the performance for Class A shares reflects the impact of taxes paid on distributions and the redemption of shares at the end of the period. Performance information for Class FI and Class R shares is not provided as these classes do not have a full calendar year of performance. The performance information shown below is that of the fund’s predecessor. The fund’s past performance, before and after taxes, is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future.

Total Return for Class A Shares

LOGO

Highest and lowest quarter returns (for periods shown in the bar chart):

Highest:         % in          quarter         ; Lowest: (        )% in          quarter         .

 

(1)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

Legg Mason Partners Aggressive Growth Fund         3


 

Average Annual Total Returns (for periods ended December 31, 2006)

 

      1 Year   5 Years   10 Years   Since
Inception
  Inception
Date

Class A

         
Return before taxes (1)       %       %       %       %   10/24/83
 
Return after taxes on distributions (1)(2)       %       %       %    
 
Return after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares (1)(2)       %       %       %    
 
Other Classes (Return before taxes only)    
 

Class B

      %       %       %       %   11/06/92
 

Class C

      %       %       %       %   05/13/93
 

Class I (3)

      %       %       %       %   01/30/96
 
Russell 3000 Growth Index (4)       %       %       %    
 

 

(1)   On November 20, 2006, the maximum initial sales charge on Class A shares was increased for sales made on and after that date. The average annual returns for Class A shares in the table have been calculated as if the increased maximum initial sales charge had been in effect for the entire period.

 

(2)   After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of fund shares at the end of the measurement period. After-tax returns shown above are for Class A shares only. After-tax returns for other share classes will vary.

 

(3)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

(4)   The Russell 3000 Growth Index is an unmanaged index which measures the performance of those Russell 3000 Index companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. It is not possible to invest directly in the Index. The Index does not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes.

 

4         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Fee table

This table sets forth the fees and expenses you may pay if you invest in fund shares.

 

Shareholder Fees

 

(paid directly from your
investment)
  Class A     Class B     Class C     Class FI   Class R   Class I (1)
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a % of offering price)   5.75 %   None     None     None   None   None
 
Maximum contingent deferred sales charge (load) (as a % of the lower of net asset value at purchase or redemption)   None (2)   5.00 %   1.00 % (3)   None   None   None
 

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

 

(paid by the fund as a % of net
assets)
  Class A     Class B     Class C     Class FI     Class R     Class I (1)  
Management fee (4)   0.69 %   0.69 %   0.69 %   0.69 %   0.69 %   0.69 %
   
Distribution and service (12b-1) fees   0.25 %   1.00 %   1.00 %   0.25 %   0.50 %   None  
   
Other expenses (5)   0.17 %   0.23 %   0.09 %   0.16 %   0.16 %   0.01 %
   
Total annual fund operating expenses   1.11 %   1.92 %   1.78 %   1.10 %   1.35 %   0.70 %
   

 

(1)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

(2)   You may buy Class A shares in amounts of $1,000,000 or more at net asset value (without an initial sales charge), but if you redeem those shares within 12 months of their purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

 

(3)   As of November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge is waived for retirement plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund.

 

(4)   The fund has a fee schedule that reduces the investment management fee payable on assets in excess of $1 billion as follows: 0.750% on assets up to and including $1 billion; 0.725% on assets over $1 billion and up to and including $2 billion; 0.700% on assets over $2 billion and up to and including $5 billion; 0.675% on assets over $5 billion and up to and including $10 billion; and 0.650% on assets over $10 billion.

 

(5)   The amounts set forth in “Other expenses” for Class A, B, C and I Shares have been restated to reflect the estimated effect of new transfer agency and custody contracts which became effective on January 1, 2006. The amounts set forth in “Other expenses” for Class FI and Class R shares have been estimated based on “Other expenses” of other classes of the fund, but also include a fee for recordkeeping services.

 

Legg Mason Partners Aggressive Growth Fund         5


 

Example

This example helps you compare the costs of investing in the fund with the costs of investing in other mutual funds. Your actual costs may be higher or lower. The example assumes:

n   You invest $10,000 in the fund for the period shown
n   Your investment has a 5% return each year — the assumption of a 5% return is required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) for purposes of this example and is not a prediction of the fund’s future performance
n   You reinvest all distributions and dividends without a sales charge
n   The fund’s operating expenses (before fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, if any) remain the same

 

Number of Years You Own Your Shares

 

      1 year   3 years   5 years   10 years  

Class A (with or without redemption)

  $ 682   $ 908   $ 1,152   $ 1,849  
   

Class B (redemption at end of period)

  $ 695   $ 903   $ 1,137   $ 2,033 (1)
   

Class B (no redemption)

  $ 195   $ 603   $ 1,037   $ 2,033 (1)
   

Class C (redemption at end of period)

  $ 281   $ 561   $ 965   $ 2,096  
   

Class C (no redemption)

  $ 181   $ 561   $ 965   $ 2,096  
   

Class FI (with or without redemption)

  $ 112   $ 350   $ 607   $ 1,341  
   

Class R (with or without redemption)

  $ 137   $ 427   $ 739   $ 1,623  
   

Class I (2) (with or without redemption)

  $ 72   $ 225   $ 391   $ 871  
   

 

(1)   Assumes conversion to Class A shares approximately eight years after purchase.

 

(2)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

6         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

More on the fund’s investments

The fund’s investment objectives and principal investment strategies are described under the section entitled “Investments, risks and performance” above. This section provides further information about the investment strategies that may be used by the fund.

Foreign investments

The fund may invest up to 10% of its net assets (at the time of investment) in foreign securities. The fund may invest directly in foreign issuers or invest in depositary receipts. The fund’s investments in foreign securities may involve greater risk than investments in securities of U.S. issuers. Because the value of a depositary receipt is dependent upon the market price of an underlying foreign security, depositary receipts are subject to most of the risks associated with investing in foreign securities directly. Foreign countries generally have markets that are less liquid and more volatile than markets in the United States. In some foreign countries, less information is available about foreign issuers and markets because of less rigorous accounting and regulatory standards than in the United States. Currency fluctuations could erase investment gains or add to investment losses.

Defensive investing

The fund may depart from its principal investment strategies in response to adverse market, economic or political conditions by taking temporary defensive positions in any type of money market instruments and short-term debt securities or cash without regard to any percentage limitations. If the fund takes a temporary defensive position, it may be unable to achieve its investment objective.

Other investments

The fund may also use other strategies and invest in other securities that are described, along with their risks, in the fund’s Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”). However, the fund might not use all of the strategies and techniques or invest in all of the types of securities described in this Prospectus or in the SAI. Also note that there are many other factors, which are not described here, that could adversely affect your investment and that could prevent the fund from achieving its investment objective.

[The fund’s investment objective may be changed without shareholder approval.]

Portfolio holdings

The fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the fund’s portfolio securities are described in the SAI.

 

Legg Mason Partners Aggressive Growth Fund         7


 

Management

Manager and subadviser

Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC (“LMPFA” or the “manager”) is the fund’s investment manager. LMPFA, with offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022, is a recently-organized investment adviser that has been formed to serve as the investment manager of the fund and other Legg Mason-sponsored funds. LMPFA provides administrative and certain oversight services to the fund. ClearBridge Advisors, LLC (“ClearBridge” or the “subadviser”) provides the day-to-day portfolio management of the fund, except for the management of cash and short-term instruments, which is performed by LMPFA.

ClearBridge has offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022 and is a recently-organized investment adviser that has been formed to succeed to the equity securities portfolio management business of Citigroup Asset Management, which was acquired by Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”) in December 2005.

LMPFA and ClearBridge are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Legg Mason. Legg Mason, whose principal executive offices are at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, is a global asset management company. As of December 31, 2006, Legg Mason’s asset management operation had aggregate assets under management of approximately $         billion.

Prior to August 1, 2006, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”) was the fund’s investment manager. SBFM is also a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason.

Portfolio manager

Richard Freeman, investment officer of the subadviser, has been responsible for the day-to-day management of the fund’s portfolio since its inception in October 1983. Mr. Freeman has more than 29 years of securities business experience, 21 years of which has been with the subadviser or its predecessors.

The SAI provides information about the compensation of the portfolio manager, other accounts he manages, and any fund shares held by the portfolio manager, and has more detailed information about the manager, the subadviser and other fund service providers.

Management fee

For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2006, the fund paid a fee, after waivers and reimbursements, of 0.69% of the fund’s average daily net assets for advisory and administrative services. For the period from September 1, 2005, through November 30, 2005, the fund paid SBFM an advisory fee, after waivers and reimbursements, and an administrative fee equal to 0.56% and 0.15%, respectively, of the fund’s average daily net assets. For the period from December 1, 2005 through July 31, 2006, the fund paid SBFM a management fee, after waivers and reimbursements, equal to 0.69% of the fund’s average daily net assets. For the period from August 1, 2006 through August 31, 2006, the fund paid LMPFA a management fee, after waivers and reimbursements, equal to 0.69% of the fund’s average daily net assets.

A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of the fund’s management agreement and sub-advisory agreement is available in the fund’s Annual Report for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2006.

 

8         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Distribution plan

Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC (“LMIS”), a wholly-owned broker/dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”) and PFS Investments Inc. (“PFS”) serve as the fund’s distributors.

The fund has adopted a shareholder services and distribution plan for its Class A, B, C, FI and R shares. Under the plan, the fund pays distribution and/or service fees. These fees are an ongoing expense and, over time, will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than other types of sales charges.

In addition, the distributors may make payments for distribution and/or shareholder servicing activities out of their past profits and other available sources. The distributors may also make payments to dealers for marketing, promotional or related expenses. The amount of these payments is determined by the distributors and may be substantial. The manager or an affiliate may make similar payments under similar arrangements.

The payments described in the paragraph above are often referred to as “revenue sharing payments.” The recipients of such payments may include the fund’s distributors, affiliates of the manager, broker/dealers, financial institutions and other financial intermediaries through which investors may purchase shares of the fund. In some circumstances, such payments may create an incentive for an intermediary or its employees or associated persons to recommend or sell shares of the fund to you. Please contact your financial intermediary for details about revenue sharing payments it may receive.

Recent developments

On May 31, 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued an order in connection with the settlement of an administrative proceeding against SBFM, the then-investment adviser or manager to the fund, and CGMI, relating to the appointment of an affiliated transfer agent for the Smith Barney family of mutual funds, including the fund (the “Affected Funds”).

The SEC order finds that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(1) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder (the “Advisers Act”). Specifically, the order finds that SBFM and CGMI knowingly or recklessly failed to disclose to the boards of the Affected Funds in 1999 when proposing a new transfer agent arrangement with an affiliated transfer agent that: First Data Investors Services Group (“First Data”), the Affected Funds’ then-existing transfer agent, had offered to continue as transfer agent and do the same work for substantially less money than before; and that Citigroup Asset Management (“CAM”), the Citigroup business unit that, at the time, included the Affected Funds’ investment manager and other investment advisory companies, had entered into a side letter with First Data under which CAM agreed to recommend the appointment of First Data as sub-transfer agent to the affiliated transfer agent in exchange, among other things, for a guarantee by First Data of specified amounts of asset management and investment banking fees to CAM and CGMI. The order also finds that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act by virtue of the omissions discussed above and other misrepresentations and omissions in the materials provided to the Affected Funds’ boards, including the failure to make clear that the affiliated transfer agent would earn a high profit for performing limited functions while First Data continued to perform almost all of the transfer agent functions, and the sugges -

 

Legg Mason Partners Aggressive Growth Fund         9


 

tion that the proposed arrangement was in the Affected Funds’ best interests and that no viable alternatives existed.

SBFM and CGMI do not admit or deny any wrongdoing or liability. The settlement does not establish wrongdoing or liability for purposes of any other proceeding. The SEC censured SBFM and CGMI and ordered them to cease and desist from violations of Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Advisers Act. The order required Citigroup to pay $208.1 million, including $109 million in disgorgement of profits, $19.1 million in interest, and a civil money penalty of $80 million. Approximately $24.4 million has already been paid to the Affected Funds, primarily through fee waivers. The remaining $183.7 million, including the penalty, has been paid to the U.S. Treasury and will be distributed pursuant to a plan submitted for the approval of the SEC. At this time, there is no certainty as to how the above-described proceeds of the settlement will be distributed, to whom such distributions will be made, the methodology by which such distributions will be allocated, and when such distributions will be made. The order also required that transfer agency fees received from the Affected Funds since December 1, 2004, less certain expenses, be placed in escrow and provided that a portion of such fees might be subsequently distributed in accordance with the terms of the order. On April 3, 2006, an aggregate amount of approximately $9 million held in escrow was distributed to the Affected Funds.

The order required SBFM to recommend a new transfer agent contract to the Fund boards within 180 days of the entry of the order; if a Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent or sub-transfer agent, SBFM and CGMI would have been required, at their expense, to engage an independent monitor to oversee a competitive bidding process. On November 21, 2005, and within the specified timeframe, the Affected Funds’ Boards selected a new transfer agent for the Affected Funds. No Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent. Under the order, SBFM also must comply with an amended version of a vendor policy that Citigroup instituted in August 2004.

Although there can be no assurance, the manager does not believe that this matter will have a material adverse effect on the Affected Funds.

On December 1, 2005, Citigroup completed the sale of substantially all of its global asset management business, including SBFM, to Legg Mason.

 

10         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Choosing a class of shares to buy

Individual investors can generally choose among three classes of shares: Classes A, B and C shares. Individual investors that held Class I (formerly Class Y) shares prior to November 20, 2006, may continue to invest in Class I shares. Institutional and retirement plan investors and clients of financial intermediaries should refer to “Retirement and institutional investors” below for a description of the classes available to them. Each class has different sales charges and expenses, allowing you to choose the class that best meets your needs.

When choosing which class of shares to buy, you should consider:

n   How much you plan to invest
n   How long you expect to own the shares
n   The expenses paid by each class detailed in the Fee table and Example at the front of this Prospectus
n   Whether you qualify for any reduction or waiver of sales charges

If you are choosing between Class A and Class B shares, it will in almost all cases be the more economical choice for you to purchase Class A shares if you plan to purchase shares in an amount of $100,000 or more (whether in a single purchase or through aggregation of eligible holdings). This is because of the reduced sales charge available on larger investments of Class A shares and the lower ongoing expenses of Class A shares compared to Class B shares.

If you intend to invest for only a few years, the effect of Class B contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions made within five years of purchase, as well as the effect of higher expenses of that class, might make an investment in Class C more appropriate. There is no initial sales charge on Class C shares, and the contingent deferred sales charge does not apply to shares redeemed one year after purchase.

However, if you plan to invest a large amount and your investment horizon is five years or more, Class C shares might not be as advantageous as Class A shares. This is because the annual asset-based sales charge on Class C shares will have a greater impact on your account over the longer term than the reduced front-end sales charge available for larger purchases of Class A shares.

You may buy shares from:

n   Certain broker/dealers, financial intermediaries, financial institutions, a distributor’s financial advisors or registered representatives (each called a “Service Agent”)
n   The fund, but only if you are investing through certain qualified plans or Service Agents

Different types of shareholder services may be available to you under arrangements offered by different Service Agents. In addition, these services may vary depending on the share class in which you choose to invest. In making your decision regarding which share class to buy, please keep in mind that your Service Agent may receive different compensation depending on the share class in which you invest. Investors should consult with their Service Agent about comparative pricing of shareholder services available to them under each available share class, the compensation that will be received by their Service Agent in connection with each available share class, and other factors that may be relevant to the investor’s choice of share class in which to invest.

 

Legg Mason Partners Aggressive Growth Fund         11


 

Not all classes of shares are available through each Service Agent. You should contact your Service Agent for further information.

Investment minimums

Minimum initial and additional investment amounts vary depending on the class of shares you buy and the nature of your investment.

 

   

Investment Minimum

Initial/Additional Investments (1)

      Class A   Class B   Class C   Class FI   Class R   Class I
(formerly Y)

General

  $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50   n/a   n/a   n/a
 

IRAs and Uniform Gifts or Transfers to Minor Accounts

  $ 250/$50   $ 250/$50   $ 250/$50   n/a   n/a   n/a
 

SIMPLE IRAs

  $ 1/$1   $ 1/$1   $ 1/$1   n/a   n/a   n/a
 

Systematic Investment Plans

  $ 25/$25   $ 25/$25   $ 25/$25   n/a   n/a   n/a
 

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries

  $ 1/$1     n/a     n/a   None /
None
  n/a   None /
None
 

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund

    n/a     n/a    
 
None /
None
  None /
None
  None /
None
  None /
None
 

Other Retirement Plans

  $ 50/$50   $ 50/$50   $ 50/$50   n/a   n/a   n/a
 

Institutional Investors

  $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50   n/a   n/a   $ 1 million/
None
 

 

(1)   Please refer to the section entitled “Retirement and institutional investors” for additional information regarding the investment minimum and eligibility requirements for Retirement Plans, Institutional Investors and Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries.

More information about the fund’s classes of shares is available through the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website. You’ll find detailed information about sales charges and ways you can qualify for reduced or waived sales charges, including:

n   The front-end sales charges that apply to the purchase of Class A shares
n   The contingent deferred sales charges that apply to the redemption of Class B shares, Class C shares, and certain Class A shares (redeemed within one year)
n   Who qualifies for lower sales charges on Class A shares
n   Who qualifies for a sales load waiver

Go to http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices and click on the name of the fund.

 

12         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Comparing the fund’s classes

The following table compares key features of the fund’s classes. You should review the Fee table and Example at the front of this Prospectus carefully before choosing your share class. Your Service Agent can help you decide which class meets your goals. Your Service Agent may receive different compensation depending upon which class you choose.

 

 

      Class A   Class B   Class C   Class FI   Class R   Class I
(formerly Y)
Key features  

n  Initial sales charge

n  You may qualify for reduction or waiver of initial sales charge

n  Generally lower annual expenses than Class B and Class C

 

n  No initial sales charge

n  Contingent deferred sales charge declines
over time

n  Converts to Class A after approximately 8 years

n  Generally higher annual expenses than Class A

 

n  No initial sales charge

n  Contingent deferred sales charge for only 1 year

n  Does not convert to Class A

n  Generally higher annual expenses than
Class A

 

n  No initial or contingent deferred sales charge

n  Only offered to Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries

 

n  No initial or contingent deferred sales charge

n  Only offered to eligible Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund

 

n  No initial or contingent deferred sales charge

n  Only offered to institutional and other eligible investors

n  Generally lower expenses than the other classes

Initial sales charge  

Up to 5.75%; reduced or waived for large purchases and certain investors. No charge for purchases of $1 million or more

 

None

 

None

 

None

 

None

 

None

Contingent deferred sales charge  

1.00% on purchases of $1 million or more if you redeem within 1 year of purchase; waived for certain investors

 

Up to 5.00% charged when you redeem shares. The charge is reduced over time and there is no contingent deferred sales charge after 5 years; waived for certain investors

 

1.00% if you redeem within 1 year of purchase; waived for certain investors

 

None

 

None

 

None

Annual distribution and service fees  

0.25% of average daily net assets

 

1.00% of average daily net assets

 

1.00% of average daily net assets

 

0.25% of average daily net assets

 

0.50% of average daily net assets

 

None

Exchange

Privilege (1)

 

Class A shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class B shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class C shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class FI shares of applicable Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class R shares of applicable Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class I shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

(1)   Ask your Service Agent for the Legg Mason Partners Funds available for exchange.

 

Legg Mason Partners Aggressive Growth Fund         13


 

Sales charge

Class A shares

You buy Class A shares at the offering price, which is the net asset value plus a sales charge. You pay a lower sales charge as the size of your investment increases to certain levels called breakpoints. You do not pay a sales charge on the fund’s distributions or dividends you reinvest in additional Class A shares.

The table below shows the rate of sales charge you pay, depending on the amount you purchase, for purchases made on or after November 20, 2006. The table below also shows the amount of broker/dealer compensation that will be paid out of the sales charge. For Class A shares sold by LMIS, LMIS will receive the sales charge imposed on purchases of Class A shares (or any contingent deferred sales charge paid on redemptions) and will retain the full amount of such sales charge. For Class A shares sold by CGMI, CGMI will receive the sales charge imposed on purchases of Class A shares and will retain an amount equal to the broker/dealer commission paid out of the sales charge. LMIS will receive any portion not retained by CGMI. For Class A shares sold by PFS, PFS will receive the sales charge imposed on purchases of Class A shares (or any contingent deferred sales charge paid on redemptions) and will retain the full amount of such sales charge. Service Agents (including CGMI and PFS) will also receive a distribution/service fee payable on Class A shares at an annual rate of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class A shares serviced by them.

 

Amount of investment   Sales Charge
as % of
offering price
  Sales Charge
as % of net
amount
invested
  Broker/Dealer
Commission
as % of
offering price

Less than $25,000

  5.75   6.10   5.00
 

$25,000 but less than $50,000

  5.00   5.26   4.25
 

$50,000 but less than $100,000

  4.50   4.71   3.75
 

$100,000 but less than $250,000

  3.50   3.63   2.75
 

$250,000 but less than $500,000

  2.50   2.56   2.00
 

$500,000 but less than $750,000

  2.00   2.04   1.60
 

$750,000 but less than $1 million

  1.50   1.52   1.20
 

$1 million or more (1)

  0   0   up to 1.00
 

 

(1)   A distributor may pay a commission of up to 1.00% to a Service Agent for purchase amounts of $1 million or more. In such cases, starting in the thirteenth month after purchase, the Service Agent will also receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class A shares held by its clients. Prior to the thirteenth month, the distributor will retain this fee. Where the Service Agent does not receive the payment of this commission, the Service Agent will instead receive the annual distribution/service fee starting immediately after purchase. Please contact your Service Agent for more information.

Investments of $1,000,000 or more

You do not pay an initial sales charge when you buy $1,000,000 or more of Class A shares. However, if you redeem these Class A shares within one year of purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

 

14         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Qualifying for a reduced Class A sales charge

There are several ways you can combine multiple purchases of Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds to take advantage of the breakpoints in the sales charge schedule. In order to take advantage of reductions in sales charges that may be available to you when you purchase fund shares, you must inform your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services if you are eligible for a letter of intent or a right of accumulation and if you own shares of other Legg Mason Partners Funds that are eligible to be aggregated with your purchases. Certain records, such as account statements, may be necessary in order to verify your eligibility for reduced sales charges.

n   Accumulation Privilege – allows you to combine the current value of Class A shares of the fund with other shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds that are owned by:
  ¨   you; or
  ¨   your spouse and children under the age of 21

with the dollar amount of your next purchase of Class A shares for purposes of calculating the initial sales charge.

Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or its affiliates (other than money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners Funds offered with a sales charge), Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. may not be combined.

If you hold shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds in accounts at two or more Service Agents, please contact your Service Agents to determine which shares may be combined.

Certain trustees and fiduciaries may be entitled to combine accounts in determining their sales charge.

n   Letter of Intent – allows you to purchase Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds over a 13-month period and pay the same sales charge on Class A shares, if any, as if all shares had been purchased at once. At the time you enter into the letter of intent, you select your asset goal amount. Generally, purchases of Legg Mason Partners Fund shares that are purchased during the 13-month period by
  ¨   you; or
  ¨   your spouse and children under the age of 21

are eligible for inclusion under the letter, based on the public offering price at the time of the purchase, and any capital appreciation on those shares. You may also backdate your letter up to 90 days in which case eligible purchases made during that period will be treated as purchases made under the letter. In addition, you can include towards your asset goal amount the current value of any eligible purchases that were made prior to the date of entering into the letter of intent and are still held.

If you hold shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds in accounts at two or more Service Agents, please contact your Service Agents to determine which shares may be credited toward your letter of intent asset goal.

Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or its affiliates (other than money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners Funds offered with a sales charge), Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. may not be credited toward your letter of intent asset goal.

If you do not meet your asset goal amount, shares in the amount of any sales charges due, based on the amount of your actual purchases, will be redeemed from your account.

 

Legg Mason Partners Aggressive Growth Fund         15


 

Waivers for certain Class A investors

Class A initial sales charges are waived for certain types of investors, including:

n   Employees of Service Agents having dealer, service or other selling agreements with the fund’s distributors
n   Investors who redeemed Class A shares of a Legg Mason Partners Fund in the past 60 days, if the investor’s Service Agent is notified
n   Directors and officers of any Legg Mason-sponsored fund
n   Employees of Legg Mason and its subsidiaries

If you qualify for a waiver of the Class A initial sales charge, you must notify your Service Agent or the transfer agent at the time of purchase and provide sufficient information at the time of purchase to permit verification that the purchase qualifies for the initial sales charge waiver.

If you want to learn about additional waivers of Class A initial sales charges, contact your Service Agent, consult the SAI or look at the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website, http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices, and click on the name of the fund.

Class B shares

You buy Class B shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. However, if you redeem your Class B shares within five years of your purchase payment, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge. The contingent deferred sales charge decreases as the number of years since your purchase payment increases.

 

Year after purchase   1st     2nd     3rd     4th     5th     6th through 8th  

Contingent deferred sales charge

  5 %   4 %   3 %   2 %   1 %   0 %
   

LMIS will pay Service Agents other than PFS, including CGMI, selling Class B shares a commission of up to 4.00% of the purchase price of the Class B shares they sell and LMIS will retain the contingent deferred sales charges. For Class B shares sold by PFS, PFS will pay a commission of up to 4.00% of the purchase price of the Class B shares sold by its Service Agents and will retain the contingent deferred sales charges paid upon certain redemptions. Service Agents also receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class B shares serviced by them.

 

16         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Class B conversion

After approximately 8 years, Class B shares automatically convert into Class A shares. This helps you because Class A shares have lower annual expenses. Your Class B shares will convert to Class A shares as follows:

 

Shares issued:
At initial purchase
   Shares issued:
On reinvestment of
dividends and
distributions
   Shares issued:
Upon exchange from
another Legg Mason
Partners Fund
Approximately 8 years after the date of purchase payment    In same proportion as the number of Class B shares converting is to total Class B shares you own (excluding shares issued as dividends)    On the date the shares originally acquired would have converted into Class A shares
 

Class C shares

You buy Class C shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. However, if you redeem your Class C shares within one year of purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

LMIS will generally pay Service Agents selling Class C shares (other than shares sold to omnibus accounts of retirement plans held on the books of the fund) a commission of up to 1.00% of the purchase price of the Class C shares they sell and LMIS will retain the contingent deferred sales charges and an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class C shares serviced by these Service Agents until the thirteenth month after purchase. Starting in the thirteenth month after purchase, these Service Agents will receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class C shares serviced by them.

Class FI, Class R and Class I (formerly Class Y) shares

Class FI, R and I shares are purchased at net asset value with no initial sales charge and no contingent deferred sales charge when redeemed. See “Retirement and institutional investors” below for additional information regarding investor eligibility and investment minimums.

 

Legg Mason Partners Aggressive Growth Fund         17


 

More about contingent deferred sales charges

The contingent deferred sales charge is based on the net asset value at the time of purchase or redemption, whichever is less, and therefore you do not pay a sales charge on amounts representing appreciation or depreciation.

In addition, you do not pay a contingent deferred sales charge on:

n   Shares exchanged for shares of another Legg Mason Partners Fund
n   Shares representing reinvested distributions and dividends
n   Shares no longer subject to the contingent deferred sales charge

Each time you place a request to redeem shares, the fund will first redeem any shares in your account that are not subject to a contingent deferred sales charge and then the shares in your account that have been held the longest.

If you redeemed shares of a Legg Mason Partners Fund and paid a contingent deferred sales charge, you may, under certain circumstances, reinvest all or part of the redemption proceeds within 60 days and receive pro rata credit for any contingent deferred sales charge imposed on the prior redemption. Please contact your Service Agent for additional information.

The fund’s distributors receive contingent deferred sales charges as partial compensation for their expenses in selling shares, including the payment of compensation to your Service Agent.

Contingent deferred sales charge waivers

The contingent deferred sales charge for each share class will generally be waived:

n   On payments made through certain systematic withdrawal plans
n   On certain distributions from a retirement plan
n   For involuntary redemptions of small account balances
n   For 12 months following the death or disability of a shareholder

If you want to learn more about additional waivers of contingent deferred sales charges, contact your Service Agent, consult the SAI or look at the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website, http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices, and click on the name of the fund.

 

18         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Retirement and institutional investors

Eligible Investors

Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund can generally choose among four classes of shares: Class C, Class R, Class FI and Class I (formerly Class Y) shares.

“Retirement Plans” include 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit-sharing plans, non-qualified deferred compensation plans and other similar employer-sponsored retirement plans. Retirement Plans do not include individual retirement vehicles, such as traditional and Roth individual retirement accounts, Coverdell education savings accounts, individual 403(b)(7) custodial accounts, Keogh plans, SEPs, SARSEPs, SIMPLE IRAs, or Section 529 savings accounts. Although Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund are not subject to minimum initial investment requirements for any of these share classes, certain investment minimums may be imposed by a financial intermediary. As of December 1, 2006, Class A and Class B shares will be available through certain Service Agents for Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund on a limited basis only. Class A and Class B shares will cease to be available to new plan investors through a Service Agent if Class FI shares become available.

Other Retirement Plan investors (including, for example, employer-sponsored plans investing through brokerage accounts), can generally choose among three classes of shares: Class A, Class B and Class C. Individual retirement vehicles, such as IRAs, may also choose among these share classes. These types of investors are treated like individual investors for purposes of determining investment minimums, sales charges and any applicable sales charge reductions or waivers.

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries may generally choose among three classes of shares: Class A, Class FI and Class I. “Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries” are investors who invest in the fund through financial intermediaries that offer their clients fund shares through investment programs as authorized by LMIS. Such investment programs may include fee-based advisory or brokerage account programs, and college savings vehicles such as Section 529 plans. The financial intermediary may impose separate investment minimums.

Institutional Investors

Institutional Investors may invest in Class I shares if they meet the $1,000,000 minimum initial investment requirement. Institutional Investors may also invest in Class A, B and C shares, which have different investment minimums and fees and expenses. “Institutional Investors” generally include corporations, banks, insurance companies, foundations, retirement plans and other similar entities with direct relationships to the fund.

 

Legg Mason Partners Aggressive Growth Fund         19


 

Class C — Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund may buy Class C shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. As of November 20, 2006, LMIS no longer pays Service Agents selling Class C shares to retirement plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of a fund a commission on the purchase price of Class C shares sold by them. Instead, immediately after purchase, LMIS will pay these Service Agents an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class C shares serviced by them. For purchases made by Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund on or after November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge on shares redeemed within one year of purchase is waived.

Certain retirement plan programs with exchange features in effect prior to November 20, 2006, as approved by LMIS, will remain eligible for exchange from Class C shares to Class A shares in accordance with the program terms. Please read the SAI for more details.

Class R

Class R shares are offered only to Retirement Plans with accounts held on the books of the fund (either at the plan level or at the level of the financial intermediary). LMIS may pay Service Agents selling Class R shares an annual distribution/service fee of up to 0.50% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class R shares serviced by them.

Class FI

Class FI shares are offered to investors who invest in the fund through certain financial intermediary and retirement plan programs. LMIS may pay Service Agents selling Class FI shares an annual distribution/service fee of up to 0.25% starting immediately after purchase.

Class I

As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares and are offered only to Institutional Investors who meet the $1,000,000 minimum initial investment requirement, Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries, and other investors as authorized by LMIS. However, investors that held Class I shares prior to that date will be permitted to make additional investments in Class I shares.

Class A and Class B — Retirement Plans

As of December 1, 2006, Class A and Class B shares are no longer offered through Service Agents to Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund. However, Retirement Plans that held Class A or Class B shares prior to that date are permitted to make additional investments in the applicable Class. Certain existing programs for current and prospective Retirement Plan investors sponsored by financial intermediaries also remain eligible for Class A shares. Under these programs, the waiver for the initial sales load and contingent deferred sales charge for Class A shares remains available where:

n   Such Retirement Plan’s record keeper offers only load-waived shares,
n   Fund shares are held on the books of the fund through an omnibus account, and
n   The Retirement Plan has more than 100 participants, or has total assets exceeding $1 million

 

20         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

As of November 20, 2006, LMIS no longer pays Service Agents selling Class A shares to Retirement Plans with a direct omnibus relationship with a fund a commission on the purchase price of Class A shares sold by them. However, for certain Retirement Plans that are permitted to purchase shares at net asset value on or after this date, LMIS may continue to pay Service Agents commissions of up to 1.00% of the purchase price of the additional Class A shares that are purchased with regular ongoing plan contributions. Please contact your Service Agent for more information.

Other considerations

Plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries and other financial intermediaries may choose to impose qualification requirements for plans that differ from the fund’s share class eligibility standards. In certain cases this could result in the selection of a share class with higher service and distribution-related fees than otherwise would have been charged. The fund is not responsible for, and has no control over, the decision of any plan sponsor, plan fiduciary or financial intermediary to impose such differing requirements. Please consult with your plan sponsor, plan fiduciary or financial intermediary for more information about available share classes.

With respect to Class A, Class C, Class FI and Class R shares, as applicable, the fund may pay a fee for recordkeeping services performed for the applicable share class.

Not all share classes may be made available by your Service Agent; please contact your Service Agent for additional details.

 

Legg Mason Partners Aggressive Growth Fund         21


 

Buying shares

 

Through a
Service Agent
  

You should contact your Service Agent to open a brokerage account and make arrangements to buy shares. You must provide the following information for your order to be processed:

n  Class of shares being bought

n  Dollar amount or number of shares being bought

n  Account number (if existing account)

Your Service Agent may charge an annual account maintenance fee.

 
Through the
fund
  

Financial intermediary accounts, retirement plan accounts and certain other investors who are clients of certain Service Agents are eligible to buy shares directly from the fund.

n  Clients of a PFS Registered Representative should write to the fund at the following address:

Legg Mason Partners Funds

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9662

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9662

n  All other investors should write to the fund at the following address:

Legg Mason Partners Funds

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9699

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699

n  Enclose a check to pay for the shares. For initial purchases, complete and send an account application available upon request from Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at the number below

n  Specify the name of the fund, the share class you wish to purchase and your account number (if existing account)

n  For more information, please call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 or Primerica Shareholder Services at 800-544-5445

 

Through a

systematic

investment plan

  

You may authorize your Service Agent or the transfer agent to transfer funds automatically from (i) a regular bank account, (ii) cash held in a brokerage account opened with a Service Agent or (iii) certain money market funds, in order to buy shares on a regular basis.

n  Amounts transferred must be at least $25

n  Amounts may be transferred monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually

n  If you do not have sufficient funds in your account on a transfer date, your Service Agent or the transfer agent may charge you a fee

 

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or the transfer agent or consult the SAI.

 

22         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Exchanging shares

 

Legg Mason Partners offers a distinctive family of funds tailored to help meet the varying needs of both large and small investors   

You should contact your Service Agent to exchange into other Legg Mason Partners Funds. Be sure to read the prospectus of the Legg Mason Partners Fund into which you are exchanging. An exchange is a taxable transaction, unless you are investing through a tax-qualified savings plan or account.

n  If you bought shares through a Service Agent, you may exchange shares only for shares of the same class of certain other Legg Mason Partners Funds made available for exchange by your Service Agent. Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds made available for exchange by your Service Agent may offer all classes. Please contact your Service Agent for more information about the funds and classes that are available for exchange

n  If you bought shares directly from the fund, you may exchange shares only for shares of the same class of another Legg Mason Partners Fund, other than shares of Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund. Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds offer all classes

n  Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds may be offered in your state of residence. Contact your Service Agent or the transfer agent for further information

n  Exchanges of Class A, B, C, FI and R shares are subject to minimum investment requirements (except for systematic investment plan exchanges), and all shares are subject to the other requirements of the fund into which exchanges are made

n  If you hold share certificates, the transfer agent must receive the certificates endorsed for transfer or with signed stock powers before the exchange is effective

n  The fund may suspend or terminate your exchange privilege if you engage in an excessive pattern of exchanges

 
Waiver of additional sales charges   

Your shares will not be subject to an initial sales charge at the time of the exchange.

Your contingent deferred sales charge (if any) will continue to be measured from the date of your original purchase of shares subject to a contingent deferred sales charge and you will be subject to the contingent deferred sales charge of the fund that you originally purchased.

 

 

Legg Mason Partners Aggressive Growth Fund         23


 

By telephone   

If you do not have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, you may be eligible to exchange shares through the fund. You must complete an authorization form to authorize telephone transfers. If eligible, you may make telephone exchanges on any day the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open. For clients of a PFS Registered Representative, call Primerica Shareholder Services at 800-544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. (Eastern time). All other shareholders should call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time). Exchanges are priced at the net asset value next determined.

You can make telephone exchanges only between accounts that have identical registrations.

 
By mail    If you do not have a brokerage account, contact your Service Agent or write to the fund at the address on the following page.
 

Through a systematic

exchange plan

  

You may be permitted to schedule exchanges of shares of any class of the fund for shares of the same class of other Legg Mason Partners Funds.

n  Exchanges may be made monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually

n  A predetermined dollar amount of at least $25 per exchange is required

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partner Shareholder Services.

 

24         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Redeeming shares

 

Generally   

Contact your Service Agent to redeem shares of the fund.

If you hold share certificates, the transfer agent must receive the certificates endorsed for transfer or with signed stock powers before you may redeem.

If the shares are held by a fiduciary or corporation, other documents may be required.

Redemptions are priced at the net asset value next determined after receipt of your request in good order.

Your redemption proceeds will normally be sent within three business days after your request is received in good order but in any event within 7 days. Your redemption proceeds may be delayed for up to 10 days if your purchase was made by check.

If you have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, your redemption proceeds will be sent to your Service Agent. In other cases, unless you direct otherwise, your redemption proceeds will be paid by check mailed to your address of record.

 
By mail   

Send written requests to the fund at the applicable address:

For clients of a PFS Registered Representative, write Primerica Shareholder Services at the following address:

Primerica Shareholder Services

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9662

Providence, RI 02940-9662

For all other investors, send your request to:

Legg Mason Partners Funds

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9699

Providence, RI 02940-9699

Your written request must provide the following:

n  The name of the fund, the class of shares to be redeemed, and your account number

n  The dollar amount or number of shares to be redeemed

n  Signatures of each owner exactly as the account is registered

n  Signature guarantees, as applicable

 
By telephone    If you do not have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, you may be eligible to redeem shares (except those held in certain retirement plans) in amounts up to $50,000 per day through the fund. You must complete an authorization form to authorize telephone redemptions. If eligible, you may request redemptions by telephone on any day the NYSE is open. For clients of a PFS Registered Representative, call Primerica Shareholder Services at 800-544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. (Eastern time). All other shareholders should call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time).

 

Legg Mason Partners Aggressive Growth Fund         25


 

  

Your redemption proceeds can be sent by check to your address of record or by wire or electronic transfer (ACH) to a bank account designated on your authorization form. You must submit a new authorization form to change the bank account designated to receive wire or electronic transfers and you may be asked to provide certain other documents. The transfer agent may charge a fee on a wire or an electronic transfer (ACH).

 
Automatic cash withdrawal plans   

You can arrange for the automatic redemption of a portion of your shares monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually. To qualify you must own shares of the fund with a value of at least $10,000 ($5,000 for retirement plan accounts) and each automatic redemption must be at least $50. If your shares are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge, the sales charge will be waived if your automatic redemptions are equal to or less than 2.00% of your account balances on the date the withdrawals commence per month, up to a maximum of 12.00% in one year.

The following conditions apply:

n  Your shares must not be represented by certificates

n  All dividends and distributions must be reinvested

 

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or consult the SAI.

 

26         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Other things to know about transactions

When you buy, exchange or redeem shares, your request must be in good order. This means you have provided the following information, without which your request may not be processed:

n   Name of the fund
n   Your account number
n   Class of shares being bought, and if you own more than one class, the class of shares being exchanged or redeemed
n   Dollar amount or number of shares being bought, exchanged or redeemed
n   Signature of each owner exactly as the account is registered

The fund’s transfer agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services will employ reasonable procedures to confirm that any telephone exchange or redemption request is genuine, which may include recording calls, asking the caller to provide certain personal identification information, sending you a written confirmation or requiring other confirmation procedures from time to time. If these procedures are followed, neither the fund nor its agents will bear any liability for such transactions.

Signature guarantees

To be in good order, your redemption request must include a signature guarantee if you:

n   Are redeeming over $50,000
n   Are sending signed share certificates or stock powers to the transfer agent
n   Instruct the transfer agent to mail the check to an address different from the one on your account registration
n   Changed your account registration or your address within 30 days
n   Want the check paid to someone other than the account owner(s)
n   Are transferring the redemption proceeds to an account with a different registration

You can obtain a signature guarantee from most banks, dealers, brokers, credit unions and federal savings and loan institutions, but not from a notary public.

The fund has the right to:

n   Suspend the offering of shares
n   Waive or change minimum and additional investment amounts
n   Reject any purchase or exchange order
n   Change, revoke or suspend the exchange privilege
n   Suspend telephone transactions
n   Suspend or postpone redemptions of shares on any day when trading on the NYSE is restricted, or as otherwise permitted by the SEC
n   Pay redemption proceeds by giving you securities. You may pay transaction costs to dispose of the securities

Small account balances/Mandatory redemptions

If at any time the aggregate net asset value of the fund shares in your account is less than $500 for any reason (including solely due to declines in net asset value and/or failure to invest at least $500 within a reasonable period), the fund reserves the right to ask you to bring your account up to the applicable minimum investment amount as determined by

 

Legg Mason Partners Aggressive Growth Fund         27


 

your Service Agent. In such case you shall be notified in writing and will have 60 days to make an additional investment to bring your account value up to the required level. If you choose not to do so within this 60-day period, the fund may close your account and send you the redemption proceeds. In the event your account is closed due to a failure to increase your balance to the minimum required amount, you will not be eligible to have your account subsequently reinstated without imposition of any sales charges that may apply to your new purchase. The fund may, with prior notice, change the minimum size of accounts subject to mandatory redemption, which may vary by class, or implement fees for small accounts.

Subject to applicable law, the fund may, with prior notice, adopt other policies from time to time requiring mandatory redemption of shares in certain circumstances.

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or the transfer agent or consult the SAI.

Frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares

Frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares may interfere with the efficient management of the fund’s portfolio by its portfolio manager, increase portfolio transaction costs, and have a negative effect on the fund’s long-term shareholders. For example, in order to handle large flows of cash into and out of the fund, the portfolio manager may need to allocate more assets to cash or other short-term investments or sell securities, rather than maintaining full investment in securities selected to achieve the fund’s investment objective. Frequent trading may cause the fund to sell securities at less favorable prices. Transaction costs, such as brokerage commissions and market spreads, can detract from the fund’s performance. In addition, the return received by long-term shareholders may be reduced when trades by other shareholders are made in an effort to take advantage of certain pricing discrepancies, when, for example, it is believed that the fund’s share price, which is determined at the close of the NYSE on each trading day, does not accurately reflect the value of the fund’s portfolio securities. Funds investing in foreign securities have been particularly susceptible to this form of arbitrage, but other funds could also be affected.

Because of the potential harm to the fund and its long-term shareholders, the fund’s Board has approved policies and procedures that are intended to discourage and prevent excessive trading and market timing abuses through the use of various surveillance techniques. Under these policies and procedures, the fund may limit additional exchanges or purchases of fund shares by shareholders who are believed by the manager to be engaged in these abusive trading activities. The intent of the policies and procedures is not to inhibit legitimate strategies, such as asset allocation, dollar cost averaging, or similar activities that may nonetheless result in frequent trading of fund shares. For this reason, the Board has not adopted any specific restrictions on purchases and sales of fund shares, but the fund reserves the right to reject any exchange or purchase of fund shares with or without prior notice to the account holder. In cases where surveillance of a particular account establishes what the manager believes to be obvious market-timing, the manager will seek to block future purchases and exchanges of fund shares by that account. Where surveillance of a particular account indicates activity that the manager believes could be either abusive or for legitimate purposes, the fund may permit the account holder to justify the activity.

 

28         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

The policies apply to any account, whether an individual account or accounts with financial intermediaries such as investment advisers, broker/dealers or retirement plan administrators, commonly called omnibus accounts, where the intermediary holds fund shares for a number of its customers in one account. The fund’s ability to monitor trading in omnibus accounts may, however, be severely limited due to the lack of access to an individual investor’s trading activity when orders are placed through these types of accounts. There may also be operational and technological limitations on the ability of the fund’s service providers to identify or terminate frequent trading activity within the various types of omnibus accounts.

The fund’s policies also require personnel such as portfolio managers and investment staff to report any abnormal or otherwise suspicious investment activity, and prohibit short-term trades by such personnel for their own account in mutual funds managed by the manager and its affiliates, other than money market funds. Additionally, the fund has adopted policies and procedures to prevent the selective release of information about the fund’s portfolio holdings, as such information may be used for market-timing and similar abusive practices.

The fund’s policies provide for ongoing assessment of the effectiveness of current policies and surveillance tools, and the fund’s Board reserves the right to modify these or adopt additional policies and restrictions in the future. Shareholders should be aware, however, that any surveillance techniques currently employed by the fund or other techniques that may be adopted in the future may not be effective, particularly where the trading takes place through certain types of omnibus accounts. As noted above, if the fund is unable to detect and deter trading abuses, the fund’s performance, and its long-term shareholders, may be harmed. In addition, because the fund has not adopted any specific limitations or restrictions on the trading of fund shares, shareholders may be harmed by the extra costs and portfolio management inefficiencies that result from frequent trading of fund shares, even when the trading is not for abusive purposes. Furthermore, the fund may not apply its policies consistently or uniformly, resulting in the risk that some shareholders may be able to engage in frequent trading while others will bear the costs and effects of that trading. The fund will provide advance notice to shareholders and prospective investors of any specific restrictions on the trading of fund shares that the Board may adopt in the future.

Share certificates

Share certificates for the fund will no longer be issued. If you currently hold share certificates of the fund, such certificates will continue to be honored. If you would like to return your share certificates to the fund and hold your shares in uncertificated form, please contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services.

Record ownership

If you hold shares through a Service Agent, your Service Agent may establish and maintain your account and be the shareholder of record. In the event that the fund holds a shareholder meeting, your Service Agent, as record holder, will vote your shares in accordance with your instructions. If you do not give your Service Agent voting instructions, your Service Agent may nonetheless, under certain circumstances, be entitled to vote your shares.

 

Legg Mason Partners Aggressive Growth Fund         29


 

Dividends, distributions and taxes

Dividends and distributions

The fund generally pays dividends and makes capital gain distributions, if any, once a year, typically in December. The fund may pay additional distributions and dividends at other times if necessary for the fund to avoid a federal tax. The fund expects distributions to be primarily from capital gains. Capital gain distributions and dividends are reinvested in additional fund shares of the same class you hold. You do not pay a sales charge on reinvested distributions or dividends. Alternatively, you can instruct your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services to have your distributions and/or dividends paid in cash. You can change your choice at any time to be effective as of the next distribution or dividend.

Taxes

In general, redeeming shares, exchanging shares and receiving dividends and distributions (whether in cash or additional shares) are all taxable events. The following table summarizes the tax status to you of certain transactions related to the fund.

 

Transaction    Federal tax status
Redemption or exchange of shares    Usually capital gain or loss; long-term only if shares owned more than one year
 
Long-term capital gain distributions    Long-term capital gain
 
Dividends    Ordinary income, potentially taxable at long-term capital gain rates
 

Distributions attributable to short-term capital gains are treated as dividends, taxable as ordinary income. Taxable dividends and long-term capital gain distributions are taxable whether received in cash or reinvested in fund shares. Although dividends (including dividends from short-term capital gains) are generally taxable as ordinary income, individual shareholders who satisfy certain holding period and other requirements are taxed on such dividends at long-term capital gain rates to the extent the dividends are attributable to “qualified dividend income” received by the fund. “Qualified dividend income” generally consists of dividends received from U.S. corporations (other than dividends from tax-exempt organizations and certain dividends from real estate investment trusts and regulated investment companies) and certain foreign corporations. Long-term capital gain distributions are taxable to you as long-term capital gain regardless of how long you have owned your shares. You may want to avoid buying shares when the fund is about to declare a long-term capital gain distribution or a dividend because it will be taxable to you even though it may actually be a return of a portion of your investment.

After the end of each year, your Service Agent or the fund will provide you with information about the distributions and dividends you received and any redemptions of shares during the previous year. If you do not provide the fund with your correct taxpayer identification number and any required certifications, you may be subject to back-up withholding on your distributions, dividends and redemption proceeds. Because each

 

30         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

shareholder’s circumstances are different and special tax rules may apply, you should consult your tax adviser about your investment in the fund.

The above discussion is applicable to shareholders who are U.S. persons. If you are a non-U.S. person, please consult your own tax adviser with respect to the U.S. tax consequences to you of an investment in the fund.

 

Legg Mason Partners Aggressive Growth Fund         31


 

Share price

You may buy, exchange or redeem shares at their net asset value next determined after receipt of your request in good order, plus any applicable sales charge. The fund’s net asset value per share is the value of its assets minus its liabilities divided by the number of shares outstanding. Net asset value is calculated separately for each class of shares. The fund calculates its net asset value every day the NYSE is open. This calculation is done when regular trading closes on the NYSE (normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern time). The NYSE is closed on certain holidays listed in the SAI.

The Board has approved procedures to be used to value the fund’s securities for the purposes of determining the fund’s net asset value. The valuation of the securities of the fund is determined in good faith by or under the direction of the Board. The Board has delegated certain valuation functions for the fund to the manager.

The fund generally values its securities based on market prices determined at the close of regular trading on the NYSE. The fund’s currency valuations, if any, are done as of when the London Stock Exchange closes, which is usually at 12 noon Eastern time, as the manager believes that these valuations typically reflect the largest trading volume in the foreign currency markets. A material change in the value of currency during the period between the close of the London Stock Exchange and the calculation of the fund’s net asset value on the same date is considered a significant event, as described below, in response to which the fund may use fair valuation procedures to value the affected investments. For equity securities that are traded on an exchange, the market price is usually the closing sale or official closing price on that exchange. In the case of securities not traded on an exchange, or if such closing prices are not otherwise available, the market price is typically determined by independent third party pricing vendors approved by the fund’s Board using a variety of pricing techniques and methodologies. The market price for debt obligations is generally the price supplied by an independent third party pricing service approved by the fund’s Board, which may use a matrix, formula or other objective method that takes into consideration market indices, yield curves and other specific adjustments. Short-term debt obligations that will mature in 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, unless it is determined that using this method would not reflect an investment’s fair value. If vendors are unable to supply a price, or if the price supplied is deemed by the manager to be unreliable, the market price may be determined using quotations received from one or more broker/dealers that make a market in the security. When such prices or quotations are not available, or when the manager believes that they are unreliable, the manager may price securities using fair value procedures approved by the Board. Because the fund invests in securities of small capitalization companies — some of which may be thinly traded, for which market quotations may not be readily available or may be unreliable — the fund may use fair valuation procedures more frequently than funds that invest primarily in securities that are more liquid, such as securities of large capitalization domestic issuers. The fund may also use fair value procedures if the manager determines that a significant event has occurred between the time at which a market price is determined and the time at which the fund’s net asset value is calculated. In particular, the value of foreign securities may be materially affected by events occurring after the close of the market on which they are valued, but before the fund prices its shares. The fund uses a fair value model

 

32         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

developed by an independent third party pricing service to price foreign equity securities on days when there is a certain percentage change in the value of a domestic equity security index, as such percentage may be determined by the manager from time to time.

Valuing securities at fair value involves greater reliance on judgment than valuation of securities based on readily available market quotations. A fund that uses fair value to price securities may value those securities higher or lower than another fund using market quotations or its own fair value methodologies to price the same securities. There can be no assurance that the fund could obtain the fair value assigned to a security if it were to sell the security at approximately the time at which the fund determines its net asset value.

In order to buy, redeem or exchange shares at that day’s price, you must place your order with your Service Agent or the transfer agent before the NYSE closes. If the NYSE closes early, you must place your order prior to the actual closing time.

It is the responsibility of the Service Agents to transmit all orders to buy, exchange or redeem shares to the transfer agent on a timely basis.

 

Legg Mason Partners Aggressive Growth Fund         33


 

Financial highlights

The financial highlights tables are intended to help you understand the performance of each class for the past five years. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share. Total return represents the rate that a shareholder would have earned (or lost) on a fund share assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions. The information in the following tables has been derived from the fund’s financial statements, which have been audited by                     , independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund’s financial statements, is included in the annual report (available upon request). The financial information shown below is that of the fund’s predecessor. Effective April 29, 2004, Class L shares of the fund were renamed Class C shares. As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares of the fund were renamed Class I shares.

Financial highlights for Class FI and Class R shares are not provided as these classes were not outstanding as of August 31, 2006.

 

For a Class A share of capital stock outstanding throughout each year ended August 31:   
Class A Shares (1)   2006     2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net asset value, beginning of year

  $ 101.83     $ 84.33     $ 78.36     $ 62.24     $ 91.46  
   

Income (loss) from operations:

         

Net investment loss

    (0.64 )     (0.63 )     (0.71 )     (0.58 )     (0.71 )

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    8.17       18.13       6.68       16.70       (28.51 )
   

Total income (loss) from operations

    7.53       17.50       5.97       16.12       (29.22 )
   

Net asset value, end of year

  $ 109.36     $ 101.83     $ 84.33     $ 78.36     $ 62.24  
   

Total return (2)

    7.39 %     20.75 %     7.62 %     25.90 %     (31.95 )%
   

Net assets, end of year (millions)

    $4,274       $3,677       $2,959       $2,332       $1,639  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

         

Gross expenses

    1.13 %     1.21 %     1.21 %     1.22 %     1.21 %

Net expenses

    1.13 (3)     1.21       1.19 (3)     1.22       1.21  

Net investment loss

    (0.59 )     (0.69 )     (0.82 )     (0.86 )     (0.88 )
   

Portfolio turnover rate

    5 %     2 %     5 %     1 %     1 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   Performance figures may reflect fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower.

 

(3)   Reflects fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements.

 

34         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

For a Class B share of capital stock outstanding throughout each year ended August 31:
Class B Shares (1)   2006     2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net asset value, beginning of year

  $ 91.33     $ 76.25     $ 71.43     $ 57.19     $  84.73  
   

Income (loss) from operations:

         

Net investment loss

    (1.36 )     (1.23 )     (1.28 )     (1.03 )     (1.26 )

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    7.31       16.31       6.10       15.27       (26.28 )
   

Total income (loss) from operations

    5.95       15.08       4.82       14.24       (27.54 )
   

Net asset value, end of year

  $ 97.28     $ 91.33     $ 76.25     $ 71.43     $ 57.19  
   

Total return (2)

    6.51 %     19.78 %     6.75 %     24.90 %     (32.50 )%
   

Net assets, end of year (millions)

    $2,251       $2,326       $2,124       $1,984       $1,542  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

         

Gross expenses

    1.95 %     2.01 %     2.03 %     2.03 %     2.03 %

Net expenses

    1.95 (3)     2.01       2.01 (3)     2.03       2.03  

Net investment loss

    (1.42 )     (1.49 )     (1.64 )     (1.67 )     (1.70 )
   

Portfolio turnover rate

    5 %     2 %     5 %     1 %     1 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   Performance figures may reflect fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower.

 

(3)   Reflects fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements.

 

For a Class C share of capital stock outstanding throughout each year ended August 31:
Class C Shares (1)   2006     2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net asset value, beginning of year

  $ 91.94     $ 76.69     $ 71.79     $ 57.44     $  85.03  
   

Income (loss) from operations:

         

Net investment loss

    (1.21 )     (1.17 )     (1.22 )     (0.99 )     (1.20 )

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    7.36       16.42       6.12       15.34       (26.39 )
   

Total income (loss) from operations

    6.15       15.25       4.90       14.35       (27.59 )
   

Net asset value, end of year

  $ 98.09     $ 91.94     $ 76.69     $ 71.79     $ 57.44  
   

Total return (2)

    6.69 %     19.89 %     6.83 %     24.98 %     (32.45 )%
   

Net assets, end of year (millions)

    $1,900       $1,782       $1,611       $1,415       $1,076  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

         

Gross expenses

    1.80 %     1.93 %     1.95 %     1.96 %     1.95 %

Net expenses

    1.78 (3)     1.93       1.93 (3)     1.96       1.95  

Net investment loss

    (1.24 )     (1.40 )     (1.56 )     (1.60 )     (1.62 )
   

Portfolio turnover rate

    5 %     2 %     5 %     1 %     1 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   Performance figures may reflect fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower.

 

(3)   Reflects fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements.

 

Legg Mason Partners Aggressive Growth Fund         35


 

For a Class I share of capital stock outstanding throughout each year ended August 31:  
Class I Shares (1) (2)   2006     2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net asset value, beginning of year

  $105.71     $ 87.18     $80.67     $63.81     $93.38  
   

Income (loss) from operations:

         

Net investment loss

  (0.19 )   (0.25 )   (0.36 )   (0.30 )   (0.41 )

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

  8.48     18.78     6.87     17.16     (29.16 )
   

Total income (loss) from operations

  8.29     18.53     6.51     16.86     (29.57 )
   

Net asset value, end of year

  $114.00     $105.71     $87.18     $80.67     $63.81  
   

Total return (3)

  7.84 %   21.25 %   8.07 %   26.42 %   (31.67 )%
   

Net assets, end of year (millions)

  $1,798     $1,564     $1,186     $876     $178  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

         

Gross expenses

  0.71 %   0.79 %   0.80 %   0.81 %   0.82 %

Net expenses

  0.70 (4)   0.79     0.78 (4)   0.81     0.82  

Net investment loss

  (0.17 )   (0.27 )   (0.40 )   (0.43 )   (0.49 )
   

Portfolio turnover rate

  5 %   2 %   5 %   1 %   1 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.
(2)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

(3)   Performance figures may reflect fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower.

 

(4)   Reflects fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements.

 

36         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

 

 

 

(Investment Company Act

file no. 811-06444)

FD01060         

LOGO

LOGO

 

Legg Mason Partners Aggressive Growth Fund

You may visit the fund’s website at http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices for a free copy of a Prospectus, Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) or an Annual or Semi-Annual Report, or to request other information.

Shareholder reports Additional information about the fund’s investments is available in the fund’s Annual and Semi-Annual Reports to shareholders. In the fund’s Annual Report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the fund’s performance.

The fund sends only one report to a household if more than one account has the same address. Contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services if you do not want this policy to apply to you.

Statement of additional information The SAI provides more detailed information about the fund and is incorporated by reference into (is legally a part of) this Prospectus.

You can make inquiries about the fund or obtain shareholders reports (without charge) by contacting your Service Agent, by calling Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010, (or for clients of a PFSI Registered Representative, call Primerica Shareholder Services at 800-544-5445) or by writing to the fund at Legg Mason Partners Funds, 125 Broad Street, New York, New York 10004.

Information about the fund (including the SAI) can be reviewed and copied at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “SEC”) Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. In addition, information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. Reports and other information about the fund are available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s Internet site at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of this information may be obtained for a duplicating fee by electronic request at the following E-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov , or by writing the SEC’s Public Reference Section, Washington, D.C. 20549-0102.

If someone makes a statement about the fund that is not in this Prospectus, you should not rely upon that information. Neither the fund nor its distributors are offering to sell shares of the fund to any person to whom the fund may not lawfully sell its shares.


[Date], 2007

 

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS AGGRESSIVE GROWTH FUND

 

125 Broad Street

New York, New York 10004

(800) 451-2010

 

This Statement of Additional Information (the “SAI”) is not a prospectus and is meant to be read in conjunction with the current prospectus of the Legg Mason Partners Aggressive Growth Fund (the “fund”), dated [Date], 2007, and is incorporated by reference in its entirety into the fund’s prospectus.

 

As part of a number of initiatives launched in 2006 to restructure and streamline the Legg Mason Partners fund complex, the fund assumed the assets and liabilities of a predecessor fund with the same name. The fund is now grouped for organizational and governance purposes with other Legg Mason Partners funds that are predominantly equity-type funds, and is a series of Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”), a Massachusetts business trust. Other initiatives, including the election of a new Board and the approval of certain revised fundamental investment policies, have also been accomplished, and more information on these matters appears in this SAI. If certain remaining initiatives are accomplished, the fund will become a series of Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust, a Maryland business trust. Certain historical information contained in the SAI is that of the fund’s predecessor.

 

Additional information about the fund’s investments is available in the fund’s annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. These reports contain financial statements that are [        ] by reference. A prospectus and copies of the reports may be obtained free of charge by contacting a distributor’s financial advisor or registered representative, a broker/dealer, financial intermediary or a financial institution that has entered into an agreement with one of the fund’s distributors, (each called a “Service Agent”), or by writing or calling the fund at the address or telephone number set forth above. Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC (“LMIS”), a wholly-owned broker/dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”), Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”) and PFS Investments Inc. (“PFS”) serve as the fund’s distributors.

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

Investment Objective and Management Policies

   2

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

   6

Management

   13

Investment Management and Other Services

   21

Portfolio Manager Disclosure

   31

Purchase of Shares

   33

Redemption of Shares

   40

Valuation of Shares

   42

Exchange Privilege

   43

Taxes

   44

Additional Information

   48

Financial Statements

   55

Appendix A-Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

   A-1

 

1


INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE AND MANAGEMENT POLICIES

 

The fund’s investment objective is to seek capital appreciation. The fund’s prospectus discusses the fund’s investment objective and policies. The fund has called a meeting of shareholders to consider several proposals. If approved by shareholders, the fund’s investment objective may be changed without shareholder approval. The following discussion supplements the description of the fund’s investment policies in the prospectus. Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC (“LMPFA” or the “manager”) serves as investment manager to the fund. ClearBridge Advisors, LLC (“ClearBridge” or the “subadviser”) serves as the subadviser to the fund.

 

Principal Investment Strategies

 

The fund invests primarily in common stocks of companies that the portfolio manager believes are experiencing, or will experience, growth in earnings that exceeds the average rate of earnings growth of the companies which comprise the S&P 500 Index. The fund may invest in the securities of large, well-known companies that offer prospects of long-term earnings growth. However, because higher earnings growth rates are often achieved by small- to medium-sized companies, a significant portion of the fund’s assets may be invested in the securities of such companies.

 

Additional Information

 

The fund’s principal investment strategies are described above. The following provides additional information on these principal strategies and describes other investment strategies that may be used by the fund.

 

Although the portfolio managers anticipate that the assets of the fund ordinarily will be invested primarily in common stocks of U.S. companies, the fund may invest in convertible securities, preferred stocks, securities of foreign issuers, warrants and restricted securities. In addition, when the portfolio managers believe that market conditions warrant, the fund may invest for temporary defensive purposes in any type of money market instruments and short-term debt securities or cash. The fund is also authorized to borrow up to 5% of its total assets for extraordinary or emergency purposes.

 

Certain Risk Considerations.     Securities of the kinds of companies in which the fund invests may be subject to significant price fluctuation and above-average risk. In addition, companies achieving an earnings growth rate higher than that of S&P 500 companies tend to reinvest their earnings rather than distribute them. As a result, the fund is not likely to receive significant dividend income on its portfolio securities. Accordingly, an investment in the fund should not be considered as a complete investment program and may not be appropriate for all investors.

 

Convertible Securities.     Convertible securities are fixed-income securities that may be converted at either a stated price or stated rate into underlying shares of common stock. Convertible securities have general characteristics similar to both fixed-income and equity securities. Although to a lesser extent than with fixed- income securities generally, the market value of convertible securities tends to decline as interest rates increase and, conversely, tends to increase as interest rates decline. In addition, because of the conversion feature, the market value of convertible securities tends to vary with fluctuations in the market value of the underlying common stocks and therefore also will react to variations in the general market for equity securities. A unique feature of convertible securities is that as the market price of the underlying common stock declines, convertible securities tend to trade increasingly on a yield basis, and so may not experience market value declines to the same extent as the underlying common stock. When the market price of the underlying common stock increases, the prices of the convertible securities tend to rise as a reflection of the value of the underlying common stock. While no securities investments are without risk, investments in convertible securities generally entail less risk than investments in common stock of the same issuer.

 

As fixed-income securities, convertible securities are investments that provide for a stable stream of income with generally higher yields than common stocks. Of course, like all fixed-income securities, there can be no

 

2


assurance of current income because the issuers of the convertible securities may default on their obligations. Convertible securities, however, generally offer lower interest or dividend yields than non-convertible securities of similar quality because of the potential for capital appreciation. A convertible security, in addition to providing fixed income, offers the potential for capital appreciation through the conversion feature, which enables the holder to benefit from increases in the market price of the underlying common stock. There can be no assurance of capital appreciation, however, because securities prices fluctuate.

 

Convertible securities generally are subordinated to other similar but nonconvertible securities of the same issuer, although convertible bonds, as corporate debt obligations, enjoy seniority in right of payment to all equity securities, and convertible preferred stock is senior to common stock, of the same issuer. Because of the subordination feature, however, convertible securities typically have lower ratings than similar non-convertible securities.

 

Foreign Securities.     The fund may invest up to 10% of its net assets (at the time of investment) in foreign securities. The fund may invest directly in foreign issuers or invest in depositary receipts. The fund’s investments in foreign securities may involve greater risk than investments in securities of U.S. issuers. Because the value of a depositary receipt is dependent upon the market price of an underlying foreign security, depositary receipts are subject to most of the risks associated with investing in foreign securities directly. There are certain risks involved in investing in foreign securities, including those resulting from fluctuations in currency exchange rates, revaluation of currencies, future political or economic developments and the possible imposition of currency exchange blockages or other foreign governmental laws or restrictions, reduced availability of public information concerning issuers, and the fact that foreign companies are not generally subject to uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards or to other regulatory practices and requirements comparable to those applicable to domestic companies. Moreover, securities of many foreign companies may be less liquid and their prices more volatile than securities of comparable domestic companies. In addition, with respect to certain foreign countries, there is the possibility of expropriation, confiscatory taxation and limitations on the use or removal of funds or other assets of the fund, including the withholding of dividends. The risks of investing in foreign securities are greater for securities of emerging market issuers because political or economic instability, lack of market liquidity, and negative government actions like currency controls or seizure of private businesses or property are more likely.

 

Index-Related Securities.     The fund may invest in certain types of securities that enable investors to purchase or sell shares in a portfolio of securities that seeks to track the performance of an underlying index or a portion of an index (“Equity Equivalents”). Such Equity Equivalents include among others DIAMONDS (interests in a portfolio of securities that seeks to track the performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average), SPDRs or Standard & Poor’s Depositary Receipts (interests in a portfolio of securities that seeks to track the performance of the S&P 500 Index), and the Nasdaq-100 Trust (interests in a portfolio of securities of the largest and most actively traded non-financial companies listed on The Nasdaq Stock Market). Such securities are similar to index mutual funds, but they are traded on various stock exchanges or secondary markets. The value of these securities is dependent upon the performance of the underlying index on which they are based. Thus, these securities are subject to the same risks as their underlying indexes as well as the securities that make up those indexes. For example, if the securities comprising an index that an index-related security seeks to track perform poorly, the index-related security will lose value.

 

Equity Equivalents may be used for several purposes, including to simulate full investment in the underlying index while retaining a cash balance for fund management purposes, to facilitate trading, to reduce transaction costs or to seek higher investment returns where an Equity Equivalent is priced more attractively than securities in the underlying index. Because the expense associated with an investment in Equity Equivalents may be substantially lower than the expense of small investments directly in the securities comprising the indices they seek to track, investments in Equity Equivalents may provide a cost-effective means of diversifying the fund’s assets across a broad range of equity securities.

 

To the extent the fund invests in securities of other investment companies, fund shareholders would indirectly pay a portion of the operating costs of such companies in addition to the expenses of its own operation.

 

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These costs include management, brokerage, shareholder servicing and other operational expenses. Indirectly, then, shareholders of the fund that invests in Equity Equivalents may pay higher operational costs than if they owned the underlying investment companies directly. Additionally, the fund’s investments in such investment companies are subject to limitations under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), and market availability.

 

The prices of Equity Equivalents are derived and based upon the securities held by the particular investment company. Accordingly, the level of risk involved in the purchase or sale of an Equity Equivalent is similar to the risk involved in the purchase or sale of traditional common stock, with the exception that the pricing mechanism for such instruments is based on a basket of stocks. The market prices of Equity Equivalents are expected to fluctuate in accordance with both changes in the net asset values of their underlying indices and the supply and demand for the instruments on the exchanges on which they are traded. Substantial market or other disruptions affecting an Equity Equivalent could adversely affect the liquidity and value of the shares of the fund investing in such instruments.

 

Repurchase Agreements.     The fund will enter into repurchase agreements with banks which are the issuers of instruments acceptable for purchase by the fund and with certain dealers on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s list of reporting dealers. Under the terms of a typical repurchase agreement, the fund would acquire an underlying obligation for a relatively short period (usually not more than one week) subject to an obligation of the seller to repurchase, and the fund to resell, the obligation at an agreed-upon price and time, thereby determining the yield during the fund’s holding period. This arrangement results in a fixed rate of return that is not subject to market fluctuations during the fund’s holding period. Under each repurchase agreement, the selling institution will be required to maintain the value of the securities subject to the repurchase agreement at not less than their repurchase price. Repurchase agreements could involve certain risks in the event of default or insolvency of the other party, including possible delays or restrictions upon the fund’s ability to dispose of the underlying securities, the risk of a possible decline in the value of the underlying securities during the period in which the fund seeks to assert its rights to them, the risk of incurring expenses associated with asserting those rights and the risk of losing all or part of the income from the agreement. The manager reviews on an ongoing basis the creditworthiness of those banks and dealers with which the fund enters into repurchase agreements to evaluate potential risk.

 

Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), the fund, along with other affiliated entities managed by the manager, may transfer uninvested cash balances into one or more joint repurchase accounts. These balances are invested in one or more repurchase agreements, secured by U.S. government securities. Securities that are collateral for repurchase agreements are financial assets subject to the fund’s entitlement orders through its securities account at its custodian bank until the agreements mature. Each joint repurchase agreement requires that the market value of the collateral be sufficient to cover payments of interest and principal; however, in the event of default by the other party to the agreement, retention or sale of the collateral may be subject to legal proceedings.

 

Lending of Portfolio Securities.     The fund has the ability to lend securities from its portfolio to brokers, dealers and other financial organizations. Such loans, if and when made, will be consistent with applicable regulatory requirements. Loans of portfolio securities by the fund will be collateralized by cash, letters of credit or securities issued or guaranteed by the United States government, its agencies or instrumentalities (“U.S. government securities”) which will be maintained at all times in an amount equal to at least 100% of the current market value of the loaned securities. From time to time, the fund may return to the borrower and/or a third party, which is unaffiliated with the fund, Legg Mason, or CGMI and is acting as a “finder,” a part of the interest earned from the investment of collateral received for securities loaned.

 

Generally, the borrower will be required to make payments to the fund in lieu of any dividends the fund would have otherwise received had it not loaned the shares to the borrower. Any such payments, however, will not be treated as “qualified dividend income” for purposes of determining what portion of the fund’s regular

 

4


dividends (as defined below) received by individuals may be taxed at the rates generally applicable to long-term capital gains (see “Taxes” below).

 

In lending its portfolio securities, the fund can increase its income by continuing to receive interest on the loaned securities as well as by either investing the cash collateral in short-term instruments or obtaining yield in the form of interest paid by the borrower when government securities are used as collateral. Requirements of the SEC, which may be subject to future modifications, currently provide that the following conditions must be met whenever portfolio securities are loaned: (a) the fund must receive at least 100% cash collateral or equivalent securities from the borrower; (b) the borrower must increase such collateral whenever the market value of the securities rises above the level of such collateral; (c) the fund must be able to terminate the loan at any time; (d) the fund must receive reasonable interest on the loan, as well as an amount equal to any dividends, interest or other distributions on the loaned securities, and any increase in market value; (e) the fund may pay only reasonable custodian fees in connection with the loan; and (f) voting rights on the loaned securities may pass to the borrower; however, if a material event adversely affecting the investment occurs, the fund’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) must terminate the loan and regain the right to vote the securities. The risks in lending portfolio securities, as with other extensions of secured credit, consist of possible delay in receiving additional collateral or in the recovery of the securities or possible loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower fail financially. Loans will be made to firms deemed by the manager to be of good standing and will not be made unless, in the judgment of the manager, the consideration to be earned from such loans would justify the risk.

 

Warrants.     Because a warrant does not carry with it the right to dividends or voting rights with respect to the securities that the warrant holder is entitled to purchase, and because it does not represent any rights to the assets of the issuer, warrants may be considered more speculative than certain other types of investments. Also, the value of a warrant does not necessarily change with the value of the underlying securities and a warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date.

 

Restricted Securities.     Restricted securities are those that may not be sold publicly without first being registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”). For that reason, the fund may not be able to dispose of restricted securities at a time when, or at a price at which, it desires to do so and may have to bear expenses associated with registering the securities. At any one time, the fund’s aggregate holdings of restricted securities, repurchase agreements having a duration of more than five business days, and securities lacking readily available market quotations will not exceed 15% of the fund’s net assets.

 

Portfolio Turnover.     The fund’s investment policies may result in its experiencing a greater portfolio turnover rate than those of investment companies that seek to produce income or to maintain a balanced investment position. Although the fund’s portfolio turnover rate cannot be predicted and will vary from year to year, the subadviser expects that the fund’s annual portfolio turnover rate will not exceed 100%. A 100% portfolio turnover rate would occur if all securities in the fund’s portfolio were replaced once during a period of one year. A higher rate of portfolio turnover in any year will increase brokerage commissions paid and could result in high amounts of realized investment gain subject to the payment of taxes by shareholders. Any realized short-term investment gain will be taxed to shareholders as ordinary income.

 

Money Market Instruments.     The fund may invest for defensive purposes in corporate and government bonds and notes and money market instruments. Money market instruments in which the fund may invest include: U.S. government securities; certificates of deposit, time deposits and bankers’ acceptances issued by domestic banks (including their branches located outside the United States and subsidiaries located in Canada), domestic branches of foreign banks, savings and loan associations and similar institutions; high grade commercial paper; and repurchase agreements with respect to the foregoing types of instruments.

 

5


DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS

 

The funds have adopted policies and procedures developed by LMPFA, the funds’ investment manager, with respect to the disclosure of the funds’ portfolio securities and any ongoing arrangements to make available information about each fund’s portfolio securities. The policy requires that consideration always be given as to whether disclosure of information about any fund’s portfolio holdings is in the best interests of such fund’s shareholders, and that any conflicts of interest between the interests of the fund’s shareholders and those of LMPFA, the fund’s Distributors, or their affiliates, be addressed in a manner that places the interests of fund shareholders first. The policy provides that information regarding a fund’s portfolio holdings may not be shared with non-Legg Mason employees, with investors or potential investors (whether individual or institutional), or with third parties unless it is done for legitimate fund business purposes and in accordance with the policy.

 

LMPFA’s policy generally provides for the release of details of securities positions once they are considered “stale.” Data is considered stale 25 calendar days following quarter-end for funds other than money market funds, and 25 calendar days following month-end with respect to money market funds. LMPFA believes that this passage of time prevents a third party from benefiting from an investment decision made by a fund that has not been fully reflected by the market.

 

Under the policy, a fund’s complete list of holdings (including the size of each position) may be made available to investors, potential investors, third parties and non-Legg Mason employees with simultaneous public disclosure at least 25 days after calendar quarter end, except in the case of a money market fund’s holdings, which may be released with simultaneous public disclosure at least 25 days after month end. Typically, simultaneous public disclosure is achieved by the filing of Form N-Q or Form N-CSR in accordance with SEC rules, provided that such filings may not be made until 25 days following quarter-end and/or posting the information to a Legg Mason or the funds’ Internet site that is accessible by the public, or through public release by a third party vendor.

 

The policy permits the release of limited portfolio holdings information that is not yet considered stale in a number of situations, including:

 

1.    A fund’s top ten securities, current as of month-end, and the individual size of each such security position may be released at any time following month-end with simultaneous public disclosure.

 

2.    A fund’s top ten securities positions (including the aggregate but not individual size of such positions) may be released at any time with simultaneous public disclosure.

 

3.    A list of securities (that may include fund holdings together with other securities) followed by a portfolio manager (without position sizes or identification of particular funds) may be disclosed to sell-side brokers at any time for the purpose of obtaining research and/or market information from such brokers.

 

4.    A trade in process may be discussed only with counterparties, potential counterparties and others involved in the transaction (i.e., brokers and custodians).

 

5.    A fund’s sector weightings, yield and duration (for fixed income and money market funds), performance attribution (e.g. analysis of the fund’s out performance or underperformance of its benchmark based on its portfolio holdings) and other summary and statistical information that does not include identification of specific portfolio holdings may be released, even if non-public, if such release is otherwise in accordance with the policy’s general principles.

 

6.    A fund’s portfolio holdings may be released on an as-needed basis to its legal counsel, counsel to its independent trustees, and its independent public accountants, in required regulatory filings or otherwise to governmental agencies and authorities.

 

Under the policy, if information about a fund’s portfolio holdings is released pursuant to an ongoing arrangement with any party, a fund must have a legitimate business purpose for the release of the information,

 

6


and either the party receiving the information must be under a duty of confidentiality, or the release of non-public information must be subject to trading restrictions and confidential treatment to prohibit the entity from sharing with an unauthorized source or trading upon any non-public information provided. Neither a fund, nor Legg Mason, nor any other affiliated party may receive compensation or any other consideration in connection with such arrangements. Ongoing arrangements to make available information about a fund’s portfolio securities will be reviewed at least annually by a fund’s Board.

 

The approval of a fund’s Chief Compliance Officer, or designee, must be obtained before entering into any new ongoing arrangement or altering any existing ongoing arrangement to make available portfolio holdings information, or with respect to any exceptions to the policy. Any exceptions to the policy must be consistent with the purposes of the policy. Exceptions are considered on a case-by-case basis and are granted only after a thorough examination and consultation with LMPFA’s legal department, as necessary. Exceptions to the policies are reported to a fund’s Board at its next regularly scheduled meeting.

 

Currently, the funds disclose their complete portfolio holdings approximately 25 days after calendar quarter end on their website at http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices.

 

Set forth below is a list, as of [Date], 2007, of those parties with whom LMPFA, on behalf of a fund, has authorized ongoing arrangements that include the release of portfolio holdings information in accordance with the policy, as well as the frequency of the release under such arrangements, and the length of the lag, if any, between the date of the information and the date on which the information is disclosed. The parties identified below as recipients are service providers, fund rating agencies, consultants and analysts.

 

[To be updated by amendment]

 

Recipient


  

Frequency


  

Delay before dissemination


State Street Bank and Trust Company (Fund Custodian and Accounting Agent)

   Daily    None

Institutional Shareholders Services (Proxy Voting Services)

   As necessary    None

Bloomberg

   Quarterly    25 days after quarter end

Lipper

   Quarterly    25 days after quarter end

S&P

   Quarterly    25 days after quarter end

Morningstar

   Quarterly    25 days after quarter end

Vestek

   Daily    None

Factset

   Daily    None

Bank of New York

   Daily    None

 

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Portfolio holdings information for the fund may also be released from time to time pursuant to ongoing arrangements with the following parties:

 

Recipient


 

Frequency


  

Delay before dissemination


Baseline

  Daily    None

Frank Russell

  Monthly    1 day

Callan

  Quarterly    25 days after quarter end

Mercer

  Quarterly    25 days after quarter end

eVestment Alliance

  Quarterly    25 days after quarter end

CRA RogersCasey

  Quarterly    25 days after quarter end

Cambridge Associates

  Quarterly    25 days after quarter end

Marco Consulting

  Quarterly    25 days after quarter end

Wilshire

  Quarterly    25 days after quarter end

Informa Investment Services (Efron)

  Quarterly    25 days after quarter end

CheckFree (Mobius)

  Quarterly    25 days after quarter end

Nelsons Information

  Quarterly    25 days after quarter end

Investor Tools

  Daily    None

Advent

  Daily    None

BARRA

  Daily    None

Plexus

  Quarterly (Calendar)    Sent 1-3 business days following the end of a quarter

Elkins/McSherry

  Quarterly (Calendar)    Sent 1-3 business days following the end of a quarter

Quantitative Services Group

  Daily    None

AMBAC

  Daily    None

Deutsche Bank

  Monthly    6-8 business days

Fitch

  Monthly    6-8 business days

Liberty Hampshire

  Weekly and Month End    None

Sun Trust

  Weekly and Month End    None

New England Pension Consultants

  Quarterly    25 days after quarter end

Evaluation Associates

  Quarterly    25 days after quarter end

Watson Wyatt

  Quarterly    25 days after quarter end

S&P (Rating Agency)

  Weekly Tuesday Night    1 business day

Moody’s (Rating Agency)

  Weekly Tuesday Night    1 business day

 

Investment Restrictions

 

The fund has adopted the investment restrictions below for the protection of shareholders. Restrictions 1 through 7 may not be changed without the vote of a majority of the outstanding shares of the fund, defined under the 1940 Act as the lesser of (a) 67% or more of the shares present at a fund meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the fund are present in person or represented by proxy or (b) more than 50% of the fund’s outstanding shares. As discussed under “Proposed Investment Restrictions” below, the fund is proposing to change its investment restrictions.

 

Current Investment Restrictions

 

Under the investment restrictions adopted by the fund, the fund may not:

 

1.  Invest in a manner that would cause it to fail to be a “diversified company” under the 1940 Act and the rules, regulations and orders thereunder.

 

2.  Issue “senior securities” as defined in the 1940 Act and the rules, regulations and orders thereunder, except as permitted under the 1940 Act and the rules, regulations and orders thereunder.

 

8


3.  Invest more than 25% of its total assets in securities, the issuers of which conduct their principal business activities in the same industry. For purposes of this limitation, securities of the U.S. government (including its agencies and instrumentalities) and securities of state or municipal governments and their political subdivisions are not considered to be issued by members of any industry.

 

4.  Make loans. This restriction does not apply to: (a) the purchase of debt obligations in which the fund may invest consistent with its investment objective and policies; (b) repurchase agreements; and (c) loans of its portfolio securities, to the fullest extent permitted under the 1940 Act.

 

5.  Engage in the business of underwriting securities issued by other persons, except to the extent that the fund may technically be deemed to be an underwriter under the 1933 Act, in disposing of portfolio securities.

 

6.  Purchase or sell real estate, real estate mortgages, commodities or commodity contracts, but this restriction shall not prevent the fund from: (a) investing in securities of issuers engaged in the real estate business or the business of investing in real estate (including interests in limited partnerships owning or otherwise engaging in the real estate business or the business of investing in real estate) and securities which are secured by real estate or interests therein; (b) holding or selling real estate received in connection with securities it holds or held; (c) trading in futures contracts and options on futures contracts (including options on currencies to the extent consistent with the fund’s investment objective and policies); or (d) investing in real estate investment trust securities.

 

7.  Borrow money except that (a) the fund may borrow from banks for temporary or emergency (not leveraging) purposes, including the meeting of redemption requests which might otherwise require the untimely disposition of securities, and (b) the fund may, to the extent consistent with its investment policies, enter into reverse repurchase agreements, forward roll transactions and similar investment strategies and techniques. To the extent that it engages in transactions described in (a) and (b), the fund will be limited so that no more than 33  1 / 3 % of the value of its total assets (including the amount borrowed), valued at the lesser of cost or market, less liabilities (not including the amount borrowed), is derived from such transactions.

 

8.  Purchase any securities on margin (except for such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of purchases and sales of portfolio securities) or sell any securities short (except “against the box”). For purposes of this restriction, the deposit or payment by the fund of underlying securities and other assets in escrow and collateral agreements with respect to initial or maintenance margin in connection with futures contracts and related options and options on securities, indexes or similar items is not considered to be the purchase of a security on margin.

 

9.  Purchase or otherwise acquire any security if, as a result, more than 15% of its net assets would be invested in securities that are illiquid.

 

10.  Invest more than 5% of the value of its net assets (valued at the lower of cost or market) in warrants, of which no more than 2% of net assets may be invested in warrants not listed on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) or the American Stock Exchange (“AMEX”). The acquisition of warrants attached to other securities is not subject to this restriction.

 

11.  Purchase, sell or write put, call, straddle or spread options.

 

12.  Purchase participations or other direct interests in oil, gas or other mineral exploration or development programs.

 

13.  Invest in companies for the purpose of exercising management or control.

 

14.  Invest more than 5% of the value of its total assets in securities of issuers having a record of fewer than three years of continual operation except that the restriction will not apply to U.S. government securities. (For purposes of this restriction, issuers include predecessors, sponsors, controlling persons, general partners, and guarantors of underlying assets.)

 

9


If any percentage restriction described above is complied with at the time of an investment, a later increase or decrease in percentage resulting from a change in values or assets will not constitute a violation of such restriction.

 

Proposed Investment Restrictions

 

The fund has called a meeting of its shareholders to consider several proposals, including the adoption of revised fundamental investments policies or restrictions. If approved by the fund’s shareholders, the fund’s revised fundamental policies will be as follows:

 

1.  The fund may not borrow money except as permitted by (i) the 1940 Act, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

 

2.  The fund may not engage in the business of underwriting the securities of other issuers except as permitted by (i) the 1940 Act, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

 

3.  The fund may lend money or other assets to the extent permitted by (i) the 1940 Act, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

 

4.  The fund may not issue senior securities except as permitted by (i) the 1940 Act, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

 

5.  The fund may not purchase or sell real estate except as permitted by (i) the 1940 Act, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

 

6.  The fund may purchase or sell commodities or contracts related to commodities to the extent permitted by (i) the 1940 Act, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

 

7.  Except as permitted by exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, the fund may not make any investment if, as a result, the fund’s investments will be concentrated in any one industry.

 

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to borrowing money set forth in (1) above, the 1940 Act permits a fund to borrow money in amounts of up to one-third of the fund’s total assets from banks for any purpose, and to borrow up to 5% of the fund’s total assets from banks or other lenders for temporary purposes. To limit the risks attendant to borrowing, the 1940 Act requires the fund to maintain at all times an “asset coverage” of at least 300% of the amount of its borrowings. Asset coverage means the ratio that the value of the fund’s total assets, minus liabilities other than borrowings, bears to the aggregate amount of all borrowings. Certain trading practices and investments, such as reverse repurchase agreements, may be considered to be borrowings and thus subject to the 1940 Act restrictions. Borrowing money to increase portfolio holdings is known as “leveraging.” Borrowing, especially when used for leverage, may cause the value of a fund’s shares to be more volatile than if the fund did not borrow. This is because borrowing tends to magnify the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of the fund’s portfolio holdings. Borrowed money thus creates an opportunity for greater gains, but also greater losses. To repay borrowings, the fund may have to sell securities at a time and at a price that is unfavorable to the fund. There also are costs associated with borrowing money, and these costs would offset and could eliminate a fund’s net investment income in any given period. Currently the fund does not contemplate borrowing money for leverage, but if the fund does so, it will not likely do so to a substantial degree. The policy in (1) above will be interpreted to permit a fund to engage in trading practices and investments that

 

10


may be considered to be borrowing to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act. Short-term credits necessary for the settlement of securities transactions and arrangements with respect to securities lending will not be considered to be borrowings under the policy. Practices and investments that may involve leverage but are not considered to be borrowings are not subject to the policy.

 

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to underwriting set forth in (2) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from engaging in the underwriting business or from underwriting the securities of other issuers; in fact, the 1940 Act permits a fund to have underwriting commitments of up to 25% of its assets under certain circumstances. Those circumstances currently are that the amount of the fund’s underwriting commitments, when added to the value of the fund’s investments in issuers where the fund owns more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of those issuers, cannot exceed the 25% cap. A fund engaging in transactions involving the acquisition or disposition of portfolio securities may be considered to be an underwriter under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”). Under the 1933 Act, an underwriter may be liable for material omissions or misstatements in an issuer’s registration statement or prospectus. Securities purchased from an issuer and not registered for sale under the 1933 Act are considered restricted securities. There may be a limited market for these securities. If these securities are registered under the 1933 Act, they may then be eligible for sale but participating in the sale may subject the seller to underwriter liability. These risks could apply to a fund investing in restricted securities. Although it is not believed that the application of the 1933 Act provisions described above would cause a fund to be engaged in the business of underwriting, the policy in (2) above will be interpreted not to prevent the fund from engaging in transactions involving the acquisition or disposition of portfolio securities, regardless of whether the fund may be considered to be an underwriter under the 1933 Act.

 

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to lending set forth in (3) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from making loans; however, SEC staff interpretations currently prohibit funds from lending more than one-third of their total assets, except through the purchase of debt obligations or the use of repurchase agreements. (A repurchase agreement is an agreement to purchase a security, coupled with an agreement to sell that security back to the original seller on an agreed-upon date at a price that reflects current interest rates. The SEC frequently treats repurchase agreements as loans.) While lending securities may be a source of income to a fund, as with other extensions of credit, there are risks of delay in recovery or even loss of rights in the underlying securities should the borrower fail financially. However, loans would be made only when the fund’s manager or a sub-adviser believes the income justifies the attendant risks. The fund also will be permitted by this policy to make loans of money, including to other funds. A fund would have to obtain exemptive relief from the SEC to make loans to other funds. The policy in (3) above will be interpreted not to prevent a fund from purchasing or investing in debt obligations and loans. In addition, collateral arrangements with respect to options, forward currency and futures transactions and other derivative instruments, as well as delays in the settlement of securities transactions, will not be considered loans.

 

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to issuing senior securities set forth in (4) above, “senior securities” are defined as fund obligations that have a priority over the fund’s shares with respect to the payment of dividends or the distribution of fund assets. The 1940 Act prohibits a fund from issuing senior securities except that the fund may borrow money in amounts of up to one-third of the fund’s total assets from banks for any purpose. A fund also may borrow up to 5% of the fund’s total assets from banks or other lenders for temporary purposes, and these borrowings are not considered senior securities. The issuance of senior securities by a fund can increase the speculative character of the fund’s outstanding shares through leveraging. Leveraging of a fund’s portfolio through the issuance of senior securities magnifies the potential for gain or loss on monies, because even though the fund’s net assets remain the same, the total risk to investors is increased to the extent of the fund’s gross assets. The policy in (4) above will be interpreted not to prevent collateral arrangements with respect to swaps, options, forward or futures contracts or other derivatives, or the posting of initial or variation margin.

 

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to real estate set forth in (5) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from owning real estate; however, a fund is limited in the amount of illiquid assets it may

 

11


purchase. Investing in real estate may involve risks, including that real estate is generally considered illiquid and may be difficult to value and sell. Owners of real estate may be subject to various liabilities, including environmental liabilities. To the extent that investments in real estate are considered illiquid, the current SEC staff position generally limits a fund’s purchases of illiquid securities to 15% of net assets. The policy in (5) above will be interpreted not to prevent a fund from investing in real estate-related companies, companies whose businesses consist in whole or in part of investing in real estate, instruments (like mortgages) that are secured by real estate or interests therein, or real estate investment trust securities.

 

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to commodities set forth in (6) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from owning commodities, whether physical commodities and contracts related to physical commodities (such as oil or grains and related futures contracts), or financial commodities and contracts related to financial commodities (such as currencies and, possibly, currency futures). However, a fund is limited in the amount of illiquid assets it may purchase. To the extent that investments in commodities are considered illiquid, the current SEC staff position generally limits a fund’s purchases of illiquid securities to 15% of net assets. If a fund were to invest in a physical commodity or a physical commodity-related instrument, the fund would be subject to the additional risks of the particular physical commodity and its related market. The value of commodities and commodity-related instruments may be extremely volatile and may be affected either directly or indirectly by a variety of factors. There also may be storage charges and risks of loss associated with physical commodities. The policy in (6) above will be interpreted to permit investments in exchange traded funds that invest in physical and/or financial commodities.

 

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to concentration set forth in (7) above, the 1940 Act does not define what constitutes “concentration” in an industry. The SEC staff has taken the position that investment of 25% or more of a fund’s total assets in one or more issuers conducting their principal activities in the same industry or group of industries constitutes concentration. It is possible that interpretations of concentration could change in the future. A fund that invests a significant percentage of its total assets in a single industry may be particularly susceptible to adverse events affecting that industry and may be more risky than a fund that does not concentrate in an industry. The policy in (7) above will be interpreted to refer to concentration as that term may be interpreted from time to time. The policy also will be interpreted to permit investment without limit in the following: securities of the U.S. government and its agencies or instrumentalities; securities of state, territory, possession or municipal governments and their authorities, agencies, instrumentalities or political subdivisions; securities of foreign governments; and repurchase agreements collateralized by any such obligations. Accordingly, issuers of the foregoing securities will not be considered to be members of any industry. There also will be no limit on investment in issuers domiciled in a single jurisdiction or country. The policy also will be interpreted to give broad authority to a fund as to how to classify issuers within or among industries.

 

The fund’s proposed fundamental policies are written and will be interpreted broadly. For example, the policies will be interpreted to refer to the 1940 Act and the related rules as they are in effect from time to time, and to interpretations and modifications of or relating to the 1940 Act by the SEC and others as they are given from time to time. When a policy provides that an investment practice may be conducted as permitted by the 1940 Act, the policy will be interpreted to mean either that the 1940 Act expressly permits the practice or that the 1940 Act does not prohibit the practice.

 

Diversification

 

The fund is currently classified as a non-diversified fund under the 1940 Act. A diversified fund may not purchase securities of an issuer (other than obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities) if, with respect to 75% of its total assets, (a) more than 5% of the fund’s total assets would be invested in securities of that issuer, or (b) the fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer. A non-diversified fund is not subject to these limitations. Therefore, a non-diversified fund can invest a greater portion of its assets in a single issuer or a limited number of issuers than may a diversified fund. In this regard, the fund is subject to greater risk than a diversified fund. Under the 1940 Act, the fund cannot change its classification from non-diversified to diversified without shareholder approval.

 

12


MANAGEMENT

 

The business affairs of the fund are managed by or under the direction of the Board of Trustees. The Board elects officers who are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the fund and who execute policies authorized by the Board.

 

The current Trustees, including the Independent Trustees, of the fund who are not “interested persons” of the fund as defined in the 1940 Act (the “Independent Trustees”) and executive officers of the fund, their birth years, their principal occupations during the past five years (their titles may have varied during that period), the number of investment companies and their portfolios associated with Legg Mason the Trustees oversee, and other board memberships they hold are set forth below. The address of each Trustee is c/o R. Jay Gerken, 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022.

 

The following information relates to the Trust’s recently elected Board of Trustees.

 

Name and

Year of Birth


 

Position(s)
with Fund


 

Term of
Office* and
Length of
Time Served**


 

Principal
Occupation(s)

During
Past 5 Years


 

Number of

Funds in Fund
Complex Overseen
by Trustee


 

Other Board
Memberships
Held by Trustee
During

Past
Five Years


INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES:                

Paul R. Ades

Born 1940

  Trustee   Since 1983   Law firm of Paul R. Ades, PLLC (since 2000)       None

Andrew L. Breech

Born 1952

  Trustee   Since 1991   President, Dealer Operating Control Service, Inc. (automotive retail management) (since 1985)       None

Dwight B. Crane

Born 1937

  Trustee   Since 1981   Professor, Harvard Business School (since 1969); Independent Consultant (since 1969)       None

Robert M. Frayn, Jr.

Born 1934

  Trustee   Since 1981   Retired; formerly, President and Director, Book Publishing Co. (1970 to 2002)       None

Frank G. Hubbard

Born 1937

  Trustee   Since 1993   President, Avatar International Inc. (business development) (since 1998)       None

Howard J. Johnson

Born 1938

  Trustee   From 1981 to 1998 and 2000 to Present   Chief Executive Officer, Genesis Imaging LLC (technology company) (since 2003)       None

David E. Maryatt

Born 1936

  Trustee   Since 1983   Private Investor; President and Director, ALS Co. (real estate management and development firm) (since 1993)       None

 

13


Name and

Year of Birth


 

Position(s)
with Fund


  Term of
Office* and
Length of
Time Served**


 

Principal
Occupation(s)

During
Past 5 Years


 

Number of

Funds in Fund
Complex Overseen
by Trustee


 

Other Board
Memberships
Held by Trustee
During Past
Five Years


Jerome H. Miller

Born 1938

  Trustee   Since 1995   Retired       None

Ken Miller

Born 1942

  Trustee   Since 1983   Chairman, Young Stuff Apparel Group, Inc. (apparel manufacturer) (1963 to 2005)       None

John J. Murphy

Born 1944

  Trustee   Since 2002   President, Murphy Capital Management (investment advice) (since 1983)       Director, Nicholas Applegate funds; Trustee, Consulting Group Capital Markets Funds; formerly, Director, Atlantic Stewardship Bank (2004 to 2005); Director, Barclays International Funds Group Ltd. and affiliated companies (to 2003)

Thomas F. Schlafly

Born 1948

  Trustee   Since 1983   Of Counsel, Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin LLP (law firm) (since 1984); President, The Saint Louis Brewery, Inc. (brewery) (since 1989)       Director, Citizens National Bank, Maplewood (2006)

Jerry A. Viscione

Born 1944

  Trustee   Since 1993   Retired; formerly, Executive Vice President, Marquette University (1997 to 2002)       None
INTERESTED TRUSTEE:                

R. Jay Gerken, CFA†

Born 1951

 

Trustee,

President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

  Since 2002   Managing Director, Legg Mason & Co., LLC (“Legg Mason & Co.”); Chairman of the Board, Trustee, or Director of [             ] funds associated with LMPFA and its affiliates; President, LMPFA (since 2006); Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its affiliates; formerly, Chairman, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”) and Citi Fund Management, Inc. (“CFM”) (2002 to 2005); formerly, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Travelers Investment Advisers Inc. (2002 to 2005)       Trustee, Consulting Group Capital Markets Funds

 

14



*   Each Trustee serves until his or her respective successor has been duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation, retirement or removal.
**   Indicates the earliest year in which the Trustee became a Board member for a fund in the Legg Mason Partners fund complex.
  Mr. Gerken is an “interested person”, as defined in the 1940 Act, because of his position with the manager and/or certain of its affiliates.

 

Name, Year of Birth

and Address


  

Position(s)

with Fund


  

Term of Office*

and Length of

Time Served**


  

Principal Occupation(s)

During Past 5 Years


OFFICERS:

              

Ted P. Becker

Born 1951

399 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10022

   Chief Compliance Officer    Since 2006    Director of Global Compliance at Legg Mason, Inc. (2006 to present); Managing Director of Compliance at Legg Mason & Co (2005 to present); Chief Compliance Officer with certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. (since 2006); Chief Compliance Officer of LMPFA and certain affiliates; Managing Director of Compliance at Citigroup Asset Management (“CAM,” a group of affiliated investment advisers, which included Smith Barney Fund Management (“SBFM”), Smith Barney Asset Management and Citi Fund Management (“CFM”) and other affiliated investment advisory entities) (2002 to 2005). Prior to 2002, Managing Director-Internal Audit & Risk Review at Citigroup Inc.

John Chiota

Born 1968

300 First Stamford Place,

5th Fl

Stamford, CT 06902

   Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer    Since 2006    Vice President of Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors (since 2004); Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. (since 2006). Prior to August 2004, Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer of TD Waterhouse.

Robert I. Frenkel

Born 1954

300 First Stamford Place, 4 th Floor

Stamford, CT 06902

   Secretary and Chief Legal Officer    Since 2003    Managing Director and General Counsel of Global Mutual Funds for Legg Mason & Co. and its predecessors (since 2000); Secretary and Chief Legal Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. (since 2003). Previously, Secretary of CFM (2001 to 2004).

 

15


Name, Year of Birth

and Address


  

Position(s)

with Fund


  

Term of Office*

and Length of

Time Served**


  

Principal Occupation(s)

During Past 5 Years


R. Jay Gerken, CFA

Born 1951

399 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10022

   Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer    Since 2002    Managing Director of Legg Mason & Co.; Chairman of the Board, Trustee, or Director of 169 funds associated with LMPFA and its affiliates; Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. Previously, Chairman of SBFM and CFM (2002 to 2005); Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Travelers Investment Advisers Inc. (2002 to 2005).

Thomas C. Mandia

Born 1962

300 First Stamford Place, 4 th Floor

Stamford, CT 06902

   Assistant Secretary    Since 2000    Managing Director and Deputy General Counsel of Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors (since 1992); Assistant Secretary of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co.

Kaprel Ozsolak

Born 1965

125 Broad Street, 11th Floor

New York, NY 10004

   Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer    Since 2004    Director of Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors; Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors. Previously, Mr. Ozsolak was Controller of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors (2002 to 2004).

*   Each officer serves until his or her respective successor has been duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation, retirement or removal.
**   Indicates the earliest year in which the officer took office for any funds in the Legg Mason Partners fund complex.

 

The Board has a standing Audit Committee, Nominating Committee and Pricing Committee. The Audit Committee and Nominating Committee are comprised of Independent Trustees. The Pricing Committee is composed of the Chairman of the Board and one Independent Trustee.

 

The Audit Committee oversees the scope of the fund’s audit, the fund’s accounting and financial reporting policies and practices and its internal controls. The primary purposes of the Board’s Audit Committee are to assist the Board in fulfilling its responsibility for oversight of the integrity of the accounting, auditing and financial reporting practices of the fund, the qualifications and independence of the fund’s independent registered public accounting firm, and the fund’s compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. The Audit Committee approves, and recommends to the Independent Trustees for their ratification, the selection, appointment, retention or termination of the fund’s independent registered public accounting firm and approves the compensation of the independent registered public accounting firm. The Audit Committee also approves all audit and permissible non-audit services provided to the fund by the independent registered public accounting firm and all permissible non-audit services provided by the fund’s independent registered public accounting firm to its manager and any affiliated service providers if the engagement relates directly to the fund’s operations and financial reporting.

 

16


The Governance Committee is responsible for, among other things, recommending candidates to fill vacancies on the Board. The Governance Committee may consider nominees recommended by a shareholder. Shareholders who wish to recommend a nominee should send recommendations to the Trust’s Secretary that include all information relating to such person that is required to be disclosed in solicitations of proxies for the election of Trustees. A recommendation must be accompanied by a written consent of the individual to stand for election if nominated by the Board and to serve if elected by the shareholders.

 

The Governance Committee identifies potential nominees through its network of contacts and may also engage, if it deems appropriate, a professional search firm. The committee meets to discuss and consider such candidates’ qualifications and then chooses a candidate by majority vote. The committee does not have specific, minimum qualifications for nominees, nor has it established specific qualities or skills that it regards as necessary for one or more of the Trustees to possess (other than any qualities or skills that may be required by applicable law, regulation or listing standard). However, in evaluating a person as a potential nominee to serve as a Trustee, the Governance Committee may consider the following factors, among any others it may deem relevant:

 

    whether or not the person is an “interested person,” as defined in the 1940 Act, and whether the person is otherwise qualified under applicable laws and regulations to serve as a Trustee;

 

    whether or not the person has any relationships that might impair his or her independence, such as any business, financial or family relationships with fund management, the investment adviser, service providers or their affiliates;

 

    whether or not the person serves on boards of, or is otherwise affiliated with, competing financial service organizations or their related mutual fund complexes;

 

    whether or not the person is willing to serve, and willing and able to commit the time necessary for the performance of the duties of a Trustee;

 

    the contribution which the person can make to the Board (or, if the person has previously served as a Trustee, the contribution which the person made to the Board during his or her previous term of service), with consideration being given to the person’s business and professional experience, education and such other factors as the committee may consider relevant;

 

    the character and integrity of the person; and

 

    whether or not the selection and nomination of the person would be consistent with the requirements of the retirement policies of the Trust, as applicable.

 

The Pricing Committee is charged with determining the fair value prices for securities when required.

 

As indicated above, the Trust’s Board is recently elected and is newly constituted as the Board that oversees all of the equity-type funds in the fund complex. All members of the Board previously have served on Boards of Legg Mason Partners funds. The Audit, Governance and Pricing Committees are recently established committees of this Board and did not meet during the fund’s last fiscal year.

 

The following table shows the amount of equity securities owned by the Trustees in the fund and other investment companies in the fund complex supervised by the Trustees as of December 31, 2006.

 

Name of Trustee


   Dollar Range
of Equity
Securities in the Fund


   Aggregate Dollar Range
of Equity Securities In
Registered Investment
Companies Overseen
by Trustee


Independent Trustees

         

Paul R. Ades

         

Andrew L. Breech

         

Dwight B. Crane

         

Robert M. Frayn, Jr

         

 

17


Name of Trustee


   Dollar Range
of Equity
Securities in the Fund


   Aggregate Dollar Range
of Equity Securities In
Registered Investment
Companies Overseen
by Trustee


Frank G. Hubbard

         

Howard J. Johnson

         

David E. Maryatt

         

Jerome H. Miller

         

Ken Miller

         

John J. Murphy

         

Thomas F. Schlafly

         

Jerry A. Viscione

         

Interested Trustee

         

R. Jay Gerken

         

 

[As of December 31, 2006, none of the Independent Trustees or their immediate family members owned beneficially or of record any securities of the manager, subadviser or distributors of the fund, or in a person (other than a registered investment company) directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with the manager, subadviser or distributors of the fund.]

 

Information regarding compensation paid to the Trustees by the fund for the calendar year ended December 31, 2006 is set forth below. The Independent Trustees receive a fee for each meeting of the fund’s Board of Trustees and committee meetings attended and are reimbursed for all out-of-pocket expenses relating to attendance at such meetings. Mr. Gerken, an “interested person,” as defined in the 1940 Act, does not receive compensation from the fund for his service as trustee, but may be reimbursed for all out-of-pocket expenses relating to attendance at such meetings.

 

The fund pays a pro rata share of the Trustee fees based upon asset size. The fund currently pays each of the Trustees who is not a director, officer or employee of the manager or any of its affiliates its pro rata share of: an annual fee of [$            ] plus [$            ] for each regularly scheduled Board meeting attended, [$            ] for each special telephonic Board meeting attended, and [$            ] for each adhoc telephonic meeting in which that trustee participates. The lead independent trustee will receive an additional [$            ] per year and the Chairs of the Audit Committee and Governance Committee will each receive an additional [$            ] per year. The fund will reimburse Trustees for travel and out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with Board meetings.

 

18


Name of Trustee


  

Aggregate
Compensation
from the

Fund (1) (2)


   Total Pension or
Retirement
Benefits Paid
as Part of Fund
Expenses (1) (3)


   Total
Compensation
from Fund
Complex Paid
to Trustee (1) (2)


   Number of
Portfolios in
Fund
Complex
Overseen by
Trustee (1)


Independent Trustees

                   

Paul R. Ades

                   

Andrew L. Breech

                   

Dwight B. Crane

                   

Robert M. Frayn, Jr

                   

Frank G. Hubbard

                   

Howard J. Johnson

                   

David E. Maryatt

                   

Jerome H. Miller

                   

Ken Miller

                   

John J. Murphy

                   

Thomas F. Schlafly

                   

Jerry A. Viscione

                   

Interested Trustee

                   

R. Jay Gerken

                   

(1)   Information is for the calendar year ended December 31, 2006. [The disclosure of compensation paid to the Trustees is provided as of the most recent calendar year end, rather than the fund’s most recent fiscal year end, for ease of presentation and comprehension. ]
(2)   Insert any additional amounts paid to the Trustees in 2006 for special meetings
(3)   Pursuant to a prior emeritus retirement plan, Mr. Crane has received or is entitled to receive, in a lump sum (calculated on a net present value basis) or in quarterly installments, an aggregate benefit having a net present value equal to [$            ]. Mr. Crane elected to receive the benefit in a lump sum payment. Each fund formerly overseen by Mr. Crane will pay a pro rata share (based upon asset size) of the aggregate benefit to Mr. Crane. Legg Mason or its affiliates have agreed to reimburse these funds an amount equal to 50% of the benefits paid to Mr. Crane.

 

For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2006, the Directors of the fund’s predecessor were paid the compensation listed below for service as a Director.

 

Independent Directors


  

Aggregate
Compensation
from Fund

For Fiscal Year

Ended 08/31/06


   Pension or
Retirement
Benefits
Accrued as
Part of Fund
Expenses*,**


   Total
Compensation
from Fund
Complex for
Fiscal Year
Ended 8/31/06


    Number of
Portfolios in
Fund Complex
served by
Director


Paul R. Ades

   $ 38,542    $ 0    $ 84,700 (2)   15

Dwight B. Crane

   $ 34,955    $ 0    $ 261,625 (2)   46

Frank G. Hubbard

   $ 37,791    $ 0    $ 88,100     15

Jerome Miller

   $ 34,955    $ 0    $ 72,000     15

Ken Miller

   $ 34,706    $ 0    $ 71,500     15

Interested Director


                    

R. Jay Gerken (1)

     —      $ 0      —       168

(1)   Mr. Gerken is not compensated for his service as Director because of his affiliation with the manager.
(2)   In addition to the amounts set forth above, Messrs. Ades, Crane, Hubbard, J. Miller and K. Miller received $1,500, $500, $5,200, $500 and $500, respectively, during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2006, for services as Directors in attending additional meetings relating to the approval of policies and procedures under Rule 38a-1, certain other regulatory issues and the consideration of new custody, transfer agency, and accounting arrangements for funds in the fund complex. These amounts were borne by the manager and/or its affiliates and not by the fund.
*   Mr. Herbert Barg served as an emeritus director of the predecessor fund. During the predecessor fund’s lat fiscal year, aggregate compensation paid to him was $51,500.
**  

Pursuant to emeritus retirement plans, the following former Independent Directors of the predecessor fund have received or are entitled to receive benefits (calculated on a net present value basis) as follows: Mr. Barg: $              ; and Mr. Crane: $              . These benefits are paid in quarterly installments unless the Independent Director elected to receive them in a lump sum at net present value. The fund or will

 

19


 

pay its pro rata share (based upon asset size) of these aggregate benefits. Legg Mason or its affiliates have agreed to reimburse the fund an amount equal to 50% of these benefits .

 

The Declaration of Trust of the Trust provides that the Trust will indemnify its Trustees and officers against liabilities and expenses incurred in connection with litigation in which they may be involved because of their offices with the Trust, unless, as to liability to the Trust, or its investors, it is finally adjudicated that they engaged in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in their offices, or unless with respect to any other matter it is finally adjudicated that they did not act in good faith in the reasonable belief that their actions were in the best interests of the Trust. In the case of settlement, such indemnification will not be provided unless it has been determined by a court or other body approving the settlement or other disposition or a reasonable determination, based upon a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial-type inquiry) that such officers or Trustees have not engaged in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of their duties. Rights to indemnification or insurance cannot be limited retroactively.

 

The Declaration of Trust further provides that (i) the appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee as a member or chairperson of a committee of the Trustees, an expert on any topic or in any area (including an audit committee financial expert), or the lead Independent Trustee, or any other special appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee, shall not impose on that individual any duty, obligation or liability that is greater than the duties, obligations and liability imposed on that person as a Trustee in the absence of the appointment, designation or identification (except with respect to duties expressly imposed pursuant to the by-laws of the Trust, a committee charter or a Trust policy statement), (ii) no Trustee who has special skills or expertise, or is appointed, designated or identified shall be held to a higher standard of care by virtue thereof and (iii) no appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee shall affect in any way that Trustee’s rights to indemnification.

 

As of [date], 2007, the trustees and others of the fund owned less than 1% of the outstanding shares of the fund.

 

To the knowledge of the fund, as of [date], 2007, the following shareholders or “groups” (as such term is defined in Section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) owned beneficially or of record 5% or more of the shares of the following classes:

 

Name


   Class

   Percentage of Shares

 

20


INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AND OTHER SERVICES

 

Manager

 

LMPFA serves as investment manager to the fund pursuant to an investment management agreement (the “Management Agreement”) with the fund. LMPFA, with offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022, is a recently-organized investment adviser that has been formed to serve as the investment manager of the fund and certain other Legg Mason-sponsored funds. LMPFA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason. Legg Mason, whose principal executive offices are at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, is a global asset management company. As of December 31, 2006, Legg Mason’s asset management operation had aggregate assets under management of approximately $             billion. LMPFA provides administrative and certain oversight services to the fund and manages the cash and short-term investments of the fund.

 

Under the Management Agreement, subject to the supervision and direction of the fund’s Board, the manager is delegated the responsibility of managing the fund’s portfolio in accordance with the fund’s stated investment objective and policies, making investment decisions for the fund and placing orders to purchase and sell securities. The manager also performs administrative and management services necessary for the operation of the fund, such as (i) supervising the overall administration of the fund, including negotiation of contracts and fees with and the monitoring of performance and billings of the fund’s transfer agent, shareholder servicing agents, custodian and other independent contractors or agents; (ii) providing certain compliance, fund accounting, regulatory reporting, and tax reporting services; (iii) preparing or participating in the preparation of Board materials, registration statements, proxy statements and reports and other communications to shareholders; (iv) maintaining the fund’s existence; and (v) maintaining the registration and qualification of the fund’s shares under federal and state laws.

 

The Management Agreement has an initial term ending November 30, 2007 and will continue in effect from year to year thereafter provided such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (a) by the fund’s Board or by a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act), and (b) in either event, by a majority of the Independent Trustees with such Independent Trustees casting votes in person at a meeting called for such purpose.

 

The Management Agreement provides that the manager may render services to others. The Management Agreement is terminable without penalty on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice by the fund when authorized either by a vote of holders of shares representing a majority of the voting power of the outstanding voting securities of the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) or by a vote of a majority of the fund’s Trustees, or by the manager on not less than 90 days’ written notice, and will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment. The Management Agreement provides that neither the manager nor its personnel shall be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or omission in the execution of security transactions for the fund, except for willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence or reckless disregard of its or their obligations and duties.

 

For its services under the Management Agreement, LMPFA receives an investment management fee that is calculated daily and payable monthly according to the following schedule:

 

Average Daily Net Assets


   Investment
Management Fee Rate


 

First $1 billion

   0.750 %

Next $1 billion

   0.725 %

Next $3 billion

   0.700 %

Next $5 billion

   0.675 %

Over $10 billion

   0.650 %

 

For the period from December 1, 2005 through July 31, 2006, SBFM served as the fund’s manager under the same fee schedule as described above.

 

21


Prior to December 1, 2005, SBFM served as investment adviser and administrator to the fund pursuant to separate investment advisory and administration agreements and received separate investment advisory and administrative fees. For the period from October 1, 2005 through November 30, 2005, the fund paid investment advisory fees to SBFM according to the following schedule:

 

Average Daily Net Assets


   Investment
Advisory Fee Rate


 

First $1 billion

   0.600 %

Next $1 billion

   0.575 %

Next $3 billion

   0.550 %

Next $5 billion

   0.525 %

Over $10 billion

   0.500 %

 

From November 1, 2003 to September 30, 2005, the fund paid investment advisory fees to SBFM according to the following schedule:

 

Average Daily Net Assets


   Investment
Advisory Fee Rate


 

First $5 billion

   0.600 %

Next $2.5 billion

   0.575 %

Next $2.5 billion

   0.550 %

Over $10 billion

   0.500 %

 

For the period from February 1, 2005 through November 30, 2005, the fund paid administrative fees at the rate of 0.15% of the fund’s average daily net assets. Prior to February 1, 2005, the fund paid administrative fees at the rate of 0.20% of the fund’s average daily net assets.

 

For the 2004 and 2005 fiscal years, the fund incurred $45,930,155 and $50,251,368, respectively, in investment advisory fees. During the 2005 fiscal year, SBFM did not waive any advisory fees. During the 2004 fiscal year, SBFM waived $1,556,101 of advisory fees. For the 2004 and 2005 fiscal years, the fund paid SBFM $15,553,127 and $14,613,261, respectively, in administration fees.

 

During the period from September 1, 2005 through November 30, 2005, the fund paid SBFM advisory fees of $13,162,215 and administration fees of $3,536,054. For the period from December 1, 2005 through July 31, 2006, the fund paid SBFM management fees of $47,313,286. For the period from August 1, 2006 to August 31, 2006, the fund paid LMPFA management fees of $5,940,428. During the period from December 1, 2005 through July 31, 2006, SBFM waived a portion of its management fee in the amount of $219,439. In addition, during the period from December 1, 2005 through July 31, 2006, the fund was reimbursed for expenses in the amount of $361,858. During the period from August 1, 2006 to August 31, 2006, the fund was reimbursed for the expenses in the amount of $3,809.

 

Subadviser

 

ClearBridge serves as the subadviser to the fund pursuant to a sub-advisory agreement between the manager and ClearBridge (the “Sub-Advisory Agreement”). ClearBridge is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason. ClearBridge, with offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022, is a recently organized adviser that has been formed to succeed to the equity securities portfolio management business of CAM, which was acquired by Legg Mason in December 2005.

 

Under the Sub-Advisory Agreement, subject to the supervision and direction of the Board and the manager, the subadviser will, except for the management of cash and short-term investments that is performed by LMPFA, manage the fund’s portfolio in accordance with the fund’s stated investment objective and policies, assist in supervising all aspects of the fund’s operations, make investment decisions for the fund, place orders to purchase

22


and sell securities, and employ professional portfolio managers and securities analysts who provide research services to the fund.

 

The Sub-Advisory Agreement has an initial term ending November 30, 2007 and will continue in effect from year to year thereafter provided such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (a) by the Board or by a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act), and (b) in either event, by a majority of the Independent Trustees with such Independent Trustees casting votes in person at a meeting called for such purpose. The Board or a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) may terminate the Sub-Advisory Agreement without penalty, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the subadviser. The subadviser may terminate the Sub-Advisory Agreement on 90 days’ written notice to the fund and the manager. The manager and the subadviser may terminate the Sub-Advisory Agreement upon their mutual written consent. The Sub-Advisory Agreement will terminate automatically in the event of assignment by the subadviser and shall not be assignable by the manager without the consent of the subadviser.

 

As compensation for its sub-advisory services, the manager will pay the subadviser a fee equal to 70% of the management fee paid to LMPFA, net of expense waivers and reimbursements. For the period from August 1, 2006 through August 31, 2006, the manager paid the subadviser subadvisory fees of $4,155,633.

 

Expenses

 

In addition to amounts payable under the Management Agreement and the 12b-1 Plans (as discussed below), the fund is responsible for its own expenses, including, among other things: interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the fund’s securities and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the fund, if any; and the fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any non-recurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the fund is a party and the legal obligation which the fund may have to indemnify the fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

 

Management may agree to waive fees and/or reimburse operating expenses for one or more classes of shares, either through contractual or voluntary arrangements. Any such waivers and/or reimbursements are described in the fund’s Prospectus. The contractual and voluntary fee waivers and/or reimbursements do not cover extraordinary expenses, such as (a) any expenses or charges related to litigation, derivative actions, demand related to litigation, regulatory or other government investigations and proceedings, “for cause” regulatory inspections and indemnification or advancement of related expenses or costs, to the extent any such expenses are considered extraordinary expenses for the purposes of fee disclosure in Form N-1A as the same may be amended from time to time; (b) transaction costs (such as brokerage commissions and dealer and underwriter spreads) and taxes; and (c) other extraordinary expenses as determined for the purposes of fee disclosure in Form N-1A, as the same may be amended from time to time. Without limiting the foregoing, extraordinary expenses are generally those that are unusual or expected to recur only infrequently, and may include such expenses, by way of illustration, as (i) expenses of the reorganization, restructuring, redomiciling or merger of the fund or

 

23


class or the acquisition of all or substantially all of the assets of another fund or class; (ii) expenses of holding, and soliciting proxies for, a meeting of shareholders of the fund or class (except to the extent relating to routine items such as the election of board members or the approval of the independent registered public accounting firm); and (iii) expenses of converting to a new custodian, transfer agent or other service provider, in each case to the extent any such expenses are considered extraordinary expenses for the purposes of fee disclosure in Form N-1A as the same may be amended from time to time.

 

Code of Ethics

 

Pursuant to Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act, the fund, its manager, the subadviser, and the distributors have each adopted codes of ethics that permit their respective personnel to invest in securities for their own accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by the fund. All personnel must place the interests of clients first and avoid activities, interests and relationships that might interfere with the duty to make decisions in the best interests of the clients. All personal securities transactions by employees must adhere to the requirements of the codes and must be conducted in such a manner as to avoid any actual or potential conflict of interest, the appearance of such a conflict, or the abuse of an employee’s position of trust and responsibility. Copies of the Codes of Ethics of the fund and its manager, subadviser and distributors are on file with the SEC.

 

Proxy Voting Guidelines and Procedures

 

Although individual trustees may not agree with particular policies or votes by the manager or subadviser, the Board has delegated proxy voting discretion to the manager, believing that the manager should be responsible for voting because it is a matter relating to the investment decision making process.

 

LMPFA delegates the responsibility for voting proxies for the fund to the subadviser through its contracts with the subadviser. The subadviser will use its own proxy voting policies and procedures to vote proxies. Accordingly, LMPFA does not expect to have proxy-voting responsibility for the fund. Should LMPFA become responsible for voting proxies for any reason, such as the inability of the subadviser to provide investment advisory services, LMPFA shall utilize the proxy voting guidelines established by the most recent subadviser to vote proxies until a new subadviser is retained. In the case of a material conflict between the interests of LMPFA (or its affiliates if such conflict is known to persons responsible for voting at LMPFA) and the fund, the Board of Trustees of LMPFA shall consider how to address the conflict and/or how to vote the proxies. LMPFA shall maintain records of all proxy votes in accordance with applicable securities laws and regulations, to the extent that LMPFA votes proxies LMPFA shall be responsible for gathering relevant documents and records related to proxy voting from the subadviser and providing them to the fund as required for the fund to comply with applicable rules under the 1940 Act.

 

The subadviser’s Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures govern in determining how proxies relating to the fund’s portfolio securities are voted and are attached as Appendix A to this SAI. Information regarding how each fund voted proxies (if any) relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available without charge (1) by calling 1-888-425-6432, (2) on the fund’s website at http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices and (3) on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

 

Custodian and Transfer Agent

 

State Street Bank and Trust Company (“State Street”), One Lincoln Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, serves as the custodian of the fund. State Street, among other things, maintains a custody account or accounts in the name of the fund; receives and delivers all assets for the fund upon purchase and upon sale or maturity; collects and receives all income and other payments and distributions on account of the assets of the fund; and makes disbursements on behalf of the fund. State Street neither determines the fund’s investment policies, nor decides which securities the fund will buy or sell. For its services, State Street receives a monthly fee based upon the daily average market value of securities held in custody and also receives securities transaction charges, including out-of-pocket expenses. The fund may also periodically enter into arrangements with other qualified

 

24


custodians with respect to certain types of securities or other transactions such as repurchase agreements or derivatives transactions. State Street also acts as the fund’s securities lending agent and receives a share of the income generated by such activities.

 

PFPC Inc. (“PFPC” or “ transfer agent”), located at P.O. Box 9699, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699, serves as the fund’s transfer agent. Under the transfer agency agreement, the transfer agent maintains the shareholder account records for the fund, handles certain communications between shareholders and the fund and distributes dividends and distributions payable by the fund. For these services, the transfer agent receives a monthly fee computed on the basis of the number of shareholder accounts it maintains for the fund during the month, and is reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses. Prior to January 1, 2006, Citicorp Trust Bank, fsb (“CTB”) served as the fund’s transfer agent and PFPC served as the fund’s sub-transfer agent. For the period from September 1, 2005, through December 31, 2005, the fund paid transfer agent fees of $5,185,756 to CTB.

 

Counsel and Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

 

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, 787 Seventh Avenue, New York, New York 10019-6099, serves as counsel to the fund.

 

Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP, 180 Maiden Lane, New York, New York 10038-4982, serves as counsel to the fund’s Independent Trustees.

 

[              ], located at [              ], serves as the independent registered public accounting firm to examine and report on the fund’s financial statements for the fiscal year ending August 31, 2007.

 

Distributors

 

LMIS, a wholly-owned broker/dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, located at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202; CGMI, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Citigroup, located at 388 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10013; and PFS, located at 3120 Breckinridge Boulevard, Duluth, Georgia 30099-0001, serve as the fund’s distributors pursuant to separate written agreements or amendments to written agreements, in each case dated December 1, 2005 (the “distribution agreements”), which were approved by the Board and by a majority of the Independent Trustees, casting votes in person at a meeting called for such purpose, on November 21, 2005. The distribution agreements went into effect on December 1, 2005. Prior to December 1, 2005, CGMI and PFS Distributors, Inc. (“PFS Distributors”), the predecessor in interest to PFS, served as the fund’s distributors.

 

A distributor’s obligation is an agency or “best efforts” arrangement under which the distributor is required to take and pay only for such shares of the fund as may be sold to the public. A distributor is not obligated to sell any stated number of shares. Each distribution agreement is renewable from year to year if approved (a) by the Trustees or by a vote of a majority of the fund’s outstanding voting securities, and (b) by the affirmative vote of a majority of Independent Trustees who are not parties to such agreement by votes cast in person at a meeting called for such purpose. Each distribution agreement provides that it will terminate if assigned, and that it may be terminated without penalty by either party on 60 days’ written notice, provided that each of the CGMI and PFS distribution agreements may be terminated upon 90 days’ written notice by the distributor.

 

LMIS, CGMI and PFS may be deemed to be underwriters for purposes of the 1933 Act. From time to time, LMIS, CGMI, PFS or their affiliates may also pay for certain non-cash sales incentives provided to PFS Registered Representatives. Such incentives do not have any effect on the net amount invested. In addition to the reallowances from the applicable public offering price described below, PFS may, from time to time, pay or allow additional reallowances or promotional incentives, in the form of cash or other compensation, to PFS Registered Representatives that sell shares of the fund.

 

 

25


Initial Sales Charges

 

The aggregate dollar amount of commissions on Class A and Class C shares received by LMIS, CGMI and PFS during the fiscal years ended August 31, 2004, 2005 and 2006 were as follows:

 

Class A Shares†

 

For the fiscal year ended August 31:

     CGMI

   LMIS

   PFS

2006

   $ 888,496    $ 10,799    $ 2,341,745

2005

   $ 3,091,520    $ 0    $ 9,357,382

2004

   $ 16,377,000    $ 0    $ 8,925,775

  As of November 20, 2006, the maximum initial sales charge increased.

 

Class C Shares

 

For the fiscal year ended August 31:

     CGMI

   LMIS

2006

   $ 0    $ 0

2005

   $ 0    $ 0

2004

   $ 1,579,000    $ 0

 

Contingent Deferred Sales Charges

 

Class A Shares

 

For the fiscal year ended August 31:

     CGMI

   LMIS

2006

   $ 4,888    $ 0

2005

   $ 17,335    $ 0

2004

   $ 16,000    $ 0

 

Class B Shares

 

For the fiscal year ended August 31:

     CGMI

   LMIS

   PFS

2006

   $ 479,308    $ 0    $ 373,133

2005

   $ 2,898,000    $ 0    $ 1,702,000

2004

   $ 4,704,000    $ 0    $ 1,460,955

 

Class C Shares

 

For the fiscal year ended August 31:

     CGMI

   LMIS

2006

   $ 18,582    $ 0

2005

   $ 130,000    $ 0

2004

   $ 190,000    $ 0

 

Services and Distribution Plan Arrangements

 

The fund has adopted an amended shareholder services and distribution plan (the “12b-1 Plan”) pursuant to Rule l2b-1 under the 1940 Act with respect to its Class A, B, C, FI and R shares. The only classes of shares offered for sale through PFS are Class A shares and Class B shares. Under the 12b-1 Plan, the fund pays service and distribution fees to each of LMIS, CGMI and PFS, as applicable, for the services they provide and expenses they bear with respect to the distribution of Class A, B, C, FI and R shares and providing services to Class A, B,

 

26


C, FI and R shareholders. The distributors will provide the fund’s Board with periodic reports of amounts expended under the Plan and the purposes for which such expenditures were made. The fund pays service fees, accrued daily and payable monthly, calculated at the annual rate of 0.25% of the value of the fund’s average daily net assets attributable to the fund’s Class A, B, C, FI and R shares. In addition, the fund pays distribution fees, with respect to Class B and C shares, at the annual rate of 0.75%, and, with respect to Class R shares, at an annual rate of 0.25%, of the fund’s average daily net assets.

 

Fees under the 12b-1 Plan may be used to make payments to the distributors for distribution services, to Service Agents in respect of the sale of shares of the fund, and to other parties in respect of the sale of shares of the fund, and to make payments for advertising, marketing or other promotional activity, and payments for preparation, printing, and distribution of prospectuses, statements of additional information and reports for recipients other than regulators and existing shareholders. The fund also may make payments to the distributors, Service Agents and others for providing personal service or the maintenance of shareholder accounts. The amounts paid by the distributors to each recipient may vary based upon certain factors, including, among other things, the levels of sales of fund shares and/or shareholder services provided.

 

The 12b-1 Plan also provides that the distributors and Service Agents may receive all or a portion of the sales charges paid by Class A, B, C, FI and R investors.

 

The 12b-1 Plan permits the fund to pay fees to a distributor, Service Agents and others as compensation for their services, not as reimbursement for specific expenses incurred. Thus, even if their expenses exceed the fees provided for by the 12b-1 Plan, the fund will not be obligated to pay more than those fees and, if their expenses are less than the fees paid to them, they will realize a profit. The fund may pay the fees to a distributor and others until the 12b-1 Plan or distribution agreement is terminated or not renewed. In that event, a distributor’s or other recipient’s expenses in excess of fees received or accrued through the termination date will be the distributor’s or other recipient’s sole responsibility and not obligations of the fund. In their annual consideration of the continuation of the 12b-1 Plan for the fund, the Trustees will review the 12b-1 Plan and the expenses for each class within the fund separately.

 

The 12b-1 Plan also recognizes that various service providers to the fund, such as the manager, may make payments for distribution related expenses out of their own resources, including past profits, or payments received from the fund for other purposes, such as management fees, and that the fund’s distributors or Service Agents may from time to time use their own resources for distribution-related services, in addition to the fees paid under the 12b-1 Plan. The 12b-1 Plan specifically provides that, to the extent that such payments might be deemed to be indirect financing of any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund within the context of Rule 12b-1, then the payments are deemed to be authorized by the 12b-1 Plan, if permitted under applicable law.

 

The 12b-1 Plan continues in effect if such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by a vote of both a majority of the Trustees and a majority of the Independent Trustees who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the 12b-1 Plan or in any agreement related to the 12b-1 Plan (for purposes of this paragraph “Qualified” Trustees). The Qualified Trustees, in the exercise of their business judgment in the best interests of the shareholders of the fund and each Class, have approved the continuation of the 12b-1 Plan. The 12b-1 Plan requires that the fund and the distributors provide to the Board and the Board review, at least quarterly, a written report of the amounts expended (and the purposes therefor) under the 12b-1 Plan. The 12b-1 Plan further provides that the selection and nomination of the Qualified Trustees is committed to the discretion of the Qualified Trustees then in office who are Independent Trustees of the fund. The 12b-1 Plan may be terminated with respect to any class of the fund at any time by a vote of a majority of the fund’s Qualified Trustees or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of that class. The 12b-1 Plan may not be amended to increase materially the amount of permitted expenses of the class thereunder without the approval of a majority of the outstanding securities of that class and may not be materially amended in any case without a vote of a majority of both the Trustees and Qualified Trustees. The fund will preserve copies of any plan,

 

27


agreement or report made pursuant to the 12b-1 Plan for a period of not less than six years, and for the first two years the fund will preserve such copies in an easily accessible place.

 

As contemplated by the 12b-1 Plan, each distributor acts as an agent of the fund in connection with the offering of shares of the fund pursuant to the respective distribution agreements.

 

Prior to December 1, 2005, the fund paid service and distribution fees directly to CGMI and PFS Distributors Inc. (an affiliate of PFS) under separate 12b-1 Plans with respect to shares sold through CGMI and PFS Distributors.

 

The following service and distribution fees were incurred by the fund pursuant to the Plans in effect during the periods indicated:

 

     Fiscal Year
Ended 8/31/04


   Fiscal Year
Ended 8/31/05


   Fiscal Year
Ended 8/31/06


Class A

   $ 7,127,634    $ 8,269,335    $ 10,215,012

Class B

   $ 21,889,194    $ 22,245,651    $ 23,452,076

Class C

   $ 16,337,516    $ 16,933,237    $ 18,864,248

 

As Class FI and R shares are newly offered as of the date of this SAI, no fees were paid under the 12b-1 Plan with respect to those share classes for the periods shown above.

 

Distribution expenses incurred by LMIS, CGMI and/or PFS for advertising, printing and mailing prospectuses, support services and overhead expenses, payments to Service Agents and for accruals for interest on the excess of CGMI and/or PFS expenses incurred in the distribution of the fund’s shares are expressed in the following tables.

 

LMIS

     Advertising

  

Printing and

Mailing


  

Financial

Consultant

Expense


  

Branch

Expense


  

Third
Party

Service
Fees


Class A

   $ 0    $ 0    $ 0    $ 0    $ 1,421,114

Class B

   $ 626,060    $ 19,888    $ 5,828,204    $ 0    $ 245,256

Class C

   $ 1,193,505    $ 36,372    $ 1,508,609    $ 0    $ 77,821

 

CGMI

     Advertising

  

Printing and

Mailing


  

Financial

Consultant

Expense


  

Branch

Expense


  

Third
Party

Service
Fees


Class A

   $ 0    $ 0    $ 1,643,126    $ 2,088,516    $ 410,657

Class B

   $ 193,779    $ 6,629    $ 3,564,605    $ 1,440,063    $ 102,692

Class C

   $ 253,184    $ 12,124    $ 6,017,858    $ 6,966,052    $ 223,486

 

PFS

     Advertising

  

Printing and

Mailing


  

Financial

Consultant

Expense


  

Branch

Expense


  

Third
Party

Service
Fees


Class A

   $ 0    $ 0    $ 1,623,235    $ 2,699,178    $ 0

Class B

   $ 252,752    $ 0    $ 3,738,218    $ 1,338,341    $ 0

 

As Class FI and R shares are newly offered as of the date of this SAI, no expenses were incurred under the Plan during the fund’s most recent fiscal year.

 

28


Dealer reallowances are described in the fund’s prospectus.

 

Portfolio Transactions

 

Subject to policies as may be established by the fund’s Board from time to time, the subadviser is primarily responsible for the fund’s portfolio decisions and the placing of the fund’s portfolio transactions, except that the manager manages the cash and the short-term investments of the fund.

 

Transactions on stock exchanges involve the payment of negotiated brokerage commissions. There is generally no stated commission in the case of securities traded in the over-the-counter market, but the price of those securities includes an undisclosed commission or mark-up. Over-the-counter purchases and sales are transacted directly with principal market makers except where it is believed that better prices and executions may be obtained elsewhere. The cost of securities purchased from underwriters includes an underwriting commission or concession, and the prices at which securities are purchased from and sold to dealers include a dealer’s mark-up or mark-down. The purchase by the fund of participations or assignments may be pursuant to privately negotiated transactions pursuant to which the fund may be required to pay fees to the seller or forego a portion of payments in respect of the participation agreement. The aggregate brokerage commissions paid by the fund for its three most recent fiscal years is set forth below under “Aggregate Brokerage Commissions Paid.”

 

Pursuant to the Management Agreement and the Sub-Advisory Agreement, each of the manager and the subadviser is authorized to place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. The general policy of the manager and subadviser in selecting brokers and dealers is to obtain the best results achievable in the context of a number of factors which are considered both in relation to individual trades and broader trading patterns, including the reliability of the broker/dealer, the competitiveness of the price and the commission, the research services received and whether the broker/dealer commits its own capital. In connection with the manager’s or subadviser’s, as applicable, monitoring of its portfolio transactions for compliance with its policies, the manager and subadviser each utilize both an internal committee and a third party service provider.

 

In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) to the fund and/or the other accounts over which the manager, the subadviser or their affiliates exercise investment discretion. The manager and the subadviser are authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for the fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the manager or subadviser, as applicable, determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities that the manager or the subadviser, as applicable, and its affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The manager and the subadviser may also have arrangements with brokers pursuant to which such brokers provide research services to the manager or the subadviser, as applicable, in exchange for a certain volume of brokerage transactions to be executed by such brokers. While the payment of higher commissions increases the fund’s costs, the manager and the subadviser do not believe that the receipt of such brokerage and research services significantly reduces its expenses as manager or subadviser, as applicable. Arrangements for the receipt of research services from brokers may create conflicts of interest.

 

Research services furnished to the manager or subadviser by brokers who effect securities transactions for the fund may be used by the manager or subadviser, as applicable, in servicing other investment companies and accounts which it manages. Similarly, research services furnished to the manager or subadviser by brokers who effect securities transactions for other investment companies and accounts which the manager or subadviser

 

29


manages may be used by the manager or subadviser, as applicable, in servicing the fund. Not all of these research services are used by the manager or the subadviser in managing any particular account, including the fund.

 

For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2006, the fund paid $204,768 in commissions on brokerage transactions totaling $81,065,629 directed to brokers because of research services provided.

 

The fund contemplates that, consistent with the policy of obtaining the best net results, brokerage transactions may be conducted through “affiliated broker/dealers,” as defined in the 1940 Act. The Board has adopted procedures in accordance with Rule 17e-1 under the 1940 Act to ensure that all brokerage commissions paid to such affiliates are reasonable and fair in the context of the market in which such affiliates operate. Any such compensation will be paid in accordance with applicable SEC regulations. Effective December 1, 2005, CGMI is no longer an affiliated person of the fund under the 1940 Act. As a result, the fund will be permitted to execute portfolio transactions with CGMI or an affiliate of CGMI as agent (but not as principal) without being subject to the restrictions applicable to transactions with affiliated persons.

 

Aggregate Brokerage Commissions Paid

 

The fund has paid the following in brokerage commissions for portfolio transactions:

 

Fiscal Year Ending
August 31:
   Total
Brokerage
Commissions
   Commissions
Paid to CGMI
and Affiliates
   % of Total
Brokerage
Commissions
Paid to CGMI
and Affiliates
     % of Total
Dollar Amount
of Transactions
Involving
Commissions
Paid to CGMI
and Affiliates
 
2004    $ 2,321,740    $ 39,050    1.68 %    1.77 %
2005    $ 487,591    $ 5,000    1.03 %    0.31 %
2006*    $ 1,381,757    $ 9,000    0.65 %    3.06 %
 
  *   CGMI was not an affiliated person of the fund under the 1940 Act during the entire period.

 

As of December 1, 2005, LMIS became an affiliated person of the fund under the 1940 Act. For the period December 1, 2005 though August 31, 2006, the fund did not pay any brokerage commissions to LMIS or its affiliates.

 

In certain instances there may be securities that are suitable as an investment for the fund as well as for one or more of the manager’s or subadviser’s other clients. Investment decisions for the fund and for the manager’s or subadviser’s other clients are made with a view to achieving their respective investment objectives. It may develop that a particular security is bought or sold for only one client even though it might be held by, or bought or sold for, other clients. Likewise, a particular security may be bought for one or more clients when one or more clients are selling the same security. Some simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several clients receive investment advice from the same investment adviser, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objectives of more than one client. When two or more clients are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security, the securities are allocated among clients in a manner believed to be equitable to each. It is recognized that in some cases this system could adversely affect the price of or the size of the position obtainable in a security for the fund. When purchases or sales of the same security for the fund and for other portfolios managed by the manager or subadviser, as applicable, occur contemporaneously, the purchase or sale orders may be aggregated in order to obtain any price advantages available to large volume purchases or sales.

 

For reporting purposes, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate is calculated by dividing the lesser of purchases or sales of portfolio securities for the fiscal year by the monthly average of the value of the portfolio securities owned by the fund during the fiscal year. In determining such portfolio turnover, all securities whose maturities

 

30


at the time of acquisition were one year or less are excluded. A 100% portfolio turnover rate would occur, for example, if all of the securities in the fund’s investment portfolio (other than short-term money market securities) were replaced once during the fiscal year. Portfolio turnover will not be a limiting factor should the manager or subadviser, as applicable, deem it advisable to purchase or sell securities.

 

Increased portfolio turnover necessarily results in correspondingly greater transaction costs which must be paid by the fund. To the extent portfolio trading results in realization of net short-term capital gains, shareholders will be taxed on such gains at ordinary tax rates (except shareholders who invest through individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”) and other retirement plans which are not taxed currently on accumulations in their accounts). The portfolio turnover rates for the fund fiscal years ended August 31, 2005 and 2006 were 2% and 5%, respectively.

 

At August 31, 2006, the fund held the following securities issued by its regular broker/dealers:

 

Issuer


   Shares

   Market Value

Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

   30,000    $ 4,459,500

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.

   13,477,996    $ 860,030,925

Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.

   4,400,000    $ 323,532,000

 

PORTFOLIO MANAGER DISCLOSURE

 

Portfolio Manager

 

The following tables set forth certain additional information with respect to the fund’s portfolio manager. Unless noted otherwise, all information is provided as of August 31, 2006.

 

Other Accounts Managed by Portfolio Manager

 

The table below identifies the number of accounts (other than the fund with respect to which information is provided) for which he has day-to-day management responsibilities and the total assets in such accounts, within each of the following categories: registered investment companies, other pooled investment vehicles, and other accounts. No accounts had fees based on performance.

 

Portfolio Manager


  

Registered Investment
Companies


  

Other Pooled Investment
Vehicles


  

Other Accounts


Richard Freeman

   12 registered investment companies with $2.80 billion in total assets under management    2 other pooled investment vehicles with $0.41 billion in assets under management    118,503 other accounts with $12.13 billion in total assets under management

 

Portfolio Manager Compensation

 

ClearBridge Advisors, LLC (“ClearBridge”) investment professionals receive base salary and other employee benefits and are eligible to receive incentive compensation. Base salary is fixed and typically determined based on market factors and the skill and experience of individual investment personnel.

 

ClearBridge has implemented an investment management incentive and deferred compensation plan (the “Plan”) for its investment professionals, including the fund’s portfolio manager(s). Each investment professional works as a part of an investment team. The Plan is designed to align the objectives of ClearBridge investment professionals with those of fund shareholders and other ClearBridge clients. Under the Plan a “base incentive pool” is established for each team each year as a percentage of ClearBridge’s revenue attributable to the team (largely management and related fees generated by funds and other accounts). A team’s revenues are typically

 

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expected to increase or decrease depending on the effect that the team’s investment performance as well as inflows and outflows have on the level of assets in the investment products managed by the team. The “base incentive pool” of a team is reduced by base salaries paid to members of the team and other employee expenses attributable to the team.

 

The investment team’s incentive pool is then adjusted to reflect its ranking among a “peer group” of non-ClearBridge investment managers and the team’s pre-tax investment performance against the applicable product benchmark (e.g. a securities index and, with respect to a fund, the benchmark set forth in the fund’s prospectus to which the fund’s average annual total returns are compared or, if none, the benchmark set forth in the fund’s annual report). Longer-term (5- year) performance will be more heavily weighted than shorter-term (1- year) performance in the calculation of the performance adjustment factor. The incentive pool for a team may also be adjusted based on other qualitative factors by the applicable ClearBridge Chief Investment Officer. The incentive pool will be allocated by the applicable ClearBridge chief investment officer to the team leader and, based on the recommendations of the team leader, to the other members of the team.

 

Up to 20% of an investment professional’s annual incentive compensation is subject to deferral. Of that principal deferred award amount, 25% will accrue a return based on the hypothetical returns of the investment fund or product that is the primary focus of the investment professional’s business activities with the Firm, 25% will accrue a return based on the hypothetical returns of an employee chosen composite fund, and 50% may be received in the form of Legg Mason restricted stock shares.

 

Potential Conflicts of Interest

 

Potential conflicts of interest may arise when the fund’s portfolio manager also has day-to-day management responsibilities with respect to one or more other funds or other accounts, as is the case for the portfolio manager listed in the table above.

 

The manager, the subadviser and the fund have adopted compliance polices and procedures that are designed to address various conflicts of interest that may arise for the manager and the individuals that it employs. For example, the manager and the subadviser each seek to minimize the effects of competing interests for the time and attention of portfolio managers by assigning portfolio managers to manage funds and accounts that share a similar investment style. The manager and the subadviser have also adopted trade allocation procedures that are designed to facilitate the fair allocation of limited investment opportunities among multiple funds and accounts. There is no guarantee, however, that the policies and procedures adopted by the manager, the subadviser and the fund will be able to detect and/or prevent every situation in which an actual or potential conflict may appear. These potential conflicts include:

 

Allocation of Limited Time and Attention .    A portfolio manager who is responsible for managing multiple funds and/or accounts may devote unequal time and attention to the management of those funds and/or accounts. As a result, the portfolio manager may not be able to formulate as complete a strategy or identify equally attractive investment opportunities for each of those accounts as might be the case if he or she were to devote substantially more attention to the management of a single fund. The effects of this potential conflict may be more pronounced where funds and/or accounts overseen by a particular portfolio manager have different investment strategies.

 

Allocation of Limited Investment Opportunities .    If a portfolio manager identifies a limited investment opportunity that may be suitable for multiple funds and/or accounts, the opportunity may be allocated among these several funds or accounts, which may limit a fund’s ability to take full advantage of the investment opportunity.

 

Pursuit of Differing Strategies .    At times, a portfolio manager may determine that an investment opportunity may be appropriate for only some of the funds and/or accounts for which he or she exercises investment responsibility, or may decide that certain of the funds and/or accounts should take differing positions with respect to a particular security. In these cases, the portfolio manager may place separate transactions for one

 

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or more funds or accounts which may affect the market price of the security or the execution of the transaction, or both, to the detriment or benefit of one or more other funds and/or accounts.

 

Selection of Broker/Dealers.     Portfolio managers may be able to select or influence the selection of the brokers and dealers that are used to execute securities transactions for the funds and/or accounts that they supervise. In addition to executing trades, some brokers and dealers provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934), which may result in the payment of higher brokerage fees than might have otherwise been available. These services may be more beneficial to certain funds or accounts than to others. Although the payment of brokerage commissions is subject to the requirement that the sub-adviser determines in good faith that the commissions are reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided to the fund, a decision as to the selection of brokers and dealers could yield disproportionate costs and benefits among the funds and/or accounts managed. For this reason, the subadviser has formed a brokerage committee that reviews, among other things, the allocation of brokerage to broker/dealers, best execution and soft dollar usage.

 

Variation in Compensation .    A conflict of interest may arise where the financial or other benefits available to the portfolio manager differ among the funds and/or accounts that he or she manages. If the structure of the investment manager’s management fee and/or the portfolio manager’s compensation differs among funds and/or accounts (such as where certain funds or accounts pay higher management fees or performance-based management fees), the portfolio manager might be motivated to help certain funds and/or accounts over others. The portfolio manager might be motivated to favor funds and/or accounts in which he or she has an interest or in which the investment manager and/or its affiliates have interests. Similarly, the desire to maintain assets under management or to enhance the portfolio manager’s performance record or to derive other rewards, financial or otherwise, could influence the portfolio manager in affording preferential treatment to those funds and/or accounts that could most significantly benefit the portfolio manager.

 

Related Business Opportunities .    The manager or its affiliates may provide more services (such as distribution or recordkeeping) for some types of funds or accounts than for others. In such cases, a portfolio manager may benefit, either directly or indirectly, by devoting disproportionate attention to the management of fund and/or accounts that provide greater overall returns to the manager and its affiliates.

 

Portfolio Manager Securities Ownership

 

The table below identifies ownership of fund securities by the fund’s portfolio manager.

 

Portfolio Manager


 

Dollar Range of
Ownership of Securities


Richard Freeman

  over $1,000,000

 

PURCHASE OF SHARES

 

General

 

Investors may purchase shares from a Service Agent. In addition, certain investors, including retirement plans purchasing through certain Service Agents, may purchase shares directly from the fund. When purchasing shares of the fund, investors must specify whether the purchase is for Class A, B, C, FI, R or I* shares. Service Agents may charge their customers an annual account maintenance fee in connection with a brokerage account through which an investor purchases or holds shares. Accounts held directly at the transfer agent are not subject to a maintenance fee.

 

For additional information regarding applicable investment minimums and eligibility requirements, please see the fund’s prospectus.

 


*   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y Shares were renamed Class I Shares.

 

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There are no minimum investment requirements for purchases of Class A shares by: (i) current and retired board members of Legg Mason, (ii) current and retired board members of any fund advised by LMPFA (such board members, together with board members of Legg Mason, are referred to herein as “Board Members”), (iii) current employees of Legg Mason and its subsidiaries, as well as (iv) by the ”immediate families” of such persons (“immediate families” are such person’s spouse, including the surviving spouse of a deceased Board Member, and children under the age of 21) and (v) by a pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for the benefit of such persons. The fund reserves the right to waive or change minimums, to decline any order to purchase its shares and to suspend the offering of shares from time to time.

 

Share certificates for the fund will no longer be issued. If you currently hold share certificates of the fund, such certificates will continue to be honored.

 

Purchase orders received by the fund or a Service Agent prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE on any day the fund calculates its net asset value are priced according to the net asset value determined on that day (the “trade date”). Orders received by a Service Agent prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE on any day the fund calculates its net asset value are priced according to the net asset value determined on that day, provided the order is received by the fund’s agent prior to its close of business. For shares purchased through CGMI or a Service Agent purchasing through CGMI, payment for shares of the fund is normally due on the third business day after the trade date. In all other cases, payment must be made with the purchase order.

 

Systematic Investment Plan.     Shareholders may make additions to their accounts at any time by purchasing shares through a service known as the Systematic Investment Plan. Under the Systematic Investment Plan, a distributor, the transfer agent, or, with respect to a PFS account, Primerica Shareholder Services is authorized through preauthorized transfers of at least $25 on a monthly, quarterly, every alternate month, semi-annual or annual basis to charge the shareholder’s account held with a bank or other financial institution as indicated by the shareholder, to provide for systematic additions to the shareholder’s fund account. A shareholder who has insufficient funds to complete the transfer will be charged a fee of up to $25 by a distributor, the transfer agent or Primerica Shareholder Services (such fee may be up to $30 for a PFS account). The Systematic Investment Plan also authorizes a distributor to apply cash held in the shareholder’s brokerage account or redeem the shareholder’s shares of certain money market funds managed by the manager or its affiliates to make additions to the account. Additional information is available from the fund or a Service Agent.

 

Sales Charge Alternatives

 

The following Classes of shares are available for purchase. See the prospectus for a discussion of who is eligible to purchase certain classes and of factors to consider in selecting which Class of shares to purchase.

 

Class A Shares. Class A shares are sold to investors at the public offering price, which is the net asset value (“NAV”) plus an initial sales charge, as described in the fund’s prospectus.

 

Members of the selling group may receive a portion of the sales charge as described above and may be deemed to be underwriters of the fund as defined in the 1933 Act. The sales charges are calculated based on the aggregate of purchases of Class A shares of the fund made at one time by any “person,” which includes an individual and his or her spouse and children under the age of 21, or a trustee or other fiduciary of a single trust estate or single fiduciary account. For additional information regarding sales charge reductions, see “Sales Charge Waivers and Reductions” below.

 

Purchases of Class A shares of $1,000,000 or more will be made at NAV without any initial sales charge, but will be subject to a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00% on redemptions made within 12 months of purchase. The contingent deferred sales charge is waived in the same circumstances in which the contingent deferred sales charge applicable to Class B and Class C shares is waived. See “Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Provisions” and “Waivers of Contingent Deferred Sales Charge” below.

 

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Class B and C Shares.     Class B and C shares are sold without an initial sales charge but are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge payable upon certain redemptions. See “Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Provisions” below.

 

Class FI, R and I Shares .    Class FI, R and I shares are sold at NAV with no initial sales charge on purchases and no contingent deferred sales charge upon redemption.

 

Sales Charge Waivers and Reductions

 

Initial Sales Charge Waivers.    Purchases of Class A shares may be made at NAV without an initial sales charge in the following circumstances:

 

(a)   sales to (i) current and retired board members of Legg Mason, (ii) current and retired Board Members, (iii) current employees of Legg Mason and its subsidiaries, as well as (iv) by the ”immediate families” of such persons (“immediate families” are such person’s spouse, including the surviving spouse of a deceased Board Member, and children under the age of 21) and (v) by a pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for the benefit of such persons;

 

(b)   sales to any employees of Service Agents having dealer, service or other selling agreements with the funds’ distributors or otherwise having an arrangement with any such Service Agent with respect to sales of fund shares, and by the immediate families of such persons or by a pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for the benefit of such persons (providing the purchase is made for investment purposes and such securities will not be resold except through redemption or repurchase);

 

(c)   offers of Class A shares to any other investment company to effect the combination of such company with the fund by merger, acquisition of assets or otherwise;

 

(d)   purchases by shareholders who have redeemed Class A shares in the fund (or Class A shares of another Legg Mason Partners fund that is offered with a sales charge) and who wish to reinvest their redemption proceeds in the fund, provided the reinvestment is made within 60 calendar days of the redemption;

 

(e)   purchases by accounts managed by registered investment advisory subsidiaries of Citigroup;

 

(f)   purchases by certain separate accounts used to fund unregistered variable annuity contracts; and

 

(g)   purchases by investors participating in “wrap fee” or asset allocation programs or other fee-based arrangements sponsored by (affiliated and non-affiliated) broker/dealers and other financial institutions that have entered into agreements with CGMI or LMIS.

 

In order to obtain such discounts, the purchaser must provide sufficient information at the time of purchase to permit verification that the purchase qualifies for the elimination of the sales charge.

 

All existing retirement plan shareholders who purchased Class A shares at NAV prior to November 20, 2006, are permitted to purchase additional Class A shares at NAV. Certain existing programs for current and prospective retirement plan investors sponsored by financial intermediaries approved by LMIS prior to November 20, 2006 will also remain eligible to purchase Class A shares at NAV.

 

Accumulation Privilege —Please see the fund’s prospectus for information regarding accumulation privileges.

 

35


Letter of Intent —helps you take advantage of breakpoints in Class A sales charges. You may purchase Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners funds over a 13-month period and pay the same sales charge, if any, as if all shares had been purchased at once. You have a choice of seven Asset Level Goal amounts, as follows:

 

(1) $25,000

        (5) $500,000

(2) $50,000

        (6) $750,000

(3) $100,000

        (7) $1,000,000
(4) $250,000          

 

Each time you make a Class A purchase under a Letter of Intent, you will be entitled to the sales charge that is applicable to the amount of your Asset Level Goal. For example, if your Asset Level Goal is $100,000, any Class A investments you make under a Letter of Intent would be subject to the sales charge of the specific fund you are investing in for purchases of $100,000. Sales charges and breakpoints vary among the Legg Mason Partners funds.

 

When you enter into a Letter of Intent, you agree to purchase in Eligible Accounts over a thirteen (13) month period Eligible Fund Purchases in an amount equal to the Asset Level Goal you have selected, less any Eligible Prior Purchases. For this purpose, shares are valued at the public offering price (including any sales charge paid) calculated as of the date of purchase, plus any appreciation in the value of the shares as of the date of calculation, except for Eligible Prior Purchases, which are valued at current value as of the date of calculation. Your commitment will be met if at any time during the 13-month period the value, as so determined, of eligible holdings is at least equal to your Asset Level Goal. All reinvested dividends and distributions on shares acquired under the Letter will be credited towards your Asset Level Goal. You may include any Eligible Fund Purchases towards the Letter, including shares of classes other than Class A shares. However, a Letter of Intent will not entitle you to a reduction in the sales charge payable on any shares other than Class A shares, and if the shares are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge, you will still be subject to that contingent deferred sales charge with respect to those shares. You must make reference to the Letter of Intent each time you make a purchase under the Letter.

 

Eligible Fund Purchases.     Generally, shares of a Legg Mason Partners fund may be credited towards your Asset Level Goal. Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or its affiliates (except for money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners funds offered with a sales charge), Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. are not eligible.

 

This list may change from time to time. Investors should check with their Service Agent to see which funds may be eligible.

 

Eligible Accounts.     Purchases may be made through any account in your name, or in the name of your spouse or your children under the age of 21. You may need to provide certain records, such as account statements, in order to verify your eligibility for reduced sales charges. Contact your Service Agent to see which accounts may be credited toward your letter of intent asset goal.

 

Eligible Prior Purchases .    You may also credit towards your Asset Level Goal any Eligible Fund Purchases made in Eligible Accounts at any time prior to entering into the Letter of Intent that have not been sold or redeemed, based on the current price of those shares as of the date of calculation.

 

Backdating Letter.     You may establish a date for a Letter of Intent that is up to ninety (90) calendar days prior to the date you enter into the Letter. Any Eligible Fund Purchases in Eligible Accounts made during that period will count towards your Goal and will also be eligible for the lower sales charge applicable to your Asset Level Goal. You will be credited by way of additional shares at the current offering price for the difference between (a) the aggregate sales charges actually paid for those eligible shares and (b) the aggregate applicable sales charges for your Asset Level Goal.

 

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Increasing the Amount of the Letter.     You may at any time increase your Asset Level Goal. You must however contact your Service Agent, or if you purchase your shares directly through PFPC, contact PFPC prior to making any purchases in an amount in excess of your current Asset Level Goal. Upon such an increase, you will be credited by way of additional shares at the then current offering price for the difference between: (a) the aggregate sales charges actually paid for shares already purchased under the Letter and (b) the aggregate applicable sales charges for the increased Asset Level Goal. The 13-month period during which the Asset Level Goal must be achieved will remain unchanged.

 

Sales and Exchanges.     Shares acquired pursuant to a Letter of Intent, other than Escrowed Shares as defined below, may be redeemed or exchanged at any time, although any shares that are redeemed prior to meeting your Asset Level Goal will no longer count towards meeting your Goal. However, complete liquidation of purchases made under a Letter of Intent prior to meeting the Asset Level Goal will result in the cancellation of the Letter. See “Failure to Meet Asset Level Goal” below. Exchanges in accordance with a fund’s prospectus are permitted, and shares so exchanged will continue to count towards your Asset Level Goal, as long as the exchange results in an Eligible Fund Purchase.

 

Cancellation of Letter.     You may cancel a Letter of Intent by notifying your Service Agent in writing, or if you purchase your shares directly through PFPC, by notifying PFPC in writing. The Letter will be automatically cancelled if all shares are sold or redeemed as set forth above. See “Failure to Meet Asset Level Goal” below.

 

Escrowed Shares.     Shares equal in value to five percent (5%) of your Asset Level Goal as of the date of your Letter (or the date of any increase in the amount of the Letter) is accepted, will be held in escrow during the term of your Letter. The Escrowed Shares will be included in the total shares owned as reflected in your account statement and any dividends and capital gains distributions applicable to the Escrowed Shares will be credited to your account and counted towards your Asset Level Goal or paid in cash upon request. The Escrowed Shares will be released from escrow if all the terms of your Letter are met.

 

Failure to Meet Asset Level Goal.     If the total assets under your Letter of Intent within its 13-month term are less than your Asset Level Goal or you elect to liquidate all of your holdings or cancel the Letter before reaching your Asset Level Goal, you will be liable for the difference between: (a) the sales charge actually paid and; (b) the sales charge that would have applied if you had not entered into the Letter. You may, however, be entitled to any breakpoints that would have been available to you under the accumulation privilege. An appropriate number of shares in your account will be redeemed to realize the amount due. For these purposes, by entering into a Letter of Intent, you irrevocably appoint your Service Agent, or if you purchase your shares directly through PFPC, PFPC, as your attorney-in-fact for the purposes of holding the Escrowed Shares and surrendering shares in your account for redemption. If there are insufficient assets in your account, you will be liable for the difference. Any Escrowed Shares remaining after such redemption will be released to your account.

 

Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Provisions

 

“Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Shares” are: (a) Class B shares; (b) Class C shares; and (c) Class A shares that were purchased without an initial sales charge but are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge. A contingent deferred sales charge may be imposed on certain redemptions of these shares.

 

Any applicable contingent deferred sales charge will be assessed on the net asset value at the time of purchase or redemption, whichever is less.

 

Class C shares and Class A shares that are Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Shares are subject to a 1.00% contingent deferred sales charge if redeemed within 12 months of purchase. In circumstances in which the contingent deferred sales charge is imposed on Class B shares, the amount of the charge will depend on the number of years since the shareholder made the purchase payment from which the amount is being redeemed. Solely for purposes of determining the number of years since a purchase payment, all purchase payments made

 

37


during a month will be aggregated and deemed to have been made on the last day of the preceding statement month. The following table sets forth the rates of the charge for redemptions of Class B shares by shareholders.

 

Year Since Purchase Payment Was Made


   Contingent Deferred sales charge

 

First

   5.00 %

Second

   4.00  

Third

   3.00  

Fourth

   2.00  

Fifth

   1.00  

Sixth and thereafter

   0.00  

 

Class B shares will convert automatically to Class A shares approximately eight years after the date on which they were purchased and thereafter will no longer be subject to any distribution fees. There will also be converted at that time such proportion of Class B dividend shares (Class B shares that were acquired through the reinvestment of dividends and distributions) owned by the shareholder as the total number of his or her Class B shares converting at the time bears to the total number of outstanding Class B shares (other than Class B dividend shares) owned by the shareholder.

 

In determining the applicability of any contingent deferred sales charge, it will be assumed that a redemption is made first of shares representing capital appreciation, next of shares representing the reinvestment of dividends and capital gain distributions, next of shares that are not subject to the contingent deferred sales charge and finally of other shares held by the shareholder for the longest period of time. The length of time that Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Shares acquired through an exchange have been held will be calculated from the date the shares exchanged were initially acquired in one of the other Legg Mason Partners funds. For federal income tax purposes, the amount of the contingent deferred sales charge will reduce the gain or increase the loss, as the case may be, on the amount realized on redemption. The fund’s distributors receive contingent deferred sales charges in partial consideration for their expenses in selling shares.

 

Waivers of Contingent Deferred Sales Charge

 

The contingent deferred sales charge will be waived on: (a) exchanges (see “Exchange Privilege”); (b) automatic cash withdrawals in amounts equal to or less than 2.00% of the shareholder’s account balance at the time the withdrawals commence per month, up to a maximum of 12.00% in one year (see “Automatic Cash Withdrawal Plan”); (c) redemptions of shares within 12 months following the death or disability (as defined in the Code) of the shareholder; (d) mandatory post-retirement distributions from retirement plans or IRAs commencing on or after attainment of age 70  1 / 2 (except that shareholders who purchased shares subject to a contingent deferred sales charge prior to May 23, 2005, will be “grandfathered” and will be eligible to obtain the waiver at age 59  1 / 2 by demonstrating such eligibility at the time of redemption); (e) involuntary redemptions; (f) redemptions of shares to effect a combination of the fund with any investment company by merger, acquisition of assets or otherwise; (g) tax-free returns of an excess contribution to any retirement plan; and (h) certain redemptions of shares of a fund in connection with lump-sum or other distributions made by eligible retirement plans or redemption of shares by participants in certain “wrap fee” or asset allocation programs sponsored by broker/dealers and other financial institutions that have entered into agreements with a distributor or the manager.

 

As of November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge will be waived on new Class C shares purchased by retirement plan omnibus accounts held on the books of a fund.

 

A shareholder who has redeemed shares from other Legg Mason Partners funds may, under certain circumstances, reinvest all or part of the redemption proceeds within 60 days and receive pro rata credit for any contingent deferred sales charge imposed on the prior redemption.

 

Contingent deferred sales charge waivers will be granted subject to confirmation by a distributor or the transfer agent of the shareholder’s status or holdings, as the case may be.

 

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Grandfathered Retirement Program with Exchange Features

 

Retirement plan programs authorized by LMIS prior to November 20, 2006 (collectively, the “Grandfathered Retirement Program”), to offer eligible retirement plan investors the opportunity to exchange all of their Class C shares for Class A shares of the fund, are permitted to maintain such share class exchange feature for current and prospective retirement plan investors.

 

Under the Grandfathered Retirement Program, Class C shares may be purchased by plans investing less than $3 million. Class C shares are eligible for exchange into Class A shares not later than eight years after the plan joins the program. They are eligible for exchange in the following circumstances:

 

If a participating plan’s total Class C holdings in all non-money market Legg Mason Partners funds equal at least $3,000,000 at the end of the fifth year after the date the participating plan enrolled in the Grandfathered Retirement Program, the participating plan will be offered the opportunity to exchange all of its Class C shares for Class A shares of the fund. Such participating plans will be notified of the pending exchange in writing within 30 days after the fifth anniversary of the enrollment date and, unless the exchange offer has been rejected in writing, the exchange will occur on or about the 90th day after the fifth anniversary date. If the participating plan does not qualify for the five-year exchange to Class A shares, a review of the participating plan’s holdings will be performed each quarter until either the participating plan qualifies or the end of the eighth year.

 

Any participating plan that has not previously qualified for an exchange into Class A shares will be offered the opportunity to exchange all of its Class C shares for Class A shares of the same fund regardless of asset size at the end of the eighth year after the date the participating plan enrolled in the Grandfathered Retirement Program. Such plans will be notified of the pending exchange in writing approximately 60 days before the eighth anniversary of the enrollment date and, unless the exchange has been rejected in writing, the exchange will occur on or about the eighth anniversary date. Once an exchange has occurred, a participating plan will not be eligible to acquire additional Class C shares, but instead may acquire Class A shares of the same fund. Any Class C shares not converted will continue to be subject to the distribution fee.

 

For further information regarding this Program, contact your Service Agent or the transfer agent. Participating plans that enrolled in the Grandfathered Retirement Program prior to June 2, 2003 should contact the transfer agent for information regarding Class C exchange privileges applicable to their plan.

 

PFS Accounts

 

The fund offers two Classes of shares to investors purchasing through PFS: Class A shares and Class B shares.

 

Initial purchases of shares of the fund must be made through a PFS Registered Representative by completing the appropriate application. The completed application should be forwarded to Primerica Shareholder Services c/o PFPC Inc., P.O. Box 9662, Providence, RI 02940-9662. Checks drawn on foreign banks must be payable in U.S. dollars and have the routing number of the U.S. bank encoded on the check. Additional investments may be sent directly to PFPC. In processing applications and investments, PFPC acts as agent for the investor and for the distributors, in accordance with the terms of the prospectus. If the transfer agent ceases to act as such, a successor company named by the fund will act in the same capacity so long as the account remains open. Shares purchased will be held in the shareholder’s account by PFPC.

 

Purchase orders received by the transfer agent or Primerica Shareholder Services prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE, on any day the fund calculates its net asset value, are priced according to the net asset value determined on that day.

 

Initial purchases of fund shares may be made by wire. Before sending the wire, the PFS Registered Representative must contact Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 665-8677 to obtain proper wire instructions.

 

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Once an account is open, a shareholder may make additional investments by wire. The shareholder should contact Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445 to obtain proper wire instructions.

 

Shareholders who establish telephone transaction authority on their account and supply bank account information may make additions to their accounts at any time. Shareholders should contact Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern time any day that the NYSE is open. If a shareholder does not wish to allow subsequent investments by telephone by any person in his or her account, the shareholder should decline the telephone transaction option on the account application. The minimum subsequent investment by telephone is $25 and can be up to a maximum of $50,000. By requesting a subsequent purchase by telephone, you authorize Primerica Shareholder Services to transfer funds from the bank account provided for the amount of the purchase. Subsequent investments by telephone may not be available if the shareholder cannot reach Primerica Shareholder Services whether because all telephone lines are busy or for any other reason; in such case, a shareholder would have to use the fund’s regular subsequent investment procedure described above.

 

An account transcript is available at a shareholder’s request, which identifies every financial transaction in an account since it has opened. Additional copies of tax forms are available at the shareholder’s request.

 

Additional information regarding Primerica Shareholder Services may be obtained by contacting the Customer Services Department at (800) 544-5445.

 

Determination of Public Offering Price

 

The fund offers its shares on a continuous basis. The public offering price for a Class A, Class B, Class C, Class FI, Class R and Class I shares of the fund is equal to the net asset value per share at the time of purchase, plus for Class A shares an initial sales charge based on the aggregate amount of the investment. A contingent deferred sales charge, however, is imposed on certain redemptions of Class A, Class B and Class C shares.

 

Set forth below is an example of the method of computing the offering price of the Class A shares of the fund based on the net asset value of a share of the fund as of August 31, 2006.

 

Class A (net asset value of $109.36 based on a maximum initial sales charge of 5.75% of net asset value per share)

     $ 116.03

 

REDEMPTION OF SHARES

 

The right of redemption may be suspended or the date of payment postponed (a) for any period during which the NYSE is closed (other than for customary weekend and holiday closings), (b) when trading in the markets the fund normally utilizes is restricted, or an emergency exists, as determined by the SEC, so that disposal of the fund’s investments or determination of net asset value is not reasonably practicable or (c) for such other periods as the SEC by order may permit for protection of the fund’s shareholders.

 

If the shares to be redeemed were issued in certificate form, the certificates must be endorsed for transfer (or be accompanied by an endorsed stock power) and must be submitted to PFPC together with the redemption request. Any signature appearing on a share certificate, stock power or written redemption request in excess of $50,000 must be guaranteed by an eligible guarantor institution such as a domestic bank, savings and loan institution, domestic credit union, member bank of the Federal Reserve System or member firm of a national securities exchange. Written redemption requests of $50,000 or less do not require a signature guarantee unless more than one such redemption request is made in any 10-day period. Redemption proceeds will be mailed to an investor’s address of record. The transfer agent may require additional supporting documents for redemptions

 

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made by corporations, executors, administrators, trustees or guardians. A redemption request will not be deemed properly received until the transfer agent receives all required documents in proper form.

 

If a shareholder holds shares in more than one Class, any request for redemption must specify the Class being redeemed. In the event of a failure to specify which Class, or if the investor owns fewer shares of the Class than specified, the redemption request will be delayed until the transfer agent receives further instructions. The redemption proceeds will be remitted on or before the seventh business day following receipt of proper tender, except on any days on which the NYSE is closed or as permitted under the 1940 Act, in extraordinary circumstances. Redemption proceeds for shares purchased by check, other than a certified or official bank check, will be remitted upon clearance of the check, which may take up to 10 days. Each Service Agent is responsible for transmitting promptly orders for its customers.

 

The Service Agent may charge you a fee for executing your order. The amount and applicability of such a fee is determined and disclosed to its customers by each Service Agent.

 

The fund no longer issues share certificates. Outstanding share certificates will continue to be honored. If you hold share certificates, it will take longer to exchange or redeem shares.

 

Additional Information Regarding Telephone Redemption and Exchange Program.     Neither the fund nor its agents will be liable for following instructions communicated by telephone that are reasonably believed to be genuine. The fund and its agents will employ procedures designed to verify the identity of the caller and legitimacy of instructions (for example, a shareholder’s name and account number will be required and phone calls may be recorded). The fund reserves the right to suspend, modify or discontinue the telephone redemption and exchange program or to impose a charge for this service at any time following at least seven (7) days’ prior notice to shareholders.

 

PFS Accounts

 

Shareholders may redeem for cash some or all of their shares of the fund at any time by sending a written request in proper form directly to the Primerica Shareholder Services c/o PFPC at P.O. Box 9662, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9662. If you should have any questions concerning how to redeem your account after reviewing the information below, please contact Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445, Spanish speaking representatives at (800) 544-7278 or TDD Line for the Hearing Impaired at (800) 824-1721.

 

All persons in whose names the shares are registered must sign the request for redemption. Signatures must conform exactly to the account registration. If the proceeds of the redemption exceed $50,000, if the proceeds are not paid to the record owner(s) at the record address, if the shareholder(s) has had an address change within 30 days or less of the shareholder’s redemption request, or if the shareholder(s) is a corporation, sole proprietor, partnership, trust or fiduciary, signature(s) must be guaranteed by one of the following: a bank or trust company; a broker/dealer; a credit union; a national securities exchange, registered securities association or clearing agency; a savings and loan association; or a federal savings bank.

 

Generally, a properly completed redemption form with any required signature guarantee is all that is required for a redemption. In some cases, however, other documents may be necessary. For example, in the case of shareholders holding certificates, the certificates for shares being redeemed must accompany the redemption request. Additional documentary evidence of authority is also required by PFPC in the event redemption is requested by a corporation, partnership, trust, fiduciary, executor or administrator. Additionally, if a shareholder requests a redemption from a retirement plan account (IRA or SEP), such request must state whether or not federal income tax is to be withheld from the proceeds of the redemption check. Redemption from a 403(b)(7) account requires completion of a special form. Please call Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern time to obtain the proper forms.

 

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Shareholders may utilize Primerica Shareholder Services Telephone Redemption service to redeem shares in their account as long as they have authorized the telephone redemption option. If a shareholder does not wish to allow telephone redemptions by any person in his or her account, he or she should decline the telephone transaction option on the account application. The telephone redemption option can be used only if: (a) the redemption proceeds are to be mailed to the address of record and there has been no change of address of record within the preceding 30 days; (b) the shares to be redeemed are not in certificate form; (c); the person requesting the redemption can provide proper identification information; and (d) the proceeds of the redemption do not exceed $50,000. 403(b)(7) accounts and accounts not registered in the name of an individual(s) are not eligible for the telephone redemption option. Telephone redemption requests can be made by contacting Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern time any day that the NYSE is open. Telephone redemption may not be available if the shareholder cannot reach Primerica Shareholder Services because all telephone lines are busy or for any other reason; in such case, a shareholder may use the fund’s regular redemption procedure described above.

 

Redemption proceeds can be sent by check to the address of record, by wire transfer to a bank account designated on the application or to a bank account designated on the application via the Automated Clearinghouse (ACH). PFPC will process and mail a shareholder’s redemption check usually within two to three business days after receiving the redemption request in good order.

 

Automatic Cash Withdrawal Plan

 

An automatic cash withdrawal plan (the “Withdrawal Plan”) is available to shareholders as described in the prospectus. To the extent withdrawals under the Withdrawal Plan exceed dividends, distributions and appreciation of a shareholder’s investment in the fund, there will be a reduction in the value of the shareholder’s investment, and continued withdrawal payments may reduce the shareholder’s investment and ultimately exhaust it. Withdrawal payments should not be considered as income from investment in the fund. Furthermore, as it generally would not be advantageous to a shareholder to make additional investments in the fund at the same time he or she is participating in the Withdrawal Plan, purchases by such shareholder in amounts of less than $5,000 ordinarily will not be permitted. The Withdrawal Plan will be carried over on exchanges between Classes of the fund. All dividends and distributions on shares in the Withdrawal Plan are reinvested automatically at net asset value in additional shares of the fund.

 

Shareholders who wish to participate in the Withdrawal Plan and who hold their shares in certificate form must deposit their share certificates with the transfer agent as agent for Withdrawal Plan members. For additional information, shareholders should contact their Service Agent. A shareholder who purchases shares directly through the transfer agent may continue to do so and applications for participation in the Withdrawal Plan must be received by the transfer agent no later than the eighth day of the month to be eligible for participation beginning with that month’s withdrawal.

 

Distributions in Kind

 

If the Board determines that it would be detrimental to the best interests of the remaining shareholders to make a redemption payment wholly in cash, the fund may pay, in accordance with SEC rules, any portion of a redemption in excess of the lesser of $250,000 or 1.00% of the fund’s net assets by a distribution in kind of fund securities in lieu of cash. If a redemption is paid in portfolio securities, such securities will be valued in accordance with the procedures described under “Share Price” in the fund’s prospectus. Securities issued as a distribution in kind may incur brokerage commissions when shareholders subsequently sell those securities.

 

VALUATION OF SHARES

 

The net asset value per share of the fund’s Classes is calculated on each day, Monday through Friday, except days on which the NYSE is closed. The NYSE currently is scheduled to be closed on New Year’s Day,

 

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Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas, and on the preceding Friday or subsequent Monday when one of these holidays falls on a Saturday or Sunday, respectively. Because of the differences in distribution fees and Class-specific expenses, the per share net asset value of each Class will differ. Please see the prospectus for a description of the procedures used by the fund in valuing its assets.

 

EXCHANGE PRIVILEGE

 

General.

 

The exchange privilege enables shareholders to acquire shares of the same class in a fund with different investment objectives when they believe that a shift between funds is an appropriate investment decision. This privilege is available to shareholders residing in any state in which the fund shares being acquired may legally be sold. Prior to any exchange, the shareholder should obtain and review a copy of the current prospectus of each fund into which an exchange is being considered. Prospectuses may be obtained from a Service Agent.

 

Upon receipt of proper instructions and all necessary supporting documents, shares submitted for exchange are redeemed at the then-current net asset value and the proceeds are immediately invested, at a price as described above, in shares of the fund being acquired. The distributors reserve the right to reject any exchange request. The exchange privilege may be modified or terminated at any time after written notice to shareholders.

 

Class A, FI, R and I Exchanges .    Class A, FI, R and I shareholders of the fund who wish to exchange all or a portion of their shares for shares of the respective class in another fund may do so without imposition of any charge.

 

Class B Exchanges .    Class B shares of the fund may be exchanged for other Class B shares without a contingent deferred sales charge. Upon an exchange, the new Class B shares will be deemed to have been purchased on the same date as the Class B shares of the fund that have been exchanged.

 

Class C Exchanges .    Class C shares of the fund may be exchanged for other Class C shares without a contingent deferred sales charge. Upon an exchange, the new Class C shares will be deemed to have been purchased on the same date as the Class C shares of the fund that have been exchanged.

 

Certain retirement plan programs with exchange features in effect prior to November 20, 2006, as approved by LMIS, will remain eligible for exchange from Class C shares to Class A shares in accordance with the program terms. See “Grandfathered Retirement Programs” for additional information.

 

Additional Information Regarding the Exchange Privilege.     The fund is not designed to provide investors with a means of speculation on short-term market movements. A pattern of frequent exchanges by investors can be disruptive to efficient portfolio management and, consequently, can be detrimental to the fund and its shareholders. See “Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Fund Shares” in the prospectus.

 

During times of drastic economic or market conditions, the fund may suspend the exchange privilege temporarily without notice and treat exchange requests based on their separate components—redemption orders with a simultaneous request to purchase the other fund’s shares. In such a case, the redemption request would be processed at the fund’s next determined net asset value but the purchase order would be effective only at the net asset value next determined after the fund being purchased formally accepts the order, which may result in the purchase being delayed.

 

Certain shareholders may be able to exchange shares by telephone. See the prospectus for additional information. Exchanges will be processed at the net asset value next determined. Redemption procedures

 

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discussed above are also applicable for exchanging shares, and exchanges will be made upon receipt of all supporting documents in proper form. If the account registration of the shares of the fund being acquired is identical to the registration of the shares of the fund exchanged, no signature guarantee is required.

 

This exchange privilege may be modified or terminated at any time, and is available only in those jurisdictions where such exchanges legally may be made. Before making any exchange, shareholders should contact the transfer agent or, if they hold fund shares through a Service Agent, their Service Agent, to obtain more information and prospectuses of the funds to be acquired through the exchange. An exchange is treated as a sale of the shares exchanged and could result in taxable gain or loss to the shareholder making the exchange.

 

TAXES

 

The following is a summary of certain material U.S. federal income tax considerations regarding the purchase, ownership and disposition of shares of the fund by U.S. persons. This summary does not address all of the potential U.S. federal income tax consequences that may be applicable to the fund or to all categories of investors, some of which may be subject to special tax rules. Each prospective shareholder is urged to consult his own tax adviser with respect to the specific federal, state, local and foreign tax consequences of investing in the fund. The summary is based on the laws in effect on the date of this SAI and existing judicial and administrative interpretations thereof, all of which are subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect.

 

The Fund and Its Investments

 

The fund intends to continue to qualify to be treated as a regulated investment company each taxable year under the Code. To so qualify, the fund must, among other things: (a) derive at least 90% of its gross income in each taxable year from dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans and gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or foreign currencies, or other income (including, but not limited to, gains from options, futures or forward contracts) derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies or net income derived from interests in “qualified publicly traded partnerships” ( i . e ., partnerships that are traded on an established securities market or tradable on a secondary market, other than partnerships that derive 90% of their income from interest, dividends, capital gains, and other traditional permitted mutual fund income); and (b) diversify its holdings so that, at the end of each quarter of the fund’s taxable year, (i) at least 50% of the market value of the fund’s assets is represented by cash, securities of other regulated investment companies, U.S. government securities and other securities, with such other securities limited, in respect of any one issuer, to an amount not greater than 5% of the fund’s assets and not greater than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer and (ii) not more than 25% of the value of its assets is invested in the securities (other than U.S. government securities or securities of other regulated investment companies) of any one issuer, any two or more issuers that the fund controls and that are determined to be engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses or related trades or businesses or in the securities of one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships.

 

Fund investments in partnerships, including in qualified publicly traded partnerships, may result in the fund’s being subject to state, local or foreign income, franchise or withholding tax liabilities.

 

As a regulated investment company, the fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its taxable investment income and capital gains that it distributes to its shareholders, provided that the fund satisfies a minimum distribution requirement. To satisfy the minimum distribution requirement, the fund must distribute to its shareholders at least the sum of (i) 90% of its “investment company taxable income” (i.e., income other than its net realized long-term capital gain over its net realized short-term capital loss), plus or minus certain adjustments, and (ii) 90% of its net tax-exempt income for the taxable year. The fund will be subject to income tax at regular corporation rates on any taxable income or gains that it does not distribute to its shareholders.

 

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On August 31, 2006, the unused capital loss carryforward of the fund was approximately $1,117,565. For federal income tax purposes, these amounts are available to be applied against the fund’s future realized capital gains that are realized prior to the expiration of the carryforward, if any. The carryforward expires as of August 31, 2011.

 

The Code imposes a 4% nondeductible excise tax on the fund to the extent it does not distribute by the end of any calendar year at least the sum of (i) 98% of its ordinary income for that year and (ii) 98% of its capital gain net income (both long-term and short-term) for the one-year period ending, as a general rule, on October 31 of that year. For this purpose, however, any ordinary income or capital gain net income retained by the fund that is subject to corporate income tax will be considered to have been distributed by year-end. In addition, the minimum amounts that must be distributed in any year to avoid the excise tax will be increased or decreased to reflect any underdistribution or overdistribution, as the case may be, from the previous year. The fund anticipates that it will pay such dividends and will make such distributions as are necessary in order to avoid the application of this excise tax.

 

If, in any taxable year, the fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company under the Code or fails to meet the distribution requirement, it will be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation and distributions to its shareholders will not be deductible by the fund in computing its taxable income. In addition, in the event of a failure to qualify, the fund’s distributions, to the extent derived from the fund’s current or accumulated earnings and profits, will constitute dividends (eligible for the corporate dividends-received deduction) that are taxable to shareholders as dividend income, even though those distributions might otherwise (at least in part) have been treated in the shareholders’ hands as long-term capital gains. Moreover, if the fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company in any year, it must pay out its earnings and profits accumulated in that year in order to qualify again as a regulated investment company. If the fund failed to qualify as a regulated investment company for a period greater than two taxable years, the fund may be required to recognize any net built-in gains with respect to certain of its assets (i.e., the excess of the aggregate gains, including items of income, over aggregate losses that would have been realized with respect to such assets if the fund had been liquidated) in order to qualify as a regulated investment company in a subsequent year.

 

Foreign Investments .    Dividends or other income (including, in some cases, capital gains) received by the fund from investments in foreign securities may be subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by foreign countries. Tax conventions between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes in some cases. The fund will not be eligible to elect to treat any foreign taxes it pays as paid by its shareholders, who therefore will not be entitled to credits or deductions for such taxes on their own tax returns. Foreign taxes paid by the fund will reduce the return from the fund’s investments.

 

Taxation of U.S. Shareholders

 

Dividends and Distributions.     Dividends and other distributions by the fund are generally treated under the Code as received by the shareholders at the time the dividend or distribution is made. However, any dividend or distribution declared by the fund in October, November or December of any calendar year and payable to shareholders of record on a specified date in such a month shall be deemed to have been received by each shareholder on December 31 of such calendar year and to have been paid by the fund not later than such December 31, provided such dividend is actually paid by the fund during January of the following calendar year.

 

The fund intends to distribute annually to its shareholders substantially all of its investment company taxable income, and any net realized long-term capital gains in excess of net realized short-term capital losses (including any capital loss carryovers). However, if the fund retains for investment an amount equal to all or a portion of its net long-term capital gains in excess of its net short-term capital losses (including any capital loss carryovers), it will be subject to a corporate tax (currently at a maximum rate of 35%) on the amount retained. In that event, the fund will designate such retained amounts as undistributed capital gains in a notice to its shareholders who (a) will be required to include in income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as long-term capital gains, their proportionate shares of the undistributed amount, (b) will be entitled to credit their

 

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proportionate shares of the 35% tax paid by the fund on the undistributed amount against their U.S. federal income tax liabilities, if any, and to claim refunds to the extent their credits exceed their liabilities, if any, and (c) will be entitled to increase their tax basis, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, in their shares by an amount equal to 65% of the amount of undistributed capital gains included in the shareholder’s income. Organizations or persons not subject to U.S. federal income tax on such capital gains will be entitled to a refund of their pro rata share of such taxes paid by the fund upon filing appropriate returns or claims for refund with the IRS.

 

Distributions of net realized long-term capital gains, if any, that the fund designates as capital gains dividends are taxable as long-term capital gains, whether paid in cash or in shares and regardless of how long a shareholder has held shares of the fund. All other dividends of the fund (including dividends from short-term capital gains) from its current and accumulated earnings and profits (“regular dividends”) are generally subject to tax as ordinary income.

 

Special rules apply, however, to regular dividends paid to individuals. Such a dividend, with respect to taxable years beginning on or before December 31, 2008, may be subject to tax at the rates generally applicable to long-term capital gains for individuals (currently at a maximum rate of 15%), provided that the individual receiving the dividend satisfies certain holding period and other requirements. Dividends subject to these special rules are not actually treated as capital gains, however, and thus are not included in the computation of an individual’s net capital gain and generally cannot be used to offset capital losses. The long-term capital gains rates will apply to the portion of the regular dividends paid by the fund to an individual in a particular taxable year that is attributable to qualified dividend income received by the fund in that taxable year if such qualified dividend income accounts for less than 95% of the fund’s gross income (ignoring gains attributable to the sale of stocks and securities except to the extent net short-term capital gain from such sales exceeds net long-term capital loss from such sales) for that taxable year. For this purpose, “qualified dividend income” generally means income from dividends received by the fund from U.S. corporations and qualifying foreign corporations, provided that the fund satisfies certain holding period requirements in respect of the stock of such corporations and has not hedged its position in the stock in certain ways. However, qualified dividend income does not include any dividends received from tax-exempt corporations. Also, dividends received by the fund from a real estate investment trust or another regulated investment company generally are qualified dividend income only to the extent the dividend distributions are made out of qualified dividend income received by such real estate investment trust or other regulated investment company. In the case of securities lending transactions, payments in lieu of dividends are not qualified dividend income. If a shareholder elects to treat fund dividends as investment income for purposes of the limitation on the deductibility of investment interest, such dividends would not be a qualified dividend income.

 

We will send you information after the end of each year setting forth the amount of dividends paid by us that are eligible for the reduced rates.

 

If an individual receives a dividend qualifying for the long-term capital gains rates and such dividend constitutes an “extraordinary dividend,” and the individual subsequently recognizes a loss on the sale or exchange of stock in respect of which the extraordinary dividend was paid, then the loss will be long-term capital loss to the extent of such extraordinary dividend. An “extraordinary dividend” on common stock for this purpose is generally a dividend (i) in an amount greater than or equal to 10% of the taxpayer’s tax basis (or trading value) in a share of stock, aggregating dividends with ex-dividend dates within an 85-day period or (ii) in an amount greater than or equal to 20% of the taxpayer’s tax basis (or trading value) in a share of stock, aggregating dividends with ex-dividend dates within a 365-day period.

 

Dividends and distributions paid by the fund (except for the portion thereof, if any, attributable to dividends on stock of U.S. corporations received by the fund) will not qualify for the deduction for dividends received by corporations. Distributions in excess of the fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits will, as to each shareholder, be treated as a tax-free return of capital to the extent of a shareholder’s basis in his shares of the fund, and as a capital gain thereafter (if the shareholder holds his shares of the fund as capital assets).

 

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Shareholders receiving dividends or distributions in the form of additional shares should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as receiving a distribution in an amount equal to the amount of money that the shareholders receiving cash dividends or distributions will receive, and should have a cost basis in the shares received equal to such amount.

 

Investors considering buying shares of the fund just prior to the record date for a taxable dividend or capital gain distribution should be aware that, although the price of shares just purchased at that time may reflect the amount of the forthcoming distribution, such dividend or distribution may nevertheless be taxable to them. If the fund is the holder of record of any stock on the record date for any dividends payable with respect to such stock, such dividends are included in the fund’s gross income not as of the date received but as of the later of (a) the date such stock became ex-dividend with respect to such dividends ( i.e., the date on which a buyer of the stock would not be entitled to receive the declared, but unpaid, dividends) or (b) the date the fund acquired such stock. Accordingly, in order to satisfy its income distribution requirements, the fund may be required to pay dividends based on anticipated earnings, and shareholders may receive dividends in an earlier year than would otherwise be the case.

 

Sales of Shares .    Upon the sale or exchange of his shares, a shareholder will realize a taxable gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount realized and his or her basis in the shares. A redemption of shares by the fund will be treated as a sale for this purpose. Such gain or loss will be treated as capital gain or loss if the shares are capital assets in the shareholder’s hands, and will be long-term capital gain or loss if the shares are held for more than one year and short-term capital gain or loss if the shares are held for one year or less. Any loss realized on a sale or exchange will be disallowed to the extent the shares disposed of are replaced, including replacement through the reinvesting of dividends and capital gains distributions in the fund, within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the disposition of the shares. In such a case, the basis of the shares acquired will be increased to reflect the disallowed loss. Any loss realized by a shareholder on the sale of a fund share held by the shareholder for six months or fewer will be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any distributions or deemed distributions of long-term capital gains received by the shareholder with respect to such share. If a shareholder incurs a sales charge in acquiring shares of the fund, disposes of those shares within 90 days and then acquires shares in a mutual fund for which the otherwise applicable sales charge is reduced by reason of a reinvestment right ( e.g., an exchange privilege), the original sales charge will not be taken into account in computing gain or loss on the original shares to the extent the subsequent sales charge is reduced. Instead the disregarded portion of the original sales charge will be added to the tax basis of the newly acquired shares. Furthermore, the same rule also applies to a disposition of the newly acquired shares made within 90 days of the second acquisition. This provision prevents a shareholder from immediately deducting the sales charge by shifting his or her investment within a family of mutual funds.

 

Backup Withholding .    The fund may be required to withhold, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, a portion of the dividends, distributions and redemption proceeds payable to shareholders who fail to provide the fund with their correct taxpayer identification number or to make required certifications, or who have been notified by the IRS that they are subject to backup withholding. Certain shareholders are exempt from backup withholding. Backup withholding is not an additional tax and any amount withheld may be credited against a shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability.

 

Notices .    Shareholders will receive, if appropriate, various written notices after the close of the fund’s taxable year regarding the U.S. federal income tax status of certain dividends, distributions and deemed distributions that were paid (or that are treated as having been paid) by the fund to its shareholders during the preceding taxable year.

 

Other Taxes

 

Dividends, distributions and redemption proceeds may also be subject to additional state, local and foreign taxes depending on each shareholder’s particular situation.

 

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If a shareholder recognizes a loss with respect to the fund’s shares of $2 million or more for an individual shareholder or $10 million or more for a corporate shareholder, the shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on Form 8886. Direct shareholders of portfolio securities are in many cases exempted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance, shareholders of a regulated investment company are not exempted. Future guidance may extend the current exception from this reporting requirement to shareholders of most or all regulated investment companies. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer’s treatment of the loss is proper. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.

 

Taxation of Non-U.S. Shareholders.     Dividends paid by the fund to non-U.S. shareholders are generally subject to withholding tax at a 30% rate or a reduced rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty to the extent derived from investment income and short-term capital gains. In order to obtain a reduced rate of withholding, a non-U.S. shareholder will be required to provide an IRS Form W-8BEN certifying its entitlement to benefits under a treaty. The withholding tax does not apply to regular dividends paid to a non-U.S. shareholder who provides a Form W-8ECI, certifying that the dividends are effectively connected with the non-U.S. shareholder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States. Instead, the effectively connected dividends will be subject to regular U.S. income tax as if the non-U.S. shareholder were a U.S. shareholder. A non-U.S. corporation receiving effectively connected dividends may also be subject to additional “branch profits tax” imposed at a rate of 30% (or lower treaty rate). A non-U.S. shareholder who fails to provide an IRS Form W-8BEN or other applicable form may be subject to backup withholding at the appropriate rate.

 

In general, United States federal withholding tax will not apply to any gain or income realized by a non-U.S. shareholder in respect of any distributions of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses, exempt-interest dividends, or upon the sale or other disposition of shares of the fund.

 

For taxable years beginning before January 1, 2008, properly-designated dividends are generally exempt from United States federal withholding tax where they (i) are paid in respect of the fund’s “qualified net interest income” (generally, the fund’s U.S. source interest income, other than certain contingent interest and interest from obligations of a corporation or partnership in which the fund is at least a 10% shareholder, reduced by expenses that are allocable to such income) and (ii) are paid in respect of the fund’s “qualified short-term capital gains” (generally, the excess of the fund’s net short-term capital gain over the fund’s long-term capital loss for such taxable year). However, depending on its circumstances, the fund may designate all, some or none of its potentially eligible dividends as such qualified net interest income or as qualified short-term capital gains, and/or treat such dividends, in whole or in part, as ineligible for this exemption from withholding. In order to qualify for this exemption from withholding, a non-U.S. shareholder will need to comply with applicable certification requirements relating to its non-U.S. status (including, in general, furnishing an IRS Form W-8BEN or substitute Form). In the case of shares held through an intermediary, the intermediary may withhold even if the fund designates the payment as qualified net interest income or qualified short-term capital gain. Non-U.S. shareholders should contact their intermediaries with respect to the application of these rules to their accounts.

 

The foregoing is only a summary of certain material U.S. federal income tax consequences affecting the fund and its shareholders. Prospective shareholders are advised to consult their own tax advisers with respect to the particular tax consequences to them of an investment in the fund.

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 

The Trust was organized on October 17, 1991 under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is a business entity commonly known as a “Massachusetts business trust.” The Trust offers shares of beneficial interest of [__] separate funds with a par value of $.001 per share. The fund offers shares of beneficial interest currently classified into six Classes—A, B, C , FI, R and I. Each Class of the fund represents an identical interest

 

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in the fund’s investment portfolio. As a result, the Classes have the same rights, privileges and preferences, except with respect to: (a) the designation of each Class; (b) the effect of the respective sales charges, if any, for each Class; (c) the distribution and/or service fees borne by each Class pursuant to the Distribution Plan; (d) the expenses allocable exclusively to each Class; (e) voting rights on matters exclusively affecting a single Class; (f) the exchange privilege of each Class; and (g) the conversion feature of the Class B shares. The Board does not anticipate that there will be any conflicts among the interests of the holders of the different Classes. The trustees, on an ongoing basis, will consider whether any such conflict exists and, if so, take appropriate action.

 

Under Massachusetts’s law, shareholders could, under certain circumstances, be held personally liable for the obligations of the fund. The Master Trust Agreement disclaims shareholder liability for acts or obligations of the fund, however, and requires that notice of such disclaimer be given in each agreement, obligation or instrument entered into or executed by the fund or a trustee. The Master Trust Agreement provides for indemnification from fund property for all losses and expenses of any shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the fund. Thus, the risk of a shareholder’s incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which the fund itself would be unable to meet its obligations, a possibility which management of the fund believes is remote. Upon payment of any liability incurred by the fund, a shareholder paying such liability will be entitled to reimbursement from the general assets of the fund. The trustees intend to conduct the operation of the fund in such a way so as to avoid, as far as possible, ultimate liability of the shareholders for liabilities of the fund.

 

The Master Trust Agreement of the fund permits the trustees of the fund to issue an unlimited number of full and fractional shares of a single class and to divide or combine the shares into a greater or lesser number of shares without thereby changing the proportionate beneficial interests in the fund. Each share in the fund represents an equal proportional interest in the fund with each other share. Shareholders of the fund are entitled upon its liquidation to share pro rata in its net assets available for distribution. No shareholder of the fund has any preemptive or conversion rights. Shares of the fund are fully paid and non-assessable.

 

Pursuant to the Master Trust Agreement, the Trust’s trustees may authorize the creation of additional series of shares (the proceeds of which would be invested in separate, independently managed portfolios) and additional classes of shares within any series (which would be used to distinguish among the rights of different categories of shareholders, as might be required by future regulations or other unforeseen circumstances).

 

The Trust does not hold annual shareholder meetings. There normally will be no meetings of shareholders for the purpose of electing trustees unless and until such time as less than a majority of the trustees holding office have been elected by shareholders, at which time the trustees then in office will call a shareholders’ meeting for the election of trustees. Shareholders of record of no less than two-thirds of the outstanding shares of the Trust may remove a trustee through a declaration in writing or by vote cast in person or by proxy at a meeting called for that purpose.

 

When matters are submitted for shareholder vote, shareholders of each Class will have one vote for each full share owned and a proportionate, fractional vote for any fractional share held of that Class. Generally, shares of the fund will be voted on a fund-wide basis on all matters except matters affecting only the interests of one Class, in which case only shares of the affected Class would be entitled to vote.

 

The Trust was organized as an unincorporated Massachusetts business trust on October 17, 1991 under the name Shearson Lehman Brothers Intermediate-Term Trust. On August 16, 1995, the Trust’s name was changed to Smith Barney Investment Trust. On April 7, 2006, the Trust’s name was changed to Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust.

 

Annual and Semi-Annual Reports.     The fund sends its shareholders a semi-annual report and an audited annual report, which include listings of investment securities held by the fund at the end of the period covered. In an effort to reduce the fund’s printing and mailing costs, the fund consolidates the mailing of its semi-annual and

 

49


annual reports by household. This consolidation means that a household having multiple accounts with the identical address of record will receive a single copy of each report. In addition, the fund also consolidates the mailing of its prospectus so that a shareholder having multiple accounts (that is, individual, IRA and/or self-employed retirement plan accounts) will receive a single prospectus annually. Shareholders who do not want this consolidation to apply to their accounts should contact their Service Agent or the transfer agent.

 

Proposed Changes

 

The fund’s Board has approved a number of initiatives designed to streamline and restructure the fund complex and the fund is seeking shareholder approval for those initiatives where shareholder approval is required. If certain of these matters are approved by the shareholders entitled to vote on the matters, the fund will become a series of Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust, a Maryland business trust.

 

A Maryland business trust is an unincorporated business association that is established under, and governed by, Maryland law. Maryland law provides a statutory framework for the powers, duties, rights and obligations of the trustees and shareholders of the business trust, while the more specific powers, duties, rights and obligations of the trustees and the shareholders are determined by the trustees as set forth in the trust’s declaration of trust. Some of the more significant provisions of the trust’s declaration are described below.

 

Shareholder Voting

 

The declaration provides for shareholder voting as required by the 1940 Act or other applicable laws but otherwise permits, consistent with Maryland law, actions by the trustees without seeking the consent of shareholders. The trustees may, without shareholder approval, amend the declaration or authorize the merger or consolidation of the trust into another trust or entity, reorganize the trust, or any series or class into another trust or entity or a series or class of another entity, sell all or substantially all of the assets of the trust or any series or class to another entity, or a series or class of another entity, or terminate the trust or any series or class.

 

The fund is not require to hold an annual meeting of shareholders, but the fund will call special meetings of shareholders whenever required by the 1940 Act or by the terms of the declaration. The declaration provides for “dollar-weighted voting” which means that a shareholder’s voting power is determined, not by the number of shares he or she owns, but by the dollar value of those shares determined on the record date. All shareholders of all series and classes of the trust vote together, except where required by the 1940 Act to vote separately by series or by class, or when the trustees have determined that a matter affects only the interests of one or more series or classes of shares.

 

Election and Removal of Trustees

 

The declaration provides that the trustees may establish the number of trustees and that vacancies on the board may be filled by the remaining trustees, except when election of trustees by the shareholders is required under the 1940 Act. Trustees are then elected by a plurality of votes cast by shareholders at a meeting at which a quorum is present. The declaration also provides that a mandatory retirement age may be set by action of two-thirds of the trustees and that trustees may be removed, with or without cause, by a vote of shareholders holding two-thirds of the voting power of the trust, or by a vote of two-thirds of the remaining trustees. The provisions of the declaration relating to the election and removal of trustees may not be amended without the approval of two-thirds of the trustees.

 

Amendments to the Declaration

 

The trustees are authorized to amend the declaration without the vote of shareholders, but no amendment may be made that impairs the exemption from personal liability granted in the declaration to persons who are or have been shareholders, trustees, officers, or employees of the trust or that limit the rights to indemnification or

 

50


insurance provided in the declaration with respect to actions or omissions of persons entitled to indemnification under the declaration prior to the amendment.

 

Issuance and Redemption of Shares

 

The fund may issue an unlimited number of shares for such consideration and on such terms as the trustees may determine. Shareholders are not entitled to any appraisal, preemptive, conversion, exchange or similar rights, except as the trustees may determine. The fund may involuntarily redeem a shareholder’s shares upon certain conditions as may be determined by the trustees, including, for example, if the shareholder fails to provide the fund with identification required by law, or if the fund is unable to verify the information received from the shareholder. Additionally, as discussed below, shares may be redeemed in connection with the closing of small accounts.

 

Disclosure of Shareholder Holdings

 

The declaration specifically requires shareholders, upon demand, to disclose to the fund information with respect to the direct and indirect ownership of shares in order to comply with various laws or regulations, and the fund may disclose such ownership if required by law or regulation.

 

Small Accounts

 

The declaration provides that the fund may close out a shareholder’s account by redeeming all of the shares in the account if the account falls below a minimum account size (which may vary by class) that may be set by the trustees from time to time. Alternately, the declaration permits the fund to assess a fee for small accounts (which may vary by class) and redeem shares in the account to cover such fees, or convert the shares into another share class that is geared to smaller accounts.

 

Series and Classes

 

The declaration provides that the trustees may establish series and classes in addition to those currently established and to determine the rights and preferences, limitations and restrictions, including qualifications for ownership, conversion and exchange features, minimum purchase and account size, expenses and charges, and other features of the series and classes. The trustees may change any of those features, terminate any series or class, combine series with other series in the trust, combine one or more classes of a series with another class in that series or convert the shares of one class into another class.

 

Each share of the fund, as a series of the trust, represents an interest in the fund only and not in the assets of any other series of the trust.

 

Shareholder, Trustee and Officer Liability

 

The declaration provides that shareholders are not personally liable for the obligations of the fund and requires the fund to indemnify a shareholder against any loss or expense arising from any such liability. In addition, the fund will assume the defense of any claim against a shareholder for personal liability at the request of the shareholder. The declaration further provides that a trustee acting in his or her capacity of trustee is not personally liable to any person other than the trust or its shareholders, for any act, omission, or obligation of the trust. Further, a trustee is held to the same standard of conduct as a director of a Maryland corporation. This requires that a trustee perform his or her duties in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the trust or a series thereof, and with the care that an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would use under similar circumstances. The declaration also permits the limitation of a trustee’s liability to the full extent provided under Maryland law. Under current Maryland law, a trustee is liable to the trust or its shareholders for monetary damages only (a) to the extent that it is proved that he or she actually received an

 

51


improper benefit or profit in money, property, or services or (b) to the extent that a judgment or other final adjudication adverse to the trustee is entered in a proceeding based on a finding in the proceeding that the trustee’s action, or failure to act, was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty and was material to the cause of action adjudicated in the proceeding. The declaration requires the trust to indemnify any persons who are or who have been trustees, officers or employees of the trust for any liability for actions or failure to act except to the extent prohibited by applicable federal law. In making any determination as to whether any person is entitled to the advancement of expenses in connection with a claim for which indemnification is sought, such person is entitled to a rebuttable presumption that he or she did not engage in conduct for which indemnification is not available.

 

The declaration provides that any trustee who serves as chair of the board or of a committee of the board, lead independent trustee, or audit committee financial expert, or in any other similar capacity will not be subject to any greater standard of care or liability because of such position.

 

Derivative Actions

 

The declaration provides a detailed process for the bringing of derivative actions by shareholders in order to permit legitimate inquiries and claims while avoiding the time, expense, distraction, and other harm that can be caused to the fund or its shareholders as a result of spurious shareholder demands and derivative actions. Prior to bringing a derivative action, a demand by three unrelated shareholders must first be made on the fund’s trustees. The declaration details various information, certifications, undertakings and acknowledgements that must be included in the demand. Following receipt of the demand, the trustees have a period of 90 days, which may be extended by an additional 60 days, to consider the demand. If a majority of the trustees who are considered independent for the purposes of considering the demand determine that maintaining the suit would not be in the best interests of the fund, the trustees are required to reject the demand and the complaining shareholders may not proceed with the derivative action unless the shareholders are able to sustain the burden of proof to a court that the decision of the trustees not to pursue the requested action was not a good faith exercise of their business judgment on behalf of the fund. The declaration further provides that shareholders owning shares representing at least 5% of the voting power of the affected fund must join in bringing the derivative action. If a demand is rejected, the complaining shareholders will be responsible for the costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by the fund in connection with the consideration of the demand, if in the judgment of the independent trustees, the demand was made without reasonable cause or for an improper purpose. If a derivative action is brought in violation of the declaration, the shareholders bringing the action may be responsible for the fund’s costs, including attorneys’ fees.

 

The declaration further provides that the fund shall be responsible for payment of attorneys’ fees and legal expenses incurred by a complaining shareholder only if required by law, and any attorneys’ fees that the fund is obligated to pay shall be calculated using reasonable hourly rates. The declaration also requires that actions by shareholders against the fund be brought only in federal court in Baltimore, Maryland, or if not permitted to be brought in federal court, then in state court in Baltimore, Maryland, and that the right to jury trial be waived to the full extent permitted by law.

 

Legal Matters

 

Beginning in June 2004, class action lawsuits alleging violations of the federal securities laws were filed against Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”) and a number of its then affiliates, including Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”), which were then investment adviser or manager to certain of the Funds (the “Managers”), substantially all of the mutual funds then managed by the Managers (the “Defendant Funds”), and Board Members of the Defendant Funds (collectively, the “Defendants”). The complaints alleged, among other things, that CGMI created various undisclosed incentives for its brokers to sell Smith Barney and Salomon Brothers funds. In addition, according to the complaints, the Managers caused the Defendant Funds to pay excessive brokerage commissions to CGMI for steering clients towards proprietary funds. The complaints also

 

52


alleged that the defendants breached their fiduciary duty to the Defendant Funds by improperly charging Rule 12b-1 fees and by drawing on fund assets to make undisclosed payments of soft dollars and excessive brokerage commissions. The complaints also alleged that the Defendant Funds failed to adequately disclose certain of the allegedly wrongful conduct. The complaints sought injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive damages, rescission of the Defendant Funds’ contracts with the Managers, recovery of all fees paid to the Managers pursuant to such contracts and an award of attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses.

 

On December 15, 2004, a consolidated amended complaint (the “Complaint”) was filed alleging substantially similar causes of action. On May 27, 2005, all of the Defendants filed motions to dismiss the Complaint. On July 26, 2006, the court issued a decision and order (1) finding that plaintiffs lacked standing to sue on behalf of the shareholders of the Defendant Funds in which none of the plaintiffs had invested and dismissing those Defendant Funds from the case (although stating that they could be brought back into the case if standing as to them could be established), and (2) other than one stayed claim, dismissing all of the causes of action against the remaining Defendants, with prejudice, except for the cause of action under Section 36(b) of the 1940 Act, which the court granted plaintiffs leave to replead as a derivative claim.

 

On October 16, 2006, plaintiffs filed their Second Consolidated Amended Complaint (“Second Amended Complaint”) which alleges derivative claims on behalf of nine funds identified in the Second Amended Complaint, including the fund, under Section 36(b) of the 1940 Act, against Citigroup Asset Management, Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc, SBFM and CGMI as investment advisers to the identified funds, as well as CGMI as a distributor for the identified funds (collectively, the “Second Amended Complaint Defendants”). The Second Amended Complaint alleges no claims against any of the Funds or any of their Board Members. Under Section 36(b), the Second Amended Complaint alleges similar facts and seeks similar relief against the Second Amended Complaint Defendants as the Complaint.

 

Additional lawsuits arising out of these circumstances and presenting similar allegations and requests for relief may be filed in the future.

 

On May 31, 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued an order in connection with the settlement of an administrative proceeding against SBFM, the then-investment adviser or manager to the fund and CGMI, relating to the appointment of an affiliated transfer agent for the Smith Barney family of mutual funds, including the fund (the “Affected Funds”).

 

The SEC order finds that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(1) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder (the “Advisers Act”). Specifically, the order found that SBFM and CGMI knowingly or recklessly failed to disclose to the boards of the Affected Funds in 1999 when proposing a new transfer agent arrangement with an affiliated transfer agent that: First Data Investors Services Group (“First Data”), the Affected Funds’ then-existing transfer agent, had offered to continue as transfer agent and do the same work for substantially less money than before; and that Citigroup Asset Management (“CAM”), the Citigroup business unit that, at the time, included the Affected Funds’ investment manager and other investment advisory companies, had entered into a side letter with First Data under which CAM agreed to recommend the appointment of First Data as sub-transfer agent to the affiliated transfer agent in exchange for, among other things, a guarantee by First Data of specified amounts of asset management and investment banking fees to CAM and CGMI. The order also found that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act by virtue of the omissions discussed above and other misrepresentations and omissions in the materials provided to the Affected Funds’ boards, including the failure to make clear that the affiliated transfer agent would earn a high profit for performing limited functions while First Data continued to perform almost all of the transfer agent functions, and the suggestion that the proposed arrangement was in the Affected Funds’ best interests and that no viable alternatives existed. SBFM and CGMI do not admit or deny any wrongdoing or liability. The settlement does not establish wrongdoing or liability for purposes of any other proceeding.

 

53


The SEC censured SBFM and CGMI and ordered them to cease and desist from violations of Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Advisers Act. The order required Citigroup to pay $208.1 million, including $109 million in disgorgement of profits, $19.1 million in interest, and a civil money penalty of $80 million. Approximately $24.4 million has already been paid to the Affected Funds, primarily through fee waivers. The remaining $183.7 million, including the penalty, has been paid to the U.S. Treasury and will be distributed pursuant to a plan submitted for the approval of the SEC. At this time, there is no certainty as to how the above-described proceeds of the settlement will be distributed, to whom such distributions will be made, the methodology by which such distributions will be allocated, and when such distributions will be made. The order also required that transfer agency fees received from the Affected Funds since December 1, 2004, less certain expenses, be placed in escrow and provided that a portion of such fees might be subsequently distributed in accordance with the terms of the order. On April 3, 2006, an aggregate amount of approximately $9 million held in escrow was distributed to the Affected Funds.

 

The order required SBFM to recommend a new transfer agent contract to the Fund boards within 180 days of the entry of the order; if a Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent or sub-transfer agent, SBFM and CGMI would have been required, at their expense, to engage an independent monitor to oversee a competitive bidding process. On November 21, 2005, and within the specified timeframe, the Affected Funds’ Boards selected a new transfer agent for the Affected Fund. No Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent. Under the order, SBFM also must comply with an amended version of a vendor policy that Citigroup instituted in August 2004.

 

Although there can be no assurance, the manager does not believe that this matter will have a material adverse effect on the Affected Funds.

 

On December 1, 2005, Citigroup completed the sale of substantially all of its global asset management business, including SBFM, to Legg Mason.

 

***

 

Beginning in August 2005, five class action lawsuits alleging violations of federal securities laws and state law were filed against CGMI and SBFM (collectively, the “Defendants”) based on the May 31, 2005 settlement order issued against the Defendants by the SEC as described in above. The complaints seek injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive damages, removal of SBFM as the investment manager for the Smith Barney family of funds, rescission of the Funds’ management and other contracts with SBFM, recovery of all fees paid to SBFM pursuant to such contracts, and an award of attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses.

 

On October 5, 2005, a motion to consolidate the five actions and any subsequently filed, related action was filed. That motion contemplates that a consolidated amended complaint alleging substantially similar causes of action will be filed in the future.

 

As of the date of this report, the Fund’s investment manager believes that resolution of the pending lawsuit will not have a material effect on the financial position or results of operations of the Fund or the ability of the Fund’s investment manager and its affiliates to continue to render services to the Funds under their respective contracts.

 

***

 

On September 16, 2005, the staff of the SEC informed SBFM and ClearBridge Asset Management Inc (formerly Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc) at the staff is considering recommending that the SEC institute administrative proceedings against SBFM and ClearBridge Asset Management Inc for alleged violations of Section 19(a) and 34(b) of the Investment Company Act (and related Rule 19a-1). The notification is a result of an industry wide inspection by the SEC and is based upon alleged deficiencies in disclosures regarding

 

54


dividends and distributions paid to shareholders of certain funds. Section 19(a) and related Rule 19a-1 of the Investment Company Act generally require funds that are making dividend and distribution payments to provide shareholders with a written statement disclosing the source of the dividends and distributions, and, in particular, the portion of the payments made from each of net investment income, undistributed net profits and/or paid-in capital. In connection with the contemplated proceedings, the staff may seek a cease and desist order and/or monetary damages from SBFM or ClearBridge Asset Management Inc.

 

Although there can be no assurance, the fund’s manager believes that this matter is not likely to have a material adverse effect on the fund.

 

***

 

The foregoing speaks only as of the date of this SAI. Additional lawsuits presenting allegations and requests for relief arising out of or in connection with any of the foregoing matters may be filed against these and related parties in the future.

 

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

The audited financial statements of the fund’s predecessor (Statement of Assets and Liabilities as of August 31, 200    , Statement of Operations for the year ended August 31, 200    , Statements of Changes in Net Assets for each of the years in the two-year period ended August 31, 200    , Financial Highlights for each of the years in the five-year period ended August 31, 200    , and Notes to Financial Statements along with the Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, each of which is included in the Annual Report to Shareholders of the Fund), are incorporated by reference into this SAI (Filed on November 8, 200    ; Accession Number [                                        ]).

 

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Appendix A

 

PROXY VOTING GUIDELINES & PROCEDURES SUMMARY

 

Concerning ClearBridge Advisors 1 (Clearbridge)

Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

 

The following is a brief overview of the Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures (the “Policies”) that ClearBridge has adopted to seek to ensure that ClearBridge votes proxies relating to equity securities in the best interest of clients.

 

ClearBridge votes proxies for each client account with respect to which it has been authorized to vote proxies. In voting proxies, ClearBridge is guided by general fiduciary principles and seeks to act prudently and solely in the best interest of clients. ClearBridge attempts to consider all factors that could affect the value of the investment and will vote proxies in the manner that it believes will be consistent with efforts to maximize shareholder values. ClearBridge may utilize an external service provider to provide it with information and/or a recommendation with regard to proxy votes. However, the ClearBridge adviser (business unit) continues to retain responsibility for the proxy vote.

 

In the case of a proxy issue for which there is a stated position in the Policies, ClearBridge generally votes in accordance with such stated position. In the case of a proxy issue for which there is a list of factors set forth in the Policies that ClearBridge considers in voting on such issue, ClearBridge votes on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the general principles set forth above and considering such enumerated factors. In the case of a proxy issue for which there is no stated position or list of factors that ClearBridge considers in voting on such issue, ClearBridge votes on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the general principles set forth above. Issues for which there is a stated position set forth in the Policies or for which there is a list of factors set forth in the Policies that ClearBridge considers in voting on such issues fall into a variety of categories, including election of directors, ratification of auditors, proxy and tender offer defenses, capital structure issues, executive and director compensation, mergers and corporate restructurings, and social and environmental issues. The stated position on an issue set forth in the Policies can always be superseded, subject to the duty to act solely in the best interest of the beneficial owners of accounts, by the investment management professionals responsible for the account whose shares are being voted. Issues applicable to a particular industry may cause ClearBridge to abandon a policy that would have otherwise applied to issuers generally. As a result of the independent investment advisory services provided by distinct ClearBridge business units, there may be occasions when different business units or different portfolio managers within the same business unit vote differently on the same issue. A ClearBridge business unit or investment team (e.g. ClearBridge’s Social Awareness Investment team) may adopt proxy voting policies that supplement these policies and procedures. In addition, in the case of Taft-Hartley clients, ClearBridge will comply with a client direction to vote proxies in accordance with Institutional Shareholder Services’ (ISS) PVS Voting Guidelines, which ISS represents to be fully consistent with AFL-CIO guidelines.

 

In furtherance of ClearBridge’s goal to vote proxies in the best interest of clients, ClearBridge follows procedures designed to identify and address material conflicts that may arise between ClearBridge’s interests and

 


1   ClearBridge Advisors comprises ClearBridge Advisors, LLC, ClearBridge Asset Management Inc, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC, and other affiliated investment advisory firms. On December 1, 2005, Citigroup Inc. (“Citigroup”) sold substantially all of its worldwide asset management business, Citigroup Asset Management, to Legg Mason. As part of this transaction, ClearBridge Advisors, LLC, ClearBridge Asset Management Inc and Smith Barney Fund Management LLC became wholly-owned subsidiaries of Legg Mason. Under a licensing agreement between Citigroup and Legg Mason, the names of ClearBridge Advisors, LLC, ClearBridge Asset Management Inc, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC and their affiliated advisory entities, as well as all logos, trademarks, and service marks related to Citigroup or any of its affiliates (“Citi Marks”) are licensed for use by Legg Mason. Citi Marks include, but are not limited to, “Citigroup Asset Management,” “Salomon Brothers Asset Management” and “CAM”. All Citi Marks are owned by Citigroup, and are licensed for use until no later than one year after the date of the licensing agreement. Legg Mason and its subsidiaries, including ClearBridge Advisors, LLC, ClearBridge Asset Management Inc, and Smith Barney Fund Management LLC are not affiliated with Citigroup.

 

A-1


those of its clients before voting proxies on behalf of such clients. To seek to identify conflicts of interest, ClearBridge periodically notifies ClearBridge employees in writing that they are under an obligation (i) to be aware of the potential for conflicts of interest on the part of ClearBridge with respect to voting proxies on behalf of client accounts both as a result of their personal relationships and due to special circumstances that may arise during the conduct of ClearBridge’s business, and (ii) to bring conflicts of interest of which they become aware to the attention of ClearBridge’s compliance personnel. ClearBridge also maintains and considers a list of significant ClearBridge relationships that could present a conflict of interest for ClearBridge in voting proxies. ClearBridge is also sensitive to the fact that a significant, publicized relationship between an issuer and a non-ClearBridge Legg Mason affiliate might appear to the public to influence the manner in which ClearBridge decides to vote a proxy with respect to such issuer. Absent special circumstances or a significant, publicized non-ClearBridge Legg Mason affiliate relationship that ClearBridge for prudential reasons treats as a potential conflict of interest because such relationship might appear to the public to influence the manner in which ClearBridge decides to vote a proxy, ClearBridge generally takes the position that relationships between a non-ClearBridge Legg Mason affiliate and an issuer (e.g. investment management relationship between an issuer and a non-ClearBridge Legg Mason affiliate) do not present a conflict of interest for ClearBridge in voting proxies with respect to such issuer. Such position is based on the fact that ClearBridge is operated as an independent business unit from other Legg Mason business units as well as on the existence of information barriers between ClearBridge and certain other Legg Mason business units.

 

ClearBridge maintains a Proxy Voting Committee to review and address conflicts of interest brought to its attention by ClearBridge compliance personnel. A proxy issue that will be voted in accordance with a stated ClearBridge position on such issue or in accordance with the recommendation of an independent third party is not brought to the attention of the Proxy Voting Committee for a conflict of interest review because ClearBridge’s position is that to the extent a conflict of interest issue exists, it is resolved by voting in accordance with a pre-determined policy or in accordance with the recommendation of an independent third party. With respect to a conflict of interest brought to its attention, the Proxy Voting Committee first determines whether such conflict of interest is material. A conflict of interest is considered material to the extent that it is determined that such conflict is likely to influence, or appear to influence, ClearBridge’s decision-making in voting proxies. If it is determined by the Proxy Voting Committee that a conflict of interest is not material, ClearBridge may vote proxies notwithstanding the existence of the conflict.

 

If it is determined by the Proxy Voting Committee that a conflict of interest is material, the Proxy Voting Committee is responsible for determining an appropriate method to resolve such conflict of interest before the proxy affected by the conflict of interest is voted. Such determination is based on the particular facts and circumstances, including the importance of the proxy issue and the nature of the conflict of interest.

 

A-2


 

Legg Mason Partners Convertible Fund

Supplement dated April     , 2007 to Prospectus dated November 30, 2006

The attached prospectus is now dated April     , 2007.

As part of a number of initiatives launched in 2006 to restructure and streamline the Legg Mason Partners fund complex, the fund assumed the assets and liabilities of a predecessor fund with the same name. The fund is now grouped for organizational and governance purposes with other Legg Mason Partners funds that are predominantly equity-type funds. The prospectus is supplemented as shown below to reflect this change. Any information in the prospectus relating to the fund prior to the date of the prospectus refers to the fund’s predecessor.

Performance Information

The summary performance information shown below and in the “Performance information” section of the prospectus is that of the fund’s predecessor.

Total Return for Class B Shares

LOGO

Highest and lowest quarter returns (for periods shown in the bar chart):

Highest:         % in      quarter         ; Lowest:         % in      quarter         .

Year to date:         % through         .


 

Average Annual Total Returns (for periods ended December 31, 2006)

 

       1 Year   5 Years   10 Years   Since
Inception
  Inception
Date

Class B

           9/2/86
 
Return before taxes            %           %           %           %  
 
Return after taxes on distributions (1)            %           %           %   N/A  
 
Return after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares (1)            %           %           %   N/A  
 
Other Classes (Return before taxes only)           
 

Class A (2)

           %           %           %           %   11/9/92
 

Class C

           %           %   N/A           %   6/15/98
 

Class I (3)

           %           %   N/A           %   2/7/96
 
Convertible 100 Index (4)(7)            %           %           %   N/A   N/A
 
Merrill Lynch All Convertibles Index (5)(7)            %           %           %   N/A   N/A
 
Lipper Average (6)(7)            %           %           %   N/A   N/A
 

 

(1)   After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases, the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of fund shares at the end of the measurement period. After-tax returns shown above are for Class B shares only. After-tax returns for other share classes will vary.

 

(2)   On November 20, 2006, the maximum initial sales charge on Class A shares was increased for sales made on and after that date. The average annual returns for Class A shares in the table have been calculated as if the increased maximum initial sales charge had been in effect for the entire period.

 

(3)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

(4)   The Goldman Sachs/Bloomberg Equally Weighted U.S. Convertible 100 Index (the “Convertible 100 Index”) is an unmanaged, equally weighted index of 100 leading convertible securities designed to represent the broad U.S. convertible market.

 

(5)   The fund’s benchmark has changed from the Convertible 100 Index to the Merrill Lynch All Convertibles Index since the Convertible 100 Index is being discontinued. The Merrill Lynch All Convertibles Index is a widely used, unmanaged index that measures convertible securities’ performance. It measures the performance of U.S. dollar-denominated convertible securities not currently in bankruptcy with a total market value greater than $50 million at issuance.

 

(6)   The Lipper Convertible Securities Funds Peer Group Average is a total return performance average of funds tracked by Lipper, Inc. that invest in convertible securities. It does not take into account sales charges or taxes.
(7)   It is not possible to invest directly in an index or an average. An index does not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes. An average reflects fees and expenses but does not reflect deductions for sales charges or taxes.


 

Management—Other Information

The paragraph beneath the heading “Other information” in the “Management” section of the prospectus is deleted.

Financial Highlights

The financial information shown below and in the “Financial highlights” section of the prospectus is that of the fund’s predecessor. The financial information for the six-month period ended January 31, 2007 is unaudited.

 

For a Class A share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended July 31:  
Class A shares (1)(2)   6 Months
Ended
January 31,
2007
(unaudited)
  2006     2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net asset value, beginning of year

    $17.84     $16.90     $15.32     $12.75     $15.73  
   

Income (loss) from operations:

           

Net investment income

    0.36     0.34     0.41     0.71     0.61  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    0.31     1.27     1.78     2.58     (2.87 )
   

Total income (loss) from operations

    0.67     1.61     2.19     3.29     (2.26 )
   

Less distributions from:

           

Net investment income

    (0.36 )   (0.34 )   (0.51 )   (0.72 )   (0.72 )

Net realized gains

    (1.52 )   (0.33 )   (0.10 )        
   

Total distributions

    (1.88 )   (0.67 )   (0.61 )   (0.72 )   (0.72 )
   

Net asset value, end of year

    $16.63     $17.84     $16.90     $15.32     $12.75  
   

Total return (3)

    3.86 %   9.71 %   14.35 %   26.69 %   (14.85 )%
   

Net assets, end of year (thousands)

    $37,302     $40,871     $43,840     $32,183     $21,958  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

           

Gross expenses

    1.31 %   1.25 %   1.18 %   1.42 %   1.23 %

Net expenses

    1.15 (4)(5)   1.23 (5)   1.18     1.42     1.23  

Net investment income

    2.06     1.99     2.39     5.24     4.06  
   

Portfolio turnover rate

    98 %   79 %   113 %   133 %   115 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   On May 16, 2003, Class A shares were renamed as Smith Barney Class A shares and, as of April 21, 2006, Smith Barney Class A shares were renamed Class A shares. On April 21, 2006 all Class O shares converted to Class A shares.

 

(3)   Performance figures may reflect fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower.

 

(4)   As a result of an expense limitation, the ratio of expenses to average net assets of Class A shares will not exceed 1.17%.

 

(5)   Reflects fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements.

 


 

For a Class B share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended July 31:  
Class B Shares (1)(2)   6 Months
Ended
January 31,
2007
(unaudited)
  2006     2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net asset value, beginning of year

    $17.78     $16.84     $15.28     $12.69     $15.66  
   

Income (loss) from operations:

           

Net investment income

    0.27     0.24     0.31     0.62     0.51  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    0.30     1.27     1.77     2.61     (2.84 )
   

Total income (loss) from operations

    0.57     1.51     2.08     3.23     (2.33 )
   

Less distributions from:

           

Net investment income

    (0.27 )   (0.24 )   (0.42 )   (0.64 )   (0.64 )

Net realized gains

    (1.52 )   (0.33 )   (0.10 )        
   

Total distributions

    (1.79 )   (0.57 )   (0.52 )   (0.64 )   (0.64 )
   

Net asset value, end of year

    $16.56     $17.78     $16.84     $15.28     $12.69  
   

Total return (3)

    3.26 %   9.13 %   13.66 %   26.23 %   (15.32 )%
   

Net assets, end of year (thousands)

    $18,839     $23,506     $26,109     $17,406     $8,545  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

           

Gross expenses

    1.84 %   1.81 %   1.74 %   1.89 %   1.79 %

Net expenses

    1.68 (4)(5)   1.79 (5)   1.74     1.89     1.79  

Net investment income

    1.54     1.42     1.82     4.65     3.50  
   

Portfolio turnover rate

    98 %   79 %   113 %   133 %   115 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   On May 16, 2003, Class B shares were renamed as Smith Barney Class B shares and, as of April 21, 2006, Smith Barney Class B shares were renamed Class B shares.

 

(3)   Performance figures may reflect fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower.

 

(4)   As a result of an expense limitation, the ratio of expenses to average net assets of Class B shares will not exceed 1.71%.

 

(5)   Reflects fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements.


 

For a Class C share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended July 31:  
Class C Shares (1)(2)   6 Months
Ended
January 31,
2007
(unaudited)
  2006     2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net asset value, beginning of year

    $17.86     $16.91     $15.33     $12.71     $15.61  
   

Income (loss) from operations:

           

Net investment income

    0.24     0.21     0.27     0.55     0.50  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    0.30     1.28     1.78     2.64     (2.83 )
   

Total income (loss) from operations

    0.54     1.49     2.05     3.19     (2.33 )
   

Less distributions from:

           

Net investment income

    (0.24 )   (0.21 )   (0.37 )   (0.57 )   (0.57 )

Net realized gains

    (1.52 )   (0.33 )   (0.10 )        
   

Total distributions

    (1.76 )   (0.54 )   (0.47 )   (0.57 )   (0.57 )
   

Net asset value, end of year

    $16.64     $17.86     $16.91     $15.33     $12.71  
   

Total return (3)

    3.07 %   8.96 %   13.42 %   25.76 %   (15.34 )%
   

Net assets, end of year (thousands)

    $26,353     $37,340     $43,288     $19,824     $5,308  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

           

Gross expenses

    2.06 %   1.99 %   1.93 %   2.29 %   1.85 %

Net expenses

    1.86 (4)(5)   1.97 (5)   1.93     2.29     1.85  

Net investment income

    1.36     1.24     1.55     4.10     3.40  
   

Portfolio turnover rate

    98 %   79 %   113 %   133 %   115 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   On May 16, 2003, Class L shares were renamed as Smith Barney Class L shares, as of April 24, 2004, Smith Barney Class L shares were renamed as Smith Barney Class C shares and, as of April 21, 2006, Smith Barney Class C shares were renamed Class C shares.

 

(3)   Performance figures may reflect fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower.

 

(4)   As a result of an expense limitation, the ratio of expenses to average net assets of Class C shares will not exceed 1.89%.

 

(5)   Reflects fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements.


For a Class I share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended July 31:  
Class I Shares (1)(2)   6 Months
Ended
January 31,
2007
(unaudited)
  2006     2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net asset value, beginning of year

    $17.97     $17.02     $15.44     $12.84     $15.85  
   

Income (loss) from operations:

           

Net investment income

    0.43     0.42     0.49     0.80     0.67  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    0.32     1.27     1.77     2.59     (2.89 )
   

Total income (loss) from operations

    0.75     1.69     2.26     3.39     (2.22 )
   

Less distributions from:

           

Net investment income

    (0.43 )   (0.41 )   (0.58 )   (0.79 )   (0.79 )

Net realized gains

    (1.52 )   (0.33 )   (0.10 )        
   

Total distributions

    (1.95 )   (0.74 )   (0.68 )   (0.79 )   (0.79 )
   

Net asset value, end of year

    $16.77     $17.97     $17.02     $15.44     $12.84  
   

Total return (3)

    4.28 %   10.13 %   14.72 %   27.42 %   (14.51 )%
   

Net assets, end of year (thousands)

    $8,105     $8,395     $83,456     $78,905     $72,510  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

           

Gross expenses

    0.92 %   0.79 %   0.80 %   0.89 %   0.81 %

Net expenses

    0.78 (4)(5)   0.78 (5)   0.80     0.89     0.81  

Net investment income

    2.43     2.39     2.84     5.84     4.49  
   

Portfolio turnover rate

    98 %   79 %   113 %   133 %   115 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   On May 16, 2003, Class Y shares were renamed as Smith Barney Class Y shares, as of April 21, 2006, Smith Barney Class Y shares were renamed Class Y shares, and on November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

(3)   Performance figures may reflect fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower.

 

(4)   As a result of an expense limitation, the ratio of expenses to average net assets of Class I shares will not exceed 0.78%.

 

(5)   Reflects fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements.


PROSPECTUS

November 30, 2006

 

The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or determined whether this prospectus is accurate or complete. Any statement to the contrary is a crime.

LOGO

LOGO

Legg Mason Partners Convertible Fund

Class A, B, C and I Shares

 

 

 

INVESTMENT PRODUCTS: NOT FDIC INSURED Ÿ NO BANK GUARANTEE Ÿ MAY LOSE VALUE

 


 

 

 

 

 

“Smith Barney” is a service mark of Citigroup, licensed for use by Legg Mason as the name of funds and investment managers. Legg Mason and its affiliates, as well as the fund’s investment manager, are not affiliated with Citigroup.


Legg Mason Partners Convertible Fund

Contents

 

Investments, risks and performance

  2

More on the fund’s investments

  6

Management

  8

Choosing a class of shares to buy

  11

Comparing the fund’s classes

  13

Sales charge

  14

More about contingent deferred sales charges

  18

Retirement and institutional investors

  19

Buying shares

  21

Exchanging shares

  22

Redeeming shares

  24

Other things to know about transactions

  26

Dividends, distributions and taxes

  29

Share price

  31

Financial highlights

  33

Prior to April 7, 2006, the fund was named SB Convertible Fund.


 

Investments, risks and performance

Investment objective

The fund seeks current income and capital appreciation.

Principal investment strategies

Key investments

Under normal market conditions, the fund invests at least 80% of the value of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in convertible securities. These are either bonds or preferred shares which may be converted into common stock or other equity interests of the issuer at a predetermined price or rate. The fund also may invest up to 20% of its assets in “synthetic convertible securities,” equity securities and debt securities that are not convertible. Synthetic convertible securities are created by combining non-convertible preferred shares or debt securities with common stocks, warrants or call options. These synthetic instruments are designed to perform like convertible securities.

The fund may invest up to 25% of its assets in foreign securities. The fund may invest in securities rated below investment grade or, if unrated, determined by the subadviser to be of comparable quality. These securities are commonly known as “junk bonds” because they are rated in the lower rating categories by nationally and internationally recognized statistical rating organizations or, if unrated, determined by the subadviser to be of similar credit quality.

Selection process

In evaluating a convertible security, the portfolio managers analyze both the equity and the fixed-income characteristics of the security.

Equity characteristics the portfolio managers look for include:

n   Companies with potential for real, sustainable growth
n   Companies with competent and accessible management
n   Companies with favorable cash flow
n   Securities of companies in which the portfolio managers believe the underlying common stock has the potential for significant appreciation over a 12-18 month period

Fixed-income characteristics the portfolio managers look for include:

n   Favorable financial condition and capital structure
n   Securities structured in a manner that reduces risk
n   Securities where the yield more than compensates for the degree of risk

Principal risks of investing in the fund

Convertible securities are subject both to the stock market risk associated with equity securities and to the credit and interest rate risks associated with fixed-income securities. As the market price of the equity security underlying a convertible security falls, the convertible security tends to trade on the basis of its yield and other fixed-income characteristics. As the market price of such equity security rises, the convertible security tends to trade on the

 

2         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

basis of its equity conversion features. Therefore, investors could lose money on their investment in the fund, or the fund may not perform as well as other investments, if:

n   A common stock or other security into which a security owned by the fund is convertible falls in value
n   The stock market declines
n   The issuer of a security owned by the fund defaults on its obligation to pay principal and/or interest, or has its credit rating downgraded
n   Interest rates increase, causing the prices of fixed-income securities to decline and reducing the value of the fund’s portfolio
n   Companies in which the fund invests fail to meet earnings expectations, fall out of favor with investors, or other events depress their stock prices
n   The portfolio managers’ judgment about interest rates or the attractiveness, value or income potential of a particular security proves incorrect

Below investment grade bonds, commonly known as “junk bonds,” are speculative and their issuers may have diminished capacity to pay principal and interest. These securities have a higher risk of default, tend to be less liquid and may be more difficult to value.

Investments in foreign securities involve special risks, such as risk of political or economic instability, imposition of exchange controls or other restrictions on investments, and losses due to currency fluctuations.

Who may want to invest

The fund may be an appropriate investment if you:

n   Are seeking to earn current income with some potential for capital appreciation
n   Are seeking limited exposure to the stock market, and understand the risks of investing in equity securities

Performance information

The following shows summary performance information for the fund in a bar chart and an Average Annual Total Returns table. The information provides an indication of the risks of investing in the fund by showing changes in its performance from year to year and by showing how the fund’s average annual returns compare with the returns of broad-based securities market indices and an average of comparable mutual funds. The bar chart and the information below show performance of the fund’s Class B shares, but do not reflect the impact of sales charges (loads). If they did, the returns would be lower than those shown. Unlike the bar chart, the performance for Class A, B, C and I (formerly Class Y) shares in the Average Annual Total Returns table reflects the impact of the maximum sales charge (load) applicable to the respective classes, and, where indicated, the performance for Class B shares reflects the impact of taxes paid on distributions and the redemption of shares at the end of the period. The fund’s past performance, before and after taxes, is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future.

 

Legg Mason Partners Convertible Fund         3


 

Total Return for Class B Shares

LOGO

Highest and lowest quarter returns (for periods shown in the bar chart):

Highest: 13.50% in 2nd quarter 2003; Lowest: (11.36)% in 3rd quarter 1998.

Year to date: 5.42% through 9/30/06.

 

Average Annual Total Returns (for periods ended December 31, 2005)

 

      1 Year     5 Years     10 Years     Since
Inception
    Inception
Date

Class B

          9/2/86
 
Return before taxes   (2.44 )%   7.28 %   6.56 %   7.35 %  
 
Return after taxes on distributions (1)   (5.98 )%   5.21 %   4.38 %   N/A    
 
Return after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares (1)   (1.60 )%   5.00 %   4.32 %   N/A    
 
Other Classes (Return before taxes only)          
 

Class A (2)

  (3.18 )%   6.71 %   6.47 %   7.22 %   11/9/92
 

Class C

  1.07 %   7.23 %   N/A     4.65 %   6/15/98
 

Class I (3)

  3.09 %   8.45 %   N/A     7.35 %   2/7/96
 
Convertible 100 Index (4)(7)   3.59 %   2.82 %   7.58 %   N/A     N/A
 
Merrill Lynch All Convertibles Index (5)(7)   1.32 %   4.29 %   8.87 %   N/A     N/A
 
Lipper Average (6)(7)   3.34 %   4.08 %   8.07 %   N/A     N/A
 

 

(1)   After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases, the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of fund shares at the end of the measurement period. After-tax returns shown above are for Class B shares only. After-tax returns for other share classes will vary.

 

(2)   On November 20, 2006, the maximum initial sales charge on Class A shares was increased for sales made on and after that date. The average annual returns for Class A shares in the table have been calculated as if the increased maximum initial sales charge had been in effect for the entire period.

 

(3)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

(4)   The Goldman Sachs/Bloomberg Equally Weighted U.S. Convertible 100 Index (the “Convertible 100 Index”) is an unmanaged, equally weighted index of 100 leading convertible securities designed to represent the broad U.S. convertible market.

 

(5)   The fund’s benchmark has changed from the Convertible 100 Index to the Merrill Lynch All Convertibles Index since the Convertible 100 Index is being discontinued. The Merrill Lynch All Convertibles Index is a widely used, unmanaged index that measures convertible securities’ performance. It measures the performance of U.S. dollar-denominated convertible securities not currently in bankruptcy with a total market value greater than $50 million at issuance.

 

(6)   The Lipper Convertible Securities Funds Peer Group Average is a total return performance average of funds tracked by Lipper, Inc. that invest in convertible securities. It does not take into account sales charges or taxes.
(7)   It is not possible to invest directly in an index or an average. An index does not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes. An average reflects fees and expenses but does not reflect deductions for sales charges or taxes.

 

4         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Fee table

This table sets forth the fees and expenses you may pay if you invest in fund shares.

Shareholder Fees

 

(paid directly from your investment)   Class A     Class B     Class C     Class I (1)
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a % of offering price)   5.75 %   None     None     None
 
Maximum contingent deferred sales charge (load) (as a % of the lower of net asset value at purchase or redemption)   None (2)   5.00 %   1.00 % (3)   None
 

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

 

(paid by the fund as a % of net assets)   Class A     Class B     Class C     Class I (1)  
Management fees   0.70 %   0.70 %   0.70 %   0.70 %
   
Distribution and service (12b-1) fees   0.25 %   0.75 %   1.00 %   None  
   
Other expenses (4)   0.32 %   0.33 %   0.31 %   0.20 %
   
Total annual fund operating expenses   1.27 %   1.78 %   2.01 %   0.90 %
   

 

(1)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

(2)   You may buy Class A shares in amounts of $1,000,000 or more at net asset value (without an initial sales charge), but if you redeem those shares within 12 months of their purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

 

(3)   As of November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge is waived for retirement plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund.

 

(4)   The amounts set forth in “Other expenses” for Class A, B, C and I Shares have been revised to reflect the estimated effect of new transfer agency and custody contracts which became effective on January 1, 2006.

Example

This example helps you compare the costs of investing in the fund with the costs of investing in other mutual funds. Your actual costs may be higher or lower. The example assumes:

n   You invest $10,000 in the fund for the period shown
n   Your investment has a 5% return each year — the assumption of a 5% return is required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) for purposes of this example and is not a prediction of the fund’s future performance
n   You reinvest all distributions and dividends without a sales charge
n   The fund’s operating expenses (before fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, if any) remain the same

 

Number of Years You Own Your Shares

 

      1 year   3 years   5 years   10 years  

Class A (with or without redemption)

  $ 697   $ 954   $ 1,231   $ 2,020  
   

Class B (redemption at end of period)

  $ 681   $ 861   $ 1,065   $ 1,962 (1)
   

Class B (no redemption)

  $ 181   $ 561   $ 965   $ 1,962 (1)
   

Class C (redemption at end of period)

  $ 304   $ 630   $ 1,083   $ 2,337  
   

Class C (no redemption)

  $ 204   $ 630   $ 1,083   $ 2,337  
   

Class I (2) (with or without redemption)

  $ 92   $ 288   $ 499   $ 1,109  
   

 

(1)   Assumes conversion to Class A shares approximately eight years after purchase.

 

(2)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

Legg Mason Partners Convertible Fund         5


 

More on the fund’s investments

The fund’s investment objectives and principal investment strategies are described under the section entitled “Investments, risks and performance.” This section provides further information about the investment strategies that may be used by the fund.

Derivative contracts

The fund may, but need not, use derivative contracts, such as options on securities or currencies, forward foreign currency contracts, interest rate futures and options on interest rate futures:

n   To hedge against the economic impact of adverse changes in the market value of portfolio securities because of changes in interest rates or exchange rates or securities markets
n   As a substitute for buying or selling securities
n   To enhance the fund’s return
n   As a cash flow management technique

A derivative contract will obligate or entitle the fund to deliver or receive an asset or cash payment based on the change in value of one or more indices or securities. Even a small investment in derivative contracts can have a big impact on the fund’s currency, securities market or interest rate exposure. Therefore, using derivatives can disproportionately increase losses and reduce opportunities for gains when interest rates, exchange rates or securities markets are changing. The fund may not fully benefit from or may lose money on derivatives if changes in their value do not correspond as anticipated to changes in the value of the fund’s holdings. The other parties to certain derivative contracts present the same types of default risk as issuers of fixed-income securities. Derivatives can also make the fund less liquid and harder to value, especially in declining markets. The fund may invest up to 10% of its assets in options for hedging purposes.

Equity securities

The fund may receive common stock as a result of the conversion of a convertible security held by the fund, and such common stock may continue to be held by the fund at the discretion of the portfolio managers. The portfolio managers apply essentially the same investment analysis to equity and convertible securities in determining whether to continue to hold a security, taking into account the differing risk/return characteristics of convertible and equity securities. Whether an equity security pays a dividend is a component of the analysis.

Short sales

The fund may engage in short sales “against the box” by borrowing and selling shares of common stock that the fund simultaneously holds in its portfolio or has a right to hold through conversion of another portfolio security.

Defensive investing

The fund may depart from its principal investment strategies in response to adverse market, economic or political conditions by taking temporary defensive positions in any type of money market instruments and short-term debt securities or cash without regard to any

 

6         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

percentage limitations. If the fund takes a temporary defensive position, it may be unable to achieve its investment objective.

Other investments

The fund may also use other strategies and invest in other securities that are described, along with their risks, in the fund’s Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”). However, the fund might not use all of the strategies and techniques or invest in all of the types of securities described in this Prospectus or in the SAI. There also are many other factors, which are not described here, that could adversely affect your investment and that could prevent the fund from achieving its investment objective.

Portfolio holdings

The fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the fund’s portfolio securities are described in the SAI.

 

Legg Mason Partners Convertible Fund         7


 

Management

Manager and subadviser

Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC (“LMPFA” or the “manager”) is the fund’s investment manager. LMPFA, with offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022, is a recently-organized investment adviser that has been formed to serve as the investment manager of the fund and other Legg Mason-sponsored funds. LMPFA provides administrative and certain oversight services to the fund and manages the fund’s cash and short-term instruments. ClearBridge Advisors, LLC (“ClearBridge” or the “subadviser”) provides the day-to-day portfolio management of the fund, except for the management of cash and short-term instruments, as subadviser.

ClearBridge has offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022 and is a recently-organized investment adviser that has been formed to succeed to the equity securities portfolio management business of Citigroup Asset Management, which was acquired by Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”) in December 2005.

LMPFA and ClearBridge are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Legg Mason. Legg Mason, whose principal executive offices are at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, is a global asset management company. As of September 30, 2006, Legg Mason’s asset management operation had aggregate assets under management of approximately $891 billion.

Prior to August 1, 2006, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”) was the fund’s investment manager. SBFM is also a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason.

Portfolio managers

The fund is managed by a team of portfolio managers, sector specialists and other investment professionals led by Peter Luke and Kent Bailey. Mr. Luke serves as a portfolio manager and has been responsible for the fund’s day-to-day management and oversight since 2001. Prior to 2001, Mr. Luke was employed as a portfolio manager by General Motors Investment Management Corporation. Mr. Luke is an investment officer of ClearBridge with over thirty-four years of investment management experience.

Mr. Bailey has served as a co-portfolio manager of the fund since March 2004. Mr. Bailey is an investment officer of ClearBridge and has been associated with the subadviser or its predecessor companies since 2001. Prior to 2001, Mr. Bailey was a convertible securities analyst for Morgan Stanley.

The SAI provides additional information about the compensation of the portfolio managers, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers and any fund shares held by the portfolio managers, and has more detailed information about the manager, subadviser and other fund service providers.

Management fee

For the fiscal year ended July 31, 2006, the fund paid a fee, after waivers and reimbursements, of 0.53% of the fund’s average daily net assets for advisory and administrative services. For the period from August 1, 2005 through November 30, 2005, the fund paid SBFM an advisory fee and an administrative fee equal to 0.50% and 0.20%, respectively, of the fund’s average daily net assets. For the period from December 1, 2005 through July 31, 2006, the fund paid SBFM a management fee equal to 0.70% of the fund’s average daily net assets.

 

8         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of the fund’s management agreement and subadvisory agreement is available in the fund’s Annual Report for the fiscal year ended July 31, 2006.

Other information

The fund’s Board has approved a number of initiatives designed to streamline and restructure the fund complex, and has authorized seeking shareholder approval for those initiatives where shareholder approval is required. These initiatives include the election of a new Board, the grouping of the fund for organizational and governance purposes with other funds in the fund complex that are predominantly equity-type funds, and the adoption of a single form of organization as a Maryland business trust, with all funds operating under uniform charter documents. Fund shareholders entitled to vote also have been asked to approve investment matters, including standardized fundamental investment policies and the ability of the fund to change its investment objective without shareholder approval. Proxy materials describing these matters were mailed in October 2006. If shareholder approval is obtained, these matters generally are expected to be effectuated during the first half of 2007.

Distribution plan

Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC (“LMIS”), a wholly-owned broker/dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”) serve as the fund’s distributors.

The fund has adopted a shareholder services and distribution plan for each of its Class A, B and C shares. Under the plan, the fund pays distribution and/or service fees. These fees are an ongoing expense and, over time, will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than other types of sales charges.

In addition, a distributor may make payments for distribution and/or shareholder servicing activities out of its past profits and other available sources. A distributor may also make payments to dealers for marketing, promotional or related expenses. The amount of these payments is determined by a distributor and may be substantial. The manager or an affiliate may make similar payments under similar arrangements.

The payments described in the paragraph above are often referred to as “revenue sharing payments.” The recipients of such payments may include the fund’s distributors, affiliates of the manager, broker/dealers, financial institutions and other financial intermediaries through which investors may purchase shares of the fund. In some circumstances, such payments may create an incentive for an intermediary or its employees or associated persons to recommend or sell shares of the fund to you. Please contact your financial intermediary for details about revenue sharing payments it may receive.

Recent developments

On May 31, 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued an order in connection with the settlement of an administrative proceeding against SBFM, the then-investment adviser or manager to the fund, and CGMI, relating to the appointment of an affiliated transfer agent for the Smith Barney family of mutual funds, including the fund (the “Affected Funds”).

The SEC order found that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(1) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder (the “Advisers Act”). Specifically, the order found that SBFM and CGMI knowingly or

 

Legg Mason Partners Convertible Fund         9


recklessly failed to disclose to the boards of the Affected Funds in 1999 when proposing a new transfer agent arrangement with an affiliated transfer agent that: First Data Investors Services Group (“First Data”), the Affected Funds’ then-existing transfer agent, had offered to continue as transfer agent and do the same work for substantially less money than before; and that Citigroup Asset Management (“CAM”), the Citigroup business unit that, at the time, included the Affected Funds’ investment manager and other investment advisory companies, had entered into a side letter with First Data under which CAM agreed to recommend the appointment of First Data as sub-transfer agent to the affiliated transfer agent in exchange, among other things, for a guarantee by First Data of specified amounts of asset management and investment banking fees to CAM and CGMI. The order also finds that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act by virtue of the omissions discussed above and other misrepresentations and omissions in the materials provided to the Affected Funds’ boards, including the failure to make clear that the affiliated transfer agent would earn a high profit for performing limited functions while First Data continued to perform almost all of the transfer agent functions, and the suggestion that the proposed arrangement was in the Affected Funds’ best interests and that no viable alternatives existed.

SBFM and CGMI do not admit or deny any wrongdoing or liability. The settlement does not establish wrongdoing or liability for purposes of any other proceeding. The SEC censured SBFM and CGMI and ordered them to cease and desist from violations of Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Advisers Act. The order required Citigroup to pay $208.1 million, including $109 million in disgorgement of profits, $19.1 million in interest, and a civil money penalty of $80 million. Approximately $24.4 million has already been paid to the Affected Funds, primarily through fee waivers. The remaining $183.7 million, including the penalty, has been paid to the U.S. Treasury and will be distributed pursuant to a plan submitted for the approval of the SEC. At this time, there is no certainty as to how the above-described proceeds of the settlement will be distributed, to whom such distributions will be made, the methodology by which such distributions will be allocated, and when such distributions will be made. The order also required that transfer agency fees received from the Affected Funds since December 1, 2004, less certain expenses, be placed in escrow and provided that a portion of such fees might be subsequently distributed in accordance with the terms of the order. On April 3, 2006, an aggregate amount of approximately $9 million held in escrow was distributed to the Affected Funds.

The order required SBFM to recommend a new transfer agent contract to the Fund boards within 180 days of the entry of the order; if a Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent or sub-transfer agent, SBFM and CGMI would have been required, at their expense, to engage an independent monitor to oversee a competitive bidding process. On November 21, 2005, and within the specified timeframe, the Affected Funds’ Boards selected a new transfer agent for the Affected Funds. No Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent. Under the order, SBFM also must comply with an amended version of a vendor policy that Citigroup instituted in August 2004.

Although there can be no assurance, the manager does not believe that this matter will have a material adverse effect on the Affected Funds.

On December 1, 2005, Citigroup completed the sale of substantially all of its global asset management business, including SBFM, to Legg Mason.

 

10         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Choosing a class of shares to buy

Individual investors can generally choose among three classes of shares: Class A (1) , B and C shares. Individual investors that held Class I (formerly Class Y) shares prior to November 20, 2006, may continue to invest in Class I shares. Institutional and retirement plan investors and clients of financial intermediaries should refer to “Retirement and institutional investors” below for a discussion of the classes available to them. Each class has different sales charges and expenses, allowing you to choose the class that best meets your needs.

When choosing which class of shares to buy, you should consider:

n   How much you plan to invest
n   How long you expect to own the shares
n   The expenses paid by each class detailed in the Fee table and Example at the front of this Prospectus
n   Whether you qualify for any reduction or waiver of sales charges

If you are choosing between Class A and Class B shares, it will in almost all cases be the more economical choice for you to purchase Class A shares if you plan to purchase shares in an amount of $100,000 or more (whether in a single purchase or through aggregation of eligible holdings). This is because of the reduced sales charge available on larger investments of Class A shares and the lower ongoing expenses of Class A shares compared to Class B shares.

If you intend to invest for only a few years, the effect of Class B contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions made within five years of purchase, as well as the effect of higher expenses of that class, might make an investment in Class C more appropriate. There is no initial sales charge on Class C shares, and the contingent deferred sales charge does not apply to shares redeemed one year after purchase.

However, if you plan to invest a large amount and your investment horizon is five years or more, Class C shares might not be as advantageous as Class A shares. This is because the annual asset-based sales charge on Class C shares will have a greater impact on your account over the longer term than the reduced front-end sales charge available for larger purchases of Class A shares.

You may buy shares from:

n   Certain broker/dealers, financial intermediaries, financial institutions or a distributor’s financial advisors or registered representatives (each called a “Service Agent”)
n   The fund, but only if you are investing through certain qualified plans or Service Agents

Different types of shareholder services may be available to you under arrangements offered by different Service Agents. In addition, these services may vary depending on the share class in which you choose to invest. In making your decision regarding which share class to buy, please keep in mind that your Service Agent may receive different compensation depending on the share class in which you invest. Investors should consult with their Service Agent about comparative pricing of shareholder services available to them under each available share class, the compensation that will be received by their Service Agent in connection with each available share class, and other factors that may be relevant to the investor’s choice of share class in which to invest.

 

(1)   On April 21, 2006, all Class O shares converted to Class A shares.

 

Legg Mason Partners Convertible Fund         11


 

Not all Classes of shares are available through each Service Agent. You should contact your Service Agent for further information.

Investment minimums

Minimum initial and additional investment amounts vary depending on the class of shares you buy and the nature of your investment.

 

   

Investment Minimum

Initial/Additional Investments (1)

      Class A   Class B   Class C  

Class I

(formerly Y)

General

  $500/$50   $500/$50   $500/$50   n/a
 

IRAs and Uniform Gifts or Transfers to Minor Accounts

  $250/$50   $250/$50   $250/$50   n/a
 

SIMPLE IRAs

  $1/$1   $1/$1   $1/$1   n/a
 

Systematic Investment Plans

  $25/$25   $25/$25   $25/$25   n/a
 

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries

  $1/$1   n/a   n/a   None/None
 

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund

  None/None   n/a   None/None   None/None
 

Other Retirement Plans

  $50/$50   $50/$50   $50/$50   n/a
 

Institutional Investors

  $500/$50   $500/$50   $500/$50   $1 million/None
 

 

(1)   Please refer to the section entitled “Retirement and institutional investors” for additional information regarding the investment minimum and eligibility requirements for Retirement Plans, Institutional Investors and Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries.

 

More information about the fund’s classes of shares is available through the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website. You’ll find detailed information about sales charges and ways you can qualify for reduced or waived sales charges, including:

n   The front-end sales charges that apply to the purchase of Class A shares
n   The contingent deferred sales charges that apply to the redemption of Class B shares, Class C shares and certain Class A shares (redeemed within one year)
n   Who qualifies for lower sales charges on Class A shares
n   Who qualifies for a sales load waiver

Go to http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices and click on the name of the fund.

 

12         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Comparing the fund’s classes

The following table compares key features of the fund’s classes. You should review the Fee table and Example at the front of this Prospectus carefully before choosing your share class. Your Service Agent can help you decide which class meets your goals. Your Service Agent may receive different compensation depending upon which class you choose.

 

      Class A   Class B   Class C  

Class I

(formerly Y)

Key features  

n  Initial sales charge

n  You may qualify for reduction or waiver of initial sales charge

n  Lower annual expenses than Class B and Class C

 

n  No initial sales charge

n  Contingent deferred sales charge declines over time

n  Converts to Class A after approximately 8 years

n  Higher annual expenses than Class A

 

n  No initial sales charge

n  Contingent deferred sales charge for only 1 year

n  Does not convert to Class A

n  Higher annual expenses than Class A

 

n  No initial or contingent deferred sales charge

n  Only offered to institutional and other eligible investors

n  Lower expenses than the other classes

Initial sales charge  

Up to 5.75%; reduced or waived for large purchases and certain investors. No charge for purchases of $1 million or more

 

None

 

None

 

None

Contingent deferred sales charge  

1.00% on purchases of $1 million or more if you redeem within 1 year of purchase; waived for certain investors

 

Up to 5.00% charged when you redeem shares. This charge is reduced over time and there is no contingent deferred sales charge after 5 years; waived for certain investors

 

1.00% if you redeem within 1 year of purchase; waived for certain other investors

 

None

Annual distribution and service fees  

0.25% of average daily net assets

 

0.75% of average daily net assets

 

1.00% of average daily net assets

 

None

Exchange

Privilege (1)

 

Class A shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class B shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class C shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class I shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

(1)   Ask your Service Agent for the Legg Mason Partners Funds available for exchange.

 

Legg Mason Partners Convertible Fund         13


 

Sales charge

Class A shares

You buy Class A shares at the offering price, which is the net asset value plus a sales charge. You pay a lower sales charge as the size of your investment increases to certain levels called breakpoints. You do not pay a sales charge on the fund’s distributions or dividends you reinvest in additional Class A shares.

The table below shows the rate of sales charge you pay, depending on the amount you purchase, for purchases made on or after November 20, 2006. The table below also shows the amount of broker/dealer compensation that will be paid out of the sales charge. For Class A shares sold by LMIS, LMIS will receive the sales charge imposed on purchases of Class A shares (or any contingent deferred sales charge paid on redemptions) and will retain the full amount of such sales charge. For Class A shares sold by CGMI, CGMI will receive the sales charge imposed on purchases of Class A shares and will retain an amount equal to the broker/dealer commission paid out of the sales charge. LMIS will receive any portion not retained by CGMI. Service Agents (including CGMI) will also receive a distribution/service fee payable on Class A shares at an annual rate of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class A shares serviced by them.

 

Amount of investment   Sales Charge
as % of
offering price
  Sales Charge
as % of net
amount
invested
  Broker/Dealer
Commission
as % of
offering price

Less than $25,000

  5.75   6.10   5.00
 

$25,000 but less than $50,000

  5.00   5.26   4.25
 

$50,000 but less than $100,000

  4.50   4.71   3.75
 

$100,000 but less than $250,000

  3.50   3.63   2.75
 

$250,000 but less than $500,000

  2.50   2.56   2.00
 

$500,000 but less than $750,000

  2.00   2.04   1.60
 

$750,000 but less than $1 million

  1.50   1.52   1.20
 

$1 million or more (1)

  -0-   -0-   up to 1.00
 

 

(1)   A distributor may pay a commission of up to 1.00% to a Service Agent for purchase amounts of $1 million or more. In such cases, starting in the thirteenth month after purchase, the Service Agent will also receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class A shares held by its clients. Prior to the thirteenth month, the distributor will retain this fee. Where the Service Agent does not receive the payment of this commission, the Service Agent will instead receive the annual distribution/service fee starting immediately after purchase. Please contact your Service Agent for more information.

Investments of $1,000,000 or more

You do not pay an initial sales charge when you buy $1,000,000 or more of Class A shares. However, if you redeem these Class A shares within one year of purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

Qualifying for a reduced Class A sales charge

There are several ways you can combine multiple purchases of Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds to take advantage of the breakpoints in the sales charge schedule. In order to take advantage of reductions in sales charges that may be available to

 

14         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

you when you purchase fund shares, you must inform your Service Agent or the transfer agent if you are eligible for a letter of intent or a right of accumulation and if you own shares of other Legg Mason Partners Funds that are eligible to be aggregated with your purchases. Certain records, such as account statements, may be necessary in order to verify your eligibility for reduced sales charges.

n   Accumulation privilege — allows you to combine the current value of Class A shares of the fund with other shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds that are owned by:
  ¨   you, or
  ¨   your spouse and children under the age of 21

with the dollar amount of your next purchase of Class A shares for purposes of calculating the initial sales charge.

Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or its affiliates (other than money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners Funds), Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. may not be combined.

If you hold shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds in accounts at two or more Service Agents, please contact your Service Agents to determine which shares may be combined.

Certain trustees and fiduciaries may be entitled to combine accounts in determining their sales charge.

n   Letter of intent — allows you to purchase Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds over a 13-month period and pay the same sales charge on Class A shares, if any, as if all the shares had been purchased at once. At the time you enter into the letter of intent, you select your asset goal amount. Generally, purchases of Legg Mason Partners Funds shares that are purchased during the 13-month period by:
  ¨   you, or
  ¨   your spouse and children under the age of 21

are eligible for inclusion under the letter, based on the public offering price at the time of the purchase, and any capital appreciation on those shares. You may also backdate your letter up to 90 days, in which case eligible purchases made during that period will be treated as purchases made under the letter. In addition, you can include towards your asset goal amount the current value of any eligible purchases that were made prior to the date of entering into the letter of intent and are still held.

Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or its affiliates (other than money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners Funds), Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. may not be credited toward your letter of intent asset goal.

If you hold shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds in accounts at two or more Service Agents, please contact your Service Agents to determine which shares may be credited toward your letter of intent asset goal.

If you do not meet your asset goal amount, shares equal to the amount of any sales charges due based on the amount of your actual purchases will be redeemed from your account.

 

Legg Mason Partners Convertible Fund         15


 

Waivers for certain Class A investors

Class A initial sales charges are waived for certain types of investors, including:

n   Employees of Service Agents having dealer, service or other selling agreements with the fund’s distributors
n   Investors who redeemed Class A shares of a Legg Mason Partners Fund in the past 60 days, if the investor’s Service Agent is notified
n   Directors and officers of any Legg Mason-sponsored fund
n   Employees of Legg Mason and its subsidiaries

If you qualify for a waiver of the Class A initial sales charge, you must notify your Service Agent or the transfer agent at the time of purchase and provide sufficient information at the time of purchase to permit verification that the purchase qualifies for the initial sales charge waiver.

If you want to learn about additional waivers of Class A initial sales charges, contact your Service Agent, consult the SAI or look at the Legg Mason Partners Fund’s website, http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices, and click on the name of the fund.

Class B shares

You buy Class B shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. However, if you redeem your Class B shares within 5 years of your original purchase payment, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge. The contingent deferred sales charge decreases as the number of years since your purchase payment increases.

 

Year after purchase   1st     2nd     3rd     4th     5th     6th through 8th  

Contingent deferred sales charge

  5 %   4 %   3 %   2 %   1 %   0 %
   

LMIS will pay Service Agents, including CGMI, selling Class B shares a commission of up to 4.00% of the purchase price of the Class B shares they sell, and LMIS will retain the contingent deferred sales charges. Service Agents also receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class B shares serviced by them.

Class B conversion

After approximately 8 years, Class B shares automatically convert into Class A shares. This helps you because Class A shares have lower annual expenses. Your Class B shares will convert to Class A shares as follows:

 

Shares issued:

At initial purchase

   Shares issued:
On reinvestment of
dividends and
distributions
   Shares issued:
Upon exchange from
another Legg Mason
Partners Fund
Approximately 8 years after the date of purchase payment    In same proportion as the number of Class B shares converting is to total Class B shares you own (excluding shares issued as dividends)    On the date the shares originally acquired would have converted into Class A shares
 

 

16         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Class C shares

You buy Class C shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. However, if you redeem your Class C shares within one year of purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

LMIS will generally pay Service Agents selling Class C shares (other than shares sold to omnibus accounts of retirement plans held on the books of the fund) a commission of up to 1.00% of the purchase price of the Class C shares they sell, and LMIS will retain the contingent deferred sales charges and an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class C shares serviced by these Service Agents until the thirteenth month after purchase. Starting in the thirteenth month after purchase, these Service Agents will receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class C shares serviced by them.

Class I shares (formerly Class Y shares)

Class I shares are purchased at net asset value with no initial sales charge and no contingent deferred sales charge when redeemed. See “Retirement and institutional investors — Class I shares” below for additional information regarding investor eligibility and investment minimums.

 

Legg Mason Partners Convertible Fund         17


 

More about contingent deferred sales charges

The contingent deferred sales charge is based on the net asset value at the time of purchase or redemption, whichever is less, and therefore you do not pay a sales charge on amounts representing appreciation or depreciation.

In addition, you do not pay a contingent deferred sales charge on:

n   Shares exchanged for shares of another Legg Mason Partners Fund
n   Shares representing reinvested distributions and dividends
n   Shares no longer subject to the contingent deferred sales charge

Each time you place a request to redeem shares, the fund will first redeem any shares in your account that are not subject to a contingent deferred sales charge and then the shares in your account that have been held the longest.

If you redeem shares of a Legg Mason Partners Fund and pay a contingent deferred sales charge, you may, under certain circumstances, reinvest all or part of the redemption proceeds within 60 days and receive pro rata credit for any contingent deferred sales charge imposed on the prior redemption. Please contact your Service Agent for additional information.

The fund’s distributors receives contingent deferred sales charges as partial compensation for their expenses in selling shares, including the payment of compensation to your Service Agent.

Contingent deferred sales charge waivers

The contingent deferred sales charge for each share class will generally be waived:

n   On payments made through certain systematic withdrawal plans
n   On certain distributions from a retirement plan
n   For involuntary redemptions of small account balances
n   For 12 months following the death or disability of a shareholder

If you want to learn more about additional waivers of contingent deferred sales charges, contact your Service Agent, consult the SAI or look at the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website, http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices, and click on the name of the fund.

 

18         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Retirement and institutional investors

Eligible investors

Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund can generally choose among three classes of shares: Class C, Class A and Class I (formerly Class Y) shares. “Retirement Plans” include 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit-shares plans, non-qualified deferred compensation plans and other similar employer-sponsored retirement plans. Retirement Plans do not include individual retirement vehicles, such as traditional and Roth individual retirement accounts, Coverdell education savings accounts, individual 403(b)(7) custodial accounts, Keogh plans, SEPs, SARSEPs, SIMPLE IRAs, or Section 529 savings accounts. Although Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund are not subject to minimum initial investment requirements for any of these share classes, certain investment minimums may be imposed by a financial intermediary.

Other Retirement Plan investors (including, for example, employer-sponsored plans investing through brokerage accounts), can generally choose among three classes of shares: Class A, Class B and Class C. Individual retirement vehicles, such as IRAs, may also choose among these share classes. These types of investors are treated like individual investors for purposes of determining investment minimums, sales charges and any applicable sales charge reductions or waivers.

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries may generally choose between two classes of shares: Class A and Class I. “Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries” are investors who invest in the fund through financial intermediaries that offer their clients fund shares through investment programs as authorized by LMIS. Such investment programs may include fee-based advisory or brokerage account programs, and college savings vehicles such as Section 529 plans. The financial intermediary may impose separate investment minimums.

Institutional Investors

Institutional Investors may invest in Class I shares if they meet the $1,000,000 minimum initial investment requirement. Institutional Investors may also invest in Class A, B and C shares, which have different investment minimums and fees and expenses. “Institutional Investors” generally include corporations, banks, insurance companies, foundations, retirement plans and other similar entities with direct relationships to the fund.

Class C — Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund may buy Class C shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. As of November 20, 2006, LMIS no longer pays Service Agents selling Class C shares to retirement plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of a fund a commission on the purchase price of Class C shares sold by them. Instead, immediately after purchase, LMIS will pay these Service Agents an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets

 

Legg Mason Partners Convertible Fund         19


 

represented by the Class C shares serviced by them. For purchases made by Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund on or after November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge on shares redeemed within one year of purchase is waived.

Class A—Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund may purchase Class A shares through programs sponsored by financial intermediaries. Under these programs, the initial sales charge and contingent deferred sales charge for Class A shares are waived where:

n   Such Retirement Plan’s recordkeeper offers only load-waived shares,
n   Fund shares are held on the books of the fund through an omnibus account, and
n   The Retirement Plan has more than 100 participants, or has total assets exceeding $1 million

As of November 20, 2006, LMIS no longer pays Service Agents selling Class A shares to Retirement Plans with a direct omnibus relationship with the fund a commission on the purchase price of Class A shares sold by them. However, for certain Retirement Plans that are permitted to purchase shares at net asset value on or after that date, LMIS may continue to pay Service Agents commissions of up to 1.00% of the purchase price of the additional Class A shares that are purchased with regular ongoing plan contributions. Please contact your Service Agent for more information.

Class I shares

On November 20 , 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares. Class I shares are offered only to Institutional Investors who meet the $1,000,000 minimum initial investment requirement, Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries, and other investors as authorized by LMIS. However, investors that held Class I shares prior to that date will continue to be permitted to make additional investments in Class I shares.

Other considerations

Plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries and other financial intermediaries may choose to impose qualification requirements for plans that differ from the fund’s share class eligibility standards. In certain cases this could result in the selection of a share class with higher service and distribution-related fees than otherwise would have been charged. The fund is not responsible for, and has no control over, the decision of any plan sponsor, plan fiduciary or financial intermediary to impose such differing requirements. Please consult with your plan sponsor, plan fiduciary or financial intermediary for more information about available share classes.

With respect to Class A and Class C shares, as applicable, the fund may pay a fee for recordkeeping services performed for the applicable share class.

Not all share classes may be made available by your Service Agent. Please contact your Service Agent for additional details.

 

20         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Buying shares

 

Through a
Service Agent
  

You should contact your Service Agent to open a brokerage account and make arrangements to buy shares. You must provide the following information for your order to be processed:

n   Class of shares being bought

n   Dollar amount or number of shares being bought

Your Service Agent may charge an annual account maintenance fee.

 
Through the fund   

Financial intermediary accounts, retirement plan accounts and certain other investors who are clients of certain Service Agents are eligible to buy shares directly from the fund.

n   Write the fund at the following address:

Legg Mason Partners Funds

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9699

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699

n   Enclose a check to pay for the shares. For initial purchases, complete and send an account application available upon request from Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at the number below

n   Specify the name of the fund and the share class you wish to purchase

n   For more information, please call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010

 
Through a systematic investment plan   

You may authorize your Service Agent or the transfer agent to transfer funds automatically from (i) a regular bank account, (ii) cash held in a brokerage account with a Service Agent or (iii) certain money market funds, in order to buy shares on a regular basis.

n   Amounts transferred must be at least $25

n   Amounts may be transferred monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually

n   If you do not have sufficient funds in your account on a transfer date, your Service Agent or the transfer agent may charge you a fee

 

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or the transfer agent or consult the SAI.

 

Legg Mason Partners Convertible Fund         21


 

Exchanging shares

 

Legg Mason Partners offers a distinctive family of funds tailored to help meet the varying needs of both large and small investors   

You should contact your Service Agent to exchange into other Legg Mason Partners Funds. Be sure to read the prospectus of the Legg Mason Partners Fund into which you are exchanging. An exchange is a taxable transaction unless you are investing through a tax-qualified savings plan or account.

n   If you bought shares through a Service Agent, you may exchange shares only for shares of the same class of certain other Legg Mason Partners Funds made available for exchange by your Service Agent. Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds made available for exchange by your Service Agent may offer all classes. Please contact your Service Agent for more information about the funds and classes that are available for exchange

n   If you bought shares directly from the fund, you may exchange shares only for shares of the same class of another Legg Mason Partners Fund other than shares of Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund. Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds offer all classes

n   Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds may be offered in your state of residence. Contact your Service Agent or the transfer agent for further information

n   Exchanges of Class A, B and C shares are subject to minimum investment requirements (except for systematic investment plan exchanges), and all shares are subject to the other requirements of the fund into which exchanges are made

n   If you hold share certificates, the transfer agent must receive the certificates endorsed for transfer or with signed stock powers before the exchange is effective

n   The fund may suspend or terminate your exchange privilege if you engage in an excessive pattern of exchanges

 
Waiver of additional sales charges   

Your shares will not be subject to an initial sales charge at the time of the exchange.

Your contingent deferred sales charge (if any) will continue to be measured from the date of your original purchase of shares subject to a contingent deferred sales charge and you will be subject to the contingent deferred sales charge of the fund that you originally purchased.

 
By telephone   

If you do not have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, you may be eligible to exchange shares through the fund. You must complete an authorization form to authorize telephone transfers. If eligible, you may make telephone exchanges on any day the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open. Shareholders should call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time). Exchanges are priced at the net asset value next determined.

You can make telephone exchanges only between accounts that have identical registrations.

 

 

22         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

By mail    If you do not have a brokerage account, contact your Service Agent or write to the fund at the address on the following page.
 
Through a systematic exchange plan   

You may be permitted to schedule exchanges of shares of any class of the fund for shares of the same class of other Legg Mason Partners Funds.

n   Exchanges may be made monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually

n   A predetermined dollar amount of at least $25 per exchange is required

 

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or the transfer agent.

 

Legg Mason Partners Convertible Fund         23


 

Redeeming shares

 

Generally   

Contact your Service Agent to redeem shares of the fund.

If you hold share certificates, the transfer agent must receive the certificates endorsed for transfer or with signed stock powers before you may redeem.

If the shares are held by a fiduciary or corporation, other documents may be required.

Redemptions are priced at net asset value next determined after receipt of your request in good order.

Your redemption proceeds will normally be sent within three business days after your request is received in good order, but in any event within 7 days. Your redemption proceeds may be delayed for up to 10 days if your purchase was made by check.

If you have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, your redemption proceeds will be sent to your Service Agent. In other cases, unless you direct otherwise, your redemption proceeds will be paid by check mailed to your address of record.

 
By mail   

Send written requests to the fund at the following address:

Legg Mason Partners Funds

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9699

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699

Your written request must provide the following:

n   The name of the fund, the class of shares to be redeemed and your account number

n   The dollar amount or number of shares to be redeemed

n   Signature of each owner exactly as the account is registered

n   Signature guarantees, as applicable

 
By telephone   

If you do not have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, you may be eligible to redeem shares (except those held in certain retirement plans) in amounts up to $50,000 per day through the fund. You must complete an authorization form to authorize telephone redemptions. If eligible, you may request redemptions by telephone on any day the NYSE is open. Shareholders should call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time).

Your redemption proceeds can be sent by check to your address of record or by wire or electronic transfer (ACH) to a bank account designated on your authorization form. You must submit a new authorization form to change the bank account designated to receive wire or electronic transfers and you may be asked to provide certain other documents. The transfer agent may charge a fee on a wire or an electronic transfer (ACH).

 

 

24         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Automatic cash withdrawal plans   

You can arrange for the automatic redemption of a portion of your shares monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually. To qualify, you must own shares of the fund with a value of at least $10,000 ($5,000 for retirement plans accounts) and each automatic redemption must be at least $50. If your shares are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge, the sales charge will be waived if your automatic redemptions are equal to or less than 2.00% of your account balance on the date the withdrawals commence per month, up to a maximum of 12.00% in one year.

The following conditions apply:

n   Your shares must not be represented by certificates

n   All dividends and distributions must be reinvested

 

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or consult the SAI.

 

Legg Mason Partners Convertible Fund         25


 

Other things to know about transactions

When you buy, exchange or redeem shares, your request must be in good order. This means you have provided the following information, without which your request may not be processed:

n   Name of the fund
n   Your account number
n   Class of shares being bought, and if you own more than one class, the class of shares being exchanged or redeemed
n   Dollar amount or number of shares being bought, exchanged or redeemed
n   Signature of each owner exactly as the account is registered

The fund’s transfer agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services will employ reasonable procedures to confirm that any telephone exchange or redemption request is genuine, which may include recording calls, asking the caller to provide certain personal identification information, sending you a written confirmation or requiring other confirmation procedures from time to time. If these procedures are followed, neither the fund nor its agents will bear any liability for such transactions.

Signature guarantees

To be in good order, your redemption request must include a signature guarantee if you:

n   Are redeeming over $50,000
n   Are sending signed share certificates or stock powers to the transfer agent
n   Instruct the transfer agent to mail the check to an address different from the one on your account registration
n   Changed your account registration or your address within 30 days
n   Want the check paid to someone other than the account owner(s)
n   Are transferring the redemption proceeds to an account with a different registration

You can obtain a signature guarantee from most banks, dealers, brokers, credit unions and federal savings and loan institutions, but not from a notary public.

The fund has the right to:

n   Suspend the offering of shares
n   Waive or change minimum and additional investment amounts
n   Reject any purchase or exchange order
n   Change, revoke or suspend the exchange privilege
n   Suspend telephone transactions
n   Suspend or postpone redemptions of shares on any day when trading on the NYSE is restricted, or as otherwise permitted by the SEC
n   Pay redemption proceeds by giving you securities. You may pay transaction costs to dispose of the securities

Small account balances/Mandatory redemptions

If at any time the aggregate net asset value of the fund shares in your account is less than $500 for any reason (including solely due to declines in net asset value and/or failure to invest at least $500 within a reasonable period), the fund reserves the right to ask you to bring your account up to the applicable minimum investment amount as determined by

 

26         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

your Service Agent. In such case, you shall be notified in writing and will have 60 days to make an additional investment to bring your account value up to the required level. If you choose not to do so within this 60-day period, the fund may close your account and send you the redemption proceeds. In the event your account is closed due to a failure to increase your balance to the minimum required amount, you will not be eligible to have your account subsequently reinstated without imposition of any sales charges that may apply to your new purchase. The fund may, with prior notice, change the minimum size of accounts subject to mandatory redemption, which may vary by class, or implement fees for small accounts.

Subject to applicable law, the fund may, with prior notice, adopt other policies from time to time requiring mandatory redemption of shares in certain circumstances.

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or the transfer agent or consult the SAI.

Frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares

Frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares may interfere with the efficient management of the fund’s portfolio by its portfolio managers, increase portfolio transaction costs, and have a negative effect on a fund’s long-term shareholders. For example, in order to handle large flows of cash into and out of a fund, the portfolio managers may need to allocate more assets to cash or other short-term investments or sell securities, rather than maintaining full investment in securities selected to achieve the fund’s investment objective. Frequent trading may cause a fund to sell securities at less favorable prices. Transaction costs, such as brokerage commissions and market spreads, can detract from the fund’s performance. In addition, the return received by long-term shareholders may be reduced when trades by other shareholders are made in an effort to take advantage of certain pricing discrepancies, when, for example, it is believed that the fund’s share price, which is determined at the close of the NYSE on each trading day, does not accurately reflect the value of the fund’s portfolio securities. Funds investing in foreign securities have been particularly susceptible to this form of arbitrage, but other funds could also be affected.

Because of the potential harm to the fund and its long-term shareholders, the fund’s Board has approved policies and procedures that are intended to discourage and prevent excessive trading and market timing abuses through the use of various surveillance techniques. Under these policies and procedures, the fund may limit additional exchanges or purchases of fund shares by shareholders who are believed by the manager to be engaged in these abusive trading activities. The intent of the policies and procedures is not to inhibit legitimate strategies, such as asset allocation, dollar cost averaging or similar activities that may nonetheless result in frequent trading of fund shares. For this reason, the Board has not adopted any specific restrictions on purchases and sales of fund shares, but the fund reserves the right to reject any exchange or purchase of fund shares with or without prior notice to the account holder. In cases where surveillance of a particular account establishes what the manager believes to be obvious market timing, the manager will seek to block future purchases and exchanges of fund shares by that account. Where surveillance of a particular account indicates activity that the manager believes could be either abusive or for legitimate purposes, the fund may permit the account holder to justify the activity.

 

Legg Mason Partners Convertible Fund         27


 

The policies apply to any account, whether an individual account or accounts with financial intermediaries such as investment advisers, broker/dealers or retirement plan administrators, commonly called omnibus accounts, where the intermediary holds fund shares for a number of customers in one account. The fund’s ability to monitor trading in omnibus accounts may, however, be severely limited due to the lack of access to an individual investor’s trading activity when orders are placed through these types of accounts. There may also be operational and technological limitations on the ability of the fund’s service providers to identify or terminate frequent trading activity within the various types of omnibus accounts.

The fund’s policies also require personnel such as portfolio managers and investment staff to report any abnormal or otherwise suspicious investment activity, and prohibits short-term trades by such personnel for their own account in mutual funds managed by the manager and its affiliates, other than money market funds. Additionally, the fund has adopted policies and procedures to prevent the selective release of information about the fund’s portfolio holdings, as such information may be used for market-timing and similar abusive practices.

The fund’s policies provide for ongoing assessment of the effectiveness of current policies and surveillance tools, and the Board reserves the right to modify these or adopt additional policies and restrictions in the future. Shareholders should be aware, however, that any surveillance techniques currently employed by the fund or other techniques that may be adopted in the future may not be effective, particularly where the trading takes place through certain types of omnibus accounts. As noted above, if the fund is unable to detect and deter trading abuses, the fund’s performance, and long-term shareholders, may be harmed. In addition, because the fund has not adopted any specific limitations or restrictions on the trading of fund shares, shareholders may be harmed by the extra costs and portfolio management inefficiencies that result from frequent trading of fund shares, even when the trading is not for abusive purposes. Furthermore, the fund may not apply its policies consistently or uniformly, resulting in the risk that some shareholders may be able to engage in frequent trading while others will bear the costs and effects of that trading. The fund will provide advance notice to its shareholders and prospective investors of any specific restrictions on the trading of fund shares that the Board may adopt in the future.

Share certificates

Share certificates for the fund will no longer be issued. If you currently hold share certificates of the fund, such certificates will continue to be honored. If you would like to return your share certificates to the fund and hold your shares in uncertificated form, please contact your Service Agent or the transfer agent.

Record ownership

If you hold shares through a Service Agent, your Service Agent may establish and maintain your account and be the shareholder of record. In the event that the fund holds a shareholder meeting, your Service Agent, as record holder, will vote your shares in accordance with your instructions. If you do not give your Service Agent voting instructions, your Service Agent may nonetheless, under certain circumstances, be entitled to vote your shares.

 

28         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Dividends, distributions and taxes

Dividends and distributions

The fund generally pays dividends, if any, monthly, and makes capital gain distributions, if any, once a year, typically in December. The fund may pay additional distributions and dividends at other times if necessary for the fund to avoid a federal tax. The fund expects distributions to be from both income and capital gain. Capital gain distributions and dividends are reinvested in additional fund shares of the same class you hold. You do not pay a sales charge on reinvested distributions or dividends. Alternatively, you can instruct your Service Agent or the transfer agent to have your distributions and/or dividends paid in cash. You can change your choice at any time to be effective as of the next distribution or dividend.

Taxes

The following discussion is very general. Because each shareholder’s circumstances are different and special tax rules may apply, you should consult your tax adviser about your investment in the fund.

In general, you will have to pay federal income taxes, as well as any state and local taxes, when you redeem shares, exchange shares or receive a distribution (whether paid in cash or reinvested in additional shares). Any tax liability that you owe as a result of any of these taxable events is your responsibility. The federal income tax treatment of redemptions, exchanges and distributions is summarized in the following table:

 

Transaction    Federal tax status
Redemption or exchange of shares    Usually capital gain or loss; long-term only if shares owned more than one year
 

Distributions of net capital gain (excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss)

   Long-term capital gain
 
Distributions of qualified dividend income    Qualified dividend income
 

Other ordinary dividends (including distributions of net short-term capital gain)

   Ordinary income
 

Distributions of net capital gain are taxable to you as long-term capital gain regardless of how long you have owned your shares. Distributions of qualified dividend income received by a non-corporate shareholder may qualify for a reduced tax rate, provided that the shareholder satisfies certain holding period requirements. Qualified dividend income generally is income derived from dividends from a U.S. corporation; dividends from certain foreign corporations may also qualify. You may want to avoid buying shares when the fund is about to declare a capital gain distribution or a dividend, because it will be taxable to you even though it may effectively be a return of a portion of your investment.

After the end of each year, your Service Agent or the fund will provide you with information about the distributions and dividends you received and any redemptions of shares during the previous year. If you are neither a citizen nor a resident of the United States, the fund will withhold federal income tax at the rate of 30% (or such lower rate as may be determined in accordance with any applicable treaty) on ordinary dividends and

 

Legg Mason Partners Convertible Fund         29


 

other payments that are subject to such withholding. If you do not provide the fund with your correct taxpayer identification number and any required certifications, you will be subject to backup withholding at the rate of 28% on your distributions, dividends, and redemption proceeds. Backup withholding will not, however, be applied to payments that have been subject to the 30% withholding tax on shareholders who are neither citizens nor residents of the United States.

 

30         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Share price

You may buy, exchange or redeem shares at their net asset value next determined after receipt of your request in good order, plus any applicable sales charge. The fund’s net asset value per share is the value of its assets minus its liabilities divided by the number of shares outstanding. Net asset value is calculated separately for each class of shares. The fund calculates its net asset value every day the NYSE is open. This calculation is done when regular trading closes on the NYSE (normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern time). The NYSE is closed on certain holidays listed in the SAI.

The Board has approved procedures to be used to value the fund’s securities for the purposes of determining the fund’s net asset value. The valuation of the securities of the fund is determined in good faith by or under the direction of the Board. The Board has delegated certain valuation functions for the fund to the manager.

The fund generally values its securities based on market prices determined at the close of regular trading on the NYSE. The fund’s currency valuations, if any, are done as of when the London Stock Exchange closes, which is usually at 12 noon Eastern time, as the manager believes that these valuations typically reflect the largest trading volume in the foreign currency markets. A material change in the value of currency during the period between the close of the London Stock Exchange and the calculation of the fund’s net asset value on the same date is considered a significant event, as described below, in response to which the fund may use fair valuation procedures to value the affected investments. For equity securities that are traded on an exchange, the market price is usually the closing sale or official closing price on that exchange. In the case of securities not traded on an exchange, or if such closing prices are not otherwise available, the market price is typically determined by independent third party pricing vendors approved by the fund’s Board using a variety of pricing techniques and methodologies. The market price for debt obligations is generally the price supplied by an independent third party pricing service approved by the fund’s Board, which may use a matrix, formula or other objective method that takes into consideration market indices, yield curves and other specific adjustments. Short-term debt obligations that will mature in 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, unless it is determined that using this method would not reflect an investment’s fair value. If vendors are unable to supply a price, or if the price supplied is deemed by the manager to be unreliable, the market price may be determined using quotations received from one or more brokers/dealers that make a market in the security. When such prices or quotations are not available, or when the manager believes that they are unreliable, the manager may price securities using fair value procedures approved by the Board. Because the fund invests in securities rated below investment grade — some of which may be thinly traded, for which market quotations may not be readily available or may be unreliable — the fund may use fair valuation procedures more frequently than funds that invest primarily in securities that are more liquid, such as securities of large capitalization domestic issuers. The fund may also use fair value procedures if the manager determines that a significant event has occurred between the time at which a market price is determined and the time at which the fund’s net asset value is calculated. In particular, the value of foreign securities may be materially affected by events occurring after the close of the market on which they are valued, but before the fund prices its shares. The fund uses a fair value model devel -

 

Legg Mason Partners Convertible Fund         31


 

oped by an independent third party pricing service to price foreign equity securities on days when there is a certain percentage change in the value of a domestic equity security index, as such percentage may be determined by the manager from time to time.

Valuing securities at fair value involves greater reliance on judgment than valuation of securities based on readily available market quotations. A fund that uses fair value to price securities may value those securities higher or lower than another fund using market quotations or its own fair value methodologies to price the same securities. There can be no assurance that the fund could obtain the fair value assigned to a security if it were to sell the security at approximately the time at which the fund determines its net asset value.

In order to buy, redeem or exchange shares at that day’s price, you must place your order with your Service Agent or the transfer agent before the NYSE closes. If the NYSE closes early, you must place your order prior to the actual closing time.

It is the responsibility of the Service Agents to transmit all orders to buy, exchange or redeem shares to the transfer agent on a timely basis.

 

32         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Financial highlights

The financial highlights tables are intended to help you understand the performance of each class for the past five years. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share. Total return represents the rate that a shareholder would have earned (or lost) on a fund share assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions. The information in the following tables has been derived from the fund’s financial statements, which have been audited by                     , independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund’s financial statements, is included in the annual report (available upon request). As of April 29, 2004, Class L shares of the fund were renamed Class C shares. As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

For a Class A share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended July 31  
Class A shares (1)(2)   2006     2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net asset value, beginning of year

  $17.84     $16.90     $15.32     $12.75     $15.73  
   

Income (loss) from operations:

         

Net investment income

  0.36     0.34     0.41     0.71     0.61  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

  0.31     1.27     1.78     2.58     (2.87 )
   

Total income (loss) from operations

  0.67     1.61     2.19     3.29     (2.26 )
   

Less distributions from:

         

Net investment income

  (0.36 )   (0.34 )   (0.51 )   (0.72 )   (0.72 )

Net realized gains

  (1.52 )   (0.33 )   (0.10 )        
   

Total distributions

  (1.88 )   (0.67 )   (0.61 )   (0.72 )   (0.72 )
   

Net asset value, end of year

  $16.63     $17.84     $16.90     $15.32     $12.75  
   

Total return (3)

  3.86 %   9.71 %   14.35 %   26.69 %   (14.85 )%
   

Net assets, end of year (thousands)

  $37,302     $40,871     $43,840     $32,183     $21,958  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

         

Gross expenses

  1.31 %   1.25 %   1.18 %   1.42 %   1.23 %

Net expenses

  1.15 (4)(5)   1.23 (5)   1.18     1.42     1.23  

Net investment income

  2.06     1.99     2.39     5.24     4.06  
   

Portfolio turnover rate

  98 %   79 %   113 %   133 %   115 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   On May 16, 2003, Class A shares were renamed as Smith Barney Class A shares and, as of April 21, 2006, Smith Barney Class A shares were renamed Class A shares. On April 21, 2006 all Class O shares converted to Class A shares.

 

(3)   Performance figures may reflect fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower.

 

(4)   As a result of an expense limitation, the ratio of expenses to average net assets of Class A shares will not exceed 1.17%.

 

(5)   Reflects fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements.

 

Legg Mason Partners Convertible Fund         33


 

For a Class B share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended July 31:  
Class B Shares (1)(2)   2006     2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net asset value, beginning of year

  $17.78     $16.84     $15.28     $12.69     $15.66  
   

Income (loss) from operations:

         

Net investment income

  0.27     0.24     0.31     0.62     0.51  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

  0.30     1.27     1.77     2.61     (2.84 )
   

Total income (loss) from operations

  0.57     1.51     2.08     3.23     (2.33 )
   

Less distributions from:

         

Net investment income

  (0.27 )   (0.24 )   (0.42 )   (0.64 )   (0.64 )

Net realized gains

  (1.52 )   (0.33 )   (0.10 )        
   

Total distributions

  (1.79 )   (0.57 )   (0.52 )   (0.64 )   (0.64 )
   

Net asset value, end of year

  $16.56     $17.78     $16.84     $15.28     $12.69  
   

Total return (3)

  3.26 %   9.13 %   13.66 %   26.23 %   (15.32 )%
   

Net assets, end of year (thousands)

  $18,839     $23,506     $26,109     $17,406     $8,545  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

         

Gross expenses

  1.84 %   1.81 %   1.74 %   1.89 %   1.79 %

Net expenses

  1.68 (4)(5)   1.79 (5)   1.74     1.89     1.79  

Net investment income

  1.54     1.42     1.82     4.65     3.50  
   

Portfolio turnover rate

  98 %   79 %   113 %   133 %   115 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   On May 16, 2003, Class B shares were renamed as Smith Barney Class B shares and, as of April 21, 2006, Smith Barney Class B shares were renamed Class B shares.

 

(3)   Performance figures may reflect fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower.

 

(4)   As a result of an expense limitation, the ratio of expenses to average net assets of Class B shares will not exceed 1.71%.

 

(5)   Reflects fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements.

 

34         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

For a Class C share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended July 31:  
Class C Shares (1)(2)   2006     2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net asset value, beginning of year

  $17.86     $16.91     $15.33     $12.71     $15.61  
   

Income (loss) from operations:

         

Net investment income

  0.24     0.21     0.27     0.55     0.50  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

  0.30     1.28     1.78     2.64     (2.83 )
   

Total income (loss) from operations

  0.54     1.49     2.05     3.19     (2.33 )
   

Less distributions from:

         

Net investment income

  (0.24 )   (0.21 )   (0.37 )   (0.57 )   (0.57 )

Net realized gains

  (1.52 )   (0.33 )   (0.10 )        
   

Total distributions

  (1.76 )   (0.54 )   (0.47 )   (0.57 )   (0.57 )
   

Net asset value, end of year

  $16.64     $17.86     $16.91     $15.33     $12.71  
   

Total return (3)

  3.07 %   8.96 %   13.42 %   25.76 %   (15.34 )%
   

Net assets, end of year (thousands)

  $26,353     $37,340     $43,288     $19,824     $5,308  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

         

Gross expenses

  2.06 %   1.99 %   1.93 %   2.29 %   1.85 %

Net expenses

  1.86 (4)(5)   1.97 (5)   1.93     2.29     1.85  

Net investment income

  1.36     1.24     1.55     4.10     3.40  
   

Portfolio turnover rate

  98 %   79 %   113 %   133 %   115 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   On May 16, 2003, Class L shares were renamed as Smith Barney Class L shares, as of April 24, 2004, Smith Barney Class L shares were renamed as Smith Barney Class C shares and, as of April 21, 2006, Smith Barney Class C shares were renamed Class C shares.

 

(3)   Performance figures may reflect fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower.

 

(4)   As a result of an expense limitation, the ratio of expenses to average net assets of Class C shares will not exceed 1.89%.

 

(5)   Reflects fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements.

 

Legg Mason Partners Convertible Fund         35


 

For a Class I share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended July 31:  
Class I Shares (1)(2)   2006     2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net asset value, beginning of year

  $17.97     $17.02     $15.44     $12.84     $15.85  
   

Income (loss) from operations:

         

Net investment income

  0.43     0.42     0.49     0.80     0.67  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

  0.32     1.27     1.77     2.59     (2.89 )
   

Total income (loss) from operations

  0.75     1.69     2.26     3.39     (2.22 )
   

Less distributions from:

         

Net investment income

  (0.43 )   (0.41 )   (0.58 )   (0.79 )   (0.79 )

Net realized gains

  (1.52 )   (0.33 )   (0.10 )        
   

Total distributions

  (1.95 )   (0.74 )   (0.68 )   (0.79 )   (0.79 )
   

Net asset value, end of year

  $16.77     $17.97     $17.02     $15.44     $12.84  
   

Total return (3)

  4.28 %   10.13 %   14.72 %   27.42 %   (14.51 )%
   

Net assets, end of year (thousands)

  $8,105     $8,395     $83,456     $78,905     $72,510  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

         

Gross expenses

  0.92 %   0.79 %   0.80 %   0.89 %   0.81 %

Net expenses

  0.78 (4)(5)   0.78 (5)   0.80     0.89     0.81  

Net investment income

  2.43     2.39     2.84     5.84     4.49  
   

Portfolio turnover rate

  98 %   79 %   113 %   133 %   115 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   On May 16, 2003, Class Y shares were renamed as Smith Barney Class Y shares, as of April 21, 2006, Smith Barney Class Y shares were renamed Class Y shares, and on November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

(3)   Performance figures may reflect fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower.

 

(4)   As a result of an expense limitation, the ratio of expenses to average net assets of Class I shares will not exceed 0.78%.

 

(5)   Reflects fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements.

 

36         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

 

 

(Investment Company Act file no. 811-04254)

FD1210 11/06

LOGO

Legg Mason Partners Convertible Fund

An investment portfolio of Legg Mason Partners Income Funds

You may visit the fund’s website at http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices for a free copy of a Prospectus, Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) or an Annual or Semi-Annual report.

Shareholder reports Annual and Semi-Annual reports to shareholders provide additional information about the fund’s investments. These reports discuss the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the fund’s performance during its last fiscal year.

The fund sends only one report to a household if more than one account has the same address. Contact your Service Agent or the transfer agent if you do not want this policy to apply to you.

Statement of additional information The SAI provides more detailed information about the fund and is incorporated by reference into (is legally a part of) this Prospectus.

You can make inquiries about the fund or obtain shareholder reports or the SAI (without charge) by contacting your Service Agent, by calling Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010, or by writing to the fund at 125 Broad Street, New York, New York 10004.

Information about the fund (including the SAI) can be reviewed and copied at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “SEC”) Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-202-942-8090. Reports and other information about the fund are available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s Internet site at http://www.sec.gov . Copies of this information may be obtained for a duplicating fee by electronic request at the following E-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov , or by writing the SEC’s Public Reference Section, Washington, D.C. 20549-0102.

If someone makes a statement about the fund that is not in this Prospectus, you should not rely upon that information. Neither the fund nor the distributors are offering to sell shares of the fund to any person to whom the fund may not lawfully sell its shares.


[                    ], 2007

 

 

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS CONVERTIBLE FUND

125 Broad Street

New York, New York 10004

(800) 451-2010

 

This Statement of Additional Information (this “SAI”) is not a prospectus and is meant to be read in conjunction with the current prospectus of Legg Mason Partners Convertible Fund (the “fund”), dated [                    ], 2007, as amended or supplemented from time to time, and is incorporated by reference in its entirety into the prospectus. As part of a number of initiatives launched in 2006 to restructure and streamline the Legg Mason Partners fund complex, the fund assumed the assets and liabilities of a predecessor fund with the same name. The fund is now grouped for organizational and governance purposes with other Legg Mason Partners funds that are predominantly equity-type funds, and is a series of Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”), a Massachusetts business trust. Other initiatives, including the election of a new Board and the approval of certain revised fundamental investment policies, have also been accomplished, and more information on these matters appears in this SAI. If certain remaining initiatives are accomplished, the fund will become a series of Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust, a Maryland business trust. Certain historical information contained in this SAI is that of the fund’s predecessor.

 

Additional information about the fund’s investments is available in the fund’s annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. These reports contain financial statements that are incorporated herein by reference. The fund’s prospectus and copies of these reports may be obtained free of charge by contacting a distributor’s financial advisor or registered representative or a broker/dealer, financial intermediary or financial institution that has entered into an agreement with one of the fund’s distributors (each called a “Service Agent”), or by writing or calling the fund at the address or telephone number set forth above. Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC (“LMIS”), a wholly-owned broker/dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”), and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”) serve as the fund’s distributors.

 

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

Management

   2

Investment Management and Other Services

   9

Portfolio Manager Disclosure

   16

Investment Objectives and Management Policies

   21

Risk Factors

   43

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

   57

Purchase of Shares

   60

Redemption of Shares

   66

Exchange Privilege

   69

Distributors

   70

Valuation of Shares

   77

Taxes

   78

Additional Information

   85

Fund Shares

   92

Financial Statements

   94

Appendix A—ClearBridge Advisors, LLC Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

   A-1

Appendix B—Description of Ratings

   B-1

 

This SAI is NOT a prospectus and is authorized for distribution to prospective investors only if preceded or accompanied by an effective prospectus.

 

1


MANAGEMENT

 

The business affairs of the fund are managed by or under the direction of the Board of Trustees (the “Board”). The Board elects officers who are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the fund and who execute policies authorized by the Board.

 

The current Trustees (the “Trustees”), including the Trustees of the fund who are not “interested persons” (as defined in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”)) of the fund (the “Independent Trustees”) and executive officers of the fund, their birth years, their principal occupations during the past five years (their titles may have varied during that period), the number of investment companies and their portfolios associated with Legg Mason the Trustees oversee, and other board memberships they hold are set forth below. The address of each Trustee is c/o R. Jay Gerken, 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022.

 

The following information relates to the Trust’s recently elected Board.

 

Name and

Year of Birth


   Position(s)
with Fund


  

Term of
Office* and
Length of

Time

Served**


  

Principal Occupation(s)

During Past 5 Years


  

Number of

Funds

in Fund
Complex
Overseen
by Trustee


  

Other Board Memberships
Held by Trustee During

Past Five Years


Independent Trustees:                    

Paul R. Ades

    Born 1940

   Trustee    Since 1983    Law firm of Paul R. Ades, PLLC (since 2000)         None

Andrew L. Breech

    Born 1952

   Trustee    Since 1991    President, Dealer Operating Control Service, Inc. (automotive retail management) (since 1985)         None

Dwight B. Crane

    Born 1937

   Trustee    Since 1981    Professor, Harvard Business School (since 1969); Independent Consultant (since 1969)         None

Robert M. Frayn, Jr.

    Born 1934

   Trustee    Since 1981    Retired; formerly, President and Director, Book Publishing Co. (1970 to 2002)         None

Frank G. Hubbard

    Born 1937

   Trustee    Since 1993    President, Avatar International Inc. (business development) (since 1998)         None

Howard J. Johnson

    Born 1938

   Trustee    From 1981 to
1998 and
2000 to
Present
   Chief Executive Officer, Genesis Imaging LLC (technology company) (since 2003)         None

David E. Maryatt

    Born 1936

   Trustee    Since 1983    Private Investor; President and Director, ALS Co. (real estate management and development firm) (since 1993)         None

Jerome H. Miller

    Born 1938

   Trustee    Since 1995    Retired         None

Ken Miller

    Born 1942

   Trustee    Since 1983    Chairman, Young Stuff Apparel Group, Inc. (apparel manufacturer) (1963 to 2005)         None

 

2


Name and

Year of Birth


   Position(s)
with Fund


   Term of
Office* and
Length of
Time
Served**


  

Principal Occupation(s)

During Past 5 Years


  

Number of

Funds

in Fund
Complex
Overseen
by Trustee


  

Other Board Memberships
Held by Trustee During

Past Five Years


John J. Murphy

    Born 1944

   Trustee    Since 2002    President, Murphy Capital Management (investment advice) (since 1983)         Director, Nicholas Applegate funds; Trustee, Consulting Group Capital Markets Funds; formerly, Director, Atlantic Stewardship Bank (2004 to 2005); Director, Barclays International Funds Group Ltd. and affiliated companies (to 2003)

Thomas F. Schlafly

    Born 1948

   Trustee    Since 1983    Of Counsel, Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin LLP (law firm) (since 1984); President, The Saint Louis Brewery, Inc. (brewery) (since 1989)         Director, Citizens National Bank, Maplewood (2006)

Jerry A. Viscione

     Born 1944

   Trustee    Since 1993    Retired; formerly, Executive Vice President, Marquette University (1997 to 2002)         None
Interested Trustee:                    

R. Jay Gerken , CFA

    Born 1951

   Trustee,
President,
Chairman
and Chief
Executive
Officer
   Since 2002    Managing Director, Legg Mason & Co., LLC (“Legg Mason & Co.”); Chairman of the Board, Trustee, or Director of [            ] funds associated with Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor (“LMPFA”) and its affiliates; President, LMPFA (since 2006); Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its affiliates; formerly, Chairman, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”) and Citi Fund Management, Inc. (“CFM”) (2002 to 2005); formerly, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Travelers Investment Advisers Inc. (2002 to 2005); formerly, Portfolio manager of Smith Barney Allocation Series Inc. (1996 to 2001).         Trustee, Consulting Group Capital Markets Funds

* Each Trustee serves until his or her respective successor has been duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation, retirement or removal.
** Indicates the earliest year in which the Trustee became a Board member for a fund in the Legg Mason Partners fund complex.
Mr. Gerken is an “interested person,” as defined in the 1940 Act, because of his position with the manager and/or certain of its affiliates.

 

3


Name, Year of Birth

and Address


  

Position(s)

with Fund


  

Term of

Office* and
Length of
Time

Served**


  

Principal Occupation(s)

During Past 5 Years


Officers:

              

Ted P. Becker

    Born 1951

    399 Park Avenue

    New York, NY 10022

   Chief Compliance
Officer
   Since 2006    Managing Director of Compliance at Legg Mason & Co (2005 to present); Chief Compliance Officer with certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. (since 2006); Chief Compliance Officer of LMPFA and certain affiliates; Managing Director of Compliance at Citigroup Asset Management (“CAM,” a group of affiliated investment advisers, which included SBFM, Smith Barney Asset Management and CFM and other affiliated investment advisory entities) (2002 to 2005). Prior to 2002, Managing Director-Internal Audit & Risk Review at Citigroup Inc.

John Chiota

    Born 1968

    100 First Stamford Place, 5th Fl

    Stamford, CT 06902

   Chief Anti-Money
Laundering
Compliance
Officer
   Since 2006    Vice President of Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors (since 2004); Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. (since 2006). Prior to August 2004, Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer of TD Waterhouse.

Robert I. Frenkel

Born 1954

300 First Stamford Place

Stamford, CT 06902

   Secretary and
Chief Legal
Officer
   Since 2003    Managing Director and General Counsel of Global Mutual Funds for Legg Mason & Co. and its predecessors (since 2000); Secretary and Chief Legal Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. (since 2003). Previously, Secretary of CFM (2001 to 2004).

R. Jay Gerken, CFA

    Born 1951

    399 Park Avenue

    New York, NY 10022

   Chairman,
President

and Chief
Executive Officer
   Since 2002    Managing Director of Legg Mason & Co.; Chairman of the Board, Trustee, or Director of [            ] funds associated with LMPFA and its affiliates; President, LMPFA (since 2006); Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its affiliates. Previously, Chairman of SBFM and CFM (2002 to 2005); Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Travelers Investment Advisers Inc. (2002 to 2005); Portfolio manager of Smith Barney Allocation Series Inc. (1996 to 2001).

Thomas C. Mandia

    Born 1962

    300 First Stamford Place

    Stamford, CT 06902

   Assistant
Secretary
   Since 2000    Managing Director and Deputy General Counsel of Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors (since 1992); Assistant Secretary of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co.

Kaprel Ozsolak

    Born 1965

    125 Broad Street, 11th Floor

    New York, NY 10004

   Chief Financial
Officer and
Treasurer
   Since 2004    Director of Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors; Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors. Previously, Mr. Ozsolak was Controller of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors (2002 to 2004).

* Each officer serves until his or her respective successor has been duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation, retirement or removal.
** Indicates the earliest year in which the officer took office for any funds in the Legg Mason Partners fund complex.

 

4


The Board has a standing Audit Committee, Nominating Committee and Pricing Committee. The Audit Committee and Nominating Committee are comprised of Independent Trustees. The Pricing Committee is composed of the Chairman of the Board and one Independent Trustee.

 

The Audit Committee oversees the scope of the fund’s audit, the fund’s accounting and financial reporting policies and practices and its internal controls. The primary purposes of the Board’s Audit Committee are to assist the Board in fulfilling its responsibility for oversight of the integrity of the accounting, auditing and financial reporting practices of the fund, the qualifications and independence of the fund’s independent registered public accounting firm, and the fund’s compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. The Audit Committee approves, and recommends to the Independent Trustees for their ratification, the selection, appointment, retention or termination of the fund’s independent registered public accounting firm and approves the compensation of the independent registered public accounting firm. The Audit Committee also approves all audit and permissible non-audit services provided to the fund by the independent registered public accounting firm and all permissible non-audit services provided by the fund’s independent registered public accounting firm to its manager and any affiliated service providers if the engagement relates directly to the fund’s operations and financial reporting.

 

The Governance Committee is responsible for, among other things, recommending candidates to fill vacancies on the Board. The Governance Committee may consider nominees recommended by a shareholder. Shareholders who wish to recommend a nominee should send recommendations to the Trust’s Secretary that include all information relating to such person that is required to be disclosed in solicitations of proxies for the election of Trustees. A recommendation must be accompanied by a written consent of the individual to stand for election if nominated by the Board and to serve if elected by the shareholders.

 

The Governance Committee identifies potential nominees through its network of contacts and may also engage, if it deems appropriate, a professional search firm. The committee meets to discuss and consider such candidates’ qualifications and then chooses a candidate by majority vote. The committee does not have specific, minimum qualifications for nominees, nor has it established specific qualities or skills that it regards as necessary for one or more of the Trustees to possess (other than any qualities or skills that may be required by applicable law, regulation or listing standard). However, in evaluating a person as a potential nominee to serve as a Trustee, the Governance Committee may consider the following factors, among any others it may deem relevant:

 

    whether or not the person is an “interested person,” as defined in the 1940 Act, and whether the person is otherwise qualified under applicable laws and regulations to serve as a Trustee;

 

    whether or not the person has any relationships that might impair his or her independence, such as any business, financial or family relationships with fund management, the investment adviser, service providers or their affiliates;

 

    whether or not the person serves on boards of, or is otherwise affiliated with, competing financial service organizations or their related mutual fund complexes;

 

    whether or not the person is willing to serve, and willing and able to commit the time necessary for the performance of the duties of a Trustee;

 

    the contribution which the person can make to the Board (or, if the person has previously served as a Trustee, the contribution which the person made to the Board during his or her previous term of service), with consideration being given to the person’s business and professional experience, education and such other factors as the committee may consider relevant;

 

5


    the character and integrity of the person; and

 

    whether or not the selection and nomination of the person would be consistent with the requirements of the retirement policies of the Trust, as applicable.

 

The Pricing Committee is charged with determining the fair value prices for securities when required.

 

As indicated above, the Trust’s Board is recently elected and is newly constituted as the Board that oversees all of the equity-type funds in the fund complex. All members of the Board previously have served on Boards of Legg Mason Partners funds. The Audit, Governance and Pricing Committees are recently established committees of this Board and did not meet during the fund’s last fiscal year.

 

The following table shows the amount of equity securities owned by the Trustees in the fund and other investment companies in the fund complex supervised by the Trustees as of December 31, 2006.

 

Name of Trustee


   Dollar Range of
Equity
Securities in the Fund


  

Aggregate Dollar Range
of Equity Securities In
Registered Investment
Companies

Overseen by Trustee


Independent Trustees :

         

Paul R. Ades

         

Andrew L. Breech

         

Dwight B. Crane

         

Robert M. Frayn, Jr.

         

Frank G. Hubbard

         

Howard J. Johnson

         

David E. Maryatt

         

Jerome H. Miller

         

Ken Miller

         

John J. Murphy

         

Thomas F. Schlafly

         

Jerry A. Viscione

         

Interested Trustee :

         

R. Jay Gerken

         

 

[As of December 31, 2006, none of the Independent Trustees or their immediate family members owned beneficially or of record any securities of the manager, subadviser or distributors of the fund, or in a person (other than a registered investment company) directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with the manager, subadviser or distributors of the fund.]

 

Information regarding compensation paid to the Trustees by the fund for the calendar year ended December 31, 2006 is set forth below. The Independent Trustees receive a fee for each meeting of the fund’s Board and committee meetings attended and are reimbursed for all out-of-pocket expenses relating to attendance at such meetings. Mr. Gerken, an “interested person,” as defined in the 1940 Act, does not receive compensation from the fund for his service as Trustee, but may be reimbursed for all out-of-pocket expenses relating to attendance at such meetings.

 

The fund pays a pro rata share of the Trustee fees based upon asset size. The fund currently pays each of the Trustees who is not a director, officer or employee of the manager or any of its affiliates its

 

6


pro rata share of: an annual fee of [$     ] plus [$     ] for each regularly scheduled Board meeting attended, [$     ] for each special telephonic Board meeting attended, and [$     ] for each ad hoc telephonic meeting in which that trustee participates. The lead independent trustee will receive an additional [$     ] per year and the Chairs of the Audit Committee and Governance Committee will each receive an additional [$     ] per year. The fund will reimburse Trustees for travel and out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with Board meetings.

 

Name of Trustee


  

Aggregate
Compensation
from the

Fund (1) (2)


  

Total Pension or
Retirement
Benefits Paid

as Part of Fund
Expenses (1) (3)


   Total
Compensation
from Fund
Complex Paid
to Trustee (1) (2)


   Number of
Portfolios in
Fund
Complex
Overseen by
Trustee (1)


Independent Trustees :

                   

Paul R. Ades

                   

Andrew L. Breech

                   

Dwight B. Crane

                   

Robert M. Frayn, Jr.

                   

Frank G. Hubbard

                   

Howard J. Johnson

                   

David E. Maryatt

                   

Jerome H. Miller

                   

Ken Miller

                   

John J. Murphy

                   

Thomas F. Schlafly

                   

Jerry A. Viscione

                   

Interested Trustee :

                   

R. Jay Gerken

                   

(1) Information is for the calendar year ended December 31, 2006. The disclosure of compensation paid to the Trustees is provided as of the most recent calendar year end, rather than the fund’s most recent fiscal year end, for ease of presentation and comprehension.
(2) [To be updated by amendment]
(3) Pursuant to a prior emeritus retirement plan, Mr. Crane has received or is entitled to receive, in a lump sum (calculated on a net present value basis) or in quarterly installments, an aggregate benefit having a net present value equal to [$              ]. Mr. Crane elected to receive the benefit in a lump sum payment. Each fund formerly overseen by Mr. Crane will pay a pro rata share (based upon asset size) of the aggregate benefit to Mr. Crane. Legg Mason or its affiliates have agreed to reimburse these funds an amount equal to 50% of the benefits paid to Mr. Crane.

 

For the fiscal year ended July 31, 2006, the trustees of the fund’s predecessor were paid the compensation listed below for service as trustees.

 

7


 

Independent Trustees


 

Aggregate
Compensation
from the Fund

for the Fiscal
Year Ended
July 31, 2006


 

Total

Pension or
Retirement
Benefits
Accrued as
Part of
Fund Expenses


   

Leopold Abraham II

  $2,513.00    

Allan J. Bloostein (1)

  919.00    

Jane Dasher

  2,582.00    

Donald R. Foley (1)

  1,610.25    

Richard E. Hanson, Jr.

  2,450.00    

Paul Hardin

  2,450.00    

Roderick C. Rasmussen

  2,225.50    

John P. Toolan

  2,457.00    

Interested Trustee


       

R. Jay Gerken (2)

  0.00    

(1) Messrs. Bloostein and Foley were emeritus trustees. Pursuant to emeritus retirement plans, the following former Independent Trustees have received or are entitled to receive benefits (calculated on a net present value basis) as follows: Mr. Abraham: $288,607; Mr. Bloostein: $235,359; Mr. Foley: $245,580; Mr. Hardin: $288,607; Mr. Rasmussen: $288,607; and Mr. Toolan: $288,607. These benefits are paid in quarterly installments unless the trustee elected to receive them in a lump sum at net present value. The fund will pay its pro rata share (based upon asset size) of these aggregate benefits. Legg Mason or its affiliates have agreed to reimburse the fund an amount equal to 50% of these benefits.
(2) Mr. Gerken was not compensated for his service as trustee because of his affiliation with the manager.

 

8


The Declaration of Trust of the Trust provides that the Trust will indemnify its Trustees and officers against liabilities and expenses incurred in connection with litigation in which they may be involved because of their offices with the Trust, unless, as to liability to the Trust, or its investors, it is finally adjudicated that they engaged in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in their offices, or unless, with respect to any other matter, it is finally adjudicated that they did not act in good faith in the reasonable belief that their actions were in the best interests of the Trust. In the case of settlement, such indemnification will not be provided unless it has been determined by a court or other body approving the settlement or other disposition or a reasonable determination, based upon a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial-type inquiry), that such officers or Trustees have not engaged in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of their duties. Rights to indemnification or insurance cannot be limited retroactively.

 

The Declaration of Trust further provides that (i) the appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee as a member or chairperson of a committee of the Trustees, an expert on any topic or in any area (including an audit committee financial expert), or the lead Independent Trustee, or any other special appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee, shall not impose on that individual any duty, obligation or liability that is greater than the duties, obligations and liability imposed on that person as a Trustee in the absence of the appointment, designation or identification (except with respect to duties expressly imposed pursuant to the by-laws of the Trust, a committee charter or a Trust policy statement), (ii) no Trustee who has special skills or expertise, or is appointed, designated or identified shall be held to a higher standard of care by virtue thereof, and (iii) no appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee shall affect in any way that Trustee’s rights to indemnification.

 

As of [                      ], all Trustees and officers as a group owned less than 1% of the outstanding shares of the fund.

 

INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AND OTHER SERVICES

 

Manager

 

Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC (“LMPFA” or the “manager”) serves as investment manager to the fund pursuant to an investment management agreement (the “Management Agreement”) with an initial term ending November 30, 2007. LMPFA, with offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022, is a recently-organized investment adviser that has been formed to serve as the investment manager of the fund and other Legg Mason-sponsored funds. LMPFA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason. Legg Mason, whose principal executive offices are at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, is a global asset management company. As of [                      ], Legg Mason’s asset management operation had aggregate assets under management of approximately $[              ] billion. LMPFA provides administrative and certain oversight services to the fund and manages the cash and short-term investments of the fund.

 

Under the Management Agreement, subject to the supervision and direction of the Board, the manager is delegated the responsibility of managing the fund’s portfolio in accordance with the fund’s stated investment objective and policies, making investment decisions for the fund and placing orders to purchase and sell securities. The manager also performs administrative and management services necessary for the operation of the fund, such as (i) supervising the overall administration of the fund, including negotiation of contracts and fees with, and the monitoring of performance, and billings of, the fund’s transfer agent, shareholder servicing agents, custodian and other independent contractors or agents, (ii) providing certain compliance, fund accounting, regulatory reporting and tax reporting services, (iii) preparing or participating in the preparation of Board materials, registration statements, proxy statements and reports and other communications to shareholders, (iv) maintaining the fund’s existence, and (v) maintaining the registration and qualification of the fund’s shares under federal and state laws.

 

9


The Management Agreement has an initial term ending November 30, 2007 and will continue in effect from year to year thereafter provided such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (a) by the Board or by a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act), and (b) in either event, by a majority of the Independent Trustees with such Independent Trustees casting votes in person at a meeting called for such purpose.

 

The Management Agreement provides that the manager may render services to others. The Management Agreement is terminable without penalty on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice by the fund when authorized either by a vote of holders of shares representing a majority of the voting power of the outstanding voting securities of the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) or by a vote of a majority of the trustees, or by the manager on not less than 90 days’ written notice, and will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment. The Management Agreement provides that neither the manager nor its personnel shall be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or omission in the execution of security transactions for the fund, except for willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence or reckless disregard of its or their obligations and duties.

 

For its services under the Management Agreement, LMPFA receives an investment management fee of 0.700% of the fund’s average daily net assets, calculated daily and paid monthly.

 

10


For the period from December 1, 2005 through July 31, 2006, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”) served as the manager to the fund pursuant to a prior management agreement. Fees payable to SBFM under the prior management agreement were the same as those payable to LMPFA as described above.

 

Prior to December 1, 2005, SBFM served as the adviser and administrator to the fund pursuant to a prior advisory and administration agreement and received separate investment advisory and administration fees. The fees payable by the fund to SBFM under its prior advisory and administration agreement were computed daily and paid monthly at the following annual rates of the fund’s average daily net assets:

 

Advisory Fee
Rate


  Administration
Fee Rate


  Total Advisory Fee
and
Administration
Fee Rate


0.500%   0.200%   0.700%

 

11


For the fiscal years ended July 31, 2004 and 2005, and for the period from August 1, 2005 through November 30, 2005, the fund paid SBFM the following advisory fees under a prior advisory agreement and for the period from December 1, 2005 through July 31, 2006, the fund paid SBFM the following management fees under a prior management agreement:

 

Advisory Fees Payable For

the Fiscal Year Ended

July 31:


  Advisory Fees
Payable for the
Period from
August 1, 2005
through
November 30,
2005


  Management Fees
Payable for the
Period from
December 1, 2005
through July 31,
2006


2004

  2005

   
$ 947,850   $ 909,413   $185,802   $473,000

 

For the fiscal year ended July 31, 2006, SBFM voluntarily waived $2,333 in investment advisory fees for the fund.

 

For the fiscal year ended July 31, 2006, the fund was reimbursed for $173,622 in expenses.

 

12


For the fiscal years ended July 31, 2004 and 2005, and for the period from August 1, 2005 through November 30, 2005, the fund paid SBFM administration fees as follows:

 

For the Fiscal Year Ended July 31:

 

For the Period
from
August 1, 2005
through
November 30,
2005


2004

  2005

 
$ 379,140   $ 363,765   $74,321

 

Subadviser

 

ClearBridge Advisors, LLC (“ClearBridge” or the “subadviser”) serves as subadviser of the fund and performs the day-to-day portfolio management of the fund, except that LMPFA manages the cash and short-term investments of the fund. ClearBridge is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason.

 

The subadviser serves as subadviser pursuant to a Sub-Advisory Agreement between the manager and ClearBridge that was approved by the Board, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, on June 21 and 22, 2006 (the “Sub-Advisory Agreement”).

 

Under the Sub-Advisory Agreement, subject to the supervision and direction of the Board and the manager, the subadviser will manage the fund’s portfolio (or allocated portion thereof) in accordance with the fund’s stated investment objective(s) and policies, assist in supervising all aspects of the fund’s operations, make investment decisions for the fund, place orders to purchase and sell securities, and employ professional portfolio managers and securities analysts who provide research services to the fund.

 

The Sub-Advisory Agreement has an initial term ending November 30, 2007 and will continue in effect from year to year thereafter provided such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (a) by the Board or by a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act), and (b) in either event, by a majority of the Independent Trustees with such Independent Trustees casting votes in person at a meeting called for such purpose. The Board or a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) may terminate the Sub-Advisory Agreement without penalty, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the subadviser. The subadviser may terminate the Sub-Advisory Agreement on 90 days’ written notice to the fund and the manager. The manager and the subadviser may terminate the Sub-Advisory Agreement upon their mutual written consent. The Sub-Advisory Agreement will

 

13


terminate automatically in the event of assignment by the subadviser and shall not be assignable by the manager without the consent of the subadviser.

 

As compensation for its sub-advisory services, the manager will pay to the subadviser a fee equal to 70% of the management fee paid to LMPFA by the fund, net of expense waivers and reimbursements.

 

Because the Sub-Advisory Agreement went into effect on August 1, 2006, no fees were paid from the manager to the subadviser under the Sub-Advisory Agreement during the fund’s past three fiscal years.

 

Prior to August 1, 2006, Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc (“SaBAM”) served as subadviser to the fund pursuant to a written agreement dated November 22, 1999. Under this prior agreement, as compensation for sub-advisory services, SBFM paid SaBAM a fee of [40%] from SBFM’s fee.

 

For the fiscal years ended July 31, 2004, 2005 and 2006, SBFM paid SaBAM for services rendered to the fund sub-advisory fees of $[              ], $[              ] and $[              ], respectively.

 

Expenses

 

In addition to amounts payable under its Management Agreement and the Distribution Plans (as discussed below), the fund is responsible for its own expenses, including, among other things: interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the fund’s securities and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, Trustees and employees of the fund, if any; and the fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the fund and its officers, Trustees and employees; litigation expenses and any non-recurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the fund is a party and the legal obligation which the fund may have to indemnify the fund’s Trustees and officers with respect thereto.

 

Management may agree to waive fees and/or reimburse operating expenses for one or more classes of shares, either through contractual or voluntary arrangements. Any such waivers and/or reimbursements are described in the fund’s prospectus. The contractual and voluntary fee waivers and/or reimbursements do not cover extraordinary expenses, such as (a) any expenses or charges related to litigation, derivative actions, demand related to litigation, regulatory or other government investigations and proceedings, “for cause” regulatory inspections and indemnification or advancement of related expenses or costs, to the extent any such

 

14


expenses are considered extraordinary expenses for the purposes of fee disclosure in Form N-1A as the same may be amended from time to time, (b) transaction costs (such as brokerage commissions and dealer and underwriter spreads) and taxes, and (c) other extraordinary expenses as determined for the purposes of fee disclosure in Form N-1A, as the same may be amended from time to time. Without limiting the foregoing, extraordinary expenses are generally those that are unusual or expected to recur only infrequently, and may include such expenses, by way of illustration, as (i) expenses of the reorganization, restructuring, redomiciling or merger of a fund or class or the acquisition of all or substantially all of the assets of another fund or class, (ii) expenses of holding, and soliciting proxies for, a meeting of shareholders of a fund or class (except to the extent relating to routine items such as the election of board members or the approval of the independent registered public accounting firm), and (iii) expenses of converting to a new custodian, transfer agent or other service provider, in each case to the extent any such expenses are considered extraordinary expenses for the purposes of fee disclosure in Form N-1A as the same may be amended from time to time.

 

Custodian and Transfer Agent

 

State Street Bank and Trust Company (“State Street”), located at One Lincoln Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, serves as the custodian of the fund. State Street, among other things, maintains a custody account or accounts in the name of the fund; receives and delivers all assets for the fund upon purchase and upon sale or maturity; collects and receives all income and other payments and distributions on account of the assets of the fund; and makes disbursements on behalf of the fund. State Street neither determines the fund’s investment policies, nor decides which securities the fund will buy or sell. For its services, State Street receives a monthly fee based upon the daily average market value of securities held in custody and also receives securities transaction charges, including out-of-pocket expenses. The fund may also periodically enter into arrangements with other qualified custodians with respect to certain types of securities or other transactions such as repurchase agreements or derivatives transactions. State Street also acts as the fund’s securities lending agent and receives a share of the income generated by such activities.

 

PFPC Inc. (“PFPC” or “ transfer agent”), located at P.O. Box 9699, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699, serves as the fund’s transfer agent. Under the transfer agency agreement, the transfer agent maintains the shareholder account records for the fund, handles certain communications between shareholders and the fund and distributes dividends and distributions payable by the fund. For these services, the transfer agent receives a monthly fee computed on the basis of the number of shareholder accounts it maintains for the fund during the month, and is reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses. Prior to January 1, 2006, Citicorp Trust Bank, fsb (“CTB”) served as the fund’s transfer agent and PFPC served as the fund’s sub-transfer agent. For the period ended July 31, 2006, the fund paid transfer agent fees of $62,384 to CTB.

 

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

 

[                      ], located at [                      ], has been selected as the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm to audit and report on the Trust’s financial statements and highlights.

 

15


Code of Ethics

 

Pursuant to Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act, the Trust, the manager, the subadviser and the distributors have adopted Codes of Ethics that permit personnel to invest in securities for their own accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by the fund. All personnel must place the interests of clients first and avoid activities, interests and relationships that might interfere with the duty to make decisions in the best interests of the clients. All personal securities transactions by employees must adhere to the requirements of the Code of Ethics and must be conducted in such a manner as to avoid any actual or potential conflict of interest, the appearance of such a conflict, or the abuse of an employee’s position of trust and responsibility.

 

Copies of the Codes of Ethics of the Trust, the manager, the subadviser and the distributors are on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”).

 

Proxy Voting Guidelines and Procedures

 

Although individual Trustees may not agree with particular policies or votes by the manager or subadviser, the Board has delegated proxy voting discretion to the manager, believing that the manager and/or the subadviser should be responsible for voting because it is a matter relating to the investment decision making process.

 

LMPFA delegates the responsibility for voting proxies for the fund to the subadviser through its contract with the subadviser. The subadviser will use its own Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures to vote proxies. Accordingly, LMPFA does not expect to have proxy-voting responsibility for the fund. Should LMPFA become responsible for voting proxies for any reason, such as the inability of the subadviser to provide investment advisory services, LMPFA shall utilize the proxy voting guidelines established by the most recent subadviser to vote proxies until a new subadviser is retained. In the case of a material conflict between the interests of LMPFA (or its affiliates if such conflict is known to persons responsible for voting at LMPFA) and the fund, the board of directors of LMPFA shall consider how to address the conflict and/or how to vote the proxies. LMPFA shall maintain records of all proxy votes in accordance with applicable securities laws and regulations, to the extent that LMPFA votes proxies. LMPFA shall be responsible for gathering relevant documents and records related to proxy voting from the subadviser and providing them to the fund as required for the fund to comply with applicable rules under the 1940 Act.

 

The subadviser’s Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures govern in determining how proxies relating to the fund’s portfolio securities are voted and are attached as Appendix A to this SAI. Information regarding how the fund voted proxies (if any) relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available without charge (1) by calling (888) 425-6432, (2) on the fund’s website at http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices, and (3) on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

 

PORTFOLIO MANAGER DISCLOSURE

 

Portfolio Managers

 

The following tables set forth certain additional information with respect to the portfolio managers for the fund. Unless noted otherwise, all information is provided as of [                          ].

 

16


Other Accounts Managed by Portfolio Managers

 

The table below identifies, for each portfolio manager, the number of accounts (other than the fund) for which he has day-to-day management responsibilities and the total assets in such accounts, within each of the following categories: registered investment companies, other pooled investment vehicles and other accounts. [For each category, the number of accounts and total assets in the accounts where fees are based on performance is also indicated, if applicable.]

 

[To be updated by amendment]

 

Portfolio Manager


  

Registered Investment Companies


   Other
Pooled
Investment
Vehicles


 

Other Accounts


Kent Bailey    [                      ] registered investment company with $[              ] in total assets under management    [None]   [                      ] other account with $[              ] in total assets under management
Peter Luke    [                      ] registered investment company with $[              ] in total assets under management    [None]   [                      ] other account with $[              ] in total assets under management

 

17


 

Portfolio Manager Compensation

 

ClearBridge investment professionals receive base salary and other employee benefits and are eligible to receive incentive compensation. Base salary is fixed and typically determined based on market factors and the skill and experience of individual investment personnel.

 

ClearBridge has implemented an investment management incentive and deferred compensation plan (the “Plan”) for its investment professionals, including the fund’s portfolio managers. Each investment professional works as a part of an investment team. The Plan is designed to align the objectives of ClearBridge

 

18


investment professionals with those of fund shareholders and other ClearBridge clients. Under the Plan, a “base incentive pool” is established for each team each year as a percentage of ClearBridge’s revenue attributable to the team (largely management and related fees generated by funds and other accounts). A team’s revenues are typically expected to increase or decrease depending on the effect that the team’s investment performance as well as inflows and outflows have on the level of assets in the investment products managed by the team. The “base incentive pool” of a team is reduced by base salaries paid to members of the team and employee expenses attributable to the team.

 

The investment team’s incentive pool is then adjusted to reflect its ranking among a “peer group” of non-ClearBridge investment managers and the team’s pre-tax investment performance against the applicable product benchmark ( e.g. , a securities index and, with respect to a fund, the benchmark set forth in the fund’s prospectus to which the fund’s average annual total returns are compared or, if none, the benchmark set forth in the fund’s annual report). Longer-term (5-year) performance will be more heavily weighted than shorter-term (1-year) performance in the calculation of the performance adjustment factor. The incentive pool for a team may also be adjusted based on other qualitative factors by the applicable ClearBridge chief investment officer. The incentive pool will be allocated by the applicable ClearBridge chief investment officer to the team leader and, based on the recommendations of the team leader, to the other members of the team.

 

Up to 20% of an investment professional’s annual incentive compensation is subject to deferral. Of that principal deferred award amount, 25% will accrue a return based on the hypothetical returns of the investment fund or product that is the primary focus of the investment professional’s business activities with the firm, 25% will accrue a return based on the hypothetical returns of an employee chosen composite fund, and 50% may be received in the form of Legg Mason restricted stock shares.

 

Potential Conflicts of Interest

 

Potential conflicts of interest may arise when the fund’s portfolio managers also have day-to-day management responsibilities with respect to one or more other funds or other accounts, as is the case for the portfolio managers listed in the table above.

 

The manager, the subadviser and the fund have adopted compliance policies and procedures that are designed to address various conflicts of interest that may arise for the manager or the subadviser and the individuals that it employs. For example, each of the manager and the subadviser seeks to minimize the effects of competing interests for the time and attention of portfolio managers by assigning portfolio managers to manage funds and accounts that share a similar investment style. The manager and the subadviser have also adopted trade allocation procedures that are designed to facilitate the fair allocation of limited investment opportunities among multiple funds and accounts. There is no guarantee, however, that the policies and procedures adopted by the manager, the subadviser and the fund will be able to detect and/or prevent every situation in which an actual or potential conflict may appear. These potential conflicts include:

 

Allocation of Limited Time and Attention .    A portfolio manager who is responsible for managing multiple funds and/or accounts may devote unequal time and attention to the management of those funds and/or accounts. As a result, the portfolio manager may not be able to formulate as complete a strategy or identify equally attractive investment opportunities for each of those accounts as might be the case if he or she were to devote substantially more attention to the management of a single fund. The effects of this potential conflict may be more pronounced where funds and/or accounts overseen by a particular portfolio manager have different investment strategies.

 

Allocation of Limited Investment Opportunities .    If a portfolio manager identifies a limited investment opportunity that may be suitable for multiple funds and/or accounts, the opportunity may be allocated among these several funds or accounts, which may limit the fund’s ability to take full advantage of the investment opportunity.

 

Pursuit of Differing Strategies .    At times, a portfolio manager may determine that an investment opportunity may be appropriate for only some of the funds and/or accounts for which he or she exercises investment responsibility, or may decide that certain of the funds and/or accounts should take differing positions

 

19


with respect to a particular security. In these cases, the portfolio manager may place separate transactions for one or more funds or accounts which may affect the market price of the security or the execution of the transaction, or both, to the detriment or benefit of one or more other funds and/or accounts.

 

Selection of Brokers/Dealers .    Portfolio managers may be able to select or influence the selection of the brokers and dealers that are used to execute securities transactions for the funds and/or accounts that they supervise. In addition to executing trades, some brokers and dealers provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934), which may result in the payment of higher brokerage fees than might have otherwise been available. These services may be more beneficial to certain funds or accounts than to others. Although the payment of brokerage commissions is subject to the requirement that the subadviser determine in good faith that the commissions are reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided to the fund, a decision as to the selection of brokers and dealers could yield disproportionate costs and benefits among the funds and/or accounts managed. For this reason, the subadviser has formed a brokerage committee that reviews, among other things, the allocation of brokerage commissions to broker/dealers, best execution and soft dollar usage.

 

Variation in Compensation .    A conflict of interest may arise where the financial or other benefits available to the portfolio manager differ among the funds and/or accounts that he or she manages. If the structure of the investment manager’s management fee and/or the portfolio manager’s compensation differs among funds and/or accounts (such as where certain funds or accounts pay higher management fees or performance-based management fees), the portfolio manager might be motivated to help certain funds and/or accounts over others. The portfolio manager might be motivated to favor funds and/or accounts in which he or she has an interest or in which the investment manager and/or its affiliates have interests. Similarly, the desire to maintain assets under management or to enhance the portfolio manager’s performance record or to derive other rewards, financial or otherwise, could influence the portfolio manager in affording preferential treatment to those funds and/or accounts that could most significantly benefit the portfolio manager.

 

Related Business Opportunities .    The investment manager or its affiliates may provide more services (such as distribution or recordkeeping) for some types of funds or accounts than for others. In such cases, a portfolio manager may benefit, either directly or indirectly, by devoting disproportionate attention to the management of funds and/or accounts that provide greater overall returns to the investment manager and its affiliates.

 

Portfolio Manager Securities Ownership

 

The table below identifies ownership of portfolio securities by each portfolio manager.

 

Portfolio Manager


   Dollar Range of
Ownership of Securities


Kent Bailey    [                      ]
Peter Luke    [                      ]

 

20


INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES AND MANAGEMENT POLICIES

 

The fund’s prospectus discusses the fund’s investment objective and policies. The fund has called a meeting of its shareholders to consider several proposals. If approved by shareholders, the fund’s investment objective may be changed without shareholder approval. The following discussion supplements the description of the fund’s investment policies in its prospectus.

 

Principal Investment Strategies

 

The fund seeks current income and capital appreciation.

 

Under normal market conditions, the fund invests at least 80% of the value of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in convertible securities. These are either bonds or preferred shares which may be converted into common stock or other equity interests of the issuer at a predetermined price or rate. The fund also may invest up to 20% of its assets in “synthetic convertible securities,” equity securities and debt securities that are not convertible. Synthetic convertible securities are created by combining non-convertible preferred shares or debt securities with common stocks, warrants or call options. These synthetic instruments are designed to perform like convertible securities.

 

21


The fund may invest up to 25% of its assets in foreign securities. The fund may invest in securities rated below investment grade or, if unrated, determined by the subadviser to be of comparable quality. These securities are commonly known as “junk bonds” because they are rated in the lower rating categories by nationally and internationally recognized statistical rating organizations or, if unrated, determined by the subadviser to be of similar credit quality.

 

22


Additional Information

 

The fund’s principal investment strategies are described above. The following provides additional information about these principal strategies and describes other investment strategies that may be used by the fund.

 

U.S. Government Securities.     U.S. government securities include debt obligations of varying maturities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities (“U.S. government securities”). U.S. government securities include not only direct obligations of the United States Treasury, but also securities issued or guaranteed by the Federal Housing Administration, Farmers Home Administration, Export- Import Bank of the United States, Small Business Administration, GNMA, General Services Administration, Central Bank for Cooperatives, Federal Intermediate Credit Banks, Federal Land Banks, FNMA, Maritime Administration, Tennessee Valley Authority, District of Columbia Armory Board, Student Loan Marketing Association, International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and Resolution Trust Corporation. Certain U.S. government securities, such as those issued or guaranteed by GNMA, FNMA and FHLMC, are mortgage-related securities. Because the United States government is not obligated by law to provide support to an instrumentality that it sponsors, the fund will invest in obligations issued by such an instrumentality only if the subadviser determines that the credit risk with respect to the instrumentality does not make its securities unsuitable for investment by the fund.

 

Bank Obligations.     Domestic commercial banks organized under federal law are supervised and examined by the Comptroller of the Currency and are required to be members of the Federal Reserve System and to be insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”). Domestic banks organized under state law are supervised and examined by state banking authorities, but are members of the Federal Reserve System only if they elect to join. Most state banks are insured by the FDIC (although such insurance may not be of material benefit to a fund, depending upon the principal amount of CDs of each held by the fund) and are subject to federal examination and to a substantial body of Federal law and regulation. As a result of federal and state laws and regulations, domestic branches of domestic banks are, among other things, generally required to maintain specified levels of reserves, and are subject to other supervision and regulation designed to promote financial soundness.

 

23


Obligations of foreign branches of U.S. banks, such as CDs and TDs, may be general obligations of the parent bank in addition to the issuing branch, or may be limited by the terms of a specific obligation and governmental regulation. Obligations of foreign branches of U.S. banks and foreign banks are subject to different risks than are those of U.S. banks or U.S. branches of foreign banks. These risks include foreign economic and political developments, foreign governmental restrictions that may adversely affect payment of principal and interest on the obligations, foreign exchange controls and foreign withholding and other taxes on interest income. Foreign branches of U.S. banks are not necessarily subject to the same or similar regulatory requirements that apply to U.S. banks, such as mandatory reserve requirements, loan limitations and accounting, auditing and financial recordkeeping requirements. In addition, less information may be publicly available about a foreign branch of a U.S. bank than about a U.S. bank. CDs issued by wholly owned Canadian subsidiaries of U.S. banks are guaranteed as to repayment of principal and interest, but not as to sovereign risk, by the U.S. parent bank.

 

Obligations of U.S. branches of foreign banks may be general obligations of the parent bank in addition to the issuing branch, or may be limited by the terms of a specific obligation and by federal and state regulation as well as governmental action in the country in which the foreign bank has its head office. A U.S. branch of a foreign bank with assets in excess of $1 billion may or may not be subject to reserve requirements imposed by the Federal Reserve System or by the state in which the branch is located if the branch is licensed in that state. In addition, branches licensed by the Comptroller of the Currency and branches licensed by certain states (“State Branches”) may or may not be required to: (a) pledge to the regulator by depositing assets with a designated bank within the state, an amount of its assets equal to 5% of its total liabilities; and (b) maintain assets within the state in an amount equal to a specified percentage of the aggregate amount of liabilities of the foreign bank payable at or through all of its agencies or branches within the state. The deposits of State Branches may not necessarily be insured by the FDIC. In addition, there may be less publicly available information about a U.S. branch of a foreign bank than about a U.S. bank.

 

In view of the foregoing factors associated with the purchase of CDs and TDs issued by foreign banks and foreign branches of U.S. banks, the subadviser will carefully evaluate such investments on a case-by-case basis.

 

Corporate Debt Securities.     Corporate debt securities include corporate bonds, debentures, notes and other similar debt securities issued by companies.

 

Ratings as Investment Criteria.     In general, the ratings of NRSROs represent the opinions of these agencies as to the quality of securities that they rate. Such ratings, however, are relative and subjective, are not absolute standards of quality and do not evaluate the market value risk of the securities. These ratings will be used by the fund as initial criteria for the selection of portfolio securities, but the fund also will rely upon the independent advice of the subadviser to evaluate potential investments. Among the factors that will be considered are the long-term ability of the issuer to pay principal and interest and general economic trends. Appendix B to this SAI contains further information concerning the rating categories of NRSROs and their significance.

 

Subsequent to its purchase by the fund, an issue of securities may cease to be rated or its rating may be reduced below the minimum required for purchase by the fund. In addition, it is possible that a NRSRO might not change its rating of a particular issue to reflect subsequent events. None of these events will require sale of

 

24


such securities by the fund, but the subadviser will consider such events in its determination of whether the fund should continue to hold the securities. In addition, to the extent that the ratings change as a result of changes in such organizations or their rating systems, or due to a corporate reorganization, the fund will attempt to use comparable ratings as standards for its investments in accordance with its investment objective and policies.

 

When-Issued Securities and Delayed-Delivery Transactions.     In order to secure yields or prices deemed advantageous at the time, the fund may purchase or sell securities on a when-issued or delayed-delivery basis. The fund will enter into a when-issued transaction for the purpose of acquiring portfolio securities and not for the purpose of leverage. In such transactions delivery of the securities occurs beyond the normal settlement periods, but no payment or delivery is made by the fund prior to the actual delivery or payment by the other party to the transaction. Due to fluctuations in the value of securities purchased or sold on a when-issued or delayed-delivery basis, the yields obtained on those securities may be higher or lower than the yields available in the market on the dates when the investments are actually delivered to the buyers. The fund will establish a segregated account consisting of cash and liquid securities having a value equal to or greater than the fund’s purchase commitments, provided such securities have been determined by the subadviser to be liquid and unencumbered and are marked to market daily pursuant to guidelines established by the Trustees. Placing securities rather than cash in the segregated account may have a leveraging effect on the fund’s total assets.

 

Fixed-income securities are normally subject to changes in value based upon changes, real or anticipated, in the level of interest rates and, although to a lesser extent in the case of U.S. government securities, the public’s perception of the creditworthiness of the issuers. In general, fixed-income securities tend to appreciate when interest rates decline and depreciate when interest rates rise. Purchasing these securities on a when-issued or delayed-delivery basis, therefore, can involve the risk that the yields available in the market when the delivery takes place may actually be higher than those obtained in the transaction itself. Similarly, the sale of fixed-income securities for delayed delivery can involve the risk that the prices available in the market when the delivery is made may actually be higher than those obtained in the transaction itself.

 

In the case of the purchase of securities on a when-issued or delayed-delivery basis by the fund, the fund will meet its obligations on the settlement date from then-available cash flow, the sale of securities held in the segregated account, the sale of other securities or, although it would not normally expect to do so, from the sale of the securities purchased on a when-issued or delayed-delivery basis (which may have a value greater or less than the fund’s payment obligations).

 

Zero Coupon Bonds.     A zero coupon bond pays no interest in cash to its holder during its life, although interest is accrued during that period. Its value to an investor consists of the difference between its face value at the time of maturity and the price for which it was acquired, which is generally an amount significantly less than its face value (sometimes referred to as a “deep discount” price). Because such securities usually trade at a deep discount, they will be subject to greater fluctuations of market value in response to changing interest rates than debt obligations of comparable maturities which make periodic distributions of interest. On the other hand, because there are no periodic interest payments to be reinvested prior to maturity, zero coupon securities eliminate reinvestment risk and lock in a rate of return to maturity. The fund may also invest in hybrid zero coupon securities which possess qualities of both zero coupon and coupon bonds.

 

25


Repurchase Agreements.     The fund may engage in repurchase agreements with certain member banks of the Federal Reserve System and with certain dealers on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s list of reporting dealers. Under the terms of a typical repurchase agreement, the fund would acquire an underlying debt obligation for a relatively short period (usually not more than one week) subject to an obligation of the seller to

 

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repurchase, and the fund to resell, the obligation at an agreed-upon price and time, thereby determining the yield during the fund’s holding period. This arrangement results in a fixed rate of return that is not subject to market fluctuations during the fund’s holding period. The value of the underlying securities will be at least equal at all times to the total amount of the repurchase obligation, including interest. Repurchase agreements could involve certain risks in the event of default or insolvency of the other party, including possible delays or restrictions upon the fund’s ability to dispose of the underlying securities, the risk of a possible decline in the value of the underlying securities during the period in which the fund seeks to assert its right to them, the risk of incurring expenses associated with asserting those rights and the risk of losing all or part of the income from the agreement. The subadviser, acting under the supervision of the Board, reviews on an ongoing basis the value of the collateral and creditworthiness of those banks and dealers with which the fund enters into repurchase agreements to evaluate potential risks.

 

Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the SEC, the fund, along with other affiliated entities managed by the manager, may transfer uninvested cash balances into one or more joint repurchase accounts. These balances are invested in one or more repurchase agreements, secured by U.S. government securities. Securities that are collateral for repurchase agreements are financial assets subject to the fund’s entitlement orders through its securities account at its custodian bank until the agreements mature. Each joint repurchase agreement requires that the market value of the collateral be sufficient to cover payments of interest and principal; however, in the event of default by the other party to the agreement, retention or sale of the collateral may be subject to legal proceedings.

 

Lending of Portfolio Securities.     Consistent with applicable regulatory requirements, the fund may lend portfolio securities to brokers, dealers and other financial organizations meeting capital and other credit requirements or other criteria established by the Board. The fund will not lend portfolio securities to affiliates of the manager unless it has applied for and received specific authority to do so from the SEC. Loans of portfolio securities will be collateralized by cash, letters of credit or U.S. government securities which are maintained at all times in an amount at least equal to the current market value of the loaned securities. From time to time, the fund may pay to the borrower and/or a third party which is unaffiliated with the fund, Legg Mason or CGMI and is acting as a “finder” a part of the interest earned from the investment of collateral received for securities loaned. Generally, the borrower will be required to make payments to the fund in lieu of any dividends the fund would have otherwise received had it not loaned the shares to the borrower. Any such payments, however, will not be treated as “qualified dividend income” for purposes of determining what portion of the fund’s regular dividends (as defined below) received by individuals may be taxed at the rates generally applicable to long-term capital gains (see “Taxes”).

 

By lending its securities, the fund can increase its income by continuing to receive interest on the loaned securities as well as by either investing the cash collateral in short-term instruments or obtaining yield in the form of interest paid by the borrower when U.S. government securities are used as collateral. The fund will comply with the following conditions whenever its portfolio securities are loaned: (a) the fund must receive at least 100% cash

 

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collateral or equivalent securities from the borrower; (b) the borrower must increase such collateral whenever the market value of the securities loaned rises above the level of such collateral; (c) the fund must be able to terminate the loan at any time; (d) the fund must receive reasonable interest on the loan, as well as any dividends, interest or other distributions on the loaned securities, and any increase in market value; (e) the fund may pay only reasonable custodian fees in connection with the loan; and (f) voting rights on the loaned securities may pass to the borrower; provided, however, that if a material event adversely affecting the investment in the loaned securities occurs, the fund must terminate the loan and regain the right to vote the securities. The risks in lending portfolio securities, as with other extensions of secured credit, consist of a possible delay in receiving additional collateral or in the recovery of the securities or possible loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower fail financially. Loans will be made to firms deemed by the subadviser to be of good standing and will not be made unless, in the judgment of the subadviser, the consideration to be earned from such loans would justify the risk.

 

Medium-, Low- and Unrated Securities.     The fund may invest in medium- or low-rated securities and unrated securities of comparable quality. Generally, these securities offer a higher current yield than the yield offered by higher-rated securities, but involve greater volatility of price and risk of loss of income and principal, including the probability of default by or bankruptcy of the issuers of such securities. Medium- and low-rated and comparable unrated securities: (a) will likely have some quality and protective characteristics that, in the judgment of the rating organization, are outweighed by large uncertainties or major risk exposures to adverse conditions and (b) are predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal in accordance with the terms of the obligation. Thus, it is possible that these types of factors could, in certain instances, reduce the value of securities held by the fund with a commensurate effect on the value of the fund’s shares.

 

While the market values of medium- and low-rated and comparable unrated securities tend to react less to fluctuations in interest rate levels than do those of higher-rated securities, the market values of certain of these securities also tend to be more sensitive to individual corporate developments and changes in economic conditions than higher-rated securities. In addition, medium- and low-rated and comparable unrated securities generally present a higher degree of credit risk. Issuers of medium- and low-rated and comparable unrated securities are often highly leveraged and may not have more traditional methods of financing available to them so that their ability to service their debt obligations during an economic downturn or during sustained periods of rising interest rates may be impaired. The risk of loss due to default by such issuers is significantly greater because medium- and low-rated and comparable unrated securities generally are unsecured and frequently are subordinated to the prior payment of senior indebtedness. The fund may incur additional expenses to the extent that it is required to seek recovery upon a default in the payment of principal or interest on its portfolio holdings. In addition, the markets in which medium- and low-rated or comparable unrated securities are traded generally are more limited than those in which higher-rated securities are traded. The existence of limited markets for these securities may restrict the availability of securities for the fund to purchase and also may have the effect of limiting the ability of the fund to: (a) obtain accurate market quotations for purposes of valuing securities and calculating net asset value, and (b) sell securities at their fair value either to meet redemption requests or to respond to changes in the economy or the financial markets. A major economic recession could likely disrupt severely the market for medium- and low-securities and adversely affect the value of such securities. Any such economic downturn also could adversely affect the ability of the issuers of such securities to repay principal and pay interest thereon.

 

Fixed-income securities, including medium- and low-rated and comparable unrated securities, frequently have call or buy-back features that permit their issuers to call or repurchase the securities from their holders, such as the fund. If an issuer exercises these rights during periods of declining interest rates, the fund may have to replace the security with a lower yielding security, resulting in a decreased return to the fund.

 

Securities that are rated Ba by Moody’s or BB by S&P have speculative characteristics with respect to capacity to pay interest and repay principal. Securities that are rated B generally lack characteristics of a desirable investment and assurance of interest and principal payments over any long period of time may be small. Securities that are rated Caa or CCC are of poor standing. These issues may be in default or present elements of danger may exist with respect to principal or interest.

 

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In light of the risks described above, the subadviser, in evaluating the creditworthiness of an issue, whether rated or unrated, will take various factors into consideration, which may include, as applicable, the issuer’s financial resources, its sensitivity to economic conditions and trends, the operating history of and the community support for the facility financed by the issue, the ability of the issuer’s management and regulatory matters.

 

Options on Securities . The fund may purchase and write covered call and secured put options. The fund may enter into closing transactions with respect to the options transactions in which it may engage.

 

The fund may utilize up to 10% of its total assets to purchase put options on portfolio securities and may do so at or about the same time that it purchases the underlying security or at a later time.

 

A call is covered if the fund (a) owns the optioned securities, (b) maintains in a segregated account cash or liquid securities having a value equal to or greater than the fund’s obligations under the call, provided such securities have been determined by the subadviser to be liquid and unencumbered pursuant to guidelines established by the Trustees (“eligible segregated assets”) or (c) owns an offsetting call option.

 

Writing call and put options.     When the fund writes a call, it receives a premium and gives the purchaser the right to buy the underlying security at any time during the call period at a fixed exercise price regardless of market price changes during the call period. If the call is exercised, the fund forgoes any gain from an increase in the market price of the underlying security over the exercise price. When the fund writes a put, it receives a premium and gives the purchaser of the put the right to sell the underlying security to the fund at the exercise price at any time during the option period. When the fund purchases a put, it pays a premium in return for the right to sell the underlying security at the exercise price at any time during the option period. For the purchase of a put to be profitable, the market price of the underlying security must decline sufficiently below the exercise price to cover the premium and transaction costs, unless the put is sold in a closing sale transaction; otherwise, the purchase of the put effectively increases the cost of the security and thus reduces its yield.

 

The fund may write puts on securities only if they are “secured.” A put is “secured” if the fund maintains cash or other eligible segregated assets with a value equal to the exercise price in a segregated account or holds a put on the same underlying security at an equal or greater exercise price.

 

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The principal reason for writing covered call options on securities is to attempt to realize, through the receipt of premiums, a greater return than would be realized on the securities alone. In return for a premium, the writer of a covered call option forfeits the right to any appreciation in the value of the underlying security above the strike price for the life of the option (or until a closing purchase transaction can be effected). Nevertheless, the call writer retains the risk of a decline in the price of the underlying security. Similarly, the principal reason for writing covered put options is to realize income in the form of premiums. The writer of a covered put option accepts the risk of a decline in the price of the underlying security. The size of the premiums that the fund may receive may be adversely affected as new or existing institutions, including other investment companies, engage in or increase their option-writing activities.

 

Options written by the fund normally will have expiration dates between 1 and 9 months from the date written. The exercise price of the options may be below, equal to or above the market values of the underlying securities at the times the options are written. In the case of call options, these exercise prices are referred to as “in-the-money,” “at-the-money” and “out-of-the-money,” respectively. The fund may write (a) in-the-money call options when the subadviser expects that the price of the underlying security will remain flat or decline moderately during the option period, (b) at-the-money call options when the subadviser expects that the price of the underlying security will remain flat or advance moderately during the option period, and (c) out-of-the-money call options when the subadviser expects that the price of the underlying security may increase but not above a price equal to the sum of the exercise price plus the premiums received from writing the call option. In any of the preceding situations, if the market price of the underlying security declines and the security is sold at this lower price, the amount of any realized loss will be offset wholly or in part by the premium received. Out-of-the-money, at-the-money and in-the-money put options (the reverse of call options as to the relation of exercise price to market price) may be utilized in the same market environments that such call options are used in equivalent transactions.

 

So long as the obligation of the fund as the writer of an option continues, the fund may be assigned an exercise notice by the broker/dealer through which the option was sold, requiring the fund to deliver (in the case of a call) or take delivery of (in the case of a put) the underlying security against payment of the exercise price. This obligation terminates when the option expires or the fund effects a closing purchase transaction. The fund can no longer effect a closing purchase transaction with respect to an option once it has been assigned an exercise notice. To secure its obligation to deliver the underlying security when it writes a call option, or to pay for the underlying security when it writes a put option, the fund will be required to deposit in escrow the underlying security or other assets in accordance with the rules of the Options Clearing Corporation (the “Clearing Corporation”) or similar foreign clearing corporation and of the securities exchange on which the option is written.

 

Purchasing call and put options.     The fund may purchase put and call options that are traded on a domestic securities exchange. By buying a put, the fund limits the risk of loss from a decline in the market value of the security until the put expires. Any appreciation in the value of the yield otherwise available from the underlying security, however, will be partially offset by the amount of the premium paid for the put option and any related transaction costs. A call option may be purchased by the fund in order to acquire the underlying securities for the fund at a price that avoids any additional cost that would result from a substantial increase in the market value of a security. The fund also may purchase call options to increase its return to investors at a time when the call is expected to increase in value due to anticipated appreciation of the underlying security.

 

Closing transactions.     The fund may engage in a closing purchase transaction to realize a profit, to prevent an underlying security from being called or put or to unfreeze an underlying security (thereby permitting its sale or the writing of a new option on the security prior to the outstanding option’s expiration). To effect a closing purchase transaction, the fund would purchase, prior to the holder’s exercise of an option that the fund has written, an option of the same series as that on which the fund desires to terminate its obligation. The obligation of the fund under an option that it has written would be terminated by a closing purchase transaction, but the fund

 

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would not be deemed to own an option as the result of the transaction. There can be no assurance that the fund will be able to effect closing purchase transactions at a time when it wishes to do so. To facilitate closing purchase transactions, however, the fund will write options only if a secondary market for the options exists on a domestic securities exchange or in the over-the-counter market.

 

There can be no assurance that a liquid secondary market will exist at a given time for any particular option. In this regard, trading in options on U.S. government securities is relatively new, so that it is impossible to predict to what extent liquid markets will develop or continue.

 

An option position may be closed out only where there exists a secondary market for an option of the same series on a recognized securities exchange or in the over-the-counter market. In light of this fact and current trading conditions, the fund expects to purchase only call or put options issued by the Clearing Corporation. The fund expects to write options only on U.S. securities exchanges.

 

The fund may realize a profit or loss upon entering into a closing transaction. In cases in which the fund has written an option, it will realize a profit if the cost of the closing purchase transaction is less than the premium received upon writing the original option and will incur a loss if the cost of the closing purchase transaction exceeds the premium received upon writing the original option. Similarly, when the fund has purchased an option and engages in a closing sale transaction, whether the fund realizes a profit or loss will depend upon whether the amount received in the closing sale transaction is more or less than the premium that the fund initially paid for the original option plus the related transaction costs.

 

Although the fund generally will purchase or write only those options for which the subadviser believes there is an active secondary market, there is no assurance that sufficient trading interest to create a liquid secondary market on a securities exchange will exist for any particular option or at any particular time, and for some options no such secondary market may exist. A liquid secondary market in an option may cease to exist for a variety of reasons. At times in the past, for example, higher than anticipated trading activity or order flow or other unforeseen events have rendered inadequate certain of the facilities of the Clearing Corporation as well as U.S. and foreign securities exchanges and resulted in the institution of special procedures such as trading rotations, restrictions on certain types of orders or trading halts or suspensions in one or more options. There can be no assurance that similar events, or events that may otherwise interfere with the timely execution of customers’ orders, will not recur. In such event, it might not be possible to effect closing transactions in particular options. If the fund as a covered call option writer is unable to effect a closing purchase transaction in a secondary market, it will not be able to sell the underlying security until the option expires or it delivers the underlying security upon exercise.

 

Securities exchanges generally have established limitations governing the maximum number of calls and puts of each class that may be held, written or exercised within certain time periods by an investor or group of investors acting in concert (regardless of whether the options are written on the same or different securities exchanges or are held, written or exercised in one or more accounts or through one or more brokers). It is possible that the fund and other clients of the manager, the subadviser and certain of their affiliates, may be considered to be such a group. A securities exchange may order the liquidation of positions found to be in violation of these limits and it may impose certain other sanctions.

 

In the case of options that are deemed covered by virtue of the fund’s holding convertible or exchangeable preferred stock or debt securities, the time required to convert or exchange and obtain physical delivery of the underlying common stocks with respect to which the fund has written options may exceed the time within which the fund must make delivery in accordance with an exercise notice. In these instances, the fund may purchase or borrow temporarily the underlying securities for purposes of physical delivery. By so doing, the fund will not bear any market risk because the fund will have the absolute right to receive from the issuer of the underlying

 

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security an equal number of shares to replace the borrowed stock, but the fund may incur additional transaction costs or interest expenses in connection with any such purchase or borrowing.

 

Additional risks exist with respect to certain U.S. government securities for which the fund may write covered call options. If the fund writes covered call options on mortgage-backed securities, the securities that it holds as cover may, because of scheduled amortization or unscheduled prepayments, cease to be sufficient cover. The fund will compensate for the decline in the value of the cover by purchasing an appropriate additional amount of those securities.

 

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Currency Transactions.     The fund’s dealings in forward currency exchange transactions will be limited to hedging involving either specific transactions or portfolio positions. Transaction hedging is the purchase or sale of forward currency contracts with respect to specific receivables or payables of the fund generally arising in connection with the purchase or sale of its securities. Position hedging, generally, is the sale of forward currency contracts with respect to portfolio security positions denominated or quoted in the currency. The fund may not position hedge with respect to a particular currency to an extent greater than the aggregate market value of the security at any time, or securities held in its portfolio denominated or quoted in, or currently convertible into (such as through exercise of an option or consummation of a forward currency contract) that particular currency. If the fund enters into a transaction hedging or position hedging transaction, it will cover the transaction through one or more of the following methods: (a) ownership of the underlying currency or an option to purchase such currency; (b) ownership of an option to enter into an offsetting forward currency contract; (c) entering into a forward contract to purchase currency being sold, or to sell currency being purchased, provided that such covering contract is itself covered by any one of these methods unless the covering contract closes out the first contract; or (d) depositing into a segregated account with the custodian or a sub-custodian of the fund cash or readily marketable securities in an amount equal to the value of the fund’s total assets committed to the consummation of the forward currency contract and not otherwise covered. In the case of transaction hedging, any securities placed in the account must be liquid debt securities. In any case, if the value of the securities placed in the segregated account declines, additional cash or securities will be placed in the account so that the value of the account will equal the above amount. Hedging transactions may be made from any foreign currency into dollars or into other appropriate currencies.

 

At or before the maturity of a forward contract, the fund may either sell a portfolio security and make delivery of the currency or retain the security and offset its contractual obligation to deliver the currency by purchasing a second contract pursuant to which the fund will obtain, on the same maturity date, the same amount of the currency which it is obligated to deliver. If the fund retains the portfolio security and engages in an offsetting transaction, the fund, at the time of execution of the offsetting transaction, will incur a gain or loss to the extent movement has occurred in forward contract prices. Should forward prices decline during the period between the fund’s entering into a forward contract for the sale of a currency and the date that it enters into an offsetting contract for the purchase of the currency, the fund will realize a gain to the extent that the price of the currency it has agreed to sell exceeds the price of the currency it has agreed to purchase. Should forward prices increase, the fund will suffer a loss to the extent the price of the currency it has agreed to purchase exceeds the price of the currency it has agreed to sell.

 

The cost to the fund of engaging in currency transactions varies with factors such as the currency involved, the length of the contract period and the market conditions then prevailing. Because transactions in currency exchange are usually conducted on a principal basis, no fees or commissions are involved. The use of forward currency contracts does not eliminate fluctuations in the underlying prices of the securities, but it does establish a rate of exchange that can be achieved in the future. In addition, although forward currency contracts limit the risk of loss due to a decline in the value of the hedged currency, at the same time they limit any potential gain that might result should the value of the currency increase.

 

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Futures Activities .     The fund may enter into futures contracts and/or options on futures contracts that are traded on a U.S. exchange or board of trade. These investments may be made by the fund for the purpose of hedging against the effects of changes in the value of its portfolio securities due to anticipated changes in interest rates, currency values and/or market conditions, but not for purposes of speculation.

 

Futures Contracts.     The fund may acquire or sell a futures contract to mitigate the effect of fluctuations in interest rates, currency values or market conditions (depending on the type of contract) on portfolio securities without actually buying or selling the securities.

 

In purchasing and selling futures contracts and related options, the fund will comply with the following policies: (a) futures and related options will be used solely for bona fide hedging purposes (or the underlying commodity value of the fund’s long positions will not exceed the sum of certain identified liquid investments) and (b) the fund will not enter into futures and related options for which the aggregate initial margin and premiums exceed 5% of the fair market value of the fund’s total assets. In order to prevent leverage in connection with the purchase of futures contracts by the fund, an amount of cash or other eligible segregated assets equal to the margin requirements of futures contracts purchased will be maintained in a segregated account on the books of the fund or with the fund’s custodian. The fund will engage only in futures contracts and related options which are listed on a national commodities exchange.

 

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The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) recently eliminated limitations on futures transactions and options thereon by registered investment companies, provided that the investment manager to the registered investment company claims an exclusion from regulation as a commodity pool operator. The fund is operated by a person who has claimed an exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” under the Commodity Exchange Act and therefore is not subject to registration or regulation as a pool operator under the Commodity Exchange Act. As a result of these CFTC rule changes, the fund is no longer restricted in its ability to enter into futures transactions and options thereon under CFTC regulations. The fund, however, continues to have policies with respect to futures and options thereon as set forth above. The current view of the staff of the SEC is that a fund’s long and short positions in futures contracts as well as put and call options on futures written by it must be collateralized with cash or other liquid securities and segregated with the fund’s custodian or a designated sub-custodian or “covered” in a manner similar to that for covered options on securities and designed to eliminate any potential leveraging.

 

Interest Rate Futures Contracts.     The fund may purchase and sell interest rate futures contracts as a hedge against changes in interest rates. An interest rate futures contract is an agreement between two parties to buy and sell a security for a set price on a future date. Interest rate futures contracts are traded on designated “contract markets” which, through their clearing corporations, guarantee performance of the contracts. Currently, there are interest rate futures contracts based on securities such as long-term Treasury bonds, Treasury notes, GNMA certificates and three-month Treasury bills.

 

Generally, if market interest rates increase, the value of outstanding debt securities declines (and vice versa). Entering into an interest rate futures contract for the sale of securities has an effect similar to the actual sale of securities, although sale of the interest rate futures contract might be accomplished more easily and quickly. For example, if a fund holds long-term U.S. government securities and the subadviser anticipates a rise in long-term interest rates, the fund could, in lieu of disposing of its portfolio securities, enter into interest rate futures contracts for the sale of similar long-term securities. If interest rates increased and the value of the fund’s securities declined, the value of the fund’s interest rate futures contracts would increase, thereby protecting the fund by preventing the net asset value from declining as much as it otherwise would have declined. Similarly, entering into interest rate futures contracts for the purchase of securities has an effect similar to the actual purchase of the underlying securities, but permits the continued holding of securities other than the underlying securities. For example, if the subadviser expects long-term interest rates to decline, the fund might enter into interest rate futures contracts for the purchase of long-term securities, so that it could gain rapid market exposure that may offset anticipated increases in the cost of securities that it intends to purchase, while continuing to hold higher-yielding short-term securities or waiting for the long-term market to stabilize.

 

Stock Index Futures Contracts.     The fund may purchase and sell stock index futures contracts. These transactions, if any, by the fund will be made solely for the purpose of hedging against the effects of changes in the value of its portfolio securities due to anticipated changes in market conditions and will be made when the transactions are economically appropriate to the reduction of risks inherent in the management of the fund. A stock index futures contract is an agreement under which two parties agree to take or make delivery of the amount of cash based on the difference between the value of a stock index at the beginning and at the end of the contract period. When the fund enters into a stock index futures contract, it must make an initial deposit, known as “initial margin,” as a partial guarantee of its performance under the contract. As the value of the stock index fluctuates, either party to the contract is required to make additional margin deposits, known as “variation margin,” to cover any additional obligation that it may have under the contract.

 

Successful use of stock index futures contracts by the fund is subject to certain special risk considerations. A liquid stock index futures market may not be available when the fund seeks to offset adverse market movements. In addition, there may be an imperfect correlation between movements in the securities included in the index and movements in the securities in the fund. Successful use of stock index futures contracts is further dependent on the subadviser’s ability to predict correctly movements in the direction of the stock markets and no assurance can be given that its judgment in this respect will be correct.

 

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No consideration is paid or received by the fund upon entering into a futures contract. Initially, the fund will be required to deposit with its custodian an amount of cash or cash equivalents equal to approximately 1% to 10% of the contract amount (this amount is subject to change by the board of trade on which the contract is traded and members of such board of trade may charge a higher amount). This amount, known as initial margin, is in the nature of a performance bond or good faith deposit on the contract and is returned to the fund upon termination of the futures contract, assuming that all contractual obligations have been satisfied. Subsequent payments to and from the broker, known as variation margin, will be made daily as the price of the securities, currency or index underlying the futures contract fluctuates, making the long and short positions in the futures contract more or less valuable, a process known as “marking-to-market.” At any time prior to expiration of a futures contract, the fund may elect to close the position by taking an opposite position, which will terminate the fund’s existing position in the contract.

 

Several risks are associated with the use of futures contracts as a hedging device. Successful use of futures contracts by the fund is subject to the ability of the subadviser to predict correctly movements in interest rates, stock or bond indices or foreign currency values. These predictions involve skills and techniques that may be different from those involved in the management of the portfolio being hedged. In addition, there can be no assurance that there will be a correlation between movements in the price of the underlying securities, currency or index and movements in the price of the securities which are the subject of the hedge. A decision of whether, when and how to hedge involves the exercise of skill and judgment, and even a well-conceived hedge may be unsuccessful to some degree because of market behavior or unexpected trends in interest rates or currency values.

 

Although the fund intends to enter into futures contracts only if there is an active market for such contracts, there is no assurance that an active market will exist for the contracts at any particular time. Most futures exchanges and boards of trade limit the amount of fluctuation permitted in futures contract prices during a single trading day. Once the daily limit has been reached in a particular contract, no trades may be made that day at a price beyond that limit. It is possible that futures contract prices could move to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of futures positions and subjecting some futures traders to substantial losses. In such event, and in the event of adverse price movements, the fund would be required to make daily cash payments of variation margin and an increase in the value of the portion of the portfolio being hedged, if any, may partially or completely offset losses on the futures contract. As described above, however, there is no guarantee that the price of the securities being hedged will, in fact, correlate with the price movements in a futures contract and thus provide an offset to losses on the futures contract.

 

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If the fund has hedged against the possibility of a change in interest rates or currency or market values adversely affecting the value of securities held in its portfolio and rates or currency or market values move in a direction opposite to that which the fund has anticipated, the fund will lose part or all of the benefit of the increased value of securities that it has hedged because it will have offsetting losses in its futures positions. In addition, in such situations, if the fund has insufficient cash, it may have to sell securities to meet daily variation margin requirements at a time when it may be disadvantageous to do so. These sales of securities may, but will not necessarily, be at increased prices which reflect the change in interest rates or currency values, as the case may be.

 

Options on Futures Contracts.     An option on an interest rate futures contract, as contrasted with the direct investment in such a contract, gives the purchaser the right, in return for the premium paid, to assume a position in the underlying interest rate futures contract at a specified exercise price at any time prior to the expiration date of the option. The fund may purchase put options on interest rate futures contracts in lieu of, and for the same purpose as, sale of a futures contract. It also may purchase such put options in order to hedge a long position in the underlying interest rate futures contract in the same manner as it may purchase puts on securities provided they are similarly “secured.” An option on a foreign currency futures contract, as contrasted with the direct investment in such a contract, gives the purchaser the right, but not the obligation, to assume a long or short position in the relevant underlying future currency at a predetermined exercise price at a time in the future. Upon exercise of an option, the delivery of the futures position by the writer of the option to the holder of the option will be accompanied by delivery of the accumulated balance in the writer’s futures margin account, which represents the amount by which the market price of the futures contract exceeds, in the case of a call, or is less than, in the case of a put, the exercise price of the option on the futures contract. The potential for loss related to the purchase of an option on futures contracts is limited to the premium paid for the option (plus transaction costs). Because the value of the option is fixed at the point of sale, there are no daily cash payments to reflect changes in the value of the underlying contract; however, the value of the option does change daily and that change would be reflected in the net asset value of a fund investing in the option. The purchase of call options on futures contracts is intended to serve the same purpose as the actual purchase of the futures contract, and the fund will set aside cash and liquid securities sufficient to purchase the amount of portfolio securities represented by the underlying futures contracts.

 

Several risks are associated with options on futures contracts. The ability to establish and close out positions on such options will be subject to the existence of a liquid market. In addition, the purchase of put or call options on interest rate and foreign currency futures will be based upon predictions by the subadviser as to anticipated trends in interest rates and currency values, as the case may be, which could prove to be incorrect. Even if the expectations of the subadviser are correct, there may be an imperfect correlation between the change in the value of the options and of the portfolio securities or the currencies being hedged.

 

Securities of Other Investment Companies.     The fund may invest in securities of other investment companies to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act.

 

To the extent the fund invests in securities of other investment companies, the fund’s shareholders would indirectly pay a portion of the operating costs of such companies in addition to the expenses of its own operation. These costs include management, brokerage, shareholder servicing and other operational expenses. Indirectly, then, shareholders may pay higher operational costs than if they owned the underlying investment companies directly. Additionally, the fund’s investments in such investment companies are subject to limitations under the 1940 Act and market availability.

 

Index-Related Securities (“Equity Equivalents”).     The fund may invest in certain types of securities that enable investors to purchase or sell shares in a portfolio of securities that seeks to track the performance of an underlying index or a portion of an index. Such Equity Equivalents include, among others, DIAMONDS (interests in a portfolio of securities that seeks to track the performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average), SPDRs or Standard & Poor’s Depository Receipts (interests

 

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in a portfolio of securities that seeks to track the performance of the S&P 500 Index), iShares (interests in a portfolio of securities that seeks to track the performance of a benchmark index or a particular foreign country’s stocks), and the Nasdaq-100 Trust (interests in a portfolio of securities of the largest and most actively traded non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market). Such securities are similar to index mutual funds, but they are traded on various stock exchanges or secondary markets. The value of these securities is dependent upon the performance of the underlying index on which they are based. Thus, these securities are subject to the same risks as their underlying indices as well as the securities that make up those indices. For example, if the securities comprising an index that an index-related security seeks to track perform poorly, the index-related security will lose value.

 

Equity Equivalents may be used for several purposes, including to simulate full investment in the underlying index while retaining a cash balance for fund management purposes, to facilitate trading, to reduce transaction costs or to seek higher investment returns where an Equity Equivalent is priced more attractively than securities in the underlying index. Because the expense associated with an investment in Equity Equivalents may be substantially lower than the expense of small investments directly in the securities comprising the indices they seek to track, investments in Equity Equivalents may provide a cost-effective means of diversifying the fund’s assets across a broad range of equity securities.

 

The prices of Equity Equivalents are derived and based upon the securities held by the particular investment company. Accordingly, the level of risk involved in the purchase or sale of an Equity Equivalent is similar to the risk involved in the purchase or sale of traditional common stock, with the exception that the pricing mechanism for such instruments is based on a basket of stocks. The market prices of Equity Equivalents are expected to fluctuate in accordance with both changes in the net asset values of their underlying indices and the supply and demand for the instruments on the exchanges on which they are traded. Substantial market or other disruptions affecting an Equity Equivalent could adversely affect the liquidity and value of the shares of the fund if it invests in such instruments.

 

Foreign Investments.     Investors should recognize that investing in foreign companies involves certain considerations which are not typically associated with investing in U.S. issuers. Since the fund may invest in securities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, and may temporarily hold funds in bank deposits or other money-market investments denominated in foreign currencies, the fund may be affected favorably or unfavorably by exchange control regulations or changes in the exchange rate between such currencies and the dollar. A change in the value of a foreign currency relative to the U.S. dollar will result in a corresponding change in the dollar value of the fund’s total assets denominated in that foreign currency. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates may also affect the value of dividends and interest earned, gains and losses realized on the sale of securities and net investment income and gain, if any, to be distributed to shareholders by the fund.

 

The rate of exchange between the U.S. dollar and other currencies is determined by the forces of supply and demand in the foreign exchange markets. Changes in the exchange rate may result over time from the interaction of many factors directly or indirectly affecting economic conditions and political developments in other countries. Of particular importance are rates of inflation, interest rate levels, the balance of payments and the extent of government surpluses or deficits in the United States and the particular foreign country. All these factors are in turn sensitive to the monetary, fiscal and trade policies pursued by the governments of the United States and other foreign countries important to international trade and finance. Government intervention may also play a significant role. National governments rarely voluntarily allow their currencies to float freely in response to economic forces. Sovereign governments use a variety of techniques, such as intervention by a country’s central bank or imposition of regulatory controls or taxes, to affect the exchange rates of their currencies.

 

Certain securities held by the fund will not be registered with, nor the issuers thereof be subject to reporting requirements of, the SEC. Accordingly, there may be less publicly available information about the securities and

 

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about the foreign company or government issuing them than is available about a domestic company or government entity. Foreign issuers are generally not subject to uniform financial reporting standards, practices and requirements comparable to those applicable to U.S. issuers. In addition, with respect to some foreign countries, there is the possibility of expropriation or confiscatory taxation, limitations on the removal of funds or other assets of the fund, political or social instability, or domestic developments which could affect U.S. investments in those countries. Moreover, individual foreign economies may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth of gross national product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency and balance of payment positions. The fund may invest in securities of foreign governments (or agencies or instrumentalities thereof), and many, if not all, of the foregoing considerations apply to such investments as well.

 

Securities of some foreign companies are less liquid, and their prices are more volatile, than securities of comparable domestic companies. Certain foreign countries are known to experience long delays between the trade and settlement dates of securities purchased or sold. Due to the increased exposure of the fund to market and foreign exchange fluctuations brought about by such delays, and to the corresponding negative impact on fund liquidity, the fund will avoid investing in countries which are known to experience settlement delays which may expose the fund to unreasonable risk of loss.

 

The interest payable on the fund’s foreign securities may be subject to foreign withholding taxes, which will reduce the fund’s return on its investments. Additionally, the operating expenses of the fund can be expected to be higher than those of an investment company investing exclusively in U.S. securities, since the costs of investing in foreign securities, such as custodial costs, valuation costs and communication costs, are higher than the costs of investing exclusively in U.S. securities.

 

The fund may also purchase American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), American Depository Debentures, American Depository Notes, American Depository Bonds, European Depository Receipts (“EDRs”) and Global Depository Receipts (“GDRs”), or other securities representing underlying shares of foreign companies. ADRs are publicly traded on exchanges or over-the-counter in the United States and are issued through “sponsored” or “unsponsored” arrangements. In a sponsored ADR arrangement, the foreign issuer assumes the obligation to pay some or all of the depository’s transaction fees, whereas under an unsponsored arrangement, the foreign issuer assumes no obligation and the depository’s transaction fees are paid by the ADR holders. In addition, less information is available in the United States about an unsponsored ADR than about a sponsored ADR, and the financial information about a company may not be as reliable for an unsponsored ADR as it is for a sponsored ADR. The fund may invest in ADRs through both sponsored and unsponsored arrangements.

 

Securities of Developing Countries.     The fund may invest in securities of developing (or “emerging market”) countries. A developing country generally is considered to be a country that is in the initial stages of its industrialization cycle. Investing in the equity and fixed-income markets of developing countries involves exposure to economic structures that are generally less diverse and mature, and to political systems that can be expected to have less stability, than those of developed countries. Historical experience indicates that the markets of developing countries have been more volatile than the markets of the more mature economies of developed countries.

 

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Convertible Securities and Synthetic Convertible Securities.     Convertible securities are fixed-income securities that may be converted at either a stated price or stated rate into underlying shares of common stock. Convertible securities have general characteristics similar to both fixed-income and equity securities. Although to a lesser extent than with fixed-income securities generally, the market value of convertible securities tends to decline as interest rates increase and, conversely, tends to increase as interest rates decline. In addition, because of the conversion feature, the market value of convertible securities tends to vary with fluctuations in the market value of the underlying common stocks and, therefore, also will react to variations in the general market for equity securities. A unique feature of convertible securities is that as the market price of the underlying common stock declines, convertible securities tend to trade increasingly on a yield basis, and so may not experience market value declines to the same extent as the underlying common stock. When the market price of the underlying common stock increases, the prices of the convertible securities tend to rise as a reflection of the value of the underlying common stock. While no securities investments are without risk, investments in convertible securities generally entail less risk than investments in common stock of the same issuer.

 

As fixed-income securities, convertible securities are investments which provide for a stable stream of income with generally higher yields than common stocks. Of course, like all fixed-income securities, there can be no assurance of current income because the issuers of the convertible securities may default on their obligations. Convertible securities, however, generally offer lower interest or dividend yields than non-convertible securities of similar quality because of the potential for capital appreciation. A convertible security, in addition to providing fixed-income, offers the potential for capital appreciation through the conversion feature, which enables the holder to benefit from increases in the market price of the underlying common stock. However, there can be no assurance of capital appreciation because securities prices fluctuate.

 

Convertible securities generally are subordinated to other similar but nonconvertible securities of the same issuer, although convertible bonds, as corporate debt obligations, enjoy seniority in right of payment to all equity securities, and convertible preferred stock is senior to common stock of the same issuer. Because of the subordination feature, however, convertible securities typically have lower ratings than similar non-convertible securities.

 

Unlike a convertible security which is a single security, a synthetic convertible security is comprised of two distinct securities that together resemble convertible securities in certain respects. Synthetic convertible securities are created by combining non-convertible bonds or preferred shares with common stocks, warrants or stock call options. The options that will form elements of synthetic convertible securities will be listed on a securities exchange or on Nasdaq. The two components of a synthetic convertible security, which will be issued with respect to the same entity, generally are not offered as a unit, and may be purchased and sold by a fund at different times. Synthetic convertible securities differ from convertible securities in certain respects, including that each component of a synthetic convertible security has a separate market value and responds differently to market fluctuations. Investing in synthetic convertible securities involves the risk normally involved in holding the securities comprising the synthetic convertible security.

 

Temporary Investments.     When the subadviser believes that market conditions warrant,

 

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the fund may adopt a temporary defensive posture and may invest in short-term instruments without limitation. Short-term instruments in which the fund may invest include: U.S. government securities; certain bank obligations (including CDs, TDs and bankers’ acceptances of domestic or foreign banks, domestic savings and loan associations and similar institutions); commercial paper rated no lower than A-2 by S&P or Prime-2 by Moody’s or an equivalent rating by any other NRSRO or, if unrated, of an issuer having an outstanding, unsecured debt issue then rated within the three highest rating categories; and repurchase agreements with respect to securities in which the fund may invest.

 

Short Sales Against the Box.     The fund may enter into a short sale of common stock such that, when the short position is open, the fund owns an equal amount of preferred stocks or debt securities convertible or exchangeable without payment of further consideration into an equal number of shares of the common stock sold short. The fund will enter into this kind of short sale, described as “against the box,” for the purpose of receiving a portion of the interest earned by the executing broker from the proceeds of the sale. The proceeds of the sale will be held by the broker until the settlement date, when the fund delivers the convertible securities to close out its short position. Although the fund will have to pay an amount equal to any dividends paid on the common stock sold short prior to delivery, it will receive the dividends from the preferred stock or interest from the debt securities convertible into the stock sold short, plus a portion of the interest earned from the proceeds of the short sale. The fund will deposit, in a segregated account with their custodian, convertible preferred stock or convertible debt securities in connection with short sales against the box.

 

Short Sales.     The fund may seek to hedge investments or realize additional gains through short sales. Short sales are transactions in which the fund sells a security it does not own in anticipation of a decline in the market value of that security. To complete such a transaction, the fund borrows the security to make delivery to the buyer. The fund is obligated to replace the security borrowed by purchasing it at the market price at or prior to the time of replacement. The price at such time may be more or less than the price at which the security was sold by the fund. Until the security is replaced, the fund is required to repay the lender any dividends or interest that accrue during the period of the loan. To borrow the security, the fund also may be required to pay a premium, which would increase the cost of the security sold. A portion of the net proceeds of the short sale may be retained by the broker (or by the fund’s custodian in a special custody account), to the extent necessary to collateralize the broker and to meet margin requirements, until the short position is closed out. The fund will also incur transaction costs in effecting short sales.

 

The fund will incur a loss as a result of the short sale if the price of the security increases between the date of the short sale and the date on which the fund replaces the borrowed security. The fund will realize a gain if the

 

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security declines in price between those dates. The amount of any gain will be decreased, and the amount of any loss increased, by the amount of the premiums, dividends, interest or expenses the fund may be required to pay in connection with a short sale. An increase in the value of a security sold short by the fund over the price at which it was sold short will result in a loss to the fund, and there can be no assurance that the fund will be able to close out the position at any particular time or at an acceptable price. Thus, the fund’s losses on short sales are potentially unlimited.

 

Whenever the fund engages in short sales, it maintains cash or liquid securities in an amount that, when combined with the amount of collateral deposited with the broker in connection with the short sale, equals the current market value of the security sold short. The assets so maintained are marked to market daily.

 

Rule 144A Securities.     The fund may purchase Rule 144A Securities, which are unregistered securities restricted to purchase by “qualified institutional buyers” pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”). Because Rule 144A Securities are freely transferable among qualified institutional buyers, a liquid market may exist among such buyers. The Board has adopted guidelines and delegated to the subadviser the daily function of determining and monitoring liquidity of Rule 144A Securities. However, the Board maintains sufficient oversight and is ultimately responsible for the liquidity determinations. Investments in restricted securities such as Rule 144A Securities could have the effect of increasing the level of illiquidity in the fund to the extent that there is temporarily no market for these securities among qualified institutional buyers.

 

Real Estate Investment Trusts .    The fund may invest in real estate investment trusts (“REITs”). REITs are pooled investment vehicles that invest primarily in either real estate or real estate related loans. The value of the REIT is affected by changes in the value of the properties owned by the REIT or security mortgage loans held by the REIT. A REIT is dependent upon cash flow from its investments to repay financing costs and the management skill of the REIT’s manager. REITs are also subject to risks generally associated with investments in real estate.

 

Restricted and Illiquid Securities.     The fund may invest up to 15% of its total assets in securities with contractual or other restrictions on resale and other instruments that are not readily marketable, including (a) repurchase agreements with maturities greater than 7 days, (b) futures contracts and related options for which a liquid secondary market does not exist and (c) time deposits maturing in more than 7 calendar days. The above restriction does not apply to Rule 144A Securities.

 

The sale of securities that are not publicly traded is typically restricted under the federal securities laws. As a result, the fund may be forced to sell these securities at less than fair market value or may not be able to sell them when the subadviser believes it desirable to do so. The fund’s investments in illiquid securities are subject to the risk that should the fund desire to sell any of these securities when a ready buyer is not available at a price that the fund deems representative of their value, the value of the fund’s total assets could be adversely affected.

 

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RISK FACTORS

 

The following risk factors are intended to supplement the risks described above and in the fund’s prospectus.

 

General.     Investors should realize that risk of loss is inherent in the ownership of any securities and that the fund’s net asset value will fluctuate, reflecting fluctuations in the market value of its portfolio positions.

 

Warrants.     Because a warrant does not carry with it the right to dividends or voting rights with respect to the securities that the warrant holder is entitled to purchase, and because a warrant does not represent any rights to the assets of the issuer, a warrant may be considered more speculative than certain other types of investments. In addition, the value of a warrant does not necessarily change with the value of the underlying security and a warrant ceases to have value if it is not exercised prior to its expiration date. Investments in warrants, valued at the lower of cost or market, may not exceed 10% of the value of the fund’s total assets. Included within that amount, but not to exceed 5% of the value of the fund’s total assets, may be warrants that are not listed on the

 

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New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) or the American Stock Exchange. Warrants acquired by the fund in units or attached to securities may be deemed to be without value.

 

Securities of Unseasoned Issuers.     Securities of unseasoned issuers in which the fund may invest may have limited marketability and, therefore, may be subject to wide fluctuations in market value. In addition, certain securities may be issued by companies that lack a significant operating history and are dependent on products or services without an established market share.

 

Fixed-Income Securities.     Investments in fixed-income securities may subject the fund to risks, including the following:

 

Interest Rate Risk:     When interest rates decline, the market value of fixed-income securities tends to increase. Conversely, when interest rates increase, the market value of fixed-income securities tends to decline. The volatility of a security’s market value will differ depending upon the security’s duration, the issuer and the type of instrument.

 

Default Risk/Credit Risk:     Investments in fixed-income securities are subject to the risk that the issuer of the security could default on its obligations, causing the fund to sustain losses on such investments. A default could impact both interest and principal payments.

 

Call Risk and Extension Risk:     Fixed-income securities may be subject to both call risk and extension risk. Call risk exists when the issuer may exercise its right to pay principal on an obligation earlier than scheduled, which would cause cash flows to be returned earlier than expected. This typically results when interest rates have declined and the fund will suffer from having to reinvest in lower yielding securities. Extension risk exists when the issuer may exercise its right to pay principal on an obligation later than scheduled, which would cause cash flows to be returned later than expected. This typically results when interest rates have increased, and the fund will suffer from the inability to invest in higher yielding securities.

 

Lower Rated Fixed-Income Securities.     Securities which are rated BBB by S&P or Baa by Moody’s are generally regarded as having adequate capacity to pay interest and repay principal, but may have some speculative characteristics. Securities rated below Baa by Moody’s or BBB by S&P have predominantly speculative characteristics, including the possibility of default or bankruptcy of the issuers of such securities, market price volatility based upon interest rate sensitivity, questionable creditworthiness and relative liquidity of the secondary trading market. Because high yield bonds (“junk bonds”) have been found to be more sensitive to adverse economic changes or individual corporate developments and less sensitive to interest rate changes than higher-rated investments, an economic downturn could disrupt the market for high yield bonds and adversely affect the value of outstanding bonds and the ability of issuers to repay principal and interest. In addition, in a declining interest rate market, issuers of high yield bonds may exercise redemption or call provisions, which may force the fund, to the extent it owns such securities, to replace those securities with lower yielding securities. This could result in a decreased return.

 

Repurchase Agreements.     The fund bears a risk of loss in the event that the other party to a repurchase agreement defaults on its obligations and the fund is delayed or prevented from exercising its rights to dispose of the underlying securities, including the risk of a possible decline in the value of the underlying securities during the period in which the fund seeks to assert its rights to them, the risk of incurring expenses associated with asserting those rights and the risk of losing all or a part of the income from the agreement.

 

Foreign Securities.     Investments in securities of foreign issuers involve certain risks not ordinarily associated with investments in securities of domestic issuers. Such risks include fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, future political and economic developments, and the possible imposition of exchange controls or other foreign governmental laws or restrictions. Since the fund may invest in securities denominated or quoted in currencies other than the

 

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U.S. dollar, changes in foreign currency exchange rates will, to the extent the fund does not adequately hedge against such fluctuations, affect the value of securities in its portfolio and the unrealized appreciation or depreciation of investments so far as U.S. investors are concerned. In addition, with respect to certain countries, there is the possibility of expropriation of assets, confiscatory taxation, political or social instability or diplomatic developments which could adversely affect investments in those countries.

 

There may be less publicly available information about a foreign company than about a U.S. company, and foreign companies may not be subject to accounting, auditing, and financial reporting standards and requirements comparable to or as uniform as those of U.S. companies. Foreign securities markets, while growing in volume, have, for the most part, substantially less volume than U.S. markets, and securities of many foreign companies are less liquid and their price more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. companies. Transaction costs on foreign securities markets are generally higher than in the U.S. There is generally less government supervision and regulation of exchanges, brokers and issuers than there is in the U.S. The fund might have greater difficulty taking appropriate legal action in foreign courts. Dividend and interest income from foreign securities will generally be subject to withholding taxes by the country in which the issuer is located and may not be recoverable by the fund. Capital gains are also subject to taxation in some foreign countries.

 

Currency Risks.     The U.S. dollar value of securities denominated in a foreign currency will vary with changes in currency exchange rates, which can be volatile. Accordingly, changes in the value of the currency in which the fund’s investments are denominated relative to the U.S. dollar will affect the fund’s net asset value. Exchange rates are generally affected by the forces of supply and demand in the international currency markets, the relative merits of investing in different countries and the intervention or failure to intervene of U.S. or foreign governments and central banks. However, currency exchange rates may fluctuate based on factors intrinsic to a country’s economy. Some emerging market countries also may have managed currencies, which are not free floating against the U.S. dollar. In addition, emerging markets are subject to the risk of restrictions upon the free conversion of their currencies into other currencies. Any devaluations relative to the U.S. dollar in the currencies in which the fund’s securities are quoted would reduce the fund’s net asset value per share.

 

Special Risks of Countries in the Asia Pacific Region.     Certain of the risks associated with international investments are heightened for investments in these countries. For example, some of the currencies of these countries have experienced devaluations relative to the U.S. dollar, and adjustments have been made periodically in certain of such currencies. Certain countries, such as Indonesia, face serious exchange constraints. Jurisdictional disputes also exist, for example, between South Korea and North Korea.

 

Securities of Developing/Emerging Markets Countries.     A developing or emerging markets country generally is considered to be a country that is in the initial stages of its industrialization cycle. Investing in the equity markets of developing countries involves exposure to economic structures that are generally less diverse and mature, and to political systems that can be expected to have less stability, than those of developed countries. Historical experience indicates that the markets of developing countries have been more volatile than the markets of the more mature economies of developed countries; however, such markets often have provided higher rates of return to investors.

 

One or more of the risks discussed above could affect adversely the economy of a developing market or the fund’s investments in such a market. In Eastern Europe, for example, upon the accession to power of Communist regimes in the past, the governments of a number of Eastern European countries expropriated a large amount of property. The claims of many property owners against those governments may remain unsettled. There can be no assurance that any investments that the fund might make in such emerging markets would not be expropriated, nationalized or otherwise confiscated at some time in the future. In such an event, the fund could lose its entire investment in the market involved. Moreover, changes in the leadership or policies of such markets could halt the expansion or reverse the liberalization of foreign investment policies now occurring in certain of these markets and adversely affect existing investment opportunities.

 

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Many of the fund’s investments in the securities of emerging markets may be unrated or rated below investment grade. Securities rated below investment grade (and comparable unrated securities) are the equivalent of high yield, high risk bonds, commonly known as “junk bonds.” Such securities are regarded as predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal in accordance with the terms of the obligations and involve major risk exposure to adverse business, financial, economic or political conditions.

 

Derivative Instruments.     In accordance with its investment policies, the fund may invest in certain derivative instruments, which are securities or contracts that provide for payments based on or “derived” from the performance of an underlying asset, index or other economic benchmark. Essentially, a derivative instrument is a financial arrangement or a contract between two parties (and not a true security like a stock or a bond). Transactions in derivative instruments can be, but are not necessarily, riskier than investments in conventional stocks, bonds and money market instruments. A derivative instrument is more accurately viewed as a way of reallocating risk among different parties or substituting one type of risk for another. Every investment by the fund, including an investment in conventional securities, reflects an implicit prediction about future changes in the value of that investment. Every fund investment also involves a risk that the subadviser’s expectations will be wrong. Transactions in derivative instruments often enable the fund to take investment positions that more precisely reflect the subadviser’s expectations concerning the future performance of the various investments available to the fund. Derivative instruments can be a legitimate and often cost-effective method of accomplishing the same investment goals as could be achieved through other investment in conventional securities.

 

Derivative contracts include options, futures contracts, forward contracts, forward commitment and when-issued securities transactions, forward foreign currency exchange contracts and interest rate, mortgage and currency transactions. The following are the principal risks associated with derivative instruments:

 

Market risk:     The risk that the instrument will decline in value or that an alternative investment would have appreciated more, but this is no different from the risk of investing in conventional securities.

 

Leverage and associated price volatility:     Leverage causes increased volatility in the price and magnifies the impact of adverse market changes, but this risk may be consistent with the investment objective of even a conservative fund in order to achieve an average portfolio volatility that is within the expected range for that type of fund.

 

Credit risk:     The risk that the issuer of the instrument may default on its obligation to pay interest and principal.

 

Liquidity and valuation risk:     Many derivative instruments are traded in institutional markets rather than on an exchange. Nevertheless, many derivative instruments are actively traded and can be priced with as much accuracy as conventional securities. Derivative instruments that are custom designed to meet the specialized investment needs of a relatively narrow group of institutional investors such as the fund are not readily marketable and are subject to the fund’s restrictions on illiquid investments.

 

Correlation risk:     There may be imperfect correlation between the price of the derivative and the underlying asset. For example, there may be price disparities between the trading markets for the derivative contract and the underlying asset.

 

Each derivative instrument purchased for the fund’s portfolio is reviewed and analyzed by the fund’s portfolio managers to assess the risk and reward of each such instrument in relation to the fund’s portfolio investment strategy. The decision to invest in derivative instruments or conventional securities is made by measuring the respective instrument’s ability to provide value to the fund and its shareholders.

 

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Special Risks of Writing Options.     Option writing for the fund may be limited by position and exercise limits established by national securities exchanges and by requirements of the Code for qualification as a regulated investment company. In addition to writing covered call options to generate current income, the fund may enter into options transactions as hedges to reduce investment risk, generally by making an investment expected to move in the opposite direction of a portfolio position. A hedge is designed to offset a loss on a portfolio position with a gain on the hedged position; at the same time, however, a properly correlated hedge will result in a gain on the portfolio position being offset by a loss on the hedged position. The fund bears the risk that the prices of the securities being hedged will not move in the same amount as the hedge. The fund will engage in hedging transactions only when deemed advisable by the subadviser. Successful use by the fund of options will be subject to the ability of the subadviser to predict correct movements in the direction of the stock or index underlying the option used as a hedge. Losses incurred in hedging transactions and the costs of these transactions will affect the fund’s performance.

 

The ability of the fund to engage in closing transactions with respect to options depends on the existence of a liquid secondary market. While the fund generally will write options only if a liquid secondary market appears to exist for the options purchased or sold, for some options no such secondary market may exist or the market may cease to exist. If the fund cannot enter into a closing purchase transaction with respect to a call option it has written, the fund will continue to be subject to the risk that its potential loss upon exercise of the option will increase as a result of any increase in the value of the underlying security. The fund could also face higher transaction costs, including brokerage commissions, as a result of its options transactions.

 

Special Risks of Using Futures Contracts.     The prices of futures contracts are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in interest rates, which in turn are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and national and international political and economic events.

 

At best, the correlation between changes in prices of futures contracts and of the securities or currencies being hedged can be only approximate. The degree of imperfection of correlation depends upon circumstances such as: variations in speculative market demand for futures and for debt securities or currencies, including technical influences in futures trading; and differences between the financial instruments being hedged and the instruments underlying the standard futures contracts available for trading, with respect to interest rate levels, maturities, and creditworthiness of issuers. A decision of whether, when, and how to hedge involves skill and judgment, and even a well-conceived hedge may be unsuccessful to some degree because of unexpected market behavior or interest rate trends.

 

Because of the low margin deposits required, futures trading involves an extremely high degree of leverage. As a result, a relatively small price movement in a futures contract may result in immediate and substantial loss, as well as gain, to the investor. For example, if at the time of purchase, 10% of the value of the futures contract is deposited as margin, a subsequent 10% decrease in the value of the futures contract would result in a total loss of the margin deposit, before any deduction for the transaction costs, if the account were then closed out. A 15% decrease would result in a loss equal to 150% of the original margin deposit, if the futures contract were closed out. Thus, a purchase or sale of a futures contract may result in losses in excess of the amount invested in the futures contract. The fund, however, would presumably have sustained comparable losses if, instead of the futures contract, it had invested in the underlying financial instrument and sold it after the decline. Where the fund enters into futures transactions for non-hedging purposes, it will be subject to greater risks and could sustain losses which are not offset by gains on other fund assets.

 

Furthermore, in the case of a futures contract purchase, in order to be certain that the fund has sufficient assets to satisfy its obligations under a futures contract, the fund segregates and commits to back the futures contract an amount of cash and liquid securities equal in value to the current value of the underlying instrument less the margin deposit.

 

Most U.S. futures exchanges limit the amount of fluctuation permitted in futures contract prices during a single trading day. The daily limit establishes the maximum amount that the price of a futures contract may vary

 

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either up or down from the previous day’s settlement price at the end of a trading session. Once the daily limit has been reached in a particular type of futures contract, no trades may be made on that day at a price beyond that limit. The daily limit governs only price movement during a particular trading day and therefore does not limit potential losses, because the limit may prevent the liquidation of unfavorable positions. Futures contract prices have occasionally moved to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of futures positions and subjecting some futures traders to substantial losses.

 

Convertible Securities.     Convertible securities are subject both to the stock market risk associated with equity securities and to the credit and interest rate risks associated with fixed-income securities. As the market price of the equity security underlying a convertible security falls, the convertible security tends to trade on the basis of its yield and other fixed-income characteristics. As the market price of such equity security rises, the convertible security tends to trade on the basis of its equity conversion features.

 

Preferred Stocks.     Preferred stocks, like common stocks, represent an equity ownership in an issuer, but generally have a priority claim over common stocks, but not over debt, with respect to dividend payments and upon the liquidation or bankruptcy of the issuer. Therefore, preferred stock is subject to the credit risk of the issuer, but because of its subordinate position to debt obligations of the issuer, the deterioration of the credit of an issuer is likely to cause greater decreases in the value of preferred stock than in more senior debt obligations.

 

Investment Restrictions

 

The Trust has adopted the following fundamental investment restrictions with respect to the fund for the protection of shareholders. Investment restrictions described in this SAI are fundamental only if they are identified as such. Fundamental restrictions cannot be changed without approval by the holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the fund. A “majority” is defined in the 1940 Act as the lesser of (a) 67% or more of the shares present at a shareholder meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Trust or the fund are present or represented by proxy, or (b) more than 50% of the outstanding shares. As discussed under “Proposed Investment Restrictions” below, the Trust is proposing to change the fundamental investment restrictions with respect to the fund.

 

Current Fundamental Investment Restrictions

 

The fundamental investment restrictions adopted by the Trust prohibit the fund from:

 

1.  Investing in a manner that would cause it to fail to be a “diversified company” under the 1940 Act and the rules, regulations and orders thereunder.

 

2.  Investing in “senior securities” as defined in the 1940 Act and the rules, regulations and orders thereunder except as permitted under the 1940 Act and the rules, regulations and orders thereunder.

 

3.  Investing more than 25% of its total assets in securities, the issuers of which conduct their principal business activities in the same industry. For purposes of this limitation, securities of the U.S. government (including its agencies and instrumentalities) and securities of state or municipal governments and their political subdivisions are not considered to be issued by members of any industry. The SEC staff has taken the position that the limit on investments in issuers in a single industry is 25% or more of total assets, rather than more than 25% of total assets.

 

4.  Borrowing money, except that (a) the fund may borrow from banks for temporary or emergency (not leveraging) purposes, including the meeting of redemption requests which might otherwise require the untimely disposition of securities, and (b) the fund may to the extent consistent with its investment policies, enter into reverse repurchase agreements, forward roll transactions and similar investment strategies and techniques. To the extent that it engages in transactions described in (a) and (b), the fund will be limited so that no more than 33  1 / 3 % of the value of its total assets (including the amount borrowed), valued at the

 

48


lesser of cost or market, less liabilities (not including the amount borrowed) valued at the time the borrowing is made, is derived from such transaction.

 

5.  Purchasing securities on margin (except for such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of purchases and sales of portfolio securities) or selling any securities short (except “against the box” and making short sales or maintaining a short position). For purposes of this restriction the deposit or payment by the fund of underlying securities and other assets in escrow and collateral agreements with respect to initial or maintenance margin in connection with futures contracts and related options and options on securities, indexes or similar items is not considered to be the purchase of a security on margin.

 

6.  Making Loans. This restriction does not apply to: (a) the purchase of debt obligations in which the fund may invest consistent with its investment objective and policies; (b) repurchase agreements; and (c) loans of its portfolio securities, to the fullest extent permitted under the 1940 Act.

 

7.  Underwriting securities issued by other persons, except to the extent that the fund may technically be deemed an underwriter under the Securities Act of 1933, in disposing of portfolio securities.

 

8.  Purchasing or selling real estate, real estate mortgages, commodities or commodity contracts, but this restriction shall not prevent the fund from (a) investing in securities of issuers engaged in the real estate business or the business of investing in real estate (including interests in limited partnerships owning or otherwise engaging in the real estate business or the business of investing in real estate) and securities which are secured by real estate or interests therein; (b) holding or selling real estate received in connection with securities it holds or held; (c) trading in futures contracts and options on futures contracts (including options on currencies to the extent consistent with the fund’s investment objective and policies); (d) investing in real estate investment trust securities; or (e) investing in gold bullion and coins or receipts for gold.

 

Proposed Fundamental Investment Restrictions

 

The Trust has called a meeting of the fund’s shareholders to consider several proposals, including the adoption of revised fundamental investment restrictions. If approved by the shareholders, the Trust’s fundamental restrictions with respect to the fund will be as follows:

 

1.  The fund may not borrow money except as permitted by (i) the 1940 Act, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

 

2.  The fund may not engage in the business of underwriting the securities of other issuers except as permitted by (i) the 1940 Act, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

 

3.  The fund may lend money or other assets to the extent permitted by (i) the 1940 Act, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

 

4.  The fund may not issue senior securities except as permitted by (i) the 1940 Act, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

 

5.  The fund may not purchase or sell real estate except as permitted by (i) the 1940 Act, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

 

49


6.  The fund may purchase or sell commodities or contracts related to commodities to the extent permitted by (i) the 1940 Act, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

 

7.  Except as permitted by exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, the Fund may not make any investment if, as a result, the fund’s investments will be concentrated in any one industry.

 

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to borrowing money set forth in (1) above, the 1940 Act permits a fund to borrow money in amounts of up to one-third of the fund’s total assets from banks for any purpose, and to borrow up to 5% of the fund’s total assets from banks or other lenders for temporary purposes. To limit the risks attendant to borrowing, the 1940 Act requires the fund to maintain at all times an “asset coverage” of at least 300% of the amount of its borrowings. Asset coverage means the ratio that the value of the fund’s total assets, minus liabilities other than borrowings, bears to the aggregate amount of all borrowings. Certain trading practices and investments, such as reverse repurchase agreements, may be considered to be borrowings and thus subject to the 1940 Act restrictions. Borrowing money to increase portfolio holdings is known as “leveraging.” Borrowing, especially when used for leverage, may cause the value of a fund’s shares to be more volatile than if the fund did not borrow. This is because borrowing tends to magnify the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of the fund’s portfolio holdings. Borrowed money thus creates an opportunity for greater gains, but also greater losses. To repay borrowings, the fund may have to sell securities at a time and at a price that is unfavorable to the fund. There also are costs associated with borrowing money, and these costs would offset and could eliminate a fund’s net investment income in any given period. The policy in (1) above will be interpreted to permit the fund to engage in trading practices and investments that may be considered to be borrowing to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act. Short-term credits necessary for the settlement of securities transactions and arrangements with respect to securities lending will not be considered to be borrowings under the policy. Practices and investments that may involve leverage but are not considered to be borrowings are not subject to the policy.

 

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to underwriting set forth in (2) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from engaging in the underwriting business or from underwriting the securities of other issuers; in fact, the 1940 Act permits a fund to have underwriting commitments of up to 25% of its assets under certain circumstances. Those circumstances currently are that the amount of the fund’s underwriting commitments, when added to the value of the fund’s investments in issuers where the fund owns more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of those issuers, cannot exceed the 25% cap. A fund engaging in transactions involving the acquisition or disposition of portfolio securities may be considered to be an underwriter under the 1933 Act. Under the 1933 Act, an underwriter may be liable for material omissions or misstatements in an issuer’s registration statement or prospectus. Securities purchased from an issuer and not registered for sale under the 1933 Act are considered restricted securities. There may be a limited market for these securities. If these securities are registered under the 1933 Act, they may then be eligible for sale but participating in the sale may subject the seller to underwriter liability. These risks could apply to a fund investing in restricted securities. Although it is not believed that the application of the 1933 Act provisions described above would cause a fund to be engaged in the business of underwriting, the policy in (2) above will be interpreted not to prevent the fund from engaging in transactions involving the acquisition or disposition of portfolio securities, regardless of whether the fund may be considered to be an underwriter under the 1933 Act.

 

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to lending set forth in (3) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from making loans; however, SEC staff interpretations currently prohibit funds from lending more than one-third of their total assets, except through the purchase of debt obligations or the use of repurchase agreements. (A repurchase agreement is an agreement to purchase a security, coupled with an agreement to sell that security back to the original seller on an agreed-upon date at a price that reflects current interest rates. The SEC frequently treats repurchase agreements as loans.) While lending securities may be a source of income to a fund, as with other extensions of credit, there are risks of delay in recovery or even loss of rights in the

 

50


underlying securities should the borrower fail financially. However, loans would be made only when the fund’s manager or subadviser believes the income justifies the attendant risks. The fund also will be permitted by this policy to make loans of money, including to other funds. A fund would have to obtain exemptive relief from the SEC to make loans to other funds. The policy in (3) above will be interpreted not to prevent the fund from purchasing or investing in debt obligations and loans. In addition, collateral arrangements with respect to options, forward currency and futures transactions and other derivative instruments, as well as delays in the settlement of securities transactions, will not be considered loans.

 

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to issuing senior securities set forth in (4) above, “senior securities” are defined as fund obligations that have a priority over the fund’s shares with respect to the payment of dividends or the distribution of fund assets. The 1940 Act prohibits a fund from issuing senior securities except that the fund may borrow money in amounts of up to one-third of the fund’s total assets from banks for any purpose. A fund also may borrow up to 5% of the fund’s total assets from banks or other lenders for temporary purposes, and these borrowings are not considered senior securities. The issuance of senior securities by a fund can increase the speculative character of the fund’s outstanding shares through leveraging. Leveraging of a fund’s portfolio through the issuance of senior securities magnifies the potential for gain or loss on monies, because even though the fund’s net assets remain the same, the total risk to investors is increased to the extent of the fund’s gross assets. The policy in (4) above will be interpreted not to prevent collateral arrangements with respect to swaps, options, forward or futures contracts or other derivatives, or the posting of initial or variation margin.

 

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to real estate set forth in (5) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from owning real estate; however, a fund is limited in the amount of illiquid assets it may purchase. Investing in real estate may involve risks, including that real estate is generally considered illiquid and may be difficult to value and sell. Owners of real estate may be subject to various liabilities, including environmental liabilities. To the extent that investments in real estate are considered illiquid, the current SEC staff position generally limits a fund’s purchases of illiquid securities to 15% of net assets. The policy in (5) above will be interpreted not to prevent the fund from investing in real estate-related companies, companies whose businesses consist in whole or in part of investing in real estate, instruments (like mortgages) that are secured by real estate or interests therein, or real estate investment trust securities.

 

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to commodities set forth in (6) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from owning commodities, whether physical commodities and contracts related to physical commodities (such as oil or grains and related futures contracts), or financial commodities and contracts related to financial commodities (such as currencies and, possibly, currency futures). However, a fund is limited in the amount of illiquid assets it may purchase. To the extent that investments in commodities are considered illiquid, the current SEC staff position generally limits a fund’s purchases of illiquid securities to 15% of net assets. If a fund were to invest in a physical commodity or a physical commodity-related instrument, the fund would be subject to the additional risks of the particular physical commodity and its related market. The value of commodities and commodity-related instruments may be extremely volatile and may be affected either directly or indirectly by a variety of factors. There also may be storage charges and risks of loss associated with physical commodities. The policy in (6) above will be interpreted to permit investments in exchange traded funds that invest in physical and/or financial commodities.

 

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to concentration set forth in (7) above, the 1940 Act does not define what constitutes “concentration” in an industry. The SEC staff has taken the position that investment of 25% or more of a fund’s total assets in one or more issuers conducting their principal activities in the same industry or group of industries constitutes concentration. It is possible that interpretations of concentration could change in the future. A fund that invests a significant percentage of its total assets in a single industry may be particularly susceptible to adverse events affecting that industry and may be more risky than a fund that does not concentrate in an industry. The policy in (7) above will be interpreted to refer to concentration as that term may be interpreted from time to time. The policy also will be interpreted to permit investment without limit in the following: securities of the U.S. government and its agencies or instrumentalities; securities of state, territory, possession or municipal governments and their authorities, agencies, instrumentalities or political subdivisions; securities of foreign governments; and repurchase agreements collateralized by any such obligations. Accordingly, issuers of the foregoing securities will not be considered to be members of any industry. There also will be no limit on investment in issuers domiciled in a single jurisdiction or country. The policy also will be interpreted to give broad authority to the fund as to how to classify issuers within or among industries.

 

The fund’s proposed fundamental policies are written and will be interpreted broadly. For example, the policies will be interpreted to refer to the 1940 Act and the related rules as they are in effect from time to time, and to interpretations and modifications of or relating to the 1940 Act by the SEC and others as they are given from time to time. When a policy provides that an investment practice may be conducted as permitted by the 1940 Act, the policy will be interpreted to mean either that the 1940 Act expressly permits the practice or that the 1940 Act does not prohibit the practice.

 

51


Diversification

 

The fund is currently classified as a diversified fund under the 1940 Act. This means that the fund may not purchase securities of an issuer (other than obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities) if, with respect to 75% of its total assets, (a) more than 5% of the fund’s total assets would be invested in securities of that issuer, or (b) the fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer. With respect to the remaining 25% of its total assets, the fund can invest more than 5% of its assets in one issuer. Under the 1940 Act, the fund cannot change its classification from diversified to non-diversified without shareholder approval.

 

Other Proposed Changes

 

If approved by the shareholders, the fund’s investment objective will be non-fundamental.

 

It is also proposed that the following fundamental policy of the fund be made non-fundamental and may be changed upon 60 days advance notice to shareholders: under normal market conditions, the fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in convertible securities.

 

Non-Fundamental Investment Restrictions

 

The Trust has also adopted certain non-fundamental investment restrictions, with respect to the fund, that may be changed by vote of a majority of the Board at any time. Accordingly, the fund is prohibited from:

 

1.  Investing in oil, gas or other mineral exploration or development programs, except that the fund may invest in the securities of companies that invest in or sponsor those programs.

 

2.  Writing or selling puts, calls, straddles, spreads or combinations thereof, except as permitted under the fund’s investment objective and policies.

 

3.  Purchasing restricted securities, illiquid securities (such as repurchase agreements with maturities in excess of 7 days) or other securities that are not readily marketable if more than 15% of the total assets of the fund would be invested in such securities.

 

52


4.  Purchasing any security if, as a result, the fund would then have more than 10% of its total assets invested in securities of companies (including predecessors) that have been in continuous operation for fewer than 3 years.

 

5.  Making investments for the purpose of exercising control or management.

 

6.  Purchasing or retaining securities of any company if, to the knowledge of the Trust, any of the Trust’s officers or Trustees or any officer or director of the manager individually owns more than  1 / 2 of 1% of the outstanding securities of such company and together they own beneficially more than 5% of the securities.

 

7.  Investing in warrants other than those acquired by the fund as part of a unit or attached to securities at the time of purchase (except as permitted under the fund’s investment objective and policies) if, as a result, the investments (valued at the lower of cost or market) would exceed 10% of the value of the fund’s total assets. At no time may more than 5% of the fund’s total assets be invested in warrants not listed on a recognized U.S. or foreign stock exchange, to the extent permitted by applicable state securities laws.

 

8.  Investing in securities of other investment companies, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act.

 

Portfolio Turnover

 

For reporting purposes, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate is calculated by dividing the lesser of purchases or sales of portfolio securities for the fiscal year by the monthly average of the value of the portfolio securities owned by the fund during the fiscal year. In determining such portfolio turnover, all securities whose maturities at the time of acquisition were one year or less are excluded. A 100% portfolio turnover rate would occur, for example, if all of the securities in the fund’s investment portfolio (other than short-term money market securities) were replaced once during the fiscal year. Portfolio turnover will not be a limiting factor should the subadviser deem it advisable to purchase or sell securities.

 

In the event that portfolio turnover increases, this increase necessarily results in correspondingly greater transaction costs which must be paid by the fund. To the extent portfolio trading results in realization of net short-term capital gains, shareholders will be taxed on such gains at ordinary tax rates (except shareholders who invest through individual retirement accounts (“IRAs”) and other retirement plans which are not taxed currently on accumulations in their accounts).

 

53


For the fiscal years ended July 31, 2005 and 2006 the portfolio turnover rates of the fund were 79% and 98%, respectively.

 

Portfolio Transactions

 

Subject to such policies as may be established by the Board from time to time, the fund’s subadviser is primarily responsible for the fund’s portfolio decisions and the placing of the fund’s portfolio transactions, except that the manager manages the cash and short-term investments of the fund.

 

Transactions on stock exchanges involve the payment of negotiated brokerage commissions. There is generally no stated commission in the case of securities traded in the over-the-counter market, but the price of those securities includes an undisclosed commission or mark-up. Over-the-counter purchases and sales are transacted directly with principal market makers except where it is believed that better prices and executions may be obtained elsewhere. The cost of securities purchased from underwriters includes an underwriting commission or concession, and the prices at which securities are purchased from and sold to dealers include a dealer’s mark-up or mark-down. The aggregate brokerage commissions paid by the fund for its three most recent fiscal years is set forth below under “Aggregate Brokerage Commissions Paid.”

 

Pursuant to the Management Agreement and Sub-Advisory Agreement, each of the manager and the subadviser is authorized to place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. The general policy of the manager and the subadviser in selecting brokers and dealers is to obtain the best results achievable in the context of a number of factors which are considered both in relation to individual trades and broader trading patterns, including the reliability of the broker/dealer, the competitiveness of the price and the commission, the research services received and whether the broker/dealer commits its own capital. In connection with the manager’s or the subadviser’s monitoring of its portfolio transactions for compliance with its policies, the manager and the subadviser each utilizes both an internal committee and a third party service provider.

 

In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) to the fund and/or the other accounts over which the manager, the subadviser or their affiliates exercise investment discretion. The manager and subadviser are authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for the fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the manager or the subadviser determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities that the manager, the subadviser and their affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The manager and/or subadviser may also have arrangements with brokers pursuant to which such brokers provide research services to the manager or subadviser, as applicable, in exchange for a certain volume of brokerage transactions to be executed by such brokers. While the payment of higher commissions increases the fund’s costs, neither the manager nor the subadviser believes that the receipt of such brokerage and research services significantly reduces its expenses as manager or subadviser. Arrangements for the receipt of research services from brokers may create conflicts of interest.

 

54


Research services furnished to the manager or subadviser by brokers who effect securities transactions for the fund may be used by the manager or subadviser in servicing other investment companies and accounts which it manages. Similarly, research services furnished to the manager or subadviser by brokers who effect securities transactions for other investment companies and accounts which the manager or subadviser manages may be used by the manager or subadviser, as applicable, in servicing the fund. Not all of these research services are used by the manager or subadviser in managing any particular account, including the fund.

 

For the fiscal year ended July 31, 2006, the fund did not direct any amounts to brokerage transactions related to research services and did not pay any brokerage commissions related to research services.

 

The fund contemplates that, consistent with the policy of obtaining the best net results, brokerage transactions may be conducted through “affiliated broker/dealers,” as defined in the 1940 Act. The Board has adopted procedures in accordance with Rule 17e-1 under the 1940 Act to ensure that all brokerage commissions paid to such affiliates are reasonable and fair in the context of the market in which such affiliates operate. Effective December 1, 2005, CGMI is no longer an affiliated person of the fund under the 1940 Act. As a result, the fund will be permitted to execute portfolio transactions with CGMI or an affiliate of CGMI as agent (but not as principal) without being subject to the restrictions applicable to transactions with affiliated persons.

 

Aggregate Brokerage Commissions Paid

 

For the fiscal years ended July 31, 2004, 2005 and 2006, the fund paid aggregate brokerage commissions to CGMI and its affiliates as set out below:

 

Fiscal Year


  

Aggregate

Brokerage

Commissions

Paid


2004

   $ 184,293

2005

     —  

2006*

     50,821

* CGMI was not an affiliated person of the fund under the 1940 Act during the entire period.

 

For the fiscal year ended July 31, 2006, the percentage of the fund’s aggregate brokerage commissions paid to CGMI and its affiliates and the percentage of the fund’s aggregate dollar amount of transactions involving the payment of commissions effected through CGMI and its affiliates were zero.

 

 

55


 

As of December 1, 2005, LMIS became an affiliated person of the fund under the 1940 Act. For the period December 1, 2005 through July 31, 2006, the fund did not pay any brokerage commissions to LMIS or its affiliates.

 

In certain instances, there may be securities that are suitable as an investment for the fund as well as for one or more of the manager’s or subadviser’s other clients. Investment decisions for the fund and for the manager’s or subadviser’s other clients are made with a view to achieving their respective investment objectives. It may develop that a particular security is bought or sold for only one client even though it might be held by, or bought or sold for, other clients. Likewise, a particular security may be bought for one or more clients when one or more clients are selling the same security. Some simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several clients receive investment advice from the same manager, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objectives of more than one client. When two or more clients are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security, the securities are allocated among clients in a manner believed to be equitable to each. It is recognized that in some cases this system could adversely affect the price of or the size of the position obtainable in a security for the fund. When purchases or sales of the same security for the fund and for other portfolios managed by the manager or subadviser occur contemporaneously, the purchase or sale orders may be aggregated in order to obtain any price advantages available to large volume purchases or sales.

 

The fund may use CGMI as a commodities broker in connection with entering into futures contracts and options on futures contracts. CGMI has agreed to charge the fund commodity commissions at rates comparable to those charged by CGMI to its most favored clients for comparable trades in comparable accounts.

 

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During the fiscal year ended July 31, 2006, the fund purchased securities issued by the following regular broker/dealer of the fund, which had the following value as of July 31, 2006:

 

Name of Regular Broker or Dealer or Parent (Issuer)


   Type of
Security Owned


   Value of
Securities
Owned at End
of Current
Period


Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith

   Debt    $ 2,793,000

 

DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS

 

The fund has adopted policies and procedures developed by LMPFA, the fund’s investment manager, with respect to the disclosure of the fund’s portfolio securities and any ongoing arrangements to make available information about the fund’s portfolio securities. The policy requires that consideration always be given as to

 

57


whether disclosure of information about the fund’s portfolio holdings is in the best interests of the fund’s shareholders, and that any conflicts of interest between the interests of the fund’s shareholders and those of LMPFA, the fund’s distributors, or their affiliates, be addressed in a manner that places the interests of fund shareholders first. The policy provides that information regarding the fund’s portfolio holdings may not be shared with non-Legg Mason employees, with investors or potential investors (whether individual or institutional), or with third parties unless it is done for legitimate fund business purposes and in accordance with the policy.

 

LMPFA’s policy generally provides for the release of details of securities positions once they are considered “stale.” Data is considered stale 25 calendar days following quarter-end for funds other than money market funds, and 25 calendar days following month-end with respect to money market funds. LMPFA believes that this passage of time prevents a third party from benefiting from an investment decision made by a fund that has not been fully reflected by the market.

 

Under the policy, the fund’s complete list of holdings (including the size of each position) may be made available to investors, potential investors, third parties and non-Legg Mason employees with simultaneous public disclosure at least 25 days after calendar quarter end, except in the case of a money market fund’s holdings, which may be released with simultaneous public disclosure at least 25 days after month end. Typically, simultaneous public disclosure is achieved by the filing of Form N-Q or Form N-CSR in accordance with SEC rules, provided that such filings may not be made until 25 days following quarter-end and/or posting the information to a Legg Mason or the fund’s Internet site that is accessible by the public, or through public release by a third party vendor.

 

The policy permits the release of limited portfolio holdings information that is not yet considered stale in a number of situations, including:

 

1.   A fund’s top ten securities, current as of month-end, and the individual size of each such security position may be released at any time following month-end with simultaneous public disclosure.

 

2.   A fund’s top ten securities positions (including the aggregate but not individual size of such positions) may be released at any time with simultaneous public disclosure.

 

3.   A list of securities (that may include fund holdings together with other securities) followed by a portfolio manager (without position sizes or identification of particular funds) may be disclosed to sell-side brokers at any time for the purpose of obtaining research and/or market information from such brokers.

 

4.   A trade in process may be discussed only with counterparties, potential counterparties and others involved in the transaction ( i.e. , brokers and custodians).

 

5.   A fund’s sector weightings, yield and duration (for fixed income and money market funds), performance attribution ( e.g. , analysis of the fund’s out performance or underperformance of its benchmark based on its portfolio holdings) and other summary and statistical information that does not include identification of specific portfolio holdings may be released, even if non-public, if such release is otherwise in accordance with the policy’s general principles.

 

6.  A fund’s portfolio holdings may be released on an as-needed basis to its legal counsel, counsel to its independent trustees, and its independent public accountants, in required regulatory filings or otherwise to governmental agencies and authorities.

 

Under the policy, if information about the fund’s portfolio holdings is released pursuant to an ongoing arrangement with any party, the fund must have a legitimate business purpose for the release of the information, and either the party receiving the information must be under a duty of confidentiality, or the release of non-public information must be subject to trading restrictions and confidential treatment to prohibit the entity from sharing with an unauthorized source or trading upon any non-public information provided. Neither the fund, nor Legg Mason, nor any other affiliated party may receive compensation or any other consideration in connection with

 

58


such arrangements. Ongoing arrangements to make available information about the fund’s portfolio securities will be reviewed at least annually by the fund’s Board.

 

The approval of the fund’s Chief Compliance Officer, or designee, must be obtained before entering into any new ongoing arrangement or altering any existing ongoing arrangement to make available portfolio holdings information, or with respect to any exceptions to the policy. Any exceptions to the policy must be consistent with the purposes of the policy. Exceptions are considered on a case-by-case basis and are granted only after a thorough examination and consultation with LMPFA’s legal department, as necessary. Exceptions to the policies are reported to the fund’s Board at its next regularly scheduled meeting.

 

Currently, the fund discloses its complete portfolio holdings approximately 25 days after calendar quarter end on its website: http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices.

 

Set forth below is a list, as of [                      ], of those parties with whom LMPFA, on behalf of the fund, has authorized ongoing arrangements that include the release of portfolio holdings information in accordance with the policy, as well as the frequency of the release under such arrangements, and the length of the lag, if any, between the date of the information and the date on which the information is disclosed. The parties identified below as recipients are service providers, fund rating agencies, consultants and analysts.

 

[To be updated by amendment]

 

Recipient


  

Frequency


  

Delay Before Dissemination


State Street Bank and Trust Company
(Fund Custodian and Accounting Agent)

   Daily    None

Institutional Shareholders Services
(Proxy Voting Services)

   As necessary    None

Bloomberg

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Lipper

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

S&P

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Morningstar

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Vestek

   Daily    None

Factset

   Daily    None

Bank of New York

   Daily    None

 

Portfolio holdings information for the fund may also be released from time to time pursuant to ongoing arrangements with the following parties:

 

[To be updated by amendment]

 

Recipient


  

Frequency


  

Delay Before Dissemination


Baseline

   Daily    None

Frank Russell

   Monthly    1 Day

Callan

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Mercer

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

eVestment Alliance

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

CRA RogersCasey

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Cambridge Associates

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Marco Consulting

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Wilshire

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Informa Investment Services (Efron)

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

CheckFree (Mobius)

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Nelsons Information

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

 

59


Recipient


  

Frequency


  

Delay Before Dissemination


Investors Tools

   Daily    None

Advent

   Daily    None

BARRA

   Daily    None

Plexus

   Quarterly
(Calendar)
  

Sent 1-3 business days following the end

of a Quarter

Elkins/McSherry

   Quarterly (Calendar)   

Sent 1-3 business days following the end

of a Quarter

Quantitative Services Group

   Daily    None

AMBAC

   Daily    None

Deutsche Bank

   Monthly    Sent 6-8 business days following month end

Fitch

   Monthly    Sent 6-8 business days following month end

Liberty Hampshire

  

Weekly and

Month End

   None

SunTrust

  

Weekly and

Month End

   None

New England Pension Consultants

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Evaluation Associates

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Watson Wyatt

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Moody’s (Rating Agency)

  

Weekly Tuesday

Night

   1 business day

S&P (Rating Agency)

  

Weekly Tuesday

Night

   1 business day

 

PURCHASE OF SHARES

 

General

 

Investors may purchase shares from a Service Agent. In addition, certain investors, including retirement plans purchasing through certain Service Agents, may purchase shares directly from the fund. When purchasing shares of the fund, investors must specify whether the purchase is for Class A, B, C or I* shares, as applicable. Service Agents may charge their customers an annual account maintenance fee in connection with a brokerage account through which an investor purchases or holds shares. Accounts held directly at the transfer agent are not subject to a maintenance fee.

 

For additional information regarding applicable investment minimums and eligibility requirements, please see the fund’s prospectus.

 

There are no minimum investment requirements for purchases of Class A shares by (i) current and retired board members of Legg Mason, (ii) current and retired board members of any fund advised by LMPFA (such board members, together with board members of Legg Mason, are referred to herein as “Board Members”), (iii) current employees of Legg Mason and its subsidiaries, (iv) the “immediate families” of such persons (“immediate families” are such person’s spouse, including the surviving spouse of a deceased Board Member, and children under the age of 21), and (v) a pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for the benefit of such persons. The fund reserves the right to waive or change minimums, to decline any order to purchase its shares and to suspend the offering of shares from time to time.


* As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

60


Purchase orders received by the fund or a Service Agent prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE on any day the fund calculates its net asset value are priced according to the net asset value determined on that day (the “trade date”). Orders received by a Service Agent prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE on any day the fund calculates its net asset value are priced according to the net asset value determined on that day, provided the order is received by the fund’s agent prior to its close of business. For shares purchased through CGMI or a Service Agent purchasing through CGMI, payment for shares of the fund is normally due on the third business day after the trade date. In all other cases, payment must be made with the purchase order.

 

Systematic Investment Plan.     Shareholders may make additions to their accounts at any time by purchasing shares through a service known as the Systematic Investment Plan. Under the Systematic Investment Plan, a distributor or the transfer agent is authorized through preauthorized transfers of at least $25 on a monthly, quarterly, every alternate month, semi-annual or annual basis to charge the shareholder’s account held with a bank or other financial institution as indicated by the shareholder, to provide for systematic additions to the shareholder’s fund account. A shareholder who has insufficient funds to complete the transfer will be charged a fee of up to $25 by a distributor or the transfer agent. The Systematic Investment Plan authorizes a distributor to apply cash held in the shareholder’s brokerage account or redeem the shareholder’s shares of certain money market funds managed by the manager or its affiliates to make additions to the account. Additional information is available from the fund or a Service Agent.

 

Sales Charge Alternatives

 

The following classes of shares are available for purchase. See the fund’s prospectus for a discussion of who is eligible to purchase certain classes and of factors to consider in selecting which class of shares to purchase.

 

Class A Shares.     Class A shares are sold to investors at the public offering price, which is the net asset value (“NAV”) plus an initial sales charge as described in the fund’s prospectus.

 

Members of the selling group may receive a portion of the sales charge as described in the fund’s prospectus and may be deemed to be underwriters of the fund as defined in the 1933 Act. Sales charges are calculated based on the aggregate of purchases of Class A shares of the fund made at one time by any “person,” which includes an individual and his or her spouse and children under the age of 21, or a trustee or other fiduciary of a single trust estate or single fiduciary account. For additional information regarding sales charge reductions, see “Sales Charge Waivers and Reductions” below.

 

Purchases of Class A shares of $1,000,000 or more will be made at NAV without any initial sales charge, but will be subject to a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00% on redemptions made within 12 months of purchase. The contingent deferred sales charge is waived in the same circumstances in which the contingent deferred sales charge applicable to Class B and Class C shares is waived. See “Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Provisions” and “Waivers of Contingent Deferred Sales Charge” below.

 

Class B and C Shares.     Class B and Class C shares are sold without an initial sales charge but are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge payable upon certain redemptions. See “Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Provisions” below.

 

Class I shares.     Class I shares are sold at NAV with no initial sales charge on purchases and no contingent deferred sales charge upon redemption.

 

61


Sales Charge Waivers and Reductions

 

Initial Sales Charge Waivers.     Purchases of Class A shares may be made at NAV without an initial sales charge in the following circumstances:

 

  (a) sales to (i) current and retired board members of Legg Mason, (ii) current and retired Board Members, (iii) current employees of Legg Mason and its subsidiaries, (iv) the “immediate families” of such persons (“immediate families” are such person’s spouse, including the surviving spouse of a deceased Board Member, and children under the age of 21), and (v) a pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for the benefit of such persons;

 

  (b) sales to any employees of Service Agents having dealer, service or other selling agreements with the fund’s distributors or otherwise having an arrangement with any such Service Agent with respect to sales of fund shares, and by the immediate families of such persons or by a pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for the benefit of such persons (providing the purchase is made for investment purposes and such securities will not be resold except through redemption or repurchase);

 

  (c) offers of Class A shares to any other investment company to effect the combination of such company with the fund by merger, acquisition of assets or otherwise;

 

  (d) purchases by shareholders who have redeemed Class A shares in the fund (or Class A shares of another Legg Mason Partners fund that is offered with a sales charge) and who wish to reinvest their redemption proceeds in the fund, provided the reinvestment is made within 60 calendar days of the redemption;

 

  (e) purchases by accounts managed by registered investment advisory subsidiaries of Citigroup Inc. (“Citigroup”);

 

  (f) purchases by certain separate accounts used to fund unregistered variable annuity contracts; and

 

  (g) purchases by investors participating in “wrap fee” or asset allocation programs or other fee-based arrangements sponsored by (affiliated and non-affiliated) broker/dealers and other financial institutions that have entered into agreements with CGMI or LMIS.

 

In order to obtain such discounts, the purchaser must provide sufficient information at the time of purchase to permit verification that the purchase qualifies for the elimination of the sales charge.

 

Accumulation Privilege.      Please see the fund’s prospectus for information regarding accumulation privileges.

 

Letter of Intent —helps you take advantage of breakpoints in Class A sales charges. You may purchase Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners funds over a 13-month period and pay the same sales charge, if any, as if all shares had been purchased at once.

 

You have a choice of seven Asset Level Goal amounts, as follows:

 

      

(1) $25,000

  

(5) $500,000

    
      

(2) $50,000

  

(6) $750,000

    
      

(3) $100,000

  

(7) $1,000,000

    
      

(4) $250,000

         

 

62


Each time you make a Class A purchase under a Letter of Intent, you will be entitled to the sales charge that is applicable to the amount of your Asset Level Goal. For example, if your Asset Level Goal is $100,000, any Class A investments you make under a Letter of Intent would be subject to the sales charge of the specific fund you are investing in for purchases of $100,000. Sales charges and breakpoints vary among the Legg Mason Partners funds.

 

When you enter into a Letter of Intent, you agree to purchase in Eligible Accounts over a 13-month period Eligible Fund Purchases in an amount equal to the Asset Level Goal you have selected, less any Eligible Prior Purchases. For this purpose, shares are valued at the public offering price (including any sales charge paid) calculated as of the date of purchase, plus any appreciation in the value of the shares as of the date of calculation, except for Eligible Prior Purchases, which are valued at current value as of the date of calculation. Your commitment will be met if at any time during the 13-month period the value, as so determined, of eligible holdings is at least equal to your Asset Level Goal. All reinvested dividends and distributions on shares acquired under the Letter will be credited towards your Asset Level Goal. You may include any Eligible Fund Purchases towards the Letter, including shares of classes other than Class A shares. However, a Letter of Intent will not entitle you to a reduction in the sales charge payable on any shares other than Class A shares, and if the shares are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge, you will still be subject to that contingent deferred sales charge with respect to those shares. You must make reference to the Letter of Intent each time you make a purchase under the Letter.

 

Eligible Fund Purchases.     Generally, any shares of a Legg Mason Partners fund may be credited towards your Asset Level Goal. Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or its affiliates (except for money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners funds), Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. are not eligible. This list may change from time to time. Investors should check with their Service Agent to see which funds may be eligible.

 

Eligible Accounts.     Purchases may be made through any account in your name, or in the name of your spouse or your children under the age of 21. You may need to provide certain records, such as account statements, in order to verify your eligibility for reduced sales charges. Contact your Service Agent to see which accounts may be credited toward your Asset Level Goal.

 

Eligible Prior Purchases.     You may also credit towards your Asset Level Goal any Eligible Fund Purchases made in Eligible Accounts at any time prior to entering into the Letter of Intent that have not been sold or redeemed, based on the current price of those shares as of the date of calculation.

 

Backdating Letter.     You may establish a date for a Letter of Intent that is up to 90 calendar days prior to the date you enter into the Letter. Any Eligible Fund Purchases in Eligible Accounts made during that period will count towards your Goal and will also be eligible for the lower sales charge applicable to your Asset Level Goal. You will be credited by way of additional shares at the current offering price for the difference between (a) the aggregate sales charges actually paid for those eligible shares, and (b) the aggregate applicable sales charges for your Asset Level Goal.

 

Increasing the Amount of the Letter.     You may at any time increase your Asset Level Goal. You must, however, contact your Service Agent, or if you purchase your shares directly through PFPC, contact PFPC prior to making any purchases in an amount in excess of your current Asset Level Goal. Upon such an increase, you will be credited by way of additional shares at the then current offering price for the difference between: (a) the aggregate sales charges actually paid for shares already purchased under the Letter; and (b) the aggregate applicable sales charges for the increased Asset Level Goal. The 13-month period during which the Asset Level Goal must be achieved will remain unchanged.

 

Sales and Exchanges.     Shares acquired pursuant to a Letter of Intent, other than Escrowed Shares as defined below, may be redeemed or exchanged at any time, although any shares that are redeemed prior to meeting your Asset Level Goal will no longer count towards meeting your Goal. However, complete liquidation

 

63


of purchases made under a Letter of Intent prior to meeting the Asset Level Goal will result in the cancellation of the Letter. See “Failure to Meet Asset Level Goal” below. Exchanges in accordance with the fund’s prospectus are permitted, and shares so exchanged will continue to count towards your Asset Level Goal, as long as the exchange results in an Eligible Fund Purchase.

 

Cancellation of Letter.     You may cancel a Letter of Intent by notifying your Service Agent in writing, or if you purchase your shares directly through PFPC, by notifying PFPC in writing. The Letter will be automatically cancelled if all shares are sold or redeemed as set forth above. See “Failure to Meet Asset Level Goal” below.

 

Escrowed Shares.     Shares equal in value to 5% of your Asset Level Goal as of the date of your Letter (or the date of any increase in the amount of the Letter) is accepted, will be held in escrow during the term of your Letter. The Escrowed Shares will be included in the total shares owned as reflected in your account statement and any dividends and capital gains distributions applicable to the Escrowed Shares will be credited to your account and counted towards your Asset Level Goal or paid in cash upon request. The Escrowed Shares will be released from escrow if all the terms of your Letter are met.

 

Failure to Meet Asset Level Goal.     If the total assets under your Letter of Intent within its 13-month term are less than your Asset Level Goal or you elect to liquidate all of your holdings or cancel the Letter before reaching your Asset Level Goal, you will be liable for the difference between: (a) the sales charge actually paid, and (b) the sales charge that would have applied if you had not entered into the Letter. You may, however, be entitled to any breakpoints that would have been available to you under the accumulation privilege. An appropriate number of shares in your account will be redeemed to realize the amount due. For these purposes, by entering into a Letter of Intent, you irrevocably appoint your Service Agent, or if you purchase your shares directly through PFPC, PFPC, as your attorney-in-fact for the purposes of holding the Escrowed Shares and surrendering shares in your account for redemption. If there are insufficient assets in your account, you will be liable for the difference. Any Escrowed Shares remaining after such redemption will be released to your account.

 

Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Provisions

 

“Contingent deferred sales charge shares” are: (a) Class B shares; (b) Class C shares; and (c) Class A shares that were purchased without an initial sales charge but are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge. A contingent deferred sales charge may be imposed on certain redemptions of these shares.

 

Any applicable contingent deferred sales charge will be assessed on the NAV at the time of purchase or redemption, whichever is less.

 

Class C shares and Class A shares that are contingent deferred sales charge shares are subject to a 1.00% contingent deferred sales charge if redeemed within 12 months of purchase. In circumstances in which the contingent deferred sales charge is imposed on Class B shares, the amount of the charge will depend on the number of years since the shareholder made the purchase payment from which the amount is being redeemed, as further discussed in the fund’s prospectus. Solely for purposes of determining the number of years since a purchase payment, all purchase payments made during a month will be aggregated and deemed to have been made on the last day of the preceding statement month.

 

Class B shares will convert automatically to Class A shares approximately 8 years after the date on which they were purchased and thereafter will no longer be subject to any distribution fees. There will also be converted at that time such proportion of Class B dividend shares (Class B shares that were acquired through the reinvestment of dividends and distributions) owned by the shareholder as the total number of his or her Class B shares converting at the time bears to the total number of outstanding Class B shares (other than Class B dividend shares) owned by the shareholder.

 

In determining the applicability of any contingent deferred sales charge, it will be assumed that a redemption is made first of shares representing capital appreciation, next of shares representing the reinvestment

 

64


of dividends and capital gain distributions, next of shares that are not subject to the contingent deferred sales charge and finally of other shares held by the shareholder for the longest period of time. The length of time that contingent deferred sales charge shares acquired through an exchange have been held will be calculated from the date the shares exchanged were initially acquired in one of the other Legg Mason Partners funds. For federal income tax purposes, the amount of the contingent deferred sales charge will reduce the gain or increase the loss, as the case may be, on the amount realized on redemption. The fund’s distributors receive contingent deferred sales charges in partial consideration for their expenses in selling shares.

 

Waivers of Contingent Deferred Sales Charge

 

The contingent deferred sales charge will be waived on: (a) exchanges (see “Exchange Privilege” below); (b) automatic cash withdrawals in amounts equal to or less than 2.00% of the shareholder’s account balance at the time the withdrawals commence per month, up to a maximum of 12.00% in one year (see “Automatic Cash Withdrawal Plan” below); (c) redemptions of shares within 12 months following the death or disability (as defined in the Code) of the shareholder; (d) mandatory post-retirement distributions from retirement plans or IRAs commencing on or after attainment of age 70  1 / 2 (except that shareholders who purchased shares subject to a contingent deferred sales charge prior to May 23, 2005 will be “grandfathered” and will be eligible to obtain the waiver at age 59  1 / 2 by demonstrating such eligibility at the time of redemption); (e) involuntary redemptions; (f) redemptions of shares to effect a combination of the fund with any investment company by merger, acquisition of assets or otherwise; (g) tax-free returns of an excess contribution to any retirement plan; and (h) certain redemptions of shares of the fund in connection with lump-sum or other distributions made by eligible retirement plans or redemption of shares by participants in certain “wrap fee” or asset allocation programs sponsored by broker/dealers and other financial institutions that have entered into agreements with a distributor or the manager.

 

As of November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge will be waived on new Class C shares purchased by retirement plan omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund.

 

A shareholder who has redeemed shares from other Legg Mason Partners funds may, under certain circumstances, reinvest all or part of the redemption proceeds within 60 days and receive pro rata credit for any contingent deferred sales charge imposed on the prior redemption.

 

Contingent deferred sales charge waivers will be granted subject to confirmation by a distributor or the transfer agent of the shareholder’s status or holdings, as the case may be.

 

 

65


 

REDEMPTION OF SHARES

 

General

 

The right of redemption may be suspended or the date of payment postponed (a) for any period during which the NYSE is closed (other than for customary weekend and holiday closings), (b) when trading in the markets the fund normally utilizes is restricted, or an emergency exists, as determined by the SEC, so that disposal of the fund’s investments or determination of net asset value is not reasonably practicable, or (c) for such other periods as the SEC by order may permit for protection of the fund’s shareholders.

 

Any signature appearing on a written redemption request in excess of $50,000 must be guaranteed by an eligible guarantor institution such as a domestic bank, savings and loan institution, domestic credit union, member bank of the Federal Reserve System or member firm of a national securities exchange. Written redemption requests of $50,000 or less do not require a signature guarantee unless more than one such redemption request is made in any ten-day period. Redemption proceeds will be mailed to an investor’s address of record. The transfer agent may require additional supporting documents for redemptions made by corporations, executors, administrators, trustees or guardians. A redemption request will not be deemed properly received until the transfer agent receives all required documents in proper form.

 

If a shareholder holds shares in more than one class, any request for redemption must specify the class being redeemed. In the event of a failure to specify which class, or if the investor owns fewer shares of the class than specified, the redemption request will be delayed until the transfer agent receives further instructions. The redemption proceeds will be remitted on or before the seventh business day following receipt of proper tender, except on days on which the NYSE is closed or as permitted under the 1940 Act, in extraordinary circumstances. Redemption proceeds for shares purchased by check, other than a certified or official bank check, will be remitted upon clearance of the check, which may take up to ten days. Each Service Agent is responsible for transmitting promptly orders for its customers.

 

The Service Agent may charge you a fee for executing your order. The amount and applicability of such a fee is determined and disclosed to its customers by each Service Agent.

 

Additional Information Regarding Telephone Redemption and Exchange Program . Neither the fund nor its agents will be liable for following instructions communicated by telephone that are reasonably believed to be genuine. The fund and its agents will employ procedures designed to verify the identity of the caller and legitimacy of instructions (for example, a shareholder’s name and account number will be required and phone calls may be recorded). The fund reserves the right to suspend, modify or discontinue the telephone redemption and exchange program or to impose a charge for this service at any time following at least 7 days’ prior notice to shareholders.

 

Automatic Cash Withdrawal Plan

 

An automatic cash withdrawal plan (the “Withdrawal Plan”) is available to shareholders as described in the fund’s prospectus. To the extent withdrawals under the Withdrawal Plan exceed dividends, distributions and

 

66


appreciation of a shareholder’s investment in the fund, there will be a reduction in the value of the shareholder’s investment, and continued withdrawal payments may reduce the shareholder’s investment and ultimately exhaust it. Withdrawal payments should not be considered as income from investment in the fund. Furthermore, as it generally would not be advantageous to a shareholder to make additional investments in the fund at the same time that he or she is participating in the Withdrawal Plan, purchases by such shareholders in amounts of less than $5,000 will not ordinarily be permitted. The Withdrawal Plan will be carried over on exchanges between funds or classes of the fund. All dividends and distributions on shares in the Withdrawal Plan are reinvested automatically at net asset value in additional shares of the fund.

 

Distributions in Kind

 

If the Board determines that it would be detrimental to the best interests of the remaining shareholders of the fund to make a redemption payment wholly in cash, the fund may pay, in accordance with SEC rules, any portion of a redemption in excess of the lesser of $250,000 or 1.00% of the fund’s net assets by a distribution in kind of fund securities in lieu of cash. If a redemption is paid in portfolio securities, such securities will be valued in accordance with the procedures described under “Share Price” in the fund’s prospectus. Securities issued as a distribution in kind may incur brokerage commissions when shareholders subsequently sell those securities.

 

 

67


Determination of Public Offering Price

 

The fund offers its shares to the public on a continuous basis. The public offering price for each class of shares of the fund is equal to the net asset value per share at the time of purchase, plus for Class A shares an initial sales charge based on the aggregate amount of the investment. A contingent deferred sales charge, however, is imposed on certain redemptions of Class A, B and C shares.

 

Set forth below is an example of the method of computing the offering price of the Class A shares of the fund based on the net asset value of a share of the fund as of January 31, 2007:

 

Class A (net asset value of [              ] plus the maximum initial sales charge of 5.75% of net asset value per share)

   $ [              ]

 

68


 

EXCHANGE PRIVILEGE

 

General

 

The exchange privilege enables shareholders to acquire shares of the same class in a fund with different investment objectives when they believe that a shift between funds is an appropriate investment decision. This privilege is available to shareholders residing in any state in which the fund shares being acquired may legally be sold. Prior to any exchange, the shareholder should obtain and review a copy of the current prospectus of each fund into which an exchange is being considered. Prospectuses may be obtained from a Service Agent.

 

Upon receipt of proper instructions and all necessary supporting documents, shares submitted for exchange are redeemed at the then-current net asset value and the proceeds are immediately invested in shares of the fund being acquired at that fund’s then current net asset value. Each distributor reserves the right to reject any exchange request. The exchange privilege may be modified or terminated at any time after written notice to shareholders.

 

Class A and I Exchanges.     Class A and I shareholders of the fund who wish to exchange all or a portion of their shares for shares of the respective class in another fund may do so without imposition of any charge.

 

Class B Exchanges.     Class B shares of the fund may be exchanged for other Class B shares without a contingent deferred sales charge. Upon an exchange, the new Class B shares will be deemed to have been purchased on the same date as the Class B shares of the fund that have been exchanged.

 

Class C Exchanges.     Class C shares of the fund may be exchanged for other Class C shares without a contingent deferred sales charge. Upon an exchange, the new Class C shares will be deemed to have been purchased on the same date as the Class C shares of the fund that have been exchanged.

 

Additional Information Regarding Exchanges

 

The fund is not designed to provide investors with a means of speculation on short-term market movements. A pattern of frequent exchanges by investors can be disruptive to efficient portfolio management and, consequently, can be detrimental to the fund and its shareholders. See “Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Fund Shares” in the fund’s prospectus.

 

During times of drastic economic or market conditions, the fund may suspend the exchange privilege temporarily without notice and treat exchange requests based on their separate components—redemption orders with a simultaneous request to purchase the other fund’s shares. In such a case, the redemption request would be processed at the fund’s next determined net asset value but the purchase order would be effective only at the net asset value next determined after the fund being purchased formally accepts the order, which may result in the purchase being delayed.

 

Certain shareholders may be able to exchange shares by telephone. See the fund’s prospectus for additional information. Exchanges will be processed at the net asset value next determined. Redemption

 

69


procedures discussed above are also applicable for exchanging shares, and exchanges will be made upon receipt of all supporting documents in proper form. If the account registration of the shares of the fund being acquired is identical to the registration of the shares of the fund exchanged, no signature guarantee is required.

 

This exchange privilege may be modified or terminated at any time, and is available only in those jurisdictions where such exchanges may legally be made. Before making any exchange, shareholders should contact the transfer agent or, if they hold fund shares through a Service Agent, their Service Agent, to obtain more information and prospectuses of the funds to be acquired through the exchange. An exchange is treated as a sale of the shares exchanged and could result in taxable gain or loss to the shareholder making the exchange.

 

DISTRIBUTORS

 

LMIS, a wholly-owned broker/dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, located at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, and CGMI, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Citigroup, located at 388 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10013, serve as the distributors of the fund. The distributors serve pursuant to separate written agreements or amendments to written agreements, in each case dated December 1, 2005 (the “distribution agreements”), which were approved by the fund’s Board and by a majority of the Independent Trustees, casting votes in person at a meeting called for such purpose, on November 21, 2005. The distribution agreements went into effect on December 1, 2005. Prior to December 1, 2005, CGMI served as the distributor of the fund.

 

A distributor’s obligation is an agency or “best efforts” arrangement under which the distributor is required to take and pay only for such shares of the fund as may be sold to the public. A distributor is not obligated to sell any stated number of shares. Each distribution agreement is renewable from year to year if approved (a) by the Trustees or by a vote of a majority of the fund’s outstanding voting securities, and (b) by the affirmative vote of a majority of Trustees who are not parties to such agreement or interested persons of any party by votes cast in person at a meeting called for such purpose. Each distribution agreement provides that it will terminate if assigned, and that it may be terminated without penalty by either party on 60 days’ written notice.

 

LMIS and CGMI may be deemed to be underwriters for purposes of the 1933 Act.

 

Services and Distribution Plan Arrangements

 

The Trust has adopted an [amended] shareholder services and distribution plan (the “Distribution Plan”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act with respect to the Class A, B and C shares of the fund.

 

Under the Distribution Plan, the fund pays service and/or distribution fees to LMIS and CGMI, as applicable, for services they provide and expenses they bear with respect to the distribution of Class A, B and C shares and providing services to Class A, B and C shareholders. The distributors will provide the Board with periodic reports of amounts expended under the Distribution Plan and the purposes for which such expenditures were made. In addition,

 

70


the fund pays service and/or distribution fees accrued daily and payable monthly, calculated at annual rates as follows:

 

     Service Fee As a
Percentage of
Daily Net Assets


  Distribution
Fee As a
Percentage of
Daily Net Assets


  Total Service
and Distribution Fee
As a Percentage of
Daily Net Assets


Class A

   0.25%   N/A   0.25%

Class B

   0.25%   0.50%   0.75%

Class C

   0.25%   0.75%   1.00%

 

Fees under the Distribution Plan may be used to make payments to the distributors for distribution services, to Service Agents in respect of the sale of shares of the fund, and to other parties in respect of the sale of shares of the fund, and to make payments for advertising, marketing or other promotional activity, and payments for preparation, printing and distribution of prospectuses, statements of additional information and reports for recipients other than regulators and existing shareholders. The fund also may make payments to the distributors, Service Agents and others for providing personal service or the maintenance of shareholder accounts. The amounts paid by the distributors to each recipient may vary based upon certain factors, including, among other things, the levels of sales of fund shares and/or shareholder services provided.

 

The Distribution Plan also provides that the distributors and Services Agents may receive all or a portion of the sales charges paid by Class A, Class B and Class C investors.

 

The Distribution Plan permits the fund to pay fees to distributors, Service Agents and others as compensation for their services, not as reimbursement for specific expenses incurred. Thus, even if their expenses exceed the fees provided for by the Distribution Plan, the fund will not be obligated to pay more than those fees and, if their expenses are less than the fees paid to them, they will realize a profit. The fund may pay the fees to distributors and others until the Distribution Plan or distribution agreement is terminated or not

 

71


renewed. In that event, a distributor’s or other recipient’s expenses in excess of fees received or accrued through the termination date will be the distributor’s or other recipient’s sole responsibility and not obligations of the fund. In their annual consideration of the continuation of the Distribution Plan for the fund, the Trustees will review the Distribution Plan and the expenses for each class within the fund separately.

 

The Distribution Plan also recognizes that various service providers to the fund, such as the manager, may make payments for distribution-related expenses out of their own resources, including past profits, or payments received from the fund for other purposes, such as management fees, and that the fund’s distributors or Service Agents may from time to time use their own resources for distribution-related services, in addition to the fees paid under the Distribution Plan. The Distribution Plan specifically provides that, to the extent that such payments might be deemed to be indirect financing of any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund within the context of Rule 12b-1, then the payments are deemed to be authorized by the Distribution Plan, if permitted by applicable law.

 

As contemplated by the Distribution Plan, each distributor acts as an agent of the fund in connection with the offering of shares of the fund pursuant to the respective distribution agreement.

 

72


For the fiscal year ended July 31, 2006, CGMI incurred distribution expenses for advertising, printing and mailing prospectuses, support services and overhead expense and compensation to Service Agents as expressed in the following table:

 

     Financial
Consultant
Compensation


   Third Party
Service Fees


   Branch
Expenses


   Marketing
Expense


   Printing
Expense


   Total
Current
Expenses


Class A

   $  32,602    $ 0    $ 41,486    N/A    N/A    $ 75,523

Class B

   53,860      0      22,627    $1,083    $  82      78,569

Class C

   135,170      0      145,292    6,458    349      289,004

 

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For the fiscal year end July 31, 2006, LMIS incurred distribution expenses for advertising, printing and mailing prospectuses, support services and overhead expenses and compensation to Service Agents and third parties as expressed in the following table:

 

     Financial
Consultant
Compensation


   Third Party
Service Fees


   Branch
Expenses


   Marketing
Expense


   Printing
Expense


   Total
Current
Expense


Class A

   $       18    $9,102          N/A      N/A      N/A    $ 9,120

Class B

   46,054    1,789    N/A    $ 2,783    $ 163      50,789

Class C

   14,651    1,367    N/A      10,590      699      27,306

 

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Dealer reallowances are described in the fund’s prospectus.

 

Under its terms, the Distribution Plan continues in effect for one year and thereafter for successive annual periods, provided such continuance is approved annually by vote of the Board, including a majority of the Independent Trustees who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the Distribution Plan. The Distribution Plan may not be amended to increase the amount of the service and distribution fees without shareholder approval, and all amendments of the Plan also must be approved by the Trustees, including all of the Independent Trustees in the manner described above. The Distribution Plan may be terminated with respect to a class at any time, without penalty, by vote of a majority of the Independent Trustees or, with respect to the fund, by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act).

 

Sales Charges

 

The following expenses were incurred during the periods indicated:

 

Initial Sales Charges*

 

The aggregate dollar amount of commissions on Class A and Class C shares received by LMIS and CGMI during the fiscal years ended July 31, 2004, 2005 and 2006 were as follows:

 

Class A Shares

 

For the fiscal year ended July 31:

 

     CGMI

   LMIS

2006

   $ 5,979    N/A

2005

     92,276    N/A

2004

     281,000    N/A

 

Class C Shares**

 

For the fiscal year ended July 31:

 

     CGMI

   LMIS

2006

   $ 0    N/A

2005

     0    N/A

2004

     148,000    N/A

* As of November 20, 2006, the initial sales charges schedule on purchases of Class A shares changed.
** On February 2, 2004, initial sales charges on Class L shares were eliminated. Effective April 29, 2004, Class L shares were renamed Class C shares.

 

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Contingent Deferred Sales Charges

 

Class A Shares

 

For the fiscal year ended July 31:

 

     CGMI

   LMIS

2006

   $ 0    N/A

2005

     260    N/A

2004

     5,000    N/A

 

Class B Shares

 

For the fiscal year ended July 31:

 

     CGMI

   LMIS

2006

   $ 12,335    N/A

2005

     63,142    N/A

2004

     69,000    N/A

 

Class C Shares*

 

For the fiscal year ended July 31:

 

     CGMI

   LMIS

2006

   $ 1,276    N/A

2005

     10,244    N/A

2004

     17,000    N/A

* On February 2, 2004, initial sales charges on Class L shares were eliminated. Effective April 29, 2004, Class L shares were renamed Class C shares.

 

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Service and Distribution Plan Fees

 

For the fiscal year ended July 31:

 

2006

   $ 607,976

2005

     712,110

2004

     657,897

 

VALUATION OF SHARES

 

The net asset value per share of each class is calculated on each day, Monday through Friday, except days on which the NYSE is closed. The NYSE currently is scheduled to be closed on New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas, and on the preceding Friday or subsequent Monday when one of these holidays falls on a Saturday or Sunday, respectively. Because of the differences in distribution fees and class-specific expenses, the per share net asset value of each class may differ. Please see the fund’s prospectus for a description of procedures used by the fund in valuing its assets.

 

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TAXES

 

The following is a summary of certain material U.S. federal (and, where noted, state and local) income tax considerations affecting the fund and its shareholders. The discussion is very general. Each current and prospective shareholder is therefore urged to consult his own tax adviser with respect to the specific federal, state, local and foreign tax consequences of investing in the fund. The summary is based on the laws in effect on the date of this SAI and existing judicial and administrative interpretations thereof, all of which are subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect.

 

The Fund and Its Investments

 

The fund will be treated as a separate taxpayer for U.S. federal income tax purposes. The fund has elected to be treated, and intends to qualify each year, as a “regulated investment company” or “RIC” under Subchapter M of the Code. To so qualify, the fund must, among other things: (a) derive at least 90% of its gross income in each taxable year from dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans and gains from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities, foreign currencies, other income (including, but not limited to, gains from options, futures or forward contracts) derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies or net income derived from interests in “qualified publicly traded partnerships” ( i.e. , partnerships that are traded on an established securities market or tradable on a secondary market, other than partnerships that derives 90% of their income from interest, dividends, capital gains, and other traditional permitted mutual fund income); and (b) diversify its holdings so that, at the end of each quarter of the fund’s taxable year, (i) at least 50% of the market value of the fund’s assets is represented by cash, securities of other regulated investment companies, U.S. government securities and other securities, with such other securities limited, in respect of any one issuer, to an amount not greater than 5% of the fund’s assets and not greater than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer and (ii) not more than 25% of the value of its assets is invested in the securities (other than U.S. government securities or securities of other regulated investment companies) of any one issuer, any two or more issuers that the fund controls and that are determined to be engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses or related trades or businesses or in the securities of one or more “qualified publicly traded partnerships.”

 

The fund’s investments in partnerships, including in qualified publicly traded partnerships, may result in the fund being subject to state, local or foreign income, franchise or withholding tax liabilities.

 

As a regulated investment company, the fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its taxable investment income and capital gains that it distributes to its shareholders, provided that it satisfies a minimum distribution requirement. To satisfy the minimum distribution requirement, the fund must distribute to its shareholders at least the sum of (i) 90% of its “investment company taxable income” ( i.e. , generally, the taxable income of a RIC other than its net capital gain, plus or minus certain other adjustments), and (ii) 90% of its net tax-exempt income for the taxable year. The fund will be subject to income tax at regular corporation rates on any taxable income or gains that it does not distribute to its shareholders.

 

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On July 31, 2006, the fund had no unused capital loss carryforwards. For U.S. federal income tax purposes, these amounts are available to be applied against future capital gains, if any, realized by the fund that has the carryforwards prior to the expiration of the applicable carryforward. The carryforwards expire as follows:

 

The Code imposes a 4% nondeductible excise tax on the fund to the extent it does not distribute by the end of any calendar year at least the sum of (i) 98% of its ordinary income for that year and (ii) 98% of its capital gain net income (both long-term and short-term) for the one-year period ending, as a general rule, on October 31 of that year. For this purpose, however, any ordinary income or capital gain net income retained by a fund that is subject to corporate income tax will be considered to have been distributed by year-end. In addition, the minimum amounts that must be distributed in any year to avoid the excise tax will be increased or decreased to reflect any underdistribution or overdistribution, as the case may be, from the previous year. The fund anticipates that it will pay such dividends and will make such distributions as are necessary in order to avoid the application of this excise tax.

 

If, in any taxable year, the fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company under the Code or fails to meet the distribution requirement, it would be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation and distributions to its shareholders would not be deductible by the fund in computing its taxable income. In addition, in the event of a failure to qualify, the fund’s distributions, to the extent derived from the fund’s current or accumulated earnings and profits, including as distributions of net tax-exempt income and net long-term capital gains, would be taxable to shareholders as ordinary dividend income for federal income tax purposes to the extent of the fund’s earnings and profits. However, such dividends would be eligible (i) to be treated as qualified dividend income in the case of shareholders taxed as individuals and (ii) for the dividends received deduction in the case of corporate shareholders. Moreover, if the fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company in any year, it must pay out its earnings and profits accumulated in that year in order to qualify again as a regulated investment company. If the fund failed to qualify as a regulated investment company for a period greater than two taxable years, the fund may be required to recognize any net built-in gains with respect to certain of its assets ( i.e ., the excess of the aggregate gains, including items of income, over aggregate losses that would have been realized with respect to such assets if the fund had been liquidated) if it qualifies as a regulated investment company in a subsequent year.

 

The fund’s transactions in zero coupon securities, foreign currencies, forward contracts, options and futures contracts (including options and futures contracts on foreign currencies), to the extent permitted, will be subject to special provisions of the Code (including provisions relating to “hedging transactions” and “straddles”) that, among other things, may affect the character of gains and losses realized by the fund ( i.e ., may affect whether gains or losses are ordinary or capital), accelerate recognition of income to the fund and defer fund losses. These rules could therefore affect the character, amount and timing of distributions to shareholders. These provisions

 

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also (a) will require the fund to “mark-to-market” certain types of the positions in its portfolio ( i.e ., treat them as if they were closed out at the end of each year) and (b) may cause the fund to recognize income prior to the receipt of cash with which to pay dividends or make distributions in amounts necessary to satisfy the distribution requirements for avoiding income and excise taxes. In order to distribute this income and avoid a tax on the fund, the fund might be required to liquidate portfolio securities that it might otherwise have continued to hold, potentially resulting in additional taxable gain or loss. The fund will monitor its transactions, will make the appropriate tax elections and will make the appropriate entries in its books and records when it acquires any zero coupon securities, foreign currency, forward contract, option, futures contract or hedged investment in order to mitigate the effect of these rules and prevent disqualification of the fund as a regulated investment company.

 

The fund’s investment in so-called “section 1256 contracts,” such as regulated futures contracts, most foreign currency forward contracts traded in the interbank market and options on most stock indices, are subject to special tax rules. All section 1256 contracts held by the fund at the end of its taxable year are required to be marked to their market value, and any unrealized gain or loss on those positions will be included in the fund’s income as if each position had been sold for its fair market value at the end of the taxable year. The resulting gain or loss will be combined with any gain or loss realized by the fund from positions in section 1256 contracts closed during the taxable year. Provided such positions were held as capital assets and were not part of a “hedging transaction” nor part of a “straddle,” 60% of the resulting net gain or loss will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss, and 40% of such net gain or loss will be treated as short-term capital gain or loss, regardless of the period of time the positions were actually held by the fund.

 

As a result of entering into swap contracts, the fund may make or receive periodic net payments. The fund may also make or receive a payment when a swap is terminated prior to maturity through an assignment of the swap or other closing transaction. Periodic net payments will generally constitute ordinary income or deductions, while termination of a swap will generally result in capital gain or loss (which will be a long-term capital gain or loss if the fund has been a party to the swap for more than one year).

 

The fund may be required to treat amounts as taxable income or gain, subject to the distribution requirements referred to above, even though no corresponding amounts of cash are received concurrently, as a result of (1) mark-to-market, constructive sale or rules applicable to PFICs (as defined below) or partnerships or trusts in which the fund invests or to certain options, futures or forward contracts, or “appreciated financial positions” or (2) the inability to obtain cash distributions or other amounts due to currency controls or restrictions on repatriation imposed by a foreign country with respect to the fund’s investments (including through depositary receipts) in issuers in such country or (3) tax rules applicable to debt obligations acquired with “original issue discount,” including zero-coupon or deferred payment bonds and pay-in-kind debt obligations, or to market discount if an election is made with respect to such market discount. In order to distribute this income and avoid a tax on the fund, the fund might be required to liquidate portfolio securities that it might otherwise have continued to hold, potentially resulting in additional taxable gain or loss. The fund might also meet the distribution requirements by borrowing the necessary cash, thereby incurring interest expenses.

 

Foreign Investments .    Dividends or other income (including, in some cases, capital gains) received by the fund from investments in foreign securities may be subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by foreign countries. Tax conventions between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes in some cases. The fund does not expect to be eligible to elect to treat any foreign taxes it pays as paid by its shareholders, who therefore will not be entitled to credits for such taxes on their own tax returns. Foreign taxes paid by the fund will reduce the return from the fund’s investments.

 

Under Section 988 of the Code, gains or losses attributable to fluctuations in exchange rates between the time the fund accrues income or receivables or expenses or other liabilities denominated in a foreign currency and the time the fund actually collects such income or pays such liabilities are generally treated as ordinary income or ordinary loss. Similarly, gains or losses on foreign currency, foreign currency forward contracts,

 

80


certain foreign currency options or futures contracts and the disposition of debt securities denominated in foreign currency, to the extent attributable to fluctuations in exchange rates between the acquisition and disposition dates, are also treated as ordinary income or loss.

 

Passive Foreign Investment Companies .    If the fund purchases shares in certain foreign investment entities, called “passive foreign investment companies” (“PFICs”), it may be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a portion of any “excess distribution” or gain from the disposition of such shares even if such income is distributed as a taxable dividend by the fund to its shareholders. Additional charges in the nature of interest may be imposed on the fund in respect of deferred taxes arising from such distributions or gains.

 

If the fund were to invest in a PFIC and elect to treat the PFIC as a “qualified electing fund” under the Code, in lieu of the foregoing requirements, the fund might be required to include in income each year a portion of the ordinary earnings and net capital gains of the qualified electing fund, even if not distributed to the fund, and such amounts would be subject to the 90% and excise tax distribution requirements described above. In order to distribute this income and avoid a tax on the fund, the fund might be required to liquidate portfolio securities that it might otherwise have continued to hold, potentially resulting in additional taxable gain or loss. In order to make the “qualified electing fund” election, the fund would be required to obtain certain annual information from the PFICs in which it invests, which may be difficult or impossible to obtain.

 

Alternatively, the fund may make a mark-to-market election that will result in the fund being treated as if it had sold and repurchased all of the PFIC stock at the end of each year. In such case, the fund would report any such gains as ordinary income and would deduct any such losses as ordinary losses to the extent of previously recognized gains. The election, once made, would be effective for all subsequent taxable years of the fund, unless revoked with the consent of the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”). By making the election, the fund could potentially ameliorate the adverse tax consequences with respect to its ownership of shares in a PFIC, but in any particular year may be required to recognize income in excess of the distributions it receives from PFICs and its proceeds from dispositions of PFIC stock. The fund may have to distribute this “phantom” income and gain to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement and to avoid imposition of the 4% excise tax. In order to distribute this income and avoid a tax on the fund, the fund might be required to liquidate portfolio securities that it might otherwise have continued to hold, potentially resulting in additional taxable gain or loss.

 

The fund will make the appropriate tax elections, if possible, and take any additional steps that are necessary to mitigate the effect of these rules.

 

Taxation of U.S. Shareholders

 

Dividends and Distributions .    Dividends and other distributions by the fund are generally treated under the Code as received by the shareholders at the time the dividend or distribution is made. However, any dividend or distribution declared by the fund in October, November or December to shareholders of record on a specified date in such a month which is actually paid during the following January shall be deemed to have been paid by the fund and received by each shareholder on December 31 of the year in which the dividend is declared.

 

The fund intends to distribute annually to its shareholders substantially all of its investment company taxable income, and any net realized long-term capital gains in excess of net realized short-term capital losses (including any capital loss carryovers). However, if the fund retains for investment an amount equal to all or a portion of its net long-term capital gains in excess of its net short-term capital losses (including any capital loss carryovers), it will be subject to a corporate tax (currently at a maximum rate of 35%) on the amount retained. In that event, the fund will designate such retained amounts as undistributed capital gains in a notice to its shareholders who (a) will be required to include in income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as long-term capital gains, their proportionate shares of the undistributed amount, (b) will be entitled to credit their proportionate shares of the 35% tax paid by the fund on the undistributed amount against their U.S. federal income tax liabilities, if any, and to claim refunds to the extent their credits exceed their liabilities, if any, and

 

81


(c) will be entitled to increase their tax basis, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, in their shares by an amount equal to 65% of the amount of undistributed capital gains included in the shareholder’s income. Organizations or persons not subject to U.S. federal income tax on such capital gains will be entitled to a refund of their pro rata share of such taxes paid by the fund upon timely filing appropriate returns or claims for refund with the IRS.

 

Distributions of net realized long-term capital gains, if any, that the fund designates as capital gains dividends are taxable as long-term capital gains, whether paid in cash or in shares, and regardless of how long a shareholder has held shares of the fund. Such distributions will not be eligible for the dividends-received deduction. All other dividends of the fund (including dividends from short-term capital gains) from its current and accumulated earnings and profits (“regular dividends”) are generally subject to tax as ordinary income.

 

Special rules, however, apply to regular dividends paid to individuals. Such a dividend, with respect to taxable years beginning on or before December 31, 2010, may be subject to tax at the rates generally applicable to long-term capital gains for individuals (currently at a maximum rate of 15%), provided that the individual receiving the dividend satisfies certain holding period and other requirements. Dividends subject to these special rules are not actually treated as capital gains, however, and thus are not included in the computation of an individual’s net capital gain and generally cannot be used to offset capital losses. The long-term capital gains rates will apply to the portion of the regular dividends paid by the fund to an individual in a particular taxable year that is attributable to qualified dividend income received by the fund in that taxable year if such qualified dividend income accounts for less than 95% of the fund’s gross income (ignoring gains attributable to the sale of stocks and securities except to the extent net short-term capital gain from such sales exceeds net long-term capital loss from such sales) for that taxable year. For this purpose, “qualified dividend income” generally means income from dividends received by the fund from U.S. corporations and qualified foreign corporations, provided that the fund satisfies certain holding period requirements in respect of the stock of such corporations and has not hedged its position in the stock in certain ways. However, qualified dividend income does not include any dividends received from tax-exempt corporations. Also, dividends received by the fund from a REIT or another regulated investment company generally are qualified dividend income only to the extent the dividend distributions are made out of qualified dividend income received by such a REIT or other regulated investment company. In the case of securities lending transactions, payments in lieu of dividends are not qualified dividend income. If a shareholder elects to treat fund dividends as investment income for purposes of the limitation on the deductibility of investment interest, such dividends would not be qualified dividend income.

 

The fund or your Service Agent will send you information after the end of each year setting forth the amount of dividends paid by us that are eligible for the reduced rates.

 

If an individual receives a regular dividend qualifying for the long-term capital gains rates and such dividend constitutes an “extraordinary dividend,” and the individual subsequently recognizes a loss on the sale or exchange of stock in respect of which the extraordinary dividend was paid, then the loss will be long-term capital loss to the extent of such extraordinary dividend. An “extraordinary dividend” on common stock for this purpose is generally a dividend (i) in an amount greater than or equal to 10% of the taxpayer’s tax basis (or trading value) in a share of stock, aggregating dividends with ex-dividend dates within an 85-day period or (ii) in an amount greater than or equal to 20% of the taxpayer’s tax basis (or trading value) in a share of stock, aggregating dividends with ex-dividend dates within a 365-day period.

 

Distributions in excess of the fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits will, as to each shareholder, be treated as a tax-free return of capital to the extent of a shareholder’s basis in his shares of the fund, and as a capital gain thereafter (if the shareholder holds his shares of the fund as capital assets). Shareholders receiving dividends or distributions in the form of additional shares should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as receiving a distribution in an amount equal to the amount of money that the shareholders receiving cash dividends or distributions will receive, and should have a cost basis in the shares received equal to such amount. Dividends paid by the fund that are attributable to dividends received by the fund from domestic corporations may qualify for the federal dividends-received deduction for corporations.

 

82


Investors considering buying shares just prior to a dividend or capital gain distribution should be aware that, although the price of shares just purchased at that time may reflect the amount of the forthcoming distribution, such dividend or distribution may nevertheless be taxable to them. If the fund is the holder of record of any stock on the record date for any dividends payable with respect to such stock, such dividends will be included in the fund’s gross income not as of the date received but as of the later of (a) the date such stock became ex-dividend with respect to such dividends ( i.e. , the date on which a buyer of the stock would not be entitled to receive the declared, but unpaid, dividends) or (b) the date the fund acquired such stock. Accordingly, in order to satisfy its income distribution requirements, the fund may be required to pay dividends based on anticipated earnings, and shareholders may receive dividends in an earlier year than would otherwise be the case.

 

Sales of Shares .    Upon the sale or exchange of his shares, a shareholder will realize a taxable gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount realized and his or her basis in the shares. A redemption of shares by the fund will be treated as a sale for this purpose. Such gain or loss will be treated as capital gain or loss if the shares are capital assets in the shareholder’s hands, and will be long-term capital gain or loss if the shares are held for more than one year and short-term capital gain or loss if the shares are held for one year or less. Any loss realized on a sale or exchange will be disallowed to the extent the shares disposed of are replaced, including replacement through the reinvesting of dividends and capital gains distributions in the fund, within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the disposition of the shares. In such a case, the basis of the shares acquired will be increased to reflect the disallowed loss. Any loss realized by a shareholder on the sale of a fund share held by the shareholder for six months or fewer will be disallowed to the extent of any exempt-interest dividends received by the shareholder with respect to such shares and, to the extent not disallowed, will be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any distributions or deemed distributions of long-term capital gains received by the shareholder (or amounts credited to the shareholder as an undistributed capital gain) with respect to such shares.

 

If a shareholder incurs a sales charge in acquiring shares of the fund and disposes of those shares within 90 days and then acquires shares in a mutual fund for which the otherwise applicable sales charge is reduced by reason of a reinvestment right ( e.g., an exchange privilege), the original sales charge will not be taken into account in computing gain/loss on the original shares to the extent the subsequent sales charge is reduced. Instead, the disregarded portion of the original sales charge will be added to the tax basis in the newly acquired shares. Furthermore, the same rule also applies to a disposition of the newly acquired shares made within 90 days of the second acquisition. This provision prevents a shareholder from immediately deducting the sales charge by shifting his or her investment within a family of mutual funds.

 

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Backup Withholding.      The fund may be required to withhold federal income tax at the rate of 28% (“backup withholding”) from dividends, distributions and redemption proceeds payable to shareholders who fail to provide the fund with their correct taxpayer identification number or to make required certifications, or who have been notified by the IRS that they are subject to backup withholding. Certain shareholders are exempt from backup withholding. Backup withholding is not an additional tax and any amount withheld may be credited against a shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability. Backup withholding will not be applied to payments that have already been subject to the 30% withholding tax described below under “Non-U.S. Shareholders.”

 

Notices.     Shareholders will receive, if appropriate, various written notices after the close of the fund’s taxable year regarding the U.S. federal income tax status of certain dividends, distributions and deemed distributions that were paid (or that are treated as having been paid) by the fund to its shareholders during the preceding taxable year.

 

Other Taxes.     Dividends, distributions and redemption proceeds may also be subject to additional state, local and foreign taxes depending on each shareholder’s particular situation.

 

If a shareholder recognizes a loss with respect to the fund’s shares of $2 million or more for an individual shareholder or $10 million or more for a corporate shareholder, the shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on Form 8886. Direct shareholders of portfolio securities are in many cases excepted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance, shareholders of a regulated investment company are not excepted. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer’s treatment of the loss is proper. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.

 

Non-U.S. Shareholders

 

Dividends by the fund paid to non-U.S. shareholders are generally subject to withholding tax at a 30% rate (or such lower rate as may be determined in accordance with any applicable treaty) on ordinary dividends and other payments that are subject to such withholding. In order to obtain a reduced rate of withholding, a non-U.S. shareholder will be required to provide an IRS Form W-8BEN certifying its entitlement to benefits under a treaty. The withholding tax does not apply to regular dividends paid to a non-U.S. shareholder who provides a Form W-8ECI, certifying that the dividends are effectively connected with the non-U.S. shareholder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States. Instead, the effectively connected dividends will be subject to regular U.S. income tax as if the non-U.S. shareholder were a U.S. shareholder. A non-U.S. corporation receiving effectively connected dividends may also be subject to additional “branch profits tax” imposed at a rate of 30% (or a lower treaty rate). A non-U.S. shareholder who fails to provide any IRS Form W-8BEN or other applicable form may be subject to backup withholding at the appropriate rate.

 

In general, United States federal withholding tax will not apply to any gain or income realized by a non-U.S. shareholder in respect of any distributions of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses, exempt-interest dividends or upon the sale or other disposition of shares of the fund.

 

For fund taxable years beginning before January 1, 2008, the 30% withholding tax will not apply to dividends that the fund designates as (a) interest-related dividends, to the extent such dividends are derived from the fund’s “qualified net interest income,” or (b) short-term capital gain dividends, to the extent such dividends are derived from the fund’s “qualified short-term gain.” “Qualified net interest income” is the fund’s net income derived from interest and from original issue discount, subject to certain exceptions and limitations. “Qualified short-term gain” generally means the excess of the net short-term capital gain of the fund for the taxable year over its net

 

84


long-term capital loss, if any. However, depending on its circumstances, the fund may designate all, some or none of its potentially eligible dividends as such qualified net interest income or as qualified short-term capital gains, and/or treat such dividends, in whole or in part, as ineligible for this exemption from withholding. In order to qualify for this exemption from withholding, a non-U.S. shareholder will need to comply with applicable certification requirements relating to its non-U.S. status (including, in general, furnishing an IRS Form W-8BEN or substitute Form).

 

Special rules apply to foreign persons who receive distributions from the fund that are attributable to gain from “U.S. real property interests” (“USRPIs”). The Code defines USRPIs to include direct holdings of U.S. real property and any interest (other than an interest solely as a creditor) in “U.S. real property holding corporations.” The Code defines a U.S. real property holding corporation as any corporation whose USRPIs make up more than 50% of the fair market value of its USRPIs, its interests in real property located outside the United States, plus any other assets it uses in a trade or business. In general, the distribution of gains from USRPIs to foreign shareholders is subject to U.S. federal income tax withholding at a rate of 35% and obligates such foreign shareholder to file a U.S. tax return. To the extent a distribution to a foreign shareholder is attributable to gains from the sale or exchange of USRPIs recognized by a REIT or (for taxable years beginning before January 1, 2008) a RIC, the Code treats that gain as the distribution of gain from a USRPI to a foreign shareholder which would be subject to U.S. withholding tax of 35% and would result in U.S. tax filing obligations for the foreign shareholder.

 

However, a foreign shareholder achieves a different result with respect to the gains from the sale of USRPIs if the REIT or RIC is less than 50% owned by foreign persons at all times during the testing period, or if such gain is realized from the sale of any class of stock in a REIT which is regularly traded on an established US securities market and the REIT shareholder owned less than 5% of such class of stock at all times during the taxable year. In such event, the gains are treated as dividends paid to a non-U.S. shareholder.

 

The foregoing is only a summary of certain material U.S. federal income tax consequences (and, where noted, state and local tax consequences) affecting the fund and its shareholders. Prospective shareholders are advised to consult their own tax advisers with respect to the particular tax consequences to them of an investment in the fund.

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

 

The Trust was organized on October 17, 1991 under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is a business entity commonly known as a “Massachusetts business trust.” The Trust offers shares of beneficial interest of [            ] separate funds with a par value of $0.001 per share. The fund offers shares of beneficial interest currently classified into four Classes A, B, C and I. Each class of the fund represents an identical interest in the fund’s investment portfolio. As a result, the classes have the same rights, privileges and preferences, except with respect to: (a) the designation of each class; (b) the effect of the respective sales charges, if any, for each class; (c) the distribution and/or service fees borne by each class pursuant to the Distribution Plan; (d) the expenses allocable exclusively to each class; (e) voting rights on matters exclusively affecting a single class; (f) the exchange privilege of each class; and (g) the conversion feature of the Class B shares. The Board does not anticipate that there will be any conflicts among the interests of the holders of the different classes. The Trustees, on an ongoing basis, will consider whether any such conflict exists and, if so, take appropriate action.

 

Under Massachusetts’s law, shareholders could, under certain circumstances, be held personally liable for the obligations of the fund. The Master Trust Agreement disclaims shareholder liability for acts or obligations of the fund, however, and requires that notice of such disclaimer be given in each agreement, obligation or instrument entered into or executed by the fund or a trustee. The Master Trust Agreement provides for indemnification from fund property for all losses and expenses of any shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the fund. Thus, the risk of a shareholder’s incurring financial loss on account of shareholder

 

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liability is limited to circumstances in which the fund itself would be unable to meet its obligations, a possibility which management of the fund believes is remote. Upon payment of any liability incurred by the fund, a shareholder paying such liability will be entitled to reimbursement from the general assets of the fund. The Trustees intend to conduct the operation of the fund in such a way so as to avoid, as far as possible, ultimate liability of the shareholders for liabilities of the fund.

 

The Master Trust Agreement of the fund permits the Trustees to issue an unlimited number of full and fractional shares of a single class and to divide or combine the shares into a greater or lesser number of shares without thereby changing the proportionate beneficial interests in the fund. Each share in the fund represents an equal proportional interest in the fund with each other share. Shareholders of the fund are entitled upon its liquidation to share pro rata in its net assets available for distribution. No shareholder of the fund has any preemptive or conversion rights. Shares of the fund are fully paid and non-assessable.

 

Pursuant to the Master Trust Agreement, the Trustees may authorize the creation of additional series of shares (the proceeds of which would be invested in separate, independently managed portfolios) and additional classes of shares within any series (which would be used to distinguish among the rights of different categories of shareholders, as might be required by future regulations or other unforeseen circumstances).

 

The Trust does not hold annual shareholder meetings. There normally will be no meetings of shareholders for the purpose of electing Trustees unless and until such time as less than a majority of the Trustees holding office have been elected by shareholders, at which time the Trustees then in office will call a shareholders’ meeting for the election of Trustees. Shareholders of record of no less than two-thirds of the outstanding shares of the Trust may remove a trustee through a declaration in writing or by vote cast in person or by proxy at a meeting called for that purpose.

 

When matters are submitted for shareholder vote, shareholders of each class will have one vote for each full share owned and a proportionate, fractional vote for any fractional share held of that class. Generally, shares of the fund will be voted on a fund-wide basis on all matters except matters affecting only the interests of one class, in which case only shares of the affected class would be entitled to vote.

 

The Trust was organized as an unincorporated Massachusetts business trust on October 17, 1991 under the name Shearson Lehman Brothers Intermediate-Term Trust. On August 16, 1995, the Trust’s name was changed to Smith Barney Investment Trust. On April 7, 2006, the Trust’s name was changed to Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust.

 

Annual and Semi-Annual Reports. The fund sends its shareholders a semi-annual report and an audited annual report, which include listings of investment securities held by the fund at the end of the period covered. In an effort to reduce the fund’s printing and mailing costs, the fund consolidates the mailing of its semi-annual and annual reports by household. This consolidation means that a household having multiple accounts with the identical address of record will receive a single copy of each report. In addition, the fund also consolidates the mailing of its prospectus so that a shareholder having multiple accounts (that is, individual, IRA and/or Self-Employed Retirement Plan accounts) will receive a single prospectus annually. Shareholders who do not want this consolidation to apply to their accounts should contact their Service Agent or the transfer agent.

 

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Proposed Changes

 

The Board has approved a number of initiatives designed to streamline and restructure the Legg Mason Partners fund complex, and the fund is seeking shareholder approval for those initiatives where shareholder approval is required. If certain of these matters are approved by the shareholders entitled to vote on the matters, the fund will become a series of Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust, a Maryland business trust.

 

A Maryland business trust is an unincorporated business association that is established under, and governed by, Maryland law. Maryland law provides a statutory framework for the powers, duties, rights and obligations of the trustees and shareholders of the business trust, while the more specific powers, duties, rights and obligations of the trustees and the shareholders are determined by the trustees as set forth in the trust’s declaration of trust. Some of the more significant provisions of the trust’s declaration are described below.

 

Shareholder Voting

 

The declaration provides for shareholder voting as required by the 1940 Act or other applicable laws but otherwise permits, consistent with Maryland law, actions by the trustees without seeking the consent of shareholders. The trustees may, without shareholder approval, amend the declaration or authorize the merger or consolidation of the trust into another trust or entity, reorganize the trust or any series or class into another trust or entity or a series or class of another entity, sell all or substantially all of the assets of the trust or any series or class to another entity, or a series or class of another entity, or terminate the trust or any series or class.

 

The fund is not required to hold an annual meeting of shareholders, but the fund will call special meetings of shareholders whenever required by the 1940 Act or by the terms of the declaration. The declaration provides for “dollar-weighted voting” which means that a shareholder’s voting power is determined, not by the number of shares the shareholder owns, but by the dollar value of those shares determined on the record date. All shareholders of all series and classes of the trust vote together, except where required by the 1940 Act to vote separately by series or by class, or when the trustees have determined that a matter affects only the interests of one or more series or classes of shares.

 

Election and Removal of Trustees

 

The declaration provides that the trustees may establish the number of trustees and that vacancies on the board may be filled by the remaining trustees, except when election of trustees by the shareholders is required under the 1940 Act. Trustees are then elected by a plurality of votes cast by shareholders at a meeting at which a quorum is present. The declaration also provides that a mandatory retirement age may be set by action of two-thirds of the trustees and that trustees may be removed, with or without cause, by a vote of shareholders holding two-thirds of the voting power of the trust, or by a vote of two-thirds of the remaining trustees. The provisions of the declaration relating to the election and removal of trustees may not be amended without the approval of two-thirds of the trustees.

 

Amendments to the Declaration

 

The trustees are authorized to amend the declaration without the vote of shareholders, but no amendment may be made that impairs the exemption from personal liability granted in the declaration to persons who are or have been shareholders, trustees, officers or, employees of the trust or that limit the rights to indemnification or insurance provided in the declaration with respect to actions or omissions of persons entitled to indemnification under the declaration prior to the amendment.

 

Issuance and Redemption of Shares

 

The fund may issue an unlimited number of shares for such consideration and on such terms as the trustees may determine. Shareholders are not entitled to any appraisal, preemptive, conversion, exchange or similar

 

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rights, except as the trustees may determine. The fund may involuntarily redeem a shareholder’s shares upon certain conditions as may be determined by the trustees, including, for example, if the shareholder fails to provide the fund with identification required by law, or if the fund is unable to verify the information received from the shareholder. Additionally, as discussed below, shares may be redeemed in connection with the closing of small accounts.

 

Disclosure of Shareholder Holdings

 

The declaration specifically requires shareholders, upon demand, to disclose to the fund information with respect to the direct and indirect ownership of shares in order to comply with various laws or regulations, and the fund may disclose such ownership if required by law or regulation.

 

Small Accounts

 

The declaration provides that the fund may close out a shareholder’s account by redeeming all of the shares in the account if the account falls below a minimum account size (which may vary by class) that may be set by the trustees from time to time. Alternately, the declaration permits the fund to assess a fee for small accounts (which may vary by class) and redeem shares in the account to cover such fees, or convert the shares into another share class that is geared to smaller accounts.

 

Series and Classes

 

The declaration provides that the trustees may establish series and classes in addition to those currently established and to determine the rights and preferences, limitations and restrictions, including qualifications for ownership, conversion and exchange features, minimum purchase and account size, expenses and charges, and other features of the series and classes. The trustees may change any of those features, terminate any series or class, combine series with other series in the trust, combine one or more classes of a series with another class in that series or convert the shares of one class into another class.

 

Each share of the fund, as a series of the trust, represents an interest in the fund only and not in the assets of any other series of the trust.

 

Shareholder, Trustee and Officer Liability

 

The declaration provides that shareholders are not personally liable for the obligations of the fund and requires the fund to indemnify a shareholder against any loss or expense arising from any such liability. In addition, the fund will assume the defense of any claim against a shareholder for personal liability at the request of the shareholder. The declaration further provides that a trustee acting in his or her capacity of trustee is not personally liable to any person other than the trust or its shareholders, for any act, omission or obligation of the trust. Further, a trustee is held to the same standard of conduct as a director of a Maryland corporation. This requires that a trustee perform his or her duties in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the trust or a series thereof, and with the care that an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would use under similar circumstances. The declaration also permits the limitation of a trustee’s liability to the full extent provided under Maryland law. Under current Maryland law, a trustee is liable to the trust or its shareholders for monetary damages only (a) to the extent that it is proved that he or she actually received an improper benefit or profit in money, property, or services, or (b) to the extent that a judgment or other final adjudication adverse to the trustee is entered in a proceeding based on a finding in the proceeding that the trustee’s action, or failure to act, was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty and was material to the cause of action adjudicated in the proceeding. The declaration requires the trust to indemnify any persons who are or who have been trustees, officers or employees of the trust for any liability for actions or failure to act except to the extent prohibited by applicable federal law. In making any determination as to whether any person is entitled to the advancement of expenses in

 

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connection with a claim for which indemnification is sought, such person is entitled to a rebuttable presumption that he or she did not engage in conduct for which indemnification is not available.

 

The declaration provides that any trustee who serves as chair of the board or of a committee of the board, lead independent trustee, or audit committee financial expert, or in any other similar capacity will not be subject to any greater standard of care or liability because of such position.

 

Derivative Actions

 

The declaration provides a detailed process for the bringing of derivative actions by shareholders in order to permit legitimate inquiries and claims while avoiding the time, expense, distraction, and other harm that can be caused to the fund or its shareholders as a result of spurious shareholder demands and derivative actions. Prior to bringing a derivative action, a demand by three unrelated shareholders must first be made on the trustees. The declaration details various information, certifications, undertakings and acknowledgements that must be included in the demand. Following receipt of the demand, the trustees have a period of 90 days, which may be extended by an additional 60 days, to consider the demand. If a majority of the trustees who are considered independent for the purposes of considering the demand determine that maintaining the suit would not be in the best interests of the fund, the trustees are required to reject the demand and the complaining shareholders may not proceed with the derivative action unless the shareholders are able to sustain the burden of proof to a court that the decision of the trustees not to pursue the requested action was not a good faith exercise of their business judgment on behalf of the fund. The declaration further provides that shareholders owning shares representing at least 5% of the voting power of the fund must join in bringing the derivative action. If a demand is rejected, the complaining shareholders will be responsible for the costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by the fund in connection with the consideration of the demand, if in the judgment of the independent trustees, the demand was made without reasonable cause or for an improper purpose. If a derivative action is brought in violation of the declaration, the shareholders bringing the action may be responsible for the fund’s costs, including attorneys’ fees.

 

The declaration further provides that the trust shall be responsible for payment of attorneys’ fees and legal expenses incurred by a complaining shareholder only if required by law, and any attorneys’ fees that the trust is obligated to pay shall be calculated using reasonable hourly rates. The declaration also requires that actions by shareholders against the fund be brought only in federal court in Baltimore, Maryland, or if not permitted to be brought in federal court, then in state court in Baltimore, Maryland, and that the right to jury trial be waived to the full extent permitted by law.

 

Legal Matters

 

Beginning in June 2004, class action lawsuits alleging violations of the federal securities laws were filed against Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”) and a number of its then affiliates, including Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”), which were then investment adviser or manager to certain of the funds (the “Managers”), substantially all of the mutual funds then managed by the Managers (the “Defendant Funds”), and Board Members of the Defendant Funds (collectively, the “Defendants”). The complaints alleged, among other things, that CGMI created various undisclosed incentives for its brokers to sell Smith Barney and Salomon Brothers funds. In addition, according to the complaints, the Managers caused the Defendant Funds to pay excessive brokerage commissions to CGMI for steering clients towards proprietary funds. The complaints also alleged that the defendants breached their fiduciary duty to the Defendant Funds by improperly charging Rule 12b-1 fees and by drawing on fund assets to make undisclosed payments of soft dollars and excessive brokerage commissions. The complaints also alleged that the Defendant Funds failed to adequately disclose certain of the allegedly wrongful conduct. The complaints sought injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive damages, rescission of the Defendant Funds’ contracts with the Managers, recovery of all fees paid to the Managers pursuant to such contracts and an award of attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses.

 

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On December 15, 2004, a consolidated amended complaint (the “Complaint”) was filed alleging substantially similar causes of action. On May 27, 2005, all of the Defendants filed motions to dismiss the Complaint. On July 26, 2006, the court issued a decision and order (1) finding that plaintiffs lacked standing to sue on behalf of the shareholders of the Defendant Funds in which none of the plaintiffs had invested, including the fund, and dismissing those Defendant Funds from the case (although stating that they could be brought back into the case if standing as to them could be established), and (2) other than one stayed claim, dismissing all of the causes of action against the remaining Defendants, with prejudice, except for the cause of action under Section 36(b) of the 1940 Act, which the court granted plaintiffs leave to replead as a derivative claim.

 

On October 16, 2006, plaintiffs filed their Second Consolidated Amended Complaint (“Second Amended Complaint”) which alleges derivative claims on behalf of nine funds identified in the Second Amended Complaint under Section 36(b) of the 1940 Act, against Citigroup Asset Management, Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc, SBFM and CGMI as investment advisers to the identified funds, as well as CGMI as a distributor for the identified funds (collectively, the “Second Amended Complaint Defendants”). The fund was not identified in the Second Amended Complaint. The Second Amended Complaint alleges no claims against any of the Funds or any of their Board Members. Under Section 36(b), the Second Amended Complaint alleges similar facts and seeks similar relief against the Second Amended Complaint Defendants as the Complaint.

 

Additional lawsuits arising out of these circumstances and presenting similar allegations and requests for relief may be filed against the Defendant Funds in the future.

 

On May 31, 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued an order in connection with the settlement of an administrative proceeding against SBFM, the then-investment adviser or manager to the fund and CGMI, relating to the appointment of an affiliated transfer agent for the Smith Barney family of mutual funds, including the fund (the “Affected Funds”).

 

The SEC order found that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(1) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder (the “Advisers Act”). Specifically, the order found that SBFM and CGMI knowingly or recklessly failed to disclose to the boards of the Affected Funds in 1999 when proposing a new transfer agent arrangement with an affiliated transfer agent that: First Data Investors Services Group (“First Data”), the Affected Funds’ then-existing transfer agent, had offered to continue as transfer agent and do the same work for substantially less money than before; and that Citigroup Asset Management (“CAM”), the Citigroup business unit that, at the time, included the Affected Funds’ investment manager and other investment advisory companies, had entered into a side letter with First Data under which CAM agreed to recommend the appointment of First Data as sub-transfer agent to the affiliated transfer agent in exchange for, among other things, a guarantee by First Data of specified amounts of asset management and investment banking fees to CAM and CGMI. The order also finds that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act by virtue of the omissions discussed above and other misrepresentations and omissions in the materials provided to the Affected Funds’ boards, including the failure to make clear that the affiliated transfer agent would earn a high profit for performing limited functions while First Data continued to perform almost all of the transfer agent functions, and the suggestion that the proposed arrangement was in the Affected Funds’ best interests and that no viable alternatives existed. SBFM and CGMI do not admit or deny any wrongdoing or liability. The settlement does not establish wrongdoing or liability for purposes of any other proceeding.

 

The SEC censured SBFM and CGMI and ordered them to cease and desist from violations of Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Advisers Act. The order required Citigroup to pay $208.1 million, including $109 million in disgorgement of profits, $19.1 million in interest, and a civil money penalty of $80 million. Approximately $24.4 million has already been paid to the Affected Funds, primarily through fee waivers. The remaining $183.7 million, including the penalty, has been paid to the U.S. Treasury and will be distributed

 

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pursuant to a plan submitted for the approval of the SEC. At this time, there is no certainty as to how the above-described proceeds of the settlement will be distributed, to whom such distributions will be made, the methodology by which such distributions will be allocated, and when such distributions will be made. The order also required that transfer agency fees received from the Affected Funds since December 1, 2004, less certain expenses, be placed in escrow and provided that a portion of such fees might be subsequently distributed in accordance with the terms of the order. On April 3, 2006, an aggregate amount of approximately $9 million held in escrow was distributed to the Affected Funds.

 

The order required SBFM to recommend a new transfer agent contract to the Fund boards within 180 days of the entry of the order; if a Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent or sub-transfer agent, SBFM and CGMI would have been required, at their expense, to engage an independent monitor to oversee a competitive bidding process. On November 21, 2005, and within the specified timeframe, the Affected Funds’ Boards selected a new transfer agent for the Affected Fund. No Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent. Under the order, SBFM also must comply with an amended version of a vendor policy that Citigroup instituted in August 2004.

 

Although there can be no assurance, the manager does not believe that this matter will have a material adverse effect on the Affected Funds.

 

On December 1, 2005, Citigroup completed the sale of substantially all of its global asset management business, including SBFM, to Legg Mason.

 

Beginning in August 2005, five class action lawsuits alleging violations of federal securities laws and state law were filed against CGMI and SBFM (collectively, the “Defendants”) based on the May 31, 2005 settlement order issued against the Defendants by the SEC as described in above. The complaints seek injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive damages, removal of SBFM as the investment manager for the Smith Barney family of funds, rescission of the Funds’ management and other contracts with SBFM, recovery of all fees paid to SBFM pursuant to such contracts, and an award of attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses.

 

On October 5, 2005, a motion to consolidate the five actions and any subsequently filed, related action was filed. That motion contemplates that a consolidated amended complaint alleging substantially similar causes of action will be filed in the future.

 

As of the date of this report, the Fund’s investment manager believes that resolution of the pending lawsuit will not have a material effect on the financial position or results of operations of the Fund or the ability of the Fund’s investment manager and its affiliates to continue to render services to the Funds under their respective contracts.

 

On September 16, 2005, the staff of the SEC informed SBFM and ClearBridge Asset Management Inc (formerly Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc) that the staff is considering recommending that the SEC institute administrative proceedings against SBFM and ClearBridge Asset Management Inc for alleged violations of Section 19(a) and 34(b) of the Investment Company Act (and related Rule 19a-1). The notification is a result of an industry wide inspection by the SEC and is based upon alleged deficiencies in disclosures regarding dividends and distributions paid to shareholders of certain funds. Section 19(a) and related Rule 19a-1 of the Investment Company Act generally require funds that are making dividend and distribution payments to provide shareholders with a written statement disclosing the source of the dividends and distributions, and, in particular, the portion of the payments made from each of net investment income, undistributed net profits and/or paid-in capital. In connection with the contemplated proceedings, the staff may seek a cease and desist order and/or monetary damages from SBFM or ClearBridge Asset Management Inc.

 

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Although there can be no assurance, the fund’s manager believes that this matter is not likely to have a material adverse effect on the fund.

 

The foregoing speaks only as of the date of this SAI. Additional lawsuits presenting allegations and requests for relief arising out of or in connection with any of the foregoing matters may be filed against these and related parties in the future.

 

FUND SHARES

 

The fund offers shares currently classified into Class A, B, C and I * shares.

 


* As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

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To the best knowledge of the fund, as of [                      ], the following shareholders or “groups” (as such term is defined in Section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended) owned beneficially or of record 5% or more of the shares of the following classes:

 

[To be updated by amendment]

 

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FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

 

The audited financial statements of the fund’s predecessor (Statement of Assets and Liabilities as of July 31, 2006, Statement of Operations for the year ended July 31, 2006, Statements of Changes in Net Assets for each of the years in the two-year period ended July 31, 2006, Financial Highlights for each of the years in the five-year period ended July 31, 2006, and Notes to Financial Statements along with the Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, each of which is included in the Annual Report to Shareholders) are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety (filed on [                ]; Accession Number [                ]).

 

The unaudited financial statements of the fund’s predecessor (Statement of Assets and Liabilities as of January 31, 2007, Statement of Operations for the six months ended January 31, 2007, Statements of Changes in Net Assets for each of the six months ended January 31, 2007 and the year ended December 31, 2006, Financial Highlights for the six month period ended January 31, 2007 and each of the years in the five-year period ended July 31, 2006, and Notes to Financial Statements, each of which is included in the Semi-Annual Report to Shareholders of the fund) are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety (filed on [                      ], 2007; Accession Number [                      ]).

 

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APPENDIX A

 

ClearBridge Advisors 1 (“ClearBridge”) Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

 

The following is a brief overview of the Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures (the “Policies”) that ClearBridge has adopted to seek to ensure that ClearBridge votes proxies relating to equity securities in the best interest of clients.

 

ClearBridge votes proxies for each client account with respect to which it has been authorized to vote proxies. In voting proxies, ClearBridge is guided by general fiduciary principles and seeks to act prudently and solely in the best interest of clients. ClearBridge attempts to consider all factors that could affect the value of the investment and will vote proxies in the manner that it believes will be consistent with efforts to maximize shareholder values. ClearBridge may utilize an external service provider to provide it with information and/or a recommendation with regard to proxy votes. However, the ClearBridge adviser (business unit) continues to retain responsibility for the proxy vote.

 

In the case of a proxy issue for which there is a stated position in the Policies, ClearBridge generally votes in accordance with such stated position. In the case of a proxy issue for which there is a list of factors set forth in the Policies that ClearBridge considers in voting on such issue, ClearBridge votes on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the general principles set forth above and considering such enumerated factors. In the case of a proxy issue for which there is no stated position or list of factors that ClearBridge considers in voting on such issue, ClearBridge votes on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the general principles set forth above. Issues for which there is a stated position set forth in the Policies or for which there is a list of factors set forth in the Policies that ClearBridge considers in voting on such issues fall into a variety of categories, including election of directors, ratification of auditors, proxy and tender offer defenses, capital structure issues, executive and director compensation, mergers and corporate restructurings, and social and environmental issues. The stated position on an issue set forth in the Policies can always be superseded, subject to the duty to act solely in the best interest of the beneficial owners of accounts, by the investment management professionals responsible for the account whose shares are being voted. Issues applicable to a particular industry may cause ClearBridge to abandon a policy that would have otherwise applied to issuers generally. As a result of the independent investment advisory services provided by distinct ClearBridge business units, there may be occasions when different business units or different portfolio managers within the same business unit vote differently on the same issue. A ClearBridge business unit or investment team ( e.g. , ClearBridge’s Social Awareness Investment team) may adopt proxy voting policies that supplement these policies and procedures. In addition, in the case of Taft-Hartley clients, ClearBridge will comply with a client direction to vote proxies in accordance with Institutional Shareholder Services’ (ISS) PVS Voting Guidelines, which ISS represents to be fully consistent with AFL-CIO guidelines.

 

In furtherance of ClearBridge’s goal to vote proxies in the best interest of clients, ClearBridge follows procedures designed to identify and address material conflicts that may arise between ClearBridge’s interests and those of its clients before voting proxies on behalf of such clients. To seek to identify conflicts of interest, ClearBridge periodically notifies ClearBridge employees in writing that they are under an obligation (i) to be aware of the potential for conflicts of interest on the part of ClearBridge with respect to voting proxies on behalf of client accounts both as a result of their personal relationships and due to special circumstances that may arise

 


1 ClearBridge comprises ClearBridge Advisors, LLC, ClearBridge Asset Management Inc, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC, and other affiliated investment advisory firms. On December 1, 2005, Citigroup Inc. (“Citigroup”) sold substantially all of its worldwide asset management business, Citigroup Asset Management, to Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”). As part of this transaction, ClearBridge Advisors, LLC, ClearBridge Asset Management Inc and Smith Barney Fund Management LLC became wholly-owned subsidiaries of Legg Mason. Under a licensing agreement between Citigroup and Legg Mason, the names of ClearBridge Advisors, LLC, ClearBridge Asset Management Inc, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC and their affiliated advisory entities, as well as all logos, trademarks, and service marks related to Citigroup or any of its affiliates (“Citi Marks”) are licensed for use by Legg Mason. Citi Marks include, but are not limited to, “Citigroup Asset Management,” “Salomon Brothers Asset Management” and “CAM”. All Citi Marks are owned by Citigroup, and are licensed for use until no later than one year after the date of the licensing agreement. Legg Mason and its subsidiaries, including ClearBridge Advisors, LLC, ClearBridge Asset Management Inc, and Smith Barney Fund Management LLC are not affiliated with Citigroup.

 

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during the conduct of ClearBridge’s business, and (ii) to bring conflicts of interest of which they become aware to the attention of ClearBridge’s compliance personnel. ClearBridge also maintains and considers a list of significant ClearBridge relationships that could present a conflict of interest for ClearBridge in voting proxies. ClearBridge is also sensitive to the fact that a significant, publicized relationship between an issuer and a non-ClearBridge Legg Mason affiliate might appear to the public to influence the manner in which ClearBridge decides to vote a proxy with respect to such issuer. Absent special circumstances or a significant, publicized non-ClearBridge Legg Mason affiliate relationship that ClearBridge for prudential reasons treats as a potential conflict of interest because such relationship might appear to the public to influence the manner in which ClearBridge decides to vote a proxy, ClearBridge generally takes the position that relationships between a non-ClearBridge Legg Mason affiliate and an issuer ( e.g. , investment management relationship between an issuer and a non-ClearBridge Legg Mason affiliate) do not present a conflict of interest for ClearBridge in voting proxies with respect to such issuer. Such position is based on the fact that ClearBridge is operated as an independent business unit from other Legg Mason business units as well as on the existence of information barriers between ClearBridge and certain other Legg Mason business units.

 

ClearBridge maintains a Proxy Voting Committee to review and address conflicts of interest brought to its attention by ClearBridge compliance personnel. A proxy issue that will be voted in accordance with a stated ClearBridge position on such issue or in accordance with the recommendation of an independent third party is not brought to the attention of the Proxy Voting Committee for a conflict of interest review because ClearBridge’s position is that to the extent a conflict of interest issue exists, it is resolved by voting in accordance with a pre-determined policy or in accordance with the recommendation of an independent third party. With respect to a conflict of interest brought to its attention, the Proxy Voting Committee first determines whether such conflict of interest is material. A conflict of interest is considered material to the extent that it is determined that such conflict is likely to influence, or appear to influence, ClearBridge’s decision-making in voting proxies. If it is determined by the Proxy Voting Committee that a conflict of interest is not material, ClearBridge may vote proxies notwithstanding the existence of the conflict.

 

If it is determined by the Proxy Voting Committee that a conflict of interest is material, the Proxy Voting Committee is responsible for determining an appropriate method to resolve such conflict of interest before the proxy affected by the conflict of interest is voted. Such determination is based on the particular facts and circumstances, including the importance of the proxy issue and the nature of the conflict of interest.

 

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APPENDIX B

 

Description of Ratings

 

The ratings of Moody’s Investors Service, Inc., Standard & Poor’s Ratings Group and Fitch Ratings represent their opinions as to the quality of various debt obligations. It should be emphasized, however, that ratings are not absolute standards of quality. Consequently, debt obligations with the same maturity, coupon and rating may have different yields while debt obligations of the same maturity and coupon with different ratings may have the same yield. As described by the rating agencies, ratings are generally given to securities at the time of issuances. While the rating agencies may from time to time revise such ratings, they undertake no obligation to do so.

 

Description of Moody’s Investors Service, Inc.’s Long-Term Obligation Ratings:

 

Moody’s long-term obligation ratings are opinions of the relative credit risk of fixed-income obligations with an original maturity of one year or more. They address the possibility that a financial obligation will not be honored as promised. Such ratings reflect both the likelihood of default and any financial loss suffered in the event of default.

 

Aaa —Obligations rated Aaa are judged to be of the highest quality, with minimal credit risk.

 

Aa —Obligations rated Aa are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk.

 

A —Obligations rated A are considered upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk.

 

Baa —Obligations rated Baa are subject to moderate credit risk. They are considered medium-grade and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics.

 

Ba —Obligations rated Ba are judged to have speculative elements and are subject to substantial credit risk.

 

B —Obligations rated B are considered speculative and are subject to high credit risk.

 

Caa —Obligations rated Caa are judged to be of poor standing and are subject to very high credit risk.

 

Ca —Obligations rated Ca are highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest.

 

C —Obligations rated C are the lowest rated class of bonds and are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal or interest.

 

Note: Moody’s appends numerical modifiers “1,” “2” and “3” to each generic rating classification from “Aa” through “Caa.” The modifier “1” indicates that the obligation ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category; the modifier “2” indicates a mid-range ranking; and the modifier “3” indicates a ranking in the lower end of that generic rating category.

 

Description of Moody’s Investors Service, Inc.’s US Municipal and Tax Exempt Ratings:

 

Municipal Ratings are opinions of the investment quality of issuers and issues in the US municipal and tax-exempt markets. As such, these ratings incorporate Moody’s assessment of the default probability and loss severity of these issuers and issues. The default and loss content for Moody’s municipal long-term rating scale differs from Moody’s general long-term rating scale. (Please refer to Corporate Equivalent Ratings under Policies and Procedures.)

 

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Municipal Ratings are based upon the analysis of four primary factors relating to municipal finance: economy, debt, finances, and administration/management strategies. Each of the factors is evaluated individually and for its effect on the other factors in the context of the municipality’s ability to repay its debt.

 

Municipal Long-Term Rating Definitions:

 

Aaa —Issuers or issues rated Aaa demonstrate the strongest creditworthiness relative to other US municipal or tax-exempt issuers or issues.

 

Aa —Issuers or issues rated Aa demonstrate very strong creditworthiness relative to other US municipal or tax-exempt issuers or issues.

 

A —Issuers or issues rated A present above-average creditworthiness relative to other US municipal or tax-exempt issuers or issues.

 

Baa —Issuers or issues rated Baa represent average creditworthiness relative to other US municipal or tax- exempt issuers or issues.

 

Ba —Issuers or issues rated Ba demonstrate below-average creditworthiness relative to other US municipal or tax-exempt issuers or issues.

 

B —Issuers or issues rated B demonstrate weak creditworthiness relative to other US municipal or tax- exempt issuers or issues.

 

Caa —Issuers or issues rated Caa demonstrate very weak creditworthiness relative to other US municipal or tax-exempt issuers or issues.

 

Ca —Issuers or issues rated Ca demonstrate extremely weak creditworthiness relative to other US municipal or tax-exempt issuers or issues.

 

C —Issuers or issues rated C demonstrate the weakest creditworthiness relative to other US municipal or tax-exempt issuers or issues.

 

Note: Moody’s appends numerical modifiers “1,” “2” and “3” to each generic rating classification from “Aa” through “Caa.” The modifier “1” indicates that the obligation ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category; the modifier “2” indicates a mid-range ranking; and the modifier “3” indicates a ranking in the lower end of that generic rating category.

 

Description of Moody’s Investors Service, Inc.’s US Municipal Short-Term Debt And Demand Obligation Ratings:

 

There are three rating categories for short-term municipal obligations that are considered investment grade. These ratings are designated as Municipal Investment Grade (“MIG”) and are divided into three levels—“MIG 1” through “MIG 3.” In addition, those short-term obligations that are of speculative quality are designated “SG,” or speculative grade. MIG ratings expire at the maturity of the obligation.

 

MIG 1 —This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by established cash flows, highly reliable liquidity support, or demonstrated broad-based access to the market for refinancing.

 

MIG 2 —This designation denotes strong credit quality. Margins of protection are ample, although not as large as in the preceding group.

 

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MIG 3 —This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Liquidity and cash-flow protection may be narrow, and market access for refinancing is likely to be less well-established.

 

SG —This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Debt instruments in this category may lack sufficient margins of protection.

 

Description of Moody’s Investors Service, Inc.’s Demand Obligation Ratings:

 

In the case of variable rate demand obligations (“VRDOs”), a two-component rating is assigned; a long or short-term debt rating and a demand obligation rating. The first element represents Moody’s evaluation of the degree of risk associated with scheduled principal and interest payments. The second element represents Moody’s evaluation of the degree of risk associated with the ability to receive purchase price upon demand (“demand feature”), using a variation of the MIG rating scale, the Variable Municipal Investment Grade or VMIG rating. When either the long- or short-term aspect of a VRDO is not rated, that piece is designated NR, e.g. , Aaa/NR or NR/VMIG 1. VMIG rating expirations are a function of each issue’s specific structural or credit features.

 

VMIG 1 —This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by the superior short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.

 

VMIG 2 —This designation denotes strong credit quality. Good protection is afforded by the strong short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.

 

VMIG 3 —This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Adequate protection is afforded by the satisfactory short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.

 

SG —This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Demand features rated in this category may be supported by a liquidity provider that does not have an investment grade short-term rating or may lack the structural and/or legal protections necessary to ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.

 

Description of Moody’s Investors Service, Inc.’s Short-Term Prime Ratings:

 

Moody’s short-term ratings are opinions of the ability of issuers to honor short-term financial obligations. Ratings may be assigned to issuers, short-term programs or to individual short-term debt instruments. Such obligations generally have an original maturity not exceeding thirteen months, unless explicitly noted.

 

P-1 —Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-1 have a superior ability to repay short-term debt obligations.

 

P-2 —Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-2 have a strong ability to repay short-term debt obligations.

 

P-3 —Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-3 have an acceptable ability to repay short-term obligations.

 

NP —Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Not Prime do not fall within any of the Prime rating categories.

 

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Note: Canadian issuers rated P-1 or P-2 have their short-term ratings enhanced by the senior-most long-term rating of the issuer, its guarantor or support-provider.

 

Description of Standard & Poor’s Ratings Group’s Long-Term Issue Credit Ratings:

 

Issue credit ratings are based, in varying degrees, on the following considerations: (1) likelihood of payment—capacity and willingness of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on an obligation in accordance with the terms of the obligation; (2) nature of and provisions of the obligation; and (3) protection afforded by, and relative position of, the obligation in the event of bankruptcy, reorganization, or other arrangement under the laws of bankruptcy and other laws affecting creditors’ rights.

 

The issue rating definitions are expressed in terms of default risk. As such, they pertain to senior obligations of an entity. Junior obligations are typically rated lower than senior obligations, to reflect the lower priority in bankruptcy, as noted above. (Such differentiation applies when an entity has both senior and subordinated obligations, secured and unsecured obligations, or operating company and holding company obligations.) Accordingly, in the case of junior debt, the rating may not conform exactly with the category definition.

 

AAA —An obligation rated “AAA” has the highest rating assigned by Standard & Poor’s. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is extremely strong.

 

AA —An obligation rated “AA” differs from the highest-rated obligations only to a small degree. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial obligations is very strong.

 

A —An obligation rated “A” is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rated categories. However, the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is still strong.

 

BBB —An obligation rated “BBB” exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

 

BB, B, CCC, CC, and C —Obligations rated “BB,” “B,” “CCC,” “CC” and “C” are regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. “BB” indicates the least degree of speculation and “C” the highest. While such obligations will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these may be outweighed by large uncertainties or major exposures to adverse conditions.

 

BB —An obligation rated “BB” is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, which could lead to the obligor’s inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

 

B —An obligation rated “B” is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated “BB,” but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligor’s capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

 

CCC —An obligation rated “CCC” is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

 

CC —An obligation rated “CC” is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment.

 

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C —A subordinated debt or preferred stock obligation rated “C” is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment. The “C” rating may be used to cover a situation where a bankruptcy petition has been filed or similar action taken, but payments on this obligation are being continued. A “C” also will be assigned to a preferred stock issue in arrears on dividends or sinking fund payments, but that is currently paying.

 

D —An obligation rated “D” is in payment default. The “D” rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due even if the applicable grace period has not expired, unless Standard & Poor’s believes that such payments will be made during such grace period. The “D” rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action if payments on an obligation are jeopardized.

 

Plus (+) or Minus (–): The ratings from “AA” to “CCC” may be modified by the addition of a plus (+) or minus (–) sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories.

 

N.R.: This indicates that no rating has been requested, that there is insufficient information on which to base a rating, or that Standard & Poor’s does not rate a particular obligation as a matter of policy.

 

Active Qualifiers (Currently applied and/or outstanding)

 

i: This subscript is used for issues in which the credit factors, terms, or both, that determine the likelihood of receipt of payment of interest are different from the credit factors, terms or both that determine the likelihood of receipt of principal on the obligation. The “i” subscript indicates that the rating addresses the interest portion of the obligation only. The “i” subscript will always be used in conjunction with the “p” subscript, which addresses likelihood of receipt of principal. For example, a rated obligation could be assigned ratings of “AAAp NRi” indicating that the principal portion is rated “AAA” and the interest portion of the obligation is not rated.

 

L: Ratings qualified with “L” apply only to amounts invested up to federal deposit insurance limits.

 

p: This subscript is used for issues in which the credit factors, the terms, or both, that determine the likelihood of receipt of payment of principal are different from the credit factors, terms or both that determine the likelihood of receipt of interest on the obligation. The “p” subscript indicates that the rating addresses the principal portion of the obligation only. The “p” subscript will always be used in conjunction with the “i” subscript, which addresses likelihood of receipt of interest. For example, a rated obligation could be assigned ratings of “AAAp NRi” indicating that the principal portion is rated “AAA” and the interest portion of the obligation is not rated.

 

pi: Ratings with a “pi” subscript are based on an analysis of an issuer’s published financial information, as well as additional information in the public domain. They do not, however, reflect in-depth meetings with an issuer’s management and are therefore based on less comprehensive information than ratings without a “pi” subscript. Ratings with a “pi” subscript are reviewed annually based on a new year’s financial statements, but may be reviewed on an interim basis if a major event occurs that may affect the issuer’s credit quality.

 

pr: The letters “pr” indicate that the rating is provisional. A provisional rating assumes the successful completion of the project financed by the debt being rated and indicates that payment of debt service requirements is largely or entirely dependent upon the successful, timely completion of the project. This rating, however, while addressing credit quality subsequent to completion of the project, makes no comment on the likelihood of or the risk of default upon failure of such completion. The investor should exercise his own judgment with respect to such likelihood and risk.

 

preliminary: Preliminary ratings are assigned to issues, including financial programs, in the following circumstances. Preliminary ratings may be assigned to obligations, most commonly structured and project finance issues, pending receipt of final documentation and legal opinions. Assignment of a final rating is conditional on the receipt and approval by Standard & Poor’s of appropriate documentation. Changes in the

 

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information provided to Standard & Poor’s could result in the assignment of a different rating. In addition, Standard & Poor’s reserves the right not to issue a final rating. Preliminary ratings are assigned to Rule 415 Shelf Registrations. As specific issues, with defined terms, are offered from the master registration, a final rating may be assigned to them in accordance with Standard & Poor’s policies. The final rating may differ from the preliminary rating.

 

t: This symbol indicates termination structures that are designed to honor their contracts to full maturity or, should certain events occur, to terminate and cash settle all their contracts before their final maturity date.

 

Local Currency and Foreign Currency Risks: Country risk considerations are a standard part of Standard & Poor’s analysis for credit ratings on any issuer or issue. Currency of repayment is a key factor in this analysis. An obligor’s capacity to repay foreign currency obligations may be lower than its capacity to repay obligations in its local currency due to the sovereign government’s own relatively lower capacity to repay external versus domestic debt. These sovereign risk considerations are incorporated in the debt ratings assigned to specific issues. Foreign currency issuer ratings are also distinguished from local currency issuer ratings to identify those instances where sovereign risks make them different for the same issuer.

 

Description of Standard & Poor’s Ratings Group’s Ratings of Notes:

 

A Standard & Poor’s U.S. municipal note rating reflects the liquidity factors and market access risks unique to notes. Notes due in three years or less will likely receive a note rating. Notes maturing beyond three years will most likely receive a long-term debt rating. The following criteria will be used in making that assessment:

 

—Amortization schedule—the larger the final maturity relative to other maturities, the more likely it will be treated as a note; and

 

—Source of payment—the more dependent the issue is on the market for its refinancing, the more likely it will be treated as a note.

 

Note rating symbols are as follows:

 

SP-1 —Strong capacity to pay principal and interest. An issue determined to possess a very strong capacity to pay debt service is given a plus (+) designation.

 

SP-2 —Satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest, with some vulnerability to adverse financial and economic changes over the term of the notes.

 

SP-3 —Speculative capacity to pay principal and interest.

 

Description of Standard & Poor’s Ratings Group’s Short-Term Issue Credit Ratings:

 

A-1 —Short-term obligation rated “A-1” is rated in the highest category by Standard & Poor’s. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is strong. Within this category, certain obligations are designated with a plus sign (+). This indicates that the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments is extremely strong.

 

A-2 —Short-term obligation rated “A-2” is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rating categories. However, the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is satisfactory.

 

A-3 —Short-term obligation rated “A-3” exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

 

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B —A short-term obligation rated “B” is regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. Ratings of “B-1,” “B-2” and “B-3” may be assigned to indicate finer distinctions within the “B” category. The obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation; however, it faces major ongoing uncertainties which could lead to the obligor’s inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

 

B-1 —A short-term obligation rated “B-1” is regarded as having significant speculative characteristics, but the obligor has a relatively stronger capacity to meet its financial commitments over the short-term compared to other speculative-grade obligors.

 

B-2 —A short-term obligation rated “B-2” is regarded as having significant speculative characteristics, and the obligor has an average speculative-grade capacity to meet its financial commitments over the short-term compared to other speculative-grade obligors.

 

B-3 —A short-term obligation rated “B-3” is regarded as having significant speculative characteristics, and the obligor has a relatively weaker capacity to meet its financial commitments over the short-term compared to other speculative-grade obligors.

 

C —A short-term obligation rated “C” is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

 

D —A short-term obligation rated “D” is in payment default. The “D” rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due even if the applicable grace period has not expired, unless Standard & Poor’s believes that such payments will be made during such grace period. The “D” rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action if payments on an obligation are jeopardized.

 

Active Qualifiers (Currently applied and/or outstanding)

 

i: This subscript is used for issues in which the credit factors, terms, or both, that determine the likelihood of receipt of payment of interest are different from the credit factors, terms or both that determine the likelihood of receipt of principal on the obligation. The “i” subscript indicates that the rating addresses the interest portion of the obligation only. The “i” subscript will always be used in conjunction with the “p” subscript, which addresses likelihood of receipt of principal. For example, a rated obligation could be assigned ratings of “AAAp NRi” indicating that the principal portion is rated “AAA” and the interest portion of the obligation is not rated.

 

L: Ratings qualified with “L” apply only to amounts invested up to federal deposit insurance limits.

 

p: This subscript is used for issues in which the credit factors, the terms, or both, that determine the likelihood of receipt of payment of principal are different from the credit factors, terms or both that determine the likelihood of receipt of interest on the obligation. The “p” subscript indicates that the rating addresses the principal portion of the obligation only. The “p” subscript will always be used in conjunction with the “i” subscript, which addresses likelihood of receipt of interest. For example, a rated obligation could be assigned ratings of “AAAp NRi” indicating that the principal portion is rated “AAA” and the interest portion of the obligation is not rated.

 

pi: Ratings with a “pi” subscript are based on an analysis of an issuer’s published financial information, as well as additional information in the public domain. They do not, however, reflect in-depth meetings with an issuer’s management and are therefore based on less comprehensive information than ratings without a “pi” subscript. Ratings with a “pi” subscript are reviewed annually based on a new year’s financial statements, but may be reviewed on an interim basis if a major event occurs that may affect the issuer’s credit quality.

 

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pr: The letters “pr” indicate that the rating is provisional. A provisional rating assumes the successful completion of the project financed by the debt being rated and indicates that payment of debt service requirements is largely or entirely dependent upon the successful, timely completion of the project. This rating, however, while addressing credit quality subsequent to completion of the project, makes no comment on the likelihood of or the risk of default upon failure of such completion. The investor should exercise his own judgment with respect to such likelihood and risk.

 

preliminary: Preliminary ratings are assigned to issues, including financial programs, in the following circumstances. Preliminary ratings may be assigned to obligations, most commonly structured and project finance issues, pending receipt of final documentation and legal opinions. Assignment of a final rating is conditional on the receipt and approval by Standard & Poor’s of appropriate documentation. Changes in the information provided to Standard & Poor’s could result in the assignment of a different rating. In addition, Standard & Poor’s reserves the right not to issue a final rating. Preliminary ratings are assigned to Rule 415 Shelf Registrations. As specific issues, with defined terms, are offered from the master registration, a final rating may be assigned to them in accordance with Standard & Poor’s policies. The final rating may differ from the preliminary rating.

 

t: This symbol indicates termination structures that are designed to honor their contracts to full maturity or, should certain events occur, to terminate and cash settle all their contracts before their final maturity date. Local Currency and Foreign Currency Risks: Country risk considerations are a standard part of Standard & Poor’s analysis for credit ratings on any issuer or issue. Currency of repayment is a key factor in this analysis. An obligor’s capacity to repay foreign currency obligations may be lower than its capacity to repay obligations in its local currency due to the sovereign government’s own relatively lower capacity to repay external versus domestic debt. These sovereign risk considerations are incorporated in the debt ratings assigned to specific issues. Foreign currency issuer ratings are also distinguished from local currency issuer ratings to identify those instances where sovereign risks make them different for the same issuer.

 

Description of Standard & Poor’s Ratings Group’s Ratings of Commercial Paper:

 

A Standard & Poor’s commercial paper rating is a current assessment of the likelihood of timely payment of debt having an original maturity of no more than 365 days. Ratings are graded into several categories, ranging from “A” for the highest-quality obligations to “D” for the lowest. These categories are as follows:

 

A-1 —This designation indicates that the degree of safety regarding timely payment is strong. Those issues determined to possess extremely strong safety characteristics are denoted with a plus sign (+) designation.

 

A-2 —Capacity for timely payment on issues with this designation is satisfactory. However, the relative degree of safety is not as high as for issues designated “A-1.”

 

A-3 —Issues carrying this designation have an adequate capacity for timely payment. They are, however, more vulnerable to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances than obligations carrying the higher designations.

 

B —Issues rated “B” are regarded as having only speculative capacity for timely payment.

 

C —This rating is assigned to short-term debt obligations with a doubtful capacity for payment.

 

D —Debt rated “D” is in payment default. The “D” rating category is used when interest payments of principal payments are not made on the date due, even if the applicable grace period has not expired, unless Standard & Poor’s believes such payments will be made during such grace period.

 

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Description of Standard & Poor’s Ratings Group’s Dual Ratings:

 

Standard & Poor’s assigns “dual” ratings to all debt issues that have a put option or demand feature as part of their structure.

 

The first rating addresses the likelihood of repayment of principal and interest as due, and the second rating addresses only the demand feature. The long-term debt rating symbols are used for bonds to denote the long-term maturity and the commercial paper rating symbols for the put option (for example, “AAA/A-1+”). With short-term demand debt, Standard & Poor’s note rating symbols are used with the commercial paper rating symbols (for example, “SP-1+/A-1+”).

 

Description of Fitch Ratings International Long-Term Credit Ratings:

 

International Long-Term Credit Ratings (“LTCR”) may also be referred to as “Long-Term Ratings.” When assigned to most issuers, it is used as a benchmark measure of probability of default and is formally described as an Issuer Default Rating (IDR). The major exception is within Public Finance, where IDRs will not be assigned as market convention has always focused on timeliness and does not draw analytical distinctions between issuers and their underlying obligations. When applied to issues or securities, the LTCR may be higher or lower than the issuer rating (IDR) to reflect relative differences in recovery expectations. The following rating scale applies to foreign currency and local currency ratings.

 

Investment Grade

 

AAA —Highest credit quality. “AAA” ratings denote the lowest expectation of credit risk. They are assigned only in case of exceptionally strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events.

 

AA —Very high credit quality. “AA” ratings denote expectations of very low credit risk. They indicate very strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events.

 

A —High credit quality. “A” ratings denote expectations of low credit risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable to changes in circumstances or in economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings.

 

BBB —Good credit quality. “BBB” ratings indicate that there is currently expectations of low credit risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered adequate, but adverse changes in circumstances and economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity. This is the lowest investment-grade category.

 

Speculative Grade

 

BB —Speculative. “BB” ratings indicate that there is a possibility of credit risk developing, particularly as the result of adverse economic change over time; however, business or financial alternatives may be available to allow financial commitments to be met. Securities rated in this category are not investment grade.

 

B —Highly speculative. For issuers and performing obligations, “B” ratings indicate that significant credit risk is present, but a limited margin of safety remains. Financial commitments are currently being met; however, capacity for continued payment is contingent upon a sustained, favorable business and economic environment. For individual obligations, “B” ratings may indicate distressed or defaulted obligations with potential for extremely high recoveries. Such obligations would possess a Recovery Rating of “R1” (outstanding).

 

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CCC —For issuers and performing obligations, default is a real possibility. Capacity for meeting financial commitments is solely reliant upon sustained, favorable business or economic conditions. For individual obligations, may indicate distressed or defaulted obligations with potential for average to superior levels of recovery. Differences in credit quality may be denoted by plus/minus distinctions. Such obligations typically would possess a Recovery Rating of “R2” (superior), or “R3” (good) or “R4” (average).

 

CC —For issuers and performing obligations, default of some kind appears probable. For individual obligations, may indicate distressed or defaulted obligations with a Recovery Rating of “R4” (average) or “R5” (below average).

 

C —For issuers and performing obligations, default is imminent. For individual obligations, may indicate distressed or defaulted obligations with potential for below-average to poor recoveries. Such obligations would possess a Recovery Rating of “R6” (poor).

 

RD —Indicates an entity that has failed to make due payments (within the applicable grace period) on some but not all material financial obligations, but continues to honor other classes of obligations.

 

D —Indicates an entity or sovereign that has defaulted on all of its financial obligations. Default generally is defined as one of the following: (i) failure of an obligor to make timely payment of principal and/or interest under the contractual terms of any financial obligation; (ii) the bankruptcy filings, administration, receivership, liquidation or other winding-up or cessation of business of an obligor; or (iii) the distressed or other coercive exchange of an obligation, where creditors were offered securities with diminished structural or economic terms compared with the existing obligation.

 

Default ratings are not assigned prospectively; within this context, non-payment on an instrument that contains a deferral feature or grace period will not be considered a default until after the expiration of the deferral or grace period.

 

Issuers will be rated “D” upon a default. Defaulted and distressed obligations typically are rated along the continuum of “C” to “B” ratings categories, depending upon their recovery prospects and other relevant characteristics. Additionally, in structured finance transactions, where analysis indicates that an instrument is irrevocably impaired such that it is not expected to meet pay interest and/or principal in full in accordance with the terms of the obligation’s documentation during the life of the transaction, but where no payment default in accordance with the terms of the documentation is imminent, the obligation may be rated in the “B” or “CCC-C” categories.

 

Default is determined by reference to the terms of the obligations’ documentation. Fitch will assign default ratings where it has reasonably determined that payment has not been made on a material obligation in accordance with the requirements of the obligation’s documentation, or where it believes that default ratings consistent with Fitch’s published definition of default are the most appropriate ratings to assign.

 

Description of Fitch Ratings International Short-Term Credit Ratings:

 

International Short-Term Credit Ratings may also be referred to as “Short-Term Ratings.” The following ratings scale applies to foreign currency and local currency ratings. A short-term rating has a time horizon of less than 13 months for most obligations, or up to three years for U.S. public finance, in line with industry standards, to reflect unique characteristics of bond, tax, and revenue anticipation notes that are commonly issued with terms up to three years. Short-term ratings thus places greater emphasis on the liquidity necessary to meet financial commitments in a timely manner.

 

F1 —Highest credit quality. Indicates the strongest capacity for timely payment of financial commitments; may have an added “+” to denote any exceptionally strong credit feature.

 

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F2 —Good credit quality. A satisfactory capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, but the margin of safety is not as great as in the case of the higher ratings.

 

F3 —Fair credit quality. The capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is adequate; however, near-term adverse changes could result in a reduction to non-investment grade.

 

B —Speculative. Minimal capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, plus vulnerability to near-term adverse changes in financial and economic conditions.

 

C —High default risk. Default is a real possibility. Capacity for meeting financial commitments is solely reliant upon a sustained, favorable business and economic environment.

 

D —Default. Indicates an entity or sovereign that has defaulted on all of its financial obligations.

 

Notes to Fitch Ratings International Long-Term and Short-Term Credit Ratings:

 

The modifiers “+” or “-” may be appended to a rating to denote relative status within major rating categories. Such suffixes are not added to the “AAA” Long-term rating category, to categories below “CCC,” or to Short-term ratings other than “F1.” (The +/- modifiers are only used to denote issues within the CCC category, whereas issuers are only rated CCC without the use of modifiers.)

 

Rating Watch: Ratings are placed on Rating Watch to notify investors that there is a reasonable probability of a rating change and the likely direction of such change. These are designated as “Positive,” indicating a potential upgrade, “Negative,” for a potential downgrade, or “Evolving,” if ratings may be raised, lowered or maintained. Rating Watch is typically resolved over a relatively short period.

 

Rating Outlook: An Outlook indicates the direction a rating is likely to move over a one to two-year period. Outlooks may be positive, stable or negative. A positive or negative Rating Outlook does not imply a rating change is inevitable. Similarly, ratings for which outlooks are “stable” could be upgraded or downgraded before an outlook moves to positive or negative if circumstances warrant such an action. Occasionally, Fitch Ratings may be unable to identify the fundamental trend. In these cases, the Rating Outlook may be described as evolving.

 

Program ratings (such as the those assigned to MTN shelf registrations) relate only to standard issues made under the program concerned; it should not be assumed that these ratings apply to every issue made under the program. In particular, in the case of non-standard issues, i.e., those that are linked to the credit of a third party or linked to the performance of an index, ratings of these issues may deviate from the applicable program rating.

 

Variable rate demand obligations and other securities which contain a short-term “put” or other similar demand feature will have a dual rating, such as AAA/F1+. The first rating reflects the ability to meet long-term principal and interest payments, whereas the second rating reflects the ability to honor the demand feature in full and on time.

 

Interest Only: Interest Only ratings are assigned to interest strips. These ratings do not address the possibility that a security holder might fail to recover some or all of its initial investment due to voluntary or involuntary principal repayments.

 

Principal Only: Principal Only ratings address the likelihood that a security holder will receive their initial principal investment either before or by the scheduled maturity date.

 

Rate of Return: Ratings also may be assigned to gauge the likelihood of an investor receiving a certain predetermined internal rate of return without regard to the precise timing of any cash flows.

 

“PIF”: Paid-in Full; denotes a security that is paid-in-full, matured, called, or refinanced.

 

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“NR” indicates that Fitch Ratings does not rate the issuer or issue in question.

 

“Withdrawn”: A rating is withdrawn when Fitch Ratings deems the amount of information available to be inadequate for rating purposes, or when an obligation matures, is called, or refinanced, or for any other reason Fitch Ratings deems sufficient.

 

B-12


LEGG MASON PARTNERS CONVERTIBLE FUND

 

Statement of

Additional Information

 

[                      ], 2007

 

 

Legg Mason Partners Convertible Fund

125 Broad Street

New York, New York 10004

 

LOGO


 

Legg Mason Partners Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund

Supplement dated April     , 2007

to Prospectus dated                 , 2007

 

The attached prospectus is now dated April     , 2007.

As part of a number of initiatives launched in 2006 to restructure and streamline the Legg Mason Partners fund complex, the fund assumed the assets and liabilities of a predecessor fund with the same name. The fund is now grouped for organizational and governance purposes with other Legg Mason Partners funds that are predominantly equity-type funds. The prospectus is supplemented as shown below to reflect this change. Any information in the prospectus relating to the fund prior to the date of this Prospectus refers to the fund’s predecessor.

 

Performance Information

The summary performance information in the prospectus is that of the fund’s predecessor.

 

Management — Other Information

The paragraph beneath the heading “Other Information” in the “Management” section of the prospectus is deleted.

 

Financial Highlights

The financial information shown in the “Financial Highlights” section of the prospectus is that of the fund’s predecessor.


PROSPECTUS

[                        ], 2007

The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or determined whether this Prospectus is accurate or complete. Any statement to the contrary is a crime.

LOGO

Legg Mason Partners Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund

Class A, B, C and I Shares

 

 

 

INVESTMENT PRODUCTS: NOT FDIC INSURED Ÿ NO BANK GUARANTEE Ÿ MAY LOSE VALUE

 


Legg Mason Partners

Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund

Contents

 

Investments, risks and performance

  2

More on the fund’s investments

  7

Management

  10

Choosing a class of shares to buy

  13

Comparing the fund’s classes

  15

Sales charge

  16

More about contingent deferred sales charges

  20

Retirement and institutional investors

  21

Buying shares

  23

Exchanging shares

  24

Redeeming shares

  26

Other things to know about transactions

  28

Dividends, distributions and taxes

  31

Share price

  33

Financial highlights

  35

 

Prior to April 7, 2006, the fund was known as Smith Barney Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund.

 


 

Investments, risks and performance

Investment objective

The fund seeks long-term capital growth. Dividend income, if any, is incidental to this goal.

Principal investment strategies

Key investments

Under normal market conditions, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in the equity securities of large cap issuers and related investments or in other investments with similar economic characteristics. Companies that have market capitalizations with market capitalizations similar to companies in the Russell 1000 Index are considered large cap companies. Securities of companies whose capitalizations no longer meet this definition after purchase by the fund are still considered to have large market capitalizations for the purposes of the fund’s 80% policy. The fund may also invest in securities issued by smaller companies.

The fund’s equity securities consist primarily of common stocks. The fund may also invest in other equity securities that a portfolio manager believes provide opportunities for appreciation, such as preferred stock, warrants and securities convertible into common stock.

Selection process

The portfolio managers use a growth approach, emphasizing well-established companies believed to have superior management teams. The portfolio managers look principally for issuers with long histories of strong, relatively predictable earnings growth rates and the products and strategies for continuing above-average growth. The portfolio managers seek issuers that build earnings by increasing sales, productivity and market share rather than by cutting costs. The portfolio managers also emphasize issuers with stable financial characteristics and low debt levels. The fund may continue to hold securities of issuers that become mid cap or small cap issuers if, in a portfolio manager’s judgment, these securities remain good investments for the fund.

The portfolio managers generally use a “bottom-up” approach when selecting securities for the fund. This means that the portfolio managers look primarily at individual companies with consistent earnings growth against the context of broader market forces.

Principal risks of investing in the fund

Investors could lose money on their investment in the fund, or the fund may not perform as well as other investments, if:

n   Key economic trends become materially unfavorable, such as rising interest rates and levels of inflation or deflation, or a slowdown of economic growth
n   Stock prices decline generally, or stocks perform poorly relative to other types of investments
n   Large capitalization companies fall out of favor with investors
n   An adverse company specific event, such as an unfavorable earnings report, negatively affects the stock price of a company in which the fund invests

 

2         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

n   A portfolio manager’s judgment about the attractiveness, growth prospects or potential appreciation of a particular stock proves to be incorrect

The fund’s growth-oriented investment style may increase the risks of investing in the fund. Growth securities typically are quite sensitive to market movements because their market prices tend to reflect future expectations. When it appears those expectations will not be met, the prices of growth securities typically fall. Growth securities may also be more volatile than other investments because they often do not pay dividends. The fund may underperform certain other stock funds (those emphasizing value stocks, for example) during periods when growth stocks are out of favor.

Who may want to invest

The fund may be an appropriate investment if:

n   You want to direct a portion of your overall investment portfolio to stocks of large cap issuers
n   You are seeking growth of principal and not current income but are concerned about the high level of market volatility typically associated with more aggressive growth funds
n   You are prepared to accept daily share price fluctuations and possible losses
n   Your investment horizon is longer term — typically at least five years

Performance information

The following shows summary performance information for the fund in a bar chart and an Average Annual Total Returns table. The information provides an indication of the risks of investing in the fund by showing changes in its performance from year to year and by showing how the fund’s average annual total returns compare with the returns of Russell 1000 Growth Index. The bar chart and the information below show performance of the fund’s Class A shares, but do not reflect the impact of sales charges (loads). If they did, the returns would be lower than those shown. Unlike the bar chart, the performance for Class A, B, C and I (1) shares in the Average Annual Total Returns table reflects the impact of the maximum sales charge (load) applicable to the respective classes. The fund’s past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future.

 

 

(1)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund         3


 

Calendar Year Total Return — Class A Shares*

LOGO

Highest and Lowest Quarter Returns* (for periods shown in the bar chart)

Highest:         % in          quarter     ; Lowest: (        )% in          quarter     .

Year to date:         % through 10/31/06.

 

*   The returns shown for Class A shares include returns for periods before the creation of share classes on January 4, 1999.

 

Average Annual Total Returns (for periods ended 12/31/06)

 

       1 year   5 years   10 years   Since
Inception
    Inception
Date
 

Class A

           10/19/90  
   
Return before taxes (1)        %       %       %      
   
Return after taxes on distributions (1) (2)        %       %       %      
   
Return after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares ( 2 )        %       %       %      
   
Other Classes
(Return before taxes only)
   1 year   5 years   10 years   Since
Inception
    Inception
Date
 
Class B        %       %   n/a       %     1/04/99  
   
Class C ( 3 )        %       %   n/a       %     9/22/00  
   
Class I ( 4 )    n/a   n/a   n/a   n/a     n/a  
   
Russell 1000 Growth Index (5)        %       %       %   ( 5 )   ( 5 )
   

 

(1 )   On November 20, 2006, the maximum initial sales charge on Class A shares was increased for sales made on or after that date. The average annual returns for Class A shares in the table have been calculated as if the increased maximum initial sales charge had been in effect for the entire period.

 

(2 )   After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of fund shares at the end of the measurement period. After-tax returns shown above are for Class A shares only. After-tax returns for other share classes will vary.

 

( 3 )   Effective April 29, 2004, Class L shares were renamed Class C shares. Effective February 2, 2004, the initial sales charge of 1.00% on Class C shares was eliminated for sales made on or after that date. The average annual returns for Class C shares in the table have been calculated as if the sales charge had been eliminated during the entire period.

 

( 4 )   There were no Class I shares outstanding as of December 31, 2006. As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

( 5 )   The Russell 1000 Growth Index is an unmanaged index that measures the performance of those Russell 1000 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted values. It is not possible to invest directly in the Index. An index does not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes. The average total returns of the Russell 1000 Growth Index since the inception of each of the Class B and C shares are (            )% and (            )%, respectively.

 

4         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Fee table

This table sets forth the fees and expenses you may pay if you invest in fund shares.

 

Shareholder fees

 

(fees paid directly from your investment)   Class A     Class B     Class C     Class I (1)
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a % of offering price)   5.75 %   None     None     None
 
Maximum contingent deferred sales charge (load) (as a % of the lower of net asset value at purchase or redemption)   None (2)   5.00 %   1.00 % (3)   None
 

 

Annual fund operating expenses (4)

 

(paid by the fund as a % of net assets)   Class A     Class B     Class C     Class I (1)(6)  
Management fee (5)   0.75 %   0.75 %   0.75 %   0.75 %
   
Distribution (12b-1) fees (includes service fees)   0.25 %   1.00 %   1.00 %   None  
   
Other expenses (7)       %         %         %         %  
   
Total annual fund operating expenses*       %         %         %         %  
   

*  Because of voluntary waivers and/or reimbursements, actual total operating expenses are expected to be:

      %         %         %         %  
   

 

     These voluntary fee waivers and reimbursements do not cover brokerage, taxes and extraordinary expenses and may be reduced or terminated at any time.

 

(1)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

(2)   You may buy Class A shares in amounts of $1,000,000 or more at net asset value (without an initial sales charge), but if you redeem those shares within 12 months of their purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

 

(3)   As of November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge is waved for retirement plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund.

 

(4)   Based on fees and expenses for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006.

 

(5)   The management fee has been restated to reflect current expenses. Effective October 1, 2005, the fund has a breakpoint fee schedule that reduces the management fee payable on assets up to $1 billion and in excess as follows: 0.750% on assets up to $1 billion, 0.725% on assets between $1 billion and $2 billion, 0.700% on assets between $2 billion and $5 billion, 0.675% on assets between $5 billion and $10 billion, and 0.650% on assets over $10 billion. Prior to October 1, 2005, the management fee was 0.90%.

 

(6)   For Class I shares, “Other Expenses” have been estimated based on expenses incurred by Class A shares, because no Class I shares were outstanding during the fund’s last fiscal year.

 

(7)   The amounts set forth in “Other expenses” for Class A, B, C and I shares have been restated to reflect the estimated effect of new transfer agency and custody contracts which became effective January 1, 2006.

 

Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund         5


 

Example

This example helps you compare the costs of investing in the fund with the costs of investing in other mutual funds. Your actual costs may be higher or lower. The example assumes:

n   You invest $10,000 in the fund for the periods shown
n   Your investment has a 5% return each year — the assumption of a 5% return is required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for purposes of this example and is not a prediction of the fund’s future performance
n   You reinvest all distributions and dividends without a sales charge
n   The fund’s operating expenses (before fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, if any) remain the same

 

Number of years you own your shares

 

      1 year   3 years   5 years   10 years  

Class A (with or without redemption)

  $     $     $     $    
   

Class B (redemption at end of period)

  $        $        $        $      (1 )
   

Class B (no redemption)

  $     $     $     $ (1 )
   

Class C (redemption at end of period)

  $     $     $     $    
   

Class C (no redemption)

  $     $     $     $    
   

Class I (2) (with or without redemption)

  $     $     $     $    
   

 

(1)   Assumes conversion to Class A shares approximately eight years after purchase.

 

(2)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

6         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

More on the fund’s investments

Derivatives

The fund’s investment objectives and principal investment strategies are described under the section entitled “Investments, risks and performance” above. This section provides further information about the investment strategies that may be used by the fund.

The fund may, but need not, use derivative contracts, such as futures and forward currency contracts:

n   To hedge against changes in the prices of securities held or to be bought or changes in the values (in U.S. dollars) of securities of foreign issuers
n   To enhance potential gains
n   As a substitute for buying or selling securities
n   As a cash flow management technique

Derivatives may have economic characteristics similar to the large cap equity securities held by the fund. In that case, derivative investments will be considered large cap investments for the purpose of the fund’s investment policy.

Even a small investment in derivative contracts can have a big impact on the fund’s stock and currency rate exposure. Therefore, using derivatives can disproportionately increase losses and reduce opportunities for gains when stock prices or currency rates are changing. The fund may not fully benefit from or may lose money on derivatives if changes in their value do not correspond accurately or as anticipated to changes in the value of the fund’s holdings. Derivatives can also make a fund less liquid and harder to value, especially in declining markets, and the counterparty may fail to honor contract terms. Derivatives may not be available on terms that make economic sense (for example, they may be too costly).

Foreign investments

The fund may invest in foreign securities, including the securities of emerging market issuers. The fund may invest directly in foreign issuers or invest in depositary receipts.

The fund’s investments in securities of foreign issuers involve greater risk than investments in securities of United States issuers. These risks may include expropriation of assets, confiscatory taxation, withholding taxes on dividends and interest paid on fund investments, currency exchange controls and other limitations on the use or transfer of fund assets and political or social instability. The fund could also lose money if the currency in which a security is priced declines in value relative to the U.S. dollar.

In some foreign countries, less information is available about foreign issuers and markets because of less rigorous accounting and regulatory standards than in the United States. Foreign markets may offer less protection to investors. Enforcing legal rights may be difficult, costly and slow. There may be special problems enforcing claims against foreign governments.

Foreign countries generally have markets that are less liquid and more volatile than markets in the United States. In addition, there is the possibility of governmental controls on currency exchanges or governmental intervention in currency markets. Controls or intervention could limit or prevent the fund from realizing value in U.S. dollars from its investment in foreign securities.

 

Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund         7


 

Because the value of a depositary receipt is dependent upon the market price of an underlying foreign security, depositary receipts are subject to most of the risks associated with investing in foreign securities directly.

The risks of investing in foreign securities are greater for securities of emerging market issuers because political or economic instability, lack of market liquidity, and negative government actions like currency controls or seizure of private businesses or property are more likely.

Small cap securities

The fund may also invest in common stocks and other securities issued by small companies that have market capitalizations below the top 1,000 stocks of the equity market. The securities of smaller capitalized companies may have more risks than those of larger, more seasoned companies. They may be particularly susceptible to market downturns and their prices may be more volatile, causing the fund’s share price to be volatile.

Debt securities

While the fund expects to invest mainly in equity securities, the fund may also invest in debt securities to a limited extent. The fund’s debt securities must be investment grade when the fund purchases them. Less than 5% of the fund’s assets may be invested in debt securities rated Baa by Moody’s or BBB by Standard & Poor’s. Generally, the value of these debt securities will decline if interest rates rise, the credit rating of the security is downgraded or the issuer defaults on its obligation to pay principal or interest.

Convertible securities

Convertible securities, which are debt securities that may be converted into stock, are subject to the market risks of stocks as well as the risks of debt securities.

Cash management

The fund may hold cash pending investment and may invest in money market instruments, repurchase agreements and reverse repurchase agreements for cash management purposes.

Portfolio turnover

The fund may engage in active and frequent trading to achieve its principal investment strategies. This may lead to the realization and distribution to shareholders of higher capital gains, which would increase their tax liability. Frequent trading also increases transaction costs, which could detract from the fund’s performance. The “Financial highlights” section of this Prospectus shows the fund’s historical portfolio turnover rate.

Defensive investing

The fund may depart from its principal investment strategies in response to adverse market, economic or political conditions by taking temporary defensive positions in any type of money market instruments and short-term debt securities or cash without regard to any

 

8         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

percentage limitations. If the fund takes a temporary defensive position, it may be unable to achieve its investment objective.

The fund may also use other strategies and invest in other securities that are described, along with their risks, in the fund’s Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”). However, the fund might not use all of the strategies and techniques or invest in all of the types of securities described in this Prospectus or in the SAI. Also note that there are many other factors which are not described here, that could adversely affect your investment and that could prevent the fund from achieving its investment objective.

The fund’s investment objective and strategies may be changed without shareholder approval.

Portfolio holdings

The fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the fund’s portfolio securities are described in the SAI.

 

Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund         9


 

Management

Manager and subadviser

Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC (“LMPFA” or the “manager”) is the fund’s investment manager. LMPFA, with offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022, is a recently organized investment adviser that has been formed to serve as the investment manager of the fund and other Legg Mason-sponsored funds. LMPFA provides administrative and certain oversight services to the fund. ClearBridge Advisors, LLC (“ClearBridge” or the “subadviser”) provides the day-to-day portfolio management of the fund, except for the management of cash and short-term instruments, which is performed by LMPFA.

ClearBridge, with offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022, is a recently-organized investment adviser that has been formed to succeed to the equity securities portfolio management business of Citigroup Asset Management, which was acquired by Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”) in December 2005.

LMPFA and ClearBridge are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Legg Mason. Legg Mason, whose principal executive offices are at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, is a global asset management company. As of December 31, 2006, Legg Mason’s asset management operation had aggregate assets under management of approximately $     billion.

Prior to August 1, 2006, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”) was the fund’s investment manager. SBFM is also a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason.

Portfolio Managers

Effective April 20, 2005, Harry D. Cohen and Scott K. Glasser became responsible for the day-to-day management of the fund. Mr. Cohen is an investment officer and a managing director of ClearBridge and has been with the subadviser and its predecessors since 1980. Mr. Glasser, an investment officer of ClearBridge, has been with the subadviser and its predecessors since 1996.

The SAI provides additional information about the compensation of the portfolio managers, other accounts they manage and any fund shares held by the portfolio managers, the subadviser and other fund service providers.

Management fee

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, the fund paid a management fee of     % of the fund’s average daily net assets for management services. For the period from November 1, 2005 though July 31, 2006, the fund paid SBFM a management fee equal to     % of the fund’s average daily net assets. For the period from August 1, 2006 through September 30, 2006, the fund paid LMPFA a management fee equal to     % of the fund’s average daily net assets. Effective October 1, 2005, the manager receives fees for its services at the following rates based on assets under management: 0.750% on assets up to $1 billion, 0.725% on assets between $1 billion and $2 billion, 0.700% on assets between $2 billion and $5 billion, 0.675% on assets between $5 billion and $10 billion, and 0.650% on assets over $10 billion.

 

10         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of the fund’s management agreement and subadvisery agreements is available in the fund’s Annual Report for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006.

Other Information

The fund’s Board has approved a number of initiatives designed to streamline and restructure the fund complex, and has authorized seeking shareholder approval for those initiatives where shareholder approval is required. These initiatives include the election of a new Board, the grouping of the fund for organizational and governance purposes with other funds in the fund complex that are predominantly equity-type funds, and the adoption of a single form of organization as a Maryland business trust, with all funds operating under uniform charter documents. Fund shareholders entitled to vote also have been asked to approve investment matters, including standardized fundamental investment policies. Proxy materials describing these matters were mailed in October, 2006. If shareholder approval is obtained, these matters generally are expected to be effectuated during the first half of 2007.

Distribution plan

Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC (“LMIS”), a wholly-owned broker-dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”) serve as the fund’s distributors.

The fund has adopted a shareholder services and distribution plan for its Class A, B and C shares. Under the plan, the fund pays distribution and/or service fees. These fees are an ongoing expense and, over time, will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than other types of sales charges.

In addition, the distributors may make payments for distribution and/or shareholder servicing activities out of their past profits and other available sources. The distributors may also make payments to dealers for marketing, promotional or related expenses. The amount of these payments is determined by the distributors and may be substantial. The manager or an affiliate may make similar payments under similar arrangements.

The payments described in the paragraph above are often referred to as “revenue sharing payments.” The recipients of such payments may include the fund’s distributors and other affiliates of the manager, broker-dealers, financial institutions and other financial intermediaries through which investors may purchase shares of the fund. In some circumstances, such payments may create an incentive for an intermediary or its employees or associated persons to recommend or sell shares of the fund to you. Please contact your financial intermediary for details about revenue sharing payments it may receive.

Recent developments

On May 31, 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued an order in connection with the settlement of an administrative proceeding against SBFM, the then-investment adviser or manager to the fund, and CGMI, relating to the appointment of an affiliated transfer agent for the Smith Barney family of mutual funds (the “Affected Funds”).

The SEC order finds that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(1) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder (the “Advisers Act”). Specifically, the order finds that SBFM and CGMI knowingly or reck -

 

Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund         11


 

lessly failed to disclose to the boards of the Affected Funds in 1999 when proposing a new transfer agent arrangement with an affiliated transfer agent that: First Data Investors Services Group (“First Data”), the Affected Funds’ then-existing transfer agent, had offered to continue as transfer agent and do the same work for substantially less money than before; and that Citigroup Asset Management (“CAM”), the Citigroup business unit that, at the time, included the Affected Funds’ investment manager and other investment advisory companies, had entered into a side letter with First Data under which CAM agreed to recommend the appointment of First Data as sub-transfer agent to the affiliated transfer agent in exchange, among other things, for a guarantee by First Data of specified amounts of asset management and investment banking fees to CAM and CGMI. The order also finds that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act by virtue of the omissions discussed above and other misrepresentations and omissions in the materials provided to the Affected Funds’ boards, including the failure to make clear that the affiliated transfer agent would earn a high profit for performing limited functions while First Data continued to perform almost all of the transfer agent functions, and the suggestion that the proposed arrangement was in the Affected Funds’ best interests and that no viable alternatives existed.

SBFM and CGMI do not admit or deny any wrongdoing or liability. The settlement does not establish wrongdoing or liability for purposes of any other proceeding. The SEC censured SBFM and CGMI and ordered them to cease and desist from violations of Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Advisers Act. The order requires Citigroup to pay $208.1 million, including $109 million in disgorgement of profits, $19.1 million in interest, and a civil money penalty of $80 million. Approximately $24.4 million has already been paid to the Affected Funds, primarily through fee waivers. The remaining $183.7 million, including the penalty, has been paid to the U.S. Treasury and will be distributed pursuant to a plan submitted for the approval of the SEC. At this time, there is no certainty as to how the above-described proceeds of the settlement will be distributed, to whom such distributions will be made, the methodology by which such distributions will be allocated, and when such distributions will be made. The order also requires that transfer agency fees received from the Affected Funds since December 1, 2004, less certain expenses, be placed in escrow and provided that a portion of such fees may be subsequently distributed in accordance with the terms of the order. On April 3, 2006, an aggregate amount of approximately $9 million held in escrow was distributed to the Affected Funds.

The order required SBFM to recommend a new transfer agent contract to the Fund boards within 180 days of the entry of the order; if a Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent or sub-transfer agent, SBFM and CGMI would have been required, at their expense, to engage an independent monitor to oversee a competitive bidding process. On November 21, 2005, and within the specified timeframe, the Affected Funds’ Boards selected a new transfer agent for the Affected Fund. No Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent. Under the order, SBFM also must comply with an amended version of a vendor policy that Citigroup instituted in August 2004.

Although there can be no assurance, the manager does not believe that this matter will have a material adverse effect on the Affected Funds.

On December 1, 2005, Citigroup completed the sale of substantially all of its global asset management business, including SBFM, to Legg Mason.

 

12         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Choosing a class of shares to buy

Individual investors can generally choose among three classes of shares: Classes A, B and C shares. Individual investors that held Class I (formerly Class Y) shares prior to November 20, 2006, may continue to invest in Class I shares. Institutional and retirement plan investors and clients of financial intermediaries should refer to “Retirement and institution investors” below for a description of the classes available to them. Each class has different sales charges and expenses, allowing you to choose the class that best meets your needs.

When choosing which class of shares to buy, you should consider:

n   How much you plan to invest
n   How long you expect to own the shares
n   The expenses paid by each class detailed in the Fee Table and Example at the front of this Prospectus
n   Whether you qualify for any reduction or waiver of sales charges

If you are choosing between Class A and Class B shares, it will in almost all cases be the more economical choice for you to purchase Class A shares if you plan to purchase shares in an amount of $100,000 or more (whether in a single purchase or through aggregation of eligible holdings). This is because of the reduced sales charge available on larger investments of Class A shares and the lower ongoing expenses of Class A shares compared to Class B shares.

If you intend to invest for only a few years, the effect of Class B contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions made within five years of purchase, as well as the effect of higher expenses of that class, might make an investment in Class C more appropriate. There is no initial sales charge on Class C shares, and the contingent deferred sales charge does not apply to shares redeemed one year after purchase.

However, if you plan to invest a large amount and your investment horizon is five years or more, Class C shares might not be as advantageous as Class A shares. This is because the annual asset-based sales charge on Class C shares will have a greater impact on your account over the longer term than the reduced front-end sales charge available for larger purchases of Class A shares.

You may buy shares from:

n   Certain broker-dealers, financial intermediaries, financial institutions or a distributor’s financial advisors or registered representatives (each called a “Service Agent”)
n   The fund, but only if you are investing through certain qualified plans or Service Agents

Different types of shareholder services may be available to you under arrangements offered by different Service Agents. In addition, these services may vary depending on the share class in which you choose to invest. In making your decision regarding which share class to buy, please keep in mind that your Service Agent may receive different compensation depending on the share class in which you invest. Investors should consult with their Service Agent about comparative pricing of shareholder services available to them under each available share class, the compensation that will be received by their Service Agent in connection with each available share class, and other factors that may be relevant to the investor’s choice of share class in which to invest.

Not all classes of shares are available through all Service Agents. You should contact your Service Agent for further information.

 

Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund         13


 

Investment minimums

Minimum initial and additional investment amounts vary depending on the class of shares you buy and the nature of your investment.

 

   

Investment Minimum

Initial/Additional Investment (1)

      Class A   Class B   Class C   Class I
(formerly Y)

General

  $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50     n/a
 

IRAs and Uniform Gifts or Transfers to
Minor Accounts

  $ 250/$50   $ 250/$50   $ 250/$50     n/a
 

SIMPLE IRAs

  $ 1/$1   $ 1/$1   $ 1/$1     n/a
 

Systematic Investment Plans

  $ 25/$25   $ 25/$25   $ 25/$25     n/a
 

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries

  $ 1/$1     n/a     n/a     None/None
 

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts
held on the books of the fund

    None/None     n/a     None/None     None/None
 

Other Retirement Plans

  $ 50/$50   $ 50/$50   $ 50/$50     n/a
 

Institutional Investors

  $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50   $ 1 million/None
 

 

(1)   Please refer to the section entitled “Retirement and institutional investors” for additional information regarding the investment minimum and eligibility requirements for Retirement Plans, Institutional Investors and Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries.

More information about the fund’s classes of shares is available through the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website. You’ll find detailed information about sales charges and ways you can qualify for reduced or waived sales charges, including:

n   The front-end sales charges that apply to the purchase of Class A shares
n   The contingent deferred sales charges that apply to the redemption of Class B shares, Class C shares and certain Class A shares (redeemed within one year)
n   Who qualifies for lower sales charges on Class A shares
n   Who qualifies for a sales load waiver

Look at http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices and click on the name of the fund.

 

14         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Comparing the fund’s classes

The following table compares key features of the fund’s classes. You should review the Fee table and Example at the front of this prospectus carefully before choosing your share class. Your Service Agent can help you decide which class meets your goals. They may receive different compensation depending upon which class you choose.

 

      Class A   Class B   Class C   Class I
(formerly Y)
Key features  

n   Initial sales charge

n   You may qualify for reduction or waiver of initial sales charge

n   Lower annual expenses than Class B and Class C

 

n   No initial sales charge

n   Contingent deferred sales charge declines over time

n   Converts to Class A after approximately 8 years

n   Generally higher annual expenses than Class A

 

n   No initial sales charge

n   Contingent deferred sales charge for only 1 year

n   Does not convert to Class A

n   Generally higher annual expenses than Class A

 

n   No initial or contingent deferred sales charge

n   Generally lower expenses than the other classes

n   Only offered to institutional and other eligible investors

Initial sales charge  

Up to 5.75%; reduced or waived for large purchases and certain investors. No charge for purchases of $1 million or more

 

None

 

None

 

None

Contingent deferred sales charge  

1.00% on purchases of $1 million or more if you redeem within 1 year of purchase; waived for certain investors

 

Up to 5.00% charged when you redeem shares. The charge is reduced over time and there is no contingent deferred sales charge after 5 years; waived for certain investors

 

1.00% if you redeem within 1 year of purchase; waived for certain retirement plan investors

 

None

Annual distribution and service fees  

0.25% of average daily net assets

 

1.00% of average daily net assets

 

1.00% of average daily net assets

 

None

Exchange Privilege (1)  

Class A shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class B shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class C shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class I shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

(1)   Ask your Service Agent for the Legg Mason Partners Funds available for exchange.

 

Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund         15


 

Sales charge

Class A shares

You buy Class A shares at the offering price, which is the net asset value plus a sales charge. You pay a lower sales charge as the size of your investment increases to certain levels called breakpoints. You do not pay a sales charge on the fund’s distributions or dividends you reinvest in additional Class A shares.

The table below shows the rate of sales charge that you pay, depending on the amount that you purchase, for purchases made on or after November 20, 2006. The table below also shows the amount of broker-dealer compensation that will be paid out of the sales charge. For Class A shares sold by LMIS, LMIS will receive the sales charge imposed on purchases of Class A shares (or any contingent deferred sales charge paid on redemptions) and will retain the full amount of such sales charge. For Class A shares sold by CGMI, CGMI will receive the sales charge imposed on purchases of Class A shares and will retain an amount equal to the broker-dealer commission paid out of the sales charge. LMIS will receive any portion not retained by CGMI. Service Agents (including CGMI) will also receive a distribution/service fee payable on Class A shares at an annual rate of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class A shares serviced by them.

 

Amount of Purchase   Sales Charge
as a % of
Offering Price
  Sales Charge
as a % of
Net Amount
Invested
  Broker-Dealer
Commission
as a % of
Offering Price

Less than $25,000

  5.75   6.10   5.00
 

$25,000 but less than $50,000

  5.00   5.26   4.25
 

$50,000 but less than $100,000

  4.50   4.71   3.75
 

$100,000 but less than $250,000

  3.50   3.63   2.75
 

$250,000 but less than $500,000

  2.50   2.56   2.00
 

$500,000 but less than $750,000

  2.00   2.04   1.60
 

$750,000 but less than $1,000,000

  1.50   1.52   1.20
 

$1,000,000 or more (1)

  -0-   -0-   up to 1.00
 

 

(1)   A distributor may pay a commission of up to 1.00% to a Service Agent for purchase amounts of $1 million or more. In such cases, starting in the thirteenth month after purchase, the Service Agent will also receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class A shares held by its clients. Prior to the thirteenth month, the distributor will retain this fee. Where the Service Agent does not receive the payment of this commission, the Service Agent will instead receive the annual distribution/service fee starting immediately after purchase. Please contact your Service Agent for more information.

Investments of $1,000,000 or more

You do not pay an initial sales charge when you buy $1,000,000 or more of Class A shares. However, if you redeem these Class A shares within one year of purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

Qualifying for a reduced Class A sales charge

There are several ways you can combine multiple purchases of Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds to take advantage of the breakpoints in the sales charge schedule. In

 

16         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

order to take advantage of reductions in sales charges that may be available to you when you purchase fund shares, you must inform your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services if you are eligible for a letter of intent or a right of accumulation and if you own shares of other Legg Mason Partners Funds that are eligible to be aggregated with your purchases. Certain records, such as account statements, may be necessary in order to verify your eligibility for reduced sales charges.

Accumulation Privilege – allows you to combine the current value of Class A shares of the fund with other shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds that are owned by:

n   you; or
n   your spouse and children under the age of 21

with the dollar amount of your next purchase of Class A shares for purposes of calculating the initial sales charge.

Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or its affiliates (other than money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners Funds), and Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. may not be combined. If you hold shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds in accounts at two or more Service Agents, please contact your Service Agents to determine which shares may be combined.

Certain trustees and fiduciaries may be entitled to combine accounts in determining their sales charge.

Letter of Intent – allows you to purchase Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds over a 13-month period and pay the same sales charge on Class A shares, if any, as if all shares had been purchased at once. At the time you enter into the letter of intent, you select your asset goal amount. Generally, purchases of Legg Mason Partners Fund shares that are purchased during the 13-month period by

n   you; or
n   your spouse and children under the age of 21

are eligible for inclusion under the letter, based on the public offering price at the time of the purchase, and any capital appreciation on those shares. You may also backdate your letter up to 90 days in which case eligible purchases made during that period will be treated as purchases made under the letter. In addition, you can include towards your asset goal amount the current value of any eligible purchases that were made prior to the date of entering into the letter of intent and are still held.

If you hold shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds in accounts at two or more Service Agents, please contact your Service Agents to determine which shares may be credited towards your letter of intent asset goal.

Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or its affiliates (other than money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners Funds), Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. may not be combined. If you do not meet your asset goal amount, shares in the amount of any sales charges due, based on the amount of your actual purchases, will be redeemed from your account.

 

Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund         17


 

Waivers for certain Class A investors

Class A initial sales charges are waived for certain types of investors, including:

n   Employees of Service Agents having dealer, service or other selling agreements with the fund’s distributors
n   Investors who redeemed Class A shares of a Legg Mason Partners Fund in the past 60 days, if the investor’s Service Agent is notified
n   Directors and officers of any Legg Mason-sponsored fund
n   Employees of Legg Mason and its subsidiaries

If you qualify for a waiver of the Class A initial sales charge, you must notify your Service Agent or the transfer agent at the time of purchase and provide sufficient information at the time of purchase to permit verification that the purchase qualifies for the initial sales charge waiver.

If you want to learn about additional waivers of Class A initial sales charges, contact your Service Agent, consult the SAI or look at the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website: http://wwwleggmason.com/InvestorServices, and click on the name of the fund.

Class B shares

You buy Class B shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. However, if you redeem your Class B shares within five years of your purchase payment, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge. The rate of the contingent deferred sales charge decreases as the number of years since your purchase payment increases.

 

Year after purchase   1st     2nd     3rd     4th     5th     6th through 8th  

Contingent deferred sales charge

  5 %   4 %   3 %   2 %   1 %   0 %
   

LMIS will pay Service Agents, including CGMI, selling Class B shares a commission of up to 4.00% of the purchase price of the Class B shares they sell, and LMIS will retain the contingent deferred sales charges. Service Agents also receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class B shares serviced by them.

Class B conversion

After approximately 8 years, Class B shares automatically convert into Class A shares. This helps you because Class A shares have lower annual expenses. Your Class B shares will convert to Class A shares as follows:

 

Shares issued:
At initial purchase
   Shares issued:
On reinvestment of
dividends and
distributions
   Shares issued:
Upon exchange from
another Legg Mason
Partners Fund
Approximately 8 years after the date of purchase payment    In the same proportion as the number of Class B shares converting is to total Class B shares you own (excluding shares issued as dividends)    On the date the shares originally acquired would have converted into Class A shares
 

 

18         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Class C shares

You buy Class C shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. However, if you redeem your Class C shares within one year of purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

LMIS will generally pay Service Agents selling Class C shares (other than shares sold to omnibus accounts of retirement plans held on the books of the fund) a commission of up to 1.00% of the purchase price of the Class C shares they sell and LMIS will retain the contingent deferred sales charges and an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class C shares serviced by these Service Agents until the thirteenth month after purchase. Starting in the thirteenth month after purchase, these Service Agents will receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class C shares serviced by them.

Class I shares (formerly Class Y shares)

Class I shares are purchased at net asset value with no initial sales charge, and no contingent deferred sales charge when redeemed. See “Retirement and institutional investors — Class I shares” below for additional information regarding investor eligibility and investment minimums.

 

Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund         19


 

More about contingent deferred sales charges

The contingent deferred sales charge is based on the net asset value at the time of purchase or redemption, whichever is less, and therefore, you do not pay a sales charge on amounts representing appreciation or depreciation.

In addition, you do not pay a contingent deferred sales charge on:

n   Shares exchanged for shares of another Legg Mason Partners Fund
n   Shares representing reinvested distributions and dividends
n   Shares no longer subject to the contingent deferred sales charge

Each time you place a request to redeem shares, the fund will first redeem any shares in your account that are not subject to a contingent deferred sales charge and then the shares in your account that have been held the longest.

If you redeemed shares of a Legg Mason Partners Fund and paid a contingent deferred sales charge, you may, under certain circumstances, reinvest all or part of the redemption proceeds within 60 days and receive pro rata credit for any contingent deferred sales charge imposed on the prior redemption. Please contact your Service Agent for additional information.

The fund’s distributors receive contingent deferred sales charges as partial compensation for their expenses in selling shares, including the payment of compensation to your Service Agent.

Contingent deferred sales charge waivers

The contingent deferred sales charge for each share class will generally be waived:

n   On payments made through certain systematic withdrawal plans
n   On certain distributions from a retirement plan
n   For involuntary redemptions of small account balances
n   For 12 months following the death or disability of a shareholder

If you want to learn more about additional waivers of contingent deferred sales charges, contact your Service Agent, consult the SAI or look at the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website: http://www.leggmasson.com/InvestorServices, and click on the name of the fund.

 

20         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Retirement and institutional investors

Eligible investors

Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund can generally choose among three classes of shares: Class C, Class A and Class I (formerly Class Y) shares. “Retirement Plans” include 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit-sharing plans, non-qualified deferred compensation plans and other similar employer-sponsored retirement plans. Retirement Plans do not include individual retirement vehicles, such as traditional and Roth individual retirement accounts, Coverdell education savings accounts, individual 403(b)(7) custodial accounts, Keogh plans, SEPs, SARSEPs, SIMPLE IRAs, or Section 529 savings accounts. Although Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund are not subject to minimum initial investment requirements for any of these share classes, certain investment minimums may be imposed by a financial intermediary.

Other Retirement Plan investors (including, for example, employer-sponsored plans investing through brokerage accounts), can generally choose among three classes of shares: Class A, Class B and Class C. Individual retirement vehicles, such as IRAs, may also choose among these share classes. These types of investors are treated like individual investors for purposes of determining investment minimums, sales charges and any applicable sales charge reductions or waivers.

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries may generally choose among two classes of shares: Class A and Class I. “Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries” are investors who invest in the fund through financial intermediaries that offer their clients fund shares through investment programs as authorized by LMIS. Such investment programs may include fee-based advisory or brokerage account programs, and college savings vehicles such as Section 529 plans. The financial intermediary may impose separate investment minimums.

Institutional Investors

Institutional Investors may invest in Class I shares if they meet the $1,000,000 minimum initial investment requirement. Institutional Investors may also invest in Class A, B and C shares, which have different investment minimums and fees and expenses. “Institutional Investors” generally include corporations, banks, insurance companies, foundations, retirement plans and other similar entities with direct relationships to the fund.

Class C — Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund may buy Class C shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. As of November 20, 2006, LMIS no longer pays Service Agents selling Class C shares to retirement plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of a fund a commission on the purchase price of Class C shares sold by them. Instead, immediately after purchase, LMIS will pay these Service Agents an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class C shares serviced by them. For purchases made by Retirement

 

Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund         21


 

Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund on or after November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge on shares redeemed within one year of purchase is waived.

Class I

As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares and are offered only to Institutional Investors who meet the $1,000,000 minimum initial investment requirement, Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries, and other investors as authorized by LMIS. However, investors that held Class I shares prior to that date will be permitted to make additional investments in Class I shares.

Class A — Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund may purchase Class A shares through programs sponsored by financial intermediaries. Under these programs, the initial sales charge and contingent deferred sales charge for Class A shares is waived where:

n   Such Retirement Plan’s record keeper offers only load-waived shares,
n   Fund shares are held on the books of the fund through an omnibus account, and
n   The Retirement Plan has more than 100 participants, or has total assets exceeding $1 million

As of November 20, 2006, LMIS no longer pays Service Agents selling Class A shares to Retirement Plans with a direct omnibus relationship with a fund a commission on the purchase price of Class A shares sold by them. However, for certain Retirement Plans that are permitted to purchase shares at net asset value on or after this date, LMIS may continue to pay Service Agents commissions of up to 1.00% of the purchase price of the additional Class A shares that are purchased with regular ongoing plan contributions. Please contact your Service Agent for more information.

Other considerations

Plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries and other financial intermediaries may choose to impose qualification requirements for plans that differ from the fund’s share class eligibility standards. In certain cases this could result in the selection of a share class with higher service and distribution-related fees than otherwise would have been charged. The fund is not responsible for, and has no control over, the decision of any plan sponsor, plan fiduciary or financial intermediary to impose such differing requirements. Please consult with your plan sponsor, plan fiduciary or financial intermediary for more information about available share classes.

With respect to Class A and Class C shares the fund may pay a fee for recordkeeping services performed for the applicable share class.

Not all share classes may be made available by your Service Agent; please contact your Service Agent for additional details.

 

22         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Buying shares

 

Through a
Service Agent
  

You should contact your Service Agent to open a brokerage account and make arrangements to buy shares. You must provide the following information, for your order to be processed:

n  Class of shares being bought

n  Dollar amount or number of shares being bought

n  Account number (if existing account)

Your Service Agent may charge an annual account maintenance fee.

 
Through the fund   

Financial intermediary accounts, retirement plan accounts and certain other investors who are clients of certain Service Agents are eligible to buy shares directly from the fund.

n  Write to the fund at the following address:

Legg Mason Partners Funds

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9699

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699

n  Enclose a check to pay for the shares. For initial purchases, complete and send an account application available upon request from Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at the number below

n  Specify the name of the fund, the share class you wish to purchase and your account number (if existing account)

n  For more information, please call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010.

 
Through a systematic investment plan   

You may authorize your Service Agent or the transfer agent to transfer funds automatically from (i) a regular bank account, (ii) cash held in a brokerage account with a Service Agent or (iii) certain money market funds, in order to buy shares on a regular basis.

n  Amounts transferred must be at least: $25

n  Amounts may be transferred monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually

n  If you do not have sufficient funds in your account on a transfer date, your Service Agent or the transfer agent may charge you a fee.

 

For more information, contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services or consult the SAI.

 

Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund         23


 

Exchanging shares

 

Legg Mason Partners offers a distinctive family of funds tailored to help meet the varying needs of both large and small investors   

You should contact your Service Agent to exchange into other Legg Mason Partners Funds. Be sure to read the prospectus of the Legg Mason Partners Fund into which you are exchanging. An exchange is a taxable transaction, unless you are investing through a tax-qualified savings plan or account.

n  If you bought shares through a Service Agent, you may exchange shares only for shares of the same class of certain other Legg Mason Partners Funds made available for exchange by your Service Agent. Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds made available for exchange by your Service Agent may offer all classes. Please contact your Service Agent for more information about the funds and classes that are available for exchange

n  If you bought shares directly from the fund, you may exchange shares only for shares of the same class of another Legg Mason Partners Fund other than shares of Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund. Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds offer all classes

n  Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds may be offered in your state of residence. Contact your Service Agent or the transfer agent for further information.

n  Exchanges of Class A, B and C shares are subject to minimum investment requirements (except for systematic investment plan investments), and all shares are subject to the other requirements of the fund into which exchanges are made.

n  If you hold share certificates, the transfer agent must receive the certificates endorsed for transfer or with signed stock powers before the exchange is effective.

n  The fund may suspend or terminate your exchange privilege if you engage in an excessive pattern of exchanges.

 
Waiver of additional sales charges   

Your shares will not be subject to an initial sales charge at the time of the exchange.

Your contingent deferred sales charge (if any) will continue to be measured from the date of your original purchase of shares subject to a contingent deferred sales charge and you will be subject to the contingent deferred sales charge of the fund that you originally purchased.

 
By telephone    If you do not have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, you may be eligible to exchange shares through the fund. You must complete an authorization form to authorize telephone transfers. If eligible, you may make telephone exchanges on any day the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open. Shareholders should call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time). Exchanges are priced at the net asset value next determined.

 

24         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

  

You can make telephone exchanges only between accounts that have identical registrations.

 
By mail    If you do not have a brokerage account, contact your Service Agent or write to the fund at the address on the following page.
 
Through a systematic exchange plan   

You may be permitted to schedule exchanges of shares of any class of the fund for shares of the same class of other Legg Mason Partners Funds.

n  Exchanges may be made, monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually

n  A predetermined dollar amount of at least $25 per exchange is required

 

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services.

 

Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund         25


 

Redeeming shares

 

Generally   

Contact your Service Agent to redeem shares of the fund.

If you hold share certificates, the transfer agent must receive the certificates endorsed for transfer or with signed stock powers before you may redeem.

If the shares are held by a fiduciary or corporation, other documents may be required.

Redemptions are priced at the net asset value next determined after receipt of your request in good order.

Your redemption proceeds will normally be sent within three business days after your request is received in good order, but in any event within 7 days. Your redemption proceeds may be delayed for up to 10 days if your purchase was made by check.

If you have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, your redemption proceeds will be sent to your Service Agent. In other cases, unless you direct otherwise, your redemption proceeds will be paid by check mailed to your address of record.

 
By mail   

Send written requests to the fund at the following address:

Legg Mason Partners Funds

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9699

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699

Your written request must provide the following:

n  The fund name, the class of shares to be redeemed, and your account number

n  The dollar amount or number of shares to be redeemed

n  Signatures of each owner exactly as the account is registered

n  Signature guarantees, as applicable

 
By telephone   

If you do not have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, you may be eligible to redeem shares (except those held in retirement plans) in amounts up to $50,000 per day through the fund. You must complete an authorization form to authorize telephone redemptions. If eligible, you may request redemptions by telephone on any day the NYSE is open. Shareholders should call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time).

Your redemption proceeds can be sent by check to your address of record or by wire or electronic transfer (ACH) to a bank account designated on your authorization form. You must submit a new authorization form to change the bank account designated to receive wire or electronic transfers and you may be asked to provide certain other documents. The transfer agent may charge a fee on a wire or an electronic transfer (ACH).

 

 

26         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Automatic cash withdrawal plans   

You can arrange for the automatic redemption of a portion of your shares monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually. To qualify you must own shares of the fund with a value of at least $10,000 ($5,000 for retirement plan accounts) and each automatic redemption must be at least $50. If your shares are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge, the sales charge will be waived if your automatic redemptions are equal to or less than 2.00% per month of your account balance on the date withdrawals commence, up to a maximum of 12.00% in any one year.

The following conditions apply:

n  Your shares must not be represented by certificates

n  All dividends and distributions must be reinvested

 

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or consult the SAI.

 

Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund         27


 

Other things to know about transactions

When you buy, exchange or redeem shares, your request must be in good order. This means you have provided the following information, without which your request may not be processed:

n   Name of the fund
n   Your account number
n   Class of shares being bought, and if you own more than one class, the class of shares being exchanged or redeemed
n   Dollar amount or number of shares being bought, exchanged or redeemed
n   Signature of each owner exactly as the account is registered

The fund’s transfer agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services will employ reasonable procedures to confirm that any telephone exchange or redemption request is genuine, which may include recording calls, asking the caller to provide certain personal identification information, sending you a written confirmation or requiring other confirmation procedures from time to time. If these procedures are followed, neither the fund nor its agent will bear any liability for such transactions.

Signature guarantees

To be in good order, your redemption request must include a signature guarantee if you:

n   Are redeeming over $50,000
n   Are sending signed share certificates or stock powers to the transfer agent
n   Instruct the transfer agent to mail the check to an address different from the one on your account registration
n   Changed your account registration or your address within 30 days
n   Want the check paid to someone other than the account owner(s)
n   Are transferring the redemption proceeds to an account with a different registration

You can obtain a signature guarantee from most banks, dealers, brokers, credit unions and federal savings and loan institutions, but not from a notary public.

The fund has the right to:

n   Suspend the offering of shares
n   Waive or change minimum and additional investment amounts
n   Reject any purchase or exchange order
n   Change, revoke or suspend the exchange privilege
n   Suspend telephone transactions
n   Suspend or postpone redemptions of shares on any day when trading on the NYSE is restricted, or as otherwise permitted by the SEC
n   Pay redemption proceeds by giving you securities. You may pay transaction costs to dispose of the securities

Small account balances/Mandatory redemptions

If at any time the aggregate net asset value of the fund shares in your account is less than $500 for any reason (including solely due to declines in net asset value and/or failure to invest at least $500 within a reasonable period), the fund reserves the right to ask you to bring your account up to the applicable minimum investment amount as determined by

 

28         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

your Service Agent. In such case you shall be notified in writing and will have 60 days to make an additional investment to bring your account value up to the required level. If you choose not to do so within this 60-day period, the fund may close your account and send you the redemption proceeds. In the event your account is closed due to a failure to increase your balance to the minimum required amount, you will not be eligible to have your account subsequently reinstated without imposition of any sales charges that may apply to your new purchase. The fund may, with prior notice, change the minimum size of accounts subject to mandatory redemption, which may vary by class, or implement fees for small accounts.

Subject to applicable law, the fund may, with prior notice, adopt other policies from time to time requiring mandatory redemption of shares in certain circumstances.

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or the transfer agent or consult the SAI.

Frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares

Frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares may interfere with the efficient management of the fund’s portfolio by its portfolio managers, increase portfolio transaction costs, and have a negative effect on the fund’s long-term shareholders. For example, in order to handle large flows of cash into and out of the fund, the portfolio managers may need to allocate more assets to cash or other short-term investments or sell securities, rather than maintaining full investment in securities selected to achieve the fund’s investment objective. Frequent trading may cause the fund to sell securities at less favorable prices. Transaction costs, such as brokerage commissions and market spreads, can detract from the fund’s performance. In addition, the return received by long-term shareholders may be reduced when trades by other shareholders are made in an effort to take advantage of certain pricing discrepancies, when, for example, it is believed that the fund’s share price, which is determined at the close of the NYSE on each trading day, does not accurately reflect the value of the fund’s portfolio securities. Funds investing in foreign securities have been particularly susceptible to this form of arbitrage, but other funds could also be affected.

Because of the potential harm to the fund and its long-term shareholders, the Board of the fund has approved policies and procedures that are intended to discourage and prevent excessive trading and market timing abuses through the use of various surveillance techniques. Under these policies and procedures, the fund may limit additional exchanges or purchases of fund shares by shareholders who are believed by the manager to be engaged in these abusive trading activities. The intent of the policies and procedures is not to inhibit legitimate strategies, such as asset allocation, dollar cost averaging, or similar activities that may nonetheless result in frequent trading of fund shares. For this reason, the Board has not adopted specific restrictions on purchases and sales of fund shares, but the fund reserves the right to reject any exchange or purchase of fund shares with or without prior notice to the account holder. In cases where surveillance of a particular account establishes what the manager believes to be obvious market timing, the manager will seek to block future purchases and exchanges of fund shares by that account. Where surveillance of a particular account indicates activity that the manager believes could be either abusive or for legitimate purposes, the fund may permit the account holder to justify the activity.

 

Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund         29


 

The policies apply to any account, whether an individual account or accounts with financial intermediaries such as investment advisers, broker-dealers or retirement plan administrators, commonly called omnibus accounts, where the intermediary holds fund shares for a number of its customers in one account. The fund’s ability to monitor trading in omnibus accounts may, however, be severely limited due to the lack of access to an individual investor’s trading activity when orders are placed through these types of accounts. There may also be operational and technological limitations on the ability of the fund’s service providers to identify or terminate frequent trading activity within the various types of omnibus accounts.

The fund’s policies also require personnel such as portfolio managers and investment staff to report any abnormal or otherwise suspicious investment activity, and prohibit short-term trades by such personnel for their own account in mutual funds managed by the manager and its affiliates, other than money market funds. Additionally, the fund has adopted policies and procedures to prevent the selective release of information about the fund’s portfolio holdings, as such information may be used for market-timing and similar abusive practices.

The fund’s policies provide for ongoing assessment of the effectiveness of current policies and surveillance tools, and the Board reserves the right to modify these or adopt additional policies and restrictions in the future. Shareholders should be aware, however, that any surveillance techniques currently employed by the fund or other techniques that may be adopted in the future, may not be effective particularly where the trading takes place through certain types of omnibus accounts. As noted above, if the fund is unable to detect and deter trading abuses, the fund’s performance, and its long-term shareholders, may be harmed. In addition, because the fund has not adopted any specific limitations or restrictions on the trading of fund shares, shareholders may be harmed by the extra costs and portfolio management inefficiencies that result from frequent trading of fund shares, even when the trading is not for abusive purposes. Furthermore, the fund may not apply its policies consistently or uniformly, resulting in the risk that some shareholders may be able to engage in frequent trading while others will bear the costs and effects of that trading. The fund will provide advance notice to shareholders and prospective investors of any specific restrictions on the trading of fund shares that the Board may adopt in the future.

Record ownership

If you hold your shares through a Service Agent, your Service Agent may establish and maintain your account and be the shareholder of record. In the event that the fund holds a shareholder meeting, your Service Agent, as record holder, will vote your shares in accordance with your instructions. If you do not give your Service Agent voting instructions, your Service Agent may nonetheless, under certain circumstances, be entitled to vote your shares.

Share certificates

Share certificates for the fund will no longer be issued. If you currently hold share certificates of the fund, such certificates will continue to be honored. If you would like to return your share certificates to the fund and hold your shares in uncertificated form, please contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services.

 

30         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Dividends, distributions and taxes

Dividends and distributions

The fund generally pays dividends and makes capital gain distributions, if any, once a year, typically in December. The fund may pay additional distributions and dividends at other times if necessary for the fund to avoid a federal tax. The fund expects distributions to be primarily from capital gains. You do not pay a sales charge on reinvested distributions or dividends. Capital gain distributions and dividends are reinvested in additional fund shares of the same class you hold. Alternatively, you can instruct your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services to have your distributions and/or dividends paid in cash. You can change your choice at any time to be effective as of the next distribution or dividend, except that any change given to the Service Agent or transfer agent less than five days before the payment date will not be effective until the next distribution or dividend.

Taxes

The following discussion is very general. Because each shareholder’s circumstances are different and special tax rules may apply, you should consult your tax adviser about your investment in the fund.

In general, you will have to pay federal income taxes, as well as any state and local taxes, when you redeem shares, exchange shares or receive a distribution (whether paid in cash or reinvested in additional shares). Any tax liability that you owe as a result of any of these taxable events is your responsibility. The federal income tax treatment of redemptions, exchanges and distributions is summarized in the following table:

 

Transaction    Federal Tax Status
Redemption or exchange of shares    Usually capital gain or loss; long-term only if shares owned more than one year
 
Distributions of net capital gain (excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss)    Long-term capital gain
 
Distributions of qualified dividend income    Qualified dividend income
 
Other ordinary dividends (including distributions of net short-term capital gain)    Ordinary income
 

Distributions of net capital gain are taxable to you as long-term capital gain regardless of how long you have owned your shares. Distributions of qualified dividend income received by a non-corporate shareholder may qualify for a reduced tax rate, provided that the shareholder satisfies certain holding period requirements. Qualified dividend income generally is income derived from dividends from a U.S. corporation; dividends from certain foreign corporations will also qualify. You may want to avoid buying shares when the fund is about to declare a distribution or a dividend, because it will be taxable to you even though it may effectively be a return of a portion of your investment.

After the end of each year, your Service Agent or the fund will provide you with information about the distributions and dividends you received and any redemptions of shares during the previous year.

 

Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund         31


 

If you are neither a citizen nor a resident of the United States, the fund will withhold federal income tax at the rate of 30% (or such lower rate as may be determined in accordance with any applicable treaty) on ordinary dividends and other payments that are subject to such withholding. If you do not provide the fund with your correct taxpayer identification number and any required certifications, you will be subject to back-up withholding at the rate of 28% on your distributions, dividends, and redemption proceeds. Backup withholding will not, however, be applied to payments that have been subject to the 30% withholding tax on shareholders who are neither residents nor citizens of the United States.

 

32         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Share price

The Board has approved procedures to be used to value the fund’s securities for the purposes of determining the fund’s net asset value. The valuation of the securities of the fund is determined in good faith by or under the direction of the Board. The Board has delegated certain valuation functions for the fund to the manager.

The fund generally values its securities based on market prices determined at the close of regular trading on the NYSE. The fund’s currency valuations, if any, are done as of when the London Stock Exchange closes, which is usually at 12 noon Eastern time, as the manager believes that these valuations typically reflect the largest trading volume in the foreign currency markets. A material change in the value of currency during the period between the close of the London Stock Exchange and the calculation of the fund’s net asset value on the same date is considered a significant event, as described below, in response to which the fund may use fair valuation procedures to value the affected investments. For equity securities that are traded on an exchange, the market price is usually the closing sale or official closing price on that exchange. In the case of securities not traded on an exchange, or if such closing prices are not otherwise available, the market price is typically determined by independent third party pricing vendors approved by the fund’s Board using a variety of pricing techniques and methodologies. The market price for debt obligations is generally the price supplied by an independent third party pricing service approved by the fund’s board, which may use a matrix, formula or other objective method that takes into consideration market indices, yield curves and other specific adjustments. Short-term debt obligations that will mature in 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, unless it is determined that using this method would not reflect an investment’s fair value. If vendors are unable to supply a price, or if the price supplied is deemed by the manager to be unreliable, the market price may be determined using quotations received from one or more broker-dealers that make a market in the security. When such prices or quotations are not available, or when the manager believes that they are unreliable, the manager will price securities using fair value procedures approved by the Board. Because the fund invests in securities of small capitalization companies and issuers located in emerging markets — some of which may be thinly traded, for which market quotations may not be readily available or may be unreliable — the fund may use fair valuation procedures more frequently than funds that invest primarily in securities that are more liquid, such as securities of large capitalization domestic issuers. The fund may also use fair value procedures if the manager determines that a significant event has occurred between the time at which a market price is determined and the time at which the fund’s net asset value is calculated. In particular, the value of foreign securities may be materially affected by events occurring after the close of the market on which they are valued, but before the fund prices its shares. The fund uses a fair value model developed by an independent third party pricing service to price foreign equity securities on days when there is a certain percentage change in the value of a domestic equity security index, as such percentage may be determined by the manager from time to time.

Valuing securities at fair value involves greater reliance on judgment than valuation of securities based on readily available market quotations. A fund that uses fair value to price securities may value those securities higher or lower than another fund using market

 

Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund         33


 

quotations or its own fair value methodologies to price the same securities. There can be no assurance that the fund could obtain the fair value assigned to a security if it were to sell the security at approximately the time at which the fund determines its net asset value.

In order to buy, redeem or exchange shares at that day’s price, you must place your order with your Service Agent or the transfer agent before the NYSE closes. If the NYSE closes early, you must place your order prior to the actual closing time.

It is the responsibility of the Service Agents to transmit all orders to buy, exchange or redeem shares to the transfer agent on a timely basis.

 

34         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Financial highlights

The financial highlights tables are intended to help you understand the performance of each class for the past five years. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share. Total return represents the rate that a shareholder would have earned (or lost) on a fund share assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions. The information in the following tables has been derived from the fund’s financial statements, which have been audited by [                    ], independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund’s financial statements, is included in the annual report (available upon request). The fund’s financial statements for the years ended on or before October 31, 2004 were audited by other auditors. The fund was formerly known as CitiFunds Large Cap Growth Portfolio. As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares of the fund were renamed Class I shares. Since no Class I (formerly Y) shares were outstanding at October 31, 2006, no information on Class I shares is provided below.

 

For a Class A share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended October 31,   
Class A Shares   2006 (1)   2005 (1)     2004 (1)     2003 (1)     2002  

Net Asset Value, Beginning of Year

  $           $13.51     $13.63     $11.78     $14.26  
   

Income (Loss) From Operations:

         

Net investment income (loss)

    0.12     0.01     0.03     0.01  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    (0.07 )   (0.10 )   1.82     (2.49 )
   

Total Income (Loss) From Operations

    0.05     (0.09 )   1.85     (2.48 )
   

Less Distributions From:

         

Net investment income

    (0.09 )   (0.03 )   (0.00 ) (2)    

Net realized gains

                 
   

Total Distributions

    (0.09 )   (0.03 )   (0.00 ) (2)    
   

Net Asset Value, End of Year

  $           $13.47     $13.51     $13.63     $11.78  
   

Total Return (3)

    0.31 %   (0.65 )%   15.74 %   (17.39 )%
   

Net Assets, End of Year (000s)

  $           $156,443     $181,843     $202,356     $188,539  
   

Ratios to Average Net Assets:

         

Gross expenses

    1.40 %   1.41 %   1.36 %   1.35 %

Net expenses (4)(5)

    1.05     1.04     1.05     1.05  

Net investment income (loss)

    0.86     0.08     0.28     0.06  
   

Portfolio Turnover Rate

    111 %   74 %   20 %   29 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   Amount represents less than $0.01 per share.

 

(3)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers, the total return would have been lower. Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

(4)   The investment manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees. Such waivers are voluntary and may be reduced or terminated at any time.

 

(5)   As a result of a voluntary expense limitation, the ratio of expenses to average net assets will not exceed 1.05%.

 

Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund         35


 

For a Class B share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended October 31,   
Class B Shares   2006 (1)   2005 (1)     2004 (1)     2003 (1)     2002  

Net Asset Value, Beginning of Year

  $           $12.94     $13.13     $11.43     $13.93  
   

Income (Loss) From Operations:

         

Net investment income (loss)

    0.02     (0.09 )   (0.06 )   (0.10 )

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    (0.08 )   (0.10 )   1.76     (2.40 )
   

Total Income (Loss) From Operations

    (0.06 )   (0.19 )   1.70     (2.50 )
   

Less Distributions From:

         

Net realized gains

                 
   

Total Distributions

                 
   

Net Asset Value, End of Year

  $           $12.88     $12.94     $13.13     $11.43  
   

Total Return (2)

    (0.46 )%   (1.45 )%   14.87 %   (17.95 )%
   

Net Assets, End of Year (000s)

  $           $8,513     $10,310     $11,239     $10,366  
   

Ratios to Average Net Assets:

         

Gross expenses

    2.22 %   2.18 %   2.11 %   2.10 %

Net expenses (3)(4)

    1.80     1.79     1.80     1.80  

Net investment income (loss)

    0.12     (0.67 )   (0.47 )   (0.69 )
   

Portfolio Turnover Rate

    111 %   74 %   20 %   29 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers, the total return would have been lower. Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

(3)   The investment manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees. Such waivers are voluntary and may be reduced or terminated at any time.

 

(4)   As a result of a voluntary expense limitation, the ratio of expenses to average net assets will not exceed 1.80%.

 

36         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

For a Class C share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended October 31,   
Class C Shares (1)   2006 (2)   2005 (2)     2004 (2)     2003 (2)     2002  

Net Asset Value, Beginning of Year

  $           $13.54     $13.74     $11.96     $14.58  
   

Income (Loss) From Operations:

         

Net investment income (loss)

    0.01     (0.09 )   (0.06 )   (0.06 )

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    (0.06 )   (0.11 )   1.84     (2.56 )
   

Total Income (Loss) From Operations

    (0.05 )   (0.20 )   1.78     (2.62 )
   

Less Distributions From:

         

Net realized gains

                 
   

Total Distributions

                 
   

Net Asset Value, End of Year

  $           $13.49     $13.54     $13.74     $11.96  
   

Total Returns (3)

    (0.37 )%   (1.46 )%   14.88 %   (17.97 )%
   

Net Assets, End of Year (000s)

  $           $334     $500     $637     $537  
   

Ratios to Average Net Assets:

         

Gross expenses

    2.19 %   2.22 %   2.11 %   2.10 %

Net expenses (4)(5)

    1.80     1.79     1.80     1.80  

Net investment income (loss)

    0.10     (0.65 )   (0.46 )   (0.66 )
   

Portfolio Turnover Rate

    111 %   74 %   20 %   29 %
   

 

(1)   On April 29, 2004, Class L shares were renamed as Class C shares.

 

(2)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(3)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers, the total return would have been lower. Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

(4)   The investment manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees. Such waivers are voluntary and may be reduced or terminated at any time.

 

(5)   As a result of a voluntary expense limitation, the ratio of expenses to average net assets will not exceed 1.80%.

 

Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund         37


 

 

(Investment Company Act file no. 811-4007)

FD 02504 02/07

LOGO

Legg Mason Partners Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund

You may look at the fund’s website at www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices for a free copy of a Prospectus, Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) or an Annual or Semi-Annual Report, or to request other information.

Shareholder reports Additional information about the fund’s investments is available in the fund’s Annual and Semi-Annual Reports to shareholders. In the fund’s Annual Report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the fund’s performance.

The fund sends only one report to a household if more than one account has the same address. Contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services if you do not want this policy to apply to you.

Statement of Additional Information The SAI provides more detailed information about the fund and is incorporated by reference into (is legally a part of) this Prospectus.

You can make inquiries about the fund or obtain shareholder reports or the SAI (without charge) by contacting your Service Agent, by calling Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010, or by writing to the fund at 125 Broad Street, New York, New York 10004.

Information about the fund (including the SAI) can be reviewed and copied at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “Commission”) Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. In addition, information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the Commission at 800-SEC-0330. Reports and other information about the fund are available on the EDGAR Database on the Commission’s Internet site at http://www.sec.gov . Copies of this information may be obtained for a duplicating fee by electronic request at the following E-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov , or by writing the Commission’s Public Reference Section, Washington, D.C. 20549-0102.

If someone makes a statement about the fund that is not in this Prospectus, you should not rely upon that information. Neither the fund nor the distributors are offering to sell shares of the fund to any person to whom the fund may not lawfully sell its shares.


 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund

Supplement dated April     , 2007

to Prospectus dated                  , 2007

The attached prospectus is now dated April     , 2007.

As part of a number of initiatives launched in 2006 to restructure and streamline the Legg Mason Partners fund complex, the fund assumed the assets and liabilities of a predecessor fund with the same name. The fund is now grouped for organizational and governance purposes with other Legg Mason Partners funds that are predominantly equity-type funds. The prospectus is supplemented as shown below to reflect this change. Any information in the prospectus relating to the fund prior to the date of this Prospectus refers to the fund’s predecessor.

Performance Information

The summary performance information in the prospectus is that of the fund’s predecessor.

Management — Other Information

The paragraph beneath the heading “Other Information” in the “Management” section of the prospectus is deleted.

Financial Highlights

The financial information shown in the “Financial Highlights” section of the prospectus is that of the fund’s predecessor.


PROSPECTUS

[            ], 2007

The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or determined whether this Prospectus is accurate or complete. Any statement to the contrary is a crime.

LOGO

Legg Mason Partners

Small Cap Growth

Opportunities Fund

Class A, B, C and I Shares

 

 

 

INVESTMENT PRODUCTS: NOT FDIC INSURED Ÿ NO BANK GUARANTEE Ÿ MAY LOSE VALUE

 

 


Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund

Contents

 

Investments, risks and performance

  2

More on the fund’s investments

  8

Management

  11

Choosing a class of shares to buy

  15

Comparing the fund’s classes

  17

Sales charge

  18

More about contingent deferred sales charges

  22

Retirement and institutional investors

  23

Buying shares

  25

Exchanging shares

  26

Redeeming shares

  28

Other things to know about transactions

  30

Dividends, distributions and taxes

  33

Share price

  35

Financial highlights

  37

 

Prior to April 7, 2006, the fund was known as Smith Barney Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund.


 

Investments, risks and performance

Investment objective

The fund seeks long-term capital growth. Dividend income, if any, is incidental to this goal.

Principal investment strategies

Key investments

The fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of small cap companies and related investments. Companies that have market capitalizations not exceeding $3 billion or the highest month-end market capitalization of any stock in the Russell 2000 Index for the previous 12 months, whichever is greater, are considered small cap companies. Securities of companies whose capitalizations no longer meet this definition after purchase by the fund are still considered to have small market capitalizations for the purpose of the fund’s 80% policy. The Russell 2000 Index is an index of small capitalization stocks. As of January 31, 2007, the Russell 2000 Index included companies with market capitalizations between $             million and $             billion. The size of companies in the Russell 2000 Index changes with market conditions and the composition of the Index.

The fund’s equity securities may include stocks listed in the Russell 2000 Index and also may include other common stocks, securities convertible into common stocks, preferred stocks and warrants.

Selection process

The fund is managed by a portfolio manager, supported by a team of sector analysts, with each member of the team focusing on a different industry sector. The portfolio manager uses a growth-oriented investment style that emphasizes small U.S. companies believed to have one or more of following:

n   superior management teams
n   good prospects for growth
n   predictable, growing demand for their products or services
n   dominant positions in a niche market or customers who are very large companies
n   cyclical recovery potential
n   strong or improving financial conditions

In addition, the fund may invest in companies believed to be emerging companies relative to potential markets or undervalued relative to their peers. The fund may continue to hold securities of issuers that become mid cap or large cap issuers if, in a portfolio manager’s judgment, these securities remain good investments for the fund.

The portfolio manager generally uses a “bottom-up” approach when selecting securities for the fund. This means that the portfolio manager looks primarily at individual companies against the context of broader market forces.

Principal risks of investing in the fund

Investors could lose money on their investment in the fund, or the fund may not perform as well as other investments, if:

n   Key economic trends become materially unfavorable, such as rising interest rates and levels of inflation or deflation, or a slowdown of economic growth

 

2         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

n   Stock prices decline generally, or stocks perform poorly relative to other types of investments
n   Small companies fall out of favor with investors
n   Stock prices of smaller, newer companies decline further and more abruptly than those of larger, more established companies in response to negative stock market movements
n   A portfolio manager’s judgment about the attractiveness, growth prospects or potential appreciation of a particular stock proves to be incorrect
n   A particular product or service developed by a company in which the fund invests is delayed or unsuccessful, the company does not meet earnings expectations or other events depress the value of the company’s stock

Compared to mutual funds that focus on larger companies, the fund’s share price may be more volatile because smaller companies are more likely to have:

n   Shorter operating histories and more erratic businesses
n   More limited product lines and distribution channels
n   Fewer capital resources
n   More limited management depth

Further, securities of smaller growth companies are more likely to:

n   Experience sharper swings in market values
n   Be less liquid
n   Offer greater potential for gains and losses

In addition, the fund’s aggressive, growth-oriented investment style may increase the risks already associated with investing in smaller companies. For example, fast growing smaller company stocks may be more volatile than the stocks of other small cap companies because their market prices tend to reflect future expectations. When it appears those expectations will not be met, the prices of these securities typically fall. Growth securities may also be more volatile than other investments because they often do not pay dividends.

Who may want to invest

The fund may be an appropriate investment if:

n   You want to direct a portion of your overall investment portfolio to stocks of small cap issuers
n   You are seeking growth of principal and not current income
n   You are prepared to accept high volatility of the fund’s share price and possible losses
n   Your investment horizon is longer term — typically at least five years

Performance Information

The following shows summary performance information for the fund in a bar chart and an Average Annual Total Returns table. The information provides an indication of the risks of investing in the fund by showing changes in its performance from year to year and by showing how the fund’s average annual total returns compare with the returns of a broad-based securities market index. The bar chart and the information below show performance of the fund’s Class A shares, but do not reflect the impact of sales charges (loads). If they did, the returns would be lower than those shown . Unlike the bar chart, the performance for Class A, B, C and I (1) shares in the Average Annual Total Returns table reflects the impact

 

(1)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund         3


 

of the maximum sales charge (load) applicable to the respective classes. The fund’s past performance, is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future .

Calendar Year Total Return — Class A Shares*

LOGO

Highest and lowest quarter returns* (for periods shown in the bar chart)

Highest:     % in                  quarter         ; Lowest:     % in                  quarter         .

Year to date:     % through 10/31/06.

 

 

*   The returns shown for Class A shares include returns for periods before the creation of share classes on January 4, 1999.

 

4         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Average Annual Total Returns (for periods ended 12/31/06)

 

       1 year    5 years    10 years    Since
Inception
   Inception
Date

Class A

               6/21/95
 
Return before taxes (1)        %        %        %      
 
Return after taxes on distributions (1) (2)        %        %        %      
 
Return after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares (1) (2)        %        %        %      
 

 

Other Classes (Return before
taxes only)
   1 year    5 years    10 years    Since
Inception
     Inception
Date
 

Class B

       %        %    n/a        %      1/04/99  
   
Class C ( 3 )        %        %    n/a        %      9/22/00  
   
Class I (4)        %    n/a    n/a        %      4/11/03  
   
Russell 2000 Growth Index ( 5 )        %        %        %    ( 5 )    ( 5 )
   

 

(1 )   On November 20, 2006, the maximum initial sales charge on Class A shares was increased for sales made on or after that date. The average annual returns for Class A shares in the table have been calculated as if the increased maximum initial sales charge had been in effect for the entire period.

 

(2 )   After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of fund shares at the end of the measurement period. After-tax returns shown above are for Class A shares only. After-tax returns for other share classes will vary.

 

( 3 )   Effective as of April 29, 2004, Class L shares were renamed Class C shares. Effective February 2, 2004, the initial sales charge of 1.00% on these shares was eliminated for sales made on or after that date. The average annual returns for Class C shares in the table have been calculated as if the sales charge had been eliminated for the entire period.

 

( 4)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

(5 )   The Russell 2000 Growth Index is an unmanaged index which measures the performance of those Russell 2000 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. It is not possible to invest directly in the Index. An index does not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes. The average annual total returns of the Russell 2000 Growth Index since the inception of each of the Class B, C and I shares are 3.15%, (2.14%), and 24.45%, respectively.

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund         5


 

Fee table

This table sets forth the fees and expenses you may pay if you invest in fund shares.

 

Shareholder Fees

 

(fees paid directly from your investment)   Class A     Class B     Class C     Class I (1)
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a % of offering price)   5.75 %   None     None     None
 
Maximum contingent deferred sales charge (load) (as a % of the lower of net asset value at purchase or redemption)   None ( 2 )   5.00 %   1.00 % (3)   None
 

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses ( 4 )

 

(paid by the fund as a % of net assets)   Class A     Class B     Class C     Class I  
Management fee   0.75 %   0.75 %   0.75 %   0.75 %
   
Distribution (12b-1) fees (includes service fees)   0.25 %   1.00 %   1.00 %   None  
   
Other expenses (5)       %         %         %         %  
   
Total annual fund operating expenses*       %         %         %         %  
   

*Because of voluntary waivers and/or reimbursements, actual total operating expenses are expected to be:

      %         %         %         %  
   

 

    These voluntary fee waivers and reimbursements do not cover brokerage, taxes and extraordinary expenses and may be reduced or terminated at any time.

 

(1)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

(2)   You may buy Class A shares in amounts of $1,000,000 or more at net asset value (without an initial sales charge) but if you redeem those shares within 12 months of their purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

 

( 3)   As of November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge is waived for retirement plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund.

 

(4 )   Based on fees and expenses for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006.

 

(5)   The amounts set forth in “Other expenses” for Class A, B, C, and I shares have been restated to reflect the estimated effect of new transfer agency and custody contracts which became effective January 1, 2006.

 

6         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Example

This example helps you compare the costs of investing in the fund with the costs of investing in other mutual funds. Your actual costs may be higher or lower. The example assumes:

n   You invest $10,000 in the fund for the periods shown
n   Your investment has a 5% return each year — the assumption of a 5% return is required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for purposes of this example and is not a prediction of the fund’s future performance
n   You reinvest all distributions and dividends without a sales charge
n   The fund’s operating expenses (before fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, if any) remain the same

 

Number of Years You Own Your Shares

 

      1 year   3 years   5 years   10 years  

Class A (with or without redemption)

  $        $        $        $       
   

Class B (redemption at end of period)

  $     $     $     $ (1 )
   

Class B (no redemption)

  $     $     $     $ (1 )
   

Class C (redemption at end of period)

  $     $     $     $    
   

Class C (no redemption)

  $     $     $     $    
   

Class I (2) (with or without redemption)

  $     $     $     $    
   

 

(1)   Assumes conversion to Class A shares approximately eight years after purchase.

 

(2)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund         7


 

More on the fund’s investments

Derivatives

The fund’s investment objectives and principal investment strategies are described under the section entitled “Investments, risks and performance” above. This section provides further information about the investment strategies that may be used by the fund. The fund may, but need not, use derivative contracts, such as futures and forward currency contracts:

n   To hedge against changes in the prices of securities held or to be bought or changes in the values (in U.S. dollars) of securities of foreign issuers
n   To enhance potential gains
n   As a substitute for buying or selling securities
n   As a cash flow management technique

Derivatives may have economic characteristics similar to the small cap equity securities held by the fund. In that case, derivative investments will be considered small cap investments for the purpose of the fund’s investment policy.

Even a small investment in derivative contracts can have a big impact on the fund’s stock and currency rate exposure. Therefore, using derivatives can disproportionately increase losses and reduce opportunities for gains when stock prices or currency rates are changing. The fund may not fully benefit from or may lose money on derivatives if changes in their value do not correspond accurately or as anticipated to changes in the value of the fund’s holdings. Derivatives can also make a fund less liquid and harder to value, especially in declining markets, and the counterparty may fail to honor contract terms. Derivatives may not be available on terms that make economic sense (for example, they may be too costly).

Foreign investments

The fund may invest in foreign securities. The fund may invest directly in foreign issuers or invest in depositary receipts.

The fund’s investments in foreign securities may involve greater risk than investments in securities of U.S. issuers. These risks may include expropriation of assets, confiscatory taxation, withholding taxes on dividends and interest paid on fund investments, currency exchange controls and other limitations on the use or transfer of fund assets and political or social instability. The fund could also lose money if the currency in which a security is priced declines in value relative to the U.S. dollar.

In some foreign countries, less information is available about foreign issuers and markets because of less rigorous accounting and regulatory standards than in the U.S. Foreign markets may offer less protection to investors. Enforcing legal rights may be difficult, costly and slow. There may be special problems enforcing claims against foreign governments.

Foreign countries generally have markets that are less liquid and more volatile than markets in the U.S. In addition, there is the possibility of governmental controls on currency exchanges or governmental intervention in currency markets. Controls or intervention could limit or prevent the fund from realizing value in U.S. dollars from its investment in foreign securities.

 

8         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Because the value of a depositary receipt is dependent upon the market price of an underlying foreign security, depositary receipts are subject to most of the risks associated with investing in foreign securities directly.

The risks of investing in foreign securities are greater for securities of emerging market issuers because political or economic instability, lack of market liquidity, and negative government actions like currency controls or seizure of private businesses or property are more likely.

Debt securities

While the fund expects to invest mainly in equity securities, the fund may also invest in other securities that the manager believes provide opportunities for appreciation, such as fixed income securities. The fund’s debt securities must be investment grade when the fund purchases them. Generally, the value of these debt securities will decline if interest rates rise, the credit rating of the security is downgraded or the issuer defaults on its obligation to pay principal or interest.

Convertible securities

Convertible securities, which are debt securities that may be converted into stock, are subject to the market risks of stocks as well as the risks of debt securities.

Cash management

The fund may hold cash pending investment, and may invest in money market instruments, repurchase agreements and reverse repurchase agreements for cash management purposes

Portfolio turnover

The fund may engage in active and frequent trading to achieve its principal investment strategies. This may lead to the realization and distribution to shareholders of higher capital gains, which would increase their tax liability. Frequent trading also increases transaction costs, which could detract from the fund’s performance. The “Financial highlights” section of this Prospectus shows the fund’s historical portfolio turnover rate.

Defensive investing

The fund may depart from its principal investment strategies in response to adverse market, economic or political conditions by taking temporary defensive positions in any type of money market instruments and short-term debt securities or cash without regard to any percentage limitations. If the fund takes a temporary defensive position, it may be unable to achieve its investment objective.

The fund may also use other strategies and invest in other securities that are described, along with their risks, in the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”). However, the fund might not use all of the strategies and techniques or invest in all of the types of securities described in this Prospectus or in the SAI. Also note that there are many other factors which are not described here that could adversely affect your investment and that could prevent the fund from achieving its investment objectives.

The fund’s investment objectives and strategies may be changed without shareholder approval.

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund         9


 

Portfolio holdings

The fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the fund’s portfolio securities are described in the SAI.

 

10         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Management

Manager and subadviser

Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC (“LMPFA” or the “manager”) is the fund’s investment manager. LMPFA, with offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022, is a recently organized investment adviser that has been formed to serve as the investment manager of the fund and other Legg Mason-sponsored funds. LMPFA provides administrative and certain oversight services to the fund. ClearBridge Advisors, LLC (“ClearBridge” or the “subadviser”) provides the day-to-day portfolio management of the fund, except for the management of cash and short-term instruments which is performed by LMPFA.

ClearBridge, with offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022, is a recently-organized investment adviser that has been formed to succeed to the equity securities portfolio management business of Citigroup Asset Management, which was acquired by Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”) in December 2005.

LMPFA and ClearBridge are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Legg Mason. Legg Mason, whose principal executive offices are at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, is a global asset management company. As of December 31, 2006, Legg Mason’s asset management operation had aggregate assets under management of approximately $                     billion.

Prior to August 1, 2006, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”) was the fund’s investment manager. SBFM is also a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason.

Portfolio Manager

Vincent Gao is primarily responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operation of the fund. He works with a team of sector analysts who are responsible for stock selection in one or more industries. Mr. Gao is an Executive Vice President of ClearBridge. Mr. Gao has been managing the fund since 2004.

The SAI provides additional information about the portfolio manager’s compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio manager and the portfolio manager’s ownership of securities of the fund, and has more detailed information about the manager, the subadviser and other fund service providers.

Management fee

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, the fund paid a management fee of     % of the fund’s average daily net assets for management services. For the period from November 1, 2005 through July 31, 2006, the fund paid SBFM a management fee equal to     % of the fund’s average daily net assets. For the period from August 1, 2006 through October 31, 2006, the fund paid LMPFA a management fee equal to     % of the fund’s average daily net assets.

A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of the fund’s management agreement and subadvisory agreement is available in the fund’s Annual Report for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006.

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund         11


 

Other Information

The fund’s Board has approved a number of initiatives designed to streamline and restructure the fund complex, and has authorized seeking shareholder approval for those initiatives where shareholder approval is required. These initiatives include the election of a new Board, the grouping of the fund for organizational and governance purposes with other funds in the fund complex that are predominantly equity-type funds, and the adoption of a single form of organization as a Maryland business trust, with all funds operating under uniform charter documents. Fund shareholders entitled to vote also have been asked to approve investment matters, including standardized fundamental investment policies. Proxy materials describing these matters were mailed in October, 2006. If shareholder approval is obtained, these matters generally are expected to be effectuated during the first half of 2007.

Reorganization

The fund’s Board has approved a reorganization pursuant to which the fund’s assets would be acquired, and its liabilities would be assumed, by the Salomon Brothers Small Cap Growth Fund (the “Acquiring Fund”) in exchange for shares of the Acquiring Fund. The fund would then be liquidated, and shares of the Acquiring Fund would be distributed to fund shareholders.

Under the reorganization, fund shareholders would receive shares of the Acquiring Fund with the same aggregate net asset value as their shares of the fund. It is anticipated that no gain or loss for Federal income tax purposes would be recognized by fund shareholders as a result of the reorganization.

The reorganization is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including approval by fund shareholders. Proxy materials describing the reorganization are expected to be mailed later in 2006. If the reorganization is approved by fund shareholders, it is expected to occur during the first quarter of 2007. Prior to the reorganization, shareholders can continue to purchase, redeem and exchange shares subject to the limitations described below under “Buying shares,” “Exchanging shares,” and “Redeeming shares.”

Distribution plan

Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC (“LMIS”), a wholly-owned broker-dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”) serve as the fund’s distributors.

The fund has adopted a shareholder services and distribution plan for its Class A, B and C shares. Under the plan, the fund pays distribution and/or service fees. These fees are an ongoing expense and, over time, will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than other types of sales charges.

In addition, a distributor may make payments for distribution and/or shareholder servicing activities out of its past profits and other available sources. The distributor may also make payments to dealers for marketing, promotional or related expenses. The amount of these payments is determined by the distributors and may be substantial. The manager or an affiliate may make similar payments under similar arrangements.

The payments described in the paragraph above are often referred to as “revenue sharing payments.” The recipients of such payments may include a fund’s distributors, affiliates of

 

12         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

the manager, broker-dealers, financial institutions and other financial intermediaries through which investors may purchase shares of the fund. In some circumstances, such payments may create an incentive for an intermediary or its employees or associated persons to recommend or sell shares of the fund to you. Please contact your financial intermediary for details about revenue sharing payments it may receive.

Recent Developments

On May 31, 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued an order in connection with the settlement of an administrative proceeding against SBFM, the then-investment adviser or manager to the funds, and CGMI, relating to the appointment of an affiliated transfer agent for the Smith Barney family of mutual funds (the “Affected Funds”).

The SEC order finds that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(1) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder (the “Advisers Act”). Specifically, the order finds that SBFM and CGMI knowingly or recklessly failed to disclose to the boards of the Affected Funds in 1999 when proposing a new transfer agent arrangement with an affiliated transfer agent that: First Data Investors Services Group (“First Data”), the Affected Funds’ then-existing transfer agent, had offered to continue as transfer agent and do the same work for substantially less money than before; and that Citigroup Asset Management (“CAM”), the Citigroup business unit that, at the time, included the Affected Fund’s investment manager and other investment advisory companies, had entered into a side letter with First Data under which CAM agreed to recommend the appointment of First Data as sub-transfer agent to the affiliated transfer agent in exchange, among other things, for a guarantee by First Data of specified amounts of asset management and investment banking fees to CAM and CGMI. The order also finds that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act by virtue of the omissions discussed above and other misrepresentations and omissions in the materials provided to the Affected Funds’ boards, including the failure to make clear that the affiliated transfer agent would earn a high profit for performing limited functions while First Data continued to perform almost all of the transfer agent functions, and the suggestion that the proposed arrangement was in the Affected Funds’ best interests and that no viable alternatives existed.

SBFM and CGMI do not admit or deny any wrongdoing or liability. The settlement does not establish wrongdoing or liability for purposes of any other proceeding. The SEC censured SBFM and CGMI and ordered them to cease and desist from violations of Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Advisers Act. The order requires Citigroup to pay $208.1 million, including $109 million in disgorgement of profits, $19.1 million in interest, and a civil money penalty of $80 million. Approximately $24.4 million has already been paid to the Affected Funds, primarily through fee waivers. The remaining $183.7 million, including the penalty, has been paid to the U.S. Treasury and will be distributed pursuant to a plan submitted for approval of the SEC. At this time, there is no certainty as to how the above-described proceeds of the settlement will be distributed, to whom such distributions will be made, the methodology by which such distributions will be allocated, and when such distributions will be made. The order also requires that transfer agency fees received from the Affected Funds since December 1, 2004 less certain expenses, be placed in escrow and provided that a portion of such fees might be subsequently distributed in accordance

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund         13


 

with the terms of the order. On April 3, 2006, an aggregate amount of approximately $9 million held in escrow was distributed to the Affected Funds.

The order required SBFM to recommend a new transfer agent contract to the Fund boards within 180 days of the entry of the order; if a Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent or sub-transfer agent, SBFM and CGMI would have been required, at their expense, to engage an independent monitor to oversee a competitive bidding process. On November 21, 2005, and within the specified timeframe, the Affected Funds’ Boards selected a new transfer agent for the Affected Funds. No Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent. Under the order, SBFM also must comply with an amended version of a vendor policy that Citigroup instituted in August 2004.

Although there can be no assurance, the manager does not believe that this matter will have a material adverse effect on the Affected Funds.

On December 1, 2005, Citigroup completed the sale of substantially all of its global asset management business, including SBFM, to Legg Mason.

 

14         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Choosing a class of shares to buy

Individual investors can generally choose among three classes of shares: Class A, B, and C shares. Individual investors that held Class I (formerly Class Y) shares prior to November 20, 2006, may continue to invest in Class I shares. Institutional and retirement plan investors and clients of financial intermediaries should refer to “Retirement and institutional investors” below for a description of the classes available to them. Each class has different sales charges and expenses, allowing you to choose the class that best meets your needs.

When choosing which class of shares to buy, you should consider:

n   How much you plan to invest
n   How long you expect to own the shares
n   The expenses paid by each class detailed in the Fee table and Example at the front of this prospectus
n   Whether you qualify for any reduction or waiver of sales charges

If you are choosing between Class A and Class B shares, it will in almost all cases be the more economical choice for you to purchase Class A shares if you plan to purchase shares in an amount of $100,000 or more (whether in a single purchase or through aggregation of eligible holdings). This is because of the reduced sales charge available on larger investments of Class A shares and the lower ongoing expenses of Class A shares compared to Class B shares.

If you intend to invest for only a few years, the effect of Class B contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions made within five years of purchase, as well as the effect of higher expenses of that class, might make an investment in Class C more appropriate. There is no initial sales charge on Class C shares, and the contingent deferred sales charge does not apply to shares redeemed one year after purchase.

However, if you plan to invest a large amount and your investment horizon is five years or more, Class C shares might not be as advantageous as Class A shares. This is because the annual asset-based sales charge on Class C shares will have a greater impact on your account over the longer term than the reduced front-end sales charge available for larger purchases of Class A shares.

You may buy shares from:

n   Certain broker-dealers, financial intermediaries, financial institutions or a distributor’s financial advisors or registered representatives (each called a “Service Agent”)
n   The fund, but only if you are investing through certain qualified plans or Service Agents

Different types of shareholder services may be available to you under arrangements offered by different Service Agents. In addition, these services may vary depending on the share class in which you choose to invest. In making your decision regarding which share class to buy, please keep in mind that your Service Agent may receive different compensation depending on the share class in which you invest. Investors should consult with their Service Agent about comparative pricing of shareholder services available to them under each available share class, the compensation that will be received by their Service Agent in connection with each available share class, and other factors that may be relevant to the investor’s choice of share class in which to invest.

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund         15


 

Not all classes of shares are available through each Service Agent. You should contact your Service Agent for further information.

Investment minimums

Minimum initial and additional investment amounts vary depending on the class of shares you buy and the nature of your investment account.

 

    Investment Minimum
Initial/Additional Investment (1)
      Class A   Class B   Class C   Class I
(formerly Y)

General

  $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50     N/A
 

IRAs and Uniform Gifts or Transfers to Minor Accounts

  $ 250/$50   $ 250/$50   $ 250/$50     N/A
 

SIMPLE IRAs

  $ 1/$1   $ 1/$1   $ 1/$1     N/A
 

Systematic Investment Plans

  $ 25/$25   $ 25/$25   $ 25/$25     N/A
 

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries

  $ 1/$1     N/A     N/A     None/None
 

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund (3)

    None/None     N/A     None/None     None/None
 

Other Retirement Plans

  $ 50/$50   $ 50/$50   $ 50/$50     N/A
 

Institutional Investors

  $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50   $ 1 million/None
 

 

(1)   Please refer to the section entitled “Retirement and institutional investors” for additional information regarding the investment minimum and eligibility requirements for Retirement Plans, Institutional Investors, and Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries.

More information about the fund’s classes of shares is available through the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website. You’ll find detailed information about sales charges and ways you can qualify for reduced or waived sales charges, including:

n   The front-end sales charges that apply to the purchase of Class A shares
n   The contingent deferred sales charges that apply to the redemption of Class B shares, Class C shares and certain Class A shares (redeemed within one year)
n   Who qualifies for lower sales charges on Class A shares
n   Who qualifies for a sales load waiver

Look at http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices and click on the name of the fund.

 

16         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Comparing the fund’s classes

The following table compares key features of the fund’s classes. You should review the Fee table and Example at the front of this prospectus carefully before choosing your share class. Your Service Agent can help you decide which class meets your goals. They may receive different compensation depending upon which class you choose.

 

      Class A   Class B   Class C   Class I
(formerly Y)
Key features  

n  Initial sales charge

n  You may qualify for reduction or waiver of initial sales charge

n  Generally lower annual expenses than Class B and Class C

 

n  No initial sales charge

n  Contingent deferred sales charge declines over time

n  Converts to Class A after approximately 8 years

n  Generally higher annual expenses than Class A

 

n  No initial sales charge

n  Contingent deferred sales charge for only 1 year

n  Does not convert to Class A

n  Generally higher annual expenses than Class A

 

n  No initial or contingent deferred sales charge

n  Only offered
to institutional
and other
eligible investors

n  Generally lower expenses than the other classes

Initial sales charge  

Up to 5.75%; reduced or waived for large purchases and certain investors. No charge for purchases of $1 million or more

 

None

 

None

 

None

Contingent deferred sales charge  

1.00% on purchases of $1 million or more if you redeem within 1 year of purchase; waived for certain investors

 

Up to 5.00% charged when you redeem shares. The charge is reduced over time and there is no contingent deferred sales charge after 5 years; waived for certain investors

 

1.00% if you redeem within 1 year of purchase; waived for certain retirement plan investors

 

None

Annual distribution and service fees  

0.25% of average daily net assets

 

1.00% of average daily net assets

 

1.00% of average daily net assets

 

None

Exchangeable Into (1)  

Class A shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class B shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class C shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class I shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

(1)   Ask your Service Agent for the Legg Mason Partners Funds available for exchange.

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund         17


 

Sales charge

Class A shares

You buy Class A shares at the offering price, which is the net asset value plus a sales charge. You pay a lower sales charge as the size of your investment increases to certain levels called breakpoints. You do not pay a sales charge on the fund’s distributions or dividends you reinvest in additional Class A shares.

The table below shows the rate of sales charge that you pay, depending on the amount that you purchase, for purchases made on or after November 20, 2006. The table below also shows the amount of broker-dealer compensation that will be paid out of the sales charge. For Class A shares sold by LMIS, LMIS will receive the sales charge imposed on purchases of Class A shares (or any contingent deferred sales charge paid on redemptions) and will retain the full amount of such sales charge. For Class A shares sold by CGMI, CGMI will receive the sales charge imposed on purchases of Class A shares and will retain an amount equal to the broker-dealer commission paid out of the sales charge. LMIS will receive any portion not retained by CGMI. Service Agents (including CGMI) will also receive a distribution/service fee payable on Class A shares at an annual rate of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class A shares serviced by them.

 

Amount of Purchase   Sales Charge
as % of
Offering Price
  Sales Charge as
% of Net
Amount Invested
  Broker-Dealer
Commission
as % of
Offering Price

Less than $25,000

  5.75   6.10   5.00
 

$25,000 but less than $50,000

  5.00   5.26   4.25
 

$50,000 but less than $100,000

  4.50   4.71   3.75
 

$100,000 but less than $250,000

  3.50   3.63   2.75
 

$250,000 but less than $500,000

  2.50   2.56   2.00
 

$500,000 but less than $ ,750,000

  2.00   2.04   1.60
 

$750.000 but less than $1 million

  1.50   1.52   1.20
 

$1,000,000 or more (1)

  -0-   -0-   up to 1.00
 

 

(1)   A distributor may pay a commission of up to 1.00% to a Service Agent for purchase amounts of $1 million or more. In such cases, starting in the thirteenth month after purchase, the Service Agent will also receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class A shares held by its clients. Prior to the thirteenth month, the distributor will retain this fee. Where the Service Agent does not receive the payment of this commission, the Service Agent will instead receive the annual distribution/service fee starting immediately after purchase. Please contact your Service Agent for more information.

Investments of $1,000,000 or more

You do not pay an initial sales charge when you buy $1,000,000 or more of Class A shares. However, if you redeem these Class A shares within one year of purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

Qualifying for a reduced Class A sales charge

There are several ways you can combine multiple purchases of Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds to take advantage of the breakpoints in the sales charge schedule. In order to take advantage of reductions in sales charges that may be available to you when

 

18         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

you purchase fund shares, you must inform your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services if you have are eligible for a letter of intent or a right of accumulation and if you own shares of other Legg Mason Partners Funds that are eligible to be aggregated with your purchase. Certain records, such as account statements, may be necessary in order to verify your eligibility for reduced sales charges.

n   Accumulation Privilege – allows you to combine the current value of Class A shares of the fund with other shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds that are owned by:
  ¨   you; or
  ¨   your spouse and children under the age of 21

with the dollar amount of your next purchase of Class A shares for purposes of calculating the initial sales charge.

Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or its affiliates (other than money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners Funds), Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. may not be combined. If you hold shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds in accounts at two or more Service Agents, please contact your Service Agents to determine which shares may be combined.

Certain trustees and fiduciaries may be entitled to combine accounts in determining their sales charge.

n   Letter of Intent – allows you to purchase Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds over a 13-month period and pay the same sales charge on Class A shares, if any, as if all shares had been purchased at once. At the time you enter into the letter of intent, you select your asset goal amount. Generally, purchases of Legg Mason Partners Fund shares that are purchased during the 13-month period by
  ¨   you; or
  ¨   your spouse and children under the age of 21

are eligible for inclusion under the letter, based on the public offering price at the time of the purchase, and any capital appreciation on those shares. You may also backdate your letter up to 90 days in which case eligible purchases made during that period will be treated as purchases made under the letter. In addition, you can include towards your asset goal amount the current value of any eligible purchases that were made prior to the date of entering into the letter of intent and are still held.

If you hold shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds in accounts at two or more Service Agents, please contact your Service Agents to determine which shares may be credited towards your letter of intent asset goal.

Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or it affiliates (other than money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners Funds), Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. may not be credited toward your letter of intent asset goal. If you do not meet your asset goal amount, shares in the amount of any sales charges due, based on the amount of your actual purchases, will be redeemed from your account.

 

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Waivers for certain Class A investors

Class A initial sales charges are waived for certain types of investors, including:

n   Employees of Service Agents having dealer, service or other selling agreements with the fund’s distributors
n   Investors who redeemed Class A shares of a Legg Mason Partners Fund in the past 60 days, if the investor’s Service Agent is notified
n   Directors and officers of any Legg Mason-sponsored fund
n   Employees of Legg Mason and its subsidiaries

If you qualify for a waiver of the Class A initial sales charge, you must notify your Service Agent or the transfer agent at the time of purchase and provide sufficient information at the time of purchase to permit verification that the purchase qualifies for the initial sales charge waiver.

If you want to learn about additional waivers of Class A initial sales charges, contact your Service Agent, consult the SAI or look at the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website, http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices, and click on the name of the fund.

Class B shares

You buy Class B shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. However, if you redeem your Class B shares within five years of your purchase payment, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge. The contingent deferred sales charge decreases as the number of years since your purchase payment increases.

 

Year after purchase   1st     2nd     3rd     4th     5th     6th through 8th  

Contingent deferred sales charge

  5 %   4 %   3 %   2 %   1 %   0 %
   

LMIS will pay Service Agents, including CGMI, selling Class B shares a commission of up to 4% of the purchase price of the Class B shares they sell, and LMIS will retain the contingent deferred sales charges. Service Agents also receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class B shares serviced by them.

Class B conversion

After approximately 8 years, Class B shares automatically convert into Class A shares. This helps you because Class A shares have lower annual expenses. Your Class B shares will convert to Class A shares as follows:

 

Shares Issued:
at Initial Purchase
   Shares Issued:
on Reinvestment of
Dividends and
Distributions
   Shares Issued:
Upon Exchange from
Another Legg Mason
Partners Fund
Approximately 8 years after the date of purchase payment    In the same proportion as the number of Class B shares converting is to total Class B shares you own (excluding shares issued as dividends )    On the date the shares originally acquired would have converted into Class A shares
 

 

20         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Class C shares

You buy Class C shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. However, if you redeem your Class C shares within one year of purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

LMIS will generally pay Service Agents selling Class C shares (other than shares sold to omnibus accounts of retirement plans held on the books of the fund) a commission of up to 1.00% of the purchase price of the Class C shares they sell and LMIS will retain the contingent deferred sales charges and an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class C shares services by these Service Agents until the thirteenth month after purchase. Starting in the thirteenth month after purchase, these Service Agents will receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class C shares serviced by them.

Class I shares (formerly Class Y shares)

Class I shares are purchased at net asset value with no initial sales charge and no contingent deferred sales charge when redeemed. See “Retirement and institutional investors — Class I shares” below for additional information regarding investor eligibility and investment minimums.

 

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More about contingent deferred sales charges

The contingent deferred sales charge is based on the net asset value at the time of purchase or redemption, whichever is less, and therefore, you do not pay a sales charge on amounts representing appreciation or depreciation.

In addition, you do not pay a contingent deferred sales charge on:

n   Shares exchanged for shares of another Legg Mason Partners Fund
n   Shares representing reinvested distributions and dividends
n   Shares no longer subject to the contingent deferred sales charge

Each time you place a request to redeem shares, the fund will first redeem any shares in your account that are not subject to a contingent deferred sales charge and then the shares in your account that have been held the longest.

If you redeemed shares of a Legg Mason Partners Fund and paid a contingent deferred sales charge, you may, under certain circumstances, reinvest all or part of the redemption proceeds within 60 days and receive pro rata credit for any contingent deferred sales charge imposed on the prior redemption. Please contact your Service Agent for additional information.

The fund’s distributors receive contingent deferred sales charges as partial compensation for their expenses in selling shares, including the payment of compensation to your Service Agent.

Contingent deferred sales charge waivers

The contingent deferred sales charge for each share class will generally be waived:

n   On payments made through certain systematic withdrawal plans
n   On certain distributions from a retirement plan
n   For involuntary redemptions of small account balances
n   For 12 months following the death or disability of a shareholder

If you want to learn more about additional waivers of contingent deferred sales charges, contact your Service Agent, consult the SAI or look at the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website, http://www.leggmasoncom/InvestorServices, and click on the name of the fund.

 

22         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Retirement and institutional investors

Eligible investors

Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund can generally choose among three classes of shares: Class C, Class A and Class I (formerly Class Y) shares. “Retirement Plans” include 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit-sharing plans, non-qualified deferred compensation plans and other similar employer-sponsored retirement plans. Retirement Plans do not include individual retirement vehicles, such as traditional and Roth individual retirement accounts, Coverdell education savings accounts, individual 403(b)(7) custodial accounts, Keogh plans, SEPs, SARSEPs, SIMPLE IRAs, or Section 529 savings accounts. Although Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund are not subject to minimum initial investment requirements for any of these share classes, certain investment minimums may be imposed by a financial intermediary.

Other Retirement Plan investors (including, for example, employer-sponsored plans investing through brokerage accounts), can generally choose among three classes of shares: Class A, Class B and Class C. Individual retirement vehicles, such as IRAs, may also choose among these share classes. These types of investors are treated like individual investors for purposes of determining investment minimums, sales charges and any applicable sales charge reductions or waivers.

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries may generally choose among two classes of shares: Class A and Class I. “Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries” are investors who invest in the fund through financial intermediaries that offer their clients fund shares through investment programs as authorized by LMIS. Such investment programs may include fee-based advisory or brokerage account programs, and college savings vehicles such as Section 529 plans. The financial intermediary may impose separate investment minimums.

Institutional Investors

Institutional Investors may invest in Class I shares if they meet the $1,000,000 minimum initial investment requirement. Institutional Investors may also invest in Class A, B and C shares, which have different investment minimums and fees and expenses. “Institutional Investors” generally include corporations, banks, insurance companies, foundations, retirement plans and other similar entities with direct relationships to the fund.

Class C — Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund may buy Class C shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. As of November 20, 2006, LMIS no longer pays Service Agents selling Class C shares to retirement plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of a fund a commission on the purchase price of Class C shares sold by them. Instead, immediately after purchase, LMIS will pay these Service Agents an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund         23


 

represented by the Class C shares serviced by them. For purchases made by Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund on or after November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge on shares redeemed within one year of purchase is waived.

Certain retirement plan programs with exchange features in effect prior to November 20, 2006, as approved by LMIS, will remain eligible for exchange from Class C shares to Class A shares in accordance with the program terms. Please read the Statement of Additional Information for more details.

Class I

As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares and are offered only to Institutional Investors who meet the $1,000,000 minimum initial investment requirement, Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries, and other investors as authorized by LMIS. However, investors that held Class I shares prior to that date will be permitted to make additional investments in Class I shares.

Class A — Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund may purchase Class A shares through programs sponsored by financial intermediaries. Under these programs, the initial sales charge and contingent deferred sales charge for Class A shares is waived where:

n   Such Retirement Plan’s record keeper offers only load-waived shares,
n   Fund shares are held on the books of the fund through an omnibus account, and
n   The Retirement Plan has more than 100 participants, or has total assets exceeding $1 million.

As of November 20, 2006, LMIS no longer pays Service Agents selling Class A shares to Retirement Plans with a direct omnibus relationship with a fund a commission on the purchase price of Class A shares sold by them. However, for certain Retirement Plans that are permitted to purchase shares at net asset value on or after this date, LMIS may continue to pay Service Agents commissions of up to 1.00% of the purchase price of the additional Class A shares that are purchased with regular ongoing plan contributions. Please contact your Service Agent for more information.

Other considerations

Plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries and other financial intermediaries may choose to impose qualification requirements for plans that differ from the fund’s share class eligibility standards. In certain cases this could result in the selection of a share class with higher service and distribution-related fees than otherwise would have been charged. The fund is not responsible for, and has no control over, the decision of any plan sponsor, plan fiduciary or financial intermediary to impose such differing requirements. Please consult with your plan sponsor, plan fiduciary or financial intermediary for more information about available share classes.

With respect to Class A and Class C shares, the fund may pay a fee for recordkeeping services performed for the applicable share class.

Not all share classes may be made available by your Service Agent; please contact your Service Agent for additional details.

 

24         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Buying shares

 

Through a Service Agent   

You should contact your Service Agent to open a brokerage account and make arrangements to buy shares. You must provide the following information for your order to be processed:

n   Class of shares being bought

n   Dollar amount or number of shares being bought

n   Account number (if existing account)

Your Service Agent may charge an annual account maintenance fee.

 
Through the fund   

Financial intermediary accounts, retirement plan accounts and certain other investors who are clients of certain Service Agents are eligible to buy shares directly from the fund.

n   Write to the fund at the following address:

Legg Mason Partners Funds

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9699

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699

n   Enclose a check to pay for the shares. For initial purchases, complete and send an account application available upon request from Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at the number below

n   Specify the name of the fund, the share class you wish to purchase and your account number (if existing account)

n   For more information, please call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010.

 
Through a systematic investment plan   

You may authorize your Service Agent or the transfer agent to transfer funds automatically from (i) a regular bank account, (ii) cash held in a brokerage account opened with a Service Agent or (iii) certain money market funds, in order to buy shares on a regular basis.

n   Amounts transferred must be at least $25

n   Amounts may be transferred monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually

n   If you do not have sufficient funds in your account on a transfer date, your Service Agent or the transfer agent may charge you a fee.

 

For more information, contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services or consult the SAI.

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund         25


 

Exchanging shares

 

Legg Mason Partners offers a distinctive family of funds tailored to help meet the varying needs of both large and small investors   

You should contact your Service Agent to exchange into other Legg Mason Partners Funds. Be sure to read the prospectus of the Legg Mason Partners Fund into which you are exchanging. An exchange is a taxable transaction, unless you are investing through a tax-qualified savings plan or account.

n   If you bought shares through a Service Agent, you may exchange shares only for shares of the same class of certain other Legg Mason Partners Funds made available for exchange by your Service Agent. Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds made available for exchange by your Service Agent may offer all classes. Please contact your Service Agent for more information about the funds and classes that are available for exchange

n   If you bought shares directly from the fund, you may exchange shares only for shares of the same class of another Legg Mason Partners Fund other than shares of Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund. Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds offer all classes

n   Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds may be offered in your state of residence. Contact your Service Agent or the transfer agent for further information

n   Exchanges of Class A, B and C shares are subject to minimum investment requirements (except for systematic investment plan exchanges), and all shares are subject to the other requirements of the fund into which exchanges are made

n   If you hold share certificates, the transfer agent must receive the certificates endorsed for transfer or with signed stock powers before the exchange is effective

n   The fund may suspend or terminate your exchange privilege if you engage in an excessive pattern of exchanges

 
Waiver of additional sales charges   

Your shares will not be subject to an initial sales charge at the time of the exchange.

Your contingent deferred sales charge (if any) will continue to be measured from the date of your original purchase of shares subject to a contingent deferred sales charge.

 
By telephone   

If you do not have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, you may be eligible to exchange shares through the fund. You must complete an authorization form to authorize telephone transfers. If eligible, you may make telephone exchanges on any day the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open. Shareholders should call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time). Exchanges are priced at the net asset value next determined.

You can make telephone exchanges only between accounts that have identical registrations.

 

 

26         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

By mail    If you do not have a brokerage account, contact your Service Agent or write to the fund at the address on the following page.
 
Through a systemic exchange plan   

You may be permitted to schedule exchanges of shares of any class of the fund for shares of the same class of any other Legg Mason Partners Fund.

n    Exchanges may be made, monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually

n    A predetermined dollar amount of at least $25 per exchange is required.

 

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services.

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund         27


 

Redeeming shares

 

Generally   

Contact your Service Agent to redeem shares of the fund.

If you hold share certificates, the transfer agent must receive the certificates endorsed for transfer or with signed stock powers before you may redeem.

If the shares are held by a fiduciary or corporation, other documents may be required.

Redemptions are priced at net asset value next determined after receipt.

Your redemption proceeds will normally be sent within three business days after your request is received in good order, but in any event within 7 days. Your redemption proceeds may be delayed for up to 10 days if your purchase was made by check.

If you have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, your redemption proceeds will be sent to your Service Agent. In other cases, unless you direct otherwise, your redemption proceeds will be paid by check mailed to your address of record.

 
By mail   

Send written requests to the fund at the following address:

Legg Mason Partners Funds

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9699

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699

Your written request must provide the following:

n   The fund name, the class of shares to be redeemed, and your account number

n   The dollar amount or number of shares to be redeemed

n   Signatures of each owner exactly as the account is registered

n   Signature guarantees, as applicable

 
By telephone   

If you do not have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, you may be eligible to redeem shares (except those held in certain retirement plans) in amounts up to $50,000 per day through the fund. You must complete an authorization form to authorize telephone redemptions. If eligible, you may request redemptions by telephone on any day the NYSE is open. Shareholders should call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time).

Your redemption proceeds can be sent by check to your address of record or by wire or electronic transfer (ACH) to a bank account designated on your authorization form. You must submit a new authorization form to change the bank account designated to receive wire or electronic transfers and you may be asked to provide certain other documents. The transfer agent may charge a fee on a wire or an electronic transfer (ACH).

 

 

28         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

 

Automatic cash withdrawal plans   

You can arrange for the automatic redemption of a portion of your shares monthly, every alternate month, or quarterly, semi-annually or annually. To qualify you must own shares of the fund with a value of at least $10,000 ($5,000 for retirement plan accounts) and each automatic redemption must be at least $50. If your shares are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge, the sales charge will be waived if your automatic payments are equal to or less than 2.00% per month of your account balance on the date the withdrawals commence, up to a maximum of 12.00% in any one year.

The following conditions apply:

n   Your shares must not be represented by share certificates

n   All dividends and distributions must be reinvested

 

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or consult the SAI.

 

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Other things to know about transactions

When you buy, exchange or redeem shares, your request must be in good order. This means you have provided the following information, without which your request may not be processed:

n   Name of the fund
n   Your account number
n   Class of shares being bought, exchanged or redeemed
n   Dollar amount or number of shares being bought, and if you own more than one class, the class of shares being exchanged or redeemed
n   Signature of each owner exactly as the account is registered

The fund’s transfer agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services will employ reasonable procedures to confirm that any telephone exchange or redemption request is genuine, including recording calls, asking the caller to provide certain personal identification information, sending you a written confirmation or requiring other confirmation procedures from time to time. If these procedures are followed, neither the fund nor its agent will bear any liability for such transactions.

Signature guarantees

To be in good order, your redemption request must include a signature guarantee if you:

n   Are redeeming over $50,000
n   Are sending signed share certificates or stock powers to the transfer agent
n   Instruct the transfer agent to mail the check to an address different from the one on your account registration
n   Changed your account registration or your address within 30 days
n   Want the check paid to someone other than the account owner(s)
n   Are transferring the redemption proceeds to an account with a different registration

You can obtain a signature guarantee from most banks, dealers, brokers, credit unions and federal savings and loan institutions, but not from a notary public.

The fund has the right to:

n   Suspend the offering of shares
n   Waive or change minimum and additional investment amounts
n   Reject any purchase or exchange order
n   Change, revoke or suspend the exchange privilege
n   Suspend telephone transactions
n   Suspend or postpone redemptions of shares on any day when trading on the NYSE is restricted, or as otherwise permitted by the SEC
n   Pay redemption proceeds by giving you securities. You may pay transaction costs to dispose of the securities

Small account balances/Mandatory redemptions

If at any time the aggregate net asset value of the fund shares in your account is less than $500 for any reason (including solely due to declines in net asset value and/or failure to invest at least $500 within a reasonable period), the fund reserves the right to ask you to

 

30         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

bring your account up to the applicable minimum investment amount as determined by your Service Agent. In such case you shall be notified in writing and will have 60 days to make an additional investment to bring your account value up to the required level. If you choose not to do so within this 60-day period, the fund may close your account and send you the redemption proceeds. In the event your account is closed due to a failure to increase your balance to the minimum required amount, you will not be eligible to have your account subsequently reinstated without imposition of any sales charges that may apply to your new purchase. The fund may, with prior notice, change the minimum size of accounts subject to mandatory redemption, which may vary by class, or implement fees for small accounts.

Subject to applicable law, the fund may, without prior notice, adopt other policies from time to time requiring mandatory redemption of shares in certain circumstances.

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or the transfer agent or consult the SAI.

Frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares

Frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares may interfere with the efficient management of a fund’s portfolio by its portfolio manager, increase portfolio transaction costs, and have a negative effect on a fund’s long-term shareholders. For example, in order to handle large flows of cash into and out of a fund, the portfolio manager may need to allocate more assets to cash or other short-term investments or sell securities, rather than maintaining full investment in securities selected to achieve the fund’s investment objective. Frequent trading may cause the fund to sell securities at less favorable prices. Transaction costs, such as brokerage commissions and market spreads, can detract from the fund’s performance. In addition, the return received by long-term shareholders may be reduced when trades by other shareholders are made in an effort to take advantage of certain pricing discrepancies, when, for example, it is believed that the fund’s share price, which is determined at the close of the NYSE on each trading day, does not accurately reflect the value of the fund’s portfolio securities. Funds investing in foreign securities have been particularly susceptible to this form of arbitrage, but other funds could also be affected.

Because of the potential harm to the fund and its long-term shareholders, the Board of the fund has approved policies and procedures that are intended to discourage and prevent excessive trading and market timing abuses through the use of various surveillance techniques. Under these policies and procedures, the fund may limit additional exchanges or purchases of fund shares by shareholders who are believed by the manager to be engaged in these abusive trading activities. The intent of the policies and procedures is not to inhibit legitimate strategies, such as asset allocation, dollar cost averaging, or similar activities that may nonetheless result in frequent trading of fund shares. For this reason, the Board has not adopted any specific restrictions on purchases and sales of fund shares, but the fund reserves the right to reject any exchange or purchase of fund shares with or without prior notice to the account holder. In cases where surveillance of a particular account establishes what the manager believes to be obvious market timing, the manager will seek to block future purchases and exchanges of fund shares by that account. Where surveillance of a particular account indicates activity that the manager believes could be either abusive or for legitimate purposes, the fund may permit the account holder to justify the activity.

 

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The policies apply to any account, whether an individual account or accounts with financial intermediaries such as investment advisers, broker-dealers or retirement plan administrators, commonly called omnibus accounts, where the intermediary holds fund shares for a number of its customers in one account. The fund’s ability to monitor trading in omnibus accounts may, however, be severely limited due to the lack of access to an individual investor’s trading activity when orders are placed through these types of accounts. There may also be operational and technological limitations on the ability of the fund’s service providers to identify or terminate frequent trading activity within the various types of omnibus accounts.

The fund’s policies also require personnel such as the portfolio manager and investment staff to report any abnormal or otherwise suspicious investment activity, and prohibit short-term trades by such personnel for their own account in mutual funds managed by the manager and its affiliates, other than money market funds. Additionally, the fund has adopted policies and procedures to prevent the selective release of information about the fund’s portfolio holdings, as such information may be used for market-timing and similar abusive practices.

The fund’s policies provide for ongoing assessment of the effectiveness of current policies and surveillance tools, and the Board reserves the right to modify these or adopt additional policies and restrictions in the future. Shareholders should be aware, however, that any surveillance techniques currently employed by the fund or other techniques that may be adopted in the future may not be effective particularly where the trading takes place through certain types of omnibus accounts. As noted above, if the fund is unable to detect and deter trading abuses, the fund’s performance, and its long-term shareholders, may be harmed. In addition, because the fund has not adopted any specific limitations or restrictions on the trading of fund shares, shareholders may be harmed by the extra costs and portfolio management inefficiencies that result from frequent trading of fund shares, even when the trading is not for abusive purposes. Furthermore, the fund may not apply its policies consistently or uniformly, resulting in the risk that some shareholders may be able to engage in frequent trading while others will bear the costs and effects of that trading. The fund will provide advance notice to shareholders and prospective investors of any specific restrictions on the trading of fund shares that the Board may adopt in the future.

Share certificates

Share certificates for the fund will no longer be issued. If you currently hold share certificates of the fund, such certificates will continue to be honored . If you would like to return your share certificates to the fund and hold your shares in uncertified form, please contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services.

Record ownership

If you hold your shares through a Service Agent, your Service Agent may establish and maintain your account and be the shareholder of record. In the event that the fund holds a shareholder meeting, your Service Agent, as record holder, will vote your shares in accordance with your instructions. If you do not give your Service Agent voting instructions, your Service Agent may nonetheless, under certain circumstances, be entitled to vote your shares.

 

32         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Dividends, distributions and taxes

Dividends and distributions

The fund generally pays dividends and makes capital gain distributions, if any, once a year, typically in December. The fund may pay additional distributions and dividends at other times if necessary for the fund to avoid a federal tax. The fund expects distributions to be primarily from capital gains. Capital gain distributions and dividends are reinvested in additional fund shares of the same class you hold. You do not pay a sales charge on reinvested distributions or dividends. Alternatively, you can instruct your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services to have your distributions and/or dividends paid in cash. You can change your choice at any time to be effective as of the next distribution or dividend.

Taxes

The following discussion is very general. Because each shareholder’s circumstances are different and special tax rules may apply, you should consult your tax adviser about your investment in the fund.

In general, you will have to pay federal income taxes, as well as any state and local taxes, when you redeem shares, exchange shares or receive a distribution (whether paid in cash or reinvested in additional shares). Any tax liability that you owe as a result of any of these taxable events is your responsibility. The federal income tax treatment of redemptions, exchanges and distributions is summarized in the following table:

 

Transaction    Federal tax status
Redemption or exchange of shares    Usually capital gain or loss; long-term only if shares owned more than one year
 
Distributions of net capital gain (excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss)    Long-term capital gain
 
Distributions of qualified dividend income    Qualified dividend income
 
Other ordinary dividends (including distributions of net short-term capital gain)    Ordinary income
 

Distributions of net capital gain are taxable to you as long-term capital gain regardless of how long you have owned your shares. Distributions of qualified dividend income received by a non-corporate shareholder may qualify for a reduced tax rate, provided that the shareholder satisfies certain holding period requirements. Qualified dividend income generally is income derived from dividends from a U.S. corporation; dividends from certain foreign corporations will also qualify. You may want to avoid buying shares when the fund is about to declare a distribution or a dividend, because it will be taxable to you even though it may effectively be a return of a portion of your investment.

After the end of each year, your Service Agent or the fund will provide you with information about the distributions and dividends you received and any redemptions of shares during the previous year. If you are neither a citizen nor a resident of the United States, the fund will withhold federal income tax at the rate of 30% (or such lower rate as may be determined in accordance with any applicable treaty) on ordinary dividends and

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund         33


 

other payments that are subject to such withholding. If you do not provide the fund with your correct taxpayer identification number and any required certifications, you will be subject to back-up withholding at the rate of 28% on your distributions, dividends, and redemption proceeds. Backup withholding will not, however, be applied to payments that have been subject to the 30% withholding tax on shareholders who are neither residents nor citizens of the United States.

 

34         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Share price

The Board has approved procedures to be used to value the fund’s securities for the purposes of determining the fund’s net asset value. The valuation of the securities of the fund is determined in good faith by or under the direction of the Board. The Board has delegated certain valuation functions for the fund to the manager.

The fund generally values its securities based on market prices determined at the close of regular trading on the NYSE. The fund’s currency valuations, if any, are done as of when the London Stock Exchange closes, which is usually at 12 noon Eastern time, as the manager believes that these valuations typically reflect the largest trading volume in the foreign currency markets. A material change in the value of currency during the period between the close of the London Stock Exchange and the calculation of the fund’s net asset value on the same date is considered a significant event, as described below, in response to which the fund may use fair valuation procedures to value the affected investments. For equity securities that are traded on an exchange, the market price is usually the closing sale or official closing price on that exchange. In the case of securities not traded on an exchange, or if such closing prices are not otherwise available, the market price is typically determined by independent third party pricing vendors approved by the fund’s Board using a variety of pricing techniques and methodologies. The market price for debt obligations is generally the price supplied by an independent third party pricing service approved by the fund’s board, which may use a matrix, formula or other objective method that takes into consideration market indices, yield curves and other specific adjustments. Short-term debt obligations that will mature in 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, unless it is determined that using this method would not reflect an investment’s fair value. If vendors are unable to supply a price, or if the price supplied is deemed by the manager to be unreliable, the market price may be determined using quotations received from one or more broker-dealers that make a market in the security. When such prices or quotations are not available, or when the manager believes that they are unreliable, the manager will price securities using fair value procedures approved by the Board. Because the fund invests in securities of small capitalization companies — some of which may be thinly traded, for which market quotations may not be readily available or may be unreliable — the fund may use fair valuation procedures more frequently than funds that invest primarily in securities that are more liquid, such as securities of large capitalization domestic issuers. The fund may also use fair value procedures if the manager determines that a significant event has occurred between the time at which a market price is determined and the time at which the fund’s net asset value is calculated. In particular, the value of foreign securities may be materially affected by events occurring after the close of the market on which they are valued, but before the fund prices its shares. The fund uses a fair value model developed by an independent third party pricing service to price foreign equity securities on days when there is a certain percentage change in the value of a domestic equity security index, as such percentage may be determined by the manager from time to time.

Valuing securities at fair value involves greater reliance on judgment than valuation of securities based on readily available market quotations. A fund that uses fair value to price securities may value those securities higher or lower than another fund using market quotations or its own fair value methodologies to price the same securities. There can be

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund         35


 

no assurance that the fund could obtain the fair value assigned to a security if it were to sell the security at approximately the time at which the fund determines its net asset value.

In order to buy, redeem or exchange shares at that day’s price, you must place your order with your Service Agent or the transfer agent before the NYSE closes. If the NYSE closes early, you must place your order prior to the actual closing time.

It is the responsibility of the Service Agents to transmit all orders to buy, exchange or redeem shares to the transfer agent on a timely basis.

 

36         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Financial highlights

The financial highlights tables are intended to help you understand the performance of each class for the past five years. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share. Total return represents the rate that a shareholder would have earned (or lost) on a fund share assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions. The information in the following tables has been derived from the fund’s financial statements, which have been audited by [                    ], independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund’s financial statements, is included in the annual report (available upon request). The fund’s financial statements for the years ended on or before October 31, 2004 were audited by other auditors. The fund was formerly known as CitiFunds Small Cap Growth Portfolio. As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

For a Class A share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended October 31,   
Class A Shares   2006 (1)   2005 (1)     2004 (1)     2003 (1)     2002  

Net asset value, beginning of year

  $           $19.58     $18.09     $13.17     $16.13  
   

Income (loss) from operations:

         

Net investment loss

    (0.08 )   (0.08 )   (0.08 )   (0.09 )

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    2.07     1.91     5.00     (2.87 )
   

Total income (loss) from operations

    1.99     1.83     4.92     (2.96 )
   

Less distributions from:

         

Net realized gains

    (1.43 )   (0.34 )        
   

Total distributions

    (1.43 )   (0.34 )        
   

Net asset value, end of year

  $           $20.14     $19.58     $18.09     $13.17  
   

Total return (2)

    10.17 %   10.18 % (3)   37.36 % (3)   (18.35 )%
   

Net assets, end of year (000s)

  $           $25,620     $24,505     $21,581     $16,608  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

         

Gross expenses

    1.64 %   2.04 %   2.68 %   2.93 %

Net expenses ( 4)( 5)

    1.35     1.34     1.35     1.35  

Net investment loss

    (0.42 )   (0.41 )   (0.57 )   (0.56 )
   

Portfolio turnover rate

    125 %   129 %   141 %   21 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers, the total return would have been lower.

 

(3)   (0.10)% and 2.16% of Class A’s total return for October 31, 2004 and 2003, respectively, resulted from investments not meeting the investment policy of the Fund.

 

(4)   The investment manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees. Such waivers are voluntary and may be terminated at any time.

 

( 5 )   The ratio of expenses to average net assets will not exceed 1.35%, as a result of a voluntary expense limitation which may be terminated at any time.

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund         37


 

For a Class B share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended October 31,   
Class B Shares   2006 (1)   2005 (1)     2004 (1)     2003 (1)     2002  

Net asset value, beginning of year

  $           $18.63     $17.36     $12.73     $15.71  
   

Income (loss) from operations:

         

Net investment loss

    (0.22 )   (0.21 )   (0.19 )   (0.20 )

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    1.97     1.82     4.82     (2.78 )
   

Total income (loss) from operations

    1.75     1.61     4.63     (2.98 )
   

Less distributions from:

         

Net realized gains

    (1.43 )   (0.34 )        
   

Total distributions

    (1.43 )   (0.34 )        
   

Net asset value, end of year

  $           $18.95     $18.63     $17.36     $12.73  
   

Total return (2)

    9.35 %   9.33 % (3)   36.37 % (3)   (18.97 )%
   

Net assets, end of year (000s)

  $           $2,735     $2,970     $2,726     $1,562  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

         

Gross expenses

    2.39 %   2.78 %   3.43 %   3.68 %

Net expenses ( 4)( 5)

    2.10     2.09     2.10     2.10  

Net investment loss

    (1.17 )   (1.16 )   (1.34 )   (1.30 )
   

Portfolio turnover rate

    125 %   129 %   141 %   21 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers, the total return would have been lower.

 

(3)   (0.11)% and 2.23% of Class B’s total return for October 31, 2004 and 2003, respectively, resulted from investments not meeting the investment policy of the Fund.

 

(4 )   The investment manager has voluntarily waived a portion of its fees. Such waivers are voluntary and may be terminated at any time.

 

( 5 )   The ratio of expenses to average net assets will not exceed 2.10%, as a result of a voluntary expense limitation which may be terminated at any time.

 

38         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

For a Class C share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended October 31,   
Class C Shares (1)   2006 (2)   2005 (2)     2004 (2)     2003 (2)     2002  

Net asset value, beginning of year

  $           $18.98     $17.68     $12.97     $16.00  
   

Income (loss) from operations:

         

Net investment loss

    (0.23 )   (0.21 )   (0.19 )   (0.12 )

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    2.02     1.85     4.90     (2.91 )
   

Total income (loss) from operations

    1.79     1.64     4.71     (3.03 )
   

Less distributions from:

         

Net realized gains

    (1.43 )   (0.34 )        
   

Total distributions

    (1.43 )   (0.34 )        
   

Net asset value, end of year

  $           $19.34     $18.98     $17.68     $12.97  
   

Total return (3)

    9.39 %   9.33 % (4)   36.31 % (4)   (18.94 )%
   

Net assets, end of year (000s)

  $           $25,286     $13,453     $3,281     $1,312  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

         

Gross expenses

    3.18 %   3.13 %   3.43 %   3.68 %

Net expenses ( 5)( 6)

    2.10     2.08     2.10     2.10  

Net investment loss

    (1.16 )   (1.12 )   (1.34 )   (1.22 )
   

Portfolio turnover rate

    125 %   129 %   141 %   21 %
   

 

(1)   On April 29, 2004, Class L shares were renamed as Class C shares.

 

(2)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(3)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers, the total return would have been lower.

 

(4)   (0.10)% and 2.19% of Class C’s total return for October 31, 2004 and 2003, respectively, resulted from investments not meeting the investment policy of the Fund.

 

(5)   The investment manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees. Such waivers are voluntary and may be reduced or terminated at any time.

 

( 6 )   The ratio of expenses to average net assets will not exceed 2.10%, as a result of a voluntary expense limitation which may be terminated at any time.

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund         39


 

For a Class I share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended October 31,   
Class I Shares (1)   2006   2005     2004     2003 (2)  

Net asset value, beginning of year

  $           $19.67     $18.13     $12.88  
   

Income (loss) from operations:

       

Net investment loss

    (0.03 )   (0.02 )   (0.03 )

Net realized and unrealized gain

    2.09     1.90     5.28  
   

Total income from operations

    2.06     1.88     5.25  
   

Less distributions from:

       

Net realized gains

    (1.43 )   (0.34 )    
   

Total distributions

    (1.43 )   (0.34 )    
   

Net asset value, end of year

  $           $20.30     $19.67     $18.13  
   

Total return (3)

    10.50 %   10.44 % (4)   40.76 % (4)
   

Net assets, end of year (000s)

  $           $4,020     $3,897     $920  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

       

Gross expenses

    1.13 %   1.68 %   2.41 % (5)

Net expenses (6)(7)

    1.10     1.08     1.08 (5)

Net investment loss

    (0.17 )   (0.12 )   (0.51 ) (5)
   

Portfolio turnover rate

    125 %   129 %   141 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method. As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed to Class I shares.

 

(2)   For the period April 11, 2003 (inception date) to October 31, 2003.

 

(3)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers, the total return would have been lower. Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

(4)   (0.10)% and 2.21% of Class I‘s total return for October 31, 2004 and 2003, respectively, resulted from investments not meeting the investment policy of the Fund.

 

(5)   Annualized.

 

(6)   The investment manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees. Such waivers are voluntary and may be terminated at any time.

 

(7)   The ratio of expenses to average net assets will not exceed 1.10%, as a result of a voluntary expense limitation which may be terminated at any time.

 

40         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

 

(Investment Company Act

file no. 811-4007)

FD 02716 02/07

LOGO

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund

You may look at the fund’s website at www. leggmason .com/InvestorServices for a free copy of a Prospectus, Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) or an Annual or Semi-Annual Report, or to request other information.

Shareholder reports. Additional information about the fund’s investments is available in the fund’s Annual and Semi-Annual Reports to shareholders. In the fund’s Annual Report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the fund’s performance.

The fund sends only one report to a household if more than one account has the same address. Contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services if you do not want this policy to apply to you.

Statement of Additional Information The SAI provides more detailed information about the fund and is incorporated by reference into (is legally a part of) this Prospectus.

You can make inquiries about the fund or obtain shareholder reports or the SAI (without charge) by contacting your Service Agent, by calling Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010, or by writing to the fund at 125 Broad Street, New York, New York 10004.

Information about the fund (including the SAI) can be reviewed and copied at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “Commission”) Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. In addition, information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the Commission at 800-SEC-0330. Reports and other information about the fund are available on the EDGAR Database on the Commission’s Internet site at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of this information may be obtained for a duplicating fee by electronic request at the following E-mail address: public info@sec.gov, or by writing the Commission’s Public Reference Section, Washington, D.C. 20549-0102.

If someone makes a statement about the fund that is not in this Prospectus, you should not rely upon that information. Neither the fund nor the distributors are offering to sell shares of the fund to any person to whom the fund may not lawfully sell its shares.


                             , 2007

Legg Mason Partners Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

          Page

1.

  

The Trust

   2

2.

  

Investment Objectives and Policies

   2

3.

  

Description of Permitted Investments and Investment Practices and Associated Risks

   4

4.

  

Investment Restrictions

   17

5.

  

Additional Information on the Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares and Shareholder Programs

   20

6.

  

Management

   29

7.

  

Portfolio Transactions

   46

8.

  

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

   50

9.

  

Portfolio Managers

   54

10.

  

Description of Shares, Voting Rights and Liabilities

   56

11.

  

Additional Information

   57

12.

  

Tax Matters

   61

13.

  

Financial Statements

   64

Appendix A—Proxy Voting Guidelines and Procedures Summary

   67

This Statement of Additional Information sets forth information which may be of interest to investors but which is not necessarily included in the funds’ separate Prospectuses, dated [                    ], 2007, by which shares of the funds are offered. This Statement of Additional Information should be read in conjunction with the applicable Prospectus. As part of a number of initiatives launched in 2006 to restructure and streamline the Legg Mason Partners fund complex, each fund assumed the assets and liabilities of a predecessor fund with the same name. Each fund is now grouped for organizational and governance purposes with other Legg Mason Partners funds that are predominantly equity-type funds, and is a series of Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”), a Massachusetts business trust. Other initiatives, including the election of a new Board and the approval of certain revised fundamental investment policies, have also been accomplished, and more information on these matters appears in this SAI. If certain remaining initiatives are accomplished, each fund will become a series of Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust, a Maryland business trust. Certain historical information contained in the SAI is that of each fund’s predecessor.

This Statement of Additional Information incorporates by reference the financial statements described on page [    ] hereof. These financial statements can be found in each fund’s Annual Report to Shareholders. A prospectus and copies of the reports may be obtained free of charge by contacting a distributor’s financial advisor or registered representative, a broker/dealer, financial intermediary or a financial institution that has entered into an agreement with one of the fund’s distributors, (each called a “Service Agent”), or by writing or calling the fund at the address or telephone number set forth above. Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC (“LMIS”), a wholly-owned broker/dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”) and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”) serve as the fund’s distributors.

This Statement of Additional Information is NOT a prospectus and is authorized for distribution to prospective investors only if preceded or accompanied by an effective prospectus.

 

1


1. THE TRUST

This Statement of Additional Information describes shares of Legg Mason Partners Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund (the “Large Cap Growth Fund”) and Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund (the “Small Cap Growth Fund”), each of which is a separate series of the Trust. Prior to September 11, 2000, Large Cap Growth Fund was called CitiFunds Large Cap Growth Portfolio, and Small Cap Growth Fund was called CitiFunds Small Cap Growth Portfolio. Prior to March 2, 1998, the Large Cap Growth Fund was called Landmark Equity Fund, and the Small Cap Growth Fund was called Landmark Small Cap Equity Fund. On April 7, 2006, the funds changed their names from Smith Barney Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund and Smith Barney Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund to Legg Mason Partners Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund and Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund, respectively. References in this Statement of Additional Information to the “Prospectus” of a fund are to the applicable fund’s Prospectus, dated [                    ], 2007.

Each fund is an open end management, diversified fund. Under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), a diversified management investment company must invest at least 75% of its assets in cash and cash items, U.S. Government securities, investment company securities and other securities limited as to any one issuer to not more than 5% of the total assets of the investment company and not more than 10% of the voting securities of the issuer. Each fund is permitted to seek its investment objective by investing all or a portion of its assets in one or more investment companies to the extent not prohibited by the 1940 Act, the rules and regulations thereunder, and exemptive orders granted under such Act.

Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC (”LMPFA” or the “manager“), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”), is the investment manager to each fund. The manager provides administrative and certain oversight services to the funds. ClearBridge Advisors, LLC (“ClearBridge”) provides the day to day portfolio management of the funds, except for the management of cash and short-term instruments, as subadviser. The selection of investments for each fund and the way it is managed depends on the conditions and trends in the economy and the financial marketplaces.

Shares of each fund are continuously sold by LMIS and CGMI, each fund’s distributors. Shares may be purchased from the funds’ distributors, or from Service Agents. The distributors and service agents may receive fees from the funds pursuant to a shareholder services and distribution plan adopted in accordance with Rule 12b-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”).

2. INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE AND POLICIES

The investment objective of each of the Large Cap Growth Fund and the Small Cap Growth Fund is long-term capital growth. Dividend income, if any, is incidental to each of these investment objectives.

Principal investment strategies - Large Cap Growth Fund

Under normal market conditions, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in the equity securities of large cap issuers and related investments or in other investments with similar economic characteristics. Companies that have market capitalizations with market capitalizations similar to companies in the Russell 1000 Index are considered large cap companies. Securities of companies whose capitalizations no longer meet this definition after purchase by the fund are still considered to have large market capitalizations for the purposes of the fund’s 80% policy. The fund may also invest in securities issued by smaller companies.

 

2


The fund’s equity securities consist primarily of common stocks. The fund may also invest in other equity securities that a portfolio manager believes provide opportunities for appreciation, such as preferred stock, warrants and securities convertible into common stock.

Principal investment strategies - Small Cap Growth Fund

The fund normally invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of small cap companies and related investments. Companies that have market capitalizations not exceeding $3 billion or the highest month-end market capitalization of any stock in the Russell 2000 Index for the previous 12 months, whichever is greater, are considered small cap companies. Securities of companies whose capitalizations no longer meet this definition after purchase by the fund are still considered to have small market capitalizations for the purpose of the fund’s 80% policy. The Russell 2000 Index is an index of small capitalization stocks. As of January 31, 2007, the Russell 2000 Index included companies with market capitalizations between $             million and $             billion. The size of companies in the Russell 2000 Index changes with market conditions and the composition of the Index.

The fund’s equity securities may include stocks listed in the Russell 2000 Index and also may include other common stocks, securities convertible into common stocks, preferred stocks and warrants.

Additional Information

The funds’ principal investment strategies are described above. The following provides additional information about these principal strategies and describes other investment strategies that may be used by the funds.

The policies described herein and those described below under “Description of Permitted Investments and Investment Practices” are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.

Of course, there can be no assurance that a fund will achieve its objective.

Although the specific investment policies may be changed without shareholder approval, each fund has adopted a policy to provide its shareholders with at least 60 days prior notice of any change in its 80% policy.

Certain investment restrictions of the funds described below under “Investment Restrictions” are fundamental and cannot be changed with respect to a fund without approval by the investors in the fund.

 

3


3. DESCRIPTION OF PERMITTED INVESTMENTS

AND INVESTMENT PRACTICES AND ASSOCIATED RISKS

This section contains a discussion of certain investment practices and certain of the risks associated with these practices, and supplements the description of the fund’s investments and risks contained in the Prospectus. A fund may, but need not, invest in all of the investments and utilize all of the investment techniques described below and in the fund’s Prospectus. The selection of investments and the utilization of investment techniques depend on, among other things, the subadviser’s investment strategies for the funds, conditions and trends in the economy and financial markets and investments being available on terms that, in the subadviser’s opinion, make economic sense.

Options

The funds may write covered call and put options and purchase call and put options on securities for hedging and non-hedging purposes. Call and put options written by a fund may be covered in the manner set forth below, or a fund will segregate cash or liquid securities equal to the value of the securities underlying the option.

A call option written by a fund is “covered” if the fund owns the security underlying the call or has an absolute and immediate right to acquire that security without additional cash consideration (or for additional cash consideration held in a segregated account) upon conversion or exchange of other securities held in its portfolio. A call option is also covered if the fund holds a call on the same security and in the same principal amount as the call written where the exercise price of the call held (a) is equal to or less than the exercise price of the call written or (b) is greater than the exercise price of the call written if the difference is maintained by the fund in cash or liquid securities in a segregated account. A put option written by a fund is “covered” if the fund maintains cash or liquid securities with a value equal to the exercise price in a segregated account, or else holds a put on the same security and in the same principal amount as the put written where the exercise price of the put held is equal to or greater than the exercise price of the put written or where the exercise price of the put held is less than the exercise price of the put written if the difference is maintained by the fund in cash or liquid securities in a segregated account. Put and call options written by a fund may also be covered in such other manner as may be in accordance with the requirements of the exchange on which, or the counterparty with which, the option is traded, and applicable laws and regulations. Even if the fund’s obligation is covered, it is subject to the risk of the full change in value of the underlying security from the time the option is written until exercise. Covering an option does not protect the fund from risk of loss.

When a fund writes a call option, the fund, in return for a fee, or “premium”, agrees to sell a security at the exercise price, if the holder exercises the right to purchase prior to the expiration date of the call option. If the fund holds the security in question, the fund gives up some or all of the opportunity to profit from the increase in the market price of the security during the life of the option. The fund retains the risk of loss should the price of the security decline. If the option expires unexercised, the fund realizes a gain equal to the premium, which may be offset by a decline in price of the underlying security. If the option is exercised, the fund realizes a gain or loss equal to the difference between the fund’s cost for the underlying security and the proceeds of sale (exercise price minus commissions) plus the amount of the premium.

A fund may terminate a call option it has written before it expires by entering into a closing purchase transaction. A fund may enter into closing purchase transactions in order to free itself to sell the underlying security or to write another call on the security, realize a profit on a previously written call option, or protect a security from being called in an unexpected market rise. Any profits from closing a purchase transaction may be offset by a decline in the value of the underlying security. Conversely, because increases in the market price of a call option will generally reflect increases in the market price of the underlying security, if the fund holds the underlying security any loss resulting from a closing purchase transaction is likely to be offset in whole or in part by unrealized appreciation of the underlying security. If the fund does not hold the underlying security, the fund’s loss could be unlimited.

A fund may write put options in an attempt to enhance its current return. Such option transactions may also be used as a limited form of hedging against an increase in the price of securities that a fund plans to purchase. A put option written by the fund gives the holder the right to sell, and, in return for a premium, obligates the fund to buy, a security at the exercise price at any time before the expiration date.

In addition to the receipt of premiums and the potential gains from terminating such options in closing purchase transactions, a fund may also receive a return on the cash and debt securities maintained to cover the exercise price of the option. By writing a put option, the fund assumes the risk that it may be required to purchase the underlying security for an exercise price higher than its then current market value, resulting in a loss to the fund, unless the security later appreciates in value. A fund may terminate a put option it has written before it expires by a closing purchase transaction. Any loss from this transaction may be partially or entirely offset by the premium received on the terminated option.

Each fund may purchase options for hedging purposes or to increase the fund’s return. When put options are purchased as a hedge against a decline in the value of portfolio securities, the put options may be purchased at or about the same time that the fund

 

4


purchases the underlying security or at a later time. If such decline occurs, the put options will permit a fund to sell the securities at the exercise price, or to close out the options at a profit. By using put options in this way, the fund will reduce any profit it might otherwise have realized in the underlying security by the amount of the premium paid for the put option and by transaction costs. Similarly, when put options are used for non-hedging purposes, the fund may make a profit when the price of the underlying security or instrument falls below the strike price. If the price of the underlying security or instrument does not fall sufficiently, the options may expire unexercised and the fund would lose the premiums it paid for the option. If the price of the underlying security or instrument falls sufficiently and the option is exercised, the amount of any resulting profit will be offset by the amount of premium paid.

Each fund may purchase call options to hedge against an increase in the price of securities that the fund anticipates purchasing in the future. If such increase occurs, the call option will permit the fund to purchase the securities at the exercise price, or to close out the options at a profit. The premium paid for the call option plus any transaction costs will reduce the benefit, if any, realized by the fund upon exercise of the option, and, unless the price of the underlying security rises sufficiently, the option may expire worthless to the fund and the premium would be lost.

Call options may also be purchased in order to increase a fund’s return at a time when the call is expected to increase in value due to anticipated appreciation of the underlying security. Prior to its expiration, a call option may be sold by a fund in closing sale transactions, which are sales by the fund, prior to the exercise of options that it has purchased, of options of the same series. Profit or loss from the sale will depend upon whether the amount received is more or less than the premium paid for the option plus the related transaction costs. The purchase of call options on securities that a fund owns, when a fund is substantially fully invested, is a form of leverage, up to the amount of the premium and related transaction costs, and involves risks of loss and of increased volatility.

Each fund may write (sell) call and put options and purchase call and put options on securities indices. The delivery requirements of options on securities indices differ from options on securities. Unlike a securities option, which contemplates the right to take or make delivery of securities at a specified price, an option on a securities index gives the holder the right to receive a cash “exercise settlement amount” equal to (1) the amount, if any, by which the fixed exercise price of the option exceeds (in the case of a put) or is less than (in the case of a call) the closing value of the underlying index on the date of exercise, multiplied by (2) a fixed “index multiplier.” Receipt of this cash amount will depend upon the closing level of the securities index upon which the option is based being greater than, in the case of a call, or less than, in the case of a put, the exercise price of the option. The writer of the option is obligated, in return for the premium received, to make delivery of this amount. The writer may offset its position in securities index options prior to expiration by entering into a closing transaction on an exchange or it may allow the option to expire unexercised.

Each fund may cover call options on securities indices by owning securities whose price changes, in the opinion of the subadviser, are expected to be similar to those of the underlying index, or by having an absolute and immediate right to acquire such securities without additional cash consideration (or for additional cash consideration held in a segregated account by its custodian) upon conversion or exchange of other securities in its portfolio. Where a fund covers a call option on a securities index through ownership of securities, such securities may not match the composition of the index and, in that event, the fund will not be fully covered and could be subject to risk of loss in the event of adverse changes in the value of the index. A fund may also cover call options on securities indices by holding a call on the same index and in the same principal amount as the call written where the exercise price of the call held (a) is equal to or less than the exercise price of the call written or (b) is greater than the exercise price of the call written if the difference is maintained by the fund in cash or liquid securities in a segregated account. A fund may cover put options on securities indices by maintaining cash or liquid securities with a value equal to the exercise price in a segregated account or by holding a put on the same securities index and in the same principal amount as the put written where the exercise price of the put held is equal to or greater than the exercise price of the put written or where the exercise price of the put held is less than the exercise price of the put written if the difference is maintained by the fund in cash or liquid securities in a segregated account. Put and call options on securities indices may also be covered in such other manner as may be in accordance with the rules of the exchange on which, or the counterparty with which, the option is traded, and applicable laws and regulations. Investors should be aware that although a fund will only write call or put options on securities indices that are covered, covering an option does not protect the fund from risk of loss.

A fund will receive a premium from writing a put or call option, which increases the fund’s gross income in the event the option expires unexercised or is closed out at a profit. If the value of an index on which a fund has written a call option falls or remains the same, the fund will realize a profit in the form of the premium received (less transaction costs) that could offset all or a portion of any decline in the value of the securities it owns. If the value of the index rises, however, the fund will realize a loss in its call option position, which will reduce the benefit of any unrealized appreciation in the fund’s stock investments. By writing a put option, a fund assumes the risk of a decline in the index. To the extent that the price changes of securities owned by a fund correlate with changes in the value of the index, writing covered put options on indices will increase the fund’s losses in the event of a market decline, although such losses will be offset in part by the premium received for writing the option.

 

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Each fund may purchase put options on securities indices when the subadviser believes that there may be a decline in the prices of the securities covered by the index. The fund will realize a gain if the put option appreciates in excess of the premium paid for the option. If the option does not increase in value, the fund’s loss will be limited to the premium paid for the option plus related transaction costs.

A fund may purchase call options on securities indices to take advantage of an anticipated broad market advance, or an advance in an industry or market segment. A fund will bear the risk of losing all or a portion of the premium paid if the value of the index does not rise. The purchase of call options on securities indices when a fund is substantially fully invested is a form of leverage, up to the amount of the premium and related transaction costs, and involves risks of loss and of increased volatility.

Securities index options are subject to position and exercise limits and other regulations imposed by the exchange on which they are traded. The ability of a fund to engage in closing purchase transactions with respect to securities index options depends on the existence of a liquid secondary market. However, no such secondary market may exist, or the market may cease to exist at some future date, for some options. No assurance can be given that a closing purchase transaction can be effected when the subadviser desires that a fund engage in such a transaction.

Because the value of an index option depends upon movements in the level of the index rather than the price of a particular security, whether a fund realizes a gain or loss from purchasing or writing options on an index depends upon movements in the level of prices in the market generally or, in the case of certain indices, in an industry or market segment, rather than movements in the price of a particular security. As a result, successful use by a fund of options on securities indices is subject to the subadviser’s ability to predict correctly movements in the direction of the market generally or of a particular industry. This ability contemplates different skills and techniques from those used in predicting changes in the price of individual securities. When a fund purchases or writes securities index options as a hedging technique, the fund’s success will depend upon the extent to which price movements in the portion of a securities portfolio being hedged correlate with price movements of the securities index selected.

A fund’s purchase or sale of securities index options in an attempt to enhance performance involves speculation and may be very risky and cause losses, which, in the case of call options written, are potentially unlimited.

The funds may purchase over-the-counter (“OTC”) or dealer options or sell covered OTC options. Unlike exchange-listed options where an intermediary or clearing corporation assures that all transactions are properly executed, the responsibility for performing all transactions with respect to OTC options rests solely with the writer and the holder of those options. A listed call option writer, for example, is obligated to deliver the underlying stock to the clearing organization if the option is exercised, and the clearing organization is then obligated to pay the writer the exercise price of the option. If a fund were to purchase a dealer option, however, it would rely on the dealer from whom it purchased the option to perform if the option were exercised. If the dealer fails to honor the exercise of the option by the fund, the fund would lose the premium it paid for the option and the expected benefit of the transaction.

Listed options may have a liquid market while dealer options have none. Consequently, a fund will generally be able to realize the value of a dealer option it has purchased only by exercising it or reselling it to the dealer who issued it. Similarly, when a fund writes a dealer option, it generally will be able to close out the option prior to the expiration only by entering into a closing purchase transaction with the dealer to which the fund originally sold the option. Although the funds will seek to enter into dealer options only with dealers who will agree to and that are expected to be capable of entering into closing transactions with the funds, there can be no assurance that a fund will be able to liquidate a dealer option at a favorable price at any time prior to expiration. The inability to enter into a closing transaction may result in material losses to a fund. Until a fund, as an OTC call option writer, is able to effect a closing purchase transaction, it will not be able to liquidate securities (or other assets) used to cover the written option until the option expires or is exercised. This requirement may impair a fund’s ability to sell portfolio securities or, with respect to currency options, currencies at a time when such sale might be advantageous. In the event of insolvency of the other party, the fund may be unable to liquidate a dealer option.

Each fund may purchase and write options on foreign currencies as more fully described in “Foreign Currency Exchange Transactions” below. Each of the funds may also purchase or write call options on futures contracts as more fully described in “Options on Futures Contracts” below.

The use of options by the funds may involve leveraging. Leveraging adds increased risks to a fund, because the fund’s losses may be out of proportion to the amount invested in the instrument—a relatively small investment may lead to much greater losses.

Futures Contracts

Each fund may enter into stock index futures contracts for hedging purposes and for nonhedging purposes.

A futures contract is an agreement between two parties for the purchase or sale for future delivery of securities or for the payment or acceptance of a cash settlement based upon changes in the value of the securities or of an index of securities. A “sale” of

 

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a futures contract means the acquisition of a contractual obligation to deliver the securities called for by the contract at a specified price, or to make or accept the cash settlement called for by the contract, on a specified date. A “purchase” of a futures contract means the acquisition of a contractual obligation to acquire the securities called for by the contract at a specified price, or to make or accept the cash settlement called for by the contract, on a specified date. Futures contracts in the United States have been designed by exchanges which have been designated “contract markets” by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) and must be executed through a futures commission merchant, or brokerage firm, which is a member of the relevant contract market. Futures contracts trade on these markets, and the exchanges, through their clearing organizations, guarantee that the contracts will be performed as between the clearing members of the exchange. Futures contracts may also be traded on markets outside the U.S.

Future contracts on individual equity securities continue to be developed and each fund may invest in any such contracts as may be developed to the extent consistent with its investment objectives and regulatory requirements applicable to investment companies.

Each fund may buy and sell stock index futures contracts to attempt to increase investment return, to gain stock market exposure while holding cash available for investments and redemptions, or to protect against a decline in the stock market.

A stock index futures contract is a contract to buy or sell units of a stock index at a specified future date at the price agreed upon when the contract is made. A unit is the current value of the stock index.

The following example illustrates generally the manner in which index futures contracts operate. The Standard & Poor’s 100 Stock Index (the “S&P 100 Index”) is composed of 100 selected common stocks, most of which are listed on the New York Stock Exchange. The S&P 100 Index assigns relative weightings to the common stocks included in the Index, and the Index fluctuates with changes in the market values of those common stocks. In the case of the S&P 100 Index, contracts are to buy or sell 100 units. Thus, if the value of the S&P 100 Index were $180, one contract would be worth $18,000 (100 units x $180). The stock index futures contract specifies that no delivery of the actual stocks making up the index will take place. Instead, settlement in cash must occur upon the termination of the contract, with the settlement being the difference between the contract price and the actual level of the stock index at the expiration of the contract. For example, if a fund enters into a futures contract to buy 100 units of the S&P 100 Index at a specified future date at a contract price of $180 and the S&P 100 Index is at $184 on that future date, the fund will gain $400 (100 units x gain of $4) reduced by transaction costs. If the fund enters into a futures contract to sell 100 units of the stock index at a specified future date at a contract price of $180 and the S&P 100 Index is at $182 on that future date, the fund will lose $200 (100 units x loss of $2) increased by transaction costs.

Positions in index futures may be closed out only on an exchange or board of trade which provides a secondary market for such futures.

The ordinary spreads between prices in the cash and futures markets, due to differences in the nature of those markets, are subject to distortions. First, all participants in the futures market are subject to initial deposit and variation margin requirements. Rather than meeting additional variation margin requirements, investors may close out futures contracts through offsetting transactions which could distort the normal relationship between the cash and futures markets. Second, there is the potential that the liquidity of the futures market may be lacking. Prior to expiration, a futures contract may be terminated only by entering into a closing purchase or sale transaction, which requires a secondary market on the contract market on which the futures contract was originally entered into. There can be no assurance that a liquid secondary market will exist for any particular futures contract at any specific time. In that event, it may not be possible to close out a position held by the fund, which could require the fund to purchase or sell the instrument underlying the futures contract or to meet ongoing variation margin requirements. The inability to close out futures positions also could have an adverse impact on the ability effectively to use futures transactions for hedging or other purposes.

The liquidity of a secondary market in a futures contract may be adversely affected by “daily price fluctuation limits” established by the exchanges, which limit the amount of fluctuation in the price of a futures contract during a single trading day and prohibit trading beyond such limits once they have been reached. Each contract market on which futures contracts are traded has established a number of limitations governing the maximum number of positions which may be held by a trader, whether acting alone or in concert with others. The trading of futures contracts also is subject to the risk of trading halts, suspensions, exchange or clearing house equipment failures, government intervention, insolvency of a brokerage firm or clearing house or other disruptions of normal trading activity, which could at times make it difficult or impossible to liquidate existing positions or to recover excess variation margin payments.

Investments in futures contracts also entail the risk that if the subadviser’s investment judgment about the general direction of interest rates, equity markets, or other economic factors is incorrect, the fund’s overall performance may be poorer than if any such contract had not been entered into. For example, if a fund entered into a stock index futures contract in the belief that the prices of the stocks comprising the index would increase, and prices decreased instead, the fund would have both losses in its portfolio securities as well as in its futures positions.

 

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In addition, an amount of cash or liquid securities will be maintained by the fund in a segregated account so that the amount so segregated, plus the applicable margin held on deposit, will be approximately equal to the amount necessary to satisfy the fund’s obligations under the futures contract, or the fund will otherwise “cover” its positions in accordance with applicable policies and regulations.

The use of futures contracts potentially exposes a fund to the effects of “leveraging,” which occurs when futures are used so that the fund’s exposure to the market is greater than it would have been if the fund had invested directly in the underlying securities. “Leveraging” increases a fund’s potential for both gain and loss.

Single Stock Futures. Recent legislation permits the trading on U.S. exchanges of standardized futures contracts on individual equity securities, such as common stocks, exchange traded funds and American Depository Receipts, as well as narrow-based securities indices, generally called security futures contracts or “SFCs”. As with other futures contracts, a SFC involves an agreement to purchase or sell in the future a specific quantity of shares of a security or the component securities of the index. The initial margin requirements (typically 20 percent) are generally higher than with other futures contracts. Trading SFCs involves many of the same risks as trading other futures contracts, including the risks involved with leverage, and loses are potentially unlimited. Under certain market conditions, for example if trading is halted due to unusual trading activity in either the SFC or the underlying security due to recent news events involving the issuer of the security, it may be difficult or impossible for a fund to liquidate its position or manage risk by entering into an offsetting position. In addition, the prices of SFCs may not correlate as anticipated with the prices of the underlying security. And unlike options on securities in which a fund may invest, where the fund has the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a security prior to the expiration date, if the fund has a position in a SFC, the fund has both the right and the obligation to buy or sell the security at a future date, or otherwise offset its position.

Options on Futures Contracts

The funds may purchase and write options to buy or sell futures contracts in which the funds may invest. These investment strategies may be used for hedging purposes and for non-hedging purposes, subject to applicable law.

An option on a futures contract provides the holder with the right to enter into a “long” position in the underlying futures contract, in the case of a call option, or a “short” position in the underlying futures contract, in the case of a put option, at a fixed exercise price up to a stated expiration date or, in the case of certain options, on such date. Upon exercise of the option by the holder, the contract market clearinghouse establishes a corresponding short position for the writer of the option, in the case of a call option, or a corresponding long position in the case of a put option. In the event that an option is exercised, the parties will be subject to all the risks associated with the trading of futures contracts, such as payment of initial and variation margin deposits. In addition, the writer of an option on a futures contract, unlike the holder, is subject to initial and variation margin requirements on the option position.

A position in an option on a futures contract may be terminated by the purchaser or seller prior to expiration by effecting a closing purchase or sale transaction, subject to the availability of a liquid secondary market, which is the purchase or sale of an option of the same series ( i.e. , the same exercise price and expiration date) as the option previously purchased or sold. The difference between the premiums paid and received represents the trader’s profits or loss on the transaction.

Options on futures contracts that are written or purchased by a fund on U.S. exchanges are traded on the same contract market as the underlying futures contract, and, like futures contracts, are subject to regulation by the CFTC and the performance guarantee of the exchange clearinghouse. In addition, options on futures contracts may be traded on foreign exchanges.

A fund may cover the writing of call options on futures contracts (a) through purchases of the underlying futures contract, (b) through ownership of the instrument, or instruments included in the index underlying the futures contract, or (c) through the holding of a call on the same futures contract and in the same principal amount as the call written where the exercise price of the call held (i) is equal to or less than the exercise price of the call written or (ii) is greater than the exercise price of the call written if the difference is maintained by the funds in cash or securities in a segregated account. A fund may cover the writing of put options on futures contracts (a) through sales of the underlying futures contract, (b) through segregation of cash or liquid securities in an amount equal to the value of the security or index underlying the futures contract, (c) through the holding of a put on the same futures contract and in the same principal amount as the put written where the exercise price of the put held is equal to or greater than the exercise price of the put written or where the exercise price of the put held is less than the exercise price of the put written if the difference is maintained by the funds in cash or liquid securities in a segregated account. Put and call options on futures contracts may also be covered in such other manner as may be in accordance with the rules of the exchange on which the option is traded and applicable laws and regulations. Upon the exercise of a call option on a futures contract written by a fund, the fund will be required to sell the underlying futures contract which, if the fund has covered its obligation through the purchase of such contract, will serve to liquidate its futures position. Similarly, where a put option on a futures contract written by a fund is exercised, the fund will be required to purchase the underlying futures contract which, if the fund has covered its obligation through the sale of such contract, will close out its futures position.

 

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The writing of a call option on a futures contract constitutes a partial hedge against declining prices of the securities deliverable on exercise of the futures contract. A fund will receive an option premium when it writes the call, and, if the price of the futures contract at expiration of the option is below the option exercise price, the fund will retain the full amount of this option premium, which provides a partial hedge against any decline that may have occurred in the fund’s security holdings. Similarly, the writing of a put option on a futures contract constitutes a partial hedge against increasing prices of the securities deliverable upon exercise of the futures contract. If a fund writes an option on a futures contract and that option is exercised, the fund may incur a loss, which loss will be reduced by the amount of the option premium received, less related transaction costs. A fund’s ability to hedge effectively through transactions in options on futures contracts depends on, among other factors, the degree of correlation between changes in the value of securities held by the fund and changes in the value of its futures positions. This correlation cannot be expected to be exact, and a fund bears a risk that the value of the futures contract being hedged will not move in the same amount, or even in the same direction, as the hedging instrument. Thus it may be possible for a fund to incur a loss on both the hedging instrument and the futures contract being hedged.

The funds may purchase options on futures contracts for hedging purposes instead of purchasing or selling the underlying futures contracts. For example, where a decrease in the value of portfolio securities is anticipated as a result of a projected market-wide decline or changes in interest or exchange rates, the fund could, in lieu of selling futures contracts, purchase put options thereon. In the event that such decrease occurs, it may be offset, in whole or part, by a profit on the option. Conversely, where it is projected that the value of securities to be acquired by a fund will increase prior to acquisition, due to a market advance or changes in interest or exchange rates, the fund could purchase call options on futures contracts, rather than purchasing the underlying futures contracts.

The funds may also purchase options on futures contracts for non-hedging purposes, in order to take advantage of projected market advances or declines or changes in interest rates or exchange rates. For example, a fund can buy a call option on a futures contract when the subadviser believes that the underlying futures contract will rise. If prices do rise, the fund could exercise the option and acquire the underlying futures contract at the strike price or the fund could offset the long call position with a sale and realize a profit. Or, a fund can sell a call option if the subadviser believes that futures prices will decline. If prices decline, the call will likely not be exercised and the fund would profit. However, if the underlying futures contract should rise, the buyer of the option would likely exercise the call against the fund and acquire the underlying futures position at the strike price; the fund’s loss in this case could be unlimited.

The funds’ use of options on futures contracts may involve leveraging. Leveraging adds increased risks to a fund, because the fund’s losses may be out of proportion to the amount invested in the instrument—a relatively small investment may lead to much greater losses.

Repurchase Agreements

Each fund may invest in repurchase agreements collateralized by securities in which that fund may otherwise invest. Repurchase agreements are agreements by which a fund purchases a security and simultaneously commits to resell that security to the seller (which is usually a member bank of the U.S. Federal Reserve System or a member firm of the New York Stock Exchange (or a subsidiary thereof)) at an agreed-upon date within a number of days (frequently overnight and usually not more than seven days) from the date of purchase. The resale price reflects the purchase price plus an agreed-upon market rate of interest which is unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased security. A repurchase agreement involves the obligation of the seller to pay the agreed upon price, which obligation is in effect secured by the value of the underlying security, usually U.S. Government or Government agency issues. Under the 1940 Act, repurchase agreements may be considered to be loans by the buyer. A fund’s risk is limited to the ability of the seller to pay the agreed-upon amount on the delivery date. If the seller defaults, the underlying security constitutes collateral for the seller’s obligation to pay although a fund may incur certain costs in liquidating this collateral and in certain cases may not be permitted to liquidate this collateral. All repurchase agreements entered into by the fund shall be fully collateralized at all times during the period of the agreement in that the value of the underlying security shall be at least equal to the amount of the loan, including the accrued interest thereon, and the fund or its custodian or sub-custodian shall have control of the collateral, which the manager believes will give the fund a valid, perfected security interest in the collateral. This might become an issue in the event of the bankruptcy of the other party to the transaction. In the event of default by the seller under a repurchase agreement construed to be a collateralized loan, the underlying securities are not owned by the fund but only constitute collateral for the seller’s obligation to pay the repurchase price. Therefore, the fund may suffer delays and incur costs in connection with the disposition of the collateral. The manager believes that the collateral underlying repurchase agreements may be more susceptible to claims of the seller’s creditors than would be the case with securities owned by the fund. In the event of the bankruptcy of the other party to a repurchase agreement, a fund could experience delays in recovering the resale price. To the extent that, in the meantime, the value of the securities purchased has decreased, the fund could experience a loss.

 

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Reverse Repurchase Agreements

Each fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the sale of securities held by the fund and the agreement by the fund to repurchase the securities at an agreed-upon price, date and interest payment. When a fund enters into reverse repurchase transactions, securities of a dollar amount equal in value to the securities subject to the agreement will be segregated. The segregation of assets could impair the fund’s ability to meet its current obligations or impede investment management if a large portion of the fund’s assets are involved. Reverse repurchase agreements are considered to be a form of borrowing by the fund. In the event of the bankruptcy of the other party to a reverse repurchase agreement, a fund could experience delays in recovering the securities sold. To the extent that, in the meantime, the value of the securities sold has increased, the fund could experience a loss.

ETFs or Exchange Traded Funds

The funds may invest in shares of open-end mutual funds or unit investment trusts that are traded on a stock exchange, called exchange-traded funds or ETFs. Typically, an ETF seeks to track the performance of an index, such as the S&P 500 or the NASDAQ 100, by holding in its portfolio either the same securities that comprise the index, or a representative sample of the index. Investing in an ETF will give a fund exposure to the securities comprising the index on which the ETF is based, and the fund will gain or lose value depending on the performance of the index.

Unlike shares of typical mutual funds or unit investment trusts, shares of ETFs are designed to be traded throughout a trading day bought and sold based on market values, and not at net asset value. For this reason, shares could trade at either a premium or discount to net asset value. Currently, the funds intend to invest only in ETFs that track equity market indices. The portfolios held by these ETFs are publicly disclosed on each trading day, and an approximation of actual net asset value is disseminated throughout the trading day. Because of this transparency, the trading prices of these index based ETFs tend to closely track the actual net asset value of the underlying portfolios. Recently launched ETFs, which are not structured as investment companies, invest in gold bullion. In the future, as new products become available, the funds may invest in ETFs that are based on fixed income indices, or that are actively managed. Actively managed ETFs will likely not have the transparency of index based ETFs, and therefore, may be more likely to trade at a discount or premium to actual net asset values. Gains or losses on a fund’s investment in ETFs will depend on the purchase and sale price of the ETF, rather than on changes in the underlying net asset value of the ETF.

Securities of Non-U.S. Issuers

Each fund may invest in securities of non-U.S. issuers. Investing in securities issued by foreign governments or by companies whose principal business activities are outside the United States may involve significant risks not present in U.S. investments. For example, the value of such securities fluctuates based on the relative strength of the U.S. dollar. In addition, there is generally less publicly available information about non-U.S. issuers, particularly those not subject to the disclosure and reporting requirements of the U.S. securities laws. Non-U.S. issuers are generally not bound by uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting requirements comparable to those applicable to U.S. issuers. Investments in securities of non-U.S. issuers also involve the risk of possible adverse changes in investment or exchange control regulations, expropriation or confiscatory taxation, limitation on the removal of funds or other assets of a fund, political or financial instability or diplomatic and other developments which would affect such investments. Further, economies of other countries or areas of the world may differ favorably or unfavorably from the economy of the U.S.

It is anticipated that in most cases the best available market for securities of non-U.S. issuers would be on exchanges or in over-the-counter markets located outside the U.S. Non-U.S. securities markets, while growing in volume and sophistication, are generally not as developed as those in the U.S., and securities of some non-U.S. issuers (particularly those located in developing countries) may be less liquid and more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. companies. Non-U.S. securities trading practices, including those involving securities settlement where a fund’s assets may be released prior to receipt of payments, may expose the funds to increased risk in the event of a failed trade or the insolvency of a non-U.S. broker-dealer. In addition, non-U.S. brokerage commissions are generally higher than commissions on securities traded in the U.S. and may be non-negotiable. In general, there is less overall governmental supervision and regulation of non-U.S. securities exchanges, brokers and listed companies than in the U.S.

Investments in closed-end investment companies which primarily hold securities of non-U.S. issuers may entail the risk that the market value of such investments may be substantially less than their net asset value and that there would be duplication of investment management and other fees and expenses.

American Depository Receipts (“ADRs”), European Depository Receipts (“EDRs”), Global Depository Receipts (“GDRs”) and other forms of depository receipts for securities of non-U.S. issuers provide an alternative method for the funds to make non-U.S. investments. These securities are not usually denominated in the same currency as the securities into which they may be converted. Generally, ADRs, in registered form, are designed for use in U.S. securities markets and EDRs and GDRs, in bearer form, are designed

 

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for use in European and global securities markets. ADRs are receipts typically issued by a U.S. bank or trust company evidencing ownership of the underlying securities. EDRs and GDRs are European and global receipts, respectively, evidencing a similar arrangement.

ADRs, EDRs, and GDRs may be issued pursuant to sponsored or unsponsored programs. In sponsored programs, an issuer has made arrangements to have its securities traded in the form of depository receipts. In unsponsored programs, the issuer may not be directly involved in the creation of the program. Although regulatory requirements with respect to sponsored and unsponsored programs are generally similar, in some cases it may be easier to obtain financial information from an issuer that has participated in the creation of a sponsored program. Accordingly, there may be less information available regarding issuers of securities underlying unsponsored programs and there may not be a correlation between such information and the market value of the depositary receipts.

The funds may invest in securities of non-U.S. issuers that impose restrictions on transfer within the U.S. or to U.S. persons. Although securities subject to such transfer restrictions may be marketable abroad, they may be less liquid than securities of non-U.S. issuers of the same class that are not subject to such restrictions.

The risks described above, including the risks of nationalization or expropriation of assets, are typically increased to the extent that a fund invests in issuers located in less developed and developing nations, whose securities markets are sometimes referred to as “emerging securities markets.” Investments in securities located in such countries are speculative and subject to certain special risks. Political and economic structures in many of these countries may be in their infancy and developing rapidly, and such countries may lack the social, political and economic stability characteristic of more developed countries. Certain of these countries have in the past failed to recognize private property rights and have at times nationalized and expropriated the assets of private companies.

In addition, unanticipated political or social developments may affect the value of a fund’s investments in these countries and the availability to the fund of additional investments in these countries. The small size, limited trading volume and relative inexperience of the securities markets in these countries may make the fund’s investment in such countries illiquid and more volatile than investments in more developed countries, and the fund may be required to establish special custodial or other arrangements before making investments in these countries. There may be little financial or accounting information available with respect to issuers located in these countries, and it may be difficult as a result to assess the value or prospects of an investment in such issuers.

Euro Conversion

Fifteen European countries participate in the European Economic and Monetary Union (“EMU”) and 12 of those countries have adopted the euro as its sole currency. EMU may create new economic opportunities for investors, such as lower interest rates, easier crossborder mergers, acquisitions and similar restructurings, more efficient distribution and product packaging and greater competition. Budgetary decisions remain in the hands of each participating country, but are subject to each country’s commitment to avoid “excessive deficits” and other more specific budgetary criteria. A European Central Bank is responsible for setting the official interest rate within the Euro zone. EMU and the introduction of the Euro, however, present unique risks and uncertainties for investors in EMU-participating countries, including: (i) monetary and economic union on this scale has never before been attempted; (ii) there is uncertainty whether participating countries will remain committed to EMU in the face of changing economic conditions; (iii) instability within EMU may increase the volatility of European markets and may adversely affect the prices of securities of European issuers in the fund’s portfolio; (iv) there is uncertainty concerning the fluctuation of the Euro relative to non-Euro currencies; and (v) there is no assurance that interest rate, tax and labor regimes of EMU-participating countries will converge over time. These and other factors may cause market disruption and could adversely affect European securities and currencies held by the fund.

Foreign Currency Exchange Transactions

Because each fund may buy and sell securities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, and receive interest, dividends and sale proceeds in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, the funds may engage in foreign currency exchange transactions as an attempt to protect against uncertainty in the level of future foreign currency exchange rates or as an attempt to enhance performance.

The funds may enter into foreign currency exchange transactions to convert U.S. currency to non-U.S. currency and non-U.S. currency to U.S. currency, as well as convert one non-U.S. currency to another non-U.S. currency. A fund either enters into these transactions on a spot ( i.e. , cash) basis at the spot rate prevailing in the currency exchange markets, or uses forward contracts to purchase or sell non-U.S. currencies.

The funds may convert currency on a spot basis from time to time, and investors should be aware of the costs of currency conversion. Although currency exchange dealers do not charge a fee for conversion, they do realize a profit based on the difference (the “spread”) between the prices at which they are buying and selling various currencies. Thus, a dealer may offer to sell a currency at one rate, while offering a lesser rate of exchange should a fund desire to resell that currency to the dealer.

 

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A forward contract involves an obligation to purchase or sell a specific currency at a future date, which may be any fixed number of days from the date of the contract, agreed upon by the parties, at a price set at the time of the contract. These contracts are traded in the interbank market conducted directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. A forward contract generally has no deposit requirement, and no fees or commissions are charged at any stage for trades. A fund may enter into forward contracts for hedging and non-hedging purposes, including transactions entered into for the purposes of profiting from anticipated changes in foreign currency exchange rates.

Forward contracts are traded over-the-counter and not on organized commodities or securities exchanges. As a result, such contracts operate in a manner distinct from exchange-traded instruments, and their use involves certain risks beyond those associated with transactions in the futures and options contracts described herein.

When a fund enters into a contract for the purchase or sale of a security denominated in a non-U.S. currency, it may desire to “lock in” the U.S. dollar price of the security. By entering into a forward contract for the purchase or sale, for a fixed amount of U.S. dollars, of the amount of non-U.S. currency involved in the underlying security transaction, the fund may be able to protect against a possible loss resulting from an adverse change in the relationship between the U.S. dollar and the non-U.S. currency during the period between the date the security is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received.

When the portfolio managers believe that the currency of a particular country may suffer a substantial decline against the U.S. dollar, a fund may enter into a forward contract to sell the non-U.S. currency, for a fixed amount of U.S. dollars. If a fund owns securities in that currency, the portfolio managers may enter into a contract to sell the non-U.S. currency in an amount approximating the value of some or all of the fund’s securities denominated in such non-U.S. currency. The precise matching of the forward contract amounts and the value of the securities involved is not generally possible since the future value of such securities in non-U.S. currencies changes as a consequence of market movements in the value of those securities between the date the forward contract is entered into and the date it matures.

At the maturity of a forward contract, a fund will either deliver the non-U.S. currency, or terminate its contractual obligation to deliver the non-U.S. currency by purchasing an “offsetting” contract with the same currency trader obligating it to purchase, on the same maturity date, the same amount of the non-U.S. currency. If a fund engages in an offsetting transaction, the fund will incur a gain or a loss (as described below) to the extent that there has been movement in forward contract prices. If a fund engages in an offsetting transaction, it may subsequently enter into a new forward contract to sell the non-U.S. currency. Should forward prices decline during the period between the date a fund enters into a forward contract for the sale of the non-U.S. currency and the date it enters into an offsetting contract for the purchase of such currency, the fund will realize a gain to the extent the selling price of the currency exceeds the purchase price of the currency. Should forward prices increase, the fund will suffer a loss to the extent that the purchase price of the currency exceeds the selling price of the currency.

Where a fund enters into a forward contract with respect to securities it holds denominated in the non-U.S. currency, it is impossible to forecast with precision the market value of a fund’s securities at the expiration of a forward contract. Accordingly, it may be necessary for a fund to purchase additional non-U.S. currency on the spot market if the market value of the security is less than the amount of non-U.S. currency the fund is obligated to deliver and if a decision is made to sell the security and make delivery of such currency. Conversely, it may be necessary to sell on the spot market some of the non-U.S. currency received upon the sale of the security if its market value exceeds the amount of such currency the fund is obligated to deliver.

When a fund enters into a forward contract for non-hedging purposes, there is a greater potential for profit but also a greater potential for loss. For example, a fund may purchase a given foreign currency through a forward contract if the value of such currency is expected to rise relative to the U.S. dollar or another foreign currency. Conversely, a fund may sell the currency through a forward contract if the value of the currency is expected to decline against the dollar or another foreign currency. The fund will profit if the anticipated movements in foreign currency exchange rates occur, which will increase gross income. Where exchange rates do not move in the direction or the extent anticipated, however, the fund may sustain losses which will reduce its gross income. Such transactions should be considered speculative and could involve significant risk of loss.

When entering into forward contracts, each fund intends to comply with policies of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) concerning forward contracts. Those policies currently require that an amount of a fund’s assets equal to the amount of the purchase be held aside or segregated to be used to pay for the commitment or that the fund otherwise covers its position in accordance with applicable regulations and policies.

Each fund may purchase put options on a currency in an attempt to protect against currency rate fluctuations or to seek to enhance gains. When a fund purchases a put option on a currency, the fund will have the right to sell the currency for a fixed amount in U.S. dollars, or other currency. Conversely, where a rise in the value of one currency is projected against another, the fund may purchase call options on the currency, giving it the right to purchase the currency for a fixed amount of U.S. dollars or another currency. Each fund may purchase put or call options on currencies, even if the fund does not currently hold or intend to purchase securities denominated in such currencies.

 

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The benefit to the fund from purchases of currency options will be reduced by the amount of the premium and related transaction costs. In addition, where currency exchange rates do not move in the direction or to the extent anticipated, the fund could sustain losses on transactions in foreign currency options.

The funds may write options on currencies for hedging purposes or otherwise in an attempt to achieve their investment objectives. For example, where a fund anticipates a decline in the value of the U.S. dollar value of a foreign security due to adverse fluctuations in exchange rates it could, instead of purchasing a put option, write a call option on the relevant currency. If the expected decline occurs, the option will most likely not be exercised, and the diminution in value of the security held by the fund may be offset by the amount of the premium received. If the expected decline does not occur, the fund may be required to sell foreign currencies at disadvantageous exchange rates, thereby incurring losses. A fund could also write call options on a currency, even if it does not own any securities denominated in that currency, in an attempt to enhance gains. In that case, if the expected decline does not occur, the fund would be required to purchase the currency and sell it at a loss, which may not be offset by the premium received. The losses in this case could be unlimited.

Similarly, instead of purchasing a call option to hedge against an anticipated increase in the cost of a foreign security to be acquired because of an increase in the U.S. dollar value of the currency in which the underlying security is primarily traded, a fund could write a put option on the relevant currency which, if rates move in the manner projected, will expire unexercised and allow the fund to hedge such increased cost up to the amount of the premium. However, the writing of a currency option will constitute only a partial hedge up to the amount of the premium, and only if rates move in the expected direction. If this does not occur, the option may be exercised and the fund would be required to purchase or sell the underlying currency at a loss which may not be offset by the amount of the premium. Through the writing of options on currencies, a fund also may be required to forgo all or a portion of the benefits which might otherwise have been obtained from favorable movements in exchange rates. A fund could also write put options on a currency, even if it does not own, or intend to purchase, any securities denominated in that currency. In that case, if the expected increase does not occur, the fund would be required to purchase the currency at a price that is greater than the current exchange rate for the currency, and the losses in this case could exceed the amount of premium received for writing the options, and could be unlimited.

Options on foreign currencies are traded on U.S. or foreign exchanges or in the over-the-counter market. Each fund may enter into transactions in options on foreign currencies that are traded in the over-the-counter market. These transactions are not afforded the protections provided to traders on organized exchanges or those regulated by the CFTC. In particular, over-the-counter options are not cleared and guaranteed by a clearing corporation, thereby increasing the risk of counterparty default. In addition, there may not be a liquid market on these options, which may prevent a fund from liquidating open positions at a profit prior to exercise or expiration, or to limit losses in the event of adverse market conditions.

The purchase and sale of foreign currency options are subject to the risks of the availability of a liquid secondary market and counterparty risk, as described above, as well as the risks regarding adverse market movements, margining of options written, the nature of the foreign currency market, possible interventions by governmental authorities and the effects of other political and economic events. In addition, the value of a fund’s positions in foreign currency options could be adversely affected by (1) other complex foreign political and economic factors, (2) lesser availability of data on which to make trading decisions than in the United States, (3) delays in the fund’s ability to act upon economic events occurring in foreign markets during non-business hours in the United States, and (4) imposition of different exercise and settlement terms and procedures and margin requirements than in the United States.

In addition, because foreign currency transactions occurring in the interbank market generally involve substantially larger amounts than those that may be involved in the use of foreign currency options, the funds may be disadvantaged by having to deal in an odd lot market (generally consisting of transactions of less than $1 million) for the underlying foreign currencies at prices that are less favorable than for round lots.

There is no systematic reporting of last-sale information for foreign currencies and there is no regulatory requirement that quotations available through dealers or other market sources be firm or revised on a timely basis. Available quotation information is generally representative of very large transactions in the interbank market and thus may not reflect relatively smaller transactions (less than $1 million) where rates may be less favorable. The interbank market in foreign currencies is a global, around-the-clock market. To the extent that the U.S. options markets, or other markets used by the funds are closed while the markets for the underlying currencies remain open, significant price and rate movements may take place in the underlying markets that may not be reflected in the U.S. or other markets used by the funds.

Put and call options on non-U.S. currencies written by a fund will be covered by segregation of cash and liquid securities in an amount sufficient to discharge the fund’s obligations with respect to the option, by acquisition of the non-U.S. currency or of a right to acquire such currency (in the case of a call option) or the acquisition of a right to dispose of the currency (in the case of a put option), or in such other manner as may be in accordance with the requirements of any exchange on which, or the counterparty with which, the option is traded and applicable laws and regulations.

 

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Each fund may engage in proxy hedges and cross hedges. For example, in a proxy hedge, a fund, having purchased a security, would sell a currency whose value is believed to be closely linked to the currency in which the security is denominated. Interest rates prevailing in the country whose currency was sold might be expected to be closer to those in the U.S. and lower than those of securities denominated in the currency of the original holding. This type of hedging entails greater risk than a direct hedge because it is dependent on a stable relationship between the two currencies paired as proxies and the relationships can be very unstable at times. A fund may enter into a cross hedge if a particular currency is expected to decrease against another currency. For example, the fund would sell the currency expected to decrease and purchase a currency which is expected to increase against the currency sold in an attempt to protect against declines in value of the fund’s holdings denominated in the currency sold.

Investing in ADRs and other depository receipts presents many of the same risks regarding currency exchange rates as investing directly in securities traded in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Because the securities underlying ADRs are traded primarily in non-U.S. currencies, changes in currency exchange rates will affect the value of these receipts. For example, a decline in the U.S. dollar value of another currency in which securities are primarily traded will reduce the U.S. dollar value of such securities, even if their value in the other non-U.S. currency remains constant, and thus will reduce the value of the receipts covering such securities. A fund may employ any of the above described foreign currency hedging techniques to protect the value of its assets invested in depository receipts.

Of course, a fund is not required to enter into the transactions described above and does not do so unless deemed appropriate by the portfolio managers. It should be realized that under certain circumstances, the funds may not be able to hedge against a decline in the value of a currency, even if the portfolio managers deem it appropriate to try to do so, because doing so would be too costly. Transactions entered into to protect the value of a fund’s securities against a decline in the value of a currency (even when successful) do not eliminate fluctuations in the underlying prices of the securities. Additionally, although hedging transactions may tend to minimize the risk of loss due to a decline in the value of the hedged currency, they also tend to limit any potential gain which might result should the value of such currency increase.

Investors should also be aware of the increased risk to a fund and its investors when it enters into foreign currency exchange transactions for non-hedging purposes. Non-hedging transactions in such instruments involve greater risks and may result in losses which are not offset by increases in the value of a fund’s other assets. Although a fund is required to segregate assets or otherwise cover certain types of transactions, this does not protect the fund against risk of loss. Furthermore, the funds’ use of foreign currency exchange transactions may involve leveraging. Leveraging adds increased risks to a fund, because the fund’s losses may be out of proportion to the amount invested in the instrument-a relatively small investment may lead to much greater losses.

Lending of Securities

Consistent with applicable regulatory requirements and in order to generate income, each fund may lend its securities to broker-dealers and other institutional borrowers. Such loans will usually be made only to member banks of the U.S. Federal Reserve System and to member firms of the New York Stock Exchange (and subsidiaries thereof). Loans of securities would be secured continuously by collateral in cash, cash equivalents or U.S. Treasury obligations maintained on a current basis at an amount at least equal to the market value of the securities loaned. The cash collateral would be invested in high quality short-term instruments. Either party has the right to terminate a loan at any time on customary industry settlement notice (which will not usually exceed three business days). During the existence of a loan, a fund would continue to receive the equivalent of the interest or dividends paid by the issuer on the securities loaned and with respect to cash collateral would also receive compensation based on investment of the collateral (subject to a rebate payable to the borrower and the lending agent). Where the borrower provides a fund with collateral consisting of U.S. Treasury obligations, the borrower is also obligated to pay the fund a fee for use of the borrowed securities. The fund would not, however, have the right to vote any securities having voting rights during the existence of the loan, but would call the loan in anticipation of an important vote to be taken among holders of the securities or of the giving or withholding of their consent on a material matter affecting the investment. As with other extensions of credit, there are risks of delay in recovery or even loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower fail financially. However, the loans would be made only to entities deemed by the subadviser to be of good standing, and when, in the judgment of the subadviser, the consideration which can be earned currently from loans of this type justifies the attendant risk. In addition, a fund could suffer loss if the borrower terminates the loan and the fund is forced to liquidate investments in order to return the cash collateral to the buyer. The subadviser will make loans only when, in the judgment of the subadviser, the consideration which can be earned currently from loans of this type justifies the attendant risk. If the subadviser determines to make loans, it is not intended that the value of the securities loaned by a fund would exceed 30% of the market value of its total assets.

 

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When-Issued Securities

Each fund may purchase securities on a “when-issued” or on a “forward delivery” basis, meaning that delivery of the securities will occur beyond customary settlement time. It is expected that, under normal circumstances, the applicable fund would take delivery of such securities, but the fund may sell them before the settlement date. In general, the fund does not pay for the securities until received and does not start earning interest until the contractual settlement date. When a fund commits to purchase a security on a “when-issued” or on a “forward delivery” basis, it sets up procedures consistent with SEC policies. Since those policies currently require that an amount of a fund’s assets equal to the amount of the purchase be held aside or segregated to be used to pay for the commitment, each fund expects always to have cash or liquid securities sufficient to cover any commitments or to limit any potential risk. However, even though the funds intend to adhere to the provisions of SEC policies, purchases of securities on such bases may involve more risk than other types of purchases. The when-issued securities are subject to market fluctuation, and no interest accrues on the security to the purchaser during this period. The payment obligation and the interest rate that will be received on the securities are each fixed at the time the purchaser enters into the commitment. Purchasing obligations on a when-issued basis is a form of leveraging and can involve a risk that the yields available in the market when the delivery takes place may actually be higher than those obtained in the transaction itself. In that case, there could be an unrealized loss at the time of delivery. An increase in the percentage of a fund’s assets committed to the purchase of securities on a “when-issued” basis may increase the volatility of its net asset value.

Convertible Securities

The funds may invest in convertible securities. A convertible security is a fixed-income security (a bond or preferred stock) which may be converted at a stated price within a specified period of time into a certain quantity of common stock or other equity securities of the same or a different issuer. Convertible securities rank senior to common stock in a corporation’s capital structure but are usually subordinated to similar non-convertible securities. While providing a fixed-income stream (generally higher in yield than the income derivable from common stock but lower than that afforded by a similar non-convertible security), a convertible security also affords an investor the opportunity, through its conversion feature, to participate in the capital appreciation attendant upon a market price advance in the convertible security’s underlying common stock.

In general, the market value of a convertible security is at least the higher of its “investment value” ( i.e. , its value as a fixed-income security) or its “conversion value” ( i.e. , its value upon conversion into its underlying stock). As a fixed-income security, a convertible security tends to increase in market value when interest rates decline and tends to decrease in value when interest rates rise. However, the price of a convertible security is also influenced by the market value of the security’s underlying common stock. The price of a convertible security tends to increase as the market value of the underlying stock rises, whereas it tends to decrease as the market value of the underlying stock declines. While no securities investment is without some risk, investments in convertible securities generally entail less risk than investments in the common stock of the same issuer.

Rule 144A Securities

Consistent with applicable investment restrictions, each fund may purchase securities that are not registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), but can be offered and sold to “qualified institutional buyers” under Rule 144A under the Securities Act (“Rule 144A securities”). However, neither fund will invest more than 15% of its net assets (taken at market value) in illiquid investments, which includes securities for which there is no readily available market, securities subject to contractual restrictions on resale and Rule 144A securities, unless, in the case of Rule 144A securities, the Board of Trustees of the Trust determines, based on the trading markets for the specific Rule 144A security, that it is liquid. The Trustees have adopted guidelines and, subject to oversight by the Trustees, have delegated to the subadviser the daily function of determining and monitoring liquidity of Rule 144A securities.

Private Placements and Illiquid Investments

Each fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in securities for which there is no readily available market. These illiquid securities may include privately placed restricted securities for which no institutional market exists. The absence of a trading market can make it difficult to ascertain a market value for illiquid investments. Disposing of illiquid investments may involve time-consuming negotiation and legal expenses, and it may be difficult or impossible for a fund to sell them promptly at an acceptable price.

Bank Obligations

The funds may invest in bank obligations, i.e. , certificates of deposit, time deposits including Eurodollar time deposits, and bankers’ acceptances and other short-term debt obligations issued by domestic banks, foreign subsidiaries or foreign branches of

 

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domestic banks, domestic and foreign branches of foreign banks, domestic savings and loan associations and other banking institutions. A bankers’ acceptance is a bill of exchange or time draft drawn on and accepted by a commercial bank. It is used by corporations to finance the shipment and storage of goods and to furnish dollar exchange. Maturities are generally six months or less. A certificate of deposit is a negotiable interest-bearing instrument with a specific maturity. Certificates of deposit are issued by banks and savings and loan institutions in exchange for the deposit of funds and normally can be traded in the secondary market prior to maturity. A time deposit is a non-negotiable receipt issued by a bank in exchange for the deposit of funds. Like a certificate of deposit, it earns a specified rate of interest over a definite period of time; however, it cannot be traded in the secondary market. Time deposits with a withdrawal penalty are considered to be illiquid securities.

Commercial Paper

Each fund may invest in commercial paper, which is unsecured debt of corporations usually maturing in 270 days or less from its date of issuance.

Other Investment Companies

Subject to applicable statutory and regulatory limitations, assets of each fund may be invested in shares of other investment companies. Each fund may invest up to 5% of its assets in closed-end investment companies as permitted by applicable law.

Securities Rated Baa or BBB

Each fund may purchase securities rated Baa by Moody’s or BBB by S&P and securities of comparable quality, which may have poor protection of payment of principal and interest. These securities are often considered to be speculative and involve greater risk of default or price changes than securities assigned a higher quality rating. The market prices of these securities may fluctuate more than higher-rated securities and may decline significantly in periods of general economic difficulty which may follow periods of rising interest rates.

Subsequent to its purchase by a fund, an issue of securities may cease to be rated or its rating may be reduced below the minimum required for purchase by the fund. In addition, it is possible that Moody’s, S&P and other rating agencies might not timely change their ratings of a particular issue to reflect subsequent events.

Additional Disclosure Regarding Derivatives

Transactions in options may be entered into on U.S. exchanges regulated by the SEC, in the over-the-counter market and on foreign exchanges, while forward contracts may be entered into only in the over-the-counter market. Futures contracts and options on futures contracts may be entered into on U.S. exchanges regulated by the CFTC and on foreign exchanges. The securities underlying options and futures contracts traded by a fund may include domestic as well as foreign securities. Investors should recognize that transactions involving foreign securities or foreign currencies, and transactions entered into in foreign countries, may involve considerations and risks not typically associated with investing in U.S. markets.

Transactions in options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts and forward contracts entered into for non-hedging purposes involve greater risk and could result in losses which are not offset by gains on other portfolio assets. For example, a fund may sell futures contracts on an index of securities in order to profit from any anticipated decline in the value of the securities comprising the underlying index. In such instances, any losses on the futures transactions will not be offset by gains on any portfolio securities comprising such index, as might occur in connection with a hedging transaction.

The use of certain derivatives, such as futures, forward contracts, and written options may involve leverage for the funds because they create an obligation, or indebtedness, to someone other than the funds’ investors and enable a fund to participate in gains and losses on an amount that exceeds its initial investment.

If a fund writes a stock put option, for example, it makes no initial investment, but instead receives a premium in an amount equal to a fraction of the price of the underlying stock. In return, the fund is obligated to purchase the underlying stock at a fixed price, thereby being subject to losses on the full stock price.

Likewise, if a fund purchases a futures contract, it makes an initial margin payment that is typically a small percentage of the contract’s price. However, because of the purchase, the fund will participate in gains or losses on the full contract price.

Other types of derivatives provide the economic equivalent of leverage because they display heightened price sensitivity to market fluctuations, such as changes in stock prices or interest rates. These derivatives magnify a fund’s gain or loss from an investment in much the same way that incurring indebtedness does. For example, if a fund purchases a stock call option, the fund pays a premium in an amount equal to a fraction of the stock price, and in return, the fund participates in gains on the full stock price. If there were no gains, the fund generally would lose the entire initial premium.

 

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Options, futures contracts, options on futures contracts, forward contracts and swaps may be used alone or in combinations in order to create synthetic exposure to securities in which a fund otherwise invests.

The use of derivatives may increase the amount of taxable income of a fund and may affect the amount, timing and character of a fund’s income for tax purposes, as more fully discussed herein in the section entitled “Tax Matters.”

Additional Information

At times, a substantial portion of a fund’s assets may be invested in securities as to which the fund, by itself or together with other funds and accounts managed by the subadviser and its affiliates, holds all or a major portion. Although the subadviser generally considers such securities to be liquid because of the availability of an institutional market for such securities, it is possible that, under adverse market or economic conditions or in the event of adverse changes in the financial condition of the issuer, the fund could find it more difficult to sell these securities when it believes it advisable to do so or may be able to sell the securities only at prices lower than if they were more widely held. Under these circumstances, it may also be more difficult to determine the fair value of such securities for purposes of computing the fund’s net asset value. In order to enforce its rights in the event of a default under such securities, the fund may be required to participate in various legal proceedings or take possession of and manage assets securing the issuer’s obligations on such securities. This could increase the fund’s operating expenses and adversely affect the fund’s net asset value. In addition, the fund’s intention to qualify as a “regulated investment company” under the Internal Revenue Code may limit the extent to which the fund may exercise its rights by taking possession of such assets.

Defensive Strategies

Each fund may, from time to time, take temporary defensive positions that are inconsistent with the fund’s principal investment strategies in attempting to respond to adverse market, political or other conditions. When doing so, the funds may invest without limit in high quality money market and other short-term instruments, and may not be pursuing their investment goals.

4. INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS

Each fund has adopted the following policies which may not be changed without approval by holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the fund, which as used in this Statement of Additional Information means the vote of the lesser of (i) voting securities representing 67% or more of the voting power of the fund present at a meeting at which the holders of voting securities representing more than 50% of the voting power of the fund are present or represented by proxy, or (ii) voting securities representing more than 50% of the voting power of the fund. The term “voting securities” as used in this paragraph has the same meaning as in the 1940 Act. As discussed under “Proposed Investment Restrictions” below, the funds are proposing to change their investment restrictions.

Current Investment Restrictions

Under the investment restrictions adopted by each fund, the fund may not:

(1) borrow money except to the extent such borrowing is not prohibited by the 1940 Act and exemptive orders granted under such Act;

(2) underwrite securities issued by other persons, except that all or any portion of the assets of the fund may be invested in one or more investment companies, to the extent not prohibited by the 1940 Act and exemptive orders granted under such Act, and except insofar as the fund may technically be deemed an underwriter under the Securities Act in selling a portfolio security;

(3) purchase or sell real estate (excluding securities secured by real estate or interests therein and securities of companies, such as real estate investment trusts, which deal in real estate or interests therein), interests in oil, gas or mineral leases, commodities or commodity contracts (excluding currencies and any type of option, futures contract and forward contract) in the ordinary course of its business. The fund reserves the freedom of action to hold and to sell real estate, mineral leases, commodities or commodity contracts (including currencies and any type of option, futures contract and forward contract) acquired as a result of the ownership of securities;

(4) issue any senior securities except to the extent not prohibited by the 1940 Act and exemptive orders granted under such Act. For purposes of this restriction, collateral arrangements with respect to any type of swap, option, forward contract and futures contract and collateral arrangements with respect to initial and variation margin are not deemed to be the issuance of a senior security;

(5) make loans except to the extent not prohibited by the 1940 Act and exemptive orders granted under such Act; and

 

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(6) purchase any securities of an issuer in a particular industry if as a result 25% or more of its total assets (taken at market value at the time of purchase) would be invested in securities of issuers whose principal business activities are in the same industry.

For purposes of restriction (1) above, covered mortgage dollar rolls and arrangements with respect to securities lending are not treated as borrowing.

If a percentage restriction or a rating restriction (other than a restriction as to borrowing) on investment or utilization of assets set forth above or referred to in the applicable Prospectus is adhered to at the time an investment is made or assets are so utilized, a later change in percentage is not considered a violation of policy.

Proposed Investment Restrictions

Each fund has called a meeting of its shareholders to consider several proposals, including the adoption of revised fundamental investments policies or restrictions. If approved by each fund’s shareholders, the fund’s revised fundamental policies will be as follows:

 

  1. The fund may not borrow money except as permitted by (i) the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

 

  2. The fund may not engage in the business of underwriting the securities of other issuers except as permitted by (i) the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

 

  3. The fund may lend money or other assets to the extent permitted by (i) the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

 

  4. The fund may not issue senior securities except as permitted by (i) the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

 

  5. The fund may not purchase or sell real estate except as permitted by (i) the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

 

  6. The fund may purchase or sell commodities or contracts related to commodities to the extent permitted by (i) the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

 

  7. Except as permitted by exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, the fund may not make any investment if, as a result, the fund’s investments will be concentrated in any one industry.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to borrowing money set forth in (1) above, the 1940 Act permits a fund to borrow money in amounts of up to one-third of the fund’s total assets from banks for any purpose, and to borrow up to 5% of the fund’s total assets from banks or other lenders for temporary purposes. To limit the risks attendant to borrowing, the 1940 Act requires the fund to maintain at all times an “asset coverage” of at least 300% of the amount of its borrowings. Asset coverage means the ratio that the value of the fund’s total assets, minus liabilities other than borrowings, bears to the aggregate amount of all borrowings. Certain trading practices and investments, such as reverse repurchase agreements, may be considered to be borrowing and thus subject to the 1940 Act restrictions. Borrowing money to increase portfolio holdings is known as “leveraging.” Borrowing, especially when used for leverage, may cause the value of a fund’s shares to be more volatile than if the fund did not borrow. This is because borrowing tends to magnify the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of the fund’s portfolio holdings. Borrowed money thus creates an opportunity for greater gains, but also greater losses. To repay borrowings, the fund may have to sell securities at a time and at a price that is unfavorable to the fund. There also are costs associated with borrowing money, and these costs would offset and could eliminate a fund’s net investment income in any given period. [Currently the fund does not contemplate borrowing money for leverage, but if the fund does so, it will not likely do so to a substantial degree.] The policy in (1) above will be interpreted to permit a fund to engage in trading practices and investments that may be considered to be borrowing to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act. Short-term credits necessary for the settlement of securities transactions and arrangements with respect to securities lending will not be considered to be borrowings under the policy. Practices and investments that may involve leverage but are not considered to be borrowings are not subject to the policy.

 

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With respect to the fundamental policy relating to underwriting set forth in (2) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from engaging in the underwriting business or from underwriting the securities of other issuers; in fact, the 1940 Act permits a fund to have underwriting commitments of up to 25% of its assets under certain circumstances. Those circumstances currently are that the amount of the fund’s underwriting commitments, when added to the value of the fund’s investments in issuers where the fund owns more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of those issuers, cannot exceed the 25% cap. A fund engaging in transactions involving the acquisition or disposition of portfolio securities may be considered to be an underwriter under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”). Under the 1933 Act, an underwriter may be liable for material omissions or misstatements in an issuer’s registration statement or prospectus. Securities purchased from an issuer and not registered for sale under the 1933 Act are considered restricted securities. There may be a limited market for these securities. If these securities are registered under the 1933 Act, they may then be eligible for sale but participating in the sale may subject the seller to underwriter liability. These risks could apply to a fund investing in restricted securities. Although it is not believed that the application of the 1933 Act provisions described above would cause a fund to be engaged in the business of underwriting, the policy in (2) above will be interpreted not to prevent the fund from engaging in transactions involving the acquisition of disposition of portfolio securities, regardless of whether the fund may be considered to be an underwriter under the 1933 Act.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to lending set forth in (3) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from making loans; however, SEC staff interpretations currently prohibit funds from lending more than one-third of their total assets, except through the purchase of debt obligations or the use of repurchase agreements. (A repurchase agreement is an agreement to purchase a security, coupled with an agreement to sell that security back to the original seller on an agreed-upon date at a price that reflects current interest rates. The SEC frequently treats repurchase agreements as loans.) While lending securities may be a source of income to a fund, as with other extensions of credit, there are risks of delay in recovery or even loss of rights in the underlying securities should the borrower fail financially. However, loans would be made only when the fund’s manager or a subadviser believes the income justifies the attendant risks. The fund also will be permitted by this policy to make loans of money, including to other funds. A fund would have to obtain exemptive relief from the SEC to make loans to other funds. The policy in (3) above will be interpreted not to prevent a fund from purchasing or investing in debt obligations and loans. In addition, collateral arrangements with respect to options, forward currency and futures transactions and other derivative instruments, as well as delays in the settlement of securities transactions, will not be considered loans.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to issuing senior securities set forth in (4) above, “senior securities” are defined as fund obligations that have a priority over the fund’s shares with respect to the payment of dividends or the distribution of fund assets. The 1940 Act prohibits a fund from issuing senior securities except that the fund may borrow money in amounts of up to one-third of the fund’s total assets from banks for any purpose. A fund also may borrow up to 5% of the fund’s total assets from banks or other lenders for temporary purposes, and these borrowings are not considered senior securities. The issuance of senior securities by a fund can increase the speculative character of the fund’s outstanding shares through leveraging. Leveraging of a fund’s portfolio through the issuance of senior securities magnifies the potential for gain or loss on monies, because even though the fund’s net assets remain the same, the total risk to investors is increased to the extent of the fund’s gross assets. The policy in (4) above will be interpreted not to prevent collateral arrangements with respect to swaps, options, forward or futures contracts or other derivatives, or the posting of initial or variation margin.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to real estate set forth in (5) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from owning real estate; however, a fund is limited in the amount of illiquid assets it may purchase. Investing in real estate may involve risks, including that real estate is generally considered illiquid and may be difficult to value and sell. Owners of real estate may be subject to various liabilities, including environmental liabilities. To the extent that investments in real estate are considered illiquid, the current SEC staff position generally limits a fund’s purchases of illiquid securities to 15% of net assets. The policy in (5) above will be interpreted not to prevent a fund from investing in real estate-related companies, companies whose businesses consist in whole or in part of investing in real estate, instruments (like mortgages) that are secured by real estate or interests therein, or real estate investment trust securities.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to commodities set forth in (6) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from owning commodities, whether physical commodities and contracts related to physical commodities (such as oil or grains and related futures contracts), or financial commodities and contracts related to financial commodities (such as currencies and, possibly, currency futures). However, a fund is limited in the amount of illiquid assets it may purchase. To the extent that investments in commodities are considered illiquid, the current SEC staff position generally limits a fund’s purchases of illiquid securities to 15% of net assets. If a fund were to invest in a physical commodity or a physical commodity-related instrument, the fund would be subject to the additional risks of the particular physical commodity and its related market. The value of commodities and commodity-related instruments may be extremely volatile and may be affected either directly or indirectly by a variety of factors. There also may be storage charges and risks of loss associated with physical commodities. The policy in (6) above will be interpreted to permit investments in exchange traded funds that invest in physical and/or financial commodities.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to concentration set forth in (7) above, the 1940 Act does not define what constitutes “concentration” in an industry. The SEC staff has taken the position that investment of 25% or more of a fund’s total assets in one or more issuers conducting their principal activities in the same industry or group of industries constitutes concentration. It is possible that interpretations of concentration could change in the future. A fund that invests a significant percentage of its total assets in a single industry may be particularly susceptible to adverse events affecting that industry and may be more risky than a fund that does not concentrate in an industry. The policy in (7) above will be interpreted to refer to concentration as that term may be interpreted from time to time. The policy also will be interpreted to permit investment without limit in the following: securities of the U.S. government and its agencies or instrumentalities; securities of state, territory, possession or municipal governments and their authorities, agencies, instrumentalities or political subdivisions; securities of foreign governments; and repurchase agreements collateralized by any such obligations. Accordingly, issuers of the foregoing securities will not be considered to be members of any industry. There also will be no limit on investment in issuers domiciled in a single jurisdiction or country. The policy also will be interpreted to give broad authority to a fund as to how to classify issuers within or among industries.

The fund’s proposed fundamental policies are written and will be interpreted broadly. For example, the policies will be interpreted to refer to the 1940 Act and the related rules as they are in effect from time to time, and to interpretations and modifications of or relating to the 1940 Act by the SEC and others as they are given from time to time. When a policy provides that an investment practice may be conducted as permitted by the 1940 Act, the policy will be interpreted to mean either that the 1940 Act expressly permits the practice or that the 1940 Act does not prohibit the practice.

The fund is currently classified as a diversified fund under the 1940 Act. This means that the fund may not purchase securities of an issuer (other than obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities) if, with respect to 75% of its total assets, (a) more than 5% of the fund’s total assets would be invested in securities of that issuer, or (b) the fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer. With respect to the remaining 25% of its total assets, the fund can invest more than 5% of its assets in one issuer. Under the 1940 Act, the fund cannot change its classification from diversified to non-diversified without shareholder approval.

 

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5. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE PURCHASE AND SALE OF

FUND SHARES AND SHAREHOLDER PROGRAMS

General

Investors may purchase shares from a Service Agent. In addition, certain investors, including retirement plans purchasing through certain Service Agents, may purchase shares directly from the funds. When purchasing shares of the funds, investors must specify whether the purchase is for Class A, B, C or I * shares. Service Agents may charge their customers an annual account maintenance fee in connection with a brokerage account through which an investor purchases or holds shares. Accounts held directly with the transfer agent are not subject to a maintenance fee.

For additional information regarding applicable investment minimums and eligibility requirements, please see the funds’ prospectuses.

There are no minimum investment requirements for purchases of Class A shares by: (i) current and retired board members of Legg Mason, (ii) current and retired board members of any fund advised by LMPFA (such board members, together with board members of Legg Mason, are referred to herein as “Board Members”), (iii) current employees of Legg Mason and its subsidiaries, (iv) the “immediate families” of such persons (“immediate families” are such person’s spouse, including the surviving spouse of a deceased Board Member, and children under the age of 21) and (v) a pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for the benefit of such persons. The funds reserve the right to waive or change minimums, to decline any order to purchase its shares and to suspend the offering of shares from time to time.

Purchase orders received by the funds or a Service Agent prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE on any day the funds calculate their net asset values are priced according to the net asset values determined on that day (the “trade date”). Orders received by a Service Agent prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE on any day the funds calculate their net asset values are priced according to the net asset values determined on that day, provided the order is received by the funds’ agents prior to its close of business. For shares purchased through CGMI or a Service Agent purchasing through CGMI, payment for shares of the funds is normally due on the third business day after the trade date. In all other cases, payment must be made with the purchase order.

Systematic Investment Plan

Shareholders may make additions to their accounts at any time by purchasing shares through a service known as the Systematic Investment Plan. Under the Systematic Investment Plan, a distributor or the transfer agent is authorized through preauthorized transfers of at least $25 on a monthly, quarterly, every alternate month, semi-annual or annual basis to charge the shareholder’s account held with a bank or other financial institution as indicated by the shareholder, to provide for systematic additions to the shareholder’s fund account. A shareholder who has insufficient funds to complete the transfer will be charged a fee of up to $25 by a distributor or the transfer agent. The Systematic Investment Plan also authorizes a distributor to apply cash held in the shareholder’s brokerage account or redeem the shareholder’s shares of certain money market funds managed by the manager or its affiliates to make additions to the account. Additional information is available from the funds or a Service Agent.

Sales Charge Alternatives

The following Classes of shares are available for purchase. See the Prospectuses for a discussion of who is eligible to purchase certain Classes and of factors to consider in selecting which Class of shares to purchase.

Class A Shares

Class A shares are sold to investors at the public offering price, which is the net asset value plus an initial sales charge, as described in each fund’s prospectus.

Members of the selling group may receive a portion of the sales charge as described in each fund’s prospectus and may be deemed to be underwriters of the funds as defined in the 1933 Act. Sales charges are calculated based on the aggregate of purchases of Class A shares of the funds made at one time by any “person,” which includes an individual and his or her spouse and children under the age of 21, or a trustee or other fiduciary of a single trust estate or single fiduciary account. For additional information regarding sales charge reductions, see “Sales Charge Waivers and Reductions” below.

Purchases of Class A shares of $1,000,000 or more will be made at NAV without any initial sales charge, but will be subject to a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00% on redemptions made within 12 months of purchase. The contingent deferred sales charge is waived in the same circumstances in which the contingent deferred sales charge applicable to Class B and C shares is waived. See “Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Provisions” and “Waivers of Contingent Deferred Sales Charge” below.

Class B and C Shares

Class B and C shares are sold without an initial sales charge but are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge payable upon certain redemptions. See “Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Provisions.”

Class I Shares

Class I shares are sold at net asset value with no initial sales charge and no contingent deferred sales charge upon redemption.


* As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

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Sales Charge Waivers and Reductions

Initial Sales Charge Waivers. Purchases of Class A shares may be made at NAV without an initial sales charge in the following circumstances:

(a) sales to (i) current and retired board members of Legg Mason, (ii) current and retired Board Members, (iii) current employees of Legg Mason and its subsidiaries, as well as (iv) by the “immediate families” of such persons (“immediate families” are such person’s spouse, including the surviving spouse of a deceased Board Member, and children under the age of 21) and (v) by a pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for the benefit of such persons;

(b) sales to any employees of Service Agents having dealer, service or other selling agreements with the funds’ distributors or otherwise having an arrangement with any such Service Agent with respect to sales of fund shares, and by the immediate families of such persons or by a pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for the benefit of such persons (providing the purchase is made for investment purposes and such securities will not be resold except through redemption or repurchase);

(c) offers of Class A shares to any other investment company to effect the combination of such company with the funds by merger, acquisition of assets or otherwise;

(d) purchases by shareholders who have redeemed Class A shares in the funds (or Class A shares of another Legg Mason Partners fund that is offered with a sales charge) and who wish to reinvest their redemption proceeds in the funds, provided the reinvestment is made within 60 calendar days of the redemption;

(e) purchases by accounts managed by registered investment advisory subsidiaries of Citigroup;

(f) purchases by certain separate accounts used to fund unregistered variable annuity contracts; and

(g) purchases by investors participating in “wrap fee” or asset allocation programs or other fee-based arrangements sponsored by (affiliated and non-affiliated) broker-dealers and other financial institutions that have entered into agreements with CGMI or LMIS.

In order to obtain such discounts, the purchaser must provide sufficient information at the time of purchase to permit verification that the purchase qualifies for the elimination of the sales charge.

Small Cap Growth Fund - All existing retirement plan shareholders who purchased Class A shares at NAV prior to November 20, 2006, are permitted to purchase additional Class A shares at NAV. Certain existing programs for current and prospective retirement plan investors sponsored by financial intermediaries approved by LMIS prior to November 20, 2006 will also remain eligible to purchase Class A shares at NAV.

Accumulation Privilege

Please see each fund’s prospectus for information regarding accumulation privileges.

 

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Letter of Intent

A Letter of Intent helps you take advantage of breakpoints in Class A sales charges. You may purchase Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners funds over a 13-month period and pay the same sales charge, if any, as if all shares had been purchased at once. You have a choice of seven Asset Level Goal amounts, as follows:

 

(1) $25,000

   (5 ) $500,000

(2) $50,000

   (6 ) $750,000

(3) $100,000

   (7 ) $1,000,000

(4) $250,000

  

Each time you make a Class A purchase under a Letter of Intent, you will be entitled to the sales charge that is applicable to the amount of your Asset Level Goal. For example, if your Asset Level Goal is $100,000, any Class A investments you make under a Letter of Intent would be subject to the sales charge of the specific fund you are investing in for purchases of $100,000. Sales charges and breakpoints vary among the Legg Mason Partners Funds.

When you enter into a Letter of Intent, you agree to purchase in Eligible Accounts over a thirteen (13) month period Eligible Fund Purchases in an amount equal to the Asset Level Goal you have selected, less any Eligible Prior Purchases. For this purpose, shares are valued at the public offering price (including any sales charge paid) calculated as of the date of purchase, plus any appreciation in the value of the shares as of the date of calculation, except for Eligible Prior Purchases, which are valued at current value as of the date of calculation. Your commitment will be met if at any time during the 13-month period the value, as so determined, of eligible holdings is at least equal to your Asset Level Goal. All reinvested dividends and distributions on shares acquired under the Letter will be credited towards your Asset Level Goal. You may include any Eligible Fund Purchases towards the Letter, including shares of classes other than Class A shares. However, a Letter of Intent will not entitle you to a reduction in the sales charge payable on any shares other than Class A shares, and if the shares are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge, you will still be subject to that contingent deferred sales charge with respect to those shares. You must make reference to the Letter of Intent each time you make a purchase under the Letter.

Eligible Fund Purchases

Generally, any shares of a Legg Mason Partners Fund may be credited towards your Asset Level Goal. Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or its affiliates (except for money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners Funds offered with a sales charge), Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. are not eligible. This list may change from time to time. Investors should check with their Service Agent to see which funds may be eligible.

Eligible Accounts

Purchases may be made through any account in your name, or in the name of your spouse or your children under the age of 21. You may need to provide certain records, such as account statements, in order to verify your eligibility for reduced sales charges. Contact your Service Agent to see which accounts may be credited toward your Asset Level Goal.

Eligible Prior Purchases

You may also credit towards your Asset Level Goal any Eligible Fund Purchases made in Eligible Accounts at any time prior to entering into the Letter of Intent that have not been sold or redeemed, based on the current price of those shares as of the date of calculation.

Backdating Letter

You may establish a date for a Letter of Intent that is up to ninety (90) calendar days prior to the date you enter into the Letter. Any Eligible Fund Purchases in Eligible Accounts made during that period will count towards your Goal and will also be eligible for the lower sales charge applicable to your Asset Level Goal. You will be credited by way of additional shares at the current offering price for the difference between (a) the aggregate sales charges actually paid for those eligible shares and (b) the aggregate applicable sales charges for your Asset Level Goal.

 

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Increasing the Amount of the Letter

You may at any time increase your Asset Level Goal. You must, however, contact your Service Agent, or if you purchase your shares directly through PFPC, contact PFPC prior to making any purchases in an amount in excess of your current Asset Level Goal. Upon such an increase, you will be credited by way of additional shares at the then current offering price for the difference between: (a) the aggregate sales charges actually paid for shares already purchased under the Letter and (b) the aggregate applicable sales charges for the increased Asset Level Goal. The 13-month period during which the Asset Level Goal must be achieved will remain unchanged.

Sales and Exchanges

Shares acquired pursuant to a Letter of Intent, other than Escrowed Shares as defined below, may be redeemed or exchanged at any time, although any shares that are redeemed prior to meeting your Asset Level Goal will no longer count towards meeting your Goal. However, complete liquidation of purchases made under a Letter of Intent prior to meeting the Asset Level Goal will result in the cancellation of the Letter. See “Failure to Meet Asset Level Goal” below. Exchanges in accordance with the fund’s prospectus are permitted, and shares so exchanged will continue to count towards your Asset Level Goal, as long as the exchange results in an Eligible Fund Purchase.

Cancellation of Letter

You may cancel a Letter of Intent by notifying your Service Agent in writing, or if you purchase your shares directly through PFPC, by notifying PFPC in writing. The Letter will be automatically cancelled if all shares are sold or redeemed as set forth above. See “Failure to Meet Asset Level Goal” below.

Escrowed Shares

Shares equal in value to five percent (5%) of your Asset Level Goal as of the date your Letter (or the date of any increase in the amount of the Letter) is accepted, will be held in escrow during the term of your Letter. The Escrowed Shares will be included in the total shares owned as reflected in your account statement and any dividends and capital gains distributions applicable to the Escrowed Shares will be credited to your account and counted towards your Asset Level Goal or paid in cash upon request. The Escrowed Shares will be released from escrow if all the terms of your Letter are met.

Failure to Meet Asset Level Goal

If the total assets under your Letter of Intent within its 13-month term are less than your Asset Level Goal or you elect to liquidate all of your holdings or cancel the Letter before reaching your Asset Level Goal, you will be liable for the difference between: (a) the sales charge actually paid and (b) the sales charge that would have applied if you had not entered into the Letter. You may, however, be entitled to any breakpoints that would have been available to you under the accumulation privilege. An appropriate number of shares in your account will be redeemed to realize the amount due. For these purposes, by entering into a Letter of Intent, you irrevocably appoint your Service Agent, or if you purchase your shares directly through PFPC, PFPC, as your attorney-in-fact for the purposes of holding the Escrowed Shares and surrendering shares in your account for redemption. If there are insufficient assets in your account, you will be liable for the difference. Any Escrowed Shares remaining after such redemption will be released to your account.

 

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Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Provisions

“Contingent deferred sales charge shares” are: (a) Class B shares; (b) Class C shares; and (c) Class A shares that were purchased without an initial sales charge but are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge. A contingent deferred sales charge may be imposed on certain redemptions of these shares.

Any applicable contingent deferred sales charge will be assessed on the net asset value at the time of purchase or redemption, whichever is less.

Class C shares and Class A shares that are contingent deferred sales charge shares are subject to a 1.00% contingent deferred sales charge if redeemed within 12 months of purchase. In circumstances in which the contingent deferred sales charge is imposed on Class B shares, the amount of the charge will depend on the number of years since the shareholder made the purchase payment from which the amount is being redeemed, as further described in the prospectus. Solely for purposes of determining the number of years since a purchase payment, all purchase payments made during a month will be aggregated and deemed to have been made on the last day of the preceding statement month.

Class B shares will convert automatically to Class A shares approximately eight years after the date on which they were purchased and thereafter will no longer be subject to any distribution fees. There will also be converted at that time such proportion of Class B dividend shares (Class B shares that were acquired through the reinvestment of dividends and distributions) owned by the shareholders as the total number of his or her Class B shares converting at the time bears to the total number of outstanding Class B shares (other than Class B dividend shares) owned by the shareholder.

In determining the applicability of any contingent deferred sales charge, it will be assumed that a redemption is made first of shares representing capital appreciation, next of shares representing the reinvestment of dividends and capital gain distributions, next of shares that are not subject to the contingent deferred sales charge and finally of other shares held by the shareholder for the longest period of time. The length of time that contingent deferred sales charge shares acquired through an exchange have been held will be calculated from the date the shares exchanged were initially acquired in one of the other Legg Mason Partners mutual funds. For federal income tax purposes, the amount of the contingent deferred sales charge will reduce the gain or increase the loss, as the case may be, on the amount realized on redemption. The funds’ distributors receive contingent deferred sales charges in partial consideration for their expenses in selling shares.

Waivers of Contingent Deferred Sales Charge

The contingent deferred sales charge will be waived on: (a) exchanges (see “Exchange Privilege”); (b) automatic cash withdrawals in amounts equal to or less than 2.00% of the shareholder’s account balance at the time the withdrawals commence per month, up to a maximum of 12% in one year (see “Automatic Cash Withdrawal Plan”); (c) redemptions of shares within 12 months following the death or disability (as defined in the Code) of the shareholder; (d) mandatory post-retirement distributions from retirement plans or IRAs commencing on or after attainment of age 70  1 / 2 (except that shareholders who purchased shares subject to a contingent deferred sales charge prior to May 23, 2005 will be “grandfathered” and will be eligible to obtain the waiver at age 59  1 / 2 by demonstrating such eligibility at the time of redemption); (e) involuntary redemptions; (f) redemptions of shares to effect a combination of the fund with any investment company by merger, acquisition of assets or otherwise; (g) tax-free returns of an excess contribution to any retirement plan; and (h) certain redemptions of shares of a fund in connection with lump-sum or other distributions made by eligible retirement plans or redemption of shares by participants in certain “wrap fee” or asset allocation programs sponsored by broker/dealers and other financial institutions that have entered into agreements with a distributor or the manager.

As of November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge will be waived on new Class C shares purchased by retirement plan omnibus accounts held on the books of a fund.

 

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A shareholder who has redeemed shares from other Legg Mason Partners Funds may, under certain circumstances, reinvest all or part of the redemption proceeds within 60 days and receive pro rata credit for any contingent deferred sales charge imposed on the prior redemption.

Contingent deferred sales charge waivers will be granted subject to confirmation by a distributor or the transfer agent of the shareholder’s status or holdings, as the case may be.

Small Cap Growth Fund - Grandfathered Retirement Program with Exchange Features

Retirement plan programs authorized by LMIS prior to November 20, 2006 (collectively, the “Grandfathered Retirement Program”), to offer eligible retirement plan investors the opportunity to exchange all of their Class C shares for Class A shares of the fund, are permitted to maintain such share class exchange feature for current and prospective retirement plan investors.

Under the Grandfathered Retirement Program, Class C shares may be purchased by plans investing less than $3 million. Class C shares are eligible for exchange into Class A shares not later than eight years after the plan joins the program. They are eligible for exchange in the following circumstances:

If a participating plan’s total Class C holdings in all non-money market Legg Mason Partners Funds equal at least $3,000,000 at the end of the fifth year after the date the participating plan enrolled in the Grandfathered Retirement Program, the participating plan will be offered the opportunity to exchange all of its Class C shares for Class A shares of the fund. Such participating plans will be notified of the pending exchange in writing within 30 days after the fifth anniversary of the enrollment date and, unless the exchange offer has been rejected in writing, the exchange will occur on or about the 90th day after the fifth anniversary date. If the participating plan does not qualify for the five-year exchange to Class A shares, a review of the participating plan’s holdings will be performed each quarter until either the participating plan qualifies or the end of the eighth year.

Any participating plan that has not previously qualified for an exchange into Class A shares will be offered the opportunity to exchange all of its Class C shares for Class A shares of the same fund regardless of asset size at the end of the eighth year after the date the participating plan enrolled in the Grandfathered Retirement Program. Such plans will be notified of the pending exchange in writing approximately 60 days before the eighth anniversary of the enrollment date and, unless the exchange has been rejected in writing, the exchange will occur on or about the eighth anniversary date. Once an exchange has occurred, a participating plan will not be eligible to acquire additional Class C shares, but instead may acquire Class A shares of the same fund. Any Class C shares not converted will continue to be subject to the distribution fee.

For further information regarding this Program, contact your Service Agent or the transfer agent. Participating plans that enrolled in the Grandfathered Retirement Program prior to June 2, 2003 should contact the transfer agent for information regarding Class C exchange privileges applicable to their plan.

Determination of Public Offering Price

The funds offer their shares on a continuous basis. The public offering price for each class of shares of the funds is equal to the net asset value per share at the time of purchase, plus for Class A shares an initial sales charge based on the aggregate amount of the investment. A contingent deferred sales charge, however, is imposed on certain redemptions of Class A, B and C shares.

Set forth below is an example of the method of computing the offering price of a Class A shares of each fund based on net asset value of a share of each fund as of October 31, 2006.

 

Fund    Class A (net asset value of $[ ] plus the maximum initial sales charge of [ ]% of net asset value per share)    $                    
Large Cap Growth Fund      
Small Cap Growth Fund      

 

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Redemption of Shares

The right of redemption may be suspended or the date of payment postponed (a) for any period during which the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is closed (other than for customary weekend and holiday closings), (b) when trading in the markets the fund normally utilizes is restricted, or an emergency exists, as determined by the SEC, so that disposal of the funds’ investments or determination of net asset value is not reasonably practicable or (c) for such other periods as the SEC by order may permit for protection of the funds’ shareholders.

If the shares to be redeemed were issued in certificate form, the certificates must be endorsed for transfer (or be accompanied by an endorsed stock power) and must be submitted to PFPC together with the redemption request. Any signature appearing on a share certificate, stock power or written redemption request in excess of $50,000 must be guaranteed by an eligible guarantor institution such as a domestic bank, savings and loan institution, domestic credit union, member bank of the Federal Reserve System or member firm of a national securities exchange. Written redemption requests of $50,000 or less do not require a signature guarantee unless more than one such redemption request is made in any 10-day period. Redemption proceeds will be mailed to an investor’s address of record. The transfer agent may require additional supporting documents for redemptions made by corporations, executors, administrators, trustees or guardians. A redemption request will not be deemed properly received until the transfer agent receives all required documents in proper form.

If a shareholder holds shares in more than one Class, any request for redemption must specify the Class being redeemed. In the event of a failure to specify which Class, or if the investor owns fewer shares of the Class than specified, the redemption request will be delayed until the transfer agent receives further instructions. The redemption proceeds will be remitted on or before the seventh business day following receipt of proper tender, except on any days on which the NYSE is closed or as permitted under the 1940 Act, in extraordinary circumstances. Redemption proceeds for shares purchased by check, other than a certified or official bank check, will be remitted upon clearance of the check, which may take up to ten days. Each Service Agent is responsible for transmitting promptly orders for its customers.

The Service Agent may charge you a fee for executing your order. The amount and applicability of such a fee is determined and disclosed to its customers by each Service Agent.

The funds no longer issues share certificates. Outstanding share certificates will continue to be honored. If you hold share certificates, it will take longer to exchange or redeem shares.

Additional Information Regarding Telephone Redemption and Exchange Program

Neither the funds nor its agents will be liable for following instructions communicated by telephone that are reasonably believed to be genuine. The funds and its agents will employ procedures designed to verify the identity of the caller and legitimacy of instructions (for example, a shareholder’s name and account number will be required and phone calls may be recorded). The funds reserves the right to suspend, modify or discontinue the telephone redemption and exchange program or to impose a charge for this service at any time following at least seven (7) days’ prior notice to shareholders.

 

26


Automatic Cash Withdrawal Plan

An automatic cash withdrawal plan (the “Withdrawal Plan”) is available to shareholders as described in each prospectus. To the extent withdrawals under the Withdrawal Plan exceed dividends, distributions and appreciation of a shareholder’s investment in the funds, there will be a reduction in the value of the shareholder’s investment, and continued withdrawal payments may reduce the shareholder’s investment and ultimately exhaust it. Withdrawal payments should not be considered as income from investment in the fund. Furthermore, as it generally would not be advantageous to a shareholder to make additional investments in the funds at the same time he or she is participating in the Withdrawal Plan, purchases by such shareholder in amounts of less than $5,000 ordinarily will not be permitted. The Withdrawal Plan will be carried over on exchanges between funds or classes of the fund. All dividends and distributions on shares in the Withdrawal Plan are reinvested automatically at net asset value in additional shares of the funds.

Shareholders who wish to participate in the Withdrawal Plan and who hold their shares in certificate form must deposit their share certificates with the transfer agent as agent for Withdrawal Plan members. For additional information shareholders should contact their Service Agent. A shareholder who purchases shares directly through the transfer agent may continue to do so and applications for participation in the Withdrawal Plan must be received by the transfer agent no later than the eighth day of the month to be eligible for participation beginning with that month’s withdrawal.

Valuation of Shares

The net asset value per share of the funds’ Classes is calculated on each day, Monday through Friday, except days on which the NYSE is closed. The NYSE currently is scheduled to be closed on New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas, and on the preceding Friday or subsequent Monday when one of these holidays falls on a Saturday or Sunday, respectively. Because of the differences in distribution fees and Class-specific expenses, the per share net asset value of each Class will differ. Please see each prospectus for a description of the procedures used by the funds in valuing its assets.

Exchange Privilege

The exchange privilege enables shareholders to acquire shares of the same class in a fund with different investment objectives when they believe that a shift between funds is an appropriate investment decision. This privilege is available to shareholders residing in any state in which the fund shares being acquired may legally be sold. Prior to any exchange, the shareholder should obtain and review a copy of the current prospectus of each fund into which an exchange is being considered. Prospectuses may be obtained from a Service Agent.

Upon receipt of proper instructions and all necessary supporting documents, shares submitted for exchange are redeemed at the then-current net asset value, and the proceeds are immediately invested in shares of the fund being acquired at that fund’s then current net asset value. The distributors reserve the right to reject any exchange request. The exchange privilege may be modified or terminated at any time after written notice to shareholders.

 

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Class A and I Exchanges

Class A, and I shareholders of the funds who wish to exchange all or a portion of their shares for shares of the respective class in another fund may do so without imposition of any charge.

Class B Exchanges

Class B shares of the funds may be exchanged for other Class B shares without a contingent deferred sales charge. Upon an exchange, the new Class B shares will be deemed to have been purchased on the same date as the Class B shares of the fund that have been exchanged.

Class C Exchanges

Class C shares of the funds may be exchanged for other Class C shares without a contingent deferred sales charge. Upon an exchange, the new Class C shares will be deemed to have been purchased on the same date as the Class C shares of the fund that have been exchanged.

Small Cap Growth Fund - Certain retirement plan programs with exchange features in effect prior to November 20, 2006, as approved by LMIS, will remain eligible for exchange from Class C shares to Class A shares in accordance with the program terms. See “Grandfathered Retirement Programs” for additional information.

Additional Information Regarding the Exchange Privilege

Each fund is not designed to provide investors with a means of speculation on short-term market movements. A pattern of frequent exchanges by investors can be disruptive to efficient portfolio management and, consequently, can be detrimental to the funds and their shareholders. See “Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of fund Shares” in each prospectus.

During times of drastic economic or market conditions, the funds may suspend the exchange privilege temporarily without notice and treat exchange requests based on their separate components—redemption orders with a simultaneous request to purchase the other fund’s shares. In such a case, the redemption request would be processed at the funds’ next determined net asset value but the purchase order would be effective only at the net asset value next determined after the fund being purchased formally accepts the order, which may result in the purchase being delayed.

Certain shareholders may be able to exchange shares by telephone. See the funds’ prospectuses for additional information. Exchanges will be processed at the net asset value next determined. Redemption procedures discussed above are also applicable for exchanging shares, and exchanges will be made upon receipt of all supporting documents in proper form. If the account registration of the shares of the fund being acquired is identical to the registration of the shares of the fund exchanged, no signature guarantee is required.

This exchange privilege may be modified or terminated at any time, and is available only in those jurisdictions where such exchanges legally may be made. Before making any exchange, shareholders should contact the transfer agent or, if they hold fund shares through a Service Agent, their Service Agent to obtain more information and prospectuses of the funds to be acquired through the exchange. An exchange is treated as a sale of the shares exchanged and could result in taxable gain or loss to the shareholder making the exchange.

 

28


MANAGEMENT

The business affairs of the fund are managed by or under the direction of the Board of Trustees. The Board elects officers who are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the fund and who execute policies authorized by the Board.

The current Trustees, including the Independent Trustees, of the fund who are not “interested persons” of the fund as defined in the 1940 Act (the “Independent Trustees”) and executive officers of the fund, their birth years, their principal occupations during the past five years (their titles may have varied during that period), the number of investment companies and their portfolios associated with Legg Mason the Trustees oversee, and other board memberships they hold are set forth below. The address of each Trustee is c/o R. Jay Gerken, 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022.

The following information relates to the Trust’s recently elected Board of Trustees.

 

Name and Year of Birth

  

Position(s)
with Fund

  

Term of

Office* and
Length of
Time Served **

  

Principal Occupation(s)

During Past 5 Years

  

Number of

Funds
in Fund
Complex
Overseen
by Trustee

  

Other Board

Memberships
Held by Trustee

During Past Five Years

INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES:      

Paul R. Ades

Born 1940

   Trustee    Since 1983    Law firm of Paul R. Ades, PLLC (since 2000)       None

Andrew L. Breech

Born 1952

   Trustee    Since 1991    President, Dealer Operating Control Service, Inc. (automotive retail management) (since 1985)       None

Dwight B. Crane

Born 1937

   Trustee    Since 1981    Professor, Harvard Business School (since 1969); Independent Consultant (since 1969)       None

Robert M. Frayn, Jr.

Born 1934

   Trustee    Since 1981    Retired; formerly, President and Director, Book Publishing Co. (1970 to 2002)       None

Frank G. Hubbard

Born 1937

   Trustee    Since 1993    President, Avatar International Inc. (business development) (since 1998)       None

Howard J. Johnson

Born 1938

   Trustee    From 1981 to 1998 and 2000 to Present    Chief Executive Officer, Genesis Imaging LLC (technology company) (since 2003)       None

David E. Maryatt

Born 1936

   Trustee    Since 1983    Private Investor; President and Director, ALS Co. (real estate management and development firm) (since 1993)       None

Jerome H. Miller

Born 1938

   Trustee    Since 1995    Retired       None

Ken Miller

Born 1942

   Trustee    Since 1983    Chairman, Young Stuff Apparel Group, Inc. (apparel manufacturer) (1963 to 2005)       None

 

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Name and Year of Birth

   Position(s)
with Fund
  

Term of Office*
and Length of
Time Served **

  

Principal Occupation(s)

During Past 5 Years

  

Number of

Funds
in Fund
Complex
Overseen
by Trustee

  

Other Board

Memberships
Held by Trustee

During Past Five Years

John J. Murphy

Born 1944

   Trustee    Since 2002    President, Murphy Capital Management (investment advice) (since 1983)       Director, Nicholas Applegate funds; Trustee, Consulting Group Capital Markets Funds; formerly, Director, Atlantic Stewardship Bank (2004 to 2005); Director, Barclays International Funds Group Ltd. and affiliated companies (to 2003)

Thomas F. Schlafly

Born 1948

   Trustee    Since 1983    Of Counsel, Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin LLP (law firm) (since 1984); President, The Saint Louis Brewery, Inc. (brewery) (since 1989)       Director, Citizens National Bank, Maplewood (2006)

Jerry A. Viscione

Born 1944

   Trustee    Since 1993    Retired; formerly, Executive Vice President, Marquette University (1997 to 2002)       None
INTERESTED TRUSTEE:   

R. Jay Gerken , CFA

Born 1951

   Trustee,
President,
Chairman
and Chief
Executive
Officer
   Since 2002    Managing Director, Legg Mason & Co., LLC (“Legg Mason & Co.”); Chairman of the Board, Trustee, or Director of [ ] funds associated with LMPFA and its affiliates; President, LMPFA (since 2006); Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its affiliates; formerly, Chairman, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”) and Citi Fund Management, Inc. (“CFM”) (2002 to 2005); formerly, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Travelers Investment Advisers Inc. (2002 to 2005)       Trustee, Consulting Group Capital Markets Funds

* Each Trustee serves until his or her respective successor has been duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation, retirement or removal.
** Indicates the earliest year in which the Trustee became a Board member for a fund in the Legg Mason Partners fund complex.
Mr. Gerken is an “interested person”, as defined in the 1940 Act, because of his position with the manager and/or certain of its affiliates.

 

30


 

Name, Year of Birth

and Address

  

Position(s)
with Fund

  

Term of Office*
and Length of
Time Served **

  

Principal Occupation(s)

During Past 5 Years

OFFICERS:   

Ted P. Becker

Born 1951

399 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10022

   Chief Compliance Officer    Since 2006    Managing Director of Compliance at Legg Mason & Co (2005 to present); Chief Compliance Officer with certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. (since 2006); Chief Compliance Officer of LMPFA and certain affiliates; Managing Director of Compliance at Citigroup Asset Management (“CAM,” a group of affiliated investment advisers, which included Smith Barney Fund Management (“SBFM”), Smith Barney Asset Management and Citi Fund Management (“CFM”) and other affiliated investment advisory entities) (2002 to 2005). Prior to 2002, Managing Director-Internal Audit & Risk Review at Citigroup Inc.

John Chiota

Born 1968

100 First Stamford

Place, 5th Fl

Stamford, CT 06902

   Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer    Since 2006    Vice President of Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors (since 2004); Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. (since 2006). Prior to August 2004, Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer of TD Waterhouse.

Robert I. Frenkel

Born 1954

300 First Stamford Place

Stamford, CT 06902

   Secretary and Chief Legal Officer    Since 2003    Managing Director and General Counsel of Global Mutual Funds for Legg Mason & Co. and its predecessors (since 2000); Secretary and Chief Legal Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. (since 2003). Previously, Secretary of CFM (2001 to 2004).

R. Jay Gerken, CFA

Born 1951

399 Park Avenue

New York,

NY 10022

   Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer    Since 2002    Managing Director of Legg Mason & Co.; Chairman of the Board, Trustee, or Director of 169 funds associated with LMPFA and its affiliates; Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. Previously, Chairman of SBFM and CFM (2002 to 2005); Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Travelers Investment Advisers Inc. (2002 to 2005).

Thomas C. Mandia

Born 1962

300 First Stamford Place

Stamford, CT 06902

   Assistant Secretary    Since 2000    Managing Director and Deputy General Counsel of Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors (since 1992); Assistant Secretary of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co.

Kaprel Ozsolak

Born 1965

125 Broad Street, 11th Floor

New York, NY 10004

   Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer    Since 2004    Director of Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors; Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors. Previously, Mr. Ozsolak was Controller of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors (2002 to 2004).

* Each officer serves until his or her respective successor has been duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation, retirement or removal.
** Indicates the earliest year in which the officer took office for any funds in the Legg Mason Partners fund complex.

 

31


The Board has a standing Audit Committee, Nominating Committee and Pricing Committee. The Audit Committee and Nominating Committee are comprised of Independent Trustees. The Pricing Committee is composed of the Chairman of the Board and one Independent Trustee.

The Audit Committee oversees the scope of the fund’s audit, the fund’s accounting and financial reporting policies and practices and its internal controls. The primary purposes of the Board’s Audit Committee are to assist the Board in fulfilling its responsibility for oversight of the integrity of the accounting, auditing and financial reporting practices of the fund, the qualifications and independence of the fund’s independent registered public accounting firm, and the fund’s compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. The Audit Committee approves, and recommends to the Independent Trustees for their ratification, the selection, appointment, retention or termination of the fund’s independent registered public accounting firm and approves the compensation of the independent registered public accounting firm. The Audit Committee also approves all audit and permissible non-audit services provided to the fund by the independent registered public accounting firm and all permissible non-audit services provided by the fund’s independent registered public accounting firm to its manager and any affiliated service providers if the engagement relates directly to the fund’s operations and financial reporting.

The Governance Committee is responsible for, among other things, recommending candidates to fill vacancies on the Board. The Governance Committee may consider nominees recommended by a shareholder. Shareholders who wish to recommend a nominee should send recommendations to the Trust’s Secretary that include all information relating to such person that is required to be disclosed in solicitations of proxies for the election of Trustees. A recommendation must be accompanied by a written consent of the individual to stand for election if nominated by the Board and to serve if elected by the shareholders.

The Governance Committee identifies potential nominees through its network of contacts and may also engage, if it deems appropriate, a professional search firm. The committee meets to discuss and consider such candidates’ qualifications and then chooses a candidate by majority vote. The committee does not have specific, minimum qualifications for nominees, nor has it established specific qualities or skills that it regards as necessary for one or more of the Trustees to possess (other than any qualities or skills that may be required by applicable law, regulation or listing standard). However, in evaluating a person as a potential nominee to serve as a Trustee, the Governance Committee may consider the following factors, among any others it may deem relevant:

 

    whether or not the person is an “interested person,” as defined in the 1940 Act, and whether the person is otherwise qualified under applicable laws and regulations to serve as a Trustee;

 

    whether or not the person has any relationships that might impair his or her independence, such as any business, financial or family relationships with fund management, the investment adviser, service providers or their affiliates;

 

    whether or not the person serves on boards of, or is otherwise affiliated with, competing financial service organizations or their related mutual fund complexes;

 

    whether or not the person is willing to serve, and willing and able to commit the time necessary for the performance of the duties of a Trustee;

 

32


    the contribution which the person can make to the Board (or, if the person has previously served as a Trustee, the contribution which the person made to the Board during his or her previous term of service), with consideration being given to the person’s business and professional experience, education and such other factors as the committee may consider relevant;

 

    the character and integrity of the person; and

 

    whether or not the selection and nomination of the person would be consistent with the requirements of the retirement policies of the Trust, as applicable.

The Pricing Committee is charged with determining the fair value prices for securities when required.

As indicated above, the Trust’s Board is recently elected and is newly constituted as the Board that oversees all of the equity-type funds in the fund complex. All members of the Board previously have served on Boards of Legg Mason Partners funds. The Audit, Governance and Pricing Committees are recently established committees of this Board and did not meet during the fund’s last fiscal year.

The following table shows the amount of equity securities owned by the Trustees in the fund and other investment companies in the fund complex supervised by the Trustees as of December 31, 2006.

 

Name of Trustee

 

Dollar Range
of Equity
Securities in
the Fund

 

Aggregate Dollar Range
of Equity Securities In
Registered Investment
Companies Overseen
by Trustee

Independent Trustees  

Paul R. Ades

   

Andrew L. Breech

   

Dwight B. Crane

   

Robert M. Frayn, Jr

   

Frank G. Hubbard

   

Howard J. Johnson

   

David E. Maryatt

   

Jerome H. Miller

   

Ken Miller

   

John J. Murphy

   

Thomas F. Schlafly

   

Jerry A. Viscione

   
Interested Trustee  

R. Jay Gerken

   

[As of December 31, 2006, none of the Independent Trustees or their immediate family members owned beneficially or of record any securities of the manager, subadviser or distributors of the fund, or in a person (other than a registered investment company) directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with the manager, subadviser or distributors of the fund.]

Information regarding compensation paid to the Trustees by the fund for the calendar year ended December 31, 2006 is set forth below. The Independent Trustees receive a fee for each meeting of the fund’s Board of Trustees and committee meetings attended and are reimbursed for all out-of-pocket expenses relating to attendance at such meetings. Mr. Gerken, an “interested person,” as defined in the 1940 Act, does not receive compensation from the fund for his service as trustee, but may be reimbursed for all out-of-pocket expenses relating to attendance at such meetings.

 

33


The fund pays a pro rata share of the Trustee fees based upon asset size. The fund currently pays each of the Trustees who is not a director, officer or employee of the manager or any of its affiliates its pro rata share of: an annual fee of [$            ] plus [$            ] for each regularly scheduled Board meeting attended, [$            ] for each special telephonic Board meeting attended, and [$            ] for each adhoc telephonic meeting in which that trustee participates. The lead independent trustee will receive an additional [$            ] per year and the Chairs of the Audit Committee and Governance Committee will each receive an additional [$            ] per year. The fund will reimburse Trustees for travel and out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with Board meetings.

 

Name of Trustee

 

Aggregate
Compensation
from the

Fund(1) (2)

 

Total Pension or
Retirement
Benefits Paid
as Part of Fund
Expenses(1) (3)

 

Total
Compensation
from Fund
Complex Paid
to Trustee(1) (2)

 

Number of
Portfolios in
Fund
Complex
Overseen by
Trustee(1)

Independent Trustees      

Paul R. Ades

       

Andrew L. Breech

       

Dwight B. Crane

       

Robert M. Frayn, Jr

       

Frank G. Hubbard

       

Howard J. Johnson

       

David E. Maryatt

       

Jerome H. Miller

       

Ken Miller

       

John J. Murphy

       

Thomas F. Schlafly

       

Jerry A. Viscione

       
Interested Trustee      

R. Jay Gerken

       

(1) Information is for the calendar year ended December 31, 2006.
(2) [To be updated by amendment for amounts paid to Trustees in 2006 for special meetings]
(3) Pursuant to a prior emeritus retirement plan, Mr. Crane has received or is entitled to receive, in a lump sum (calculated on a net present value basis) or in quarterly installments, an aggregate benefit having a net present value equal to [$              ]. Mr. Crane elected to receive the benefit in a lump sum payment. Each fund formerly overseen by Mr. Crane will pay a pro rata share (based upon asset size) of the aggregate benefit to Mr. Crane. Legg Mason or its affiliates have agreed to reimburse these funds an amount equal to 50% of the benefits paid to Mr. Crane.

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, the Trustees of the funds’ predecessors were paid the compensation listed below for service as Trustees.


Trustees Compensation Table

 

Trustee

   Aggregate
Compensation
from Large Cap
Growth Fund
For Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/06
  

Aggregate
Compensation
from Small Cap
Growth Fund

For Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/06

  

Total

Pension or
Retirement
Benefits
Paid as Part
of Fund
Expenses (2)(3)

   Total
Compensation
from Funds and
Fund Complex
Paid to
Trustees in
Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/06
   Number of
Portfolios in
Fund Complex
Served by Trustee

Interested Trustee

              

R. Jay Gerken (1)

   $ 0    $ 0    None    $ 0   

Disinterested Trustees

              

Elliott J. Berv

   $                 $                 None    $                

Donald M. Carlton

   $      $      None    $     

A. Benton Cocanougher

   $      $      None    $     

Mark T. Finn

   $      $      None    $     

Stephen Randolph Gross

   $      $      None    $     

Diana R. Harrington

   $      $      None    $     

Susan B. Kerley

   $      $      None    $     

Alan G. Merten

   $      $      None    $     

R. Richardson Pettit

   $      $      None    $     

(1) Mr. Gerken was not compensated for his service as Trustee because of his affiliation with the manager.
(2) [To be updated by amendment for amounts paid to retired Trustees in 2006.]
(3) Pursuant to emeritus retirement plans, the following former Independent Trustees have received, or are entitled to receive, benefits (calculated on a net present value basis) as follows:              : $              ;              : $              ; and              : $              . These benefits are paid in quarterly installments unless the Trustee elected to receive them in a lump sum at net present value. The fund or will pay its pro rata share (based upon asset size) of these aggregate benefits. Legg Mason or its affiliates has reimbursed or will reimburse the fund an amount equal to 50% of these benefits.

 

35


The Declaration of Trust of the Trust provides that the Trust will indemnify its Trustees and officers against liabilities and expenses incurred in connection with litigation in which they may be involved because of their offices with the Trust, unless, as to liability to the Trust, or its investors, it is finally adjudicated that they engaged in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in their offices, or unless with respect to any other matter it is finally adjudicated that they did not act in good faith in the reasonable belief that their actions were in the best interests of the Trust. In the case of settlement, such indemnification will not be provided unless it has been determined by a court or other body approving the settlement or other disposition or a reasonable determination, based upon a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial-type inquiry) that such officers or Trustees have not engaged in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of their duties. Rights to indemnification or insurance cannot be limited retroactively.

The Declaration of Trust further provides that (i) the appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee as a member or chairperson of a committee of the Trustees, an expert on any topic or in any area (including an audit committee financial expert), or the lead Independent Trustee, or any other special appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee, shall not impose on that individual any duty, obligation or liability that is greater than the duties, obligations and liability imposed on that person as a Trustee in the absence of the appointment, designation or identification (except with respect to duties expressly imposed pursuant to the by-laws of the Trust, a committee charter or a Trust policy statement), (ii) no Trustee who has special skills or expertise, or is appointed, designated or identified shall be held to a higher standard of care by virtue thereof and (iii) no appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee shall affect in any way that Trustee’s rights to indemnification.

 

36


As of [                    ], 2006, the Trustees and officers of the funds as a group owned less than 1% of the outstanding shares of each fund.

To the knowledge of the funds, as of [                    ], 2006, the following shareholders or “groups” (as such term is defined in Section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) owned beneficially or of record 5% or more of the shares of the following classes of the Large Cap Growth Fund:

 

Fund

   Class    Percent    Name    Address
           

[To be updated by amendment]

To the knowledge of the funds, as of [                    ], 2006, the following shareholders or “groups” (as such term is defined in Section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) owned beneficially or of record 5% or more of the shares of the following classes of the Small Cap Growth Fund:

 

Fund

   Class    Percent    Name    Address
           

[To be updated by amendment]

The Declaration of Trust provides that the Trust will indemnify its Trustees and officers against liabilities and expenses incurred in connection with litigation in which they may be involved because of their offices with the Trust, unless, as to liability to the Trust, or its investors, it is finally adjudicated that they engaged in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in their offices, or unless with respect to any other matter it is finally adjudicated that they did not act in good faith in the reasonable belief that their actions were in the best interests of the Trust. In the case of settlement, such indemnification will not be provided unless it has been determined by a court or other body approving the settlement or other disposition or a reasonable determination, based upon a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial-type inquiry) that such officers or Trustees have not engaged in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of their duties. Rights to indemnification or insurance cannot be limited retroactively.

The Declaration of Trust of the Trust further provides that (i) the appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee as a member or chairperson of a committee of the Trustees, an expert on any topic or in any area (including an audit committee financial expert), or the lead independent Trustee, or any other special appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee, shall not impose on that individual any duty, obligation or liability that is greater than the duties, obligations and liability imposed on that person as a Trustee in the absence of the appointment, designation or identification (except with respect to duties expressly imposed pursuant to the by-laws of the Trust, a committee charter or a Trust policy statement), (ii) no Trustee who has special skills or expertise, or is appointed, designated or identified shall be held to a higher standard of care by virtue thereof and (iii) no appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee shall affect in any way that Trustee’s rights to indemnification.

Code of Ethics

Pursuant to Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act, the funds, their manager, their subadviser, and their distributors have each adopted codes of ethics that permit their respective personnel to invest in securities for their own accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by the funds. All personnel must place the interests of clients first and avoid activities, interests and relationships that might interfere with the duty to make decisions in the best interests of the clients. All personal securities transactions by employees must adhere to the requirements of the codes and must be conducted in such manner as to avoid any actual or potential conflict of interest, the appearance of such a conflict, or the abuse of an employee’s position of trust and responsibility.

Copies of the Codes of Ethics of the funds, their manager, their subadviser, and their distributors are on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

 

37


Proxy Voting Policies & Procedures

Although individual Trustees may not agree with particular policies or votes by the manager or subadvisers, the Board has delegated proxy voting discretion to the manager and/or the subadviser, believing that the manager and/or the subadviser, should be responsible for voting because it is a matter relating to the investment decision making process.

LMPFA delegates the responsibility for voting proxies for the funds, as applicable, to the subadvisers through its contracts with the subadvisers. The subadviser will use their own proxy voting policies and procedures to vote proxies. Accordingly, LMPFA does not expect to have proxy-voting responsibility for the funds. Should LMPFA become responsible for voting proxies for any reason, such as the inability of a subadviser to provide investment advisory services, LMPFA shall utilize the proxy voting guidelines established by the most recent subadviser to vote proxies until a new subadviser is retained. In the case of a material conflict between the interests of LMPFA (or its affiliates if such conflict is known to persons responsible for voting at LMPFA) and the fund, the Board of Directors of LMPFA shall consider how to address the conflict and/or how to vote the proxies. LMPFA shall maintain records of all proxy votes in accordance with applicable securities laws and regulations, to the extent that LMPFA votes proxies. LMPFA shall be responsible for gathering relevant documents and records related to proxy voting from the subadviser and providing them to the funds as required for the funds to comply with applicable rules under the 1940 Act.

The subadviser’s Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures govern in determining how proxies relating to the fund’s portfolio securities are voted and are attached as Appendices [            ] to this SAI. Information regarding how each fund voted proxies (if any) relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available without charge (1) by calling 1-888-425-6432, (2) on each of the fund’s website at http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices and (3) on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

Manager

LMPFA serves as investment manager to the funds pursuant to an investment management agreement (the “Management Agreement”) with an initial term ending November 30, 2007. LMPFA, with offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022, is a recently-organized investment adviser that has been formed to serve as the investment manager of the funds and certain other Legg Mason-sponsored funds. LMPFA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason. Legg Mason, whose principal executive offices are at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, is a global asset management company. As of September 30, 2006, Legg Mason’s asset management operation had aggregate assets under management of approximately $891 billion. LMPFA provides administrative and certain oversight services to the funds and manages the cash and short-term investments of the funds.

Under the Management Agreement, subject to the supervision and direction of each fund’s Board, the manager is delegated the responsibility of managing each fund’s portfolio in accordance with the fund’s stated investment objective and policies,

 

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making investment decisions for each fund and placing orders to purchase and sell securities. The manager also performs administrative and management services necessary for the operation of the funds, such as (i) supervising the overall administration of the funds, including negotiation of contracts and fees with and the monitoring of performance and billings of each fund’s transfer agent, shareholder servicing agents, custodian and other independent contractors or agents; (ii) providing certain compliance, fund accounting, regulatory reporting, and tax reporting services; (iii) preparing or participating in the preparation of Board materials, registration statements, proxy statements and reports and other communications to shareholders; (iv) maintaining the funds’ existence, and (v) maintaining the registration and qualification of the funds’ shares under federal and state laws.

The Management Agreement has an initial term ending November 30, 2007 and will continue in effect from year to year thereafter provided such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (a) by each fund’s Board or by a majority of the outstanding voting securities of each fund (as defined in the 1940 Act), and (b) in either event, by a majority of the Independent Trustees with such Independent Trustees casting votes in person at a meeting called for such purpose.

The Management Agreement provides that the manager may render services to others. The Management Agreement is terminable without penalty on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice by the funds when authorized either by a vote of holders of shares representing a majority of the voting power of the outstanding voting securities of the funds (as defined in the 1940 Act) or by a vote of a majority of each fund’s Trustees, or by the manager on not less than 90 days’ written notice, and will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment. The Management Agreement provides that neither the manager nor its personnel shall be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or omission in the execution of security transactions for the fund, except for willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence or reckless disregard of its or their obligations and duties.

 

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For its services under the Management Agreement with respect to the Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund, LMPFA receives an investment management fee that is calculated daily and payable monthly, at 0.75%. Effective, October 1, 2005, for its services under the Management Agreement with respect to the Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund, LMPFA receives an investment management fee that is calculated daily and paid monthly, at the following annual rates of the fund’s average daily net assets on an annualized basis for the fund’s then-current fiscal year: 0.750% on assets up to $1 billion, 0.725% on assets between $1 billion and $2 billion, 0.700% on assets between $2 billion and $5 billion, 0.675% on assets between $5 billion and $10 billion, and 0.650% on assets over $10 billion. The manager may reimburse a fund or waive all or a portion of its management fees.

For the period from December 1, 2005 through July 31, 2005, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”) served as the funds’ manager under the same fee schedules as described above.

For the fiscal years ended October 31, 2004, 2005, and 2006 the fees paid, after waivers, to the manager under its Management Agreement with respect to the Large Cap Growth Fund were $1,089,119 and $960,483, and [$            ], respectively.

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2004, the fees paid, after waivers, to the manager under its Management Agreement with respect to the Small Cap Growth Fund were $96,722. For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2005, the fees paid, after waivers, to the manager under its Management Agreement with respect to the Small Cap Growth Fund were $98,588. For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, the fees paid, after waivers, to the manager under its Management Agreement with respect to the Small Cap Growth Fund were $[            ].

Subadviser

ClearBridge Advisors, LLC (“ClearBridge”), provides the day-to-day portfolio management of the funds, except for the management of cash and short-term instruments, as subadviser. ClearBridge, with offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022, is a recently-organized investment adviser that has been formed to succeed to the equity securities portfolio management business of Citigroup Asset Management, which was acquired by Legg Mason, Inc. (or Legg Mason) in December 2005. ClearBridge is a wholly-owned subsidiaries of Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”).

Under the Sub-Advisory Agreement, subject to the supervision and direction of the Board and the manager, the subadviser will manage the funds’ portfolios (or allocated portion thereof) in accordance with the funds’ stated investment objective(s) and policies, assist in supervising all aspects of the funds’ operations, make investment decisions for the funds, place orders to purchase and sell securities, and employ professional portfolio managers and securities analysts who provide research services to the funds.

The Sub-Advisory Agreement has an initial term ending November 30, 2007 and will continue in effect from year to year thereafter provided such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (a) by the Board or by a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the funds (as defined in the 1940 Act), and (b) in either event, by a majority of the Independent Trustees with such Independent Trustees casting votes in person at a meeting called for such purpose. The Board or a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the funds (as defined in the 1940 Act) may terminate the Sub-Advisory Agreement without penalty, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the Subadviser. The subadviser may terminate the Sub-Advisory Agreement on 90 days’ written notice to the funds and the Manager. The manager and the subadviser may terminate the Sub-Advisory Agreement upon their mutual written consent of. This Sub-Advisory Agreement will terminate automatically in the event of assignment by the subadviser and shall not be assignable by the Manager without the consent of the subadviser.

As compensation for its sub-advisory services, the manager will pay the subadviser a fee equal to 70% of the management fee paid to LMPFA, net of expense waivers and reimbursements. Since the Sub-Advisory Agreement went into effect on August 1, 2006, no fees were paid by the manager to the subadviser under the Sub-Advisory Agreement during the funds’ past three fiscal years.

 

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Distributors

Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC (“LMIS”), a wholly-owned broker-dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, located at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202 and CGMI, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Citigroup, located at 388 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10013 serve as each fund’s distributors pursuant to separate written agreements or amendments to written agreements, in each case dated December 1, 2005 (the “Distribution Agreements”), which were approved by each fund’s Board and by a majority of the Independent Trustees, casting votes in person at a meeting called for such purpose on November 21, 2005. The distribution agreements went into effect on December 1, 2005.

A distributor’s obligation is an agency or “best efforts” arrangement under which the distributor is required to take and pay only for such shares of each fund as may be sold to the public. A distributor is not obligated to sell any stated number of shares. Each Distribution Agreement is renewable from year to year if approved (a) by the Trustees, or by a vote of a majority of the funds’ outstanding voting securities, and (b) by the affirmative vote of a majority of Trustees who are not parties to such agreement or interested persons of any party, by votes cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose. Each Distribution Agreement provides that it will terminate if assigned, and that it may be terminated by either party on 60 days’ written notice.

[In addition, the distributors may make payments for distribution and/or shareholder servicing activities out of their past profits and other available sources. The distributors may also make payments to dealers for marketing, promotional or related expenses. The amount of these payments is determined by the distributors and may be substantial. The manager or an affiliate may make similar payments under similar arrangements.]

Reorganization

The Small Cap Growth Fund’s Board has approved a reorganization pursuant to which the Small Cap Growth Fund’s assets would be acquired, and its liabilities would be assumed, by Salomon Brothers Small Cap Growth Fund (the “Acquiring Fund”) in exchange for shares of the Acquiring Fund. The fund would then be liquidated, and shares of the Acquiring Fund would be distributed to fund shareholders.

Under the reorganization, Small Cap Growth Fund shareholders would receive shares of the Acquiring Fund with the same aggregate net asset value as their shares of the fund. It is anticipated that no gain or loss for Federal income tax purposes would be recognized by Small Cap Growth Fund shareholders as a result of the reorganization.

The reorganization is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including approval by fund shareholders. Proxy materials describing the reorganization are expected to be mailed later in 2006. If the reorganization is approved by Small Cap Growth Fund shareholders, it is expected to occur during the first quarter of 2007. Prior to the reorganization, shareholders can continue to purchase, redeem and exchange shares subject to the limitations described in the Small Cap Growth Fund’s Prospectus.

 

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Initial Sales Charges

The aggregate dollar amount of Initial Sales Charges on Class A and Class C shares received by LMIS and CGMI during the fiscal years ended October 31, 2004, 2005, and 2006 were as follows:

Large Cap Growth Fund

Class A Shares

 

For the fiscal year ended October 31:

   LMIS      CGMI

2006

     

2005

   N/A    $ 15,000

2004

   N/A    $ 50,000

Class C Shares

 

For the fiscal year ended October 31:

   LMIS      CGMI

2006

     

2005

   N/A    $ 0

2004 (1)

   N/A    $ 0

(1) Effective as of April 29, 2004, Class L shares were renamed Class C shares. On February 2, 2004, the initial sales charge of 1.00% on Class C shares was eliminated for purchases made after that date.

Small Cap Growth Fund

Class A Shares

 

For the fiscal year ended October 31:

   LMIS      CGMI

2006

     

2005

   N/A    $ 24,000

2004

   N/A    $ 23,000

Class C Shares

 

For the fiscal year ended October 31:

   LMIS      CGMI

2006

     

2005

   N/A    $ 0

2004 (1)

   N/A    $ 4,000

(1) Effective as of April 29, 2004, Class L shares were renamed Class C shares. On February 2, 2004, the initial sales charge of 1.00% on Class C shares was waived for purchases made after that date.

Deferred Sales Charges

The aggregate dollar amount of Deferred Sales Charges on Class B and Class C shares received by LMIS and CGMI during the fiscal years ended October 31, 2004, 2005, and 2006 were as follows:

Large Cap Growth Fund

Class B Shares

 

For the fiscal year ended October 31:

   LMIS      CGMI

2006

     

2005

   N/A    $ 7,000

2004

   N/A    $ 4,000

Class C Shares

 

For the fiscal year ended October 31:

   LMIS      CGMI

2006

     

2005

   N/A    $ 0

2004 (1)

   N/A    $ 0

(1) Effective as of April 29, 2004, Class L shares were renamed Class C shares. On February 2, 2004, the initial sales charge of 1.00% on Class C shares was waived for purchases made after that date.

 

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Small Cap Growth Fund

Class B Shares

 

For the fiscal year ended October 31:

   LMIS      CGMI

2006

     

2005

   N/A    $ 5,000

2004

   N/A    $ 4,000

Class C Shares

 

For the fiscal year ended October 31:

   LMIS      CGMI

2006

     

2005

   N/A    $ 0

2004 (1)

   N/A    $ 1,000

(1) Effective as of April 29, 2004, Class L shares were renamed Class C shares. On February 2, 2004, the initial sales charge of 1.00% on Class C shares was waived for purchases made after that date.

Distribution Plan

Class A, Class B and Class C shares of each fund have adopted a shareholder services and distribution plan (each, a “12b-1 Plan”) in accordance with Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. Under the 12b-1 Plan, a fund may pay monthly fees at an annual rate not to exceed 0.25% of the average daily net assets of the fund attributable to that class in the case of Class A shares, and not to exceed 1.00% of the average daily net assets of the fund attributable to that class in the case of Class B shares and Class C Shares. Such fees may be used to make payments to the distributors for distribution services, to Service Agents in respect of the sale of shares of the funds, and to other parties in respect of the sale of shares of the funds, and to make payments for advertising, marketing or other promotional activity, and payments for preparation, printing, and distribution of prospectuses, statements of additional information and reports for recipients other than regulators and existing shareholders. The funds also may make payments to the distributors, Service Agents and others for providing personal service or the maintenance of shareholder accounts. The amounts paid by the distributors to each recipient may vary based upon certain factors, including, among other things, the levels of sales of fund shares and/or shareholder services provided, provided, however , that the fees paid to a recipient with respect to a particular Class that may be used to cover expenses primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of that Class, or that may be used to cover expenses primarily intended for personal service and/or maintenance of shareholder accounts, may not exceed the maximum amounts, if any, as may from time to time be permitted for such services under NASD Conduct Rule 2830 or any successor rule, in each case as amended or interpreted by the NASD.

The 12b-1 Plan also provides that the distributors and Service Agents may receive all or a portion of the Sales Charges paid by Class A, Class B and Class C investors.

The 12b-1 Plan permits the funds to pay fees to a distributor, Service Agents and others as compensation for their services, not as reimbursement for specific expenses incurred. Thus, even if their expenses exceed the fees provided for by the 12b-1 Plan, the funds will not be obligated to pay more than those fees and, if their expenses are less than the fees paid to them, they will realize a profit. The funds may pay the fees to the distributors and others until the 12b-1 Plan or Distribution Agreement is terminated or not renewed. In that event, the distributors’ or other recipient’s expenses in excess of fees received or accrued through the termination date will be the distributors’ or other recipient’s sole responsibility and not obligations of the funds. In their annual consideration of the continuation of the 12b-1 Plan for the funds, the Trustees will review the 12b-1 Plan and the expenses for each class within a fund separately.

The 12b-1 Plan also recognizes that various service providers to the funds, such as the manager, may make payments for distribution related expenses out of their own resources, including past profits, or payments received from the funds for other purposes, such as management fees, and that the funds’ distributors or Service Agents may from time to time use their own resources for distribution -related services, in addition to the fees paid under the 12b-1 Plan. The 12b-1 Plan specifically provides that, to the extent that such payments might be deemed to be indirect financing of any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the funds within the context of Rule 12b-1, then the payments are deemed to be authorized by the 12b-1 Plan, if permitted under applicable law.

The 12b-1 Plan continues in effect if such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by a vote of both a majority of the Trustees and a majority of the Trustees who are not “interested persons” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Trust and who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the 12b-1 Plan or in any agreement related to the 12b-1 Plan (for purposes of this

 

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paragraph “Qualified Trustees”). The Trustees, in the exercise of their business judgment in the best interests of the shareholders of the funds and each class, have approved the continuation of the 12b-1 Plan. The 12b-1 Plan requires that the Trust and the distributors provide to the Board of Trustees, and the Board of Trustees review, at least quarterly, a written report of the amounts expended (and the purposes therefor) under the 12b-1 Plan. The 12b-1 Plan further provides that the selection and nomination of the Qualified Trustees is committed to the discretion of such Qualified Trustees then in office who are not interested Trustees of the Trust. The 12b-1 Plan may be terminated with respect to any class of the funds at any time by a vote of a majority of the Trust’s Qualified Trustees or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of that class. The 12b-1 Plan may not be amended to increase materially the amount of permitted expenses of the class thereunder without the approval of a majority of the outstanding securities of that class and may not be materially amended in any case without a vote of a majority of both the Trustees and Qualified Trustees. The funds will preserve copies of any plan, agreement or report made pursuant to the 12b-1 Plan for a period of not less than six years, and for the first two years the funds will preserve such copies in an easily accessible place.

As contemplated by the 12b-1 Plan, each distributor acts as an agent of the Trust in connection with the offering of shares of the funds pursuant to the respective Distribution Agreement.

For the fiscal years ended October 31, 2004, 2005 and 2006, the fees paid to CGMI under the Distribution Agreement with respect to Class A shares of Large Cap Growth Fund were, $491,218, $427,755, and $[            ], respectively. For the fiscal years ended October 31, 2004, 2005 and 2006, the fees payable to CGMI under the Distribution Agreement with respect to Class B shares of Large Cap Growth Fund were $110,793, $95,328, and $[            ], respectively. For the fiscal years ended October 31, 2004, 2005 and 2006, the fees payable to CGMI under the Distribution Agreement with respect to Class C shares of Large Cap Growth Fund were $5,836, $4,405, and $[            ], respectively. For the fiscal years ended October 31, 2004, 2005 and 2006, the fees payable to CGMI under the Distribution Agreement with respect to Class I shares of Large Cap Growth Fund were $0, $0 and $[            ], respectively. For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, the fees paid to LMIS under the Distribution Agreement with respect to Class A, Class B, Class C and Class I shares of Large Cap Growth Fund were $[            ], $[            ], $[            ], $[            ], respectively.

For the fiscal years ended October 31, 2004, 2005 and 2006, the fees paid to CGMI under the Distribution Agreement with respect to Class A shares of Small Cap Growth Fund were $58,159, $65,332, and $[            ], respectively. For the fiscal years ended October 31, 2004, 2005 and 2006, the fees payable to CGMI under the Distribution Agreement with respect to Class B shares of Small Cap Growth Fund were $29,183, $29,992, and $[            ], respectively. For the fiscal years ended October 31, 2004, 2005 and 2006, the fees payable to CGMI under the Distribution Agreement with respect to Class C shares of Small Cap Growth Fund were $83,388, $203,091, and $[            ], respectively. For the fiscal years ended October 31, 2004, 2005 and 2006, no fees were payable to CGMI under the Distribution Agreement with respect to Class I shares of Small Cap Growth Fund. For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, the fees paid to LMIS under the Distribution Agreement with respect to Class A, Class B, Class C and Class I shares of Small Cap Growth Fund were $[            ], $[            ], $[            ], $[            ], respectively.

[Each 12b-1 Plan also recognizes that various service providers to the funds, such as its manager, may make payments for distribution related expenses out of their own resources, including past profits, or payments received from the funds for other purposes, such as management fees, and that the funds’ distributors or service agents may from time to time use their own resources for distribution related services, in addition to the fees paid under the Plan. The 12b-1 Plans specifically provide that, to the extent that such payments might be deemed to be indirect financing of any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the funds within the context of Rule 12b-1, then the payments are deemed to be authorized by the Plan.]

Distribution expenses incurred by LMIS and CGMI for advertising, printing and mailing prospectuses, support services and overhead expenses, payments to their financial advisers or registered representative and for accruals for interest on expenses incurred in the distribution of the funds’ shares are set forth in the following tables:

[To be updated by amendment]

Dealer reallowances are described in the funds’ prospectuses.

 

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Expenses

In addition to amounts payable under the Management Agreement and the 12b-1 Plans (as discussed below), the funds are responsible for their own expenses, including, among other things: interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the funds; the costs (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the funds’ securities and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the funds’ shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the funds’ shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the funds’ shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the funds; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the funds, if any; and the funds’ pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the funds and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any nonrecurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the fund is a party and the legal obligation which the funds may have to indemnify the funds’ Board members and officers with respect thereto.

Management may agree to waive fees and/or reimburse operating expenses for one or more classes of shares, either through contractual or voluntary arrangements. Any such waivers and/ or reimbursements are described in the fund’s Prospectus. The contractual and voluntary fee waivers and/ or reimbursements do not cover extraordinary expenses, such as (a) any expenses or charges related to litigation, derivative actions, demand related to litigation, regulatory or other government investigations and proceedings, “for cause” regulatory inspections and indemnification or advancement of related expenses or costs, to the extent any such expenses are considered extraordinary expenses for the purposes of fee disclosure in Form N-1A as the same may be amended from time to time; (b) transaction costs (such as brokerage commissions and dealer and underwriter spreads) and taxes; and (c) other extraordinary expenses as determined for the purposes of fee disclosure in Form N-1A, as the same may be amended from time to time. Without limiting the foregoing, extraordinary expenses are generally those that are unusual or expected to recur only infrequently, and may include such expenses, by way of illustration, as (i) expenses of the reorganization, restructuring, redomiciling or merger of the fund or class or the acquisition of all or substantially all of the assets of another fund or class; (ii) expenses of holding, and soliciting proxies for, a meeting of shareholders of the fund or class (except to the extent relating to routine items such as the election of board members or the approval of the independent registered public accounting firm); and (iii) expenses of converting to a new custodian, transfer agent or other service provider, in each case to the extent any such expenses are considered extraordinary expenses for the purposes of fee disclosure in Form N-1A as the same may be amended from time to time.

 

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Custodian and Transfer Agent

State Street Bank and Trust Company (“State Street”), One Lincoln Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, serves as the custodian of the funds. State Street, among other things, maintains a custody account or accounts in the name of the funds; receives and delivers all assets for the funds upon purchase and upon sale or maturity; collects and receives all income and other payments and distributions on account of the assets of the funds; and makes disbursements on behalf of the funds. State Street neither determines the funds’ investment policies, nor decides which securities the funds will buy or sell. For its services, State Street receives a monthly fee based upon the daily average market value of securities held in custody and also receives securities transaction charges, including out-of-pocket expenses. The funds may also periodically enter into arrangements with other qualified custodians with respect to certain types of securities or other transactions such as repurchase agreements or derivatives transactions. State Street also acts as the funds’ securities lending agent and receives a share of the income generated by such activities.

PFPC Inc. (“PFPC” or “transfer agent”), located at P.O. Box 9699, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699, serves as the funds’ transfer agent. Under the transfer agency agreement, the transfer agent maintains the shareholder account records for each fund, handles certain communications between shareholders and the funds and distributes dividends and distributions payable by the funds. For these services, the transfer agent receives a monthly fee computed on the basis of the number of shareholder accounts it maintains for the funds during the month, and is reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses. Prior to January 1, 2006, Citicorp Trust Bank, fsb (“CTB”) served as the funds’ transfer agent and PFPC served as the funds’ sub-transfer agent. For the period from October 31, through December 31, 2005, the funds paid transfer agent fees of [$            ] to CTB.

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

[                            ], has been selected as the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm to audit and report on the financial statements and financial highlights of the Trust.

Counsel

Bingham McCutchen LLP, 150 Federal Street, Boston, MA 02110, acts as counsel for the funds.

7. PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS

Subject to policies as may be established by the funds’ Boards from time to time, the subadviser is primarily responsible for the funds’ portfolio decisions and the placing of the funds’ portfolio transactions, except that the manager manages the cash and short-term investments of the funds. Transactions on stock exchanges involve the payment of negotiated brokerage commissions. There is generally no stated commission in the case of securities traded in the over-the-counter market, but the price of those securities includes an undisclosed commission or mark-up. Over-the-counter purchases and sales are transacted directly with principal market makers except where it is believed that better prices and executions may be obtained elsewhere. The cost of securities purchased from underwriters includes an underwriting commission or concession, and the prices at which securities are purchased from and sold to dealers include a dealer’s mark-up or mark-down. The aggregate brokerage commissions paid by the fund for the three most recent fiscal years is set forth below under “Aggregate Brokerage Commissions Paid.”

Pursuant to the Management Agreement and Sub-Advisory Agreement, each of the manager and the subadviser is authorized to place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for a fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. The general policy of the manager and subadviser in selecting brokers and dealers is to obtain the best results achievable in the context of a number of factors which are considered both in relation to individual trades and broader trading patterns, including the reliability of the broker/dealer, the competitiveness of the price and the commission, the research services received and whether the broker/dealer commits its own capital. In connection with the manager’s or subadviser’s monitoring of its portfolio transactions for compliance with its policies, the manager and subadviser each utilize both an internal committee and a third party service provider.

 

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In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) to a funds and/or the other accounts over which the manager, the subadviser or their affiliates exercise investment discretion. The manager and subadviser are authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for a fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the manager or subadviser determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities that the manager, the subadviser and their affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The manager and/or subadviser may also have arrangements with brokers pursuant to which such brokers provide research services to the manager or subadviser, as applicable, in exchange for a certain volume of brokerage transactions to be executed by such brokers. While the payment of higher commissions increases the funds’ costs, neither the manager nor the subadviser believes that the receipt of such brokerage and research services significantly reduces its expenses as manager or subadviser. Arrangements for the receipt of research services from brokers may create conflicts of interest.

Research services furnished to the manager or subadviser by brokers who effect securities transactions for the funds may be used by the manager or subadviser in servicing other investment companies and accounts which it manages. Similarly, research services furnished to the manager or subadviser by brokers who effect securities transactions for other investment companies and accounts which the manager or subadviser manages may be used by the manager or subadviser, as applicable, in servicing the funds. Not all of these research services are used by the manager or subadviser in managing any particular account, including the funds. For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, the Large Cap Growth Fund paid commissions to brokers that provided research services as follows:

 

   Total Dollar Amount of

   Brokerage Transactions

Related to Research Services

 

Total Dollar Amount of

Brokerage Commissions

Paid on Transactions

Related to Research Services

$                                       $                                    

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, the Small Cap Growth Fund paid commissions to brokers that provided research services as follows:

 

   Total Dollar Amount of

   Brokerage Transactions

Related to Research Services

 

Total Dollar Amount of

Brokerage Commissions

Paid on Transactions

Related to Research Services

$                                       $                                    

The funds contemplate that, consistent with the policy of obtaining the best net results, brokerage transactions may be conducted through “affiliated broker/dealers”, as defined in the 1940 Act. The funds’ Boards of Trustees have adopted procedures in accordance with Rule 17e-1 promulgated under the 1940 Act to ensure that all brokerage commissions paid to such affiliates are reasonable and fair in the context of the market in which such affiliates operate. Effective December 1, 2005 CGMI is no longer an affiliated person of the fund under the 1940 Act. As a result, the funds will be permitted to execute portfolio transactions with CGMI or an affiliate of CGMI as agent (but not as principal) without being subject to the restrictions applicable to transactions with affiliated persons.

 

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Aggregate Brokerage Commissions Paid

For the fiscal years ended October 31 , 2004, 2005 and 2006, the Large Cap Growth Fund paid aggregate brokerage commissions and brokerage commissions to CGMI and its affiliates as set out below:

 

   

Aggregate Broker

Commissions Paid

 

Amount of Brokerage

Commissions Paid

by the fund to CGMI and

Affiliates

Year Ended October 31, 2004   $ 399,359   $ 0
Year Ended October 31, 2005   $ 276,424   $ 0
Year Ended October 31, 2006 *   $     $  

* CGMI was not an affiliated person of the fund under the 1940 Act during the entire period.

For the fiscal years ended October 31 , 2004, 2005 and 2006, the Small Cap Growth Fund paid aggregate brokerage commissions and brokerage commissions to CGMI and its affiliates as set out below:

 

   

Aggregate Broker

Commissions Paid

 

Amount of Brokerage

Commissions Paid

By the fund to CGMI

Year Ended October 31, 2004   $ 256,759   $ 65
Year Ended October 31, 2005   $ 315,776   $ 44
Year Ended October 31, 2006 *   $     $  

* CGMI was not an affiliated person of the fund under the 1940 Act during the entire period.

For the fiscal year ended October 31 , 2006 , the percentage of the Large Cap Growth Fund’s aggregate brokerage commissions paid to CGMI and its affiliates and the percentage of the Large Cap Growth Fund’s aggregate dollar amount of transactions involving the payment of commissions effected through CGMI and its affiliates were as follows:

 

    The Percentage of the Fund’s

Aggregate Brokerage Commissions

    Paid to CGMI and Affiliates

 

The Percentage of the Fund’s

Aggregate Dollar Amount of Transactions

Involving the Payment of Commissions

Effected Through CGMI and Affiliates

%   %

* CGMI was not an affiliated person of the fund under the 1940 Act during the entire period.

For the fiscal year ended October 31 , 2006 , the percentage of the Small Cap Growth Fund’s aggregate brokerage commissions paid to CGMI and its affiliates and the percentage of Small Cap Growth Fund’s aggregate dollar amount of transactions involving the payment of commissions effected through CGMI and its affiliates were as follows:

 

    The Percentage of the Funds’

Aggregate Brokerage Commissions

    Paid to CGMI and Affiliates

 

The Percentage of the Funds’

Aggregate Dollar Amount of Transactions

Involving the Payment of Commissions

Effected Through CGMI and Affiliates

%   %

* CGMI was not an affiliated person of the fund under the 1940 Act during the entire period.

As of December 1, 2005, LMIS became an affiliated person of the fund under the 1940 Act. For the period December 1, 2005 through October 31 , 2006, the funds did not pay any brokerage commissions to LMIS or its affiliates.

During the fiscal year ended October 31 , 2006, the funds purchased securities issued by the following regular broker-dealers of the funds, which had the following values as of October 31 , 2006:

 

    Broker-Dealer  

Value of Securities as of

October 31, 2006

Large Cap Growth Fund   $     $  
Small Cap Growth Fund   $     $  

 

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In certain instances there may be securities that are suitable as an investment for the fund as well as for one or more of the manager’s or subadviser’s other clients. Investment decisions for the funds and for the manager’s or subadviser’s other clients are made with a view to achieving their respective investment objectives. It may develop that a particular security is bought or sold for only one client even though it might be held by, or bought or sold for, other clients. Likewise, a particular security may be bought for one or more clients when one or more clients are selling the same security. Some simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several clients receive investment advice from the same investment adviser, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objectives of more than one client. When two or more clients are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security, the securities are allocated among clients in a manner believed to be equitable to each. It is recognized that in some cases this system could adversely affect the price of or the size of the position obtainable in a security for the funds. When purchases or sales of the same security for the funds and for other funds managed by the adviser occur contemporaneously, the purchase or sale orders may be aggregated in order to obtain any price advantages available to large volume purchases or sales.

For reporting purposes, the funds’ portfolio turnover rate is calculated by dividing the lesser of purchases or sales of portfolio securities for the fiscal year by the monthly average of the value of the portfolio securities owned by the funds during the fiscal year. In determining such portfolio turnover, all securities whose maturities at the time of acquisition were one year or less are excluded. A 100% portfolio turnover rate would occur, for example, if all of the securities in the funds’ investment portfolio (other than short-term money market securities) were replaced once during the fiscal year. Portfolio turnover will not be a limiting factor should the manager or subadviser deem it advisable to purchase or sell securities.

 

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For the fiscal years ended October 31, 2005 and 2006 the portfolio turnover rates for the Large Cap Growth Fund were 111% and              , respectively. For the fiscal years ended October 31, 2005 and 2006 the portfolio turnover rates for the Small Cap Growth Fund were 125% and              , respectively.

In the event that portfolio turnover increases, this increase necessarily results in correspondingly greater transaction costs which must be paid by the funds. To the extent portfolio trading results in realization of net short-term capital gains, shareholders will be taxed on such gains at ordinary tax rates (except shareholders who invest through IRAs and other retirement plans which are not taxed currently on accumulations in their accounts).

8. DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS

The funds have adopted policies and procedures developed by LMPFA, the funds’ investment manager with respect to the disclosure of the funds’ portfolio securities and any ongoing arrangements to make available information about each fund’s portfolio securities. The policy requires that consideration always be given as to whether disclosure of information about any funds’ portfolio holdings is in the best interests of such fund’s shareholders, and that any conflicts of interest between the interests of the funds’ shareholders and those of LMPFA, the funds’ Distributors, or their affiliates, be addressed in a manner that places the interests of fund shareholders first. The policy provides that information regarding a fund’s portfolio holdings may not be shared with non-Legg Mason employees, with investors or potential investors (whether individual or institutional), or with third parties unless it is done for legitimate fund business purposes and in accordance with the policy.

LMPFA’s policy generally provides for the release of details of securities positions once they are considered “stale.” Data is considered stale 25 calendar days following quarter-end for funds other than money market funds, and 25 calendar days following month-end with respect to money market funds. LMPFA believes that this passage of time prevents a third party from benefiting from an investment decision made by a fund that has not been fully reflected by the market.

Under the policy, a fund’s complete list of holdings (including the size of each position) may be made available to investors, potential investors, third parties and non-Legg Mason employees with simultaneous public disclosure at least 25 days after calendar quarter end, except in the case of a money market fund’s holdings, which may be released with simultaneous public disclosure at least 25 days after month end. Typically, simultaneous public disclosure is achieved by the filing of Form N-Q or Form N-CSR in accordance with SEC rules, provided that such filings may not be made until 25 days following quarter-end, and/or posting the information to a Legg Mason or the funds’ Internet site that is accessible by the public, or through public release by a third party vendor.

The policy permits the release of limited portfolio holdings information that is not yet considered stale in a number of situations, including:

1. A fund’s top ten securities, current as of month-end, and the individual size of each such security position may be released at any time following month-end with simultaneous public disclosure.

2. A fund’s top ten securities positions (including the aggregate but not individual size of such positions) may be released at any time with simultaneous public disclosure.

3. A list of securities (that may include fund holdings together with other securities) followed by a portfolio manager (without position sizes or identification of particular funds) may be disclosed to sell-side brokers at any time for the purpose of obtaining research and/or market information from such brokers.

4. A trade in process may be discussed only with counterparties, potential counterparties and others involved in the transaction ( i.e ., brokers and custodians).

5. A fund’s sector weightings, yield and duration (for fixed income and money market funds), performance attribution (e.g., analysis of the funds’ out-performance or underperformance of its benchmark based on its portfolio holdings) and other summary and statistical information that does not include identification of specific portfolio holdings may be released, even if non-public, if such release is otherwise in accordance with the policy’s general principles.

 

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6. A fund’s portfolio holdings may be released on an as-needed basis to its legal counsel, counsel to its Independent Trustees, and its independent public accounting firm, in required regulatory filings or otherwise to governmental agencies and authorities.

Under the policy, if information about a fund’s portfolio holdings is released pursuant to an ongoing arrangement with any party, a fund must have a legitimate business purpose for the release of the information, and either the party receiving the information must be under a duty of confidentiality, or the release of non-public information must be subject to trading restrictions and confidential treatment to prohibit the entity from sharing with an unauthorized source or trading upon any non-public information provided. Neither a fund, nor Legg Mason, nor any other affiliated party may receive compensation or any other consideration in connection with such arrangements. Ongoing arrangements to make available information about a fund’s portfolio securities will be reviewed at least annually by a fund’s Board.

 

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The approval of a fund’s Chief Compliance Officer, or designee, must be obtained before entering into any new ongoing arrangement or altering any existing ongoing arrangement to make available portfolio holdings information, or with respect to any exceptions to the policy. Any exceptions to the policy must be consistent with the purposes of the policy. Exceptions are considered on a case-by-case basis and are granted only after a thorough examination and consultation with LMPFA’s legal department, as necessary. Exceptions to the policies are reported to a fund’s Board at its next regularly scheduled meeting.

Currently, the funds disclose their complete portfolio holdings approximately 25 days after calendar quarter end on their website: http://www.leggmason./InvestorServices

Set forth below is a list, as [            ], of those parties with whom LMPFA, on behalf of a fund, has authorized ongoing arrangements that include the release of portfolio holdings information in accordance with the policy, as well as the frequency of the release under such arrangements, and the length of the lag, if any, between the date of the information and the date on which the information is disclosed. The parties identified below as recipients are service providers, fund rating agencies, consultants and analysts.

 

Recipient   Frequency   Delay before dissemination
State Street Bank & Trust Co.
(Fund Custodian and Accounting
Agent)
  Daily   None
Institutional Shareholders Services
(Proxy Voting Services)
  As necessary   None
Bloomberg   Quarterly   25 Days after Quarter End
Lipper   Quarterly   25 Days after Quarter End
S&P   Quarterly   25 Days after Quarter End
Morningstar   Quarterly   25 Days after Quarter End
Vestek   Daily   None
Factset   Daily   None
Bank of New York   Daily   None

[To be updated by amendment]

 

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Portfolio holdings information for the funds may also be released from time to time pursuant to ongoing arrangements with the following parties:

 

Recipient      Frequency    Delay before dissemination
Baseline      Daily    None
Frank Russell      Monthly    1 Day
Callan      Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
Mercer      Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
eVestment Alliance      Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
CRA RogersCasey      Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
Cambridge Associates      Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
Marco Consulting      Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
Wilshire      Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
Informa Investment Services (Efron)      Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
CheckFree (Mobius)      Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
Nelsons Information      Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
Investor Tools      Daily    None
Advent      Daily    None
BARRA      Daily    None
Plexus      Quarterly
(Calendar)
   Sent 1-3 business days
following the end of a Quarter
Elkins/McSherry      Quarterly
(Calendar)
   Sent 1-3 business days
following the end of a Quarter
Quantitative Services Group      Daily    None
AMBAC      Daily    None
Deutsche Bank      Monthly    6-8 Business Days
Fitch      Monthly    6-8 Business Days
Liberty Hampshire      Weekly and Month
End
   None
Sun Trust      Weekly and Month
End
   None
New England Pension Consultants      Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
Evaluation Associates      Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
Watson Wyatt      Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
S&P (Rating Agency)      Weekly Tuesday
Night
   1 business day
Moody’s (Rating Agency)      Weekly Tuesday
Night
   1 business day

 

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9. PORTFOLIO MANAGERS

The following tables set forth certain additional information with respect to the portfolio managers for the funds. Unless noted otherwise, all information is provided as of October 31, 2006.

Other Accounts Managed by the Portfolio Manager

The table below identifies, for each portfolio manager, the number of accounts (other than the funds with respect to which information is provided) for which he or she has day-to-day management responsibilities and the total assets in such accounts, within each of the following categories: registered investment companies, other pooled investment vehicles, and other accounts. None of the accounts shown were subject to fees based on performance.

 

Portfolio Manager   Registered Investment Companies   Other Pooled Investment Vehicles   Other Accounts
Harry D. Cohen   registered investment
companies with $[    ]
million in total assets under
management
  other pooled investment vehicle with
$[    ] million in total

assets under management
  other accounts with
$[    ] million in total
assets

under management
Scott K. Glasser   registered investment
companies with $[    ]
million in total assets under
management
  other pooled investment vehicle with
$[    ] million in total

assets under management
  other accounts with
$[    ] million in total
assets under management
Vincent Gao   registered investment
companies with $[    ]
million in total assets under
management
  other pooled investment vehicles
with $[    ] million in total
assets under management
  other account with
$[    ] million in total
assets under
management

Portfolio Manager Compensation

ClearBridge Advisors, LLC (“ClearBridge”) investment professionals receive base salary and other employee benefits and are eligible to receive incentive compensation. Base salary is fixed and typically determined based on market factors and the skill and experience of individual investment personnel.

ClearBridge has implemented an investment management incentive and deferred compensation plan (the “Plan”) for its investment professionals, including the fund’s portfolio manager(s). Each investment professional works as a part of an investment team. The Plan is designed to align the objectives of ClearBridge investment professionals with those of fund shareholders and other ClearBridge clients. Under the Plan a “base incentive pool” is established for each team each year as a percentage of ClearBridge’s revenue attributable to the team (largely management and related fees generated by funds and other accounts). A team’s revenues are typically expected to increase or decrease depending on the effect that the team’s investment performance as well as inflows and outflows have on the level of assets in the investment products managed by the team. The “base incentive pool” of a team is reduced by base salaries paid to members of the team and other employee expenses attributable to the team.

The investment team’s incentive pool is then adjusted to reflect its ranking among a “peer group” of non-ClearBridge investment managers and the team’s pre-tax investment performance against the applicable product benchmark (e.g. a securities index and, with respect to a fund, the benchmark set forth in the fund’s prospectus to which the fund’s average annual total returns are compared or, if none, the benchmark set forth in the fund’s annual report). Longer-term (5- year) performance will be more heavily weighted than shorter-term (1- year) performance in the calculation of the performance adjustment factor. The incentive pool for a team may also be adjusted based on other qualitative factors by the applicable ClearBridge Chief Investment Officer. The incentive pool will be allocated by the applicable ClearBridge chief investment officer to the team leader and, based on the recommendations of the team leader, to the other members of the team.

Up to 20% of an investment professional’s annual incentive compensation is subject to deferral. Of that principal deferred award amount, 25% will accrue a return based on the hypothetical returns of the investment fund or product that is the primary focus of the investment professional’s business activities with the Firm, 25% will accrue a return based on the hypothetical returns of an employee chosen composite fund, and 50% may be received in the form of Legg Mason restricted stock shares.

Potential Conflicts of Interest

Potential conflicts of interest may arise when the funds’ portfolio manager also has day-to-day management responsibilities with respect to one or more other funds or other accounts, as is the case for the portfolio managers listed in the table above.

The manager, the subadviser and the funds have adopted compliance polices and procedures that are designed to address various conflicts of interest that may arise for the manager and the individuals that it employs. For example, the manager and the subadviser each seek to minimize

 

54


the effects of competing interests for the time and attention of portfolio managers by assigning portfolio managers to manage funds and accounts that share a similar investment style. The manager and the subadviser have also adopted trade allocation procedures that are designed to facilitate the fair allocation of limited investment opportunities among multiple funds and accounts. There is no guarantee, however, that the policies and procedures adopted by the manager, the subadviser and the funds will be able to detect and/or prevent every situation in which an actual or potential conflict may appear.

These potential conflicts include:

Allocation of Limited Time and Attention. A portfolio manager who is responsible for managing multiple funds and/or accounts may devote unequal time and attention to the management of those funds and/or accounts. As a result, the portfolio manager may not be able to formulate as complete a strategy or identify equally attractive investment opportunities for each of those accounts as might be the case if he or she were to devote substantially more attention to the management of a single fund. The effects of this potential conflict may be more pronounced where funds and/or accounts overseen by a particular portfolio manager have different investment strategies.

Allocation of Limited Investment Opportunities. If a portfolio manager identifies a limited investment opportunity that may be suitable for multiple funds and/or accounts, the opportunity may be allocated among these several funds or accounts, which may limit a fund’s ability to take full advantage of the investment opportunity.

Pursuit of Differing Strategies. At times, a portfolio manager may determine that an investment opportunity may be appropriate for only some of the funds and/or accounts for which he or she exercises investment responsibility, or may decide that certain of the funds and/or accounts should take differing positions with respect to a particular security. In these cases, the portfolio manager may place separate transactions for one or more funds or accounts which may affect the market price of the security or the execution of the transaction, or both, to the detriment or benefit of one or more other funds and/or accounts.

Selection of Broker/Dealers. Portfolio managers may be able to select or influence the selection of the brokers and dealers that are used to execute securities transactions for the funds and/or accounts that they supervise. In addition to executing trades, some brokers and dealers provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934), which may result in the payment of higher brokerage fees than might have otherwise been available. These services may be more beneficial to certain funds or accounts than to others. Although the payment of brokerage commissions is subject to the requirement that the subadviser determine in good faith that the commissions are reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided to the fund, a decision as to the selection of brokers and dealers could yield disproportionate costs and benefits among the funds and/or accounts managed. For this reason, the subadviser has formed a brokerage committee that reviews, among other things, the allocation of brokerage to broker/dealers, best execution and soft dollar usage.

Variation in Compensation. A conflict of interest may arise where the financial or other benefits available to the portfolio manager differ among the funds and/or accounts that he or she manages. If the structure of the investment manager’s management fee and/or the portfolio manager’s compensation differs among funds and/or accounts (such as where certain funds or accounts pay higher management fees or performance-based management fees), the portfolio manager might be motivated to help certain funds and/or accounts over others. The portfolio manager might be motivated to favor funds and/or accounts in which he or she has an interest or in which the investment manager and/or its affiliates have interests. Similarly, the desire to maintain or raise assets under management or to enhance the portfolio manager’s performance record or to derive other rewards, financial or otherwise, could influence the portfolio manager in affording preferential treatment to those funds and/or accounts that could most significantly benefit the portfolio manager.

Related Business Opportunities. The investment manager or its affiliates may provide more services (such as distribution or recordkeeping) for some types of funds or accounts than for others. In such cases, a portfolio manager may benefit, either directly or indirectly, by devoting disproportionate attention to the management of fund and/or accounts that provide greater overall returns to the investment manager and its affiliates.

Portfolio Manager Securities Ownership

The table below identifies ownership of funds’ securities by each Portfolio Manager.

 

Portfolio Manager

  

Dollar Range of Ownership of Securities in the Funds

Harry D. Cohen

  

Scott K. Glasser

  

Vincent Gao

  

 

55


10. DESCRIPTION OF SHARES, VOTING RIGHTS AND LIABILITIES

The Trust was organized on October 17, 1991 under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is a business entity commonly known as a “Massachusetts business trust.” The Trust offers shares of beneficial interest of [    ] separate funds with a par value of $.001 per share. The fund offers shares of beneficial interest currently classified into four Classes—A, B, C and I. Each Class of the fund represents an identical interest in the fund’s investment portfolio. As a result, the Classes have the same rights, privileges and preferences, except with respect to: (a) the designation of each Class; (b) the effect of the respective sales charges, if any, for each Class; (c) the distribution and/or service fees borne by each Class pursuant to the Distribution Plan; (d) the expenses allocable exclusively to each Class; (e) voting rights on matters exclusively affecting a single Class; (f) the exchange privilege of each Class; and (g) the conversion feature of the Class B shares. The Board does not anticipate that there will be any conflicts among the interests of the holders of the different Classes. The trustees, on an ongoing basis, will consider whether any such conflict exists and, if so, take appropriate action.

Under Massachusetts’s law, shareholders could, under certain circumstances, be held personally liable for the obligations of the fund. The Master Trust Agreement disclaims shareholder liability for acts or obligations of the fund, however, and requires that notice of such disclaimer be given in each agreement, obligation or instrument entered into or executed by the fund or a trustee. The Master Trust Agreement provides for indemnification from fund property for all losses and expenses of any shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the fund. Thus, the risk of a shareholder’s incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which the fund itself would be unable to meet its obligations, a possibility which management of the fund believes is remote. Upon payment of any liability incurred by the fund, a shareholder paying such liability will be entitled to reimbursement from the general assets of the fund. The trustees intend to conduct the operation of the fund in such a way so as to avoid, as far as possible, ultimate liability of the shareholders for liabilities of the fund.

The Master Trust Agreement of the fund permits the trustees of the fund to issue an unlimited number of full and fractional shares of a single class and to divide or combine the shares into a greater or lesser number of shares without thereby changing the proportionate beneficial interests in the fund. Each share in the fund represents an equal proportional interest in the fund with each other share. Shareholders of the fund are entitled upon its liquidation to share pro rata in its net assets available for distribution. No shareholder of the fund has any preemptive or conversion rights. Shares of the fund are fully paid and non-assessable.

Pursuant to the Master Trust Agreement, the Trust’s trustees may authorize the creation of additional series of shares (the proceeds of which would be invested in separate, independently managed portfolios) and additional classes of shares within any series (which would be used to distinguish among the rights of different categories of shareholders, as might be required by future regulations or other unforeseen circumstances).

The Trust does not hold annual shareholder meetings. There normally will be no meetings of shareholders for the purpose of electing trustees unless and until such time as less than a majority of the trustees holding office have been elected by shareholders, at which time the trustees then in office will call a shareholders’ meeting for the election of trustees. Shareholders of record of no less than two-thirds of the outstanding shares of the Trust may remove a trustee through a declaration in writing or by vote cast in person or by proxy at a meeting called for that purpose.

When matters are submitted for shareholder vote, shareholders of each Class will have one vote for each full share owned and a proportionate, fractional vote for any fractional share held of that Class. Generally, shares of the fund will be voted on a fund-wide basis on all matters except matters affecting only the interests of one Class, in which case only shares of the affected Class would be entitled to vote.

The Trust was organized as an unincorporated Massachusetts business trust on October 17, 1991 under the name Shearson Lehman Brothers Intermediate-Term Trust. On August 16, 1995, the Trust’s name was changed to Smith Barney Investment Trust. On April 7, 2006, the Trust’s name was changed to Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust.

 

56


11. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Proposed Changes

Each fund’s board has approved a number of initiatives designed to streamline and restructure the fund complex and the funds are seeking shareholder approval for those initiatives where shareholder approval is required. If certain of these matters are approved by the shareholders entitled to vote on the matters, each fund will become a series of Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust, a Maryland business trust.

A Maryland business trust is an unincorporated business association that is established under, and governed by, Maryland law. Maryland law provides a statutory framework for the powers, duties, rights and obligations of the trustees and shareholders of the business trust, while the more specific powers, duties, rights and obligations of the trustees and the shareholders are determined by the trustees as set forth in the trust’s declaration of trust. Some of the more significant provisions of the trust’s declaration are described below.

Shareholder Voting

The declaration provides for shareholder voting as required by the 1940 Act or other applicable laws but otherwise permits, consistent with Maryland law, actions by the trustees without seeking the consent of shareholders. The trustees may, without shareholder approval, amend the declaration or authorize the merger or consolidation of the trust into another trust or entity, reorganize the trust, or any series or class into another trust or entity or a series or class of another entity, sell all or substantially all of the assets of the trust or any series or class to another entity, or a series or class of another entity, or terminate the trust or any series or class.

The funds are not required to hold an annual meeting of shareholders, but the funds will call special meetings of shareholders whenever required by the 1940 Act or by the terms of the declaration. The declaration provides for “dollar-weighted voting” which means that a shareholder’s voting power is determined, not by the number of shares he or she owns, but by the dollar value of those shares determined on the record date. All shareholders of all series and classes of the trust vote together, except where required by the 1940 Act to vote separately by series or by class, or when the trustees have determined that a matter affects only the interests of one or more series or classes of shares.

Election and Removal of Trustees

The declaration provides that the trustees may establish the number of trustees and that vacancies on the board may be filled by the remaining trustees, except when election of trustees by the shareholders is required under the 1940 Act. Trustees are then elected by a plurality of votes cast by shareholders at a meeting at which a quorum is present. The declaration also provides that a mandatory retirement age may be set by action of two-thirds of the trustees and that trustees may be removed, with or without cause, by a vote of shareholders holding two-thirds of the voting power of the trust, or by a vote of two-thirds of the remaining trustees. The provisions of the declaration relating to the election and removal of trustees may not be amended without the approval of two-thirds of the trustees.

Amendments to the Declaration

The trustees are authorized to amend the declaration without the vote of shareholders, but no amendment may be made that impairs the exemption from personal liability granted in the declaration to persons who are or have been shareholders, trustees, officers or, employees of the trust or that limit the rights to indemnification or insurance provided in the declaration with respect to actions or omissions of persons entitled to indemnification under the declaration prior to the amendment.

 

57


Issuance and Redemption of Shares

The funds may issue an unlimited number of shares for such consideration and on such terms as the trustees may determine. Shareholders are not entitled to any appraisal, preemptive, conversion, exchange or similar rights, except as the trustees may determine. The funds may involuntarily redeem a shareholder’s shares upon certain conditions as may be determined by the trustees, including, for example, if the shareholder fails to provide the fund with identification required by law, or if the funds are unable to verify the information received from the shareholder. Additionally, as discussed below, shares may be redeemed in connection with the closing of small accounts.

Disclosure of Shareholder Holdings

The declaration specifically requires shareholders, upon demand, to disclose to the fund information with respect to the direct and indirect ownership of shares in order to comply with various laws or regulations, and the funds may disclose such ownership if required by law or regulation.

Small Accounts

The declaration provides that the funds may close out a shareholder’s account by redeeming all of the shares in the account if the account falls below a minimum account size (which may vary by class) that may be set by the trustees from time to time. Alternately, the declaration permits the fund to assess a fee for small accounts (which may vary by class) and redeem shares in the account to cover such fees, or convert the shares into another share class that is geared to smaller accounts.

Series and Classes

The declaration provides that the trustees may establish series and classes in addition to those currently established and to determine the rights and preferences, limitations and restrictions, including qualifications for ownership, conversion and exchange features, minimum purchase and account size, expenses and charges, and other features of the series and classes. The trustees may change any of those features, terminate any series or class, combine series with other series in the trust, combine one or more classes of a series with another class in that series or convert the shares of one class into another class.

Each share of the funds, as a series of the trust, represents an interest in the funds only and not in the assets of any other series of the trust.

Shareholder, Trustee and Officer Liability

The declaration provides that shareholders are not personally liable for the obligations of the funds and requires the funds to indemnify a shareholder against any loss or expense arising from any such liability. In addition, the funds will assume the defense of any claim against a shareholder for personal liability at the request of the shareholder. The declaration further provides that a trustee acting in his or her capacity of trustee is not personally liable to any person other than the trust or its shareholders, for any act, omission, or obligation of the trust. Further, a trustee is held to the same standard of conduct as a director of a Maryland corporation. This requires that a trustee perform his or her duties in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the trust or a series thereof, and with the care that an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would use under similar circumstances. The declaration also permits the limitation of a trustee’s liability to the full extent provided under Maryland law. Under current Maryland law, a trustee is liable to the trust or its shareholders for monetary damages only (a) to the extent that it is proved that he or she actually received an improper benefit or profit in money, property, or services or (b) to the extent that a judgment or other final adjudication adverse to the trustee is entered in a proceeding based on a finding in the proceeding that the trustee’s action, or failure to act, was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty and was material to the cause of action adjudicated in the proceeding. The declaration requires the trust to indemnify any persons who are or who have been trustees, officers or employees of the trust for any liability for actions or failure to act except to the extent prohibited by applicable federal law. In making any determination as to whether any person is entitled to the advancement of expenses in connection with a claim for which indemnification is sought, such person is entitled to a rebuttable presumption that he or she did not engage in conduct for which indemnification is not available.

The declaration provides that any trustee who serves as chair of the board or of a committee of the board, lead independent trustee, or audit committee financial expert, or in any other similar capacity will not be subject to any greater standard of care or liability because of such position.

Derivative Actions

The declaration provides a detailed process for the bringing of derivative actions by shareholders in order to permit legitimate inquiries and claims while avoiding the time, expense, distraction, and other harm that can be caused to the fund or its shareholders as a result of spurious shareholder demands and derivative actions. Prior to bringing a derivative action, a demand by three unrelated shareholders must first be made on the fund’s trustees. The declaration details various information, certifications, undertakings and

 

58


acknowledgements that must be included in the demand. Following receipt of the demand, the trustees have a period of 90 days, which may be extended by an additional 60 days, to consider the demand. If a majority of the trustees who are considered independent for the purposes of considering the demand determine that maintaining the suit would not be in the best interests of the funds, the trustees are required to reject the demand and the complaining shareholders may not proceed with the derivative action unless the shareholders are able to sustain the burden of proof to a court that the decision of the trustees not to pursue the requested action was not a good faith exercise of their business judgment on behalf of the funds. The declaration further provides that shareholders owning shares representing at least 5% of the voting power of the affected fund must join in bringing the derivative action. If a demand is rejected, the complaining shareholders will be responsible for the costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by the fund in connection with the consideration of the demand, if in the judgment of the independent trustees, the demand was made without reasonable cause or for an improper purpose. If a derivative action is brought in violation of the declaration, the shareholders bringing the action may be responsible for the fund’s costs, including attorneys’ fees.

The declaration further provides that the funds shall be responsible for payment of attorneys’ fees and legal expenses incurred by a complaining shareholder only if required by law, and any attorneys’ fees that the funds are obligated to pay shall be calculated using reasonable hourly rates. The declaration also requires that actions by shareholders against the funds be brought only in federal court in Baltimore, Maryland, or if not permitted to be brought in federal court, then in state court in Baltimore, Maryland, and that the right to jury trial be waived to the full extent permitted by law.

Legal Matters

Beginning in June 2004, class action lawsuits alleging violations of the federal securities laws were filed against Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”) and a number of its then affiliates, including Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”), which were then investment adviser or manager to certain of the Funds (the “Managers”), substantially all of the mutual funds then managed by the Managers (the “Defendant Funds”), and Board Members of the Defendant Funds (collectively, the “Defendants”). The complaints alleged, among other things, that CGMI created various undisclosed incentives for its brokers to sell Smith Barney and Salomon Brothers funds. In addition, according to the complaints, the Managers caused the Defendant Funds to pay excessive brokerage commissions to CGMI for steering clients towards proprietary funds. The complaints also alleged that the defendants breached their fiduciary duty to the Defendant Funds by improperly charging Rule 12b-1 fees and by drawing on fund assets to make undisclosed payments of soft dollars and excessive brokerage commissions. The complaints also alleged that the Defendant Funds failed to adequately disclose certain of the allegedly wrongful conduct. The complaints sought injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive damages, rescission of the Defendant Funds’ contracts with the Managers, recovery of all fees paid to the Managers pursuant to such contracts and an award of attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses.

On December 15, 2004, a consolidated amended complaint (the “Complaint”) was filed alleging substantially similar causes of action. On May 27, 2005, all of the Defendants filed motions to dismiss the Complaint. On July 26, 2006, the court issued a decision and order (1) finding that plaintiffs lacked standing to sue on behalf of the shareholders of the Defendant Funds in which none of the plaintiffs had invested, including Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund and Legg Mason Partners Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund and dismissing those Defendant Funds from the case (although stating that they could be brought back into the case if standing as to them could be established), and (2) other than one stayed claim, dismissing all of the causes of action against the remaining Defendants, with prejudice, except for the cause of action under Section 36(b) of the 1940 Act, which the court granted plaintiffs leave to replead as a derivative claim.

On October 16, 2006, plaintiffs filed their Second Consolidated Amended Complaint (“Second Amended Complaint”) which alleges derivative claims on behalf of nine funds identified in the Second Amended Complaint, under Section 36(b) of the 1940 Act, against Citigroup Asset Management, Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc, SBFM and CGMI as investment advisers to the identified funds, as well as CGMI as a distributor for the identified funds (collectively, the “Second Amended Complaint Defendants”). The Second Amended Complaint alleges no claims against any of the Funds or any of their Board Members. Under Section 36(b), the Second Amended Complaint alleges similar facts and seeks similar relief against the Second Amended Complaint Defendants as the Complaint.

Additional lawsuits arising out of these circumstances and presenting similar allegations and requests for relief may be filed in the future.

***

 

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On May 31, 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued an order in connection with the settlement of an administrative proceeding against SBFM, the then-investment adviser or manager to the fund and CGMI, relating to the appointment of an affiliated transfer agent for the Smith Barney family of mutual funds, including the fund (the “Affected Funds”).

The SEC order finds that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(1) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder (the “Advisers Act”). Specifically, the order found that SBFM and CGMI knowingly or recklessly failed to disclose to the boards of the Affected Funds in 1999 when proposing a new transfer agent arrangement with an affiliated transfer agent that: First Data Investors Services Group (“First Data”), the Affected Funds’ then-existing transfer agent, had offered to continue as transfer agent and do the same work for substantially less money than before; and that Citigroup Asset Management (“CAM”), the Citigroup business unit that, at the time, included the Affected Funds’ investment manager and other investment advisory companies, had entered into a side letter with First Data under which CAM agreed to recommend the appointment of First Data as sub-transfer agent to the affiliated transfer agent in exchange for, among other things, a guarantee by First Data of specified amounts of asset management and investment banking fees to CAM and CGMI. The order also found that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act by virtue of the omissions discussed above and other misrepresentations and omissions in the materials provided to the Affected Funds’ boards, including the failure to make clear that the affiliated transfer agent would earn a high profit for performing limited functions while First Data continued to perform almost all of the transfer agent functions, and the suggestion that the proposed arrangement was in the Affected Funds’ best interests and that no viable alternatives existed. SBFM and CGMI do not admit or deny any wrongdoing or liability. The settlement does not establish wrongdoing or liability for purposes of any other proceeding.

The SEC censured SBFM and CGMI and ordered them to cease and desist from violations of Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Advisers Act. The order required Citigroup to pay $208.1 million, including $109 million in disgorgement of profits, $19.1 million in interest, and a civil money penalty of $80 million. Approximately $24.4 million has already been paid to the Affected Funds, primarily through fee waivers. The remaining $183.7 million, including the penalty, has been paid to the U.S. Treasury and will be distributed pursuant to a plan submitted for the approval of the SEC. At this time, there is no certainty as to how the above-described proceeds of the settlement will be distributed, to whom such distributions will be made, the methodology by which such distributions will be allocated, and when such distributions will be made. The order also required that transfer agency fees received from the Affected Funds since December 1, 2004, less certain expenses, be placed in escrow and provided that a portion of such fees might be subsequently distributed in accordance with the terms of the order. On April 3, 2006, an aggregate amount of approximately $9 million held in escrow was distributed to the Affected Funds.

The order required SBFM to recommend a new transfer agent contract to the Fund boards within 180 days of the entry of the order; if a Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent or sub-transfer agent, SBFM and CGMI would have been required, at their expense, to engage an independent monitor to oversee a competitive bidding process. On November 21, 2005, and within the specified timeframe, the Affected Funds’ Boards selected a new transfer agent for the Affected Fund. No Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent. Under the order, SBFM also must comply with an amended version of a vendor policy that Citigroup instituted in August 2004.

Although there can be no assurance, SBFM does not believe that this matter will have a material adverse effect on the Affected Funds.

On December 1, 2005, Citigroup completed the sale of substantially all of its global asset management business, including SBFM, to Legg Mason.

***

Beginning in August 2005, five class action lawsuits alleging violations of federal securities laws and state law were filed against CGMI and SBFM (collectively, the “Defendants”) based on the May 31, 2005 settlement order issued against the Defendants by the SEC as described in above. The complaints seek injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive damages, removal of SBFM as the investment manager for the Smith Barney family of funds, rescission of the Funds’ management and other contracts with SBFM, recovery of all fees paid to SBFM pursuant to such contracts, and an award of attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses.

On October 5, 2005, a motion to consolidate the five actions and any subsequently filed, related action was filed. That motion contemplates that a consolidated amended complaint alleging substantially similar causes of action will be filed in the future.

As of the date of this report, the Fund’s investment manager believes that resolution of the pending lawsuit will not have a material effect on the financial position or results of operations of the Fund or the ability of the Fund’s investment manager and its affiliates to continue to render services to the Funds under their respective contracts.

***

 

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On September 16, 2005, the staff of the SEC informed SBFM and ClearBridge Asset Management Inc (formerly Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc) at the staff is considering recommending that the SEC institute administrative proceedings against SBFM and ClearBridge Asset Management Inc for alleged violations of Section 19(a) and 34(b) of the Investment Company Act (and related Rule 19a-1). The notification is a result of an industry wide inspection by the SEC and is based upon alleged deficiencies in disclosures regarding dividends and distributions paid to shareholders of certain funds. Section 19(a) and related Rule 19a-1 of the Investment Company Act generally require funds that are making dividend and distribution payments to provide shareholders with a written statement disclosing the source of the dividends and distributions, and, in particular, the portion of the payments made from each of net investment income, undistributed net profits and/or paid -in capital. In connection with the contemplated proceedings, the staff may seek a cease and desist order and/or monetary damages from SBFM or ClearBridge Asset Management Inc.

Although there can be no assurance, the fund’s manager believes that this matter is not likely to have a material adverse effect on the fund.

***

On or about May 30, 2006, John Halebian, a purported shareholder of Citi New York Tax Free Reserves, a series of CitiFunds Trust III (the “Subject Trust”), filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against the independent trustees of the Subject Trust (Elliott J. Berv, Donald M. Carlton, A. Benton Cocanougher, Mark T. Finn, Stephen Randolph Gross, Diana R. Harrington, Susan B. Kerley, Alan G. Merten and R. Richardson Pettit).

The Subject Trust is also named in the complaint as a nominal defendant.

The complaint alleges both derivative claims on behalf of the Subject Trust and class claims on behalf of a putative class of shareholders of the Subject Trust in connection with the 2005 sale of Citigroup’s asset management business to Legg Mason and the related approval of new investment advisory agreements by the trustees and shareholders. In the derivative claim, the plaintiff alleges, among other things, that the independent trustees breached their fiduciary duty to the Subject Trust and its shareholders by failing to negotiate lower fees or seek competing bids from other qualified investment advisers in connection with Citigroup’s sale to Legg Mason. In the claims brought on behalf of the putative class of shareholders, the plaintiff alleges that the independent trustees violated the proxy solicitation requirements of the 1940 Act, and breached their fiduciary duty to shareholders, by virtue of the voting procedures, including “echo voting,” used to obtain approval of the new investment advisory agreements and statements made in a proxy statement regarding those voting procedures. The plaintiff alleges that the proxy statement was misleading because it failed to disclose that the voting procedures violated the 1940 Act. The relief sought includes an award of damages, rescission of the advisory agreement, and an award of costs and attorney fees.

In advance of filing the complaint, Mr. Halebian’s lawyers made written demand for relief on the Board of the Subject Trust, and the Board’s independent trustees formed a demand review committee to investigate the matters raised in the demand, and subsequently in the complaint, and recommend a course of action to the Board. The committee, after a thorough review, has determined that the independent trustees did not breach their fiduciary duties as alleged by Mr. Halebian, and that the action demanded by Mr. Halebian would not be in the best interests of the Subject Trust. The Board of the Subject Trust (the trustee who is an “interested person” of the Subject Trust, within the meaning of the 1940 Act, having recused himself from the matter), after receiving and considering the committee’s report and based upon the findings of the committee, subsequently also has so determined and, adopting the recommendation of the committee, has directed counsel to move to dismiss Mr. Halebian’s complaint. A response to the complaint is due in October 2006. No assurance can be given as to the outcome of this matter.

***

The foregoing speaks only as of the date of this SAI. Additional lawsuits presenting allegations and requests for relief arising out of or in connection with any of the foregoing matters may be filed against these and related parties in the future.

12. TAX MATTERS

[To be updated by amendment]

The following discussion is a brief summary of some of the important federal (and, where noted, state) income tax consequences affecting each fund and its shareholders. The discussion is very general, and therefore prospective investors are urged to consult their tax advisers about the impact an investment in each fund may have on their own tax situations.

 

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Taxation of the funds

Federal Taxes. Each fund has elected to be treated, and intends to qualify each year, as a “regulated investment company” under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), by meeting all applicable requirements of Subchapter M, including requirements as to the nature of the fund’s gross income, the amount of fund distributions, and the composition of the fund’s portfolio assets. Provided all such requirements are met, no U.S. federal or excise taxes generally will be required to be paid by a fund. If any fund should fail to qualify as a “regulated investment company” for any year, the fund would incur a regular corporate federal income tax upon its taxable income and fund distributions would generally be taxable as ordinary income to shareholders.

Foreign Taxes. Investment income and gains received by a fund from non-U.S. securities may be subject to non-U.S. taxes. The U.S. has entered into tax treaties with many other countries that may entitle a fund to a reduced rate of tax or an exemption from tax on such income. Each fund intends to qualify for treaty reduced rates where applicable. It is not possible, however, to determine a fund’s effective rate of non-U.S. tax in advance since the amount of the fund’s assets to be invested within various countries is not known.

If a fund holds more than 50% of its assets in foreign stock and securities at the close of its taxable year, the fund may elect to “pass through” to the fund’s shareholders foreign income taxes paid. If a fund so elects, shareholders will be required to treat their pro rata portion of the foreign income taxes paid by the fund as part of the amounts distributed to them by the fund and thus includable in their gross income for federal income tax purposes. Shareholders who itemize deductions would then be allowed to claim a deduction or credit (but not both) on their federal income tax returns for such amounts, subject to certain limitations. Shareholders who do not itemize deductions would (subject to such limitations) be able to claim a credit but not a deduction. No deduction for such amounts will be permitted to individuals in computing their alternative minimum tax liability. If a fund does not qualify or elect to “pass through” to its shareholders foreign income taxes paid by it, shareholders will not be able to claim any deduction or credit for any part of the foreign taxes paid by the fund.

Capital Loss Carryforwards. On October 31, 2005, the unused capital loss carryforwards for Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund were approximately $60,599,619. For federal income tax purposes, this amount is available to be applied against future capital gains of the fund, if any, that are realized prior to the expiration of the applicable carryforwards. The carryforwards expire as follows:

 

October 31,
2009   2010   2011   2012   2013
$15,233,879   $ 26,819,033   $ 6,330,611   $ 5,053,321   $ 7,162,775

On October 31, 2005, Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund did not have, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, capital loss carryforwards.

Taxation of Shareholders

 

Taxation of Distributions. Shareholders of a fund will generally have to pay federal income taxes and any state or local taxes on the dividends and capital gain distributions they receive from the fund. Dividends from ordinary income, and any distributions from net short term capital gain are taxable to shareholders as ordinary income for federal income tax purposes, whether the distributions are made in cash or additional shares. To the extent that ordinary dividends are derived from qualified dividend income of the distributing fund, eligible for reduced tax rates for non-corporate shareholders, such dividends will be treated as qualified dividend income provided that they are so designated by that fund and that the recipient shareholder satisfies certain holding period requirements. If more than 95% of a fund’s gross income, calculated without taking into account long-term capital gains, consists of qualified dividend income, that fund may designate all distributions of such income as qualified dividend income. Qualified

 

62


dividend income generally is income derived from dividends from U.S. corporations or from corporations that are either incorporated in a U.S. possession or eligible for benefits under qualifying U.S. tax treaties. Distributions from a foreign corporation that is not a “qualified foreign corporation” may nevertheless be treated as “qualified dividend income” if the applicable stock is readily tradable on an established U.S. securities market. “Passive foreign investment companies” (“PFICs”) will not be treated as “qualified foreign corporations” for these purposes. Distributions of net capital gains ( i.e. , the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses), whether made in cash or in additional shares, are taxable to shareholders as long-term capital gains without regard to the length of time the shareholders have held their shares. Any fund dividend that is declared in October, November, or December of any calendar year, that is payable to shareholders of record in such a month, and that is paid the following January, will be treated as if received by the shareholders on December 31 of the year in which the dividend is declared.

Any fund distribution will have the effect of reducing the per share net asset value of shares in the fund by the amount of the distribution. Shareholders purchasing shares shortly before the record date of any distribution may thus pay the full price for the shares and then effectively receive a portion of the purchase price back as a taxable distribution.

Dividends-Received Deduction. The portion of each fund’s ordinary income dividends attributable to dividends received in respect to equity securities of U.S. issuers is normally eligible for the dividends received deduction for corporations subject to U.S. federal income taxes. Availability of the deduction for particular shareholders is subject to certain limitations, and deducted amounts may be subject to the alternative minimum tax and result in certain basis adjustments.

Withholding Tax Payments for Non-U.S. Persons. Each fund will withhold tax payments at the rate of 30% (or any lower rate permitted under an applicable treaty) on taxable dividends, redemption proceeds and certain other payments that are made to persons who are neither citizens nor residents of the U.S. Distributions received from a fund by non-U.S. persons also may be subject to tax under the laws of their own jurisdiction.

For taxable years of each fund beginning during 2005, 2006 and 2007, this 30% withholding tax will not apply to dividends that a fund designates as (a) interest-related dividends, to the extent such dividends are derived from each fund’s “qualified net interest income,” or (b) short-term capital gain dividends, to the extent such dividends are derived from each fund’s “qualified short-term gain.” “Qualified net interest income” generally is interest on bank deposits, interest or original issue discount on an obligation in registered form, or original issue discount on certain short-term obligations whether or not in registered form. The term does not include interest that is disqualified as “contingent interest” under the portfolio interest rules. “Qualified short-term gain” generally means the excess of each of the fund’s net short-term capital gain of each of the funds for the taxable year over its net long-term capital loss.

Backup Withholding. The account application asks each new shareholder to certify that the shareholder’s Social Security or taxpayer identification number is correct and that the shareholder is not subject to backup withholding for failing to report income to the IRS. Each fund may be required to withhold (and pay over to the IRS for the shareholder’s credit) a percentage of certain distributions and redemption proceeds paid to shareholders who fail to provide this information or who otherwise violate IRS regulations. Backup withholding will not, however, be applied to payments that have been subject to the 30% withholding tax on shareholders who are neither citizens nor residents of the U.S.

Disposition of Shares. In general, any gain or loss realized upon a taxable disposition of shares of a fund by a shareholder that holds such shares as a capital asset will be treated as a long-term capital gain or loss if the shares have been held for more than twelve months and otherwise as a short-term capital gain or loss. However, any loss realized upon a disposition of shares in a fund held for six months or less will be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any distributions of net capital gain made with respect to those shares. Any loss realized upon a disposition of shares may also be disallowed under rules relating to wash sales. Gain may be increased (or loss reduced) upon a redemption of Class A fund shares held for 90 days or fewer followed by any purchase of shares of a fund or another of the Smith Barney mutual funds, including purchases by exchange or by reinvestment, without payment of a sales charge that would otherwise apply because of any sales charge paid on the original purchase of the Class A fund shares.

Effects of Certain Investments and Transactions

Options, etc. Each fund’s transactions in options, futures contracts and forward contracts will be subject to special tax rules that may affect the amount, timing and character of fund income and distributions to shareholders. For example, certain positions held by each fund on the last business day of each taxable year will be marked to market ( i.e. , treated as if closed out) on that day, and any gain or loss associated with the positions will be treated as 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital gain or loss. Certain positions held by a fund that substantially diminish its risk of loss with respect to other positions in its portfolio may constitute “straddles,” and may be subject to special tax rules that would cause deferral of fund losses, adjustments in the holding periods of fund securities, and conversion of short-term into long-term capital losses. Certain tax elections exist for straddles that may alter the effects of these rules. Each fund will limit its activities in options, futures contracts and forward contracts to the extent necessary to meet the requirements of Subchapter M of the Code.

 

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Foreign Investments. The funds may make non-U.S. investments. Special tax considerations apply with respect to such investments. Foreign exchange gains and losses realized by a fund will generally be treated as ordinary income and loss. Use of non-U.S. currencies for non-hedging purposes and investment by a fund in certain PFICs may have to be limited in order to avoid a tax on a fund. A fund may elect to mark to market any investments in PFICs on the last day of each taxable year. This election may cause the fund to recognize ordinary income prior to the receipt of cash payments with respect to those investments; in order to distribute this income and avoid a tax on the fund, the fund may be required to liquidate portfolio securities that it might otherwise have continued to hold potentially resulting in additional taxable gain or loss to the fund.

13. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The audited financial statements of the funds’ predecessors (Statement of Assets and Liabilities as of October 31, 2006, Statement of Operations for the year ended October 31, 2006, Statements of Changes in Net Assets for each of the years in the two-year period ended October 31, 2006, Financial Highlights for each of the years in the five-year period ended October 31, 2006, and Notes to Financial Statements along with the Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, each of which is included in the Annual Report to Shareholders of the Fund), are incorporated by reference into this Statement of Additional Information (Filed on [            ]; Accession Number[                    ]).

 

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Appendix A

PROXY VOTING GUIDELINES & PROCEDURES SUMMARY

Concerning ClearBridge Advisors 1 (Clearbridge)

Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

The following is a brief overview of the Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures (the “Policies”) that ClearBridge has adopted to seek to ensure that ClearBridge votes proxies relating to equity securities in the best interest of clients.

ClearBridge votes proxies for each client account with respect to which it has been authorized to vote proxies. In voting proxies, ClearBridge is guided by general fiduciary principles and seeks to act prudently and solely in the best interest of clients. ClearBridge attempts to consider all factors that could affect the value of the investment and will vote proxies in the manner that it believes will be consistent with efforts to maximize shareholder values. ClearBridge may utilize an external service provider to provide it with information and/or a recommendation with regard to proxy votes. However, the ClearBridge adviser (business unit) continues to retain responsibility for the proxy vote.

In the case of a proxy issue for which there is a stated position in the Policies, ClearBridge generally votes in accordance with such stated position. In the case of a proxy issue for which there is a list of factors set forth in the Policies that ClearBridge considers in voting on such issue, ClearBridge votes on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the general principles set forth above and considering such enumerated factors. In the case of a proxy issue for which there is no stated position or list of factors that ClearBridge considers in voting on such issue, ClearBridge votes on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the general principles set forth above. Issues for which there is a stated position set forth in the Policies or for which there is a list of factors set forth in the Policies that ClearBridge considers in voting on such issues fall into a variety of categories, including election of directors, ratification of auditors, proxy and tender offer defenses, capital structure issues, executive and director compensation, mergers and corporate restructurings, and social and environmental issues. The stated position on an issue set forth in the Policies can always be superseded, subject to the duty to act solely in the best interest of the beneficial owners of accounts, by the investment management professionals responsible for the account whose shares are being voted. Issues applicable to a particular industry may cause ClearBridge to abandon a policy that would have otherwise applied to issuers generally. As a result of the independent investment advisory services provided by distinct ClearBridge business units, there may be occasions when different business units or different portfolio managers within the same business unit vote differently on the same issue. A ClearBridge business unit or investment team (e.g. ClearBridge’s Social Awareness Investment team) may adopt proxy voting policies that supplement these policies and procedures. In addition, in the case of Taft-Hartley clients, ClearBridge will comply with a client direction to vote proxies in accordance with Institutional Shareholder Services’ (ISS) PVS Voting Guidelines, which ISS represents to be fully consistent with AFL-CIO guidelines.

In furtherance of ClearBridge’s goal to vote proxies in the best interest of clients, ClearBridge follows procedures designed to identify and address material conflicts that may arise between ClearBridge’s interests and those of its clients before voting proxies on behalf of such clients. To seek to identify conflicts of interest, ClearBridge periodically notifies ClearBridge employees in writing that they are under an obligation (i) to be aware of the potential for conflicts of interest on the part of ClearBridge with respect to voting proxies on behalf of client accounts both as a result of their personal relationships and due to special circumstances that may arise during the conduct of ClearBridge’s business, and (ii) to bring conflicts of interest of which they become aware to the attention of ClearBridge’s compliance personnel. ClearBridge also maintains and considers a list of significant ClearBridge relationships that could present a conflict of interest for ClearBridge in voting proxies. ClearBridge is also sensitive to the fact that a significant, publicized relationship between an issuer and a non-ClearBridge Legg Mason affiliate might appear to the public to influence the manner in which ClearBridge decides to vote a proxy with respect to such issuer. Absent special circumstances or a significant, publicized non-ClearBridge Legg Mason affiliate relationship that ClearBridge for prudential reasons treats as a potential conflict of interest because such relationship might appear to the public to influence the manner in which ClearBridge decides to vote a proxy, ClearBridge generally takes the position that relationships between a non-ClearBridge Legg Mason affiliate and an issuer (e.g. investment management relationship between an issuer and

 


1 ClearBridge Advisors comprises CAM North America, LLC, Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC, and other affiliated investment advisory firms. On December 1, 2005, Citigroup Inc. (“Citigroup”) sold substantially all of its worldwide asset management business, Citigroup Asset Management, to Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”). As part of this transaction, CAM North America, LLC, Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc and Smith Barney Fund Management LLC became wholly-owned subsidiaries of Legg Mason. Under a licensing agreement between Citigroup and Legg Mason, the names of CAM North America, LLC, Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC and their affiliated advisory entities, as well as all logos, trademarks, and service marks related to Citigroup or any of its affiliates (“Citi Marks”) are licensed for use by Legg Mason. Citi Marks include, but are not limited to, “Citigroup Asset Management,” “Salomon Brothers Asset Management” and “CAM”. All Citi Marks are owned by Citigroup, and are licensed for use until no later than one year after the date of the licensing agreement. Legg Mason and its subsidiaries, including CAM North America, LLC, Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc, and Smith Barney Fund Management LLC are not affiliated with Citigroup

 

67


a non-ClearBridge Legg Mason affiliate) do not present a conflict of interest for ClearBridge in voting proxies with respect to such issuer. Such position is based on the fact that ClearBridge is operated as an independent business unit from other Legg Mason business units as well as on the existence of information barriers between ClearBridge and certain other Legg Mason business units.

ClearBridge maintains a Proxy Voting Committee to review and address conflicts of interest brought to its attention by ClearBridge compliance personnel. A proxy issue that will be voted in accordance with a stated ClearBridge position on such issue or in accordance with the recommendation of an independent third party is not brought to the attention of the Proxy Voting Committee for a conflict of interest review because ClearBridge’s position is that to the extent a conflict of interest issue exists, it is resolved by voting in accordance with a pre-determined policy or in accordance with the recommendation of an independent third party. With respect to a conflict of interest brought to its attention, the Proxy Voting Committee first determines whether such conflict of interest is material. A conflict of interest is considered material to the extent that it is determined that such conflict is likely to influence, or appear to influence, ClearBridge’s decision-making in voting proxies. If it is determined by the Proxy Voting Committee that a conflict of interest is not material, ClearBridge may vote proxies notwithstanding the existence of the conflict.

If it is determined by the Proxy Voting Committee that a conflict of interest is material, the Proxy Voting Committee is responsible for determining an appropriate method to resolve such conflict of interest before the proxy affected by the conflict of interest is voted. Such determination is based on the particular facts and circumstances, including the importance of the proxy issue and the nature of the conflict of interest.

 

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LEGG MASON PARTNERS DIVERSIFIED LARGE CAP GROWTH FUND

LEGG MASON PARTNERS SMALL CAP GROWTH OPPORTUNITIES FUND

INVESTMENT MANAGER

Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC

399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022

DISTRIBUTORS

Legg Mason Investment Services

100 Light Street, Baltimore, MD 21202

Citigroup Global Markets Inc.

388 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10013

TRANSFER AGENT

PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9699, Providence, RI 02940-9699

CUSTODIAN

State Street Bank and Trust Company

225 Franklin Street, Boston, MA 02110

INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

[                        ]

LEGAL COUNSEL

Bingham McCutchen LLP

150 Federal Street, Boston, MA 02110

 

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Legg Mason Partners Dividend Strategy Fund

Supplement dated April     , 2007

to Prospectus dated February     , 2007

The attached prospectus is now dated April     , 2007.

As part of a number of initiatives launched in 2006 to restructure and streamline the Legg Mason Partners fund complex, the fund assumed the assets and liabilities of a predecessor fund with the same name. The fund is now grouped for organizational and governance purposes with other Legg Mason Partners funds that are predominantly equity-type funds. The prospectus is supplemented as shown below to reflect this change. Any information in the prospectus relating to the fund prior to the date of this Prospectus refers to the fund’s predecessor.

Performance Information

The summary performance information in the prospectus is that of the fund’s predecessor.

Management—Other Information

The paragraph beneath the heading “Other Information” in the “Management” section of the prospectus is deleted.

Financial Highlights

The financial information shown in the “Financial Highlights” section of the prospectus is that of the fund’s predecessor.


PROSPECTUS

February     , 2007

The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or determined whether this prospectus is accurate or complete. Any statement to the contrary is a crime.

LOGO

Legg Mason Partners

Dividend Strategy Fund

Class A, B, C, I and 1 Shares

 

 

 

INVESTMENT PRODUCTS: NOT FDIC INSURED Ÿ NO BANK GUARANTEE Ÿ MAY LOSE VALUE

 


Legg Mason Partners Dividend Strategy Fund

Contents

 

Investments, risks and performance

  2

More on the fund’s investments

  7

Management

  9

Choosing a class of shares to buy

  13

Comparing the fund’s classes

  15

Sales charge

  16

More about contingent deferred sales charges

  21

Retirement and institutional investors

  22

Buying shares

  24

Exchanging shares

  25

Redeeming shares

  27

Other things to know about transactions

  29

Dividends, distributions and taxes

  32

Share price

  34

Financial highlights

  36

 

Prior to April 7, 2006, the fund was known as Smith Barney Dividend Strategy Fund.


 

Investments, risks and performance

Investment objective

The fund seeks capital appreciation, principally through investments in dividend-paying stocks.

Principal investment strategies

Key investments

Under normal market conditions, at least 80% of the fund’s assets will be invested in dividend-paying stocks.

The fund may, under normal circumstances, invest up to 20% of its assets in other types of equity securities, such as preferred stocks, warrants and securities convertible into common stocks, and in other securities of issuers. The fund may also make investments in companies that are not expected to pay dividends. The fund may invest up to 25% of its assets in foreign securities directly or in the form of depositary receipts representing an interest in those securities.

Selection process

The portfolio managers’ investment strategy consists of individual company selection. The portfolio managers typically look for investments among equity securities of small to large cap issuers, consisting primarily of dividend-paying, mid cap and large cap companies that are dominant in their industries. The fund may also invest in companies with prospects for sustained earnings growth and/or a cyclical earnings record.

In selecting individual companies for investment, the portfolio managers look for the following:

n   Current yield or potential for dividend growth
n   Strong or rapidly improving balance sheets
n   Recognized industry leadership
n   Effective management teams that exhibit a desire to earn consistent returns for shareholders

The portfolio managers may also consider the following characteristics:

n   Consistency and growth of dividends
n   Past growth records
n   Future earnings prospects
n   Technological innovation
n   General market and economic factors

Generally, companies in the fund’s portfolio fall into one or more of the following categories:

Undervalued companies: companies with assets or earning power that are either unrecognized or undervalued. The portfolio managers generally look for low market valuations, as measured by the portfolio managers’ valuation models. The portfolio managers also look for companies that are expected to have positive changes in earnings prospects because of factors such as:

n   New, improved or unique products and services
n   New or rapidly expanding markets for a company’s products
n   New management
n   Changes in the economic, financial, regulatory or political environment particularly affecting a company

 

2         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

n   Effective research, product development and marketing
n   A business strategy not yet recognized by the marketplace

Growth at a reasonable price: companies with superior demonstrated and expected growth characteristics whose stocks are available at a reasonable price. Typically, there is strong recurring demand for these companies’ products.

Principal risks of investing in the fund

Investors could lose money on their investment in the fund, or the fund may not perform as well as other investments, if:

n   Stock prices decline generally, or stocks perform poorly relative to other types of investments
n   Companies in which the fund invests, or dividend-paying stocks in general, fall out of favor with investors
n   The portfolio manager’s judgment about the attractiveness, value or potential appreciation of particular investments proves to be incorrect
n   Portfolio companies do not meet earnings expectations or other events depress the value of those companies’ stocks

The fund may engage in active and frequent trading, resulting in high portfolio turnover. This may lead to the realization and distribution to shareholders of higher capital gains, increasing their tax liability. Frequent trading also increases transaction costs, which could detract from the fund’s performance.

The fund’s investments in securities of foreign issuers involve greater risk than investments in securities of U.S. issuers. Many foreign countries in which the fund invests have markets that are less liquid and more volatile than markets in the U.S. In some foreign countries, less information is available about foreign issuers and markets because of less rigorous accounting and regulatory standards than in the U.S. Currency fluctuations could erase investment gains or add to investment losses. In addition, there is a possibility of governmental controls on currency exchanges or governmental intervention in currency markets. Controls or intervention could limit or prevent the fund from realizing value in U.S. dollars from its investment in foreign securities. The risks of investing in foreign securities are greater for securities of emerging market issuers because political or economic instability, lack of market liquidity, and negative government actions like currency controls or seizure of private businesses or property are more likely.

Who may want to invest

The fund may be an appropriate investment if you:

n   Are seeking to participate in the long term growth potential of the stock market while obtaining some current income and
n   Are willing to accept the risks of investing in common stocks

Performance information

The following shows summary performance information for the fund in a bar chart and an Average Annual Total Returns table. The information provides an indication of the risks of investing in the fund by showing changes in its performance from year to year and by showing how the fund’s average annual returns compare with the returns of a broad-based securities market index. The bar chart and the information below show performance of the

 

Legg Mason Partners Dividend Strategy Fund         3


 

fund’s Class 1 shares, but do not reflect the impact of sales charges (loads). If they did, the returns would be lower than those shown. Unlike the bar chart, the performance for Class 1, A, B, C and I* shares in the Average Annual Total Returns table reflects the impact of the maximum sales charge (load) applicable to the respective classes. Effective as of November 1, 2004, the fund adopted its current investment policy of normally investing at least 80% of its assets in dividend-paying stocks. The fund’s previous policy was normally to invest at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of U.S. large cap issuers and related investments. The performance information and financial highlights included in this prospectus for periods prior to November 1, 2004 reflect the fund’s previous investment policy. The fund’s past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future.

 

*   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

Total Returns for Class 1 Shares

LOGO

Highest and Lowest Quarter Returns (for periods shown in the bar chart)

Highest:         % in              quarter             ; Lowest: (        )% in              quarter             .

 

4         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Average Annual Total Returns (for periods ended 12/31/06)

 

       1 Year    5 Years    10 Years    Since
Inception (7)
   Inception
Date
 

Class 1

              
   
Return before taxes        %        %        %       04/14/87  
   
Return after taxes on distributions (1)        %        %        %       04/14/87  
   
Return after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares (1)        %        %        %       04/14/87  
   

Class A

              
   
Return before taxes (2)        %        %        %       08/18/96  
   

Class B

              
   
Return before taxes        %        %        %       08/18/96  
   

Class C

              
   
Return before taxes ( 3 )        %        %        %       09/19/00  
   

Class I (4)

              
   
Return before taxes        %    n/a    n/a    n/a      (4 )
   
S&P 500 Index ( 5 )        %        %        %    n/a      ( 6 )
   

 

(1)   After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of fund shares at the end of the measurement period. After-tax returns are shown for Class 1 shares only. After-tax returns for other share classes will vary.

 

(2)   On November 20, 2006, the maximum initial sales charge on Class A shares was increased for sales made on or after that date. The average annual returns for Class A shares in the table have been calculated as if the increased maximum initial sales charge had been in effect for the entire period.

 

( 3 )   Effective as of April 29, 2004, Class L shares were renamed Class C shares. On February 2, 2004, the initial sales charge of 1.00% on Class C shares was eliminated for sales made on or after that date. The average annual returns for Class C shares in the table have been calculated as if the sales charge had been eliminated during the entire period.

 

( 4)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares. No Class I shares were outstanding for the calendar year ended 12/31/06.

 

(5 )   The S&P 500 Index is a market-value weighted index comprised of 500 widely held common stocks. It is not possible to invest directly in the index. An index does not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes.

 

(6)   The total return of the S&P 500 Index since the inception of each of the Class A, B and C shares is             %,             % and             %, respectively.

 

(7)   Information is provided only for classes with less than 10 years performance history.

Fee table

This table sets forth the fees and expenses you may pay if you invest in fund shares.

 

Shareholder Fees

 

(paid directly from your investment)   Class A     Class B     Class C     Class I (1)   Class 1  
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a % of offering price)   5.75 %   None     None     None   8.50 %
   
Maximum contingent deferred sales charge (load) (as a % of the lower of net asset value at purchase or redemption)   None (2)   5.00 %   1.00 % (3)   None   None  
   

 

Legg Mason Partners Dividend Strategy Fund         5


 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

 

(paid by the fund as a % of net assets)   Class A     Class B     Class C     Class I (1)     Class 1  
Management fee (4)   0.65 %   0.65 %   0.65 %   0.65 %   0.65 %
   
Distribution and service (12b-1) fees   0.25 %   1.00 %   1.00 %   None     None  
   
Other expenses (5)     %       %       %       %       %  
   
Total annual fund operating expenses*     %       %       %       %       %  
   

*   Because of voluntary waivers and/or reimbursements, actual total operating expenses are expected to be:

    %       %     n/a     n/a     n/a  

 

     These voluntary fee waivers and reimbursements do not cover brokerage, taxes and extraordinary expenses and may be reduced or terminated at any time.

 

(1)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

(2)   You may buy Class A shares in amounts of $1,000,000 or more at net asset value (without an initial sales charge) but if you redeem those shares within 12 months of their purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

 

(3)   As of November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge is waived for retirement plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund.

 

(4)   The fund has a management fee schedule that reduces the fee payable on assets in excess of $1 billion as follows: 0.65% on assets of up to $1 billion, 0.60% on assets between $1 billion and $2 billion, 0.55% on assets between $2 billion and $3 billion, 0.50% on assets between $3 billion and $4 billion, and 0.45% on assets in excess of $4 billion.

 

(5)   The amounts set forth in “Other Expenses” for Class A, B, C and 1 shares have been restated to reflect the estimated effect of new transfer agency and custody contracts which became effective January 1, 2006. For Class I shares, “Other expenses” have been estimated because no Class I shares were outstanding during the fund’s last fiscal year.

Example

This example helps you compare the costs of investing in the fund with the costs of investing in other mutual funds. Your actual costs may be higher or lower. The example assumes:

n   You invest $10,000 in the fund for the period shown
n   Your investment has a 5% return each year — the assumption of a 5% return is required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for purposes of this example and is not a prediction of the fund’s future performance
n   You reinvest all distributions and dividends without a sales charge
n   The fund’s operating expenses (before fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, if any) remain the same

 

Number of Years You Own Your Shares

 

      1 year   3 years   5 years   10 years  

Class A (with or without redemption)

  $          $          $          $         
   

Class B (redemption at end of period)

  $     $     $     $ (1 )
   

Class B (no redemption)

  $     $     $     $ (1 )
   

Class C (redemption at end of period)

  $     $     $     $    
   

Class C (no redemption)

  $     $     $     $    
   

Class I (2) (with or without redemption)

  $     $     $     $    
   

Class 1 (with or without redemption)

  $     $     $     $    
   

 

(1)   Assumes conversion to Class A shares approximately eight years after purchase.

 

(2)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

6         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

More on the fund’s investments

The fund’s investment objectives and principal investment strategies are described under the section entitled “Investments, risks and performance” above. This section provides further information about the investment strategies that may be used by the fund.

Equity securities

Equity securities include exchange traded and over-the-counter common and preferred stocks, debt securities convertible into equity securities, baskets of equity securities such as exchange traded funds, and warrants and rights relating to equity securities. Equity securities may also include investments in real estate investment trusts (REITs), which are pooled investment vehicles that invest in real estate or real estate loans or interests.

Derivatives and hedging techniques

The fund may, but need not, use derivative contracts, such as futures and options on securities, securities indices or currencies; options on these futures; forward currency contracts; and interest rate or currency swaps for any of the following purposes:

n   To hedge against the economic impact of adverse changes in the market value of its securities, because of changes in stock market prices, currency exchange rates or interest rates
n   As a substitute for buying or selling securities
n   As a cash flow management technique
n   To enhance return

A derivative contract will obligate or entitle the fund to deliver or receive an asset or cash payment based on the change in value of one or more securities, currencies or indices. Even a small investment in derivative contracts can have a big impact on the fund’s stock market, currency and interest rate exposure. Therefore, using derivatives can disproportionately increase losses and reduce opportunities for gains when stock prices, currency rates or interest rates are changing. The fund may not fully benefit from or may lose money on derivatives if changes in their value do not correspond accurately or as anticipated to changes in the value of the fund’s holdings.

The other parties to certain derivative contracts present the same types of credit risk as issuers of fixed income securities. Derivatives can also make the fund less liquid and harder to value, especially in declining markets.

Short sales

The fund may engage in short sales. Losses from short sales may be unlimited.

Portfolio turnover

The fund may engage in active and frequent trading to achieve its principal investment strategies. This may lead to the realization and distribution to shareholders of higher capital gains, which would increase their tax liability. Frequent trading also increases transaction costs, which could detract from the fund’s performance. The “Financial highlights” section of this prospectus shows the fund’s historical portfolio turnover rate.

Defensive investing

The fund may depart from its principal investment strategies in response to adverse market, economic or political conditions by taking temporary defensive positions in any type

 

Legg Mason Partners Dividend Strategy Fund         7


 

of money market instruments and short-term debt securities or cash without regard to any percentage limitations. If the fund takes a temporary defensive position, it may be unable to achieve its investment objective.

Portfolio holdings

The fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the fund’s portfolio securities are described in the SAI.

Special restrictions

The fund will not purchase any securities issued by a company primarily engaged in the manufacture of alcohol or tobacco.

Except for this special restriction, the fund’s goals and strategies may be changed without shareholder approval. However, the fund has called a meeting of its shareholders to consider several proposals, including the adoption of revised fundamental investment policies or restrictions. If approved by the fund’s shareholders, its revised policies will revise this special restriction as a nonfundamental investment restriction that may be changed by the Company’s Board of Trustees at any time.

The fund may also use other strategies and invest in other securities that are described, along with their risks, in the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”). However, the fund might not use all of the strategies and techniques or invest in all of the types of securities described in this prospectus or in the SAI. Also note that there are many other factors, which are not described here, that could adversely affect your investment and that could prevent the fund from achieving its goals.

 

8         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Management

Manager and subadviser

Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC (“LMPFA” or the “manager”) is the fund’s investment manager. LMPFA, with offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022, is a recently organized investment adviser that has been formed to serve as the investment manager of the fund and other Legg Mason-sponsored funds. LMPFA provides administrative and certain oversight services to the fund. ClearBridge Advisors, LLC (“ClearBridge” or the “subadviser”) provides the day-to-day portfolio management of the fund, except for the management of cash and short-term instruments, which is performed by LMPFA.

ClearBridge has offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022 and is a recently-organized investment adviser that has been formed to succeed to the equity securities portfolio management business of Citigroup Asset Management, which was acquired by Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”) in December 2005.

LMPFA and ClearBridge are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”). Legg Mason, whose principal executive offices are at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, is a global asset management company. As of December 31, 2006, Legg Mason’s asset management operation had aggregate assets under management of approximately $         billion.

Prior to August 1, 2006, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”) was the fund’s investment manager. SBFM is also a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason.

Portfolio Managers

Since November 1, 2004, Scott Glasser and Peter Hable have been responsible for the day-to-day management of the fund’s portfolio. Mr. Glasser and Mr. Hable have been investment officers of ClearBridge and managing directors of ClearBridge for the past five years. Mr. Glasser is co-director of research for ClearBridge.

The SAI provides additional information about the portfolio managers’ compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers and the portfolio managers’ ownership of securities of the fund, and has more detailed information about the manager, the subadviser and other fund service providers.

Management fee

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, the fund paid a management fee of     % of the fund’s average daily net assets. For the period from November 1, 2005 through July 31, 2006, the fund paid SBFM a management fee equal to         % of the fund’s average daily net assets. For the period from August 1, 2006 through October 31, 2006, the fund paid LMPFA a management fee equal to     % of the fund’s average daily net assets.

Effective                 , 200  , the manager receives fees for its services at the following rates based on assets under management: 0.65% on assets up to $1 billion, 0.60% on assets between $1 billion and $2 billion, 0.55% on assets between $2 billion and $3 billion, 0.50% on assets between $3 billion and $4 billion, and 0.45% on assets over $4 billion.

 

Legg Mason Partners Dividend Strategy Fund         9


 

A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of the fund’s management agreement and subadvisory agreement is available in the fund’s Annual Report for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006.

Other Information

The fund’s Board has approved a number of initiatives designed to streamline and restructure the fund complex, and has authorized seeking shareholder approval for those initiatives where shareholder approval is required. These initiatives include the election of a new Board, the grouping of the fund for organizational and governance purposes with other funds in the fund complex that are predominantly equity-type funds, and the adoption of a single form of organization as a Maryland business trust, with all funds operating under uniform charter documents. Fund shareholders entitled to vote also have been asked to approve investment matters, including standardized fundamental investment policies. Proxy materials describing these matters were mailed in October, 2006. If shareholder approval is obtained, these matters generally are expected to be effectuated during the first half of 2007.

Distribution plan

Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC (“LMIS”), a wholly-owned broker-dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”) and PFS Investments Inc. (“PFS”) serve as the fund’s distributors.

The fund has adopted a shareholder services and distribution plan for each of its Class A, B and C shares. Under the plan, the fund pays distribution and/or service fees. These fees are an ongoing expense and, over time, will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than other types of sales charges.

In addition, a distributor may make payments for distribution and/or shareholder servicing activities out of its past profits and other available sources. The distributor may also make payments to dealers for marketing, promotional or related expenses. The amount of these payments is determined by the distributor and may be substantial. The manager or an affiliate may make similar payments under similar arrangements.

The payments described in the paragraph above are often referred to as “revenue sharing payments.” The recipients of such payments may include the fund’s distributors, affiliates of the manager, broker-dealers, financial institutions and other financial intermediaries through which investors may purchase shares of the fund. In some circumstances, such payments may create an incentive for an intermediary or its employees or associated persons to recommend or sell shares of the fund to you. Please contact your financial intermediary for details about revenue sharing payments it may receive.

Recent developments

On May 31, 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued an order in connection with the settlement of an administrative proceeding against SBFM, the then-investment adviser or manager to certain of the funds, and CGMI, relating to the appointment of an affiliated transfer agent for the Smith Barney family of mutual funds (the “Affected Funds”).

 

10         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

The SEC order finds that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(1) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder (the “Advisers Act”). Specifically, the order finds that SBFM and CGMI knowingly or recklessly failed to disclose to the boards of the Affected Funds in 1999 when proposing a new transfer agent arrangement with an affiliated transfer agent that: First Data Investors Services Group (“First Data”), the Affected Funds’ then-existing transfer agent, had offered to continue as transfer agent and do the same work for substantially less money than before; and that Citigroup Asset Management (“CAM”), the Citigroup business unit that, at the time, included the Affected Funds’ investment manager and other investment advisory companies, had entered into a side letter with First Data under which CAM agreed to recommend the appointment of First Data as sub-transfer agent to the affiliated transfer agent in exchange, among other things, for a guarantee by First Data of specified amounts of asset management and investment banking fees to CAM and CGMI. The order also finds that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act by virtue of the omissions discussed above and other misrepresentations and omissions in the materials provided to the Affected Funds’ boards, including the failure to make clear that the affiliated transfer agent would earn a high profit for performing limited functions while First Data continued to perform almost all of the transfer agent functions, and the suggestion that the proposed arrangement was in the Affected Funds’ best interests and that no viable alternatives existed.

SBFM and CGMI do not admit or deny any wrongdoing or liability. The settlement does not establish wrongdoing or liability for purposes of any other proceeding. The SEC censured SBFM and CGMI and ordered them to cease and desist from violations of Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Advisers Act. The order required Citigroup to pay $208.1 million, including $109 million in disgorgement of profits, $19.1 million in interest, and a civil money penalty of $80 million. Approximately $24.4 million has already been paid to the Affected Funds, primarily through fee waivers. The remaining $183.7 million, including the penalty, has been paid to the U.S. Treasury and will be distributed pursuant to a plan submitted for the approval of the SEC. At this time, there is no certainty as to how the above-described proceeds of the settlement will be distributed, to whom such distributions will be made, the methodology by which such distributions will be allocated, and when such distributions will be made. The order also required that transfer agency fees received from the Affected Funds since December 1, 2004, less certain expenses, be placed in escrow and provided that a portion of such fees might be subsequently distributed in accordance with the terms of the order. On April 3, 2006, an aggregate amount of approximately $9 million held in escrow was distributed to the Affected Funds.

The order required SBFM to recommend a new transfer agent contract to the Fund boards within 180 days of the entry of the order; if a Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent or sub-transfer agent, SBFM and CGMI would have been required, at their expense, to engage an independent monitor to oversee a competitive bidding process. On November 21, 2005, and within the specified timeframe, the Affected Funds’ Boards selected a new transfer agent for the Affected Funds. No Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent. Under the order, SBFM also must comply with an amended version of a vendor policy that Citigroup instituted in August 2004.

 

Legg Mason Partners Dividend Strategy Fund         11


 

Although there can be no assurance, the manager does not believe that this matter will have a material adverse effect on the Affected Funds.

On December 1, 2005, Citigroup completed the sale of substantially all of its global asset management business, including SBFM, to Legg Mason.

 

12         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Choosing a class of shares to buy

Individual investors can generally choose among three classes of shares: Classes A, B and C shares. Individual investors that held Class I (formerly Class Y) shares prior to November 20, 2006, may continue to invest in Class I shares. In addition, existing Class 1 shareholders can buy additional Class 1 shares. Institutional and retirement plan investors and clients of financial intermediaries should refer to “Retirement and institutional investors” below for a description of the classes available to them.

Each class has different sales charges and expenses, allowing you to choose the class that best meets your needs. When choosing which class of shares to buy, you should consider:

n   How much you plan to invest
n   How long you expect to own the shares
n   The expenses paid by each class detailed in the Fee table and Example at the front of this Prospectus
n   Whether you qualify for any reduction or waiver of sales charges

If you are choosing between Class A and Class B shares, it will in almost all cases be the more economical choice for you to purchase Class A shares if you plan to purchase shares in an amount of $100,000 or more (whether in a single purchase or through aggregation of eligible holdings). This is because of the reduced sales charge available on larger investments of Class A shares and the lower ongoing expenses of Class A shares compared to Class B shares.

If you intend to invest for only a few years, the effect of Class B contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions made within five years of purchase, as well as the effect of higher expenses of that class, might make an investment in Class C more appropriate. There is no initial sales charge on Class C shares, and the contingent deferred sales charge does not apply to shares redeemed one year after purchase.

However, if you plan to invest a large amount and your investment horizon is five years or more, Class C shares might not be as advantageous as Class A shares. This is because the annual asset-based sales charge on Class C shares will have a greater impact on your account over the longer term than the reduced front-end sales charge available for larger purchases of Class A shares.

You may buy shares from:

n   Certain broker/dealers, financial intermediaries, financial institutions, a distributor’s financial advisors or registered representatives (each called a “Service Agent”)
n   The fund, but only if you are investing through certain qualified plans or Service Agents

Different types of shareholder services may be available to you under arrangements offered by different Service Agents. In addition, these services may vary depending on the share class in which you choose to invest. In making your decision regarding which share class to buy, please keep in mind that your Service Agent may receive different compensation depending on the share class in which you invest. Investors should consult with their Service Agent about comparative pricing of shareholder services available to them under each available share class, the compensation that will be received by their Service Agent in connection with each available share class, and other factors that may be relevant to the investor’s choice of share class in which to invest.

 

Legg Mason Partners Dividend Strategy Fund         13


 

Not all classes of shares are available through all Service Agents. You should contact your Service Agent for further information.

Investment minimums

Minimum initial and additional investment amounts vary depending on the class of shares you buy and the nature of your investment account.

 

    Investment Minimum
Initial/Additional Investment (1)
      Class A   Class B   Class C   Class I
(formerly
Class Y)
  Class 1

General

  $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50   n/a  
 

IRAs and Uniform Gifts or Transfers to
Minor Accounts

  $ 250/$50   $ 250/$50   $ 250/$50   n/a  
 

SIMPLE IRAs

    $1 /$1     $1/$1     $1/$1   n/a  
 

Systematic Investment Plans

    $25/$25     $25/$25     $25/$25   n/a  
 

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries

    $1/$1     n/a     n/a   None/
None
 
 

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts
held on the books of the fund

   
 
None/
None
    n/a    
 
None/
None
  None/
None
 
 

Other Retirement Plans

    $50/$50     $50/$50     $50/$50   n/a  
 

Institutional Investors

  $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50   $1 million/
None
 
 

 

(1)   Please refer to the section entitled “Retirement and institutional investors” for additional information regarding the investment minimum and eligibility requirements for Retirement Plans, Institutional Investors and Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries.

More information about the fund’s classes of shares is available through the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website. You’ll find detailed information about sales charges and ways you can qualify for reduced or waived sales charges, including:

n   The front-end sales charges that apply to the purchase of Class A shares
n   The contingent deferred sales charges that apply to the redemption of Class B and Class C shares, and certain Class A shares (redeemed within one year)
n   Who qualifies for lower sales charges on Class A shares
n   Who qualifies for a sales load waiver

Go to http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices and click on the name of the fund.

 

14         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Comparing the fund’s classes

The following table compares key features of the fund’s classes. You should review the Fee table and Example at the front of this prospectus carefully before choosing your share class. Your Service Agent can help you decide which class meets your goals. Your Service Agent may receive different compensation depending upon which class you choose.

 

      Class A   Class B   Class C   Class I
(formerly Y)
  Class 1
Key features  

n  Initial sales charge

n  You may qualify for reduction or waiver of initial sales charge

n  Lower annual expenses than Class B and
Class C

 

n  No initial sales charge

n  Contingent deferred sales charge declines over time

n  Converts to Class A after approximately 8 years

n  Generally higher annual expenses than Class A

 

n  No initial sales charge

n  Contingent deferred sales charge for only 1 year

n  Does not convert to Class A

n  Generally higher annual expenses than Class A

 

n  No initial or contingent deferred sales charge

n  Only offered to institutional and other eligible investors

n  Generally lower expenses than the other classes

 

n  Only available to eligible Class 1 shareholders

n  You may qualify for reduction or waiver of initial sales charge

n  Higher initial sales charge

n  Lower annual expenses than Class A, B and C

Initial sales

charge

 

Up to 5.75%; reduced or waived for large purchases and certain investors. No charge for purchases of $1 million or more

 

None

 

None

 

None

 

Up to 8.50%; reduced to large purchases

Contingent

deferred

sales

charge

 

1.00% on purchases of $1,000,000 or more if you redeem within 1 year of purchase; waived for certain investors

 

Up to 5.00% charged when you redeem shares. This charge is reduced over time and there is no contingent deferred sales charge after 5 years; waived for certain investors

 

1.00% if you redeem within 1 year of purchase; waived for certain investors

 

None

 

None

Annual

distribution

and service

fees

 

0.25% of average daily net assets

 

1.00% of average daily net assets

 

1.00% of average daily net assets

 

None

 

None

Exchange

Privilege (1)

 

Class A shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class B shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class C shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class I shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class 1 shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds that offer Class 1 shares and Class A shares of certain other Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

(1)   Ask your Service Agent for the Legg Mason Partners Funds available for exchange.

 

Legg Mason Partners Dividend Strategy Fund         15


 

Sales charge

Class A shares

You buy Class A shares at the offering price, which is the net asset value plus a sales charge. You pay a lower sales charge as the size of your investment increases to certain levels called breakpoints. You do not pay a sales charge on the fund’s distributions or dividends you reinvest in additional Class A shares.

The table below shows the rate of sales charge you pay, depending on the amount you purchase, for purchases made on or after November 20, 2006. The table below also shows the amount of broker-dealer compensation that will be paid out of the sales charge. For Class A shares sold by LMIS, LMIS will receive the sales charge imposed on purchases of Class A shares (or any contingent deferred sales charge paid on redemptions) and will retain the full amount of such sales charge. For Class A shares sold by CGMI, CGMI will receive the sales charge imposed on purchases of Class A shares and will retain an amount equal to the broker-dealer commission paid out of the sales charge. LMIS will receive any portion not retained by CGMI. For Class A shares sold by PFS, PFS will receive the sales charge imposed on purchases of Class A shares (or any contingent deferred sales charge paid on redemptions) and will retain the full amount of such sales charge. Service Agents (including CGMI and PFS) will also receive a distribution/service fee payable on Class A shares at an annual rate of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class A shares serviced by them.

 

Amount of purchase   Sales Charge
as a % of
offering price
  Sales Charge
as a % of
net amount
invested
  Broker/Dealer
Commission
as a % of
offering price

Less than $25,000

  5.75   6.10   5.00
 

$25,000 but less than $50,000

  5.00   5.26   4.25
 

$50,000 but less than $100,000

  4.50   4.71   3.75
 

$100,000 but less than $250,000

  3.50   3.63   2.75
 

$250,000 but less than $500,000

  2.50   2.56   2.00
 

$500,000 but less than $750,000

  2.00   2.04   1.60
 

$750,000 but less than $1,000,000

  1.50   1.52   1.20
 

$1,000,000 or more (1)

  -0-   -0-   up to 1.00
 

 

(1)   A distributor may pay a commission of up to 1.00% to a Service Agent for purchase amounts of $1 million or more. In such cases, starting in the thirteenth month after purchase, the Service Agent will also receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class A shares held by its clients. Prior to the thirteenth month, the distributor will retain this fee. Where the Service Agent does not receive the payment of this commission, the Service Agent will instead receive the annual distribution/service fee starting immediately after purchase. Please contact your Service Agent for more information.

Investments of $1,000,000 or more

You do not pay an initial sales charge when you buy $1,000,000 or more of Class A shares. However, if you redeem these Class A shares within one year of purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

 

16         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Qualifying for a reduced Class A sales charge

There are several ways you can combine multiple purchases of Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds to take advantage of the breakpoints in the sales charge schedule. In order to take advantage of reductions in sales charges that may be available to you when you purchase fund shares, you must inform your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services if you are eligible for a letter of intent or a right of accumulation and if you own shares of other Legg Mason Partners Funds that are eligible to be aggregated with your purchases. Certain records, such as account statements, may be necessary in order to verify your eligibility for reduced sales charges.

n   Accumulation Privilege – allows you to combine the current value of Class A shares of the fund with other shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds that are owned by:
  ¨   you; or
  ¨   your spouse and children under the age of 21;

with the dollar amount of your next purchase of Class A shares for purposes of calculating the initial sales charge.

Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or its affiliates (other than money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners Funds), Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. may not be combined.

If you hold shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds in accounts at two or more Service Agents, please contact your Service Agents to determine which shares may be combined.

Certain trustees and fiduciaries may be entitled to combine accounts in determining their sales charge.

n   Letter of Intent – allows you to purchase Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds over a 13-month period and pay the same sales charge on Class A shares, if any, as if all shares had been purchased at once. At the time you enter into the letter of intent, you select your asset goal amount. Generally, purchases of Legg Mason Partners Fund shares that are purchased during the 13-month period by
  ¨   you; or
  ¨   your spouse and children under the age of 21

are eligible for inclusion under the letter, based on the public offering price at the time of the purchase, and any capital appreciation on those shares. You may also backdate your letter up to 90 days in which case eligible purchases made during that period will be treated as purchases made under the letter. In addition, you can include towards your asset goal amount the current value of any eligible purchases that were made prior to the date of entering into the letter of intent and are still held.

If you hold shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds in accounts at two or more Service Agents, please contact your Service Agents to determine which shares may be credited towards your letter of intent asset goal.

Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or its affiliates (other than money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners Funds), Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. may not be credited toward your letter of intent asset goal.

If you do not meet your asset goal amount, shares in the amount of any sales charges due, based on the amount of your actual purchases, will be redeemed from your account.

 

Legg Mason Partners Dividend Strategy Fund         17


 

Waivers for certain Class A investors

Class A initial sales charges are waived for certain types of investors, including:

n   Employees of Service Agents having dealer, service or other selling agreements with the fund’s distributors
n   Investors who redeemed Class A shares of a Legg Mason Partners Fund in the past 60 days, if the investor’s Service Agent is notified
n   Directors and officers of any Legg Mason-sponsored fund
n   Employees of Legg Mason and its subsidiaries

If you qualify for a waiver of the Class A initial sales charge, you must notify your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at the time of purchase and provide sufficient information at the time of purchase to permit verification that the purchase qualifies for the initial sales charge waiver.

If you want to learn about additional waivers of Class A initial sales charges, contact your Service Agent, consult the SAI or look at the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website, http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices, and click on the name of the fund.

Class B shares

You buy Class B shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. However, if you redeem your Class B shares within five years of your purchase payment, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge. The contingent deferred sales charge decreases as the number of years since your purchase payment increases.

 

Year after purchase   1st     2nd     3rd     4th     5th     6th through 8th  

Contingent deferred sales charge

  5 %   4 %   3 %   2 %   1 %   0 %
   

LMIS will pay Service Agents other than PFS, including CGMI, selling Class B shares a commission of up to 4.00% of the purchase price of the Class B shares they sell, and LMIS will retain the contingent deferred sales charges. For Class B shares sold by PFS, PFS will pay a commission of up to 4.00% of the purchase price of the Class B shares sold by its Service Agents and will retain the contingent deferred sales charges paid upon certain redemptions. Service Agents also receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class B shares serviced by them.

 

18         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Class B conversion

After approximately 8 years, Class B shares automatically convert into Class A shares. This helps you because Class A shares have lower annual expenses. Your Class B shares will convert to Class A shares as follows:

 

Shares issued:

At initial purchase

  

Shares issued:

On reinvestment of
dividends and
distributions

  

Shares issued:

Upon exchange from
another Legg Mason
Partners Fund

Approximately 8 years after the date of purchase payment    In same proportion as the number of Class B shares converting is to total Class B shares you own (excluding shares issued as dividends)    On the date the shares originally acquired would have converted into Class A shares
 

Class C shares

You buy Class C shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. However, if you redeem your Class C shares within one year of purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

LMIS will generally pay Service Agents selling Class C shares (other than shares sold to omnibus accounts of retirement plans held on the books of the fund) a commission of up to 1.00% of the purchase price of the Class C shares they sell and LMIS will retain the contingent deferred sales charges and an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class C shares serviced by these Service Agents until the thirteenth month after purchase. Starting in the thirteenth month after purchase, these Service Agents will receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class C shares serviced by them.

Class I shares (formerly Class Y shares)

Class I shares are purchased at net asset value with no initial sales charge and no contingent deferred sales charge when redeemed. See “Retirement and institutional investors — Class I shares” below for additional information regarding investor eligibility and investment minimums.

 

Legg Mason Partners Dividend Strategy Fund         19


 

Class 1 shares

Class 1 shares are offered to eligible Class 1 shareholders at the offering price, which is the net asset value plus a sales charge. You pay a lower sales charge as the size of your investment increases to certain levels called breakpoints. You do not pay a sales charge on the fund’s distributions or dividends you reinvest in additional Class 1 shares.

The table below shows the rate of sales charge you pay, depending on the amount you purchase and the amount of broker/dealer compensation that is paid out of the sales charge. This compensation includes commissions received by Service Agents that sell shares of the fund.

 

Amount of purchase   Sales Charge
as a % of
offering price (%)
  Sales Charge as
a % of net
amount invested (%)
  Broker/Dealer
Commission
as a % of
offering price (%)

Less than $10,000

  8.50   9.29   7.00
 

$10,000 but less than $25,000

  7.75   8.40   6.25
 

$25,000 but less than $50,000

  6.00   6.38   5.00
 

$50,000 but less than $100,000

  4.50   4.71   3.75
 

$100,000 but less than $250,000

  3.50   3.63   3.00
 

$250,000 but less than $400,000

  2.50   2.56   2.00
 

$400,000 but less than $600,000

  2.00   2.04   1.60
 

$600,000 but less than $5,000,000

  1.00   1.01   0.75
 

$5,000,000 or more

  0.25   0.25   0.20
 

 

20         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

More about contingent deferred sales charges

The contingent deferred sales charge is based on the net asset value at the time of purchase or redemption, whichever is less, and therefore you do not pay a sales charge on amounts representing appreciation or depreciation.

In addition, you do not pay a contingent deferred sales charge on:

n   Shares exchanged for shares of another Legg Mason Partners fund
n   Shares representing reinvested distributions and dividends
n   Shares no longer subject to the contingent deferred sales charge

Each time you place a request to redeem shares, the fund will first redeem any shares in your account that are not subject to a contingent deferred sales charge and then the shares in your account that have been held the longest.

If you redeemed shares of a Legg Mason Partners Fund and paid a contingent deferred sales charge, you may, under certain circumstances, reinvest all or part of the redemption proceeds within 60 days and receive pro rata credit for any contingent deferred sales charge imposed on the prior redemption. Please contact your Service Agent for additional information.

The fund’s distributors receive contingent deferred sales charges as partial compensation for their expenses in selling shares, including the payment of compensation to your Service Agent.

Contingent deferred sales charge waivers

The contingent deferred sales charge for each share Class will generally be waived:

n   On payments made through certain systematic withdrawal plans
n   On certain distributions from a retirement plan
n   For involuntary redemptions of small account balances
n   For 12 months following the death or disability of a shareholder

If you want to learn more about additional waivers of contingent deferred sales charges, contact your Service Agent, consult the SAI or look at the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website, http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices, and click on the name of the fund.

 

Legg Mason Partners Dividend Strategy Fund         21


 

Retirement and institutional investors

Eligible investors

Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund can generally choose among three classes of shares: Class C, Class A and Class I (formerly Class Y) shares. “Retirement Plans” include 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit-sharing plans, non-qualified deferred compensation plans and other similar employer-sponsored retirement plans. Retirement Plans do not include individual retirement vehicles, such as traditional and Roth individual retirement accounts, Coverdell education savings accounts, individual 403(b)(7) custodial accounts, Keogh plans, SEPs, SARSEPs, SIMPLE IRAs, or Section 529 savings accounts. Although Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund are not subject to minimum initial investment requirements for any of these share classes, certain investment minimums may be imposed by a financial intermediary.

Other Retirement Plan investors (including, for example, employer-sponsored plans investing through brokerage accounts), can generally choose among three classes of shares: Class A, Class B and Class C. Individual retirement vehicles, such as IRAs, may also choose among these share classes. These types of investors are treated like individual investors for purposes of determining investment minimums, sales charges and any applicable sales charge reductions or waivers.

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries may generally choose among two classes of shares: Class A and Class I. “Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries” are investors who invest in the fund through financial intermediaries that offer their clients fund shares through investment programs as authorized by LMIS. Such investment programs may include fee-based advisory or brokerage account programs, and college savings vehicles such as Section 529 plans. The financial intermediary may impose separate investment minimums.

Institutional Investors

Institutional Investors may invest in Class I shares if they meet the $1,000,000 minimum initial investment requirement. Institutional Investors may also invest in Class A, B and C shares, which have different investment minimums and fees and expenses. “Institutional Investors” generally include corporations, banks, insurance companies, foundations, retirement plans and other similar entities with direct relationships to the fund.

Class C — Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund may buy Class C shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. As of November 20, 2006, LMIS no longer pays Service Agents selling Class C shares to retirement plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of a fund a commission on the purchase price of Class C shares sold by them. Instead, immediately after purchase, LMIS will pay these Service Agents an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets

 

22         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

represented by the Class C shares serviced by them. For purchases made by Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund on or after November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge on shares redeemed within one year of purchase is waived.

Class I shares

As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares and are offered only to Institutional Investors who meet the $1,000,000 minimum initial investment requirement, Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries, and other investors as authorized by LMIS. However, investors that held Class Y shares prior to that date will be permitted to make additional investments in Class I shares.

Class A — Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund may purchase Class A shares through programs sponsored by financial intermediaries. Under these programs, the initial sales charge and contingent deferred sales charge for Class A shares is waived where:

n   Such Retirement Plan’s record keeper offers only load-waived shares,
n   Fund shares are held on the books of the fund through an omnibus account, and
n   The Retirement Plan has more than 100 participants, or has total assets exceeding $1 million.

As of November 20, 2006, LMIS no longer pays Service Agents selling Class A shares to Retirement Plans with a direct omnibus relationship with a fund a commission on the purchase price of Class A shares sold by them. However, for certain Retirement Plans that are permitted to purchase shares at net asset value on or after this date, LMIS may continue to pay Service Agents commissions of up to 1.00% of the purchase price of the additional Class A shares that are purchased with regular ongoing plan contributions. Please contact your Service Agent for more information.

Other considerations

Plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries and other financial intermediaries may choose to impose qualification requirements for plans that differ from the fund’s share class eligibility standards. In certain cases this could result in the selection of a share class with higher service and -distribution related fees than otherwise would have been charged. The fund is not responsible for, and has no control over, the decision of any plan sponsor, plan fiduciary or financial intermediary to impose such differing requirements. Please consult with your plan sponsor, plan fiduciary or financial intermediary for more information about available share classes.

With respect to Class A and Class C shares, the fund may pay a fee for recordkeeping services performed for the applicable share class.

Not all share classes may be made available by your Service Agent; please contact your Service Agent for additional details.

 

Legg Mason Partners Dividend Strategy Fund         23


 

Buying shares

 

Through a Service Agent   

You should contact your Service Agent to open a brokerage account and make arrangements to buy shares. You must provide the following information, for your order to be processed:

n  Class of shares being bought

n  Dollar amount or number of shares being bought

n  Account number (if existing account)

Your Service Agent may charge an annual account maintenance fee.

 
Through the fund   

Financial intermediary accounts, retirement plan accounts and certain other investors who are clients of certain Service Agents are eligible to buy shares directly from the fund.

n  Clients of a PFS Registered Representative should write to the fund at the following address:

Legg Mason Partners Funds

c/o PFPC, Inc.

P.O. Box 9662

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9662

n  All other investors should write to the fund at the following address:

Legg Mason Partners Funds

c/o PFPC, Inc.

P.O. Box 9699

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699

n  Enclose a check to pay for the shares. For initial purchases, complete and send an account application available upon request from Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at the number below

n  Specify the name of the fund, the share class you wish to purchase and account number (if existing account)

n  For more information, please call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 or Primerica Shareholders Services at 800-544-5445

 
Through a systematic investment plan   

You may authorize your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services to transfer funds automatically from (i) a regular bank account, (ii) cash held in a brokerage account with a Service Agent or (iii) certain money market funds, in order to buy shares on a regular basis.

n  Amounts transferred should be at least $25

n  Amounts may be transferred monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually

n  If you do not have sufficient funds in your account on a transfer date, your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services may charge you a fee

 

For more information, contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services or consult the SAI.

 

24         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Exchanging shares

 

Legg Mason Partners offers a distinctive family of mutual funds tailored to help meet the varying needs of both large and small investors.   

You should contact your Service Agent to exchange into other Legg Mason Partners Funds. Be sure to read the prospectus of the Legg Mason Partners Fund into which you are exchanging. An exchange is a taxable transaction, unless you are investing through a tax-qualified savings plan or account.

n  If you bought shares through a Service Agent, you may exchange shares only for shares of the same class of certain other Legg Mason Partners Funds made available for exchange by your Service Agent. However, if you are a Class 1 shareholder, you may exchange Class 1 shares for Class A shares of other Legg Mason Partners Funds that do not offer Class 1 shares and that are made available for exchange through your Service Agent. Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds made available for exchange by your Service Agent may offer all classes. Please contact your Service Agent for more information about the funds and classes that are available for exchange

n  If you bought shares directly from the fund, you may exchange shares only for shares of the same class of another Legg Mason Partners Fund other than shares of Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund. However, if you are a Class 1 shareholder, you may exchange Class 1 shares for Class A shares of other Legg Mason Partners Funds that do not offer Class 1 shares. Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds offer all classes

n  Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds may be offered in your state of residence

n  Exchanges of Class A, B, C and 1 shares are subject to minimum investment requirements (except for systematic investment plan exchanges), and all shares are subject to the other requirements of the fund into which exchanges are made

n  If you hold share certificates, the transfer agent must receive the certificates endorsed for transfer or with signed stock powers before the exchange is effective

n  The fund may suspend or terminate your exchange privilege if you engage in an excessive pattern of exchanges

 
Waiver of additional sales charges   

Your shares will not be subject to an initial sales charge at the time of the exchange.

Your contingent deferred sales charge (if any) will continue to be measured from the date of your original purchase of shares subject to a contingent deferred sales charge and you will be subject to the contingent deferred sales charge of the fund that you originally purchased.

 

 

Legg Mason Partners Dividend Strategy Fund         25


 

By telephone   

If you do not have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, you may be eligible to exchange shares through the fund. You must complete an authorization form to authorize telephone transfers. If eligible, you may make telephone exchanges on any day the New York Stock Exchange Inc. (“NYSE”) is open. For clients of a PFS Registered Representative, call Primerica Shareholder Services at 800-544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. (Eastern time). All other shareholders should call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time). Exchanges are priced at the net asset value next determined.

You can make telephone exchanges only between accounts that have identical registrations.

 
By mail    If you do not have a brokerage account, contact your Service Agent or write to the fund at the address on the following page.
 
Through a systematic
exchange plan
  

You may be permitted to schedule exchanges of shares of any class of the fund for shares of the same class of other Legg Mason Partners Funds.

n  Exchanges may be made, monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually

n  A predetermined dollar amount of at least $25 per exchange
is required

 

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services.

 

26         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Redeeming shares

 

Generally   

Contact your Service Agent to redeem shares of the fund.

If you hold share certificates, the transfer agent must receive the certificates endorsed for transfer or with signed stock powers before you may redeem.

If the shares are held by a fiduciary or corporation, other documents may be required.

Redemptions are priced at net asset value next determined after receipt of your request in good order.

Your redemption proceeds will normally be sent within three business days after your request is received in good order, but in any event within 7 days. Your redemption proceeds may be delayed for up to 10 days if your purchase was made by check.

If you have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, your redemption proceeds will be sent to your Service Agent. In other cases, unless you direct otherwise, your redemption proceeds will be paid by check mailed to your address of record.

 
By mail   

Send written requests to the fund at the following address:

For clients of a PFS Registered Representative, write Primerica Shareholder Services at the following address:

Primerica Shareholder Services

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9662

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9662

For all other investors, send your request to:

Legg Mason Partners Funds

c/o PFPC, Inc.

P.O. Box 9699

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699

Your written request must provide the following:

n  The fund name, the class of shares to be redeemed, and your account number

n  The dollar amount or number of shares to be redeemed

n  Signatures of each owner exactly as the account is registered

n  Signature guarantees, as applicable

 

 

Legg Mason Partners Dividend Strategy Fund         27


 

By telephone   

If you do not have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, you may be eligible to redeem shares (except those held in certain retirement plans) in amounts up to $50,000 per day through the fund. You must complete an authorization form to authorize telephone redemptions. If eligible, you may request redemptions by telephone on any day the NYSE is open. For clients of a PFS Registered Representative, call Primerica Shareholder Services at 800-544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. (Eastern time). All other shareholders should call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time).

Your redemption proceeds can be sent by check to your address of record or by wire or electronic transfer (ACH) to a bank account designated on your authorization form. You must submit a new authorization form to change the bank account designated to receive wire or electronic transfers and you may be asked to provide certain other documents. The transfer agent may charge a fee on a wire or an electronic transfer (ACH).

 
Automatic cash withdrawal plans   

You can arrange for the automatic redemption of a portion of your shares monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually. To qualify you must own shares of the fund with a value of at least $10,000 ($5,000 for retirement plan accounts) and each automatic redemption must be at least $50. If your shares are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge, the sales charge will be waived if your automatic redemptions are equal to or less than 2.00% per month of your account balance on the date the withdrawals commence, up to a maximum of 12.00% in any one year.

The following conditions apply:

n  Your shares must not be represented by certificates

n  All dividends and distributions must be reinvested

 

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or consult the SAI.

 

28         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Other things to know about transactions

When you buy, exchange or redeem shares, your request must be in good order. This means you have provided the following information, without which your request may not be processed:

n   Name of the fund
n   Your account number
n   Class of shares being bought, and if you own more than one class, the class of shares being exchanged or redeemed
n   Dollar amount or number of shares being bought, exchanged or redeemed
n   Signature of each owner exactly as the account is registered

The fund’s transfer agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services will employ reasonable procedures to confirm that any telephone exchange or redemption request is genuine, which may include recording calls, asking the caller to provide certain personal identification information, sending you a written confirmation or requiring other confirmation procedures from time to time. If these procedures are followed, neither the fund nor its agent will bear any liability for such transactions.

Signature guarantees

To be in good order, your redemption request must include a signature guarantee if you:

n   Are redeeming over $50,000
n   Are sending signed share certificates or stock powers to the transfer agent
n   Instruct the transfer agent to mail the check to an address different from the one on your account registration
n   Changed your account registration or your address within 30 days
n   Want the check paid to someone other than the account owner(s)
n   Are transferring the redemption proceeds to an account with a different registration

You can obtain a signature guarantee from most banks, dealers, brokers, credit unions and federal savings and loan institutions, but not from a notary public.

The fund has the right to:

n   Suspend the offering of shares
n   Waive or change minimum and additional investment amounts
n   Reject any purchase or exchange order
n   Change, revoke or suspend the exchange privilege
n   Suspend telephone transactions
n   Suspend or postpone redemptions of shares on any day when trading on the NYSE is restricted, or as otherwise permitted by the SEC
n   Pay redemption proceeds by giving you securities. You may pay transaction costs to dispose of the securities

Small account balances/Mandatory redemptions

If at any time the aggregate net asset value of the fund shares in your account is less than $500 for any reason (including solely due to declines in net asset value and/or failure to invest at least $500 within a reasonable period), the fund reserves the right to ask you to bring your account up to the applicable minimum investment amount as determined by

 

Legg Mason Partners Dividend Strategy Fund         29


 

your Service Agent. In such case you shall be notified in writing and will have 60 days to make an additional investment to bring your account value up to the required level. If you choose not to do so within this 60-day period, the fund may close your account and send you the redemption proceeds. In the event your account is closed due to a failure to increase your balance to the minimum required amount, you will not be eligible to have your account subsequently reinstated without imposition of any sales charges that may apply to your new purchase. The fund may, with prior notice, change the minimum size of accounts subject to mandatory redemption, which may vary by class, or implement fees for small accounts.

Subject to applicable law, the fund may, with prior notice, adopt other policies from time to time requiring mandatory redemption of shares in certain circumstances.

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services or consult the SAI.

Frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares

Frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares may interfere with the efficient management of the fund’s portfolio by its portfolio managers, increase portfolio transaction costs, and have a negative effect on the fund’s long-term shareholders. For example, in order to handle large flows of cash into and out of the fund, the portfolio managers may need to allocate more assets to cash or other short-term investments or sell securities, rather than maintaining full investment in securities selected to achieve the fund’s investment objective. Frequent trading may cause the fund to sell securities at less favorable prices. Transaction costs, such as brokerage commissions and market spreads, can detract from the fund’s performance. In addition, the return received by long-term shareholders may be reduced when trades by other shareholders are made in an effort to take advantage of certain pricing discrepancies, when, for example, it is believed that the fund’s share price, which is determined at the close of the NYSE on each trading day, does not accurately reflect the value of the fund’s portfolio securities. Funds investing in foreign securities have been particularly susceptible to this form of arbitrage, but other funds could also be affected.

Because of the potential harm to the fund and its long-term shareholders, the Board of the fund has approved policies and procedures that are intended to discourage and prevent excessive trading and market timing abuses through the use of various surveillance techniques. Under these policies and procedures, the fund may limit additional exchanges or purchases of fund shares by shareholders who are believed by the manager to be engaged in these abusive trading activities. The intent of the policies and procedures is not to inhibit legitimate strategies, such as asset allocation, dollar cost averaging, or similar activities that may nonetheless result in frequent trading of fund shares. For this reason, the Board has not adopted any specific restrictions on purchases and sales of fund shares, but the fund reserves the right to reject any exchange or purchase of fund shares with or without prior notice to the account holder. In cases where surveillance of a particular account establishes what the manager believes to be obvious market timing, the manager will seek to block future purchases and exchanges of fund shares by that account. Where surveillance of a particular account indicates activity that the manager believes could be either abusive or for legitimate purposes, the fund may permit the account holder to justify the activity.

 

30         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

The policies apply to any account, whether an individual account or accounts with financial intermediaries such as investment advisers, broker/dealers or retirement plan administrators, commonly called omnibus accounts, where the intermediary holds fund shares for a number of its customers in one account. The fund’s ability to monitor trading in omnibus accounts may, however, be severely limited due to the lack of access to an individual investor’s trading activity when orders are placed through these types of accounts. There may also be operational and technological limitations on the ability of the fund’s service providers to identify or terminate frequent trading activity within the various types of omnibus accounts.

The fund’s policies also require personnel such as portfolio managers and investment staff to report any abnormal or otherwise suspicious investment activity, and prohibit short-term trades by such personnel for their own account in mutual funds managed by the manager and its affiliates, other than money market funds. Additionally, the fund has adopted policies and procedures to prevent the selective release of information about the fund’s portfolio holdings, as such information may be used for market-timing and similar abusive practices.

The fund’s policies provide for ongoing assessment of the effectiveness of current policies and surveillance tools, and the Board reserves the right to modify these or adopt additional policies and restrictions in the future. Shareholders should be aware, however, that any surveillance techniques currently employed by the fund or other techniques that may be adopted in the future may not be effective, particularly where the trading takes place through certain types of omnibus accounts. As noted above, if the fund is unable to detect and deter trading abuses, the fund’s performance, and its long-term shareholders, may be harmed. In addition, because the fund has not adopted any specific limitations or restrictions on the trading of fund shares, shareholders may be harmed by the extra costs and portfolio management inefficiencies that result from frequent trading of fund shares, even when the trading is not for abusive purposes. Furthermore, the fund may not apply its policies consistently or uniformly, resulting in the risk that some shareholders may be able to engage in frequent trading while others will bear the costs and effects of that trading. The fund will provide advance notice to shareholders and prospective investors of any specific restrictions on the trading of fund shares that the Board may adopt in the future.

Share certificates

Share certificates for the fund will no longer be issued. If you currently hold share certificates of the fund, such certificates will continue to be honored. If you would like to return your share certificates to the fund and hold your shares in uncertificated form, please contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services.

Record ownership

If you hold shares through a Service Agent, your Service Agent may establish and maintain your account and be the shareholder of record. In the event that the fund holds a shareholder meeting, your Service Agent, as record holder, will vote your shares in accordance with your instructions. If you do not give your Service Agent voting instructions, your Service Agent may nonetheless, under certain circumstances, be entitled to vote your shares.

 

Legg Mason Partners Dividend Strategy Fund         31


 

Dividends, distributions and taxes

Dividends and distributions

The fund generally pays dividends, if any, on a quarterly basis and makes capital gain distributions, if any, once a year, typically in December. The fund may pay additional distributions and dividends at other times if necessary for the fund to avoid a federal tax. Capital gain distributions and dividends are reinvested in additional fund shares of the same class you hold. You do not pay a sales charge on reinvested distributions or dividends. Alternatively, you can instruct your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services to have your distributions and/or dividends paid in cash. You can change your choice at any time to be effective as of the next distribution or dividend, except that any change given to the Service Agent or transfer agent less than five days before the payment date will not be effective until the next distribution or dividend.

Taxes

The following discussion is very general. Because each shareholder’s circumstances are different and special tax rules may apply, you should consult your tax adviser about your investment in the fund.

In general, you will have to pay federal income taxes, as well as any state and local taxes, when you redeem shares, exchange shares or receive a distribution (whether paid in cash or reinvested in additional shares). Any tax liability that you owe as a result of any of these taxable events is your responsibility. The federal income tax treatment of redemptions, exchanges and distributions is summarized in the following table:

 

Transaction    Federal tax status
Redemption or exchange of shares    Usually capital gain or loss; long-term only if shares owned more than one year
 
Distributions of net capital gain (excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss)    Long-term capital gain
 
Distributions of qualified dividend income    Qualified dividend income
 
Other ordinary dividends (including distributions of net short-term capital gain)    Ordinary income
 

Distributions of net capital gain are taxable to you as long-term capital gain regardless of how long you have owned your shares. Distributions of qualified dividend income received by a non-corporate shareholder may qualify for a reduced tax rate, provided that the shareholder satisfies certain holding period requirements. Qualified dividend income generally is income derived from dividends from a U.S. corporation (other than income derived from dividends received from REITs); dividends from certain foreign corporations will also qualify. You may want to avoid buying shares when the fund is about to declare a distribution or a dividend because it will be taxable to you even though it may effectively be a return of a portion of your investment.

After the end of each year, your Service Agent or the fund will provide you with information about the distributions and dividends you received and any redemptions of

 

32         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

shares during the previous year. If you are neither a citizen nor resident of the United States, the fund will withhold federal income tax at the rate of 30% (or such lower rate as may be determined in accordance with any applicable treaty) on ordinary dividends and other payments that are subject to such withholding. If you do not provide the fund with your correct taxpayer identification number and any required certifications, you will be subject to back-up withholding at the rate of 28% on your distributions, dividends, and redemption proceeds. Back-up withholding will not, however, be applied to payments that have been subject to the 30% withholding tax on shareholders who are neither citizens nor residents of the United States.

 

Legg Mason Partners Dividend Strategy Fund         33


 

Share price

You may buy, exchange or redeem shares at their net asset value next determined after receipt of your request in good order, plus any applicable sales charge. For each class of shares, net asset value per share is the value of its assets minus its liabilities divided by the number of shares outstanding. Net asset value is calculated separately for each class of shares. The fund calculates its net asset value every day the NYSE is open. This calculation is done when regular trading closes on the NYSE (normally 4:00 pm, Eastern time). The NYSE is closed on certain holidays listed in the SAI.

The fund invests in securities that are listed on foreign exchanges that trade on weekends and other days when the fund does not price its shares. Therefore, the value of the fund’s shares may change on days when you will not be able to purchase or redeem the fund’s shares.

The Board has approved procedures to be used to value the fund’s securities for the purposes of determining the fund’s net asset value. The valuation of the securities of the fund is determined in good faith by or under the direction of the Board. The Board has delegated certain valuation functions for the fund to the manager.

The fund generally values its securities based on market prices determined at the close of regular trading on the NYSE. The fund’s currency valuations, if any, are done as of when the London Stock Exchange closes, which is usually at 12 noon Eastern time, as the manager believes that these valuations typically reflect the largest trading volume in the foreign currency markets. A material change in the value of currency during the period between the close of the London Stock Exchange and the calculation of the fund’s net asset value on the same date is considered a significant event, as described below, in response to which the fund may use fair valuation procedures to value the affected investments. For equity securities that are traded on an exchange, the market price is usually the closing sale or official closing price on that exchange. In the case of securities not traded on an exchange, or if such closing prices are not otherwise available, the market price is typically determined by independent third party pricing vendors approved by the fund’s Board using a variety of pricing techniques and methodologies. The market price for debt obligations is generally the price supplied by an independent third party pricing service approved by the fund’s board, which may use a matrix, formula or other objective method that takes into consideration market indices, yield curves and other specific adjustments. Short-term debt obligations that will mature in 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, unless it is determined that using this method would not reflect an investment’s fair value. If vendors are unable to supply a price, or if the price supplied is deemed by the manager to be unreliable, the market price may be determined using quotations received from one or more brokers/dealers that make a market in the security. When such prices or quotations are not available, or when the manager believes that they are unreliable, the manager may price securities using fair value procedures approved by the Board. Because the fund invests in securities of issuers located in emerging markets—some of which may be thinly traded, for which market quotations may not be readily available or may be unreliable—the fund may use fair valuation procedures more frequently than funds that invest primarily in securities that are more liquid, such as securities of large capitalization domestic issuers. The fund may also use fair value procedures if the manager determines that a significant event

 

34         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

has occurred between the time at which a market price is determined and the time at which the fund’s net asset value is calculated. In particular, the value of foreign securities may be materially affected by events occurring after the close of the market on which they are valued, but before the fund prices its shares. The fund uses a fair value model developed by an independent third party pricing service to price foreign equity securities on days when there is a certain percentage change in the value of a domestic equity security index, as such percentage may be determined by the manager from time to time.

Valuing securities at fair value involves greater reliance on judgment than valuation of securities based on readily available market quotations. A fund that uses fair value to price securities may value those securities higher or lower than another fund using market quotations or its own fair value methodologies to price the same securities. There can be no assurance that the fund could obtain the fair value assigned to a security if it were to sell the security at approximately the time at which the fund determines its net asset value.

In order to buy, redeem or exchange shares at that day’s price, you must place your order with your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services before the NYSE closes. If the NYSE closes early, you must place your order prior to the actual closing time.

It is the responsibility of the Service Agents to transmit all orders to buy, exchange or redeem shares to the transfer agent on a timely basis.

 

Legg Mason Partners Dividend Strategy Fund         35


 

Financial highlights

The financial highlights tables are intended to help you understand the performance of each class for the past five years or since inception. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share. Total return represents the rate that a shareholder would have earned (or lost) on a fund share assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions. The information in the following tables has been derived from the fund’s financial statements, which have been audited by             , independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund’s financial statements, is included in the annual report (available upon request). Effective as of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares of the fund were renamed Class I shares. No information is presented for Class 1 shares because no Class 1 shares were outstanding on October 31, 2006.

 

For a Class 1 share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended October 31, unless otherwise noted:   
Class 1 Shares (1)   2006   2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net Asset Value, Beginning of Year

    $16.89     $16.36     $14.10     $17.55  
   

Income (Loss) From Operations:

         

Net investment income

    0.34     0.06     0.06     0.05  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    0.02     0.50     2.20     (3.39 )
   

Total Income (Loss) From Operations

    0.36     0.56     2.26     (3.34 )
   

Less Distributions From:

         

Net investment income

    (0.35 )   (0.03 )       (0.09 )

Net realized gains

                (0.01 )

Return of capital

                (0.01 )
   

Total Distributions

    (0.35 )   (0.03 )       (0.11 )
   

Net Asset Value, End of Year

    $16.90     $16.89     $16.36     $14.10  
   

Total Return (2)

    2.12 %   3.41 %   16.03 %   (19.20 )%
   

Net Assets, End of Year (millions)

    $2,036     $2,288     $2,435     $2,303  
   

Ratios to Average Net Assets:

         

Gross expenses

    0.94 %   0.90 %   1.00 %   0.90 %

Net expenses

    0.94     0.90 (3)   1.00     0.90  

Net investment income

    1.99     0.36     0.39     0.31  
   

Portfolio Turnover Rate

    135 %   35 %   69 %   38 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would be lower. Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

(3)   The investment manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees.

 

36         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

For a Class A share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended October 31, unless otherwise noted:   
Class A Shares (1)   2006   2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net Asset Value, Beginning of Year

    $16.47     $16.03     $13.93     $17.41  
   

Income (Loss) From Operations:

         

Net investment income (loss)

    0.28     (0.05 )   (0.06 )   (0.10 )

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    0.02     0.49     2.16     (3.37 )
   

Total Income (Loss) From Operations

    0.30     0.44     2.10     (3.47 )
   

Less Distributions From:

         

Net investment income

    (0.25 )            

Net realized gains

                (0.01 )
   

Total Distributions

    (0.25 )           (0.01 )
   

Net Asset Value, End of Year

    $16.52     $16.47     $16.03     $13.93  
   

Total Return (2)

    1.82 %   2.74 %   15.08 %   (19.94 )%
   

Net Assets, End of Year (millions)

    $378     $404     $414     $352  
   

Ratios to Average Net Assets:

         

Gross expenses

    1.59 %   1.59 %   1.80 %   1.80 %

Net expenses

    1.25 (3)(4)   1.58 (4)   1.80     1.80  

Net investment income (loss)

    1.67     (0.33 )   (0.42 )   (0.59 )
   

Portfolio Turnover Rate

    135 %   35 %   69 %   38 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would be lower. Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

(3)   As a result of a voluntary expense limitation, the ratio of expenses to average net assets of the fund will not exceed 1.25%. Such waivers and/or expense reimbursement are voluntary and may be reduced or terminated at any time.

 

(4)   The investment manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees.

 

Legg Mason Partners Dividend Strategy Fund         37


 

For a Class B share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended October 31, unless otherwise noted:   
Class B Shares (1)   2006   2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net Asset Value, Beginning of Year

    $15.55     $15.26     $13.38     $16.86  
   

Income (Loss) From Operations:

         

Net investment income (loss)

    0.15     (0.18 )   (0.18 )   (0.22 )

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    0.02     0.47     2.06     (3.25 )
   

Total Income (Loss) From Operations

    0.17     0.29     1.88     (3.47 )
   

Less Distributions From:

         

Net investment income

    (0.10 )            

Net realized gains

                (0.01 )
   

Total Distributions

    (0.10 )           (0.01 )
   

Net Asset Value, End of Year

    $15.62     $15.55     $15.26     $13.38  
   

Total Return (2)

    1.09 %   1.90 %   14.05 %   (20.59 )%
   

Net Assets, End of Year (millions)

    $264     $292     $305     $290  
   

Ratios to Average Net Assets:

         

Gross expenses

    2.38 %   2.42 %   2.66 %   2.59 %

Net expenses

    2.00 (3)(4)   2.42 (4)   2.66     2.59  

Net investment income (loss)

    0.93     (1.16 )   (1.27 )   (1.39 )
   

Portfolio Turnover Rate

    135 %   35 %   69 %   38 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would be lower. Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

(3)   As a result of a voluntary expense limitation, the ratio of expenses to average net assets of the fund will not exceed 2.00%. Such waivers and/or expense reimbursement are voluntary and may be reduced or terminated at any time.

 

(4)   The investment manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees.

 

38         Legg Mason Partners Funds


For a Class C share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended October 31, unless otherwise noted:   
Class C Shares (1)(2)   2006   2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net Asset Value, Beginning of Year

    $16.39     $15.98     $13.87     $17.36  
   

Income (Loss) From Operations:

         

Net investment income (loss)

    0.18     (0.08 )   (0.04 )   (0.13 )

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    0.04     0.49     2.15     (3.35 )
   

Total Income (Loss) From Operations

    0.22     0.41     2.11     (3.48 )
   

Less Distributions From:

         

Net investment income

    (0.13 )            

Net realized gains

                (0.01 )
   

Total Distributions

    (0.13 )           (0.01 )
   

Net Asset Value, End of Year

    $16.48     $16.39     $15.98     $13.87  
   

Total Return (3)

    1.32 %   2.57 %   15.21 %   (20.05 )%
   

Net Assets, End of Year (millions)

    $12     $5     $6     $5  
   

Ratios to Average Net Assets:

         

Gross expenses

    1.75 %   1.77 %   1.67 %   2.00 %

Net expenses

    1.75     1.77 (4)   1.67     2.00  

Net investment income (loss)

    1.05     (0.51 )   (0.29 )   (0.80 )
   

Portfolio Turnover Rate

    135 %   35 %   69 %   38 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   On April 29, 2004, Class L shares were renamed as Class C shares.

 

(3)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would be lower. Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

(4)   The investment manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees.

 

Legg Mason Partners Dividend Strategy Fund         39


 

 

(Investment Company Act

file no. 811-05018)

FD 03062 02/07

LOGO

Legg Mason Partners

Dividend Strategy Fund

You may look at the fund’s website at www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices for a free copy of a Prospectus, Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) or an Annual or Semi-Annual Report, or to request other information.

Shareholder reports Additional information about the fund’s investments is available in the fund’s Annual and Semi-Annual Reports to shareholders. In the fund’s Annual Report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the fund’s performance.

The fund sends only one report to a household if more than one account has the same address. Contact your Service Agent or the transfer agent if you do not want this policy to apply to you.

Statement of additional information The statement of additional information provides more detailed information about the fund and is incorporated by reference into (is legally a part of) this Prospectus.

You can make inquiries about the fund or obtain shareholder reports (without charge) by contacting your Service Agent, by calling Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 (or for clients of a PFSI Registered Representative, call Primerica Shareholder Services at 800-544-5445), or by writing to the fund at Legg Mason Partners 125 Broad Street, New York, New York 10004.

Information about the fund (including the SAI) can be reviewed and copied at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “Commission”) Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. In addition, information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the Commission at 800-SEC-0330. Reports and other information about the fund are available on the EDGAR Database on the Commission’s Internet site at http://www.sec.gov . Copies of this information may be obtained for a duplicating fee by electronic request at the following E-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing the Commission’s Public Reference Section, Washington, D.C. 20549-0102.

If someone makes a statement about the fund that is not in this Prospectus, you should not rely upon that information. Neither the fund nor the distributors are offering to sell shares of the fund to any person to whom the fund may not lawfully sell its shares.


 

Legg Mason Partners Growth and Income Fund

Supplement dated April     , 2007

to Prospectus dated February     , 2007

The attached prospectus is now dated April     , 2007.

As part of a number of initiatives launched in 2006 to restructure and streamline the Legg Mason Partners fund complex, the fund assumed the assets and liabilities of a predecessor fund with the same name. The fund is now grouped for organizational and governance purposes with other Legg Mason Partners funds that are predominantly equity-type funds. The prospectus is supplemented as shown below to reflect this change. Any information in the prospectus relating to the fund prior to the date of this Prospectus refers to the fund’s predecessor.

Performance Information

The summary performance information in the prospectus is that of the fund’s predecessor.

Management—Other Information

The paragraph beneath the heading “Other Information” in the “Management” section of the prospectus is deleted.

Financial Highlights

The financial information shown in the “Financial Highlights” section of the prospectus is that of the fund’s predecessor.


PROSPECTUS

February     , 2007

The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or determined whether this prospectus is accurate or complete. Any statement to the contrary is a crime.

LOGO

 

Legg Mason Partners Growth and Income Fund

Class A, B, C, I and 1 Shares

 

 

 

INVESTMENT PRODUCTS: NOT FDIC INSURED Ÿ NO BANK GUARANTEE Ÿ MAY LOSE VALUE

 


Legg Mason Partners Growth and Income Fund

Contents

 

Investments, risks and performance

  2

More on the fund’s investments

  6

Management

  8

Choosing a class of shares to buy

  12

Comparing the fund’s classes

  14

Sales charges

  15

More about contingent deferred sales charges

  20

Retirement and institutional investors

  21

Buying shares

  23

Exchanging shares

  24

Redeeming shares

  26

Other things to know about transactions

  28

Dividends, distributions and taxes

  31

Share price

  33

Financial highlights

  35

 

Prior to April 7, 2006, the fund was known as SB Growth and Income Fund.


 

Investments, risks and performance

Investment objective

The fund seeks reasonable growth and income.

Principal investment strategies

Key investments

The fund invests in a portfolio consisting principally of equity securities, including convertible securities, that provide dividend or interest income. However, it may also invest in non-income producing investments for potential appreciation in value. The fund emphasizes U.S. stocks with large market capitalizations. The fund’s convertible securities may be of any credit quality and may include below investment grade securities (commonly known as “junk bonds”).

Selection process

The portfolio manager emphasizes individual security selection while spreading the fund’s investments among industries and sectors for broad market exposure. The portfolio manager seeks to construct an investment portfolio whose weighted average market capitalization is similar to the S&P 500 Index. The portfolio manager uses fundamental analysis to identify high-quality companies and then considers whether the stocks are relatively over- or under-valued. The portfolio manager also looks for a catalyst for stock price appreciation, such as good management, positive changes in strategy or improvement in the company’s competitive position. The portfolio manager favors companies with above-average dividend yields.

Principal risks of investing in the fund

Investors could lose money on their investment in the fund, or the fund may not perform as well as other investments, if:

n   Stock prices decline generally, or stocks perform poorly relative to other types of investments.
n   Large capitalization companies fall out of favor with investors
n   Companies in which the fund invests suffer unexpected losses or lower than expected earnings
n   The portfolio manager’s judgment about the attractiveness, value or income potential of a particular security proves to be incorrect
n   The issuer of a debt security owned by the fund defaults on its obligation to pay principal and/or interest or has its credit rating downgraded. This risk is higher for below investment grade securities. These securities are considered speculative because they have a higher risk of issuer default, are subject to greater price volatility and may be illiquid

The fund may engage in active and frequent trading, resulting in high portfolio turnover. This may lead to the realization and distribution to shareholders of higher capital gains, increasing their tax liability. Frequent trading also increases transaction costs, which could detract from the fund’s performance. The “Financial highlights” section of this prospectus show’s the fund’s historical portfolio turnover rate.

 

2         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Who may want to invest

The fund may be an appropriate investment if you:

n   Are seeking to participate in the long-term growth potential of the U.S. stock market and
n   Are willing to accept the risks of the stock market

Performance information

The following shows summary performance information for the fund in a bar chart and an Average Annual Total Returns table. The information provides an indication of the risks of investing in the fund by showing changes in its performance from year to year and by showing how the fund’s average annual returns compare with the returns of a broad-based securities market index. The bar chart and the information below show performance of the fund’s Class 1 shares, but do not reflect the impact of sales charges (loads). If they did, the returns would be lower than those shown. Unlike the bar chart, the performance for Class 1, A, B, C, and I* shares in the Average Annual Total Returns table reflects the impact of the maximum sales charge (load) applicable to the respective classes. The fund’s past performance, before and after taxes, is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future.

 

*   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

Total Returns for Class 1 Shares

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Highest and Lowest Quarter Returns (for periods shown in the bar chart):

Highest:         % in          Quarter         ; Lowest: (        )% in          Quarter         .

 

Growth and Income Fund         3


 

Average Annual Total Returns (for periods ended 12/31/06)

 

      1 year   5 years   10 years   Since
Inception (7)
  Inception
Date
 
Class 1 Return Before Taxes           %           %           %     04/14/87  
   
Class 1 Return After Taxes on Distributions (1)           %           %           %     04/14/87  
   
Class 1 Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares (1)           %           %           %     04/14/87  
   
Class A Return Before Taxes (2)           %           %           %     08/18/96  
   
Class B Return Before Taxes           %           %           %     08/18/96  
   
Class C Return Before Taxes (3)           %           %   n/a     10/06/00  
   
Class I Return Before Taxes (4)           %           %   n/a     12/08/00  
   
S&P 500 Index (5)           %           %           %   n/a   (6 )
   

 

(1)   After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of fund shares at the end of the measurement period. After-tax returns shown above are for Class 1 shares only. After-tax returns for other share classes will vary.

 

(2)   On November 20, 2006, the maximum initial sales charge on Class A shares was increased for sales made on or after that date. The average annual returns for Class A shares in the table have been calculated as if the increased maximum initial sales charge had been in effect for the entire period.

 

(3)   Effective as of April 29, 2004, Class L shares were renamed Class C shares. Effective February 2, 2004, the initial sales charge of 1.00% on those shares was eliminated for sales made on or after that date. The average annual returns for Class C shares in the table have been calculated as if the sales charge had been eliminated for the entire period.

 

(4)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

(5)   The S&P 500 Index is a market-value weighted index comprised of 500 widely held common stocks. It is not possible to invest directly in the index. An index does not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes.

 

(6)   The total return of the S&P 500 Index since the inception of each of the Class A, B, C and I shares is             %,             %,             % and             %, respectively.

 

(7)   Information is provided only for classes with less than 10 years performance history.

Fee table

This table sets forth the fees and expenses you may pay if you invest in fund shares.

 

Shareholder Fees

 

(paid directly from your investment)   Class A     Class B     Class C     Class I (1)   Class 1  
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a % of offering price)   5.75 %   None     None     None   8.50 %
   
Maximum contingent deferred sales charge (load)
(as a % of the lower of net asset value at purchase
or redemption)
  None (2)   5.00 %   1.00 % (3)   None   None  
   

 

4         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

 

(paid by the fund as a % of net assets)   Class A     Class B     Class C     Class I (1)     Class 1  
Management fee (4)   0.65 %   0.65 %   0.65 %   0.65 %   0.65 %
   
Distribution and service (12b-1) fees   0.25 %   1.00 %   1.00 %   None     None  
   
Other expenses (5)           %             %             %             %             %  
   
Total annual fund operating expenses*           %             %             %             %             %  
   
* Because of voluntary waivers and/or reimbursements, actual total operating expenses are expected to be:           %             %     n/a     n/a     n/a  
These voluntary fee waivers and reimbursements do not cover brokerage, taxes and extraordinary expenses and may be reduced or terminated at any time.          
   

 

(1)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

(2)   You may buy Class A shares in amounts of $1,000,000 or more at net asset value (without an initial sales charge) but if you redeem those shares within 12 months of their purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

 

(3)   As of November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge is waived for retirement plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund.

 

(4)   The fund has a management fee schedule that reduces the fee payable on assets in excess of $1 billion as follows: 0.65% on assets of up to $1 billion, 0.60% on assets between $1 billion and $2 billion, 0.55% on assets between $2 billion and $3 billion, 0.50% on assets between $3 billion and $4 billion, and 0.45% on assets in excess of $4 billion.

 

(5)   The amounts set forth in “Other Expenses” for Class A, B, C, I and 1 shares have been restated to reflect the estimated effect of new transfer agency and custody contracts which became effective January 1, 2006.

Example

This example helps you compare the costs of investing in the fund with the costs of investing in other mutual funds. Your actual costs may be higher or lower. The example assumes:

n   You invest $10,000 in the fund for the period shown
n   Your investment has a 5% return each year — the assumption of a 5% return is required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for purposes of this example and is not a prediction of the fund’s future performance
n   You reinvest all distributions and dividends without a sales charge
n   The fund’s operating expenses (before fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, if any) remain the same

 

Number of Years You Own Your Shares

 

      1 year   3 years   5 years   10 years  

Class A (with or without redemption)

  $                $                $                $               
   

Class B (redemption at end of period)

  $     $     $     $ (1 )
   

Class B (no redemption)

  $     $     $     $ (1 )
   

Class C (redemption at end of period)

  $     $     $     $    
   

Class C (no redemption)

  $     $     $     $    
   

Class I (2) (with or without redemption)

  $     $     $     $    
   

Class 1 (with or without redemption)

  $     $     $     $    
   

 

(1)   Assumes conversion to Class A shares approximately eight years after purchase.

 

(2)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

Growth and Income Fund         5


 

More on the fund’s investments

The fund’s investment objectives and principal investment strategies are described under the section entitled “Investments, risks and performance” above. This section provides further information about the investment strategies that may be used by the fund.

Equity securities

Equity securities include exchange traded and over-the-counter common and preferred stocks, debt securities convertible into equity securities, baskets of equity securities such as exchange traded funds, and warrants and rights relating to equity securities.

Foreign investments

The fund may invest in foreign securities directly or in the form of depositary receipts representing an interest in those securities. Some of these investments may be in emerging markets. The fund’s investments in securities of foreign issuers involve greater risk than investments in securities of U.S. issuers. Many foreign countries in which the fund invests have markets that are less liquid and more volatile than markets in the U.S.

In some foreign countries, less information is available about foreign issuers and markets because of less rigorous accounting and regulatory standards than in the U.S. Currency fluctuations could erase investment gains or add to investment losses. In addition, there is a possibility of governmental controls on currency exchanges or governmental intervention in currency markets. Controls or intervention could limit or prevent the fund from realizing value in U.S. dollars from its investment in foreign securities. Twenty-five European countries participate in the European Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) and 12 of those countries have adopted the euro as their sole currency. Monetary and economic union on this scale has not been attempted before, and there is uncertainty whether participating countries will remain committed to the EMU in the face of changing economic conditions. The risks of investing in foreign securities are greater for securities of emerging market issuers because political or economic instability, lack of market liquidity, and negative government actions like currency controls or seizure of private businesses or property are more likely.

Derivatives and hedging techniques

The fund may, but need not, use derivative contracts, such as futures and options on securities, securities indices or currencies; options on these futures; forward currency contracts; and interest rate or currency swaps for any of the following purposes:

n   To hedge against the economic impact of adverse changes in the market value of its securities, because of changes in stock market prices, currency exchange rates or interest rates
n   As a substitute for buying or selling securities
n   As a cash flow management technique
n   To enhance return

 

6         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

A derivative contract will obligate or entitle the fund to deliver or receive an asset or cash payment based on the change in value of one or more securities, currencies or indices. Even a small investment in derivative contracts can have a big impact on the fund’s stock market, currency and interest rate exposure. Therefore, using derivatives can disproportionately increase losses and reduce opportunities for gains when stock prices, currency rates or interest rates are changing. The fund may not fully benefit from or may lose money on derivatives if changes in their value do not correspond accurately or as anticipated to changes in the value of the fund’s holdings.

The other parties to certain derivative contracts present the same types of credit risk as issuers of fixed income securities. Derivatives can also make the fund less liquid and harder to value, especially in declining markets.

Short sales

The fund may engage in short sales. Losses from short sales may be unlimited.

Defensive investing

The fund may depart from its principal investment strategies in response to adverse market, economic or political conditions by taking temporary defensive positions in any type of money market instruments and short-term debt securities or cash without regard to any percentage limitations. If the fund takes a temporary defensive position, it may be unable to achieve its investment objective.

Special restrictions

The fund will not purchase any securities issued by a company primarily engaged in the manufacture of alcohol or tobacco.

Except for this special restriction, the fund’s goals and strategies may be changed without shareholder approval.

The fund may also use other strategies and invest in other securities that are described, along with their risks, in the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”). However, the fund might not use all of the strategies and techniques or invest in all of the types of securities described in this prospectus or in the SAI. Also note that there are many other factors, which are not described here that could adversely affect your investment and that could prevent the fund from achieving its goals.

Portfolio holdings

The fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the fund’s portfolio securities are described in the SAI.

 

Growth and Income Fund         7


 

Management

Manager and subadviser

Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC (“LMPFA” or the “manager”) is the fund’s investment manager. LMPFA, with offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022, is a recently organized investment adviser that has been formed to serve as the investment manager of the fund and other Legg Mason-sponsored funds. LMPFA provides administrative and certain oversight services to the fund. ClearBridge Advisors, LLC (“ClearBridge” or the “subadviser”) provides the day-to-day portfolio management of the fund, except for the management of cash and short-term instruments, which is performed by LMPFA.

ClearBridge has offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022 and is a recently-organized investment adviser that has been formed to succeed to the equity securities portfolio management business of Citigroup Asset Management, which was acquired by Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”) in December 2005.

LMPFA and ClearBridge are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”). Legg Mason, whose principal executive offices are at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, is a global asset management company. As of December 31, 2006, Legg Mason’s asset management operation had aggregate assets under management of approximately $        billion.

Prior to August 1, 2006, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”) was the fund’s investment manager. SBFM is also a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason.

Portfolio Manager

Michael Kagan is responsible for the day-to-day management of the fund. Mr. Kagan, investment officer of the manager and co-director of research for ClearBridge, has managed or co-managed the fund’s portfolio since 2000. Mr. Kagan has been with the manager since 1994.

The SAI provides additional information about the portfolio manager’s compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio manager and the portfolio manager’s ownership of securities of the fund, and has more detailed information about the manager, the subadviser and other fund service providers.

Management fee

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, the fund paid a management fee of     % of the fund’s average daily net assets. For the period from November 1, 2005 through July 31, 2006, the fund paid SBFM a management fee equal to             % of the fund’s average daily net assets. For the period from August 1, 2006 through October 31, 2006, the fund paid LMPFA a management fee equal to         % of the fund’s average daily net assets.

 

8         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Effective             , 200    , the manager receives fees for its services at the following rates based on assets under management: 0.65% on assets up to $1 billion, 0.60% on assets between $1 billion and $2 billion, 0.55% on assets between $2 billion and $3 billion, 0.50% on assets between $3 billion and $4 billion, and 0.45% on assets over $4 billion.

A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of the fund’s management agreement and subadvisory agreement is available in the fund’s Annual Report for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006.

Other Information

The fund’s Board has approved a number of initiatives designed to streamline and restructure the fund complex, and has authorized seeking shareholder approval for those initiatives where shareholder approval is required. These initiatives include the election of a new Board, the grouping of the fund for organizational and governance purposes with other funds in the fund complex that are predominantly equity-type funds, and the adoption of a single form of organization as a Maryland business trust, with all funds operating under uniform charter documents. Fund shareholders entitled to vote also have been asked to approve investment matters, including standardized fundamental investment policies. Proxy materials describing these matters were mailed in October, 2006. If shareholder approval is obtained, these matters generally are expected to be effectuated during the first half of 2007.

Distribution plan

Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC (“LMIS”), a wholly-owned broker-dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”) and PFS Investments Inc. (“PFS”) serve as the fund’s distributors.

The fund has adopted a shareholder services and distribution plan for each of its Class A, B and C shares. Under the plan, the fund pays distribution and/or service fees. These fees are an ongoing expense and, over time, will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than other types of sales charges.

In addition, a distributor may make payments for distribution and/or shareholder servicing activities out of its past profits and other available sources. The distributor may also make payments to dealers for marketing, promotional or related expenses. The amount of these payments is determined by the distributor and may be substantial. The manager or an affiliate may make similar payments under similar arrangements.

The payments described in the paragraph above are often referred to as “revenue sharing payments.” The recipients of such payments may include the fund’s distributors, affiliates of the manager, broker/dealers, financial institutions and other financial intermediaries through which investors may purchase shares of the fund. In some circumstances, such payments may create an incentive for an intermediary or its employees or associated persons to recommend or sell shares of the fund to you. Please contact your financial intermediary for details about revenue sharing payments it may receive.

Recent developments

On May 31, 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued an order in connection with the settlement of an administrative proceeding against SBFM, the

 

Growth and Income Fund         9


 

then-investment adviser or manager to the fund, and CGMI, relating to the appointment of an affiliated transfer agent for the Smith Barney family of mutual funds (the “Affected Funds”).

The SEC order finds that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(1) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder (the “Advisers Act”). Specifically, the order finds that SBFM and CGMI knowingly or recklessly failed to disclose to the boards of the Affected Funds in 1999 when proposing a new transfer agent arrangement with an affiliated transfer agent that: First Data Investors Services Group (“First Data”), the Affected Funds’ then-existing transfer agent, had offered to continue as transfer agent and do the same work for substantially less money than before; and that Citigroup Asset Management (“CAM”), the Citigroup business unit that, at the time, included the Affected Funds’ investment manager and other investment advisory companies, had entered into a side letter with First Data under which CAM agreed to recommend the appointment of First Data as sub-transfer agent to the affiliated transfer agent in exchange, among other things, for a guarantee by First Data of specified amounts of asset management and investment banking fees to CAM and CGMI. The order also finds that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act by virtue of the omissions discussed above and other misrepresentations and omissions in the materials provided to the Affected Funds’ boards, including the failure to make clear that the affiliated transfer agent would earn a high profit for performing limited functions while First Data continued to perform almost all of the transfer agent functions, and the suggestion that the proposed arrangement was in the Affected Funds’ best interests and that no viable alternatives existed.

SBFM and CGMI do not admit or deny any wrongdoing or liability. The settlement does not establish wrongdoing or liability for purposes of any other proceeding. The SEC censured SBFM and CGMI and ordered them to cease and desist from violations of Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Advisers Act. The order required Citigroup to pay $208.1 million, including $109 million in disgorgement of profits, $19.1 million in interest, and a civil money penalty of $80 million. Approximately $24.4 million has already been paid to the Affected Funds, primarily through fee waivers. The remaining $183.7 million, including the penalty, has been paid to the U.S. Treasury and will be distributed pursuant to a plan submitted for the approval of the SEC. At this time, there is no certainty as to how the above-described proceeds of the settlement will be distributed, to whom such distributions will be made, the methodology by which such distributions will be allocated, and when such distributions will be made. The order also required that transfer agency fees received from the Affected Funds since December 1, 2004, less certain expenses, be placed in escrow and provided that a portion of such fees might be subsequently distributed in accordance with the terms of the order. On April 3, 2006, an aggregate amount of approximately $9 million held in escrow was distributed to the Affected Funds.

The order required SBFM to recommend a new transfer agent contract to the Fund boards within 180 days of the entry of the order; if a Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent or sub-transfer agent, SBFM and CGMI would have been required, at their expense, to engage an independent monitor to oversee a competitive bidding process. On November 21, 2005, and within the specified timeframe, the Affected

 

10         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Funds’ Boards selected a new transfer agent for the Affected Funds. No Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent. Under the order, SBFM also must comply with an amended version of a vendor policy that Citigroup instituted in August 2004.

Although there can be no assurance, the manager does not believe that this matter will have a material adverse effect on the Affected Funds.

On December 1, 2005, Citigroup completed the sale of substantially all of its global asset management business, including SBFM, to Legg Mason.

 

Growth and Income Fund         11


 

Choosing a class of shares to buy

Individual investors can generally choose among three classes of shares: Classes A, B and C shares. Individual investors that held Class I (formerly Class Y) shares prior to November 20, 2006, may continue to invest in Class I shares. In addition, existing Class 1 shareholders can buy additional Class 1 shares. Institutional and retirement plan investors and clients of financial intermediaries should refer to “Retirement and institutional investors” below for a description of the classes available to them.

Each class has different sales charges and expenses, allowing you to choose the class that best meets your needs. When choosing which class of shares to buy, you should consider:

n   How much you plan to invest
n   How long you expect to own the shares
n   The expenses paid by each class detailed in the Fee table and Example at the front of this Prospectus
n   Whether you qualify for any reduction or waiver of sales charges

If you are choosing between Class A and Class B shares, it will in almost all cases be the more economical choice for you to purchase Class A shares if you plan to purchase shares in an amount of $100,000 or more (whether in a single purchase or through aggregation of eligible holdings). This is because of the reduced sales charge available on larger investments of Class A shares and the lower ongoing expenses of Class A shares compared to Class B shares.

If you intend to invest for only a few years, the effect of Class B contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions made within five years of purchase, as well as the effect of higher expenses of that class, might make an investment in Class C more appropriate. There is no initial sales charge on Class C shares, and the contingent deferred sales charge does not apply to shares redeemed one year after purchase.

However, if you plan to invest a large amount and your investment horizon is five years or more, Class C shares might not be as advantageous as Class A shares. This is because the annual asset-based sales charge on Class C shares will have a greater impact on your account over the longer term than the reduced front-end sales charge available for larger purchases of Class A shares.

You may buy shares from:

n   Certain broker/dealers, financial intermediaries, financial institutions, a distributor’s financial advisors or registered representatives (each called a “Service Agent”)
n   The fund, but only if you are investing through certain qualified plans or Service Agents

Different types of shareholder services may be available to you under arrangements offered by different Service Agents. In addition, these services may vary depending on the share class in which you choose to invest. In making your decision regarding which share class to buy, please keep in mind that your Service Agent may receive different compensation depending on the share class in which you invest. Investors should consult with their Service Agent about comparative pricing of shareholder services available to them under each available share class, the compensation that will be received by their Service Agent in connection with each available share class, and other factors that may be relevant to the investor’s choice of share class in which to invest.

 

12         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Not all classes of shares are available through all Service Agents. You should contact your Service Agent for further information.

Investment minimums

Minimum initial and additional investment amounts vary depending on the class of shares you buy and the nature of your investment account.

 

    Investment Minimum
Initial/Additional Investment (1)
      Class A   Class B   Class C   Class I
(formerly
Class Y)
  Class 1

General

  $500/$50   $500/$50   $500/$50   n/a  
 

IRAs and Uniform Gifts or Transfers to
Minor Accounts

  $250/$50   $250/$50   $250/$50   n/a  
 

Simple IRAs

  $1/$1   $1/$1   $1/$1   n/a  
 

Systematic Investment Plans

  $25/$25   $25/$25   $25/$25   n/a  
 

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries

  $1/$1   n/a   n/a   None/None  
 

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund

  None/None   n/a   None/None   None/None  
 

Other Retirement Plans

  $50/$50   $50/$50   $50/$50   n/a  
 

Institutional Investors

  $500/$50   $500/$50   $500/$50   $1 million/None  
 

 

(1)   Please refer to the section entitled “Retirement and institutional investors” for additional information regarding the investment minimum and eligibility requirements for Retirement Plans, Institutional Investors and Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries.

More information about the fund’s classes of shares is available through the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website. You’ll find detailed information about sales charges and ways you can qualify for reduced or waived sales charges, including:

n   The front-end sales charges that apply to the purchase of Class A shares
n   The contingent deferred sales charges that apply to the redemption of Class B and Class C shares, and certain Class A shares (redeemed within one year)
n   Who qualifies for lower sales charges on Class A shares
n   Who qualifies for a sales load waiver

Go to http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices and click on the name of the fund.

 

Growth and Income Fund         13


 

Comparing the fund’s classes

The following table compares key features of the fund’s classes. You should review the Fee table and Example at the front of this prospectus carefully before choosing your share class. Your Service Agent can help you decide which class meets your goals. Your Service Agent may receive different compensation depending upon which class you choose.

 

      Class A   Class B   Class C   Class I
(formerly Y)
  Class 1
Key features  

n  Initial sales charge

n  You may qualify for reduction or waiver
of initial sales charge

n  Lower annual expenses than
Class B and Class C

 

n  No initial sales
charge

n  Contingent deferred sales charge declines over time

n  Converts to Class A after approximately 8 years

n  Generally higher annual expenses than Class A

 

n  No initial sales
charge

n  Contingent deferred sales charge for only 1 year

n  Does not convert to Class A

n  Generally higher annual expenses than Class A

 

n  No initial or contingent deferred sales charge

n  Only offered to institutional and other eligible investors

n  Generally lower expenses than the other classes

 

n  Only available to eligible Class 1 shareholders

n  You may qualify for reduction or waiver of initial sales charge

n  Higher initial sales charge

n  Lower annual expenses than Class A, B and C

Initial sales
charge
 

Up to 5.75%; reduced or waived
for large purchases and certain
investors. No charge for purchases of
$1 million or more

 

None

 

None

 

None

 

Up to 8.5%; reduced for large purchases

Contingent
Deferred sales
charge
 

1.00% on purchases of $1,000,000 or more if you redeem within
1 year of purchase; waived for certain investors

 

Up to 5.00% charged when you redeem shares. This charge is reduced over time and there is no contingent deferred sales charge after 5 years; waived for certain investors

 

1.00% if you redeem within 1 year of purchase; waived for certain investors

 

None

 

None

Annual
distribution and
service fees
 

0.25% of average daily net assets

 

1.00% of average daily net assets

 

1.00% of average daily net assets

 

None

 

None

Exchange
Privilege (1)
 

Class A shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class B shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class C shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class I shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class 1 Shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds that offer Class 1 shares and Class A shares of certain other Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

(1)   Ask your Service Agent for the Legg Mason Partners Funds available for exchange.

 

14         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Sales charge

Class A shares

You buy Class A shares at the offering price, which is the net asset value plus a sales charge. You pay a lower sales charge as the size of your investment increases to certain levels called breakpoints. You do not pay a sales charge on the fund’s distributions or dividends you reinvest in additional Class A shares.

The table below shows the rate of sales charge you pay, depending on the amount you purchase, for purchases made on or after November 20, 2006. The table below also shows the amount of broker-dealer compensation that will be paid out of the sales charge. For Class A shares sold by LMIS, LMIS will receive the sales charge imposed on purchases of Class A shares (or any contingent deferred sales charge paid on redemptions) and will retain the full amount of such sales charge. For Class A shares sold by CGMI, CGMI will receive the sales charge imposed on purchases of Class A shares and will retain an amount equal to the broker-dealer commission paid out of the sales charge. LMIS will receive any portion not retained by CGMI. For Class A shares sold by PFS, PFS will receive the sales charge imposed on purchases of Class A shares (or any contingent deferred sales charge paid on redemptions) and will retain the full amount of such sales charge. Service Agents (including CGMI and PFS) will also receive a distribution/service fee payable on Class A shares at an annual rate of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class A shares serviced by them.

 

Amount of purchase   Sales Charge
as a % of
offering price
  Sales Charge as
a % of net
amount invested
  Broker/Dealer
Commission
as a % of
offering price

Less than $25,000

  5.75   6.10   5.00
 

$25,000 but less than $50,000

  5.00   5.26   4.25
 

$50,000 but less than $100,000

  4.50   4.71   3.75
 

$100,000 but less than $250,000

  3.50   3.63   2.75
 

$250,000 but less than $500,000

  2.50   2.56   2.00
 

$500,000 but less than $750,000

  2.00   2.04   1.60
 

$750,000 but less than $1,000,000

  1.50   1.52   1.20
 

$1,000,000 or more (1)

  -0-   -0-   up to 1.00
 

 

(1)   A distributor may pay a commission of up to 1.00% to a Service Agent for purchase amounts of $1 million or more. In such cases, starting in the thirteenth month after purchase, the Service Agent will also receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class A shares held by its clients. Prior to the thirteenth month, the distributor will retain this fee. Where the Service Agent does not receive the payment of this commission, the Service Agent will instead receive the annual distribution/service fee starting immediately after purchase. Please contact your Service Agent for more information.

Investments of $1,000,000 or more

You do not pay an initial sales charge when you buy $1,000,000 or more of Class A shares. However, if you redeem these Class A shares within one year of purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

 

Growth and Income Fund         15


 

Qualifying for a reduced Class A sales charge

There are several ways you can combine multiple purchases of Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds to take advantage of the breakpoints in the sales charge schedule. In order to take advantage of reductions in sales charges that may be available to you when you purchase fund shares, you must inform your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services if you are eligible for a letter of intent or a right of accumulation and if you own shares of other Legg Mason Partners Funds that are eligible to be aggregated with your purchases. Certain records, such as account statements, may be necessary in order to verify your eligibility for reduced sales charges.

n   Accumulation Privilege – allows you to combine the current value of Class A shares of the fund with other shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds that are owned by:
  ¨   you; or
  ¨   your spouse and children under the age of 21;

with the dollar amount of your next purchase of Class A shares for purposes of calculating the initial sales charge.

Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or its affiliates (other than money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners Funds), Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. may not be combined.

If you hold shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds in accounts at two or more Service Agents, please contact your Service Agents to determine which shares may be combined.

Certain trustees and fiduciaries may be entitled to combine accounts in determining their sales charge.

n   Letter of Intent – allows you to purchase Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds over a 13-month period and pay the same sales charge on Class A shares, if any, as if all shares had been purchased at once. At the time you enter into the letter of intent, you select your asset goal amount. Generally, purchases of Legg Mason Partners Fund shares that are purchased during the 13-month period by
  ¨   you; or
  ¨   your spouse and children under the age of 21

are eligible for inclusion under the letter, based on the public offering price at the time of the purchase, and any capital appreciation on those shares. You may also backdate your letter up to 90 days in which case eligible purchases made during that period will be treated as purchases made under the letter. In addition, you can include towards your asset goal amount the current value of any eligible purchases that were made prior to the date of entering into the letter of intent and are still held.

If you hold shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds in accounts at two or more Service Agents, please contact your Service Agents to determine which shares may be credited towards your letter of intent asset goal.

Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or its affiliates (other than money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners Funds), Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. may not be credited toward your letter of intent asset goal.

If you do not meet your asset goal amount, shares in the amount of any sales charges due, based on the amount of your actual purchases, will be redeemed from your account.

 

16         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Waivers for certain Class A investors

Class A initial sales charges are waived for certain types of investors, including:

n   Employees of Service Agents having dealer, service or other selling agreements with the fund’s distributors
n   Investors who redeemed Class A shares of a Legg Mason Partners Fund in the past 60 days, if the investor’s Service Agent is notified
n   Directors and officers of any Legg Mason-sponsored fund
n   Employees of Legg Mason and its subsidiaries

If you qualify for a waiver of the Class A initial sales charge, you must notify your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at the time of purchase and provide sufficient information at the time of purchase to permit verification that the purchase qualifies for the initial sales charge waiver.

If you want to learn about additional waivers of Class A initial sales charges, contact your Service Agent, consult the SAI or look at the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website, http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices, and click on the name of the fund.

Class B shares

You buy Class B shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. However, if you redeem your Class B shares within five years of your purchase payment, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge. The contingent deferred sales charge decreases as the number of years since your purchase payment increases.

 

Year after purchase   1st     2nd     3rd     4th     5th     6th through 8th  

Contingent deferred sales charge

  5 %   4 %   3 %   2 %   1 %   0 %
   

LMIS will pay Service Agents other than PFS, including CGMI, selling Class B shares a commission of up to 4.00% of the purchase price of the Class B shares they sell, and LMIS will retain the contingent deferred sales charges. For Class B shares sold by PFS, PFS will pay a commission of up to 4.00% of the purchase price of the Class B shares sold by its Service Agents and will retain the contingent deferred sales charges paid upon certain redemptions. Service Agents also receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class B shares serviced by them.

Class B conversion

After approximately 8 years, Class B shares automatically convert into Class A shares. This helps you because Class A shares have lower annual expenses. Your Class B shares will convert to Class A shares as follows:

 

Shares issued:
At initial purchase
   Shares issued:
On reinvestment of
dividends and
distributions
   Shares issued:
Upon exchange from
another Legg Mason
Partners Fund
Approximately 8 years after the date
of purchase payment
   In same proportion as the number of Class B shares converting is to total Class B shares you own (excluding shares issued as dividends)    On the date the shares originally acquired would have converted into Class A shares
 

 

Growth and Income Fund         17


 

Class C shares

You buy Class C shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. However, if you redeem your Class C shares within one year of purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

LMIS will generally pay Service Agents selling Class C shares (other than shares sold to omnibus accounts of retirement plans held on the books of the fund) a commission of up to 1.00% of the purchase price of the Class C shares they sell and LMIS will retain the contingent deferred sales charges and an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class C shares serviced by these Service Agents until the thirteenth month after purchase. Starting in the thirteenth month after purchase, these Service Agents will receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class C shares serviced by them.

Class O shares

As of February 17, 2006, the fund stopped offering Class O shares except to existing shareholders in connection with reinvesting dividends. Class O shares automatically converted to Class A shares on April 21, 2006.

Class P shares

As of February 17, 2006, the fund stopped offering Class P shares except to existing shareholders in connection with reinvesting dividends. Class P shares automatically converted to Class A shares on April 21, 2006.

Class I shares (formerly Class Y shares)

Class I shares are purchased at net asset value with no initial sales charge and no contingent deferred sales charge when redeemed. See “Retirement and institutional investors — Class I shares” below for additional information regarding investor eligibility and investment minimums.

Class 1 shares

Class 1 shares are offered to eligible Class 1 shareholders at the offering price, which is the net asset value plus a sales charge. You pay a lower sales charge as the size of your investment increases to certain levels called breakpoints. You do not pay a sales charge on the fund’s distributions or dividends you reinvest in additional Class 1 shares.

 

18         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

The table below shows the rate of sales charge you pay, depending on the amount you purchase and the amount of broker/dealer compensation that is paid out of the sales charge. This compensation includes commissions received by Service Agents that sell shares of the fund.

 

Amount of purchase   Sales Charge
as a % of
offering price (%)
  Sales Charge
as a % of net
amount invested (%)
  Broker/Dealer
Commission
as a % of
offering price (%)

Less than $10,000

  8.50   9.29   7.00
 

$10,000 but less than $25,000

  7.75   8.40   6.25
 

$25,000 but less than $50,000

  6.00   6.38   5.00
 

$50,000 but less than $100,000

  4.50   4.71   3.75
 

$100,000 but less than $250,000

  3.50   3.63   3.00
 

$250,000 but less than $400,000

  2.50   2.56   2.00
 

$400,000 but less than $600,000

  2.00   2.04   1.60
 

$600,000 but less than $5,000,000

  1.00   1.01   0.75
 

$5,000,000 or more

  0.25   0.25   0.20
 

 

Growth and Income Fund         19


 

More about contingent deferred sales charges

The contingent deferred sales charge is based on the net asset value at the time of purchase or redemption, whichever is less, and therefore you do not pay a sales charge on amounts representing appreciation or depreciation.

In addition, you do not pay a contingent deferred sales charge on:

n   Shares exchanged for shares of another Legg Mason Partners fund
n   Shares representing reinvested distributions and dividends
n   Shares no longer subject to the contingent deferred sales charge

Each time you place a request to redeem shares, the fund will first redeem any shares in your account that are not subject to a contingent deferred sales charge and then the shares in your account that have been held the longest.

If you redeemed shares of a Legg Mason Partners Fund and paid a contingent deferred sales charge, you may, under certain circumstances, reinvest all or part of the redemption proceeds within 60 days and receive pro rata credit for any contingent deferred sales charge imposed on the prior redemption. Please contact your Service Agent for additional information.

The fund’s distributors receive contingent deferred sales charges as partial compensation for their expenses in selling shares, including the payment of compensation to your Service Agent.

Contingent deferred sales charge waivers

The contingent deferred sales charge for each share Class will generally be waived:

n   On payments made through certain systematic withdrawal plans
n   On certain distributions from a retirement plan
n   For involuntary redemptions of small account balances
n   For 12 months following the death or disability of a shareholder

If you want to learn more about additional waivers of contingent deferred sales charges, contact your Service Agent, consult the SAI or look at the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website, http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices, and click on the name of the fund.

 

20         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Retirement and institutional investors

Eligible investors

Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund can generally choose among three classes of shares: Class C, Class A and Class I (formerly Class Y) shares. “Retirement Plans” include 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit-sharing plans, non-qualified deferred compensation plans and other similar employer-sponsored retirement plans. Retirement Plans do not include individual retirement vehicles, such as traditional and Roth individual retirement accounts, Coverdell education savings accounts, individual 403(b)(7) custodial accounts, Keogh plans, SEPs, SARSEPs, SIMPLE IRAs, or Section 529 savings accounts. Although Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund are not subject to minimum initial investment requirements for any of these share classes, certain investment minimums may be imposed by a financial intermediary.

Other Retirement Plan investors (including, for example, employer-sponsored plans investing through brokerage accounts), can generally choose among three classes of shares: Class A, Class B and Class C. Individual retirement vehicles, such as IRAs, may also choose among these share classes. These types of investors are treated like individual investors for purposes of determining investment minimums, sales charges and any applicable sales charge reductions or waivers.

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries may generally choose among two classes of shares: Class A and Class I. “Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries” are investors who invest in the fund through financial intermediaries that offer their clients fund shares through investment programs as authorized by LMIS. Such investment programs may include fee-based advisory or brokerage account programs, and college savings vehicles such as Section 529 plans. The financial intermediary may impose separate investment minimums.

Institutional Investors

Institutional Investors may invest in Class I shares if they meet the $1,000,000 minimum initial investment requirement. Institutional Investors may also invest in Class A, B and C shares, which have different investment minimums and fees and expenses. “Institutional Investors” generally include corporations, banks, insurance companies, foundations, retirement plans and other similar entities with direct relationships to the fund.

Class C — Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund may buy Class C shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. As of November 20, 2006, LMIS no longer pays Service Agents selling Class C shares to retirement plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of a fund a commission on the purchase price of Class C shares sold by them. Instead, immediately after purchase, LMIS will pay these Service Agents an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class C shares serviced by them. For purchases made by Retirement

 

Growth and Income Fund         21


 

Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund on or after November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge on shares redeemed within one year of purchase is waived.

Class I shares

As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares and are offered only to Institutional Investors who meet the $1,000,000 minimum initial investment requirement, Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries, and other investors as authorized by LMIS. However, investors that held Class Y shares prior to that date will be permitted to make additional investments in Class I shares.

Class A — Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund may purchase Class A shares through programs sponsored by financial intermediaries. Under these programs, the initial sales charge and contingent deferred sales charge for Class A shares is waived where:

n   such Retirement Plan’s record keeper offers only load-waived shares,
n   fund shares are held on the books of the fund through an omnibus account, and
n   the Retirement Plan has more than 100 participants, or has total assets exceeding $1 million.

As of November 20, 2006, LMIS no longer pays Service Agents selling Class A shares to Retirement Plans with a direct omnibus relationship with a fund a commission on the purchase price of Class A shares sold by them. However, for certain Retirement Plans that are permitted to purchase shares at net asset value on or after this date, LMIS may continue to pay Service Agents commissions of up to 1.00% of the purchase price of the additional Class A shares that are purchased with regular ongoing plan contributions. Please contact your Service Agent for more information.

Other considerations

Plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries and other financial intermediaries may choose to impose qualification requirements for plans that differ from the fund’s share class eligibility standards. In certain cases this could result in the selection of a share class with higher service and distribution-related fees than otherwise would have been charged. The fund is not responsible for, and has no control over, the decision of any plan sponsor, plan fiduciary or financial intermediary to impose such differing requirements. Please consult with your plan sponsor, plan fiduciary or financial intermediary for more information about available share classes.

With respect to Class A and Class C shares, the fund may pay a fee for recordkeeping services performed for the applicable share class.

Not all share classes may be made available by your Service Agent; please contact your Service Agent for additional details.

 

22         Legg Mason Partners Funds


Buying shares

 

Through a Service Agent   

You should contact your Service Agent to open a brokerage account and make arrangements to buy shares. You must provide the following information, for your order to be processed:

n  Class of shares being bought

n  Dollar amount or number of shares being bought

n  Account number (if existing account)

Your Service Agent may charge an annual account maintenance fee.

 
Through the fund   

Financial intermediary accounts, retirement plan accounts and certain other investors who are clients of certain Service Agents are eligible to buy shares directly from the fund.

n  Clients of a PFS Registered Representative should write to the fund at the following address:

Legg Mason Partners Funds

c/o PFPC, Inc.

P.O. Box 9662

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9662

n  All other investors should write to the fund at the following address:

Legg Mason Partners Funds

c/o PFPC, Inc.

P.O. Box 9699

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699

n  Enclose a check to pay for the shares. For initial purchases, complete and send an account application available upon request from Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at the number below

n  Specify the name of the fund, the share class you wish to purchase and your account number (if existing account)

n  For more information, please call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 or Primerica Shareholders Services at 800-544-5445

 
Through a systematic investment plan   

You may authorize your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services to transfer funds automatically from (i) a regular bank account, (ii) cash held in a brokerage account with a Service Agent or (iii) certain money market funds, in order to buy shares on a regular basis.

n  Amounts transferred should be at least $25

n  Amounts may be transferred monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually

n  If you do not have sufficient funds in your account on a transfer date, your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services may charge you a fee

 

For more information, contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services or consult the SAI.

 

Growth and Income Fund         23


 

Exchanging shares

 

Legg Mason Partners offers a distinctive family of mutual funds tailored to help meet the varying needs of both large and small investors   

You should contact your Service Agent to exchange into other Legg Mason Partners Funds. Be sure to read the prospectus of the Legg Mason Partners Fund into which you are exchanging. An exchange is a taxable transaction, unless you are investing through a tax-qualified savings plan or account.

n  If you bought shares through a Service Agent, you may exchange shares only for shares of the same class of certain other Legg Mason Partners Funds made available for exchange by your Service Agent. However, if you are a Class 1 shareholder, you may exchange Class 1 shares for Class A shares of other Legg Mason Partners Funds that do not offer Class 1 shares and that are made available for exchange through your Service Agent. Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds made available for exchange by your Service Agent may offer all classes. Please contact your Service Agent for more information about the funds and classes that are available for exchange

n  If you bought shares directly from the fund, you may exchange shares only for shares of the same class of another Legg Mason Partners Fund other than shares of Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund. However, if you are a Class 1 shareholder, you may exchange Class 1 shares for Class A shares of other Legg Mason Partners Funds that do not offer Class 1 shares. Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds offer all classes

n  Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds may be offered in your state of residence

n  Exchanges of Class A, B, C and 1 shares are subject to minimum investment requirements (except for systematic investment plan exchanges), and all shares are subject to the other requirements of the fund into which exchanges are made

n  If you hold share certificates, the transfer agent must receive the certificates endorsed for transfer or with signed stock powers before the exchange is effective

n  The fund may suspend or terminate your exchange privilege if you engage in an excessive pattern of exchanges

 
Waiver of additional sales charges   

Your shares will not be subject to an initial sales charge at the time of the exchange.

Your contingent deferred sales charge (if any) will continue to be measured from the date of your original purchase of shares subject to a contingent deferred sales charge and you will be subject to the contingent deferred sales charge of the fund that you originally purchased.

 

 

24         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

By telephone   

If you do not have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, you may be eligible to exchange shares through the fund. You must complete an authorization form to authorize telephone transfers. If eligible, you may make telephone exchanges on any day the New York Stock Exchange Inc. (“NYSE”) is open. For clients of a PFS Registered Representative, call Primerica Shareholder Services at 800-544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. (Eastern time). All other shareholders should call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time). Exchanges are priced at the net asset value next determined.

You can make telephone exchanges only between accounts that have identical registrations.

 
By mail    If you do not have a brokerage account, contact your Service Agent or write to the fund at the address on the following page.
 
Through a systematic exchange plan   

You may be permitted to schedule exchanges of shares of any class of the fund for shares of the same class of other Legg Mason Partners Funds.

n  Exchanges may be made, monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually

n  A predetermined dollar amount of at least $25 per exchange is required

 

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services.

 

Growth and Income Fund         25


 

Redeeming shares

 

Generally   

Contact your Service Agent to redeem shares of the fund.

If you hold share certificates, the transfer agent must receive the certificates endorsed for transfer or with signed stock powers before you may redeem.

If the shares are held by a fiduciary or corporation, other documents may be required.

Redemptions are priced at net asset value next determined after receipt of your request in good order.

Your redemption proceeds will normally be sent within three business days after your request is received in good order, but in any event within 7 days. Your redemption proceeds may be delayed for up to 10 days if your purchase was made by check.

If you have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, your redemption proceeds will be sent to your Service Agent. In other cases, unless you direct otherwise, your redemption proceeds will be paid by check mailed to your address of record.

 
By mail   

Send written requests to the fund at the following address:

For clients of a PFS Registered Representative, write Primerica Shareholder Services at the following address:

Primerica Shareholder Services

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9662

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9662

For all other investors, send your request to:

Legg Mason Partners Funds

c/o PFPC, Inc.

P.O. Box 9699

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699

Your written request must provide the following:

n  The fund name, the class of shares to be redeemed, and your account number

n  The dollar amount or number of shares to be redeemed

n  Signatures of each owner exactly as the account is registered

n  Signature guarantees, as applicable

 

 

26         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

By telephone   

If you do not have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, you may be eligible to redeem shares (except those held in certain retirement plans) in amounts up to $50,000 per day through the fund. You must complete an authorization form to authorize telephone redemptions. If eligible, you may request redemptions by telephone on any day the NYSE is open. For clients of a PFS Registered Representative, call Primerica Shareholder Services at 800-544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. (Eastern time). All other shareholders should call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time).

Your redemption proceeds can be sent by check to your address of record or by wire or electronic transfer (ACH) to a bank account designated on your authorization form. You must submit a new authorization form to change the bank account designated to receive wire or electronic transfers and you may be asked to provide certain other documents. The transfer agent may charge a fee on a wire or an electronic transfer (ACH).

 

Automatic cash

withdrawal plans

  

You can arrange for the automatic redemption of a portion of your shares monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually. To qualify you must own shares of the fund with a value of at least $10,000 ($5,000 for retirement plan accounts) and each automatic redemption must be at least $50. If your shares are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge, the sales charge will be waived if your automatic redemptions are equal to or less than 2.00% per month of your account balance on the date the withdrawals commence, up to a maximum of 12.00% in any one year.

The following conditions apply:

n  Your shares must not be represented by certificates

n  All dividends and distributions must be reinvested

 

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or consult the SAI.

 

Growth and Income Fund         27


 

Other things to know about transactions

When you buy, exchange or redeem shares, your request must be in good order. This means you have provided the following information, without which your request may not be processed:

n   Name of the fund
n   Your account number
n   Class of shares being bought, and if you own more than one class, the class of shares being exchanged or redeemed
n   Dollar amount or number of shares being bought, exchanged or redeemed
n   Signature of each owner exactly as the account is registered

The fund’s transfer agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services will employ reasonable procedures to confirm that any telephone exchange or redemption request is genuine, which may include recording calls, asking the caller to provide certain personal identification information, sending you a written confirmation or requiring other confirmation procedures from time to time. If these procedures are followed, neither the fund nor its agent will bear any liability for such transactions.

Signature guarantees

To be in good order, your redemption request must include a signature guarantee if you:

n   Are redeeming over $50,000
n   Are sending signed share certificates or stock powers to the transfer agent
n   Instruct the transfer agent to mail the check to an address different from the one on your account registration
n   Changed your account registration or your address within 30 days
n   Want the check paid to someone other than the account owner(s)
n   Are transferring the redemption proceeds to an account with a different registration

You can obtain a signature guarantee from most banks, dealers, brokers, credit unions and federal savings and loan institutions, but not from a notary public.

The fund has the right to:

n   Suspend the offering of shares
n   Waive or change minimum and additional investment amounts
n   Reject any purchase or exchange order
n   Change, revoke or suspend the exchange privilege
n   Suspend telephone transactions
n   Suspend or postpone redemptions of shares on any day when trading on the NYSE is restricted, or as otherwise permitted by the SEC
n   Pay redemption proceeds by giving you securities. You may pay transaction costs to dispose of the securities

Small account balances/Mandatory redemptions

If at any time the aggregate net asset value of the fund shares in your account is less than $500 for any reason (including solely due to declines in net asset value and/or failure to invest at least $500 within a reasonable period), the fund reserves the right to ask you to bring your account up to the applicable minimum investment amount as determined by

 

28         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

your Service Agent. In such case you shall be notified in writing and will have 60 days to make an additional investment to bring your account value up to the required level. If you choose not to do so within this 60-day period, the fund may close your account and send you the redemption proceeds. In the event your account is closed due to a failure to increase your balance to the minimum required amount, you will not be eligible to have your account subsequently reinstated without imposition of any sales charges that may apply to your new purchase. The fund may, with prior notice, change the minimum size of accounts subject to mandatory redemption, which may vary by class, or implement fees for small accounts.

Subject to applicable law, the fund may, with prior notice, adopt other policies from time to time requiring mandatory redemption of shares in certain circumstances.

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services or consult the SAI.

Frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares

Frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares may interfere with the efficient management of the fund’s portfolio by its portfolio manager, increase portfolio transaction costs, and have a negative effect on the fund’s long-term shareholders. For example, in order to handle large flows of cash into and out of the fund, the portfolio manager may need to allocate more assets to cash or other short-term investments or sell securities, rather than maintaining full investment in securities selected to achieve the fund’s investment objective. Frequent trading may cause the fund to sell securities at less favorable prices. Transaction costs, such as brokerage commissions and market spreads, can detract from the fund’s performance. In addition, the return received by long-term shareholders may be reduced when trades by other shareholders are made in an effort to take advantage of certain pricing discrepancies, when, for example, it is believed that the fund’s share price, which is determined at the close of the NYSE on each trading day, does not accurately reflect the value of the fund’s portfolio securities. Funds investing in foreign securities have been particularly susceptible to this form of arbitrage, but other funds could also be affected.

Because of the potential harm to the fund and its long-term shareholders, the Board of the fund has approved policies and procedures that are intended to discourage and prevent excessive trading and market timing abuses through the use of various surveillance techniques. Under these policies and procedures, the fund may limit additional exchanges or purchases of fund shares by shareholders who are believed by the manager to be engaged in these abusive trading activities. The intent of the policies and procedures is not to inhibit legitimate strategies, such as asset allocation, dollar cost averaging, or similar activities that may nonetheless result in frequent trading of fund shares. For this reason, the Board has not adopted any specific restrictions on purchases and sales of fund shares, but the fund reserves the right to reject any exchange or purchase of fund shares with or without prior notice to the account holder. In cases where surveillance of a particular account establishes what the manager believes to be obvious market timing, the manager will seek to block future purchases and exchanges of fund shares by that account. Where surveillance of a particular account indicates activity that the manager believes could be either abusive or for legitimate purposes, the fund may permit the account holder to justify the activity.

 

Growth and Income Fund         29


 

The policies apply to any account, whether an individual account or accounts with financial intermediaries such as investment advisers, broker/dealers or retirement plan administrators, commonly called omnibus accounts, where the intermediary holds fund shares for a number of its customers in one account. The fund’s ability to monitor trading in omnibus accounts may, however, be severely limited due to the lack of access to an individual investor’s trading activity when orders are placed through these types of accounts. There may also be operational and technological limitations on the ability of the fund’s service providers to identify or terminate frequent trading activity within the various types of omnibus accounts.

The fund’s policies also require personnel such as portfolio managers and investment staff to report any abnormal or otherwise suspicious investment activity, and prohibit short-term trades by such personnel for their own account in mutual funds managed by the manager and its affiliates, other than money market funds. Additionally, the fund has adopted policies and procedures to prevent the selective release of information about the fund’s portfolio holdings, as such information may be used for market-timing and similar abusive practices.

The fund’s policies provide for ongoing assessment of the effectiveness of current policies and surveillance tools, and the Board reserves the right to modify these or adopt additional policies and restrictions in the future. Shareholders should be aware, however, that any surveillance techniques currently employed by the fund or other techniques that may be adopted in the future may not be effective, particularly where the trading takes place through certain types of omnibus accounts. As noted above, if the fund is unable to detect and deter trading abuses, the fund’s performance, and its long-term shareholders, may be harmed. In addition, because the fund has not adopted any specific limitations or restrictions on the trading of fund shares, shareholders may be harmed by the extra costs and portfolio management inefficiencies that result from frequent trading of fund shares, even when the trading is not for abusive purposes. Furthermore, the fund may not apply its policies consistently or uniformly, resulting in the risk that some shareholders may be able to engage in frequent trading while others will bear the costs and effects of that trading. The fund will provide advance notice to shareholders and prospective investors of any specific restrictions on the trading of fund shares that the Board may adopt in the future.

Share certificates

Share certificates for the fund will no longer be issued. If you currently hold share certificates of the fund, such certificates will continue to be honored. If you would like to return your share certificates to the fund and hold your shares in uncertificated form, please contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services.

Record ownership

If you hold shares through a Service Agent, your Service Agent may establish and maintain your account and be the shareholder of record. In the event that the fund holds a shareholder meeting, your Service Agent, as record holder, will vote your shares in accordance with your instructions. If you do not give your Service Agent voting instructions, your Service Agent may nonetheless, under certain circumstances, be entitled to vote your shares.

 

30         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Dividends, distributions and taxes

Dividends and distributions

The fund generally pays dividends quarterly and makes capital gain distributions, if any, once a year, typically in December. The fund may pay additional distributions and dividends at other times if necessary for the fund to avoid a federal tax. Capital gain distributions and dividends are reinvested in additional fund shares of the same class you hold. The fund expects distributions to be primarily from capital gains. You do not pay a sales charge on reinvested distributions or dividends. Alternatively, you can instruct your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services to have your distributions and/or dividends paid in cash. You can change your choice at any time to be effective as of the next distribution or dividend, except that any change given to the Service Agent or the transfer agent less than five days before the payment date will not be effective until the next distribution or dividend.

Taxes

The following discussion is very general. Because each shareholder’s circumstances are different and special tax rules may apply, you should consult your tax adviser about your investment in the fund.

In general, you will have to pay federal income taxes, as well as any state and local taxes, when you redeem shares, exchange shares or receive a distribution (whether paid in cash or reinvested in additional shares). Any tax liability that you owe as a result of any of these taxable events is your responsibility. The federal income tax treatment of redemptions, exchanges and distributions is summarized in the following table:

 

Transaction    Federal tax status
Redemption or exchange of shares    Usually capital gain or loss; long-term only if shares owned more than one year
 
Distributions of net capital gain (excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss)    Long-term capital gain
 
Distributions of qualified dividend income    Qualified dividend income
 
Other ordinary dividends (including distributions of net short-term capital gain)    Ordinary income
 

Distributions of net capital gain are taxable to you as long-term capital gain regardless of how long you have owned your shares. Distributions of qualified dividend income received by a non-corporate shareholder may qualify for a reduced tax rate, provided that the shareholder satisfies certain holding period requirements. Qualified dividend income generally is income derived from dividends from a U.S. corporation (other than income derived from dividends received from REITs); dividends from certain foreign corporations will also qualify. You may want to avoid buying shares when the fund is about to declare a distribution or a dividend because it will be taxable to you even though it may effectively be a return of a portion of your investment.

After the end of each year, your Service Agent or the fund will provide you with information about the distributions and dividends you received and any redemptions of

 

Growth and Income Fund         31


 

shares during the previous year. If you are neither a citizen nor resident of the United States, the fund will withhold federal income tax at the rate of 30% (or such lower rate as may be determined in accordance with any applicable treaty) on ordinary dividends and other payments that are subject to such withholding. If you do not provide the fund with your correct taxpayer identification number and any required certifications, you will be subject to back-up withholding at the rate of 28% on your distributions, dividends, and redemption proceeds. Back-up withholding will not, however, be applied to payments that have been subject to the 30% withholding tax on shareholders who are neither residents nor citizens of the United States.

 

32         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Share price

You may buy, exchange or redeem shares at their net asset value next determined after receipt of your request in good order, plus any applicable sales charge. For each class of shares, net asset value per share is the value of its assets minus its liabilities divided by the number of shares outstanding. Net asset value is calculated separately for each class of shares. The fund calculates its net asset value every day the NYSE is open. This calculation is done when regular trading closes on the NYSE (normally 4:00 pm, Eastern time). The NYSE is closed on certain holidays listed in the SAI.

The fund invests in securities that are listed on foreign exchanges that trade on weekends and other days when the fund does not price its shares. Therefore, the value of the fund’s shares may change on days when you will not be able to purchase or redeem the fund’s shares.

The Board has approved procedures to be used to value the fund’s securities for the purposes of determining the fund’s net asset value. The valuation of the securities of the fund is determined in good faith by or under the direction of the Board. The Board has delegated certain valuation functions for the fund to the manager.

The fund generally values its securities based on market prices determined at the close of regular trading on the NYSE. The fund’s currency valuations, if any, are done as of when the London Stock Exchange closes, which is usually at 12 noon Eastern time, as the manager believes that these valuations typically reflect the largest trading volume in the foreign currency markets. A material change in the value of currency during the period between the close of the London Stock Exchange and the calculation of the fund’s net asset value on the same date is considered a significant event, as described below, in response to which the fund may use fair valuation procedures to value the affected investments. For equity securities that are traded on an exchange, the market price is usually the closing sale or official closing price on that exchange. In the case of securities not traded on an exchange, or if such closing prices are not otherwise available, the market price is typically determined by independent third party pricing vendors approved by the fund’s Board using a variety of pricing techniques and methodologies. The market price for debt obligations is generally the price supplied by an independent third party pricing service approved by the fund’s board, which may use a matrix, formula or other objective method that takes into consideration market indices, yield curves and other specific adjustments. Short-term debt obligations that will mature in 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, unless it is determined that using this method would not reflect an investment’s fair value. If vendors are unable to supply a price, or if the price supplied is deemed by the manager to be unreliable, the market price may be determined using quotations received from one or more brokers/dealers that make a market in the security. When such prices or quotations are not available, or when the manager believes that they are unreliable, the manager may price securities using fair value procedures approved by the Board. Because the fund invests in securities of issuers located in emerging markets and in securities rated below investment grade — some of which may be thinly traded, for which market quotations may not be readily available or may be unreliable — the fund may use fair valuation procedures more frequently than funds that invest primarily in securities that are more liquid, such as securities of large capitalization domestic issuers. The fund may also use fair value procedures if

 

Growth and Income Fund         33


 

the manager determines that a significant event has occurred between the time at which a market price is determined and the time at which the fund’s net asset value is calculated. In particular, the value of foreign securities may be materially affected by events occurring after the close of the market on which they are valued, but before the fund prices its shares. The fund uses a fair value model developed by an independent third party pricing service to price foreign equity securities on days when there is a certain percentage change in the value of a domestic equity security index, as such percentage may be determined by the manager from time to time.

Valuing securities at fair value involves greater reliance on judgment than valuation of securities based on readily available market quotations. A fund that uses fair value to price securities may value those securities higher or lower than another fund using market quotations or its own fair value methodologies to price the same securities. There can be no assurance that the fund could obtain the fair value assigned to a security if it were to sell the security at approximately the time at which the fund determines its net asset value.

In order to buy, redeem or exchange shares at that day’s price, you must place your order with your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services before the NYSE closes. If the NYSE closes early, you must place your order prior to the actual closing time.

It is the responsibility of the Service Agents to transmit all orders to buy, exchange or redeem shares to the transfer agent on a timely basis.

 

34         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Financial highlights

The financial highlights tables are intended to help you understand the performance of each class for the past five years or since inception. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share. Total return represents the rate that a shareholder would have earned (or lost) on a fund share assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions. The information in the following tables has been derived from the fund’s financial statements, which have been audited by             , independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund’s financial statements, is included in the annual report (available upon request). Effective April 29, 2004, Class L shares of the fund were renamed Class C shares. Effective as of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares of the fund were renamed Class I shares.

 

For a Class 1 share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended October 31:   
Class 1 Shares (1)(2)   2006   2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net asset value, beginning of year

    $14.42     $13.53     $11.05     $13.08  
   

Income (loss) from operations:

         

Net investment income

    0.15     0.08     0.07     0.05  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    0.78     0.88     2.46     (2.02 )
   

Total income (loss) from operations

    0.93     0.96     2.53     (1.97 )
   

Less distributions from:

         

Net investment income

    (0.16 )   (0.07 )   (0.05 )   (0.05 )

Net realized gains

                 

Return of capital

                (0.01 )
   

Total distributions

    (0.16 )   (0.07 )   (0.05 )   (0.06 )
   

Net asset value, end of year

    $15.19     $14.42     $13.53     $11.05  
   

Total return (3)

    6.48 %   7.08 %   22.91 %   (15.13 )%
   

Net assets, end of year (millions)

    $478     $518     $536     $494  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

         

Gross expenses

    0.95 %   0.97 %   1.00 %   0.99 %

Net expenses

    0.95 (4)(5)   0.96 (4)   1.00     0.99  

Net investment income

    1.01     0.59     0.56     0.38  
   

Portfolio turnover rate

    57 %   42 %   63 %   44 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   On May 9, 2003, Class 1 shares were renamed as Smith Barney Class 1 shares. On             , Smith Barney Class 1 shares were renamed as Class 1 shares.

 

(3)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower.

 

(4)   The investment manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees and/or reimbursed certain expenses. Fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements are voluntary and may be reduced or terminated at any time.

 

(5)   As a result of a voluntary expense limitation, the ratio of expenses to average net assets of the class will not exceed 1.00%.

 

Growth and Income Fund         35


 

For a Class A share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended October 31:   
Class A Shares (1)(2)   2006   2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net asset value, beginning of year

    $14.42     $13.52     $11.06     $13.07  
   

Income (loss) from operations:

         

Net investment income

    0.11     0.04     0.02     0.02  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    0.78     0.88     2.45     (2.02 )
   

Total income (loss) from operations

    0.89     0.92     2.47     (2.00 )
   

Less distributions from:

         

Net investment income

    (0.12 )   (0.02 )   (0.01 )   (0.00 ) (3)

Net realized gains

                 

Return of capital

                (0.01 )
   

Total distributions

    (0.12 )   (0.02 )   (0.01 )   (0.01 )
   

Net asset value, end of year

    $15.19     $14.42     $13.52     $11.06  
   

Total return (4)

    6.16 %   6.82 %   22.36 %   (15.29 )%
   

Net assets, end of year (millions)

    $266     $283     $278     $233  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

         

Gross expenses

    1.29 %   1.28 %   1.35 %   1.25 %

Net expenses

    1.25 (5)(6)   1.27 (5)   1.35     1.25  

Net investment income

    0.70     0.28     0.21     0.12  
   

Portfolio turnover rate

    57 %   42 %   63 %   44 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   On May 9, 2003, Class A shares were renamed as Smith Barney Class A shares. On             , Smith Barney Class A shares were renamed as Class A shares.

 

(3)   Amount represents less than $0.01 per share.

 

(4)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower.

 

(5)   The investment manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees and/or reimbursed certain expenses. Fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements are voluntary and may be reduced or terminated at any time.

 

(6)   As a result of a voluntary expense limitation, the ratio of expenses to average net assets of the class will not exceed 1.25%.

 

36         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

For a Class B share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended October 31:   
Class B Shares (1)(2)   2006   2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net asset value, beginning of year

    $13.64     $12.91     $10.66     $12.73  
   

Income (loss) from operations:

         

Net investment loss

    (0.00 ) (3)   (0.11 )   (0.10 )   (0.11 )

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    0.74     0.84     2.35     (1.96 )
   

Total income (loss) from operations

    0.74     0.73     2.25     (2.07 )
   

Less distributions from:

         

Net realized gains

                 
   

Total distributions

                 
   

Net asset value, end of year

    $14.38     $13.64     $12.91     $10.66  
   

Total return (4)

    5.43 %   5.65 %   21.11 %   (16.26 )%
   

Net assets, end of year (millions)

    $105     $113     $117     $111  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

         

Gross expenses

    2.27 %   2.37 %   2.42 %   2.28 %

Net expenses

    1.98 (5)(6)   2.36 (5)   2.42     2.28  

Net investment loss

    (0.03 )   (0.81 )   (0.85 )   (0.91 )
   

Portfolio turnover rate

    57 %   42 %   63 %   44 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   On May 9, 2003, Class B shares were renamed as Smith Barney Class B shares. On             , Smith Barney Class B shares were renamed as Class B shares.

 

(3)   Amount represents less than $0.01 per share.

 

(4)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower.

 

(5)   The investment manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees and/or reimbursed certain expenses. Fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements are voluntary and may be reduced or terminated at any time.

 

(6)   As a result of a voluntary expense limitation, the ratio of expenses to average net assets of the class will not exceed 2.00%.

 

Growth and Income Fund         37


 

For a Class C share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended October 31:   
Class C Shares (1)(2)   2006   2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net asset value, beginning of year

    $14.16     $13.33     $10.94     $13.00  
   

Income (loss) from operations:

         

Net investment income (loss)

    0.02     (0.04 )   (0.03 )   (0.07 )

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    0.76     0.87     2.42     (1.99 )
   

Total income (loss) from operations

    0.78     0.83     2.39     (2.06 )
   

Less distributions from:

         

Net investment income

        (0.00 ) (3)        

Net realized gains

                 
   

Total distributions

        (0.00 )        
   

Net asset value, end of year

    $14.94     $14.16     $13.33     $10.94  
   

Total return (4)

    5.51 %   6.23 %   21.85 %   (15.85 )%
   

Net assets, end of year (000s)

    $4,627     $5,675     $5,696     $4,516  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

         

Gross expenses

    1.86 %   1.82 %   1.80 %   1.89 %

Net expenses

    1.86 (5)(6)   1.82 (5)   1.80     1.89  

Net investment income (loss)

    0.13     (0.27 )   (0.25 )   (0.52 )
   

Portfolio turnover rate

    57 %   42 %   63 %   44 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   On May 9, 2003, Class L shares were renamed as Smith Barney Class L shares. On April 29, 2004, Smith Barney Class L shares were renamed as Smith Barney Class C shares. On             , Smith Barney Class C shares were renamed as Class C shares.

 

(3)   Amount represents less than $0.01 per share.

 

(4)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower.

 

(5)   The investment manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees and/or reimbursed certain expenses. Fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements are voluntary and may be reduced or terminated at any time.

 

(6)   As a result of a voluntary expense limitation, the ratio of expenses to average net assets of the class will not exceed 2.00%.

 

38         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

For a Class I share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended October 31, unless otherwise noted:     
Class I Shares (1)(2)   2006   2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net asset value, beginning of year

    $14.45     $13.55     $11.08     $13.08  
     

Income (loss) from operations:

         

Net investment income

    0.21     0.12     0.11     0.09  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    0.76     0.89     2.44     (2.01 )
     

Total income (loss) from operations

    0.97     1.01     2.55     (1.92 )
     

Less distributions from:

         

Net investment income

    (0.20 )   (0.11 )   (0.08 )   (0.07 )

Return of capital

                (0.01 )
     

Total distributions

    (0.20 )   (0.11 )   (0.08 )   (0.08 )
     

Net asset value, end of year

    $15.22     $14.45     $13.55     $11.08  
     

Total return (3)

    6.75 %   7.48 %   23.16 %   (14.77 )%
     

Net assets, end of year (millions)

    $93     $189     $174     $136  
     

Ratios to average net assets:

         

Gross expenses

    0.69 %   0.68 %   0.67 %   0.67 %

Net expenses

    0.69 (4)(5)   0.67 (4)   0.67     0.67  

Net investment income

    1.39     0.87     0.88     0.70  
     

Portfolio turnover rate

    57 %   42 %   63 %   44 %
     

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   On May 9, 2003, Class Y shares were renamed as Smith Barney Class Y shares. On             , Smith Barney Class Y shares were renamed as Class Y shares. On November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed as Class I shares.

 

(3)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower. Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

(4)   The investment manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees and/or reimbursed certain expenses. Fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements are voluntary and may be reduced or terminated at any time.

 

(5)   As a result of a voluntary expense limitation, the ratio of expenses to average net assets of the class will not exceed 1.00%.

 

Growth and Income Fund         39


 

 

(Investment Company Act file no. 811-05018)

FD 02013 02/07

LOGO

 

Legg Mason Partners Growth and Income Fund

You may look at the fund’s website at www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices for a free copy of a Prospectus, Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) or an Annual or Semi-Annual Report, or to request other information.

Shareholder reports Additional information about the fund’s investments is available in the fund’s Annual and Semi-Annual Reports to shareholders. In the fund’s Annual Report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the fund’s performance.

The fund sends only one report to a household if more than one account has the same address. Contact your Service Agent or the transfer agent if you do not want this policy to apply to you.

Statement of additional information The statement of additional information provides more detailed information about the fund and is incorporated by reference into (is legally a part of) this Prospectus.

You can make inquiries about the fund or obtain shareholder reports (without charge) by contacting your Service Agent, by calling Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 (or for clients of a PFSI Registered Representative, call Primerica Shareholder Services at 800-544-5445), or by writing to the fund at Legg Mason Partners Funds, 125 Broad Street, New York, New York 10004.

Information about the fund (including the SAI) can be reviewed and copied at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “Commission”) Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. In addition, information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the Commission at 800-SEC-0330. Reports and other information about the fund are available on the EDGAR Database on the Commission’s Internet site at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of this information may be obtained for a duplicating fee by electronic request at the following E-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing the Commission’s Public Reference Section, Washington, D.C. 20549-0102.

If someone makes a statement about the fund that is not in this Prospectus, you should not rely upon that information. Neither the fund nor the distributors are offering to sell shares of the fund to any person to whom the fund may not lawfully sell its shares.


April      , 2007

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

LEGG MASON PARTNERS GROWTH AND INCOME FUND

LEGG MASON PARTNERS DIVIDEND STRATEGY FUND

125 Broad Street

New York, New York 10004

800 451-2010

This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) expands upon and supplements the information contained in the current Prospectuses of Legg Mason Partners Growth and Income Fund (“Growth and Income Fund”) and Legg Mason Partners Dividend Strategy Fund (“Dividend Strategy Fund”), each dated     , 2007, as supplemented from time to time, and should be read in conjunction with the Prospectuses. This SAI, although not in itself a prospectus, is incorporated by reference in its entirety into the Prospectuses of both funds (the “Funds”). As part of a number of initiatives launched in 2006 to restructure and streamline the Legg Mason Partners fund complex, the Funds assumed the assets and liabilities of predecessor funds with the same names. The Funds are now grouped for organizational and governance purposes with other Legg Mason Partners funds that are predominantly equity-type funds, and is a series of Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”), a Massachusetts business trust. Other initiatives, including the election of a new Board and the approval of certain revised fundamental investment policies, have also been accomplished, and more information on these matters appears in this SAI. If certain remaining initiatives are accomplished, the Funds will become a series of Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust, a Maryland business trust. Certain historical information contained in the SAI is that of the Funds’ predecessors.

Additional information about the Funds’ investments is available in the Funds’ annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. These reports contain financial statements that are incorporated herein by reference. The Prospectuses and reports may be obtained by contacting a broker-dealer, financial intermediary or financial institution that has entered into an agreement with a Fund’s distributor or a distributor’s financial consultants (each, a “service agent”), by calling the applicable Fund at 1-800-451-2010, or by writing to the applicable Fund at 125 Broad Street, New York, New York 10004. Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC (“LMIS”), a wholly-owned broker-dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”), Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”) and PFS Investments Inc. (“PFS”) serve as the Funds’ distributors.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

Management

   2

Investment Objectives, Management Policies and Associated Risks

   14

Additional Risk Factors

   30

Investment Restrictions

   35

Brokerage

   39

Portfolio Turnover

   41

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

   42

Portfolio Managers

   44

Distributors

   50

Distribution Plan

   52

Determination of Net Asset Value

   54

Additional Information on the Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares and Shareholder Programs

   54

Distributions and Federal Taxes

   63

Other Information

   66

Financial Statements

   75

Appendix A — Ratings of Bonds, Notes and Commercial Paper

   A-1

Appendix B — Proxy Voting Guidelines & Procedures Summary — ClearBridge Advisors

   B-1

This Statement of Additional Information is NOT a prospectus and is authorized for distribution to prospective investors only if preceded or accompanied by an effective Prospectus.

 

1


MANAGEMENT

The business affairs of the Funds are managed by or under the direction of the Board of Trustees. The Board elects officers who are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the Funds and who execute policies authorized by the Board.

The current Trustees, including the Independent Trustees, of the Funds who are not “interested persons” of the Funds as defined in the 1940 Act (the “Independent Trustees”) and executive officers of the Funds, their birth years, their principal occupations during the past five years (their titles may have varied during that period), the number of investment companies and their portfolios associated with Legg Mason the Trustees oversee, and other board memberships they hold are set forth below. The address of each Trustee is c/o R. Jay Gerken, 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022.

The following information relates to the Trust’s recently elected Board of Trustees.

 

Name and Year of Birth

  

Position(s)
with Funds 

  

Term of Office*

and Length of
Time Served**

  

Principal Occupation(s)

During Past 5 Years

  

Number of

Funds

in Fund

Complex

Overseen

by Trustee

  

Other Board

Memberships Held

by Trustee During

Past Five Years

INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES:

           

Paul R. Ades

Born 1940

   Trustee    Since 1983    Law firm of Paul R. Ades, PLLC (since 2000)       None

Andrew L. Breech

Born 1952

   Trustee    Since 1991    President, Dealer Operating Control Service, Inc. (automotive retail management) (since 1985)       None

Dwight B. Crane

Born 1937

   Trustee    Since 1981    Professor, Harvard Business School (since 1969); Independent Consultant (since 1969)       None

Robert M. Frayn, Jr.

Born 1934

   Trustee    Since 1981    Retired; formerly, President and Director, Book Publishing Co. (1970 to 2002)       None

Frank G. Hubbard

Born 1937

   Trustee    Since 1993    President, Avatar International Inc. (business development) (since 1998)       None

Howard J. Johnson

Born 1938

   Trustee    From 1981 to 1998 and 2000 to Present    Chief Executive Officer, Genesis Imaging LLC (technology company) (since 2003)       None

David E. Maryatt

Born 1936

   Trustee    Since 1983    Private Investor; President and Director, ALS Co. (real estate management and development firm) (since 1993)       None

Jerome H. Miller

Born 1938

   Trustee    Since 1995    Retired       None

Ken Miller

Born 1942

   Trustee    Since 1983    Chairman, Young Stuff Apparel Group, Inc. (apparel manufacturer) (1963 to 2005)       None

John J. Murphy

Born 1944

   Trustee    Since 2002    President, Murphy Capital Management (investment advice) (since 1983)       Director, Nicholas Applegate funds; Trustee, Consulting Group Capital Markets Funds; formerly, Director, Atlantic Stewardship Bank (2004 to 2005); Director, Barclays International Funds Group Ltd. and affiliated companies (to 2003)

 

2


Thomas F. Schlafly

Born 1948

   Trustee    Since 1983    Of Counsel, Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin LLP (law firm) (since 1984); President, The Saint Louis Brewery, Inc. (brewery) (since 1989)       Director, Citizens National Bank, Maplewood (2006)

Jerry A. Viscione

Born 1944

   Trustee    Since 1993    Retired; formerly, Executive Vice President, Marquette University (1997 to 2002)       None
INTERESTED TRUSTEE:            

R. Jay Gerken , CFA†

Born 1951

  

Trustee,

President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

   Since 2002    Managing Director, Legg Mason & Co., LLC (“Legg Mason & Co.”); Chairman of the Board, Trustee, or Director of [ ] funds associated with LMPFA and its affiliates; President, LMPFA (since 2006); Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its affiliates; formerly, Chairman, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”) and Citi Fund Management, Inc. (“CFM”) (2002 to 2005); formerly, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Travelers Investment Advisers Inc. (2002 to 2005)       Trustee, Consulting Group Capital Markets Funds

* Each Trustee serves until his or her respective successor has been duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation, retirement or removal.
** Indicates the earliest year in which the Trustee became a Board member for a fund in the Legg Mason Partners fund complex.
Mr. Gerken is an “interested person”, as defined in the 1940 Act, because of his position with the manager and/or certain of its affiliates.

 

3


Name, Year of Birth and Address

  

Position(s)

with Funds

  

Term of Office*

and Length of

Time Served**

  

Principal Occupation(s)

During Past 5 Years

OFFICERS:         

Ted P. Becker

Born 1951

399 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10022

  

Chief Compliance

Officer

   Since 2006    Managing Director of Compliance at Legg Mason & Co (2005 to present); Chief Compliance Officer with certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. (since 2006); Chief Compliance Officer of LMPFA and certain affiliates; Managing Director of Compliance at Citigroup Asset Management (“CAM,” a group of affiliated investment advisers, which included Smith Barney Fund Management (“SBFM”), Smith Barney Asset Management and Citi Fund Management (“CFM”) and other affiliated investment advisory entities) (2002 to 2005). Prior to 2002, Managing Director-Internal Audit & Risk Review at Citigroup Inc.

John Chiota

Born 1968

100 First Stamford Place, 5th Fl

Stamford, CT 06902

  

Chief Anti-Money

Laundering

Compliance

Officer

   Since 2006    Vice President of Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors (since 2004); Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. (since 2006). Prior to August 2004, Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer of TD Waterhouse.

Robert I. Frenkel

Born 1954

300 First Stamford Place

Stamford, CT 06902

  

Secretary and

Chief Legal

Officer

   Since 2003    Managing Director and General Counsel of Global Mutual Funds for Legg Mason & Co. and its predecessors (since 2000); Secretary and Chief Legal Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. (since 2003). Previously, Secretary of CFM (2001 to 2004).

R. Jay Gerken, CFA

Born 1951

399 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10022

  

Chairman,

President

and Chief

Executive Officer

   Since 2002    Managing Director of Legg Mason & Co.; Chairman of the Board, Trustee, or Director of 169 funds associated with LMPFA and its affiliates; Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. Previously, Chairman of SBFM and CFM (2002 to 2005); Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Travelers Investment Advisers Inc. (2002 to 2005).

Thomas C. Mandia

Born 1962

300 First Stamford Place

Stamford, CT 06902

  

Assistant

Secretary

   Since 2000    Managing Director and Deputy General Counsel of Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors (since 1992); Assistant Secretary of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co.

Kaprel Ozsolak

Born 1965

125 Broad Street, 11th Floor

New York, NY 10004

  

Chief Financial

Officer and

Treasurer

   Since 2004    Director of Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors; Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors. Previously, Mr. Ozsolak was Controller of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors (2002 to 2004).

* Each officer serves until his or her respective successor has been duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation, retirement or removal.
** Indicates the earliest year in which the officer took office for any funds in the Legg Mason Partners fund complex.

 

4


The Board has a standing Audit Committee, Nominating Committee and Pricing Committee. The Audit Committee and Nominating Committee are comprised of Independent Trustees. The Pricing Committee is composed of the Chairman of the Board and one Independent Trustee.

The Audit Committee oversees the scope of the Funds’ audit, the Funds’ accounting and financial reporting policies and practices and its internal controls. The primary purposes of the Board’s Audit Committee are to assist the Board in fulfilling its responsibility for oversight of the integrity of the accounting, auditing and financial reporting practices of the Funds, the qualifications and independence of the Funds’ independent registered public accounting firm, and the Funds’ compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. The Audit Committee approves, and recommends to the Independent Trustees for their ratification, the selection, appointment, retention or termination of the Funds’ independent registered public accounting firm and approves the compensation of the independent registered public accounting firm. The Audit Committee also approves all audit and permissible non-audit services provided to the Funds by the independent registered public accounting firm and all permissible non-audit services provided by the Funds’ independent registered public accounting firm to its manager and any affiliated service providers if the engagement relates directly to the Funds’ operations and financial reporting.

The Governance Committee is responsible for, among other things, recommending candidates to fill vacancies on the Board. The Governance Committee may consider nominees recommended by a shareholder. Shareholders who wish to recommend a nominee should send recommendations to the Trust’s Secretary that include all information relating to such person that is required to be disclosed in solicitations of proxies for the election of Trustees. A recommendation must be accompanied by a written consent of the individual to stand for election if nominated by the Board and to serve if elected by the shareholders.

The Governance Committee identifies potential nominees through its network of contacts and may also engage, if it deems appropriate, a professional search firm. The committee meets to discuss and consider such candidates’ qualifications and then chooses a candidate by majority vote. The committee does not have specific, minimum qualifications for nominees, nor has it established specific qualities or skills that it regards as necessary for one or more of the Trustees to possess (other than any qualities or skills that may be required by applicable law, regulation or listing standard). However, in evaluating a person as a potential nominee to serve as a Trustee, the Governance Committee may consider the following factors, among any others it may deem relevant:

 

    whether or not the person is an “interested person,” as defined in the 1940 Act, and whether the person is otherwise qualified under applicable laws and regulations to serve as a Trustee;

 

    whether or not the person has any relationships that might impair his or her independence, such as any business, financial or family relationships with fund management, the investment adviser, service providers or their affiliates;

 

    whether or not the person serves on boards of, or is otherwise affiliated with, competing financial service organizations or their related mutual fund complexes;

 

    whether or not the person is willing to serve, and willing and able to commit the time necessary for the performance of the duties of a Trustee;

 

5


    the contribution which the person can make to the Board (or, if the person has previously served as a Trustee, the contribution which the person made to the Board during his or her previous term of service), with consideration being given to the person’s business and professional experience, education and such other factors as the committee may consider relevant;

 

    the character and integrity of the person; and

 

    whether or not the selection and nomination of the person would be consistent with the requirements of the retirement policies of the Trust, as applicable.

The Pricing Committee is charged with determining the fair value prices for securities when required.

As indicated above, the Trust’s Board is recently elected and is newly constituted as the Board that oversees all of the equity-type funds in the fund complex. All members of the Board previously have served on Boards of Legg Mason Partners funds. The Audit, Governance and Pricing Committees are recently established committees of this Board and did not meet during the Funds’ last fiscal year.

The following table shows the amount of equity securities owned by the Trustees in the Funds and other investment companies in the fund complex supervised by the Trustees as of December 31, 2006.

 

Name of Trustee

  

Dollar Range

of Equity

Securities in

the Growth and Income

Fund

  

Dollar Range

of Equity

Securities in

the Dividend Strategy

Fund

  

Aggregate Dollar Range

of Equity Securities In

Registered Investment

Companies Overseen

by Trustee

Independent Trustees

        

Paul R. Ades

        

Andrew L. Breech

        

Dwight B. Crane

        

Robert M. Frayn, Jr

        

Frank G. Hubbard

        

Howard J. Johnson

        

David E. Maryatt

        

Jerome H. Miller

        

Ken Miller

        

John J. Murphy

        

Thomas F. Schlafly

        

Jerry A. Viscione

        

Interested Trustee

        

R. Jay Gerken

        

[As of December 31, 2006, none of the Independent Trustees or their immediate family members owned beneficially or of record any securities of the manager, subadviser or distributors of the Funds, or in a person (other than a registered investment company) directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with the manager, subadviser or distributors of the Funds.]

Information regarding compensation paid to the Trustees by the Funds for the calendar year ended December 31, 2006 is set forth below. The Independent Trustees receive a fee for each meeting of the Funds’ Board of Trustees and committee meetings attended and are reimbursed for all out-of-pockete

 

6


xpenses relating to attendance at such meetings. Mr. Gerken, an “interested person,” as defined in the 1940 Act, does not receive compensation from the Funds for his service as trustee, but may be reimbursed for all out-of-pocket expenses relating to attendance at such meetings.

The Funds pay a pro rata share of the Trustee fees based upon asset size. The Funds currently pay each of the Trustees who is not a director, officer or employee of the manager or any of its affiliates its pro rata share of: an annual fee of [$     ] plus [$     ] for each regularly scheduled Board meeting attended, [$     ] for each special telephonic Board meeting attended, and [$     ] for each adhoc telephonic meeting in which that trustee participates. The lead independent trustee will receive an additional [$     ] per year and the Chairs of the Audit Committee and Governance Committee will each receive an additional [$     ] per year. The Funds will reimburse Trustees for travel and out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with Board meetings.

 

Name of Trustee

  

Aggregate

Compensation

from the

Growth and

Income

Fund(1) (2)

  

Aggregate

Compensation

from the Dividend

Strategy

Fund(1) (2)

  

Total Pension or

Retirement

Benefits Paid

as Part of Fund

Expenses(1) (3)

  

Total

Compensation

from Fund
Complex Paid

to Trustee(1)

(2)

  

Number of
Portfolios

in

Fund

Complex

Overseen

by
Trustee(1)

Independent Trustees

              

Paul R. Ades

              

Andrew L. Breech

              

Dwight B. Crane

              

Robert M. Frayn, Jr

              

Frank G. Hubbard

              

Howard J. Johnson

              

David E. Maryatt

              

Jerome H. Miller

              

Ken Miller

              

John J. Murphy

              

Thomas F. Schlafly

              

Jerry A. Viscione

              

Interested Trustee

              

R. Jay Gerken

              

(1) Information is for the calendar year ended December 31, 2006. The disclosure of compensation paid to the Trustees is provided as of the most recent calendar year end, rather than the Funds’ most recent fiscal year end, for ease of presentation and comprehension.
(2) Messrs Kerley, Merten and Pettit received $ , $ , $ , $ , $ , $ , $ , $ , and $ , respectively, during the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, for services as Trustees in attending additional meetings related to the approval of policies and procedures under Rule 38a-1, certain other regulatory issues and the consideration of new custody and transfer agency arrangements. These amounts were borne by the manager and/or its affiliates and not by the Funds.
(3) Pursuant to a prior emeritus retirement plan, Mr. Crane has received or is entitled to receive, in a lump sum (calculated on a net present value basis) or in quarterly installments, an aggregate benefit having a net present value equal to [$              ]. Mr. Crane elected to receive the benefit in a lump sum payment. Each Fund formerly overseen by Mr. Crane will pay a pro rata share (based upon asset size) of the aggregate benefit to Mr. Crane. Legg Mason or its affiliates have agreed to reimburse these Funds an amount equal to 50% of the benefits paid to Mr. Crane.

 

7


For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, the Trustees of the Funds’ predecessors were paid the compensation listed below for service as a Trustee.

Trustees Compensation Table

 

Trustee

  

Aggregate

Compensation

from Growth

and Income

Fund

for fiscal year

ended 10/31/06

  

Aggregate

Compensation

from

Dividend
Strategy

Fund

for fiscal year

ended 10/31/06

Interested Trustee

     

R. Jay Gerken (1)  

   $ 0    $ 0

Independent Trustees

     

Elliott J. Berv

     

Donald M. Carlton

     

A. Benton Cocanougher

     

Mark T. Finn

     

Stephen Randolph Gross

     

Diana R. Harrington

     

Susan B. Kerley

     

Alan G. Merten

     

R. Richardson Pettit

     

Trustee

  

Pension or

Retirement

Benefits

Paid as Part

of Fund

Expenses

for fiscal year

ended 10/31/06 (2) (3)

  

Total
Compensation
from Funds and
Fund Complex
Paid to Trustees

for fiscal year

ended 10/31/06

  

Number of Funds

in Fund Complex

Served by Trustee

for fiscal year

ended 10/31/06

Interested Trustee

        

R. Jay Gerken (1)  

   None    $ 0   

Independent Trustees

        

Elliott J. Berv

   None      

Donald M. Carlton

   None      

A. Benton Cocanougher

   None      

Mark T. Finn

   None      

Stephen Randolph Gross

   None      

Diana R. Harrington

   None      

Susan B. Kerley

   None      

Alan G. Merten

   None      

R. Richardson Pettit

   None      

(1) Mr. Gerken was is not compensated for his service as Trustee because of his affiliation with the manager.
(2) [to be updated by amendment]
(3) Pursuant to emeritus retirement plans, the following former Independent Trustees have received, or are entitled to receive, benefits (calculated on a net present value basis) as follows:              : $              ;              : $              ; and              : $              . These benefits are paid in quarterly installments unless the Trustee elected to receive them in a lump sum at net present value. The fund or will pay its pro rata share (based upon asset size) of these aggregate benefits. Legg Mason or its affiliates has reimbursed or will reimburse the fund an amount equal to 50% of these benefits.

 

8


The Master Trust Agreement of the Trust provides that the Trust will indemnify its Trustees and officers against liabilities and expenses incurred in connection with litigation in which they may be involved because of their offices with the Trust, unless, as to liability to the Trust, or its investors, it is finally adjudicated that they engaged in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in their offices, or unless with respect to any other matter it is finally adjudicated that they did not act in good faith in the reasonable belief that their actions were in the best interests of the Trust. In the case of settlement, such indemnification will not be provided unless it has been determined by a court or other body approving the settlement or other disposition or a reasonable determination, based upon a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial-type inquiry) that such officers or Trustees have not engaged in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of their duties. Rights to indemnification or insurance cannot be limited retroactively.

The Master Trust Agreement further provides that (i) the appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee as a member or chairperson of a committee of the Trustees, an expert on any topic or in any area (including an audit committee financial expert), or the lead Independent Trustee, or any other special appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee, shall not impose on that individual any duty, obligation or liability that is greater than the duties, obligations and liability imposed on that person as a Trustee in the absence of the appointment, designation or identification (except with respect to duties expressly imposed pursuant to the by-laws of the Trust, a committee charter or a Trust policy statement), (ii) no Trustee who has special skills or expertise, or is appointed, designated or identified shall be held to a higher standard of care by virtue thereof and (iii) no appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee shall affect in any way that Trustee’s rights to indemnification.

As of             , 2007, all Trustees and officers as a group owned less than 1% of the outstanding shares of each Fund.

Officers receive no compensation from the Funds although they may be reimbursed for reasonable travel expenses for attending meetings of the Board of Trustees.

The Master Trust Agreement of the Trust provides that the Trust will indemnify its Trustees and officers against liabilities and expenses incurred in connection with litigation in which they may be involved

 

9


because of their offices with the Trust, unless, as to liability to the Trust, or its investors, it is finally adjudicated that they engaged in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in their offices, or unless with respect to any other matter it is finally adjudicated that they did not act in good faith in the reasonable belief that their actions were in the best interest of the Trust. In the case of settlement, such indemnification will not be provided unless it has been determined by a court or other body approving the settlement or other disposition or a reasonable determination, based upon a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial-type inquiry) that such officers or trustees have not engaged in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of their duties. Rights to indemnification or insurance cannot be limited retroactively.

The Master Trust Agreement of the Trust further provides that (i) the appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee as a member or chairperson of a committee of the Trustees, an expert on any topic or in any area (including an audit committee financial expert), or the lead Independent Trustee, or any other special appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee, shall not impose on that individual any duty, obligation or liability that is greater than the duties, obligations and liability imposed on that person as a Trustee in the absence of the appointment, designation or identification (except with respect to duties expressly imposed pursuant to the by-laws of the Trust, a committee charter or a Trust policy statement), (ii) no Trustee who has special skills or expertise, or is appointed, designated or identified shall be held to a higher standard of care by virtue thereof and (iii) no appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee shall affect in any way that Trustee’s rights to indemnification.

As of                    , 2007, to the knowledge of the Funds, the following shareholders or “groups” (as such term is defined in Section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) owned beneficially or of record 5% or more of the shares of the share class indicated:

[To be updated by amendment.]

 

Fund

   Class    Percent    Name    Address

Growth and Income Fund

           

Dividend Strategy Fund

           

Investment Manager

LMPFA serves as investment manager to each Fund pursuant to separate investment management agreements (the “Management Agreements”) with initial terms ending November 30, 2007. LMPFA, with offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022, is a recently-organized investment adviser that has been formed to serve as the investment manager of the Funds and other Legg Mason-sponsored funds. LMPFA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason. Legg Mason, whose principal executive offices are at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, is a global asset management company. As of September 30, 2006, Legg Mason’s asset management operation had aggregate assets under management of approximately $891 billion. LMPFA provides administrative and certain oversight services to the Funds and manages the cash and short-term investments of the Funds.

Under the Management Agreements, subject to the supervision and direction of the Funds’ Board, the manager is delegated the responsibility of managing the Funds’ portfolios in accordance with the Funds’ stated investment objectives and policies, making investment decisions for the Funds and placing orders to purchase and sell securities. The manager also performs administrative and management services necessary for the operation of the Funds, such as (i) supervising the overall administration of the Funds, including negotiation of contracts and fees with and the monitoring of performance and billings of the Funds’ transfer agent, shareholder servicing agents, custodian and other independent contractors or agents; (ii) providing certain compliance, fund accounting, regulatory reporting, and tax reporting services; (iii) preparing or participating in the preparation of Board materials, registration statements, proxy statements and reports and other communications to shareholders; (iv) maintaining the Funds’ existence, and (v) maintaining the registration and qualification of the Funds’ shares under federal and state laws.

 

10


The Management Agreements will continue in effect from year to year provided such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (a) by the Funds’ Board or by a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the applicable Fund (as defined in the 1940 Act), and (b) in either event, by a majority of the Independent Trustees with such Independent Trustees casting votes in person at a meeting called for such purpose.

The Management Agreements provide that the manager may render services to others. The Management Agreements are terminable without penalty on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice by the applicable Fund when authorized either by a vote of holders of shares representing a majority of the voting power of the outstanding voting securities of the applicable Fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) or by a vote of a majority of the Fund’s Trustees, or by the manager on not less than 90 days’ written notice, and will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment. The Management Agreements provide that neither the manager nor its personnel shall be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or omission in the execution of security transactions for the Funds, except for willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence or reckless disregard of its or their obligations and duties.

For its services provided under each of the Funds’ Management Agreement, the manager is entitled to receive fees, which are computed daily and paid monthly, at the following annual rates of such Fund’s average daily net assets on an annualized basis for such Fund’s then-current fiscal year: 0.65% up to $1 billion; 0.60% on the next $1 billion; 0.55% on the next $1 billion; 0.50% on the next $1 billion; and 0.45% on net assets thereafter. The manager may reimburse a Fund for, or waive, all or any portion of its management fees.

Prior to July 31, 2006, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”) served as the Funds’ manager under the same fee schedules as described above.

For the fiscal years ended October 31, 2004, 2005 and 2006 the Funds incurred management fees as follows:

 

Fund

   2004 (1)    2005 (2)    2006 (3)

Growth and Income Fund

   $ 7,452,801    $ 6,948,212    $  

Dividend Strategy Fund

   $ 18,717,855    $ 17,449,076    $               

(1) The manager waived a portion of the management fee and reimbursed certain expenses in the amounts of: $88,503 and $24,868 to the Growth and Income Fund and the Dividend Strategy Fund, respectively. After waivers and reimbursements, management fees were $7,364,298 and $18,692,987 for the Growth and Income Fund and the Dividend Strategy Fund, respectively.
(2) The manager reimbursed certain expenses in the amounts of: $451,134 and $2,446,545 to the Growth and Income Fund and the Dividend Strategy Fund, respectively. After reimbursements, management fees were $6,497,078 and $15,002,531 for the Growth and Income Fund and the Dividend Strategy Fund, respectively.
(3) The manager reimbursed certain expenses in the amounts of: $            and $            to the Growth and Income Fund and the Dividend Strategy Fund, respectively. After reimbursements, management fees were $            and $            for the Growth and Income Fund and the Dividend Strategy Fund, respectively.

Subadvisers

ClearBridge Advisors, LLC (“ClearBridge”) serves as the subadviser to each of the Funds pursuant to sub-advisory agreements between the manager and ClearBridge that were approved by the Board, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, on June 29, 2006. ClearBridge is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason.

Under the sub-advisory agreements, subject to the supervision and direction of the Board and the manager, the subadviser will manage each Fund’s portfolio (or allocated portion thereof) in accordance with such Fund’s stated investment objective(s) and policies, assist in supervising all aspects of such Fund’s operations, make

 

11


investment decisions for such Fund, place orders to purchase and sell securities, and employ professional portfolio managers and securities analysts who provide research services to such Fund.

The sub-advisory agreements have initial terms ending on November 30, 2007 and will continue in effect from year to year thereafter provided such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (a) by the Board or by a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the applicable Fund (as defined in the 1940 Act), and (b) in either event, by a majority of the Independent Trustees with such Independent Trustees casting votes in person at a meeting called for such purpose. The Board or a majority of the outstanding voting securities of a Fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) may terminate its sub-advisory agreement without penalty, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the subadviser. The subadviser may terminate a sub-advisory agreement on 90 days’ written notice to the applicable Fund and the manager. The manager and the subadviser may terminate a sub-advisory agreement upon their mutual written consent. The sub-advisory agreements will terminate automatically in the event of assignment by the subadviser and shall not be assignable by the manager without the consent of the subadviser.

As compensation for sub-advisory services for the Growth and Income Fund, the manager will pay ClearBridge a fee equal to 70% of the management fee paid to LMPFA, net of expense waivers and reimbursements. For the period from August 1, 2006 through October 31, 2006, the manager paid the subadviser subadvisory fees of $            .

As compensation for sub-advisory services for the Dividend Strategy Fund, the manager will pay ClearBridge a fee equal to 70% of the management fee paid to LMPFA, net of expense waivers and reimbursements. For the period from August 1, 2006 through October 31, 2006, the manager paid the subadviser subadvisory fees of $            .

Expenses

In addition to amounts payable under the Management Agreement and the 12b-1 Plans (as discussed below), each of the Funds is responsible for its own expenses, including, among other things, interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of such Fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of such Fund’s securities and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of such Fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying such Fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to such Fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of such Fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of such Fund, if any; and such Fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering such Fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any nonrecurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which such Fund is a party and the legal obligation which such Fund may have to indemnify such Fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

Management may agree to waive fees and/or reimburse operating expenses for one or more classes of shares, either through contractual or voluntary arrangements. Any such waivers and/ or reimbursements are described in the Funds’ Prospectuses. The contractual and voluntary fee waivers and/ or reimbursements do not cover extraordinary expenses, such as (a) any expenses or charges related to litigation, derivative actions, demand related to litigation, regulatory or other government investigations and proceedings, “for cause” regulatory inspections and indemnification or advancement of related expenses or costs, to the extent any such

 

12


expenses are considered extraordinary expenses for the purposes of fee disclosure in Form N-1A as the same may be amended from time to time; (b) transaction costs (such as brokerage commissions and dealer and underwriter spreads) and taxes; and (c) other extraordinary expenses as determined for the purposes of fee disclosure in Form N-1A, as the same may be amended from time to time. Without limiting the foregoing, extraordinary expenses are generally those that are unusual or expected to recur only infrequently, and may include such expenses, by way of illustration, as (i) expenses of the reorganization, restructuring, redomiciling or merger of a Fund or class or the acquisition of all or substantially all of the assets of another fund or class; (ii) expenses of holding, and soliciting proxies for, a meeting of shareholders of the fund or class (except to the extent relating to routine items such as the election of board members or the approval of the independent registered public accounting firm); and (iii) expenses of converting to a new custodian, transfer agent or other service provider, in each case to the extent any such expenses are considered extraordinary expenses for the purposes of fee disclosure in Form N-1A as the same may be amended from time to time.

Code of Ethics

Pursuant to Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act, the Funds, the manager, the subadviser and the distributors have adopted codes of ethics that permit their respective personnel to invest in securities for their own accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by a Fund. All personnel must place the interests of clients first and avoid activities, interests and relationships that might interfere with the duty to make decisions in the best interests of the clients. All personal securities transactions by employees must adhere to the requirements of the codes and must be conducted in such a manner as to avoid any actual or potential conflict of interest, the appearance of such a conflict, or the abuse of an employee’s position of trust and responsibility.

Copies of the codes of ethics of the Funds, the manager, the subadviser and the distributors are on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”).

Proxy Voting Guidelines & Procedures

Although individual Trustees may not agree with particular policies or votes by the manager or subadviser, the Board has delegated proxy voting discretion to the manager and/or the subadviser, believing that the manager and/or the subadviser should be responsible for voting because it is a matter relating to the investment decision making process.

LMPFA delegates the responsibility for voting proxies for the Funds, as applicable, to the subadviser through its contracts with the subadviser. The subadviser will use its own proxy voting policies and procedures to vote proxies. Accordingly, LMPFA does not expect to have proxy-voting responsibility for the Funds. Should LMPFA become responsible for voting proxies for any reason, such as the inability of the subadviser to provide investment advisory services, LMPFA shall utilize the proxy voting guidelines established by the most recent subadviser to vote proxies until a new subadviser is retained. In the case of a material conflict between the interests of LMPFA (or its affiliates if such conflict is known to persons responsible for voting at LMPFA) and a Fund, the Board of Directors of LMPFA shall consider how to address the conflict and/or how to vote the proxies. LMPFA shall maintain records of all proxy votes in accordance with applicable securities laws and regulations, to the extent that LMPFA votes proxies. LMPFA shall be responsible for gathering relevant documents and records related to proxy voting from the subadviser and providing them to the Funds as required for the Funds to comply with applicable rules under the 1940 Act.

Each subadviser's Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures govern in determining how proxies relating to the Funds’ portfolio securities are voted and are attached as Appendix B to this SAI. Information regarding how each Fund voted proxies (if any) relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available without charge (1) by calling 1-888-425-6432, (2) on the Funds' website at http://www. leggmason.com /InvestorServices and (3) on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

 

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INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES, MANAGEMENT POLICIES AND ASSOCIATED RISKS

The Prospectuses discuss the investment objectives of each Fund and the policies they employ to achieve such objectives. This section contains a discussion of each Fund’s investment objectives, investment policies and certain of the risks associated with these practices, and supplements the description of each Fund’s investments and risks contained in the Prospectus. The selection of investments and the utilization of investment techniques depends on, among other things, the subadviser’s investment strategies for the Funds, conditions and trends in the economy and financial markets and investments being available on terms that, in the subadviser’s opinion, make economic sense. The Funds may engage in these and any other practices not prohibited by their investment restrictions. Investment objectives and management policies may be changed by the Trustees without shareholder approval. For further information regarding the risks associated with these practices, see “Additional Risk Factors” below.

Growth and Income Fund seeks reasonable growth and income.

Dividend Strategy Fund seeks capital appreciation, principally through investments in dividend-paying stocks.

Principal investment strategies

Growth and Income Fund invests in a portfolio consisting principally of equity securities, including convertible securities, that provide dividend or interest income. However, it may also invest in non-income producing investments for potential appreciation in value. Growth and Income Fund emphasizes U.S. stocks with large market capitalizations. Growth and Income Fund’s convertible securities may be of any credit quality and may include below investment grade securities (commonly known as “junk bonds”).

Under normal market conditions, at least 80% of Dividend Strategy Fund’s assets will be invested in dividend-paying stocks. Dividend Strategy Fund may, under normal circumstances, invest up to 20% of its assets in other types of equity securities, such as preferred stocks, warrants and securities convertible into common stocks, and in other securities of issuers. Dividend Strategy Fund may also make investments in companies that are not expected to pay dividends. The Fund may also invest in securities of foreign issuers.

Additional Information

The Funds’ principal investment strategies are described above. The following provides additional information about these principal strategies and describes other investment strategies that may be used by the fund.

Each Fund is permitted to seek its investment objective by investing all or a portion of its assets in one or more investment companies to the extent not prohibited by the 1940 Act, the rules and regulations thereunder, and exemptive orders granted under the Act.

Growth and Income Fund

Growth and Income Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective primarily through investments in equity securities that provide dividend or interest income, including common and preferred stocks and securities convertible into common and preferred stocks.

Growth and Income Fund may hold a portion of its assets in high grade short-term debt securities and high grade corporate or government bonds in order to provide liquidity. The amount of assets the Fund may hold for liquidity purposes is based on market conditions and the need to meet redemption requests. Short-term investments may include repurchase agreements with banks or broker-dealers. The Fund may also invest in securities of foreign issuers. The Fund may engage in portfolio management strategies and techniques involving options, futures contracts and options on futures.

 

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Dividend Strategy Fund

The Dividend Strategy Fund seeks capital appreciation, principally through investments in dividend-paying stocks. The Fund seeks to achieve its investment objective primarily through investments in common stocks and other equity securities. Under normal market conditions, the Fund invests at least 80% of its assets in dividend-paying stocks. Although this policy relating to dividend-paying stocks may be changed without shareholder approval, the Fund will provide its shareholders with at least 60 days prior notice of any change in this policy. The Fund may also invest in securities of foreign issuers.

The Dividend Strategy Fund also may hold a portion of its assets in high grade short-term debt securities and high grade corporate or government bonds in order to provide liquidity. The amount of assets the Fund may hold for liquidity purposes is based on market conditions and the need to meet redemption requests. A description of the ratings of commercial paper and bonds is contained in the Appendix A. Short term investments may include repurchase agreements with banks or broker-dealers. The Fund may engage in portfolio management strategies and techniques involving options, futures contracts and options on futures.

Certain policies of the Dividend Strategy Fund, such as purchasing and selling options on stocks, purchasing options on stock indices and purchasing stock futures or stock index futures contracts and options thereon involve inherently greater investment risk and could result in more volatile price fluctuations.

Equity Securities (All Funds except as otherwise noted)

Common Stocks. Common stocks are shares of a corporation or other entity that entitle the holder to a pro rata share of the profits of the corporation, if any, without preference over any other shareholder or class of shareholders, including holders of the entity’s preferred stock and other senior equity. Common stock usually carries with it the right to vote and frequently an exclusive right to do so.

Common stocks do not represent an obligation of the issuer. The issuance of debt securities or preferred stock by an issuer will create prior claims which could adversely affect the rights of holders of common stock with respect to the assets of the issuer upon liquidation or bankruptcy.

Preferred Stocks. Each Fund may invest in preferred stocks. Preferred stocks, like common stocks, represent an equity ownership in an issuer, but generally have a priority claim over common stocks, but not over debt, with respect to dividend payments and upon the liquidation or bankruptcy of the issuer. Therefore, preferred stock is subject to the credit risk of the issuer, but because of its subordinate position to debt obligations of the issuer, the deterioration of the credit of an issuer is likely to cause greater decreases in the value of preferred stock than in more senior debt obligations. The market value of preferred stocks with no conversion rights and fixed dividend rates, like fixed income securities, tends to move inversely with interest rates, with the price determined by the dividend rate. However, because most preferred stocks do not have a fixed maturity date (although they may have call features giving the issuer the right to call the securities under certain circumstances or redemption features giving the holder the right to cause the issuer to repurchase the securities under certain circumstances), these securities generally will fluctuate more in value when interest rates change than, for example, debt issued by the same issuer. Some preferred stocks may pay dividends at an adjustable rate, based on an auction, an index or other formula. In the absence of credit deterioration, adjustable rate preferred stocks tend to have less price volatility than fixed rate preferred stocks.

Unlike common stocks, preferred stocks do not typically have voting rights. Some preferred stocks have convertible features. See “Convertible Securities” below.

Convertible Securities. Convertible debt securities and preferred stock entitle the holder to acquire the issuer’s common stock by exchange or purchase for a predetermined rate. Convertible securities are subject both to the credit and interest rate risks associated with fixed income securities and to the stock market risk associated with equity securities. Convertible securities rank senior to common stocks in a corporation’s capital structure. They are consequently of higher quality and entail less risk than the corporation’s common stock, although the extent to which such risk is reduced depends in large measure upon the degree to which the convertible security

 

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sells above its value as a fixed income security. In general, the market value of a convertible security is the greater of its investment value as a fixed income security or its conversion value (the value of the underlying common stock if the security is converted). The Fund may purchase convertible securities rated Ba or lower by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) or BB or lower by Standard & Poor’s, a division of McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. (“S&P”) and may also purchase non-rated securities considered by the subadviser to be of comparable quality. Although the Fund selects these securities primarily on the basis of their equity characteristics, investors should be aware that debt securities rated in these categories are considered high risk securities; the rating agencies consider them speculative, and payment of interest and principal is not considered well assured. To the extent that such convertible securities are acquired by the Fund, there is a greater risk as to the timely payment of the principal of, and timely payment of interest or dividends on, such securities than in the case of higher rated convertible securities.

Warrants. Warrants acquired by a Fund entitle it to buy common stock from the issuer at a specified price and time. Warrants are subject to the same market risks as stocks, but may be more volatile in price. Because investing in warrants can provide a greater potential for profit or loss than an equivalent investment in the underlying security, warrants involve leverage and are considered speculative investments. At the time of issuance of a warrant, the cost is generally substantially less than the cost of the underlying security itself, and therefore, the investor is able to gain exposure to the underlying security with a relatively low capital investment. Price movements in the underlying security are generally magnified in the price movements of the warrant, although changes in the market value of the warrant may not necessarily correlate to the prices of the underlying security. A Fund’s investment in warrants will not entitle it to receive dividends or exercise voting rights and will become worthless if the warrants cannot be profitably exercised before the expiration dates.

REITs. Real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) are pooled investment vehicles that invest in real estate or real estate loans or interests. A Fund’s investments in REITs are subject to the risks associated with particular properties and with the real estate market in general, including the risks of a general downturn in real estate values. REITs are dependent upon management skills, are not diversified, and are subject to risks of project financing, default by borrowers, self-liquidation, and the possibility of failing to qualify for the exemption from taxation on distributed amounts under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). Like mutual funds, REITs have expenses, including advisory and administration fees paid by REIT shareholders, and, as a result, an investor is subject to a duplicate level of fees if a Fund invests in REITs.

Fixed Income Securities (All Funds except as otherwise noted)

Corporate Debt Obligations. Corporate debt obligations are subject to the risk of an issuer’s inability to meet principal and interest payments on the obligations and may also be subject to price volatility due to such factors as market interest rates, market perception of the creditworthiness of the issuer and general market liquidity. Zero coupon securities are securities sold at a discount to par value and on which interest payments are not made during the life of the security. Because zero coupon securities do not pay current interest in cash, these securities are subject to greater credit risk and greater fluctuation in value in response to changes in market interest rates than debt obligations that pay interest currently.

U.S. Government Securities. The U.S. Government securities in which the Funds may invest include bills, certificates of indebtedness, and notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury or by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. Government. Some U.S. Government securities, such as U.S. Treasury bills and bonds, are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury; others are supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury; others are supported by the discretionary authority of the U.S. Government to purchase the agency’s obligations; still others are supported only by the credit of the instrumentality.

Short-Term Investments. In certain circumstances the Funds may invest without limitation in all types of short-term money market instruments, including U.S. Government securities; certificates of deposit, time deposits and bankers’ acceptances issued by domestic banks (including their branches located outside the United States and subsidiaries located in Canada), domestic branches of foreign banks, savings and loan associations and

 

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similar institutions; high grade commercial paper; and repurchase agreements. To the extent a Fund is investing in short-term investments as a temporary defensive posture, the applicable Fund’s investment objective may not be achieved.

Commercial Paper. Commercial paper consists of short-term (usually 1 to 270 days) unsecured promissory notes issued by corporations in order to finance their current operations. A variable amount master demand note (which is a type of commercial paper) represents a direct borrowing arrangement involving periodically fluctuating rates of interest under a letter agreement between a commercial paper issuer and an institutional lender, such as one of the Funds, pursuant to which the lender may determine to invest varying amounts. Transfer of such notes is usually restricted by the issuer, and there is no secondary trading market for such notes. Each Fund therefore may only invest in a master demand note to the extent that the investment would not violate the Fund’s limits on restricted and illiquid securities.

Commercial Bank Obligations. The Funds may invest in bank obligations, i.e. , certificates of deposit, time deposits (including Eurodollar time deposits) and bankers’ acceptances and other short-term debt obligations issued by domestic banks, foreign subsidiaries or foreign branches of domestic banks, domestic savings and loan associations and other banking institutions. A bankers’ acceptance is a bill of exchange or time draft drawn on and accepted by a commercial bank. It is used by corporations to finance the shipment and storage of goods and to furnish dollar exchange. Maturities are generally six months or less. A certificate of deposit is a negotiable interest-bearing instrument with a specific maturity. Certificates of deposit are issued by banks and savings and loan institutions in exchange for the deposit of funds and normally can be traded in the secondary market prior to maturity. A time deposit is a non-negotiable receipt issued by a bank in exchange for the deposit of funds. Like a certificate of deposit, it earns a specified rate of interest over a definite period of time; however, it cannot be traded in the secondary market. Time deposits with a withdrawal penalty are considered to be illiquid securities.

The Dividend Strategy Fund may invest in bank obligations issued by foreign banks. As with investment in foreign securities in general, investments in the obligations of foreign branches of U.S. banks and of foreign banks may subject the Dividend Strategy Fund to investment risks that are different in some respects from those of investments in obligations of domestic issuers.

Derivative Contracts (All Funds except as otherwise noted)

Writing Covered Call and Put Options. The Funds may write (sell) covered call and put options for hedging and non-hedging purposes. Covered call options will generally be written on securities and currencies which, in the opinion of the subadviser, are not expected to make any major price moves in the near future but which, over the long term, are deemed to be attractive investments for the Funds.

A call option written by a Fund is “covered” if the Fund owns the security underlying the call or has an absolute and immediate right to acquire that security without additional cash consideration (or for additional cash consideration held in a segregated account) upon conversion or exchange of other securities held in its portfolio. A call option is also covered if the Fund holds a call on the same security and in the same principal amount as the call written where the exercise price of the call held (a) is equal to or less than the exercise price of the call written or (b) is greater than the exercise price of the call written if the difference is maintained by the Fund in cash or liquid securities in a segregated account. A put option written by a Fund is “covered” if the Fund maintains cash or liquid securities with a value equal to the exercise price in a segregated account, or else holds a put on the same security and in the same principal amount as the put written where the exercise price of the put held is equal to or greater than the exercise price of the put written or where the exercise price of the put held is less than the exercise price of the put written if the difference is maintained by the Fund in cash or liquid securities in a segregated account. Put and call options written by the Funds may also be covered in such other manner as may be in accordance with the requirements of the exchange on which, or the counterparty with which, the option is traded, and applicable laws and regulations. Even if a Fund’s obligation is covered, it is subject to the risk of the full change in value of the underlying security from the time the option is written until exercise. Covering an option does not protect the Funds from risk of loss.

 

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Portfolio securities or currencies on which call options may be written will be purchased solely on the basis of investment considerations consistent with each Fund’s investment objective. When a Fund writes a call option, the Fund, in return for a fee, or “premium”, agrees to sell a security or currency at the exercise price, if the holder exercises the right to purchase prior to the expiration date of the call option. If the Fund holds the security or currency in question, the Fund gives up some or all of the opportunity to profit from the increase in the market price of the security or currency during the life of the option. The Fund retains the risk of loss should the price of the security or currency decline. If the option expires unexercised, the Fund realizes a gain equal to the premium, which may be offset by a decline in price of the underlying security or currency. If the option is exercised, the Fund realizes a gain or loss equal to the difference between the Fund’s cost for the underlying security or currency and the proceeds of sale (exercise price minus commissions) plus the amount of the premium.

A Fund may terminate a call option it has written before it expires by entering into a closing purchase transaction. A Fund may enter into closing purchase transactions in order to free itself to sell the underlying security or currency or to write another call on the security or currency, realize a profit on a previously written call option, or protect a security or currency from being called in an unexpected market rise. Any profits from closing a purchase transaction may be offset by a decline in the value of the underlying security or currency. Conversely, because increases in the market price of a call option will generally reflect increases in the market price of the underlying security or currency, if the Fund holds the underlying security or currency any loss resulting from a closing purchase transaction is likely to be offset in whole or in part by unrealized appreciation of the underlying security or currency. If the Fund does not hold the underlying security or currency, the Fund’s loss could be unlimited.

Portfolio securities or currencies on which put options may be written will be purchased solely on the basis of investment considerations consistent with each Fund’s investment objective. A Fund may write put options in an attempt to enhance its current return. Such option transactions may also be used as a limited form of hedging against an increase in the price of securities or currency that a Fund plans to purchase. A put option written by a Fund gives the holder the right to sell, and, in return for a premium, obligates the Fund to buy, a security or currency at the exercise price at any time before the expiration date.

In addition to the receipt of premiums and the potential gains from terminating such options in closing purchase transactions, a Fund may also receive a return on the cash and debt securities maintained to cover the exercise price of the option. By writing a put option, the Fund assumes the risk that it may be required to purchase the underlying security or currency for an exercise price higher than its then current market value, resulting in a loss to the Fund, unless the security or currency later appreciates in value. A Fund may terminate a put option it has written before it expires by a closing purchase transaction. Any loss from this transaction may be partially or entirely offset by the premium received on the terminated option.

Each of the United States exchanges has established limitations governing the maximum number of call or put options on the same underlying security (whether or not covered) that may be written by a single investor, whether acting alone or in concert with others, regardless of whether such options are written on one or more accounts or through one or more brokers. An exchange may order the liquidation of positions found to be in violation of those limits, and it may impose other sanctions or restrictions. These position limits may restrict the number of options a Fund may be able to write.

Transaction costs relating to options activity are normally higher than those applicable to purchases and sales of portfolio securities.

The exercise price of the options may be below, equal to or above the current market values of the underlying securities or currencies at the time the options are written. From time to time, a Fund may purchase an underlying security or currency for delivery in accordance with the exercise of an option, rather than delivering such security or currency from its portfolio. In such cases, additional costs will be incurred. A Fund will realize a profit or loss from a closing purchase transaction if the cost of the transaction is less or more, respectively, than the premium received from the writing of the option. Because increases in the market price of a call option will

 

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generally reflect increases in the market price of the underlying security or currency, any loss resulting from the repurchase of a call option is likely to be offset in whole or in part by appreciation of the underlying security or currency owned by the Fund.

The use of options by the Funds may involve leveraging. Leveraging adds increased risks to the Funds, because the Funds’ losses may be out of proportion to the amount invested in the instrument — a relatively small investment may lead to much greater losses.

Purchasing Put Options. The Funds may purchase put options. As the holder of a put option, the Fund has the right to sell the underlying security or currency at the exercise price at any time during the option period. The Fund may enter into closing sale transactions with respect to such options, exercise them or permit them to expire.

Each Fund may purchase a put option on an underlying security or currency (a “protective put”) owned by the Fund as a hedging technique in order to protect against an anticipated decline in the value of the security or currency. Such hedge protection is provided only during the life of the put option when the Fund, as the holder of the put option, is able to sell the underlying security or currency at the put exercise price regardless of any decline in the underlying security’s market price or currency’s exchange value. For example, a put option may be purchased in order to protect unrealized appreciation of a security or currency when the subadviser deems it desirable to continue to hold the security or currency because of tax considerations. The premium paid for the put option and any transaction costs may reduce any capital gain or, in the case of currency, ordinary income otherwise available for distribution when the security or currency is eventually sold.

Each Fund may also purchase put options at a time when the Fund does not own the underlying security or currency. By purchasing put options on a security or currency it does not own, the Fund seeks to benefit from a decline in the market price of the underlying security or currency. If the put option is not sold when it has remaining value, and if the market price of the underlying security or currency remains equal to or greater than the exercise price during the life of the put option, the Fund will lose its entire investment in the put option. In order for the purchase of a put option to be profitable, the market price of the underlying security or currency must decline sufficiently below the exercise price to cover the premium and transaction costs, unless the put option is sold in a closing sale transaction.

The premium paid by a Fund when purchasing a put option will be recorded as an asset in the Fund’s statement of assets and liabilities. This asset will be adjusted daily to the option’s current market value, as calculated by the Fund. The asset will be extinguished upon expiration of the option or the delivery of the underlying security or currency upon the exercise of the option. The asset with respect to a listed option will also be extinguished upon the writing of an identical option in a closing transaction.

Purchasing Call Options. Each Fund may purchase call options. As the holder of a call option, a Fund has the right to purchase the underlying security or currency at the exercise price at any time during the option period. The Fund may enter into a closing sale transaction with respect to such options, exercise them or permit them to expire. Call options may be purchased by the Fund for the purpose of acquiring the underlying security or currency for its portfolio. Utilized in this fashion, the purchase of call options enables the Fund to acquire the security or currency at the exercise price of the call option plus the premium paid. At times the net cost of acquiring the security or currency in this manner may be less than the cost of acquiring the security or currency directly. This technique may also be useful to the Fund in purchasing a large block of securities that would be more difficult to acquire by direct market purchases. So long as it holds such a call option rather than the underlying security or currency itself, the Fund is partially protected from any unexpected decline in the market price of the underlying security or currency and in such event could allow the call option to expire, incurring a loss only to the extent of the premium paid for the option.

Each Fund may also purchase call options on underlying securities or currencies it owns in order to protect unrealized gains on call options previously written by it. A call option would be purchased for this purpose where tax considerations make it inadvisable to realize such gains through a closing purchase transaction.

 

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Options on Stock Indices. Options on stock indices are similar to options on stock, but the delivery requirements are different. Instead of giving the right to take or make delivery of stock at a specified price, an option on a stock index gives the holder the right to receive an amount of cash upon exercise of the option. Receipt of this cash amount will depend upon the closing level of the stock index upon which the option is based being greater than (in the case of a call) or less than (in the case of a put) the exercise price of the option. The amount of cash received will be the difference between the closing price of the index and the exercise price of the option, multiplied by a specified dollar multiple. The writer of the option is obligated, in return for the premium received, to make delivery of this amount. Some stock index options are based on a broad market index such as the Standard & Poor’s 500 or the New York Stock Exchange Composite Index, or a narrower index such as the Standard & Poor’s 100. Indices are also based on an industry or market segment such as the AMEX Oil and Gas Index or the Computer and Business Equipment Index. Options are currently traded on The Chicago Board Options Exchange, the New York Stock Exchange, the American Stock Exchange and other exchanges. Gain or loss to a Fund on transactions in stock index options will depend on price movements in the stock market generally (or in a particular industry or segment of the market) rather than price movements of individual securities. As with stock options, the Fund may offset its position in stock index options prior to expiration by entering into a closing transaction on an Exchange, or it may let the option expire unexercised.

Futures Contracts. Each Fund may enter into interest rate or currency Futures Contracts (“Futures” or “Futures Contracts”) as a hedge against changes in prevailing levels of interest rates or currency exchange rates in order to establish more definitely the effective return on securities or currencies held or committed to be acquired by the Fund. A Fund’s hedging may include holding Futures as an offset against anticipated changes in interest or currency exchange rates. A Fund may also enter into Futures Contracts based on financial indices including any index of U.S. Government securities, foreign government securities, equity securities or corporate debt securities.

A Futures Contract provides for the future sale by one party and purchase by another party of a specified amount of a specific financial instrument or currency for a specified price at a designated date, time and place. The purchaser of a Futures Contract on an index agrees to take or make delivery of an amount of cash equal to the difference between a specified dollar multiple of the value of the index on the expiration date of the contract (“current contract value”) and the price at which the contract was originally struck. No physical delivery of the debt securities underlying the index is made. Brokerage fees are incurred when a Futures Contract is bought or sold, and margin deposits must be maintained at all times that the Futures Contract is outstanding.

Although techniques other than sales and purchases of Futures Contracts could be used to reduce the Fund’s exposure to interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations or other market factors, the Fund may be able to hedge its exposure more effectively and at a lower cost through using Futures Contracts.

Although Futures Contracts typically require future delivery of and payment for financial instruments or currencies, Futures Contracts are usually closed out before the delivery date. Closing out an open Futures Contract sale or purchase is effected by entering into an offsetting Futures Contract purchase or sale, respectively, for the same aggregate amount of the identical financial instrument or currency and the same delivery date. If the offsetting purchase price is less than the original sale price, the Fund realizes a gain; if it is more, the Fund realizes a loss. Conversely, if the offsetting sale price is more than the original purchase price, the Fund realizes a gain; if it is less, the Fund realizes a loss. The transaction costs must also be included in these calculations. There can be no assurance, however, that the Fund will be able to enter into an offsetting transaction with respect to a particular Futures Contract at a particular time. If the Fund is not able to enter into an offsetting transaction, the Fund will continue to be required to maintain the margin deposits of the underlying financial instrument or currency on the relevant delivery date. The Funds intend to enter into Futures transactions only on exchanges or boards of trade where there appears to be a liquid secondary market. However, there can be no assurance that such a market will exist for a particular contract at a particular time.

As an example of an offsetting transaction, the contractual obligations arising from the sale of one Futures Contract of September Treasury Bills on an exchange may be fulfilled at any time before delivery under the Futures Contract is required ( i.e ., on a specific date in September, the “delivery month”) by the purchase of

 

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another Futures Contract of September Treasury Bills on the same exchange. In such instance the difference between the price at which the Futures Contract was sold and the price paid for the offsetting purchase, after allowance for transaction costs, represents the profit or loss to the Fund.

Persons who trade in Futures Contracts may be broadly classified as “hedgers” and “speculators.” Hedgers, whose business activity involves investment or other commitment in securities or other obligations, use the Futures markets to offset unfavorable changes in value that may occur because of fluctuations in the value of the securities and obligations held or committed to be acquired by them or fluctuations in the value of the currency in which the securities or obligations are denominated. Debtors and other obligors may also hedge the interest cost of their obligations. The speculator, like the hedger, generally expects neither to deliver nor to receive the financial instrument underlying the Futures Contract, but, unlike the hedger, hopes to profit from fluctuations in prevailing interest rates, currency exchange rates, financial indices or other instruments.

“Margin” with respect to Futures Contracts is the amount of funds that must be deposited by a Fund with a broker in order to initiate Futures trading and to maintain the Fund’s open positions in Futures Contracts. A margin deposit made when the Futures Contract is entered into (“initial margin”) is intended to assure the Fund’s performance of the Futures Contract. The margin required for a particular Futures Contract is set by the exchange on which the Futures Contract is traded, and may be significantly modified from time to time by the exchange during the term of the Futures Contract. Futures Contracts are customarily purchased and sold on margins which may be 5% or less of the value of the Futures Contract being traded.

If the price of an open Futures Contract changes (by increase in the case of a sale or by decrease in the case of a purchase) so that the loss on the Futures Contract reaches a point at which the margin on deposit does not satisfy margin requirements, the broker will require an increase in the margin deposit (“variation margin”). If, however, the value of a position increases because of favorable price changes in the Futures Contract so that the margin deposit exceeds the required margin, it is anticipated that the broker will pay the excess to the Fund. In computing daily net asset values, the Fund will mark to market the current value of its open Futures Contracts. Each Fund expects to earn interest income on its margin deposits.

Single Stock Futures. Recent legislation permits the trading on U.S. exchanges of standardized futures contracts on individual equity securities, such as common stocks, exchange traded funds and American Depository Receipts, as well as narrow-based securities indices, generally called security futures contracts or “SFCs”. As with other futures contracts, a SFC involves an agreement to purchase or sell in the future a specific quantity of shares of a security or the component securities of the index. The initial margin requirements (typically 20 percent) are generally higher than with other futures contracts. Trading SFCs involves many of the same risks as trading other futures contracts, including the risks involved with leverage, and loses are potentially unlimited. Under certain market conditions, for example if trading is halted due to unusual trading activity in either the SFC or the underlying security due to recent news events involving the issuer of the security, it may be difficult or impossible for a Fund to liquidate its position or manage risk by entering into an offsetting position. In addition, the prices of SFCs may not correlate as anticipated with the prices of the underlying security. And unlike options on securities in which a Fund may invest, where the Fund has the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a security prior to the expiration date, if the Fund has a position in a SFC, the Fund has both the right and the obligation to buy or sell the security at a future date, or otherwise offset its position.

Options on Futures Contracts. Options on Futures Contracts are similar to options on securities or currencies except that options on Futures Contracts give the purchaser the right, in return for the premium paid, to assume a position in a Futures Contract (a long position if the option is a call and a short position if the option is a put), rather than to purchase or sell the Futures Contract, at a specified exercise price at any time during the period of the option. Upon exercise of the option, the delivery of the Futures position by the writer of the option to the holder of the option will be accompanied by delivery of the accumulated balance in the writer’s Futures margin account which represents the amount by which the market price of the Futures Contract, at exercise, exceeds (in the case of a call) or is less than (in the case of a put) the exercise price of the option on the Futures Contract. If an option is exercised on the last trading day prior to the expiration date of the option, the settlement

 

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will be made entirely in cash equal to the difference between the exercise price of the option and the closing level of the securities or currencies upon which the Futures Contracts are based on the expiration date. Purchasers of options who fail to exercise their options prior to the exercise date suffer a loss of the premium paid.

As an alternative to purchasing call and put options on Futures, each Fund may purchase call and put options on the underlying securities or currencies themselves (see “Purchasing Put Options” and “Purchasing Call Options” above). Such options would be used in a manner identical to the use of options on Futures Contracts.

To reduce or eliminate the leverage then employed by the Fund or to reduce or eliminate the hedge position then held by the Fund, the Fund may seek to close out an option position by selling an option covering the same securities or currency and having the same exercise price and expiration date. The ability to establish and close out positions on options on Futures Contracts is subject to the existence of a liquid market. It is not certain that this market will exist at any specific time.

The Funds are not regulated as “commodity pools” for purposes of the Commodity Exchange Act, regulations and related positions of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”).

New options and Futures Contracts, such as single stock futures and narrow-based security indices futures, and various combinations thereof continue to be developed and each Fund may invest in any such options and contracts as may be developed to the extent consistent with its investment objectives and regulatory requirements applicable to investment companies.

Foreign Currency Exchange Transactions (Dividend Strategy Fund). Because the Fund may buy and sell securities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, and receive interest, dividends and sale proceeds in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, the Fund may, but is not obligated to, enter into currency exchange transactions to convert U.S. currency to foreign currency and foreign currency to U.S. currency, as well as convert foreign currency to other foreign currencies. The Fund either enters into these transactions on a spot ( i.e. , cash) basis at the spot rate prevailing in the foreign currency exchange market, or uses forward contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies. The Fund also may, but is not obligated to, enter into foreign currency hedging transactions in an attempt to protect the value of the assets of the Fund as measured in U.S. dollars from unfavorable changes in currency exchange rates and control regulations. (Although the Fund’s assets are valued daily in terms of U.S. dollars, the Trust does not intend to convert the Fund’s holdings of other currencies into U.S. dollars on a daily basis.) The Fund does not currently intend to speculate in currency exchange rates or forward contracts.

The Fund may convert currency on a spot basis from time to time, and investors should be aware of the costs of currency conversion. Although currency exchange dealers do not charge a fee for conversion, they do realize a profit based on the difference (the “spread”) between the prices at which they are buying and selling various currencies. Thus, a dealer may offer to sell a currency at one rate, while offering a lesser rate of exchange should the Fund desire to resell that currency to the dealer.

A forward contract involves an obligation to purchase or sell a specific currency at a future date, which may be any fixed number of days from the date of the contract, agreed upon by the parties, at a price set at the time of the contract. These contracts are traded in the interbank market conducted directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. Because these contracts are traded in the interbank market and not on organized commodities or securities exchanges, these contracts operate in a manner distinct from exchange-traded instruments, and their use involves certain risks. A forward contract generally has no deposit requirement, and no fees or commissions are charged at any stage for trades.

When the Fund enters into a contract for the purchase or sale of a security denominated in a non-U.S. currency, it may desire to “lock in” the U.S. dollar price of the security. By entering into a forward contract for the purchase or sale, for a fixed amount of U. S. dollars, of the amount of non-U.S. currency involved in the underlying security transaction, the Fund may be able to protect against a possible loss resulting from an adverse change in the relationship between the U.S. dollar and the non-U.S. currency during the period between the date the security is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received.

 

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When the Fund’s subadviser believes that the currency of a particular country may suffer a substantial decline against the U.S. dollar, the Fund may enter into a forward contract to sell, for a fixed amount of U.S. dollars, the amount of non-U.S. currency approximating the value of some or all of the Fund’s securities denominated in such non- U.S. currency. The projection of a short-term hedging strategy is highly uncertain. Under normal circumstances, consideration of the prospect for currency parities will be incorporated in the investment decisions made with regard to overall diversification strategies. However, the Fund believes that it is important to have the flexibility to enter into such forward contracts when it determines that its best interests will be served.

The Fund generally would not enter into a forward contract with a term greater than one year. At the maturity of a forward contract, the Fund will either sell the security and make delivery of the non-U.S. currency, or retain the security and terminate its contractual obligation to deliver the non-U.S. currency by purchasing an “offsetting” contract with the same currency trader obligating it to purchase, on the same maturity date, the same amount of the non-U.S. currency. If the Fund retains the security and engages in an offsetting transaction, the Fund will incur a gain or a loss (as described below) to the extent that there has been movement in forward contract prices. If the Fund engages in an offsetting transaction, it may subsequently enter into a new forward contract to sell the non-U.S. currency. Should forward prices decline during the period between the date the Fund enters into a forward contract for the sale of the non-U.S. currency and the date it enters into an offsetting contract for the purchase of such currency, the Fund will realize a gain to the extent the selling price of the currency exceeds the purchase price of the currency. Should forward prices increase, the Fund will suffer a loss to the extent that the purchase price of the currency exceeds the selling price of the currency.

It is impossible to forecast with precision the market value of Fund securities at the expiration of the contract. Accordingly, it may be necessary for the Fund to purchase additional non-U.S. currency on the spot market if the market value of the security is less than the amount of non-U.S. currency the Fund is obligated to deliver and if a decision is made to sell the security and make delivery of such currency. Conversely, it may be necessary to sell on the spot market some of the non-U.S. currency received upon the sale of the security if its market value exceeds the amount of such currency the Fund is obligated to deliver.

The Fund has established procedures consistent with policies of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) concerning forward contracts. Those policies currently require that an amount of the Fund’s assets equal to the amount of the purchase be held aside or segregated to be used to pay for the commitment or that the Fund otherwise covers its position in accordance with applicable regulations and policies.

The Fund may also purchase put options on a non-U.S. currency in order to protect against currency rate fluctuations. If the Fund purchases a put option on a non-U.S. currency and the value of the non-U.S. currency declines, the Fund will have the right to sell the non-U.S. currency for a fixed amount in U.S. dollars and will thereby offset, in whole or in part, the adverse effect on the Fund which otherwise would have resulted. Conversely, where a rise in the U.S. dollar value of another currency is projected, and where the Fund anticipates investing in securities traded in such currency, the Fund may purchase call options on the non-U.S. currency.

The purchase of such options could offset, at least partially, the effects of adverse movements in exchange rates. However, the benefit to the Fund from purchases of foreign currency options will be reduced by the amount of the premium and related transaction costs. In addition, where currency exchange rates do not move in the direction or to the extent anticipated, the Fund could sustain losses on transactions in foreign currency options which would require it to forego a portion or all of the benefits of advantageous changes in such rates.

The Fund may write options on non-U.S. currencies for hedging purposes or otherwise to achieve its investment objective. For example, where the Fund anticipates a decline in the value of the U.S. dollar value of a foreign security due to adverse fluctuations in exchange rates it could, instead of purchasing a put option, write a call option on the relevant currency. If the expected decline occurs, the option will most likely not be exercised, and the diminution in value of the security held by the Fund may be offset by the amount of the premium received.

Similarly, instead of purchasing a call option to hedge against an anticipated increase in the cost of a foreign security to be acquired because of an increase in the U.S. dollar value of the currency in which the underlying

 

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security is primarily traded, the Fund could write a put option on the relevant currency which, if rates move in the manner projected, will expire unexercised and allow the Fund to hedge such increased cost up to the amount of the premium.

The writing of put or call options on non-U.S. currencies by the Fund will constitute only a partial hedge up to the amount of the premium, and only if rates move in the expected direction. If this does not occur, the option may be exercised and the Fund would be required to purchase or sell the underlying currency at a loss which may not be offset by the amount of the premium. Through the writing of options on currencies, the Fund also may be required to forego all or a portion of the benefits which might otherwise have been obtained from favorable movements in exchange rates.

Put and call options on non-U.S. currencies written by the Fund will be covered by segregation of cash and liquid securities in an amount sufficient to discharge the Fund’s obligations with respect to the option, by acquisition of the non-U.S. currency or of a right to acquire such currency (in the case of a call option) or the acquisition of a right to dispose of the currency (in the case of a put option), or in such other manner as may be in accordance with the requirements of any exchange on which, or the counterparty with which, the option is traded and applicable laws and regulations.

Investing in depositary receipts presents many of the same risks regarding currency exchange rates as investing directly in securities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Because the securities underlying these receipts are traded primarily in non-U.S. currencies, changes in currency exchange rates will affect the value of these receipts. For example, a decline in the U.S. dollar value of another currency in which securities are primarily traded will reduce the U.S. dollar value of such securities, even if their value in the other non-U.S. currency remains constant, and thus will reduce the value of the receipts covering such securities. The Fund may employ any of the above described foreign currency hedging techniques to protect the value of its assets invested in depositary receipts.

Of course, the Fund is not required to enter into the transactions described above and does not do so unless deemed appropriate by the Fund’s subadviser. It should be realized that under certain circumstances, hedging arrangements to protect the value of the Fund’s securities against a decline in currency values may not be available to the Fund on terms that make economic sense (they may be too costly). It should also be realized that these methods of protecting the value of the Fund’s securities against a decline in the value of a currency do not eliminate fluctuations in the underlying prices of the securities. Additionally, although such contracts, if correctly used, may minimize the risk of loss due to a decline in the value of the hedged currency, they do not eliminate the risk of loss and also tend to limit any potential gain which might result should the value of such currency increase.

Use of Segregated and Other Special Accounts. Use of many hedging and other strategic transactions including currency and market index transactions by a Fund will require, among other things, that such Fund segregate cash, liquid securities or other assets with its custodian, or a designated sub-custodian, to the extent such Fund’s obligations are not otherwise “covered” through ownership of the underlying security, financial instrument or currency. In general, either the full amount of any obligation by a Fund to pay or deliver securities or assets must be covered at all times by the securities, instruments or currency required to be delivered, or, subject to any regulatory restrictions, appropriate securities as required by the 1940 Act at least equal to the current amount of the obligation must be segregated with the custodian or sub-custodian. The segregated assets cannot be sold or transferred unless equivalent assets are substituted in their place or it is no longer necessary to segregate them. A call option on securities written by a Fund, for example, will require such Fund to hold the securities subject to the call (or securities convertible into the needed securities without additional consideration) or to segregate liquid securities sufficient to purchase and deliver the securities if the call is exercised. A call option written by a Fund on an index will require such Fund to own portfolio securities that correlate with the index or to segregate liquid securities equal to the excess of the index value over the exercise price on a current basis. A put option on securities written by a Fund will require such Fund to segregate liquid securities equal to the exercise price. Except when a Fund enters into a forward contract in connection with the purchase or sale of a security denominated in a foreign currency or for other non-speculative purposes, which requires no segregation,

 

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a currency contract that obligates such Fund to buy or sell a foreign currency will generally require such Fund to hold an amount of that currency or liquid securities denominated in that currency equal to such Fund’s obligations or to segregate liquid securities equal to the amount of such Fund’s obligations.

OTC options entered into by a Fund, including those on securities, currency, financial instruments or indices, and Option Clearing Corporation (“OCC”)-issued and exchange-listed index options will generally provide for cash settlement, although such Fund may not be required to do so. As a result, when such Fund sells these instruments it will segregate an amount of assets equal to its obligations under the options. OCC-issued and exchange-listed options sold by such Fund other than those described above generally settle with physical delivery, and such Fund will segregate an amount of assets equal to the full value of the option. OTC options settling with physical delivery or with an election of either physical delivery or cash settlement will be treated the same as other options settling with physical delivery. If a Fund enters into OTC options transactions, it will be subject to counterparty risk.

In the case of a Futures Contract or an option on a Futures Contract, a Fund must deposit initial margin and, in some instances, daily variation margin, typically with third parties such as a clearing organization, in addition to segregating assets with its custodian sufficient to meet its obligations to purchase or provide securities or currencies, or to pay the amount owed at the expiration of an index-based Futures Contract. These assets may consist of cash, cash equivalents, liquid securities or other acceptable assets. Such Fund will accrue the net amount of the excess, if any, of its obligations relating to swaps over its entitlements with respect to each swap on a daily basis and will segregate with its custodian, or designated sub-custodian, an amount of cash or liquid securities having an aggregate value equal to at least the accrued excess. Caps, floors and collars require segregation of assets with a value equal to such Fund’s net obligation, if any.

Hedging and other strategic transactions may be covered by means other than those described above when consistent with applicable regulatory policies. A Fund may also enter into offsetting transactions so that its combined position, coupled with any segregated assets, equals its net outstanding obligation in related options and hedging and other strategic transactions. A Fund could purchase a put option, for example, if the strike price of that option is the same or higher than the strike price of a put option sold by such Fund. Moreover, instead of segregating assets if it holds a Futures Contract or forward contract, such Fund could purchase a put option on the same Futures Contract or forward contract with a strike price as high or higher than the price of the contract held. Other hedging and other strategic transactions may also be offset in combinations. If the offsetting transaction terminates at the time of or after the primary transaction, no segregation is required, but if it terminates prior to that time, assets equal to any remaining obligation would need to be segregated.

Other Practices

Securities of Foreign Issuers. The Growth and Income Fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers, and the Dividend Strategy Fund may invest up to 25% of its assets in securities of foreign issuers. Investments in securities of foreign entities and securities denominated in foreign currencies involve risks not typically involved in domestic investment, including fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, future foreign political and economic developments, and the possible imposition of exchange controls or other foreign or United States governmental laws or restrictions applicable to such investments. Since each Fund may invest in securities denominated or quoted in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, changes in foreign currency exchange rates may affect the value of investments in the portfolio and the accrued income and unrealized appreciation or depreciation of investments. Changes in foreign currency rates relative to the U.S. dollar will affect the U.S. dollar value of the Fund’s assets denominated in that currency and the Fund’s yield on such assets.

Each Fund may also purchase foreign securities in the form of American Depository Receipts (“ADRs”), European Depository Receipts (“EDRs”) and Global Depository Receipts (“GDRs”) or other securities representing underlying shares of foreign companies. Generally, ADRs, in registered form, are designed for use in U.S. securities markets and EDRs and GDRs, in bearer form, are designed for use in European and global securities markets. ADRs are receipts typically issued by a U.S. bank or trust company evidencing ownership of the underlying securities. EDRs and GDRs are European and global receipts, respectively, evidencing a similar arrangement.

 

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ADRs, EDRs and GDRs are issued through “sponsored” or “unsponsored” arrangements. In a sponsored arrangement, the foreign issuer assumes the obligation to pay some or all of the depository’s transaction fees, whereas under an unsponsored arrangement, the foreign issuer assumes no obligation and the depository’s transaction fees are paid by the holders. In addition, less information is available in the United States about an unsponsored depository receipt than about a sponsored depository receipt, and the financial information about a company may not be as reliable for an unsponsored depository receipt as it is for a sponsored depository receipt. Each Fund may invest in depository receipts through both sponsored and unsponsored arrangements.

With respect to certain foreign countries, there is the possibility of expropriation of assets, confiscatory taxation, political or social instability or diplomatic developments which could affect investment in those countries. There may be less publicly available information about a foreign security than about a United States security, and foreign entities may not be subject to accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards and requirements comparable to those of United States entities. In addition, certain foreign investments made by a Fund may be subject to foreign withholding taxes, which would reduce such Fund’s total return on such investments and the amounts available for distributions by such Fund to its shareholders. Foreign financial markets, while growing in volume, have, for the most part, substantially less volume than United States markets, and securities of many foreign companies are less liquid and their prices more volatile than securities of comparable domestic companies.

The foreign markets also have different clearance and settlement procedures, and in certain markets there have been times when settlements have been unable to keep pace with the volume of securities transactions making it difficult to conduct such transactions. Delays in settlement could result in temporary periods when assets of a Fund are not invested and no return is earned thereon. The inability of each Fund to make intended security purchases due to settlement problems could cause such Fund to miss attractive investment opportunities. Inability to dispose of portfolio securities due to settlement problems could result either in losses to such Fund due to subsequent declines in value of the portfolio security or, if such Fund has entered into a contract to sell the security, could result in possible liability to the purchaser. Costs associated with transactions in foreign securities, including custodial costs and foreign brokerage commissions, are generally higher than with transactions in United States securities. In addition, each Fund will incur expenses in connection with conversions between various currencies. There is generally less government supervision and regulation of exchanges, financial institutions and issuers in foreign countries than there are in the United States. These risks may be intensified in the case of investments in developing or emerging markets. In many developing markets, there is less government supervision and regulation of business and industry practices, stock exchanges, brokers and listed companies than in the United States. The foreign securities markets of many of the countries in which a Fund may invest may also be smaller, less liquid, and subject to greater price volatility than those in the United States. Finally, in the event of a default on any such foreign debt obligations, it may be more difficult for a Fund to obtain or to enforce a judgment against the issuers of such securities.

A developing country generally is considered to be a country that is in the initial stages of its industrialization cycle. Investing in the equity and fixed-income markets of developing countries involves exposure to economic structures that are generally less diverse and mature, and to political systems that can be expected to have less stability, than those of developed countries. Historical experience indicates that the markets of developing countries have been more volatile than the markets of the more mature economies of developed countries; however, such markets often have provided higher rates of return to investors. For more information regarding the risks of investing in securities of emerging markets, see “Additional Risk Factors — Securities of Developing/Emerging Markets Countries” below.

Subject to applicable statutory and regulatory limitations, assets of each Fund may be invested in shares of other investment companies. The Dividend Strategy Fund may invest in closed-end investment companies which primarily hold securities of non-U.S. issuers. Investments in closed-end investment companies which primarily hold securities of non-U.S. issuers may entail the risk that the market value of such investments may be substantially less than their net asset value and that there would be duplication of investment management and other fees and expenses.

 

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ETFs or Exchange Traded Funds. Each Fund may invest in shares of open-end mutual funds or unit investment trusts that are traded on a stock exchange, called exchange-traded funds or ETFs. Typically, an ETF seeks to track the performance of an index, such as the S&P 500 or the NASDAQ 100, by holding in its portfolio either the same securities that comprise the index, or a representative sample of the index. Investing in an ETF will give a Fund exposure to the securities comprising the index on which the ETF is based, and the Fund will gain or lose value depending on the performance of the index.

Unlike shares of typical mutual funds or unit investment trusts, shares of ETFs are designed to be traded throughout a trading day based on market values, and not at net asset value. For this reason, shares could trade at either a premium or discount to net asset value. Currently, the Funds intend to invest only in ETFs that track equity market indices. The portfolios held by these ETFs are publicly disclosed on each trading day, and an approximation of actual net asset value is disseminated throughout the trading day. Because of this transparency, the trading prices of these index-based ETFs tend to closely track the actual net asset value of the underlying portfolios. Some ETFs, which are not structured as investment companies, invest in gold bouillon. In the future, as new products become available, the Funds may invest in ETFs that are based on fixed income indices, or that are actively managed. Actively managed ETFs will likely not have the transparency of index based ETFs, and therefore, may be more likely to trade at a discount or premium to actual net asset values. Gains or losses on a Fund’s investment in ETFs will depend on the purchase and sale price of the ETF, rather than on changes in the underlying net asset value of the ETF.

Illiquid and Restricted Securities. Each Fund may invest up to 15% of the value of its assets in illiquid or restricted securities. As used herein, restricted securities are those that have been sold in the United States without registration under the Securities Act of 1933 and are thus subject to restrictions on resale. Excluded from this limitation, however, are any restricted securities which are eligible for resale pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933 and which have been determined to be liquid by the Trustees or by the subadviser pursuant to board-approved guidelines. The determination of liquidity is based on the volume of reported trading in the institutional secondary market for each security. This investment practice could have the effect of increasing the level of illiquidity in each Fund to the extent qualified institutional buyers become for a time uninterested in purchasing these restricted securities. This could result in a Fund’s inability to realize a favorable price upon disposition of restricted securities, and in some cases might make disposition of such securities at the

time desired by the Fund impossible. Since market quotations are not readily available for restricted securities, such securities will be valued by a method that the Trustees believe accurately reflects fair value.

Repurchase Agreements. Each Fund may enter into repurchase agreements with broker-dealers or banks. A repurchase agreement is a short-term investment in which the purchaser ( i.e. , the Fund) acquires ownership of a debt security and the seller agrees to repurchase the obligation at a future time and set price, usually not more than seven days from the date of purchase, thereby determining the yield during the purchaser’s holding period. Repurchase agreements are collateralized by the underlying debt securities and may be considered to be loans under the 1940 Act. The Fund will make payment for such securities only upon physical delivery or evidence of book entry transfer to the account of the Fund’s custodian, subcustodian or other bank acting as agent. The seller under a repurchase agreement is required to maintain the value of the underlying securities marked to market daily at not less than the repurchase price. The underlying securities (normally securities of the U.S. Government, or its agencies and instrumentalities) may have maturity dates exceeding one year. The Fund does not bear the risk of a decline in value of the underlying security unless the seller defaults under its repurchase obligation. In the event of a bankruptcy or other default of a seller of a repurchase agreement, the Fund could experience both delays in liquidating the underlying securities and loss including: (a) possible decline in the value of the underlying security during the period while the Fund seeks to enforce its rights thereto, (b) possible lack of access to income on the underlying security during this period, and (c) expenses of enforcing its rights.

For the purpose of investing in repurchase agreements, the manager may aggregate the cash that certain funds advised or subadvised by the manager or its affiliates would otherwise invest separately into a joint account. The cash in the joint account is then invested in repurchase agreements and the funds that contributed to the joint account share pro rata in the net revenue generated. The manager believes that the joint account

 

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produces efficiencies and economies of scale that may contribute to reduced transaction costs, higher returns,

higher quality investments and greater diversity of investments for a Fund than would be available to a Fund investing separately. The manner in which the joint account is managed is subject to conditions set forth in an SEC exemptive order authorizing this practice, which conditions are designed to ensure the fair administration of the joint account and to protect the amounts in that account.

Reverse Repurchase Agreements. Each Fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with broker/dealers and other financial institutions. Such agreements involve the sale of portfolio securities by the Fund with an agreement to repurchase the securities at an agreed-upon price, date and interest payment and are considered to be borrowings by the Fund and are subject to the borrowing limitations set forth under “Investment Restrictions.” Since the proceeds of reverse repurchase agreements are invested, this would introduce the speculative factor known as “leverage.” The Fund may have an opportunity to earn a greater rate of interest on the cash derived from the transaction than the interest cost of obtaining that cash. Opportunities to realize earnings from the use of the proceeds equal to or greater than the interest required to be paid may not always be available, and the Fund intends to use the reverse repurchase technique only when the manager believes it will be advantageous to the Fund. The use of reverse repurchase agreements involve leverage and may exaggerate any interim increase or decrease in the value of the Fund’s assets. The Fund’s custodian bank will maintain a separate account for the Fund with securities having a value equal to or greater than such commitments. A Fund’s liquidity and ability to manage its assets may be adversely affected when it sets aside cash or securities to cover such commitments. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the risk that the market value of the securities sold by the Fund may decline below the repurchase price of those securities, that the assets purchased with the proceeds of the agreement decline in value, or that the buyer under a reverse repurchase agreement files for bankruptcy or becomes insolvent.

Short Sales. Each Fund may from time to time make short sales of securities. Short sales are transactions in which the Fund sells a security it does not own in anticipation of a decline in the market value of that security. To complete such a transaction, the Fund must borrow the security to make delivery to the buyer. The Fund then is obligated to replace the security borrowed by purchasing it at the market price at or prior to the time of replacement. The price at such time may be more or less than the price at which the security was sold by the

Fund. Until the security is replaced, the Fund is required to repay the lender any dividends or interest paid during the period of the loan. To borrow the security, the Fund also may be required to pay a premium, which would increase the cost of the security sold. A portion of the net proceeds of the short sale may be retained by the broker (or by the Fund’s custodian in a special custody account), to the extent necessary to meet margin requirements, until the short position is closed out. The Fund will also incur transaction costs in effecting short sales. The Fund may also enter into short sales “against the box”. A short sale is “against the box” to the extent that the Fund contemporaneously owns or has the right to obtain at no added cost securities identical to those sold short. There are certain transaction costs associated with short sales against the box, but the Fund endeavors to offset these costs with the income from the investment of the cash proceeds of short sales. Neither Fund intends to make short sales or maintain a short position if to do so would cause more than 25% of such Fund’s total assets, taken at market value, to be held as collateral for such sales.

The Fund will incur a loss as a result of the short sale if the price of the security increases between the date of the short sale and the date on which the Fund replaces the borrowed security. The Fund will realize a gain if the security declines in price between those dates. The amount of any gain will be decreased, and the amount of any loss increased, by the amount of the premiums, dividends, interest or expenses the Fund may be required to pay in connection with a short sale. An increase in the value of a security sold short by the Fund over the price at which it was sold short will result in a loss to the Fund, and there can be no assurance that the Fund will be able to close out the position at any particular time or at an acceptable price. Where short sales are not against the box, losses may be unlimited.

Leverage. Each Fund may borrow from banks, on a secured or unsecured basis and use the proceeds to make additional investments. This speculative factor is known as “leverage.” Leverage creates an opportunity for increased returns to shareholders of a Fund but, at the same time, creates special risk considerations. For example, leverage may exaggerate changes in the net asset value of a Fund’s shares and in a Fund’s yield.

 

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Although the principal or stated value of such borrowings will be fixed, the Fund’s assets may change in value during the time the borrowing is outstanding. Leverage will create interest expenses for the Fund which can exceed the income from the assets retained. To the extent the income or other gain derived from securities purchased with borrowed funds exceed the interest the Fund will have to pay in respect thereof, the Fund’s net income or other gain will be greater than if leverage had not been used. Conversely, if the income or other gain from the incremental assets is not sufficient to cover the cost of leverage, the net income or other gain of the Fund will be less than if leverage had not been used. If the amount of income or appreciation from the incremental securities is insufficient to cover the cost of borrowing, securities might have to be liquidated to obtain required funds. If the securities purchased with borrowed funds lose value, the net loss of the Fund will be greater than if leverage had not been used. Depending on market or other conditions, such liquidations could be disadvantageous to the Fund. Each Fund is required to maintain continuous asset coverage of 300% with respect to such borrowings, and to sell (within three days) sufficient portfolio holdings to restore such coverage, if it should decline to less than 300% due to market fluctuations or otherwise, even if disadvantageous from an investment standpoint.

Lending Portfolio Securities. Consistent with applicable regulatory requirements and in order to generate income, each Fund may lend its securities to broker-dealers and other institutional borrowers. Such loans will usually be made only to member banks of the U.S. Federal Reserve System and to member firms of the NYSE. Loans of securities would be secured continuously by collateral in cash, cash equivalents, or U.S. Treasury obligations maintained on a current basis at an amount at least equal to the market value of the securities loaned. The cash collateral would be invested in high quality short-term instruments. Either party has the right to terminate a loan at any time on customary industry settlement notice (which will not usually exceed three business days). During the existence of a loan, the Fund would continue to receive the equivalent of the interest or dividends paid by the issuer on the securities loaned and with respect to cash collateral would also receive compensation based on investment of cash collateral (subject to a rebate payable to the borrower and the lending agent). Where the borrower provides the Fund with collateral consisting of U.S. Treasury obligations, the borrower is also obligated to pay the Fund a fee for use of the borrowed securities. The Fund would not, however, have the right to vote any securities having voting rights during the existence of the loan, but would call the loan in anticipation of an important vote to be taken among holders of the securities or of the giving or withholding of their consent on a material matter affecting the investment. As with other extensions of credit, there are risks of delay in recovery or even loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower fail financially. However, the loans would be made only to entities deemed by the subadviser to be of good standing, and when, in the judgment of the subadviser, the consideration which can be earned currently from loans of this type justifies the attendant risk. In addition, the Fund could suffer loss if the borrower terminates the loan and the Fund is forced to liquidate investments in order to return the cash collateral to the buyer.

When-Issued Securities. Each Fund may purchase securities on a “when-issued” or on a “forward delivery” basis, meaning that delivery of the securities occurs beyond customary settlement times. In general, a Fund does not pay for the securities until received and does not start earning interest until the contractual settlement date. It is expected that, under normal circumstances, a Fund would take delivery of such securities, but the Fund may sell them before the settlement date. When a Fund commits to purchase a security on a “when- issued” or on a “forward delivery” basis, it sets up procedures consistent with SEC policies. Since those policies currently require that an amount of a Fund’s assets equal to the amount of the purchase be held aside or segregated to be used to pay for the commitment, each Fund expects always to have cash or liquid securities sufficient to cover any commitments or to limit any potential risk. However, even though the Funds do not intend to make such purchases for speculative purposes and intend to adhere to the provisions of SEC policies, purchases of securities on such bases may involve more risk than other types of purchases. The when-issued securities are subject to market fluctuation, and no interest accrues on the security to the purchaser during this period. The payment obligation and the interest rate that will be received on the securities are each fixed at the time the purchaser enters into the commitment. Purchasing obligations on a when-issued basis is a form of leveraging and can involve a risk that the yields available in the market when the delivery takes place may actually be higher than those obtained in the transactions themselves. In that case, there could be an unrealized loss at the time of delivery. An increase in the percentage of a Fund’s assets committed to the purchase of securities on a “when-issued” basis may increase the volatility of its net asset value.

 

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ADDITIONAL RISK FACTORS

The Prospectuses and the “INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES, MANAGEMENT POLICIES AND ASSOCIATED RISKS” section of this Statement of Additional Information discuss certain of the risk factors associated with the investment policies and strategies employed by each Fund. The following discussion supplements these descriptions of risk factors.

General. Investors should realize that risk of loss is inherent in the ownership of any securities and that each Fund’s net asset value will fluctuate, reflecting fluctuations in the market value of its portfolio positions.

Equity Securities. Equity securities have historically been more volatile than most debt securities in response to market risk. Market risk is the risk that the prices of securities will rise or fall due to changing economic, political or market conditions. The value of some securities held by the Funds may be quite volatile.

Fixed Income Securities. Investments in fixed income securities may subject the Funds to risks, including the following:

Interest Rate Risk . When interest rates decline, the market value of fixed income securities tends to increase. Conversely, when interest rates increase, the market value of fixed income securities tends to decline. The volatility of a security’s market value will differ depending upon the security’s duration, the issuer and the type of instrument.

Income Risk. When interest rates decline, a Fund’s income may decline.

Default Risk/Credit Risk. Investments in fixed income securities are subject to the risk that the issuer of the security could default on its obligations, causing a Fund to sustain losses on such investments. A default could impact both interest and principal payments.

Call Risk and Extension Risk. Fixed income securities may be subject to both call risk and extension risk. Call risk exists when the issuer may exercise its right to pay principal on an obligation earlier than scheduled, which would cause cash flows to be returned earlier than expected. This typically results when interest rates have declined and a Fund will suffer from having to reinvest in lower yielding securities. Extension risk exists when the issuer may exercise its right to pay principal on an obligation later than anticipated, which would cause cash flows to be returned later than expected. This typically results when interest rates have increased, and a Fund will suffer from the inability to invest in higher yield securities.

Lower Rated and Below Investment Grade Fixed Income Securities. Securities rated in the fourth highest ratings category by a nationally recognized statistical ratings organization (an “NRSRO”), such as those rated BBB by S&P or Baa by Moody’s are generally regarded as having adequate capacity to pay interest and repay principal, but may have some speculative characteristics. Securities rated below the fourth highest ratings category by an NRSRO, including those rated below Baa by Moody’s or BBB by S&P, are not “investment grade,” and may have speculative characteristics, including a greater possibility of default or bankruptcy of the issuers of such securities, market price volatility based upon interest rate sensitivity, questionable creditworthiness and relative liquidity of the secondary trading market. Because these high yield bonds, commonly referred to as “junk bonds”, have been found to be more sensitive to adverse economic changes or individual corporate developments and less sensitive to interest rate changes than higher-rated investments, an economic downturn could disrupt the market for high yield bonds and adversely affect the value of outstanding bonds and the ability of issuers to repay principal and interest. In addition, in a declining interest rate market, issuers of high yield bonds may exercise redemption or call provisions, which may force a Fund, to the extent it owns such securities, to replace those securities with lower yielding securities. This could result in a decreased return.

Subsequent to its purchase by a Fund, an issue of securities may cease to be rated or its rating may be reduced below the minimum required for purchase by the Fund. In addition, it is possible that Moody’s, S&P and other rating agencies might not timely change their ratings of a particular issue to reflect subsequent events.

 

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Smaller Market Capitalization Companies. Investments in companies with smaller market capitalizations, including companies generally considered to be small cap issuers and medium sized companies, may involve greater risks and volatility than investments in larger companies. Companies with smaller market capitalizations may be at an earlier stage of development, may be subject to greater business risks, may have limited product lines, limited financial resources and less depth in management than more established companies. In addition, these companies may have difficulty withstanding competition from larger more established companies in their industries. The securities of companies with smaller market capitalizations may be thinly traded (and therefore have to be sold at a discount from current market prices or sold in small lots over an extended period of time), may be followed by fewer investment research analysts and may be subject to wider price swings and thus may create a greater chance of loss than investing in securities of larger capitalization companies. In addition, transaction costs in smaller capitalization stocks may be higher than those of larger capitalization companies.

Foreign Securities. Investments in securities of foreign issuers involve certain risks not ordinarily associated with investments in securities of domestic issuers. Such risks include fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, future political and economic developments, and the possible imposition of exchange controls or other foreign governmental laws or restrictions. Changes in foreign currency exchange rates will, to the extent a Fund does not adequately hedge against such fluctuations, affect the value of securities in its portfolio and the unrealized appreciation or depreciation of investments so far as U.S. investors are concerned. In addition, with respect to certain countries, there is the possibility of expropriation of assets, confiscatory taxation, political or social instability or diplomatic developments which could adversely affect investments in those countries.

There may be less publicly available information about a foreign company than about a U.S. company, and foreign companies may not be subject to accounting, auditing, and financial reporting standards and requirements comparable to or as uniform as those of U.S. companies. Foreign securities markets, while growing in volume, have, for the most part, substantially less volume than U.S. markets, and securities of many foreign companies are less liquid and their price more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. companies. Transaction costs on foreign securities markets are generally higher than in the U.S. There is generally less government supervision and regulation of exchanges, brokers and issuers than there is in the U.S. A Fund might have greater difficulty taking appropriate legal action in foreign courts. Dividend and interest income from foreign securities will generally be subject to withholding taxes by the country in which the issuer is located and may not be recoverable by the Fund or the investors. Capital gains are also subject to taxation in some foreign countries.

Currency Risks. The U.S. dollar value of securities denominated in a foreign currency will vary with changes in currency exchange rates, which can be volatile. Accordingly, changes in the value of the currency in which a Fund’s investments are denominated relative to the U.S. dollar will affect the Fund’s net asset value. Exchange rates are generally affected by the forces of supply and demand in the international currency markets, the relative merits of investing in different countries and the intervention or failure to intervene of U.S. or foreign governments and central banks. However, currency exchange rates may fluctuate based on factors intrinsic to a country’s economy. Some emerging market countries also may have managed currencies, which are not free floating against the U.S. dollar. In addition, emerging markets are subject to the risk of restrictions upon the free conversion of their currencies into other currencies. Any devaluations relative to the U.S. dollar in the currencies in which a Fund’s securities are quoted would reduce the Fund’s net asset value per share.

Special Risks of Countries in the Asia Pacific Region. Certain of the risks associated with international investments are heightened for investments in these countries. For example, some of the currencies of these countries have experienced devaluations relative to the U.S. dollar, and adjustments have been made periodically in certain of such currencies. Certain countries, such as Indonesia, face serious exchange constraints. Jurisdictional disputes also exist, for example, between South Korea and North Korea. In addition, Hong Kong reverted to Chinese administration on July 1, 1997. The long-term effects of this reversion are not known at this time.

Securities of Developing/Emerging Markets Countries. A developing or emerging markets country generally is considered to be a country that is in the initial stages of its industrialization cycle. Investing in the equity markets of developing countries involves exposure to economic structures that are generally less diverse and

 

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mature, and to political systems that can be expected to have less stability, than those of developed countries. Historical experience indicates that the markets of developing countries have been more volatile than the markets of the more mature economies of developed countries; however, such markets often have provided higher rates of return to investors.

One or more of the risks discussed above could affect adversely the economy of a developing market or a Fund’s investments in such a market. In Eastern Europe, for example, upon the accession to power of Communist regimes in the past, the governments of a number of Eastern European countries expropriated a large amount of property. The claims of many property owners against those of governments may remain unsettled. In Latin America, countries have faced currency devaluation and defaults on public debt creating national economic crises. There can be no assurance that any investments that a Fund might make in such emerging markets would not be expropriated, nationalized or otherwise confiscated at some time in the future. In such an event, the Fund could lose its entire investment in the market involved. Moreover, changes in the leadership or policies of such markets could halt the expansion or reverse the liberalization of foreign investment policies now occurring in certain of these markets and adversely affect existing investment opportunities.

Many of a Fund’s investments in the bonds of issuers in emerging markets may be unrated or rated below investment grade. Securities rated below investment grade (and comparable unrated securities) are the equivalent of high yield, high risk bonds, commonly known as “junk bonds.” Such securities are regarded as predominantly speculative with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal in accordance with the terms of the obligations and involve major risk exposure to adverse business, financial, economic, or political conditions.

Derivative Instruments. In accordance with its investment policies, each Fund may invest in certain derivative instruments which are securities or contracts that provide for payments based on or “derived” from the performance of an underlying asset, index or other economic benchmark. Essentially, a derivative instrument is a financial arrangement or a contract between two parties. Derivative contracts include options, Futures Contracts, forward contracts, forward commitment and when-issued securities transactions, forward foreign currency exchange contracts and interest rate, mortgage and currency swaps. Transactions in derivative instruments can be, but are not necessarily, riskier than investments in conventional stocks, bonds and money market instruments.

The following are the principal risks associated with derivative instruments. Please also see the description in the “INVESTMENT OBJECTIVES, MANAGEMENT POLICIES AND ASSOCIATED RISKS” section of this Statement of Additional Information of certain derivative instruments in which a Fund might invest for more information about those instruments and the risks on investing in them.

Leverage and associated price volatility: The use of certain derivatives may involve leverage for a Fund because they create an obligation, or indebtedness, to someone other than the Fund’s investors and enable a Fund to participate in gains and losses on an amount that exceeds its initial investment. Derivatives may magnify a Fund’s gain or loss from an investment in much the same way that incurring indebtedness does.

Credit risk: Certain types of derivatives are subject to the risk that the counterparty may fail to honor contract terms.

Liquidity and valuation risk: Many derivative instruments are traded in institutional markets rather than on an exchange. Certain derivative instruments are not readily marketable and are subject to a Fund’s restrictions on illiquid investments. As a result, these instruments may be more difficult to value.

Correlation risk: There may be imperfect correlation between the price of the derivative and the underlying asset. For example, there may be price disparities between the trading markets for the derivative contract and the underlying asset.

Each derivative instrument purchased for a Fund’s portfolio is reviewed and analyzed by the Fund’s portfolio manager to assess the risk and reward of such instrument in relation to the Fund’s portfolio investment strategy. The decision to invest in derivative instruments or conventional securities is made by measuring the respective instrument’s ability to provide value to the Fund and its shareholders.

 

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Special Risks of Using Futures Contracts and Options on Futures Contracts. The prices of Futures Contracts are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in interest rates, which in turn are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and national and international political and economic events.

At best, the correlation between changes in prices of Futures Contracts and of the securities or currencies being hedged can be only approximate. The degree of imperfection of correlation depends upon circumstances such as: variations in speculative market demand for Futures and for debt securities or currencies, including technical influences in Futures trading; and differences between the financial instruments being hedged and the instruments underlying the standard Futures Contracts available for trading, with respect to interest rate levels, maturities, and creditworthiness of issuers. A decision of whether, when, and how to hedge involves skill and judgment, and even a well-conceived hedge may be unsuccessful to some degree because of unexpected market behavior or interest rate trends.

Because of the low margin deposits required, Futures trading involves an extremely high degree of leverage. As a result, a relatively small price movement in a Futures Contract may result in immediate and substantial loss or gain, to the investor. For example, if at the time of purchase, 10% of the value of the Futures Contract is deposited as margin, a subsequent 10% decrease in the value of the Futures Contract would result in a total loss of the margin deposit, before any deduction for the transaction costs, if the account were then closed out. A 15% decrease would result in a loss equal to 150% of the original margin deposit, if the Futures Contract were closed out. Thus, a purchase or sale of a Futures Contract may result in losses in excess of the amount invested in the Futures Contract. A Fund, however, would presumably have sustained comparable losses if, instead of the Futures Contract, it had invested in the underlying financial instrument and sold it after the decline. Where a Fund enters into Futures transactions for non-hedging purposes, it will be subject to greater risks and could sustain losses which are not offset by gains on other Fund assets.

In order to be certain that each Fund has sufficient assets to satisfy its obligations under a Futures Contract, the Fund segregates and commits to back the Futures Contract an amount of cash and liquid securities equal in value to the current value of the underlying instrument less the margin deposit.

Most U.S. Futures exchanges limit the amount of fluctuation permitted in Futures Contract prices during a single trading day. The daily limit establishes the maximum amount that the price of a Futures Contract may vary either up or down from the previous day’s settlement price at the end of a trading session. Once the daily limit has been reached in a particular type of Futures Contract, no trades may be made on that day at a price beyond that limit. The daily limit governs only price movement during a particular trading day and therefore does not limit potential losses, because the limit may prevent the liquidation of unfavorable positions. Futures Contract prices have occasionally moved to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of Futures positions and subjecting some Futures traders to substantial losses.

As with options on debt securities, the holder of an option may terminate the position by selling an option of the same series. There is no guarantee that such closing transactions can be effected. The Fund will be required to deposit initial margin and maintenance margin with respect to put and call options on Futures Contracts described above, and, in addition, net option premiums received will be included as initial margin deposits.

In addition to the risks which apply to all option transactions, there are several special risks relating to options on Futures Contracts. The ability to establish and close out positions on such options will be subject to the development and maintenance of a liquid secondary market. It is not certain that this market will develop. The Fund will not purchase options on Futures Contracts on any exchange unless and until, in the manager’s opinion, the market for such options had developed sufficiently. Compared to the use of Futures Contracts, the purchase of options on Futures Contracts involves less potential risk to the Fund because the maximum amount of risk is the premium paid for the options (plus transaction costs). Writing an option on a Futures Contract involves risks similar to those arising in the sale of Futures Contracts, as described above.

 

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Economic and Monetary Union (EMU). Twenty-five European countries participate in the European and Monetary Union (EMU) and twelve of those countries have adopted the Euro as their sole currency. EMU may create new economic opportunities for investors, such as lower interest rates, easier cross-border mergers, acquisitions and similar restructurings, more efficient distribution and product packaging and greater competition. Budgetary decisions remain in the hands of each participating country, but are subject to each country’s commitment to avoid “excessive deficits” and other more specific budgetary criteria. A European Central Bank is responsible for setting the official interest rate within the Euro zone. EMU and the introduction of the Euro, however, present unique risks and uncertainties for investors in EMU-participating countries, including: (i) monetary and economic union on this scale has never before been attempted; (ii) there is uncertainty whether participating countries will remain committed to EMU in the face of changing economic conditions; (iii) instability within EMU may increase the volatility of European markets and may adversely affect the prices of securities of European issuers in the Funds’ portfolio; (iv) there is uncertainty concerning the fluctuation of the Euro relative to non-Euro currencies; and (v) there is no assurance that interest rate, tax and labor regimes of EMU-participating countries will converge over time. These and other factors may cause market disruption and could adversely affect European securities and currencies held by a Fund.

Portfolio Turnover. Each Fund may purchase or sell securities without regard to the length of time the security has been held and thus may experience a high rate of portfolio turnover. A 100% turnover rate would occur, for example, if all the securities in a portfolio were replaced in a period of one year. Under certain market conditions a Fund may experience a high rate of portfolio turnover. The rate of portfolio turnover is not a limiting factor when the manager deems it desirable to purchase or sell securities or to engage in options transactions. High portfolio turnover involves correspondingly greater transaction costs, including any brokerage commissions, which are borne directly by the respective Fund and may accelerate the recognition of taxable gains as well as increase the recognition of short-term, rather than long-term, capital gains if as a result securities are held for one year or less. (For further information see “Portfolio Turnover” below).

Special Risks of Options. In the event of a shortage of the underlying securities deliverable on exercise of an option, the Options Clearing Corporation has the authority to permit other, generally comparable securities to be delivered in fulfillment of option exercise obligations. If the Options Clearing Corporation exercises its discretionary authority to allow such other securities to be delivered it may also adjust the exercise prices of the affected options by setting different prices at which otherwise ineligible securities may be delivered. As an alternative to permitting such substitute deliveries, the Options Clearing Corporation may impose special exercise settlement procedures.

The hours of trading for options on U.S. government securities may not conform to the hours during which the underlying securities are traded. To the extent that the options markets close before the markets for the underlying securities, significant price and rate movements can take place in the underlying markets that cannot be reflected in the options markets.

Options are traded on exchanges on only a limited number of U.S. government securities, and exchange regulations limit the maximum number of options which may be written or purchased by a single investor or a group of investors acting in concert. The Trust and other clients advised by affiliates of LMPFA may be deemed to constitute a group for these purposes. In light of these limits, the Board of Trustees may determine at any time to restrict or terminate the public offering of the Fund’s shares (including through exchanges from other funds).

Exchange markets in options on U.S. government securities are a relatively new and untested concept. It is impossible to predict the amount of trading interest that may exist in such options, and there can be no assurance that viable exchange markets will develop or continue.

 

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INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS

Each Fund has adopted the following policies which may not be changed with respect to a Fund without approval by holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, which as used in this Statement of Additional Information means the vote of the lesser of (i) voting securities representing 67% or more of the voting power of the Fund present at a meeting at which the holders of voting securities representing more than 50% of the voting power of the Fund are present or represented by proxy, or (ii) voting securities representing more than 50% of the voting power of the Fund. The term “voting securities” as used in this paragraph has the same meaning as in the 1940 Act. As discussed under “Proposed Investment Restrictions” below, the Funds are proposing to change their investment restrictions.

Current Investment Restrictions

Under the investment restrictions adopted by each Fund, a Fund may not:

(1) borrow money except to the extent such borrowing is not prohibited by the 1940 Act and exemptive orders granted under such Act.

(2) underwrite securities issued by other persons, except that all or any portion of the assets of the Fund may be invested in one or more investment companies, to the extent not prohibited by the 1940 Act and exemptive orders granted under such Act, and except insofar as the Fund may technically be deemed an underwriter under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, in selling a portfolio security.

(3) purchase or sell real estate (excluding securities secured by real estate or interests therein and securities of companies, such as real estate investment trusts, which deal in real estate or interests therein), interests in oil, gas or mineral leases, commodities or commodity contracts (excluding currencies and any type of option, futures contract and forward contract) in the ordinary course of its business. The Fund reserves the freedom of action to hold and to sell real estate, mineral leases, commodities or commodity contracts (including currencies and any type of option, futures contract and forward contract) acquired as a result of the ownership of securities.

(4) issue any senior securities except to the extent not prohibited by the 1940 Act and exemptive orders granted under such Act. For purposes of this restriction, collateral arrangements with respect to any type of swap, option, forward contract and futures contract and collateral arrangements with respect to initial and variation margin are not deemed to be the issuance of a senior security.

(5) make loans except to the extent not prohibited by the 1940 Act and exemptive orders granted under such Act.

(6) purchase any securities of an issuer in a particular industry if as a result 25% or more of its total assets (taken at market value at the time of purchase) would be invested in securities of issuers whose principal business activities are in the same industry.

(7) purchase any security issued by any company deriving more than 25% of its gross revenues from the manufacture of alcohol or tobacco.

The Funds have also adopted the following nonfundamental investment restriction that may be changed by the Trust’s Board of Trustees at any time. Accordingly, a Fund may not:

invest more than 15% of its net assets (taken at market value at the time of purchase ) in illiquid or restricted securities (meaning securities which cannot be sold within seven days at the value carried on the Fund’s books).

If a percentage restriction or a rating restriction (other than a restriction as to borrowing) on investment or utilization of assets set forth above or referred to in the Prospectus is adhered to at the time an investment is made or assets are so utilized, a later change in circumstance is not considered a violation of policy.

 

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Proposed Investment Restrictions

The Funds have called a meeting of their shareholders to consider several proposals, including the adoption of revised fundamental investment policies or restrictions. If approved by the applicable Fund’s shareholders, such Fund’s revised fundamental policies will be as follows:

(1) The Fund may not borrow money except as permitted by (i) the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

(2) The Fund may not engage in the business of underwriting the securities of other issuers except as permitted by (i) the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

(3) The Fund may lend money or other assets to the extent permitted by (i) the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

(4) The Fund may not issue senior securities except as permitted by (i) the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

(5) The Fund may not purchase or sell real estate except as permitted by (i) the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

(6) The Fund may purchase or sell commodities or contracts related to commodities to the extent permitted by (i) the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

(7) Except as permitted by exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, the Fund may not make any investment if, as a result, the Fund’s investments will be concentrated in any one industry.

If the shareholder proposals are approved by the applicable Fund’s shareholders, its revised policies will set forth the following as a nonfundamental investment restriction that may be changed by the Trust’s Board of Trustees at any time: the Fund may not purchase securities of any company deriving more than 25% of its gross revenues from the manufacture of alcohol or tobacco.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to borrowing money set forth in (1) above, the 1940 Act permits a fund to borrow money in amounts of up to one-third of the fund’s total assets from banks for any purpose, and to borrow up to 5% of the fund’s total assets from banks or other lenders for temporary purposes. To limit the risks attendant to borrowing, the 1940 Act requires the fund to maintain at all times an “asset coverage” of at least 300% of the amount of its borrowings. Asset coverage means the ratio that the value of the fund’s total assets, minus liabilities other than borrowings, bears to the aggregate amount of all borrowings. Certain trading practices and investments, such as reverse repurchase agreements, may be considered to be borrowings and thus subject to the 1940 Act restrictions. Borrowing money to increase portfolio holdings is known as “leveraging.” Borrowing, especially when used for leverage, may cause the value of a fund’s shares to be more volatile than if the fund did not borrow. This is because borrowing tends to magnify the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of the fund’s portfolio holdings. Borrowed money thus creates an opportunity for greater gains, but also greater losses. To repay borrowings, the fund may have to sell securities at a time and at a price that is unfavorable to the fund. There also are costs associated with borrowing money, and these costs would offset and could eliminate a fund’s net investment income in any given period. [Subject to confirmation: Currently the fund does not contemplate borrowing money for leverage, but if the fund does so, it will not likely do so to a substantial degree.] The policy in (1) above will be interpreted to permit a fund to engage in trading

 

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practices and investments that may be considered to be borrowing to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act. Short-term credits necessary for the settlement of securities transactions and arrangements with respect to securities lending will not be considered to be borrowings under the policy. Practices and investments that may involve leverage but are not considered to be borrowings are not subject to the policy.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to underwriting set forth in (2) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from engaging in the underwriting business or from underwriting the securities of other issuers; in fact, the 1940 Act permits a fund to have underwriting commitments of up to 25% of its assets under certain circumstances. Those circumstances currently are that the amount of the fund’s underwriting commitments, when added to the value of the fund’s investments in issuers where the fund owns more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of those issuers, cannot exceed the 25% cap. A fund engaging in transactions involving the acquisition or disposition of portfolio securities may be considered to be an underwriter under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”). Under the 1933 Act, an underwriter may be liable for material omissions or misstatements in an issuer’s registration statement or prospectus. Securities purchased from an issuer and not registered for sale under the 1933 Act are considered restricted securities. There may be a limited market for these securities. If these securities are registered under the 1933 Act, they may then be eligible for sale but participating in the sale may subject the seller to underwriter liability. These risks could apply to a fund investing in restricted securities. Although it is not believed that the application of the 1933 Act provisions described above would cause a fund to be engaged in the business of underwriting, the policy in (2) above will be interpreted not to prevent the fund from engaging in transactions involving the acquisition or disposition of portfolio securities, regardless of whether the fund may be considered to be an underwriter under the 1933 Act.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to lending set forth in (3) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from making loans; however, SEC staff interpretations currently prohibit funds from lending more than one-third of their total assets, except through the purchase of debt obligations or the use of repurchase agreements. (A repurchase agreement is an agreement to purchase a security, coupled with an agreement to sell that security back to the original seller on an agreed-upon date at a price that reflects current interest rates. The SEC frequently treats repurchase agreements as loans.) While lending securities may be a source of income to a fund, as with other extensions of credit, there are risks of delay in recovery or even loss of rights in the underlying securities should the borrower fail financially. However, loans would be made only when the fund’s manager or a subadviser believes the income justifies the attendant risks. The fund also will be permitted by this policy to make loans of money, including to other funds. A fund would have to obtain exemptive relief from the SEC to make loans to other funds. The policy in (3) above will be interpreted not to prevent a fund from purchasing or investing in debt obligations and loans. In addition, collateral arrangements with respect to options, forward currency and futures transactions and other derivative instruments, as well as delays in the settlement of securities transactions, will not be considered loans.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to issuing senior securities set forth in (4) above, “senior securities” are defined as fund obligations that have a priority over the fund’s shares with respect to the payment of dividends or the distribution of fund assets. The 1940 Act prohibits a fund from issuing senior securities except that the fund may borrow money in amounts of up to one-third of the fund’s total assets from banks for any purpose. A fund also may borrow up to 5% of the fund’s total assets from banks or other lenders for temporary purposes, and these borrowings are not considered senior securities. The issuance of senior securities by a fund can increase the speculative character of the fund’s outstanding shares through leveraging. Leveraging of a fund’s portfolio through the issuance of senior securities magnifies the potential for gain or loss on monies, because even though the fund’s net assets remain the same, the total risk to investors is increased to the extent of the fund’s gross assets. The policy in (4) above will be interpreted not to prevent collateral arrangements with respect to swaps, options, forward or futures contracts or other derivatives, or the posting of initial or variation margin.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to real estate set forth in (5) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from owning real estate; however, a fund is limited in the amount of illiquid assets it may purchase. Investing in real estate may involve risks, including that real estate is generally considered illiquid and

 

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may be difficult to value and sell. Owners of real estate may be subject to various liabilities, including environmental liabilities. To the extent that investments in real estate are considered illiquid, the current SEC staff position generally limits a fund’s purchases of illiquid securities to 15% of net assets. The policy in (5) above will be interpreted not to prevent a fund from investing in real estate-related companies, companies whose businesses consist in whole or in part of investing in real estate, instruments (like mortgages) that are secured by real estate or interests therein, or real estate investment trust securities.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to commodities set forth in (6) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from owning commodities, whether physical commodities and contracts related to physical commodities (such as oil or grains and related futures contracts), or financial commodities and contracts related to financial commodities (such as currencies and, possibly, currency futures). However, a fund is limited in the amount of illiquid assets it may purchase. To the extent that investments in commodities are considered illiquid, the current SEC staff position generally limits a fund’s purchases of illiquid securities to 15% of net assets. If a fund were to invest in a physical commodity or a physical commodity-related instrument, the fund would be subject to the additional risks of the particular physical commodity and its related market. The value of commodities and commodity-related instruments may be extremely volatile and may be affected either directly or indirectly by a variety of factors. There also may be storage charges and risks of loss associated with physical commodities. The policy in (6) above will be interpreted to permit investments in exchange traded funds that invest in physical and/or financial commodities.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to concentration set forth in (7) above, the 1940 Act does not define what constitutes “concentration” in an industry. The SEC staff has taken the position that investment of 25% or more of a fund’s total assets in one or more issuers conducting their principal activities in the same industry or group of industries constitutes concentration. It is possible that interpretations of concentration could change in the future. A fund that invests a significant percentage of its total assets in a single industry may be particularly susceptible to adverse events affecting that industry and may be more risky than a fund that does not concentrate in an industry. The policy in (7) above will be interpreted to refer to concentration as that term may be interpreted from time to time. The policy also will be interpreted to permit investment without limit in the following: securities of the U.S. government and its agencies or instrumentalities; securities of state, territory, possession or municipal governments and their authorities, agencies, instrumentalities or political subdivisions; securities of foreign governments; and repurchase agreements collateralized by any such obligations. Accordingly, issuers of the foregoing securities will not be considered to be members of any industry. There also will be no limit on investment in issuers domiciled in a single jurisdiction or country. The policy also will be interpreted to give broad authority to a fund as to how to classify issuers within or among industries.

The fund’s proposed fundamental policies are written and will be interpreted broadly. For example, the policies will be interpreted to refer to the 1940 Act and the related rules as they are in effect from time to time, and to interpretations and modifications of or relating to the 1940 Act by the SEC and others as they are given from time to time. When a policy provides that an investment practice may be conducted as permitted by the 1940 Act, the policy will be interpreted to mean either that the 1940 Act expressly permits the practice or that the 1940 Act does not prohibit the practice.

The Funds are currently classified as a diversified fund under the 1940 Act. This means that a Fund may not purchase securities of an issuer (other than obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities) if, with respect to 75% of its total assets, (a) more than 5% of the Fund’s total assets would be invested in securities of that issuer, or (b) the Fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer. With respect to the remaining 25% of its total assets, a Fund can invest more than 5% of its assets in one issuer. Under the 1940 Act, the Funds cannot change their classification from diversified to non-diversified without shareholder approval.

 

38


BROKERAGE

Subject to policies as may be established by the Funds’ Board from time to time, the subadviser is primarily responsible for the Funds’ portfolio decisions and the placing of the Funds’ portfolio transactions, except that the manager manages the cash and short-term investments of the Funds. Transactions on stock exchanges involve the payment of negotiated brokerage commissions. There is generally no stated commission in the case of securities traded in the over-the-counter market, but the price of those securities includes an undisclosed commission or mark-up. Over-the-counter purchases and sales are transacted directly with principal market makers except where it is believed that better prices and executions may be obtained elsewhere. The cost of securities purchased from underwriters includes an underwriting commission or concession, and the prices at which securities are purchased from and sold to dealers include a dealer’s mark-up or mark-down. The aggregate brokerage commissions paid by the Funds for the three most recent fiscal years is set forth below under “Aggregate Brokerage Commissions Paid.”

Pursuant to the Management Agreements and sub-advisory agreements, each of the manager and the subadviser is authorized to place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for a Fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. The general policy of the manager and subadviser in selecting brokers and dealers is to obtain the best results achievable in the context of a number of factors which are considered both in relation to individual trades and broader trading patterns, including the reliability of the broker/dealer, the competitiveness of the price and the commission, the research services received and whether the broker/dealer commits its own capital. In connection with the manager’s or subadviser’s monitoring of its portfolio transactions for compliance with its policies, the manager and subadviser each utilize both an internal committee and a third party service provider.

In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) to the Funds and/or the other accounts over which the manager, the subadviser or their affiliates exercise investment discretion. The manager and subadviser are authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for a Fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the manager or subadviser determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities that the manager, the subadviser and their affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The manager and/or subadviser may also have arrangements with brokers pursuant to which such brokers provide research services to the manager or subadviser, as applicable, in exchange for a certain volume of brokerage transactions to be executed by such brokers. While the payment of higher commissions increases the Funds’ costs, neither the manager nor the subadviser believes that the receipt of such brokerage and research services significantly reduces its expenses as manager or subadviser. Arrangements for the receipt of research services from brokers may create conflicts of interest.

 

39


Research services furnished to the manager or the subadviser by brokers who effect securities transactions for the Funds may be used by the manager or subadviser in servicing other investment companies and accounts which it manages. Similarly, research services furnished to the manager or either subadviser by brokers who effect securities transactions for other investment companies and accounts which the manager or subadviser manages may be used by the manager or subadviser, as applicable, in servicing the applicable Fund. Not all of these research services are used by the manager or subadviser in managing any particular account, including the Funds. For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, the Funds paid commissions to brokers that provided research services as follows:

 

Fund

   Total Dollar Amount Of
Brokerage Transactions
Related To Research Services
   Total Dollar Amount of
Brokerage Commissions
Paid on Transactions
Related To Research Services

Growth and Income Fund

   $                     $                 

Dividend Strategy Fund

   $      $  

The Funds contemplate that, consistent with the policy of obtaining the best net results, brokerage transactions may be conducted through “affiliated broker/dealers”, as defined in the 1940 Act. The Funds’ Board of Trustees has adopted procedures in accordance with Rule 17e-1 promulgated under the 1940 Act to ensure that all brokerage commissions paid to such affiliates are reasonable and fair in the context of the market in which such affiliates operate. Effective December 1, 2005 CGMI is no longer an affiliated person of the Funds under the 1940 Act. As a result, the Funds will be permitted to execute portfolio transactions with CGMI or an affiliate of CGMI as agent (but not as principal) without being subject to the restrictions applicable to transactions with affiliated persons.

Aggregate Brokerage Commissions Paid

For the fiscal years ended October 31, 2004, 2005 and 2006, the Funds paid aggregate brokerage commissions and brokerage commissions to CGMI and its affiliates as set out below:

 

Aggregate Brokerage Commissions Paid

(Fiscal Year Ended October 31)

   Dividend
Strategy
   Growth and
Income

2006*

   $                 $             

2005

   $ 2,131,552    $ 1,922,189

2004

   $ 3,532,132    $ 1,958,818

 

Fiscal Year 2006* Commissions

   CGMI and Affiliates

Dividend Strategy

   $             

Growth and Income

   $             

Fiscal Year 2005 Commissions

   CGMI and Affiliates

Dividend Strategy

   $ 44,707

Growth and Income

   $ 4,872

Fiscal Year 2004 Commissions

   CGMI and Affiliates

Dividend Strategy

   $ 62,480

Growth and Income

   $ 1,770

* CGMI was not an affiliated person of the Funds under the 1940 Act during the entire period.

 

40


For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006*, the percentage of each Fund’s aggregate brokerage commissions paid to CGMI and its affiliates and the percentage of each Fund’s aggregate dollar amount of transactions involving the payment of commissions effected through CGMI and its affiliates were as follows:

 

Percentage of

Aggregate Brokerage

Commissions Paid

   CGMI
and
Affiliates

Dividend Strategy

               %

Growth and Income

               %

 

Percentage of

Aggregate Dollar Amount of

Transactions Involving

Payment of Commissions

   CGMI
and
Affiliates

Dividend Strategy

               %

Growth and Income

               %

* CGMI was not an affiliated person of the Funds under the 1940 Act during the entire period.

As of December 1, 2005, LMIS became an affiliated person of the Funds under the 1940 Act. For the period December 1, 2005 through October 31, 2006, the Funds did not pay any brokerage commissions to LMIS or its affiliates.

During the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, each Fund purchased securities issued by the following regular broker/dealers of each Fund, which had the following values as of October 31, 2006:

 

Fund

   Broker-Dealer   

Value of

Securities

as of

October 31,

2006

Dividend Strategy Fund

     

Growth and Income Fund

     

In certain instances there may be securities that are suitable as an investment for a Fund as well as for one or more of the manager’s or subadviser’s other clients. Investment decisions for the Funds and for the manager’s or subadviser’s other clients are made with a view to achieving their respective investment objectives. It may develop that a particular security is bought or sold for only one client even though it might be held by, or bought or sold for, other clients. Likewise, a particular security may be bought for one or more clients when one or more clients are selling the same security. Some simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several clients receive investment advice from the same investment adviser, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objectives of more than one client. When two or more clients are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security, the securities are allocated among clients in a manner believed to be equitable to each. It is recognized that in some cases this system could adversely affect the price of or the size of the position obtainable in a security for a Fund. When purchases or sales of the same security for a Fund and for other funds managed by the adviser occur contemporaneously, the purchase or sale orders may be aggregated in order to obtain any price advantages available to large volume purchases or sales.

PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

For reporting purposes, a Fund’s portfolio turnover rate is calculated by dividing the lesser of purchases or sales of portfolio securities for the fiscal year by the monthly average of the value of the portfolio securities

 

41


owned by the Fund during the fiscal year. In determining such portfolio turnover, all securities whose maturities at the time of acquisition were one year or less are excluded. A 100% portfolio turnover rate would occur, for example, if all of the securities in a Fund’s investment portfolio (other than short- term money market securities) were replaced once during the fiscal year. Portfolio turnover will not be a limiting factor should the manager or subadviser deem it advisable to purchase or sell securities.

For the Dividend Strategy Fund, for the fiscal years ended October 31, 2005 and 2006, the portfolio turnover rates were 135% and             %, respectively. For the Growth and Income Fund, for the fiscal years ended October 31, 2005 and 2006, the portfolio turnover rates were 57% and             %, respectively.

In the event that portfolio turnover increases, this increase necessarily results in correspondingly greater transaction costs which must be paid by a Fund. To the extent portfolio trading results in realization of net short-term capital gains, shareholders will be taxed on such gains at ordinary tax rates (except shareholders who invest through IRAs and other retirement plans which are not taxed currently on accumulations in their accounts).

DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS

The Funds have adopted policies and procedures developed by LMPFA, the Funds’ investment manager, with respect to the disclosure of the Funds’ portfolio securities and any ongoing arrangements to make available information about a Fund’s portfolio securities. The policy requires that consideration always be given as to whether disclosure of information about a Funds’ portfolio holdings is in the best interests of such Fund’s shareholders, and that any conflicts of interest between the interests of such Fund’s shareholders and those of LMPFA, such Fund’s Distributors or their affiliates, be addressed in a manner that places the interests of such Fund’s shareholders first. The policy provides that information regarding a Fund’s portfolio holdings may not be shared with non-Legg Mason employees, with investors or potential investors (whether individual or institutional), or with third parties unless it is done for legitimate Fund business purposes and in accordance with the policy.

LMPFA’s policy generally provides for the release of details of securities positions once they are considered “stale.” Data is considered stale 25 calendar days following quarter-end for funds other than money market funds, and 25 calendar days following month-end with respect to money market funds. LMPFA believes that this passage of time prevents a third party from benefiting from an investment decision made by a fund that has not been fully reflected by the market.

Under the policy, a Fund’s complete list of holdings (including the size of each position) may be made available to investors, potential investors, third parties and non-Legg Mason employees with simultaneous public disclosure at least 25 days after calendar quarter end, except in the case of a money market fund’s holdings, which may be released with simultaneous public disclosure at least 25 days after month end. Typically, simultaneous public disclosure is achieved by the filing of Form N-Q or Form N-CSR in accordance with SEC rules, provided that such filings may not be made until 25 days following quarter-end, and/or posting the information to a Legg Mason or the Funds’ Internet site that is accessible by the public, or through public release by a third party vendor.

The policy permits the release of limited portfolio holdings information that is not yet considered stale in a number of situations, including:

 

  1. A Fund’s top ten securities, current as of month-end, and the individual size of each such security position may be released at any time following month-end with simultaneous public disclosure.

 

  2. A Fund’s top ten securities positions (including the aggregate but not individual size of such positions) may be released at any time with simultaneous public disclosure.

 

42


  3. A list of securities (that may include Fund holdings together with other securities) followed by a portfolio manager (without position sizes or identification of particular funds) may be disclosed to sell-side brokers at any time for the purpose of obtaining research and/or market information from such brokers.

 

  4. A trade in process may be discussed only with counterparties, potential counterparties and others involved in the transaction (i.e., brokers and custodians).

 

  5. A Fund’s sector weightings, yield and duration (for fixed income and money market funds), performance attribution (e.g., analysis of the Fund’s out-performance or underperformance of its benchmark based on its portfolio holdings) and other summary and statistical information that does not include identification of specific portfolio holdings may be released, even if non-public, if such release is otherwise in accordance with the policy’s general principles.

 

  6. A Fund’s portfolio holdings may be released on an as-needed basis to its legal counsel, counsel to its Independent Trustees, and its independent public accounting firm, in required regulatory filings or otherwise to governmental agencies and authorities.

Under the policy, if information about a Fund’s portfolio holdings is released pursuant to an ongoing arrangement with any party, the Fund must have a legitimate business purpose for the release of the information, and either the party receiving the information must be under a duty of confidentiality, or the release of non-public information must be subject to trading restrictions and confidential treatment to prohibit the entity from sharing with an unauthorized source or trading upon any non-public information provided. Neither a Fund, nor Legg Mason, nor any other affiliated party may receive compensation or any other consideration in connection with such arrangements. Ongoing arrangements to make available information about a Fund’s portfolio securities will be reviewed at least annually by such Fund’s Board.

The approval of a Fund’s Chief Compliance Officer, or designee, must be obtained before such Fund enters into any new ongoing arrangement or alters any existing ongoing arrangement to make available portfolio holdings information, or with respect to any exceptions to the policy. Any exceptions to the policy must be consistent with the purposes of the policy. Exceptions are considered on a case-by-case basis and are granted only after a thorough examination and consultation with LMPFA’s legal department, as necessary. Exceptions to the policies are reported to the applicable Fund’s Board at its next regularly scheduled meeting.

Currently, the Funds disclose their complete portfolio holdings approximately 25 days after calendar quarter end on their website http:// www.leggmason.com /InvestorServices.

Set forth below is a list, as of             2006, of those parties with whom LMPFA, on behalf of each Fund, has authorized ongoing arrangements that include the release of portfolio holdings information in accordance with the policy, as well as the frequency of the release under such arrangements, and the length of the lag, if any, between the date of the information and the date on which the information is disclosed. The parties identified below as recipients are service providers, fund rating agencies, consultants and analysts.

 

Recipient

  

Frequency

  

Delay before dissemination

State Street Bank & Trust Co.
(Fund Custodian and Accounting Agent)

   Daily    None

Institutional Shareholders Services
(Proxy Voting Services)

   As necessary    None

Bloomberg

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Lipper

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

S&P

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Morningstar

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Vestek

   Daily    None

Factset

   Daily    None

Bank of New York

   Daily    None

 

43


[To be updated by amendment]

Portfolio holdings information for each Fund may also be released from time to time pursuant to ongoing arrangements with the following parties:

 

Recipient

  

Frequency

  

Delay before dissemination

Baseline

   Daily    None

Frank Russell

   Monthly    1 Day

Callan

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Mercer

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

eVestment Alliance

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

CRA RogersCasey

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Cambridge Associates

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Marco Consulting

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Wilshire

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Informa Investment Services (Efron)

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

CheckFree (Mobius)

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Nelsons Information

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Investor Tools

   Daily    None

Advent

   Daily    None

BARRA

   Daily    None

Plexus

   Quarterly (Calendar)    Sent 1-3 business days following the end of a Quarter

Elkins/McSherry

   Quarterly (Calendar)    Sent 1-3 business days following the end of a Quarter

Quantitative Services Group

   Daily    None

AMBAC

   Daily    None

Deutsche Bank

   Monthly    6-8 Business Days

Fitch

   Monthly    6-8 Business Days

Liberty Hampshire

   Weekly and Month End    None

Sun Trust

   Weekly and Month End    None

New England Pension Consultants

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Evaluation Associates

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Watson Wyatt

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

S&P (Rating Agency)

   Weekly Tuesday Night    1 business day

Moody’s (Rating Agency)

   Weekly Tuesday Night    1 business day

PORTFOLIO MANAGERS

GROWTH AND INCOME FUND

The following tables set forth certain additional information with respect to the portfolio manager for the Growth and Income Fund. Unless noted otherwise, all information in this section with respect to the Growth and Income Fund is provided as of October 31, 2006.

 

44


Other Accounts Managed by the Portfolio Manager

The table below identifies, for the portfolio manager of the Growth and Income Fund, the number of accounts (other than the Fund with respect to which information is provided) for which he or she has day-to-day management responsibilities and the total assets in such accounts, within each of the following categories: registered investment companies, other pooled investment vehicles, and other accounts. None of the accounts shown were subject to fees based on performance.

 

Portfolio Manager

  

Registered
Investment Companies

   Other Pooled
Investment Vehicles
   Other Accounts

Michael Kagan

        registered investment companies with $          billion in total assets under management         other pooled investment
vehicles with $            
million in total assets under
management
        other account with $
             million in total
assets under management

Portfolio Manager Compensation

Investment professionals of the manager and Clearbridge (collectively, “CAM”) receive base salary and other employee benefits and are eligible to receive incentive compensation. Base salary is fixed and typically determined based on market factors and the skill and experience of individual investment personnel.

CAM has implemented an investment management incentive and deferred compensation plan (the “Compensation Plan”) for its investment professionals, including the Funds’ portfolio manager(s). Each investment professional works as a part of an investment team. The Compensation Plan is designed to align the objectives of CAM investment professionals with those of Fund shareholders and other CAM clients. Under the Compensation Plan a “base incentive pool” is established for each team each year as a percentage of CAM’s revenue attributable to the team (largely management and related fees generated by funds and other accounts). A team’s revenues are typically expected to increase or decrease depending in part on the effect that the team’s investment performance as well as inflows and outflows has on the level of assets in the investment products managed by the team. The “base incentive pool” of a team is reduced by base salaries paid to members of the team and employee benefits expenses attributable to the team.

The investment team’s incentive pool is then adjusted to reflect its ranking among a “peer group” of non-CAM investment managers and the team’s pre-tax investment performance against the applicable product benchmark (e.g., a securities index and, with respect to a Fund, the benchmark set forth in such Fund’s prospectus to which such Fund’s average annual total returns are compared) or, if none, the benchmark set forth in such Fund’s annual report). CAM may also measure the team’s pre-tax investment performance against additional benchmarks, as it deems appropriate. Longer-term (5- year) performance will be more heavily weighted than shorter-term (1- year) performance in the calculation of the performance adjustment factor. The incentive pool for a team may also be adjusted to reflect other factors (e.g., severance pay to departing members of the team, and discretionary allocations by the applicable CAM chief investment officer from one investment team to another). The incentive pool will be allocated by the applicable CAM chief investment officer to the team leader and, based on the recommendations of the team leader, to the other members of the team.

Up to 20% of an investment professional’s annual incentive compensation is subject to deferral. Of that principal deferred award amount, 50% will accrue a return based on the hypothetical returns of the investment

 

45


fund or product that is the primary focus of the investment professional’s business activities with the Firm, and 50% may be received in the form of Legg Mason restricted stock shares.

Potential Conflicts of Interest

Potential conflicts of interest may arise when the Fund’s portfolio manager also has day-to-day management responsibilities with respect to one or more other funds or other accounts, as is the case for the portfolio managers listed in the table above.

The manager, the subadviser and the Funds have adopted compliance polices and procedures that are designed to address various conflicts of interest that may arise for the investment adviser and the individuals that it employs. For example, the manager and the subadviser each seek to minimize the effects of competing interests for the time and attention of portfolio managers by assigning portfolio managers to manage funds and accounts that share a similar investment style. The manager and the subadviser have also adopted trade allocation procedures that are designed to facilitate the fair allocation of limited investment opportunities among multiple funds and accounts. There is no guarantee, however, that the policies and procedures adopted by the manager, the subadviser and the Funds will be able to detect and/or prevent every situation in which an actual or potential conflict may appear.

These potential conflicts include:

Allocation of Limited Time and Attention. A portfolio manager who is responsible for managing multiple funds and/or accounts may devote unequal time and attention to the management of those funds and/or accounts. As a result, the portfolio manager may not be able to formulate as complete a strategy or identify equally attractive investment opportunities for each of those accounts as might be the case if he or she were to devote substantially more attention to the management of a single fund. The effects of this potential conflict may be more pronounced where funds and/or accounts overseen by a particular portfolio manager have different investment strategies.

Allocation of Limited Investment Opportunities. If a portfolio manager identifies a limited investment opportunity that may be suitable for multiple funds and/or accounts, the opportunity may be allocated among these several funds or accounts, which may limit a Fund’s ability to take full advantage of the investment opportunity.

Pursuit of Differing Strategies. At times, a portfolio manager may determine that an investment opportunity may be appropriate for only some of the funds and/or accounts for which he or she exercises investment responsibility, or may decide that certain of the funds and/or accounts should take differing positions with respect to a particular security. In these cases, the portfolio manager may place separate transactions for one or more funds or accounts which may affect the market price of the security or the execution of the transaction, or both, to the detriment or benefit of one or more other funds and/or accounts.

Selection of Brokers/Dealers . Portfolio managers may be able to select or influence the selection of the brokers and dealers that are used to execute securities transactions for the funds and/or accounts that they supervise. In addition to executing trades, some brokers and dealers provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934), which may result in the payment of higher brokerage fees than might have otherwise been available. These services may be more beneficial to certain funds or accounts than to others. Although the payment of brokerage commissions is subject to the requirement that the subadviser determine in good faith that the commissions are reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided to the fund, a decision as to the selection of brokers and dealers could yield disproportionate costs and benefits among the funds and/or accounts managed. For this reason, the subadviser has formed a brokerage committee that reviews, among other things, the allocation of brokerage to broker/dealers, best execution and soft dollar usage.

 

46


Variation in Compensation. A conflict of interest may arise where the financial or other benefits available to the portfolio manager differ among the funds and/or accounts that he or she manages. If the structure of the investment manager’s management fee and/or the portfolio manager’s compensation differs among funds and/or accounts (such as where certain funds or accounts pay higher management fees or performance-based management fees), the portfolio manager might be motivated to help certain funds and/or accounts over others. The portfolio manager might be motivated to favor funds and/or accounts in which he or she has an interest or in which the investment manager and/or its affiliates have interests. Similarly, the desire to maintain assets under management or to enhance the portfolio manager’s performance record or to derive other rewards, financial or otherwise, could influence the portfolio manager in affording preferential treatment to those funds and/or accounts that could most significantly benefit the portfolio manager.

Related Business Opportunities . The investment manager or its affiliates may provide more services (such as distribution or recordkeeping) for some types of funds or accounts than for others. In such cases, a portfolio manager may benefit, either directly or indirectly, by devoting disproportionate attention to the management of fund and/or accounts that provide greater overall returns to the investment manager and its affiliates.

Portfolio Manager Securities Ownership

The table below identifies ownership of Growth and Income Fund securities by the Portfolio Manager.

 

Portfolio Manager

   Dollar Range of
Ownership of Securities
in the Growth and
Income Fund

Michael Kagan

  

DIVIDEND STRATEGY FUND

The following tables set forth certain additional information with respect to the portfolio managers for the Dividend Strategy Fund. Unless noted otherwise, all information in this section with respect to the Dividend Strategy Fund is provided as of October 31, 2006.

Other Accounts Managed by the Portfolio Manager

The table below identifies, for each portfolio manager, the number of accounts (other than the Fund with respect to which information is provided) for which he or she has day-to-day management responsibilities and the total assets in such accounts, within each of the following categories: registered investment companies, other pooled investment vehicles, and other accounts. None of the accounts shown were subject to fees based on performance.

 

Portfolio Manager

  

Registered

Investment Companies

  

Other Pooled

Investment Vehicles

   Other Accounts

Dividend Strategy Fund

        

Scott Glasser

        registered investment companies with $         billion in total assets under management         other pooled investment
vehicle with $            
million in total assets under
management
        other accounts with
$             billion in total
assets under management

Peter Hable

        registered investment companies with $          billion in total assets under management         other pooled investment
vehicles with $            
million in total assets under
management
        other accounts with
$             billion in total
assets under management

 

47


Portfolio Manager Compensation

Investment professionals of the manager and Clearbridge (collectively, “CAM”) receive base salary and other employee benefits and are eligible to receive incentive compensation. Base salary is fixed and typically determined based on market factors and the skill and experience of individual investment personnel.

CAM has implemented an investment management incentive and deferred compensation plan (the “Compensation Plan”) for its investment professionals, including the Fund’s portfolio manager(s). Each investment professional works as a part of an investment team. The Compensation Plan is designed to align the objectives of CAM investment professionals with those of Fund shareholders and other CAM clients. Under the Compensation Plan a “base incentive pool” is established for each team each year as a percentage of CAM’s revenue attributable to the team (largely management and related fees generated by funds and other accounts). A team’s revenues are typically expected to increase or decrease depending in part on the effect that the team’s investment performance as well as inflows and outflows has on the level of assets in the investment products managed by the team. The “base incentive pool” of a team is reduced by base salaries paid to members of the team and employee benefits expenses attributable to the team.

The investment team’s incentive pool is then adjusted to reflect its ranking among a “peer group” of non-CAM investment managers and the team’s pre-tax investment performance against the applicable product benchmark (e.g., a securities index and, with respect to a fund, the benchmark set forth in the fund’s prospectus to which the fund’s average annual total returns are compared) or, if none, the benchmark set forth in the fund’s annual report). CAM may also measure the team’s pre-tax investment performance against additional benchmarks, as it deems appropriate. Longer-term (5- year) performance will be more heavily weighted than shorter-term (1- year) performance in the calculation of the performance adjustment factor. The incentive pool for a team may also be adjusted to reflect other factors (e.g., severance pay to departing members of the team, and discretionary allocations by the applicable CAM chief investment officer from one investment team to another). The incentive pool will be allocated by the applicable CAM chief investment officer to the team leader and, based on the recommendations of the team leader, to the other members of the team.

Up to 20% of an investment professional’s annual incentive compensation is subject to deferral. Of that principal deferred award amount, 50% will accrue a return based on the hypothetical returns of the investment fund or product that is the primary focus of the investment professional’s business activities with the Firm, and 50% may be received in the form of Legg Mason restricted stock shares.

Potential Conflicts of Interest

Potential conflicts of interest may arise when the Fund’s portfolio manager also has day-to-day management responsibilities with respect to one or more other funds or other accounts, as is the case for the portfolio managers listed in the table above.

The manager, subadviser and the Fund have adopted compliance polices and procedures that are designed to address various conflicts of interest that may arise for the investment adviser and the individuals that it employs. For example, the manager and the subadviser each seek to minimize the effects of competing interests for the time and attention of portfolio managers by assigning portfolio managers to manage funds and accounts that share a similar investment style. The manager and the subadviser have also adopted trade allocation procedures that are designed to facilitate the fair allocation of limited investment opportunities among multiple funds and accounts. There is no guarantee, however, that the policies and procedures adopted by the manager, subadviser and the fund(s) will be able to detect and/or prevent every situation in which an actual or potential conflict may appear.

 

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These potential conflicts include:

Allocation of Limited Time and Attention. A portfolio manager who is responsible for managing multiple funds and/or accounts may devote unequal time and attention to the management of those funds and/or accounts. As a result, the portfolio manager may not be able to formulate as complete a strategy or identify equally attractive investment opportunities for each of those accounts as might be the case if he or she were to devote substantially more attention to the management of a single fund. The effects of this potential conflict may be more pronounced where funds and/or accounts overseen by a particular portfolio manager have different investment strategies.

Allocation of Limited Investment Opportunities. If a portfolio manager identifies a limited investment opportunity that may be suitable for multiple funds and/or accounts, the opportunity may be allocated among these several funds or accounts, which may limit a fund’s ability to take full advantage of the investment opportunity.

Pursuit of Differing Strategies. At times, a portfolio manager may determine that an investment opportunity may be appropriate for only some of the funds and/or accounts for which he or she exercises investment responsibility, or may decide that certain of the funds and/or accounts should take differing positions with respect to a particular security. In these cases, the portfolio manager may place separate transactions for one or more funds or accounts which may affect the market price of the security or the execution of the transaction, or both, to the detriment or benefit of one or more other funds and/or accounts.

Selection of Brokers/Dealers . Portfolio managers may be able to select or influence the selection of the brokers and dealers that are used to execute securities transactions for the funds and/or account that they supervise. In addition to executing trades, some brokers and dealers provide portfolio managers with brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934), which may result in the payment of higher brokerage fees than might have otherwise been available. These services may be more beneficial to certain funds or accounts than to others. Although the payment of brokerage commissions is subject to the requirement that the portfolio manager determine in good faith that the commissions are reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided to the fund, a portfolio manager’s decision as to the selection of brokers and dealers could yield disproportionate costs and benefits among the funds and/or accounts that he or she manages.

Variation in Compensation. A conflict of interest may arise where the financial or other benefits available to the portfolio manager differ among the funds and/or accounts that he or she manages. If the structure of the investment manager’s management fee and/or the portfolio manager’s compensation differs among funds and/or accounts (such as where certain funds or accounts pay higher management fees or performance-based management fees), the portfolio manager might be motivated to help certain funds and/or accounts over others. The portfolio manager might be motivated to favor funds and/or accounts in which he or she has an interest or in which the investment manager and/or its affiliates have interests. Similarly, the desire to maintain or raise assets under management or to enhance the portfolio manager’s performance record or to derive other rewards, financial or otherwise, could influence the portfolio manager in affording preferential treatment to those funds and/or accounts that could most significantly benefit the portfolio manager.

Related Business Opportunities . The investment manager or its affiliates may provide more services (such as distribution or recordkeeping) for some types of funds or accounts than for others. In such cases, a portfolio manager may benefit, either directly or indirectly, by devoting disproportionate attention to the management of fund and/or accounts that provide greater overall returns to the investment manager and its affiliates.

 

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Portfolio Manager Securities Ownership

The table below identifies ownership of the Dividend Strategy Fund securities by each Portfolio Manager.

 

Portfolio Manager

   Dollar Range of
Ownership of
Securities in
the Dividend Strategy Fund

Scott Glasser

  

Peter Hable

  

DISTRIBUTORS

Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC (“LMIS”), a wholly-owned broker-dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, located at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202; Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”), an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Citigroup, located at 388 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10013 and PFS Investments Inc. (“PFS”), located at 3120 Breckinridge Boulevard, Duluth, Georgia 30099-0001 serve as the Funds’ distributors pursuant to separate written agreements or amendments to written agreements, in each case dated December 1, 2005 (the “Distribution Agreements”), which were approved by the Funds’ Board of Trustees and by a majority of the Independent Trustees, casting votes in person at a meeting called for such purpose, on November 21, 2005. The Distribution Agreements went into effect on December 1, 2005. Prior to December 1, 2005, CGMI and PFS Distributors, Inc., the predecessor in interest to PFS, served as the Funds’ distributors.

A distributor’s obligation is an agency or “best efforts” arrangement under which the distributor is required to take and pay only for such shares of each Fund as may be sold to the public. A distributor is not obligated to sell any stated number of shares. Each Distribution Agreement is renewable from year to year if approved (a) by the Trustees or by a vote of a majority of the Trust’s outstanding voting securities, and (b) by the affirmative vote of a majority of Trustees who are not parties to the Agreement or interested persons of any party by votes cast in person at a meeting called for such purpose. Each Distribution Agreement provides that it will terminate if assigned, and that it may be terminated without penalty by either party on 60 days’ written notice.

In addition, the distributors may make payments for distribution and/or shareholder servicing activities out of their past profits and other available sources. The distributors may also make payments to dealers for marketing, promotional or related expenses. The amount of these payments is determined by the distributors and may be substantial. The manager or an affiliate may make similar payments under similar arrangements.

A distributor is entitled to receive the proceeds of the initial sales charge, if any, paid upon the purchase of Class A shares, and all or a portion of said amount is paid to service agents. PFS Investments, Inc. and CGMI are entitled to receive the contingent deferred sales charge paid upon certain redemptions of Class B and C shares directly from each Fund, for PFS accounts and Smith Barney accounts, respectively, for any of the distribution and service expenses described above.

A distributor may be deemed to be an underwriter for purposes of the Securities Act of 1933. From time to time, service agents or their affiliates may also pay for certain non-cash sales incentives provided to financial professionals. Such incentives do not have any effect on the net amount invested. In addition to the reallowances from the applicable public offering price described above, service agents may, from time to time, pay or allow additional reallowances or promotional incentives, in the form of cash or other compensation to financial professionals that sell shares of the Trust.

 

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Initial Sales Charges — Class 1, Class A, Class C and Class O

The following table shows commissions paid as initial sales charges on Class 1, Class A, Class C and Class O shares and amounts retained by LMIS, CGMI and PFS, during the fiscal years ended October 31, 2006, 2005, and 2004.

 

October 31, 2006

   Dividend Strategy    Growth and Income

Total Underwriting Commissions*

   $                     $                 

Amounts retained by LMIS

   $      $  

Amounts retained by CGMI

   $      $  

Amounts retained by PFS

   $      $  

October 31, 2005

   Dividend Strategy    Growth and Income

Total Underwriting Commissions

   $ 5,865,000    $ 1,447,000

Amounts retained by CGMI

   $ 5,865,000    $ 196,000

Amounts retained by PFS

   $ 0    $ 1,239,000

October 31, 2004

   Dividend Strategy    Growth and Income

Total Underwriting Commissions*

   $ 6,571,000    $ 1,849,000

Amounts retained by CGMI

   $ 70,380    $ 50,238

Amounts retained by PFS

   $ 6,500,620    $ 1,798,762

* Effective April 29, 2004, Class L shares were renamed Class C shares. On February 2, 2004, the initial sales charge of 1.00% on Class C shares was eliminated for purchases made after that date. As of February 17, 2006, Growth and Income Fund stopped offering Class O shares except to existing shareholders in connection with reinvesting dividends. Class O shares of Growth and Income Fund automatically converted to Class A shares on April 21, 2006.

Contingent Deferred Sales Charges — Class A, Class B, Class C, Class O and Class P

The following table shows the contingent deferred sales charges paid on Class A, Class B, Class C, Class O and Class P shares and amounts retained by LMIS, CGMI and PFS, during the fiscal years ended October 31, 2006, 2005 and 2004.

 

October 31, 2006

   Dividend Strategy    Growth and Income

Total Underwriting Commissions

   $                     $               

Amounts retained by LMIS

   $      $  

Amounts retained by CGMI

   $      $  

Amounts retained by PFS

   $      $  

October 31, 2005

   Dividend Strategy    Growth and Income

Total Underwriting Commissions

   $ 26,000    $ 191,000

Amounts retained by CGMI

   $ 26,000    $ 17,000

Amounts retained by PFS

   $ 0    $ 174,000

October 31, 2004

   Dividend Strategy    Growth and Income

Total Underwriting Commissions*

   $ 662,000    $ 243,000

Amounts retained by CGMI

   $ 630,379    $ 29,338

Amounts retained by PFS

   $ 31,621      213,662

* Effective as of April 29, 2004, Class L shares were renamed Class C shares. As of February 17, 2006, Growth and Income Fund stopped offering Class O shares and Class P shares except to existing shareholders in connection with reinvesting dividends. Class O shares and Class P shares of Growth and Income Fund automatically converted to Class A shares on April 21, 2006.

 

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DISTRIBUTION PLAN

Class A, Class B, and Class C shares of each Fund have a shareholder services and distribution plan (the “12b-1 Plan”) adopted in accordance with Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. Under the 12b-1 Plan, a Fund may pay monthly fees at an annual rate not to exceed 0.25% of the average daily net assets of the Fund attributable to that class in the case of the 12b-1 Plan relating to Class A shares, and not to exceed 1.00% of the average daily net assets of the Fund attributable to that class in the case of the 12b-1 Plan relating to Class B shares and Class C shares.

Such fees may be used to make payments to a distributor for distribution services, to service agents in respect of the sale of shares of the Funds, and to other parties in respect of the sale of shares of the Funds, and to make payments for advertising, marketing or other promotional activity, and payments for preparation, printing, and distribution of prospectuses, statements of additional information and reports for recipients other than regulators and existing shareholders. The Funds also may make payments to a distributor, service agents and others for providing personal service or the maintenance of shareholder accounts. The amounts paid by a distributor to each recipient may vary based upon certain factors, including, among other things, the levels of sales of Fund shares and/or shareholder services provided, provided, however , that the fees paid to a recipient with respect to a particular Class that may be used to cover expenses primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of that Class, or that may be used to cover expenses primarily intended for personal service and/or maintenance of shareholder accounts, may not exceed the maximum amounts, if any, as may from time to time be permitted for such services under NASD Conduct Rule 2830 or any successor rule, in each case as amended or interpreted by the NASD. Recipients may receive different compensation for sales of different classes of shares.

The 12b-1 Plan also provides that a distributor and service agents may receive any front-end sales charge as total or partial compensation for their services in connection with the sale of shares and all or a portion of any contingent deferred sales charges paid by investors.

The 12b-1 Plan permits the Funds to pay fees to a distributor, service agents and others as compensation for their services, not as reimbursement for specific expenses incurred. Thus, even if their expenses exceed the fees provided for by the 12b-1 Plan, a Fund will not be obligated to pay more than those fees and, if their expenses are less than the fees paid to them, they will realize a profit. Each Fund may pay the fees to a distributor and others until the 12b-1 Plan or Distribution Agreement is terminated or not renewed. In that event, a distributor’s or other recipient’s expenses in excess of fees received or accrued through the termination date will be the distributor’s or other recipient’s sole responsibility and not obligations of such Fund. In their annual consideration of the continuation of the 12b-1 Plan for each Fund, the Trustees will review the 12b-1 Plan and the expenses for each class within the Funds separately.

The 12b-1 Plan also recognizes that various service providers to the Funds, such as the manager, may make payments for distribution related expenses out of their own resources, including past profits, or payments received from the Funds for other purposes, such as management fees, and that the Funds’ distributors or service agents may from time to time use their own resources for distribution related services, in addition to the fees paid under the 12b-1 Plan. The 12b-1 Plan specifically provides that, to the extent that such payments might be deemed to be indirect financing of any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the Funds within the context of Rule 12b-1, then the payments are deemed to be authorized by the 12b-1 Plan.

The 12b-1 Plan continues in effect if such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by a vote of both a majority of the Trustees and a majority of the Trustees who are not “interested persons” of the Trust and who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the 12b-1 Plan or in any agreement related to the 12b-1 Plan (for purposes of this paragraph, “qualified Trustees”). The Trustees, in the exercise of their business judgment made in the best interests of the shareholders of the Funds and each class, have approved the continuation of the 12b-1 Plan. The 12b-1 Plan requires that the Trust and the distributor provide to the Board of Trustees and the Board of Trustees review, at least quarterly, a written report of the amounts expended (and the purposes therefor) under the 12b-1 Plan. The 12b-1 Plan further provides that

 

52


the selection and nomination of the qualified trustees is committed to the discretion of such qualified trustees then in office who are not interested Trustees. The 12b-1 Plan may be terminated with respect to any class of a Fund at any time by a vote of a majority of the qualified Trustees or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of that class. The 12b-1 Plan may not be amended to increase materially the amount of a class’s permitted expenses thereunder without the approval of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of that class and may not be materially amended in any case without a vote of a majority of both the Trustees and qualified Trustees. The Trust will preserve copies of any plan, agreement or report made pursuant to the 12b-1 Plan for a period of not less than six years, and for the first two years the Trust will preserve such copies in an easily accessible place.

As contemplated by the 12b-1 Plan, each distributor acts as an agent of the Trust in connection with the offering of shares of the Funds pursuant to the respective Distribution Agreements.

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, the fees paid by the Dividend Strategy Fund under the 12b-1 Plan relating to Class A were $             or 0.25% of the Class A shares’ average net assets; under the 12b-1 Plan relating to Class B were $             or 1.00% of the Class B shares’ average net assets; and under the 12b-1 Plan relating to Class C were $             or 1.00% of the Class C shares’ average net assets.

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, the fees paid by the Growth and Income Fund under the 12b-1 Plan relating to Class A were $             or 0.25% of the Class A shares’ average net assets; under the 12b-1 Plan relating to Class B were $             or 1.00% of the Class B shares’ average net assets; under the 12b-1 Plan relating to Class C were $             or 1.00% of the Class C shares’ average net assets; under the 12b-1 Plan relating to Class O were $             or 0.70% of the Class O shares’ average net assets; and under the 12b-1 Plan relating to Class P were $             or 0.75% of the Class P shares’ average net assets. As of February 17, 2006, Growth and Income Fund stopped offering Class O shares and Class P shares except to existing shareholders in connection with reinvesting dividends. Class O shares and Class P shares of Growth and Income Fund automatically converted to Class A shares on April 21, 2006.

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, distribution expenses incurred by LMIS, CGMI and/or PFS for advertising, printing and mailing prospectuses, support services and overhead expenses, payments to their financial advisers or registered representative and for accruals for interest on expenses incurred in the distribution of the Funds’ shares are set forth in the following table:

[to be updated by amendment]

 

Fund Name

   Financial Consultant
Compensation
   Branch Operations    Marketing
& Advertising
Expenses
   Printing
Expenses
   Total Expenses

Dividend Strategy

              

A

              

B

              

C

              

Total

              
                        

Growth and Income

              

A

              

B

              

C

              

O*

              

P*

              

Total

              
                        

* As of February 17, 2006, Growth and Income Fund stopped offering Class O shares and Class P shares except to existing shareholders in connection with reinvesting dividends. Class O shares and Class P shares of Growth and Income Fund automatically converted to Class A shares on April 21, 2006.

 

53


Dealer reallowances are described in the Funds’ prospectuses.

DETERMINATION OF NET ASSET VALUE

The net asset value per share of each Fund’s Classes is calculated on each day, Monday through Friday, except days on which the NYSE is closed. The NYSE currently is scheduled to be closed on New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas, and on the preceding Friday or subsequent Monday when one of these holidays falls on a Saturday or Sunday, respectively. Because of the differences in distribution fees and Class-specific expenses, the per share net asset value of each Class will differ. Please see the prospectuses for descriptions of the procedures used by the Funds in valuing their assets.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE PURCHASE AND SALE OF FUND SHARES AND SHAREHOLDER PROGRAMS

General

Investors may purchase shares from a Service Agent. In addition, certain investors, including retirement plans purchasing through certain Service Agents, may purchase shares directly from the Funds. When purchasing shares of the Funds, investors must specify whether the purchase is for Class A, B, C, 1 or I shares. (As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.) Service Agents may charge their customers an annual account maintenance fee in connection with a brokerage account through which an investor purchases or holds shares. Accounts held directly with the transfer agent are not subject to a maintenance fee.

For additional information regarding applicable investment minimums and eligibility requirements, please see the Funds’ prospectuses.

There are no minimum investment requirements for purchases of Class A shares by: (i) current and retired board members of Legg Mason, (ii) current and retired board members of any fund advised by LMPFA (such board members, together with board members of Legg Mason, are referred to herein as “Board Members”), (iii) current employees of Legg Mason and its subsidiaries, (iv) the ”immediate families” of such persons (“immediate families” are such person’s spouse, including the surviving spouse of a deceased Board Member, and children under the age of 21) and (v) a pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for the benefit of such persons. The Funds reserve the right to waive or change minimums, to decline any order to purchase its shares and to suspend the offering of shares from time to time.

Purchase orders received by a Fund or a Service Agent prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE on any day such Fund calculates its net asset value are priced according to the net asset value determined on that day (the “trade date”). Orders received by a Service Agent prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE on any day such Fund calculates its net asset value are priced according to the net asset value determined on that day, provided the order is received by such Fund’s agent prior to its close of business. For shares purchased through CGMI or a Service Agent purchasing through CGMI, payment for shares of a Fund is normally due on the third business day after the trade date. In all other cases, payment must be made with the purchase order.

Systematic Investment Plan.

Shareholders may make additions to their accounts at any time by purchasing shares through a service known as the Systematic Investment Plan. Under the Systematic Investment Plan, a distributor, the transfer agent, or, with respect to a PFS account, Primerica Shareholder Services is authorized through preauthorized transfers of at least $25 on a monthly, quarterly, every alternate month, semi-annual or annual basis to charge the

 

54


shareholder’s account held with a bank or other financial institution as indicated by the shareholder, to provide for systematic additions to the shareholder’s Fund account. A shareholder who has insufficient funds to complete the transfer will be charged a fee of up to $25 by a distributor, the transfer agent or Primerica Shareholder Services (such fee may be up to $30 for a PFS account). The Systematic Investment Plan also authorizes a distributor to apply cash held in the shareholder’s brokerage account or redeem the shareholder’s shares of certain money market funds managed by the manager or its affiliates to make additions to the account. Additional information is available from the Funds or a Service Agent.

Sales Charge Alternatives

The following Classes of shares are available for purchase. See the prospectuses for a discussion of who is eligible to purchase certain Classes and of factors to consider in selecting which Class of shares to purchase.

Class A Shares . Class A shares are sold to investors at the public offering price, which is the net asset value plus an initial sales charge, as described in the Funds’ prospectuses.

Members of the selling group may receive a portion of the sales charge as described in the Funds’ prospectuses and may be deemed to be underwriters of a Fund as defined in the 1933 Act. Sales charges are calculated based on the aggregate of purchases of Class A shares of a Fund made at one time by any “person,” which includes an individual and his or her spouse and children under the age of 21, or a trustee or other fiduciary of a single trust estate or single fiduciary account. For additional information regarding sales charge reductions, see “Sales Charge Waivers and Reductions” below.

Purchases of Class A shares of $1,000,000 or more will be made at net asset value without any initial sales charge, but will be subject to a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00% on redemptions made within 12 months of purchase. The contingent deferred sales charge is waived in the same circumstances in which the contingent deferred sales charge applicable to Class B and C shares is waived. See “Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Provisions” and “Waivers of Contingent Deferred Sales Charge” below.

Class B and C Shares . Class B and C shares are sold without an initial sales charge but are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge payable upon certain redemptions. See “Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Provisions.”

Class 1 Shares . Class 1 shares are sold to eligible Class 1 shareholders at the next determined net asset value plus a sales charge. Investors do not pay a sales charge on a Fund’s distributions or dividends that they reinvest in additional Class 1 shares. Investors pay a lower sales charge as the size of their investment increases to certain levels called breakpoints as described in the Funds’ prospectuses.

Class I Shares . Class I shares are sold at net asset value with no initial sales charge and no contingent deferred sales charge upon redemption.

PFS Accounts

The Funds offer three Classes of shares to investors purchasing through PFS: Class A , B and 1 shares.

Initial purchases of shares of the Funds must be made through a PFS Registered Representative by completing the appropriate application. The completed application should be forwarded to Primerica Shareholder Services c/o PFPC, Inc., P.O. Box 9662, Providence, RI 02940-9662. Checks drawn on foreign banks must be payable in U.S. dollars and have the routing number of the U.S. bank encoded on the check. Additional investments may be sent directly to PFPC. In processing applications and investments, PFPC acts as agent for the investor and for the distributor, in accordance with the terms of the prospectuses. If the transfer agent ceases to act as such, a successor company named by the applicable Fund will act in the same capacity so long as the account remains open. Shares purchased will be held in the shareholder’s account by PFPC.

 

55


Purchase orders received by the transfer agent or Primerica Shareholder Services prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE, on any day the applicable Fund calculates its net asset value, are priced according to the net asset value determined on that day.

Initial purchases of Fund shares may be made by wire. Before sending the wire, the PFS Registered Representative must contact Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 665-8677 to obtain proper wire instructions. Once an account is open, a shareholder may make additional investments by wire. The shareholder should contact Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445 to obtain proper wire instructions.

Shareholders who establish telephone transaction authority on their account and supply bank account information may make additions to their accounts at any time. Shareholders should contact Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern time any day that the NYSE is open. If a shareholder does not wish to allow subsequent investments by telephone by any person in his or her account, the shareholder should decline the telephone transaction option on the account application. The minimum subsequent investment by telephone is $25 and can be up to a maximum of $50,000. By requesting a subsequent purchase by telephone, you authorize Primerica Shareholder Services to transfer funds from the bank account provided for the amount of the purchase. Subsequent investments by telephone may not be available if the shareholder cannot reach Primerica Shareholder Services whether because all telephone lines are busy or for any other reason; in such case, a shareholder would have to use a Fund’s regular subsequent investment procedure described above.

An account transcript is available at a shareholder’s request, which identifies every financial transaction in an account since it has opened. Additional copies of tax forms are available at the shareholder’s request.

Additional information regarding Primerica Shareholder Services may be obtained by contacting the Customer Services Department at (800) 544-5445.

Sales Charge Waivers and Reductions.

Initial Sales Charge Waivers . Purchases of Class A shares may be made at NAV without an initial sales charge in the following circumstances:

(a) sales to (i) current and retired board members of Legg Mason, (ii) current and retired Board Members, (iii) current employees of Legg Mason, Inc. and its subsidiaries, as well as (iv) by the “immediate families” of such persons (“immediate families” are such person’s spouse, including the surviving spouse of a deceased Board Member, and children under the age of 21) and (v) by a pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for the benefit of such persons;

(b) sales to any employees of Service Agents having dealer, service or other selling agreements with the Funds’ distributors or otherwise having an arrangement with any such Service Agent with respect to sales of Fund shares, and by the immediate families of such persons or by a pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for the benefit of such persons (providing the purchase is made for investment purposes and such securities will not be resold except through redemption or repurchase);

(c) offers of Class A shares to any other investment company to effect the combination of such company with a Fund by merger, acquisition of assets or otherwise;

(d) purchases by shareholders who have redeemed Class A shares in a Fund (or Class A shares of another Legg Mason Partners fund that is offered with a sales charge) and who wish to reinvest their redemption proceeds in such Fund, provided the reinvestment is made within 60 calendar days of the redemption;

(e) purchases by accounts managed by registered investment advisory subsidiaries of Citigroup;

(f) purchases by certain separate accounts used to fund unregistered variable annuity contracts; and

 

56


(g) purchases by investors participating in “wrap fee” or asset allocation programs or other fee-based arrangements sponsored by (affiliated and non-affiliated) broker-dealers and other financial institutions that have entered into agreements with CGMI or LMIS.

In order to obtain such discounts, the purchaser must provide sufficient information at the time of purchase to permit verification that the purchase qualifies for the elimination of the sales charge.

Accumulation Privilege — Please see the Funds’ prospectuses for information regarding accumulation privileges.

Letter of Intent — helps you take advantage of breakpoints in Class A sales charges. You may purchase Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds over a 13-month period and pay the same sales charge, if any, as if all shares had been purchased at once. You have a choice of seven Asset Level Goal amounts, as follows:

 

(1) $25,000

   (5) $500,000

(2) $50,000

   (6) $750,000

(3) $100,000

   (7) $1,000,000

(4) $250,000

  

Each time you make a Class A purchase under a Letter of Intent, you will be entitled to the sales charge that is applicable to the amount of your Asset Level Goal. For example, if your Asset Level Goal is $100,000, any Class A investments you make under a Letter of Intent would be subject to the sales charge of the specific fund you are investing in for purchases of $100,000. Sales charges and breakpoints vary among the Legg Mason Partners Funds.

When you enter into a Letter of Intent, you agree to purchase in Eligible Accounts over a thirteen (13) month period Eligible Fund Purchases in an amount equal to the Asset Level Goal you have selected, less any Eligible Prior Purchases. For this purpose, shares are valued at the public offering price (including any sales charge paid) calculated as of the date of purchase, plus any appreciation in the value of the shares as of the date of calculation, except for Eligible Prior Purchases, which are valued at current value as of the date of calculation. Your commitment will be met if at any time during the 13-month period the value, as so determined, of eligible holdings is at least equal to your Asset Level Goal. All reinvested dividends and distributions on shares acquired under the Letter will be credited towards your Asset Level Goal. You may include any Eligible Fund Purchases towards the Letter, including shares of classes other than Class A shares. However, a Letter of Intent will not entitle you to a reduction in the sales charge payable on any shares other than Class A shares, and if the shares are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge, you will still be subject to that contingent deferred sales charge with respect to those shares. You must make reference to the Letter of Intent each time you make a purchase under the Letter.

Eligible Fund Purchases . Generally, any shares of a Legg Mason Partners Fund may be credited towards your Asset Level Goal. Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or its affiliates (except for money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners Funds offered with a sales charge), Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. are not eligible. This list may change from time to time. Investors should check with their Service Agent to see which funds may be eligible.

Eligible Accounts . Purchases may be made through any account in your name, or in the name of your spouse or your children under the age of 21. You may need to provide certain records, such as account statements, in order to verify your eligibility for reduced sales charges. Contact your Service Agent to see which accounts may be credited toward your Asset Level Goal.

Eligible Prior Purchases . You may also credit towards your Asset Level Goal any Eligible Fund Purchases made in Eligible Accounts at any time prior to entering into the Letter of Intent that have not been sold or redeemed, based on the current price of those shares as of the date of calculation.

 

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Backdating Letter . You may establish a date for a Letter of Intent that is up to ninety (90) calendar days prior to the date you enter into the Letter. Any Eligible Fund Purchases in Eligible Accounts made during that period will count towards your Goal and will also be eligible for the lower sales charge applicable to your Asset Level Goal. You will be credited by way of additional shares at the current offering price for the difference between (a) the aggregate sales charges actually paid for those eligible shares and (b) the aggregate applicable sales charges for your Asset Level Goal.

Increasing the Amount of the Letter . You may at any time increase your Asset Level Goal. You must, however, contact your Service Agent, or if you purchase your shares directly through PFPC, contact PFPC, prior to making any purchases in an amount in excess of your current Asset Level Goal. Upon such an increase, you will be credited by way of additional shares at the then current offering price for the difference between: (a) the aggregate sales charges actually paid for shares already purchased under the Letter and (b) the aggregate applicable sales charges for the increased Asset Level Goal. The 13-month period during which the Asset Level Goal must be achieved will remain unchanged.

Sales and Exchanges . Shares acquired pursuant to a Letter of Intent, other than Escrowed Shares as defined below, may be redeemed or exchanged at any time, although any shares that are redeemed prior to meeting your Asset Level Goal will no longer count towards meeting your Goal. However, complete liquidation of purchases made under a Letter of Intent prior to meeting the Asset Level Goal will result in the cancellation of the Letter. See “Failure to Meet Asset Level Goal” below. Exchanges in accordance with the Funds’ prospectuses are permitted, and shares so exchanged will continue to count towards your Asset Level Goal, as long as the exchange results in an Eligible Fund Purchase.

Cancellation of Letter . You may cancel a Letter of Intent by notifying your Service Agent in writing, or if you purchase your shares directly through PFPC, by notifying PFPC in writing. The Letter will be automatically cancelled if all shares are sold or redeemed as set forth above. See “Failure to Meet Asset Level Goal” below.

Escrowed Shares . Shares equal in value to five percent (5%) of your Asset Level Goal as of the date your Letter (or the date of any increase in the amount of the Letter) is accepted, will be held in escrow during the term of your Letter. The Escrowed Shares will be included in the total shares owned as reflected in your account statement and any dividends and capital gains distributions applicable to the Escrowed Shares will be credited to your account and counted towards your Asset Level Goal or paid in cash upon request. The Escrowed Shares will be released from escrow if all the terms of your Letter are met.

Failure to Meet Asset Level Goal . If the total assets under your Letter of Intent within its 13-month term are less than your Asset Level Goal or you elect to liquidate all of your holdings or cancel the Letter before reaching your Asset Level Goal, you will be liable for the difference between: (a) the sales charge actually paid and (b) the sales charge that would have applied if you had not entered into the Letter. You may, however, be entitled to any breakpoints that would have been available to you under the accumulation privilege. An appropriate number of shares in your account will be redeemed to realize the amount due. For these purposes, by entering into a Letter of Intent, you irrevocably appoint your Service Agent, or if you purchase your shares directly through PFPC, PFPC, as your attorney-in-fact for the purposes of holding the Escrowed Shares and surrendering shares in your account for redemption. If there are insufficient assets in your account, you will be liable for the difference. Any Escrowed Shares remaining after such redemption will be released to your account.

Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Provisions.

“Contingent deferred sales charge shares” are: (a) Class B shares; (b) Class C shares; and (c) Class A shares that were purchased without an initial sales charge but are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge. A contingent deferred sales charge may be imposed on certain redemptions of these shares.

 

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Any applicable contingent deferred sales charge will be assessed on the net asset value at the time of purchase or redemption, whichever is less.

Class C shares and Class A shares that are contingent deferred sales charge shares are subject to a 1.00% contingent deferred sales charge if redeemed within 12 months of purchase. In circumstances in which the contingent deferred sales charge is imposed on Class B shares, the amount of the charge will depend on the number of years since the shareholder made the purchase payment from which the amount is being redeemed, as further described in the prospectus. Solely for purposes of determining the number of years since a purchase payment, all purchase payments made during a month will be aggregated and deemed to have been made on the last day of the preceding statement month.

Class B shares will convert automatically to Class A shares approximately eight years after the date on which they were purchased and thereafter will no longer be subject to any distribution fees. There will also be converted at that time such proportion of Class B dividend shares (Class B shares that were acquired through the reinvestment of dividends and distributions) owned by the shareholders as the total number of his or her Class B shares converting at the time bears to the total number of outstanding Class B shares (other than Class B dividend shares) owned by the shareholder.

In determining the applicability of any contingent deferred sales charge, it will be assumed that a redemption is made first of shares representing capital appreciation, next of shares representing the reinvestment of dividends and capital gain distributions, next of shares that are not subject to the contingent deferred sales charge and finally of other shares held by the shareholder for the longest period of time. The length of time that contingent deferred sales charge shares acquired through an exchange have been held will be calculated from the date the shares exchanged were initially acquired in one of the other Legg Mason Partners mutual funds. For federal income tax purposes, the amount of the contingent deferred sales charge will reduce the gain or increase the loss, as the case may be, on the amount realized on redemption. LMIS receives contingent deferred sales charges in partial consideration for their expenses in selling shares.

Waivers of Contingent Deferred Sales Charge.

The contingent deferred sales charge will be waived on: (a) exchanges (see “Exchange Privilege”); (b) automatic cash withdrawals in amounts equal to or less than 2.00% of the shareholder’s account balance at the time the withdrawals commence per month, up to a maximum of 12% in one year (see “Automatic Cash Withdrawal Plan”); (c) redemptions of shares within 12 months following the death or disability (as defined in the Code) of the shareholder; (d) mandatory post-retirement distributions from retirement plans or IRAs commencing on or after attainment of age 70  1 / 2 (except that shareholders who purchased shares subject to a contingent deferred sales charge prior to May 23, 2005, will be “grandfathered” and will be eligible to obtain the waiver at age 59  1 / 2 by demonstrating such eligibility at the time of redemption); (e) involuntary redemptions; (f) redemptions of shares to effect a combination of a Fund with any investment company by merger, acquisition of assets or otherwise; (g) tax-free returns of an excess contribution to any retirement plan; and (h) certain redemptions of shares of a Fund in connection with lump-sum or other distributions made by eligible retirement plans or redemption of shares by participants in certain “wrap fee” or asset allocation programs sponsored by broker/dealers and other financial institutions that have entered into agreements with a distributor or the manager.

As of November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge will be waived on new Class C shares purchased by retirement plan omnibus accounts held on the books of a fund.

A shareholder who has redeemed shares from other Legg Mason Partners Funds may, under certain circumstances, reinvest all or part of the redemption proceeds within 60 days and receive pro rata credit for any contingent deferred sales charge imposed on the prior redemption.

 

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Contingent deferred sales charge waivers will be granted subject to confirmation by a distributor or the transfer agent of the shareholder’s status or holdings, as the case may be.

REDEMPTION OF SHARES

The right of redemption may be suspended or the date of payment postponed (a) for any period during which the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is closed (other than for customary weekend and holiday closings), (b) when trading in the markets the applicable Fund normally utilizes is restricted, or an emergency exists, as determined by the SEC, so that disposal of the applicable Fund’s investments or determination of net asset value is not reasonably practicable or (c) for such other periods as the SEC by order may permit for protection of the applicable Fund’s shareholders.

If the shares to be redeemed were issued in certificate form, the certificates must be endorsed for transfer (or be accompanied by an endorsed stock power) and must be submitted to PFPC together with the redemption request. Any signature appearing on a share certificate, stock power or written redemption request in excess of $50,000 must be guaranteed by an eligible guarantor institution such as a domestic bank, savings and loan institution, domestic credit union, member bank of the Federal Reserve System or member firm of a national securities exchange. Written redemption requests of $50,000 or less do not require a signature guarantee unless more than one such redemption request is made in any 10-day period. Redemption proceeds will be mailed to an investor’s address of record. The transfer agent may require additional supporting documents for redemptions made by corporations, executors, administrators, trustees or guardians. A redemption request will not be deemed properly received until the transfer agent receives all required documents in proper form.

If a shareholder holds shares of more than one Class, any request for redemption must specify the Class being redeemed. In the event of a failure to specify which Class, or if the investor owns fewer shares of the Class than specified, the redemption request will be delayed until the transfer agent receives further instructions. The redemption proceeds will be remitted on or before the seventh business day following receipt of proper tender, except on any days on which the NYSE is closed or as permitted under the 1940 Act, in extraordinary circumstances. Redemption proceeds for shares purchased by check, other than a certified or official bank check, will be remitted upon clearance of the check, which may take up to ten days. Each Service Agent is responsible for transmitting promptly orders for its customers.

The Service Agent may charge you a fee for executing your order. The amount and applicability of such a fee is determined and disclosed to its customers by each Service Agent.

The Funds no longer issue share certificates. Outstanding share certificates will continue to be honored. If you hold share certificates, it will take longer to exchange or redeem shares.

Additional Information Regarding Telephone Redemption and Exchange Program. Neither the Funds nor their agents will be liable for following instructions communicated by telephone that are reasonably believed to be genuine. The Funds and their agents will employ procedures designed to verify the identity of the caller and legitimacy of instructions (for example, a shareholder’s name and account number will be required and phone calls may be recorded). The Funds reserve the right to suspend, modify or discontinue the telephone redemption and exchange program or to impose a charge for this service at any time following at least seven (7) days’ prior notice to shareholders.

PFS Accounts

Shareholders may redeem for cash some or all of their shares of a Fund at any time by sending a written request in proper form directly to the Primerica Shareholder Services c/o PFPC at P.O. Box 9662, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9662. If you should have any questions concerning how to redeem your account after reviewing the information below, please contact Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445, Spanish speaking representatives at (800) 544-7278 or TDD Line for the Hearing Impaired at (800) 824-1721.

 

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All persons in whose names the shares are registered must sign the request for redemption. Signatures must conform exactly to the account registration. If the proceeds of the redemption exceed $50,000, if the proceeds are not paid to the record owner(s) at the record address, if the shareholder(s) has had an address change within 30 days or less of the shareholder’s redemption request, or if the shareholder(s) is a corporation, sole proprietor, partnership, trust or fiduciary, signature(s) must be guaranteed by one of the following: a bank or trust company; a broker/dealer; a credit union; a national securities exchange, registered securities association or clearing agency; a savings and loan association; or a federal savings bank.

Generally, a properly completed redemption form with any required signature guarantee is all that is required for a redemption. In some cases, however, other documents may be necessary. For example, in the case of shareholders holding certificates, the certificates for shares being redeemed must accompany the redemption request. Additional documentary evidence of authority is also required by PFPC in the event redemption is requested by a corporation, partnership, trust, fiduciary, executor or administrator. Additionally, if a shareholder requests a redemption from a retirement plan account (IRA or SEP), such request must state whether or not federal income tax is to be withheld from the proceeds of the redemption check. Redemption from a 403(b)(7) account requires completion of a special form. Please call Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time to obtain the proper forms.

Shareholders may utilize Primerica Shareholder Services Telephone Redemption service to redeem shares in their account as long as they have authorized the telephone redemption option. If a shareholder does not wish to allow telephone redemptions by any person in his or her account, he or she should decline the telephone transaction option on the account application. The telephone redemption option can be used only if: (a) the redemption proceeds are to be mailed to the address of record and there has been no change of address of record within the preceding 30 days; (b) the shares to be redeemed are not in certificate form; (c) the person requesting the redemption can provide proper identification information; and (d) the proceeds of the redemption do not exceed $50,000. 403(b)(7) accounts and accounts not registered in the name of an individual(s) are not eligible for the telephone redemption option. Telephone redemption requests can be made by contacting Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern time any day that the NYSE is open.

Telephone redemption may not be available if the shareholder cannot reach Primerica Shareholder Services because all telephone lines are busy or for any other reason; in such case, a shareholder should use the Funds’ regular redemption procedure described above.

Redemption proceeds can be sent by check to the address of record, by wire transfer to a bank account designated on the application or to a bank account designated on the application via the Automated Clearinghouse (ACH). PFPC will process and mail a shareholder’s redemption check usually within two to three business days after receiving the redemption request in good order.

Automatic Cash Withdrawal Plan

An automatic cash withdrawal plan (the “Withdrawal Plan”) is available to shareholders as described in the prospectuses. To the extent withdrawals under the Withdrawal Plan exceed dividends, distributions and appreciation of a shareholder’s investment in a Fund, there will be a reduction in the value of the shareholder’s investment, and continued withdrawal payments may reduce the shareholder’s investment and ultimately exhaust it. Withdrawal payments should not be considered as income from investment in such Fund. Furthermore, as it generally would not be advantageous to a shareholder to make additional investments in such Fund at the same time he or she is participating in the Withdrawal Plan, purchases by such shareholder in amounts of less than $5,000 ordinarily will not be permitted. The Withdrawal Plan will be carried over on exchanges between funds or classes of such Fund. All dividends and distributions on shares in the Withdrawal Plan are reinvested automatically at net asset value in additional shares of such Fund.

 

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Shareholders who wish to participate in the Withdrawal Plan and who hold their shares in certificate form must deposit their share certificates with the transfer agent as agent for Withdrawal Plan members. For additional information shareholders should contact their Service Agent. A shareholder who purchases shares directly through the transfer agent may continue to do so and applications for participation in the Withdrawal Plan must be received by the transfer agent no later than the eighth day of the month to be eligible for participation beginning with that month’s withdrawal.

Distributions in Kind

If the Board determines that it would be detrimental to the best interests of the remaining shareholders to make a redemption payment wholly in cash, a Fund may pay, in accordance with SEC rules, any portion of a redemption in excess of the lesser of $250,000 or 1.00% of such Fund’s net assets by a distribution in kind of such Fund’s securities in lieu of cash. If a redemption is paid in portfolio securities, such securities will be valued in accordance with the procedures described under “Share Price” in such Fund’s prospectus. Securities issued as a distribution in kind may incur brokerage commissions when shareholders subsequently sell those securities.

Exchange Privilege.

The exchange privilege enables shareholders to acquire shares of the same Class in another Legg Mason Partners Fund with different investment objectives when they believe that a shift between funds is an appropriate investment decision. This privilege is available to shareholders residing in any state in which the fund shares being acquired may legally be sold. Prior to any exchange, the shareholder should obtain and review a copy of the current prospectus of each fund into which an exchange is being considered. Prospectuses may be obtained from a Service Agent.

Upon receipt of proper instructions and all necessary supporting documents, shares submitted for exchange are redeemed at the then-current net asset value, and the proceeds are immediately invested in shares of the fund being acquired at that fund’s then current net asset value. The distributors reserve the right to reject any exchange request. The exchange privilege may be modified or terminated at any time after written notice to shareholders.

Class A, 1 and I Exchanges. Class A, 1 and I shareholders of the Funds who wish to exchange all or a portion of their shares for shares of the respective class in another fund may do so without imposition of any charge.

Class B Exchanges . Class B shares of the Funds may be exchanged for other Class B shares without a contingent deferred sales charge. Upon an exchange, the new Class B shares will be deemed to have been purchased on the same date as the Class B shares of the Fund that have been exchanged.

Class C Exchanges . Class C shares of the Funds may be exchanged for other Class C shares without a contingent deferred sales charge. Upon an exchange, the new Class C shares will be deemed to have been purchased on the same date as the Class C shares of the Fund that have been exchanged.

Additional Information Regarding the Exchange Privilege

The Funds are not designed to provide investors with a means of speculation on short-term market movements. A pattern of frequent exchanges by investors can be disruptive to efficient portfolio management and, consequently, can be detrimental to the Funds and their shareholders. See “Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Fund Shares” in the prospectuses.

During times of drastic economic or market conditions, a Fund may suspend the exchange privilege temporarily without notice and treat exchange requests based on their separate components — redemption orders with a simultaneous request to purchase the other fund’s shares. In such a case, the redemption request would be

 

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processed at the Fund’s next determined net asset value but the purchase order would be effective only at the net asset value next determined after the fund being purchased formally accepts the order, which may result in the purchase being delayed.

Certain shareholders may be able to exchange shares by telephone. See the Funds’ prospectuses for additional information. Exchanges will be processed at the net asset value next determined. Redemption procedures discussed above are also applicable for exchanging shares, and exchanges will be made upon receipt of all supporting documents in proper form. If the account registration of the shares of the fund being acquired is identical to the registration of the shares of the fund exchanged, no signature guarantee is required.

This exchange privilege may be modified or terminated at any time, and is available only in those jurisdictions where such exchanges legally may be made. Before making any exchange, shareholders should contact the transfer agent or, if they hold Fund shares through a Service Agent, their Service Agent to obtain more information and prospectuses of the funds to be acquired through the exchange. An exchange is treated as a sale of the shares exchanged and could result in taxable gain or loss to the shareholder making the exchange.

Determination of Public Offering Price.

The Funds offers their shares on a continuous basis. The public offering price for each class of shares of the Funds is equal to the net asset value per share of such class at the time of purchase, plus for Class A and 1 shares an initial sales charge based on the aggregate amount of the investment. A contingent deferred sales charge, however, is imposed on certain redemptions of Class A, B and C shares.

Set forth below is an example of the method of computing the offering price of the Class A and 1 shares of the Funds based on the net asset value of a share of the Funds as of October 31, 2005.

 

Class A (net asset value of [$ ] plus the

maximum initial sales charge of [    %] of net

asset value per share)

   $  [     ]

Involuntary Redemption of Shares. Subject to applicable law, the Trustees may cause a shareholder’s shares to be redeemed under certain circumstances, including in order to eliminate small accounts for administrative efficiencies and cost savings, to protect the tax status of a Fund if necessary and to eliminate ownership of shares by a particular shareholder when the Trustees determine, pursuant to adopted policies, that the particular shareholder’s ownership is not in the best interests of the other shareholders of that Fund (for example, in the case of a market timer).

DISTRIBUTIONS AND FEDERAL TAXES

The following discussion is a brief summary of some of the important federal (and, where noted, state) income tax consequences affecting each Fund and its shareholders. The discussion is very general, and therefore prospective investors are urged to consult their tax advisers about the impact an investment in a Fund may have on their own tax situations.

Each Fund declares and pays dividends quarterly and makes capital gain distributions annually. The per share dividends on each class will differ depending on the differences in distribution and service fees, if any, applicable to the classes. All income dividends and capital gains distributions are reinvested in shares of a Fund at net asset value without a sales charge on the record date, except that any shareholder may otherwise instruct the shareholder service agent in writing and receive cash. Shareholders are informed as to the sources of distributions at the time of payment.

 

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Taxation of the Funds

[To be updated by amendment.]

Federal Taxes. Each Fund has elected to be treated, and intends to qualify each year, as a “regulated investment company” under Subchapter M of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), by meeting all applicable requirements of Subchapter M, including requirements as to the nature of the Fund’s gross income, the amount of Fund distributions, and the composition of the Fund’s portfolio assets. Provided all such requirements are met, no U.S. federal or excise taxes generally will be required to be paid by a Fund. If a Fund should fail to qualify as a “regulated investment company” for any year, the Fund would incur a regular corporate federal income tax upon its taxable income and Fund distributions would generally be taxable as ordinary income to shareholders.

Foreign Taxes. Investment income and gains received by a Fund from non-U.S. securities may be subject to non-U.S. taxes. The U.S. has entered into tax treaties with many other countries that may entitle a Fund to a reduced rate of tax or an exemption from tax on such income. Each Fund intends to qualify for treaty reduced rates where applicable. It is not possible, however, to determine a Fund’s effective rate of non-U.S. tax in advance since the amount of the Fund’s assets to be invested within various countries is not known.

If the Growth and Income Fund holds more than 50% of its assets in foreign stock and securities at the close of its taxable year, it may elect to “pass through” to its shareholders foreign income taxes paid. If the Growth and Income Fund so elects, shareholders will be required to treat their pro rata portion of the foreign income taxes paid by the Fund as part of the amounts distributed to them by the Fund and thus includable in their gross income for federal income tax purposes. Shareholders who itemize deductions would then be allowed to claim a deduction or credit (but not both) on their federal income tax returns for such amounts, subject to certain limitations. Shareholders who do not itemize deductions would (subject to such limitations) be able to claim a credit but not a deduction. No deduction for such amounts will be permitted to individuals in computing their alternative minimum tax liability. If the Growth and Income Fund does not qualify or elect to “pass through” to its shareholders foreign income taxes paid by it, shareholders will not be able to claim any deduction or credit for any part of the foreign taxes paid by the Fund.

The Dividend Strategy Fund does not expect to be eligible to pass through foreign income taxes to its shareholders.

Taxation of Shareholders

Taxation of Distributions. Shareholders of a Fund will generally have to pay federal income taxes and any state or local taxes on the dividends and capital gain distributions they receive from the Fund. Dividends from ordinary income, and any distributions from net short term capital gain are taxable to shareholders as ordinary income for federal income tax purposes, whether the distributions are made in cash or additional shares. To the extent that ordinary dividends are derived from qualified dividend income of the distributing Fund, eligible for reduced tax rates for non-corporate shareholders, such dividends will be treated as qualified dividend income provided that they are so designated by that Fund and that the recipient shareholder satisfies certain holding period requirements. If more than 95% of a Fund’s gross income, calculated without taking into account long-term capital gains, consists of qualified dividend income, that Fund may designate all distributions of such income as qualified dividend income. Qualified dividend income generally is income derived from dividends from U.S. corporations or from corporations that are either incorporated in a U.S. possession or eligible for benefits under qualifying U.S. tax treaties. Distributions from a foreign corporation that is not a “qualified foreign corporation” may nevertheless be treated as “qualified dividend income” if the applicable stock is readily tradable on an established U.S. securities market. “Passive foreign investment companies” (“PFICs”) will not be treated as “qualified foreign corporations” for these purposes. Distributions of net capital gains (i.e., the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses), whether made in cash or in additional shares, are

 

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taxable to shareholders as long-term capital gains without regard to the length of time the shareholders have held their shares. Any Fund dividend that is declared in October, November, or December of any calendar year, that is payable to shareholders of record in such a month, and that is paid the following January, will be treated as if received by the shareholders on December 31 of the year in which the dividend is declared.

Any Fund distribution will have the effect of reducing the per share net asset value of shares in the Fund by the amount of the distribution. Shareholders purchasing shares shortly before the record date of any distribution may thus pay the full price for the shares and then effectively receive a portion of the purchase price back as a taxable distribution.

Dividends-Received Deduction. The portion of each Fund’s ordinary income dividends attributable to dividends received in respect to equity securities of U.S. issuers is normally eligible for the dividends received deduction for corporations subject to U.S. federal income taxes. Availability of the deduction for particular shareholders is subject to certain limitations, and deducted amounts may be subject to the alternative minimum tax and result in certain basis adjustments.

Withholding Tax Payments for Non-U.S. Persons. Each Fund will withhold tax payments at the rate of 30% (or any lower rate permitted under an applicable treaty) on taxable dividends, redemption proceeds and certain other payments that are made to persons who are neither citizens nor residents of the U.S. Distributions received from a Fund by non-U.S. persons also may be subject to tax under the laws of their own jurisdictions.

For taxable years of each Fund beginning during 2005, 2006 and 2007, this 30% withholding tax will not apply to dividends that a Fund designates as (a) interest-related dividends, to the extent such dividends are derived from each Fund’s “qualified net interest income,” or (b) short-term capital gain dividends, to the extent such dividends are derived from each Fund’s “qualified short-term gain.” “Qualified net interest income” generally is interest on bank deposits, interest or original issue discount on an obligation in registered form, or original issue discount on certain short-term obligations whether or not in registered form. The term does not include interest that is disqualified as “contingent interest” under the portfolio interest rules. “Qualified short-term gain” generally means the excess of the net short-term capital gain of each of the Funds for the taxable year over its net long-term capital loss.

Backup Withholding. The account application asks each new shareholder to certify that the shareholder’s Social Security or taxpayer identification number is correct and that the shareholder is not subject to backup withholding for failing to report income to the IRS. Each Fund may be required to withhold (and pay over to the IRS for the shareholder’s credit) a percentage of certain distributions and redemption proceeds paid to shareholders who fail to provide this information or who otherwise violate IRS regulations. Backup withholding will not, however, be applied to payments that have been subject to the 30% withholding tax on shareholders who are neither citizens nor residents of the U.S.

Disposition of Shares. In general, any gain or loss realized upon a taxable disposition of shares of a Fund by a shareholder that holds such shares as a capital asset will be treated as a long-term capital gain or loss if the shares have been held for more than twelve months and otherwise as a short-term capital gain or loss. However, any loss realized upon a disposition of shares in a Fund held for six months or less will be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any distributions of net capital gain made with respect to those shares. Any loss realized upon a disposition of shares may also be disallowed under rules relating to wash sales. Gain may be increased (or loss reduced) upon a redemption of Class A Fund shares held for 90 days or fewer followed by any purchase of shares of a Fund or another of the Smith Barney mutual Funds, including purchases by exchange or by reinvestment, without payment of a sales charge that would otherwise apply because of any sales charge paid on the original purchase of the Class A Fund shares.

 

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Effects of Certain Investments and Transactions

Options, etc. Each Fund’s transactions in options, futures contracts and forward contracts will be subject to special tax rules that may affect the amount, timing and character of Fund income and distributions to shareholders. For example, certain positions held by each Fund on the last business day of each taxable year will be marked to market (i.e., treated as if closed out) on that day, and any gain or loss associated with the positions will be treated as 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital gain or loss. Certain positions held by a Fund that substantially diminish its risk of loss with respect to other positions in its portfolio may constitute “straddles,” and may be subject to special tax rules that would cause deferral of Fund losses, adjustments in the holding periods of Fund securities, and conversion of short-term into long-term capital losses. Certain tax elections exist for straddles that may alter the effects of these rules. Each Fund will limit its activities in options, futures contracts and forward contracts to the extent necessary to meet the requirements of Subchapter M of the Code.

Foreign Investments. The Funds may make non-U.S. investments. Special tax considerations apply with respect to such investments. Foreign exchange gains and losses realized by a Fund will generally be treated as ordinary income and loss. Use of non-U.S. currencies for non-hedging purposes and investment by a Fund in certain PFICs may have to be limited in order to avoid a tax on a Fund. A Fund may elect to mark to market any investments in PFICs on the last day of each taxable year. This election may cause the Fund to recognize ordinary income prior to the receipt of cash payments with respect to those investments; in order to distribute this income and avoid a tax on the Fund, the Fund may be required to liquidate portfolio securities that it might otherwise have continued to hold potentially resulting in additional taxable gain or loss to the Fund.

Capital Loss Carryforwards

Growth and Income Fund — On October 31, 2005, the unused capital loss carryforwards for the Growth and Income Fund were approximately $115,946,385. For federal income tax purposes, this amount is available to be applied against future capital gains of the Fund, if any, that are realized prior to the expiration of the applicable carryforwards. The carryforwards expire as follows:

 

            October 31,            
        2010           2011
$5,464,906   $ 110,481,479

Dividend Strategy Fund — On October 31, 2005, the Dividend Strategy Fund did not have, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, capital loss carryforwards.

OTHER INFORMATION

Proposed Changes

The Funds’ Board has approved a number of initiatives designed to streamline and restructure the fund complex and the Funds are seeking shareholder approval for those initiatives where shareholder approval is required. If certain of these matters are approved by the shareholders entitled to vote on the matters, the Funds will become series of Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust, a Maryland business trust.

A Maryland business trust is an unincorporated business association that is established under, and governed by, Maryland law. Maryland law provides a statutory framework for the powers, duties, rights and obligations of the trustees and shareholders of the business trust, while the more specific powers, duties, rights and obligations of the trustees and the shareholders are determined by the trustees as set forth in the trust’s declaration of trust. Some of the more significant provisions of the trust’s declaration are described below.

 

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Shareholder Voting.

The declaration provides for shareholder voting as required by the 1940 Act or other applicable laws but otherwise permits, consistent with Maryland law, actions by the trustees without seeking the consent of shareholders. The trustees may, without shareholder approval, amend the declaration or authorize the merger or consolidation of the trust into another trust or entity, reorganize the trust, or any series or class into another trust or entity or a series or class of another entity, sell all or substantially all of the assets of the trust or any series or class to another entity, or a series or class of another entity, or terminate the trust or any series or class.

The Funds are not required to hold an annual meeting of shareholders, but the Funds will call special meetings of shareholders whenever required by the 1940 Act or by the terms of the declaration. The declaration provides for “dollar-weighted voting” which means that a shareholder’s voting power is determined, not by the number of shares he or she owns, but by the dollar value of those shares determined on the record date. All shareholders of all series and classes of the trust vote together, except where required by the 1940 Act to vote separately by series or by class, or when the trustees have determined that a matter affects only the interests of one or more series or classes of shares.

Election and Removal of Trustees.

The declaration provides that the trustees may establish the number of trustees and that vacancies on the board may be filled by the remaining trustees, except when election of trustees by the shareholders is required under the 1940 Act. Trustees are then elected by a plurality of votes cast by shareholders at a meeting at which a quorum is present. The declaration also provides that a mandatory retirement age may be set by action of two-thirds of the trustees and that trustees may be removed, with or without cause, by a vote of shareholders holding two-thirds of the voting power of the trust, or by a vote of two-thirds of the remaining trustees. The provisions of the declaration relating to the election and removal of trustees may not be amended without the approval of two-thirds of the trustees.

Amendments to the Declaration.

The trustees are authorized to amend the declaration without the vote of shareholders, but no amendment may be made that impairs the exemption from personal liability granted in the declaration to persons who are or have been shareholders, trustees, officers or, employees of the trust or that limit the rights to indemnification or insurance provided in the declaration with respect to actions or omissions of persons entitled to indemnification under the declaration prior to the amendment.

Issuance and Redemption of Shares.

A Fund may issue an unlimited number of shares for such consideration and on such terms as the trustees may determine. Shareholders are not entitled to any appraisal, preemptive, conversion, exchange or similar rights, except as the trustees may determine. A Fund may involuntarily redeem a shareholder’s shares upon certain conditions as may be determined by the trustees, including, for example, if the shareholder fails to provide the Fund with identification required by law, or if the Fund is unable to verify the information received from the shareholder. Additionally, as discussed below, shares may be redeemed in connection with the closing of small accounts.

Disclosure of Shareholder Holdings.

The declaration specifically requires shareholders, upon demand, to disclose to the Funds information with respect to the direct and indirect ownership of shares in order to comply with various laws or regulations, and the Funds may disclose such ownership if required by law or regulation.

 

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Small Accounts.

The declaration provides that the Funds may close out a shareholder’s account by redeeming all of the shares in the account if the account falls below a minimum account size (which may vary by class) that may be set by the trustees from time to time. Alternately, the declaration permits the Funds to assess a fee for small accounts (which may vary by class) and redeem shares in the account to cover such fees, or convert the shares into another share class that is geared to smaller accounts.

Series and Classes.

The declaration provides that the trustees may establish series and classes in addition to those currently established and to determine the rights and preferences, limitations and restrictions, including qualifications for ownership, conversion and exchange features, minimum purchase and account size, expenses and charges, and other features of the series and classes. The trustees may change any of those features, terminate any series or class, combine series with other series in the trust, combine one or more classes of a series with another class in that series or convert the shares of one class into another class.

Each share of the Funds, as series of the trust, represents an interest in the applicable Fund only and not in the assets of any other series of the trust.

Shareholder, Trustee and Officer Liability.

The declaration provides that shareholders are not personally liable for the obligations of the Funds and requires the Funds to indemnify a shareholder against any loss or expense arising from any such liability. In addition, the Funds will assume the defense of any claim against a shareholder for personal liability at the request of the shareholder. The declaration further provides that a trustee acting in his or her capacity of trustee is not personally liable to any person other than the trust or its shareholders, for any act, omission, or obligation of the trust. Further, a trustee is held to the same standard of conduct as a director of a Maryland corporation. This requires that a trustee perform his or her duties in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the trust or a series thereof, and with the care that an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would use under similar circumstances. The declaration also permits the limitation of a trustee’s liability to the full extent provided under Maryland law. Under current Maryland law, a trustee is liable to the trust or its shareholders for monetary damages only (a) to the extent that it is proved that he or she actually received an improper benefit or profit in money, property, or services or (b) to the extent that a judgment or other final adjudication adverse to the trustee is entered in a proceeding based on a finding in the proceeding that the trustee’s action, or failure to act, was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty and was material to the cause of action adjudicated in the proceeding. The declaration requires the trust to indemnify any persons who are or who have been trustees, officers or employees of the trust for any liability for actions or failure to act except to the extent prohibited by applicable federal law. In making any determination as to whether any person is entitled to the advancement of expenses in connection with a claim for which indemnification is sought, such person is entitled to a rebuttable presumption that he or she did not engage in conduct for which indemnification is not available.

The declaration provides that any trustee who serves as chair of the board or of a committee of the board, lead independent trustee, or audit committee financial expert, or in any other similar capacity will not be subject to any greater standard of care or liability because of such position.

Derivative Actions.

The declaration provides a detailed process for the bringing of derivative actions by shareholders in order to permit legitimate inquiries and claims while avoiding the time, expense, distraction, and other harm that can be caused to the Funds or their shareholders as a result of spurious shareholder demands and derivative actions. Prior to bringing a derivative action, a demand by three unrelated shareholders must first be made on a Fund’s trustees. The declaration details various information, certifications, undertakings and acknowledgements that

 

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must be included in the demand. Following receipt of the demand, the trustees have a period of 90 days, which may be extended by an additional 60 days, to consider the demand. If a majority of the trustees who are considered independent for the purposes of considering the demand determine that maintaining the suit would not be in the best interests of the Fund, the trustees are required to reject the demand and the complaining shareholders may not proceed with the derivative action unless the shareholders are able to sustain the burden of proof to a court that the decision of the trustees not to pursue the requested action was not a good faith exercise of their business judgment on behalf of the Fund. The declaration further provides that shareholders owning shares representing at least 5% of the voting power of the affected Fund must join in bringing the derivative action. If a demand is rejected, the complaining shareholders will be responsible for the costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by the Fund in connection with the consideration of the demand, if in the judgment of the Independent Trustees, the demand was made without reasonable cause or for an improper purpose. If a derivative action is brought in violation of the declaration, the shareholders bringing the action may be responsible for the Fund’s costs, including attorneys’ fees.

The declaration further provides that the Funds shall be responsible for payment of attorneys’ fees and legal expenses incurred by a complaining shareholder only if required by law, and any attorneys’ fees that the Funds are obligated to pay shall be calculated using reasonable hourly rates. The declaration also requires that actions by shareholders against the Funds be brought only in federal court in Baltimore, Maryland, or if not permitted to be brought in federal court, then in state court in Baltimore, Maryland, and that the right to jury trial be waived to the full extent permitted by law.

Legal Matters

Beginning in June 2004, class action lawsuits alleging violations of the federal securities laws were filed against Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”) and a number of its then affiliates, including Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”), which were then investment adviser or manager to certain of the Funds (the “Managers”), substantially all of the mutual funds then managed by the Managers (the “Defendant Funds”), and Board Members of the Defendant Funds (collectively, the “Defendants”). The complaints alleged, among other things, that CGMI created various undisclosed incentives for its brokers to sell Smith Barney and Salomon Brothers funds. In addition, according to the complaints, the Managers caused the Defendant Funds to pay excessive brokerage commissions to CGMI for steering clients towards proprietary funds. The complaints also alleged that the defendants breached their fiduciary duty to the Defendant Funds by improperly charging Rule 12b-1 fees and by drawing on fund assets to make undisclosed payments of soft dollars and excessive brokerage commissions. The complaints also alleged that the Defendant Funds failed to adequately disclose certain of the allegedly wrongful conduct. The complaints sought injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive damages, rescission of the Defendant Funds’ contracts with the Managers, recovery of all fees paid to the Managers pursuant to such contracts and an award of attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses.

On December 15, 2004, a consolidated amended complaint (the “Complaint”) was filed alleging substantially similar causes of action. On May 27, 2005, all of the Defendants filed motions to dismiss the Complaint. On July 26, 2006, the court issued a decision and order (1) finding that plaintiffs lacked standing to sue on behalf of the shareholders of the Defendant Funds in which none of the plaintiffs had invested, including Growth and Income Fund, and dismissing those Defendant Funds from the case (although stating that they could be brought back into the case if standing as to them could be established), and (2) other than one stayed claim, dismissing all of the causes of action against the remaining Defendants, with prejudice, except for the cause of action under Section 36(b) of the 1940 Act, which the court granted plaintiffs leave to replead as a derivative claim.

On October 16, 2006, plaintiffs filed their Second Consolidated Amended Complaint (“Second Amended Complaint”) which alleges derivative claims on behalf of nine funds identified in the Second Amended Complaint, under Section 36(b) of the 1940 Act, against Citigroup Asset Management, Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc, SBFM and CGMI as investment advisers to the identified funds, as well as CGMI as a distributor for the identified funds (collectively, the “Second Amended Complaint Defendants”). Neither the

 

69


Growth and Income Fund nor the Dividend Strategy Fund was identified in the Second Amended Complaint. The Second Amended Complaint alleges no claims against any of the Funds or any of their Board Members. Under Section 36(b), the Second Amended Complaint alleges similar facts and seeks similar relief against the Second Amended Complaint Defendants as the Complaint.

Additional lawsuits arising out of these circumstances and presenting similar allegations and requests for relief may be filed in the future.

***

On May 31, 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued an order in connection with the settlement of an administrative proceeding against SBFM, the then-investment adviser or manager to the Funds and CGMI, relating to the appointment of an affiliated transfer agent for the Smith Barney family of mutual funds, including the Funds (the “Affected Funds”).

The SEC order finds that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(1) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder (the “Advisers Act”). Specifically, the order found that SBFM and CGMI knowingly or recklessly failed to disclose to the boards of the Affected Funds in 1999 when proposing a new transfer agent arrangement with an affiliated transfer agent that: First Data Investors Services Group (“First Data”), the Affected Funds’ then-existing transfer agent, had offered to continue as transfer agent and do the same work for substantially less money than before; and that Citigroup Asset Management (“CAM”), the Citigroup business unit that, at the time, included the Affected Funds’ investment manager and other investment advisory companies, had entered into a side letter with First Data under which CAM agreed to recommend the appointment of First Data as sub-transfer agent to the affiliated transfer agent in exchange for, among other things, a guarantee by First Data of specified amounts of asset management and investment banking fees to CAM and CGMI. The order also found that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act by virtue of the omissions discussed above and other misrepresentations and omissions in the materials provided to the Affected Funds’ boards, including the failure to make clear that the affiliated transfer agent would earn a high profit for performing limited functions while First Data continued to perform almost all of the transfer agent functions, and the suggestion that the proposed arrangement was in the Affected Funds’ best interests and that no viable alternatives existed. SBFM and CGMI do not admit or deny any wrongdoing or liability. The settlement does not establish wrongdoing or liability for purposes of any other proceeding.

The SEC censured SBFM and CGMI and ordered them to cease and desist from violations of Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Advisers Act. The order required Citigroup to pay $208.1 million, including $109 million in disgorgement of profits, $19.1 million in interest, and a civil money penalty of $80 million. Approximately $24.4 million has already been paid to the Affected Funds, primarily through fee waivers. The remaining $183.7 million, including the penalty, has been paid to the U.S. Treasury and will be distributed pursuant to a plan submitted for the approval of the SEC. At this time, there is no certainty as to how the above-described proceeds of the settlement will be distributed, to whom such distributions will be made, the methodology by which such distributions will be allocated, and when such distributions will be made. The order also required that transfer agency fees received from the Affected Funds since December 1, 2004, less certain expenses, be placed in escrow and provided that a portion of such fees might be subsequently distributed in accordance with the terms of the order. On April 3, 2006, an aggregate amount of approximately $9 million held in escrow was distributed to the Affected Funds.

The order required SBFM to recommend a new transfer agent contract to the Fund boards within 180 days of the entry of the order; if a Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent or sub-transfer agent, SBFM and CGMI would have been required, at their expense, to engage an independent monitor to oversee a competitive bidding process. On November 21, 2005, and within the specified timeframe, the Affected Funds’ Boards selected a new transfer agent for the Affected Fund. No Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent. Under the order, SBFM also must comply with an amended version of a vendor policy that Citigroup instituted in August 2004.

 

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Although there can be no assurance, the manager does not believe that this matter will have a material adverse effect on the Affected Funds.

On December 1, 2005, Citigroup completed the sale of substantially all of its global asset management business, including SBFM, to Legg Mason.

***

Beginning in August 2005, five class action lawsuits alleging violations of federal securities laws and state law were filed against CGMI and SBFM (collectively, the “Defendants”) based on the May 31, 2005 settlement order issued against the Defendants by the SEC as described in above. The complaints seek injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive damages, removal of SBFM as the investment manager for the Smith Barney family of funds, rescission of the Funds’ management and other contracts with SBFM, recovery of all fees paid to SBFM pursuant to such contracts, and an award of attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses.

On October 5, 2005, a motion to consolidate the five actions and any subsequently filed, related action was filed. That motion contemplates that a consolidated amended complaint alleging substantially similar causes of action will be filed in the future.

As of the date of this report, the Fund’s investment manager believes that resolution of the pending lawsuit will not have a material effect on the financial position or results of operations of the Fund or the ability of the Fund’s investment manager and its affiliates to continue to render services to the Funds under their respective contracts.

***

On September 16, 2005, the staff of the SEC informed SBFM and ClearBridge Asset Management Inc (formerly Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc) at the staff is considering recommending that the SEC institute administrative proceedings against SBFM and ClearBridge Asset Management Inc for alleged violations of Section 19(a) and 34(b) of the Investment Company Act (and related Rule 19a-1). The notification is a result of an industry wide inspection by the SEC and is based upon alleged deficiencies in disclosures regarding dividends and distributions paid to shareholders of certain funds. Section 19(a) and related Rule 19a-1 of the Investment Company Act generally require funds that are making dividend and distribution payments to provide shareholders with a written statement disclosing the source of the dividends and distributions, and, in particular, the portion of the payments made from each of net investment income, undistributed net profits and/or paid-in capital. In connection with the contemplated proceedings, the staff may seek a cease and desist order and/or monetary damages from SBFM or ClearBridge Asset Management Inc.

Although there can be no assurance, the fund’s manager believes that this matter is not likely to have a material adverse effect on the fund.

***

On or about May 30, 2006, John Halebian, a purported shareholder of Citi New York Tax Free Reserves, a series of CitiFunds Trust III (the “Subject Trust”), filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against the independent trustees of the Subject Trust (Elliott J. Berv, Donald M. Carlton, A. Benton Cocanougher, Mark T. Finn, Stephen Randolph Gross, Diana R. Harrington, Susan B. Kerley, Alan G. Merten and R. Richardson Pettit).

The Subject Trust is also named in the complaint as a nominal defendant.

The complaint alleges both derivative claims on behalf of the Subject Trust and class claims on behalf of a putative class of shareholders of the Subject Trust in connection with the 2005 sale of Citigroup’s asset management business to Legg Mason and the related approval of new investment advisory agreements by the

 

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trustees and shareholders. In the derivative claim, the plaintiff alleges, among other things, that the independent trustees breached their fiduciary duty to the Subject Trust and its shareholders by failing to negotiate lower fees or seek competing bids from other qualified investment advisers in connection with Citigroup’s sale to Legg Mason. In the claims brought on behalf of the putative class of shareholders, the plaintiff alleges that the independent trustees violated the proxy solicitation requirements of the 1940 Act, and breached their fiduciary duty to shareholders, by virtue of the voting procedures, including “echo voting,” used to obtain approval of the new investment advisory agreements and statements made in a proxy statement regarding those voting procedures. The plaintiff alleges that the proxy statement was misleading because it failed to disclose that the voting procedures violated the 1940 Act. The relief sought includes an award of damages, rescission of the advisory agreement, and an award of costs and attorney fees.

In advance of filing the complaint, Mr. Halebian’s lawyers made written demand for relief on the Board of the Subject Trust, and the Board’s independent trustees formed a demand review committee to investigate the matters raised in the demand, and subsequently in the complaint, and recommend a course of action to the Board. The committee, after a thorough review, has determined that the independent trustees did not breach their fiduciary duties as alleged by Mr. Halebian, and that the action demanded by Mr. Halebian would not be in the best interests of the Subject Trust. The Board of the Subject Trust (the trustee who is an “interested person” of the Subject Trust, within the meaning of the 1940 Act, having recused himself from the matter), after receiving and considering the committee’s report and based upon the findings of the committee, subsequently also has so determined and, adopting the recommendation of the committee, has directed counsel to move to dismiss Mr. Halebian’s complaint. A response to the complaint is due in October 2006. No assurance can be given as to the outcome of this matter.

***

The foregoing speaks only as of the date of this SAI. Additional lawsuits presenting allegations and requests for relief arising out of or in connection with any of the foregoing matters may be filed against these and related parties in the future.

Transfer Agent

PFPC Inc. (“PFPC” or “transfer agent”), located at P.O. Box 9699, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699, serves as the Funds’ transfer agent. Under the transfer agency agreement, the transfer agent maintains the shareholder account records for the Funds, handles certain communications between shareholders and the Funds and distributes dividends and distributions payable by the Funds. For these services, the transfer agent receives a monthly fee computed on the basis of the number of shareholder accounts it maintains for the Funds during the month, and is reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses. Prior to January 1, 2006, Citicorp Trust Bank, fsb (“CTB”) served as the Funds’ transfer agent and PFPC served as the Funds’ sub-transfer agent. For the period from November 1, 2005, through December 31, 2005, the fund paid transfer agent fees of [$            ] to CTB.

Custodian

State Street Bank and Trust Company (“State Street”), One Lincoln Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, serves as the custodian of the Funds. State Street, among other things, maintains a custody account or accounts in the names of the Funds; receives and delivers all assets for the Funds upon purchase and upon sale or maturity; collects and receives all income and other payments and distributions on account of the assets of the Funds; and makes disbursements on behalf of the Funds. State Street neither determines the Funds’ investment policies, nor decides which securities the Funds will buy or sell. For its services, State Street receives a monthly fee based upon the daily average market value of securities held in custody and also receives securities transaction charges, including out-of-pocket expenses. The Funds may also periodically enter into arrangements with other qualified custodians with respect to certain types of securities or other transactions such as repurchase agreements or derivatives transactions. State Street also acts as the Funds’ securities lending agent and receives a share of the income generated by such activities.

 

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Independent Registered Accounting Firm

            ,             , has been selected as the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm to audit and report on the Trust’s financial statements and financial highlights of the Trust for the fiscal year ending October 31, 2007.

Legal Counsel

Bingham McCutchen LLP, 150 Federal Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02110, is legal counsel to the Funds.

Shareholder and Trustee Responsibility

[The Trust is an entity of the type commonly known as a “Massachusetts business trust.” Under Massachusetts law, shareholders of such a business trust may, under certain circumstances, be held personally liable as partners for its obligations and liabilities. However, the Master Trust Agreement of the Trust contains an express disclaimer of shareholder liability for acts or obligations of the Trust and provides for indemnification and reimbursement of expenses out of Trust property for any shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the Trust. The Master Trust Agreement also provides that the Trust may maintain insurance ( e.g. , fidelity bonding and errors and omissions insurance) for the protection of the Trust, its shareholders, Trustees, Trustees Emeritus, officers, employees and agents covering possible tort and other liabilities. Thus, the risk of a shareholder incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which both inadequate insurance existed and the Trust itself was unable to meet its obligations.

The Master Trust Agreement further provides that obligations of the Trust are not binding upon the Trustees individually but only upon the property of the Trust and that the Trustees will not be liable for any action or failure to act, but nothing in the Master Trust Agreement protects a Trustee against any liability to which he or she would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence, or reckless disregard of the duties involved in the conduct of his or her office.]

About the Trust

The Trust was organized on October 17, 1991 under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is a business entity commonly known as a “Massachusetts business trust.” The Trust offers shares of beneficial interest of [ ] separate funds with a par value of $.001 per share. The Funds offer shares of beneficial interest currently classified into five Classes— A, B, C, I and 1. Each Class of each of the Funds represents an identical interest in such Fund’s investment portfolio. As a result, the Classes have the same rights, privileges and preferences, except with respect to: (a) the designation of each Class; (b) the effect of the respective sales charges, if any, for each Class; (c) the distribution and/or service fees borne by each Class pursuant to the Distribution Plan; (d) the expenses allocable exclusively to each Class; (e) voting rights on matters exclusively affecting a single Class; (f) the exchange privilege of each Class; and (g) the conversion feature of the Class B shares. The Board does not anticipate that there will be any conflicts among the interests of the holders of the different Classes. The trustees, on an ongoing basis, will consider whether any such conflict exists and, if so, take appropriate action.

Under Massachusetts’s law, shareholders could, under certain circumstances, be held personally liable for the obligations of the Funds. The Master Trust Agreement disclaims shareholder liability for acts or obligations of the Funds, however, and requires that notice of such disclaimer be given in each agreement, obligation or instrument entered into or executed by the Funds or a trustee. The Master Trust Agreement provides for indemnification from Fund property for all losses and expenses of any shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the Funds. Thus, the risk of a shareholder’s incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which a Fund itself would be unable to meet its obligations, a possibility which management of each Fund believes is remote. Upon payment of any liability incurred by a Fund, a shareholder paying such liability will be entitled to reimbursement from the general assets of such Fund. The trustees intend to conduct the operation of each Fund in such a way so as to avoid, as far as possible, ultimate liability of the shareholders for liabilities of either Fund.

The Master Trust Agreement of the Funds permits the trustees of the Funds to issue an unlimited number of full and fractional shares of a single class and to divide or combine the shares into a greater or lesser number of shares without thereby changing the proportionate beneficial interests in a Fund. Each share in a Fund represents an equal proportional interest in a Fund with each other share. Shareholders of a Fund are entitled upon its liquidation to share pro rata in its net assets available for distribution. No shareholder of a Fund has any preemptive or conversion rights. Shares of a Fund are fully paid and non-assessable.

Pursuant to the Master Trust Agreement, the Trust’s trustees may authorize the creation of additional series of shares (the proceeds of which would be invested in separate, independently managed portfolios) and additional classes of shares within any series (which would be used to distinguish among the rights of different categories of shareholders, as might be required by future regulations or other unforeseen circumstances).

The Trust does not hold annual shareholder meetings. There normally will be no meetings of shareholders for the purpose of electing trustees unless and until such time as less than a majority of the trustees holding office have been elected by shareholders, at which time the trustees then in office will call a shareholders’ meeting for the election of trustees. Shareholders of record of no less than two-thirds of the outstanding shares of the Trust may remove a trustee through a declaration in writing or by vote cast in person or by proxy at a meeting called for that purpose.

When matters are submitted for shareholder vote, shareholders of each Class will have one vote for each full share owned and a proportionate, fractional vote for any fractional share held of that Class. Generally, shares of a Fund will be voted on a Fund-wide basis on all matters except matters affecting only the interests of one Class, in which case only shares of the affected Class would be entitled to vote.

The Trust was organized as an unincorporated Massachusetts business trust on October 17, 1991 under the name Shearson Lehman Brothers Intermediate-Term Trust. On August 16, 1995, the Trust’s name was changed to Smith Barney Investment Trust. On April 7, 2006, the Trust’s name was changed to Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust.

The Master Trust Agreement permits the Trust’s Board of Trustees to issue an unlimited number of full and fractional shares of beneficial interest (par value $0.00001 per share) of each series, to divide or combine the shares of any series into a greater or lesser number of shares of that series without thereby changing the proportionate beneficial interests in that series and to divide such shares into classes. The Trust has reserved the right to create and issue additional series and classes of shares or to classify or reclassify outstanding shares. The Trust also reserves the right, subject to the 1940 Act, to modify the preferences, voting powers, rights and privileges of shares of each class without shareholder approval. Shares of each series of the Trust participate equally in the earnings, dividends and distribution of net assets of the particular series upon liquidation or dissolution (except for any differences among classes of shares of a series). Shareholders of all series of the Trust generally will vote together on all matters except when the Trustees determine that only shareholders of particular series or classes are affected by a particular matter or when applicable law requires shareholders to vote separately by series or class.

 

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Subject to applicable law, the Trust may involuntarily redeem shareholders’ shares at any time for any reason the Trustees of the Trust deem appropriate, including for the following reasons: (i) in order to eliminate small accounts for administrative efficiencies and cost savings, (ii) the failure of a shareholder to supply certain information such as a tax identification number if required to do so, or to provide data sufficient to verify such information (iii) to protect the tax status of a Fund if necessary, (iv) failure of a shareholder to meet or maintain the qualifications for ownership of a particular class of shares, (v) the failure of a shareholder to pay when due for the purchase of shares and (vi) to eliminate ownership of shares by a particular shareholder when a Fund determines pursuant to adopted procedures that the particular shareholder’s ownership is not in the best interests of the other shareholders of a Fund.

The holders of shares are required to disclose information on direct or indirect ownership of Fund shares as may be required to comply with various laws applicable to a Fund, and ownership of Fund shares may be disclosed by the Fund if so required by law or regulation.

Each shareholder of a Fund is entitled to one vote for each dollar of net asset value (number of shares of the Fund owned times net asset value per share) of the Fund, on each matter on which the shareholder is entitled to vote. Each fractional dollar amount is entitled to a proportionate fractional vote. Except when a larger vote is required by applicable law, a majority of the voting power of the shares voted in person or by proxy on a matter will decide that matter and a plurality of the voting power of the shares voted in person or by proxy will elect a Trustee. Shareholders in the Trust do not have cumulative voting rights. The Trust is not required to hold and has no present intention of holding annual meetings of shareholders, but the Trust will hold special meetings of a Fund’s shareholders when in the judgment of the Trustees it is necessary or desirable to submit matters for a shareholder vote. Shareholders have, under certain circumstances ( e.g. , upon the application and submission of certain specified documents to the Trustees by a specified number of shareholders), the right to communicate with other shareholders in connection with requesting a meeting of shareholders for the purpose of removing one or more Trustees. Except in limited circumstances, the Trustees may, without any shareholder vote, amend or otherwise supplement the Trust’s Master Trust Agreement.

The Trust’s Master Trust Agreement provides that, at any meeting of shareholders of the Trust or of any series of the Trust, a shareholder servicing agent may vote any shares of which it is the holder of record and for which it does not receive voting instructions proportionately in accordance with the votes cast by holders of all shares otherwise represented at the meeting in person or by proxy as to which such shareholder servicing agent is the agent at record. Shares have no preference, pre-emptive, conversion or similar rights except as the Trustees may otherwise determine. Shares, when issued, are fully paid and non-assessable, except as set forth below.

The Trust, or any series or class of the Trust, may merge or consolidate or may sell, lease or exchange all or substantially all of its assets if authorized at any meeting of shareholders representing a majority of the voting power of the Trust (or of the affected series or class) voting as a single class, or by written consent, without a meeting, of the holders of shares representing a majority of the voting power of the outstanding shares of the Trust (or of the affected series or class) voting as a single class. The Trust or any series or class may reincorporate or reorganize (but not with another operating entity) without any shareholder vote. The Trust may be terminated at any time by a vote of a majority of the voting power of the Trust or by the Trustees by written notice to the shareholders. Any series of the Trust, or any class of any series, may be terminated at any time by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting power of that series or class, or by the Trustees by written notice to the shareholders of that series or class. If not so terminated, the Trust will continue indefinitely.

The Trust’s Master Trust Agreement provides that shareholders may not bring suit on behalf of a Fund without first requesting that the Trustees bring such suit. Trustees are not considered to have a personal financial interest by virtue of being compensated for their services as Trustees or as trustees of funds with the same or an affiliated investment adviser or distributor.

The Trust’s Master Trust Agreement provides that by becoming a shareholder of a Fund, each shareholder shall be expressly held to have assented to and agreed to be bound by the provisions of the Master Trust Agreement.

 

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FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The audited financial statements of the Funds’ predecessors (Statement of Assets and Liabilities as of October 31, 2006, Statement of Operations for the year ended October 31, 2006, Statements of Changes in Net Assets for each of the years in the two-year period ended October 31, 2006, Financial Highlights for each of the years in the five-year period ended October 31, 2006, and Notes to Financial Statements along with the Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, each of which is included in the Annual Report to Shareholders of the Funds), are incorporated by reference into this Statement of Additional Information (Filed on [            ]; Accession Number [            ] for Growth and Income Fund and [            ] for Dividend Strategy Fund).

 

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Legg Mason Partners Emerging Markets Equity Fund

Supplement dated April     , 2007

to Prospectus dated             , 2007

The attached prospectus is now dated April     , 2007.

As part of a number of initiatives launched in 2006 to restructure and streamline the Legg Mason Partners fund complex, the fund assumed the assets and liabilities of a predecessor fund with the same name. The fund is now grouped for organizational and governance purposes with other Legg Mason Partners funds that are predominantly equity-type funds. The prospectus is supplemented as shown below to reflect this change. Any information in the prospectus relating to the fund prior to the date of this Prospectus refers to the fund’s predecessor.

Performance Information

The summary performance information in the prospectus is that of the fund’s predecessor.

Management — Other Information

The paragraph beneath the heading “Other Information” in the “Management” section of the prospectus is deleted.

Financial Highlights

The financial information shown in the “Financial Highlights” section of the prospectus is that of the fund’s predecessor.


PROSPECTUS

[DATE], 2007

 

The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or determined whether this Prospectus is accurate or complete. Any statement to the contrary is a crime.

LOGO

Legg Mason Partners Emerging Markets Equity Fund

Class A, B, C and I Shares

 

 


Legg Mason Partners

Emerging Markets Equity Fund

Contents

 

Investments, risks and performance

  2

More on the fund’s investments

  8

Management

  10

Choosing a class of shares to buy

  13

Comparing the fund’s classes

  15

Sales charge

  16

More about contingent deferred sales charges

  20

Retirement and institutional investors

  21

Buying shares

  23

Exchanging shares

  24

Redeeming shares

  26

Other things to know about transactions

  28

Dividends, distributions and taxes

  31

Share price

  33

Financial highlights

  35

 

Prior to April 7, 2006 the fund was known as Smith Barney Emerging Markets Equity Fund.


 

Investments, risks and performance

Investment objective

The fund seeks to provide long-term capital growth.

Principal investment strategies

Key investments

Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of companies domiciled in, or whose securities are traded in the stock markets of, emerging market nations, and other securities whose values are based on such equity securities. The fund considers emerging market nations to include countries that, at the time the fund makes an investment, are categorized by the World Bank and its affiliates as “low income” or “middle income,” are included in the MSCI (Morgan Stanley Capital International) Emerging Markets Index, or are believed by the portfolio manager to have similar emerging market characteristics.

Generally, the fund invests in a number of different countries and, under normal circumstances, the fund invests in companies in at least eight foreign markets and does not invest more than 25% of its assets in any one country. The fund invests across a range of industries. There are no limitations on the market capitalizations of the companies in which the fund may invest.

The fund usually invests in securities listed on securities exchanges, although it may also purchase securities which are not registered for sale to the general public, or, to a limited extent, securities that are not readily marketable. The fund may invest directly in foreign securities or may invest in depository receipts.

The fund’s assets will generally be invested in equity securities, such as common stocks, preferred stocks and convertible securities, and in other securities, such as equity-linked notes, the values of which are based on equity securities. The fund may also invest in other securities including fixed-income and other debt securities, rights to purchase common stocks, warrants, and, to a limited extent, shares of other investment companies, including closed end investment companies that invest in emerging market securities. The fund may, under normal circumstances, invest up to 20% of its assets in equity securities and other securities of issuers that are not domiciled in or traded in the stock markets of emerging market nations but whose operations, either through asset exposure, revenues or operating cash flows are derived from activities domiciled in emerging market countries.

The fund may, but is not required to, enter into forward currency transactions to buy or sell currencies at a future date. The fund may enter into these forward currency contracts to:

n   Settle transactions in securities quoted in foreign currencies
n   Attempt to protect against the economic impact of adverse changes in the value of the U.S. dollar or other currencies

Selection process

The portfolio manager seeks to identify companies in emerging market nations that the portfolio manager believes are experiencing, or are expected to experience, better than average growth in earnings and are trading at attractive or reasonable valuation levels. The fund may invest in the securities of large companies that offer prospects of long-term

 

2         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

growth. However, because higher earnings growth rates are often achieved by small- to medium-sized companies, a significant portion of the fund’s assets may be invested in the securities of such companies.

The portfolio manager uses fundamental analysis to find companies that it believes have attractive future growth prospects, taking into account such factors as country and industry background, each company’s products and competitive positioning, potential future developments in end markets and management track record. The portfolio manager may also consider factors such as trends in earnings forecasts for companies in whose securities the fund is invested. Additionally, the portfolio manager may favor exposure to securities issued by companies whose forecast trends appear positive relative to those of their peers.

Principal risks of investing in the fund

The risks of investing in emerging markets are substantially greater than the risks of investing in more developed markets.

Investments in emerging market securities may be particularly susceptible to the following additional risks of investing in foreign securities:

n   Many foreign countries in which the fund may invest have markets that are smaller, less liquid and more volatile than markets in the U.S. In a changing market, the portfolio manager may not be able to sell the fund’s portfolio securities in amounts and at prices it considers reasonable
n   In some foreign countries, less information is available about foreign issuers and markets because of less rigorous accounting and regulatory standards than in the U.S.
n   Foreign equity securities may trade at price-earnings multiples that are higher than those of comparable U.S. companies, and that may not be sustainable. As a result, there may be rapid changes in the value of foreign securities
n   Enforcing legal rights may be difficult, costly and slow and there may be special problems enforcing claims against foreign governments
n   Some foreign currency values may be volatile, and there is the possibility of governmental controls on currency exchanges or governmental intervention in currency markets which may prevent the fund from realizing value in U.S. dollars from its investment in foreign securities
n   There may be other governmental or non-governmental actions resulting in expropriations of assets, confiscatory taxation, and limitations on the use or transfer of assets by the fund or the issuers of securities

Because the value of a depository receipt is dependent upon the market price of an underlying foreign security, depository receipts are subject to most of the risks associated with investing in foreign securities directly.

Emerging markets securities are often particularly sensitive to market movements because their market prices tend to reflect future expectations. When it appears those expectations will not be met, the prices of these securities typically fall. The fund’s investments may also be more volatile than other investments because they often do not pay dividends.

To the extent that the fund enters into forward foreign currency transactions, it may not fully benefit from or may lose money on the transactions if changes in currency rates do not occur as anticipated or do not correspond accurately to changes in the value of the fund’s holdings, or if the counterparty defaults. Such transactions may also prevent the

 

Emerging Markets Equity Fund         3


 

fund from realizing profits on favorable movements in exchange rates. The fund’s ability to use currency exchange contracts successfully depends on a number of factors, including the contracts being available at prices that are not too costly, the availability of liquid markets, and the ability of the portfolio manager to accurately predict the direction of changes in currency exchange rates.

Investing in foreign issuers, generally, involves unique risks. These risks may be more pronounced for investments in emerging markets or to the extent that the fund invests significantly in any one country or region. Investors could lose money on their investment in the fund, or the fund may not perform as well as other investments, if:

n   Foreign securities prices decline, or foreign securities perform poorly relative to other types of investments
n   Adverse governmental action or political, social, economic or market instability affects a foreign country or region
n   The currency in which a security is priced declines in value relative to the U.S. dollar
n   The portfolio manager’s judgment about the attractiveness, value or potential appreciation of a particular security or sector proves to be incorrect
n   Foreign withholding taxes reduce the fund’s returns
n   The economies of foreign countries grow at a slower rate than expected or experience a downturn or recession

See page [    ] for more information about the fund’s investments and the risks of investing in the fund.

Who may want to invest

The fund may be an appropriate investment if:

n   You want to direct a portion of your overall investment portfolio to securities of non-U.S. companies and you are prepared to accept the risks of investing in emerging markets
n   You are prepared to accept significant fluctuations in share price and possible losses
n   You are not seeking current income
n   Your investment horizon is longer term — typically at least five years

Performance information

The following shows summary performance information for the fund in a bar chart and an Average Annual Total Returns table. The information provides an indication of the risks of investing in the fund by showing changes in its performance from year to year and by showing how the fund’s average annual total returns compare with the returns of MSCI Emerging Markets Index. The bar chart and the information below show performance of the fund’s Class A shares, but do not reflect the impact of sales charges (loads). If they did, the returns would be lower than those shown. Unlike the bar chart, the performance for Class A, B, C and I (1) shares in the Average Annual Total Returns table reflects the impact of the maximum sales charge (load) applicable to the respective classes. The fund’s past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future.

 

(1)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

4         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Calendar Year Total Return — Class A Shares

LOGO

Highest and Lowest Quarter Returns* (for periods shown in the bar chart)

Highest:         % in          quarter          Lowest: (        )% in          quarter         .

 

Average Annual Total Returns (for periods ended 12/31/06)

 

      1 Year   5 Years   10 Years   Since
Inception
    Inception
Date
 

Class A

         
   
Return before taxes (1)   %   %   %       01/05/05  
   
Return after taxes on distributions (1)(2)   %   %   %      
   
Return after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares (2)   %   %   %      
   
Other Classes (Return before taxes only)          
   

Class B

  %   %   n/a   %     08/11/05  
   

Class C

  %   %   n/a   %     09/07/05  
   

Class I (3)

  n/a   n/a   n/a   n/a     01/03/05  
   
MSCI Emerging Markets Index (4)   %   %   %   (4 )   (4 )
   

 

(1)   On November 20, 2006, the maximum initial sales charge on Class A shares was increased for sales made on or after that date. The average annual returns for Class A shares in the table have been calculated as if the increased maximum initial sales charge had been in effect for the entire period.

 

(2)   After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of fund shares at the end of the measurement period. After-tax returns shown above are for Class A shares only. After-tax returns for other share classes will vary.

 

(3)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

(4)   The MSCI Emerging Markets Index is an unmanaged index that measures the performance of those MSCI Emerging Markets companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted values. It is not possible to invest directly in the Index. An index does not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes. Index comparison begins on October 30, 1990. The average total returns of the MSCI Emerging Markets Index since the inception of each of the Class B and C shares are (        )% and (        )%, respectively.

 

Emerging Markets Equity Fund         5


 

Fee table

This table sets forth the fees and expenses you may pay if you invest in fund shares.

 

Shareholder Fees

 

(fees paid directly from your investment)   Class A     Class B     Class C     Class I (1)
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a % of offering price)   5.75 %   None     None     None
 
Maximum contingent deferred sales charge (load) (as a % of the lower of net asset value at purchase or redemption)   None ( 2 )   5.00 %   1.00 % (3)   None
 

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses (2)

 

(expenses deducted from fund assets)   Class A     Class B     Class C     Class I  
Management fee (4)   .85 %   .85 %   .85 %   .85 %
   
Distribution (12b-1) fees (includes service fees)   0.25 %   1.00 %   1.00 %   None  
   
Other expenses (5)       %         %         %         %  
   
Total annual fund operating expenses (6)       %         %         %         %  
   

*   Because of voluntary waivers and/or reimbursements, actual total annual operating expenses are expected to be:

      %         %         %         %  
   

 

     These voluntary fee waivers and reimbursements do not cover brokerage, taxes and extraordinary expenses and may be reduced or terminated at any time.

 

(1)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

(2)   You may buy Class A shares in amounts of $1,000,000 or more at net asset value (without an initial sales charge), but if you redeem those shares within 12 months of their purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

 

(3)   As of November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge is waived for retirement plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund.

 

(4)   The management fee has been restated to reflect current expenses. Effective October 1, 2005, the fund has a breakpoint fee schedule that reduces the management fee payable on assets up to $1 billion and in excess as follows: 0.850% on assets up to $1 billion, 0.825% on assets between $1 billion and $2 billion, 0.800% on assets between $2 billion and $5 billion, 0.775% on assets between $5 billion and $10 billion, and 0.750% on assets over $10 billion.

 

(5)   The amounts set forth in “Other expenses” for Class A, B, C, and I shares have been restated to reflect the estimated effect of new transfer agency and custody contracts which became effective January 1, 2006.

 

(6)   Based on fees and expenses for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006.

Example

This example helps you compare the costs of investing in the fund with the costs of investing in other mutual funds. Your actual costs may be higher or lower. The example assumes:

n   You invest $10,000 in the fund for the periods shown
n   Your investment has a 5% return each year — the assumption of a 5% return is required by the SEC for the purposes of this example and is not a prediction of the fund’s future performance
n   You reinvest all distributions and dividends without a sales charge
n   The fund’s operating expenses (before fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, if any) remain the same

 

6         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Number of Years You Own Your Shares

 

      1 year   3 years   5 years   10 years  

Class A (with or without redemption)

  $     $     $     $    
   

Class B (redemption at end of period)

  $     $     $     $ (1 )
   

Class B (no redemption)

  $     $     $     $ (1 )
   

Class C (redemption at end of period)

  $     $     $     $    
   

Class C (no redemption)

  $     $     $     $    
   

Class I (2) (with or without redemption)

  $     $     $     $    
   

 

(1)   Assumes conversion to Class A shares approximately eight years after purchase.

 

(2)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

Emerging Markets Equity Fund         7


 

More on the fund’s investments

The fund’s investment objectives and principal investment strategies are described under the section entitled “Investments, risks and performance above.” This section provides further information about the investment strategies that may be used by the fund. Although the fund invests primarily in equity securities, it may, but is not required to, invest in other securities of companies in emerging market nations or elsewhere, including debt securities.

Debt securities

Debt securities, other than convertible securities, must be rated investment grade when the fund purchases them, or if unrated, of comparable quality in the manager ‘s opinion. After the fund buys a bond, if the credit quality of the bond deteriorates below investment grade, the fund may continue to hold the bond, commonly known as a junk bond, but the manager will consider the change in rating in deciding whether to keep the security. Generally, the value of debt securities will decline if interest rates rise, the credit rating of the security is downgraded or the issuer defaults on its obligation to pay principal or interest. The prices of lower rated securities, especially junk bonds, often are more volatile than those of higher rated securities, and the security may be difficult to sell.

Convertible securities

Convertible securities, which are debt securities that may be converted into stock, are subject to the market risks of stocks as well as the risks of debt securities.

Equity-linked notes

Equity-linked notes, or ELNs, are securities that are valued based upon the performance of one or more equity securities, such as a stock index, a group of stocks or a single stock. ELNs offer investors the opportunity to participate in the appreciation of the underlying local equity securities where the fund may not have established local access. Investors in ELNs are subject to risk of loss of principal investment.

Portfolio turnover

The fund may engage in active and frequent trading to achieve its principal investment strategies. This may lead to the realization and distribution to shareholders of higher capital gains, which would increase their tax liability. Frequent trading also increases transaction costs, which could detract from the fund’s performance. The “Financial highlights” section of this prospectus shows the fund’s historical portfolio turnover rate.

Cash management

The fund may hold cash pending investment, and may invest in money market instruments, repurchase agreements and reverse repurchase agreements for cash management purposes.

 

8         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Defensive investing

The fund may depart from its principal investment strategies in response to adverse market, economic or political conditions by taking temporary defensive positions in any type of money market instrument and in short-term debt securities or cash without regard to any percentage limitations. If the fund takes a temporary defensive position, it may be unable to achieve its investment objective.

The fund may also use other strategies and invest in other securities that are described, along with their risks, in the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”). However, the fund might not use all of the strategies and techniques or invest in all of the types of securities described in this Prospectus or in the SAI. Also note that there are many other factors, which are not described here, that could adversely affect your investment and that could prevent the fund from achieving its goals.

The fund’s goals and strategies may be changed without shareholder approval.

Portfolio holdings

The fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the fund’s portfolio securities are described in the SAI.

 

Emerging Markets Equity Fund         9


 

Management

Manager and subadviser

Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC (“LMPFA” or the “manager”) is the fund’s investment manager. LMPFA, with offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022, is a recently organized investment adviser that has been formed to serve as the investment manager of the fund and other Legg Mason-sponsored funds. LMPFA provides administrative and certain oversight services to the fund. Legg Mason International Entities Limited (“LMIE” or the “subadviser”) provides the day-to-day portfolio management of the fund, except for the management of cash and short-term instruments which is performed by LMPFA.

LMPFA and LMIE are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”). Legg Mason, whose principal executive offices are at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, is a global asset management company. As of December 31, 2006, Legg Mason’s asset management operation had aggregate assets under management of approximately $             billion.

Prior to August 1, 2006, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”) was the fund’s investment manager. SBFM is also a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason.

Portfolio Manager

Aquico Wen, CFA, CPA, manages the day-to-day operations of the fund. Mr. Wen has been with LMIE or its predecessor since 1998 and has been managing the fund since its inception. He is supported by a team of investment professionals.

The SAI provides additional information about the portfolio manager’s compensation, other accounts managed by the portfolio manager and the portfolio manager’s ownership of securities of the fund, and has more detailed information about the manager, the subadviser and other fund service providers.

The subadviser’s compensation is payable by the manager.

Management fee

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, the fund paid a management fee of     % of the fund’s average daily net assets for management services. For the period from November 1, 2005 through July 31, 2006, the fund paid SBFM a management fee equal to             % of the fund’s average daily net assets. For the period from August 1, 2006 through October 31, 2006, the fund paid LMPFA a management fee equal to     % of the fund’s average daily net assets.

A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of the fund’s management agreement and subadvisory agreement is available in the fund’s Annual Report for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006. For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2005, the manager voluntarily waived all fees. Effective October 1, 2005, the manager receives fees for its services at the following rates based on assets under management: 0.850% on assets up to $1 billion, 0.825% on assets between $1 billion and $2 billion, 0.800% on assets between $2 billion and $5 billion, 0.775% on assets between $5 billion and $10 billion, and 0.750% on assets over $10 billion.

 

10         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Other Information

The fund’s Board has approved a number of initiatives designed to streamline and restructure the fund complex, and has authorized seeking shareholder approval for those initiatives where shareholder approval is required. These initiatives include the election of a new Board, the grouping of the fund for organizational and governance purposes with other funds in the fund complex that are predominantly equity-type funds, and the adoption of a single form of organization as a Maryland business trust, with all funds operating under uniform charter documents. Fund shareholders entitled to vote also have been asked to approve investment matters, including standardized fundamental investment policies. Proxy materials describing these matters were mailed in October, 2006. If shareholder approval is obtained, these matters generally are expected to be effectuated during the first half of 2007.

Distribution plan

Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC (“LMIS”), a wholly-owned broker-dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”) serve as the fund’s distributors. The fund has adopted a shareholder services and distribution plan for its Class A, B and C shares. Under the plan, the fund pays distribution and/or service fees. These fees are an ongoing expense and, over time, will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than other types of sales charges.

In addition, a distributor may make payments for distribution and/or shareholder servicing activities out of its past profits and other available sources. The distributor may also make payments to dealers for marketing, promotional or related expenses. The amount of these payments is determined by the distributor and may be substantial. The manager or an affiliate may make similar payments under similar arrangements.

The payments described in the paragraph above are often referred to as “revenue sharing payments.” The recipients of such payments may include the fund’s distributors, affiliates of the manager, broker / dealers, financial institutions and other financial intermediaries through which investors may purchase shares of the fund. In some circumstances, such payments may create an incentive for an intermediary or its employees or associated persons to recommend or sell shares of the fund to you. Please contact your financial intermediary for details about revenue sharing payments it may receive.

Recent developments

On May 31, 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission ( the “SEC”) issued an order in connection with the settlement of an administrative proceeding against SBFM, the then-investment adviser or manager to the fund, and CGMI, relating to the appointment of an affiliated transfer agent for the Smith Barney family of mutual funds (the “Affected Funds”).

The SEC order finds that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(1) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder (the “Advisers Act”). Specifically, the order finds that SBFM and CGMI knowingly or recklessly failed to disclose to the boards of the Affected Funds in 1999 when proposing a new transfer agent arrangement with an affiliated transfer agent that: First Data Investors Services Group (“First Data”), the Affected Funds’ then-existing transfer agent, had offered to

 

Emerging Markets Equity Fund         11


 

continue as transfer agent and do the same work for substantially less money than before; and that Citigroup Asset Management (“CAM”), the Citigroup business unit that, at the time, included the Affected Funds’ investment manager and other investment advisory companies, had entered into a side letter with First Data under which CAM agreed to recommend the appointment of First Data as sub-transfer agent to the affiliated transfer agent in exchange, among other things, for a guarantee by First Data of specified amounts of asset management and investment banking fees to CAM and CGMI. The order also finds that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act by virtue of the omissions discussed above and other misrepresentations and omissions in the materials provided to the Affected Funds’ boards, including the failure to make clear that the affiliated transfer agent would earn a high profit for performing limited functions while First Data continued to perform almost all of the transfer agent functions, and the suggestion that the proposed arrangement was in the Affected Funds’ best interests and that no viable alternatives existed.

SBFM and CGMI do not admit or deny any wrongdoing or liability. The settlement does not establish wrongdoing or liability for purposes of any other proceeding. The SEC censured SBFM and CGMI and ordered them to cease and desist from violations of Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Advisers Act. The order required Citigroup to pay $208.1 million, including $109 million in disgorgement of profits, $19.1 million in interest, and a civil money penalty of $80 million. Approximately $24.4 million has already been paid to the Affected Funds, primarily through fee waivers. The remaining $183.7 million, including the penalty, has been paid to the U.S. Treasury and will be distributed pursuant to a plan submitted for the approval of the SEC. At this time, there is no certainty as to how the above-described proceeds of the settlement will be distributed, to whom such distributions will be made, the methodology by which such distributions will be allocated, and when such distributions will be made. The order also required that transfer agency fees received from the Affected Funds since December 1, 2004, less certain expenses, be placed in escrow and provided that a portion of such fees might be subsequently distributed in accordance with the terms of the order. On April 3, 2006, an aggregate amount of approximately $9 million held in escrow was distributed to the Affected Funds.

The order required SBFM to recommend a new transfer agent contract to the Fund boards within 180 days of the entry of the order; if a Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent or sub-transfer agent, SBFM and CGMI would have been required, at their expense, to engage an independent monitor to oversee a competitive bidding process. On November 21, 2005, and within the specified timeframe, the Affected Funds’ Boards selected a new transfer agent for the Affected Funds. No Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent. Under the order, SBFM also must comply with an amended version of a vendor policy that Citigroup instituted in August 2004.

Although there can be no assurance, the manager does not believe that this matter will have a material adverse effect on the Affected Funds.

On December 1, 2005, Citigroup completed the sale of substantially all of its global asset management business, including SBFM, to Legg Mason.

 

12         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Choosing a class of shares to buy

Individual investors can generally choose among three classes of shares: Classes A, B and C shares. Individual investors that held Class I (formerly Class Y) shares prior to November 20, 2006, may continue to invest in Class I shares. Institutional and retirement plan investors and clients of financial intermediaries should refer to “Retirement and institutional investors” below for a description of the classes available to them. Each class has different sales charges and expenses, allowing you to choose the class that best meets your needs.

When choosing which class of shares to buy, you should consider:

n   How much you plan to invest
n   How long you expect to own the shares
n   The expenses paid by each class detailed in the Fee Table and Example at the front of this prospectus
n   Whether you qualify for any reduction or waiver of sales charges

If you are choosing between Class A and Class B shares, it will in almost all cases be the more economical choice for you to purchase Class A shares if you plan to purchase shares in an amount of $100,000 or more (whether in a single purchase or through aggregation of eligible holdings). This is because of the reduced sales charge available on larger investments of Class A shares and the lower ongoing expenses of Class A shares compared to Class B shares.

If you intend to invest for only a few years, the effect of Class B contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions made within five years of purchase, as well as the effect of higher expenses of that class, might make an investment in Class C more appropriate. There is no initial sales charge on Class C shares, and the contingent deferred sales charge does not apply to shares redeemed one year after purchase.

However, if you plan to invest a large amount and your investment horizon is five years or more, Class C shares might not be as advantageous as Class A shares. This is because the annual asset-based sales charge on Class C shares will have a greater impact on your account over the longer term than the reduced front-end sales charge available for larger purchases of Class A shares.

You may buy shares from:

n   Certain broker / dealers, financial intermediaries, financial institutions or a distributor’s financial advisors or registered representatives (each called a “Service Agent”)
n   The fund, but only if you are investing through certain qualified plans or Service Agents

Different types of shareholder services may be available to you under arrangements offered by different Service Agents. In addition, these services may vary depending on the share class in which you choose to invest. In making your decision regarding which share class may be best for you, please keep in mind that your Service Agent may receive different compensation depending on the share class in which you invest. Investors should consult with their Service Agent about comparative pricing of shareholder services available to them under each available share class, the compensation that will be received by their Service Agent in connection with each available share class, and other factors that may be relevant to the investor’s choice of share class in which to invest.

 

Emerging Markets Equity Fund         13


 

Not all classes of shares are available through each Service Agent. You should contact your Service Agent for further information.

Investment minimums

Minimum initial and additional investment amounts vary depending on the class of shares you buy and the nature of your investment account.

 

   

Investment Minimum

Initial/Additional Investment (1)

      Class A   Class B   Class C   Class I
(formerly Y)

General

  $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50     N/A
 

IRAs and Uniform Gifts or Transfers to Minor Accounts

  $ 250/$50   $ 250/$50   $ 250/$50     N/A
 

SIMPLE IRAs

  $ 1/$1   $ 1/$1   $ 1/$1     N/A
 

Systematic Investment Plans

  $ 25/$25   $ 25/$25   $ 25/$25     N/A
 

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries

  $ 1/$1     N/A     N/A     None/None
 

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund

    None/None     N/A     None/None     None/None
 

Other Retirement Plans

  $ 50/$50   $ 50/$50   $ 50/$50     N/A
 

Institutional Investors

  $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50   $ 1 million/None
 
(1)   Please refer to the section entitled “Retirement and institutional investors” for additional information regarding the investment minimums and eligibility requirements for Retirement Plans, Institutional Investors and Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries.

More information about the fund’s classes of shares is available through the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website. You’ll find detailed information about sales charges and ways you can qualify for reduced or waived sales charges, including:

n   The front-end sales charges that apply to the purchase of Class A shares
n   The contingent deferred sales charges that apply to the redemption of Class B shares, Class C shares and certain Class A shares (redeemed within one year)
n   Who qualifies for lower sales charges on Class A shares
n   Who qualifies for a sales load waiver

Look at http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices and click on the name of the fund.

 

14         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Comparing the fund’s classes

The following table compares key features of the fund’s classes. You should review the Fee Table and Example at the front of this prospectus carefully before choosing your share class. Your Service Agent can help you decide which class meets your goals. Your Service Agent may receive different compensation depending upon which class you choose.

 

      Class A   Class B   Class C   Class I
(formerly Y )
Key features  

n  Initial sales charge

n  You may qualify for reduction or waiver of initial sales charge

n  Generally lower annual expenses than Class B and Class C

 

n  No initial sales charge

n  Contingent deferred sales charge declines over time

n  Converts to Class A after approximately 8 years

n  Generally higher annual expenses than Class A

 

n  No initial sales charge

n  Contingent deferred sales charge for only 1 year

n  Does not convert to Class A

n  Generally higher annual expenses than Class A

 

n  No initial or contingent deferred sales charge

n  Only offered to institutional and other eligible investors

n  Generally lower expenses than the other classes

Initial sales charge  

Up to 5.75 %; reduced or waived for large purchases and certain investors. No charge for purchases of $1 million or more

 

None

 

None

 

None

Contingent deferred sales charge  

1.00% on purchases of $1 million or more if you redeem within 1 year of purchase; waived for certain investors

 

Up to 5.00% charged when you redeem shares. The charge is reduced over time and there is no contingent deferred sales charge after 5 years; waived for certain investors

 

1.00% if you redeem within 1 year of purchase ; waived for certain retirement plan investors

 

None

Annual distribution and service fees  

0.25% of average daily net assets

 

1.00 % of average daily net assets

 

1.00 % of average daily net assets

 

None

Exchangeable into (1)  

Class A shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class B shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class C shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class I shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

(1)   Ask your Service Agent for the Legg Mason Partners Funds available for exchange.

 

Emerging Markets Equity Fund         15


 

Sales charge

Class A shares

You buy Class A shares at the offering price, which is the net asset value plus a sales charge. You pay a lower sales charge as the size of your investment increases to certain levels called breakpoints. You do not pay a sales charge on the fund’s distributions or dividends you reinvest in additional Class A shares.

The table below shows the rate of sales charge you pay, depending on the amount you purchase, for purchases made on or after November 20, 2006. The table below also shows the amount of broker-dealer compensation that will be paid out of the sales charge. For Class A shares sold by LMIS, LMIS will receive the sales charge imposed on purchases of Class A shares (or any contingent deferred sales charge paid on redemptions) and will retain the full amount of such sales charge. For Class A shares sold by CGMI, CGMI will receive the sales charge imposed on purchases of Class A shares and will retain an amount equal to the broker-dealer commission paid out of the sales charge. LMIS will receive any portion not retained by CGMI. Service Agents (including CGMI) will also receive a distribution/service fee payable on Class A shares at an annual rate of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class A shares serviced by them.

 

Amount of purchase   Sales Charge
as % of
offering price (%)
  Sales Charge
as % of net
amount invested (%)
  Broker/Dealer
Commission
as % of
offering price

Less than $25,000

  5.75   6.10   5.00
 

$25,000 but less than $50,000

  5.00   5.26   4.25
 

$50,000 but less than $100,000

  4.50   4.71   3.75
 

$100,000 but less than $250,000

  3.50   3.63   2.75
 

$250,000 but less than $500,000

  2.50   2.56   2.00
 

$500,000 but less than $750,000

  2.00   2.04   1.60
 

$750,000 but less than $1,000,000

  1.50   1.52   1.20
 

$1,000,000 or more (1)

  -0-   -0-   up to 1.00
 

 

(1)   A distributor may pay a commission of up to 1.00% to a Service Agent for purchase amounts of $1 million or more. In such cases, starting in the thirteenth month after purchase, the Service Agent will also receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class A shares held by its clients. Prior to the thirteenth month, the distributor will retain the fee. Where the Service Agent does not receive the payment of this commission, the Service Agent will instead receive the annual distribution/service fee starting immediately after purchase. Please contact your Service Agent for more information.

Investments of $1,000,000 or more

You do not pay an initial sales charge when you buy $1,000,000 or more of Class A shares. However, if you redeem these Class A shares within one year of purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

Qualifying for a reduced Class A sales charge

There are several ways you can combine multiple purchases of Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds to take advantage of the breakpoints in the sales charge schedule. In order to take advantage of reductions in sales charges that may be available to you when

 

16         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

you purchase fund shares, you must inform your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services if you have entered into a letter of intent or a right of accumulation and if you own shares of other Legg Mason Partners Funds that are eligible to be aggregated with your purchases. Certain records, such as account statements, may be necessary in order to verify your eligibility for reduced sales charges.

n   Accumulation privilege – allows you to combine the current value of Class A shares of the fund with other shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds that are owned by:
  ¨   you; or
  ¨   your spouse and children under the age of 21 with the dollar amount of your next purchase of Class A shares for purposes of calculating the initial sales charge.

Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or its affiliates (other than money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners Funds), Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. may not be combined.

If you hold shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds in accounts at two or more Service Agents, please contact your Service Agents to determine which shares may be combined.

Certain trustees and fiduciaries may be entitled to combine accounts in determining their sales charge.

n   Letter of intent – allows you to purchase Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds over a 13-month period and pay the same sales charge on Class A shares, if any, as if all shares had been purchased at once. At the time you enter into the letter of intent, you select your asset goal amount. Generally, purchases of Legg Mason Partners Fund shares that are purchased during the 13-month period by
  ¨   you; or
  ¨   your spouse and children under the age of 21

are eligible for inclusion under the letter, based on the public offering price at the time of the purchase, and any capital appreciation on those shares. You may also backdate your letter up to 90 days in which case eligible purchases made during that period will be treated as purchases made under the letter. In addition, you can include towards your asset goal amount the current value of any eligible purchases that were made prior to the date of entering into the letter of intent and are still held.

If you hold shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds in accounts at two or more Service Agents, please contact your Service Agents to determine which shares may be credited towards your letter of intent asset goal.

Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or is affiliate (other than money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners Funds) and Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. may not be credited toward your letter of intent asset goal.

If you do not meet your asset goal amount, shares in the amount of any sales charges due, based on the amount of your actual purchases, will be redeemed from your account.

Waivers for certain Class A investors

Class A initial sales charges are waived for certain types of investors, including:

n   Employees of Service Agents having dealer, service or other selling agreements with the fund’s distributors

 

Emerging Markets Equity Fund         17


 

n   Investors who redeemed Class A shares of a Legg Mason Partners Fund in the past 60 days, if the investor’s Service Agent is notified
n   Directors and officers of any Legg Mason-sponsored fund
n   Employees of Legg Mason and its subsidiaries

If you qualify for a waiver of the Class A initial sales charge, you must notify your Service Agent or the transfer agent at the time of purchase and provide sufficient information at the time of purchase to permit verifications that the purchase qualifies for the initial sales charge waiver.

If you want to learn about additional waivers of Class A initial sales charges, contact your Service Agent, consult the SAI or look at the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website: http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices, and click on the name of the fund.

Class B shares

You buy Class B shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. However, if you redeem your Class B shares within five years of your purchase payment, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge. The contingent deferred sales charge decreases as the number of years since your purchase payment increases.

 

Year after purchase   1st     2nd     3rd     4th     5th     6th through 8th  

Contingent deferred sales charge

  5 %   4 %   3 %   2 %   1 %   0 %
   

LMIS will pay Service Agents, including CGMI, selling Class B shares a commission of up to 4.00 % of the purchase price of the Class B shares they sell, and LMIS will retain the contingent deferred sales charges. Service Agents also receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class B shares serviced by them.

Class B conversion

After approximately 8 years, Class B shares automatically convert into Class A shares. This helps you because Class A shares have lower annual expenses. Your Class B shares will convert to Class A shares as follows:

 

Shares issued:

At initial purchase

  

Shares issued:

On reinvestment of
dividends and
distributions

  

Shares issued:

Upon exchange from
another Legg Mason
Partners Fund

Approximately 8 years after the date of purchase payment    In same proportion as the number of Class B shares converting is to total Class B shares you own (excluding shares issued as dividends)    On the date the shares originally acquired would have converted into Class A shares
 

Class C shares

You buy Class C shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. However, if you redeem your Class C shares within one year of purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

 

18         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

LMIS will generally pay Service Agents selling Class C shares (other than shares sold to omnibus accounts of retirement plans held on the books of the fund) a commission of up to 1.00% of the purchase price of the Class C shares they sell and LMIS will retain the contingent deferred sales charges and an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class C shares serviced by these Service Agents until the thirteenth month after purchase. Starting in the thirteenth month after purchase, these Service Agents will receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class C shares serviced by them.

Class I shares (formerly Class Y shares)

Class I shares are purchased at net asset value with no initial sales charge and no contingent deferred sales charge when redeemed. See “Retirement and institutional investors — Class I shares” below for additional information regarding investor eligibility and investment minimums.

 

Emerging Markets Equity Fund         19


 

More about contingent deferred sales charges

The contingent deferred sales charge is based on the net asset value at the time of purchase or redemption, whichever is less, and therefore you do not pay a sales charge on amounts representing appreciation or depreciation.

In addition, you do not pay a contingent deferred sales charge on:

n   Shares exchanged for shares of another Legg Mason Partners Fund
n   Shares representing reinvested distributions and dividends
n   Shares no longer subject to the contingent deferred sales charge

Each time you place a request to redeem shares, the fund will first redeem any shares in your account that are not subject to a contingent deferred sales charge and then the shares in your account that have been held the longest.

If you redeemed shares of a Legg Mason Partners Fund and paid a contingent deferred sales charge, you may, under certain circumstances, reinvest all or part of the redemption proceeds within 60 days and receive pro rata credit for any contingent deferred sales charge imposed on the prior redemption. Please contact your Service Agent for additional information.

The fund’s distributors receive contingent deferred sales charges as partial compensation for its expenses in selling shares, including the payment of compensation to your Service Agent.

Contingent deferred sales charge waivers

The contingent deferred sales charge for each share Class will generally be waived:

n   On payments made through certain systematic withdrawal plans
n   On certain distributions from a retirement plan
n   For involuntary redemptions of small account balances
n   For 12 months following the death or disability of a shareholder

If you want to learn about additional waivers of contingent deferred sales charges, contact your Service Agent, consult the SAI, or look at the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website: http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices, and click on the name of the fund.

 

20         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Retirement and institutional investors

Eligible investors

Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund can generally choose among three classes of shares: Class C, Class A and Class I (formerly Class Y) shares.

“Retirement Plans” include 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit-sharing plans, non-qualified deferred compensation plans and other similar employer-sponsored retirement plans. Retirement Plans do not include individual retirement vehicles, such as traditional and Roth individual retirement accounts, Coverdell education savings accounts, individual 403(b)(7) custodial accounts, Keogh plans, SEPs, SARSEPs, SIMPLE IRAs, or Section 529 savings accounts. Although Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund are not subject to minimum initial investment requirements for any of these share classes, certain investment minimums may be imposed by a financial intermediary.

Other Retirement Plan investors (including, for example, employer-sponsored plans investing through brokerage accounts), can generally choose among three classes of shares: Class A, Class B and Class C. Individual retirement vehicles, such as IRAs, may also choose among these share classes. These types of investors are treated like individual investors for purposes of determining investment minimums, sales charges and any applicable sales charge reductions or waivers.

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries may generally choose between two classes of shares: Class A and Class I. “Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries” are investors who invest in the fund through financial intermediaries that offer their clients fund shares through investment programs as authorized by LMIS. Such investment programs may include fee-based advisory or brokerage account programs, and college savings vehicles such as Section 529 plans. The financial intermediary may impose separate investment minimums.

Institutional Investors

Institutional Investors may invest in Class I shares if they meet the $1,000,000 minimum initial investment requirement. Institutional Investors may also invest in Class A, B and C shares, which have different investment minimums and fees and expenses. “Institutional Investors” generally include corporations, banks, insurance companies, foundations, retirement plans and other similar entities with direct relationships to the fund.

Class C — Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund may buy Class C shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. As of November 20, 2006, LMIS no longer pays Service Agents selling Class C shares to retirement plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of a fund a commission on the purchase price of Class C shares sold by them. Instead, immediately after purchase, LMIS will pay these Service Agents an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class C shares serviced by them. For purchases made by Retirement

 

Emerging Markets Equity Fund         21


 

Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund on or after November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge on shares redeemed within one year of purchase is waived.

Class I

As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares and are offered only to Institutional Investors who meet the $1,000,000 minimum initial investment requirement, Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries, and other investors as authorized by LMIS. However, investors that held Class I shares prior to that date will be permitted to make additional investments in Class I shares.

Class A — Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund may purchase Class A shares through programs sponsored by financial intermediaries. Under these programs, the initial sales charge and contingent deferred sales charge for Class A shares is waived where:

n   Such Retirement Plan’s record keeper offers only load-waived shares,
n   Fund shares are held on the books of the fund through an omnibus account, and
n   The Retirement Plan has more than 100 participants, or has total assets exceeding $1 million

As of November 20, 2006, LMIS no longer pays Service Agents selling Class A shares to Retirement Plans with a direct omnibus relationship with a fund a commission on the purchase price of Class A shares sold by them. However, for certain Retirement Plans that are permitted to purchase shares at net asset value on or after this date, LMIS may continue to pay Service Agents commissions of up to 1.00% of the purchase price of the additional Class A shares that are purchased with regular ongoing plan contributions. Please contact your Service Agent for more information.

Other considerations

Plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries and other financial intermediaries may choose to impose qualification requirements for plans that differ from the fund’s share class eligibility standards. In certain cases this could result in the selection of a share class with higher service and distribution-related fees than otherwise would have been charged. The fund is not responsible for, and has no control over, the decision of any plan sponsor, plan fiduciary or financial intermediary to impose such differing requirements. Please consult with your plan sponsor, plan fiduciary or financial intermediary for more information about available share classes.

With respect to Class A and Class C shares, the fund may pay a fee for recordkeeping services performed for the applicable share class.

Not all share classes may be made available by your Service Agent; please contact your Service Agent for additional details.

 

22         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Buying shares

 

Through a Service Agent   

You should contact your Service Agent to open a brokerage account and make arrangements to buy shares. You must provide the following information, for your order to be processed:

n  Class of shares being bought

n  Dollar amount or number of shares being bought

n  Account number (if existing account)

Your Service Agent may charge an annual account maintenance fee.

 
Through the fund   

Financial intermediary accounts, retirement plan accounts and certain other investors who are clients of certain Service Agents are eligible to buy shares directly from the fund.

n  Write to the fund at the following address:

Legg Mason Partners Funds

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9699

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699

n  Enclose a check to pay for the shares. For initial purchases, complete and send an account application available upon request from Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at the number below

n  Specify the name of the fund, the share class you wish to purchase and your account number (if existing fund)

n  For more information, please call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010.

 
Through a systematic investment plan   

You may authorize your Service Agent or the transfer agent to transfer funds automatically from (i) a regular bank account, (ii) cash held in a brokerage account with a Service Agent or (iii) certain money market funds, in order to buy shares on a regular basis.

n  Amounts transferred should be at least $25

n  Amounts may be transferred monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually

n  If you do not have sufficient funds in your account on a transfer date, your Service Agent or the transfer agent may charge you a fee

 

For more information, contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services or consult the SAI.

 

Emerging Markets Equity Fund         23


 

Exchanging shares

 

Legg Mason Partners offers a distinctive family of funds tailored to help meet the varying needs of both large and small investors   

You should contact your Service Agent to exchange into other Legg Mason Partners Funds. Be sure to read the prospectus of the Legg Mason Partners Fund into which you are exchanging. An exchange is a taxable transaction, unless you are investing through a tax-qualified savings plan or account.

n  If you bought shares through a Service Agent, you may exchange shares only for shares of the same class of certain other Legg Mason Partners Funds made available for exchange by your Service Agent. Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds made available for exchange by your Service Agent may offer all classes. Please contact your Service Agent for more information about the funds and classes that are available for exchange

n  If you bought shares directly from the fund, you may exchange shares only for shares of the same class of another Legg Mason Partners Fund other than shares of Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund. Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds offer all classes

n  You may exchange Class A, Class B, Class C and Class Y shares only for shares of the same class of another Smith Barney fund. Not all Smith Barney funds offer all classes.

n  Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds may be offered in your state of residence. Contact your Service Agent or the transfer agent for further information

n  Exchanges of Class A, Class B and Class C shares are subject to minimum investment requirements (except for systematic investment plan exchanges), and all shares are subject to the other requirements of the fund into which exchanges are made.

n  The fund may suspend or terminate your exchange privilege if you engage in an excessive pattern of exchanges.

 
Waiver of additional sales charges   

Your shares will not be subject to an initial sales charge at the time of the exchange.

Your contingent deferred sales charge (if any) will continue to be measured from the date of your original purchase of shares subject to a contingent deferred sales charge and you will be subject to the contingent deferred sales charge of the fund that you originally purchased.

 
By telephone    If you do not have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, you may be eligible to exchange shares through the fund. You must complete an authorization form to authorize telephone transfers. If eligible, you may make telephone exchanges on any day the New York Stock Exchange Inc. (“NYSE”) is open. Shareholders should call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time). Exchanges are priced at the net asset value next determined.

 

24         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

  

You can make telephone exchanges only between accounts that have identical registrations.

 
By mail    If you do not have a brokerage account, contact your Service Agent or write to the fund at the address on the following page.
 

Through a

systematic

exchange plan

  

You may be permitted to schedule exchanges of shares of any class of the fund for shares of the same class of other Legg Mason Partners Funds.

n  Exchanges may be made, monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually

n  A predetermined dollar amount of at least $25 per exchange is required

 

For more information please contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services.

 

Emerging Markets Equity Fund         25


 

Redeeming shares

 

Generally   

Contact your Service Agent to redeem shares of the fund.

If the shares are held by a fiduciary or corporation, other documents may be required.

Redemptions are priced at net asset value next determined after receipt of your request in good order.

Your redemption proceeds will normally be sent within three business days after your request is received in good order, but in any event within 7 days. Your redemption proceeds may be delayed for up to 10 days if your purchase was made by check.

If you have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, your redemption proceeds will be sent to your Service Agent. In other cases, unless you direct otherwise, your redemption proceeds will be paid by check mailed to your address of record.

 
By mail   

Send written requests to the fund at the following address:

Legg Mason Partners Fund

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9699

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699

Your written request must provide the following:

n  The fund name, the class of shares to be redeemed, and your account number

n  The dollar amount or number of shares to be redeemed

n  Signatures of each owner exactly as the account is registered

¨    Signature guarantee, as applicable

 
By telephone   

If you do not have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, you may be eligible to redeem shares (except those held in certain retirement plans) in amounts up to $50,000 per day through the fund. You must complete an authorization form to authorize telephone redemptions. If eligible, you may request redemptions by telephone on any day the NYSE is open. Shareholders should call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time).

Your redemption proceeds can be sent by check to your address of record or by wire or electronic transfer (ACH) to a bank account designated on your authorization form. You must submit a new authorization form to change the bank account designated to receive wire or electronic transfers and you may be asked to provide certain other documents. The transfer agent may charge a fee on a wire or an electronic transfer (ACH).

 

 

26         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Automatic cash withdrawal plans   

You can arrange for the automatic redemption of a portion of your shares monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually. To qualify you must own shares of the fund with a value of at least $10,000 ($5,000 for retirement plan accounts) and each automatic redemption must be at least $50. If your shares are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge, the sales charge will be waived if your automatic

n  redemptions are equal to or less than 2.00% per month of your account balance on the date the withdrawals commence, up to a maximum of 12.00% in any one year. In order to qualify for an automatic cash withdrawal plan, all dividends and distributions must be reinvested.

 

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or consult the SAI.

 

Emerging Markets Equity Fund         27


 

Other things to know about transactions

When you buy, exchange or redeem shares, your request must be in good order. This means you have provided the following information, without which your request may not be processed:

n   Name of the fund
n   Your account number
n   Class of shares being bought, and if you own more than one class, the class of shares being exchanged or redeemed
n   Dollar amount or number of shares being bought, exchanged or redeemed
n   Signature of each owner exactly as the account is registered

The transfer agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services will employ reasonable procedures to confirm that any telephone exchange or redemption request is genuine, which may include recording calls, asking a caller to provide certain personal identification information, sending you a written confirmation or requiring other confirmation procedures from time to time. If these procedures are followed, neither the fund nor the transfer agent will bear any liability for such transactions.

Signature guarantees

To be in good order, your redemption request must include a signature guarantee if you:

n   Are redeeming over $50,000
n   Instruct the transfer agent to mail the check to an address different from the one on your account registration
n   Changed your account registration or your address within 30 days
n   Want the check paid to someone other than the account owner(s)
n   Are transferring the redemption proceeds to an account with a different registration

You can obtain a signature guarantee from most banks, dealers, brokers, credit unions and federal savings and loan institutions, but not from a notary public.

The fund has the right to:

n   Suspend the offering of shares
n   Waive or change minimum and additional investment amounts
n   Reject any purchase or exchange order
n   Change, revoke or suspend the exchange privilege
n   Suspend telephone transactions
n   Suspend or postpone redemptions of shares on any day when trading on the NYSE is restricted, or as otherwise permitted by the Securities and Exchange Commission
n   Pay redemption proceeds by giving you securities. You may pay transaction costs to dispose of the securities

Small account balances/mandatory redemptions

If at any time the aggregate net asset value of the fund shares in your account is less than $500 for any reason (including solely due to declines in net asset value and/or failure to invest at least $500 within a reasonable period), the fund reserves the right to ask you to bring your account up to the applicable minimum investment amount as determined by your Service Agent. In such case you shall be notified in writing and will have 60 days to

 

28         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

make an additional investment to bring your account value up to the required level. If you choose not to do so within this 60 day period, the fund may close your account and send you the redemption proceeds. In the event your account is closed due to a failure to increase your balance to the minimum required amount, you will not be eligible to have your account subsequently reinstated without imposition of any sales charges that may apply to your new purchase. The fund may, with prior notice, change the minimum size of accounts subject to mandatory redemption, which may vary by class, or implement fees for small accounts.

Subject to applicable law, the fund may, with prior notice, adopt other policies from time to time requiring mandatory redemption of shares in certain circumstances.

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or the transfer agent or consult the SAI.

Frequent purchases and sales of fund shares

Frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares may interfere with the efficient management of a fund’s portfolio by its portfolio manager, increase portfolio transaction costs, and have a negative effect on a fund’s long term shareholders. For example, in order to handle large flows of cash into and out of the fund, the portfolio manager may need to allocate more assets to cash or other short-term investments or sell securities, rather than maintaining full investment in securities selected to achieve the fund’s investment objective. Frequent trading may cause the fund to sell securities at less favorable prices. Transaction costs, such as brokerage commissions and market spreads, can detract from the fund’s performance. In addition, the return received by long — term shareholders may be reduced when trades by other shareholders are made in an effort to take advantage of certain pricing discrepancies, when, for example, it is believed that the fund’s share price, which is determined at the close of the New York Stock Exchange on each trading day, does not accurately reflect the value of the fund’s portfolio securities. Funds investing in foreign securities have been particularly susceptible to this form of arbitrage, but other funds could also be affected.

Because of the potential harm to the fund and its long term shareholders, the Board of Trustees of the fund has approved policies and procedures that are intended to discourage and prevent excessive trading and market timing abuses through the use of various surveillance techniques. Under these policies and procedures, the fund may limit additional exchanges or purchases of fund shares by shareholders who are believed by the manager to be engaged in these abusive trading activities. The intent of the policies and procedures is not to inhibit legitimate strategies, such as asset allocation, dollar cost averaging, or similar activities that may nonetheless result in frequent trading of fund shares. For this reason, the Board has not adopted any specific restrictions on purchases and sales of fund shares, but the fund reserves the right to reject any exchange or purchase of fund shares with or without prior notice to the account holder. In cases where surveillance of a particular account establishes what the manager believes to be obvious market timing, the manager will seek to block future purchases and exchanges of fund shares by that account. Where surveillance of a particular account indicates activity that the manager believes could be either abusive or for legitimate purposes, the fund may permit the account holder to justify the activity.

 

Emerging Markets Equity Fund         29


 

The policies apply to any account, whether an individual account or accounts with financial intermediaries such as investment advisers, broker/dealers or retirement plan administrators, commonly called omnibus accounts, where the intermediary holds fund shares for a number of its customers in one account. The fund’s ability to monitor trading in omnibus accounts may, however, be severely limited due to the lack of access to an individual investor’s trading activity when orders are placed through these types of accounts. There may also be operational and technological limitations on the ability of the fund’s service providers to identify or terminate frequent trading activity within the various types of omnibus accounts.

The fund’s policies also require personnel such as portfolio managers and investment staff to report any abnormal or otherwise suspicious investment activity, and prohibit short-term trades by such personnel for their own account in mutual funds managed by the manager and its affiliates, other than money market funds. Additionally, the fund has adopted policies and procedures to prevent the selective release of information about the fund’s portfolio holdings, as such information may be used for market-timing and similar abusive practices.

The fund’s policies provide for ongoing assessment of the effectiveness of current policies and surveillance tools, and the Board reserves the right to modify these or adopt additional policies and restrictions in the future. Shareholders should be aware, however, that any surveillance techniques currently employed by the fund or other techniques that may be adopted in the future, may not be effective particularly where the trading takes place through certain types of omnibus accounts. As noted above, if the fund is unable to detect and deter trading abuses, the fund’s performance, and its long-term shareholders, may be harmed. In addition, because the fund has not adopted any specific limitations or restrictions on the trading of fund shares, shareholders may be harmed by the extra costs and portfolio management inefficiencies that result from frequent trading of fund shares, even when the trading is not for abusive purposes. Furthermore, the fund may not apply its policies consistently or uniformly, resulting in the risk that some shareholders may be able to engage in frequent trading while other will bear the costs and effects of that trading. The fund will provide advance notice to shareholders and prospective investors of any specific restrictions on the trading of fund shares that the board may adopt in the future.

Share certificates

Share certificates for the fund will not be issued.

Record ownership

If you hold shares through a Service Agent, your Service Agent may establish and maintain your account and be the shareholder of record. In the event that the fund holds a shareholder meeting, your Service Agent, as record holder, will vote your shares in accordance with your instructions. If you do not give your Service Agent voting instructions, your Service Agent may nonetheless, under certain circumstances, be entitled to vote your shares.

 

30         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Dividends, distributions and taxes

Dividends and distributions

The fund generally pays dividends and makes capital gain distributions, if any, once a year, typically in December. The fund may pay additional distributions and dividends at other times if necessary for the fund to avoid a federal tax. The fund expects distributions to be primarily from capital gains. You do not pay a sales charge on reinvested distributions or dividends. Capital gain distributions and dividends are reinvested in additional fund shares of the same class you hold. Alternatively, you can instruct your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services to have your distributions and/or dividends paid in cash. You can change your choice at any time to be effective as of the next distribution or dividend.

Taxes

The following discussion is very general. Because each shareholder’s circumstances are different and special tax rules may apply, you should consult your tax adviser about your investment in the fund.

In general, you will have to pay federal income taxes, as well as any state and local taxes, when you redeem shares, exchange shares or receive a distribution (whether paid in cash or reinvested in additional shares). Any tax liability that you owe as a result of any of these taxable events is your responsibility. The federal income tax treatment of redemptions, exchanges and distributions is summarized in the following table:

 

Transaction    Federal tax status
Redemption or exchange of shares    Usually capital gain or loss; long-term only if shares owned more than one year
 
Distributions of net capital gain (excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss)    Long-term capital gain
 
Distributions of qualified dividend income    Qualified dividend income
 
Ordinary dividends (including distributions of net short-term capital gain)    Ordinary income
 

Distributions of net capital gain are taxable to you as long-term capital gain regardless of how long you have owned your shares. Distributions of qualified dividend income received by a non-corporate shareholder may qualify for a reduced tax rate, provided that the shareholder satisfies certain holding period requirements. Qualified dividend income generally is income derived from dividends from a U.S. corporation. Dividends from certain foreign corporations will also qualify. You may want to avoid buying shares when the fund is about to declare a capital gain distribution or a dividend, because it will be taxable to you even though it may effectively be a return of a portion of your investment.

After the end of each year, your servicing agent or the fund will provide you with information about the distributions and dividends you received and any redemptions of shares during the previous year. If you are neither a citizen nor a resident of the United States, the fund will withhold federal income tax at the rate of 30% (or such lower rate as may determined in accordance with any applicable treaty) on ordinary dividends and other payments that are subject to such withholding. If you do not provide the fund with your

 

Emerging Markets Equity Fund         31


 

correct taxpayer identification number and any required certifications, you will be subject to back-up withholding at the rate of 28% on your distributions, dividends, and redemption proceeds. Back-up withholding will not, however, be applied to payments that have been subject to the 30% withholding tax on shareholders who are neither citizens nor residents of the United States.

 

32         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Share price

You may buy, exchange or redeem shares at their net asset value next determined after receipt of your request in good order, plus any applicable sales charge. The fund’s net asset value per share is the value of its assets minus its liabilities divided by the number of shares outstanding. Net asset value is calculated separately for each class of shares. The fund calculates its net asset value every day the NYSE is open. This calculation is done when regular trading closes on the NYSE (normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern time). The NYSE is closed on certain holidays listed in the SAI.

The fund invests in securities that are listed on foreign exchanges that trade on weekends and other days when the fund does not price its shares. Therefore, the value of the fund’s shares may change on days when you will not be able to purchase or redeem the fund’s shares.

The fund’s Board has approved procedures to be used to value the fund’s securities for the purposes of determining the fund’s net asset value. The valuation of the securities of the fund is determined in good faith by or under the direction of the fund’s Board. The fund’s Board has delegated certain valuation functions for the fund to the manager.

The fund generally values its securities based on market prices determined at the close of regular trading on the NYSE. The fund’s currency valuations, if any, are done as of when the London Stock Exchange closes, which is usually at 12 noon Eastern time, as the manager believes that these valuations typically reflect the largest trading volume in the foreign currency markets. A material change in the value of currency during the period between the close of the London Stock Exchange and the calculation of the fund’s net asset value on the same date is considered a significant event, as described below, in response to which the fund may use fair valuation procedures to value the affected investments. For equity securities that are traded on an exchange, the market price is usually the closing sale or official closing price on that exchange. In the case of securities not traded on an exchange, or if such closing prices are not otherwise available, the market price is typically determined by independent third party pricing vendors approved by the fund’s Board using a variety of pricing techniques and methodologies. The market price for debt obligations is generally the price supplied by an independent third party pricing service approved by the fund’s Board, which may use a matrix, formula or other objective method that takes into consideration market indices, yield curves and other specific adjustments. Short-term debt obligations that will mature in 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, unless it is determined that using this method would not reflect an investment’s fair value. If vendors are unable to supply a price, or if the price supplied is deemed by the manager to be unreliable, the market price may be determined using quotations received from one or more brokers/dealers that make a market in the security. When such prices or quotations are not available, or when the manager believes that they are unreliable, the manager may price securities using fair value procedures approved by the Board. Because the fund invests in securities of issuers located in emerging markets — some of which may be thinly traded, for which market quotations may not be readily available or may be unreliable — the fund may use fair valuation procedures more frequently than funds that invest primarily in securities that are more liquid, such as securities of large capitalization domestic issuers. The fund may also use fair value procedures if the manager determines that a significant event

 

Emerging Markets Equity Fund         33


 

has occurred between the time at which a market price is determined and the time at which the fund’s net asset value is calculated. In particular, the value of foreign securities may be materially affected by events occurring after the close of the market on which they are valued, but before the fund prices its shares. The fund uses a fair value model developed by an independent third party pricing service to price foreign equity securities on days when there is a certain percentage change in the value of a domestic equity security index, as such percentage may be determined by the manager from time to time.

Valuing securities at fair value involves greater reliance on judgment than valuation of securities based on readily available market quotations. A fund that uses fair value to price securities may value those securities higher or lower than another fund using market quotations or its own fair value methodologies to price the same securities. There can be no assurance that the fund could obtain the fair value assigned to a security if it were to sell the security at approximately the time at which the fund determines its net asset value.

In order to buy, redeem or exchange shares at that day’s price, you must place your order with your Service Agent or the transfer agent before the NYSE closes. If the NYSE closes early, you must place your order prior to the actual closing time.

It is the responsibility of the Service Agents to transmit all orders to buy, exchange or redeem shares to the transfer agent on a timely basis.

 

34         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Financial highlights

The financial highlights tables are intended to help you understand the performance of each class since inception of the fund. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share. Total return represents the rate that a shareholder would have earned (or lost) on a fund share assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions. The information in the following tables has been derived from the fund’s financial statements, which have been audited by             , independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund’s financial statements, is included in the annual report (available upon request). As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

For a Class A share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended October 31:   
Class A Shares (1)   2006   2005 (2)  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $11.40  
   

Income from operations:

   

Net investment income

    0.07  

Net realized and unrealized gain

    1.64  
   

Total income from operations

    1.71  
   

Net asset value, end of period

    $13.11  
   

Total return (3)

    15.00 %
   

Net assets, end of period (000s)

    $13,074  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

   

Gross expenses (4)

    3.77 %

Net expenses (4)(5)(6)

    2.00  

Net investment income (4)(5)

    0.66  
   

Portfolio turnover rate

    66 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   For the period January 5, 2005 (inception date) to October 31, 2005.

 

(3)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower. Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

(4)   Annualized.  

 

(5)   The investment manager voluntarily waived all of its fees and reimbursed expenses. Such waivers and expense reimbursements are voluntary and may be reduced or terminated at any time.

 

(6)   As a result of a voluntary expense limitation, the ratio of expenses to average net assets will not exceed 2.00%.

 

Emerging Markets Equity Fund         35


 

For a Class B share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended October 31:   
Class B Shares (1)   2006   2005 (2)  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $11.40  
   

Loss from operations:

   

Net investment loss

    (0.02 )

Net realized and unrealized loss

    (0.08 )
   

Total loss from operations

    (0.10 )
   

Net asset value, end of period

    $11.30  
   

Total return (3)

    (0.88 )%
   

Net assets, end of period (000s)

    $27  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

   

Gross expenses (4)

    4.52 %

Net expenses (4)(5)(6)

    2.75  

Net investment loss (4)(5)

    (0.93 )
   

Portfolio turnover rate

    66 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   For the period August 11, 2005 (inception date) to October 31, 2005.

 

(3)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower. Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

(4)   Annualized.  

 

(5)   The investment manager voluntarily waived all of its fees and reimbursed expenses. Such waivers and expense reimbursements are voluntary and may be reduced or terminated at any time.

 

(6)   As a result of a voluntary expense limitation, the ratio of expenses to average net assets will not exceed 2.75%.

 

36         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

For a Class C share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended
October 31:
  
Class C Shares (1)   2006   2005 (2)  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $11.40  
   

Loss from operations:

   

Net investment loss

    (0.02 )

Net realized and unrealized loss

    (0.18 )
   

Total loss from operations

    (0.20 )
   

Net asset value, end of period

    $11.20  
   

Total return (3)

    (1.75 )%
   

Net assets, end of period (000s)

    $64  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

   

Gross expenses (4)

    4.53 %

Net expenses (4)(5)(6)

    2.75  

Net investment loss (4)(5)

    (1.37 )
   

Portfolio turnover rate

    66 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   For the period September 7, 2005 (inception date) to October 31, 2005.

 

(3)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower. Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

(4)   Annualized.  

 

(5)   The investment manager voluntarily waived all of its fees and reimbursed expenses. Such waivers and expense reimbursements are voluntary and may be reduced or terminated at any time.

 

(6)   As a result of a voluntary expense limitation, the ratio of expenses to average net assets will not exceed 2.75%.

 

Emerging Markets Equity Fund         37


 

For a Class I (formerly Class Y) share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended October 31:   
Class I Shares (1)   2006   2005 (2)  

Net asset value, beginning of period

    $11.40  
   

Income from operations:

   

Net investment income

    0.14  

Net realized and unrealized gain

    1.60  
   

Total income from operations

    1.74  
   

Net asset value, end of period

    $13.14  
   

Total return (3)

    15.26 %
   

Net assets, end of period (000s)

    $11,902  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

   

Gross expenses (4)

    2.73 %

Net expenses (4)(5)(6)

    1.35  

Net investment loss (4)(5)

    1.39  
   

Portfolio turnover rate

    66 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   For the period January 3, 2005 (inception date) to October 31, 2005.

 

(3)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower. Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

(4)   Annualized.  

 

(5)   The investment manager voluntarily waived all of its fees and reimbursed expenses. Such waivers and expense reimbursements are voluntary and may be reduced or terminated at any time.

 

(6)   As a result of a voluntary expense limitation, the ratio of expenses to average net assets will not exceed 1.35%.

 

38         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

 

(Investment Company Act

file no. 811-4006)

FD 03061 02/07

LOGO

Legg Mason Partners Emerging Markets Equity Fund

You may look at the fund’s website at www. leggmason.com/InvestorServices for a free copy of a Prospectus, Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) or an Annual or Semi-Annual Report, or to request other information.

Shareholder reports Additional information about the fund’s investments is available in the fund’s Annual and Semi-Annual Reports to shareholders. In the fund’s Annual Report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the fund’s performance.

The fund sends only one report to a household if more than one account has the same address. Contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 if you do not want this policy to apply to you.

Statement of additional information The SAI provides more detailed information about the fund and is incorporated by reference into (is legally a part of) this Prospectus.

You can make inquiries about the fund or obtain shareholder reports or the Statement of Additional Information (without charge) by contacting your Service Agent, by calling Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010, or by writing to the fund at 125 Broad Street, New York, New York 10004.

Information about the fund (including the SAI) can be reviewed and copied at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the Commission at 800-SEC-0330. Reports and other information about the fund are available on the EDGAR Database on the Commission’s Internet site at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of this information may be obtained for a duplicating fee by electronic request at the following E-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing the Commission’s Public Reference Section, Washington, D.C. 20549-0102.

If someone makes a statement about the fund that is not in this Prospectus, you should not rely upon that information. Neither the fund nor the distributors are offering to sell shares of the fund to any person to whom the fund may not lawfully sell its shares.


[            ], 2007

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

LEGG MASON PARTNERS EMERGING MARKETS EQUITY FUND

On April 7, 2006, Legg Mason Partners Emerging Markets Equity Fund (the “fund”) changed its name from Smith Barney Emerging Markets Equity Fund to Legg Mason Emerging Markets Equity Fund. As part of a number of initiatives launched in 2006 to restructure and streamline the Legg Mason Partners fund complex, the fund assumed the assets and liabilities of a predecessor fund with the same name. The fund is now grouped for organizational and governance purposes with other Legg Mason Partners funds that are predominantly equity-type funds, and is a series of Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”), a Massachusetts business trust. Other initiatives, including the election of a new Board and the approval of certain revised fundamental investment policies, have also been accomplished, and more information on these matters appears in this SAI. If certain remaining initiatives are accomplished, the fund will become a series of Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust, a Maryland business trust. Certain historical information contained in the SAI is that of the fund’s predecessor.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

   1. The Trust

   2

   2. Investment Objective and Policies

   2

   3. Description of Permitted Investments and Investment Practices and Associated Risks

   4

   4. Investment Restrictions

   25

   5. Determination of Net Asset Value; Valuation of Securities

   28

   6. Additional Information on the Purchase and Sale of Fund Shares and Shareholder Programs

   29

   7. Management

   42

   8. Portfolio Transactions

   59

   9. Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

   62

10. Portfolio Managers

   64

11. Description of Shares, Voting Rights and Liabilities

   67

12. Additional Information

   68

13. Tax Matters

   73

14. Financial Statements

   75

Appendix A—Proxy Voting Guidelines and Procedures Summary

   A-1

This Statement of Additional Information sets forth information which may be of interest to investors but which is not necessarily included in the fund’s Prospectus, dated [            ], 2007, by which shares of the fund are offered. A prospectus and copies of Annual and Semi-Annual Reports may be obtained free of charge by contacting a distributor’s financial advisor, or registered representative, a broker/dealer, financial intermediary, or a financial institution that has entered into an agreement with one of the fund’s distributors, (each called a “Service Agent”), or by writing or calling the fund at the address or telephone number set forth above. These reports contain financial statements that are incorporated herein by reference. Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC (“LMIS”), a wholly-owned broker/dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”) and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”) serve as the fund’s distributors.

 

1


This Statement of Additional Information is NOT a prospectus and is authorized for distribution to prospective investors only if preceded or accompanied by an effective prospectus.

1. THE TRUST

This Statement of Additional Information describes Legg Mason Partners Emerging Markets Equity Fund (the “fund”), which is a series of the Trust. References in this Statement of Additional Information to the “Prospectus” of the fund are to the Prospectus, dated, [            ] 2007.

The fund is a diversified, open-end management fund. Under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), a diversified management investment company must invest at least 75% of its assets in cash and cash items, U.S. Government securities, investment company securities and other securities limited as to any one issuer to not more than 5% of the total assets of the investment company and not more than 10% of the voting securities of the issuer. The fund is permitted to seek its investment objectives by investing all or a portion of its assets in one or more investment companies to the extent not prohibited by the 1940 Act, the rules and regulations thereunder, and exemptive orders granted under such Act.

Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC (“LMPFA” or the “manager”), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”), is the investment manager to the fund. The manager provides administrative and certain oversight services to the fund. Legg Mason International Entities Limited (“LMIE”) provides the day to day portfolio management of the fund, except for the management of cash and short-term instruments, as subadviser. The selection of investments for the fund and the way it is managed depend on the conditions and trends in the economy and the financial marketplaces. LMPFA also provides certain administrative services to the fund.

2. INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE AND POLICIES

The investment objective of the fund is to provide long-term capital growth. Of course, there can be no assurance that the fund will achieve its objective.

 

2


Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets in equity securities of companies domiciled in, or whose securities are traded in the stock markets of, emerging market nations, and other securities whose values are based on such equity securities. The fund considers emerging market nations to include countries that, at the time the fund makes an investment, are categorized by the World Bank and its affiliates as “low income” or “middle income,” are included in the MSCI (Morgan Stanley Capital International) Emerging Markets Index , or are believed by the portfolio manager to have similar emerging market characteristics.

Generally, the fund invests in a number of different countries and, under normal circumstances, the fund invests in companies in at least eight foreign markets and does not invest more than 25% of its assets in any one country. The fund invests across a range of industries. There are no limitations on the market capitalizations of the companies in which the fund may invest.

The fund usually invests in securities listed on securities exchanges, although it may also purchase securities which are not registered for sale to the general public, or, to a limited extent, securities that are not readily marketable. The fund may invest directly in foreign securities or may invest in depository receipts.

The fund’s assets will generally be invested in equity securities, such as common stocks, preferred stocks and convertible securities, and in other securities, such as equity-linked notes, the values of which are based on equity securities. The fund may also invest in other securities including fixed-income and other debt securities, rights to purchase common stocks, warrants, and, to a limited extent, shares of other investment companies, including closed end investment companies that invest in emerging market securities. The fund may, under normal circumstances, invest up to 20% of its assets in equity securities and other securities of issuers that are not domiciled in or traded in the stock markets of emerging market nations but whose operations, either through asset exposure, revenues, or operating cash flow are derived from activities domiciled in emerging market countries.

The fund may, but is not required to, enter into forward currency transactions to buy or sell currencies at a future date. The fund may enter into these forward currency contracts to:

 

  Settle transactions in securities quoted in foreign currencies

 

  Attempt to protect against the economic impact of adverse changes in the value of the U.S. dollar or other currencies

Additional Information

The fund’s principal investment strategies are described above. The following provides additional information about these principal strategies and describes other investment strategies that may be used by the fund.

The policies described herein and those described below under “Description of Permitted Investments and Investment Practices and Associated Risks” are not fundamental and may be changed without shareholder approval.

Although this specific investment policy may be changed without shareholder approval, the fund has adopted a policy to provide its shareholders with at least 60 days’ prior notice of any change in this policy.

Certain of the fund’s investment restrictions described below under “Investment Restrictions” are fundamental and cannot be changed without shareholder approval.

 

3


3. DESCRIPTION OF PERMITTED INVESTMENTS

AND INVESTMENT PRACTICES AND ASSOCIATED RISKS

This section contains a discussion of certain investment practices and certain of the risks associated with these practices and supplements the description of the fund’s investments and risks contained in the Prospectus. The fund may, but need not, invest in all of the investments and utilize all of the investment techniques described below and in the Prospectus. The selection of investments and the utilization of investment techniques depend on, among other things, the subadviser’s investment strategies for the fund, conditions and trends in the economy and financial markets and investments being available on terms that, in the subadviser’s opinion, make economic sense.

Generally, the fund invests in a number of different countries and, under normal circumstances, the fund invests in at least eight foreign markets and does not invest more than 25% of its assets in any one country. While the fund’s policy is to invest primarily in equity securities of companies in Emerging Market Nations believed to possess better than average prospects for growth and are trading at attractive or reasonable valuation levels, appreciation may be sought in other types of securities, principally of non-U.S. issuers, such as fixed income securities, and convertible and non-convertible bonds, when relative values make such purchases appear attractive either as individual issues or as types of securities in certain economic environments. There is no formula as to the percentage of assets that may be invested in any one type of security.

Foreign Securities and Foreign Issuers

Investing in the securities of foreign issuers involves special considerations which are not typically associated with investing in the securities of U.S. issuers. Investments in securities of foreign issuers may involve risks arising from differences between U.S. and foreign securities markets, including less volume, much greater price volatility in and illiquidity of certain foreign securities markets, greater difficulty in determining the fair value of securities, different trading and settlement practices and less governmental supervision and regulation, from changes in currency exchange rates, from high and volatile rates of inflation, from economic, social and political conditions such as wars, terrorism, civil unrest and uprisings, and from fluctuating interest rates.

There may be less publicly-available information about a foreign issuer than about a U.S. issuer, and foreign issuers may not be subject to the same accounting, auditing and financial record-keeping standards and requirements as U.S. issuers. In particular, the assets and profits appearing on the financial statements of an emerging market country issuer may not reflect its financial position or results of operations in the way they would be reflected had the financial statements been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles. In addition, for an issuer that keeps accounting records in local currency, inflation accounting rules may require, for both tax and accounting purposes, that certain assets and liabilities be restated on the issuer’s balance sheet in order to express items in terms of currency of constant purchasing power. Inflation accounting may indirectly generate losses or profits. Consequently, financial data may be materially affected by restatements for inflation and may not accurately reflect the real condition of those issuers and securities markets. Finally, in the event of a default in any such foreign obligations, it may be more difficult for the fund to obtain or enforce a judgment against the issuers of such obligations.

Other investment risks include the possible imposition of foreign withholding taxes on certain amounts of the fund’s income, the possible seizure or nationalization of foreign assets and the possible establishment of exchange controls, expropriation, confiscatory taxation, other foreign governmental laws or restrictions which might affect adversely payments due on securities held by the fund, the lack of extensive operating experience of eligible foreign subcustodians and legal limitations on the ability of the fund to recover assets held in custody by a foreign subcustodian in the event of the subcustodian’s bankruptcy.

There generally is less governmental supervision and regulation of exchanges, brokers and issuers in foreign countries than there is in the United States. For example, there may be no comparable provisions under certain foreign laws to insider trading and similar investor protection securities laws that apply with respect to securities transactions consummated in the United States. Further, brokerage commissions and other transaction costs on foreign securities exchanges generally are higher than in the United States.

 

4


In some countries, banks or other financial institutions may constitute a substantial number of the leading companies or companies with the most actively traded securities. The 1940 Act limits the fund’s ability to invest in any equity security of an issuer which, in its most recent fiscal year, derived more than 15% of its revenues from “securities related activities,” as defined by the rules thereunder. These provisions may also restrict the fund’s investments in certain foreign banks and other financial institutions.

Foreign markets have different clearance and settlement procedures, and in certain markets there have been times when settlements have failed to keep pace with the volume of securities transactions, making it difficult to conduct such transactions. Further, satisfactory custodial services for investment securities may not be available in some countries having smaller, emerging capital markets, which may result in the fund incurring additional costs and delays in transporting such securities outside such countries. Delays in settlement or other problems could result in periods when assets of the fund are uninvested and no return is earned thereon. The inability of the fund to make intended security purchases due to settlement problems or the risk of intermediary counterparty failures could cause the fund to forego attractive investment opportunities. The inability to dispose of a portfolio security due to settlement problems could result either in losses to the fund due to subsequent declines in the value of such portfolio security or, if the fund has entered into a contract to sell the security, could result in possible liability to the purchaser.

Rules adopted under the 1940 Act permit the fund to maintain its foreign securities and cash in the custody of certain eligible non-U.S. banks and securities depositories. Certain banks in foreign countries may not be “eligible sub-custodians,” as defined in the 1940 Act, for the fund, in which event the fund may be precluded from purchasing securities in certain foreign countries in which it otherwise would invest or which may result in the fund’s incurring additional costs and delays in providing transportation and custody services for such securities outside of such countries. The fund may encounter difficulties in effecting on a timely basis portfolio transactions with respect to any securities of issuers held outside their countries. Other banks that are eligible foreign sub-custodians may be recently organized or otherwise lack extensive operating experience. In addition, in certain countries there may be legal restrictions or limitations on the ability of the fund to recover assets held in custody by foreign sub-custodians in the event of the bankruptcy of the sub-custodian.

Many of the risks associated with international investments and investing in smaller capital markets are heightened for investments in emerging market countries. For example, some of the currencies of emerging market countries have experienced devaluation relative to the U.S. dollar, and major adjustments have been made periodically in certain of such currencies. Certain of such countries face serious exchange constraints. In addition, governments of many emerging market countries have exercised and continue to exercise substantial influence over many aspects of the private sector. In certain cases, the government owns or controls many companies. Accordingly, government actions in the future could have a significant effect on economic conditions in developing countries which could affect private sector companies and consequently, the value of certain securities held in the fund’s portfolio.

Investment in certain emerging market securities is restricted or controlled to varying degrees which may at times limit or preclude investment in certain emerging market securities and increase the costs and expenses of the fund. Certain emerging market countries require governmental approval prior to investments by foreign persons, limit the amount of investment by foreign persons in a particular issuer, limit the investment by foreign persons only to a specific class of securities of an issuer that may have less advantageous rights than other classes, restrict investment opportunities in issuers in industries deemed important to national interests and/or impose additional taxes on foreign investors.

The manner in which foreign investors may invest in companies in certain emerging market countries, as well as limitations on such investments, also may have an adverse impact on the operations of the fund. For example, the fund may be required in some countries to invest initially through a local broker or other entity and then have the shares purchased re-registered in the name of the fund. Re-registration may in some instances not occur on a timely basis, resulting in a delay during which the fund may be denied certain of its rights as an investor.

Certain emerging market countries may require governmental approval for the repatriation of investment income, capital or the proceeds of sales of securities by foreign investors which could adversely affect the fund. In addition, if a deterioration occurs in the country’s balance of payments, it could impose temporary restrictions on foreign capital remittances. Investing in local markets in emerging market countries may require the fund to adopt special procedures, seek local government approvals or take other actions, each of which may involve additional costs to the fund.

 

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With respect to investments in certain emerging market countries, different legal standards may have an adverse impact on the fund. For example, while the potential liability of a shareholder in a U.S. corporation with respect to acts of the corporation is generally limited to the amount of the shareholder’s investment, the notion of limited liability is less clear in certain emerging market countries. Similarly, the rights of investors in emerging market companies may be more limited than those of shareholders of U.S. corporations.

Certain markets are in only the earliest stages of development. There is also a high concentration of market capitalization and trading volume in a small number of issuers representing a limited number of industries, as well as a high concentration of investors and financial intermediaries. Many of such markets also may be affected by developments with respect to more established markets in the region. Brokers in emerging market countries typically are fewer in number and less capitalized than brokers in the United States. These factors, combined with the U.S. regulatory requirements for open-end investment companies and the restrictions on foreign investment, result in potentially fewer investment opportunities for the fund and may have an adverse impact on the investment performance of the fund.

Depository Receipts

Securities of foreign issuers may be purchased directly or through depository receipts, such as American Depository Receipts (“ADRs”), European Depository Receipts (“EDRs”) and Global Depository Receipts (“GDRs”) or other securities representing underlying shares of foreign companies. Generally, ADRs, in registered form, are designed for use in U.S. securities markets and EDRs and GDRs, in bearer form, are designed for use in European and global securities markets. ADRs are receipts typically issued by a U.S. bank or trust company evidencing ownership of the underlying securities. EDRs and GDRs are European and global receipts, respectively, evidencing a similar arrangement.

ADRs, EDRs and GDRs are issued through “sponsored” or “unsponsored” arrangements. In a sponsored arrangement, the foreign issuer assumes the obligation to pay some or all of the depository’s transaction fees, whereas under an unsponsored arrangement, the foreign issuer assumes no obligation and the depository’s transaction fees are paid by the holders. In addition, less information is generally available in the United States about the issuer of an unsponsored depository receipt as it is for the issuer of a sponsored depository receipt.

Euro Conversion

The fund may invest in securities of issuers in European countries. Fifteen European countries participate in the European Economic and Monetary Union (“EMU”), and twelve of those countries have adopted the Euro as its sole currency. EMU may create new economic opportunities for investors, such as lower interest rates, easier cross-border mergers, acquisitions and similar restructurings, more efficient distribution and product packaging and greater competition. Budgetary decisions remain in the hands of each participating country, but are subject to each country’s commitment to avoid “excessive deficits” and other more specific budgetary criteria. A European Central Bank is responsible for setting the official interest rate within the Euro zone. EMU and the introduction of the Euro, however, present unique risks and uncertainties for investors in EMU-participating countries, including: (i) monetary and economic union on this scale has never before been attempted; (ii) there is uncertainty whether participating countries will remain committed to EMU in the face of changing economic conditions; (iii) instability within EMU may increase the volatility of European markets and may adversely affect the prices of securities of European issuers in the fund’s portfolio; (iv) there is uncertainty concerning the fluctuation of the Euro relative to non-Euro currencies; and (v) there is no assurance that interest rate, tax and labor regimes of EMU-participating countries will converge over time. These and other factors may cause market disruption and could adversely affect European securities and currencies held by the fund.

Foreign Currency Exchange Transactions

Because the fund may buy and sell securities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, and receive interest, dividends and sale proceeds in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, the fund may, but is not obligated to, enter into currency exchange transactions to convert U.S. currency to foreign currency and foreign currency to U.S. currency, as well as convert foreign currency to other foreign currencies. The fund either enters into these transactions on a spot (i.e., cash) basis at the spot rate prevailing in the foreign currency exchange market, or uses forward contracts to purchase or sell foreign currencies. The fund also may, but is not obligated to, enter into foreign currency hedging transactions in an attempt to protect the value of the assets of the fund as measured in U.S. dollars from unfavorable changes in

 

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currency exchange rates and control regulations. (Although the fund’s assets are valued daily in terms of U.S. dollars, the Trust does not intend to convert the fund‘s holdings of other currencies into U.S. dollars on a daily basis.) The fund does not currently intend to speculate in currency exchange rates or forward contracts.

The fund may convert currency on a spot basis from time to time, and investors should be aware of the costs of currency conversion. Although currency exchange dealers do not charge a fee for conversion, they do realize a profit based on the difference (the “spread”) between the prices at which they are buying and selling various currencies. Thus, a dealer may offer to sell a currency at one rate, while offering a lesser rate of exchange should the fund desire to resell that currency to the dealer.

A forward contract involves an obligation to purchase or sell a specific currency at a future date, which may be any fixed number of days from the date of the contract, agreed upon by the parties, at a price set at the time of the contract. These contracts are traded in the interbank market conducted directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. Because these contracts are traded in the interbank market and not on organized commodities or securities exchanges, these contracts operate in a manner distinct from exchange-traded instruments, and their use involves certain risks. A forward contract generally has no deposit requirement, and no fees or commissions are charged at any stage for trades.

When the fund enters into a contract for the purchase or sale of a security denominated in a non-U.S. currency, it may desire to “lock in” the U.S. dollar price of the security. By entering into a forward contract for the purchase or sale, for a fixed amount of U.S. dollars, of the amount of non-U.S. currency involved in the underlying security transaction, the fund may be able to protect against a possible loss resulting from an adverse change in the relationship between the U.S. dollar and the non-U.S. currency during the period between the date the security is purchased or sold and the date on which payment is made or received.

When the subadviser believes that the currency of a particular country may suffer a substantial decline against the U.S. dollar, the fund may enter into a forward contract to sell, for a fixed amount of U.S. dollars, the amount of non-U.S. currency approximating the value of some or all of the fund’s securities denominated in such non-U.S. currency. The projection of a short- term hedging strategy is highly uncertain. Under normal circumstances, consideration of the prospect for currency parities will be incorporated in the investment decisions made with regard to overall diversification strategies. However, the fund believes that it is important to have the flexibility to enter into such forward contracts when it determines that its best interests will be served.

The fund generally would not enter into a forward contract with a term greater than one year. At the maturity of a forward contract, the fund will either sell the security and make delivery of the non-U.S. currency, or retain the security and terminate its contractual obligation to deliver the non-U.S. currency by purchasing an “offsetting” contract with the same currency trader obligating it to purchase, on the same maturity date, the same amount of the non-U.S. currency. If the fund retains the security and engages in an offsetting transaction, the fund will incur a gain or a loss (as described below) to the extent that there has been movement in forward contract prices. If the fund engages in an offsetting transaction, it may subsequently enter into a new forward contract to sell the non-U.S. currency. Should forward prices decline during the period between the date the fund enters into a forward contract for the sale of the non-U.S. currency and the date it enters into an offsetting contract for the purchase of such currency, the fund will realize a gain to the extent the selling price of the currency exceeds the purchase price of the currency. Should forward prices increase, the fund will suffer a loss to the extent that the purchase price of the currency exceeds the selling price of the currency.

It is impossible to forecast with precision the market value of fund securities at the expiration of the contract. Accordingly, it may be necessary for the fund to purchase additional non-U.S. currency on the spot market if the market value of the security is less than the amount of non-U.S. currency the fund is obligated to deliver and if a decision is made to sell the security and make delivery of such currency. Conversely, it may be necessary to sell on the spot market some of the non-U.S. currency received upon the sale of the security if its market value exceeds the amount of such currency the fund is obligated to deliver.

When entering into forward contracts, the fund intends to comply with policies of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) concerning forward contracts. Those policies currently require that an amount of the fund’s assets equal to the amount of the purchase be held aside or segregated to be used to pay for the commitment or that the fund otherwise covers its position in accordance with applicable regulations and policies.

 

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The fund may also purchase put options on a non-U.S. currency in order to protect against currency rate fluctuations. If the fund purchases a put option on a non-U.S. currency and the value of the non-U.S. currency declines, the fund will have the right to sell the non-U.S. currency for a fixed amount in U.S. dollars and will thereby offset, in whole or in part, the adverse effect on the fund which otherwise would have resulted. Conversely, where a rise in the U.S. dollar value of another currency is projected, and where the fund anticipates investing in securities traded in such currency, the fund may purchase call options on the non-U.S. currency.

The purchase of such options could offset, at least partially, the effects of adverse movements in exchange rates. However, the benefit to the fund from purchases of foreign currency options will be reduced by the amount of the premium and related transaction costs. In addition, where currency exchange rates do not move in the direction or to the extent anticipated, the fund could sustain losses on transactions in foreign currency options which would require it to forego a portion or all of the benefits of advantageous changes in such rates.

The fund may write options on non-U.S. currencies for hedging purposes or otherwise to achieve its investment objective. For example, where the fund anticipates a decline in the value of the U.S. dollar value of a foreign security due to adverse fluctuations in exchange rates it could, instead of purchasing a put option, write a call option on the relevant currency. If the expected decline occurs, the option will most likely not be exercised, and the diminution in value of the security held by the fund may be offset by the amount of the premium received.

Similarly, instead of purchasing a call option to hedge against an anticipated increase in the cost of a foreign security to be acquired because of an increase in the U.S. dollar value of the currency in which the underlying security is primarily traded, the fund could write a put option on the relevant currency which, if rates move in the manner projected, will expire unexercised and allow the fund to hedge such increased cost up to the amount of the premium.

The writing of put or call options on non-U.S. currencies by the fund will constitute only a partial hedge up to the amount of the premium, and only if rates move in the expected direction. If this does not occur, the option may be exercised and the fund would be required to purchase or sell the underlying currency at a loss which may not be offset by the amount of the premium. Through the writing of options on currencies, the fund also may be required to forego all or a portion of the benefits which might otherwise have been obtained from favorable movements in exchange rates.

Put and call options on non-U.S. currencies written by the fund will be covered by segregation of cash and liquid securities in an amount sufficient to discharge the fund’s obligations with respect to the option, by acquisition of the non-U.S. currency or of a right to acquire such currency (in the case of a call option) or the acquisition of a right to dispose of the currency (in the case of a put option), or in such other manner as may be in accordance with the requirements of any exchange on which, or the counterparty with which, the option is traded and applicable laws and regulations.

Investing in ADRs and other depository receipts presents many of the same risks regarding currency exchange rates as investing directly in securities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar. Because the securities underlying these receipts are traded primarily in non-U.S. currencies, changes in currency exchange rates will affect the value of these receipts. For example, a decline in the U.S. dollar value of another currency in which securities are primarily traded will reduce the U.S. dollar value of such securities, even if their value in the other non-U.S. currency remains constant, and thus will reduce the value of the receipts covering such securities. The fund may employ any of the above described foreign currency hedging techniques to protect the value of its assets invested in depository receipts.

Of course, the fund is not required to enter into the transactions described above and does not do so unless deemed appropriate by the subadviser. It should be realized that under certain circumstances, hedging arrangements to protect the value of the fund’s securities against a decline in currency values may not be available to the fund on terms that make economic sense (they may be too costly). It should also be realized that these methods of protecting the value of the fund‘s securities against a decline in the value of a currency do not eliminate fluctuations in the underlying prices of the securities. Additionally, although such contracts, if correctly used, may minimize the risk of loss due to a decline in the value of the hedged currency, they do not eliminate the risk of loss and also tend to limit any potential gain which might result should the value of such currency increase.

 

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Equity Securities

Common Stocks . Common stocks are shares of a corporation or other entity that entitle the holder to a pro rata share of the profits of the corporation, if any, without preference over any other shareholder or class of shareholders, including holders of the entity’s preferred stock and other senior equity. Common stock usually carries with it the right to vote and frequently an exclusive right to do so.

Common stocks do not represent an obligation of the issuer. The issuance of debt securities or preferred stock by an issuer will create prior claims which could adversely affect the rights of holders of common stock with respect to the assets of the issuer upon liquidation or bankruptcy.

Preferred Stocks . The fund may invest in preferred stocks. Preferred stocks, like common stocks, represent an equity ownership in an issuer, but generally have a priority claim over common stocks, but not over debt, with respect to dividend payments and upon the liquidation or bankruptcy of the issuer. Therefore, preferred stock is subject to the credit risk of the issuer, but because of its subordinate position to debt obligations of the issuer, the deterioration of the credit of an issuer is likely to cause greater decreases in the value of preferred stock than in more senior debt obligations. The market value of preferred stocks with no conversion rights and fixed dividend rates, like fixed income securities, tends to move inversely with interest rates, with the price determined by the dividend rate. However, because most preferred stocks do not have a fixed maturity date (although they may have call features giving the issuer the right to call the securities under certain circumstances or redemption features giving the holder the right to cause the issuer to repurchase the securities under certain circumstances), these securities generally will fluctuate more in value when interest rates change than, for example, debt issued by the same issuer. Some preferred stocks may pay dividends at an adjustable rate, based on an auction, an index or other formula. In the absence of credit deterioration, adjustable rate preferred stocks tend to have less price volatility than fixed rate preferred stocks.

Unlike common stocks, preferred stocks do not typically have voting rights. Some preferred stocks have convertible features. See “Preferred Stocks and Convertible Securities” below.

Preferred Stocks and Convertible Securities . Convertible securities are typically preferred stock or bonds that are convertible into common stock at a specified price or conversion ratio. Because they have the characteristics of both fixed-income securities and common stock, convertible securities are sometimes called “hybrid” securities. Convertible bonds, debentures and notes are debt obligations offering a stated interest rate; convertible preferred stocks are senior securities of a company offering a stated dividend rate. Convertible securities will at times be priced in the market like other fixed income securities—that is, their prices will tend to rise when interest rates decline and will tend to fall when interest rates rise. However, because a convertible security provides an option to the holder to exchange the security for either a specified number of the issuer’s common shares at a stated price per share or the cash value of such common shares, the security market price will tend to fluctuate in relationship to the price of the common shares into which it is convertible. Thus, convertible securities will ordinarily provide opportunities for producing both current income and longer-term capital appreciation. Because convertible securities are usually viewed by the issuer as future common stock, they are generally subordinated to other senior securities and therefore are rated one category lower than the issuer’s non-convertible debt obligations or preferred stock.

Warrants . Warrants entitle their holder to buy common stock from the issuer at a specified price and time. Warrants are subject to the same market risks as stocks, but may be more volatile in price. Because investing in warrants can provide a greater potential for profit or loss than an equivalent investment in the underlying security, warrants involve leverage and are considered speculative investments. At the time of issuance of a warrant, the cost is generally substantially less than the cost of the underlying security itself, and therefore, the investor is able to gain exposure to the underlying security with a relatively low capital investment. Price movements in the underlying security are generally magnified in the price movements of the warrant, although changes in the market value of the warrant may not necessarily correlate to the prices of the underlying security. The fund’s investment in warrants will not entitle it to receive dividends or exercise voting rights and will become worthless if the warrants cannot be profitably exercised before the expiration dates.

REITs . Real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) are pooled investment vehicles that invest in real estate or real estate loans or interests. Investments in REITs are subject to the risks associated with particular properties and with the real estate market in general, including the risks of a general downturn in real estate values. REITs are dependent upon management skills, are not diversified, and are subject to risks of project financing, default by borrowers, self-liquidation, and the possibility of failing to qualify for the exemption from taxation on distributed amounts under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). Like mutual funds, REITs have expenses, including advisory and administration fees paid by REIT shareholders, and, as a result, an investor is subject to a duplicate level of fees if the fund invests in REITs.

 

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Debt Obligations or Securities

The fund may invest to some extent in debt obligations. Debt obligations include bonds, debentures, notes, commercial paper, loans, and other instruments issued by banks, corporations, local and state and national governments, both U.S. and foreign, and supranational entities. Debt obligations are typically fixed-income obligations, but may have a variable or adjustable rate of interest. Changes in market yields will affect the fund’s net asset value as prices of fixed-income securities generally increase when interest rates decline and decrease when interest rates rise. Prices of longer term securities generally increase or decrease more sharply than those of shorter term securities in response to interest rate changes, particularly if such securities were purchased at a discount. It should be noted that the market values of securities rated below investment grade and comparable unrated securities tend to react less to fluctuations in interest rate levels than do those of higher-rated securities. Except to the extent that values are affected independently by other factors such as developments relating to a specific issuer, when interest rates decline, the value of a fixed-income portfolio can generally be expected to rise. Conversely, when interest rates rise, the value of a fixed-income portfolio can generally be expected to decline.

While debt securities carrying the fourth highest quality rating (“Baa” by Moody’s or “BBB” by S&P) are considered investment grade and are viewed to have adequate capacity for payment of principal and interest, investments in such securities involve a higher degree of risk than that associated with investments in debt securities in the higher rating categories and such debt securities lack outstanding investment characteristics and in fact have speculative characteristics as well. For example, changes in economic conditions or other circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity to make principal and interest payments than is the case with higher grade debt securities. Debt securities rated lower than investment grade are called high yield securities.

In addition, many fixed-income securities contain call or buy-back features that permit their issuers to call or repurchase the securities from their holders. Such securities may present risks based on payment expectations. Although the fund would typically receive a premium if an issuer were to redeem a security, if an issuer exercises such a “call option” and redeems the security during a time of declining interest rates, the fund may realize a capital loss on its investment if the security was purchased at a premium and the fund may have to replace the called security with a lower yielding security, resulting in a decreased rate of return to the fund. Conversely, during periods of rising interest rates, redemption or prepayment rates may slow, leading to an extension in the expected maturity of the obligation, leading to greater price volatility.

Floating and Variable Rate Instruments

Floating or variable rate obligations bear interest at rates that are not fixed, but vary with changes in specified market rates or indices, such as the prime rate, and at specified intervals. Certain of the floating or variable rate obligations that may be purchased by the fund may carry a demand feature that would permit the holder to tender them back to the issuer at par value prior to maturity. Such obligations include variable rate master demand notes, which are unsecured instruments issued pursuant to an agreement between the issuer and the holder that permit the indebtedness thereunder to vary and provide for periodic adjustments in the interest rate.

Certain of the floating or variable rate obligations that may be purchased by the fund may carry a demand feature that would permit the holder to tender them back to the issuer of the instrument or to a third party at par value prior to maturity. Some of the demand instruments that may be purchased by the fund are not traded in a secondary market and derive their liquidity solely from the ability of the holder to demand repayment from the issuer or third party providing credit support. If a demand instrument is not traded in a secondary market, the fund will nonetheless treat the instrument as “readily marketable” for the purposes of its investment restriction limiting investments in illiquid securities unless the demand feature has a notice period of more than seven days in which case the instrument will be characterized as “not readily marketable” and therefore illiquid.

The fund’s right to obtain payment at par on a demand instrument could be affected by events occurring between the date the fund elects to demand payment and the date payment is due that may affect the ability of the issuer of the instrument or third party providing credit support to make payment when due, except when such demand instruments permit same day settlement. To facilitate settlement, these same day demand instruments may be held in book entry form at a bank other than the fund’s custodian subject to a sub-custodian agreement approved by the fund between that bank and the fund’s custodian.

 

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Repurchase Agreements

The fund may invest in repurchase agreements collateralized by securities in which the fund may otherwise invest. Repurchase agreements are agreements by which the fund purchases a security and simultaneously commits to resell that security to the seller (which is usually a member bank of the U.S. Federal Reserve System or a member firm of the New York Stock Exchange (or a subsidiary thereof) (the “NYSE”)) at an agreed-upon date within a number of days (frequently overnight and usually not more than seven days) from the date of purchase. The resale price reflects the purchase price plus an agreed-upon market rate of interest which is unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased security. A repurchase agreement involves the obligation of the seller to pay the agreed upon price, which obligation is in effect secured by the value of the underlying security, usually U.S. Government or Government agency issues. Under the 1940 Act, repurchase agreements may be considered to be loans by the buyer. The fund’s risk is limited to the ability of the seller to pay the agreed-upon amount on the delivery date. If the seller defaults, the underlying security constitutes collateral for the seller’s obligation to pay although the fund may incur certain costs in liquidating this collateral and in certain cases may not be permitted to liquidate this collateral. All repurchase agreements entered into by the fund must be fully collateralized at all times during the period of the agreement in that the value of the underlying security must be at least equal to the amount of the loan, including the accrued interest thereon, and the fund or its custodian or sub-custodian must have control of the collateral, which the subadviser believes will give the fund a valid, perfected security interest in the collateral. This might become an issue in the event of the bankruptcy of the other party to the transaction. In the event of default by the seller under a repurchase agreement construed to be a collateralized loan, the underlying securities are not owned by the fund but only constitute collateral for the seller’s obligation to pay the repurchase price. Therefore, the fund may suffer time delays and incur costs in connection with the disposition of the collateral. The subadviser believes that the collateral underlying repurchase agreements may be more susceptible to claims of the seller’s creditors than would be the case with securities owned by the fund. In the event of the bankruptcy of the other party to a repurchase agreement, the fund could experience delays in recovering the resale price. To the extent that, in the meantime, the value of the securities purchased has decreased, the fund could experience a loss.

Reverse Repurchase Agreements

The fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements. Reverse repurchase agreements involve the sale of securities held by the fund and the agreement by the fund to repurchase the securities at an agreed-upon price, date and interest payment. When the fund enters into reverse repurchase transactions, securities of a dollar amount equal in value to the securities subject to the agreement will be segregated. The segregation of assets could impair the fund’s ability to meet its current obligations or impede investment management if a large portion of the fund’s assets are involved. Reverse repurchase agreements are considered to be a form of borrowing by the fund. In the event of the bankruptcy of the other party to a reverse repurchase agreement, the fund could experience delays in recovering the securities sold. To the extent that, in the meantime, the value of the securities sold has increased, the fund could experience a loss.

Exchange Traded Funds or ETFS

The fund may invest in shares of open-end mutual funds or unit investment trusts that are traded on a stock exchange, called exchange-traded funds or ETFs. Typically, an ETF seeks to track the performance of an index, such as the S&P 500 or the NASDAQ 100, by holding in its portfolio either the same securities that comprise the index, or a representative sample of the index. Investing in an ETF will give the fund exposure to the securities comprising the index on which the ETF is based, and the Fund will gain or lose value depending on the performance of the index.

Unlike shares of typical mutual funds or unit investment trusts, shares of ETFs are designed to be traded throughout a trading day bought and sold based on market values and not at net asset value. For this reason, shares could trade at either a premium or discount to net asset value. Currently, the fund intends to invest only in ETFs that track equity market indices. The portfolios held by these ETFs are publicly disclosed on each trading day, and an approximation of actual net asset value is disseminated throughout the trading day. Because of this transparency, the trading prices of these index based ETFs tend to closely track the actual net asset value of the underlying portfolios. In the future, as new products become available, the Fund may invest in ETFs that are based on fixed income indices, or that are actively managed. Actively

 

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managed ETFs will likely not have the transparency of index based ETFs, and therefore, may be more likely to trade at a discount or premium to actual net asset values. Gains or losses on the fund’s investment in ETFs will depend on the purchase and sale price of the ETF, rather than on changes in the underlying net asset value of the ETF.

Sovereign Debt

Sovereign debt is debt issued or guaranteed by foreign governments (including countries, provinces and municipalities) or their agencies and instrumentalities. Sovereign debt may trade at a substantial discount from face value. Emerging-market country sovereign debt involves a high degree of risk, is generally lower-quality debt, and is considered speculative in nature. The issuer or governmental authorities that control sovereign-debt repayment (“sovereign debtors”) may be unable or unwilling to repay principal or interest when due in accordance with the terms of the debt. A sovereign debtor’s willingness or ability to repay principal and interest due in a timely manner may be affected by, among other factors, its cash-flow situation, the extent of its foreign reserves, the availability of sufficient foreign exchange on the date a payment is due, the relative size of the debt service burden to the economy as a whole, the sovereign debtor’s policy towards the International Monetary Fund, and the political constraints to which the sovereign debtor may be subject. Sovereign debtors may also be dependent on expected disbursements from foreign governments, multilateral agencies and others abroad to reduce principal and interest arrearage on their debt. The commitment of these third parties to make such disbursements may be conditioned on the sovereign debtor’s implementation of economic reforms or economic performance and the timely service of the debtor’s obligations. The sovereign debtor’s failure to meet these conditions may cause these third parties to cancel their commitments to provide funds to the sovereign debtor, which may further impair the debtor’s ability or willingness to timely service its debts.

Supranational Debt Obligations

Supranational entities include international organizations designated or supported by governmental entities to promote economic reconstruction or development and international banking institutions and related government agencies. Examples include the World Bank, the European Investment Bank, the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, the Asian Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. Such supranational issued instruments may be denominated in multi-national currency units. Obligations of the World Bank and certain other supranational organizations are supported by subscribed but unpaid commitments of member countries. There is no assurance that these commitments will be undertaken or complied with in the future.

Brady Bonds

The fund may also invest in Brady Bonds. Brady Bonds are securities created through the exchange of existing commercial bank loans to sovereign entities for new obligations in connection with debt restructurings under a debt restructuring plan introduced by former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Nicholas F. Brady (the “Brady Plan”). Brady Plan debt restructurings have been implemented in a number of countries, including: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Jordan, Mexico, Niger, Nigeria, Panama, Peru, the Philippines, Poland, Uruguay, and Venezuela.

Brady Bonds may be collateralized or uncollateralized, are issued in various currencies (primarily the U.S. dollar) and are actively traded in the over-the-counter secondary market. Brady Bonds are not considered to be U.S. Government securities. U.S. dollar-denominated, collateralized Brady Bonds, which may be fixed rate par bonds or floating rate discount bonds, are generally collateralized in full as to principal by U.S. Treasury zero-coupon bonds having the same maturity as the Brady Bonds. Interest payments on these Brady Bonds generally are collateralized on a one-year or longer rolling-forward basis by cash or securities in an amount that, in the case of fixed rate bonds, is equal to at least one year of interest payments or, in the case of floating rate bonds, initially is equal to at least one year’s interest payments based on the applicable interest rate at that time and is adjusted at regular intervals thereafter. Certain Brady Bonds are entitled to “value recovery payments” in certain circumstances, which in effect constitute supplemental interest payments but generally are not collateralized. Brady Bonds are often viewed as having three or four valuation components: (i) the collateralized repayment of principal at final maturity; (ii) the collateralized interest payments; (iii) the uncollateralized interest payments; and (iv) any uncollateralized repayment of principal at maturity (the uncollateralized amounts constitute the “residual risk”).

Most Mexican Brady Bonds issued to date have principal repayments at final maturity fully collateralized by U.S. Treasury zero-coupon bonds (or comparable collateral denominated in other currencies) and interest coupon payments collateralized on an 18-month rolling-forward basis by funds held in escrow by an agent for the bondholders. A significant

 

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portion of the Venezuelan Brady Bonds and the Argentine Brady Bonds issued to date have repayments at final maturity collateralized by U.S. Treasury zero-coupon bonds (or comparable collateral denominated in other currencies) and/or interest coupon payments collateralized on a 14-month (for Venezuela) or 12-month (for Argentina) rolling-forward basis by securities held by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as collateral agent.

Brady Bonds involve various risk factors including residual risk and the history of defaults with respect to commercial bank loans by public and private entities of countries issuing Brady Bonds. There can be no assurance that Brady Bonds in which the fund may invest will not be subject to restructuring arrangements or to requests for new credit, which may cause the fund to suffer a loss of interest or principal on any of its holdings.

Equity-Linked Notes

Equity-linked notes, which are also known as ELNs, are debt securities that pay interest based upon the performance of one or more equity securities, such as a stock index, a group of stocks or a single stock. These securities usually provide for the repayment of principal upon maturity, plus interest (if any) that is determined with reference to the percentage increase (or sometimes decrease) in the relevant equity securities, measured from a predetermined level. These notes usually have a maturity of two to nine years. ELNs typically allow an investor the choice of (i) holding the note to maturity and receiving any interest at maturity, (ii) selling the note in the secondary market prior to maturity, or (iii) electing to receive early payment of interest prior to maturity based on index performance up to the time of election and to receive the principal amount at maturity. ELNs offer investors the opportunity to participate in the appreciation of the underlying equity securities, often subject to a cap on the interest payable. ELNs are typically considered more conservative investments than investments in the equity securities to which they are linked, as ELNs generally provide for the repayment at maturity of the principal amount invested. However, in addition to the credit and market risks applicable to debt securities, ELNs are subject to the risk that an investor will receive less than the prevailing rate of interest if the value of the relevant equity securities decline or fail to increase sufficiently.

Derivatives

The fund may use various investment strategies described below to hedge market risks (such as broad or specific market movements, interest rates and currency exchange rates), to manage the effective maturity or duration of debt instruments held by the fund, or to seek to increase the fund’s income or gain.

The fund may purchase and sell interest rate, single stock, currency or stock or bond index futures contracts and enter into currency transactions; purchase and sell (or write) exchange listed and over-the-counter (“OTC”) put and call options on securities, currencies, futures contracts, indices and other financial instruments; enter into interest rate transactions, equity swaps and related transactions; and invest in indexed securities and other similar transactions, which may be developed in the future to the extent that the subadviser determines that they are consistent with the fund‘s investment objective and policies and applicable regulatory requirements (collectively, these transactions are referred to as “Derivatives”). The fund’s interest rate transactions may take the form of swaps, caps, floors and collars, and the fund’s currency transactions may take the form of currency forward contracts, currency futures contracts and options thereof, currency swaps and options on currencies.

The fund is operated by persons who have claimed an exclusion, granted to operators of registered investment companies like the fund, from registration as a “commodity pool operator” with respect to the fund under the Commodity Exchange Act, and therefore, are not subject to registration or regulation with respect to the fund under the Commodity Exchange Act. The use of certain Derivatives in certain circumstances will require that the fund segregate cash or other liquid assets to the extent the fund’s obligations are not otherwise ‘covered’ through ownership of the underlying security, financial instrument or currency. See “Use of Segregated and Other Special Accounts” below.

Derivatives involve special risks, including possible default by the other party to the transaction, illiquidity and, to the extent the subadviser’s view as to certain market movements is incorrect, the risk that the use of Derivatives could result in significantly greater losses than if it had not been used. The degree of the fund’s use of Derivatives may be limited by certain provisions of the Code.

 

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Currency Transactions. The fund may engage in currency transactions with counterparties to hedge the value of portfolio securities denominated in particular currencies against fluctuations in relative value or to generate income or gain. Currency transactions include currency forward contracts, exchange-listed currency futures contracts and options thereon, exchange-listed and OTC options on currencies, and currency swaps. A currency forward contract involves a privately negotiated obligation to purchase or sell (with delivery generally required) a specific currency at a future date, which may be any fixed number of days from the date of the contract agreed upon by the parties, at a price set at the time of the contract. A currency swap is an agreement to exchange cash flows based on the notional difference among two or more currencies and operates similarly to an interest rate swap, as described below. The fund may enter into currency transactions only with counterparties that the subadviser deems to be creditworthy.

The fund may enter into currency forward contracts when the subadviser believes that the currency of a particular country may suffer a substantial decline against the U.S. dollar. In those circumstances, the fund may enter into a currency forward contract to sell, for a fixed amount of U.S. dollars, the amount of that currency approximating the value of some or all of the fund’s portfolio securities denominated in such currency. Currency forward contracts may limit potential gain from a positive change in the relationship between the U.S. dollar and foreign currencies.

Transaction hedging is entering into a currency transaction with respect to specific assets or liabilities of the fund, which will generally arise in connection with the purchase or sale of the fund’s portfolio securities or the receipt of income from them. Position hedging is entering into a currency transaction with respect to portfolio securities positions denominated or generally quoted in that currency. The fund will not enter into a transaction to hedge currency exposure to an extent greater, after netting all transactions intended wholly or partially to offset other transactions, than the aggregate market value (at the time of entering into the transaction) of the securities held by the fund that are denominated or generally quoted in or currently convertible into the currency, other than with respect to proxy hedging as described below.

The fund may cross-hedge currencies by entering into transactions to purchase or sell one or more currencies that are expected to increase or decline in value relative to other currencies to which the fund has or in which the fund expects to have exposure. To reduce the effect of currency fluctuations on the value of existing or anticipated holdings of its securities, the fund may also engage in proxy hedging. Proxy hedging is often used when the currency to which the fund’s holdings is exposed is difficult to hedge generally or difficult to hedge against the dollar. Proxy hedging entails entering into a forward contract to sell a currency, the changes in the value of which are generally considered to be linked to a currency or currencies in which some or all of the fund’s securities are or are expected to be denominated, and to buy dollars. The amount of the contract would not exceed the market value of the fund’s securities denominated in linked currencies.

Currency transactions are subject to risks different from other portfolio transactions, as discussed below under “Risk Factors Associated with Derivatives.” If the fund enters into a currency hedging transaction, the fund will comply with the asset segregation requirements described below under “Use of Segregated and Other Special Accounts.”

Futures Contracts. The fund may trade futures contracts: (1) on domestic and foreign exchanges on currencies, interest rates and bond indices; and (2) on domestic and foreign exchanges on single stocks and stock indices. Futures contracts are generally bought and sold on the commodities exchanges on which they are listed with payment of initial and variation margin as described below. The sale of a futures contract creates a firm obligation by the fund, as seller, to deliver to the buyer the specific type of financial instrument called for in the contract at a specific future time for a specified price (or with respect to certain instruments, the net cash amount). The fund’s use of financial futures contracts and options thereon will in all cases be consistent with applicable regulatory requirements and in particular the rules and regulations of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”). Maintaining a futures contract or selling an option on a futures contract will typically require the fund to deposit with a financial intermediary, as security for its obligations, an amount of cash or other specified assets (“initial margin”) that initially is from 1% to 10% of the face amount of the contract (but may be higher in some circumstances particularly in the case of single stock futures). Additional cash or assets (“variation margin”) may be required to be deposited thereafter daily as the mark-to-market value of the futures contract fluctuates. The value of all futures contracts sold by the fund (adjusted for the historical volatility relationship between the fund and the contracts) will not exceed the total market value of the fund’s securities. In addition, the value of the fund’s long futures and options positions (futures contracts on single stocks, stock or bond indices, interest rates or foreign currencies and call options on such futures contracts) will not exceed the sum of: (a) liquid assets segregated for this purpose; (b) cash proceeds on existing investments due within thirty days; and (c) accrued profits on the particular futures or options positions. The segregation requirements with respect to futures contracts and options thereon are described below under “Use of Segregated and Other Special Accounts.”

 

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Interest Rate Futures Contracts. The fund may enter into interest rate futures contracts in order to protect it from fluctuations in interest rates without necessarily buying or selling fixed income securities. An interest rate futures contract is an agreement to take or make delivery of either: (i) an amount of cash equal to the difference between the value of a particular index of debt securities at the beginning and at the end of the contract period; or (ii) a specified amount of a particular debt security at a future date at a price set at time of the contract. For example, if the fund owns bonds, and interest rates are expected to increase, the fund might sell futures contracts on debt securities having characteristics similar to those held in the portfolio. Such a sale would have much the same effect as selling an equivalent value of the bonds owned by the fund. If interest rates did increase, the value of the debt securities in the portfolio would decline, but the value of the futures contracts to the fund would increase at approximately the same rate, thereby keeping the net asset value of each class of the fund from declining as much as it otherwise would have. The fund could accomplish similar results by selling bonds with longer maturities and investing in bonds with shorter maturities when interest rates are expected to increase. However, since the futures market may be more liquid than the cash market, the use of futures contracts as a risk management technique allows the fund to maintain a defensive position without having to sell its portfolio securities.

Similarly when the subadviser expects that interest rates may decline, the fund may purchase interest rate futures contracts in an attempt to hedge against having to make subsequently anticipated purchases of bonds at the higher prices subsequently expected to prevail. Since the fluctuations in the value of appropriately selected futures contracts should be similar to that of the bonds that will be purchased, the fund could take advantage of the anticipated rise in the cost of the bonds without actually buying them until the market had stabilized. At that time, the fund could make the intended purchase of the bonds in the cash market and the futures contracts could be liquidated.

At the time of delivery of securities pursuant to an interest rate futures contract, adjustments are made to recognize differences in value arising from the delivery of securities with a different interest rate from that specified in the contract. In some (but not many) cases, securities called for by a futures contract may have a shorter term than the term of the futures contract and, consequently, may not in fact have been issued when the futures contract was entered.

Single Stock Futures. Recent legislation permits the trading on U.S. exchanges of standardized futures contacts on individual equity securities, such as common stocks, exchange traded funds and American Depository Receipts, as well as narrow-based securities indices, generally called security futures contracts or “SFCs.” As with other futures contracts, an SFC involves an agreement to purchase or sell in the future a specific quantity of shares of a security or the component securities of the index. The initial margin requirements (typically 20 percent) are generally higher than with other futures contracts. Trading SFCs involves many of the same risks as trading other futures contracts, including the risks involved with leverage, and losses are potentially unlimited. Under certain market conditions, for example if trading is halted due to unusual trading activity in either the SFC or the underlying security due to recent new events involving the issuer of the security, it may be difficult or impossible for the fund to liquidate its position or manage risk by entering into an offsetting position. In addition, the prices of the SFCs may not correlate as anticipated with the prices of the underlying security. And unlike options on securities in which the fund may invest, where the fund had a position in a SFC, the fund has both the right and the obligation to buy or sell the security at a future date, or otherwise offset its position.

Options. In order to hedge against adverse market shifts or to increase income or gain, the fund may purchase put and call options or write “covered” put and call options on futures contracts on stock indices, interest rates and currencies. In addition, in order to hedge against adverse market shifts or to increase its income, the fund may purchase put and call options and write “covered” put and call options on securities, indices, currencies and other financial instruments. The fund may utilize options on currencies in order to hedge against currency exchange rate risks. A call option is “covered” if, so long as the fund is obligated as the writer of the option, it will: (i) own the underlying investment subject to the option; (ii) own securities convertible or exchangeable without the payment of any consideration into the securities subject to the option; (iii) own a call option on the relevant security or currency with an exercise price no higher than the exercise price on the call option written or (iv) deposit with its custodian in a segregated account liquid assets having a value equal to the excess of the value of the security or index that is the subject of the call over the exercise price. A put option is “covered” if, to support its obligation to purchase the underlying investment if a put option that the fund writes is exercised, the fund will either (a) deposit with its custodian in a segregated account liquid assets having a value at least equal to the exercise price of the underlying investment or (b) continue to own an equivalent number of puts of the same “series” (that is, puts on the same underlying investment having the same exercise prices and expiration dates as

 

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those written by the fund), or an equivalent number of puts of the same “class” (that is, puts on the same underlying investment) with exercise prices greater than those that it has written (or, if the exercise prices of the puts it holds are less than the exercise prices of those it has written, it will deposit the difference with its custodian in a segregated account). Parties to options transactions must make certain payments and/or set aside certain amounts of assets in connection with each transaction, as described below.

In all cases except for certain options on interest rate futures contracts, by writing a call, the fund will limit its opportunity to profit from an increase in the market value of the underlying investment above the exercise price of the option for as long as the fund‘s obligation as writer of the option continues. By writing a put, the fund bears the risk of a decrease in the market value of the underlying investment below the exercise price of the option for as long as the fund’s obligation as writer of the option continues. Upon the exercise of a put option written by the fund, the fund may suffer an economic loss equal to the difference between the price at which the fund is required to purchase the underlying investment and its market value at the time of the option exercise, less the premium received for writing the option. Upon the exercise of a call option written by the fund, the fund may suffer an economic loss equal to an amount not less than the excess of the investment’s market value at the time of the option exercise over the fund’s acquisition cost of the investment, less the sum of the premium received for writing the option and the positive difference, if any, between the call price paid to the fund and the fund’s acquisition cost of the investment.

In all cases except for certain options on interest rate futures contracts, in purchasing a put option, the fund will seek to benefit from, or protect against, a decline in the market price of the underlying investment, while in purchasing a call option, the fund will seek to benefit from an increase in the market price of the underlying investment. If an option purchased is not sold or exercised when it has remaining value, or if the market price of the underlying investment remains equal to or greater than the exercise price, in the case of a put, or remains equal to or below the exercise price, in the case of a call, during the life of the option, the fund will lose its investment in the option. For the purchase of an option to be profitable, the market price of the underlying investment must decline sufficiently below the exercise price, in the case of a put, and must increase sufficiently above the exercise price, in the case of a call, to cover the premium and transaction costs.

In the case of certain options on interest rate futures contracts, the fund may purchase a put option in anticipation of a rise in interest rates, and purchase a call option in anticipation of a fall in interest rates. By writing a covered call option on interest rate futures contracts, the fund will limit its opportunity to profit from a fall in interest rates. By writing a covered put option on interest rate futures contracts, the fund will limit its opportunity to profit from a rise in interest rates.

The fund may choose to exercise the options it holds, permit them to expire or terminate them prior to their expiration by entering into closing transactions. The fund may enter into a closing purchase transaction in which the fund purchases an option having the same terms as the option it had written or a closing sale transaction in which the fund sells an option having the same terms as the option it had purchased. A covered option writer unable to effect a closing purchase transaction will not be able to sell the underlying security until the option expires or the underlying security is delivered upon exercise, with the result that the writer will be subject to the risk of market decline in the underlying security during such period. Should the fund choose to exercise an option, the fund will receive, in the case of a call option, or sell in the case of a put option, the securities, commodities or commodity futures contracts underlying the exercised option.

Exchange-listed options on securities and currencies, with certain exceptions, generally settle by physical delivery of the underlying security or currency, although in the future, cash settlement may become available. Frequently, rather than taking or making delivery of the underlying instrument through the process of exercising the option, listed options are closed by entering into offsetting purchase or sale transactions that do not result in ownership of the new option. Index options are cash settled for the net amount, if any, by which the option is “in-the-money” (that is, the amount by which the value of the underlying instrument exceeds, in the case of a call option, or is less than, in the case of a put option, the exercise price of the option) at the time the option is exercised.

Put options and call options typically have similar structural characteristics and operational mechanics regardless of the underlying instrument on which they are purchased or sold. Thus, the following general discussion relates to each of the particular types of options discussed in greater detail below. In addition, many Derivatives involving options require segregation of fund assets in special accounts, as described below under “Use of Segregated and Other Special Accounts.”

 

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A put option gives the purchaser of the option, upon payment of a premium, the right to sell, and the writer of the obligation to buy, the underlying security, index, currency or other instrument at the exercise price. The fund’s purchase of a put option on a security, for example, might be designed to protect its holdings in the underlying instrument (or, in some cases, a similar instrument) against a substantial decline in the market value of such instrument by giving the fund the right to sell the instrument at the option exercise price. A call option, upon payment of a premium, gives the purchaser of the option the right to buy, and the seller the obligation to sell, the underlying instrument at the exercise price. The fund‘s purchase of a call option on a security, financial futures contract, index, currency or other instrument might be intended to protect the fund against an increase in the price of the underlying instrument that it intends to purchase in the future by fixing the price at which it may purchase the instrument. An “American” style put or call option may be exercised at any time during the option period, whereas a “European” style put or call option may be exercised only upon expiration or during a fixed period prior to expiration. Exchange-listed options are issued by a regulated intermediary such as the Options Clearing Corporation (“OCC”), which guarantees the performance of the obligations of the parties to the options. The discussion below uses the OCC as an example, but may also be applicable to other similar financial intermediaries.

OCC-issued and exchange-listed options, including options on securities, currencies and financial instruments generally settle for cash, although physical settlement maybe required in some cases. Index options are cash settled for the net amount, if any, by which the option is “in-the-money” (that is, the amount by which the value of the underlying instrument exceeds, in the case of a call option, or is less than, in the case of a put option, the exercise price of the option) at the time the option is exercised. Frequently, rather than taking or making delivery of the underlying instrument through the process of exercising the option, listed options are closed by entering into offsetting purchase or sale transactions that do not result in ownership of the new option.

The fund’s ability to close out its position as a purchaser or seller of an OCC-issued or exchange-listed put or call option is dependent, in part, upon the liquidity of the particular option market. Among the possible reasons for the absence of a liquid option market on an exchange are: (1) insufficient trading interest in certain options, (2) restrictions on transactions imposed by an exchange, (3) trading halts, suspensions or other restrictions imposed with respect to particular classes or series of options or underlying securities, including reaching daily price limits, (4) interruption of the normal operations of the OCC or an exchange, (5) inadequacy of the facilities of an exchange or the OCC to handle current trading volume or (6) a decision by one or more exchanges to discontinue the trading of options (or a particular class or series of options), in which event the relevant market for that option on that exchange would cease to exist, although any such outstanding options on that exchange would continue to be exercisable in accordance with their terms.

The hours of trading for listed options may not coincide with the hours during which the underlying financial instruments are traded. To the extent that the option markets close before the markets for the underlying financial instruments, significant price and rate movements can take place in the underlying markets that would not be reflected in the corresponding option markets.

OTC options are purchased from or sold to securities dealers, financial institutions or other parties (collectively referred to as “Counterparties” and individually referred to as a “Counterparty”) through a direct bilateral agreement with the Counterparty. In contrast to exchange-listed options, which generally have standardized terms and performance mechanics, all of the terms of an OTC option, including such terms as method of settlement, term, exercise price, premium, guaranties and security, are determined by negotiation of the parties. It is anticipated that any fund authorized to use OTC options will generally only enter into OTC options that have cash settlement provisions, although it will not be required to do so.

Unless the parties provide for it, no central clearing or guaranty function is involved in an OTC option. As a result, if a Counterparty fails to make or take delivery of the security, currency or other instrument underlying an OTC option it has entered into with the fund or fails to make a cash settlement payment due in accordance with the terms of that option, the fund will lose any premium it paid for the option as well as any anticipated benefit of the transaction. Thus, the subadviser must assess the creditworthiness of each such Counterparty or any guarantor or credit enhancement of the counterparty’s credit to determine the likelihood that the terms of the OTC option will be met. The fund will enter into OTC option transactions only with U.S. Government securities dealers recognized by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York as “primary dealers,” or broker-dealers, domestic or foreign banks, or other financial institutions that the subadviser deems to be creditworthy. In the absence of a change in the current position of the staff of the SEC, OTC options purchased by the fund and the amount of the fund’s obligation pursuant to an OTC option sold by the fund (the cost of the sell-back plus the in-the-money amount, if any) or the value of the assets held to cover such options will be deemed illiquid.

 

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If the fund sells a call option, the premium that it receives may serve as a partial hedge, to the extent of the option premium, against a decrease in the value of the underlying securities or instruments held by the fund or will increase the fund’s income. Similarly, the sale of put options can also provide gains for the fund.

The fund may purchase and sell call options on securities that are traded on U.S. and foreign securities exchanges and in the OTC markets, and on securities indices, currencies and futures contracts. All calls sold by the fund must be “covered” (that is, the fund must own the securities or futures contract subject to the call), or must otherwise meet the asset segregation requirements described below for so long as the call is outstanding. Even though the fund will receive the option premium to help protect it against loss, a call sold by the fund will expose the fund during the term of the option to possible loss of opportunity to realize appreciation in the market price of the underlying security or instrument and may require the fund to hold a security or instrument that it might otherwise have sold.

The fund reserves the right to purchase or sell options on instruments and indices which may be developed in the future to the extent consistent with applicable law, the fund’s investment objective and the restrictions set forth herein.

The fund may purchase and sell put options on securities (whether or not it holds the securities in its portfolio) and on securities indices, currencies and futures contracts. In selling put options, the fund faces the risk that it may be required to buy the underlying security at a disadvantageous price above the market price.

(a) Options on Stocks and Stock Indices. The fund may purchase put and call options and write covered put and call options on stocks and stock indices listed on domestic and foreign securities exchanges in order to hedge against movements in the equity markets or to increase income or gain to the fund. In addition, the fund may purchase options on stocks that are traded over-the-counter. Options on stock indices are similar to options on specific securities. However, because options on stock indices do not involve the delivery of an underlying security, the option represents the holder’s right to obtain from the writer cash in an amount equal to a fixed multiple of the amount by which the exercise price exceeds (in the case of a put) or is less than (in the case of a call) the closing value of the underlying stock index on the exercise date. Options traded may include the Standard & Poor’s 100 Index of Composite Stocks, Standard & Poor’s 500 Index of Composite Stocks (the “S&P 500 Index”), the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) Composite Index, the American Stock Exchange (“AMEX”) Market Value Index, the National Over-the-Counter Index and other standard broadly based stock market indices. Options are also traded in certain industry or market segment indices such as the Oil Index, the Computer Technology Index and the Transportation Index. Stock index options are subject to position and exercise limits and other regulations imposed by the exchange on which they are traded.

If the subadviser expects general stock market prices to rise, the fund might purchase a call option on a stock index or a futures contract on that index as a hedge against an increase in prices of particular equity securities it wants ultimately to buy. If the stock index does rise, the price of the particular equity securities intended to be purchased may also increase, but that increase would be offset in part by the increase in the value of the fund’s index option or futures contract resulting from the increase in the index. If, on the other hand, the subadviser expects general stock market prices to decline, it might purchase a put option or sell a futures contract on the index. If that index does decline, the value of some or all of the equity securities in the fund’s portfolio may also be expected to decline, but that decrease would be offset in part by the increase in the value of the fund’s position in such put option or futures contract.

(b) Options on Currencies. The fund may invest in options on currencies traded on domestic and foreign securities exchanges in order to hedge against currency exchange rate risks or to increase income or gain, as described above in “Currency Transactions.”

(c) Options on Futures Contracts. The fund may purchase put and call options and write covered put and call options on futures contracts on stock indices, interest rates and currencies traded on domestic and, to the extent permitted by the CFTC, foreign exchanges, in order to hedge all or a portion of its investments or to increase income or gain and may enter into closing transactions in order to terminate existing positions. There is no guarantee that such closing transactions can be effected. An option on a stock index futures contract, interest rate futures contract or currency futures contract, as contrasted with the direct investment in such a contract, gives the purchaser the right, in return for the premium paid, to assume a

 

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position in the underlying contract at a specified exercise price at any time on or before the expiration date of the option. Upon exercise of an option, the delivery of the futures position by the writer of the option to the holder of the option will be accompanied by delivery of the accumulated balance in the writer’s futures margin account. The potential loss related to the purchase of an option on a futures contract is limited to the premium paid for the option (plus transaction costs). While the price of the option is fixed at the point of sale, the value of the option does change daily and the change would be reflected in the net asset value of the fund.

The purchase of an option on a financial futures contract involves payment of a premium for the option without any further obligation on the part of the fund. If the fund exercises an option on a futures contract it will be obligated to post initial margin (and potentially variation margin) for the resulting futures position just as it would for any futures position. Futures contracts and options thereon are generally settled by entering into an offsetting transaction, but no assurance can be given that a position can be offset prior to settlement or that delivery will occur.

Interest Rate and Equity Swaps and Related Transactions. The fund may enter into interest rate and equity swaps and may purchase or sell (i.e., write) interest rate and equity caps, floors and collars. The fund expects to enter into these transactions in order to hedge against either a decline in the value of the securities included in the fund’s portfolio or against an increase in the price of the securities which it plans to purchase, in order to preserve or maintain a return or spread on a particular investment or portion of its portfolio or to achieve a particular return on cash balances, or in order to increase income or gain. Interest rate and equity swaps involve the exchange by the fund with another party of their respective commitments to make or receive payments based on a notional principal amount. The purchase of an interest rate or equity cap entitles the purchaser, to the extent that a specified index exceeds a predetermined level, to receive payments on a contractually-based principal amount from the party selling the interest rate or equity cap. The purchase of an interest rate or equity floor entitles the purchaser, to the extent that a specified index falls below a predetermined rate, to receive payments on a contractually-based principal amount from the party selling the interest rate or equity floor. A collar is a combination of a cap and a floor, which preserve a certain return within a predetermined range of values.

The fund may enter into interest rate and equity swaps, caps, floors and collars on either an asset-based or liability-based basis, depending on whether it is hedging its assets or its liabilities, and will usually enter into interest rate and equity swaps on a net basis (i.e., the two payment streams are netted out), with the fund receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the two payments. The net amount of the excess, if any, of the fund’s obligations over its entitlements with respect to each interest rate or equity swap will be accrued on a daily basis, and an amount of liquid assets having an aggregate net asset value at least equal to the accrued excess will be maintained in a segregated account by the fund’s custodian in accordance with procedures established by the Board. If the fund enters into an interest rate or equity swap on other than a net basis, the fund will maintain a segregated account in the full amount accrued on a daily basis of the fund’s obligations with respect to the swap. The fund will only enter into interest rate and equity swap, cap, floor or collar transactions with counterparties the subadviser deems to be creditworthy. The subadviser will monitor the creditworthiness of counterparties to its interest rate and equity swap, cap, floor and collar transactions on an ongoing basis. If there is a default by the other party to such a transaction, the fund will have contractual remedies pursuant to the agreements related to the transaction. The swap market has grown substantially in recent years with a large number of banks and investment banking firms acting both as principals and agents utilizing standardized swap documentation. The subadviser has determined that, as a result, the swap market is liquid. Caps, floors and collars are more recent innovations for which standardized documentation has not yet been developed and, accordingly, they are less liquid than swaps. To the extent the fund sells caps, floors and collars it will maintain in a segregated account cash and/or, cash equivalents or other liquid high grade debt securities having an aggregate net asset value at least equal to the full amount, accrued on a daily basis, of the fund’s obligations with respect to the caps, floors or collars. The use of interest rate and equity swaps is a highly specialized activity which involves investment techniques and risks different from those associated with ordinary portfolio securities transactions. If the subadviser is incorrect in its forecasts of market values, interest rates and other applicable factors, the investment performance of the fund would diminish compared with what it would have been if these investment techniques were not utilized. Moreover, even if the subadviser is correct in its forecasts, there is a risk that the swap position may correlate imperfectly with the price of the asset or liability being hedged.

The liquidity of swap agreements will be determined by the subadviser based on various factors, including (1) the frequency of trades and quotations, (2) the number of dealers and prospective purchasers in the marketplace, (3) dealer undertakings to make a market, (4) the nature of the security (including any demand or tender features), and (5) the nature of the marketplace for trades (including the ability to assign or offset the fund’s rights and obligations relating to the investment). Such determination will govern whether a swap will be deemed within the percentage restriction on investments in securities that are not readily marketable.

 

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The fund will maintain liquid assets in a segregated custodial account to cover its current obligations under swap agreements. If the fund enters into a swap agreement on a net basis, it will segregate assets with a daily value at least equal to the excess, if any, of the fund’s accrued obligations under the swap agreement over the accrued amount the fund is entitled to receive under the agreement. If the fund enters into a swap agreement on other than a net basis, it will segregate assets with a value equal to the full amount of the fund‘s accrued obligations under the agreement. See “Use of Segregated and Other Special Accounts” below.

There is no limit on the amount of interest rate and equity swap transactions that may be entered into by the fund. These transactions do not involve the delivery of securities or other underlying assets or principal. Accordingly, the risk of loss with respect to interest rate and equity swaps is limited to the net amount of payments that the fund is contractually obligated to make, if any. The effective use of swaps and related transactions by the fund may depend, among other things, on the fund’s ability to terminate the transactions at times when the subadviser deems it desirable to do so. Because swaps and related transactions are bilateral contractual arrangements between the fund and counterparties to the transactions, the fund’s ability to terminate such an arrangement may be considerably more limited than in the case of an exchange traded instrument. To the extent the fund does not, or cannot, terminate such a transaction in a timely manner, the fund may suffer a loss in excess of any amounts that it may have received, or expected to receive, as a result of entering into the transaction. If the other party to a swap defaults, the fund’s risk of loss is the net amount of payments that the fund contractually is entitled to receive, if any. The fund may purchase and sell caps, floors and collars without limitation, subject to the segregated account requirement described above.

Indexed Securities. The fund may purchase securities whose prices are indexed to the prices of other securities, securities indices, currencies, or other financial indicators. Indexed securities typically, but not always, are debt securities or deposits whose value at maturity or coupon rate is determined by reference to a specific instrument or statistic. Currency-indexed securities typically are short-term to intermediate-term debt securities whose maturity values or interest rates are determined by reference to the values of one or more specified foreign currencies, and may offer higher yields than U.S. dollar-denominated securities of equivalent issuers. Currency-indexed securities may be positively or negatively indexed; that is, their maturity value may increase when the specified currency value increases, resulting in a security that performs similarly to a foreign currency-denominated instrument, or their maturity value may decline when foreign currencies increase, resulting in a security whose price characteristics are similar to a put on the underlying currency. Currency-indexed securities may also have prices that depend on the values of a number of different foreign currencies relative to each other.

Combined Transactions. The fund may enter into multiple transactions, including multiple options transactions, multiple futures transactions, multiple currency transactions (including forward currency contracts), multiple interest rate transactions and any combination of futures, options, currency and interest rate transactions, instead of a single Derivative, as part of a single or combined strategy when, in the judgment of the subadviser, it is in the best interests of the fund to do so. A combined transaction will usually contain elements of risk that are present in each of its component transactions. Although combined transactions will normally be entered into by the fund based on the subadviser’s judgment that the combined strategies will reduce risk or otherwise more effectively achieve the desired portfolio management goal, it is possible that the combination will instead increase the risks or hinder achievement of the fund‘s objective.

Risk Factors Associated with Derivatives. Derivatives have special risks associated with them, including possible default by the counterparty to the transaction, illiquidity and, to the extent the subadviser’s view as to certain market movements is incorrect, the risk that the use of the Derivatives could result in losses greater than if they had not been used. Use of put and call options could result in losses to the fund, force the sale or purchase of portfolio securities at inopportune times or for prices higher than (in the case of put options) or lower than (in the case of call options) current market values, or cause the fund to hold a security it might otherwise sell.

The use of futures and options transactions entails certain special risks. In particular, the variable degree of correlation between price movements of futures contracts and price movements in the related securities position of the fund could create the possibility that losses on the hedging instrument are greater than gains in the value of the fund’s position. In addition, futures and options markets could be illiquid in some circumstances and certain OTC options could have no markets. As a result, in certain markets, the fund might not be able to close out a transaction without incurring substantial losses. Although the fund’s use of futures and options transactions for hedging should tend to minimize the risk of loss due to a decline in the value of the hedged position, at the same time it will tend to limit any

 

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potential gain to the fund that might result from an increase in value of the position. There is also the risk of loss by the fund of margin deposits in the event of bankruptcy of a broker with whom the fund has an open position in a futures contract or option thereon. Finally, the daily variation margin requirements for futures contracts create a greater ongoing potential financial risk than would purchases of options, in which case the exposure is limited to the cost of the initial premium. However, because option premiums paid by the fund are small in relation to the market value of the investments underlying the options, buying options can result in large amounts of leverage. The leverage offered by trading in options could cause the fund’s net asset value to be subject to more frequent and wider fluctuation than would be the case if the fund did not invest in options.

As is the case with futures and options strategies, the effective use of swaps and related transactions by the fund may depend, among other things, on the fund’s ability to terminate the transactions at times when the subadviser deems it desirable to do so. To the extent the fund does not, or cannot, terminate such a transaction in a timely manner, the fund may suffer a loss in excess of any amounts that it may have received, or expected to receive, as a result of entering into the transaction.

Currency hedging involves some of the same risks and considerations as other transactions with similar instruments. Currency transactions can result in losses to the fund if the currency being hedged fluctuates in value to a degree or in a direction that is not anticipated. Further, the risk exists that the perceived linkage between various currencies may not be present or may not be present during the particular time that the fund is engaging in proxy hedging. Currency transactions are also subject to risks different from those of other portfolio transactions. Because currency control is of great importance to the issuing governments and influences economic planning and policy, purchases and sales of currency and related instruments can be adversely affected by government exchange controls, limitations or restrictions on repatriation of currency, and manipulations or exchange restrictions imposed by governments. These forms of governmental actions can result in losses to the fund if it is unable to deliver or receive currency or monies in settlement of obligations and could also cause hedges it has entered into to be rendered useless, resulting in full currency exposure as well as incurring transaction costs. Buyers and sellers of currency futures contracts are subject to the same risks that apply to the use of futures contracts generally. Further, settlement of a currency futures contract for the purchase of most currencies must occur at a bank based in the issuing nation. Trading options on currency futures contracts is relatively new, and the ability to establish and close out positions on these options is subject to the maintenance of a liquid market that may not always be available. Currency exchange rates may fluctuate based on factors extrinsic to that country’s economy.

Because the amount of interest and/or principal payments which the issuer of indexed securities is obligated to make is linked to the prices of other securities, securities indices, currencies, or other financial indicators, such payments may be significantly greater or less than payment obligations in respect of other types of debt securities. As a result, an investment in indexed securities may be considered speculative. Moreover, the performance of indexed securities depends to a great extent on the performance of and may be more volatile than the security, currency, or other instrument to which they are indexed, and may also be influenced by interest rate changes in the United States and abroad. At the same time, indexed securities are subject to the credit risks associated with the issuer of the security, and their values may decline substantially if the issuer’s creditworthiness deteriorates.

Losses resulting from the use of Derivatives will reduce the fund’s net asset value, and possibly income, and the losses can be greater than if Derivatives had not been used.

Risks of Derivatives Outside the United States. When conducted outside the United States, Derivatives transactions may not be regulated as rigorously as in the United States, may not involve a clearing mechanism and related guarantees, and will be subject to the risk of governmental actions affecting trading in, or the prices of, foreign securities, currencies and other instruments. In addition, the price of any foreign futures or foreign options contract and, therefore, the potential profit and loss thereon, may be affected by any variance in the foreign exchange rate between the time an order is placed and the time it is liquidated, offset or exercised. The value of positions taken as part of non-U.S. Derivatives also could be adversely affected by: (1) other complex foreign political, legal and economic factors, (2) lesser availability of data on which to make trading decisions than in the United States, (3) delays in the fund’s ability to act upon economic events occurring in foreign markets during nonbusiness hours in the United States, (4) the imposition of different exercise and settlement terms and procedures and margin requirements than in the United States and (5) lower trading volume and liquidity.

Use of Segregated and Other Special Accounts. Use of many Derivatives by the fund will require, among other things, that the fund segregate liquid assets with its custodian, or a designated sub-custodian, to the extent the fund’s obligations are not otherwise “covered” through ownership of the underlying security, financial instrument or

 

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currency. In general, either the full amount of any obligation by the fund to pay or deliver securities or assets must be covered at all times by the securities, instruments or currency required to be delivered, or, subject to any regulatory restrictions, an amount of liquid assets at least equal to the current amount of the obligation must be segregated with the custodian or subcustodian in accordance with procedures established by the Board. The segregated assets cannot be sold or transferred unless equivalent assets are substituted in their place or it is no longer necessary to segregate them. A call option on securities written by the fund, for example, will require the fund to hold the securities subject to the call (or securities convertible into the needed securities without additional consideration) or to segregate liquid high grade debt obligations sufficient to purchase and deliver the securities if the call is exercised. A call option sold by the fund on an index will require the fund to own portfolio securities that correlate with the index or to segregate liquid high grade debt obligations equal to the excess of the index value over the exercise price on a current basis. A put option on securities written by the fund will require the fund to segregate liquid high grade debt obligations equal to the exercise price. Except when the fund enters into a forward contract in connection with the purchase or sale of a security denominated in a foreign currency or for other non-speculative purposes, which requires no segregation, a currency contract that obligates the fund to buy or sell a foreign currency will generally require the fund to hold an amount of that currency or liquid securities denominated in that currency equal to the fund’s obligations or to segregate liquid high grade debt obligations equal to the amount of the fund’s obligations.

OTC options entered into by the fund, including those on securities, currency, financial instruments or indices, and OCC-issued and exchange-listed index options will generally provide for cash settlement, although the fund will not be required to do so. As a result, when the fund sells these instruments it will segregate an amount of assets equal to its obligations under the options. OCC-issued and exchange-listed options sold by the fund other than those described above generally settle with physical delivery, and the fund will segregate an amount of assets equal to the full value of the option. OTC options settling with physical delivery or with an election of either physical delivery or cash settlement will be treated the same as other options settling with physical delivery. If the fund enters into OTC option transactions, it will be subject to counterparty risk.

In the case of a futures contract or an option on a futures contract, the fund must deposit initial margin and, in some instances, daily variation margin in addition to segregating liquid assets sufficient to meet its obligations to purchase or provide securities or currencies, or to pay the amount owed at the expiration of an index-based futures contract. The fund will accrue the net amount of the excess, if any, of its obligations relating to swaps over its entitlements with respect to each swap on a daily basis and will segregate with its custodian, or designated sub-custodian, an amount of liquid assets having an aggregate value equal to at least the accrued excess. Caps, floors and collars require segregation of liquid assets with a value equal to the fund’s net obligation, if any.

Derivatives may be covered by means other than those described above when consistent with applicable regulatory policies. The fund may also enter into offsetting transactions so that its combined position, coupled with any segregated assets, equals its net outstanding obligation in related Derivatives. The fund could purchase a put option, for example, if the strike price of that option is the same or higher than the strike price of a put option sold by the fund. Moreover, instead of segregating assets if it holds a futures contract or forward contract, the fund could purchase a put option on the same futures contract or forward contract with a strike price as high or higher than the price of the contract held. Other Derivatives may also be offset in combinations. If the offsetting transaction terminates at the time of or after the primary transaction, no segregation is required, but if it terminates prior to that time, assets equal to any remaining obligation would need to be segregated.

Investors should note that the fund’s ability to pursue certain of these strategies may be limited by applicable regulations of the SEC, the CFTC and the federal income tax requirements applicable to regulated investment companies.

Smaller Market Capitalization Companies

Investments in companies with smaller market capitalizations, including companies generally considered to be small cap issuers and medium sized companies, may involve greater risks and volatility than investments in larger companies. Companies with smaller market capitalizations may be at an earlier stage of development, may be subject to greater business risks, may have limited product lines, limited financial resources and less depth in management than more established companies. In addition, these companies may have difficulty withstanding competition from larger more established companies in their industries. The securities of companies with smaller market capitalizations may be thinly traded (and therefore have to be sold at a discount from current market prices or sold in small lots over an extended period of time), may be followed by fewer investment research analysts and may be subject to wider price swings and thus may create a greater chance of loss than investing in securities of larger capitalization companies. In addition, transaction costs in smaller capitalization stocks may be higher than those of larger capitalization companies.

 

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Rule 144A Securities

Consistent with applicable investment restrictions, the fund may purchase securities that are not registered under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”), but can be offered and sold to “qualified institutional buyers” under Rule 144A under the 1933 Act (“Rule 144A securities”). However, the fund will not invest more than 15% of its net assets (taken at market value) in illiquid investments, which include securities for which there is no readily available market, securities subject to contractual restrictions on resale and Rule 144A securities, unless, in the case of Rule 144A securities, the Board of Trustees determines, based on the trading markets for the specific Rule 144A security, that it is liquid. The Trustees have adopted guidelines and, subject to oversight by the Trustees, have delegated to the subadviser the daily function of determining and monitoring liquidity of Rule 144A securities.

Private Placements and Illiquid Investments

The fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in securities for which there is no readily available market. These illiquid securities may include privately placed restricted securities for which no institutional market exists. The absence of a trading market can make it difficult to ascertain a market value for illiquid investments. Disposing of illiquid investments may involve time-consuming negotiation and legal expenses, and it may be difficult or impossible for the fund to sell them promptly at an acceptable price.

Investment Companies

The fund may from time to time invest in securities of other investment companies, subject to applicable statutory and regulatory limitations. The return on such investments will be reduced by the operating expenses, including investment advisory and administration fees, of such investment funds, and will be further reduced by fund expenses, including management fees; that is, there will be a layering of certain fees and expenses. Investment in closed-end investment companies also may involve the payment of substantial premiums above, and upon sale there may be substantial market discounts below, the value of such companies’ portfolio securities.

Short Sales “Against the Box”

In a short sale, the fund sells a borrowed security and has a corresponding obligation to the lender to return the identical security. The fund, in accordance with applicable investment restrictions, may engage in short sales only if at the time of the short sale it owns or has the right to obtain, at no additional cost, an equal amount of the security being sold short. This investment technique is known as a short sale “against the box.”

In a short sale, the seller does not immediately deliver the securities sold and is said to have a short position in those securities until delivery occurs. If the fund engages in a short sale, the collateral for the short position is maintained for the fund by the custodian or qualified sub-custodian. While the short sale is open, an amount of securities equal in kind and amount to the securities sold short or securities convertible into or exchangeable for such equivalent securities is maintained in a segregated account for the fund. These securities constitute the fund‘s long position.

The fund does not engage in short sales against the box for investment purposes. The fund may, however, make a short sale against the box as a hedge, when it believes that the price of a security may decline, causing a decline in the value of a security owned by the fund (or a security convertible or exchangeable for such security). In such case, any future losses in the fund’s long position should be reduced by a gain in the short position. Conversely, any gain in the long position should be reduced by a loss in the short position. The extent to which such gains or losses are reduced depends upon the amount of the security sold short relative to the amount the fund owns. There are certain additional transaction costs associated with short sales against the box, but the fund endeavors to offset these costs with the income from the investment of the cash proceeds of short sales.

The subadviser does not expect that more than 40% of the fund’s total assets would be involved in short sales against the box. The subadviser does not currently intend to engage in such sales.

 

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Lending of Securities

Consistent with applicable regulatory requirements and in order to generate income, the fund may lend its securities to broker-dealers and other institutional borrowers. Such loans will usually be made only to member banks of the U.S. Federal Reserve System and to member firms of the NYSE. Loans of securities would be secured continuously by collateral in cash, cash equivalents, or U.S. Treasury obligations maintained on a current basis at an amount at least equal to the market value of the securities loaned. The cash collateral would be invested in high quality short-term instruments. Either party has the right to terminate a loan at any time on customary industry settlement notice (which will not usually exceed three business days). During the existence of a loan, the fund would continue to receive the equivalent of the interest or dividends paid by the issuer on the securities loaned and with respect to cash collateral would also receive compensation based on investment of cash collateral (subject to a rebate payable to the borrower and the lending agent). Where the borrower provides the fund with collateral consisting of U.S. Treasury obligations, the borrower is also obligated to pay the fund a fee for use of the borrowed securities. The fund would not, however, have the right to vote any securities having voting rights during the existence of the loan, but would call the loan in anticipation of an important vote to be taken among holders of the securities or of the giving or withholding of their consent on a material matter affecting the investment. As with other extensions of credit, there are risks of delay in recovery or even loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower fail financially. However, the loans would be made only to entities deemed by the subadviser to be of good standing, and when, in the judgment of the subadviser, the consideration which can be earned currently from loans of this type justifies the attendant risk. In addition, the fund could suffer loss if the borrower terminates the loan and the fund is forced to liquidate investments in order to return the cash collateral to the buyer. If the subadviser determines to make loans, it is not intended that the value of the securities loaned by the fund would exceed 30% of the market value of the fund’s total assets.

When-Issued Securities

The fund may purchase securities on a “when-issued” or on a “forward delivery” basis, meaning that delivery of the securities occurs beyond customary settlement times. In general, the fund does not pay for the securities until received and does not start earning interest until the contractual settlement date. It is expected that, under normal circumstances, the fund would take delivery of such securities, but the fund may sell them before the settlement date. When the fund commits to purchase a security on a “when-issued” or on a “forward delivery” basis, it sets up procedures consistent with SEC policies. Since those policies currently require that an amount of the fund’s assets equal to the amount of the purchase be held aside or segregated to be used to pay for the commitment, the fund expects always to have cash or liquid securities sufficient to cover any commitments or to limit any potential risk. However, even though the fund does not intend to make such purchases for speculative purposes and intends to adhere to the provisions of SEC policies, purchases of securities on such bases may involve more risk than other types of purchases. The when-issued securities are subject to market fluctuation, and no interest accrues on the security to the purchaser during this period. The payment obligation and the interest rate that will be received on the securities are each fixed at the time the purchaser enters into the commitment. Purchasing obligations on a when-issued basis is a form of leveraging and can involve a risk that the yields available in the market when the delivery takes place may actually be higher than those obtained in the transactions itself. In that case, there could be an unrealized loss at the time of delivery. An increase in the percentage of the fund’s assets committed to the purchase of securities on a “when-issued basis” may increase the volatility of its net asset value.

Borrowing

The fund may borrow in certain limited circumstances. See “Investment Restrictions.” Borrowing creates an opportunity for increased return, but, at the same time, creates special risks. For example, borrowing may exaggerate changes in the net asset value of the fund‘s shares and in the return on the fund’s portfolio. The fund may be required to liquidate portfolio securities at a time when it would be disadvantageous to do so in order to make payments with respect to any borrowing, which could affect the subadviser’s strategy and the ability of the fund to comply with certain provisions of the Code in order to provide pass-though tax treatment to shareholders. Interest on any borrowings will be a fund expense and will reduce the value of the fund’s shares.

 

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Money Market Instruments

Money market instruments are short term debt obligations including U.S. government securities, including bills, notes and bonds differing as to maturity and rates of interest that are either issued or guaranteed by the U.S. Treasury or by U.S. government agencies or instrumentalities, repurchase agreements and certificates of deposit issued against funds deposited in a bank or a savings and loan association, repurchase agreements. Such certificates are for a definite period of time, earn a specified rate of return, and are normally negotiable. The issuer of a certificate of deposit agrees to pay the amount deposited plus interest to the bearer of the certificate on the date specified thereon. Under current Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation regulations, the maximum insurance payable as to any one certificate of deposit is $100,000; therefore, any certificates of deposit purchased by the fund may not be fully insured. Money market instruments also include commercial paper and bankers acceptances and bank time deposits. Commercial paper consists of short-term (usually one to 270 days) unsecured promissory notes issues by corporations in order to finance their current operations. Bankers acceptances are short-term credit instruments used to finance commercial transactions. Generally, an acceptance is a time draft drawn on a bank by an exporter or an importer to obtain a stated amount of funds to pay for specific merchandise. The draft is then “accepted” by a bank that, in effect, unconditionally guarantees to pay the face value of the instrument on its maturity date. The acceptance may then be held by the accepting bank as an asset or it may be sold in the secondary market at the going rate of interest for a specific maturity. Bank time deposits are monies kept on deposit with banks or savings and loan associations for a stated period of time at a fixed rate of interest. There may be penalties for the early withdrawal of such time deposits, in which case the yields of these investments will be reduced.

Portfolio Turnover

Purchases and sales of portfolio securities may be made as considered advisable by the subadviser in the best interests of the shareholders. The fund intends to limit portfolio trading to the extent practicable and consistent with its investment objectives. The fund’s portfolio turnover rate may vary from year to year, as well as within a year. Short-term gains realized from portfolio transactions are taxable to shareholders as ordinary income. In addition, higher portfolio turnover rates can result in corresponding increases in portfolio transaction costs for the fund.

Defensive Strategies

During periods of unusual economic or market conditions or for temporary defensive purposes or liquidity, the fund may invest without limit in cash and in U.S. dollar-denominated high quality money market and short-term instruments. These investments may result in a lower yield than would be available from investments in a lower quality or longer term.

4. INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS

The fund has adopted the following policies which may not be changed without approval by holders of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the fund, which, as used in this Statement of Additional Information, means the vote of the lesser of (i) voting securities representing 67% or more of the voting power of the fund present at a meeting at which the holders of voting securities representing more than 50% of the voting power of the fund are present or represented by proxy, or (ii) voting securities representing more than 50% of the voting power of the fund. The term “voting securities” as used in this paragraph has the same meaning as in the 1940 Act. As discussed under “Proposed Investment Restrictions” below, the fund is proposing to change its investment restrictions.

Current Investment Restrictions

Under the investment restrictions adopted by the fund, the fund may not:

(1) Borrow money except to the extent such borrowing is not prohibited by the 1940 Act and exemptive orders granted under such Act.

(2) Underwrite securities issued by other persons, except that all or any portion of the assets of the fund may be invested in one or more investment companies, to the extent not prohibited by the 1940 Act and exemptive orders granted under such Act, and except insofar as the fund may technically be deemed an underwriter under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, in selling a portfolio security.

 

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(3) Purchase or sell real estate (excluding securities secured by real estate or interests therein and securities of companies, such as real estate investment trusts, which deal in real estate or interests therein), interests in oil, gas or mineral leases, commodities or commodity contracts (excluding currencies and any type of option, futures contract and forward contract) in the ordinary course of its business. The fund reserves the freedom of action to hold and to sell real estate, mineral leases, commodities or commodity contracts (including currencies and any type of option, futures contract and forward contract) acquired as a result of the ownership of securities.

(4) Issue any senior except to the extent not prohibited by the 1940 Act and exemptive orders granted under such Act. For purposes of this restriction, collateral arrangements with respect to any type of swap, option, forward contract and futures contract and collateral arrangements with respect to initial and variation margin are not deemed to be the issuance of a senior security.

(5) Make loans except to the extent not prohibited by the 1940 Act and exemptive orders granted under such Act.

(6) Purchase any securities of an issuer in a particular industry if as a result 25% or more of its total assets (taken at market value at the time of purchase) would be invested in securities of issuers whose principal business activities are in the same industry.

If a percentage or rating restriction (other than a restriction as to borrowing) on investment or utilization of assets set forth above or referred to in the fund’s Prospectus is adhered to at the time an investment is made or assets are so utilized, a later change in percentage is not considered a violation of policy.

Proposed Investment Restrictions

The fund has called a meeting of its shareholders to consider several proposals, including the adoption of revised fundamental investment policies or restrictions. If approved by the fund’s shareholders, the fund’s revised fundamental policies will be as follows:

(1) The fund may not borrow money except as permitted by (i) the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

(2) The fund may not engage in the business of underwriting the securities of other issuers except as permitted by (i) the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

(3) The fund may lend money or other assets to the extent permitted by (i) the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

(4) The fund may not issue senior securities except as permitted by (i) the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

(5) The fund may not purchase or sell real estate except as permitted by (i) the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

(6) The fund may purchase or sell commodities or contracts related to commodities to the extent permitted by (i) the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

 

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(7) Except as permitted by exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, the fund may not make any investment if, as a result, the fund’s investments will be concentrated in any one industry.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to borrowing money set forth in (1) above, the 1940 Act permits a fund to borrow money in amounts of up to one-third of the fund’s total assets from banks for any purpose, and to borrow up to 5% of the fund’s total assets from banks or other lenders for temporary purposes. To limit the risks attendant to borrowing, the 1940 Act requires the fund to maintain at all times an “asset coverage” of at least 300% of the amount of its borrowings. Asset coverage means the ratio that the value of the fund’s total assets, minus liabilities other than borrowings, bears to the aggregate amount of all borrowings. Certain trading practices and investments, such as reverse repurchase agreements may be considered to be borrowings and thus subject to the 1940 Act restrictions. Borrowing money to increase portfolio holdings is known as “leveraging.” Borrowing, especially when used for leverage, may cause the value of a fund’s shares to be more volatile than if the fund did not borrow. This is because borrowing tends to magnify the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of the fund’s portfolio holdings. Borrowed money thus creates an opportunity for greater gains, but also greater losses. To repay borrowings, the fund may have to sell securities at a time and at a price that is unfavorable to the fund. There also are costs associated with borrowing money, and these costs would offset and could eliminate a fund’s net investment income in any given period. [Subject to confirmation: Currently the fund does not contemplate borrowing money for leverage, but if the fund does so, it will not likely do so to a substantial degree.] The policy in (1) above will be interpreted to permit a fund to engage in trading practices and investments that may be considered to be borrowing to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act. Short-term credits necessary for the settlement of securities transactions and arrangements with respect to securities lending will not be considered to be borrowings under the policy. Practices and investments that may involve leverage but are not considered to be borrowings are not subject to the policy.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to underwriting set forth in (2) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from engaging in the underwriting business or from underwriting the securities of other issuers; in fact, the 1940 Act permits a fund to have underwriting commitments of up to 25% of its assets under certain circumstances. Those circumstances currently are that the amount of the fund’s underwriting commitments, when added to the value of the fund’s investments in issuers where the fund owns more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of those issuers, cannot exceed the 25% cap. A fund engaging in transactions involving the acquisition or disposition of portfolio securities maybe considered to be an underwriter under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”). Under the 1933 Act, an underwriter may be liable for material omissions or misstatements in an issuer’s registration statement or prospectus. Securities purchased from an issuer and not registered for sale under the 1933 Act are considered restricted securities. There may be a limited market for these securities. If these securities are registered under the 1933 Act, they may then be eligible for sale but participating in the sale may subject the seller to underwriter liability. These risks could apply to a fund investing in restricted securities. Although it is not believed that the application of the 1933 Act provisions described above would cause a fund to be engaged in the business of underwriting, the policy in (2) above will be interpreted not to prevent the fund from engaging in transactions involving the acquisition or disposition of portfolio securities, regardless of whether the fund may be considered to be an underwriter under the 1933 Act.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to lending set forth in (3) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from making loans; however, SEC staff interpretations currently prohibit funds from lending more than one-third of their total assets, except through the purchase of debt obligations or the use of repurchase agreements. (A repurchase agreement is an agreement to purchase a security, coupled with an agreement to sell that security back to the original seller on an agreed-upon date at a price that reflects current interest rates. The SEC frequently treats repurchase agreements as loans.) While lending securities may be a source of income to a fund, as with other extensions of credit, there are risks of delay in recovery or even loss of rights in the underlying securities should the borrower fail financially. However, loans would be made only when the fund’s manager or a sub-adviser believes the income justifies the attendant risks. The fund also will be permitted by this policy to make loans of money, including to other funds. A fund would have to obtain exemptive relief from the SEC to make loans to other funds. The policy in (3) above will be interpreted not to prevent a fund from purchasing or investing in debt obligations and loans. In addition, collateral arrangements with respect to options, forward currency and futures transactions and other derivative instruments, as well as delays in the settlement of securities transactions, will not be considered loans.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to issuing senior securities set forth in (4) above, “senior securities” are defined as fund obligations that have a priority over the fund’s shares with respect to the payment of dividends or the distribution of fund assets. The 1940 Act prohibits a fund from issuing senior securities except that the fund may borrow money in amounts of up to one-third of the fund’s total assets from banks for any purpose. A fund also may borrow up to 5% of the fund’s total assets from banks or other lenders for temporary purposes, and these borrowings are not considered senior securities. The issuance of senior securities by a fund can increase the speculative character of the fund’s outstanding shares through leveraging. Leveraging of a fund’s portfolio through the issuance of senior securities magnifies the potential for gain or loss on monies, because even though the fund’s net assets remain the same, the total risk to investors is increased to the extent of the fund’s gross assets. The policy in (4) above will be interpreted not to prevent collateral arrangements with respect to swaps, options, forward or futures contracts or other derivatives, or the posting of initial or variation margin.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to real estate set forth in (5) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from owning real estate; however, a fund is limited in the amount of illiquid assets it may purchase. Investing in real estate may involve risks, including that real estate is generally considered illiquid and may be difficult to value and sell. Owners of real estate may be subject to various liabilities, including environmental liabilities. To the extent that investments in real estate are considered illiquid, the current SEC staff position generally limits a fund’s purchases of illiquid securities to 15% of net assets. The policy in (5) above will be interpreted not to prevent a fund from investing in real estate-related companies, companies whose businesses consist in whole or in part of investing in real estate, instruments (like mortgages) that are secured by real estate or interests therein, or real estate investment trust securities.

 

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With respect to the fundamental policy relating to commodities set forth in (6) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from owning commodities, whether physical commodities and contracts related to physical commodities (such as oil or grains and related futures contracts), or financial commodities and contracts related to financial commodities (such as currencies and, possibly, currency futures). However, a fund is limited in the amount of illiquid assets it may purchase. To the extent that investments in commodities are considered illiquid, the current SEC staff position generally limits a fund’s purchases of illiquid securities to 15% of net assets. If a fund were to invest in a physical commodity or a physical commodity-related instrument, the fund would be subject to the additional risks of the particular physical commodity and its related market. The value of commodities and commodity-related instruments may be extremely volatile and may be affected either directly or indirectly by a variety of factors. There also may be storage charges and risks of loss associated with physical commodities. The policy in (6) above will be interpreted to permit investments in exchange traded funds that invest in physical and/or financial commodities.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to concentration set forth in (7) above, the 1940 Act does not define what constitutes “concentration” in an industry. The SEC staff has taken the position that investment of 25% or more of a fund’s total assets in one or more issuers conducting their principal activities in the same industry or group of industries constitutes concentration. It is possible that interpretations of concentration could change in the future. A fund that invests a significant percentage of its total assets in a single industry may be particularly susceptible to adverse events affecting that industry and may be more risky than a fund that does not concentrate in an industry. The policy in (7) above will be interpreted to refer to concentration as that term may be interpreted from time to time. The policy also will be interpreted to permit investment without limit in the following: securities of the U.S. government and its agencies or instrumentalities; securities of state, territory, possession or municipal governments and their authorities, agencies, instrumentalities or political subdivisions; securities of foreign governments; and repurchase agreements collateralized by any such obligations. Accordingly, issuers of the foregoing securities will not be considered to be members of any industry. There also will be no limit on investment in issuers domiciled in a single jurisdiction or country. The policy also will be interpreted to give broad authority to a fund as to how to classify issuers within or among industries. The fund’s proposed fundamental policies are written and will be interpreted broadly. For example, the policies will be interpreted to refer to the 1940 Act and the related rules as they are in effect from time to time, and to interpretations and modifications of or relating to the 1940 Act by the SEC and others as they are given from time to time. When a policy provides that an investment practice may be conducted as permitted by the 1940 Act, the policy will be interpreted to mean either that the 1940 Act expressly permits the practice or that the 1940 Act does not prohibit the practice.

The fund is currently classified as a diversified fund under the 1940 Act. This means that the fund may not purchase securities of an issuer (other than obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities) if, with respect to 75% of its total assets, (a) more than 5% of the fund’s total assets would be invested in securities of that issuer, or (b) the fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer. With respect to the remaining 25% of its total assets, the fund can invest more than 5% of its assets in one issuer. Under the 1940 Act, the fund cannot change its classification from diversified to non-diversified without shareholder approval.

5. DETERMINATION OF NET ASSET VALUE; VALUATION OF SECURITIES

The net asset value per share of the fund’s Classes is calculated on each day, Monday through Friday, except days on which the NYSE is closed. The NYSE currently is scheduled to be closed on New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas, and on the preceding Friday or subsequent Monday when one of these holidays falls on a Saturday or Sunday, respectively. Because of the differences in distribution fees and Class-specific expenses, the per share net asset value of each Class will differ. Please see the prospectus for a description of the procedures used by the fund in valuing its assets.

 

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6. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION ON THE PURCHASE AND SALE

OF FUND SHARES AND SHAREHOLDER PROGRAMS

General

Investors may purchase shares from a Service Agent. In addition, certain investors, including retirement plans purchasing through certain Service Agents, may purchase shares directly from the fund. When purchasing shares of the fund, investors must specify whether the purchase is for Class A, B, C or I * shares. Service Agents may charge their customers an annual account maintenance fee in connection with a brokerage account through which an investor purchases or holds shares. Accounts held directly the transfer agent are not subject to a maintenance fee.

For additional information regarding applicable investment minimums and eligibility requirements, please see the fund’s prospectus.

There are no minimum investment requirements for purchases of Class A shares by: (i) current and retired board members of Legg Mason, Inc., (ii) current and retired board members of any fund advised by LMPFA (such board members, together with board members of Legg Mason, Inc., are referred to herein as “Legg Mason Board Members”), (iii) current employees of Legg Mason, Inc. and its subsidiaries, (iv) the “immediate families” of such persons (“immediate families” are such person’s spouse, including the surviving spouse of a deceased Legg Mason Board Member, and children under the age of 21) and (v) a pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for the benefit of such persons. The fund reserves the right to waive or change minimums, to decline any order to purchase its shares and to suspend the offering of shares from time to time.

 


* As of November 20, 2006, Class Y Shares were renamed Class I Shares.

 

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Purchase orders received by the fund or a Service Agent prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE on any day the fund calculates its net asset value are priced according to the net asset value determined on that day (the “trade date”). Orders received by a Service Agent prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE on any day the fund calculates its net asset value are priced according to the net asset value determined on that day, provided the order is received by the fund’s agent prior to its close of business. For shares purchased through CGMI or a Service Agent purchasing through CGMI, payment for shares of the fund is normally due on the third business day after the trade date. In all other cases, payment must be made with the purchase order.

Systematic Investment Plan

Shareholders may make additions to their accounts at any time by purchasing shares through a service known as the Systematic Investment Plan. Under the Systematic Investment Plan, a distributor or the transfer agent, is authorized through preauthorized transfers of at least $25 on a monthly, quarterly, every alternate month, semi-annual or annual basis to charge the shareholder’s account held with a bank or other financial institution as indicated by the shareholder, to provide for systematic additions to the shareholder’s fund account. A shareholder who has insufficient funds to complete the transfer will be charged a fee of up to $25 by a distributor or the transfer agent. The Systematic Investment Plan also authorizes a distributor to apply cash held in the shareholder’s brokerage account or redeem the shareholder’s shares of certain money market funds managed by the manager or its affiliates to make additions to the account. Additional information is available from the fund or a Service Agent.

Sales Charge Alternatives. The following Classes of shares are available for purchase. See the Prospectus for a discussion of who is eligible to purchase certain Classes and of factors to consider in selecting which Class of shares to purchase.

Class A Shares . Class A shares are sold to investors at the public offering price, which is the net asset value plus an initial sales charge, as described in the fund’s prospectus.

Members of the selling group may receive a portion of the sales charge as described in the fund’s prospectus and may be deemed to be underwriters of the fund as defined in the 1933 Act. Sales charges are calculated based on the aggregate of purchases of Class A shares of the fund made at one time by any “person,” which includes an individual and his or her spouse and children under the age of 21, or a trustee or other fiduciary of a single trust estate or single fiduciary account. For additional information regarding sales charge reductions, see “Sales Charge Waivers and Reductions” below.

Purchases of Class A shares of $1,000,000 or more will be made at NAV without any initial sales charge, but will be subject to a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00% on redemptions made within 12 months of purchase. The contingent deferred sales charge is waived in the same circumstances in which the contingent deferred sales charge applicable to Class B and C shares is waived. See “Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Provisions” and “Waivers of Contingent Deferred Sales Charge” below.

Class B and C Shares. Class B and C shares are sold without an initial sales charge but are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge payable upon certain redemptions. See “Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Provisions.”

Class I Shares. Class I shares are sold at net asset value with no initial sales charge and no contingent deferred sales charge upon redemption.

Sales Charge Waivers and Reductions

Initial Sales Charge Waivers

Purchases of Class A shares may be made at NAV without an initial sales charge in the following circumstances:

(a) sales to (i) current and retired board members of Legg Mason, (ii) current and retired Board Members (iii) current employees of Legg Mason and its subsidiaries, as well as

 

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(iv) by the “immediate families” of such persons (“immediate families” are such person’s spouse, including the surviving spouse of a deceased Board Member, and children under the age of 21) and (v) by a pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for the benefit of such persons;

(b) sales to any employees of Service Agents having dealer, service or other selling agreements with the funds’ distributors or otherwise having an arrangement with any such Service Agent with respect to sales of fund shares, and by the immediate families of such persons or by a pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for the benefit of such persons (providing the purchase is made for investment purposes and such securities will not be resold except through redemption or repurchase);

(c) offers of Class A shares to any other investment company to effect the combination of such company with the fund by merger, acquisition of assets or otherwise;

(d) purchases by shareholders who have redeemed Class A shares in the fund (or Class A shares of another Legg Mason Partners Fund that is offered with a sales charge) and who wish to reinvest their redemption proceeds in the fund, provided the reinvestment is made within 60 calendar days of the redemption;

(e) purchases by accounts managed by registered investment advisory subsidiaries of Citigroup;

(f) purchases by certain separate accounts used to fund unregistered variable annuity contracts; and

(g) purchases by investors participating in “wrap fee” or asset allocation programs or other fee-based arrangements sponsored by (affiliated and non-affiliated) broker/dealers and other financial institutions that have entered into agreements with CGMI or LMIS.

In order to obtain such discounts, the purchaser must provide sufficient information at the time of purchase to permit verification that the purchase qualifies for the elimination of the sales charge.

 

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Accumulation Privilege

Please see the fund’s prospectus for information regarding accumulation privileges.

Letter of Intent

Helps you take advantage of breakpoints in Class A sales charges. You may purchase Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds over a 13-month period and pay the same sales charge, if any, as if all shares had been purchased at once. You have a choice of seven Asset Level Goal amounts, as follows:

 

  (1) $25,000     (5) $500,000   
  (2) $50,000     (6) $750,000   
  (3) $100,000     (7) $1,000,000   
  (4) $250,000       

Each time you make a Class A purchase under a Letter of Intent, you will be entitled to the sales charge that is applicable to the amount of your Asset Level Goal. For example, if your Asset Level Goal is $100,000, any Class A investments you make under a Letter of Intent would be subject to the sales charge of the specific fund you are investing in for purchases of $100,000. Sales charges and breakpoints vary among the Legg Mason Partners Funds.

When you enter into a Letter of Intent, you agree to purchase in Eligible Accounts over a thirteen (13) month period Eligible Fund Purchases in an amount equal to the Asset Level Goal you have selected, less any Eligible Prior Purchases. For this purpose, shares are valued at the public offering price (including any sales charge paid) calculated as of the date of purchase, plus any appreciation in the value of the shares as of the date of calculation, except for Eligible Prior Purchases, which are valued at current value as of the date of calculation. Your commitment will be met if at any time during the 13-month period the value, as so determined, of eligible holdings is at least equal to your Asset Level Goal. All reinvested dividends and distributions on shares acquired under the Letter will be credited towards your Asset Level Goal. You may include any Eligible Fund Purchases towards the Letter, including shares of classes other than Class A shares. However, a Letter of Intent will not entitle you to a reduction in the sales charge payable on any shares other than Class A shares, and if the shares are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge, you will still be subject to that contingent deferred sales charge with respect to those shares. You must make reference to the Letter of Intent each time you make a purchase under the Letter.

Eligible Fund Purchases. Generally, any shares of a Legg Mason Partners Fund may be credited towards your Asset Level Goal. Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or its affiliates (except for money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners Funds offered with a sales charge), Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. are not eligible. This list may change from time to time. Investors should check with their financial professional to see which funds may be eligible.

 

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Eligible Accounts. Purchases may be made through any account in your name, or in the name of your spouse or your children under the age of 21. You may need to provide certain records, such as account statements, in order to verify your eligibility for reduced sales charges. Contact your Service Agent to see which accounts may be credited toward your Asset Level Goal.

Eligible Prior Purchases . You may also credit towards your Asset Level Goal any Eligible Fund Purchases made in Eligible Accounts at any time prior to entering into the Letter of Intent that have not been sold or redeemed, based on the current price of those shares as of the date of calculation.

Backdating Letter. You may establish a date for a Letter of Intent that is up to ninety (90) calendar days prior to the date you enter into the Letter. Any Eligible Fund Purchases in Eligible Accounts made during that period will count towards your Goal and will also be eligible for the lower sales charge applicable to your Asset Level Goal. You will be credited by way of additional shares at the current offering price for the difference between (a) the aggregate sales charges actually paid for those eligible shares and (b) the aggregate applicable sales charges for your Asset Level Goal.

Increasing the Amount of the Letter. You may at any time increase your Asset Level Goal. You must, however, contact your Service Agent, or if you purchase your shares directly through PFPC, contact PFPC, prior to making any purchases in an amount in excess of your current Asset Level Goal. Upon such an increase, you will be credited by way of additional shares at the then current offering price for the difference between: (a) the aggregate sales charges actually paid for shares already purchased under the Letter and (b) the aggregate applicable sales charges for the increased Asset Level Goal. The 13-month period during which the Asset Level Goal must be achieved will remain unchanged.

Sales and Exchanges. Shares acquired pursuant to a Letter of Intent, other than Escrowed Shares as defined below, may be redeemed or exchanged at any time, although any shares that are redeemed prior to meeting your Asset Level Goal will no longer count towards meeting your Goal. However, complete liquidation of purchases made under a Letter of Intent prior to meeting the Asset Level Goal will result in the cancellation of the Letter. See “Failure to Meet Asset Level Goal” below. Exchanges in accordance with the fund’s prospectus are permitted, and shares so exchanged will continue to count towards your Asset Level Goal, as long as the exchange results in an Eligible Fund Purchase.

Cancellation of Letter. You may cancel a Letter of Intent by notifying your Service Agent in writing, or if you purchase your shares directly through PFPC, by notifying PFPC in writing. The Letter will be automatically cancelled if all shares are sold or redeemed as set forth above. See “Failure to Meet Asset Level Goal” below.

Escrowed Shares. Shares equal in value to five percent (5%) of your Asset Level Goal as of the date your Letter (or the date of any increase in the amount of the Letter) is accepted, will be held in escrow during the term of your Letter. The Escrowed Shares will be included in the total shares owned as reflected in your account statement and any dividends and capital gains distributions applicable to the Escrowed Shares will be credited to your account and counted towards your Asset Level Goal or paid in cash upon request. The Escrowed Shares will be released from escrow if all the terms of your Letter are met.

 

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Failure to Meet Asset Level Goal. If the total assets under your Letter of Intent within its 13-month term are less than your Asset Level Goal or you elect to liquidate all of your holdings or cancel the Letter before reaching your Asset Level Goal, you will be liable for the difference between: (a) the sales charge actually paid and (b) the sales charge that would have applied if you had not entered into the Letter. You may, however, be entitled to any breakpoints that would have been available to you under the accumulation privilege. An appropriate number of shares in your account will be redeemed to realize the amount due. For these purposes, by entering into a Letter of Intent, you irrevocably appoint your Service Agent, or if you purchase your shares directly through PFPC, PFPC, as your attorney-in-fact for the purposes of holding the Escrowed Shares and surrendering shares in your account for redemption. If there are insufficient assets in your account, you will be liable for the difference. Any Escrowed Shares remaining after such redemption will be released to your account.

Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Provisions

“Contingent deferred sales charge shares” are: (a) Class B shares; (b) Class C shares; and (c) Class A shares that were purchased without an initial sales charge but are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge. A contingent deferred sales charge may be imposed on certain redemptions of these shares.

Any applicable contingent deferred sales charge will be assessed on the net asset value at the time of purchase or redemption, whichever is less.

Class A shares that are contingent deferred sales charge shares are subject to a 1.00% contingent deferred sales charge if redeemed within 12 months of purchase. In circumstances in which the contingent deferred sales charge is imposed on Class B shares, the amount of the charge will depend on the number of years since the shareholder made the purchase payment from which the amount is being redeemed, as further described in the prospectus. Solely for purposes of determining the number of years since a purchase payment, all purchase payments made during a month will be aggregated and deemed to have been made on the last day of the preceding statement month.

 

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Class B shares will convert automatically to Class A shares approximately eight years after the date on which they were purchased and thereafter will no longer be subject to any distribution fees. There will also be converted at that time such proportion of Class B dividend shares (Class B shares that were acquired through the reinvestment of dividends and distributions) owned by the shareholders as the total number of his or her Class B shares converting at the time bears to the total number of outstanding Class B shares (other than Class B dividend shares) owned by the shareholder.

In determining the applicability of any contingent deferred sales charge, it will be assumed that a redemption is made first of shares representing capital appreciation, next of shares representing the reinvestment of dividends and capital gain distributions, next of shares that are not subject to the contingent deferred sales charge and finally of other shares held by the shareholder for the longest period of time. The length of time that contingent deferred sales charge shares acquired through an exchange have been held will be calculated from the date the shares exchanged were initially acquired in one of the other Legg Mason Partners mutual funds. For federal income tax purposes, the amount of the contingent deferred sales charge will reduce the gain or increase the loss, as the case may be, on the amount realized on redemption. The fund’s distributors receive contingent deferred sales charges in partial consideration for the expenses in selling shares.

Waivers of Contingent Deferred Sales Charge

The contingent deferred sales charge will be waived on: (a) exchanges (see “Exchange Privilege”); (b) automatic cash withdrawals in amounts equal to or less than 2.00% of the shareholder’s account balance at the time the withdrawals commence per month, up to a maximum of 12% in one year (see “Automatic Cash Withdrawal Plan”); (c) redemptions of shares within 12 months following the death or disability (as defined in the Code) of the shareholder; (d) mandatory post-retirement distributions from retirement plans or IRAs commencing on or after attainment of age 70  1 / 2 (except that shareholders who purchased shares subject to a contingent deferred sales charge prior to May 23, 2005 will be “grandfathered” and will be eligible to obtain the waiver at age 59  1 / 2 by demonstrating such eligibility at the time of redemption); (e) involuntary redemptions; (f) redemptions of shares to effect a combination of the fund with any investment company by merger, acquisition of assets or otherwise; (g) tax-free returns of an excess contribution to any retirement plan; and (h) certain redemptions of shares of a fund in connection with lump-sum or other distributions made by eligible retirement plans or redemption of shares by participants in certain “wrap fee” or asset allocation programs sponsored by broker-dealers and other financial institutions that have entered into agreements with a distributor or the manager.

 

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As of November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge will be waived on new Class C shares purchased by retirement plan omnibus accounts held on the books of a fund.

A shareholder who has redeemed shares from other Legg Mason Partners Funds may, under certain circumstances, reinvest all or part of the redemption proceeds within 60 days and receive pro rata credit for any contingent deferred sales charge imposed on the prior redemption.

Contingent deferred sales charge waivers will be granted subject to confirmation by a distributor or the transfer agent of the shareholder’s status or holdings, as the case may be.

Determination of Public Offering Price

The fund offers its shares on a continuous basis. The public offering price for each class of shares of the fund is equal to the net asset value per share at the time of purchase, plus for Class A shares an initial sales charge based on the

 

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aggregate amount of the investment. A contingent deferred sales charge, however, is imposed on certain redemptions of Class A, B and C shares. Set forth below is an example of the method of computing the offering price of the Class A shares of the fund based on the net asset value of a share of the fund as of October 31, 2006.

 

Class A (net asset value of [$            ] plus the maximum initial sales charge of [    %] of net asset value per share)

   $             

Redemption of Shares

The right of redemption may be suspended or the date of payment postponed (a) for any period during which the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is closed (other than for customary weekend and holiday closings), (b) when trading in the markets the fund normally utilizes is restricted, or an emergency exists, as determined by the SEC, so that disposal of the fund’s investments or determination of net asset value is not reasonably practicable or (c) for such other periods as the SEC by order may permit for protection of the fund’s shareholders.

If the shares to be redeemed were issued in certificate form, the certificates must be endorsed for transfer (or be accompanied by an endorsed stock power) and must be submitted to PFPC together with the redemption request. Any signature appearing on a share certificate, stock power or written redemption request in excess of $50,000 must be guaranteed by an eligible guarantor institution such as a domestic bank, savings and loan institution, domestic credit union, member bank of the Federal Reserve System or member firm of a national securities exchange. Written redemption requests of $50,000 or less do not require a signature guarantee unless more than one such redemption request is made in any 10-day period.

 

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Redemption proceeds will be mailed to an investor’s address of record. The transfer agent may require additional supporting documents for redemptions made by corporations, executors, administrators, trustees or guardians. A redemption request will not be deemed properly received until the transfer agent receives all required documents in proper form.

If a shareholder holds shares in more than one Class, any request for redemption must specify the Class being redeemed. In the event of a failure to specify which Class, or if the investor owns fewer shares of the Class than specified, the redemption request will be delayed until the transfer agent receives further instructions. The redemption proceeds will be remitted on or before the seventh business day following receipt of proper tender, except on any days on which the NYSE is closed or as permitted under the 1940 Act, in extraordinary circumstances. Redemption proceeds for shares purchased by check, other than a certified or official bank check, will be remitted upon clearance of the check, which may take up to ten days. Each Service Agent is responsible for transmitting promptly orders for its customers.

The Service Agent may charge you a fee for executing your order. The amount and applicability of such a fee is determined and disclosed to its customers by each Service Agent.

The fund no longer issues share certificates. Outstanding share certificates will continue to be honored. If you hold share certificates, it will take longer to exchange or redeem shares.

Additional Information Regarding Telephone Redemption and Exchange Program. Neither the fund nor its agents will be liable for following instructions communicated by telephone that are reasonably believed to be genuine. The fund and its agents will employ procedures designed to verify the identity of the caller and legitimacy of instructions (for example, a shareholder’s name and account number will be required and phone calls may be recorded). The fund reserves the right to suspend, modify or discontinue the telephone redemption and exchange program or to impose a charge for this service at any time following at least seven (7) days’ prior notice to shareholders.

Automatic Cash Withdrawal Plan

An automatic cash withdrawal plan (the “Withdrawal Plan”) is available to shareholders as described in the prospectus. To the extent withdrawals under the Withdrawal Plan exceed dividends, distributions and appreciation of a shareholder’s investment in the fund, there will be a reduction in the value of the shareholder’s investment, and continued withdrawal payments may reduce the shareholder’s investment and ultimately exhaust it. Withdrawal payments should not be considered as income from investment in the fund. Furthermore, as it generally would not be advantageous to a shareholder to make additional investments in the fund at the same time he or she is participating in the Withdrawal Plan, purchases by such shareholder in amounts of less than $5,000 ordinarily will not be permitted. The Withdrawal Plan will be carried over on exchanges between funds or classes of the fund.

All dividends and distributions on shares in the Withdrawal Plan are reinvested automatically at net asset value in additional shares of the fund.

Shareholders who wish to participate in the Withdrawal Plan and who hold their shares in certificate form must deposit their share certificates with the transfer agent as agent for Withdrawal Plan members. For additional information shareholders should contact their Service Agent. A shareholder who purchases shares directly through the transfer agent may continue to do so and applications for participation in the Withdrawal Plan must be received by the transfer agent no later than the eighth day of the month to be eligible for participation beginning with that month’s withdrawal.

 

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Exchange Privilege

The exchange privilege enables shareholders to acquire shares of the same class in a fund with different investment objectives when they believe that a shift between funds is an appropriate investment decision. This privilege is available to shareholders residing in any state in which the fund shares being acquired may legally be sold. Prior to any exchange, the shareholder should obtain and review a copy of the current prospectus of each fund into which an exchange is being considered. Prospectuses may be obtained from a Service Agent.

 

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Upon receipt of proper instructions and all necessary supporting documents, shares submitted for exchange are redeemed at the then-current net asset value, and the proceeds are immediately invested in shares of the fund being acquired at that fund’s then current net asset value. The distributors reserve the right to reject any exchange request. The exchange privilege may be modified or terminated at any time after written notice to shareholders.

Class A and I Exchanges. Class A and I shareholders of the fund who wish to exchange all or a portion of their shares for shares of the respective class in another fund may do so without imposition of any charge.

Class B Exchanges. Class B shares of the fund may be exchanged for other Class B shares without a contingent deferred sales charge. Upon an exchange, the new Class B shares will be deemed to have been purchased on the same date as the Class B shares of the fund that have been exchanged.

Class C Exchanges. Class C shares of the fund may be exchanged for other Class C shares without a contingent deferred sales charge. Upon an exchange, the new Class C shares will be deemed to have been purchased on the same date as the Class C shares of the fund that have been exchanged. Certain retirement plan programs with exchange features in effect prior to November 20, 2006, as approved by LMIS, will remain eligible for exchange from Class C shares to Class A shares in accordance with the program terms. See “Grandfathered Retirement Programs” for additional information

 

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Additional Information Regarding the Exchange Privilege

The fund is not designed to provide investors with a means of speculation on short-term market movements. A pattern of frequent exchanges by investors can be disruptive to efficient portfolio management and, consequently, can be detrimental to the fund and its shareholders. See “Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of fund Shares” in the prospectus.

During times of drastic economic or market conditions, the fund may suspend the exchange privilege temporarily without notice and treat exchange requests based on their separate components—redemption orders with a simultaneous request to purchase the other fund’s shares. In such a case, the redemption request would be processed at the fund’s next determined net asset value but the purchase order would be effective only at the net asset value next determined after the fund being purchased formally accepts the order, which may result in the purchase being delayed.

Certain shareholders may be able to exchange shares by telephone. See the fund’s prospectus for additional information. Exchanges will be processed at the net asset value next determined. Redemption procedures discussed above are also applicable for exchanging shares, and exchanges will be made upon receipt of all supporting documents in proper form. If the account registration of the shares of the fund being acquired is identical to the registration of the shares of the fund exchanged, no signature guarantee is required.

This exchange privilege may be modified or terminated at any time, and is available only in those jurisdictions where such exchanges legally may be made. Before making any exchange, shareholders should contact the transfer agent or, if they hold fund shares through a Service Agent, their Service Agent to obtain more information and prospectuses of the funds to be acquired through the exchange. An exchange is treated as a sale of the shares exchanged and could result in taxable gain or loss to the shareholder making the exchange.

Each class of shares of the fund represents an interest in the same portfolio of investments. Each class is identical in all respects, except that each class bears its own class expenses, including distribution and service fees. Each class has exclusive voting rights with respect to any distribution and service fees, and each class has exclusive voting rights with respect to any distribution or service plan applicable to its shares. As a result of the differences in the expenses borne by each class of shares, net income per share, dividends per share and net asset value per share will vary for each class of shares. There are no conversion, preemptive or other subscription rights, except that Class B shares automatically convert to Class A shares in approximately eight years and Class I shares bought under a letter of intent may convert into Class A shares in certain circumstances, each as more fully described below. In addition, shares held in a Legg Mason Partners Retirement Program may have special exchange rights.

Shareholders of each class will share expenses proportionately for services that are received equally by all shareholders. A particular class of shares will bear only those expenses that are directly attributable to that class, where the type or amount of services received by a class varies from one class to another. The expenses that may be borne by specific classes of shares may include (i) transfer agency fees attributable to a specific class of shares, (ii) printing and postage expenses related to preparing and distributing materials such as shareholder reports, prospectuses and proxy statements to current shareholders of a specific class of shares, (iii) SEC and state securities registration fees incurred by a specific class,

 

41


(iv) the expense of administrative personnel and services required to support the shareholders of a specific class of shares, (v) litigation or other legal expenses relating to a specific class of shares, (vi) accounting expenses relating to a specific class of shares and (vii) any additional incremental expenses subsequently identified and determined to be properly allocated to one or more classes of shares.

Involuntary Redemptions of Shares

Subject to applicable law, the trustees may cause a shareholder’s shares to be redeemed under certain circumstances, including in order to eliminate small accounts for administrative efficiencies and cost savings, to protect the tax status of the fund if necessary and to eliminate ownership of shares by a particular shareholder when the trustees determine, pursuant to adopted policies, that the particular shareholder’s ownership is not in the best interests of the other shareholders of the fund (for example, in the case of a market timer).

MANAGEMENT

The business affairs of the fund are managed by or under the direction of the Board of Trustees. The Board elects officers who are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the fund and who execute policies authorized by the Board.

The current Trustees, including the Independent Trustees, of the fund who are not “interested persons” of the fund as defined in the 1940 Act (the “Independent Trustees”) and executive officers of the fund, their birth years, their principal occupations during the past five years (their titles may have varied during that period), the number of investment companies and their portfolios associated with Legg Mason the Trustees oversee, and other board memberships they hold are set forth below. The address of each Trustee is c/o R. Jay Gerken, 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022.

The following information relates to the Trust’s recently elected Board of Trustees.

 

Name and Year of Birth

  

Position(s)
with

Fund

  

Term of Office*
and Length

of Time Served **

  

Principal Occupation(s)

During Past 5 Years

  

Number of

Funds
in Fund
Complex
Overseen
by Trustee

  

Other Board
Memberships Held by

Trustee During

Past Five Years

INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES:         

Paul R. Ades

Born 1940

   Trustee    Since 1983    Law firm of Paul R. Ades, PLLC (since 2000)       None

Andrew L. Breech

Born 1952

   Trustee    Since 1991    President, Dealer Operating Control Service, Inc. (automotive retail management) (since 1985)       None

Dwight B. Crane

Born 1937

   Trustee    Since 1981    Professor, Harvard Business School (since 1969); Independent Consultant (since 1969)       None

Robert M. Frayn, Jr.

Born 1934

   Trustee    Since 1981    Retired; formerly, President and Director, Book Publishing Co. (1970 to 2002)       None

Frank G. Hubbard

Born 1937

   Trustee    Since 1993    President, Avatar International Inc. (business development) (since 1998)       None

Howard J. Johnson

Born 1938

   Trustee    From 1981
to 1998 and
2000 to Present
   Chief Executive Officer, Genesis Imaging LLC (technology company) (since 2003)       None

David E. Maryatt

Born 1936

   Trustee    Since 1983    Private Investor; President and Director, ALS Co. (real estate management and development firm) (since 1993)       None

Jerome H. Miller

Born 1938

   Trustee    Since 1995    Retired       None

Ken Miller

Born 1942

   Trustee    Since 1983    Chairman, Young Stuff Apparel Group, Inc. (apparel manufacturer) (1963 to 2005)       None

 

42


Name and Year of Birth

  

Position(s)
with

Fund

  

Term of
Office*
and
Length

of Time
Served **

  

Principal Occupation(s)

During Past 5 Years

  

Number of

Funds
in Fund
Complex
Overseen
by Trustee

  

Other Board
Memberships Held by

Trustee During

Past Five Years

John J. Murphy

Born 1944

   Trustee    Since
2002
   President, Murphy Capital Management (investment advice) (since 1983)       Director, Nicholas
Applegate funds;
Trustee, Consulting
Group Capital
Markets Funds;
formerly, Director,
Atlantic
Stewardship Bank
(2004 to 2005);
Director, Barclays
International Funds
Group Ltd. and
affiliated
companies (to
2003)

Thomas F. Schlafly

Born 1948

   Trustee    Since
1983
   Of Counsel, Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin LLP (law firm) (since 1984); President, The Saint Louis Brewery, Inc. (brewery) (since 1989)       Director, Citizens
National Bank,
Maplewood (2006)

Jerry A. Viscione

Born 1944

   Trustee    Since
1993
   Retired; formerly, Executive Vice President, Marquette University (1997 to 2002)       None
INTERESTED TRUSTEE:         

R. Jay Gerken , CFA

Born 1951

   Trustee,
President,
Chairman
and Chief
Executive
Officer
   Since
2002
   Managing Director, Legg Mason & Co., LLC (“Legg Mason & Co.”); Chairman of the Board, Trustee, or Director of [ ] funds associated with LMPFA and its affiliates; President, LMPFA (since 2006); Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its affiliates; formerly, Chairman, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”) and Citi Fund Management, Inc. (“CFM”) (2002 to 2005); formerly, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Travelers Investment Advisers Inc. (2002 to 2005)       Trustee, Consulting
Group Capital
Markets Funds

* Each Trustee serves until his or her respective successor has been duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation, retirement or removal.
** Indicates the earliest year in which the Trustee became a Board member for a fund in the Legg Mason Partners fund complex.
Mr. Gerken is an “interested person”, as defined in the 1940 Act, because of his position with the manager and/or certain of its affiliates.

 

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Name, Year of Birth and Address

   Position(s)
with Fund
   Term of
Office*
and
Length of
Time
Served **
  

Principal Occupation(s)

During Past 5 Years

OFFICERS:

        

Ted P. Becker

Born 1951

399 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10022

   Chief Compliance
Officer
   Since
2006
   Managing Director of Compliance at Legg Mason & Co (2005 to present); Chief Compliance Officer with certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. (since 2006); Chief Compliance Officer of LMPFA and certain affiliates; Managing Director of Compliance at Citigroup Asset Management (“CAM,” a group of affiliated investment advisers, which included Smith Barney Fund Management (“SBFM”), Smith Barney Asset Management and Citi Fund Management (“CFM”) and other affiliated investment advisory entities) (2002 to 2005). Prior to 2002, Managing Director-Internal Audit & Risk Review at Citigroup Inc.

John Chiota

Born 1968

100 First Stamford Place, 5th Fl Stamford, CT 06902

   Chief Anti-
Money
Laundering
Compliance
Officer
   Since
2006
   Vice President of Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors (since 2004); Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. (since 2006). Prior to August 2004, Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer of TD Waterhouse.

Robert I. Frenkel

Born 1954

300 First Stamford Place

Stamford, CT 06902

   Secretary and
Chief Legal
Officer
   Since
2003
   Managing Director and General Counsel of Global Mutual Funds for Legg Mason & Co. and its predecessors (since 2000); Secretary and Chief Legal Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. (since 2003). Previously, Secretary of CFM (2001 to 2004).

R. Jay Gerken, CFA

Born 1951

399 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10022

   Chairman,
President
and Chief
Executive Officer
   Since
2002
   Managing Director of Legg Mason & Co.; Chairman of the Board, Trustee, or Director of 169 funds associated with LMPFA and its affiliates; Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. Previously, Chairman of SBFM and CFM (2002 to 2005); Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Travelers Investment Advisers Inc. (2002 to 2005).

Thomas C. Mandia

Born 1962

300 First Stamford Place

Stamford, CT 06902

   Assistant
Secretary
   Since
2000
   Managing Director and Deputy General Counsel of Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors (since 1992); Assistant Secretary of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co.

Kaprel Ozsolak

Born 1965

125 Broad Street, 11th Floor

New York, NY 10004

   Chief Financial
Officer and
Treasurer
   Since
2004
   Director of Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors; Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors. Previously, Mr. Ozsolak was Controller of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors (2002 to 2004).

* Each officer serves until his or her respective successor has been duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation, retirement or removal.

 

44


** Indicates the earliest year in which the officer took office for any funds in the Legg Mason Partners fund complex.

The Board has a standing Audit Committee, Nominating Committee and Pricing Committee. The Audit Committee and Nominating Committee are comprised of Independent Trustees. The Pricing Committee is composed of the Chairman of the Board and one Independent Trustee.

The Audit Committee oversees the scope of the fund’s audit, the fund’s accounting and financial reporting policies and practices and its internal controls. The primary purposes of the Board’s Audit Committee are to assist the Board in fulfilling its responsibility for oversight of the integrity of the accounting, auditing and financial reporting practices of the fund, the qualifications and independence of the fund’s independent registered public accounting firm, and the fund’s compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. The Audit Committee approves, and recommends to the Independent Trustees for their ratification, the selection, appointment, retention or termination of the fund’s independent registered public accounting firm and approves the compensation of the independent registered public accounting firm. The Audit Committee also approves all audit and permissible non-audit services provided to the fund by the independent registered public accounting firm and all permissible non-audit services provided by the fund’s independent registered public accounting firm to its manager and any affiliated service providers if the engagement relates directly to the fund’s operations and financial reporting.

The Governance Committee is responsible for, among other things, recommending candidates to fill vacancies on the Board. The Governance Committee may consider nominees recommended by a shareholder. Shareholders who wish to recommend a nominee should send recommendations to the Trust’s Secretary that include all information relating to such person that is required to be disclosed in solicitations of proxies for the election of Trustees. A recommendation must be accompanied by a written consent of the individual to stand for election if nominated by the Board and to serve if elected by the shareholders.

The Governance Committee identifies potential nominees through its network of contacts and may also engage, if it deems appropriate, a professional search firm. The committee meets to discuss and consider such candidates’ qualifications and then chooses a candidate by majority vote. The committee does not have specific, minimum qualifications for nominees, nor has it established specific qualities or skills that it regards as necessary for one or more of the Trustees to possess (other than any qualities or skills that may be required by applicable law, regulation or listing standard). However, in evaluating a person as a potential nominee to serve as a Trustee, the Governance Committee may consider the following factors, among any others it may deem relevant:

 

    whether or not the person is an “interested person,” as defined in the 1940 Act, and whether the person is otherwise qualified under applicable laws and regulations to serve as a Trustee;

 

    whether or not the person has any relationships that might impair his or her independence, such as any business, financial or family relationships with fund management, the investment adviser, service providers or their affiliates;

 

    whether or not the person serves on boards of, or is otherwise affiliated with, competing financial service organizations or their related mutual fund complexes;

 

    whether or not the person is willing to serve, and willing and able to commit the time necessary for the performance of the duties of a Trustee;

 

45


    the contribution which the person can make to the Board (or, if the person has previously served as a Trustee, the contribution which the person made to the Board during his or her previous term of service), with consideration being given to the person’s business and professional experience, education and such other factors as the committee may consider relevant;

 

    the character and integrity of the person; and
    whether or not the selection and nomination of the person would be consistent with the requirements of the retirement policies of the Trust, as applicable.

The Pricing Committee is charged with determining the fair value prices for securities when required.

As indicated above, the Trust’s Board is recently elected and is newly constituted as the Board that oversees all of the equity-type funds in the fund complex. All members of the Board previously have served on Boards of Legg Mason Partners funds. The Audit, Governance and Pricing Committees are recently established committees of this Board and did not meet during the fund’s last fiscal year.

The following table shows the amount of equity securities owned by the Trustees in the fund and other investment companies in the fund complex supervised by the Trustees as of December 31, 2006.

 

Name of Trustee

  

Dollar Range

of Equity

Securities in

the Fund

  

Aggregate Dollar Range

of Equity Securities In

Registered Investment

Companies Overseen

by Trustee

Independent Trustees

     

Paul R. Ades

     

Andrew L. Breech

     

Dwight B. Crane

     

Robert M. Frayn, Jr

     

Frank G. Hubbard

     

Howard J. Johnson

     

David E. Maryatt

     

Jerome H. Miller

     

Ken Miller

     

John J. Murphy

     

Thomas F. Schlafly

     

Jerry A. Viscione

     

Interested Trustee

     

R. Jay Gerken

     

[As of December 31, 2006, none of the Independent Trustees or their immediate family members owned beneficially or of record any securities of the manager, subadviser or distributors of the fund, or in a person (other than a registered investment company) directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with the manager, subadviser or distributors of the fund.]

Information regarding compensation paid to the Trustees by the fund for the calendar year ended December 31, 2006 is set forth below. The Independent Trustees receive a fee for each meeting of the fund’s Board of Trustees and committee meetings attended and are reimbursed for all out-of-pocket expenses relating to attendance at such meetings. Mr. Gerken, an “interested person,” as defined in the 1940 Act, does not receive compensation from the fund for his service as trustee, but may be reimbursed for all out-of-pocket expenses relating to attendance at such meetings.

 

46


The fund pays a pro rata share of the Trustee fees based upon asset size. The fund currently pays each of the Trustees who is not a director, officer or employee of the manager or any of its affiliates its pro rata share of: an annual fee of [$ ] plus [$ ] for each regularly scheduled Board meeting attended, [$ ] for each special telephonic Board meeting attended, and [$ ] for each adhoc telephonic meeting in which that trustee participates. The lead independent trustee will receive an additional [$ ] per year and the Chairs of the Audit Committee and Governance Committee will each receive an additional [$ ] per year. The fund will reimburse Trustees for travel and out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with Board meetings.

 

Name of Trustee

  

Aggregate

Compensation

from the

Fund(1) (2)

  

Total Pension or

Retirement

Benefits Paid

as Part of Fund
Expenses(1) (3)

  

Total

Compensation

from Fund

Complex Paid

to Trustee(1) (2)

  

Number of

Portfolios in

Fund

Complex

Overseen by

Trustee(1)

Independent Trustees

           

Paul R. Ades

           

Andrew L. Breech

           

Dwight B. Crane

           

Robert M. Frayn, Jr

           

Frank G. Hubbard

           

Howard J. Johnson

           

David E. Maryatt

           

Jerome H. Miller

           

Ken Miller

           

John J. Murphy

           

Thomas F. Schlafly

           

Jerry A. Viscione

           

Interested Trustee

           

R. Jay Gerken

           

(1) Information is for the calendar year ended December 31, 2006.
(2) [Additional amounts paid to the Trustees in 2006 for special meetings to be updated by amendment.]
(3) Pursuant to a prior emeritus retirement plan, Mr. Crane has received or is entitled to receive, in a lump sum (calculated on a net present value basis) or in quarterly installments, an aggregate benefit having a net present value equal to [$              ]. Mr. Crane elected to receive the benefit in a lump sum payment. Each fund formerly overseen by Mr. Crane will pay a pro rata share (based upon asset size) of the aggregate benefit to Mr. Crane. Legg Mason or its affiliates have agreed to reimburse these funds an amount equal to 50% of the benefits paid to Mr. Crane.

 

47


Information regarding compensation paid to the Board members of the fund’s predecessor as of the most recent fiscal year ended October 31, 2006 is set forth below.

Name of Trustee

  

Aggregate
Compensation
From the

Fund For the
Fiscal Year
Ended
10/31/06

  

Total

Pension or
Retirement
Benefits

Accrued as

Part of Fund

Expenses(2)(3)

  

Total

Compensation
From the

Fund and Fund
Complex

For the Fiscal
Year Ended
10/31/06

  

Number of

Funds

in Fund

Complex
Overseen by
Trustee

Disinterested Trustees:

           

Elliott J. Berv

   $         $     

Donald M. Carlton

   $         $     

A. Benton Cocanougher

   $         $     

Mark T. Finn

   $         $     

Stephen Randolph Gross

   $         $     

Diana R. Harrington.

   $         $     

Susan B. Kerley

   $         $     

Alan G. Merten

   $         $     

R. Richardson Pettit

   $         $     

Interested Trustee:

           

R. Jay Gerken (1)

   $         $     

(1) Mr. Gerken was not compensated for his services as Trustee because of his affiliation with the manager.
(2) [To be updated by amendment for amounts paid to retired Trustees in 2006.]
(3) Pursuant to emeritus retirement plans, the following former Independent Trustees have received, or are entitled to receive, benefits (calculated on a net present value basis) as follows:              : $              ;              : $              ; and              : $              . These benefits are paid in quarterly installments unless the Trustee elected to receive them in a lump sum at net present value. The fund or will pay its pro rata share (based upon asset size) of these aggregate benefits. Legg Mason or its affiliates has reimbursed or will reimburse the fund an amount equal to 50% of these benefits.

 

48


The Declaration of Trust of the Trust provides that the Trust will indemnify its Trustees and officers against liabilities and expenses incurred in connection with litigation in which they may be involved because of their offices with the Trust, unless, as to liability to the Trust, or its investors, it is finally adjudicated that they engaged in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in their offices, or unless with respect to any other matter it is finally adjudicated that they did not act in good faith in the reasonable belief that their actions were in the best interests of the Trust. In the case of settlement, such indemnification will not be provided unless it has been determined by a court or other body approving the settlement or other disposition or a reasonable determination, based upon a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial-type inquiry) that such officers or Trustees have not engaged in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of their duties. Rights to indemnification or insurance cannot be limited retroactively.

The Declaration of Trust further provides that (i) the appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee as a member or chairperson of a committee of the Trustees, an expert on any topic or in any area (including an audit committee financial expert), or the lead Independent Trustee, or any other special appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee, shall not impose on that individual any duty, obligation or liability that is greater than the duties, obligations and liability imposed on that person as a Trustee in the absence of the appointment, designation or identification (except with respect to duties expressly imposed pursuant to the by-laws of the Trust, a committee charter or a Trust policy statement), (ii) no Trustee who has special skills or expertise, or is appointed, designated or identified shall be held to a higher standard of care by virtue thereof and (iii) no appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee shall affect in any way that Trustee’s rights to indemnification.

As of [            ], 2006, all Trustees and officers as a group owned less than 1% of the outstanding shares of the fund.

As of [            ], 2006, the following persons owned of record the amounts indicated of the shares of the Class of the fund:

[To be updated by amendment]

 

49


Code of Ethics

Pursuant to Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act, the Fund, its manager, the subadviser, and the distributors have adopted codes of ethics that permit its respective personnel to invest in securities for their own accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by the fund. All personnel must place the interests of clients first and avoid activities, interests and relationships that might interfere with the duty to make decisions in the best interests of the clients. All personal securities transactions by employees must adhere to the requirements of the codes and must be conducted in such manner as to avoid any actual or potential conflict of interest, the appearance of such a conflict, or the abuse of an employee’s position of Trust and responsibility.

Copies of the Codes of Ethics of the fund, and its manager, subadviser, and distributors are on file with the SEC.

 

50


Proxy Voting Policies & Procedures

Although individual Trustees may not agree with particular policies or votes by the manager or subadviser, the Board has delegated proxy voting discretion to the manager and/or the subadviser, believing that the manager and/or the subadviser should be responsible for voting because it is a matter relating to the investment decision making process.

LMPFA delegates the responsibility for voting proxies for the fund, as applicable, to the subadviser through its contracts with the subadviser. The subadviser will use their own proxy voting policies and procedures to vote proxies. Accordingly, LMPFA does not expect to have proxy-voting responsibility for the fund. Should LMPFA become responsible for voting proxies for any reason, such as the inability of a subadviser to provide investment advisory services, LMPFA shall utilize the proxy voting guidelines established by the most recent subadviser to vote proxies until a new subadviser is retained. In the case of a material conflict between the interests of LMPFA (or its affiliates if such conflict is known to persons responsible for voting at LMPFA) and the fund, the Board of Directors of LMPFA shall consider how to address the conflict and/or how to vote the proxies. LMPFA shall maintain records of all proxy votes in accordance with applicable securities laws and regulations, to the extent that LMPFA votes proxies. LMPFA shall be responsible for gathering relevant documents and records related to proxy voting from the subadviser and providing them to the fund as required for the fund to comply with applicable rules under the 1940 Act.

The subadviser’s Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures govern in determining how proxies relating to the fund’s portfolio securities are voted and is attached as Appendix A to this SAI.

Information regarding how each fund voted proxies (if any) relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available without charge (1) by calling 1-888-425-6432, (2) on the funds’ website at http://www. leggmason .com /InvestorServices and (3) on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

Manager

LMPFA serves as investment manager to the fund pursuant to an investment management agreement (the “Management Agreement”) with an initial term ending November 30, 2007. LMPFA, with offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022, is a recently-organized investment adviser that has been formed to serve as the investment manager of the fund and certain other Legg Mason-sponsored funds. LMPFA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason.

 

51


Legg Mason, whose principal executive offices are at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, is a global asset management company. As of September 30, 2006, Legg Mason’s asset management operation had aggregate assets under management of approximately $891 billion. LMPFA provides administrative and certain oversight services to the fund and manages the case and short-term investments of the fund.

Under the Management Agreement, subject to the supervision and direction of the fund’s Board, the manager is delegated the responsibility of managing the fund’s portfolio in accordance with the fund’s stated investment objective and policies, making investment decisions for the fund and placing orders to purchase and sell securities. The manager also performs administrative and management services necessary for the operation of the fund, such as (i) supervising the overall administration of the fund, including negotiation of contracts and fees with and the monitoring of performance and billings of the fund’s transfer agent, shareholder servicing agents, custodian and other independent contractors or agents; (ii) providing certain compliance, fund accounting, regulatory reporting, and tax reporting services; (iii) preparing or participating in the preparation of Board materials, registration statements, proxy statements and reports and other communications to shareholders; (iv) maintaining the fund’s existence, and (v) maintaining the registration and qualification of the fund’s shares under federal and state laws.

The Management Agreement has an initial term ending November 30, 2007 and will continue in effect from year to year thereafter provided such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (a) by the fund’s Board or by a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act), and (b) in either event, by a majority of the Independent Trustee with such Independent Trustee casting votes in person at a meeting called for such purpose.

The Management Agreement provides that the manager may render services to others. The Management Agreement is terminable without penalty on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice by the fund when authorized either by a vote of holders of shares representing a majority of the voting power of the outstanding voting securities of the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) or by a vote of a majority of the fund’s Trustees, or by the manager on not less than 90 days’ written notice, and will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment. The Management Agreement provides that neither the manager nor its personnel shall be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or omission in the execution of security transactions for the fund, except for willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence or reckless disregard of its or their obligations and duties.

Effective, October 1, 2005, for its services under the Management Agreement, LMPFA receives fees, which are computed daily and paid monthly, at the following annual rates of the fund’s average daily net assets on an annualized basis for the fund’s then-current fiscal year: 0.850% on assets up to $1 billion, 0.825% on assets between $1 billion and $2 billion, 0.800% on assets between $2 billion and $5 billion, 0.775% on assets between $5 billion and $10 billion, and 0.750% on assets over $10 billion. Prior to October 1, 2005, the management fee was 0.95%. The manager may reimburse the fund or waive all or a portion of its management fees.

For the period from December 1, 2005 through July 31, 2006, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”) served as the fund’s manager under the same fee schedule as described above.

 

52


The fund was newly organized and did not pay management fees during the fiscal year ended October 31, 2004.

For the period from January 5, 2005 (commencement of operations) through October 31, 2005, the manager voluntarily waived all fees.

The manager may retain a sub-administrator.

Subadviser

Legg Mason International Entities Limited (“LMIE”) provides the day-to-day portfolio management of the fund, except for the management of cash and short-term instruments, as subadviser. LMIE is a wholly-owned subsidiaries of Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”).

Under the Sub-Advisory Agreement, subject to the supervision and direction of the Board and the manager, the subadviser will manage the fund’s portfolio (or allocated portion thereof) in accordance with the fund’s stated investment objective(s) and policies, assist in supervising all aspects of the fund’s operations, make investment decisions for the fund, place orders to purchase and sell securities, and employ professional portfolio managers and securities analysts who provide research services to the fund.

The Sub-Advisory Agreement has an initial term ending November 30, 2007 and will continue in effect from year to year thereafter provided such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (a) by the Board or by a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act), and (b) in either event, by a majority of the Independent Trustees with such Independent Trustees casting votes in person at a meeting called for such purpose. The Board or a majority of the outstanding voting

 

53


securities of the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) may terminate the Sub-Advisory Agreement without penalty, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the Subadviser. The subadviser may terminate the Sub-Advisory Agreement on 90 days’ written notice to the fund and the Manager . The manager and the subadviser may terminate the Sub-Advisory Agreement upon their mutual written consent of. This Sub-Advisory Agreement will terminate automatically in the event of assignment by the subadviser and shall not be assignable by the Manager without the consent of the subadviser.

As compensation for its sub-advisory services, the manager will pay the subadviser a fee equal to 70% of the management fee paid to LMPFA, net expenses waivers and reimbursements. For the period from August 1, 2006 through October 31, 2006, the manager paid the subadviser subadvisory fees of $            .

Distributors

LMIS, a wholly-owned broker-dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, located at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202 and CGMI, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Citigroup, located at 388 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10013 serve as the fund’s distributors pursuant to separate written agreements or amendments to written agreements, in each case dated December 1, 2005 (the “Distribution Agreements”), which were approved by the Board and by a majority of the Independent Trustees, casting votes in person at a meeting called for such purpose on November 21, 2005. The distribution agreements went into effect on December 1, 2005.

A distributor’s obligation is an agency or “best efforts” arrangement under which the distributor is required to take and pay only for such shares of the fund as may be sold to the public. The distributor is not obligated to sell any stated number of shares. Each Distribution Agreement is renewable from year to year if approved (a) by the Trustees or by a vote of a majority of the fund’s outstanding voting securities, and (b) by the affirmative vote of a majority of Trustees who are not parties to such Agreement or interested persons of any party by votes cast in person at a meeting called for such purpose. Each Distribution Agreement provides that it will terminate if assigned, and that it may be terminated without penalty by either party on 60 days’ written notice.

In addition, the distributors may make payments for distribution and/or shareholder servicing activities out of their past profits and other available sources. The distributors may also make payments to dealers for marketing, promotional or related expenses. The amount of these payments is determined by the distributors and may be substantial. The manager or an affiliate may make similar payments under similar arrangements.

Initial Sales Charges

The aggregate dollar amount of Initial Sales Charges on Class A shares received by LMIS and CGMI during the Fiscal Years 2005 and 2006 were as follows:

 

54


Class

For the fiscal year ended October 31:

  LMIS    CGMI

Class A 2006

  $    $  

Class A 2005 *

  $0    $ 1,000

* Initial Sales Charges Paid for the Period from the Inception Date through October 31, 2005. The inception date for Class A shares of the fund was January 5, 2005.

Contingent Deferred Sales Charges

The aggregate dollar amount of Contingent Deferred Sales Charges on Class A, Class B and Class C shares received by LMIS and CGMI during the Fiscal Years 2005 and 2006 were as follows:

 

Class

  LMIS    CGMI

Class A 2006

  $      $  

Class A 2005*

  $    $ 0

Class B 2006

  $    $  

Class B 2005*

  $    $ 0

Class C 2006

  $    $  

Class C 2005*

  $    $ 0

* Deferred Sales Charges Paid for the Period from the Inception Date through October 31, 2005. The inception dates for Class A, Class B and Class C shares of the fund were January 5, 2005, August 11, 2005 and September 7, 2005, respectively.

Services and Distribution Plan Arrangements

Class A, Class B and Class C shares of the fund have each adopted a shareholder services and distribution Plan (each, a “Service Plan”) in accordance with Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act. Under the Plans, the fund may pay monthly fees at an annual rate not to exceed 0.25% of the average daily net assets of the fund attributable to that class in the case of the Plans relating to Class A shares, and not to exceed 1.00% of the average daily net assets of the fund attributable to that class in the case of the Plans relating to Class B shares and Class C shares. Such fees may be used to make payments to the distributors for distribution services, to service agents in respect of the sale of shares of the fund, and to other parties in respect of the sale of shares of the fund, and to make payments for advertising, marketing or other promotional activity, and payments for preparation, printing, and distribution of prospectuses, statements of additional information and reports for recipients other than regulators and existing shareholders. The fund also may make payments to the distributors, service agents and others for providing personal service or the maintenance of shareholder accounts. The amounts paid by the distributors to each recipient may vary based upon certain factors, including, among other things, the levels of sales of fund shares and/or shareholder services provided, provided , however , that the fees paid to a recipient with respect to a particular Class that may be used to cover expenses primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of that Class, or that may be used to cover expenses primarily intended for personal service and/or maintenance of shareholder accounts, may not exceed the maximum amounts, if any, as may from time to time be permitted for such services under NASD Conduct Rule 2830 or any successor rule, in each case as amended or interpreted by the NASD.

The 12b-1 Plans with respect to Class A and Class C shares also provide that the distributors and service agents may receive all or a portion of the Contingent Deferred Sales Charges paid by Class B and Class C investors, respectively.

 

55


The 12b-1 Plans permit the fund to pay fees to a distributor, service agents and others as compensation for their services, not as reimbursement for specific expenses incurred. Thus, even if their expenses exceed the fees provided for by the 12b-1 Plan, the fund will not be obligated to pay more than those fees and, if their expenses are less than the fees paid to them, they will realize a profit. The fund may pay the fees to a distributor and others until the 12b-1 Plan or Distribution Agreement is terminated or not renewed. In that event, a distributor’s or other recipient’s expenses in excess of fees received or accrued through the termination date will be the distributor’s or other recipient’s sole responsibility and not obligations of the fund. In their annual consideration of the continuation of the 12b-1 Plans for the fund, the Trustees will review the 12b-1 Plan and the expenses for each class within the fund separately.

The 12b-1 Plan also recognizes that various service providers to the fund, such as the manager, may make payments for distribution related expenses out of their own resources, including past profits, or payments received from the fund for other purposes, such as management fees, and that the fund’s distributors or service agents may from time to time use their own resources for distribution-related services, in addition to the fees paid under the 12b-1 Plan. The 12b-1 Plan specifically provide that, to the extent that such payments might be deemed to be indirect financing of any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund within the context of Rule 12b-1, then the payments are deemed to be authorized by the 12b-1 Plan, if permitted under applicable law.

Each 12b-1 Plan continues in effect if such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by a vote of both a majority of the Trustees and a majority of the Trustees who are not “interested persons” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Trust and who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the 12b-1 Plan or in any agreement related to the 12b-1 Plan (for purposes of this paragraph “Qualified Trustees”). The Trustees, in the exercise of their business judgment in the best interests of the shareholders of the fund and each Class, have approved the continuation of the 12b-1 Plans. The 12b-1 Plan requires that the Trust and the distributor provide to the Board of Trustees and the Board of Trustees review, at least quarterly, a written report of the amounts expended (and the purposes therefor) under the 12b-1 Plan. The 12b-1 Plan further provides that the selection and nomination of the Qualified Trustees is committed to the discretion of the Qualified Trustees then in office who are not interested Trustees of the Trust. The 12b-1 Plan may be terminated with respect to any class of the fund at any time by a vote of a majority of the Trust’s Qualified Trustees or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of that class. The 12b-1 Plan may not be amended to increase materially the amount of permitted expenses of the class thereunder without the approval of a majority of the outstanding securities of that class and may not be materially amended in any case without a vote of a majority of both the Trustees and Qualified Trustees. The fund will preserve copies of any plan, agreement or report made pursuant to the 12b-1 Plans for a period of not less than six years, and for the first two years the fund will preserve such copies in an easily accessible place.

As contemplated by the 12b-1 Plan, each distributor acts as an agent of the Trust in connection with the offering of shares of the fund pursuant to the respective Distribution Agreements.

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, the fees paid to CGMI with respect to Class A, Class B and Class C shares were $[            ], $[            ], and $[            ], respectively.

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, the fees paid to LMIS with respect to Class A, Class B and Class C shares were $[            ], $[            ], and $[            ], respectively.

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, the distributors and/or service agents incurred the following distribution expenses under the 12b-1 Plan for each class of the fund:

 

56


Class

   Financial
Consultant
Compensation
   Operational
Expenses
   Amount
Spent on
Advertising
and
Marketing
   Amount
Spent on
Printing
and
Mailing of
Prospectus
   Total

Class A 2005

   $ 12,975    $ 3,326      —      —      $ 16,301

Class A 2006

              

Class B 2005

   $ 13,673    $ 14,707    $ 7,146    —      $ 35,527

Class B 2006

              

Class C 2005

   $ 1,769    $ 4,897    $ 2,835    —      $ 9,501

Class C 2006

              

* The inception dates for Class A, Class B and Class C shares of the fund were January 5, 2005, August 11, 2005 and September 7, 2005, respectively.

Distribution expenses incurred by LMIS, CGMI and/or PFS for advertising, printing and mailing prospectuses, support services and overhead expenses, payments to their financial advisers or registered representative and for accruals for interest on expenses incurred in the distribution of the fund’s shares are set forth in the following tables:

[To be updated by amendment]

Dealer reallowances are described in the fund’s prospectus.

Expenses

In addition to amounts payable under the Management Agreement and the 12b-1 Plans (as discussed below), the fund is responsible for its own expenses, including, among other things, interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the fund’s securities and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the fund, if any; and the fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any nonrecurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the fund is a party and the legal obligation which the fund may have to indemnify the fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

Management may agree to waive fees and/or reimburse operating expenses for one or more classes of shares, either through contractual or voluntary arrangements. Any such waivers and/ or reimbursements are described in the fund’s Prospectus. The contractual and voluntary fee waivers and/ or reimbursements do not cover extraordinary expenses, such as (a) any expenses or charges related to litigation, derivative actions, demand related to litigation, regulatory or other government investigations and proceedings, “for cause” regulatory inspections and indemnification or advancement of related expenses or costs, to the extent any such expenses are considered extraordinary expenses for the purposes of fee disclosure in Form N-1A as the same may be amended from time to time; (b) transaction costs (such as brokerage commissions and dealer and underwriter spreads) and taxes; and (c) other extraordinary expenses as determined for the purposes of fee disclosure in Form N-1A, as the same may be amended from time to time. Without limiting the foregoing, extraordinary expenses are generally those that are unusual or expected to recur only infrequently, and may include such expenses, by way of illustration, as (i) expenses of the reorganization, restructuring, redomiciling or merger of the fund or

 

57


class or the acquisition of all or substantially all of the assets of another fund or class; (ii) expenses of holding, and soliciting proxies for, a meeting of shareholders of the fund or class (except to the extent relating to routine items such as the election of board members or the approval of the independent registered public accounting firm); and (iii) expenses of converting to a new custodian, transfer agent or other service provider, in each case to the extent any such expenses are considered extraordinary expenses for the purposes of fee disclosure in Form N-1A as the same may be amended from time to time.

Custodian and Transfer Agent

State Street Bank and Trust Company (“State Street”), 225 Franklin Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02110, serves as the custodian of the fund. State Street, among other things, maintains a custody account or accounts in the name of the fund; receives and delivers all assets for the fund upon purchase and upon sale or maturity; collects and receives all income and other payments and distributions on account of the assets of the fund; and makes disbursements on behalf of the fund. State Street neither determines the fund’s investment policies, nor decides which securities the fund will buy or sell. For its services, State Street receives a monthly fee based upon the daily average market value of securities held in custody and also receives securities transaction charges, including out-of-pocket expenses. The fund may also periodically enter into arrangements with other qualified custodians with respect to certain types of securities or other transactions such as repurchase agreements or derivatives transactions. State Street also acts as the fund’s securities lending agent and receives a share of the income generated by such activities.

PFPC Inc. (“PFPC” or “transfer agent”), located at P.O. Box 9699, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699, serves as the fund’s transfer agent. Under the transfer agency agreement, the transfer agent maintains the shareholder account records for the fund, handles certain communications between shareholders and the fund and distributes dividends and distributions payable by the fund. For these services, the transfer agent receives a monthly fee computed on the basis of the number of shareholder accounts it maintains for the fund during the month, and is reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses. Prior to January 1, 2006, Citicorp Trust Bank, fsb (“CTB”) served as the fund’s transfer agent and PFPC served as the fund’s sub-transfer agent. For the period from October 31, through December 31, 2005, the fund paid transfer agent fees of [$ ] to CTB.

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

                                                         , has been selected as the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm to audit and report on the financial statements and financial highlights of the Trust.

Counsel

Bingham McCutchen LLP, 150 Federal Street, Boston, MA 02110, serves as counsel for the fund.

 

58


8. PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS

Subject to policies as may be established by the fund’s Board from time to time, the subadviser is primarily responsible for the fund’s portfolio decisions and the placing of the fund’s portfolio transactions, except that the manager manages the cash and short-term investments of the fund.

Transactions on stock exchanges involve the payment of negotiated brokerage commissions. There is generally no stated commission in the case of securities traded in the over-the-counter market, but the price of those securities includes an undisclosed commission or mark-up. Over-the-counter purchases and sales are transacted directly with principal market makers except where it is believed that better prices and executions may be obtained elsewhere. The cost of securities purchased from underwriters includes an underwriting commission or concession, and the prices at which securities are purchased from and sold to dealers include a dealer’s mark-up or mark-down. The aggregate brokerage commissions paid by the fund for the three most recent fiscal years is set forth below under “Aggregate Brokerage Commissions Paid.”

Pursuant to the Management Agreement and Sub-Advisory Agreement, the manager and the subadviser are authorized to place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for a fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. The general policy of the manager and subadviser in selecting brokers and dealers is to obtain the best results achievable in the context of a number of factors which are considered both in relation to individual trades and broader trading patterns, including the reliability of the broker/dealer, the competitiveness of the price and the commission, the research services received and whether the broker/dealer commits its own capital. In connection with the manager’s or subadviser’s monitoring of its portfolio transactions for compliance with its policies, the manager and subadviser utilizes both an internal committee and a third party service provider.

In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) to the fund and/or the other accounts over which the manager, the subadviser or their affiliates exercise investment discretion. The manager and subadviser are authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for the fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the manager or subadviser determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities that the manager, the subadviser and their affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The manager and/or subadviser may also have arrangements with brokers pursuant to which such brokers provide research services to the manager or subadviser, as applicable, in exchange for a certain volume of brokerage transactions to be executed by such brokers. While the payment of higher commissions increases the fund’s costs, neither the manager nor the subadviser believes that the receipt of such brokerage and research services significantly reduces its expenses as manager or subadviser. Arrangements for the receipt of research services from brokers may create conflicts of interest.

Research services furnished to the manager or subadviser by brokers who effect securities transactions for the fund may be used by the manager or subadviser in servicing other investment companies and accounts which it manages. Similarly, research services furnished to the manager or subadviser by brokers who effect securities transactions for other investment companies and accounts which the manager or subadviser manages may be used by the manager or subadviser, as applicable, in servicing the fund. Not all of these research services are used by the manager or subadviser in managing any particular account, including the fund. For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, the fund paid commissions to brokers that provided research services as follows:

 

Total Dollar Amount of

Brokerage Transactions

Related to Research Services

        

Total Dollar Amount of

Brokerage Commissions

Paid on Transactions

Related to Research Services

$

     $  

The fund contemplates that, consistent with the policy of obtaining the best net results, brokerage transactions may be conducted through “affiliated broker/dealers”, as defined in the 1940 Act. The fund’s Board of Trustees has adopted

 

59


procedures in accordance with Rule 17e-1 promulgated under the 1940 Act to ensure that all brokerage commissions paid to such affiliates are reasonable and fair in the context of the market in which such affiliates operate. Effective December 1, 2005 CGMI is no longer an affiliated person of the fund under the 1940 Act. As a result, the fund will be permitted to execute portfolio transactions with CGMI or an affiliate of CGMI as agent (but not as principal) without being subject to the restrictions applicable to transactions with affiliated persons.

Aggregate Brokerage Commissions Paid

For the fiscal years ended October 31 , 2004, 2005 and 2006, the fund paid aggregate brokerage commissions and brokerage commissions to CGMI as set out below:

 

    

Aggregate Broker

Commissions Paid

  

Amount of Brokerage

Commissions Paid

by the fund to CGMI

Year Ended October 31, 2005 (1)

   $ 93,542    $  

Year Ended October 31, 2006 (2)

   $      $  

(1) For the period from January 5, 2005 (commencement of operations) through October 31, 2005.
(2) CGMI was not an affiliated person of the fund under the 1940 Act during the entire period.

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006 , the percentage of the fund’s aggregate brokerage commissions paid to CGMI and its affiliates and the percentage of the fund’s aggregate dollar amount of transactions involving the payment of commissions effected through CGMI and its affiliates were as follows:

 

The Percentage of the Fund’s

Aggregate Brokerage Commissions

Paid to CGMI

        

The Percentage of the Fund’s

Aggregate Dollar Amount of Transactions

Involving the Payment of Commissions

Effected Through CGMI

  %

       %

* CGMI was not an affiliated person of the fund under the 1940 Act during the entire period.

As of December 1, 2005, LMIS became an affiliated person of the fund under the 1940 Act. For the period December 1, 2005 through October 31, 2006, the fund did not pay any brokerage commissions to LMIS or its affiliates.

During the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, the fund purchased securities issued by the following regular broker/dealers of the fund, which had the following values as of October 31, 2006 :

 

Broker/Dealer

  

Value of Securities

as of October 31, 2006

Morgan Stanley

   $  

UBS AG

   $  

Effective December 1, 2005, CGMI is no longer an affiliated person of the fund under the 1940 Act. As a result, the fund is permitted to execute portfolio transactions with CGMI or an affiliate of CGMI as agent (but not as principal). Similarly, the fund is permitted to purchase securities in underwritings in which CGMI or an affiliate of CGMI is a member without the restrictions imposed by certain rules of the SEC. The manager’s use of CGMI or affiliates of CGMI as agent in portfolio transactions with the fund will be governed by the fund’s policy of seeking best overall terms available.

 

60


In certain instances there may be securities that are suitable as an investment for the fund as well as for one or more of the manager’s or subadviser’s other clients. Investment decisions for the fund and for the manager’s or subadviser’s other clients are made with a view to achieving their respective investment objectives. It may develop that a particular security is bought or sold for only one client even though it might be held by, or bought or sold for, other clients. Likewise, a particular security may be bought for one or more clients when one or more clients are selling the same security. Some simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several clients receive investment advice from the same investment adviser, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objectives of more than one client. When two or more clients are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security, the securities are allocated among clients in a manner believed to be equitable to each. It is recognized that in some cases this system could adversely affect the price of or the size of the position obtainable in a security for the fund. When purchases or sales of the same security for the fund and for other funds managed by the adviser occur contemporaneously, the purchase or sale orders may be aggregated in order to obtain any price advantages available to large volume purchases or sales.

 

For reporting purposes, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate is calculated by dividing the lesser of purchases or sales of portfolio securities for the fiscal year by the monthly average of the value of the portfolio securities owned by the fund during the fiscal year. In determining such portfolio turnover, all securities whose maturities at the time of acquisition were one year or less are excluded. A 100% portfolio turnover rate would occur, for example, if all of the securities in the fund’s investment portfolio (other than short-term money market securities) were replaced once during the fiscal year. Portfolio turnover will not be a limiting factor should the manager or subadviser deem it advisable to purchase or sell securities.

For the fiscal years ended October 31, 2005 and 2006, the fund’s portfolio turnover rates were 66% and     %, respectively.

 

61


In the event that portfolio turnover increases, this increase necessarily results in correspondingly greater transaction costs which must be paid by the fund. To the extent portfolio trading results in realization of net short-term capital gains, shareholders will be taxed on such gains at ordinary tax rates (except shareholders who invest through IRAs and other retirement plans which are not taxed currently on accumulations in their accounts).

9. DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS

The fund has adopted policies and procedures developed by LMPFA, the fund’s investment manager with respect to the disclosure of the fund’s portfolio securities and any ongoing arrangements to make available information about the fund’s portfolio securities. The policy requires that consideration always be given as to whether disclosure of information about the fund’s portfolio holdings is in the best interests of the fund’s shareholders, and that any conflicts of interest between the interests of the fund’s shareholders and those of LMPFA, the fund’s Distributors or their affiliates, be addressed in a manner that places the interests of fund shareholders first. The policy provides that information regarding the fund’s portfolio holdings may not be shared with non-Legg Mason employees, with investors or potential investors (whether individual or institutional), or with third parties unless it is done for legitimate fund business purposes and in accordance with the policy.

LMPFA’s policy generally provides for the release of details of securities positions once they are considered “stale.” Data is considered stale 25 calendar days following quarter-end for funds other than money market funds, and 25 calendar days following month-end with respect to money market funds. LMPFA believes that this passage of time prevents a third party from benefiting from an investment decision made by a fund that has not been fully reflected by the market.

Under the policy, the fund’s complete list of holdings (including the size of each position) may be made available to investors, potential investors, third parties and non-Legg Mason employees with simultaneous public disclosure at least 25 days after calendar quarter end, except in the case of a money market fund’s holdings, which may be released with simultaneous public disclosure at least 25 days after month end. Typically, simultaneous public disclosure is achieved by the filing of Form N-Q or Form N-CSR in accordance with SEC rules, provided that such filings may not be made until 25 days following quarter-end and/or posting the information to a Legg Mason or the fund’s Internet site that is accessible by the public, or through public release by a third party vendor.

The policy permits the release of limited portfolio holdings information that is not yet considered stale in a number of situations, including:

1. A fund’s top ten securities, current as of month-end, and the individual size of each such security position may be released at any time following month-end with simultaneous public disclosure.

2. A fund’s top ten securities positions (including the aggregate but not individual size of such positions) may be released at any time with simultaneous public disclosure.

3. A list of securities (that may include fund holdings together with other securities) followed by a portfolio manager (without position sizes or identification of particular funds) may be disclosed to sell-side brokers at any time for the purpose of obtaining research and/or market information from such brokers.

4. A trade in process may be discussed only with counterparties, potential counterparties and others involved in the transaction ( i.e ., brokers and custodians).

 

62


5. A fund’s sector weightings, yield and duration (for fixed income and money market funds), performance attribution (e.g., analysis of the fund’s out-performance or underperformance of its benchmark based on its portfolio holdings) and other summary and statistical information that does not include identification of specific portfolio holdings may be released, even if non-public, if such release is otherwise in accordance with the policy’s general principles.

6. A fund’s portfolio holdings may be released on an as-needed basis to its legal counsel, counsel to its Independent Trustees, and its independent public accounting firm, in required regulatory filings or otherwise to governmental agencies and authorities.

Under the policy, if information about the fund’s portfolio holdings is released pursuant to an ongoing arrangement with any party, the fund must have a legitimate business purpose for the release of the information, and either the party receiving the information must be under a duty of confidentiality, or the release of non-public information must be subject to trading restrictions and confidential treatment to prohibit the entity from sharing with an unauthorized source or trading upon any non-public information provided. Neither the fund, nor Legg Mason, nor any other affiliated party may receive compensation or any other consideration in connection with such arrangements. Ongoing arrangements to make available information about the fund’s portfolio securities will be reviewed at least annually by the fund’s Board.

The approval of the fund’s Chief Compliance Officer, or designee, must be obtained before entering into any new ongoing arrangement or altering any existing ongoing arrangement to make available portfolio holdings information, or with respect to any exceptions to the policy. Any exceptions to the policy must be consistent with the purposes of the policy. Exceptions are considered on a case-by-case basis and are granted only after a thorough examination and consultation with LMPFA’s legal department, as necessary. Exceptions to the policies are reported to the fund’s Board at its next regularly scheduled meeting.

Currently the fund discloses its complete portfolio holdings approximately 25 days after calendar quarter end on its website : http://www. leggmason.com/lnvestorServices

Set forth below is a list, as [            ], of those parties with whom LMPFA, on behalf of a fund, has authorized ongoing arrangements that include the release of portfolio holdings information in accordance with the policy, as well as the frequency of the release under such arrangements. and the length of the lag, if any, between the date of the information and the date on which the information is disclosed. The parties identified below as recipients are service providers, fund rating agencies, consultants and analysts.

 

Recipient

  

Frequency

  

Delay before dissemination

State Street Bank & Trust Co. (Fund Custodian and Accounting Agent)    Daily    None
Institutional Shareholders Services (Proxy Voting Services)    As necessary    None
Bloomberg    Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
Lipper    Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
S&P    Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
Morningstar    Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
Vestek    Daily    None
Factset    Daily    None
Bank of New York    Daily    None

 

63


[To be updated by amendment]

Portfolio holdings information for the fund may also be released from time to time pursuant to ongoing arrangements with the following parties:

 

Recipient

  

Frequency

  

Delay before dissemination

Baseline    Daily    None
Frank Russell    Monthly    1 Day
Callan    Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
Mercer    Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
eVestment Alliance    Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
CRA RogersCasey    Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
Cambridge Associates    Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
Marco Consulting    Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
Wilshire    Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
Informa Investment Services (Efron)    Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
CheckFree (Mobius)    Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
Nelsons Information    Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
Investor Tools    Daily    None
Advent    Daily    None
BARRA    Daily    None
Plexus   

Quarterly

(Calendar)

   Sent 1-3 business days following the end of a Quarter
Elkins/McSherry   

Quarterly

(Calendar)

   Sent 1-3 business days following the end of a Quarter
Quantitative Services Group    Daily    None
AMBAC    Daily    None
Deutsche Bank    Monthly    6-8 Business Days
Fitch    Monthly    6-8 Business Days
Liberty Hampshire    Weekly and Month End    None
Sun Trust    Weekly and Month End    None
New England Pension Consultants    Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
Evaluation Associates    Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
Watson Wyatt    Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
S&P (Rating Agency)    Weekly Tuesday Night    1 business day
Moody’s (Rating Agency)    Weekly Tuesday Night    1 business day

10. PORTFOLIO MANAGERS

The following tables set forth certain additional information with respect to the fund’s portfolio manager. Unless noted otherwise, all information is provided as of October 31, 2006.

Other Accounts Managed by Portfolio Manager

The table below identifies the number of accounts (other than the fund with respect to which information is provided) for which he has day-to-day management responsibilities and the total assets in such accounts, within each of the following categories: registered investment companies, other pooled investment vehicles, and other accounts. No accounts had fees based on performance.

 

Portfolio Manager

  

Registered

Investment Companies

  

Other Pooled

Investment Vehicles

  

Other Accounts

Aquico Wen    registered investment companies with $ in total assets under management    other pooled investment vehicles with $ million in total assets under management    other accounts with $ million in total assets under management

 

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Portfolio Manager Compensation

[LMIE information to be updated by amendment.]

Potential Conflicts of Interest

Potential conflicts of interest may arise when the fund’s portfolio manager also has day-to-day management responsibilities with respect to one or more other funds or other accounts, as is the case for the portfolio manager listed in the table above.

The manager, the subadviser and the fund have adopted compliance polices and procedures that are designed to address various conflicts of interest that may arise for the manager and the subadviser and the individuals that it employs. For example, the manager and the subadviser each seek to minimize the effects of competing interests for the time and attention of portfolio managers by assigning portfolio managers to manage funds and accounts that share a similar investment style. The manager and the subadviser have also adopted trade allocation procedures that are designed to facilitate the fair allocation of limited investment opportunities among multiple funds and accounts. There is no guarantee, however, that the policies and procedures adopted by the manager, the subadviser and the funds will be able to detect and/or prevent every situation in which an actual or potential conflict may appear.

 

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These potential conflicts include:

Allocation of Limited Time and Attention. A portfolio manager who is responsible for managing multiple funds and/or accounts may devote unequal time and attention to the management of those funds and/or accounts. As a result, the portfolio manager may not be able to formulate as complete a strategy or identify equally attractive investment opportunities for each of those accounts as might be the case if he or she were to devote substantially more attention to the management of a single fund. The effects of this potential conflict may be more pronounced where funds and/or accounts overseen by a particular portfolio manager have different investment strategies.

Allocation of Limited Investment Opportunities. If a portfolio manager identifies a limited investment opportunity that may be suitable for multiple funds and/or accounts, the opportunity may be allocated among these several funds or accounts, which may limit a fund’s ability to take full advantage of the investment opportunity.

Pursuit of Differing Strategies. At times, a portfolio manager may determine that an investment opportunity may be appropriate for only some of the funds and/or accounts for which he or she exercises investment responsibility, or may decide that certain of the funds and/or accounts should take differing positions with respect to a particular security. In these cases, the portfolio manager may place separate transactions for one or more funds or accounts which may affect the market price of the security or the execution of the transaction, or both, to the detriment or benefit of one or more other funds and/or accounts.

Selection of Brokers/Dealers . Portfolio managers may be able to select or influence the selection of the brokers and dealers that are used to execute securities transactions for the funds and/or account that they supervise. In addition to executing trades, some brokers and dealers provide portfolio managers with brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934), which may result in the payment of higher brokerage fees than might have otherwise been available. These services may be more beneficial to certain funds or accounts than to others. Although the payment of brokerage commissions is subject to the requirement that the portfolio manager determine in good faith that the commissions are reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided to the funds, a portfolio manager’s decision as to the selection of brokers and dealers could yield disproportionate costs and benefits among the funds and/or accounts that he or she manages.

Variation in Compensation. A conflict of interest may arise where the financial or other benefits available to the portfolio manager differ among the funds and/or accounts that he or she manages. If the structure of the investment manager’s management fee and/or the portfolio manager’s compensation differs among funds and/or accounts (such as where certain funds or accounts pay higher management fees or performance-based management fees), the portfolio manager might be motivated to help certain funds and/or accounts over others. The portfolio manager might be motivated to favor funds and/or accounts in which he or she has an interest or in which the investment manager and/or its affiliates have interests. Similarly, the desire to maintain assets under management or to enhance the portfolio manager’s performance record or to derive other rewards, financial or otherwise, could influence the portfolio manager in affording preferential treatment to those funds and/or accounts that could most significantly benefit the portfolio manager.

Related Business Opportunities . The investment manager or its affiliates may provide more services (such as distribution or recordkeeping) for some types of funds or accounts than for others. In such cases, a portfolio manager may benefit, either directly or indirectly, by devoting disproportionate attention to the management of fund and/or accounts that provide greater overall returns to the investment manager and its affiliates.

Portfolio Manager Securities Ownership

The table below identifies ownership of funds’ securities by the fund’s Portfolio Manager.

 

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Portfolio Manager

  

Dollar Range of Ownership of Securities

Aquico Wen

  

11. DESCRIPTION OF SHARES, VOTING RIGHTS AND LIABILITIES

The Trust was organized on October 17, 1991 under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is a business entity commonly known as a “Massachusetts business trust.” The Trust offers shares of beneficial interest of [    ] separate funds with a par value of $.001 per share. The fund offers shares of beneficial interest currently classified into four Classes—A, B, C and I. Each Class of the fund represents an identical interest in the fund’s investment portfolio. As a result, the Classes have the same rights, privileges and preferences, except with respect to: (a) the designation of each Class; (b) the effect of the respective sales charges, if any, for each Class; (c) the distribution and/or service fees borne by each Class pursuant to the Distribution Plan; (d) the expenses allocable exclusively to each Class; (e) voting rights on matters exclusively affecting a single Class; (f) the exchange privilege of each Class; and (g) the conversion feature of the Class B shares. The Board does not anticipate that there will be any conflicts among the interests of the holders of the different Classes. The trustees, on an ongoing basis, will consider whether any such conflict exists and, if so, take appropriate action.

Under Massachusetts’s law, shareholders could, under certain circumstances, be held personally liable for the obligations of the fund. The Master Trust Agreement disclaims shareholder liability for acts or obligations of the fund, however, and requires that notice of such disclaimer be given in each agreement, obligation or instrument entered into or executed by the fund or a trustee. The Master Trust Agreement provides for indemnification from fund property for all losses and expenses of any shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the fund. Thus, the risk of a shareholder’s incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which the fund itself would be unable to meet its obligations, a possibility which management of the fund believes is remote. Upon payment of any liability incurred by the fund, a shareholder paying such liability will be entitled to reimbursement from the general assets of the fund. The trustees intend to conduct the operation of the fund in such a way so as to avoid, as far as possible, ultimate liability of the shareholders for liabilities of the fund.

The Master Trust Agreement of the fund permits the trustees of the fund to issue an unlimited number of full and fractional shares of a single class and to divide or combine the shares into a greater or lesser number of shares without thereby changing the proportionate beneficial interests in the fund. Each share in the fund represents an equal proportional interest in the fund with each other share. Shareholders of the fund are entitled upon its liquidation to share pro rata in its net assets available for distribution. No shareholder of the fund has any preemptive or conversion rights. Shares of the fund are fully paid and non-assessable.

Pursuant to the Master Trust Agreement, the Trust’s trustees may authorize the creation of additional series of shares (the proceeds of which would be invested in separate, independently managed portfolios) and additional classes of shares within any series (which would be used to distinguish among the rights of different categories of shareholders, as might be required by future regulations or other unforeseen circumstances).

The Trust does not hold annual shareholder meetings. There normally will be no meetings of shareholders for the purpose of electing trustees unless and until such time as less than a majority of the trustees holding office have been elected by shareholders, at which time the trustees then in office will call a shareholders’ meeting for the election of trustees. Shareholders of record of no less than two-thirds of the outstanding shares of the Trust may remove a trustee through a declaration in writing or by vote cast in person or by proxy at a meeting called for that purpose.

When matters are submitted for shareholder vote, shareholders of each Class will have one vote for each full share owned and a proportionate, fractional vote for any fractional share held of that Class. Generally, shares of the fund will be voted on a fund-wide basis on all matters except matters affecting only the interests of one Class, in which case only shares of the affected Class would be entitled to vote.

The Trust was organized as an unincorporated Massachusetts business trust on October 17, 1991 under the name Shearson Lehman Brothers Intermediate-Term Trust. On August 16, 1995, the Trust’s name was changed to Smith Barney Investment Trust. On April 7, 2006, the Trust’s name was changed to Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust.

 

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12. ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

Proposed Changes

The fund’s board has approved a number of initiatives designed to streamline and restructure the fund complex and the fund is seeking shareholder approval for those initiatives where shareholder approval is required. If certain of these matters are approved by the shareholders entitled to vote on the matters, the fund will become a series of Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust, a Maryland business trust.

A Maryland business trust is an unincorporated business association that is established under, and governed by, Maryland law. Maryland law provides a statutory framework for the powers, duties, rights and obligations of the trustees and shareholders of the business trust, while the more specific powers, duties, rights and obligations of the trustees and the shareholders are determined by the trustees as set forth in the trust’s declaration of trust. Some of the more significant provisions of the trust’s declaration are described below.

Shareholder Voting. The declaration provides for shareholder voting as required by the 1940 Act or other applicable laws but otherwise permits, consistent with Maryland law, actions by the trustees without seeking the consent of shareholders. The trustees may, without shareholder approval, amend the declaration or authorize the merger or consolidation of the trust into another trust or entity, reorganize the trust, or any series or class into another trust or entity or a series or class of another entity, sell all or substantially all of the assets of the trust or any series or class to another entity, or a series or class of another entity, or terminate the trust or any series or class.

The fund is not required to hold an annual meeting of shareholders, but the fund will call special meetings of shareholders whenever required by the 1940 Act or by the terms of the declaration. The declaration provides for “dollar-weighted voting” which means that a shareholder’s voting power is determined, not by the number of shares he or she owns, but by the dollar value of those shares determined on the record date. All shareholders of all series and classes of the trust vote together, except where required by the 1940 Act to vote separately by series or by class, or when the trustees have determined that a matter affects only the interests of one or more series or classes of shares.

Election and Removal of Trustees. The declaration provides that the trustees may establish the number of trustees and that vacancies on the board may be filled by the remaining trustees, except when election of trustees by the shareholders is required under the 1940 Act. Trustees are then elected by a plurality of votes cast by shareholders at a meeting at which a quorum is present. The declaration also provides that a mandatory retirement age may be set by action of two-thirds of the trustees and that trustees may be removed, with or without cause, by a vote of shareholders holding two-thirds of the voting power of the trust, or by a vote of two-thirds of the remaining trustees. The provisions of the declaration relating to the election and removal of trustees may not be amended without the approval of two-thirds of the trustees.

 

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Amendments to the Declaration. The trustees are authorized to amend the declaration without the vote of shareholders, but no amendment may be made that impairs the exemption from personal liability granted in the declaration to persons who are or have been shareholders, trustees, officers or, employees of the trust or that limit the rights to indemnification or insurance provided in the declaration with respect to actions or omissions of persons entitled to indemnification under the declaration prior to the amendment.

Issuance and Redemption of Shares . The fund may issue an unlimited number of shares for such consideration and on such terms as the trustees may determine. Shareholders are not entitled to any appraisal, preemptive, conversion, exchange or similar rights, except as the trustees may determine. The fund may involuntarily redeem a shareholder’s shares upon certain conditions as may be determined by the trustees, including, for example, if the shareholder fails to provide the fund with identification required by law, or if the fund is unable to verify the information received from the shareholder. Additionally, as discussed below, shares may be redeemed in connection with the closing of small accounts.

Disclosure of Shareholder Holdings. The declaration specifically requires shareholders, upon demand, to disclose to the fund information with respect to the direct and indirect ownership of shares in order to comply with various laws or regulations, and the fund may disclose such ownership if required by law or regulation.

Small Accounts. The declaration provides that the fund may close out a shareholder’s account by redeeming all of the shares in the account if the account falls below a minimum account size (which may vary by class) that may be set by the trustees from time to time. Alternately, the declaration permits the fund to assess a fee for small accounts (which may vary by class) and redeem shares in the account to cover such fees, or convert the shares into another share class that is geared to smaller accounts.

Series and Classes. The declaration provides that the trustees may establish series and classes in addition to those currently established and to determine the rights and preferences, limitations and restrictions, including qualifications for ownership, conversion and exchange features, minimum purchase and account size, expenses and charges, and other features of the series and classes. The trustees may change any of those features, terminate any series or class, combine series with other series in the trust, combine one or more classes of a series with another class in that series or convert the shares of one class into another class.

Each share of the fund, as a series of the trust, represents an interest in the fund only and not in the assets of any other series of the trust.

Shareholder, Trustee and Officer Liability. The declaration provides that shareholders are not personally liable for the obligations of the fund and requires the fund to indemnify a shareholder against any loss or expense arising from any such liability. In addition, the fund will assume the defense of any claim against a shareholder for personal liability at the request of the shareholder. The declaration further provides that a trustee acting in his or her capacity of trustee is not personally liable to any person other than the trust or its shareholders, for any act, omission, or obligation of the trust. Further, a trustee is held to the same standard of conduct as a director of a Maryland corporation. This requires that a trustee perform his or her duties in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the trust or a series thereof, and with the care that an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would use under similar circumstances. The declaration also permits the limitation of a trustee’s liability to the full extent provided under Maryland law. Under current Maryland law, a trustee is liable to the trust or its shareholders for monetary damages only (a) to the extent that it is proved that he or she actually received an improper benefit or profit in money, property, or services or (b) to the extent that a judgment or other final adjudication adverse to the trustee is entered in a proceeding based on a finding in the proceeding that the trustee’s action, or failure to act, was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty and was material to the cause of action adjudicated in the proceeding. The declaration requires the trust to indemnify any persons who are or who have been trustees, officers or employees of the trust for any liability for actions or failure to act except to the extent prohibited by applicable federal law. In making any determination as to whether any person is entitled to the advancement of expenses in connection with a claim for which indemnification is sought, such person is entitled to a rebuttable presumption that he or she did not engage in conduct for which indemnification is not available.

The declaration provides that any trustee who serves as chair of the board or of a committee of the board, lead independent trustee, or audit committee financial expert, or in any other similar capacity will not be subject to any greater standard of care or liability because of such position.

Derivative Actions . The declaration provides a detailed process for the bringing of derivative actions by shareholders in order to permit legitimate inquiries and claims while avoiding the time, expense, distraction, and other harm

 

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that can be caused to the fund or its shareholders as a result of spurious shareholder demands and derivative actions. Prior to bringing a derivative action, a demand by three unrelated shareholders must first be made on the fund’s trustees. The declaration details various information, certifications, undertakings and acknowledgements that must be included in the demand. Following receipt of the demand, the trustees have a period of 90 days, which may be extended by an additional 60 days, to consider the demand. If a majority of the trustees who are considered independent for the purposes of considering the demand determine that maintaining the suit would not be in the best interests of the fund, the trustees are required to reject the demand and the complaining shareholders may not proceed with the derivative action unless the shareholders are able to sustain the burden of proof to a court that the decision of the trustees not to pursue the requested action was not a good faith exercise of their business judgment on behalf of the fund. The declaration further provides that shareholders owning shares representing at least 5% of the voting power of the affected fund must join in bringing the derivative action. If a demand is rejected, the complaining shareholders will be responsible for the costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by the fund in connection with the consideration of the demand, if in the judgment of the independent trustees, the demand was made without reasonable cause or for an improper purpose. If a derivative action is brought in violation of the declaration, the shareholders bringing the action may be responsible for the fund’s costs, including attorneys’ fees.

The declaration further provides that the fund shall be responsible for payment of attorneys’ fees and legal expenses incurred by a complaining shareholder only if required by law, and any attorneys’ fees that the fund is obligated to pay shall be calculated using reasonable hourly rates. The declaration also requires that actions by shareholders against the fund be brought only in federal court in Baltimore, Maryland, or if not permitted to be brought in federal court, then in state court in Baltimore, Maryland, and that the right to jury trial be waived to the full extent permitted by law.

Legal Matters

Beginning in June 2004, class action lawsuits alleging violations of the federal securities laws were filed against Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”) and a number of its then affiliates, including Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”), which were then investment adviser or manager to certain of the funds (the “Managers”), substantially all of the mutual funds then managed by the Managers (the “Defendant Funds”), and Board Members of the Defendant Funds (collectively, the “Defendants”). The complaints alleged, among other things, that CGMI created various undisclosed incentives for its brokers to sell Smith Barney and Salomon Brothers funds. In addition, according to the complaints, the Managers caused the Defendant Funds to pay excessive brokerage commissions to CGMI for steering clients towards proprietary funds. The complaints also alleged that the defendants breached their fiduciary duty to the Defendant Funds by improperly charging Rule 12b-1 fees and by drawing on fund assets to make undisclosed payments of soft dollars and excessive brokerage commissions. The complaints also alleged that the Defendant Funds failed to adequately disclose certain of the allegedly wrongful conduct. The complaints sought injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive damages, rescission of the Defendant Funds’ contracts with the Managers, recovery of all fees paid to the Managers pursuant to such contracts and an award of attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses.

On December 15, 2004, a consolidated amended complaint (the “Complaint”) was filed alleging substantially similar causes of action. On May 27, 2005, all of the Defendants filed motions to dismiss the Complaint. On July 26, 2006, the court issued a decision and order (1) finding that plaintiffs lacked standing to sue on behalf of the shareholders of the Defendant Funds in which none of the plaintiffs had invested and dismissing those Defendant Funds from the case (although stating that they could be brought back into the case if standing as to them could be established), and (2) other than one stayed claim, dismissing all of the causes of action against the remaining Defendants, with prejudice, except for the cause of action under Section 36(b) of the 1940 Act, which the court granted plaintiffs leave to replead as a derivative claim.

On October 16, 2006, plaintiffs filed their Second Consolidated Amended Complaint (“Second Amended Complaint”) which alleges derivative claims on behalf of nine funds identified in the Second Amended Complaint, under Section 36(b) of the 1940 Act, against Citigroup Asset Management, Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc, SBFM and CGMI as investment advisers to the identified funds, as well as CGMI as a distributor for the identified funds (collectively, the “Second Amended Complaint Defendants”). The fund was not identified in the Second Amended Complaint. The Second Amended Complaint alleges no claims against any of the funds or any of their Board Members. Under Section 36(b), the Second Amended Complaint alleges similar facts and seeks similar relief against the Second Amended Complaint Defendants as the Complaint.

 

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Additional lawsuits arising out of these circumstances and presenting similar allegations and requests for relief may be filed in the future.

***

On May 31, 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued an order in connection with the settlement of an administrative proceeding against SBFM, the then-investment adviser or manager to the fund and CGMI, relating to the appointment of an affiliated transfer agent for the Smith Barney family of mutual funds, including the fund (the “Affected Funds”).

The SEC order finds that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(1) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder (the “Advisers Act”). Specifically, the order found that SBFM and CGMI knowingly or recklessly failed to disclose to the boards of the Affected Funds in 1999 when proposing a new transfer agent arrangement with an affiliated transfer agent that: First Data Investors Services Group (“First Data”), the Affected Funds’ then-existing transfer agent, had offered to continue as transfer agent and do the same work for substantially less money than before; and that Citigroup Asset Management (“CAM”), the Citigroup business unit that, at the time, included the Affected Funds’ investment manager and other investment advisory companies, had entered into a side letter with First Data under which CAM agreed to recommend the appointment of First Data as sub-transfer agent to the affiliated transfer agent in exchange for, among other things, for a guarantee by First Data of specified amounts of asset management and investment banking fees to CAM and CGMI. The order also found that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act by virtue of the omissions discussed above and other misrepresentations and omissions in the materials provided to the Affected Funds’ boards, including the failure to make clear that the affiliated transfer agent would earn a high profit for performing limited functions while First Data continued to perform almost all of the transfer agent functions, and the suggestion that the proposed arrangement was in the Affected Funds’ best interests and that no viable alternatives existed. SBFM and CGMI do not admit or deny any wrongdoing or liability. The settlement does not establish wrongdoing or liability for purposes of any other proceeding.

The SEC censured SBFM and CGMI and ordered them to cease and desist from violations of Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Advisers Act. The order required Citigroup to pay $208.1 million, including $109 million in disgorgement of profits, $19.1 million in interest, and a civil money penalty of $80 million. Approximately $24.4 million has already been paid to the Affected Funds, primarily through fee waivers. The remaining $183.7 million, including the penalty, has been paid to the U.S. Treasury and will be distributed pursuant to a plan submitted for the approval of the SEC. At this time, there is no certainty as to how the above-described proceeds of the settlement will be distributed, to whom such distributions will be made, the methodology by which such distributions will be allocated, and when such distributions will be made. The order also required that transfer agency fees received from the Affected Funds since December 1, 2004, less certain expenses, be placed in escrow and provided that a portion of such fees might be subsequently distributed in accordance with the terms of the order. On April 3, 2006, an aggregate amount of approximately $9 million held in escrow was distributed to the Affected Funds.

The order required SBFM to recommend a new transfer agent contract to the fund boards within 180 days of the entry of the order; if a Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent or sub-transfer agent, SBFM and CGMI would have been required, at their expense, to engage an independent monitor to oversee a competitive bidding process. On November 21, 2005, and within the specified timeframe, the Affected Funds’ Boards selected a new transfer agent for the Affected Fund. No Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent. Under the order, SBFM also must comply with an amended version of a vendor policy that Citigroup instituted in August 2004.

Although there can be no assurance, the manager does not believe that this matter will have a material adverse effect on the Affected Funds.

 

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On December 1, 2005, Citigroup completed the sale of substantially all of its global asset management business, including SBFM, to Legg Mason.

***

Beginning in August 2005, five class action lawsuits alleging violations of federal securities laws and state law were filed against CGMI and SBFM (collectively, the “Defendants”) based on the May 31, 2005 settlement order issued against the Defendants by the SEC as described in above. The complaints seek injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive damages, removal of SBFM as the investment manager for the Smith Barney family of funds, rescission of the funds’ management and other contracts with SBFM, recovery of all fees paid to SBFM pursuant to such contracts, and an award of attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses.

On October 5, 2005, a motion to consolidate the five actions and any subsequently filed, related action was filed. That motion contemplates that a consolidated amended complaint alleging substantially similar causes of action will be filed in the future.

As of the date of this report, the fund’s investment manager believes that resolution of the pending lawsuit will not have a material effect on the financial position or results of operations of the fund or the ability of the fund’s investment manager and its affiliates to continue to render services to the funds under their respective contracts.

***

On September 16, 2005, the staff of the SEC informed SBFM and ClearBridge Asset Management Inc (formerly Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc) at the staff is considering recommending that the SEC institute administrative proceedings against SBFM and ClearBridge Asset Management Inc for alleged violations of Section 19(a) and 34(b) of the Investment Company Act (and related Rule 19a-1). The notification is a result of an industry wide inspection by the SEC and is based upon alleged deficiencies in disclosures regarding dividends and distributions paid to shareholders of certain funds. Section 19(a) and related Rule 19a-1 of the Investment Company Act generally require funds that are making dividend and distribution payments to provide shareholders with a written statement disclosing the source of the dividends and distributions, and, in particular, the portion of the payments made from each of net investment income, undistributed net profits and/or paid-in capital. In connection with the contemplated proceedings, the staff may seek a cease and desist order and/or monetary damages from SBFM or ClearBridge Asset Management Inc.

Although there can be no assurance, the fund’s manager believes that this matter is not likely to have a material adverse effect on the fund.

On or about May 30, 2006, John Halebian, a purported shareholder of Citi New York Tax Free Reserves, a series of CitiFunds Trust III (the “Subject Trust”), filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York against the independent trustees of the Subject Trust (Elliott J. Berv, Donald M. Carlton, A. Benton Cocanougher, Mark T. Finn, Stephen Randolph Gross, Diana R. Harrington, Susan B. Kerley, Alan G. Merten and R. Richardson Pettit).

The Subject Trust is also named in the complaint as a nominal defendant.

The complaint alleges both derivative claims on behalf of the Subject Trust and class claims on behalf of a putative class of shareholders of the Subject Trust in connection with the 2005 sale of Citigroup’s asset management business to Legg Mason and the related approval of new investment advisory agreements by the trustees and shareholders. In the derivative claim, the plaintiff alleges, among other things, that the independent trustees breached their fiduciary duty to the Subject

 

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Trust and its shareholders by failing to negotiate lower fees or seek competing bids from other qualified investment advisers in connection with Citigroup’s sale to Legg Mason. In the claims brought on behalf of the putative class of shareholders, the plaintiff alleges that the independent trustees violated the proxy solicitation requirements of the 1940 Act, and breached their fiduciary duty to shareholders, by virtue of the voting procedures, including “echo voting,” used to obtain approval of the new investment advisory agreements and statements made in a proxy statement regarding those voting procedures. The plaintiff alleges that the proxy statement was misleading because it failed to disclose that the voting procedures violated the 1940 Act. The relief sought includes an award of damages, rescission of the advisory agreement, and an award of costs and attorney fees.

In advance of filing the complaint, Mr. Halebian’s lawyers made written demand for relief on the Board of the Subject Trust, and the Board’s independent trustees formed a demand review committee to investigate the matters raised in the demand, and subsequently in the complaint, and recommend a course of action to the Board. The committee, after a thorough review, has determined that the independent trustees did not breach their fiduciary duties as alleged by Mr. Halebian, and that the action demanded by Mr. Halebian would not be in the best interests of the Subject Trust. The Board of the Subject Trust (the trustee who is an “interested person” of the Subject Trust, within the meaning of the 1940 Act, having recused himself from the matter), after receiving and considering the committee’s report and based upon the findings of the committee, subsequently also has so determined and, adopting the recommendation of the committee, has directed counsel to move to dismiss Mr. Halebian’s complaint. A response to the complaint is due in October 2006. No assurance can be given as to the outcome of this matter.

***

The foregoing speaks only as of the date of this SAI. Additional lawsuits presenting allegations and requests for relief arising out of or in connection with any of the foregoing matters may be filed against these and related parties in the future.

13. TAX MATTERS

[To be updated by amendment]

The following discussion is a brief summary of some of the important federal (and, where noted, state) income tax consequences affecting the fund and its shareholders. The discussion is very general, and therefore prospective investors are urged to consult their tax advisers about the impact an investment in the fund may have on their own tax situations.

Taxation of the Fund

Federal Taxes. The fund has elected to be treated, and intends to qualify each year, as a “regulated investment company” under Subchapter M of the Code, by meeting all applicable requirements of Subchapter M, including requirements as to the nature of the fund’s gross income, the amount of fund distributions, and the composition of the fund’s portfolio assets. Provided all such requirements are met, no U.S. federal income or excise taxes generally will be required to be paid by the fund. If the fund should fail to qualify as a “regulated investment company” for any year, the fund would incur a regular corporate federal income tax upon its taxable income and fund distributions would generally be taxable as ordinary income to shareholders.

Foreign Taxes. Investment income and gains received by the fund from non-U.S. securities may be subject to non-U.S. taxes. The United States has entered into tax treaties with many other countries that may entitle the fund to a reduced rate of tax or an exemption from tax on such income. The fund intends to qualify for treaty reduced rates where available. It is not possible, however, to determine the fund’s effective rates of non-U.S. tax in advance since the amount of the fund’s assets to be invested within various countries is not known.

If the fund holds more than 50% of its assets in foreign stock and securities at the close of its taxable year, the fund may elect to “pass through” to the fund’s shareholders foreign income taxes paid. If the fund so elects, shareholders will be required to treat their pro rata portion of the foreign income taxes paid by the fund as part of the amount distributed to them by the fund and thus includable in their gross income for federal income tax purposes. Shareholders who itemize deductions would then be allowed to claim a deduction or credit (but not both) on their federal income tax returns for such amount, subject to certain limitations. Shareholders who do not itemize deductions would (subject to such limitations) be able to claim a credit but not a deduction. No deduction will be permitted to individuals in computing their alternative minimum tax liability. If the fund does not qualify or elect to “pass through” to its shareholders foreign income taxes paid by it, shareholders will not be able to claim any deduction or credit for any part of their foreign taxes paid by the fund.

 

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On October 31, 2005, the fund did not have, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, capital loss carryforwards.

Taxation of Shareholders

Taxation of Distributions. Shareholders of the fund will generally have to pay federal income taxes and any state or local taxes on the dividends and capital gain distributions they receive from the fund. Dividends from ordinary income, and any distributions from net short-term capital gain are taxable to shareholders as ordinary income for federal income tax purposes, whether the distributions are made in cash or additional shares.

To the extent that ordinary dividends are derived from qualified dividend income of the fund, eligible for reduced tax rates for non-corporate shareholders, such dividends will be treated as qualified dividend income provided that they are so designated by the fund and that the recipient shareholder satisfies certain holding period requirements. If more than 95% of the fund’s gross income, calculated without taking into account long-term capital gains, consists of qualified dividend income, the fund may designate all distributions of such income as qualified dividend income. Qualified dividend income generally is income derived from dividends from U.S. corporations or from qualified foreign corporations, i.e., corporations that are either incorporated in a U.S. possession or eligible for benefits under qualifying U.S. tax treaties. Distributions from a foreign corporation that is not a qualified foreign corporation may nevertheless be treated as qualified dividend income if the applicable stock is readily tradable on an established U.S. securities market. “Passive foreign investment companies” (“PFICs”) will not be treated as qualified foreign corporations for these purposes. Distributions of net capital gains (i.e., the excess of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses), whether made in cash or in additional shares, are taxable to shareholders as long-term capital gains without regard to the length of time the shareholders have held their shares.

Any fund dividend that is declared in October, November, or December of any calendar year, that is payable to shareholders of record in such a month, and that is paid the following January, will be treated as if received by the shareholders on December 31 of the year in which the dividend is declared.

Any fund distribution will have the effect of reducing the per share net asset value of shares in the fund by the amount of the distribution. Shareholders purchasing shares shortly before the record date of any distribution may thus pay the full price for the shares and then effectively receive a portion of the purchase price back as a taxable distribution.

Dividends-Received Deduction. The portion of the fund’s ordinary income dividends attributable to dividends received in respect of equity securities of U.S. issuers is normally eligible for the dividends received deduction for corporations subject to U.S. federal income taxes. Availability of the deduction for particular shareholders is subject to certain limitations, and deducted amounts may be subject to the alternative minimum tax and result in certain basis adjustments.

Withholding Tax Payments for Non-U.S. Persons. The fund will withhold tax payments at the rate of 30% (or any lower rate permitted under an applicable treaty) on taxable dividends and other payments subject to withholding taxes that are made to persons who are neither citizens nor residents of the United States. Distributions received from the fund by non-U.S. persons also may be subject to tax under the laws of their own jurisdiction.

For taxable years of the fund beginning during 2005, 2006 and 2007, this 30% withholding tax will not apply to dividends that the fund designates as (a) interest-related dividends, to the extent such dividends are derived from the fund’s “qualified net interest income,” or (b) short-term capital gain dividends, to the extent such dividends are derived from the fund’s “qualified short-term gain.” “Qualified net interest income” generally is interest on bank deposits, interest or original issue discount on an obligation in registered form, or original issue discount on certain short-term obligations whether or not in registered form. The term does not include interest that is disqualified as “contingent interest” under the portfolio interest rules. “Qualified short-term gain” generally means the excess of the fund’s net short-term capital gain for the taxable year over it net long-term capital loss.

Backup Withholding. The account application asks each new shareholder to certify that the shareholder’s Social Security or taxpayer identification number is correct and that the shareholder is not subject to backup withholding of federal

 

74


income tax for failing to report income to the IRS. If a shareholder fails to provide this information, or otherwise violates IRS regulations, the fund may be required to withhold tax at the rate of 28% on certain distributions and redemption proceeds paid to that shareholder. Backup withholding will not, however, be applied to payments that have been subject to the 30% withholding tax on non-U.S. shareholders.

Disposition of Shares. In general, any gain or loss realized upon a taxable disposition of shares of the fund by a shareholder that holds such shares as a capital asset will be treated as a long-term capital gain or loss if the shares have been held for more than twelve months and otherwise as a short-term capital gain or loss. However, any loss realized upon a disposition of shares in the fund held for six months or less will be treated as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any distributions of net capital gain made with respect to those shares. Any loss realized upon a disposition of shares may also be disallowed under rules relating to wash sales. Gain may be increased (or loss reduced) upon a redemption of Class A fund shares held for 90 days or less followed by any purchase of shares of the fund or of another Smith Barney mutual fund, including purchases by exchange or by reinvestment, without payment of a sales charge which would otherwise apply because of any sales charge paid on the original purchase of the Class A fund shares.

Effects of Certain Investments and Transactions

Options, Etc. The fund’s transactions in forward contracts, short sales “against the box,” and options will be subject to special tax rules that may affect the amount, timing and character of fund income and distributions to shareholders. For example, certain positions held by the fund on the last business day of each taxable year will be marked to market (i.e., treated as if closed out) on that day, and any gain or loss associated with the positions will be treated as 60% long-term and 40% short-term capital gain or loss. Certain positions held by the fund that substantially diminish its risk of loss with respect to other positions in its portfolio may constitute “straddles,” and may be subject to special tax rules that would cause deferral of fund losses, adjustments in the holding periods of fund securities, and conversion of short-term into long-term capital losses. Certain tax elections exist for straddles that may alter the effects of these rules. The fund intends to limit its activities in forward contracts and options to the extent necessary to meet the requirements of Subchapter M of the Code.

Foreign Investments. Special tax considerations apply with respect to non-U.S. investments of the fund. Foreign exchange gains and losses realized by the fund will generally be treated as ordinary income and losses. Use of non-U.S. currencies for non-hedging purposes and investment by the fund in certain PFICs may have to be limited in order to avoid a tax on the fund. The fund may elect to mark to market any investments in PFICs on the last day of each taxable year. This election may cause the Fund to recognize ordinary income prior to the receipt of cash payments with respect to those investments; in order to distribute this income and avoid a tax on the fund, the fund may be required to liquidate portfolio securities that it might otherwise have continued to hold, potentially resulting in additional taxable gain or loss to the fund.

14. FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The audited financial statements of the fund’s predecessor (Statement of Assets and Liabilities as of October 31, 2006, Statement of Operations for the year ended October 31, 2006, Statements of Changes in Net Assets for each of the years in the two-year period ended October 31, 2006, Financial Highlights for each of the years in the five-year period ended October 31, 2006, and Notes to Financial Statements along with the Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, each of which is included in the Annual Report to Shareholders of the Fund), are incorporated by reference into this Statement of Additional Information (Filed on [            ]; Accession Number [            ]).

 

75


Appendix A

Proxy Voting Guidelines & Procedures Summary

[To be updated by amendment]

 

A-1


LEGG MASON PARTNERS EMERGING MARKETS EQUITY FUND

INVESTMENT MANAGER

Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC

399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022

DISTRIBUTORS

Legg Mason Investment Services

100 Light Street, Baltimore, MD 21202

Citigroup Global Markets Inc.

388 Greenwich Street, New York, NY 10013

TRANSFER AGENT

PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9699, Providence, RI 02940-9699

CUSTODIAN

State Street Bank and Trust Company

225 Franklin Street, Boston, MA 02110

INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

[                    ]

[                    ]

LEGAL COUNSEL

Bingham McCutchen LLP

150 Federal Street, Boston, MA 02110

 

A-2


LEGG MASON PARTNERS FINANCIAL SERVICES FUND

Supplement dated February         , 2007

to the Prospectus dated February         , 2007

Batterymarch Financial Management, Inc. continues to provide the day-to-day portfolio management of the Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund, as subadviser. Batterymarch was established in 1969 and has offices at John Hancock Tower, 200 Clarendon Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116. Batterymarch acts as investment adviser to institutional accounts, such as pension and profit sharing plans, mutual funds and endowment funds. Batterymarch’s total assets under management were approximately $     billion as of December 31, 2006.

Thomas Linkas and Charles F. Lovejoy remain responsible for the day-to-day management of the fund. Mr. Linkas is the Chief Investment Officer and Mr. Lovejoy is a Director and Senior Portfolio Manager at Batterymarch. Mr. Linkas joined Batterymarch in 1990. He has 32 years of investment experience. Mr. Lovejoy joined Batterymarch in 1992. He has 25 years of investment experience.

Barrett Associates, Inc. is expected to replace Batterymarch as the fund’s subadviser and to assume the portfolio management responsibilities of the fund on or about March 16, 2007. Additional information regarding Barrett is included in the attached prospectus.

Batterymarch and Barrett are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Legg Mason, Inc. Legg Mason, whose principal executive offices are at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, is a financial services holding company. As of December 31, 2006, Legg Mason’s asset management operation had aggregate assets under management of approximately $     billion.


Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund

Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund

Supplement dated April     , 2007

to Prospectus dated                     , 2007

The attached prospectus is now dated April     , 2007.

As part of a number of initiatives launched in 2006 to restructure and streamline the Legg Mason Partners fund complex, the funds assumed the assets and liabilities of predecessor funds with the same names. The funds are now grouped for organizational and governance purposes with other Legg Mason Partners funds that are predominantly equity-type funds. The prospectus is supplemented as shown below to reflect this change. Any information in the prospectus relating to the funds prior to the date of this prospectus refers to the funds’ predecessors.

Performance Information

The summary performance information in the prospectus is that of the funds’ predecessors.

Management—Other Information

The paragraph beneath the heading “Other Information” in the “Management” section of the prospectus is deleted.

Financial Highlights

The financial information shown in the “Financial Highlights” section of the prospectus is that of the funds’ predecessors.


PROSPECTUS

                         , 2007

The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or determined whether this prospectus is accurate or complete. Any statement to the contrary is a crime.

LOGO

Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund

Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund

Class A, B, C, and I Shares

 

 

 

INVESTMENT PRODUCTS: NOT FDIC INSURED Ÿ NO BANK GUARANTEE Ÿ MAY LOSE VALUE

 


Legg Mason Partners

Financial Services Fund

Legg Mason Partners

Technology Fund

Contents

 

Investments, risks and performance

  2

Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund

  2

Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund

  7

More on the funds’ investments

  12

Management

  14

Choosing a class of shares to buy

  19

Comparing each of the funds’ classes

  21

Sales charges

  22

More about contingent deferred sales charges

  26

Retirement and institutional investors

  27

Buying shares

  29

Exchanging shares

  30

Redeeming shares

  32

Other things to know about transactions

  34

Dividends, distributions and taxes

  37

Share price

  39

Financial Highlights

  41

Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund

  41

Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund

  44

 

Prior to April 7, 2006, the funds were known as Smith Barney Financial Services Fund and Smith Barney Technology Fund.


 

Investments, risks and performance

Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund

Investment objective

Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund (the “Financial Services Fund” or the “fund”) seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in common stocks.

Principal investment strategies

Key investments

Under normal circumstances, the fund invests primarily in equity securities of issuers in the financial services industry that the portfolio manager believes are undervalued and thus may offer above average potential for capital appreciation. Equity securities include common stocks, preferred stocks, convertible securities, rights and warrants. These companies may include but are not limited to: regional, money center and community banks, savings and loan associations, broker-dealers, investment banks, investment advisers, insurance companies, real estate-related companies, leasing companies, and consumer and industrial finance companies. The fund may invest its assets in securities of foreign issuers (limited to 25% of total assets, not including American Depositary Receipts) in addition to securities of domestic issuers.

Selection process

The fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets in companies doing business in the financial services sector. The remainder of the fund’s assets are not required to be invested in that sector. To determine whether a company is principally doing business in the sector, it must meet at least one of the following tests:

n   At least 50% of its gross income or its net sales must come from activities in the sector;
n   At least 50% of its assets must be devoted to producing revenues from the sector; or
n   Based on other available information, the portfolio manager determines that the company’s primary business is within the sector.

In buying and selling securities, the fund relies on fundamental analysis of each issuer and its potential for success in light of its current financial condition and its industry position. Factors considered, among other things, include long-term growth potential, earnings estimates and quality of management.

The fund may lend its securities to earn income for the fund.

The fund may, but is not required to, use various techniques, such as buying and selling futures and options contracts, to increase or decrease its exposure to changing security prices or other factors that affect security values. The fund may engage in foreign currency transactions solely to manage its exposure to foreign securities. If the fund’s strategies do not work as intended, the fund may not achieve its objective.

Principal risks of investing in the fund

Investors could lose money on their investments in the fund, or the fund may not perform as well as other investments, as a result of the following risks:

n   Stock markets are volatile and can decline significantly in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments. Different parts of the market may react differently to these developments.

 

2         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

n   Foreign markets can be more volatile than the U.S. market because of increased risks of adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments and can perform differently than the U.S. market. Currency fluctuations may adversely impact the fund’s investments.
n   The financial services sector is subject to extensive government regulation and relatively rapid change because of increasingly blurred distinctions between service segments and can be significantly affected by availability and cost of capital funds, changes in interest rates, and price competition. The performance of financial services issuers may differ in direction and degree from that of the overall stock market.
n   The value of an individual security or particular type of security can be more volatile than the market as a whole and can perform differently than the market as a whole. Smaller capitalized companies may involve greater risks, such as limited product lines, markets and financial or managerial resources.
n   The fund is “non-diversified,” which means it may invest a larger percentage of its assets in one issuer than a diversified fund. To the extent the fund concentrates its assets in fewer issuers, the fund will be more susceptible to negative events affecting those issuers. The fund’s investments are spread across the sector on which it focuses. However, because those investments are limited to a comparatively narrow segment of the economy, the fund’s investments are not as diversified as most mutual funds, and far less diversified than the broad securities markets. This means that the fund tends to be more volatile than other mutual funds, and the values of its portfolio investments tend to increase and decrease more rapidly. As a result, the value of your investment in the fund may rise or fall rapidly.
n   The portfolio manager’s judgment about the attractiveness, growth prospects, value or potential appreciation of a particular stock may prove to be incorrect.
n   Small companies fall out of favor with investors.
n   Stock prices of smaller, newer companies decline further and more abruptly than those of larger, more established companies in response to negative stock market movements.

Compared to mutual funds that focus on larger companies, the fund’s share price may be more volatile because smaller companies are more likely to have:

n   Shorter operating histories and more erratic businesses
n   More limited product lines and distribution channels
n   Fewer capital resources
n   More limited management depth

Further, securities of smaller growth companies are more likely to:

n   Experience sharper swings in market values
n   Be less liquid
n   Offer greater potential for gains and losses

Who may want to invest

The fund may be an appropriate investment if you:

n   Are seeking to participate in the long-term growth potential of the financial services sector
n   Are seeking capital appreciation and can tolerate significant short-term volatility
n   Are looking for an investment with potentially greater return but higher risk than a fund investing primarily in fixed income securities

 

Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund/Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund         3


 

n   Are comfortable with the risks of the stock market and the risks of foreign securities, including emerging market securities
n   Currently have exposure to the stock market and can tolerate concentrated investment in a single market sector

Performance Information

The following shows summary performance information for the fund in a bar chart and an Average Annual Total Returns table. The information provides an indication of the risks of investing in the fund by showing changes in its performance from year to year and by showing how the fund’s average annual total returns compare with the returns of a broad-based unmanaged securities market index and a sector index. The bar chart and the information below show performance of the fund’s Class A shares, but do not reflect the impact of sales charges (loads). If they did, the returns would be lower than those shown . Unlike the bar chart, the performance for Class A, B, C and I* shares in the Average Annual Total Returns table reflects the impact of the maximum sales charge (load) applicable to the respective classes, and, where indicated, the performance for Class A shares reflects the impact of taxes paid on distributions and the redemption of shares at the end of the period. The fund’s past performance, before and after taxes, is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future.

Total Return for Class A Shares

LOGO

Highest and Lowest Quarter Returns (for periods shown in the bar chart)

Highest:     % in          Quarter             ; Lowest: (        )% in Quarter             ; Year-to-date:     % through 10/31/06.

 

*   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

4         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Average Annual Total Returns (for periods ended December 31, 2006)

 

       1 year    5 years    Since
Inception
   Inception
Date

Class A

           
 
Return before taxes (1)        %        %        %    2/28/00
 
Return after taxes on distributions (1 )(2 )        %        %        %   
 
Return after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares (1 )(2 )        %        %        %   
 
Other Classes (Return before taxes only)            
 

Class B

       %        %        %    2/28/00
 

Class C

       %        %        %    2/28/00
 

Class I ( 3 )

   N/A    N/A    N/A    2/28/00
 
S&P Financial Index (4)(8)        %        %        %    2/28/00
 
S&P 500 Index ( 5)(8 )        %        %        %    2/28/00
 
Goldman Sachs Financials Index ( 6)(8 )        %        %        %   
 
Russell 3000 Index (7)(8)        %        %        %   
 

 

(1)   On November 20, 2006, the maximum initial sales charge on Class A shares was increased for sales made on or after that date. The average annual returns for Class A shares in the table have been calculated as if the increased maximum initial sales charge had been in effect for the entire period.

 

( 2 )   After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of fund shares at the end of the measurement period. After-tax returns shown above are for Class A shares only. After-tax returns shown above for Class B, Class C and Class I shares will vary because of differences in sales charges and expenses. The returns for certain periods reflect fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements in effect for that period; absent fee waivers and reimbursements, performance would have been lower.

 

(3)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares. No Class I shares were outstanding on December 31, 2006.

 

( 4)   The Standard & Poor’s Financial Index is a total return index representing nine financial groups and 53 financial companies, calculated monthly with dividends reinvested at month end. The fund adopted this index as the primary benchmark as of [INSERT DATE] .

 

(5)   The Standard & Poor’s 500 Stock Index is a market capitalization-weighted, price-only index composed of 500 widely held common stocks listed on the New York Stock Exchange, American Stock Exchange, and Over-The-Counter market. The fund adopted this index as the secondary index as of [INSERT DATE] .

 

(6)   The Goldman Sachs Financials Index is an unmanaged market-value weighted index composed of companies in the banking services, brokerage, asset management, insurance and real estate industries. The fund used this index as a primary benchmark until [INSERT DATE] .

 

(7)   The Russell 3000 Index measures the performance of the 3000 largest U.S. companies based on total market capitalization, which represent approximately 98% of the U.S. equity market. The fund used this index as a secondary benchmark until [INSERT DATE] .

It is not possible to invest directly in an index. An index does not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes.

 

(8)   The subadviser believes that the new primary and secondary benchmarks more accurately reflect the investment approach and style of the subadviser.

Fee table

This table sets forth the fees and expenses you may pay if you invest in fund shares.

 

Shareholder Fees

 

(fees paid directly from your investment)   Class A     Class B     Class C     Class I (1)
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a % of offering price)   5.75 %   None     None     None
 
Maximum contingent deferred sales charge (load) (as a % of the lower of net asset value at purchase or redemption)   None (2)   5.00 %   1.00 % (3)   None
 

 

Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund/Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund         5


 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

 

(paid by the fund as a % of net assets)   Class A     Class B     Class C     Class I (4)  
Management fee   0.80 %   0.80 %   0.80 %   0.80 %
   
Distribution and service (12b-1) fees   0.25 %   1.00 %   1.00 %   None  
   
Other expenses (5)       %         %         %         %  
   
Total annual fund operating expenses       %         %         %         %  
   
Because of voluntary waivers and/or reimbursements, actual total operating expenses are expected to be:       %         %         %         %  
   

 

    These voluntary fee waivers and reimbursements do not coverage brokerage, taxes and extraordinary expenses and may be reduced or terminated at any time.

 

(1)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

(2)   You may buy Class A shares in amounts of $1,000,000 or more at net asset value (without an initial sales charge) but if you redeem those shares within 12 months of their purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

 

(3)   As of November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge is waived for retirement plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund.

 

(4)   For Class I shares, “Other expenses” have been estimated based upon expenses incurred by Class A shares because no Class I shares were outstanding during the most recent fiscal year.

 

(5)   The amounts set forth in “Other expenses” for Class A, B, C and I shares have been restated to reflect the estimated effect of new transfer agency and custody contracts which became effective January 1, 2006.

Example

This example helps you compare the costs of investing in the fund with the costs of investing in other mutual funds. Your actual costs may be higher or lower. The example assumes:

n   You invest $10,000 in the fund for the period shown
n   Your investment has a 5% return each year — the assumption of a 5% return is required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for purposes of this example and is not a prediction of the fund’s future performance
n   You reinvest all distributions and dividends without a sales charge
n   The fund’s operating expenses (before fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, if any) remain the same

 

Number of Years You Own Your Shares

 

      1 year   3 years   5 years   10 years  

Class A (with or without redemption)

  $            $            $            $           
   

Class B (redemption at end of period)

  $     $     $     $ (1 )
   

Class B (no redemption)

  $     $     $     $ (1 )
   

Class C (redemption at end of period)

  $     $     $     $    
   

Class C (no redemption)

  $            $            $            $           
   

Class I (2) (with or without redemption)

  $     $     $     $    
   

 

(1)   Assumes conversion to Class A shares approximately eight years after purchase.

 

(2)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

6         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Investments, risks and performance

Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund

Investment objective

Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund (the “Technology Fund” or the “fund”) seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in common stocks.

Principal investment strategies

Key investments

Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of the value of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in securities of companies principally engaged in offering, using or developing products, processes or services that will provide or will benefit significantly from technological advances and improvements. These companies may include, for example, companies that develop, produce or distribute products or services in the computer, semi-conductor, software, electronics, media, communications, health care, and biotechnology sectors. The fund may invest its assets in securities of foreign issuers in addition to securities of domestic issuers. The fund invests primarily in companies with medium and large market capitalizations. To a lesser extent, the fund also may invest in common stocks of companies with small market capitalizations. Medium and large market capitalization companies are those companies with market capitalizations exceeding $5 billion at the time of initial investment by the fund.

Selection process

The fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets in companies doing business in the technology sector. The remainder of the fund’s assets are not required to be invested in that sector. To determine whether a company is principally doing business in the sector, it must meet at least one of the following tests:

n   At least 50% of its gross income or its net sales must come from activities in the sector;
n   At least 50% of its assets must be devoted to producing revenues from the sector; or
n   Based on other available information, the portfolio manager determines that the company’s primary business is within the sector.

In buying and selling securities, the fund relies on fundamental analysis of each issuer and its potential for success in light of its current financial condition and its industry position. Factors considered, among other things, include long-term growth potential, earnings estimates and quality of management.

The fund may lend its securities to earn income for the fund.

The fund may, but is not required to, use various techniques, such as buying and selling futures and options contracts, to increase or decrease the fund’s exposure to changing security prices or other factors that affect security values. The fund may engage in foreign currency transactions solely to manage its exposure to foreign securities. If the fund’s strategies do not work as intended, the fund may not achieve its objective.

 

Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund/Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund         7


 

Principal risks of investing in the fund

Investors could lose money on their investments in the fund, or the fund may not perform as well as other investments, as a result of the following risks:

n   Stock markets are volatile and can decline significantly in response to adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments. Different parts of the market may react differently to these developments.
n   Foreign markets can be more volatile than the U.S. market because of increased risks of adverse issuer, political, regulatory, market or economic developments and can perform differently than the U.S. market. Currency fluctuations may adversely impact the fund’s investments.
n   Technology companies can be significantly affected by obsolescence of existing technology, short product cycles, falling prices and profits, and competition from new market entrants. The technology sector may be subject to greater governmental regulation than many other areas, and changes in governmental policies and the need for regulatory approvals may have a material adverse effect on the sector. The performance of technology issuers may differ in direction and degree from that of the overall stock market.
n   The value of an individual security or particular type of security can be more volatile than the market as a whole and can perform differently than the market as a whole. Smaller capitalized companies may involve greater risks such as limited product lines, markets and financial or managerial resources.
n   The fund is “non-diversified,” which means it may invest a larger percentage of its assets in one issuer than a diversified fund. To the extent the fund concentrates its assets in fewer issuers, the fund will be more susceptible to negative events affecting those issuers. The fund’s investments are spread across the sector on which it focuses. However, because those investments are limited to a comparatively narrow segment of the economy, the fund’s investments are not as diversified as most mutual funds, and far less diversified than the broad securities markets. This means that the fund tends to be more volatile than other mutual funds, and the values of its portfolio investments tend to increase and decrease more rapidly. As a result, the value of your investment in the fund may rise or fall rapidly.
n   The portfolio manager’s judgment about the attractiveness, growth prospects, value or potential appreciation of a particular stock may prove to be incorrect.

Who may want to invest

The fund may be an appropriate investment if you:

n   Are seeking to participate in the long-term growth potential of the technology sector
n   Are seeking capital appreciation and can tolerate significant short-term volatility
n   Are looking for an investment with potentially greater return but higher risk than a fund investing primarily in fixed income securities
n   Are comfortable with the risks of the stock market and the risks of foreign securities, including emerging market securities
n   Currently have exposure to the stock market and can tolerate concentrated investment in a single market sector

 

8         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Performance Information

The following shows summary performance information for the fund in a bar chart and an Average Annual Total Returns table. The information provides an indication of the risks of investing in the fund by showing changes in its performance from year to year and by showing how the fund’s average annual total returns compare with the returns of a broad-based unmanaged securities market index and a sector index. The bar chart and the information below show performance of the fund’s Class A shares, but do not reflect the impact of sales charges (loads). If they did, the returns would be lower than those shown . Unlike the bar chart, the performance for Class A, B, C and I* shares in the Average Annual Total Returns table reflects the impact of the maximum sales charge (load) applicable to the respective classes, and, where indicated, the performance for Class A shares reflects the impact of taxes paid on distributions and the redemption of shares at the end of the period. The fund’s past performance, before and after taxes, is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future.

Total Return for Class A Shares

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Highest and Lowest Quarter Returns (for periods shown in the bar chart)

Highest:             % in             quarter             , Lowest: (            )% in             quarter.              Year-to-date:             % through 10/31/06.

 

*   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund/Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund         9


 

Average Annual Total Returns (for periods ended December 31, 2006)

 

       1 year      5 years    Since
Inception
   Inception
Date

Class A

             
 
Return Before Taxes (1)        %          %        %    2/28/00
 
Return After Taxes on Distributions (1 ) (2 )        %          %        %   
 
Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares (1 ) (2 )        %          %        %   
 
Other Classes (Return before taxes only)              
 
Class B        %          %        %    2/28/00
 
Class C        %          %        %    2/28/00
 
Class I ( 3 )    N/A      N/A    N/A    2/28/00
 
Russell 3000 Index ( 4 )        %          %        %    2/28/00
 
Goldman Sachs Technology Index ( 5 )        %          %        %    2/28/00
 

 

(1)   On November 20, 2006, the initial sales charge on Class A shares was increased for sales made on or after that date. The average annual returns for Class A shares in the table have been calculated as if the increased sales charge had been in effect for the entire period.

 

(2)   After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of fund shares at the end of the measurement period. After-tax returns shown above are for Class A shares only. After-tax returns shown above for Class B, Class C and Class I shares will vary because of differences in sales charges and expenses. The returns for certain periods reflect fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements in effect for that period; absent fee waivers and reimbursements, performance would have been lower.

 

( 3)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares. No Class I shares were outstanding on December 31, 2006.

 

( 4 )   The Russell 3000 Index measures the performance of the 3000 largest U.S. companies based on total market capitalization, which represent approximately 98% of the U.S. equity market.

 

( 5 )   The Goldman Sachs Technology Index is an unmanaged market-value weighted index comprised of companies in hardware, computer, software, services, semiconductor, Internet and multimedia networking.

It is not possible to invest directly in an index. An index does not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes.

Fee table

This table sets forth the fees and expenses you may pay if you invest in fund shares.

 

Shareholder Fees

 

(fees paid directly from your investment)   Class A     Class B     Class C     Class I (1)
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a % of offering price)   5.75 %   None     None     None
 
Maximum contingent deferred sales charge (load) (as a % of the lower of net asset value at purchase or redemption)   None (2)   5.00 %   1.00 %   None
 

 

10         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

 

(paid by the fund as a % of net assets)   Class A     Class B     Class C     Class I (3)  
Management fee   0.85 %   0.85 %   0.85 %   0.85 %
   
Distribution and service (12b-1) fees   0.25 %   1.00 %   1.00 %   None  
   
Other expenses (4)           %             %             %             %  
   
Total annual fund operating expenses           %             %             %             %  
   
Because of voluntary waivers and/or reimbursements, actual total operating expenses are expected to be:           %             %             %             %  
   

 

    These voluntary fee waivers may be reduced or terminated at any time.

 

(1)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

(2)   You may buy Class A shares in amounts of $1,000,000 or more at net asset value (without an initial sales charge) but if you redeem those shares within 12 months of their purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

 

(3)   For Class I shares, “Other expenses” have been estimated based upon expenses incurred by Class A shares because no Class I shares were outstanding during the most recent fiscal year.

 

(4)   The amounts set forth in “Other expenses” for Class A, B, C and I shares have been restated to reflect the estimated effect of new transfer agency and custody contracts which became effective January 1, 2006.

Example

This example helps you compare the costs of investing in the fund with the costs of investing in other mutual funds. Your actual costs may be higher or lower. The example assumes:

n   You invest $10,000 in the fund for the period shown
n   Your investment has a 5% return each year — the assumption of a 5% return is required by the SEC for purposes of this example and is not a prediction of the fund’s future performance
n   You reinvest all distributions and dividends without a sales charge
n   The fund’s operating expenses (before fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, if any) remain the same

 

Number of Years You Own Your Shares

 

      1 year   3 years   5 years   10 years  

Class A (with or without redemption)

  $                $                $                $               
   

Class B (redemption at end of period)

  $                $                $                $ (1 )
   

Class B (no redemption)

  $                $                $                $ (1 )
   

Class C (redemption at end of period)

  $                $                $                $               
   

Class C (no redemption)

  $     $     $     $    
   

Class I (2) (with or without redemption)

  $     $     $     $    
   

 

(1)   Assumes conversion to Class A shares approximately eight years after purchase.

 

(2)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund/Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund         11


 

More on the funds’ investments

Each fund’s investment objectives and principal investment strategies are described under the section entitled “Investments, risks and performance” above. This section provides further information about the investment strategies that may be used by each fund.

Foreign investments

Each fund’s investments in securities of foreign issuers involve greater risks than investments in securities of U.S. issuers. Many foreign countries the funds may invest in have markets that are less liquid and more volatile than markets in the United States. In some foreign countries, less information is available about foreign issuers and markets because of less rigorous accounting and regulatory standards than in the United States. Currency fluctuations could erase investment gains or add to investment losses. The risks of investing in foreign securities are greater for securities of emerging market issuers because political or economic instability, lack of market liquidity, and negative government actions like currency controls or seizure of private businesses or property are more likely.

Derivatives and hedging techniques

Each fund may, but need not, use derivative contracts, such as futures and options on securities, securities indices or currencies; options on these futures; forward currency contracts; and interest rate or currency swaps for any of the following purposes:

n   To hedge against the economic impact of adverse changes in the market value of its securities, because of changes in stock market prices, currency exchange rates or interest rates
n   To settle transactions in securities quoted in foreign currencies
n   As a substitute for buying or selling securities
n   As a cash flow management technique

A derivative contract will obligate or entitle a fund to deliver or receive an asset or cash payment based on the change in value of one or more securities, currencies or indices. Even a small investment in derivative contracts can have a big impact on a fund’s stock market, currency and interest rate exposure. Therefore, using derivatives can disproportionately increase losses and reduce opportunities for gains when stock prices, currency rates or interest rates are changing. A fund may not fully benefit from or may lose money on derivatives if changes in their value do not correspond accurately to changes in the value of the fund’s holdings. The other parties to certain derivative contracts present the same types of credit risk as issuers of fixed income securities. Derivatives can also make a fund less liquid and harder to value, especially in declining markets.

Defensive investing

Each fund may depart from its principal investment strategies in response to adverse market, economic or political conditions by taking temporary defensive positions in any type of money market instruments, short-term debt securities or cash without regard to any percentage limitations. If a fund takes a temporary defensive position, it may be unable to achieve its investment objective.

 

12         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Master/feeder option

Each fund may in the future seek to achieve its investment objective by investing all of its net assets in another investment company having the same investment objective and substantially the same investment policies and restrictions as those applicable to that fund.

Other investments

Each fund may also use other strategies and invest in other securities that are described, along with their risks, in the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”). However, a fund might not use all of the strategies and techniques or invest in all of the types of securities described in this prospectus or in the SAI. Also note that there are many other factors, which are not described here, that could adversely affect your investment and that could prevent a fund from achieving its investment goals.

Portfolio holdings

The description of each fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of its portfolio securities is available in the SAI.

 

Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund/Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund         13


 

Management

Manager and subadvisers

Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC (“LMPFA” or the “manager”) is each fund’s investment manager. LMPFA, with offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022, is a recently-organized investment adviser that has been formed to serve as the investment manager of each fund and other Legg Mason-sponsored funds. LMPFA provides administrative and certain oversight services to each fund. Batterymarch Financial Management, Inc. (“Batterymarch”) provides the day-to-day portfolio management of the Technology Fund as the subadviser, except for the management of cash and short-term investments, which is performed by LMPFA. Barrett Associates, Inc. (“Barrett”) provides the day-to-day portfolio management of the Financial Services Fund as the subadviser, except for the management of cash and short-term investments, which is performed by LMPFA.

A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of each fund’s investment management agreements with LMPFA is available in each fund’s annual report for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006.

Batterymarch was established in 1969 and has offices at John Hancock Tower, 200 Clarendon Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116. Batterymarch acts as investment adviser to institutional accounts, such as pension and profit sharing plans, mutual funds, and endowment funds. Batterymarch’s total assets under management were approximately [$            ] billion as of December 31, 2006.

Barrett, founded in 1937, is located at 90 Park Avenue, 34th Floor, New York, New York 10016. As of December 31, 2006, Barrett managed approximately [$        ] of client assets, of which approximately [$        ] was invested in equity securities. Barrett has approximately 975 accounts, including families, individuals, foundations and other organizations and entities. Barrett uses a team approach for security selection and decision making.

LMPFA, Batterymarch, and Barrett are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”). Legg Mason, whose principal executive offices are at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, is a global asset management company. As of December 31, 2006, Legg Mason’s asset management operation had aggregate assets under management of approximately [$    ] billion.

Prior to August 1, 2006, Smith Barney Fund Management (“SBFM”) was each fund’s investment manager. SBFM is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason.

Thomas Linkas and Charles F. Lovejoy are responsible for the portfolio management of the Technology Fund. Their focus is primarily on portfolio structure and they are responsible for ensuring that the Technology Fund complies with its investment objective, guidelines and restrictions and current investment strategy. Mr. Linkas and Mr. Lovejoy work with a team of investment professionals (i.e., portfolio managers and quantitative analysts) who collaborate and share responsibility for day-to-day investment decisions. These portfolio managers have oversight responsibility for the work done by the team’s quantitative analysts, including factor research, development and testing and portfolio construction algorithms. The portfolio managers oversee the effectiveness of the overall investment process, including stock ranking and selection, portfolio construction and trading, and review all trades before execution. Messrs. Linkas and Lovejoy are employees of Batterymarch.

 

14         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Amy LaGuardia is responsible for the day-to-day management of the Financial Services Fund. Ms. LaGuardia joined Barrett on May 1, 2003 as Senior Vice President. Prior to joining Barrett, Ms. LaGuardia was Senior Vice President and Director of Research at Gray Seifert where she had been employed since 1982. Ms. LaGuardia co-managed the fund since its inception while employed at Gray Seifert. [More information on Barrett to be included by amendment]

Management fees

For the period from November 1, 2005 through July 31, 2006, the funds paid SBFM an annual investment management fee indicated below (based on a percentage of each fund’s average daily net assets and net of fee waivers).

 

Financial Services Fund:

  0.80 %

Technology Fund:

  0.85 %

For the period from August 1, 2006 through October 31, 2006, the funds paid LMPFA an annual investment management fee indicated below (based on a percentage of each fund’s average daily net assets and net of fee waivers).

 

Financial Services Fund:

  0.80 %

Technology Fund:

  0.85 %

A discussion regarding the basis for each Board’s approval of each fund’s management agreement and subadvisory agreement is available in each fund’s Annual Report for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006.

Other Information

Each fund’s Board has approved a number of initiatives designed to streamline and restructure the fund complex, and has authorized seeking shareholder approval for those initiatives where shareholder approval is required. These initiatives include the election of a new Board, the grouping of the funds for organizational and governance purposes with other funds in the fund complex that are predominantly equity-type funds, and the adoption of a single form of organization as a Maryland business trust, with all funds operating under uniform charter documents. Funds’ shareholders entitled to vote also are being asked to approve investment matters, including standardized fundamental investment policies and the ability of the funds to change their investment objectives without shareholder approval. Proxy materials describing these matters were mailed in October, 2006. If shareholder approval is obtained, these matters generally are expected to be effectuated during the first half of 2007.

On August 1, 2006, the subadviser for each of the funds became Batterymarch. On [INSERT DATE ], the subadviser for the Financial Services Fund became Barrett.

Effective July 12, 2006, the funds reduced the minimum initial and subsequent investment requirements to $1.00 for certain programs offered by third-party intermediaries,

 

Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund/Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund         15


 

including asset allocation programs, wrap account programs, fee-based programs and unified managed account programs or individual accounts within such programs.

The Board of the Technology Fund has approved a reorganization pursuant to which the assets of this fund would be acquired, and its liabilities would be assumed, by another fund (the “Acquiring Fund”) in exchange for shares of the Acquiring Fund. The Acquiring Fund is Legg Mason Partners Large Cap Growth Fund (the “Large Cap Growth Fund”). The Technology Fund would then be liquidated, and shares of the Large Cap Growth Fund would be distributed to fund shareholders. Under the reorganization, shareholders of the Technology Fund would receive shares of the Large Cap Growth Fund with the same aggregate net asset value as their shares of the Technology Fund. It is anticipated that no gain or loss for federal income tax purposes would be recognized by shareholders of the Technology Fund as a result of the reorganization.

The Board of the Financial Services Fund has approved a reorganization pursuant to which the assets of the Legg Mason Financial Services Fund would be acquired, and its liabilities would be assumed by the Financial Services Fund, which is the Acquiring Fund in this reorganization.

Each reorganization is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions. Proxy materials describing the reorganization were mailed in late 2006. If a fund’s reorganization is approved by such fund’s shareholders, it is expected to occur during the first quarter of 2007. Prior to the reorganization of the Financial Services Fund, shareholders can continue to purchase, redeem and exchange shares subject to the limitations described in this prospectus. Effective as of the close of business on July 12, 2006, the Technology Fund has been closed to all new purchases and incoming exchanges. The Technology Fund remains open for dividend reinvestment and Class B to Class A conversions. Any contingent deferred sales charge that would otherwise be payable due to the redemption of any shares of the Technology Fund has been waived as of the close of business on July 12, 2006.

Investors who purchased shares in the Technology Fund through a PFS Pre-Authorized Checking (“PAC”) program should be aware that a shareholder proxy is pending for this fund pursuant to which the assets of this fund, subject to shareholder approval, would be transferred into the Large Cap Growth Fund at some point in the future. In the event that the shareholder proposals are approved, shareholders of the Technology Fund would become shareholders of the Large Cap Growth Fund and shareholders’ existing PAC arrangements would be automatically transferred to the Large Cap Growth Fund. You have the option of changing the investment options for your current PAC arrangement without a charge. For more information, or to change your PAC program investment options, please contact your PFSI Registered Representative or Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445.

Distribution plans

Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC (“LMIS”), a wholly-owned broker-dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”) and PFS Investments Inc. (“PFS”) serve as each fund’s distributors.

Each fund has adopted a shareholder services and distribution plan for its Class A, B and C shares. Under each plan, each fund pays distribution and/or service fees. These fees

 

16         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

are an ongoing expense and, over time, will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than other types of sales charges.

In addition, the distributors may make payments for distribution and/or shareholder servicing activities out of their past profits and other available sources. The distributors may also make payments to dealers for marketing, promotional or related expenses. The amount of these payments is determined by the distributors and may be substantial. The manager or an affiliate may make similar payments under similar arrangements.

The payments described in the paragraph above are often referred to as “revenue sharing payments.” The recipients of such payments may include a fund’s distributors, affiliates of SBFM, broker/dealers, financial institutions and other financial intermediaries through which investors may purchase shares of each fund. In some circumstances, such payments may create an incentive for an intermediary or its employees or associated persons to recommend or sell shares of a fund to you. Please contact your financial intermediary for details about revenue sharing payments it may receive.

Recent developments

On May 31, 2005, the SEC issued an order in connection with the settlement of an administrative proceeding against SBFM, the then-investment adviser or manager to the funds and CGMI, relating to the appointment of an affiliated transfer agent for the Smith Barney family of mutual funds (the “Affected Funds”).

The SEC order finds that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(1) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder (the “Advisers Act”). Specifically, the order finds that SBFM and CGMI knowingly or recklessly failed to disclose to the boards of the Affected Funds in 1999 when proposing a new transfer agent arrangement with an affiliated transfer agent that: First Data Investors Services Group (“First Data”), the Affected Funds’ then-existing transfer agent, had offered to continue as transfer agent and do the same work for substantially less money than before; and that Citigroup Asset Management (“CAM”), the Citigroup business unit that, at the time, included the Affected Funds’ investment manager and other investment advisory companies, had entered into a side letter with First Data under which CAM agreed to recommend the appointment of First Data as sub-transfer agent to the affiliated transfer agent in exchange, among other things, for a guarantee by First Data of specified amounts of asset management and investment banking fees to CAM and CGMI. The order also finds that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act by virtue of the omissions discussed above and other misrepresentations and omissions in the materials provided to the Affected Funds’ boards, including the failure to make clear that the affiliated transfer agent would earn a high profit for performing limited functions while First Data continued to perform almost all of the transfer agent functions, and the suggestion that the proposed arrangement was in the Affected Funds’ best interests and that no viable alternatives existed.

SBFM and CGMI do not admit or deny any wrongdoing or liability. The settlement does not establish wrongdoing or liability for purposes of any other proceeding. The SEC censured SBFM and CGMI and ordered them to cease and desist from violations of Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Advisers Act. The order required Citigroup to pay $208.1 million, including $109 million in disgorgement of profits, $19.1 million in interest, and a

 

Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund/Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund         17


 

civil money penalty of $80 million. Approximately $24.4 million has already been paid to the Affected Funds, primarily through fee waivers. The remaining $183.7 million, including the penalty, has been paid to the U.S. Treasury and will be distributed pursuant to a plan submitted for the approval of the SEC. At this time, there is no certainty as to how the above-described proceeds of the settlement will be distributed, to whom such distributions will be made, the methodology by which such distributions will be allocated, and when such distributions will be made. The order also required that transfer agency fees received from the Affected Funds since December 1, 2004, less certain expenses, be placed in escrow and provided that a portion of such fees might be subsequently distributed in accordance with the terms of the order. On April 3, 2006, an aggregate amount of approximately $9 million held in escrow was distributed to the Affected Funds.

The order required SBFM to recommend a new transfer agent contract to the Fund boards within 180 days of the entry of the order; if a Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent or sub-transfer agent, SBFM and CGMI would have been required, at their expense, to engage an independent monitor to oversee a competitive bidding process. On November 21, 2005, and within the specified timeframe, the Affected Funds’ Boards selected a new transfer agent for the Affected Funds. No Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent. Under the order, SBFM also must comply with an amended version of a vendor policy that Citigroup instituted in August 2004.

Although there can be no assurance, the manager does not believe that this matter will have a material adverse effect on the Affected Funds.

On December 1, 2005, Citigroup completed the sale of substantially all of its global asset management business, including SBFM, to Legg Mason.

 

18         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Choosing a class of shares to buy

Effective as of the close of business on July 12, 2006, the Technology Fund has been closed to all new purchases and incoming exchanges. This fund remained open for investment by those current shareholders who have elected to invest through a systematic investment plan or payroll deduction until August 11, 2006 in order to permit them to select an investment alternative. In addition, the Technology Fund remains open for dividend reinvestment and Class B to Class A conversions. Any contingent deferred sales charge that would otherwise be payable due to the redemption of any shares of this fund has been waived as of the close of business on July 12, 2006.

Individual investors can generally choose among three classes of shares: Classes A, B, and C shares. Individual investors that held Class I (formerly Class Y) shares prior to November 20, 2006 may continue to invest in Class I shares. Institutional and retirement plan investors and clients of financial intermediaries should refer to “Retirement and institutional investors” below for a description of the classes available to them.

Each class has different sales charges and expenses, allowing you to choose the class that best meets your needs. When choosing which class of shares to buy, you should consider:

n   How much you plan to invest.
n   How long you expect to own the shares.
n   The expenses paid by each class detailed in the Fee table and Example at the front of this prospectus.
n   Whether you qualify for any reduction or waiver of sales charges.

If you are choosing between Class A and Class B shares, it will in almost all cases be the more economical choice for you to purchase Class A shares if you plan to purchase shares in an amount of $100,000 or more (whether in a single purchase or through aggregation of eligible holdings). This is because of the reduced sales charge available on larger investments of Class A shares and the lower ongoing expenses of Class A shares compared to Class B shares.

If you intend to invest for only a few years, the effect of Class B contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions made within five years of purchase, as well as the effect of higher expenses of that class, might make an investment in Class C more appropriate. There is no initial sales charge on Class C shares, and the contingent deferred sales charge does not apply to shares redeemed one year after purchase.

However, if you plan to invest a large amount and your investment horizon is five years or more, Class C shares might not be as advantageous as Class A shares. This is because the annual asset-based sales charge on Class C shares will have a greater impact on your account over the longer term than the reduced front-end sales charge available for larger purchases of Class A shares.

You may buy shares from:

n   Certain broker/dealers, financial intermediaries, financial institutions, or a distributor’s financial advisors or registered representatives (each called a “Service Agent”).
n   Each fund, but only if you are investing through certain qualified plans or Service Agents.

Different types of shareholder services may be available to you under arrangements offered by different Service Agents. In addition, these services may vary depending on the share class in which you choose to invest. In making your decision regarding which share

 

Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund/Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund         19


 

class to buy, please keep in mind that your Service Agent may receive different compensation depending on the share class in which you invest. Investors should consult with their Service Agent about comparative pricing of shareholder services available to them under each available share class, the compensation that will be received by their Service Agent in connection with each available share class, and other factors that may be relevant to the investor’s choice of share class in which to invest.

Not all classes of shares are available through each Service Agent. You should contact your Service Agent for further information.

Minimum initial and additional investment amounts vary depending on the class of shares you buy and the nature of your investment.

 

   

Investment Minimum

Initial/Additional Investment (1)

      Class A   Class B   Class C   Class I
(formerly Y) (2)

General

  $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50     n/a
 

IRAs and Uniform Gifts or Transfers to Minor Accounts

  $ 250/$50   $ 250/$50   $ 250/$50     n/a
 

SIMPLE IRAs

  $ 1/$1   $ 1/$1   $ 1/$1     n/a
 

Systematic Investment Plans

  $ 25/$25   $ 25/$25   $ 25/$25     n/a
 

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries

  $ 1/$1     n/a     n/a     None/None
 

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of each fund

    None/None       n/a     None/None
 

Other Retirement Plans

  $ 50/$50   $ 50/$50   $ 50/$50     n/a
 

Institutional Investors

  $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50   $ 1 million/none
 

 

(1)   Effective as of the close of business on July 12, 2006, the Technology Fund has been closed to all new purchases and incoming exchanges.

 

(2)   Please refer to the section entitled “Retirement and institutional investors” for additional information regarding the investment minimum and eligibility requirements for Retirement Plans, Institutional Investors, and Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries.

More information about each fund’s classes of shares is available through the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website. You’ll find detailed information about sales charges and ways you can qualify for reduced or waived sales charges, including:

n   The front-end sales charges that apply to the purchase of Class A shares
n   The contingent deferred sales charges that apply to the redemption of Class B shares, Class C shares and certain Class A shares (redeemed within one year)
n   Who qualifies for lower sales charges on Class A shares
n   Who qualifies for a sales load waiver

Go to http://www. leggmason.com/InvestorServices and click on the name of each fund.

 

20         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Comparing each of the funds’ classes

The following table compares key features of each of the funds’ classes. (1)  You should review the Fee table and Example at the front of this prospectus carefully before choosing your share class. Your Service Agent can help you decide which class meets your goals. Your Service Agent may receive different compensation depending upon which you choose.

 

      Class A   Class B   Class C   Class I
(formerly Y)
Key features  

n   Initial sales charge

n   You may qualify for reduction or waiver of initial sales charge

n   Generally lower annual expenses than Class B and Class C

 

n   No initial sales charge

n   Contingent deferred sales charge declines over time

n   Converts to Class A after approximately 8 years

n   Generally higher annual expenses than Class A

 

n   No initial sales charge

n   Contingent deferred sales charge for only 1 year

n   Does not convert to Class A

n   Generally higher annual expenses than Class A

 

n   No initial or contingent deferred sales charge

n   Only offered to institutional and other eligible investors

n   Generally lower annual expenses than the other classes

Initial sales charge  

Up to 5.75%; reduced or waived for large purchases and certain investors. No charge for purchases of $1 million or more

 

None

 

None

 

None

Contingent deferred sales charge  

1.00% on purchases of $1 million or more if you redeem within 1 year of purchase

 

Up to 5.00% charged when you redeem shares. This charge is reduced over time and there is no contingent deferred sales charge after 5 years; waived for certain investors

 

1.00% if you redeem within 1 year of purchase; waived for certain investors

 

None

Annual distribution and service fees  

0.25% of average daily net assets

 

1.00% of average daily net assets

 

1.00% of average daily net assets

 

None

Exchange privilege (2)  

Class A shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class B shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class C shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class I shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

(1)   Effective as of the close of business on July 12, 2006, the Technology Fund has been closed to all new purchases and incoming exchanges.

 

(2)   Ask your Service Agent for the Legg Mason Partners Funds available for exchange.

 

Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund/Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund         21


 

Sales charges

Class A shares

You buy Class A shares at the offering price, which is the net asset value plus a sales charge. You pay a lower sales charge as the size of your investment increases to certain levels called breakpoints. You do not pay a sales charge on each fund’s distributions or dividends you reinvest in additional Class A shares.

The table below shows the rate of sales charge you pay, depending on the amount you purchase for purchases made on or after November 20, 2006. The table below also shows the amount of broker/dealer compensation that will be paid out of the sales charge. For Class A shares sold by LMIS, LMIS will receive the sales charge imposed on purchases of Class A shares (or any contingent deferred sales charge paid on redemptions) and will retain the full amount of such sales charge. For Class A shares sold by CGMI, CGMI will receive the sales charge imposed on purchases of Class A shares and will retain an amount equal to the broker-dealer commission paid out of the sales charge. LMIS will receive any portion not retained by CGMI. For Class A shares sold by PFS, PFS will receive the sales charge imposed on purchases of Class A shares (or any contingent deferred sales charge paid on redemptions) and will retain the full amount of such sales charge. Service Agents (including CGMI and PFS) will also receive a distribution/service fee payable on Class A shares at an annual rate of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class A shares serviced by them.

 

Amount of Investment  

Sales Charge

as % of

Offering Price

 

Sales Charge

as % of Net
Amount

Invested

 

Broker/Dealer

Commission

as % of

Offering Price

Less than $25,000

  5.75   6.10   5.00
 

$25,000 but less than $50,000

  5.00   5.26   4.25
 

$50,000 but less than $100,000

  4.50   4.71   3.75
 

$100,000 but less than $250,000

  3.50   3.63   2.75
 

$250,000 but less than $500,000

  2.50   2.56   2.00
 

$500,000 but less than $750,000

  2.00   2.04   1.60
 

$750,000 but less than $1 million

  1.50   1.52   1.20
 

$1 million or more (1)

  -0-   -0-   up to 1.00
 

 

(1)   A distributor may pay a commission of up to 1.00% to a Service Agent for purchase amounts of $1 million or more. In such cases, starting in the thirteenth month after purchase, the Service Agent will also receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class A shares held by its clients. Prior to the thirteenth month, the distributor will retain this fee. Where the Service Agent does not receive the payment of this commission, the Service Agent will instead receive the annual distribution/service fee starting immediately after purchase. Please contact your Service Agent for more information.

Investments of $1,000,000 or more

You do not pay an initial sales charge when you buy $1,000,000 or more of Class A shares. However, if you redeem these Class A shares within one year of purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

 

22         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Qualifying for a reduced Class A sales charge

There are several ways you can combine multiple purchases of Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds to take advantage of the breakpoints in the sales charge schedule. In order to take advantage of reductions in sales charges that may be available to you when you purchase fund shares, you must inform your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services if you are eligible for a letter of intent or a right of accumulation and if you own shares of other Legg Mason Partners Funds that are eligible to be aggregated with your purchases. Certain records, such as account statements, may be necessary in order to verify your eligibility for reduced sales charges.

n   Accumulation Privilege – allows you to combine the current value of Class A shares of each fund with other shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds that are owned by:
n   you; or
n   your spouse and children under the age of 21

Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or its affiliates (other than money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners Funds offered with a sales charge), Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. may not be combined.

If you hold shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds in accounts at two or more Service Agents, please contact your Service Agents to determine which shares may be combined.

Certain trustees and fiduciaries may be entitled to combine accounts in determining their sales charge.

n   Letter of Intent – allows you to purchase Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds over a 13-month period and pay the same sales charge on Class A shares, if any, as if all shares had been purchased at once. At the time you enter into the letter of intent, you select your asset goal amount. Generally, purchases of Legg Mason Partners Fund shares that are purchased during the 13-month period by
n   you; or
n   your spouse and children under the age of 21

are eligible for inclusion under the letter, based on the public offering price at the time of the purchase, and any capital appreciation on those shares. You may also backdate your letter up to 90 days in which case eligible purchases made during that period will be treated as purchases made under the letter. In addition, you can include towards your asset goal amount the current value of any eligible purchases that were made prior to the date of entering into the letter of intent and are still held.

If you hold shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds in accounts at two or more Service Agents, please contact your Service Agents to determine which shares may be credited toward your letter of intent asset goal.

Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or its affiliates (other than money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners Funds offered with a sales charge), Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. may not be credited to your letter of intent asset goal.

If you do not meet your asset goal amount, shares in the amount of any sales charges due, based on the amount of your actual purchases, will be redeemed from your account.

 

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Waivers for certain Class A investors

Class A initial sales charges are waived for certain types of investors, including:

n   Employees of Service Agents having dealer, service or other selling agreements with each fund’s distributors
n   Investors who redeemed Class A shares of a Legg Mason Partners Fund in the past 60 days, if the investor’s Service Agent is notified
n   Directors and officers of any Legg Mason-sponsored fund
n   Employees of Legg Mason and its subsidiaries

If you qualify for a waiver of the Class A initial sales charge, you must notify your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at the time of purchase and provide sufficient information at the time of purchase to permit verification that the purchase qualifies for the initial sales charge waiver.

If you want to learn about additional waivers of Class A initial sales charges, contact your Service Agent, consult the SAI or look at the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website, http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices, and click on the name of the fund.

Class B shares

You buy Class B shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. However, if you redeem your Class B shares within five years of your purchase payment, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge. The contingent deferred sales charge decreases as the number of years since your purchase payment increases.

 

Year after purchase   1st     2nd     3rd     4th     5th     6th through 8th  

Contingent deferred sales charge

  5 %   4 %   3 %   2 %   1 %   0 %
   

LMIS will pay Service Agents other than PFS, including CGMI, selling Class B shares a commission of up to 4.00% of the purchase price of the Class B shares they sell, and LMIS

will retain the contingent deferred sales charges. For Class B shares sold by PFS, PFS will pay a commission of up to 4.00% of the purchase price of the Class B shares sold by its Service Agents and will retain the contingent deferred sales charges paid upon certain redemptions. Service Agents also receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class B shares serviced by them.

 

24         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Class B conversion

After approximately 8 years, Class B shares automatically convert into Class A shares. This helps you because Class A shares have lower annual expenses. Your Class B shares will convert to Class A shares as follows:

 

Shares issued:

At initial purchase

   Shares issued:
On reinvestment of
dividends and
distributions
   Shares issued:
Upon exchange from
another Legg Mason
Partners Fund
Approximately 8 years after the date of
purchase payment
   In same proportion as the number of Class B shares converting is to total Class B shares you own (excluding shares issued as dividends)    On the date the shares originally acquired would have converted into Class A shares
 

Class C shares

You buy Class C shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. However, if you redeem your Class C shares (other than shares sold to omnibus accounts of retirement plans held on the books of the fund) within one year of purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

Retirement plans with an omnibus account held on the books of each fund are not subject to a contingent deferred sales charge on shares redeemed within one year of purchase.

LMIS will generally pay Service Agents selling Class C shares (other than shares sold to omnibus accounts of retirement plans held on the books of each fund) a commission of up to 1.00% of the purchase price of the Class C shares they sell and LMIS will retain the contingent deferred sales charges and an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class C shares serviced by these Service Agents until the thirteenth month after purchase. Starting in the thirteenth month after purchase, these Service Agents will receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class C shares serviced by them.

Class I shares (formerly Class Y shares)

Class I shares are purchased at net asset value with no initial sales charge and no contingent deferred sales charge when redeemed. See “Retirement and institutional investors — Class I shares” below for additional information regarding investor eligibility and investment minimums.

 

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More about contingent deferred sales charges

The contingent deferred sales charge is based on the net asset value at the time of purchase or redemption, whichever is less, and therefore you do not pay a sales charge on amounts representing appreciation or depreciation.

In addition, you do not pay a contingent deferred sales charge on:

n   Shares exchanged for shares of another Legg Mason Partners Fund
n   Shares representing reinvested distributions and dividends
n   Shares no longer subject to the contingent deferred sales charge

Each time you place a request to redeem shares, the fund will first redeem any shares in your account that are not subject to a contingent deferred sales charge and then the shares in your account that have been held the longest.

If you redeemed shares of a Legg Mason Partners Fund and paid a contingent deferred sales charge, you may, under certain circumstances, reinvest all or part of the redemption proceeds within 60 days and receive pro rata credit for any contingent deferred sales charge imposed on the prior redemption. Please contact your Service Agent for additional information.

The funds’ distributors receive contingent deferred sales charges as partial compensation for their expenses in selling shares, including the payment of compensation to your Service Agent.

Contingent deferred sales charge waivers

The contingent deferred sales charge for each share class will generally be waived:

n   On payments made through certain systematic withdrawal plans
n   On certain distributions from a retirement plan
n   For involuntary redemptions of small account balances
n   For 12 months following the death or disability of a shareholder

If you want to learn more about additional waivers of contingent deferred sales charges, contact your Service Agent, consult the SAI or look at the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website, http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices, and click on the name of the fund.

 

26         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Retirement and institutional investors

Eligible investors

Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund can generally choose among three classes of shares: Class C, Class A and Class I (formerly Class Y) shares. “Retirement Plans” include 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit-sharing plans, non-qualified deferred compensation plans and other similar employer-sponsored retirement plans. Retirement Plans do not include individual retirement vehicles, such as traditional and Roth individual retirement accounts, Coverdell education savings accounts, individual 403(b)(7) custodial accounts, Keogh plans, SEPs, SARSEPs, SIMPLE IRAs, or Section 529 savings accounts. Although Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund are not subject to minimum initial investment requirements for any of these share classes, certain investment minimums may be imposed by a financial intermediary.

Other Retirement Plan investors (including, for example, employer-sponsored plans investing through brokerage accounts), can generally choose among three classes of shares: Class A, Class B and Class C. Individual retirement vehicles, such as IRAs, may also choose among these share classes. These types of investors are treated like individual investors for purposes of determining investment minimums, sales charges and any applicable sales charge reductions or waivers.

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries may generally choose among two classes of shares: Class A and Class I. “Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries” are investors who invest in the fund through financial intermediaries that offer their clients fund shares through investment programs authorized by LMIS. Such investment programs may include fee-based advisory or brokerage account programs, and college savings vehicles such as Section 529 plans. The financial intermediary may impose separate investment minimums.

Institutional Investors

Institutional Investors may invest in Class I shares if they meet the $1,000,000 minimum initial investment requirement is met. Institutional Investors may also invest in Class A, B and C shares, which have different investment minimums and fees and expenses. “Institutional Investors” generally include corporations, banks, insurance companies, foundations, retirement plans and other similar entities with direct relationships to the fund.

Class C – Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund may buy Class C shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. As of November 20, 2006, LMIS no longer pays Service Agents selling Class C shares to retirement plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of a fund a commission on the purchase price of Class C shares sold by them. Instead, immediately after purchase, LMIS will pay these Service Agents an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets

 

Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund/Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund         27


 

represented by the Class C shares serviced by them. For purchases made by Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund on or after November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge on shares redeemed within one year of purchase is waived.

Class I shares

As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares and are offered only to Institutional Investors who meet the $1,000,000 minimum initial investment requirement, Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries, and other investors as authorized by LMIS. However, investors that held Class I shares prior to that date will be permitted to make additional investments in Class I shares.

Class A – Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund may purchase Class A shares through programs sponsored by financial intermediaries. Under these programs, the initial sales charge and contingent deferred sales charge for Class A shares is waived where:

n   Such Retirement Plan’s record keeper offers only load-waived shares,
n   Fund shares are held on the books of the fund through an omnibus account, and
n   The Retirement Plan has more than 100 participants, or has total assets exceeding $1 million.

As of November 20, 2006, LMIS no longer pays Service Agents selling Class A shares to Retirement Plans with a direct omnibus relationship with a fund a commission on the purchase price of Class A shares sold by them. However, for certain Retirement Plans that are permitted to purchase shares at net asset value on or after this date, LMIS may continue to pay Service Agents commissions of up to 1.00% of the purchase price of the additional Class A shares that are purchased with regular ongoing plan contributions. Please contact your Service Agent for more information.

Other considerations

Plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries and other financial intermediaries may choose to impose qualification requirements for plans that differ from the fund’s share class eligibility standards. In certain cases this could result in the selection of a share class with higher service and distribution-related fees than otherwise would have been charged. The fund is not responsible for, and has no control over, the decision of any plan sponsor, plan fiduciary or financial intermediary to impose such differing requirements. Please consult with your plan sponsor, plan fiduciary or financial intermediary for more information about available share classes.

With respect to Class A and Class C shares, the funds may pay a fee for recordkeeping services performed for the applicable share class.

Not all share classes may be made available by your Service Agent; please contact your Service Agent for additional details.

 

28         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Buying shares

 

Through a

Service Agent

  

You should contact your Service Agent to open a brokerage account and make arrangements to buy shares.

You must provide the following information for your order to be processed:

n  Class of shares being bought

n  Dollar amount or number of shares being bought

n  Account number (if existing account)

Your Service Agent may charge an annual account maintenance fee.

 
Through the funds   

Financial intermediary accounts, retirement plan accounts and certain other investors who are clients of certain Service Agents are eligible to buy shares directly from the funds.

n  Clients of a PFSI Registered Representative should write to the funds at the following address:

Legg Mason Partners Funds

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9662

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9662

n  All other investors should write to the funds at the following address:

Legg Mason Partners Funds

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9699

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699

  

n  Enclose a check to pay for the shares. For initial purchases, complete and send an account application available upon request from Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at the number below

n  Specify the name of the fund, the share class you wish to purchase and your account number (if existing account)

n  For more information, please call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010

 
Through a systematic investment plan   

You may authorize your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services to transfer funds automatically from (i) a regular bank account, (ii) cash held in a brokerage account with a Service Agent or (iii) certain money market funds, in order to buy shares on a regular basis.

n  Amounts transferred must be at least $25

n  Amounts may be transferred monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually

n  If you do not have sufficient funds in your account on a transfer date, your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services may charge you a fee

 

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services or consult the SAI.

 

Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund/Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund         29


 

Exchanging shares

 

Legg Mason Partners offers a distinctive family of funds tailored to help meet the varying needs of both large and small investors   

You should contact your Service Agent to exchange into other Legg Mason Partners Funds. Be sure to read the prospectus of the Legg Mason Partners Fund into which you are exchanging. An exchange is a taxable transaction, unless you are investing through a tax-
qualified savings plan or account.

n  If you bought shares through a Service Agent, you may exchange shares only for shares of the same class of certain other Legg Mason Partners Funds made available for exchange by your Service Agent. Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds made available for exchange by your Service Agent may offer all classes. Please contact your Service Agent for more information about the funds and classes that are available for exchange

n  If you bought shares directly from the funds, you may exchange shares only for shares of the same class of another Legg Mason Partners Fund other than shares of Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund. Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds offer all classes.

n  Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds may be offered in your state of residence. Please contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services for further information

n  Exchanges of Class A, B and C shares are subject to minimum investment requirements (except for systematic investment plan exchanges), and all shares are subject to the other requirements of the funds into which exchanges are made

n  If you hold share certificates, the transfer agent must receive the certificates endorsed for transfer or with signed stock powers before the exchange is effective

n  Each fund may suspend or terminate your exchange privilege if you engage in an excessive pattern of exchanges

 
Waiver of additional sales charges   

Your shares will not be subject to an initial sales charge at the time of the exchange.

Your contingent deferred sales charge (if any) will continue to be measured from the date of your original purchase of shares subject to a contingent deferred sales charge and you will be subject to the contingent deferred sales charge of the fund that you originally purchased.

 
By telephone    If you do not have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, you may be eligible to exchange shares through each fund. You must complete an authorization form to authorize telephone transfers. If eligible, you may make telephone exchanges on any day the New York Stock Exchange Inc. (“NYSE”) is open. For clients of a PFSI Registered Representative, call Primerica Shareholder Services at 800-544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. (Eastern time). All other shareholders should call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder

 

30         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

  

Services at 800-451-2010 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time). Exchanges are priced at the net asset value next determined.

You can make telephone exchanges only between accounts that have identical registrations.

 
By mail    If you do not have a brokerage account, contact your Service Agent or write to the funds at the address on the following page.
 

Through a

systematic

exchange plan

  

You may be permitted to schedule exchanges of shares of any class
of the funds for shares of the same class of other Legg Mason
Partners Funds.

n  Exchanges may be made, monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually

n  A predetermined dollar amount of at least $25 per exchange
is required

 

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services.

 

Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund/Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund         31


 

Redeeming shares

 

Generally   

Contact your Service Agent to redeem shares of the funds.

If you hold share certificates, the transfer agent must receive the certificates endorsed for transfer or with signed stock powers before you may redeem.

If the shares are held by a fiduciary or corporation, other documents may be required.

Redemptions are priced at net asset value next determined after receipt of your request in good order. Your redemption proceeds will normally be sent within three business days after your request is received in good order, but in any event within 7 days. Your redemption proceeds may be delayed for up to 10 days if your purchase was made by check.

If you have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, your redemption proceeds will be sent to your Service Agent. In other cases, unless you direct otherwise, your redemption proceeds will be paid by check mailed to your address of record.

 
By mail   

Send written requests to the funds at the following address:

For clients of a PFSI Registered Representative, write Primerica Shareholder Services at the following address:

Primerica Shareholder Services

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9662

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9662

For all other investors, send your request to:

Legg Mason Partners Funds

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9699

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699

  

Your written request must provide the following:

n  The fund’s name, the class of shares to be redeemed, and your account number

n  The dollar amount or number of shares to be redeemed

n  Signatures of each owner exactly as the account is registered

n  Signature guarantees, as applicable

 
By telephone    If you do not have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, you may be eligible to redeem shares (except those held in certain retirement plans) in amounts up to $50,000 per day through the funds. You must complete an authorization form to authorize telephone redemptions. If eligible, you may request redemptions by telephone on any day the NYSE is open. For clients of a PFSI Registered Representative, call Primerica Shareholder Services at 800-544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. (Eastern time). All other

 

32         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

  

shareholders should call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time).

Your redemption proceeds can be sent by check to your address of record or by wire or electronic transfer (ACH) to a bank account designated on your authorization form. You must submit a new authorization form to change the bank account designated to receive wire or electronic transfers and you may be asked to provide certain other documents. The transfer agent may charge a fee on a wire or an electronic transfer (ACH).

 
Automatic cash withdrawal plans   

You can arrange for the automatic redemption of a portion of your shares monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually. To qualify you must own shares of the funds with a value of at least $10,000 ($5,000 for retirement plan accounts) and each automatic redemption must be at least $50. If your shares are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge, the sales charge will be waived if your automatic redemptions are equal to or less than 2.00% per month of your account balance on the date the withdrawals commence, up to a maximum of 12.00% in any one year.

The following conditions apply:

n  Your shares must not be represented by certificates

n  All dividends and distributions must be reinvested

 

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or consult the SAI.

 

Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund/Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund         33


 

Other things to know about transactions

When you buy, exchange or redeem shares, your request must be in good order. This means you have provided the following information, without which your request may not be processed:

n   Name of the fund
n   Your account number
n   Class of shares being bought, and if you own more than one class, the class of shares being exchanged or redeemed
n   Dollar amount or number of shares being bought, exchanged or redeemed
n   Signature of each owner exactly as the account is registered

The fund’s transfer agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services will employ reasonable procedures to confirm that any telephone exchange or redemption request is genuine, which may include recording calls, asking the caller to provide certain personal identification information, sending you a written confirmation or requiring other confirmation procedures from time to time. If these procedures are followed, neither the funds nor their agent will bear any liability for such transactions.

Signature guarantees

To be in good order, your redemption request must include a signature guarantee if you:

n   Are redeeming over $50,000
n   Are sending signed share certificates or stock powers to Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services
n   Instruct Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services to mail the check to an address different from the one on your account registration
n   Changed your account registration or your address within 30 days
n   Want the check paid to someone other than the account owner(s)
n   Are transferring the redemption proceeds to an account with a different registration

You can obtain a signature guarantee from most banks, dealers, brokers, credit unions and federal savings and loan institutions, but not from a notary public.

Each fund has the right to:

n   Suspend the offering of shares
n   Waive or change minimum and additional investment amounts
n   Reject any purchase or exchange order
n   Change, revoke or suspend the exchange privilege
n   Suspend telephone transactions
n   Suspend or postpone redemptions of shares on any day when trading on the NYSE is restricted, or as otherwise permitted by the SEC
n   Pay redemption proceeds by giving you securities. You may pay transaction costs to dispose of the securities

Small account balances/Mandatory redemptions

If at any time the aggregate net asset value of a fund’s shares in your account is less than $500 for any reason (including solely due to declines in net asset value and/or failure to invest at least $500 within a reasonable period), the fund reserves the right to ask you to bring your account up to the applicable minimum investment amount as determined by

 

34         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

your Service Agent. In such case you shall be notified in writing and will have 60 days to make an additional investment to bring your account value up to the required level. If you choose not to do so within this 60-day period, the fund may close your account and send

you the redemption proceeds. In the event your account is closed due to a failure to increase your balance to the minimum required amount, you will not be eligible to have your account subsequently reinstated without imposition of any sales charges that may apply to your new purchase. Each fund may, with prior notice, change the minimum size of accounts subject to mandatory redemption, which may vary by class, or implement fees for small accounts.

Subject to applicable law, each fund may, with prior notice, adopt other policies from time to time requiring mandatory redemption of shares in certain circumstances.

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services or consult the SAI.

Frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares

Frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares may interfere with the efficient management of a fund’s portfolio by its portfolio managers, increase portfolio transaction costs, and have a negative effect on a fund’s long-term shareholders. For example, in order to handle large flows of cash into and out of a fund, the portfolio managers may need to allocate more assets to cash or other short-term investments or sell securities, rather than maintaining full investment in securities selected to achieve a fund’s investment objective. Frequent trading may cause a fund to sell securities at less favorable prices. Transaction costs, such as brokerage commissions and market spreads, can detract from a fund’s performance. In addition, the return received by long-term shareholders may be reduced when trades by other shareholders are made in an effort to take advantage of certain pricing discrepancies, when, for example, it is believed that a fund’s share price, which is determined at the close of the NYSE on each trading day, does not accurately reflect the value of a fund’s portfolio securities. Funds investing in foreign securities have been particularly susceptible to this form of arbitrage, but other funds could also be affected.

Because of the potential harm to each fund and its long-term shareholders, the Board has approved policies and procedures that are intended to discourage and prevent excessive trading and market timing abuses through the use of various surveillance techniques. Under these policies and procedures, a fund may limit additional exchanges or purchases of fund shares by shareholders who are believed by the manager to be engaged in these abusive trading activities. The intent of the policies and procedures is not to inhibit legitimate strategies, such as asset allocation, dollar cost averaging, or similar activities that may nonetheless result in frequent trading of fund shares. For this reason, the Board has not adopted any specific restrictions on purchases and sales of fund shares, but a fund reserves the right to reject any exchange or purchase of fund shares with or without prior notice to the account holder. In cases where surveillance of a particular account establishes what the manager believes to be obvious market timing, the manager will seek to block future purchases and exchanges of fund shares by that account. Where surveillance of a particular account indicates activity that the manager believes could be either abusive or for legitimate purposes, a fund may permit the account holder to justify the activity.

 

Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund/Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund         35


 

The policies apply to any account, whether an individual account or accounts with financial intermediaries such as investment advisers, broker/dealers or retirement plan administrators, commonly called omnibus accounts, where the intermediary holds fund shares for a number of its customers in one account. A fund’s ability to monitor trading in omnibus accounts may, however, be severely limited due to the lack of access to an individual investor’s trading activity when orders are placed through these types of accounts. There may also be operational and technological limitations on the ability of a fund’s service providers to identify or terminate frequent trading activity within the various types of omnibus accounts.

Each fund’s policies also require personnel such as portfolio managers and investment staff to report any abnormal or otherwise suspicious investment activity, and prohibit short-term trades by such personnel for their own account in mutual funds managed by the manager and its affiliates, other than money market funds. Additionally, each fund has adopted policies and procedures to prevent the selective release of information about a fund’s portfolio holdings, as such information may be used for market-timing and similar abusive practices.

Each fund’s policies provide for ongoing assessment of the effectiveness of current policies and surveillance tools, and the Board reserves the right to modify these or adopt additional policies and restrictions in the future. Shareholders should be aware, however, that any surveillance techniques currently employed by a fund or other techniques that may be adopted in the future may not be effective particularly where the trading takes place through certain types of omnibus accounts. As noted above, if a fund is unable to detect and deter trading abuses, a fund’s performance, and its long-term shareholders, may be harmed. In addition, because a fund has not adopted any specific limitations or restrictions on the trading of fund shares, shareholders may be harmed by the extra costs and portfolio management inefficiencies that result from frequent trading of fund shares, even when the trading is not for abusive purposes. Furthermore, a fund may not apply its policies consistently or uniformly, resulting in the risk that some shareholders may be able to engage in frequent trading while others will bear the costs and effects of that trading. A fund will provide advance notice to shareholders and prospective investors of any specific restrictions on the trading of fund shares that the Board may adopt in the future.

Share certificates

Share certificates for each fund will no longer be issued. If you currently hold share certificates of a fund, such certificates will continue to be honored. If you would like to return your share certificates to each fund and hold your shares in uncertificated form, please contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services.

Record Ownership

If you hold shares through a Service Agent, your Service Agent may establish and maintain your account and be the shareholder of record. In the event that a fund holds a shareholder meeting, your Service Agent, as record holder, will vote your shares in accordance with your instructions. If you do not give your Service Agent voting instructions, your Service Agent may nonetheless, under certain circumstances, be entitled to vote your shares.

 

36         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Dividends, distributions and taxes

Dividends and Distributions

Each fund generally pays dividends and makes capital gain distributions, if any, once a year, typically in December. Each fund may pay additional distributions and dividends at other times if necessary for it to avoid a federal tax. Each fund expects distributions to be primarily from capital gains. Capital gain distributions and dividends are reinvested in additional fund shares of the same class you hold. You do not pay a sales charge on reinvested distributions or dividends. Alternatively, you can instruct your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services to have your distributions and/or dividends paid in cash. You can change your choice at any time to be effective as of the next distribution or dividend, except that any change given to your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services less than five days before the payment date will not be effective until the next distribution or dividend is paid.

Taxes

In general, redeeming shares, exchanging shares and receiving dividends and distributions (whether in cash or additional shares) are all taxable events. The following table summarizes the tax status to you of certain transactions related to the funds.

 

Transaction    Federal tax status
Redemption or exchange of shares    Usually capital gain or loss; long-term only if shares owned more than one year
 
Long-term capital gain distributions    Long-term capital gain
 
Dividends    Ordinary income, potentially taxable at long-term capital gain rates
 

Distributions attributable to short-term capital gains are treated as dividends, taxable as ordinary income. Dividends and long-term capital gain distributions are taxable whether received in cash or reinvested in fund shares. Although dividends (including dividends from short-term capital gains) are generally taxable as ordinary income, individual shareholders who satisfy certain holding period and other requirements are taxed on such dividends at long-term capital gain rates to the extent the dividends are attributable to “qualified dividend income” received by a fund. “Qualified dividend income” generally consists of dividends received from U.S. corporations (other than dividends from tax-exempt organizations and certain dividends from real estate investment trusts and regulated investment companies) and certain foreign corporations.

Long-term capital gain distributions are taxable to you as long-term capital gain regardless of how long you have owned your shares. You may want to avoid buying shares when a fund is about to declare a long-term capital gain distribution or a dividend, because it will be taxable to you even though it may actually be a return of a portion of your investment.

After the end of each year, your servicing agent or the fund will provide you with information about the distributions and dividends you received and any redemptions of shares during the previous year. If you do not provide the fund with your correct taxpayer identification number and any required certifications, you may be subject to back-up

 

Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund/Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund         37


 

withholding on your distributions, dividends and redemption proceeds. Because each shareholder’s circumstances are different and special tax rules may apply, you should consult your tax adviser about your investment in a fund.

The above discussion is applicable to shareholders who are U.S. persons. If you are a non-U.S. person, please consult your own tax adviser with respect to the tax consequences to you of an investment in the funds.

 

38         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Share price

You may buy, exchange or redeem shares at their net asset value, determined after receipt of your request in good order, plus any applicable sales charge. A fund’s net asset value is the value of its assets minus its liabilities divided by the number of shares outstanding. Net asset value is calculated separately for each class of shares. A fund calculates its net asset value every day the NYSE is open. This calculation is done when regular trading closes on the NYSE (normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern time). The NYSE is closed on certain holidays listed in the SAI.

The Board has approved valuation procedures to be followed to ensure that each fund’s securities are valued appropriately. The valuation of the securities of each fund is determined in good faith by or under the direction of the board of directors. The Board has delegated certain valuation functions for each fund to the manager.

Each fund generally values its securities based on market prices determined at the close of regular trading on the NYSE. Each fund’s currency valuations, if any, are done as of when the London Stock Exchange closes, which is usually at 12 noon Eastern time, as the manager believes that these valuations typically reflect the largest trading volume in the foreign currency markets. A material change in the value of currency during the period between the close of the London Stock Exchange and the calculation of each fund’s net asset value on the same date is considered a significant event, as described below, in response to which the fund may use fair valuation procedures to value the affected investments. For equity securities that are traded on an exchange, the market price is usually the closing sale or official closing price on that exchange. In the case of securities not traded on an exchange, or if such closing prices are not otherwise available, the market price is typically determined by independent third party pricing vendors approved by each fund’s Board using a variety of pricing techniques and methodologies. The market price for debt obligations is generally the price supplied by an independent third party pricing service approved by the Board, which may use a matrix, formula or other objective method that takes into consideration market indices, yield curves and other specific adjustments. Short-term debt obligations that will mature in 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, unless it is determined that using this method would not reflect an investment’s fair value. If vendors are unable to supply a price, or if the price supplied is deemed by the manager to be unreliable, the market price may be determined using quotations received from one or more broker/dealers that make a market in the security. When such prices or quotations are not available, or when the manager believes that they are unreliable, the manager may price securities using fair value procedures approved by the Board. Because each fund may invest in securities of issuers located in emerging markets — some of which may be thinly traded, for which market quotations may not be readily available or may be unreliable — a fund may use fair valuation procedures more frequently than funds that invest primarily in securities that are more liquid, such as securities of large capitalization domestic issuers. Each fund may also use fair value procedures if the manager determines that a significant event has occurred between the time at which a market price is determined and the time at which the fund’s net asset value is calculated. In particular, the value of foreign securities may be materially affected by events occurring after the close of the market on which they are valued, but before the fund prices its shares. Each fund uses a fair value model devel -

 

Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund/Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund         39


 

oped by an independent third party pricing service to price foreign equity securities on days when there is a certain percentage change in the value of a domestic equity security index, as such percentage may be determined by the manager from time to time.

Valuing securities at fair value involves greater reliance on judgment than securities that have readily available market quotations. A fund that uses fair value to price securities may value those securities higher or lower than another fund using market quotations or fair value to price the same securities. There can be no assurance that a fund could obtain the fair value assigned to a security if it were to sell the security at approximately the time at which a fund determines its net asset value.

In order to buy, redeem or exchange shares at that day’s price, you must place your order with your Service Agent of the fund or the transfer agent before the NYSE closes. If the NYSE closes early, you must place your order prior to the actual closing time.

It is the responsibility of the Service Agents to transmit all orders to buy, exchange or redeem shares to the transfer agent on a timely basis.

 

40         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Financial Highlights

The financial highlights tables are intended to help you understand the performance of each class of the funds for the past 5 years. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share. Total return represents the rate that a shareholder would have earned (or lost) on a fund share assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions. The information in the following tables has been derived from each fund’s financial statements, which have been audited by [                        ] an independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with each fund’s financial statements, is included in the annual report (available upon request). Effective April 29, 2004, Class L shares of each fund were renamed Class C shares. As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares of each fund were renamed Class I shares. No information is presented for Class I shares of each fund because no Class I shares were outstanding for the periods shown.

Financial Services Fund

 

For a Class A share of capital stock outstanding throughout each year ended October 31:   
Class A Shares   2006 (1)   2005 (1)     2004 (1)     2003 (1)     2002 (1)  

Net Asset Value, Beginning of Year

    $16.37     $14.81     $12.46     $13.87  
   

Income (Loss) From Operations:

         

Net investment income

    0.18     0.16     0.11     0.05  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    1.59     1.53     2.49     (0.70 )
   

Total Income (Loss) From Operations

    1.77     1.69     2.60     (0.65 )
   

Less Distributions From:

         

Net investment income

    (0.18 )   (0.13 )        

Net realized gains

    (1.56 )       (0.25 )   (0.76 )
   

Total Distributions

    (1.74 )   (0.13 )   (0.25 )   (0.76 )
   

Net Asset Value, End of Year

    $16.40     $16.37     $14.81     $12.46  
   

Total Return (2)

    11.34 %   11.49 %   21.33 %   (5.35 )%
   

Net Assets, End of Year (000s)

    $17,350     $16,367     $16,524     $15,105  
   

Ratios to Average Net Assets:

         

Gross expenses

    1.58 %   1.45 %   1.31 %   1.49 %

Net expenses (3)

    1.50 (4)   1.41 (4)   1.31     1.49  

Net investment income

    1.18     1.02     0.86     0.35  
   

Portfolio Turnover Rate

    29 %   49 %   22 %   20 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower.

 

(3)   As a result of a voluntary expense limitation, the ratio of expenses to average net assets of Class A shares of the fund will not exceed 1.50%.

 

(4)   The manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees or reimbursed certain expenses.

 

Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund/Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund         41


 

Financial Services Fund

 

For a Class B share of capital stock outstanding throughout each year ended October 31, except as noted:   
Class B Shares   2006 (1)   2005 (1)     2004 (1)     2003 (1)     2002 (1)  

Net Asset Value, Beginning of Year

    $15.94     $14.43     $12.24     $13.73  
   

Income (Loss) From Operations:

         

Net investment income (loss)

    0.07     0.04     0.01     (0.06 )

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    1.54     1.50     2.43     (0.67 )
   

Total Income (Loss) From Operations

    1.61     1.54     2.44     (0.73 )
   

Less Distributions From:

         

Net investment income

    (0.06 )   (0.03 )        

Net realized gains

    (1.56 )       (0.25 )   (0.76 )
   

Total Distributions

    (1.62 )   (0.03 )   (0.25 )   (0.76 )
   

Net Asset Value, End of Year

    $15.93     $15.94     $14.43     $12.24  
   

Total Return (2)

    10.56 %   10.70 %   20.39 %   (6.02 )%
   

Net Assets, End of Year (000s)

    $26,057     $29,111     $31,602     $28,933  
   

Ratios to Average Net Assets:

         

Gross expenses

    2.28 %   2.19 %   2.06 %   2.24 %

Net expenses (3)

    2.25 (4)   2.16 (4)   2.06     2.24  

Net investment income (loss)

    0.43     0.26     0.11     (0.40 )
   

Portfolio Turnover Rate

    29 %   49 %   22 %   20 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower.

 

(3)   As a result of a voluntary expense limitation, the ratio of expenses to average net assets of Class B shares of the fund will not exceed 2.25%.

 

(4)   The manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees or reimbursed certain expenses.

 

42         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Financial Services Fund

 

For a Class C share (1) of capital stock outstanding throughout each year ended October 31, except as noted:   
Class C Shares   2006 (2)   2005 (2)     2004 (2)     2003 (2)     2002 (2)  

Net Asset Value, Beginning of Year

    $15.94     $14.44     $12.24     $13.73  
   

Income (Loss) From Operations:

         

Net investment income (loss)

    0.07     0.04     0.01     (0.06 )

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    1.54     1.49     2.44     (0.67 )
   

Total Income (Loss) From Operations

    1.61     1.53     2.45     (0.73 )
   

Less Distributions From:

         

Net investment income

    (0.06 )   (0.03 )        

Net realized gains

    (1.56 )       (0.25 )   (0.76 )
   

Total Distributions

    (1.62 )   (0.03 )   (0.25 )   (0.76 )
   

Net Asset Value, End of Year

    $15.93     $15.94     $14.44     $12.24  
   

Total Return (3)

    10.57 %   10.61 %   20.48 %   (6.02 )%
   

Net Assets, End of Year (000s)

    $13,808     $16,344     $20,595     $21,158  
   

Ratios to Average Net Assets:

         

Gross expenses

    2.22 %   2.19 %   2.07 %   2.24 %

Net expenses (4)

    2.22     2.16 (5)   2.07     2.24  

Net investment income (loss)

    0.47     0.25     0.11     (0.41 )
   

Portfolio Turnover Rate

    29 %   49 %   22 %   20 %
   

 

(1)   On April 29, 2004, Class L shares were renamed as Class C shares.

 

(2)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(3)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower.

 

(4)   As a result of a voluntary expense limitation, the ratio of expenses to average net assets of Class C shares of the fund will not exceed 2.25%.

 

(5)   The manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees.

 

Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund/Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund         43


 

Technology Fund

 

For a Class A share of capital stock outstanding throughout each year ended October 31, except as noted:   
Class A Shares   2006 (1)   2005 (1)     2004 (1)     2003 (1)     2002 (1)  

Net Asset Value, Beginning of Year

    $3.85     $3.92     $2.78     $4.21  
   

Income (Loss) From Operations:

         

Net investment income (loss)

    0.00 (2)   (0.04 )   (0.04 )   (0.05 )

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    0.16     (0.03 )   1.18     (1.38 )
   

Total Income (Loss) From Operations

    0.16     (0.07 )   1.14     (1.43 )
   

Net Asset Value, End of Year

    $4.01     $3.85     $3.92     $2.78  
   

Total Return (3)

    4.16 %   (1.79 )%   41.01 %   (33.97 )%
   

Net Assets, End of Year (000s)

    $21,072     $23,289     $26,946     $17,754  
   

Ratios to Average Net Assets:

         

Gross expenses

    1.71 %   1.58 %   1.60 %   1.64 %

Net expenses (4)(5)

    1.50     1.46     1.50     1.50  

Net investment income (loss)

    0.03     (1.05 )   (1.09 )   (1.29 )
   

Portfolio Turnover Rate

    16 %   64 %   54 %   76 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   Amount represents less than $0.01 per share.

 

(3)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower.

 

(4)   The manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees or reimbursed certain expenses.

 

(5)   As a result of a voluntary expense limitation, the ratio of expenses to average net assets of Class A shares of the fund will not exceed 1.50%.

 

44         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Technology Fund

 

For a Class B share of capital stock outstanding throughout each year ended October 31, except as noted:   
Class B Shares   2006 (1)   2005 (1)     2004 (1)     2003 (1)     2002 (1)  

Net Asset Value, Beginning of Year

    $3.72     $3.81     $2.72     $4.16  
   

Income (Loss) From Operations:

         

Net investment loss

    (0.03 )   (0.07 )   (0.06 )   (0.08 )

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    0.15     (0.02 )   1.15     (1.36 )
   

Total Income (Loss) From Operations

    0.12     (0.09 )   1.09     (1.44 )
   

Net Asset Value, End of Year

    $3.84     $3.72     $3.81     $2.72  
   

Total Return (2)

    3.23 %   (2.36 )%   40.07 %   (34.62 )%
   

Net Assets, End of Year (000s)

    $29,145     $34,974     $41,645     $29,324  
   

Ratios to Average Net Assets:

         

Gross expenses

    2.40 %   2.32 %   2.35 %   2.39 %

Net expenses (3)(4)

    2.25     2.21     2.25     2.24  

Net investment loss

    (0.69 )   (1.81 )   (1.85 )   (2.04 )
   

Portfolio Turnover Rate

    16 %   64 %   54 %   76 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower.

 

(3)   The manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees or reimbursed certain expenses.

 

(4)   As a result of a voluntary expense limitation, the ratio of expenses to average net assets of Class B shares of the fund will not exceed 2.25%.

 

Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund/Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund         45


 

Technology Fund

 

For a Class C share (1) of capital stock outstanding throughout each year ended October 31, except as noted:   
Class C Shares   2006 (2)   2005 (2)     2004 (2)     2003 (2)     2002 (2)  

Net Asset Value, Beginning of Year

    $3.72     $3.82     $2.72     $4.16  
   

Income (Loss) From Operations:

         

Net investment loss

    (0.02 )   (0.07 )   (0.06 )   (0.08 )

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    0.14     (0.03 )   1.16     (1.36 )
   

Total Income (Loss) From Operations

    0.12     (0.10 )   1.10     (1.44 )
   

Net Asset Value, End of Year

    $3.84     $3.72     $3.82     $2.72  
   

Total Return (3)

    3.23 %   (2.62 )%   40.44 %   (34.62 )%
   

Net Assets, End of Year (000s)

    $17,025     $22,811     $31,612     $22,142  
   

Ratios to Average Net Assets:

         

Gross expenses

    2.41 %   2.32 %   2.35 %   2.39 %

Net expenses (4)(5)

    2.25     2.21     2.25     2.24  

Net investment loss

    (0.63 )   (1.81 )   (1.84 )   (2.04 )
   

Portfolio Turnover Rate

    16 %   64 %   54 %   76 %
   

 

(1)   On April 29, 2004, Class L shares were renamed as Class C shares.

 

(2)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(3)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower.

 

(4)   The manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees or reimbursed certain expenses.

 

(5)   As a result of a voluntary expense limitation, the ratio of expenses to average net assets of Class C shares of the fund will not exceed 2.25%.

 

46         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

 

(Investment Company Act

file no. 811-04757

FD 01756 (02/07)

LOGO

Legg Mason Partners

Financial Services Fund

Legg Mason Partners

Technology Fund

You may look at each fund’s web site at www.leggmason.com/investorservices for a free copy of a prospectus, statement of additional information (“SAI”) or an Annual or Semi-Annual report.

Shareholder reports Additional information about each fund’s investments is available in each fund’s Annual and Semi-Annual Reports to shareholders. In each fund’s Annual Report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected each fund’s performance.

Each fund sends only one report to a household if more than one account has the same address. Contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services if you do not want this policy to apply to you.

Statement of Additional Information The SAI provides more detailed information about each fund and is incorporated by reference into (is legally a part of) this prospectus.

You can make inquiries about a fund or obtain shareholder reports (without charge) by contacting your Service Agent, by calling Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 (or for clients of a PFSI Registered Representative, call Primerica Shareholder Services at 800-544-5445), or by writing to the fund at Legg Mason Partners Funds, 125 Broad Street, New York, New York 10004.

Information about each fund (including the SAI) can be reviewed and copied at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “SEC”) Public Reference Room in Washington D.C. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC at 800-SEC-0330. Reports and other information about each fund are available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s Internet site at http://www.sec.gov . Copies of this information may be obtained for a duplicating fee by electronic request at the following E-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov , or by writing the SEC’s Public Reference Section, Washington, D.C. 20549-0102.

If someone makes a statement about a fund that is not in this prospectus, you should not rely upon that information. Neither the funds nor the distributors are offering to sell shares of a fund to any person to whom the fund may not lawfully sell its shares.


LEGG MASON PARTNERS FINANCIAL SERVICES FUND

Supplement dated February         , 2007

to the Statement of Additional Information dated February         , 2007

Batterymarch Financial Management, Inc. continues to provide the day-to-day portfolio management of the Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund, as subadviser. Batterymarch was established in 1969 and has offices at John Hancock Tower, 200 Clarendon Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02116. Batterymarch acts as investment adviser to institutional accounts, such as pension and profit sharing plans, mutual funds and endowment funds. Batterymarch’s total assets under management were approximately $     billion as of December 31, 2006.

Thomas Linkas and Charles F. Lovejoy remain responsible for the day-to-day management of the fund. Mr. Linkas is the Chief Investment Officer and Mr. Lovejoy is a Director and Senior Portfolio Manager at Batterymarch. Mr. Linkas joined Batterymarch in 1990. He has 32 years of investment experience. Mr. Lovejoy joined Batterymarch in 1992. He has 25 years of investment experience.

Barrett Associates, Inc. is expected to replace Batterymarch as the fund’s subadviser and to assume the portfolio management responsibilities of the fund on or about March 16, 2007. Additional information regarding Barrett is included in the attached statement of additional information.

Batterymarch and Barrett are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Legg Mason, Inc. Legg Mason, whose principal executive offices are at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, is a financial services holding company. As of December 31, 2006, Legg Mason’s asset management operation had aggregate assets under management of approximately $     billion.

The following sections contain certain additional information with respect to the fund’s current portfolio managers.

 

1


Other Accounts Managed by the Portfolio Manager

The table below identifies, for each portfolio manager of the fund as of February 1, 2007, the number of accounts (other than the fund with respect to which information is provided) for which he has day-to-day management responsibilities and the total assets in such accounts, within each of the following categories: registered investment companies, other pooled investment vehicles, and other accounts, in each case as of December 31, 2006. [None of the accounts shown were subject to fees based on performance.]

 

Portfolio Manager

  

Registered
Investment
Companies

  

Other Pooled
Investment Vehicles

  

Other Accounts

Charles F. Lovejoy

   [    ] registered investment companies with $[    ] in total assets under management    [    ] other pooled investment vehicles with $[    ] in total assets under management    [    ] other accounts with $[    ] in total assets under management

Thomas Linkas

   [    ] registered investment companies with $[    ] in total assets under management    [    ] other pooled investment vehicles with $[    ] in total assets under management    [    ] other accounts with $[    ] in total assets under management

Portfolio Manager Compensation

Under the Batterymarch program, portfolio manager compensation includes a combination of fixed base salary, annual bonus and long-term incentive compensation, as well as a generous benefits package made available to all Batterymarch employees on a non-discretionary basis.

The bonus and long term incentive compensation is discretionary compensation: the amount of such awards is determined on an annual basis following the completion of the firm’s fiscal year. The overall “pool” of discretionary compensation is based on the profitability of the firm for each fiscal year. Individual allocation to portfolio managers is based on several factors, including:

 

   

Short term and longer term pre-tax investment performance of the product that the portfolio manager works on.

 

2


 

Short term performance is one year or less. Longer term performance is generally three- to five-year performance. Performance is evaluated on an aggregate product basis that the portfolio manager is responsible for and is not analyzed by any individual client portfolio, such as a fund. The analysis of this performance is based on comparison to an appropriate MSCI Index as well as a comparison to a group of peer managers;

 

    Portfolio manager assistance in servicing clients; and

 

    Portfolio manager contribution to new business development.

Portfolio manager compensation is not tied to, nor increased or decreased as the result of, any performance fees that may be earned by Batterymarch. As noted above, compensation is not impacted by the investment performance of any one client account; all performance analysis is reviewed on an aggregate product basis. Portfolio managers do not receive a percentage of the revenue earned on any of Batterymarch’s client portfolios.

Potential Conflicts of Interest

Potential conflicts of interest may arise when the fund’s portfolio manager also has day-to-day management responsibilities with respect to one or more other funds or other accounts, as is the case for the portfolio managers listed in the table above.

The manager, the subadviser, and the fund have adopted compliance polices and procedures that are designed to address various conflicts of interest that may arise for the investment adviser and the individuals that it employs. For example, the manager and subadviser each seek to minimize the effects of competing interests for the time and attention of portfolio managers by assigning portfolio managers to manage funds and accounts that share a similar investment style. The manager and the subadviser have also adopted trade allocation procedures that are designed to facilitate the fair allocation of limited investment opportunities among multiple funds and accounts. There is no guarantee, however, that the policies and procedures adopted by the manager and the subadviser and the fund will be able to detect and/or prevent every situation in which an actual or potential conflict may appear.

 

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These potential conflicts include:

Allocation of Limited Time and Attention. A portfolio manager who is responsible for managing multiple funds and/or accounts may devote unequal time and attention to the management of those funds and/or accounts. As a result, the portfolio manager may not be able to formulate as complete a strategy or identify equally attractive investment opportunities for each of those accounts as might be the case if he or she were to devote substantially more attention to the management of a single fund. The effects of this potential conflict may be more pronounced where funds and/or accounts overseen by a particular portfolio manager have different investment strategies.

Allocation of Limited Investment Opportunities. If a portfolio manager identifies a limited investment opportunity that may be suitable for multiple funds and/or accounts, the opportunity may be allocated among these several funds or accounts, which may limit a fund’s ability to take full advantage of the investment opportunity.

Pursuit of Differing Strategies. At times, a portfolio manager may determine that an investment opportunity may be appropriate for only some of the funds and/or accounts for which he or she exercises investment responsibility, or may decide that certain of the funds and/or accounts should take differing positions with respect to a particular security. In these cases, the portfolio manager may place separate transactions for one or more funds or accounts which may affect the market price of the security or the execution of the transaction, or both, to the detriment or benefit of one or more other funds and/or accounts.

Selection of Brokers/Dealers. Portfolio managers may be able to select or influence the selection of the brokers and dealers that are used to execute securities transactions for the funds and/or account that they supervise. In addition to executing trades, some brokers and dealers provide portfolio managers with brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934), which may result in the payment of higher brokerage fees than might have otherwise been available. These services may be more beneficial to certain funds or accounts than to others. Although the payment of brokerage commissions is subject to the requirement that the portfolio manager determine in good faith that the commissions are

 

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reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided to the fund, a portfolio manager’s decision as to the selection of brokers and dealers could yield disproportionate costs and benefits among the funds and/or accounts that he or she manages.

Variation in Compensation. A conflict of interest may arise where the financial or other benefits available to the portfolio manager differ among the funds and/or accounts that he or she manages. If the structure of the investment manager’s management fee and/or the portfolio manager’s compensation differs among funds and/or accounts (such as where certain funds or accounts pay higher management fees or performance-based management fees), the portfolio manager might be motivated to help certain funds and/or accounts over others. The portfolio manager might be motivated to favor funds and/or accounts in which he or she has an interest or in which the investment manager and/or its affiliates have interests. Similarly, the desire to maintain or raise assets under management or to enhance the portfolio manager’s performance record or to derive other rewards, financial or otherwise, could influence the portfolio manager in affording preferential treatment to those funds and/or accounts that could most significantly benefit the portfolio manager.

Related Business Opportunities. The investment manager or its affiliates may provide more services (such as distribution or recordkeeping) for some types of funds or accounts than for others. In such cases, a portfolio manager may benefit, either directly or indirectly, by devoting disproportionate attention to the management of funds and/or accounts that provide greater overall returns to the investment manager and its affiliates.

 

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                            , 2007

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

LEGG MASON PARTNERS INVESTMENT TRUST

Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund

Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund

125 Broad Street

New York, New York 10004

(800) 451-2010

This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a prospectus and is meant to be read in conjunction with the combined prospectus of Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund (“Financial Services Fund”) and Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund (“Technology Fund”) (each, a “fund”, and collectively, the “funds”) dated                     , 2007, as amended or supplemented from time to time (the “prospectus”), and is incorporated by reference in its entirety into the prospectus. As part of a number of initiatives launched in 2006 to restructure and streamline the Legg Mason Partners fund complex, the funds assumed the assets and liabilities of predecessor funds with the same names. The funds are now grouped for organizational and governance purposes with other Legg Mason Partners funds that are predominantly equity-type funds, and each is a separate series of Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”), a Massachusetts business trust. Other initiatives, including the election of a new Board and the approval of certain revised fundamental investment policies, have also been accomplished, and more information on these matters appears in this SAI. If certain remaining initiatives are accomplished, the funds will each become a series of Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust, a Maryland business trust. Certain historical information contained in the SAI is that of the funds’ predecessors.

Additional information about each fund’s investments is available in its Annual and Semi-Annual Report to shareholders. These reports contain financial statements that are incorporated herein by reference. A prospectus and copies of the reports may be obtained free of charge by contacting a distributor’s financial advisor or registered representative, a broker/dealer, financial intermediary or a financial institution that has entered into an agreement with one of the fund’s distributors, (each called a “Service Agent”), or by writing or calling the funds at the address or telephone number set forth above. Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC (“LMIS”), a wholly-owned broker/dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”), Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”) and PFS Investments Inc. (“PFS”) serve as the funds’ distributors.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

Investment Objective and Management Policies

   2

Risk Factors

   11

Investment Restrictions

   17

Management

   20

Investment Management and Other Services

   27

Portfolio Manager Disclosure

   32

Portfolio Transactions

   39

Portfolio Turnover

   42

Purchase of Shares

   42

Redemption of Shares

   49

Valuation of Shares

   52

Exchange Privilege

   53

Dividends and Distributions

   54

Taxes

   55

Additional Information About the Trust

   60

Financial Statements

   66

Other Information

  

Appendix A—Summary of Subadvisers’ Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

   A-1

THIS SAI IS NOT A PROSPECTUS AND IS AUTHORIZED FOR DISTRIBUTION TO PROSPECTIVE INVESTORS ONLY IF PRECEDED OR ACCOMPANIED BY AN EFFECTIVE PROSPECTUS.

 

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INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE AND MANAGEMENT POLICIES

Each fund is a non-diversified separate investment series of the Trust, a registered open-end management investment company. The prospectus discusses each fund’s investment objective and policies. This section contains supplemental information concerning the types of securities and other instruments in which each fund may invest, the investment policies and portfolio strategies each fund may utilize and certain risks associated with these investments, policies and strategies. Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC (“LMPFA” or the “manager”) serves as investment manager to each fund. Barrett Associates, Inc. (“Barrett”) serves as the subadviser for the Financial Services Fund. Batterymarch Financial Management, Inc. (“Batterymarch”) serves as the subadviser for the Technology Fund.

Financial Services Fund

The Financial Services Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing primarily in common stocks. Under normal circumstances, the fund invests primarily in equity securities of issuers in the financial services industry that Barrett believes are undervalued and thus may offer above average potential for capital appreciation. Equity securities include common stocks, preferred stocks, convertible securities, rights and warrants. These companies may include but are not limited to: regional, money center and community banks, savings and loan associations, broker-dealers, investment banks, investment advisers, insurance companies, real estate-related companies, leasing companies, and consumer and industrial finance companies. The fund may invest its assets in securities of foreign issuers (limited to 25% of total assets, not including American Depositary Receipts) in addition to securities of domestic issuers.

The fund normally invests at least 80% of its assets in companies doing business in the financial services sector. The remainder of the fund’s assets are not required to be invested in that sector. To determine whether a company is principally doing business in the sector, it must meet at least one of the following tests:

 

  At least 50% of its gross income or its net sales must come from activities in the sector;

 

  At least 50% of its assets must be devoted to producing revenues from the sector; or

 

  Based on other available information, the portfolio manager determines that the company’s primary business is within the sector.

Barrett will seek to invest in those financial services companies that it believes are well positioned to take advantage of the ongoing changes in the financial services sector. A financial services company may be well positioned for a number of reasons. It may be an attractive acquisition for another company wishing to strengthen its presence in a line of business or a geographic region or to expand into new lines of business or geographic regions, or it may be planning a merger to strengthen its position in a line of business or a geographic area. The financial services company may be engaged in a line or lines of business experiencing or likely to experience strong economic growth; it may be linked to a geographic region experiencing or likely to experience strong economic growth and may be actively seeking to participate in such growth; or it may be expanding into financial services or geographic regions previously unavailable to it (because of an easing of regulatory constraints) in order to take advantage of new market opportunities.

Technology Fund

The Technology Fund seeks long-term capital appreciation by investing its assets primarily in common stocks. Under normal circumstances the fund invests at least 80% of the value of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in securities (or other investments with similar economic characteristics) of companies principally engaged in offering, using or developing products, processes or services that will provide or will benefit significantly from technological advances and improvements. These companies may include, for example, companies that develop, produce or distribute products or services in the computer, semi-conductor, software, electronics, media, communications, health care, and biotechnology sectors.

 

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Batterymarch believes that because of rapid advances in technology and science, an investment in companies with business operations in these areas will offer substantial opportunities for long-term capital appreciation. Of course, prices of common stocks of even the best-managed, most profitable corporations are subject to market risk, which means their stock prices can decline. In addition, swings in investor psychology or significant trading by large institutional investors can result in price fluctuations. Industries likely to be represented in a fund’s portfolios include computers, networking and internetworking software, computer aided design, telecommunications, media and information services, medical devices and biotechnology. The fund may also invest in the stocks of companies that should benefit from the commercialization of technological advances, although they may not be directly involved in research and development.

The technology and science areas have exhibited and continue to exhibit rapid growth, both through increasing demand for existing products and services and the broadening of the technology market. In general, the stocks of large capitalized companies that are well established in the technology market can be expected to grow with the market and will frequently be found in a fund’s portfolios. The expansion of technology and its related industries, however, also provides a favorable environment for investment in small to medium capitalized companies.

Additional Information

Each fund’s principal investment strategies are described above. The following provides additional information about these principal strategies and describes other investment strategies that may be used by each fund.

 

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Each Fund

Each fund’s investment policy (as described above), will not be applicable during periods when a fund pursues a temporary defensive strategy, as discussed in the prospectus. The funds’ investment policies are non-fundamental and may be changed by the funds’ board of trustees (the “Board” or “Trustees”) to become effective upon 60 days’ notice to shareholders.

Each fund may invest its assets in securities of foreign issuers in addition to securities of domestic issuers. Because each fund is non-diversified, each fund may invest a significant percentage of its assets in a single issuer.

In buying and selling securities for each fund, the subadvisers rely on fundamental analysis of each issuer and its potential for success in light of its current financial condition and its industry position. Factors considered include long-term growth potential, earnings estimates and quality of management.

The subadvisers may lend each fund’s securities to broker-dealers or other institutions to earn income for the fund. The subadvisers may, but are not required to, use various techniques, such as buying and selling futures and options contracts, to increase or decrease a fund’s exposure to changing security prices or other factors that affect security values. If a subadviser’s strategies do not work as intended, a fund may not achieve its objective.

Under normal market conditions, the majority of each fund’s portfolio will consist of common stock, but it also may contain money market instruments for cash management purposes. Each fund reserves the right, as a defensive measure, to hold money market securities, including repurchase agreements or cash, in such proportions as, in the opinion of management, prevailing market or economic conditions warrant. If a fund takes a temporary defensive position, it may be unable to achieve its investment goal.

Equity Securities. Under normal circumstances, each fund invests at least 80% of the value of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities, including primarily common stocks and, to a lesser extent, securities convertible into common stock and rights to subscribe for common stock. Common stocks represent an equity (ownership) interest in a corporation. Although equity securities have a history of long-term growth in value, their prices fluctuate based on changes in a company’s financial condition and on overall market and economic conditions.

When-Issued Securities and Delayed-Delivery Transactions. Each fund may purchase securities on a “when-issued” basis, for delayed delivery ( i.e. , payment or delivery occur beyond the normal settlement date at a stated price and yield) or on a forward commitment basis. A fund does not intend to engage in these transactions for speculative purposes, but only in furtherance of its investment goal. These transactions occur when securities are purchased or sold by a fund with payment and delivery taking place in the future to secure what is considered an advantageous yield and price to a fund at the time of entering into the transaction. The payment obligation and the interest rate that will be received on when-issued securities are fixed at the time the buyer enters into the commitment. Because of fluctuations in the value of securities purchased or sold on a when-issued, delayed-delivery basis or forward commitment basis, the prices obtained on such securities may be higher or lower than the prices available in the market on the dates when the investments are actually delivered to the buyers.

When a fund agrees to purchase when-issued or delayed-delivery securities, the fund will set aside cash or liquid securities equal to the amount of the commitment in a segregated account on the fund’s books. Normally, the fund’s custodian will set aside portfolio securities to satisfy a purchase commitment, and in such a case the fund may be required subsequently to place additional assets in the segregated account in order to ensure that the value of the account remains equal to the amount of the fund’s commitment. The assets contained in the segregated account will be marked-to-market daily. It may be expected that a fund’s net assets will fluctuate to a greater degree when it sets aside portfolio securities to cover such purchase commitments than when it sets aside cash. When a fund engages in when-issued or delayed-delivery transactions, it relies on the other party to consummate the trade. Failure of the seller to do so may result in a fund incurring a loss or missing an opportunity to obtain a price considered to be advantageous.

Foreign Securities. Each fund may invest in securities of foreign issuers. Such investments involve certain risks not ordinarily associated with investments in securities of domestic issuers. Such risks include currency exchange control regulations and costs, the possibility of expropriation, seizure, or nationalization of foreign deposits, less liquidity and volume and more volatility in foreign securities markets and the impact of political, social, economic or diplomatic developments or the adoption of other foreign government restrictions that might adversely affect the payment of principal and interest on or market value of securities. If it should become necessary, a fund might encounter greater difficulties in invoking legal processes abroad than would be the case in the United States. In addition, there may be less publicly available information about a non-U.S. company, and non-U.S. companies are not generally subject to uniform accounting and financial reporting standards, practices and requirements compared to those applicable to U.S. companies. Furthermore, some of these securities may be subject to foreign brokerage and withholding taxes.

Each fund may also invest in securities of foreign issuers in the form of American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), European Depositary Receipts (“EDRs”) or similar securities representing interests in the common stock of foreign issuers. ADRs are receipts, typically issued by a U.S. bank or trust company, which evidence ownership of underlying securities issued by a foreign corporation.

EDRs are receipts issued in Europe, which evidence a similar ownership arrangement. Generally, ADRs, in registered

 

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form, are designed for use in the U.S. securities markets and EDRs are designed for use in European securities markets. The underlying securities are not always denominated in the same currency as the ADRs or EDRs. Although investment in the form of ADRs or EDRs facilitates trading in foreign securities, it does not mitigate the risks associated with investing in foreign securities. However, by investing in ADRs or EDRs rather than directly in foreign issuers’ stock, a fund can avoid currency risks during the settlement period for either purchases or sales. In general, there is a large, liquid market in the United States for many ADRs and EDRs. The information available for ADRs and EDRs is subject to the accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards of the domestic market or exchange on which they are traded, which standards are more uniform and more exacting than those to which many foreign issuers may be subject.

Investments in foreign securities incur higher costs than investments in U.S. securities, including higher costs in making securities transactions as well as foreign government taxes, which may reduce the investment return of a fund. In addition, foreign investments may include additional risks associated with currency exchange rates, less complete financial information about individual companies, less market liquidity and political instability.

Securities of Developing/Emerging Markets Countries. A developing or emerging markets country generally is considered to be a country that is in the initial stages of its industrialization cycle. Investing in the equity markets of developing countries involves exposure to economic structures that are generally less diverse and mature, and to political systems that can be expected to have less stability, than those of developed countries. Historical experience indicates that the markets of developing countries have been more volatile than the markets of the more mature economies of developed countries; however, such markets often have provided higher rates of return to investors.

One or more of the risks discussed above could affect adversely the economy of a developing market or a fund’s investments in such a market. The claims of many property owners against those of governments may remain unsettled. There can be no assurance that any investments that a fund might make in such emerging markets would not be expropriated, nationalized or otherwise confiscated at some time in the future. In such an event, a fund could lose its entire investment in the market involved. Moreover, changes in the leadership or policies of such markets could halt the expansion or reverse the liberalization of foreign investment policies now occurring in certain of these markets and adversely affect existing investment opportunities.

U.S. and Foreign Taxes. A fund’s investment in foreign securities may be subject to taxes withheld at the source on dividend or interest payments. Foreign taxes paid by a fund may be credited or deducted by U.S. shareholders for U.S. income tax purposes. No assurance can be given that applicable tax laws and interpretations will not change in the future. Moreover, non-U.S. investors may not be able to credit or deduct such foreign taxes.

Money Market Instruments. Each fund may invest for temporary defensive purposes in short-term corporate and government bonds and notes and money market instruments. Money market instruments include: obligations issued or guaranteed by the United States government, its agencies or instrumentalities (“U.S. government securities”); certificates of deposit, time deposits and bankers’ acceptances issued by domestic banks (including their branches located outside the United States and subsidiaries located in Canada), domestic branches of foreign banks, savings and loan associations and similar institutions; high grade commercial paper; and repurchase agreements with respect to the foregoing types of instruments. Certificates of deposit (“CDs”) are short-term, negotiable obligations of commercial banks. Time deposits (“TDs”) are non-negotiable deposits maintained in banking institutions for specified periods of time at stated interest rates. Bankers’ acceptances are time drafts drawn on commercial banks by borrowers, usually in connection with international transactions.

Investment in Other Investment Companies. Each fund can invest up to 10% of its assets in the securities of other investment companies, which can include open-end funds, closed-end funds and unit investment trusts, subject to the limits set forth in the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) that apply to those types of investments. For example, a fund can invest in exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), which are typically open-end funds or unit investment trusts listed on a stock exchange. A fund might do so as a way of gaining exposure to the segments of the equity or fixed income markets represented by ETFs at times when a fund may not be able to buy those portfolio securities directly or when an ETF may be a more efficient way of investing.

Investing in another investment company may involve the payment of substantial premiums above the value of such investment company’s portfolio securities and is subject to limitations under the 1940 Act. No fund intends to invest in other investment companies unless the subadviser believes that the potential benefits of the investment justify the payment of any premiums or sales charges. As a shareholder of an investment company, a fund would be subject to its ratable share of that investment company’s expenses, including its advisory and administration expenses.

Short Sales. If a fund anticipates that the price of a company’s stock is overvalued and will decline, it may sell the security short and borrow the same security from a broker or other institution to complete the sale. A fund may realize a profit or loss depending on whether the market price of a security decreases or increases between the date of the short sale and the date on which the fund replaces the borrowed security. Short selling is a technique that may be considered speculative and involves risks beyond the initial capital necessary to secure each transaction. Whenever a fund sells short, it is required to deposit collateral in segregated accounts

 

5


to cover its obligation, and to maintain the collateral in an amount at least equal to the market value of the short position. As a hedging technique, each fund may purchase call options to buy securities sold short by the fund. Such options would lock in a future price and protect the fund in case of an unanticipated increase in the price of a security sold short by a fund.

To avoid limitations under the 1940 Act on borrowing by investment companies, short sales by a fund will be “against the box,” or the fund’s obligation to deliver the securities sold short will be “covered.” A fund will not make short sales of securities or maintain a short position if doing so could create liabilities or require collateral deposits and segregation of assets aggregating more than 25% of the value of the fund’s total assets. Management currently intends to limit each fund’s short sales to shares issued by ETFs. Utilizing this strategy will allow a subadviser to adjust a fund’s exposure in a particular sector in a cost effective and convenient manner without having to sell a fund’s holdings of individual stocks in that sector.

Repurchase Agreements. Each fund may agree to purchase securities from a bank or recognized securities dealer and simultaneously commit to resell the securities to the bank or dealer at an agreed-upon date and price reflecting a market rate of interest unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased securities (“repurchase agreements”). Each fund would maintain custody of the underlying securities prior to their repurchase; thus, the obligation of the bank or dealer to pay the repurchase price on the date agreed to would be, in effect, secured by such securities. If the value of such securities were less than the repurchase price, plus interest, the other party to the agreement would be required to provide additional collateral so that at all times the collateral is at least 102% of the repurchase price plus accrued interest. Default by or bankruptcy of a seller would expose a fund to possible loss because of adverse market action, expenses and/or delays in connection with the disposition of the underlying obligations. The financial institutions with which a fund may enter into repurchase agreements will be banks and non-bank dealers of U.S. government securities that are on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s list of reporting dealers, if such banks and non-bank dealers are deemed creditworthy by the fund’s portfolio manager. The portfolio manager will continue to monitor creditworthiness of the seller under a repurchase agreement, and will require the seller to maintain during the term of the agreement the value of the securities subject to the agreement to equal at least 102% of the repurchase price (including accrued interest). In addition, the portfolio manager will require that the value of this collateral, after transaction costs (including loss of interest) reasonably expected to be incurred on a default, be equal to 102% or greater than the repurchase price (including accrued premium) provided in the repurchase agreement or the daily amortization of the difference between the purchase price and the repurchase price specified in the repurchase agreement. The portfolio manager will mark-to-market daily the value of the securities.

Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), each fund, along with other affiliated entities managed by the manager, may transfer uninvested cash balances into one or more joint repurchase accounts. These balances are invested in one or more repurchase agreements, secured by U.S. government securities. Each joint repurchase arrangement requires that the market value of the collateral be sufficient to cover payments of interest and principal; however, in the event of default by the other party to the agreement, retention or sale of the collateral may be subject to legal proceedings.

Reverse Repurchase Agreements. Each fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements, which involve the sale of fund securities with an agreement to repurchase the securities at an agreed-upon price, date and interest payment and have the characteristics of borrowings. Since the proceeds of borrowings under reverse repurchase agreements are invested, this would introduce the speculative factor known as “leverage.” The securities purchased with the funds obtained from the agreement and securities collateralizing the agreement will have maturity dates no later than the repayment date. Generally the effect of such a transaction is that a fund can recover all or most of the cash invested in the portfolio securities involved during the term of the reverse repurchase agreement, while in many cases it will be able to keep some of the interest income associated with those securities. Such transactions are only advantageous if a fund has an opportunity to earn a greater rate of interest on the cash derived from the transaction than the interest cost of obtaining that cash. Opportunities to realize earnings from the use of the proceeds equal to or greater than the interest required to be paid may not always be available, and the funds intend to use the reverse repurchase technique only when the subadviser believes it will be advantageous to the fund. The use of reverse repurchase agreements may exaggerate any interim increase or decrease in the value of the fund’s assets. Each fund’s custodian bank will maintain a separate account for the fund with securities having a value equal to or greater than such commitment of the fund.

Lending of Portfolio Securities. Consistent with applicable regulatory requirements, each fund may lend portfolio securities to brokers, dealers and other financial organizations that meet capital and other credit requirements or other criteria established by the Board. A fund will not lend portfolio securities to affiliates of the manager unless they have applied for and received specific authority to do so from the SEC. Loans of portfolio securities will be collateralized by cash, letters of credit or U.S. government securities, which are maintained at all times in an amount equal to at least 102% of the current market value of the loaned securities. Any gain or loss in the market price of the securities loaned that might occur during the term of the loan would be for the account of a fund.

By lending its securities, each fund can increase its income by continuing to receive interest and any dividends on the loaned securities as well as by either investing the collateral received for securities loaned in short-term instruments or obtaining yield in the form of interest paid by the borrower when U.S. government securities are used as collateral. Although the generation of income

 

6


is not the primary investment goal of the funds, income received could be used to pay the funds’ expenses and would increase an investor’s total return. Each fund will adhere to the following conditions whenever its portfolio securities are loaned: (i) the fund must receive at least 102% cash collateral or equivalent securities of the type discussed in the preceding paragraph from the borrower; (ii) the borrower must increase such collateral whenever the market value of the securities rises above the level of such collateral; (iii) the fund must be able to terminate the loan at any time; (iv) the fund must receive reasonable interest on the loan, as well as any dividends, interest or other distributions on the loaned securities and any increase in market value; (v) the fund may pay only reasonable custodian fees in connection with the loan; and (vi) voting rights on the loaned securities may pass to the borrower, provided, however, that if a material event adversely affecting the investment occurs, the Board must terminate the loan and regain the right to vote the securities. Payments received by a fund in lieu of any dividends paid on the loaned securities will not be treated as “qualified dividend income” for purposes of determining what portion of its dividends received by individuals may be taxed at the rates generally applicable to long-term capital gains. See “Taxes.” Loan agreements involve certain risks in the event of default or insolvency of the other party including possible delays or restrictions upon a fund’s ability to recover the loaned securities or dispose of the collateral for the loan.

Borrowing. Each fund also may borrow for temporary or emergency purposes, but not for leveraging purposes, in an amount up to 33  1 / 3 % of its total assets, and may pledge its assets in connection with such borrowings. If a fund borrows money, its share price may be subject to greater fluctuation until the borrowing is paid off. If a fund makes additional investments while borrowings are outstanding, this may be considered a form of leverage.

Illiquid Securities. Each fund may invest up to an aggregate amount of 15% of its net assets in illiquid securities, which term includes securities subject to contractual or other restrictions on resale and other instruments that lack readily available markets.

Options, Futures and Currency Strategies. Each fund may, but is not required to, use forward currency contracts and certain options and futures strategies to seek to increase total return or hedge its portfolio, i.e., reduce the overall level of investment risk normally associated with the fund. There can be no assurance that such efforts will succeed.

Neither fund will be a commodity pool because the manager has claimed an exclusion from the definition of commodity pool operation and, therefore, is not subject to registration or regulation as a pool operator under the rules of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”). To attempt to hedge against adverse movements in exchange rates between currencies, a fund may enter into forward currency contracts for the purchase or sale of a specified currency at a specified future date. Such contracts may involve the purchase or sale of a foreign currency against the U.S. dollar or may involve two foreign currencies. A fund may enter into forward currency contracts either with respect to specific transactions or with respect to its portfolio positions. For example, when the portfolio manager anticipates making a purchase or sale of a security, it may enter into a forward currency contract in order to set the rate (either relative to the U.S. dollar or another currency) at which the currency exchange transaction related to the purchase or sale will be made (“transaction hedging”). Further, when the portfolio manager believes that a particular currency may decline compared to the U.S. dollar or another currency, a fund may enter into a forward contract to sell the currency the portfolio manager expects to decline in an amount approximating the value of some or all of a fund’s securities denominated in that currency, or when the portfolio manager believes that one currency may decline against a currency in which some or all of the portfolio securities held by a fund are denominated, it may enter into a forward contract to buy the currency expected to appreciate for a fixed amount (“position hedging”). In this situation, a fund may, in the alternative, enter into a forward contract to sell a different currency for a fixed amount of the currency expected to decline where the portfolio manager believes that the value of the currency to be sold pursuant to the forward contract will fall whenever there is a decline in the value of the currency in which portfolio securities of a fund are denominated (“cross hedging”). A fund will segregate (i) cash, (ii) U.S. government securities or (iii) equity securities or debt securities (of any grade) in certain currencies provided such assets are liquid, unencumbered and marked to market daily, with a value equal to the aggregate amount of the fund’s commitments under forward contracts entered into with respect to position hedges and cross-hedges. If the value of the segregated securities declines, additional cash or securities are segregated on a daily basis so that the value of the segregated amount will equal the amount of a fund’s commitments with respect to such contracts.

For hedging purposes, each fund may write covered call options and purchase put and call options on currencies to hedge against movements in exchange rates and on debt securities to hedge against the risk of fluctuations in the prices of securities held by the fund or which the subadviser intends to include in the fund’s portfolio. Each fund also may use interest rate futures contracts and options thereon to hedge against changes in the general level in interest rates.

Each fund may write call options on securities and currencies only if they are covered, and such options must remain covered so long as the fund is obligated as a writer. A call option written by a fund is “covered” if the fund owns the securities or currency underlying the option or has an absolute and immediate right to acquire that security or currency without additional cash consideration (or for additional cash consideration held in a segregated account on the fund’s books) upon conversion or exchange of other securities or currencies held in its portfolio. A call option is also covered if a fund holds on a share-for-share basis a call on the same security or holds a call on the same currency as the call written where the exercise price of the call held is equal to less than the exercise price of the call written or greater than the exercise price of the call written if the difference is maintained by the fund in cash, Treasury bills or other high-grade, short-term obligations in a segregated account on the fund’s books.

 

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Each fund may purchase put and call options in anticipation of declines in the value of portfolio securities or increases in the value of securities to be acquired. If the expected changes occur, a fund may be able to offset the resulting adverse effect on its portfolio, in whole or in part, through the options purchased. The risk assumed by a fund in connection with such transactions is limited to the amount of the premium and related transaction costs associated with the options, although a fund may lose such amounts if the prices of securities underlying the options do not move in the direction or to the extent anticipated.

Although a fund may use forward currency contracts, options and futures, the use of any of these strategies would involve certain investment risks and transaction costs. These risks include: dependence on a subadviser’s ability to predict movements in the prices of individual securities, fluctuations in the general fixed-income markets and movements in interest rates and currency markets, imperfect correlation between movements in the price of currency, options, futures contracts or options thereon and movements in the price of the currency or security hedged or used for cover; the fact that skills and techniques needed to trade options, futures contracts and options thereon or to use forward currency contracts are different from those needed to select the securities in which a fund invests; and lack of assurance that a liquid market will exist for any particular option, futures contract or option thereon at any particular time.

Over-the-counter options in which the funds may invest differ from exchange-traded options in that they are two-party contracts, with price and other terms negotiated between buyer and seller, and generally do not have as much market liquidity as exchange-traded options. The funds may be required to treat as illiquid over-the-counter options purchased and securities being used to cover certain written over-the-counter options.

Options on Securities . As discussed more generally above, each fund may engage in writing covered call options. Each fund may also purchase put options and enter into closing transactions. The principal reason for writing covered call options on securities is to attempt to realize, through the receipt of premiums, a greater return than would be realized on the securities alone. In return for a premium, the writer of a covered call option forgoes the right to any appreciation in the value of the underlying security above the strike price for the life of the option (or until a closing purchase transaction can be effected). Nevertheless, the call writer retains the risk of a decline in the price of the underlying security. Similarly, the principal reason for writing covered put options is to realize income in the form of premiums. The writer of a covered put option accepts the risk of a decline in the price of the underlying security. The size of the premiums the funds may receive may be adversely affected as new or existing institutions, including other investment companies, engage in or increase their option-writing activities.

Options written by a fund will normally have expiration dates between one and six months from the date written. The exercise price of the options may be below, equal to, or above the current market values of the underlying securities when the options are written. In the case of call options, these exercise prices are referred to as “in-the-money,” “at-the-money” and “out-of-the-money,” respectively.

Each fund may write (a) in-the-money call options when a subadviser expects the price of the underlying security to remain flat or decline moderately during the option period, (b) at-the-money call options when a subadviser expects the price of the underlying security to remain flat or advance moderately during the option period and (c) out-of-the-money call options when the subadviser expects that the price of the security may increase but not above a price equal to the sum of the exercise price plus the premiums received from writing the call option. In any of the preceding situations, if the market price of the underlying security declines and the security is sold at this lower price, the amount of any realized loss will be offset wholly or in part by the premium received. Out-of-the-money, at-the-money and in-the-money put options (the reverse of call options as to the relation of exercise price to market price) may be utilized in the same market environments as such call options are used in equivalent transactions.

So long as the obligation of a fund as the writer of an option continues, the fund may be assigned an exercise notice by the broker-dealer through which the option was sold, requiring it to deliver, in the case of a call, or take delivery of, in the case of a put, the underlying security against payment of the exercise price. This obligation terminates when the option expires or a fund effects a closing purchase transaction. A fund can no longer effect a closing purchase transaction with respect to an option once it has been assigned an exercise notice. To secure its obligation to deliver the underlying security when it writes a call option, or to pay for the underlying security when it writes a put option, a fund will be required to deposit in escrow the underlying security or other assets in accordance with the rules of the Options Clearing Corporation (“OCC”) or similar clearing corporation and the securities exchange on which the option is written.

An option position may be closed out only where there exists a secondary market for an option of the same series on a recognized securities exchange or in the over-the-counter market. Each fund expects to write options only on national securities exchanges or in the over-the-counter market. Each fund may purchase put options issued by the OCC or in the over-the-counter market.

 

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Each fund may realize a profit or loss upon entering into a closing transaction. In cases in which a fund has written an option, it will realize a profit if the cost of the closing purchase transaction is less than the premium received upon writing the original option and will incur a loss if the cost of the closing purchase transaction exceeds the premium received upon writing the original option. Similarly, when a fund has purchased an option and engages in a closing sale transaction, whether it recognizes a profit or loss will depend upon whether the amount received in the closing sale transaction is more or less than the premium the fund initially paid for the original option plus the related transaction costs.

Although a fund generally will purchase or write only those options for which the portfolio manager believes there is an active secondary market so as to facilitate closing transactions, there is no assurance that sufficient trading interest to create a liquid secondary market on a securities exchange will exist for any particular option or at any particular time, and for some options no such secondary market may exist. A liquid secondary market in an option may cease to exist for a variety of reasons. In the past, for example, higher than anticipated trading activity or order flow, or other unforeseen events, have at times rendered certain of the facilities of the OCC and national securities exchanges inadequate and resulted in the institution of special procedures, such as trading rotations, restrictions on certain types of orders or trading halts or suspensions in one or more options. There can be no assurance that similar events, or events that may otherwise interfere with the timely execution of customers’ orders, will not recur. In such event, it might not be possible to effect closing transactions in particular options. If, as a covered call option writer, a fund is unable to effect a closing purchase transaction in a secondary market, it will not be able to sell the underlying security until the option expires or it delivers the underlying security upon exercise.

Securities exchanges generally have established limitations governing the maximum number of calls and puts of each class which may be held or written, or exercised within certain periods, by an investor or group of investors acting in concert (regardless of whether the options are written on the same or different securities exchanges or are held, written or exercised in one or more accounts or through one or more brokers). It is possible that a fund and other clients of the manager and certain of their affiliates may be considered to be such a group. A securities exchange may order the liquidation of positions found to be in violation of these limits, and it may impose certain other sanctions.

In the case of options written by a fund that are deemed covered by virtue of the fund’s holding convertible or exchangeable preferred stock, the time required to convert or exchange and obtain physical delivery of the underlying common stocks with respect to which the fund has written options may exceed the time within which the fund must make delivery in accordance with an exercise notice. In these instances, a fund may purchase or temporarily borrow the underlying securities for purposes of physical delivery. By so doing, a fund will not bear any market risk because the funds will have the absolute right to receive from the issuer of the underlying security an equal number of shares to replace the borrowed stock, but the funds may incur additional transaction costs or interest expenses in connection with any such purchase or borrowing.

Although the portfolio manager will attempt to take appropriate measures to minimize the risks relating to a fund’s writing of call options and purchasing of put and call options, there can be no assurance that a fund will succeed in its option-writing program.

Stock Index Options . As described generally above, each fund may purchase put and call options and write call options on domestic stock indexes listed on domestic exchanges in order to realize its investment objective of long-term capital appreciation or for the purpose of hedging its portfolio. A stock index fluctuates with changes in the market values of the stocks included in the index. Some stock index options are based on a broad market index such as the New York Stock Exchange Composite Index, or a narrower market index such as the Standard & Poor’s 100. Indexes also are based on an industry or market segment such as the Amex Oil Index or the Amex Computer Technology Index.

Options on stock indexes are generally similar to options on stock except that the delivery requirements are different. Instead of giving the right to take or make delivery of stock at a specified price, an option on a stock index gives the holder the right to receive a cash “exercise settlement amount” equal to (a) the amount, if any, by which the fixed exercise price of the option exceeds (in the case of a put) or is less than (in the case of a call) the closing value of the underlying index on the date of exercise, multiplied by (b) a fixed “index multiplier.” Receipt of this cash amount will depend upon the closing level of the stock index upon which the option is based being greater than, in the case of a call, or less than, in the case of a put, the exercise price of the option. The amount of cash received will be equal to such difference between the closing price of the index and the exercise price of the option expressed in dollars or a foreign currency, as the case may be, times a specified multiple. The writer of the option is obligated, in return for the premium received, to make delivery of this amount. The writer may offset its position in stock index options prior to expiration by entering into a closing transaction on an exchange or it may let the option expire unexercised.

The effectiveness of purchasing or writing stock index options as a hedging technique will depend upon the extent to which price movements in the portion of the securities portfolio of the fund correlate with price movements of the stock index selected. Because the value of an index option depends upon movements in the level of the index rather than the price of a particular stock, whether a fund will realize a gain or loss from the purchase or writing of options on an index depends upon movements in the level of stock prices in the stock market generally or, in the case of certain indexes, in an industry or market segment, rather than

 

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movements in the price of a particular stock. Accordingly, successful use by a fund of options on stock indexes will be subject to the manager’s and/or a subadviser’s ability to predict correctly movements in the direction of the stock market generally or of a particular industry. This requires different skills and techniques than predicting changes in the price of individual stocks.

Futures Contracts and Options on Futures Contracts . As described generally above, each fund may invest in stock index futures contracts and options on futures contracts traded on a domestic exchange or board of trade. Futures contracts provide for the future sale by one party and purchase by another party of a specified amount of a specific security at a specified future time and at a specified price. A fund may enter into futures contracts and options on futures to seek higher investment returns when a futures contract is priced more attractively than stocks comprising a benchmark index, to facilitate trading or to reduce transaction costs. A fund will enter into futures contracts and options only on futures contracts that are traded on a domestic exchange or board of trade. Assets committed to futures contracts will be segregated on the fund’s books to the extent required by law.

The primary purpose of entering into a futures contract by a fund is to protect a fund from fluctuations in the value of securities without actually buying or selling the securities. For example, in the case of stock index futures contracts, if a fund anticipates an increase in the price of stocks it intends to purchase at a later time, the fund could enter into contracts to purchase the stock index (known as taking a “long” position) as a temporary substitute for the purchase of stocks. If an increase in the market occurs that influences the stock index as anticipated, the value of the futures contracts increases and thereby serves as a hedge against the fund’s not participating in a market advance. A fund can accomplish similar results by buying securities with long maturities and selling securities with short maturities. But by using futures contracts as an investment tool to reduce risk, given the greater liquidity in the futures market, it may be possible to accomplish the same result more easily and more quickly.

No consideration will be paid or received by the funds upon the purchase or sale of a futures contract. Initially, a fund will be required to deposit with the broker an amount of cash or other securities acceptable to the broker equal to approximately 1% to 10% of the contract amount (this amount is subject to change by the exchange or board of trade on which the contract is traded and brokers or members of such board of trade may charge a higher amount). This amount is known as “initial margin” and is in the nature of a performance bond or good faith deposit on the contract, which is returned to a fund upon termination of the futures contract, assuming all contractual obligations have been satisfied. Subsequent payments, known as “variation margin,” to and from the broker, will be made daily as the price of the index or securities underlying the futures contract fluctuates, making the long and short positions in the futures contract more or less valuable, a process known as “marking-to-market.” In addition, when a fund enters into a long position in a futures contract or an option on a futures contract, it must deposit into a segregated account with its custodian an amount of cash or cash equivalents equal to the total market value of the underlying futures contract, less amounts held in the fund’s commodity brokerage account at its broker. At any time prior to the expiration of a futures contract, a fund may elect to close the position by taking an opposite position, which will operate to terminate its existing position in the contract.

There are several risks in connection with the use of futures contracts as a hedging device. Successful use of futures contracts by a fund is subject to the ability of a subadviser to predict correctly movements in the stock market or in the direction of interest rates. These predictions involve skills and techniques that may be different from those involved in the management of investments in securities. In addition, there can be no assurance that there will be a perfect correlation between movements in the price of the securities underlying the futures contract and movements in the price of the securities that are the subject of the hedge. A decision of whether, when and how to hedge involves the exercise of skill and judgment, and even a well-conceived hedge may be unsuccessful to some degree because of market behavior or unexpected trends in market behavior or interest rates.

Positions in futures contracts may be closed out only on the exchange on which they were entered into (or through a linked exchange) and no secondary market exists for those contracts. In addition, although a fund intends to enter into futures contracts only if there is an active market for the contracts, there is no assurance that an active market will exist for the contracts at any particular time. Most futures exchanges and boards of trade limit the amount of fluctuation permitted in futures contract prices during a single trading day. Once the daily limit has been reached in a particular contract, no trades may be made that day at a price beyond that limit. It is possible that futures contract prices could move to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of futures positions and subjecting some futures traders to substantial losses. In such event, and in the event of adverse price movements, a fund would be required to make daily cash payments of variation margin; in such circumstances, an increase in the value of the portion of the portfolio being hedged, if any, may partially or completely offset losses on the futures contract. As described above, however, no assurance can be given that the price of the securities being hedged will correlate with the price movements in a futures contract and thus provide an offset to losses on the futures contract.

 

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RISK FACTORS

Principal Investment Risks

Many factors affect each fund’s performance. A fund’s share price changes daily based on changes in market conditions and interest rates and in response to other economic, political, or financial developments. A fund’s reaction to these events will be affected by the types of securities in which the fund invests, the financial condition, industry and economic sector, and geographic location of an issuer, and the fund’s level of investment in the securities of that issuer. Because a subadviser concentrates each fund’s investments in a particular industry or group of related industries, a fund’s performance could depend heavily on the performance of that industry or group of industries and could be more volatile than the performance of less concentrated funds. In addition, because a subadviser may invest a significant percentage of the assets of each fund in a single issuer, the fund’s performance could be closely tied to that one issuer and could be more volatile than the performance of more diversified funds. When you sell your shares of a fund, they could be worth more or less than what you paid for them.

The following factors can significantly affect a fund’s performance:

Stock Market Volatility. The value of equity securities fluctuates in response to issuer, political, market, and economic developments. In the short term, equity prices can fluctuate dramatically in response to these developments. Different parts of the market and different types of equity securities can react differently to these developments. For example, large cap stocks can react differently from small cap stocks, and “growth” stocks can react differently from “value” stocks. Issuer, political, or economic developments can affect a single issuer, issuers within an industry or economic sector or geographic region, or the market as a whole.

Industry Concentration. Market conditions, interest rates, and economic, regulatory, or financial developments could significantly affect a single industry or a group of related industries, and the securities of companies in that industry or group of industries could react similarly to these or other developments.

Risks Associated with Particular Investments

Liquidity Risk. A fund’s portfolio is liquid if the fund is able to sell the securities it owns at a fair price within a reasonable time. Liquidity is generally related to the market trading volume for a particular security. Investments in smaller companies or in foreign companies or companies in emerging markets are subject to a variety of risks, including potential lack of liquidity.

Smaller Capitalized Companies. The subadvisers believe that smaller capitalized companies generally have greater earnings and sales growth potential than larger capitalized companies. The level of risk will be increased to the extent a fund has significant exposure to smaller capitalized or unseasoned companies (those with less than a three-year operating history). Investments in smaller capitalized companies may involve greater risks, such as limited product lines, markets and financial or managerial resources. In addition, less frequently traded securities may be subject to more abrupt price movements than securities of larger capitalized companies.

Counterparty Risk. This is a risk associated primarily with repurchase agreements and some derivatives transactions. It is the risk that the other party in such a transaction will not fulfill its contractual obligation to complete a transaction with a fund.

Lack of Timely Information Risk. Timely information about a security or its issuer may be unavailable, incomplete or inaccurate. This risk is more common to smaller company securities issued by foreign companies and companies in emerging markets than it is to the securities of U.S.-based companies.

Non-Diversified Classification. Each fund is classified as a non-diversified fund under the 1940 Act, which means it is not limited by the 1940 Act in the proportion of its assets it may invest in the obligations of a single issuer. As a result, the funds may be subject to greater volatility with respect to their portfolio securities than funds that are more broadly diversified. Each fund intends to conduct its operations, however, so as to qualify as a “regulated investment company” for purposes of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”), which will relieve the fund of any liability for federal income tax to the extent its earnings are distributed to shareholders. To qualify as a regulated investment company, each fund will, among other things, limit its investments so that, at the close of each quarter of the taxable year (a) not more than 25% of the market value of its total assets will be invested in the securities of a single issuer and (b) with respect to 50% of the market value of its total assets, not more than 5% of the market value of its total assets will be invested in the securities of a single issuer and it will not own more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of a single issuer.

Companies in each sector face special risks. For example, their products or services may not prove commercially successful or may become obsolete quickly. The value of a fund’s shares may be susceptible to factors affecting the sector areas and to greater risk and market fluctuation than an investment in a fund that invests in a broader range of portfolio securities not concentrated in any particular industry. As such, a fund is not an appropriate investment for individuals who are not long-term investors and who, as their primary objective, require safety of principal or stable income from their investments. Each sector may be subject to greater governmental

 

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regulation than many other areas and changes in governmental policies and the need for regulatory approvals may have a material adverse effect on these areas. Additionally, companies in each sector may be subject to risks of developing technologies, competitive pressures and other factors and are dependent upon consumer and business acceptance as new technologies evolve.

The types of companies in which a fund invests present risks. The market may value companies according to size, or market capitalization, rather than on financial performance. The companies in each sector may be developing or changing. They may be subject to greater business risks and more sensitive to changes in economic conditions than larger, more established companies. Company earnings in these sectors may fluctuate more than those of other companies because of short product cycles and competitive pricing. Investors’ enthusiasm for these stocks can also change dramatically, causing stock prices to rise and fall sharply. Certain of the companies in which a fund invests may allocate greater than usual financial resources to research and product development. The securities of such companies may experience above-average price movements associated with the perceived prospects of success of the research and development programs. In addition, companies in which a fund invests may be adversely affected by lack of commercial acceptance of a new product or process or by technological change and obsolescence.

Financial Services Fund

The financial services sector is subject to extensive government regulation, can be subject to relatively rapid change due to increasingly blurred distinctions between service segments, and can be significantly affected by availability and cost of capital funds, changes in interest rates, the rate of corporate and consumer debt defaults, and price competition.

The financial services industries are subject to extensive government regulation which can limit both the amounts and types of loans and other financial commitments they can make, and the interest rates and fees they can charge. Profitability can be largely dependent on the availability and cost of capital funds and the rate of corporate and consumer debt defaults and can fluctuate significantly when interest rates change. Credit losses resulting from financial difficulties of borrowers can negatively affect the financial services industries. Insurance companies can be subject to severe price competition. The financial services industries are currently undergoing relatively rapid change as existing distinctions between financial service segments become less clear. For example, recent business combinations have included insurance, finance, and securities brokerage under single ownership. Some primarily retail corporations have expanded into securities and insurance industries.

Most financial services companies are subject to extensive governmental regulation, which limits their activities and may (as with insurance rate regulation) affect the ability to earn a profit from a given line of business. Certain financial services businesses are subject to intense competitive pressures, including market share and price competition. The removal of regulatory barriers to participation in certain segments of the financial services sector also may increase competitive pressures on different types of firms. The availability and cost of funds to financial services firms is crucial to their profitability. Consequently, volatile interest rates and general economic conditions can adversely affect their financial performance.

Financial services companies in foreign countries are subject to similar regulatory and interest rate concerns. In particular, government regulation in certain foreign countries may include controls on interest rates, credit availability, prices and currency movements. In some cases, foreign governments have taken steps to nationalize the operations of banks and other financial services companies.

The banking industry can be significantly affected by the recent adoption of legislation that has reduced the separation between commercial and investment banking businesses and changed the laws governing capitalization and the savings and loan industry. While providing diversification, this new legislation could expose banks to well-established competitors, particularly as the historical distinctions between banks and other financial institutions erode. Increased competition can also result from the broadening of regional and national interstate banking powers, which has already reduced the number of publicly traded banks. In addition, general economic conditions are important to banks that face exposure to credit losses and can be significantly affected by changes in interest rates.

The brokerage and investment management industry can be significantly affected by changes in regulations, brokerage commission structure, and a competitive environment combined with the high operating leverage inherent in companies in this industry. The performance of companies in this industry can be closely tied to the stock and bond markets and can suffer during market declines. Revenues can depend on overall market activity.

The home finance industry can be significantly affected by regulatory changes, interest rate movements, home mortgage demand, refinancing activity, and residential delinquency trends. The residential real estate finance industry has changed rapidly over the last decade. Regulatory changes at federally insured institutions, in response to a high failure rate, have mandated higher capital ratios and more prudent underwriting. This reduced capacity has created growth opportunities for uninsured companies and secondary market products to fill unmet demand for home finance. Change continues in the origination, packaging, selling, holding, and insuring of home finance products.

 

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The insurance industry can be significantly affected by interest rates, general economic conditions, and price and marketing competition. Property and casualty insurance profits can be affected by weather catastrophes and other natural disasters. Life and health insurance profits can be affected by mortality and morbidity rates. Insurance companies can be adversely affected by inadequacy of cash reserves, the inability to collect from reinsurance carriers, liability for the coverage of environmental clean-up costs from past years, and as yet unanticipated liabilities. Also, insurance companies are subject to extensive government regulation, including the imposition of maximum rate levels, and can be adversely affected by proposed or potential tax law changes.

Technology Fund

Many technological products and services are subject to rapid obsolescence, which may lower the market value of the securities of the companies in this sector. Also, the portfolio consists of faster-growing, more volatile technology companies that Batterymarch believes to be emerging leaders in their fields. The market prices of these companies tend to rise and fall more rapidly than those of larger, more established companies.

The extent to which the fund may invest in corporate broadcast licensees is limited by Federal Communications Commission regulations. The multimedia industry can be significantly affected by the federal deregulation of cable and broadcasting, competitive pressures, and government regulation, including regulation of the concentration of investment in AM, FM, or TV stations. The computer industry can be significantly affected by competitive pressures. For example, as product cycles shorten and manufacturing capacity increases, these companies could become increasingly subject to aggressive pricing, which hampers profitability. Profitability can also be affected by changing domestic and international demand, research and development costs, availability and price of components, and product obsolescence.

The telecommunications industry, particularly telephone operating companies, is subject to both federal and state government regulations of rates of return and services that may be offered. Many telecommunications companies fiercely compete for market share.

The developing communications industry can be significantly affected by failure to obtain, or delays in obtaining, financing or regulatory approval, intense competition, product compatibility, consumer preferences, corporate capital expenditures, and rapid obsolescence.

The electronics industry can be significantly affected by rapid obsolescence, intense competition, and global demand.

The wireless industry can be significantly affected by failure or delays in obtaining financing or regulatory approval, intense competition, product incompatibility, changing consumer preferences, and rapid obsolescence. Wireless network operators can also face significant capital expenditures to build networks of critical mass, and can carry heavy debt burdens from financings.

Companies in the rapidly changing field of technology face special risks. For example, their products or services may not prove commercially successful or may become obsolete quickly. The value of the fund’s shares may be susceptible to factors affecting the technology and science areas and to greater risk and market fluctuation than an investment in a fund that invests in a broader range of portfolio securities not concentrated in any particular industry.

Internet Industry Specific Risks . Factors affecting the Internet, such as heightened regulatory scrutiny and impending changes in government policies which may have a material effect on the products and services of this industry. Furthermore, securities of companies in this industry tend to be more volatile than securities of companies in other industries. Competitive pressures and changing demand may have a significant effect on the financial condition of Internet companies. These companies spend heavily on research and development and are especially sensitive to the risk of product obsolescence.

 

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Other Information

Master/feeder fund structure . The Trust’s Board has the discretion to retain the current distribution arrangement for the funds while investing their assets in a master fund in a master/feeder fund structure. A master/feeder fund structure is one in which a fund (a “feeder fund”), instead of investing directly in a portfolio of securities, invests most or all of its investment assets in a separate registered investment company (the “master fund”) with substantially the same investment objective and policies as the feeder fund. Such a structure permits the pooling of assets of two or more feeder funds, preserving separate identities or distribution channels at the feeder fund level. Based on the premise that certain of the expenses of operating an investment portfolio are relatively fixed, a larger investment portfolio may eventually achieve a lower ratio of operating expenses to average net assets. An existing investment company is able to convert to a feeder fund by selling all of its investments, which involves brokerage and other transaction costs and realization of a taxable gain or loss, or by contributing its assets to the master fund and avoiding transaction costs and, if proper procedures are followed, the realization of taxable gain or loss.

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

The funds have adopted policies and procedures developed by LMPFA, the funds’ investment manager, with respect to the disclosure of the funds’ portfolio securities and any ongoing arrangements to make available information about each fund’s portfolio securities. The policy requires that consideration always be given as to whether disclosure of information about any fund’s portfolio holdings is in the best interests of such fund’s shareholders, and that any conflicts of interest between the interests of each fund’s shareholders and those of LMPFA, the funds’ distributors or their affiliates, be addressed in a manner that places the interests of each fund’s shareholders first. The policy provides that information regarding each fund’s portfolio holdings may not be shared with non-Legg Mason employees, with investors or potential investors (whether individual or institutional), or with third parties unless it is done for legitimate fund business purposes and in accordance with the policy.

LMPFA’s policy generally provides for the release of details of securities positions once they are considered “stale.” Data is considered stale 25 calendar days following quarter-end, and 25 calendar days following month-end with respect to money market funds. LMPFA believes that this passage of time prevents a third party from benefiting from an investment decision made by a fund that has not been fully reflected by the market.

Under the policy, a fund’s complete list of holdings (including the size of each position) may be made available to investors, potential investors, third parties and non-Legg Mason employees with simultaneous public disclosure at least 25 days after calendar quarter end, except in the case of a money market fund’s holdings, which may be released with simultaneous public disclosure at least 25 days after month end. Typically, simultaneous public disclosure is achieved by the filing of Form N-Q or Form N-CSR in accordance with SEC rules, provided that such filings may not be made until 25 days following quarter-end, and/or posting the information to a Legg Mason or the funds’ Internet site that is accessible by the public, or through public release by a third party vendor.

The policy permits the release of limited portfolio holdings information that is not yet considered stale in a number of situations, including:

1. A fund’s top ten securities, current as of month-end, and the individual size of each such security position may be released at any time following month-end with simultaneous public disclosure.

2. A fund’s top ten securities positions (including the aggregate but not individual size of such positions) may be released at any time with simultaneous public disclosure.

3. A list of securities (that may include fund holdings together with other securities) followed by a portfolio manager (without position sizes or identification of particular funds) may be disclosed to sell-side brokers at any time for the purpose of obtaining research and/or market information from such brokers.

4. A trade in process may be discussed only with counterparties, potential counterparties and others involved in the transaction ( i.e ., brokers and custodians).

5. A fund’s sector weightings, yield and duration (for fixed income and money market funds), performance attribution (e.g., analysis of each fund’s outperformance or underperformance of its benchmark based on its portfolio holdings) and other summary and statistical information that does not include identification of specific portfolio holdings may be released, even if non-public, if such release is otherwise in accordance with the policy’s general principles.

6. A fund’s portfolio holdings may be released on an as-needed basis to its legal counsel, counsel to its Independent Trustees, and its independent public accounting firm, in required regulatory filings or otherwise to governmental agencies and authorities.

 

14


Under the policy, if information about a fund’s portfolio holdings is released pursuant to an ongoing arrangement with any party, a fund must have a legitimate business purpose for the release of the information, and either the party receiving the information must be under a duty of confidentiality, or the release of non-public information must be subject to trading restrictions and confidential treatment to prohibit the entity from sharing with an unauthorized source or trading upon any non-public information provided. Neither a fund, nor Legg Mason, nor any other affiliated party may receive compensation or any other consideration in connection with such arrangements. Ongoing arrangements to make available information about each fund’s portfolio securities will be reviewed at least annually by each fund’s Board.

The approval of a fund’s Chief Compliance Officer, or designee, must be obtained before entering into any new ongoing arrangement or altering any existing ongoing arrangement to make available portfolio holdings information, or with respect to any exceptions to the policy. Any exceptions to the policy must be consistent with the purposes of the policy. Exceptions are considered on a case-by-case basis and are granted only after a thorough examination and consultation with LMPFA’s legal department, as necessary. Exceptions to the policies are reported to a fund’s Board at its next regularly scheduled meeting.

Currently, the funds disclose their complete portfolio holdings approximately 25 days after calendar quarter end on their website http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices.

Set forth below is a list of those parties with whom LMPFA, on behalf of the funds, has authorized ongoing arrangements that include the release of portfolio holdings information in accordance with the policy, as well as the frequency of the release under such arrangements. and the length of the lag, if any, between the date of the information and the date on which the information is disclosed. The parties identified below as recipients are service providers, fund rating agencies, consultants and analysts.

 

Recipient

 

Frequency

 

Delay before dissemination

State Street Bank & Trust Co. (Fund Custodian and Accounting Agent)   Daily   None
Institutional Shareholders Services (Proxy Voting Services)   As necessary   None
Bloomberg   Quarterly   25 Days after Quarter End
Lipper   Quarterly   25 Days after Quarter End
S&P   Quarterly   25 Days after Quarter End
Morningstar   Quarterly   25 Days after Quarter End
Vestek   Daily   None
Factset   Daily   None
Bank of New York   Daily   None

 

15


[To be updated by amendment]

Portfolio holdings information for each fund may also be released from time to time pursuant to ongoing arrangements with the following parties:

 

Recipient

 

Frequency

 

Delay before dissemination

Baseline   Daily   None
Frank Russell   Monthly   1 Day
Callan   Quarterly   25 Days after Quarter End
Mercer   Quarterly   25 Days after Quarter End
eVestment Alliance   Quarterly   25 Days after Quarter End
CRA RogersCasey   Quarterly   25 Days after Quarter End
Cambridge Associates   Quarterly   25 Days after Quarter End
Marco Consulting   Quarterly   25 Days after Quarter End
Wilshire   Quarterly   25 Days after Quarter End
Informa Investment Services (Efron)   Quarterly   25 Days after Quarter End
CheckFree (Mobius)   Quarterly   25 Days after Quarter End
Nelsons Information   Quarterly   25 Days after Quarter End
Investor Tools   Daily   None
Advent   Daily   None
BARRA   Daily   None
Plexus   Quarterly (Calendar)  

Sent 1-3 business days following the end of a Quarter

Elkins/McSherry   Quarterly (Calendar)  

Sent 1-3 business days following the end of a Quarter

Quantitative Services Group   Daily   None
AMBAC   Daily   None
Deutsche Bank   Monthly   6-8 Business Days
Fitch   Monthly   6-8 Business Days
Liberty Hampshire   Weekly and Month End   None
Sun Trust   Weekly and Month End   None
New England Pension Consultants   Quarterly   25 Days after Quarter End
Evaluation Associates   Quarterly   25 Days after Quarter End
Watson Wyatt   Quarterly   25 Days after Quarter End
S&P (Rating Agency)   Weekly Tuesday Night   1 business day
Moody’s (Rating Agency)   Weekly Tuesday Night   1 business day

 

16


INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS

The investment restrictions numbered 1 through 8 below and each fund’s investment objective have been adopted by the Trust as fundamental policies of each fund. Under the 1940 Act, a fundamental policy may not be changed with respect to a fund without the vote of a “majority of the outstanding voting securities” of each fund, which is defined in the 1940 Act as the lesser of (a) 67% or more of the shares present at a shareholder meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares of each fund are present or represented by proxy, or (b) more than 50% of outstanding shares. As discussed under “Proposed Investment Restrictions” below, each fund is proposing to change its investment restrictions.

Current Investment Restrictions

Under the investment restrictions adopted by each fund with respect to that fund, each fund may not:

1. Purchase or sell the securities of any issuer, if, as a result of such purchase or sale, less than 25% of the assets of the fund would be invested in the securities of issuers principally engaged in the business activities having the specific characteristics denoted by the fund.

2. Borrow money, except that (a) the fund may borrow from banks for temporary or emergency (not leveraging) purposes, including the meeting of redemption requests which might otherwise require the untimely disposition of securities, and (b) the fund may, to the extent consistent with its investment policies, enter into reverse repurchase agreements, forward roll transactions and similar investment strategies and techniques. To the extent that it engages in transactions described in (a) and (b), the fund will be limited so that no more than 33  1 / 3 % of the value of its total assets (including the amount borrowed), valued at the lesser of cost or market, less liabilities (not including the amount borrowed) valued at the time the borrowing is made, is derived from such transactions.

3. Issue “senior securities” as defined in the 1940 Act and the rules, regulations and orders thereunder, except as permitted under the 1940 Act and the rules, regulations and orders thereunder.

4. Make loans. This restriction does not apply to: (a) the purchase of debt obligations in which the fund may invest consistent with its investment objectives and policies; (b) repurchase agreements; and (c) loans of its portfolio securities, to the fullest extent permitted under the 1940 Act.

5. Purchase or sell real estate, real estate mortgages, commodities or commodity contracts, but this restriction shall not prevent the fund from (a) investing in securities of issuers engaged in the real estate business or the business of investing in real estate (including interests in limited partnerships owning or otherwise engaging in the real estate business or the business of investing in real estate) and securities which are secured by real estate or interests therein; (b) holding or selling real estate received in connection with securities it holds or held; (c) trading in futures contracts and options on futures contracts (including options on currencies to the extent consistent with the fund’s investment objective and policies); or (d) investing in real estate investment trust securities.

6. Engage in the business of underwriting securities issued by other persons, except to the extent that the fund may technically be deemed to be an underwriter under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, in disposing of portfolio securities.

7. Purchase or otherwise acquire any illiquid security except as permitted under the 1940 Act for open-end investment companies, which currently permits up to 15% of the fund’s net assets to be invested in illiquid securities.

8. Purchase or sell commodities or commodity contracts. This restriction shall not prevent the fund from trading in futures contracts and options on futures contracts (including options on currencies to the extent consistent with the fund’s investment objective and policies).

If any percentage restriction described above is complied with at the time of an investment, a later increase or decrease in percentage resulting from a change in values or assets will not constitute a violation of such restriction.

 

17


Proposed Investment Restrictions

Each fund has called a meeting of its shareholders to consider several proposals, including the adoption of revised fundamental investment policies or restrictions. If approved by each fund’s shareholders, each fund’s revised fundamental policies will be as follows:

1. Each fund may not borrow money except as permitted by (i) the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

2. Each fund may not engage in the business of underwriting the securities of other issuers except as permitted by (i) the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

3. Each fund may lend money or other assets to the extent permitted by (i) the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

4. Each fund may not issue senior securities except as permitted by (i) the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

5. Each fund may not purchase or sell real estate except as permitted by (i) the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

6. Each fund may purchase or sell commodities or contracts related to commodities to the extent permitted by (i) the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief of permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

7. Each fund will not purchase or sell the securities of any issuer, if, as a result of such purchase or sale, less than 25% of the assets of each fund would be invested in the securities of issuers principally engaged in the business activities having the specific characteristics denoted by each fund.

8. Except as permitted by exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, each fund may not make any investment if, as a result, each fund’s investments will be concentrated in any one industry, except that the funds may invest without limit in obligations issued by banks.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to borrowing money set forth in (1) above, the 1940 Act permits a fund to borrow money in amounts of up to one-third of the fund’s total assets from banks for any purpose, and to borrow up to 5% of the fund’s total assets from banks or other lenders for temporary purposes. To limit the risks attendant to borrowing, the 1940 Act requires the fund to maintain at all times an “asset coverage” of at least 300% of the amount of its borrowings. Asset coverage means the ratio that the value of the fund’s total assets, minus liabilities other than borrowings, bears to the aggregate amount of all borrowings. Certain trading practices and investments, such as reverse repurchase agreements may be considered to be borrowings and thus subject to the 1940 Act restrictions. Borrowing money to increase portfolio holdings is known as “leveraging.” Borrowing, especially when used for leverage, may cause the value of a fund’s shares to be more volatile than if the fund did not borrow. This is because borrowing tends to magnify the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of a fund’s portfolio holdings. Borrowed money thus creates an opportunity for greater gains, but also greater losses. To repay borrowings, a fund may have to sell securities at a time and at a price that is unfavorable to the fund. There also are costs associated with borrowing money, and these costs would offset and could eliminate a fund’s net investment income in any given period. Currently each fund does not contemplate borrowing money for leverage, but if each fund does so, it will not likely do so to a substantial degree. The policy in (1) above will be interpreted to permit a fund to engage in trading practices and investments that may be considered to be borrowing to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act. Short-term credits necessary for the settlement of securities transactions and arrangements with respect to securities lending will not be considered to be borrowings under the policy. Practices and investments that may involve leverage but are not considered to be borrowings are not subject to the policy.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to underwriting set forth in (2) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from engaging in the underwriting business or from underwriting the securities of other issuers; in fact, the 1940 Act permits a fund to have underwriting commitments of up to 25% of its assets under certain circumstances. Those circumstances currently are that the amount of the fund’s underwriting commitments, when added to the value of the fund’s investments in issuers where the fund owns more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of those issuers, cannot exceed the 25% cap. A fund engaging in transactions involving the acquisition or disposition of portfolio securities may be considered to be an underwriter under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”). Under the 1933 Act, an underwriter may be liable for material omissions or misstatements in an

 

18


issuer’s registration statement or prospectus. Securities purchased from an issuer and not registered for sale under the 1933 Act are considered restricted securities. There may be a limited market for these securities. If these securities are registered under the 1933 Act, they may then be eligible for sale but participating in the sale may subject the seller to underwriter liability. These risks could apply to a fund investing in restricted securities. Although it is not believed that the application of the 1933 Act provisions described above would cause a fund to be engaged in the business of underwriting, the policy in (2) above will be interpreted not to prevent the fund from engaging in transactions involving the acquisition or disposition of portfolio securities, regardless of whether the fund may be considered to be an underwriter under the 1933 Act.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to lending set forth in (3) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from making loans; however, SEC staff interpretations currently prohibit funds from lending more than one-third of their total assets, except through the purchase of debt obligations or the use of repurchase agreements. (A repurchase agreement is an agreement to purchase a security, coupled with an agreement to sell that security back to the original seller on an agreed-upon date at a price that reflects current interest rates. The SEC frequently treats repurchase agreements as loans). While lending securities may be a source of income to a fund, as with other extensions of credit, there are risks of delay in recovery or even loss of rights in the underlying securities should the borrower fail financially. However, loans would be made only when each fund’s manager or subadviser believes the income justifies the attendant risks. Each fund also will be permitted by this policy to make loans of money, including to other funds. A fund would have to obtain exemptive relief from the SEC to make loans to other funds. The policy in (3) above will be interpreted not to prevent a fund from purchasing or investing in debt obligations and loans. In addition, collateral arrangements with respect to options, forward currency and futures transactions and other derivative instruments, as well as delays in the settlement of securities transactions, will not be considered loans.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to issuing senior securities set forth in (4) above, “senior securities” are defined as fund obligations that have a priority over the fund’s shares with respect to the payment of dividends or the distribution of fund assets. The 1940 Act prohibits a fund from issuing senior securities except that the fund may borrow money in amounts of up to one-third of the fund’s total assets from banks for any purpose. A fund also may borrow up to 5% of the fund’s total assets from banks or other lenders for temporary purposes, and these borrowings are not considered senior securities. The issuance of senior securities by a fund can increase the speculative character of the fund’s outstanding shares through leveraging. Leveraging of a fund’s portfolio through the issuance of senior securities magnifies the potential for gain or loss on monies, because even though the fund’s net assets remain the same, the total risk to investors is increased to the extent of the fund’s gross assets. The policy in (4) above will be interpreted not to prevent collateral arrangements with respect to swaps, options, forward or futures contracts or other derivatives, or the posting of initial or variation margin.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to real estate set forth in (5) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from owning real estate; however, a fund is limited in the amount of illiquid assets it may purchase. Investing in real estate may involve risks, including that real estate is generally considered illiquid and may be difficult to value and sell. Owners of real estate may be subject to various liabilities, including environmental liabilities. To the extent that investments in real estate are considered illiquid, the current SEC staff position generally limits a fund’s purchases of illiquid securities to 15% of net assets. The policy in (5) above will be interpreted not to prevent a fund from investing in real estate-related companies, companies whose businesses consist in whole or in part of investing in real estate, instruments (like mortgages) that are secured by real estate or interest therein, or real estate investment trust securities.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to commodities set forth in (6) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from owning commodities, whether physical commodities and contracts related to physical commodities (such as oil or grains and related futures contracts), or financial commodities and contracts related to financial commodities (such as currencies and, possibly, currency futures). However, a fund is limited in the amount of illiquid assets it may purchase. To the extent that investments in commodities are considered illiquid, the current SEC staff position generally limits a fund’s purchases of illiquid securities to 15% of net assets. If a fund were to invest in a physical commodity or a physical commodity-related instrument, the fund would be subject to the additional risks of the particular physical commodity and its related market. The value of commodities and commodity-related instruments may be extremely volatile and may be affected either directly or indirectly by a variety of factors. There also may be storage charges and risks of loss associated with physical commodities. The policy in (6) above will be interpreted to permit investments in exchange traded funds that invest in physical and/or financial commodities.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to concentration set forth in (7) above, the 1940 Act does not define what constitutes “concentration” in an industry. The SEC staff has taken the position that investment of 25% or more of a fund’s total assets in one or more issuers conducting their principal activities in the same industry or group of industries constitutes concentration. It is possible that interpretations of concentration could change in the future. A fund that invests a significant percentage of its total assets in a single industry may be particularly susceptible to adverse events affecting that industry and may be more risky than a fund that does not concentrate in an industry. The policy in (7) above will be interpreted to refer to concentration as that term may be interpreted from time to time. The policy also will be interpreted to permit investment without limit in the following: securities of the U.S. government and its agencies or instrumentalities; securities of state, territory, possession or municipal governments and their authorities, agencies, instrumentalities or political subdivisions; securities of foreign governments; and repurchase agreements collateralized by any such obligations. Accordingly, issuers of the foregoing securities will not be considered to be members of any industry. There also will be no limit on investment in issuers domiciled in a single jurisdiction or country. The policy also will be interpreted to give broad authority to a fund as to how to classify issuers within or among industries.

The fund’s proposed fundamental policies are written and will be interpreted broadly. For example, the policies will be interpreted to refer to the 1940 Act and the related rules as they are in effect from time to time, and to interpretations and modifications of or relating to the 1940 Act by the SEC and others as they are given from time to time. When a policy provides that an investment practice may be conducted as permitted by the 1940 Act, the policy will be interpreted to mean either that the 1940 Act expressly permits the practice or that the 1940 Act does not prohibit the practice.

Each fund is currently classified as a non-diversified fund under the 1940 Act. A diversified fund may not purchase securities of an issuer (other than obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities) if, with respect to 75% of the total assets of each fund, (a) more than 5% of each fund’s total assets would be invested in securities of that issuer, or (b) each fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer. A non-diversified fund is not subject to these limitations. Therefore, a non-diversified fund can invest a greater portion of its assets in a single issuer or a limited number of issuers than may a diversified fund. In this regard, each fund is subject to greater risk than a diversified fund. Under the 1940 Act, each fund cannot change its classification from non-diversified to diversified without shareholder approval.

 

19


MANAGEMENT

The business affairs of the funds are managed by or under the direction of the Board of Trustees. The Board elects officers who are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the funds and who execute policies authorized by the Board.

The current Trustees, including the Independent Trustees, of the funds who are not “interested persons” of the funds as defined in the 1940 Act (the “Independent Trustees”) and executive officers of the funds, their birth years, their principal occupations during the past five years (their titles may have varied during that period), the number of investment companies and their portfolios associated with Legg Mason the Trustees oversee, and other board memberships they hold are set forth below. The address of each Trustee is c/o R. Jay Gerken, 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022.

The following information relates to the Trust’s recently elected Board of Trustees.

Name and Year of Birth

   Position(s)
with Fund
  

Term of Office* and
Length of Time
Served**

  

Principal Occupation(s)

During Past 5 Years

  

Number of

Funds in
Fund
Complex
Overseen by
Trustee

  

Other Board
Memberships Held by
Trustee During

Past Five Years

INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES:

           

Paul R. Ades

Born 1940

   Trustee    Since 1983   

Law firm of Paul R. Ades,

PLLC (since 2000)

      None

Andrew L. Breech

Born 1952

   Trustee    Since 1991   

President, Dealer Operating

Control Service, Inc.

(automotive retail management) (since 1985)

      None

Dwight B. Crane

Born 1937

   Trustee    Since 1981   

Professor, Harvard Business

School (since 1969);

Independent Consultant (since 1969)

      None

Robert M. Frayn, Jr.

Born 1934

   Trustee    Since 1981   

Retired; formerly, President

and Director, Book Publishing Co. (1970 to 2002)

      None

Frank G. Hubbard

Born 1937

   Trustee    Since 1993   

President, Avatar International

Inc. (business development)

(since 1998)

      None

Howard J. Johnson

Born 1938

   Trustee    From 1981 to 1998
and 2000 to Present
   Chief Executive Officer, Genesis Imaging LLC (technology company) (since 2003)       None

David E. Maryatt

Born 1936

   Trustee    Since 1983    Private Investor; President and Director, ALS Co. (real estate management and development firm) (since 1993)       None

Jerome H. Miller

Born 1938

   Trustee    Since 1995    Retired       None

Ken Miller

Born 1942

   Trustee    Since 1983    Chairman, Young Stuff Apparel Group, Inc. (apparel manufacturer) (1963 to 2005)       None

John J. Murphy

Born 1944

   Trustee    Since 2002    President, Murphy Capital Management (investment advice) (since 1983)       Director, Nicholas
Applegate funds;
Trustee, Consulting
Group Capital
Markets Funds;
formerly, Director,
Atlantic Stewardship
Bank (2004 to
2005); Director,
Barclays
International Funds
Group Ltd. and
affiliated companies
(to 2003)

Thomas F. Schlafly

Born 1948

   Trustee    Since 1983    Of Counsel, Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin LLP (law firm) (since 1984); President, The Saint Louis Brewery, Inc. (brewery) (since 1989)       Director, Citizens
National Bank,
Maplewood (2006)

Jerry A. Viscione

Born 1944

   Trustee    Since 1993    Retired; formerly, Executive Vice President, Marquette University (1997 to 2002)       None

 

20


Name and Year of Birth

  

Position(s)
with Fund

  

Term of
Office* and
Length of Time
Served**

  

Principal Occupation(s)

During Past 5 Years

  

Number of

Funds in
Fund
Complex
Overseen by
Trustee

  

Other Board
Memberships Held by
Trustee During

Past Five Years

INTERESTED TRUSTEE:

           

R. Jay Gerken , CFA†

Born 1951

   Trustee,
President,
Chairman
and Chief
Executive
Officer
   Since 2002    Managing Director, Legg Mason & Co., LLC (“Legg Mason & Co.”); Chairman of the Board, Trustee, or Director of [ ] funds associated with LMPFA and its affiliates; President, LMPFA (since 2006); Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its affiliates; formerly, Chairman, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”) and Citi Fund Management, Inc. (“CFM”) (2002 to 2005); formerly, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Travelers Investment Advisers Inc. (2002 to 2005)       Trustee, Consulting
Group Capital
Markets Funds

* Each Trustee serves until his or her respective successor has been duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation, retirement or removal.
** Indicates the earliest year in which the Trustee became a Board member for a fund in the Legg Mason Partners fund complex.
Mr. Gerken is an “interested person”, as defined in the 1940 Act, because of his position with the manager and/or certain of its affiliates.

 

21


Name, Year of Birth and Address

   Position(s) with Fund    Term of Office* and
Length of Time
Served**
  

Principal Occupation(s)

During Past 5 Years

OFFICERS:

        

Ted P. Becker

Born 1951

399 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10022

   Chief Compliance
Officer
   Since 2006    Global Chief Compliance Officer of Legg Mason Inc.; Chief Compliance Officer with certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. (since 2006); Chief Compliance Officer of LMPFA and certain affiliates; Managing Director of Compliance at Citigroup Asset Management (“CAM,” a group of affiliated investment advisers, which included Smith Barney Fund Management (“SBFM”), Smith Barney Asset Management and Citi Fund Management (“CFM”) and other affiliated investment advisory entities) (2002 to 2005). Prior to 2002, Managing Director-Internal Audit & Risk Review at Citigroup Inc.

John Chiota

Born 1968

300 First Stamford Place, 4th Fl

Stamford, CT 06902

   Chief Anti-Money
Laundering
Compliance
Officer
   Since 2006    Vice President of Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors (since 2004); Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. (since 2006). Prior to August 2004, Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer of TD Waterhouse.

Robert I. Frenkel

Born 1954

300 First Stamford Place

Stamford, CT 06902

   Secretary and
Chief Legal
Officer
   Since 2003    Managing Director and General Counsel of Global Mutual Funds for Legg Mason & Co. and its predecessors (since 2000); Secretary and Chief Legal Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. (since 2003). Previously, Secretary of CFM (2001 to 2004).

R. Jay Gerken, CFA

Born 1951

399 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10022

   Chairman,
President and
Chief Executive
Officer
   Since 2002    Managing Director of Legg Mason & Co.; Chairman of the Board, Trustee, or Director of 169 funds associated with LMPFA and its affiliates; Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. Previously, Chairman of SBFM and CFM (2002 to 2005); Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Travelers Investment Advisers Inc. (2002 to 2005).

Thomas C. Mandia

Born 1962

300 First Stamford Place

Stamford, CT 06902

   Assistant Secretary    Since 2000    Managing Director and Deputy General Counsel of Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors (since 1992); Assistant Secretary of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co.

Kaprel Ozsolak

Born 1965

125 Broad Street, 11th Floor

New York, NY 10004

   Chief Financial
Officer and
Treasurer
   Since 2004    Director of Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors; Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors. Previously, Mr. Ozsolak was Controller of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors (2002 to 2004).

* Each officer serves until his or her respective successor has been duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation, retirement or removal.
** Indicates the earliest year in which the officer took office for any funds in the Legg Mason Partners fund complex.

 

22


The Board has a standing Audit Committee, Nominating Committee and Pricing Committee. The Audit Committee and Nominating Committee are comprised of Independent Trustees. The Pricing Committee is composed of the Chairman of the Board and one Independent Trustee.

The Audit Committee oversees the scope of the funds’ audit, the funds’ accounting and financial reporting policies and practices and its internal controls. The primary purposes of the Board’s Audit Committee are to assist the Board in fulfilling its responsibility for oversight of the integrity of the accounting, auditing and financial reporting practices of the funds, the qualifications and independence of the funds’ independent registered public accounting firm, and the funds’ compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. The Audit Committee approves, and recommends to the Independent Trustees for their ratification, the selection, appointment, retention or termination of the funds’ independent registered public accounting firm and approves the compensation of the independent registered public accounting firm. The Audit Committee also approves all audit and permissible non-audit services provided to the funds by the independent registered public accounting firm and all permissible non-audit services provided by the funds’ independent registered public accounting firm to its manager and any affiliated service providers if the engagement relates directly to the funds’ operations and financial reporting.

The Governance Committee is responsible for, among other things, recommending candidates to fill vacancies on the Board. The Governance Committee may consider nominees recommended by a shareholder. Shareholders who wish to recommend a nominee should send recommendations to the Trust’s Secretary that include all information relating to such person that is required to be disclosed in solicitations of proxies for the election of Trustees. A recommendation must be accompanied by a written consent of the individual to stand for election if nominated by the Board and to serve if elected by the shareholders.

The Governance Committee identifies potential nominees through its network of contacts and may also engage, if it deems appropriate, a professional search firm. The committee meets to discuss and consider such candidates’ qualifications and then chooses a candidate by majority vote. The committee does not have specific, minimum qualifications for nominees, nor has it established specific qualities or skills that it regards as necessary for one or more of the Trustees to possess (other than any qualities or skills that may be required by applicable law, regulation or listing standard). However, in evaluating a person as a potential nominee to serve as a Trustee, the Governance Committee may consider the following factors, among any others it may deem relevant:

 

    whether or not the person is an “interested person,” as defined in the 1940 Act, and whether the person is otherwise qualified under applicable laws and regulations to serve as a Trustee;

 

    whether or not the person has any relationships that might impair his or her independence, such as any business, financial or family relationships with fund management, the investment adviser, service providers or their affiliates;

 

    whether or not the person serves on boards of, or is otherwise affiliated with, competing financial service organizations or their related mutual fund complexes;

 

    whether or not the person is willing to serve, and willing and able to commit the time necessary for the performance of the duties of a Trustee;

 

    the contribution which the person can make to the Board (or, if the person has previously served as a Trustee, the contribution which the person made to the Board during his or her previous term of service), with consideration being given to the person’s business and professional experience, education and such other factors as the committee may consider relevant;

 

    the character and integrity of the person; and

 

    whether or not the selection and nomination of the person would be consistent with the requirements of the retirement policies of the Trust, as applicable.

The Pricing Committee is charged with determining the fair value prices for securities when required.

As indicated above, the Trust’s Board is recently elected and is newly constituted as the Board that oversees all of the equity-type funds in the fund complex. All members of the Board previously have served on Boards of Legg Mason Partners funds. The Audit, Governance and Pricing Committees are recently established committees of this Board and did not meet during the funds’ last fiscal year.

The following table shows the amount of equity securities owned by the Trustees in the funds and other investment companies in the fund complex supervised by the Trustees as of December 31, 2006.

 

Name of Trustee

  

Dollar Range of

Equity Securities

in the Funds

  

Aggregate Dollar Range of Equity

Securities In Registered

Investment Companies Overseen

by Trustee

Independent Trustees

     

Paul R. Ades

     

Andrew L. Breech

     

Dwight B. Crane

     

Robert M. Frayn, Jr

     

Frank G. Hubbard

     

Howard J. Johnson

     

David E. Maryatt

     

Jerome H. Miller

     

Ken Miller

     

John J. Murphy

     

Thomas F. Schlafly

     

Jerry A. Viscione

     

Interested Trustee

     

R. Jay Gerken

     

 

23


[As of December 31, 2006, none of the Independent Trustees or their immediate family members owned beneficially or of record any securities of the manager, subadviser or distributors of the funds, or in a person (other than a registered investment company) directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with the manager, subadviser or distributors of the funds.]

Information regarding compensation paid to the Trustees by the funds for the calendar year ended December 31, 2006 is set forth below. The Independent Trustees receive a fee for each meeting of the funds’ Board of Trustees and committee meetings attended and are reimbursed for all out-of-pocket expenses relating to attendance at such meetings. Mr. Gerken, an “interested person,” as defined in the 1940 Act, does not receive compensation from the funds for his service as trustee, but may be reimbursed for all out-of-pocket expenses relating to attendance at such meetings.

The funds pay a pro rata share of the Trustee fees based upon asset size. The funds currently pays each of the Trustees who is not a director, officer or employee of the manager or any of its affiliates its pro rata share of: an annual fee of [$            ] plus [$            ] for each regularly scheduled Board meeting attended, [$            ] for each special telephonic Board meeting attended, and [$            ] for each ad hoc telephonic meeting in which that Trustee participates. The lead Independent Trustee will receive an additional [$            ] per year and the Chairs of the Audit Committee and Governance Committee will each receive an additional [$            ] per year. The funds will reimburse Trustees for travel and out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with Board meetings.

 

Name of Trustee

  

Aggregate

Compensation

from the

Funds(1) (2)

  

Total Pension or

Retirement

Benefits Paid

as Part of Funds’
Expenses(1) (3)

  

Total

Compensation

from Fund

Complex Paid

to Trustee(1) (2)

  

Number of

Portfolios in Fund Complex
Overseen by Trustee(1)

Independent Trustees

           

Paul R. Ades

           

Andrew L. Breech

           

Dwight B. Crane

           

Robert M. Frayn, Jr

           

Frank G. Hubbard

           

Howard J. Johnson

           

David E. Maryatt

           

Jerome H. Miller

           

Ken Miller

           

John J. Murphy

           

Thomas F. Schlafly

           

Jerry A. Viscione

           

Interested Trustee

           

R. Jay Gerken

           

(1) Information is for the calendar year ended December 31, 2006. The disclosure of compensation paid to the Trustees is provided as of the most recent calendar year end, rather than the fund’s most recent fiscal year end, for ease of presentation and comprehension.]
(2) [TO BE UPDATED BY AMENDMENT]
(3) Pursuant to a prior emeritus retirement plan, Mr. Crane has received or is entitled to receive, in a lump sum (calculated on a net present value basis) or in quarterly installments, an aggregate benefit having a net present value equal to [$              ]. Mr. Crane elected to receive the benefit in a lump sum payment. Each fund formerly overseen by Mr. Crane will pay a pro rata share (based upon asset size) of the aggregate benefit to Mr. Crane. Legg Mason or its affiliates have agreed to reimburse these funds an amount equal to 50% of the benefits paid to Mr. Crane.

 

24


 

Financial Services Fund

   $             

Technology Fund

   $  

For the Fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, the Directors of the funds’ predecessors were paid the compensation listed below for service as a Director.

     Aggregate Compensation from
the Trust
  

Compensation
from
Trust
and Fund
Complex

Paid to
Directors

   

Number of
Portfolios
for Which
Director

Serves Within
Fund Complex

Name of Person

   Financial
Services
Fund
   Technology
Fund
    

Independent Directors

          

Dwight B. Crane

   $      $      $      

Burt N. Dorsett

          

Elliot S. Jaffe

          

Stephen E. Kaufman

          

Cornelius C. Rose, Jr.

          
Interested Director           

R. Jay Gerken(1)

     N/A        

(1) Mr. Gerken was not compensated for his services as Director because of his affiliation with the manager.

 

25


 

(2) [TO BE UPDATED BY AMENDMENT]
(3) Pursuant to emeritus retirement plans, the following former Independent Trustees have received, or are entitled to receive, benefits (calculated on a net present value basis) as follows:              : $              ;              : $              ; and              : $              . These benefits are paid in quarterly installments unless the Trustee elec ted to receive them in a lump sum at net present value. The funds will pay their pro rata share (based upon asset size) of these aggregate benefits. Legg Mason or its affiliates have agreed to reimburse the funds an amount equal to 50% of these benefits.

The Declaration of Trust of the Trust provides that the Trust will indemnify its Trustees and officers against liabilities and expenses incurred in connection with litigation in which they may be involved because of their offices with the Trust, unless, as to liability to the Trust, or its investors, it is finally adjudicated that they engaged in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in their offices, or unless with respect to any other matter it is finally adjudicated that they did not act in good faith in the reasonable belief that their actions were in the best interests of the Trust. In the case of settlement, such indemnification will not be provided unless it has been determined by a court or other body approving the settlement or other disposition or a reasonable determination, based upon a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial-type inquiry) that such officers or Trustees have not engaged in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of their duties. Rights to indemnification or insurance cannot be limited retroactively.

The Declaration of Trust further provides that (i) the appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee as a member or chairperson of a committee of the Trustees, an expert on any topic or in any area (including an audit committee financial expert), or the lead Independent Trustee, or any other special appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee, shall not impose on that individual any duty, obligation or liability that is greater than the duties, obligations and liability imposed on that person as a Trustee in the absence of the appointment, designation or identification (except with respect to duties expressly imposed pursuant to the by-laws of the Trust, a committee charter or a Trust policy statement), (ii) no Trustee who has special skills or expertise, or is appointed, designated or identified shall be held to a higher standard of care by virtue thereof and (iii) no appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee shall affect in any way that Trustee’s rights to indemnification.

As of [            ], all Trustees of the Board and officers as a group owned less than 1% of the standing shares of each fund.

As of [            ] to the knowledge of the funds, no single shareholder or group (as the term is used in Section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) owned beneficially or of record 5% or more than of the outstanding shares of a fund with the exception of the following:

 

Fund

   Class    Percent    Name    Address

[To be updated by amendment]

 

26


INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AND OTHER SERVICES

Manager

LMPFA serves as investment manager to each fund pursuant to an investment management agreement (the “Management Agreement”) with each fund that was approved by the Board, including a majority of the Independent Directors, on June 29, 2006. LMPFA, with offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022, is a recently-organized investment adviser that has been formed to serve as the investment manager of each fund and other Legg Mason-sponsored funds. LMPFA is wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason. Legg Mason, whose principal executive offices are at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, is a global asset management company. As of September 30, 2006, Legg Mason’s asset management operation had aggregate assets under management of approximately $891 billion. LMPFA provides administrative and certain oversight services to the funds and manages the cash and short-term investments of the funds.

Under the Management Agreement, subject to the supervision and direction of the Board, the manager is delegated the responsibility of managing each fund’s portfolio in accordance with each fund’s stated investment objective and policies, making investment decisions for each fund and placing orders to purchase and sell securities. The manager also performs administrative and management services necessary for the operation of each fund, such as (i) supervising the overall administration of the fund, including negotiation of contracts and fees with and the monitoring of performance and billings of the fund’s transfer agent, shareholder servicing agents, custodian and other independent contractors or agents; (ii) providing certain compliance, fund accounting, regulatory reporting, and tax reporting services; (iii) preparing or participating in the preparation of Board materials, registration statements, proxy statements and reports and other communications to shareholders; (iv) maintaining the fund’s existence, and (v) maintaining the registration and qualification of the fund’s shares under federal and state laws.

The Management Agreement has an initial term ending November 30, 2007 and will continue in effect from year to year thereafter provided such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (a) by the Board or by a majority of the outstanding voting securities of each fund (as defined in the 1940 Act), and (b) in either event, by a majority of the Independent Trustees with such Independent Trustees casting votes in person at a meeting called for such purpose.

The Management Agreement provides that the manager may render services to others. The Management Agreement is terminable without penalty on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice by the fund when authorized either by a vote of holders of shares representing a majority of the voting power of the outstanding voting securities of the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) or by a vote of a majority of the fund’s Trustees, or by the manager on not less than 90 days’ written notice, and will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment. The Management Agreement provides that neither the manager nor its personnel shall be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or omission in the execution of security transactions for each fund, except for willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence or reckless disregard of its or their obligations and duties.

 

27


The manager pays the salaries of all officers and employees who are employed by both it and the Trust, and maintain office facilities for the Trust. In addition to those services, the manager furnishes the Trust with statistical and research data, clerical help and accounting, data processing, bookkeeping, internal auditing and legal services and certain other services required by the Trust, prepares reports to each fund’s shareholders and prepares tax returns, reports to and filings with the SEC and state Blue Sky authorities. The manager bears all expenses in connection with the performance of their services.

The Trust bears expenses incurred in its operations, including: taxes, interest, brokerage fees and commissions, if any; fees of Independent Trustees; SEC fees and state Blue Sky qualification fees; charges of custodians; transfer and dividend disbursing agent fees; certain insurance premiums; outside auditing and legal expenses; costs of maintaining corporate existence; costs of investor services (including allocated telephone and personnel expenses); costs of preparing and printing of prospectuses for regulatory purposes and for distribution to existing shareholders; costs of shareholders’ reports and shareholder meetings; and meetings of the officers or the Board.

As compensation for investment management services, the funds pay the manager the annual investment management fee described below (based on a percentage of each fund’s average daily net assets):

 

Financial Services Fund:

   0.80 %

Technology Fund:*

   0.85 %

* This fee became effective on October 1, 2005. Prior to October 1, 2005, the investment advisory fee was 0.95%.

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, the funds paid the manager the following investment advisory fees:

 

Financial Services Fund

   $             

Technology Fund

   $             

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, the manager waived fees in the following amounts:

 

Financial Services Fund

   $             

Technology Fund

   $             

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2005, the funds paid the manager the following investment advisory fees:

 

Financial Services Fund

   $ 475,227

Technology Fund

     716,168

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2005, the manager waived fees in the following amounts:

 

Financial Services Fund

   $ 22,036

Technology Fund

     130,496

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2004, the funds paid the manager the following investment advisory fees:

 

Financial Services Fund

   $ 524,240

Technology Fund

     885,201

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2004, the manager waived fees in the following amounts:

 

Financial Services Fund

   $ 21,745

Technology Fund

     106,757

 

28


The manager has voluntarily agreed to waive a portion of the fees otherwise payable to it by each fund so that Class A, Class B and Class C shares’ expenses do not exceed 1.50%, 2.25% and 2.25%, respectively, of such class’s average daily net assets. The manager may change or eliminate this management fee waiver and/or voluntary expense limitation at any time.

Subadvisers

Barrett Associates, Inc. (“Barrett”) serves as the subadviser to the Financial Services Fund pursuant to a sub-advisory agreement between the manager and Barrett that was approved by the Board, including a majority of the Independent Directors. Batterymarch Financial Management, Inc. (“Batterymarch”) serves as the subadviser to the Technology Fund pursuant to a sub-advisory agreement between the manager and Batterymarch that was approved by the Board, including a majority of the Independent Directors. Barrett and Batterymarch are each a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason.

Under the sub-advisory agreements, subject to the supervision and direction of the Board and the manager, the subadvisers will, except for the management of cash and short-term investments that is performed by LMPFA, manage each fund’s portfolio in accordance with each fund’s stated investment objective(s) and policies, assist in supervising all aspects of each fund’s operations, make investment decisions for each fund, place orders to purchase and sell securities, and employ professional portfolio managers and securities analysts who provide research services to each fund.

The sub-advisory agreements have an initial term ending November 30, 2007 [NEED TO CONFIRM FOR BARRETT] and will continue in effect from year to year thereafter provided such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (a) by the Board or by a majority of the outstanding voting securities of each fund (as defined in the 1940 Act), and (b) in either event, by a majority of the Independent Trustees with such Independent Trustees casting votes in person at a meeting called for such purpose. The Board or a majority of the outstanding voting securities of each fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) may terminate the sub-advisory agreement on 60 days’ written notice without penalty. The manager or each subadviser may terminate the sub-advisory agreement on 90 days’ written notice without penalty. The sub-advisory agreement will terminate automatically in the event of assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act).

Prior to August 1, 2006, as compensation for investment sub-advisory services, the manager paid the subadviser the fee described below (based on a percentage of the applicable fund’s average daily net assets). During that period, Batterymarch served as the subadviser to both the Financial Services Fund and the Technology Fund.

 

Financial Services Fund:

   0.50 %

Technology Fund:*

   0.55 %

* This fee became effective on October 1, 2005. Prior to October 1, 2005, the sub-advisory fee was 0.65%.

Since August 1, 2006, the manager has been paying the subadvisers a fee equal to 70% of the management fee paid to LMPFA for each fund, net of expense waivers and reimbursements. For the period of August 1, 2006 through October 31, 2006, the manager paid the subadviser Batterymarch a subadvisory fee of $[            ] for the Financial Services Fund and $[            ] for the Technology Fund.

 

29


For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, the manager paid investment subadvisory fees to the subadvisers as follows:

 

Financial Services Fund

   $                 

Technology Fund

  

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2005, the manager paid investment subadvisory fees to the subadvisers as follows:

 

Financial Services Fund

   $ 297,017

Technology Fund

     488,212

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2004, the manager paid investment subadvisory fees to

the subadvisers as follows:

 

Financial Services Fund

   $ 327,650

Technology Fund

     605,664

Expenses

In addition to amounts payable under the Management Agreement and the 12b-1 Plans (as discussed below), each fund is responsible for its own expenses, including, among other things, interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of each fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of each fund’s securities and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of each fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the funds’ shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the funds’ shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of each fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of each fund, if any; and each fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering each fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any nonrecurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which a fund is a party and the legal obligation which a fund may have to indemnify Board members and officers with respect thereto.

Management may agree to waive fees and/or reimburse operating expenses for one or more classes of shares, either through contractual or voluntary arrangements. Any such waivers and/ or reimbursements are described in each fund’s Prospectus. The contractual and voluntary fee waivers and/ or reimbursements do not cover extraordinary expenses, such as (a) any expenses or charges related to litigation, derivative actions, demand related to litigation, regulatory or other government investigations and proceedings, “for cause” regulatory inspections and indemnification or advancement of related expenses or costs, to the extent any such expenses are considered extraordinary expenses for the purposes of fee disclosure in Form N-1A as the same may be amended from time to time; (b) transaction costs (such as brokerage commissions and dealer and underwriter spreads) and taxes; and (c) other extraordinary expenses as determined for the purposes of fee disclosure in Form N-1A, as the same may be amended from time to time. Without limiting the foregoing, extraordinary expenses are generally those that are unusual or expected to recur only infrequently, and may include such expenses, by way of illustration, as (i) expenses of the reorganization, restructuring, redomiciling or merger of a fund or class or the acquisition of all or substantially all of the assets of another fund or class; (ii) expenses of holding,

 

30


and soliciting proxies for, a meeting of shareholders of each fund or class (except to the extent relating to routine items such as the election of board members or the approval of the independent registered public accounting firm); and (iii) expenses of converting to a new custodian, transfer agent or other service provider, in each case to the extent any such expenses are considered extraordinary expenses for the purposes of fee disclosure in Form N-1A as the same may be amended from time to time.

Custodian and Transfer Agent

State Street Bank and Trust Company (“State Street”), One Lincoln Street Boston, Massachusetts 02111, serves as the custodian of each fund. State Street, among other things, maintains a custody account or accounts in the name of each fund; receives and delivers all assets for each fund upon purchase and upon sale or maturity; collects and receives all income and other payments and distributions on account of the assets of each fund; and makes disbursements on behalf of each fund. State Street neither determines each fund’s investment policies, nor decides which securities each fund will buy or sell. For its services, State Street receives a monthly fee based upon the daily average market value of securities held in custody and also receives securities transaction charges, including out-of-pocket expenses. Each fund may also periodically enter into arrangements with other qualified custodians with respect to certain types of securities or other transactions such as repurchase agreements or derivatives transactions. State Street also acts as each fund’s securities lending agent and receives a share of the income generated by such activities.

PFPC Inc. (“PFPC” or “transfer agent”), located at P.O. Box 9699, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699, serves as each fund’s transfer agent. Under the transfer agency agreement, the transfer agent maintains the shareholder account records for each fund, handles certain communications between shareholders and each fund and distributes dividends and distributions payable by each fund. For these services, the transfer agent receives a monthly fee computed on the basis of the number of shareholder accounts it maintains for each fund during the month, and is reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses. Prior to January 1, 2006, Citicorp Trust Bank, fsb (“CTB”) served as the fund’s transfer agent and PFPC served as the fund’s sub-transfer agent. For the period from [            ], through December 31, 2005, the fund paid transfer agent fees of [$            ] to CTB.

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

[            ], located at [            ] has been engaged as the independent registered public accounting firm for each fund and to render opinions on each fund’s financial statements for the fiscal year ending October 31, 2007.

Counsel

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, 787 Seventh Avenue, New York, New York 10019, serves as counsel to the Trust and each fund. Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP, 180 Maiden Lane, New York, New York, 10038 serves as counsel to the Independent Trustees.

 

31


PORTFOLIO MANAGER DISCLOSURE

Portfolio Managers

The following tables set forth certain additional information with respect to the portfolio managers for each fund. Unless noted otherwise, all information is provided as of October 31, 2006.

Other Accounts Managed by the Portfolio Manager

The table below identifies, for each portfolio manager of the funds as of February 1, 2007, the number of accounts (other than the funds with respect to which information is provided) for which he or she has day-to-day management responsibilities and the total assets in such accounts, within each of the following categories: registered investment companies, other pooled investment vehicles, and other accounts, in each case as of December 31, 2006. None of the accounts shown were subject to fees based on performance.

 

Portfolio Manager

 

Registered Investment Companies

 

Other Pooled Investment Vehicles

 

Other Accounts

[Amy Laguardia]   [NEED INFORMATION ADDED]   [NEED INFORMATION ADDED]   [NEED INFORMATION ADDED]
Charles F. Lovejoy   registered investment companies with $ in total assets under management   other pooled investment vehicles with $ in total assets under management   other accounts with in total assets under management
Thomas Linkas   registered investment companies with $ in total assets under management   other pooled investment vehicles with $ in total assets under management   other accounts with in total assets under management

Portfolio Manager Compensation

[INFORMATION ABOUT COMPENSATION AT BARRETT ASSOCIATES, INC. TO BE INCLUDED BY AMENDMENT]

Under the Batterymarch program, portfolio manager compensation includes a combination of fixed base salary, annual bonus and long-term incentive compensation, as well as a generous benefits package made available to all Batterymarch employees on a non-discretionary basis.

The bonus and long term incentive compensation is discretionary compensation: the amount of such awards is determined on an annual basis following the completion of the firm’s fiscal year. The overall “pool” of discretionary compensation is based on the profitability of the firm for each fiscal year. Individual allocation to portfolio managers is based on several factors, including:

•    Short term and longer term pre-tax investment performance of the product that the portfolio manager works on. Short term performance is one year or less. Longer term performance is generally three- to five -year performance. Performance is evaluated on an aggregate product basis that the portfolio manager is responsible for and is not analyzed by any individual client portfolio, such as a fund. The analysis of this performance is based on comparison to an appropriate MSCI Index as well as a comparison to a group of peer managers;

•    Portfolio manager assistance in servicing clients; and

•    Portfolio manager contribution to new business development.

Portfolio manager compensation is not tied to, nor increased or decreased as the result of, any performance fees that may be earned by Batterymarch. As noted above, compensation is not impacted by the investment performance of any one client account; all performance analysis is reviewed on an aggregate product basis. Portfolio managers do not receive a percentage of the revenue earned on any of Batterymarch’s client portfolios.

 

32


Potential Conflicts of Interest

Potential conflicts of interest may arise when a fund’s portfolio manager also has day-to-day management responsibilities with respect to one or more other funds or other accounts, as is the case for the portfolio managers listed in the table above.

The manager, the subadvisers, and the funds have adopted compliance polices and procedures that are designed to address various conflicts of interest that may arise for the investment adviser and the individuals that it employs. For example, the manager and subadvisers each seek to minimize the effects of competing interests for the time and attention of portfolio managers by assigning portfolio managers to manage funds and accounts that share a similar investment style. The manager and the subadvisers have also adopted trade allocation procedures that are designed to facilitate the fair allocation of limited investment opportunities among multiple funds and accounts. There is no guarantee, however, that the policies and procedures adopted by the manager and the subadvisers and the funds will be able to detect and/or prevent every situation in which an actual or potential conflict may appear.

These potential conflicts include:

Allocation of Limited Time and Attention. A portfolio manager who is responsible for managing multiple funds and/or accounts may devote unequal time and attention to the management of those funds and/or accounts. As a result, the portfolio manager may not be able to formulate as complete a strategy or identify equally attractive investment opportunities for each of those accounts as might be the case if he or she were to devote substantially more attention to the management of a single fund. The effects of this potential conflict may be more pronounced where funds and/or accounts overseen by a particular portfolio manager have different investment strategies.

Allocation of Limited Investment Opportunities. If a portfolio manager identifies a limited investment opportunity that may be suitable for multiple funds and/or accounts, the opportunity may be allocated among these several funds or accounts, which may limit a fund’s ability to take full advantage of the investment opportunity.

Pursuit of Differing Strategies. At times, a portfolio manager may determine that an investment opportunity may be appropriate for only some of the funds and/or accounts for which he or she exercises investment responsibility, or may decide that certain of the funds and/or accounts should take differing positions with respect to a particular security. In these cases, the portfolio manager may place separate transactions for one or more funds or accounts which may affect the market price of the security or the execution of the transaction, or both, to the detriment or benefit of one or more other funds and/or accounts.

Selection of Brokers/Dealers. Portfolio managers may be able to select or influence the selection of the brokers and dealers that are used to execute securities transactions for the funds and/or account that they supervise. In addition to executing trades, some brokers and dealers provide portfolio managers with brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934), which may result in the payment of higher brokerage fees than might have otherwise been available. These services may be more beneficial to certain funds or accounts than to others. Although the payment of brokerage commissions is subject to the requirement that the portfolio manager determine in good faith that the commissions are reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided to each fund, a portfolio manager’s decision as to the selection of brokers and dealers could yield disproportionate costs and benefits among the funds and/or accounts that he or she manages.

Variation in Compensation. A conflict of interest may arise where the financial or other benefits available to the portfolio manager differ among the funds and/or accounts that he or she manages. If the structure of the investment manager’s management fee and/or the portfolio manager’s compensation differs among funds and/or accounts (such as where certain funds or accounts pay higher management fees or performance-based management fees), the portfolio manager might be motivated to help certain funds and/or accounts over others. The portfolio manager might be motivated to favor funds and/or accounts in which he or she has an interest or in which the investment manager and/or its affiliates have interests. Similarly, the desire to maintain or raise assets under management or to enhance the portfolio manager’s performance record or to derive other rewards, financial or otherwise, could influence the portfolio manager in affording preferential treatment to those funds and/or accounts that could most significantly benefit the portfolio manager.

Related Business Opportunities. The investment manager or its affiliates may provide more services (such as distribution or recordkeeping) for some types of funds or accounts than for others. In such cases, a portfolio manager may benefit, either directly or indirectly, by devoting disproportionate attention to the management of funds and/or accounts that provide greater overall returns to the investment manager and its affiliates.

Portfolio Manager Securities Ownership

The table below identifies ownership of funds’ securities by each portfolio manager.

 

Portfolio Manager

   Dollar Range of Ownership of
Securities in the Funds

[Amy Laguardia]

   [INSERT OWNERSHIP]

Charles F. Lovejoy

   None

Thomas Linkas

   None

 

33


Distributors

Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC (“LMIS”), a wholly-owned broker-dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, located at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202; CGMI, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Citigroup, located at 388 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10013; and PFS, located at 3120 Breckinridge Boulevard, Duluth, Georgia 30099-0001 serve as the funds’ distributors pursuant to separate written agreements or amendments to written agreements, in each case dated December 1, 2005 (the “distribution agreements”), which were approved by the Board and by a majority of the Independent Directors, casting votes in person at a meeting called for such purpose, on November 21, 2005. The distribution agreements went into effect on December 1, 2005. Prior to December 1, 2005, CGMI and PFS Distributors, Inc. (“PFS Distributors”), the predecessor in interest to PFS, served as the funds’ distributors.

A distributor’s obligation is an agency or “best efforts” arrangement under which the distributor is required to take and pay only for such shares of each fund as may be sold to the public. A distributor is not obligated to sell any stated number of shares. Each distribution agreement is renewable from year to year if approved (a) by the Trustees or by a vote of a majority of each fund’s outstanding voting securities, and (b) by the affirmative vote of a majority of Trustees who are not parties to such agreement or interested persons of any party by votes cast in person at a meeting called for such purpose. Each distribution agreement provides that it will terminate if assigned, and that it may be terminated without penalty by either party on 60 days’ written notice.

[LMIS, CGMI and PFS may be deemed to be underwriters for purposes of the 1933 Act. From time to time, LMIS, CGMI or PFS or their affiliates may also pay for certain non-cash sales incentives provided to PFS Registered Representatives. Such incentives do not have any effect on the net amount invested. In addition to the reallowances from the applicable public offering price described below, PFS may, from time to time, pay or allow additional reallowances or promotional incentives, in the form of cash or other compensation, to PFS Registered Representatives that sell shares of each fund.]

Distribution expenses incurred by LMIS, CGMI and/or PFS for advertising, printing and mailing prospectuses, support services and overhead expenses, payments to their financial advisers or registered representative and for accruals for interest on expenses incurred in the distribution of each fund’s shares are set forth in the following tables:

[To be updated by amendment]

 

Fund Name

   Financial
Advisor
Compensation
   Branch
Expenses
   Marketing &
Advertising
Expenses
   Printing
Expenses
   Total
Expenses

Financial Services Fund

              

A

   $      $      $      $      $  

B

              

C

              
                                  

Total

   $      $      $      $      $  
                                  

Technology Fund

              

A

   $      $      $      $      $  

B

              

C

              
                                  
   $      $      $      $      $  
                                  

Dealer reallowances are described in each fund’s prospectus.

Initial Sales Charges

The aggregate dollar amount of initial sales charges on Class A and Class C shares received by CGMI and PFS Distributors were as follows:

Class A Shares

 

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $  

Technology Fund

  

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2005:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $ 133,000

Technology Fund

     72,000

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2004:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $ 72,000

Technology Fund

     114,000

 

34


For each fund, retained by PFS Distributors for the fiscal years ended October 31, 2004, 2005, and 2006:

 

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $  

Technology Fund

  

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2005:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $ 64,213

Technology Fund

     63,714

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2004:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $ 57,506

Technology Fund

     84,897

Class B Shares

  

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $  

Technology Fund

  

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2005:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $ 0

Technology Fund

     0

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2004:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $ 0

Technology Fund

  

Class C Shares

  

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $  

Technology Fund

  

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2005:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $ 0

Technology Fund

     0

For fiscal year ended October 31, 2004:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $ 3,000

Technology Fund

     8,000

 

35


Deferred Sales Charge

The aggregate dollar amount of deferred sales charges on Class A, Class B and Class C shares received by CGMI and PFS Distributors were as follows:

 

Class A Shares

  

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $  

Technology Fund

  

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2005:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $ 0

Technology Fund

     1,000

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2004:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $ 0

Technology Fund

     3,000

Class B Shares

  

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $  

Technology Fund

  

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2005:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $ 49,000

Technology Fund

     71,000

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2004:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $ 79,000

Technology Fund

     108,000
For each fund retained by PFS Distributors for the fiscal years ended October 31, 2006, 2005, and 2004:

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $  

Technology Fund

  

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2005:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $ 19,933

Technology Fund

     19,365

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2004:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $ 19,755

Technology Fund

     23,127

Class C Shares

  

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $  

Technology Fund

  

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2005:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $ 1,000

Technology Fund

     2,000

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2004:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $ 0

Technology Fund

     4,000

Services and Distribution Plan Arrangements

The Trust, on behalf of each fund, has adopted an amended shareholder services and distribution plan (the “Distribution Plan” or “12b-1 Plan” ) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act with respect to Class A, Class B and Class C shares of each fund. Under the Distribution Plan, the funds pay service and distribution fees to each of LMIS, CGMI and PFS for the services they provide and expenses they bear with respect to the distribution of Class A, Class B and Class C shares and providing services to Class A, Class B and Class C shareholders. The expenses intended to be covered by the distribution fees include those of each co-distributor. The co-distributors will provide the Board with periodic reports of amounts expended under the Distribution Plan and the purposes for which such expenditures were made. Each fund pays service fees, accrued daily and payable monthly, calculated at the annual rate

 

36


of 0.25% of the value of each fund’s average daily net assets attributable to each fund’s Class A, Class B and Class C shares. In addition, each fund pays distribution fees with respect to the Class B and Class C shares at the annual rate of 0.75% of each respective fund’s average daily net assets.

Fees under the Distribution Plan may be used to make payments to the distributors for distribution services, to Service Agents in respect of the sale of shares of each fund, and to other parties in respect of the sale of shares of each fund, and to make payments for advertising, marketing or other promotional activity, and payments for preparation, printing, and distribution of prospectuses, statements of additional information and reports for recipients other than regulators and existing shareholders. Each fund also may make payments to the distributor, Service Agents and others for providing personal service or the maintenance of shareholder accounts. The amounts paid by the distributor to each recipient may vary based upon certain factors, including, among other things, the levels of sales of fund shares and/or shareholder services provided.

The 12b-1 Plan also provides that the distributor and Service Agents may receive all or a portion of the sales charges paid by Class A, Class B and Class C investors.

The 12b-1 Plan permits each fund to pay fees to a distributor, Service Agents and others as compensation for their services, not as reimbursement for specific expenses incurred. Thus, even if their expenses exceed the fees provided for by the 12b-1 Plan, neither fund will be obligated to pay more than those fees and, if their expenses are less than the fees paid to them, they will realize a profit. Each fund may pay the fees to a distributor and others until the 12b-1 Plan or Distribution Agreement is terminated or not renewed. In that event, a distributor’s or other recipient’s expenses in excess of fees received or accrued through the termination date will be the distributor’s or other recipient’s sole responsibility and not obligations of each fund. In their annual consideration of the continuation of the 12b-1 Plan for each fund, the Trustees will review the 12b-1 Plan and the expenses for each class within each fund separately.

The 12b-1 Plan also recognizes that various service providers to each fund, such as the manager, may make payments for distribution related expenses out of their own resources, including past profits, or payments received from each fund for other purposes, such as management fees, and that the funds’ distributors or Service Agents may from time to time use their own resources for distribution-related services, in addition to the fees paid under the 12b-1 Plan. The 12b-1 Plan specifically provides that, to the extent that such payments might be deemed to be indirect financing of any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the funds within the context of Rule 12b-1, then the payments are deemed to be authorized by the 12b-1 Plan, if permitted under applicable law.

The 12b-1 Plan continues in effect if such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by a vote of both a majority of the Trustees and a majority of the Trustees who are not “interested persons” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the Trust and who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the 12b-1 Plan or in any agreement related to the 12b-1 Plan (for purposes of this paragraph “Qualified Trustees”). The Trustees, in the exercise of their business judgment in the best interests of the shareholders of the funds and each class, have approved the continuation of the 12b-1 Plan. The 12b-1 Plan requires that the Trust and the distributor provide to the Board and the Board review, at least quarterly, a written report of the amounts expended (and the purposes therefor) under the 12b-1 Plan. The 12b-1 Plan further provides that the selection and nomination of the Qualified Trustees is committed to the discretion of the Qualified Trustees then in office who are not interested Trustees of the Trust. The 12b-1 Plan may be terminated with respect to any class of the funds at any time by a vote of a majority of the Trust’s Qualified Trustees or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of that class. The 12b-1 Plan may not be amended to increase materially the amount of permitted expenses of the class thereunder without the approval of a majority of the outstanding securities of that class and may not be materially amended in any case without a vote of a majority of both the Trustees and Qualified Trustees. The funds will preserve copies of any plan, agreement or report made pursuant to the 12b-1 Plan for a period of not less than six years, and for the first two years each fund will preserve such copies in an easily accessible place.

As contemplated by the 12b-1 Plan, each distributor acts as an agent of the Trust in connection with the offering of shares of each fund pursuant to the respective Distribution Agreements.

Prior to December 1, 2005, each fund paid service and distribution fees directly to CGMI and PFS Distributors under separate 12b-1 Plans with respect to shares sold through CGMI and PFS Distributors.

 

37


Service Fees and Distribution Fees

 

Class A Shares

  

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $  

Technology Fund

  

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2005:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $ 42,323

Technology Fund

     56,678

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2004:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $ 41,110

Technology Fund

     65,563

Class B Shares

  

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $  

Technology Fund

  

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2005:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $ 275,221

Technology Fund

     330,173

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2004:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $ 308,532

Technology Fund

     386,246

Class C Shares

  

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $  

Technology Fund

  

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2005:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $ 149,521

Technology Fund

     202,968

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2004:

  

Financial Services Fund

   $ 182,329

Technology Fund

     283,294

 

38


Code of Ethics

Pursuant to Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act, the funds, the manager, the subadvisers and distributors have adopted codes of ethics that permit personnel to invest in securities for their own accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by each fund. All personnel must place the interests of clients first and avoid activities, interests and relationships that might interfere with the duty to make decisions in the best interests of the clients. All personal securities transactions by employees must adhere to the requirements of the code and must be conducted in such a manner as to avoid any actual or potential conflict of interest, the appearance of such a conflict, or the abuse of an employee’s position of trust and responsibility. Copies of the funds’, the manager’s, the subadvisers’, and the distributors’ Codes of Ethics are on file with the SEC.

Proxy Voting Guidelines and Procedures

Although individual Trustees may not agree with particular policies or votes by the manager or subadvisers, the Board has delegated proxy voting discretion to the manager and/or the subadvisers, believing that the manager and/or the subadvisers should be responsible for voting because it is a matter relating to the investment decision making process.

LMPFA delegates the responsibility for voting proxies for the funds, as applicable, to the subadvisers through its contracts with the subadvisers. The subadvisers will use their own proxy voting policies and procedures to vote proxies. Accordingly, LMPFA does not expect to have proxy-voting responsibility for the funds. Should LMPFA become responsible for voting proxies for any reason, such as the inability of a subadvisers to provide investment advisory services, LMPFA shall utilize the proxy voting guidelines established by the most recent subadviser to vote proxies until a new subadviser is retained. In the case of a material conflict between the interests of LMPFA (or its affiliates if such conflict is known to persons responsible for voting at LMPFA) and the funds, the board of directors of LMPFA shall consider how to address the conflict and/or how to vote the proxies. LMPFA shall maintain records of all proxy votes in accordance with applicable securities laws and regulations, to the extent that LMPFA votes proxies. LMPFA shall be responsible for gathering relevant documents and records related to proxy voting from the subadvisers and providing them to the funds as required for the funds to comply with applicable rules under the 1940 Act.

The subadvisers’ Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures govern in determining how proxies relating to each fund’s portfolio securities are voted and are attached as Appendix A to this SAI. Information regarding how each fund voted proxies (if any) relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available without charge (1) by calling 1-888-425-6432, (2) on the funds’ website at leggmason.com/InvestorServices and (3) on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS

Subject to policies as may be established by the Board from time to time, the subadvisers are primarily responsible for each fund’s portfolio decisions and the placing of each fund’s portfolio transactions, except that the manager manages the cash and short-term investments of each fund. Transactions on stock exchanges involve the payment of negotiated brokerage commissions. There is generally no stated commission in the case of securities traded in the over-the-counter market, but the price of those securities includes an undisclosed commission or mark-up. Over-the-counter purchases and sales are transacted directly with principal market makers except where it is believed that better prices and executions may be obtained elsewhere. The cost of securities purchased from underwriters includes an underwriting commission or concession, and the prices at which securities are purchased from and sold to dealers include a dealer’s mark-up or mark-down. The aggregate brokerage commissions paid by each fund for the three most recent fiscal years is set forth below under “Aggregate Brokerage Commissions Paid.”

 

39


Pursuant to the Management Agreement and Sub-Advisory Agreement, the manager and the subadvisers are authorized to place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for a fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. The general policy of the manager and subadvisers in selecting brokers and dealers is to obtain the best results achievable in the context of a number of factors which are considered both in relation to individual trades and broader trading patterns, including the reliability of the broker/dealer, the competitiveness of the price and the commission, the research services received and whether the broker/dealer commits its own capital. In connection with the manager’s or subadvisers’ monitoring of its portfolio transactions for compliance with its policies, the manager and subadvisers each utilize both an internal committee and a third party service provider.

In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) to each fund and/or the other accounts over which the manager, the subadvisers or their affiliates exercise investment discretion. The manager and subadvisers are authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for each fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the manager or subadvisers determine in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities that the manager, the subadvisers and their affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The manager and/or subadvisers may also have arrangements with brokers pursuant to which such brokers provide research services to the manager or subadvisers, as applicable, in exchange for a certain volume of brokerage transactions to be executed by such brokers. While the payment of higher commissions increases each fund’s costs, neither the manager nor the subadvisers believe that the receipt of such brokerage and research services significantly reduces its expenses as manager or subadviser. Arrangements for the receipt of research services from brokers may create conflicts of interest.

 

40


Research services furnished to the manager or subadvisers by brokers who effect securities transactions for each fund may be used by the manager or subadvisers in servicing other investment companies and accounts which it manages. Similarly, research services furnished to the manager or subadvisers by brokers who effect securities transactions for other investment companies and accounts which the manager or subadvisers manage may be used by the manager or subadvisers, as applicable, in servicing a fund. Not all of these research services are used by the manager or subadvisers in managing any particular account, including each fund. For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, each fund paid commissions to brokers that provided research services as follows:

 

Total Dollar Amount of

Brokerage Transactions

Related to Research Services

  

Total Dollar Amount of

Brokerage Commissions

Paid on Transactions

Related to Research Services

$                 $             

Each fund contemplates that, consistent with the policy of obtaining the best net results, brokerage transactions may be conducted through “affiliated broker/dealers”, as defined in the 1940 Act. The Board has adopted procedures in accordance with Rule 17e-1 promulgated under the 1940 Act to ensure that all brokerage commissions paid to such affiliates are reasonable and fair in the context of the market in which such affiliates operate. Effective December 1, 2005 CGMI is no longer an affiliated person of the funds under the 1940 Act. As a result, the funds will be permitted to execute portfolio transactions with CGMI or an affiliate of CGMI as agent (but not as principal) without being subject to the restrictions applicable to transactions with affiliated persons.

Aggregate Brokerage Commissions Paid

For the fiscal years ended October 31, 2004, 2005, and 2006, each fund paid aggregate brokerage commissions to CGMI and its affiliates as set forth in the table below In addition , for the same period, the percentage of each fund’s aggregate brokerage commissions paid to CGMI and its affiliates and the percentage of each fund’s aggregate dollar amount of transactions involving the payment of commissions effected through CGMI and its affiliates were as follows.

 

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006:*

   Aggregate
Brokerage
Commissions
Paid
   Amount of
Brokerage
Commissions
Paid by Each
Fund
to CGMI and
Affiliates
   The Percentage of
Each Fund’s
Aggregate
Brokerage
Commissions Paid
to CGMI and
Affiliates
    The Percentage of
Each Fund’s
Aggregate
Dollar Amount of
Transactions
Involving the
Payment of
Commissions
Effected Through
CGMI and Affiliates
 

Financial Services Fund

   $      $        %     %

Technology Fund

           %     %

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2005:

                      

Financial Services Fund

   $ $36,246    $ 0    0 %   0 %

Technology Fund

     60,526      0    0 %   0 %

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2004:

          

Financial Services Fund

   $ 53,939    $ 4,256    7.89 %   9.27 %

Technology Fund

     226,201      9,427    4.17 %   17.83 %

* CGMI was not an affiliated person of the funds under the 1940 Act during the entire period.

As of December 1, 2005, LMIS became an affiliated person of the funds under the 1940 Act. For the period December 1, 2005 through October 31, 2006, the funds did not pay any brokerage commissions to LMIS or its affiliates.

During the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, the funds purchased securities issued by the following regular broker-dealers of the funds, which had the following values as of October 31, 2006:

 

Broker-Dealer   

Value of Securities as of

October 31, 2006

$                 $  
$                 $  

 

41


PORTFOLIO TURNOVER

Each fund’s portfolio turnover rate (the lesser of purchases or sales of portfolio securities during the year, excluding purchases or sales of short-term securities, divided by the monthly average value of portfolio securities) is generally not expected to exceed 100%. The rate of turnover will not be a limiting factor, however, when a fund deems it desirable to sell or purchase securities. The subadvisers may cause each fund to sell or purchase securities to ensure compliance with each fund’s investment policies.

In certain instances there may be securities that are suitable as an investment for a fund as well as for one or more of the manager’s or subadvisers’ other clients. Investment decisions for the funds and for the manager’s or subadvisers’ other clients are made with a view to achieving their respective investment objectives. It may develop that a particular security is bought or sold for only one client even though it might be held by, or bought or sold for, other clients. Likewise, a particular security may be bought for one or more clients when one or more clients are selling the same security. Some simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several clients receive investment advice from the same investment adviser, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objectives of more than one client. When two or more clients are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security, the securities are allocated among clients in a manner believed to be equitable to each. It is recognized that in some cases this system could adversely affect the price of or the size of the position obtainable in a security for the funds. When purchases or sales of the same security for the funds and for other funds managed by the adviser occur contemporaneously, the purchase or sale orders may be aggregated in order to obtain any price advantages available to large volume purchases or sales.

For reporting purposes, each fund’s portfolio turnover rate is calculated by dividing the lesser of purchases or sales of portfolio securities for the fiscal year by the monthly average of the value of the portfolio securities owned by each fund during the fiscal year. In determining such portfolio turnover, all securities whose maturities at the time of acquisition were one year or less are excluded. A 100% portfolio turnover rate would occur, for example, if all of the securities in a fund’s investment portfolio (other than short- term money market securities) were replaced once during the fiscal year. Portfolio turnover will not be a limiting factor should the manager or subadvisers deem it advisable to purchase or sell securities.

 

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006:

  

Financial Services Fund

   %  

Technology Fund

   %  

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2005:

  

Financial Services Fund

   29 %

Technology Fund

   16 %

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2004:

  

Financial Services Fund

   49 %

Technology Fund

   64 %

In the event that portfolio turnover increases, this increase necessarily results in correspondingly greater transaction costs which must be paid by the fund. To the extent portfolio trading results in realization of net short-term capital gains, shareholders will be taxed on such gains at ordinary tax rates (except shareholders who invest through IRAs and other retirement plans which are not taxed currently on accumulations in their accounts).

The Financial Services Fund has proposed a change to its investment strategy effective [            ] and as a result, that fund may experience increased portfolio turnover for its fiscal year ending October 31, 2007. The proposed changes are likely to require approximately 37% of the Financial Services Fund to be sold and reinvested. If effected as of a recent date, such turnover would be expected to result in the recognition of short-term capital gains and long-term capital gains per share of approximately $0.06 and $0.01, respectively. It is anticipated that the costs of repositioning the Financial Services Fund would total approximately $80,000, or $0.03 per share (including trading and commission expenses), without taking into account the effects of any proposed merger involving the fund.

PURCHASE OF SHARES

General

Investors may purchase shares from a Service Agent. In addition, certain investors, including retirement plans purchasing through certain Service Agents, may purchase shares directly from each fund. When purchasing shares of a fund, investors must specify whether the purchase is for Class A, B, C or I 1 shares. Service Agents may charge their customers an annual account maintenance fee in connection with a brokerage account through which an investor purchases or holds shares. Accounts held directly the transfer agent are not subject to a maintenance fee.

 


1 As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

42


For additional information regarding applicable investment minimums and eligibility requirements, please see the funds’ prospectus.

There are no minimum investment requirements for purchases of Class A shares by: (i) current and retired board members of Legg Mason, Inc., (ii) current and retired board members of any fund advised by LMPFA (such board members, together with board members of Legg Mason, Inc., are referred to herein as “Board Members”), (iii) current employees of Legg Mason, Inc. and its subsidiaries, (iv) the “immediate families” of such persons (“immediate families” are such person’s spouse, including the surviving spouse of a deceased Board Member, and children under the age of 21) and (v) a pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for the benefit of such persons. Each fund reserves the right to waive or change minimums, to decline any order to purchase its shares and to suspend the offering of shares from time to time.

Purchase orders received by each fund or a Service Agent prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE on any day each fund calculates its net asset value are priced according to the net asset value determined on that day (the “trade date”). Orders received by a Service Agent prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE on any day each fund calculates its net asset value are priced according to the net asset value determined on that day, provided the order is received by the fund’s agent prior to its close of business. For shares purchased through CGMI or a Service Agent purchasing through CGMI, payment for shares of each fund is normally due on the third business day after the trade date. In all other cases, payment must be made with the purchase order.

Systematic Investment Plan. Shareholders may make additions to their accounts at any time by purchasing shares through a service known as the Systematic Investment Plan. Under the Systematic Investment Plan, a distributor, the transfer agent, or, with respect to a PFS account, Primerica Shareholder Services, is authorized through preauthorized transfers of at least $25 on a monthly, quarterly, every alternate month, semi-annual or annual basis to charge the shareholder’s account held with a bank or other financial institution as indicated by the shareholder, to provide for systematic additions to the shareholder’s fund account. A shareholder who has insufficient funds to complete the transfer will be charged a fee of up to $25 by a distributor, the transfer agent or Primerica Shareholder Services (such fee may be up to $30 for a PFS account). The Systematic Investment Plan also authorizes a distributor to apply cash held in the shareholder’s brokerage account or redeem the shareholder’s shares of certain money market funds managed by the manager or its affiliates to make additions to the account. Additional information is available from each fund or a Service Agent.

 

43


Sales Charge Alternatives

The following classes of shares are available for purchase. See the prospectus for a discussion of who is eligible to purchase certain classes and of factors to consider in selecting which class of shares to purchase.

Class A Shares . Class A shares are sold to investors at the public offering price, which is the net asset value plus an initial sales charge, as described in the funds’ prospectus.

Members of the selling group may receive a portion of the sales charge as described in the funds’ prospectus and may be deemed to be underwriters of the funds as defined in the 1933 Act. Sales charges are calculated based on the aggregate of purchases of Class A shares of the funds made at one time by any “person,” which includes an individual and his or her spouse and children under the age of 21, or a trustee or other fiduciary of a single trust estate or single fiduciary account. For additional information regarding sales charge reductions, see “Sales Charge Waivers and Reductions” below.

Purchases of Class A shares of $1,000,000 or more will be made at net asset value without any initial sales charge, but will be subject to a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00% on redemption made within 12 months of purchase. The contingent deferred sales charge is waived in the same circumstances in which the contingent deferred sales charge applicable to Class B and C shares is waived. See “Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Provisions” and “Waivers of Contingent Deferred Sales Charge” below.

Class B and C Shares. Class B and C shares are sold without an initial sales charge but are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge payable upon certain redemptions. See “ Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Provisions.”

Class I Shares. Class I shares are sold at net asset value with no initial sales charge and no contingent deferred sales charge upon redemption.

Sales Charge Waivers and Reductions

Initial Sales Charge Waivers. Purchases of Class A shares may be made at NAV without an initial sales charge in the following circumstances:

 

(a) sales to (i) current and retired board members of Legg Mason (ii) current and retired Board Members (iii) current employees of Legg Mason and its subsidiaries, as well as (iv) by the ‘immediate families” of such persons (“immediate families” are such person’s spouse, including the surviving spouse of a deceased Board Member, and children under the age of 21) and (v) by a pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for the benefit of such persons;

 

(b) sales to any employees of Service Agents having dealer, service or other selling agreements with the funds’ distributors or otherwise having an arrangement with any such Service Agent with respect to sales of shares of the funds, and by the immediate families of such persons or by a pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for the benefit of such persons (providing the purchase is made for investment purposes and such securities will not be resold except through redemption or repurchase);

 

(c) offers of Class A shares to any other investment company to effect the combination of such company with the funds by merger, acquisition of assets or otherwise;

 

(d) purchases by shareholders who have redeemed Class A shares in a fund (or Class A shares of another Legg Mason Partners fund that is offered with a sales charge) and who wish to reinvest their redemption proceeds in the fund, provided the reinvestment is made within 60 calendar days of the redemption;

 

44


(e) purchases by accounts managed by registered investment advisory subsidiaries of Citigroup;

 

(f) purchases by certain separate accounts used to fund unregistered variable annuity contracts; and

 

(g) purchases by investors participating in “wrap fee” or asset allocation programs or other fee-based arrangements sponsored by (affiliated and non-affiliated) broker-dealers and other financial institutions that have entered into agreements with CGMI or LMIS.

In order to obtain such discounts, the purchaser must provide sufficient information at the time of purchase to permit verification that the purchase qualifies for the elimination of the sales charge.

Accumulation Privilege— Please see the funds’ prospectus for information regarding accumulation privileges.

Letter of Intent— helps you take advantage of breakpoints in Class A sales charges. You may purchase Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners funds over a 13-month period and pay the same sales charge, if any, as if all shares had been purchased at once. You have a choice of seven Asset Level Goal amounts, as follows:

 

(1) $ 25,000    (4) $ 250,000
(2) $ 50,000    (5) $ 500,000
(3) $ 100,000    (6) $ 750,000
   (7) $ 1,000,000

Each time you make a Class A purchase under a Letter of Intent, you will be entitled to the sales charge that is applicable to the amount of your Asset Level Goal. For example, if your Asset Level Goal is $100,000, any Class A investments you make under a Letter of Intent would be subject to the sales charge of the specific fund you are investing in for purchases of $100,000. Sales charges and breakpoints vary among the Legg Mason Partners Funds.

 

45


When you enter into a Letter of Intent, you agree to purchase in Eligible Accounts over a thirteen (13) month period Eligible Fund Purchases in an amount equal to the Asset Level Goal you have selected, less any Eligible Prior Purchases. For this purpose, shares are valued at the public offering price (including any sales charge paid) calculated as of the date of purchase, plus any appreciation in the value of the shares as of the date of calculation, except for Eligible Prior Purchases, which are valued at current value as of the date of calculation. Your commitment will be met if at any time during the 13-month period the value, as so determined, of eligible holdings is at least equal to your Asset Level Goal. All reinvested dividends and distributions on shares acquired under the Letter will be credited towards your Asset Level Goal. You may include any Eligible Fund Purchases towards the Letter, including shares of classes other than Class A shares. However, a Letter of Intent will not entitle you to a reduction in the sales charge payable on any shares other than Class A shares, and if the shares are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge, you will still be subject to that contingent deferred sales charge with respect to those shares. You must make reference to the Letter of Intent each time you make a purchase under the Letter.

Eligible Fund Purchases. Generally, any shares of a Legg Mason Partners Fund may be credited towards your Asset Level Goal. Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or its affiliates (except for money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners Funds offered with a sales charge), Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. are not eligible.

This list may change from time to time. Investors should check with their Service Agent to see which funds may be eligible.

Eligible Accounts. Purchases may be made through any account in your name, or in the name of your spouse or your children under the age of 21. You may need to provide certain records, such as account statements, in order to verify your eligibility for reduced sales charges. Contact your Service Agent to see which accounts may be credited toward your Asset Level Goal.

Eligible Prior Purchase. You may also credit towards your Asset Level Goal any Eligible Fund Purchases made in Eligible Accounts at any time prior to entering into the Letter of Intent that have not been sold or redeemed, based on the current price of those shares as of the date of calculation.

Backdating Letter. You may establish a date for a Letter of Intent that is up to ninety (90) calendar days prior to the date you enter into the Letter. Any Eligible Fund Purchases in Eligible Accounts made during that period will count towards your Goal and will also be eligible for the lower sales charge applicable to your Asset Level Goal. You will be credited by way of additional shares at the current offering price for the difference between (a) the aggregate sales charges actually paid for those eligible shares and (b) the aggregate applicable sales charges for your Asset Level Goal.

Increasing the Amount of the Letter. You may at any time increase your Asset Level Goal. You must, however, contact your Service Agent, or if you purchase your shares directly through PFPC, contact PFPC, prior to making any purchases in an amount in excess of your current Asset Level Goal. Upon such an increase, you will be credited by way of additional shares at the then current offering price for the difference between: (a) the aggregate sales charges actually paid for shares already purchased under the Letter and (b) the aggregate applicable sales charges for the increased Asset Level Goal. The 13-month period during which the Asset Level Goal must be achieved will remain unchanged.

Sales and Exchanges. Shares acquired pursuant to a Letter of Intent, other than Escrowed Shares as defined below, may be redeemed or exchanged at any time, although any shares that are redeemed prior to meeting your Asset Level Goal will no longer count towards meeting your Goal. However, complete liquidation of purchases made under a Letter of Intent prior to meeting the

 

46


Asset Level Goal will result in the cancellation of the Letter. See “Failure to Meet Asset Level Goal” below. Exchanges in accordance with each fund’s prospectus are permitted, and shares so exchanged will continue to count towards your Asset Level Goal, as long as the exchange results in an Eligible Fund Purchase.

Cancellation of Letter. You may cancel a Letter of Intent by notifying your Service Agent in writing, or if you purchase your shares directly through PFPC, by notifying PFPC in writing. The Letter will be automatically cancelled if all shares are sold or redeemed as set forth above. See “Failure to Meet Asset Level Goal” below.

Escrowed Shares. Shares equal in value to five percent (5%) of your Asset Level Goal as of the date your Letter (or the date of any increase in the amount of the Letter) is accepted, will be held in escrow during the term of your Letter. The Escrowed Shares will be included in the total shares owned as reflected in your account statement and any dividends and capital gains distributions applicable to the Escrowed Shares will be credited to your account and counted towards your Asset Level Goal or paid in cash upon request. The Escrowed Shares will be released from escrow if all the terms of your Letter are met.

Failure to Meet Asset Level Goal. If the total assets under your Letter of Intent within its 13-month term are less than your Asset Level Goal or you elect to liquidate all of your holdings or cancel the Letter before reaching your Asset Level Goal, you will be liable for the difference between: (a) the sales charge actually paid and (b) the sales charge that would have applied if you had not entered into the Letter. You may, however, be entitled to any breakpoints that would have been available to you under the accumulation privilege. An appropriate number of shares in your account will be redeemed to realize the amount due. For these purposes, by entering into a Letter of Intent, you irrevocably appoint your Service Agent or if you purchase your shares directly through PFPC, PFPC, as your attorney-in-fact for the purposes of holding the Escrowed Shares and surrendering shares in your account for redemption. If there are insufficient assets in your account, you will be liable for the difference. Any Escrowed Shares remaining after such redemption will be released to your account.

Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Provisions

“Contingent deferred sales charge shares” are: (a) Class B shares; (b) Class C shares; and (c) Class A shares that were purchased without an initial sales charge but are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge. A contingent deferred sales charge may be imposed on certain redemptions of these shares.

Any applicable contingent deferred sales charge will be assessed on the net asset value at the time of purchase or redemption, whichever is less.

Class C shares and Class A shares that are contingent deferred sales charge shares are subject to a 1.00% contingent deferred sales charge if redeemed within 12 months of purchase. In circumstances in which the contingent deferred sales charge is imposed on Class B shares, the amount of the charge will depend on the number of years since the shareholder made the purchase payment from which the amount is being redeemed, as further described in the prospectus. Solely for purposes of determining the number of years since a purchase payment, all purchase payments made during a month will be aggregated and deemed to have been made on the last day of the preceding statement month.

 

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Class B shares will convert automatically to Class A shares approximately eight years after the date on which they were purchased and thereafter will no longer be subject to any distribution fees. There will also be converted at that time such proportion of Class B dividend shares (Class B shares that were acquired through the reinvestment of dividends and distributions) owned by the shareholders as the total number of his or her Class B shares converting at the time bears to the total number of outstanding Class B shares (other than Class B dividend shares) owned by the shareholder.

In determining the applicability of any contingent deferred sales charge, it will be assumed that a redemption is made first of shares representing capital appreciation, next of shares representing the reinvestment of dividends and capital gain distributions, next of shares that are not subject to the contingent deferred sales charge and finally of other shares held by the shareholder for the longest period of time. The length of time that contingent deferred sales charge shares acquired through an exchange have been held will be calculated from the date the shares exchanged were initially acquired in one of the other Legg Mason Partners mutual funds. For federal income tax purposes, the amount of the contingent deferred sales charge will reduce the gain or increase the loss, as the case may be, on the amount realized on redemption. The funds’ distributors receive contingent deferred sales charges in partial consideration for the expenses in selling shares.

Waivers of Contingent Deferred Sales Charge

The contingent deferred sales charge will be waived on: (a) exchanges (see “Exchange Privilege”); (b) automatic cash withdrawals in amounts equal to or less than 2.00% of the shareholder’s account balance at the time the withdrawals commence per month, up to a maximum of 12% in one year (see “Automatic Cash Withdrawal Plan”); (c) redemptions of shares within 12 months following the death or disability (as defined in the Code) of the shareholder; (d) mandatory post-retirement distributions from retirement plans or IRAs commencing on or after attainment of age 70  1 / 2 (except that shareholders who purchased shares subject to a contingent deferred sales charge prior to May 23, 2005, will be “grandfathered” and will be eligible to obtain the waiver at age 59  1 / 2 by demonstrating such eligibility at the time of redemption); (e) involuntary redemptions; (f) redemptions of shares to effect a combination of a fund with any investment company by merger, acquisition of assets or otherwise; (g) tax-free returns of an excess contribution to any retirement plan; and (h) certain redemptions of shares of a fund in connection with lump-sum or other distributions made by eligible retirement plans or redemption of shares by participants in certain “wrap fee” or asset allocation programs sponsored by broker-dealers and other financial institutions that have entered into agreements with a distributor or the manager.

As of November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge will be waived on new Class C shares purchased by retirement plan omnibus accounts held on the books of a fund.

A shareholder who has redeemed shares from other Legg Mason Partners Funds may, under certain circumstances, reinvest all or part of the redemption proceeds within 60 days and receive pro rata credit for any contingent deferred sales charge imposed on the prior redemption.

Contingent deferred sales charge waivers will be granted subject to confirmation by a distributor or the transfer agent of the shareholder’s status or holdings, as the case may be.

 

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PFS Accounts

Each fund offers two classes of shares to investors purchasing through PFS: Class A and B shares.

Initial purchases of shares of each fund must be made through a PFS Registered Representative by completing the appropriate application. The completed application should be forwarded to Primerica Shareholder Services c/o PFPC Inc., P.O. Box 9662, Providence, RI 02940-9662. Checks drawn on foreign banks must be payable in U.S. dollars and have the routing number of the U.S. bank encoded on the check. Additional investments may be sent directly to PFPC. In processing applications and investments, PFPC acts as agent for the investor and for the distributor, in accordance with the terms of the prospectus. If the transfer agent ceases to act as such, a successor company named by the funds will act in the same capacity so long as the account remains open. Shares purchased will be held in the shareholder’s account by PFPC.

Purchase orders received by the transfer agent or Primerica Shareholder Services prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE, on any day each fund calculates its net asset value, are priced according to the net asset value determined on that day.

Initial purchases of fund shares may be made by wire. Before sending the wire, the PFS Registered Representative must contact Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 665-8677 to obtain proper wire instructions. Once an account is open, a shareholder may make additional investments by wire. The shareholder should contact Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445 to obtain proper wire instructions.

Shareholders who establish telephone transaction authority on their account and supply bank account information may make additions to their accounts at any time. Shareholders should contact Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern time any day that the NYSE is open. If a shareholder does not wish to allow subsequent investments by telephone by any person in his or her account, the shareholder should decline the telephone transaction option on the account application. The minimum subsequent investment by telephone is $25 and can be up to a maximum of $50,000. By requesting a subsequent purchase by telephone, you authorize Primerica Shareholder Services to transfer funds from the bank account provided for the amount of the purchase. Subsequent investments by telephone may not be available if the shareholder cannot reach Primerica Shareholder Services whether because all telephone lines are busy or for any other reason; in such case, a shareholder would have to use the regular subsequent investment procedure described above.

An account transcript is available at a shareholder’s request, which identifies every financial transaction in an account since it has opened. Additional copies of tax forms are available at the shareholder’s request.

Additional information regarding Primerica Shareholder Services may be obtained by contacting the Customer Services Department at (800) 544-5445.

Determination of Public Offering Price

Each fund offers its shares on a continuous basis. The public offering price for each class of shares of each fund is equal to the net asset value per share at the time of purchase, plus for Class A shares an initial sales charge based on the aggregate amount of the investment. A contingent deferred sales charge, however, is imposed on certain redemptions of Class A, B and C shares.

Set forth below is an example of the method of computing the offering price of the Class A shares of each fund based on the net asset value of a share of each fund as of October 31, 2006.

 

Financial Service Fund   

Class A (net asset value of [$              ] plus

the maximum initial sales charge of [% ]

of net asset value per share)

   $             
Technology Fund   

Class A (net asset value of [$              ] plus

the maximum initial sales charge of [% ]

of net asset value per share)

   $             

REDEMPTION OF SHARES

The right of redemption may be suspended or the date of payment postponed (a) for any period during which the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is closed (other than for customary weekend and holiday closings), (b) when trading in the markets a fund normally utilizes is restricted, or an emergency exists, as determined by the SEC, so that disposal of a fund’s investments or determination of net asset value is not reasonably practicable or (c) for such other periods as the SEC by order may permit for protection of a fund’s shareholders.

 

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If the shares to be redeemed were issued in certificate form, the certificates must be endorsed for transfer (or be accompanied by an endorsed stock power) and must be submitted to PFPC together with the redemption request. Any signature appearing on a share certificate, stock power or written redemption request in excess of $50,000 must be guaranteed by an eligible guarantor institution such as a domestic bank, savings and loan institution, domestic credit union, member bank of the Federal Reserve System or member firm of a national securities exchange. Written redemption requests of $50,000 or less do not require a signature guarantee unless more than one such redemption request is made in any 10-day period. Redemption proceeds will be mailed to an investor’s address of record. The transfer agent may require additional supporting documents for redemptions made by corporations, executors, administrators, trustees or guardians. A redemption request will not be deemed properly received until the transfer agent receives all required documents in proper form.

If a shareholder holds shares in more than one class, any request for redemption must specify the class being redeemed. In the event of a failure to specify which class, or if the investor owns fewer shares of the class than specified, the redemption request will be delayed until the transfer agent receives further instructions. The redemption proceeds will be remitted on or before the seventh business day following receipt of proper tender, except on any days on which the NYSE is closed or as permitted under the 1940 Act, in extraordinary circumstances. Redemption proceeds for shares purchased by check, other than a certified or official bank check, will be remitted upon clearance of the check, which may take up to ten days. Each Service Agent is responsible for transmitting promptly orders for its customers.

The Service Agent may charge you a fee for executing your order. The amount and applicability of such a fee is determined and disclosed to its customers by each Service Agent.

Each fund no longer issues share certificates. Outstanding share certificates will continue to be honored. If you hold share certificates, it will take longer to exchange or redeem shares.

Additional Information Regarding Telephone Redemption and Exchange Program. Neither the funds nor its agents will be liable for following instructions communicated by telephone that are reasonably believed to be genuine. The funds and its agents will employ procedures designed to verify the identity of the caller and legitimacy of instructions (for example, a shareholder’s name and account number will be required and phone calls may be recorded). The funds reserve the right to suspend, modify or discontinue the telephone redemption and exchange program or to impose a charge for this service at any time following at least seven (7) days’ prior notice to shareholders.

 

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Distributions in Kind

If the Board determines that it would be detrimental to the best interests of the remaining shareholders of a fund to make a redemption payment wholly in cash, the funds may pay, in accordance with SEC rules, any portion of a redemption in excess of the lesser of $250,000 or 1.00% of its net assets by a distribution in kind of portfolio securities in lieu of cash. Securities issued as a distribution in kind may incur brokerage commissions when shareholders subsequently sell those securities.

PFS Accounts

Shareholders may redeem for cash some or all of their shares of the funds at any time by sending a written request in proper form directly to the Primerica Shareholder Services c/o PFPC at P.O. Box 9662, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9662. If you should have any questions concerning how to redeem your account after reviewing the information below, please contact Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445, Spanish speaking representatives (800) 544-7278 or TDD Line for the Hearing Impaired (800) 824-1721.

All persons in whose names the shares are registered must sign the request for redemption. Signatures must conform exactly to the account registration. If the proceeds of the redemption exceed $50,000, if the proceeds are not paid to the record owner(s) at the record address, if the shareholder(s) has had an address change within 30 days or less of the shareholder’s redemption request, or if the shareholder(s) is a corporation, sole proprietor, partnership, trust or fiduciary, signature(s) must be guaranteed by one of the following: a bank or trust company; a broker/dealer; a credit union; a national securities exchange, registered securities association or clearing agency; a savings and loan association; or a federal savings bank.

 

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Generally, a properly completed redemption form with any required signature guarantee is all that is required for a redemption. In some cases, however, other documents may be necessary. For example, in the case of shareholders holding certificates, the certificates for shares being redeemed must accompany the redemption request. Additional documentary evidence of authority is also required by PFPC in the event redemption is requested by a corporation, partnership, trust, fiduciary, executor or administrator. Additionally, if a shareholder requests a redemption from a retirement plan account (IRA or SEP), such request must state whether or not federal income tax is to be withheld from the proceeds of the redemption check. Redemption from a 403(b)(7) account requires completion of a special form. Please call Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern time to obtain the proper forms.

Shareholders may utilize Primerica Shareholder Services Telephone Redemption service to redeem shares in their account as long as they have authorized the telephone redemption option. If a shareholder does not wish to allow telephone redemptions by any person in his or her account, he or she should decline the telephone transaction option on the account application. The telephone redemption option can be used only if: (a) the redemption proceeds are to be mailed to the address of record and there has been no change of address of record within the preceding 30 days; (b) the shares to be redeemed are not in certificate form; (c); the person requesting the redemption can provide proper identification information; and (d) the proceeds of the redemption do not exceed $50,000. 403(b)(7) accounts and accounts not registered in the name of an individual(s) are not eligible for the telephone redemption option. Telephone redemption requests can be made by contacting Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern time any day that the NYSE is open.

Telephone redemption may not be available if the shareholder cannot reach Primerica Shareholder Services because all telephone lines are busy or for any other reason; in such case, a shareholder should use the regular redemption procedure described above.

Redemption proceeds can be sent by check to the address of record, by wire transfer to a bank account designated on the application or to a bank account designated on the application via the Automated Clearinghouse (ACH). PFPC will process and mail a shareholder’s redemption check usually within two to three business days after receiving the redemption request in good order.

Automatic Cash Withdrawal Plan

An automatic cash withdrawal plan (the “Withdrawal Plan”) is available to shareholders as described in the prospectus. To the extent withdrawals under the Withdrawal Plan exceed dividends, distributions and appreciation of a shareholder’s investment in a fund, there will be a reduction in the value of the shareholder’s investment, and continued withdrawal payments may reduce the shareholder’s investment and ultimately exhaust it. Withdrawal payments should not be considered as income from investment in a fund. Furthermore, as it generally would not be advantageous to a shareholder to make additional investments in a fund at the same time he or she is participating in the Withdrawal Plan, purchases by such shareholder in amounts of less than $5,000 ordinarily will not be permitted. The Withdrawal Plan will be carried over on exchanges between funds or classes of each fund. All dividends and distributions on shares in the Withdrawal Plan are reinvested automatically at net asset value in additional shares of the fund.

Shareholders who wish to participate in the Withdrawal Plan and who hold their shares in certificate form must deposit their share certificates with the transfer agent as agent for Withdrawal Plan members. For additional information shareholders should contact their Service Agent. A shareholder who purchases shares directly through the transfer agent may continue to do so and applications for participation in the Withdrawal Plan must be received by the transfer agent no later than the eighth day of the month to be eligible for participation beginning with that month’s withdrawal.

VALUATION OF SHARES

The net asset value per share of each fund’s classes is calculated on each day, Monday through Friday, except days on which the NYSE is closed. The NYSE currently is scheduled to be closed on New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas, and on the preceding Friday or subsequent Monday when one of these holidays falls on a Saturday or Sunday, respectively. Because of the differences in distribution fees and class-specific expenses, the per share net asset value of each class will differ. Please see the prospectus for a description of the procedures used by each fund in valuing its assets.

 

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EXCHANGE PRIVILEGE

The exchange privilege enables shareholders to acquire shares of the same class in a fund with different investment objectives when they believe that a shift between funds is an appropriate investment decision. This privilege is available to shareholders residing in any state in which the shares of the fund being acquired may legally be sold. Prior to any exchange, the shareholder should obtain and review a copy of the current prospectus of each fund into which an exchange is being considered. Prospectuses may be obtained from a Service Agent.

Upon receipt of proper instructions and all necessary supporting documents, shares submitted for exchange are redeemed at the then-current net asset value, and the proceeds are immediately invested in shares of the fund being acquired at that fund’s then current net asset value. The distributors reserve the right to reject any exchange request. The exchange privilege may be modified or terminated at any time after written notice to shareholders.

Class A Exchanges. Class A shareholders of each fund who wish to exchange all or a portion of their shares for shares of the respective class in another fund may do so without imposition of any charge.

Class B Exchanges. Class B shares of each fund may be exchanged for other Class B shares without a contingent deferred sales charge. Upon an exchange, the new Class B shares will be deemed to have been purchased on the same date as the Class B shares of the fund that have been exchanged.

 

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Class C Exchanges. Class C shares of each fund may be exchanged for other Class C shares without a contingent deferred sales charge. Upon an exchange, the new Class C shares will be deemed to have been purchased on the same date as the Class C shares of each fund that have been exchanged. Certain retirement plan programs with exchange features in effect prior to November 20, 2006, as approved by LMIS, will remain eligible for exchange from Class C shares to Class A shares in accordance with the program terms. See “Grandfathered Retirement Programs” for additional information.

Additional Information Regarding the Exchange Privilege

Each fund is not designed to provide investors with a means of speculation on short-term market movements. A pattern of frequent exchanges by investors can be disruptive to efficient portfolio management and, consequently, can be detrimental to each fund and its shareholders. See “Frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares” in the prospectus.

During times of drastic economic or market conditions, each fund may suspend the exchange privilege temporarily without notice and treat exchange requests based on their separate components—redemption orders with a simultaneous request to purchase the other fund’s shares. In such a case, the redemption request would be processed at the fund’s next determined net asset value but the purchase order would be effective only at the net asset value next determined after the fund being purchased formally accepts the order, which may result in the purchase being delayed.

Certain shareholders may be able to exchange shares by telephone. See the funds’ prospectus for additional information. Exchanges will be processed at the net asset value next determined. Redemption procedures discussed above are also applicable for exchanging shares, and exchanges will be made upon receipt of all supporting documents in proper form. If the account registration of the shares of the fund being acquired is identical to the registration of the shares of the fund exchanged, no signature guarantee is required.

This exchange privilege may be modified or terminated at any time, and is available only in those jurisdictions where such exchanges legally may be made. Before making any exchange, shareholders should contact the transfer agent or, if they hold fund shares through a Service Agent, their Service Agent to obtain more information and prospectuses of the funds to be acquired through the exchange. An exchange is treated as a sale of the shares exchanged and could result in taxable gain or loss to the shareholder making the exchange.

DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS

Each fund’s policy is to distribute its net investment income and net realized capital gains, if any, annually. A fund may also declare additional dividends shortly before December 31 and pay such dividends during the following January from certain amounts of undistributed ordinary income and realized capital gains, in order to avoid a federal excise tax liability.

 

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If a shareholder does not otherwise instruct, dividends and capital gains distributions will be reinvested automatically in additional shares of the same class at net asset value, subject to no sales charge or deferred sales charge. A shareholder may change the option at any time by notifying his Service Agent. Shareholders whose account is held directly at a sub-transfer agent should notify the applicable sub-transfer agent in writing, requesting a change to this reinvestment option.

The per share dividends on Class B and Class C shares of a fund will be lower than the per share dividends on Class A and Class I shares principally as a result of the distribution fee applicable with respect to Class B and Class C shares. The per share dividends on Class A shares will be lower than the per share dividends on Class I shares principally as a result of the service fee applicable to Class A shares. Distributions of capital gains, if any, will be in the same amount for Class A, Class B, Class C and Class I shares.

TAXES

[To be updated by amendment]

The following is a summary of certain material U.S. federal income tax considerations regarding the purchase, ownership and disposition of shares of the funds by U.S. persons. This summary does not address all of the potential U.S. federal income tax consequences that may be applicable to the funds or to all categories of investors, some of which may be subject to special tax rules. Current and prospective shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisers with respect to the specific federal, state, local and foreign tax consequences of investing in a fund. The summary is based on the laws in effect on the date of this SAI and existing judicial and administrative interpretations thereof, all of which are subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect.

The Funds and Their Investments

Each fund will be treated as a separate taxpayer for U.S. federal income tax purposes. Each fund intends to continue to qualify to be treated as a regulated investment company under the Code each taxable year. To so qualify, each fund must, among other things: (a) derive at least 90% of its gross income in each taxable year from dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans and gains from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities, foreign currencies, other income (including, but not limited to, gains from options, futures or forward contracts) derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies or net income derived from interests in “qualified publicly traded partnerships” ( i.e. , partnerships that are traded on an established securities market or tradable on a secondary market, other than partnerships that derives 90% of their income from interest, dividends, capital gains, and other traditional permitted mutual fund income); and (b) diversify its holdings so that, at the end of each quarter of each fund’s taxable year, (i) at least 50% of the market value of each fund’s assets is represented by cash, securities of other regulated investment companies, U.S. government securities and other securities, with such other securities limited, in respect of any one issuer, to an amount not greater than 5% of each fund’s assets and not greater than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer and (ii) not more than 25% of the value of its assets is invested in the securities (other than U.S. government securities or securities of other regulated investment companies) of any one issuer, any two or more issuers that the funds control and that are determined to be engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses or related trades or businesses or in the securities of one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships.

Fund investments in partnerships, including in qualified publicly traded partnerships, may result in a fund’s being subject to state, local or foreign income, franchise or withholding tax liabilities.

As a regulated investment company, a fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its taxable investment income and capital gains that it distributes to its shareholders, provided that it satisfies a minimum distribution requirement. To satisfy the minimum distribution requirement, a fund must distribute to its shareholders at least the sum of (i) 90% of its “investment company taxable income” ( i.e. , income other than its net realized long-term capital gain over its net realized short-term capital loss), plus or minus certain adjustments, and (ii) 90% of its net tax-exempt income for the taxable year. A fund will be subject to income tax at regular corporation rates on any taxable income or gains that it does not distribute to its shareholders.

On October 31, 2005, the Technology Fund had unused capital loss carryforwards of approximately $164,312,000. For federal income tax purposes, these amounts are available to be applied against future capital gains realized prior to the expiration of the applicable carryforward. The carryforwards expire as follows:

 

Technology Fund

   October 31,
2008
   October 31,
2009
   October 31,
2010
   October 31,
2011
   October 31,
2012

Carryforward Amount

   $ 8,624,000    $ 70,458,000    $ 54,957,000    $ 21,469,000    $ 8,804,000

The Code imposes a 4% nondeductible excise tax on a fund to the extent it does not distribute by the end of any calendar year at least the sum of (i) 98% of its ordinary income for that year and (ii) 98% of its capital gain net income (both long-term and short-term) for the one-year period ending, as a general rule, on October 31 of that year. For this purpose, however, any ordinary income

 

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or capital gain net income retained by a fund that is subject to corporate income tax will be considered to have been distributed by year-end. In addition, the minimum amounts that must be distributed in any year to avoid the excise tax will be increased or decreased to reflect any underdistribution or overdistribution, as the case may be, from the previous year. Each fund anticipates that it will pay such dividends and will make such distributions as are necessary in order to avoid the application of this excise tax.

If, in any taxable year, a fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company under the Code or fails to meet the distribution requirement, it will be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation and distributions to its shareholders will not be deductible by each fund in computing its taxable income. In addition, in the event of a failure to qualify, a fund’s distributions, to the extent derived from each fund’s current or accumulated earnings and profits will constitute dividends that are taxable to shareholders as dividend income, even though those distributions might otherwise (at least in part) have been treated in the shareholders’ hands as long-term capital gains. Moreover, if a fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company in any year, it must pay out its earnings and profits accumulated in that year in order to qualify again as a regulated investment company. In addition, if a fund failed to qualify as a regulated investment company for a period greater than two taxable years, each fund may be required to recognize any net built in gains with respect to certain of its assets ( i.e. , the excess of the aggregate gains, including items of income, over aggregate losses that would have been realized with respect to such assets if each fund had been liquidated) in order to qualify as a regulated investment company in a subsequent year.

A fund’s transactions in foreign currencies, forward contracts, options and futures contracts (including options and futures contracts on foreign currencies) will be subject to special provisions of the Code (including provisions relating to “hedging transactions” and “straddles”) that, among other things, may affect the character of gains and losses realized by each fund ( i.e., may affect whether gains or losses are ordinary or capital), accelerate recognition of income to the fund and defer fund losses. These rules could therefore affect the character, amount and timing of distributions to shareholders. These provisions also (a) will require the fund to mark-to-market certain types of the positions in its portfolio ( i.e. , treat them as if they were closed out at the end of each year) and (b) may cause the fund to recognize income without receiving cash with which to pay dividends or make distributions in amounts necessary to satisfy the distribution requirements for avoiding income and excise taxes. Each fund will monitor its transactions, will make the appropriate tax elections and will make the appropriate entries in its books and records when it acquires any foreign currency, forward contract, option, futures contract or hedged investment in order to mitigate the effect of these rules and prevent disqualification of the fund as a regulated investment company.

A fund’s investment in so-called “section 1256 contracts,” such as regulated futures contracts, most foreign currency forward contracts traded in the interbank market and options on most stock indices, to the extent permitted, are subject to special tax rules. All section 1256 contracts held by a fund at the end of its taxable year are required to be marked to their market value, and any unrealized gain or loss on those positions will be included in the fund’s income as if each position had been sold for its fair market value at the end of the taxable year. The resulting gain or loss will be combined with any gain or loss realized by the fund from positions in section 1256 contracts closed during the taxable year. Provided such positions were held as capital assets and were not part of a “hedging transaction” nor part of a “straddle,” 60% of the resulting net gain or loss will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss, and 40% of such net gain or loss will be treated as short-term capital gain or loss, regardless of the period of time the positions were actually held by the fund.

Foreign Investments. Dividends or other income (including, in some cases, capital gains) received by a fund from investments in foreign securities may be subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by foreign countries. Tax conventions between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes in some cases. A fund may not be eligible to elect to treat any foreign taxes it pays as paid by its shareholders, who therefore may not be entitled to credits or deductions for such taxes on their own tax returns. Foreign taxes paid by a fund will reduce the return from the fund’s investments.

Under Section 988 of the Code, gains or losses attributable to fluctuations in exchange rates between the time a fund accrues income or receivables or expenses or other liabilities denominated in a foreign currency and the time the fund actually collects such income or pays such liabilities are generally treated as ordinary income or ordinary loss. Similarly, gains or losses on foreign currency, foreign currency forward contracts, certain foreign currency options or futures contracts and the disposition of debt securities denominated in foreign currency, to the extent attributable to fluctuations in exchange rates between the acquisition and disposition dates, are also treated as ordinary income or loss unless, in certain cases, a fund were to elect otherwise.

Passive Foreign Investment Companies. If a fund purchases shares in certain foreign investment entities, called “passive foreign investment companies” (“PFICs”), it may be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a portion of any “excess distribution” or gain from the disposition of such shares even if such income is distributed as a taxable dividend by the fund to its shareholders. Additional charges in the nature of interest may be imposed on the fund in respect of deferred taxes arising from such distributions or gains. If a fund were to invest in a PFIC and elected to treat the PFIC as a “qualified electing fund” under the Code, in lieu of the foregoing requirements, the fund might be required to include in income each year a portion of the ordinary earnings and net capital gains of the qualified electing fund, even if not distributed to the fund, and such amounts would be subject to the 90% and excise tax distribution requirements described above. In order to make this election, the fund would be required to obtain certain annual information from the PFICs in which it invests, which may be difficult or impossible to obtain.

 

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Alternatively, a fund may make a mark-to-market election that will result in the fund being treated as if it had sold and repurchased any PFIC stock for which it made the election at the end of each year. In such case, the fund would report any such gains as ordinary income and would deduct any such losses as ordinary losses to the extent of previously recognized gains. A mark-to-market election is made individually for each PFIC a fund owns and, once made, would be effective for all subsequent taxable years of the fund, unless revoked with the consent of the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”). By making the election, a fund could potentially ameliorate the adverse tax consequences with respect to its ownership of shares in a PFIC, but in any particular year may be required to recognize income in excess of the distributions it receives from such PFIC and its proceeds from dispositions of such PFIC stock. A fund may have to distribute this “phantom” income and gain to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement and to avoid imposition of the 4% excise tax.

Each fund will make the appropriate tax elections, if possible, and take any additional steps that are necessary to mitigate the effect of these rules.

Taxation of U.S. Shareholders

Dividends and Distributions. Dividends and other distributions by the fund are generally treated under the Code as received by the shareholders at the time the dividend or distributions is made. However, any dividend or distributions declared by a fund in October, November or December of any calendar year and payable to shareholders of record on a specified date in such a month shall be deemed to have been received by each shareholder on December 31 of such calendar year and to have been paid by the fund not later than such December 31, provided such dividend is actually paid by the fund during January of the following calendar year.

Each fund intends to distribute annually to its shareholders substantially all of its investment company taxable income, and any net realized long-term capital gains in excess of net realized short-term capital losses (including any capital loss carryovers). However, if a fund retains for investment an amount equal to all or a portion of its net long-term capital gains in excess of its net short-term capital losses (including any capital loss carryovers), it will be subject to a corporate tax (currently at a maximum rate of 35%) on the amount retained. In that event, the fund will designate such retained amounts as undistributed capital gains in a notice to its shareholders who (a) will be required to include in income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as long-term capital gains, their proportionate shares of the undistributed amount, (b) will be entitled to credit their proportionate shares of the 35% tax paid by the fund on the undistributed amount against their U.S. federal income tax liabilities, if any, and to claim refunds to the extent their credits exceed their liabilities, if any, and (c) will be entitled to increase their tax basis, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, in their shares by an amount equal to 65% of the amount of undistributed capital gains included in the shareholder’s income. Organizations or persons not subject to U.S. federal income tax on such capital gains will be entitled to a refund of their pro rata share of such taxes paid by the fund upon filing appropriate returns or claims for refund with the IRS.

Distributions of net realized long-term capital gains, if any, that a fund designates as capital gains dividends are taxable as long-term capital gains, whether paid in cash or in shares and regardless of how long a shareholder has held shares of the fund. All other dividends of a fund (including dividends from short-term capital gains) from its current and accumulated earnings and profits (“regular dividends”) are generally subject to tax as ordinary income.

Special rules apply, however, to regular dividends paid to individuals. Such a dividend, with respect to taxable years beginning on or before December 31, 2008, may be subject to tax at the rates generally applicable to long-term capital gains for individuals (currently at a maximum rate of 15%), provided that the individual receiving the dividend satisfies certain holding period and other requirements. Dividends subject to these special rules are not actually treated as capital gains, however, and thus are not included in the computation of an individual’s net capital gain and generally cannot be used to offset capital losses. The long-term capital gains rates will apply to: (i) 100% of the regular dividends paid by a fund to an individual in a particular taxable year if 95% or more of the fund’s gross income (ignoring gains attributable to the sale of stocks and securities except to the extent net short-term capital gain from such sales exceeds net long-term capital loss from such sales) in that taxable year is attributable to qualified dividend income received by the fund; or (ii) the portion of the regular dividends paid by a fund to an individual in a particular taxable year that is attributable to qualified dividend income received by the fund in that taxable year if such qualified dividend income accounts for less than 95% of the fund’s gross income (ignoring gains attributable to the sale of stocks and securities except to the extent net short-term capital gain from such sales exceeds net long-term capital loss from such sales) for that taxable year.

For this purpose, “qualified dividend income” generally means income from dividends received by a fund from U.S. corporations and qualified foreign corporations, provided that the fund satisfies certain holding period requirements in respect of the stock of such corporations and has not hedged its position in the stock in certain ways. However, qualified dividend income does not include any dividends received from tax-exempt corporations. Also, dividends received by a fund from a real estate investment trust or another

 

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regulated investment company generally are qualified dividend income only to the extent the dividend distributions are made out of qualified dividend income received by such real estate investment trust or other regulated investment company. In the case of securities lending transactions, payments in lieu of dividends are not qualified dividend income. If a shareholder elects to treat fund dividends as investment income for purposes of the limitation on the deductibility of investment interest, such dividends would not be a qualified dividend income.

We will send you information after the end of each year setting forth the amount of dividends paid by us that are eligible for the reduced rates.

If an individual receives a regular dividend qualifying for the long-term capital gains rates and such dividend constitutes an “extraordinary dividend,” and the individual subsequently recognizes a loss on the sale or exchange of stock in respect of which the extraordinary dividend was paid, then the loss will be long-term capital loss to the extent of such extraordinary dividend. An “extraordinary dividend” on common stock for this purpose is generally a dividend (i) in an amount greater than or equal to 10% of the taxpayer’s tax basis (or trading value) in a share of stock, aggregating dividends with ex-dividend dates within an 85-day period or (ii) in an amount greater than 20% of the taxpayer’s tax basis (or trading value) in a share of stock, aggregating dividends with ex-dividend dates within a 365-day period.

Distributions in excess of a fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits will, as to each shareholder, be treated as a tax-free return of capital to the extent of a shareholder’s basis in his shares of the fund, and as a capital gain thereafter (if the shareholder holds his shares of the fund as capital assets). Shareholders receiving dividends or distributions in the form of additional shares should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as receiving a distribution in an amount equal to the amount of money that the shareholders receiving cash dividends or distributions will receive, and should have a cost basis in the shares received equal to such amount. Dividends paid by a fund that are attributable to dividends received by the fund from domestic corporations may qualify for the federal dividends-received deduction for corporations.

Investors considering buying shares just prior to a dividend or capital gain distribution should be aware that, although the price of shares just purchased at that time may reflect the amount of the forthcoming distribution, such dividend or distribution may nevertheless be taxable to them. If a fund is the holder of record of any stock on the record date for any dividends payable with respect to such stock, such dividends will be included in the fund’s gross income not as of the date received but as of the later of (a) the date such stock became ex-dividend with respect to such dividends ( i.e. , the date on which a buyer of the stock would not be entitled to receive the declared, but unpaid, dividends) or (b) the date the fund acquired such stock. Accordingly, in order to satisfy its income distribution requirements, the fund may be required to pay dividends based on anticipated earnings, and shareholders may receive dividends in an earlier year than would otherwise be the case.

Sales of Shares. Upon the sale or exchange of his shares, a shareholder will realize a taxable gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount realized and his basis in his shares. A redemption of shares by a fund will be treated as a sale for this purpose. Such gain or loss will be treated as capital gain or loss, if the shares are capital assets in the shareholder’s hands, and will be long-term capital gain or loss if the shares are held for more than one year and short-term capital gain or loss if the shares are held for one year or less. Any loss realized on a sale or exchange will be disallowed to the extent the shares disposed of are replaced, including replacement through the reinvesting of dividends and capital gains distributions in the fund, within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the disposition of the shares. In such a case, the basis of the shares acquired will be increased to reflect the disallowed loss. Any loss realized by a shareholder on the sale of a fund share held by the shareholder for six months or less will be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any distributions or deemed distributions of long-term capital gains received by the shareholder with respect to such share. If a shareholder incurs a sales charge in acquiring shares of a fund, disposes of those shares within 90 days and then acquires shares in a mutual fund for which the otherwise applicable sales charge is reduced by reason of a reinvestment right ( e.g., an exchange privilege), the original sales charge will not be taken into account in computing gain/loss on the original shares to the extent the subsequent sales charge is reduced. Instead, the disregarded portion of the original sales charge will be added to the tax basis of the newly acquired shares. Furthermore, the same rule also applies to a disposition of the newly acquired shares made within 90 days of the second acquisition. This provision prevents a shareholder from immediately deducting the sales charge by shifting his or her investment within a family of mutual funds.

Backup Withholding. A fund may be required to withhold, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, a portion of the dividends, distributions and redemption proceeds payable to shareholders who fail to provide the fund with their correct taxpayer identification number or to make required certifications, or who have been notified by the IRS that they are subject to backup withholding. Certain shareholders are exempt from backup withholding. Backup withholding is not an additional tax and any amount withheld may be credited against a shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability.

Notices; Other Taxes. Shareholders will receive, if appropriate, various written notices after the close of the fund’s taxable year regarding the U.S. federal income tax status of certain dividends, distributions and deemed distributions that were paid (or that are treated as having been paid) by the fund to its shareholders during the preceding taxable year.

 

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Other Taxes. Dividends, distributions and redemption proceeds also may be subject to additional state, local and foreign taxes depending on each shareholder’s particular situation.

If a shareholder recognizes a loss with respect to a fund’s shares of $2 million or more for an individual shareholder or $10 million or more for a corporate shareholder, the shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on Form 8886. Direct shareholders of portfolio securities are in many cases excepted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance, shareholders of a regulated investment company are not excepted. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer’s treatment of the loss is proper. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.

Class I-(for tax-exempt employee benefit and retirement plans of CGM or anyone of its affiliates (“Qualified Plans”)

Dividends and distributions received from a fund will not be taxable, provided the Qualified Plan has not borrowed to finance its investment in the fund. Qualified Plan participants should consult their plan document or tax advisors about the tax consequences of participating in a Qualified Plan.

Taxation of Non-U.S. Shareholders. Dividends paid by a fund to non-U.S. shareholders are generally subject to withholding tax at a 30% rate or a reduced rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty to the extent derived from investment income and short-term capital gains. In order to obtain a reduced rate of withholding, a non-U.S. shareholder will be required to provide an IRS Form W-8BEN certifying its entitlement to benefits under a treaty. The withholding tax does not apply to regular dividends paid to a non-U.S. shareholder who provides a Form W-8ECI, certifying that the dividends are effectively connected with the non-U.S. shareholder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States. Instead, the effectively connected dividends will be subject to regular U.S. income tax as if the non-U.S. shareholder were a U.S. shareholder. A non-U.S. corporation receiving effectively connected dividends may also be subject to additional “branch profits tax” imposed at a rate of 30% (or lower treaty rate). A non-U.S. shareholder who fails to provide an IRS Form W-8BEN or other applicable form may be subject to backup withholding at the appropriate rate.

In general, United States federal withholding tax will not apply to any gain or income realized by a non-U.S. shareholder in respect of any distributions of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses, exempt-interest dividends, or upon the sale or other disposition of shares of a Fund.

For taxable years beginning before January 1, 2008, properly-designated dividends are generally exempt from United States federal withholding tax where they (i) are paid in respect of a fund’s “qualified net interest income” (generally, a fund’s U.S. source interest income, other than certain contingent interest and interest from obligations of a corporation or partnership in which the fund is at least a 10% shareholder, reduced by expenses that are allocable to such income) and (ii) are paid in respect of a fund’s “qualified short-term capital gains” (generally, the excess of the fund’s net short-term capital gain over the fund’s long-term capital loss for such taxable year). However, depending on its circumstances, a fund may designate all, some or none of its potentially eligible dividends as such qualified net interest income or as qualified short-term capital gains, and/or treat such dividends, in whole or in part, as ineligible for this exemption from withholding. In order to qualify for this exemption from withholding, a non-U.S. shareholder will need to comply with applicable certification requirements relating to its non-U.S. status (including, in general, furnishing an IRS Form W-8BEN or substitute Form).

Special rules apply to foreign persons who receive distributions from a fund that are attributable to gain from “U.S. real property interests” (“USRPIs”). The Code defines USRPIs to include direct holdings of U.S. real property and any interest (other than an interest solely as a creditor) in “U.S. real property holding corporations.” The Code defines a U.S. real property holding corporation as any corporation whose USRPIs make up more than 50% of the fair market value of its USRPIs, its interests in real property located outside the United States, plus any other assets it uses in a trade or business. In general, the distribution of gains from USRPIs to foreign shareholders is subject to U.S. federal income tax withholding at a rate of 35% and obligates such foreign shareholder to file a U.S. tax return. To the extent a distribution to a foreign shareholder is attributable to gains from the sale or exchange of USRPIs recognized by a real estate investment trust (“REIT”) or (for taxable years beginning before January 1, 2008) a regulated investment company, the Code treats that gain as the distribution of gain from a USRPI to a foreign shareholder which would be subject to U.S. withholding tax of 35% and would result in U.S. tax filing obligations for the foreign shareholder.

However, a foreign shareholder achieves a different result with respect to the gains from the sale of USRPIs if the REIT or RIC is less than 50% owned by foreign persons at all times during the testing period, or if such gain is realized from the sale of any class of stock in a REIT which is regularly traded on an established U.S. securities market and the REIT shareholder owned less than 5% of such class of stock at all times during the 1-year period ending on the date of the distribution. In such event, the gains are treated as dividends paid to a non-U.S. shareholder.

The foregoing is only a summary of certain material U.S. federal income tax consequences affecting the funds and their shareholders. Prospective shareholders are advised to consult their own tax advisers with respect to the particular tax consequences to them of an investment in the funds.

 

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ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The Trust was organized on October 17, 1991 under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is a business entity commonly known as a “Massachusetts business trust.” The Trust offers shares of beneficial interest of [      ] separate funds with a par value of $.001 per share. The fund offers shares of beneficial interest currently classified into four Classes—A, B, C and I. Each Class of the funds represents an identical interest in each fund’s investment portfolio. As a result, the Classes have the same rights, privileges and preferences, except with respect to: (a) the designation of each Class; (b) the effect of the respective sales charges, if any, for each Class; (c) the distribution and/or service fees borne by each Class pursuant to the Distribution Plan; (d) the expenses allocable exclusively to each Class; (e) voting rights on matters exclusively affecting a single Class; (f) the exchange privilege of each Class; and (g) the conversion feature of the Class B shares. The Board does not anticipate that there will be any conflicts among the interests of the holders of the different Classes. The trustees, on an ongoing basis, will consider whether any such conflict exists and, if so, take appropriate action.

Under Massachusetts’s law, shareholders could, under certain circumstances, be held personally liable for the obligations of the funds. The Master Trust Agreement disclaims shareholder liability for acts or obligations of the funds, however, and requires that notice of such disclaimer be given in each agreement, obligation or instrument entered into or executed by the funds or a trustee. The Master Trust Agreement provides for indemnification from fund property for all losses and expenses of any shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the funds. Thus, the risk of a shareholder’s incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which the funds themselves would be unable to meet their obligations, a possibility which management of the funds believes is remote. Upon payment of any liability incurred by the funds, a shareholder paying such liability will be entitled to reimbursement from the general assets of the funds. The trustees intend to conduct the operation of the funds in such a way so as to avoid, as far as possible, ultimate liability of the shareholders for liabilities of the funds.

The Master Trust Agreement of the funds permits the trustees of the funds to issue an unlimited number of full and fractional shares of a single class and to divide or combine the shares into a greater or lesser number of shares without thereby changing the proportionate beneficial interests in the funds. Each share in the funds represents an equal proportional interest in the funds with each other share. Shareholders of the funds are entitled upon its liquidation to share pro rata in its net assets available for distribution. No shareholder of the funds has any preemptive or conversion rights. Shares of the funds are fully paid and non-assessable.

Pursuant to the Master Trust Agreement, the Trust’s trustees may authorize the creation of additional series of shares (the proceeds of which would be invested in separate, independently managed portfolios) and additional classes of shares within any series (which would be used to distinguish among the rights of different categories of shareholders, as might be required by future regulations or other unforeseen circumstances).

The Trust does not hold annual shareholder meetings. There normally will be no meetings of shareholders for the purpose of electing trustees unless and until such time as less than a majority of the trustees holding office have been elected by shareholders, at which time the trustees then in office will call a shareholders’ meeting for the election of trustees. Shareholders of record of no less than two-thirds of the outstanding shares of the Trust may remove a trustee through a declaration in writing or by vote cast in person or by proxy at a meeting called for that purpose.

When matters are submitted for shareholder vote, shareholders of each Class will have one vote for each full share owned and a proportionate, fractional vote for any fractional share held of that Class. Generally, shares of each fund will be voted on a fund-wide basis on all matters except matters affecting only the interests of one Class, in which case only shares of the affected Class would be entitled to vote.

The Trust was organized as an unincorporated Massachusetts business trust on October 17, 1991 under the name Shearson Lehman Brothers Intermediate-Term Trust. On August 16, 1995, the Trust’s name was changed to Smith Barney Investment Trust. On April 7, 2006, the Trust’s name was changed to Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust.

Annual and Semi-Annual Reports. Each fund sends its shareholders a Semi-Annual report and an audited Annual Report, which include listings of investment securities held by the fund at the end of the period covered. In an effort to reduce each fund’s printing and mailing costs, the fund consolidates the mailing of its Semi-Annual and Annual Reports by household. This consolidation means that a household having multiple accounts with the identical address of record will receive a single copy of each report. In addition, each fund also consolidates the mailing of its prospectus so that a shareholder having multiple accounts (that is, individual, IRA and/or Self-Employed Retirement Plan accounts) will receive a single prospectus annually. Shareholders who do not want this consolidation to apply to their accounts should contact their Service Agent.

 

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PROPOSED CHANGES

Each fund’s Board has approved a number of initiatives designed to streamline and restructure the fund complex and each fund is seeking shareholder approval for those initiatives where shareholder approval is required. If certain of these matters are approved by the shareholders entitled to vote on the matters, each fund will become a series of Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust, a Maryland business trust.

A Maryland business trust is an unincorporated business association that is established under, and governed by, Maryland law. Maryland law provides a statutory framework for the powers, duties, rights and obligations of the trustees and shareholders of the business trust, while the more specific powers, duties, rights and obligations of the trustees and the shareholders are determined by the trustees as set forth in the trust’s declaration of trust. Some of the more significant provisions of the trust’s declaration are described below.

Shareholder Voting.

The declaration provides for shareholder voting as required by the 1940 Act or other applicable laws but otherwise permits, consistent with Maryland law, actions by the trustees without seeking the consent of shareholders. The trustees may, without shareholder approval, amend the declaration or authorize the merger or consolidation of the trust into another trust or entity, reorganize the trust, or any series or class into another trust or entity or a series or class of another entity, sell all or substantially all of the assets of the trust or any series or class to another entity, or a series or class of another entity, or terminate the trust or any series or class.

Each fund is not required to hold an annual meeting of shareholders, but each fund will call special meetings of shareholders whenever required by the 1940 Act or by the terms of the declaration. The declaration provides for “dollar-weighted voting” which means that a shareholder’s voting power is determined, not by the number of shares he or she owns, but by the dollar value of those shares determined on the record date. All shareholders of all series and classes of the trust vote together, except where required by the 1940 Act to vote separately by series or by class, or when the trustees have determined that a matter affects only the interests of one or more series or classes of shares.

Election and Removal of Trustees.

The declaration provides that the trustees may establish the number of trustees and that vacancies on the board may be filled by the remaining trustees, except when election of trustees by the shareholders is required under the 1940 Act. Trustees are then elected by a plurality of votes cast by shareholders at a meeting at which a quorum is present. The declaration also provides that a mandatory retirement age may be set by action of two-thirds of the trustees and that trustees may be removed, with or without cause, by a vote of shareholders holding two-thirds of the voting power of the trust, or by a vote of two-thirds of the remaining trustees. The provisions of the declaration relating to the election and removal of trustees may not be amended without the approval of two-thirds of the trustees.

Amendments to the Declaration.

The trustees are authorized to amend the declaration without the vote of shareholders, but no amendment may be made that impairs the exemption from personal liability granted in the declaration to persons who are or have been shareholders, trustees, officers or, employees of the trust or that limit the rights to indemnification or insurance provided in the declaration with respect to actions or omissions of persons entitled to indemnification under the declaration prior to the amendment.

Issuance and Redemption of Shares.

A fund may issue an unlimited number of shares for such consideration and on such terms as the trustees may determine. Shareholders are not entitled to any appraisal, preemptive, conversion, exchange or similar rights, except as the trustees may determine. A fund may involuntarily redeem a shareholder’s shares upon certain conditions as may be determined by the trustees, including, for example, if the shareholder fails to provide the fund with identification required by law, or if the fund is unable to verify the information received from the shareholder. Additionally, as discussed below, shares may be redeemed in connection with the closing of small accounts.

Disclosure of Shareholder Holdings.

The declaration specifically requires shareholders, upon demand, to disclose to the fund information with respect to the direct and indirect ownership of shares in order to comply with various laws or regulations, and the fund may disclose such ownership if required by law or regulation.

 

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Small Accounts.

The declaration provides that a fund may close out a shareholder’s account by redeeming all of the shares in the account if the account falls below a minimum account size (which may vary by class) that may be set by the trustees from time to time. Alternately, the declaration permits a fund to assess a fee for small accounts (which may vary by class) and redeem shares in the account to cover such fees, or convert the shares into another share class that is geared to smaller accounts.

Series and Classes.

The declaration provides that the trustees may establish series and classes in addition to those currently established and to determine the rights and preferences, limitations and restrictions, including qualifications for ownership, conversion and exchange features, minimum purchase and account size, expenses and charges, and other features of the series and classes. The trustees may change any of those features, terminate any series or class, combine series with other series in the trust, combine one or more classes of a series with another class in that series or convert the shares of one class into another class.

Each share of a fund, as a series of the trust, represents an interest in that fund only and not in the assets of any other series of the trust.

Shareholder, Trustee and Officer Liability.

The declaration provides that shareholders are not personally liable for the obligations of a fund and requires the fund to indemnify a shareholder against any loss or expense arising from any such liability. In addition, a fund will assume the defense of any claim against a shareholder for personal liability at the request of the shareholder. The declaration further provides that a trustee acting in his or her capacity of trustee is not personally liable to any person other than the trust or its shareholders, for any act, omission, or obligation of the trust. Further, a trustee is held to the same standard of conduct as a director of a Maryland corporation. This requires that a trustee perform his or her duties in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the trust or a series thereof, and with the care that an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would use under similar circumstances. The declaration also permits the limitation of a trustee’s liability to the full extent provided under Maryland law. Under current Maryland law, a trustee is liable to the trust or its shareholders for monetary damages only (a) to the extent that it is proved that he or she actually received an improper benefit or profit in money, property, or services or (b) to the extent that a judgment or other final adjudication adverse to the trustee is entered in a proceeding based on a finding in the proceeding that the trustee’s action, or failure to act, was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty and was material to the cause of action adjudicated in the proceeding. The declaration requires the trust to indemnify any persons who are or who have been trustees, officers or employees of the trust for any liability for actions or failures to act except to the extent prohibited by applicable federal law. In making any determination as to whether any person is entitled to the advancement of expenses in connection with a claim for which indemnification is sought, such person is entitled to a rebuttable presumption that he or she did not engage in conduct for which indemnification is not available.

The declaration provides that any trustee who serves as chair of the board or of a committee of the board, lead independent trustee, or audit committee financial expert, or in any other similar capacity will not be subject to any greater standard of care or liability because of such position.

Derivative Actions.

The declaration provides a detailed process for the bringing of derivative actions by shareholders in order to permit legitimate inquiries and claims while avoiding the time, expense, distraction, and other harm that can be caused to each fund or its shareholders as a result of spurious shareholder demands and derivative actions. Prior to bringing a derivative action, a demand by three unrelated shareholders must first be made on the fund’s Trust. The declaration details various information, certifications, undertakings and acknowledgements that must be included in the demand. Following receipt of the demand, the trustees have a period of 90 days, which may be extended by an additional 60 days, to consider the demand. If a majority of the trustees who are considered independent for the purposes of considering the demand determine that maintaining the suit would not be in the best interests of the fund, the trustees are required to reject the demand and the complaining shareholders may not proceed with the derivative action unless the shareholders are able to sustain the burden of proof to a court that the decision of the trustees not to pursue the requested action was not a good faith exercise of their business judgment on behalf of the fund. The declaration further provides that shareholders owning shares representing at least 5% of the voting power of the affected fund must join in bringing the derivative action. If a demand is rejected, the complaining shareholders will be responsible for the costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by the fund in connection with the consideration of the demand, if in the judgment of the independent trustees, the demand was made without reasonable cause or for an improper purpose. If a derivative action is brought in violation of the declaration, the shareholders bringing the action may be responsible for the fund’s costs, including attorneys’ fees.

The declaration further provides that the fund shall be responsible for payment of attorneys’ fees and legal expenses incurred by a complaining shareholder only if required by law, and any attorneys’ fees that the fund is obligated to pay shall be

 

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calculated using reasonable hourly rates. The declaration also requires that actions by shareholders against the fund be brought only in federal court in Baltimore, Maryland, or if not permitted to be brought in federal court, then in state court in Baltimore, Maryland, and that the right to jury trial be waived to the full extent permitted by law.

Legal Matters

Beginning in June 2004, class action lawsuits alleging violations of the federal securities laws were filed against Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”) and a number of its then affiliates, including Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”), which were then investment adviser or manager to certain of the Funds (the “Managers”), substantially all of the mutual funds then managed by the Managers (the “Defendant Funds”), and Board Members of the Defendant Funds (collectively, the “Defendants”). The

 

63


complaints alleged, among other things, that CGMI created various undisclosed incentives for its brokers to sell Smith Barney and Salomon Brothers funds. In addition, according to the complaints, the Managers caused the Defendant Funds to pay excessive brokerage commissions to CGMI for steering clients towards proprietary funds. The complaints also alleged that the defendants breached their fiduciary duty to the Defendant Funds by improperly charging Rule 12b-1 fees and by drawing on fund assets to make undisclosed payments of soft dollars and excessive brokerage commissions. The complaints also alleged that the Defendant Funds failed to adequately disclose certain of the allegedly wrongful conduct. The complaints sought injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive damages, rescission of the Defendant Funds’ contracts with the Managers, recovery of all fees paid to the Managers pursuant to such contracts and an award of attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses.

On December 15, 2004, a consolidated amended complaint (the “Complaint”) was filed alleging substantially similar causes of action. On May 27, 2005, all of the Defendants filed motions to dismiss the Complaint. On July 26, 2006, the court issued a decision and order (1) finding that plaintiffs lacked standing to sue on behalf of the shareholders of the Defendant Funds in which none of the plaintiffs had invested, including the Financial Services Fund and Technology Fund, and dismissing those Defendant Funds from the case (although stating that they could be brought back into the case if standing as to them could be established), and (2) other than one stayed claim, dismissing all of the causes of action against the remaining Defendants, with prejudice, except for the cause of action under Section 36(b) of the 1940 Act, which the court granted plaintiffs leave to replead as a derivative claim.

On October 16, 2006, plaintiffs filed their Second Consolidated Amended Complaint (“Second Amended Complaint”) which alleges derivative claims on behalf of nine funds identified in the Second Amended Complaint, including the Technology Fund, under Section 36(b) of the 1940 Act, against Citigroup Asset Management, Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc, SBFM and CGMI as investment advisers to the identified funds, as well as CGMI as a distributor for the identified funds (collectively, the “Second Amended Complaint Defendants”). The Financial Services Fund was not identified in the Second Amended Complaint . The Second Amended Complaint alleges no claims against any of the Funds or any of their Board Members. Under Section 36(b), the Second Amended Complaint alleges similar facts and seeks similar relief against the Second Amended Complaint Defendants as the Complaint.

Additional lawsuits arising out of these circumstances and presenting similar allegations and requests for relief may be filed in the future.

On May 31, 2005, the SEC issued an order in connection with the settlement of an administrative proceeding against SBFM, the then-investment adviser or manager to certain of the Funds and CGMI, relating to the appointment of an affiliated transfer agent for the Smith Barney family of mutual funds (the “Affected Funds”).

The SEC order finds that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(1) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder (the “Advisers Act”). Specifically, the order found that SBFM and CGMI knowingly or recklessly failed to disclose to the boards of the Affected Funds in 1999 when proposing a new transfer agent arrangement with an affiliated transfer agent that: First Data Investors Services Group (“First Data”), the Affected Funds’ then-existing transfer agent, had offered to continue as transfer agent and do the same work for substantially less money than before; and that Citigroup Asset Management (“CAM”), the Citigroup business unit that, at the time, included the Affected Funds’ investment manager and other investment advisory companies, had entered into a side letter with First Data under which CAM agreed to recommend the appointment of First Data as sub-transfer agent to the affiliated transfer agent in exchange for, among other things, a guarantee by First Data of specified amounts of asset management and investment banking fees to CAM and CGMI. The order also found that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act by virtue of the omissions discussed above and other misrepresentations and omissions in the materials provided to the Affected Funds’ boards, including the failure to make clear that the affiliated transfer agent would earn a high profit for performing limited functions while First Data continued to perform almost all of the transfer agent functions, and the suggestion that the proposed arrangement was in the Affected Funds’ best interests and that no viable alternatives existed. SBFM and CGMI do not admit or deny any wrongdoing or liability. The settlement does not establish wrongdoing or liability for purposes of any other proceeding.

The SEC censured SBFM and CGMI and ordered them to cease and desist from violations of Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Advisers Act. The order required Citigroup to pay $208.1 million, including $109 million in disgorgement of profits, $19.1 million in interest, and a civil money penalty of $80 million. Approximately $24.4 million has already been paid to the Affected Funds, primarily through fee waivers. The remaining $183.7 million, including the penalty, has been paid to the U.S. Treasury and will be distributed pursuant to a plan submitted for the approval of the SEC. At this time, there is no certainty as to how the above-described proceeds of the settlement will be distributed, to whom such distributions will

 

64


be made, the methodology by which such distributions will be allocated, and when such distributions will be made. The order also required that transfer agency fees received from the Affected Funds since December 1, 2004, less certain expenses, be placed in escrow and provided that a portion of such fees might be subsequently distributed in accordance with the terms of the order. On April 3, 2006, an aggregate amount of approximately $9 million held in escrow was distributed to the Affected Funds.

The order required SBFM to recommend a new transfer agent contract to the Fund boards within 180 days of the entry of the order; if a Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent or sub-transfer agent, SBFM and CGMI would have been required, at their expense, to engage an independent monitor to oversee a competitive bidding process. On November 21, 2005, and within the specified timeframe, the Affected Funds’ Boards selected a new transfer agent for the Affected Funds. No Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent. Under the order, SBFM also must comply with an amended version of a vendor policy that Citigroup instituted in August 2004.

Although there can be no assurance, the manager does not believe that this matter will have a material adverse effect on the Affected Funds.

On December 1, 2005, Citigroup completed the sale of substantially all of its global asset management business, including SBFM, to Legg Mason.

 

65


Beginning in August 2005, five class action lawsuits alleging violations of federal securities laws and state law were filed against CGMI and SBFM (collectively, the “Defendants”) based on the May 31, 2005 settlement order issued against the Defendants by the SEC as described above. The complaints seek injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive damages, removal of SBFM as the investment manager for the Smith Barney family of funds, rescission of the Funds’ management and other contracts with SBFM, recovery of all fees paid to SBFM pursuant to such contracts, and an award of attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses.

On October 5, 2005, a motion to consolidate the five actions and any subsequently filed, related action was filed. That motion contemplates that a consolidated amended complaint alleging substantially similar causes of action will be filed in the future.

As of the date of this report, the funds’ investment manager believes that resolution of the pending lawsuit will not have a material effect on the financial position or results of operations of the funds or the ability of the funds’ investment manager and its affiliates to continue to render services to the funds under their respective contracts.

On September 16, 2005, the staff of the SEC informed SBFM and ClearBridge Asset Management Inc (formerly Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc) that the staff is considering recommending that the SEC institute administrative proceedings against SBFM and ClearBridge Asset Management Inc for alleged violations of Section 19(a) and 34(b) of the Investment Company Act (and related Rule 19a-1). The notification is a result of an industry wide inspection by the SEC and is based upon alleged deficiencies in disclosures regarding dividends and distributions paid to shareholders of certain funds. Section 19(a) and related Rule 19a-1 of the Investment Company Act generally require funds that are making dividend and distribution payments to provide shareholders with a written statement disclosing the source of the dividends and distributions, and, in particular, the portion of the payments made from each of net investment income, undistributed net profits and/or paid-in capital. In connection with the contemplated proceedings, the staff may seek a cease and desist order and/or monetary damages from SBFM or ClearBridge Asset Management Inc.

Although there can be no assurance, the funds’ manager believes that this matter is not likely to have a material adverse effect on the funds.

The foregoing speaks only as of the date of this SAI. Additional lawsuits presenting allegations and requests for relief arising out of or in connection with any of the foregoing matters may be filed against these and related parties in the future.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The audited financial statements of the funds’ predecessors (Statement of Assets and Liabilities as of October 31, 2006, Statement of Operations for the year ended October 31, 2006, Statements of Changes in Net Assets for each of the years in the two-year period ended October 31, 2006, Financial Highlights for each of the years in the five-year period ended October 31, 2006, and Notes to Financial Statements along with the Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, each of which is included in the Annual Report to Shareholders of the Fund), are incorporated by reference into this Statement of Additional Information (Filed on [            ]; Accession Number[            ]).

 

66


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67


APPENDIX A

BARRETT ASSOCIATES, INC.

PROXY VOTING GUIDELINES

Barrett has adopted general proxy voting guidelines, which are summarized below. These guidelines are not an exhaustive list of all the issues that may arise and the manager cannot anticipate all future situations. In all cases, each proxy will be considered based on the relevant facts and circumstances.

Board of Directors

The manager votes proxies for the election of a company’s nominees for directors and for board-approved proposals on other matters relating to the board of directors with the following exceptions: (i) votes are withheld for the entire board of directors if the board does not have a majority of independent directors or the board does not have nominating, audit and compensation committees composed solely of independent directors, (although, for mutual fund companies, where there is generally not a compensation committee, votes are withheld for the entire board of directors if the board does not have a majority of independent directors or the board does not have nominating and audit committees composed solely of independent directors); (ii) votes are withheld for any nominee for director who is considered an independent director by the company and who has received compensation from the company other than for service as a director; and (iii) votes are cast on a case-by-case basis in contested elections of directors.

Executive Compensation

The manager generally favors compensation programs that relate executive compensation to a company’s long-term performance. Votes are cast on a case-by-case basis on board-approved proposals relating to executive compensation, except as follows: (i) where the manager is otherwise withholding votes for the entire board of directors, the manager votes for stock option plans that will result in a minimal annual dilution; (ii) the manager votes against stock option plans or proposals that permit replacing or repricing of underwater options; (iii) the manager votes against stock option plans that permit issuance of options with an exercise price below the stock’s current market price; and (iv) except where the manager is otherwise withholding votes for the entire board of directors, the manager votes for employee stock purchase plans that limit the discount for shares purchased under the plan to no more than 15% of their market value, have an offering period of 27 months or less and result in dilution of 10% or less.

Matters Relating to Capitalization

The management of a company’s capital structure involves a number of important issues, including cash flows, financing needs and market conditions that are unique to the circumstances of each company. As a result, the manager votes on a case-by-case basis on board-approved proposals involving changes to a company’s capitalization except where the manager is otherwise withholding votes for the entire board of directors. In general, (i) the manager votes for proposals relating to the authorization of additional common stock; (ii) the manager votes for proposals to effect stock splits (excluding reverse stock splits); and (iii) the manager votes for proposals authorizing share repurchase programs.

Acquisitions, Mergers, Reorganizations and Other Transactions

The manager votes these issues on a case-by-case basis on board-approved transactions.

Matters Relating to Anti-Takeover Measures

The manager votes against board-approved proposals to adopt anti-takeover measures except as follows: (i) the manager votes on a case-by-case basis on proposals to ratify or approve shareholder rights plans; and (ii) the manager votes on a case-by-case basis on proposals to adopt fair price provisions.

Other Business Matters

The manager votes for board-approved proposals approving such routine business matters such as changing the company’s name, ratifying the appointment of auditors and procedural matters relating to the shareholder meeting. The manager votes on a case-by-case basis on proposals to amend a company’s charter or bylaws. The manager votes against authorization to transact other unidentified, substantive business at the meeting.

Shareholder Proposals

SEC regulations permit shareholders to submit proposals for inclusion in a company’s proxy statement. These proposals generally seek to change some aspect of a company’s corporate governance structure or to change some aspect of its business operations. The manager votes in accordance with the recommendation of the company’s board of directors on all shareholder proposals, except as follows: (i) the manager votes for shareholder proposals to require shareholder approval of shareholder rights plans; (ii) the manager votes for shareholder proposals that are consistent with the manager’s proxy voting guidelines for board-approved proposals; and (iii) the manager votes on a case-by-case basis on other shareholder proposals where the firm is otherwise withholding votes for the entire board of directors.

 

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Voting Shares of Investment Companies

The manager may utilize shares of open or closed-end investment companies to implement its investment strategies. Shareholder votes for investment companies that fall within the categories listed above are voted in accordance with those guidelines. The manager votes on a case-by-case basis on proposals relating to changes in the investment objectives of an investment company taking into account the original intent of the fund, changes in fundamental investment restrictions and the role the fund plays in the clients’ portfolios. The manager votes on a case-by-case basis all proposals that would result in increases in expenses (e.g., proposals to adopt 12b-1 plans, alter investment advisory arrangements or approve fund mergers) taking into account comparable expenses for similar funds and the services to be provided.

Where there may be a potential conflict of interest if the manager is receiving investment advisory fees from an investment company, the manager generally votes in support of decisions reached by the majority of independent directors.

Voting Shares of Foreign Issuers

In the event the manager is required to vote on proxies relating to securities issued by foreign issuers, i.e., issuers that are incorporated under the laws of a foreign jurisdiction and that are not listed on a U.S. securities exchange or the Nasdaq stock market, the following guidelines are used, which are premised on the existence of a sound corporate governance and disclosure framework. These guidelines, however, may not be appropriate under some circumstances for foreign issuers and therefore apply only where applicable. In general, Barrett votes (i) for shareholder proposals calling for a majority of the directors to be independent of management, (ii) for shareholder proposals seeking to increase the independence of board nominating, audit and compensation committees, and (iii) for shareholder proposals that implement corporate governance standards similar to those established under U.S. federal law and the listing requirements of U.S. stock exchanges, and that do not otherwise violate the laws of the jurisdiction under which the company is incorporated.

Barrett votes on a case-by-case basis on proposals relating to (i) the issuance of common stock in excess of 20% of a company’s outstanding common stock where shareholders do not have preemptive rights, or (ii) the issuance of common stock in excess of 100% of a company’s outstanding common stock where shareholders have preemptive rights.

 

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BATTERYMARCH FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, INC.

PROXY VOTING PHILOSOPHY

Batterymarch recognizes that proxy voting is an integral part of its responsibilities as an investment manager. As a general principle, Batterymarch believes proxies should be voted solely in the best interests of its clients. Batterymarch generally votes proxies with a view to enhancing the value of the securities held in client accounts; Batterymarch will generally vote for any proposal that will maximize shareholder wealth or expand shareholder rights, and vote against any proposal that might decrease shareholder wealth or rights.

When Batterymarch is responsible for voting proxies, Batterymarch’s policy is generally to vote in accordance with the recommendations of Institutional Shareholder Services (“ISS”), a recognized authority on proxy voting and corporate governance. Voting will normally be conducted in accordance with ISS’s standard guidelines. However, a client may direct Batterymarch to vote in accordance with the guidelines of Proxy Voter Services (“PVS”), an independent division of ISS which focuses on the specific concerns of Taft-Hartley plans and which conform to the AFL-CIO voting guidelines. In instances where ISS has not made any recommendations with respect to a proxy, Batterymarch will generally vote in accordance with ISS’s proxy voting guidelines.

BATTERYMARCH FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, INC.

PROXY VOTING POLICIES AND PROCEDURES

INTRODUCTION

Batterymarch’s primary focus and responsibility is to preserve and enhance its clients’ investment returns. An integral part of this responsibility is encouraging good corporate governance practices by the companies we invest in through conscientiously exercising shareholder rights. We believe this will result in increased value for shareholders.

Batterymarch has adopted and implemented the following policies and procedures, which we believe are reasonably designed to ensure that Batterymarch’s votes are cast in a consistent manner that place our clients’ interests first.

Batterymarch’s Proxy Voting Philosophy and Guidelines are an integral part of this document.

VOTING AND MONITORING RESPONSIBILITY

Batterymarch’s Compliance Department is responsible for managing and monitoring proxy voting operations. Batterymarch has retained Institutional Shareholder Services (“ISS”), a recognized authority on proxy voting and corporate governance, to provide day-to-day proxy voting services, including, but not limited to, obtaining information from clients’ custodians, reconciling proxy ballots, providing vote recommendations, voting, recordkeeping and reporting. Batterymarch’s compliance personnel are responsible for managing the relationship with ISS and ensuring that Batterymarch’s fiduciary obligations are met.

VOTING AUTHORITY

Batterymarch assumes voting authority for all client accounts unless a client’s Investment Management Agreement explicitly states otherwise.

HOW PROXIES ARE VOTED

Batterymarch’s policy is generally to vote in accordance with the recommendations of ISS. Voting will normally be conducted in accordance with ISS’s standard guidelines. However, a client may direct Batterymarch to vote in accordance with the guidelines of Proxy Voter Services (“PVS”), an independent division of ISS which focuses on the specific concerns of Taft-Hartley plans and which conform to the AFL-CIO voting guidelines. In instances where ISS has not made any recommendations with respect to a proxy, Batterymarch will generally vote in accordance with ISS’s proxy voting guidelines.

Under certain circumstances, Batterymarch may believe that it will be in the best interests of clients to vote against ISS’s recommendations or, in cases where ISS has not provided Batterymarch with any recommendations with respect to a proxy, to vote in contradiction with ISS’s general proxy voting guidelines. In such cases, provided that Batterymarch’s Compliance Department does not identify a material conflict of interest in overriding an ISS vote recommendation or voting against ISS’s proxy voting guidelines, Batterymarch will override the voting recommendation of ISS.

Batterymarch will generally cast votes for all shares for which it has voting authority, unless the cost of voting is presumed to outweigh the benefit. Batterymarch’s policy regarding when it may not vote proxies is described below.

 

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CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

Potential conflicts of interest may arise due to a variety of reasons that could affect how Batterymarch votes proxies. Batterymarch manages assets for a wide variety of clients that may have mutually exclusive goals regarding the outcome of a shareholders meeting. Batterymarch may have a conflict of interest when a company that is soliciting a proxy is an advisory client of Batterymarch, or when Batterymarch’s employees have an interest in a proxy voting proposal that is at variance with the interests of Batterymarch’s clients. With the ability to influence the outcome of a corporation’s shareholders meeting comes the responsibility to prevent potential conflicts of interest from affecting the way we cast our votes. Batterymarch attempts to minimize material conflicts of interest by using pre-determined voting guidelines and by obtaining vote recommendations from ISS.

If one or more members of Batterymarch’s investment teams believe that it will be in the best interests of clients to vote in contradiction with ISS’s recommendations or, in cases where ISS has not provided Batterymarch with any recommendations with respect to a proxy, to vote in contradiction with ISS’s general proxy voting guidelines, Batterymarch’s Compliance Department will be responsible for identifying whether any proxy voting proposals present a conflict of interest .

If such a proposal is identified, Batterymarch’s compliance personnel will decide whether it presents a material conflict of interest.

If a conflict of interest is identified, proxy proposals that are “routine,” such as uncontested elections of directors, meeting formalities, and approval of financial statements, generally will not result in a material conflict of interest. Material conflicts of interest are more likely to result from non-routine proxy proposals. Non-routine proposals would typically include any contested matter, including a contested election of directors, a merger or sale of substantial assets, a change in the articles of incorporation that materially affects the rights of shareholders, and compensation matters for management (e.g., stock option plans and retirement plans).

If Batterymarch’s Compliance Department determines that a material conflict of interest exists, Batterymarch may vote the proposal in accordance with either the recommendations of (a) ISS, (b) another authorized person of Batterymarch if the material conflict of interest does not relate to such other person or Batterymarch itself, or (c) each client whose portfolio includes the applicable security. If Batterymarch solicits instructions from clients on how to vote a proposal or proxy, Batterymarch may or may not disclose to such clients the nature of the conflict of interest.

WHEN BATTERYMARCH MAY NOT VOTE

Batterymarch generally does not vote proxies when it determines that the cost of voting outweighs the benefit of doing so. Voting in foreign markets typically incurs higher costs than voting in the U.S. Among the various costs associated with voting foreign shares are fees for translating meeting materials, custody fees, and charges for obtaining power of attorney documents. We have identified the most significant potential cost as the loss of liquidity connected with voting in share blocking markets.

In share blocking markets, regulations designed to establish eligibility for voting require that shares be blocked from trading for a period of time before and/or after a shareholder meeting. During the blocking period, any pending trades in blocked shares will not settle. Depending on the market, this period can last from one day to several weeks, assuming a quorum is achieved. If the first call for a meeting fails to meet quorum, it may be necessary to conduct a second or even third call, thereby extending the blocking period. If a sale of blocked shares must be executed to satisfy a client redemption request or is otherwise deemed desirable by Batterymarch, it will settle late and potentially be subject to interest charges or other punitive fees or practices such as automatic buy-in procedures.

Because of these inherent risks, we have decided not to vote in markets where share blocking is practiced, unless we determine that a particular proposal or series of proposals is likely to represent a substantial increase in shareholder value and/or rights. This decision will be based on the determination of Batterymarch’s investment personnel.

ISS sends a periodic report of securities with upcoming meetings in share blocking markets. This report details the type of meeting, the market and the blocking period. Batterymarch’s Compliance Department monitors these upcoming meetings, consults with Batterymarch investment team members responsible for investing in each market and arrives at a decision on whether or not to vote.

RECORDKEEPING AND REPORTING

ISS maintains complete records of all votes cast on behalf of each of Batterymarch’s client accounts, including the number of shares held, meeting date, type of meeting, management recommendation, and the rationale for each vote. ISS provides Batterymarch with periodic, customized reports for each client account for which Batterymarch votes proxies.

PROXY VOTING GUIDELINES

In the absence of any specific direction from clients, proxy voting will normally be conducted in accordance with ISS’s standard guidelines. The following attachments are concise summaries of ISS’s standard proxy voting policy guidelines relating to domestic and global proxies.

 

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LEGG MASON PARTNERS INVESTMENT TRUST

 

 

Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund

 

Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund

 

                                         [            ], 2007

LEGG MASON PARTNERS INVESTMENT TRUST

125 Broad Street

New York, NY 10004


 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS FUNDAMENTAL VALUE FUND

Supplement Dated April     , 2007

to Prospectus Dated                      , 2007

The attached prospectus is now dated April     , 2007.

As part of a number of initiatives launched in 2006 to restructure and streamline the Legg Mason Partners fund complex, the fund assumed the assets and liabilities of a predecessor fund, Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund, Inc. The fund is now grouped for organizational and governance purposes with other Legg Mason Partners funds that are predominantly equity-type funds. The prospectus is supplemented as shown below to reflect this change. Any information in the prospectus relating to the fund prior to the date of this Prospectus refers to the fund’s predecessor.

Performance Information

The summary performance information in the prospectus is that of the fund’s predecessor.

Management – Other Information

The paragraph beneath the heading “Other Information” in the “Management” section of the prospectus is deleted.

Financial Highlights

The financial information shown in the “Financial Highlights” section of the prospectus is that of the fund’s predecessor.


PROSPECTUS

January     , 2007

The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or determined whether this prospectus is accurate or complete. Any statement to the contrary is a crime.

LOGO

Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund, Inc.

Class A, B, C and I Shares

 

 

 

INVESTMENT PRODUCTS: NOT FDIC INSURED Ÿ NO BANK GUARANTEE Ÿ MAY LOSE VALUE

 


Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund, Inc.

Contents

 

Investments, risks and performance

  2

More on the fund’s investments

  7

Management

  9

Choosing a class of shares to buy

  13

Comparing the fund’s classes

  15

Sales charge

  16

More about contingent deferred sales charge s

  20

Retirement and institutional investors

  21

Buying shares

  23

Exchanging shares

  24

Redeeming shares

  26

Other things to know about transactions

  28

Dividends, distributions and taxes

  31

Share price

  33

Financial highlights

  35

 

Prior to April 7, 2006, the fund was known as Smith Barney Fundamental Value Fund Inc.


 

Investments, risks and performance

Investment objective

The fund seeks long-term capital growth. Current income is a secondary consideration.

Principal investment strategies

Key investments

The fund invests primarily in common stocks and common stock equivalents, such as preferred stocks and securities convertible into common stocks, of companies the portfolio managers believe are undervalued in the marketplace. While the portfolio managers select investments primarily for their capital appreciation potential, secondary consideration is given to a company’s dividend record and the potential for an improved dividend return. The fund invests in securities of large, well-known companies but may also invest a significant portion of its assets in securities of small to medium sized companies when the portfolio managers believe smaller companies offer more attractive value opportunities.

Selection process

The portfolio managers employ a two-step stock selection process in their search for undervalued stocks of temporarily out of favor companies. First, the portfolio managers use proprietary models and fundamental research to try to identify stocks that are underpriced in the market relative to their fundamental value. Next, the portfolio managers look for a positive catalyst in the company’s near term outlook which the portfolio managers believe will accelerate earnings or improve the value of the company’s assets. The portfolio managers also emphasize companies in those sectors of the economy which the portfolio managers believe are undervalued relative to other sectors.

When evaluating an individual stock, the portfolio managers look for:

n   Low market valuations measured by the portfolio managers’ valuation models
n   Positive changes in earnings prospects because of factors such as:
  ¨   New, improved or unique products and services
  ¨   New or rapidly expanding markets for the company’s products
  ¨   New management
  ¨   Changes in the economic, financial, regulatory or political environment particularly affecting the company
  ¨   Effective research, product development and marketing
  ¨   A business strategy not yet recognized by the marketplace

Principal risks of investing in the fund

Investors could lose money on their investment in the fund, or the fund may not perform as well as other investments, if:

n   Stock prices decline generally
n   The portfolio managers’ judgment about the attractiveness, value or potential appreciation of a particular stock proves to be incorrect
n   An adverse event, such as negative press reports about a company in which the fund invests, depresses the value of the company’s stock
n   The markets strongly favor growth stocks over stocks with value characteristics

 

2         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

n   Small or medium capitalization companies fall out of favor with investors

Compared to mutual funds that focus only on large capitalization companies, the fund’s share price may be more volatile because the fund invests a significant portion of its assets in small and medium capitalization companies.

Compared to large companies, small and medium capitalization companies are more likely to have:

n   More limited product lines
n   Fewer capital resources
n   More limited management depth

Further, securities of small and medium capitalization companies are more likely to:

n   Experience sharper swings in market values
n   Be harder to sell at times and at prices the portfolio managers believe appropriate
n   Offer greater potential for gains and losses

Who may want to invest

The fund may be an appropriate investment if you:

n   Are seeking to participate in the long-term growth potential of the United States stock market
n   Are looking for an investment with potentially greater return but higher risk than fixed income investments
n   Are willing to accept the risks of the stock market

Performance information

The following shows summary performance information for the fund in a bar chart and an Average Annual Total Returns table. The information provides an indication of the risks of investing in the fund by showing changes in its performance from year to year and by showing how the fund’s average annual total returns compare with the returns of broad-based securities market indices, and an index of similar funds. The bar chart and the information below show performance of the fund’s Class A shares, but do not reflect the impact of sales charges (loads). If they did, the returns would be lower than those shown. Unlike the bar chart, the performance for Class A, B, C and I (1) shares in the Average Annual Total Returns table reflects the impact of the maximum sales charge (load) applicable to the respective classes, and, where indicated, the performance for Class A shares reflects the impact of taxes paid on distributions and the redemption of shares at the end of the period. The fund’s past performance, before and after taxes, is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future.

 

Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund         3


 

Total Return for Class A Shares

LOGO

Highest and lowest quarter returns (for periods shown in the bar chart)

Highest:     % in      quarter     ; Lowest: (    )% in      quarter     

 

(1)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

Average Annual Total Returns (for periods ended December 31, 2006)

 

      1 Year   5 Years   10 Years   Since
Inception
  Inception
Date

Class A

         
 
Return before taxes (1)       %       %           %       %   11/12/81
 
Return after taxes on distributions (1)(2)       %       %       %   N/A   N/A
 
Return after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares (1)(2)       %       %       %   N/A   N/A
 
Other Classes (Return before taxes only)          
 

Class B

      %       %       %       %   11/6/92
 

Class C

      %       %       %       %   08/10/93
 

Class l (3)

      %       %   N/A       %   01/30/96
 
Russell 3000 Index (5)(7)       %       %       %   N/A   N/A
 
S&P 500 Index (4)(7)       %       %       %   N/A   N/A
 
Lipper Multi-Cap Core Fund Avg (6)(7)       %       %       %   N/A   N/A
 

 

(1)   On November 20, 2006, the maximum initial sales charge on Class A shares was increased for sales made on and after that date. The average annual returns for Class A shares in the table have been calculated as if the increased maximum initial sales charge had been in effect for the entire period.

 

(2)   After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of fund shares at the end of the measurement period. After-tax returns shown above for Class A shares only. After-tax returns for other share classes will vary.

 

(3)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares. Performance begins on January 30, 1996 since all Class Y shares were redeemed during calendar year 1995 and new Class Y shares were not purchased until January 30, 1996.

 

(4)   The Russell 3000 Index is an unmanaged index which measures the performance of the 3000 largest U.S. companies based on total market capitalization, which represent approximately 98% of the U.S. equity market.

 

(5)   The S&P 500 Index is a market-value weighted index comprised of 500 widely held common stocks.

 

(6)   The Lipper Multi-Cap Core Fund Average is a total return performance average of funds tracked by Lipper, Inc. Returns are based on the 12-month period ended December 31, 2005, calculated among the 194 funds in the fund’s Lipper category, including the reinvestment of dividends and capital gains, if any, and excluding sales charges and taxes.

 

(7)   An investor cannot invest directly in an index or average. The index performance does not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes. The average performance reflects fees and expenses but no deduction for sales charge.

 

4         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Fee table

This table sets forth the fees and expenses you may pay if you invest in fund shares.

 

Shareholder Fees

 

(paid directly from your investment)   Class A     Class B     Class C     Class I (1)
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a % of offering price)   5.75 %   None     None     None
 
Maximum contingent deferred sales charge (load) (as a % of the lower of net asset value at purchase or redemption)   None (2)   5.00 %   1.00 % (3)   None
 

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

 

(paid by the fund as a % of net assets)   Class A     Class B     Class C     Class I (1)  
Management fees (4)       %         %         %         %  
   
Distribution and service (12b-1) fees   0.25 %   1.00 %   1.00 %   0.00 %
   
Other expenses (5)       %         %         %         %  
   
Total annual fund operating expenses       %         %         %         %  
   

 

(1)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

(2)   You may buy Class A shares in amounts of $1,000,000 or more at net asset value (without an initial sales charge) but if you redeem those shares within 12 months of their purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

 

(3)   As of November 20, 2006, the deferred sales charge is waived for retirement plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund.

 

(4)   The fund has a fee schedule payable on assets as follows: 0.750% on assets up to and including $1.5 billion; 0.700% on assets over $1.5 billion and up to and including $2 billion; 0.650% on assets over $2 billion and up to and including $2.5 billion; 0.600% on assets over $2.5 billion and up to and including $3.5 billion; and 0.500% on assets over $3.5 billion. This management fee schedule went into effect on December 1, 2005.

 

(5)   The amounts set forth in “Other expenses” for Class A, B, C and I Shares have been restated to reflect the estimated effect of new transfer agency and custody contracts which became effective January 1, 2006.

Example

This example helps you compare the costs of investing in the fund with the costs of investing in other mutual funds. Your actual costs may be higher or lower. The example assumes:

n   You invest $10,000 in the fund for the period shown
n   Your investment has a 5% return each year — the assumption of a 5% return is required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) for purposes of this example and is not a prediction of the fund’s future performance
n   You reinvest all distributions and dividends without a sales charge
n   The fund’s operating expenses (before fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, if any) remain the same

 

Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund         5


 

Number of Years You Own Your Shares

 

      1 year   3 years   5 years   10 years  
Class A (with or without redemption)   $            $            $            $           
   
Class B (redemption at end of period)   $     $     $     $ (1 )
   
Class B (no redemption)   $     $     $     $ (1 )
   
Class C (redemption at end of period)   $     $     $     $    
   
Class C (no redemption)   $     $     $     $    
   
Class I (2) (with or without redemption)   $     $     $     $    
   

 

(1)   Assumes conversion to Class A shares approximately eight years after purchase.

 

(2)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

6         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

More on the fund’s investments

The fund’s investment objectives and principal investment strategies are described under the section entitled “Investments, risks and performance” above. This section provides further information about the investment strategies that may be used by the fund.

Foreign investments

The fund may invest up to 25% of its assets in securities of foreign issuers which may involve greater risk than securities of United States issuers. Many foreign countries the fund may invest in have markets that are less liquid and more volatile than markets in the U.S. In some foreign countries, less information is available about foreign issuers and markets because of less rigorous accounting and regulatory standards than in the United States. Currency fluctuations could erase investment gains or add to investment losses. The risks of investing in foreign securities are greater for securities of emerging market issuers because political or economic instability, lack of market liquidity, and negative government actions, such as currency controls or seizure of private businesses or property, are more likely.

Derivatives and hedging techniques

The fund may, but need not, use derivative contracts, such as futures and options on securities, securities indices or currencies; options on these futures; forward currency contracts; and interest rate or currency swaps for any of the following purposes:

n   To hedge against the economic impact of adverse changes in the market value of its securities, because of changes in stock market prices, currency exchange rates or interest rates
n   As a substitute for buying or selling securities
n   To enhance return
n   As a cash flow management technique

A derivative contract will obligate or entitle the fund to deliver or receive an asset or cash payment based on the change in value of one or more securities, currencies or indices. Even a small investment in derivative contracts can have a big impact on the fund’s stock market, currency and interest rate exposure. Therefore, using derivatives can disproportionately increase losses and reduce opportunities for gains when stock prices, currency rates or interest rates are changing. The fund may not fully benefit from or may lose money on derivatives if changes in their value do not correspond accurately to changes in the value of the fund’s holdings.

The other parties to certain derivative contracts present the same types of credit risk as issuers of fixed income securities. Derivatives also can make the fund less liquid and harder to value, especially in declining markets.

Securities of other investment companies

The fund may invest up to 10% of its assets in securities of other investment companies, including shares in a portfolio of securities that seeks to track the performance of an underlying equity index or a portion of an equity index.

 

Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund         7


 

Defensive investing

The fund may depart from its principal investment strategies in response to adverse market, economic or political conditions by taking temporary defensive positions in any type of money market instruments and short-term debt securities or cash without regard to any percentage limitations. If the fund takes a temporary defensive position, it may be unable to achieve its investment objective.

Other investments

The fund may also use other strategies and invest in other securities that are described, along with their risks, in the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”). However, the fund might not use all of the strategies and techniques or invest in all of the types of securities described in this Prospectus or in the SAI. Also note that there are many other factors, which are not described here, that could adversely affect your investment and that could prevent the fund from achieving its investment goals.

Portfolio holdings

The fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the fund’s portfolio securities are described in the SAI.

 

8         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Management

Manager and subadviser

Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC (“LMPFA” or the “manager”) is the fund’s investment manager. LMPFA, with offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022, is a recently organized investment adviser that has been formed to serve as the investment manager of the fund and other Legg Mason-sponsored funds. LMPFA provides administrative and certain oversight services to the fund. ClearBridge Advisors, LLC (“ClearBridge” or the “subadviser”) provides the day-to-day portfolio management of the fund, except for the management of cash and short-term instruments, which is performed by LMPFA.

ClearBridge has offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022 and is a recently-organized investment adviser that has been formed to succeed to the equity securities portfolio management business of Citigroup Asset Management, which was acquired by Legg Mason, Inc (“Legg Mason”) in December 2005.

LMPFA and ClearBridge are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Legg Mason, Inc. Legg Mason, whose principal executive offices are at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, is a global asset management company. As of December 31, 2006, Legg Mason’s asset management operation had aggregate assets under management of approximately $            billion.

Prior to August 1, 2006, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”) was the fund’s investment manager. SBFM is also a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason.

Portfolio manager

John G. Goode and Peter J. Hable serve as co-portfolio managers and are responsible for the day-to-day management of the fund. Mr. Goode is an investment officer of ClearBridge and Chairman and Chief Investment Officer of Davis Skaggs Investment Management (“Davis Skaggs”), a division of ClearBridge. Mr. Goode has been with ClearBridge or its predecessor companies since 1969. Mr. Hable is an investment officer of ClearBridge and President of Davis Skaggs. Mr. Hable has been with ClearBridge or its predecessor companies since 1983. Mr. Goode has over 37 years of investment management experience and Mr. Hable has 23 years of investment management experience. Both Mr. Goode and Mr. Hable have been involved in the day-to-day management of the fund’s portfolio since November 1990.

The SAI provides information about the compensation of the portfolio managers, other accounts they manage, and any fund shares held by the portfolio managers, and has more detailed information about the manager, the subadviser and other fund service providers.

Management fee

For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2006, the fund paid a management fee of         % of the fund’s average daily net assets for management services. For the period from October 1, 2005 through July 31, 2006, the fund paid SBFM a management fee equal to         % of the fund’s average daily net assets. For the period from August 1, 2006 through September 30, 2006, the fund paid LMPFA a management fee equal to         % of the fund’s average daily net assets.

 

Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund         9


 

A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of the fund’s management agreement and subadvisory agreement is available in the fund’s Annual Report for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2006.

Other information

The fund’s Board has approved a number of initiatives designed to streamline and restructure the fund complex, and has authorized seeking shareholder approval for those initiatives where shareholder approval is required. These initiatives include the election of a new Board, the grouping of the fund for organizational and governance purposes with other funds in the fund complex that are predominantly equity-type funds, and the adoption of a single form of organization as a Maryland business trust, with all funds operating under uniform charter documents. Fund shareholders entitled to vote also have been asked to approve investment matters, including standardized fundamental investment policies and the ability of the fund to change its investment objective without shareholder approval. Proxy materials describing these matters were mailed in October, 2006. If shareholder approval is obtained, these matters generally are expected to be effectuated during the first half of 2007.

Distribution plans

Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC (“LMIS”), a wholly-owned broker-dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”) and PFS Investments Inc. (“PFS”) serve as the fund’s distributors.

The fund has adopted a shareholder services and distribution plan for its Class A, B and C shares. Under the plan, the fund pays distribution and/or service fees. These fees are an ongoing expense and, over time, will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than other types of sales charges.

In addition, the distributors may make payments for distribution and/or shareholder servicing activities out of their past profits and other available sources. The distributors may also make payments to dealers for marketing, promotional or related expenses. The amount of these payments is determined by the distributors and may be substantial. The manager or an affiliate may make similar payments under similar arrangements.

The payments described in the paragraph above are often referred to as “revenue sharing payments.” The recipients of such payments may include the fund’s distributors, affiliates of the manager, broker/dealers, financial institutions and other financial intermediaries through which investors may purchase shares of the fund. In some circumstances, such payments may create an incentive for an intermediary or its employees or associated persons to recommend or sell shares of the fund to you. Please contact your financial intermediary for details about revenue sharing payments it may receive.

Recent developments

On May 31, 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued an order in connection with the settlement of an administrative proceeding against SBFM, the then-investment adviser or manager to the fund, and CGMI, relating to the appointment of an affiliated transfer agent for the Smith Barney family of mutual funds, including the fund (the “Affected Funds”).

 

10         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

The SEC order finds that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(1) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder (the “Advisers Act”). Specifically, the order finds that SBFM and CGMI knowingly or recklessly failed to disclose to the boards of the Affected Funds in 1999 when proposing a new transfer agent arrangement with an affiliated transfer agent that: First Data Investors Services Group (“First Data”), the Affected Funds’ then-existing transfer agent, had offered to continue as transfer agent and do the same work for substantially less money than before; and that Citigroup Asset Management (“CAM”), the Citigroup business unit that, at the time, included the Affected Funds’ investment manager and other investment advisory companies, had entered into a side letter with First Data under which CAM agreed to recommend the appointment of First Data as sub-transfer agent to the affiliated transfer agent in exchange, among other things, for a guarantee by First Data of specified amounts of asset management and investment banking fees to CAM and CGMI. The order also finds that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act by virtue of the omissions discussed above and other misrepresentations and omissions in the materials provided to the Affected Funds’ boards, including the failure to make clear that the affiliated transfer agent would earn a high profit for performing limited functions while First Data continued to perform almost all of the transfer agent functions, and the suggestion that the proposed arrangement was in the Affected Funds’ best interests and that no viable alternatives existed.

SBFM and CGMI do not admit or deny any wrongdoing or liability. The settlement does not establish wrongdoing or liability for purposes of any other proceeding. The SEC censured SBFM and CGMI and ordered them to cease and desist from violations of Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Advisers Act. The order required Citigroup to pay $208.1 million, including $109 million in disgorgement of profits, $19.1 million in interest, and a civil money penalty of $80 million. Approximately $24.4 million has already been paid to the Affected Funds, primarily through fee waivers. The remaining $183.7 million, including the penalty, has been paid to the U.S. Treasury and will be distributed pursuant to a plan submitted for the approval of the SEC. At this time, there is no certainty as to how the above-described proceeds of the settlement will be distributed, to whom such distributions will be made, the methodology by which such distributions will be allocated, and when such distributions will be made. The order also required that transfer agency fees received from the Affected Funds since December 1, 2004, less certain expenses, be placed in escrow and provided that a portion of such fees might be subsequently distributed in accordance with the terms of the order. On April 3, 2006, an aggregate amount of approximately $9 million held in escrow was distributed to the Affected Funds.

The order required SBFM to recommend a new transfer agent contract to the Fund boards within 180 days of the entry of the order; if a Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent or sub-transfer agent, SBFM and CGMI would have been required, at their expense, to engage an independent monitor to oversee a competitive bidding process. On November 21, 2005, and within the specified timeframe, the Affected Funds’ Boards selected a new transfer agent for the Affected Funds. No Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent. Under the order, SBFM also must comply with an amended version of a vendor policy that Citigroup instituted in August 2004.

 

Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund         11


 

Although there can be no assurance, the manager does not believe that this matter will have a material adverse effect on the Affected Funds.

On December 1, 2005, Citigroup completed the sale of substantially all of its global asset management business, including SBFM, to Legg Mason.

 

12         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Choosing a class of shares to buy

Individual investors can generally choose among three classes of shares: Classes A, B and C shares. Individual investors that held Class I (formerly Class Y) shares prior to November 20, 2006, may continue to invest in Class I shares. Institutional and retirement plan investors and clients of financial intermediaries should refer to “Retirement and institutional investors” below for a description of the classes available to them. Each class has different sales charges and expenses, allowing you to choose the class that best meets your needs.

When choosing which class of shares to buy, you should consider:

n   How much you plan to invest
n   How long you expect to own the shares
n   The expenses paid by each class detailed in the Fee Table and Example at the front of this prospectus
n   Whether you qualify for any reduction or waiver of sales charges

If you are choosing between Class A and Class B shares, it will in almost all cases be the more economical choice for you to purchase Class A shares if you plan to purchase shares in an amount of $100,000 or more (whether in a single purchase or through aggregation of eligible holdings). This is because of the reduced sales charge available on larger investments of Class A shares and the lower ongoing expenses of Class A shares compared to Class B shares.

If you intend to invest for only a few years, the effect of Class B contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions made within five years of purchase, as well as the effect of higher expenses of that class, might make an investment in Class C more appropriate. There is no initial sales charge on Class C shares, and the contingent deferred sales charge does not apply to shares redeemed one year after purchase.

However, if you plan to invest a large amount and your investment horizon is five years or more, Class C shares might not be as advantageous as Class A shares. This is because the annual asset-based sales charge on Class C shares will have a greater impact on your account over the longer term than the reduced front-end sales charge available for larger purchases of Class A shares.

You may buy shares from:

n   Certain broker/dealers, financial intermediaries, financial institutions, a distributor’s financial advisors or registered representatives (each called a “Service Agent”)
n   The fund, but only if you are investing through certain qualified plans or Service Agents.

Different types of shareholder services may be available to you under arrangements offered by different Service Agents. In addition, these services may vary depending on the share class in which you choose to invest. In making your decision regarding which share class to buy, please keep in mind that your Service Agent may receive different compensation depending on the share class in which you invest. Investors should consult with their Service Agent about comparative pricing of shareholder services available to them under each available share class, the compensation that will be received by their Service Agent in connection with each available share class, and other factors that may be relevant to the investor’s choice of share class in which to invest.

 

Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund         13


 

Not all classes of shares are available through each Service Agent. You should contact your Service Agent for further information.

Investment minimums

Minimum initial and additional investment amounts vary depending on the class of shares you buy and the nature of your investment.

 

    Investment Minimum
Initial/Additional Investment (1 )
      Class A   Class B   Class C   Class I
(formerly Y)

General

  $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50   n/a
 

IRAs and Uniform Gifts or Transfers to Minor Accounts

  $ 250/$50   $ 250/$50   $ 250/$50   n/a
 

SIMPLE IRAs

  $ 1/$1   $ 1/$1   $ 1/$1   n/a
 

Systematic Investment Plans

  $ 25/$25   $ 25/$25   $ 25/$25   n/a
 

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries

  $ 1/$1     n/a     n/a   None/
None
 

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund

   
 
None/
None
    n/a    
 
None/
None
  None/
None
 

Other Retirement Plans

  $ 50/$50   $ 50/$50   $ 50/$50   n/a
 

Institutional Investors

  $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50   $1 million/

None

 

 

(1)   Please refer to the section entitled “Retirement and institutional investors” for additional information regarding the investment minimum and eligibility requirements for Retirement Plans, Institutional Investors and Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries.

More information about the fund’s classes of shares is available through the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website. You’ll find detailed information about sales charges and ways you can qualify for reduced or waived sales charges, including:

n   The front-end sales charges that apply to the purchase of Class A shares
n   The contingent deferred sales charges that apply to the redemption of Class B shares, Class C shares and certain Class A shares (redeemed within one year)
n   Who qualifies for lower sales charges on Class A shares
n   Who qualifies for a sales load waiver

Go to http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices and click on the name of the fund.

 

14         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Comparing the fund’s classes

The following table compares key features of the fund’s classes. You should review the Fee table and Example at the front of this prospectus carefully before choosing your share class. Your Service Agent can help you decide which class meets your goals. Your Service Agent may receive different compensation depending upon which class you choose.

 

      Class A   Class B   Class C   Class I
(formerly Y)
Key features  

n   Initial sales charge

n   You may qualify for reduction or waiver of initial sales charge

n   Generally lower annual expenses than Class B and Class C

 

n   No initial sales charge

n   Contingent deferred sales charge declines over time

n   Converts to Class A after approximately 8 years

n   Generally higher annual expenses than Class A

 

n   No initial sales charge

n   Contingent deferred sales charge for only 1 year

n   Does not convert to Class A

n   Generally higher annual expenses than Class A

 

n   No initial or contingent deferred sales charge

n   Only offered to institutional and other eligible investors

n   Generally lower expenses than the other classes

Initial sales charge  

Up to 5.75%; reduced or waived for large purchases and certain investors. No charge for purchases of $1 million or more

 

None

 

None

 

None

Contingent deferred sales charge  

1.00% on purchases of $1 million or more if you redeem within 1 year of purchase; waived for certain investors

 

Up to 5.00% charged when you redeem shares. This charge is reduced over time and there is no contingent deferred sales charge after 5 years; waived for certain investors

 

1.00% if you redeem within 1 year of purchase; waived for certain investors

 

None

Annual distribution and service fees  

0.25% of average daily net assets

 

1.00% of average daily net assets

 

1.00% of average daily net assets

 

None

Exchange Privilege (1 )  

Class A shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class B shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class C shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class I shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

(1)   Ask your Service Agent for the Legg Mason Partners Funds available for exchange.

 

Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund         15


 

Sales charge

Class A shares

You buy Class A shares at the offering price, which is the net asset value plus a sales charge. You pay a lower sales charge as the size of your investment increases to certain levels called breakpoints. You do not pay a sales charge on the fund’s distributions or dividends you reinvest in additional Class A shares.

The table below shows the rate of sales charge you pay, depending on the amount you purchase, for purchases made on or after November 20, 2006. The table below also shows the amount of broker/dealer compensation that will be paid out of the sales charge. For Class A shares sold by LMIS, LMIS will receive the sales charge imposed on purchases of Class A shares (or any contingent deferred sales charge paid on redemptions) and will retain the full amount of such sales charge. For Class A shares sold by CGMI, CGMI will receive the sales charge imposed on purchases of Class A shares and will retain an amount equal to the broker/dealer commission paid out of the sales charge. LMIS will receive any portion not retained by CGMI. For Class A shares sold by PFS, PFS will receive the sales charge imposed on purchases of Class A shares (or any contingent deferred sales charge paid on redemptions) and will retain the full amount of such sales charge. Service Agents (including CGMI and PFS) will also receive a distribution/service fee payable on Class A shares at an annual rate of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class A shares serviced by them.

 

Amount of Investment   Sales Charge
as % of
offering price
  Sales Charge as
% of net
amount invested
  Broker/Dealer
Commission
as % of
Offering Price

Less than $25,000

  5.75   6.10   5.00
 

$25,000 but less than $50,000

  5.00   5.26   4.25
 

$50,000 but less than $100,000

  4.50   4.71   3.75
 

$100,000 but less than $250,000

  3.50   3.63   2.75
 

$250,000 but less than $500,000

  2.50   2.56   2.00
 

$500,000 but less than $750,000

  2.00   2.04   1.60
 

$750,000 but less than $1 million

  1.50   1.52   1.20
 

$1 million or more (1)

  -0-   -0-   up to 1.00
 

 

(1)   A distributor may pay a commission of up to 1.00% to a Service Agent for purchase amounts of $1 million or more. In such cases, starting in the thirteenth month after purchase, the Service Agent will also receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class A shares held by its clients. Prior to the thirteenth month, the distributor will retain this fee. Where the Service Agent does not receive the payment of this commission, the Service Agent will instead receive the annual distribution/service fee starting immediately after purchase. Please contact your Service Agent for more information.

Investments of $1,000,000 or more

You do not pay an initial sales charge when you buy $1,000,000 or more of Class A shares. However, if you redeem these Class A shares within one year of purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

 

16         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Qualifying for a reduced Class A sales charge

There are several ways you can combine multiple purchases of Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds to take advantage of the breakpoints in the sales charge schedule. In order to take advantage of reductions in sales charges that may be available to you when you purchase fund shares, you must inform your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services if are eligible for a letter of intent or a right of accumulation and if you own shares of other Legg Mason Partners Funds that are eligible to be aggregated with your purchases. Certain records, such as account statements, may be necessary in order to verify your eligibility for reduced sales charges.

n   Accumulation privilege – allows you to combine the current value of Class A shares of the fund with other shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds that are owned by:
  ¨   you; or
  ¨   your spouse and children under the age of 21

with the dollar amount of your next purchase of Class A shares for purposes of calculating the initial sales charge.

Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or its affiliates (other than money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners Funds), Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. may not be combined.

If you hold shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds in accounts at two or more Service Agents, please contact your Service Agents to determine which shares may be combined.

Certain trustees and fiduciaries may be entitled to combine accounts in determining their sales charge.

n   Letter of intent – allows you to purchase Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds over a 13-month period and pay the same sales charge on Class A shares, if any, as if all shares had been purchased at once. At the time you enter into the letter of intent, you select your asset goal amount. Generally, purchases of Legg Mason Partners Fund shares that are purchased during the 13-month period by
  ¨   you; or
  ¨   your spouse and children under the age of 21

are eligible for inclusion under the letter, based on the public offering price at the time of the purchase, and any capital appreciation on those shares. You may also backdate your letter up to 90 days in which case eligible purchases made during that period will be treated as purchases made under the letter. In addition, you can include towards your asset goal amount the current value of any eligible purchases that were made prior to the date of entering into the letter of intent and are still held.

If you hold shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds in accounts at two or more Service Agents, please contact your Service Agents to determine which shares may be credited towards your letter of intent asset goal.

Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or its affiliates (other than money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners Funds), Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. may not be credited toward your letter of intent asset goal.

If you do not meet your asset goal amount, shares in the amount of any sales charges due, based on the amount of your actual purchases, will be redeemed from your account.

 

Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund         17


 

Waivers for certain Class A investors

Class A initial sales charges are waived for certain types of investors, including:

n   Employees of Service Agents having dealer, service or other selling agreements with the fund’s distributors
n   Investors who redeemed Class A shares of a Legg Mason Partners Fund in the past 60 days, if the investor’s Service Agent is notified
n   Directors and officers of any Legg Mason-sponsored fund
n   Employees of Legg Mason and its subsidiaries

If you qualify for a waiver of the Class A initial sales charge, you must notify your Service Agent or the transfer agent at the time of purchase and provide sufficient information at the time of purchase to permit verification that the purchase qualifies for the initial sales charge waiver.

If you want to learn about additional waivers of Class A initial sales charges, contact your Service Agent, consult the SAI or look at the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website, http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices, and click on the name of the fund.

Class B shares

You buy Class B shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. However, if you redeem your Class B shares within five years of your purchase payment, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge. The contingent deferred sales charge decreases as the number of years since your purchase payment increases.

 

Year after purchase   1st     2nd     3rd     4th     5th     6th through 8th  

Contingent deferred sales charge

  5 %   4 %   3 %   2 %   1 %   0 %
   

LMIS will pay Service Agents other than PFS, including CGMI, selling Class B shares a commission of up to 4.00% of the purchase price of the Class B shares they sell, and LMIS will retain the contingent deferred sales charges. For Class B shares sold by PFS, PFS will pay a commission of up to 4.00% of the purchase price of the Class B shares sold by its Service Agents and will retain the contingent deferred sales charges paid upon certain redemptions. Service Agents also receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class B shares serviced by them.

 

18         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Class B conversion

After approximately 8 years, Class B shares automatically convert into Class A shares. This helps you because Class A shares have lower annual expenses. Your Class B shares will convert to Class A shares as follows:

 

Shares issued:
At initial purchase
   Shares issued:
On reinvestment of
dividends and
distributions
   Shares issued:
Upon exchange from
another Legg Mason
Partners fund
Approximately 8 years after the date of purchase payment    In same proportion as the number of Class B shares converting is to total Class B shares you own (excluding shares issued as dividends)    On the date the shares originally acquired would have converted into Class A shares
 

Class C shares

You buy Class C shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. However, if you redeem your Class C shares within one year of purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

LMIS will generally pay Service Agents selling Class C shares (other than shares sold to omnibus accounts of retirement plans held on the books of the fund) a commission of up to 1.00% of the purchase price of the Class C shares they sell and LMIS will retain the contingent deferred sales charges and an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class C shares serviced by these service agents until the thirteenth month after purchase. Starting in the thirteenth month after purchase, these Service Agents will receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class C shares serviced by them.

Class I shares (formerly Class Y shares)

Class I shares are purchased at net asset value with no initial sales charge and no contingent deferred sales charge when redeemed. See “Retirement and institutional investors — Class I” below for additional information regarding investor eligibility and investment minimums.

 

Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund         19


 

More about contingent deferred sales charges

The contingent deferred sales charge is based on the net asset value at the time of purchase or redemption, whichever is less, and therefore you do not pay a sales charge on amounts representing appreciation or depreciation.

In addition, you do not pay a contingent deferred sales charge on:

n   Shares exchanged for shares of another Legg Mason Partners Fund
n   Shares representing reinvested distributions and dividends
n   Shares no longer subject to the contingent deferred sales charge

Each time you place a request to redeem shares, the fund will first redeem any shares in your account that are not subject to a contingent deferred sales charge and then the shares in your account that have been held the longest.

If you redeemed shares of a Legg Mason Partners Fund and paid a contingent deferred sales charge, you may, under certain circumstances, reinvest all or part of the redemption proceeds within 60 days and receive pro rata credit for any contingent deferred sales charge imposed on the prior redemption. Please contact your Service Agent for additional information.

The fund’s distributors receive contingent deferred sales charges as partial compensation for their expenses in selling shares, including the payment of compensation to your Service Agent.

Contingent deferred sales charge waivers

The contingent deferred sales charge for each share class will generally be waived:

n   On payments made through certain systematic withdrawal plans
n   On certain distributions from a retirement plan
n   For involuntary redemptions of small account balances
n   For 12 months following the death or disability of a shareholder

If you want to learn more about additional waivers of contingent deferred sales charges, contact your Service Agent, consult the SAI or look at the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website, http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices, and click on the name of the fund.

 

20         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Retirement and institutional investors

Eligible investors

Retirement plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund can generally choose among three classes of shares: Class C, Class A and Class I (formerly Class Y) shares.

“Retirement Plans” include 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit-sharing plans, non-qualified deferred compensation plans and other similar employer-sponsored retirement plans. Retirement Plans do not include individual retirement vehicles, such as traditional and Roth individual retirement accounts, Coverdell education savings accounts, individual 403(b)(7) custodial accounts, Keogh plans, SEPs, SARSEPs, SIMPLE IRAs, or Section 529 savings accounts. Although Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund are not subject to minimum initial investment requirements for any of these share classes, certain investment minimums may be imposed by a financial intermediary.

Other Retirement Plan investors (including, for example, employer-sponsored plans investing through brokerage accounts), can generally choose among three classes of shares: Class A, Class B and Class C. Individual retirement vehicles, such as IRAs, may also choose among these share classes. These types of investors are treated like individual investors for purposes of determining investment minimums, sales charges and any applicable sales charge reductions or waivers.

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries may generally choose between two classes of shares: Class A and Class I. “Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries” are investors who invest in the fund through financial intermediaries that offer their clients fund shares through investment programs as authorized by LMIS. Such investment programs may include fee-based advisory or brokerage account programs, and college savings vehicles such as Section 529 plans. The financial intermediary may impose separate investment minimums.

Institutional investors

Institutional Investors may invest in Class I shares if they meet the $1,000,000 minimum initial investment requirement. Institutional Investors may also invest in Class A, B and C shares, which have different investment minimums and fees and expenses. “Institutional Investors” generally include corporations, banks, insurance companies, foundations, retirement plans and other similar entities with direct relationships to the fund.

Class C — Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund may buy Class C shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. As of November 20, 2006, LMIS no longer pays Service Agents selling Class C shares to retirement plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of a fund a commission on the purchase price of Class C shares sold by them. Instead, immediately after purchase, LMIS will pay these Service Agents an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets

 

Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund         21


 

represented by the Class C shares serviced by them. For purchases made by Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund on or after November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge on shares redeemed within one year of purchase is waived.

Certain retirement plan programs with exchange features in effect prior to November 20, 2006, as approved by LMIS, will remain eligible for exchange from Class C shares to Class A shares in accordance with the program terms. Please read the SAI for more details.

Class I

As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares and are offered only to Institutional Investors who meet the $1,000,000 minimum initial investment requirement, Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries, and other investors as authorized by LMIS. However, investors that held Class I shares prior to that date will be permitted to make additional investments in Class I shares.

Class A — Retirement plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund may purchase Class A shares through programs sponsored by financial intermediaries. Under these programs, the initial sales charge and contingent deferred sales charge for Class A shares is waived where:

n   Such Retirement Plan’s record keeper offers only load-waived shares,
n   Fund shares are held on the books of the fund through an omnibus account, and
n   The Retirement Plan has more than 100 participants, or has total assets exceeding $1 million.

As of November 20, 2006, LMIS no longer pays Service Agents selling Class A shares to Retirement Plans with a direct omnibus relationship with the fund a commission on the purchase price of Class A shares sold by them. However, for certain Retirement Plans that are permitted to purchase shares at net asset value on or after this date, LMIS may continue to pay Service Agents commissions of up to 1.00% of the purchase price of the additional Class A shares that are purchased with regular ongoing plan contributions. Please contact your Service Agent for more information.

Other considerations

Plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries and other financial intermediaries may choose to impose qualification requirements for plans that differ from the fund’s share class eligibility standards. In certain cases this could result in the selection of a share class with higher service and distribution-related fees than otherwise would have been charged. The fund is not responsible for, and has no control over, the decision of any plan sponsor, plan fiduciary or financial intermediary to impose such differing requirements. Please consult with your plan sponsor, plan fiduciary or financial intermediary for more information about available share classes.

With respect to Class A and Class C shares, the fund may pay a fee for recordkeeping services performed for the applicable share class.

Not all share classes may be made available by your Service Agent; please contact your Service Agent for additional details.

 

22         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Buying shares

 

Through a Service Agent   

You should contact your Service Agent to open a brokerage account and make arrangements to buy shares. You must provide the following information for your order to be processed:

n  Class of shares being bought

n  Dollar amount or number of shares being bought

n  Account number (if existing account)

Your Service Agent may charge an annual account maintenance fee.

 
Through the fund   

Financial intermediary accounts, retirement plan accounts and certain other investors who are clients of certain Service Agents are eligible to buy shares directly from the fund.

n  Clients of a PFS Registered Representative should write to the fund at the following address:

Legg Mason Partners Funds

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9662

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9662

n  All other investors should write to the fund at the following address:

Legg Mason Partners Funds

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9699

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699

  

n  Enclose a check to pay for the shares. For initial purchases, complete and send an account application available upon request from Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at the number below

n  Specify the name of the fund, the share class you wish to purchase and your account number (if existing account)

n  For more information, please call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 or Primerica Shareholder Services at 800-544-5445

 
Through a systematic investment plan   

You may authorize your Service Agent or the transfer agent to transfer funds automatically from (i) a regular bank account, (ii) cash held in a brokerage account with a Service Agent or (iii) certain money market funds, in order to buy shares on a regular basis.

n  Amounts transferred must be at least $25

n  Amounts may be transferred monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually

n  If you do not have sufficient funds in your account on a transfer date, your Service Agent or the transfer agent may charge you a fee

 

For more information, contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services or consult the SAI.

 

Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund         23


 

Exchanging shares

 

Legg Mason Partners offers a distinctive family of funds tailored to help meet the varying needs of both large and small investors   

You should contact your Service Agent to exchange into other Legg Mason Partners Funds. Be sure to read the prospectus of the Legg Mason Partners Fund into which you are exchanging. An exchange is a taxable transaction, unless you are investing through a tax-qualified savings plan or account.

n  If you bought shares through a Service Agent, you may exchange shares only for shares of the same class of certain other Legg Mason Partners Funds made available for exchange by your Service Agent. Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds made available for exchange by your Service Agent may offer all classes. Please contact your Service Agent for more information about the funds and classes that are available for exchange

n  If you bought shares directly from the fund, you may exchange shares only for shares of the same class of another Legg Mason Partners Fund, other than shares of Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund. Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds offer all classes.

n  Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds may be offered in your state of residence. Contact your Service Agent or the transfer agent for further information

  

n  Exchanges of Class A, B and C shares are subject to minimum investment requirements (except for systematic investment plan exchanges), and all shares are subject to the other requirements of the fund into which exchanges are made

n  If you hold share certificates, the transfer agent must receive the certificates endorsed for transfer or with signed stock powers before the exchange is effective

n  The fund may suspend or terminate your exchange privilege if you engage in an excessive pattern of exchanges

 
Waiver of additional sales charges   

Your shares will not be subject to an initial sales charge at the time of the exchange.

Your contingent deferred sales charge (if any) will continue to be measured from the date of your original purchase of shares subject to a contingent deferred sales charge and you will be subject to the contingent deferred sales charge of the fund that you originally purchased.

 
By telephone    If you do not have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, you may be eligible to exchange shares through the fund. You must complete an authorization form to authorize telephone transfers. If eligible, you may make telephone exchanges on any day the New York Stock Exchange Inc. (“NYSE”) is open. For clients of a PFS Registered Representative, call Primerica Shareholder Services

 

24         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

   at 800-544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. (Eastern time). All other shareholders should call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time). Exchanges are priced at the net asset value next determined.
  

You can make telephone exchanges only between accounts that have identical registrations.

 
By mail    If you do not have a brokerage account, contact your Service Agent or write to the fund at the address on the following page.
 
Through a systematic exchange plan   

You may be permitted to schedule exchanges of shares of any class of the fund for shares of the same class of other Legg Mason Partners Funds.

n  Exchanges may be made, monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually

n  A predetermined dollar amount of at least $25 per exchange is required

 

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services.

 

Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund         25


 

Redeeming shares

 

Generally   

Contact your Service Agent to redeem shares of the fund.

If you hold share certificates, the transfer agent must receive the certificates endorsed for transfer or with signed stock powers before you may redeem.

If the shares are held by a fiduciary or corporation, other documents may be required.

Redemptions are priced at net asset value next determined after receipt of your request in good order.

Your redemption proceeds will normally be sent within three business days after your request is received in good order, but in any event within 7 days. Your redemption proceeds may be delayed for up to 10 days if your purchase was made by check.

If you have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, your redemption proceeds will be sent to your Service Agent. In other cases, unless you direct otherwise, your redemption proceeds will be paid by check mailed to your address of record.

 
By mail   

Send written requests to the fund at the following address:

For clients of a PFS Registered Representative, write Primerica Shareholder Services at the following address:

Primerica Shareholder Services

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9662

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9662

For all other investors, send your request to:

Legg Mason Partners Funds

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9699

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699

Your written request must provide the following:

n  The fund name, the class of shares to be redeemed, and your account number

n  The dollar amount or number of shares to be redeemed

n  Signatures of each owner exactly as the account is registered

n  Signature guarantees, as applicable

 
By telephone    If you do not have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, you may be eligible to redeem shares (except those held in certain retirement plans) in amounts up to $50,000 per day through the fund. You must complete an authorization form to authorize telephone redemptions. If eligible, you may request redemptions by telephone on any day the NYSE is open. For clients of a PFS Registered Representative, call Primerica Shareholder Services at 800-544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. (Eastern time). All other

 

26         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

  

shareholders should call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time).

Your redemption proceeds can be sent by check to your address of record or by wire or electronic transfer (ACH) to a bank account designated on your authorization form. You must submit a new authorization form to change the bank account designated to receive wire or electronic transfers and you may be asked to provide certain other documents. The transfer agent may charge a fee on a wire or an electronic transfer (ACH).

 
Automatic cash withdrawal plans    You can arrange for the automatic redemption of a portion of your shares monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually. To qualify you must own shares of the fund with a value of at least $10,000 ($5,000 for retirement plan accounts) and each automatic redemption must be at least $50. If your shares are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge, the sales charge will be waived if your automatic redemptions are equal to or less 2.00% of your account balance on the date the withdrawals commence per month, up to a maximum of 12.00% in one year.
  

The following conditions apply:

n  Your shares must not be represented by certificates

n  All dividends and distributions must be reinvested

 

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or consult the SAI.

 

Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund         27


 

Other things to know about share transactions

When you buy, exchange or redeem shares, your request must be in good order. This means you have provided the following information, without which your request may not be processed:

n   Name of the fund
n   Your account number
n   Class of shares being bought, and if you own more than one class, the class of shares being exchanged or redeemed
n   Dollar amount or number of shares being bought, exchanged or redeemed
n   Signature of each owner exactly as the account is registered

The fund’s transfer agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services will employ reasonable procedures to confirm that any telephone exchange or redemption request is genuine, which may include recording calls, asking the caller to provide certain personal identification information, sending you a written confirmation or requiring other confirmation procedures from time to time. If these procedures are followed, neither the fund nor its agent will bear any liability for such transactions.

Signature guarantees

To be in good order, your redemption request must include a signature guarantee if you:

n   Are redeeming over $50,000
n   Are sending signed share certificates or stock powers to the transfer agent
n   Instruct the transfer agent to mail the check to an address different from the one on your account registration
n   Changed your account registration or your address within 30 days
n   Want the check paid to someone other than the account owner(s)
n   Are transferring the redemption proceeds to an account with a different registration

You can obtain a signature guarantee from most banks, dealers, brokers, credit unions and federal savings and loan institutions, but not from a notary public.

The fund has the right to:

n   Suspend the offering of shares
n   Waive or change minimum and additional investment amounts
n   Reject any purchase or exchange order
n   Change, revoke or suspend the exchange privilege
n   Suspend telephone transactions
n   Suspend or postpone redemptions of shares on any day when trading on the NYSE is restricted, or as otherwise permitted by the SEC
n   Pay redemption proceeds by giving you securities. You may pay transaction costs to dispose of the securities

Small account balances/Mandatory redemptions

If at any time the aggregate net asset value of the fund shares in your account is less than $500 for any reason (including solely due to declines in net asset value and/or failure to invest at least $500 within a reasonable period), the fund reserves the right to ask you to bring your account up to the applicable minimum investment amount as determined by

 

28         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

your Service Agent. In such case you shall be notified in writing and will have 60 days to make an additional investment to bring your account value up to the required level. If you choose not to do so within this 60-day period, the fund may close your account and send you the redemption proceeds. In the event your account is closed due to a failure to increase your balance to the minimum required amount, you will not be eligible to have your account subsequently reinstated without imposition of any sales charges that may apply to your new purchase. The fund may, with prior notice, change the minimum size of accounts subject to mandatory redemption, which may vary by class, or implement fees for small accounts.

Subject to applicable law, the fund may, with prior notice, adopt other policies from time to time requiring mandatory redemption of shares in certain circumstances.

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services or consult the SAI.

Frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares

Frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares may interfere with the efficient management of the fund’s portfolio by its portfolio managers, increase portfolio transaction costs, and have a negative effect on the fund’s long-term shareholders. For example, in order to handle large flows of cash into and out of the fund, the portfolio managers may need to allocate more assets to cash or other short-term investments or sell securities, rather than maintaining full investment in securities selected to achieve the fund’s investment objective. Frequent trading may cause the fund to sell securities at less favorable prices. Transaction costs, such as brokerage commissions and market spreads, can detract from the fund’s performance. In addition, the return received by long-term shareholders may be reduced when trades by other shareholders are made in an effort to take advantage of certain pricing discrepancies, when, for example, it is believed that the fund’s share price, which is determined at the close of the NYSE on each trading day, does not accurately reflect the value of the fund’s portfolio securities. Funds investing in foreign securities have been particularly susceptible to this form of arbitrage, but other funds could also be affected.

Because of the potential harm to the fund and its long-term shareholders, the Board of the fund has approved policies and procedures that are intended to discourage and prevent excessive trading and market timing abuses through the use of various surveillance techniques. Under these policies and procedures, the fund may limit additional exchanges or purchases of fund shares by shareholders who are believed by the manager to be engaged in these abusive trading activities. The intent of the policies and procedures is not to inhibit legitimate strategies, such as asset allocation, dollar cost averaging, or similar activities that may nonetheless result in frequent trading of fund shares. For this reason, the Board has not adopted any specific restrictions on purchases and sales of fund shares, but the fund reserves the right to reject any exchange or purchase of fund shares with or without prior notice to the account holder. In cases where surveillance of a particular account establishes what the manager believes to be obvious market timing, the manager will seek to block future purchases and exchanges of fund shares by that account. Where surveillance of a particular account indicates activity that the manager believes could be either abusive or for legitimate purposes, the fund may permit the account holder to justify the activity.

 

Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund         29


 

The policies apply to any account, whether an individual account or accounts with financial intermediaries such as investment advisers, broker/dealers or retirement plan administrators, commonly called omnibus accounts, where the intermediary holds fund shares for a number of its customers in one account. The fund’s ability to monitor trading in omnibus accounts may, however, be severely limited due to the lack of access to an individual investor’s trading activity when orders are placed through these types of accounts. There may also be operational and technological limitations on the ability of the fund’s service providers to identify or terminate frequent trading activity within the various types of omnibus accounts.

The fund’s policies also require personnel such as portfolio managers and investment staff to report any abnormal or otherwise suspicious investment activity, and prohibit short-term trades by such personnel for their own account in mutual funds managed by the manager and its affiliates, other than money market funds. Additionally, the fund has adopted policies and procedures to prevent the selective release of information about the fund’s portfolio holdings, as such information may be used for market-timing and similar abusive practices.

The fund’s policies provide for ongoing assessment of the effectiveness of current policies and surveillance tools, and the Board reserves the right to modify these or adopt additional policies and restrictions in the future. Shareholders should be aware, however, that any surveillance techniques currently employed by the fund or other techniques that may be adopted in the future may not be effective, particularly where the trading takes place through certain types of omnibus accounts. As noted above, if the fund is unable to detect and deter trading abuses, the fund’s performance, and its long-term shareholders, may be harmed. In addition, because the fund has not adopted any specific limitations or restrictions on the trading of fund shares, shareholders may be harmed by the extra costs and portfolio management inefficiencies that result from frequent trading of fund shares, even when the trading is not for abusive purposes. Furthermore, the fund may not apply its policies consistently or uniformly, resulting in the risk that some shareholders may be able to engage in frequent trading while others will bear the costs and effects of that trading. The fund will provide advance notice to shareholders and prospective investors of any specific restrictions on the trading of fund shares that the Board may adopt in the future.

Share certificates

Share certificates for the fund will no longer be issued. If you currently hold share certificates of the fund, such certificates will continue to be honored. If you would like to return your share certificates to the fund and hold your shares in uncertificated form, please contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services.

Record Ownership

If you hold shares through a Service Agent, your Service Agent may establish and maintain your account and be the shareholder of record. In the event that the fund holds a shareholder meeting, your Service Agent, as record holder, will vote your shares in accordance with your instructions. If you do not give your Service Agent voting instructions, your Service Agent may nonetheless, under certain circumstances, be entitled to vote your shares.

 

30         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Dividends, distributions and taxes

Dividends and distributions

The fund generally pays dividends and makes capital gain distributions, if any, once a year, typically in December. The fund may pay additional distributions and dividends at other times if necessary for the fund to avoid a federal tax. The fund expects distributions to be primarily from capital gain. Unless otherwise directed, capital gain distributions and dividends are reinvested in additional fund shares of the same class you hold. You do not pay a sales charge on reinvested distributions or dividends. Alternatively, you can instruct your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services to have your distributions and/or dividends paid in cash. You can change your choice at any time to be effective as of the next distribution or dividend, except that any change given to your Service Agent or the transfer agent less than five days before the payment date will not be effective until the next distribution or dividend is paid.

Taxes

In general, redeeming shares, exchanging shares and receiving dividends and distributions (whether in cash or additional shares) are all taxable events.

The following table summarizes the tax status to you of certain transactions related to the funds.

 

Transaction    Federal tax status
Redemption or exchange of shares    Usually capital gain or loss; long-term only if shares owned more than one year
 
Long-term capital gain distributions    Long-term capital gain
 
Dividends    Ordinary income; for individuals potentially taxable at long-term capital gain rates
 

Distributions attributable to short-term capital gains are treated as dividends, taxable as ordinary income. Dividends and long-term capital gain distributions are taxable whether received in cash or reinvested in additional fund shares. Although dividends (including dividends from short-term capital gains) are generally taxable as ordinary income, individual shareholders who satisfy certain holding period and other requirements are taxed on such dividends at long-term capital gain rates to the extent the dividends are attributable to “qualified dividend income” received by the fund. “Qualified dividend income” generally consists of dividends received from U.S. corporations (other than dividends from tax-exempt organizations and certain dividends from real estate investment trusts and regulated investment companies) and certain foreign corporations.

Long-term capital gain distributions are taxable to you as long-term capital gain regardless of how long you have owned your shares. You may want to avoid buying shares when the fund is about to declare a capital gain distribution or a dividend, because it will be taxable to you even though it may actually be a return of a portion of your investment.

After the end of each year, your Service Agent or the fund will provide you with information about the distributions and dividends you received and any redemptions of

 

Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund         31


 

shares during the previous year. If you do not provide the fund with your correct taxpayer identification number and any required certifications, you may be subject to back-up withholding on your distributions, dividends, and redemption proceeds. Because each shareholder’s circumstances are different and special tax rules may apply, you should consult your tax adviser about your investment in the fund.

The above discussion is applicable to shareholders who are U.S. persons. If you are a non-U.S. person, please consult your own tax adviser with respect to the tax consequences to you of an investment in the fund.

 

32         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Share price

You may buy, exchange or redeem shares at their net asset value next determined after receipt of your request in good order, plus any applicable sales charge. The fund’s net asset value per share is the value of its assets minus its liabilities divided by the number of shares outstanding. Net asset value is calculated separately for each class of shares. The fund calculates its net asset value every day the NYSE is open. This calculation is done when regular trading closes on the NYSE (normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern time). The NYSE is closed on certain holidays listed in the SAI.

The Board has approved procedures to be used to value the fund’s securities for the purposes of determining the fund’s net asset value. The valuation of the securities of the fund is determined in good faith by or under the direction of the Board. The Board has delegated certain valuation functions for the fund to the manager.

The fund generally values its securities based on market prices determined at the close of regular trading on the NYSE. The fund’s currency valuations, if any, are done as of when the London Stock Exchange closes, which is usually at 12 noon Eastern time, as the manager believes that these valuations typically reflect the largest trading volume in the foreign currency markets. A material change in the value of currency during the period between the close of the London Stock Exchange and the calculation of the fund’s net asset value on the same date is considered a significant event, as described below, in response to which the fund may use fair valuation procedures to value the affected investments. For equity securities that are traded on an exchange, the market price is usually the closing sale or official closing price on that exchange. In the case of securities not traded on an exchange, or if such closing prices are not otherwise available, the market price is typically determined by independent third party pricing vendors approved by the fund’s Board using a variety of pricing techniques and methodologies. The market price for debt obligations is generally the price supplied by an independent third party pricing service approved by the fund’s Board, which may use a matrix, formula or other objective method that takes into consideration market indices, yield curves and other specific adjustments. Short-term debt obligations that will mature in 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, unless it is determined that using this method would not reflect an investment’s fair value. If vendors are unable to supply a price, or if the price supplied is deemed by the manager to be unreliable, the market price may be determined using quotations received from one or more brokers/dealers that make a market in the security. When such prices or quotations are not available, or when the manager believes that they are unreliable, the manager may price securities using fair value procedures approved by the Board. Because the fund invests in securities of small capitalization companies — some of which may be thinly traded, for which market quotations may not be readily available or may be unreliable — the fund may use fair valuation procedures more frequently than funds that invest primarily in securities that are more liquid, such as securities of large capitalization domestic issuers. The fund may also use fair value procedures if the manager determines that a significant event has occurred between the time at which a market price is determined and the time at which the fund’s net asset value is calculated. In particular, the value of foreign securities may be materially affected by events occurring after the close of the market on which they are valued, but before the fund prices its shares. The fund uses a fair value model

 

Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund         33


 

developed by an independent third party pricing service to price foreign equity securities on days when there is a certain percentage change in the value of a domestic equity security index, as such percentage may be determined by the manager from time to time.

Valuing securities at fair value involves greater reliance on judgment than valuation of securities based on readily available market quotations. A fund that uses fair value to price securities may value those securities higher or lower than another fund using market quotations or its own fair value methodologies to price the same securities. There can be no assurance that the fund could obtain the fair value assigned to a security if it were to sell the security at approximately the time at which the fund determines its net asset value.

International markets may be open on days when U.S. markets are closed and the value of foreign securities owned by the fund could change on days when you cannot buy or redeem shares.

In order to buy, redeem or exchange shares at that day’s price, you must place your order with your Service Agent or the transfer agent before the NYSE closes. If the NYSE closes early, you must place your order prior to the actual closing time.

It is the responsibility of the Service Agents to transmit all orders to buy, exchange or redeem shares to the transfer agent on a timely basis.

 

34         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Financial highlights

The financial highlights tables are intended to help you understand the performance of each class for the past 5 years. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share. Total return represents the rate that a shareholder would have earned (or lost) on a fund share assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions and does not reflect an initial sales charge or contingent deferred sales charge. The 2006, 2005, 2004 and 2003 information in the following tables has been derived from the fund’s financial statements, which have been audited by [            ], independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund’s financial statements, is included in the annual report which is available upon request. The 2002 information in the following tables was audited by another independent registered public accounting firm, whose opinions thereon were unqualified. As of November 20, 2006 , Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

For a Class A share of capital stock outstanding throughout each year ended September 30:   
Class A Shares (1)   2006   2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net asset value, beginning of year

    $13.91     $12.28     $9.16     $11.99  
   

Income (loss) from operations:

         

Net investment income

    0.09     0.03     0.03     0.02  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    1.46     1.60     3.09     (2.80 )
   

Total income (loss) from operations

    1.55     1.63     3.12     (2.78 )
   

Less distributions from:

         

Net realized gains

                (0.05 )
   

Total distributions

                (0.05 )
   

Net asset value, end of year

    $15.46     $13.91     $12.28     $9.16  
   

Total return (2)

    11.14 %   13.27 %   34.06 %   (23.33 )%
   

Net assets, end of year (millions)

    $2,269     $2,147     $1,690     $1,176  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

         

Gross expenses

    1.08 %   1.05 %   1.15 %   1.05 %

Net expenses

    1.06 (3)   1.05     1.15     1.05  

Net investment income

    0.63     0.19     0.28     0.17  
   

Portfolio turnover rate

    30 %   31 %   34 %   39 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would be lower. Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

(3)   The manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees.

 

Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund         35


 

For a Class B share of capital stock outstanding throughout each year ended September 30:   
Class B Shares (1)   2006   2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net asset value, beginning of year

    $13.16     $11.71     $8.81     $11.62  
   

Income (loss) from operations:

         

Net investment loss

    (0.02 )   (0.08 )   (0.05 )   (0.08 )

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    1.38     1.53     2.95     (2.68 )
   

Total income (loss) from operations

    1.36     1.45     2.90     (2.76 )
   

Less distributions from:

         

Net realized gains

                (0.05 )
   

Total distributions

                (0.05 )
   

Net asset value, end of year

    $14.52     $13.16     $11.71     $8.81  
   

Total return (2)

    10.33 %   12.38 %   32.92 %   (23.90 )%
   

Net assets, end of year (millions)

    $1,262     $1,359     $1,308     $1,078  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

         

Gross expenses

    1.88 %   1.84 %   1.94 %   1.84 %

Net expenses

    1.85 (3)   1.84     1.94     1.84  

Net investment income

    (0.16 )   (0.60 )   (0.50 )   (0.62 )
   

Portfolio turnover rate

      31 %   34 %   39 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would be lower. Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

(3)   The manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees.

 

36         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

For a Class C share of capital stock outstanding throughout each year ended September 30:   
Class C Shares (1)(2)   2006   2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net asset value, beginning of year

    $13.16     $11.71     $8.81     $11.61  
   

Income (loss) from operations:

         

Net investment loss

    (0.02 )   (0.08 )   (0.05 )   (0.07 )

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    1.38     1.53     2.95     (2.68 )
   

Total income (loss) from operations

    1.36     1.45     2.90     (2.75 )
   

Less distributions from:

         

Net realized gains

                (0.05 )
   

Total distributions

                (0.05 )
   

Net asset value, end of year

    $14.52     $13.16     $11.71     $8.81  
   

Total return (3)

    10.33 %   12.38 %   32.92 %   (23.83 )%
   

Net assets, end of year (millions)

    $870     $960     $852     $665  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

         

Gross expenses

    1.85 %   1.83 %   1.93 %   1.83 %

Net expenses

    1.83 (4)   1.83     1.93     1.83  

Net investment income

    (0.13 )   (0.59 )   (0.49 )   (0.60 )
   

Portfolio turnover rate

    30 %   31 %   34 %   39 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   On April 29, 2004, Class L shares were renamed as Class C shares.

 

(3)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would be lower. Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

(4)   The manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees.

 

Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund         37


 

For a Class Y share of capital stock outstanding throughout each year ended September 30:   
Class I Shares (1)(2)   2006   2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net asset value, beginning of year

    $14.22     $12.51     $9.29     $12.11  
   

Income (loss) from operations:

         

Net investment income

    0.16     0.08     0.08     0.07  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    1.49     1.63     3.14     (2.84 )
   

Total income (loss) from operations

    1.65     1.71     3.22     (2.77 )
   

Less distributions from:

         

Net realized gains

                (0.05 )
   

Total distributions

                (0.05 )
   

Net asset value, end of year

    $15.87     $14.22     $12.51     $9.29  
   

Total return (3)

    11.60 %   13.67 %   34.66 %   (23.01 )%
   

Net assets, end of year (millions)

    $159     $149     $97     $55  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

         

Gross expenses

    0.66 %   0.66 %   0.72 %   0.70 %

Net expenses

    0.64 (4)   0.66     0.72     0.70  

Net investment income

    1.05     0.58     0.69     0.53  
   

Portfolio turnover rate

    30 %   31 %   34 %   39 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed class I shares.

 

(3)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would be lower. Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

(4)   The manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees.

 

38         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

 

 

(Investment Company Act

file no. 811-03158)

FD [            ]

LOGO

Legg Mason Partners

Fundamental Value Fund, Inc.

You may look at the fund’s website at www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices for a free copy of a Prospectus, Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) or an Annual or Semi-Annual Report, or to request other information.

Shareholder reports Additional information about the fund’s investments is available in the fund’s Annual and Semi-Annual Reports to shareholders. In the fund’s Annual Report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the fund’s performance.

The fund sends only one report to a household if more than one account has the same address. Contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services if you do not want this policy to apply to you.

Statement of additional information The SAI provides more detailed information about the fund and is incorporated by reference into (is legally a part of) this Prospectus.

You can make inquiries about the fund or obtain shareholders reports (without charge) by contacting your Service Agent, by calling Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010, (or for clients of a PFSI Registered Representative, call Primerica Shareholder Services at 800-544-5445) or by writing to the fund at Legg Mason Partners Funds, 125 Broad Street, New York, New York 10004.

Information about the fund (including the SAI) can be reviewed and copied at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “SEC”) Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. Reports and other information about the fund are available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s Internet site at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of this information may be obtained for a duplicating fee by electronic request at the following E-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing the SEC’s Public Reference Section, Washington, D.C. 20549-0102.

If someone makes a statement about the fund that is not in this Prospectus, you should not rely upon that information. Neither the fund nor the distributors are offering to sell shares of the fund to any person to whom the fund may not lawfully sell its shares.


                         , 2007

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

LEGG MASON PARTNERS FUNDAMENTAL VALUE FUND

125 Broad Street

New York, New York 10004

800-451-2010

This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a prospectus and is meant to be read in conjunction with the prospectus of Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund (the “fund”) dated                          , 2007, as amended or supplemented from time to time (the “prospectus”), and is incorporated by reference in its entirety into the prospectus. As part of a number of initiatives launched in 2006 to restructure and streamline the Legg Mason Partners fund complex, the fund assumed the assets and liabilities of a predecessor fund with the same name. The fund is now grouped for organizational and governance purposes with other Legg Mason Partners funds that are predominantly equity-type funds, and is a series of Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”), a Massachusetts business trust. Other initiatives, including the election of a new Board and the approval of certain revised fundamental investment policies, have also been accomplished, and more information on these matters appears in this SAI. If certain remaining initiatives are accomplished, the fund will become a series of Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust, a Maryland business trust. Certain historical information contained in the SAI is that of the fund’s predecessor. Additional information about the fund’s investments is available in the fund’s annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. These reports contain financial statements that are incorporated herein by reference. A prospectus and copies of the reports may be obtained free of charge by contacting a distributor’s financial advisor or registered representative, a broker/dealer, financial intermediary or a financial institution that has entered into an agreement with one of the fund’s distributors, (each called a “Service Agent”), or by writing or calling the fund at the address or telephone number set forth above. Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC (“LMIS”), a wholly-owned broker/dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”), Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”) and PFS Investments Inc. (“PFS”) serve as the fund’s distributors.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

Investment Objective and Management Policies

   2

Management

   18

Compensation Table

   19

Portfolio Manager Disclosure

   24

Distribution

   29

Purchase, Redemption and Exchange of Shares

   33

Redemption of Shares

   39

Valuation of Shares

   41

Exchange Privilege

   42

Taxes

   43

Additional Information

   49

Financial Statements

   55

Other Information

  

Appendix A—Proxy Voting Guidelines and Procedures Summary

   56

THIS SAI IS NOT A PROSPECTUS AND IS AUTHORIZED FOR DISTRIBUTION TO PROSPECTIVE INVESTORS ONLY IF PRECEDED OR ACCOMPANIED BY AN EFFECTIVE PROSPECTUS.

 

1


INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE AND MANAGEMENT POLICIES

The fund is an open-end, diversified, management investment Trust. The fund has called a meeting of shareholders to consider several proposals. If approved by the shareholders, the fund’s investment objective may be changed without shareholder approval. The prospectus discusses the fund’s investment objective and the policies it employs to achieve its objective. This section contains supplemental information concerning the types of securities and other instruments, in which the fund may invest, the investment policies and portfolio strategies the fund may utilize and certain risks associated with such investments, policies and strategies. Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC (“LMPFA” or the “manager”) serves as investment manager to the fund. ClearBridge Advisors, LLC (“ClearBridge” or the “subadviser”) serves as the subadviser to the fund.

Investment Objective

The fund seeks long-term capital growth. Current income is a secondary consideration.

Principal Investment Strategies

The fund invests primarily in common stocks and common stock equivalents, such as preferred stocks and securities convertible into common stocks, of companies the portfolio managers believe are undervalued in the marketplace. While the portfolio managers select investments primarily for their capital appreciation potential, secondary consideration is given to a company’s dividend record and the potential for an improved dividend return. The fund invests in securities of large, well-known companies but may also invest a significant portion of its assets in securities of small to medium sized companies when the portfolio managers believe smaller companies offer more attractive value opportunities.

Additional Information

The fund’s principal investment strategies are described above. The following provides additional information on these principal strategies and describes other investment strategies that may be used by the fund.

The fund’s primary investment objective is long-term capital growth. Current income is a secondary consideration. The fund seeks to achieve its objective through investment in common stocks and common stock equivalents, including preferred stocks and other securities convertible into common stocks. The fund also invests to a lesser extent in bonds and other debt instruments. There is no guarantee that the fund will achieve its investment objective.

When LMPFA believes that a defensive investment posture is warranted or when opportunities for capital growth do not appear attractive, the fund may temporarily invest all or a portion of its assets in short-term money market instruments, including repurchase agreements with respect to those instruments. The fund is authorized to borrow money in an amount up to 10% of its total assets for temporary or emergency purposes.

Foreign Securities and American Depository Receipts. The fund has the authority to invest up to 25% of its assets in foreign securities (including European Depository Receipts (“EDRs”), Global Depository Receipts (“GDRs”) and American Depository Receipts (“ADRs”) or other securities representing underlying shares of foreign companies). EDRs are receipts issued in Europe which evidence ownership of underlying securities issued by a foreign corporation. ADRs are receipts typically issued by an American bank or trust company which evidence a similar ownership arrangement. Generally, ADRs, which are issued in registered form, are designed for use in the United States securities markets, and EDRs, which are issued in bearer form, are designed for use in European securities markets. GDRs are tradeable both in the U.S. and Europe and are designed for use throughout the world.

Investing in the securities of foreign companies involves special risks and considerations not typically associated with investing in U.S. companies. These include differences in accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards, generally higher commission rates on foreign portfolio transactions, the possibility of expropriation or confiscatory taxation, adverse changes in investment or exchange control regulations, political instability which could affect U.S. investments in foreign countries, and potential restrictions on the flow of international capital. Additionally, foreign securities often trade with less frequency and volume than domestic securities and therefore may exhibit greater price volatility. Many of the foreign securities held by the fund will not be registered with, nor will the issuers thereof be subject to the reporting requirements of, the Securities and

 

2


Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Accordingly, there may be less publicly available information about the securities and about the foreign company issuing them than is available about a domestic company and its securities. Moreover, individual foreign economies may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth of gross domestic product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency and balance of payment positions. The fund may invest in securities of foreign governments (or agencies or subdivisions thereof), and, many, if not all, of the foregoing considerations apply to such investments as well.

To the extent the fund invests in securities of other investment companies, fund shareholders would indirectly pay a portion of the operating costs of such companies in addition to the expenses of its own operation. These costs include management, brokerage, shareholder servicing and other operational expenses. Indirectly, then, fund shareholders may pay higher operational costs than if they owned the underlying investment companies directly. Additionally, the fund’s investments in such investment companies are subject to market availability.

Index-Related Securities (“Equity Equivalents”). The fund may invest in certain types of securities that enable investors to purchase or sell shares in a portfolio of securities that seeks to track the performance of an underlying index or a portion of an index. Such Equity Equivalents include, among others, DIAMONDS (interests in a portfolio of securities that seeks to track the performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average), SPDRs or Standard & Poor’s Depositary Receipts (interests in a portfolio of securities that seeks to track the performance of the S&P 500 Index), and the Nasdaq-100 Trust (interests in a portfolio of securities of the largest and most actively traded non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market). Such securities are similar to index mutual funds, but they are traded on various stock exchanges or secondary markets. The value of these securities is dependent upon the performance of the underlying index on which they are based. Thus, these securities are subject to the same risks as their underlying indices as well as the securities that make up those indices. For example, if the securities comprising an index that an index-related security seeks to track perform poorly, the index-related security will lose value.

Equity Equivalents may be used for several purposes, including to simulate full investment in the underlying index while retaining a cash balance for fund management purposes, to facilitate trading, to reduce transaction costs or to seek higher investment returns where an Equity Equivalent is priced more attractively than securities in the underlying index. Because the expense associated with an investment in Equity Equivalents may be substantially lower than the expense of small investments directly in the securities comprising the indices they seek to track, investments in Equity Equivalents may provide a cost-effective means of diversifying the fund’s assets across a broad range of equity securities.

To the extent the fund invests in securities of other investment companies, including Equity Equivalents, fund shareholders would indirectly pay a portion of the operating costs of such companies in addition to the expenses of the fund’s own operation. These costs include management, brokerage, shareholder servicing and other operational expenses. Indirectly, if the fund invests in Equity Equivalents, shareholders may pay higher operational costs than if they owned the underlying investment companies directly. Additionally, the fund’s investments in such investment companies are subject to limitations under the 1940 Act and market availability.

The prices of Equity Equivalents are derived and based upon the securities held by the particular investment company. Accordingly, the level of risk involved in the purchase or sale of an Equity Equivalent is similar to the risk involved in the purchase or sale of traditional common stock, with the exception that the pricing mechanism for such instruments is based on a basket of stocks. The market prices of Equity Equivalents are expected to fluctuate in accordance with both changes in the net asset values of their underlying indices and the supply and demand for the instruments on the exchanges on which they are traded. Substantial market or other disruptions affecting an Equity Equivalent could adversely affect the liquidity and value of the shares of the fund.

Investment in Other Investment Companies. The fund can also invest up to 10% of its assets in the securities of other investment companies, which can include open-end funds, closed-end funds and unit investment trusts, subject to the limits set forth in the Investment Company Act of 1940 (the “1940 Act”) that apply to those types of investments. For example, the fund can invest in exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”), which

 

3


are typically open-end funds or unit investment trusts, listed on a stock exchange. The fund might do so as a way of gaining exposure to the segments of the equity or fixed income markets represented by the ETF’s portfolio, at times when the fund may not be able to buy those portfolio securities directly.

Investing in another investment company may involve the payment of substantial premiums above the value of such investment company’s portfolio securities and is subject to limitations under the 1940 Act. The fund does not intend to invest in other investment companies unless the subadviser believes that the potential benefits of the investment justify the payment of any premiums or sales charges. As a shareholder of an investment company, the fund would be subject to its ratable share of that investment company’s expenses, including its advisory and administration expenses.

Short Sales. If the fund anticipates that the price of a company’s stock is overvalued and will decline, it may sell the security short and borrow the same security from a broker or other institution to complete the sale.

The fund may realize a profit or loss depending on whether the market price of a security decreases or increases between the date of the short sale and the date on which the fund replaces the borrowed security. Short selling is a technique that may be considered speculative and involves risks beyond the initial capital necessary to secure each transaction. Whenever the fund sells short, it is required to deposit collateral in segregated accounts to cover its obligation, and to maintain the collateral in an amount at least equal to the market value of the short position. As a hedging technique, the fund may purchase call options to buy securities sold short by the fund. Such options would lock in a future price and protect the fund in case of an unanticipated increase in the price of a security sold short by the fund.

To avoid limitations under the 1940 Act on borrowing by investment companies, short sales by the fund will be “against the box,” or the fund’s obligation to deliver the securities sold short will be “covered.” The fund will not make short sales of securities or maintain a short position if doing so could create liabilities or require collateral deposits and segregation of assets aggregating more than 25% of the value of the fund’s total assets. Management currently intends to limit the fund’s short sales to shares issued by ETFs. ETFs hold portfolios of securities that seek to track the performance of a specific index or basket of stocks. Utilizing this strategy will allow the subadviser to adjust the fund’s exposure in a particular sector, in a cost effective and convenient manner, without having to see the fund’s holdings of individual stocks in that sector.

Repurchase Agreements. The fund may agree to purchase securities from a bank or recognized securities dealer and simultaneously commit to resell the securities to the bank or dealer at an agreed-upon date and price reflecting a market rate of interest unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased securities (“repurchase agreements”). The fund would maintain custody of the underlying securities prior to their repurchase; thus, the obligation of the bank or dealer to pay the repurchase price on the date agreed to would be, in effect, secured by such securities. If the value of such securities were less than the repurchase price, plus interest, the other party to the agreement would be required to provide additional collateral so that at all times the collateral is at least 102% of the repurchase price plus accrued interest. Default by or bankruptcy of a seller would expose the fund to possible loss because of adverse market action, expenses and/or delays in connection with the disposition of the underlying obligations. The financial institutions with which the fund may enter into repurchase agreements will be banks and non-bank dealers of U.S. government securities that are on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s list of reporting dealers, if such banks and non-bank dealers are deemed creditworthy by the fund’s manager. The manager will continue to monitor creditworthiness of the seller under a repurchase agreement, and will require the seller to maintain during the term of the agreement the value of the securities subject to the agreement to equal at least 102% of the repurchase price (including accrued interest). In addition, the manager will require that the value of this collateral, after transaction costs (including loss of interest) reasonably expected to be incurred on a default, be equal to 102% or greater than the repurchase price (including accrued premium) provided in the repurchase agreement or the daily amortization of the difference between the purchase price and the repurchase price specified in the repurchase agreement. The manager will mark-to-market daily the value of the securities.

Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the SEC, the fund, along with other affiliated entities managed by the manager, may transfer uninvested cash balances into one or more joint repurchase accounts. These balances

 

4


are invested in one or more repurchase agreements, secured by U.S. government securities. Each joint repurchase arrangement requires that the market value of the collateral be sufficient to cover payments of interest and principal; however, in the event of default by the other party to the agreement, retention or sale of the collateral may be subject to legal proceedings.

Lending of Portfolio Securities. Consistent with applicable regulatory requirements, the fund has the ability to lend securities from its portfolio to brokers, dealers and other financial organizations. Such loans, if and when made, will be consistent with applicable regulatory requirements. Loans of portfolio securities by the fund will be collateralized by cash, letters of credit or securities issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities (“U.S. government securities”), which will be maintained at all times in an amount equal to at least 100% of the current market value of the loaned securities.

In lending its portfolio securities, the fund can increase its income by continuing to receive interest on the loaned securities, as well as by either investing the cash collateral in short-term instruments or obtaining yield in the form of interest paid by the borrower when government securities are used as collateral. Requirements of the SEC, which may be subject to future modifications, currently provide that the following conditions must be met whenever portfolio securities are loaned: (a) the fund must receive at least 100% cash collateral or equivalent securities from the borrower; (b) the borrower must increase such collateral whenever the market value of the securities rises above the level of such collateral; (c) the fund must be able to terminate the loan at any time; (d) the fund must receive reasonable interest on the loan, as well as an amount equal to any dividends, interest or other distributions on the loaned securities, and any increase in market value; (e) the fund may pay only reasonable custodian fees in connection with the loan; and (f) voting rights on the loaned securities may pass to the borrower; however, if a material event adversely affecting the investment occurs, the fund through its Board must terminate the loan and regain the right to vote the securities. Payments received by the fund in lieu of any dividends paid on the loaned securities will not be treated as “qualified dividend income” for purposes of determining what portion of the fund’s dividends received by individuals may be taxed at the rates generally applicable to long-term capital gains. See “Taxes.” The risks in lending portfolio securities, as with other extensions of secured credit, consist of possible delay in receiving additional collateral or in the recovery of the securities or possible loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower fail financially. Loans will be made to firms deemed by the subadviser to be of good standing and will not be made unless, in the judgment of the subadviser, the consideration to be earned from such loans would justify the risk.

From time to time, the fund may return a part of the interest earned from the investment of collateral received for securities loaned to the borrower and/or a third party, which is unaffiliated with the fund, Legg Mason or CGMI and is acting as a “finder,” a part of the interest earned from the investment of collateral received for securities loaned.

Generally, the borrower will be required to make payments to the fund in lieu of any dividends the fund would have otherwise received had it not loaned the shares to the borrower. Any such payments, however, will not be treated as “qualified dividend income” for purposes of determining what portion of the fund’s regular dividends (as defined below) received by individuals may be taxed at the rates generally applicable to long-term capital gains (see “Taxes” below).

Money Market Instruments. As stated in the prospectus, the fund may invest for temporary defensive purposes or when opportunities for capital growth do not appear attractive, in short-term corporate and government money market instruments. Money market instruments in which the fund may invest include: U.S. government securities; certificates of deposit, time deposits and bankers’ acceptances issued by domestic banks (including their branches located outside the United States and subsidiaries located in Canada), domestic branches of foreign banks, savings and loan associations and similar institutions; high grade commercial paper; and repurchase agreements with respect to the foregoing types of instruments. The following is a more detailed description of such money market instruments.

Certificates of deposit (“CDs”) are short-term negotiable obligations of commercial banks. Time deposits (“TDs”) are non-negotiable deposits maintained in banking institutions for specified periods of time at stated

 

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interest rates. Bankers’ acceptances are time drafts drawn on commercial banks by borrowers usually in connection with international transactions.

Domestic commercial banks organized under Federal law are supervised and examined by the Comptroller of the Currency and are required to be members of the Federal Reserve System and to be insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”). Domestic banks organized under state law are supervised and examined by state banking authorities but are members of the Federal Reserve System only if they elect to join. Most state banks are insured by the FDIC (although such insurance may not be of material benefit to the fund, depending upon the principal amounts of CDs of each bank held by the fund) and are subject to Federal examination and to a substantial body of Federal law and regulation. As a result of governmental regulations,

domestic branches of domestic banks are generally required to, among other things, maintain specified levels of reserves, and are subject to other supervision and regulation designed to promote financial soundness.

Obligations of foreign branches of domestic banks, such as CDs and TDs, may be general obligations of the parent bank in addition to the issuing branch, or may be limited by the terms of a specific obligation and government regulation. Such obligations are subject to different risks than are those of domestic banks or domestic branches of foreign banks. These risks include foreign economic and political developments, foreign governmental restrictions that may adversely affect payment of principal and interest on the obligations, foreign exchange controls and foreign withholding and other taxes on interest income. Foreign branches of domestic banks are not necessarily subject to the same or similar regulatory requirements that apply to domestic banks, such as mandatory reserve requirements, loan limitations, and accounting, auditing and financial recordkeeping requirements. In addition, less information may be publicly available about a foreign branch of a domestic bank than about a domestic bank. CDs issued by wholly owned Canadian subsidiaries of domestic banks are guaranteed as to repayment of principal and interest (but not as to sovereign risk) by the domestic parent bank.

Obligations of domestic branches of foreign banks may be general obligations of the parent bank in addition to the issuing branch, or may be limited by the terms of a specific obligation and by governmental regulation as well as governmental action in the country in which the foreign bank has its head office. A domestic branch of a foreign bank with assets in excess of $1 billion may or may not be subject to reserve requirements imposed by the Federal Reserve System or by the state in which the branch is located if the branch is licensed in that state. In addition, branches licensed by the Comptroller of the Currency and branches licensed by certain states (“State Branches”) may or may not be required to: (a) pledge to the regulator by depositing assets with a designated bank within the state, an amount of its assets equal to 5% of its total liabilities; and (b) maintain assets within the state in an amount equal to a specified percentage of the aggregate amount of liabilities of the foreign bank payable at or through all of its agencies or branches within the state. The deposits of State Branches may not necessarily be insured by the FDIC. In addition, there may be less publicly available information about a domestic branch of a foreign bank than about a domestic bank.

In view of the foregoing factors associated with the purchase of CDs and TDs issued by foreign branches of domestic banks or by domestic branches of foreign banks, LMPFA will carefully evaluate such investments on a case-by-case basis.

Savings and loan associations whose CDs may be purchased by the fund are supervised by the Office of Thrift Supervision and are insured by the Savings Association Insurance Fund, which is administered by the FDIC and is backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. As a result, such savings and loan associations are subject to regulation and examination.

Fixed Income Securities. The fund may invest in investment grade bonds, rated at the time of purchase in the four highest ratings categories by a nationally recognized securities rating organization (“NRSRO”), such as those rated Aaa, Aa, A and Baa by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. (“Moody’s”) or AAA, AA, A and BBB by the Standard & Poor’s Division of The McGraw Hill Companies, Inc. (“S&P”). Obligations rated in the lowest of the top four rating categories (such as Baa by Moody’s or BBB by S&P) may have speculative characteristics

and changes in economic conditions or other circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity to make principal and interest payments, including a greater possibility of default or bankruptcy of the issuer, than

 

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is the case with higher grade bonds. Subsequent to its purchase by the fund, an issue of securities may cease to be rated or its rating may be reduced below the minimum required for purchase by the fund. In addition, it is possible that Moody’s, S&P and other NRSROs might not timely change their ratings of a particular issue to reflect subsequent events. None of these events will require the sale of the securities by the fund, although the subadviser will consider these events in determining whether the fund should continue to hold the securities.

Illiquid Securities. Up to 15% of the assets of the fund may be invested in illiquid securities, including (a) repurchase agreements with maturities greater than seven days, (b) futures contracts and options thereon for

which a liquid secondary market does not exist, (c) time deposits maturing in more than seven calendar days and (d) securities of new and early stage companies whose securities are not publicly traded.

Options, Futures and Currency Strategies. The fund may use forward currency contracts and certain options and futures strategies to attempt to hedge its portfolio, i.e., reduce the overall level of investment risk normally associated with the fund. There can be no assurance that such efforts will succeed.

The fund will not be a commodity pool. In addition, the subadviser has claimed an exclusion from the definition of commodity pool operator and, therefore, is not subject to registration or regulation as a pool operator under the rules of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”). To attempt to hedge against adverse movements in exchange rates between currencies, the fund may enter into forward currency contracts for the purchase or sale of a specified currency at a specified future date. Such contracts may involve the purchase or sale of a foreign currency against the U.S. dollar or may involve two foreign currencies. The fund may enter into forward currency contracts either with respect to specific transactions or with respect to its portfolio positions. For example, when the subadviser anticipates making a purchase or sale of a security, it may enter into a forward currency contract in order to set the rate (either relative to the U.S. dollar or another currency) at which the currency exchange transaction related to the purchase or sale will be made (“transaction hedging”). Further, when the subadviser believes that a particular currency may decline compared to the U.S. dollar or another currency, the fund may enter into a forward contract to sell the currency the subadviser expects to decline in an amount approximating the value of some or all of the fund’s securities denominated in that currency, or when the subadviser believes that one currency may decline against a currency in which some or all of the portfolio securities held by the fund are denominated, it may enter into a forward contract to buy the currency expected to appreciate for a fixed amount (“position hedging”). In this situation, the fund may, in the alternative, enter into a forward contract to sell a different currency for a fixed amount of the currency expected to decline where the subadviser believes that the value of the currency to be sold pursuant to the forward contract will fall whenever there is a decline in the value of the currency in which portfolio securities of the fund are denominated (“cross hedging”). The fund will segregate (i) cash, (ii) U.S. government securities or (iii) equity securities or debt securities (of any grade) in certain currencies provided such assets are liquid, unencumbered and marked to market daily, with a value equal to the aggregate amount of the fund’s commitments under forward contracts entered into with respect to position hedges and cross-hedges. If the value of the segregated securities declines, additional cash or securities are segregated on a daily basis so that the value of the amount will equal the amount of the fund’s commitments with respect to such contracts.

For hedging purposes, the fund may write covered call options and purchase put and call options on currencies to hedge against movements in exchange rates and on debt securities to hedge against the risk of fluctuations in the prices of securities held by the fund or which the subadviser intends to include in its portfolio. The fund also may use interest rates futures contracts and options thereon to hedge against changes in the general level in interest rates.

The fund may write call options on securities and currencies only if they are covered, and such options must remain covered so long as the fund is obligated as a writer. A call option written by the fund is “covered” if the fund owns the securities or currency underlying the option or has an absolute and immediate right to acquire that security or currency without additional cash consideration (or for additional cash consideration which has been segregated by the fund) upon conversion or exchange of other securities or currencies held in its portfolio. A call option is also covered if the fund holds on a share-for-share basis a call on the same security or holds a call on

 

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the same currency as the call written where the exercise price of the call held is equal to or less than the exercise price of the call written or greater than the exercise price of the call written if the difference is maintained by the fund in cash, Treasury bills or other high-grade, short-term obligations.

Although the portfolio might not employ the use of forward currency contracts, options and futures, the use of any of these strategies would involve certain investment risks and transaction costs to which it might not otherwise be subject. These risks include: dependence on the subadviser’s ability to predict movements in the prices of individual debt securities, fluctuations in the general fixed-income markets and movements in interest rates and currency markets; imperfect correlation between movements in the price of currency, options, futures contracts or options thereon and movements in the price of the currency or security hedged or used for cover; the fact that skills and techniques needed to trade options, futures contracts and options thereon or to use forward currency contracts are different from those needed to select the securities in which the fund invests; lack of assurance that a liquid market will exist for any particular option, futures contract or options thereon at any particular time and possible need to defer or accelerate closing out certain options, futures contracts and options thereon in order to continue to qualify for the beneficial tax treatment afforded “regulated investment companies” under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). See “Taxes.”

Options on Securities. As discussed more generally above, the fund may engage in the writing of covered call options. The fund may also purchase put options and enter into closing transactions.

The principal reason for writing covered call options on securities is to attempt to realize, through the receipt of premiums, a greater return than would be realized on the securities alone. In return for a premium, the writer of a covered call option forfeits the right to any appreciation in the value of the underlying security above the strike price for the life of the option (or until a closing purchase transaction can be effected). Nevertheless, the call writer retains the risk of a decline in the price of the underlying security. Similarly, the principal reason for writing covered put options is to realize income in the form of premiums. The writer of a covered put option accepts the risk of a decline in the price of the underlying security. The size of the premiums the fund may receive may be adversely affected as new or existing institutions, including other investment companies, engage in or increase their option-writing activities.

Options written by the fund will normally have expiration dates between one and six months from the date written. The exercise price of the options may be below, equal to, or above the current market values of the underlying securities at the times the options are written. In the case of call options, these exercise prices are referred to as “in-the-money,” “at-the-money” and “out-of-the-money,” respectively.

The fund may write (a) in-the-money call options when the subadviser expects the price of the underlying security to remain flat or decline moderately during the option period, (b) at-the-money call options when the subadviser expects the price of the underlying security to remain flat or advance moderately during the option period and (c) out-of-the-money call options when the subadviser expects that the price of the security may increase but not above a price equal to the sum of the exercise price plus the premiums received from writing the call option. In any of the preceding situations, if the market price of the underlying security declines and the security is sold at this lower price, the amount of any realized loss will be offset wholly or in part by the premium received. Out-of-the-money, at-the-money and in-the-money put options (the reverse of call options as to the relation of exercise price to market price) may be utilized in the same market environments as such call options are used in equivalent transactions.

So long as the obligation of the fund as the writer of an option continues, the fund may be assigned an exercise notice by the broker-dealer through which the option was sold, requiring it to deliver, in the case of a call, or take delivery of, in the case of a put, the underlying security against payment of the exercise price. This obligation terminates when the option expires or the fund effects a closing purchase transaction. The fund can no longer effect a closing purchase transaction with respect to an option once it has been assigned an exercise notice. To secure its obligation to deliver the underlying security when it writes a call option, or to pay for the underlying security when it writes a put option, the fund will be required to deposit in escrow the underlying security or other assets in accordance with the rules of the Options Clearing Corporation (“OCC”) or similar clearing corporation and the securities exchange on which the option is written.

 

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An option position may be closed out only where there exists a secondary market for an option of the same series on a recognized securities exchange or in the over-the-counter market. The fund expects to write options only on national securities exchanges or in the over-the-counter market. The fund may purchase put options issued by the OCC or in the over-the-counter market.

The fund may realize a profit or loss upon entering into a closing transaction. In cases in which the fund has written an option, it will realize a profit if the cost of the closing purchase transaction is less than the premium received upon writing the original option and will incur a loss if the cost of the closing purchase transaction exceeds the premium received upon writing the original option. Similarly, when the fund has purchased an option and engages in a closing sale transaction, whether it recognizes a profit or loss will depend upon whether the amount received in the closing sale transaction is more or less than the premium the fund initially paid for the original option plus the related transaction costs.

Although the fund generally will purchase or write only those options for which the subadviser believes there is an active secondary market so as to facilitate closing transactions, there is no assurance that sufficient trading interest to create a liquid secondary market on a securities exchange will exist for any particular option or at any particular time, and for some options no such secondary market may exist. A liquid secondary market in an option may cease to exist for a variety of reasons. In the past, for example, higher than anticipated trading activity or order flow, or other unforeseen events, have at times rendered certain of the facilities of the OCC and national securities exchanges inadequate and resulted in the institution of special procedures, such as trading rotations, restrictions on certain types of orders or trading halts or suspensions in one or more options. There can be no assurance that similar events, or events that may otherwise interfere with the timely execution of customers’ orders, will not recur. In such event, it might not be possible to effect closing transactions in particular options. If, as a covered call option writer, the fund is unable to effect a closing purchase transaction in a secondary market, it will not be able to sell the underlying security until the option expires or it delivers the underlying security upon exercise.

Securities exchanges generally have established limitations governing the maximum number of calls and puts of each class which may be held or written, or exercised within certain periods, by an investor or group of investors acting in concert (regardless of whether the options are written on the same or different securities exchanges or are held, written or exercised in one or more accounts or through one or more brokers). It is possible that the fund and other clients of LMPFA and certain of their affiliates may be considered to be such a group. A securities exchange may order the liquidation of positions found to be in violation of these limits, and it may impose certain other sanctions.

In the case of options written by the fund that are deemed covered by virtue of the fund’s holding convertible or exchangeable preferred stock or debt securities, the time required to convert or exchange and obtain physical delivery of the underlying common stocks with respect to which the fund has written options may exceed the time within which the fund must make delivery in accordance with an exercise notice. In these instances, the fund may purchase or temporarily borrow the underlying securities for purposes of physical delivery. By so doing, the fund will not bear any market risk because the fund will have the absolute right to receive from the issuer of the underlying security an equal number of shares to replace the borrowed stock, but the fund may incur additional transaction costs or interest expenses in connection with any such purchase or borrowing.

Although the subadviser will attempt to take appropriate measures to minimize the risks relating to the fund’s writing of call options and purchasing of put and call options, there can be no assurance that the fund will succeed in its option-writing program.

Stock Index Options. As described generally above, the fund may purchase put and call options and write call options on domestic stock indices listed on domestic exchanges in order to realize its investment objective of long term growth or for the purpose of hedging its portfolio. A stock index fluctuates with changes in the market values of the stocks included in the index. Some stock index options are based on a broad market index such as the New York Stock Exchange Composite Index or the Canadian Market Portfolio Index, or a narrower market

 

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index such as the Standard & Poor’s 100. Indices also are based on an industry or market segment such as the Amex Oil Index or the Amex Computer Technology Index.

Options on stock indices are generally similar to options on stock except that the delivery requirements are different. Instead of giving the right to take or make delivery of stock at a specified price, an option on a stock index gives the holder the right to receive a cash “exercise settlement amount” equal to (a) the amount, if any, by which the fixed exercise price of the option exceeds (in the case of a put) or is less than (in the case of a call) the closing value of the underlying index on the date of exercise, multiplied by (b) a fixed “index multiplier.” Receipt of this cash amount will depend upon the closing level of the stock index upon which the option is based being greater than, in the case of a call, or less than, in the case of a put, the exercise price of the option. The amount of cash received will be equal to such difference between the closing price of the index and the exercise price of the option expressed in dollars or a foreign currency, as the case may be, times a specified multiple. The writer of the option is obligated, in return for the premium received, to make delivery of this amount. The writer may offset its position in stock index options prior to expiration by entering into a closing transaction on an exchange or it may let the option expire unexercised.

The effectiveness of purchasing or writing stock index options as a hedging technique will depend upon the extent to which price movements in the portion of the securities portfolio of the fund correlate with price movements of the stock index selected. Because the value of an index option depends upon movements in the level of the index rather than the price of a particular stock, whether the fund will realize a gain or loss from the purchase or writing of options on an index depends upon movements in the level of stock prices in the stock market generally or, in the case of certain indices, in an industry or market segment, rather than movements in the price of a particular stock. Accordingly, successful use by the fund of options on stock indices will be subject to the subadviser’s ability to predict correctly movements in the direction of the stock market generally or of a particular industry. This requires different skills and techniques than predicting changes in the price of individual stocks.

Futures Contracts and Options on Futures Contracts. As described generally above, the fund may invest in stock index futures contracts and options on futures contracts that are traded on a domestic exchange or board of trade.

The purpose of entering into a futures contract by the fund is to protect the fund from fluctuations in the value of securities without actually buying or selling the securities. For example, in the case of stock index futures contracts, if the fund anticipates an increase in the price of stocks it intends to purchase at a later time, the fund could enter into contracts to purchase the stock index (known as taking a “long” position) as a temporary substitute for the purchase of stocks. If an increase in the market occurs that influences the stock index as anticipated, the value of the futures contracts increases and thereby serves as a hedge against the fund’s not participating in a market advance. The fund then may close out the futures contracts by entering into offsetting futures contracts to sell the stock index (known as taking a “short” position) as it purchases individual stocks. The fund can accomplish similar results by buying securities with long maturities and selling securities with short maturities. But by using futures contracts as an investment tool to reduce risk, given the greater liquidity in the futures market, it may be possible to accomplish the same result more easily and more quickly.

No consideration will be paid or received by the fund upon the purchase or sale of a futures contract. Initially, the fund will be required to deposit with the broker an amount of cash or cash equivalents equal to approximately 1% to 10% of the contract amount (this amount is subject to change by the exchange or board of trade on which the contract is traded and brokers or members of such board of trade may charge a higher amount). This amount is known as “initial margin” and is in the nature of a performance bond or good faith deposit on the contract which is returned to the fund, upon termination of the futures contract, assuming all contractual obligations have been satisfied. Subsequent payments, known as “variation margin,” to and from the broker, will be made daily as the price of the index or securities underlying the futures contract fluctuates, making the long and short positions in the futures contract more or less valuable, a process known as “marking-to-market.” In addition, when the fund enters into a long position in a futures contract or an option on a futures contract, it must maintain an amount of cash or cash equivalents equal to the total market value of the underlying futures contract, less amounts held by counterparties of futures agreements for amounts deposited as

 

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initial margin. At any time prior to the expiration of a futures contract, the fund may elect to close the position by taking an opposite position, which will operate to terminate the fund’s existing position in the contract.

There are several risks in connection with the use of futures contracts as a hedging device. Successful use of futures contracts by the fund is subject to the ability of the subadviser to predict correctly movements in the stock market or in the direction of interest rates. These predictions involve skills and techniques that may be different from those involved in the management of investments in securities. In addition, there can be no assurance that there will be a perfect correlation between movements in the price of the securities underlying the futures contract and movements in the price of the securities that are the subject of the hedge. A decision of whether, when and how to hedge involves the exercise of skill and judgment, and even a well-conceived hedge may be unsuccessful to some degree because of market behavior or unexpected trends in market behavior or interest rates.

Positions in futures contracts may be closed out only on the exchange on which they were entered into (or through a linked exchange) and no secondary market exists for those contracts. In addition, although the fund intends to enter into futures contracts only if there is an active market for the contracts, there is no assurance that an active market will exist for the contracts at any particular time. Most futures exchanges and boards of trade limit the amount of fluctuation permitted in futures contract prices during a single trading day. Once the daily limit has been reached in a particular contract, no trades may be made that day at a price beyond that limit. It is possible that futures contract prices could move to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of futures positions and subjecting some futures traders to substantial losses. In such event, and in the event of adverse price movements, the fund would be required to make daily cash payments of variation margin; in such circumstances, an increase in the value of the portion of the portfolio being hedged, if any, may partially or completely offset losses on the futures contract. As described above, however, no assurance can be given that the price of the securities being hedged will correlate with the price movements in a futures contract and thus provide an offset to losses on the futures contract.

Swaps. As one way of managing its exposure to different types of investments, the fund may enter into interest rate swaps, currency swaps, swaps relating to indices and equity interests of domestic and foreign issuers, and other types of swap agreements such as caps, collars, floors and swaptions. In a typical interest rate swap, one party agrees to make regular payments equal to a floating interest rate times a “notional principal amount,” in return for payments equal to a fixed rate times the same notional amount, for a specified period of time. If a swap agreement provides for payment in different currencies, the parties might agree to exchange the notional principal amount as well. Swaps may also depend on other prices or rates, such as the value of an index or mortgage prepayment rates. Index swaps involve the exchange by the fund with another party of the respective amounts payable with respect to a notional principal amount related to one or more indices. An equity swap is an agreement to exchange streams of payments computed by reference to a notional amount based on the performance of a basket of stocks or a single stock.

Swap agreements will tend to shift the fund’s investment exposure from one type of investment to another. For example, if the fund agreed to exchange payments in dollars for payments in a foreign currency, the swap agreement would tend to decrease the fund’s exposure to U.S. interest rates and increase its exposure to foreign currency and interest rates. Depending on how they are used, swap agreements may increase or decrease the overall volatility of the fund’s investments and its share price and yield.

Swap agreements are sophisticated risk management instruments that typically require a small cash investment relative to the magnitude of risks assumed. As a result, swaps can be highly volatile and may have a considerable impact on the fund’s performance. Swap agreements are subject to credit risks related to the counterparty’s ability to perform, and may decline in value if the counterparty’s creditworthiness deteriorates. The fund may also suffer losses if it is unable to terminate outstanding swap agreements or reduce its exposure through offsetting transactions. The fund will maintain in a segregated account cash or liquid securities equal to the net amount, if any, of the excess of the fund’s obligations over its entitlements with respect to a swap transaction.

 

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Portfolio Turnover

While the fund does not intend to trade in securities for short-term profits, securities may be sold without regard to the amount of time they have been held by the fund when warranted by the circumstances. The fund’s portfolio turnover rate is calculated by dividing the lesser of purchases or sales of portfolio securities for a year by the monthly average value of portfolio securities for the year. Securities with remaining maturities of one year or less at the date of acquisition are excluded from the calculation. A portfolio turnover rate of 100% would occur, for example, if all the securities in the fund’s portfolio were replaced once during a period of one year. A high rate of portfolio turnover in any year will increase brokerage commissions paid and could result in high amounts of realized investment gain subject to the payment of taxes by shareholders. Any realized short-term investment gain will be taxed to shareholders as ordinary income.

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

The fund has adopted policies and procedures developed by LMPFA, the fund’s investment manager, with respect to the disclosure of the fund’s portfolio securities and any ongoing arrangements to make available information about the fund’s portfolio securities. The policy requires that consideration always be given as to whether disclosure of information about the fund’s portfolio holdings is in the best interests of the fund’s shareholders, and that any conflicts of interest between the interests of the fund’s shareholders and those of LMPFA, the fund’s Distributors or their affiliates, be addressed in a manner that places the interests of fund shareholders first. The policy provides that information regarding the fund’s portfolio holdings may not be shared with non-Legg Mason employees, with investors or potential investors (whether individual or institutional), or with third parties unless it is done for legitimate fund business purposes and in accordance with the policy.

LMPFA’s policy generally provides for the release of details of securities positions once they are considered “stale.” Data is considered stale 25 calendar days following quarter-end, for funds other than money market funds and 25 calendar days following month-end with respect to money market funds. LMPFA believes that this passage of time prevents a third party from benefiting from an investment decision made by a fund that has not been fully reflected by the market.

Under the policy, the fund’s complete list of holdings (including the size of each position) may be made available to investors, potential investors, third parties and non-Legg Mason employees with simultaneous public disclosure at least 25 days after calendar quarter end, except in the case of a money market fund’s holdings, which may be released with simultaneous public disclosure at least 25 days after month end. Typically, simultaneous public disclosure is achieved by the filing of Form N-Q or Form N-CSR in accordance with SEC rules, provided that such filings may not be made until 25 days following quarter-end, and/or posting the information to a CAM or the fund’s Internet site that is accessible by the public, or through public release by a third party vendor.

The policy permits the release of limited portfolio holdings information that is not yet considered stale in a number of situations, including:

1. The fund’s top ten securities, current as of month-end, and the individual size of each such security position may be released at any time following month-end with simultaneous public disclosure.

2. The fund’s top ten securities positions (including the aggregate but not individual size of such positions) may be released at any time with simultaneous public disclosure.

3. A list of securities (that may include fund holdings together with other securities) followed by a portfolio manager (without position sizes or identification of particular funds) may be disclosed to sell-side brokers at any time for the purpose of obtaining research and/or market information from such brokers.

4. A trade in process may be discussed only with counterparties, potential counterparties and others involved in the transaction ( i.e ., brokers and custodians).

 

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5. The fund’s sector weightings, yield and duration (for fixed income and money market funds), performance attribution (e.g., analysis of the fund’s out-performance or underperformance of its benchmark based on its portfolio holdings) and other summary and statistical information that does not include identification of specific portfolio holdings may be released, even if non-public, if such release is otherwise in accordance with the policy’s general principles.

6. The fund’s portfolio holdings may be released on an as-needed basis to its legal counsel, counsel to its Independent Trustees (as defined under “Management” below) and its independent public accounting firm, in required regulatory filings or otherwise to governmental agencies and authorities.

Under the policy, if information about the fund’s portfolio holdings is released pursuant to an ongoing arrangement with any party, the fund must have a legitimate business purpose for the release of the information, and either the party receiving the information must be under a duty of confidentiality, or the release of non-public information must be subject to trading restrictions and confidential treatment to prohibit the entity from sharing with an unauthorized source or trading upon any non-public information provided. Neither the fund, nor Legg Mason, nor any other affiliated party may receive compensation or any other consideration in connection with such arrangements. Ongoing arrangements to make available information about the fund’s portfolio securities will be reviewed at least annually by the fund’s Board.

The approval of the fund’s Chief Compliance Officer, or designee, must be obtained before entering into any new ongoing arrangement or altering any existing ongoing arrangement to make available portfolio holdings information, or with respect to any exceptions to the policy. Any exceptions to the policy must be consistent with the purposes of the policy. Exceptions are considered on a case-by-case basis and are granted only after a thorough examination and consultation with LMPFA’s legal department, as necessary. Exceptions to the policies are reported to the fund’s Board at its next regularly scheduled meeting.

Currently, the fund discloses its complete portfolio holdings approximately 25 days after calendar quarter—end on the fund’s website http://www.leggmason.com/Investor Services

Set forth below is a list, as of [            ] of those parties with whom LMPFA, on behalf of the fund, has authorized ongoing arrangements that include the release of portfolio holdings information in accordance with the policy, as well as the frequency of the release under such arrangements and the length of the lag, if any, between the date of the information and the date on which the information is disclosed. The parties identified below as recipients are service providers, fund rating agencies, consultants and analysts.

 

Recipient

  

Frequency

  

Delay before dissemination

State Street Bank & Trust Co. (Fund Custodian and Accounting Agent)

  

Daily
   None

Institutional Shareholders Services (Proxy Voting Services)

  

As necessary
   None

Bloomberg

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Lipper

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

S&P

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Morningstar

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Vestek

   Daily    None

Factset

   Daily    None

Bank of New York

   Daily    None

 

13


[To be updated by amendment]

Portfolio holdings information for the fund may also be released from time to time pursuant to ongoing arrangements with the following parties:

 

Recipient

  

Frequency

  

Delay before dissemination

Baseline

   Daily    None

Frank Russell

   Monthly    1 Day

Callan

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Mercer

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

eVestment Alliance

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

CRA RogersCasey

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Cambridge Associates

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Marco Consulting

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Wilshire

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Informa Investment Services (Efron)

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

CheckFree (Mobius)

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Nelsons Information

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Investor Tools

   Daily    None

Advent

   Daily    None

BARRA

   Daily    None

Plexus

   Quarterly (Calendar)    Sent 1-3 business days following the end of a Quarter

Elkins/McSherry

   Quarterly (Calendar)    Sent 1-3 business days following the end of a Quarter

Quantitative Services Group

   Daily    None

AMBAC

   Daily    None

Deutsche Bank

   Monthly    6-8 Business Days

Fitch

   Monthly    6-8 Business Days

Liberty Hampshire

   Weekly and Month End    None

Sun Trust

   Weekly and Month End    None

New England Pension Consultants

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Evaluation Associates

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Watson Wyatt

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

S&P (Rating Agency)

   Weekly Tuesday Night    1 business day

Moody’s (Rating Agency)

   Weekly Tuesday Night    1 business day

 

14


Investment Restrictions

The fund has adopted the following investment restrictions for the protection of shareholders. Restrictions 1 through 7 cannot be changed without approval by the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of the fund, defined as the lesser of (a) 67% or more of the fund’s shares present at a meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares are present in person or by proxy, or (b) more than 50% of the fund’s outstanding shares. Investment restrictions 8 through 15 may be changed by a majority of the fund’s Board at any time. As discussed under “Proposed Investment Restrictions” below, the fund is proposing changing its investment restrictions.

Current Investment Restrictions

Under the investment restrictions adopted by the fund, the fund may not:

1. Invest in a manner that would cause it to fail to be a “diversified company” under the 1940 Act and the rules, regulations and orders thereunder.

2. Issue senior securities as defined in the 1940 Act, and any rules and orders thereunder, except insofar as the fund may be deemed to have issued senior securities by reason of: (a) borrowing money or purchasing securities on a when-issued or delayed-delivery basis; (b) purchasing or selling futures contracts and options on future contracts and other similar instruments; and (c) issuing separate classes of shares.

3. Invest more than 25% of its total assets in securities, the issuers of which are in the same industry. For purposes of this limitation, U.S. government securities and securities of state or municipal governments and their political subdivisions are not considered to be issued by members of any industry.

4. Borrow money, except that (a) the fund may borrow from banks for temporary or emergency (not leveraging) purposes, including the meeting of redemption requests which might otherwise require the untimely disposition of securities, and (b) the fund may, to the extent consistent with its investment policies, enter into reverse repurchase agreements, forward roll transactions and similar investment strategies and techniques. To the extent that it engages in transactions described in (a) and (b), the fund will be limited so that no more than 33 1 /3% of the value of its total assets (including the amount borrowed), valued at the lesser of cost or market, less liabilities (not including the amount borrowed) valued at the time the borrowing is made, is derived from such transactions.

5. Engage in the business of underwriting securities issued by other persons, except to the extent that the fund may technically be deemed to be an underwriter under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, in disposing of portfolio securities.

6. Purchase or sell real estate, real estate mortgages, commodities or commodity contracts, but this restriction shall not prevent the fund from (a) investing in securities of issuers engaged in the real estate business or the business of investing in real estate (including interests in limited partnerships owning or otherwise engaging in the real estate business or the business of investing in real estate) and securities which are secured by real estate or interests therein; (b) holding or selling real estate received in connection with securities it holds or held; (c) trading in futures contracts and options on futures contracts (including options on currencies to the extent consistent with the fund’s investment objective and policies); or (d) investing in real estate investment trust securities.

7. Make loans. This restriction does not apply to: (a) the purchase of debt obligations in which the fund may invest consistent with its investment objectives and policies; (b) repurchase agreements; and (c) loans of its portfolio securities, to the fullest extent permitted under the 1940 Act.

8. Invest more than 5 % of the value of the fund’s total assets in the securities of any issuer which has been in continuous operation for less than three years. This restriction does not apply to U.S. government securities.

9. Invest in securities of other investment companies, except to the extent permitted under the 1940 Act.

 

15


10. Invest in interests in oil, gas or other mineral exploration or development programs (except that the fund may invest in the securities of issuers which operate, invest in or sponsor such programs).

11. Purchase or otherwise acquire any security if, as a result, more than 15% of its net assets would be invested in securities that are illiquid.

12. Invest in any company for the purpose of exercising control or management.

13. Purchase or sell real estate limited partnership interests.

14. Purchase any securities on margin (except for such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of purchases and sales of portfolio securities). For purposes of this restriction, the deposit or payment by the fund of underlying securities and other assets in escrow and collateral agreements with respect to initial or maintenance margin in connection with futures contracts and related options and options on securities, indices or similar items is not considered to be the purchase of a security on margin.

15. Write, purchase or sell puts, calls, straddles, spreads or combinations thereof or engage in transactions involving futures contracts and related options, except as permitted under the fund’s investment goals and policies, as set forth in the current prospectus and the SAI.

If any percentage restriction described above is complied with at the time of an investment, a later increase or decrease in percentage resulting from a change in values or assets will not constitute a violation of the restriction.

Proposed Investment Restrictions

The fund has called a meeting of its shareholders to consider several proposals, including the adoption of revised fundamental investment policies or restrictions. If approved by the fund’s shareholders, the fund’s revised fundamental policies will be as follows:

1. The fund may not borrow money except as permitted by (i) the 1940 Act, as amended, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

2. The fund may not engage in the business of underwriting the securities of other issuers except as permitted by (i) the 1940 Act, as amended, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

3. The fund may lend money or other assets to the extent permitted by (i) the 1940 Act, as amended, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

4. The fund may not issue senior securities except as permitted by (i) the 1940 Act, as amended, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

5. The fund may not purchase or sell real estate except as permitted by (i) the 1940 Act, as amended, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

6. The fund may purchase or sell commodities or contracts related to commodities to the extent permitted by (i) the 1940 Act, as amended, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

7. Except as permitted by exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, the fund may not make any investment if, as a result, the fund’s investments will be concentrated in any one industry.

 

16


In addition, it is proposed that the fund may not invest in a manner that would cause it to fail to be a “diversified company” under the 1940 Act and the rules, regulations and orders thereunder. This restriction, however, would be made non-fundamental and therefore could be changed by the fund’s Board at any time.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to borrowing money set forth in (1) above, the 1940 Act permits a fund to borrow money in amounts of up to one-third of the fund’s total assets from banks for any purpose, and to borrow up to 5% of the fund’s total assets from banks or other lenders for temporary purposes. To limit the risks attendant to borrowing, the 1940 Act requires the fund to maintain at all times an “asset coverage” of at least 300% of the amount of its borrowings. Asset coverage means the ratio that the value of the fund’s total assets, minus liabilities other than borrowings, bears to the aggregate amount of all borrowings. Certain trading practices and investments, such as reverse repurchase agreements, may be considered to be borrowings and thus subject to the 1940 Act restrictions. Borrowing money to increase portfolio holdings is known as “leveraging.” Borrowing, especially when used for leverage, may cause the value of a fund’s shares to be more volatile than if the fund did not borrow. This is because borrowing tends to magnify the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of the fund’s portfolio holdings. Borrowed money thus creates an opportunity for greater gains, but also greater losses. To repay borrowings, the fund may have to sell securities at a time and at a price that is unfavorable to the fund. There also are costs associated with borrowing money, and these costs would offset and could eliminate a fund’s net investment income in any given period. [Subject to confirmation: Currently the fund does not contemplate borrowing money for leverage, but if the fund does so, it will not likely do so to a substantial degree.] The policy in (1) above will be interpreted to permit a fund to engage in trading practices and investments that may be considered to be borrowing to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act. Short-term credits necessary for the settlement of securities transactions and arrangements with respect to securities lending will not be considered to be borrowings under the policy. Practices and investments that may involve leverage but are not considered to be borrowings are not subject to the policy.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to underwriting set forth in (2) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from engaging in the underwriting business or from underwriting the securities of other issuers; in fact, the 1940 Act permits a fund to have underwriting commitments of up to 25% of its assets under certain circumstances. Those circumstances currently are that the amount of the fund’s underwriting commitments, when added to the value of the fund’s investments in issuers where the fund owns more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of those issuers, cannot exceed the 25% cap. A fund engaging in transactions involving the acquisition or disposition of portfolio securities may be considered to be an underwriter under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”). Under the 1933 Act, an underwriter may be liable for material omissions or misstatements in an issuer’s registration statement or prospectus. Securities purchased from an issuer and not registered for sale under the 1933 Act are considered restricted securities. There may be a limited market for these securities. If these securities are registered under the 1933 Act, they may then be eligible for sale but participating in the sale may subject the seller to underwriter liability. These risks could apply to a fund investing in restricted securities. Although it is not believed that the application of the 1933 Act provisions described above would cause a fund to be engaged in the business of underwriting, the policy in (2) above will be interpreted not to prevent the fund from engaging in transactions involving the acquisition or disposition of portfolio securities, regardless of whether the fund may be considered to be an underwriter under the 1933 Act.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to lending set forth in (3) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from making loans; however, SEC staff interpretations currently prohibit funds from lending more than one-third of their total assets, except through the purchase of debt obligations or the use of repurchase agreements. (A repurchase agreement is an agreement to purchase a security, coupled with an agreement to sell that security back to the original seller on an agreed-upon date at a price that reflects current interest rates. The SEC frequently treats repurchase agreements as loans.) While lending securities may be a source of income to a fund, as with other extensions of credit, there are risks of delay in recovery or even loss of rights in the underlying securities should the borrower fail financially. However, loans would be made only when the fund’s manager or a sub-adviser believes the income justifies the attendant risks. The fund also will be permitted by this policy to make loans of money, including to other funds. A fund would have to obtain exemptive relief from the SEC to make loans to other funds. The policy in (3) above will be interpreted not to prevent a fund from purchasing or investing in debt obligations and loans. In addition, collateral arrangements with respect to options, forward currency and futures transactions and other derivative instruments, as well as delays in the settlement of securities transactions, will not be considered loans.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to issuing senior securities set forth in (4) above, “senior securities” are defined as fund obligations that have a priority over the fund’s shares with respect to the payment of dividends or the distribution of fund assets. The 1940 Act prohibits a fund from issuing senior securities except that the fund may borrow money in amounts of up to one-third of the fund’s total assets from banks for any purpose. A fund also may borrow up to 5% of the fund’s total assets from banks or other lenders for temporary purposes, and these borrowings are not considered senior securities. The issuance of senior securities by a fund can increase the speculative character of the fund’s outstanding shares through leveraging. Leveraging of a fund’s portfolio through the issuance of senior securities magnifies the potential for gain or loss on monies, because even though the fund’s net assets remain the same, the total risk to investors is increased to the extent of the fund’s gross assets. The policy in (4) above will be interpreted not to prevent collateral arrangements with respect to swaps, options, forward or futures contracts or other derivatives, or the posting of initial or variation margin.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to real estate set forth in (5) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from owning real estate; however, a fund is limited in the amount of illiquid assets it may purchase. Investing in real estate may involve risks, including that real estate is generally considered illiquid and may be difficult to value and sell. Owners of real estate may be subject to various liabilities, including environmental liabilities. To the extent that investments in real estate are considered illiquid, the current SEC staff position generally limits a fund’s purchases of illiquid securities to 15% of net assets. The policy in (5) above will be interpreted not to prevent a fund from investing in real estate-related companies, companies whose businesses consist in whole or in part of investing in real estate, instruments (like mortgages) that are secured by real estate or interests therein, or real estate investment trust securities.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to commodities set forth in (6) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from owning commodities, whether physical commodities and contracts related to physical commodities (such as oil or grains and related futures contracts), or financial commodities and contracts related to financial commodities (such as currencies and, possibly, currency futures). However, a fund is limited in the amount of illiquid assets it may purchase. To the extent that investments in commodities are considered illiquid, the current SEC staff position generally limits a fund’s purchases of illiquid securities to 15% of net assets. If a fund were to invest in a physical commodity or a physical commodity-related instrument, the fund would be subject to the additional risks of the particular physical commodity and its related market. The value of commodities and commodity-related instruments may be extremely volatile and may be affected either directly or indirectly by a variety of factors. There also may be storage charges and risks of loss associated with physical commodities. The policy in (6) above will be interpreted to permit investments in exchange traded funds that invest in physical and/or financial commodities.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to concentration set forth in (7) above, the 1940 Act does not define what constitutes “concentration” in an industry. The SEC staff has taken the position that investment of 25% or more of a fund’s total assets in one or more issuers conducting their principal activities in the same industry or group of industries constitutes concentration. It is possible that interpretations of concentration could change in the future. A fund that invests a significant percentage of its total assets in a single industry may be particularly susceptible to adverse events affecting that industry and may be more risky than a fund that does not concentrate in an industry. The policy in (7) above will be interpreted to refer to concentration as that term may be interpreted from time to time. The policy also will be interpreted to permit investment without limit in the following: securities of the U.S. government and its agencies or instrumentalities; securities of state, territory, possession or municipal governments and their authorities, agencies, instrumentalities or political subdivisions; securities of foreign governments; and repurchase agreements collateralized by any such obligations. Accordingly, issuers of the foregoing securities will not be considered to be members of any industry. There also will be no limit on investment in issuers domiciled in a single jurisdiction or country. The policy also will be interpreted to give broad authority to a fund as to how to classify issuers within or among industries.

The fund’s proposed fundamental policies are written and will be interpreted broadly. For example, the policies will be interpreted to refer to the 1940 Act and the related rules as they are in effect from time to time, and to interpretations and modifications of or relating to the 1940 Act by the SEC and others as they are given from time to time. When a policy provides that an investment practice may be conducted as permitted by the 1940 Act, the policy will be interpreted to mean either that the 1940 Act expressly permits the practice or that the 1940 Act does not prohibit the practice.

The fund is currently classified as a diversified fund under the 1940 Act. This means that the fund may not purchase securities of an issuer (other than obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities) if, with respect to 75% of its total assets, (a) more than 5% of the fund’s total assets would be invested in securities of that issuer, or (b) the fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer. With respect to the remaining 25% of its total assets, the fund can invest more than 5% of its assets in one issuer. Under the 1940 Act, the fund cannot change its classification from diversified to non-diversified without shareholder approval.

 

17


MANAGEMENT

The business affairs of the fund are managed by or under the direction of the Board of Trustees. The Board elects officers who are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the fund and who execute policies authorized by the Board.

The current Trustees, including the Independent Trustees, of the fund who are not “interested persons” of the fund as defined in the 1940 Act (the “Independent Trustees”) and executive officers of the fund, their birth years, their principal occupations during the past five years (their titles may have varied during that period), the number of investment companies and their portfolios associated with Legg Mason the Trustees oversee, and other board memberships they hold are set forth below. The address of each Trustee is c/o R. Jay Gerken, 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022.

The following information relates to the Trust’s recently elected Board of Trustees.

 

Name and

Year of Birth

   Position(s)
with Fund
   Term of
Office* and
Length of
Time
Served**
  

Principal Occupation(s)

During Past 5 Years

  

Number of

Funds

in Fund
Complex
Overseen
by Trustee

  

Other Board
Memberships

Held by Trustee
During

Past Five Years

INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES:         

Paul R. Ades
Born 1940

   Trustee    Since 1983    Law firm of Paul R. Ades, PLLC (since 2000)       None

Andrew L. Breech Born 1952

   Trustee    Since 1991    President, Dealer Operating Control Service, Inc. (automotive retail management) (since 1985)       None

Dwight B. Crane Born 1937

   Trustee    Since 1981    Professor, Harvard Business School (since 1969); Independent Consultant (since 1969)       None

Robert M. Frayn, Jr. Born 1934

   Trustee    Since 1981    Retired; formerly, President and Director, Book Publishing Co. (1970 to 2002)       None

Frank G. Hubbard Born 1937

   Trustee    Since 1993    President, Avatar International Inc. (business development) (since 1998)       None

Howard J. Johnson Born 1938

   Trustee    From 1981
to 1998
and 2000
to Present
   Chief Executive Officer, Genesis Imaging LLC (technology company) (since 2003)       None

David E. Maryatt Born 1936

   Trustee    Since 1983    Private Investor; President and Director, ALS Co. (real estate management and development firm) (since 1993)       None

Jerome H. Miller Born 1938

   Trustee    Since 1995    Retired       None

Ken Miller
Born 1942

   Trustee    Since 1983    Chairman, Young Stuff Apparel Group, Inc. (apparel manufacturer) (1963 to 2005)       None

John J. Murphy Born 1944

   Trustee    Since 2002    President, Murphy Capital Management (investment advice) (since 1983)       Director, Nicholas Applegate funds; Trustee, Consulting Group Capital Markets Funds; formerly, Director, Atlantic Stewardship Bank (2004 to 2005); Director, Barclays International Funds Group Ltd. and affiliated companies (to 2003)

Thomas F. Schlafly Born 1948

   Trustee    Since 1983    Of Counsel, Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin LLP (law firm) (since 1984); President, The Saint Louis Brewery, Inc. (brewery) (since 1989)       Director, Citizens National Bank, Maplewood (2006)

Jerry A. Viscione Born 1944

   Trustee    Since 1993    Retired; formerly, Executive Vice President, Marquette University (1997 to 2002)       None
INTERESTED TRUSTEE:         

R. Jay Gerken , CFA†
Born 1951

   Trustee,
President,
Chairman
and Chief
Executive
Officer
   Since 2002    Managing Director, Legg Mason & Co., LLC (“Legg Mason & Co.”); Chairman of the Board, Trustee, or Director of [ ] funds associated with LMPFA and its affiliates; President, LMPFA (since 2006); Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its affiliates; formerly, Chairman, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”) and Citi Fund Management, Inc. (“CFM”) (2002 to 2005); formerly, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Travelers Investment Advisers Inc. (2002 to 2005)       Trustee, Consulting Group Capital Markets Funds

* Each Trustee serves until his or her respective successor has been duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation, retirement or removal.
** Indicates the earliest year in which the Trustee became a Board member for a fund in the Legg Mason Partners fund complex.
Mr. Gerken is an “interested person”, as defined in the 1940 Act, because of his position with the manager and/or certain of its affiliates.

 

Name, Year of Birth

And Address

  

Position(s) with
Fund

  

Term of Office*
and Length of
Time Served**

  

Principal Occupation(s)

During Past 5 Years

OFFICERS:         

Ted P. Becker
Born 1951
399 Park Avenue
New York, NY 10022

   Chief Compliance Officer    Since 2006    Director of Global Compliance at Legg Mason (2006 - present); Managing Director of Compliance at Legg Mason & Co (2005 to present); Chief Compliance Officer with certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. (since 2006); Chief Compliance Officer of LMPFA and certain affiliates; Managing Director of Compliance at Citigroup Asset Management (“CAM,” a group of affiliated investment advisers, which included Smith Barney Fund Management (“SBFM”), Smith Barney Asset Management and Citi Fund Management (“CFM”) and other affiliated investment advisory entities) (2002 to 2005). Prior to 2002, Managing Director-Internal Audit & Risk Review at Citigroup Inc.

John Chiota
Born 1968
100 First Stamford Place, 5th Fl
Stamford, CT 06902

   Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer    Since 2006    Vice President of Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors (since 2004); Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. (since 2006). Prior to August 2004, Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer of TD Waterhouse.

Robert I. Frenkel
Born 1954
300 First Stamford Place
Stamford, CT 06902

   Secretary and Chief Legal Officer    Since 2003    Managing Director and General Counsel of Global Mutual Funds for Legg Mason & Co. and its predecessors (since 2000); Secretary and Chief Legal Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. (since 2003). Previously, Secretary of CFM (2001 to 2004).

Thomas C. Mandia
Born 1962
300 First Stamford Place
Stamford, CT 06902

   Assistant Secretary    Since 2000    Managing Director and Deputy General Counsel of Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors (since 1992); Assistant Secretary of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co.

Kaprel Ozsolak
Born 1965
125 Broad Street, 11th Floor
New York, NY 10004

   Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer    Since 2004    Director of Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors; Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors. Previously, Mr. Ozsolak was Controller of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors (2002 to 2004).

* Each officer serves until his or her respective successor has been duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation, retirement or removal.
** Indicates the earliest year in which the officer took office for any funds in the Legg Mason Partners fund complex.

The Board has a standing Audit Committee, Nominating Committee and Pricing Committee. The Audit Committee and Nominating Committee are comprised of Independent Trustees. The Pricing Committee is composed of the Chairman of the Board and one Independent Trustee.

The Audit Committee oversees the scope of the fund’s audit, the fund’s accounting and financial reporting policies and practices and its internal controls. The primary purposes of the Board’s Audit Committee are to assist the Board in fulfilling its responsibility for oversight of the integrity of the accounting, auditing and financial reporting practices of the fund, the qualifications and independence of the fund’s independent registered public accounting firm, and the fund’s compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. The Audit Committee approves, and recommends to the Independent Trustees for their ratification, the selection, appointment, retention or termination of the fund’s independent registered public accounting firm and approves the compensation of the independent registered public accounting firm. The Audit Committee also approves all audit and permissible non-audit services provided to the fund by the independent registered public accounting firm and all permissible non-audit services provided by the fund’s independent registered public accounting firm to its manager and any affiliated service providers if the engagement relates directly to the fund’s operations and financial reporting.

The Governance Committee is responsible for, among other things, recommending candidates to fill vacancies on the Board. The Governance Committee may consider nominees recommended by a shareholder. Shareholders who wish to recommend a nominee should send recommendations to the Trust’s Secretary that include all information relating to such person that is required to be disclosed in solicitations of proxies for the election of Trustees. A recommendation must be accompanied by a written consent of the individual to stand for election if nominated by the Board and to serve if elected by the shareholders.

The Governance Committee identifies potential nominees through its network of contacts and may also engage, if it deems appropriate, a professional search firm. The committee meets to discuss and consider such candidates’ qualifications and then chooses a candidate by majority vote. The committee does not have specific, minimum qualifications for nominees, nor has it established specific qualities or skills that it regards as necessary for one or more of the Trustees to possess (other than any qualities or skills that may be required by applicable law, regulation or listing standard). However, in evaluating a person as a potential nominee to serve as a Trustee, the Governance Committee may consider the following factors, among any others it may deem relevant:

 

    whether or not the person is an “interested person,” as defined in the 1940 Act, and whether the person is otherwise qualified under applicable laws and regulations to serve as a Trustee;

 

    whether or not the person has any relationships that might impair his or her independence, such as any business, financial or family relationships with fund management, the investment adviser, service providers or their affiliates;

 

    whether or not the person serves on boards of, or is otherwise affiliated with, competing financial service organizations or their related mutual fund complexes;

 

    whether or not the person is willing to serve, and willing and able to commit the time necessary for the performance of the duties of a Trustee;

 

    the contribution which the person can make to the Board (or, if the person has previously served as a Trustee, the contribution which the person made to the Board during his or her previous term of service), with consideration being given to the person’s business and professional experience, education and such other factors as the committee may consider relevant;

 

    the character and integrity of the person; and

 

    whether or not the selection and nomination of the person would be consistent with the requirements of the retirement policies of the Trust, as applicable.

The Pricing Committee is charged with determining the fair value prices for securities when required.

As indicated above, the Trust’s Board is recently elected and is newly constituted as the Board that oversees all of the equity-type funds in the fund complex. All members of the Board previously have served on Boards of Legg Mason Partners funds. The Audit, Governance and Pricing Committees are recently established committees of this Board and did not meet during the fund’s last fiscal year.

The following table shows the amount of equity securities owned by the Trustees in the fund and other investment companies in the fund complex supervised by the Trustees as of December 31, 2006.

 

Name of Trustee

   Dollar Range
of Equity
Securities in
the Fund
  

Aggregate DollarRange
of Equity Securities In
Registered Investment
Companies Overseen

by Trustee

Independent Trustees

     

Paul R. Ades

     

Andrew L. Breech

     

Dwight B. Crane

     

Robert M. Frayn, Jr

     

Frank G. Hubbard

     

Howard J. Johnson

     

David E. Maryatt

     

Jerome H. Miller

     

Ken Miller

     

John J. Murphy

     

Thomas F. Schlafly

     

Jerry A. Viscione

     

Interested Trustee

     

R. Jay Gerken

     

[As of December 31, 2006, none of the Independent Trustees or their immediate family members owned beneficially or of record any securities of the manager, subadviser or distributors of the fund, or in a person (other than a registered investment company) directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with the manager, subadviser or distributors of the fund.]

Information regarding compensation paid to the Trustees by the fund for the calendar year ended December 31, 2006 is set forth below. The Independent Trustees receive a fee for each meeting of the fund’s Board of Trustees and committee meetings attended and are reimbursed for all out-of-pocket expenses relating to attendance at such meetings. Mr. Gerken, an “interested person,” as defined in the 1940 Act, does not receive compensation from the fund for his service as trustee, but may be reimbursed for all out-of-pocket expenses relating to attendance at such meetings.

The fund pays a pro rata share of the Trustee fees based upon asset size. The fund currently pays each of the Trustees who is not a director, officer or employee of the manager or any of its affiliates its pro rata share of: an annual fee of [$            ] plus [$            ] for each regularly scheduled Board meeting attended, [$            ] for each special telephonic Board meeting attended, and [$            ] for each adhoc telephonic meeting in which that trustee participates. The lead independent trustee will receive an additional [$            ] per year and the Chairs of the Audit Committee and Governance Committee will each receive an additional [$            ] per year. The fund will reimburse Trustees for travel and out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with Board meetings.

 

Name of Trustee

  

Aggregate
Compensation
from the

Fund(1) (2)

  

Total Pension or
Retirement
Benefits Paid

as Part of Fund
Expenses(1) (3)

   Total
Compensation
from Fund
Complex Paid
to Trustee(1) (2)
  

Number of
Portfolios in
Fund
Complex
Overseen by
Trustee(1)

Independent Trustees

           

Paul R. Ades

           

Andrew L. Breech

           

Dwight B. Crane

           

Robert M. Frayn, Jr

           

Frank G. Hubbard

           

Howard J. Johnson

           

David E. Maryatt

           

Jerome H. Miller

           

Ken Miller

           

John J. Murphy

           

Thomas F. Schlafly

           

Jerry A. Viscione

           

Interested Trustee

           

R. Jay Gerken

           

(1) Information is for the calendar year ended December 31, 2006.
(2) [Insert any additional amounts paid to the Trustees in 2006 for special meetings]
(3) Pursuant to a prior emeritus retirement plan, Mr. Crane has received or is entitled to receive, in a lump sum (calculated on a net present value basis) or in quarterly installments, an aggregate benefit having a net present value equal to [$            ]. Mr. Crane elected to receive the benefit in a lump sum payment. Each fund formerly overseen by Mr. Crane will pay a pro rata share (based upon asset size) of the aggregate benefit to Mr. Crane. Legg Mason or its affiliates have agreed to reimburse these funds an amount equal to 50% of the benefits paid to Mr. Crane.

 

18


For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2006, the Directors of the Fund’s predecessor were paid compensation listed below for their service as a Director.

COMPENSATION TABLE

 

Name of Independent Director

   Aggregate
Compensation
From the Fund
for the Fiscal
Year Ended
September 30,
2006
   Aggregate
Compensation from
the Funds and the
Fund Complex for
the Fiscal Year
Ended
September 30,
2006
  Number of
Portfolios for
Which
Person
Served
Within Fund
Complex

Robert M. Frayn, Jr. (1)  

   $      $    

Leon P. Gardner

       

Howard J. Johnson

       

David E. Maryatt (1)  

       

Jerry A. Viscione

       

Name of Interested Director

             

R. Jay Gerken (3)  

       

 

(1) The fund does not currently provide any pension or retirement benefits to Board members or officers.
(2) Pursuant to emeritus retirement plans, the following former Independent Trustees have received or are entitled to receive benefits (calculated on a net present value basis) as follows:              : $              ;              : $              ; and              : $              . These benefits are paid in quarterly installments unless the Trustee elected to receive them in a lump sum at net present value. The fund or will pay its pro rata share (based upon asset size) of these aggregate benefits. Legg Mason or its affiliates have agreed to reimburse the fund an amount equal to 50% of these benefits.
(3) Mr. Gerken was not compensated for his service as a Director because of his affiliation with the manager.

The Declaration of Trust of the Trust provides that the Trust will indemnify its Trustees and officers against liabilities and expenses incurred in connection with litigation in which they may be involved because of their offices with the Trust, unless, as to liability to the Trust, or its investors, it is finally adjudicated that they engaged in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in their offices, or unless with respect to any other matter it is finally adjudicated that they did not act in good faith in the reasonable belief that their actions were in the best interests of the Trust. In the case of settlement, such indemnification will not be provided unless it has been determined by a court or other body approving the settlement or other disposition or a reasonable determination, based upon a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial-type inquiry) that such officers or Trustees have not engaged in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of their duties. Rights to indemnification or insurance cannot be limited retroactively.

The Declaration of Trust further provides that (i) the appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee as a member or chairperson of a committee of the Trustees, an expert on any topic or in any area (including an audit committee financial expert), or the lead Independent Trustee, or any other special appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee, shall not impose on that individual any duty, obligation or liability that is greater than the duties, obligations and liability imposed on that person as a Trustee in the absence of the appointment, designation or identification (except with respect to duties expressly imposed pursuant to the by-laws of the Trust, a committee charter or a Trust policy statement), (ii) no Trustee who has special skills or expertise, or is appointed, designated or identified shall be held to a higher standard of care by virtue thereof and (iii) no appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee shall affect in any way that Trustee’s rights to indemnification.

 

19


As of             , 2006, the Directors and Officers of the fund as a group owned less than 1% of the outstanding common stock of the fund.

To the knowledge of the fund, as of             , 2006, the following shareholders or “groups” (as such term is defined in section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) beneficially or of record owned 5% or more of a class of the shares of the following classes:

[To Be Updated By Amendment]

 

Shareholder

  

Class

   % of
Shares
              %
              %
              %
              %
              %

 

20


Manager

LMPFA serves as investment manager to the fund pursuant to an investment management agreement (the “Management Agreement”) with the with an initial term ending November 30, 2007. LMPFA, with offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022, is a recently-organized investment adviser that has been formed to serve as the investment manager of the fund and certain other Legg Mason-sponsored funds. LMPFA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason. Legg Mason, whose principal executive offices are at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, is a global asset management company. As of September 30, 2006, Legg Mason’s asset management operation had aggregate assets under management of approximately $891 billion. LMPFA provides administrative and certain oversight services to the fund and manages the cash and short-term investments of the fund.

Under the Management Agreement, subject to the supervision and direction of the fund’s Board, the manager is delegated the responsibility of managing the fund’s portfolio in accordance with the fund’s stated investment objective and policies, making investment decisions for the fund and placing orders to purchase and sell securities. The manager also performs administrative and management services necessary for the operation of the fund, such as (i) supervising the overall administration of the fund, including negotiation of contracts and fees with and the monitoring of performance and billings of the fund’s transfer agent, shareholder servicing agents, custodian and other independent contractors or agents; (ii) providing certain compliance, fund accounting, regulatory reporting, and tax reporting services; (iii) preparing or participating in the preparation of Board materials, registration statements, proxy statements and reports and other communications to shareholders; (iv) maintaining the fund’s existence, and (v) maintaining the registration and qualification of the fund’s shares under federal and state laws.

The Management Agreement has an initial term ending November 30, 2007 and will continue in effect from year to year thereafter provided such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (a) by the fund’s Board or by a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act), and (b) in either event, by a majority of the Independent Trustees with such Independent Trustees casting votes in person at a meeting called for such purpose.

The Management Agreement provides that the manager may render services to others. The Management Agreement is terminable without penalty on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice by the fund when authorized either by a vote of holders of shares representing a majority of the voting power of the outstanding voting securities of the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) or by a vote of a majority of the fund’s Trustees, or by the manager on not less than 90 days’ written notice, and will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment. The Management Agreement provides that neither the manager nor its personnel shall be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or omission in the execution of security transactions for the fund, except for willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence or reckless disregard of its or their obligations and duties.

Effective December 1, 2005, for its services under the Investment Management Agreement, LMPFA receives an investment management fee that is calculated daily and payable monthly according to the following schedule:

 

Average Daily Net Assets

   Investment Management Fee
Rate
 

First $1.5 billion

   0.750 %

Next $500 million

   0.700 %

Next $500 million

   0.650 %

Next $1 billion

   0.600 %

Over $3.5 billion

   0.500 %

 

21


Prior to December 1, 2005, SBFM served as investment adviser and administrator to the fund pursuant to separate investment advisory and administration agreements and received separate investment advisory and administrative fees.

Prior to December 1, 2005, the fund paid administrative fees to SBFM at the rate of 0.20% of the fund’s average daily net assets.

Prior to December 1, 2005, the fund paid SBFM an advisory fee, accrued daily and paid monthly, according to the following schedule:

 

First $1.5 Billion of average daily net assets

   0.55 %

Next $0.5 Billion of average daily net assets

   0.50 %

Next $0.5 Billion of average daily net assets

   0.49 %

Next $1.0 Billion of average daily net assets

   0.46 %

Over $3.5 Billion of average daily net assets

   0.38 %

For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2006, 2005 and 2004, the fund incurred $            , $22,213,082 and $21,981,311, respectively, in investment advisory fees. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2006, the manager waived $              in investment advisory fees.

For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2006, 2005 and 20043, the fund incurred $            , $7,593,605 and $7,520,416, respectively, in administration fees.

Expenses

In addition to amounts payable under the Management Agreement and the 12b-1 Plans (as discussed below), the fund is responsible for its own expenses, including, among other things, interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the fund’s securities and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the fund, if any; and the fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any nonrecurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the fund is a party and the legal obligation which the fund may have to indemnify the fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

Management may agree to waive fees and or reimburse operating expenses for one or more classes of shares, either through contractual or voluntary arrangements. Any such waivers and/or reimbursements are described in the fund’s Prospectus. The contractual and voluntary fee waivers and/or reimbursements do not cover extraordinary expenses, such as (a) any expenses or charges related to litigation, derivative actions, demand related to litigation, regulatory or other government investigations and proceedings, “for cause” regulatory inspections and indemnification or advancement of related expenses or costs, to the extent any such expenses are considered extraordinary expenses for the purposes of fee disclosure in Form N-1A as the same may be amended from time to time; and (b) other extraordinary expenses as determined for the purposes of fee disclosure in Form N-1A, as the same may be amended from time to time. Without limiting the foregoing, extraordinary expenses are generally those that are unusual or expected to recur only infrequently, and may

 

22


include such expenses, by way of illustration, as (i) expenses of the reorganization, restructuring, redomiciling or merger of the fund or class or the acquisition of all or substantially all of the assets of another fund or class; (ii) expenses of holding, and soliciting proxies for, a meeting of shareholders of the fund or class (except to the extent relating to routine items such as the election of board members or the approval of the independent registered public accounting firm); and (iii) expenses of converting to a new custodian, transfer agent or other service provider, in each case to the extent any such expenses are considered extraordinary expenses for the purposes of fee disclosure in Form N-1A as the same may be amended from time to time.

Subadviser

ClearBridge serves as the subadviser to the fund pursuant to a sub-advisory Agreement between the manager and ClearBridge that was approved by the Board, including a majority of Independent Trustees, on June 29, 2006 (the “Sub-Advisory Agreement”).

ClearBridge has offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022 and is a recently-organized investment adviser that has been formed to succeed to the equity securities portfolio management business of CAM, which was acquired by Legg Mason in December 2005.

ClearBridge is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason.

Under the Sub-Advisory Agreement, subject to the supervision and direction of the Board and the manager, the subadviser will manage the fund’s portfolio (or allocated portion thereof) in accordance with the fund’s stated investment objective(s) and policies, assist in supervising all aspects of the fund’s operations, make investment decisions for the fund, place orders to purchase and sell securities, and employ professional portfolio managers and securities analysts who provide research services to the fund.

The Sub-Advisory Agreement has an initial term ending November 30, 2007 and will continue in effect from year to year thereafter provided such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (a) by the Board or by a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act), and (b) in either event, by a majority of the Independent Trustees with such Independent Trustees casting votes in person at a meeting called for such purpose. The Board or a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) may terminate the Sub-Advisory Agreement without penalty, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the Subadviser. The subadviser may terminate the Sub-Advisory Agreement on 90 days’ written notice to the fund and the manager. The manager and the subadviser may terminate the Sub-Advisory Agreement upon their mutual written consent. This Sub-Advisory Agreement will terminate automatically in the event of assignment by the subadviser and shall not be assignable by the manager without the consent of the subadviser.

As compensation for its sub-advisory services, the manager will pay the subadviser a fee equal to 0.70% of the management fee paid to LMPFA, net expense waivers and reimbursements. For the period from August 1, 2006 through September 30, 2006, the manager paid the subadviser subadvisory fees of $            .

Code of Ethics

Pursuant to Rule 17j-1 of the 1940 Act, the fund, its manager, the subadviser and the distributors have adopted codes of ethics that permit personnel to invest in securities for their own accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by the fund. All personnel must place the interests of clients first and avoid activities, interests and relationships that might interfere with the duty to make decisions in the best interests of the clients. All personal securities transactions by employees must adhere to the requirements of the code and must be conducted in such a manner as to avoid any actual or potential conflict of interest, the appearance of such a conflict, or the abuse of an employee’s position of trust and responsibility.

Copies of the codes of ethics of the fund its manager, the subadviser and distributors are on file with the SEC.

 

23


Proxy Voting Guidelines and Procedures

Although individual Trustees may not agree with particular policies or votes by the manager or subadviser, the Board has delegated proxy voting discretion to the manager and/or the subadviser, believing that the manager and/or the subadviser should be responsible for voting because it is a matter relating to the investment decision making process.

LMPFA delegates the responsibility for voting proxies for the fund, as applicable, to the subadviser through its contracts with the subadviser. The subadviser will use its own proxy voting policies and procedures to vote proxies. Accordingly, LMPFA does not expect to have proxy-voting responsibility for the fund. Should LMPFA become responsible for voting proxies for any reason, such as the inability of a subadviser to provide investment advisory services, LMPFA shall utilize the proxy voting guidelines established by the most recent subadviser to vote proxies until a new subadviser is retained. In the case of a material conflict between the interests of LMPFA (or its affiliates if such conflict is known to persons responsible for voting at LMPFA) and the fund, the Board of Directors of LMPFA shall consider how to address the conflict and/or how to vote the proxies. LMPFA shall maintain records of all proxy votes in accordance with applicable securities laws and regulations, to the extent that LMPFA votes proxies. LMPFA shall be responsible for gathering relevant documents and records related to proxy voting from the subadviser and providing them to the fund as required for the fund to comply with applicable rules under the 1940 Act.

The subadviser’s Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures govern in determining how proxies relating to the fund’s portfolio securities are voted and are attached as Appendix A to this SAI. Information regarding how each fund voted proxies (if any) relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available without charge (1) by calling 1-888-425-6432, (2) on the funds’ website at http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices and (3) on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

PORTFOLIO MANAGER DISCLOSURE

Portfolio Managers

The following tables set forth certain additional information with respect to the portfolio managers for the fund. Unless noted otherwise, all information is provided as of September 30, 2006.

Other Accounts Managed by Portfolio Managers

The table below identifies the portfolio managers, the number of accounts (other than the fund) for which each portfolio manager has day-to-day management responsibilities and the total assets in such accounts, within each of the following categories: registered investment companies, other pooled investment vehicles, and other accounts.

 

Portfolio
Manager(s)
  

Registered Investment Companies, Pooled Investment Vehicles and Other Accounts

John G. Goode    registered investment companies with $ in total assets under management; other pooled investment vehicles with $ in total assets under management and other accounts with $ in total assets under management
Peter J. Hable    registered investment companies with $ in total assets under management; other pooled investment vehicles with $ in total assets under management and other accounts with $ in total assets under management

Portfolio Manager Compensation

ClearBridge Advisors, LLC (“ClearBridge”) investment professionals receive base salary and other employee benefits and are eligible to receive incentive compensation. Base salary is fixed and typically determined based on market factors and the skill and experience of individual investment personnel.

 

24


ClearBridge has implemented an investment management incentive and deferred compensation plan (the “Plan”) for its investment professionals, including the fund’s portfolio manager(s). Each investment professional works as a part of an investment team. The Plan is designed to align the objectives of ClearBridge investment professionals with those of fund shareholders and other ClearBridge clients. Under the Plan a “base incentive pool” is established for each team each year as a percentage of ClearBridge’s revenue attributable to the team (largely management and related fees generated by funds and other accounts). A team’s revenues are typically expected to increase or decrease depending on the effect that the team’s investment performance as well as inflows and outflows have on the level of assets in the investment products managed by the team. The “base incentive pool” of a team is reduced by base salaries paid to members of the team and other employee expenses attributable to the team.

The investment team’s incentive pool is then adjusted to reflect its ranking among a “peer group” of non-ClearBridge investment managers and the team’s pre-tax investment performance against the applicable product benchmark (e.g. a securities index and, with respect to a fund, the benchmark set forth in the fund’s prospectus to which the fund’s average annual total returns are compared or, if none, the benchmark set forth in the fund’s annual report). Longer-term (5- year) performance will be more heavily weighted than shorter-term (1- year) performance in the calculation of the performance adjustment factor. The incentive pool for a team may also be adjusted based on other qualitative factors by the applicable ClearBridge Chief Investment Officer. The incentive pool will be allocated by the applicable ClearBridge chief investment officer to the team leader and, based on the recommendations of the team leader, to the other members of the team.

Up to 20% of an investment professional’s annual incentive compensation is subject to deferral. Of that principal deferred award amount, 25% will accrue a return based on the hypothetical returns of the investment fund or product that is the primary focus of the investment professional’s business activities with the Firm, 25% will accrue a return based on the hypothetical returns of an employee chosen composite fund, and 50% may be received in the form of Legg Mason restricted stock shares.

Potential Conflicts of Interest

Potential conflicts of interest may arise when the fund’s portfolio managers also have day-to-day management responsibilities with respect to one or more other funds or other accounts, as is the case for all the portfolio managers listed in the table above.

The manager, the subadviser and the fund have adopted compliance polices and procedures that are designed to address various conflicts of interest that may arise for the manager and the individuals that it employs. For example, the manager and the subadviser each seek to minimize the effects of competing interests for the time and attention of portfolio managers by assigning portfolio managers to manage funds and accounts that share a similar investment style. The manager and the subadviser have also adopted trade allocation procedures that are designed to facilitate the fair allocation of limited investment opportunities among multiple funds and accounts. There is no guarantee, however, that the policies and procedures adopted by the manager, the subadviser and the fund will be able to detect and/or prevent every situation in which an actual or potential conflict may appear. These potential conflicts include:

Allocation of Limited Time and Attention. A portfolio manager who is responsible for managing multiple funds and/or accounts may devote unequal time and attention to the management of those funds and/or accounts. As a result, the portfolio manager may not be able to formulate as complete a strategy or identify equally attractive investment opportunities for each of those accounts as might be the case if he or she were to devote substantially more attention to the management of a single fund. The effects of this potential conflict may be more pronounced where funds and/or accounts overseen by a particular portfolio manager have different investment strategies.

Allocation of Limited Investment Opportunities. If a portfolio manager identifies a limited investment opportunity that may be suitable for multiple funds and/or accounts, the opportunity may be allocated among

 

25


these several funds or accounts, which may limit a fund’s ability to take full advantage of the investment opportunity.

Pursuit of Differing Strategies. At times, a portfolio manager may determine that an investment opportunity may be appropriate for only some of the funds and/or accounts for which he or she exercises investment responsibility, or may decide that certain of the funds and/or accounts should take differing positions with respect to a particular security. In these cases, the portfolio manager may place separate transactions for one or more funds or accounts which may affect the market price of the security or the execution of the transaction, or both, to the detriment or benefit of one or more other funds and/or accounts.

Selection of Brokers/Dealers. Portfolio managers may be able to select or influence the selection of the brokers and dealers that are used to execute securities transactions for the funds and/or accounts that they

supervise. In addition to executing trades, some brokers and dealers provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934), which may result in the payment of higher brokerage fees than might have otherwise been available. These services may be more beneficial to certain funds or accounts than to others. Although the payment of brokerage commissions is subject to the requirement that the sub-adviser determine in good faith that the commissions are reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided to the fund, a decision as to the selection of brokers and dealers could yield disproportionate costs and benefits among the funds and/or accounts managed. For this reason, the sub adviser has formed a brokerage committee that reviews, among other things, the allocation of brokerage to broker/dealers, best execution and soft dollar usage.

Variation in Compensation. A conflict of interest may arise where the financial or other benefits available to the portfolio manager differ among the funds and/or accounts that he or she manages. If the structure of the investment manager’s management fee and/or the portfolio manager’s compensation differs among funds and/or accounts (such as where certain funds or accounts pay higher management fees or performance-based management fees), the portfolio manager might be motivated to help certain funds and/or accounts over others. The portfolio manager might be motivated to favor funds and/or accounts in which he or she has an interest or in which the investment manager and/or its affiliates have interests. Similarly, the desire to maintain assets under management or to enhance the portfolio manager’s performance record or to derive other rewards, financial or otherwise, could influence the portfolio manager in affording preferential treatment to those funds and/or accounts that could most significantly benefit the portfolio manager.

Related Business Opportunities . The investment manager or its affiliates may provide more services (such as distribution or recordkeeping) for some types of funds or accounts than for others. In such cases, a portfolio manager may benefit, either directly or indirectly, by devoting disproportionate attention to the management of fund and/or accounts that provide greater overall returns to the investment manager and its affiliates.

Portfolio Manager Securities Ownership

The table below identifies ownership of fund securities by each portfolio manager as of September 30, 2006.

 

Portfolio Manager(s)

   Dollar Range of
Ownership of Securities

John G. Goode

   $  

Peter J. Hable

   $  

Portfolio Transactions

Subject to policies as may be established by the fund’s Board from time to time, the subadviser is primarily responsible for the fund’s portfolio decisions and the placing of the fund’s portfolio transactions, except that the manager manages the cash and short-term investments of the fund.

Transactions on stock exchanges involve the payment of negotiated brokerage commissions. There is generally no stated commission in the case of securities traded in the over-the-counter market, but the price of

 

26


those securities includes an undisclosed commission or mark-up. Over-the-counter purchases and sales are transacted directly with principal market makers except where it is believed that better prices and executions may be obtained elsewhere. The cost of securities purchased from underwriters includes an underwriting commission or concession, and the prices at which securities are purchased from and sold to dealers include a dealer’s mark-up or mark-down. The aggregate brokerage commissions paid by the fund for the three most recent fiscal years is set forth below under “Aggregate Brokerage Commissions Paid.”

Pursuant to the Management Agreement and Sub-Advisory Agreement, each of the manager and the subadviser is authorized to place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for a fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. The general policy of the manager and subadviser in selecting brokers and dealers is to obtain the best results achievable in the context of a number of factors which are considered both in relation to individual trades and broader trading patterns, including the reliability of the broker/dealer, the competitiveness of the price and the commission, the research services received and whether the broker/dealer commits its own capital. In connection with the manager’s or subadviser’s monitoring of its portfolio transactions for compliance with its policies, the manager and subadviser each utilize both an internal committee and a third party service provider.

In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) to the fund and/or the other accounts over which the manager, the subadviser or their affiliates exercise investment discretion. The manager and subadviser are authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for the fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the manager or subadviser determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities that the manager, the subadviser and their affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The manager and/or subadviser may also have arrangements with brokers pursuant to which such brokers provide research services to the manager or subadviser, as applicable, in exchange for a certain volume of brokerage transactions to be executed by such brokers. While the payment of higher commissions increases the fund’s costs, neither the manager nor the subadviser believes that the receipt of such brokerage and research services significantly reduces its expenses as manager or subadviser. Arrangements for the receipt of research services from brokers may create conflicts of interest.

Research services furnished to the manager or subadviser by brokers who effect securities transactions for the fund may be used by the manager or subadviser in servicing other investment companies and accounts which it manages. Similarly, research services furnished to the manager or subadviser by brokers who effect securities transactions for other investment companies and accounts which the manager or subadviser manages may be used by the manager or subadviser, as applicable, in servicing the fund. Not all of these research services are used by the manager or subadviser in managing any particular account, including the fund. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2006, the fund paid commissions to brokers that provided research services as follows:

 

Total Dollar Amount of

Brokerage Transactions

Related to Research Services

 

Total Dollar Amount of

Brokerage Commissions

Paid on Transactions

Related to Research Services

$                    

  $

The fund contemplates that, consistent with the policy of obtaining the best net results, brokerage transactions may be conducted through “affiliated broker/dealers”, as defined in the 1940 Act. The fund’s Board has adopted procedures in accordance with Rule 17e-1 promulgated under the 1940 Act to ensure that all brokerage commissions paid to such affiliates are reasonable and fair in the context of the market in which such affiliates operate. Effective December 1, 2005 CGMI is no longer an affiliated person of the fund

 

27


under the 1940 Act. As a result, the fund will be permitted to execute portfolio transactions with CGMI or an affiliate of CGMI as agent (but not as principal) without being subject to the restrictions applicable to transactions with affiliated persons.

Aggregate Brokerage Commissions Paid

For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2004, 2005 and 2006, the fund paid aggregate brokerage commissions and brokerage commissions to CGMI and affiliates as set out below:

 

    

Aggregate Broker

Commissions Paid

  

Amount of Brokerage

Commissions Paid

by the fund to CGMI and its
Affiliates

Year Ended September 30, 2004

   $    $

Year Ended September 30, 2005

   $    $

Year Ended September 30, 2006 (1)

   $    $

(1) CGMI was not an affiliated person of the fund under the 1940 Act during the entire period.

For the fiscal year ended September 30 , 2006, the percentage of the fund’s aggregate brokerage commissions paid to CGMI and its affiliates and the percentage of the fund’s aggregate dollar amount of transactions involving the payment of commissions effected through CGMI and its affiliates were as follows:

 

The Percentage of the Fund’s

Aggregate Brokerage Commissions

Paid to CGMI and Affiliates

 

The Percentage of the Fund’s

Aggregate Dollar Amount of Transactions

Involving the Payment of Commissions

Effected Through CGMI and Affiliates

%

  %

(1) CGMI was not an affiliated person of the fund under the 1940 Act during the entire period.

As of December 1, 2005, LMIS became an affiliated person of the fund under the 1940 Act. For the period December 1, 2005 through September 30, 2006, the fund did not pay any brokerage commissions to LMIS or its affiliates.

During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2006, the fund purchased securities issued by the following regular broker-dealers of the fund, which had the following values as of September 30, 2006:

 

Broker-Dealer

 

Value of Securities as of

September 30, 2006

$

  $

$

  $

In certain instances there may be securities that are suitable as an investment for the fund as well as for one or more of the manager’s or subadviser’s other clients. Investment decisions for the fund and for the manager’s or subadviser’s other clients are made with a view to achieving their respective investment objectives. It may develop that a particular security is bought or sold for only one client even though it might be held by, or bought or sold for, other clients. Likewise, a particular security may be bought for one or more clients when one or more clients are selling the same security. Some simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several clients receive investment advice from the same investment adviser, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objectives of more than one client. When two or more clients are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security, the securities are allocated among clients in a manner believed to be equitable to each. It is recognized that in some cases this system could adversely affect the price of or the size of the position obtainable in a security for the fund. When purchases or sales of the same security for the fund and for other funds managed by the adviser occur contemporaneously, the purchase or sale orders may be aggregated in order to obtain any price advantages available to large volume purchases or sales.

For reporting purposes, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate is calculated by dividing the lesser of purchases or sales of portfolio securities for the fiscal year by the monthly average of the value of the portfolio securities

 

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owned by the fund during the fiscal year. In determining such portfolio turnover, all securities whose maturities at the time of acquisition were one year or less are excluded. A 100% portfolio turnover rate would occur, for example, if all of the securities in the fund’s investment portfolio (other than short-term money market securities) were replaced once during the fiscal year. Portfolio turnover will not be a limiting factor should the manager or subadviser deem it advisable to purchase or sell securities.

For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2005 and 2006, the portfolio turnover rates were              and             , respectively.

In the event that portfolio turnover increases, this increase necessarily results in correspondingly greater transaction costs which must be paid by the fund. To the extent portfolio trading results in realization of net short-term capital gains, shareholders will be taxed on such gains at ordinary tax rates (except shareholders who invest through IRAs and other retirement plans which are not taxed currently on accumulations in their accounts).

On September 30, 2006, the fund held the following securities issued by its regular broker-dealers:

[To Be Updated By Amendment]

 

Issuer

   Number
of
Shares
   Market Value
of
Shares

DISTRIBUTION

Distributors. LMIS, a wholly-owned broker-dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, located at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202; CGMI, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Citigroup, located at 388 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10013; and PFS, located at 3120 Breckinridge Boulevard, Duluth, Georgia 30099-0001, serve as the fund’s distributors pursuant to separate written agreements or amendments to written agreements, in each case dated December 1, 2005 (the “distribution agreements”), which were approved by the fund’s Board and by a majority of the Independent Trustees, casting votes in person at a meeting called for such purpose, on November 21, 2005. The distribution agreements went into effect on December 1, 2005. Prior to December 1, 2005, CGMI and PFS Distributors, Inc. (“PFS Distributors”), the predecessor in interest to PFS, served as the fund’s distributors.

LMIS, CGMI and PFS may be deemed to be underwriters for purposes of the 1933 Act. From time to time, LMIS, CGMI, PFS or their affiliates may also pay for certain non-cash sales incentives provided to PFS Registered Representatives. Such incentives do not have any effect on the net amount invested. In addition to the reallowances from the applicable public offering price described below, PFS may, from time to time, pay or allow additional reallowances or promotional incentives, in the form of cash or other compensation, to PFS Registered Representatives that sell shares of the fund.

A distributor’s obligation is an agency or “best efforts” arrangement under which the distributor is required to take and pay only for such shares of the fund as may be sold to the public. A distributor is not obligated to sell any stated number of shares. Each distribution agreement is renewable from year to year if approved (a) by the Trustees or by a vote of a majority of the fund’s outstanding voting securities, and (b) by the affirmative vote of a majority of Trustees who are not parties to such agreement or interested persons of any party by votes case in person at a meeting called for such purpose. Each distribution agreement provides that it will terminate if assigned, and that it may be terminated without penalty by either party on 60 days’ written notice.

 

29


Commissions on Class A Shares. For the 2004, 2005 and 2006 fiscal years, the aggregate dollar amount of commissions on Class A shares was as follows:

 

Fiscal Year

Ended 9/30/04

  Fiscal Year
Ended 9/30/05
  

Fiscal Year

Ended 9/30/06

$10,305,000

  $ 761,000    $                 

Retained by PFS Distributors for the Fiscal Years Ended 9/30/ 04, 9/30/ 05 and 9/30/ 06, respectively: $7,930,635, $7,143,071 and $                

Commissions on Class C Shares. For the 2004, 2005 and 2006 fiscal years, the aggregate dollar amount of commissions on Class C shares was as follows:

 

Fiscal Year

Ended 9/30/04

  Fiscal Year
Ended 9/30/05
  

Fiscal Year

Ended 9/30/06

$566,000

  $ 0    $                 

For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2006, 2005 and 2004, CGMI received $            , $9,000 and $18,000, respectively, representing contingent deferred sales charges (“deferred sales charges”) on redemptions of the fund’s Class A shares. For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2006, 2005 and 2004, CGMI received $            , $1,711,000 and $2,828,000, respectively, representing deferred sales charges on redemptions of the fund’s Class B shares. [For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2005, PFS Distributors received $             representing deferred sales charges on redemptions of Class A shares.] For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2005, PFS Distributors received $1,218,000 representing deferred sales charges on redemptions of Class B shares. For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2006, 2005 and 2004, CGMI received $            , $56,000 and $73,000, respectively, representing deferred sales charge on redemptions of the fund’s Class C shares. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2006, LMIS received $             representing deferred sales charges on redemptions of the fund’s Class A shares. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2006, LMIS received $             representing deferred sales charges on redemptions of the fund’s Class B shares. [For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2006, LMIS received $             representing deferred sales charges on redemptions of the fund’s Class C shares.]

Services and Distribution Plan

The fund has adopted an amended shareholder services and distribution plan (the “12b-1 Plan”) pursuant to Rule l2b-1 under the 1940 Act with respect to its Class A, Class B and Class C shares. The only Classes of shares offered for sale through PFS are Class A shares and Class B shares. Under the Distribution Plan, the fund pays service and distribution fees to each of LMIS, CGMI and PFS, as applicable, for the services they provide and expenses they bear with respect to the distribution of Class A, Class B and Class C shares and providing services to Class A, Class B and Class C shareholders. The co-distributors will provide the fund’s board with periodic reports of amounts expended under the Distribution Plan and the purposes for which such expenditures were made. The fund pays service fees, accrued daily and payable monthly, calculated at the annual rate of 0.25% of the value of the fund’s average daily net assets attributable to the fund’s Class A, Class B and Class C shares. In addition, the fund pays distribution fees with respect to the Class B and Class C shares at the annual rate of 0.75% of the fund’s average daily net assets.

Fees under the Plan may be used to make payments to the distributors for distribution services, to Service Agents in respect of the sale of shares of the fund, and to other parties in respect of the sale of shares of the fund, and to make payments for advertising, marketing or other promotional activity, and payments for preparation, printing, and distribution of prospectuses, statements of additional information and reports for recipients other than regulators and existing shareholders. The fund also may make payments to the distributor, Service Agents and others for providing personal service or the maintenance of shareholder accounts. The amounts paid by the distributor to each recipient may vary based upon certain factors, including, among other things, the levels of sales of fund shares and/or shareholder services provided.

 

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The 12b-1 Plan also provides that the distributor and Service Agents may receive all or a portion of the sales charges paid by Class A, Class B and Class C investors.

The 12b-1 Plan permits the fund to pay fees to a distributor, Service Agents and others as compensation for their services, not as reimbursement for specific expenses incurred. Thus, even if their expenses exceed the fees provided for by the 12b-1 Plan, the fund will not be obligated to pay more than those fees and, if their expenses are less than the fees paid to them, they will realize a profit. The fund may pay the fees to a distributor and others until the 12b-1 Plan or Distribution Agreement is terminated or not renewed. In that event, a distributor’s or other recipient’s expenses in excess of fees received or accrued through the termination date will be the distributor’s or other recipient’s sole responsibility and not obligations of the fund. In their annual consideration of the continuation of the 12b-1 Plan for the fund, the Trustees will review the 12b-1 Plan and the expenses for each class within the fund separately.

The 12b-1 Plan also recognizes that various service providers to the fund, such as the manager, may make payments for distribution related expenses out of their own resources, including past profits, or payments received from the fund for other purposes, such as management fees, and that the fund’s distributors or Service Agents may from time to time use their own resources for distribution-related services, in addition to the fees paid under the 12b-1 Plan. The 12b-1 Plan specifically provides that, to the extent that such payments might be deemed to be indirect financing of any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund within the context of Rule 12b-1, then the payments are deemed to be authorized by the 12b-1 Plan, if permitted under applicable law.

The 12b-1 Plan continues in effect if such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by a vote of both a majority of the Trustees and a majority of the Trustees who are not “interested persons” (as defined in the 1940 Act) of the fund and who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the 12b-1 Plan or in any agreement related to the 12b-1 Plan (for purposes of this paragraph “Qualified Directors”). The Trustees, in the exercise of their business judgment in the best interests of the shareholders of the fund and each Class, have approved the continuation of the 12b-1 Plan. The 12b-1 Plan requires that the Trust and the distributor provide to the Board and the Board review, at least quarterly, a written report of the amounts expended (and the purposes therefor) under the 12b-1 Plan. The 12b-1 Plan further provides that the selection and nomination of the Qualified Trustees is committed to the discretion of the Qualified Trustees then in office who are not interested Trustees of the fund. The 12b-1 Plan may be terminated with respect to any class of the fund at any time by a vote of a majority of the fund’s Qualified Trustees or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of that class. The 12b-1 Plan may not be amended to increase materially the amount of permitted expenses of the class thereunder without the approval of a majority of the outstanding securities of that class and may not be materially amended in any case without a vote of a majority of both the Trustees and Qualified Trustees. The fund will preserve copies of any plan, agreement or report made pursuant to the 12b-1 Plan for a period of not less than six years, and for the first two years the fund will preserve such copies in an easily accessible place.

As contemplated by the 12b-1 Plan, each distributor acts as an agent of the fund in connection with the offering of shares of the fund pursuant to the respective Distribution Agreements.

Prior to December 1, 2005, the fund paid service and distribution fees directly to CGMI and PFS Distributors under separate 12b-1 Plans with respect to shares sold through CGMI and PFS Distributors.

PFS will pay for the printing of prospectuses and periodic reports after they have been prepared, set in type and mailed to shareholders, and will also pay the cost of distributing such copies used in connection with the offering to prospective investors and will pay for supplementary sales literature and other promotional costs. Such expenses incurred by PFS are distribution expenses within the meaning of the Distribution Plan and may be paid from amounts received by PFS from the fund under the Distribution Plan.

 

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Distribution expenses incurred by LMIS, CGMI and/or PFS for advertising, printing and mailing prospectuses, support services and overhead expenses, payments to their financial advisers or registered representative and for accruals for interest on expenses incurred in the distribution of the fund’s shares are set forth in the following tables:

[To be updated by amendment]

Dealer reallowances are described in the fund’s prospectus.

The following shows the total distribution fees paid by each Class for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2006:

 

Class A

   $         

Class B

  

Class C

  
      

Total

   $  
      

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

[            ], located at [            ] serves as the independent registered public accounting firm to examine and report on the fund’s financial statements for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2007.

Counsel

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, 787 Seventh Avenue, New York, New York 10019, serves as counsel to the fund.

Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP, 180 Maiden Lane, New York, New York 10038, serves as counsel to the Independent Directors.

Custodian and Transfer Agent

State Street Bank and Trust Company (“State Street”), One Lincoln Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, serves as the custodian of the fund. State Street, among other things, maintains a custody account or accounts in the name of the fund; receives and delivers all assets for the fund upon purchase and upon sale or maturity; collects and receives all income and other payments and distributions on account of the assets of the fund; and makes disbursements on behalf of the fund. State Street neither determines the fund’s investment policies, nor decides which securities the fund will buy or sell. For its services, State Street receives a monthly fee based upon the daily average market value of securities held in custody and also receives securities transaction charges, including out-of-pocket expenses. The fund may also periodically enter into arrangements with other qualified custodians with respect to certain types of securities or other transactions such as repurchase agreements or derivatives transactions. State Street also acts as the fund’s securities lending agent and receives a share of the income generated by such activities.

PFPC Inc. (“PFPC” or “transfer agent”), located at P.O. Box 9699, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699, serves as the fund’s transfer agent. Under the transfer agency agreement, the transfer agent maintains the shareholder account records for the fund, handles certain communications between shareholders and the fund and distributes dividends and distributions payable by the fund. For these services, the transfer agent receives a monthly fee computed on the basis of the number of shareholder accounts it maintains for the fund during the month, and is reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses. Prior to January 1, 2006, Citicorp Trust Bank, fsb (“CTB”) served as the fund’s transfer agent and PFPC served as the fund’s sub-transfer agent. For the period from October 1, 2005, through December 31, 2005, the fund paid transfer agent fees of [$             ] to CTB.

 

32


PURCHASE OF SHARES

General

Investors may purchase shares from a Service Agent. In addition, certain investors, including retirement plans purchasing through certain Service Agents, may purchase shares directly from the fund. When purchasing shares of the fund, investors must specify whether the purchase is for Class A, B, C or I (1) shares. Service Agents may charge their customers an annual account maintenance fee in connection with a brokerage account through which an investor purchases or holds shares. Accounts held directly at the transfer agent are not subject to a maintenance fee.

For additional information regarding applicable investment minimums and eligibility requirements, please see the fund’s prospectus.

There are no minimum investment requirements for purchases of Class A shares by: (i) current and retired board members of Legg Mason, (ii) current and retired board members of any fund advised by LMPFA (such board members, together with board members of Legg Mason, are referred to herein as “Board Members”), (iii) current employees of Legg Mason and its subsidiaries, (iv) the “immediate families” of such persons (“immediate families” are such person’s spouse, including the surviving spouse of a deceased Board Member, and children under the age of 21) and (v) a pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for the benefit of such persons. The fund reserves the right to waive or change minimums, to decline any order to purchase its shares and to suspend the offering of shares from time to time.

Purchase orders received by the fund or a Service Agent prior to the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) on any day the fund calculates its net asset value are priced according to the net asset value determined on that day (the “trade date”). Orders received by a Service Agent prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE on any day the fund calculates its net asset value are priced according to the net asset value determined on that day, provided the order is received by the fund’s agent prior to its close of business. For shares purchased through CGMI or a Service Agent purchasing through CGMI, payment for shares of the fund is normally due on the third business day after the trade date. In all other cases, payment must be made with the purchase order.

Systematic Investment Plan. Shareholders may make additions to their accounts at any time by purchasing shares through a service known as the Systematic Investment Plan. Under the Systematic Investment Plan, a distributor, the transfer agent, or, with respect to a PFS account, Primerica Shareholder Services is authorized through preauthorized transfers of at least $25 on a monthly, quarterly, every alternate month, semi-annual or annual basis to charge the shareholder’s account held with a bank or other financial institution as indicated by the shareholder, to provide for systematic additions to the shareholder’s fund account. A shareholder who has insufficient funds to complete the transfer will be charged a fee of up to $25 by a distributor, the transfer agent or Primerica Shareholder Services (such fee may be up to $30 for a PFS account). The Systematic Investment Plan also authorizes a distributor to apply cash held in the shareholder’s brokerage account or redeem the shareholder’s shares of certain money market funds managed by the manager or its affiliates to make additions to the account. Additional information is available from the fund or a Service Agent.

Sales Charge Alternatives

The following Classes of shares are available for purchase. See the Prospectus for a discussion of who is eligible to purchase certain Classes and of factors to consider in selecting which Class of shares to purchase.

 

(1) As of November 20, 2006, Class Y Shares were renamed Class I Shares.

 

33


Class A Shares . Class A shares are sold to investors at the public offering price, which is the net asset value plus an initial sales charge, as described in the fund’s prospectus.

Members of the selling group may receive a portion of the sales charge as described in the fund’s prospectus and may be deemed to be underwriters of the fund as defined in the 1933 Act. Sales charges are calculated based on the aggregate of purchases of Class A shares of the fund made at one time by any “person,” which includes an individual and his or her spouse and children under the age of 21, or a trustee or other fiduciary of a single trust estate or single fiduciary account. For additional information regarding sales charge reductions, see “Sales Charge Waivers and Reductions” below.

Purchases of Class A shares of $1,000,000 or more will be made at NAV without any initial sales charge, but will be subject to a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00% on redemptions made within 12 months of purchase. The contingent deferred sales charge is waived in the same circumstances in which the contingent deferred sales charge applicable to Class B and C shares is waived. See “Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Provisions” and “Waivers of Contingent Deferred Sales Charge” below.

Class B and C Shares. Class B and C shares are sold without an initial sales charge but are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge payable upon certain redemptions. See “Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Provisions.”

Class I Shares. Class I shares are sold at net asset value with no initial sales charge and no contingent deferred sales charge upon redemption.

Sales Charge Waivers and Reductions

Initial Sales Charge Waivers. Purchases of Class A shares may be made at NAV without an initial sales charge in the following circumstances:

(a) sales to (i) current and retired board members of Legg Mason, (ii) current and retired Board Members, (iii) current employees of Legg Mason and its subsidiaries, as well as (iv) by the “immediate families” of such persons (“immediate families” are such person’s spouse, including the surviving spouse of a deceased Board Member, and children under the age of 21) and (v) by a pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for the benefit of such persons;

(b) sales to any employees of Service Agents having dealer, service or other selling agreements with the fund’s distributors or otherwise having an arrangement with any such Service Agent with respect to sales of fund shares, and by the immediate families of such persons or by a pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for the benefit of such persons (providing the purchase is made for investment purposes and such securities will not be resold except through redemption or repurchase);

(c) offers of Class A shares to any other investment company to effect the combination of such company with the fund by merger, acquisition of assets or otherwise;

(d) purchases by shareholders who have redeemed Class A shares in the fund (or Class A shares of another Legg Mason Partners Fund that is offered with a sales charge) and who wish to reinvest their redemption proceeds in the fund, provided the reinvestment is made within 60 calendar days of the redemption;

(e) purchases by accounts managed by registered investment advisory subsidiaries of Citigroup;

(f) purchases by certain separate accounts used to fund unregistered variable annuity contracts; and

(g) purchases by investors participating in “wrap fee” or asset allocation programs or other fee-based arrangements sponsored by (affiliated and non-affiliated) broker/dealers and other financial institutions that have entered into agreements with CGMI or LMIS.

In order to obtain such discounts, the purchaser must provide sufficient information at the time of purchase to permit verification that the purchase qualifies for the elimination of the sales charge.

All existing retirement plan shareholders who purchased Class A shares at NAV prior to November 20, 2006, are permitted to purchase additional Class A shares at NAV. Certain existing programs for current and prospective retirement plan investors sponsored by financial intermediaries approved by LMIS prior to November 20, 2006 will also remain eligible to purchase Class A shares at NAV.

 

34


Accumulation Privilege —Please see the fund’s prospectus for information regarding accumulation privileges.

Letter of Intent—helps you take advantage of breakpoints in Class A sales charges. You may purchase Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds over a 13-month period and pay the same sales charge, if any, as if all shares had been purchased at once. You have a choice of seven Asset Level Goal amounts, as follows:

 

(1) $25,000

   (5) $500,000

(2) $50,000

   (6) $750,000

(3) $100,000

   (7) $1,000,000

(4) $250,000

  

Each time you make a Class A purchase under a Letter of Intent, you will be entitled to the sales charge that is applicable to the amount of your Asset Level Goal. For example, if your Asset Level Goal is $100,000, any Class A investments you make under a Letter of Intent would be subject to the sales charge of the specific fund you are investing in for purchases of $100,000. Sales charges and breakpoints vary among the Legg Mason Partners Funds.

When you enter into a Letter of Intent, you agree to purchase in Eligible Accounts over a thirteen (13) month period Eligible Fund Purchases in an amount equal to the Asset Level Goal you have selected, less any Eligible Prior Purchases. For this purpose, shares are valued at the public offering price (including any sales charge paid) calculated as of the date of purchase, plus any appreciation in the value of the shares as of the date of calculation, except for Eligible Prior Purchases, which are valued at current value as of the date of calculation. Your commitment will be met if at any time during the 13-month period the value, as so determined, of eligible holdings is at least equal to your Asset Level Goal. All reinvested dividends and distributions on shares acquired under the Letter will be credited towards your Asset Level Goal. You may include any Eligible Fund Purchases towards the Letter, including shares of classes other than Class A shares. However, a Letter of Intent will not entitle you to a reduction in the sales charge payable on any shares other than Class A shares, and if the shares are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge, you will still be subject to that contingent deferred sales charge with respect to those shares. You must make reference to the Letter of Intent each time you make a purchase under the Letter.

Eligible Fund Purchases. Generally, any shares of a Legg Mason Partners Fund may be credited towards your Asset Level Goal. Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or its affiliates (except for money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners Funds), Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. are not eligible.

This list may change from time to time. Investors should check with their Service Agent to see which funds may be eligible.

Eligible Accounts. Purchases may be made through any account in your name, or in the name of your spouse or your children under the age of 21. You may need to provide certain records, such as account statements, in order to verify your eligibility for reduced sales charges. Contact your Service Agent to see which accounts may be credited toward your Asset Level Goal.

Eligible Prior Purchases. You may also credit towards your Asset Level Goal any Eligible Fund Purchases made in Eligible Accounts at any time prior to entering into the Letter of Intent that have not been sold or redeemed, based on the current price of those shares as of the date of calculation.

Backdating Letter. You may establish a date for a Letter of Intent that is up to ninety (90) calendar days prior to the date you enter into the Letter. Any Eligible Fund Purchases in Eligible Accounts made during that period will count towards your Goal and will also be eligible for the lower sales charge applicable to your Asset Level Goal. You will be credited by way of additional shares at the current offering price for the difference between (a) the aggregate sales charges actually paid for those eligible shares and (b) the aggregate applicable sales charges for your Asset Level Goal.

 

35


Increasing the Amount of the Letter. You may at any time increase your Asset Level Goal. You must, however, contact your Service Agent, or if you purchase your shares directly through PFPC, contact PFPC, prior to making any purchases in an amount in excess of your current Asset Level Goal. Upon such an increase, you will be credited by way of additional shares at the then current offering price for the difference between: (a) the aggregate sales charges actually paid for shares already purchased under the Letter and (b) the aggregate applicable sales charges for the increased Asset Level Goal. The 13-month period during which the Asset Level Goal must be achieved will remain unchanged.

Sales and Exchanges. Shares acquired pursuant to a Letter of Intent, other than Escrowed Shares as defined below, may be redeemed or exchanged at any time, although any shares that are redeemed prior to meeting your Asset Level Goal will no longer count towards meeting your Goal. However, complete liquidation of purchases made under a Letter of Intent prior to meeting the Asset Level Goal will result in the cancellation of the Letter. See “Failure to Meet Asset Level Goal” below. Exchanges in accordance with the fund’s prospectus are permitted, and shares so exchanged will continue to count towards your Asset Level Goal, as long as the exchange results in an Eligible Fund Purchase.

Cancellation of Letter. You may cancel a Letter of Intent by notifying your Service Agent in writing, or if you purchase your shares directly through PFPC, by notifying PFPC in writing. The Letter will be automatically cancelled if all shares are sold or redeemed as set forth above. See “Failure to Meet Asset Level Goal” below.

Escrowed Shares. Shares equal in value to five percent (5%) of your Asset Level Goal as of the date your Letter (or the date of any increase in the amount of the Letter) is accepted, will be held in escrow during the term of your Letter. The Escrowed Shares will be included in the total shares owned as reflected in your account statement and any dividends and capital gains distributions applicable to the Escrowed Shares will be credited to your account and counted towards your Asset Level Goal or paid in cash upon request. The Escrowed Shares will be released from escrow if all the terms of your Letter are met.

Failure to Meet Asset Level Goal. If the total assets under your Letter of Intent within its 13-month term are less than your Asset Level Goal or you elect to liquidate all of your holdings or cancel the Letter before reaching your Asset Level Goal, you will be liable for the difference between: (a) the sales charge actually paid and (b) the sales charge that would have applied if you had not entered into the Letter. You may, however, be entitled to any breakpoints that would have been available to you under the accumulation privilege. An appropriate number of shares in your account will be redeemed to realize the amount due. For these purposes, by entering into a Letter of Intent, you irrevocably appoint your Service Agent, or if you purchase your shares directly through PFPC, PFPC, as your attorney-in-fact for the purposes of holding the Escrowed Shares and surrendering shares in your account for redemption. If there are insufficient assets in your account, you will be liable for the difference. Any Escrowed Shares remaining after such redemption will be released to your account.

Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Provisions

“Contingent deferred sales charge shares” are: (a) Class B shares; (b) Class C shares; and (c) Class A shares that were purchased without an initial sales charge but are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge. A contingent deferred sales charge may be imposed on certain redemptions of these shares.

Any applicable contingent deferred sales charge will be assessed on the net asset value at the time of purchase or redemption, whichever is less.

Class C shares and Class A shares that are contingent deferred sales charge shares are subject to a 1% contingent deferred sales charge if redeemed within 12 months of purchase. In circumstances in which the contingent deferred sales charge is imposed on Class B shares, the amount of the charge will depend on the number of years since the shareholder made the purchase payment from which the amount is being redeemed, as further described in the prospectus. Solely for purposes of determining the number of years since a purchase payment, all purchase payments made during a month will be aggregated and deemed to have been made on the last day of the preceding statement month.

 

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Class B shares will convert automatically to Class A shares approximately eight years after the date on which they were purchased and thereafter will no longer be subject to any distribution fees. There will also be converted at that time such proportion of Class B dividend shares (Class B shares that were acquired through the reinvestment of dividends and distributions) owned by the shareholders as the total number of his or her Class B shares converting at the time bears to the total number of outstanding Class B shares (other than Class B dividend shares) owned by the shareholder.

In determining the applicability of any contingent deferred sales charge, it will be assumed that a redemption is made first of shares representing capital appreciation, next of shares representing the reinvestment of dividends and capital gain distributions, next of shares that are not subject to the contingent deferred sales charge and finally of other shares held by the shareholder for the longest period of time. The length of time that contingent deferred sales charge shares acquired through an exchange have been held will be calculated from the date the shares exchanged were initially acquired in one of the other Legg Mason Partners mutual funds. For federal income tax purposes, the amount of the contingent deferred sales charge will reduce the gain or increase the loss, as the case may be, on the amount realized on redemption. The fund’s distributors receive contingent deferred sales charges in partial consideration for the expenses in selling shares.

Waivers of Contingent Deferred Sales Charge

The contingent deferred sales charge will be waived on: (a) exchanges (see “Exchange Privilege”); (b) automatic cash withdrawals in amounts equal to or less than 2% of the shareholder’s account balance at the time the withdrawals commence per month, up to a maximum of 12% in one year (see “Automatic Cash Withdrawal Plan”); (c) redemptions of shares within 12 months following the death or disability (as defined in the Code) of the shareholder; (d) mandatory post-retirement distributions from retirement plans or IRAs commencing on or after attainment of age 70  1 / 2 (except that shareholders who purchased shares subject to a contingent deferred sales charge prior to May 23, 2005 will be “grandfathered” and will be eligible to obtain the waiver at age 59  1 / 2 by demonstrating such eligibility at the time of redemption); (e) involuntary redemptions; (f) redemptions of shares to effect a combination of the fund with any investment company by merger, acquisition of assets or otherwise; (g) tax-free returns of an excess contribution to any retirement plan; and (h) certain redemptions of shares of a fund in connection with lump-sum or other distributions made by eligible retirement plans or redemption of shares by participants in certain “wrap fee” or asset allocation programs sponsored by broker/dealers and other financial institutions that have entered into agreements with a distributor or the manager.

As of November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge will be waived on new Class C shares purchased by retirement plan omnibus accounts held on the books of a fund.

A shareholder who has redeemed shares from other Legg Mason Partners Funds may, under certain circumstances, reinvest all or part of the redemption proceeds within 60 days and receive pro rata credit for any contingent deferred sales charge imposed on the prior redemption.

Contingent deferred sales charge waivers will be granted subject to confirmation by a distributor or the transfer agent of the shareholder’s status or holdings, as the case may be.

Grandfathered Retirement Program with Exchange Features

Retirement plan programs authorized by LMIS prior to November 20, 2006 (collectively, the “Grandfathered Retirement Program”) to offer eligible retirement plan investors the opportunity to exchange all of their Class C shares for Class A shares of the fund, are permitted to maintain such share class exchange feature for current and prospective retirement plan investors.

 

37


Under the Grandfathered Retirement Program Class C shares may be purchased by plans investing less than $3 million. Class C shares are eligible for exchange into Class A shares not later than eight years after the plan joins the program. They are eligible for exchange in the following circumstances:

If a participating plan’s total Class C holdings in all non-money market Legg Mason Partners Funds equal at least $3,000,000, at the end of the fifth year after the date the participating plan enrolled in the Grandfathered Retirement Program, the participating plan will be offered the opportunity to exchange all of its Class C shares for Class A shares of the fund. Such participating plans will be notified of the pending exchange in writing within 30 days after the fifth anniversary of the enrollment date and, unless the exchange offer has been rejected in writing, the exchange will occur on or about the 90th day after the fifth anniversary date. If the participating plan does not qualify for the five-year exchange to Class A shares, a review of the participating plan’s holdings will be performed each quarter until either the participating plan qualifies or the end of the eighth year.

Any participating plan that has not previously qualified for an exchange into Class A shares will be offered the opportunity to exchange all of its Class C shares for Class A shares of the same fund regardless of asset size at the end of the eighth year after the date the participating plan enrolled in the Grandfathered Retirement Program. Such plans will be notified of the pending exchange in writing approximately 60 days before the eighth anniversary of the enrollment date and, unless the exchange has been rejected in writing, the exchange will occur on or about the eighth anniversary date. Once an exchange has occurred, a participating plan will not be eligible to acquire additional Class C shares, but instead may acquire Class A shares of the same fund. Any Class C shares not converted will continue to be subject to the distribution fee.

For further information regarding this Program, contact your Service Agent or the transfer agent. Participating plans that enrolled in the Grandfathered Retirement Program prior to June 2, 2003 should contact the transfer agent for information regarding Class C exchange privileges applicable to their plan.

PFS Accounts

The fund offers two Classes of shares to investors purchasing through PFS: Class A and B shares.

Initial purchases of shares of the fund must be made through a PFS Registered Representative by completing the appropriate application. The completed application should be forwarded to Primerica Shareholder Services c/o PFPC, Inc., P.O. Box 9662, Providence, RI 02940-9662. Checks drawn on foreign banks must be payable in U.S. dollars and have the routing number of the U.S. bank encoded on the check. Additional investments may be sent directly to PFPC. In processing applications and investments, PFPC acts as agent for the investor and for the distributor, in accordance with the terms of the prospectus. If the transfer agent ceases to act as such, a successor company named by the fund will act in the same capacity so long as the account remains open. Shares purchased will be held in the shareholder’s account by PFPC.

Purchase orders received by the transfer agent or Primerica Shareholder Services prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE, on any day the fund calculates its net asset value, are priced according to the net asset value determined on that day.

Initial purchases of fund shares may be made by wire. The minimum investment that can be made by wire is $10,000. Before sending the wire, the PFS Registered Representative must contact Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 665-8677 to obtain proper wire instructions. Once an account is open, a shareholder may make additional investments by wire. The shareholder should contact Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445 to obtain proper wire instructions.

Shareholders who establish telephone transaction authority on their accounts and supply bank account information may make additions to their accounts at any time. Shareholders should contact Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern time any day that the NYSE is

 

38


open. If a shareholder does not wish to allow subsequent investments by telephone by any person in his or her account, the shareholder should decline the telephone transaction option on the account application. The

minimum subsequent investment by telephone is $25 and can be up to a maximum of $50,000. By requesting a subsequent purchase by telephone, you authorize Primerica Shareholder Services to transfer funds from the bank account provided for the amount of the purchase. Subsequent investments by telephone may not be available if the shareholder cannot reach Primerica Shareholder Services whether because all telephone lines are busy or for any other reason; in such case, a shareholder would have to use the fund’s regular subsequent investment procedure described above.

An account transcript is available at a shareholder’s request, which identifies every financial transaction in an account since it has opened. Additional copies of tax forms are available at the shareholder’s request.

Additional information regarding Primerica Shareholder Services may be obtained by contacting the Customer Services Department at (800) 544-5445.

Determination of Public Offering Price

The fund offers its shares on a continuous basis. The public offering price for each class of shares of the fund is equal to the net asset value per share at the time of purchase, plus for Class A shares an initial sales charge based on the aggregate amount of the investment. A contingent deferred sales charge, however, is imposed on certain redemptions of Class A, B and C shares.

Set forth below is an example of the method of computing the offering price of the Class A shares of the fund. based on the net asset value of a share of the fund as of September 30, 2006.

 

Class A (net asset value of $ plus the maximum initial sales charge of [      %]

of net asset value per share)

   $        

REDEMPTION OF SHARES

The right of redemption may be suspended or the date of payment postponed (a) for any period during which the NYSE is closed (other than for customary weekend and holiday closings), (b) when trading in the markets the fund normally utilizes is restricted, or an emergency exists, as determined by the SEC, so that disposal of the fund’s investments or determination of net asset value is not reasonably practicable or (c) for such other periods as the SEC by order may permit for protection of the fund’s shareholders.

If the shares to be redeemed were issued in certificate form, the certificates must be endorsed for transfer (or be accompanied by an endorsed stock power) and must be submitted to PFPC together with the redemption request. Any signature appearing on a share certificate, stock power or written redemption request in excess of $50,000 must be guaranteed by an eligible guarantor institution such as a domestic bank, savings and loan institution, domestic credit union, member bank of the Federal Reserve System or member firm of a national securities exchange.

Written redemption requests of $50,000 or less do not require a signature guarantee unless more than one such redemption request is made in any 10-day period. Redemption proceeds will be mailed to an investor’s address of record. The transfer agent may require additional supporting documents for redemptions made by corporations, executors, administrators, trustees or guardians. A redemption request will not be deemed properly received until the transfer agent receives all required documents in proper form.

If a shareholder holds shares in more than one Class, any request for redemption must specify the Class being redeemed. In the event of a failure to specify which Class, or if the investor owns fewer shares of the Class than specified, the redemption request will be delayed until the transfer agent receives further instructions. The redemption proceeds will be remitted on or before the seventh business day following receipt of proper tender, except on any days on which the NYSE is closed or as permitted under the 1940 Act, in extraordinary

 

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circumstances. Redemption proceeds for shares purchased by check, other than a certified or official bank check, will be remitted upon clearance of the check, which may take up to ten days. Each Service Agent is responsible for transmitting promptly orders for its customers.

The Service Agent may charge you a fee for executing your order. The amount and applicability of such a fee is determined and disclosed to its customers by each Service Agent.

The fund no longer issues share certificates. Outstanding share certificates will continue to be honored. If you hold share certificates, it will take longer to exchange or redeem shares.

Additional Information Regarding Telephone Redemption and Exchange Program. Neither the fund nor its agents will be liable for following instructions communicated by telephone that are reasonably believed to be genuine. The fund and its agents will employ procedures designed to verify the identity of the caller and legitimacy of instructions (for example, a shareholder’s name and account number will be required and phone calls may be recorded). The fund reserves the right to suspend, modify or discontinue the telephone redemption and exchange program or to impose a charge for this service at any time following at least seven (7) days’ prior notice to shareholders.

PFS Accounts

Shareholders may redeem for cash some or all of their shares of the fund at any time by sending a written request in proper form directly to Primerica Shareholder Services c/o PFPC at P.O. Box 9662, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9662. If you should have any questions concerning how to redeem your account after reviewing the information below, please contact Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445, Spanish speaking representatives at (800) 544-7278 or TDD Line for the Hearing Impaired at (800) 824-1721.

All persons in whose names the shares are registered must sign the request for redemption. Signatures must conform exactly to the account registration. If the proceeds of the redemption exceed $50,000, if the proceeds are

not paid to the record owner(s) at the record address, if the shareholder(s) has had an address change within 30 days or less of the shareholder’s redemption request, or if the shareholder(s) is a corporation, sole proprietor, partnership, trust or fiduciary, signature(s) must be guaranteed by one of the following: a bank or trust company; a broker/dealer; a credit union; a national securities exchange, registered securities association or clearing agency; a savings and loan association; or a federal savings bank.

Generally, a properly completed redemption form with any required signature guarantee is all that is required for a redemption. In some cases, however, other documents may be necessary. For example, in the case of shareholders holding certificates, the certificates for shares being redeemed must accompany the redemption request. Additional documentary evidence of authority is also required by PFPC in the event redemption is requested by a corporation, partnership, trust, fiduciary, executor or administrator. Additionally, if a shareholder requests a redemption from a retirement plan account (IRA or SEP), such request must state whether or not federal income tax is to be withheld from the proceeds of the redemption check. Redemption from a 403(b)(7) account requires completion of a special form. Please call Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time to obtain the proper forms.

Shareholders may utilize Primerica Shareholder Services Telephone Redemption service to redeem shares in their account as long as they have authorized the telephone redemption option. If a shareholder does not wish to allow telephone redemptions by any person in his or her account, he or she should decline the telephone transaction option on the account application. The telephone redemption option can be used only if: (a) the redemption proceeds are to be mailed to the address of record and there has been no change of address of record within the preceding 30 days; (b) the shares to be redeemed are not in certificate form; (c); the person requesting the redemption can provide proper identification information; and (d) the proceeds of the redemption do not exceed $50,000. 403(b)(7) accounts and accounts not registered in the name of an individual(s) are not eligible

 

40


for the telephone redemption option. Telephone redemption requests can be made by contacting Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern time any day that the NYSE is open.

Telephone redemption may not be available if the shareholder cannot reach Primerica Shareholder Services because all telephone lines are busy or for any other reason; in such case, a shareholder would have to use the fund’s regular redemption procedure described above.

Redemption proceeds can be sent by check to the address of record, by wire transfer to a bank account designated on the application or to a bank account designated on the application via the Automated Clearinghouse (ACH). PFPC will process and mail a shareholder’s redemption check usually within two to three business days after receiving the redemption request in good order.

Automatic Cash Withdrawal Plan

An automatic cash withdrawal plan (the “Withdrawal Plan”) is available to shareholders as described in the prospectus. To the extent withdrawals under the Withdrawal Plan exceed dividends, distributions and appreciation of a shareholder’s investment in the fund, there will be a reduction in the value of the shareholder’s investment, and continued withdrawal payments may reduce the shareholder’s investment and ultimately exhaust it. Withdrawal payments should not be considered as income from investment in the fund. Furthermore, as it generally would not be advantageous to a shareholder to make additional investments in the fund at the same time he or she is participating in the Withdrawal Plan, purchases by such shareholder in amounts of less than $5,000 ordinarily will not be permitted. The Withdrawal Plan will be carried over on exchanges between funds or classes of the fund. All dividends and distributions on shares in the Withdrawal Plan are reinvested automatically at net asset value in additional shares of the fund.

Shareholders who wish to participate in the Withdrawal Plan and who hold their shares in certificate form must deposit their share certificates with the transfer agent as agent for Withdrawal Plan members. For additional information shareholders should contact their Service Agent. A shareholder who purchases shares directly through the transfer agent may continue to do so and applications for participation in the Withdrawal Plan must be received by the transfer agent no later than the eighth day of the month to be eligible for participation beginning with that month’s withdrawal.

Distributions in Kind

If the Board determines that it would be detrimental to the best interests of the remaining shareholders to make a redemption payment wholly in cash, the fund may pay, in accordance with SEC rules, any portion of a redemption in excess of the lesser of $250,000 or 1.00% of the fund’s net assets by a distribution in kind of fund securities in lieu of cash. If a redemption is paid in portfolio securities, such securities will be valued in accordance with the procedures described under “Share Price” in the fund’s prospectus. Securities issued as a distribution in kind may incur brokerage commissions when shareholders subsequently sell those securities.

VALUATION OF SHARES

The net asset value per share of the fund’s Classes is calculated on each day, Monday through Friday, except days on which the NYSE is closed. The NYSE currently is scheduled to be closed on New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas, and on the preceding Friday or subsequent Monday when one of these holidays falls on a Saturday or Sunday, respectively. Because of the differences in distribution fees and Class-specific expenses, the per share net asset value of each Class will differ. Please see the prospectus for a description of the procedures used by the fund in valuing its assets.

 

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EXCHANGE PRIVILEGE

The exchange privilege enables shareholders to acquire shares of the same class in a fund with different investment objectives when they believe that a shift between funds is an appropriate investment decision. This privilege is available to shareholders residing in any state in which the fund shares being acquired may legally be sold. Prior to any exchange, the shareholder should obtain and review a copy of the current prospectus of each fund into which an exchange is being considered. Prospectuses may be obtained from a Service Agent.

Upon receipt of proper instructions and all necessary supporting documents, shares submitted for exchange are redeemed at the then-current net asset value, and the proceeds are immediately invested in shares of the fund being acquired at that fund’s then current net asset value. The distributors reserve the right to reject any exchange request. The exchange privilege may be modified or terminated at any time after written notice to shareholders.

Class A and I Exchanges. Class A and I shareholders of the fund who wish to exchange all or a portion of their shares for shares of the respective class in another fund may do so without imposition of any charge.

Class B Exchanges. Class B shares of the fund may be exchanged for other Class B shares without a contingent deferred sales charge. Upon an exchange, the new Class B shares will be deemed to have been purchased on the same date as the Class B shares of the fund that have been exchanged.

Class C Exchanges. Class C shares of the fund may be exchanged for other Class C shares without a contingent deferred sales charge. Upon an exchange, the new Class C shares will be deemed to have been purchased on the same date as the Class C shares of the fund that have been exchanged. Certain retirement plan programs with exchange features in effect prior to November 20, 2006, as approved by LMIS, will remain eligible for exchange from Class C shares to Class A shares in accordance with the program terms. See “Grandfathered Retirement Programs” for additional information.

Certain retirement plan programs with exchange features in effect prior to December 1, 2006, as approved by LMIS, will remain eligible for exchange from Class C shares to Class A shares in accordance with the program terms. See “Grandfathered Retirement Programs” for additional information.

Additional Information Regarding the Exchange Privilege

The fund is not designed to provide investors with a means of speculation on short-term market movements. A pattern of frequent exchanges by investors can be disruptive to efficient portfolio management and, consequently, can be detrimental to the fund and its shareholders. See “Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of fund Shares” in the prospectus.

During times of drastic economic or market conditions, the fund may suspend the exchange privilege temporarily without notice and treat exchange requests based on their separate components—redemption orders with a simultaneous request to purchase the other fund’s shares. In such a case, the redemption request would be processed at the fund’s next determined net asset value but the purchase order would be effective only at the net asset value next determined after the fund being purchased formally accepts the order, which may result in the purchase being delayed.

Certain shareholders may be able to exchange shares by telephone. See the fund’s prospectus for additional information. Exchanges will be processed at the net asset value next determined. Redemption procedures discussed above are also applicable for exchanging shares, and exchanges will be made upon receipt of all supporting documents in proper form. If the account registration of the shares of the fund being acquired is identical to the registration of the shares of the fund exchanged, no signature guarantee is required.

This exchange privilege may be modified or terminated at any time, and is available only in those jurisdictions where such exchanges legally may be made. Before making any exchange, shareholders should contact the transfer agent or, if they hold fund shares through a Service Agent, their Service Agent to obtain more information and prospectuses of the funds to be acquired through the exchange. An exchange is treated as a sale of the shares exchanged and could result in taxable gain or loss to the shareholder making the exchange.

 

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TAXES

[To Be Updated by Amendment]

The following is a summary of certain material U.S. federal income tax considerations regarding the purchase, ownership and disposition of shares of the fund. This summary does not address all of the potential U.S. federal income tax consequences that may be applicable to the fund or to all categories of investors, some of which may be subject to special tax rules. Each current and prospective shareholder is urged to consult his own tax adviser with respect to the specific federal, state, local and foreign tax consequences of investing in the fund. The summary is based on the laws in effect on the date of this SAI and existing judicial and administrative interpretations thereof, all of which are subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect.

The Fund and Its Investments

The fund intends to continue to qualify to be treated as a regulated investment company under the Code each taxable year. To so qualify, the fund must, among other things: (a) derive at least 90% of its gross income in each taxable year from dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans and gains from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities, foreign currencies, or other income (including, but not limited to, gains from options, futures or forward contracts) derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies and net income derived from interests in “qualified publicly traded partnerships” ( i.e. , partnerships that are traded on an established securities market or tradable on a secondary market, other than partnerships that derive 90% of their income from interest, dividends, capital gains, and other traditional permitted mutual fund income); and (b) diversify its holdings so that, at the end of each quarter of the fund’s taxable year, (i) at least 50% of the market value of the fund’s assets is represented by cash, securities of other regulated investment companies, U.S. government securities and other securities, with such other securities limited, in respect of any one issuer, to an amount not greater than 5% of the fund’s assets and not greater than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer and (ii) not more than 25% of the value of its assets is invested in the securities (other than U.S. government securities or securities of other regulated investment companies) of any one issuer, any two or more issuers that the fund controls and that are determined to be engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses or related trades or businesses or in the securities of one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships.

Fund investments in partnerships, including in qualified publicly traded partnerships, may result in the fund’s being subject to state, local or foreign income, franchise or withholding tax liabilities.

As a regulated investment company, the fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its taxable investment income and capital gains that it distributes to its shareholders, provided that it satisfies a minimum distribution requirement. To satisfy the minimum distribution requirement, the fund must distribute to its shareholders at least the sum of (i) 90% of its “investment company taxable income” ( i.e. , income other than its net realized long-term capital gain over its net realized short-term capital loss), plus or minus certain adjustments, and (ii) 90% of its net tax-exempt income for the taxable year. The fund will be subject to income tax at regular corporation rates on any taxable income or gains that it does not distribute to its shareholders.

On September 30, 2005, the unused capital loss carryforwards of the fund were approximately $3,693,000. For federal income tax purposes, these amounts are available to be applied against the fund’s future realized capital gains that are realized prior to the expiration of applicable carryforwards, if any. The carryforwards expire as follows:

 

     September 30,
2006
   September 30,
2007
   September 30,
2008

Carryforward Amount

   $ 884,000    $ 2,768,000    $ 41,000

The Code imposes a 4% nondeductible excise tax on the fund to the extent it does not distribute by the end of any calendar year at least the sum of (i) 98% of its ordinary income for that year and (ii) 98% of its capital

 

43


gain net income (both long-term and short-term) for the one-year period ending, as a general rule, on October 31 of that year. For this purpose, however, any ordinary income or capital gain net income retained by the fund that is subject to corporate income tax will be considered to have been distributed by year-end. In addition, the minimum amounts that must be distributed in any year to avoid the excise tax will be increased or decreased to reflect any underdistribution or overdistribution, as the case may be, from the previous year. The fund anticipates that it will pay such dividends and will make such distributions as are necessary in order to avoid the application of this excise tax.

If, in any taxable year, the fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company under the Code or fails to meet the distribution requirement, it will be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation and distributions to its shareholders will not be deductible by the fund in computing its taxable income. In addition, in the event of a failure to qualify, the fund’s distributions, to the extent derived from the fund’s current or accumulated earnings and profits, including any distributions of net long-term capital gains, will be taxable to shareholders as dividend income. However, such dividends would be eligible (i) to be treated as qualified dividend income in the case of shareholders taxed as individuals and (ii) for the dividends received deduction in case of corporate shareholders. Moreover, if the fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company in any year, it must pay out its earnings and profits accumulated in that year in order to qualify again as a regulated investment company. If the fund failed to qualify as a regulated investment company for a period greater than two taxable years, the fund may be required to recognize any net built-in gains with respect to certain of its assets ( i.e ., the excess of the aggregate gains, including items of income, over aggregate losses that would have been realized with respect to such assets if the fund had been liquidated) in order to qualify as a regulated investment company in a subsequent year.

The fund’s transactions in foreign currencies, forward contracts, options and futures contracts (including options and futures contracts on foreign currencies), to the extent permitted, will be subject to special provisions of the Code (including provisions relating to “hedging transactions” and “straddles”) that, among other things, may affect the character of gains and losses realized by the fund ( i.e ., may affect whether gains or losses are ordinary or capital), accelerate recognition of income to the fund and defer fund losses. These rules could therefore affect the character, amount and timing of distributions to shareholders. These provisions also (a) will require the fund to mark-to-market certain types of the positions in its portfolio ( i.e ., treat them as if they were closed out at the end of each year) and (b) may cause the fund to recognize income without receiving cash with which to pay dividends or make distributions in amounts necessary to satisfy the distribution requirements for avoiding income and excise taxes. The fund will monitor its transactions, will make the appropriate tax elections and will make the appropriate entries in its books and records when it acquires any foreign currency, forward contract, option, futures contract or hedged investment in order to mitigate the effect of these rules and prevent disqualification of the fund as a regulated investment company.

The fund’s investment in so-called “section 1256 contracts,” such as regulated futures contracts, most foreign currency forward contracts traded in the interbank market and options on most stock indices, are subject to special tax rules. All section 1256 contracts held by the fund at the end of its taxable year are required to be marked to their market value, and any unrealized gain or loss on those positions will be included in the fund’s income as if each position had been sold for its fair market value at the end of the taxable year. The resulting gain or loss will be combined with any gain or loss realized by the fund from positions in section 1256 contracts closed during the taxable year. Provided such positions were held as capital assets and were not part of a “hedging transaction” nor part of a “straddle,” 60% of the resulting net gain or loss will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss, and 40% of such net gain or loss will be treated as short-term capital gain or loss, regardless of the period of time the positions were actually held by the fund.

As a result of entering into index swaps, the fund may make or receive periodic net payments. The fund may also make or receive a payment when a swap is terminated prior to maturity through an assignment of the swap or other closing transaction. Periodic net payments will constitute ordinary income or deductions, while termination of a swap will result in capital gain or loss (which will be a long-term capital gain or loss if the fund has been a party to the swap for more than one year).

 

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Foreign Investments . Dividends or other income (including, in some cases, capital gains) received by the fund from investments in foreign securities may be subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by foreign countries. Tax conventions between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes in some cases. The fund will not be eligible to elect to treat any foreign taxes it pays as paid by its shareholders, who therefore will not be entitled to credits or deductions for such taxes on their own tax returns. Foreign taxes paid by the fund will reduce the return from the fund’s investments.

Under Section 988 of the Code, gains or losses attributable to fluctuations in exchange rates between the time the fund accrues income or receivables or expenses or other liabilities denominated in a foreign currency and the time the fund actually collects such income or pays such liabilities are generally treated as ordinary income or ordinary loss. Similarly, gains or losses on foreign currency, foreign currency forward contracts, certain foreign currency options or futures contracts and the disposition of debt securities denominated in foreign currency, to the extent attributable to fluctuations in exchange rates between the acquisition and disposition dates, are also treated as ordinary income or loss unless the fund were to elect otherwise.

Passive Foreign Investment Companies. If the fund purchases shares in certain foreign investment entities, called “passive foreign investment companies” (“PFICs”), it may be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a portion of any “excess distribution” or gain from the disposition of such shares even if such income is distributed as a taxable dividend by the fund to its shareholders. Additional charges in the nature of interest may be imposed on the fund in respect of deferred taxes arising from such distributions or gains.

If the fund were to invest in a PFIC and elect to treat the PFIC as a “qualified electing fund” under the Code, in lieu of the foregoing requirements, the fund might be required to include in income each year a portion of the ordinary earnings and net capital gains of the qualified electing fund, even if not distributed to the fund, and such amounts would be subject to the 90% and excise tax distribution requirements described above. In order to make this election, the fund would be required to obtain certain annual information from the PFICs in which it invests, which may be difficult or impossible to obtain.

Alternatively, the fund may make a mark-to-market election that will result in the fund being treated as if it had sold and repurchased its PFIC stock at the end of each year. In such case, the fund would report any such gains as ordinary income and would deduct any such losses as ordinary losses to the extent of previously recognized gains. The election must be made separately for each PFIC owned by the fund and, once made, would be effective for all subsequent taxable years, unless revoked with the consent of the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”). By making the election, the fund could potentially ameliorate the adverse tax consequences with respect to its ownership of shares in a PFIC, but in any particular year may be required to recognize income in excess of the distributions it receives from PFICs and its proceeds from dispositions of PFIC stock. The fund may have to distribute this “phantom” income and gain to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement and to avoid imposition of the 4% excise tax.

The fund will make the appropriate tax elections, if possible, and take any additional steps that are necessary to mitigate the effect of these rules.

Taxation of U.S. Shareholders

Dividends and Distributions. Dividends and other distributions by the fund are generally treated under the Code as received by the shareholders at the time the dividend or distribution is made. However, any dividend or distribution declared by the fund in October, November or December of any calendar year and payable to shareholders of record on a specified date in such a month shall be deemed to have been received by each shareholder on December 31 of such calendar year and to have been paid by the fund not later than such December 31, provided such dividend is actually paid by the fund during January of the following calendar year.

The fund intends to distribute annually to its shareholders substantially all of its investment company taxable income, and any net realized long-term capital gains in excess of net realized short-term capital losses

 

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(including any capital loss carryovers). However, if the fund retains for investment an amount equal to all or a portion of its net long-term capital gains in excess of its net short-term capital losses (including any capital loss carryovers), it will be subject to a corporate tax (currently at a maximum rate of 35%) on the amount retained. In that event, the fund will designate such retained amounts as undistributed capital gains in a notice to its shareholders who (a) will be required to include in income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as long-term capital gains, their proportionate shares of the undistributed amount, (b) will be entitled to credit their proportionate shares of the 35% tax paid by the fund on the undistributed amount against their U.S. federal income tax liabilities, if any, and to claim refunds to the extent their credits exceed their liabilities, if any, and (c) will be entitled to increase their tax basis, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, in their shares by an amount equal to 65% of the amount of undistributed capital gains included in the shareholder’s income. Organizations or persons not subject to U.S. federal income tax on such capital gains will be entitled to a refund of their pro rata share of such taxes paid by the fund upon filing appropriate returns or claims for refund with the IRS.

Distributions of net realized long-term capital gains, if any, that the fund designates as capital gains dividends are taxable as long-term capital gains, whether paid in cash or in shares and regardless of how long a shareholder has held shares of the fund. All other dividends of the fund (including dividends from short-term capital gains) from its current and accumulated earnings and profits (“regular dividends”) are generally subject to tax as ordinary income.

Special rules apply, however, to regular dividends paid to individuals. Such a dividend, with respect to taxable years beginning on or before December 31, 2008, may be subject to tax at the rates generally applicable to long-term capital gains for individuals (currently at a maximum rate of 15%), provided that the individual receiving the dividend satisfies certain holding period and other requirements. Dividends subject to these special rules are not actually treated as capital gains, however, and thus are not included in the computation of an individual’s net capital gain and generally cannot be used to offset capital losses. The long-term capital gains rates will apply to: (i) 100% of the regular dividends paid by the fund to an individual in a particular taxable year if 95% or more of the fund’s gross income (ignoring gains attributable to the sale of stocks and securities except to the extent net short-term capital gain from such sales exceeds net long-term capital loss from such sales) in that taxable year is attributable to qualified dividend income received by the fund; or (ii) the portion of the regular dividends paid by the fund to an individual in a particular taxable year that is attributable to qualified dividend income received by the fund in that taxable year if such qualified dividend income accounts for less than 95% of the fund’s gross income (ignoring gains attributable to the sale of stocks and securities except to the extent net short-term capital gain from such sales exceeds net long-term capital loss from such sales) for that taxable year. For this purpose, “qualified dividend income” generally means income from dividends received by the fund from U.S. corporations and qualified foreign corporations, provided that the fund satisfies certain holding period requirements in respect of the stock of such corporations and has not hedged its position in the stock in certain ways. However, qualified dividend income does not include any dividends received from tax-exempt corporations. Also, dividends received by the fund from a real estate investment trust or another regulated investment company generally are qualified dividend income only to the extent the dividend distributions are made out of qualified dividend income received by such real estate investment trust or other regulated investment company. In the case of securities lending transactions, payments in lieu of dividends are not qualified dividend income. If a shareholder elects to treat fund dividends as investment income for purposes of the limitation on the deductibility of investment interest, such dividends would not be a qualified dividend income.

We will send you information after the end of each year setting forth the amount of dividends paid by us that are eligible for the reduced rates.

If an individual receives a regular dividend qualifying for the long-term capital gains rates and such dividend constitutes an “extraordinary dividend,” and the individual subsequently recognizes a loss on the sale or exchange of stock in respect of which the extraordinary dividend was paid, then the loss will be long-term capital loss to the extent of such extraordinary dividend. An “extraordinary dividend” on common stock for this purpose

 

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is generally a dividend (i) in an amount greater than or equal to 10% of the taxpayer’s tax basis (or trading value) in a share of stock, aggregating dividends with ex-dividend dates within an 85-day period or (ii) in an amount greater than 20% of the taxpayer’s tax basis (or trading value) in a share of stock, aggregating dividends with ex-dividend dates within a 365-day period.

Distributions in excess of the fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits will, as to each shareholder, be treated as a tax-free return of capital to the extent of a shareholder’s basis in his shares of the fund, and as a capital gain thereafter (if the shareholder holds his shares of the fund as capital assets). Shareholders receiving dividends or distributions in the form of additional shares should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as receiving a distribution in an amount equal to the amount of money that the shareholders receiving cash dividends or distributions will receive, and should have a cost basis in the shares received equal to such amount. Dividends paid by the fund that are attributable to dividends received by the fund from domestic corporations may qualify for the federal dividends-received deduction for corporations.

Investors considering buying shares just prior to a dividend or capital gain distribution should be aware that, although the price of shares just purchased at that time may reflect the amount of the forthcoming distribution, such dividend or distribution may nevertheless be taxable to them. If the fund is the holder of record of any stock on the record date for any dividends payable with respect to such stock, such dividends will be included in the fund’s gross income not as of the date received but as of the later of (a) the date such stock became ex-dividend with respect to such dividends ( i.e., the date on which a buyer of the stock would not be entitled to receive the declared, but unpaid, dividends) or (b) the date the fund acquired such stock. Accordingly, in order to satisfy its income distribution requirements, the fund may be required to pay dividends based on anticipated earnings, and shareholders may receive dividends in an earlier year than would otherwise be the case.

Sales of Shares. Upon the sale or exchange of his shares, a shareholder will realize a taxable gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount realized and his basis in his shares. A redemption of shares by the fund will be treated as a sale for this purpose. Such gain or loss will be treated as capital gain or loss if the shares are capital assets in the shareholder’s hands, and will be long-term capital gain or loss if the shares are held for more than one year and short-term capital gain or loss if the shares are held for one year or less. Any loss realized on a sale or exchange will be disallowed to the extent the shares disposed of are replaced, including replacement through the reinvesting of dividends and capital gains distributions in the fund, within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the disposition of the shares. In such a case, the basis of the shares acquired will be increased to reflect the disallowed loss. Any loss realized by a shareholder on the sale of a fund share held by the shareholder for six months or less will be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any distributions or deemed distributions of long-term capital gains received by the shareholder with respect to such share. If a shareholder incurs a sales charge in acquiring shares of the fund, disposes of those shares within 90 days and then acquires shares in a mutual fund for which the otherwise applicable sales charge is reduced by reason of a reinvestment right (e.g., an exchange privilege), the original sales charge will not be taken into account in computing gain or loss on the original shares to the extent the subsequent sales charge is reduced. Instead, the disregarded portion of the original sales charge will be added to the tax basis in the newly acquired shares. Furthermore, the same rule also applies to a disposition of the newly acquired shares made within 90 days of the second acquisition. This provision prevents a shareholder from immediately deducting the sales charge by shifting his or her investment in a family of mutual funds.

Backup Withholding. The fund may be required to withhold, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, a portion of the dividends, distributions and redemption proceeds payable to shareholders who fail to provide the fund with their correct taxpayer identification number or to make required certifications, or who have been notified by the IRS that they are subject to backup withholding. Certain shareholders are exempt from backup withholding. Backup withholding is not an additional tax and any amount withheld may be credited against a shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability.

 

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Notices, Other Taxes

Notices. Shareholders will receive, if appropriate, various written notices after the close of the fund’s taxable year regarding the U.S. federal income tax status of certain dividends, distributions and deemed distributions that were paid (or that are treated as having been paid) by the fund to its shareholders during the preceding taxable year.

Class I —(for tax-exempt employee benefit and retirement plans of CGM or any of its affiliates (“Qualified Plans”))

Dividends and distributions received from the fund will not be taxable, provided the Qualified Plan has not borrowed to finance its investment in the fund. Qualified Plan participants should consult their plan document or tax advisors about the tax consequences of participating in a Qualified Plan.

Other Taxes . Dividends, distributions and redemption proceeds also may be subject to additional state, local and foreign taxes depending on each shareholder’s particular situation.

If a shareholder recognizes a loss with respect to the fund’s shares of $2 million or more for an individual shareholder or $10 million or more for a corporate shareholder, the shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on Form 8886. Direct shareholders of portfolio securities are in many cases excepted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance, shareholders of a regulated investment company are not excepted. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer’s treatment of the loss is proper. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.

Taxation of Non-U.S. Shareholders.

Dividends and Distributions. Dividends paid by the fund to non-U.S. shareholders are generally subject to withholding tax at a 30% rate or a reduced rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty to the extent derived from investment income and short-term capital gains. In order to obtain a reduced rate of withholding, a non-U.S. shareholder will be required to provide an IRS Form W-8BEN certifying its entitlement to benefits under a treaty. The withholding tax does not apply to regular dividends paid to a non-U.S. shareholder who provides a Form W-8ECI, certifying that the dividends are effectively connected with the non-U.S. shareholder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States. Instead, the effectively connected dividends will be subject to regular U.S. income tax as if the non-U.S. shareholder were a U.S. shareholder. A non-U.S. corporation receiving effectively connected dividends may also be subject to additional “branch profits tax” imposed at a rate of 30% (or lower treaty rate). A non-U.S. shareholder who fails to provide an IRS Form W-8BEN or other applicable form may be subject to backup withholding at the appropriate rate.

In general, United States federal withholding tax will not apply to any gain or income realized by a non-U.S. shareholder in respect of any distributions of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses, exempt-interest dividends, or upon the sale or other disposition of shares of the fund.

For taxable years beginning before January 1, 2008, properly-designated dividends are generally exempt from United States federal withholding tax where they (i) are paid in respect of the fund’s “qualified net interest income” (generally, the fund’s U.S. source interest income, other than certain contingent interest and interest from obligations of a corporation or partnership in which the fund is at least a 10% shareholder, reduced by expenses that are allocable to such income) or (ii) are paid in respect of the fund’s “qualified short-term capital gains” (generally, the excess of the fund’s net short-term capital gain over the fund’s long-term capital loss for such taxable year). However, depending on its circumstances, the fund may designate all, some or none of its potentially eligible dividends as such qualified net interest income or as qualified short-term capital gains, and/or treat such dividends, in whole or in part, as ineligible for this exemption from withholding. In order to qualify for this exemption from withholding, a non-U.S. shareholder will need to comply with applicable certification

 

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requirements relating to its non-U.S. status (including, in general, furnishing an IRS Form W-8BEN or substitute Form). In the case of shares held through an intermediary, the intermediary may withhold even if a Portfolio designates the payment as qualified net interest income or qualified short-term capital gain. Non-U.S. shareholders should contact their intermediaries with respect to the application of these rules to their accounts.

U.S. Real Property Interests. Special rules apply to foreign persons who receive distributions from the fund that are attributable to gain from “U.S. real property interests” (“USRPIs”). The Code defines USRPIs to include direct holdings of U.S. real property and any interest (other than an interest solely as a creditor) in “U.S. real property holding corporations.” The Code defines a U.S. real property holding corporation as any corporation whose USRPIs make up more than 50% of the fair market value of the sum of (i) its USRPIs, (ii) its interests in real property located outside the United States, and (iii) any other assets it uses in a trade or business. In general, the distribution of gains from USRPIs to foreign shareholders is subject to U.S. federal income tax withholding at a rate of 35% and obligates such foreign shareholder to file a U.S. tax return. To the extent a distribution to a foreign shareholder is attributable to gains from the sale or exchange of USRPIs recognized by a real estate investment trust or (for taxable years beginning before January 1, 2008) a regulated investment company, the Code treats that gain as the distribution of gain from a USRPI to a foreign shareholder which would be subject to U.S. withholding tax of 35% and would result in U.S. tax filing obligations for the foreign shareholder.

However, a foreign shareholder achieves a different result with respect to the gains from the sale of USRPIs if the real estate investment trust or regulated investment company is less than 50% owned by foreign persons at all times during the testing period, or if such gain is realized from the sale of any class of stock in a real estate investment trust which is regularly traded on an established U.S. securities market and the real estate investment trust shareholder owned less than 5% of such class of stock at all times during the one-year period ending on the date of the distribution. In such event, the gains are treated as dividends paid to a non-U.S. shareholder.

The foregoing is only a summary of certain material U.S. federal income tax consequences affecting the fund and its shareholders. Prospective shareholders are advised to consult their own tax advisers with respect to the particular tax consequences to them of an investment in the fund.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The Trust was organized on October 17, 1991 under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is a business entity commonly known as a “Massachusetts business trust.” The Trust offers shares of beneficial interest of [ ] separate funds with a par value of $.001 per share. The fund offers shares of beneficial interest currently classified into four Classes--A, B, C and I. Each Class of the fund represents an identical interest in the fund’s investment portfolio. As a result, the Classes have the same rights, privileges and preferences, except with respect to: (a) the designation of each Class; (b) the effect of the respective sales charges, if any, for each Class; (c) the distribution and/or service fees borne by each Class pursuant to the Distribution Plan; (d) the expenses allocable exclusively to each Class; (e) voting rights on matters exclusively affecting a single Class; (f) the exchange privilege of each Class; and (g) the conversion feature of the Class B shares. The Board does not anticipate that there will be any conflicts among the interests of the holders of the different Classes. The trustees, on an ongoing basis, will consider whether any such conflict exists and, if so, take appropriate action.

Under Massachusetts’s law, shareholders could, under certain circumstances, be held personally liable for the obligations of the fund. The Master Trust Agreement disclaims shareholder liability for acts or obligations of the fund, however, and requires that notice of such disclaimer be given in each agreement, obligation or instrument entered into or executed by the fund or a trustee. The Master Trust Agreement provides for indemnification from fund property for all losses and expenses of any shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the fund. Thus, the risk of a shareholder’s incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which the fund itself would be unable to meet its obligations, a possibility which management of the fund believes is remote. Upon payment of any liability incurred by the fund, a shareholder paying such liability will be entitled to reimbursement from the general assets of the fund. The trustees intend to conduct the operation of the fund in such a way so as to avoid, as far as possible, ultimate liability of the shareholders for liabilities of the fund.

 

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The Master Trust Agreement of the fund permits the trustees of the fund to issue an unlimited number of full and fractional shares of a single class and to divide or combine the shares into a greater or lesser number of shares without thereby changing the proportionate beneficial interests in the fund. Each share in the fund represents an equal proportional interest in the fund with each other share. Shareholders of the fund are entitled upon its liquidation to share pro rata in its net assets available for distribution. No shareholder of the fund has any preemptive or conversion rights. Shares of the fund are fully paid and non-assessable.

Pursuant to the Master Trust Agreement, the Trust’s trustees may authorize the creation of additional series of shares (the proceeds of which would be invested in separate, independently managed portfolios) and additional classes of shares within any series (which would be used to distinguish among the rights of different categories of shareholders, as might be required by future regulations or other unforeseen circumstances).

The Trust does not hold annual shareholder meetings. There normally will be no meetings of shareholders for the purpose of electing trustees unless and until such time as less than a majority of the trustees holding office have been elected by shareholders, at which time the trustees then in office will call a shareholders’ meeting for the election of trustees. Shareholders of record of no less than two-thirds of the outstanding shares of the Trust may remove a trustee through a declaration in writing or by vote cast in person or by proxy at a meeting called for that purpose.

When matters are submitted for shareholder vote, shareholders of each Class will have one vote for each full share owned and a proportionate, fractional vote for any fractional share held of that Class. Generally, shares of the fund will be voted on a fund-wide basis on all matters except matters affecting only the interests of one Class, in which case only shares of the affected Class would be entitled to vote.

The Trust was organized as an unincorporated Massachusetts business trust on October 17, 1991 under the name Shearson Lehman Brothers Intermediate-Term Trust. On August 16, 1995, the Trust’s name was changed to Smith Barney Investment Trust. On April 7, 2006, the Trust’s name was changed to Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust.

Proposed Changes

The fund’s Board has approved a number of initiatives designed to streamline and restructure the fund complex and the fund is seeking shareholder approval for those initiatives where shareholder approval is required. If certain of these matters are approved by the shareholders entitled to vote on the matters, the fund will become a series of Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust, a Maryland business trust.

A Maryland business trust is an unincorporated business association that is established under, and governed by, Maryland law. Maryland law provides a statutory framework for the powers, duties, rights and obligations of the trustees and shareholders of the business trust, while the more specific powers, duties, rights and obligations of the trustees and the shareholders are determined by the trustees as set forth in the trust’s declaration of trust. Some of the more significant provisions of the trust’s declaration are described below.

Shareholder Voting.

The declaration provides for shareholder voting as required by the 1940 Act or other applicable laws but otherwise permits, consistent with Maryland law, actions by the trustees without seeking the consent of shareholders. The trustees may, without shareholder approval, amend the declaration or authorize the merger or consolidation of the trust into another trust or entity, reorganize the trust, or any series or class into another trust or entity or a series or class of another entity, sell all or substantially all of the assets of the trust or any series or class to another entity, or a series or class of another entity, or terminate the trust or any series or class.

The fund is not required to hold an annual meeting of shareholders, but the fund will call special meetings of shareholders whenever required by the 1940 Act or by the terms of the declaration. The declaration provides for “dollar-weighted voting” which means that a shareholder’s voting power is determined, not by the number of

 

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shares he or she owns, but by the dollar value of those shares determined on the record date. All shareholders of all series and classes of the trust vote together, except where required by the 1940 Act to vote separately by series or by class, or when the trustees have determined that a matter affects only the interests of one or more series or classes of shares.

Election and Removal of Trustees.

The declaration provides that the trustees may establish the number of trustees and that vacancies on the board may be filled by the remaining trustees, except when election of trustees by the shareholders is required under the 1940 Act. Trustees are then elected by a plurality of votes cast by shareholders at a meeting at which a quorum is present. The declaration also provides that a mandatory retirement age may be set by action of two-thirds of the trustees and that trustees may be removed, with or without cause, by a vote of shareholders holding two-thirds of the voting power of the trust, or by a vote of two-thirds of the remaining trustees. The provisions of the declaration relating to the election and removal of trustees may not be amended without the approval of two-thirds of the trustees.

Amendments to the Declaration.

The trustees are authorized to amend the declaration without the vote of shareholders, but no amendment may be made that impairs the exemption from personal liability granted in the declaration to persons who are or have been shareholders, trustees, officers or, employees of the trust or that limit the rights to indemnification or insurance provided in the declaration with respect to actions or omissions of persons entitled to indemnification under the declaration prior to the amendment.

Issuance and Redemption of Shares.

The fund may issue an unlimited number of shares for such consideration and on such terms as the trustees may determine. Shareholders are not entitled to any appraisal, preemptive, conversion, exchange or similar rights, except as the trustees may determine. The fund may involuntarily redeem a shareholder’s shares upon certain conditions as may be determined by the trustees, including, for example, if the shareholder fails to provide the fund with identification required by law, or if the fund is unable to verify the information received from the shareholder. Additionally, as discussed below, shares may be redeemed in connection with the closing of small accounts.

Disclosure of Shareholder Holdings.

The declaration specifically requires shareholders, upon demand, to disclose to the fund information with respect to the direct and indirect ownership of shares in order to comply with various laws or regulations, and the fund may disclose such ownership if required by law or regulation.

Small Accounts.

The declaration provides that the fund may close out a shareholder’s account by redeeming all of the shares in the account if the account falls below a minimum account size (which may vary by class) that may be set by the trustees from time to time. Alternately, the declaration permits the fund to assess a fee for small accounts (which may vary by class) and redeem shares in the account to cover such fees, or convert the shares into another share class that is geared to smaller accounts.

Series and Classes.

The declaration provides that the trustees may establish series and classes in addition to those currently established and to determine the rights and preferences, limitations and restrictions, including qualifications for ownership, conversion and exchange features, minimum purchase and account size, expenses and charges, and other features of the series and classes. The trustees may change any of those features, terminate any series or class, combine series with other series in the trust, combine one or more classes of a series with another class in that series or convert the shares of one class into another class.

 

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Each share of the fund, as a series of the trust, represents an interest in the fund only and not in the assets of any other series of the trust.

Shareholder, Trustee and Officer Liability.

The declaration provides that shareholders are not personally liable for the obligations of the fund and requires the fund to indemnify a shareholder against any loss or expense arising from any such liability. In addition, the fund will assume the defense of any claim against a shareholder for personal liability at the request of the shareholder. The declaration further provides that a trustee acting in his or her capacity of trustee is not personally liable to any person other than the trust or its shareholders, for any act, omission, or obligation of the trust. Further, a trustee is held to the same standard of conduct as a director of a Maryland corporation. This requires that a trustee perform his or her duties in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the trust or a series thereof, and with the care that an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would use under similar circumstances. The declaration also permits the limitation of a trustee’s liability to the full extent provided under Maryland law. Under current Maryland law, a trustee is liable to the trust or its shareholders for monetary damages only (a) to the extent that it is proved that he or she actually received an improper benefit or profit in money, property, or services or (b) to the extent that a judgment or other final adjudication adverse to the trustee is entered in a proceeding based on a finding in the proceeding that the trustee’s action, or failure to act, was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty and was material to the cause of action adjudicated in the proceeding. The declaration requires the trust to indemnify any persons who are or who have been trustees, officers or employees of the trust for any liability for actions or failure to act except to the extent prohibited by applicable federal law. In making any determination as to whether any person is entitled to the advancement of expenses in connection with a claim for which indemnification is sought, such person is entitled to a rebuttable presumption that he or she did not engage in conduct for which indemnification is not available.

The declaration provides that any trustee who serves as chair of the board or of a committee of the board, lead independent trustee, or audit committee financial expert, or in any other similar capacity will not be subject to any greater standard of care or liability because of such position.

Derivative Actions.

The declaration provides a detailed process for the bringing of derivative actions by shareholders in order to permit legitimate inquiries and claims while avoiding the time, expense, distraction, and other harm that can be caused to the fund or its shareholders as a result of spurious shareholder demands and derivative actions. Prior to bringing a derivative action, a demand by three unrelated shareholders must first be made on the fund’s trustees. The declaration details various information, certifications, undertakings and acknowledgements that must be included in the demand. Following receipt of the demand, the trustees have a period of 90 days, which may be extended by an additional 60 days, to consider the demand. If a majority of the trustees who are considered independent for the purposes of considering the demand determine that maintaining the suit would not be in the best interests of the fund, the trustees are required to reject the demand and the complaining shareholders may not proceed with the derivative action unless the shareholders are able to sustain the burden of proof to a court that the decision of the trustees not to pursue the requested action was not a good faith exercise of their business judgment on behalf of the fund. The declaration further provides that shareholders owning shares representing at least 5% of the voting power of the affected fund must join in bringing the derivative action. If a demand is rejected, the complaining shareholders will be responsible for the costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by the fund in connection with the consideration of the demand, if in the judgment of the independent trustees, the demand was made without reasonable cause or for an improper purpose. If a derivative action is brought in violation of the declaration, the shareholders bringing the action may be responsible for the fund’s costs, including attorneys’ fees.

The declaration further provides that the fund shall be responsible for payment of attorneys’ fees and legal expenses incurred by a complaining shareholder only if required by law, and any attorneys’ fees that the fund is

 

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obligated to pay shall be calculated using reasonable hourly rates. The declaration also requires that actions by shareholders against the fund be brought only in federal court in Baltimore, Maryland, or if not permitted to be brought in federal court, then in state court in Baltimore, Maryland, and that the right to jury trial be waived to the full extent permitted by law.

Legal Matters

Beginning in June 2004, class action lawsuits alleging violations of the federal securities laws were filed against Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”) and a number of its then affiliates, including Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”), which were then investment adviser or manager to certain of the Funds (the “Managers”), substantially all of the mutual funds then managed by the Managers (the “Defendant Funds”), and Board Members of the Defendant Funds (collectively, the “Defendants”). The complaints alleged, among other things, that CGMI created various undisclosed incentives for its brokers to sell Smith Barney and Salomon Brothers funds. In addition, according to the complaints, the Managers caused the Defendant Funds to pay excessive brokerage commissions to CGMI for steering clients towards proprietary funds. The complaints also alleged that the defendants breached their fiduciary duty to the Defendant Funds by improperly charging Rule 12b-1 fees and by drawing on fund assets to make undisclosed payments of soft dollars and excessive brokerage commissions. The complaints also alleged that the Defendant Funds failed to adequately disclose certain of the allegedly wrongful conduct. The complaints sought injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive damages, rescission of the Defendant Funds’ contracts with the Managers, recovery of all fees paid to the Managers pursuant to such contracts and an award of attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses.

On December 15, 2004, a consolidated amended complaint (the “Complaint”) was filed alleging substantially similar causes of action. On May 27, 2005, all of the Defendants filed motions to dismiss the Complaint. On July 26, 2006, the court issued a decision and order (1) finding that plaintiffs lacked standing to sue on behalf of the shareholders of the Defendant Funds in which none of the plaintiffs had invested and dismissing those Defendant Funds from the case (although stating that they could be brought back into the case if standing as to them could be established), and (2) other than one stayed claim, dismissing all of the causes of action against the remaining Defendants, with prejudice, except for the cause of action under Section 36(b) of the 1940 Act, which the court granted plaintiffs leave to replead as a derivative claim.

On October 16, 2006, plaintiffs filed their Second Consolidated Amended Complaint (“Second Amended Complaint”) which alleges derivative claims on behalf of nine funds identified in the Second Amended Complaint, under Section 36(b) of the 1940 Act, against Citigroup Asset Management, Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc, SBFM and CGMI as investment advisers to the identified funds, as well as CGMI as a distributor for the identified funds (collectively, the “Second Amended Complaint Defendants”). The Fund was not identified in the Second Amended Complaint . The Second Amended Complaint alleges no claims against any of the Funds or any of their Board Members. Under Section 36(b), the Second Amended Complaint alleges similar facts and seeks similar relief against the Second Amended Complaint Defendants as the Complaint.

Additional lawsuits arising out of these circumstances and presenting similar allegations and requests for relief may be filed in the future.

***

On May 31, 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued an order in connection with the settlement of an administrative proceeding against SBFM, the then-investment adviser or manager the fund and CGMI, relating to the appointment of an affiliated transfer agent for the Smith Barney family of mutual funds, including the fund (the “Affected Funds”).

The SEC order finds that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(1) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder (the “Advisers Act”). Specifically, the order

 

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found that SBFM and CGMI knowingly or recklessly failed to disclose to the boards of the Affected Funds in 1999 when proposing a new transfer agent arrangement with an affiliated transfer agent that: First Data Investors Services Group (“First Data”), the Affected Funds’ then-existing transfer agent, had offered to continue as transfer agent and do the same work for substantially less money than before; and that Citigroup Asset Management (“CAM”), the Citigroup business unit that, at the time, included the Affected Funds’ investment manager and other investment advisory companies, had entered into a side letter with First Data under which CAM agreed to recommend the appointment of First Data as sub-transfer agent to the affiliated transfer agent in exchange for, among other things, a guarantee by First Data of specified amounts of asset management and investment banking fees to CAM and CGMI. The order also found that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act by virtue of the omissions discussed above and other misrepresentations and omissions in the materials provided to the Affected Funds’ boards, including the failure to make clear that the affiliated transfer agent would earn a high profit for performing limited functions while First Data continued to perform almost all of the transfer agent functions, and the suggestion that the proposed arrangement was in the Affected Funds’ best interests and that no viable alternatives existed. SBFM and CGMI do not admit or deny any wrongdoing or liability. The settlement does not establish wrongdoing or liability for purposes of any other proceeding.

The SEC censured SBFM and CGMI and ordered them to cease and desist from violations of Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Advisers Act. The order required Citigroup to pay $208.1 million, including $109 million in disgorgement of profits, $19.1 million in interest, and a civil money penalty of $80 million. Approximately $24.4 million has already been paid to the Affected Funds, primarily through fee waivers. The remaining $183.7 million, including the penalty, has been paid to the U.S. Treasury and will be distributed pursuant to a plan submitted for the approval of the SEC. At this time, there is no certainty as to how the above-described proceeds of the settlement will be distributed, to whom such distributions will be made, the methodology by which such distributions will be allocated, and when such distributions will be made. The order also required that transfer agency fees received from the Affected Funds since December 1, 2004, less certain expenses, be placed in escrow and provided that a portion of such fees might be subsequently distributed in accordance with the terms of the order. On April 3, 2006, an aggregate amount of approximately $9 million held in escrow was distributed to the Affected Funds.

The order required SBFM to recommend a new transfer agent contract to the Fund boards within 180 days of the entry of the order; if a Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent or sub-transfer agent, SBFM and CGMI would have been required, at their expense, to engage an independent monitor to oversee a competitive bidding process. On November 21, 2005, and within the specified timeframe, the Affected Funds’ Boards selected a new transfer agent for the Affected Fund. No Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent. Under the order, SBFM also must comply with an amended version of a vendor policy that Citigroup instituted in August 2004.

Although there can be no assurance, the manager does not believe that this matter will have a material adverse effect on the Affected Funds.

On December 1, 2005, Citigroup completed the sale of substantially all of its global asset management business, including SBFM, to Legg Mason.

* * *

Beginning in August 2005, five class action lawsuits alleging violations of federal securities laws and state law were filed against CGMI and SBFM (collectively, the “Defendants”) based on the May 31, 2005 settlement order issued against the Defendants by the SEC as described in above. The complaints seek injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive damages, removal of SBFM as the investment manager for the Smith Barney family of funds, rescission of the Funds’ management and other contracts with SBFM, recovery of all fees paid to SBFM pursuant to such contracts, and an award of attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses.

 

54


On October 5, 2005, a motion to consolidate the five actions and any subsequently filed, related action was filed. That motion contemplates that a consolidated amended complaint alleging substantially similar causes of action will be filed in the future.

As of the date of this report, the Fund’s investment manager believes that resolution of the pending lawsuit will not have a material effect on the financial position or results of operations of the Fund or the ability of the Fund’s investment manager and its affiliates to continue to render services to the Funds under their respective contracts.

* * *

On September 16, 2005, the staff of the SEC informed SBFM and ClearBridge Asset Management Inc (formerly Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc) that the staff is considering recommending that the SEC institute administrative proceedings against SBFM and ClearBridge Asset Management Inc for alleged violations of Section 19(a) and 34(b) of the Investment Company Act (and related Rule 19a-1). The notification is a result of an industry wide inspection by the SEC and is based upon alleged deficiencies in disclosures regarding dividends and distributions paid to shareholders of certain funds. Section 19(a) and related Rule 19a-1 of the Investment Company Act generally require funds that are making dividend and distribution payments to provide shareholders with a written statement disclosing the source of the dividends and distributions, and, in particular, the portion of the payments made from each of net investment income, undistributed net profits and/or paid-in capital. In connection with the contemplated proceedings, the staff may seek a cease and desist order and/or monetary damages from SBFM or ClearBridge Asset Management Inc.

Although there can be no assurance, the fund’s manager believes that this matter is not likely to have a material adverse effect on the fund.

***

The foregoing speaks only as of the date of this SAI. Additional lawsuits presenting allegations and requests for relief arising out of or in connection with any of the foregoing matters may be filed against these and related parties in the future.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The audited financial statements of the fund’s predecessor (Statement of Assets and Liabilities as of September 30, 2006, Statement of Operations for the year ended September 30, 2006, Statements of Changes in Net Assets for each of the years in the two-year period ended September 30, 2006, Financial Highlights for each of the years in the five-year period ended September 30, 2006, and Notes to Financial Statements along with the Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, each of which is included in the Annual Report to Shareholders of the Fund), are incorporated by reference into this Statement of Additional Information (Filed on [            ]; Accession Number[            ]).

 

55


APPENDIX A

PROXY VOTING GUIDELINES & PROCEDURES SUMMARY

Concerning ClearBridge Advisors 1 (ClearBridge)

Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

The following is a brief overview of the Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures (the “Policies”) that ClearBridge has adopted to seek to ensure that ClearBridge votes proxies relating to equity securities in the best interest of clients.

ClearBridge votes proxies for each client account with respect to which it has been authorized to vote proxies. In voting proxies, ClearBridge is guided by general fiduciary principles and seeks to act prudently and solely in the best interest of clients. ClearBridge attempts to consider all factors that could affect the value of the investment and will vote proxies in the manner that it believes will be consistent with efforts to maximize shareholder values. ClearBridge may utilize an external service provider to provide it with information and/or a recommendation with regard to proxy votes. However, the ClearBridge adviser (business unit) continues to retain responsibility for the proxy vote.

In the case of a proxy issue for which there is a stated position in the Policies, ClearBridge generally votes in accordance with such stated position. In the case of a proxy issue for which there is a list of factors set forth in the Policies that ClearBridge considers in voting on such issue, ClearBridge votes on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the general principles set forth above and considering such enumerated factors. In the case of a proxy issue for which there is no stated position or list of factors that ClearBridge considers in voting on such issue, ClearBridge votes on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the general principles set forth above. Issues for which there is a stated position set forth in the Policies or for which there is a list of factors set forth in the Policies that ClearBridge considers in voting on such issues fall into a variety of categories, including election of directors, ratification of auditors, proxy and tender offer defenses, capital structure issues, executive and director compensation, mergers and corporate restructurings, and social and environmental issues. The stated position on an issue set forth in the Policies can always be superseded, subject to the duty to act solely in the best interest of the beneficial owners of accounts, by the investment management professionals responsible for the account whose shares are being voted. Issues applicable to a particular industry may cause ClearBridge to abandon a policy that would have otherwise applied to issuers generally. As a result of the independent investment advisory services provided by distinct ClearBridge business units, there may be occasions when different business units or different portfolio managers within the same business unit vote differently on the same issue. A ClearBridge business unit or investment team (e.g. ClearBridge’s Social Awareness Investment team) may adopt proxy voting policies that supplement these policies and procedures. In addition, in the case of Taft-Hartley clients, ClearBridge will comply with a client direction to vote proxies in accordance with Institutional Shareholder Services’ (ISS) PVS Voting Guidelines, which ISS represents to be fully consistent with AFL-CIO guidelines.


1 ClearBridge Advisors comprises CAM North America, LLC, ClearBridge Asset Management Inc, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC, and other affiliated investment advisory firms. On December 1, 2005, Citigroup Inc. (“Citigroup”) sold substantially all of its worldwide asset management business, Citigroup Asset Management, to Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”). As part of this transaction, CAM North America, LLC, ClearBridge Asset Management Inc and Smith Barney Fund Management LLC became wholly-owned subsidiaries of Legg Mason. Under a licensing agreement between Citigroup and Legg Mason, the names of CAM North America, LLC, Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC and their affiliated advisory entities, as well as all logos, trademarks, and service marks related to Citigroup or any of its affiliates (“Citi Marks”) are licensed for use by Legg Mason. Citi Marks include, but are not limited to, “Citigroup Asset Management,” “Salomon Brothers Asset Management” and “CAM”. All Citi Marks are owned by Citigroup, and are licensed for use until no later than one year after the date of the licensing agreement. Legg Mason and its subsidiaries, including CAM North America, LLC, ClearBridge Asset Management Inc, and Smith Barney Fund Management LLC are not affiliated with Citigroup.

 

56


In furtherance of ClearBridge’s goal to vote proxies in the best interest of clients, ClearBridge follows procedures designed to identify and address material conflicts that may arise between ClearBridge’s interests and those of its clients before voting proxies on behalf of such clients. To seek to identify conflicts of interest, ClearBridge periodically notifies ClearBridge employees in writing that they are under an obligation (i) to be aware of the potential for conflicts of interest on the part of ClearBridge with respect to voting proxies on behalf of client accounts both as a result of their personal relationships and due to special circumstances that may arise during the conduct of ClearBridge’s business, and (ii) to bring conflicts of interest of which they become aware to the attention of ClearBridge’s compliance personnel. ClearBridge also maintains and considers a list of significant ClearBridge relationships that could present a conflict of interest for ClearBridge in voting proxies. ClearBridge is also sensitive to the fact that a significant, publicized relationship between an issuer and a non- ClearBridge Legg Mason affiliate might appear to the public to influence the manner in which ClearBridge decides to vote a proxy with respect to such issuer. Absent special circumstances or a significant, publicized non- ClearBridge Legg Mason affiliate relationship that ClearBridge for prudential reasons treats as a potential conflict of interest because such relationship might appear to the public to influence the manner in which ClearBridge decides to vote a proxy, ClearBridge generally takes the position that relationships between a non- ClearBridge Legg Mason affiliate and an issuer (e.g. investment management relationship between an issuer and a non- ClearBridge Legg Mason affiliate) do not present a conflict of interest for ClearBridge in voting proxies with respect to such issuer. Such position is based on the fact that ClearBridge is operated as an independent business unit from other Legg Mason business units as well as on the existence of information barriers between ClearBridge and certain other Legg Mason business units.

ClearBridge maintains a Proxy Voting Committee to review and address conflicts of interest brought to its attention by ClearBridge compliance personnel. A proxy issue that will be voted in accordance with a stated ClearBridge position on such issue or in accordance with the recommendation of an independent third party is not brought to the attention of the Proxy Voting Committee for a conflict of interest review because ClearBridge’s position is that to the extent a conflict of interest issue exists, it is resolved by voting in accordance with a pre-determined policy or in accordance with the recommendation of an independent third party. With respect to a conflict of interest brought to its attention, the Proxy Voting Committee first determines whether such conflict of interest is material. A conflict of interest is considered material to the extent that it is determined that such conflict is likely to influence, or appear to influence, ClearBridge’s decision-making in voting proxies. If it is determined by the Proxy Voting Committee that a conflict of interest is not material, ClearBridge may vote proxies notwithstanding the existence of the conflict.

If it is determined by the Proxy Voting Committee that a conflict of interest is material, the Proxy Voting Committee is responsible for determining an appropriate method to resolve such conflict of interest before the proxy affected by the conflict of interest is voted. Such determination is based on the particular facts and circumstances, including the importance of the proxy issue and the nature of the conflict of interest.

 

57


 

Legg Mason Partners International All Cap Opportunity Fund

Supplement dated April     , 2007

to Prospectus dated February     , 2007

The attached prospectus is now dated April     , 2007.

As part of a number of initiatives launched in 2006 to restructure and streamline the Legg Mason Partners fund complex, the fund assumed the assets and liabilities of a predecessor fund with the same name. The fund is now grouped for organizational and governance purposes with other Legg Mason Partners funds that are predominantly equity-type funds. The prospectus is supplemented as shown below to reflect this change. Any information in the prospectus relating to the fund prior to the date of this Prospectus refers to the fund’s predecessor.

Performance Information

The summary performance information in the prospectus is that of the fund’s predecessor.

Management—Other Information

The paragraph beneath the heading “Other Information” in the “Management” section of the prospectus is deleted.

Financial Highlights

The financial information shown in the “Financial Highlights” section of the prospectus is that of the fund’s predecessor.


PROSPECTUS

February     , 2007

The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or determined whether this prospectus is accurate or complete. Any statement to the contrary is a crime.

LOGO

Legg Mason Partners

International All Cap

Opportunity Fund

Class A, B, C and I Shares

 

 

 

INVESTMENT PRODUCTS: NOT FDIC INSURED Ÿ NO BANK GUARANTEE Ÿ MAY LOSE VALUE

 


Legg Mason Partners International All Cap Opportunity Fund

Contents

 

Investments, risks and performance

  2

More on the fund’s investments

  7

Management

  8

Choosing a class of shares to buy

  12

Comparing the fund’s classes

  14

Sales charges

  15

More about contingent deferred sales charges

  19

Retirement and institutional investors

  20

Buying shares

  22

Exchanging shares

  23

Redeeming shares

  25

Other things to know about transactions

  27

Dividends, distributions and taxes

  30

Share price

  32

Financial highlights

  34

 

Prior to [December 28, 2006], the fund was known as Legg Mason Partners International All Cap Growth Fund. Prior to April 7, 2006, the fund was known as International All Cap Growth Portfolio.


 

Investments, risks and performance

Investment objective

The fund seeks total return on its assets from growth of capital and income.

Principal investment strategies

Key investments

The fund invests primarily in equity securities of foreign companies. Equity securities include exchange traded and over-the-counter common stocks and preferred shares, debt securities convertible into equity securities, and warrants and rights relating to equity securities. Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of the value of its net assets in a diversified portfolio of equity securities and may invest up to 20% of the value of its net assets in bonds, notes and debt securities.

Selection process

The portfolio managers emphasize individual security selection while diversifying the fund’s investments across regions and countries which can help to reduce risk. While the portfolio managers select investments primarily for their capital appreciation potential, some investments have an income component as well. Companies in which the fund invests may have large, mid or small size market capitalizations and may operate in any market sector. Market conditions around the world change constantly as does the location of potential investment opportunities. Depending on the portfolio managers’ assessment of overseas potential for long-term growth, the fund’s emphasis among foreign markets (including emerging markets) and types of issuers may vary.

In selecting individual companies for investment, the portfolio managers look for the following:

n   Companies focused on long-term shareholder value creation
n   Companies whose valuation implied earnings growth is significantly less than their expected growth
n   Experienced and effective management
n   Effective research, product development and marketing
n   Companies that are undervalued relative to history, country, sector and intrinsic value
n   Competitive advantages
n   Strong financial condition or stable or improving credit quality

By spreading the fund’s investments across many international markets, the portfolio managers seek to reduce volatility compared to an investment in a single region. Unlike global mutual funds which may allocate a substantial portion of assets to the U.S. markets, the fund invests substantially all of its assets in countries outside of the U.S.

In allocating assets among countries and regions, the economic and political factors the portfolio managers evaluate include:

n   Low or decelerating inflation which creates a favorable environment for securities markets
n   Stable governments with policies that encourage economic growth, equity investment and development of securities markets
n   Currency stability
n   The range of individual investment opportunities

 

2         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Principal risks of investing in the fund

Investing in foreign securities can bring benefits, but it may also involve risks. Investors could lose money on their investment in the fund, or the fund may not perform as well as other investments, as a result of the following risks:

n   Foreign securities prices decline
n   Adverse governmental action or political, economic or market instability affects a foreign country or region
n   The currency in which a security is priced declines in value relative to the U.S. dollar
n   The portfolio managers’ judgment about the attractiveness, value or potential appreciation of a particular security proves to be incorrect

The fund invests in certain foreign countries where the securities markets are less liquid and more volatile than markets in the U.S. In some foreign countries, less information is available about issuers and markets because of less rigorous accounting and regulatory standards than in the U.S. Currency fluctuations could erase investment gains or add to investment losses. The risks of investing in emerging markets are substantially greater than the risks of investing in more developed markets.

The fund may invest up to 20% of its assets in debt securities of foreign corporate and governmental issuers as well as U.S. government securities and money market obligations of U.S. issuers. The fund may invest in all types of debt securities of any maturity or credit quality. These securities may be denominated in U.S. dollars or other currencies and may pay fixed or variable rates of interest. The value of debt securities will go down if interest rates go up, or the credit rating of the security is downgraded or the issuer defaults on its obligation to pay principal or interest. These risks are greater for debt securities rated below investment grade.

Who may want to invest

The fund may be an appropriate investment if you:

n   Are seeking to participate in the long-term growth potential of international markets
n   Currently have exposure to U.S. stock markets and wish to diversify your investment portfolio by adding non-U.S. stocks that may not move in tandem with U.S. stocks
n   Are comfortable with the risks of the stock market and the special risks of investing in foreign securities, including emerging market securities

Performance information

The following shows summary performance information for the fund in a bar chart and an Average Annual Total Returns table. The information provides an indication of the risks of investing in the fund by showing changes in its performance from year to year and by showing how the fund’s average annual returns compare with the returns of a broad-based securities market index. The bar chart shows performance of the fund’s Class A shares, but does not reflect the impact of sales charges (loads). If it did, the returns would be lower than those shown. Unlike the bar chart, the performance for Class A, B, C and I (1) shares in the Average Annual Total Returns table reflects the impact of the maximum sales charge (load) applicable to the respective classes and the performance for Class A shares reflects the impact of taxes paid on distributions and the redemption of shares at the end of the period. The fund’s past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future.

 

(1)   As of November 2, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

International All Cap Opportunity Fund         3


 

Total Return for Class A Shares

LOGO

Highest and Lowest Quarterly returns:

Highest:         % in          quarter         ; Lowest:         % in          quarter         .

 

Average Annual Total Returns (for periods ended December 31, 2006)

 

       1 Year      5 Years      10 Years

Class A

            
 
Return before taxes (1)    %      %      %
 
Return after taxes on distributions (1)(2)    %      %      %
 
Return after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares (1)(2)    %      %      %
 
Other Classes (Return before taxes only)             
 

Class B

   %      %      %
 

Class C

   %      %      %
 

Class I (3)

   %      %      %
 
MSCI EAFE Growth Index (4)    %      %      %
 
MSCI EAFE Total Return Net Index (5)    %      %      %
 

 

(1)   On November 20, 2006, the maximum initial sales charge on Class A shares was increased for sales made on or after that date. The average annual returns for Class A shares in the table have been calculated as if the increased maximum initial sales charge had been in effect for the entire period.

 

(2)   After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of fund shares at the end of the measurement period. After-tax returns shown above are for Class A shares only. After-tax returns for other share classes will vary.

 

(3)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares. No Class I shares were outstanding on October 31, 2006.

 

(4)   The Morgan Stanley Capital International (“MSCI”) EAFE (Europe, Australasia and Far East) Growth Index (“MSCI EAFE Growth Index”), a market capitalization-weighted index that measures the performance of the leading growth stocks in 21 developed countries outside of North America. (The 21 countries include Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan and Singapore.) The MSCI EAFE Growth Index is unmanaged and is not subject to the same management fees and expenses as a mutual fund. An investor cannot invest directly in an index.

 

(5)   The fund’s benchmark has changed to the Morgan Stanley Capital International EAFE (Europe, Australasia and Far East) Total Return Net Index (“MSCI EAFE Total Return Net Index”), effective [date]. The MSCI EAFE Total Return Net Index is a free float-adjusted market capitalization index designed to measure developed market equity performance, excluding the U.S. and Canada. The MSCI EAFE Index consists of the following 21 developed market country indices: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Ireland, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Singapore, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom. The Index approximates the minimum possible dividend reinvestment. Such dividend is reinvested after deduction of withholding tax, applying the rate to non-resident individuals who do not benefit from double taxation treaties. MSCI uses withholding tax rates applicable to Luxembourg holding companies, as Luxembourg applies the highest rates. The benchmark was changed because the portfolio manager believes that the MSCI EAFE Total Return Net Index universe and fundamental characteristics better reflect the composition of the fund’s portfolio and investment strategies.

It is not possible to invest directly in the index. An index does not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes.

 

4         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Fee table

This table sets forth the fees and expenses you may pay if you invest in fund shares.

 

Shareholder Fees

 

(paid directly from your investment)   Class A     Class B     Class C     Class I (1)
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a % of offering price)   5.75 %   None     None     None
 
Maximum contingent deferred sales charge (load) (as a % of the lower of net asset value at purchase or redemption)   None (2)   5.00 %   1.00 % (3)   None
 

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

 

(paid by the fund as a % of net assets)   Class A     Class B     Class C     Class I (1)  
Management fee (4)   0.85 %   0.85 %   0.85 %   0.85 %
   
Distribution and service (12b-1) fees   0.25 %   1.00 %   1.00 %   None  
   
Other expenses (5)       %         %         %         %  
   
Total annual fund operating expenses       %         %         %         %  
   

 

(1)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

(2)   You may buy Class A shares in amounts of $1,000,000 or more at net asset value (without an initial sales charge) but if you redeem those shares within 12 months of their original purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

 

(3)   As of November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge is waived for retirement plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund.

 

(4)   Effective November 1, 2005, the fund has a fee schedule that reduces the management fee payable on assets in excess of $1 billion as follows: 0.85% on assets up to and including $1 billion; 0.825% on assets over $1 billion and up to and including $2 billion; 0.80% on assets over $2 billion and up to and including $5 billion; 0.775% on assets over $5 billion and up to and including $10 billion; and 0.75% on assets over $10 billion.

 

(5)   The amounts set forth in “Other expenses” for Class A, B, C and I shares have been restated to reflect the estimated effect of new transfer agency and custody contracts which became effective January 1, 2006. For Class I shares, “Other Expenses” have been estimated based on Class A shares because no Class I shares were outstanding on October 31, 2006.

 

International All Cap Opportunity Fund         5


 

Example

This example helps you compare the costs of investing in the fund with the costs of investing in other mutual funds. Your actual costs may be higher or lower. The example assumes:

n   You invest $10,000 in the fund for the period shown
n   Your investment has a 5% return each year — the assumption of a 5% return is required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for purposes of this example and is not a prediction of the fund’s future performance
n   You reinvest all distributions and dividends without a sales charge
n   The fund’s operating expenses (before fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, if any) remain the same

 

Number of Years You Own Your Shares

 

      1 year   3 years   5 years   10 years  

Class A (with or without redemption)

  $            $            $            $    
   

Class B (redemption at end of period)

  $     $     $     $          (1 )
   

Class B (no redemption)

  $     $     $     $          (1 )
   

Class C (redemption at end of period)

  $     $     $     $    
   

Class C (no redemption)

  $     $     $     $    
   

Class I (2) (with or without redemption at end of period)

  $     $     $     $    
   

 

(1)   Assumes conversion to Class A shares approximately eight years after purchase.

 

(2)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

6         Legg Mason Partners Fund


More on the fund’s investments

The fund’s investment objectives and principal investment strategies are described under the section entitled “Investments, risks and performance” above. This section provides further information about the investment strategies that may be used by the fund.

Currency transactions

The fund may enter into transactions to buy or sell currencies at a future date, which may be a few days or a number of months. The fund may enter into these forward currency contracts to:

n   Settle transactions in securities quoted in foreign currencies
n   Attempt to protect against the economic impact of adverse changes in the value of the U.S. dollar
n   Manage cash flow
n   “Lock in” the price of securities denominated in a foreign currency that it anticipates purchasing

The fund may not fully benefit from or may lose money on forward currency transactions if changes in currency rates do not occur as anticipated or do not correspond accurately to changes in the value of the fund’s holdings.

Emerging markets

The fund may invest in issuers located or doing business in emerging markets. Emerging market investments offer the potential of significant gains but also involve greater risks than investing in more developed countries. Political or economic stability, lack of market liquidity and government actions such as currency controls or seizure of private businesses or property are more likely in emerging markets.

Defensive investing

The fund may depart from its principal investment strategies in response to adverse market, economic or political conditions by taking temporary defensive positions in any type of money market instruments and short-term debt securities or cash without regard to any percentage limitations. If the fund takes a temporary defensive position, it may be unable to achieve its investment objective.

Portfolio holdings

The fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the fund’s portfolio securities are described in the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”).

The fund also may use other strategies and invest in other securities that are described, along with their risks, in the SAI. However, the fund might not use all of the strategies and techniques or invest in all of the types of securities described in this Prospectus or in the SAI. Also note that there are many other factors, which are not described here, that could adversely affect your investment and that could prevent the fund from achieving its investment goal.

 

International All Cap Opportunity Fund         7


 

Management

Manager and subadviser

Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC (“LMPFA” or the “manager”) is the fund’s investment manager. LMPFA, with offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022, is a recently organized investment adviser that has been formed to serve as the investment manager of the fund and other Legg Mason-sponsored funds. LMPFA provides administrative and certain oversight services to the fund. Brandywine Global Investment Management, LLC (“Brandywine” or the “subadviser”) provides the day-to-day portfolio management of the fund, except for the management of cash and short-term instruments which is performed by LMPFA.

Brandywine is a wholly-owned, independently operated subsidiary of Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”) and as of September 30, 2006 manages over $32 billion in assets for approximately 670 institutional clients. Brandywine was incorporated in 1986 and was acquired by Legg Mason in 1998. Brandywine offers an array of equity, fixed income and balanced portfolios that invest in U.S., international and global markets. Brandywine changed its name to its current name in May 2006 to better reflect its growing presence in international markets, primarily in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and South Africa. Brandywine’s offices are located at 2929 Arch Street, 8 th Floor, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104.

LMPFA and Brandywine are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”). Legg Mason, whose principal executive offices are at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, is a global asset management company. As of December 31, 2006, Legg Mason’s asset management operation had aggregate assets under management of approximately $ billion.

Prior to August 1, 2006, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”) was the fund’s investment manager. Prior to [December 28, 2006], ClearBridge Advisors, LLC (“ClearBridge”) was the fund’s subadviser. SBFM and ClearBridge are also wholly-owned subsidiaries of Legg Mason.

Portfolio Managers

Paul D. Ehrlichman, Sean M. Bogda and Safa R. Muhtaseb, CFA, manage the fund’s portfolio.

Mr. Ehrlichman is Managing Director and a member of Brandywine’s Executive Committee. He serves as the Chief Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager for the Global and International Value Equity products and contributes his knowledge and understanding of foreign markets and companies to support the research efforts for International and Global Fixed Income products. Mr. Ehrlichman has over 22 years of investment experience including the last 17 years with Brandywine. Mr. Ehrlichman was previously with Provident Capital Management, Inc. as Assistant Vice President and Portfolio Manager from 1984-1988, and with First Pennsylvania Bank as a Security Analyst from 1983-1984. He earned a B.S. degree in Finance and Quantitative Analysis from LaSalle University.

Mr. Bogda is a portfolio manager and securities analyst on the Global and International Equity team. As a member of this team, he contributes knowledge and experience in research of investments across countries and sectors, while contributing insights and stock recommendations for equity portfolios managed by Brandywine. As a member of the

 

8         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

team, Mr. Bogda is responsible for covering the Energy, Commercial Services, and Consumer Discretionary Media sectors. He has been a member of Brandywine for 13 years, beginning his career at as a Research Assistant in the summer of 1990. Mr. Bogda earned his B.S. in Finance from the University of Colorado, graduating Cum Laude.

Mr. Muhtaseb is a portfolio manager with the Global and International Value Equity Team. As a member of this team, he contributes knowledge and experience in research of investments across countries and sectors, while contributing insights and stock recommendations for equity portfolios managed by Brandywine. He joined the firm in September 2004 and has 21 years of industry experience. He is a Certified Financial Analyst, earned his M.B.A. in Finance from the University of Tennessee and graduated Cum Laude with his B.S. in Business Administration from Old Dominion University. Prior to joining Brandywine Global, Mr. Muhtaseb was with Goldman Sachs Asset Management as a Senior Portfolio Manager for Global and International products (2001-2004), Virginia Retirement System as Director of International Investments and Portfolio Manager for the U.S. Mid Cap Growth portfolio (1999-2001), CalPERS as an Investment Officer and Portfolio Manager (1997-1999), State of California as an Auditor (1996-1997), Safa R. Muhtaseb Real Estate Investments as the Principal and Broker (1990-1996), and Al-Othman & Al-Muhtaseb Trading Co. W.L.L. as an Investment Officer (1984-1990).

The SAI provides information about the compensation of the portfolio managers, other accounts they manage, and any fund shares held by the portfolio managers, and has more detailed information about the manager, the subadviser and other fund service providers.

Management fee

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, the fund paid a management fee of     % of the fund’s average daily net assets. For the period from November 1, 2005 through July 31, 2006, the fund paid SBFM a management fee equal to     % of the fund’s average daily net assets. For the period from August 1, 2006 through October 31, 2006, the fund paid LMPFA a management fee equal to     % of the fund’s average daily net assets.

A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of the fund’s management agreement and subadvisory agreements is available in the fund’s Annual Report for the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006.

Other information

The fund’s Board has approved a number of initiatives designed to streamline and restructure the fund complex. These initiatives include the election of a new Board, the grouping of the fund for organizational and governance purposes with other funds in the fund complex that are predominantly equity-type funds, and the adoption of a single form of organization as a Maryland business trust, with all funds operating under uniform charter documents. Fund shareholders entitled to vote have approved investment matters, including standardized fundamental investment policies and the ability of the fund to change its investment objective without shareholder approval. These matters generally are expected to be effectuated during the first half of 2007.

 

International All Cap Opportunity Fund         9


 

Distribution plan

Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC (“LMIS”), a wholly-owned broker-dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, PFS Investments Inc. (“PFS”) and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”) serve as the fund’s distributors.

The fund has adopted a shareholder services and distribution plan for its Class A, B and C shares. Under the plan, the fund pays distribution and/or service fees. These fees are an ongoing expense and, over time, will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than other types of sales charges.

In addition, the distributors may make payments for distribution and/or shareholder servicing activities out of their past profits and other available sources. The distributors may also make payments to dealers for marketing, promotional or related expenses. The amount of these payments is determined by the distributors and may be substantial. The manager or an affiliate may make similar payments under similar arrangements.

The payments described in the paragraph above are often referred to as “revenue sharing payments.” The recipients of such payments may include the fund’s distributors, affiliates of the manager, broker/dealers, financial institutions and other financial intermediaries through which investors may purchase shares of the fund. In some circumstances, such payments may create an incentive for an intermediary or its employees or associated persons to recommend or sell shares of the fund to you. Please contact your financial intermediary for details about revenue sharing payments it may receive.

Recent developments

On May 31, 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued an order in connection with the settlement of an administrative proceeding against SBFM, the then-investment adviser or manager to the fund, and CGMI, relating to the appointment of an affiliated transfer agent for the Smith Barney family of mutual funds, including the fund (the “Affected Funds”). The SEC order finds that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(1) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder (the “Advisers Act”). Specifically, the order finds that SBFM and CGMI knowingly or recklessly failed to disclose to the boards of the Affected Funds in 1999 when proposing a new transfer agent arrangement with an affiliated transfer agent that: First Data Investors Services Group (“First Data”), the Affected Funds’ then-existing transfer agent, had offered to continue as transfer agent and do the same work for substantially less money than before; and that Citigroup Asset Management (“CAM”), the Citigroup business unit that, at the time, included the Affected Funds’ investment manager and other investment advisory companies, had entered into a side letter with First Data under which CAM agreed to recommend the appointment of First Data as sub-transfer agent to the affiliated transfer agent in exchange, among other things, for a guarantee by First Data of specified amounts of asset management and investment banking fees to CAM and CGMI. The order also finds that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act by virtue of the omissions discussed above and other misrepresentations and omissions in the materials provided to the Affected Funds’ boards, including the failure to make clear that the affiliated transfer agent would earn a high profit for performing limited functions while First Data continued to perform almost all of

 

10         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

the transfer agent functions, and the suggestion that the proposed arrangement was in the Affected Funds’ best interests and that no viable alternatives existed.

SBFM and CGMI do not admit or deny any wrongdoing or liability. The settlement does not establish wrongdoing or liability for purposes of any other proceeding. The SEC censured SBFM and CGMI and ordered them to cease and desist from violations of Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Advisers Act. The order required Citigroup to pay $208.1 million, including $109 million in disgorgement of profits, $19.1 million in interest, and a civil money penalty of $80 million. Approximately $24.4 million has already been paid to the Affected Funds, primarily through fee waivers. The remaining $183.7 million, including the penalty, has been paid to the U.S. Treasury and will be distributed pursuant to a plan submitted for the approval of the SEC. At this time, there is no certainty as to how the above-described proceeds of the settlement will be distributed, to whom such distributions will be made, the methodology by which such distributions will be allocated, and when such distributions will be made. The order also required that transfer agency fees received from the Affected Funds since December 1, 2004, less certain expenses, be placed in escrow and provided that a portion of such fees might be subsequently distributed in accordance with the terms of the order. On April 3, 2006, an aggregate amount of approximately $9 million held in escrow was distributed to the Affected Funds.

The order required SBFM to recommend a new transfer agent contract to the Fund boards within 180 days of the entry of the order; if a Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent or sub-transfer agent, SBFM and CGMI would have been required, at their expense, to engage an independent monitor to oversee a competitive bidding process. On November 21, 2005, and within the specified timeframe, the Affected Funds’ Boards selected a new transfer agent for the Affected Funds. No Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent. Under the order, SBFM also must comply with an amended version of a vendor policy that Citigroup instituted in August 2004.

Although there can be no assurance, the manager does not believe that this matter will have a material adverse effect on the Affected Funds.

On December 1, 2005, Citigroup completed the sale of substantially all of its global asset management business, including SBFM, to Legg Mason.

 

International All Cap Opportunity Fund         11


 

Choosing a class of shares to buy

Individual investors can generally choose among three classes of shares: Classes A, B and C shares. Individual investors that held Class I (formerly Class Y) shares prior to November 20, 2006, may continue to invest in Class I shares. Institutional and retirement plan investors and clients of financial intermediaries should refer to “Retirement and institutional investors” below for a description of the classes available to them.

Each class has different sales charges and expenses, allowing you to choose the class that best meets your needs. When choosing which class of shares to buy, you should consider:

n   How much you plan to invest
n   How long you expect to own the shares
n   The expenses paid by each class detailed in the Fee table and Example at the front of this Prospectus
n   Whether you qualify for any reduction or waiver of sales charges

If you are choosing between Class A and Class B shares, it will in almost all cases be the more economical choice for you to purchase Class A shares if you plan to purchase shares in an amount of $100,000 or more (whether in a single purchase or through aggregation of eligible holdings). This is because of the reduced sales charge available on larger investments of Class A shares and the lower ongoing expenses of Class A shares compared to Class B shares.

If you intend to invest for only a few years, the effect of Class B contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions made within five years of purchase, as well as the effect of higher expenses of that class, might make an investment in Class C more appropriate. There is no initial sales charge on Class C shares, and the contingent deferred sales charge does not apply to shares redeemed one year after purchase.

However, if you plan to invest a large amount and your investment horizon is five years or more, Class C shares might not be as advantageous as Class A shares. This is because the annual asset-based sales charge on Class C shares will have a greater impact on your account over the longer term than the reduced front-end sales charge available for larger purchases of Class A shares.

You may buy shares from:

n   Certain broker/dealers, financial intermediaries, financial institutions or a distributor’s financial advisors or registered representatives (each called a “Service Agent”)
n   The fund, but only if you are investing through certain qualified plans or Service Agents

Different types of shareholder services may be available to you under arrangements offered by different Service Agents. In addition, these services may vary depending on the share class in which you choose to invest. In making your decision regarding which share class to buy, please keep in mind that your Service Agent may receive different compensation depending on the share class in which you invest. Investors should consult with their Service Agent about comparative pricing of shareholder services available to them under each available share class, the compensation that will be received by their Service Agent in connection with each available share class, and other factors that may be relevant to the investor’s choice of share class in which to invest.

Not all classes of shares are available through all Service Agents. You should contact your Service Agent for further information.

 

12         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Investment minimums

Minimum initial and additional investment amounts vary depending on the class of shares you buy and the nature of your investment account.

 

    Investment Minimum
Initial/Additional Investment (1)
   
      Class A   Class B   Class C   Class I
(formerly Class Y)

General

  $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50     n/a
 

IRAs and Uniform Gifts or Transfers to Minor Accounts

  $ 250/$50   $ 250/$50   $ 250/$50     n/a
 

SIMPLE IRAs

  $ 1/$1   $ 1/$1   $ 1/$1     n/a
 

Systematic Investment Plans

  $ 25/$25   $ 25/$25   $ 25/$25     n/a
 

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries

  $ 1/$1     n/a     n/a     None
 

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund

    None/None     n/a     None     None
 

Other Retirement Plans

  $ 50/$50   $ 50/$50   $ 50/$50     n/a
 

Institutional Investors

  $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50   $  1 million/none
 

 

(1)   Please refer to the section entitled “Retirement and institutional investors” for additional information regarding the investment minimum and eligibility requirements for Retirement Plans, Institutional Investors and Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries.

More information about the fund’s classes of shares is available through the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website. You’ll find detailed information about sales charges and ways you can qualify for reduced or waived sales charges, including:

n   The front-end sales charges that apply to the purchase of Class A shares
n   The contingent deferred sales charges that apply to the redemption of Class B shares, Class C shares and certain Class A shares (redeemed within one year)
n   Who qualifies for lower sales charges on Class A shares
n   Who qualifies for a sales load waiver

Go to http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices and click on the name of the fund.

 

International All Cap Opportunity Fund         13


 

Comparing the fund’s classes

The following table compares key features of the fund’s classes. You should review the Fee table and Example at the front of this prospectus carefully before choosing your share class. Your Service Agent can help you decide which class meets your goals. Your Service Agent may receive different compensation depending upon which class you choose.

 

      Class A   Class B   Class C   Class I (formerly
Class Y)
Key features  

n   Initial sales charge

n   You may qualify for reduction or waiver of initial sales charge

n   Generally lower annual expenses than Class B and Class C

 

n   No initial sales charge

n   Contingent deferred sales charge declines over time

n   Converts to Class A after approximately 8 years

n   Generally higher annual expenses than Class A

 

n   No initial sales charge

n   Contingent deferred sales charge for only 1 year

n   Does not convert to Class A

n   Generally higher annual expenses than Class A

 

n   No initial or contingent deferred sales charge

n   Only offered to institutional and other eligible investors

n   Generally lower expenses than the other classes

Initial sales charge  

Up to 5.75%; reduced or waived for large purchases and certain investors. No charge for purchases of $1 million or more

 

None

 

None

 

None

Contingent deferred sales charge  

1.00% on purchases of $1 million or more if you redeem within 1 year of purchase; waived for certain investors

 

Up to 5.00% charged when you redeem shares. This charge is reduced over time and there is no contingent deferred sales charge after 5 years; waived for certain investors

 

1.00% if you redeem within 1 year of purchase; waived for certain investors

 

None

Annual distribution and service fees  

0.25% of average daily net assets

 

1.00% of average daily net assets

 

1.00% of average daily net assets

 

None

Exchange privilege (1)  

Class A shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class B shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class C of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class I shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

(1)   Ask your Service Agent for the Legg Mason Partners Funds available for exchange.

 

14         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Sales charges

Class A shares

You buy Class A shares at the offering price, which is the net asset value plus a sales charge. You pay a lower sales charge as the size of your investment increases to certain levels called breakpoints. You do not pay a sales charge on the fund’s distributions or dividends you reinvest in additional Class A shares.

The table below shows the rate of sales charge you pay, depending on the amount you purchase, for purchases made on or after November 20, 2006. The table below also shows the amount of broker-dealer compensation that will be paid out of the sales charge. For Class A shares sold by LMIS, LMIS will receive the sales charge imposed on purchases of Class A shares (or any contingent deferred sales charge paid on redemptions) and will retain the full amount of such sales charge. For Class A shares sold by CGMI, CGMI will receive the sales charge imposed on purchases of Class A shares and will retain an amount equal to the broker-dealer commission paid out of the sales charge. LMIS will receive any portion not retained by CGMI. For Class A shares sold by PFS, PFS will receive the sales charge imposed on purchases of Class A shares (or any contingent deferred sales charge paid on redemptions) and will retain the full amount of such sales charge. Service Agents (including CGMI and PFS) will also receive a distribution/service fee payable on Class A shares at an annual rate of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class A shares serviced by them.

 

Amount of investment   Sales Charge
as % of
offering price
  Sales Charge as
% of Net
amount invested
  Broker/Dealer
Commission
as % of
offering price

Less than $25,000

  5.75   6.10   5.00
 

$25,000 but less than $50,000

  5.00   5.26   4.25
 

$50,000 but less than $100,000

  4.50   4.71   3.75
 

$100,000 but less than $250,000

  3.50   3.63   2.75
 

$250,000 but less than $500,000

  2.50   2.56   2.00
 

$500,000 but less than $750,000

  2.00   2.04   1.60
 

$750,000 but less than $1 million

  1.50   1.52   1.20
 

$1 million or more (1)

  -0-   -0-   up to 1.00
 

 

(1)   A distributor may pay a commission of up to 1.00% to a Service Agent for investment amounts of $1 million or more. In such cases, starting in the thirteenth month after purchase, the Service Agent will also receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class A shares held by its clients. Prior to the thirteenth month, the distributor will retain this fee. Where the Service Agent does not receive the payment of this commission, the Service Agent will instead receive the annual distribution/service fee starting immediately after purchase. Please contact your Service Agent for more information.

Investments of $1,000,000 or more

You do not pay an initial sales charge when you buy $1,000,000 or more of Class A shares. However, if you redeem these Class A shares within one year of purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

 

International All Cap Opportunity Fund         15


 

Qualifying for a reduced Class A sales charge

There are several ways you can combine multiple purchases of Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds to take advantage of the breakpoints in the sales charge schedule. In order to take advantage of reductions in sales charges that may be available to you when you purchase fund shares, you must inform your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services if you are eligible for a letter of intent or a right of accumulation and if you own shares of other Legg Mason Partners Funds that are eligible to be aggregated with your purchases. Certain records, such as account statements, may be necessary in order to verify your eligibility for reduced sales charges.

n   Accumulation Privilege – allows you to combine the current value of Class A shares of the fund with other shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds that are owned by:
  ¨   you; or
  ¨   your spouse and children under the age of 21

with the dollar amount of your next purchase of Class A shares for purposes of calculating the initial sales charge.

Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or its affiliates (other than money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners Funds), Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. may not be combined.

If you hold shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds in accounts at two or more Service Agents, please contact your Service Agents to determine which shares may be combined.

Certain trustees and fiduciaries may be entitled to combine accounts in determining their sales charge.

n   Letter of Intent – allows you to purchase Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds over a 13-month period and pay the same sales charge on Class A shares, if any, as if all shares had been purchased at once. At the time you enter into the letter of intent, you select your asset goal amount. Generally, purchases of Legg Mason Partners Fund shares that are purchased during the 13-month period by
  ¨   you; or
  ¨   your spouse and children under the age of 21

are eligible for inclusion under the letter, based on the public offering price at the time of the purchase, and any capital appreciation on those shares. You may also backdate your letter up to 90 days in which case eligible purchases made during that period will be treated as purchases made under the letter. In addition, you can include towards your asset goal amount the current value of any eligible purchases that were made prior to the date of entering into the letter of intent and are still held.

If you hold shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds in accounts at two or more Service Agents, please contact your Service Agents to determine which shares may be credited towards your letter of intent asset goal.

Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or its affiliates (other than money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners Funds), Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. may not be credited toward your letter of intent asset goal.

If you do not meet your asset goal amount, shares in the amount of any sales charges due, based on the amount of your actual purchases, will be redeemed from your account.

 

16         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Waivers for certain Class A investors

Class A initial sales charges are waived for certain types of investors, including:

n   Employees of Service Agents having dealer, service or other selling agreements with the fund’s distributors
n   Investors who redeemed Class A shares of a Legg Mason Partners Fund in the past 60 days, if the investor’s Service Agent is notified
n   Directors and officers of any Legg Mason-sponsored fund
n   Employees of Legg Mason and its subsidiaries

If you qualify for a waiver of the Class A initial sales charge, you must notify your Service Agent or the transfer agent at the time of purchase and provide sufficient information at the time of purchase to permit verification that the purchase qualifies for the initial sales charge waiver.

If you want to learn about additional waivers of Class A initial sales charges, contact your Service Agent, consult the SAI or look at the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website, http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices, and click on the name of the fund.

Class B shares

You buy Class B shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. However, if you redeem your Class B shares within five years of your purchase payment, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge. The contingent deferred sales charge decreases as the number of years since your purchase payment increases.

 

Year after purchase   1st     2nd     3rd     4th     5th     6th through 8th  

Contingent deferred sales charge

  5 %   4 %   3 %   2 %   1 %   0 %
   

LMIS will pay Service Agents other than PFS, including CGMI, selling Class B shares a commission of up to 4.00% of the purchase price of the Class B shares they sell, and LMIS will retain the contingent deferred sales charges. For Class B shares sold by PFS, PFS will pay a commission of up to 4.00% of the purchase price of the Class B shares sold by its Service Agents and will retain the contingent deferred sales charges paid upon certain redemptions. Service Agents also receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class B shares serviced by them.

Class B conversion

After approximately 8 years, Class B shares automatically convert into Class A shares. This helps you because Class A shares have lower annual expenses. Your Class B shares will convert to Class A shares as follows:

 

Shares issued:

At initial purchase

  

Shares issued:

On reinvestment of
dividends and
distributions

   Shares issued:
Upon exchange from
another Legg Mason
Partners Fund
Approximately 8 years after the date of purchase payment    In same proportion as the number of Class B shares converting is to total Class B shares you own (excluding shares issued as dividends)    On the date the shares originally acquired would have converted into Class A shares
 

 

International All Cap Opportunity Fund         17


 

Class C shares

You buy Class C shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. However, if you redeem your Class C shares within one year of purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

LMIS will generally pay Service Agents selling Class C shares (other than shares sold to omnibus accounts of retirement plans held on the books of the fund) a commission of up to 1.00% of the purchase price of the Class C shares they sell and LMIS will retain the contingent deferred sales charges and an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class C shares serviced by these Service Agents until the thirteenth month after purchase. Starting in the thirteenth month after purchase, these Service Agents will receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class C shares serviced by them.

Class I shares (formerly Class Y shares)

Class I shares are purchased at net asset value with no initial sales charge and no contingent deferred sales charge when redeemed. See “Retirement and institutional investors — Class I shares” below for additional information regarding investor eligibility and investment minimums.

 

18         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

More about contingent deferred sales charges

The contingent deferred sales charge is based on the net asset value at the time of purchase or redemption, whichever is less, and therefore you do not pay a sales charge on amounts representing appreciation or depreciation.

In addition, you do not pay a contingent deferred sales charge on:

n   Shares exchanged for shares of another Legg Mason Partners Fund
n   Shares representing reinvested distributions and dividends
n   Shares no longer subject to the contingent deferred sales charge

Each time you place a request to redeem shares, the fund will first redeem any shares in your account that are not subject to a contingent deferred sales charge and then the shares in your account that have been held the longest.

If you redeemed shares of a Legg Mason Partners Fund and paid a contingent deferred sales charge, you may, under certain circumstances, reinvest all or part of the redemption proceeds within 60 days and receive pro rata credit for any contingent deferred sales charge imposed on the prior redemption. Please contact your Service Agent for additional information.

The fund’s distributors receive contingent deferred sales charges as partial compensation for their expenses in selling shares, including the payment of compensation to your Service Agent.

Contingent deferred sales charge waivers

The contingent deferred sales charge for each share class will generally be waived:

n   On payments made through certain systematic withdrawal plans
n   On certain distributions from a retirement plan
n   For involuntary redemptions of small account balances
n   For 12 months following the death or disability of a shareholder

If you want to learn more about additional waivers of contingent deferred sales charges, contact your Service Agent, consult the SAI or look at the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website: http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices, and click on the name of the fund.

 

International All Cap Opportunity Fund         19


 

Retirement and institutional investors

Eligible investors

Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund can generally choose among three classes of shares: Class C, Class A and Class I (formerly Class Y) shares. “Retirement Plans” include 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit-sharing plans, non-qualified deferred compensation plans and other similar employer-sponsored retirement plans. Retirement Plans do not include individual retirement vehicles, such as traditional and Roth individual retirement accounts, Coverdell education savings accounts, individual 403(b)(7) custodial accounts, Keogh plans, SEPs, SARSEPs, SIMPLE IRAs, or Section 529 savings accounts. Although Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund are not subject to minimum initial investment requirements for any of these share classes, certain investment minimums may be imposed by a financial intermediary.

Other Retirement Plan investors (including, for example, employer-sponsored plans investing through brokerage accounts) can generally choose among three classes of shares: Class A, Class B and Class C. Individual retirement vehicles, such as IRAs, may also choose among these share classes. These types of investors are treated like individual investors for purposes of determining investment minimums, sales charges and any applicable sales charge reductions or waivers.

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries may generally choose among two classes of shares: Class A and Class I. “Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries” are investors who invest in the fund through financial intermediaries that offer their clients fund shares through investment programs as authorized by LMIS. Such investment programs may include fee-based advisory or brokerage account programs, and college savings vehicles such as Section 529 plans. The financial intermediary may impose separate investment minimums.

Institutional Investors

Institutional Investors may invest in Class I shares if they meet the $1,000,000 minimum initial investment requirement. Institutional Investors may also invest in Class A, B and C shares, which have different investment minimums and fees and expenses. “Institutional Investors” generally include corporations, banks, insurance companies, foundations, retirement plans and other similar entities with direct relationships to the fund.

Class C — Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund may buy Class C shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. As of November 20, 2006, LMIS no longer pays Service Agents selling Class C shares to retirement plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of a fund a commission on the purchase price of Class C shares sold by them. Instead, immediately after purchase, LMIS will pay these Service Agents an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class C shares serviced by them. For purchases made by Retirement

 

20         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund on or after November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge on shares redeemed within one year of purchase is waived.

Class I — Retirement Plans

As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares and are offered only to Institutional Investors who meet the $1,000,000 minimum initial investment requirement, Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries, and other investors as authorized by LMIS. However, investors that held Class I shares prior to that date will be permitted to make additional investments in Class I shares.

Class A — Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund may purchase Class A shares through programs sponsored by financial intermediaries. Under these programs, the initial sales charge and contingent deferred sales charge for Class A shares is waived where:

n   Such Retirement Plan’s record keeper offers only load-waived shares,
n   Fund shares are held on the books of the fund through an omnibus account, and
n   The Retirement Plan has more than 100 participants, or has total assets exceeding $1 million

As of November 20, 2006, LMIS no longer pays Service Agents selling Class A shares to Retirement Plans with a direct omnibus relationship with a fund a commission on the purchase price of Class A shares sold by them. However, for certain Retirement Plans that are permitted to purchase shares at net asset value on or after this date, LMIS may continue to pay Service Agents commissions of up to 1.00% of the purchase price of the additional Class A shares that are purchased with regular ongoing plan contributions. Please contact your Service Agent for more information.

Other considerations

Plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries and other financial intermediaries may choose to impose qualification requirements for plans that differ from the fund’s share class eligibility standards. In certain cases this could result in the selection of a share class with higher service and distribution-related fees than otherwise would have been charged. The fund is not responsible for, and has no control over, the decision of any plan sponsor, plan fiduciary or financial intermediary to impose such differing requirements. Please consult with your plan sponsor, plan fiduciary or financial intermediary for more information about available share classes.

With respect to Class A and Class C shares the fund may pay a fee for recordkeeping services performed for the applicable share class.

Not all share classes may be made available by your Service Agent; please contact your Service Agent for additional details.

 

International All Cap Opportunity Fund         21


 

Buying shares

 

Through a
Service Agent
  

You should contact your Service Agent to open a brokerage account and make arrangements to buy shares. You must provide the following information, for your order to be processed:

n  Class of shares being bought

n  Dollar amount or number of shares being bought

n  Account number (if existing account)

Your Service Agent may charge an annual account maintenance fee.

 
Through the fund   

Financial intermediary accounts, retirement plan accounts and certain other investors who are clients of certain Service Agents are eligible to buy shares directly from the fund.

n  Clients of a PFS Registered Representative should write to the fund at the following address:

Legg Mason Partners Funds

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9662

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9662

n  All other investors should write to the fund at the following address:

Legg Mason Partners Funds

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9699

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699

n  Enclose a check to pay for the shares. For initial purchases, complete and send an account application available upon request from Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at the number below

n  Specify the name of the fund, the share class you wish to purchase and your account number (if existing account)

n  For more information, please call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 or Primerica Shareholder Services at 800-544-5445

 
Through a systematic investment plan   

You may authorize your Service Agent or the transfer agent to transfer funds automatically from (i) a regular bank account, (ii) cash held in a brokerage account with a Service Agent or (iii) certain money market funds, in order to buy shares on a regular basis.

n  Amounts transferred must be at least $25

n  Amounts may be transferred monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually

n  If you do not have sufficient funds in your account on a transfer date, your Service Agent or the transfer agent may charge you a fee

 

For more information, contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services or consult the SAI.

 

22         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Exchanging shares

 

Legg Mason Partners offers a distinctive family of funds tailored to help meet the varying needs of both large and small investors   

You should contact your Service Agent to exchange into other Legg Mason Partners Funds. Be sure to read the prospectus of the Legg Mason Partners Fund into which you are exchanging. An exchange is a taxable transaction, unless you are investing through a tax-qualified savings plan or account.

n  If you bought shares through a Service Agent, you may exchange shares only for shares of the same class of certain other Legg Mason Partners Funds made available for exchange by your Service Agent. Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds made available for exchange by your Service Agent may offer all classes. Please contact your Service Agent for more information about the funds and classes that are available for exchange

n  If you bought shares directly from the fund, you may exchange shares only for shares of the same class of another Legg Mason Partners Fund other than shares of Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund. Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds offer all classes

n  Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds may be offered in your state of residence. Contact your Service Agent or the transfer agent for further information

n  Exchanges of Class A, B and C shares are subject to minimum investment requirements (except for systematic investment plan exchanges), and all shares are subject to the other requirements of the fund into which exchanges are made

n  If you hold share certificates, the transfer agent must receive the certificates endorsed for transfer or with signed stock powers before the exchange is effective

n  The fund may suspend or terminate your exchange privilege if you engage in an excessive pattern of exchanges

 
Waiver of additional sales charges   

Your shares will not be subject to an initial sales charge at the time of the exchange.

Your contingent deferred sales charge (if any) will continue to be measured from the date of your original purchase of shares subject to a contingent deferred sales charge and you will be subject to the contingent deferred sales charge of the fund that you originally purchased.

 
By telephone    If you do not have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, you may be eligible to exchange shares through the fund. You must complete an authorization form to authorize telephone transfers. If eligible, you may make telephone exchanges on any day the New York Stock Exchange Inc. (“NYSE”) is open. For clients of a PFS Registered Representative, call Primerica Shareholder Services at 800-544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. (Eastern time). All other shareholders should call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder

 

International All Cap Opportunity Fund         23


 

  

Services at 800-451-2010 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time). Exchanges are priced at the net asset value next determined.

You can make telephone exchanges only between accounts that have identical registrations.

 
By mail    If you do not have a brokerage account, contact your Service Agent or write to the fund at the address set out below.
 
Through a systematic exchange plan   

You may be permitted to schedule exchanges of shares of any class of the fund for shares of the same class of other Legg Mason Partners Funds.

n  Exchanges may be made monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually

n  A predetermined dollar amount of at least $25 per exchange is required 

 

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services.

 

24         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Redeeming shares

 

Generally   

Contact your Service Agent to redeem shares of the fund.

If you hold share certificates, the transfer agent must receive the certificates endorsed for transfer or with signed stock powers before you may redeem.

If the shares are held by a fiduciary or corporation, other documents may be required.

Redemptions are priced at net asset value next determined after receipt of your request in good order.

Your redemption proceeds will normally be sent within three business days after your request is received in good order, but in any event within 7 days. Your redemption proceeds may be delayed for up to 10 days if your purchase was made by check.

If you have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, your redemption proceeds will be sent to your Service Agent. In other cases, unless you direct otherwise, your redemption proceeds will be paid by check mailed to your address of record.

 
By mail   

Send written requests to the fund at the applicable address

For clients of a PFS Registered Representative, write Primerica Shareholder Services at the following address:

Primerica Shareholder Services

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9662

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9662

For all other investors, send your request to:

Legg Mason Partners Funds

c/o PFPC, Inc.

P.O. Box 9699

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699

Your written request must provide the following:

n  The fund name, the class of shares to be redeemed, and your account number

n  The dollar amount or number of shares to be redeemed

n  Signatures of each owner exactly as the account is registered

n  Signature guarantees, as applicable

 
By telephone    If you do not have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, you may be eligible to redeem shares (except those held in certain retirement plans) in amounts up to $50,000 per day through the fund. You must complete an authorization form to authorize telephone redemptions. If eligible, you may request redemptions by telephone on any day the NYSE is open. For clients of a PFS Registered Representative, call Primerica Shareholder Services at 800-544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. (Eastern time). All other

 

International All Cap Opportunity Fund         25


 

  

shareholders should call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time).

Your redemption proceeds can be sent by check to your address of record or by wire or electronic transfer (ACH) to a bank account designated on your authorization form. You must submit a new authorization form to change the bank account designated to receive wire or electronic transfers and you may be asked to provide certain other documents. The transfer agent may charge a fee on a wire or an electronic transfer (ACH).

 
Automatic cash withdrawal plans   

You can arrange for the automatic redemption of a portion of your shares monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually. To qualify you must own shares of the fund with a value of at least $10,000 ($5,000 for retirement plan accounts) and each automatic redemption must be at least $50. If your shares are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge, the sales charge will be waived if your automatic redemptions are equal to or less than 2.00% monthly of your account balance on the date the withdrawals commence, up to a maximum of 12.00% in any one year.

The following conditions apply:

n  Your shares must not be represented by certificates

n  All dividends and distributions must be reinvested

 

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or consult the SAI.

 

26         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

Other things to know about transactions

When you buy, exchange or redeem shares, your request must be in good order. This means you have provided the following information, without which your request may not be processed:

n   Name of the fund
n   Your account number
n   Class of shares being bought, and if you own more than one class, the class of shares being exchanged or redeemed
n   Dollar amount or number of shares being bought, exchanged or redeemed
n   Signature of each owner exactly as the account is registered

The fund’s transfer agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services will employ reasonable procedures to confirm that any telephone exchange or redemption request is genuine, which may include recording calls, asking the caller to provide certain personal identification information, sending you a written confirmation or requiring other confirmation procedures from time to time. If these procedures are followed, neither the fund nor its agent will bear any liability for such transactions.

Signature guarantees

To be in good order, your redemption request must include a signature guarantee if you:

n   Are redeeming over $50,000
n   Are sending signed share certificates or stock powers to the transfer agent
n   Instruct the transfer agent to mail the check to an address different from the one on your account registration
n   Changed your account registration or your address within 30 days
n   Want the check paid to someone other than the account owner(s)
n   Are transferring the redemption proceeds to an account with a different registration

You can obtain a signature guarantee from most banks, dealers, brokers, credit unions and federal savings and loan institutions, but not from a notary public.

The fund has the right to:

n   Suspend the offering of shares
n   Waive or change minimum and additional investment amounts
n   Reject any purchase or exchange order
n   Change, revoke or suspend the exchange privilege
n   Suspend telephone transactions
n   Suspend or postpone redemptions of shares on any day when trading on the NYSE is restricted, or as otherwise permitted by the SEC
n   Pay redemption proceeds by giving you securities. You may pay transaction costs to dispose of the securities

Small account balances/Mandatory redemptions

If at any time the aggregate net asset value of the fund shares in your account is less than $500 for any reason (including solely due to declines in net asset value and/or failure to invest at least $500 within a reasonable period), the fund reserves the right to ask you to bring your account up to the applicable minimum investment amount as determined by

 

International All Cap Opportunity Fund         27


 

your Service Agent. In such case you shall be notified in writing and will have 60 days to make an additional investment to bring your account value up to the required level. If you choose not to do so within this 60-day period, the fund may close your account and send you the redemption proceeds. In the event your account is closed due to a failure to increase your balance to the minimum required amount, you will not be eligible to have your account subsequently reinstated without imposition of any sales charges that may apply to your new purchase. The fund may, with prior notice, change the minimum size of accounts subject to mandatory redemption, which may vary by class, or implement fees for small accounts.

Subject to applicable law, the fund may, with prior notice, adopt other policies from time to time requiring mandatory redemption of shares in certain circumstances.

For more information please contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services or consult the SAI.

Frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares

Frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares may interfere with the efficient management of the fund’s portfolio by its portfolio managers, increase portfolio transaction costs, and have a negative effect on the fund’s long-term shareholders. For example, in order to handle large flows of cash into and out of the fund, the portfolio managers may need to allocate more assets to cash or other short-term investments or sell securities, rather than maintaining full investment in securities selected to achieve the fund’s investment objective. Frequent trading may cause the fund to sell securities at less favorable prices. Transaction costs, such as brokerage commissions and market spreads, can detract from the fund’s performance. In addition, the return received by long-term shareholders may be reduced when trades by other shareholders are made in an effort to take advantage of certain pricing discrepancies, when, for example, it is believed that the fund’s share price, which is determined at the close of the NYSE on each trading day, does not accurately reflect the value of the fund’s portfolio securities. Funds investing in foreign securities have been particularly susceptible to this form of arbitrage, but other funds could also be affected.

Because of the potential harm to the fund and its long-term shareholders, the Board of the fund has approved policies and procedures that are intended to discourage and prevent excessive trading and market timing abuses through the use of various surveillance techniques. Under these policies and procedures, the fund may limit additional exchanges or purchases of fund shares by shareholders who are believed by the manager to be engaged in these abusive trading activities. The intent of the policies and procedures is not to inhibit legitimate strategies, such as asset allocation, dollar cost averaging, or similar activities that may nonetheless result in frequent trading of fund shares. For this reason, the Board has not adopted any specific restrictions on purchases and sales of fund shares, but the fund reserves the right to reject any exchange or purchase of fund shares with or without prior notice to the account holder. In cases where surveillance of a particular account establishes what the manager believes to be obvious market timing, the manager will seek to block future purchases and exchanges of fund shares by that account. Where surveillance of a particular account indicates activity that the manager believes could be either abusive or for legitimate purposes, the fund may permit the account holder to justify the activity.

 

28         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

The policies apply to any account, whether an individual account or accounts with financial intermediaries such as investment advisers, broker/dealers or retirement plan administrators, commonly called omnibus accounts, where the intermediary holds fund shares for a number of its customers in one account. The fund’s ability to monitor trading in omnibus accounts may, however, be severely limited due to the lack of access to an individual investor’s trading activity when orders are placed through these types of accounts. There may also be operational and technological limitations on the ability of the fund’s service providers to identify or terminate frequent trading activity within the various types of omnibus accounts.

The fund’s policies also require personnel such as portfolio managers and investment staff to report any abnormal or otherwise suspicious investment activity, and prohibit short-term trades by such personnel for their own account in mutual funds managed by the manager and its affiliates, other than money market funds. Additionally, the fund has adopted policies and procedures to prevent the selective release of information about the fund’s portfolio holdings, as such information may be used for market-timing and similar abusive practices.

The fund’s policies provide for ongoing assessment of the effectiveness of current policies and surveillance tools, and the Board reserves the right to modify these or adopt additional policies and restrictions in the future. Shareholders should be aware, however, that any surveillance techniques currently employed by the fund or other techniques that may be adopted in the future may not be effective particularly where the trading takes place through certain types of omnibus accounts. As noted above, if the fund is unable to detect and deter trading abuses, the fund’s performance, and its long-term shareholders, may be harmed. In addition, because the fund has not adopted any specific limitations or restrictions on the trading of fund shares, shareholders may be harmed by the extra costs and portfolio management inefficiencies that result from frequent trading of fund shares, even when the trading is not for abusive purposes. Furthermore, the fund may not apply its policies consistently or uniformly, resulting in the risk that some shareholders may be able to engage in frequent trading while others will bear the costs and effects of that trading. The fund will provide advance notice to shareholders and prospective investors of any specific restrictions on the trading of fund shares that the Board may adopt in the future.

Share certificates

Share certificates for the fund are no longer issued. If you currently hold share certificates of the fund, such certificates will continue to be honored.

Record ownership

If you hold shares through a Service Agent, your Service Agent may establish and maintain your account and be the shareholder of record. In the event that the fund holds a shareholder meeting, your Service Agent, as record holder, will vote your shares in accordance with your instructions. If you do not give your Service Agent voting instructions, your Service Agent may nonetheless, under certain circumstances, be entitled to vote your shares.

 

International All Cap Opportunity Fund         29


 

Dividends, distributions and taxes

Dividends and distributions

The fund generally pays dividends, if any, annually, and makes capital gain distributions, if any, once a year, typically in December. The fund may pay additional distributions and dividends at other times if necessary for the fund to avoid a federal tax. The fund expects distributions to be from both income and gains. Long-term capital gain distributions and dividends are reinvested in additional fund shares of the same class you hold. You do not pay a sales charge on reinvested distributions or dividends. Alternatively, you can instruct your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services to have your distributions and/or dividends paid in cash. You can change your choice at any time to be effective as of the next distribution or dividend.

Taxes

In general, redeeming shares, exchanging shares and receiving dividends and distributions (whether in cash or additional shares) are all taxable events. The following table summarizes the tax status to you of certain transactions related to the fund.

 

Transaction    Federal tax status
Redemption or exchange of shares    Usually capital gain or loss; long-term only if shares owned more than one year
 
Long-term capital gain distributions    Long-term capital gain
 
Dividends    Ordinary income, potentially taxable as long-term capital gain rates
 

Distributions attributable to short-term capital gains are treated as dividends, taxable as ordinary income. Dividends and long-term capital gain distributions are taxable whether received in cash or reinvested in fund shares. Although dividends (including dividends from short-term capital gains) are generally taxable as ordinary income, individual shareholders who satisfy certain holding period and other requirements are taxed on such dividends at long-term capital gain rates to the extent the dividends are attributable to “qualified dividend income” received by the fund. “Qualified dividend income” generally consists of dividends received from U.S. corporations (other than dividends from tax-exempt organizations and certain dividends from real estate investment trusts and regulated investment companies) and certain foreign corporations.

Long-term capital gain distributions are taxable to you as long-term capital gain regardless of how long you have owned your shares. You may want to avoid buying shares when the fund is about to declare a long-term capital gain distribution or a dividend, because it will be taxable to you even though it may actually be a return of a portion of your investment.

After the end of each year, your Service Agent or the fund will provide you with information about the distributions and dividends you received and any redemptions of shares during the previous year. If you do not provide the fund with your correct taxpayer identification number and any required certifications, you may be subject to back-up

 

30         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

withholding on your distributions, dividends and redemption proceeds. Because each shareholder’s circumstances are different and special tax rules may apply, you should consult your tax adviser about your investment in the fund.

The above discussion is applicable to shareholders who are U.S. persons. If you are a non-U.S. person, please consult your own tax adviser with respect to the U.S. tax consequences to you of an investment in the fund.

 

International All Cap Opportunity Fund         31


 

Share price

You may buy, exchange or redeem shares at their net asset value, plus any applicable sales charge, next determined after receipt of your request in good order, plus any applicable sales charge. The fund’s net asset value per share is the value of its assets minus its liabilities divided by the number of shares outstanding. Net asset value is calculated separately for each class of shares. The fund calculates its net asset value every day the NYSE is open. This calculation is done when regular trading closes on the NYSE (normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern time). The NYSE is closed on certain holidays listed in the SAI.

The Board has approved procedures to be used to value the fund’s securities for the purposes of determining the fund’s net asset value. The valuation of the securities of the fund is determined in good faith by or under the direction of the Board. The Board has delegated certain valuation functions for the fund to the manager.

The fund generally values its securities based on market prices determined at the close of regular trading on the NYSE. The fund’s currency valuations, if any, are done as of when the London Stock Exchange closes, which is usually at 12 noon Eastern time, as the manager believes that these valuations typically reflect the largest trading volume in the foreign currency markets. A material change in the value of currency during the period between the close of the London Stock Exchange and the calculation of the fund’s net asset value on the same date is considered a significant event, as described below, in response to which the fund may use fair valuation procedures to value the affected investments. For equity securities that are traded on an exchange, the market price is usually the closing sale or official closing price on that exchange. In the case of securities not traded on an exchange, or if such closing prices are not otherwise available, the market price is typically determined by independent third party pricing vendors approved by the fund’s Board using a variety of pricing techniques and methodologies. The market price for debt obligations is generally the price supplied by an independent third party pricing service approved by the fund’s board, which may use a matrix, formula or other objective method that takes into consideration market indices, yield curves and other specific adjustments. Short-term debt obligations that will mature in 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, unless it is determined that using this method would not reflect an investment’s fair value. If vendors are unable to supply a price, or if the price supplied is deemed by the manager to be unreliable, the market price may be determined using quotations received from one or more broker/dealers that make a market in the security. When such prices or quotations are not available, or when the manager believes that they are unreliable, the manager may price securities using fair value procedures approved by the Board. Because the fund invests in securities of issuers located in emerging markets — some of which may be thinly traded, for which market quotations may not be readily available or may be unreliable — the fund may use fair valuation procedures more frequently than funds that invest primarily in securities that are more liquid, such as securities of large capitalization domestic issuers. The fund may also use fair value procedures if the manager determines that a significant event has occurred between the time at which a market price is determined and the time at which the fund’s net asset value is calculated. In particular, the value of foreign securities may be materially affected by events occurring after the close of the market on which they are valued, but before the fund prices its shares. The fund uses a fair value model

 

32         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

developed by an independent third party pricing service to price foreign equity securities on days when there is a certain percentage change in the value of a domestic equity security index, as such percentage may be determined by the manager from time to time.

Valuing securities at fair value involves greater reliance on judgment than valuation of securities based on readily available market quotations. A fund that uses fair value to price securities may value those securities higher or lower than another fund using market quotations or its own fair value methodologies to price the same securities. There can be no assurance that the fund could obtain the fair value assigned to a security if it were to sell the security at approximately the time at which the fund determines its net asset value.

International markets may be open on days when U.S. markets are closed and the value of foreign securities owned by the fund could change on days when you cannot buy or redeem shares.

In order to buy, redeem or exchange shares at that day’s price, you must place your order with your Service Agent or the transfer agent before the NYSE closes. If the NYSE closes early, you must place your order prior to the actual closing time.

It is the responsibility of the Service Agents to transmit all orders to buy, exchange or redeem shares to the transfer agent on a timely basis.

 

International All Cap Opportunity Fund         33


 

Financial highlights

The financial highlights tables are intended to help you understand the performance of each class for the past 5 years. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share. Total return represents the rate that a shareholder would have earned (or lost) on a fund share assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions. The information in the following tables has been derived from the fund’s financial statements, which have been audited by                     , independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund’s financial statements, is included in the annual report (available upon request). As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares. No information is presented for Class I shares because no Class I shares were outstanding on October 31, 2006.

 

For a Class A share of capital stock outstanding throughout each year ended October 31:   
Class A Shares (1)   2006   2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net asset value, beginning of year

    $13.15     $11.58     $9.79     $11.82  
   

Income (loss) from operations:

         

Net investment income

    0.07     0.04     0.08     0.01  

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    2.04     1.62     1.71     (2.04 )
   

Total income (loss) from operations

    2.11     1.66     1.79     (2.03 )
   

Less distributions from:

         

Net investment income

    (0.03 )   (0.09 )        

Net realized gains

    (0.92 )            

Return of capital

                 
   

Total distributions

    (0.95 )   (0.09 )        
   

Net asset value, end of year

    $14.31     $13.15     $11.58     $9.79  
   

Total return (2)

    16.64 %   14.40 %   18.28 %   (17.17 )%
   

Net assets, end of year (000s)

    $126,778     $124,740     $124,187     $124,160  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

         

Gross expenses

    1.39 %   1.36 %   1.30 %   1.37 %

Net expenses

    1.39     1.31 (3)   1.30     1.37  

Net investment income

    0.54     0.33     0.81     0.06  
   

Portfolio turnover rate

    14 %   22 %   47 %   30 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower.

 

(3)   The investment manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees.

 

34         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

For a Class B share of capital stock outstanding throughout each year ended October 31:   
Class B Shares (1)   2006   2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net asset value, beginning of year

    $12.43     $10.97     $9.35     $11.38  
   

Income (loss) from operations:

         

Net investment income (loss)

    (0.04 )   (0.06 )   0.00 (2)   (0.08 )

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    1.92     1.54     1.62     (1.95 )
   

Total income (loss) from operations

    1.88     1.48     1.62     (2.03 )
   

Less distributions from:

         

Net investment income

        (0.02 )        

Net realized gains

    (0.92 )            

Return of capital

                 
   

Total distributions

    (0.92 )   (0.02 )        
   

Net asset value, end of year

    $13.39     $12.43     $10.97     $9.35  
   

Total return (3)

    15.64 %   13.46 %   17.33 %   (17.84 )%
   

Net assets, end of year (000s)

    $22,560     $26,168     $36,988     $46,919  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

         

Gross expenses

    2.22 %   2.18 %   2.04 %   2.17 %

Net expenses

    2.22     2.14 (4)   2.04     2.17  

Net investment income (loss)

    (0.28 )   (0.53 )   0.01     (0.75 )
   

Portfolio turnover rate

    14 %   22 %   47 %   30 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   Amount represents less than $0.01 per share.

 

(3)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower.

 

(4)   The investment manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees.

 

International All Cap Opportunity Fund         35


 

For a Class C share of capital stock outstanding throughout each year ended October 31:   
Class C Shares (1)(2)   2006   2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net asset value, beginning of year

    $12.17     $10.73     $9.16     $11.16  
   

Income (loss) from operations:

         

Net investment loss

    (0.05 )   (0.07 )   (0.02 )   (0.09 )

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    1.87     1.51     1.59     (1.91 )
   

Total income (loss) from operations

    1.82     1.44     1.57     (2.00 )
   

Less distributions from:

         

Net realized gains

    (0.92 )            

Return of capital

                 
   

Total distributions

    (0.92 )            
   

Net asset value, end of year

    $13.07     $12.17     $10.73     $9.16  
   

Total return (3)

    15.47 %   13.42 %   17.14 %   (17.92 )%
   

Net assets, end of year (000s)

    $53,097     $51,499     $53,177     $53,156  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

         

Gross expenses

    2.33 %   2.31 %   2.24 %   2.22 %

Net expenses

    2.33     2.25 (4)   2.24     2.22  

Net investment loss

    (0.39 )   (0.62 )   (0.17 )   (0.79 )
   

Portfolio turnover rate

    14 %   22 %   47 %   30 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   On April 29, 2004, Class L shares were renamed as Class C shares.

 

(3)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower.

 

(4)   The investment manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees.

 

36         Legg Mason Partners Fund


 

 

 

(Investment Company Act

file no. 811-06290)

FD02253 2/07

LOGO

 

Legg Mason Partners

International All Cap Opportunity Fund

You may look at the fund’s website at www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices to obtain a free copy of the Prospectus, Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) or an Annual or Semi-Annual Report, or to request other information.

Shareholder reports Additional information about the fund’s investments is available in the fund’s Annual and Semi-Annual Reports to shareholders. In the fund’s Annual Report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the fund’s performance.

The fund sends only one report to a household if more than one account has the same address. Contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services if you do not want this policy to apply to you.

Statement of additional information The SAI provides more detailed information about the fund and is incorporated by reference into (is legally a part of) this Prospectus.

You can make inquiries about the fund or obtain shareholders reports (without charge) by contacting your Service Agent, by calling Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010, (or for clients of a PFSI Registered Representative, call Primerica Shareholder Services at 800-544-5445) or by writing to the fund at Legg Mason Partners Funds, 125 Broad Street, New York, New York 10004.

Information about the fund (including the SAI) can be reviewed and copied at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “SEC”) Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. In addition, information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC at 800-SEC-0330. Reports and other information about the fund are available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s Internet site at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of this information may be obtained for a duplicating fee by electronic request at the following E-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing the SEC’s Public Reference Section, Washington, D.C. 20549-0102.

If someone makes a statement about the fund that is not in this Prospectus, you should not rely upon that information. Neither the fund nor its distributors are offering to sell shares of the fund to any person to whom the fund may not lawfully sell its shares.


April             , 2007

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

LEGG MASON PARTNERS INTERNATIONAL ALL CAP OPPORTUNITY FUND

125 Broad Street

New York, New York 10004

800-451-2010

This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) is not a Prospectus and is meant to be read in conjunction with the current Prospectus of Legg Mason Partners International All Cap Opportunity Fund (“International Fund” or the “fund”), dated [    ], 2007, as amended from time to time, and is incorporated by reference in its entirety into the fund’s Prospectus. As part of a number of initiatives launched in 2006 to restructure and streamline the Legg Mason Partners fund complex, the fund assumed the assets and liabilities of a predecessor fund with the same name. The fund is now grouped for organizational and governance purposes with other Legg Mason Partners funds that are predominantly equity-type funds, and is a series of Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”), a Massachusetts business trust. Other initiatives, including the election of a new Board and the approval of certain revised fundamental investment policies, have also been accomplished, and more information on these matters appears in this SAI. If certain remaining initiatives are accomplished, the fund will become a series of Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust, a Maryland business trust. Certain historical information contained in the SAI is that of the fund’s predecessor.

The International Fund seeks total return on its assets from growth of capital and income. The fund seeks to achieve this objective by investing primarily in a diversified portfolio of equity securities of established foreign issuers. Prior to April 7, 2006, the fund was named “International All Cap Growth Portfolio.” Prior to December 28, 2006, the fund was named “Legg Mason Partners International All Cap Growth Fund.”

There can be no assurance that the fund will achieve its investment objective.

The International Fund offers three classes of shares: Class A, Class B and Class C shares. The shares may be purchased at the next-determined net asset value per share plus a sales charge which may be imposed (i) at the time of purchase (Class A shares) and/or (ii) on a deferred basis (Class B and Class C shares). The fund offers an additional class of shares (Class I shares) without any initial or contingent deferred sales charge to institutional investors investing a minimum of $1,000,000. These alternatives permit an investor to choose the method of purchasing shares that is most beneficial given the amount of the purchase, the length of time the investor expects to hold the shares and other circumstances.

Additional information about the fund’s investments is available in the fund’s annual and semiannual reports to shareholders. The annual reports contain financial statements that are incorporated herein by reference.

Prospectuses and copies of the reports may be obtained free of charge by contacting a distributor’s financial advisor or registered representative, a broker/dealer, financial intermediary or a financial institution that has entered into an agreement with one of the fund’s distributors (each called a “Service Agent”), or by writing or calling the fund at the address or telephone number set forth above. Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC (“LMIS”), a wholly-owned broker/dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”), Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”) and PFS Investments Inc. (“PFS”) serve as distributors for the International Fund.

 

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

     Page

Management

   3

Investment Policies

   9

Additional Information

   10

Risk Factors

   29

Investment Restrictions

   36

Taxes

   41

Determination Of Net Asset Value

   48

Purchase Of Shares

   49

Redemption Of Shares

   55

Exchange Privilege

   58

Dividends And Distributions

   59

Investment Management And Other Services

   59

Portfolio Manager Disclosure

   71

Custodian And Transfer Agent

   74

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

   74

Voting

   75

Other Information About The Trust

   75

Financial Statements

   81

Appendix A—Description of Ratings

   A-1

Appendix B— Summary Of Proxy Voting Policies And Procedures For Brandywine Global Investment Management, LLC

   B-1

 

2


MANAGEMENT

The business affairs of the fund are managed by or under the direction of the Board of Trustees. The Board elects officers who are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the fund and who execute policies authorized by the Board.

The current Trustees, including the Independent Trustees, of the fund who are not “interested persons” of the fund as defined in the 1940 Act (the “Independent Trustees”) and executive officers of the fund, their birth years, their principal occupations during the past five years (their titles may have varied during that period), the number of investment companies and their portfolios associated with Legg Mason the Trustees oversee, and other board memberships they hold are set forth below. The address of each Trustee is c/o R. Jay Gerken, 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022.

The following information relates to the Trust’s recently elected Board of Trustees.

 

Name and Year of Birth

   Position(s)
with Fund
   Term of
Office* and
Length of Time
Served**
  

Principal Occupation(s)

During Past 5 Years

  

Number of

Funds in
Fund
Complex
Overseen
by Trustee

  

Other Board
Memberships
Held by Trustee
During

Past Five Years

INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES:

     

Paul R. Ades Born 1940

   Trustee    Since 1983    Law firm of Paul R. Ades, PLLC (since 2000)       None

Andrew L. Breech Born 1952

   Trustee    Since 1991    President, Dealer Operating Control Service, Inc. (automotive retail management) (since 1985)       None

Dwight B. Crane Born 1937

   Trustee    Since 1981    Professor, Harvard Business School (since 1969); Independent Consultant (since 1969)       None

Robert M. Frayn, Jr. Born 1934

   Trustee    Since 1981    Retired; formerly, President and Director, Book Publishing Co. (1970 to 2002)       None

Frank G. Hubbard Born 1937

   Trustee    Since 1993    President, Avatar International Inc. (business development) (since 1998)       None

Howard J. Johnson Born 1938

   Trustee    From 1981 to
1998 and
2000 to
Present
   Chief Executive Officer, Genesis Imaging LLC (technology company) (since 2003)       None

David E. Maryatt Born 1936

   Trustee    Since 1983    Private Investor; President and Director, ALS Co. (real estate management and development firm) (since 1993)       None

Jerome H. Miller Born 1938

   Trustee    Since 1995    Retired       None

Ken Miller Born 1942

   Trustee    Since 1983    Chairman, Young Stuff Apparel Group, Inc. (apparel manufacturer) (1963 to 2005)       None

 

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John J. Murphy Born 1944

   Trustee    Since 2002    President, Murphy Capital Management (investment advice) (since 1983)       Director,
Nicholas
Applegate
funds;
Trustee,
Consulting
Group
Capital
Markets
Funds;
formerly,
Director,
Atlantic
Stewardship
Bank (2004
to 2005);
Director,
Barclays
International
Funds
Group Ltd.
and
affiliated
companies
(to 2003)

Thomas F. Schlafly Born 1948

   Trustee    Since 1983    Of Counsel, Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin LLP (law firm) (since 1984); President, The Saint Louis Brewery, Inc. (brewery) (since 1989)       Director,
Citizens
National
Bank,
Maplewood
(2006)

Jerry A. Viscione Born 1944

   Trustee    Since 1993    Retired; formerly, Executive Vice President, Marquette University (1997 to 2002)       None

INTERESTED TRUSTEE:

           

R. Jay Gerken , CFA† Born 1951

   Trustee,
President,
Chairman
and Chief
Executive
Officer
   Since 2002    Managing Director, Legg Mason & Co., LLC (“Legg Mason & Co.”); Chairman of the Board, Trustee, or Director of [ ] funds associated with LMPFA and its affiliates; President, LMPFA (since 2006); Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its affiliates; formerly, Chairman, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”) and Citi Fund Management, Inc. (“CFM”) (2002 to 2005); formerly, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Travelers Investment Advisers Inc. (2002 to 2005)       Trustee,
Consulting
Group
Capital
Markets
Funds

* Each Trustee serves until his or her respective successor has been duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation, retirement or removal.
** Indicates the earliest year in which the Trustee became a Board member for a fund in the Legg Mason Partners fund complex.
Mr. Gerken is an “interested person”, as defined in the 1940 Act, because of his position with the manager and/or certain of its affiliates.

 

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Name, Year of Birth and Address

  

Position(s)

with Fund

   Term of Office* and
Length of Time
Served**
  

Principal Occupation(s)

During Past 5 Years

OFFICERS:

        

Ted P. Becker Born 1951

399 Park Avenue New York, NY 10022

   Chief Compliance
Officer
   Since 2006    Managing Director of Compliance at Legg Mason & Co (2005 to present); Chief Compliance Officer with certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. (since 2006); Chief Compliance Officer of LMPFA and certain affiliates; Managing Director of Compliance at Citigroup Asset Management (“CAM,” a group of affiliated investment advisers, which included Smith Barney Fund Management (“SBFM”), Smith Barney Asset Management and Citi Fund Management (“CFM”) and other affiliated investment advisory entities) (2002 to 2005). Prior to 2002, Managing Director-Internal Audit & Risk Review at Citigroup Inc.

John Chiota Born 1968

100 First Stamford Place, 5th Fl Stamford, CT 06902

   Chief Anti-Money
Laundering
Compliance
Officer
   Since 2006    Vice President of Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors (since 2004); Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. (since 2006). Prior to August 2004, Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer of TD Waterhouse.

Robert I. Frenkel Born 1954

300 First Stamford Place Stamford, CT 06902

   Secretary and
Chief Legal
Officer
   Since 2003    Managing Director and General Counsel of Global Mutual Funds for Legg Mason & Co. and its predecessors (since 2000); Secretary and Chief Legal Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. (since 2003). Previously, Secretary of CFM (2001 to 2004).

R. Jay Gerken, CFA Born 1951

399 Park Avenue New York, NY 10022

   Chairman,
President and
Chief Executive
Officer
   Since 2002    Managing Director of Legg Mason & Co.; Chairman of the Board, Trustee, or Director of 169 funds associated with LMPFA and its affiliates; Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. Previously, Chairman of SBFM and CFM (2002 to 2005); Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Travelers Investment Advisers Inc. (2002 to 2005).

Thomas C. Mandia Born 1962

300 First Stamford Place Stamford, CT 06902

   Assistant
Secretary
   Since 2000    Managing Director and Deputy General Counsel of Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors (since 1992); Assistant Secretary of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co.

Kaprel Ozsolak Born 1965

125 Broad Street, 11th Floor New York, NY 10004

   Chief Financial
Officer and
Treasurer
   Since 2004    Director of Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors; Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors. Previously, Mr. Ozsolak was Controller of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors (2002 to 2004).

* Each officer serves until his or her respective successor has been duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation, retirement or removal.
** Indicates the earliest year in which the officer took office for any funds in the Legg Mason Partners fund complex.

 

5


The Board has a standing Audit Committee, Nominating Committee and Pricing Committee. The Audit Committee and Nominating Committee are comprised of Independent Trustees. The Pricing Committee is composed of the Chairman of the Board and one Independent Trustee.

The Audit Committee oversees the scope of the fund’s audit, the fund’s accounting and financial reporting policies and practices and its internal controls. The primary purposes of the Board’s Audit Committee are to assist the Board in fulfilling its responsibility for oversight of the integrity of the accounting, auditing and financial reporting practices of the fund, the qualifications and independence of the fund’s independent registered public accounting firm, and the fund’s compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. The Audit Committee approves, and recommends to the Independent Trustees for their ratification, the selection, appointment, retention or termination of the fund’s independent registered public accounting firm and approves the compensation of the independent registered public accounting firm. The Audit Committee also approves all audit and permissible non-audit services provided to the fund by the independent registered public accounting firm and all permissible non-audit services provided by the fund’s independent registered public accounting firm to its manager and any affiliated service providers if the engagement relates directly to the fund’s operations and financial reporting.

The Governance Committee is responsible for, among other things, recommending candidates to fill vacancies on the Board. The Governance Committee may consider nominees recommended by a shareholder. Shareholders who wish to recommend a nominee should send recommendations to the Trust’s Secretary that include all information relating to such person that is required to be disclosed in solicitations of proxies for the election of Trustees. A recommendation must be accompanied by a written consent of the individual to stand for election if nominated by the Board and to serve if elected by the shareholders.

The Governance Committee identifies potential nominees through its network of contacts and may also engage, if it deems appropriate, a professional search firm. The committee meets to discuss and consider such candidates’ qualifications and then chooses a candidate by majority vote. The committee does not have specific, minimum qualifications for nominees, nor has it established specific qualities or skills that it regards as necessary for one or more of the Trustees to possess (other than any qualities or skills that may be required by applicable law, regulation or listing standard). However, in evaluating a person as a potential nominee to serve as a Trustee, the Governance Committee may consider the following factors, among any others it may deem relevant:

 

    whether or not the person is an “interested person,” as defined in the 1940 Act, and whether the person is otherwise qualified under applicable laws and regulations to serve as a Trustee;

 

    whether or not the person has any relationships that might impair his or her independence, such as any business, financial or family relationships with fund management, the investment adviser, service providers or their affiliates;

 

    whether or not the person serves on boards of, or is otherwise affiliated with, competing financial service organizations or their related mutual fund complexes;

 

    whether or not the person is willing to serve, and willing and able to commit the time necessary for the performance of the duties of a Trustee;

 

6


    the contribution which the person can make to the Board (or, if the person has previously served as a Trustee, the contribution which the person made to the Board during his or her previous term of service), with consideration being given to the person’s business and professional experience, education and such other factors as the committee may consider relevant;

 

    the character and integrity of the person; and

 

    whether or not the selection and nomination of the person would be consistent with the requirements of the retirement policies of the Trust, as applicable.

The Pricing Committee is charged with determining the fair value prices for securities when required.

As indicated above, the Trust’s Board is recently elected and is newly constituted as the Board that oversees all of the equity-type funds in the fund complex. All members of the Board previously have served on Boards of Legg Mason Partners funds. The Audit, Governance and Pricing Committees are recently established committees of this Board and did not meet during the fund’s last fiscal year.

The following table shows the amount of equity securities owned by the Trustees in the fund and other investment companies in the fund complex supervised by the Trustees as of December 31, 2006.

 

Name of Trustee

   Dollar Range
of Equity
Securities in
the Fund
  

Aggregate Dollar Range
of Equity Securities In
Registered Investment
Companies Overseen

by Trustee

Independent Trustees

     

Paul R. Ades

     

Andrew L. Breech

     

Dwight B. Crane

     

Robert M. Frayn, Jr

     

Frank G. Hubbard

     

Howard J. Johnson

     

David E. Maryatt

     

Jerome H. Miller

     

Ken Miller

     

John J. Murphy

     

Thomas F. Schlafly

     

Jerry A. Viscione

     

Interested Trustee

     

R. Jay Gerken

     

[As of December 31, 2006, none of the Independent Trustees or their immediate family members owned beneficially or of record any securities of the manager, subadviser or distributors of the fund, or in a person (other than a registered investment company) directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with the manager, subadviser or distributors of the fund.]

Information regarding compensation paid to the Trustees by the fund for the calendar year ended December 31, 2006 is set forth below. The Independent Trustees receive a fee for each meeting of the fund’s Board of Trustees and committee meetings attended and are reimbursed for all out-of-pocket expenses relating to attendance at such meetings. Mr. Gerken, an “interested person,” as defined in the 1940 Act, does not receive compensation from the fund for his service as trustee, but may be reimbursed for all out-of-pocket expenses relating to attendance at such meetings.

 

7


The fund pays a pro rata share of the Trustee fees based upon asset size. The fund currently pays each of the Trustees who is not a director, officer or employee of the manager or any of its affiliates its pro rata share of: an annual fee of [$    ] plus [$    ] for each regularly scheduled Board meeting attended, [$    ] for each special telephonic Board meeting attended, and [$    ] for each adhoc telephonic meeting in which that trustee participates. The lead independent trustee will receive an additional [$    ] per year and the Chairs of the Audit Committee and Governance Committee will each receive an additional [$    ] per year. The fund will reimburse Trustees for travel and out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with Board meetings.

 

Name of Trustee

  

Aggregate
Compensation
from the

Fund(1) (2)

   Total Pension or
Retirement
Benefits Paid
as Part of Fund
Expenses(1) (3)
   Total
Compensation
from Fund
Complex Paid
to Trustee(1) (2)
   Number of
Portfolios in
Fund
Complex
Overseen by
Trustee(1)

Independent Trustees

           

Paul R. Ades

           

Andrew L. Breech

           

Dwight B. Crane

           

Robert M. Frayn, Jr

           

Frank G. Hubbard

           

Howard J. Johnson

           

David E. Maryatt

           

Jerome H. Miller

           

Ken Miller

           

John J. Murphy

           

Thomas F. Schlafly

           

Jerry A. Viscione

           

Interested Trustee

           

R. Jay Gerken

           

(1) Information is for the calendar year ended December 31, 2006. The disclosure of compensation paid to the Trustees is provided as of the most recent calendar year end, rather than the fund’s most recent fiscal year end, for ease of presentation and comprehension.
(2) In addition to the amounts set forth above, Messrs. Frankel, Gellert and Greeven and Ms. Heilbron received $ , $ , $ , and $ , respectively, during the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, for services as Directors in attending additional meetings relating to the approval of policies and procedures under Rule 38a-1 under the 1940 Act, certain other regulatory issues and the consideration of new custody, transfer agency, and accounting arrangements for the Company. These amounts were borne by the manager and/or its affiliates and not by the fund.
(3) Pursuant to a prior emeritus retirement plan, Mr. Crane has received or is entitled to receive, in a lump sum (calculated on a net present value basis) or in quarterly installments, an aggregate benefit having a net present value equal to [$              ]. Mr. Crane elected to receive the benefit in a lump sum payment. Each fund formerly overseen by Mr. Crane will pay a pro rata share (based upon asset size) of the aggregate benefit to Mr. Crane. Legg Mason or its affiliates have agreed to reimburse these funds an amount equal to 50% of the benefits paid to Mr. Crane.

 

8


The following table shows the compensation paid to each Trustee during the last fiscal year by the fund’s predecessor (such persons were referred to as Directors of the fund’s predecessor). None of the officers of the fund’s predecessor received any compensation from the fund’s predecessor for such period. The fund currently does not provide any pension or retirement benefits to the Trustees or officers.

 

Name of Person

   Aggregate
Compensation
FYE 10/31/06
   Total Pension or
Retirement
Benefits Accrued
as Part of Fund
Expenses (2)(3)
   Compensation from
Company and
Fund Complex
FYE 10/31/06
   Number of
Funds for Which
Trustee Serves
Within Fund
Complex

Robert A. Frankel

   $                             $ 0    $                        

Michael E. Gellert

   $      $ 0    $     

Rainer Greeven

   $      $ 0    $     

Susan M. Heilbron

   $      $ 0    $     

R. Jay Gerken (1)

   $      $ 0    $     

(1) Mr. Gerken was not compensated for his service as Trustee because of his affiliation with the manager.
(2) [In addition to the amounts set forth above, Messrs. Frankel, Gellert and Greeven and Ms. Heilbron received $ , $ , $ , and $ , respectively, during the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, for services as Trustees in attending additional meetings relating to the approval of policies and procedures under Rule 38a-1 under the 1940 Act, certain other regulatory issues and the consideration of new custody, transfer agency, and accounting arrangements. These amounts were borne by the manager and/or its affiliates and not by the fund.]
(3) Pursuant to emeritus retirement plans, the following former Independent Trustees have received or are entitled to receive benefits (calculated on a net present value basis) as follows:              : $              ;              : $              ; and              : $              . These benefits are paid in quarterly installments unless the Trustee elected to receive them in a lump sum at net present value. The fund or will pay its pro rata share (based upon asset size) of these aggregate benefits. Legg Mason or its affiliates have agreed to reimburse the fund an amount equal to 50% of these benefits.

The Declaration of Trust of the Trust provides that the Trust will indemnify its Trustees and officers against liabilities and expenses incurred in connection with litigation in which they may be involved because of their offices with the Trust, unless, as to liability to the Trust, or its investors, it is finally adjudicated that they engaged in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in their offices, or unless with respect to any other matter it is finally adjudicated that they did not act in good faith in the reasonable belief that their actions were in the best interests of the Trust. In the case of settlement, such indemnification will not be provided unless it has been determined by a court or other body approving the settlement or other disposition or a reasonable determination, based upon a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial-type inquiry) that such officers or Trustees have not engaged in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of their duties. Rights to indemnification or insurance cannot be limited retroactively.

The Declaration of Trust further provides that (i) the appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee as a member or chairperson of a committee of the Trustees, an expert on any topic or in any area (including an audit committee financial expert), or the lead Independent Trustee, or any other special appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee, shall not impose on that individual any duty, obligation or liability that is greater than the duties, obligations and liability imposed on that person as a Trustee in the absence of the appointment, designation or identification (except with respect to duties expressly imposed pursuant to the by-laws of the Trust, a committee charter or a Trust policy statement), (ii) no Trustee who has special skills or expertise, or is appointed, designated or identified shall be held to a higher standard of care by virtue thereof and (iii) no appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee shall affect in any way that Trustee’s rights to indemnification.

Each Legg Mason Partners fund overseen by an emeritus or retiring Trustee will pay a pro rata share (based upon asset size) of the aggregate benefit to such emeritus or retiring Trustee. Legg Mason or its affiliates will reimburse each fund an amount equal to 50% of the emeritus and retiring Trustee benefits paid by such fund.

As of             , 2006, all Trustees and officers as a group owned less than 1% of the outstanding shares of the fund.

To the knowledge of the fund, as of [            ], 2007, the following shareholders or “groups” (as such term is defined in Section 13(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) owned beneficially or of record 5% or more of the shares of the following classes:

[To be updated by amendment]

INVESTMENT POLICIES

Currently, the fund’s investment objectives may be changed only by the “vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities” as defined in the 1940 Act. The fund’s investment objectives may be changed without shareholder approval. The fund’s investment policies are nonfundamental, and thus may be changed by the Board, provided such change is not prohibited by the fund’s fundamental investment restrictions (described under “Investment Restrictions”) or applicable law, and any such change is first disclosed in the then-current Prospectus. Refer to “Investment Practices” and “Risk Factors” for further information on the fund’s investments.

Under unusual economic or market conditions as determined by the fund’s subadviser, for defensive purposes, the fund may depart from its principal investment strategies and temporarily invest all or any portion of its assets in all types of money market and short-term debt securities (including U.S. money market securities) or cash. To the extent the fund’s assets are invested for temporary defensive purposes, they will not be invested in a manner designed to achieve the fund’s investment objective.

Although the following investment policies may be changed without shareholder approval, the fund has adopted a policy to provide its shareholders with at least 60 days’ prior notice of any change in its 80% investment policy.

 

9


Principal Investment Strategies

The fund invests primarily in equity securities of foreign companies. Equity securities include exchange traded and over-the-counter common stocks and preferred shares, debt securities convertible into equity securities, and warrants and rights relating to equity securities.

The portfolio managers emphasize individual security selection while diversifying the fund’s investments across regions and countries which can help to reduce risk. While the portfolio managers select investments primarily for their capital appreciation potential, some investments have an income component as well. Companies in which the fund invests may have large, mid or small size market capitalizations and may operate in any market sector. Market conditions around the world change constantly as does the location of potential investment opportunities. Depending on the portfolio managers’ assessment of overseas potential for long-term growth, the fund’s emphasis among foreign markets (including emerging markets) and types of issuers may vary.

Under normal market conditions, the fund invests at least 80% of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in a diversified portfolio of equity securities consisting of dividend and non-dividend paying common stock, preferred stock, convertible debt and rights and warrants to obtain such securities, and may invest up to 20% of the fund’s assets in bonds, notes and other debt securities (consisting of securities issued in the Eurocurrency markets, obligations of the United States or foreign governments and their political sub-divisions or established non-United States issuers).

In seeking to achieve its objective, the fund presently expects to invest its assets primarily in common stocks of established non-United States companies which in the opinion of the fund’s portfolio managers have potential for growth of capital.

Except as otherwise provided, the fund will invest at least 80% of its assets in companies organized or governments located in any area of the world other than the United States, such as the Far East ( e.g ., Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia), Western Europe ( e.g ., United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, France, Italy, Switzerland), Eastern Europe ( e.g ., the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and the countries of the former Soviet Union), Central and South America ( e.g ., Mexico, Chile, and Venezuela), Australia, Canada and such other areas and countries as the fund’s subadviser may determine from time to time. Allocation of the fund’s investments will depend upon the relative attractiveness of the international markets and particular issuers. Concentration of the fund’s assets in one or a few countries or currencies will subject the fund to greater risks than if the fund’s assets were not geographically concentrated.

It is expected that fund securities will ordinarily be traded on a stock exchange or other market in the country in which the issuer is principally based, but may also be traded on markets in other countries including, in many cases, United States securities exchanges and over-the-counter markets.

To the extent that the fund’s assets are not otherwise invested as described above, the assets may be held in cash, in any currency, or invested in U.S. and foreign high quality money market instruments and equivalents.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The fund’s principal investment strategies are described above. The following provides additional information about these principal strategies and describes other investment strategies that may be used by the fund, as specified below. Each of the following investment practices is subject to the limitations set forth under “Investment Restrictions.”

EQUITY SECURITIES

Common Stocks . The fund may purchase common stocks. Common stocks are shares of a corporation or other entity that entitle the holder to a pro rata share of the profits of the corporation, if any, without preference

 

10


over any other shareholder or class of shareholders, including holders of the entity’s preferred stock and other senior equity. Common stock usually carries with it the right to vote and frequently an exclusive right to do so.

Preferred Stocks and Convertible Securities . The fund may invest in convertible debt and preferred stocks. Convertible debt securities and preferred stock entitle the holder to acquire the issuer’s stock by exchange or purchase for a predetermined rate. Convertible securities are subject both to the credit and interest rate risks associated with fixed income securities and to the stock market risk associated with equity securities.

Warrants . The fund may purchase warrants. Warrants acquired by the fund entitle it to buy common stock from the issuer at a specified price and time. Warrants are subject to the same market risks as stocks, but may be more volatile in price. The fund’s investment in warrants will not entitle it to receive dividends or exercise voting rights and will become worthless if the warrants cannot be profitably exercised before the expiration dates.

REITs . The fund may invest in shares of real estate investment trusts (REITs), which are pooled investment vehicles that invest in real estate or real estate loans or interests. REITs are dependent upon management skills, are not diversified, and are subject to risks of project financing, default by borrowers, self-liquidation, and the possibility of failing to qualify for the exemption from taxation on distributed amounts under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”).

Illiquid and Restricted Securities . The fund may invest up to 15% of its net assets in securities (excluding those subject to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”)), with contractual or other restrictions on resale and other instruments that are not readily marketable. Some restricted securities can be offered and sold to “qualified institutional buyers” under Rule 144A under the 1933 Act. The Board may determine, based upon a continuing review of the trading markets for a specific restricted security, that such restricted securities are liquid and therefore not subject to the fund’s restriction on illiquid investments. The Board has adopted guidelines and delegated to management the daily function of determining and monitoring liquidity of restricted securities available pursuant to Rule 144A. The Board, however, retains sufficient oversight and is ultimately responsible for the determinations. Since it is not possible to predict with assurance exactly how the market for Rule 144A restricted securities will develop, the Board will carefully monitor the fund’s investments in these securities, focusing on such important factors, among others, as valuation, liquidity and availability of information. Investments in restricted securities could have the effect of increasing the level of illiquidity in the fund to the extent that qualified institutional buyers become for a time uninterested in purchasing these restricted securities.

American Depository Receipts (“ADRs”), European Depository Receipts (“EDRs”) and Global Depository Receipts (“GDRs”) . The fund may purchase ADRs, EDRs and GDRs or other securities representing underlying shares of foreign companies. ADRs are publicly traded on exchanges or over-the-counter in the United States and are issued through “sponsored” or “unsponsored” arrangements. In a sponsored ADR arrangement, the foreign issuer assumes the obligation to pay some or all of the depository’s transaction fees, whereas under an unsponsored arrangement, the foreign issuer assumes no obligation and the depository’s transaction fees are paid by the ADR holders. In addition, less information is available in the United States about an unsponsored ADR than about a sponsored ADR, and the financial information about a company may not be as reliable for an unsponsored ADR as it is for a sponsored ADR. The fund may invest in ADRs through both sponsored and unsponsored arrangements. Generally, ADRs, in registered form, are designed for use in U.S. securities markets and EDRs and GDRs, in bearer form, are designed for use in European and global securities markets. ADRs are receipts typically issued by a U.S. bank or trust company evidencing ownership of the underlying securities. EDRs and GDRs are European and global receipts, respectively, evidencing a similar arrangement.

Investment Companies . The fund may from time to time invest in securities of other investment companies, subject to applicable statutory and regulatory limitations. The return on such investments will be reduced by the operating expenses, including investment advisory and administration fees, of such investment funds, and will be further reduced by fund expenses, including management fees; that is, there will be a layering of certain fees and

 

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expenses. Investment in closed-end investment companies also may involve the payment of substantial premiums above, and upon sale there may be substantial market discounts below, the value of such companies’ portfolio securities. The fund does not intend to invest in such vehicles or funds unless the fund’s subadviser determines that the potential benefits of such investment justify the payment of any applicable premiums.

Index-Related Securities . The fund may invest in certain types of securities that enable investors to purchase or sell shares in a portfolio of securities that seeks to track the performance of an underlying index or a portion of an index (“Equity Equivalents”). Such Equity Equivalents include, among others, DIAMONDS (interests in a portfolio of securities that seeks to track the performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average), SPDRs or Standard & Poor’s Depository Receipts (interests in a portfolio of securities that seeks to track the performance of the S&P 500 Index), and the Nasdaq-100 Trust (interests in a portfolio of securities of the largest and most actively traded non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market). Such securities are similar to index mutual funds, but they are traded on various stock exchanges or secondary markets. The value of these securities is dependent upon the performance of the underlying index on which they are based. Thus, these securities are subject to the same risks as their underlying indexes as well as the securities that make up those indexes. For example, if the securities comprising an index that an index-related security seeks to track perform poorly, the index-related security will lose value.

Equity Equivalents may be used for several purposes, including to simulate full investment in the underlying index while retaining a cash balance for fund management purposes, to facilitate trading, to reduce transaction costs or to seek higher investment returns where an Equity Equivalent is priced more attractively than securities in the underlying index. Because the expense associated with an investment in Equity Equivalents may be substantially lower than the expense of small investments directly in the securities comprising the indices they seek to track, investments in Equity Equivalents may provide a cost-effective means of diversifying the fund’s assets across a broad range of equity securities.

To the extent the fund invests in securities of other investment companies, fund shareholders would indirectly pay a portion of the operating costs of such companies in addition to the expenses of its own operation. These costs include management, brokerage, shareholder servicing and other operational expenses. Indirectly, if the fund invests in Equity Equivalents, shareholders may pay higher operational costs than if they owned the underlying investment companies directly. Additionally, the fund’s investments in such investment companies are subject to limitations under the 1940 Act and market availability.

The prices of Equity Equivalents are derived and based upon the securities held by the particular investment company. Accordingly, the level of risk involved in the purchase or sale of an Equity Equivalent is similar to the risk involved in the purchase or sale of traditional common stock, with the exception that the pricing mechanism for such instruments is based on a basket of stocks. The market prices of Equity Equivalents are expected to fluctuate in accordance with both changes in the net asset values of their underlying indices and the supply and demand for the instruments on the exchanges on which they are traded. Substantial market or other disruptions affecting an Equity Equivalent could adversely affect the liquidity and value of fund shares.

FIXED INCOME SECURITIES

High Yield Securities. The fund may invest up to 20% of its assets in domestic and foreign “high yield” securities, commonly known as “junk bonds.” Under rating agency guidelines, medium- and lower-rated securities and comparable unrated securities will likely have some quality and protective characteristics that are

 

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outweighed by large uncertainties or major risk exposures to adverse conditions. Medium- and lower-rated securities may have poor prospects of ever attaining any real investment standing, may have a current identifiable vulnerability to default or be in default, may be unlikely to have the capacity to pay interest and repay principal when due in the event of adverse business, financial or economic conditions, and/or may be likely to be in default or not current in the payment of interest or principal. Such securities are considered speculative with respect to the issuer’s capacity to pay interest and repay principal in accordance with the terms of the obligations. Accordingly, it is possible that these types of factors could reduce the value of securities held by the fund with a commensurate effect on the value of the fund’s shares.

Changes by recognized rating services in their ratings of any fixed income security and in the ability of an issuer to make payments of interest and principal may also affect the value of these investments. A description of the ratings used by Moody’s and S&P is set forth in Appendix A. The ratings of Moody’s and S&P generally represent the opinions of those organizations as to the quality of the securities that they rate. Such ratings, however, are relative and subjective, are not absolute standards of quality, are subject to change and do not evaluate the market risk or liquidity of the securities. Ratings of a non-U.S. debt instrument, to the extent that those ratings are undertaken, are related to evaluations of the country in which the issuer of the instrument is located. Ratings generally take into account the currency in which a non-U.S. debt instrument is denominated. Instruments issued by a foreign government in other than the local currency, for example, typically have a lower rating than local currency instruments due to the existence of an additional risk that the government will be unable to obtain the required foreign currency to service its foreign currency-denominated debt. In general, the ratings of debt securities or obligations issued by a non-U.S. public or private entity will not be higher than the rating of the currency or the foreign currency debt of the central government of the country in which the issuer is located, regardless of the intrinsic creditworthiness of the issuer.

The secondary markets for high yield securities are not as liquid as the secondary markets for higher rated securities. The secondary markets for high yield securities are concentrated in relatively few market makers and participants in the market are mostly institutional investors, including insurance companies, banks, other financial institutions and mutual funds. In addition, the trading volume for high yield securities is generally lower than that for higher-rated securities and the secondary markets could contract under adverse market or economic conditions independent of any specific adverse changes in the condition of a particular issuer. These factors may have an adverse effect on the ability of a fund holding such securities to dispose of particular portfolio investments, may adversely affect the fund’s net asset value per share and may limit the ability of the fund to obtain accurate market quotations for purposes of valuing securities and calculating net asset value. If the fund is not able to obtain precise or accurate market quotations for a particular security, it will become more difficult to value the fund’s portfolio securities, and a greater degree of judgment may be necessary in making such valuations. Less liquid secondary markets may also affect the ability of the fund to sell securities at their fair value. If the secondary markets for high yield securities contract due to adverse economic conditions or for other reasons, certain liquid securities in the fund’s portfolio may become illiquid and the proportion of the fund’s assets invested in illiquid securities may significantly increase.

Prices for high yield securities may be affected by legislative and regulatory developments. These laws could adversely affect the fund’s net asset value and investment practices, the secondary market for high yield securities, the financial condition of issuers of these securities and the value of outstanding high yield securities. For example, federal legislation requiring the divestiture by federally insured savings and loan associations of their investments in high yield bonds and limiting the deductibility of interest by certain corporate issuers of high yield bonds adversely affected the market in recent years.

While the market values of securities rated below investment grade and comparable unrated securities tend to react less to fluctuations in interest rate levels than do those of higher-rated securities, the values of certain of these securities also tend to be more sensitive to individual corporate developments and changes in economic conditions than higher-rated securities. In addition, such securities present a higher degree of credit risk. Issuers of these securities are often highly leveraged and may not have more traditional methods of financing available

 

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to them, so that their ability to service their debt obligations during an economic downturn or during sustained periods of rising interest rates may be impaired. The risk of loss due to default by such issuers is significantly greater than with investment grade securities because such securities generally are unsecured and subordinated to the prior payment of senior indebtedness. The fund also may incur additional expenses to the extent that it is required to seek recovery upon a default in the payment of principal or interest on its portfolio holdings.

The development of a market for high yield non-U.S. corporate securities has been a relatively recent phenomenon. On the other hand, the market for high yield U.S. corporate debt securities is more established than that for high yield non-U.S. corporate debt securities, but has undergone significant changes in the past and may undergo significant changes in the future.

High yield non-U.S. and U.S. corporate securities in which the fund may invest include bonds, debentures, notes, commercial paper and preferred stock and will generally be unsecured. Most of the debt securities will bear interest at fixed rates. However, the fund may also invest in corporate debt securities with variable rates of interest or which involve equity features, such as contingent interest or participations based on revenues, sales or profits ( i.e ., interest or other payments, often in addition to a fixed rate of return, that are based on the borrower’s attainment of specified levels of revenues, sales or profits and thus enable the holder of the security to share in the potential success of the venture).

High Yield Foreign Sovereign Debt Securities . Investing in fixed and floating rate high yield foreign sovereign debt securities, especially in emerging market countries, will expose funds investing in such securities to the direct or indirect consequences of political, social or economic changes in the countries that issue the securities or in which the issuers are located. The ability and willingness of sovereign obligors in developing and emerging market countries or the governmental authorities that control repayment of their external debt to pay principal and interest on such debt when due may depend on general economic and political conditions within the relevant country. Certain countries in which the fund may invest, especially emerging market countries, have historically experienced, and may continue to experience, high rates of inflation, high interest rates, exchange rate trade difficulties and extreme poverty and unemployment. Many of these countries are also characterized by political uncertainty or instability. Additional factors which may influence the ability or willingness to service debt include, but are not limited to, a country’s cash flow situation, the availability of sufficient foreign exchange on the date a payment is due, the relative size of its debt service burden to the economy as a whole, and its government’s policy towards the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other international agencies.

The ability of a foreign sovereign obligor, especially in emerging market countries, to make timely payments on its external debt obligations will also be strongly influenced by the obligor’s balance of payments, including export performance, its access to international credits and investments, fluctuations in interest rates and the extent of its foreign reserves. A country whose exports are concentrated in a few commodities or whose economy depends on certain strategic imports could be vulnerable to fluctuations in international prices of these commodities or imports. To the extent that a country receives payment for its exports in currencies other than U.S. dollars, its ability to make debt payments denominated in U.S. dollars could be adversely affected. If a foreign sovereign obligor cannot generate sufficient earnings from foreign trade to service its external debt, it may need to depend on continuing loans and aid from foreign governments, commercial banks and multilateral organizations, and inflows of foreign investment. The commitment on the part of these foreign governments, multilateral organizations and others to make such disbursements may be conditioned on the government’s implementation of economic reforms and/or economic performance and the timely service of its obligations. Failure to implement such reforms, achieve such levels of economic performance or repay principal or interest when due may result in the cancellation of such third parties’ commitments to lend funds, which may further impair the obligor’s ability or willingness to timely service its debts. The cost of servicing external debt will also generally be adversely affected by rising international interest rates, because many external debt obligations bear interest at rates which are adjusted based upon international interest rates. The ability to service external debt will also depend on the level of the relevant government’s international currency reserves and its access to foreign exchange. Currency devaluation may affect the ability of a sovereign obligor to obtain sufficient foreign

 

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exchange to service its external debt. The risks enumerated above are particularly heightened with regard to issuers in emerging market countries.

As a result of the foregoing, a governmental obligor, especially in an emerging market country, may default on its obligations. If such an event occurs, a fund may have limited legal recourse against the issuer and/or guarantor. Remedies must, in some cases, be pursued in the courts of the defaulting party itself, and the ability of the holder of foreign sovereign debt securities to obtain recourse may be subject to the political climate in the relevant country. In addition, no assurance can be given that the holders of commercial bank debt will not contest payments to the holders of other foreign sovereign debt obligations in the event of default under their commercial bank loan agreements.

Sovereign obligors in developing and emerging market countries are among the world’s largest debtors to commercial banks, other governments, international financial organizations and other financial institutions. These obligors have in the past experienced substantial difficulties in servicing their external debt obligations, which led to defaults on certain obligations and the restructuring of certain indebtedness. Restructuring arrangements have included, among other things, reducing and rescheduling interest and principal payments by negotiating new or amended credit agreements or converting outstanding principal and unpaid interest to Brady Bonds, and obtaining new credit to finance interest payments. Holders of certain foreign sovereign debt securities may be requested to participate in the restructuring of such obligations and to extend further loans to their issuers. There can be no assurance that the Brady Bonds and other foreign sovereign debt securities in which the fund may invest will not be subject to similar restructuring arrangements or to requests for new credit which may adversely affect the fund’s holdings. Furthermore, certain participants in the secondary market for such debt may be directly involved in negotiating the terms of these arrangements and may therefore have access to information not available to other market participants.

Corporate Debt Obligations . The fund may invest in corporate debt obligations and zero coupon securities issued by financial institutions and corporations. Corporate debt obligations are subject to the risk of an issuer’s inability to meet principal and interest payments on the obligations and may also be subject to price volatility due to such factors as market interest rates, market perception of the creditworthiness of the issuer and general market liquidity. Zero coupon securities are securities sold at a discount to par value and on which interest payments are not made during the life of the security.

U.S. Government Securities . The U.S. Government securities in which the fund may invest include bills, certificates of indebtedness, and notes and bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury or by agencies or instrumentalities of the U.S. Government. Some U.S. Government securities, such as U.S. Treasury bills and bonds, are supported by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Treasury; others are supported by the right of the issuer to borrow from the U.S. Treasury; others, such as those of the Federal National Mortgage Association, are supported by the discretionary authority of the U.S. Government to purchase the agency’s obligations; still others, such as those of the Student Loan Marketing Association and the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (“FHLMC”), are supported only by the credit of the instrumentality.

Mortgage-Backed and Asset-Backed Securities.  The fund may invest in mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities. Mortgage-related securities may be issued by private companies or by agencies of the U.S. Government and represent direct or indirect participations in, or are collateralized by and payable from, mortgage loans secured by real property. Asset-backed securities represent participations in, or are secured by and payable from, assets such as installment sales or loan contracts, leases, credit card receivables and other categories of receivables. Certain debt instruments may only pay principal at maturity or may only represent the right to receive payments of principal or payments of interest on underlying pools of mortgages, assets or government securities, but not both. The value of these types of instruments may change more drastically than debt securities that pay both principal and interest. The fund may obtain a below market yield or incur a loss on such instruments during periods of declining interest rates. Principal only and interest only instruments are subject to extension risk. For mortgage derivatives and structured securities that have imbedded leverage features, small

 

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changes in interest or prepayment rates may cause large and sudden price movements. Mortgage derivatives can also become illiquid and hard to value in declining markets.

Sovereign Debt Obligations . The fund may purchase sovereign debt instruments issued or guaranteed by foreign governments or their agencies, including debt of developing countries. Sovereign debt may be in the form of conventional securities or other types of debt instruments such as loans or loan participations. Governmental entities responsible for repayment of the debt may be unable or unwilling to repay principal and interest when due, and may require renegotiation or rescheduling of debt payments. In addition, prospects for repayment of principal and interest may depend on political as well as economic factors. Although some sovereign debt, such as Brady Bonds, is collateralized by U.S. Government securities, repayment of principal and interest is not guaranteed by the U.S. Government.

Loans and Other Direct Debt Instruments . The fund may purchase interests in amounts owed by a corporate, governmental, or other borrower to another party. These interests may represent amounts owed to lenders or lending syndicates (loans and loan participations), to suppliers of goods or services (trade claims or other receivables), or to other parties. Direct debt instruments involve the risk of loss in case of default or insolvency of the borrower and may offer less legal protection to the fund in the event of fraud or misrepresentation. In addition, loan participations involve a risk of insolvency of the lending bank or other financial intermediary. Direct debt instruments may also include standby financing commitments that obligate the fund to supply additional cash to the borrower on demand.

Floating and Variable Rate Income Securities . The fund may invest in floating and variable rate income securities. Income securities may provide for floating or variable rate interest or dividend payments. The floating or variable rate may be determined by reference to a known lending rate, such as a bank’s prime rate, a certificate of deposit rate or the London Inter-Bank Offered Rate (LIBOR). Alternatively, the rate may be determined through an auction or remarketing process. The rate also may be indexed to changes in the values of interest rate or securities indexes, currency exchange rates or other commodities. The amount by which the rate paid on an income security may increase or decrease may be subject to periodic or lifetime caps. Floating and variable rate income securities include securities whose rates vary inversely with changes in market rates of interest. Such securities may also pay a rate of interest determined by applying a multiple to the variable rate. The extent of increases and decreases in the value of securities whose rates vary inversely with changes in market rates of interest generally will be larger than comparable changes in the value of an equal principal amount of a fixed rate security having similar credit quality, redemption provisions and maturity. Such securities include variable rate master demand notes (see “Commercial Paper” below).

Zero Coupon, Discount and Payment-in-kind Securities . The fund may invest in “zero coupon” and other deep discount securities of governmental or private issuers. Zero coupon securities generally pay no cash interest (or dividends in the case of preferred stock) to their holders prior to maturity. Payment in kind securities allow the lender, at its option, to make current interest payments on such securities either in cash or in additional securities. Accordingly, such securities usually are issued and traded at a deep discount from their face or par value and generally are subject to greater fluctuations of market value in response to changing interest rates than securities of comparable maturities and credit quality that pay cash interest (or dividends in the case of preferred stock) on a current basis.

Premium Securities . The fund may invest in income securities bearing coupon rates higher than prevailing market rates. Such “premium” securities are typically purchased at prices greater than the principal amounts payable on maturity. In such cases the purchase of such securities provides the fund a higher level of investment income distributable to shareholders on a current basis than if the fund purchased securities bearing current market rates of interest. If securities purchased by the fund at a premium are called or sold prior to maturity, the fund will recognize a capital loss to the extent the call or sale price is less than the purchase price. Additionally, the fund will recognize a capital loss if it holds such securities to maturity.

 

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Yankee Bonds. The fund may invest in U.S. dollar denominated bonds sold in the United States by non-U.S. issuers (“Yankee bonds”). As compared with bonds issued in the United States, such bond issues normally carry a higher interest rate but are less actively traded.

Loan Participations and Assignments. The fund may invest in loan participations (“Participations”). By purchasing a Participation, the fund acquires some or all of the interest of a bank or other lending institution in a loan to a corporate or government borrower. The Participations typically will result in the fund’s having a contractual relationship only with the lender and not with the borrower. The fund will have the right to receive payments of principal, interest and any fees to which it is entitled only from the lender selling the Participation and only upon receipt by the lender of the payments from the borrower. In connection with purchasing Participations, the fund generally will have no right to enforce compliance by the borrower with the terms of the loan agreement relating to the loan, nor any rights of set off against the borrower, and the fund may not directly benefit from any collateral supporting the loan in which it has purchased the Participation. As a result, the fund will assume the credit risk of both the borrower and the lender that is selling the Participation. In the event of the insolvency of the lender selling a Participation, the fund may be treated as a general creditor of the lender and may not benefit from any set off between the lender and the borrower. The fund will acquire Participations only if the lender interpositioned between the fund and the borrower is determined by the fund’s subadviser to be creditworthy.

The fund also may invest in assignments of portions of loans from third parties (“Assignments”). When it purchases Assignments from lenders, the fund will acquire direct rights against the borrower on the loan. However, since Assignments are arranged through private negotiations between potential assignees and assignors, the rights and obligations acquired by the fund as the purchaser of an Assignment may differ from, and be more limited than, those held by the assigning lender. The fund may have difficulty disposing of Assignments and Participations. The liquidity of such securities is limited, and the fund anticipates that such securities could be sold only to a limited number of institutional investors. The lack of a liquid secondary market could have an adverse impact on the value of such securities and on the fund’s ability to dispose of particular Assignments or Participations when necessary to meet the fund’s liquidity needs or in response to a specific economic event, such as a deterioration in the creditworthiness of the borrower. The lack of a liquid secondary market for Assignments and Participations also may make it more difficult for the fund to assign a value to those securities for purposes of valuing the fund’s portfolio and calculating its net asset value.

Short-Term Investments. In certain circumstances the fund may invest without limitation in all types of short-term money market instruments, including U.S. Government securities; certificates of deposit, time deposits and bankers’ acceptances issued by domestic banks (including their branches located outside the United States and subsidiaries located in Canada), domestic branches of foreign banks, savings and loan associations and similar institutions; high grade commercial paper; and repurchase agreements. To the extent a fund is investing in short-term investments as a temporary defensive posture, the fund’s investment objective may not be achieved.

Commercial Paper. Commercial paper consists of short-term (usually from 1 to 270 days) unsecured promissory notes issued by corporations in order to finance their current operations. A variable amount master demand note (which is a type of commercial paper) represents a direct borrowing arrangement involving periodically fluctuating rates of interest under a letter agreement between a commercial paper issuer and an institutional lender, such as a fund, pursuant to which the lender may determine to invest varying amounts. Transfer of such notes is usually restricted by the issuer, and there is no secondary trading market for such notes. The fund, therefore, may not invest in a master demand note, if as a result more than 15% of the value of the fund’s net assets would be invested in such notes and other illiquid securities.

Commercial Bank Obligations. For the purposes of the fund’s investment policies with respect to bank obligations, obligations of foreign branches of U.S. banks and of foreign banks may be general obligations of the parent bank in addition to the issuing bank, or may be limited by the terms of a specific obligation and by government regulation. As with investment in foreign securities in general, investments in the obligations of

 

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foreign branches of U.S. banks and of foreign banks may subject the fund to investment risks that are different in some respects from those of investments in obligations of domestic issuers. Although the fund will typically acquire obligations issued and supported by the credit of U.S. or foreign banks having total assets at the time of purchase in excess of U.S. $1 billion (or the equivalent thereof), this U.S. $1 billion figure is not a fundamental investment policy or restriction of the fund. For calculation purposes with respect to the U.S. $1 billion figure, the assets of a bank will be deemed to include the assets of its U.S. and foreign branches.

DERIVATIVE CONTRACTS

Options, Futures and Currencies . The fund may use forward currency contracts and certain options and futures strategies to attempt to hedge its portfolio, i.e ., reduce the overall level of investment risk normally associated with the fund, and for non-hedging purposes. These techniques are described in detail below.

Writing Covered Call Options. The fund may write (sell) covered call options. Covered call options will generally be written on securities and currencies which, in the opinion of the fund’s subadviser, are not expected to make any major price moves in the near future but which, over the long term, are deemed to be attractive investments for the fund.

A call option gives the holder (buyer) the right to purchase a security or currency at a specified price (the exercise price) at any time until a certain date (the expiration date). So long as the obligation of the writer of a call option continues, he may be assigned an exercise notice by the broker/dealer through whom such option was sold, requiring him to deliver the underlying security or currency against payment of the exercise price. This obligation terminates upon the expiration of the call option, or such earlier time at which the writer effects a closing purchase transaction by purchasing an option identical to that previously sold. The fund’s subadviser believes that writing of covered call options is less risky than writing uncovered or “naked” options, which the fund will not do.

Portfolio securities or currencies on which call options may be written will be purchased solely on the basis of investment considerations consistent with the fund’s investment objective. When writing a covered call option, the fund, in return for the premium, gives up the opportunity for profit from a price increase in the underlying security or currency above the exercise price and retains the risk of loss should the price of the security or currency decline. Unlike one who owns securities or currencies not subject to an option, the fund has no control over when it may be required to sell the underlying securities or currencies, since the option may be exercised at any time prior to the option’s expiration. If a call option which the fund has written expires, the fund will realize a gain in the amount of the premium; however, such gain may be offset by a decline in the market value of the underlying security or currency during the option period. If the call option is exercised, the fund will realize a gain or loss from the sale of the underlying security or currency. The security or currency covering the call option will be maintained in a segregated account with the fund’s custodian.

The premium the fund receives for writing a call option is deemed to constitute the market value of an option. The premium the fund will receive from writing a call option will reflect, among other things, the current market price of the underlying security or currency, the relationship of the exercise price to such market price, the implied price volatility of the underlying security or currency, and the length of the option period. In determining whether a particular call option should be written on a particular security or currency, the fund’s subadviser will consider the reasonableness of the anticipated premium and the likelihood that a liquid secondary market will exist for those options. The premium received by the fund for writing covered call options will be recorded as a liability in the fund’s statement of assets and liabilities. This liability will be adjusted daily to the option’s current market value, which will be calculated as described in “Determination of Net Asset Value.” The liability will be extinguished upon expiration of the option or delivery of the underlying security or currency upon the exercise of the option. The liability with respect to a listed option will also be extinguished upon the purchase of an identical option in a closing transaction.

 

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Closing transactions will be effected in order to realize a profit or to limit losses on an outstanding call option, to prevent an underlying security or currency from being called, or to permit the sale of the underlying security or currency. Furthermore, effecting a closing transaction will permit the fund to write another call option on the underlying security or currency with either a different exercise price, expiration date or both. If the fund desires to sell a particular security or currency from its portfolio on which it has written a call option or purchases a put option, it will seek to effect a closing transaction prior to, or concurrently with, the sale of the security or currency. There is no assurance that the fund will be able to effect such closing transactions at a favorable price. If the fund cannot enter into such a transaction, it may be required to hold a security or currency that it might otherwise have sold, in which case it would continue to be at market risk with respect to the security or currency.

The fund will pay transaction costs in connection with the writing of options and in entering into closing purchase contracts. Transaction costs relating to options activity are normally higher than those applicable to purchases and sales of portfolio securities.

Call options written by the fund will normally have expiration dates of less than nine months from the date written. The exercise price of the options may be below, equal to or above the current market values of the underlying securities or currencies at the time the options are written. From time to time, the fund may purchase an underlying security or currency for delivery in accordance with the exercise of an option, rather than delivering such security or currency from its portfolio. In such cases, additional costs will be incurred.

The fund will realize a profit or loss from a closing purchase transaction if the cost of the transaction is less or more, respectively, than the premium received from the writing of the option. Because increases in the market price of a call option will generally reflect increases in the market price of the underlying security or currency, any loss resulting from the repurchase of a call option is likely to be offset in whole or in part by appreciation of the underlying security or currency owned by the fund.

Purchasing Put Options.  The fund may purchase put options. As the holder of a put option, the fund has the right to sell the underlying security or currency at the exercise price at any time during the option period. The fund may enter into closing sale transactions with respect to such options, exercise them or permit them to expire.

The fund may purchase a put option on an underlying security or currency (a “protective put”) owned by the fund as a hedging technique in order to protect against an anticipated decline in the value of the security or currency. Such hedge protection is provided only during the life of the put option when the fund, as the holder of the put option, is able to sell the underlying security or currency at the put exercise price regardless of any decline in the underlying security’s market price or currency’s exchange value. For example, a put option may be purchased in order to protect unrealized appreciation of a security or currency when the fund’s subadviser deems it desirable to continue to hold the security or currency because of tax considerations. The premium paid for the put option and any transaction costs may reduce any capital gain or, in the case of currency, ordinary income otherwise available for distribution when the security or currency is eventually sold.

The fund may also purchase put options at a time when the fund does not own the underlying security or currency. By purchasing put options on a security or currency it does not own, the fund seeks to benefit from a decline in the market price of the underlying security or currency. If the put option is not sold when it has remaining value, and if the market price of the underlying security or currency remains equal to or greater than the exercise price during the life of the put option, the fund will lose its entire investment in the put option. In order for the purchase of a put option to be profitable, the market price of the underlying security or currency must decline sufficiently below the exercise price to cover the premium and transaction costs, unless the put option is sold in a closing sale transaction.

The premium paid by the fund when purchasing a put option will be recorded as an asset in the fund’s statement of assets and liabilities. This asset will be adjusted daily to the option’s current market value, as calculated by the fund. The asset will be extinguished upon expiration of the option or the delivery of the

 

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underlying security or currency upon the exercise of the option. The asset with respect to a listed option will also be extinguished upon the writing of an identical option in a closing transaction.

Purchasing Call Options.  The fund may purchase call options. As the holder of a call option, the fund has the right to purchase the underlying security or currency at the exercise price at any time during the option period. The fund may enter into closing sale transactions with respect to such options, exercise them or permit them to expire. Call options may be purchased by the fund for the purpose of acquiring the underlying security or currency for its portfolio. Utilized in this fashion, the purchase of call options enables the fund to acquire the security or currency at the exercise price of the call option plus the premium paid. At times the net cost of acquiring the security or currency in this manner may be less than the cost of acquiring the security or currency directly. This technique may also be useful to the fund in purchasing a large block of securities that would be more difficult to acquire by direct market purchases. So long as it holds such a call option rather than the underlying security or currency itself, the fund is partially protected from any unexpected decline in the market price of the underlying security or currency and in such event could allow the call option to expire, incurring a loss only to the extent of the premium paid for the option.

The fund may also purchase call options on underlying securities or currencies it owns in order to protect unrealized gains on call options previously written by it. A call option would be purchased for this purpose where tax considerations make it inadvisable to realize such gains through a closing purchase transaction. Call options may also be purchased at times to avoid realizing losses that would result in a reduction of the fund’s current return.

Stock Index Options.  The fund may purchase and write put and call options on U.S. stock indexes listed on U.S. exchanges for the purpose of hedging its portfolio holdings. A stock index fluctuates with changes in the market values of the stocks included in the index. Some stock index options are based on a broad market index such as the New York Stock Exchange Composite Index or a narrower market index such as the Standard & Poor’s 100. Indexes may also be based on an industry or market segment such as the Amex Oil Index or the Amex Computer Technology Index.

Options on stock indexes are similar to options on stock except that (a) the expiration cycles of stock index options are monthly, while those of stock options currently are quarterly, and (b) the delivery requirements are different. Instead of giving the right to take or make delivery of stock at a specified price, an option on a stock index gives the holder the right to receive a cash “exercise settlement amount” equal to (a) the amount, if any, by which the fixed exercise price of the option exceeds (in the case of a put) or is less than (in the case of a call) the closing value of the underlying index on the date of exercise, multiplied by (b) a fixed “index multiplier.” Receipt of this cash amount will depend upon the closing level of the stock index upon which the option is based being greater than, in the case of a call, or less than, in the case of a put, the exercise price of the option. The amount of cash received will be equal to such difference between the closing price of the index and the exercise price of the option expressed in dollars times a specified multiple. The writer of the option is obligated, in return for the premium received, to make delivery of this amount. The writer may offset its position in stock index options prior to expiration by entering into a closing transaction on an exchange or it may let the options expire unexercised.

The effectiveness of purchasing or writing stock index options as a hedging technique will depend upon the extent to which price movements in the portion of a securities portfolio being hedged correlate with price movements of the stock index selected. The value of an index option depends upon movements in the level of the index rather than the price of a particular stock. Whether a fund will realize a gain or loss from the purchase or writing of options on an index depends upon movements in the level of stock prices in the stock market generally or, in the case of certain indexes, in an industry or market segment, rather than movements in the price of a particular stock. Accordingly, successful use by a fund of options on stock indexes will be subject to a fund’s subadviser’s ability to correctly predict movements in the direction of the stock market generally or of a particular industry. This requires different skills and techniques than predicting changes in the prices of individual stocks.

 

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The fund will engage in stock index options transactions only when determined by the fund’s subadviser to be consistent with the fund’s efforts to control risk. There can be no assurance that such judgment will be accurate or that the use of these portfolio strategies will be successful. When the fund writes an option on a stock index, the fund will establish a segregated account with its custodian in an amount equal to the market value of the option and will maintain the account while the option is open.

Interest Rate and Currency Futures Contracts. The fund may enter into interest rate or currency futures contracts as a hedge against changes in prevailing levels of interest rates or currency exchange rates in order to establish more definitely the effective return on securities or currencies held or committed to be acquired by the fund, as a substitute for buying or selling currencies or securities, as a cash flow management technique or for non-hedging purposes. The fund’s hedging may include holding futures as an offset against anticipated changes in interest or currency exchange rates. The fund may also enter into futures contracts based on financial indices including any index of U.S. Government securities, foreign government securities or corporate debt securities.

A futures contract provides for the future sale by one party and purchase by another party of a specified amount of a specific financial instrument or currency for a specified price at a designated date, time and place. The purchaser of a futures contract on an index agrees to take or make delivery of an amount of cash equal to the difference between a specified dollar multiple of the value of the index on the expiration date of the contract (“current contract value”) and the price at which the contract was originally struck. No physical delivery of the debt securities underlying the index is made. Brokerage fees are incurred when a futures contract is bought or sold, and margin deposits must be maintained at all times that the futures contract is outstanding.

Although techniques other than sales and purchases of futures contracts could be used to reduce the fund’s exposure to interest rate and currency exchange rate fluctuations, the fund may be able to hedge its exposure more effectively and at a lower cost through using futures contracts.

Although futures contracts typically require future delivery of and payment for financial instruments or currencies, futures contracts are usually closed out before the delivery date. Closing out an open futures contract sale or purchase is effected by entering into an offsetting futures contract purchase or sale, respectively, for the same aggregate amount of the identical financial instrument or currency and the same delivery date. If the offsetting purchase price is less than the original sale price, the fund realizes a gain; if it is more, the fund realizes a loss. Conversely, if the offsetting sale price is more than the original purchase price, the fund realizes a gain; if it is less, the fund realizes a loss. The transaction costs must also be included in these calculations. The fund intends to enter into futures transactions only on exchanges or boards of trade where there appears to be a liquid secondary market. There can be no assurance, however, that the fund will be able to enter into an offsetting transaction with respect to a particular futures contract at a particular time. If the fund is not able to enter into an offsetting transaction, the fund will continue to be required to maintain the margin deposits of the underlying financial instrument or currency on the relevant delivery date.

As an example of an offsetting transaction, the contractual obligations arising from the sale of one futures contract of September Treasury Bills on an exchange may be fulfilled at any time before delivery under the futures contract is required ( i.e ., on a specific date in September, the “delivery month”) by the purchase of another futures contract of September Treasury Bills on the same exchange. In such instance the difference between the price at which the futures contract was sold and the price paid for the offsetting purchase, after allowance for transaction costs, represents the profit or loss to the fund.

Persons who trade in futures contracts may be broadly classified as “hedgers” and “speculators.” Hedgers, whose business activity involves investment or other commitment in securities or other obligations, use the futures markets to offset unfavorable changes in value that may occur because of fluctuations in the value of the securities and obligations held or committed to be acquired by them or fluctuations in the value of the currency in which the securities or obligations are denominated. Debtors and other obligors may also hedge the interest cost of their obligations. The speculator, like the hedger, generally expects neither to deliver nor to receive the

 

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financial instrument underlying the futures contract, but, unlike the hedger, hopes to profit from fluctuations in prevailing interest rates or currency exchange rates.

The fund may enter into futures transactions for traditional hedging purposes; that is, futures contracts will be sold to protect against a decline in the price of securities or currencies that the fund owns, or futures contracts will be purchased to protect the fund against an increase in the price of securities or currencies it has committed to purchase or expects to purchase, as a substitute for buying or selling securities or currencies or as a cash flow management technique. The fund may also enter into futures transactions for non-hedging purposes.

“Margin” with respect to futures contracts is the amount of funds that must be deposited by the fund with a broker in order to initiate futures trading and to maintain the fund’s open positions in futures contracts. A margin deposit made when the futures contract is entered into (“initial margin”) is intended to assure the fund’s performance of the futures contract. The margin required for a particular futures contract is set by the exchange on which the futures contract is traded, and may be significantly modified from time to time by the exchange during the term of the futures contract. Futures contracts are customarily purchased and sold on margin, which may be 5% or less of the value of the futures contract being traded.

If the price of an open futures contract changes (by increase in the case of a sale or by decrease in the case of a purchase) so that the loss on the futures contract reaches a point at which the margin on deposit does not satisfy margin requirements, the broker will require an increase in the margin deposit (“variation margin”). If, however, the value of a position increases because of favorable price changes in the futures contract so that the margin deposit exceeds the required margin, it is anticipated that the broker will pay the excess to the fund. In computing daily net asset values, the fund will mark to market the current value of its open futures contracts. The fund expects to earn interest income on its margin deposits.

Options on Futures Contracts.  Options on futures contracts are similar to options on securities or currencies except that options on futures contracts give the purchaser the right, in return for the premium paid, to assume a position in a futures contract (a long position if the option is a call and a short position if the option is a put), rather than to purchase or sell the futures contract, at a specified exercise price at any time during the period of the option. Upon exercise of the option, the delivery of the futures position by the writer of the option to the holder of the option will be accompanied by delivery of the accumulated balance in the writer’s futures margin account which represents the amount by which the market price of the futures contract, at exercise, exceeds (in the case of a call) or is less than (in the case of a put) the exercise price of the option on the futures contract. If an option is exercised on the last trading day prior to the expiration date of the option, the settlement will be made entirely in cash equal to the difference between the exercise price of the option and the closing level of the securities or currencies upon which the futures contracts are based on the expiration date. Purchasers of options who fail to exercise their options prior to the exercise date suffer a loss of the premium paid.

As an alternative to purchasing call and put options on futures, the fund may purchase call and put options on the underlying securities or currencies themselves (see “Purchasing Put Options” and “Purchasing Call Options” above). Such options would be used in a manner identical to the use of options on futures contracts.

To reduce or eliminate the leverage then employed by the fund or to reduce or eliminate the hedge position then currently held by the fund, the fund may seek to close out an option position by selling an option covering the same securities or currency and having the same exercise price and expiration date. The ability to establish and close out positions on options on futures contracts is subject to the existence of a liquid market. It is not certain that this market will exist at any specific time.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) has eliminated limitations on futures transactions and options thereon by registered investment companies, provided that the investment manager to the registered investment company claims an exclusion from regulation as a commodity pool operator. The fund is operated by a person who has claimed an exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” under the

 

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Commodity Exchange Act and therefore is not subject to registration or regulation as a pool operator under the Commodity Exchange Act. As a result of these CFTC rule changes, the fund is no longer restricted in its ability to enter into futures transactions and options thereon under CFTC regulations. The fund, however, continues to have policies with respect to futures and options thereon as set forth herein. The view of the staff of the SEC is that a fund’s long and short positions in future contracts as well as put and call options on futures written by it must be collateralized with cash or other liquid securities and segregated with the fund’s custodian or a designated sub-custodian or “covered” in a manner similar to that for covered options on securities and designed to eliminate any potential leveraging.

Forward Currency Contracts, Options on Currency and Currency Swaps . A forward currency contract is an obligation to purchase or sell a currency against another currency at a future date and price as agreed upon by the parties. The fund may either accept or make delivery of the currency at the maturity of the forward contract or, prior to maturity, enter into a closing transaction involving the purchase or sale of an offsetting contract. The fund engages in forward currency transactions in anticipation of, or to protect itself against, fluctuations in exchange rates. The fund might sell a particular foreign currency forward, for example, when it holds bonds denominated in that currency but anticipates, and seeks to be protected against, a decline in the currency against the U.S. dollar. Similarly, the fund might sell the U.S. dollar forward when it holds bonds denominated in U.S. dollars but anticipates, and seeks to be protected against, a decline in the U.S. dollar relative to other currencies. Further, the fund might purchase a currency forward to “lock in” the price of securities denominated in that currency which it anticipates purchasing.

The matching of the increase in value of a forward contract and the decline in the U.S. dollar equivalent value of the foreign currency denominated asset that is the subject of the hedge generally will not be precise. In addition, the fund may not always be able to enter into foreign currency forward contracts at attractive prices and this will limit the fund’s ability to use such contract to hedge or cross-hedge its assets. Also, with regard to the fund’s use of cross-hedges, there can be no assurance that historical correlations between the movement of certain foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar will continue. Thus, at any time poor correlation may exist between movements in the exchange rates of the foreign currencies underlying the fund’s cross-hedges and the movements in the exchange rates of the foreign currencies in which the fund’s assets that are the subject of such cross-hedges are denominated.

Forward contracts are traded in an interbank market conducted directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks) and their customers. A forward contract generally has no deposit requirement and is consummated without payment of any commission. The fund, however, may enter into forward contracts with deposit requirements or commissions.

A put option gives the fund, as purchaser, the right (but not the obligation) to sell a specified amount of currency at the exercise price until the expiration of the option. A call option gives the fund, as purchaser, the right (but not the obligation) to purchase a specified amount of currency at the exercise price until its expiration. The fund might purchase a currency put option, for example, to protect itself during the contract period against a decline in the value of a currency in which it holds or anticipates holding securities. If the currency’s value should decline, the loss in currency value should be offset, in whole or in part, by an increase in the value of the put. If the value of the currency instead should rise, any gain to the fund would be reduced by the premium it had paid for the put option. A currency call option might be purchased, for example, in anticipation of, or to protect against, a rise in the value of a currency in which the fund anticipates purchasing securities.

The fund’s ability to establish and close out positions in foreign currency options is subject to the existence of a liquid market. There can be no assurance that a liquid market will exist for a particular option at any specific time. In addition, options on foreign currencies are affected by all of those factors that influence foreign exchange rates and investments generally.

A position in an exchange-listed option may be closed out only on an exchange that provides a secondary market for identical options. Exchange markets for options on foreign currencies exist but are relatively new, and

 

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the ability to establish and close out positions on the exchanges is subject to maintenance of a liquid secondary market. Closing transactions may be effected with respect to options traded in the over-the-counter (“OTC”) markets (currently the primary markets for options on foreign currencies) only by negotiating directly with the other party to the option contract or in a secondary market for the option if such market exists. Although the fund intends to purchase only those options for which there appears to be an active secondary market, there is no assurance that a liquid secondary market will exist for any particular option at any specific time. In such event, it may not be possible to effect closing transactions with respect to certain options, with the result that the fund would have to exercise those options which it has purchased in order to realize any profit. The staff of the SEC has taken the position that, in general, purchased OTC options and the underlying securities used to cover written OTC options are illiquid securities. However, the fund may treat as liquid the underlying securities used to cover written OTC options, provided it has arrangements with certain qualified dealers who agree that the fund may repurchase any option it writes for a maximum price to be calculated by a predetermined formula. In these cases, the OTC option itself would only be considered illiquid to the extent that the maximum repurchase price under the formula exceeds the intrinsic value of the option.

The fund may also enter into currency swaps. A currency swap is an arrangement whereby each party exchanges one currency for another on a particular date and agrees to reverse the exchange on a later date at a specific exchange rate. Forward foreign currency contracts and currency swaps are established in the interbank market conducted directly between currency traders (usually large commercial banks or other financial institutions) on behalf of their customers.

Swaps, Caps and Floors . Among the hedging transactions into which the fund may enter are interest rate swaps and the purchase or sale of interest rate caps and floors. The fund expects to enter into these transactions primarily to preserve a return or spread on a particular investment or portion of its portfolio or to protect against any increase in the price of securities the fund anticipates purchasing at a later date. The fund intends to use these transactions as a hedge and not as a speculative investment. The fund will not sell interest rate caps or floors that it does not own. Interest rate swaps involve the exchange by the fund with another party of their respective commitments to pay or receive interest, e.g. , an exchange of floating rate payments for fixed rate payments. The purchase of an interest rate cap entitles the purchaser, to the extent that a specified index exceeds a predetermined interest rate, to receive payments of interest on a notional principal amount from the party selling such interest rate cap. The purchase of an interest rate floor entitles the purchaser, to the extent that a specified index falls below a predetermined interest rate, to receive payments of interest on a notional principal amount from the party selling such interest rate floor.

The fund may enter into interest rate swaps, caps and floors on either an asset-based or liability-based basis, depending on whether it is hedging its assets or its liabilities, and will usually enter into interest rate swaps on a net basis, i.e. , the two payment streams are netted, with the fund receiving or paying, as the case may be, only the net amount of the two payments. Inasmuch as these hedging transactions are entered into for good faith hedging purposes, the fund’s subadviser and the fund believe such obligations do not constitute senior securities and, accordingly will not treat them as being subject to their borrowing restrictions. The net amount of the excess, if any, of the fund’s obligations over its entitlements with respect to each interest rate swap will be accrued on a daily basis and an amount of cash or liquid securities having an aggregate net asset value at least equal to the accrued excess will be maintained in a segregated account by a custodian that satisfies the requirements of the 1940 Act. The fund will not enter into any interest rate swap, cap or floor transaction unless the unsecured senior debt or the claims-paying ability of the other party thereto is rated in the highest rating category of at least one nationally recognized statistical rating organization at the time of entering into such transaction. If there is a default by the other party to such a transaction, the fund will have contractual remedies pursuant to the agreements related to the transaction. The swap market has grown substantially in recent years with a large number of banks and investment banking firms acting both as principals and as agents utilizing swap documentation. As a result, the swap market has become relatively liquid. Caps and floors are more recent innovations for which standardized documentation has not yet been developed and, accordingly, they are less liquid than swaps.

 

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Swap agreements are sophisticated hedging instruments that typically involve a small investment of cash relative to the magnitude of risks assumed. As a result, swaps can be highly volatile and may have a considerable impact on the fund’s performance. Swap agreements are subject to risks related to the counterparty’s ability to perform, and may decline in value if the counterparty’s creditworthiness deteriorates. The fund may also suffer losses if it is unable to terminate outstanding swap agreements or reduce its exposure through offsetting transactions. Swap agreements may be individually negotiated and structured to include exposure to a variety of different types of investments or market factors. Depending on their structure, swap agreements may increase or decrease the fund’s exposure to long or short-term interest rates (in the U.S. or abroad), foreign currency values, mortgage securities, corporate borrowing rates, or other factors such as securities prices or inflation rates. Swap agreements can take many different forms and are known by a variety of names. The fund is not limited to any particular form or variety of swap agreement if management determines it is consistent with the fund’s investment objective and policies.

The fund may enter into credit default swap contracts for hedging purposes or to add leverage to the portfolio. When used for hedging purposes, the fund would be the buyer of a credit default swap contract. In that case, the fund would be entitled to receive the par (or other agreed-upon) value of a referenced debt obligation from the counterparty to the contract in the event of a default by a third party, such as a U.S. or foreign issuer, on the debt obligation. In return, the fund would pay to the counterparty a periodic stream of payments over the term of the contract provided that no event of default has occurred. If no default occurs, the fund would have spent the stream of payments and received no benefit from the contract. When the fund is the seller of a credit default swap contract, it receives the stream of payments but is obligated to pay upon default of the referenced debt obligation. As the seller, the fund would effectively add leverage to its portfolio because, in addition to its total assets, the fund would be subject to investment exposure on the notional amount of the swap.

New options and futures contracts and various combinations thereof continue to be developed and the fund may invest in any such options and contracts as may be developed to the extent consistent with their investment objectives and regulatory requirements applicable to investment companies.

OTHER PRACTICES

Repurchase Agreements . The fund may enter into repurchase agreements. International Fund may invest up to 25% of its total assets in repurchase agreements. A repurchase agreement is a contract under which a fund acquires a security for a relatively short period (usually not more than one week) subject to the obligation of the seller to repurchase and the fund to resell such security at a fixed time and price (representing the fund’s cost plus interest). It is the fund’s present intention to enter into repurchase agreements only upon receipt of fully adequate collateral and only with commercial banks (whether U.S. or foreign) and registered broker/dealers. Repurchase agreements may also be viewed as loans made by the fund which are collateralized primarily by the securities subject to repurchase. The fund bears a risk of loss in the event that the other party to a repurchase agreement defaults on its obligations and the fund is delayed in or prevented from exercising its rights to dispose of the collateral securities. Pursuant to policies established by the Board, the fund’s subadviser monitors the creditworthiness of all issuers with which the fund enters into repurchase agreements.

For the purpose of investing in repurchase agreements, the fund’s subadviser may aggregate the cash that certain funds advised or subadvised by them or their affiliates would otherwise invest separately into a joint account. The cash in the joint account is then invested in repurchase agreements and the funds that contributed to the joint account share pro rata in the net revenue generated. The fund’s subadviser believes that the joint account produces efficiencies and economies of scale that may contribute to reduced transaction costs, higher returns, higher quality investments and greater diversity of investments for the fund than would be available to the fund investing separately. The manner in which the joint account is managed is subject to conditions set forth in an SEC exemptive order authorizing this practice, which conditions are designed to ensure the fair administration of the joint account and to protect the amounts in that account.

 

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Reverse Repurchase Agreements . The fund does not currently intend to commit more than 5% of its net assets to reverse repurchase agreements. The fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements with broker/dealers and other financial institutions. Such agreements involve the sale of fund securities with an agreement to repurchase the securities at an agreed-upon price, date and interest payment, are considered to be borrowings by the fund and are subject to the borrowing limitations set forth under “Investment Restrictions.” Since the proceeds of reverse repurchase agreements are invested, this would introduce the speculative factor known as “leverage.” The securities purchased with amounts obtained from the agreement and securities collateralizing the agreement will have maturity dates no later than the repayment date. Generally the effect of such a transaction is that the fund can recover all or most of the cash invested in the portfolio securities involved during the term of the reverse repurchase agreement, while in many cases it will be able to keep some of the interest income associated with those securities. Such transactions are only advantageous if the fund has an opportunity to earn a greater rate of interest on the cash derived from the transaction than the interest cost of obtaining that cash. Opportunities to realize earnings from the use of the proceeds equal to or greater than the interest required to be paid may not always be available, and the fund intends to use the reverse repurchase technique only when the fund’s subadviser believes it will be advantageous to the fund. The use of reverse repurchase agreements may exaggerate any interim increase or decrease in the value of the fund’s assets. The Trust’s custodian bank will maintain a separate account for the fund with securities having a value equal to or greater than such commitments.

Borrowing . The fund may borrow up to 33% of the value of its total assets from banks for temporary or emergency purposes, such as to meet the redemptions of the fund’s shares.

Leverage . International Fund may borrow from banks, on a secured or unsecured basis, up to 33% of the value of its total assets and use the proceeds to make additional investments. Income and appreciation from such investments will improve the fund’s performance if they exceed the associated borrowing costs, but will impair the fund’s performance if they are less than the borrowing costs. This speculative factor is known as “leverage.”

Leverage creates an opportunity for increased returns to shareholders of the fund but, at the same time, creates special risk considerations. For example, leverage may exaggerate changes in the net asset value of the fund’s shares and in the fund’s yield. Although the principal or stated value of such borrowings will be fixed, the fund’s assets may change in value during the time the borrowing is outstanding. Leverage will create interest expenses for the fund which can exceed the income from the assets retained. To the extent the income or other gain derived from securities purchased with borrowed funds exceeds the interest the fund will have to pay in respect thereof, the fund’s net income or other gain will be greater than if leverage had not been used. Conversely, if the income or other gain from the incremental assets is not sufficient to cover the cost of leverage, the net income or other gain of the fund will be less than if leverage had not been used. If the amount of income from the incremental securities is insufficient to cover the cost of borrowing, securities might have to be liquidated to obtain required funds. Depending on market or other conditions, such liquidations could be disadvantageous to the fund.

Securities Lending. Consistent with applicable regulatory requirements and for cash management purposes, the fund may lend securities from its portfolio to brokers, dealers and other financial organizations. The fund may not lend portfolio securities to the fund’s subadviser or its affiliates unless they have applied for and received specific authority from the SEC. Loans of portfolio securities by the fund will be collateralized by cash, letters of credit or U.S. government securities that are maintained at all times in an amount equal to at least 100% of the current market value of the loaned securities. From time to time, the fund may return to the borrower and/or a third party, which is unaffiliated with the fund, Legg Mason, and is acting as a “finder,” a part of the interest earned from the investment of collateral received for securities loaned.

In lending its portfolio securities, the fund can increase its income by continuing to receive interest on the loaned securities as well as by either investing the cash collateral in short-term instruments or obtaining yield in

 

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the form of interest paid by the borrower when U.S. government securities are used as collateral. Requirements of the SEC, which may be subject to future modifications, currently provide that the following conditions must be met whenever the fund’s portfolio securities are loaned: (a) the fund must receive at least 102% cash collateral or equivalent securities from the borrower; (b) the borrower must increase such collateral whenever the market value of the securities rises above the level of such collateral; (c) the fund must be able to terminate the loan at any time; (d) the fund must receive reasonable interest on the loan, as well as an amount equal to any dividends, interest or other distributions on the loaned securities, and any increase in market value; (e) the fund may pay only reasonable custodian fees in connection with the loan; and (f) voting rights on the loaned securities may pass to the borrower; however, if a material event adversely affecting the investment occurs, the fund must terminate the loan and regain the right to vote the securities. The risks in lending portfolio securities, as with other extensions of secured credit, consist of possible delay in receiving additional collateral or in the recovery of the securities or possible loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower fail financially. Loans will be made to firms deemed by the fund’s subadviser to be of good standing and will not be made unless, in the judgment of the fund’s subadviser, the consideration to be earned from such loans would justify the risk. From time to time, the fund may return to the borrower and/or a third party, which is unaffiliated with the fund or the fund’s subadviser and is acting as a “finder,” a part of the interest earned from the investment of collateral received for securities loaned.

Generally, the borrower will be required to make payments to the fund in lieu of any dividends the fund would have otherwise received had it not loaned the shares to the borrower. Any such payments, however, will not be treated as “qualified dividend income” for purposes of determining what portion of the fund’s regular dividends (as defined below) received by individuals may be taxed at the rates generally applicable to long-term capital gains (see “Taxes” below).

When-Issued and Delayed Delivery Securities . The fund may purchase or sell securities on a when-issued or delayed delivery basis. When-issued or delayed delivery transactions arise when securities are purchased or sold by the fund with payment and delivery taking place in the future in order to secure what is considered to be an advantageous price and yield to the fund at the time of entering into the transaction. State Street Bank and Trust Company, the Trust’s custodian (the “Custodian”), will maintain, in a segregated account of the applicable fund, cash, debt securities of any grade or equity securities, having a value equal to or greater than the fund’s purchase commitments, provided such securities have been determined by the fund’s subadviser to be liquid and unencumbered, and are marked to market daily, pursuant to guidelines established by the Trustees. The Custodian will likewise segregate securities sold on a delayed basis. The payment obligations and the interest rates that will be received are each fixed at the time the fund enters into the commitment and no interest accrues to the fund until settlement. Thus, it is possible that the market value at the time of settlement could be higher or lower than the purchase price if the general level of interest rates has changed.

Short Sales . The fund may sell securities “short against the box.” While a short sale is the sale of a security the fund does not own, it is “against the box” if at all times when the short position is open, the fund owns an equal amount of the securities or securities convertible into, or exchangeable without further consideration for, securities of the same issue as the securities sold short.

Below Investment Grade Fixed Income Securities. Securities which are rated BBB by S&P or Baa by Moody’s are generally regarded as having adequate capacity to pay interest and repay principal, but may have some speculative characteristics. Securities rated below Baa by Moody’s or BBB by S&P are considered to have speculative characteristics, including the possibility of default or bankruptcy of the issuers of such securities, market price volatility based upon interest rate sensitivity, questionable creditworthiness and relative liquidity of the secondary trading market. Because high yield bonds have been found to be more sensitive to adverse economic changes or individual corporate developments and less sensitive to interest rate changes than higher-rated investments, an economic downturn could disrupt the market for high yield bonds and adversely affect the value of outstanding bonds and the ability of issuers to repay principal and interest. In addition, in a declining interest rate market, issuers of high yield bonds may exercise redemption or call provisions, which may force the

 

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fund, to the extent it owns such securities, to replace those securities with lower yielding securities. This could result in a decreased return.

Equity Swaps.  International Fund may enter into equity swap agreements. Under a typical equity swap agreement, a counterparty such as a bank or broker/dealer agrees to pay the fund a return equal to the dividend payments and increase in value, if any, of an index or group of stocks, and the fund agrees in return to pay a fixed or floating rate of interest, plus any declines in value of the index. Swap agreements can also have features providing for maximum or minimum exposure to a designated index. In order to track the return of its designated index effectively, the fund would generally have to own other assets returning approximately the same amount as the interest rate payable by the fund under the swap agreement. The gross returns to be exchanged or “swapped” between the parties are calculated with respect to a “notional amount,” i.e. , the return on or increase in value of a particular dollar amount invested at a particular interest rate or in a “basket” of securities representing a particular index. The “notional amount” of the swap transaction is only a fictitious basis on which to calculate the obligations that the parties to a swap transaction have agreed to exchange.

The Trust’s Master Trust Agreement permits the Board to establish additional series of the Trust from time to time. The investment objectives, policies and restrictions applicable to additional funds would be established by the Board at the time such funds were established and may differ from those set forth in the Prospectus and this SAI.

 

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RISK FACTORS

General . Investors should realize that risk of loss is inherent in the ownership of any securities and that the fund’s net asset value will fluctuate, reflecting fluctuations in the market value of its portfolio positions.

Non-Diversification and Geographic Concentration . Funds which are “non-diversified” are permitted to invest a greater proportion of their assets in the securities of a smaller number of issuers, and thus may be subject to greater credit and liquidity risks with respect to their individual portfolios than a fund that is more broadly diversified. In addition, concentration of a fund’s assets in one or a few countries or currencies will subject the fund to greater risks than if the fund’s assets were not geographically concentrated. International Fund may invest in a manner that would cause it to fail to be a diversified company.

Fixed Income Securities . Investments in fixed income securities may subject the fund to risks, including the following:

Interest Rate Risk . When interest rates decline, the market value of fixed income securities tends to increase. Conversely, when interest rates increase, the market value of fixed income securities tends to decline. The volatility of a security’s market value will differ depending upon the security’s duration, the issuer and the type of instrument.

Default Risk/Credit Risk . Investments in fixed income securities are subject to the risk that the issuer of the security could default on its obligations, causing the fund to sustain losses on such investments. A default could impact both interest and principal payments.

Call Risk and Extension Risk . Fixed income securities may be subject to both call risk and extension risk. Call risk exists when the issuer may exercise its right to pay principal on an obligation earlier than scheduled, which would cause cash flows to be returned earlier than expected. This typically results when interest rates have declined and the fund will suffer from having to reinvest in lower yielding securities. Extension risk exists when the issuer may exercise its right to pay principal on an obligation later than scheduled, which would cause cash flows to be returned later than expected. This typically results when interest rates have increased, and the fund will suffer from the inability to invest in higher yielding securities.

Inflation-Protected Securities Risks.  The value of inflation-protected securities generally fluctuates in response to changes in real interest rates. Real interest rates are tied to the relationship between nominal interest rates and the rate of inflation. If nominal interest rates increase at a faster rate than inflation, real interest rates might rise, leading to a decrease in value of inflation-protected securities. Conversely, if inflation rises at a faster rate than nominal interest rates, real interest rates might decline, leading to an increase in value of inflation-protected securities.

If the fund purchases in the secondary market inflation-protected securities whose principal values have been adjusted upward due to inflation since issuance, the fund may experience a loss if there is a subsequent period of deflation. Additionally, if the fund purchases in the secondary market inflation-protected securities whose price has been adjusted upward due to real interest rates decreasing, the fund may experience a loss if real interest rates subsequently increase. If inflation is lower than expected during the period the fund holds an inflation-protected security, the fund may earn less on the security than on a conventional bond. Other than U.S. TIPS, the principal values of inflation-protected securities are not guaranteed. However, if the fund sells U.S. TIPS in the secondary market prior to maturity, the fund may experience a loss.

In addition, any increase in principal value caused by an increase in the index the inflation-protected securities are tied to is taxable in the year the increase occurs, even though the fund will not receive cash representing the increase at that time. As a result, the fund could be required at times to liquidate other

 

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investments, including when it is not advantageous to do so, in order to satisfy its distribution requirements as a regulated investment company under the Code. See “Taxes.”

If real interest rates rise ( i.e. , if interest rates rise for reasons other than inflation (for example, due to changes in currency exchange rates)), the value of the inflation-protected securities in the fund’s portfolio will decline. Moreover, because the principal amount of inflation-protected securities would be adjusted downward during a period of deflation, the fund will be subject to deflation risk with respect to its investments in these securities. Inflation-protected securities are tied to indices that are calculated based on the rates of inflation for prior periods. There can be no assurance that such indices will accurately measure the real rate of inflation.

The market for inflation-protected securities may be less developed or liquid, and more volatile, than certain other securities markets. Although the U.S. Treasury has announced that it will issue additional inflation-protected securities, there is no guarantee it will do so. There are a limited number of inflation-protected securities that are currently available for the fund to purchase, making the market less liquid and more volatile than the U.S. Treasury and agency markets.

Income distributions of the fund are likely to fluctuate more than a conventional bond fund.

Below Investment Grade Fixed Income Securities.  Securities which are rated BBB by S&P or Baa by Moody’s are generally regarded as having adequate capacity to pay interest and repay principal, but may have some speculative characteristics. Securities rated below Baa by Moody’s or BBB by S&P are considered to have speculative characteristics, including the possibility of default or bankruptcy of the issuers of such securities, market price volatility based upon interest rate sensitivity, questionable creditworthiness and relative liquidity of the secondary trading market. Because high yield bonds have been found to be more sensitive to adverse economic changes or individual corporate developments and less sensitive to interest rate changes than higher-rated investments, an economic downturn could disrupt the market for high yield bonds and adversely affect the value of outstanding bonds and the ability of issuers to repay principal and interest. In addition, in a declining interest rate market, issuers of high yield bonds may exercise redemption or call provisions, which may force a fund, to the extent it owns such securities, to replace those securities with lower yielding securities. This could result in a decreased return.

Foreign Securities . Investments in securities of foreign issuers involve certain risks not ordinarily associated with investments in securities of domestic issuers. Such risks include fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, future political and economic developments, and the possible imposition of exchange controls or other foreign governmental laws or restrictions. Since the fund will invest in securities denominated or quoted in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, changes in foreign currency exchange rates will, to the extent the fund does not adequately hedge against such fluctuations, affect the value of securities in its portfolio and the unrealized appreciation or depreciation of investments so far as U.S. investors are concerned. In addition, with respect to certain countries, there is the possibility of expropriation of assets, confiscatory taxation, political or social instability or diplomatic developments which could adversely affect investments in those countries.

There may be less publicly available information about a foreign company than about a U.S. company, and foreign companies may not be subject to accounting, auditing, and financial reporting standards and requirements comparable to or as uniform as those of U.S. companies. Foreign securities markets, while growing in volume, have, for the most part, substantially less volume than U.S. markets, and securities of many foreign companies are less liquid and their prices more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. companies. Transaction costs on foreign securities markets are generally higher than in the U.S. There is generally less government supervision and regulation of exchanges, brokers and issuers than there is in the U.S. A fund might have greater difficulty taking appropriate legal action in foreign courts. Dividend and interest income from foreign securities will generally be subject to withholding taxes by the country in which the issuer is located and may not be recoverable by the fund or the investors. Capital gains are also subject to taxation in some foreign countries.

 

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Currency Risks . The U.S. dollar value of securities denominated in a foreign currency will vary with changes in currency exchange rates, which can be volatile. Accordingly, changes in the value of the currency in which the fund’s investments are denominated relative to the U.S. dollar will affect the fund’s net asset value. Exchange rates are generally affected by the forces of supply and demand in the international currency markets, the relative merits of investing in different countries and the intervention or failure to intervene of U.S. or foreign governments and central banks. However, currency exchange rates may fluctuate based on factors intrinsic to a country’s economy. Some emerging market countries also may have managed currencies, which are not free floating against the U.S. dollar. In addition, emerging markets are subject to the risk of restrictions upon the free conversion of their currencies into other currencies. Any devaluations relative to the U.S. dollar in the currencies in which the fund’s securities are quoted would reduce the fund’s net asset value per share.

Restrictions on Foreign Investment . Some countries prohibit or impose substantial restrictions on investments in their capital markets, particularly their equity markets, by foreign entities such as the fund. As illustrations, certain countries require governmental approval prior to investments by foreign persons, or limit the amount of investment by foreign persons in a particular company, or limit the investment by foreign persons to only a specific class of securities of a company which may have less advantageous terms than securities of the company available for purchase by nationals or limit the repatriation of funds for a period of time.

The fund may invest in closed-end investment companies that concentrate their investments in the securities of a particular country. In accordance with the 1940 Act, the fund may invest up to 10% of its total assets in securities of closed-end investment companies. This restriction on investments in securities of closed-end investment companies may limit opportunities for the fund to invest indirectly in certain smaller capital markets. Shares of certain closed-end investment companies may at times be acquired only at market prices representing premiums to their net asset values. If the fund acquires shares in closed-end investment companies, shareholders would bear both their proportionate share of expenses in the fund (including management and advisory fees) and, indirectly, the expenses of such closed-end investment companies.

In some countries, banks or other financial institutions may constitute a substantial number of the leading companies or the companies with the most actively traded securities. Also, the 1940 Act restricts a fund’s investments in any equity security of an issuer which, in its most recent fiscal year, derived more than 15% of its revenues from “securities related activities,” as defined by the rules thereunder. These provisions may also restrict the fund’s investments in certain foreign banks and other financial institutions.

Smaller capital markets, while often growing in trading volume, have substantially less volume than U.S. markets, and securities in many smaller capital markets are less liquid and their prices may be more volatile than securities of comparable U.S. companies. Brokerage commissions, custodial services, and other costs relating to investment in smaller capital markets are generally more expensive than in the United States. Such markets have different clearance and settlement procedures, and in certain markets there have been times when settlements have been unable to keep pace with the volume of securities transactions, making it difficult to conduct such transactions. Further, satisfactory custodial services for investment securities may not be available in some countries having smaller capital markets, which may result in the fund incurring additional costs and delays in transporting and custodying such securities outside such countries. Delays in settlement could result in temporary periods when assets of the fund are uninvested and no return is earned thereon. The inability of the fund to make intended security purchases due to settlement problems could cause the fund to miss attractive investment opportunities. Inability to dispose of a portfolio security due to settlement problems could result either in losses to the fund due to subsequent declines in value of the portfolio security or, if the fund has entered into a contract to sell the security, could result in possible liability to the purchaser. Generally, there is less government supervision and regulation of exchanges, brokers and issuers in countries having smaller capital markets than there is in the United States.

Derivative Instruments . In accordance with its investment policies, the fund may invest in certain derivative instruments, which are securities or contracts that provide for payments based on or “derived” from the

 

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performance of an underlying asset, index or other economic benchmark. Essentially, a derivative instrument is a financial arrangement or a contract between two parties (and not a true security like a stock or a bond). Transactions in derivative instruments can be, but are not necessarily, riskier than investments in conventional stocks, bonds and money market instruments. A derivative instrument is more accurately viewed as a way of reallocating risk among different parties or substituting one type of risk for another. Every investment by the fund, including an investment in conventional securities, reflects an implicit prediction about future changes in the value of that investment. Every fund investment also involves a risk that the subadviser’s expectations will be wrong. Transactions in derivative instruments often enable a fund to take investment positions that more precisely reflect the subadviser’s expectations concerning the future performance of the various investments available to the fund. Derivative instruments can be a legitimate and often cost-effective method of accomplishing the same investment goals as could be achieved through other investment in conventional securities.

Derivative contracts include options, futures contracts, forward contracts, forward commitment and when-issued securities transactions, forward foreign currency exchange contracts and interest rate, mortgage, currency and credit default swaps. The following are the principal risks associated with derivative instruments.

Market risk : The instrument will decline in value or an alternative investment would have appreciated more, but this is no different from the risk of investing in conventional securities.

Leverage and associated price volatility : Leverage causes increased volatility in the price and magnifies the impact of adverse market changes, but this risk may be consistent with the investment objective of even a conservative fund in order to achieve an average portfolio volatility that is within the expected range for that type of fund.

Credit risk : The issuer of the instrument may default on its obligation to pay interest and principal.

Liquidity and valuation risk : Many derivative instruments are traded in institutional markets rather than on an exchange. Nevertheless, many derivative instruments are actively traded and can be priced with as much accuracy as conventional securities. Derivative instruments that are custom designed to meet the specialized investment needs of a relatively narrow group of institutional investors such as the fund are not readily marketable and are subject to the fund’s restrictions on illiquid investments.

Correlation risk : There may be imperfect correlation between the price of the derivative and the underlying asset. For example, there may be price disparities between the trading markets for the derivative contract and the underlying asset.

Each derivative instrument purchased for the fund’s portfolio is reviewed and analyzed by the fund’s portfolio managers to assess the risk and reward of each such instrument in relation to the fund’s investment strategy. The decision to invest in derivative instruments or conventional securities is made by measuring the respective instrument’s ability to provide value to the fund and its shareholders.

Special Risks of Using Futures Contracts . The prices of futures contracts are volatile and are influenced by, among other things, actual and anticipated changes in interest rates, which in turn are affected by fiscal and monetary policies and national and international political and economic events.

At best, the correlation between changes in prices of futures contracts and of the securities or currencies being hedged can be only approximate. The degree of imperfection of correlation depends upon circumstances such as: variations in speculative market demand for futures and for debt securities or currencies, including technical influences in futures trading; and differences between the financial instruments being hedged and the instruments underlying the standard futures contracts available for trading, with respect to interest rate levels, maturities, and creditworthiness of issuers. A decision of whether, when, and how to hedge involves skill and

 

32


judgment, and even a well-conceived hedge may be unsuccessful to some degree because of unexpected market behavior or interest rate trends.

Because of the low margin deposits required, futures trading involves an extremely high degree of leverage. As a result, a relatively small price movement in a futures contract may result in immediate and substantial loss, as well as gain, to the investor. For example, if, at the time of purchase, 10% of the value of the futures contract is deposited as margin, a subsequent 10% decrease in the value of the futures contract would result in a total loss of the margin deposit, before any deduction for the transaction costs, if the account were then closed out. A 15% decrease would result in a loss equal to 150% of the original margin deposit, if the futures contract were closed out. Thus, a purchase or sale of a futures contract may result in losses in excess of the amount invested in the futures contract. The fund, however, would presumably have sustained comparable losses if, instead of the futures contract, it had invested in the underlying financial instrument and sold it after the decline. Where the fund enters into futures transactions for non-hedging purposes, it will be subject to greater risks and could sustain losses which are not offset by gains on other fund assets.

Furthermore, in the case of a futures contract purchase, in order to be certain that the fund has sufficient assets to satisfy its obligations under a futures contract, the fund segregates and commits to back the Futures Contract with an amount of cash and liquid securities equal in value to the current value of the underlying instrument less the margin deposit.

Most U.S. futures exchanges limit the amount of fluctuation permitted in futures contract prices during a single trading day. The daily limit establishes the maximum amount that the price of a futures contract may vary either up or down from the previous day’s settlement price at the end of a trading session. Once the daily limit has been reached in a particular type of futures contract, no trades may be made on that day at a price beyond that limit. The daily limit governs only price movement during a particular trading day and, therefore, does not limit potential losses, because the limit may prevent the liquidation of unfavorable positions. Futures contract prices have occasionally moved to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of futures positions and subjecting some futures traders to substantial losses.

Issuer Risk.  The value of fixed income securities issued by corporations may decline for a number of reasons which directly relate to the issuer such as management performance, financial leverage or reduced demand for the issuer’s goods and services.

Asset-Backed, Mortgage-Backed or Mortgage-Related Securities Risk.  To the extent the fund invests significantly in asset-backed, mortgage-backed or mortgage-related securities, its exposure to prepayment and extension risks may be greater than other investments in fixed income securities. Mortgage derivatives held by the fund may have especially volatile prices and may have a disproportionate effect on the fund’s share price. Rising interest rates tend to extend the duration of mortgage-related securities, making them more sensitive to changes in interest rates. In addition, mortgage-related securities are subject to prepayment risk—the risk that borrowers may pay off their mortgages sooner than expected, particularly when interest rates decline. This can reduce the fund’s returns because the fund may have to reinvest that money at lower prevailing interest rates. The fund’s investments in other asset-backed securities are subject to risks similar to those associated with mortgage-backed securities.

Inflation Risk.  Inflation risk is the risk that the value of certain fixed income assets or income from investments will be worth less in the future as inflation decreases the value of money although this risk is decreased to the extent a substantial portion of the fund is invested in U.S. TIPS or other inflation-protected securities. As inflation increases, the real value of the fund’s shares and distributions can decline.

European Monetary Union (EMU) . As part of EMU, on January 1, 1999, 11 European countries adopted a single common currency—the euro. Budgetary decisions remain in the hands of each participating country, but

 

33


are subject to each country’s commitment to avoid “excessive deficits” and other more specific budgetary criteria. A European Central Bank is responsible for setting the official interest rate within the euro zone. EMU may create new economic opportunities for investors, such as easier cross-border mergers, acquisitions and similar restructurings, more efficient distribution and product packaging and greater competition. However, EMU and the introduction of the euro present unique risks and uncertainties for investors in EMU-participating countries, including: (i) monetary and economic union on this scale has never before been attempted; (ii) there is uncertainty whether participating countries will remain committed to EMU in the face of changing economic conditions; (iii) instability within EMU may increase the volatility of European markets and may adversely affect the prices of securities of European issuers in the fund’s portfolio; (iv) there is uncertainty concerning the fluctuation of the euro relative to non-euro currencies; and (v) there is no assurance that interest rate, tax and labor regimes of EMU-participating countries will converge over time. These and other factors may cause market disruption and could adversely affect European securities and currencies held by the fund.

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

The fund has adopted policies and procedures developed by LMPFA, the fund’s investment manager, with respect to the disclosure of the fund’s portfolio securities and any ongoing arrangements to make available information about the fund’s portfolio securities. The policy requires that consideration always be given as to whether disclosure of information about the fund’s portfolio holdings is in the best interests of the fund’s shareholders, and that any conflicts of interest between the interests of the fund’s shareholders and those of LMPFA, the fund’s distributors, or their affiliates, be addressed in a manner that places the interests of fund shareholders first. The policy provides that information regarding a fund’s portfolio holdings may not be shared with non-Legg Mason employees, with investors or potential investors (whether individual or institutional), or with third parties unless it is done for legitimate fund business purposes and in accordance with the policy.

LMPFA’s policy generally provides for the release of details of securities positions once they are considered “stale.” Data is considered stale 25 calendar days following quarter-end for funds other than money market funds, and 25 calendar days following month-end with respect to money market funds. LMPFA believes that this passage of time prevents a third party from benefiting from an investment decision made by a fund that has not been fully reflected by the market.

Under the policy, the fund’s complete list of holdings (including the size of each position) may be made available to investors, potential investors, third parties and non-Legg Mason employees with simultaneous public disclosure at least 25 days after calendar quarter end, except in the case of a money market fund’s holdings, which may be released with simultaneous public disclosure at least 25 days after month end. Typically, simultaneous public disclosure is achieved by the filing of Form N-Q or Form N-CSR in accordance with SEC rules, provided that such filings may not be made until 25 days following quarter-end and/or posting the information to a Legg Mason or the fund’s Internet site that is accessible by the public, or through public release by a third party vendor.

The policy permits the release of limited portfolio holdings information that is not yet considered stale in a number of situations, including:

1. The fund’s top ten securities, current as of month-end, and the individual size of each such security position may be released at any time following month-end with simultaneous public disclosure.

2. The fund’s top ten securities positions (including the aggregate but not individual size of such positions) may be released at any time with simultaneous public disclosure.

3. The list of securities (that may include fund holdings together with other securities) followed by a portfolio manager (without position sizes or identification of particular funds) may be disclosed to sell-side brokers at any time for the purpose of obtaining research and/or market information from such brokers.

 

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4. The trade in process may be discussed only with counterparties, potential counterparties and others involved in the transaction ( i.e ., brokers and custodians).

5. The fund’s sector weightings, yield and duration (for fixed income and money market funds), performance attribution (e.g., analysis of the fund’s out-performance or underperformance of its benchmark based on its portfolio holdings) and other summary and statistical information that does not include identification of specific portfolio holdings may be released, even if non-public, if such release is otherwise in accordance with the policy’s general principles.

6. The fund’s portfolio holdings may be released on an as-needed basis to its legal counsel, counsel to its Independent Trustees and its independent public accounting firm, in required regulatory filings or otherwise to governmental agencies and authorities.

Under the policy, if information about the fund’s portfolio holdings is released pursuant to an ongoing arrangement with any party, the fund must have a legitimate business purpose for the release of the information, and either the party receiving the information must be under a duty of confidentiality, or the release of non-public information must be subject to trading restrictions and confidential treatment to prohibit the entity from sharing with an unauthorized source or trading upon any non-public information provided. Neither the fund, nor Legg Mason, nor any other affiliated party may receive compensation or any other consideration in connection with such arrangements. Ongoing arrangements to make available information about the fund’s portfolio securities will be reviewed at least annually by the fund’s Board.

The approval of the fund’s Chief Compliance Officer, or designee, must be obtained before entering into any new ongoing arrangement or altering any existing ongoing arrangement to make available portfolio holdings information, or with respect to any exceptions to the policy. Any exceptions to the policy must be consistent with the purposes of the policy. Exceptions are considered on a case-by-case basis and are granted only after a thorough examination and consultation with LMPFA’s legal department, as necessary. Exceptions to the policies are reported to the fund’s Board at its next regularly scheduled meeting.

Currently, the fund discloses its complete portfolio holdings approximately 25 days after calendar quarter end on its website http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices .

Set forth below is a list, as of             2006, of those parties with whom LMPFA, on behalf of the fund, has authorized ongoing arrangements that include the release of portfolio holdings information, in accordance with the policy, as well as the frequency of the release under such arrangements, and the length of the lag, if any, between the date of the information and the date on which the information is disclosed. The parties identified below as recipients are service providers, fund rating agencies, consultants and analysts.

[Tables to be updated by amendment]

 

Recipient

  

Frequency

  

Delay before dissemination

State Street Bank and Trust Company
(Fund Custodian and Accounting Agent)
   Daily    None
Institutional Shareholders Services
(Proxy Voting Services)
   As necessary    None
Bloomberg    Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
Lipper    Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
S&P    Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
Morningstar    Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End
Vestek    Daily    None
Factset    Daily    None
Bank of New York    Daily    None

 

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Portfolio holdings information for the fund may also be released from time to time pursuant to ongoing arrangements with the following parties:

 

Recipient

  

Frequency

  

Delay before dissemination

Baseline

   Daily    None

Frank Russell

   Monthly    1 Day

Callan

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Mercer

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

eVestment Alliance

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

CRA RogersCasey

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Cambridge Associates

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Marco Consulting

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Wilshire

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Informa Investment Services (Efron)

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

CheckFree (Mobius)

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Nelsons Information

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Investor Tools

   Daily    None

Advent

   Daily    None

BARRA

   Daily    None

Plexus

   Quarterly (Calendar)    Sent 1-3 Business Days following the end of a Quarter

Elkins/McSherry

   Quarterly (Calendar)    Sent 1-3 Business Days following the end of a Quarter

Quantitative Services Group

   Daily    None

AMBAC

   Daily    None

Deutsche Bank

   Monthly    6-8 Business Days

Fitch

   Monthly    6-8 Business Days

Liberty Hampshire

   Weekly and Month End    None

Sun Trust

   Weekly and Month End    None

New England Pension Consultants

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Evaluation Associates

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Watson Wyatt

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

S&P (Rating Agency)

   Weekly Tuesday Night    1 Business Day

Moody’s (Rating Agency)

   Weekly Tuesday Night    1 Business Day

INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS

The Trust has adopted the following fundamental restrictions, which cannot be changed without approval by a “vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities” of the fund as defined in the 1940 Act and Rule 18f-2 thereunder (see “Voting”). The Trust also has adopted certain non-fundamental policies, which can be changed without shareholder approval. These policies are described in more detail below. As discussed under “Proposed Investment Restrictions” below, the fund plans to put new investment restrictions in place by [date].

 

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Current Investment Restrictions

Without the approval of a majority of its outstanding voting securities, International Fund may not:

1. Invest in a manner that would cause it to fail to be a “diversified company” under the 1940 Act and the rules, regulations and orders thereunder.

2. Invest more than 25% of its total assets in securities, the issuers of which conduct their principal business activities in the same industry. For purposes of this limitation, securities of the U.S. government (including its agencies and instrumentalities) and securities of state or municipal governments and their political subdivisions are not considered to be issued by members of any industry.

3. Purchase or sell real estate, real estate mortgages, commodities or commodity contracts, but this restriction shall not prevent the fund from (a) investing in securities of issuers engaged in the real estate business or the business of investing in real estate (including interests in limited partnerships owning or otherwise engaging in the real estate business or the business of investing in real estate) and securities which are secured by real estate or interests therein; (b) holding or selling real estate received in connection with securities it holds or held; (c) trading in futures contracts and options on futures contracts (including options on currencies to the extent consistent with the fund’s investment objective and policies); or (d) investing in real estate investment trust securities.

4. Borrow money, except that (a) the Portfolio may borrow from banks under certain circumstances where the fund’s manager reasonably believes that (i) the cost of borrowing and related expenses will be exceeded by the fund’s return from investments of the proceeds of the borrowing in portfolio securities or (ii) meeting redemption requests might otherwise require the untimely disposition of securities, in an amount not exceeding 33  1 /3% of the value of the fund’s total assets (including the amount borrowed), valued at the lesser of cost or market, less liabilities (not including the amount borrowed) and (b) the fund may, to the extent consistent with its investment policies, enter into reverse repurchase agreements, forward roll transactions and similar investment strategies and techniques.

1. Make loans. This restriction does not apply to: (a) the purchase of debt obligations in which the fund may invest consistent with its investment objectives and policies; (b) repurchase agreements; and (c) loans of its portfolio securities, to the fullest extent permitted under the 1940 Act.

2. Engage in the business of underwriting securities issued by other persons, except to the extent that the fund may technically be deemed to be an underwriter under the 1933 Act, as amended, in disposing of portfolio securities.

3. Issue “senior securities”.

In addition, the following policies have also been adopted by International Fund, but are not fundamental and accordingly may be changed by approval of the Board. The fund may not:

1. Purchase any securities on margin (except for such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of purchases and sales of portfolio securities) or sell any securities short (except “against the box”). For purposes of this restriction, the deposit or payment by the fund of underlying securities and other assets in escrow and collateral agreements with respect to initial or maintenance margin in connection with

 

37


futures contracts and related options and options on securities, indexes or similar items is not considered to be the purchase of a security on margin.

2. Purchase interests in oil, gas and/or mineral exploration or development programs (including mineral leases), except for purchases of currencies and futures and options and other related contracts as described in the Prospectus from time to time and except for the purchase of marketable securities issued by companies that have such interests.

3. Purchase securities of any other registered investment company, except in connection with a merger, consolidation, reorganization or acquisition of assets; provided, however, that the fund may also purchase shares of other investment companies pursuant to Section 12(d)(1)(A) of the 1940 Act.

4. Make investments in securities for the purpose of exercising control or managing the issuer.

5. Purchase securities of any issuer (including any predecessor) which has been in operation for less than three years if immediately after such purchase more than 5% of the value of the total assets of the fund would be invested in such securities.

6. Purchase or otherwise acquire any security if, as a result, more than 15% of its net assets would be invested in securities that are illiquid.

Proposed Investment Restrictions

The fund’s revised fundamental policies will be as follows:

1. The fund may not borrow money except as permitted by (i) the 1940 Act, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

2. The fund may not engage in the business of underwriting the securities of other issuers except as permitted by (i) the 1940 Act, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

3. The fund may lend money or other assets to the extent permitted by (i) the 1940 Act, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

4. The fund may not issue senior securities except as permitted by (i) the 1940 Act, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

5. The fund may not purchase or sell real estate except as permitted by (i) the 1940 Act, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

6. The fund may purchase or sell commodities or contracts related to commodities to the extent permitted by (i) the 1940 Act, or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

7. Except as permitted by exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, the fund may not make any investment if, as a result, the fund’s investments will be concentrated in any one industry.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to borrowing money set forth in (1) above, the 1940 Act permits a fund to borrow money in amounts of up to one-third of the fund’s total assets from banks for any

 

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purpose, and to borrow up to 5% of the fund’s total assets from banks or other lenders for temporary purposes. To limit the risks attendant to borrowing, the 1940 Act requires the fund to maintain at all times an “asset coverage” of at least 300% of the amount of its borrowings. Asset coverage means the ratio that the value of the fund’s total assets, minus liabilities other than borrowings, bears to the aggregate amount of all borrowings. Certain trading practices and investments, such as reverse repurchase agreements, may be considered to be borrowings and thus subject to the 1940 Act restrictions. Borrowing money to increase portfolio holdings is known as “leveraging.” Borrowing, especially when used for leverage, may cause the value of a fund’s shares to be more volatile than if the fund did not borrow. This is because borrowing tends to magnify the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of the fund’s portfolio holdings. Borrowed money thus creates an opportunity for greater gains, but also greater losses. To repay borrowings, the fund may have to sell securities at a time and at a price that is unfavorable to the fund. There also are costs associated with borrowing money, and these costs would offset and could eliminate a fund’s net investment income in any given period. [Currently the fund does not contemplate borrowing money for leverage, but if the fund does so, it will not likely do so to a substantial degree.] The policy in (1) above will be interpreted to permit a fund to engage in trading practices and investments that may be considered to be borrowing to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act. Short-term credits necessary for the settlement of securities transactions and arrangements with respect to securities lending will not be considered to be borrowings under the policy. Practices and investments that may involve leverage but are not considered to be borrowings are not subject to the policy.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to underwriting set forth in (2) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from engaging in the underwriting business or from underwriting the securities of other issuers; in fact, the 1940 Act permits a fund to have underwriting commitments of up to 25% of its assets under certain circumstances. Those circumstances currently are that the amount of the fund’s underwriting commitments, when added to the value of the fund’s investments in issuers where the fund owns more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of those issuers, cannot exceed the 25% cap. A fund engaging in transactions involving the acquisition or disposition of portfolio securities may be considered to be an underwriter under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”). Under the 1933 Act, an underwriter may be liable for material omissions or misstatements in an issuer’s registration statement or prospectus. Securities purchased from an issuer and not registered for sale under the 1933 Act are considered restricted securities. There may be a limited market for these securities. If these securities are registered under the 1933 Act, they may then be eligible for sale but participating in the sale may subject the seller to underwriter liability. These risks could apply to a fund investing in restricted securities. Although it is not believed that the application of the 1933 Act provisions described above would cause a fund to be engaged in the business of underwriting, the policy in (2) above will be interpreted not to prevent the fund from engaging in transactions involving the acquisition or disposition of portfolio securities, regardless of whether the fund may be considered to be an underwriter under the 1933 Act.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to lending set forth in (3) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from making loans; however, SEC staff interpretations currently prohibit funds from lending more than one-third of their total assets, except through the purchase of debt obligations or the use of repurchase agreements. (A repurchase agreement is an agreement to purchase a security, coupled with an agreement to sell that security back to the original seller on an agreed-upon date at a price that reflects current interest rates. The SEC frequently treats repurchase agreements as loans.) While lending securities may be a source of income to a fund, as with other extensions of credit, there are risks of delay in recovery or even loss of rights in the underlying securities should the borrower fail financially. However, loans would be made only when the fund’s manager or a subadviser believes the income justifies the attendant risks. The fund also will be permitted by this policy to make loans of money, including to other funds. A fund would have to obtain exemptive relief from the SEC to make loans to other funds. The policy in (3) above will be interpreted not to prevent a fund from purchasing or investing in debt obligations and loans. In addition, collateral arrangements with respect to options, forward currency and futures transactions and other derivative instruments, as well as delays in the settlement of securities transactions, will not be considered loans.

 

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With respect to the fundamental policy relating to issuing senior securities set forth in (4) above, “senior securities” are defined as fund obligations that have a priority over the fund’s shares with respect to the payment of dividends or the distribution of fund assets. The 1940 Act prohibits a fund from issuing senior securities except that the fund may borrow money in amounts of up to one-third of the fund’s total assets from banks for any purpose. A fund also may borrow up to 5% of the fund’s total assets from banks or other lenders for temporary purposes, and these borrowings are not considered senior securities. The issuance of senior securities by a fund can increase the speculative character of the fund’s outstanding shares through leveraging. Leveraging of a fund’s portfolio through the issuance of senior securities magnifies the potential for gain or loss on monies, because even though the fund’s net assets remain the same, the total risk to investors is increased to the extent of the fund’s gross assets. The policy in (4) above will be interpreted not to prevent collateral arrangements with respect to swaps, options, forward or futures contracts or other derivatives, or the posting of initial or variation margin.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to real estate set forth in (5) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from owning real estate; however, a fund is limited in the amount of illiquid assets it may purchase. Investing in real estate may involve risks, including that real estate is generally considered illiquid and may be difficult to value and sell. Owners of real estate may be subject to various liabilities, including environmental liabilities. To the extent that investments in real estate are considered illiquid, the current SEC staff position generally limits a fund’s purchases of illiquid securities to 15% of net assets. The policy in (5) above will be interpreted not to prevent a fund from investing in real estate-related companies, companies whose businesses consist in whole or in part of investing in real estate, instruments (like mortgages) that are secured by real estate or interests therein, or real estate investment trust securities.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to commodities set forth in (6) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from owning commodities, whether physical commodities and contracts related to physical commodities (such as oil or grains and related futures contracts), or financial commodities and contracts related to financial commodities (such as currencies and, possibly, currency futures). However, a fund is limited in the amount of illiquid assets it may purchase. To the extent that investments in commodities are considered illiquid, the current SEC staff position generally limits a fund’s purchases of illiquid securities to 15% of net assets. If a fund were to invest in a physical commodity or a physical commodity-related instrument, the fund would be subject to the additional risks of the particular physical commodity and its related market. The value of commodities and commodity-related instruments may be extremely volatile and may be affected either directly or indirectly by a variety of factors. There also may be storage charges and risks of loss associated with physical commodities. The policy in (6) above will be interpreted to permit investments in exchange traded funds that invest in physical and/or financial commodities.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to concentration set forth in (7) above, the 1940 Act does not define what constitutes “concentration” in an industry. The SEC staff has taken the position that investment of 25% or more of a fund’s total assets in one or more issuers conducting their principal activities in the same industry or group of industries constitutes concentration. It is possible that interpretations of concentration could change in the future. A fund that invests a significant percentage of its total assets in a single industry may be particularly susceptible to adverse events affecting that industry and may be more risky than a fund that does not concentrate in an industry. The policy in (7) above will be interpreted to refer to concentration as that term may be interpreted from time to time. The policy also will be interpreted to permit investment without limit in the following: securities of the U.S. government and its agencies or instrumentalities; securities of state, territory, possession or municipal governments and their authorities, agencies, instrumentalities or political subdivisions; securities of foreign governments; and repurchase agreements collateralized by any such obligations. Accordingly, issuers of the foregoing securities will not be considered to be members of any industry. There also will be no limit on investment in issuers domiciled in a single jurisdiction or country. The policy also will be interpreted to give broad authority to a fund as to how to classify issuers within or among industries.

The fund’s proposed fundamental policies are written and will be interpreted broadly. For example, the policies will be interpreted to refer to the 1940 Act and the related rules as they are in effect from time to time,

 

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and to interpretations and modifications of or relating to the 1940 Act by the SEC and others as they are given from time to time. When a policy provides that an investment practice may be conducted as permitted by the 1940 Act, the policy will be interpreted to mean either that the 1940 Act expressly permits the practice or that the 1940 Act does not prohibit the practice.

The International Fund is currently classified as a diversified fund under the 1940 Act. This means that the fund may not purchase securities of an issuer (other than obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities) if, with respect to 75% of its total assets, (a) more than 5% of the fund’s total assets would be invested in securities of that issuer, or (b) the fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer. With respect to the remaining 25% of its total assets, the fund can invest more than 5% of its assets in one issuer. Under the 1940 Act, the fund cannot change its classification from diversified to non-diversified without shareholder approval.

The fund’s investment objectives will be made non-fundamental.

The following restriction will be removed for the International Fund: The fund may not invest in a manner that would cause it to fail to be a “diversified company” under the 1940 Act and the rules, regulations and orders thereunder.

TAXES

[to be updated by amendment]

The following is a summary of certain material U.S. federal income tax considerations regarding the purchase, ownership and disposition of shares of the fund by U.S. persons. This summary does not address all of the potential U.S. federal income tax consequences that may be applicable to the fund or to all categories of investors, some of which may be subject to special tax rules. Current and prospective shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisers with respect to the specific federal, state, local and foreign tax consequences of investing in the fund. The summary is based on the laws in effect on the date of this SAI and existing judicial and administrative interpretations thereof, all of which are subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect.

The Fund and Its Investments

The fund intends to continue to qualify to be treated as a separate regulated investment company under the Code each taxable year. To so qualify, the fund must, among other things: (a) derive at least 90% of its gross income in each taxable year from dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans and gains from

 

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the sale or other disposition of stock or securities or, foreign currencies, or other income (including, but not limited to, gains from options, futures or forward contracts) derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies and net income derived from interests in “qualified publicly traded partnerships” ( i . e ., partnerships that are traded on an established securities market or tradable on a secondary market, other than partnerships that derive 90% of their income from interest, dividends, capital gains, and other traditional permitted mutual fund income); and (b) diversify its holdings so that, at the end of each quarter of the fund’s taxable year, (i) at least 50% of the market value of the fund’s assets is represented by cash, securities of other regulated investment companies, U.S. government securities and other securities, with such other securities limited, in respect of any one issuer, to an amount not greater than 5% of the fund’s assets and not greater than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer and (ii) not more than 25% of the value of its assets is invested in the securities (other than U.S. government securities or securities of other regulated investment companies) of any one issuer, any two or more issuers of which the fund holds 20% or more of the outstanding voting securities and that are determined to be engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses or related trades or businesses or in the securities of one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships.

The fund’s investments in partnerships, including in qualified publicly traded partnerships, may result in the fund’s being subject to state, local or foreign income, franchise or withholding tax liabilities.

As a regulated investment company, the fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its taxable investment income and capital gains that it distributes to its shareholders, provided that it satisfies a minimum distribution requirement. To satisfy the minimum distribution requirement, the fund must distribute to its shareholders at least the sum of (i) 90% of its “investment company taxable income” ( i.e. , income other than its net realized long-term capital gain over its net realized short-term capital loss), plus or minus certain adjustments, and (ii) 90% of its net tax-exempt income for the taxable year. The fund will be subject to income tax at regular corporation rates on any taxable income or gains that it does not distribute to its shareholders.

On October 31, 2006, the unused capital loss carryover for the fund was approximately $ 0.

The Code imposes a 4% nondeductible excise tax on the fund to the extent it does not distribute by the end of any calendar year at least the sum of (i) 98% of its ordinary income for that year and (ii) 98% of its capital gain net income (both long-term and short-term) for the one-year period ending, as a general rule, on October 31 of that year. For this purpose, however, any ordinary income or capital gain net income retained by the fund that is subject to corporate income tax will be considered to have been distributed by year-end. In addition, the minimum amounts that must be distributed in any year to avoid the excise tax will be increased or decreased to reflect any underdistribution or overdistribution, as the case may be, from the previous year. The fund anticipates that it will pay such dividends and will make such distributions as are necessary in order to avoid the application of this excise tax.

If, in any taxable year, the fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company under the Code or fails to meet the distribution requirement, it will be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation and distributions to its shareholders will not be deductible by the fund in computing its taxable income. In addition, in the event of a failure to qualify, the fund’s distributions, to the extent derived from the fund’s current or accumulated earnings and profits, including any distributions of net long-term capital gains, will be taxable to shareholders as dividend income. However, such dividends will be eligible (i) to be treated as qualified dividend income in the case of shareholders taxed as individuals and (ii) for the dividends received deduction in the case of corporate shareholders. Moreover, if the fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company in any year, it must pay out its earnings and profits accumulated in that year in order to qualify again as a regulated investment company. If the fund failed to qualify as a regulated investment company for a period greater than two taxable years, the fund may be required to recognize any net built-in gains with respect to certain of its assets ( i.e ., the excess of the aggregate gains, including items of income, over aggregate losses that would have been realized

 

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with respect to such assets if the fund had been liquidated) if it qualifies as a regulated investment company in a subsequent year.

The fund’s transactions in foreign currencies, forward contracts, options and futures contracts (including options and futures contracts on foreign currencies), to the extent permitted, will be subject to special provisions of the Code (including provisions relating to “hedging transactions” and “straddles”) that, among other things, may affect the character of gains and losses realized by the fund ( i.e ., may affect whether gains or losses are ordinary or capital), accelerate recognition of income to the fund and defer fund losses. These rules could therefore affect the character, amount and timing of distributions to shareholders. These provisions also (a) will require the fund to mark-to-market certain types of the positions in its portfolio ( i.e ., treat them as if they were closed out at the end of each year) and (b) may cause the fund to recognize income without receiving cash with which to pay dividends or make distributions in amounts necessary to satisfy the distribution requirements for avoiding income and excise taxes. The fund will monitor its transactions, will make the appropriate tax elections and will make the appropriate entries in its books and records when it acquires any foreign currency, forward contract, option, futures contract or hedged investment in order to mitigate the effect of these rules and prevent disqualification of the fund as a regulated investment company.

The fund’s investment in so-called “section 1256 contracts,” such as regulated futures contracts, most foreign currency forward contracts traded in the interbank market and options on most stock indices, are subject to special tax rules. All section 1256 contracts held by the fund at the end of its taxable year are required to be marked to their market value, and any unrealized gain or loss on those positions will be included in the fund’s income as if each position had been sold for its fair market value at the end of the taxable year. The resulting gain or loss will be combined with any gain or loss realized by the fund from positions in section 1256 contracts closed during the taxable year. Provided such positions were held as capital assets and were not part of a “hedging transaction” nor part of a “straddle,” 60% of the resulting net gain or loss will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss, and 40% of such net gain or loss will be treated as short-term capital gain or loss, regardless of the period of time the positions were actually held by the fund.

The fund may be required to treat amounts as taxable income or gain, subject to the distribution requirements referred to above, even though no corresponding amounts of cash are received concurrently, as a result of (1) mark-to-market, constructive sale or rules applicable to PFICs (as defined below) or partnerships or trusts in which the fund invests or to certain options, futures or forward contracts, or “appreciated financial positions” or (2) the inability to obtain cash distributions or other amounts due to currency controls or restrictions on repatriation imposed by a foreign country with respect to the fund’s investments (including through depositary receipts) in issuers in such country or (3) tax rules applicable to debt obligations acquired with “original issue discount,” including zero-coupon or deferred payment bonds and pay-in-kind debt obligations, or to market discount if an election is made with respect to such market discount. The fund may therefore be required to obtain cash to be used to satisfy these distribution requirements by selling securities at times that it might not otherwise be desirable to do so or borrowing the necessary cash, thereby incurring interest expenses.

In general, gain or loss on a short sale is recognized when the fund closes the sale by delivering the borrowed property to the lender, not when the borrowed property is sold. Gain or loss from a short sale is generally considered as capital gain or loss to the extent that the property used to close the short sale constitutes a capital asset in a fund’s hands. Except with respect to certain situations where the property used by the fund to close a short sale has along-term holding period on the date of the short sale, special rules would generally treat the gains on short sales as short-term capital gains. These rules may also terminate the running of the holding period of “substantially identical property” held by the fund. Moreover, a loss on a short sale will be treated as a long-term capital loss if, on the date of the short sale, “substantially identical property” has been held by the fund for more than one year. In general, the fund will not be permitted to deduct payments made to reimburse the lender of securities for dividends paid on borrowed stock if the short sale is closed on or before the 45th day after the short sale is entered into.

 

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A negative inflation adjustment will reduce the amount of interest otherwise includible with respect to in inflation-adjusted debt instrument. Where the negative inflation adjustment exceeds income includible by the fund for the taxable year, it will be treated as an ordinary loss to the extent of the fund’s total interest inclusions in previous years with respect to such debt instrument.

As a result of entering into swap contracts, the fund may make or receive periodic net payments. The fund may also make or receive a payment when a swap is terminated prior to maturity through an assignment of the swap or other closing transaction. Periodic net payments will generally constitute ordinary income or deductions, while termination of a swap will generally result in capital gain or loss (which will be a long-term capital gain or loss if the fund has been a party to the swap for more than one year). The tax treatment of many types of credit default swaps is uncertain.

Foreign Investments .   Dividends or other income (including, in some cases, capital gains) received by the fund from investments in foreign securities may be subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by foreign countries. Tax conventions between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes in some cases. If more than 50% of the fund’s total assets at the close of its taxable year consists of stock or securities of foreign corporations, the fund may elect for U.S. income tax purposes to treat foreign income taxes paid by it as paid by its shareholders. The fund may qualify for and make this election in some, but not necessarily all, of its taxable years. If the fund were to make an election, shareholders of the fund would be required to take into account an amount equal to their pro rata portions of such foreign taxes in computing their taxable income and then treat an amount equal to those foreign taxes as a U.S. federal income tax deduction or as a foreign tax credit against their U.S. federal income taxes. Shortly after any year for which it makes such an election, the fund will report to its shareholders the amount per share of such foreign income tax that must be included in each shareholder’s gross income and the amount which will be available for the deduction or credit. No deduction for foreign taxes may be claimed by a shareholder who does not itemize deductions. Certain limitations will be imposed on the extent to which the credit (but not the deduction) for foreign taxes may be claimed. Foreign taxes paid by the fund will reduce the return from the fund’s investments.

Under Section 988 of the Code, gains or losses attributable to fluctuations in exchange rates between the time the fund accrues income or receivables or expenses or other liabilities denominated in a foreign currency and the time the fund actually collects such income or pays such liabilities are generally treated as ordinary income or ordinary loss. Similarly, gains or losses on foreign currency, foreign currency forward contracts, certain foreign currency options or futures contracts and the disposition of debt securities denominated in foreign currency, to the extent attributable to fluctuations in exchange rates between the acquisition and disposition dates, are also treated as ordinary income or loss unless the fund were to elect otherwise.

Passive Foreign Investment Companies.  If the fund purchases shares in certain foreign investment entities, called “passive foreign investment companies” (“PFICs”), it may be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a portion of any “excess distribution” or gain from the disposition of such shares even if such income is distributed as a taxable dividend by the fund to its shareholders. Additional charges in the nature of interest may be imposed on the fund in respect of deferred taxes arising from such distributions or gains.

If the fund were to invest in a PFIC and elect to treat the PFIC as a “qualified electing fund” under the Code, in lieu of the foregoing requirements, the fund might be required to include in income each year a portion of the ordinary earnings and net capital gains of the qualified electing fund, even if not distributed to the fund, and such amounts would be subject to the 90% and excise tax distribution requirements described above. In order to make this election, the fund would be required to obtain certain annual information from the PFICs in which it invests, which may be difficult or impossible to obtain.

Alternatively, the fund may make a mark-to-market election that will result in the fund being treated as if it had sold and repurchased its PFIC stock at the end of each year. In such case, the fund would report any such gains as ordinary income and would deduct any such losses as ordinary losses to the extent of previously

 

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recognized gains. The election must be made separately for each PFIC owned by the fund and, once made, would be effective for all subsequent taxable years, unless revoked with the consent of the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”). By making the election, the fund could potentially ameliorate the adverse tax consequences with respect to its ownership of shares in a PFIC, but in any particular year may be required to recognize income in excess of the distributions it receives from PFICs and its proceeds from dispositions of PFIC stock. The fund may have to distribute this “phantom” income and gain to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement and to avoid imposition of the 4% excise tax.

The fund will make the appropriate tax elections, if possible, and take any additional steps that are necessary to mitigate the effect of these rules.

Taxation of U.S. Shareholders

Dividends and Distributions.  Dividends and other distributions by the fund are generally treated under the Code as received by the shareholders at the time the dividend or distribution is made. However, any dividend or distribution declared by the fund in October, November or December of any calendar year and payable to shareholders of record on a specified date in such a month shall be deemed to have been received by each shareholder on December 31 of such calendar year and to have been paid by the fund not later than such December 31, provided such dividend is actually paid by the fund during January of the following calendar year.

The fund intends to distribute annually to its shareholders substantially all of its investment company taxable income and any net realized long-term capital gains in excess of net realized short-term capital losses (including any capital loss carryovers). However, if the fund retains for investment an amount equal to all or a portion of its net long-term capital gains in excess of its net short-term capital losses (including any capital loss carryovers), it will be subject to a corporate tax (currently at a maximum rate of 35%) on the amount retained. In that event, the fund will designate such retained amounts as undistributed capital gains in a notice to its shareholders who (a) will be required to include in income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as long-term capital gains, their proportionate shares of the undistributed amount, (b) will be entitled to credit their proportionate shares of the 35% tax paid by the fund on the undistributed amount against their U.S. federal income tax liabilities, if any, and to claim refunds to the extent their credits exceed their liabilities, if any, and (c) will be entitled to increase their tax basis, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, in their shares by an amount equal to 65% of the amount of undistributed capital gains included in the shareholder’s income. Organizations or persons not subject to U.S. federal income tax on such capital gains will be entitled to a refund of their pro rata share of such taxes paid by the fund upon filing appropriate returns or claims for refund with the IRS.

Distributions of net realized long-term capital gains, if any, that the fund designates as capital gains dividends are taxable as long-term capital gains, whether paid in cash or in shares and regardless of how long a shareholder has held shares of the fund. All other dividends of the fund (including dividends from short-term capital gains) from its current and accumulated earnings and profits (“regular dividends”) are generally subject to tax as ordinary income.

Special rules apply, however, to regular dividends paid to individuals. Such a dividend, with respect to taxable years beginning on or before December 31, 2010, may be subject to tax at the rates generally applicable to long-term capital gains for individuals (currently at a maximum rate of 15%), provided that the individual receiving the dividend satisfies certain holding period and other requirements. Dividends subject to these special rules are not actually treated as capital gains, however, and thus are not included in the computation of an individual’s net capital gain and generally cannot be used to offset capital losses. The long-term capital gains rates will apply to: (i) 100% of the regular dividends paid by the fund to an individual in a particular taxable year if 95% or more of the fund’s gross income (ignoring gains attributable to the sale of stocks and securities except to the extent net short-term capital gain from such sales exceeds net long-term capital loss from such sales) in that taxable year is attributable to qualified dividend income received by the fund; or (ii) the portion of the regular dividends paid by the fund to an individual in a particular taxable year that is attributable to qualified

 

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dividend income received by the fund in that taxable year if such qualified dividend income accounts for less than 95% of the fund’s gross income (ignoring gains attributable to the sale of stocks and securities except to the extent net short-term capital gain from such sales exceeds net long-term capital loss from such sales) for that taxable year. For this purpose, “qualified dividend income” generally means income from dividends received by the fund from U.S. corporations and certain foreign corporations, provided that the fund satisfies certain holding period requirements in respect of the stock of such corporations and has not hedged its position in the stock in certain ways. However, qualified dividend income does not include any dividends received from tax-exempt corporations. Also, dividends received by the fund from a real estate investment trust or another regulated investment company generally are qualified dividend income only to the extent the dividend distributions are made out of qualified dividend income received by such real estate investment trust or other regulated investment company. In the case of securities lending transactions, payments in lieu of dividends are not qualified dividend income. If a shareholder elects to treat fund dividends as investment income for purposes of the limitation on the deductibility of investment interest, such dividends would not be qualified dividend income.

We will send you information after the end of each year setting forth the amount of dividends paid by us that are eligible for the reduced rates.

If an individual receives a regular dividend qualifying for the long-term capital gains rates and such dividend constitutes an “extraordinary dividend,” and the individual subsequently recognizes a loss on the sale or exchange of stock in respect of which the extraordinary dividend was paid, then the loss will be long-term capital loss to the extent of such extraordinary dividend. An “extraordinary dividend” on common stock for this purpose is generally a dividend (i) in an amount greater than or equal to 10% of the taxpayer’s tax basis (or trading value) in a share of stock, aggregating dividends with ex-dividend dates within an 85-day period or (ii) in an amount greater than 20% of the taxpayer’s tax basis (or trading value) in a share of stock, aggregating dividends with ex-dividend dates within a 365-day period.

Distributions in excess of the fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits will, as to each shareholder, be treated as a tax-free return of capital to the extent of a shareholder’s basis in his shares of the fund, and as a capital gain thereafter (if the shareholder holds his shares of the fund as capital assets). Shareholders receiving dividends or distributions in the form of additional shares should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as receiving a distribution in an amount equal to the amount of money that the shareholders receiving cash dividends or distributions will receive, and should have a cost basis in the shares received equal to such amount. Dividends paid by a fund that are attributable to dividends received by the fund from domestic corporations may qualify for the federal dividends-received deduction for corporations.

Investors considering buying shares just prior to a dividend or capital gain distribution should be aware that, although the price of shares just purchased at that time may reflect the amount of the forthcoming distribution, such dividend or distribution may nevertheless be taxable to them. If the fund is the holder of record of any stock on the record date for any dividends payable with respect to such stock, such dividends will be included in the fund’s gross income not as of the date received but as of the later of (a) the date such stock became ex-dividend with respect to such dividends ( i.e., the date on which a buyer of the stock would not be entitled to receive the declared, but unpaid, dividends) or (b) the date the fund acquired such stock. Accordingly, in order to satisfy its income distribution requirements, the fund may be required to pay dividends based on anticipated earnings, and shareholders may receive dividends in an earlier year than would otherwise be the case.

Certain types of income received by the fund from real estate investment trusts (“REITs”), real estate mortgage investment conduits (“REMICs”), taxable mortgage pools or other investments may cause the fund to designate some or all of its distributions as “excess inclusion income.” To fund shareholders such excess inclusion income may (1) constitute taxable income, as “unrelated business taxable income” (“UBTI”) for those shareholders who would otherwise be tax-exempt such as individual retirement accounts, 401(k) accounts, Keogh

 

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plans, pension plans and certain charitable entities; (2) not be offset against net operating losses for tax purposes; (3) not be eligible for reduced US withholding for non-US shareholders even from tax treaty countries; and (4) cause the fund to be subject to tax if certain “disqualified organizations” as defined by the Code are fund shareholders.

Sales of Shares.  Upon the sale or exchange of his or her shares, a shareholder will realize a taxable gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount realized and his or her basis in the shares. A redemption of shares by the fund will be treated as a sale for this purpose. Such gain or loss will be treated as capital gain or loss if the shares are capital assets in the shareholder’s hands, and will be long-term capital gain or loss if the shares are held for more than one year and short-term capital gain or loss if the shares are held for one year or less. Any loss realized on a sale or exchange will be disallowed to the extent the shares disposed of are replaced, including replacement through the reinvesting of dividends and capital gains distributions in the fund, within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the disposition of the shares. In such a case, the basis of the shares acquired will be increased to reflect the disallowed loss. Any loss realized by a shareholder on the sale of a fund share held by the shareholder for six months or less will be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any distributions or deemed distributions of long-term capital gains received by the shareholder with respect to such share. If a shareholder incurs a sales charge in acquiring shares of the fund, disposes of those shares within 90 days and then acquires shares in a mutual fund for which the otherwise applicable sales charge is reduced by reason of a reinvestment right ( e.g., an exchange privilege), the original sales charge will not be taken into account in computing gain/loss on the original shares to the extent the subsequent sales charge is reduced. Instead, the disregarded portion of the original sales charge will be added to the tax basis of the newly acquired shares. Furthermore, the same rule also applies to a disposition of the newly acquired shares made within 90 days of the second acquisition. This provision prevents a shareholder from immediately deducting the sales charge by shifting his or her investment within a family of mutual funds.

Backup Withholding.  The fund may be required to withhold, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, a portion of the dividends, distributions and redemption proceeds payable to shareholders who fail to provide the fund with their correct taxpayer identification number or to make required certifications, or who have been notified by the IRS that they are subject to backup withholding. Certain shareholders are exempt from backup withholding. Backup withholding is not an additional tax and any amount withheld may be credited against a shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability.

Notices.  Shareholders will receive, if appropriate, various written notices after the close of the fund’s taxable year regarding the U.S. federal income tax status of certain dividends, distributions and deemed distributions that were paid (or that are treated as having been paid) by the fund to its shareholders during the preceding taxable year.

Other Taxes

Dividends, distributions and redemption proceeds may also be subject to additional state, local and foreign taxes depending on each shareholder’s particular situation.

If a shareholder recognizes a loss with respect to the fund’s shares of $2 million or more for an individual shareholder or $10 million or more for a corporate shareholder, the shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on Form 8886. Direct shareholders of portfolio securities are in many cases excepted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance, shareholders of a regulated investment company are not excepted. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer’s treatment of the loss is proper. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.

Taxation of Non-U.S. Shareholders.  Dividends paid by the fund to non-U.S. shareholders are generally subject to withholding tax at a 30% rate or a reduced rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty to the

 

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extent derived from investment income and short-term capital gains. In order to obtain a reduced rate of withholding, a non-U.S. shareholder will be required to provide an IRS Form W-8BEN certifying its entitlement to benefits under a treaty. The withholding tax does not apply to regular dividends paid to a non-U.S. shareholder who provides a Form W-8ECI, certifying that the dividends are effectively connected with the non-U.S. shareholder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States. Instead, the effectively connected dividends will be subject to regular U.S. income tax as if the non-U.S. shareholder were a U.S. shareholder. A non-U.S. corporation receiving effectively connected dividends may also be subject to additional “branch profits tax” imposed at a rate of 30% (or lower treaty rate). A non-U.S. shareholder who fails to provide an IRS Form W-8BEN or other applicable form may be subject to backup withholding at the appropriate rate.

In general, United States federal withholding tax will not apply to any gain or income realized by a non-U.S. shareholder in respect of any distributions of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses, exempt-interest dividends, or upon the sale or other disposition of shares of the fund.

For taxable years beginning before January 1, 2008, properly-designated dividends are generally exempt from United States federal withholding tax where they (i) are paid in respect of the fund’s “qualified net interest income” (generally, the fund’s U.S. source interest income, other than certain contingent interest and interest from obligations of a corporation or partnership in which the fund is at least a 10% shareholder, reduced by expenses that are allocable to such income) or (ii) are paid in respect of the fund’s “qualified short-term capital gains” (generally, the excess of the fund’s net short-term capital gain over the fund’s long-term capital loss for such taxable year). However, depending on its circumstances, the fund may designate all, some or none of its potentially eligible dividends as such qualified net interest income or as qualified short-term capital gains, and/or treat such dividends, in whole or in part, as ineligible for this exemption from withholding. In order to qualify for this exemption from withholding, a non-U.S. shareholder will need to comply with applicable certification requirements relating to its non-U.S. status (including, in general, furnishing an IRS Form W-8BEN or substitute Form). In the case of shares held through an intermediary, the intermediary may withhold even if the fund designates the payment as qualified net interest income or qualified short-term capital gain. Non-U.S. shareholders should contact their intermediaries with respect to the application of these rules to their accounts.

A distribution from the fund to foreign shareholders who have held more 5% of the fund at any time during the one-year period ending on the date of distribution is treated as real property gain subject to 35% withholding tax and treated as income effectively connected to a U.S. trade or business with certain tax filing requirements applicable if such distribution is attributable to a distribution received by the fund from a REIT. A distribution paid prior to 2008 attributable to the fund’s sale of a REIT or other U.S. real property holding company will also be treated as real property gain if 50% or more of the value of the fund’s assets are invested in REITs and other U.S. real property holding corporations and if the foreign shareholder has held more than 5% of a class of stock at any time during the one-year period ending on the date of the distribution. Restrictions apply regarding wash sales and substitute payment transactions.

The foregoing is only a summary of certain material U.S. federal income tax consequences affecting the fund and its shareholders. Current and prospective shareholders are advised to consult their own tax advisers with respect to the particular tax consequences to them of an investment in the fund.

DETERMINATION OF NET ASSET VALUE

The net asset value per share of each class of the fund is calculated on each day, Monday through Friday, except days on which the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is closed. The NYSE currently is scheduled to be closed on New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas, and on the preceding Friday or subsequent Monday when one of these holidays falls on a Saturday or Sunday, respectively. Because of the differences in distribution

 

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fees and class-specific expenses, the per share net asset value of each class will differ. Please see the Prospectus for a description of the procedure used by the fund in valuing its assets.

PURCHASE OF SHARES

General

Investors may purchase shares from a Service Agent. In addition, certain investors, including retirement plans purchasing through certain Service Agents, may purchase shares directly from the fund. When purchasing shares of the fund, investors must specify whether the purchase is for Class A, B, C, or I 1 shares. Service Agents may charge their customers an annual account maintenance fee in connection with a brokerage account through which an investor purchases or holds shares. Accounts held directly with the transfer agent are not subject to a maintenance fee.

For additional information regarding applicable investment minimums and eligibility requirements, please see the fund’s Prospectus.

There are no minimum investment requirements for purchases of Class A shares by: (i) current and retired board members of Legg Mason, (ii) current and retired board members of any fund advised by LMPFA (such board members, together with board members of Legg Mason, are referred to herein as “Board Members”), (iii) current employees of Legg Mason and its subsidiaries, (iv) the “immediate families” of such persons (“immediate families” are such person’s spouse, including the surviving spouse of a deceased Board Member, and children under the age of 21) and (v) a pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for the benefit of such persons. The fund reserves the right to waive or change minimums, to decline any order to purchase its shares and to suspend the offering of shares from time to time.

Purchase orders received by the fund or a Service Agent prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE on any day the fund calculates its net asset value are priced according to the net asset value determined on that day (the “trade date”). Orders received by a Service Agent prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE on any day the fund calculates its net asset value are priced according to the net asset value determined on that day, provided the order is received by the fund’s agent prior to its close of business. For shares purchased through CGMI or a Service Agent purchasing through CGMI, payment for shares of the fund is normally due on the third business day after the trade date. In all other cases, payment must be made with the purchase order.

Systematic Investment Plan. Shareholders may make additions to their accounts at any time by purchasing shares through a service known as the Systematic Investment Plan. Under the Systematic Investment Plan, a distributor, the transfer agent, or, with respect to a PFS account, Primerica Shareholder Services is authorized through preauthorized transfers of at least $25 on a monthly, quarterly, every alternate month, semi-annual or annual basis to charge the shareholder’s account held with a bank or other financial institution as indicated by the shareholder, to provide for systematic additions to the shareholder’s fund account. A shareholder who has insufficient funds to complete the transfer will be charged a fee of up to $25 by a distributor, the transfer agent or Primerica Shareholder Services (such fee may be up to $30 for a PFS account). The Systematic Investment Plan also authorizes a distributor to apply cash held in the shareholder’s brokerage account or redeem the shareholder’s shares of certain money market funds managed by the manager or its affiliates to make additions to the account. Additional information is available from the fund or a Service Agent.

Sales Charge Alternatives

The following classes of shares are available for purchase. See the Prospectus of the fund for a discussion of who is eligible to purchase certain classes and of factors to consider in selecting which class of shares to purchase.

Class A Shares .   Class A shares are sold to investors at the public offering price, which is the net asset value (“NAV”) plus an initial sales charge, as described in the fund’s Prospectus.

 


1 As of November 20, 2006, Class Y Shares were renamed Class I Shares.

 

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Members of the selling group may receive a portion of the sales charge as described in the fund’s Prospectus and may be deemed to be underwriters of the fund as defined in the 1933 Act. Sales charges are calculated based on the aggregate of purchases of Class A shares of the fund made at one time by any “person,” which includes an individual and his or her spouse and children under the age of 21, or a trustee or other fiduciary of a single trust estate or single fiduciary account. For additional information regarding sales charge reductions, see “Sales Charge Waivers and Reductions” below.

Purchases of Class A shares of $1,000,000 or more will be made at NAV without any initial sales charge, but will be subject to a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00% on redemptions made within 12 months of purchase. The contingent deferred sales charge is waived in the same circumstances in which the contingent deferred sales charge applicable to Class B and C shares is waived. See “Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Provisions” and “Waivers of Contingent Deferred Sales Charge” below.

Class B Shares.  Class B shares are sold without an initial sales charge but are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge payable upon certain redemptions. See “Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Provisions.”

Class C Shares.  Class C shares are sold without an initial sales charge but Class C shares of International Fund are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge payable upon certain redemptions. See “Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Provisions.”

Class I Shares.  Class I shares are sold at NAV with no initial sales charge and no contingent deferred sales charge upon redemption.

Sales Charge Waivers and Reductions

Initial Sales Charge Waivers. Purchases of Class A shares may be made at NAV without an initial sales charge in the following circumstances:

(a) sales to (i) current and retired board members of Legg Mason, (ii) current and retired Board Members, (iii) current employees of Legg Mason and its subsidiaries, (iv) “immediate families” of such persons (“immediate families” are such person’s spouse, including the surviving spouse of a deceased Board Member, and children under the age of 21) and (v) a pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for the benefit of such persons;

(b) sales to any employees of Service Agents having dealer, service or other selling agreements with the fund’s distributors or otherwise having an arrangement with any such Service Agent with respect to sales of fund shares, and by the immediate families of such persons or by a pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for the benefit of such persons (providing the purchase is made for investment purposes and such securities will not be resold except through redemption or repurchase);

(c) offers of Class A shares to any other investment company to effect the combination of such company with the fund by merger, acquisition of assets or otherwise;

(d) purchases by shareholders who have redeemed Class A shares in the fund (or Class A shares of another Legg Mason Partners fund that is offered with a sales charge) and who wish to reinvest their redemption proceeds in the fund, provided the reinvestment is made within 60 calendar days of the redemption;

(e) purchases by accounts managed by registered investment advisory subsidiaries of Citigroup;

(f) purchases by certain separate accounts used to fund unregistered variable annuity contracts; and

(g) purchases by investors participating in “wrap fee” or asset allocation programs or other fee-based arrangements sponsored by (affiliated and non-affiliated) broker/dealers and other financial institutions that have entered into agreements with CGMI or LMIS.

 

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In order to obtain such discounts, the purchaser must provide sufficient information at the time of purchase to permit verification that the purchase qualifies for the elimination of the sales charge.

Accumulation Privilege —Please see the fund’s Prospectus for information regarding accumulation privileges.

Letter of Intent —helps you take advantage of breakpoints in Class A sales charges. You may purchase Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners funds over a 13-month period and pay the same sales charge, if any, as if all shares had been purchased at once.

You have a choice of seven Asset Level Goal amounts, as follows:

 

(1) $25,000    (5) $500,000
(2) $50,000    (6) $750,000
(3) $100,000    (7) $1,000,000
(4) $250,000   

Each time you make a Class A purchase under a Letter of Intent, you will be entitled to the sales charge that is applicable to the amount of your Asset Level Goal. For example, if your Asset Level Goal is $100,000, any Class A investments you make under a Letter of Intent would be subject to the sales charge of the specific fund you are investing in for purchases of $100,000. Sales charges and breakpoints vary among the Legg Mason Partners funds.

When you enter into a Letter of Intent, you agree to purchase in Eligible Accounts over a thirteen-month (13) period Eligible Fund Purchases in an amount equal to the Asset Level Goal you have selected, less any Eligible Prior Purchases. For this purpose, shares are valued at the public offering price (including any sales charge paid) calculated as of the date of purchase, plus any appreciation in the value of the shares as of the date of calculation, except for Eligible Prior Purchases, which are valued at current value as of the date of calculation. Your commitment will be met if at any time during the 13-month period the value, as so determined, of eligible holdings is at least equal to your Asset Level Goal. All reinvested dividends and distributions on shares acquired under the Letter will be credited towards your Asset Level Goal. You may include any Eligible Fund Purchases towards the Letter, including shares of classes other than Class A shares. However, a Letter of Intent will not entitle you to a reduction in the sales charge payable on any shares other than Class A shares, and if the shares are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge, you will still be subject to that contingent deferred sales charge with respect to those shares. You must make reference to the Letter of Intent each time you make a purchase under the Letter.

Eligible Fund Purchases.  Generally, any shares of a Legg Mason Partners fund may be credited towards your Asset Level Goal. Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or its affiliates (except for money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners funds offered with a sales charge), Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. are not eligible. The list of eligible shares may change from time to time. Investors should check with their Service Agents to see which funds may be eligible.

Eligible Accounts.  Purchases may be made through any account in your name, or in the name of your spouse or your children under the age of 21. You may need to provide certain records, such as account statements, in

 

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order to verify your eligibility for reduced sales charges. Contact your Service Agent to see which accounts may be credited toward your Asset Level Goal.

Eligible Prior Purchases.  You may also credit towards your Asset Level Goal any Eligible Fund Purchases made in Eligible Accounts at any time prior to entering into the Letter of Intent that have not been sold or redeemed, based on the current price of those shares as of the date of calculation.

Backdating Letter.  You may establish a date for a Letter of Intent that is up to ninety (90) calendar days prior to the date you enter into the Letter. Any Eligible Fund Purchases in Eligible Accounts made during that period will count towards your Asset Level Goal and will also be eligible for the lower sales charge applicable to your Asset Level Goal. You will be credited by way of additional shares at the current offering price for the difference between (a) the aggregate sales charges actually paid for those eligible shares and (b) the aggregate applicable sales charges for your Asset Level Goal.

Increasing the Amount of the Letter.  You may at any time increase your Asset Level Goal. You must, however, contact your Service Agent prior to making any purchases in an amount in excess of your current Asset Level Goal. Upon such an increase, you will be credited by way of additional shares at the then current offering price for the difference between: (a) the aggregate sales charges actually paid for shares already purchased under the Letter and (b) the aggregate applicable sales charges for the increased Asset Level Goal. The 13-month period during which the Asset Level Goal must be achieved will remain unchanged.

Sales and Exchanges.  Shares acquired pursuant to a Letter of Intent, other than Escrowed Shares as defined below, may be redeemed or exchanged at any time, although any shares that are redeemed prior to meeting your Asset Level Goal will no longer count towards meeting your Goal. However, complete liquidation of purchases made under a Letter of Intent prior to meeting the Asset Level Goal will result in the cancellation of the Letter. See “Failure to Meet Asset Level Goal” below. Exchanges in accordance with a fund’s Prospectus are permitted, and shares so exchanged will continue to count towards your Asset Level Goal, as long as the exchange results in an Eligible Fund Purchase.

Cancellation of Letter.  You may cancel a Letter of Intent by notifying your Service Agent in writing. The Letter will be automatically cancelled if all shares are sold or redeemed as set forth above. See “Failure to Meet Asset Level Goal” below.

Escrowed Shares.  Shares equal in value to five percent (5%) of your Asset Level Goal as of the date your Letter (or the date of any increase in the amount of the Letter) is accepted, will be held in escrow during the term of your Letter. The Escrowed Shares will be included in the total shares owned as reflected in your account statement, and any dividends and capital gains distributions applicable to the Escrowed Shares will be credited to your account and counted towards your Asset Level Goal or paid in cash upon request. The Escrowed Shares will be released from escrow if all the terms of your Letter are met.

Failure to Meet Asset Level Goal.  If the total assets under your Letter of Intent within its 13-month term are less than your Asset Level Goal or you elect to liquidate all of your holdings or cancel the Letter before reaching your Asset Level Goal, you will be liable for the difference between: (a) the sales charge actually paid and (b) the sales charge that would have applied if you had not entered into the Letter. You may, however, be entitled to any breakpoints that would have been available to you under the accumulation privilege. An appropriate number of shares in your account will be redeemed to realize the amount due. For these purposes, by entering into a Letter of Intent, you irrevocably appoint your financial professional as your attorney-in-fact for the purposes of holding the Escrowed Shares and surrendering shares in your account for redemption. If there are insufficient assets in your account, you will be liable for the difference. Any Escrowed Shares remaining after such redemption will be released to your account.

 

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Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Provisions

“Contingent deferred sales charge shares” are: (a) Class B shares; (b) Class C shares; and (c) Class A shares that were purchased without an initial sales charge but are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge. A contingent deferred sales charge may be imposed on certain redemptions of these shares.

Any applicable contingent deferred sales charge will be assessed on the net asset value at the time of purchase or redemption, whichever is less.

Class C shares and Class A shares that are contingent deferred sales charge shares are subject to a 1.00% contingent deferred sales charge if redeemed within 12 months of purchase. In circumstances in which the contingent deferred sales charge is imposed on Class B shares, the amount of the charge will depend on the number of years since the shareholder made the purchase payment from which the amount is being redeemed, as further described in the Prospectus. Solely for purposes of determining the number of years since a purchase payment, all purchase payments made during a month will be aggregated and deemed to have been made on the last day of the preceding statement month.

Class B shares will convert automatically to Class A shares of International Fund approximately eight years after the date on which they were purchased and thereafter will no longer be subject to any distribution fees. There will also be converted at that time such proportion of Class B dividend shares (Class B shares that were acquired through the reinvestment of dividends and distributions) owned by the shareholder as the total number of his or her Class B shares converting at the time bears to the total number of outstanding Class B shares (other than Class B dividend shares) owned by the shareholder.

In determining the applicability of any contingent deferred sales charge, it will be assumed that a redemption is made first of shares representing capital appreciation, next of shares representing the reinvestment of dividends and capital gain distributions, next of shares that are not subject to the contingent deferred sales charge and finally of other shares held by the shareholder for the longest period of time. The length of time that contingent deferred sales charge shares acquired through an exchange have been held will be calculated from the date the shares exchanged were initially acquired in one of the other Legg Mason Partners funds. For federal income tax purposes, the amount of the contingent deferred sales charge will reduce the gain or increase the loss, as the case may be, on the amount realized on redemption. The fund’s distributors receive contingent deferred sales charges in partial consideration for the expenses in selling shares.

Waivers of Contingent Deferred Sales Charge

The contingent deferred sales charge will be waived on: (a) exchanges (see “Exchange Privilege”); (b) automatic cash withdrawals in amounts equal to or less than 2.00% of the shareholder’s account balance at the time the withdrawals commence per month, up to a maximum of 12.00% in one year (see “Automatic Cash Withdrawal Plan”); (c) redemptions of shares within 12 months following the death or disability (as defined in the Code) of the shareholder; (d) mandatory post-retirement distributions from retirement plans or IRAs commencing on or after attainment of age 70  1 / 2 (except that shareholders who purchased shares subject to a contingent deferred sales charge prior to May 23, 2005, will be “grandfathered” and will be eligible to obtain the waiver at age 59  1 / 2 by demonstrating such eligibility at the time of redemption); (e) involuntary redemptions; (f) redemptions of shares to effect a combination of a fund with any investment company by merger, acquisition of assets or otherwise; (g) tax-free returns of an excess contribution to any retirement plan; and (h) certain redemptions of shares of a fund in connection with lump-sum or other distributions made by eligible retirement plans or redemption of shares by participants in certain “wrap fee” or asset allocation programs sponsored by broker/dealers and other financial institutions that have entered into agreements with a distributor or the manager.

As of November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge will be waived on new Class C shares purchased by retirement plan omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund.

 

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A shareholder who has redeemed shares from other Legg Mason Partners funds may, under certain circumstances, reinvest all or part of the redemption proceeds within 60 days and receive pro rata credit for any contingent deferred sales charge imposed on the prior redemption.

Contingent deferred sales charge waivers will be granted subject to confirmation by a distributor or the transfer agent of the shareholder’s status or holdings, as the case may be.

Grandfathered Retirement Program with Exchange Features

Retirement plan programs authorized by LMIS prior to November 20, 2006 (collectively, the “Grandfathered Retirement Program”) to offer eligible retirement plan investors the opportunity to exchange all of their Class C shares of the fund for Class A shares of the fund, are permitted to maintain such share class exchange feature for current and prospective retirement plan investors.

Under the Grandfathered Retirement Program, Class C shares may be purchased by plans investing less than $3 million. Class C shares are eligible for exchange into Class A shares not later than eight years after the plan joins the program. They are eligible for exchange in the following circumstances: If a participating plan’s total Class C holdings in all non-money market Legg Mason Partners funds equal at least $3,000,000 at the end of the fifth year after the date a participating plan enrolled in the Grandfathered Retirement Program, the participating plan will be offered the opportunity to exchange all of its Class C shares for Class A shares of the same fund. Such participating plans will be notified of the pending exchange in writing within 30 days after the fifth anniversary of the enrollment date and, unless the exchange offer has been rejected in writing, the exchange will occur on or about the 90th day after the fifth anniversary date. If the participating plan does not qualify for the five-year exchange to Class A shares, a review of the participating plan’s holdings will be performed each quarter until either the participating plan qualifies or the end of the eighth year.

Any participating plan that has not previously qualified for an exchange into Class A shares will be offered the opportunity to exchange all of its Class C shares for Class A shares of the same fund regardless of asset size at the end of the eighth year after the date the participating plan enrolled in the Grandfathered Retirement Program. Such plans will be notified of the pending exchange in writing approximately 60 days before the eighth anniversary of the enrollment date and, unless the exchange has been rejected in writing, the exchange will occur on or about the eighth anniversary date. Once an exchange has occurred, a participating plan will not be eligible to acquire additional Class C shares, but instead may acquire Class A shares of the same fund. Any Class C shares not converted will continue to be subject to the distribution fee.

For further information regarding this Program, contact your Service Agent or the transfer agent. Participating plans that enrolled in the Grandfathered Retirement Program prior to June 2, 2003 should contact the transfer agent for information regarding Class C exchange privileges applicable to their plans.

PFS Accounts

The International Fund offers two Classes of shares to investors purchasing through PFS: Class A and B shares.

Initial purchases of shares of the International Fund must be made through a PFS Registered Representative by completing the appropriate application. The completed application should be forwarded to Primerica Shareholder Services c/o PFPC, Inc., P.O. Box 9662, Providence, RI 02940-9662. Checks drawn on foreign banks must be payable in U.S. dollars and have the routing number of the U.S. bank encoded on the check. Additional investments may be sent directly to PFPC. In processing applications and investments, PFPC acts as agent for the investor and for the distributor, in accordance with the terms of the prospectus. If the transfer agent ceases to act as such, a successor company named by the International Fund will act in the same capacity so long as the account remains open. Shares purchased will be held in the shareholder’s account by PFPC.

 

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Purchase orders received by the transfer agent or Primerica Shareholder Services prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE, on any day the International Fund calculates its net asset value, are priced according to the net asset value determined on that day.

Initial purchases of International Fund shares may be made by wire. Before sending the wire, the PFS Registered Representative must contact Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 665-8677 to obtain proper wire instructions. Once an account is open, a shareholder may make additional investments by wire. The shareholder should contact Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445 to obtain proper wire instructions.

Shareholders who establish telephone transaction authority on their account and supply bank account information may make additions to their accounts at any time. Shareholders should contact Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern time any day that the NYSE is open. If a shareholder does not wish to allow subsequent investments by telephone by any person in his or her account, the shareholder should decline the telephone transaction option on the account application. The minimum subsequent investment by telephone is $25 and can be up to a maximum of $50,000. By requesting a subsequent purchase by telephone, you authorize Primerica Shareholder Services to transfer funds from the bank account provided for the amount of the purchase. Subsequent investments by telephone may not be available if the shareholder cannot reach Primerica Shareholder Services whether because all telephone lines are busy or for any other reason; in such case, a shareholder would have to use the International Fund’s regular subsequent investment procedure described above.

An account transcript is available at a shareholder’s request, which identifies every financial transaction in an account since it has opened. Additional copies of tax forms are available at the shareholder’s request.

Additional information regarding Primerica Shareholder Services may be obtained by contacting the Customer Services Department at (800) 544-5445.

Determination of Public Offering Price

The fund offers its shares on a continuous basis. The public offering price for each class of shares of the fund is equal to the net asset value per share of the fund at the time of purchase, plus for Class A shares an initial sales charge based on the aggregate amount of the investment. A contingent deferred sales charge, however, is imposed on certain contingent deferred sales charge shares.

Set forth below is an example of the method of computing the offering price of the Class A shares of the fund based on the net asset value of a share of the fund as of October 31, 2006.

 

Class A (net asset value of $            plus             %
of net asset value per share)

   $         

REDEMPTION OF SHARES

The right of redemption may be suspended or the date of payment postponed (a) for any period during which the NYSE is closed (other than for customary weekend and holiday closings), (b) when trading in the markets the fund normally utilizes is restricted, or an emergency exists, as determined by the SEC, so that disposal of the fund’s investments or determination of net asset value is not reasonably practicable or (c) for such other periods as the SEC by order may permit for protection of the fund’s shareholders.

If the shares to be redeemed were issued in certificate form, the certificates must be endorsed for transfer (or be accompanied by an endorsed stock power) and must be submitted to the transfer agent together with the

 

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redemption request. Any signature appearing on a share certificate, stock power or written redemption request in excess of $50,000 must be guaranteed by an eligible guarantor institution such as a domestic bank, savings and loan institution, domestic credit union, member bank of the Federal Reserve System or member firm of a national securities exchange. Written redemption requests of $50,000 or less do not require a signature guarantee unless more than one such redemption request is made in any 10-day period. Redemption proceeds will be mailed to an investor’s address of record. The transfer agent may require additional supporting documents for redemptions made by corporations, executors, administrators, trustees or guardians. A redemption request will not be deemed properly received until the transfer agent receives all required documents in proper form.

If a shareholder holds shares in more than one class, any request for redemption must specify the class being redeemed. In the event of a failure to specify which class, or if the investor owns fewer shares of the class than specified, the redemption request will be delayed until the transfer agent receives further instructions. The redemption proceeds will be remitted on or before the seventh business day following receipt of proper tender, except on any days on which the NYSE is closed or as permitted under the 1940 Act, in extraordinary circumstances. Redemption proceeds for shares purchased by check, other than a certified or official bank check, will be remitted upon clearance of the check, which may take up to ten days. Each Service Agent is responsible for transmitting promptly orders for its customers.

The Service Agent may charge you a fee for executing your order. The amount and applicability of such a fee is determined and disclosed to its customers by each Service Agent.

The fund will no longer issue share certificates. Outstanding share certificates will continue to be honored. If you hold share certificates, it will take longer to exchange or redeem shares.

Additional Information Regarding Telephone Redemption and Exchange Program. Neither the fund nor its agents will be liable for following instructions communicated by telephone that are reasonably believed to be genuine. The fund and its agents will employ procedures designed to verify the identity of the caller and legitimacy of instructions (for example, a shareholder’s name and account number will be required and phone calls may be recorded). The fund reserves the right to suspend, modify or discontinue the telephone redemption and exchange program or to impose a charge for this service at any time following at least seven (7) days’ prior notice to shareholders.

PFS Accounts

Shareholders may redeem for cash some or all of their shares of the International Fund at any time by sending a written request in proper form directly to the Primerica Shareholder Services c/o PFPC at P.O. Box 9662, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9662. If you should have any questions concerning how to redeem your account after reviewing the information below, please contact Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445, Spanish speaking representatives at (800) 544-7278 or TDD Line for the Hearing Impaired at (800) 824-1721.

All persons in whose names the shares are registered must sign the request for redemption. Signatures must conform exactly to the account registration. If the proceeds of the redemption exceed $50,000, if the proceeds are not paid to the record owner(s) at the record address, if the shareholder(s) has had an address change within 30 days or less of the shareholder’s redemption request, or if the shareholder(s) is a corporation, sole proprietor, partnership, trust or fiduciary, signature(s) must be guaranteed by one of the following: a bank or trust company; a broker/dealer; a credit union; a national securities exchange, registered securities association or clearing agency; a savings and loan association; or a federal savings bank.

Generally, a properly completed redemption form with any required signature guarantee is all that is required for a redemption. In some cases, however, other documents may be necessary. For example, in the case of shareholders holding certificates, the certificates for shares being redeemed must accompany the redemption request. Additional documentary evidence of authority is also required by PFPC in the event redemption is

 

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requested by a corporation, partnership, trust, fiduciary, executor or administrator. Additionally, if a shareholder requests a redemption from a retirement plan account (IRA or SEP), such request must state whether or not federal income tax is to be withheld from the proceeds of the redemption check. Redemption from a 403(b)(7) account requires completion of a special form. Please call Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time to obtain the proper forms.

Shareholders may utilize Primerica Shareholder Services Telephone Redemption service to redeem shares in their account as long as they have authorized the telephone redemption option. If a shareholder does not wish to allow telephone redemptions by any person in his or her account, he or she should decline the telephone transaction option on the account application. The telephone redemption option can be used only if: (a) the redemption proceeds are to be mailed to the address of record and there has been no change of address of record within the preceding 30 days; (b) the shares to be redeemed are not in certificate form; (c); the person requesting the redemption can provide proper identification information; and (d) the proceeds of the redemption do not exceed $50,000. 403(b)(7) accounts and accounts not registered in the name of an individual(s) are not eligible for the telephone redemption option. Telephone redemption requests can be made by contacting Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern time any day that the NYSE is open.

Telephone redemption may not be available if the shareholder cannot reach Primerica Shareholder Services because all telephone lines are busy or for any other reason; in such case, a shareholder use the International Fund’s regular redemption procedure described above.

Redemption proceeds can be sent by check to the address of record, by wire transfer to a bank account designated on the application or to a bank account designated on the application via the Automated Clearinghouse (ACH). PFPC will process and mail a shareholder’s redemption check usually within two to three business days after receiving the redemption request in good order.

Automatic Cash Withdrawal Plan

An automatic cash withdrawal plan (the “Withdrawal Plan”) is available to shareholders as described in the fund’s Prospectus. To the extent withdrawals under the Withdrawal Plan exceed dividends, distributions and appreciation of a shareholder’s investment in the fund, there will be a reduction in the value of the shareholder’s investment, and continued withdrawal payments may reduce the shareholder’s investment and ultimately exhaust it. Withdrawal payments should not be considered as income from investment in the fund. Furthermore, as it generally would not be advantageous to a shareholder to make additional investments in the fund at the same time he or she is participating in the Withdrawal Plan, purchases by such shareholder in amounts of less than $5,000 ordinarily will not be permitted. The Withdrawal Plan will be carried over on exchanges between funds or classes of the fund. All dividends and distributions on shares in the Withdrawal Plan are reinvested automatically at net asset value in additional shares of the fund.

Shareholders who wish to participate in the Withdrawal Plan and who hold their shares in certificate form must deposit their share certificates with the transfer agent as agent for Withdrawal Plan members. For additional information shareholders should contact their Service Agents. A shareholder who purchases shares directly through the transfer agent may continue to do so and applications for participation in the Withdrawal Plan must be received by the transfer agent no later than the eighth day of the month to be eligible for participation beginning with that month’s withdrawal.

Distributions in Kind. If the Board determines that it would be detrimental to the best interests of the remaining shareholders of the fund to make a redemption payment wholly in cash, the fund may pay, in accordance with SEC rules, any portion of a redemption in excess of the lesser of $250,000 or 1.00% of the fund’s net assets by a distribution in kind of fund securities in lieu of cash. If a redemption is paid in portfolio securities, such securities will be valued in accordance with the procedures described under “Share Price” in the

 

57


fund’s Prospectus. Securities issued as a distribution in kind may incur brokerage commissions when shareholders subsequently sell those securities.

EXCHANGE PRIVILEGE

The exchange privilege enables shareholders to acquire shares of the same class in a fund with different investment objectives when they believe that a shift between funds is an appropriate investment decision. This privilege is available to shareholders residing in any state in which fund shares being acquired may legally be sold. Prior to any exchange, the shareholder should obtain and review a copy of the current Prospectus of the fund into which an exchange is being considered. Prospectuses may be obtained from a Service Agent.

Upon receipt of proper instructions and all necessary supporting documents, shares submitted for exchange are redeemed at the then-current net asset value, and the proceeds are immediately invested in shares of the fund being acquired at such fund’s then current net asset value. The distributors reserve the right to reject any exchange request. The exchange privilege may be modified or terminated at any time after written notice to shareholders.

Class A and I Exchanges.  Class A and I shareholders of the fund who wish to exchange all or a portion of their shares for shares of the respective class in another fund may do so without imposition of any charge.

Class B Exchanges.  Class B shares of International Fund may be exchanged for Class B shares of other funds without a contingent deferred sales charge. Upon an exchange, the new Class B shares will be deemed to have been purchased on the same date as the Class B shares of the funds that have been exchanged.

Class C Exchanges.  Class C shares of the fund may be exchanged for Class C shares of other funds without a contingent deferred sales charge. Upon an exchange, the new Class C shares will be deemed to have been purchased on the same date as the Class C shares of the fund that have been exchanged. Certain retirement plan programs with exchange features in effect prior to November 20, 2006, as approved by LMIS, will remain eligible for exchange from Class C shares to Class A shares in accordance with the program terms. See “Grandfathered Retirement Programs” for additional information.

Additional Information Regarding the Exchange Privilege

The fund is not designed to provide investors with a means of speculation on short-term market movements. A pattern of frequent exchanges by investors can be disruptive to efficient portfolio management and, consequently, can be detrimental to the fund and its shareholders. See “Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Fund Shares” in the Prospectus.

During times of drastic economic or market conditions, the fund may suspend the exchange privilege temporarily without notice and treat exchange requests based on their separate components—redemption orders with a simultaneous request to purchase the other fund’s shares. In such a case, the redemption request would be processed at the fund’s next determined net asset value but the purchase order would be effective only at the net asset value next determined after the fund being purchased formally accepts the order, which may result in the purchase being delayed.

Certain shareholders may be able to exchange shares by telephone. See the fund’s Prospectus for additional information. Exchanges will be processed at the net asset value next determined. Redemption procedures discussed above are also applicable for exchanging shares, and exchanges will be made upon receipt of all

 

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supporting documents in proper form. If the account registration of the shares of a fund being acquired is identical to the registration of the shares of a fund exchanged, no signature guarantee is required.

This exchange privilege may be modified or terminated at any time, and is available only in those jurisdictions where such exchanges legally may be made. Before making any exchange, shareholders should contact the transfer agent or, if they hold fund shares through a Service Agent, their Service Agent to obtain more information and Prospectuses of the funds to be acquired through the exchange. An exchange is treated as a sale of the shares exchanged and could result in taxable gain or loss to the shareholder making the exchange.

DIVIDENDS AND DISTRIBUTIONS

International Fund declares and pays income dividends at least annually on its shares. The fund makes annual distributions of capital gains, if any, on its shares.

If a shareholder does not otherwise instruct, dividends and capital gain distributions will be reinvested automatically in additional shares of the same Class at net asset value, subject to no initial or contingent deferred sales charges. A shareholder may change the option at any time by notifying his or her Service Agent. A shareholder whose account is held directly at the transfer agent should notify the transfer agent in writing at least five business days prior to the payment date to permit the change to be entered in the shareholder’s account.

The per share dividends on Class B and Class C shares of the fund may be lower than the per share dividends on Class A and Class I shares principally as a result of the distribution fee applicable with respect to Class B and Class C shares. The per share dividends on Class A shares of the fund may be lower than the per share dividends on Class I shares principally as a result of the service fee applicable to Class A shares. Distributions of capital gains, if any, will be in the same amount for Class A, Class C and Class I shares.

INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AND OTHER SERVICES

Manager

LMPFA (or the “manager”) serves as investment manager to the fund pursuant to an investment management agreement (the “Management Agreement”) with respect to the fund, with an initial term ending November 30, 2007. LMPFA, with offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022, is a recently-organized investment adviser that has been formed to serve as the investment manager of the fund and certain other Legg Mason-sponsored funds. LMPFA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason. Legg Mason, whose principal executive offices are at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, is a financial services holding company. As of September 30, 2006, Legg Mason’s asset management operation had aggregate assets under management of approximately $891 billion. LMPFA provides administrative and certain oversight services and manages the cash and short-term investments of the International Fund.

Under the Management Agreement, subject to the supervision and direction of the Board, the manager is delegated the responsibility of managing the fund’s portfolio in accordance with the fund’s stated investment objective and policies, making investment decisions for the fund and placing orders to purchase and sell securities. The manager also performs administrative and management services necessary for the operation of the fund, such as (i) supervising the overall administration of the fund, including negotiation of contracts and fees with and the monitoring of performance and billings of the fund’s transfer agent, shareholder servicing agents, custodian and other independent contractors or agents; (ii) providing certain compliance, fund accounting, regulatory reporting, and tax reporting services; (iii) preparing or participating in the preparation of Board materials, registration statements, proxy statements and reports and other communications to shareholders;

 

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(iv) maintaining the fund’s existence, and (v) maintaining the registration and qualification of the fund’s shares under federal and state laws.

The Management Agreement has an initial term ending November 30, 2007 and will continue in effect from year to year thereafter provided such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (a) by the fund’s Board or by a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act), and (b) in either event, by a majority of the Independent Trustees with such Independent Trustees casting votes in person at a meeting called for such purpose.

The Management Agreement provides that the manager may render services to others. The Management Agreement is terminable without penalty on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice by the fund when authorized either by a vote of holders of shares representing a majority of the voting power of the outstanding voting securities of the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) or by a vote of a majority of the fund’s Trustees, or by the manager on not less than 90 days’ written notice, and will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment. The Management Agreement provides that neither the manager nor its personnel shall be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or omission in the execution of security transactions for the fund, except for willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence or reckless disregard of its or their obligations and duties.

For its services under the Management Agreement for International Fund, LMPFA receives an investment management fee as follows:

 

Fee Schedule
Based on Average Daily Net Assets of the Fund

   Management Fee  

Up to $1 Billion

   0.850 %

Over $1 Billion, up to and including $2 Billion

   0.825 %

Over $2 Billion, up to and including $5 Billion

   0.800 %

Over $5 Billion, up to and including $10 Billion

   0.775 %

Over $10 Billion

   0.750 %

For the period from December 1, 2005, through July 31, 2006, SBFM served as the fund’s manager under the same fee schedule as described above.

For the 2004, 2005 and 2006 fiscal years the management fees paid by the fund was as follows:

 

2004    2005    2006
$ 3,329,977    $ 2,635,325    $         

 

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Subadviser

Brandywine Global Investment Management, LLC (“Brandywine”) serves as the International Fund’s subadviser pursuant to a sub-advisory agreement (the “Sub-Advisory Agreement”) between LMPFA and Brandywine that was approved by the Board, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, on June 23, 2006 and by the shareholders on [date]. Brandywine is a wholly-owned, independently operated subsidiary of Legg Mason, Inc. and as of September 30, 2006 manages over $32 billion in assets for approximately 670 institutional clients. Brandywine was incorporated in 1986 and was acquired by Legg Mason in 1998. Brandywine offers an array of equity, fixed income and balanced portfolios that invest in U.S., international and global markets. Brandywine changed its name to its current name in May 2006 to better reflect its growing presence in international markets, primarily in Europe, Asia, the Middle East and South Africa. Brandywine’s offices are located at 2929 Arch Street, 8th Floor, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19104.

Under the Sub-Advisory Agreement, Brandywine, subject to the supervision of the fund’s Board and of LMPFA, regularly provides the fund with investment research, advice, management and supervision, furnishes a continuous investment program for the assets consistent with the fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions, determines from time to time what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained or sold by the fund, and implements those decisions, all subject to the provisions of the fund’s governing documents, the 1940 Act, the applicable rules and regulations of the SEC, and other applicable federal and state law, as well as any specific policies approved by the fund’s Board and disclosed to Brandywine. The subadviser exercises proxy voting rights, rights to consent to corporate action and any other rights pertaining to the fund’s assets in accordance with its policies and procedures, subject to such direction as the Board may provide and performs such other functions of investment management and supervision as may be directed by the Board.

The Sub-Advisory Agreement has an initial term ending [date] and will continue in effect from year to year thereafter provided such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (a) by the fund’s Board or by a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act), and (b) in either event, by a majority of the Independent Trustees with such Independent Trustees casting votes in person at a meeting called for such purpose.

The Sub-Advisory Agreement provides that the subadviser may render services to others. The Sub-Advisory Agreement is terminable without penalty by the fund on no more than 60 days’ and not less than 30 days’ written notice to the subadviser when authorized either by a vote of holders of shares representing a majority of the voting power of the outstanding voting securities of the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) or by vote of a majority of the fund’s Trustees, or by the subadviser upon not less than 90 days’ written notice to the fund. The Sub-Advisory Agreement provides that the subadviser shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or omission in the execution of securities transactions for the fund, except for willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence or reckless disregard of its obligations and duties.

 

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As compensation for subadvisory services, the manager (not the fund) will pay the subadviser a fee equal to 70% of the management fee paid to LMPFA for the fund, net of expense waivers and reimbursements.

The Sub-Advisory Agreement went into effect on              so no fees were paid by the manager to Brandywine during the fund’s past three fiscal years.

Expenses

In addition to amounts payable under the Management Agreement and the Distribution Plans (as discussed below), the fund is responsible for its own expenses, including, among other things, interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the fund’s securities and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing Prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the fund, if any; and the fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any nonrecurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the fund is a party and the legal obligation which the fund may have to indemnify a fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

Management may agree to waive fees and/or reimburse operating expenses for one or more classes of shares, either through contractual or voluntary arrangements. Any such waivers and/ or reimbursements are described in the fund’s Prospectus. The contractual and voluntary fee waivers and/ or reimbursements do not cover extraordinary expenses, such as (a) any expenses or charges related to litigation, derivative actions, demand related to litigation, regulatory or other government investigations and proceedings, “for cause” regulatory inspections and indemnification or advancement of related expenses or costs, to the extent any such

 

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expenses are considered extraordinary expenses for the purposes of fee disclosure in Form N-1A as the same may be amended from time to time; (b) transaction costs (such as brokerage commissions and dealer and underwriter spreads) and taxes; and (c) other extraordinary expenses as determined for the purposes of fee disclosure in Form N-1A, as the same may be amended from time to time. Without limiting the foregoing, extraordinary expenses are generally those that are unusual or expected to recur only infrequently, and may include such expenses, by way of illustration, as (i) expenses of the reorganization, restructuring, redomiciling or merger of the fund or class or the acquisition of all or substantially all of the assets of another fund or class; (ii) expenses of holding, and soliciting proxies for, a meeting of shareholders of the fund or class (except to the extent relating to routine items such as the election of board members or the approval of the independent registered public accounting firm); and (iii) expenses of converting to a new custodian, transfer agent or other service provider, in each case to the extent any such expenses are considered extraordinary expenses for the purposes of fee disclosure in Form N-1A as the same may be amended from time to time.

Code of Ethics

Pursuant to Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act, the fund, the manager, the subadviser and distributors have adopted codes of ethics that permit personnel to invest in securities for their own accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by the fund. All personnel must place the interests of clients first and avoid activities, interests and relationships that might interfere with the duty to make decisions in the best interests of the clients. All personal securities transactions by employees must adhere to the requirements of the codes and must be conducted in such a manner as to avoid any actual or potential conflict of interest, the appearance of such a conflict, or the abuse of an employee’s position of trust and responsibility.

Proxy Voting Guidelines and Procedures

Although individual Trustees may not agree with particular policies or votes by the manager or the subadviser, the Board has delegated proxy voting discretion to the manager, believing that the manager should be responsible for voting because it is a matter relating to the investment decision making process.

LMPFA delegates the responsibility for voting proxies for the fund to the fund’s subadviser through its contracts with the subadviser. The subadviser will use its own proxy voting policies and procedures to vote proxies. Accordingly, LMPFA does not expect to have proxy-voting responsibility for the fund. Should LMPFA become responsible for voting proxies for any reason, such as the inability of a subadviser to provide investment advisory services, LMPFA shall utilize the proxy voting guidelines established by the most recent subadviser to vote proxies until a new subadviser is retained. In the case of a material conflict between the interests of LMPFA (or its affiliates if such conflict is known to persons responsible for voting at LMPFA) and the fund, the board of directors of LMPFA shall consider how to address the conflict and/or how to vote the proxies. LMPFA shall maintain records of all proxy votes in accordance with applicable securities laws and regulations, to the extent that LMPFA votes proxies. LMPFA shall be responsible for gathering relevant documents and records related to proxy voting from the subadviser and providing them to the fund as required for the fund to comply with applicable rules under the 1940 Act.

The subadviser’s Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures govern in determining how proxies relating to a fund’s portfolio securities are voted and are attached as Appendices B and C to this SAI. Information regarding how the fund voted proxies (if any) relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available without charge (1) by calling 1-888-425-6432, (2) on the fund’s website at http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices and (3) on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

Distributors

LMIS, a wholly-owned broker/dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, located at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, and CGMI, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Citigroup, located at 388 Greenwich Street,

 

63


New York, New York 10013 serve as the distributors of the fund pursuant written agreements or amendments to written agreements, in each case dated December 1, 2005 (the “distribution agreements”), which were approved by the fund’s Board and by a majority of the Independent Trustees, casting votes in person at a meeting called for such purpose, on November 21, 2005. The distribution agreements went into effect on December 1, 2005. PFS, located at 3120 Breckinridge Boulevard, Duluth, Georgia 30099-0001, serves as a distributor of International Fund’s shares pursuant to an agreement dated December, 2006, which was approved by the Board and by a majority of the Independent Trustees, casting votes in person at a meeting called for such purpose, on December __, 2006. The agreement with PFS went into effect on December 4, 2006.

LMIS, CGMI and PFS may be deemed to be underwriters for purposes of the 1933 Act. From time to time, LMIS, CGMI or PFS or their affiliates may also pay for certain non-cash sales incentives provided to PFS Registered Representatives. Such incentives do not have any effect on the net amount invested. In addition to the reallowances from the applicable public offering price described below, PFS may, from time to time, pay or allow additional reallowances or promotional incentives, in the form of cash or other compensation, to PFS Registered Representatives that sell shares of the International Fund.

A distributor’s obligation is an agency or “best efforts” arrangement under which the distributor is required to take and pay only for such shares of the fund as may be sold to the public. A distributor is not obligated to sell any stated number of shares. Each distribution agreement is renewable from year to year if approved (a) by the Trustees or by a vote of a majority of the fund’s outstanding voting securities, and (b) by the affirmative vote of a majority of Trustees who are not parties to such agreement or interested persons, as defined in the 1940 Act, of any party by votes cast in person at a meeting called for such purpose. Each distribution agreement provides that it will terminate if assigned, and that it may be terminated without penalty by either party on 60 days’ written notice.

Initial Sales Charges

PFS started serving as a distributor effective December 4, 2006 and therefore did not receive any commissions or contingent deferred sales charges for any prior fiscal years.

CGMI Commissions on Class A Shares . For the fiscal years ended October 31, 2004, October 31, 2005 and October 31, 2006, the aggregate dollar amounts of commissions received by CGMI on the sale of Class A shares were as follows:

 

Class A
Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/04
   Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/05
   Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/06
$ 83,000    $ 82,000    $  

LMIS Commissions on Class A Shares . For the fiscal years ended October 31, 2004, October 31, 2005 and October 31, 2006, the aggregate dollar amounts of commissions received by LMIS on the sale of Class A shares were as follows:

 

Class A

Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/04

   Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/05
   Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/06
N/A    N/A    $  

 

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CMGI Commissions on Class C Shares.  For the fiscal years ended October 31, 2004, October 31, 2005 and October 31, 2006, the aggregate dollar amounts of commissions received by CGMI on the sale of Class C shares of International Fund were as follows:

 

Class C
Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/04
   Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/05
   Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/06
$ 2,000    $ 0    $  

LMIS Commissions on Class C Shares.  For the fiscal years ended October 31, 2004, October 31, 2005 and October 31, 2006, the aggregate dollar amounts of commissions received by LMIS on the sale of Class C shares of the International Fund were as follows:

 

Class C
Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/04
   Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/05
   Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/06
N/A    N/A    $  

CMGI Contingent Deferred Sales Charges on Class A, Class B and Class C Shares of International Fund . For the 2004, 2005, and 2006 fiscal years, the following contingent deferred sales charges were paid to CGMI on redemptions of the fund’s shares:

 

Class A
Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/04
   Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/05
   Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/06
$ 1,000    $ 1,000    $  

 

Class B
Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/04
   Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/05
   Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/06
$ 27,000    $ 26,000    $  

 

Class C
Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/04
   Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/05
   Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/06
$ 0    $ 2,000    $  

LMIS Contingent Deferred Charges on Class A, Class B and Class C Shares of International Fund . For the 2004, 2005, and 2006 fiscal years, the following contingent deferred sales charges were paid to LMIS on redemptions of the fund’s shares:

 

Class A
Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/04
   Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/05
   Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/06
N/A    N/A    $  

 

Class B
Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/04
   Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/05
   Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/06
N/A    N/A    $  

 

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Class C

Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/04

   Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/05
   Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/06
N/A    N/A    $  

Services and Distribution Plan Arrangements.  The Trustees, on behalf of the fund, have adopted an amended shareholder services and distribution plan (the “Plan”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act with respect to its Class A, Class B and Class C shares. The only Classes of shares offered for sale through PFS are Class A shares and Class B shares of the International Fund. Under the Plan, the fund pays a service fee, accrued daily and paid monthly, calculated at the annual rate of 0.25% of the value of the fund’s average daily net assets attributable to the Class A, Class B and Class C. The Class B and Class C distribution fee is calculated at the annual rate of 0.75% of the value of the fund’s average net assets attributable to the shares of the respective class. The distributors will provide the Board with periodic reports of amounts expended under the Plan and the purposes for which such expenditures were made.

Fees under a Plan may be used to make payments to the distributors for distribution services, to Service Agents in respect of the sale of shares of the fund, and to other parties in respect of the sale of shares of the fund, and to make payments for advertising, marketing or other promotional activity, and payments for preparation, printing, and distribution of Prospectuses, statements of additional information and reports for recipients other than regulators and existing shareholders. The fund also may make payments to distributors, Service Agents and others for providing personal service or the maintenance of shareholder accounts. The amounts paid by the distributors to each recipient may vary based upon certain factors, including, among other things, the levels of sales of fund shares and/or shareholder services provided.

The Plan also provides that the distributors and Service Agents may receive all or a portion of the sales charges paid by Class A, Class B and Class C investors.

The Plan permits the fund to pay fees to distributors, Service Agents and others as compensation for their services, not as reimbursement for specific expenses incurred. Thus, even if their expenses exceed the fees provided for by the Plan, the fund will not be obligated to pay more than those fees and, if their expenses are less than the fees paid to them, they will realize a profit. The fund may pay the fees to a distributor and others until the Plan or Distribution Agreement is terminated or not renewed. In that event, a distributor’s or other recipient’s expenses in excess of fees received or accrued through the termination date will be the distributor’s or other recipient’s sole responsibility and not obligations of the fund. In their annual consideration of the continuation of the Plan for the fund, the Trustees will review the Plan and the expenses for each class within the fund separately.

The Plan also recognizes that various service providers to the fund, such as the manager, may make payments for distribution related expenses out of their own resources, including past profits, or payments received from the fund for other purposes, such as management fees, and that the fund’s distributors or Service Agents may from time to time use their own resources for distribution-related services, in addition to the fees paid under the Plan. The Plan specifically provides that, to the extent that such payments might be deemed to be indirect financing of any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund within the context of Rule 12b-1, then the payments are deemed to be authorized by the Plan, if permitted under applicable law.

The Plan continues in effect if such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by a vote of both a majority of the Trustees and a majority of the Independent Trustees and who have no direct or indirect financial

 

66


interest in the operation of the Plan or in any agreement related to the Plan (for purposes of this paragraph “Qualified Trustees”). The Trustees, in the exercise of their business judgment in the best interests of the shareholders of the fund and each class, have approved the continuation of the Plan. The Plan requires that the Trust and the distributors provide to the Board and the Board review, at least quarterly, a written report of the amounts expended (and the purposes therefor) under the Plan. The Plan further provides that the selection and nomination of the Qualified Trustees is committed to the discretion of the Qualified Trustees then in office who are Independent Trustees of the Trust. The Plan may be terminated with respect to any class of the fund at any time by a vote of a majority of the Trust’s Qualified Trustees or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of that class. The Plan may not be amended to increase materially the amount of permitted expenses of the class thereunder without the approval of a majority of the outstanding securities of that class and may not be materially amended in any case without a vote of a majority of both the Trustees and Qualified Trustees. The fund will preserve copies of any plan, agreement or report made pursuant to the Plan for a period of not less than six years, and for the first two years the fund will preserve such copies in an easily accessible place.

As contemplated by the Plan, each distributor acts as an agent of the Trust in connection with the offering of shares of the fund pursuant to its distribution agreement.

For the 2004, 2005 and 2006 fiscal years, the following distribution and service fees were accrued and/or paid by the fund:

 

Class A
Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/04
   Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/05
   Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/06
$ 322,076    $ 323,948    $  
Class B
Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/04
   Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/05
   Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/06
$ 309,655    $ 248,444    $  
Class C
Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/04
   Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/05
   Fiscal Year
Ended 10/31/06
$ 536,245    $ 539,103    $  

Distribution expenses incurred by LMIS, CGMI and/or PFS for advertising, printing and mailing Prospectuses, support services and overhead expenses, payments to their financial advisers or registered representative and for accruals for interest on expenses incurred in the distribution of the fund’s shares are set forth in the following tables:

[To be updated by amendment]

Dealer reallowances are described in the fund’s Prospectus.

Portfolio Transactions

Subject to policies as may be established by the fund’s Board from time to time, the subadviser is primarily responsible for the fund’s portfolio decisions and the placing of the fund’s portfolio transactions,

 

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except that the manager manages the cash and short-term investments of the fund. Transactions on stock exchanges involve the payment of negotiated brokerage commissions. There is generally no stated commission in the case of securities traded in the over-the-counter market, but the price of those securities includes an undisclosed commission or mark-up. Over-the-counter purchases and sales are transacted directly with principal market makers except where it is believed that better prices and executions may be obtained elsewhere. The cost of securities purchased from underwriters includes an underwriting commission or concession, and the prices at which securities are purchased from and sold to dealers include a dealer’s mark-up or mark-down. The aggregate brokerage commissions paid by the fund for the three most recent fiscal years is set forth below under “Aggregate Brokerage Commissions Paid.”

Pursuant to the Management Agreement and Sub-Advisory Agreement, the manager and the subadviser are authorized to place orders pursuant to their investment determinations for the fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. The general policy of the manager and subadviser in selecting brokers and dealers is to obtain the best results achievable in the context of a number of factors which are considered both in relation to individual trades and broader trading patterns, including the reliability of the broker/dealer, the competitiveness of the price and the commission, the research services received and whether the broker/dealer commits its own capital. In connection with a manager’s or subadviser’s monitoring of its portfolio transactions for compliance with its policies, each of the manager and the subadviser utilizes both an internal committee and a third party service provider.

In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) to a fund and/or the other accounts over which the manager, the subadviser or their affiliates exercise investment discretion. The manager and subadviser are authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for the fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the manager or subadviser determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities that the manager, the subadviser and their affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The manager and/or subadviser may also have arrangements with brokers pursuant to which such brokers provide research services to the manager or subadviser, as applicable, in exchange for a certain volume of brokerage transactions to be executed by such brokers. While the payment of higher commissions increases the fund’s costs, neither the manager nor any subadviser believes that the receipt of such brokerage and research services significantly reduces its expenses as manager or subadviser. Arrangements for the receipt of research services from brokers may create conflicts of interest.

Research services furnished to the manager or subadviser by brokers who effect securities transactions for the fund may be used by the manager or subadviser in servicing other investment companies and accounts which it manages. Similarly, research services furnished to the manager or a subadviser by brokers who effect securities transactions for other investment companies and accounts which the manager or subadviser manages may be used by the manager or subadviser, as applicable, in servicing the fund. Not all of these research services are used by the manager or a subadviser in managing any particular account, including the fund. For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, the fund paid commissions to brokers that provided research services as follows:

 

Total Dollar Amount of

Brokerage Transactions

Related to Research Services

  

Total Dollar Amount of

Brokerage Commissions

Paid on Transactions

Related to Research Services

$

   $

 

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The fund contemplates that, consistent with the policy of obtaining the best net results, brokerage transactions may be conducted through “affiliated broker/dealers,” as defined in the 1940 Act. The fund’s Board has adopted procedures in accordance with Rule 17e-1 promulgated under the 1940 Act to ensure that all brokerage commissions paid to such affiliates are reasonable and fair in the context of the market in which such affiliates operate. Effective December 1, 2005 CGMI is no longer an affiliated person of the fund under the 1940 Act. As a result, the fund is permitted to execute portfolio transactions with CGMI or an affiliate of CGMI as agent (but not as principal) without being subject to the restrictions applicable to transactions with affiliated persons.

Aggregate Brokerage Commissions Paid

For the fiscal years ended October 31, 2004, 2005 and 2006, International Fund paid aggregate brokerage commissions and brokerage commissions to CGMI and its affiliates as set out below:

 

     Aggregate Broker
Commissions Paid
   Amount of Brokerage
Commissions Paid
by the fund to CGMI and its
affiliates

Year Ended October 31, 2004

   $ 583,794    $ 0

Year Ended October 31, 2005

   $ 316,842    $ 0

Year Ended October 31, 2006*

   $                 $             

* CGMI was not an affiliated person of International Fund under the 1940 Act during the entire period.

For the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, the percentage of [International Fund’s] aggregate brokerage commissions paid to CGMI and the percentage of [International Fund’s] aggregate dollar amount of transactions involving the payment of commissions effected through CGMI and its affiliates were as follows:

 

The Percentage of the Fund’s

Aggregate Brokerage Commissions

Paid to CGMI* and Affiliates

  

The Percentage of the Fund’s

Aggregate Dollar Amount of Transactions

Involving the Payment of Commissions

Effected Through CGMI and Affiliates

%    %

* CGMI was not an affiliated person of International Fund under the 1940 Act during the entire period

As of December 1, 2005, LMIS became an affiliated person of the fund under the 1940 Act. For the period December 1, 2005 through October 31, 2006, the fund did not pay any brokerage commissions to LMIS or its affiliates.

During the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, the fund purchased securities issued by the following regular broker/dealers of the fund, which had a value as of October 31, 2006 of $              .

In certain instances there may be securities that are suitable as an investment for the fund as well as for one or more of the manager’s or a subadviser’s other clients. Investment decisions for the fund and for the manager’s

 

69


or a subadviser’s other clients are made with a view to achieving their respective investment objectives. It may develop that a particular security is bought or sold for only one client even though it might be held by, or bought or sold for, other clients. Likewise, a particular security may be bought for one or more clients when one or more clients are selling the same security. Some simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several clients receive investment advice from the same investment adviser, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objectives of more than one client. When two or more clients are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security, the securities are allocated among clients in a manner believed to be equitable to each. It is recognized that in some cases this system could adversely affect the price of or the size of the position obtainable in a security for the fund. When purchases or sales of the same security for the fund and for other funds managed by the adviser occur contemporaneously, the purchase or sale orders may be aggregated in order to obtain any price advantages available to large volume purchases or sales.

For reporting purposes, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate is calculated by dividing the lesser of purchases or sales of portfolio securities for the fiscal year by the monthly average of the value of the portfolio securities owned by the fund during the fiscal year. In determining such portfolio turnover, all securities whose maturities at the time of acquisition were one year or less are excluded. A 100% portfolio turnover rate would occur, for example, if all of the securities in the fund’s investment portfolio (other than short- term money market securities) were replaced once during the fiscal year. Portfolio turnover will not be a limiting factor should the manager or a subadviser deem it advisable to purchase or sell securities.

The Trust effects transactions with a view towards attaining the fund’s investment objective, and although it is not limited by a predetermined rate of portfolio turnover, it is expected that the annual turnover rate for International Fund will not exceed 100% under normal circumstances. A high portfolio turnover results in correspondingly greater transaction costs in the form of brokerage commissions or dealer spreads that fund will bear directly, and may result in the realization of net capital gains, distributions of which are taxable to shareholders. For the fiscal years ended October 31, 2005 and 2006, International Fund had portfolio turnover rates of 14% and [        ]%, respectively.

In the event that portfolio turnover increases, this increase necessarily results in correspondingly greater transaction costs which must be paid by the fund. To the extent portfolio trading results in realization of net short-term capital gains, shareholders will be taxed on such gains at ordinary tax rates (except shareholders who invest through IRAs and other retirement plans which are not taxed currently on accumulations in their accounts).

 

70


PORTFOLIO MANAGER DISCLOSURE

Portfolio Manager

The following tables set forth certain additional information with respect to the portfolio managers of the fund. Unless noted otherwise, all information is provided as of October 31, 2006.

Other Accounts Managed by Portfolio Managers

The table below identifies the number of accounts (other than the fund) for which the portfolio managers have day-to-day management responsibilities and the total assets in such accounts, within each of the following categories: registered investment companies, other pooled investment vehicles and other accounts. The table also identifies if any accounts have a fee based on performance.

 

Portfolio Manager

  

Registered Investment Companies

  

Other Pooled Investment Vehicles

  

Other Accounts

Paul D. Ehrlichman*

   1 other registered investment company with $0.45 billion in total assets under management    8 other pooled investment vehicles companies with $0.61 billion in total assets under management    83 other accounts with $5.0 billion in total assets under management

Sean M. Bogda*

   1 other registered investment company with $0.45 billion in total assets under management    8 other pooled investment vehicles companies with $0.61 billion in total assets under management    83 other accounts with $5.0 billion in total assets under management

Safa R. Muhtaseb*

   1 other registered investment company with $0.45 billion in total assets under management    8 other pooled investment vehicles companies with $0.61 billion in total assets under management    83 other accounts with $5.0 billion in total assets under management

* Information with respect to this portfolio manager is provided as of [    ].

 

71


Portfolio Manager Compensation

The subadviser’s portfolio managers, analysts and traders receive a competitive base salary. In addition, from Brandywine’s profits, an initial bonus is paid quarterly and based on the performance of their investment strategies relative to a relevant peer-group universe over one-quarter, one-, three- and five-year time periods. After this performance-based incentive compensation is allocated, profits associated with individual product groups are allocated as follows: a majority is retained within the group and the remainder is allocated to a pool shared by all groups. More subjective measurements of an individual’s contributions to the success of their product group and to the overall success of the subadviser are considered as part of the individual allocation decision. Finally, all investment professionals are eligible for options on Legg Mason stock, awarded annually and vested over a five-year period. The subadviser believes its system achieves the goal of retaining top-quality investment professionals, as it provides extremely competitive compensation with entrepreneurial potential, and of fostering excellent performance, growth, and teamwork.

Potential Conflicts of Interest

Potential conflicts of interest may arise when the fund’s portfolio managers also have day-to-day management responsibilities with respect to one or more other funds of other accounts, as is the case for the portfolio managers of the fund.

The manager, the subadviser and the fund have adopted compliance policies and procedures that are designed to address various conflicts of interest that may arise for the manager, the subadviser and the individuals that they employ. For example, the manager and the subadviser seek to minimize the effects of competing interests for the time and attention of portfolio managers by assigning portfolio managers to manage

 

72


funds and accounts that share a similar investment style. The manager and the subadviser have also adopted trade allocation procedures that are designed to facilitate the fair allocation of limited investment opportunities among multiple funds and accounts. There is no guarantee, however, that the policies and procedures adopted by the manager, the subadviser and the fund will be able to detect and/or prevent every situation in which an actual or potential conflict may appear.

These potential conflicts include:

Allocation of Limited Time and Attention.  A portfolio manager who is responsible for managing multiple funds and/or accounts may devote unequal time and attention to the management of those funds and/or accounts. As a result, the portfolio manager may not be able to formulate as complete a strategy or identify equally attractive investment opportunities for each of those accounts as might be the case if he or she were to devote substantially more attention to the management of a single fund. The effects of this potential conflict may be more pronounced where funds and/or accounts overseen by a particular portfolio manager have different investment strategies.

Allocation of Limited Investment Opportunities.  If a portfolio manager identifies a limited investment opportunity that may be suitable for multiple funds and/or accounts, the opportunity may be allocated among these several funds or accounts, which may limit a fund’s ability to take full advantage of the investment opportunity.

Pursuit of Differing Strategies.  At times, a portfolio manager may determine that an investment opportunity may be appropriate for only some of the funds and/or accounts for which he or she exercises investment responsibility, or may decide that certain of the funds and/or accounts should take differing positions with respect to a particular security. In these cases, the portfolio manager may place separate transactions for one or more funds or accounts which may affect the market price of the security or the execution of the transaction, or both, to the detriment or benefit of one or more other funds and/or accounts.

Selection of Brokers/Dealers.  Portfolio managers may be able to select or influence the selection of the brokers and dealers that are used to execute securities transactions for the funds and/or account that they supervise. In addition to executing trades, some brokers and dealers provide portfolio managers with brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”), which may result in the payment of higher brokerage fees than might have otherwise been available. These services may be more beneficial to certain funds or accounts than to others. Although the payment of brokerage commissions is subject to the requirement that the portfolio manager determine in good faith that the commissions are reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided to a fund, a portfolio manager’s decision as to the selection of brokers and dealers could yield disproportionate costs and benefits among the funds and/or accounts that he or she manages.

Variation in Compensation.  A conflict of interest may arise where the financial or other benefits available to the portfolio manager differ among the funds and/or accounts that he or she manages. If the structure of the investment manager’s management fee and/or the portfolio manager’s compensation differs among funds and/or accounts (such as where certain funds or accounts pay higher management fees or performance-based management fees), the portfolio manager might be motivated to help certain funds and/or accounts over others. The portfolio manager might be motivated to favor funds and/or accounts in which he or she has an interest or in which the investment manager and/or its affiliates have interests. Similarly, the desire to maintain assets under management or to enhance the portfolio manager’s performance record or to derive other rewards, financial or otherwise, could influence the portfolio manager in affording preferential treatment to those funds and/or accounts that could most significantly benefit the portfolio manager.

Related Business Opportunities.  The investment manager or its affiliates may provide more services (such as distribution or recordkeeping) for some types of funds or accounts than for others. In such cases, a portfolio

 

73


manager may benefit, either directly or indirectly, by devoting disproportionate attention to the management of fund and/or accounts that provide greater overall returns to the investment manager and its affiliates.

Portfolio Manager Securities Ownership

The table below identifies ownership of fund securities by the fund’s portfolio managers.

 

Portfolio Managers

   Dollar Range of
Ownership of Securities

Paul D. Ehrlichman*

   None

Sean M. Bogda*

   None

Safa R. Muhtaseb*

   None

* Information with respect to this portfolio manager is provided as of [    ].

CUSTODIAN AND TRANSFER AGENT

State Street Bank and Trust Company (“State Street”), One Lincoln Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, serves as the custodian of the fund. State Street, among other things, maintains a custody account or accounts in the name of the fund; receives and delivers all assets for the fund upon purchase and upon sale or maturity; collects and receives all income and other payments and distributions on account of the assets of the fund; and makes disbursements on behalf of the fund. State Street neither determines the fund’s investment policies, nor decides which securities the fund will buy or sell. For its services, State Street receives a monthly fee based upon the daily average market value of securities held in custody and also receives securities transaction charges, including out-of-pocket expenses. The fund may also periodically enter into arrangements with other qualified custodians with respect to certain types of securities or other transactions such as repurchase agreements or derivatives transactions. State Street also acts as the fund’s securities lending agent and receives a share of the income generated by such activities.

PFPC Inc. (“PFPC” or “transfer agent”), located at P.O. Box 9699, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699, serves as the fund’s transfer agent. Under the transfer agency agreement, the transfer agent maintains the shareholder account records for the fund, handles certain communications between shareholders and the fund and distributes dividends and distributions payable by the fund. For these services, the transfer agent receives a monthly fee computed on the basis of the number of shareholder accounts it maintains for the fund during the month, and is reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses. Prior to January 1, 2006, Citicorp Trust Bank, fsb (“CTB”) served as the fund’s transfer agent and PFPC served as the fund’s sub-transfer agent. For the period from November 1, 2005 through December 31, 2005, International Fund paid transfer agent fees of $             to CTB.

LEGAL COUNSEL

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, 787 Seventh Avenue, New York, New York 10019-6099, serves as counsel to the fund.

INDEPENDENT REGISTERED PUBLIC ACCOUNTING FIRM

[    ] located at [    ] has been selected as the Trust’s independent registered public accounting firm to audit and report on the financial statements and financial highlights of the Trust.

 

74


VOTING

As permitted by Maryland law, there will normally be no meetings of shareholders for the purpose of electing Trustees unless and until such time as less than a majority of the Trustees holding office have been elected by shareholders. At that time, the Trustees then in office will call a shareholders’ meeting for the election of Trustees. The Trustees must call a meeting of shareholders for the purpose of voting upon the question of removal of any director when requested in writing to do so by the record holders of not less than 10% of the outstanding shares of the Trust. At such a meeting, a director may be removed after the holders of record of at least a majority of the outstanding shares of the Trust have voted that the director be removed by votes cast in person or by proxy. The Trust will assist shareholders in calling such a meeting. Except as set forth above, the Trustees shall continue to hold office and may appoint successor Trustees.

As used in the Prospectus and this SAI, a “vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities” means the affirmative vote of the lesser of (a) more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Trust (or the affected class) or (b) 67% or more of such shares present at a meeting if more than 50% of the outstanding shares of the Trust (or the affected class) are represented at the meeting in person or by proxy.

OTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE TRUST

The Trust was organized on October 17, 1991 under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is a business entity commonly known as a “Massachusetts business trust.” The Trust offers shares of beneficial interest of [            ] separate funds with a par value of $.001 per share. The fund offers shares of beneficial interest currently classified into four Classes—A, B, C and I. Each Class of the fund represents an identical interest in the fund’s investment portfolio. As a result, the Classes have the same rights, privileges and preferences, except with respect to: (a) the designation of each Class; (b) the effect of the respective sales charges, if any, for each Class; (c) the distribution and/or service fees borne by each Class pursuant to the Distribution Plan; (d) the expenses allocable exclusively to each Class; (e) voting rights on matters exclusively affecting a single Class; (f) the exchange privilege of each Class; and (g) the conversion feature of the Class B shares. The Board does not anticipate that there will be any conflicts among the interests of the holders of the different Classes. The trustees, on an ongoing basis, will consider whether any such conflict exists and, if so, take appropriate action.

Under Massachusetts’s law, shareholders could, under certain circumstances, be held personally liable for the obligations of the fund. The Master Trust Agreement disclaims shareholder liability for acts or obligations of the fund, however, and requires that notice of such disclaimer be given in each agreement, obligation or instrument entered into or executed by the fund or a trustee. The Master Trust Agreement provides for indemnification from fund property for all losses and expenses of any shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the fund. Thus, the risk of a shareholder’s incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which the fund itself would be unable to meet its obligations, a possibility which management of the fund believes is remote. Upon payment of any liability incurred by the fund, a shareholder paying such liability will be entitled to reimbursement from the general assets of the fund. The trustees intend to conduct the operations of the fund in such a way so as to avoid, as far as possible, ultimate liability of the shareholders for liabilities of the fund.

The Master Trust Agreement of the fund permits the trustees of the fund to issue an unlimited number of full and fractional shares of a single class and to divide or combine the shares into a greater or lesser number of shares without thereby changing the proportionate beneficial interests in the fund. Each share in the fund represents an equal proportional interest in the fund with each other share. Shareholders of the fund are entitled upon its liquidation to share pro rata in its net assets available for distribution. No shareholder of the fund has any preemptive or conversion rights. Shares of the fund are fully paid and non-assessable.

Pursuant to the Master Trust Agreement, the Trust’s trustees may authorize the creation of additional series of shares (the proceeds of which would be invested in separate, independently managed portfolios) and additional

 

75


classes of shares within any series (which would be used to distinguish among the rights of different categories of shareholders, as might be required by future regulations or other unforeseen circumstances).

The Trust does not hold annual shareholder meetings. There normally will be no meetings of shareholders for the purposes of electing trustees unless and until such time as less than a majority of the trustees holding office have been elected by shareholders, at which time the trustees then in office will call a shareholders’ meeting for the election of trustees. Shareholders of record of no less than two-thirds of the outstanding shares of the Trust may remove a trustee through a declaration in writing or by vote cast in person or by proxy at a meeting called for that purpose.

When matters are submitted for shareholder vote, shareholders of each Class will have one vote for each full share owned and a proportionate, fractional vote for any fractional share held of that Class. Generally, shares of the fund will be voted on a fund-wide basis on all matters except matters affecting only the interests of one Class, in which case only shares of the affected Class would be entitled to vote.

The Trust was organized as an unincorporated Massachusetts business trust on October 17, 1991 under the name Shearson Lehman Brothers Intermediate-Term Trust. On August 16, 1995, the Trust’s name was changed to Smith Barney Investment Trust. On April 7, 2006, the Trust’s name was changed to Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust.

Shareholder Reports.  Management’s discussion of fund performance, and additional performance information regarding the fund during the fiscal year ended October 31, 2006, is included in the annual reports dated October 31, 2006. A copy of the shareholder reports may be obtained upon request and without charge from a Service Agent or by writing or calling the Trust at the address or telephone number listed on page one of this SAI.

The Trust sends its shareholders unaudited semi-annual reports and audited annual reports, which include listings of the investment securities held by the fund at the end of the period covered. In an effort to reduce the Trust’s printing and mailing costs, the Trust consolidates the mailing of its semi-annual and annual reports by household. This consolidation means that a household having multiple accounts with the identical address of record receives a single copy of each report. Shareholders who do not want this consolidation to apply to their account should contact their Service Agent or the transfer agent.

Proposed Changes.

The fund’s Board and shareholders have approved a number of initiatives designed to streamline and restructure the fund complex. As a result, the fund will become a series of Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust, a Maryland business trust.

A Maryland business trust is an unincorporated business association that is established under, and governed by, Maryland law. Maryland law provides a statutory framework for the powers, duties, rights and obligations of the trustees and shareholders of the business trust, while the more specific powers, duties, rights and obligations of the trustees and the shareholders are determined by the trustees as set forth in the trust’s declaration of trust. Some of the more significant provisions of the trust’s declaration are described below.

Shareholder Voting. The declaration provides for shareholder voting as required by the 1940 Act or other applicable laws but otherwise permits, consistent with Maryland law, actions by the trustees without seeking the consent of shareholders. The trustees may, without shareholder approval, amend the declaration or authorize the merger or consolidation of the trust into another trust or entity, reorganize the trust, or any series or class into another trust or entity or a series or class of another entity, sell all or substantially all of the assets of the trust or any series or class to another entity, or a series or class of another entity, or terminate the trust or any series or class.

 

76


The fund is not required to hold an annual meeting of shareholders, but the fund will call special meetings of shareholders whenever required by the 1940 Act or by the terms of the declaration. The declaration provides for “dollar-weighted voting” which means that a shareholder’s voting power is determined, not by the number of shares he or she owns, but by the dollar value of those shares determined on the record date. All shareholders of all series and classes of the trust vote together, except where required by the 1940 Act to vote separately by series or by class, or when the trustees have determined that a matter affects only the interests of one or more series or classes of shares.

Election and Removal of Trustees. The declaration provides that the trustees may establish the number of trustees and that vacancies on the board may be filled by the remaining trustees, except when election of trustees by the shareholders is required under the 1940 Act. Trustees are then elected by a plurality of votes cast by shareholders at a meeting at which a quorum is present. The declaration also provides that a mandatory retirement age may be set by action of two-thirds of the trustees and that trustees may be removed, with or without cause, by a vote of shareholders holding two-thirds of the voting power of the trust, or by a vote of two-thirds of the remaining trustees. The provisions of the declaration relating to the election and removal of trustees may not be amended without the approval of two-thirds of the trustees.

Amendments to the Declaration. The trustees are authorized to amend the declaration without the vote of shareholders, but no amendment may be made that impairs the exemption from personal liability granted in the declaration to persons who are or have been shareholders, trustees, officers or, employees of the trust or that limit the rights to indemnification or insurance provided in the declaration with respect to actions or omissions of persons entitled to indemnification under the declaration prior to the amendment.

Issuance and Redemption of Shares. The fund may issue an unlimited number of shares for such consideration and on such terms as the trustees may determine. Shareholders are not entitled to any appraisal, preemptive, conversion, exchange or similar rights, except as the trustees may determine. The fund may involuntarily redeem a shareholder’s shares upon certain conditions as may be determined by the trustees, including, for example, if the shareholder fails to provide a fund with identification required by law, or if the fund is unable to verify the information received from the shareholder. Additionally, as discussed below, shares may be redeemed in connection with the closing of small accounts.

Disclosure of Shareholder Holdings. The declaration specifically requires shareholders, upon demand, to disclose to the fund information with respect to the direct and indirect ownership of shares in order to comply with various laws or regulations, and a fund may disclose such ownership if required by law or regulation.

Small Accounts. The declaration provides that a fund may close out a shareholder’s account by redeeming all of the shares in the account if the account falls below a minimum account size (which may vary by class) that may be set by the trustees from time to time. Alternately, the declaration permits a fund to assess a fee for small accounts (which may vary by class) and redeem shares in the account to cover such fees, or convert the shares into another share class that is geared to smaller accounts.

Series and Classes. The declaration provides that the trustees may establish series and classes in addition to those currently established and to determine the rights and preferences, limitations and restrictions, including qualifications for ownership, conversion and exchange features, minimum purchase and account size, expenses and charges, and other features of the series and classes. The trustees may change any of those features, terminate any series or class, combine series with other series in the trust, combine one or more classes of a series with another class in that series or convert the shares of one class into another class.

Each share of the fund, as a series of the trust, represents an interest in the fund only and not in the assets of any other series of the trust.

Shareholder, Trustee and Officer Liability. The declaration provides that shareholders are not personally liable for the obligations of either fund and requires the fund to indemnify a shareholder against any loss or

 

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expense arising from any such liability. In addition, the fund will assume the defense of any claim against a shareholder for personal liability at the request of the shareholder. The declaration further provides that a trustee acting in his or her capacity of trustee is not personally liable to any person other than the trust or its shareholders, for any act, omission, or obligation of the trust. Further, a trustee is held to the same standard of conduct as a director of a Maryland corporation. This requires that a trustee perform his or her duties in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the trust or a series thereof, and with the care that an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would use under similar circumstances. The declaration also permits the limitation of a trustee’s liability to the full extent provided under Maryland law. Under current Maryland law, a trustee is liable to the trust or its shareholders for monetary damages only (a) to the extent that it is proved that he or she actually received an improper benefit or profit in money, property, or services or (b) to the extent that a judgment or other final adjudication adverse to the trustee is entered in a proceeding based on a finding in the proceeding that the trustee’s action, or failure to act, was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty and was material to the cause of action adjudicated in the proceeding. The declaration requires the trust to indemnify any persons who are or who have been trustees, officers or employees of the trust for any liability for actions or failure to act except to the extent prohibited by applicable federal law. In making any determination as to whether any person is entitled to the advancement of expenses in connection with a claim for which indemnification is sought, such person is entitled to a rebuttable presumption that he or she did not engage in conduct for which indemnification is not available.

The declaration provides that any trustee who serves as chair of the board or of a committee of the board, lead independent trustee, or audit committee financial expert, or in any other similar capacity will not be subject to any greater standard of care or liability because of such position.

Derivative Actions. The declaration provides a detailed process for the bringing of derivative actions by shareholders in order to permit legitimate inquiries and claims while avoiding the time, expense, distraction, and other harm that can be caused to the fund or its shareholders as a result of spurious shareholder demands and derivative actions. Prior to bringing a derivative action, a demand by three unrelated shareholders must first be made on the fund’s trustees. The declaration details various information, certifications, undertakings and acknowledgements that must be included in the demand. Following receipt of the demand, the trustees have a period of 90 days, which may be extended by an additional 60 days, to consider the demand. If a majority of the trustees who are considered independent for the purposes of considering the demand determine that maintaining the suit would not be in the best interests of a fund, the trustees are required to reject the demand and the complaining shareholders may not proceed with the derivative action unless the shareholders are able to sustain the burden of proof to a court that the decision of the trustees not to pursue the requested action was not a good faith exercise of their business judgment on behalf of the fund. The declaration further provides that shareholders owning shares representing at least 5% of the voting power of the affected fund must join in bringing the derivative action. If a demand is rejected, the complaining shareholders will be responsible for the costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by a fund in connection with the consideration of the demand, if in the judgment of the independent trustees, the demand was made without reasonable cause or for an improper purpose. If a derivative action is brought in violation of the declaration, the shareholders bringing the action may be responsible for the fund’s costs, including attorneys’ fees.

The declaration further provides that the fund shall be responsible for payment of attorneys’ fees and legal expenses incurred by a complaining shareholder only if required by law, and any attorneys’ fees that a fund is obligated to pay shall be calculated using reasonable hourly rates. The declaration also requires that actions by shareholders against the fund be brought only in federal court in Baltimore, Maryland, or if not permitted to be brought in federal court, then in state court in Baltimore, Maryland, and that the right to jury trial be waived to the full extent permitted by law.

 

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Legal Matters

Beginning in June 2004, class action lawsuits alleging violations of the federal securities laws were filed against Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”) and a number of its then affiliates, including Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”), which were then investment adviser or manager to certain of the Funds (the “managers”), substantially all of the mutual funds then managed by the managers (the “Defendant Funds”), and Board Members of the Defendant Funds (collectively, the “Defendants”). The complaints alleged, among other things, that CGMI created various undisclosed incentives for its brokers to sell Smith Barney and Salomon Brothers funds. In addition, according to the complaints, the managers caused the Defendant Funds to pay excessive brokerage commissions to CGMI for steering clients towards proprietary funds. The complaints also alleged that the defendants breached their fiduciary duty to the Defendant Funds by improperly charging Rule 12b-1 fees and by drawing on fund assets to make undisclosed payments of soft dollars and excessive brokerage commissions. The complaints also alleged that the Defendant Funds failed to adequately disclose certain of the allegedly wrongful conduct. The complaints sought injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive damages, rescission of the Defendant Funds’ contracts with the managers, recovery of all fees paid to the managers pursuant to such contracts and an award of attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses.

On December 15, 2004, a consolidated amended complaint (the “Complaint”) was filed alleging substantially similar causes of action. On May 27, 2005, all of the Defendants filed motions to dismiss the Complaint. On July 26, 2006, the court issued a decision and order (1) finding that plaintiffs lacked standing to sue on behalf of the shareholders of the Defendant Funds in which none of the plaintiffs had invested (including International Fund) and dismissing those Defendant Funds from the case (although stating that they could be brought back into the case if standing as to them could be established), and (2) other than one stayed claim, dismissing all of the causes of action against the remaining Defendants, with prejudice, except for the cause of action under Section 36(b) of the 1940 Act, which the court granted plaintiffs leave to replead as a derivative claim.

On October 16, 2006, plaintiffs filed their Second Consolidated Amended Complaint (“Second Amended Complaint”) which alleges derivative claims on behalf of nine funds identified in the Second Amended Complaint, under Section 36(b) of the 1940 Act, against Citigroup Asset Management, Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc, SBFM and CGMI as investment advisers to the identified funds, as well as CGMI as a distributor for the identified funds (collectively, the “Second Amended Complaint Defendants”). The fund was not identified in the Second Amended Complaint. The Second Amended Complaint alleges no claims against any of the Funds or any of their Board Members. Under Section 36(b), the Second Amended Complaint alleges similar facts and seeks similar relief against the Second Amended Complaint Defendants as the Complaint.

Additional lawsuits arising out of these circumstances and presenting similar allegations and requests for relief may be filed in the future.

* * *

On May 31, 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued an order in connection with the settlement of an administrative proceeding against SBFM, the then-investment adviser or manager to the fund and CGMI, relating to the appointment of an affiliated transfer agent for the Smith Barney family of mutual funds, including the fund (the “Affected Funds”).

The SEC order found that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(1) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder (the “Advisers Act”). Specifically, the order found that SBFM and CGMI knowingly or recklessly failed to disclose to the boards of the Affected Funds in 1999 when proposing a new transfer agent arrangement with an affiliated transfer agent that: First Data Investors Services Group (“First Data”), the Affected Funds’ then-existing transfer agent, had offered to continue as transfer agent and do the same work for substantially less money than before; and that Citigroup Asset

 

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Management (“CAM”), the Citigroup business unit that, at the time, included the Affected Funds’ investment manager and other investment advisory companies, had entered into a side letter with First Data under which CAM agreed to recommend the appointment of First Data as sub-transfer agent to the affiliated transfer agent in exchange for, among other things, a guarantee by First Data of specified amounts of asset management and investment banking fees to CAM and CGMI. The order also found that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act by virtue of the omissions discussed above and other misrepresentations and omissions in the materials provided to the Affected Funds’ boards, including the failure to make clear that the affiliated transfer agent would earn a high profit for performing limited functions while First Data continued to perform almost all of the transfer agent functions, and the suggestion that the proposed arrangement was in the Affected Funds’ best interests and that no viable alternatives existed. SBFM and CGMI do not admit or deny any wrongdoing or liability. The settlement does not establish wrongdoing or liability for purposes of any other proceeding.

The SEC censured SBFM and CGMI and ordered them to cease and desist from violations of Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Advisers Act. The order required Citigroup to pay $208.1 million, including $109 million in disgorgement of profits, $19.1 million in interest, and a civil money penalty of $80 million. Approximately $24.4 million has already been paid to the Affected Funds, primarily through fee waivers. The remaining $183.7 million, including the penalty, has been paid to the U.S. Treasury and will be distributed pursuant to a plan submitted for the approval of the SEC. At this time, there is no certainty as to how the above-described proceeds of the settlement will be distributed, to whom such distributions will be made, the methodology by which such distributions will be allocated, and when such distributions will be made. The order also required that transfer agency fees received from the Affected Funds since December 1, 2004, less certain expenses, be placed in escrow and provided that a portion of such fees might be subsequently distributed in accordance with the terms of the order. On April 3, 2006, an aggregate amount of approximately $9 million held in escrow was distributed to the Affected Funds.

The order required SBFM to recommend a new transfer agent contract to the Fund boards within 180 days of the entry of the order; if a Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent or sub-transfer agent, SBFM and CGMI would have been required, at their expense, to engage an independent monitor to oversee a competitive bidding process. On November 21, 2005, and within the specified timeframe, the Affected Funds’ Boards selected a new transfer agent for the Affected Fund. No Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent. Under the order, SBFM also must comply with an amended version of a vendor policy that Citigroup instituted in August 2004.

Although there can be no assurance, the manager does not believe that this matter will have a material adverse effect on the Affected Funds.

* * *

Beginning in August 2005, five class action lawsuits alleging violations of federal securities laws and state law were filed against CGMI and SBFM (collectively, the “Defendants”) based on the May 31, 2005 settlement order issued against the Defendants by the SEC as described above. The complaints seek injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive damages, removal of SBFM as the investment manager for the Smith Barney family of funds, rescission of the Funds’ management and other contracts with SBFM, recovery of all fees paid to SBFM pursuant to such contracts, and an award of attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses.

On October 5, 2005, a motion to consolidate the five actions and any subsequently filed, related action was filed. That motion contemplates that a consolidated amended complaint alleging substantially similar causes of action will be filed in the future.

As of the date of this report, the Fund’s investment manager believes that resolution of the pending lawsuit will not have a material effect on the financial position or results of operations of the Fund or the ability of the

 

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Funds’ investment manager and its affiliates to continue to render services to the Funds under their respective contracts.

* * *

On September 16, 2005, the staff of the SEC informed SBFM and ClearBridge Asset Management Inc (formerly Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc) that the staff is considering recommending that the SEC institute administrative proceedings against SBFM and ClearBridge Asset Management Inc for alleged violations of Section 19(a) and 34(b) of the Investment Company Act (and related Rule 19a-1). The notification is a result of an industry wide inspection by the SEC and is based upon alleged deficiencies in disclosures regarding dividends and distributions paid to shareholders of certain funds. Section 19(a) and related Rule 19a-1 of the Investment Company Act generally require funds that are making dividend and distribution payments to provide shareholders with a written statement disclosing the source of the dividends and distributions, and, in particular, the portion of the payments made from each of net investment income, undistributed net profits and/or paid-in capital. In connection with the contemplated proceedings, the staff may seek a cease and desist order and/or monetary damages from SBFM or ClearBridge Asset Management Inc.

Although there can be no assurance, the fund’s manager believes that this matter is not likely to have a material adverse effect on the fund.

The foregoing speaks only as of the date of this SAI. Additional lawsuits presenting allegations and requests for relief arising out of or in connection with any of the foregoing matters may be filed against these and related parties in the future.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The audited financial statements of the fund’s predecessor (Statement of Assets and Liabilities as of October 31, 2006, Statement of Operations for the year ended October 31, 2006, Statements of Changes in Net Assets for each of the years in the two-year period ended October 31, 2006, Financial Highlights for each of the years in the five-year period ended October 31, 2006, and Notes to Financial Statements along with the Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, each of which is included in the Annual Report to Shareholders), are incorporated by reference into this Statement of Additional Information (Filed on [            ]; Accession Number [            ]).

 

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APPENDIX A

DESCRIPTION OF RATINGS

The ratings of Moody’s Investors Service, Inc., Standard & Poor’s Ratings Group and Fitch Ratings represent their opinions as to the quality of various debt obligations. It should be emphasized, however, that ratings are not absolute standards of quality. Consequently, debt obligations with the same maturity, coupon and rating may have different yields while debt obligations of the same maturity and coupon with different ratings may have the same yield. As described by the rating agencies, ratings are generally given to securities at the time of issuances. While the rating agencies may from time to time revise such ratings, they undertake no obligation to do so.

Description of Moody’s Investors Service, Inc.’s Long-Term Obligation Ratings:

Moody’s long-term obligation ratings are opinions of the relative credit risk of fixed-income obligations with an original maturity of one year or more. They address the possibility that a financial obligation will not be honored as promised. Such ratings reflect both the likelihood of default and any financial loss suffered in the event of default.

Aaa —Obligations rated Aaa are judged to be of the highest quality, with minimal credit risk.

Aa —Obligations rated Aa are judged to be of high quality and are subject to very low credit risk.

A —Obligations rated A are considered upper-medium grade and are subject to low credit risk.

Baa —Obligations rated Baa are subject to moderate credit risk. They are considered medium-grade and as such may possess certain speculative characteristics.

Ba —Obligations rated Ba are judged to have speculative elements and are subject to substantial credit risk.

B —Obligations rated B are considered speculative and are subject to high credit risk.

Caa —Obligations rated Caa are judged to be of poor standing and are subject to very high credit risk.

Ca —Obligations rated Ca are highly speculative and are likely in, or very near, default, with some prospect of recovery of principal and interest.

C —Obligations rated C are the lowest rated class of bonds and are typically in default, with little prospect for recovery of principal or interest.

Note: Moody’s appends numerical modifiers “1”, “2” and “3” to each generic rating classification from “Aa” through “Caa.” The modifier “1” indicates that the obligation ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category; the modifier “2” indicates a mid-range ranking; and the modifier “3” indicates a ranking in the lower end of that generic rating category.

Description of Moody’s Investors Service, Inc.’s US Municipal and Tax Exempt Ratings:

Municipal Ratings are opinions of the investment quality of issuers and issues in the US municipal and tax-exempt markets. As such, these ratings incorporate Moody’s assessment of the default probability and loss severity of these issuers and issues. The default and loss content for Moody’s municipal long-term rating scale differs from Moody’s general long-term rating scale. (Please refer to Corporate Equivalent Ratings under Policies and Procedures.)

 

A-1


Municipal Ratings are based upon the analysis of four primary factors relating to municipal finance: economy, debt, finances, and administration/management strategies. Each of the factors is evaluated individually and for its effect on the other factors in the context of the municipality’s ability to repay its debt.

Municipal Long-Term Rating Definitions:

Aaa —Issuers or issues rated Aaa demonstrate the strongest creditworthiness relative to other US municipal or tax-exempt issuers or issues.

Aa —Issuers or issues rated Aa demonstrate very strong creditworthiness relative to other US municipal or tax-exempt issuers or issues.

A —Issuers or issues rated A present above-average creditworthiness relative to other US municipal or tax-exempt issuers or issues.

Baa —Issuers or issues rated Baa represent average creditworthiness relative to other US municipal or tax- exempt issuers or issues.

Ba —Issuers or issues rated Ba demonstrate below-average creditworthiness relative to other US municipal or tax-exempt issuers or issues.

B —Issuers or issues rated B demonstrate weak creditworthiness relative to other US municipal or tax- exempt issuers or issues.

Caa —Issuers or issues rated Caa demonstrate very weak creditworthiness relative to other US municipal or tax-exempt issuers or issues.

Ca —Issuers or issues rated Ca demonstrate extremely weak creditworthiness relative to other US municipal or tax-exempt issuers or issues.

C —Issuers or issues rated C demonstrate the weakest creditworthiness relative to other US municipal or tax-exempt issuers or issues.

Note: Moody’s appends numerical modifiers “1”, “2” and “3” to each generic rating classification from “Aa” through “Caa.” The modifier “1” indicates that the obligation ranks in the higher end of its generic rating category; the modifier “2” indicates a mid-range ranking; and the modifier “3” indicates a ranking in the lower end of that generic rating category.

Description of Moody’s Investors Service, Inc.’s US Municipal Short-Term Debt And Demand Obligation Ratings:

There are three rating categories for short-term municipal obligations that are considered investment grade. These ratings are designated as Municipal Investment Grade (“MIG”) and are divided into three levels—“MIG 1” through “MIG 3.” In addition, those short-term obligations that are of speculative quality are designated “SG,” or speculative grade. MIG ratings expire at the maturity of the obligation.

MIG 1 —This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by established cash flows, highly reliable liquidity support, or demonstrated broad-based access to the market for refinancing.

MIG 2 —This designation denotes strong credit quality. Margins of protection are ample, although not as large as in the preceding group.

 

A-2


MIG 3 —This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Liquidity and cash-flow protection may be narrow, and market access for refinancing is likely to be less well-established.

SG —This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Debt instruments in this category may lack sufficient margins of protection.

Description of Moody’s Investors Service, Inc.’s Demand Obligation Ratings:

In the case of variable rate demand obligations (“VRDOs”), a two-component rating is assigned; a long or short-term debt rating and a demand obligation rating. The first element represents Moody’s evaluation of the degree of risk associated with scheduled principal and interest payments. The second element represents Moody’s evaluation of the degree of risk associated with the ability to receive purchase price upon demand (“demand feature”), using a variation of the MIG rating scale, the Variable Municipal Investment Grade or VMIG rating. When either the long- or short-term aspect of a VRDO is not rated, that piece is designated NR, e.g., Aaa/NR or NR/VMIG 1. VMIG rating expirations are a function of each issue’s specific structural or credit features.

VMIG 1 —This designation denotes superior credit quality. Excellent protection is afforded by the superior short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.

VMIG 2 —This designation denotes strong credit quality. Good protection is afforded by the strong short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.

VMIG 3 —This designation denotes acceptable credit quality. Adequate protection is afforded by the satisfactory short-term credit strength of the liquidity provider and structural and legal protections that ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.

SG —This designation denotes speculative-grade credit quality. Demand features rated in this category may be supported by a liquidity provider that does not have an investment grade short-term rating or may lack the structural and/or legal protections necessary to ensure the timely payment of purchase price upon demand.

Description of Moody’s Investors Service, Inc.’s Short-Term Prime Ratings:

Moody’s short-term ratings are opinions of the ability of issuers to honor short-term financial obligations. Ratings may be assigned to issuers, short-term programs or to individual short-term debt instruments. Such obligations generally have an original maturity not exceeding thirteen months, unless explicitly noted.

P-1 —Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-1 have a superior ability to repay short-term debt obligations.

P-2 —Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-2 have a strong ability to repay short-term debt obligations.

P-3 —Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Prime-3 have an acceptable ability to repay short-term obligations.

NP —Issuers (or supporting institutions) rated Not Prime do not fall within any of the Prime rating categories.

Note: Canadian issuers rated P-1 or P-2 have their short-term ratings enhanced by the senior-most long-term rating of the issuer, its guarantor or support-provider.

 

A-3


Description of Standard & Poor’s Ratings Group’s Long-Term Issue Credit Ratings:

Issue credit ratings are based, in varying degrees, on the following considerations: (1) likelihood of payment—capacity and willingness of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on an obligation in accordance with the terms of the obligation; (2) nature of and provisions of the obligation; and (3) protection afforded by, and relative position of, the obligation in the event of bankruptcy, reorganization, or other arrangement under the laws of bankruptcy and other laws affecting creditors’ rights.

The issue rating definitions are expressed in terms of default risk. As such, they pertain to senior obligations of an entity. Junior obligations are typically rated lower than senior obligations, to reflect the lower priority in bankruptcy, as noted above. (Such differentiation applies when an entity has both senior and subordinated obligations, secured and unsecured obligations, or operating company and holding company obligations.) Accordingly, in the case of junior debt, the rating may not conform exactly with the category definition.

AAA —An obligation rated ‘AAA’ has the highest rating assigned by Standard & Poor’s. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments on the obligation is extremely strong.

AA —An obligation rated ‘AA’ differs from the highest-rated obligations only to a small degree. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial obligations is very strong.

A —An obligation rated ‘A’ is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rated categories. However, the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is still strong.

BBB —An obligation rated ‘BBB’ exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

BB, B, CCC, CC, and C —Obligations rated ‘BB’, ‘B’, ‘CCC’, ‘CC’, and ‘C’ are regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. ‘BB’ indicates the least degree of speculation and ‘C’ the highest. While such obligations will likely have some quality and protective characteristics, these may be outweighed by large uncertainties or major exposures to adverse conditions.

BB —An obligation rated ‘BB’ is less vulnerable to nonpayment than other speculative issues. However, it faces major ongoing uncertainties or exposure to adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, which could lead to the obligor’s inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

B —An obligation rated ‘B’ is more vulnerable to nonpayment than obligations rated ‘BB’, but the obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. Adverse business, financial, or economic conditions will likely impair the obligor’s capacity or willingness to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

CCC —An obligation rated ‘CCC’ is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation. In the event of adverse business, financial, or economic conditions, the obligor is not likely to have the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

CC —An obligation rated ‘CC’ is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment.

C —A subordinated debt or preferred stock obligation rated ‘C’ is currently highly vulnerable to nonpayment. The ‘C’ rating may be used to cover a situation where a bankruptcy petition has been filed or similar action taken, but payments on this obligation are being continued. A ‘C’ also will be assigned to a preferred stock issue in arrears on dividends or sinking fund payments, but that is currently paying.

 

A-4


D —An obligation rated ‘D’ is in payment default. The ‘D’ rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due even if the applicable grace period has not expired, unless Standard & Poor’s believes that such payments will be made during such grace period. The ‘D’ rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action if payments on an obligation are jeopardized.

Plus (+) or Minus (–): The ratings from ‘AA’ to ‘CCC’ may be modified by the addition of a plus (+) or minus (–) sign to show relative standing within the major rating categories.

N.R.: This indicates that no rating has been requested, that there is insufficient information on which to base a rating, or that Standard & Poor’s does not rate a particular obligation as a matter of policy.

Active Qualifiers (Currently applied and/or outstanding)

i: This subscript is used for issues in which the credit factors, terms, or both, that determine the likelihood of receipt of payment of interest are different from the credit factors, terms or both that determine the likelihood of receipt of principal on the obligation. The ‘i’ subscript indicates that the rating addresses the interest portion of the obligation only. The ‘i’ subscript will always be used in conjunction with the ‘p’ subscript, which addresses likelihood of receipt of principal. For example, a rated obligation could be assigned ratings of “AAAp NRi” indicating that the principal portion is rated “AAA” and the interest portion of the obligation is not rated.

L: Ratings qualified with ‘L’ apply only to amounts invested up to federal deposit insurance limits.

p: This subscript is used for issues in which the credit factors, the terms, or both, that determine the likelihood of receipt of payment of principal are different from the credit factors, terms or both that determine the likelihood of receipt of interest on the obligation. The ‘p’ subscript indicates that the rating addresses the principal portion of the obligation only. The ‘p’ subscript will always be used in conjunction with the ‘i’ subscript, which addresses likelihood of receipt of interest. For example, a rated obligation could be assigned ratings of “AAAp NRi” indicating that the principal portion is rated “AAA” and the interest portion of the obligation is not rated.

pi: Ratings with a ‘pi’ subscript are based on an analysis of an issuer’s published financial information, as well as additional information in the public domain. They do not, however, reflect in-depth meetings with an issuer’s management and are therefore based on less comprehensive information than ratings without a ‘pi’ subscript. Ratings with a ‘pi’ subscript are reviewed annually based on a new year’s financial statements, but may be reviewed on an interim basis if a major event occurs that may affect the issuer’s credit quality.

pr: The letters ‘pr’ indicate that the rating is provisional. A provisional rating assumes the successful completion of the project financed by the debt being rated and indicates that payment of debt service requirements is largely or entirely dependent upon the successful, timely completion of the project. This rating, however, while addressing credit quality subsequent to completion of the project, makes no comment on the likelihood of or the risk of default upon failure of such completion. The investor should exercise his own judgment with respect to such likelihood and risk.

preliminary: Preliminary ratings are assigned to issues, including financial programs, in the following circumstances. Preliminary ratings may be assigned to obligations, most commonly structured and project finance issues, pending receipt of final documentation and legal opinions. Assignment of a final rating is conditional on the receipt and approval by Standard & Poor’s of appropriate documentation. Changes in the information provided to Standard & Poor’s could result in the assignment of a different rating. In addition, Standard & Poor’s reserves the right not to issue a final rating. Preliminary ratings are assigned to Rule 415 Shelf Registrations. As specific issues, with defined terms, are offered from the master registration, a final rating may be assigned to them in accordance with Standard & Poor’s policies. The final rating may differ from the preliminary rating.

 

A-5


t: This symbol indicates termination structures that are designed to honor their contracts to full maturity or, should certain events occur, to terminate and cash settle all their contracts before their final maturity date.

Local Currency and Foreign Currency Risks: Country risk considerations are a standard part of Standard & Poor’s analysis for credit ratings on any issuer or issue. Currency of repayment is a key factor in this analysis. An obligor’s capacity to repay foreign currency obligations may be lower than its capacity to repay obligations in its local currency due to the sovereign government’s own relatively lower capacity to repay external versus domestic debt. These sovereign risk considerations are incorporated in the debt ratings assigned to specific issues. Foreign currency issuer ratings are also distinguished from local currency issuer ratings to identify those instances where sovereign risks make them different for the same issuer.

Description of Standard & Poor’s Ratings Group’s Ratings of Notes:

A Standard & Poor’s U.S. municipal note rating reflects the liquidity factors and market access risks unique to notes. Notes due in three years or less will likely receive a note rating. Notes maturing beyond three years will most likely receive a long-term debt rating. The following criteria will be used in making that assessment:

—Amortization schedule—the larger the final maturity relative to other maturities, the more likely it will be treated as a note; and

—Source of payment—the more dependent the issue is on the market for its refinancing, the more likely it will be treated as a note.

Note rating symbols are as follows:

SP-1 —Strong capacity to pay principal and interest. An issue determined to possess a very strong capacity to pay debt service is given a plus (+) designation.

SP-2 —Satisfactory capacity to pay principal and interest, with some vulnerability to adverse financial and economic changes over the term of the notes.

SP-3 —Speculative capacity to pay principal and interest.

Description of Standard & Poor’s Ratings Group’s Short-Term Issue Credit Ratings:

A-1 —Short-term obligation rated “A-1” is rated in the highest category by Standard & Poor’s. The obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is strong. Within this category, certain obligations are designated with a plus sign (+). This indicates that the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitments is extremely strong.

A-2 —Short-term obligation rated “A-2” is somewhat more susceptible to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances and economic conditions than obligations in higher rating categories. However, the obligor’s capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation is satisfactory.

A-3 —Short-term obligation rated “A-3” exhibits adequate protection parameters. However, adverse economic conditions or changing circumstances are more likely to lead to a weakened capacity of the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

B —A short-term obligation rated ‘B’ is regarded as having significant speculative characteristics. Ratings of ‘B-1’, ‘B-2’, and ‘B-3’ may be assigned to indicate finer distinctions within the ‘B’ category. The obligor currently has the capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation; however, it faces major ongoing uncertainties which could lead to the obligor’s inadequate capacity to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

 

A-6


B-1 —A short-term obligation rated ‘B-1’ is regarded as having significant speculative characteristics, but the obligor has a relatively stronger capacity to meet its financial commitments over the short-term compared to other speculative-grade obligors.

B-2 —A short-term obligation rated ‘B-2’ is regarded as having significant speculative characteristics, and the obligor has an average speculative-grade capacity to meet its financial commitments over the short-term compared to other speculative-grade obligors.

B-3 —A short-term obligation rated ‘B-3’ is regarded as having significant speculative characteristics, and the obligor has a relatively weaker capacity to meet its financial commitments over the short-term compared to other speculative-grade obligors.

C —A short-term obligation rated ‘C’ is currently vulnerable to nonpayment and is dependent upon favorable business, financial, and economic conditions for the obligor to meet its financial commitment on the obligation.

D —A short-term obligation rated ‘D’ is in payment default. The ‘D’ rating category is used when payments on an obligation are not made on the date due even if the applicable grace period has not expired, unless Standard & Poor’s believes that such payments will be made during such grace period. The ‘D’ rating also will be used upon the filing of a bankruptcy petition or the taking of a similar action if payments on an obligation are jeopardized.

Active Qualifiers (Currently applied and/or outstanding)

i: This subscript is used for issues in which the credit factors, terms, or both, that determine the likelihood of receipt of payment of interest are different from the credit factors, terms or both that determine the likelihood of receipt of principal on the obligation. The ‘i’ subscript indicates that the rating addresses the interest portion of the obligation only. The ‘i’ subscript will always be used in conjunction with the ‘p’ subscript, which addresses likelihood of receipt of principal. For example, a rated obligation could be assigned ratings of “AAAp NRi” indicating that the principal portion is rated “AAA” and the interest portion of the obligation is not rated.

L: Ratings qualified with ‘L’ apply only to amounts invested up to federal deposit insurance limits.

p: This subscript is used for issues in which the credit factors, the terms, or both, that determine the likelihood of receipt of payment of principal are different from the credit factors, terms or both that determine the likelihood of receipt of interest on the obligation. The ‘p’ subscript indicates that the rating addresses the principal portion of the obligation only. The ‘p’ subscript will always be used in conjunction with the ‘i’ subscript, which addresses likelihood of receipt of interest. For example, a rated obligation could be assigned ratings of “AAAp NRi” indicating that the principal portion is rated “AAA” and the interest portion of the obligation is not rated.

pi: Ratings with a ‘pi’ subscript are based on an analysis of an issuer’s published financial information, as well as additional information in the public domain. They do not, however, reflect in-depth meetings with an issuer’s management and are therefore based on less comprehensive information than ratings without a ‘pi’ subscript. Ratings with a ‘pi’ subscript are reviewed annually based on a new year’s financial statements, but may be reviewed on an interim basis if a major event occurs that may affect the issuer’s credit quality.

pr: The letters ‘pr’ indicate that the rating is provisional. A provisional rating assumes the successful completion of the project financed by the debt being rated and indicates that payment of debt service requirements is largely or entirely dependent upon the successful, timely completion of the project. This rating, however, while addressing credit quality subsequent to completion of the project, makes no comment on the likelihood of or the risk of default upon failure of such completion. The investor should exercise his own judgment with respect to such likelihood and risk.

 

A-7


preliminary: Preliminary ratings are assigned to issues, including financial programs, in the following circumstances. Preliminary ratings may be assigned to obligations, most commonly structured and project finance issues, pending receipt of final documentation and legal opinions. Assignment of a final rating is conditional on the receipt and approval by Standard & Poor’s of appropriate documentation. Changes in the information provided to Standard & Poor’s could result in the assignment of a different rating. In addition, Standard & Poor’s reserves the right not to issue a final rating. Preliminary ratings are assigned to Rule 415 Shelf Registrations. As specific issues, with defined terms, are offered from the master registration, a final rating may be assigned to them in accordance with Standard & Poor’s policies. The final rating may differ from the preliminary rating.

t: This symbol indicates termination structures that are designed to honor their contracts to full maturity or, should certain events occur, to terminate and cash settle all their contracts before their final maturity date. Local Currency and Foreign Currency Risks: Country risk considerations are a standard part of Standard & Poor’s analysis for credit ratings on any issuer or issue. Currency of repayment is a key factor in this analysis. An obligor’s capacity to repay foreign currency obligations may be lower than its capacity to repay obligations in its local currency due to the sovereign government’s own relatively lower capacity to repay external versus domestic debt. These sovereign risk considerations are incorporated in the debt ratings assigned to specific issues. Foreign currency issuer ratings are also distinguished from local currency issuer ratings to identify those instances where sovereign risks make them different for the same issuer.

Description of Standard & Poor’s Ratings Group’s Ratings of Commercial Paper:

A Standard & Poor’s commercial paper rating is a current assessment of the likelihood of timely payment of debt having an original maturity of no more than 365 days. Ratings are graded into several categories, ranging from “A” for the highest-quality obligations to “D” for the lowest. These categories are as follows:

A-1 —This designation indicates that the degree of safety regarding timely payment is strong. Those issues determined to possess extremely strong safety characteristics are denoted with a plus sign (+) designation.

A-2 —Capacity for timely payment on issues with this designation is satisfactory. However, the relative degree of safety is not as high as for issues designated ‘A-1’.

A-3 —Issues carrying this designation have an adequate capacity for timely payment. They are, however, more vulnerable to the adverse effects of changes in circumstances than obligations carrying the higher designations.

B —Issues rated ‘B’ are regarded as having only speculative capacity for timely payment.

C —This rating is assigned to short-term debt obligations with a doubtful capacity for payment.

D —Debt rated ‘D’ is in payment default. The ‘D’ rating category is used when interest payments of principal payments are not made on the date due, even if the applicable grace period has not expired, unless Standard & Poor’s believes such payments will be made during such grace period.

Description of Standard & Poor’s Ratings Group’s Dual Ratings:

Standard & Poor’s assigns “dual” ratings to all debt issues that have a put option or demand feature as part of their structure.

The first rating addresses the likelihood of repayment of principal and interest as due, and the second rating addresses only the demand feature. The long-term debt rating symbols are used for bonds to denote the long-term maturity and the commercial paper rating symbols for the put option (for example, “AAA/A-1+”). With short-term demand debt, Standard & Poor’s note rating symbols are used with the commercial paper rating symbols (for example, “SP-1+/A-1+”).

 

A-8


Description of Fitch Ratings International Long-Term Credit Ratings:

International Long-Term Credit Ratings (“LTCR”) may also be referred to as “Long-Term Ratings.” When assigned to most issuers, it is used as a benchmark measure of probability of default and is formally described as an Issuer Default Rating (IDR). The major exception is within Public Finance, where IDRs will not be assigned as market convention has always focused on timeliness and does not draw analytical distinctions between issuers and their underlying obligations. When applied to issues or securities, the LTCR may be higher or lower than the issuer rating (IDR) to reflect relative differences in recovery expectations. The following rating scale applies to foreign currency and local currency ratings.

Investment Grade

AAA —Highest credit quality. “AAA” ratings denote the lowest expectation of credit risk. They are assigned only in case of exceptionally strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is highly unlikely to be adversely affected by foreseeable events.

AA —Very high credit quality. “AA” ratings denote expectations of very low credit risk. They indicate very strong capacity for payment of financial commitments. This capacity is not significantly vulnerable to foreseeable events.

A —High credit quality. “A” ratings denote expectations of low credit risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered strong. This capacity may, nevertheless, be more vulnerable to changes in circumstances or in economic conditions than is the case for higher ratings.

BBB —Good credit quality. “BBB” ratings indicate that there is currently expectations of low credit risk. The capacity for payment of financial commitments is considered adequate, but adverse changes in circumstances and economic conditions are more likely to impair this capacity. This is the lowest investment-grade category.

Speculative Grade

BB —Speculative. “BB” ratings indicate that there is a possibility of credit risk developing, particularly as the result of adverse economic change over time; however, business or financial alternatives may be available to allow financial commitments to be met. Securities rated in this category are not investment grade.

B —Highly speculative. For issuers and performing obligations, ‘B’ ratings indicate that significant credit risk is present, but a limited margin of safety remains. Financial commitments are currently being met; however, capacity for continued payment is contingent upon a sustained, favorable business and economic environment. For individual obligations, ‘B’ ratings may indicate distressed or defaulted obligations with potential for extremely high recoveries. Such obligations would possess a Recovery Rating of ‘R1’ (outstanding).

CCC —For issuers and performing obligations, default is a real possibility. Capacity for meeting financial commitments is solely reliant upon sustained, favorable business or economic conditions. For individual obligations, may indicate distressed or defaulted obligations with potential for average to superior levels of recovery. Differences in credit quality may be denoted by plus/minus distinctions. Such obligations typically would possess a Recovery Rating of ‘R2’ (superior), or ‘R3’ (good) or ‘R4’ (average).

CC —For issuers and performing obligations, default of some kind appears probable. For individual obligations, may indicate distressed or defaulted obligations with a Recovery Rating of ‘R4’ (average) or ‘R5’ (below average).

C —For issuers and performing obligations, default is imminent. For individual obligations, may indicate distressed or defaulted obligations with potential for below-average to poor recoveries. Such obligations would possess a Recovery Rating of ‘R6’ (poor).

 

A-9


RD —Indicates an entity that has failed to make due payments (within the applicable grace period) on some but not all material financial obligations, but continues to honor other classes of obligations.

D —Indicates an entity or sovereign that has defaulted on all of its financial obligations. Default generally is defined as one of the following: (i) failure of an obligor to make timely payment of principal and/or interest under the contractual terms of any financial obligation; (ii) the bankruptcy filings, administration, receivership, liquidation or other winding-up or cessation of business of an obligor; or (iii) the distressed or other coercive exchange of an obligation, where creditors were offered securities with diminished structural or economic terms compared with the existing obligation.

Default ratings are not assigned prospectively; within this context, non-payment on an instrument that contains a deferral feature or grace period will not be considered a default until after the expiration of the deferral or grace period.

Issuers will be rated ‘D’ upon a default. Defaulted and distressed obligations typically are rated along the continuum of ‘C’ to ‘B’ ratings categories, depending upon their recovery prospects and other relevant characteristics. Additionally, in structured finance transactions, where analysis indicates that an instrument is irrevocably impaired such that it is not expected to meet pay interest and/or principal in full in accordance with the terms of the obligation’s documentation during the life of the transaction, but where no payment default in accordance with the terms of the documentation is imminent, the obligation may be rated in the ‘B’ or ‘CCC-C’ categories.

Default is determined by reference to the terms of the obligations’ documentation. Fitch will assign default ratings where it has reasonably determined that payment has not been made on a material obligation in accordance with the requirements of the obligation’s documentation, or where it believes that default ratings consistent with Fitch’s published definition of default are the most appropriate ratings to assign.

Description of Fitch Ratings International Short-Term Credit Ratings:

International Short-Term Credit Ratings may also be referred to as “Short-Term Ratings.” The following ratings scale applies to foreign currency and local currency ratings. A short-term rating has a time horizon of less than 13 months for most obligations, or up to three years for U.S. public finance, in line with industry standards, to reflect unique characteristics of bond, tax, and revenue anticipation notes that are commonly issued with terms up to three years. Short-term ratings thus places greater emphasis on the liquidity necessary to meet financial commitments in a timely manner.

F1 —Highest credit quality. Indicates the strongest capacity for timely payment of financial commitments; may have an added “+” to denote any exceptionally strong credit feature.

F2 —Good credit quality. A satisfactory capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, but the margin of safety is not as great as in the case of the higher ratings.

F3 —Fair credit quality. The capacity for timely payment of financial commitments is adequate; however, near-term adverse changes could result in a reduction to non-investment grade.

B —Speculative. Minimal capacity for timely payment of financial commitments, plus vulnerability to near-term adverse changes in financial and economic conditions.

C —High default risk. Default is a real possibility. Capacity for meeting financial commitments is solely reliant upon a sustained, favorable business and economic environment.

D —Default. Indicates an entity or sovereign that has defaulted on all of its financial obligations.

 

A-10


Notes to Fitch Ratings International Long-Term and Short-Term Credit Ratings:

The modifiers “+” or “-” may be appended to a rating to denote relative status within major rating categories. Such suffixes are not added to the ‘AAA’ Long-term rating category, to categories below ‘CCC’, or to Short-term ratings other than ‘F1’. (The +/- modifiers are only used to denote issues within the CCC category, whereas issuers are only rated CCC without the use of modifiers.)

Rating Watch: Ratings are placed on Rating Watch to notify investors that there is a reasonable probability of a rating change and the likely direction of such change. These are designated as “Positive”, indicating a potential upgrade, “Negative”, for a potential downgrade, or “Evolving”, if ratings may be raised, lowered or maintained. Rating Watch is typically resolved over a relatively short period.

Rating Outlook: An Outlook indicates the direction a rating is likely to move over a one to two-year period. Outlooks may be positive, stable or negative. A positive or negative Rating Outlook does not imply a rating change is inevitable. Similarly, ratings for which outlooks are ‘stable’ could be upgraded or downgraded before an outlook moves to positive or negative if circumstances warrant such an action. Occasionally, Fitch Ratings may be unable to identify the fundamental trend. In these cases, the Rating Outlook may be described as evolving.

Program ratings (such as the those assigned to MTN shelf registrations) relate only to standard issues made under the program concerned; it should not be assumed that these ratings apply to every issue made under the program. In particular, in the case of non-standard issues, i.e. those that are linked to the credit of a third party or linked to the performance of an index, ratings of these issues may deviate from the applicable program rating.

Variable rate demand obligations and other securities which contain a short-term ‘put’ or other similar demand feature will have a dual rating, such as AAA/F1+. The first rating reflects the ability to meet long-term principal and interest payments, whereas the second rating reflects the ability to honor the demand feature in full and on time.

Interest Only: Interest Only ratings are assigned to interest strips. These ratings do not address the possibility that a security holder might fail to recover some or all of its initial investment due to voluntary or involuntary principal repayments.

Principal Only: Principal Only ratings address the likelihood that a security holder will receive their initial principal investment either before or by the scheduled maturity date.

Rate of Return: Ratings also may be assigned to gauge the likelihood of an investor receiving a certain predetermined internal rate of return without regard to the precise timing of any cash flows.

‘PIF’: Paid-in -Full; denotes a security that is paid-in-full, matured, called, or refinanced.

‘NR’ indicates that Fitch Ratings does not rate the issuer or issue in question.

‘Withdrawn’: A rating is withdrawn when Fitch Ratings deems the amount of information available to be inadequate for rating purposes, or when an obligation matures, is called, or refinanced, or for any other reason Fitch Ratings deems sufficient.

 

A-11


APPENDIX B

Brandywine Global Investment Management, LLC Proxy Voting Policy

Policy:

Brandywine has a responsibility to its clients for voting proxies for portfolio securities consistent with the best economic interests of its clients. Brandywine maintains written policies and procedures as to the handling, research, voting and reporting of proxy voting and makes appropriate disclosures about our firm’s proxy policies and practices. The policy and practice includes the fact that the firm has a responsibility to monitor corporate actions, receive and vote client proxies and disclose any potential conflicts of interest as well as making information available to clients about the voting of proxies for their portfolio securities and maintaining relevant and required records.

Background:

Proxy voting is an important right of shareholders and reasonable care and diligence must be undertaken to ensure that such rights are properly and timely exercised.

Investment advisers registered with the SEC, and which exercise voting authority with respect to client securities, are required by Rule 206(4)-6 of the Advisers Act to (a) adopt and implement written policies and procedures that are reasonably designed to ensure that client securities are voted in the best interests of clients, which must include how an adviser addresses material conflicts that may arise between an adviser’s interests and those of its clients; (b) to disclose to clients how they may obtain information from the adviser with respect to the voting of proxies for their securities; (c) to describe to clients a summary of its proxy voting policies and procedures and, upon request, furnish a copy to its clients; and (d) maintain certain records relating to the adviser’s proxy voting activities when the adviser does have proxy voting authority.

Responsibility:

Compliance has the responsibility for the implementation and monitoring of the firm’s proxy voting policy, practices, disclosures and record keeping, including outlining voting guidelines in the procedures.

Procedures:

Brandywine has implemented policies and procedures that we believe are reasonably designed to ensure that proxies are voted in the best interest of clients, in accordance with our fiduciary duties and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 (“Advisers Act”). Our authority to vote the proxies of our clients is established through investment management agreements or comparable documents.

In exercising its voting authority, Brandywine will not consult or enter into agreements with officers, directors or employees of its parent, Legg Mason Inc., or any of its affiliates, regarding the voting of any securities owned by its clients.

While the guidelines included in the procedures are intended to provide a benchmark for voting standards, each vote is ultimately cast on a case-by-case basis, taking into consideration Brandywine’s contractual obligations to our clients and all other relevant facts and circumstances at the time of the vote (such that these guidelines may be overridden to the extent Brandywine believes appropriate).

Voting Authority

 

    Brandywine shall assume the responsibility and authority with respect to the voting of proxies for all client accounts, unless such responsibility and authority expressly have been delegated to others or reserved to the trustee or other named fiduciary of a client account. In no event will Brandywine’s authority to vote proxies obligate it to undertake any shareholder activism on behalf of any client.

 

B-1


    Brandywine’s clients shall be responsible for notifying their custodians of the name and address of the person or entity with voting authority.

 

    Brandywine’s Compliance Department, on a random basis, reviews the proxy voting process. The gathering and voting of proxies is coordinated through the Administrative Department and Brandywine maintains internal procedures to govern the processing of proxies, including handling client requests and monitoring for potential material conflicts. Research analysts, corporate action specialists and portfolio managers, otherwise referred to as voting persons, and are responsible for determining appropriate voting positions on each proxy utilizing any applicable guidelines contained in these procedures.

 

    Brandywine will not decline to vote proxies except in extraordinary circumstances, nor will Brandywine accept direction from others with regard to the voting of proxies. Brandywine will take the investment guidelines of an account into consideration in deciding how to vote on a particular issue.

 

    Brandywine may vote proxies related to the same security differently for each client.

 

    Brandywine seeks to identify any material conflicts that may arise between the interests of Brandywine and its clients in accordance with the following procedures. Except for extraordinary circumstances, in any such instance, the material conflict will be resolved by either excluding any conflicted person from the voting process or by voting in accordance with the recommendation of Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), an independent third party.

 

    All relevant proxies are reviewed by the Legal and Compliance Department for potential material conflicts of interest. Issues to be reviewed may include whether Brandywine manages assets for the issuer, a shareholder proponent or an employee group of the issuer or otherwise has a current or potential business relationship with the issuer; whether Brandywine, one of its officers or directors or any voting person is a close relative of or has any personal or business relationship with the issuer (excluding normal commercial transactions and investment relationships where there is no special treatment), with an officer, director or other executive person at the issuer, with a candidate for election to the board of the issuer or with a shareholder proponent; whether there is any other material business or personal relationship which may create an interest in the outcome of the matter on the part of a voting person; or whether an affiliate of Brandywine’s has a conflict as described above which is known to Brandywine’s voting persons. Conflicts of this nature will be considered material. If the conflict pertains to an individual voting person that person will exclude him- or herself from the vote determination process in order to shield the Brandywine and other voting persons from the conflict, provided the compliance department believes that the other voting persons can determine a vote completely separate from the conflicted voting person. If the conflict cannot be contained, the proxy is voted according to the recommendation of ISS. Any time a material conflict is encountered, Brandywine will keep records on the nature of the conflict, the actual vote and the basis for the vote determination.

Voting Guidelines

 

    Proxies will not be voted without an analysis of the underlying issues involved.

 

    Brandywine’s proxy voting policy at all times shall be directed toward maximizing the value of the assets of managed accounts, for the benefit of the accounts’ ultimate owners/beneficiaries.

 

    Any item on a proxy, which would tend to inhibit the realization of maximum value, may receive a negative vote from Brandywine. Examples of such items would be staggered terms for directors, restrictions against cumulative voting, and establishment of different classes of stock, excessive compensation, poor stewardship, or any activity, which could be viewed as a “poison pill” maneuver.

 

    On other matters specific to a company, such as the election of directors, the appointment of auditors, granting of options, repricing of options, mergers and other material issues, a decision shall be made in conjunction with the primary analyst responsible for overseeing that company, consistent with the policy of maximizing value.

 

B-2


Voting Records & Client Notification

 

    A complete record and file of all votes cast shall be maintained by Brandywine for the period prescribed by the Securities Exchange Commission. Brandywine will similarly maintain copies of policies and procedures, proxy booklets, copies of any documents created by Brandywine that were material to making a decision how to vote proxies and a log of proxy requests and responses.

A proxy log shall be maintained by Brandywine that includes the issuer name, exchange ticker symbol, CUSIP number, shareholder meeting date, brief identification of the matter voted on, whether the matter was proposed by the issuer or by a shareholder of the issuer, whether a vote was cast on the matter, record of how the vote was cast, and whether the vote was cast for or against the recommendation of the issuer’s management team.

 

    Clients may obtain information with regard to the manner in which their proxies were voted, as well as detailed policies and procedures by contacting Brandywine, 2929 Arch Street, 8 th Floor, Philadelphia, PA 19104, attention: Proxy administrator.

In addition, a description of these Policies shall be provided to new clients prior to the inception of their account, simultaneous with the provision of Brandywine’s Disclosure Brochure whenever possible.

Administration of Proxies

 

    At the inception of a new account over which Brandywine has domestic proxy voting authority:

 

    New client information is entered onto the appropriate “Proxy System” (ProxyEdge (ADP) for domestic securities and ISS for global securities).

 

    Custodians are notified by the Client that proxies should be forwarded to Brandywine.

 

    Those proxies that arrive in the Mail Room are sorted and forwarded to a Proxy Administrator.

 

    Proxies are placed in date order into pending vote proxy files by a Proxy Administrator.

 

    Proxies are cross-referenced against the Alert List (discussed under Identifying Potential Conflicts ).

 

    Proxies are then distributed to either the appropriate investment team or, in those instances where a proxy matches an Alert List entry, to the Legal and Compliance Department.

 

    In the event that no material conflict exists, the following procedures apply:

 

    The voting person’s initials are entered onto the Proxy System’s tickler file in the analyst block.

 

    Ballots are voted by a voting person and are returned to a Proxy Administrator for processing on the Proxy System.
    If a material conflict exists, a Proxy Administrator will obtain a copy of the Institutional Shareholder Services recommendation, which will be attached to the ballot.

 

    The voting person will then either (i) complete the Proxy System ballot in accordance with the attached recommendation; or (ii) exclude themselves in writing from voting the proxy.

 

    A Proxy Administrator will redirect the proxy to another voting person in instances where an exclusion has occurred.

 

    Where applicable, a Proxy Administrator will verify that the ballot was in fact voted in accordance with the ISS recommendation before entering it onto the Proxy System.

 

    The proxy booklets and Proxy System ballots are subjected to an approval process by a Proxy Administrator .

 

B-3


    During the approval process, ballot shares are matched against holdings shares 1 .

 

    Discrepancies are researched through Brandywine’s internal data warehouse and custodian banks are contacted where necessary to reconcile share amounts.

 

    Brandywine personnel act in such a manner to ensure that, absent special circumstances, the proxy gathering and proxy voting steps noted above could be completed before the applicable deadline for returning proxy votes.

 

    Any pending unvoted meetings are reviewed and monitored on a daily basis by Proxy Administrators.

 

    All voting records are maintained within the Proxy Systems.

 

    Proxy booklets and all additional information (including copies of any documents created by Brandywine that were material to making a decision how to vote proxies) are filed.

Administration of Client Requests

 

    All client requests for proxy information (both written and oral), including but not limited to voting records and requests for detailed Policies and Procedures, are referred to a Proxy Administrator.

 

    All requests are entered onto a Proxy Request Log maintained by a Proxy Administrator. Information on the log includes the date of the request, the content of the request and the date of the response by Brandywine.

 

    The Proxy Administrator works in conjunction with the Client Service Department to respond to all requests in writing.

 

    Copies of all written requests and responses thereto, including voting record reports, are maintained in a separate Proxy Request file.

Identifying Potential Conflict of interest

Personal Conflicts

 

    Each voting person must certify in writing at the beginning of each proxy season that he or she will notify the Legal and Compliance Department of:

1. any potential personal conflict with regard to a specific proxy; and

2. any potential conflict of which they become aware relating to another voting person.

 

    Potential conflicts should be interpreted broadly in order to capture instances where a conflict of interest could be perceived to exist by a third party. An objective ‘reasonableness’ standard should be applied as opposed to a subjective determination that the individual is not in fact conflicted.

 

    The following are examples of potential personal conflicts which are extracted from the SEC’s Final Rule 4:

 

    The adviser may also have business or personal relationships with participants in proxy contests, corporate directors or candidates for directorships. For example, an executive of the adviser may have a spouse or other close relative that serves as a director or executive of a company.

 

    Any Board positions held on a publicly traded company by a voting person (as evidenced by their most recent Code of Ethics Certification) will be examined on a case-by-case basis as proxy votes arise in that security.

 

    A list of potentially conflicted securities (“Alert List”) will be provided to the Proxy Administrators, who will cross-reference proxy votes as they arise.

 

    Any proxies matching securities on the Alert List will be referred to the Legal and Compliance Department for an assessment of the materiality of the conflict.

 

B-4


Professional Conflicts

 

    In order to identify instances where a professional association could be perceived as a conflict of interest between Brandywine and a client for purposes of proxy voting, the following procedures will be followed:

 

    The names of all clients who are directly connected to a publicly traded security, through a significant ownership interest, which was held by a Brandywine account during the relevant proxy period, will be added to the Alert List.

 

    The names of all significant prospects that are directly connected to a publicly traded security, through a significant ownership interest, which was held by a Brandywine account during the relevant proxy period, will be added to the Alert List.

 

    The Alert List will be cross-referenced by the Proxy Administrators against proxies on a day-to-day basis.

 

B-5


 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Fund

Supplement dated April     , 2007

to Prospectus dated                     , 2007

The attached prospectus is now dated April     , 2007.

As part of a number of initiatives launched in 2006 to restructure and streamline the Legg Mason Partners fund complex, the fund assumed the assets and liabilities of a predecessor fund with the same name. The fund is now grouped for organizational and governance purposes with other Legg Mason Partners funds that are predominantly equity-type funds. The prospectus is supplemented as shown below to reflect this change. Any information in the prospectus relating to the fund prior to the date of this Prospectus refers to the fund’s predecessor.

Performance Information

The summary performance information in the prospectus is that of the fund’s predecessor.

Management—Other Information

The paragraph beneath the heading “Other Information” in the “Management” section of the prospectus is deleted.

Financial Highlights

The financial information shown in the “Financial Highlights” section of the prospectus is that of the fund’s predecessor.


PROSPECTUS

January     , 2007

The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or determined whether this Prospectus is accurate or complete. Any statement to the contrary is a crime.

LOGO

 

Legg Mason Partners

Small Cap Growth Fund

Class A, B, C, I and 1 Shares

 

 

 

 

INVESTMENT PRODUCTS: NOT FDIC INSURED • NO BANK GUARANTEE • MAY LOSE VALUE

 

 


Legg Mason Partners

Small Cap Growth Fund

Contents

 

Investments, risks and performance

  2

More on the fund’s investments

  7

Management

  9

Choosing a class of shares to buy

  12

Comparing the fund’s classes

  14

Sales charge

  15

More about contingent deferred sales charges

  20

Retirement and institutional investors

  21

Buying shares

  23

Exchanging shares

  24

Redeeming shares

  26

Other things to know about transactions

  28

Dividends, distributions and taxes

  31

Share price

  33

Financial highlights

  35

 

Prior to April 7, 2006, the fund was known as Smith Barney Small Cap Growth Fund


 

Investments, risks and performance

Investment objective

The fund seeks long-term growth of capital.

Principal investment strategies

Key investments

Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of the value of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities of high growth small capitalization companies or in other investments with similar economic characteristics. Small capitalization companies are those companies with market capitalization values not exceeding (i) $3 billion or (ii) the highest month-end market capitalization value of any stock in the Russell 2000 Index (the “Index”) for the previous 12 months, whichever is greater. Securities of companies whose market capitalizations no longer meet this definition after purchase by the fund still will be considered to be securities of small capitalization companies for purposes of the fund’s 80% investment policy. The size of the companies in the Index changes with market conditions and the composition of the Index. Equity securities include exchange-traded and over-the-counter common stocks, preferred stocks, debt securities convertible into equity securities and warrants and rights relating to equity securities. The fund may invest up to 20% of the value of its net assets in equity securities of companies with larger market capitalizations.

Selection process

The portfolio manager focuses on small capitalization companies that exhibit attractive growth characteristics. The portfolio manager selects individual stocks for investment by identifying those companies which exhibit the most favorable growth prospects. In selecting individual companies for investment, the portfolio manager considers:

n   Growth characteristics, including high historic growth rates and high forecasted growth of sales, profits and return on equity
n   Innovative companies at the cutting edge of positive and dynamic demographic and economic trends
n   Products and services that give the company a competitive advantage
n   Skilled management committed to long-term growth
n   Potential for a long-term investment by the fund

The portfolio manager uses a disciplined investment process to identify small financially sound growth companies that exhibit the potential to become much larger and more successful. Elements of this process include fundamental research, evaluation of key management and screening techniques.

Principal risks of investing in the fund

Investors could lose money on their investment in the fund, or the fund may not perform as well as other investments, if:

n   Key economic trends become materially unfavorable, such as rising interest rates and levels of inflation or a slowdown of economic growth
n   U.S. stock markets perform poorly relative to other types of investments

 

2         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

n   An adverse company specific event, such as an unfavorable earnings report, negatively affects the stock price of a company in which the fund invests
n   Small capitalization stocks underperform mid capitalization and large capitalization stocks
n   The portfolio manager’s judgment about the attractiveness, growth prospects, value or potential appreciation of a particular stock proves to be incorrect

Because the fund invests substantially in small capitalization growth companies, an investment in the fund may be more volatile and more susceptible to loss than an investment in a fund which invests primarily in large capitalization companies. Small capitalization companies may have more limited product lines, markets and financial resources than large capitalization companies. They may have shorter operating histories and more erratic businesses. In addition, small capitalization company stocks may be less liquid than large capitalization company stocks.

Who may want to invest

The fund may be an appropriate investment if you:

n   Are seeking to participate in the long-term potential of small capitalization growth companies
n   Are looking for an investment with potentially greater return but higher risk than a fund that invests primarily in large capitalization companies
n   Are willing to accept the risks of the stock market and the special risks and potential long-term rewards of investing in smaller companies with limited track records
n   Are seeking diversification

Performance information

The following shows summary performance information for the fund in a bar chart and an Average Annual Total Returns table. The information provides an indication of the risks of investing in the fund by showing changes in its performance from year to year and by showing how the fund’s average annual total returns compare with the returns of a broad-based securities market index. The bar chart and the information below show performance of the fund’s Class A shares, but do not reflect the impact of sales charges (loads). If they did, the returns would be lower than those shown. Unlike the bar chart, the performance for Class A, B, C, I* and 1 shares in the Average Annual Total Returns table reflects the impact of the maximum sales charge (load) applicable to the respective classes, and, where indicated, the performance for Class A shares reflects the impact of taxes paid on distributions and the redemption of shares at the end of the period. The fund’s past performance is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future.

 

*   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares. No Class Y shares were outstanding on September 30, 2006.

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Fund         3


 

Total Return for Class A Shares

LOGO

Highest and lowest quarter returns (for periods shown in the bar chart)

Highest:         % in          Quarter         ; Lowest:         % in          Quarter         

 

Average Annual Total Returns (for periods ended 12/31/06)

 

       1 year      5 year     

Since

Inception

    

Inception

Date

 
Class A Return Before Taxes (1)    %      %      %      11/30/99  
   
Class A Return After Taxes on Distributions (2)    %      %      %      11/30/99  
   
Class A Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares (2)    %      %      %      11/30/99  
   
Class B Return Before Taxes    %      %      %      11/30/99  
   
Class C Return Before Taxes    %      %      %      11/30/99  
   
Class 1 Return Before Taxes    %      %      %      09/11/00  
   
Russell 2000 Growth Index (3)    %      %      %           (4 )
   

 

(1)   On November 20, 2006, the maximum initial sales charge on Class A shares was increased for sales made on and after that date. The average annual returns for Class A shares in the table have been calculated as if the increased maximum initial sales charge had been in effect for the entire period.

 

(2)   After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of fund shares at the end of the measurement period. After-tax returns shown above are for Class A shares only. After-tax returns for other share classes will vary.

 

(3)   The Russell 2000 Growth Index is an unmanaged index, which measures the performance of those Russell 2000 companies with higher price-to-book ratios and higher forecasted growth values. (Price-to-book ratio is the price of a stock divided by its net asset value.) It is not possible to invest directly in the Index. The Index does not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes.

 

(4)   Index comparison begins on 11/30/99.

 

4         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Fee table

This table sets forth the fees and expenses you may pay if you invest in fund shares.

 

Shareholder Fees

 

(paid directly from your investment)   Class A     Class B     Class C     Class I (1)   Class 1  
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a % of offering price)   5.75 %   None     None     None   8.50 %
   
Maximum contingent deferred sales charge (load)
(as a % of the lower of net asset value at purchase
or redemption)
  None (2)   5.00 %   1.00 % (3)   None   None  
   

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

 

(paid by the fund as a % of net assets)   Class A     Class B     Class C     Class I     Class 1  
Management fee   0.75 %   0.75 %   0.75 %   0.75 %   0.75 %
   
Distribution and service (12b-1) fees   0.25 %   1.00 %   1.00 %   None     None  
   
Other expenses (4)       %         %         %         %         %  
   
Total annual fund operating expenses       %         %         %         %         %  
   

 

(1)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

(2)   You may buy Class A shares in amounts of $1,000,000 or more at net asset value (without an initial sales charge), but if you redeem those shares within 12 months of their purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

 

(3)   As of November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge is waived for retirement plans with omnibus amounts held on the backs of the funds.

 

(4)   The amounts set forth in “Other expenses” for Class A, B, C and 1 shares have been restated to reflect the estimated effect of new transfer agency and custody contracts which became effective January 1, 2006. For Class I shares, “Other expenses” have been estimated.

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Fund         5


 

Example

This example helps you compare the costs of investing in the fund with the costs of investing in other mutual funds. Your actual costs may be higher or lower. The example assumes:

n   You invest $10,000 in the fund for the period shown
n   Your investment has a 5% return each year — the assumption of a 5% return is required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) for purpose of this example and is not a prediction of the fund’s future performance
n   You reinvest all distributions and dividends without a sales charge
n   The fund’s operating expenses (before fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, if any) remain the same

 

Number of Years You Own Your Shares

 

      1 year   3 years   5 years   10 years  

Class A (with or without redemption)

  $            $            $            $           
   

Class B (redemption at end of period)

  $     $     $     $ (1 )
   

Class B (no redemption)

  $     $     $     $ (1 )
   

Class C (redemption at end of period)

  $     $     $     $    
   

Class C (no redemption)

  $     $     $     $    
   

Class I (2) (with or without redemption)

  $     $     $     $    
   

Class 1 (with or without redemption)

  $     $     $     $    
   

 

(1)   Assumes conversion to Class A shares approximately eight years after purchase.

 

(2)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

6         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

More on the fund’s investments

The fund’s investment objectives and principal investment strategies are described under the section entitled “Investments, risks and performance” above. This section provides further information about the investment strategies that may be used by the fund.

Foreign investments

The fund may invest up to 10% of its assets (at the time of investment) in foreign securities. The fund may invest directly in foreign issuers or invest in depository receipts. The fund’s investments in securities of foreign issuers involve greater risk than investments in securities of U.S. issuers. Because the value of a depository receipt is dependent upon the market price of an underlying foreign security, depository receipts are subject to most of the risks associated with investing in foreign securities directly. Foreign countries generally have markets that are less liquid and more volatile than markets in the United States. In some foreign countries, less information is available about foreign issuers and markets because of less rigorous accounting and regulatory standards than in the United States. Currency fluctuations could erase investment gains or add to investment losses.

Other investments

Short-term debt securities

While the fund intends to be substantially fully invested in equity securities, the fund may maintain a portion of its assets (normally not more than 10%) in money market instruments and/or cash to pay expenses and meet redemption requests. Generally, the value of these fixed income obligations will decline if interest rates rise, the credit rating of the security is downgraded or the issuer defaults on its obligation to pay principal and/or interest.

Derivatives and hedging techniques

The fund may, but need not, use derivative contracts, such as futures and options on securities, securities indices or currencies; options on these futures; forward currency contracts; and interest rate or currency swaps for any of the following purposes:

n   To hedge against the economic impact of adverse changes in the market value of its securities, because of changes in stock market prices, currency exchange rates or interest rates
n   As a substitute for buying or selling securities
n   As a cash flow management technique

A derivative contract will obligate or entitle the fund to deliver or receive an asset or cash payment based on the change in value of one or more securities, currencies or indices. Even a small investment in derivative contracts can have a big impact on the fund’s stock market, currency and interest rate exposure. Therefore, using derivatives can disproportionately increase losses and reduce opportunities for gains when stock prices, currency rates or interest rates are changing. The fund may not fully benefit from or may lose money on derivatives if changes in their value do not correspond as anticipated to changes in the value of the fund’s holdings.

The other parties to certain derivative contracts present the same types of credit risk as issuers of fixed income securities. Derivatives also can make the fund less liquid and harder to value, especially in declining markets.

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Fund         7


 

Defensive investing

The fund may depart from its principal investment strategies in response to adverse market, economic or political conditions by taking temporary defensive positions in any type of money market instruments and short-term debt securities or cash without regard to any percentage limitations. If the fund takes a temporary defensive position, it may be unable to achieve its investment objective.

Other investments

The fund also may use other strategies and invest in other securities that are described, along with their risks, in the SAI. However, the fund might not use all of the strategies and techniques or invest in all of the types of securities described in this Prospectus or in the SAI. Also note that there are many other factors, which are not described here, that could adversely affect your investment and that could prevent the fund from achieving its investment objective.

Portfolio holdings

The fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the fund’s portfolio securities are available in the fund’s Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”).

 

8         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Management

Manager and subadviser

Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC (“LMPFA” or the “manager”) is the fund’s investment manager. LMPFA, with offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022, is a recently organized investment adviser that has been formed to serve as the investment manager of the fund and other Legg Mason-sponsored funds. LMPFA provides administrative and certain oversight services to the fund. ClearBridge Advisors, LLC (“ClearBridge” or the “subadviser”) provides the day-to-day portfolio management of the fund, except for the management of cash and short-term instruments, which is performed by LMPFA.

ClearBridge has offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022 and is a recently-organized investment adviser that has been formed to succeed to the equity securities portfolio management business of Citigroup Asset Management, which was acquired by Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”) in December 2005.

LMPFA and ClearBridge are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Legg Mason. Legg Mason, whose principal executive offices are at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, is a global asset management company. As of September 30, 2006, Legg Mason’s asset management operation had aggregate assets under management of approximately $891 billion.

Prior to August 1, 2006, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”) was the fund’s investment manager. SBFM is also a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason.

Portfolio Manager

Timothy Woods, CFA, investment officer of the manager, has been responsible for the day-to-day management of the fund’s portfolio since inception. Mr. Woods has been with ClearBridge or its predecessor companies since         .

The SAI provides information about the compensation of the portfolio manager, other accounts managed by the portfolio manager, and any fund shares held by the portfolio manager, and has more detailed information about the manager, the subadviser and other fund service providers.

Management fee

For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2006, the fund paid a management fee of 0.75% of the fund’s average daily net assets for management services. For the period from October 1, 2005 through July 31, 2006, the fund paid SBFM a management fee equal to     % of the fund’s average daily net assets. For the period from August 1, 2006 through September 30, 2006, the fund paid LMPFA a management fee equal to     % of the fund’s average daily net assets.

A discussion regarding the basis for the fund’s Board of Directors’ (the “Board”) approval of the fund’s management agreement and subadvisory agreement is available in the fund’s Annual Report for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2006.

Other Information

The Board has approved a number of initiatives designed to streamline and restructure the fund complex, and has authorized seeking shareholder approval for those initiatives where shareholder approval is required. These initiatives include the election of a new Board, the grouping of the fund for organizational and governance purposes with other funds in the fund complex that are predominantly equity-type funds, and the adoption of a single form of

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Fund         9


 

organization as a Maryland business trust, with all funds operating under uniform charter documents. Fund shareholders entitled to vote also have been asked to approve investment matters, including standardized fundamental investment policies and the ability of the fund to change its investment objective without shareholder approval. Proxy materials describing these matters were mailed in October, 2006. If shareholder approval is obtained, these matters generally are expected to be effectuated during the first half of 2007.

Reorganization

The Board has approved a reorganization pursuant to which the fund’s assets would be acquired, and its liabilities would be assumed, by Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Fund I in exchange for shares of the fund. The fund would then be liquidated, and shares of Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Fund I would be distributed to fund shareholders.

Under the reorganization, fund shareholders would receive shares of Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Fund I with the same aggregate net asset value as their shares of the fund. It is anticipated that no gain or loss for Federal income tax purposes would be recognized by fund shareholders as a result of the reorganization.

The reorganization is subject to the satisfaction of certain conditions, including approval by fund shareholders. If the reorganization is approved by fund shareholders, it is expected to occur during the first quarter of 2007. Prior to the reorganization, shareholders can continue to purchase, redeem and exchange shares subject to the limitations described in this prospectus.

Distribution plan

Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC (“LMIS”), a wholly-owned broker-dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”) and PFS Investments Inc. (“PFS”) serve as the fund’s distributors.

The fund has adopted a shareholder services and distribution plan for its Class A, B and C shares. Under the plan, the fund pays distribution and/or service fees. These fees are an ongoing expense and, over time, will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than other types of sales charges.

In addition, a distributor may make payments for distribution and/or shareholder servicing activities out of its past profits and other available sources. The distributor may also make payments to dealers for marketing, promotional or related expenses. The amount of these payments is determined by the distributor and may be substantial. The manager or an affiliate may make similar payments under similar arrangements.

The payments described in the paragraph above are often referred to as “revenue sharing payments.” The recipients of such payments may include the fund’s distributors, affiliates of the manager, broker/dealers, financial institutions and other financial intermediaries through which investors may purchase shares of the fund. In some circumstances, such payments may create an incentive for an intermediary or its employees or associated persons to recommend or sell shares of the fund to you. Please contact your financial intermediary for details about revenue sharing payments it may receive.

Recent developments

On May 31, 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued an order in connection with the settlement of an administrative proceeding against SBFM, the then-investment adviser or manager to the fund, and CGMI, relating to the appointment of an affiliated transfer agent for the Smith Barney family of mutual funds, including the fund (the “Affected Funds”).

 

10         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

The SEC order finds that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(1) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder (the “Advisers Act”). Specifically, the order finds that SBFM and CGMI knowingly or recklessly failed to disclose to the boards of the Affected Funds in 1999 when proposing a new transfer agent arrangement with an affiliated transfer agent that: First Data Investors Services Group (“First Data”), the Affected Funds’ then-existing transfer agent, had offered to continue as transfer agent and do the same work for substantially less money than before; and that Citigroup Asset Management (“CAM”), the Citigroup business unit that, at the time, included the Affected Funds’ investment manager and other investment advisory companies, had entered into a side letter with First Data under which CAM agreed to recommend the appointment of First Data as sub-transfer agent to the affiliated transfer agent in exchange, among other things, for a guarantee by First Data of specified amounts of asset management and investment banking fees to CAM and CGMI. The order also finds that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act by virtue of the omissions discussed above and other misrepresentations and omissions in the materials provided to the Affected Funds’ boards, including the failure to make clear that the affiliated transfer agent would earn a high profit for performing limited functions while First Data continued to perform almost all of the transfer agent functions, and the suggestion that the proposed arrangement was in the Affected Funds’ best interests and that no viable alternatives existed.

SBFM and CGMI do not admit or deny any wrongdoing or liability. The settlement does not establish wrongdoing or liability for purposes of any other proceeding. The SEC censured SBFM and CGMI and ordered them to cease and desist from violations of Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Advisers Act. The order required Citigroup to pay $208.1 million, including $109 million in disgorgement of profits, $19.1 million in interest, and a civil money penalty of $80 million. Approximately $24.4 million has already been paid to the Affected Funds, primarily through fee waivers. The remaining $183.7 million, including the penalty, has been paid to the U.S. Treasury and will be distributed pursuant to a plan submitted for the approval of the SEC. At this time, there is no certainty as to how the above-described proceeds of the settlement will be distributed, to whom such distributions will be made, the methodology by which such distributions will be allocated, and when such distributions will be made. The order also required that transfer agency fees received from the Affected Funds since December 1, 2004, less certain expenses, be placed in escrow and provided that a portion of such fees might be subsequently distributed in accordance with the terms of the order. On April 3, 2006, an aggregate amount of approximately $9 million held in escrow was distributed to the Affected Funds.

The order required SBFM to recommend a new transfer agent contract to the Fund boards within 180 days of the entry of the order; if a Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent or sub-transfer agent, SBFM and CGMI would have been required, at their expense, to engage an independent monitor to oversee a competitive bidding process. On November 21, 2005, and within the specified timeframe, the Affected Funds’ Boards selected a new transfer agent for the Affected Funds. No Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent. Under the order, SBFM also must comply with an amended version of a vendor policy that Citigroup instituted in August 2004. Although there can be no assurance, the manager does not believe that this matter will have a material adverse effect on the Affected Funds.

On December 1, 2005, Citigroup completed the sale of substantially all of its global asset management business, including SBFM, to Legg Mason.

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Fund         11


 

Choosing a class of shares to buy

Individual investors can generally choose among three classes of shares: Classes A, B and C shares. Individual investors that held Class I (formerly Class Y) shares prior to November 20, 2006, may continue to invest in Class I shares. Institutional and retirement plan investors and clients of financial intermediaries should refer to “Retirement and institutional investors” below for a description of the classes available to them. In addition, you can buy additional Class 1 shares if you are a Class 1 shareholder. Each class has different sales charges and expenses, allowing you to choose the class that best meets your needs.

When choosing which class of shares to buy, you should consider:

n   How much you plan to invest
n   How long you expect to own the shares
n   The expenses paid by each class detailed in the Fee table and Example at the front of this prospectus
n   Whether you qualify for any reduction or waiver of sales charges

If you are choosing between Class A and Class B shares, it will in almost all cases be the more economical choice for you to purchase Class A shares if you plan to purchase shares in an amount of $100,000 or more (whether in a single purchase or through aggregation of eligible holdings). This is because of the reduced sales charge available on larger investments of Class A shares and the lower ongoing expenses of Class A shares compared to Class B shares.

If you intend to invest for only a few years, the effect of Class B contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions made within five years of purchase, as well as the effect of higher expenses of that class, might make an investment in Class C more appropriate. There is no initial sales charge on Class C shares, and the contingent deferred sales charge does not apply to shares redeemed one year after purchase.

However, if you plan to invest a large amount and your investment horizon is five years or more, Class C shares might not be as advantageous as Class A shares. This is because the annual asset-based sales charge on Class C shares will have a greater impact on your account over the longer term than the reduced front-end sales charge available for larger purchases of Class A shares.

You may buy shares from:

n   Certain broker/dealers, financial intermediaries, financial institutions, a distributor’s financial advisors or registered representatives (each called a “Service Agent”)
n   The fund, but only if you are investing through certain qualified plans or Service Agents

Different types of shareholder services may be available to you under arrangements offered by different Service Agents. In addition, these services may vary depending on the share class in which you choose to invest. In making your decision regarding which share class to buy, please keep in mind that your Service Agent may receive different compensation depending on the share class in which you invest. Investors should consult with their Service Agent about comparative pricing of shareholder services available to them under each available share class, the compensation that will be received by their Service Agent in connection with each available share class, and other factors that may be relevant to the investor’s choice of share class in which to invest.

Not all classes of shares are available through each Service Agent. You should contact your Service Agent for further information.

 

12         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Investment minimums

Minimum initial and additional investment amounts vary depending on the class of shares you buy and the nature of your investment. Class 1 shares may only be purchased by existing Class 1 shareholders.

 

   

Investment Minimum

Initial/Additional Investment (1)

      Class A   Class B   Class C  

Class I

(formerly Y)

  Class 1 (2)

General

  $500/$50   $500/$50   $500/$50   n/a   $500/$50
 

IRAs and Uniform Gifts or Transfers to Minor Accounts

  $250/$50   $250/$50   $250/$50   n/a   $250/$50
 

SIMPLE IRAs

  $1/$1   $1/$1   $1/$1   n/a   $1/$1
 

Systematic Investment Plans

  $25/$25   $25/$25   $25/$25   n/a   $25/$25
 

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries

  $1/$1   n/a   n/a   None/None   n/a
 

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund

  None/None   n/a   None/None   None/None   None/None
 

Other Retirement Plans

  $50/$50   $50/$50   $50/$50   n/a   $50/$50
 

Institutional Investors

  $500/$50   $500/$50   $500/$50   $1 million/None   $500/$50
 

 

(1)   Please refer to the section entitled “Retirement and institutional investors” for additional information regarding the investment minimum and eligibility requirements for Retirement Plans, Institutional Investors and Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries.

 

(2)   Class 1 shares may be purchased only if you already own Class 1 shares of the fund.

More information about the fund’s classes of shares is available through the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website. You’ll find detailed information about sales charges and ways you can qualify for reduced or waived sales charges, including:

n   The front-end sales charges that apply to the purchase of Class A shares
n   The contingent deferred sales charges that apply to the redemption of Class B shares, Class C shares and certain Class A shares (redeemed within one year)
n   Who qualifies for lower sales charges on Class A shares
n   Who qualifies for a sales load waiver

Go to http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices and click on the name of the fund.

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Fund         13


 

Comparing the fund’s classes

The following table compares key features of the fund’s classes. You should review the Fee table and Example at the front of this prospectus carefully before choosing your share class. Your Service Agent can help you decide which class meets your goals. Your Service Agent may receive different compensation depending upon which class you choose.

 

      Class A   Class B   Class C  

Class I

(formerly Y)

  Class 1
Key features  

n  Initial sales charge

n  You may qualify for reduction or waiver of initial sales charge

n  Lower annual expenses than Class B and Class C

 

n  No initial sales charge

n  Contingent deferred sales charge declines over time

n  Converts to Class A after approximately 8 years

n  Higher annual expenses than Class A

 

n  No initial sales charge

n  Contingent deferred sales charge for only 1 year

n  Does not convert to Class A

n  Higher annual expenses than Class A

 

n  No initial or contingent deferred sales charge

n  Only offered to institutional and other eligible investors

n  Lower expenses than the other classes

 

n  Only available to eligible Class 1 shareholders

n  Higher initial sales charge

n  Lower annual expenses than Class B and Class C

Initial sales charge  

Up to 5.75%; reduced or waived for large purchases and certain investors. No charge for purchases of $1 million or more

 

None

 

None

 

None

 

Up to 8.50%; reduced for large purchases

Contingent deferred sales charge  

1.00% on purchases of $1 million or more if you redeem within 1 year of purchase; waived for certain investors

 

Up to 5.00% charged when you redeem shares. This charge is reduced over time and there is no contingent deferred sales charge after 5 years; waived for certain investors

 

1.00% if you redeem within 1 year of purchase; waived for certain investors

 

None

 

None

Annual distribution and service fees  

0.25% of average daily net assets

 

1.00% of average daily net assets

 

1.00% of average daily net assets

 

None

 

None

Exchange Privilege (1)  

Class A shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class B shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class C shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class I shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class 1 shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds that offer Class 1 shares and Class A shares of certain other Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

(1)   Ask your Service Agent for the Legg Mason Partners Funds available for exchange.

 

14         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Sales charge

Class A shares

You buy Class A shares at the offering price, which is the net asset value plus a sales charge. You pay a lower sales charge as the size of your investment increases to certain levels called breakpoints. You do not pay a sales charge on the fund’s distributions or dividends you reinvest in additional Class A shares.

The table below shows the rate of sales charge you pay, depending on the amount you purchase, for purchases made on or after November 20, 2006. The table below also shows the amount of broker-dealer compensation that will be paid out of the sales charge. For Class A shares sold by LMIS, LMIS will receive the sales charge imposed on purchases of Class A shares (or any contingent deferred sales charge paid on redemptions) and will retain the full amount of such sales charge. For Class A shares sold by CGMI, CGMI will receive the sales charge imposed on purchases of Class A shares and will retain an amount equal to the broker-dealer commission paid out of the sales charge. LMIS will receive any portion not retained by CGMI. For Class A shares sold by PFS, PFS will receive the sales charge imposed on purchases of Class A shares (or any contingent deferred sales charge paid on redemptions) and will retain the full amount of such sales charge. Service Agents (including CGMI and PFS) will also receive a distribution/service fee payable on Class A shares at an annual rate of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class A shares serviced by them.

 

Amount of Investment   Sales Charge
as % of
Offering Price
  Sales Charge as
% of Net
Amount Invested
  Broker/Dealer
Commission
as % of
Offering Price

Less than $25,000

  5.75   6.10   5.00
 

$25,000 but less than $50,000

  5.00   5.26   4.25
 

$50,000 but less than $100,000

  4.50   4.71   3.75
 

$100,000 but less than $250,000

  3.50   3.63   2.75
 

$250,000 but less than $500,000

  2.50   2.56   2.00
 

$500,000 but less than $750,000

  2.00   2.04   1.60
 

$750,000 but less than $1 million

  1.50   1.52   1.20
 

$1 million or more (1)

  -0-   -0-   up to 1.00
 

 

(1)   A distributor may pay a commission of up to 1.00% to a Service Agent for purchase amounts of $1 million or more. In such cases, starting in the thirteenth month after purchase, the Service Agent will also receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class A shares held by its clients. Prior to the thirteenth month, the distributor will retain this fee. Where the Service Agent does not receive the payment of this commission, the Service Agent will instead receive the annual distribution/service fee starting immediately after purchase. Please contact your Service Agent for more information.

Investments of $1,000,000 or more

You do not pay an initial sales charge when you buy $1,000,000 or more of Class A shares. However, if you redeem these Class A shares within one year of purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Fund         15


 

Qualifying for a reduced Class A sales charge

There are several ways you can combine multiple purchases of Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds to take advantage of the breakpoints in the sales charge schedule. In order to take advantage of reductions in sales charges that may be available to you when you purchase fund shares, you must inform your Service Agent or the transfer agent if you are eligible for a letter of intent or a right of accumulation and if you own shares of other Legg Mason Partners Funds that are eligible to be aggregated with your purchases. Certain records, such as account statements, may be necessary in order to verify your eligibility for reduced sales charges.

n   Accumulation Privilege – allows you to combine the current value of Class A shares of the fund with other shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds that are owned by:
  ¨   you; or
  ¨   your spouse and children under the age of 21; and

with the dollar amount of your next purchase of Class A shares for purposes of calculating the initial sales charge.

Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or its affiliates (other than money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners Funds), Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. may not be combined.

If you hold shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds in accounts at two or more Service Agents, please contact your Service Agents to determine which shares may be combined.

Certain trustees and fiduciaries may be entitled to combine accounts in determining their sales charge.

n   Letter of Intent – allows you to purchase Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds over a 13-month period and pay the same sales charge on Class A shares, if any, as if all shares had been purchased at once. At the time you enter into the letter of intent, you select your asset goal amount. Generally, purchases of Legg Mason Partners Fund shares that are purchased during the 13-month period by
  ¨   you; or
  ¨   your spouse and children under the age of 21

are eligible for inclusion under the letter, based on the public offering price at the time of the purchase, and any capital appreciation on those shares. You may also backdate your letter up to 90 days in which case eligible purchases made during that period will be treated as purchases made under the letter. In addition, you can include towards your asset goal amount the current value of any eligible purchases that were made prior to the date of entering into the letter of intent and are still held.

If you hold shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds in accounts at two or more Service Agents, please contact your Service Agents to determine which shares may be credited towards your letter of intent asset goal.

Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or its affiliates (other than money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners Funds), Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. may not be credited toward your letter of intent asset goal.

If you do not meet your asset goal amount, shares in the amount of any sales charges due, based on the amount of your actual purchases, will be redeemed from your account.

 

16         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Waivers for certain Class A investors

Class A initial sales charges are waived for certain types of investors, including:

n   Employees of Service Agents having dealer, service or other selling agreements with the fund’s distributors
n   Investors who redeemed Class A shares of a Legg Mason Partners Fund in the past 60 days, if the investor’s Service Agent is notified
n   Directors and officers of any Legg Mason-sponsored fund
n   Employees of Legg Mason and its subsidiaries

If you qualify for a waiver of the Class A initial sales charge, you must notify your Service Agent or the transfer agent at the time of purchase and provide sufficient information at the time of purchase to permit verification that the purchase qualifies for the initial sales charge waiver.

If you want to learn about additional waivers of Class A initial sales charges, contact your Service Agent, consult the SAI or look at the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website, http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices, and click on the name of the fund.

Class B shares

You buy Class B shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. However, if you redeem your Class B shares within five years of your purchase payment, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge. The contingent deferred sales charge decreases as the number of years since your purchase payment increases.

 

Year after purchase   1st     2nd     3rd     4th     5th     6th through 8th  

Contingent deferred sales charge

  5 %   4 %   3 %   2 %   1 %   0 %
   

LMIS will pay Service Agents other than PFS, including CGMI, selling Class B shares a commission of up to 4.00% of the purchase price of the Class B shares they sell, and LMIS will retain the contingent deferred sales charges. For Class B shares sold by PFS, PFS will pay a commission of up to 4.00% of the purchase price of the Class B shares sold by its Service Agents and will retain the contingent deferred sales charges paid upon certain redemptions. Service Agents also receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class B shares serviced by them.

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Fund         17


 

Class B conversion

After approximately 8 years, Class B shares automatically convert into Class A shares. This helps you because Class A shares have lower annual expenses. Your Class B shares will convert to Class A shares as follows:

 

Shares issued:

At initial purchase

  

Shares issued:

On reinvestment of
dividends and
distributions

  

Shares Issued:

Upon exchange from
another Legg Mason
Partners Fund

Approximately 8 years after the date of
purchase payment
   In same proportion as the number of Class B shares converting is to total Class B shares you own (excluding shares issued as dividends)    On the date the shares originally acquired would have converted into Class A shares
 

Class 1 shares (available through certain Service Agents)

Class 1 shares are offered to eligible Class 1 shareholders at the next determined net asset value plus a sales charge. You do not pay a sales charge on the fund’s distributions or dividends that you reinvest in additional Class 1 shares.

You pay a lower sales charge as the size of your investment increases to certain levels called breakpoints.

 

Amount of investment   Sales Charge
as a % of:
Offering Price
    Sales Charge
as a % of:
Net Amount
Invested
    Broker/Dealer
Commission
as a % of
Offering Price
 

Less than $10,000

  8.50 %   9.29 %   7.00 %
   

$10,000 but less than $25,000

  7.75 %   8.40 %   6.25 %
   

$25,000 but less than $50,000

  6.00 %   6.38 %   5.00 %
   

$50,000 but less than $100,000

  4.50 %   4.71 %   3.75 %
   

$100,000 but less than $250,000

  3.50 %   3.63 %   3.00 %
   

$250,000 but less than $400,000

  2.50 %   2.56 %   2.00 %
   

$400,000 but less than $600,000

  2.00 %   2.04 %   1.60 %
   

$600,000 but less than $5,000,000

  1.00 %   1.01 %   0.75 %
   

$5,000,000 or more

  0.25 %   0.25 %   0.20 %
   

Class C shares (available through certain Service Agents)

You buy Class C shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. However, if you redeem your Class C shares within one year of purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

LMIS will generally pay Service Agents selling Class C shares a commission of up to 1.00% of the purchase price of the Class C shares they sell and LMIS will retain the contingent deferred sales charges and an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class C shares serviced by these Service Agents until the thirteenth month after purchase. Starting in the thirteenth month after purchase,

 

18         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

these Service Agents will receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class C shares serviced by them.

Class I shares (formerly Class Y shares)

Class I shares are purchased at net asset value with no initial sales charge and no contingent deferred sales charge when redeemed. See “Retirement and institutional investors — Class I shares” below for additional information regarding investor eligibility and investment minimums.

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Fund         19


 

More about contingent deferred sales charges

The contingent deferred sales charge is based on the net asset value at the time of purchase or redemption, whichever is less, and therefore you do not pay a sales charge on amounts representing appreciation or depreciation.

In addition, you do not pay a contingent deferred sales charge on:

n   Shares exchanged for shares of another Legg Mason Partners Fund
n   Shares representing reinvested distributions and dividends
n   Shares no longer subject to the contingent deferred sales charge

Each time you place a request to redeem shares, the fund will first redeem any shares in your account that are not subject to a contingent deferred sales charge and then the shares in your account that have been held the longest.

If you redeemed shares of a Legg Mason Partners Fund and paid a contingent deferred sales charge, you may, under certain circumstances, reinvest all or part of the redemption proceeds within 60 days and receive pro rata credit for any contingent deferred sales charge imposed on the prior redemption. Please contact your Service Agent for additional information.

The fund’s distributors receive contingent deferred sales charges as partial compensation for its expenses in selling shares, including the payment of compensation to your Service Agent.

Contingent deferred sales charge waivers

The contingent deferred sales charge for each share class will generally be waived:

n   On payments made through certain systematic withdrawal plans
n   On certain distributions from a retirement plan
n   For involuntary redemptions of small account balances
n   For 12 months following the death or disability of a shareholder

If you want to learn more about additional waivers of contingent deferred sales charges, contact your Service Agent, consult the SAI or look at the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website, http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices, and click on the name of the fund.

 

20         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Retirement and institutional investors

Eligible Investors

Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund can generally choose among three classes of shares: Class C, Class A and Class I (formerly Class Y) shares.

“Retirement Plans” include 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit-sharing plans, non-qualified deferred compensation plans and other similar employer-sponsored retirement plans. Retirement Plans do not include individual retirement vehicles, such as traditional and Roth individual retirement accounts, Coverdell education savings accounts, individual 403(b)(7) custodial accounts, Keogh plans, SEPs, SARSEPs, SIMPLE IRAs, or Section 529 savings accounts. Although Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund are not subject to minimum initial investment requirements for any of these share classes, certain investment minimums may be imposed by a financial intermediary.

Other Retirement Plan investors (including, for example, employer-sponsored plans investing through brokerage accounts), can generally choose among three classes of shares: Class A, Class B and Class C. Individual retirement vehicles, such as IRAs, may also choose among these share classes. These types of investors are treated like individual investors for purposes of determining investment minimums, sales charges and any applicable sales charge reductions or waivers.

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries may generally choose between two classes of shares: Class A and Class I. “Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries” are investors who invest in the fund through financial intermediaries that offer their clients fund shares through investment programs as authorized by LMIS. Such investment programs may include fee-based advisory or brokerage account programs, and college savings vehicles such as Section 529 plans. The financial intermediary may impose separate investment minimums.

Institutional Investors

Institutional Investors may invest in Class I shares if they meet the $1,000,000 minimum initial investment requirement. Institutional Investors may also invest in Class A, B, C and 1 shares (Class 1 shares may only be purchased by existing Class 1 shareholders), which have different investment minimums and fees and expenses. “Institutional Investors” generally include corporations, banks, insurance companies, foundations, retirement plans and other similar entities with direct relationships to the fund.

Class C — Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund may buy Class C shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. As of November 20, 2006, LMIS no longer pays Service Agents selling Class C shares to retirement plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of a fund a commission on the purchase price of Class C

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Fund         21


 

shares sold by them. Instead, immediately after purchase, LMIS will pay these Service Agents an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class C shares serviced by them. For purchases made by Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund on or after November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge on shares redeemed within one year of purchase is waived.

Class I shares

As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares and are offered only to Institutional Investors who meet the $1,000,000 minimum initial investment requirement, Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries, and other investors as authorized by LMIS. However, investors that held Class I shares prior to that date will be permitted to make additional investments in Class I shares.

Class A — Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund may purchase Class A shares through programs sponsored by financial intermediaries. Under these programs, the initial sales charge and contingent deferred sales charge for Class A shares is waived where:

n   Such Retirement Plan’s record keeper offers only load-waived shares,
n   Fund shares are held on the books of the fund through an omnibus account, and
n   The Retirement Plan has more than 100 participants, or has total assets exceeding $1 million.

As of November 20, 2006, LMIS no longer pays Service Agents selling Class A shares to Retirement Plans with a direct omnibus relationship with a fund a commission on the purchase price of Class A shares sold by them. However, for certain Retirement Plans that are permitted to purchase shares at net asset value on or after this date, LMIS may continue to pay Service Agents commissions of up to 1.00% of the purchase price of the additional Class A shares that are purchased with regular ongoing plan contributions. Please contact your Service Agent for more information.

Other considerations

Plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries and other financial intermediaries may choose to impose qualification requirements for plans that differ from the fund’s share class eligibility standards. In certain cases this could result in the selection of a share class with higher service and distribution-related fees than otherwise would have been charged. The fund is not responsible for, and has no control over, the decision of any plan sponsor, plan fiduciary or financial intermediary to impose such differing requirements. Please consult with your plan sponsor, plan fiduciary or financial intermediary for more information about available share classes.

With respect to Class A and Class C shares, the fund may pay a fee for recordkeeping services performed for the applicable share class.

Not all share classes may be made available by your Service Agent; please contact your Service Agent for additional details.

 

22         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Buying shares

 

Through a Service Agent   

You should contact your Service Agent to open a brokerage account and make arrangements to buy shares. You must provide the following information for your order to be processed:

n   Class of shares being bought

n   Dollar amount or number of shares being bought

Your Service Agent may charge an annual account maintenance fee.

n   Account number (if existing account)

 
Through the fund   

Financial intermediary accounts, retirement plan accounts and certain other investors who are clients of certain Service Agents are eligible to buy shares directly from the fund.

n   Clients of a PFS Registered Representative should write to the fund at the following address:

Legg Mason Partners Funds

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9662

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9662

n   All other investors should write to the fund at the following address:

Legg Mason Partners Funds

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9699

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699

n   Enclose a check to pay for the shares. For initial purchases, complete and send an account application available upon request from Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at the number below.

n   Specify the name of the fund, the share class you wish to purchase and your account number (if existing account)

n   For more information, please call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 or Primerica Shareholder Services at 800-544-5445

 
Through a systematic investment plan   

You may authorize your Service Agent or the transfer agent to transfer funds automatically from (i) a regular bank account, (ii) cash held in a brokerage account with a Service Agent or (iii) certain money market funds, in order to buy shares on a regular basis.

n   Amounts transferred must be at least $25

n   Amounts may be transferred monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually

n   If you do not have sufficient funds in your account on a transfer date, your Service Agent or the transfer agent may charge you a fee

 

For more information, contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services or consult the SAI.

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Fund         23


 

Exchanging shares

 

Legg Mason Partners offers a distinctive family of funds tailored to help meet the varying needs of both large and small investors   

You should contact your Service Agent to exchange into other Legg Mason Partners Funds. Be sure to read the prospectus of the Legg Mason Partners Fund into which you are exchanging. An exchange is a taxable transaction, unless you are investing through a tax-qualified savings plan or account.

n    If you bought shares through a Service Agent, you may exchange shares only for shares of the same class of certain other Legg Mason Partners Funds made available for exchange by your Service Agent. However, if you are a Class 1 shareholder, you may exchange Class 1 shares for Class A shares of other Legg Mason Partners Funds that do not offer Class 1 shares and that are made available for exchange through your Service Agent. Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds made available for exchange by your Service Agent may offer all classes. Please contact your Service Agent for more information about the funds and classes that are available for exchange

n    If you bought shares directly from the fund, you may exchange shares only for shares of the same class of another Legg Mason Partners Fund, other than shares of Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund. However, if you are a Class 1 shareholder, you may exchange Class 1 shares for Class A shares of other Legg Mason Partners Funds that do not offer Class 1 shares. Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds offer all classes

n    Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds may be offered in your state of residence. Contact your Service Agent or the transfer agent for further information

n    Exchanges of Class A, B and C shares are subject to minimum investment requirements (except for systematic investment plan exchanges), and all shares are subject to the other requirements of the fund into which exchanges are made

n    If you hold share certificates, the transfer agent must receive the certificates endorsed for transfer or with signed stock powers before the exchange is effective

n    The fund may suspend or terminate your exchange privilege if you engage in an excessive pattern of exchanges

 
Waiver of additional sales charges   

Your shares will not be subject to an initial sales charge at the time of the exchange.

Your contingent deferred sales charge (if any) will continue to be measured from the date of your original purchase of shares subject to a contingent deferred sales charge and you will be subject to the contingent deferred sales charge of the fund that you originally purchased.

 

 

24         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

By telephone   

If you do not have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, you may be eligible to exchange shares through the fund. You must complete an authorization form to authorize telephone transfers. If eligible, you may make telephone exchanges on any day the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open. For clients of a PFS Registered Representative, call Primerica Shareholder Services at 800-544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. (Eastern time). All other shareholders should call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time). Exchanges are priced at the net asset value next determined.

You can make telephone exchanges only between accounts that have identical registrations.

 
By mail    If you do not have a brokerage account, contact your Service Agent or write to the fund at the address on the following page.
 
Through a systematic exchange plan   

You may be permitted to schedule exchanges of shares of any class of the fund for shares of the same class of other Legg Mason Partners Funds.

n    Exchanges may be made, monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually

n    A predetermined dollar amount of at least $25 per exchange is required

 

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services.

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Fund         25


 

Redeeming shares

 

Generally   

Contact your Service Agent to redeem shares of the fund.

If you hold share certificates, the transfer agent must receive the certificates endorsed for transfer or with signed stock powers before you may redeem.

If the shares are held by a fiduciary or corporation, other documents may be required.

Redemptions are priced at net asset value next determined after receipt of your request in good order.

Your redemption proceeds will normally be sent within three business days after your request is received in good order, but in any event within 7 days. Your redemption proceeds may be delayed for up to 10 days if your purchase was made by check.

If you have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, your redemption proceeds will be sent to your Service Agent. In other cases, unless you direct otherwise, your redemption proceeds will be paid by check mailed to your address of record.

 
By mail   

Send written requests to the fund at the following address:

For clients of a PFS Registered Representative, write Primerica Shareholder Services at the following address:

Primerica Shareholder Services

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9662

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9662

For all other investors, send your request to:

Legg Mason Partners Funds

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9699

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699

Your written request must provide the following:

n    The fund name, the class of shares to be redeemed, and your account number

n    The dollar amount or number of shares to be redeemed

n    Signatures of each owner exactly as the account is registered

n    Signature guarantees, as applicable

 

 

26         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

By telephone   

If you do not have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, you may be eligible to redeem shares (except those held in certain retirement plans) in amounts up to $50,000 per day through the fund. You must complete an authorization form to authorize telephone redemptions. If eligible, you may request redemptions by telephone on any day the NYSE is open. For clients of a PFS Registered Representative, call Primerica Shareholder Services at 800-544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. (Eastern time). All other shareholders should call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time).

Your redemption proceeds can be sent by check to your address of record or by wire or electronic transfer (ACH) to a bank account designated on your authorization form. You must submit a new authorization form to change the bank account designated to receive wire or electronic transfers and you may be asked to provide certain other documents. The transfer agent may charge a fee on a wire or an electronic transfer (ACH).

 
Automatic cash withdrawal plans   

You can arrange for the automatic redemption of a portion of your shares monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually.

To qualify you must own shares of the fund with a value of at least $10,000 ($5,000 for retirement plan accounts) and each automatic redemption must be at least $50. If your shares are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge, the sales charge will be waived if your automatic redemptions are equal to or less than 2.00% per month of your account balance on the date the withdrawals commence per month, up to a maximum of 12.00% in any one year.

The following conditions apply:

n    Your shares must not be represented by certificates

n    All dividends and distributions must be reinvested

 

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or consult the SAI.

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Fund         27


 

Other things to know about transactions

When you buy, exchange or redeem shares, your request must be in good order. This means you have provided the following information, without which your request may not be processed:

n   Name of the fund
n   Your account number
n   Class of shares being bought, and if you own more than one class, the class of shares being exchanged or redeemed
n   Dollar amount or number of shares being bought, exchanged or redeemed
n   Signature of each owner exactly as the account is registered

The fund’s transfer agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services will employ reasonable procedures to confirm that any telephone exchange or redemption request is genuine, which may include recording calls, asking the caller to provide certain personal identification information, sending you a written confirmation or requiring other confirmation procedures from time to time. If these procedures are followed, neither the fund nor its agent will bear any liability for such transactions.

Signature guarantees

To be in good order, your redemption request must include a signature guarantee if you:

n   Are redeeming over $50,000
n   Are sending signed share certificates or stock powers to the transfer agent
n   Instruct the transfer agent to mail the check to an address different from the one on your account registration
n   Changed your account registration or your address within 30 days
n   Want the check paid to someone other than the account owner(s)
n   Are transferring the redemption proceeds to an account with a different registration

You can obtain a signature guarantee from most banks, dealers, brokers, credit unions and federal savings and loan institutions, but not from a notary public.

The fund has the right to:

n   Suspend the offering of shares
n   Waive or change minimum and additional investment amounts
n   Reject any purchase or exchange order
n   Change, revoke or suspend the exchange privilege
n   Suspend telephone transactions
n   Suspend or postpone redemptions of shares on any day when trading on the NYSE is restricted, or as otherwise permitted by the SEC
n   Pay redemption proceeds by giving you securities. You may pay transaction costs to dispose of the securities.

Small account balances/Mandatory redemptions

If at any time the aggregate net asset value of the fund shares in your account is less than $500 for any reason (including solely due to declines in net asset value and/or failure to invest at least $500 within a reasonable period), the fund reserves the right to ask you to bring your account up to the applicable minimum investment amount as determined by

 

28         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

your Service Agent. In such case you shall be notified in writing and will have 60 days to make an additional investment to bring your account value up to the required level. If you choose not to do so within this 60-day period, the fund may close your account and send you the redemption proceeds. In the event your account is closed due to a failure to increase your balance to the minimum required amount, you will not be eligible to have your account subsequently reinstated without imposition of any sales charges that may apply to your new purchase. The fund may, with prior notice, change the minimum size of accounts subject to mandatory redemption, which may vary by class, or implement fees for small accounts.

Subject to applicable law, the fund may, with prior notice, adopt other policies from time to time requiring mandatory redemption of shares in certain circumstances.

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or the transfer agent or consult the SAI.

Frequent purchases and redemption of fund shares

Frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares may interfere with the efficient management of the fund’s portfolio by its portfolio managers, increase portfolio transaction costs, and have a negative effect on the fund’s long-term shareholders. For example, in order to handle large flows of cash into and out of the fund, the portfolio managers may need to allocate more assets to cash or other short-term investments or sell securities, rather than maintaining full investment in securities selected to achieve the fund’s investment objective. Frequent trading may cause the fund to sell securities at less favorable prices. Transaction costs, such as brokerage commissions and market spreads, can detract from the fund’s performance. In addition, the return received by long-term shareholders may be reduced when trades by other shareholders are made in an effort to take advantage of certain pricing discrepancies, when, for example, it is believed that the fund’s share price, which is determined at the close of the NYSE on each trading day, does not accurately reflect the value of the fund’s portfolio securities. Funds investing in foreign securities have been particularly susceptible to this form of arbitrage, but other funds could also be affected.

Because of the potential harm to the fund and its long-term shareholders, the Board of the fund has approved policies and procedures that are intended to discourage and prevent excessive trading and market timing abuses through the use of various surveillance techniques. Under these policies and procedures, the fund may limit additional exchanges or purchases of fund shares by shareholders who are believed by the manager to be engaged in these abusive trading activities. The intent of the policies and procedures is not to inhibit legitimate strategies, such as asset allocation, dollar cost averaging, or similar activities that may nonetheless result in frequent trading of fund shares. For this reason, the Board has not adopted any specific restrictions on purchases and sales of fund shares, but the fund reserves the right to reject any exchange or purchase of fund shares with or without prior notice to the account holder. In cases where surveillance of a particular account establishes what the manager believes to be obvious market timing, the manager will seek to block future purchases and exchanges of fund shares by that account. Where surveillance of a particular account indicates activity that the manager believes could be either abusive or for legitimate purposes, the fund may permit the account holder to justify the activity.

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Fund         29


 

The policies apply to any account, whether an individual account or accounts with financial intermediaries such as investment advisers, broker/dealers or retirement plan administrators, commonly called omnibus accounts, where the intermediary holds fund shares for a number of its customers in one account. The fund’s ability to monitor trading in omnibus accounts may, however, be severely limited due to the lack of access to an individual investor’s trading activity when orders are placed through these types of accounts. There may also be operational and technological limitations on the ability of the fund’s service providers to identify or terminate frequent trading activity within the various types of omnibus accounts.

The fund’s policies also require personnel such as portfolio managers and investment staff to report any abnormal or otherwise suspicious investment activity, and prohibit short-term trades by such personnel for their own account in mutual funds managed by the manager and its affiliates, other than money market funds. Additionally, the fund has adopted policies and procedures to prevent the selective release of information about the fund’s portfolio holdings, as such information may be used for market-timing and similar abusive practices.

The fund’s policies provide for ongoing assessment of the effectiveness of current policies and surveillance tools, and the Board reserves the right to modify these or adopt additional policies and restrictions in the future. Shareholders should be aware, however, that any surveillance techniques currently employed by the fund or other techniques that may be adopted in the future may not be effective particularly where the trading takes place through certain types of omnibus accounts. As noted above, if the fund is unable to detect and deter trading abuses, the fund’s performance, and its long-term shareholders, may be harmed. In addition, because the fund has not adopted any specific limitations or restrictions on the trading of fund shares, shareholders may be harmed by the extra costs and portfolio management inefficiencies that result from frequent trading of fund shares, even when the trading is not for abusive purposes. Furthermore, the fund may not apply its policies consistently or uniformly, resulting in the risk that some shareholders may be able to engage in frequent trading while others will bear the costs and effects of that trading. The fund will provide advance notice to shareholders and prospective investors of any specific restrictions on the trading of fund shares that the Board may adopt in the future.

Share certificates

Share certificates for the fund will no longer be issued. If you currently hold share certificates of the fund, such certificates will continue to be honored. If you would like to return your share certificates to the fund and hold your shares in uncertificated form, please contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services.

Record Ownership

If you hold shares through a Service Agent, your Service Agent may establish and maintain your account and be the shareholder of record. In the event that the fund holds a shareholder meeting, your Service Agent, as record holder, will vote your shares in accordance with your instructions. If you do not give your Service Agent voting instructions, your Service Agent may nonetheless, under certain circumstances, be entitled to vote your shares.

 

30         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Dividends, distributions and taxes

Dividends and distributions

The fund generally pays dividends and makes capital gain distributions, if any, once a year, typically in December. The fund may pay additional distributions and dividends at other times if necessary for the fund to avoid a federal tax. The fund expects distributions to be primarily from capital gains. Capital gain distributions and dividends are reinvested in additional fund shares of the same class you hold. You do not pay a sales charge on reinvested distributions or dividends. Alternatively, you can instruct your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services to have your distributions and/or dividends paid in cash. You can change your choice at any time to be effective as of the next distribution or dividend, except that any change given to your Service Agent or the transfer agent less than five days before the payment date will not be effective until the next distribution or dividend is paid.

Taxes

In general, redeeming shares, exchanging shares and receiving dividends and distributions (whether in cash or additional shares) are all taxable events. The following table summarizes the tax status to you of certain transactions related to the fund.

 

Transaction    Federal tax status
Redemption or exchange of shares    Usually capital gain or loss; long-term only if shares owned more than one year
 
Long-term capital gain distributions    Long-term capital gain
 
Dividends    Ordinary income, potentially taxable at long-term capital gain rates
 

Distributions attributable to short-term capital gains are treated as dividends, taxable as ordinary income. Taxable dividends and long-term capital gain distributions are taxable whether received in cash or reinvested in fund shares. Although dividends (including dividends from short-term capital gains) are generally taxable as ordinary income, individual shareholders who satisfy certain holding period and other requirements are taxed on such dividends at long-term capital gain rates to the extent the dividends are attributable to “qualified dividend income” received by the fund. “Qualified dividend income” generally consists of dividends received from U.S. corporations (other than dividends from tax-exempt organizations and certain dividends from real estate investment trusts and regulated investment companies) and certain foreign corporations. Long-term capital gain distributions are taxable to you as long-term capital gain regardless of how long you have owned your shares. You may want to avoid buying shares when the fund is about to declare a long-term capital gain distribution or a dividend, because it will be taxable to you even though it may actually be a return of a portion of your investment.

Corporations may be able to take a dividends-received deduction for a portion of income they receive.

After the end of each year, your Service Agent or the fund will provide you with information about the distributions and dividends you received and any redemptions of

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Fund         31


 

shares during the previous year. If you do not provide the fund with your correct taxpayer identification number and any required certifications, you may be subject to back-up withholding on your distributions, dividends and redemption proceeds. Because each shareholder’s circumstances are different and special tax rules may apply, you should consult your tax adviser about your investment in the fund.

The above discussion is applicable to shareholders who are U.S. persons. If you are a non-U.S. person, please consult your own tax adviser with respect to the U.S. tax consequences to you of an investment in the fund.

 

32         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Share price

You may buy, exchange or redeem shares at their net asset value next determined after receipt of your request in good order, plus any applicable sales charge. For each class, the fund’s net asset value per share is the value of its assets minus its liabilities divided by the number of shares outstanding. Net asset value is calculated separately for each class of shares. The fund calculates its net asset value every day the NYSE is open. This calculation is done when regular trading closes on the NYSE (normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern time). The NYSE is closed on certain holidays listed in the SAI.

The Board has approved procedures to be used to value the fund’s securities for the purposes of determining the fund’s net asset value. The valuation of the securities of the fund is determined in good faith by or under the direction of the Board. The Board has delegated certain valuation functions for the fund to the manager.

The fund generally values its securities based on market prices determined at the close of regular trading on the NYSE. The fund’s currency valuations, if any, are done as of when the London Stock Exchange closes, which is usually at 12 noon Eastern time. A material change in the value of currency during the period between the close of the London Stock Exchange and the calculation of the fund’s net asset value on the same date is considered a significant event, as described below, in response to which the fund may use fair valuation procedures to value the affected investments. For equity securities that are traded on an exchange, the market price is usually the closing sale or official closing price on that exchange. In the case of securities not traded on an exchange, or if such closing prices are not otherwise available, the market price is typically determined by independent third party pricing vendors approved by the Board using a variety of pricing techniques and methodologies. The market price for debt obligations is generally the price supplied by an independent third party pricing service approved by the Board, which may use a matrix, formula or other objective method that takes into consideration market indices, yield curves and other specific adjustments. Short-term debt obligations that will mature in 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, unless it is determined that using this method would not reflect an investment’s fair value. If vendors are unable to supply a price, or if the price supplied is deemed by the manager to be unreliable, the market price may be determined using quotations received from one or more brokers/dealers that make a market in the security. When such prices or quotations are not available, or when the manager believes that they are unreliable, the manager may price securities using fair value procedures approved by the Board. Because the fund invests in securities of small capitalization companies-some of which may be thinly traded, for which market quotations may not be readily available or may be unreliable-the fund may use fair valuation procedures more frequently than funds that invest primarily in securities that are more liquid, such as securities of large capitalization domestic issuers. The fund may also use fair value procedures if the manager determines that a significant event has occurred between the time at which a market price is determined and the time at which the fund’s net asset value is calculated. In particular, the value of foreign securities may be materially affected by events occurring after the close of the market on which they are valued, but before the fund prices its shares. The fund uses a fair value model developed by an independent third party pricing service to price foreign equity securities on days when there is a certain percentage change in the

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Fund         33


 

value of a domestic equity security index, as such percentage may be determined by the manager from time to time.

Valuing securities at fair value involves greater reliance on judgment than valuation of securities based on readily available market quotations. A fund that uses fair value to price securities may value those securities higher or lower than another fund using market quotations or its own fair value methodologies to price the same securities. There can be no assurance that the fund could obtain the fair value assigned to a security if it were to sell the security at approximately the time at which the fund determines its net asset value.

International markets may be open on days when U.S. markets are closed and the value of foreign securities owned by the fund could change on days when you cannot buy or redeem shares.

In order to buy, redeem or exchange shares at that day’s price, you must place your order with your Service Agent or the transfer agent before the NYSE closes. If the NYSE closes early, you must place your order prior to the actual closing time.

It is the responsibility of the Service Agents to transmit all orders to buy, exchange or redeem shares to the transfer agent on a timely basis.

 

34         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

Financial highlights

The financial highlights tables are intended to help you understand the performance of each class since inception. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share. Total return represents the rate that a shareholder would have earned (or lost) on a fund share assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions. The information in the following tables has been derived from the fund’s financial statements, which have been audited by [            ] , independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund’s financial statements, is included in the annual report (available upon request). No information is presented for Class Y shares because no Class Y shares were outstanding on September 30, 2006. As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares of the fund were renamed Class I shares.

 

For a share of Class 1 capital stock outstanding throughout each year ended September 30:   
Class 1 Shares (1)   2006   2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net Asset Value, Beginning of Year

    $9.12     $8.68     $6.59     $8.11  
   

Income (Loss) From Operations:

         

Net investment loss

    (0.10 )   (0.10 )   (0.12 )   (0.12 )

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    1.68     0.54     2.21     (1.40 )
   

Total Income (Loss) From Operations

    1.58     0.44     2.09     (1.52 )
   

Net Asset Value, End of Year

    $10.70     $9.12     $8.68     6.59  
   

Total Return (2)

    17.32 %   5.07 %   31.71 %   (18.74 )%
   

Net Assets, End of Year (000s)

    $6,739     $6,240     $6,279     $4,984  
   

Ratios to Average Net Assets:

         

Gross expenses

    1.42 %   1.34 %   1.91 %   1.62 %

Net expenses

    1.42     1.32 (3)   1.91     1.62  

Net investment loss

    (1.05 )   (1.07 )   (1.63 )   (1.32 )
   

Portfolio Turnover Rate

    70 %   118 %   115 %   96 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower.

 

(3)   The manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees.

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Fund         35


 

For a share of Class A capital stock outstanding throughout each year ended September 30:   
Class A Shares (1)   2006   2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net Asset Value, Beginning of Year

    $9.16     $8.72     $6.59     $8.10  
   

Income (Loss) From Operations:

         

Net investment loss

    (0.11 )   (0.11 )   (0.09 )   (0.11 )

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    1.69     0.55     2.22     (1.40 )
   

Total Income (Loss) From Operations

    1.58     0.44     2.13     (1.51 )
   

Net Asset Value, End of Year

    $10.74     $9.16     $8.72     $6.59  
   

Total Return (2)

    17.25 %   5.05 %   32.32 %   (18.64 )%
   

Net Assets, End of Year (000s)

    $141,764     $136,049     $134,160     $96,991  
   

Ratios to Average Net Assets:

         

Gross expenses

    1.45 %   1.37 %   1.52 %   1.52 %

Net expenses

    1.45     1.35 (3)   1.52     1.52  

Net investment loss

    (1.09 )   (1.11 )   (1.25 )   (1.22 )
   

Portfolio Turnover Rate

    70 %   118 %   115 %   96 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower.

 

(3)   The manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees.

 

36         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

For a share of Class B capital stock outstanding throughout each year ended September 30:   
Class B Shares (1)   2006   2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net Asset Value, Beginning of Year

    $8.84     $8.48     $6.46     $8.00  
   

Income (Loss) From Operations:

         

Net investment loss

    (0.17 )   (0.17 )   (0.14 )   (0.17 )

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    1.63     0.53     2.16     (1.37 )
   

Total Income (Loss) From Operations

    1.46     0.36     2.02     (1.54 )
   

Net Asset Value, End of Year

    $10.30     $8.84     $8.48     $6.46  
   

Total Return (2)

    16.52 %   4.25 %   31.27 %   (19.25 )%
   

Net Assets, End of Year (000s)

    $98,603     $96,470     $98,445     $84,984  
   

Ratios to Average Net Assets:

         

Gross expenses

    2.17 %   2.10 %   2.26 %   2.26 %

Net expenses

    2.17     2.08 (3)   2.26     2.26  

Net investment loss

    (1.81 )   (1.83 )   (1.98 )   (1.96 )
   

Portfolio Turnover Rate

    70 %   118 %   115 %   96 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower.

 

(3)   The manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees.

 

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Fund         37


 

For a share of Class C capital stock outstanding throughout each year ended September 30:   
Class C Shares (1)(2)   2006   2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net Asset Value, Beginning of Year

    $8.93     $8.55     $6.50     $8.02  
   

Income (Loss) From Operations:

         

Net investment loss

    (0.16 )   (0.16 )   (0.12 )   (0.15 )

Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)

    1.64     0.54     2.17     (1.37 )
   

Total Income (Loss) From Operations

    1.48     0.38     2.05     (1.52 )
   

Net Asset Value, End of Year

    $10.41     $8.93     $8.55     $6.50  
   

Total Return (3)

    16.57 %   4.44 %   31.54 %   (18.95 )%
   

Net Assets, End of Year (000s)

    $16,414     $19,209     $21,514     $18,358  
   

Ratios to Average Net Assets:

         

Gross expenses

    1.99 %   1.96 %   1.97 %   2.01 %

Net expenses

    1.99     1.94 (4)   1.97     2.01  

Net investment loss

    (1.63 )   (1.70 )   (1.69 )   (1.71 )
   

Portfolio Turnover Rate

    70 %   118 %   115 %   96 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   On April 29, 2004, Class L shares were renamed as Class C shares.

 

(3)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower.

 

(4)   The manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees.

 

38         Legg Mason Partners Funds


 

 

(Investment Company Act

file no. 811-03275)

FD [                ]

LOGO

Legg Mason Partners

Small Cap Growth Fund

You may look at the fund’s website at http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices for a free copy of a Prospectus, Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) or an Annual or Semi-Annual Report, or to request other information.

Shareholder reports Additional information about the fund’s investments is available in the fund’s Annual and Semi-Annual Reports to shareholders. In the fund’s Annual Report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the fund’s performance.

The fund sends only one report to a household if more than one account has the same address. Contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Securities if you do not want this policy to apply to you.

Statement of Additional Information The SAI provides more detailed information about the fund and is incorporated by reference into (is legally a part of) this Prospectus.

You can make inquiries about the fund or obtain shareholders reports (without charge) by contacting your Service Agent, by calling Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010, (or for clients of a PFSI Registered Representative, call Primerica Shareholder Services at 800-544-5445) or by writing to the fund at Legg Mason Partners Funds, 125 Broad Street, New York, New York 10004.

Information about the fund (including the SAI) can be reviewed and copied at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “SEC”) Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. Reports and other information about the Fund are available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s Internet site at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of this information may be obtained for a duplicating fee by electronic request at the following E-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov or by writing the SEC’s Public Reference Section, Washington D.C. 20549-0102.

If someone makes a statement about the fund that is not in this Prospectus, you should not rely upon that information. Neither the fund nor its distributors are offering to sell shares of the fund to any person to whom the fund may not lawfully sell its shares.


                          , 2007

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

LEGG MASON PARTNERS SMALL CAP GROWTH FUND

125 Broad Street

New York, New York 10004

1-800-451-2010

This Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) expands upon and supplements the information contained in the current Prospectus of Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Fund (the “Fund”), dated                           , 2007, and should be read in conjunction with the Fund’s Prospectus. As part of a number of initiatives launched in 2006 to restructure and streamline the Legg Mason Partners fund complex, the fund assumed the assets and liabilities of a predecessor fund with the same name. The fund is now grouped for organizational and governance purposes with other Legg Mason Partners funds that are predominantly equity-type funds, and is a series of Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”), a Massachusetts business trust. Other initiatives, including the election of a new Board and the approval of certain revised fundamental investment policies, have also been accomplished, and more information on these matters appears in this SAI. If certain remaining initiatives are accomplished, the fund will become a series of Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust, a Maryland business trust. Certain historical information contained in the SAI is that of the fund’s predecessor.

Additional information about the Fund’s investments is available in the Fund’s annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. These reports contain financial statements that are incorporated herein by reference.

A prospectus and copies of the reports may be obtained free of charge by contacting a distributor’s financial advisor or registered representative, a broker/dealer, financial intermediary or a financial institution that has entered into an agreement with one of the fund’s distributors, (each called a “Service Agent”), or by writing or calling the Fund at the address or telephone number set forth above. Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC (“LMIS”), a wholly-owned broker/dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”), Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”) and PFS Investments Inc. (“PFS”) serve as the Fund’s distributors.

CONTENTS

 

Investment Objective and Management Policies

   2

Portfolio Manager Disclosure

   11

Investment Restrictions

   13

Management

   18

Purchase of Shares

   27

PFS Accounts

   33

Redemption of Shares

   32

Distributors

   34

Valuation of Shares

   36

Exchange Privilege

   36

Taxes

   37

Additional Information

   42

Financial Statements

   47

Other Information

  

Appendix A—Proxy Voting Guidelines and Procedures Summary

   A-1

 

1


INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE AND MANAGEMENT POLICIES

The Prospectus discusses the Fund’s investment objective and the policies it employs to achieve its objective. The Fund has called a meeting of shareholders to consider several proposals. If approved by shareholders, the Fund’s investment objective may be changed without shareholder approval. This section contains supplemental information concerning the types of securities and other instruments in which the Fund may invest, the investment policies and portfolio strategies the Fund may utilize and certain risks attendant to such investments, policies and strategies. Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC (“LMPFA” or the “manager”) serves as investment manager to the Fund. ClearBridge Advisors, LLC (“ClearBridge” or the “subadviser”) serves as the subadviser to the Fund.

The Fund attempts to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the value of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities of high growth small capitalization companies or in other investments with similar economic characteristics.

Principal Investment Strategies

Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of the value of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities of high growth small capitalization companies or in other investments with similar economic characteristics. Small capitalization companies are those companies with market capitalization values not exceeding (i) $3 billion or (ii) the highest month-end market capitalization value of any stock in the Russell 2000 Index (the “Index”) for the previous 12 months, whichever is greater. Securities of companies whose market capitalizations no longer meet this definition after purchase by the fund still will be considered to be securities of small capitalization companies for purposes of the fund’s 80% investment policy. The size of the companies in the Index changes with market conditions and the composition of the Index. Equity securities include exchange-traded and over-the-counter common stocks, preferred stocks, debt securities convertible into equity securities and warrants and rights relating to equity securities. The fund may invest up to 20% of the value of its net assets in equity securities of companies with larger market capitalizations.

Additional Information

The fund’s principal investment strategies are described above. The following provides additional information about these principal strategies and describes other investment strategies that may be used by the fund.

Index-Related Securities

The Fund may invest in certain types of securities that enable investors to purchase or sell shares in a portfolio of securities that seeks to track the performance of an underlying index or a portion of an index (“Equity Equivalents”). Such Equity Equivalents include, among others, DIAMONDS (interests in a portfolio of securities that seeks to track the performance of the Dow Jones Industrial Average), SPDRs or Standard & Poor’s Depositary Receipts (interests in a portfolio of securities that seeks to track the performance of the S&P 500 Index), the Nasdaq-100 Trust (interests in a portfolio of securities of the largest and most actively traded non-financial companies listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market) and various iShares Funds (interests in a portfolio of securities that seeks to track the performance of any of an array of market indexes). Such securities are similar to index mutual funds, but they are traded on various stock exchanges or secondary markets. The value of these securities is dependent upon the performance of the underlying index on which they are based. Thus, these securities are subject to the same risks as their underlying indexes as well as the securities that make up those indexes. For example, if the securities comprising an index that an index-related security seeks to track perform poorly, the index-related security will lose value.

Equity Equivalents may be used for several purposes, including to simulate full investment in the underlying index while retaining a cash balance for Fund management purposes, to facilitate trading, to reduce transaction costs or to seek higher investment returns where an Equity Equivalent is priced more attractively than securities in the underlying index. Because the expenses associated with an investment in Equity Equivalents may be substantially lower than the expenses of small investments directly in the securities comprising the indices they seek to track, investments in Equity Equivalents may provide a cost-effective means of diversifying the Fund’s assets across a broad range of equity securities.

To the extent the Fund invests in securities of other investment companies, including Equity Equivalents, Fund shareholders would indirectly pay a portion of the operating costs of such companies in addition to the expenses of the Fund’s own operation. These costs include management, brokerage, shareholder servicing and other operational expenses. Indirectly, if the Fund invests in Equity Equivalents, shareholders may pay higher operational costs than if they owned the underlying investment companies directly. Additionally, the Fund’s investments in such investment companies are subject to limitations under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), and market availability.

The prices of Equity Equivalents are derived from and based upon the securities held by the particular investment company. Accordingly, the level of risk involved in the purchase or sale of an Equity Equivalent is similar to the risk involved in the purchase

 

2


or sale of traditional common stock, with the exception that the pricing mechanism for such instruments is based on a basket of stocks. The market prices of Equity Equivalents are expected to fluctuate in accordance with both changes in the net asset values (“NAV”) of their underlying indices and the supply and demand for the instruments on the exchanges on which they are traded. Substantial market or other disruptions affecting an Equity Equivalent could adversely affect the liquidity and value of Fund shares.

Foreign Securities and American Depositary Receipts

The Fund has the authority to invest up to 10% of its assets in foreign securities (including European Depositary Receipts (“EDRs”) and Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”)) and American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”) or other securities representing underlying shares of foreign companies. EDRs are receipts issued in Europe which evidence ownership of underlying securities issued by a foreign corporation. ADRs are receipts typically issued by an American bank or trust company which evidence a similar ownership arrangement.

Generally, ADRs which are issued in registered form, are designed for use in the United States securities markets and EDRs, which are issued in bearer form, are designed for use in European securities markets. GDRs are tradeable both in the U.S. and Europe and are designed for use throughout the world.

Investing in the securities of foreign companies involves special risks and considerations not typically associated with investing in U.S. companies. These include differences in accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards, generally higher commission rates on foreign portfolio transactions, the possibility of expropriation or confiscatory taxation, adverse changes in investment or exchange control regulations, political instability which could affect U.S. investments in foreign countries, and potential restrictions on the flow of international capital. Additionally, foreign securities often trade with less frequency and volume than domestic securities and therefore may exhibit greater price volatility. Many of the foreign securities held by the Fund will not be registered with, nor will the issuers thereof be subject to the reporting requirements of, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Accordingly, there may be less publicly available information about the securities and about the foreign company issuing them than is available about a domestic company and its securities. Moreover, individual foreign economies may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth of gross domestic product, rate of inflation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency and balance of payment positions. The risks of investing in foreign securities are greater for securities of emerging market issuers because political or economic instability, lack of market liquidity and negative government actions like currency controls or seizure of private business or property are more likely. The Fund may invest in securities of foreign governments (or agencies or subdivisions thereof), and therefore many, if not all, of the foregoing considerations apply to such investments as well.

Lending of Portfolio Securities

Consistent with applicable regulatory requirements and for cash management purposes, the Fund may lend securities from its portfolio to brokers, dealers and other financial organizations. The Fund may not lend its portfolio securities to the manager or its affiliates unless it has applied for and received specific authority from the SEC. Loans of portfolio securities by the Fund will be collateralized by cash, letters of credit or U.S. government securities that are maintained at all times in an amount equal to at least 100% of the current market value of the loaned securities.

In lending its portfolio securities, the Fund can increase its income by continuing to receive interest on the loaned securities as well as by either investing the cash collateral in short-term instruments or obtaining yield in the form of interest paid by the borrower when U.S. government securities are used as collateral. Requirements of the SEC, which may be subject to future modifications, currently provide that the following conditions must be met whenever the Fund’s portfolio securities are loaned: (a) the Fund must receive at least 100% cash collateral or equivalent securities from the borrower; (b) the borrower must increase such collateral whenever the market value of the securities rises above the level of such collateral; (c) the Fund must be able to terminate the loan at any time; (d) the Fund must receive reasonable interest on the loan, as well as an amount equal to any dividends, interest or other distributions on the loaned securities, and any increase in market value; (e) the Fund may pay only reasonable custodian fees in connection with the loan; and (f) voting rights on the loaned securities may pass to the borrower; however, if a material event adversely affecting the investment occurs, the Fund may terminate the loan and regain the right to vote the securities. The risks in lending portfolio securities, as with other extensions of secured credit, consist of possible delay in receiving additional collateral or in the recovery of the securities or possible loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower fail financially. Loans will be made to firms deemed by the subadviser to be of good standing and will not be made unless, in the judgment of the subadviser, the consideration to be earned from such loans would justify the risk. From time to time, the Fund may return to the borrower and/or a third party, which is unaffiliated with the Fund, Legg Mason, of which LMPFA is a wholly-owned subsidiary, or CGMI, one of the Fund’s distributors, and which is acting as a “finder,” a part of the interest earned from the investment of collateral received for securities loaned. Generally, the borrower will be required to make payments to the Fund in lieu of any dividends the Fund would have otherwise received had it not loaned the shares to the borrower. Any such payments, however, will not be treated as “qualified dividend income” for purposes of determining what portion of the Fund’s regular dividends (as defined below) received by individuals may be taxed at the rates generally applicable to long-term capital gains (see “Taxes” below).

 

3


Repurchase Agreements

The Fund may agree to purchase securities from a bank or recognized securities dealer and simultaneously commit to resell the securities to the bank or dealer at an agreed-upon date and price reflecting a market rate of interest unrelated to the coupon rate or maturity of the purchased securities (“repurchase agreements”). The Fund would maintain custody of the underlying securities prior to their repurchase; thus, the obligation of the bank or dealer to pay the repurchase price on the date agreed to would be, in effect, secured by such securities. If the value of such securities were less than the repurchase price, plus interest, the other party to the agreement would be required to provide additional collateral so that at all times the collateral is at least 102% of the repurchase price plus accrued interest. Default by or bankruptcy of a seller would expose the Fund to possible loss because of adverse market action, expenses and/or delays in connection with the disposition of the underlying obligations. The financial institutions with which the Fund may enter into repurchase agreements will be banks and non-bank dealers of U.S. government securities on the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s list of reporting dealers, if such banks and non-bank dealers are deemed creditworthy by the Fund’s manager. The manager will continue to monitor creditworthiness of the seller under a repurchase agreement, and will require the seller to maintain during the term of the agreement the value of the securities subject to the agreement to equal at least 102% of the repurchase price (including accrued interest). In addition, the manager will require that the value of this collateral, after transaction costs (including loss of interest) reasonably expected to be incurred on a default, be equal to 102% or greater than the repurchase price (including accrued premium) provided in the repurchase agreement or the daily amortization of the difference between the purchase price and the repurchase price specified in the repurchase agreement. The manager will mark-to-market daily the value of the securities. Repurchase agreements are considered to be loans by the Fund under the 1940 Act.

Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the SEC, the Fund, along with other affiliated entities managed by the manager, may transfer uninvested cash balances into one or more joint repurchase accounts. These balances are invested in one or more repurchase agreements, secured by U.S. government securities. Securities that are collateral for repurchase agreements are financial assets subject to the Fund’s entitlement orders through its securities account at its custodian bank until the agreements mature. Each joint repurchase agreement requires that the market value of the collateral be sufficient to cover payments of interest and principal; however, in the event of default by the other party to the agreement, retention or sale of the collateral may be subject to legal proceedings.

Reverse Repurchase Agreements

The Fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements. A reverse repurchase agreement involves the sale of a money market instrument by the Fund and its agreement to repurchase the instrument at a specified time and price. The Fund will maintain a segregated account consisting of U.S. government securities or cash or cash equivalents to cover its obligations under reverse repurchase agreements with broker/dealers and other financial institutions. The Fund will invest the proceeds in other money market instruments or repurchase agreements maturing not later than the expiration of the reverse repurchase agreement. Under the 1940 Act, reverse repurchase agreements may be considered borrowing by the seller.

Reverse repurchase agreements create opportunities for increased returns to the shareholders of the Fund but, at the same time, create special risk considerations. Although the principal or stated value of such borrowings will be fixed, the Fund’s assets may change in value during the time the borrowing is outstanding. To the extent the income or other gain derived from securities purchased with borrowed funds exceeds the interest or dividends the Fund will have to pay in respect thereof, the Fund’s net income or other gain will be greater than if this type of investment technique had not been used. Conversely, if the income or other gain from the incremental assets is not sufficient to cover this cost, the net income or other gain of the Fund will be less than if the reverse repurchase agreement had not been used.

The Fund currently intends to invest not more than 33  1 / 3 % of its net assets in reverse repurchase agreements.

When-Issued Securities and Delayed Delivery Transactions

In order to secure what the subadviser considers to be an advantageous price or yield, the Fund may purchase U.S. government securities on a when-issued basis or purchase or sell U.S. government securities for delayed delivery. The Fund will enter into such purchase transactions for the purpose of acquiring portfolio securities and not for the purpose of leverage. Delivery of the securities in such cases occurs beyond the normal settlement periods, but no payment or delivery is made by the Fund prior to the reciprocal delivery or payment by the other party to the transaction. In entering into a when-issued or delayed delivery transaction, the Fund relies on the other party to consummate the transaction and may be disadvantaged if the other party fails to do so.

U.S. government securities normally are subject to changes in value based upon changes, real or anticipated, in the level of interest rates and, to a lesser extent, the public’s perception of the creditworthiness of the issuers. In general, U.S. government securities tend to appreciate when interest rates decline and depreciate when interest rates rise. Purchasing U.S. government securities on a when-issued basis or delayed delivery basis, therefore, can involve the risk that the yields available in the market when the delivery takes place may actually be higher than those obtained in the transaction itself. Similarly, the sale of U.S. government securities for delayed delivery can involve the risk that the prices available in the market when the delivery is made may actually be higher than those obtained in the transaction itself.

 

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The Fund will maintain in a segregated account cash or liquid securities equal to the amount of the Fund’s when-issued or delayed delivery commitments. For the purpose of determining the adequacy of the securities in the account, the deposited securities will be valued at market or fair value. If the market or fair value of such securities declines, additional cash or securities will be placed in the account on a daily basis so the value of the account will equal the amount of such commitments by the Fund. Placing securities rather than cash in the account may have a leveraging effect on the Fund’s assets. That is, to the extent the Fund remains substantially fully invested in securities at the time that it has committed to purchase securities on a when-issued basis, there will be greater fluctuation in its NAV than if it had set aside cash to satisfy its purchase commitments. On the settlement date, the Fund will meet its obligations from then available cash flow, the sale of securities held in the separate account, the sale of other securities or, although it normally would not expect to do so, from the sale of the when-issued or delayed delivery securities themselves (which may have a greater or lesser value than the Fund’s payment obligations).

Money Market Instruments

As stated in the Prospectus, the Fund may invest for temporary defensive purposes in corporate and government bonds and notes and money market instruments. Money market instruments in which the Fund may invest include: U.S. government securities; certificates of deposit, time deposits and bankers’ acceptances issued by domestic banks (including their branches located outside the United States and subsidiaries located in Canada), domestic branches of foreign banks, savings and loan associations and similar institutions; high grade commercial paper; and repurchase agreements with respect to the foregoing types of instruments. The following is a more detailed description of such money market instruments.

Certificates of deposit (“CDs”) are short-term negotiable obligations of commercial banks. Time deposits (“TDs”) are non-negotiable deposits maintained in banking institutions for specified periods of time at stated interest rates. Bankers’acceptances are time drafts drawn on commercial banks by borrowers usually in connection with international transactions.

Domestic commercial banks organized under Federal law are supervised and examined by the Comptroller of the Currency and are required to be members of the Federal Reserve System and to be insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”). Domestic banks organized under state law are supervised and examined by state banking authorities but are members of the Federal Reserve System only if they elect to join. Most state banks are insured by the FDIC (although such insurance may not be of material benefit to the Fund, depending upon the principal amounts of CDs of each bank held by the Fund) and are subject to Federal examination and to a substantial body of Federal law and regulation. As a result of governmental regulations, domestic branches of domestic banks are generally required to, among other things, maintain specified levels of reserves, and are subject to other supervision and regulation designed to promote financial soundness.

Obligations of foreign branches of domestic banks, such as CDs and TDs, may be general obligations of the parent bank in addition to the issuing branch, or may be limited by the terms of a specific obligation and government regulation. Such obligations are subject to different risks than are those of domestic banks or domestic branches of foreign banks. These risks include foreign economic and political developments, foreign governmental restrictions that may adversely affect payment of principal and interest on the obligations, foreign exchange controls and foreign withholding and other taxes on interest income. Foreign branches of domestic banks are not necessarily subject to the same or similar regulatory requirements that apply to domestic banks, such as mandatory reserve requirements, loan limitations, and accounting, auditing and financial recordkeeping requirements. In addition, less information may be publicly available about a foreign branch of a domestic bank than about a domestic bank. CDs issued by wholly-owned Canadian subsidiaries of domestic banks are guaranteed as to repayment of principal and interest (but not as to sovereign risk) by the domestic parent bank.

Obligations of domestic branches of foreign banks may be general obligations of the parent bank in addition to the issuing branch, or may be limited by the terms of a specific obligation and by governmental regulation as well as governmental action in the country in which the foreign bank has its head office. A domestic branch of a foreign bank with assets in excess of $1 billion may or may not be subject to reserve requirements imposed by the Federal Reserve System or by the state in which the branch is located if the branch is licensed in that state. In addition, branches licensed by the Comptroller of the Currency and branches licensed by certain states (“State Branches”) may or may not be required to: (a) pledge to the regulator by depositing assets with a designated bank within the state, an amount of its assets equal to 5% of its total liabilities; and (b) maintain assets within the state in an amount equal to a specified percentage of the aggregate amount of liabilities of the foreign bank payable at or through all of its agencies or branches within the state. The deposits of State Branches may not necessarily be insured by the FDIC.

In view of the foregoing factors associated with the purchase of CDs and TDs issued by foreign branches of domestic banks or by domestic branches of foreign banks, the subadviser will carefully evaluate such investments on a case-by-case basis.

Savings and loan associations whose CDs may be purchased by the Fund are supervised by the Office of Thrift Supervision and are insured by the Savings Association Insurance Fund, which is administered by the FDIC and is backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government. As a result, such savings and loan associations are subject to regulation and examination.

 

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Options, Futures and Currency Strategies

The Fund may use forward currency contracts and certain options and futures strategies to attempt to hedge its portfolio, i.e., reduce the overall level of investment risk normally associated with the Fund. There can be no assurance that such efforts will succeed.

To attempt to hedge against adverse movements in exchange rates between currencies, the Fund may enter into forward currency contracts for the purchase or sale of a specified currency at a specified future date. Such contracts may involve the purchase or sale of a foreign currency against the U.S. dollar or may involve two foreign currencies. The Fund may enter into forward currency contracts either with respect to specific transactions or with respect to its portfolio positions. For example, when the subadviser anticipates making a purchase or sale of a security, it may enter into a forward currency contract in order to set the rate (either relative to the U.S. dollar or another currency) at which the currency exchange transaction related to the purchase or sale will be made (“transaction hedging”). Further, when the subadviser believes that a particular currency may decline compared to the U.S. dollar or another currency, the Fund may enter into a forward contract to sell the currency the subadviser expects to decline in an amount approximating the value of some or all of the Fund’s securities denominated in that currency, or when the subadviser believes that one currency may decline against a currency in which some or all of the portfolio securities held by the Fund are denominated, it may enter into a forward contract to buy the currency expected to decline for a fixed amount (“position hedging”). In this situation, the Fund may, in the alternative, enter into a forward contract to sell a different currency for a fixed amount of the currency expected to decline where the subadviser believes that the value of the currency to be sold pursuant to the forward contract will fall whenever there is a decline in the value of the currency in which portfolio securities of the Fund are denominated (“cross hedging”). The Fund’s custodian places (i) cash, (ii) U.S. government securities or (iii) equity securities or debt securities (of any grade) in certain currencies provided such assets are liquid, unencumbered and marked to market daily, or other high-quality debt securities denominated in certain currencies in a separate account of the Fund having a value equal to the aggregate account of the Fund’s commitments under forward contracts entered into with respect to position hedges and cross-hedges. If the value of the securities placed in a separate account declines, additional cash or securities are placed in the account on a daily basis so that the value of the account will equal the amount of the Fund’s commitments with respect to such contracts.

For hedging purposes, the Fund may write covered call options and purchase put and call options on currencies to hedge against movements in exchange rates and on debt securities to hedge against the risk of fluctuations in the prices of securities held by the Fund or which the subadviser intends to include in its portfolio. The Fund also may use interest rate futures contracts and options thereon to hedge against changes in the general level in interest rates.

The Fund may write call options on securities and currencies only if they are covered, and such options must remain covered so long as the Fund is obligated as a writer. A call option written by the Fund is “covered” if the Fund owns the security or currency underlying the option or has an absolute and immediate right to acquire that security or currency without additional cash consideration (or for additional cash consideration held in a segregated account by its custodian) upon conversion or exchange of other securities or currencies held in its portfolio. A call option is also covered if the Fund holds on a share-for-share basis a call on the same security or holds a call on the same currency as the call written where the exercise price of the call held is equal to less than the exercise price of the call written or greater than the exercise price of the call written if the difference is maintained by the Fund in cash, Treasury bills or other high-grade, short-term obligations in a segregated account with its custodian.

Although the Fund might not employ the use of forward currency contracts, options and futures, the use of any of these strategies would involve certain investment risks and transaction costs to which it might not otherwise be subject. These risks include: dependence on the subadviser’s ability to predict movements in the prices of individual debt securities, fluctuations in the general fixed-income markets and movements in interest rates and currency markets, imperfect correlation between movements in the price of currency, options, futures contracts or options thereon and movements in the price of the currency or security hedged or used for cover; the fact that skills and techniques needed to trade options, futures contracts and options thereon or to use forward currency contracts are different from those needed to select the securities in which the Fund invests; and lack of assurance that a liquid market will exist for any particular option, futures contract or option thereon at any particular time.

Options on Securities

As discussed more generally above, the Fund may engage in the writing of covered call options. The Fund may also purchase put options and enter into closing transactions.

The principal reason for writing covered call options on securities is to attempt to realize, through the receipt of premiums, a greater return than would be realized on the securities alone. In return for a premium, the writer of a covered call option forgoes the right to any appreciation in the value of the underlying security above the strike price for the life of the option (or until a closing purchase transaction can be effected). Nevertheless, the call writer retains the risk of a decline in the price of the underlying security. Similarly, the principal reason for writing covered put options is to realize income in the form of premiums. The writer of a covered put option accepts the risk of a decline in the price of the underlying security. The size of the premiums the Fund may receive may be adversely affected as new or existing institutions, including other investment companies, engage in or increase their option-writing activities.

 

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Options written by the Fund will normally have expiration dates between one and six months from the date written. The exercise price of the options may be below, equal to, or above the current market values of the underlying securities at the times the options are written. In the case of call options, these exercise prices are referred to as “in-the-money,” “at-the-money” and “out-of-the-money,” respectively.

The Fund may write (a) in-the-money call options when the subadviser expects the price of the underlying security to remain flat or decline moderately during the option period, (b) at-the-money call options when the subadviser expects the price of the underlying security to remain flat or advance moderately during the option period and (c) out-of-the-money call options when the subadviser expects that the price of the security may increase but not above a price equal to the sum of the exercise price plus the premiums received from writing the call option. In any of the preceding situations, if the market price of the underlying security declines and the security is sold at this lower price, the amount of any realized loss will be offset wholly or in part by the premium received. Out-of-the-money, at-the-money and in-the-money put options (the reverse of call options as to the relation of exercise price to market price) may be utilized in the same market environments as such call options are used in equivalent transactions.

So long as the obligation of the Fund as the writer of an option continues, the Fund may be assigned an exercise notice by the broker/dealer through which the option was sold, requiring it to deliver, in the case of a call, or take delivery of, in the case of a put, the underlying security against payment of the exercise price. This obligation terminates when the option expires or the Fund effects a closing purchase transaction. The Fund can no longer effect a closing purchase transaction with respect to an option once it has been assigned an exercise notice. To secure its obligation to deliver the underlying security when it writes a call option, or to pay for the underlying security when it writes a put option, the Fund will be required to deposit in escrow the underlying security or other assets in accordance with the rules of the Options Clearing Corporation (“Clearing Corporation”) or similar clearing corporation and the securities exchange on which the option is written.

An option position may be closed out only where there exists a secondary market for an option of the same series on a recognized securities exchange or in the over-the-counter market. The Fund expects to write options only on national securities exchanges or in the over-the-counter market. The Fund may purchase put options issued by the Clearing Corporation or in the over-the-counter market.

The Fund may realize a profit or loss upon entering into a closing transaction. In cases in which the Fund has written an option, it will realize a profit if the cost of the closing purchase transaction is less than the premium received upon writing the original option and will incur a loss if the cost of the closing purchase transaction exceeds the premium received upon writing the original option. Similarly, when the Fund has purchased an option and engages in a closing sale transaction, whether it recognizes a profit or loss will depend upon whether the amount received in the closing sale transaction is more or less than the premium the Fund initially paid for the original option plus the related transaction costs.

Although the Fund generally will purchase or write only those options for which the subadviser believes there is an active secondary market so as to facilitate closing transactions, there is no assurance that sufficient trading interest to create a liquid secondary market on a securities exchange will exist for any particular option or at any particular time, and for some options no such secondary market may exist. A liquid secondary market in an option may cease to exist for a variety of reasons. In the past, for example, higher than anticipated trading activity or order flow, or other unforeseen events, have at times rendered certain of the facilities of the Clearing Corporation and national securities exchanges inadequate and resulted in the institution of special procedures, such as trading rotations, restrictions on certain types of orders or trading halts or suspensions in one or more options. There can be no assurance that similar events, or events that may otherwise interfere with the timely execution of customers’ orders, will not recur. In such event, it might not be possible to effect closing transactions in particular options. If, as a covered call option writer, the Fund is unable to effect a closing purchase transaction in a secondary market, it will not be able to sell the underlying security until the option expires or it delivers the underlying security upon exercise.

Securities exchanges generally have established limitations governing the maximum number of calls and puts of each class which may be held or written, or exercised within certain periods, by an investor or group of investors acting in concert (regardless of whether the options are written on the same or different securities exchanges or are held, written or exercised in one or more accounts or through one or more brokers). It is possible that the Fund and other clients of the subadviser and certain of their affiliates may be considered to be such a group. A securities exchange may order the liquidation of positions found to be in violation of these limits, and it may impose certain other sanctions.

In the case of options written by the Fund that are deemed covered by virtue of the Fund’s holding convertible or exchangeable preferred stock or debt securities, the time required to convert or exchange and obtain physical delivery of the underlying common stocks with respect to which the Fund has written options may exceed the time within which the Fund must make delivery in accordance with an exercise notice. In these instances, the Fund may purchase or temporarily borrow the underlying securities for purposes of physical delivery. By so doing, the Fund will not bear any market risk because the Fund will have the absolute right to receive from the issuer of the underlying security an equal number of shares to replace the borrowed stock, but the Fund may incur additional transaction costs or interest expenses in connection with any such purchase or borrowing.

 

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Although the subadviser will attempt to take appropriate measures to minimize the risks relating to the Fund’s writing of call options and purchasing of put and call options, there can be no assurance that the Fund will succeed in its option-writing program.

Stock Index Options

As described generally above, the Fund may purchase put and call options and write call options on domestic stock indexes listed on domestic exchanges in order to realize its investment objective of capital appreciation or for the purpose of hedging its portfolio. A stock index fluctuates with changes in the market values of the stocks included in the index. Some stock index options are based on a broad market index such as the New York Stock Exchange Composite Index, or a narrower market index such as the Standard & Poor’s 100. Indexes also are based on an industry or market segment such as the AMEX Oil and Gas Index or the AMEX Computer Technology Index.

Options on stock indexes are generally similar to options on stock except that the delivery requirements are different. Instead of giving the right to take or make delivery of stock at a specified price, an option on a stock index gives the holder the right to receive a cash “exercise settlement amount” equal to (a) the amount, if any, by which the fixed exercise price of the option exceeds (in the case of a put) or is less than (in the case of a call) the closing value of the underlying index on the date of exercise, multiplied by (b) a fixed “index multiplier.” Receipt of this cash amount will depend upon the closing level of the stock index upon which the option is based being greater than, in the case of a call, or less than, in the case of a put, the exercise price of the option. The amount of cash received will be equal to such difference between the closing price of the index and the exercise price of the option expressed in dollars or a foreign currency, as the case may be, times a specified multiple. The writer of the option is obligated, in return for the premium received, to make delivery of this amount. The writer may offset its position in stock index options prior to expiration by entering into a closing transaction on an exchange or it may let the option expire unexercised.

The effectiveness of purchasing or writing stock index options as a hedging technique will depend upon the extent to which price movements in the portion of the securities portfolio of the Fund correlate with price movements of the stock index selected. Because the value of an index option depends upon movements in the level of the index rather than the price of a particular stock, whether the Fund will realize a gain or loss from the purchase or writing of options on an index depends upon movements in the level of stock prices in the stock market generally or, in the case of certain indexes, in an industry or market segment, rather than movements in the price of a particular stock. Accordingly, successful use by the Fund of options on stock indexes will be subject to the subadviser’s ability to predict correctly movements in the direction of the stock market generally or of a particular industry. This requires different skills and techniques than predicting changes in the price of individual stocks.

Futures Contracts and Options on Futures Contracts

As described generally above, the Fund may invest in stock index futures contracts and options on futures contracts that are traded on a domestic exchange or board of trade.

The purpose of entering into a futures contract by the Fund is to protect the Fund from fluctuations in the value of securities without actually buying or selling the securities. For example, in the case of stock index futures contracts, if the Fund anticipates an increase in the price of stocks that it intends to purchase at a later time, the Fund could enter into contracts to purchase the stock index (known as taking a “long” position) as a temporary substitute for the purchase of stocks. If an increase in the market occurs that influences the stock index as anticipated, the value of the futures contracts increases and thereby serves as a hedge against the Fund’s not participating in a market advance. The Fund then may close out the futures contracts by entering into offsetting futures contracts to sell the stock index (known as taking a “short” position) as it purchases individual stocks. The Fund can accomplish similar results by buying securities with long maturities and selling securities with short maturities. But by using futures contracts as an investment tool to reduce risk, given the greater liquidity in the futures market, it may be possible to accomplish the same result more easily and more quickly.

No consideration will be paid or received by the Fund upon the purchase or sale of a futures contract. Initially, the Fund will be required to deposit with the broker an amount of cash or cash equivalents equal to approximately 1% to 10% of the contract amount (this amount is subject to change by the exchange or board of trade on which the contract is traded and brokers or members of such board of trade may charge a higher amount). This amount is known as “initial margin” and is in the nature of a performance bond or good faith deposit on the contract which is returned to the Fund, upon termination of the futures contract, assuming all contractual obligations have been satisfied. Subsequent payments, known as “variation margin,” to and from the broker, will be made daily as the price of the index or securities underlying the futures contract fluctuates, making the long and short positions in the futures contract more or less valuable, a process known as “marking-to-market.” In addition, when the Fund enters into a long position in a futures contract or an option on a futures contract, it must deposit into a segregated account with the Fund’s custodian an amount of cash or cash equivalents equal to the total market value of the underlying futures contract, less amounts held in the Fund’s commodity brokerage account at its broker. At any time prior to the expiration of a futures contract, the Fund may elect to close the position by taking an opposite position, which will operate to terminate the Fund’s existing position in the contract.

 

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The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) eliminated limitations on futures transactions and options thereon by registered investment companies, provided that the investment manager to the registered investment company claims an exclusion from regulation as a commodity pool operator. The Fund is operated by a person who has claimed an exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” under the Commodity Exchange Act and therefore is not subject to registration or regulation as a pool operator under the Commodity Exchange Act. As a result of these CFTC rule changes, the Fund is no longer restricted in its ability to enter into futures transactions and options thereon under CFTC regulations. The Fund, however, continues to have policies with respect to futures and options thereon as set forth herein. The current view of the staff of the SEC is that the Fund’s long and short positions in future contracts as well as put and call options on futures written by it must be collateralized with cash or other liquid securities and segregated with the Fund’s custodian or a designated sub-custodian or “covered” in a manner similar to that for covered options on securities and designed to eliminate any potential leveraging.

There are several risks in connection with the use of futures contracts as a hedging device. Successful use of futures contracts by the Fund is subject to the ability of the subadviser to predict correctly movements in the stock market or in the direction of interest rates. These predictions involve skills and techniques that may be different from those involved in the management of investments in securities. In addition, there can be no assurance there will be a perfect correlation between movements in the price of the securities underlying the futures contract and movements in the price of the securities that are the subject of the hedge. A decision of whether, when and how to hedge involves the exercise of skill and judgment, and even a well-conceived hedge may be unsuccessful to some degree because of market behavior or unexpected trends in market behavior or interest rates.

Positions in futures contracts may be closed out only on the exchange on which they were entered into (or through a linked exchange) and no secondary market exists for those contracts. In addition, although the Fund intends to enter into futures contracts only if there is an active market for the contracts, there is no assurance that an active market will exist for the contracts at any particular time. Most futures exchanges and boards of trade limit the amount of fluctuation permitted in futures contract prices during a single trading day. Once the daily limit has been reached in a particular contract, no trades may be made that day at a price beyond that limit. It is possible that futures contract prices could move to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of futures positions and subjecting some futures traders to substantial losses. In such event, and in the event of adverse price movements, the Fund would be required to make daily cash payments of variation margin; in such circumstances, an increase in the value of the portion of the portfolio being hedged, if any, may partially or completely offset losses on the futures contract. As described above, however, no assurance can be given that the price of the securities being hedged will correlate with the price movements in a futures contract and thus provide an offset to losses on the futures contract.

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

The Fund has adopted policies and procedures developed by LMPFA, the Fund’s investment manager, with respect to the disclosure of the Fund’s portfolio securities and any ongoing arrangements to make available information about the Fund’s portfolio securities. The policy requires that consideration always be given as to whether disclosure of information about the Fund’s portfolio holdings is in the best interests of the Fund’s shareholders, and that any conflicts of interest between the interests of the Fund’s shareholders and those of LMPFA, the Fund’s distributors, or their affiliates, be addressed in a manner that places the interests of Fund shareholders first. The policy provides that information regarding a Fund’s portfolio holdings may not be shared with non-Legg Mason employees, with investors or potential investors (whether individual or institutional), or with third parties unless it is done for legitimate Fund business purposes and in accordance with the policy.

LMPFA’s policy generally provides for the release of details of securities positions once they are considered “stale.” Data is considered stale 25 calendar days following quarter-end for funds other than money market funds, and 25 calendar days following month-end with respect to money market funds. LMPFA believes that this passage of time prevents a third party from benefiting from an investment decision made by a fund that has not been fully reflected by the market.

Under the policy, the Fund’s complete list of holdings (including the size of each position) may be made available to investors, potential investors, third parties and non-Legg Mason employees with simultaneous public disclosure at least 25 days after calendar quarter end, except in the case of a money market fund’s holdings, which may be released with simultaneous public disclosure at least 25 days after month end. Typically, simultaneous public disclosure is achieved by the filing of Form N-Q or Form N-CSR in accordance with SEC rules, provided that such filings may not be made until 25 days following quarter-end, and/or posting the information to a Legg Mason or the Fund’s Internet site that is accessible by the public, or through public release by a third party vendor.

The policy permits the release of limited portfolio holdings information that is not yet considered stale in a number of situations, including:

1. The Fund’s top ten securities, current as of month-end, and the individual size of each such security position may be released at any time following month-end with simultaneous public disclosure.

 

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2. The Fund’s top ten securities positions (including the aggregate but not individual size of such positions) may be released at any time with simultaneous public disclosure.

3. The list of securities (that may include Fund holdings together with other securities) followed by a portfolio manager (without position sizes or identification of particular funds) may be disclosed to sell-side brokers at any time for the purpose of obtaining research and/or market information from such brokers.

4. The trade in process may be discussed only with counterparties, potential counterparties and others involved in the transaction ( i.e ., brokers and custodians).

5. The Fund’s sector weightings, yield and duration (for fixed income and money market funds), performance attribution (e.g. analysis of the Fund’s out-performance or underperformance of its benchmark based on its portfolio holdings) and other summary and statistical information that does not include identification of specific portfolio holdings may be released, even if non-public, if such release is otherwise in accordance with the policy’s general principles.

6. The Fund’s portfolio holdings may be released on an as-needed basis to its legal counsel, counsel to its Independent Trustees (as defined below), and its independent public accounting firm, in required regulatory filings or otherwise to governmental agencies and authorities.

Under the policy, if information about the Fund’s portfolio holdings is released pursuant to an ongoing arrangement with any party, the Fund must have a legitimate business purpose for the release of the information, and either the party receiving the information must be under a duty of confidentiality, or the release of non-public information must be subject to trading restrictions and confidential treatment to prohibit the entity from sharing with an unauthorized source or trading upon any non-public information provided. Neither the Fund, nor Legg Mason, nor any other affiliated party may receive compensation or any other consideration in connection with such arrangements. Ongoing arrangements to make available information about the Fund’s portfolio securities will be reviewed at least annually by the Fund’s Board.

The approval of the Fund’s Chief Compliance Officer, or designee, must be obtained before entering into any new ongoing arrangement or altering any existing ongoing arrangement to make available portfolio holdings information, or with respect to any exceptions to the policy. Any exceptions to the policy must be consistent with the purposes of the policy. Exceptions are considered on a case-by-case basis and are granted only after a thorough examination and consultation with LMPFA’s legal department, as necessary. Exceptions to the policies are reported to the Fund’s Board at its next regularly scheduled meeting.

Currently, the Fund discloses its complete portfolio holdings approximately 25 days after calendar quarter end on the Fund’s website: http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices .

Set forth below is a list, as [                      ], of those parties with whom LMPFA, on behalf of the Fund, has authorized ongoing arrangements that include the release of portfolio holdings information in accordance with the policy, as well as the frequency of the release under such arrangements, and the length of the lag, if any, between the date of the information and the date on which the information is disclosed. The parties identified below as recipients are service providers, fund rating agencies, consultants and analysts.

 

Recipient

  

Frequency

  

Delay before dissemination

State Street Bank and Trust Company (Fund Custodian and Accounting Agent)

   Daily    None

Institutional Shareholders Services (Proxy Voting Services)

   As necessary    None

Bloomberg

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Lipper

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

S&P

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Morningstar

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Vestek

   Daily    None

Factset

   Daily    None

Bank of New York

   Daily    None

[To be updated by amendment]

 

10


Portfolio holdings information for the Fund may also be released from time to time pursuant to ongoing arrangements with the following parties:

 

Recipient

  

Frequency

  

Delay before dissemination

Baseline

   Daily    None

Frank Russell

   Monthly    1 Day

Callan

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Mercer

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

eVestment Alliance

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

CRA RogersCasey

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Cambridge Associates

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Marco Consulting

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Wilshire

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Informa Investment Services (Efron)

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

CheckFree (Mobius)

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Nelsons Information

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Investor Tools

   Daily    None

Advent

   Daily    None

BARRA

   Daily    None

Plexus

  

Quarterly

(Calendar)

   Sent 1-3 Business Days following the end of a Quarter

Elkins/McSherry

  

Quarterly

(Calendar)

   Sent 1-3 Business Days following the end of a Quarter

Quantitative Services Group

   Daily    None

AMBAC

   Daily    None

Deutsche Bank

   Monthly    6-8 Business Days

Fitch

   Monthly    6-8 Business Days

Liberty Hampshire

   Weekly and Month End    None

Sun Trust

   Weekly and Month End    None

New England Pension Consultants

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Evaluation Associates

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Watson Wyatt

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

S&P (Rating Agency)

   Weekly Tuesday Night    1 Business Day

Moody’s (Rating Agency)

   Weekly Tuesday Night    1 Business Day

PORTFOLIO MANAGER DISCLOSURE

The following tables set forth certain additional information with respect to the Fund’s portfolio manager. Unless noted otherwise, all information is provided as of September 30, 2006.

Other Accounts Managed by Portfolio Manager

The table below identifies the number of accounts (other than the Fund with respect to which information is provided) for which the portfolio manager has day-to-day management responsibilities and the total assets in such accounts, within each of the following categories: registered investment companies, other pooled investment vehicles, and other accounts. No accounts had fees based on performance.

 

Portfolio Manager(s)

   Registered Investment
Companies
   Other Pooled
Investment Vehicles
   Other Accounts

Timothy Woods

        

Portfolio Manager Compensation

ClearBridge Advisors, LLC (“ClearBridge”) investment professionals receive base salary and other employee benefits and are eligible to receive incentive compensation. Base salary is fixed and typically determined based on market factors and the skill and experience of individual investment personnel.

        ClearBridge has implemented an investment management incentive and deferred compensation plan (the “Plan”) for its investment professionals, including the Fund’s portfolio manager. Each investment professional works as a part of an investment team. The Plan is designed to align the objectives of ClearBridge investment professionals with those of Fund shareholders and other ClearBridge clients. Under the Plan a “base incentive pool” is established for each team each year as a percentage of ClearBridge’s revenue attributable to the team (largely management and related fees generated by funds and other accounts). A team’s revenues are typically expected to increase or decrease depending on the effect that the team’s investment performance as well as inflows and outflows have on the level of assets in the investment products managed by the team. The “base incentive pool” of a team is reduced by base salaries paid to members of the team and other employee expenses attributable to the team.

 

11


The investment team’s incentive pool is then adjusted to reflect its ranking among a “peer group” of non-ClearBridge investment managers and the team’s pre-tax investment performance against the applicable product benchmark (e.g. a securities index and, with respect to a fund, the benchmark set forth in the Fund’s prospectus to which the Fund’s average annual total returns are compared or, if none, the benchmark set forth in the fund’s annual report). Longer-term (5- year) performance will be more heavily weighted than shorter-term (1- year) performance in the calculation of the performance adjustment factor. The incentive pool for a team may also be adjusted based on other qualitative factors by the applicable ClearBridge Chief Investment Officer. The incentive pool will be allocated by the applicable ClearBridge chief investment officer to the team leader and, based on the recommendations of the team leader, to the other members of the team.

Up to 20% of an investment professional’s annual incentive compensation is subject to deferral. Of that principal deferred award amount, 25% will accrue a return based on the hypothetical returns of the investment fund or product that is the primary focus of the investment professional’s business activities with the Firm, 25% will accrue a return based on the hypothetical returns of an employee chosen composite fund, and 50% may be received in the form of Legg Mason restricted stock shares.

Potential Conflicts of Interest

Potential conflicts of interest may arise when the Fund’s portfolio manager also has day-to-day management responsibilities with respect to one or more other funds or other accounts, as is the case for the portfolio manager listed above.

The manager, the subadviser and the Fund have adopted compliance polices and procedures that are designed to address various conflicts of interest that may arise for the manager and the individuals that it employs. For example, the manager and the subadviser each seek to minimize the effects of competing interests for the time and attention of portfolio managers by assigning portfolio managers to manage funds and accounts that share a similar investment style. The manager and the subadviser have also adopted trade allocation procedures that are designed to facilitate the fair allocation of limited investment opportunities among multiple funds and accounts. There is no guarantee, however, that the policies and procedures adopted by the manager, the subadviser and the Fund will be able to detect and/or prevent every situation in which an actual or potential conflict may appear.

These potential conflicts include:

Allocation of Limited Time and Attention. A portfolio manager who is responsible for managing multiple funds and/or accounts may devote unequal time and attention to the management of those funds and/or accounts. As a result, the portfolio manager may not be able to formulate as complete a strategy or identify equally attractive investment opportunities for each of those accounts as might be the case if he or she were to devote substantially more attention to the management of a single fund. The effects of this potential conflict may be more pronounced where funds and/or accounts overseen by a particular portfolio manager have different investment strategies.

Allocation of Limited Investment Opportunities. If a portfolio manager identifies a limited investment opportunity that may be suitable for multiple funds and/or accounts, the opportunity may be allocated among these several funds or accounts, which may limit a fund’s ability to take full advantage of the investment opportunity.

Pursuit of Differing Strategies. At times, a portfolio manager may determine that an investment opportunity may be appropriate for only some of the funds and/or accounts for which he or she exercises investment responsibility, or may decide that certain of the funds and/or accounts should take differing positions with respect to a particular security. In these cases, the portfolio manager may place separate transactions for one or more funds or accounts which may affect the market price of the security or the execution of the transaction, or both, to the detriment or benefit of one or more other funds and/or accounts.

Selection of Brokers/Dealers. Portfolio managers may be able to select or influence the selection of the brokers and dealers that are used to execute securities transactions for the funds and/or accounts that they supervise. In addition to executing trades, some brokers and dealers provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “1934 Act”)), which may result in the payment of higher brokerage fees than might have otherwise been available. These services may be more beneficial to certain funds or accounts than to others. Although the payment of brokerage commissions is subject to the requirement that the subadviser determine in good faith that the commissions are reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided to the Fund, a decision as to the selection of brokers and dealers could yield disproportionate costs and benefits among the funds and/or accounts managed. For this reason, the subadviser has formed a brokerage committee that reviews, among other things, the allocation of brokerage to broker/dealers, best execution and soft dollar usage.

Variation in Compensation. A conflict of interest may arise where the financial or other benefits available to the portfolio manager differ among the funds and/or accounts that he or she manages. If the structure of the manager’s management fee and/or the portfolio manager’s compensation differs among funds and/or accounts (such as where certain funds or accounts pay higher

 

12


management fees or performance-based management fees), the portfolio manager might be motivated to help certain funds and/or accounts over others. The portfolio manager might be motivated to favor funds and/or accounts in which he or she has an interest or in which the manager and/or its affiliates have interests. Similarly, the desire to maintain assets under management or to enhance the portfolio manager’s performance record or to derive other rewards, financial or otherwise, could influence the portfolio manager in affording preferential treatment to those funds and/or accounts that could most significantly benefit the portfolio manager.

Related Business Opportunities. The manager or its affiliates may provide more services (such as distribution or record-keeping) for some types of funds or accounts than for others. In such cases, a portfolio manager may benefit, either directly or indirectly, by devoting disproportionate attention to the management of funds and/or accounts that provide greater overall returns to the manager or its affiliates.

Portfolio Manager Securities Ownership

The table below identifies ownership of Fund securities by the portfolio manager.

 

Portfolio Manager

   Dollar Range of
Ownership of Securities

Timothy Woods

   $  

INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS

The Fund has adopted the following investment restrictions for the protection of shareholders. Restrictions 1 through 7 below cannot be changed without approval by the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of the Fund, defined as the lesser of (a) 67% or more of the Fund’s shares present at a meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares are present in person or by proxy or (b) more than 50% of the Fund’s outstanding shares. The remaining restrictions may be changed by the Trust’s Board of Trustees at any time. As discussed under “Proposed Investment Restrictions” below, the Fund is proposing to change its investment restrictions.

Current Investment Restrictions

Under the investment restrictions adopted by the Fund, the Fund may not:

1. Invest in a manner that would cause it to fail to be a “diversified company” under the 1940 Act and the rules, regulations and orders thereunder.

2. Issue “senior securities” as defined in the 1940 Act, and the rules, regulations and orders thereunder, except as permitted under the 1940 Act and the rules, regulations and orders thereunder.

3. Invest more than 25% of its total assets in securities, the issuers of which conduct their principal business activities in the same industry. For purposes of this limitation, securities of the U.S. government (including its agencies and instrumentalities) and securities of state or municipal governments and their political subdivisions are not considered to be issued by members of any industry.

4. Borrow money, except that (a) the Fund may borrow from banks for temporary or emergency (not leveraging) purposes, including the meeting of redemption requests which might otherwise require the untimely disposition of securities, and (b) the Fund may, to the extent consistent with its investment policies, enter into reverse repurchase agreements, forward roll transactions and similar investment strategies and techniques. To the extent that it engages in transactions described in (a) and (b), the Fund will be limited so that no more than 33 1 / 3 % of the value of its total assets (including the amount borrowed), valued at the lesser of cost or market, less liabilities (not including the amount borrowed) valued at the time the borrowing is made, is derived from such transactions.

5. Make loans. This restriction does not apply to: (a) the purchase of debt obligations in which the Fund may invest consistent with its investment objective and policies; (b) repurchase agreements; and (c) loans of its portfolio securities, to the fullest extent permitted under the 1940 Act.

6. Engage in the business of underwriting securities issued by other persons, except to the extent that the Fund may technically be deemed to be an underwriter under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“1933 Act”), in disposing of portfolio securities.

7. Purchase or sell real estate, real estate mortgages, commodities or commodity contracts, but this restriction shall not prevent the Fund from: (a) investing in securities of issuers engaged in the real estate business or the business of investing

 

13


in real estate (including interests in limited partnerships owning or otherwise engaging in the real estate business or the business of investing in real estate) and securities which are secured by real estate or interests therein; (b) holding or selling real estate received in connection with securities it holds or held; (c) trading in futures contracts and options on futures contracts (including options on currencies to the extent consistent with the Fund’s investment objective and policies); or (d) investing in real estate investment trust securities.

8. Purchase any securities on margin (except for such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of purchases and sales of portfolio securities) or sell any securities short (except “against the box”). For purposes of this restriction, the deposit or payment by the Fund of underlying securities and other assets in escrow and collateral agreements with respect to initial or maintenance margin in connection with futures contracts and related options and options on securities, indexes or similar items is not considered to be the purchase of a security on margin.

9. Invest in oil, gas or other mineral exploration or development programs.

10. Purchase or otherwise acquire any security if, as a result, more than 15% of its net assets would be invested in securities that are illiquid.

11. Invest for the purpose of exercising control over or management of the issuer.

12. Invest in securities of an issuer which, together with any predecessor, has been in operation for less than three years if, as a result, more than 5% of the total assets of the Fund would then be invested in such securities (for purposes of this restriction, issuers include predecessors, sponsors, controlling persons, general guarantors and originators of underlying assets).

If any percentage restriction described above is complied with at the time of an investment, a later increase or decrease in percentage resulting from a change in values or assets will not constitute a violation of such restriction.

Proposed Investment Restrictions

The Fund has called a meeting of its shareholders to consider several proposals, including the adoption of revised fundamental investments policies or restrictions. If approved by the Fund’s shareholders, the Fund’s revised fundamental policies will be as follows:

1. The Fund may not borrow money except as permitted by (i) the 1940 Act or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

2. The Fund may not engage in the business of underwriting the securities of other issuers except as permitted by (i) the 1940 Act or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

3. The Fund may lend money or other assets to the extent permitted by (i) the 1940 Act or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

4. The Fund may not issue senior securities except as permitted by (i) the 1940 Act or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

5. The Fund may not purchase or sell real estate except as permitted by (i) the 1940 Act or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

6. The Fund may purchase or sell commodities or contracts related to commodities to the extent permitted by (i) the 1940 Act or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

7. Except as permitted by exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, the Fund may not make any investment if, as a result, the Fund’s investments will be concentrated in any one industry.

In addition, it is proposed that the Fund’s investment objectives be made “non-fundamental,” and therefore may be changed at any time by the Board without the “vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities” as defined under the 1940 Act.

 

14


With respect to the fundamental policy relating to borrowing money set forth in (1) above, the 1940 Act permits a fund to borrow money in amounts of up to one-third of the fund’s total assets from banks for any purpose, and to borrow up to 5% of the fund’s total assets from banks or other lenders for temporary purposes. To limit the risks attendant to borrowing, the 1940 Act requires the fund to maintain at all times an “asset coverage” of at least 300% of the amount of its borrowings. Asset coverage means the ratio that the value of the fund’s total assets, minus liabilities other than borrowings, bears to the aggregate amount of all borrowings. Certain trading practices and investments, such as reverse repurchase agreements, may be considered to be borrowings and thus subject to the 1940 Act restrictions. Borrowing money to increase portfolio holdings is known as “leveraging.” Borrowing, especially when used for leverage, may cause the value of a fund’s shares to be more volatile than if the fund did not borrow. This is because borrowing tends to magnify the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of the fund’s portfolio holdings. Borrowed money thus creates an opportunity for greater gains, but also greater losses. To repay borrowings, the fund may have to sell securities at a time and at a price that is unfavorable to the fund. There also are costs associated with borrowing money, and these costs would offset and could eliminate a fund’s net investment income in any given period. [Subject to confirmation: Currently the fund does not contemplate borrowing money for leverage, but if the fund does so, it will not likely do so to a substantial degree.] The policy in (1) above will be interpreted to permit a fund to engage in trading practices and investments that may be considered to be borrowing to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act. Short-term credits necessary for the settlement of securities transactions and arrangements with respect to securities lending will not be considered to be borrowings under the policy. Practices and investments that may involve leverage but are not considered to be borrowings are not subject to the policy.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to underwriting set forth in (2) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from engaging in the underwriting business or from underwriting the securities of other issuers; in fact, the 1940 Act permits a fund to have underwriting commitments of up to 25% of its assets under certain circumstances. Those circumstances currently are that the amount of the fund’s underwriting commitments, when added to the value of the fund’s investments in issuers where the fund owns more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of those issuers, cannot exceed the 25% cap. A fund engaging in transactions involving the acquisition or disposition of portfolio securities may be considered to be an underwriter under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”). Under the 1933 Act, an underwriter may be liable for material omissions or misstatements in an issuer’s registration statement or prospectus. Securities purchased from an issuer and not registered for sale under the 1933 Act are considered restricted securities. There may be a limited market for these securities. If these securities are registered under the 1933 Act, they may then be eligible for sale but participating in the sale may subject the seller to underwriter liability. These risks could apply to a fund investing in restricted securities. Although it is not believed that the application of the 1933 Act provisions described above would cause a fund to be engaged in the business of underwriting, the policy in (2) above will be interpreted not to prevent the fund from engaging in transactions involving the acquisition or disposition of portfolio securities, regardless of whether the fund may be considered to be an underwriter under the 1933 Act.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to lending set forth in (3) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from making loans; however, SEC staff interpretations currently prohibit funds from lending more than one-third of their total assets, except through the purchase of debt obligations or the use of repurchase agreements. (A repurchase agreement is an agreement to purchase a security, coupled with an agreement to sell that security back to the original seller on an agreed-upon date at a price that reflects current interest rates. The SEC frequently treats repurchase agreements as loans.) While lending securities may be a source of income to a fund, as with other extensions of credit, there are risks of delay in recovery or even loss of rights in the underlying securities should the borrower fail financially. However, loans would be made only when the fund’s manager or a subadviser believes the income justifies the attendant risks. The fund also will be permitted by this policy to make loans of money, including to other funds. A fund would have to obtain exemptive relief from the SEC to make loans to other funds. The policy in (3) above will be interpreted not to prevent a fund from purchasing or investing in debt obligations and loans. In addition, collateral arrangements with respect to options, forward currency and futures transactions and other derivative instruments, as well as delays in the settlement of securities transactions, will not be considered loans.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to issuing senior securities set forth in (4) above, “senior securities” are defined as fund obligations that have a priority over the fund’s shares with respect to the payment of dividends or the distribution of fund assets. The 1940 Act prohibits a fund from issuing senior securities except that the fund may borrow money in amounts of up to one-third of the fund’s total assets from banks for any purpose. A fund also may borrow up to 5% of the fund’s total assets from banks or other lenders for temporary purposes, and these borrowings are not considered senior securities. The issuance of senior securities by a fund can increase the speculative character of the fund’s outstanding shares through leveraging. Leveraging of a fund’s portfolio through the issuance of senior securities magnifies the potential for gain or loss on monies, because even though the fund’s net assets remain the same, the total risk to investors is increased to the extent of the fund’s gross assets. The policy in (4) above will be interpreted not to prevent collateral arrangements with respect to swaps, options, forward or futures contracts or other derivatives, or the posting of initial or variation margin.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to real estate set forth in (5) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from owning real estate; however, a fund is limited in the amount of illiquid assets it may purchase. Investing in real estate may involve risks, including that real estate is generally considered illiquid and may be difficult to value and sell. Owners of real estate

 

15


may be subject to various liabilities, including environmental liabilities. To the extent that investments in real estate are considered illiquid, the current SEC staff position generally limits a fund’s purchases of illiquid securities to 15% of net assets. The policy in (5) above will be interpreted not to prevent a fund from investing in real estate-related companies, companies whose businesses consist in whole or in part of investing in real estate, instruments (like mortgages) that are secured by real estate or interests therein, or real estate investment trust securities.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to commodities set forth in (6) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from owning commodities, whether physical commodities and contracts related to physical commodities (such as oil or grains and related futures contracts), or financial commodities and contracts related to financial commodities (such as currencies and, possibly, currency futures). However, a fund is limited in the amount of illiquid assets it may purchase. To the extent that investments in commodities are considered illiquid, the current SEC staff position generally limits a fund’s purchases of illiquid securities to 15% of net assets. If a fund were to invest in a physical commodity or a physical commodity-related instrument, the fund would be subject to the additional risks of the particular physical commodity and its related market. The value of commodities and commodity-related instruments may be extremely volatile and may be affected either directly or indirectly by a variety of factors. There also may be storage charges and risks of loss associated with physical commodities. The policy in (6) above will be interpreted to permit investments in exchange traded funds that invest in physical and/or financial commodities.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to concentration set forth in (7) above, the 1940 Act does not define what constitutes “concentration” in an industry. The SEC staff has taken the position that investment of 25% or more of a fund’s total assets in one or more issuers conducting their principal activities in the same industry or group of industries constitutes concentration. It is possible that interpretations of concentration could change in the future. A fund that invests a significant percentage of its total assets in a single industry may be particularly susceptible to adverse events affecting that industry and may be more risky than a fund that does not concentrate in an industry. The policy in (7) above will be interpreted to refer to concentration as that term may be interpreted from time to time. The policy also will be interpreted to permit investment without limit in the following: securities of the U.S. government and its agencies or instrumentalities; securities of state, territory, possession or municipal governments and their authorities, agencies, instrumentalities or political subdivisions; securities of foreign governments; and repurchase agreements collateralized by any such obligations. Accordingly, issuers of the foregoing securities will not be considered to be members of any industry. There also will be no limit on investment in issuers domiciled in a single jurisdiction or country. The policy also will be interpreted to give broad authority to a fund as to how to classify issuers within or among industries.

The fund’s proposed fundamental policies are written and will be interpreted broadly. For example, the policies will be interpreted to refer to the 1940 Act and the related rules as they are in effect from time to time, and to interpretations and modifications of or relating to the 1940 Act by the SEC and others as they are given from time to time. When a policy provides that an investment practice may be conducted as permitted by the 1940 Act, the policy will be interpreted to mean either that the 1940 Act expressly permits the practice or that the 1940 Act does not prohibit the practice.

The fund is currently classified as a diversified fund under the 1940 Act. This means that the fund may not purchase securities of an issuer (other than obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities) if, with respect to 75% of its total assets, (a) more than 5% of the fund’s total assets would be invested in securities of that issuer, or (b) the fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer. With respect to the remaining 25% of its total assets, the fund can invest more than 5% of its assets in one issuer. Under the 1940 Act, the fund cannot change its classification from diversified to non-diversified without shareholder approval.

Portfolio Transactions

Subject to policies as may be established by the Fund’s Board from time to time, the subadviser is primarily responsible for the Fund’s portfolio decisions and the placing of the Fund’s portfolio transactions, except that the manager manages the cash and short-term investments of the Fund. Transactions on stock exchanges involve the payment of negotiated brokerage commissions. There is generally no stated commission in the case of securities traded in the over-the-counter market, but the price of those securities includes an undisclosed commission or mark-up. Over-the-counter purchases and sales are transacted directly with principal market makers except where it is believed that better prices and executions may be obtained elsewhere. The cost of securities purchased from underwriters includes an underwriting commission or concession, and the prices at which securities are purchased from and sold to dealers include a dealer’s mark-up or mark-down. The aggregate brokerage commissions paid by the Fund for the three most recent fiscal years is set forth below under “Aggregate Brokerage Commissions Paid.”

Pursuant to the Management Agreement and Sub-Advisory Agreement (as discussed below), the manager and the subadviser are authorized to place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. The general policy of the manager and subadviser in selecting brokers and dealers is to obtain the best results achievable in the context of a number of factors which are considered both in relation to individual trades and broader trading patterns, including the reliability of the broker/dealer, the competitiveness of the price and the commission, the research services received and whether the broker/dealer commits its own capital. In connection with the manager’s or subadviser’s monitoring of its portfolio transactions for compliance with its policies, the manager and subadviser each utilize both an internal committee and a third party service provider.

 

16


In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the 1934 Act) to the Fund and/or the other accounts over which the manager, the subadviser or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The manager and subadviser are authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for the Fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the manager or subadviser determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities that the manager, the subadviser and their affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The manager and/or subadviser may also have arrangements with brokers pursuant to which such brokers provide research services to the manager or subadviser, as applicable, in exchange for a certain volume of brokerage transactions to be executed by such brokers. While the payment of higher commissions increases the Fund’s costs, neither the manager nor the subadviser believes that the receipt of such brokerage and research services significantly reduces its expenses as manager or subadviser. Arrangements for the receipt of research services from brokers may create conflicts of interest.

Research services furnished to the manager or subadviser by brokers who effect securities transactions for the Fund may be used by the manager or subadviser in servicing other investment companies and accounts which it manages. Similarly, research services furnished to the manager or subadviser by brokers who effect securities transactions for other investment companies and accounts which the manager or subadviser manages may be used by the manager or subadviser, as applicable, in servicing the Fund. Not all of these research services are used by the manager or subadviser in managing any particular account, including the Fund. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2006, the Fund paid commissions to brokers that provided research services as follows:

 

Total Dollar Amount of

Brokerage Transactions

Related to Research Services

        

Total Dollar Amount of

Brokerage Commissions

Paid on Transactions

Related to Research Services

$

     $

The Fund contemplates that, consistent with the policy of obtaining the best net results, brokerage transactions may be conducted through “affiliated broker/dealers”, as defined in the 1940 Act. The Fund’s Board has adopted procedures in accordance with Rule 17e-1 promulgated under the 1940 Act to ensure that all brokerage commissions paid to such affiliates are reasonable and fair in the context of the market in which such affiliates operate. Effective December 1, 2005 CGMI is no longer an affiliated person of the Fund under the 1940 Act. As a result, the Fund will be permitted to execute portfolio transactions with CGMI or an affiliate of CGMI as agent (but not as principal) without being subject to the restrictions applicable to transactions with affiliated persons.

Aggregate Brokerage Commissions Paid

For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2004, 2005 and 2006, the Fund paid aggregate brokerage commissions and brokerage commissions to CGMI and its affiliates as set out below:

 

    

Aggregate Broker

Commissions Paid

  

Amount of Brokerage

Commissions Paid

by the Fund to CGMI and Affiliates

Year Ended September 30, 2004

   $ 1,901,115    $ 13,260

Year Ended September 30, 2005

   $ 1,095,406    $ 6,836

Year Ended September 30, 2006 (1)

   $      $  

(1) CGMI was not an affiliated person of the Fund under the 1940 Act during the entire period.

For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2006, the percentage of the Fund’s aggregate brokerage commissions paid to CGMI and its affiliates and the percentage of the Fund’s aggregate dollar amount of transactions involving the payment of commissions effected through CGMI and its affiliates were as follows:

 

The Percentage of the Fund’s

Aggregate Brokerage Commissions

Paid to CGMI and Affiliates

        

The Percentage of the Fund’s

Aggregate Dollar Amount of Transactions

Involving the Payment of Commissions

Effected Through CGMI and Affiliates

%      %

 

17


As of December 1, 2005, LMIS became an affiliated person of the Fund under the 1940 Act. For the period December 1, 2005 through September 30, 2006, the Fund did not pay any brokerage commissions to LMIS or its affiliates.

During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2006, the Fund purchased securities issued by the following regular broker/dealers of the Fund, which had the following values as of September 30, 2006:

 

Broker/Dealer

  

Value of Securities as of

September 30, 2006

$

   $

$

   $

In certain instances there may be securities that are suitable as an investment for the Fund as well as for one or more of the manager’s or subadviser’s other clients. Investment decisions for the Fund and for the manager’s or subadviser’s other clients are made with a view to achieving their respective investment objectives. It may develop that a particular security is bought or sold for only one client even though it might be held by, or bought or sold for, other clients. Likewise, a particular security may be bought for one or more clients when one or more clients are selling the same security. Some simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several clients receive investment advice from the same investment adviser, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objectives of more than one client. When two or more clients are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security, the securities are allocated among clients in a manner believed to be equitable to each. It is recognized that in some cases this system could adversely affect the price of or the size of the position obtainable in a security for the Fund. When purchases or sales of the same security for the Fund and for other funds managed by the adviser occur contemporaneously, the purchase or sale orders may be aggregated in order to obtain any price advantages available to large volume purchases or sales.

For reporting purposes, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rate is calculated by dividing the lesser of purchases or sales of portfolio securities for the fiscal year by the monthly average of the value of the portfolio securities owned by the Fund during the fiscal year. In determining such portfolio turnover, all securities whose maturities at the time of acquisition were one year or less are excluded. A 100% portfolio turnover rate would occur, for example, if all of the securities in the Fund’s investment portfolio (other than short- term money market securities) were replaced once during the fiscal year. Portfolio turnover will not be a limiting factor should the manager or subadviser deem it advisable to purchase or sell securities.

For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2005 and 2006, the Fund’s portfolio turnover rates were 70% and          , respectively.

In the event that portfolio turnover increases, this increase necessarily results in correspondingly greater transaction costs which must be paid by the Fund. To the extent portfolio trading results in realization of net short-term capital gains, shareholders will be taxed on such gains at ordinary tax rates (except shareholders who invest through IRAs and other retirement plans which are not taxed currently on accumulations in their accounts).

MANAGEMENT

The business affairs of the fund are managed by or under the direction of the Board of Trustees. The Board elects officers who are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the fund and who execute policies authorized by the Board.

The current Trustees, including the Independent Trustees, of the fund who are not “interested persons” of the fund as defined in the 1940 Act (the “Independent Trustees”) and executive officers of the fund, their birth years, their principal occupations during the past five years (their titles may have varied during that period), the number of investment companies and their portfolios associated with Legg Mason the Trustees oversee, and other board memberships they hold are set forth below. The address of each Trustee is c/o R. Jay Gerken, 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022. The fund has called a meeting of its shareholders to consider several proposals, including the election of a new Board. Each Trustee and officer holders office until that individual resigns, retires or is otherwise removed.

 

18


The following information relates to the Trust’s recently elected Board of Trustees.

 

Name and Year of Birth

  

Position(s)
with Fund

  

Term of
Office* and
Length of
Time Served**

  

Principal Occupation(s)

During Past 5 Years

  

Number of

Funds

in Fund
Complex
Overseen
by Trustee

  

Other Board

Memberships

Held by Trustee

During

Past Five Years

INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES:

Paul R. Ades

Born 1940

   Trustee    Since 1983    Law firm of Paul R. Ades, PLLC (since 2000)       None

Andrew L. Breech

Born 1952

   Trustee    Since 1991    President, Dealer Operating Control Service, Inc. (automotive retail management) (since 1985)       None

Dwight B. Crane

Born 1937

   Trustee    Since 1981    Professor, Harvard Business School (since 1969); Independent Consultant (since 1969)       None

Robert M. Frayn, Jr.

Born 1934

   Trustee    Since 1981    Retired; formerly, President and Director, Book Publishing Co. (1970 to 2002)       None

Frank G. Hubbard

Born 1937

   Trustee    Since 1993    President, Avatar International Inc. (business development) (since 1998)       None

Howard J. Johnson

Born 1938

   Trustee    From 1981 to 1998 and 2000 to Present    Chief Executive Officer, Genesis Imaging LLC (technology company) (since 2003)       None

David E. Maryatt

Born 1936

   Trustee    Since 1983    Private Investor; President and Director, ALS Co. (real estate management and development firm) (since 1993)       None

Jerome H. Miller

Born 1938

   Trustee    Since 1995    Retired       None

Ken Miller

Born 1942

   Trustee    Since 1983    Chairman, Young Stuff Apparel Group, Inc. (apparel manufacturer) (1963 to 2005)       None

John J. Murphy

Born 1944

   Trustee    Since 2002    President, Murphy Capital Management (investment advice) (since 1983)       Director, Nicholas Applegate funds; Trustee, Consulting Group Capital Markets Funds; formerly, Director, Atlantic Stewardship Bank (2004 to 2005); Director, Barclays International Funds Group Ltd. and affiliated companies (to 2003)

Thomas F. Schlafly

Born 1948

   Trustee    Since 1983    Of Counsel, Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin LLP (law firm) (since 1984); President, The Saint Louis Brewery, Inc. (brewery) (since 1989)       Director, Citizens National Bank, Maplewood (2006)

Jerry A. Viscione

Born 1944

   Trustee    Since 1993    Retired; formerly, Executive Vice President, Marquette University (1997 to 2002)       None
INTERESTED TRUSTEE:

R. Jay Gerken , CFA†

Born 1951

  

Trustee,

President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

   Since 2002    Managing Director, Legg Mason & Co., LLC (“Legg Mason & Co.”); Chairman of the Board, Trustee, or Director of [      ] funds associated with LMPFA and its affiliates; President, LMPFA (since 2006); Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its affiliates; formerly, Chairman, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”) and Citi Fund Management, Inc. (“CFM”) (2002 to 2005); formerly, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Travelers Investment Advisers Inc. (2002 to 2005)       Trustee, Consulting Group Capital Markets Funds

* Each Trustee serves until his or her respective successor has been duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation, retirement or removal.
** Indicates the earliest year in which the Trustee became a Board member for a fund in the Legg Mason Partners fund complex.
Mr. Gerken is an “interested person”, as defined in the 1940 Act, because of his position with the manager and/or certain of its affiliates.

 

19


Name, Year of Birth and Address

  

Position(s)

with Fund

  

Term of Office* and
Length of

Time Served**

  

Principal Occupation(s)

During Past 5 Years

OFFICERS:         

Ted P. Becker

Born 1951

399 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10022

   Chief Compliance Officer    Since 2006    Managing Director of Compliance at Legg Mason & Co (2005 to present); Chief Compliance Officer with certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. (since 2006); Chief Compliance Officer of LMPFA and certain affiliates; Managing Director of Compliance at Citigroup Asset Management (“CAM,” a group of affiliated investment advisers, which included Smith Barney Fund Management (“SBFM”), Smith Barney Asset Management and Citi Fund Management (“CFM”) and other affiliated investment advisory entities) (2002 to 2005). Prior to 2002, Managing Director-Internal Audit & Risk Review at Citigroup Inc.

John Chiota

Born 1968

100 First Stamford Place, 5th Fl

Stamford, CT 06902

   Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer    Since 2006    Vice President of Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors (since 2004); Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. (since 2006). Prior to August 2004, Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer of TD Waterhouse.

Robert I. Frenkel

Born 1954

300 First Stamford Place Stamford, CT 06902

   Secretary and Chief Legal Officer    Since 2003    Managing Director and General Counsel of Global Mutual Funds for Legg Mason & Co. and its predecessors (since 2000); Secretary and Chief Legal Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. (since 2003). Previously, Secretary of CFM (2001 to 2004).

R. Jay Gerken, CFA

Born 1951

399 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10022

   Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer    Since 2002    Managing Director of Legg Mason & Co.; Chairman of the Board, Trustee, or Director of [    ] funds associated with LMPFA and its affiliates; Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co.; formerly, Chairman of SBFM and CFM (2002 to 2005); Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Travelers Investment Advisers Inc. (2002 to 2005).

Thomas C. Mandia

Born 1962

300 First Stamford Place

Stamford, CT 06902

   Assistant Secretary    Since 2000    Managing Director and Deputy General Counsel of Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors (since 1992); Assistant Secretary of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co.

Kaprel Ozsolak

Born 1965

125 Broad Street, 11th Floor

New York, NY 10004

   Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer    Since 2004    Director of Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors; Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors. Previously, Mr. Ozsolak was Controller of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors (2002 to 2004).

* Each officer serves until his or her respective successor has been duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation, retirement or removal.
** Indicates the earliest year in which the officer took office for any funds in the Legg Mason Partners fund complex.

 

20


The Board has a standing Audit Committee, Nominating Committee and Pricing Committee. The Audit Committee and Nominating Committee are comprised of Independent Trustees. The Pricing Committee is composed of the Chairman of the Board and one Independent Trustee.

The Audit Committee oversees the scope of the fund’s audit, the fund’s accounting and financial reporting policies and practices and its internal controls. The primary purposes of the Board’s Audit Committee are to assist the Board in fulfilling its responsibility for oversight of the integrity of the accounting, auditing and financial reporting practices of the fund, the qualifications and independence of the fund’s independent registered public accounting firm, and the fund’s compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. The Audit Committee approves, and recommends to the Independent Trustees for their ratification, the selection, appointment, retention or termination of the fund’s independent registered public accounting firm and approves the compensation of the independent registered public accounting firm. The Audit Committee also approves all audit and permissible non-audit services provided to the fund by the independent registered public accounting firm and all permissible non-audit services provided by the fund’s independent registered public accounting firm to its manager and any affiliated service providers if the engagement relates directly to the fund’s operations and financial reporting.

The Governance Committee is responsible for, among other things, recommending candidates to fill vacancies on the Board. The Governance Committee may consider nominees recommended by a shareholder. Shareholders who wish to recommend a nominee should send recommendations to the Trust’s Secretary that include all information relating to such person that is required to be disclosed in solicitations of proxies for the election of Trustees. A recommendation must be accompanied by a written consent of the individual to stand for election if nominated by the Board and to serve if elected by the shareholders.

The Governance Committee identifies potential nominees through its network of contacts and may also engage, if it deems appropriate, a professional search firm. The committee meets to discuss and consider such candidates’ qualifications and then chooses a candidate by majority vote. The committee does not have specific, minimum qualifications for nominees, nor has it established specific qualities or skills that it regards as necessary for one or more of the Trustees to possess (other than any qualities or skills that may be required by applicable law, regulation or listing standard). However, in evaluating a person as a potential nominee to serve as a Trustee, the Governance Committee may consider the following factors, among any others it may deem relevant:

 

    whether or not the person is an “interested person,” as defined in the 1940 Act, and whether the person is otherwise qualified under applicable laws and regulations to serve as a Trustee;

 

    whether or not the person has any relationships that might impair his or her independence, such as any business, financial or family relationships with fund management, the investment adviser, service providers or their affiliates;

 

    whether or not the person serves on boards of, or is otherwise affiliated with, competing financial service organizations or their related mutual fund complexes;

 

    whether or not the person is willing to serve, and willing and able to commit the time necessary for the performance of the duties of a Trustee;

 

    the contribution which the person can make to the Board (or, if the person has previously served as a Trustee, the contribution which the person made to the Board during his or her previous term of service), with consideration being given to the person’s business and professional experience, education and such other factors as the committee may consider relevant;

 

    the character and integrity of the person; and

 

    whether or not the selection and nomination of the person would be consistent with the requirements of the retirement policies of the Trust, as applicable.

The Pricing Committee is charged with determining the fair value prices for securities when required.

 

21


As indicated above, the Trust’s Board is recently elected and is newly constituted as the Board that oversees all of the equity-type funds in the fund complex. All members of the Board previously have served on Boards of Legg Mason Partners funds. The Audit, Governance and Pricing Committees are recently established committees of this Board and did not meet during the fund’s last fiscal year.

The following table shows the amount of equity securities owned by the Trustees in the fund and other investment companies in the fund complex supervised by the Trustees as of December 31, 2006.

 

Name of Trustee

  

Dollar Range

of Equity

Securities in

the Fund

  

Aggregate Dollar Range of

Equity Securities In

Registered Investment

Companies Overseen

by Trustee

Independent Trustees      

Paul R. Ades

     

Andrew L. Breech

     

Dwight B. Crane

     

Robert M. Frayn, Jr

     

Frank G. Hubbard

     

Howard J. Johnson

     

David E. Maryatt

     

Jerome H. Miller

     

Ken Miller

     

John J. Murphy

     

Thomas F. Schlafly

     

Jerry A. Viscione

     
Interested Trustee      

R. Jay Gerken

     

 

22


[As of December 31, 2006, none of the Independent Trustees or their immediate family members owned beneficially or of record any securities of the manager, subadviser or distributors of the fund, or in a person (other than a registered investment company) directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with the manager, subadviser or distributors of the fund.]

Information regarding compensation paid to the Trustees by the fund for the calendar year ended December 31, 2006 is set forth below. The Independent Trustees receive a fee for each meeting of the fund’s Board of Trustees and committee meetings attended and are reimbursed for all out-of-pocket expenses relating to attendance at such meetings. Mr. Gerken, an “interested person,” as defined in the 1940 Act, does not receive compensation from the fund for his service as trustee, but may be reimbursed for all out-of-pocket expenses relating to attendance at such meetings.

The fund pays a pro rata share of the Trustee fees based upon asset size. The fund currently pays each of the Trustees who is not a director, officer or employee of the manager or any of its affiliates its pro rata share of: an annual fee of [$              ] plus [$              ] for each regularly scheduled Board meeting attended, [$              ] for each special telephonic Board meeting attended, and [$              ] for each adhoc telephonic meeting in which that trustee participates. The lead independent trustee will receive an additional [$              ] per year and the Chairs of the Audit Committee and Governance Committee will each receive an additional [$              ] per year. The fund will reimburse Trustees for travel and out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with Board meetings.

 

Name of Trustee

  

Aggregate
Compensation
from the

Fund(1) (2)

  

Total Pension or
Retirement
Benefits Paid

as Part of Fund
Expenses(1) (3)

   Total
Compensation
from Fund
Complex Paid
to Trustee(1) (2)
   Number of
Portfolios in
Fund Complex
Overseen by
Trustee(1)
Independent Trustees            

Paul R. Ades

           

Andrew L. Breech

           

Dwight B. Crane

           

Robert M. Frayn, Jr

           

Frank G. Hubbard

           

Howard J. Johnson

           

David E. Maryatt

           

Jerome H. Miller

           

Ken Miller

           

John J. Murphy

           

Thomas F. Schlafly

           

Jerry A. Viscione

           
Interested Trustee            

R. Jay Gerken

           

(1) Information is for the calendar year ended December 31, 2006. The disclosure of compensation paid to the Trustees is provided as of the most recent calendar year end, rather than the fund’s most recent fiscal year end, for ease of presentation and comprehension.
(2) [To be updated by amendment]
(3) Pursuant to a prior emeritus retirement plan, Mr. Crane has received or is entitled to receive, in a lump sum (calculated on a net present value basis) or in quarterly installments, an aggregate benefit having a net present value equal to [$              ]. Mr. Crane elected to receive the benefit in a lump sum payment. Each fund formerly overseen by Mr. Crane will pay a pro rata share (based upon asset size) of the aggregate benefit to Mr. Crane. Legg Mason or its affiliates have agreed to reimburse these funds an amount equal to 50% of the benefits paid to Mr. Crane.

 

23


For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2006, the Trustees of the fund’s predecessor were paid the compensation listed below for service as a Trustee.

 

Name of Independent Trustee

   Aggregate
Compensation
from Trust
for Fiscal
Year Ended
09/30/06
   Total Pension or
Retirement
Benefits
Accrued as Part
of Fund
Expenses (2)(3)

Paul R. Ades

   $      $ 0

Dwight B. Crane

   $      $ 0

Frank G. Hubbard

   $      $ 0

Jerome Miller

   $      $ 0

Ken Miller

   $      $ 0

Interested Trustee

         

R. Jay Gerken (1)

   $ 0    $ 0

(1) Mr. Gerken was not compensated for his services as Trustee because of his affiliation with the manager.
(2) [To be updated by amendment]
(3) Pursuant to emeritus retirement plans, the following former Independent Trustees have received, or are entitled to receive, benefits (calculated on a net present value basis) as follows:              : $              ;              : $              ; and              : $              . These benefits are paid in quarterly installments unless the Trustee elected to receive them in a lump sum at net present value. The fund or will pay its pro rata share (based upon asset size) of these aggregate benefits. Legg Mason or its affiliates has reimbursed or will reimburse the fund an amount equal to 50% of these benefits.

The Declaration of Trust of the Trust provides that the Trust will indemnify its Trustees and officers against liabilities and expenses incurred in connection with litigation in which they may be involved because of their offices with the Trust, unless, as to liability to the Trust, or its investors, it is finally adjudicated that they engaged in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in their offices, or unless with respect to any other matter it is finally adjudicated that they did not act in good faith in the reasonable belief that their actions were in the best interests of the Trust. In the case of settlement, such indemnification will not be provided unless it has been determined by a court or other body approving the settlement or other disposition or a reasonable determination, based upon a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial-type inquiry) that such officers or Trustees have not engaged in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of their duties. Rights to indemnification or insurance cannot be limited retroactively.

The Declaration of Trust further provides that (i) the appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee as a member or chairperson of a committee of the Trustees, an expert on any topic or in any area (including an audit committee financial expert), or the lead Independent Trustee, or any other special appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee, shall not impose on that individual any duty, obligation or liability that is greater than the duties, obligations and liability imposed on that person as a Trustee in the absence of the appointment, designation or identification (except with respect to duties expressly imposed pursuant to the by-laws of the Trust, a committee charter or a Trust policy statement), (ii) no Trustee who has special skills or expertise, or is appointed, designated or identified shall be held to a higher standard of care by virtue thereof and (iii) no appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee shall affect in any way that Trustee’s rights to indemnification.

As of                           , 2006, the Trustees and officers of the Trust, as a group, owned less than 1% of the outstanding shares of the Fund.

As of                           , 2006, to the knowledge of the Fund, the following shareholders or “groups” (as the term is defined in Section 13(d) of the 1934 Act) owned beneficially or of record 5% or more of the shares of the following classes:

[To be updated by amendment]

INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AND OTHER SERVICES

Manager

LMPFA serves as investment manager to the Fund pursuant to an investment management agreement (the “Management Agreement”). LMPFA, with offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022, is a recently-organized investment adviser that has been formed to serve as the investment manager of the Fund and certain other Legg Mason-sponsored funds. LMPFA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason. Legg Mason, whose principal executive offices are at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, is a global asset management company. As of September 30, 2006, Legg Mason’s asset management operation had aggregate assets under management of approximately $ 891 billion. LMPFA provides administrative and certain oversight services to the Fund and manages the cash and short-term investments of the Fund.

 

24


Under the Management Agreement, subject to the supervision and direction of the Fund’s Board, the manager is delegated the responsibility of managing the Fund’s portfolio in accordance with the Fund’s stated investment objective and policies, making investment decisions for the Fund and placing orders to purchase and sell securities. The manager also performs administrative and management services necessary for the operation of the Fund, such as (i) supervising the overall administration of the Fund, including negotiation of contracts and fees with and the monitoring of performance and billings of the Fund’s transfer agent, shareholder servicing agents, custodian and other independent contractors or agents; (ii) providing certain compliance, fund accounting, regulatory reporting, and tax reporting services; (iii) preparing or participating in the preparation of Board materials, registration statements, proxy statements and reports and other communications to shareholders; (iv) maintaining the Fund’s existence, and (v) maintaining the registration and qualification of the Fund’s shares under federal and state laws.

The Management Agreement has an initial term ending November 30, 2007 and will continue in effect from year to year thereafter provided such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (a) by the Fund’s Board or by a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund (as defined in the 1940 Act), and (b) in either event, by a majority of the Independent Trustees with such Independent Trustees casting votes in person at a meeting called for such purpose.

The Management Agreement provides that the manager may render services to others. The Management Agreement is terminable without penalty on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice by the Fund when authorized either by a vote of holders of shares representing a majority of the voting power of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) or by a vote of a majority of the Fund’s Trustees, or by the manager on not less than 90 days’ written notice, and will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment. The Management Agreement provides that neither the manager nor its personnel shall be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or omission in the execution of security transactions for the Fund, except for willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence or reckless disregard of its or their obligations and duties.

For its services under the Investment Management Agreement, LMPFA receives an investment management fee that is computed daily and paid monthly at the annual rate of 0.75% of the Fund’s average daily net assets. For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2004, 2005 and 2006, the Fund incurred $2,690,904, $2,284,009, and $              , respectively, in investment management fees.

Subadviser

ClearBridge serves as the subadviser to the Fund pursuant to a sub-advisory agreement between the manager and ClearBridge that was approved by the Board, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, on June 29, 2006 (the “Sub-Advisory Agreement”). ClearBridge is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason.

Under the Sub-Advisory Agreement, subject to the supervision and direction of the Board and the manager, the subadviser will manage the Fund’s portfolio (or allocated portion thereof) in accordance with the Fund’s stated investment objective(s) and policies, assist in supervising all aspects of the Fund’s operations, make investment decisions for the Fund, place orders to purchase and sell securities, and employ professional portfolio managers and securities analysts who provide research services to the Fund.

The Sub-Advisory Agreement has an initial term ending November 30, 2007 and will continue in effect from year to year thereafter provided such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (a) by the Board or by a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund (as defined in the 1940 Act), and (b) in either event, by a majority of the Independent Trustees with such Independent Trustees casting votes in person at a meeting called for such purpose. The Board or a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) may terminate the Sub-Advisory Agreement without penalty, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the subadviser. The subadviser may terminate the Sub-Advisory Agreement on 90 days’ written notice to the Fund and the manager . The manager and the subadviser may terminate the Sub-Advisory Agreement upon their mutual written consent of. This Sub-Advisory Agreement will terminate automatically in the event of assignment by the subadviser and shall not be assignable by the manager without the consent of the subadviser.

As compensation for its sub-advisory services, the manager will pay the subadviser a fee equal to 70% of the management fee paid to LMPFA, net of expenses waivers and reimbursements. Since the Sub-Advisory Agreement went into effect on August 1, 2006, no fees were paid by the manager to the subadviser under the Sub-Advisory Agreement during the Fund’s past three fiscal years. For the period from August 1, 2006 through September 30, 2006, the manager paid the subadviser subadvisory fees of              .

Expenses

In addition to amounts payable under the Management Agreement and the 12b-1 Plans (as discussed below), the Fund is responsible for its own expenses, including, among other things, interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other

 

25


expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the Fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the Fund’s securities and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the Fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the Fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the Fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the Fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the Fund, if any; and the Fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the Fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any nonrecurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the Fund is a party and the legal obligation which the Fund may have to indemnify the Fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

Management may agree to waive fees and/or reimburse operating expenses for one or more classes of shares, either through contractual or voluntary arrangements. Any such waivers and/ or reimbursements are described in the fund’s Prospectus. The contractual and voluntary fee waivers and/ or reimbursements do not cover extraordinary expenses, such as (a) any expenses or charges related to litigation, derivative actions, demand related to litigation, regulatory or other government investigations and proceedings, “for cause” regulatory inspections and indemnification or advancement of related expenses or costs, to the extent any such expenses are considered extraordinary expenses for the purposes of fee disclosure in Form N-1A as the same may be amended from time to time; (b) transaction costs (such as brokerage commissions and dealer and underwriter spreads) and taxes; and (c) other extraordinary expenses as determined for the purposes of fee disclosure in Form N-1A, as the same may be amended from time to time. Without limiting the foregoing, extraordinary expenses are generally those that are unusual or expected to recur only infrequently, and may include such expenses, by way of illustration, as (i) expenses of the reorganization, restructuring, redomiciling or merger of the fund or class or the acquisition of all or substantially all of the assets of another fund or class; (ii) expenses of holding, and soliciting proxies for, a meeting of shareholders of the fund or class (except to the extent relating to routine items such as the election of board members or the approval of the independent registered public accounting firm); and (iii) expenses of converting to a new custodian, transfer agent or other service provider, in each case to the extent any such expenses are considered extraordinary expenses for the purposes of fee disclosure in Form N-1A as the same may be amended from time to time.

Code of Ethics

Pursuant to Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act, the manager, the subadviser, and the distributors have adopted codes of ethics that permit their respective personnel to invest in securities for their own accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by the Fund. All personnel must place the interests of clients first and avoid activities, interests and relationships that might interfere with the duty to make decisions in the best interests of the clients. All personal securities transactions by employees must adhere to the requirements of the code and must be conducted in such a manner as to avoid any actual or potential conflict of interest, the appearance of such a conflict, or the abuse of an employee’s position of trust and responsibility.

Copies of the codes of ethics of the Fund, its manager, subadviser, and distributors are on file with the SEC.

Proxy Voting Guidelines and Procedures

Although individual Trustees may not agree with particular policies or votes by the manager or subadviser, the Board has delegated proxy voting discretion to the manager and/or the subadviser, believing that the manager and/or the subadviser should be responsible for voting because it is a matter relating to the investment decision making process.

LMPFA delegates the responsibility for voting proxies for the Fund, to the subadviser through its contracts with the subadviser. The subadviser will use its own proxy voting policies and procedures to vote proxies. Accordingly, LMPFA does not expect to have proxy-voting responsibility for the Fund. Should LMPFA become responsible for voting proxies for any reason, such as the inability of the subadviser to provide investment advisory services, LMPFA shall utilize the proxy voting guidelines established by the most recent subadviser to vote proxies until a new subadviser is retained. In the case of a material conflict between the interests of LMPFA (or its affiliates if such conflict is known to persons responsible for voting at LMPFA) and the Fund, the Board of LMPFA shall consider how to address the conflict and/or how to vote the proxies. LMPFA shall maintain records of all proxy votes in accordance with applicable securities laws and regulations, to the extent that LMPFA votes proxies. LMPFA shall be responsible for gathering relevant documents and records related to proxy voting from the subadviser and providing them to the Fund as required for the Fund to comply with applicable rules under the 1940 Act.

The subadviser’s Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures govern in determining how proxies relating to the Fund’s portfolio securities are voted and are attached as Appendix A to this SAI. Information regarding how each fund voted proxies (if any) relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available without charge (1) by calling 1-888-425-6432, (2) on the Fund’s website at http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices and (3) on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

 

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Counsel and Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, 787 Seventh Avenue, New York, New York 10019-6099, serves as counsel to the Fund.

Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP, 180 Maiden Lane, New York, New York 10038-4982, serves as counsel to the Trust’s Independent Trustees.

                     , located at                      , serves as independent registered public accounting firm to examine and report on the Fund’s financial statements for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2006.

Custodian and Transfer Agent

State Street Bank and Trust Company (“State Street”), One Lincoln Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, serves as the custodian of the Fund. State Street, among other things, maintains a custody account or accounts in the name of the Fund; receives and delivers all assets for the Fund upon purchase and upon sale or maturity; collects and receives all income and other payments and distributions on account of the assets of the Fund; and makes disbursements on behalf of the Fund. State Street neither determines the Fund’s investment policies, nor decides which securities the Fund will buy or sell. For its services, State Street receives a monthly fee based upon the daily average market value of securities held in custody and also receives securities transaction charges, including out-of-pocket expenses. The Fund may also periodically enter into arrangements with other qualified custodians with respect to certain types of securities or other transactions such as repurchase agreements or derivatives transactions. State Street also acts as the Fund’s securities lending agent and receives a share of the income generated by such activities.

PFPC Inc. (“PFPC” or “transfer agent”), located at P.O. Box 9699, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699, serves as the Fund’s transfer agent. Under the transfer agency agreement, the transfer agent maintains the shareholder account records for the Fund, handles certain communications between shareholders and the Fund and distributes dividends and distributions payable by the Fund. For these services, the transfer agent receives a monthly fee computed on the basis of the number of shareholder accounts it maintains for the Fund during the month, and is reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses. Prior to January 1, 2006, Citicorp Trust Bank, fsb (“CTB”) served as the fund’s transfer agent and PFPC served as the fund’s sub-transfer agent. For the period from October 1, 2005, through December 31, 2005, the fund paid transfer agent fees of [$              ] to CTB.

PURCHASE OF SHARES

General

Investors may purchase shares from a Service Agent. In addition, certain investors, including retirement plans purchasing through certain Service Agents, may purchase shares directly from the Fund. When purchasing shares of the Fund, investors must specify whether the purchase is for Class A, B, C, 1 or I* shares. Service Agents may charge their customers an annual account maintenance fee in connection with a brokerage account through which an investor purchases or holds shares. Accounts held directly at the transfer agent are not subject to a maintenance fee.

For additional information regarding applicable investment minimums and eligibility requirements, please see the Fund’s prospectus.

There are no minimum investment requirements for purchases of Class A shares by: (i) current and retired board members of Legg Mason, (ii) current and retired board members of any fund advised by LMPFA (such board members, together with board members of Legg Mason, are referred to herein as “Board Members”), (iii) current employees of Legg Mason and its subsidiaries, (iv) the “immediate families” of such persons (“immediate families” are such person’s spouse, including the surviving spouse of a deceased Board Member, and children under the age of 21) and (v) a pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for the benefit of such persons. The Fund reserves the right to waive or change minimums, to decline any order to purchase its shares and to suspend the offering of shares from time to time.

Purchase orders received by the Fund or a Service Agent prior to the close of regular trading on the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) on any day the Fund calculates its NAV are priced according to the NAV determined on that day (the “trade date”). Orders received by a Service Agent prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE on any day the Fund calculates its NAV are priced according to the NAV determined on that day, provided the order is received by the Fund’s agent prior to its close of business. For shares purchased through CGMI or a Service Agent purchasing through CGMI, payment for shares of the Fund is normally due on the third business day after the trade date. In all other cases, payment must be made with the purchase order.

Systematic Investment Plan. Shareholders may make additions to their accounts at any time by purchasing shares through a service known as the Systematic Investment Plan. Under the Systematic Investment Plan, a distributor, the transfer agent, or, with respect to a PFS account, Primerica Shareholder Services is authorized through preauthorized transfers of at least $25 on a monthly,

 


* As of November 20, 2006, Class Y Shares were renamed Class I Shares.

 

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quarterly, every alternate month, semi-annual or annual basis to charge the shareholder’s account held with a bank or other financial institution as indicated by the shareholder, to provide for systematic additions to the shareholder’s Fund account. A shareholder who has insufficient funds to complete the transfer will be charged a fee of up to $25 by a distributor, the transfer agent or Primerica Shareholder Services (such fee may be up to $30 for a PFS account). The Systematic Investment Plan also authorizes a distributor to apply cash held in the shareholder’s brokerage account or redeem the shareholder’s shares of certain money market funds managed by the manager or its affiliates to make additions to the account. Additional information is available from the Fund or a Service Agent.

Sales Charge Alternatives

The following Classes of shares are available for purchase. See the Prospectus for a discussion of who is eligible to purchase certain Classes and of factors to consider in selecting which Class of shares to purchase.

Class A Shares .   Class A shares are sold to investors at the public offering price, which is the NAV plus an initial sales charge, as described in the Fund’s prospectus.

Members of the selling group may receive a portion of the sales charge as described in the Fund’s prospectus and may be deemed to be underwriters of the Fund as defined in the 1933 Act. Sales charges are calculated based on the aggregate of purchases of Class A shares of the Fund made at one time by any “person,” which includes an individual and his or her spouse and children under the age of 21, or a trustee or other fiduciary of a single trust estate or single fiduciary account. For additional information regarding sales charge reductions, see “Sales Charge Waivers and Reductions” below.

Purchases of Class A shares of $1,000,000 or more will be made at NAV without any initial sales charge, but will be subject to a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00% on redemptions made within 12 months of purchase. The contingent deferred sales charge is waived in the same circumstances in which the contingent deferred sales charge applicable to Class B and C shares is waived. See “Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Provisions” and “Waivers of Contingent Deferred Sales Charge” below.

Class B and C Shares. Class B and C shares are sold without an initial sales charge but are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge payable upon certain redemptions. See “Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Provisions.”

Class 1 Shares. Class 1 shares are sold to eligible Class 1 shareholders at the next determined NAV plus a sales charge. Investors do not pay a sales charge on the Fund’s distributions or dividends that they reinvest in additional Class 1 shares. Investors pay a lower sales charge as the size of their investment increases to certain levels called breakpoints as described in the Fund’s prospectus.

Class I Shares.  Class I shares are sold at NAV with no initial sales charge and no contingent deferred sales charge upon redemption.

Sales Charge Waivers and Reductions

Initial Sales Charge Waivers. Purchases of Class A shares may be made at NAV without an initial sales charge in the following circumstances:

(a) sales to (i) current and retired board members of Legg Mason, (ii) current and retired Board Members, (iii) current employees of Legg Mason and its subsidiaries, as well as (iv) by the “immediate families” of such persons (“immediate families” are such person’s spouse, including the surviving spouse of a deceased Board Member, and children under the age of 21) and (v) by a pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for the benefit of such persons;

(b) sales to any employees of Service Agents having dealer, service or other selling agreements with the funds’ distributors or otherwise having an arrangement with any such Service Agent with respect to sales of fund shares, and by the immediate families of such persons or by a pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for the benefit of such persons (providing the purchase is made for investment purposes and such securities will not be resold except through redemption or repurchase);

(c) offers of Class A shares to any other investment company to effect the combination of such company with the Fund by merger, acquisition of assets or otherwise;

(d) purchases by shareholders who have redeemed Class A shares in the Fund (or Class A shares of another Legg Mason Partners fund that is offered with a sales charge) and who wish to reinvest their redemption proceeds in the Fund, provided the reinvestment is made within 60 calendar days of the redemption;

(e) purchases by accounts managed by registered investment advisory subsidiaries of Citigroup;

(f) purchases by certain separate accounts used to fund unregistered variable annuity contracts; and

 

28


(g) purchases by investors participating in “wrap fee” or asset allocation programs or other fee-based arrangements sponsored by (affiliated and non-affiliated) broker/dealers and other financial institutions that have entered into agreements with CGMI or LMIS.

In order to obtain such discounts, the purchaser must provide sufficient information at the time of purchase to permit verification that the purchase qualifies for the elimination of the sales charge.

Accumulation Privilege —Please see the Fund’s prospectus for information regarding accumulation privileges.

Letter of Intent —helps you take advantage of breakpoints in Class A sales charges. You may purchase Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners funds over a 13-month period and pay the same sales charge, if any, as if all shares had been purchased at once. You have a choice of seven Asset Level Goal amounts, as follows:

 

(1) $25,000    (5) $500,000
(2) $50,000    (6) $750,000
(3) $100,000    (7) $1,000,000
(4) $250,000   

Each time you make a Class A purchase under a Letter of Intent, you will be entitled to the sales charge that is applicable to the amount of your Asset Level Goal. For example, if your Asset Level Goal is $100,000, any Class A investments you make under a Letter of Intent would be subject to the sales charge of the specific fund you are investing in for purchases of $100,000. Sales charges and breakpoints vary among the Legg Mason Partners funds.

When you enter into a Letter of Intent, you agree to purchase in Eligible Accounts over a thirteen (13) month period Eligible Fund Purchases in an amount equal to the Asset Level Goal you have selected, less any Eligible Prior Purchases. For this purpose, shares are valued at the public offering price (including any sales charge paid) calculated as of the date of purchase, plus any appreciation in the value of the shares as of the date of calculation, except for Eligible Prior Purchases, which are valued at current value as of the date of calculation. Your commitment will be met if at any time during the 13-month period the value, as so determined, of eligible holdings is at least equal to your Asset Level Goal. All reinvested dividends and distributions on shares acquired under the Letter will be credited towards your Asset Level Goal. You may include any Eligible Fund Purchases towards the Letter, including shares of classes other than Class A shares. However, a Letter of Intent will not entitle you to a reduction in the sales charge payable on any shares other than Class A shares, and if the shares are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge, you will still be subject to that contingent deferred sales charge with respect to those shares. You must make reference to the Letter of Intent each time you make a purchase under the Letter.

Eligible Fund Purchases.  Generally, any shares of a Legg Mason Partners fund may be credited towards your Asset Level Goal. Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or its affiliates (except for money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners funds), Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. are not eligible. This list may change from time to time. Investors should check with their Service Agent to see which funds may be eligible.

Eligible Accounts.  Purchases may be made through any account in your name, or in the name of your spouse or your children under the age of 21. You may need to provide certain records, such as account statements, in order to verify your eligibility for reduced sales charges. Contact your Service Agent to see which accounts may be credited toward your Asset Level Goal.

Eligible Prior Purchases.  You may also credit towards your Asset Level Goal any Eligible Fund Purchases made in Eligible Accounts at any time prior to entering into the Letter of Intent that have not been sold or redeemed, based on the current price of those shares as of the date of calculation.

Backdating Letter.  You may establish a date for a Letter of Intent that is up to ninety (90) calendar days prior to the date you enter into the Letter. Any Eligible Fund Purchases in Eligible Accounts made during that period will count towards your Goal and will also be eligible for the lower sales charge applicable to your Asset Level Goal. You will be credited by way of additional shares at the current offering price for the difference between (a) the aggregate sales charges actually paid for those eligible shares and (b) the aggregate applicable sales charges for your Asset Level Goal.

Increasing the Amount of the Letter.  You may at any time increase your Asset Level Goal. You must, however, contact your Service Agent, or if you purchase your shares directly through PFPC, contact PFPC, prior to making any purchases in an amount in excess of your current Asset Level Goal. Upon such an increase, you will be credited by way of additional shares at the then current offering price for the difference between: (a) the aggregate sales charges actually paid for shares already purchased under the Letter and (b) the aggregate applicable sales charges for the increased Asset Level Goal. The 13-month period during which the Asset Level Goal must be achieved will remain unchanged.

 

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Sales and Exchanges.  Shares acquired pursuant to a Letter of Intent, other than Escrowed Shares as defined below, may be redeemed or exchanged at any time, although any shares that are redeemed prior to meeting your Asset Level Goal will no longer count towards meeting your Goal. However, complete liquidation of purchases made under a Letter of Intent prior to meeting the Asset Level Goal will result in the cancellation of the Letter. See “Failure to Meet Asset Level Goal” below. Exchanges in accordance with the Fund’s prospectus are permitted, and shares so exchanged will continue to count towards your Asset Level Goal, as long as the exchange results in an Eligible Fund Purchase.

Cancellation of Letter.  You may cancel a Letter of Intent by notifying your Service Agent in writing, or if you purchase your shares directly through PFPC, by notifying PFPC in writing. The Letter will be automatically cancelled if all shares are sold or redeemed as set forth above. See “Failure to Meet Asset Level Goal” below.

Escrowed Shares.  Shares equal in value to five percent (5%) of your Asset Level Goal as of the date your Letter (or the date of any increase in the amount of the Letter) is accepted, will be held in escrow during the term of your Letter. The Escrowed Shares will be included in the total shares owned as reflected in your account statement and any dividends and capital gains distributions applicable to the Escrowed Shares will be credited to your account and counted towards your Asset Level Goal or paid in cash upon request. The Escrowed Shares will be released from escrow if all the terms of your Letter are met.

Failure to Meet Asset Level Goal.  If the total assets under your Letter of Intent within its 13-month term are less than your Asset Level Goal or you elect to liquidate all of your holdings or cancel the Letter before reaching your Asset Level Goal, you will be liable for the difference between: (a) the sales charge actually paid and (b) the sales charge that would have applied if you had not entered into the Letter. You may, however, be entitled to any breakpoints that would have been available to you under the accumulation privilege. An appropriate number of shares in your account will be redeemed to realize the amount due. For these purposes, by entering into a Letter of Intent, you irrevocably appoint your Service Agent, or if you purchase your shares directly through PFPC, PFPC, as your attorney-in-fact for the purposes of holding the Escrowed Shares and surrendering shares in your account for redemption. If there are insufficient assets in your account, you will be liable for the difference. Any Escrowed Shares remaining after such redemption will be released to your account.

Determination of Public Offering Price

The Fund offers its shares to the public on a continuous basis. The public offering price for a Class A and Class I share of the Fund is equal to the NAV per share at the time of purchase, plus for Class A shares an initial sales charge based on the aggregate amount of the investment. The public offering price for a Class B and Class C share is equal to the NAV at the time of purchase. The public offering price for Class A share purchases, including applicable rights of accumulation, equaling or exceeding $1 million is equal to the NAV per share at the time of purchase and no sales charge is imposed at the time of purchase. A deferred sales charge, however, is imposed on certain redemptions of Class C shares, and on Class A shares when purchased in amounts exceeding $1 million. Set forth below is an example of the method of computing the offering price of the Class A shares of the Fund.

 

Class A (NAV of $                plus           % of NAV per share)                         

Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Provisions

“Contingent deferred sales charge shares” are: (a) Class B shares; (b) Class C shares; and (c) Class A shares that were purchased without an initial sales charge but are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge. A contingent deferred sales charge may be imposed on certain redemptions of these shares.

Any applicable contingent deferred sales charge will be assessed on the NAV at the time of purchase or redemption, whichever is less.

Class C shares and Class A shares that are contingent deferred sales charge shares are subject to a 1.00% contingent deferred sales charge if redeemed within 12 months of purchase. In circumstances in which the contingent deferred sales charge is imposed on Class B shares, the amount of the charge will depend on the number of years since the shareholder made the purchase payment from which the amount is being redeemed, as further described in the prospectus. Solely for purposes of determining the number of years since a purchase payment, all purchase payments made during a month will be aggregated and deemed to have been made on the last day of the preceding statement month.

Class B shares will convert automatically to Class A shares approximately eight years after the date on which they were purchased and thereafter will no longer be subject to any distribution fees. There will also be converted at that time such proportion of Class B dividend shares (Class B shares that were acquired through the reinvestment of dividends and distributions) owned by the shareholders as the total number of his or her Class B shares converting at the time bears to the total number of outstanding Class B shares (other than Class B dividend shares) owned by the shareholder.

In determining the applicability of any contingent deferred sales charge, it will be assumed that a redemption is made first of shares representing capital appreciation, next of shares representing the reinvestment of dividends and capital gain distributions, next

 

30


of shares that are not subject to the contingent deferred sales charge and finally of other shares held by the shareholder for the longest period of time. The length of time that contingent deferred sales charge shares acquired through an exchange have been held will be calculated from the date the shares exchanged were initially acquired in one of the other Legg Mason Partners mutual funds. For federal income tax purposes, the amount of the contingent deferred sales charge will reduce the gain or increase the loss, as the case may be, on the amount realized on redemption. LMIS receives contingent deferred sales charges in partial consideration for their expenses in selling shares.

Waivers of Contingent Deferred Sales Charge

The contingent deferred sales charge will be waived on: (a) exchanges (see “Exchange Privilege”); (b) automatic cash withdrawals in amounts equal to or less than 2.00% of the shareholder’s account balance at the time the withdrawals commence per month, up to a maximum of 12% in one year (see “Automatic Cash Withdrawal Plan”); (c) redemptions of shares within 12 months following the death or disability (as defined in the Code) of the shareholder; (d) mandatory post-retirement distributions from retirement plans or IRAs commencing on or after attainment of age 70  1 / 2 (except that shareholders who purchased shares subject to a contingent deferred sales charge prior to May 23, 2005 will be “grandfathered” and will be eligible to obtain the waiver at age 59  1 / 2 by demonstrating such eligibility at the time of redemption); (e) involuntary redemptions; (f) redemptions of shares to effect a combination of the Fund with any investment company by merger, acquisition of assets or otherwise; (g) tax-free returns of an excess contribution to any retirement plan; and (h) certain redemptions of shares of the Fund in connection with lump-sum or other distributions made by eligible retirement plans or redemption of shares by participants in certain “wrap fee” or asset allocation programs sponsored by broker/dealers and other financial institutions that have entered into agreements with a distributor or the manager.

As of November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge will be waived on new Class C shares purchased by retirement plan omnibus accounts held on the books of the Fund.

A shareholder who has redeemed shares from other Legg Mason Partners funds may, under certain circumstances, reinvest all or part of the redemption proceeds within 60 days and receive pro rata credit for any contingent deferred sales charge imposed on the prior redemption.

Contingent deferred sales charge waivers will be granted subject to confirmation by a distributor or the transfer agent of the shareholder’s status or holdings, as the case may be.

PFS Accounts. The Fund offers three Classes of shares to investors purchasing through PFS: Class A , B and 1 shares.

Initial purchases of shares of the Fund must be made through a PFS Registered Representative by completing the appropriate application. The completed application should be forwarded to Primerica Shareholder Services c/o PFPC, Inc., P.O. Box 9662, Providence, RI 02940-9662. Checks drawn on foreign banks must be payable in U.S. dollars and have the routing number of the U.S. bank encoded on the check. Additional investments may be sent directly to PFPC. In processing applications and investments, PFPC acts as agent for the investor and for the distributor, in accordance with the terms of the prospectus. If the transfer agent ceases to act as such, a successor company named by the Fund will act in the same capacity so long as the account remains open. Shares purchased will be held in the shareholder’s account by PFPC. A shareholder that has insufficient funds to complete any purchase may be charged a fee of up to $30 per returned purchase check by Primerica Shareholder Services.

Purchase orders received by the transfer agent or Primerica Shareholder Services prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE, on any day the Fund calculates its NAV, are priced according to the NAV determined on that day.

Initial purchases of Fund shares may be made by wire. The minimum investment that can be made by wire is $10,000. Before sending the wire, the PFS Registered Representative must contact Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 665-8677 to obtain proper wire instructions. Once an account is open, a shareholder may make additional investments by wire. The shareholder should contact Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445 to obtain proper wire instructions.

Investors who purchase shares through a PFS Pre-Authorized Checking (“PAC”) program sponsored by PFS should be aware that a shareholder proxy is pending for the Fund pursuant to which the assets of the Fund, subject to shareholder approval, would be transferred into other funds in the Legg Mason Partners family of funds (the “Acquiring Funds”) at some point in the future. Information concerning these transactions has been previously provided in a prospectus supplement, dated July 12, 2006, as well as in proxy materials relating to the proposed transactions (collectively, the “Materials”). In the event that the shareholder proposals are approved, you would become a shareholder of the applicable Acquiring Fund and your existing PAC arrangements would be automatically transferred to the applicable Acquiring Fund or Funds described in the Materials. You have the option of changing the investment options for your current PAC arrangement without a charge. For more information, or to change your PAC program investment options, please contact your PFS Registered Representative or Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445.

Shareholders who establish telephone transaction authority on their account and supply bank account information may make additions to their accounts at any time. Shareholders should contact Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445 between 8:00

 

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a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern time any day that the NYSE is open. If a shareholder does not wish to allow subsequent investments by telephone by any person in his or her account, the shareholder should decline the telephone transaction option on the account application. The minimum subsequent investment by telephone is $25 and can be up to a maximum of $50,000. By requesting a subsequent purchase by telephone, you authorize Primerica Shareholder Services to transfer funds from the bank account provided for the amount of the purchase. Subsequent investments by telephone may not be available if the shareholder cannot reach Primerica Shareholder Services whether because all telephone lines are busy or for any other reason; in such case, a shareholder would have to use the Fund’s regular subsequent investment procedure described above.

An account transcript is available at a shareholder’s request, which identifies every financial transaction in an account since it has opened. Additional copies of tax forms are available at the shareholder’s request.

Additional information regarding Primerica Shareholder Services may be obtained by contacting the Customer Services Department at (800) 544-5445.

Determination of Public Offering Price

The Fund offers its shares on a continuous basis. The public offering price for each class of shares of the Fund is equal to the NAV per share at the time of purchase, plus for Class A and 1 shares an initial sales charge based on the aggregate amount of the investment. A contingent deferred sales charge, however, is imposed on certain redemptions of Class A, B and C shares.

Set forth below is an example of the method of computing the offering price of the Class A and 1 shares of the Fund based on the net asset value of a share of the Fund as of September 30, 2006.

 

Class A (net asset value of [$              ] plus the maximum initial sales charge of [              %] of net asset value per share)

   $            

REDEMPTION OF SHARES

The right of redemption may be suspended or the date of payment postponed (a) for any period during which the NYSE is closed (other than for customary weekend and holiday closings), (b) when trading in the markets the Fund normally utilizes is restricted, or an emergency exists, as determined by the SEC, so that disposal of the Fund’s investments or determination of NAV is not reasonably practicable or (c) for such other periods as the SEC by order may permit for protection of the Fund’s shareholders.

If the shares to be redeemed were issued in certificate form, the certificates must be endorsed for transfer (or be accompanied by an endorsed stock power) and must be submitted to PFPC together with the redemption request. Any signature appearing on a share certificate, stock power or written redemption request in excess of $50,000 must be guaranteed by an eligible guarantor institution such as a domestic bank, savings and loan institution, domestic credit union, member bank of the Federal Reserve System or member firm of a national securities exchange. Written redemption requests of $50,000 or less do not require a signature guarantee unless more than one such redemption request is made in any 10-day period. Redemption proceeds will be mailed to an investor’s address of record. The transfer agent may require additional supporting documents for redemptions made by corporations, executors, administrators, trustees or guardians. A redemption request will not be deemed properly received until the transfer agent receives all required documents in proper form.

If a shareholder holds shares in more than one Class, any request for redemption must specify the Class being redeemed. In the event of a failure to specify which Class, or if the investor owns fewer shares of the Class than specified, the redemption request will be delayed until the transfer agent receives further instructions. The redemption proceeds will be remitted on or before the seventh business day following receipt of proper tender, except on any days on which the NYSE is closed or as permitted under the 1940 Act, in extraordinary circumstances. Redemption proceeds for shares purchased by check, other than a certified or official bank check, will be remitted upon clearance of the check, which may take up to ten days. Each Service Agent is responsible for transmitting promptly orders for its customers.

The Service Agent may charge you a fee for executing your order. The amount and applicability of such a fee is determined and disclosed to its customers by each Service Agent.

The Fund no longer issues share certificates. Outstanding share certificates will continue to be honored. If you hold share certificates, it will take longer to exchange or redeem shares.

Additional Information Regarding Telephone Redemption and Exchange Program. Neither the Fund nor its agents will be liable for following instructions communicated by telephone that are reasonably believed to be genuine. The Fund and its agents will employ procedures designed to verify the identity of the caller and legitimacy of instructions (for example, a shareholder’s name and account number will be required and phone calls may be recorded). The Fund reserves the right to suspend, modify or discontinue the telephone redemption and exchange program or to impose a charge for this service at any time following at least seven (7) days’ prior notice to shareholders.

 

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PFS Accounts

Shareholders may redeem for cash some or all of their shares of the Fund at any time by sending a written request in proper form directly to the Primerica Shareholder Services c/o PFPC at P.O. Box 9662, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9662. If you should have any questions concerning how to redeem your account after reviewing the information below, please contact Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445, Spanish speaking representatives at (800) 544-7278 or TDD Line for the Hearing Impaired at (800) 824-1721.

All persons in whose names the shares are registered must sign the request for redemption. Signatures must conform exactly to the account registration. If the proceeds of the redemption exceed $50,000, if the proceeds are not paid to the record owner(s) at the record address, if the shareholder(s) has had an address change within 30 days or less of the shareholder’s redemption request, or if the shareholder(s) is a corporation, sole proprietor, partnership, trust or fiduciary, signature(s) must be guaranteed by one of the following: a bank or trust company; a broker/dealer; a credit union; a national securities exchange, registered securities association or clearing agency; a savings and loan association; or a federal savings bank.

Generally, a properly completed redemption form with any required signature guarantee is all that is required for a redemption. In some cases, however, other documents may be necessary. For example, in the case of shareholders holding certificates, the certificates for shares being redeemed must accompany the redemption request. Additional documentary evidence of authority is also required by PFPC in the event redemption is requested by a corporation, partnership, trust, fiduciary, executor or administrator. Additionally, if a shareholder requests a redemption from a retirement plan account (IRA or SEP), such request must state whether or not federal income tax is to be withheld from the proceeds of the redemption check. Redemption from a 403(b)(7) account requires completion of a special form. Please call Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time to obtain the proper forms.

Shareholders may utilize Primerica Shareholder Services Telephone Redemption service to redeem shares in their account as long as they have authorized the telephone redemption option. If a shareholder does not wish to allow telephone redemptions by any person in his or her account, he or she should decline the telephone transaction option on the account application. The telephone redemption option can be used only if: (a) the redemption proceeds are to be mailed to the address of record and there has been no change of address of record within the preceding 30 days; (b) the shares to be redeemed are not in certificate form; (c); the person requesting the redemption can provide proper identification information; and (d) the proceeds of the redemption do not exceed $50,000. 403(b)(7) accounts and accounts not registered in the name of an individual(s) are not eligible for the telephone redemption option. Telephone redemption requests can be made by contacting Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern time any day that the NYSE is open.

Telephone redemption may not be available if the shareholder cannot reach Primerica Shareholder Services because all telephone lines are busy or for any other reason; in such case, a shareholder would have to use the Fund’s regular redemption procedure described above.

Redemption proceeds can be sent by check to the address of record, by wire transfer to a bank account designated on the application or to a bank account designated on the application via the Automated Clearinghouse (ACH). PFPC will process and mail a shareholder’s redemption check usually within two to three business days after receiving the redemption request in good order.

Automatic Cash Withdrawal Plan

An automatic cash withdrawal plan (the “Withdrawal Plan”) is available to shareholders as described in the prospectus. To the extent withdrawals under the Withdrawal Plan exceed dividends, distributions and appreciation of a shareholder’s investment in the Fund, there will be a reduction in the value of the shareholder’s investment, and continued withdrawal payments may reduce the shareholder’s investment and ultimately exhaust it. Withdrawal payments should not be considered as income from investment in the Fund. Furthermore, as it generally would not be advantageous to a shareholder to make additional investments in the Fund at the same time he or she is participating in the Withdrawal Plan, purchases by such shareholder in amounts of less than $5,000 ordinarily will not be permitted. The Withdrawal Plan will be carried over on exchanges between funds or classes of the Fund. All dividends and distributions on shares in the Withdrawal Plan are reinvested automatically at NAV in additional shares of the Fund.

Shareholders who wish to participate in the Withdrawal Plan and who hold their shares in certificate form must deposit their share certificates with the transfer agent as agent for Withdrawal Plan members. For additional information shareholders should contact their Service Agent. A shareholder who purchases shares directly through the transfer agent may continue to do so and applications for participation in the Withdrawal Plan must be received by the transfer agent no later than the eighth day of the month to be eligible for participation beginning with that month’s withdrawal.

 

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Distributions in Kind

If the Board determines that it would be detrimental to the best interests of the remaining shareholders to make a redemption payment wholly in cash, the Fund may pay, in accordance with SEC rules, any portion of a redemption in excess of the lesser of $250,000 or 1.00% of the Fund’s net assets by a distribution in kind of Fund securities in lieu of cash. If a redemption is paid in portfolio securities, such securities will be valued in accordance with the procedures described under “Share Price” in the Fund’s prospectus. Securities issued as a distribution in kind may incur brokerage commissions when shareholders subsequently sell those securities.

DISTRIBUTORS

LMIS, a wholly-owned broker/dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, located at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202; CGMI, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Citigroup, located at 388 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10013; and PFS, located at 3120 Breckinridge Boulevard, Duluth, Georgia 30099-0001, serve as the Fund’s distributors pursuant to separate written agreements or amendments to written agreements, in each case dated December 1, 2005 (the “distribution agreements”), which were approved by the Fund’s Board and by a majority of the Independent Trustees, casting votes in person at a meeting called for such purpose, on November 21, 2005. The distribution agreements went into effect on December 1, 2005. Prior to December 1, 2005, CGMI and PFS Distributors, Inc. (“PFS Distributors”), the predecessor in interest to PFS, served as the Fund’s distributors.

A distributor’s obligation is an agency or “best efforts” arrangement under which the distributor is required to take and pay only for such shares of the Fund as may be sold to the public. A distributor is not obligated to sell any stated number of shares. Each distribution agreement is renewable from year to year if approved (a) by the Trustees or by a vote of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities, and (b) by the affirmative vote of a majority of Trustees who are not parties to such agreement or interested persons of any party by votes cast in person at a meeting called for such purpose. Each distribution agreement provides that it will terminate if assigned, and that it may be terminated without penalty by either party on 60 days’ written notice.

LMIS, CGMI and PFS may be deemed to be underwriters for purposes of the 1933 Act. From time to time, LMIS, CGMI, PFS or their affiliates may also pay for certain non-cash sales incentives provided to PFS Registered Representatives. Such incentives do not have any effect on the net amount invested. In addition to the reallowances from the applicable public offering price described below, PFS may, from time to time, pay or allow additional reallowances or promotional incentives, in the form of cash or other compensation, to PFS Registered Representatives that sell shares of the Fund.

Initial Sales Charges

The aggregate dollar amount of commissions and contingent deferred sales charges on Class A, Class B, Class C and Class 1 shares received by LMIS, CGMI and PFS during the fiscal years ended September 30, 2004, 2005 and 2006 were as follows:

Class A Shares

     CGMI    LMIS    PFS

For the fiscal year ended September 30:

        

2006

   $      $      $  

2005

   $ 14,409    $ 0    $ 445,231

2004

   $ 56,688    $ 0    $ 544,312

Class C Shares

     CGMI    LMIS

For the fiscal year ended September 30:

     

2006

   $      $  

2005

   $ 0    $ 0

2004

   $ 18,000    $ 0

Class 1 Shares

     CGMI    LMIS    PFS

For the fiscal years ended September 30:

        

2006

   $      $      $  

2005

   $ 53    $ 0    $ 16,295

2004

   $ 169    $ 0    $ 22,831

Contingent Deferred Sales Charges

Class A Shares

     CGMI    LMIS

For the fiscal year ended September 30:

     

2006

   $      $  

2005

   $ 111    $ 0

2004

   $ 1,000    $ 0

 

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Class B Shares

     CGMI    LMIS    PFS

For the fiscal year ended September 30:

        

2006

   $      $      $  

2005

   $ 41,943    $ 0    $ 165,778

2004

   $ 51,537    $ 0    $ 181,463

Class C Shares

     CGMI    LMIS

For the fiscal year ended September 30:

     

2006

   $      $  

2005

   $ 687    $ 0

2004

   $ 1,000    $ 0

When payment is made by the investor before the settlement date, unless otherwise noted by the investor, the funds will be held as a free credit balance in the investor’s brokerage account and the distributors may benefit from the temporary use of the funds.

The Trust’s Board of Trustees has been advised of the benefits to the distributors resulting from these settlement procedures and took such benefits into consideration when approving the Investment Management and distribution agreements.

Services and Distribution Arrangements

The Fund has adopted an amended shareholder services and distribution plan (the “12b-1 Plan”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act with respect to its Class A, Class B and Class C shares. The only classes of shares offered for sale through PFS are Class A, Class B and Class 1 shares. Under the 12b-1 Plan, the Fund pays service and distribution fees to each of LMIS, CGMI and PFS, as applicable, for the services they provide and expenses they bear with respect to the distribution of Class A, Class B and Class C shares and providing services to Class A, Class B and Class C shareholders. The distributors will provide the Fund’s Board with periodic reports of amounts expended under the 12b-1 Plan and the purposes for which such expenditures were made. The Fund pays service fees and distribution fees, accrued daily and payable monthly, calculated at the annual rate of 0.25% of the value of the Fund’s average daily net assets attributable to the Fund’s Class A shares and calculated at the annual rate of 1.00% of the value of the Fund’s average daily net assets attributable to the Fund’s Class B and Class C shares.

Fees under the 12b-1 Plan may be used to make payments to the distributors for distribution services, to Service Agents in respect of the sale of shares of the Fund, and to other parties in respect of the sale of shares of the Fund, and to make payments for advertising, marketing or other promotional activity, and payments for preparation, printing, and distribution of prospectuses, statements of additional information and reports for recipients other than regulators and existing shareholders. The Fund also may make payments to the distributor, Service Agents and others for providing personal service or the maintenance of shareholder accounts. The amounts paid by the distributor to each recipient may vary based upon certain factors, including, among other things, the levels of sales of Fund shares and/or shareholder services provided.

The 12b-1 Plan also provides that the distributor and Service Agents may receive all or a portion of the sales charges paid by Class A, Class B and Class C investors.

The 12b-1 Plan permits the Fund to pay fees to a distributor, Service Agents and others as compensation for their services, not as reimbursement for specific expenses incurred. Thus, even if their expenses exceed the fees provided for by the 12b-1 Plan, the Fund will not be obligated to pay more than those fees and, if their expenses are less than the fees paid to them, they will realize a profit. The Fund may pay the fees to a distributor and others until the 12b-1 Plan or distribution agreement is terminated or not renewed. In that event, a distributor’s or other recipient’s expenses in excess of fees received or accrued through the termination date will be the distributor’s or other recipient’s sole responsibility and not obligations of the Fund. In their annual consideration of the continuation of the 12b-1 Plan for the Fund, the Trustees will review the 12b-1 Plan and the expenses for each class within the Fund separately.

The 12b-1 Plan also recognizes that various service providers to the Fund, such as the manager, may make payments for distribution related expenses out of their own resources, including past profits, or payments received from the Fund for other purposes, such as management fees, and that the Fund’s distributors or Service Agents may from time to time use their own resources for distribution-related services, in addition to the fees paid under the 12b-1 Plan. The 12b-1 Plan specifically provides that, to the extent that such payments might be deemed to be indirect financing of any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the Fund within the context of Rule 12b-1, then the payments are deemed to be authorized by the 12b-1 Plan, if permitted under applicable law.

 

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The 12b-1 Plan continues in effect if such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by a vote of both a majority of the Trustees and a majority of the Independent Trustees of the Trust and who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the 12b-1 Plan or in any agreement related to the 12b- 1 Plan (for purposes of this paragraph “Qualified Trustees”). The Trustees, in the exercise of their business judgment in the best interests of the shareholders of the Fund and each Class, have approved the continuation of the 12b-1 Plan. The 12b-1 Plan requires that the Trust and the distributor provide to the Board of Trustees and the Board of Trustees review, at least quarterly, a written report of the amounts expended (and the purposes therefor) under the 12b-1 Plan. The 12b-1 Plan further provides that the selection and nomination of the Qualified Trustees is committed to the discretion of the Qualified Trustees then in office who are not interested Trustees of the Trust. The 12b-1 Plan may be terminated with respect to any class of the Fund at any time by a vote of a majority of the Trust’s Qualified Trustees or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of that class. The 12b-1 Plan may not be amended to increase materially the amount of permitted expenses of the class thereunder without the approval of a majority of the outstanding securities of that class and may not be materially amended in any case without a vote of a majority of both the Trustees and Qualified Trustees. The Fund will preserve copies of any plan, agreement or report made pursuant to the 12b-1 Plan for a period of not less than six years, and for the first two years the Fund will preserve such copies in an easily accessible place.

As contemplated by the 12b-1 Plan, each distributor acts as an agent of the Trust in connection with the offering of shares of the Fund pursuant to the respective distribution agreements.

Prior to December 1, 2005, the Fund paid service and distribution fees directly to CGMI and PFS Distributors under separate 12b-1 Plans with respect to shares sold through CGMI and PFS Distributors.

The following service and distribution fees were incurred by the Fund pursuant to the 12b-1 Plans in effect during the periods indicated:

 

     Fiscal Year
Ended 9/30/04
   Fiscal Year
Ended 9/30/05
   Fiscal Year
Ended 9/30/06

Class A

   $ 364,770    $ 347,249   

Class B

   $ 1,035,329    $ 979,660   

Class C

   $ 230,429    $ 178,147   

Distribution expenses incurred by LMIS, CGMI and/or PFS for advertising, printing and mailing prospectuses, support services and overhead expenses, payments to their financial advisers or registered representative and for accruals for interest on expenses incurred in the distribution of the Fund’s shares are set forth in the following tables:

[To be updated by amendment]

Dealer reallowances are described in the Fund’s Prospectus.

PFS will pay for the printing of prospectuses and periodic reports after they have been prepared, set in type and mailed to shareholders, and will also pay the cost of distributing such copies used in connection with the offering to prospective investors and will pay for supplementary sales literature and other promotional costs. Such expenses incurred by PFS are distribution expenses within the meaning of the 12b-1 Plan and may be paid from amounts received by PFS from the Fund under the 12b-1 Plan.

VALUATION OF SHARES

The NAV per share of the Fund’s Classes is calculated on each day, Monday through Friday, except days on which the NYSE is closed. The NYSE currently is scheduled to be closed on New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas, and on the preceding Friday or subsequent Monday when one of these holidays falls on a Saturday or Sunday, respectively. Because of the differences in distribution fees and Class-specific expenses, the per share NAV of each Class will differ. Please see the prospectus for a description of the procedures used by the Fund in valuing its assets.

EXCHANGE PRIVILEGE

The exchange privilege enables shareholders to acquire shares of the same class in a fund with different investment objectives when they believe that a shift between funds is an appropriate investment decision. This privilege is available to shareholders residing in any state in which the fund shares being acquired may legally be sold. Prior to any exchange, the shareholder should obtain and review a copy of the current prospectus of each fund into which an exchange is being considered. Prospectuses may be obtained from a Service Agent.

Upon receipt of proper instructions and all necessary supporting documents, shares submitted for exchange are redeemed at the then-current NAV, and the proceeds are immediately invested in shares of the fund being acquired at that fund’s then current NAV. The distributors reserve the right to reject any exchange request. The exchange privilege may be modified or terminated at any time after written notice to shareholders.

 

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Class A, 1 and I Exchanges.  Class A, 1 and I shareholders of the Fund who wish to exchange all or a portion of their shares for shares of the respective class in another fund may do so without imposition of any charge.

Class B Exchanges.  Class B shares of the Fund may be exchanged for other Class B shares without a contingent deferred sales charge. Upon an exchange, the new Class B shares will be deemed to have been purchased on the same date as the Class B shares of the fund that have been exchanged.

Class C Exchanges.  Class C shares of the Fund may be exchanged for other Class C shares without a contingent deferred sales charge. Upon an exchange, the new Class C shares will be deemed to have been purchased on the same date as the Class C shares of the fund that have been exchanged.

Additional Information Regarding the Exchange Privilege

The Fund is not designed to provide investors with a means of speculation on short-term market movements. A pattern of frequent exchanges by investors can be disruptive to efficient portfolio management and, consequently, can be detrimental to the Fund and its shareholders. See “Frequent Purchases and sales of fund shares” in the prospectus.

During times of drastic economic or market conditions, the Fund may suspend the exchange privilege temporarily without notice and treat exchange requests based on their separate components—redemption orders with a simultaneous request to purchase the other Fund’s shares. In such a case, the redemption request would be processed at the Fund’s next determined NAV but the purchase order would be effective only at the NAV next determined after the Fund being purchased formally accepts the order, which may result in the purchase being delayed.

Certain shareholders may be able to exchange shares by telephone. See the Fund’s prospectus for additional information. Exchanges will be processed at the NAV next determined. Redemption procedures discussed above are also applicable for exchanging shares, and exchanges will be made upon receipt of all supporting documents in proper form. If the account registration of the shares of the fund being acquired is identical to the registration of the shares of the fund exchanged, no signature guarantee is required.

This exchange privilege may be modified or terminated at any time, and is available only in those jurisdictions where such exchanges legally may be made. Before making any exchange, shareholders should contact the transfer agent or, if they hold Fund shares through a Service Agent, their Service Agent to obtain more information and prospectuses of the funds to be acquired through the exchange. An exchange is treated as a sale of the shares exchanged and could result in taxable gain or loss to the shareholder making the exchange.

TAXES [To be updated by amendment]

The following is a summary of certain material U.S. federal income tax considerations regarding the purchase, ownership and disposition of shares of the Fund by U.S. persons. This summary does not address all of the potential U.S. federal income tax consequences that may be applicable to the Fund or to all categories of investors, some of which may be subject to special tax rules. Current and prospective shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisers with respect to the specific federal, state, local and foreign tax consequences of investing in the Fund. The summary is based on the laws in effect on the date of this SAI and existing judicial and administrative interpretations thereof, all of which are subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect.

The Fund and Its Investments

The Fund intends to continue to qualify to be treated as a regulated investment company each taxable year under the Code. To so qualify, the Fund must, among other things: (a) derive at least 90% of its gross income in each taxable year from dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans and gains from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities or foreign currencies, or other income (including, but not limited to, gains from options, futures or forward contracts) derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies or net income derived from interests in “qualified publicly traded partnerships” (i.e., partnerships that are traded on an established securities market or tradable on a secondary market, other than partnerships that derive 90% of their income from interest, dividends, capital gains, and other traditional permitted mutual fund income); and (b) diversify its holdings so that, at the end of each quarter of the Fund’s taxable year, (i) at least 50% of the market value of the Fund’s assets is represented by cash, securities of other regulated investment companies, U.S. government securities and other securities, with such other securities limited, in respect of any one issuer, to an amount not greater than 5% of the Fund’s assets and not greater than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer and (ii) not more than 25% of the value of its assets is invested in the securities (other than U.S. government securities or securities of other regulated investment companies) of any one issuer, any two or more issuers that the Fund controls and that are determined to be engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses or related trades or businesses or in the securities of one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships.

        Fund investment in partnerships, including in qualified publicly traded partnerships, may result in the Fund’s being subject to state, local or foreign income, franchise or withholding tax liabilities.

 

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As a regulated investment company, the Fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its taxable investment income and capital gains that it distributes to its shareholders, provided that the Fund satisfies a minimum distribution requirement. To satisfy the minimum distribution requirement, the Fund must distribute to its shareholders at least the sum of (i) 90% of its “investment company taxable income” (i.e., income other than its net realized long-term capital gain over its net realized short-term capital loss), plus or minus certain adjustments, and (ii) 90% of its net tax-exempt income for the taxable year. The Fund will be subject to income tax at regular corporation rates on any taxable income or gains that it does not distribute to its shareholders.

The Code imposes a 4% nondeductible excise tax on the Fund to the extent it does not distribute by the end of any calendar year at least the sum of (i) 98% of its ordinary income for that year and (ii) 98% of its capital gain net income (both long-term and short-term) for the one-year period ending, as a general rule, on October 31 of that year. For this purpose, however, any ordinary income or capital gain net income retained by the Fund that is subject to corporate income tax will be considered to have been distributed by year-end. In addition, the minimum amounts that must be distributed in any year to avoid the excise tax will be increased or decreased to reflect any underdistribution or overdistribution, as the case may be, from the previous year. The Fund anticipates that it will pay such dividends and will make such distributions as are necessary in order to avoid the application of this excise tax.

If, in any taxable year, the Fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company under the Code or fails to meet the distribution requirement, it will be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation and distributions to its shareholders will not be deductible by the Fund in computing its taxable income. In addition, in the event of a failure to qualify, the Fund’s distributions, to the extent derived from the Fund’s current or accumulated earnings and profits, including any distributions of net long-term capital gains, will be taxable to shareholders as dividend income. However, such dividends would be eligible (i) to be treated as qualified dividend income in the case of shareholders taxed as individuals and (ii) for the dividends received deduction in case of corporate shareholders. Moreover, if the Fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company in any year, it must pay out its earnings and profits accumulated in that year in order to qualify again as a regulated investment company. If the Fund failed to qualify as a regulated investment company for a period greater than two taxable years, the Fund may be required to recognize any net built-in gains with respect to certain of its assets (i.e., the excess of the aggregate gains, including items of income, over aggregate losses that would have been realized with respect to such assets if the Fund had been liquidated) in order to qualify as a regulated investment company in a subsequent year.

The Fund’s transactions in foreign currencies, forward contracts, options and futures contracts (including options and futures contracts on foreign currencies), to the extent permitted, will be subject to special provisions of the Code (including provisions relating to “hedging transactions” and “straddles”) that, among other things, may affect the character of gains and losses realized by the Fund (i.e., may affect whether gains or losses are ordinary or capital), accelerate recognition of income to the Fund and defer Fund losses. These rules could, therefore, affect the character, amount and timing of distributions to shareholders. These provisions also (a) will require the Fund to mark-to-market certain types of the positions in its portfolio (i.e., treat them as if they were closed out at the end of each year) and (b) may cause the Fund to recognize income without receiving cash with which to pay dividends or make distributions in amounts necessary to satisfy the distribution requirements for avoiding income and excise taxes. The Fund will monitor its transactions, will make the appropriate tax elections and will make the appropriate entries in its books and records when it acquires any foreign currency forward contract option, futures contract or hedged investment in order to mitigate the effect of these rules and prevent disqualification of the Fund as a regulated investment company.

The Fund’s investments in so-called “section 1256 contracts,” such as regulated futures contracts, most foreign currency forward contracts traded in the interbank market, and options on most stock indices, are subject to special tax rules. All section 1256 contracts held by the Fund at the end of its taxable year are required to be marked to their market value, and any unrealized gain or loss on those positions will be included in the Fund’s income as if each position had been sold for its fair market value at the end of the taxable year. The resulting gain or loss will be combined with any gain or loss realized by the Fund from positions in section 1256 contracts closed during the taxable year. Provided such positions were held as capital assets and were not part of a “hedging transaction” nor part of a “straddle,” 60% of the resulting net gain or loss will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss, and 40% of such net gain or loss will be treated as short-term capital gain or loss, regardless of the period of time the positions were actually held by the Fund.

The Fund may be required to treat amounts as taxable income or gain, subject to the distribution requirements referred to above, even though no corresponding amounts of cash are received concurrently, as a result of (1) mark-to-market, constructive sale or rules applicable to PFICs (as defined below) or partnerships or trusts in which the Fund invests or to certain options, futures or forward contracts, or “appreciated financial positions” or (2) the inability to obtain cash distributions or other amounts due to currency controls or restrictions on repatriation imposed by a foreign country with respect to the Fund’s investments (including through depositary receipts) in issuers in such country or (3) tax rules applicable to debt obligations acquired with “original issue discount,” including zero-coupon or deferred payment bonds and pay-in-kind debt obligations, or to market discount if an election is made with respect to such market discount. The Fund may therefore be required to obtain cash to be used to satisfy these distribution requirements by selling securities at times that it might not otherwise be desirable to do so or borrowing the necessary cash, thereby incurring interest expenses.

 

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Foreign Investments. Dividends or other income (including, in some cases, capital gains) received by the Fund from investments in foreign securities may be subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by foreign countries. Tax conventions between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes in some cases. The Fund will not be eligible to elect to treat any foreign taxes it pays as paid by its shareholders, who therefore will not be entitled to credits or deductions for such taxes on their own tax returns. Foreign taxes paid by the Fund will reduce the return from the Fund’s investments.

Under Section 988 of the Code, gains or losses attributable to fluctuations in exchange rates between the time the Fund accrues income or receivables or expenses or other liabilities denominated in a foreign currency and the time the Fund actually collects such income or pays such liabilities are generally treated as ordinary income or ordinary loss. Similarly, gains or losses on foreign currency, foreign currency forward contracts, certain foreign currency options or futures contracts and the disposition of debt securities denominated in foreign currency, to the extent attributable to fluctuations in exchange rates between the acquisition and disposition dates, are also treated as ordinary income or loss unless the Fund were to elect otherwise.

Passive Foreign Investment Companies. If the Fund purchases shares in certain foreign investment entities, called “passive foreign investment companies” (“PFICs”), it may be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a portion of any “excess distribution” or gain from the disposition of such shares even if such income is distributed as a taxable dividend by the Fund to its shareholders. Additional charges in the nature of interest may be imposed on the Fund in respect of deferred taxes arising from such distributions or gains.

If the Fund were to invest in a PFIC and elect to treat the PFIC as a “qualified electing fund” under the Code, in lieu of the foregoing requirements, the Fund might be required to include in income each year a portion of the ordinary earnings and net capital gains of the qualified electing fund, even if not distributed to the Fund, and such amounts would be subject to the 90% and excise tax distribution requirements described above. In order to make this election, the Fund would be required to obtain certain annual information from the PFICs in which it invests, which may be difficult or impossible to obtain.

Alternatively, the Fund may make a mark-to-market election that will result in the Fund being treated as if it had sold and repurchased its PFIC stock at the end of each year. In such case, the Fund would report any such gains as ordinary income and would deduct any such losses as ordinary losses to the extent of previously recognized gains. The election must be made separately for each PFIC owned by the Fund and, once made, would be effective for all subsequent taxable years, unless revoked with the consent of the Internal Revenue Service (the “IRS”). By making the election, the Fund could potentially ameliorate the adverse tax consequences with respect to its ownership of shares in a PFIC, but in any particular year may be required to recognize income in excess of the distributions it receives from PFICs and its proceeds from dispositions of PFIC stock. The Fund may have to distribute this “phantom” income and gain to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement and to avoid imposition of the 4% excise tax.

The Fund will make the appropriate tax elections, if possible, and take any additional steps that are necessary to mitigate the effect of these rules.

Taxation of U.S. Shareholders

Dividends and Distributions. Dividends and other distributions by the Fund are generally treated under the Code as received by the shareholders at the time the dividend or distribution is made. However, any dividend or distribution declared by the Fund in October, November or December of any calendar year and payable to shareholders of record on a specified date in such a month shall be deemed to have been received by each shareholder on December 31 of such calendar year and to have been paid by the Fund not later than such December 31, provided such dividend is actually paid by the Fund during January of the following calendar year.

The Fund intends to distribute annually to its shareholders substantially all of its investment company taxable income, and any net realized long-term capital gains in excess of net realized short-term capital losses (including any capital loss carryovers). However, if the Fund retains for investment an amount equal to all or a portion of its net long-term capital gains in excess of its net short-term capital losses (including any capital loss carryovers), it will be subject to a corporate tax (currently at a maximum rate of 35%) on the amount retained. In that event, the Fund will designate such retained amounts as undistributed capital gains in a notice to its shareholders who (a) will be required to include in income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as long-term capital gains, their proportionate shares of the undistributed amount, (b) will be entitled to credit their proportionate shares of the 35% tax paid by the Fund on the undistributed amount against their U.S. federal income tax liabilities, if any, and to claim refunds to the extent their credits exceed their liabilities, if any, and (c) will be entitled to increase their tax basis, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, in their shares by an amount equal to 65% of the amount of undistributed capital gains included in the shareholder’s income. Organizations or persons not subject to U.S. federal income tax on such capital gains will be entitled to a refund of their pro rata share of such taxes paid by the Fund upon filing appropriate returns or claims for refund with the IRS.

Distributions of net realized long-term capital gains, if any, that the Fund designates as capital gains dividends are taxable as long-term capital gains, whether paid in cash or in shares and regardless of how long a shareholder has held shares of the Fund. All other dividends of the Fund (including dividends from short-term capital gains) from its current and accumulated earnings and profits (“regular dividends”) are generally subject to tax as ordinary income.

 

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Special rules apply, however, to regular dividends paid to individuals. Such a dividend, with respect to taxable years beginning on or before December 31, 2008, may be subject to tax at the rates generally applicable to long-term capital gains for individuals (currently at a maximum rate of 15%), provided that the individual receiving the dividend satisfies certain holding period and other requirements. Dividends subject to these special rules are not actually treated as capital gains, however, and thus are not included in the computation of an individual’s net capital gain and generally cannot be used to offset capital losses. The long-term capital gains rates will apply to: (i) 100% of the regular dividends paid by the Fund to an individual in a particular taxable year if 95% or more of the Fund’s gross income (ignoring gains attributable to the sale of stocks and securities except to the extent net short-term capital gain from such sales exceeds net long-term capital loss from such sales) in that taxable year is attributable to qualified dividend income received by the Fund; or (ii) the portion of the regular dividends paid by the Fund to an individual in a particular taxable year that is attributable to qualified dividend income received by the Fund in that taxable year if such qualified dividend income accounts for less than 95% of the Fund’s gross income (ignoring gains attributable to the sale of stocks and securities except to the extent net short-term capital gain from such sales exceeds net long-term capital loss from such sales) for that taxable year. For this purpose, “qualified dividend income” generally means income from dividends received by the Fund from U.S. corporations and qualified foreign corporations, provided that the Fund satisfies certain holding period requirements in respect of the stock of such corporations and has not hedged its position in the stock in certain ways. However, qualified dividend income does not include any dividends received from tax-exempt corporations. Also, dividends received by the Fund from a real estate investment trust or another regulated investment company generally are qualified dividend income only to the extent the dividend distributions are made out of qualified dividend income received by such real estate investment trust or other regulated investment company. In the case of securities lending transactions, payments in lieu of dividends are not qualified dividend income. If a shareholder elects to treat Fund dividends as investment income for purposes of the limitation on the deductibility of investment interest, such dividends would not be a qualified dividend income.

We will send you information after the end of each year setting forth the amount of dividends paid by us that are eligible for the reduced rates.

If an individual receives a regular dividend qualifying for the long-term capital gains rates and such dividend constitutes an “extraordinary dividend,” and the individual subsequently recognizes a loss on the sale or exchange of stock in respect of which the extraordinary dividend was paid, then the loss will be long-term capital loss to the extent of such extraordinary dividend. An “extraordinary dividend” on common stock for this purpose is generally a dividend (i) in an amount greater than or equal to 10% of the taxpayer’s tax basis (or trading value) in a share of stock, aggregating dividends with ex-dividend dates within an 85-day period or (ii) in an amount greater than 20% of the taxpayer’s tax basis (or trading value) in a share of stock, aggregating dividends with ex-dividend dates within a 365-day period.

Distributions in excess of the Fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits will, as to each shareholder, be treated as a tax-free return of capital to the extent of a shareholder’s basis in his shares of the Fund, and as a capital gain thereafter (if the shareholder holds his shares of the Fund as capital assets). Shareholders receiving dividends or distributions in the form of additional shares should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as receiving a distribution in an amount equal to the amount of money that the shareholders receiving cash dividends or distributions will receive, and should have a cost basis in the shares received equal to such amount. Dividends paid by the Fund that are attributable to dividends received by the Fund from domestic corporations may qualify for the federal dividends-received deduction for corporations.

Investors considering buying shares just prior to a dividend or capital gain distribution should be aware that, although the price of shares just purchased at that time may reflect the amount of the forthcoming distribution, such dividend or distribution may nevertheless be taxable to them. If the Fund is the holder of record of any stock on the record date for any dividends payable with respect to such stock, such dividends will be included in the Fund’s gross income not as of the date received but as of the later of (a) the date such stock became ex-dividend with respect to such dividends (i.e., the date on which a buyer of the stock would not be entitled to receive the declared, but unpaid, dividends) or (b) the date the Fund acquired such stock. Accordingly, in order to satisfy its income distribution requirements, the Fund may be required to pay dividends based on anticipated earnings, and shareholders may receive dividends in an earlier year than would otherwise be the case.

Sales of Shares. Upon the sale or exchange of his shares, a shareholder will realize a taxable gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount realized and his basis in his shares. A redemption of shares by the Fund will be treated as a sale for this purpose. Such gain or loss will be treated as capital gain or loss, if the shares are capital assets in the shareholder’s hands, and will be long-term capital gain or loss if the shares are held for more than one year and short-term capital gain or loss if the shares are held for one year or less. Any loss realized on a sale or exchange will be disallowed to the extent the shares disposed of are replaced, including replacement through the reinvesting of dividends and capital gains distributions in the Fund, within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the disposition of the shares. In such a case, the basis of the shares acquired will be increased to reflect the disallowed loss. Any loss realized by a shareholder on the sale of a fund share held by the shareholder for six months or less will be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any distributions or deemed distributions of long-term capital gains received by the shareholder with respect to such share. If a shareholder incurs a sales charge in acquiring shares of the Fund, disposes of those shares within 90 days and then acquires shares in a mutual fund for which the otherwise

 

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applicable sales charge is reduced by reason of a reinvestment right (e.g., an exchange privilege), the original sales charge will not be taken into account in computing gain/loss on the original shares to the extent the subsequent sales charge is reduced. Instead, the disregarded portion of the original sales charge will be added to the tax basis of the newly acquired shares. Furthermore, the same rule also applies to a disposition of the newly acquired shares made within 90 days of the second acquisition. This provision prevents a shareholder from immediately deducting the sales charge by shifting his or her investment within a family of mutual funds.

Backup Withholding. The Fund may be required to withhold, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, a portion of the dividends, distributions and redemption proceeds payable to shareholders who fail to provide the Fund with their correct taxpayer identification number or to make required certifications, or who have been notified by the IRS that they are subject to backup withholding. Certain shareholders are exempt from backup withholding. Backup withholding is not an additional tax and any amount withheld may be credited against a shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability.

Notices; Other Taxes

Notices. Shareholders will receive, if appropriate, various written notices after the close of the Fund’s taxable year regarding the U.S. federal income tax status of certain dividends, distributions and deemed distributions that were paid (or that are treated as having been paid) by the Fund to its shareholders during the preceding taxable year.

Other Taxes. Dividends, distributions and redemption proceeds may also be subject to additional state, local and foreign taxes depending on each shareholder’s particular situation.

If a shareholder recognizes a loss with respect to the Fund’s shares of $2 million or more for an individual shareholder or $10 million or more for a corporate shareholder, the shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on Form 8886. Direct shareholders of portfolio securities are in many cases excepted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance, shareholders of a regulated investment company are not excepted. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer’s treatment of the loss is proper. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.

Taxation of Non-U.S. Shareholders

Dividends paid by the Fund to non-U.S. shareholders are generally subject to withholding tax at a 30% rate or a reduced rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty to the extent derived from investment income and short-term capital gains. In order to obtain a reduced rate of withholding, a non-U.S. shareholder will be required to provide an IRS Form W-8BEN certifying its entitlement to benefits under a treaty. The withholding tax does not apply to regular dividends paid to a non-U.S. shareholder who provides a Form W-8ECI, certifying that the dividends are effectively connected with the non-U.S. shareholder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States. Instead, the effectively connected dividends will be subject to regular U.S. income tax as if the non-U.S. shareholder were a U.S. shareholder. A non-U.S. corporation receiving effectively connected dividends may also be subject to additional “branch profits tax” imposed at a rate of 30% (or lower treaty rate). A non-U.S. shareholder who fails to provide an IRS Form W-8BEN or other applicable form may be subject to backup withholding at the appropriate rate.

In general, United States federal withholding tax will not apply to any gain or income realized by a non-U.S. shareholder in respect of any distributions of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses, exempt-interest dividends, or upon the sale or other disposition of shares of the Fund.

For taxable years beginning before January 1, 2008, properly-designated dividends are generally exempt from United States federal withholding tax where they (i) are paid in respect of the Fund’s “qualified net interest income” (generally, the Fund’s U.S. source interest income, other than certain contingent interest and interest from obligations of a corporation or partnership in which the Fund is at least a 10% shareholder, reduced by expenses that are allocable to such income) or (ii) are paid in respect of the Fund’s “qualified short-term capital gains” (generally, the excess of the Fund’s net short-term capital gain over the Fund’s long-term capital loss for such taxable year). However, depending on its circumstances, the Fund may designate all, some or none of its potentially eligible dividends as such qualified net interest income or as qualified short-term capital gains, and/or treat such dividends, in whole or in part, as ineligible for this exemption from withholding. In order to qualify for this exemption from withholding, a non-U.S. shareholder will need to comply with applicable certification requirements relating to its non-U.S. status (including, in general, furnishing an IRS Form W-8BEN or substitute Form). In the case of shares held through an intermediary, the intermediary may withhold even if a fund designates the payment as qualified net interest income or qualified short-term capital gain. Non-U.S. shareholders should contact their intermediaries with respect to the application of these rules to their accounts.

Special rules apply to foreign persons who receive distributions from the Fund that are attributable to gain from “U.S. real property interests” (“USRPIs”). The Code defines USRPIs to include direct holdings of U.S. real property and any interest (other than an interest solely as a creditor) in “U.S. real property holding corporations.” The Code defines a U.S. real property holding corporation as any corporation whose USRPIs make up more than 50% of the fair market value of its USRPIs, its interests in real property located outside the United States, plus any other assets it uses in a trade or business. In general, the distribution of gains from USRPIs to

 

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foreign shareholders is subject to U.S. federal income tax withholding at a rate of 35% and obligates such foreign shareholder to file a U.S. tax return. To the extent a distribution to a foreign shareholder is attributable to gains from the sale or exchange of USRPIs recognized by real estate investment trust or (for taxable years beginning before January 1, 2008) a regulated investment company, the Code treats that gain as the distribution of gain from a USRPI to a foreign shareholder which would be subject to U.S. withholding tax of 35% and would result in U.S. tax filing obligations for the foreign shareholder.

However, a foreign shareholder achieves a different result with respect to the gains from the sale of USRPIs if the real estate investment trust or regulated investment company is less than 50% owned by foreign persons at all times during the testing period, or if such gain is realized from the sale of any class of stock in a real estate investment trust which is regularly traded on an established US securities market and the real estate investment trust shareholder owned less than 5% of such class of stock at all times during the 1-year period ending on the date of distribution. In such event, the gains are treated as dividends paid to a non-U.S. shareholder.

A non U.S. shareholder will need to provide appropriate documentation, including a valid U.S. Form W-8BEN or other appropriate form, to avoid imposition of backup withholding.

The foregoing is only a summary of certain material U.S. federal income tax consequences affecting the Fund and its shareholders. Current and prospective shareholders are advised to consult their own tax advisers with respect to the particular tax consequences to them of an investment in the Fund.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The Trust was organized on October 17, 1991 under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is a business entity commonly known as a “Massachusetts business trust.” The Trust offers shares of beneficial interest of [ ] separate funds with a par value of $.001 per share. The fund offers shares of beneficial interest currently classified into four Classes—A, B, C and I. Each Class of the fund represents an identical interest in the fund’s investment portfolio. As a result, the Classes have the same rights, privileges and preferences, except with respect to: (a) the designation of each Class; (b) the effect of the respective sales charges, if any, for each Class; (c) the distribution and/or service fees borne by each Class pursuant to the Distribution Plan; (d) the expenses allocable exclusively to each Class; (e) voting rights on matters exclusively affecting a single Class; (f) the exchange privilege of each Class; and (g) the conversion feature of the Class B shares. The Board does not anticipate that there will be any conflicts among the interests of the holders of the different Classes. The trustees, on an ongoing basis, will consider whether any such conflict exists and, if so, take appropriate action.

Under Massachusetts’s law, shareholders could, under certain circumstances, be held personally liable for the obligations of the fund. The Master Trust Agreement disclaims shareholder liability for acts or obligations of the fund, however, and requires that notice of such disclaimer be given in each agreement, obligation or instrument entered into or executed by the fund or a trustee. The Master Trust Agreement provides for indemnification from fund property for all losses and expenses of any shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the fund. Thus, the risk of a shareholder’s incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which the fund itself would be unable to meet its obligations, a possibility which management of the fund believes is remote. Upon payment of any liability incurred by the fund, a shareholder paying such liability will be entitled to reimbursement from the general assets of the fund. The trustees intend to conduct the operation of the fund in such a way so as to avoid, as far as possible, ultimate liability of the shareholders for liabilities of the fund.

The Master Trust Agreement of the fund permits the trustees of the fund to issue an unlimited number of full and fractional shares of a single class and to divide or combine the shares into a greater or lesser number of shares without thereby changing the proportionate beneficial interests in the fund. Each share in the fund represents an equal proportional interest in the fund with each other share. Shareholders of the fund are entitled upon its liquidation to share pro rata in its net assets available for distribution. No shareholder of the fund has any preemptive or conversion rights. Shares of the fund are fully paid and non-assessable.

Pursuant to the Master Trust Agreement, the Trust’s trustees may authorize the creation of additional series of shares (the proceeds of which would be invested in separate, independently managed portfolios) and additional classes of shares within any series (which would be used to distinguish among the rights of different categories of shareholders, as might be required by future regulations or other unforeseen circumstances).

The Trust does not hold annual shareholder meetings. There normally will be no meetings of shareholders for the purpose of electing trustees unless and until such time as less than a majority of the trustees holding office have been elected by shareholders, at which time the trustees then in office will call a shareholders’ meeting for the election of trustees. Shareholders of record of no less than two-thirds of the outstanding shares of the Trust may remove a trustee through a declaration in writing or by vote cast in person or by proxy at a meeting called for that purpose.

        When matters are submitted for shareholder vote, shareholders of each Class will have one vote for each full share owned and a proportionate, fractional vote for any fractional share held of that Class. Generally, shares of the fund will be voted on a fund-wide basis on all matters except matters affecting only the interests of one Class, in which case only shares of the affected Class would be entitled to vote.

 

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The Trust was organized as an unincorporated Massachusetts business trust on October 17, 1991 under the name Shearson Lehman Brothers Intermediate-Term Trust. On August 16, 1995, the Trust’s name was changed to Smith Barney Investment Trust. On April 7, 2006, the Trust’s name was changed to Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust.

Annual and Semi-Annual Reports. The Fund sends its shareholders a semi-annual report and an audited annual report, which include listings of investment securities held by the Fund at the end of the period covered. In an effort to reduce the Fund’s printing and mailing costs, the Fund consolidates the mailing of its semi-annual and annual reports by household. This consolidation means that a household having multiple accounts with the identical address of record will receive a single copy of each report. In addition, the Fund also consolidates the mailing of its prospectus so that a shareholder having multiple accounts (that is, individual, IRA and/or self-employed retirement plan accounts) will receive a single prospectus annually. Shareholders who do not want this consolidation to apply to their accounts should contact their Service Agent or the transfer agent.

Proposed Changes

The Fund’s Board has approved a number of initiatives designed to streamline and restructure the fund complex and the Fund is seeking shareholder approval for those initiatives where shareholder approval is required. If certain of these matters are approved by the shareholders entitled to vote on the matters, the Fund will become a series of Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust, a Maryland business trust.

A Maryland business trust is an unincorporated business association that is established under, and governed by, Maryland law. Maryland law provides a statutory framework for the powers, duties, rights and obligations of the trustees and shareholders of the business trust, while the more specific powers, duties, rights and obligations of the trustees and the shareholders are determined by the trustees as set forth in the trust’s declaration of trust. Some of the more significant provisions of the trust’s declaration are described below.

Shareholder Voting.

The declaration provides for shareholder voting as required by the 1940 Act or other applicable laws but otherwise permits, consistent with Maryland law, actions by the trustees without seeking the consent of shareholders. The trustees may, without shareholder approval, amend the declaration or authorize the merger or consolidation of the trust into another trust or entity, reorganize the trust, or any series or class into another trust or entity or a series or class of another entity, sell all or substantially all of the assets of the trust or any series or class to another entity, or a series or class of another entity, or terminate the trust or any series or class.

The Fund is not required to hold an annual meeting of shareholders, but the Fund will call special meetings of shareholders whenever required by the 1940 Act or by the terms of the declaration. The declaration provides for “dollar-weighted voting” which means that a shareholder’s voting power is determined, not by the number of shares he or she owns, but by the dollar value of those shares determined on the record date. All shareholders of all series and classes of the trust vote together, except where required by the 1940 Act to vote separately by series or by class, or when the trustees have determined that a matter affects only the interests of one or more series or classes of shares.

Election and Removal of Trustees.

The declaration provides that the trustees may establish the number of trustees and that vacancies on the board may be filled by the remaining trustees, except when election of trustees by the shareholders is required under the 1940 Act. Trustees are then elected by a plurality of votes cast by shareholders at a meeting at which a quorum is present. The declaration also provides that a mandatory retirement age may be set by action of two-thirds of the trustees and that trustees may be removed, with or without cause, by a vote of shareholders holding two-thirds of the voting power of the trust, or by a vote of two-thirds of the remaining trustees. The provisions of the declaration relating to the election and removal of trustees may not be amended without the approval of two-thirds of the trustees.

Amendments to the Declaration.

The trustees are authorized to amend the declaration without the vote of shareholders, but no amendment may be made that impairs the exemption from personal liability granted in the declaration to persons who are or have been shareholders, trustees, officers or, employees of the trust or that limit the rights to indemnification or insurance provided in the declaration with respect to actions or omissions of persons entitled to indemnification under the declaration prior to the amendment.

 

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Issuance and Redemption of Shares.

The Fund may issue an unlimited number of shares for such consideration and on such terms as the trustees may determine. Shareholders are not entitled to any appraisal, preemptive, conversion, exchange or similar rights, except as the trustees may determine. The Fund may involuntarily redeem a shareholder’s shares upon certain conditions as may be determined by the trustees, including, for example, if the shareholder fails to provide the Fund with identification required by law, or if the Fund is unable to verify the information received from the shareholder. Additionally, as discussed below, shares may be redeemed in connection with the closing of small accounts.

Disclosure of Shareholder Holdings.

The declaration specifically requires shareholders, upon demand, to disclose to the Fund information with respect to the direct and indirect ownership of shares in order to comply with various laws or regulations, and the Fund may disclose such ownership if required by law or regulation.

Small Accounts.

The declaration provides that the Fund may close out a shareholder’s account by redeeming all of the shares in the account if the account falls below a minimum account size (which may vary by class) that may be set by the trustees from time to time. Alternately, the declaration permits the Fund to assess a fee for small accounts (which may vary by class) and redeem shares in the account to cover such fees, or convert the shares into another share class that is geared to smaller accounts.

Series and Classes.

The declaration provides that the trustees may establish series and classes in addition to those currently established and to determine the rights and preferences, limitations and restrictions, including qualifications for ownership, conversion and exchange features, minimum purchase and account size, expenses and charges, and other features of the series and classes. The trustees may change any of those features, terminate any series or class, combine series with other series in the trust, combine one or more classes of a series with another class in that series or convert the shares of one class into another class.

Each share of the Fund, as a series of the trust, represents an interest in the Fund only and not in the assets of any other series of the trust.

Shareholder, Trustee and Officer Liability.

The declaration provides that shareholders are not personally liable for the obligations of the Fund and requires the Fund to indemnify a shareholder against any loss or expense arising from any such liability. In addition, the Fund will assume the defense of any claim against a shareholder for personal liability at the request of the shareholder. The declaration further provides that a trustee acting in his or her capacity of trustee is not personally liable to any person other than the trust or its shareholders, for any act, omission, or obligation of the trust. Further, a trustee is held to the same standard of conduct as a director of a Maryland corporation. This requires that a trustee perform his or her duties in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the trust or a series thereof, and with the care that an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would use under similar circumstances. The declaration also permits the limitation of a trustee’s liability to the full extent provided under Maryland law. Under current Maryland law, a trustee is liable to the trust or its shareholders for monetary damages only (a) to the extent that it is proved that he or she actually received an improper benefit or profit in money, property, or services or (b) to the extent that a judgment or other final adjudication adverse to the trustee is entered in a proceeding based on a finding in the proceeding that the trustee’s action, or failure to act, was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty and was material to the cause of action adjudicated in the proceeding. The declaration requires the trust to indemnify any persons who are or who have been trustees, officers or employees of the trust for any liability for actions or failure to act except to the extent prohibited by applicable federal law. In making any determination as to whether any person is entitled to the advancement of expenses in connection with a claim for which indemnification is sought, such person is entitled to a rebuttable presumption that he or she did not engage in conduct for which indemnification is not available.

The declaration provides that any trustee who serves as chair of the board or of a committee of the board, lead independent trustee, or audit committee financial expert, or in any other similar capacity will not be subject to any greater standard of care or liability because of such position.

Derivative Actions.

The declaration provides a detailed process for the bringing of derivative actions by shareholders in order to permit legitimate inquiries and claims while avoiding the time, expense, distraction, and other harm that can be caused to the Fund or its shareholders as a result of spurious shareholder demands and derivative actions. Prior to bringing a derivative action, a demand by three unrelated shareholders must first be made on the Fund’s Trustees. The declaration details various information, certifications, undertakings and acknowledgements that must be included in the demand. Following receipt of the demand, the trustees have a period of 90 days, which may be extended by an additional 60 days, to consider the demand. If a majority of the trustees who are considered independent for the purposes of considering the demand determine that maintaining the suit would not be in the best interests of the

 

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Fund, the trustees are required to reject the demand and the complaining shareholders may not proceed with the derivative action unless the shareholders are able to sustain the burden of proof to a court that the decision of the trustees not to pursue the requested action was not a good faith exercise of their business judgment on behalf of the Fund. The declaration further provides that shareholders owning shares representing at least 5% of the voting power of the affected fund must join in bringing the derivative action. If a demand is rejected, the complaining shareholders will be responsible for the costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by the Fund in connection with the consideration of the demand, if in the judgment of the independent trustees, the demand was made without reasonable cause or for an improper purpose. If a derivative action is brought in violation of the declaration, the shareholders bringing the action may be responsible for the Fund’s costs, including attorneys’ fees.

The declaration further provides that the Fund shall be responsible for payment of attorneys’ fees and legal expenses incurred by a complaining shareholder only if required by law, and any attorneys’ fees that the Fund is obligated to pay shall be calculated using reasonable hourly rates. The declaration also requires that actions by shareholders against the Fund be brought only in federal court in Baltimore, Maryland, or if not permitted to be brought in federal court, then in state court in Baltimore, Maryland, and that the right to jury trial be waived to the full extent permitted by law.

Legal Matters

Beginning in June 2004, class action lawsuits alleging violations of the federal securities laws were filed against Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”) and a number of its then affiliates, including SBFM, which were then investment adviser or manager to certain of the Funds (the “Managers”), substantially all of the mutual funds then managed by the Managers (the “Defendant Funds”), and Board Members of the Defendant Funds (collectively, the “Defendants”). The complaints alleged, among other things, that CGMI created various undisclosed incentives for its brokers to sell Smith Barney and Salomon Brothers funds. In addition, according to the complaints, the Managers caused the Defendant Funds to pay excessive brokerage commissions to CGMI for steering clients towards proprietary funds. The complaints also alleged that the defendants breached their fiduciary duty to the Defendant Funds by improperly charging Rule 12b-1 fees and by drawing on fund assets to make undisclosed payments of soft dollars and excessive brokerage commissions. The complaints also alleged that the Defendant Funds failed to adequately disclose certain of the allegedly wrongful conduct. The complaints sought injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive damages, rescission of the Defendant Funds’ contracts with the Managers, recovery of all fees paid to the Managers pursuant to such contracts and an award of attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses.

On December 15, 2004, a consolidated amended complaint (the “Complaint”) was filed alleging substantially similar causes of action. On May 27, 2005, all of the Defendants filed motions to dismiss the Complaint. On July 26, 2006, the court issued a decision and order (1) finding that plaintiffs lacked standing to sue on behalf of the shareholders of the Defendant Funds in which none of the plaintiffs had invested and dismissing those Defendant Funds from the case (although stating that they could be brought back into the case if standing as to them could be established), and (2) other than one stayed claim, dismissing all of the causes of action against the remaining Defendants, with prejudice, except for the cause of action under Section 36(b) of the 1940 Act, which the court granted plaintiffs leave to replead as a derivative claim.

On October 16, 2006, plaintiffs filed their Second Consolidated Amended Complaint (“Second Amended Complaint”) which alleges derivative claims on behalf of nine funds identified in the Second Amended Complaint, under Section 36(b) of the 1940 Act, against Citigroup Asset Management, Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc, SBFM and CGMI as investment advisers to the identified funds, as well as CGMI as a distributor for the identified funds (collectively, the “Second Amended Complaint Defendants”). The Fund was not identified in the Second Amended Complaint. The Second Amended Complaint alleges no claims against any of the Funds or any of their Board Members. Under Section 36(b), the Second Amended Complaint alleges similar facts and seeks similar relief against the Second Amended Complaint Defendants as the Complaint.

Additional lawsuits arising out of these circumstances and presenting similar allegations and requests for relief may be filed in the future.

***

On May 31, 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued an order in connection with the settlement of an administrative proceeding against SBFM, the then-investment adviser or manager to the Fund and CGMI, relating to the appointment of an affiliated transfer agent for the Smith Barney family of mutual funds, including the Fund (the “Affected Funds”).

The SEC order finds that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(1) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder (the “Advisers Act”). Specifically, the order found that SBFM and CGMI knowingly or recklessly failed to disclose to the boards of the Affected Funds in 1999 when proposing a new transfer agent arrangement with an affiliated transfer agent that: First Data Investors Services Group (“First Data”), the Affected Funds’ then-existing transfer agent, had offered to continue as transfer agent and do the same work for substantially less money than before; and that Citigroup Asset Management (“CAM”), the Citigroup business unit that, at the time, included the Affected Funds’ investment manager and other

 

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investment advisory companies, had entered into a side letter with First Data under which CAM agreed to recommend the appointment of First Data as sub-transfer agent to the affiliated transfer agent in exchange for, among other things, a guarantee by First Data of specified amounts of asset management and investment banking fees to CAM and CGMI. The order also found that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act by virtue of the omissions discussed above and other misrepresentations and omissions in the materials provided to the Affected Funds’ boards, including the failure to make clear that the affiliated transfer agent would earn a high profit for performing limited functions while First Data continued to perform almost all of the transfer agent functions, and the suggestion that the proposed arrangement was in the Affected Funds’ best interests and that no viable alternatives existed. SBFM and CGMI do not admit or deny any wrongdoing or liability. The settlement does not establish wrongdoing or liability for purposes of any other proceeding.

The SEC censured SBFM and CGMI and ordered them to cease and desist from violations of Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Advisers Act. The order required Citigroup to pay $208.1 million, including $109 million in disgorgement of profits, $19.1 million in interest, and a civil money penalty of $80 million. Approximately $24.4 million has already been paid to the Affected Funds, primarily through fee waivers. The remaining $183.7 million, including the penalty, has been paid to the U.S. Treasury and will be distributed pursuant to a plan submitted for the approval of the SEC. At this time, there is no certainty as to how the above-described proceeds of the settlement will be distributed, to whom such distributions will be made, the methodology by which such distributions will be allocated, and when such distributions will be made. The order also required that transfer agency fees received from the Affected Funds since December 1, 2004, less certain expenses, be placed in escrow and provided that a portion of such fees might be subsequently distributed in accordance with the terms of the order. On April 3, 2006, an aggregate amount of approximately $9 million held in escrow was distributed to the Affected Funds.

The order required SBFM to recommend a new transfer agent contract to the Fund boards within 180 days of the entry of the order; if a Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent or sub-transfer agent, SBFM and CGMI would have been required, at their expense, to engage an independent monitor to oversee a competitive bidding process. On November 21, 2005, and within the specified timeframe, the Affected Funds’ Boards selected a new transfer agent for the Affected Fund. No Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent. Under the order, SBFM also must comply with an amended version of a vendor policy that Citigroup instituted in August 2004.

Although there can be no assurance, the manager does not believe that this matter will have a material adverse effect on the Affected Funds.

On December 1, 2005, Citigroup completed the sale of substantially all of its global asset management business, including SBFM, to Legg Mason.

***

Beginning in August 2005, five class action lawsuits alleging violations of federal securities laws and state law were filed against CGMI and SBFM (collectively, the “Defendants”) based on the May 31, 2005 settlement order issued against the Defendants by the SEC as described in above. The complaints seek injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive damages, removal of SBFM as the investment manager for the Smith Barney family of funds, rescission of the Funds’ management and other contracts with SBFM, recovery of all fees paid to SBFM pursuant to such contracts, and an award of attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses.

On October 5, 2005, a motion to consolidate the five actions and any subsequently filed, related action was filed. That motion contemplates that a consolidated amended complaint alleging substantially similar causes of action will be filed in the future.

As of the date of this report, the Fund’s investment manager believes that resolution of the pending lawsuit will not have a material effect on the financial position or results of operations of the Fund or the ability of the Fund’s investment manager and its affiliates to continue to render services to the Funds under their respective contracts.

***

On September 16, 2005, the staff of the SEC informed SBFM and ClearBridge Asset Management Inc (formerly Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc) that the staff is considering recommending that the SEC institute administrative proceedings against SBFM and ClearBridge Asset Management Inc for alleged violations of Section 19(a) and 34(b) of the Investment Company Act (and related Rule 19a-1). The notification is a result of an industry wide inspection by the SEC and is based upon alleged deficiencies in disclosures regarding dividends and distributions paid to shareholders of certain funds. Section 19(a) and related Rule 19a-1 of the Investment Company Act generally require funds that are making dividend and distribution payments to provide shareholders with a written statement disclosing the source of the dividends and distributions, and, in particular, the portion of the payments made from each of net investment income, undistributed net profits and/or paid-in capital. In connection with the contemplated proceedings, the staff may seek a cease and desist order and/or monetary damages from SBFM or ClearBridge Asset Management Inc.

Although there can be no assurance, the fund’s manager believes that this matter is not likely to have a material adverse effect on the fund.

 

46


***

The foregoing speaks only as of the date of this SAI. Additional lawsuits presenting allegations and requests for relief arising out of or in connection with any of the foregoing matters may be filed against these and related parties in the future.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The audited financial statements of the Fund’s predecessor (Statement of Assets and Liabilities as of September 30, 2006, Statement of Operations for the year ended September 30, 2006, Statements of Changes in Net Assets for each of the years in the two-year period ended September 30, 2006, Financial Highlights for each of the years in the five-year period ended September 30, 2006, and Notes to Financial Statements along with the Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, each of which is included in the Annual Report to Shareholders of the Fund), are incorporated by reference into this Statement of Additional Information (Filed on                      ; Accession Number                      ).

 

47


APPENDIX A

PROXY VOTING GUIDELINES & PROCEDURES SUMMARY

Concerning ClearBridge Advisors 1 (Clearbridge)

Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

The following is a brief overview of the Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures (the “Policies”) that ClearBridge has adopted to seek to ensure that ClearBridge votes proxies relating to equity securities in the best interest of clients.

ClearBridge votes proxies for each client account with respect to which it has been authorized to vote proxies. In voting proxies, ClearBridge is guided by general fiduciary principles and seeks to act prudently and solely in the best interest of clients. ClearBridge attempts to consider all factors that could affect the value of the investment and will vote proxies in the manner that it believes will be consistent with efforts to maximize shareholder values. ClearBridge may utilize an external service provider to provide it with information and/or a recommendation with regard to proxy votes. However, the ClearBridge adviser (business unit) continues to retain responsibility for the proxy vote.

In the case of a proxy issue for which there is a stated position in the Policies, ClearBridge generally votes in accordance with such stated position. In the case of a proxy issue for which there is a list of factors set forth in the Policies that ClearBridge considers in voting on such issue, ClearBridge votes on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the general principles set forth above and considering such enumerated factors. In the case of a proxy issue for which there is no stated position or list of factors that ClearBridge considers in voting on such issue, ClearBridge votes on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the general principles set forth above. Issues for which there is a stated position set forth in the Policies or for which there is a list of factors set forth in the Policies that ClearBridge considers in voting on such issues fall into a variety of categories, including election of directors, ratification of auditors, proxy and tender offer defenses, capital structure issues, executive and director compensation, mergers and corporate restructurings, and social and environmental issues. The stated position on an issue set forth in the Policies can always be superseded, subject to the duty to act solely in the best interest of the beneficial owners of accounts, by the investment management professionals responsible for the account whose shares are being voted. Issues applicable to a particular industry may cause ClearBridge to abandon a policy that would have otherwise applied to issuers generally. As a result of the independent investment advisory services provided by distinct ClearBridge business units, there may be occasions when different business units or different portfolio managers within the same business unit vote differently on the same issue. A ClearBridge business unit or investment team (e.g. ClearBridge’s Social Awareness Investment team) may adopt proxy voting policies that supplement these policies and procedures. In addition, in the case of Taft-Hartley clients, ClearBridge will comply with a client direction to vote proxies in accordance with Institutional Shareholder Services’ (ISS) PVS Voting Guidelines, which ISS represents to be fully consistent with AFL-CIO guidelines.

In furtherance of ClearBridge’s goal to vote proxies in the best interest of clients, ClearBridge follows procedures designed to identify and address material conflicts that may arise between ClearBridge’s interests and those of its clients before voting proxies on behalf of such clients. To seek to identify conflicts of interest, ClearBridge periodically notifies ClearBridge employees in writing that they are under an obligation (i) to be aware of the potential for conflicts of interest on the part of ClearBridge with respect to voting proxies on behalf of client accounts both as a result of their personal relationships and due to special circumstances that may arise during the conduct of ClearBridge’s business, and (ii) to bring conflicts of interest of which they become aware to the attention of ClearBridge’s compliance personnel. ClearBridge also maintains and considers a list of significant ClearBridge relationships that could present a conflict of interest for ClearBridge in voting proxies. ClearBridge is also sensitive to the fact that a significant, publicized relationship between an issuer and a non-ClearBridge Legg Mason affiliate might appear to the public to influence the manner in which ClearBridge decides to vote a proxy with respect to such issuer. Absent special circumstances or a significant, publicized non-ClearBridge Legg Mason affiliate relationship that ClearBridge for prudential reasons treats as a potential conflict of interest because such relationship might appear to the public to influence the manner in which ClearBridge decides to vote a proxy, ClearBridge generally takes the position that relationships between a non-ClearBridge Legg Mason affiliate and an issuer (e.g. investment management relationship between an issuer and a non-ClearBridge Legg Mason affiliate) do not present a conflict of interest for ClearBridge in voting proxies with respect to such issuer. Such position is based on the fact that ClearBridge is operated as an independent business unit from other Legg Mason business units as well as on the existence of information barriers between ClearBridge and certain other Legg Mason business units.

 


1 ClearBridge Advisors comprises CAM North America, LLC, Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC, and other affiliated investment advisory firms. On December 1, 2005, Citigroup Inc. (“Citigroup”) sold substantially all of its worldwide asset management business, Citigroup Asset Management, to Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”). As part of this transaction, CAM North America, LLC, Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc and Smith Barney Fund Management LLC became wholly-owned subsidiaries of Legg Mason. Under a licensing agreement between Citigroup and Legg Mason, the names of CAM North America, LLC, Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC and their affiliated advisory entities, as well as all logos, trademarks, and service marks related to Citigroup or any of its affiliates (“Citi Marks”) are licensed for use by Legg Mason. Citi Marks include, but are not limited to, “Citigroup Asset Management,” “Salomon Brothers Asset Management” and “CAM”. All Citi Marks are owned by Citigroup, and are licensed for use until no later than one year after the date of the licensing agreement. Legg Mason and its subsidiaries, including CAM North America, LLC, Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc, and Smith Barney Fund Management LLC are not affiliated with Citigroup.

 

A-1


ClearBridge maintains a Proxy Voting Committee to review and address conflicts of interest brought to its attention by ClearBridge compliance personnel. A proxy issue that will be voted in accordance with a stated ClearBridge position on such issue or in accordance with the recommendation of an independent third party is not brought to the attention of the Proxy Voting Committee for a conflict of interest review because ClearBridge’s position is that to the extent a conflict of interest issue exists, it is resolved by voting in accordance with a pre-determined policy or in accordance with the recommendation of an independent third party. With respect to a conflict of interest brought to its attention, the Proxy Voting Committee first determines whether such conflict of interest is material. A conflict of interest is considered material to the extent that it is determined that such conflict is likely to influence, or appear to influence, ClearBridge’s decision-making in voting proxies. If it is determined by the Proxy Voting Committee that a conflict of interest is not material, ClearBridge may vote proxies notwithstanding the existence of the conflict.

If it is determined by the Proxy Voting Committee that a conflict of interest is material, the Proxy Voting Committee is responsible for determining an appropriate method to resolve such conflict of interest before the proxy affected by the conflict of interest is voted. Such determination is based on the particular facts and circumstances, including the importance of the proxy issue and the nature of the conflict of interest.

 

A-2


LEGG MASON PARTNERS SMALL CAP GROWTH FUND

Statement of

Additional Information

                          , 2007

LEGG MASON PARTNERS

SMALL CAP GROWTH FUND

125 Broad Street

New York, New York 10004

LOGO


 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS SMALL CAP VALUE FUND

Supplement dated April     , 2007

to Prospectus dated January     , 2007

The attached prospectus is now dated April     , 2007.

As part of a number of initiatives launched in 2006 to restructure and streamline the Legg Mason Partners fund complex, the fund assumed the assets and liabilities of a predecessor fund with the same name. The fund is now grouped for organizational and governance purposes with other Legg Mason Partners funds that are predominantly equity-type funds. The prospectus is supplemented as shown below to reflect this change. Any information in the prospectus relating to the fund prior to the date of this Prospectus refers to the fund’s predecessor.

Performance Information

The summary performance information in the prospectus is that of the fund’s predecessor.

Management – Other Information

The paragraph beneath the heading “Other Information” in the “Management” section of the prospectus is deleted.

Financial Highlights

The financial information shown in the “Financial Highlights” section of the prospectus is that of the fund’s predecessor.


PROSPECTUS

January     , 2007

The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or determined whether this Prospectus is accurate or complete. Any statement to the contrary is a crime.

LOGO

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Value Fund

Class A, B, C and I Shares

 

 

 

INVESTMENT PRODUCTS: NOT FDIC INSURED Ÿ NO BANK GUARANTEE Ÿ MAY LOSE VALUE

 


Legg Mason Partners

Small Cap Value Fund

Contents

 

Investments, risks and performance

  2

More on the fund’s investments

  6

Management

  8

Choosing a class of shares to buy

  11

Comparing the fund’s classes

  13

Sales charges

  14

More about contingent deferred sales charges

  18

Retirement and institutional investors

  19

Buying shares

  21

Exchanging shares

  22

Redeeming shares

  24

Other things to know about transactions

  26

Dividends, distributions and taxes

  29

Share price

  31

Financial highlights

  33

 

Prior to April 7, 2006, the fund was known as Smith Barney Small Cap Value Fund.


 

Investments, risks and performance

Investment objective

The fund seeks long-term capital growth.

Principal investment strategies

Key investments

Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of the value of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in common stocks and other equity securities of small capitalization U.S. companies or in other investments with similar economic characteristics. Small capitalization companies are those companies whose market capitalizations at the time of investment do not exceed (i) $3 billion or (ii) the highest month-end market capitalization value of any stock in the Russell 2000 Index (the “Index”) for the previous 12 months, whichever is greater. Securities of companies whose market capitalizations no longer meet this definition after purchase by the fund still will be considered to be securities of small capitalization companies for purposes of the fund’s 80% investment policy. The size of companies in the Index changes with market conditions and the composition of the Index. Equity securities include exchange-traded and over-the-counter common stocks and preferred shares, debt securities convertible into equity securities and warrants and rights relating to equity securities. The fund may invest up to 20% of the value of its net assets in shares of companies with larger market capitalizations.

Selection process

The portfolio manager emphasizes individual security selection while spreading the fund’s investments among industries and sectors. The portfolio manager uses both quantitative and fundamental methods to identify stocks of smaller capitalization companies the portfolio manager believes have a high probability of outperforming other stocks in the same industry or sector.

The portfolio manager uses quantitative parameters to select a universe of smaller capitalized companies that fit the fund’s general investment criteria. In selecting individual securities from within this range, the portfolio manager looks for “value” attributes, such as:

n   Low stock price relative to earnings, book value and cash flow
n   High return on invested capital

The portfolio manager also uses quantitative methods to identify catalysts and trends that might influence the fund’s industry or sector focus, or the portfolio manager’s individual security selection.

Principal risks of investing in the fund

Investors could lose money on their investment in the fund, or the fund may not perform as well as other investments, if:

n   Stock prices decline generally
n   Smaller capitalized companies fall out of favor with investors
n   The portfolio manager’s judgment about the attractiveness, value or potential appreciation of a particular stock proves to be incorrect

 

2         Legg Mason Partners Mutual Funds


 

n   A particular product or service developed by a company in which the fund invests is unsuccessful, the company does not meet earnings expectations or other events depress the value of the company’s stock

Compared to mutual funds that focus on larger capitalization companies, the fund’s share price may be more volatile because of its focus on smaller capitalization companies. These companies are more likely to have:

n   More limited product lines
n   Fewer capital resources
n   Less depth of management

Further, securities of smaller capitalization companies are more likely to:

n   Experience sharper swings in market values
n   Be harder to sell at times and prices the portfolio manager believes appropriate
n   Offer greater potential for gains and losses

Who may want to invest

The fund may be an appropriate investment if you:

n   Are seeking to participate in the long-term growth potential of smaller capitalization companies
n   Currently have exposure to fixed income investments or the stocks commonly held by large capitalization oriented mutual funds and wish to broaden your investment portfolio
n   Are willing to accept the risks of the stock market and the special risks of investing in smaller companies with limited track records

Performance information

The following shows summary performance information for the fund in a bar chart and an Average Annual Total Returns table. The information provides some indication of the risks of investing in the fund by showing changes in its performance from year to year and by showing how the fund’s average annual total returns compare with the returns of a broad-based securities market index. The bar chart and the information below show performance of the fund’s Class A shares, but do not reflect the impact of sales charges (loads). If they did, the returns would be lower than those shown . Unlike the bar chart, performance for Class A, B, C and I (1) shares in the Average Annual Total Returns table reflects the impact of the maximum sales charge (load) applicable to the respective classes, and, where indicated, the performance for Class A shares reflects the impact of taxes paid on distributions and the redemption of shares at the end of the period. The fund’s past performance, before and after taxes, is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future.

 

Small Cap Value Fund         3


 

Total Return for Class A Shares

LOGO

Highest and lowest quarter returns (for periods shown in the bar chart)

Highest:         % in quarter         ; Lowest: (        )% in quarter         

 

(1)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

Average Annual Total Returns (for periods ended December 31, 2006)

 

       1 Year      5 Years      Since
Inception
     Inception
Date
Class A Return Before Taxes (1)    %      %      %      02/26/99
 
Class A Return After Taxes on Distributions (1)(2)    %      %      %      02/26/99
 
Class A Return After Taxes on Distributions and Sale of Fund Shares (1)(2)    %      %      %      02/26/99
 
Class B Return Before Taxes    %      %      %      02/26/99
 
Class C Return Before Taxes    %      %      %      02/26/99
 
Class I Return Before Taxes (3)    %           %      04/14/03
 
Russell 2000 Value Index (4)    %      %      %     
 

 

(1)   On November 20, 2006, the maximum initial sales charge on Class A shares was increased for sales made on and after that date. The average annual returns for Class A shares in the table have been calculated as if the increased maximum initial sales charge had been in effect for the entire period.

 

(2)   After-tax returns are calculated using the highest historical individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown, and the after-tax returns shown are not relevant to investors who hold their fund shares through tax-deferred arrangements, such as 401(k) plans or individual retirement accounts. In some cases the return after taxes may exceed the return before taxes due to an assumed tax benefit from any losses on a sale of fund shares at the end of the measurement period. After-tax returns shown above are for Class A shares only. After-tax returns for other share classes will vary.

 

(3)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

(4)   The Russell 2000 Value Index is an unmanaged index that measures the performance of those Russell 2000 companies with lower price-to-book ratios and lower forecasted growth values. (Price-to-book ratio is the price of a stock divided by its net asset value.) It is not possible to invest directly in the Index. The Index does not reflect deductions for fees, expenses or taxes.

 

4         Legg Mason Partners Mutual Funds


 

Fee table

This table sets forth the fees and expenses you may pay if you invest in fund shares.

 

Shareholder Fees

 

(fees paid directly from your investment)   Class A     Class B     Class C     Class I (1)
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a % of offering price)   5.75 %   None     None     None
 
Maximum contingent deferred sales charge (load) (as a % of the lower of net asset value at purchase or redemption)   None (2)     5.00 %   1.00 % (3)   None
 

 

Annual Fund Operating Expenses

 

(paid by the fund as a % of net assets)   Class A     Class B     Class C     Class I (1)  
Management fee   0.75 %   0.75 %   0.75 %   0.75 %
   
Distribution and service (12b-1) fees   0.25 %   1.00 %   1.00 %   None  
   
Other expenses (4)       %         %         %         %  
   
Total annual fund operating expenses       %         %         %         %  
   

 

(1)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

(2)   You may buy Class A shares in amounts of $1,000,000 or more at net asset value (without an initial sales charge) but if you redeem those shares within 12 months of their purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

 

(3)   As of November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge is waived for retirement plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the funds.

 

(4)   The amounts set forth in “Other expenses” for Class A, B, C and I shares have been restated to reflect the estimated effect of new transfer agency and custody contracts which became effective January 1, 2006.

Example

This example helps you compare the costs of investing in the fund with the costs of investing in other mutual funds. Your actual costs may be higher or lower. The example assumes:

n   You invest $10,000 in the fund for the period shown
n   Your investment has a 5% return each year-the assumption of a 5% return is required by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) for purposes of this example and is not a prediction of the fund’s future performance
n   You reinvest all distributions and dividends without a sales charge
n   The fund’s operating expenses (before fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, if any) remain the same

 

Number of Years You Own Your Shares

 

      1 year   3 years   5 years   10 years  

Class A (with or without redemption)

  $            $            $            $           
   

Class B (redemption at end of period)

  $     $     $     $      (1 )
   

Class B (no redemption)

  $     $     $     $      (1 )
   

Class C (redemption at end of period)

  $     $     $     $    
   

Class C (no redemption)

  $     $     $     $    
   

Class I (2) (with or without redemption)

  $     $     $     $    
   

 

(1)   Assumes conversion to Class A shares approximately eight years after purchase.

 

(2)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

Small Cap Value Fund         5


 

More on the fund’s investments

The fund’s investment objectives and principal investment strategies are described under the section entitled “Investments, risks and performance” above. This section provides further information about the investment strategies that may be used by the fund.

Derivative contracts

The fund may, but need not, use derivative contracts, such as futures and options on securities, securities indices, interest rates or currencies, or options on these futures, for any of the following purposes:

n   To hedge against the economic impact of adverse changes in the market value of its securities, because of changes in stock market prices, currency exchange rates or interest rates
n   As a cash flow management technique
n   As a substitute for buying or selling securities
n   To enhance return

A derivative contract will obligate or entitle the fund to deliver or receive an asset or cash payment based on the change in value of one or more securities or indices. Even a small investment in derivative contracts can have a big impact on a fund’s stock, interest rate or currency exposure. Therefore, using derivatives can disproportionately increase losses and reduce opportunities for gains when interest rates, exchange rates or securities markets are changing. The fund may not fully benefit from or may lose money on derivatives if changes in their value do not correspond as anticipated to changes in the value of the fund’s holdings.

The other parties to certain derivative contracts present the same types of default risk as issuers of fixed income securities. Derivatives also can make a fund less liquid and harder to value, especially in declining markets.

Foreign investments

The fund may invest up to 10% of its assets (at the time of investment) in foreign securities. The fund may invest directly in foreign issuers or invest in depository receipts. The fund’s investments in securities of foreign issuers involve greater risk than investments in securities of U.S. issuers. Because the value of a depositary receipt is dependent upon the market price of an underlying foreign security, depositary receipts are subject to most of the risks associated with investing in foreign securities directly. Foreign countries generally have markets that are less liquid and more volatile than markets in the United States. In some foreign countries, less information is available about foreign issuers and markets because of less rigorous accounting and regulatory standards than in the United States. Currency fluctuations could erase investment gains or add to investment losses.

Debt securities

The fund’s policy is to be as fully invested in equity securities as practicable at all times. The fund may, however, maintain a portion of its assets (normally not more than 10%) in U.S. government securities, money market obligations and cash to pay expenses and meet redemption requests. Generally, the value of these fixed income obligations will decline if interest rates rise, the credit rating of the security is downgraded or the issuer defaults on its obligation to pay principal and/or interest.

 

6         Legg Mason Partners Mutual Funds


 

Defensive investing

The fund may depart from its principal investment strategies in response to adverse market, economic or political conditions by taking temporary defensive positions in any type of money market instruments and short-term debt securities or cash without regard to any percentage limitations. If the fund takes a temporary defensive position, it may be unable to achieve its investment objective.

Other information

The fund also may use other strategies and invest in other securities that are described, along with their risks, in the SAI. However, the fund might not use all of the strategies and techniques or invest in all of the types of securities described in this Prospectus or in the SAI. Also note that there are many other factors, which are not described here, that could adversely affect your investment and that could prevent the fund from achieving its investment goal.

Portfolio holdings

The fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the fund’s portfolio securities are described in the fund’s Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”).

 

Small Cap Value Fund         7


 

Management

Manager and subadviser

Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC (“LMPFA” or the “manager”) is the fund’s investment manager. LMPFA, with offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022, is a recently organized investment adviser that has been formed to serve as the investment manager of the fund and other Legg Mason-sponsored funds. LMPFA provides administrative and certain oversight services to the fund. ClearBridge Advisors, LLC (“ClearBridge” or the “subadviser”) provides the day-to-day portfolio management of the fund, except for the management of cash and short-term instruments, which is performed by LMPFA.

ClearBridge has offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022 and is a recently-organized investment adviser that has been formed to succeed to the equity securities portfolio management business of Citigroup Asset Management, which was acquired by Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”) in December 2005.

LMPFA and ClearBridge are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”). Legg Mason, whose principal executive offices are at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, is a global asset management company. As of September 30, 2006, Legg Mason’s asset management operation had aggregate assets under management of approximately $891 billion.

Prior to August 1, 2006, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”) was the fund’s investment manager. SBFM is also a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason.

Portfolio Manager

Peter Hable, investment officer of the subadviser and president of Davis Skaggs Investment Management, a division of ClearBridge, has been responsible for the day-to-day management of the fund’s portfolio since inception. He has been with the subadviser or its predecessor companies since 1983.

The SAI provides information about the compensation of the portfolio manager, other accounts the portfolio manager manages, and any fund shares held by the portfolio manager, and has more detailed information about the manager, the subadviser and other fund service providers.

Management fee

For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2006, the fund paid a management fee of         % of the fund’s average daily net assets for management services. For the period from October 1, 2005 through July 31, 2006, the fund paid SBFM a management fee equal to 0.75% of the fund’s average daily net assets. For the period from August 1, 2006 through September 30, 2006, the fund paid LMPFA a management fee equal to         % of the fund’s average daily net assets.

A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of the fund’s management agreement and subadvisory agreement is available in the fund’s Annual Report for the fiscal year ended September 30, 2006.

 

8         Legg Mason Partners Mutual Funds


 

Other Information

The fund’s Board has approved a number of initiatives designed to streamline and restructure the fund complex, and has authorized seeking shareholder approval for those initiatives where shareholder approval is required. These initiatives include the election of a new Board, the grouping of the fund for organizational and governance purposes with other funds in the fund complex that are predominantly equity-type funds, and the adoption of a single form of organization as a Maryland business trust, with all funds operating under uniform charter documents. Fund shareholders entitled to vote also have been asked to approve investment matters, including standardized fundamental investment policies and the ability of the fund to change its investment objective without shareholder approval. Proxy materials describing these matters were mailed in October, 2006. If shareholder approval is obtained, these matters generally are expected to be effectuated during the first half of 2007.

Distribution plan

Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC (“LMIS”), a wholly-owned broker-dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”) and PFS Investments Inc. (“PFS”) serve as the fund’s distributors.

The fund has adopted a shareholder services and distribution plan for its Class A, B and C shares. Under the plan, the fund pays distribution and/or service fees. These fees are an ongoing expense and, over time, will increase the cost of your investment and may cost you more than other types of sales charges.

In addition, the distributors may make payments for distribution and/or shareholder servicing activities out of its past profits and other available sources. The distributors may also make payments to dealers for marketing, promotional or related expenses. The amount of these payments is determined by the distributors and may be substantial. The manager or an affiliate may make similar payments under similar arrangements.

The payments described in the paragraph above are often referred to as “revenue sharing payments.” The recipients of such payments may include the fund’s distributors, other affiliates of the manager, broker/dealers, financial institutions and other financial intermediaries through which investors may purchase shares of the fund. In some circumstances, such payments may create an incentive for an intermediary or its employees or associated persons to recommend or sell shares of the fund to you. Please contact your financial intermediary for details about revenue sharing payments it may receive.

Recent developments

On May 31, 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued an order in connection with the settlement of an administrative proceeding against SBFM, the then-investment adviser or manager to the fund, and CGMI, relating to the appointment of an affiliated transfer agent for the Smith Barney family of mutual funds, including the fund (the “Affected Funds”).

The SEC order finds that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(1) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder (the “Advisers Act”). Specifically, the order finds that SBFM and CGMI knowingly or recklessly failed to disclose to the boards of the Affected Funds in 1999 when proposing a new

 

Small Cap Value Fund         9


 

transfer agent arrangement with an affiliated transfer agent that: First Data Investors Services Group (“First Data”), the Affected Funds’ then-existing transfer agent, had offered to continue as transfer agent and do the same work for substantially less money than before; and that Citigroup Asset Management (“CAM”), the Citigroup business unit that, at the time, included the Affected Funds’ investment manager and other investment advisory companies, had entered into a side letter with First Data under which CAM agreed to recommend the appointment of First Data as sub-transfer agent to the affiliated transfer agent in exchange, among other things, for a guarantee by First Data of specified amounts of asset management and investment banking fees to CAM and CGMI. The order also finds that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act by virtue of the omissions discussed above and other misrepresentations and omissions in the materials provided to the Affected Funds’ boards, including the failure to make clear that the affiliated transfer agent would earn a high profit for performing limited functions while First Data continued to perform almost all of the transfer agent functions, and the suggestion that the proposed arrangement was in the Affected Funds’ best interests and that no viable alternatives existed.

SBFM and CGMI do not admit or deny any wrongdoing or liability. The settlement does not establish wrongdoing or liability for purposes of any other proceeding. The SEC censured SBFM and CGMI and ordered them to cease and desist from violations of Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Advisers Act. The order required Citigroup to pay $208.1 million, including $109 million in disgorgement of profits, $19.1 million in interest, and a civil money penalty of $80 million. Approximately $24.4 million has already been paid to the Affected Funds, primarily through fee waivers. The remaining $183.7 million, including the penalty, has been paid to the U.S. Treasury and will be distributed pursuant to a plan submitted for the approval of the SEC. At this time, there is no certainty as to how the above-described proceeds of the settlement will be distributed, to whom such distributions will be made, the methodology by which such distributions will be allocated, and when such distributions will be made. The order also required that transfer agency fees received from the Affected Funds since December 1, 2004, less certain expenses, be placed in escrow and provided that a portion of such fees might be subsequently distributed in accordance with the terms of the order. On April 3, 2006, an aggregate amount of approximately $9 million held in escrow was distributed to the Affected Funds.

The order required SBFM to recommend a new transfer agent contract to the Fund boards within 180 days of the entry of the order; if a Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent or sub-transfer agent, SBFM and CGMI would have been required, at their expense, to engage an independent monitor to oversee a competitive bidding process. On November 21, 2005, and within the specified timeframe, the Affected Funds’ Boards selected a new transfer agent for the Affected Funds. No Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent. Under the order, SBFM also must comply with an amended version of a vendor policy that Citigroup instituted in August 2004.

Although there can be no assurance, the manager does not believe that this matter will have a material adverse effect on the Affected Funds.

On December 1, 2005, Citigroup completed the sale of substantially all of its global asset management business, including SBFM, to Legg Mason.

 

10         Legg Mason Partners Mutual Funds


 

Choosing a class of shares to buy

Individual investors can generally choose among three classes of shares: Classes A, B and C shares. Individual investors that held Class I (formerly Class Y) shares prior to November 20, 2006, may continue to invest in Class I shares. Institutional and retirement plan investors and clients of financial intermediaries should refer to “Retirement and institutional investors” below for a description of the classes available to them.

Each class has different sales charges and expenses, allowing you to choose the class that best meets your needs. When choosing which class of shares to buy, you should consider:

n   How much you plan to invest
n   How long you expect to own the shares
n   The expenses paid by each class detailed in the Fee table and Example at the front of this prospectus
n   Whether you qualify for any reduction or waiver of sales charges

If you are choosing between Class A and Class B shares, it will in almost all cases be the more economical choice for you to purchase Class A shares if you plan to purchase shares in an amount of $100,000 or more (whether in a single purchase or through aggregation of eligible holdings). This is because of the reduced sales charge available on larger investments of Class A shares and the lower ongoing expenses of Class A shares compared to Class B shares.

If you intend to invest for only a few years, the effect of Class B contingent deferred sales charges on redemptions made within five years of purchase, as well as the effect of higher expenses of that class, might make an investment in Class C more appropriate. There is no initial sales charge on Class C shares, and the contingent deferred sales charge does not apply to shares redeemed one year after purchase.

However, if you plan to invest a large amount and your investment horizon is five years or more, Class C shares might not be as advantageous as Class A shares. This is because the annual asset-based sales charge on Class C shares will have a greater impact on your account over the longer term than the reduced front-end sales charge available for larger purchases of Class A shares.

You may buy shares from:

n   Certain broker/dealers, financial intermediaries, financial institutions, a distributor’s financial advisors or registered representatives (each called a “Service Agent”)
n   The fund, but only if you are investing through certain qualified plans or Service Agents

Different types of shareholder services may be available to you under arrangements offered by different Service Agents. In addition, these services may vary depending on the share class in which you choose to invest. In making your decision regarding which share class to buy, please keep in mind that your Service Agent may receive different compensation depending on the share class in which you invest. Investors should consult with their Service Agent about comparative pricing of shareholder services available to them under each available share class, the compensation that will be received by their Service Agent in connection with each available share class, and other factors that may be relevant to the investor’s choice of share class in which to invest.

Not all classes of shares are available through each Service Agent. You should contact your Service Agent for further information.

 

Small Cap Value Fund         11


 

Investment minimums

Minimum initial and additional investment amounts vary depending on the class of shares you buy and the nature of your investment.

 

   

Investment Minimum

Initial/Additional Investment (1)

      Class A   Class B   Class C  

Class I

(formerly Y)

General

  $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50     n/a
 

IRAs and Uniform Gifts or Transfers to Minor Accounts

  $ 250/$50   $ 250/$50   $ 250/$50     n/a
 

SIMPLE IRAs

  $ 1/$1   $ 1/$1   $ 1/$1     n/a
 

Systematic Investment Plans

  $ 25/$25   $ 25/$25   $ 25/$25     n/a
 

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries

  $ 1/$1     n/a     n/a     None/None
 

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund

    None/None     n/a     None/None     None/None
 

Other Retirement Plans

  $ 50/$50   $ 50/$50   $ 50/$50     n/a
 

Institutional Investors

  $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50   $ 500/$50   $ 1 million/none
 

 

(1)   Please refer to the section entitled “Retirement and institutional investors” for additional information regarding the investment minimum and eligibility requirements for Retirement Plans, Institutional Investors and Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries

More information about the fund’s classes of shares is available through the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website. You’ll find detailed information about sales charges and ways you can qualify for reduced or waived sales charges, including:

n   The front-end sales charges that apply to the purchase of Class A shares
n   The contingent deferred sales charges that apply to the redemption of Class B shares, Class C shares and certain Class A shares (redeemed within one year)
n   Who qualifies for lower sales charges on Class A shares
n   Who qualifies for a sales load waiver

Go to http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices and click on the name of the fund.

 

12         Legg Mason Partners Mutual Funds


 

Comparing the fund’s classes

The following table compares key features of the fund’s classes. You should review the Fee table and Example at the front of this Prospectus carefully before choosing your share class. Your Service Agent can help you decide which class meets your goals. Your Service Agent may receive different compensation depending upon which class you choose.

 

      Class A   Class B   Class C   Class I
Key features  

n   Initial sales charge

n   You may qualify for reduction or waiver of initial sales charge

n   Generally lower annual expenses than Class B and Class C

 

n   No initial sales charge

n   Contingent deferred sales charge declines over time

n   Converts to Class A after approximately 8 years

n   Generally higher annual expenses than Class A

 

n   No initial sales charge

n   Contingent deferred sales charge for only 1 year

n   Does not convert to Class A

n   Generally higher annual expenses than Class A

 

n   No initial or contingent deferred sales charge

n   Only offered to institutional and other eligible investors

n   Generally lower expenses than the other classes

Initial sales charge  

Up to 5.75%; reduced or waived for large purchases and certain investors. No charge for purchases of $1 million or more

 

None

 

None

 

None

Contingent deferred sales charge  

1.00% on purchases of $1 million or more if you redeem within 1 year of purchase; waived for certain investors

 

Up to 5.00% charged when you redeem shares. This charge is reduced over time and there is no contingent deferred sales charge after 5 years; waived for certain investors

 

1.00% if you redeem within 1 year of purchase; waived for certain investors

 

None

Annual distribution and service fees  

0.25% of average daily net assets

 

1.00% of average daily net assets

 

1.00% of average daily net assets

 

None

Exchange Privilege (1)  

Class A shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class B shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class C shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

Class I shares of most Legg Mason Partners Funds

 

(1)   Ask your Service Agent for the Legg Mason Partners Funds available for exchange.

 

Small Cap Value Fund         13


 

Sales charges

Class A shares

You buy Class A shares at the offering price, which is the net asset value plus a sales charge. You pay a lower sales charge as the size of your investment increases to certain levels called breakpoints. You do not pay a sales charge on the fund’s distributions or dividends you reinvest in additional Class A shares.

The table below shows the rate of sales charge you pay, depending on the amount you purchase, for purchases made on or after November 20, 2006. The table below also shows the amount of broker/dealer compensation that will be paid out of the sales charge. For Class A shares sold by LMIS, LMIS will receive the sales charge imposed on purchases of Class A shares (or any contingent deferred sales charge paid on redemptions) and will retain the full amount of such sales charge. For Class A shares sold by CGMI, CGMI will receive the sales charge imposed on purchases of Class A shares and will retain an amount equal to the broker/dealer commission paid out of the sales charge. LMIS will receive any portion not retained by CGMI. For Class A shares sold by PFS, PFS will receive the sales charge imposed on purchases of Class A shares (or any contingent deferred sales charge paid on redemptions) and will retain the full amount of such sales charge. Service Agents (including CGMI and PFS) will also receive a distribution/service fee payable on Class A shares at an annual rate of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class A shares serviced by them.

 

Amount of investment  

Sales Charge

as % of

offering price

 

Sales Charge

as % of Net
amount invested

 

Broker/Dealer

Commission

as % of

offering price

Less than $25,000

  5.75   6.10   5.00
 

$25,000 but less than $50,000

  5.00   5.26   4.25
 

$50,000 but less than $100,000

  4.50   4.71   3.75
 

$100,000 but less than $250,000

  3.50   3.63   2.75
 

$250,000 but less than $500,000

  2.50   2.56   2.00
 

$500,000 but less than $750,000

  2.00   2.04   1.60
 

$750,000 but less than $1 million

  1.50   1.52   1.20
 

$1 million or more (1)

  -0-   -0-   up to 1.00
 

 

(1)   A distributor may pay a commission of up to 1.00% to a Service Agent for purchase amounts of $1 million or more. In such cases, starting in the thirteenth month after purchase, the Service Agent will also receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class A shares held by its clients. Prior to the thirteenth month, the distributor will retain this fee. Where the Service Agent does not receive the payment of this commission, the Service Agent will instead receive the annual distribution/service fee starting immediately after purchase. Please contact your Service Agent for more information.

Investments of $1,000,000 or more

You do not pay an initial sales charge when you buy $1,000,000 or more of Class A shares. However, if you redeem these Class A shares within one year of purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

 

14         Legg Mason Partners Mutual Funds


 

Qualifying for a reduced Class A sales charge

There are several ways you can combine multiple purchases of Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds to take advantage of the breakpoints in the sales charge schedule. In order to take advantage of reductions in sales charges that may be available to you when you purchase fund shares, you must inform your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services if you are eligible for a letter of intent or a right of accumulation and if you own shares of other Legg Mason Partners Funds that are eligible to be aggregated with your purchases. Certain records, such as account statements, may be necessary in order to verify your eligibility for reduced sales charges.

n   Accumulation Privilege – allows you to combine the current value of Class A shares of the fund with other shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds that are owned by:
  ¨   you; or
  ¨   your spouse and children under the age of 21; and

with the dollar amount of your next purchase of Class A shares for purposes of calculating the initial sales charge.

Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or its affiliates (other than money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners Funds), Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. may not be combined.

If you hold shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds in accounts at two or more Service Agents, please contact your Service Agents to determine which shares may be combined.

Certain trustees and fiduciaries may be entitled to combine accounts in determining their sales charge.

n   Letter of Intent – allows you to purchase Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds over a 13-month period and pay the same sales charge on Class A shares, if any, as if all shares had been purchased at once. At the time you enter into the letter of intent, you select your asset goal amount. Generally, purchases of Legg Mason Partners Fund shares that are purchased during the 13-month period by
  ¨   you; or
  ¨   your spouse and children under the age of 21

are eligible for inclusion under the letter, based on the public offering price at the time of the purchase, and any capital appreciation on those shares. You may also backdate your letter up to 90 days in which case eligible purchases made during that period will be treated as purchases made under the letter. In addition, you can include towards your asset goal amount the current value of any eligible purchases that were made prior to the date of entering into the letter of intent and are still held.

If you hold shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds in accounts at two or more Service Agents, please contact your Service Agents to determine which shares may be credited toward your letter of intent asset goal.

Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or its affiliates (other than money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners Funds), Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. may not be credited toward your letter of intent asset goal.

 

Small Cap Value Fund         15


 

If you do not meet your asset goal amount, shares in the amount of any sales charges due, based on the amount of your actual purchases, will be redeemed from your account.

Waivers for certain Class A investors

Class A initial sales charges are waived for certain types of investors, including:

n   Employees of Service Agents having dealer, service or other selling agreements with the fund’s distributors
n   Investors who redeemed Class A shares of a Legg Mason Partners Fund in the past 60 days, if the investor’s Service Agent is notified
n   Directors and officers of any Legg Mason-sponsored fund
n   Employees of Legg Mason and its subsidiaries

If you qualify for a waiver of the Class A initial sales charge, you must notify your Service Agent or the transfer agent at the time of purchase and provide sufficient information at the time of purchase to permit verification that the purchase qualifies for the initial sales charge waiver.

If you want to learn about additional waivers of Class A initial sales charges, contact your Service Agent, consult the SAI or look at the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website, http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices, and click on the name of the fund.

Class B shares

You buy Class B shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. However, if you redeem your Class B shares within five years of your purchase payment, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge. The contingent deferred sales charge decreases as the number of years since your purchase payment increases.

 

Year after purchase   1st     2nd     3rd     4th     5th     6th through 8th  

Contingent deferred sales charge

  5 %   4 %   3 %   2 %   1 %   0 %
   

LMIS will pay Service Agents other than PFS, including CGMI, selling Class B shares a commission of up to 4.00% of the purchase price of the Class B shares they sell, and LMIS will retain the contingent deferred sales charges. For Class B shares sold by PFS, PFS will pay a commission of up to 4.00% of the purchase price of the Class B shares sold by its Service Agents and will retain the contingent deferred sales charges paid upon certain redemptions. Service Agents also receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class B shares serviced by them.

 

16         Legg Mason Partners Mutual Funds


 

Class B conversion

After approximately 8 years, Class B shares automatically convert into Class A shares. This helps you because Class A shares have lower annual expenses. Your Class B shares will convert to Class A shares as follows:

 

Shares issued:

At initial purchase

   Shares issued:
On reinvestment of
dividends and
distributions
   Shares issued:
Upon exchange from
another Legg Mason
Partners fund
Approximately 8 years after the date of purchase payment    In same proportion as the number of Class B shares converting is to total Class B shares you own (excluding shares issued as dividends)    On the date the shares originally acquired would have converted into Class A shares
 

Class C shares

You buy Class C shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. However, if you redeem your Class C shares within one year of purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

LMIS will generally pay Service Agents selling Class C shares (other than shares sold to omnibus accounts of retirement plans held on the books of the fund) a commission of up to 1.00% of the purchase price of the Class C shares they sell and LMIS will retain the contingent deferred sales charges and an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class C shares serviced by these Service Agents until the thirteenth month after purchase. Starting in the thirteenth month after purchase, these Service Agents will receive an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class C shares serviced by them.

Class I shares (formerly Class Y shares)

Class I shares are purchased at net asset value with no initial sales charge and no contingent deferred sales charge when redeemed. See “Retirement and institutional investors — Class I shares” below for additional information regarding investor eligibility and investment minimums.

 

Small Cap Value Fund         17


 

More about contingent deferred sales charges

The contingent deferred sales charge is based on the net asset value at the time of purchase or redemption, whichever is less, and therefore you do not pay a sales charge on amounts representing appreciation or depreciation.

In addition, you do not pay a contingent deferred sales charge on:

n   Shares exchanged for shares of another Legg Mason Partners Fund
n   Shares representing reinvested distributions and dividends
n   Shares no longer subject to the contingent deferred sales charge

Each time you place a request to redeem shares, the fund will first redeem any shares in your account that are not subject to a contingent deferred sales charge and then the shares in your account that have been held the longest.

If you redeemed shares of a Legg Mason Partners Fund and paid a contingent deferred sales charge, you may, under certain circumstances, reinvest all or part of the redemption proceeds within 60 days and receive pro rata credit for any contingent deferred sales charge imposed on the prior redemption. Please contact your Service Agent for additional information.

The fund’s distributors receive contingent deferred sales charges as partial compensation for their expenses in selling shares, including the payment of compensation to your Service Agent

Contingent deferred sales charge waivers

The contingent deferred sales charge for each share class will generally be waived:

n   On payments made through certain systematic withdrawal plans
n   On certain distributions from a retirement plan
n   For involuntary redemptions of small account balances
n   For 12 months following the death or disability of a shareholder

If you want to learn more about additional waivers of contingent deferred sales charges, contact your Service Agent, consult the SAI or look at the Legg Mason Partners Funds’ website, http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices, and click on the name of the fund.

 

18         Legg Mason Partners Mutual Funds


 

Retirement and institutional investors

Eligible investors

Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund can generally choose among four classes of shares: Class C, Class A and Class I (formerly Class Y) shares.

“Retirement Plans” include 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit sharing plans, non-qualified deferred compensation plans and other similar employer-sponsored retirement plans. Retirement Plans do not include individual retirement vehicles, such as traditional and Roth individual retirement accounts, Coverdell education savings accounts, individual 403(b)(7) custodial accounts, Keogh plans, SEPs, SARSEPs, SIMPLE IRAs, or Section 529 savings accounts. Although Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund are not subject to minimum initial investment requirements for any of these share classes, certain investment minimums may be imposed by a financial intermediary.

Other Retirement Plan investors (including, for example, employer-sponsored plans investing through brokerage accounts), can generally choose among three classes of shares: Class A, Class B and Class C. Individual retirement vehicles, such as IRAs, may also choose among these share classes. These types of investors are treated like individual investors for purposes of determining investment minimums, sales charges and any applicable sales charge reductions or waivers.

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries may generally choose between two classes of shares: Class A and Class I. “Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries” are investors who invest in the fund through financial intermediaries that offer their clients fund shares through investment programs as authorized by LMIS. Such investment programs may include fee based advisory or brokerage account programs, and college savings vehicles such as Section 529 plans. The financial intermediary may impose separate investment minimums.

Institutional Investors

Institutional Investors may invest in Class I shares if they meet the $1,000,000 minimum initial investment requirement. Institutional Investors may also invest in Class A, B and C shares, which have different investment minimums and fees and expenses. “Institutional Investors” generally include corporations, banks, insurance companies, foundations, retirement plans and other similar entities with direct relationships to the fund.

Class C — Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund may buy Class C shares at net asset value without paying an initial sales charge. As of November 20, 2006, LMIS no longer pays Service Agents selling Class C shares to retirement plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of a fund a commission on the purchase price of Class C shares sold by them. Instead, immediately after purchase, LMIS will pay these Service Agents an annual distribution/service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class C shares serviced by them. For purchases made by Retirement

 

Small Cap Value Fund         19


 

Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund on or after November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge on shares redeemed within one year of purchase is waived.

Certain retirement plan programs with exchange features in effect prior to November 20, 2006, as approved by LMIS, will remain eligible for exchange from Class C shares to Class A shares in accordance with the program terms. Please read the SAI for more details.

Class I

As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares and are offered only to Institutional Investors who meet the $1,000,000 minimum initial investment requirement, Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries, and other investors as authorized by LMIS. However, investors that held Class I shares prior to that date will be permitted to make additional investments in Class I shares.

Class A — Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund may purchase Class A shares through programs sponsored by financial intermediaries. Under these programs, the initial sales charge and contingent deferred sales charge for Class A shares is waived where:

n   Such Retirement Plan’s record keeper offers only load-waived shares,
n   Fund shares are held on the books of the fund through an omnibus account, and
n   The Retirement Plan has more than 100 participants, or has total assets exceeding $1 million

As of November 20, 2006, LMIS no longer pays Service Agents selling Class A shares to Retirement Plans with a direct omnibus relationship with a fund a commission on the purchase price of Class A shares sold by them. However, for certain Retirement Plans that are permitted to purchase shares at net asset value on or after this date, LMIS may continue to pay Service Agents commissions of up to 1.00% of the purchase price of the additional Class A shares that are purchased with regular ongoing plan contributions. Please contact your Service Agent for more information.

Other considerations

Plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries and other financial intermediaries may choose to impose qualification requirements for plans that differ from the fund’s share class eligibility standards. In certain cases this could result in the selection of a share class with higher service and distribution-related fees than otherwise would have been charged. The fund is not responsible for, and has no control over, the decision of any plan sponsor, plan fiduciary or financial intermediary to impose such differing requirements. Please consult with your plan sponsor, plan fiduciary or financial intermediary for more information about available share classes.

With respect to Class A and Class C, the fund may pay a fee for recordkeeping services performed for the applicable share class.

Not all share classes may be made available by your Service Agent; please contact your Service Agent for additional details.

 

20         Legg Mason Partners Mutual Funds


 

Buying shares

 

Through a
Service Agent
  

You should contact your Service Agent to open a brokerage account and make arrangements to buy shares. You must provide the following information for your order to be processed:

n  Class of shares being bought

n  Dollar amount or number of shares being bought Your Service Agent may charge an annual account maintenance fee.

n  Account number (if existing account)

 
Through the fund   

Financial intermediary accounts, retirement plan accounts and certain other investors who are clients of certain Service Agents are eligible to buy shares directly from the fund.

n  Clients of a PFS Registered Representative should write to the fund at the following address:

Legg Mason Partners Funds

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9662

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9662

n  All other investors should write to the fund at the following address:

Legg Mason Partners Funds

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9699

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699

n  Enclose a check to pay for the shares. For initial purchases, complete and send an account application available upon request from Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at the number below

n  Specify the name of the fund, the share class you wish to purchase and your account number (if existing account)

n  For more information, please call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 or Primerica Shareholder Services at 800-544-5445

 
Through a systematic investment plan   

You may authorize your Service Agent or the transfer agent to transfer funds automatically from (i) a regular bank account, (ii) cash held in a brokerage account with a Service Agent or (iii) certain money market funds, in order to buy shares on a regular basis.

n  Amounts transferred must be at least $25

n  Amounts may be transferred monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually

n  If you do not have sufficient funds in your account on a transfer date, your Service Agent or the transfer agent may charge you a fee

 

For more information, contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services or consult the SAI.

 

Small Cap Value Fund         21


 

Exchanging shares

 

Legg Mason Partners offers a distinctive family of funds tailored to help meet the varying needs of both large and small investors   

You should contact your Service Agent to exchange into other Legg Mason Partners Funds. Be sure to read the prospectus of the Legg Mason Partners Fund into which you are exchanging. An exchange is a taxable transaction, unless you are investing through a tax-qualified savings plan or account.

n  If you bought shares through a Service Agent, you may exchange shares only for shares of the same class of certain other Legg Mason Partners Funds made available for exchange by your Service Agent. Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds made available for exchange by your Service Agent may offer all classes. Please contact your Service Agent for more information about the funds and classes that are available for exchange

n  If you bought shares directly from the fund, you may exchange shares only for shares of the same class of another Legg Mason Partners Fund, other than shares of Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund. Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds offer all classes

n  Not all Legg Mason Partners Funds may be offered in your state of residence. Contact your Service Agent or the transfer agent for further information

n  Exchanges of Class A, B and C shares are subject to minimum investment requirements (except for systematic investment plan exchanges), and all shares are subject to the other requirements of the fund into which exchanges are made

n  If you hold share certificates, the transfer agent must receive the certificates endorsed for transfer or with signed stock powers before the exchange is effective

n  The fund may suspend or terminate your exchange privilege if you engage in an excessive pattern of exchanges

 
Waiver of additional sales charges   

Your shares will not be subject to an initial sales charge at the time of the exchange.

Your contingent deferred sales charge (if any) will continue to be measured from the date of your original purchase of shares subject to a contingent deferred sales charge and you will be subject to the contingent deferred sales charge of the fund that you originally purchased.

 
By telephone    If you do not have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, you may be eligible to exchange shares through the fund. You must complete an authorization form to authorize telephone transfers. If eligible, you may make telephone exchanges on any day the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is open. For clients of a PFS Registered Representative, call Primerica Shareholder Services at 800-544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. (Eastern time). All other

 

22         Legg Mason Partners Mutual Funds


 

  

shareholders should call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time). Exchanges are priced at the net asset value next determined.

You can make telephone exchanges only between accounts that have identical registrations.

 
By mail    If you do not have a brokerage account, contact your Service Agent or write to the fund at the address on the following page.
 

Through a systematic

exchange plan

  

You may be permitted to schedule exchanges of shares of any class of the fund for shares of the same class of other Legg Mason Partners Funds.

n   Exchanges may be made, monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually

n   A predetermined dollar amount of at least $25 per exchange is required

 

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services.

 

Small Cap Value Fund         23


 

Redeeming shares

 

Generally   

Contact your Service Agent to redeem shares of the fund.

If you hold share certificates, the transfer agent must receive the certificates endorsed for transfer or with signed stock powers before you may redeem.

If the shares are held by a fiduciary or corporation, other documents may be required.

Redemptions are priced at net asset value next determined after receipt of your request in good order.

Your redemption proceeds will normally be sent within three business days after your request is received in good order, but in any event within 7 days. Your redemption proceeds may be delayed for up to 10 days if your purchase was made by check.

If you have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, your redemption proceeds will be sent to your Service Agent. In other cases, unless you direct otherwise, your redemption proceeds will be paid by check mailed to your address of record.

 
By mail   

Send written requests to the fund at the applicable address:

For clients of a PFS Registered Representative, write Primerica Shareholder Services at the following address:

Primerica Shareholder Services

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9662

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9662

For all other investors, send your request to:

Legg Mason Partners Funds

c/o PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9699

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699

Your written request must provide the following:

n  The fund name, the class of shares to be redeemed, and your account number

n  The dollar amount or number of shares to be redeemed

n  Signatures of each owner exactly as the account is registered

n  Signature guarantees, as applicable

 
By telephone    If you do not have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, you may be eligible to redeem shares (except those held in certain retirement plans) in amounts up to $50,000 per day through the fund. You must complete an authorization form to authorize telephone redemptions. If eligible, you may request redemptions by telephone on any day the NYSE is open. For clients of a PFS Registered Representative, call Primerica Shareholder Services at 800-544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. (Eastern time). All other

 

24         Legg Mason Partners Mutual Funds


 

  

shareholders should call Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010 between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time).

Your redemption proceeds can be sent by check to your address of record or by wire or electronic transfer (ACH) to a bank account designated on your authorization form. You must submit a new authorization form to change the bank account designated to receive wire or electronic transfers and you may be asked to provide certain other documents. The transfer agent may charge a fee on a wire or an electronic transfer (ACH).

 
Automatic cash withdrawal plans   

You can arrange for the automatic redemption of a portion of your shares monthly, every alternate month, quarterly, semi-annually or annually. To qualify you must own shares of the fund with a value of at least $10,000 ($5,000 for retirement plan accounts) and each automatic redemption must be at least $50. If your shares are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge, the sales charge will be waived if your automatic redemptions are equal to or less than 2.00% of your account balance on the date the withdrawals commence per month, up to a maximum of 12.00% in one year.

The following conditions apply:

n  Your shares must not be represented by certificates

n  All dividends and distributions must be reinvested

 

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or consult the SAI.

 

Small Cap Value Fund         25


 

Other things to know about transactions

When you buy, exchange or redeem shares, your request must be in good order. This means you have provided the following information, without which your request may not be processed:

n   Name of the fund
n   Your account number
n   Class of shares being bought, and if you own more than one class, the class of shares being exchanged or redeemed
n   Dollar amount or number of shares being bought, exchanged or redeemed
n   Signature of each owner exactly as the account is registered

The fund’s transfer agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services will employ reasonable procedures to confirm that any telephone exchange or redemption request is genuine, which may include recording calls, asking the caller to provide certain personal identification information, sending you a written confirmation or requiring other confirmation procedures from time to time. If these procedures are followed, neither the fund nor its agent will bear any liability for such transactions.

Signature guarantees

To be in good order, your redemption request must include a signature guarantee if you:

n   Are redeeming over $50,000
n   Are sending signed share certificates or stock powers to the transfer agent
n   Instruct the transfer agent to mail the check to an address different from the one on your account registration
n   Changed your account registration or your address within 30 days
n   Want the check paid to someone other than the account owner(s)
n   Are transferring the redemption proceeds to an account with a different registration

You can obtain a signature guarantee from most banks, dealers, brokers, credit unions and federal savings and loan institutions, but not from a notary public.

The fund has the right to:

n   Suspend the offering of shares
n   Waive or change minimum and additional investment amounts
n   Reject any purchase or exchange order
n   Change, revoke or suspend the exchange privilege
n   Suspend telephone transactions
n   Suspend or postpone redemptions of shares on any day when trading on the NYSE is restricted, or as otherwise permitted by the SEC
n   Pay redemption proceeds by giving you securities. You may pay transaction costs to dispose of the securities

Small account balances/Mandatory redemptions

If at any time the aggregate net asset value of the fund shares in your account is less than $500 for any reason (including solely due to declines in net asset value and/or failure to invest at least $500 within a reasonable period), the fund reserves the right to ask you to bring your account up to the applicable minimum investment amount as determined by

 

26         Legg Mason Partners Mutual Funds


 

your Service Agent. In such case you shall be notified in writing and will have 60 days to make an additional investment to bring your account value up to the required level. If you choose not to do so within this 60-day period, the fund may close your account and send you the redemption proceeds. In the event your account is closed due to a failure to increase your balance to the minimum required amount, you will not be eligible to have your account subsequently reinstated without imposition of any sales charges that may apply to your new purchase. The fund may, with prior notice, change the minimum size of accounts subject to mandatory redemption, which may vary by class, or implement fees for small accounts.

Subject to applicable law, the fund may, with prior notice, adopt other policies from time to time requiring mandatory redemption of shares in certain circumstances.

For more information, please contact your Service Agent or the transfer agent or consult the SAI.

Frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares

Frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares may interfere with the efficient management of the fund’s portfolio by its portfolio manager, increase portfolio transaction costs, and have a negative effect on the fund’s long-term shareholders. For example, in order to handle large flows of cash into and out of the fund, the portfolio manager may need to allocate more assets to cash or other short-term investments or sell securities, rather than maintaining full investment in securities selected to achieve the fund’s investment objective. Frequent trading may cause the fund to sell securities at less favorable prices. Transaction costs, such as brokerage commissions and market spreads, can detract from the fund’s performance. In addition, the return received by long-term shareholders may be reduced when trades by other shareholders are made in an effort to take advantage of certain pricing discrepancies, when, for example, it is believed that the fund’s share price, which is determined at the close of the NYSE on each trading day, does not accurately reflect the value of the fund’s portfolio securities. Funds investing in foreign securities have been particularly susceptible to this form of arbitrage, but other funds could also be affected.

Because of the potential harm to the fund and its long-term shareholders, the Board of the fund has approved policies and procedures that are intended to discourage and prevent excessive trading and market timing abuses through the use of various surveillance techniques. Under these policies and procedures, the fund may limit additional exchanges or purchases of fund shares by shareholders who are believed by the manager to be engaged in these abusive trading activities. The intent of the policies and procedures is not to inhibit legitimate strategies, such as asset allocation, dollar cost averaging, or similar activities that may nonetheless result in frequent trading of fund shares. For this reason, the Board has not adopted any specific restrictions on purchases and sales of fund shares, but the fund reserves the right to reject any exchange or purchase of fund shares with or without prior notice to the account holder. In cases where surveillance of a particular account establishes what the manager believes to be obvious market timing, the manager will seek to block future purchases and exchanges of fund shares by that account. Where surveillance of a particular account indicates activity that the manager believes could be either abusive or for legitimate purposes, the fund may permit the account holder to justify the activity.

 

Small Cap Value Fund         27


 

The policies apply to any account, whether an individual account or accounts with financial intermediaries such as investment advisers, broker/dealers or retirement plan administrators, commonly called omnibus accounts, where the intermediary holds fund shares for a number of its customers in one account. The fund’s ability to monitor trading in omnibus accounts may, however, be severely limited due to the lack of access to an individual investor’s trading activity when orders are placed through these types of accounts. There may also be operational and technological limitations on the ability of the fund’s service providers to identify or terminate frequent trading activity within the various types of omnibus accounts.

The fund’s policies also require personnel such as portfolio managers and investment staff to report any abnormal or otherwise suspicious investment activity, and prohibit short-term trades by such personnel for their own account in mutual funds managed by the manager and its affiliates, other than money market funds. Additionally, the fund has adopted policies and procedures to prevent the selective release of information about the fund’s portfolio holdings, as such information may be used for market-timing and similar abusive practices.

The fund’s policies provide for ongoing assessment of the effectiveness of current policies and surveillance tools, and the Board reserves the right to modify these or adopt additional policies and restrictions in the future. Shareholders should be aware, however, that any surveillance techniques currently employed by the fund or other techniques that may be adopted in the future may not be effective, particularly where the trading takes place through certain types of omnibus accounts. As noted above, if the fund is unable to detect and deter trading abuses, the fund’s performance, and its long-term shareholders, may be harmed. In addition, because the fund has not adopted any specific limitations or restrictions on the trading of fund shares, shareholders may be harmed by the extra costs and portfolio management inefficiencies that result from frequent trading of fund shares, even when the trading is not for abusive purposes. Furthermore, the fund may not apply its policies consistently or uniformly, resulting in the risk that some shareholders may be able to engage in frequent trading while others will bear the costs and effects of that trading. The fund will provide advance notice to shareholders and prospective investors of any specific restrictions on the trading of fund shares that the Board may adopt in the future.

Share certificates

Share certificates for the fund will no longer be issued. If you currently hold share certificates of the fund, such certificates will continue to be honored. If you would like to return your share certificates to the fund and hold your shares in uncertificated form, please contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services.

Record ownership

If you hold shares through a Service Agent, your Service Agent may establish and maintain your account and be the shareholder of record. In the event that the fund holds a shareholder meeting, your Service Agent, as record holder, will vote your shares in accordance with your instructions. If you do not give your Service Agent voting instructions, your Service Agent may nonetheless, under certain circumstances, be entitled to vote your shares.

 

28         Legg Mason Partners Mutual Funds


 

Dividends, distributions and taxes

Dividends and distributions

The fund generally pays dividends and makes capital gain distributions, if any, once a year, typically in December. The fund may pay additional distributions and dividends at other times if necessary for the fund to avoid a federal tax. Long-term capital gain distributions and dividends are reinvested in additional fund shares of the same class you hold. The fund expects distributions to be primarily from capital gains. You do not pay a sales charge on reinvested distributions or dividends. Alternatively, you can instruct your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services to have your distributions and/or dividends paid in cash. You can change your choice at any time to be effective as of the next distribution or dividend.

Taxes

In general, redeeming shares, exchanging shares and receiving dividends and distributions (whether in cash or additional shares) are all taxable events. The following table summarizes the tax status to you of certain transactions related to the fund.

 

Transaction    Federal tax status
Redemption or exchange of shares    Usually capital gain or loss; long-term only if shares owned more than one year
 
Long-term capital gain distributions    Long-term capital gain
 
Dividends    Ordinary income, potentially taxable at long-term capital gain rates
 

Distributions attributable to short-term capital gains are treated as dividends, taxable as ordinary income. Dividends and long-term capital gain distributions are taxable whether received in cash or reinvested in additional fund shares. Although dividends are generally taxable as ordinary income, individual shareholders who satisfy certain holding period and other requirements are taxed on such dividends at long-term capital gain rates to the extent the dividends are attributable to “qualified dividend income” received by the fund. “Qualified dividend income” generally consists of dividends received from U.S. corporations (other than dividends from tax-exempt organizations and certain dividends from real estate investment trusts and regulated investment companies) and certain foreign corporations. Long-term capital gain distributions are taxable to you as long-term capital gain regardless of how long you have owned your shares. You may want to avoid buying shares when the fund is about to declare a long-term capital gain distribution or a dividend, because it will be taxable to you even though it may actually be a return of a portion of your investment.

Corporations may be able to take a dividends-received deduction for a portion of income they receive.

After the end of each year, your Service Agent or the fund will provide you with information about the distributions and dividends you received and any redemptions of shares during the previous year. If you do not provide the fund with your correct taxpayer identification number and any required certifications, you may be subject to back-up withholding on your distributions, dividends and redemption proceeds. Because each

 

Small Cap Value Fund         29


 

shareholder’s circumstances are different and special tax rules may apply, you should consult your tax adviser about your investment in the fund.

The above discussion is applicable to shareholders who are U.S. persons. If you are a non-U.S. person, please consult your own tax adviser with respect to the U.S. tax consequences to you of an investment in the fund.

 

30         Legg Mason Partners Mutual Funds


 

Share price

You may buy, exchange or redeem shares at their net asset value next determined after receipt of your request in good order, plus any applicable sales charge. The fund’s net asset value per share is the value of its assets minus its liabilities divided by the number of shares outstanding. Net asset value is calculated separately for each class of shares. The fund calculates its net asset value every day the NYSE is open. This calculation is done when regular trading closes on the NYSE (normally 4:00 p.m., Eastern time). The NYSE is closed on certain holidays listed in the SAI.

The Board has approved procedures to be used to value the fund’s securities for the purposes of determining the fund’s net asset value. The valuation of the securities of the fund is determined in good faith by or under the direction of the Board. The Board has delegated certain valuation functions for the fund to the manager.

The fund generally values its securities based on market prices determined at the close of regular trading on the NYSE. The fund’s currency valuations, if any, are done as of when the London Stock Exchange closes, which is usually at 12 noon Eastern time, as the manager believes that these valuations typically reflect the largest trading volume in the foreign currency markets. A material change in the value of currency during the period between the close of the London Stock Exchange and the calculation of the fund’s net asset value on the same date is considered a significant event, as described below, in response to which the fund may use fair valuation procedures to value the affected investments. For equity securities that are traded on an exchange, the market price is usually the closing sale or official closing price on that exchange. In the case of securities not traded on an exchange, or if such closing prices are not otherwise available, the market price is typically determined by independent third party pricing vendors approved by the fund’s Board using a variety of pricing techniques and methodologies. The market price for debt obligations is generally the price supplied by an independent third party pricing service approved by the fund’s board, which may use a matrix, formula or other objective method that takes into consideration market indices, yield curves and other specific adjustments. Short-term debt obligations that will mature in 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, unless it is determined that using this method would not reflect an investment’s fair value. If vendors are unable to supply a price, or if the price supplied is deemed by the manager to be unreliable, the market price may be determined using quotations received from one or more brokers/dealers that make a market in the security. When such prices or quotations are not available, or when the manager believes that they are unreliable, the manager may price securities using fair value procedures approved by the Board. Because the fund invests in securities of small capitalization companies some of which may be thinly traded, for which market quotations may not be readily available or may be unreliable — the fund may use fair valuation procedures more frequently than funds that invest primarily in securities that are more liquid, such as securities of large capitalization domestic issuers. The fund may also use fair value procedures if the manager determines that a significant event has occurred between the time at which a market price is determined and the time at which the fund’s net asset value is calculated. In particular, the value of foreign securities may be materially affected by events occurring after the close of the market on which they are valued, but before the fund prices its shares. The fund uses a fair value model

 

Small Cap Value Fund         31


 

developed by an independent third party pricing service to price foreign equity securities on days when there is a certain percentage change in the value of a domestic equity security index, as such percentage may be determined by the manager from time to time.

Valuing securities at fair value involves greater reliance on judgment than valuation of securities based on readily available market quotations. A fund that uses fair value to price securities may value those securities higher or lower than another fund using market quotations or its own fair value methodologies to price the same securities. There can be no assurance that the fund could obtain the fair value assigned to a security if it were to sell the security at approximately the time at which the fund determines its net asset value.

In order to buy, redeem or exchange shares at that day’s price, you must place your order with your Service Agent or the transfer agent before the NYSE closes. If the NYSE closes early, you must place your order prior to the actual closing time.

It is the responsibility of the Service Agent to transmit all orders to buy, exchange or redeem shares to the transfer agent on a timely basis.

 

32         Legg Mason Partners Mutual Funds


 

Financial highlights

The financial highlights tables are intended to help you understand the performance of each class since inception. Certain information reflects financial results for a single share. Total return represents the rate that a shareholder would have earned (or lost) on a fund share assuming reinvestment of all dividends and distributions. The information in the following tables has been derived from the fund’s financial statements which have been audited by [                             ], independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund’s financial statements, is included in the annual report (available upon request). As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares of the fund were renamed Class I shares.

 

For a share of Class A capital stock outstanding throughout each year ended September 30:   
Class A Shares (1)   2006   2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net asset value, beginning of year

    $21.19     $18.24     $14.45     $14.19  
   

Income from operations:

         

Net investment income

    0.13     0.00 (2)   0.06     0.09  

Net realized and unrealized gain

    3.50     4.01     3.94     0.64  
   

Total income from operations

    3.63     4.01     4.00     0.73  
   

Less distributions from:

         

Net investment income

    (0.12 )           (0.14 )

Net realized gains

    (0.68 )   (1.06 )   (0.21 )   (0.33 )
   

Total distributions

    (0.80 )   (1.06 )   (0.21 )   (0.47 )
   

Net asset value, end of year

    $24.02     $21.19     $18.24     $14.45  
   

Total return (3)

    17.37 %   22.35 %   27.98 %   4.88 %
   

Net assets, end of year (000s)

    $291,923     $205,357     $101,798     $72,196  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

         

Gross expenses

    1.18 %   1.16 %   1.19 %   1.18 %

Net expenses

    1.18     1.14 (4)   1.19     1.18  

Net investment income

    0.58     0.02     0.36     0.58  
   

Portfolio turnover rate

    18 %   31 %   68 %   49 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   Amount represents less than $0.01 per share.

 

(3)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower.

 

(4)   The manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees.

 

Small Cap Value Fund         33


 

For a share of Class B capital stock outstanding throughout each year ended September 30:   
Class B Shares (1)   2006   2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net asset value, beginning of year

    $20.71     $17.99     $14.35     $14.10  
   

Income (loss) from operations:

         

Net investment loss

    (0.03 )   (0.15 )   (0.06 )   (0.03 )

Net realized and unrealized gain

    3.41     3.93     3.91     0.63  
   

Total income from operations

    3.38     3.78     3.85     0.60  
   

Less distributions from:

         

Net investment income

                (0.02 )

Net realized gains

    (0.68 )   (1.06 )   (0.21 )   (0.33 )
   

Total distributions

    (0.68 )   (1.06 )   (0.21 )   (0.35 )
   

Net asset value, end of year

    $23.41     $20.71     $17.99     $14.35  
   

Total return (2)

    16.49 %   21.35 %   27.12 %   4.03 %
   

Net assets, end of year (000s)

    $151,555     $142,896     $131,657     $112,946  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

         

Gross expenses

    1.93 %   1.93 %   1.95 %   1.94 %

Net expenses

    1.93     1.91 (3)   1.95     1.94  

Net investment loss

    (0.13 )   (0.77 )   (0.41 )   (0.19 )
   

Portfolio turnover rate

    18 %   31 %   68 %   49 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower.

 

(3)   The manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees.

 

34         Legg Mason Partners Mutual Funds


 

For a share of Class C capital stock outstanding throughout each year ended September 30:   
Class C Shares (1)(2)   2006   2005     2004     2003     2002  

Net asset value, beginning of year

    $20.70     $17.98     $14.35     $14.10  
   

Income (loss) from operations:

         

Net investment loss

    (0.05 )   (0.16 )   (0.06 )   (0.03 )

Net realized and unrealized gain

    3.41     3.94     3.90     0.63  
   

Total income from operations

    3.36     3.78     3.84     0.60  
   

Less distributions from:

         

Net investment income

                (0.02 )

Net realized gains

    (0.68 )   (1.06 )   (0.21 )   (0.33 )
   

Total distributions

    (0.68 )   (1.06 )   (0.21 )   (0.35 )
   

Net asset value, end of year

    $23.38     $20.70     $17.98     $14.35  
   

Total return (3)

    16.40 %   21.36 %   27.05 %   4.04 %
   

Net assets, end of year (000s)

    $179,762     $142,272     $111,838     $91,275  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

         

Gross expenses

    2.01 %   1.96 %   1.96 %   1.94 %

Net expenses

    2.01     1.94 (4)   1.96     1.94  

Net investment income (loss)

    (0.23 )   (0.80 )   (0.41 )   (0.19 )
   

Portfolio turnover rate

    18 %   31 %   68 %   49 %
   

 

(1)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(2)   On April 29, 2004, Class L shares were renamed as Class C shares.

 

(3)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower.

 

(4)   The manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees.

 

Small Cap Value Fund         35


 

For a share of Class I capital stock outstanding throughout each year ended September 30 (except where noted):   
Class I Shares (1)(2)   2006   2005     2004     2003 (3)  

Net asset value, beginning of year

    $21.29     $18.27     $14.57  
   

Income from operations:

       

Net investment income

    0.19     0.07     0.06  

Net realized and unrealized gain

    3.55     4.01     3.64  
   

Total income from operations

    3.74     4.08     3.70  
   

Less distributions from:

       

Net investment income

    (0.19 )        

Net realized gains

    (0.68 )   (1.06 )    
   

Total distributions

    (0.87 )   (1.06 )    
   

Net asset value, end of year

    $24.16     $21.29     $18.27  
   

Total return (4)

    17.81 %   22.71 %   25.39 %
   

Net assets, end of year (000s)

    $161,667     $60,684     $23,757  
   

Ratios to average net assets:

       

Gross expenses

    0.81 %   0.86 %   0.80 % (5)

Net expenses

    0.81     0.84 (6)   0.80 (5)

Net investment income

    0.84     0.32     0.75 (5)
   

Portfolio turnover rate

    18 %   31 %   68 %
   

 

(1)   As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

(2)   Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

 

(3)   For the period April 14, 2003 (inception date) to September 30, 2003.

 

(4)   Performance figures may reflect voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. Past performance is no guarantee of future results. In the absence of voluntary fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower. Total returns for periods of less than one year are not annualized.

 

(5)   Annualized.

 

(6)   The manager voluntarily waived a portion of its fees.

 

36         Legg Mason Partners Mutual Funds


 

 

(Investment Company Act

file no. 811-03275)

[                        ]

LOGO

Legg Mason Partners

Small Cap Value Fund

You may look at the Fund’s website at http://www.leggmason/InvestorServices for a free copy of a Prospectus, Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”) or an Annual or Semi-Annual Report, or to request other information.

Shareholder reports Additional information about the fund’s investments is available in the fund’s Annual and Semi-Annual Reports to shareholders. In the fund’s Annual Report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the fund’s performance.

The fund sends only one report to a household if more than one account has the same address. Contact your Service Agent or Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services if you do not want this policy to apply to you.

Statement of additional information The SAI provides more detailed information about the fund and is incorporated by reference into (is legally a part of) this Prospectus.

You can make inquiries about the fund or obtain shareholders reports (without charge) by contacting your Service Agent, by calling Legg Mason Partners Shareholder Services at 800-451-2010, (or for clients of a PFSI Registered Representative, call Primerica Shareholder Services at 800-544-5445) or by writing to the fund at Legg Mason Partners Funds, 125 Broad Street, New York, New York 10004.

Information about the fund (including the SAI) can be reviewed and copied at the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (the “SEC”) Public Reference Room in Washington, D.C. Information on the operation of the Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC at 1-800-SEC-0330. Reports and other information about the fund are available on the EDGAR Database on the SEC’s Internet site at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of this information may be obtained for a duplicating fee by electronic request at the following E-mail address: publicinfo@sec.gov, or by writing the SEC’s Public Reference Section, Washington, D.C. 20549-0102.

If someone makes a statement about the fund that is not in this Prospectus, you should not rely upon that information. Neither the fund nor the distributors are offering to sell shares of the fund to any person to whom the fund may not lawfully sell its shares.


    , 2007

LEGG MASON PARTNERS SMALL CAP VALUE FUND

125 Broad Street

New York, NY 10004

(800) 451-2010

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

This Statement of Additional Information (the “SAI”) expands upon and supplements the information contained in the current prospectus of the Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Value Fund (the “fund”), dated     , 2007, as amended or supplemented from time to time, and should be read in conjunction with the prospectus. As part of a number of initiatives launched in 2006 to restructure and streamline the Legg Mason Partners fund complex, the fund assumed the assets and liabilities of a predecessor fund with the same name. The fund is now grouped for organizational and governance purposes with other Legg Mason Partners funds that are predominantly equity-type funds, and is a series of Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”), a Massachusetts business trust. Other initiatives, including the election of a new Board and the approval of certain revised fundamental investment policies, have also been accomplished, and more information on these matters appears in this SAI. If certain remaining initiatives are accomplished, the fund will become a series of Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust, a Maryland business trust. Certain historical information contained in the SAI is that of the fund’s predecessor.

Additional information about the fund’s investments is available in the fund’s annual report to shareholders. This report contains financial statements that are incorporated herein by reference. A prospectus and copies of the reports may be obtained free of charge by contacting a distributor’s financial advisor or registered representative, a broker/dealer, financial intermediary or a financial institution that has entered into an agreement with one of the fund’s distributors, (each called a “Service Agent”), or by writing or calling the fund at the address or telephone number set forth above. Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC (“LMIS”), a wholly-owned broker/dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”), Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”) and PFS Investments Inc. (“PFS”) serve as the fund’s distributors. This SAI, although not in itself a prospectus, is incorporated by reference into the prospectus in its entirety.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

Investment Objective and Management Policies

   2

Portfolio Manager Disclosure

   17

Investment Restrictions

   19

Management

   23

Distributors

   33

Purchase of Shares

   37

Redemption of Shares

   43

Valuation of Shares

   46

Exchange Privilege

   46

Taxes

   47

Additional Information

   53

Financial Statements

   59

Other Information

  

Appendix A—Proxy Voting Guidelines and Procedures Summary

   A-1

 

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INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE AND MANAGEMENT POLICIES

The prospectus discusses the fund’s investment objective and policies. The fund has called a meeting of shareholders to consider several proposals. If approved by the shareholders, the fund’s investment objective may be changed without shareholder approval. The following discussion supplements the description of the fund’s investment policies in its prospectus. Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC (“LMPFA” or the “manager”) serves as investment manager to the fund. ClearBridge Advisors, LLC (“ClearBridge” or the “subadviser”) serves as the subadviser to the fund. The fund seeks long-term capital growth.

Principal Investment Strategies

The fund attempts to achieve its investment objective by investing, under normal circumstances, at least 80% of the value of its net assets, plus any borrowings for investment purposes, in equity securities of small capitalization U.S. companies or in other investments with similar economic characteristics. Small capitalization companies are companies with market capitalization values at the time of investment that do not exceed (i) $3 billion or (ii) the highest month-end market capitalization value of any stock in the Russell 2000 Index (the “Index”) for the previous 12 months, whichever is greater. Securities of companies whose market capitalizations no longer meet this definition after purchase by the fund still will be considered to be securities of small capitalization companies for purposes of the fund’s 80% investment policy. The size of the companies in the Index changes with market conditions and the composition of the Index. Investments in smaller capitalized companies may offer greater opportunities for growth of capital than larger, more established companies, but may also involve certain risks because smaller capitalized companies often have limited market or financial resources and may be dependent on one or two people for management. In addition, shares of smaller capitalized companies have limited liquidity and more volatility which could result in significant fluctuations in the price of their shares. The fund’s 80% investment policy is non-fundamental and may be changed by the Board of Trustees of the Trust to become effective upon at least 60 days’ notice to shareholders prior to any such change.

The fund will normally invest in all types of equity securities, including common stocks, preferred stocks, securities that are convertible into common or preferred stocks, such as warrants and convertible bonds, and depositary receipts for those securities. It is the policy of the fund to be as fully invested in equity securities as practicable at all times. The fund may invest up to 20% of the value of its net assets in shares of companies with larger market capitalization.

Additional Information

The fund’s principal investment strategies are described above. The following provides additional information on these principal strategies and describes other investment strategies that may be used by the fund.

Under certain circumstances, the fund may maintain a portion of its assets, which will usually not exceed 10%, in U.S. Government securities, money market obligations, and in cash to provide for payment of the fund’s expenses and to meet redemption requests. The fund reserves the right, as a defensive measure, to hold money market securities, including repurchase agreements or cash, in such proportions as, in the opinion of management, prevailing market or economic conditions warrant.

The fund may invest up to 10% of its assets in securities of other investment companies, including shares in a portfolio of securities that seeks to track the performance of an underlying equity index or a portion of an equity index.

The fund may invest up to 10% of its total assets in foreign securities, including both direct investments and investments made through depositary receipts. The fund may also invest in real estate investment trusts; purchase or sell securities on a when-issued or delayed-delivery basis; enter into forward commitments to purchase securities; lend portfolio securities; purchase and sell put and call options; invest in illiquid securities; and enter into interest rate futures contracts, stock index futures contracts and related options.

 

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The different types of securities and investment techniques used by the fund all involve risks of varying degrees. For example, with respect to common stock, there can be no assurance of capital appreciation, and there is a risk of market decline. With respect to debt securities, including money market instruments, there is the risk that the issuer of a security may not be able to meet its obligation to make scheduled interest and/or principal payments.

Convertible Securities. Convertible securities are generally preferred securities or fixed-income securities that are convertible into common stock at either a stated price or stated rate. The price of the convertible security will normally vary in some proportion to changes in the price of the underlying common stock because of this conversion feature. A convertible security will normally also provide a fixed income stream. For this reason, the convertible security may not decline in price as rapidly as the underlying common stock. Convertible securities rank senior to common stocks in an issuer’s capital structure and consequently entail less risk than the issuer’s common stock. The subadviser will select convertible securities to be purchased by the fund based primarily upon its evaluation of the fundamental investment characteristics and growth prospects of the issuer of the security. As a fixed income security, a convertible security tends to increase in market value when interest rates decline and decrease in value when interest rates rise. While convertible securities generally offer lower interest or dividend yields than non-convertible fixed income securities of similar quality, their value tends to increase as the market value of the underlying stock increases and to decrease when the value of the underlying stock decreases.

Foreign Securities. The fund has the authority to invest up to 10% of its assets in foreign securities. In addition to direct investment in securities of foreign issuers, the fund may also invest in securities of foreign issuers in the form of sponsored and unsponsored American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), European Depositary Receipts (“EDRs”), Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”) or other similar securities convertible into securities of foreign issuers. These securities may not necessarily be denominated in the same currency as the securities into which they may be converted. The fund also may invest in securities denominated in European Currency Units (“ECUs”). An ECU is a “basket” consisting of a specified amount of currencies of certain of the member states of the European Union. In addition, the fund may invest in securities denominated in other currency baskets.

There are certain risks involved in investing in securities of companies and governments of foreign nations that are in addition to the usual risks inherent in domestic investments. These risks include those resulting from revaluation of currencies, future adverse political and economic developments and the possible imposition of currency exchange blockages or other foreign governmental laws or restrictions, reduced availability of public information concerning issuers and the lack of uniform accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards or of other regulatory practices and requirements comparable to those applicable to domestic companies. The yield of the fund may be adversely affected by fluctuations in value of one or more foreign currencies relative to the U.S. dollar. Moreover, securities of many foreign companies and their markets may be less liquid and their prices more volatile than those of securities of comparable domestic companies. In addition, with respect to certain foreign countries, there is the possibility of expropriation, nationalization, confiscatory taxation and limitations on the use or removal of funds or other assets of the fund, including the withholding of dividends. Foreign securities may be subject to foreign government taxes that could reduce the yield on such securities. Because the fund may invest in securities denominated or quoted in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, changes in foreign currency exchange rates may adversely affect the value of portfolio securities and the appreciation or depreciation of investments. Investment in foreign securities also may result in higher expenses due to the cost of converting foreign currency to U.S. dollars, the payment of fixed brokerage commissions on foreign exchanges, which generally are higher than commissions on domestic exchanges, and the expense of maintaining securities with foreign custodians, and the imposition of transfer taxes or transaction charges associated with foreign exchanges.

Illiquid Securities. Up to 15% of the assets of the fund may be invested in illiquid securities, including (a) repurchase agreements with maturities greater than seven days, (b) futures contracts and options thereon for which a liquid secondary market does not exist, (c) time deposits maturing in more than seven calendar days and (d) securities subject to contractual or other restrictions on resale and other instruments that lack readily available markets. The fund may not be able to dispose of restricted securities at a time when, or at a price at which, it desires to do so and may have to bear expenses associated with registering the securities.

 

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Real Estate Investment Trusts (“REITs”). The fund may invest in REITs, which are pooled investment vehicles that invest primarily in either real estate or real estate-related loans. The value of a REIT is affected by changes in the value of the properties owned by the REIT or securing mortgage loans held by the REIT. REITs are dependent upon cash flow from their investments to repay financing costs and the management skill of the REIT’s manager. REITs are also subject to risks generally associated with investments in real estate. The fund will indirectly bear its proportionate share of any expenses, including management fees, paid by a REIT in which it invests.

Debt Securities. Debt securities in which the fund may invest include notes, bills, commercial paper, obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government or any of its political subdivisions, agencies or instrumentalities, and certificates of deposit. Debt securities represent money borrowed that obligates the issuer (e.g., a corporation, municipality, government, government agency) to repay the borrowed amount at maturity (when the obligation is due and payable) and usually to pay the holder interest at specific times.

All debt securities are subject to market risk and credit risk. Market risk relates to market-induced changes in a security’s value, usually as a result of changes in interest rates. The value of the fund’s investments in debt securities will change as the general levels of interest rates fluctuate. During periods of falling interest rates, the value of the fund’s debt securities will generally rise. Conversely, during periods of rising interest rates, the value of the fund’s debt securities will generally decline. Credit risk relates to the ability of the issuer to make payments of principal and interest. The fund has no restrictions with respect to the maturities or duration of the debt securities it holds. The fund’s investments in fixed income securities with longer terms to maturity or greater duration are subject to greater volatility than the fund’s shorter-term securities.

Money Market Instruments. As stated in the prospectus, the fund may invest for defensive purposes in corporate and government bonds and notes and money market instruments. Short-term instruments in which the fund may invest include obligations of banks having at least $1 billion in assets (including certificates of deposit, time deposits and bankers’ acceptances of domestic or foreign banks, domestic savings and loan associations and similar institutions); commercial paper rated no lower than A-2 by the Standard & Poor’s Division of The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. or Prime-2 by Moody’s Investors Service, Inc. or the equivalent from another nationally recognized statistical rating organization or, if unrated, of an issuer having an outstanding, unsecured debt issue then rated within the two highest rating categories; and repurchase agreements with respect to any of the foregoing entered into with banks and non-bank dealers approved by the Board.

The following is a more detailed description of such money market instruments.

Bank Obligations. Certificates of deposits (“CDs”) are short-term, negotiable obligations of commercial banks. Time deposits (“TDs”) are non-negotiable deposits maintained in banking institutions for specified periods of time at stated interest rates. Bankers’ acceptances are time drafts drawn on commercial banks by borrowers, usually in connection with international transactions.

Domestic commercial banks organized under federal law are supervised and examined by the Comptroller of the Currency and are required to be members of the Federal Reserve System and to be insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (the “FDIC”). Domestic banks organized under state law are supervised and examined by state banking authorities but are members of the Federal Reserve System only if they elect to join. Most state banks are insured by the FDIC (although such insurance may not be of material benefit to the fund, depending upon the principal amount of CDs of each bank held by the fund) and are subject to federal examination and to a substantial body of federal law and regulation. As a result of governmental regulations, domestic branches of domestic banks are, among other things, generally required to maintain specified levels of reserves, and are subject to other supervision and regulation designed to promote financial soundness.

Obligations of foreign branches of domestic banks, such as CDs and TDs, may be general obligations of the parent bank in addition to the issuing branch, or may be limited by the terms of a specific obligation and governmental regulation. Such obligations are subject to different risks than are those of domestic banks or

 

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domestic branches of foreign banks. These risks include foreign economic and political developments, foreign governmental restrictions that may adversely affect payment of principal and interest on the obligations, foreign exchange controls and foreign withholding and other taxes on interest income. Foreign branches of domestic banks are not necessarily subject to the same or similar regulatory requirements that apply to domestic banks, such as mandatory reserve requirements, loan limitations, and accounting, auditing and financial recordkeeping requirements. In addition, less information may be publicly available about a foreign branch of a domestic bank than about a domestic bank. CDs issued by wholly owned Canadian subsidiaries of domestic banks are guaranteed as to repayment of principal and interest (but not as to sovereign risk) by the domestic parent bank.

Obligations of domestic branches of foreign banks may be general obligations of the parent bank in addition to the issuing branch, or may be limited by the terms of a specific obligation and by governmental regulation as well as governmental action in the country in which the foreign bank has its head office. A domestic branch of a foreign bank with assets in excess of $1 billion may or may not be subject to reserve requirements imposed by the Federal Reserve System or by the state in which the branch is located if the branch is licensed in that state. In addition, branches licensed by the Comptroller of the Currency and branches licensed by certain states (“State Branches”) may or may not be required to: (a) pledge to the regulator by depositing assets with a designated bank within the state, an amount of its assets equal to 5% of its total liabilities; and (b) maintain assets within the state in an amount equal to a specified percentage of the aggregate amount of liabilities of the foreign bank payable at or through all of its agencies or branches within the state. The deposits of State Branches may not necessarily be insured by the FDIC. In addition, there may be less publicly available information about a domestic branch of a foreign bank than about a domestic bank.

In view of the foregoing factors associated with the purchase of CDs and TDs issued by foreign branches of domestic banks or by domestic branches of foreign banks, the manager will carefully evaluate such investments on a case-by-case basis.

Savings and loans associations whose CDs may be purchased by the fund are supervised by the Office of Thrift Supervision and are insured by the Savings Association Insurance Fund which is administered by the FDIC and is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government. As a result, such savings and loan associations are subject to regulation and examination.

U.S. Government Securities. The fund may invest in U.S. Government securities. Generally, these securities include U.S. Treasury obligations and obligations issued or guaranteed by U.S. Government agencies, instrumentalities or sponsored enterprises. U.S. Government securities also include Treasury receipts and other stripped U.S. Government securities, where the interest and principal components of stripped U.S. Government securities are traded independently. The fund may also invest in zero coupon U.S. Treasury securities and in zero coupon securities issued by financial institutions, which represent a proportionate interest in underlying U.S. Treasury securities. A zero coupon security pays no interest to its holder during its life and its value consists of the difference between its face value at maturity and its cost. The market values of zero coupon securities generally are more volatile than the market prices of securities that pay interest periodically.

Repurchase Agreements. The fund may enter into repurchase agreements in order to earn income on available cash or as a temporary defensive measure. Under a repurchase agreement, the fund acquires securities subject to the seller’s agreement to repurchase at a specified time and price. If the seller becomes subject to a proceeding under the bankruptcy laws or its assets are otherwise subject to a stay order, the fund’s right to liquidate the securities may be restricted (during which time the value of the securities could decline).

Pursuant to an exemptive order issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), the fund, along with other affiliated entities managed by the manager, may transfer uninvested cash balances into one or more joint repurchase accounts. These balances are invested in one or more repurchase agreements, secured by U.S. Government securities. Securities that are collateral for repurchase agreements are financial assets subject to the fund’s entitlement orders through its securities account at its custodian bank until the agreements mature. Each

 

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joint repurchase agreement requires that the market value of the collateral be sufficient to cover payments of interest and principal; however, in the event of default by the other party to the agreement, retention or sale of the collateral may be subject to legal proceedings.

Lending of Portfolio Securities. Consistent with applicable regulatory requirements and for cash management purposes, the fund has the ability to lend securities from its portfolio to brokers, dealers and other financial organizations. Such loans, if and when made, will be consistent with applicable regulatory requirements. The fund may not lend its portfolio securities to the subadviser or its affiliates unless it has applied for and received specific authority from the SEC. Loans of portfolio securities by the fund will be collateralized by cash, letters of credit or securities issued or guaranteed by the United States government, its agencies or instrumentalities which will be maintained at all times in an amount equal to at least 100% of the current market value of the loaned securities.

In lending its portfolio securities, the fund can increase its income by continuing to receive interest on the loaned securities as well as by either investing the cash collateral in short-term instruments or obtaining yield in the form of interest paid by the borrower when government securities are used as collateral. Requirements of the SEC, which may be subject to future modifications, currently provide that the following conditions must be met whenever portfolio securities are loaned: (a) the fund must receive at least 100% cash collateral or equivalent securities from the borrower; (b) the borrower must increase such collateral whenever the market value of the securities rises above the level of such collateral; (c) the fund must be able to terminate the loan at any time; (d) the fund must receive reasonable interest on the loan, as well as an amount equal to any dividends, interest or other distributions on the loaned securities, and any increase in market value; (e) the fund may pay only reasonable custodian fees in connection with the loan; and (f) voting rights on the loaned securities may pass to the borrower; however, if a material event adversely affecting the investment occurs, the fund may terminate the loan and regain the right to vote the securities. Payments received by the fund in lieu of any dividends paid on the loaned securities will not be treated as “qualified dividend income” for purposes of determining what portion of the fund’s dividends received by individuals may be taxed at the rates generally applicable to long-term capital gains (see “Taxes”). The risks in lending portfolio securities, as with other extensions of secured credit, consist of possible delay in receiving additional collateral or in the recovery of the securities or possible loss of rights in the collateral should the borrower fail financially. Loans will be made to firms deemed by the subadviser to be of good standing and will not be made unless, in the judgment of the subadviser the consideration to be earned from such loans would justify the risk. From time to time, the fund may return to the borrower and/or a third party, which is unaffiliated with the fund, Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”) of which LMPFA is a wholly-owned subsidiary, or Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”), one of the fund’s distributors, and which is acting as a “finder,” a part of the interest earned from the investment of collateral received for securities loaned.

Reverse Repurchase Agreements. The fund may enter into reverse repurchase agreements. A reverse repurchase agreement involves the sale of a money market instrument by the fund and its agreement to repurchase the instrument at a specified time and price. The fund will maintain a segregated account consisting of U.S. Government securities or cash or cash equivalents to cover its obligations under reverse repurchase agreements with broker-dealers and other financial institutions. The fund will invest the proceeds in other money market instruments or repurchase agreements maturing not later than the expiration of the reverse repurchase agreement. Under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), reverse repurchase agreements may be considered borrowings by the seller.

Reverse repurchase agreements create opportunities for increased returns to the shareholders of the fund but, at the same time, create special risk considerations. Although the principal or stated value of such borrowings will be fixed, the fund’s assets may change in value during the time the borrowing is outstanding. To the extent the income or other gain derived from securities purchased with borrowed funds exceeds the interest or dividends the fund will have to pay in respect thereof, the fund’s net income or other gain will be greater than if this type of investment technique had not been used. Conversely, if the income or other gain from the incremental assets is not sufficient to cover this cost, the net income or other gain of the fund will be less than if the reverse repurchase agreement had not been used.

 

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The fund currently intends to invest not more than 33  1 / 3 % of its total assets in reverse repurchase agreements.

Options, Futures and Currency Strategies. The fund may use forward currency contracts and certain options and futures strategies to attempt to hedge its portfolio, i.e., reduce the overall level of investment risk normally associated with the fund. There can be no assurance that such efforts will succeed.

To attempt to hedge against adverse movements in exchange rates between currencies, the fund may enter into forward currency contracts for the purchase or sale of a specified currency at a specified future date. Such contracts may involve the purchase or sale of a foreign currency against the U.S. dollar or may involve two foreign currencies. The fund may enter into forward currency contracts either with respect to specific transactions or with respect to its portfolio positions. For example, when the investment adviser anticipates making a purchase or sale of a security, it may enter into a forward currency contract in order to set the rate (either relative to the U.S. dollar or another currency) at which the currency exchange transaction related to the purchase or sale will be made (“transaction hedging”). Further, when the subadviser believes that a particular currency may decline compared to the U.S. dollar or another currency, the fund may enter into a forward contract to sell the currency the subadviser expects to decline in an amount approximating the value of some or all of the fund’s securities denominated in that currency, or when the subadviser believes that one currency may decline against a currency in which some or all of the portfolio securities held by the fund are denominated, it may enter into a forward contract to buy the currency expected to decline for a fixed amount (“position hedging”). In this situation, the fund may, in the alternative, enter into a forward contract to sell a different currency for a fixed amount of the currency expected to decline where the subadviser believes that the value of the currency to be sold pursuant to the forward contract will fall whenever there is a decline in the value of the currency in which portfolio securities of the fund are denominated (“cross hedging”). The fund’s custodian places (i) cash, (ii) U.S. Government securities or (iii) equity securities or debt securities (of any grade) in certain currencies provided such assets are liquid, unencumbered and marked to market daily, or other high-quality debt securities denominated in certain currencies in a separate account of the fund having a value equal to the aggregate account of the fund’s commitments under forward contracts entered into with respect to position hedges and cross-hedges. If the value of the securities placed in a separate account declines, additional cash or securities are placed in the account on a daily basis so that the value of the amount will equal the amount of the fund’s commitments with respect to such contracts.

For hedging purposes, the fund may write covered call options and purchase put and call options on currencies to hedge against movements in exchange rates and on debt securities to hedge against the risk of fluctuations in the prices of securities held by the fund or which the subadviser intends to include in its portfolio. The fund also may use interest rate futures contracts and options thereon to hedge against changes in the general level in interest rates.

The fund may write call options on securities and currencies only if they are covered, and such options must remain covered so long as the fund is obligated as a writer. A call option written by the fund is “covered” if the fund owns the securities or currency underlying the option or has an absolute and immediate right to acquire that security or currency without additional cash consideration (or for additional cash consideration held in a segregated account by its custodian) upon conversion or exchange of other securities or currencies held in its portfolio. A call option is also covered if the fund holds on a share-for-share basis a call on the same security or holds a call on the same currency as the call written where the exercise price of the call held is equal to less than the exercise price of the call written or greater than the exercise price of the call written if the difference is maintained by the fund in cash, Treasury bills or other high-grade, short-term obligations in a segregated account with its custodian.

Although the portfolio might not employ the use of forward currency contracts, options and futures, the use of any of these strategies would involve certain investment risks and transaction costs to which it might not otherwise be subject. These risks include: dependence on the investment adviser’s ability to predict movements in the prices of individual debt securities, fluctuations in the general fixed-income markets and movements in

 

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interest rates and currency markets, imperfect correlation between movements in the price of currency, options, futures contracts or options thereon and movements in the price of the currency or security hedged or used for cover; the fact that skills and techniques needed to trade options, futures contracts and options thereon or to use forward currency contracts are different from those needed to select the securities in which the fund invests; and lack of assurance that a liquid market will exist for any particular option, futures contract or options thereon at any particular time and possible need to defer or accelerate closing out certain options, futures contracts and options thereon in order to continue to qualify for the beneficial tax treatment afforded regulated investment companies under the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”).

Options on Securities. As discussed more generally above, the fund may engage in the writing of covered call options. The fund may also purchase put options and enter into closing transactions.

The principal reason for writing covered call options on securities is to attempt to realize, through the receipt of premiums, a greater return than would be realized on the securities alone. In return for a premium, the writer of a covered call option forfeits the right to any appreciation in the value of the underlying security above the strike price for the life of the option (or until a closing purchase transaction can be effected). Nevertheless, the call writer retains the risk of a decline in the price of the underlying security. Similarly, the principal reason for writing covered put options is to realize income in the form of premiums. The writer of a covered put option accepts the risk of a decline in the price of the underlying security. The size of the premiums the fund may receive may be adversely affected as new or existing institutions, including other investment companies, engage in or increase their option-writing activities.

Options written by the fund will normally have expiration dates between one and six months from the date written. The exercise price of the options may be below, equal to, or above the current market values of the underlying securities at the times the options are written. In the case of call options, these exercise prices are referred to as “in-the-money,” “at-the-money” and “out-of-the-money,” respectively.

The fund may write (a) in-the-money call options when the subadviser expects the price of the underlying security to remain flat or decline moderately during the option period, (b) at-the-money call options when the subadviser expects the price of the underlying security to remain flat or advance moderately during the option period and (c) out-of-the-money call options when the subadviser expects that the price of the security may increase but not above a price equal to the sum of the exercise price plus the premiums received from writing the call option. In any of the preceding situations, if the market price of the underlying security declines and the security is sold at this lower price, the amount of any realized loss will be offset wholly or in part by the premium received. Out-of-the-money, at-the-money and in-the-money put options (the reverse of call options as to the relation of exercise price to market price) may be utilized in the same market environments as such call options are used in equivalent transactions.

So long as the obligation of the fund as the writer of an option continues, the fund may be assigned an exercise notice by the broker-dealer through which the option was sold, requiring it to deliver, in the case of a call, or take delivery of, in the case of a put, the underlying security against payment of the exercise price. This obligation terminates when the option expires or the fund effects a closing purchase transaction. The fund can no longer effect a closing purchase transaction with respect to an option once it has been assigned an exercise notice. To secure its obligation to deliver the underlying security when it writes a call option, or to pay for the underlying security when it writes a put option, the fund will be required to deposit in escrow the underlying security or other assets in accordance with the rules of the Options Clearing Corporation (“Clearing Corporation”) or similar clearing corporation and the securities exchange on which the option is written.

An option position may be closed out only where there exists a secondary market for an option of the same series on a recognized securities exchange or in the over-the-counter market. The fund expects to write options only on national securities exchanges or in the over-the-counter market. The fund may purchase put options issued by the Clearing Corporation or in the over-the-counter market.

 

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The fund may realize a profit or loss upon entering into a closing transaction. In cases in which a fund has written an option, it will realize a profit if the cost of the closing purchase transaction is less than the premium received upon writing the original option and will incur a loss if the cost of the closing purchase transaction exceeds the premium received upon writing the original option. Similarly, when the fund has purchased an option and engages in a closing sale transaction, whether it recognizes a profit or loss will depend upon whether the amount received in the closing sale transaction is more or less than the premium the fund initially paid for the original option plus the related transaction costs.

Although the fund generally will purchase or write only those options for which the subadviser believes there is an active secondary market so as to facilitate closing transactions, there is no assurance that sufficient trading interest to create a liquid secondary market on a securities exchange will exist for any particular option or at any particular time, and for some options no such secondary market may exist. A liquid secondary market in an option may cease to exist for a variety of reasons. In the past, for example, higher than anticipated trading activity or order flow, or other unforeseen events, have at times rendered certain of the facilities of the Clearing Corporation and national securities exchanges inadequate and resulted in the institution of special procedures, such as trading rotations, restrictions on certain types of orders or trading halts or suspensions in one or more options. There can be no assurance that similar events, or events that may otherwise interfere with the timely execution of customers’ orders, will not recur. In such event, it might not be possible to effect closing transactions in particular options. If, as a covered call option writer, the fund is unable to effect a closing purchase transaction in a secondary market, it will not be able to sell the underlying security until the option expires or it delivers the underlying security upon exercise.

Securities exchanges generally have established limitations governing the maximum number of calls and puts of each class which may be held or written, or exercised within certain periods, by an investor or group of investors acting in concert (regardless of whether the options are written on the same or different securities exchanges or are held, written or exercised in one or more accounts or through one or more brokers). It is possible that the fund and other clients of the subadviser and certain of their affiliates may be considered to be such a group. A securities exchange may order the liquidation of positions found to be in violation of these limits, and it may impose certain other sanctions.

In the case of options written by the fund that are deemed covered by virtue of the fund’s holding convertible or exchangeable preferred stock or debt securities, the time required to convert or exchange and obtain physical delivery of the underlying common stocks with respect to which the fund has written options may exceed the time within which the fund must make delivery in accordance with an exercise notice. In these instances, the fund may purchase or temporarily borrow the underlying securities for purposes of physical delivery. By so doing, the fund will not bear any market risk because a fund will have the absolute right to receive from the issuer of the underlying security an equal number of shares to replace the borrowed stock, but the fund may incur additional transaction costs or interest expenses in connection with any such purchase or borrowing.

Although the subadviser will attempt to take appropriate measures to minimize the risks relating to the fund’s writing of call options and purchasing of put and call options, there can be no assurance that the fund will succeed in its option-writing program.

Stock Index Options. As described generally above, the fund may purchase put and call options and write call options on domestic stock indexes listed on domestic exchanges in order to realize its investment objective of capital appreciation or for the purpose of hedging its portfolio. A stock index fluctuates with changes in the market values of the stocks included in the index. Some stock index options are based on a broad market index such as the New York Stock Exchange Composite Index or the Canadian Market Portfolio Index, or a narrower market index such as the Standard & Poor’s 100 Index. Indexes also are based on an industry or market segment such as the American Stock Exchange Oil and Gas Index or the Computer and Business Equipment Index.

 

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Options on stock indexes are generally similar to options on stock except that the delivery requirements are different. Instead of giving the right to take or make delivery of stock at a specified price, an option on a stock index gives the holder the right to receive a cash “exercise settlement amount” equal to (a) the amount, if any, by which the fixed exercise price of the option exceeds (in the case of a put) or is less than (in the case of a call) the closing value of the underlying index on the date of exercise, multiplied by (b) a fixed “index multiplier.” Receipt of this cash amount will depend upon the closing level of the stock index upon which the option is based being greater than, in the case of a call, or less than, in the case of a put, the exercise price of the option. The amount of cash received will be equal to such difference between the closing price of the index and the exercise price of the option expressed in dollars or a foreign currency, as the case may be, times a specified multiple. The writer of the option is obligated, in return for the premium received, to make delivery of this amount. The writer may offset its position in stock index options prior to expiration by entering into a closing transaction on an exchange or it may let the option expire unexercised.

The effectiveness of purchasing or writing stock index options as a hedging technique will depend upon the extent to which price movements in the portion of the securities portfolio of the fund correlate with price movements of the stock index selected. Because the value of an index option depends upon movements in the level of the index rather than the price of a particular stock, whether the fund will realize a gain or loss from the purchase or writing of options on an index depends upon movements in the level of stock prices in the stock market generally or, in the case of certain indexes, in an industry or market segment, rather than movements in the price of a particular stock. Accordingly, successful use by the fund of options on stock indexes will be subject to the subadviser’s ability to predict correctly movements in the direction of the stock market generally or of a particular industry. This requires different skills and techniques than predicting changes in the price of individual stocks.

Futures Contracts and Options on Futures Contracts. As described generally above, the fund may invest in stock index futures contracts and options on futures contracts that are traded on a domestic exchange or board of trade.

The purpose of entering into a futures contract by the fund is to protect the fund from fluctuations in the value of securities without actually buying or selling the securities. For example, in the case of stock index futures contracts, if the fund anticipates an increase in the price of stocks that it intends to purchase at a later time, the fund could enter into contracts to purchase the stock index (known as taking a “long” position) as a temporary substitute for the purchase of stocks. If an increase in the market occurs that influences the stock index as anticipated, the value of the futures contracts increases and thereby serves as a hedge against the fund’s not participating in a market advance. The fund then may close out the futures contracts by entering into offsetting futures contracts to sell the stock index (known as taking a “short” position) as it purchases individual stocks. The fund can accomplish similar results by buying securities with long maturities and selling securities with short maturities. But by using futures contracts as an investment tool to reduce risk, given the greater liquidity in the futures market, it may be possible to accomplish the same result more easily and more quickly.

No consideration will be paid or received by the fund upon the purchase or sale of a futures contract. Initially, the fund will be required to deposit with the broker an amount of cash or cash equivalents equal to approximately 1% to 10% of the contract amount (this amount is subject to change by the exchange or board of trade on which the contract is traded and brokers or members of such board of trade may charge a higher amount). This amount is known as “initial margin” and is in the nature of a performance bond or good faith deposit on the contract which is returned to the fund, upon termination of the futures contract, assuming all contractual obligations have been satisfied. Subsequent payments, known as “variation margin,” to and from the broker, will be made daily as the price of the index or securities underlying the futures contract fluctuates, making the long and short positions in the futures contract more or less valuable, a process known as “marking-to-market.” In addition, when the fund enters into a long position in a futures contract or an option on a futures contract, it must deposit into a segregated account with the fund’s custodian an amount of cash or cash equivalents equal to the total market value of the underlying futures contract, less amounts held in the fund’s commodity brokerage account at its broker. At any time prior to the expiration of a futures contract, the fund may elect to close the position by taking an opposite position, which will operate to terminate the fund’s existing position in the contract.

 

10


The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (“CFTC”) has eliminated limitations on futures transactions and options thereon by registered investment companies, provided that the subadviser to the registered investment company claims an exclusion from regulation as a commodity pool operator. The fund is operated by a person who has claimed an exclusion from the definition of the term “commodity pool operator” under the Commodity Exchange Act and therefore is not subject to registration or regulation as a pool operator under the Commodity Exchange Act. As a result of these CFTC rule changes, the fund is no longer restricted in its ability to enter into futures transactions and options thereon under CFTC regulations. The fund, however, continues to have policies with respect to futures and options thereon as set forth herein. The current view of the staff of the SEC is that the fund’s long and short positions in future contracts as well as put and call options on futures written by it must be collateralized with cash or other liquid securities and segregated with the fund’s custodian or a designated sub-custodian or “covered” in a manner similar to that for covered options on securities and designed to eliminate any potential leveraging.

There are several risks in connection with the use of futures contracts as a hedging device. Successful use of futures contracts by the fund is subject to the ability of the subadviser to predict correctly movements in the stock market or in the direction of interest rates. These predictions involve skills and techniques that may be different from those involved in the management of investments in securities. In addition, there can be no assurance that there will be a perfect correlation between movements in the price of the securities underlying the futures contract and movements in the price of the securities that are the subject of the hedge. A decision of whether, when and how to hedge involves the exercise of skill and judgment, and even a well-conceived hedge may be unsuccessful to some degree because of market behavior or unexpected trends in market behavior or interest rates.

Positions in futures contracts may be closed out only on the exchange on which they were entered into (or through a linked exchange) and no secondary market exists for those contracts. In addition, although the fund intends to enter into futures contracts only if there is an active market for the contracts, there is no assurance that an active market will exist for the contracts at any particular time. Most futures exchanges and boards of trade limit the amount of fluctuation permitted in futures contract prices during a single trading day. Once the daily limit has been reached in a particular contract, no trades may be made that day at a price beyond that limit. It is possible that futures contract prices could move to the daily limit for several consecutive trading days with little or no trading, thereby preventing prompt liquidation of futures positions and subjecting some futures traders to substantial losses. In such event, and in the event of adverse price movements, the fund would be required to make daily cash payments of variation margin; in such circumstances, an increase in the value of the portion of the portfolio being hedged, if any, may partially or completely offset losses on the futures contract. As described above, however, no assurance can be given that the price of the securities being hedged will correlate with the price movements in a futures contract and thus provide an offset to losses on the futures contract.

When-Issued Securities and Delayed Delivery Transactions. In order to secure what the subadviser considers to be an advantageous price or yield, the fund may purchase U.S. Government securities on a when-issued basis or purchase or sell U.S. government securities for delayed delivery. The fund will enter into such purchase transactions for the purpose of acquiring portfolio securities and not for the purpose of leverage. Delivery of the securities in such cases occurs beyond the normal settlement periods, but no payment or delivery is made by the fund prior to the reciprocal delivery or payment by the other party to the transaction. In entering into a when-issued or delayed-delivery transaction, the fund relies on the other party to consummate the transaction and may be disadvantaged if the other party fails to do so.

U.S. Government securities normally are subject to changes in value based upon changes, real or anticipated, in the level of interest rates and, to a lesser extent, the public’s perception of the creditworthiness of the issuers. In general, U.S. Government securities tend to appreciate when interest rates decline and depreciate when interest rates rise. Purchasing U.S. Government securities on a when-issued or delayed-delivery basis, therefore, can involve the risk that the yields available in the market when the delivery takes place may actually be higher than those obtained in the transaction itself. Similarly, the sale of U.S. Government securities for delayed delivery can involve the risk that the prices available in the market when the delivery is made may actually be higher than those obtained in the transaction itself.

 

11


A fund will at times maintain in a segregated account at the Custodian cash or liquid securities equal to the amount of the fund’s when-issued or delayed-delivery commitments. For the purpose of determining the adequacy of the securities in the account, the deposited securities will be valued at market or fair value. If the market or fair value of such securities declines, additional cash or securities will be placed in the account on a daily basis so that the value of the account will equal the amount of such commitments by the fund. Placing securities rather than cash in the account may have a leveraging effect on the fund’s assets. That is, to the extent that the fund remains substantially fully invested in securities at the time that it has committed to purchase securities on a when-issued basis, there will be greater fluctuation in its net asset value than if it had set aside cash to satisfy its purchase commitments. On the settlement date, the fund will meet its obligations from then available cash flow, the sale of securities held in the separate account, the sale of other securities or, although it normally would not expect to do so, from the sale of the when-issued or delayed-delivery securities themselves (which may have a greater or lesser value than the fund’s payment obligations).

Portfolio Transactions

Subject to policies as may be established by the fund’s Board from time to time, the subadviser is primarily responsible for the fund’s portfolio decisions and the placing of the fund’s portfolio transactions, except that the manager manages the cash and short-term investments of the fund. Transactions on stock exchanges involve the payment of negotiated brokerage commissions. There is generally no stated commission in the case of securities traded in the over-the-counter market, but the price of those securities includes an undisclosed commission or mark-up. Over-the-counter purchases and sales are transacted directly with principal market makers except where it is believed that better prices and executions may be obtained elsewhere. The cost of securities purchased from underwriters includes an underwriting commission or concession, and the prices at which securities are purchased from and sold to dealers include a dealer’s mark-up or mark-down. The aggregate brokerage commissions paid by the fund for the three most recent fiscal years is set forth below under “Aggregate Brokerage Commissions Paid.”

Pursuant to the Management Agreement and Sub-Advisory Agreement, each of the manager and the subadviser is authorized to place orders pursuant to their investment determinations for a fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. The general policy of the manager and subadviser in selecting brokers and dealers is to obtain the best results achievable in the context of a number of factors which are considered both in relation to individual trades and broader trading patterns, including the reliability of the broker/dealer, the competitiveness of the price and the commission, the research services received and whether the broker/dealer commits its own capital. In connection with the manager’s or subadviser’s monitoring of portfolio transactions for compliance with its policies, the manager and subadviser each utilize both an internal committee and a third party service provider.

In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934) to the fund and/or the other accounts over which the manager, the subadviser or their affiliates exercise investment discretion. The manager and subadviser are authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for the fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the manager or subadviser determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities that the manager, the subadviser and their affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The manager and/or subadviser may also have arrangements with brokers pursuant to which such brokers provide research services to the manager or subadviser, as applicable, in exchange for a certain volume of brokerage transactions to be executed by such brokers. While the payment of higher commissions increases the fund’s costs, neither the manager nor the subadviser believes that the receipt of such brokerage and research services significantly reduces its expenses as manager or subadviser. Arrangements for the receipt of research services from brokers may create conflicts of interest.

 

12


Research services furnished to the manager or subadviser by brokers who effect securities transactions for the fund may be used by the manager or subadviser in servicing other investment companies and accounts which it manages. Similarly, research services furnished to the manager or subadviser by brokers who effect securities transactions for other investment companies and accounts which the manager or subadviser manages may be used by the manager or subadviser, as applicable, in servicing the fund. Not all of these research services are used by the manager or subadviser in managing any particular account, including the fund. For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2006, the fund paid commissions to brokers that provided research services as follows:

 

Total Dollar Amount of

Brokerage Transactions

Related to Research Services

  

Total Dollar Amount of

Brokerage Commissions

Paid on Transactions

Related to Research Services

$        

   $        

The fund contemplates that, consistent with the policy of obtaining the best net results, brokerage transactions may be conducted through “affiliated broker/dealers”, as defined in the 1940 Act. The fund’s Board of Trustees has adopted procedures in accordance with Rule 17e-1 under the 1940 Act to ensure that all brokerage commissions paid to such affiliates are reasonable and fair in the context of the market in which such affiliates operate. Effective December 1, 2005 CGMI is no longer an affiliated person of the fund under the 1940 Act. As a result, the fund will be permitted to execute portfolio transactions with CGMI or an affiliate of CGMI as agent (but not as principal) without being subject to the restrictions applicable to transactions with affiliated persons.

Aggregate Brokerage Commissions Paid

For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2004, 2005 and 2006, the fund paid aggregate brokerage commissions and brokerage commissions to CGMI and its affiliates as set out below:

 

Fiscal Year Ending September 30:

   Total
Brokerage
Commissions
   Commissions
Paid to
CGMI and
Affiliates
   % of Total
Brokerage
Commissions
Paid to CGMI
and Affiliates
    % of Total
Dollar Amount
of Transactions
Involving
Commissions
Paid to CGMI
and Affiliates
 

2004

   $ 387,603    $ 0    0 %   0 %

2005

   $ 423,431    $ 9,500    2 %   5 %

2006*

   $      $        %       %  

* CGMI was not an affiliated person of the fund under the 1940 Act during the entire period.

As of December 1, 2005, LMIS became an affiliated person of the fund under the 1940 Act. For the period December 1, 2005 through September 30, 2006, the fund did not pay any brokerage commissions to LMIS or its affiliates.

During the fiscal year ended September 30, 2006 the fund purchased securities issued by the following regular broker-dealers of the fund, which had the following values as of September 30, 2006:

 

Broker-Dealer

  

Value of Securities as of

    September 30, 2006    

$

   $        

$

   $        

In certain instances there may be securities that are suitable as an investment for the fund as well as for one or more of the manager’s or subadviser’s other clients. Investment decisions for the fund and for the manager’s or subadviser’s other clients are made with a view to achieving their respective investment objectives. It may develop that a particular security is bought or sold for only one client even though it might be held by, or bought

 

13


or sold for, other clients. Likewise, a particular security may be bought for one or more clients when one or more clients are selling the same security. Some simultaneous transactions are inevitable when several clients receive investment advice from the same investment adviser, particularly when the same security is suitable for the investment objectives of more than one client. When two or more clients are simultaneously engaged in the purchase or sale of the same security, the securities are allocated among clients in a manner believed to be equitable to each. It is recognized that in some cases this system could adversely affect the price of or the size of the position obtainable in a security for the fund. When purchases or sales of the same security for the fund and for other funds managed by the adviser occur contemporaneously, the purchase or sale orders may be aggregated in order to obtain any price advantages available to large volume purchases or sales.

For reporting purposes, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate is calculated by dividing the lesser of purchases or sales of portfolio securities for the fiscal year by the monthly average of the value of the portfolio securities owned by the fund during the fiscal year. In determining such portfolio turnover, all securities whose maturities at the time of acquisition were one year or less are excluded. A 100% portfolio turnover rate would occur, for example, if all of the securities in the fund’s investment portfolio (other than short-term money market securities) were replaced once during the fiscal year. Portfolio turnover will not be a limiting factor should the manager or subadviser deem it advisable to purchase or sell securities.

For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2005 and 2006, the fund’s portfolio turnover rates were 18% and     , respectively.

In the event that portfolio turnover increases, this increase necessarily results in correspondingly greater transaction costs which must be paid by the fund. To the extent portfolio trading results in realization of net short-term capital gains, shareholders will be taxed on such gains at ordinary tax rates (except shareholders who invest through IRAs and other retirement plans which are not taxed currently on accumulations in their accounts).

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

The fund has adopted policies and procedures developed by LMPFA, the fund’s investment manager, with respect to the disclosure of the fund’s portfolio securities and any ongoing arrangements to make available information about the fund’s portfolio securities. The policy requires that consideration always be given as to whether disclosure of information about the fund’s portfolio holdings is in the best interests of the fund’s shareholders, and that any conflicts of interest between the interests of the fund’s shareholders and those of LMPFA, the fund’s distributors, or their affiliates, be addressed in a manner that places the interests of fund shareholders first. The policy provides that information regarding the fund’s portfolio holdings may not be shared with non-Legg Mason employees, with investors or potential investors (whether individual or institutional), or with third parties unless it is done for legitimate fund business purposes and in accordance with the policy.

LMPFA’s policy generally provides for the release of details of securities positions once they are considered “stale.” Data is considered stale 25 calendar days following quarter-end for funds other than money market funds, and 25 calendar days following month-end with respect to money market funds. LMPFA believes that this passage of time prevents a third party from benefiting from an investment decision made by a fund that has not been fully reflected by the market.

Under the policy, the fund’s complete list of holdings (including the size of each position) may be made available to investors, potential investors, third parties and non-Legg Mason employees with simultaneous public disclosure at least 25 days after calendar quarter end, except in the case of a money market fund’s holdings, which may be released with simultaneous public disclosure at least 25 days after month end. Typically, simultaneous public disclosure is achieved by the filing of Form N-Q or Form N-CSR in accordance with SEC rules, provided that such filings may not be made until 25 days following quarter-end and/or posting the information to a Legg Mason or the fund’s Internet site that is accessible by the public, or through public release by a third party vendor.

 

14


The policy permits the release of limited portfolio holdings information that is not yet considered stale in a number of situations, including:

1. The fund’s top ten securities, current as of month-end, and the individual size of each such security position may be released at any time following month-end with simultaneous public disclosure.

2. The fund’s top ten securities positions (including the aggregate but not individual size of such positions) may be released at any time with simultaneous public disclosure.

3. The list of securities (that may include fund holdings together with other securities) followed by a portfolio manager (without position sizes or identification of particular funds) may be disclosed to sell-side brokers at any time for the purpose of obtaining research and/or market information from such brokers.

4. The trade in process may be discussed only with counterparties, potential counterparties and others involved in the transaction (i.e., brokers and custodians).

5. The fund’s sector weightings, yield and duration (for fixed income and money market funds), performance attribution (e.g. analysis of the fund’s out performance or underperformance of its benchmark based on its portfolio holdings) and other summary and statistical information that does not include identification of specific portfolio holdings may be released, even if non-public, if such release is otherwise in accordance with the policy’s general principles.

6. The fund’s portfolio holdings may be released on an as-needed basis to its legal counsel, counsel to its Independent Trustees, and its independent public accounting firm, in required regulatory filings or otherwise to governmental agencies and authorities.

Under the policy, if information about the fund’s portfolio holdings is released pursuant to an ongoing arrangement with any party, the fund must have a legitimate business purpose for the release of the information, and either the party receiving the information must be under a duty of confidentiality, or the release of non-public information must be subject to trading restrictions and confidential treatment to prohibit the entity from sharing with an unauthorized source or trading upon any non-public information provided. Neither the fund, nor Legg Mason, nor any other affiliated party may receive compensation or any other consideration in connection with such arrangements. Ongoing arrangements to make available information about the fund’s portfolio securities will be reviewed at least annually by the fund’s Board.

The approval of the fund’s Chief Compliance Officer, or designee, must be obtained before entering into any new ongoing arrangement or altering any existing ongoing arrangement to make available portfolio holdings information, or with respect to any exceptions to the policy. Any exceptions to the policy must be consistent with the purposes of the policy. Exceptions are considered on a case-by-case basis and are granted only after a thorough examination and consultation with LMPFA’s legal department, as necessary. Exceptions to the policies are reported to the fund’s Board at its next regularly scheduled meeting.

Currently, the fund discloses its complete portfolio holdings approximately 25 days after calendar quarter end on its website:www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices.

Set forth below is a list, as [                    ], of those parties with whom LMPFA, on behalf of the fund, has authorized ongoing arrangements that include the release of portfolio holdings information in accordance with the policy, as well as the frequency of the release under such arrangements, and the length of the lag, if any, between the date of the information and the date on which the information is disclosed. The parties identified below as recipients are service providers, fund rating agencies, consultants and analysts.

 

Recipient

  

Frequency

  

Delay before dissemination

State Street Bank & Trust Co. (Fund Custodian and Accounting Agent)

   Daily    None

Institutional Shareholders Services (Proxy Voting Services)

   As necessary    None

Bloomberg

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

 

15


Recipient

  

Frequency

  

Delay before dissemination

Lipper

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

S&P

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Morningstar

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Vestek

   Daily    None

Factset

   Daily    None

Bank of New York

   Daily    None

[To be updated by amendment]

Portfolio holdings information for the fund may also be released from time to time pursuant to ongoing arrangements with the following parties:

 

Recipient

  

Frequency

  

Delay before dissemination

Baseline

   Daily    None

Frank Russell

   Monthly    1 Day

Callan

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Mercer

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

eVestment Alliance

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

CRA RogersCasey

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Cambridge Associates

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Marco Consulting

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Wilshire

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Informa Investment Services (Efron)

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

CheckFree (Mobius)

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Nelsons Information

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Investor Tools

   Daily    None

Advent

   Daily    None

BARRA

   Daily    None

Plexus

   Quarterly (Calendar)    Sent 1-3 business days following the end of a Quarter

Elkins/McSherry

   Quarterly (Calendar)    Sent 1-3 business days following the end of a Quarter

Quantitative Services Group

   Daily    None

AMBAC

   Daily    None

Deutsche Bank

   Monthly    6-8 Business Days

Fitch

   Monthly    6-8 Business Days

Liberty Hampshire

   Weekly and Month End    None

Sun Trust

   Weekly and Month End    None

New England Pension Consultants

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Evaluation Associates

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

Watson Wyatt

   Quarterly    25 Days after Quarter End

S&P (Rating Agency)

   Weekly Tuesday Night    1 business day

Moody’s (Rating Agency)

   Weekly Tuesday Night    1 business day

 

16


PORTFOLIO MANAGER DISCLOSURE

Portfolio Manager

The following tables set forth certain additional information with respect to the fund’s portfolio manager. Unless noted otherwise, all information is provided as of September 30, 2006.

Other Accounts Managed by Portfolio Manager

The table below identifies the number of accounts (other than the fund with respect to which information is provided) for which the portfolio manager has day-to-day management responsibilities and the total assets in such accounts within each of the following categories: registered investment companies, other pooled investment vehicles, and other accounts. No accounts had fees based on performance.

 

Portfolio Manager(s)

  

Registered Investment
Companies

  

Other Pooled Investment
Vehicles

  

Other Accounts

Peter Hable

        registered investment companies with $     billion in total assets under management         other pooled investment vehicles with $     billion in assets under management             other accounts with $     billion in total assets under management

Portfolio Manager Compensation

ClearBridge Advisors, LLC (“ClearBridge”) investment professionals receive base salary and other employee benefits and are eligible to receive incentive compensation. Base salary is fixed and typically determined based on market factors and the skill and experience of individual investment personnel.

ClearBridge has implemented an investment management incentive and deferred compensation plan (the “Plan”) for its investment professionals, including the fund’s portfolio manager(s). Each investment professional works as a part of an investment team. The Plan is designed to align the objectives of ClearBridge investment professionals with those of fund shareholders and other ClearBridge clients. Under the Plan a “base incentive pool” is established for each team each year as a percentage of ClearBridge’s revenue attributable to the team (largely management and related fees generated by funds and other accounts). A team’s revenues are typically expected to increase or decrease depending on the effect that the team’s investment performance as well as inflows and outflows have on the level of assets in the investment products managed by the team. The “base incentive pool” of a team is reduced by base salaries paid to members of the team and other employee expenses attributable to the team.

The investment team’s incentive pool is then adjusted to reflect its ranking among a “peer group” of non-ClearBridge investment managers and the team’s pre-tax investment performance against the applicable product benchmark (e.g. a securities index and, with respect to a fund, the benchmark set forth in the fund’s prospectus to which the fund’s average annual total returns are compared or, if none, the benchmark set forth in the fund’s annual report). Longer-term (5- year) performance will be more heavily weighted than shorter-term (1- year) performance in the calculation of the performance adjustment factor. The incentive pool for a team may also be adjusted based on other qualitative factors by the applicable ClearBridge Chief Investment Officer. The incentive pool will be allocated by the applicable ClearBridge chief investment officer to the team leader and, based on the recommendations of the team leader, to the other members of the team.

Up to 20% of an investment professional’s annual incentive compensation is subject to deferral. Of that principal deferred award amount, 25% will accrue a return based on the hypothetical returns of the investment fund or product that is the primary focus of the investment professional’s business activities with the Firm, 25% will accrue a return based on the hypothetical returns of an employee chosen composite fund, and 50% may be received in the form of Legg Mason restricted stock shares.

Potential Conflicts of Interest

Potential conflicts of interest may arise when the fund’s portfolio manager also has day-to-day management responsibilities with respect to one or more other funds or other accounts, as is the case for the portfolio manager listed in the table above.

 

17


The manager, the subadviser and the fund have adopted compliance polices and procedures that are designed to address various conflicts of interest that may arise for the manager and the individuals that it employs. For example, the manager and the subadviser each seek to minimize the effects of competing interests for the time and attention of portfolio managers by assigning portfolio managers to manage funds and accounts that share a similar investment style. The manager and the sub adviser have also adopted trade allocation procedures that are designed to facilitate the fair allocation of limited investment opportunities among multiple funds and accounts. There is no guarantee, however, that the policies and procedures adopted by the manager, the subadviser and the fund will be able to detect and/or prevent every situation in which an actual or potential conflict may appear. These potential conflicts include:

Allocation of Limited Time and Attention. A portfolio manager who is responsible for managing multiple funds and/or accounts may devote unequal time and attention to the management of those funds and/or accounts. As a result, the portfolio manager may not be able to formulate as complete a strategy or identify equally attractive investment opportunities for each of those accounts as might be the case if he or she were to devote substantially more attention to the management of a single fund. The effects of this potential conflict may be more pronounced where funds and/or accounts overseen by a particular portfolio manager have different investment strategies.

Allocation of Limited Investment Opportunities. If a portfolio manager identifies a limited investment opportunity that may be suitable for multiple funds and/or accounts, the opportunity may be allocated among these several funds or accounts, which may limit a fund’s ability to take full advantage of the investment opportunity.

Pursuit of Differing Strategies. At times, a portfolio manager may determine that an investment opportunity may be appropriate for only some of the funds and/or accounts for which he or she exercises investment responsibility, or may decide that certain of the funds and/or accounts should take differing positions with respect to a particular security. In these cases, the portfolio manager may place separate transactions for one or more funds or accounts which may affect the market price of the security or the execution of the transaction, or both, to the detriment or benefit of one or more other funds and/or accounts.

Selection of Broker/Dealers. Portfolio managers may be able to select or influence the selection of the brokers and dealers that are used to execute securities transactions for the funds and/or accounts that they supervise. In addition to executing trades, some brokers and dealers provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934), which may result in the payment of higher brokerage fees than might have otherwise been available. These services may be more beneficial to certain funds or accounts than to others. Although the payment of brokerage commissions is subject to the requirement that the sub-adviser determine in good faith that the commissions are reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided to the fund, a decision as to the selection of brokers and dealers could yield disproportionate costs and benefits among the funds and/or accounts managed. For this reason, the subadviser has formed a brokerage committee that reviews, among other things, the allocation of brokerage to broker/dealers, best execution and soft dollar usage.

Variation in Compensation. A conflict of interest may arise where the financial or other benefits available to the portfolio manager differ among the funds and/or accounts that he or she manages. If the structure of the manager’s management fee and/or the portfolio manager’s compensation differs among funds and/or accounts (such as where certain funds or accounts pay higher management fees or performance-based management fees), the portfolio manager might be motivated to help certain funds and/or accounts over others. The portfolio manager might be motivated to favor funds and/or accounts in which he or she has an interest or in which the manager and/or its affiliates have interests. Similarly, the desire to maintain assets under management or to enhance the portfolio manager’s performance record or to derive other rewards, financial or otherwise, could influence the portfolio manager in affording preferential treatment to those funds and/or accounts that could most significantly benefit the portfolio manager.

 

18


Related Business Opportunities. The manager or its affiliates may provide more services (such as distribution or recordkeeping) for some types of funds or accounts than for others. In such cases, a portfolio manager may benefit, either directly or indirectly, by devoting disproportionate attention to the management of fund and/or accounts that provide greater overall returns to the manager and its affiliates.

Portfolio Manager Securities Ownership

The table below identifies ownership of fund securities by the portfolio manager.

 

        Portfolio Manager(s)            

Dollar Range of

Ownership of Securities

   
  Peter Hable      

INVESTMENT RESTRICTIONS

The fund has adopted the following investment restrictions for the protection of shareholders. Restrictions 1 through 7 cannot be changed without approval by the holders of a majority of the outstanding shares of the fund, defined as the lesser of (a) 67% or more of the fund’s shares present at a meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the outstanding shares are present in person or by proxy or (b) more than 50% of the fund’s outstanding shares. The remaining restrictions may be changed by the Board at any time. As discussed under “Proposed Investment Restrictions” below, the fund is proposing to change its investment restrictions.

Current Investment Restrictions

Under the investment restrictions adopted by the fund, the fund may not:

1. Invest in a manner that would cause it to fail to be a “diversified company” under the 1940 Act and the rules, regulations and orders thereunder.

2. Issue “senior securities” as defined in the 1940 Act and the rules, regulations and orders thereunder, except as permitted under the 1940 Act and the rules, regulations and orders thereunder.

3. Invest more than 25% of its total assets in securities, the issuers of which conduct their principal business activities in the same industry. For purposes of this limitation, securities of the U.S. government (including its agencies and instrumentalities) and securities of state or municipal governments and their political subdivisions are not considered to be issued by members of any industry.

4. Borrow money except that (a) the fund may borrow from banks for temporary or emergency (not leveraging) purposes, including the meeting of redemption requests which might otherwise require the untimely disposition of securities, and (b) the fund may, to the extent consistent with its investment policies, enter into reverse repurchase agreements, forward roll transactions and similar investment strategies and techniques. To the extent that it engages in transactions described in (a) and (b), the fund will be limited so that no more than 33  1 / 3 % of the value of its total assets (including the amount borrowed), valued at the lesser of cost or market, less liabilities (not including the amount borrowed) valued at the time the borrowing is made, is derived from such transactions.

5. Make loans. This restriction does not apply to: (a) the purchase of debt obligations in which the fund may invest consistent with its investment objective and policies; (b) repurchase agreements; and (c) loans of its portfolio securities, to the fullest extent permitted under the 1940 Act.

6. Engage in the business of underwriting securities issued by other persons, except to the extent that the fund may technically be deemed to be an underwriter under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, in disposing of portfolio securities.

7. Purchase or sell real estate, real estate mortgages, commodities or commodity contracts, but this restriction shall not prevent the fund from: (a) investing in securities of issuers engaged in the real estate business or the business of investing in real estate (including interests in limited partnerships owning or otherwise engaging in the real estate business or the business of investing in real estate) and securities which are secured by real estate or

 

19


interests therein; (b) holding or selling real estate received in connection with securities it holds or held; (c) trading in futures contracts and options on futures contracts (including options on currencies to the extent consistent with the fund’s investment objective and policies); or (d) investing in real estate investment trust securities.

8. Purchase any securities on margin (except for such short-term credits as are necessary for the clearance of purchases and sales of portfolio securities) or sell any securities short (except “against the box”). For purposes of this restriction, the deposit or payment by the fund of underlying securities and other assets in escrow and collateral agreements with respect to initial or maintenance margin in connection with futures contracts and related options and options on securities, indexes or similar items is not considered to be the purchase of a security on margin.

9. Invest in oil, gas or other mineral exploration programs.

10. Purchase or otherwise acquire any security if, as a result, more than 15% of its net assets would be invested in securities that are illiquid.

11. Invest in companies for the purpose of exercising management or control.

12. Invest in securities of an issuer which, together with any predecessor, has been in operation for less than three years if, as a result, more than 5% of the total assets of the fund would then be invested in such securities (for purposes of this restriction, issuers include predecessors, sponsors, controlling persons, general guarantors and originators of underlying assets).

If any percentage restriction described above is complied with at the time of an investment, a later increase or decrease in percentage resulting from a change in values or assets will not constitute a violation of such restriction.

Proposed Investment Restrictions

The fund has called a meeting of its shareholders to consider several proposals, including the adoption of revised fundamental investment policies or restrictions. If approved by the fund’s shareholders, the fund’s revised fundamental policies will be as follows:

1. The fund may not borrow money except as permitted by (i) the 1940 Act or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

2. The fund may not engage in the business of underwriting the securities of other issuers except as permitted by (i) the 1940 Act or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

3. The fund may lend money or other assets to the extent permitted by (i) the 1940 Act or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

4. The fund may not issue senior securities except as permitted by (i) the 1940 Act or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

5. The fund may not purchase or sell real estate except as permitted by (i) the 1940 Act or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

6. The fund may purchase or sell commodities or contracts related to commodities to the extent permitted by (i) the 1940 Act or interpretations or modifications by the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, or (ii) exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority.

7. Except as permitted by exemptive or other relief or permission from the SEC, SEC staff or other authority with appropriate jurisdiction, the fund may not make any investment if, as a result, the fund’s investments will be concentrated in any one industry.

 

20


With respect to the fundamental policy relating to borrowing money set forth in (1) above, the 1940 Act permits a fund to borrow money in amounts of up to one-third of the fund’s total assets from banks for any purpose, and to borrow up to 5% of the fund’s total assets from banks or other lenders for temporary purposes. To limit the risks attendant to borrowing, the 1940 Act requires the fund to maintain at all times an “asset coverage” of at least 300% of the amount of its borrowings. Asset coverage means the ratio that the value of the fund’s total assets, minus liabilities other than borrowings, bears to the aggregate amount of all borrowings. Certain trading practices and investments, such as reverse repurchase agreements, may be considered to be borrowings and thus subject to the 1940 Act restrictions. Borrowing money to increase portfolio holdings is known as “leveraging.” Borrowing, especially when used for leverage, may cause the value of a fund’s shares to be more volatile than if the fund did not borrow. This is because borrowing tends to magnify the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of the fund’s portfolio holdings. Borrowed money thus creates an opportunity for greater gains, but also greater losses. To repay borrowings, the fund may have to sell securities at a time and at a price that is unfavorable to the fund. There also are costs associated with borrowing money, and these costs would offset and could eliminate a fund’s net investment income in any given period. [Currently the fund does not contemplate borrowing money for leverage, but if the fund does so, it will not likely do so to a substantial degree.] The policy in (1) above will be interpreted to permit a fund to engage in trading practices and investments that may be considered to be borrowing to the extent permitted by the 1940 Act. Short-term credits necessary for the settlement of securities transactions and arrangements with respect to securities lending will not be considered to be borrowings under the policy. Practices and investments that may involve leverage but are not considered to be borrowings are not subject to the policy.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to underwriting set forth in (2) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from engaging in the underwriting business or from underwriting the securities of other issuers; in fact, the 1940 Act permits a fund to have underwriting commitments of up to 25% of its assets under certain circumstances. Those circumstances currently are that the amount of the fund’s underwriting commitments, when added to the value of the fund’s investments in issuers where the fund owns more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of those issuers, cannot exceed the 25% cap. A fund engaging in transactions involving the acquisition or disposition of portfolio securities may be considered to be an underwriter under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”). Under the 1933 Act, an underwriter may be liable for material omissions or misstatements in an issuer’s registration statement or prospectus. Securities purchased from an issuer and not registered for sale under the 1933 Act are considered restricted securities. There may be a limited market for these securities. If these securities are registered under the 1933 Act, they may then be eligible for sale but participating in the sale may subject the seller to underwriter liability. These risks could apply to a fund investing in restricted securities. Although it is not believed that the application of the 1933 Act provisions described above would cause a fund to be engaged in the business of underwriting, the policy in (2) above will be interpreted not to prevent the fund from engaging in transactions involving the acquisition or disposition of portfolio securities, regardless of whether the fund may be considered to be an underwriter under the 1933 Act.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to lending set forth in (3) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from making loans; however, SEC staff interpretations currently prohibit funds from lending more than one-third of their total assets, except through the purchase of debt obligations or the use of repurchase agreements. (A repurchase agreement is an agreement to purchase a security, coupled with an agreement to sell that security back to the original seller on an agreed-upon date at a price that reflects current interest rates. The SEC frequently treats repurchase agreements as loans.) While lending securities may be a source of income to a fund, as with other extensions of credit, there are risks of delay in recovery or even loss of rights in the underlying securities should the borrower fail financially. However, loans would be made only when the fund’s manager or a sub-adviser believes the income justifies the attendant risks. The fund also will be permitted by this policy to make loans of money, including to other funds. A fund would have to obtain exemptive relief from the SEC to make loans to other funds. The policy in (3) above will be interpreted not to prevent a fund from purchasing or investing in debt obligations and loans. In addition, collateral arrangements with respect to options, forward currency and futures transactions and other derivative instruments, as well as delays in the settlement of securities transactions, will not be considered loans.

 

21


With respect to the fundamental policy relating to issuing senior securities set forth in (4) above, “senior securities” are defined as fund obligations that have a priority over the fund’s shares with respect to the payment of dividends or the distribution of fund assets. The 1940 Act prohibits a fund from issuing senior securities except that the fund may borrow money in amounts of up to one-third of the fund’s total assets from banks for any purpose. A fund also may borrow up to 5% of the fund’s total assets from banks or other lenders for temporary purposes, and these borrowings are not considered senior securities. The issuance of senior securities by a fund can increase the speculative character of the fund’s outstanding shares through leveraging. Leveraging of a fund’s portfolio through the issuance of senior securities magnifies the potential for gain or loss on monies, because even though the fund’s net assets remain the same, the total risk to investors is increased to the extent of the fund’s gross assets. The policy in (4) above will be interpreted not to prevent collateral arrangements with respect to swaps, options, forward or futures contracts or other derivatives, or the posting of initial or variation margin.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to real estate set forth in (5) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from owning real estate; however, a fund is limited in the amount of illiquid assets it may purchase. Investing in real estate may involve risks, including that real estate is generally considered illiquid and may be difficult to value and sell. Owners of real estate may be subject to various liabilities, including environmental liabilities. To the extent that investments in real estate are considered illiquid, the current SEC staff position generally limits a fund’s purchases of illiquid securities to 15% of net assets. The policy in (5) above will be interpreted not to prevent a fund from investing in real estate-related companies, companies whose businesses consist in whole or in part of investing in real estate, instruments (like mortgages) that are secured by real estate or interests therein, or real estate investment trust securities.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to commodities set forth in (6) above, the 1940 Act does not prohibit a fund from owning commodities, whether physical commodities and contracts related to physical commodities (such as oil or grains and related futures contracts), or financial commodities and contracts related to financial commodities (such as currencies and, possibly, currency futures). However, a fund is limited in the amount of illiquid assets it may purchase. To the extent that investments in commodities are considered illiquid, the current SEC staff position generally limits a fund’s purchases of illiquid securities to 15% of net assets. If a fund were to invest in a physical commodity or a physical commodity-related instrument, the fund would be subject to the additional risks of the particular physical commodity and its related market. The value of commodities and commodity-related instruments may be extremely volatile and may be affected either directly or indirectly by a variety of factors. There also may be storage charges and risks of loss associated with physical commodities. The policy in (6) above will be interpreted to permit investments in exchange traded funds that invest in physical and/or financial commodities.

With respect to the fundamental policy relating to concentration set forth in (7) above, the 1940 Act does not define what constitutes “concentration” in an industry. The SEC staff has taken the position that investment of 25% or more of a fund’s total assets in one or more issuers conducting their principal activities in the same industry or group of industries constitutes concentration. It is possible that interpretations of concentration could change in the future. A fund that invests a significant percentage of its total assets in a single industry may be particularly susceptible to adverse events affecting that industry and may be more risky than a fund that does not concentrate in an industry. The policy in (7) above will be interpreted to refer to concentration as that term may be interpreted from time to time. The policy also will be interpreted to permit investment without limit in the following: securities of the U.S. government and its agencies or instrumentalities; securities of state, territory, possession or municipal governments and their authorities, agencies, instrumentalities or political subdivisions; securities of foreign governments; and repurchase agreements collateralized by any such obligations. Accordingly, issuers of the foregoing securities will not be considered to be members of any industry. There also will be no limit on investment in issuers domiciled in a single jurisdiction or country. The policy also will be interpreted to give broad authority to a fund as to how to classify issuers within or among industries.

The fund’s proposed fundamental policies are written and will be interpreted broadly. For example, the policies will be interpreted to refer to the 1940 Act and the related rules as they are in effect from time to time, and to interpretations and modifications of or relating to the 1940 Act by the SEC and others as they are given

 

22


from time to time. When a policy provides that an investment practice may be conducted as permitted by the 1940 Act, the policy will be interpreted to mean either that the 1940 Act expressly permits the practice or that the 1940 Act does not prohibit the practice.

The fund is currently classified as a diversified fund under the 1940 Act. This means that the fund may not purchase securities of an issuer (other than obligations issued or guaranteed by the U.S. government, its agencies or instrumentalities) if, with respect to 75% of its total assets, (a) more than 5% of the fund’s total assets would be invested in securities of that issuer, or (b) the fund would hold more than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of that issuer. With respect to the remaining 25% of its total assets, the fund can invest more than 5% of its assets in one issuer. Under the 1940 Act, the fund cannot change its classification from diversified to non-diversified without shareholder approval.

MANAGEMENT

The business affairs of the fund are managed by or under the direction of the Board of Trustees. The Board elects officers who are responsible for the day-to-day operations of the fund and who execute policies authorized by the Board.

The current Trustees, including the Independent Trustees, of the fund who are not “interested persons” of the fund as defined in the 1940 Act (the “Independent Trustees”) and executive officers of the fund, their birth years, their principal occupations during the past five years (their titles may have varied during that period), the number of investment companies and their portfolios associated with Legg Mason the Trustees oversee, and other board memberships they hold are set forth below. The address of each Trustee is c/o R. Jay Gerken, 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022.

The following information relates to the Trust’s recently elected Board of Trustees.

 

Name and Year of Birth

  

Position(s)
with Fund

  

Term of
Office* and
Length of
Time Served**

  

Principal Occupation(s)

During Past 5 Years

  

Number of

Funds

in Fund
Complex

Overseen
by Trustee

  

Other Board

Memberships
Held by Trustee
During

Past Five Years

INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES:      

Paul R. Ades

Born 1940

   Trustee    Since 1983    Law firm of Paul R. Ades, PLLC (since 2000)       None

Andrew L. Breech

Born 1952

   Trustee    Since 1991    President, Dealer Operating Control Service, Inc. (automotive retail management) (since 1985)       None

Dwight B. Crane

Born 1937

   Trustee    Since 1981    Professor, Harvard Business School (since 1969); Independent Consultant (since 1969)       None

Robert M. Frayn,

Jr. Born 1934

   Trustee    Since 1981    Retired; formerly, President and Director, Book Publishing Co. (1970 to 2002)       None

Frank G. Hubbard

Born 1937

   Trustee    Since 1993    President, Avatar International Inc. (business development) (since 1998)       None

 

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Name and Year of Birth

  

Position(s)
with Fund

  

Term of
Office* and
Length of
Time Served**

  

Principal Occupation(s)

During Past 5 Years

  

Number of

Funds

in Fund
Complex

Overseen
by Trustee

  

Other Board

Memberships
Held by Trustee
During

Past Five Years

Howard J. Johnson

Born 1938

   Trustee    From 1981 to 1998 and 2000 to Present    Chief Executive Officer, Genesis Imaging LLC (technology company) (since 2003)       None

David E. Maryatt

Born 1936

   Trustee    Since 1983    Private Investor; President and Director, ALS Co. (real estate management and development firm) (since 1993)       None

Jerome H. Miller

Born 1938

   Trustee    Since 1995    Retired       None

Ken Miller

Born 1942

   Trustee    Since 1983    Chairman, Young Stuff Apparel Group, Inc. (apparel manufacturer) (1963 to 2005)       None

John J. Murphy

Born 1944

   Trustee    Since 2002    President, Murphy Capital Management (investment advice) (since 1983)       Director, Nicholas Applegate funds; Trustee, Consulting Group Capital Markets Funds; formerly, Director, Atlantic Stewardship Bank (2004 to 2005); Director, Barclays International Funds Group Ltd. and affiliated companies (to 2003)

Thomas F. Schlafly

Born 1948

   Trustee    Since 1983    Of Counsel, Blackwell Sanders Peper Martin LLP (law firm) (since 1984); President, The Saint Louis Brewery, Inc. (brewery) (since 1989)       Director, Citizens National Bank, Maplewood (2006)

Jerry A. Viscione

Born 1944

   Trustee    Since 1993    Retired; formerly, Executive Vice President, Marquette University (1997 to 2002)       None

INTERESTED TRUSTEE:

           

R. Jay Gerken, CFA†

Born 1951

  

Trustee,

President, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

   Since 2002    Managing Director, Legg Mason & Co., LLC (“Legg Mason & Co.”); Chairman of the Board, Trustee, or Director of [ ] funds associated with LMPFA and its affiliates; President, LMPFA (since 2006); Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its affiliates; formerly, Chairman, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”) and Citi Fund Management, Inc. (“CFM”) (2002 to 2005); formerly, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, Travelers Investment Advisers Inc. (2002 to 2005)       Trustee, Consulting Group Capital Markets Funds

* Each Trustee serves until his or her respective successor has been duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation, retirement or removal.
** Indicates the earliest year in which the Trustee became a Board member for a fund in the Legg Mason Partners fund complex.
Mr. Gerken is an “interested person”, as defined in the 1940 Act, because of his position with the manager and/or certain of its affiliates.

 

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Name, Year of Birth and Address

  

Position(s)
with Fund

  

Term of Office* and
Length of

Time Served**

  

Principal Occupation(s)

During Past 5 Years

OFFICERS:         

R. Jay Gerken, CFA

Born 1951

399 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10022

   Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer    Since 2002    Managing Director of Legg Mason & Co.; Chairman of the Board, Trustee, or Director of [    ] funds associated with LMPFA and its affiliates; Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co.; formerly, Chairman of SBFM and CFM (2002 to 2005); formerly, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Travelers Investment Advisers Inc. (2002 to 2005).

Ted P. Becker

Born 1951

399 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10022

   Chief Compliance Officer    Since 2006    Managing Director of Compliance at Legg Mason & Co (2005 to present); Chief Compliance Officer with certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. (since 2006); Chief Compliance Officer of LMPFA and certain affiliates; Managing Director of Compliance at Citigroup Asset Management (“CAM,” a group of affiliated investment advisers, which included Smith Barney Fund Management (“SBFM”), Smith Barney Asset Management and Citi Fund Management (“CFM”) and other affiliated investment advisory entities) (2002 to 2005). Prior to 2002, Managing Director-Internal Audit & Risk Review at Citigroup Inc.

John Chiota

Born 1968

100 First Stamford Place, 5th Fl Stamford, CT 06902

   Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer    Since 2006    Vice President of Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors (since 2004); Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. (since 2006). Prior to August 2004, Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer of TD Waterhouse.

Robert I. Frenkel

Born 1954

300 First Stamford Place

Stamford, CT 06902

   Secretary and Chief Legal Officer    Since 2003    Managing Director and General Counsel of Global Mutual Funds for Legg Mason & Co. and its predecessors (since 2000); Secretary and Chief Legal Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. (since 2003). Previously, Secretary of CFM (2001 to 2004).

Thomas C. Mandia

Born 1962

300 First Stamford Place

Stamford, CT 06902

   Assistant Secretary    Since 2000    Managing Director and Deputy General Counsel of Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors (since 1992); Assistant Secretary of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co.

Kaprel Ozsolak

Born 1965

125 Broad Street, 11th Floor

New York, NY 10004

   Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer    Since 2004    Director of Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors; Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors. Previously, Mr. Ozsolak was Controller of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its predecessors (2002 to 2004).

* Each officer serves until his or her respective successor has been duly elected and qualified or until his or her earlier death, resignation, retirement or removal.
** Indicates the earliest year in which the officer took office for any funds in the Legg Mason Partners fund complex.

 

25


The Board has a standing Audit Committee, Nominating Committee and Pricing Committee. The Audit Committee and Nominating Committee are comprised of Independent Trustees. The Pricing Committee is composed of the Chairman of the Board and one Independent Trustee.

The Audit Committee oversees the scope of the fund’s audit, the fund’s accounting and financial reporting policies and practices and its internal controls. The primary purposes of the Board’s Audit Committee are to assist the Board in fulfilling its responsibility for oversight of the integrity of the accounting, auditing and financial reporting practices of the fund, the qualifications and independence of the fund’s independent registered public accounting firm, and the fund’s compliance with legal and regulatory requirements. The Audit Committee approves, and recommends to the Independent Trustees for their ratification, the selection, appointment, retention or termination of the fund’s independent registered public accounting firm and approves the compensation of the independent registered public accounting firm. The Audit Committee also approves all audit and permissible non-audit services provided to the fund by the independent registered public accounting firm and all permissible non-audit services provided by the fund’s independent registered public accounting firm to its manager and any affiliated service providers if the engagement relates directly to the fund’s operations and financial reporting.

The Governance Committee is responsible for, among other things, recommending candidates to fill vacancies on the Board. The Governance Committee may consider nominees recommended by a shareholder. Shareholders who wish to recommend a nominee should send recommendations to the Trust’s Secretary that include all information relating to such person that is required to be disclosed in solicitations of proxies for the election of Trustees. A recommendation must be accompanied by a written consent of the individual to stand for election if nominated by the Board and to serve if elected by the shareholders.

The Governance Committee identifies potential nominees through its network of contacts and may also engage, if it deems appropriate, a professional search firm. The committee meets to discuss and consider such candidates’ qualifications and then chooses a candidate by majority vote. The committee does not have specific, minimum qualifications for nominees, nor has it established specific qualities or skills that it regards as necessary for one or more of the Trustees to possess (other than any qualities or skills that may be required by applicable law, regulation or listing standard). However, in evaluating a person as a potential nominee to serve as a Trustee, the Governance Committee may consider the following factors, among any others it may deem relevant:

 

    whether or not the person is an “interested person,” as defined in the 1940 Act, and whether the person is otherwise qualified under applicable laws and regulations to serve as a Trustee;

 

    whether or not the person has any relationships that might impair his or her independence, such as any business, financial or family relationships with fund management, the investment adviser, service providers or their affiliates;

 

    whether or not the person serves on boards of, or is otherwise affiliated with, competing financial service organizations or their related mutual fund complexes;

 

    whether or not the person is willing to serve, and willing and able to commit the time necessary for the performance of the duties of a Trustee;

 

26


    the contribution which the person can make to the Board (or, if the person has previously served as a Trustee, the contribution which the person made to the Board during his or her previous term of service), with consideration being given to the person’s business and professional experience, education and such other factors as the committee may consider relevant;

 

    the character and integrity of the person; and

 

    whether or not the selection and nomination of the person would be consistent with the requirements of the retirement policies of the Trust, as applicable.

The Pricing Committee is charged with determining the fair value prices for securities when required.

As indicated above, the Trust’s Board is recently elected and is newly constituted as the Board that oversees all of the equity-type funds in the fund complex. All members of the Board previously have served on Boards of Legg Mason Partners funds. The Audit, Governance and Pricing Committees are recently established committees of this Board and did not meet during the fund’s last fiscal year.

The following table shows the amount of equity securities owned by the Trustees in the fund and other investment companies in the fund complex supervised by the Trustees as of December 31, 2006.

 

Name of Trustee

  

Dollar Range

of Equity

Securities in

the Fund

  

Aggregate Dollar Range

of Equity Securities In

Registered Investment

Companies Overseen

by Trustee

Independent Trustees      
Paul R. Ades      
Andrew L. Breech      
Dwight B. Crane      
Robert M. Frayn, Jr      
Frank G. Hubbard      
Howard J. Johnson      
David E. Maryatt      
Jerome H. Miller      
Ken Miller      
John J. Murphy      
Thomas F. Schlafly      
Jerry A. Viscione      
Interested Trustee      
R. Jay Gerken      

[As of December 31, 2006, none of the Independent Trustees or their immediate family members owned beneficially or of record any securities of the manager, subadviser or distributors of the fund, or in a person (other than a registered investment company) directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with the manager, subadviser or distributors of the fund.]

Information regarding compensation paid to the Trustees by the fund for the calendar year ended December 31, 2006 is set forth below. The Independent Trustees receive a fee for each meeting of the fund’s Board of Trustees and committee meetings attended and are reimbursed for all out-of-pocket expenses relating to attendance at such meetings. Mr. Gerken, an “interested person,” as defined in the

 

27


1940 Act, does not receive compensation from the fund for his service as trustee, but may be reimbursed for all out-of-pocket expenses relating to attendance at such meetings.

The fund pays a pro rata share of the Trustee fees based upon asset size. The fund currently pays each of the Trustees who is not a director, officer or employee of the manager or any of its affiliates its pro rata share of: an annual fee of [$            ] plus [$            ] for each regularly scheduled Board meeting attended, [$            ] for each special telephonic Board meeting attended, and [$            ] for each adhoc telephonic meeting in which that trustee participates. The lead independent trustee will receive an additional [$            ] per year and the Chairs of the Audit Committee and Governance Committee will each receive an additional [$            ] per year. The fund will reimburse Trustees for travel and out-of-pocket expenses incurred in connection with Board meetings.

 

Name of Trustee

  

Aggregate
Compensation
from the

Fund(1) (2)

  

Total Pension
or Retirement
Benefits Paid
as Part of Fund
Expenses(1) (3)

   Total
Compensation
from Fund
Complex Paid
to Trustee(1) (2)
  

Number of
Portfolios in
Fund Complex
Overseen by
Trustee(1)

Independent Trustees

           

Paul R. Ades

           

Andrew L. Breech

           

Dwight B. Crane

           

Robert M. Frayn, Jr

           

Frank G. Hubbard

           

Howard J. Johnson

           

David E. Maryatt

           

Jerome H. Miller

           

Ken Miller

           

John J. Murphy

           

Thomas F. Schlafly

           

Jerry A. Viscione

           

Interested Trustee

           

R. Jay Gerken

           

(1) Information is for the calendar year ended December 31, 2006. The disclosure of compensation paid to the Trustees is provided as of the most recent calendar year end, rather than the fund’s most recent fiscal year end, for ease of presentation and comprehension.
(2) [Any additional amounts paid to the Trustees in 2006 for special meetings to be inserted upon amendment]
(3) Pursuant to a prior emeritus retirement plan, Mr. Crane has received or is entitled to receive, in a lump sum (calculated on a net present value basis) or in quarterly installments, an aggregate benefit having a net present value equal to [$              ]. Mr. Crane elected to receive the benefit in a lump sum payment. Each fund formerly overseen by Mr. Crane will pay a pro rata share (based upon asset size) of the aggregate benefit to Mr. Crane. Legg Mason or its affiliates have agreed to reimburse these funds an amount equal to 50% of the benefits paid to Mr. Crane.

 

28


For the fiscal year ended September 30, 2006, the Directors of the fund’s predecessor were paid the compensation listed below for service as a Director:

 

Name of Independent Director

   Aggregate
Compensation
from
Company for
Fiscal Year
Ended
09/30/06
   Total Pension
or Retirement
Benefits
Accrued as
Part of Fund
Expenses(2)(3)
   Total Compensation
from Fund Complex
Paid to Directors in
Fiscal Year Ended
9/30/06
  Number of Funds
for Which
Director Serves
Within Fund
Complex

Paul R. Ades

   $             $             $           

Dwight B. Crane

   $      $      $    

Frank G. Hubbard

   $      $      $    

Jerome Miller

   $      $      $    

Ken Miller

   $      $      $    

Interested Director

          

R. Jay Gerken (1

      $       

(1) Mr. Gerken was not compensated for his services as Director because of his affiliation with the manager
(2) Mr. Barg served as emeritus director of the predecessor fund. For the period ended [Insert], Mr. Barg received [            ] for his service as emeritus director. For the period ended [            ], Mr. White, a former emeritus director, received [            ] for his service as emeritus director.
(3) Pursuant to emeritus retirement plans, the following former Independent Trustees have received or are entitled to receive benefits (calculated on a net present value basis) as follows: Mr. Barg: $              ; and Mr. Crane: $              . These benefits are paid in quarterly installments unless the Trustee elected to receive them in a lump sum at net present value. The fund or will pay its pro rata share (based upon asset size) of these aggregate benefits. Legg Mason or its affiliates have agreed to reimburse the fund an amount equal to 50% of these benefits.

 

29


The Declaration of Trust of the Trust provides that the Trust will indemnify its Trustees and officers against liabilities and expenses incurred in connection with litigation in which they may be involved because of their offices with the Trust, unless, as to liability to the Trust, or its investors, it is finally adjudicated that they engaged in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of the duties involved in their offices, or unless with respect to any other matter it is finally adjudicated that they did not act in good faith in the reasonable belief that their actions were in the best interests of the Trust. In the case of settlement, such indemnification will not be provided unless it has been determined by a court or other body approving the settlement or other disposition or a reasonable determination, based upon a review of readily available facts (as opposed to a full trial-type inquiry) that such officers or Trustees have not engaged in willful misfeasance, bad faith, gross negligence or reckless disregard of their duties. Rights to indemnification or insurance cannot be limited retroactively.

The Declaration of Trust further provides that (i) the appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee as a member or chairperson of a committee of the Trustees, an expert on any topic or in any area (including an audit committee financial expert), or the lead Independent Trustee, or any other special appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee, shall not impose on that individual any duty, obligation or liability that is greater than the duties, obligations and liability imposed on that person as a Trustee in the absence of the appointment, designation or identification (except with respect to duties expressly imposed pursuant to the by-laws of the Trust, a committee charter or a Trust policy statement), (ii) no Trustee who has special skills or expertise, or is appointed, designated or identified shall be held to a higher standard of care by virtue thereof and (iii) no appointment, designation or identification of a Trustee shall affect in any way that Trustee’s rights to indemnification.

As of                     , 2007, the Trustees and officers of the Trust, as a group, owned less than 1% of the outstanding common stock of the fund.

As of                     , 2007, to the knowledge of the fund, the following shareholders or groups (as the term is used in Section 13(d) of the 1934 Act) beneficially owned more than 5% of the outstanding shares of the following classes of the fund:

[To be updated by amendment]

Manager

LMPFA serves as investment manager to the fund pursuant to an investment management agreement (the “Management Agreement”) with the fund with an initial term ending November 30, 2007. LMPFA, with offices at 399 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10022, is a recently-organized investment adviser that has been formed to serve as the investment manager of the fund and certain other Legg Mason-sponsored funds. LMPFA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason. Legg Mason, whose principal executive offices are at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, is a global asset management company. As of September 30, 2006, Legg Mason’s asset management operation had aggregate assets under management of approximately $891 billion. LMPFA provides administrative and certain oversight services to the fund and manages the cash and short-term investments of the fund.

Under the Management Agreement, subject to the supervision and direction of the fund’s Board, the manager is delegated the responsibility of managing the fund’s portfolio in accordance with the fund’s stated investment objective and policies, making investment decisions for the fund and placing orders to purchase and sell securities. The manager also performs administrative and management services necessary for the operation of the fund, such as (i) supervising the overall administration of the fund, including negotiation of contracts and fees with and the monitoring of performance and billings of the fund’s transfer agent, shareholder servicing agents, custodian and other independent contractors or agents; (ii) providing certain compliance, fund accounting, regulatory reporting, and tax reporting services; (iii) preparing or participating in the preparation of Board materials, registration statements, proxy statements and reports and other communications to shareholders; (iv) maintaining the fund’s existence, and (v) maintaining the registration and qualification of the fund’s shares under federal and state laws.

The Management Agreement has an initial term ending November 30, 2007, and will continue in effect from year to year thereafter provided such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (a) by the fund’s Board or by a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act), and (b) in either event, by a majority of the Independent Trustees with such Independent Trustees casting votes in person at a meeting called for such purpose.

The Management Agreement provides that the manager may render services to others. The Management Agreement is terminable without penalty on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice by the fund when authorized either by a vote of holders of shares representing a majority of the voting power of the outstanding voting securities of the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) or by a vote of a majority of the fund’s Trustees or by the manager on not less than 90 days’ written notice, and will automatically terminate in the event of its assignment. The Management Agreement provides that neither the manager nor its personnel shall be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or omission in the execution of security transactions for the fund, except for willful misfeasance, bad faith or gross negligence or reckless disregard of its or their obligations and duties.

 

30


As compensation for investment advisory services, the fund pays the manager a fee computed daily and paid monthly at the annual rate of 0.75% of the fund’s average daily net assets. Prior to August 1, 2006, SBFM served as the fund’s manager under the same fee schedule as described above.

For the fiscal years ended September 30, 2004, 2005 and 2006, the fund incurred $3,498,018, $5,351,695 and $                     respectively, in investment management fees.

Subadviser

ClearBridge serves as the subadviser to the fund pursuant to a sub-advisory agreement between the manager and ClearBridge that was approved by the Board, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, on June 29, 2006 (the “Sub-Advisory Agreement”). ClearBridge is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason.

Under the Sub-Advisory Agreement, subject to the supervision and direction of the Board and the manager, the subadviser will, except for the management of cash and short-term investments that is performed by LMPFA, manage the fund’s portfolio in accordance with the fund’s stated investment objective(s) and policies, assist in supervising all aspects of the fund’s operations, make investment decisions for the fund, place orders to purchase and sell securities, and employ professional portfolio managers and securities analysts who provide research services to the fund.

The Sub-Advisory Agreement has an initial term ending November 30, 2007 and will continue in effect from year to year thereafter provided such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (a) by the fund’s Board or by a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act), and (b) in either event, by a majority of the Independent Trustees with such Independent Trustees casting votes in person at a meeting called for such purpose. The Board or a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the fund (as defined in the 1940 Act) may terminate the Sub-Advisory Agreement on 60 days’ written notice without penalty. The manager or the subadviser may terminate the Sub-Advisory Agreement on 90 days’ written notice without penalty. The Sub-Advisory Agreement will terminate automatically in the event of assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act).

As compensation for its sub-advisory services, the manager will pay the subadviser a fee equal to 0.70% of the management fee paid to LMPFA, net of expense waivers and reimbursements. For the period from August 1, 2006 through September 30, 2006, the manager paid the subadviser subadvisory fees of $            .

Expenses

In addition to amounts payable under the Management Agreement and the 12b-1 Plans (as discussed below), the fund is responsible for its own expenses, including, among other things: interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the fund’s securities and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the fund, if any; and the fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any nonrecurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the fund is a party and the legal obligation which the fund may have to indemnify the fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

Management may agree to waive fees and or reimburse operating expenses for one or more classes of shares, either through contractual or voluntary arrangements. Any such waivers and/ or reimbursements are

 

31


described in the fund’s Prospectus. The contractual and voluntary fee waivers and/ or reimbursements do not cover extraordinary expenses, such as (a) any expenses or charges related to litigation, derivative actions, demand related to litigation, regulatory or other government investigations and proceedings, “for cause” regulatory inspections and indemnification or advancement of related expenses or costs, to the extent any such expenses are considered extraordinary expenses for the purposes of fee disclosure in Form N-1A as the same may be amended from time to time; and (b) other extraordinary expenses as determined for the purposes of fee disclosure in Form N-1A, as the same may be amended from time to time. Without limiting the foregoing, extraordinary expenses are generally those that are unusual or expected to recur only infrequently, and may include such expenses, by way of illustration, as (i) expenses of the reorganization, restructuring, redomiciling or merger of the fund or class or the acquisition of all or substantially all of the assets of another fund or class; (ii) expenses of holding, and soliciting proxies for, a meeting of shareholders of the fund or class (except to the extent relating to routine items such as the election of board members or the approval of the independent registered public accounting firm); and (iii) expenses of converting to a new custodian, transfer agent or other service provider, in each case to the extent any such expenses are considered extraordinary expenses for the purposes of fee disclosure in Form N-1A as the same may be amended from time to time.

Code of Ethics

Pursuant to Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act, the fund, the manager, the subadviser, and the distributors have adopted codes of ethics that permit their respective personnel to invest in securities for their own accounts, including securities that may be purchased or held by the fund. All personnel must place the interests of clients first and avoid activities, interests and relationships that might interfere with the duty to make decisions in the best interests of the clients. All personal securities transactions by employees must adhere to the requirements of the codes and must be conducted in such a manner as to avoid any actual or potential conflict of interest, the appearance of such a conflict, or the abuse of an employee’s position of trust and responsibility.

Copies of the codes of ethics of the fund, the manager, the subadviser and the distributors are on file with the SEC.

Proxy Voting Guidelines and Procedures

Although individual Trustees may not agree with particular policies or votes by the manager or subadviser, the Board has delegated proxy voting discretion to the manager and/or the subadviser, believing that the manager and/or the subadviser should be responsible for voting because it is a matter relating to the investment decision making process.

LMPFA delegates the responsibility for voting proxies for the fund, as applicable, to the subadviser through its contracts with the subadviser. The subadviser will use its own proxy voting policies and procedures to vote proxies. Accordingly, LMPFA does not expect to have proxy-voting responsibility for the fund. Should LMPFA become responsible for voting proxies for any reason, such as the inability of a subadviser to provide investment advisory services, LMPFA shall utilize the proxy voting guidelines established by the most recent subadviser to vote proxies until a new subadviser is retained. In the case of a material conflict between the interests of LMPFA (or its affiliates if such conflict is known to persons responsible for voting at LMPFA) and the fund, the Board of Directors of LMPFA shall consider how to address the conflict and/or how to vote the proxies. LMPFA shall maintain records of all proxy votes in accordance with applicable securities laws and regulations, to the extent that LMPFA votes proxies. LMPFA shall be responsible for gathering relevant documents and records related to proxy voting from the subadviser and providing them to the fund as required for the fund to comply with applicable rules under the 1940 Act.

The subadviser’s Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures govern in determining how proxies relating to the fund’s portfolio securities are voted and are attached as Appendix A to this SAI. Information regarding how the fund voted proxies (if any) relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12-month period ended June 30 is available without charge (1) by calling 1-888-425-6432, (2) on the fund’s website at http://www.leggmason.com/InvestorServices and (3) on the SEC’s website at  http://www.sec.gov .

 

32


Counsel and Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP, 787 Seventh Avenue, New York, New York 10019-6099, serves as counsel to the fund.

Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP, 180 Maiden Lane, New York, New York 10038-4982, serves as counsel to the fund’s Independent Trustees.

[            ], serves as the independent registered public accounting firm to audit and report on the fund’s financial statements and highlights for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2006.

Custodian and Transfer Agent

State Street Bank and Trust Company (“State Street”), One Lincoln Street, Boston, Massachusetts 02111, serves as the custodian of the fund. State Street, among other things, maintains a custody account or accounts in the name of the fund; receives and delivers all assets for the fund upon purchase and upon sale or maturity; collects and receives all income and other payments and distributions on account of the assets of the fund; and makes disbursements on behalf of the fund. State Street neither determines the fund’s investment policies, nor decides which securities the fund will buy or sell. For its services, State Street receives a monthly fee based upon the daily average market value of securities held in custody and also receives securities transaction charges, including out-of-pocket expenses. The fund may also periodically enter into arrangements with other qualified custodians with respect to certain types of securities or other transactions such as repurchase agreements or derivatives transactions. State Street also acts as the fund’s securities lending agent and receives a share of the income generated by such activities.

PFPC Inc. (“PFPC” or “transfer agent”), located at P.O. Box 9699, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699, serves as the fund’s transfer agent. Under the transfer agency agreement, the transfer agent maintains the shareholder account records for the fund, handles certain communications between shareholders and the fund and distributes dividends and distributions payable by the fund. For these services, the transfer agent receives a monthly fee computed on the basis of the number of shareholder accounts it maintains for the fund during the month, and is reimbursed for out-of-pocket expenses. Prior to January 1, 2006, Citicorp Trust Bank, fsb (“CTB”) served as the fund’s transfer agent and PFPC served as the fund’s sub-transfer agent. For the period from October 1, 2005, through December 31, 2005, the fund paid transfer agent fees of [$             ] to CTB.

DISTRIBUTORS

LMIS a wholly-owned broker-dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, located at 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, CGMI, an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Citigroup, located at 388 Greenwich Street, New York, New York 10013, and PFS, located at 120 Breckinridge Boulevard, Duluth, Georgia 30099 serve as the fund’s distributors pursuant to separate written agreements or amendments to written agreements (the “distribution agreements”), which were approved by the fund’s Board of Trustees and by a majority of the Independent Trustees, casting votes in person at a meeting called for such purpose, on November 21, 2005. The distribution agreements with LMIS and CGMI went into effect on December 1, 2005. The distribution agreement with PFS went into effect on [                    ], 2006. Prior to December 1, 2005, CGMI served as the fund’s distributor.

A distributor’s obligation is an agency or “best efforts” arrangement under which the distributor is required to take and pay only for such shares of the fund as may be sold to the public. A distributor is not obligated to sell any stated number of shares. Each distribution agreement is renewable from year to year if approved (a) by the Trustees or by a vote of a majority of the fund’s outstanding voting securities, and (b) by the affirmative vote of a majority of Trustees who are not parties to such agreement or interested persons of any party by votes cast in person at a meeting called for such purpose. Each distribution agreement provides that it will terminate if assigned, and that it may be terminated without penalty by either party on 60 days’ written notice.

LMIS, CGMI and PFS may be deemed to be underwriters for purposes of the 1933 Act. From time to time, LMIS, CGMI, PFS or their affiliates may also pay for certain non-cash sales incentives provided to PFS

 

33


Registered Representatives. Such incentives do not have any effect on the net amount invested. In addition to the reallowances from the applicable public offering price described below, PFS may, from time to time, pay or allow additional reallowances or promotional incentives, in the form of cash or other compensation, to PFS Registered Representatives that sell shares of the fund.

The aggregate dollar amount of commissions and contingent deferred sales charges on Class A, Class B and Class C shares received by CGMI, LMIS and their affiliates were as follows:

 

Initial Sales Charges

  

Class A Shares (paid to CGMI)

  

For the fiscal year ended September 30:

  

2006

   $  

2005

   $ 336,000

2004

   $ 326,000

Class A Shares (paid to LMIS)

  

For the fiscal year ended September 30:

  

2006

   $  

2005

   $ N/A

2004

   $ N/A

Class C Shares (paid to CGMI)

  

For the fiscal year ended September 30:

  

2006

   $  

2005

   $ 0

2004

   $ 72,000

Class C Shares (paid to LMIS)

  

For the fiscal year ended September 30:

  

2006

   $  

2005

   $ N/A

2004

   $ N/A

Contingent Deferred Sales Charges

  

Class A Shares (paid to CGMI)

  

For the fiscal year ended September 30:

  

2006

   $  

2005

   $ 1,000

2004

   $ 0

Class A Shares (paid to LMIS)

  

For the fiscal year ended September 30:

  

2006

   $  

2005

   $ N/A

2004

   $ N/A

Class B Shares (paid to CGMI)

  

For the fiscal year ended September 30:

  

2006

   $  

2005

   $ 175,000

2004

   $ 222,000

 

34


Class B Shares (paid to LMIS)

  

For the fiscal year ended September 30:

  

2006

   $  

2005

   $ N/A

2004

   $ N/A

Class C Shares (paid to CGMI)

  

For the fiscal year ended September 30:

  

2006

   $  

2005

   $ 9,000

2004

   $ 13,000

Class C Shares (paid to LMIS)

  

For the fiscal year ended September 30:

  

2006

   $  

2005

   $ N/A

2004

   $ N/A

No fees during the fund’s past three fiscal years were paid to PFS, which became a distributor of the fund on [                    ], 2006.

When payment is made by the investor before settlement date, unless otherwise directed by the investor, the funds will be held as a free credit balance in the investor’s brokerage account and [the distributors] may benefit from the temporary use of the funds. The investor may designate another use for the funds prior to settlement date, such as an investment in a money market fund (other than Legg Mason Partners Exchange Reserve Fund) of the Legg Mason Partners Mutual Funds.

Services and Distribution Plan Arrangements

The fund has adopted an amended shareholder services and distribution plan (the “12b-1 Plan”) pursuant to Rule 12b-1 under the 1940 Act with respect to its Class A, Class B and Class C shares. Under the 12b-1 Plan, the fund pays service and distribution fees to each of LMIS, CGMI and PFS, as applicable, for the services they provide and expenses they bear with respect to the distribution of Class A, Class B and Class C shares and providing services to Class A, Class B and Class C shareholders. The co-distributors will provide the fund’s Board with periodic reports of amounts expended under the 12b-1 Plan and the purposes for which such expenditures were made. The fund pays service fees, accrued daily and payable monthly, calculated at the annual rate of 0.25% of the value of the fund’s average daily net assets attributable to the fund’s Class A, Class B and Class C shares. In addition, the fund pays distribution fees with respect to the Class B and Class C shares at the annual rate of 0.75% of the fund’s average daily net assets.

Fees under the 12b-1Plan may be used to make payments to the distributors for distribution services, to Service Agents in respect of the sale of shares of the fund, and to other parties in respect of the sale of shares of the fund, and to make payments for advertising, marketing or other promotional activity, and payments for preparation, printing, and distribution of prospectuses, statements of additional information and reports for recipients other than regulators and existing shareholders. The fund also may make payments to the distributor, Service Agents and others for providing personal service or the maintenance of shareholder accounts. The amounts paid by the distributor to each recipient may vary based upon certain factors, including, among other things, the levels of sales of fund shares and/or shareholder services provided.

The 12b-1 Plan also provides that the distributor and Service Agents may receive all or a portion of the sales charges paid by Class A, Class B and Class C investors.

 

35


The 12b-1 Plan permits the fund to pay fees to a distributor, Service Agents and others as compensation for their services, not as reimbursement for specific expenses incurred. Thus, even if their expenses exceed the fees provided for by the 12b-1 Plan, the fund will not be obligated to pay more than those fees and, if their expenses are less than the fees paid to them, they will realize a profit. The fund may pay the fees to a distributor and others until the 12b-1 Plan or distribution agreement is terminated or not renewed. In that event, a distributor’s or other recipient’s expenses in excess of fees received or accrued through the termination date will be the distributor’s or other recipient’s sole responsibility and not obligations of the fund. In their annual consideration of the continuation of the 12b-1 Plan for the fund, the Trustees will review the 12b-1 Plan and the expenses for each class within the fund separately.

The 12b-1 Plan also recognizes that various service providers to the fund, such as the manager, may make payments for distribution related expenses out of their own resources, including past profits, or payments received from the fund for other purposes, such as management fees, and that the fund’s distributors or Service Agents may from time to time use their own resources for distribution-related services, in addition to the fees paid under the 12b-1 Plan. The 12b-1 Plan specifically provides that, to the extent that such payments might be deemed to be indirect financing of any activity primarily intended to result in the sale of shares of the fund within the context of Rule 12b-1, then the payments are deemed to be authorized by the 12b-1 Plan, if permitted under applicable law.

The 12b-1 Plan continues in effect if such continuance is specifically approved at least annually by a vote of both a majority of the Trustees and a majority of the Trustees of the Trust who are not “interested persons” (as defined under the 1940 Act) and who have no direct or indirect financial interest in the operation of the 12b-1 Plan or in any agreement related to the 12b-1 Plan (for purposes of this paragraph “Qualified Trustees”). The Trustees, in the exercise of their business judgment in the best interests of the shareholders of the fund and each Class, have approved the continuation of the 12b-1 Plan. The 12b-1 Plan requires that the Trust and the distributor provide to the Board of Trustees and the Board of Trustees review, at least quarterly, a written report of the amounts expended (and the purposes therefor) under the 12b-1 Plan. The 12b-1 Plan further provides that the selection and nomination of the Qualified Trustees is committed to the discretion of the Qualified Trustees then in office who are not interested Trustees of the Trust. The 12b-1 Plan may be terminated with respect to any class of the fund at any time by a vote of a majority of the Trust’s Qualified Trustees or by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of that class. The 12b-1 Plan may not be amended to increase materially the amount of permitted expenses of the class thereunder without the approval of a majority of the outstanding securities of that class and may not be materially amended in any case without a vote of a majority of both the Trustees and Qualified Trustees. The fund will preserve copies of any plan, agreement or report made pursuant to the 12b-1 Plan for a period of not less than six years, and for the first two years the fund will preserve such copies in an easily accessible place.

As contemplated by the 12b-1 Plan, each distributor acts as an agent of the Trust in connection with the offering of shares of the fund pursuant to the respective distribution agreements.

Prior to December 1, 2005, the fund paid service and distribution fees directly to CGMI under a separate 12b-1 Plan with respect to shares sold through CGMI.

The following service and distribution fees were incurred by the fund pursuant to a 12b-1 Plan during the periods indicated:

 

     Fiscal Year
Ended
9/30/06
   Fiscal Year
Ended
9/30/05
   Fiscal Year
Ended
9/30/04

Class A

   $             $ 641,041    $ 375,055

Class B

   $      $ 1,519,330    $ 1,437,314

Class C

   $      $ 1,655,572    $ 1,316,996

 

36


Distribution expenses incurred by LMIS, CGMI and/or PFS for advertising, printing and mailing prospectuses, support services and overhead expenses, payments to their financial advisers or registered representative and for accruals for interest on expenses incurred in the distribution of the fund’s shares are set forth in the following tables:

[To be updated by amendment]

Dealer reallowances are described in the fund’s prospectus.

PURCHASE OF SHARES

General

Investors may purchase shares from a Service Agent. In addition, certain investors, including retirement plans purchasing through certain Service Agents, may purchase shares directly from the fund. When purchasing shares of the fund, investors must specify whether the purchase is for Class A, B, C or I* shares. Service Agents may charge their customers an annual account maintenance fee in connection with a brokerage account through which an investor purchases or holds shares. Accounts held directly at the transfer agent are not subject to a maintenance fee.

For additional information regarding applicable investment minimums and eligibility requirements, please see the fund’s prospectus.

There are no minimum investment requirements for purchases of Class A shares by: (i) current and retired board members of Legg Mason, (ii) current and retired board members of any fund advised by LMPFA (such board members, together with board members of Legg Mason, are referred to herein as “Board Members”), (iii) current employees of Legg Mason, and its subsidiaries, (iv) the “immediate families” of such persons (“immediate families” are such person’s spouse, including the surviving spouse of a deceased Board Member, and children under the age of 21) and (v) a pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for the benefit of such persons. The fund reserves the right to waive or change minimums, to decline any order to purchase its shares and to suspend the offering of shares from time to time.

Purchase orders received by the fund or a Service Agent prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE on any day the fund calculates its net asset value are priced according to the net asset value determined on that day (the “trade date”). Orders received by a Service Agent prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE on any day the fund calculates its net asset value are priced according to the net asset value determined on that day, provided the order is received by the fund’s agent prior to its close of business. For shares purchased through CGMI or a Service Agent purchasing through CGMI, payment for shares of the fund is normally due on the third business day after the trade date. In all other cases, payment must be made with the purchase order.

Systematic Investment Plan. Shareholders may make additions to their accounts at any time by purchasing shares through a service known as the Systematic Investment Plan. Under the Systematic Investment Plan, a distributor, the transfer agent, or, with respect to a PFS account, Primerica Shareholder Services is authorized through preauthorized transfers of at least $25 on a monthly, quarterly, every alternate month, semi-annual or annual basis to charge the shareholder’s account held with a bank or other financial institution as indicated by the shareholder, to provide for systematic additions to the shareholder’s fund account. A shareholder who has insufficient funds to complete the transfer will be charged a fee of up to $25 by a distributor, the transfer agent or Primerica Shareholder Services (such fee may be up to $30 for a PFS account). The Systematic Investment Plan also authorizes a distributor to apply cash held in the shareholder’s brokerage account or redeem the shareholder’s shares of certain money market funds managed by the manager or its affiliates to make additions to the account. Additional information is available from the fund or a Service Agent.

 


* As of November 20, 2006, Class Y shares were renamed Class I shares.

 

37


Sales Charge Alternatives

The following Classes of shares are available for purchase. See the prospectus for a discussion of who is eligible to purchase certain Classes and of factors to consider in selecting which Class of shares to purchase.

Class A Shares. Class A shares are sold to investors at the public offering price, which is the net asset value plus an initial sales charge, as described in the fund’s prospectus.

Members of the selling group may receive a portion of the sales charge as described in the fund’s prospectus and may be deemed to be underwriters of the fund as defined in the 1933 Act. Sales charges are calculated based on the aggregate of purchases of Class A shares of the fund made at one time by any “person,” which includes an individual and his or her spouse and children under the age of 21, or a trustee or other fiduciary of a single trust estate or single fiduciary account. For additional information regarding sales charge reductions, see “Sales Charge Waivers and Reductions” below.

Purchases of Class A shares of $1,000,000 or more will be made at NAV without any initial sales charge, but will be subject to a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00% on redemptions made within 12 months of purchase. The contingent deferred sales charge is waived in the same circumstances in which the contingent deferred sales charge applicable to Class B and C shares is waived. See “Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Provisions” and “Waivers of Contingent Deferred Sales Charge” below.

Class B and C Shares. Class B and C shares are sold without an initial sales charge but are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge payable upon certain redemptions. See “Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Provisions.”

Class I Shares. Class I shares are sold at net asset value with no initial sales charge and no contingent deferred sales charge upon redemption.

Sales Charge Waivers and Reductions

Initial Sales Charge Waivers. Purchases of Class A shares may be made at NAV without an initial sales charge in the following circumstances:

(a) sales to (i) current and retired board members of Legg Mason, (ii) current and retired Board Members, (iii) current employees of Legg Mason and its subsidiaries, as well as (iv) by the “immediate families” of such persons (“immediate families” are such person’s spouse, including the surviving spouse of a deceased Board Member, and children under the age of 21) and (v) by a pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for the benefit of such persons;

(b) sales to any employees of Service Agents having dealer, service or other selling agreements with the funds’ distributors or otherwise having an arrangement with any such Service Agent with respect to sales of fund shares, and by the immediate families of such persons or by a pension, profit-sharing or other benefit plan for the benefit of such persons (providing the purchase is made for investment purposes and such securities will not be resold except through redemption or repurchase);

(c) offers of Class A shares to any other investment company to effect the combination of such company with the fund by merger, acquisition of assets or otherwise;

(d) purchases by shareholders who have redeemed Class A shares in the fund (or Class A shares of another Legg Mason Partners fund that is offered with a sales charge) and who wish to reinvest their redemption proceeds in the fund, provided the reinvestment is made within 60 calendar days of the redemption;

(e) purchases by accounts managed by registered investment advisory subsidiaries of Citigroup;

(f) purchases by certain separate accounts used to fund unregistered variable annuity contracts; and

 

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(g) purchases by investors participating in “wrap fee” or asset allocation programs or other fee-based arrangements sponsored by (affiliated and non-affiliated) broker/dealers and other financial institutions that have entered into agreements with CGMI or LMIS.

In order to obtain such discounts, the purchaser must provide sufficient information at the time of purchase to permit verification that the purchase qualifies for the elimination of the sales charge.

All existing retirement plan shareholders who purchased Class A shares at NAV prior to November 20, 2006, are permitted to purchase additional Class A shares at NAV. Certain existing programs for current and prospective retirement plan investors sponsored by financial intermediaries approved by LMIS prior to November 20, 2006 will also remain eligible to purchase Class A shares at NAV.

Accumulation Privilege —Please see the fund’s prospectus for information regarding accumulation privileges.

Letter of Intent —helps you take advantage of breakpoints in Class A sales charges. You may purchase Class A shares of Legg Mason Partners Funds over a 13-month period and pay the same sales charge, if any, as if all shares had been purchased at once. You have a choice of seven Asset Level Goal amounts, as follows:

 

(1) $25,000

  (5) $500,000

(2) $50,000

  (6) $750,000

(3) $100,000

  (7) $1,000,000

(4) $250,000

 

Each time you make a Class A purchase under a Letter of Intent, you will be entitled to the sales charge that is applicable to the amount of your Asset Level Goal. For example, if your Asset Level Goal is $100,000, any Class A investments you make under a Letter of Intent would be subject to the sales charge of the specific fund you are investing in for purchases of $100,000. Sales charges and breakpoints vary among the Legg Mason Partners Funds.

When you enter into a Letter of Intent, you agree to purchase in Eligible Accounts over a thirteen (13) month period Eligible Fund Purchases in an amount equal to the Asset Level Goal you have selected, less any Eligible Prior Purchases. For this purpose, shares are valued at the public offering price (including any sales charge paid) calculated as of the date of purchase, plus any appreciation in the value of the shares as of the date of calculation, except for Eligible Prior Purchases, which are valued at current value as of the date of calculation. Your commitment will be met if at any time during the 13-month period the value, as so determined, of eligible holdings is at least equal to your Asset Level Goal. All reinvested dividends and distributions on shares acquired under the Letter will be credited towards your Asset Level Goal. You may include any Eligible Fund Purchases towards the Letter, including shares of classes other than Class A shares. However, a Letter of Intent will not entitle you to a reduction in the sales charge payable on any shares other than Class A shares, and if the shares are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge, you will still be subject to that contingent deferred sales charge with respect to those shares. You must make reference to the Letter of Intent each time you make a purchase under the Letter.

Eligible Fund Purchases. Generally, any shares of a Legg Mason Partners Fund may be credited towards your Asset Level Goal. Shares of certain money market funds advised by the manager or its affiliates (except for money market fund shares acquired by exchange from other Legg Mason Partners Funds offered with a sales charge), Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund and Class O shares of Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc. are not eligible.

This list may change from time to time. Investors should check with their Service Agent to see which funds may be eligible.

 

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Eligible Accounts. Purchases may be made through any account in your name, or in the name of your spouse or your children under the age of 21. You may need to provide certain records, such as account statements, in order to verify your eligibility for reduced sales charges. Contact your Service Agent to see which accounts may be credited toward you Asset Level Goal.

Eligible Prior Purchases. You may also credit towards your Asset Level Goal any Eligible Fund Purchases made in Eligible Accounts at any time prior to entering into the Letter of Intent that have not been sold or redeemed, based on the current price of those shares as of the date of calculation.

Backdating Letter. You may establish a date for a Letter of Intent that is up to ninety (90) calendar days prior to the date you enter into the Letter. Any Eligible Fund Purchases in Eligible Accounts made during that period will count towards your Goal and will also be eligible for the lower sales charge applicable to your Asset Level Goal. You will be credited by way of additional shares at the current offering price for the difference between (a) the aggregate sales charges actually paid for those eligible shares and (b) the aggregate applicable sales charges for your Asset Level Goal.

Increasing the Amount of the Letter. You may at any time increase your Asset Level Goal. You must, however, contact your Service Agent, or if you purchase your shares directly through PFPC, contact PFPC, prior to making any purchases in an amount in excess of your current Asset Level Goal. Upon such an increase, you will be credited by way of additional shares at the then current offering price for the difference between: (a) the aggregate sales charges actually paid for shares already purchased under the Letter and (b) the aggregate applicable sales charges for the increased Asset Level Goal. The 13-month period during which the Asset Level Goal must be achieved will remain unchanged.

Sales and Exchanges. Shares acquired pursuant to a Letter of Intent, other than Escrowed Shares as defined below, may be redeemed or exchanged at any time, although any shares that are redeemed prior to meeting your Asset Level Goal will no longer count towards meeting your Goal. However, complete liquidation of purchases made under a Letter of Intent prior to meeting the Asset Level Goal will result in the cancellation of the Letter. See “Failure to Meet Asset Level Goal” below. Exchanges in accordance with the fund’s prospectus are permitted, and shares so exchanged will continue to count towards your Asset Level Goal, as long as the exchange results in an Eligible Fund Purchase.

Cancellation of Letter. You may cancel a Letter of Intent by notifying your Service Agent in writing, or if you purchase your shares directly through PFPC, by notifying PFPC in writing. The Letter will be automatically cancelled if all shares are sold or redeemed as set forth above. See “Failure to Meet Asset Level Goal” below.

Escrowed Shares. Shares equal in value to five percent (5%) of your Asset Level Goal as of the date your Letter (or the date of any increase in the amount of the Letter) is accepted, will be held in escrow during the term of your Letter. The Escrowed Shares will be included in the total shares owned as reflected in your account statement and any dividends and capital gains distributions applicable to the Escrowed Shares will be credited to your account and counted towards your Asset Level Goal or paid in cash upon request. The Escrowed Shares will be released from escrow if all the terms of your Letter are met.

Failure to Meet Asset Level Goal. If the total assets under your Letter of Intent within its 13-month term are less than your Asset Level Goal or you elect to liquidate all of your holdings or cancel the Letter before reaching your Asset Level Goal, you will be liable for the difference between: (a) the sales charge actually paid and (b) the sales charge that would have applied if you had not entered into the Letter. You may, however, be entitled to any breakpoints that would have been available to you under the accumulation privilege. An appropriate number of shares in your account will be redeemed to realize the amount due. For these purposes, by entering into a Letter of Intent, you irrevocably appoint your Service Agent, or if you purchase your shares directly through PFPC, PFPC, as your attorney-in-fact for the purposes of holding the Escrowed Shares and surrendering shares in your account for redemption. If there are insufficient assets in your account, you will be liable for the difference. Any Escrowed Shares remaining after such redemption will be released to your account.

 

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Contingent Deferred Sales Charge Provisions

“Contingent deferred sales charge shares” are: (a) Class B shares; (b) Class C shares; and (c) Class A shares that were purchased without an initial sales charge but are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge. A contingent deferred sales charge may be imposed on certain redemptions of these shares.

Any applicable contingent deferred sales charge will be assessed on the net asset value at the time of purchase or redemption, whichever is less.

Class C shares and Class A shares that are contingent deferred sales charge shares are subject to a 1.00% contingent deferred sales charge if redeemed within 12 months of purchase. In circumstances in which the contingent deferred sales charge is imposed on Class B shares, the amount of the charge will depend on the number of years since the shareholder made the purchase payment from which the amount is being redeemed, as further described in the prospectus. Solely for purposes of determining the number of years since a purchase payment, all purchase payments made during a month will be aggregated and deemed to have been made on the last day of the preceding statement month.

Class B shares will convert automatically to Class A shares approximately eight years after the date on which they were purchased and thereafter will no longer be subject to any distribution fees. There will also be converted at that time such proportion of Class B dividend shares (Class B shares that were acquired through the reinvestment of dividends and distributions) owned by the shareholders as the total number of his or her Class B shares converting at the time bears to the total number of outstanding Class B shares (other than Class B dividend shares) owned by the shareholder.

In determining the applicability of any contingent deferred sales charge, it will be assumed that a redemption is made first of shares representing capital appreciation, next of shares representing the reinvestment of dividends and capital gain distributions, next of shares that are not subject to the contingent deferred sales charge and finally of other shares held by the shareholder for the longest period of time. The length of time that contingent deferred sales charge shares acquired through an exchange have been held will be calculated from the date the shares exchanged were initially acquired in one of the other Legg Mason Partners mutual funds. For federal income tax purposes, the amount of the contingent deferred sales charge will reduce the gain or increase the loss, as the case may be, on the amount realized on redemption. [LMIS receives/the fund’s distributors receive] contingent deferred sales charges in partial consideration for the expenses in selling shares.

Waivers of Contingent Deferred Sales Charge

The contingent deferred sales charge will be waived on: (a) exchanges (see “Exchange Privilege”); (b) automatic cash withdrawals in amounts equal to or less than 2.00% of the shareholder’s account balance at the time the withdrawals commence per month, up to a maximum of 12.00% in one year (see “Automatic Cash Withdrawal Plan”); (c) redemptions of shares within 12 months following the death or disability (as defined in the Code) of the shareholder; (d) mandatory post-retirement distributions from retirement plans or IRAs commencing on or after attainment of age 70  1 / 2 (except that shareholders who purchased shares subject to a contingent deferred sales charge prior to May 23, 2005 will be “grandfathered” and will be eligible to obtain the waiver at age 59  1 / 2 by demonstrating such eligibility at the time of redemption); (e) involuntary redemptions; (f) redemptions of shares to effect a combination of the fund with any investment company by merger, acquisition of assets or otherwise; (g) tax-free returns of an excess contribution to any retirement plan; and (h) certain redemptions of shares of a fund in connection with lump-sum or other distributions made by eligible retirement plans or redemption of shares by participants in certain “wrap fee” or asset allocation programs sponsored by broker/dealers and other financial institutions that have entered into agreements with a distributor or the manager.

As of November 20, 2006, the contingent deferred sales charge will be waived on new Class C shares purchased by retirement plan omnibus accounts held on the books of a fund.

 

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A shareholder who has redeemed shares from other Legg Mason Partners Funds may, under certain circumstances, reinvest all or part of the redemption proceeds within 60 days and receive pro rata credit for any contingent deferred sales charge imposed on the prior redemption.

Contingent deferred sales charge waivers will be granted subject to confirmation by a distributor or the transfer agent of the shareholder’s status or holdings, as the case may be.

Grandfathered Retirement Program with Exchange Features

Retirement plan programs authorized by LMIS prior to November 20, 2006 (collectively, the “Grandfathered Retirement Program”), to offer eligible retirement plan investors the opportunity to exchange all of their Class C shares for Class A shares of the fund, are permitted to maintain such share class exchange feature for current and prospective retirement plan investors.

Under the Grandfathered Retirement Program, Class C shares may be purchased by plans investing less than $3 million. Class C shares are eligible for exchange into Class A shares not later than eight years after the plan joins the program. They are eligible for exchange in the following circumstances:

If, a participating plan’s total Class C holdings in all non-money market Legg Mason Partners Funds equal at least $3,000,000 at the end of the fifth year after the date the participating plan enrolled in the Grandfathered Retirement Program, the participating plan will be offered the opportunity to exchange all of its Class C shares for Class A shares of the fund. Such participating plans will be notified of the pending exchange in writing within 30 days after the fifth anniversary of the enrollment date and, unless the exchange offer has been rejected in writing, the exchange will occur on or about the 90th day after the fifth anniversary date. If the participating plan does not qualify for the five-year exchange to Class A shares, a review of the participating plan’s holdings will be performed each quarter until either the participating plan qualifies or the end of the eighth year.

Any participating plan that has not previously qualified for an exchange into Class A shares will be offered the opportunity to exchange all of its Class C shares for Class A shares of the same fund regardless of asset size at the end of the eighth year after the date the participating plan enrolled in the Grandfathered Retirement Program. Such plans will be notified of the pending exchange in writing approximately 60 days before the eighth anniversary of the enrollment date and, unless the exchange has been rejected in writing, the exchange will occur on or about the eighth anniversary date. Once an exchange has occurred, a participating plan will not be eligible to acquire additional Class C shares, but instead may acquire Class A shares of the same fund. Any Class C shares not converted will continue to be subject to the distribution fee.

For further information regarding this Program, contact your Service Agent or the transfer agent. Participating plans that enrolled in the Grandfathered Retirement Program prior to June 2, 2003 should contact the transfer agent for information regarding Class C exchange privileges applicable to their plan.

PFS Accounts

The fund offers two Classes of shares to investors purchasing through PFS: Class A and B shares.

Initial purchases of shares of the fund must be made through a PFS Registered Representative by completing the appropriate application. The completed application should be forwarded to Primerica Shareholder Services c/o PFPC Inc., P.O. Box 9662, Providence, RI 02940-9662. Checks drawn on foreign banks must be payable in U.S. dollars and have the routing number of the U.S. bank encoded on the check. Additional investments may be sent directly to PFPC. In processing applications and investments, PFPC acts as agent for the investor and for the distributor, in accordance with the terms of the prospectus. If the transfer agent ceases to act as such, a successor company named by the fund will act in the same capacity so long as the account remains open. Shares purchased will be held in the shareholder’s account by PFPC.

 

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Purchase orders received by the transfer agent or Primerica Shareholder Services prior to the close of regular trading on the NYSE, on any day the fund calculates its net asset value, are priced according to the net asset value determined on that day.

Initial purchases of fund shares may be made by wire. Before sending the wire, the PFS Registered Representative must contact Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 665-8677 to obtain proper wire instructions. Once an account is open, a shareholder may make additional investments by wire. The shareholder should contact Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445 to obtain proper wire instructions.

Shareholders who establish telephone transaction authority on their account and supply bank account information may make additions to their accounts at any time. Shareholders should contact Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern time any day that the NYSE is open. If a shareholder does not wish to allow subsequent investments by telephone by any person in his or her account, the shareholder should decline the telephone transaction option on the account application. The minimum subsequent investment by telephone is $25 and can be up to a maximum of $50,000. By requesting a subsequent purchase by telephone, you authorize Primerica Shareholder Services to transfer funds from the bank account provided for the amount of the purchase. Subsequent investments by telephone may not be available if the shareholder cannot reach Primerica Shareholder Services whether because all telephone lines are busy or for any other reason; in such case, a shareholder would have to use the fund’s regular subsequent investment procedure described above.

An account transcript is available at a shareholder’s request, which identifies every financial transaction in an account since it has opened. Additional copies of tax forms are available at the shareholder’s request.

Additional information regarding Primerica Shareholder Services may be obtained by contacting the Customer Services Department at (800) 544-5445.

Determination of Public Offering Price

The fund offers its shares on a continuous basis. The public offering price for each class of shares of the fund is equal to the net asset value per share at the time of purchase, plus for Class A shares an initial sales charge based on the aggregate amount of the investment. A contingent deferred sales charge, however, is imposed on certain redemptions of Class A, B and C shares.

Set forth below is an example of the method of computing the offering price of the Class A shares of the fund based on the net asset value of a share of the fund as of September 30, 2006.

Class A (net asset value of $         plus the maximum initial sales charge of [    %] of net asset value per share) $            .

REDEMPTION OF SHARES

The right of redemption may be suspended or the date of payment postponed (a) for any period during which the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is closed (other than for customary weekend and holiday closings), (b) when trading in the markets the fund normally utilizes is restricted, or an emergency exists, as determined by the SEC, so that disposal of the fund’s investments or determination of net asset value is not reasonably practicable or (c) for such other periods as the SEC by order may permit for protection of the fund’s shareholders.

If the shares to be redeemed were issued in certificate form, the certificates must be endorsed for transfer (or be accompanied by an endorsed stock power) and must be submitted to PFPC together with the redemption request. Any signature appearing on a share certificate, stock power or written redemption request in excess of

 

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$50,000 must be guaranteed by an eligible guarantor institution such as a domestic bank, savings and loan institution, domestic credit union, member bank of the Federal Reserve System or member firm of a national securities exchange. Written redemption requests of $50,000 or less do not require a signature guarantee unless more than one such redemption request is made in any 10-day period. Redemption proceeds will be mailed to an investor’s address of record. The transfer agent may require additional supporting documents for redemptions made by corporations, executors, administrators, trustees or guardians. A redemption request will not be deemed properly received until the transfer agent receives all required documents in proper form.

If a shareholder holds shares in more than one Class, any request for redemption must specify the Class being redeemed. In the event of a failure to specify which Class, or if the investor owns fewer shares of the Class

than specified, the redemption request will be delayed until the transfer agent receives further instructions. The redemption proceeds will be remitted on or before the seventh business day following receipt of proper tender, except on any days on which the NYSE is closed or as permitted under the 1940 Act, in extraordinary circumstances. Redemption proceeds for shares purchased by check, other than a certified or official bank check, will be remitted upon clearance of the check, which may take up to ten days. Each Service Agent is responsible for transmitting promptly orders for its customers.

The Service Agent may charge you a fee for executing your order. The amount and applicability of such a fee is determined and disclosed to its customers by each Service Agent.

The fund no longer issues share certificates. Outstanding share certificates will continue to be honored. If you hold share certificates, it will take longer to exchange or redeem shares.

Additional Information Regarding Telephone Redemption and Exchange Program. Neither the fund nor its agents will be liable for following instructions communicated by telephone that are reasonably believed to be genuine. The fund and its agents will employ procedures designed to verify the identity of the caller and legitimacy of instructions (for example, a shareholder’s name and account number will be required and phone calls may be recorded). The fund reserves the right to suspend, modify or discontinue the telephone redemption and exchange program or to impose a charge for this service at any time following at least seven (7) days’ prior notice to shareholders.

PFS Accounts

Shareholders may redeem for cash some or all of their shares of the fund at any time by sending a written request in proper form directly to the Primerica Shareholder Services c/o PFPC at P.O. Box 9662, Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9662. If you should have any questions concerning how to redeem your account after reviewing the information below, please contact Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445, Spanish speaking representatives at (800) 544-7278 or TDD Line for the Hearing Impaired at (800) 824-1721.

All persons in whose names the shares are registered must sign the request for redemption. Signatures must conform exactly to the account registration. If the proceeds of the redemption exceed $50,000, if the proceeds are not paid to the record owner(s) at the record address, if the shareholder(s) has had an address change within 30 days or less of the shareholder’s redemption request, or if the shareholder(s) is a corporation, sole proprietor, partnership, trust or fiduciary, signature(s) must be guaranteed by one of the following: a bank or trust company; a broker/dealer; a credit union; a national securities exchange, registered securities association or clearing agency; a savings and loan association; or a federal savings bank.

Generally, a properly completed redemption form with any required signature guarantee is all that is required for a redemption. In some cases, however, other documents may be necessary. For example, in the case of shareholders holding certificates, the certificates for shares being redeemed must accompany the redemption request. Additional documentary evidence of authority is also required by PFPC in the event redemption is requested by a corporation, partnership, trust, fiduciary, executor or administrator. Additionally, if a shareholder requests redemption from a retirement plan account (IRA or SEP), such request must state whether or not federal

 

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income tax is to be withheld from the proceeds of the redemption check. Redemption from a 403(b)(7) account requires completion of a special form. Please call Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time to obtain the proper forms.

Shareholders may utilize Primerica Shareholder Services Telephone Redemption service to redeem shares in their account as long as they have authorized the telephone redemption option. If a shareholder does not wish to allow telephone redemptions by any person in his or her account, he or she should decline the telephone transaction option on the account application. The telephone redemption option can be used only if: (a) the redemption proceeds are to be mailed to the address of record and there has been no change of address of record within the preceding 30 days; (b) the shares to be redeemed are not in certificate form; (c); the person requesting the redemption can provide proper identification information; and (d) the proceeds of the redemption do not exceed $50,000. 403(b)(7) accounts and accounts not registered in the name of an individual(s) are not eligible for the telephone redemption option. Telephone redemption requests can be made by contacting Primerica Shareholder Services at (800) 544-5445 between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern time any day that the NYSE is open.

Telephone redemption may not be available if the shareholder cannot reach Primerica Shareholder Services because all telephone lines are busy or for any other reason; in such case, a shareholder use the fund’s regular redemption procedure described above.

Redemption proceeds can be sent by check to the address of record, by wire transfer to a bank account designated on the application or to a bank account designated on the application via the Automated Clearinghouse (ACH). PFPC will process and mail a shareholder’s redemption check usually within two to three business days after receiving the redemption request in good order.

Automatic Cash Withdrawal Plan

An automatic cash withdrawal plan (the “Withdrawal Plan”) is available to shareholders as described in the prospectus. To the extent withdrawals under the Withdrawal Plan exceed dividends, distributions and appreciation of a shareholder’s investment in the fund, there will be a reduction in the value of the shareholder’s investment, and continued withdrawal payments may reduce the shareholder’s investment and ultimately exhaust it. Withdrawal payments should not be considered as income from investment in the fund. Furthermore, as it generally would not be advantageous to a shareholder to make additional investments in the fund at the same time he or she is participating in the Withdrawal Plan, purchases by such shareholder in amounts of less than $5,000 ordinarily will not be permitted. The Withdrawal Plan will be carried over on exchanges between funds or classes of the fund. All dividends and distributions on shares in the Withdrawal Plan are reinvested automatically at net asset value in additional shares of the fund.

Shareholders who wish to participate in the Withdrawal Plan and who hold their shares in certificate form must deposit their share certificates with the transfer agent as agent for Withdrawal Plan members. For additional information shareholders should contact their Service Agent. A shareholder who purchases shares directly through the transfer agent may continue to do so and applications for participation in the Withdrawal Plan must be received by the transfer agent no later than the eighth day of the month to be eligible for participation beginning with that month’s withdrawal.

Distributions in Kind

If the Board determines that it would be detrimental to the best interests of the remaining shareholders to make a redemption payment wholly in cash, the fund may pay, in accordance with SEC rules, any portion of a redemption in excess of the lesser of $250,000 or 1.00% of the fund’s net assets by a distribution in kind of fund securities in lieu of cash. If a redemption is paid in portfolio securities, such securities will be valued in accordance with the procedures described under “Share Price” in the fund’s prospectus. Securities issued as a distribution in kind may incur brokerage commissions when shareholders subsequently sell those securities.

 

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VALUATION OF SHARES

The net asset value per share of the fund’s Classes is calculated on each day, Monday through Friday, except days on which the NYSE is closed. The NYSE currently is scheduled to be closed on New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving and Christmas, and on the preceding Friday or subsequent Monday when one of these holidays falls on a Saturday or Sunday, respectively. Because of the differences in distribution fees and Class-specific expenses, the per share net asset value of each Class will differ. Please see the prospectus for a description of the procedures used by the fund in valuing its assets.

EXCHANGE PRIVILEGE

The exchange privilege enables shareholders to acquire shares of the same class in a fund with different investment objectives when they believe that a shift between funds is an appropriate investment decision. This privilege is available to shareholders residing in any state in which the fund shares being acquired may legally be sold. Prior to any exchange, the shareholder should obtain and review a copy of the current prospectus of each fund into which an exchange is being considered. Prospectuses may be obtained from a Service Agent.

Upon receipt of proper instructions and all necessary supporting documents, shares submitted for exchange are redeemed at the then-current net asset value, and the proceeds are immediately invested in shares of the fund being acquired at that fund’s then current net asset value. The distributors reserve the right to reject any exchange request. The exchange privilege may be modified or terminated at any time after written notice to shareholders.

Class A and I Exchanges. Class A and I shareholders of the fund who wish to exchange all or a portion of their shares for shares of the respective class in another fund may do so without imposition of any charge.

Class B Exchanges. Class B shares of the fund may be exchanged for other Class B shares without a contingent deferred sales charge. Upon an exchange, the new Class B shares will be deemed to have been purchased on the same date as the Class B shares of the fund that have been exchanged.

Class C Exchanges. Class C shares of the fund may be exchanged for other Class C shares without a contingent deferred sales charge. Upon an exchange, the new Class C shares will be deemed to have been purchased on the same date as the Class C shares of the fund that have been exchanged. Certain retirement plan programs with exchange features in effect prior to November 20, 2006, as approved by LMIS, will remain eligible for exchange from Class C shares to Class A shares in accordance with the program terms. See “Grandfathered Retirement Programs” for additional information.

Certain retirement plan programs with exchange features in effect prior to December 1, 2006, as approved by LMIS, will remain eligible for exchange from Class C shares to Class A shares in accordance with the program terms. See “Grandfathered Retirement Programs” for additional information.

Additional Information Regarding the Exchange Privilege

The fund is not designed to provide investors with a means of speculation on short-term market movements. A pattern of frequent exchanges by investors can be disruptive to efficient portfolio management and, consequently, can be detrimental to the fund and its shareholders. See “Frequent Purchases and Redemptions of Fund Shares” in the prospectus.

During times of drastic economic or market conditions, the fund may suspend the exchange privilege temporarily without notice and treat exchange requests based on their separate components—redemption orders with a simultaneous request to purchase the other fund’s shares. In such a case, the redemption request would be processed at the fund’s next determined net asset value but the purchase order would be effective only at the net asset value next determined after the fund being purchased formally accepts the order, which may result in the purchase being delayed.

 

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Certain shareholders may be able to exchange shares by telephone. See the fund’s prospectus for additional information. Exchanges will be processed at the net asset value next determined. Redemption procedures discussed above are also applicable for exchanging shares, and exchanges will be made upon receipt of all supporting documents in proper form. If the account registration of the shares of the fund being acquired is identical to the registration of the shares of the fund exchanged, no signature guarantee is required.

This exchange privilege may be modified or terminated at any time, and is available only in those jurisdictions where such exchanges legally may be made. Before making any exchange, shareholders should contact the transfer agent or, if they hold fund shares through a Service Agent, their Service Agent to obtain more information and prospectuses of the funds to be acquired through the exchange. An exchange is treated as a sale of the shares exchanged and could result in taxable gain or loss to the shareholder making the exchange.

TAXES

[To be updated by amendment]

The following is a summary of certain material U.S. federal income tax considerations regarding the purchase, ownership and disposition of shares of the fund. This summary does not address all of the potential U.S. federal income tax consequences that may be applicable to the fund or to all categories of investors, some of which may be subject to special tax rules. Current and prospective shareholders are urged to consult their own tax advisers with respect to the specific federal, state, local and foreign tax consequences of investing in the fund. The summary is based on the laws in effect on the date of this SAI and existing judicial and administrative interpretations thereof, all of which are subject to change, possibly with retroactive effect.

The Fund and Its Investments

The fund intends to continue to qualify to be treated as a regulated investment company under the Code each taxable year. To so qualify, the fund must, among other things: (a) derive at least 90% of its gross income in each taxable year from dividends, interest, payments with respect to securities loans and gains from the sale or other disposition of stock or securities or foreign currencies, or other income (including, but not limited to, gains from options, futures or forward contracts) derived with respect to its business of investing in such stock, securities or currencies; and interests in “qualified publicly traded partnerships” (i.e., partnerships that are traded on an established securities market or tradable on a secondary market, other than partnerships that derives 90% of their income from interest, dividends, capital gains, and other traditional permitted mutual fund income) and (b) diversify its holdings so that, at the end of each quarter of the fund’s taxable year, (i) at least 50% of the market value of the fund’s assets is represented by cash, securities of other regulated investment companies, U.S. Government Securities and other securities, with such other securities limited, in respect of any one issuer, to an amount not greater than 5% of the fund’s assets and not greater than 10% of the outstanding voting securities of such issuer and (ii) not more than 25% of the value of its assets is invested in the securities (other than U.S. Government Securities or securities of other regulated investment companies) of any one issuer, any two or more issuers that the fund controls and that are determined to be engaged in the same or similar trades or businesses or related trades or businesses or in the securities of one or more qualified publicly traded partnerships.

Fund investments in partnerships, including in qualified publicly traded partnerships, may result in the fund’s being subject to state, local or foreign income, franchise or withholding tax liabilities.

As a regulated investment company, the fund will not be subject to U.S. federal income tax on the portion of its taxable investment income and capital gains that it distributes to its shareholders, provided that it satisfies a minimum distribution requirement.

To satisfy the minimum distribution requirement, the fund must distribute to its shareholders at least the sum of (i) 90% of its “investment company taxable income” (i.e., income other than its net realized long-term

 

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capital gain over its net realized short-term capital loss), plus or minus certain adjustments, and (ii) 90% of its net tax-exempt income for the taxable year. The fund will be subject to income tax at regular corporation rates on any taxable income or gains that it does not distribute to its shareholders.

The Code imposes a 4% nondeductible excise tax on the fund to the extent it does not distribute by the end of any calendar year at least the sum of (i) 98% of its ordinary income for that year and (ii) 98% of its capital gain net income (both long-term and short-term) for the one-year period ending, as a general rule, on October 31 of that year. For this purpose, however, any ordinary income or capital gain net income retained by the fund that is subject to corporate income tax will be considered to have been distributed by year-end. In addition, the minimum amounts that must be distributed in any year to avoid the excise tax will be increased or decreased to reflect any underdistribution or overdistribution, as the case may be, from the previous year. The fund anticipates that it will pay such dividends and will make such distributions as are necessary in order to avoid the application of this excise tax.

If, in any taxable year, the fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company under the Code or fails to meet the distribution requirement, it will be taxed in the same manner as an ordinary corporation and distributions to its shareholders will not be deductible by the fund in computing its taxable income. In addition, in the event of a failure to qualify, the fund’s distributions, to the extent derived from the fund’s current or accumulated earnings and profits, including any distributions of net long-term capital gains, will be taxable to shareholders as dividend income. However, such dividends will be eligible (i) to be treated as qualified dividend income in the case of shareholders taxed as individuals and (ii) for the dividends received deduction in case of corporate shareholders. Moreover, if the fund fails to qualify as a regulated investment company in any year, it must pay out its earnings and profits accumulated in that year in order to qualify again as a regulated investment company. If the fund failed to qualify as a regulated investment company for a period greater than two taxable years, the fund may be required to recognize any net built-in gains with respect to certain of its assets (i.e., the excess of the aggregate gains, including items of income, over aggregate losses that would have been realized with respect to such assets if the fund had been liquidated) in order to qualify as a regulated investment company in a subsequent year.

The fund’s transactions in foreign currencies, forward contracts, options and futures contracts (including options and futures contracts on foreign currencies), to the extent permitted, will be subject to special provisions of the Code (including provisions relating to “hedging transactions” and “straddles”) that, among other things, may affect the character of gains and losses realized by the fund (i.e., may affect whether gains or losses are ordinary or capital), accelerate recognition of income to the fund and defer fund losses. These rules could therefore affect the character, amount and timing of distributions to shareholders. These provisions also (a) will require the fund to mark-to-market certain types of the positions in its portfolio (i.e., treat them as if they were closed out at the end of each year) and (b) may cause the fund to recognize income without receiving cash with which to pay dividends or make distributions in amounts necessary to satisfy the distribution requirements for avoiding income and excise taxes. The fund will monitor its transactions, will make the appropriate tax elections and will make the appropriate entries in its books and records when it acquires any foreign currency, forward contract, option, futures contract or hedged investment in order to mitigate the effect of these rules and prevent disqualification of the fund as a regulated investment company.

The fund may be required to treat amounts as taxable income or gain, subject to the distribution requirements referred to above, even though no corresponding amounts of cash are received concurrently, as a result of (1) mark-to-market, constructive sale or rules applicable to PFICs (as defined below) or partnerships or trusts in which the fund invests or to certain options, futures or forward contracts, or “appreciated financial positions” or (2) the inability to obtain cash distributions or other amounts due to currency controls or restrictions on repatriation imposed by a foreign country with respect to the fund’s investments (including through depositary receipts) in issuers in such country or (3) tax rules applicable to debt obligations acquired with “original issue discount,” including zero-coupon or deferred payment bonds and pay-in-kind debt obligations, or to market discount if an election is made with respect to such market discount. The fund may therefore be required to

 

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obtain cash to be used to satisfy these distribution requirements by selling securities at times that it might not otherwise be desirable to do so or borrowing the necessary cash, thereby incurring interest expenses.

The fund’s investment in so-called “section 1256 contracts,” such as regulated futures contracts, most foreign currency forward contracts traded in the interbank market and options on most stock indices, are subject to special tax rules. All section 1256 contracts held by the fund at the end of its taxable year are required to be marked to their market value, and any unrealized gain or loss on those positions will be included in the fund’s income as if each position had been sold for its fair market value at the end of the taxable year. The resulting gain or loss will be combined with any gain or loss realized by the fund from positions in section 1256 contracts closed during the taxable year. Provided such positions were held as capital assets and were not part of a “hedging transaction” nor part of a “straddle,” 60% of the resulting net gain or loss will be treated as long-term capital gain or loss, and 40% of such net gain or loss will be treated as short-term capital gain or loss, regardless of the period of time the positions were actually held by the fund.

Foreign Investments. Dividends or other income (including, in some cases, capital gains) received by the fund from investments in foreign securities may be subject to withholding and other taxes imposed by foreign countries. Tax conventions between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes in some cases. The fund will not be eligible to elect to treat any foreign taxes it pays as paid by its shareholders, who therefore will not be entitled to credits or deductions for such taxes on their own tax returns. Foreign taxes paid by the fund will reduce the return from the fund’s investments.

Under Section 988 of the Code, gains or losses attributable to fluctuations in exchange rates between the time the fund accrues income or receivables or expenses or other liabilities denominated in a foreign currency and the time the fund actually collects such income or pays such liabilities are generally treated as ordinary income or ordinary loss. Similarly, gains or losses on foreign currency, foreign currency forward contracts, certain foreign currency options or futures contracts and the disposition of debt securities denominated in foreign currency, to the extent attributable to fluctuations in exchange rates between the acquisition and disposition dates, are also treated as ordinary income or loss unless the fund were to elect otherwise.

Passive Foreign Investment Companies. If the fund purchases shares in certain foreign investment entities, called “passive foreign investment companies” (“PFICs”), it may be subject to U.S. federal income tax on a portion of any “excess distribution” or gain from the disposition of such shares even if such income is distributed as a taxable dividend by the fund to its shareholders. Additional charges in the nature of interest may be imposed on the fund in respect of deferred taxes arising from such distributions or gains.

If the fund were to invest in a PFIC and elect to treat the PFIC as a “qualified electing fund” under the Code, in lieu of the foregoing requirements, the fund might be required to include in income each year a portion of the ordinary earnings and net capital gains of the qualified electing fund, even if not distributed to the fund, and such amounts would be subject to the 90% and excise tax distribution requirements described above. In order to make this election, the fund would be required to obtain certain annual information from the PFICs in which it invests, which may be difficult or impossible to obtain.

Alternatively, the fund may make a mark-to-market election that will result in the fund being treated as if it had sold and repurchased its PFIC stock at the end of each year. In such case, the fund would report any such gains as ordinary income and would deduct any such losses as ordinary losses to the extent of previously recognized gains. The election must be made separately for each PFIC owned by the fund and, once made, would be effective for all subsequent taxable years, unless revoked with the consent of the Internal Revenue Service (the ìIRSî). By making the election, the fund could potentially ameliorate the adverse tax consequences with respect to its ownership of shares in a PFIC, but in any particular year may be required to recognize income in excess of the distributions it receives from PFICs and its proceeds from dispositions of PFIC stock. The fund may have to distribute this ìphantomî income and gain to satisfy the 90% distribution requirement and to avoid imposition of the 4% excise tax.

 

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The fund will make the appropriate tax elections, if possible, and take any additional steps that are necessary to mitigate the effect of these rules.

Taxation of U.S. Shareholders

Dividends and Distributions. Dividends and other distributions by the fund are generally treated under the Code as received by the shareholders at the time the dividend or distribution is made. However, any dividend or distribution declared by the fund in October, November or December of any calendar year and payable to shareholders of record on a specified date in such a month shall be deemed to have been received by each shareholder on December 31 of such calendar year and to have been paid by the fund not later than such December 31, provided such dividend is actually paid by the fund during January of the following calendar year.

The fund intends to distribute annually to its shareholders substantially all of its investment company taxable income, and any net realized long-term capital gains in excess of net realized short-term capital losses (including any capital loss carryovers). However, if the fund retains for investment an amount equal to all or a portion of its net long-term capital gains in excess of its net short-term capital losses (including any capital loss carryovers), it will be subject to a corporate tax (currently at a maximum rate of 35%) on the amount retained. In that event, the fund will designate such retained amounts as undistributed capital gains in a notice to its shareholders who (a) will be required to include in income for U.S. federal income tax purposes, as long-term capital gains, their proportionate shares of the undistributed amount, (b) will be entitled to credit their proportionate shares of the 35% tax paid by the fund on the undistributed amount against their U.S. federal income tax liabilities, if any, and to claim refunds to the extent their credits exceed their liabilities, if any, and (c) will be entitled to increase their tax basis, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, in their shares by an amount equal to 65% of the amount of undistributed capital gains included in the shareholder’s income. Organizations or persons not subject to U.S. federal income tax on such capital gains will be entitled to a refund of their pro rata share of such taxes paid by the fund upon filing appropriate returns or claims for refund with the IRS.

Distributions of net realized long-term capital gains, if any, that the fund designates as capital gains dividends are taxable as long-term capital gains, whether paid in cash or in shares and regardless of how long a shareholder has held shares of the fund. All other dividends of the fund (including dividends from short-term capital gains) from its current and accumulated earnings and profits (“regular dividends”) are generally subject to tax as ordinary income.

Special rules apply, however, to regular dividends paid to individuals. Such a dividend, with respect to taxable years beginning on or before December 31, 2008, may be subject to tax at the rates generally applicable to long-term capital gains for individuals (currently at a maximum rate of 15%), provided that the individual receiving the dividend satisfies certain holding period and other requirements. Dividends subject to these special rules are not actually treated as capital gains, however, and thus are not included in the computation of an individual’s net capital gain and generally cannot be used to offset capital losses. The long-term capital gains rates will apply to: (i) 100% of the regular dividends paid by the fund to an individual in a particular taxable year if 95% or more of the fund’s gross income (ignoring gains attributable to the sale of stocks and securities except to the extent net short-term capital gain from such sales exceeds net long-term capital loss from such sales) in that taxable year is attributable to qualified dividend income received by the fund; or (ii) the portion of the regular dividends paid by the fund to an individual in a particular taxable year that is attributable to qualified dividend income received by the fund in that taxable year if such qualified dividend income accounts for less than 95% of the fund’s gross income (ignoring gains attributable to the sale of stocks and securities except to the extent net short-term capital gain from such sales exceeds net long-term capital loss from such sales) for that taxable year. For this purpose, “qualified dividend income” generally means income from dividends received by the fund from U.S. corporations and qualified foreign corporations, provided that the fund satisfies certain holding period requirements in respect of the stock of such corporations and has not hedged its position in the stock in certain ways. However, qualified dividend income does not include any dividends received from tax-exempt corporations. Also, dividends received by the fund from a real estate investment trust or another

 

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regulated investment company generally are qualified dividend income only to the extent the dividend distributions are made out of qualified dividend income received by such real estate investment trust or other regulated investment company. In the case of securities lending transactions, payments in lieu of dividends are not qualified dividend income. If a shareholder elects to treat fund dividends as investment income for purposes of the limitation on the deductibility of investment interest, such dividends would not be a qualified dividend income.

We will send you information after the end of each year setting forth the amount of dividends paid by us that are eligible for the reduced rates.

If an individual receives a regular dividend qualifying for the long-term capital gains rates and such dividend constitutes an “extraordinary dividend,” and the individual subsequently recognizes a loss on the sale or exchange of stock in respect of which the extraordinary dividend was paid, then the loss will be long-term capital loss to the extent of such extraordinary dividend. An “extraordinary dividend” on common stock for this purpose is generally a dividend (i) in an amount greater than or equal to 10% of the taxpayer’s tax basis (or trading value) in a share of stock, aggregating dividends with ex-dividend dates within an 85-day period or (ii) in an amount greater than 20% of the taxpayer’s tax basis (or trading value) in a share of stock, aggregating dividends with ex-dividend dates within a 365-day period.

Distributions in excess of the fund’s current and accumulated earnings and profits will, as to each shareholder, be treated as a tax-free return of capital to the extent of a shareholder’s basis in his shares of the fund, and as a capital gain thereafter (if the shareholder holds his shares of the fund as capital assets). Shareholders receiving dividends or distributions in the form of additional shares should be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as receiving a distribution in an amount equal to the amount of money that the shareholders receiving cash dividends or distributions will receive, and should have a cost basis in the shares received equal to such amount. Dividends paid by the fund that are attributable to dividends received by the fund from domestic corporations may qualify for the federal dividends-received deduction for corporations.

Investors considering buying shares just prior to a dividend or capital gain distribution should be aware that, although the price of shares just purchased at that time may reflect the amount of the forthcoming distribution, such dividend or distribution may nevertheless be taxable to them. If the fund is the holder of record of any stock on the record date for any dividends payable with respect to such stock, such dividends will be included in the fund’s gross income not as of the date received but as of the later of (a) the date such stock became ex-dividend with respect to such dividends (i.e., the date on which a buyer of the stock would not be entitled to receive the declared, but unpaid, dividends) or (b) the date the fund acquired such stock. Accordingly, in order to satisfy its income distribution requirements, the fund may be required to pay dividends based on anticipated earnings, and shareholders may receive dividends in an earlier year than would otherwise be the case.

Sales of Shares. Upon the sale or exchange of his shares, a shareholder will realize a taxable gain or loss equal to the difference between the amount realized and his basis in his shares. A redemption of shares by the fund will be treated as a sale for this purpose. Such gain or loss will be treated as capital gain or loss if the shares are capital assets in the shareholder’s hands, and will be long-term capital gain or loss if the shares are held for more than one year and short-term capital gain or loss if the shares are held for one year or less. Any loss realized on a sale or exchange will be disallowed to the extent the shares disposed of are replaced, including replacement through the reinvesting of dividends and capital gains distributions in the fund, within a 61-day period beginning 30 days before and ending 30 days after the disposition of the shares. In such a case, the basis of the shares acquired will be increased to reflect the disallowed loss. Any loss realized by a shareholder on the sale of a fund share held by the shareholder for six months or less will be treated for U.S. federal income tax purposes as a long-term capital loss to the extent of any distributions or deemed distributions of long-term capital gains received by the shareholder with respect to such share. If a shareholder incurs a sales charge in acquiring shares of the fund, disposes of those shares within 90 days and then acquires shares in a mutual fund for which the otherwise applicable sales charge is reduced by reason of a reinvestment right (e.g., an exchange privilege), the

 

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original sales charge will not be taken into account in computing gain/loss on the original shares to the extent the subsequent sales charge is reduced. Instead, the disregarded portion of the original sales charge will be added to the tax basis of the newly acquired shares. Furthermore, the same rule also applies to a disposition of the newly acquired shares made within 90 days of the second acquisition. This provision prevents a shareholder from immediately deducting the sales charge by shifting his or her investment within a family of mutual funds.

Backup Withholding. The fund may be required to withhold, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, a portion of the dividends, distributions and redemption proceeds payable to shareholders who fail to provide the fund with their correct taxpayer identification number or to make required certifications, or who have been notified by the IRS that they are subject to backup withholding. Certain shareholders are exempt from backup withholding. Backup withholding is not an additional tax and any amount withheld may be credited against a shareholder’s U.S. federal income tax liability.

Notices; Other Taxes

Notices. Shareholders will receive, if appropriate, various written notices after the close of the fund’s taxable year regarding the U.S. federal income tax status of certain dividends, distributions and deemed distributions that were paid (or that are treated as having been paid) by the fund to its shareholders during the preceding taxable year.

Other Taxes. Dividends, distributions and redemption proceeds may also be subject to additional state, local and foreign taxes depending on each shareholder’s particular situation.

If a shareholder recognizes a loss with respect to the fund’s shares of $2 million or more for an individual shareholder or $10 million or more for a corporate shareholder, the shareholder must file with the IRS a disclosure statement on Form 8886. Direct shareholders of portfolio securities are in many cases excepted from this reporting requirement, but under current guidance, shareholders of a regulated investment company are not excepted. The fact that a loss is reportable under these regulations does not affect the legal determination of whether the taxpayer’s treatment of the loss is proper. Shareholders should consult their tax advisors to determine the applicability of these regulations in light of their individual circumstances.

Taxation of Non-U.S. Shareholders

Dividends paid by the Fund to non-U.S. shareholders are generally subject to withholding tax at a 30% rate or a reduced rate specified by an applicable income tax treaty to the extent derived from investment income and short-term capital gains. In order to obtain a reduced rate of withholding, a non-U.S. shareholder will be required to provide an IRS Form W-8BEN certifying its entitlement to benefits under a treaty. The withholding tax does not apply to regular dividends paid to a non-U.S. shareholder who provides a Form W-8ECI, certifying that the dividends are effectively connected with the non-U.S. shareholder’s conduct of a trade or business within the United States. Instead, the effectively connected dividends will be subject to regular U.S. income tax as if the non-U.S. shareholder were a U.S. shareholder. A non-U.S. corporation receiving effectively connected dividends may also be subject to additional “branch profits tax” imposed at a rate of 30% (or lower treaty rate). A non-U.S. shareholder who fails to provide an IRS Form W-8BEN or other applicable form may be subject to backup withholding at the appropriate rate.

In general, United States federal withholding tax will not apply to any gain or income realized by a non-U.S. shareholder in respect of any distributions of net long-term capital gains over net short-term capital losses, exempt-interest dividends, or upon the sale or other disposition of shares of the fund.

For taxable years beginning before January 1, 2008, properly-designated dividends are generally exempt from United States federal withholding tax where they (i) are paid in respect of the Fundís ìqualified net interest incomeî (generally, the Fundís U.S. source interest income, other than certain contingent interest and interest

 

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from obligations of a corporation or partnership in which the Fund is at least a 10% shareholder, reduced by expenses that are allocable to such income) or (ii) are paid in respect of the Fundís ìqualified short-term capital gainsî (generally, the excess of the Fundís net short-term capital gain over the Fundís long-term capital loss for such taxable year). However, depending on its circumstances, the Fund may designate all, some or none of its potentially eligible dividends as such qualified net interest income or as qualified short-term capital gains, and/or treat such dividends, in whole or in part, as ineligible for this exemption from withholding. In order to qualify for this exemption from withholding, a non-U.S. shareholder will need to comply with applicable certification requirements relating to its non-U.S. status (including, in general, furnishing an IRS Form W-8BEN or substitute Form). In the case of shares held through an intermediary, the intermediary may withhold even if a Portfolio designates the payment as qualified net interest income or qualified short-term capital gain. Non-U.S. shareholders should contact their intermediaries with respect to the application of these rules to their accounts.

Special rules apply to foreign persons who receive distributions from the Fund that are attributable to gain from “U.S. real property interests” (“USRPIs”). The Code defines USRPIs to include direct holdings of U.S. real property and any interest (other than an interest solely as a creditor) in “U.S. real property holding corporations.” The Code defines a U.S. real property holding corporation as any corporation whose USRPIs make up more than 50% of the fair market value of its USRPIs, its interests in real property located outside the United States, plus any other assets it uses in a trade or business. In general, the distribution of gains from USRPIs to foreign shareholders is subject to U.S. federal income tax withholding at a rate of 35% and obligates such foreign shareholder to file a U.S. tax return. To the extent a distribution to a foreign shareholder is attributable to gains from the sale or exchange of USRPIs recognized by a REIT or (for taxable years beginning before January 1, 2008) a regulated investment company, a RIC, the Code treats that gain as the distribution of gain from a USRPI to a foreign shareholder which would be subject to U.S. withholding tax of 35% and would result in U.S. tax filing obligations for the foreign shareholder.

However, a foreign shareholder achieves a different result with respect to the gains from the sale of USRPIs if the REIT or registered investment company is less than 50% owned by foreign persons at all times during the testing period, or if such gain is realized from the sale of any class of stock in a REIT which is regularly traded on an established U.S. securities market and the REIT shareholder owned less than 5% of such class of stock at all times during the one-year period ending on the date of the distribution. In such event, the gains are treated as dividends paid to a non-U.S. shareholder.

The foregoing is only a summary of certain material U.S. federal income tax consequences affecting the Fund and its shareholders. Current and prospective shareholders are advised to consult their own tax advisers with respect to the particular tax consequences to them of an investment in the Fund.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

The Trust was organized on October 17, 1991 under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts and is a business entity commonly known as a “Massachusetts business trust.” The Trust offers shares of beneficial interest of [ ] separate funds with a par value of $.001 per share. The fund offers shares of beneficial interest currently classified into four Classes--A, B, C and I. Each Class of the fund represents an identical interest in the fund’s investment portfolio. As a result, the Classes have the same rights, privileges and preferences, except with respect to: (a) the designation of each Class; (b) the effect of the respective sales charges, if any, for each Class; (c) the distribution and/or service fees borne by each Class pursuant to the Distribution Plan; (d) the expenses allocable exclusively to each Class; (e) voting rights on matters exclusively affecting a single Class; (f) the exchange privilege of each Class; and (g) the conversion feature of the Class B shares. The Board does not anticipate that there will be any conflicts among the interests of the holders of the different Classes. The trustees, on an ongoing basis, will consider whether any such conflict exists and, if so, take appropriate action.

Under Massachusetts’s law, shareholders could, under certain circumstances, be held personally liable for the obligations of the fund. The Master Trust Agreement disclaims shareholder liability for acts or obligations of the fund, however, and requires that notice of such disclaimer be given in each agreement, obligation or instrument entered into or executed by the fund or a trustee. The Master Trust Agreement provides for indemnification from fund property for all losses and expenses of any shareholder held personally liable for the obligations of the fund. Thus, the risk of a shareholder’s incurring financial loss on account of shareholder liability is limited to circumstances in which the fund itself would be unable to meet its obligations, a possibility which management of the fund believes is remote. Upon payment of any liability incurred by the fund, a shareholder paying such liability will be entitled to reimbursement from the general assets of the fund. The trustees intend to conduct the operation

 

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of the fund in such a way so as to avoid, as far as possible, ultimate liability of the shareholders for liabilities of the fund.

The Master Trust Agreement of the fund permits the trustees of the fund to issue an unlimited number of full and fractional shares of a single class and to divide or combine the shares into a greater or lesser number of shares without thereby changing the proportionate beneficial interests in the fund. Each share in the fund represents an equal proportional interest in the fund with each other share. Shareholders of the fund are entitled upon its liquidation to share pro rata in its net assets available for distribution. No shareholder of the fund has any preemptive or conversion rights. Shares of the fund are fully paid and non-assessable.

Pursuant to the Master Trust Agreement, the Trust’s trustees may authorize the creation of additional series of shares (the proceeds of which would be invested in separate, independently managed portfolios) and additional classes of shares within any series (which would be used to distinguish among the rights of different categories of shareholders, as might be required by future regulations or other unforeseen circumstances).

The Trust does not hold annual shareholder meetings. There normally will be no meetings of shareholders for the purpose of electing trustees unless and until such time as less than a majority of the trustees holding office have been elected by shareholders, at which time the trustees then in office will call a shareholders’ meeting for the election of trustees. Shareholders of record of no less than two-thirds of the outstanding shares of the Trust may remove a trustee through a declaration in writing or by vote cast in person or by proxy at a meeting called for that purpose.

When matters are submitted for shareholder vote, shareholders of each Class will have one vote for each full share owned and a proportionate, fractional vote for any fractional share held of that Class. Generally, shares of the fund will be voted on a fund-wide basis on all matters except matters affecting only the interests of one Class, in which case only shares of the affected Class would be entitled to vote.

The Trust was organized as an unincorporated Massachusetts business trust on October 17, 1991 under the name Shearson Lehman Brothers Intermediate-Term Trust. On August 16, 1995, the Trust’s name was changed to Smith Barney Investment Trust. On April 7, 2006, the Trust’s name was changed to Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust.

Annual and Semi-Annual Reports. The fund sends its shareholders a semi-annual report and an audited annual report, which include listings of investment securities held by the fund at the end of the period covered. In an effort to reduce the fund’s printing and mailing costs, the fund consolidates the mailing of its semi-annual and annual reports by household. This consolidation means that a household having multiple accounts with the identical address of record will receive a single copy of each report. In addition, the fund also consolidates the mailing of its prospectus so that a shareholder having multiple accounts (that is, individual, IRA and/or Self-Employed Retirement Plan accounts) will receive a single prospectus annually. Shareholders who do not want this consolidation to apply to their accounts should contact their Service Agent or the transfer agent.

Proposed Changes

The fund’s Board has approved a number of initiatives designed to streamline and restructure the fund complex and the fund is seeking shareholder approval for those initiatives where shareholder approval is required. If certain of these matters are approved by the shareholders entitled to vote on the matters, the fund will become a series of Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust, a Maryland business trust.

A Maryland business trust is an unincorporated business association that is established under, and governed by, Maryland law. Maryland law provides a statutory framework for the powers, duties, rights and obligations of the trustees and shareholders of the business trust, while the more specific powers, duties, rights and obligations of the trustees and the shareholders are determined by the trustees as set forth in the trust’s declaration of trust. Some of the more significant provisions of the trust’s declaration are described below.

Shareholder Voting

The declaration provides for shareholder voting as required by the 1940 Act or other applicable laws but otherwise permits, consistent with Maryland law, actions by the trustees without seeking the consent of shareholders. The trustees may, without shareholder approval, amend the declaration or authorize the merger or consolidation of the trust into another trust or entity, reorganize the trust, or any series or class into another trust or entity or a series or class of another entity, sell all or substantially all of the assets of the trust or any series or class to another entity, or a series or class of another entity, or terminate the trust or any series or class.

The fund is not required to hold an annual meeting of shareholders, but the fund will call special meetings of shareholders whenever required by the 1940 Act or by the terms of the declaration. The declaration provides for “dollar-weighted voting” which means that a shareholder’s voting power is determined, not by the number of shares he or she owns, but by the dollar value of those shares determined on the record date. All shareholders of all series and classes of the trust vote together, except where required by the 1940 Act to vote separately by series or by class, or when the trustees have determined that a matter affects only the interests of one or more series or classes of shares.

 

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Election and Removal of Trustees

The declaration provides that the trustees may establish the number of trustees and that vacancies on the board may be filled by the remaining trustees, except when election of trustees by the shareholders is required under the 1940 Act. Trustees are then elected by a plurality of votes cast by shareholders at a meeting at which a quorum is present. The declaration also provides that a mandatory retirement age may be set by action of two-thirds of the trustees and that trustees may be removed, with or without cause, by a vote of shareholders holding two-thirds of the voting power of the trust, or by a vote of two-thirds of the remaining trustees. The provisions of the declaration relating to the election and removal of trustees may not be amended without the approval of two-thirds of the trustees.

Amendments to the Declaration

The trustees are authorized to amend the declaration without the vote of shareholders, but no amendment may be made that impairs the exemption from personal liability granted in the declaration to persons who are or have been shareholders, trustees, officers or, employees of the trust or that limit the rights to indemnification or insurance provided in the declaration with respect to actions or omissions of persons entitled to indemnification under the declaration prior to the amendment.

Issuance and Redemption of Shares

The fund may issue an unlimited number of shares for such consideration and on such terms as the trustees may determine. Shareholders are not entitled to any appraisal, preemptive, conversion, exchange or similar rights, except as the trustees may determine. The fund may involuntarily redeem a shareholder’s shares upon certain conditions as may be determined by the trustees, including, for example, if the shareholder fails to provide the fund with identification required by law, or if the fund is unable to verify the information received from the shareholder. Additionally, as discussed below, shares may be redeemed in connection with the closing of small accounts.

Disclosure of Shareholder Holdings

The declaration specifically requires shareholders, upon demand, to disclose to the fund information with respect to the direct and indirect ownership of shares in order to comply with various laws or regulations, and the fund may disclose such ownership if required by law or regulation.

Small Accounts

The declaration provides that the fund may close out a shareholder’s account by redeeming all of the shares in the account if the account falls below a minimum account size (which may vary by class) that may be set by the trustees from time to time. Alternately, the declaration permits the fund to assess a fee for small accounts (which may vary by class) and redeem shares in the account to cover such fees, or convert the shares into another share class that is geared to smaller accounts.

Series and Classes

The declaration provides that the trustees may establish series and classes in addition to those currently established and to determine the rights and preferences, limitations and restrictions, including qualifications for ownership, conversion and exchange features, minimum purchase and account size, expenses and charges, and other features of the series and classes. The trustees may change any of those features, terminate any series or class, combine series with other series in the trust, combine one or more classes of a series with another class in that series or convert the shares of one class into another class.

Each share of the fund, as a series of the trust, represents an interest in the fund only and not in the assets of any other series of the trust.

 

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Shareholder, Trustee and Officer Liability

The declaration provides that shareholders are not personally liable for the obligations of the fund and requires the fund to indemnify a shareholder against any loss or expense arising from any such liability. In addition, the fund will assume the defense of any claim against a shareholder for personal liability at the request of the shareholder. The declaration further provides that a trustee acting in his or her capacity of trustee is not personally liable to any person other than the trust or its shareholders, for any act, omission, or obligation of the trust. Further, a trustee is held to the same standard of conduct as a director of a Maryland corporation. This requires that a trustee perform his or her duties in good faith and in a manner he or she reasonably believes to be in the best interests of the trust or a series thereof, and with the care that an ordinarily prudent person in a like position would use under similar circumstances. The declaration also permits the limitation of a trustee’s liability to the full extent provided under Maryland law. Under current Maryland law, a trustee is liable to the trust or its shareholders for monetary damages only (a) to the extent that it is proved that he or she actually received an improper benefit or profit in money, property, or services or (b) to the extent that a judgment or other final adjudication adverse to the trustee is entered in a proceeding based on a finding in the proceeding that the trustee’s action, or failure to act, was the result of active and deliberate dishonesty and was material to the cause of action adjudicated in the proceeding. The declaration requires the trust to indemnify any persons who are or who have been trustees, officers or employees of the trust for any liability for actions or failure to act except to the extent prohibited by applicable federal law. In making any determination as to whether any person is entitled to the advancement of expenses in connection with a claim for which indemnification is sought, such person is entitled to a rebuttable presumption that he or she did not engage in conduct for which indemnification is not available.

The declaration provides that any trustee who serves as chair of the board or of a committee of the board, lead independent trustee, or audit committee financial expert, or in any other similar capacity will not be subject to any greater standard of care or liability because of such position.

Derivative Actions

The declaration provides a detailed process for the bringing of derivative actions by shareholders in order to permit legitimate inquiries and claims while avoiding the time, expense, distraction, and other harm that can be caused to the fund or its shareholders as a result of spurious shareholder demands and derivative actions. Prior to bringing a derivative action, a demand by three unrelated shareholders must first be made on the fund’s trustees. The declaration details various information, certifications, undertakings and acknowledgements that must be included in the demand. Following receipt of the demand, the trustees have a period of 90 days, which may be extended by an additional 60 days, to consider the demand. If a majority of the trustees who are considered independent for the purposes of considering the demand determine that maintaining the suit would not be in the best interests of the fund, the trustees are required to reject the demand and the complaining shareholders may not proceed with the derivative action unless the shareholders are able to sustain the burden of proof to a court that the decision of the trustees not to pursue the requested action was not a good faith exercise of their business judgment on behalf of the fund. The declaration further provides that shareholders owning shares representing at least 5% of the voting power of the affected fund must join in bringing the derivative action. If a demand is rejected, the complaining shareholders will be responsible for the costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by the fund in connection with the consideration of the demand, if in the judgment of the independent trustees, the demand was made without reasonable cause or for an improper purpose. If a derivative action is brought in violation of the declaration, the shareholders bringing the action may be responsible for the fund’s costs, including attorneys’ fees.

The declaration further provides that the fund shall be responsible for payment of attorneys’ fees and legal expenses incurred by a complaining shareholder only if required by law, and any attorneys’ fees that the fund is obligated to pay shall be calculated using reasonable hourly rates. The declaration also requires that actions by shareholders against the fund be brought only in federal court in Baltimore, Maryland, or if not permitted to be brought in federal court, then in state court in Baltimore, Maryland, and that the right to jury trial be waived to the full extent permitted by law.

 

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Legal Matters

Beginning in June 2004, class action lawsuits alleging violations of the federal securities laws were filed against Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (“CGMI”) and a number of its then affiliates, including Smith Barney Fund Management LLC (“SBFM”), which were then investment adviser or manager to certain of the Funds (the “Managers”), substantially all of the mutual funds then managed by the Managers (the “Defendant Funds”), and Board Members of the Defendant Funds (collectively, the “Defendants”). The complaints alleged, among other things, that CGMI created various undisclosed incentives for its brokers to sell Smith Barney and Salomon Brothers funds. In addition, according to the complaints, the Managers caused the Defendant Funds to pay excessive brokerage commissions to CGMI for steering clients towards proprietary funds. The complaints also alleged that the defendants breached their fiduciary duty to the Defendant Funds by improperly charging Rule 12b-1 fees and by drawing on fund assets to make undisclosed payments of soft dollars and excessive brokerage commissions. The complaints also alleged that the Defendant Funds failed to adequately disclose certain of the allegedly wrongful conduct. The complaints sought injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive damages, rescission of the Defendant Funds’ contracts with the Managers, recovery of all fees paid to the Managers pursuant to such contracts and an award of attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses.

On December 15, 2004, a consolidated amended complaint (the “Complaint”) was filed alleging substantially similar causes of action. On May 27, 2005, all of the Defendants filed motions to dismiss the Complaint. On July 26, 2006, the court issued a decision and order (1) finding that plaintiffs lacked standing to sue on behalf of the shareholders of the Defendant Funds in which none of the plaintiffs had invested, including Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Value Fund, and dismissing those Defendant Funds from the case (although stating that they could be brought back into the case if standing as to them could be established), and (2) other than one stayed claim, dismissing all of the causes of action against the remaining Defendants, with prejudice, except for the cause of action under Section 36(b) of the 1940 Act, which the court granted plaintiffs leave to replead as a derivative claim.

On October 16, 2006, plaintiffs filed their Second Consolidated Amended Complaint (“Second Amended Complaint”) which alleges derivative claims on behalf of nine funds identified in the Second Amended Complaint, under Section 36(b) of the 1940 Act, against Citigroup Asset Management, Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc, SBFM and CGMI as investment advisers to the identified funds, as well as CGMI as a distributor for the identified funds (collectively, the “Second Amended Complaint Defendants”). The Fund was not identified in the Second Amended Complaint. The Second Amended Complaint alleges no claims against any of the Funds or any of their Board Members. Under Section 36(b), the Second Amended Complaint alleges similar facts and seeks similar relief against the Second Amended Complaint Defendants as the Complaint.

Additional lawsuits arising out of these circumstances and presenting similar allegations and requests for relief may be filed in the future.

On May 31, 2005, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued an order in connection with the settlement of an administrative proceeding against SBFM, the then-investment adviser or manager to the fund and CGMI, relating to the appointment of an affiliated transfer agent for the Smith Barney family of mutual funds, including the fund (the “Affected Funds”).

The SEC order finds that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(1) of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, and the rules promulgated thereunder (the “Advisers Act”). Specifically, the order found that SBFM and CGMI knowingly or recklessly failed to disclose to the boards of the Affected Funds in 1999 when proposing a new transfer agent arrangement with an affiliated transfer agent that: First Data Investors Services Group (“First Data”), the Affected Funds’ then-existing transfer agent, had offered to continue as transfer agent and do the same work for substantially less money than before; and that Citigroup Asset Management (“CAM”), the Citigroup business unit that, at the time, included the Affected Funds’ investment manager and other investment advisory companies, had entered into a side letter with First Data under which CAM agreed to recommend the appointment of First Data as sub-transfer agent to the affiliated transfer agent in

 

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exchange for, among other things, a guarantee by First Data of specified amounts of asset management and investment banking fees to CAM and CGMI. The order also found that SBFM and CGMI willfully violated Section 206(2) of the Advisers Act by virtue of the omissions discussed above and other misrepresentations and omissions in the materials provided to the Affected Funds’ boards, including the failure to make clear that the affiliated transfer agent would earn a high profit for performing limited functions while First Data continued to perform almost all of the transfer agent functions, and the suggestion that the proposed arrangement was in the Affected Funds’ best interests and that no viable alternatives existed. SBFM and CGMI do not admit or deny any wrongdoing or liability. The settlement does not establish wrongdoing or liability for purposes of any other proceeding.

The SEC censured SBFM and CGMI and ordered them to cease and desist from violations of Sections 206(1) and 206(2) of the Advisers Act. The order required Citigroup to pay $208.1 million, including $109 million in disgorgement of profits, $19.1 million in interest, and a civil money penalty of $80 million. Approximately $24.4 million has already been paid to the Affected Funds, primarily through fee waivers. The remaining $183.7 million, including the penalty, has been paid to the U.S. Treasury and will be distributed pursuant to a plan submitted for the approval of the SEC. At this time, there is no certainty as to how the above-described proceeds of the settlement will be distributed, to whom such distributions will be made, the methodology by which such distributions will be allocated, and when such distributions will be made. The order also required that transfer agency fees received from the Affected Funds since December 1, 2004, less certain expenses, be placed in escrow and provided that a portion of such fees might be subsequently distributed in accordance with the terms of the order. On April 3, 2006, an aggregate amount of approximately $9 million held in escrow was distributed to the Affected Funds.

The order required SBFM to recommend a new transfer agent contract to the Fund boards within 180 days of the entry of the order; if a Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent or sub-transfer agent, SBFM and CGMI would have been required, at their expense, to engage an independent monitor to oversee a competitive bidding process. On November 21, 2005, and within the specified timeframe, the Affected Funds’ Boards selected a new transfer agent for the Affected Fund. No Citigroup affiliate submitted a proposal to serve as transfer agent. Under the order, SBFM also must comply with an amended version of a vendor policy that Citigroup instituted in August 2004.

Although there can be no assurance, the manager does not believe that this matter will have a material adverse effect on the Affected Funds.

On December 1, 2005, Citigroup completed the sale of substantially all of its global asset management business, including SBFM, to Legg Mason.

Beginning in August 2005, five class action lawsuits alleging violations of federal securities laws and state law were filed against CGMI and SBFM (collectively, the “Defendants”) based on the May 31, 2005 settlement order issued against the Defendants by the SEC as described in above. The complaints seek injunctive relief and compensatory and punitive damages, removal of SBFM as the investment manager for the Smith Barney family of funds, rescission of the Funds’ management and other contracts with SBFM, recovery of all fees paid to SBFM pursuant to such contracts, and an award of attorneys’ fees and litigation expenses.

On October 5, 2005, a motion to consolidate the five actions and any subsequently filed, related action was filed. That motion contemplates that a consolidated amended complaint alleging substantially similar causes of action will be filed in the future.

As of the date of this report, the Fund’s investment manager believes that resolution of the pending lawsuit will not have a material effect on the financial position or results of operations of the Fund or the ability of the Fund’s investment manager and its affiliates to continue to render services to the Funds under their respective contracts.

 

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On September 16, 2005, the staff of the SEC informed SBFM and ClearBridge Asset Management Inc (formerly Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc) at the staff is considering recommending that the SEC institute administrative proceedings against SBFM and ClearBridge Asset Management Inc for alleged violations of Section 19(a) and 34(b) of the Investment Company Act (and related Rule 19a-1). The notification is a result of an industry wide inspection by the SEC and is based upon alleged deficiencies in disclosures regarding dividends and distributions paid to shareholders of certain funds. Section 19(a) and related Rule 19a-1 of the Investment Company Act generally require funds that are making dividend and distribution payments to provide shareholders with a written statement disclosing the source of the dividends and distributions, and, in particular, the portion of the payments made from each of net investment income, undistributed net profits and/or paid-in capital. In connection with the contemplated proceedings, the staff may seek a cease and desist order and/or monetary damages from SBFM or ClearBridge Asset Management Inc.

Although there can be no assurance, the fund’s manager believes that this matter is not likely to have a material adverse effect on the fund.

The foregoing speaks only as of the date of this SAI. Additional lawsuits presenting allegations and requests for relief arising out of or in connection with any of the foregoing matters may be filed against these and related parties in the future.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The audited financial statements of the fund’s predecessor (Statement of Assets and Liabilities as of [September 30, 2006], Statement of Operations for the year ended [September 30, 2006], Statements of Changes in Net Assets for each of the years in the two-year period ended [September 30, 2006], Financial Highlights for each of the years in the five-year period ended [September 30, 2006], and Notes to Financial Statements along with the Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm, each of which is included in the Annual Report to Shareholders of the Fund), are incorporated by reference into this Statement of Additional Information (Filed on [            ]; Accession Number [            ]).

 

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APPENDIX A

Concerning ClearBridge Advisors 1 (Clearbridge)

Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

The following is a brief overview of the Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures (the “Policies”) that ClearBridge has adopted to seek to ensure that ClearBridge votes proxies relating to equity securities in the best interest of clients.

ClearBridge votes proxies for each client account with respect to which it has been authorized to vote proxies. In voting proxies, ClearBridge is guided by general fiduciary principles and seeks to act prudently and solely in the best interest of clients. ClearBridge attempts to consider all factors that could affect the value of the investment and will vote proxies in the manner that it believes will be consistent with efforts to maximize shareholder values. ClearBridge may utilize an external service provider to provide it with information and/or a recommendation with regard to proxy votes. However, the ClearBridge adviser (business unit) continues to retain responsibility for the proxy vote.

In the case of a proxy issue for which there is a stated position in the Policies, ClearBridge generally votes in accordance with such stated position. In the case of a proxy issue for which there is a list of factors set forth in the Policies that ClearBridge considers in voting on such issue, ClearBridge votes on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the general principles set forth above and considering such enumerated factors. In the case of a proxy issue for which there is no stated position or list of factors that ClearBridge considers in voting on such issue, ClearBridge votes on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the general principles set forth above. Issues for which there is a stated position set forth in the Policies or for which there is a list of factors set forth in the Policies that ClearBridge considers in voting on such issues fall into a variety of categories, including election of directors, ratification of auditors, proxy and tender offer defenses, capital structure issues, executive and director compensation, mergers and corporate restructurings, and social and environmental issues. The stated position on an issue set forth in the Policies can always be superseded, subject to the duty to act solely in the best interest of the beneficial owners of accounts, by the investment management professionals responsible for the account whose shares are being voted. Issues applicable to a particular industry may cause ClearBridge to abandon a policy that would have otherwise applied to issuers generally. As a result of the independent investment advisory services provided by distinct ClearBridge business units, there may be occasions when different business units or different portfolio managers within the same business unit vote differently on the same issue. A ClearBridge business unit or investment team (e.g. ClearBridge’s Social Awareness Investment team) may adopt proxy voting policies that supplement these policies and procedures. In addition, in the case of Taft-Hartley clients, ClearBridge will comply with a client direction to vote proxies in accordance with Institutional Shareholder Services’ (ISS) PVS Voting Guidelines, which ISS represents to be fully consistent with AFL-CIO guidelines.


1 ClearBridge Advisors comprises CAM North America, LLC, Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC, and other affiliated investment advisory firms. On December 1, 2005, Citigroup Inc. (“Citigroup”) sold substantially all of its worldwide asset management business, Citigroup Asset Management, to Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”). As part of this transaction, CAM North America, LLC, Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc and Smith Barney Fund Management LLC became wholly-owned subsidiaries of Legg Mason. Under a licensing agreement between Citigroup and Legg Mason, the names of CAM North America, LLC, Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc, Smith Barney Fund Management LLC and their affiliated advisory entities, as well as all logos, trademarks, and service marks related to Citigroup or any of its affiliates (“Citi Marks”) are licensed for use by Legg Mason. Citi Marks include, but are not limited to, “Citigroup Asset Management,” “Salomon Brothers Asset Management” and “CAM”. All Citi Marks are owned by Citigroup, and are licensed for use until no later than one year after the date of the licensing agreement. Legg Mason and its subsidiaries, including CAM North America, LLC, Salomon Brothers Asset Management Inc, and Smith Barney Fund Management LLC are not affiliated with Citigroup.

 

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In furtherance of ClearBridge’s goal to vote proxies in the best interest of clients, ClearBridge follows procedures designed to identify and address material conflicts that may arise between ClearBridge’s interests and those of its clients before voting proxies on behalf of such clients. To seek to identify conflicts of interest, ClearBridge periodically notifies ClearBridge employees in writing that they are under an obligation (i) to be aware of the potential for conflicts of interest on the part of ClearBridge with respect to voting proxies on behalf of client accounts both as a result of their personal relationships and due to special circumstances that may arise during the conduct of ClearBridge’s business, and (ii) to bring conflicts of interest of which they become aware to the attention of ClearBridge’s compliance personnel. ClearBridge also maintains and considers a list of significant ClearBridge relationships that could present a conflict of interest for ClearBridge in voting proxies. ClearBridge is also sensitive to the fact that a significant, publicized relationship between an issuer and a non-ClearBridge Legg Mason affiliate might appear to the public to influence the manner in which ClearBridge decides to vote a proxy with respect to such issuer. Absent special circumstances or a significant, publicized non-ClearBridge Legg Mason affiliate relationship that ClearBridge for prudential reasons treats as a potential conflict of interest because such relationship might appear to the public to influence the manner in which ClearBridge decides to vote a proxy, ClearBridge generally takes the position that relationships between a non-ClearBridge Legg Mason affiliate and an issuer (e.g. investment management relationship between an issuer and a non-ClearBridge Legg Mason affiliate) do not present a conflict of interest for ClearBridge in voting proxies with respect to such issuer. Such position is based on the fact that ClearBridge is operated as an independent business unit from other Legg Mason business units as well as on the existence of information barriers between ClearBridge and certain other Legg Mason business units.

ClearBridge maintains a Proxy Voting Committee to review and address conflicts of interest brought to its attention by ClearBridge compliance personnel. A proxy issue that will be voted in accordance with a stated ClearBridge position on such issue or in accordance with the recommendation of an independent third party is not brought to the attention of the Proxy Voting Committee for a conflict of interest review because ClearBridge’s position is that to the extent a conflict of interest issue exists, it is resolved by voting in accordance with a pre-determined policy or in accordance with the recommendation of an independent third party. With respect to a conflict of interest brought to its attention, the Proxy Voting Committee first determines whether such conflict of interest is material. A conflict of interest is considered material to the extent that it is determined that such conflict is likely to influence, or appear to influence, ClearBridge’s decision-making in voting proxies. If it is determined by the Proxy Voting Committee that a conflict of interest is not material, ClearBridge may vote proxies notwithstanding the existence of the conflict.

If it is determined by the Proxy Voting Committee that a conflict of interest is material, the Proxy Voting Committee is responsible for determining an appropriate method to resolve such conflict of interest before the proxy affected by the conflict of interest is voted. Such determination is based on the particular facts and circumstances, including the importance of the proxy issue and the nature of the conflict of interest.

 

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PART C

OTHER INFORMATION

Item 23. Exhibits

Unless otherwise noted, all references are to the Registrant’s initial registration statement on Form N-1A (the “Registration Statement”) as filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) on October 21, 1991 (File Nos. 33-43446 and 811-6444).

 

(a)(1)    Amended and Restated Master Trust Agreement dated February 28, 1998 is incorporated herein by reference to Post Effective Amendment No. 18 filed on March 30, 1998.
    (2)    Amendment No. 1 to the First Amended and Restated Master Trust Agreement dated June 1, 1998 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 20 filed on June 26, 1998.
    (3)    Amendment No. 2 to the First Amended and Restated Master Trust Agreement dated October 16, 1998 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 21 filed on November 12, 1998.
    (4)    Amendment No. 3 to the First Amended and Restated Master Trust Agreement dated February 28, 1998 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 29 filed on August 16, 2000.
    (5)    Amendment No. 4 to the First Amended and Restated Master Trust Agreement dated February 28, 1998 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 30 filed on August 16, 2000 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 30”).
    (6)    Amendment No. 5 to the First Amended and Restated Master Trust Agreement dated February 28, 1998 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 30.
    (7)    Amendment No. 6 to the First Amended and Restated Master Trust Agreement dated February 28, 1998 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 30.
    (8)    Amendment No. 7 to the First Amended and Restated Master Trust Agreement dated February 28, 1998 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 39 filed on March 26, 2002 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 39”).
    (9)    Amendment No. 8 to the First Amended and Restated Master Trust Agreement dated February 28, 1998 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 39.
    (10)    Amendment No. 9 to the First Amended and Restated Master Trust Agreement dated February 28, 1998 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 41 filed on July 19, 2002.
    (11)    Amendment No. 10 to the First Amended and Restated Master Trust Agreement dated February 28, 1998 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 46 filed on March 30, 2003 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 46”).
    (12)    Amendment No. 13 to First Amended and Restated Master Trust Agreement dated April 7, 2006 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 58 filed on April 28, 2006 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 58”).
    (13)    Certificate of Amendment effective November 17, 2006 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 60 filed on November 30, 2006 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 60”).
    (14)    Certificate of Amendment adding additional share classes and series to be filed by amendment.
(b)    Amended and Restated By-laws of the Registrant are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 46.
(c)    The Registrant’s form of stock certificate for Legg Mason Partners Large Cap Growth Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 17 filed on February 20, 1998.
(d)(1)    Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of Legg Mason Partners Large Cap Growth Fund, and Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC (“LMPFA”) dated August 1, 2006 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 59 filed on September 8, 2006 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 59”).
    (2)    Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of Legg Mason Partners Aggressive Growth Fund, and LMPFA is filed herewith.


    (3)    Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of Legg Mason Partners Convertible Fund, and LMPFA is filed herewith.
    (4)    Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of Legg Mason Partners Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund, and LMPFA is filed herewith.
    (5)    Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of Legg Mason Partners Dividend Strategy Fund, and LMPFA is filed herewith.
    (6)    Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of Legg Mason Partners Emerging Markets Equity Fund, and LMPFA is filed herewith.
    (7)    Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund, and LMPFA is filed herewith.
    (8)    Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund, and LMPFA is filed herewith.
    (9)    Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of Legg Mason Partners Growth and Income Fund, and LMPFA is filed herewith.
    (10)    Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of Legg Mason Partners International All Cap Opportunity Fund, and LMPFA is filed herewith.
    (11)    Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Fund, and LMPFA is filed herewith.
    (12)    Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund, and LMPFA is filed herewith.
    (13)    Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Value Fund, and LMPFA is filed herewith.
    (14)    Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund, and LMPFA is filed herewith.
    (15)    Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Clearbridge Advisors, LLC (“Clearbridge”) (formerly known as CAM North America, LLC), regarding Legg Mason Partners Large Cap Growth Fund, dated August 1, 2006 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 59.
    (16)    Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Clearbridge, regarding Legg Mason Partners Aggressive Growth Fund, is filed herewith.
    (17)    Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Clearbridge, regarding Legg Mason Partners Convertible Fund, is filed herewith.
    (18)    Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Clearbridge, regarding Legg Mason Partners Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund, is filed herewith.
    (19)    Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Clearbridge, regarding Legg Mason Partners Dividend Strategy Fund, is filed herewith.
    (20)    Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Legg Mason International Equities Limited (“LMIE”), regarding Legg Mason Partners Emerging Markets Equity Fund, is filed herewith.
    (21)    Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Barrett Associates, Inc. (“Barrett”), regarding Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund, is to be filed by amendment.
    (22)    Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Batterymarch Financial Management, Inc. (“Batterymarch”), regarding Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund, is filed herewith.


    (23)    Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Clearbridge, regarding Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund, is filed herewith.
    (24)    Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Clearbridge, regarding Legg Mason Partners Growth and Income Fund, is filed herewith.
    (25)    Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Clearbridge, regarding Legg Mason Partners International All Cap Opportunity Fund, is filed herewith.
    (26)    Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Brandywine Global Investment Management, LLC (“Brandywine”), regarding Legg Mason Partners International All Cap Opportunity Fund, to be filed by amendment.
    (27)    Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Clearbridge, regarding Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Fund, is filed herewith.
    (28)    Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Clearbridge, regarding Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund, is filed herewith.
    (29)    Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Clearbridge, regarding Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Value Fund, is filed herewith.
    (30)    Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Batterymarch, regarding Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund, is filed herewith.
(e)(1)    Form of Distribution Agreement with Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. (“CGMI”) is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 30.
    (2)    Form of Distribution Agreement with PFS Distributors, Inc. (“PFS”) is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 30.
    (3)    Form of Amendment to the Distribution Agreement with Citigroup Global Markets, Inc. (“CGMI”), dated as of December 1, 2005, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 56 filed on January 27, 2006 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 56”).
    (4)    Form of Amendment of Distribution Agreement and Assumption of Duties and Responsibilities, among the Registrant, PFS Distributors, Inc. and PFS Investments, Inc. (“PFS”), dated as of December 1, 2005, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 56.
    (5)    Form of Distribution Agreement with Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC (“LMIS”) dated as of December 1, 2005 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 57 filed on March 30, 2006 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 57”).
    (6)    Form of Letter Agreement amending Exhibit A of the Distribution Agreement between the Registrant and CGMI to be filed by amendment.
    (7)    Form of Letter Agreement amending Exhibit A of the Distribution Agreement between the Registrant and PFS to be filed by amendment.
    (8)    Form of Letter Agreement amending Exhibit A of the Distribution Agreement between the Registrant and LMIS to be filed by amendment.
(f)(1)    Emeritus Retirement Plan relating to certain funds, established effective as of January 1, 2007, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 60.
    (2)    Amended and Restated Trustee Retirement Plan relating to certain funds dated as of January 1, 2005 (the “General Retirement Plan”), is filed herewith.
    (3)    Legg Mason Investment Series (f/k/a Smith Barney Investment Series) Amended and Restated Trustees Retirement Plan dated as of January 1, 2005, is filed herewith.
    (4)    Amendment to the General Retirement Plan and the Legg Mason Partners Investment Series Amended and Restated Trustees Retirement Plan is filed herewith.


    (5)    Amended and Restated Emeritus Retirement Plan relating to certain funds, established effective as of January 1, 2007, is filed herewith.
    (g)    Form of Custodian Services Agreement between the Registrant and State Street Bank and Trust Company dated as of January 1, 2006 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 56.
(h)(1)    Transfer Agency and Services Agreement dated January 1, 2006 between the Registrant and PFPC Inc. (“PFPC”) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 56.
    (2)    Form of License Agreement between the Registrant Legg Mason Properties, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 58.
    (3)    License Agreement between the Registrant and Citigroup Inc. dated December 1, 2005 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 58.
    (4)    Form of Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement Agreement is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 60.
(i)(1)    Opinion of Counsel regarding legality of shares being registered is incorporated herein by reference to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1 filed on December 6, 1991 (“Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1”).
    (2)    Legal Counsel’s consent is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 24 filed on March 30, 1999.
    (3)    Opinion of Counsel regarding legality of Class FI and Class R Shares being registered is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 60.
   Opinion and consent of Counsel as to the legality of the securities being registered to be filed by amendment.
(j)(1)    Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm to be filed by amendment.
    (2)    Power of Attorney dated April 12, 2006 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 58.
    (k)    Not Applicable.
    (l)    Purchase Agreement between the Registrant and Shearson Lehman Brothers Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1.
(m)(1)    Amended Shareholder Services and Distribution Plan pursuant to Rule 12b-1 between the Registrant, on behalf of Legg Mason Partners Intermediate Maturity California Municipals Fund, Legg Mason Partners Intermediate Maturity New York Municipals Fund, Legg Mason Partners Classic Values Fund, Legg Mason Partners Large Capitalization Growth Fund, Legg Mason Partners Mid Cap Core Fund, Legg Mason Partners S&P 500 Index Fund, and LMIS (relating to Class A, B, C and I shares), dated December 1, 2005, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 57.
    (2)    Amended Shareholder Services and Distribution Plan between the Registrant, on behalf of Legg Mason Partners Large Capitalization Growth Fund, and LMIS (relating to Class FI and R shares), dated August 1, 2006, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 60.
    (3)    Amended Shareholder Services and Distribution Plan between the Registrant and LMIS to be filed by amendment.
(n)(1)    Amended Rule 18f-3(d) Multiple Class Plan of the Registrant is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 56.
    (2)    Amended Rule 18f-3(d) Multiple Class Plan of the Registrant is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 60.
    (3)    Amended and Restated Rule 18f-3(d) Multiple Class Plan to be filed by amendment.
    (o)    Not Applicable
(p)(1)    Code of Ethics of Citigroup Asset Management - North America and Certain Registered Investment Companies, as amended September 13, 2005 (adopted by LMPFA and Clearbridge), is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 56.


(2)    Code of Ethics of LMIS dated December 1, 2005 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 56.
(3)    Code of Ethics of CGMI to be filed by amendment.
(4)    Code of Ethics of PFS to be filed by amendment.
(5)    Code of Ethics of Barrett dated December 15, 2005 is filed herewith.
(6)    Code of Ethics of LMIE is filed herewith.
(7)    Code of Ethics of Batterymarch dated February 1,2005 is filed herewith.
(8)    Code of Ethics of Brandywine to be filed by amendment.

Item 24. Persons Controlled by or under Common Control with Registrant

Not Applicable.

Item 25. Indemnification

The response to this item is incorporated herein by reference to Pre-Effective Amendment No. 1.

The directors and officers of the Registrant and the personnel of the Registrant’s manager are insured under an errors and omissions liability insurance policy. The Registrant and its officers are also insured under the fidelity bond required by Rule 17g-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

Reference is hereby made to (a) Section 4 of the Distribution Agreement between the Registrant and Citigroup Global Markets Inc. (the “CGMI Distribution Agreement”), incorporated by reference herein; (b) paragraph 7 of the Amendment to the CGMI Distribution Agreement incorporated by reference herein; (c) Section 4 of the Distribution Agreement between the Registrant and PFS Distributors, Inc. (the “PFS Distribution Agreement”), incorporated by reference herein; (d) paragraph 7 of the Amendment to the PFS Distribution Agreement incorporated by reference herein; (e) paragraph 9 of the Distribution Agreement between the Registrant and Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC, incorporated by reference

herein.

Item 26. Business and Other Connections of Investment Adviser

Investment Adviser — Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC (“LMPFA”)

LMPFA was formed in 2006 under the laws of the State of Delaware as a limited liability company. LMPFA is a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”).

LMPFA is registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. The list required by this Item 26 of officers and directors of LMPFA together with information as to any other business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature engaged in by such officers and directors during the past two years, is incorporated by reference to Schedules A and D of Form ADV filed by LMPFA pursuant to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (SEC File No. 801-66785).

Subadviser — Barrett Associates, Inc. (“Barrett”)

Barrett was organized under the laws of the State of New York as a corporation. Barrett is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason.

Barrett is registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. The list required by this Item 26 of officers and directors of Barrett together with information as to any other business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature engaged in by such officers and directors during the past two years, is incorporated by reference to Schedules A and D of Form ADV filed by Barrett pursuant to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (SEC File No. 801- 831).


Subadviser—Batterymarch Financial Management, Inc. (“Batterymarch”)

Batterymarch was organized under the laws of the State of Maryland as a corporation. Batterymarch is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason.

Batterymarch is registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. The list required by this Item 26 of officers and directors of Batterymarch together with information as to any other business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature engaged in by such officers and directors during the past two years, is incorporated by reference to Schedules A and D of Form ADV filed by Batterymarch pursuant to the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (SEC File No. 801- 48035).

Subadvisor —Legg Mason International Equities Limited (“LMIE”)

The list required by this Item 26 of officers and directors of LMIE, together with information as to any other business, profession, vocation or employment of a substantial nature engaged in by such officers and directors during the past two years, is incorporated by reference to Schedules A and D of Form ADV filed by LMIE pursuant to the Advisers Act (SEC File No. 801-57655).

Item 27. Principal Underwriters

(a) CGMI, a distributor of the Registrant, is the distributor for each series of the registrants listed: Legg Mason Partners Trust II, CitiFunds Trust I, Legg Mason Partners Funds Trust, Legg Mason Partners Variable Portfolios V, CitiFunds Premium Trust, CitiFunds Institutional Trust, CitiFunds Trust III, Legg Mason Partners Lifestyle Series, Inc., Legg Mason Partners Variable Portfolios III, Inc., Legg Mason Partners Investment Series, Consulting Group Capital Markets Funds, High Income Opportunity Fund Inc., Intermediate Muni Fund, Inc., Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Core Fund, Inc., Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust, Real Estate Income Fund Inc., Managed High Income Portfolio Inc., Managed Municipals Portfolio Inc., Municipal High Income Fund Inc., Citigroup Investments Corporate Loan Fund Inc., Zenix Income Fund Inc., Legg Mason Partners Capital Fund, Inc., Legg Mason Partners Investors Value Fund, Inc., Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc., Western Asset Funds II, Inc., Legg Mason Partners Series Funds, Inc., Legg Mason Partners Variable Portfolios I, Inc., Barrett Opportunity Fund, Inc., Western Asset 2008 Worldwide Dollar Government Term Trust Inc., Western Asset High Income Fund Inc., Western Asset High Income Fund II Inc., Western Asset Emerging Markets Income Fund Inc., Western Asset Emerging Markets Income Fund II Inc., Western Asset Emerging Markets Floating Rate Fund Inc., Western Asset Global High Income Fund Inc., Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund Inc., Legg Mason Partners Capital and Income Fund, Inc., Western Asset Inflation Management Fund Inc., Western Asset Variable Rate Strategic Fund Inc., Western Asset Global Partners Income Fund Inc., Western Asset Municipal Partners Fund Inc., Western Asset Municipal Partners Fund II Inc., Legg Mason Partners Variable Portfolios II, Legg Mason Partners Adjustable Rate Income Fund, Legg Mason Partners Aggressive Growth Fund, Inc., Legg Mason Partners Appreciation Fund, Inc., Legg Mason Partners Arizona Municipals Fund, Inc., Legg Mason Partners California Municipals Fund, Inc., Legg Mason Partners Equity Funds, Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund, Inc., Legg Mason Partners Funds, Inc., Legg Mason Partners Income Funds, Smith Barney Institutional Cash Management Fund Inc., Legg Mason Partners Investment Funds, Inc., Legg Mason Partners Core Plus Bond Fund, Inc., Legg Mason Partners Managed Municipals Fund, Inc., Legg Mason Partners Massachusetts Municipals Fund, Smith Barney Money Funds, Inc., Legg Mason Partners Municipal Funds, Smith Barney Municipal Money Market Fund, Inc., Legg Mason Partners Sector Series, Inc., Legg Mason Partners Oregon Municipals Fund, Legg Mason Partners World Funds, Inc., and various series of unit investment trusts.

Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC (“LMIS”), a distributor of the Registrant, is also a distributor of the following funds:

Legg Mason Partners Trust II

CitiFunds Trust I

Legg Mason Partners Funds Trust

Legg Mason Partners Variable Portfolios V

CitiFunds Premium Trust

CitiFunds Institutional Trust

CitiFunds Trust III

Legg Mason Partners Lifestyle Series, Inc.

Legg Mason Partners Variable Portfolio IV

Legg Mason Partners Investment Series

Consulting Group Capital Markets Funds

High Income Opportunity Fund Inc.

Intermediate Muni Fund, Inc.

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Core Fund, Inc.

Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust

Real Estate Income Fund Inc.

Managed High Income Portfolio Inc.

Managed Municipals Portfolio Inc.


Municipal High Income Fund Inc.

Citigroup Investments Corporate Loan Fund Inc.

Zenix Income Fund Inc.

Legg Mason Partners Capital Fund, Inc.

Legg Mason Partners Investors Value Fund, Inc.

Legg Mason Partners Equity Fund, Inc.

Western Asset Funds II, Inc.

Legg Mason Partners Series Funds, Inc.

Legg Mason Partners Variable Portfolios I, Inc.

Barrett Opportunity Fund, Inc.

Western Asset 2008 Worldwide Dollar Government Term Trust Inc.

Western Asset High Income Fund Inc.

Western Asset High Income Fund II Inc.

Western Asset Emerging Markets Income Fund Inc.

Western Asset Emerging Markets Income Fund II Inc.

Western Asset Emerging Markets Floating Rate Fund Inc.

Western Asset Global High Income Fund Inc.

Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund Inc.

Legg Mason Partners Capital and Income Fund, Inc.

Western Asset Inflation Management Fund Inc.

Western Asset Variable Rate Strategic Fund Inc.

Western Asset Global Partners Income Fund Inc.

Western Asset Municipal Partners Fund Inc.

Western Asset Municipal Partners Fund II Inc.

Legg Mason Partners Variable Portfolios II

Legg Mason Partners Adjustable Rate Income Fund

Legg Mason Partners Aggressive Growth Fund, Inc.

Legg Mason Partners Appreciation Fund, Inc.

Legg Mason Partners California Municipals Fund, Inc.

Legg Mason Partners Equity Funds

Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund, Inc.

Legg Mason Partners Funds, Inc.

Legg Mason Partners Income Funds

Smith Barney Institutional Cash Management Fund Inc.

Legg Mason Partners Investment Funds, Inc.

Legg Mason Partners Core Plus Bond Fund, Inc.

Legg Mason Partners Managed Municipals Fund, Inc.

Legg Mason Partners Massachusetts Municipals Fund

Legg Mason Partners New Jersey Municipals Fund, Inc.

Smith Barney Money Funds, Inc.

Legg Mason Partners Municipal Funds

Smith Barney Municipal Money Market Fund, Inc.

Legg Mason Partners Oregon Municipals Fund

Legg Mason Partners World Funds, Inc.

Legg Mason Partners Sector Series Inc.

Legg Mason Partners Variable Portfolios III, Inc.

Legg Mason Cash Reserve Trust

Legg Mason Charles Street Trust, Inc.

Legg Mason Global Trust, Inc.

Legg Mason Growth Trust, Inc.

Legg Mason Income Trust, Inc.

Legg Mason Investment Trust, Inc.

Legg Mason Investors Trust, Inc.

Legg Mason Light Street Trust, Inc.

Legg Mason Special Investment Trust, Inc.

Legg Mason Tax Exempt Trust, Inc.

Legg Mason Tax-Free Income Fund

Legg Mason Value Trust, Inc.

Western Asset Funds, Inc.

LMIS is the placement agent for Institutional Enhanced Portfolio, Prime Cash Reserves Portfolio, U.S. Treasury Reserves Portfolio, Tax Free Reserves Portfolio and Liquid Reserves Portfolio.


PFS Investments Inc. (“PFS”), a distributor of the Registrant, is also the distributor for certain series of the registrants listed: Legg Mason Partners Trust II, Legg Mason Partners Lifestyle Series, Inc., Legg Mason Partners Investment Series, Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust, Legg Mason Partners Aggressive Growth Fund, Inc., Legg Mason Partners Appreciation Fund, Inc., Legg Mason Partners California Municipals Fund, Inc., Legg Mason Partners Equity Funds, Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund, Inc., Legg Mason Partners Funds, Inc., Legg Mason Partners Income Funds, Legg Mason Partners Investment Funds, Inc., Legg Mason Partners Managed Municipals Fund, Inc., Smith Barney Money Funds Inc. and Legg Mason Partners Sector Series, Inc.

(b) The information required by this Item 27 with respect to each director, officer and partner of CGMI is incorporated by reference to Schedule A of Form BD filed by CGMI pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (SEC File No. 8-8177):

The information required by this Item 27 with respect to each director and officer of LMIS is listed below:

Timothy C. Scheve – Managing Director

Mark R. Fetting – Managing Director

D. Stuart Bowers – Vice President

W. Talbot Daley – Vice President

Thomas J. Hirschmann – Vice President

Joseph M. Furey – General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer

Ronald Holinsky – Counsel

Robert E. Patterson – Counsel

Theresa M. Silberzahn – Chief Financial Officer

Elisabeth F. Craig – AML Compliance Officer and Director of Continuing Education

All Addresses are 100 Light Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21202.

The information required by this Item 27 with respect to each director, officer and partner of PFS is incorporated by reference to Schedule A of Form BD filed by PFS pursuant to the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (SEC File No. 8-37352).

(c) Not applicable.

Item 28. Location of Accounts and Records

With respect to the Registrant:

 

(1)  

Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust

125 Broad Street

New York, New York 10004

With respect to the Registrant’s Investment Manager:

 

(2)  

c/o Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC

399 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10022

With respect to the Registrant’s Subadvisers:

 

(3)  

c/o Legg Mason International Entities Limited

399 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10022

 

(4)  

Barrett Associates, Inc.

90 Park Avenue

34th Floor

New York, NY 10016

 

(5)  

Batterymarch Financial Management, Inc.

John Hancock Tower

200 Clarendon Street

Boston, MA 02116

 

(6)  

c/o Clearbridge Advisors, LLC

399 Park Avenue

New York, NY 10022


With respect to the Registrant’s Custodian:

 

(7)  

State Street Bank & Trust Company

One Lincoln Street

Boston, MA 02111

With respect to the Registrant’s Transfer Agent:

 

(8)  

PFPC Inc.

P.O. Box 9699

Providence, Rhode Island 02940-9699

With respect to the Registrant’s Distributors:

 

(9)  

Citigroup Global Markets Inc.

388 Greenwich Street

New York, New York 10013

(10)  

Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC

100 Light Street

Baltimore, MD 21202

(11)  

PFS Investments, Inc.

3120 Breckinridge Blvd

Duluth, GA 30099-0062

Item 29. Management Services

Not applicable.

Item 30. Undertakings

Not applicable.


SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “Securities Act”), and the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, the Registrant, LEGG MASON PARTNERS INVESTMENT TRUST, has duly caused this Post-Effective Amendment to the Registration Statement to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, all in the City of New York, State of New York on this 8th day of January, 2007.

LEGG MASON PARTNERS INVESTMENT TRUST, on behalf of its series

Legg Mason Partners Aggressive Growth Fund

Legg Mason Partners Convertible Fund

Legg Mason Partners Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund

Legg Mason Partners Dividend Strategy Fund

Legg Mason Partners Emerging Markets Equity Fund

Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund

Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund

Legg Mason Partners Growth and Income Fund

Legg Mason Partners International All Cap Opportunity Fund

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Fund

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Value Fund

Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund

 

By:  

/s/ R. Jay Gerken

 

R. Jay. Gerken

Chairman of the Board

(Chief Executive Officer)

WITNESS our hands on the date set forth below.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, this Post-Effective Amendment has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities indicated below on January 8, 2007.

 

Signature

      

Title

/s/ R. Jay Gerken

R. Jay Gerken

     President, Principal Executive Officer and Trustee

/s/ Kaprel Ozsolak

Kaprel Ozsolak

     Treasurer and Chief Financial Officer

/s/ Dwight B. Crane*

Dwight B. Crane

     Trustee

/s/ Burt N. Dorsett.*

Burt N. Dorsett

     Trustee

/s/ Elliot S. Jaffe*

Elliot S. Jaffe

     Trustee

/s/ Stephen E. Kaufman*

Stephen E. Kaufman

     Trustee

/s/ Cornelius C. Rose, Jr.*

Cornelius C. Rose, Jr.

     Trustee

 

*By:  

/s/ R. Jay Gerken

  R. Jay Gerken

* Attorney-in-Fact, pursuant to Power of Attorney dated April 12, 2006.


INDEX TO EXHIBITS

 

 

Exhibit No. Description of Exhibit
(d)(2)    Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of Legg Mason Partners Aggressive Growth Fund, and LMPFA
(d)(3)    Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of Legg Mason Partners Convertible Fund, and LMPFA
(d)(4)    Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of Legg Mason Partners Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund, and LMPFA
(d)(5)    Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of Legg Mason Partners Dividend Strategy Fund, and LMPFA
(d)(6)    Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of Legg Mason Partners Emerging Markets Equity Fund, and LMPFA
(d)(7)    Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund, and LMPFA
(d)(8)    Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund, and LMPFA
(d)(9)    Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of Legg Mason Partners Growth and Income Fund, and LMPFA
(d)(10)    Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of Legg Mason Partners International All Cap Opportunity Fund, and LMPFA
(d)(11)    Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Fund, and LMPFA
(d)(12)    Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund, and LMPFA
(d)(13)    Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Value Fund, and LMPFA
(d)(14)    Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund, and LMPFA
(d)(16)    Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Clearbridge, regarding Legg Mason Partners Aggressive Growth Fund
(d)(17)    Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Clearbridge, regarding Legg Mason Partners Convertible Fund
(d)(18)    Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Clearbridge, regarding Legg Mason Partners Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund
(d)(19)    Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Clearbridge, regarding Legg Mason Partners Dividend Strategy Fund
(d)(20)    Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and LMIE, regarding Legg Mason Partners Emerging Markets Equity Fund
(d)(22)    Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Batterymarch, regarding Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund
(d)(23)    Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Clearbridge, regarding Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund
(d)(24)    Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Clearbridge, regarding Legg Mason Partners Growth and Income Fund
(d)(25)    Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Clearbridge, regarding Legg Mason Partners International All Cap Opportunity Fund
(d)(27)    Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Clearbridge, regarding Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Fund
(d)(28)    Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Clearbridge, regarding Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund
(d)(29)    Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Clearbridge, regarding Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Value Fund
(d)(30)    Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Batterymarch, regarding Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund
(f)(2)    Amended and Restated Trustee Retirement Plan relating to certain funds dated as of January 1, 2005 (the “General Retirement Plan”)
(f)(3)    Legg Mason Investment Series (f/k/a Smith Barney Investment Series) Amended and Restated Trustees Retirement Plan
(f)(4)    Amendment to the General Retirement Plan and the Legg Mason Partners Investment Series Amended and Restated Trustees Retirement Plan
(f)(5)    Amended and Restated Emeritus Retirement Plan relating to certain funds
(p)(5)    Code of Ethics of Barrett dated December 15, 2005
(p)(6)    Code of Ethics of LMIE
(p)(7)    Code of Ethics of Batterymarch dated February 1, 2005

Exhibit (d)(2)

MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT

Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC

This MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made this      day of [                    ], by and between Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”) and Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Manager”).

WHEREAS, the Trust is registered as a management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”);

WHEREAS, the Manager is engaged primarily in rendering investment advisory, management and administrative services and is registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended;

WHEREAS, the Trust wishes to retain the Manager to provide investment advisory, management, and administrative services to the Trust with respect to the series of the Trust designated in Schedule A annexed hereto (the “Fund”); and

WHEREAS, the Manager is willing to furnish such services on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth;

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed as follows:

1. The Trust hereby appoints the Manager to act as investment adviser and administrator of the Fund for the period and on the terms set forth in this Agreement. The Manager accepts such appointment and agrees to render the services herein set forth, for the compensation herein provided.

2. The Fund shall at all times keep the Manager fully informed with regard to the securities owned by it, its funds available, or to become available, for investment, and generally as to the condition of its affairs. It shall furnish the Manager with such other documents and information with regard to its affairs as the Manager may from time to time reasonably request.

3. (a) Subject to the supervision of the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”), the Manager shall regularly provide the Fund with investment research, advice, management and supervision and shall furnish a continuous investment program for the Fund’s portfolio of securities and other investments consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions, as stated in the Fund’s current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information. The Manager shall determine from time to time what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained, sold or exchanged by the Fund and what portion of the assets of the Fund’s portfolio will be held in the various securities and other investments in which the Fund invests, and shall implement those decisions, all subject to the provisions of the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and By-Laws (collectively, the “Governing Documents”), the 1940 Act, and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and interpretive guidance issued thereunder by the SEC staff and any other applicable federal and state law, as well as the investment objectives,

 

1


policies and restrictions of the Fund referred to above, and any other specific policies adopted by the Board and disclosed to the Manager. The Manager is authorized as the agent of the Trust to give instructions to the custodian of the Fund as to deliveries of securities and other investments and payments of cash for the account of the Fund. Subject to applicable provisions of the 1940 Act and direction from the Board, the investment program to be provided hereunder may entail the investment of all or substantially all of the assets of a Fund in one or more investment companies. The Manager will place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) to the Funds and/or the other accounts over which the Manager or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The Manager is authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for a Fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the Manager determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities which the Manager and its affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The Board may adopt policies and procedures that modify and restrict the Manager’s authority regarding the execution of the Fund’s portfolio transactions provided herein. The Manager shall also provide advice and recommendations with respect to other aspects of the business and affairs of the Fund, shall exercise voting rights, rights to consent to corporate action and any other rights pertaining to a Fund’s portfolio securities subject to such direction as the Board may provide, and shall perform such other functions of investment management and supervision as may be directed by the Board.

(b) Subject to the direction and control of the Board, the Manager shall perform such administrative and management services as may from time to time be reasonably requested by the Fund as necessary for the operation of the Fund, such as (i) supervising the overall administration of the Fund, including negotiation of contracts and fees with and the monitoring of performance and billings of the Fund’s transfer agent, shareholder servicing agents, custodian and other independent contractors or agents, (ii) providing certain compliance, fund accounting, regulatory reporting, and tax reporting services, (iii) preparing or participating in the preparation of Board materials, registration statements, proxy statements and reports and other communications to shareholders, (iv) maintaining the Fund’s existence, and (v) during such times as shares are publicly offered, maintaining the registration and qualification of the Fund’s shares under federal and state laws. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Manager shall not be deemed to have assumed any duties with respect to, and shall not be responsible for, the distribution of the shares of any Fund, nor shall the Manager be deemed to have assumed or have any responsibility with respect to functions specifically assumed by any transfer agent, fund accounting agent, custodian, shareholder servicing agent or other agent, in each case employed by the Fund to perform such functions.

 

2


(c) The Fund hereby authorizes any entity or person associated with the Manager which is a member of a national securities exchange to effect any transaction on the exchange for the account of the Fund which is permitted by Section 11(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder, and the Fund hereby consents to the retention of compensation for such transactions in accordance with Rule 11a2-2(T)(a)(2)(iv). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Manager agrees that it will not deal with itself, or with members of the Board or any principal underwriter of the Fund, as principals or agents in making purchases or sales of securities or other property for the account of the Fund, nor will it purchase any securities from an underwriting or selling group in which the Manager or its affiliates is participating, or arrange for purchases and sales of securities between a Fund and another account advised by the Manager or its affiliates, except in each case as permitted by the 1940 Act and in accordance with such policies and procedures as may be adopted by a Fund from time to time, and will comply with all other provisions of the Governing Documents and the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information relative to the Manager and its directors and officers.

4. Subject to the Board’s approval, the Manager or the Fund may enter into contracts with one or more investment subadvisers or subadministrators, including without limitation, affiliates of the Manager, in which the Manager delegates to such investment subadvisers or subadministrators any or all its duties specified hereunder, on such terms as the Manager will determine to be necessary, desirable or appropriate, provided that in each case the Manager shall supervise the activities of each such subadviser or subadministrator and further provided that such contracts impose on any investment subadviser or subadministrator bound thereby all the conditions to which the Manager is subject hereunder and that such contracts are entered into in accordance with and meet all applicable requirements of the 1940 Act.

5. (a) The Manager, at its expense, shall supply the Board and officers of the Trust with all information and reports reasonably required by them and reasonably available to the Manager and shall furnish the Fund with office facilities, including space, furniture and equipment and all personnel reasonably necessary for the operation of the Fund. The Manager shall oversee the maintenance of all books and records with respect to the Fund’s securities transactions and the keeping of the Fund’s books of account in accordance with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations. In compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the 1940 Act, the Manager hereby agrees that any records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund, and further agrees to surrender promptly to the Fund any of such records upon the Fund’s request. The Manager further agrees to arrange for the preservation of the records required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act for the periods prescribed by Rule 31a-2 under the 1940 Act. The Manager shall authorize and permit any of its directors, officers and employees, who may be elected as Board members or officers of the Fund, to serve in the capacities in which they are elected.

(b) The Manager shall bear all expenses, and shall furnish all necessary services, facilities and personnel, in connection with its responsibilities under this Agreement. Other than as herein specifically indicated, the Manager shall not be responsible for the Fund’s expenses, including, without limitation, advisory fees; distribution fees; interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the Fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the Fund’s securities

 

3


and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the Fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the Fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the Fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the Fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the Fund, if any; and the Fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the Fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any non-recurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the Fund is a party and the legal obligation which the Fund may have to indemnify the Fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

6. No member of the Board, officer or employee of the Trust or Fund shall receive from the Trust or Fund any salary or other compensation as such member of the Board, officer or employee while he is at the same time a director, officer, or employee of the Manager or any affiliated company of the Manager, except as the Board may decide. This paragraph shall not apply to Board members, executive committee members, consultants and other persons who are not regular members of the Manager’s or any affiliated company’s staff.

7. As compensation for the services performed and the facilities furnished and expenses assumed by the Manager, including the services of any consultants retained by the Manager, the Fund shall pay the Manager, as promptly as possible after the last day of each month, a fee, computed daily at an annual rate set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided however, that if the Fund invests all or substantially all of its assets in another registered investment company for which the Manager or an affiliate of the Manager serves as investment adviser or investment manager, the annual fee computed as set forth on such Schedule A shall be reduced by the aggregate management fees allocated to that Fund for the Fund’s then-current fiscal year from such other registered investment company. The first payment of the fee shall be made as promptly as possible at the end of the month succeeding the effective date of this Agreement, and shall constitute a full payment of the fee due the Manager for all services prior to that date. If this Agreement is terminated as of any date not the last day of a month, such fee shall be paid as promptly as possible after such date of termination, shall be based on the average daily net assets of the Fund in that period from the beginning of such month to such date of termination, and shall be that proportion of such average daily net assets as the number of business days in such period bears to the number of business days in such month. The average daily net assets of the Fund shall in all cases be based only on business days and be computed as of the time of the regular close of business of the New York Stock Exchange, or such other time as may be determined by the Board.

8. The Manager assumes no responsibility under this Agreement other than to render the services called for hereunder, in good faith, and shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law, or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or omission in the execution of securities transactions for a Fund, provided that nothing in this Agreement shall protect the Manager

 

4


against any liability to the Fund to which the Manager would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder. As used in this Section 8, the term “Manager” shall include any affiliates of the Manager performing services for the Trust or the Fund contemplated hereby and the partners, shareholders, directors, officers and employees of the Manager and such affiliates.

9. Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict the right of any director, officer, or employee of the Manager who may also be a Board member, officer, or employee of the Trust or the Fund, to engage in any other business or to devote his time and attention in part to the management or other aspects of any other business, whether of a similar nature or a dissimilar nature, nor to limit or restrict the right of the Manager to engage in any other business or to render services of any kind, including investment advisory and management services, to any other fund, firm, individual or association. If the purchase or sale of securities consistent with the investment policies of a Fund or one or more other accounts of the Manager is considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities will be allocated among the accounts in a manner deemed equitable by the Manager. Such transactions may be combined, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and consistent with the Manager’s policies and procedures as presented to the Board from time to time.

10. For the purposes of this Agreement, the Fund’s “net assets” shall be determined as provided in the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information and the terms “assignment,” “interested person,” and “majority of the outstanding voting securities” shall have the meanings given to them by Section 2(a) of the 1940 Act, subject to such exemptions as may be granted by the SEC by any rule, regulation or order.

11. This Agreement will become effective with respect to the Fund on the date set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided that it shall have been approved by the Trust’s Board and by the shareholders of the Fund in accordance with the requirements of the 1940 Act and, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, will continue in effect until November 30, 2007. Thereafter, if not terminated, this Agreement shall continue in effect with respect to the Fund, so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (i) by the Board or (ii) by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Board members who are not interested persons of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.

12. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund without penalty by the Board or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the Manager, or by the Manager upon not less than 90 days’ written notice to the Fund, and will be terminated upon the mutual written consent of the Manager and the Trust. This Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment by the Manager and shall not be assignable by the Trust without the consent of the Manager.

 

5


13. The Manager agrees that for services rendered to the Fund, or for any claim by it in connection with services rendered to the Fund, it shall look only to assets of the Fund for satisfaction and that it shall have no claim against the assets of any other portfolios of the Trust. The undersigned officer of the Trust has executed this Agreement not individually, but as an officer under the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and the obligations of this Agreement are not binding upon any of the Trustees, officers or shareholders of the Trust individually.

14. No provision of this Agreement may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated orally, but only by an instrument in writing signed by the party against which enforcement of the change, waiver, discharge or termination is sought, and no material amendment of the Agreement shall be effective until approved, if so required by the 1940 Act, by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities.

15. This Agreement embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the parties hereto, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. Should any part of this Agreement be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby. This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors.

16. This Agreement shall be construed and the provisions thereof interpreted under and in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

[signature page to follow]

 

6


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by their officers thereunto duly authorized.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS INVESTMENT TRUST
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS FUND ADVISOR, LLC

By:

 

 

Name:

 

Title:

 

 

7


Schedule A

Legg Mason Partners Aggressive Growth Fund

Date:

[                ] [    ], [            ]

Fee:

The following percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets:

First $1 billion—0.75%

Next $1 billion—0.725%

Next $3 billion—0.70%

Next $5 billion—0.675%

Over $10 billion—0.65%

Exhibit (d)(3)

MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT

Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC

This MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made this      day of [            ], [            ], by and between Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”) and Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Manager”).

WHEREAS, the Trust is registered as a management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”);

WHEREAS, the Manager is engaged primarily in rendering investment advisory, management and administrative services and is registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended;

WHEREAS, the Trust wishes to retain the Manager to provide investment advisory, management, and administrative services to the Trust with respect to the series of the Trust designated in Schedule A annexed hereto (the “Fund”); and

WHEREAS, the Manager is willing to furnish such services on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth;

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed as follows:

1. The Trust hereby appoints the Manager to act as investment adviser and administrator of the Fund for the period and on the terms set forth in this Agreement. The Manager accepts such appointment and agrees to render the services herein set forth, for the compensation herein provided.

2. The Fund shall at all times keep the Manager fully informed with regard to the securities owned by it, its funds available, or to become available, for investment, and generally as to the condition of its affairs. It shall furnish the Manager with such other documents and information with regard to its affairs as the Manager may from time to time reasonably request.

3. (a) Subject to the supervision of the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”), the Manager shall regularly provide the Fund with investment research, advice, management and supervision and shall furnish a continuous investment program for the Fund’s portfolio of securities and other investments consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions, as stated in the Fund’s current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information. The Manager shall determine from time to time what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained, sold or exchanged by the Fund and what portion of the assets of the Fund’s portfolio will be held in the various securities and other investments in which the Fund invests, and shall implement those decisions, all subject to the provisions of the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and By-Laws (collectively, the “Governing Documents”), the 1940 Act, and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and interpretive guidance issued thereunder by the SEC staff and any other applicable federal and state law, as well as the investment objectives,

1


policies and restrictions of the Fund referred to above, and any other specific policies adopted by the Board and disclosed to the Manager. The Manager is authorized as the agent of the Trust to give instructions to the custodian of the Fund as to deliveries of securities and other investments and payments of cash for the account of the Fund. Subject to applicable provisions of the 1940 Act and direction from the Board, the investment program to be provided hereunder may entail the investment of all or substantially all of the assets of a Fund in one or more investment companies. The Manager will place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) to the Funds and/or the other accounts over which the Manager or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The Manager is authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for a Fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the Manager determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities which the Manager and its affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The Board may adopt policies and procedures that modify and restrict the Manager’s authority regarding the execution of the Fund’s portfolio transactions provided herein. The Manager shall also provide advice and recommendations with respect to other aspects of the business and affairs of the Fund, shall exercise voting rights, rights to consent to corporate action and any other rights pertaining to a Fund’s portfolio securities subject to such direction as the Board may provide, and shall perform such other functions of investment management and supervision as may be directed by the Board.

(b) Subject to the direction and control of the Board, the Manager shall perform such administrative and management services as may from time to time be reasonably requested by the Fund as necessary for the operation of the Fund, such as (i) supervising the overall administration of the Fund, including negotiation of contracts and fees with and the monitoring of performance and billings of the Fund’s transfer agent, shareholder servicing agents, custodian and other independent contractors or agents, (ii) providing certain compliance, fund accounting, regulatory reporting, and tax reporting services, (iii) preparing or participating in the preparation of Board materials, registration statements, proxy statements and reports and other communications to shareholders, (iv) maintaining the Fund’s existence, and (v) during such times as shares are publicly offered, maintaining the registration and qualification of the Fund’s shares under federal and state laws. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Manager shall not be deemed to have assumed any duties with respect to, and shall not be responsible for, the distribution of the shares of any Fund, nor shall the Manager be deemed to have assumed or have any responsibility with respect to functions specifically assumed by any transfer agent, fund accounting agent, custodian, shareholder servicing agent or other agent, in each case employed by the Fund to perform such functions.

 

2


(c) The Fund hereby authorizes any entity or person associated with the Manager which is a member of a national securities exchange to effect any transaction on the exchange for the account of the Fund which is permitted by Section 11(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder, and the Fund hereby consents to the retention of compensation for such transactions in accordance with Rule 11a2-2(T)(a)(2)(iv). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Manager agrees that it will not deal with itself, or with members of the Board or any principal underwriter of the Fund, as principals or agents in making purchases or sales of securities or other property for the account of the Fund, nor will it purchase any securities from an underwriting or selling group in which the Manager or its affiliates is participating, or arrange for purchases and sales of securities between a Fund and another account advised by the Manager or its affiliates, except in each case as permitted by the 1940 Act and in accordance with such policies and procedures as may be adopted by a Fund from time to time, and will comply with all other provisions of the Governing Documents and the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information relative to the Manager and its directors and officers.

4. Subject to the Board’s approval, the Manager or the Fund may enter into contracts with one or more investment subadvisers or subadministrators, including without limitation, affiliates of the Manager, in which the Manager delegates to such investment subadvisers or subadministrators any or all its duties specified hereunder, on such terms as the Manager will determine to be necessary, desirable or appropriate, provided that in each case the Manager shall supervise the activities of each such subadviser or subadministrator and further provided that such contracts impose on any investment subadviser or subadministrator bound thereby all the conditions to which the Manager is subject hereunder and that such contracts are entered into in accordance with and meet all applicable requirements of the 1940 Act.

5. (a) The Manager, at its expense, shall supply the Board and officers of the Trust with all information and reports reasonably required by them and reasonably available to the Manager and shall furnish the Fund with office facilities, including space, furniture and equipment and all personnel reasonably necessary for the operation of the Fund. The Manager shall oversee the maintenance of all books and records with respect to the Fund’s securities transactions and the keeping of the Fund’s books of account in accordance with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations. In compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the 1940 Act, the Manager hereby agrees that any records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund, and further agrees to surrender promptly to the Fund any of such records upon the Fund’s request. The Manager further agrees to arrange for the preservation of the records required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act for the periods prescribed by Rule 31a-2 under the 1940 Act. The Manager shall authorize and permit any of its directors, officers and employees, who may be elected as Board members or officers of the Fund, to serve in the capacities in which they are elected.

(b) The Manager shall bear all expenses, and shall furnish all necessary services, facilities and personnel, in connection with its responsibilities under this Agreement. Other than as herein specifically indicated, the Manager shall not be responsible for the Fund’s expenses, including, without limitation, advisory fees; distribution fees; interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the Fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the Fund’s securities

 

3


and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the Fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the Fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the Fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the Fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the Fund, if any; and the Fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the Fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any non-recurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the Fund is a party and the legal obligation which the Fund may have to indemnify the Fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

6. No member of the Board, officer or employee of the Trust or Fund shall receive from the Trust or Fund any salary or other compensation as such member of the Board, officer or employee while he is at the same time a director, officer, or employee of the Manager or any affiliated company of the Manager, except as the Board may decide. This paragraph shall not apply to Board members, executive committee members, consultants and other persons who are not regular members of the Manager’s or any affiliated company’s staff.

7. As compensation for the services performed and the facilities furnished and expenses assumed by the Manager, including the services of any consultants retained by the Manager, the Fund shall pay the Manager, as promptly as possible after the last day of each month, a fee, computed daily at an annual rate set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided however, that if the Fund invests all or substantially all of its assets in another registered investment company for which the Manager or an affiliate of the Manager serves as investment adviser or investment manager, the annual fee computed as set forth on such Schedule A shall be reduced by the aggregate management fees allocated to that Fund for the Fund’s then-current fiscal year from such other registered investment company. The first payment of the fee shall be made as promptly as possible at the end of the month succeeding the effective date of this Agreement, and shall constitute a full payment of the fee due the Manager for all services prior to that date. If this Agreement is terminated as of any date not the last day of a month, such fee shall be paid as promptly as possible after such date of termination, shall be based on the average daily net assets of the Fund in that period from the beginning of such month to such date of termination, and shall be that proportion of such average daily net assets as the number of business days in such period bears to the number of business days in such month. The average daily net assets of the Fund shall in all cases be based only on business days and be computed as of the time of the regular close of business of the New York Stock Exchange, or such other time as may be determined by the Board.

8. The Manager assumes no responsibility under this Agreement other than to render the services called for hereunder, in good faith, and shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law, or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or omission in the execution of securities transactions for a Fund, provided that nothing in this Agreement shall protect the Manager

 

4


against any liability to the Fund to which the Manager would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder. As used in this Section 8, the term “Manager” shall include any affiliates of the Manager performing services for the Trust or the Fund contemplated hereby and the partners, shareholders, directors, officers and employees of the Manager and such affiliates.

9. Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict the right of any director, officer, or employee of the Manager who may also be a Board member, officer, or employee of the Trust or the Fund, to engage in any other business or to devote his time and attention in part to the management or other aspects of any other business, whether of a similar nature or a dissimilar nature, nor to limit or restrict the right of the Manager to engage in any other business or to render services of any kind, including investment advisory and management services, to any other fund, firm, individual or association. If the purchase or sale of securities consistent with the investment policies of a Fund or one or more other accounts of the Manager is considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities will be allocated among the accounts in a manner deemed equitable by the Manager. Such transactions may be combined, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and consistent with the Manager’s policies and procedures as presented to the Board from time to time.

10. For the purposes of this Agreement, the Fund’s “net assets” shall be determined as provided in the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information and the terms “assignment,” “interested person,” and “majority of the outstanding voting securities” shall have the meanings given to them by Section 2(a) of the 1940 Act, subject to such exemptions as may be granted by the SEC by any rule, regulation or order.

11. This Agreement will become effective with respect to the Fund on the date set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided that it shall have been approved by the Trust’s Board and by the shareholders of the Fund in accordance with the requirements of the 1940 Act and, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, will continue in effect until November 30, 2007. Thereafter, if not terminated, this Agreement shall continue in effect with respect to the Fund, so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (i) by the Board or (ii) by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Board members who are not interested persons of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.

12. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund without penalty by the Board or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the Manager, or by the Manager upon not less than 90 days’ written notice to the Fund, and will be terminated upon the mutual written consent of the Manager and the Trust. This Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment by the Manager and shall not be assignable by the Trust without the consent of the Manager.

 

5


13. The Manager agrees that for services rendered to the Fund, or for any claim by it in connection with services rendered to the Fund, it shall look only to assets of the Fund for satisfaction and that it shall have no claim against the assets of any other portfolios of the Trust. The undersigned officer of the Trust has executed this Agreement not individually, but as an officer under the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and the obligations of this Agreement are not binding upon any of the Trustees, officers or shareholders of the Trust individually.

14. No provision of this Agreement may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated orally, but only by an instrument in writing signed by the party against which enforcement of the change, waiver, discharge or termination is sought, and no material amendment of the Agreement shall be effective until approved, if so required by the 1940 Act, by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities.

15. This Agreement embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the parties hereto, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. Should any part of this Agreement be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby. This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors.

16. This Agreement shall be construed and the provisions thereof interpreted under and in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

[signature page to follow]

 

6


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by their officers thereunto duly authorized.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS INVESTMENT TRUST
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  
LEGG MASON PARTNERS FUND ADVISOR, LLC
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

7


Schedule A

Legg Mason Partners Convertible Fund

Date:

[                ] [    ], [            ]

Fee:

The following percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets: 0.70%

Exhibit (d)(4)

MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT

Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC

This MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made this      day of [            ], [            ], by and between Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”) and Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Manager”).

WHEREAS, the Trust is registered as a management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”);

WHEREAS, the Manager is engaged primarily in rendering investment advisory, management and administrative services and is registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended;

WHEREAS, the Trust wishes to retain the Manager to provide investment advisory, management, and administrative services to the Trust with respect to the series of the Trust designated in Schedule A annexed hereto (the “Fund”); and

WHEREAS, the Manager is willing to furnish such services on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth;

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed as follows:

1. The Trust hereby appoints the Manager to act as investment adviser and administrator of the Fund for the period and on the terms set forth in this Agreement. The Manager accepts such appointment and agrees to render the services herein set forth, for the compensation herein provided.

2. The Fund shall at all times keep the Manager fully informed with regard to the securities owned by it, its funds available, or to become available, for investment, and generally as to the condition of its affairs. It shall furnish the Manager with such other documents and information with regard to its affairs as the Manager may from time to time reasonably request.

3. (a) Subject to the supervision of the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”), the Manager shall regularly provide the Fund with investment research, advice, management and supervision and shall furnish a continuous investment program for the Fund’s portfolio of securities and other investments consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions, as stated in the Fund’s current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information. The Manager shall determine from time to time what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained, sold or exchanged by the Fund and what portion of the assets of the Fund’s portfolio will be held in the various securities and other investments in which the Fund invests, and shall implement those decisions, all subject to the provisions of the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and By-Laws (collectively, the “Governing Documents”), the 1940 Act, and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and interpretive guidance issued thereunder by the SEC staff and any other applicable federal and state law, as well as the investment objectives,

 

1


policies and restrictions of the Fund referred to above, and any other specific policies adopted by the Board and disclosed to the Manager. The Manager is authorized as the agent of the Trust to give instructions to the custodian of the Fund as to deliveries of securities and other investments and payments of cash for the account of the Fund. Subject to applicable provisions of the 1940 Act and direction from the Board, the investment program to be provided hereunder may entail the investment of all or substantially all of the assets of a Fund in one or more investment companies. The Manager will place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) to the Funds and/or the other accounts over which the Manager or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The Manager is authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for a Fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the Manager determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities which the Manager and its affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The Board may adopt policies and procedures that modify and restrict the Manager’s authority regarding the execution of the Fund’s portfolio transactions provided herein. The Manager shall also provide advice and recommendations with respect to other aspects of the business and affairs of the Fund, shall exercise voting rights, rights to consent to corporate action and any other rights pertaining to a Fund’s portfolio securities subject to such direction as the Board may provide, and shall perform such other functions of investment management and supervision as may be directed by the Board.

(b) Subject to the direction and control of the Board, the Manager shall perform such administrative and management services as may from time to time be reasonably requested by the Fund as necessary for the operation of the Fund, such as (i) supervising the overall administration of the Fund, including negotiation of contracts and fees with and the monitoring of performance and billings of the Fund’s transfer agent, shareholder servicing agents, custodian and other independent contractors or agents, (ii) providing certain compliance, fund accounting, regulatory reporting, and tax reporting services, (iii) preparing or participating in the preparation of Board materials, registration statements, proxy statements and reports and other communications to shareholders, (iv) maintaining the Fund’s existence, and (v) during such times as shares are publicly offered, maintaining the registration and qualification of the Fund’s shares under federal and state laws. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Manager shall not be deemed to have assumed any duties with respect to, and shall not be responsible for, the distribution of the shares of any Fund, nor shall the Manager be deemed to have assumed or have any responsibility with respect to functions specifically assumed by any transfer agent, fund accounting agent, custodian, shareholder servicing agent or other agent, in each case employed by the Fund to perform such functions.

 

2


(c) The Fund hereby authorizes any entity or person associated with the Manager which is a member of a national securities exchange to effect any transaction on the exchange for the account of the Fund which is permitted by Section 11(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder, and the Fund hereby consents to the retention of compensation for such transactions in accordance with Rule 11a2-2(T)(a)(2)(iv). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Manager agrees that it will not deal with itself, or with members of the Board or any principal underwriter of the Fund, as principals or agents in making purchases or sales of securities or other property for the account of the Fund, nor will it purchase any securities from an underwriting or selling group in which the Manager or its affiliates is participating, or arrange for purchases and sales of securities between a Fund and another account advised by the Manager or its affiliates, except in each case as permitted by the 1940 Act and in accordance with such policies and procedures as may be adopted by a Fund from time to time, and will comply with all other provisions of the Governing Documents and the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information relative to the Manager and its directors and officers.

4. Subject to the Board’s approval, the Manager or the Fund may enter into contracts with one or more investment subadvisers or subadministrators, including without limitation, affiliates of the Manager, in which the Manager delegates to such investment subadvisers or subadministrators any or all its duties specified hereunder, on such terms as the Manager will determine to be necessary, desirable or appropriate, provided that in each case the Manager shall supervise the activities of each such subadviser or subadministrator and further provided that such contracts impose on any investment subadviser or subadministrator bound thereby all the conditions to which the Manager is subject hereunder and that such contracts are entered into in accordance with and meet all applicable requirements of the 1940 Act.

5. (a) The Manager, at its expense, shall supply the Board and officers of the Trust with all information and reports reasonably required by them and reasonably available to the Manager and shall furnish the Fund with office facilities, including space, furniture and equipment and all personnel reasonably necessary for the operation of the Fund. The Manager shall oversee the maintenance of all books and records with respect to the Fund’s securities transactions and the keeping of the Fund’s books of account in accordance with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations. In compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the 1940 Act, the Manager hereby agrees that any records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund, and further agrees to surrender promptly to the Fund any of such records upon the Fund’s request. The Manager further agrees to arrange for the preservation of the records required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act for the periods prescribed by Rule 31a-2 under the 1940 Act. The Manager shall authorize and permit any of its directors, officers and employees, who may be elected as Board members or officers of the Fund, to serve in the capacities in which they are elected.

(b) The Manager shall bear all expenses, and shall furnish all necessary services, facilities and personnel, in connection with its responsibilities under this Agreement. Other than as herein specifically indicated, the Manager shall not be responsible for the Fund’s expenses, including, without limitation, advisory fees; distribution fees; interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the Fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the Fund’s securities

 

3


and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the Fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the Fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the Fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the Fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the Fund, if any; and the Fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the Fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any non-recurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the Fund is a party and the legal obligation which the Fund may have to indemnify the Fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

6. No member of the Board, officer or employee of the Trust or Fund shall receive from the Trust or Fund any salary or other compensation as such member of the Board, officer or employee while he is at the same time a director, officer, or employee of the Manager or any affiliated company of the Manager, except as the Board may decide. This paragraph shall not apply to Board members, executive committee members, consultants and other persons who are not regular members of the Manager’s or any affiliated company’s staff.

7. As compensation for the services performed and the facilities furnished and expenses assumed by the Manager, including the services of any consultants retained by the Manager, the Fund shall pay the Manager, as promptly as possible after the last day of each month, a fee, computed daily at an annual rate set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided however, that if the Fund invests all or substantially all of its assets in another registered investment company for which the Manager or an affiliate of the Manager serves as investment adviser or investment manager, the annual fee computed as set forth on such Schedule A shall be reduced by the aggregate management fees allocated to that Fund for the Fund’s then-current fiscal year from such other registered investment company. The first payment of the fee shall be made as promptly as possible at the end of the month succeeding the effective date of this Agreement, and shall constitute a full payment of the fee due the Manager for all services prior to that date. If this Agreement is terminated as of any date not the last day of a month, such fee shall be paid as promptly as possible after such date of termination, shall be based on the average daily net assets of the Fund in that period from the beginning of such month to such date of termination, and shall be that proportion of such average daily net assets as the number of business days in such period bears to the number of business days in such month. The average daily net assets of the Fund shall in all cases be based only on business days and be computed as of the time of the regular close of business of the New York Stock Exchange, or such other time as may be determined by the Board.

8. The Manager assumes no responsibility under this Agreement other than to render the services called for hereunder, in good faith, and shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law, or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or omission in the execution of securities transactions for a Fund, provided that nothing in this Agreement shall protect the Manager

 

4


against any liability to the Fund to which the Manager would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder. As used in this Section 8, the term “Manager” shall include any affiliates of the Manager performing services for the Trust or the Fund contemplated hereby and the partners, shareholders, directors, officers and employees of the Manager and such affiliates.

9. Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict the right of any director, officer, or employee of the Manager who may also be a Board member, officer, or employee of the Trust or the Fund, to engage in any other business or to devote his time and attention in part to the management or other aspects of any other business, whether of a similar nature or a dissimilar nature, nor to limit or restrict the right of the Manager to engage in any other business or to render services of any kind, including investment advisory and management services, to any other fund, firm, individual or association. If the purchase or sale of securities consistent with the investment policies of a Fund or one or more other accounts of the Manager is considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities will be allocated among the accounts in a manner deemed equitable by the Manager. Such transactions may be combined, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and consistent with the Manager’s policies and procedures as presented to the Board from time to time.

10. For the purposes of this Agreement, the Fund’s “net assets” shall be determined as provided in the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information and the terms “assignment,” “interested person,” and “majority of the outstanding voting securities” shall have the meanings given to them by Section 2(a) of the 1940 Act, subject to such exemptions as may be granted by the SEC by any rule, regulation or order.

11. This Agreement will become effective with respect to the Fund on the date set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided that it shall have been approved by the Trust’s Board and by the shareholders of the Fund in accordance with the requirements of the 1940 Act and, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, will continue in effect until November 30, 2007. Thereafter, if not terminated, this Agreement shall continue in effect with respect to the Fund, so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (i) by the Board or (ii) by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Board members who are not interested persons of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.

12. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund without penalty by the Board or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the Manager, or by the Manager upon not less than 90 days’ written notice to the Fund, and will be terminated upon the mutual written consent of the Manager and the Trust. This Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment by the Manager and shall not be assignable by the Trust without the consent of the Manager.

 

5


13. The Manager agrees that for services rendered to the Fund, or for any claim by it in connection with services rendered to the Fund, it shall look only to assets of the Fund for satisfaction and that it shall have no claim against the assets of any other portfolios of the Trust. The undersigned officer of the Trust has executed this Agreement not individually, but as an officer under the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and the obligations of this Agreement are not binding upon any of the Trustees, officers or shareholders of the Trust individually.

14. No provision of this Agreement may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated orally, but only by an instrument in writing signed by the party against which enforcement of the change, waiver, discharge or termination is sought, and no material amendment of the Agreement shall be effective until approved, if so required by the 1940 Act, by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities.

15. This Agreement embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the parties hereto, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. Should any part of this Agreement be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby. This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors.

16. This Agreement shall be construed and the provisions thereof interpreted under and in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

[signature page to follow]

 

6


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by their officers thereunto duly authorized.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS INVESTMENT TRUST
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  
LEGG MASON PARTNERS FUND ADVISOR, LLC
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

7


Schedule A

Legg Mason Partners Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund

Date:

[                ] [    ], [            ]

Fee:

The following percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets:

First $1 billion—0.75%

Next $1 billion—0.725%

Next $3 billion—0.70%

Next $5 billion—0.675%

Over $10 billion—0.65%

Exhibit (d)(5)

MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT

Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC

This MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made this      day of [            ], [            ], by and between Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”) and Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Manager”).

WHEREAS, the Trust is registered as a management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”);

WHEREAS, the Manager is engaged primarily in rendering investment advisory, management and administrative services and is registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended;

WHEREAS, the Trust wishes to retain the Manager to provide investment advisory, management, and administrative services to the Trust with respect to the series of the Trust designated in Schedule A annexed hereto (the “Fund”); and

WHEREAS, the Manager is willing to furnish such services on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth;

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed as follows:

1. The Trust hereby appoints the Manager to act as investment adviser and administrator of the Fund for the period and on the terms set forth in this Agreement. The Manager accepts such appointment and agrees to render the services herein set forth, for the compensation herein provided.

2. The Fund shall at all times keep the Manager fully informed with regard to the securities owned by it, its funds available, or to become available, for investment, and generally as to the condition of its affairs. It shall furnish the Manager with such other documents and information with regard to its affairs as the Manager may from time to time reasonably request.

3. (a) Subject to the supervision of the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”), the Manager shall regularly provide the Fund with investment research, advice, management and supervision and shall furnish a continuous investment program for the Fund’s portfolio of securities and other investments consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions, as stated in the Fund’s current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information. The Manager shall determine from time to time what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained, sold or exchanged by the Fund and what portion of the assets of the Fund’s portfolio will be held in the various securities and other investments in which the Fund invests, and shall implement those decisions, all subject to the provisions of the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and By-Laws (collectively, the “Governing Documents”), the 1940 Act, and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and interpretive guidance issued thereunder by the SEC staff and any other applicable federal and state law, as well as the investment objectives,

 

1


policies and restrictions of the Fund referred to above, and any other specific policies adopted by the Board and disclosed to the Manager. The Manager is authorized as the agent of the Trust to give instructions to the custodian of the Fund as to deliveries of securities and other investments and payments of cash for the account of the Fund. Subject to applicable provisions of the 1940 Act and direction from the Board, the investment program to be provided hereunder may entail the investment of all or substantially all of the assets of a Fund in one or more investment companies. The Manager will place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) to the Funds and/or the other accounts over which the Manager or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The Manager is authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for a Fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the Manager determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities which the Manager and its affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The Board may adopt policies and procedures that modify and restrict the Manager’s authority regarding the execution of the Fund’s portfolio transactions provided herein. The Manager shall also provide advice and recommendations with respect to other aspects of the business and affairs of the Fund, shall exercise voting rights, rights to consent to corporate action and any other rights pertaining to a Fund’s portfolio securities subject to such direction as the Board may provide, and shall perform such other functions of investment management and supervision as may be directed by the Board.

(b) Subject to the direction and control of the Board, the Manager shall perform such administrative and management services as may from time to time be reasonably requested by the Fund as necessary for the operation of the Fund, such as (i) supervising the overall administration of the Fund, including negotiation of contracts and fees with and the monitoring of performance and billings of the Fund’s transfer agent, shareholder servicing agents, custodian and other independent contractors or agents, (ii) providing certain compliance, fund accounting, regulatory reporting, and tax reporting services, (iii) preparing or participating in the preparation of Board materials, registration statements, proxy statements and reports and other communications to shareholders, (iv) maintaining the Fund’s existence, and (v) during such times as shares are publicly offered, maintaining the registration and qualification of the Fund’s shares under federal and state laws. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Manager shall not be deemed to have assumed any duties with respect to, and shall not be responsible for, the distribution of the shares of any Fund, nor shall the Manager be deemed to have assumed or have any responsibility with respect to functions specifically assumed by any transfer agent, fund accounting agent, custodian, shareholder servicing agent or other agent, in each case employed by the Fund to perform such functions.

 

2


(c) The Fund hereby authorizes any entity or person associated with the Manager which is a member of a national securities exchange to effect any transaction on the exchange for the account of the Fund which is permitted by Section 11(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder, and the Fund hereby consents to the retention of compensation for such transactions in accordance with Rule 11a2-2(T)(a)(2)(iv). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Manager agrees that it will not deal with itself, or with members of the Board or any principal underwriter of the Fund, as principals or agents in making purchases or sales of securities or other property for the account of the Fund, nor will it purchase any securities from an underwriting or selling group in which the Manager or its affiliates is participating, or arrange for purchases and sales of securities between a Fund and another account advised by the Manager or its affiliates, except in each case as permitted by the 1940 Act and in accordance with such policies and procedures as may be adopted by a Fund from time to time, and will comply with all other provisions of the Governing Documents and the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information relative to the Manager and its directors and officers.

4. Subject to the Board’s approval, the Manager or the Fund may enter into contracts with one or more investment subadvisers or subadministrators, including without limitation, affiliates of the Manager, in which the Manager delegates to such investment subadvisers or subadministrators any or all its duties specified hereunder, on such terms as the Manager will determine to be necessary, desirable or appropriate, provided that in each case the Manager shall supervise the activities of each such subadviser or subadministrator and further provided that such contracts impose on any investment subadviser or subadministrator bound thereby all the conditions to which the Manager is subject hereunder and that such contracts are entered into in accordance with and meet all applicable requirements of the 1940 Act.

5. (a) The Manager, at its expense, shall supply the Board and officers of the Trust with all information and reports reasonably required by them and reasonably available to the Manager and shall furnish the Fund with office facilities, including space, furniture and equipment and all personnel reasonably necessary for the operation of the Fund. The Manager shall oversee the maintenance of all books and records with respect to the Fund’s securities transactions and the keeping of the Fund’s books of account in accordance with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations. In compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the 1940 Act, the Manager hereby agrees that any records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund, and further agrees to surrender promptly to the Fund any of such records upon the Fund’s request. The Manager further agrees to arrange for the preservation of the records required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act for the periods prescribed by Rule 31a-2 under the 1940 Act. The Manager shall authorize and permit any of its directors, officers and employees, who may be elected as Board members or officers of the Fund, to serve in the capacities in which they are elected.

(b) The Manager shall bear all expenses, and shall furnish all necessary services, facilities and personnel, in connection with its responsibilities under this Agreement. Other than as herein specifically indicated, the Manager shall not be responsible for the Fund’s expenses, including, without limitation, advisory fees; distribution fees; interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the Fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the Fund’s securities

 

3


and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the Fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the Fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the Fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the Fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the Fund, if any; and the Fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the Fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any non-recurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the Fund is a party and the legal obligation which the Fund may have to indemnify the Fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

6. No member of the Board, officer or employee of the Trust or Fund shall receive from the Trust or Fund any salary or other compensation as such member of the Board, officer or employee while he is at the same time a director, officer, or employee of the Manager or any affiliated company of the Manager, except as the Board may decide. This paragraph shall not apply to Board members, executive committee members, consultants and other persons who are not regular members of the Manager’s or any affiliated company’s staff.

7. As compensation for the services performed and the facilities furnished and expenses assumed by the Manager, including the services of any consultants retained by the Manager, the Fund shall pay the Manager, as promptly as possible after the last day of each month, a fee, computed daily at an annual rate set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided however, that if the Fund invests all or substantially all of its assets in another registered investment company for which the Manager or an affiliate of the Manager serves as investment adviser or investment manager, the annual fee computed as set forth on such Schedule A shall be reduced by the aggregate management fees allocated to that Fund for the Fund’s then-current fiscal year from such other registered investment company. The first payment of the fee shall be made as promptly as possible at the end of the month succeeding the effective date of this Agreement, and shall constitute a full payment of the fee due the Manager for all services prior to that date. If this Agreement is terminated as of any date not the last day of a month, such fee shall be paid as promptly as possible after such date of termination, shall be based on the average daily net assets of the Fund in that period from the beginning of such month to such date of termination, and shall be that proportion of such average daily net assets as the number of business days in such period bears to the number of business days in such month. The average daily net assets of the Fund shall in all cases be based only on business days and be computed as of the time of the regular close of business of the New York Stock Exchange, or such other time as may be determined by the Board.

8. The Manager assumes no responsibility under this Agreement other than to render the services called for hereunder, in good faith, and shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law, or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or omission in the execution of securities transactions for a Fund, provided that nothing in this Agreement shall protect the Manager

 

4


against any liability to the Fund to which the Manager would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder. As used in this Section 8, the term “Manager” shall include any affiliates of the Manager performing services for the Trust or the Fund contemplated hereby and the partners, shareholders, directors, officers and employees of the Manager and such affiliates.

9. Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict the right of any director, officer, or employee of the Manager who may also be a Board member, officer, or employee of the Trust or the Fund, to engage in any other business or to devote his time and attention in part to the management or other aspects of any other business, whether of a similar nature or a dissimilar nature, nor to limit or restrict the right of the Manager to engage in any other business or to render services of any kind, including investment advisory and management services, to any other fund, firm, individual or association. If the purchase or sale of securities consistent with the investment policies of a Fund or one or more other accounts of the Manager is considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities will be allocated among the accounts in a manner deemed equitable by the Manager. Such transactions may be combined, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and consistent with the Manager’s policies and procedures as presented to the Board from time to time.

10. For the purposes of this Agreement, the Fund’s “net assets” shall be determined as provided in the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information and the terms “assignment,” “interested person,” and “majority of the outstanding voting securities” shall have the meanings given to them by Section 2(a) of the 1940 Act, subject to such exemptions as may be granted by the SEC by any rule, regulation or order.

11. This Agreement will become effective with respect to the Fund on the date set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided that it shall have been approved by the Trust’s Board and by the shareholders of the Fund in accordance with the requirements of the 1940 Act and, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, will continue in effect until November 30, 2007. Thereafter, if not terminated, this Agreement shall continue in effect with respect to the Fund, so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (i) by the Board or (ii) by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Board members who are not interested persons of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.

12. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund without penalty by the Board or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the Manager, or by the Manager upon not less than 90 days’ written notice to the Fund, and will be terminated upon the mutual written consent of the Manager and the Trust. This Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment by the Manager and shall not be assignable by the Trust without the consent of the Manager.

 

5


13. The Manager agrees that for services rendered to the Fund, or for any claim by it in connection with services rendered to the Fund, it shall look only to assets of the Fund for satisfaction and that it shall have no claim against the assets of any other portfolios of the Trust. The undersigned officer of the Trust has executed this Agreement not individually, but as an officer under the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and the obligations of this Agreement are not binding upon any of the Trustees, officers or shareholders of the Trust individually.

14. No provision of this Agreement may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated orally, but only by an instrument in writing signed by the party against which enforcement of the change, waiver, discharge or termination is sought, and no material amendment of the Agreement shall be effective until approved, if so required by the 1940 Act, by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities.

15. This Agreement embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the parties hereto, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. Should any part of this Agreement be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby. This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors.

16. This Agreement shall be construed and the provisions thereof interpreted under and in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

[signature page to follow]

 

6


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by their officers thereunto duly authorized.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS INVESTMENT TRUST
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS FUND ADVISOR, LLC
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

7


Schedule A

Legg Mason Partners Dividend Strategy Fund

Date:

[                ] [    ], [            ]

Fee:

The following percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets:

First $1 billion—0.65%

Next $1 billion—0.60%

Next $1 billion—0.55%

Next $1 billion—0.50%

Over $4 billion—0.45%

Exhibit (d)(6)

MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT

Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC

This MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made this      day of [            ], [            ], by and between Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”) and Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Manager”).

WHEREAS, the Trust is registered as a management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”);

WHEREAS, the Manager is engaged primarily in rendering investment advisory, management and administrative services and is registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended;

WHEREAS, the Trust wishes to retain the Manager to provide investment advisory, management, and administrative services to the Trust with respect to the series of the Trust designated in Schedule A annexed hereto (the “Fund”); and

WHEREAS, the Manager is willing to furnish such services on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth;

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed as follows:

1. The Trust hereby appoints the Manager to act as investment adviser and administrator of the Fund for the period and on the terms set forth in this Agreement. The Manager accepts such appointment and agrees to render the services herein set forth, for the compensation herein provided.

2. The Fund shall at all times keep the Manager fully informed with regard to the securities owned by it, its funds available, or to become available, for investment, and generally as to the condition of its affairs. It shall furnish the Manager with such other documents and information with regard to its affairs as the Manager may from time to time reasonably request.

3. (a) Subject to the supervision of the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”), the Manager shall regularly provide the Fund with investment research, advice, management and supervision and shall furnish a continuous investment program for the Fund’s portfolio of securities and other investments consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions, as stated in the Fund’s current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information. The Manager shall determine from time to time what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained, sold or exchanged by the Fund and what portion of the assets of the Fund’s portfolio will be held in the various securities and other investments in which the Fund invests, and shall implement those decisions, all subject to the provisions of the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and By-Laws (collectively, the “Governing Documents”), the 1940 Act, and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and interpretive guidance issued thereunder by the SEC staff and any other applicable federal and state law, as well as the investment objectives,

 

1


policies and restrictions of the Fund referred to above, and any other specific policies adopted by the Board and disclosed to the Manager. The Manager is authorized as the agent of the Trust to give instructions to the custodian of the Fund as to deliveries of securities and other investments and payments of cash for the account of the Fund. Subject to applicable provisions of the 1940 Act and direction from the Board, the investment program to be provided hereunder may entail the investment of all or substantially all of the assets of a Fund in one or more investment companies. The Manager will place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) to the Funds and/or the other accounts over which the Manager or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The Manager is authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for a Fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the Manager determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities which the Manager and its affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The Board may adopt policies and procedures that modify and restrict the Manager’s authority regarding the execution of the Fund’s portfolio transactions provided herein. The Manager shall also provide advice and recommendations with respect to other aspects of the business and affairs of the Fund, shall exercise voting rights, rights to consent to corporate action and any other rights pertaining to a Fund’s portfolio securities subject to such direction as the Board may provide, and shall perform such other functions of investment management and supervision as may be directed by the Board.

(b) Subject to the direction and control of the Board, the Manager shall perform such administrative and management services as may from time to time be reasonably requested by the Fund as necessary for the operation of the Fund, such as (i) supervising the overall administration of the Fund, including negotiation of contracts and fees with and the monitoring of performance and billings of the Fund’s transfer agent, shareholder servicing agents, custodian and other independent contractors or agents, (ii) providing certain compliance, fund accounting, regulatory reporting, and tax reporting services, (iii) preparing or participating in the preparation of Board materials, registration statements, proxy statements and reports and other communications to shareholders, (iv) maintaining the Fund’s existence, and (v) during such times as shares are publicly offered, maintaining the registration and qualification of the Fund’s shares under federal and state laws. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Manager shall not be deemed to have assumed any duties with respect to, and shall not be responsible for, the distribution of the shares of any Fund, nor shall the Manager be deemed to have assumed or have any responsibility with respect to functions specifically assumed by any transfer agent, fund accounting agent, custodian, shareholder servicing agent or other agent, in each case employed by the Fund to perform such functions.

 

2


(c) The Fund hereby authorizes any entity or person associated with the Manager which is a member of a national securities exchange to effect any transaction on the exchange for the account of the Fund which is permitted by Section 11(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder, and the Fund hereby consents to the retention of compensation for such transactions in accordance with Rule 11a2-2(T)(a)(2)(iv). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Manager agrees that it will not deal with itself, or with members of the Board or any principal underwriter of the Fund, as principals or agents in making purchases or sales of securities or other property for the account of the Fund, nor will it purchase any securities from an underwriting or selling group in which the Manager or its affiliates is participating, or arrange for purchases and sales of securities between a Fund and another account advised by the Manager or its affiliates, except in each case as permitted by the 1940 Act and in accordance with such policies and procedures as may be adopted by a Fund from time to time, and will comply with all other provisions of the Governing Documents and the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information relative to the Manager and its directors and officers.

4. Subject to the Board’s approval, the Manager or the Fund may enter into contracts with one or more investment subadvisers or subadministrators, including without limitation, affiliates of the Manager, in which the Manager delegates to such investment subadvisers or subadministrators any or all its duties specified hereunder, on such terms as the Manager will determine to be necessary, desirable or appropriate, provided that in each case the Manager shall supervise the activities of each such subadviser or subadministrator and further provided that such contracts impose on any investment subadviser or subadministrator bound thereby all the conditions to which the Manager is subject hereunder and that such contracts are entered into in accordance with and meet all applicable requirements of the 1940 Act.

5. (a) The Manager, at its expense, shall supply the Board and officers of the Trust with all information and reports reasonably required by them and reasonably available to the Manager and shall furnish the Fund with office facilities, including space, furniture and equipment and all personnel reasonably necessary for the operation of the Fund. The Manager shall oversee the maintenance of all books and records with respect to the Fund’s securities transactions and the keeping of the Fund’s books of account in accordance with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations. In compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the 1940 Act, the Manager hereby agrees that any records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund, and further agrees to surrender promptly to the Fund any of such records upon the Fund’s request. The Manager further agrees to arrange for the preservation of the records required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act for the periods prescribed by Rule 31a-2 under the 1940 Act. The Manager shall authorize and permit any of its directors, officers and employees, who may be elected as Board members or officers of the Fund, to serve in the capacities in which they are elected.

(b) The Manager shall bear all expenses, and shall furnish all necessary services, facilities and personnel, in connection with its responsibilities under this Agreement. Other than as herein specifically indicated, the Manager shall not be responsible for the Fund’s expenses, including, without limitation, advisory fees; distribution fees; interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the Fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the Fund’s securities

 

3


and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the Fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the Fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the Fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the Fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the Fund, if any; and the Fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the Fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any non-recurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the Fund is a party and the legal obligation which the Fund may have to indemnify the Fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

6. No member of the Board, officer or employee of the Trust or Fund shall receive from the Trust or Fund any salary or other compensation as such member of the Board, officer or employee while he is at the same time a director, officer, or employee of the Manager or any affiliated company of the Manager, except as the Board may decide. This paragraph shall not apply to Board members, executive committee members, consultants and other persons who are not regular members of the Manager’s or any affiliated company’s staff.

7. As compensation for the services performed and the facilities furnished and expenses assumed by the Manager, including the services of any consultants retained by the Manager, the Fund shall pay the Manager, as promptly as possible after the last day of each month, a fee, computed daily at an annual rate set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided however, that if the Fund invests all or substantially all of its assets in another registered investment company for which the Manager or an affiliate of the Manager serves as investment adviser or investment manager, the annual fee computed as set forth on such Schedule A shall be reduced by the aggregate management fees allocated to that Fund for the Fund’s then-current fiscal year from such other registered investment company. The first payment of the fee shall be made as promptly as possible at the end of the month succeeding the effective date of this Agreement, and shall constitute a full payment of the fee due the Manager for all services prior to that date. If this Agreement is terminated as of any date not the last day of a month, such fee shall be paid as promptly as possible after such date of termination, shall be based on the average daily net assets of the Fund in that period from the beginning of such month to such date of termination, and shall be that proportion of such average daily net assets as the number of business days in such period bears to the number of business days in such month. The average daily net assets of the Fund shall in all cases be based only on business days and be computed as of the time of the regular close of business of the New York Stock Exchange, or such other time as may be determined by the Board.

8. The Manager assumes no responsibility under this Agreement other than to render the services called for hereunder, in good faith, and shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law, or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or omission in the

 

4


execution of securities transactions for a Fund, provided that nothing in this Agreement shall protect the Manager against any liability to the Fund to which the Manager would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder. As used in this Section 8, the term “Manager” shall include any affiliates of the Manager performing services for the Trust or the Fund contemplated hereby and the partners, shareholders, directors, officers and employees of the Manager and such affiliates.

9. Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict the right of any director, officer, or employee of the Manager who may also be a Board member, officer, or employee of the Trust or the Fund, to engage in any other business or to devote his time and attention in part to the management or other aspects of any other business, whether of a similar nature or a dissimilar nature, nor to limit or restrict the right of the Manager to engage in any other business or to render services of any kind, including investment advisory and management services, to any other fund, firm, individual or association. If the purchase or sale of securities consistent with the investment policies of a Fund or one or more other accounts of the Manager is considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities will be allocated among the accounts in a manner deemed equitable by the Manager. Such transactions may be combined, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and consistent with the Manager’s policies and procedures as presented to the Board from time to time.

10. For the purposes of this Agreement, the Fund’s “net assets” shall be determined as provided in the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information and the terms “assignment,” “interested person,” and “majority of the outstanding voting securities” shall have the meanings given to them by Section 2(a) of the 1940 Act, subject to such exemptions as may be granted by the SEC by any rule, regulation or order.

11. This Agreement will become effective with respect to the Fund on the date set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided that it shall have been approved by the Trust’s Board and by the shareholders of the Fund in accordance with the requirements of the 1940 Act and, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, will continue in effect until November 30, 2007. Thereafter, if not terminated, this Agreement shall continue in effect with respect to the Fund, so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (i) by the Board or (ii) by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Board members who are not interested persons of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.

12. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund without penalty by the Board or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the Manager, or by the Manager upon not less than 90 days’ written notice to the Fund, and will be terminated upon the mutual written consent of the Manager and the Trust. This Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment by the Manager and shall not be assignable by the Trust without the consent of the Manager.

13. The Manager agrees that for services rendered to the Fund, or for any claim by it in connection with services rendered to the

 

5


Fund, it shall look only to assets of the Fund for satisfaction and that it shall have no claim against the assets of any other portfolios of the Trust. The undersigned officer of the Trust has executed this Agreement not individually, but as an officer under the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and the obligations of this Agreement are not binding upon any of the Trustees, officers or shareholders of the Trust individually.

14. No provision of this Agreement may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated orally, but only by an instrument in writing signed by the party against which enforcement of the change, waiver, discharge or termination is sought, and no material amendment of the Agreement shall be effective until approved, if so required by the 1940 Act, by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities.

15. This Agreement embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the parties hereto, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. Should any part of this Agreement be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby. This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors.

16. This Agreement shall be construed and the provisions thereof interpreted under and in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

[signature page to follow]

 

6


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by their officers thereunto duly authorized.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS INVESTMENT TRUST
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  
LEGG MASON PARTNERS FUND ADVISOR, LLC
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

7


Schedule A

Legg Mason Partners Emerging Markets Equity Fund

Date:

[                ] [            ], [            ]

Fee:

The following percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets:

First $1 billion—0.85%

Next $1 billion—0.825%

Next $3 billion—0.80%

Next $5 billion—0.775%

Over $10 billion—0.75%

Exhibit (d)(7)

MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT

Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC

This MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made this      day of [            ], [            ], by and between Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”) and Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Manager”).

WHEREAS, the Trust is registered as a management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”);

WHEREAS, the Manager is engaged primarily in rendering investment advisory, management and administrative services and is registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended;

WHEREAS, the Trust wishes to retain the Manager to provide investment advisory, management, and administrative services to the Trust with respect to the series of the Trust designated in Schedule A annexed hereto (the “Fund”); and

WHEREAS, the Manager is willing to furnish such services on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth;

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed as follows:

1. The Trust hereby appoints the Manager to act as investment adviser and administrator of the Fund for the period and on the terms set forth in this Agreement. The Manager accepts such appointment and agrees to render the services herein set forth, for the compensation herein provided.

2. The Fund shall at all times keep the Manager fully informed with regard to the securities owned by it, its funds available, or to become available, for investment, and generally as to the condition of its affairs. It shall furnish the Manager with such other documents and information with regard to its affairs as the Manager may from time to time reasonably request.

3. (a) Subject to the supervision of the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”), the Manager shall regularly provide the Fund with investment research, advice, management and supervision and shall furnish a continuous investment program for the Fund’s portfolio of securities and other investments consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions, as stated in the Fund’s current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information. The Manager shall determine from time to time what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained, sold or exchanged by the Fund and what portion of the assets of the Fund’s portfolio will be held in the various securities and other investments in which the Fund invests, and shall implement those decisions, all subject to the provisions of the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and By-Laws (collectively, the “Governing Documents”), the 1940 Act, and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and interpretive guidance issued thereunder by the SEC staff and any other applicable federal and state law, as well as the investment objectives,

 

1


policies and restrictions of the Fund referred to above, and any other specific policies adopted by the Board and disclosed to the Manager. The Manager is authorized as the agent of the Trust to give instructions to the custodian of the Fund as to deliveries of securities and other investments and payments of cash for the account of the Fund. Subject to applicable provisions of the 1940 Act and direction from the Board, the investment program to be provided hereunder may entail the investment of all or substantially all of the assets of a Fund in one or more investment companies. The Manager will place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) to the Funds and/or the other accounts over which the Manager or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The Manager is authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for a Fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the Manager determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities which the Manager and its affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The Board may adopt policies and procedures that modify and restrict the Manager’s authority regarding the execution of the Fund’s portfolio transactions provided herein. The Manager shall also provide advice and recommendations with respect to other aspects of the business and affairs of the Fund, shall exercise voting rights, rights to consent to corporate action and any other rights pertaining to a Fund’s portfolio securities subject to such direction as the Board may provide, and shall perform such other functions of investment management and supervision as may be directed by the Board.

(b) Subject to the direction and control of the Board, the Manager shall perform such administrative and management services as may from time to time be reasonably requested by the Fund as necessary for the operation of the Fund, such as (i) supervising the overall administration of the Fund, including negotiation of contracts and fees with and the monitoring of performance and billings of the Fund’s transfer agent, shareholder servicing agents, custodian and other independent contractors or agents, (ii) providing certain compliance, fund accounting, regulatory reporting, and tax reporting services, (iii) preparing or participating in the preparation of Board materials, registration statements, proxy statements and reports and other communications to shareholders, (iv) maintaining the Fund’s existence, and (v) during such times as shares are publicly offered, maintaining the registration and qualification of the Fund’s shares under federal and state laws. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Manager shall not be deemed to have assumed any duties with respect to, and shall not be responsible for, the distribution of the shares of any Fund, nor shall the Manager be deemed to have assumed or have any responsibility with respect to functions specifically assumed by any transfer agent, fund accounting agent, custodian, shareholder servicing agent or other agent, in each case employed by the Fund to perform such functions.

 

2


(c) The Fund hereby authorizes any entity or person associated with the Manager which is a member of a national securities exchange to effect any transaction on the exchange for the account of the Fund which is permitted by Section 11(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder, and the Fund hereby consents to the retention of compensation for such transactions in accordance with Rule 11a2-2(T)(a)(2)(iv). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Manager agrees that it will not deal with itself, or with members of the Board or any principal underwriter of the Fund, as principals or agents in making purchases or sales of securities or other property for the account of the Fund, nor will it purchase any securities from an underwriting or selling group in which the Manager or its affiliates is participating, or arrange for purchases and sales of securities between a Fund and another account advised by the Manager or its affiliates, except in each case as permitted by the 1940 Act and in accordance with such policies and procedures as may be adopted by a Fund from time to time, and will comply with all other provisions of the Governing Documents and the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information relative to the Manager and its directors and officers.

4. Subject to the Board’s approval, the Manager or the Fund may enter into contracts with one or more investment subadvisers or subadministrators, including without limitation, affiliates of the Manager, in which the Manager delegates to such investment subadvisers or subadministrators any or all its duties specified hereunder, on such terms as the Manager will determine to be necessary, desirable or appropriate, provided that in each case the Manager shall supervise the activities of each such subadviser or subadministrator and further provided that such contracts impose on any investment subadviser or subadministrator bound thereby all the conditions to which the Manager is subject hereunder and that such contracts are entered into in accordance with and meet all applicable requirements of the 1940 Act.

5. (a) The Manager, at its expense, shall supply the Board and officers of the Trust with all information and reports reasonably required by them and reasonably available to the Manager and shall furnish the Fund with office facilities, including space, furniture and equipment and all personnel reasonably necessary for the operation of the Fund. The Manager shall oversee the maintenance of all books and records with respect to the Fund’s securities transactions and the keeping of the Fund’s books of account in accordance with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations. In compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the 1940 Act, the Manager hereby agrees that any records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund, and further agrees to surrender promptly to the Fund any of such records upon the Fund’s request. The Manager further agrees to arrange for the preservation of the records required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act for the periods prescribed by Rule 31a-2 under the 1940 Act. The Manager shall authorize and permit any of its directors, officers and employees, who may be elected as Board members or officers of the Fund, to serve in the capacities in which they are elected.

(b) The Manager shall bear all expenses, and shall furnish all necessary services, facilities and personnel, in connection with its responsibilities under this Agreement. Other than as herein specifically indicated, the Manager shall not be responsible for the Fund’s expenses, including, without limitation, advisory fees; distribution fees; interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the Fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the Fund’s securities

 

3


and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the Fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the Fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the Fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the Fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the Fund, if any; and the Fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the Fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any non-recurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the Fund is a party and the legal obligation which the Fund may have to indemnify the Fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

6. No member of the Board, officer or employee of the Trust or Fund shall receive from the Trust or Fund any salary or other compensation as such member of the Board, officer or employee while he is at the same time a director, officer, or employee of the Manager or any affiliated company of the Manager, except as the Board may decide. This paragraph shall not apply to Board members, executive committee members, consultants and other persons who are not regular members of the Manager’s or any affiliated company’s staff.

7. As compensation for the services performed and the facilities furnished and expenses assumed by the Manager, including the services of any consultants retained by the Manager, the Fund shall pay the Manager, as promptly as possible after the last day of each month, a fee, computed daily at an annual rate set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided however, that if the Fund invests all or substantially all of its assets in another registered investment company for which the Manager or an affiliate of the Manager serves as investment adviser or investment manager, the annual fee computed as set forth on such Schedule A shall be reduced by the aggregate management fees allocated to that Fund for the Fund’s then-current fiscal year from such other registered investment company. The first payment of the fee shall be made as promptly as possible at the end of the month succeeding the effective date of this Agreement, and shall constitute a full payment of the fee due the Manager for all services prior to that date. If this Agreement is terminated as of any date not the last day of a month, such fee shall be paid as promptly as possible after such date of termination, shall be based on the average daily net assets of the Fund in that period from the beginning of such month to such date of termination, and shall be that proportion of such average daily net assets as the number of business days in such period bears to the number of business days in such month. The average daily net assets of the Fund shall in all cases be based only on business days and be computed as of the time of the regular close of business of the New York Stock Exchange, or such other time as may be determined by the Board.

8. The Manager assumes no responsibility under this Agreement other than to render the services called for hereunder, in good faith, and shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law, or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or omission in the execution of securities transactions for a Fund, provided that nothing in this Agreement shall protect the Manager

 

4


against any liability to the Fund to which the Manager would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder. As used in this Section 8, the term “Manager” shall include any affiliates of the Manager performing services for the Trust or the Fund contemplated hereby and the partners, shareholders, directors, officers and employees of the Manager and such affiliates.

9. Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict the right of any director, officer, or employee of the Manager who may also be a Board member, officer, or employee of the Trust or the Fund, to engage in any other business or to devote his time and attention in part to the management or other aspects of any other business, whether of a similar nature or a dissimilar nature, nor to limit or restrict the right of the Manager to engage in any other business or to render services of any kind, including investment advisory and management services, to any other fund, firm, individual or association. If the purchase or sale of securities consistent with the investment policies of a Fund or one or more other accounts of the Manager is considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities will be allocated among the accounts in a manner deemed equitable by the Manager. Such transactions may be combined, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and consistent with the Manager’s policies and procedures as presented to the Board from time to time.

10. For the purposes of this Agreement, the Fund’s “net assets” shall be determined as provided in the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information and the terms “assignment,” “interested person,” and “majority of the outstanding voting securities” shall have the meanings given to them by Section 2(a) of the 1940 Act, subject to such exemptions as may be granted by the SEC by any rule, regulation or order.

11. This Agreement will become effective with respect to the Fund on the date set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided that it shall have been approved by the Trust’s Board and by the shareholders of the Fund in accordance with the requirements of the 1940 Act and, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, will continue in effect until November 30, 2007. Thereafter, if not terminated, this Agreement shall continue in effect with respect to the Fund, so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (i) by the Board or (ii) by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Board members who are not interested persons of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.

12. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund without penalty by the Board or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the Manager, or by the Manager upon not less than 90 days’ written notice to the Fund, and will be terminated upon the mutual written consent of the Manager and the Trust. This Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment by the Manager and shall not be assignable by the Trust without the consent of the Manager.

 

5


13. The Manager agrees that for services rendered to the Fund, or for any claim by it in connection with services rendered to the Fund, it shall look only to assets of the Fund for satisfaction and that it shall have no claim against the assets of any other portfolios of the Trust. The undersigned officer of the Trust has executed this Agreement not individually, but as an officer under the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and the obligations of this Agreement are not binding upon any of the Trustees, officers or shareholders of the Trust individually.

14. No provision of this Agreement may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated orally, but only by an instrument in writing signed by the party against which enforcement of the change, waiver, discharge or termination is sought, and no material amendment of the Agreement shall be effective until approved, if so required by the 1940 Act, by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities.

15. This Agreement embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the parties hereto, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. Should any part of this Agreement be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby. This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors.

16. This Agreement shall be construed and the provisions thereof interpreted under and in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

[signature page to follow]

 

6


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by their officers thereunto duly authorized.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS INVESTMENT TRUST
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  
LEGG MASON PARTNERS FUND ADVISOR, LLC
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

7


Schedule A

Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund

Date:

[                ] [    ], [            ]

Fee:

The following percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets: 0.80%

Exhibit (d)(8)

MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT

Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC

This MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made this      day of [            ], [            ], by and between Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”) and Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Manager”).

WHEREAS, the Trust is registered as a management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”);

WHEREAS, the Manager is engaged primarily in rendering investment advisory, management and administrative services and is registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended;

WHEREAS, the Trust wishes to retain the Manager to provide investment advisory, management, and administrative services to the Trust with respect to the series of the Trust designated in Schedule A annexed hereto (the “Fund”); and

WHEREAS, the Manager is willing to furnish such services on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth;

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed as follows:

1. The Trust hereby appoints the Manager to act as investment adviser and administrator of the Fund for the period and on the terms set forth in this Agreement. The Manager accepts such appointment and agrees to render the services herein set forth, for the compensation herein provided.

2. The Fund shall at all times keep the Manager fully informed with regard to the securities owned by it, its funds available, or to become available, for investment, and generally as to the condition of its affairs. It shall furnish the Manager with such other documents and information with regard to its affairs as the Manager may from time to time reasonably request.

3. (a) Subject to the supervision of the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”), the Manager shall regularly provide the Fund with investment research, advice, management and supervision and shall furnish a continuous investment program for the Fund’s portfolio of securities and other investments consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions, as stated in the Fund’s current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information. The Manager shall determine from time to time what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained, sold or exchanged by the Fund and what portion of the assets of the Fund’s portfolio will be held in the various securities and other investments in which the Fund invests, and shall implement those decisions, all subject to the provisions of the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and By-Laws (collectively, the “Governing Documents”), the 1940 Act, and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and interpretive guidance issued thereunder by the SEC staff and any other applicable federal and state law, as well as the investment objectives,

 

1


policies and restrictions of the Fund referred to above, and any other specific policies adopted by the Board and disclosed to the Manager. The Manager is authorized as the agent of the Trust to give instructions to the custodian of the Fund as to deliveries of securities and other investments and payments of cash for the account of the Fund. Subject to applicable provisions of the 1940 Act and direction from the Board, the investment program to be provided hereunder may entail the investment of all or substantially all of the assets of a Fund in one or more investment companies. The Manager will place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) to the Funds and/or the other accounts over which the Manager or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The Manager is authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for a Fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the Manager determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities which the Manager and its affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The Board may adopt policies and procedures that modify and restrict the Manager’s authority regarding the execution of the Fund’s portfolio transactions provided herein. The Manager shall also provide advice and recommendations with respect to other aspects of the business and affairs of the Fund, shall exercise voting rights, rights to consent to corporate action and any other rights pertaining to a Fund’s portfolio securities subject to such direction as the Board may provide, and shall perform such other functions of investment management and supervision as may be directed by the Board.

(b) Subject to the direction and control of the Board, the Manager shall perform such administrative and management services as may from time to time be reasonably requested by the Fund as necessary for the operation of the Fund, such as (i) supervising the overall administration of the Fund, including negotiation of contracts and fees with and the monitoring of performance and billings of the Fund’s transfer agent, shareholder servicing agents, custodian and other independent contractors or agents, (ii) providing certain compliance, fund accounting, regulatory reporting, and tax reporting services, (iii) preparing or participating in the preparation of Board materials, registration statements, proxy statements and reports and other communications to shareholders, (iv) maintaining the Fund’s existence, and (v) during such times as shares are publicly offered, maintaining the registration and qualification of the Fund’s shares under federal and state laws. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Manager shall not be deemed to have assumed any duties with respect to, and shall not be responsible for, the distribution of the shares of any Fund, nor shall the Manager be deemed to have assumed or have any responsibility with respect to functions specifically assumed by any transfer agent, fund accounting agent, custodian, shareholder servicing agent or other agent, in each case employed by the Fund to perform such functions.

 

2


(c) The Fund hereby authorizes any entity or person associated with the Manager which is a member of a national securities exchange to effect any transaction on the exchange for the account of the Fund which is permitted by Section 11(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder, and the Fund hereby consents to the retention of compensation for such transactions in accordance with Rule 11a2-2(T)(a)(2)(iv). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Manager agrees that it will not deal with itself, or with members of the Board or any principal underwriter of the Fund, as principals or agents in making purchases or sales of securities or other property for the account of the Fund, nor will it purchase any securities from an underwriting or selling group in which the Manager or its affiliates is participating, or arrange for purchases and sales of securities between a Fund and another account advised by the Manager or its affiliates, except in each case as permitted by the 1940 Act and in accordance with such policies and procedures as may be adopted by a Fund from time to time, and will comply with all other provisions of the Governing Documents and the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information relative to the Manager and its directors and officers.

4. Subject to the Board’s approval, the Manager or the Fund may enter into contracts with one or more investment subadvisers or subadministrators, including without limitation, affiliates of the Manager, in which the Manager delegates to such investment subadvisers or subadministrators any or all its duties specified hereunder, on such terms as the Manager will determine to be necessary, desirable or appropriate, provided that in each case the Manager shall supervise the activities of each such subadviser or subadministrator and further provided that such contracts impose on any investment subadviser or subadministrator bound thereby all the conditions to which the Manager is subject hereunder and that such contracts are entered into in accordance with and meet all applicable requirements of the 1940 Act.

5. (a) The Manager, at its expense, shall supply the Board and officers of the Trust with all information and reports reasonably required by them and reasonably available to the Manager and shall furnish the Fund with office facilities, including space, furniture and equipment and all personnel reasonably necessary for the operation of the Fund. The Manager shall oversee the maintenance of all books and records with respect to the Fund’s securities transactions and the keeping of the Fund’s books of account in accordance with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations. In compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the 1940 Act, the Manager hereby agrees that any records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund, and further agrees to surrender promptly to the Fund any of such records upon the Fund’s request. The Manager further agrees to arrange for the preservation of the records required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act for the periods prescribed by Rule 31a-2 under the 1940 Act. The Manager shall authorize and permit any of its directors, officers and employees, who may be elected as Board members or officers of the Fund, to serve in the capacities in which they are elected.

(b) The Manager shall bear all expenses, and shall furnish all necessary services, facilities and personnel, in connection with its responsibilities under this Agreement. Other than as herein specifically indicated, the Manager shall not be responsible for the Fund’s expenses, including, without limitation, advisory fees; distribution fees; interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the Fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the Fund’s securities

 

3


and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the Fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the Fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the Fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the Fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the Fund, if any; and the Fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the Fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any non-recurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the Fund is a party and the legal obligation which the Fund may have to indemnify the Fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

6. No member of the Board, officer or employee of the Trust or Fund shall receive from the Trust or Fund any salary or other compensation as such member of the Board, officer or employee while he is at the same time a director, officer, or employee of the Manager or any affiliated company of the Manager, except as the Board may decide. This paragraph shall not apply to Board members, executive committee members, consultants and other persons who are not regular members of the Manager’s or any affiliated company’s staff.

7. As compensation for the services performed and the facilities furnished and expenses assumed by the Manager, including the services of any consultants retained by the Manager, the Fund shall pay the Manager, as promptly as possible after the last day of each month, a fee, computed daily at an annual rate set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided however, that if the Fund invests all or substantially all of its assets in another registered investment company for which the Manager or an affiliate of the Manager serves as investment adviser or investment manager, the annual fee computed as set forth on such Schedule A shall be reduced by the aggregate management fees allocated to that Fund for the Fund’s then-current fiscal year from such other registered investment company. The first payment of the fee shall be made as promptly as possible at the end of the month succeeding the effective date of this Agreement, and shall constitute a full payment of the fee due the Manager for all services prior to that date. If this Agreement is terminated as of any date not the last day of a month, such fee shall be paid as promptly as possible after such date of termination, shall be based on the average daily net assets of the Fund in that period from the beginning of such month to such date of termination, and shall be that proportion of such average daily net assets as the number of business days in such period bears to the number of business days in such month. The average daily net assets of the Fund shall in all cases be based only on business days and be computed as of the time of the regular close of business of the New York Stock Exchange, or such other time as may be determined by the Board.

8. The Manager assumes no responsibility under this Agreement other than to render the services called for hereunder, in good faith, and shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law, or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or omission in the execution of securities transactions for a Fund, provided that nothing in this Agreement shall protect the Manager

 

4


against any liability to the Fund to which the Manager would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder. As used in this Section 8, the term “Manager” shall include any affiliates of the Manager performing services for the Trust or the Fund contemplated hereby and the partners, shareholders, directors, officers and employees of the Manager and such affiliates.

9. Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict the right of any director, officer, or employee of the Manager who may also be a Board member, officer, or employee of the Trust or the Fund, to engage in any other business or to devote his time and attention in part to the management or other aspects of any other business, whether of a similar nature or a dissimilar nature, nor to limit or restrict the right of the Manager to engage in any other business or to render services of any kind, including investment advisory and management services, to any other fund, firm, individual or association. If the purchase or sale of securities consistent with the investment policies of a Fund or one or more other accounts of the Manager is considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities will be allocated among the accounts in a manner deemed equitable by the Manager. Such transactions may be combined, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and consistent with the Manager’s policies and procedures as presented to the Board from time to time.

10. For the purposes of this Agreement, the Fund’s “net assets” shall be determined as provided in the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information and the terms “assignment,” “interested person,” and “majority of the outstanding voting securities” shall have the meanings given to them by Section 2(a) of the 1940 Act, subject to such exemptions as may be granted by the SEC by any rule, regulation or order.

11. This Agreement will become effective with respect to the Fund on the date set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided that it shall have been approved by the Trust’s Board and by the shareholders of the Fund in accordance with the requirements of the 1940 Act and, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, will continue in effect until November 30, 2007. Thereafter, if not terminated, this Agreement shall continue in effect with respect to the Fund, so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (i) by the Board or (ii) by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Board members who are not interested persons of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.

12. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund without penalty by the Board or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the Manager, or by the Manager upon not less than 90 days’ written notice to the Fund, and will be terminated upon the mutual written consent of the Manager and the Trust. This Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment by the Manager and shall not be assignable by the Trust without the consent of the Manager.

 

5


13. The Manager agrees that for services rendered to the Fund, or for any claim by it in connection with services rendered to the Fund, it shall look only to assets of the Fund for satisfaction and that it shall have no claim against the assets of any other portfolios of the Trust. The undersigned officer of the Trust has executed this Agreement not individually, but as an officer under the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and the obligations of this Agreement are not binding upon any of the Trustees, officers or shareholders of the Trust individually.

14. No provision of this Agreement may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated orally, but only by an instrument in writing signed by the party against which enforcement of the change, waiver, discharge or termination is sought, and no material amendment of the Agreement shall be effective until approved, if so required by the 1940 Act, by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities.

15. This Agreement embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the parties hereto, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. Should any part of this Agreement be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby. This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors.

16. This Agreement shall be construed and the provisions thereof interpreted under and in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

[signature page to follow]

 

6


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by their officers thereunto duly authorized.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS INVESTMENT TRUST
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  
LEGG MASON PARTNERS FUND ADVISOR, LLC
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

7


Schedule A

Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund

Date:

[            ] [    ], [            ]

Fee:

The following percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets:

First $1.5 billion—0.75%

Next $500 million—0.70%

Next $500 million—0.65%

Next 1 billion—0.60%

Over $3.5% billion—0.50%

Exhibit (d)(9)

MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT

Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC

This MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made this      day of [            ], [            ], by and between Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”) and Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Manager”).

WHEREAS, the Trust is registered as a management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”);

WHEREAS, the Manager is engaged primarily in rendering investment advisory, management and administrative services and is registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended;

WHEREAS, the Trust wishes to retain the Manager to provide investment advisory, management, and administrative services to the Trust with respect to the series of the Trust designated in Schedule A annexed hereto (the “Fund”); and

WHEREAS, the Manager is willing to furnish such services on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth;

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed as follows:

1. The Trust hereby appoints the Manager to act as investment adviser and administrator of the Fund for the period and on the terms set forth in this Agreement. The Manager accepts such appointment and agrees to render the services herein set forth, for the compensation herein provided.

2. The Fund shall at all times keep the Manager fully informed with regard to the securities owned by it, its funds available, or to become available, for investment, and generally as to the condition of its affairs. It shall furnish the Manager with such other documents and information with regard to its affairs as the Manager may from time to time reasonably request.

3. (a) Subject to the supervision of the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”), the Manager shall regularly provide the Fund with investment research, advice, management and supervision and shall furnish a continuous investment program for the Fund’s portfolio of securities and other investments consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions, as stated in the Fund’s current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information. The Manager shall determine from time to time what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained, sold or exchanged by the Fund and what portion of the assets of the Fund’s portfolio will be held in the various securities and other investments in which the Fund invests, and shall implement those decisions, all subject to the provisions of the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and By-Laws (collectively, the “Governing Documents”), the 1940 Act, and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and interpretive

 

1


guidance issued thereunder by the SEC staff and any other applicable federal and state law, as well as the investment objectives, policies and restrictions of the Fund referred to above, and any other specific policies adopted by the Board and disclosed to the Manager. The Manager is authorized as the agent of the Trust to give instructions to the custodian of the Fund as to deliveries of securities and other investments and payments of cash for the account of the Fund. Subject to applicable provisions of the 1940 Act and direction from the Board, the investment program to be provided hereunder may entail the investment of all or substantially all of the assets of a Fund in one or more investment companies. The Manager will place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) to the Funds and/or the other accounts over which the Manager or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The Manager is authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for a Fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the Manager determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities which the Manager and its affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The Board may adopt policies and procedures that modify and restrict the Manager’s authority regarding the execution of the Fund’s portfolio transactions provided herein. The Manager shall also provide advice and recommendations with respect to other aspects of the business and affairs of the Fund, shall exercise voting rights, rights to consent to corporate action and any other rights pertaining to a Fund’s portfolio securities subject to such direction as the Board may provide, and shall perform such other functions of investment management and supervision as may be directed by the Board.

(b) Subject to the direction and control of the Board, the Manager shall perform such administrative and management services as may from time to time be reasonably requested by the Fund as necessary for the operation of the Fund, such as (i) supervising the overall administration of the Fund, including negotiation of contracts and fees with and the monitoring of performance and billings of the Fund’s transfer agent, shareholder servicing agents, custodian and other independent contractors or agents, (ii) providing certain compliance, fund accounting, regulatory reporting, and tax reporting services, (iii) preparing or participating in the preparation of Board materials, registration statements, proxy statements and reports and other communications to shareholders, (iv) maintaining the Fund’s existence, and (v) during such times as shares are publicly offered, maintaining the registration and qualification of the Fund’s shares under federal and state laws. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Manager shall not be deemed to have assumed any duties with respect to, and shall not be responsible for, the distribution of the shares of any Fund, nor shall the Manager be deemed to have assumed or have any responsibility with respect to functions specifically assumed by any transfer agent, fund accounting agent, custodian, shareholder servicing agent or other agent, in each case employed by the Fund to perform such functions.

 

2


(c) The Fund hereby authorizes any entity or person associated with the Manager which is a member of a national securities exchange to effect any transaction on the exchange for the account of the Fund which is permitted by Section 11(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder, and the Fund hereby consents to the retention of compensation for such transactions in accordance with Rule 11a2-2(T)(a)(2)(iv). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Manager agrees that it will not deal with itself, or with members of the Board or any principal underwriter of the Fund, as principals or agents in making purchases or sales of securities or other property for the account of the Fund, nor will it purchase any securities from an underwriting or selling group in which the Manager or its affiliates is participating, or arrange for purchases and sales of securities between a Fund and another account advised by the Manager or its affiliates, except in each case as permitted by the 1940 Act and in accordance with such policies and procedures as may be adopted by a Fund from time to time, and will comply with all other provisions of the Governing Documents and the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information relative to the Manager and its directors and officers.

4. Subject to the Board’s approval, the Manager or the Fund may enter into contracts with one or more investment subadvisers or subadministrators, including without limitation, affiliates of the Manager, in which the Manager delegates to such investment subadvisers or subadministrators any or all its duties specified hereunder, on such terms as the Manager will determine to be necessary, desirable or appropriate, provided that in each case the Manager shall supervise the activities of each such subadviser or subadministrator and further provided that such contracts impose on any investment subadviser or subadministrator bound thereby all the conditions to which the Manager is subject hereunder and that such contracts are entered into in accordance with and meet all applicable requirements of the 1940 Act.

5. (a) The Manager, at its expense, shall supply the Board and officers of the Trust with all information and reports reasonably required by them and reasonably available to the Manager and shall furnish the Fund with office facilities, including space, furniture and equipment and all personnel reasonably necessary for the operation of the Fund. The Manager shall oversee the maintenance of all books and records with respect to the Fund’s securities transactions and the keeping of the Fund’s books of account in accordance with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations. In compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the 1940 Act, the Manager hereby agrees that any records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund, and further agrees to surrender promptly to the Fund any of such records upon the Fund’s request. The Manager further agrees to arrange for the preservation of the records required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act for the periods prescribed by Rule 31a-2 under the 1940 Act. The Manager shall authorize and permit any of its directors, officers and employees, who may be elected as Board members or officers of the Fund, to serve in the capacities in which they are elected.

(b) The Manager shall bear all expenses, and shall furnish all necessary services, facilities and personnel, in connection with its responsibilities under this Agreement. Other than as herein specifically indicated, the Manager shall not be responsible for the Fund’s expenses, including, without limitation, advisory fees; distribution fees; interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the Fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the Fund’s securities and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent

 

3


pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the Fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the Fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the Fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the Fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the Fund, if any; and the Fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the Fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any non-recurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the Fund is a party and the legal obligation which the Fund may have to indemnify the Fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

6. No member of the Board, officer or employee of the Trust or Fund shall receive from the Trust or Fund any salary or other compensation as such member of the Board, officer or employee while he is at the same time a director, officer, or employee of the Manager or any affiliated company of the Manager, except as the Board may decide. This paragraph shall not apply to Board members, executive committee members, consultants and other persons who are not regular members of the Manager’s or any affiliated company’s staff.

7. As compensation for the services performed and the facilities furnished and expenses assumed by the Manager, including the services of any consultants retained by the Manager, the Fund shall pay the Manager, as promptly as possible after the last day of each month, a fee, computed daily at an annual rate set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided however, that if the Fund invests all or substantially all of its assets in another registered investment company for which the Manager or an affiliate of the Manager serves as investment adviser or investment manager, the annual fee computed as set forth on such Schedule A shall be reduced by the aggregate management fees allocated to that Fund for the Fund’s then-current fiscal year from such other registered investment company. The first payment of the fee shall be made as promptly as possible at the end of the month succeeding the effective date of this Agreement, and shall constitute a full payment of the fee due the Manager for all services prior to that date. If this Agreement is terminated as of any date not the last day of a month, such fee shall be paid as promptly as possible after such date of termination, shall be based on the average daily net assets of the Fund in that period from the beginning of such month to such date of termination, and shall be that proportion of such average daily net assets as the number of business days in such period bears to the number of business days in such month. The average daily net assets of the Fund shall in all cases be based only on business days and be computed as of the time of the regular close of business of the New York Stock Exchange, or such other time as may be determined by the Board.

8. The Manager assumes no responsibility under this Agreement other than to render the services called for hereunder, in good faith, and shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law, or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or omission in the execution of securities transactions for a Fund, provided that nothing in this Agreement shall protect the Manager

 

4


against any liability to the Fund to which the Manager would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder. As used in this Section 8, the term “Manager” shall include any affiliates of the Manager performing services for the Trust or the Fund contemplated hereby and the partners, shareholders, directors, officers and employees of the Manager and such affiliates.

9. Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict the right of any director, officer, or employee of the Manager who may also be a Board member, officer, or employee of the Trust or the Fund, to engage in any other business or to devote his time and attention in part to the management or other aspects of any other business, whether of a similar nature or a dissimilar nature, nor to limit or restrict the right of the Manager to engage in any other business or to render services of any kind, including investment advisory and management services, to any other fund, firm, individual or association. If the purchase or sale of securities consistent with the investment policies of a Fund or one or more other accounts of the Manager is considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities will be allocated among the accounts in a manner deemed equitable by the Manager. Such transactions may be combined, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and consistent with the Manager’s policies and procedures as presented to the Board from time to time.

10. For the purposes of this Agreement, the Fund’s “net assets” shall be determined as provided in the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information and the terms “assignment,” “interested person,” and “majority of the outstanding voting securities” shall have the meanings given to them by Section 2(a) of the 1940 Act, subject to such exemptions as may be granted by the SEC by any rule, regulation or order.

11. This Agreement will become effective with respect to the Fund on the date set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided that it shall have been approved by the Trust’s Board and by the shareholders of the Fund in accordance with the requirements of the 1940 Act and, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, will continue in effect until November 30, 2007. Thereafter, if not terminated, this Agreement shall continue in effect with respect to the Fund, so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (i) by the Board or (ii) by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Board members who are not interested persons of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.

12. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund without penalty by the Board or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the Manager, or by the Manager upon not less than 90 days’ written notice to the Fund, and will be terminated upon the mutual written consent of the Manager and the Trust. This Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment by the Manager and shall not be assignable by the Trust without the consent of the Manager.

 

5


13. The Manager agrees that for services rendered to the Fund, or for any claim by it in connection with services rendered to the Fund, it shall look only to assets of the Fund for satisfaction and that it shall have no claim against the assets of any other portfolios of the Trust. The undersigned officer of the Trust has executed this Agreement not individually, but as an officer under the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and the obligations of this Agreement are not binding upon any of the Trustees, officers or shareholders of the Trust individually.

14. No provision of this Agreement may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated orally, but only by an instrument in writing signed by the party against which enforcement of the change, waiver, discharge or termination is sought, and no material amendment of the Agreement shall be effective until approved, if so required by the 1940 Act, by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities.

15. This Agreement embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the parties hereto, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. Should any part of this Agreement be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby. This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors.

16. This Agreement shall be construed and the provisions thereof interpreted under and in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

[signature page to follow]

 

6


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by their officers thereunto duly authorized.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS INVESTMENT TRUST
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  
LEGG MASON PARTNERS FUND ADVISOR, LLC
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

7


Schedule A

Legg Mason Partners Growth and Income Fund

Date:

[                ] [    ], [                ]

Fee:

The following percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets:

First $1 billion—0.65%

Next $1 billion—0.60%

Next $1 billion—0.55%

Next $1 billion—0.50%

Over $4 billion—0.45%

Exhibit (d)(10)

MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT

Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC

This MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made this      day of [            ], [            ], by and between Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”) and Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Manager”).

WHEREAS, the Trust is registered as a management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”);

WHEREAS, the Manager is engaged primarily in rendering investment advisory, management and administrative services and is registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended;

WHEREAS, the Trust wishes to retain the Manager to provide investment advisory, management, and administrative services to the Trust with respect to the series of the Trust designated in Schedule A annexed hereto (the “Fund”); and

WHEREAS, the Manager is willing to furnish such services on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth;

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed as follows:

1. The Trust hereby appoints the Manager to act as investment adviser and administrator of the Fund for the period and on the terms set forth in this Agreement. The Manager accepts such appointment and agrees to render the services herein set forth, for the compensation herein provided.

2. The Fund shall at all times keep the Manager fully informed with regard to the securities owned by it, its funds available, or to become available, for investment, and generally as to the condition of its affairs. It shall furnish the Manager with such other documents and information with regard to its affairs as the Manager may from time to time reasonably request.

3. (a) Subject to the supervision of the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”), the Manager shall regularly provide the Fund with investment research, advice, management and supervision and shall furnish a continuous investment program for the Fund’s portfolio of securities and other investments consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions, as stated in the Fund’s current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information. The Manager shall determine from time to time what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained, sold or exchanged by the Fund and what portion of the assets of the Fund’s portfolio will be held in the various securities and other investments in which the Fund invests, and shall implement those decisions, all subject to the provisions of the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and By-Laws (collectively, the “Governing Documents”), the 1940 Act, and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and interpretive guidance issued thereunder by the SEC staff and any other applicable federal and state law, as well as the investment objectives,

 

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policies and restrictions of the Fund referred to above, and any other specific policies adopted by the Board and disclosed to the Manager. The Manager is authorized as the agent of the Trust to give instructions to the custodian of the Fund as to deliveries of securities and other investments and payments of cash for the account of the Fund. Subject to applicable provisions of the 1940 Act and direction from the Board, the investment program to be provided hereunder may entail the investment of all or substantially all of the assets of a Fund in one or more investment companies. The Manager will place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) to the Funds and/or the other accounts over which the Manager or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The Manager is authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for a Fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the Manager determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities which the Manager and its affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The Board may adopt policies and procedures that modify and restrict the Manager’s authority regarding the execution of the Fund’s portfolio transactions provided herein. The Manager shall also provide advice and recommendations with respect to other aspects of the business and affairs of the Fund, shall exercise voting rights, rights to consent to corporate action and any other rights pertaining to a Fund’s portfolio securities subject to such direction as the Board may provide, and shall perform such other functions of investment management and supervision as may be directed by the Board.

(b) Subject to the direction and control of the Board, the Manager shall perform such administrative and management services as may from time to time be reasonably requested by the Fund as necessary for the operation of the Fund, such as (i) supervising the overall administration of the Fund, including negotiation of contracts and fees with and the monitoring of performance and billings of the Fund’s transfer agent, shareholder servicing agents, custodian and other independent contractors or agents, (ii) providing certain compliance, fund accounting, regulatory reporting, and tax reporting services, (iii) preparing or participating in the preparation of Board materials, registration statements, proxy statements and reports and other communications to shareholders, (iv) maintaining the Fund’s existence, and (v) during such times as shares are publicly offered, maintaining the registration and qualification of the Fund’s shares under federal and state laws. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Manager shall not be deemed to have assumed any duties with respect to, and shall not be responsible for, the distribution of the shares of any Fund, nor shall the Manager be deemed to have assumed or have any responsibility with respect to functions specifically assumed by any transfer agent, fund accounting agent, custodian, shareholder servicing agent or other agent, in each case employed by the Fund to perform such functions.

 

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(c) The Fund hereby authorizes any entity or person associated with the Manager which is a member of a national securities exchange to effect any transaction on the exchange for the account of the Fund which is permitted by Section 11(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder, and the Fund hereby consents to the retention of compensation for such transactions in accordance with Rule 11a2-2(T)(a)(2)(iv). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Manager agrees that it will not deal with itself, or with members of the Board or any principal underwriter of the Fund, as principals or agents in making purchases or sales of securities or other property for the account of the Fund, nor will it purchase any securities from an underwriting or selling group in which the Manager or its affiliates is participating, or arrange for purchases and sales of securities between a Fund and another account advised by the Manager or its affiliates, except in each case as permitted by the 1940 Act and in accordance with such policies and procedures as may be adopted by a Fund from time to time, and will comply with all other provisions of the Governing Documents and the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information relative to the Manager and its directors and officers.

4. Subject to the Board’s approval, the Manager or the Fund may enter into contracts with one or more investment subadvisers or subadministrators, including without limitation, affiliates of the Manager, in which the Manager delegates to such investment subadvisers or subadministrators any or all its duties specified hereunder, on such terms as the Manager will determine to be necessary, desirable or appropriate, provided that in each case the Manager shall supervise the activities of each such subadviser or subadministrator and further provided that such contracts impose on any investment subadviser or subadministrator bound thereby all the conditions to which the Manager is subject hereunder and that such contracts are entered into in accordance with and meet all applicable requirements of the 1940 Act.

5. (a) The Manager, at its expense, shall supply the Board and officers of the Trust with all information and reports reasonably required by them and reasonably available to the Manager and shall furnish the Fund with office facilities, including space, furniture and equipment and all personnel reasonably necessary for the operation of the Fund. The Manager shall oversee the maintenance of all books and records with respect to the Fund’s securities transactions and the keeping of the Fund’s books of account in accordance with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations. In compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the 1940 Act, the Manager hereby agrees that any records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund, and further agrees to surrender promptly to the Fund any of such records upon the Fund’s request. The Manager further agrees to arrange for the preservation of the records required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act for the periods prescribed by Rule 31a-2 under the 1940 Act. The Manager shall authorize and permit any of its directors, officers and employees, who may be elected as Board members or officers of the Fund, to serve in the capacities in which they are elected.

(b) The Manager shall bear all expenses, and shall furnish all necessary services, facilities and personnel, in connection with its responsibilities under this Agreement. Other than as herein specifically indicated, the Manager shall not be responsible for the Fund’s expenses, including, without limitation, advisory fees; distribution fees; interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the Fund; the cost

 

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(including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the Fund’s securities and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the Fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the Fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the Fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the Fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the Fund, if any; and the Fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the Fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any non-recurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the Fund is a party and the legal obligation which the Fund may have to indemnify the Fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

6. No member of the Board, officer or employee of the Trust or Fund shall receive from the Trust or Fund any salary or other compensation as such member of the Board, officer or employee while he is at the same time a director, officer, or employee of the Manager or any affiliated company of the Manager, except as the Board may decide. This paragraph shall not apply to Board members, executive committee members, consultants and other persons who are not regular members of the Manager’s or any affiliated company’s staff.

7. As compensation for the services performed and the facilities furnished and expenses assumed by the Manager, including the services of any consultants retained by the Manager, the Fund shall pay the Manager, as promptly as possible after the last day of each month, a fee, computed daily at an annual rate set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided however, that if the Fund invests all or substantially all of its assets in another registered investment company for which the Manager or an affiliate of the Manager serves as investment adviser or investment manager, the annual fee computed as set forth on such Schedule A shall be reduced by the aggregate management fees allocated to that Fund for the Fund’s then-current fiscal year from such other registered investment company. The first payment of the fee shall be made as promptly as possible at the end of the month succeeding the effective date of this Agreement, and shall constitute a full payment of the fee due the Manager for all services prior to that date. If this Agreement is terminated as of any date not the last day of a month, such fee shall be paid as promptly as possible after such date of termination, shall be based on the average daily net assets of the Fund in that period from the beginning of such month to such date of termination, and shall be that proportion of such average daily net assets as the number of business days in such period bears to the number of business days in such month. The average daily net assets of the Fund shall in all cases be based only on business days and be computed as of the time of the regular close of business of the New York Stock Exchange, or such other time as may be determined by the Board.

8. The Manager assumes no responsibility under this Agreement other than to render the services called for hereunder, in good faith, and shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law, or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or omission in the execution of securities transactions for a Fund, provided that nothing in this Agreement shall protect the Manager

 

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against any liability to the Fund to which the Manager would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder. As used in this Section 8, the term “Manager” shall include any affiliates of the Manager performing services for the Trust or the Fund contemplated hereby and the partners, shareholders, directors, officers and employees of the Manager and such affiliates.

9. Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict the right of any director, officer, or employee of the Manager who may also be a Board member, officer, or employee of the Trust or the Fund, to engage in any other business or to devote his time and attention in part to the management or other aspects of any other business, whether of a similar nature or a dissimilar nature, nor to limit or restrict the right of the Manager to engage in any other business or to render services of any kind, including investment advisory and management services, to any other fund, firm, individual or association. If the purchase or sale of securities consistent with the investment policies of a Fund or one or more other accounts of the Manager is considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities will be allocated among the accounts in a manner deemed equitable by the Manager. Such transactions may be combined, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and consistent with the Manager’s policies and procedures as presented to the Board from time to time.

10. For the purposes of this Agreement, the Fund’s “net assets” shall be determined as provided in the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information and the terms “assignment,” “interested person,” and “majority of the outstanding voting securities” shall have the meanings given to them by Section 2(a) of the 1940 Act, subject to such exemptions as may be granted by the SEC by any rule, regulation or order.

11. This Agreement will become effective with respect to the Fund on the date set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided that it shall have been approved by the Trust’s Board and by the shareholders of the Fund in accordance with the requirements of the 1940 Act and, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, will continue in effect until November 30, 2007. Thereafter, if not terminated, this Agreement shall continue in effect with respect to the Fund, so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (i) by the Board or (ii) by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Board members who are not interested persons of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.

12. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund without penalty by the Board or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the Manager, or by the Manager upon not less than 90 days’ written notice to the Fund, and will be terminated upon the mutual written consent of the Manager and the Trust. This Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment by the Manager and shall not be assignable by the Trust without the consent of the Manager.

 

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13. The Manager agrees that for services rendered to the Fund, or for any claim by it in connection with services rendered to the Fund, it shall look only to assets of the Fund for satisfaction and that it shall have no claim against the assets of any other portfolios of the Trust. The undersigned officer of the Trust has executed this Agreement not individually, but as an officer under the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and the obligations of this Agreement are not binding upon any of the Trustees, officers or shareholders of the Trust individually.

14. No provision of this Agreement may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated orally, but only by an instrument in writing signed by the party against which enforcement of the change, waiver, discharge or termination is sought, and no material amendment of the Agreement shall be effective until approved, if so required by the 1940 Act, by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities.

15. This Agreement embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the parties hereto, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. Should any part of this Agreement be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby. This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors.

16. This Agreement shall be construed and the provisions thereof interpreted under and in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

[signature page to follow]

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by their officers thereunto duly authorized.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS INVESTMENT TRUST
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

LEGG MASON PARTNERS FUND ADVISOR, LLC

By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

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Schedule A

Legg Mason Partners International All Cap Opportunity Fund

Date:

[                ] [    ], [            ]

Fee:

The following percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets:

First $1 billion—0.85%

Next $1 billion—0.825%

Next $3 billion—0.80%

Next $5 billion—0.775%

Over $10 billion—0.75%

Exhibit (d)(11)

MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT

Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC

This MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made this      day of [            ], [            ], by and between Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”) and Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Manager”).

WHEREAS, the Trust is registered as a management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”);

WHEREAS, the Manager is engaged primarily in rendering investment advisory, management and administrative services and is registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended;

WHEREAS, the Trust wishes to retain the Manager to provide investment advisory, management, and administrative services to the Trust with respect to the series of the Trust designated in Schedule A annexed hereto (the “Fund”); and

WHEREAS, the Manager is willing to furnish such services on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth;

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed as follows:

1. The Trust hereby appoints the Manager to act as investment adviser and administrator of the Fund for the period and on the terms set forth in this Agreement. The Manager accepts such appointment and agrees to render the services herein set forth, for the compensation herein provided.

2. The Fund shall at all times keep the Manager fully informed with regard to the securities owned by it, its funds available, or to become available, for investment, and generally as to the condition of its affairs. It shall furnish the Manager with such other documents and information with regard to its affairs as the Manager may from time to time reasonably request.

3. (a) Subject to the supervision of the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”), the Manager shall regularly provide the Fund with investment research, advice, management and supervision and shall furnish a continuous investment program for the Fund’s portfolio of securities and other investments consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions, as stated in the Fund’s current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information. The Manager shall determine from time to time what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained, sold or exchanged by the Fund and what portion of the assets of the Fund’s portfolio will be held in the various securities and other investments in which the Fund invests, and shall implement those decisions, all subject to the provisions of the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and By-Laws (collectively, the “Governing Documents”), the 1940 Act, and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and interpretive guidance issued thereunder by the SEC staff and any other applicable federal and state law, as well as the investment objectives,

 

1


policies and restrictions of the Fund referred to above, and any other specific policies adopted by the Board and disclosed to the Manager. The Manager is authorized as the agent of the Trust to give instructions to the custodian of the Fund as to deliveries of securities and other investments and payments of cash for the account of the Fund. Subject to applicable provisions of the 1940 Act and direction from the Board, the investment program to be provided hereunder may entail the investment of all or substantially all of the assets of a Fund in one or more investment companies. The Manager will place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) to the Funds and/or the other accounts over which the Manager or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The Manager is authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for a Fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the Manager determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities which the Manager and its affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The Board may adopt policies and procedures that modify and restrict the Manager’s authority regarding the execution of the Fund’s portfolio transactions provided herein. The Manager shall also provide advice and recommendations with respect to other aspects of the business and affairs of the Fund, shall exercise voting rights, rights to consent to corporate action and any other rights pertaining to a Fund’s portfolio securities subject to such direction as the Board may provide, and shall perform such other functions of investment management and supervision as may be directed by the Board.

(b) Subject to the direction and control of the Board, the Manager shall perform such administrative and management services as may from time to time be reasonably requested by the Fund as necessary for the operation of the Fund, such as (i) supervising the overall administration of the Fund, including negotiation of contracts and fees with and the monitoring of performance and billings of the Fund’s transfer agent, shareholder servicing agents, custodian and other independent contractors or agents, (ii) providing certain compliance, fund accounting, regulatory reporting, and tax reporting services, (iii) preparing or participating in the preparation of Board materials, registration statements, proxy statements and reports and other communications to shareholders, (iv) maintaining the Fund’s existence, and (v) during such times as shares are publicly offered, maintaining the registration and qualification of the Fund’s shares under federal and state laws. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Manager shall not be deemed to have assumed any duties with respect to, and shall not be responsible for, the distribution of the shares of any Fund, nor shall the Manager be deemed to have assumed or have any responsibility with respect to functions specifically assumed by any transfer agent, fund accounting agent, custodian, shareholder servicing agent or other agent, in each case employed by the Fund to perform such functions.

 

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(c) The Fund hereby authorizes any entity or person associated with the Manager which is a member of a national securities exchange to effect any transaction on the exchange for the account of the Fund which is permitted by Section 11(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder, and the Fund hereby consents to the retention of compensation for such transactions in accordance with Rule 11a2-2(T)(a)(2)(iv). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Manager agrees that it will not deal with itself, or with members of the Board or any principal underwriter of the Fund, as principals or agents in making purchases or sales of securities or other property for the account of the Fund, nor will it purchase any securities from an underwriting or selling group in which the Manager or its affiliates is participating, or arrange for purchases and sales of securities between a Fund and another account advised by the Manager or its affiliates, except in each case as permitted by the 1940 Act and in accordance with such policies and procedures as may be adopted by a Fund from time to time, and will comply with all other provisions of the Governing Documents and the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information relative to the Manager and its directors and officers.

4. Subject to the Board’s approval, the Manager or the Fund may enter into contracts with one or more investment subadvisers or subadministrators, including without limitation, affiliates of the Manager, in which the Manager delegates to such investment subadvisers or subadministrators any or all its duties specified hereunder, on such terms as the Manager will determine to be necessary, desirable or appropriate, provided that in each case the Manager shall supervise the activities of each such subadviser or subadministrator and further provided that such contracts impose on any investment subadviser or subadministrator bound thereby all the conditions to which the Manager is subject hereunder and that such contracts are entered into in accordance with and meet all applicable requirements of the 1940 Act.

5. (a) The Manager, at its expense, shall supply the Board and officers of the Trust with all information and reports reasonably required by them and reasonably available to the Manager and shall furnish the Fund with office facilities, including space, furniture and equipment and all personnel reasonably necessary for the operation of the Fund. The Manager shall oversee the maintenance of all books and records with respect to the Fund’s securities transactions and the keeping of the Fund’s books of account in accordance with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations. In compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the 1940 Act, the Manager hereby agrees that any records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund, and further agrees to surrender promptly to the Fund any of such records upon the Fund’s request. The Manager further agrees to arrange for the preservation of the records required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act for the periods prescribed by Rule 31a-2 under the 1940 Act. The Manager shall authorize and permit any of its directors, officers and employees, who may be elected as Board members or officers of the Fund, to serve in the capacities in which they are elected.

(b) The Manager shall bear all expenses, and shall furnish all necessary services, facilities and personnel, in connection with its responsibilities under this Agreement. Other than as herein specifically indicated, the Manager shall not be responsible for the Fund’s expenses, including, without limitation, advisory fees; distribution fees; interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the Fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the Fund’s securities

 

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and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the Fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the Fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the Fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the Fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the Fund, if any; and the Fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the Fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any non-recurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the Fund is a party and the legal obligation which the Fund may have to indemnify the Fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

6. No member of the Board, officer or employee of the Trust or Fund shall receive from the Trust or Fund any salary or other compensation as such member of the Board, officer or employee while he is at the same time a director, officer, or employee of the Manager or any affiliated company of the Manager, except as the Board may decide. This paragraph shall not apply to Board members, executive committee members, consultants and other persons who are not regular members of the Manager’s or any affiliated company’s staff.

7. As compensation for the services performed and the facilities furnished and expenses assumed by the Manager, including the services of any consultants retained by the Manager, the Fund shall pay the Manager, as promptly as possible after the last day of each month, a fee, computed daily at an annual rate set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided however, that if the Fund invests all or substantially all of its assets in another registered investment company for which the Manager or an affiliate of the Manager serves as investment adviser or investment manager, the annual fee computed as set forth on such Schedule A shall be reduced by the aggregate management fees allocated to that Fund for the Fund’s then-current fiscal year from such other registered investment company. The first payment of the fee shall be made as promptly as possible at the end of the month succeeding the effective date of this Agreement, and shall constitute a full payment of the fee due the Manager for all services prior to that date. If this Agreement is terminated as of any date not the last day of a month, such fee shall be paid as promptly as possible after such date of termination, shall be based on the average daily net assets of the Fund in that period from the beginning of such month to such date of termination, and shall be that proportion of such average daily net assets as the number of business days in such period bears to the number of business days in such month. The average daily net assets of the Fund shall in all cases be based only on business days and be computed as of the time of the regular close of business of the New York Stock Exchange, or such other time as may be determined by the Board.

8. The Manager assumes no responsibility under this Agreement other than to render the services called for hereunder, in good faith, and shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law, or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or omission in the execution of securities transactions for a Fund, provided that nothing in this Agreement shall protect the Manager

 

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against any liability to the Fund to which the Manager would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder. As used in this Section 8, the term “Manager” shall include any affiliates of the Manager performing services for the Trust or the Fund contemplated hereby and the partners, shareholders, directors, officers and employees of the Manager and such affiliates.

9. Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict the right of any director, officer, or employee of the Manager who may also be a Board member, officer, or employee of the Trust or the Fund, to engage in any other business or to devote his time and attention in part to the management or other aspects of any other business, whether of a similar nature or a dissimilar nature, nor to limit or restrict the right of the Manager to engage in any other business or to render services of any kind, including investment advisory and management services, to any other fund, firm, individual or association. If the purchase or sale of securities consistent with the investment policies of a Fund or one or more other accounts of the Manager is considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities will be allocated among the accounts in a manner deemed equitable by the Manager. Such transactions may be combined, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and consistent with the Manager’s policies and procedures as presented to the Board from time to time.

10. For the purposes of this Agreement, the Fund’s “net assets” shall be determined as provided in the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information and the terms “assignment,” “interested person,” and “majority of the outstanding voting securities” shall have the meanings given to them by Section 2(a) of the 1940 Act, subject to such exemptions as may be granted by the SEC by any rule, regulation or order.

11. This Agreement will become effective with respect to the Fund on the date set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided that it shall have been approved by the Trust’s Board and by the shareholders of the Fund in accordance with the requirements of the 1940 Act and, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, will continue in effect until November 30, 2007. Thereafter, if not terminated, this Agreement shall continue in effect with respect to the Fund, so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (i) by the Board or (ii) by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Board members who are not interested persons of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.

12. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund without penalty by the Board or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the Manager, or by the Manager upon not less than 90 days’ written notice to the Fund, and will be terminated upon the mutual written consent of the Manager and the Trust. This Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment by the Manager and shall not be assignable by the Trust without the consent of the Manager.

 

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13. The Manager agrees that for services rendered to the Fund, or for any claim by it in connection with services rendered to the Fund, it shall look only to assets of the Fund for satisfaction and that it shall have no claim against the assets of any other portfolios of the Trust. The undersigned officer of the Trust has executed this Agreement not individually, but as an officer under the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and the obligations of this Agreement are not binding upon any of the Trustees, officers or shareholders of the Trust individually.

14. No provision of this Agreement may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated orally, but only by an instrument in writing signed by the party against which enforcement of the change, waiver, discharge or termination is sought, and no material amendment of the Agreement shall be effective until approved, if so required by the 1940 Act, by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities.

15. This Agreement embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the parties hereto, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. Should any part of this Agreement be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby. This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors.

16. This Agreement shall be construed and the provisions thereof interpreted under and in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

[signature page to follow]

 

6


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by their officers thereunto duly authorized.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS INVESTMENT TRUST
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  
LEGG MASON PARTNERS FUND ADVISOR, LLC
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

7


Schedule A

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Fund

Date:

[                ] [    ], [            ]

Fee:

The following percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets: 0.75%

Exhibit (d)(12)

MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT

Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC

This MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made this      st day of [            ], [            ], by and between Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”) and Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Manager”).

WHEREAS, the Trust is registered as a management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”);

WHEREAS, the Manager is engaged primarily in rendering investment advisory, management and administrative services and is registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended;

WHEREAS, the Trust wishes to retain the Manager to provide investment advisory, management, and administrative services to the Trust with respect to the series of the Trust designated in Schedule A annexed hereto (the “Fund”); and

WHEREAS, the Manager is willing to furnish such services on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth;

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed as follows:

1. The Trust hereby appoints the Manager to act as investment adviser and administrator of the Fund for the period and on the terms set forth in this Agreement. The Manager accepts such appointment and agrees to render the services herein set forth, for the compensation herein provided.

2. The Fund shall at all times keep the Manager fully informed with regard to the securities owned by it, its funds available, or to become available, for investment, and generally as to the condition of its affairs. It shall furnish the Manager with such other documents and information with regard to its affairs as the Manager may from time to time reasonably request.

3. (a) Subject to the supervision of the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”), the Manager shall regularly provide the Fund with investment research, advice, management and supervision and shall furnish a continuous investment program for the Fund’s portfolio of securities and other investments consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions, as stated in the Fund’s current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information. The Manager shall determine from time to time what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained, sold or exchanged by the Fund and what portion of the assets of the Fund’s portfolio will be held in the various securities and other investments in which the Fund invests, and shall implement those decisions, all subject to the provisions of the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and By-Laws (collectively, the “Governing Documents”), the 1940 Act, and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and interpretive guidance issued thereunder by the SEC staff and any other applicable federal and state law, as well as the investment objectives,

 

1


policies and restrictions of the Fund referred to above, and any other specific policies adopted by the Board and disclosed to the Manager. The Manager is authorized as the agent of the Trust to give instructions to the custodian of the Fund as to deliveries of securities and other investments and payments of cash for the account of the Fund. Subject to applicable provisions of the 1940 Act and direction from the Board, the investment program to be provided hereunder may entail the investment of all or substantially all of the assets of a Fund in one or more investment companies. The Manager will place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) to the Funds and/or the other accounts over which the Manager or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The Manager is authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for a Fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the Manager determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities which the Manager and its affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The Board may adopt policies and procedures that modify and restrict the Manager’s authority regarding the execution of the Fund’s portfolio transactions provided herein. The Manager shall also provide advice and recommendations with respect to other aspects of the business and affairs of the Fund, shall exercise voting rights, rights to consent to corporate action and any other rights pertaining to a Fund’s portfolio securities subject to such direction as the Board may provide, and shall perform such other functions of investment management and supervision as may be directed by the Board.

(b) Subject to the direction and control of the Board, the Manager shall perform such administrative and management services as may from time to time be reasonably requested by the Fund as necessary for the operation of the Fund, such as (i) supervising the overall administration of the Fund, including negotiation of contracts and fees with and the monitoring of performance and billings of the Fund’s transfer agent, shareholder servicing agents, custodian and other independent contractors or agents, (ii) providing certain compliance, fund accounting, regulatory reporting, and tax reporting services, (iii) preparing or participating in the preparation of Board materials, registration statements, proxy statements and reports and other communications to shareholders, (iv) maintaining the Fund’s existence, and (v) during such times as shares are publicly offered, maintaining the registration and qualification of the Fund’s shares under federal and state laws. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Manager shall not be deemed to have assumed any duties with respect to, and shall not be responsible for, the distribution of the shares of any Fund, nor shall the Manager be deemed to have assumed or have any responsibility with respect to functions specifically assumed by any transfer agent, fund accounting agent, custodian, shareholder servicing agent or other agent, in each case employed by the Fund to perform such functions.

 

2


(c) The Fund hereby authorizes any entity or person associated with the Manager which is a member of a national securities exchange to effect any transaction on the exchange for the account of the Fund which is permitted by Section 11(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder, and the Fund hereby consents to the retention of compensation for such transactions in accordance with Rule 11a2-2(T)(a)(2)(iv). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Manager agrees that it will not deal with itself, or with members of the Board or any principal underwriter of the Fund, as principals or agents in making purchases or sales of securities or other property for the account of the Fund, nor will it purchase any securities from an underwriting or selling group in which the Manager or its affiliates is participating, or arrange for purchases and sales of securities between a Fund and another account advised by the Manager or its affiliates, except in each case as permitted by the 1940 Act and in accordance with such policies and procedures as may be adopted by a Fund from time to time, and will comply with all other provisions of the Governing Documents and the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information relative to the Manager and its directors and officers.

4. Subject to the Board’s approval, the Manager or the Fund may enter into contracts with one or more investment subadvisers or subadministrators, including without limitation, affiliates of the Manager, in which the Manager delegates to such investment subadvisers or subadministrators any or all its duties specified hereunder, on such terms as the Manager will determine to be necessary, desirable or appropriate, provided that in each case the Manager shall supervise the activities of each such subadviser or subadministrator and further provided that such contracts impose on any investment subadviser or subadministrator bound thereby all the conditions to which the Manager is subject hereunder and that such contracts are entered into in accordance with and meet all applicable requirements of the 1940 Act.

5. (a) The Manager, at its expense, shall supply the Board and officers of the Trust with all information and reports reasonably required by them and reasonably available to the Manager and shall furnish the Fund with office facilities, including space, furniture and equipment and all personnel reasonably necessary for the operation of the Fund. The Manager shall oversee the maintenance of all books and records with respect to the Fund’s securities transactions and the keeping of the Fund’s books of account in accordance with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations. In compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the 1940 Act, the Manager hereby agrees that any records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund, and further agrees to surrender promptly to the Fund any of such records upon the Fund’s request. The Manager further agrees to arrange for the preservation of the records required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act for the periods prescribed by Rule 31a-2 under the 1940 Act. The Manager shall authorize and permit any of its directors, officers and employees, who may be elected as Board members or officers of the Fund, to serve in the capacities in which they are elected.

(b) The Manager shall bear all expenses, and shall furnish all necessary services, facilities and personnel, in connection with its responsibilities under this Agreement. Other than as herein specifically indicated, the Manager shall not be responsible for the Fund’s expenses, including, without limitation, advisory fees; distribution fees; interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the Fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the Fund’s securities and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent

 

3


pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the Fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the Fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the Fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the Fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the Fund, if any; and the Fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the Fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any non-recurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the Fund is a party and the legal obligation which the Fund may have to indemnify the Fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

6. No member of the Board, officer or employee of the Trust or Fund shall receive from the Trust or Fund any salary or other compensation as such member of the Board, officer or employee while he is at the same time a director, officer, or employee of the Manager or any affiliated company of the Manager, except as the Board may decide. This paragraph shall not apply to Board members, executive committee members, consultants and other persons who are not regular members of the Manager’s or any affiliated company’s staff.

7. As compensation for the services performed and the facilities furnished and expenses assumed by the Manager, including the services of any consultants retained by the Manager, the Fund shall pay the Manager, as promptly as possible after the last day of each month, a fee, computed daily at an annual rate set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided however, that if the Fund invests all or substantially all of its assets in another registered investment company for which the Manager or an affiliate of the Manager serves as investment adviser or investment manager, the annual fee computed as set forth on such Schedule A shall be reduced by the aggregate management fees allocated to that Fund for the Fund’s then-current fiscal year from such other registered investment company. The first payment of the fee shall be made as promptly as possible at the end of the month succeeding the effective date of this Agreement, and shall constitute a full payment of the fee due the Manager for all services prior to that date. If this Agreement is terminated as of any date not the last day of a month, such fee shall be paid as promptly as possible after such date of termination, shall be based on the average daily net assets of the Fund in that period from the beginning of such month to such date of termination, and shall be that proportion of such average daily net assets as the number of business days in such period bears to the number of business days in such month. The average daily net assets of the Fund shall in all cases be based only on business days and be computed as of the time of the regular close of business of the New York Stock Exchange, or such other time as may be determined by the Board.

8. The Manager assumes no responsibility under this Agreement other than to render the services called for hereunder, in good faith, and shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law, or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or omission in the execution of securities transactions for a Fund, provided that nothing in this Agreement shall protect the Manager against any liability to the Fund to which the Manager would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross

 

4


negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder. As used in this Section 8, the term “Manager” shall include any affiliates of the Manager performing services for the Trust or the Fund contemplated hereby and the partners, shareholders, directors, officers and employees of the Manager and such affiliates.

9. Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict the right of any director, officer, or employee of the Manager who may also be a Board member, officer, or employee of the Trust or the Fund, to engage in any other business or to devote his time and attention in part to the management or other aspects of any other business, whether of a similar nature or a dissimilar nature, nor to limit or restrict the right of the Manager to engage in any other business or to render services of any kind, including investment advisory and management services, to any other fund, firm, individual or association. If the purchase or sale of securities consistent with the investment policies of a Fund or one or more other accounts of the Manager is considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities will be allocated among the accounts in a manner deemed equitable by the Manager. Such transactions may be combined, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and consistent with the Manager’s policies and procedures as presented to the Board from time to time.

10. For the purposes of this Agreement, the Fund’s “net assets” shall be determined as provided in the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information and the terms “assignment,” “interested person,” and “majority of the outstanding voting securities” shall have the meanings given to them by Section 2(a) of the 1940 Act, subject to such exemptions as may be granted by the SEC by any rule, regulation or order.

11. This Agreement will become effective with respect to the Fund on the date set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided that it shall have been approved by the Trust’s Board and by the shareholders of the Fund in accordance with the requirements of the 1940 Act and, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, will continue in effect until November 30, 2007. Thereafter, if not terminated, this Agreement shall continue in effect with respect to the Fund, so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (i) by the Board or (ii) by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Board members who are not interested persons of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.

12. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund without penalty by the Board or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the Manager, or by the Manager upon not less than 90 days’ written notice to the Fund, and will be terminated upon the mutual written consent of the Manager and the Trust. This Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment by the Manager and shall not be assignable by the Trust without the consent of the Manager.

 

5


13. The Manager agrees that for services rendered to the Fund, or for any claim by it in connection with services rendered to the Fund, it shall look only to assets of the Fund for satisfaction and that it shall have no claim against the assets of any other portfolios of the Trust. The undersigned officer of the Trust has executed this Agreement not individually, but as an officer under the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and the obligations of this Agreement are not binding upon any of the Trustees, officers or shareholders of the Trust individually.

14. No provision of this Agreement may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated orally, but only by an instrument in writing signed by the party against which enforcement of the change, waiver, discharge or termination is sought, and no material amendment of the Agreement shall be effective until approved, if so required by the 1940 Act, by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities.

15. This Agreement embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the parties hereto, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. Should any part of this Agreement be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby. This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors.

16. This Agreement shall be construed and the provisions thereof interpreted under and in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

[signature page to follow]

 

6


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by their officers thereunto duly authorized.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS INVESTMENT TRUST
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  
LEGG MASON PARTNERS FUND ADVISOR, LLC
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

7


Schedule A

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund

Date:

[                ] [    ], [                ]

Fee:

The following percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets: 0.75%

Exhibit (d)(13)

MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT

Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC

This MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made this      day of [            ], [            ], by and between Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”) and Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Manager”).

WHEREAS, the Trust is registered as a management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”);

WHEREAS, the Manager is engaged primarily in rendering investment advisory, management and administrative services and is registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended;

WHEREAS, the Trust wishes to retain the Manager to provide investment advisory, management, and administrative services to the Trust with respect to the series of the Trust designated in Schedule A annexed hereto (the “Fund”); and

WHEREAS, the Manager is willing to furnish such services on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth;

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed as follows:

1. The Trust hereby appoints the Manager to act as investment adviser and administrator of the Fund for the period and on the terms set forth in this Agreement. The Manager accepts such appointment and agrees to render the services herein set forth, for the compensation herein provided.

2. The Fund shall at all times keep the Manager fully informed with regard to the securities owned by it, its funds available, or to become available, for investment, and generally as to the condition of its affairs. It shall furnish the Manager with such other documents and information with regard to its affairs as the Manager may from time to time reasonably request.

3. (a) Subject to the supervision of the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”), the Manager shall regularly provide the Fund with investment research, advice, management and supervision and shall furnish a continuous investment program for the Fund’s portfolio of securities and other investments consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions, as stated in the Fund’s current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information. The Manager shall determine from time to time what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained, sold or exchanged by the Fund and what portion of the assets of the Fund’s portfolio will be held in the various securities and other investments in which the Fund invests, and shall implement those decisions, all subject to the provisions of the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and By-Laws (collectively, the “Governing Documents”), the 1940 Act, and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and interpretive guidance issued thereunder by the SEC staff and any other applicable federal and state law, as well as the investment objectives,

 

1


policies and restrictions of the Fund referred to above, and any other specific policies adopted by the Board and disclosed to the Manager. The Manager is authorized as the agent of the Trust to give instructions to the custodian of the Fund as to deliveries of securities and other investments and payments of cash for the account of the Fund. Subject to applicable provisions of the 1940 Act and direction from the Board, the investment program to be provided hereunder may entail the investment of all or substantially all of the assets of a Fund in one or more investment companies. The Manager will place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) to the Funds and/or the other accounts over which the Manager or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The Manager is authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for a Fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the Manager determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities which the Manager and its affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The Board may adopt policies and procedures that modify and restrict the Manager’s authority regarding the execution of the Fund’s portfolio transactions provided herein. The Manager shall also provide advice and recommendations with respect to other aspects of the business and affairs of the Fund, shall exercise voting rights, rights to consent to corporate action and any other rights pertaining to a Fund’s portfolio securities subject to such direction as the Board may provide, and shall perform such other functions of investment management and supervision as may be directed by the Board.

(b) Subject to the direction and control of the Board, the Manager shall perform such administrative and management services as may from time to time be reasonably requested by the Fund as necessary for the operation of the Fund, such as (i) supervising the overall administration of the Fund, including negotiation of contracts and fees with and the monitoring of performance and billings of the Fund’s transfer agent, shareholder servicing agents, custodian and other independent contractors or agents, (ii) providing certain compliance, fund accounting, regulatory reporting, and tax reporting services, (iii) preparing or participating in the preparation of Board materials, registration statements, proxy statements and reports and other communications to shareholders, (iv) maintaining the Fund’s existence, and (v) during such times as shares are publicly offered, maintaining the registration and qualification of the Fund’s shares under federal and state laws. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Manager shall not be deemed to have assumed any duties with respect to, and shall not be responsible for, the distribution of the shares of any Fund, nor shall the Manager be deemed to have assumed or have any responsibility with respect to functions specifically assumed by any transfer agent, fund accounting agent, custodian, shareholder servicing agent or other agent, in each case employed by the Fund to perform such functions.

 

2


(c) The Fund hereby authorizes any entity or person associated with the Manager which is a member of a national securities exchange to effect any transaction on the exchange for the account of the Fund which is permitted by Section 11(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder, and the Fund hereby consents to the retention of compensation for such transactions in accordance with Rule 11a2-2(T)(a)(2)(iv). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Manager agrees that it will not deal with itself, or with members of the Board or any principal underwriter of the Fund, as principals or agents in making purchases or sales of securities or other property for the account of the Fund, nor will it purchase any securities from an underwriting or selling group in which the Manager or its affiliates is participating, or arrange for purchases and sales of securities between a Fund and another account advised by the Manager or its affiliates, except in each case as permitted by the 1940 Act and in accordance with such policies and procedures as may be adopted by a Fund from time to time, and will comply with all other provisions of the Governing Documents and the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information relative to the Manager and its directors and officers.

4. Subject to the Board’s approval, the Manager or the Fund may enter into contracts with one or more investment subadvisers or subadministrators, including without limitation, affiliates of the Manager, in which the Manager delegates to such investment subadvisers or subadministrators any or all its duties specified hereunder, on such terms as the Manager will determine to be necessary, desirable or appropriate, provided that in each case the Manager shall supervise the activities of each such subadviser or subadministrator and further provided that such contracts impose on any investment subadviser or subadministrator bound thereby all the conditions to which the Manager is subject hereunder and that such contracts are entered into in accordance with and meet all applicable requirements of the 1940 Act.

5. (a) The Manager, at its expense, shall supply the Board and officers of the Trust with all information and reports reasonably required by them and reasonably available to the Manager and shall furnish the Fund with office facilities, including space, furniture and equipment and all personnel reasonably necessary for the operation of the Fund. The Manager shall oversee the maintenance of all books and records with respect to the Fund’s securities transactions and the keeping of the Fund’s books of account in accordance with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations. In compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the 1940 Act, the Manager hereby agrees that any records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund, and further agrees to surrender promptly to the Fund any of such records upon the Fund’s request. The Manager further agrees to arrange for the preservation of the records required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act for the periods prescribed by Rule 31a-2 under the 1940 Act. The Manager shall authorize and permit any of its directors, officers and employees, who may be elected as Board members or officers of the Fund, to serve in the capacities in which they are elected.

(b) The Manager shall bear all expenses, and shall furnish all necessary services, facilities and personnel, in connection with its responsibilities under this Agreement. Other than as herein specifically indicated, the Manager shall not be responsible for the Fund’s expenses, including, without limitation, advisory fees; distribution fees; interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the Fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the Fund’s securities

 

3


and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the Fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the Fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the Fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the Fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the Fund, if any; and the Fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the Fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any non-recurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the Fund is a party and the legal obligation which the Fund may have to indemnify the Fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

6. No member of the Board, officer or employee of the Trust or Fund shall receive from the Trust or Fund any salary or other compensation as such member of the Board, officer or employee while he is at the same time a director, officer, or employee of the Manager or any affiliated company of the Manager, except as the Board may decide. This paragraph shall not apply to Board members, executive committee members, consultants and other persons who are not regular members of the Manager’s or any affiliated company’s staff.

7. As compensation for the services performed and the facilities furnished and expenses assumed by the Manager, including the services of any consultants retained by the Manager, the Fund shall pay the Manager, as promptly as possible after the last day of each month, a fee, computed daily at an annual rate set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided however, that if the Fund invests all or substantially all of its assets in another registered investment company for which the Manager or an affiliate of the Manager serves as investment adviser or investment manager, the annual fee computed as set forth on such Schedule A shall be reduced by the aggregate management fees allocated to that Fund for the Fund’s then-current fiscal year from such other registered investment company. The first payment of the fee shall be made as promptly as possible at the end of the month succeeding the effective date of this Agreement, and shall constitute a full payment of the fee due the Manager for all services prior to that date. If this Agreement is terminated as of any date not the last day of a month, such fee shall be paid as promptly as possible after such date of termination, shall be based on the average daily net assets of the Fund in that period from the beginning of such month to such date of termination, and shall be that proportion of such average daily net assets as the number of business days in such period bears to the number of business days in such month. The average daily net assets of the Fund shall in all cases be based only on business days and be computed as of the time of the regular close of business of the New York Stock Exchange, or such other time as may be determined by the Board.

8. The Manager assumes no responsibility under this Agreement other than to render the services called for hereunder, in good faith, and shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law, or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or omission in the execution of securities transactions for a Fund, provided that nothing in this Agreement shall protect the Manager

 

4


against any liability to the Fund to which the Manager would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder. As used in this Section 8, the term “Manager” shall include any affiliates of the Manager performing services for the Trust or the Fund contemplated hereby and the partners, shareholders, directors, officers and employees of the Manager and such affiliates.

9. Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict the right of any director, officer, or employee of the Manager who may also be a Board member, officer, or employee of the Trust or the Fund, to engage in any other business or to devote his time and attention in part to the management or other aspects of any other business, whether of a similar nature or a dissimilar nature, nor to limit or restrict the right of the Manager to engage in any other business or to render services of any kind, including investment advisory and management services, to any other fund, firm, individual or association. If the purchase or sale of securities consistent with the investment policies of a Fund or one or more other accounts of the Manager is considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities will be allocated among the accounts in a manner deemed equitable by the Manager. Such transactions may be combined, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and consistent with the Manager’s policies and procedures as presented to the Board from time to time.

10. For the purposes of this Agreement, the Fund’s “net assets” shall be determined as provided in the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information and the terms “assignment,” “interested person,” and “majority of the outstanding voting securities” shall have the meanings given to them by Section 2(a) of the 1940 Act, subject to such exemptions as may be granted by the SEC by any rule, regulation or order.

11. This Agreement will become effective with respect to the Fund on the date set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided that it shall have been approved by the Trust’s Board and by the shareholders of the Fund in accordance with the requirements of the 1940 Act and, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, will continue in effect until November 30, 2007. Thereafter, if not terminated, this Agreement shall continue in effect with respect to the Fund, so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (i) by the Board or (ii) by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Board members who are not interested persons of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.

12. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund without penalty by the Board or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the Manager, or by the Manager upon not less than 90 days’ written notice to the Fund, and will be terminated upon the mutual written consent of the Manager and the Trust. This Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment by the Manager and shall not be assignable by the Trust without the consent of the Manager.

 

5


13. The Manager agrees that for services rendered to the Fund, or for any claim by it in connection with services rendered to the Fund, it shall look only to assets of the Fund for satisfaction and that it shall have no claim against the assets of any other portfolios of the Trust. The undersigned officer of the Trust has executed this Agreement not individually, but as an officer under the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and the obligations of this Agreement are not binding upon any of the Trustees, officers or shareholders of the Trust individually.

14. No provision of this Agreement may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated orally, but only by an instrument in writing signed by the party against which enforcement of the change, waiver, discharge or termination is sought, and no material amendment of the Agreement shall be effective until approved, if so required by the 1940 Act, by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities.

15. This Agreement embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the parties hereto, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. Should any part of this Agreement be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby. This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors.

16. This Agreement shall be construed and the provisions thereof interpreted under and in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

[signature page to follow]

 

6


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by their officers thereunto duly authorized.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS INVESTMENT TRUST
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  
LEGG MASON PARTNERS FUND ADVISOR, LLC
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

7


Schedule A

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Value Fund

Date:

[                ] [        ], [                ]

Fee:

The following percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets: 0.75%

Exhibit (d)(14)

MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT

Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC

This MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made this      day of [            ], [            ], by and between Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust. (the “Trust”) and Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Manager”).

WHEREAS, the Trust is registered as a management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”);

WHEREAS, the Manager is engaged primarily in rendering investment advisory, management and administrative services and is registered as an investment adviser under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended;

WHEREAS, the Trust wishes to retain the Manager to provide investment advisory, management, and administrative services to the Trust with respect to the series of the Trust designated in Schedule A annexed hereto (the “Fund”); and

WHEREAS, the Manager is willing to furnish such services on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth;

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed as follows:

1. The Trust hereby appoints the Manager to act as investment adviser and administrator of the Fund for the period and on the terms set forth in this Agreement. The Manager accepts such appointment and agrees to render the services herein set forth, for the compensation herein provided.

2. The Fund shall at all times keep the Manager fully informed with regard to the securities owned by it, its funds available, or to become available, for investment, and generally as to the condition of its affairs. It shall furnish the Manager with such other documents and information with regard to its affairs as the Manager may from time to time reasonably request.

3. (a) Subject to the supervision of the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”), the Manager shall regularly provide the Fund with investment research, advice, management and supervision and shall furnish a continuous investment program for the Fund’s portfolio of securities and other investments consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions, as stated in the Fund’s current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information. The Manager shall determine from time to time what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained, sold or exchanged by the Fund and what portion of the assets of the Fund’s portfolio will be held in the various securities and other investments in which the Fund invests, and shall implement those decisions, all subject to the provisions of the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and By-Laws (collectively, the “Governing Documents”), the 1940 Act, and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and interpretive guidance issued thereunder by the SEC staff and any other applicable federal and state law, as well as the investment objectives,

 

1


policies and restrictions of the Fund referred to above, and any other specific policies adopted by the Board and disclosed to the Manager. The Manager is authorized as the agent of the Trust to give instructions to the custodian of the Fund as to deliveries of securities and other investments and payments of cash for the account of the Fund. Subject to applicable provisions of the 1940 Act and direction from the Board, the investment program to be provided hereunder may entail the investment of all or substantially all of the assets of a Fund in one or more investment companies. The Manager will place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) to the Funds and/or the other accounts over which the Manager or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The Manager is authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for a Fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the Manager determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities which the Manager and its affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The Board may adopt policies and procedures that modify and restrict the Manager’s authority regarding the execution of the Fund’s portfolio transactions provided herein. The Manager shall also provide advice and recommendations with respect to other aspects of the business and affairs of the Fund, shall exercise voting rights, rights to consent to corporate action and any other rights pertaining to a Fund’s portfolio securities subject to such direction as the Board may provide, and shall perform such other functions of investment management and supervision as may be directed by the Board.

(b) Subject to the direction and control of the Board, the Manager shall perform such administrative and management services as may from time to time be reasonably requested by the Fund as necessary for the operation of the Fund, such as (i) supervising the overall administration of the Fund, including negotiation of contracts and fees with and the monitoring of performance and billings of the Fund’s transfer agent, shareholder servicing agents, custodian and other independent contractors or agents, (ii) providing certain compliance, fund accounting, regulatory reporting, and tax reporting services, (iii) preparing or participating in the preparation of Board materials, registration statements, proxy statements and reports and other communications to shareholders, (iv) maintaining the Fund’s existence, and (v) during such times as shares are publicly offered, maintaining the registration and qualification of the Fund’s shares under federal and state laws. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Manager shall not be deemed to have assumed any duties with respect to, and shall not be responsible for, the distribution of the shares of any Fund, nor shall the Manager be deemed to have assumed or have any responsibility with respect to functions specifically assumed by any transfer agent, fund accounting agent, custodian, shareholder servicing agent or other agent, in each case employed by the Fund to perform such functions.

 

2


(c) The Fund hereby authorizes any entity or person associated with the Manager which is a member of a national securities exchange to effect any transaction on the exchange for the account of the Fund which is permitted by Section 11(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder, and the Fund hereby consents to the retention of compensation for such transactions in accordance with Rule 11a2-2(T)(a)(2)(iv). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Manager agrees that it will not deal with itself, or with members of the Board or any principal underwriter of the Fund, as principals or agents in making purchases or sales of securities or other property for the account of the Fund, nor will it purchase any securities from an underwriting or selling group in which the Manager or its affiliates is participating, or arrange for purchases and sales of securities between a Fund and another account advised by the Manager or its affiliates, except in each case as permitted by the 1940 Act and in accordance with such policies and procedures as may be adopted by a Fund from time to time, and will comply with all other provisions of the Governing Documents and the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information relative to the Manager and its directors and officers.

4. Subject to the Board’s approval, the Manager or the Fund may enter into contracts with one or more investment subadvisers or subadministrators, including without limitation, affiliates of the Manager, in which the Manager delegates to such investment subadvisers or subadministrators any or all its duties specified hereunder, on such terms as the Manager will determine to be necessary, desirable or appropriate, provided that in each case the Manager shall supervise the activities of each such subadviser or subadministrator and further provided that such contracts impose on any investment subadviser or subadministrator bound thereby all the conditions to which the Manager is subject hereunder and that such contracts are entered into in accordance with and meet all applicable requirements of the 1940 Act.

5. (a) The Manager, at its expense, shall supply the Board and officers of the Trust with all information and reports reasonably required by them and reasonably available to the Manager and shall furnish the Fund with office facilities, including space, furniture and equipment and all personnel reasonably necessary for the operation of the Fund. The Manager shall oversee the maintenance of all books and records with respect to the Fund’s securities transactions and the keeping of the Fund’s books of account in accordance with all applicable federal and state laws and regulations. In compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the 1940 Act, the Manager hereby agrees that any records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund, and further agrees to surrender promptly to the Fund any of such records upon the Fund’s request. The Manager further agrees to arrange for the preservation of the records required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act for the periods prescribed by Rule 31a-2 under the 1940 Act. The Manager shall authorize and permit any of its directors, officers and employees, who may be elected as Board members or officers of the Fund, to serve in the capacities in which they are elected.

(b) The Manager shall bear all expenses, and shall furnish all necessary services, facilities and personnel, in connection with its responsibilities under this Agreement. Other than as herein specifically indicated, the Manager shall not be responsible for the Fund’s expenses, including, without limitation, advisory fees; distribution fees; interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the Fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the Fund’s securities

 

3


and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the Fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the Fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the Fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the Fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the Fund, if any; and the Fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the Fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any non-recurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the Fund is a party and the legal obligation which the Fund may have to indemnify the Fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

6. No member of the Board, officer or employee of the Trust or Fund shall receive from the Trust or Fund any salary or other compensation as such member of the Board, officer or employee while he is at the same time a director, officer, or employee of the Manager or any affiliated company of the Manager, except as the Board may decide. This paragraph shall not apply to Board members, executive committee members, consultants and other persons who are not regular members of the Manager’s or any affiliated company’s staff.

7. As compensation for the services performed and the facilities furnished and expenses assumed by the Manager, including the services of any consultants retained by the Manager, the Fund shall pay the Manager, as promptly as possible after the last day of each month, a fee, computed daily at an annual rate set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided however, that if the Fund invests all or substantially all of its assets in another registered investment company for which the Manager or an affiliate of the Manager serves as investment adviser or investment manager, the annual fee computed as set forth on such Schedule A shall be reduced by the aggregate management fees allocated to that Fund for the Fund’s then-current fiscal year from such other registered investment company. The first payment of the fee shall be made as promptly as possible at the end of the month succeeding the effective date of this Agreement, and shall constitute a full payment of the fee due the Manager for all services prior to that date. If this Agreement is terminated as of any date not the last day of a month, such fee shall be paid as promptly as possible after such date of termination, shall be based on the average daily net assets of the Fund in that period from the beginning of such month to such date of termination, and shall be that proportion of such average daily net assets as the number of business days in such period bears to the number of business days in such month. The average daily net assets of the Fund shall in all cases be based only on business days and be computed as of the time of the regular close of business of the New York Stock Exchange, or such other time as may be determined by the Board.

8. The Manager assumes no responsibility under this Agreement other than to render the services called for hereunder, in good faith, and shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law, or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or omission in the execution of securities transactions for a Fund, provided that nothing in this Agreement shall protect the Manager

 

4


against any liability to the Fund to which the Manager would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder. As used in this Section 8, the term “Manager” shall include any affiliates of the Manager performing services for the Trust or the Fund contemplated hereby and the partners, shareholders, directors, officers and employees of the Manager and such affiliates.

9. Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict the right of any director, officer, or employee of the Manager who may also be a Board member, officer, or employee of the Trust or the Fund, to engage in any other business or to devote his time and attention in part to the management or other aspects of any other business, whether of a similar nature or a dissimilar nature, nor to limit or restrict the right of the Manager to engage in any other business or to render services of any kind, including investment advisory and management services, to any other fund, firm, individual or association. If the purchase or sale of securities consistent with the investment policies of a Fund or one or more other accounts of the Manager is considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities will be allocated among the accounts in a manner deemed equitable by the Manager. Such transactions may be combined, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and consistent with the Manager’s policies and procedures as presented to the Board from time to time.

10. For the purposes of this Agreement, the Fund’s “net assets” shall be determined as provided in the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information and the terms “assignment,” “interested person,” and “majority of the outstanding voting securities” shall have the meanings given to them by Section 2(a) of the 1940 Act, subject to such exemptions as may be granted by the SEC by any rule, regulation or order.

11. This Agreement will become effective with respect to the Fund on the date set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided that it shall have been approved by the Trust’s Board and by the shareholders of the Fund in accordance with the requirements of the 1940 Act and, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, will continue in effect until November 30, 2007. Thereafter, if not terminated, this Agreement shall continue in effect with respect to the Fund, so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (i) by the Board or (ii) by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Board members who are not interested persons of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.

12. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund without penalty by the Board or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the Manager, or by the Manager upon not less than 90 days’ written notice to the Fund, and will be terminated upon the mutual written consent of the Manager and the Trust. This Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment by the Manager and shall not be assignable by the Trust without the consent of the Manager.

 

5


13. The Manager agrees that for services rendered to the Fund, or for any claim by it in connection with services rendered to the Fund, it shall look only to assets of the Fund for satisfaction and that it shall have no claim against the assets of any other portfolios of the Trust. The undersigned officer of the Trust has executed this Agreement not individually, but as an officer under the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and the obligations of this Agreement are not binding upon any of the Trustees, officers or shareholders of the Trust individually.

14. No provision of this Agreement may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated orally, but only by an instrument in writing signed by the party against which enforcement of the change, waiver, discharge or termination is sought, and no material amendment of the Agreement shall be effective until approved, if so required by the 1940 Act, by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities.

15. This Agreement embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the parties hereto, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. Should any part of this Agreement be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby. This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors.

16. This Agreement shall be construed and the provisions thereof interpreted under and in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

[signature page to follow]

 

6


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by their officers thereunto duly authorized.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS INVESTMENT TRUST
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  
LEGG MASON PARTNERS FUND ADVISOR, LLC
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

7


Schedule A

Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund

Date:

[                ] [    ], [            ]

Fee:

The following percentage of the Fund’s average daily net assets: 0.85%

Exhibit (d)(16)

SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT

This SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made this      day of [            ], [            ], by and between Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Manager”), and Clearbridge Advisors, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Subadviser”).

WHEREAS, the Manager has been retained by Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”), a registered management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) to provide investment advisory, management, and administrative services to the Trust with respect to certain series of the Trust; and

WHEREAS, the Manager wishes to engage the Subadviser to provide certain investment advisory services to the Trust with respect to the series of the Trust designated in Schedule A annexed hereto (the “Fund”) and Subadviser is willing to furnish such services on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth;

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed as follows:

1. In accordance with and subject to the Management Agreement between the Trust and the Manager with respect to the Fund (the “Management Agreement”), the Manager hereby appoints the Subadviser to act as Subadviser with respect to the Fund for the period and on the terms set forth in this Agreement. The Subadviser accepts such appointment and agrees to render the services herein set forth, for the compensation herein provided.

2. The Manager shall cause the Subadviser to be kept fully informed at all times with regard to the securities owned by the Fund, its funds available, or to become available, for investment, and generally as to the condition of the Fund’s affairs. Manager shall furnish the Subadviser with such other documents and information with regard to the Fund’s affairs as the Subadviser may from time to time reasonably request.

3. (a) Subject to the supervision of the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) and the Manager, the Subadviser shall regularly provide the Fund with respect to such portion of the Fund’s assets as shall be allocated to the Subadviser by the Manager from time to time (the “Allocated Assets”) with investment research, advice, management and supervision and shall furnish a continuous investment program for the Allocated Assets consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions, as stated in the Fund’s current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information. The Subadviser shall, with respect to the Allocated Assets, determine from time to time what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained, sold or exchanged by the Fund and what portion of the Allocated Assets will be held in the various securities and other investments in which the Fund invests, and shall implement those decisions, all subject to the provisions of the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and By-Laws (collectively, the “Governing Documents”), the 1940 Act, and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and interpretive guidance issued thereunder by the SEC staff and any other applicable federal and state law, as well as the investment objectives, policies and restrictions of the Fund referred to above, and any other specific policies adopted by the Board and disclosed to the Subadviser. The Subadviser is authorized as the agent of the Trust to give instructions with respect to the Allocated Assets to the custodian of the Fund as to deliveries of securities and other investments and payments of cash for the account of the Fund. Subject to applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the investment program to be provided hereunder may entail


the investment of all or substantially all of the assets of a Fund in one or more investment companies. The Subadviser will place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) to the Funds and/or the other accounts over which the Subadviser or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The Subadviser is authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for a Fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the Subadviser determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities which the Subadviser and its affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The Board may adopt policies and procedures that modify and restrict the Subadviser’s authority regarding the execution of the Fund’s portfolio transactions provided herein. The Subadviser shall exercise voting rights, rights to consent to corporate action and any other rights pertaining to the Allocated Assets subject to such direction as the Board may provide, and shall perform such other functions of investment management and supervision as may be directed by the Board.

(b) The Fund hereby authorizes any entity or person associated with the Subadviser which is a member of a national securities exchange to effect any transaction on the exchange for the account of the Fund which is permitted by Section 11(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder, and the Fund hereby consents to the retention of compensation for such transactions in accordance with Rule 11a2-2(T)(a)(2)(iv). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Subadviser agrees that it will not deal with itself, or with members of the Board or any principal underwriter of the Fund, as principals or agents in making purchases or sales of securities or other property for the account of a Fund, nor will it purchase any securities from an underwriting or selling group in which the Subadviser or its affiliates is participating, or arrange for purchases and sales of securities between a Fund and another account advised by the Subadviser or its affiliates, except in each case as permitted by the 1940 Act and in accordance with such policies and procedures as may be adopted by a Fund from time to time, and will comply with all other provisions of the Governing Documents and the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information relative to the Subadviser and its directors and officers.

4. The Subadviser may delegate to any other one or more companies that the Subadviser controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, or to specified employees of any such companies, certain of the Subadviser’s duties under this Agreement, provided in each case the Subadviser will supervise the activities of each such entity or employees thereof, that such delegation will not relieve the Subadviser of any of its duties or obligations under this Agreement and provided further that any such arrangements are entered into in accordance with all applicable requirements of the 1940 Act.

5. The Subadviser agrees that it will keep records relating to its services hereunder in accordance with all applicable laws, and in compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the 1940 Act, the Subadviser hereby agrees that any records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund, and further agrees to surrender promptly to the Fund any of such records upon the Fund’s request. The Subadviser further agrees to arrange for the preservation of the records required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act for the periods prescribed by Rule 31a-2 under the 1940 Act.

 

2


6. (a) The Subadviser, at its expense, shall supply the Board, the officers of the Trust, and the Manager with all information and reports reasonably required by them and reasonably available to the Subadviser relating to the services provided by the Subadviser hereunder.

(b) The Subadviser shall bear all expenses, and shall furnish all necessary services, facilities and personnel, in connection with its responsibilities under this Agreement. Other than as herein specifically indicated, the Subadviser shall not be responsible for the Fund’s expenses, including, without limitation, advisory fees; distribution fees; interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the Fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the Fund’s securities and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the Fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the Fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the Fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the Fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the Fund, if any; and the Fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the Fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any non-recurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the Fund is a party and the legal obligation which the Fund may have to indemnify the Fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

7. No member of the Board, officer or employee of the Trust or Fund shall receive from the Trust or Fund any salary or other compensation as such member of the Board, officer or employee while he is at the same time a director, officer, or employee of the Subadviser or any affiliated company of the Subadviser, except as the Board may decide. This paragraph shall not apply to Board members, executive committee members, consultants and other persons who are not regular members of the Subadviser’s or any affiliated company’s staff.

8. As compensation for the services performed by the Subadviser, including the services of any consultants retained by the Subadviser, the Manager shall pay the Subadviser out of the management fee it receives with respect to the Fund, and only to the extent thereof, as promptly as possible after the last day of each month, a fee, computed daily at an annual rate set forth on Schedule A annexed hereto. The first payment of the fee shall be made as promptly as possible at the end of the month succeeding the effective date of this Agreement, and shall constitute a full payment of the fee due the Subadviser for all services prior to that date. If this Agreement is terminated as of any date not the last day of a month, such fee shall be paid as promptly as possible after such date of termination, shall be based on the average daily net assets of the Fund or, if less, the portion thereof comprising the Allocated Assets in that period from the beginning of such month to such date of termination, and shall be that proportion of such average daily net assets as the number of business days in such period bears to the number of business days in such month. The average daily net assets of the Fund or the portion thereof comprising the Allocated Assets shall in all cases be based only on business days and be computed as of the time of the regular close of business of the New York Stock Exchange, or such other time as may be determined by the Board.

9. The Subadviser assumes no responsibility under this Agreement other than to render the services called for hereunder, in good faith, and shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law, or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act

 

3


or omission in the execution of securities transactions for a Fund, provided that nothing in this Agreement shall protect the Subadviser against any liability to the Manager or the Fund to which the Subadviser would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder. As used in this Section 9, the term “Subadviser” shall include any affiliates of the Subadviser performing services for the Trust or the Fund contemplated hereby and the partners, shareholders, directors, officers and employees of the Subadviser and such affiliates.

10. Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict the right of any director, officer, or employee of the Subadviser who may also be a Board member, officer, or employee of the Trust or the Fund, to engage in any other business or to devote his time and attention in part to the management or other aspects of any other business, whether of a similar nature or a dissimilar nature, nor to limit or restrict the right of the Subadviser to engage in any other business or to render services of any kind, including investment advisory and management services, to any other fund, firm, individual or association. If the purchase or sale of securities consistent with the investment policies of a Fund or one or more other accounts of the Subadviser is considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities will be allocated among the accounts in a manner deemed equitable by the Subadviser. Such transactions may be combined, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and consistent with the Subadviser’s policies and procedures as presented to the Board from time to time.

11. For the purposes of this Agreement, the Fund’s “net assets” shall be determined as provided in the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information and the terms “assignment,” “interested person,” and “majority of the outstanding voting securities” shall have the meanings given to them by Section 2(a) of the 1940 Act, subject to such exemptions as may be granted by the SEC by any rule, regulation or order.

12. This Agreement will become effective with respect to the Fund on the date set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided that it shall have been approved by the Trust’s Board and, if so required by the 1940 Act, by the shareholders of the Fund in accordance with the requirements of the 1940 Act and, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, will continue in effect through November 30, 2007. Thereafter, if not terminated, this Agreement shall continue in effect with respect to the Fund, so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (i) by the Board or (ii) by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Board members who are not interested persons of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.

13. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund without penalty by the Board or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the Subadviser, or by the Subadviser upon not less than 90 days’ written notice to the Fund and the Manager, and will be terminated upon the mutual written consent of the Manager and the Subadviser. This Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment by the Subadviser and shall not be assignable by the Manager without the consent of the Subadviser.

14. The Subadviser agrees that for any claim by it against the Fund in connection with this Agreement or the services rendered under this Agreement, it shall look only to assets of the Fund for satisfaction and that it shall have no claim against the assets of any other portfolios of the Trust.

 

4


15. No provision of this Agreement may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated orally, but only by an instrument in writing signed by the party against which enforcement of the change, waiver, discharge or termination is sought, and no material amendment of the Agreement shall be effective until approved, if so required by the 1940 Act, by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities.

16. This Agreement, and any supplemental terms contained on Annex I hereto, if applicable, embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the parties hereto, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. Should any part of this Agreement be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby. This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors.

17. This Agreement shall be construed and the provisions thereof interpreted under and in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

[signature page to follow]

 

5


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by their officers thereunto duly authorized.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS FUND ADVISOR, LLC
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  
CLEARBRIDGE ADVISORS, LLC
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

The foregoing is acknowledged:

The undersigned officer of the Trust has executed this Agreement not individually but in his/her capacity as an officer of the Trust. The Trust does not hereby undertake, on behalf of the Fund or otherwise, any obligation to the Subadviser.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS INVESTMENT TRUST
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

6


ANNEX I

Not applicable.


SCHEDULE A

Legg Mason Partners Aggressive Growth Fund

Date:

[                ] [    ], [            ]

Fee:

The sub-advisory fee will be 70% of the management fee paid to Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, net of expense waivers and reimbursements.

Exhibit (d)(17)

SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT

This SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made this      day of [            ], [            ], by and between Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Manager”), and Clearbridge Advisors, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Subadviser”).

WHEREAS, the Manager has been retained by Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”), a registered management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) to provide investment advisory, management, and administrative services to the Trust with respect to certain series of the Trust; and

WHEREAS, the Manager wishes to engage the Subadviser to provide certain investment advisory services to the Trust with respect to the series of the Trust designated in Schedule A annexed hereto (the “Fund”) and Subadviser is willing to furnish such services on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth;

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed as follows:

1. In accordance with and subject to the Management Agreement between the Trust and the Manager with respect to the Fund (the “Management Agreement”), the Manager hereby appoints the Subadviser to act as Subadviser with respect to the Fund for the period and on the terms set forth in this Agreement. The Subadviser accepts such appointment and agrees to render the services herein set forth, for the compensation herein provided.

2. The Manager shall cause the Subadviser to be kept fully informed at all times with regard to the securities owned by the Fund, its funds available, or to become available, for investment, and generally as to the condition of the Fund’s affairs. Manager shall furnish the Subadviser with such other documents and information with regard to the Fund’s affairs as the Subadviser may from time to time reasonably request.

3. (a) Subject to the supervision of the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) and the Manager, the Subadviser shall regularly provide the Fund with respect to such portion of the Fund’s assets as shall be allocated to the Subadviser by the Manager from time to time (the “Allocated Assets”) with investment research, advice, management and supervision and shall furnish a continuous investment program for the Allocated Assets consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions, as stated in the Fund’s current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information. The Subadviser shall, with respect to the Allocated Assets, determine from time to time what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained, sold or exchanged by the Fund and what portion of the Allocated Assets will be held in the various securities and other investments in which the Fund invests, and shall implement those decisions, all subject to the provisions of the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and By-Laws (collectively, the “Governing Documents”), the 1940 Act, and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and interpretive guidance issued thereunder by the SEC staff and any other applicable federal and state law, as well as the investment objectives, policies and restrictions of the Fund referred to above, and any other specific policies adopted by the Board and disclosed to the Subadviser. The Subadviser is authorized as the agent of the Trust to give instructions with respect to the Allocated Assets to the custodian of the Fund as to deliveries of securities and other investments and payments of cash for the account of the Fund. Subject to applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the investment program to be provided hereunder may entail


the investment of all or substantially all of the assets of a Fund in one or more investment companies. The Subadviser will place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) to the Funds and/or the other accounts over which the Subadviser or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The Subadviser is authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for a Fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the Subadviser determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities which the Subadviser and its affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The Board may adopt policies and procedures that modify and restrict the Subadviser’s authority regarding the execution of the Fund’s portfolio transactions provided herein. The Subadviser shall exercise voting rights, rights to consent to corporate action and any other rights pertaining to the Allocated Assets subject to such direction as the Board may provide, and shall perform such other functions of investment management and supervision as may be directed by the Board.

(b) The Fund hereby authorizes any entity or person associated with the Subadviser which is a member of a national securities exchange to effect any transaction on the exchange for the account of the Fund which is permitted by Section 11(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder, and the Fund hereby consents to the retention of compensation for such transactions in accordance with Rule 11a2-2(T)(a)(2)(iv). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Subadviser agrees that it will not deal with itself, or with members of the Board or any principal underwriter of the Fund, as principals or agents in making purchases or sales of securities or other property for the account of a Fund, nor will it purchase any securities from an underwriting or selling group in which the Subadviser or its affiliates is participating, or arrange for purchases and sales of securities between a Fund and another account advised by the Subadviser or its affiliates, except in each case as permitted by the 1940 Act and in accordance with such policies and procedures as may be adopted by a Fund from time to time, and will comply with all other provisions of the Governing Documents and the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information relative to the Subadviser and its directors and officers.

4. The Subadviser may delegate to any other one or more companies that the Subadviser controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, or to specified employees of any such companies, certain of the Subadviser’s duties under this Agreement, provided in each case the Subadviser will supervise the activities of each such entity or employees thereof, that such delegation will not relieve the Subadviser of any of its duties or obligations under this Agreement and provided further that any such arrangements are entered into in accordance with all applicable requirements of the 1940 Act.

5. The Subadviser agrees that it will keep records relating to its services hereunder in accordance with all applicable laws, and in compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the 1940 Act, the Subadviser hereby agrees that any records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund, and further agrees to surrender promptly to the Fund any of such records upon the Fund’s request. The Subadviser further agrees to arrange for the preservation of the records required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act for the periods prescribed by Rule 31a-2 under the 1940 Act.

 

2


6. (a) The Subadviser, at its expense, shall supply the Board, the officers of the Trust, and the Manager with all information and reports reasonably required by them and reasonably available to the Subadviser relating to the services provided by the Subadviser hereunder.

(b) The Subadviser shall bear all expenses, and shall furnish all necessary services, facilities and personnel, in connection with its responsibilities under this Agreement. Other than as herein specifically indicated, the Subadviser shall not be responsible for the Fund’s expenses, including, without limitation, advisory fees; distribution fees; interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the Fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the Fund’s securities and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the Fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the Fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the Fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the Fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the Fund, if any; and the Fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the Fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any non-recurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the Fund is a party and the legal obligation which the Fund may have to indemnify the Fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

7. No member of the Board, officer or employee of the Trust or Fund shall receive from the Trust or Fund any salary or other compensation as such member of the Board, officer or employee while he is at the same time a director, officer, or employee of the Subadviser or any affiliated company of the Subadviser, except as the Board may decide. This paragraph shall not apply to Board members, executive committee members, consultants and other persons who are not regular members of the Subadviser’s or any affiliated company’s staff.

8. As compensation for the services performed by the Subadviser, including the services of any consultants retained by the Subadviser, the Manager shall pay the Subadviser out of the management fee it receives with respect to the Fund, and only to the extent thereof, as promptly as possible after the last day of each month, a fee, computed daily at an annual rate set forth on Schedule A annexed hereto. The first payment of the fee shall be made as promptly as possible at the end of the month succeeding the effective date of this Agreement, and shall constitute a full payment of the fee due the Subadviser for all services prior to that date. If this Agreement is terminated as of any date not the last day of a month, such fee shall be paid as promptly as possible after such date of termination, shall be based on the average daily net assets of the Fund or, if less, the portion thereof comprising the Allocated Assets in that period from the beginning of such month to such date of termination, and shall be that proportion of such average daily net assets as the number of business days in such period bears to the number of business days in such month. The average daily net assets of the Fund or the portion thereof comprising the Allocated Assets shall in all cases be based only on business days and be computed as of the time of the regular close of business of the New York Stock Exchange, or such other time as may be determined by the Board.

9. The Subadviser assumes no responsibility under this Agreement other than to render the services called for hereunder, in good faith, and shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law, or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act

 

3


or omission in the execution of securities transactions for a Fund, provided that nothing in this Agreement shall protect the Subadviser against any liability to the Manager or the Fund to which the Subadviser would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder. As used in this Section 9, the term “Subadviser” shall include any affiliates of the Subadviser performing services for the Trust or the Fund contemplated hereby and the partners, shareholders, directors, officers and employees of the Subadviser and such affiliates.

10. Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict the right of any director, officer, or employee of the Subadviser who may also be a Board member, officer, or employee of the Trust or the Fund, to engage in any other business or to devote his time and attention in part to the management or other aspects of any other business, whether of a similar nature or a dissimilar nature, nor to limit or restrict the right of the Subadviser to engage in any other business or to render services of any kind, including investment advisory and management services, to any other fund, firm, individual or association. If the purchase or sale of securities consistent with the investment policies of a Fund or one or more other accounts of the Subadviser is considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities will be allocated among the accounts in a manner deemed equitable by the Subadviser. Such transactions may be combined, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and consistent with the Subadviser’s policies and procedures as presented to the Board from time to time.

11. For the purposes of this Agreement, the Fund’s “net assets” shall be determined as provided in the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information and the terms “assignment,” “interested person,” and “majority of the outstanding voting securities” shall have the meanings given to them by Section 2(a) of the 1940 Act, subject to such exemptions as may be granted by the SEC by any rule, regulation or order.

12. This Agreement will become effective with respect to the Fund on the date set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided that it shall have been approved by the Trust’s Board and, if so required by the 1940 Act, by the shareholders of the Fund in accordance with the requirements of the 1940 Act and, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, will continue in effect through November 30, 2007. Thereafter, if not terminated, this Agreement shall continue in effect with respect to the Fund, so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (i) by the Board or (ii) by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Board members who are not interested persons of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.

13. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund without penalty by the Board or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the Subadviser, or by the Subadviser upon not less than 90 days’ written notice to the Fund and the Manager, and will be terminated upon the mutual written consent of the Manager and the Subadviser. This Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment by the Subadviser and shall not be assignable by the Manager without the consent of the Subadviser.

14. The Subadviser agrees that for any claim by it against the Fund in connection with this Agreement or the services rendered under this Agreement, it shall look only to assets of the Fund for satisfaction and that it shall have no claim against the assets of any other portfolios of the Trust.

 

4


15. No provision of this Agreement may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated orally, but only by an instrument in writing signed by the party against which enforcement of the change, waiver, discharge or termination is sought, and no material amendment of the Agreement shall be effective until approved, if so required by the 1940 Act, by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities.

16. This Agreement, and any supplemental terms contained on Annex I hereto, if applicable, embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the parties hereto, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. Should any part of this Agreement be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby. This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors.

17. This Agreement shall be construed and the provisions thereof interpreted under and in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

[signature page to follow]

 

5


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by their officers thereunto duly authorized.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS FUND ADVISOR, LLC
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  
CLEARBRIDGE ADVISORS, LLC
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

The foregoing is acknowledged:

The undersigned officer of the Trust has executed this Agreement not individually but in his/her capacity as an officer of the Trust. The Trust does not hereby undertake, on behalf of the Fund or otherwise, any obligation to the Subadviser.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS INVESTMENT TRUST
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

6


ANNEX I

Not applicable.


SCHEDULE A

Legg Mason Partners Convertible Fund

Date:

[                ] [    ], [            ]

Fee:

The sub-advisory fee will be 70% of the management fee paid to Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, net of expense waivers and reimbursements.

Exhibit (d)(18)

SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT

This SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made this      day of [            ], [            ], by and between Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Manager”), and Clearbridge Advisors, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Subadviser”).

WHEREAS, the Manager has been retained by Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”), a registered management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) to provide investment advisory, management, and administrative services to the Trust with respect to certain series of the Trust; and

WHEREAS, the Manager wishes to engage the Subadviser to provide certain investment advisory services to the Trust with respect to the series of the Trust designated in Schedule A annexed hereto (the “Fund”) and Subadviser is willing to furnish such services on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth;

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed as follows:

1. In accordance with and subject to the Management Agreement between the Trust and the Manager with respect to the Fund (the “Management Agreement”), the Manager hereby appoints the Subadviser to act as Subadviser with respect to the Fund for the period and on the terms set forth in this Agreement. The Subadviser accepts such appointment and agrees to render the services herein set forth, for the compensation herein provided.

2. The Manager shall cause the Subadviser to be kept fully informed at all times with regard to the securities owned by the Fund, its funds available, or to become available, for investment, and generally as to the condition of the Fund’s affairs. Manager shall furnish the Subadviser with such other documents and information with regard to the Fund’s affairs as the Subadviser may from time to time reasonably request.

3. (a) Subject to the supervision of the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) and the Manager, the Subadviser shall regularly provide the Fund with respect to such portion of the Fund’s assets as shall be allocated to the Subadviser by the Manager from time to time (the “Allocated Assets”) with investment research, advice, management and supervision and shall furnish a continuous investment program for the Allocated Assets consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions, as stated in the Fund’s current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information. The Subadviser shall, with respect to the Allocated Assets, determine from time to time what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained, sold or exchanged by the Fund and what portion of the Allocated Assets will be held in the various securities and other investments in which the Fund invests, and shall implement those decisions, all subject to the provisions of the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and By-Laws (collectively, the “Governing Documents”), the 1940 Act, and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and interpretive guidance issued thereunder by the SEC staff and any other applicable federal and state law, as well as the investment objectives, policies and restrictions of the Fund referred to above, and any other specific policies adopted by the Board and disclosed to the Subadviser. The Subadviser is authorized as the agent of the Trust to give instructions with respect to the Allocated Assets to the custodian of the Fund as to deliveries of securities and other investments and payments of cash for the account of the Fund. Subject to applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the investment program to be provided hereunder may entail


the investment of all or substantially all of the assets of a Fund in one or more investment companies. The Subadviser will place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) to the Funds and/or the other accounts over which the Subadviser or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The Subadviser is authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for a Fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the Subadviser determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities which the Subadviser and its affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The Board may adopt policies and procedures that modify and restrict the Subadviser’s authority regarding the execution of the Fund’s portfolio transactions provided herein. The Subadviser shall exercise voting rights, rights to consent to corporate action and any other rights pertaining to the Allocated Assets subject to such direction as the Board may provide, and shall perform such other functions of investment management and supervision as may be directed by the Board.

(b) The Fund hereby authorizes any entity or person associated with the Subadviser which is a member of a national securities exchange to effect any transaction on the exchange for the account of the Fund which is permitted by Section 11(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder, and the Fund hereby consents to the retention of compensation for such transactions in accordance with Rule 11a2-2(T)(a)(2)(iv). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Subadviser agrees that it will not deal with itself, or with members of the Board or any principal underwriter of the Fund, as principals or agents in making purchases or sales of securities or other property for the account of a Fund, nor will it purchase any securities from an underwriting or selling group in which the Subadviser or its affiliates is participating, or arrange for purchases and sales of securities between a Fund and another account advised by the Subadviser or its affiliates, except in each case as permitted by the 1940 Act and in accordance with such policies and procedures as may be adopted by a Fund from time to time, and will comply with all other provisions of the Governing Documents and the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information relative to the Subadviser and its directors and officers.

4. The Subadviser may delegate to any other one or more companies that the Subadviser controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, or to specified employees of any such companies, certain of the Subadviser’s duties under this Agreement, provided in each case the Subadviser will supervise the activities of each such entity or employees thereof, that such delegation will not relieve the Subadviser of any of its duties or obligations under this Agreement and provided further that any such arrangements are entered into in accordance with all applicable requirements of the 1940 Act.

5. The Subadviser agrees that it will keep records relating to its services hereunder in accordance with all applicable laws, and in compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the 1940 Act, the Subadviser hereby agrees that any records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund, and further agrees to surrender promptly to the Fund any of such records upon the Fund’s request. The Subadviser further agrees to arrange for the preservation of the records required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act for the periods prescribed by Rule 31a-2 under the 1940 Act.

 

2


6. (a) The Subadviser, at its expense, shall supply the Board, the officers of the Trust, and the Manager with all information and reports reasonably required by them and reasonably available to the Subadviser relating to the services provided by the Subadviser hereunder.

(b) The Subadviser shall bear all expenses, and shall furnish all necessary services, facilities and personnel, in connection with its responsibilities under this Agreement. Other than as herein specifically indicated, the Subadviser shall not be responsible for the Fund’s expenses, including, without limitation, advisory fees; distribution fees; interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the Fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the Fund’s securities and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the Fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the Fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the Fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the Fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the Fund, if any; and the Fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the Fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any non-recurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the Fund is a party and the legal obligation which the Fund may have to indemnify the Fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

7. No member of the Board, officer or employee of the Trust or Fund shall receive from the Trust or Fund any salary or other compensation as such member of the Board, officer or employee while he is at the same time a director, officer, or employee of the Subadviser or any affiliated company of the Subadviser, except as the Board may decide. This paragraph shall not apply to Board members, executive committee members, consultants and other persons who are not regular members of the Subadviser’s or any affiliated company’s staff.

8. As compensation for the services performed by the Subadviser, including the services of any consultants retained by the Subadviser, the Manager shall pay the Subadviser out of the management fee it receives with respect to the Fund, and only to the extent thereof, as promptly as possible after the last day of each month, a fee, computed daily at an annual rate set forth on Schedule A annexed hereto. The first payment of the fee shall be made as promptly as possible at the end of the month succeeding the effective date of this Agreement, and shall constitute a full payment of the fee due the Subadviser for all services prior to that date. If this Agreement is terminated as of any date not the last day of a month, such fee shall be paid as promptly as possible after such date of termination, shall be based on the average daily net assets of the Fund or, if less, the portion thereof comprising the Allocated Assets in that period from the beginning of such month to such date of termination, and shall be that proportion of such average daily net assets as the number of business days in such period bears to the number of business days in such month. The average daily net assets of the Fund or the portion thereof comprising the Allocated Assets shall in all cases be based only on business days and be computed as of the time of the regular close of business of the New York Stock Exchange, or such other time as may be determined by the Board.

9. The Subadviser assumes no responsibility under this Agreement other than to render the services called for hereunder, in good faith, and shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law, or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or

 

3


omission in the execution of securities transactions for a Fund, provided that nothing in this Agreement shall protect the Subadviser against any liability to the Manager or the Fund to which the Subadviser would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder. As used in this Section 9, the term “Subadviser” shall include any affiliates of the Subadviser performing services for the Trust or the Fund contemplated hereby and the partners, shareholders, directors, officers and employees of the Subadviser and such affiliates.

10. Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict the right of any director, officer, or employee of the Subadviser who may also be a Board member, officer, or employee of the Trust or the Fund, to engage in any other business or to devote his time and attention in part to the management or other aspects of any other business, whether of a similar nature or a dissimilar nature, nor to limit or restrict the right of the Subadviser to engage in any other business or to render services of any kind, including investment advisory and management services, to any other fund, firm, individual or association. If the purchase or sale of securities consistent with the investment policies of a Fund or one or more other accounts of the Subadviser is considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities will be allocated among the accounts in a manner deemed equitable by the Subadviser. Such transactions may be combined, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and consistent with the Subadviser’s policies and procedures as presented to the Board from time to time.

11. For the purposes of this Agreement, the Fund’s “net assets” shall be determined as provided in the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information and the terms “assignment,” “interested person,” and “majority of the outstanding voting securities” shall have the meanings given to them by Section 2(a) of the 1940 Act, subject to such exemptions as may be granted by the SEC by any rule, regulation or order.

12. This Agreement will become effective with respect to the Fund on the date set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided that it shall have been approved by the Trust’s Board and, if so required by the 1940 Act, by the shareholders of the Fund in accordance with the requirements of the 1940 Act and, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, will continue in effect through November 30, 2007. Thereafter, if not terminated, this Agreement shall continue in effect with respect to the Fund, so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (i) by the Board or (ii) by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Board members who are not interested persons of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.

13. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund without penalty by the Board or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the Subadviser, or by the Subadviser upon not less than 90 days’ written notice to the Fund and the Manager, and will be terminated upon the mutual written consent of the Manager and the Subadviser. This Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment by the Subadviser and shall not be assignable by the Manager without the consent of the Subadviser.

14. The Subadviser agrees that for any claim by it against the Fund in connection with this Agreement or the services rendered under this Agreement, it shall look only to assets of the Fund for satisfaction and that it shall have no claim against the assets of any other portfolios of the Trust.

 

4


15. No provision of this Agreement may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated orally, but only by an instrument in writing signed by the party against which enforcement of the change, waiver, discharge or termination is sought, and no material amendment of the Agreement shall be effective until approved, if so required by the 1940 Act, by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities.

16. This Agreement, and any supplemental terms contained on Annex I hereto, if applicable, embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the parties hereto, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. Should any part of this Agreement be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby. This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors.

17. This Agreement shall be construed and the provisions thereof interpreted under and in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

[signature page to follow]

 

5


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by their officers thereunto duly authorized.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS FUND ADVISOR, LLC
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  
CLEARBRIDGE ADVISORS, LLC
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

The foregoing is acknowledged:

The undersigned officer of the Trust has executed this Agreement not individually but in his/her capacity as an officer of the Trust. The Trust does not hereby undertake, on behalf of the Fund or otherwise, any obligation to the Subadviser.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS INVESTMENT TRUST
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

6


ANNEX I

Not applicable.


SCHEDULE A

Legg Mason Partners Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund

Date:

[                ] [    ], [            ]

Fee:

The sub-advisory fee will be 70% of the management fee paid to Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, net of expense waivers and reimbursements.

Exhibit (d)(19)

SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT

This SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made this      day of [            ], [            ], by and between Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Manager”), and Clearbridge Advisors, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Subadviser”).

WHEREAS, the Manager has been retained by Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”), a registered management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) to provide investment advisory, management, and administrative services to the Trust with respect to certain series of the Trust; and

WHEREAS, the Manager wishes to engage the Subadviser to provide certain investment advisory services to the Trust with respect to the series of the Trust designated in Schedule A annexed hereto (the “Fund”) and Subadviser is willing to furnish such services on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth;

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed as follows:

1. In accordance with and subject to the Management Agreement between the Trust and the Manager with respect to the Fund (the “Management Agreement”), the Manager hereby appoints the Subadviser to act as Subadviser with respect to the Fund for the period and on the terms set forth in this Agreement. The Subadviser accepts such appointment and agrees to render the services herein set forth, for the compensation herein provided.

2. The Manager shall cause the Subadviser to be kept fully informed at all times with regard to the securities owned by the Fund, its funds available, or to become available, for investment, and generally as to the condition of the Fund’s affairs. Manager shall furnish the Subadviser with such other documents and information with regard to the Fund’s affairs as the Subadviser may from time to time reasonably request.

3. (a) Subject to the supervision of the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) and the Manager, the Subadviser shall regularly provide the Fund with respect to such portion of the Fund’s assets as shall be allocated to the Subadviser by the Manager from time to time (the “Allocated Assets”) with investment research, advice, management and supervision and shall furnish a continuous investment program for the Allocated Assets consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions, as stated in the Fund’s current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information. The Subadviser shall, with respect to the Allocated Assets, determine from time to time what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained, sold or exchanged by the Fund and what portion of the Allocated Assets will be held in the various securities and other investments in which the Fund invests, and shall implement those decisions, all subject to the provisions of the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and By-Laws (collectively, the “Governing Documents”), the 1940 Act, and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and interpretive guidance issued thereunder by the SEC staff and any other applicable federal and state law, as well as the investment objectives, policies and restrictions of the Fund referred to above, and any other specific policies adopted by the Board and disclosed to the Subadviser. The Subadviser is authorized as the agent of the Trust to give instructions with respect to the Allocated Assets to the custodian of the Fund as to deliveries of securities and other investments and payments of cash for the account of the Fund. Subject to applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the investment program to be provided hereunder may entail


the investment of all or substantially all of the assets of a Fund in one or more investment companies. The Subadviser will place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) to the Funds and/or the other accounts over which the Subadviser or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The Subadviser is authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for a Fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the Subadviser determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities which the Subadviser and its affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The Board may adopt policies and procedures that modify and restrict the Subadviser’s authority regarding the execution of the Fund’s portfolio transactions provided herein. The Subadviser shall exercise voting rights, rights to consent to corporate action and any other rights pertaining to the Allocated Assets subject to such direction as the Board may provide, and shall perform such other functions of investment management and supervision as may be directed by the Board.

(b) The Fund hereby authorizes any entity or person associated with the Subadviser which is a member of a national securities exchange to effect any transaction on the exchange for the account of the Fund which is permitted by Section 11(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder, and the Fund hereby consents to the retention of compensation for such transactions in accordance with Rule 11a2-2(T)(a)(2)(iv). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Subadviser agrees that it will not deal with itself, or with members of the Board or any principal underwriter of the Fund, as principals or agents in making purchases or sales of securities or other property for the account of a Fund, nor will it purchase any securities from an underwriting or selling group in which the Subadviser or its affiliates is participating, or arrange for purchases and sales of securities between a Fund and another account advised by the Subadviser or its affiliates, except in each case as permitted by the 1940 Act and in accordance with such policies and procedures as may be adopted by a Fund from time to time, and will comply with all other provisions of the Governing Documents and the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information relative to the Subadviser and its directors and officers.

4. The Subadviser may delegate to any other one or more companies that the Subadviser controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, or to specified employees of any such companies, certain of the Subadviser’s duties under this Agreement, provided in each case the Subadviser will supervise the activities of each such entity or employees thereof, that such delegation will not relieve the Subadviser of any of its duties or obligations under this Agreement and provided further that any such arrangements are entered into in accordance with all applicable requirements of the 1940 Act.

5. The Subadviser agrees that it will keep records relating to its services hereunder in accordance with all applicable laws, and in compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the 1940 Act, the Subadviser hereby agrees that any records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund, and further agrees to surrender promptly to the Fund any of such records upon the Fund’s request. The Subadviser further agrees to arrange for the preservation of the records required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act for the periods prescribed by Rule 31a-2 under the 1940 Act.

 

2


6. (a) The Subadviser, at its expense, shall supply the Board, the officers of the Trust, and the Manager with all information and reports reasonably required by them and reasonably available to the Subadviser relating to the services provided by the Subadviser hereunder.

(b) The Subadviser shall bear all expenses, and shall furnish all necessary services, facilities and personnel, in connection with its responsibilities under this Agreement. Other than as herein specifically indicated, the Subadviser shall not be responsible for the Fund’s expenses, including, without limitation, advisory fees; distribution fees; interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the Fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the Fund’s securities and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the Fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the Fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the Fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the Fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the Fund, if any; and the Fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the Fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any non-recurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the Fund is a party and the legal obligation which the Fund may have to indemnify the Fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

7. No member of the Board, officer or employee of the Trust or Fund shall receive from the Trust or Fund any salary or other compensation as such member of the Board, officer or employee while he is at the same time a director, officer, or employee of the Subadviser or any affiliated company of the Subadviser, except as the Board may decide. This paragraph shall not apply to Board members, executive committee members, consultants and other persons who are not regular members of the Subadviser’s or any affiliated company’s staff.

8. As compensation for the services performed by the Subadviser, including the services of any consultants retained by the Subadviser, the Manager shall pay the Subadviser out of the management fee it receives with respect to the Fund, and only to the extent thereof, as promptly as possible after the last day of each month, a fee, computed daily at an annual rate set forth on Schedule A annexed hereto. The first payment of the fee shall be made as promptly as possible at the end of the month succeeding the effective date of this Agreement, and shall constitute a full payment of the fee due the Subadviser for all services prior to that date. If this Agreement is terminated as of any date not the last day of a month, such fee shall be paid as promptly as possible after such date of termination, shall be based on the average daily net assets of the Fund or, if less, the portion thereof comprising the Allocated Assets in that period from the beginning of such month to such date of termination, and shall be that proportion of such average daily net assets as the number of business days in such period bears to the number of business days in such month. The average daily net assets of the Fund or the portion thereof comprising the Allocated Assets shall in all cases be based only on business days and be computed as of the time of the regular close of business of the New York Stock Exchange, or such other time as may be determined by the Board.

9. The Subadviser assumes no responsibility under this Agreement other than to render the services called for hereunder, in good faith, and shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law, or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or

 

3


omission in the execution of securities transactions for a Fund, provided that nothing in this Agreement shall protect the Subadviser against any liability to the Manager or the Fund to which the Subadviser would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder. As used in this Section 9, the term “Subadviser” shall include any affiliates of the Subadviser performing services for the Trust or the Fund contemplated hereby and the partners, shareholders, directors, officers and employees of the Subadviser and such affiliates.

10. Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict the right of any director, officer, or employee of the Subadviser who may also be a Board member, officer, or employee of the Trust or the Fund, to engage in any other business or to devote his time and attention in part to the management or other aspects of any other business, whether of a similar nature or a dissimilar nature, nor to limit or restrict the right of the Subadviser to engage in any other business or to render services of any kind, including investment advisory and management services, to any other fund, firm, individual or association. If the purchase or sale of securities consistent with the investment policies of a Fund or one or more other accounts of the Subadviser is considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities will be allocated among the accounts in a manner deemed equitable by the Subadviser. Such transactions may be combined, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and consistent with the Subadviser’s policies and procedures as presented to the Board from time to time.

11. For the purposes of this Agreement, the Fund’s “net assets” shall be determined as provided in the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information and the terms “assignment,” “interested person,” and “majority of the outstanding voting securities” shall have the meanings given to them by Section 2(a) of the 1940 Act, subject to such exemptions as may be granted by the SEC by any rule, regulation or order.

12. This Agreement will become effective with respect to the Fund on the date set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided that it shall have been approved by the Trust’s Board and, if so required by the 1940 Act, by the shareholders of the Fund in accordance with the requirements of the 1940 Act and, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, will continue in effect through November 30, 2007. Thereafter, if not terminated, this Agreement shall continue in effect with respect to the Fund, so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (i) by the Board or (ii) by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Board members who are not interested persons of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.

13. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund without penalty by the Board or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the Subadviser, or by the Subadviser upon not less than 90 days’ written notice to the Fund and the Manager, and will be terminated upon the mutual written consent of the Manager and the Subadviser. This Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment by the Subadviser and shall not be assignable by the Manager without the consent of the Subadviser.

14. The Subadviser agrees that for any claim by it against the Fund in connection with this Agreement or the services rendered under this Agreement, it shall look only to assets of the Fund for satisfaction and that it shall have no claim against the assets of any other portfolios of the Trust.

 

4


15. No provision of this Agreement may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated orally, but only by an instrument in writing signed by the party against which enforcement of the change, waiver, discharge or termination is sought, and no material amendment of the Agreement shall be effective until approved, if so required by the 1940 Act, by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities.

16. This Agreement, and any supplemental terms contained on Annex I hereto, if applicable, embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the parties hereto, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. Should any part of this Agreement be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby. This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors.

17. This Agreement shall be construed and the provisions thereof interpreted under and in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

[signature page to follow]

 

5


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by their officers thereunto duly authorized.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS FUND ADVISOR, LLC
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  
CLEARBRIDGE ADVISORS, LLC
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

The foregoing is acknowledged:

The undersigned officer of the Trust has executed this Agreement not individually but in his/her capacity as an officer of the Trust. The Trust does not hereby undertake, on behalf of the Fund or otherwise, any obligation to the Subadviser.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS INVESTMENT TRUST
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

6


ANNEX I

Not applicable.


SCHEDULE A

Legg Mason Partners Dividend Strategy Fund

Date:

[                ] [            ], [            ]

Fee:

The sub-advisory fee will be 70% of the management fee paid to Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, net of expense waivers and reimbursements.

Exhibit (d)(20)

SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT

This SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made this      day of [            ], [            ], by and between Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Manager”) and Legg Mason International Equities Limited, a corporation organized under the laws of England and Wales (the “Subadviser”).

WHEREAS, the Manager has been retained by Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”), a registered management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) to provide investment advisory, management, and administrative services to the Trust with respect to certain series of the Trust; and

WHEREAS, the Manager wishes to engage the Subadviser to provide certain investment advisory services to the Trust with respect to the series of the Trust designated in Schedule A annexed hereto (the “Fund”) and Subadviser is willing to furnish such services on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth;

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed as follows:

1. In accordance with and subject to the Management Agreement between the Trust and the Manager with respect to the Fund (the “Management Agreement”), the Manager hereby appoints the Subadviser to act as Subadviser with respect to the Fund for the period and on the terms set forth in this Agreement. The Subadviser accepts such appointment and agrees to render the services herein set forth, for the compensation herein provided.

2. The Manager shall cause the Subadviser to be kept fully informed at all times with regard to the securities owned by the Fund, its funds available, or to become available, for investment, and generally as to the condition of the Fund’s affairs. Manager shall furnish the Subadviser with such other documents and information with regard to the Fund’s affairs as the Subadviser may from time to time reasonably request.

3. (a) Subject to the supervision of the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) and the Manager, the Subadviser shall regularly provide the Fund with respect to such portion of the Fund’s assets as shall be allocated to the Subadviser by the Manager from time to time (the “Allocated Assets”) with investment research, advice, management and supervision and shall furnish a continuous investment program for the Allocated Assets consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions, as stated in the Fund’s current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information. The Subadviser shall, with respect to the Allocated Assets, determine from time to time what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained, sold or exchanged by the Fund and what portion of the Allocated Assets will be held in the various securities and other investments in which the Fund invests, and shall implement those decisions, all subject to the provisions of the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and By-Laws (collectively, the “Governing Documents”), the 1940 Act, and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and interpretive guidance issued thereunder by the SEC staff and any other applicable federal and state law, as well as the investment objectives, policies and restrictions of the Fund referred to above, and any other specific policies adopted by the Board and disclosed to the Subadviser. The Subadviser is authorized as the agent of the Trust to give instructions with respect to the Allocated Assets to the custodian of the Fund as to deliveries of securities and other investments and payments of cash for the account of the Fund. Subject to applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the investment program to be provided hereunder may entail the investment of all or substantially all of the assets of a Fund in one or more investment companies. The Subadviser will place

 

1


orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) to the Funds and/or the other accounts over which the Subadviser or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The Subadviser is authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for a Fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the Subadviser determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities which the Subadviser and its affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The Board may adopt policies and procedures that modify and restrict the Subadviser’s authority regarding the execution of the Fund’s portfolio transactions provided herein. The Subadviser shall exercise voting rights, rights to consent to corporate action and any other rights pertaining to the Allocated Assets subject to such direction as the Board may provide, and shall perform such other functions of investment management and supervision as may be directed by the Board.

(b) The Fund hereby authorizes any entity or person associated with the Subadviser which is a member of a national securities exchange to effect any transaction on the exchange for the account of the Fund which is permitted by Section 11(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder, and the Fund hereby consents to the retention of compensation for such transactions in accordance with Rule 11a2-2(T)(a)(2)(iv). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Subadviser agrees that it will not deal with itself, or with members of the Board or any principal underwriter of the Fund, as principals or agents in making purchases or sales of securities or other property for the account of a Fund, nor will it purchase any securities from an underwriting or selling group in which the Subadviser or its affiliates is participating, or arrange for purchases and sales of securities between a Fund and another account advised by the Subadviser or its affiliates, except in each case as permitted by the 1940 Act and in accordance with such policies and procedures as may be adopted by a Fund from time to time, and will comply with all other provisions of the Governing Documents and the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information relative to the Subadviser and its directors and officers.

4. The Subadviser may delegate to any other one or more companies that the Subadviser controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, or to specified employees of any such companies, certain of the Subadviser’s duties under this Agreement, provided in each case the Subadviser will supervise the activities of each such entity or employees thereof, that such delegation will not relieve the Subadviser of any of its duties or obligations under this Agreement and provided further that any such arrangements are entered into in accordance with all applicable requirements of the 1940 Act.

5. The Subadviser agrees that it will keep records relating to its services hereunder in accordance with all applicable laws, and in compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the 1940 Act, the Subadviser hereby agrees that any records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund, and further agrees to surrender promptly to the Fund any of such records upon the Fund’s request. The Subadviser further agrees to arrange for the preservation of the records required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act for the periods prescribed by Rule 31a-2 under the 1940 Act.

 

2


6. (a) The Subadviser, at its expense, shall supply the Board, the officers of the Trust, and the Manager with all information and reports reasonably required by them and reasonably available to the Subadviser relating to the services provided by the Subadviser hereunder.

(b) The Subadviser shall bear all expenses, and shall furnish all necessary services, facilities and personnel, in connection with its responsibilities under this Agreement. Other than as herein specifically indicated, the Subadviser shall not be responsible for the Fund’s expenses, including, without limitation, advisory fees; distribution fees; interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the Fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the Fund’s securities and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the Fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the Fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the Fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the Fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the Fund, if any; and the Fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the Fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any non-recurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the Fund is a party and the legal obligation which the Fund may have to indemnify the Fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

7. No member of the Board, officer or employee of the Trust or Fund shall receive from the Trust or Fund any salary or other compensation as such member of the Board, officer or employee while he is at the same time a director, officer, or employee of the Subadviser or any affiliated company of the Subadviser, except as the Board may decide. This paragraph shall not apply to Board members, executive committee members, consultants and other persons who are not regular members of the Subadviser’s or any affiliated company’s staff.

8. As compensation for the services performed by the Subadviser, including the services of any consultants retained by the Subadviser, the Manager shall pay the Subadviser out of the management fee it receives with respect to the Fund, and only to the extent thereof, as promptly as possible after the last day of each month, a fee, computed daily at an annual rate set forth on Schedule A annexed hereto. The first payment of the fee shall be made as promptly as possible at the end of the month succeeding the effective date of this Agreement, and shall constitute a full payment of the fee due the Subadviser for all services prior to that date. If this Agreement is terminated as of any date not the last day of a month, such fee shall be paid as promptly as possible after such date of termination, shall be based on the average daily net assets of the Fund or, if less, the portion thereof comprising the Allocated Assets in that period from the beginning of such month to such date of termination, and shall be that proportion of such average daily net assets as the number of business days in such period bears to the number of business days in such month. The average daily net assets of the Fund or the portion thereof comprising the Allocated Assets shall in all cases be based only on business days and be computed as of the time of the regular close of business of the New York Stock Exchange, or such other time as may be determined by the Board.

9. The Subadviser assumes no responsibility under this Agreement other than to render the services called for hereunder, in good faith, and shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law, or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or

 

3


omission in the execution of securities transactions for a Fund, provided that nothing in this Agreement shall protect the Subadviser against any liability to the Manager or the Fund to which the Subadviser would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder. As used in this Section 9, the term “Subadviser” shall include any affiliates of the Subadviser performing services for the Trust or the Fund contemplated hereby and the partners, shareholders, directors, officers and employees of the Subadviser and such affiliates.

10. Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict the right of any director, officer, or employee of the Subadviser who may also be a Board member, officer, or employee of the Trust or the Fund, to engage in any other business or to devote his time and attention in part to the management or other aspects of any other business, whether of a similar nature or a dissimilar nature, nor to limit or restrict the right of the Subadviser to engage in any other business or to render services of any kind, including investment advisory and management services, to any other fund, firm, individual or association. If the purchase or sale of securities consistent with the investment policies of a Fund or one or more other accounts of the Subadviser is considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities will be allocated among the accounts in a manner deemed equitable by the Subadviser. Such transactions may be combined, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and consistent with the Subadviser’s policies and procedures as presented to the Board from time to time.

11. For the purposes of this Agreement, the Fund’s “net assets” shall be determined as provided in the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information and the terms “assignment,” “interested person,” and “majority of the outstanding voting securities” shall have the meanings given to them by Section 2(a) of the 1940 Act, subject to such exemptions as may be granted by the SEC by any rule, regulation or order.

12. This Agreement will become effective with respect to the Fund on the date set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided that it shall have been approved by the Trust’s Board and, if so required by the 1940 Act, by the shareholders of the Fund in accordance with the requirements of the 1940 Act and, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, will continue in effect through November 30, 2007. Thereafter, if not terminated, this Agreement shall continue in effect with respect to the Fund, so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (i) by the Board or (ii) by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Board members who are not interested persons of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.

13. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund without penalty by the Board or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the Subadviser, or by the Subadviser upon not less than 90 days’ written notice to the Fund and the Manager, and will be terminated upon the mutual written consent of the Manager and the Subadviser. This Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment by the Subadviser and shall not be assignable by the Manager without the consent of the Subadviser.

14. The Subadviser agrees that for any claim by it against the Fund in connection with this Agreement or the services rendered under this Agreement, it shall look only to assets of the Fund for satisfaction and that it shall have no claim against the assets of any other portfolios of the Trust.

 

4


15. No provision of this Agreement may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated orally, but only by an instrument in writing signed by the party against which enforcement of the change, waiver, discharge or termination is sought, and no material amendment of the Agreement shall be effective until approved, if so required by the 1940 Act, by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities.

16. This Agreement, and any supplemental terms contained on Annex I hereto, if applicable, embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the parties hereto, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. Should any part of this Agreement be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby. This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors.

17. This Agreement shall be construed and the provisions thereof interpreted under and in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

[signature page to follow]

 

5


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by their officers thereunto duly authorized.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS FUND ADVISOR, LLC
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  
LEGG MASON INTERNATIONAL EQUITIES LIMITED
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

The foregoing is acknowledged:

The undersigned officer of the Trust has executed this Agreement not individually but in his/her capacity as an officer of the Trust. The Trust does not hereby undertake, on behalf of the Fund or otherwise, any obligation to the Subadviser.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS INVESTMENT TRUST
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

6


ANNEX I

This Annex I forms a part of the Subadvisory Agreement dated as of [                ] [    ], [            ] by and between Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company, and Legg Mason International Equities Limited (the “Subadviser”), an entity authorized and regulated in the United Kingdom by the Financial Services Authority (the “FSA”).

1. The Subadviser represents, warrants and covenants that it is authorized and regulated by the FSA.

2. The Subadviser has classified the Trust as an Intermediate Customer as defined by the FSA Rules.


SCHEDULE A

Legg Mason Partners Emerging Markets Equity Fund

Date:

[                ] [    ], [            ]

Fee:

The sub-advisory fee will be 70% of the management fee paid to Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, net of expense waivers and reimbursements, with respect to the Allocated Assets only.

Exhibit (d)(22)

SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT

This SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made this      day of [            ], [            ], by and between Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Manager”), and Batterymarch Financial Management, Inc., a Maryland corporation (the “Subadviser”).

WHEREAS, the Manager has been retained by Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust. (the “Trust”), a registered management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) to provide investment advisory, management, and administrative services to the Trust with respect to certain series of the Trust; and

WHEREAS, the Manager wishes to engage the Subadviser to provide certain investment advisory services to the Trust with respect to the series of the Trust designated in Schedule A annexed hereto (the “Fund”) and Subadviser is willing to furnish such services on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth;

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed as follows:

1. In accordance with and subject to the Management Agreement between the Trust and the Manager with respect to the Fund (the “Management Agreement”), the Manager hereby appoints the Subadviser to act as Subadviser with respect to the Fund for the period and on the terms set forth in this Agreement. The Subadviser accepts such appointment and agrees to render the services herein set forth, for the compensation herein provided.

2. The Manager shall cause the Subadviser to be kept fully informed at all times with regard to the securities owned by the Fund, its funds available, or to become available, for investment, and generally as to the condition of the Fund’s affairs. Manager shall furnish the Subadviser with such other documents and information with regard to the Fund’s affairs as the Subadviser may from time to time reasonably request.

3. (a) Subject to the supervision of the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) and the Manager, the Subadviser shall regularly provide the Fund with respect to such portion of the Fund’s assets as shall be allocated to the Subadviser by the Manager from time to time (the “Allocated Assets”) with investment research, advice, management and supervision and shall furnish a continuous investment program for the Allocated Assets consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions, as stated in the Fund’s current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information. The Subadviser shall, with respect to the Allocated Assets, determine from time to time what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained, sold or exchanged by the Fund and what portion of the Allocated Assets will be held in the various securities and other investments in which the Fund invests, and shall implement those decisions (including the execution of investment documentation), all subject to the provisions of the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and By-Laws (collectively, the “Governing Documents”), the 1940 Act, and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and interpretive guidance issued thereunder by the SEC staff and any other applicable federal and state law, as well as the investment objectives, policies and restrictions of the Fund referred to above, and any other specific policies adopted by the Board and disclosed to the Subadviser. The Subadviser is authorized as the agent of the Trust to give instructions with respect to the Allocated Assets to the custodian of the Fund as to deliveries of securities and other investments and payments of cash for the account of the Fund. Subject to applicable provisions of the 1940 Act,


the investment program to be provided hereunder may entail the investment of all or substantially all of the assets of a Fund in one or more investment companies. The Subadviser will place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) to the Funds and/or the other accounts over which the Subadviser or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The Subadviser is authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for a Fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the Subadviser determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities which the Subadviser and its affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The Board may adopt policies and procedures that modify and restrict the Subadviser’s authority regarding the execution of the Fund’s portfolio transactions provided herein. The Subadviser shall exercise voting rights, rights to consent to corporate action and any other rights pertaining to the Allocated Assets subject to such direction as the Board may provide, and shall perform such other functions of investment management and supervision as may be directed by the Board.

(b) The Fund hereby authorizes any entity or person associated with the Subadviser which is a member of a national securities exchange to effect any transaction on the exchange for the account of the Fund which is permitted by Section 11(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder, and the Fund hereby consents to the retention of compensation for such transactions in accordance with Rule 11a2-2(T)(a)(2)(iv). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Subadviser agrees that it will not deal with itself, or with members of the Board or any principal underwriter of the Fund, as principals or agents in making purchases or sales of securities or other property for the account of a Fund, nor will it purchase any securities from an underwriting or selling group in which the Subadviser or its affiliates is participating, or arrange for purchases and sales of securities between a Fund and another account advised by the Subadviser or its affiliates, except in each case as permitted by the 1940 Act and in accordance with such policies and procedures as may be adopted by a Fund from time to time, and will comply with all other provisions of the Governing Documents and the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information relative to the Subadviser and its directors and officers.

4. The Subadviser may delegate to any other one or more companies that the Subadviser controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, or to specified employees of any such companies, certain of the Subadviser’s duties under this Agreement, provided in each case the Subadviser will supervise the activities of each such entity or employees thereof, that such delegation will not relieve the Subadviser of any of its duties or obligations under this Agreement and provided further that any such arrangements are entered into in accordance with all applicable requirements of the 1940 Act.

5. The Subadviser agrees that it will keep records relating to its services hereunder in accordance with all applicable laws, and in compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the 1940 Act, the Subadviser hereby agrees that any records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund, and further agrees to surrender promptly to the Fund any of such records upon the Fund’s request. The Subadviser further agrees to arrange for the preservation of the records required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act for the periods prescribed by Rule 31a-2 under the 1940 Act.

 

2


6. (a) The Subadviser, at its expense, shall supply the Board, the officers of the Trust, and the Manager with all information and reports reasonably required by them and reasonably available to the Subadviser relating to the services provided by the Subadviser hereunder.

(b) The Subadviser shall bear all expenses, and shall furnish all necessary services, facilities and personnel, in connection with its responsibilities under this Agreement. Other than as herein specifically indicated, the Subadviser shall not be responsible for the Fund’s expenses, including, without limitation, advisory fees; distribution fees; interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the Fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the Fund’s securities and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the Fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the Fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the Fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the Fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the Fund, if any; and the Fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the Fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any non-recurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the Fund is a party and the legal obligation which the Fund may have to indemnify the Fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

7. No member of the Board, officer or employee of the Trust or Fund shall receive from the Trust or Fund any salary or other compensation as such member of the Board, officer or employee while he is at the same time a director, officer, or employee of the Subadviser or any affiliated company of the Subadviser, except as the Board may decide. This paragraph shall not apply to Board members, executive committee members, consultants and other persons who are not regular members of the Subadviser’s or any affiliated company’s staff.

8. As compensation for the services performed by the Subadviser, including the services of any consultants retained by the Subadviser, the Manager shall pay the Subadviser out of the management fee it receives with respect to the Fund, and only to the extent thereof, as promptly as possible after the last day of each month, a fee, computed daily at an annual rate set forth on Schedule A annexed hereto. The first payment of the fee shall be made as promptly as possible at the end of the month succeeding the effective date of this Agreement, and shall constitute a full payment of the fee due the Subadviser for all services prior to that date. If this Agreement is terminated as of any date not the last day of a month, such fee shall be paid as promptly as possible after such date of termination, shall be based on the average daily net assets of the Fund or, if less, the portion thereof comprising the Allocated Assets in that period from the beginning of such month to such date of termination, and shall be that proportion of such average daily net assets as the number of business days in such period bears to the number of business days in such month. The average daily net assets of the Fund or the portion thereof comprising the Allocated Assets shall in all cases be based only on business days and be computed as of the time of the regular close of business of the New York Stock Exchange, or such other time as may be determined by the Board.

9. The Subadviser assumes no responsibility under this Agreement other than to render the services called for hereunder, in good faith, and shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law, or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or

 

3


omission in the execution of securities transactions for a Fund, provided that nothing in this Agreement shall protect the Subadviser against any liability to the Manager or the Fund to which the Subadviser would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder. As used in this Section 9, the term “Subadviser” shall include any affiliates of the Subadviser performing services for the Trust or the Fund contemplated hereby and the partners, shareholders, directors, officers and employees of the Subadviser and such affiliates.

10. Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict the right of any director, officer, or employee of the Subadviser who may also be a Board member, officer, or employee of the Trust or the Fund, to engage in any other business or to devote his time and attention in part to the management or other aspects of any other business, whether of a similar nature or a dissimilar nature, nor to limit or restrict the right of the Subadviser to engage in any other business or to render services of any kind, including investment advisory and management services, to any other fund, firm, individual or association. If the purchase or sale of securities consistent with the investment policies of a Fund or one or more other accounts of the Subadviser is considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities will be allocated among the accounts in a manner deemed equitable by the Subadviser. Such transactions may be combined, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and consistent with the Subadviser’s policies and procedures as presented to the Board from time to time.

11. For the purposes of this Agreement, the Fund’s “net assets” shall be determined as provided in the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information and the terms “assignment,” “interested person,” and “majority of the outstanding voting securities” shall have the meanings given to them by Section 2(a) of the 1940 Act, subject to such exemptions as may be granted by the SEC by any rule, regulation or order.

12. This Agreement will become effective with respect to the Fund on the date set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided that it shall have been approved by the Trust’s Board and, if so required by the 1940 Act, by the shareholders of the Fund in accordance with the requirements of the 1940 Act and, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, will continue in effect through November 30, 2007. Thereafter, if not terminated, this Agreement shall continue in effect with respect to the Fund, so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (i) by the Board or (ii) by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Board members who are not interested persons of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.

13. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund without penalty by the Board or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the Subadviser, or by the Subadviser upon not less than 90 days’ written notice to the Fund and the Manager, and will be terminated upon the mutual written consent of the Manager and the Subadviser. This Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment by the Subadviser and shall not be assignable by the Manager without the consent of the Subadviser.

14. The Subadviser agrees that for any claim by it against the Fund in connection with this Agreement or the services rendered under this Agreement, it shall look only to assets of the Fund for satisfaction and that it shall have no claim against the assets of any other portfolios of the Trust.

 

4


15. No provision of this Agreement may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated orally, but only by an instrument in writing signed by the party against which enforcement of the change, waiver, discharge or termination is sought, and no material amendment of the Agreement shall be effective until approved, if so required by the 1940 Act, by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities.

16. This Agreement, and any supplemental terms contained on Annex I hereto, if applicable, embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the parties hereto, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. Should any part of this Agreement be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby. This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors.

17. This Agreement shall be construed and the provisions thereof interpreted under and in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

[signature page to follow]

 

5


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by their officers thereunto duly authorized.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS FUND ADVISOR, LLC
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  
BATTERYMARCH FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, INC.
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

The foregoing is acknowledged:

The undersigned officer of the Trust has executed this Agreement not individually but in his/her capacity as an officer of the Trust. The Trust does not hereby undertake, on behalf of the Fund or otherwise, any obligation to the Subadviser.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS INVESTMENT TRUST
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

6


ANNEX I

Not applicable.


SCHEDULE A

Legg Mason Partners Financial Services Fund

Date:

[                ] [    ], [            ]

Fee:

The sub-advisory fee will be 70% of the management fee paid to Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, net of expense waivers and reimbursements.

Exhibit (d)(23)

SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT

This SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made this      day of [            ], [            ], by and between Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Manager”), and Clearbridge Advisors, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Subadviser”).

WHEREAS, the Manager has been retained by Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”), a registered management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) to provide investment advisory, management, and administrative services to the Trust with respect to certain series of the Trust; and

WHEREAS, the Manager wishes to engage the Subadviser to provide certain investment advisory services to the Trust with respect to the series of the Trust designated in Schedule A annexed hereto (the “Fund”), and Subadviser is willing to furnish such services on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth;

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed as follows:

1. In accordance with and subject to the Management Agreement between the Trust and the Manager with respect to the Fund (the “Management Agreement”), the Manager hereby appoints the Subadviser to act as Subadviser with respect to the Fund for the period and on the terms set forth in this Agreement. The Subadviser accepts such appointment and agrees to render the services herein set forth, for the compensation herein provided.

2. The Manager shall cause the Subadviser to be kept fully informed at all times with regard to the securities owned by the Fund, its funds available, or to become available, for investment, and generally as to the condition of the Fund’s affairs. Manager shall furnish the Subadviser with such other documents and information with regard to the Fund’s affairs as the Subadviser may from time to time reasonably request.

3. (a) Subject to the supervision of the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) and the Manager, the Subadviser shall regularly provide the Fund with respect to such portion of the Fund’s assets as shall be allocated to the Subadviser by the Manager from time to time (the “Allocated Assets”) with investment research, advice, management and supervision and shall furnish a continuous investment program for the Allocated Assets consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions, as stated in the Fund’s current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information. The Subadviser shall, with respect to the Allocated Assets, determine from time to time what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained, sold or exchanged by the Fund and what portion of the Allocated Assets will be held in the various securities and other investments in which the Fund invests, and shall implement those decisions, all subject to the provisions of the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and By-Laws (collectively, the “Governing Documents”), the 1940 Act, and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and interpretive guidance issued thereunder by the SEC staff and any other applicable federal and state law, as well as the investment objectives, policies and restrictions of the Fund referred to above, and any other specific policies adopted by the Board and disclosed to the Subadviser. The Subadviser is authorized as the agent of the Trust to give instructions with respect to the Allocated Assets to the custodian of the Fund as to deliveries of securities and other investments and payments of cash for the account of the Fund. Subject to applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the investment program to be provided hereunder may entail


the investment of all or substantially all of the assets of a Fund in one or more investment companies. The Subadviser will place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) to the Funds and/or the other accounts over which the Subadviser or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The Subadviser is authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for a Fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the Subadviser determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities which the Subadviser and its affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The Board may adopt policies and procedures that modify and restrict the Subadviser’s authority regarding the execution of the Fund’s portfolio transactions provided herein. The Subadviser shall exercise voting rights, rights to consent to corporate action and any other rights pertaining to the Allocated Assets subject to such direction as the Board may provide, and shall perform such other functions of investment management and supervision as may be directed by the Board.

(b) The Fund hereby authorizes any entity or person associated with the Subadviser which is a member of a national securities exchange to effect any transaction on the exchange for the account of the Fund which is permitted by Section 11(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder, and the Fund hereby consents to the retention of compensation for such transactions in accordance with Rule 11a2-2(T)(a)(2)(iv). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Subadviser agrees that it will not deal with itself, or with members of the Board or any principal underwriter of the Fund, as principals or agents in making purchases or sales of securities or other property for the account of a Fund, nor will it purchase any securities from an underwriting or selling group in which the Subadviser or its affiliates is participating, or arrange for purchases and sales of securities between a Fund and another account advised by the Subadviser or its affiliates, except in each case as permitted by the 1940 Act and in accordance with such policies and procedures as may be adopted by a Fund from time to time, and will comply with all other provisions of the Governing Documents and the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information relative to the Subadviser and its directors and officers.

4. The Subadviser may delegate to any other one or more companies that the Subadviser controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, or to specified employees of any such companies, certain of the Subadviser’s duties under this Agreement, provided in each case the Subadviser will supervise the activities of each such entity or employees thereof, that such delegation will not relieve the Subadviser of any of its duties or obligations under this Agreement and provided further that any such arrangements are entered into in accordance with all applicable requirements of the 1940 Act.

5. The Subadviser agrees that it will keep records relating to its services hereunder in accordance with all applicable laws, and in compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the 1940 Act, the Subadviser hereby agrees that any records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund, and further agrees to surrender promptly to the Fund any of such records upon the Fund’s request. The Subadviser further agrees to arrange for the preservation of the records required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act for the periods prescribed by Rule 31a-2 under the 1940 Act.

 

2


6. (a) The Subadviser, at its expense, shall supply the Board, the officers of the Trust, and the Manager with all information and reports reasonably required by them and reasonably available to the Subadviser relating to the services provided by the Subadviser hereunder.

(b) The Subadviser shall bear all expenses, and shall furnish all necessary services, facilities and personnel, in connection with its responsibilities under this Agreement. Other than as herein specifically indicated, the Subadviser shall not be responsible for the Fund’s expenses, including, without limitation, advisory fees; distribution fees; interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the Fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the Fund’s securities and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the Fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the Fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the Fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the Fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the Fund, if any; and the Fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the Fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any non-recurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the Fund is a party and the legal obligation which the Fund may have to indemnify the Fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

7. No member of the Board, officer or employee of the Trust or Fund shall receive from the Trust or Fund any salary or other compensation as such member of the Board, officer or employee while he is at the same time a director, officer, or employee of the Subadviser or any affiliated company of the Subadviser, except as the Board may decide. This paragraph shall not apply to Board members, executive committee members, consultants and other persons who are not regular members of the Subadviser’s or any affiliated company’s staff.

8. As compensation for the services performed by the Subadviser, including the services of any consultants retained by the Subadviser, the Manager shall pay the Subadviser out of the management fee it receives with respect to the Fund, and only to the extent thereof, as promptly as possible after the last day of each month, a fee, computed daily at an annual rate set forth on Schedule A annexed hereto. The first payment of the fee shall be made as promptly as possible at the end of the month succeeding the effective date of this Agreement, and shall constitute a full payment of the fee due the Subadviser for all services prior to that date. If this Agreement is terminated as of any date not the last day of a month, such fee shall be paid as promptly as possible after such date of termination, shall be based on the average daily net assets of the Fund or, if less, the portion thereof comprising the Allocated Assets in that period from the beginning of such month to such date of termination, and shall be that proportion of such average daily net assets as the number of business days in such period bears to the number of business days in such month. The average daily net assets of the Fund or the portion thereof comprising the Allocated Assets shall in all cases be based only on business days and be computed as of the time of the regular close of business of the New York Stock Exchange, or such other time as may be determined by the Board.

9. The Subadviser assumes no responsibility under this Agreement other than to render the services called for hereunder, in good faith, and shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law, or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or

 

3


omission in the execution of securities transactions for a Fund, provided that nothing in this Agreement shall protect the Subadviser against any liability to the Manager or the Fund to which the Subadviser would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder. As used in this Section 9, the term “Subadviser” shall include any affiliates of the Subadviser performing services for the Trust or the Fund contemplated hereby and the partners, shareholders, directors, officers and employees of the Subadviser and such affiliates.

10. Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict the right of any director, officer, or employee of the Subadviser who may also be a Board member, officer, or employee of the Trust or the Fund, to engage in any other business or to devote his time and attention in part to the management or other aspects of any other business, whether of a similar nature or a dissimilar nature, nor to limit or restrict the right of the Subadviser to engage in any other business or to render services of any kind, including investment advisory and management services, to any other fund, firm, individual or association. If the purchase or sale of securities consistent with the investment policies of a Fund or one or more other accounts of the Subadviser is considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities will be allocated among the accounts in a manner deemed equitable by the Subadviser. Such transactions may be combined, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and consistent with the Subadviser’s policies and procedures as presented to the Board from time to time.

11. For the purposes of this Agreement, the Fund’s “net assets” shall be determined as provided in the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information and the terms “assignment,” “interested person,” and “majority of the outstanding voting securities” shall have the meanings given to them by Section 2(a) of the 1940 Act, subject to such exemptions as may be granted by the SEC by any rule, regulation or order.

12. This Agreement will become effective with respect to the Fund on the date set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided that it shall have been approved by the Trust’s Board and, if so required by the 1940 Act, by the shareholders of the Fund in accordance with the requirements of the 1940 Act and, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, will continue in effect through November 30, 2007. Thereafter, if not terminated, this Agreement shall continue in effect with respect to the Fund, so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (i) by the Board or (ii) by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Board members who are not interested persons of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.

13. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund without penalty by the Board or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the Subadviser, or by the Subadviser upon not less than 90 days’ written notice to the Fund and the Manager, and will be terminated upon the mutual written consent of the Manager and the Subadviser. This Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment by the Subadviser and shall not be assignable by the Manager without the consent of the Subadviser.

14. The Subadviser agrees that for any claim by it against the Fund in connection with this Agreement or the services rendered under this Agreement, it shall look only to assets of the Fund for satisfaction and that it shall have no claim against the assets of any other portfolios of the Trust.

 

4


15. No provision of this Agreement may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated orally, but only by an instrument in writing signed by the party against which enforcement of the change, waiver, discharge or termination is sought, and no material amendment of the Agreement shall be effective until approved, if so required by the 1940 Act, by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities.

16. This Agreement, and any supplemental terms contained on Annex I hereto, if applicable, embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the parties hereto, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. Should any part of this Agreement be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby. This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors.

17. This Agreement shall be construed and the provisions thereof interpreted under and in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

[signature page to follow]

 

5


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by their officers thereunto duly authorized.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS FUND ADVISOR, LLC
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  
CLEARBRIDGE ADVISORS, LLC
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

The foregoing is acknowledged:

The undersigned officer of the Trust has executed this Agreement not individually but in his/her capacity as an officer of the Trust. The Trust does not hereby undertake, on behalf of the Fund or otherwise, any obligation to the Subadviser.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS INVESTMENT TRUST
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

6


ANNEX I

Not applicable.


SCHEDULE A

Legg Mason Partners Fundamental Value Fund

Date:

[                ] [    ], [            ]

Fee:

The sub-advisory fee will be 70% of the management fee paid to Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, net of expense waivers and reimbursements.

Exhibit (d)(24)

SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT

This SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made this      day of [            ], [            ], by and between Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Manager”), and Clearbridge Advisors, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Subadviser”).

WHEREAS, the Manager has been retained by Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”), a registered management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) to provide investment advisory, management, and administrative services to the Trust with respect to certain series of the Trust; and

WHEREAS, the Manager wishes to engage the Subadviser to provide certain investment advisory services to the Trust with respect to the series of the Trust designated in Schedule A annexed hereto (the “Fund”) and Subadviser is willing to furnish such services on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth;

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed as follows:

1. In accordance with and subject to the Management Agreement between the Trust and the Manager with respect to the Fund (the “Management Agreement”), the Manager hereby appoints the Subadviser to act as Subadviser with respect to the Fund for the period and on the terms set forth in this Agreement. The Subadviser accepts such appointment and agrees to render the services herein set forth, for the compensation herein provided.

2. The Manager shall cause the Subadviser to be kept fully informed at all times with regard to the securities owned by the Fund, its funds available, or to become available, for investment, and generally as to the condition of the Fund’s affairs. Manager shall furnish the Subadviser with such other documents and information with regard to the Fund’s affairs as the Subadviser may from time to time reasonably request.

3. (a) Subject to the supervision of the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) and the Manager, the Subadviser shall regularly provide the Fund with respect to such portion of the Fund’s assets as shall be allocated to the Subadviser by the Manager from time to time (the “Allocated Assets”) with investment research, advice, management and supervision and shall furnish a continuous investment program for the Allocated Assets consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions, as stated in the Fund’s current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information. The Subadviser shall, with respect to the Allocated Assets, determine from time to time what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained, sold or exchanged by the Fund and what portion of the Allocated Assets will be held in the various securities and other investments in which the Fund invests, and shall implement those decisions, all subject to the provisions of the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and By-Laws (collectively, the “Governing Documents”), the 1940 Act, and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and interpretive guidance issued thereunder by the SEC staff and any other applicable federal and state law, as well as the investment objectives, policies and restrictions of the Fund referred to above, and any other specific policies adopted by the Board and disclosed to the Subadviser. The Subadviser is authorized as the agent of the Trust to give instructions with respect to the Allocated Assets to the custodian of the Fund as to deliveries of securities and other investments and payments of cash for the account of the Fund. Subject to applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the investment program to be provided hereunder may entail


entail the investment of all or substantially all of the assets of a Fund in one or more investment companies. The Subadviser will place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) to the Funds and/or the other accounts over which the Subadviser or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The Subadviser is authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for a Fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the Subadviser determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities which the Subadviser and its affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The Board may adopt policies and procedures that modify and restrict the Subadviser’s authority regarding the execution of the Fund’s portfolio transactions provided herein. The Subadviser shall exercise voting rights, rights to consent to corporate action and any other rights pertaining to the Allocated Assets subject to such direction as the Board may provide, and shall perform such other functions of investment management and supervision as may be directed by the Board.

(b) The Fund hereby authorizes any entity or person associated with the Subadviser which is a member of a national securities exchange to effect any transaction on the exchange for the account of the Fund which is permitted by Section 11(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder, and the Fund hereby consents to the retention of compensation for such transactions in accordance with Rule 11a2-2(T)(a)(2)(iv). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Subadviser agrees that it will not deal with itself, or with members of the Board or any principal underwriter of the Fund, as principals or agents in making purchases or sales of securities or other property for the account of a Fund, nor will it purchase any securities from an underwriting or selling group in which the Subadviser or its affiliates is participating, or arrange for purchases and sales of securities between a Fund and another account advised by the Subadviser or its affiliates, except in each case as permitted by the 1940 Act and in accordance with such policies and procedures as may be adopted by a Fund from time to time, and will comply with all other provisions of the Governing Documents and the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information relative to the Subadviser and its directors and officers.

4. The Subadviser may delegate to any other one or more companies that the Subadviser controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, or to specified employees of any such companies, certain of the Subadviser’s duties under this Agreement, provided in each case the Subadviser will supervise the activities of each such entity or employees thereof, that such delegation will not relieve the Subadviser of any of its duties or obligations under this Agreement and provided further that any such arrangements are entered into in accordance with all applicable requirements of the 1940 Act.

5. The Subadviser agrees that it will keep records relating to its services hereunder in accordance with all applicable laws, and in compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the 1940 Act, the Subadviser hereby agrees that any records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund, and further agrees to surrender promptly to the Fund any of such records upon the Fund’s request. The Subadviser further agrees to arrange for the preservation of the records required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act for the periods prescribed by Rule 31a-2 under the 1940 Act.

 

2


6. (a) The Subadviser, at its expense, shall supply the Board, the officers of the Trust, and the Manager with all information and reports reasonably required by them and reasonably available to the Subadviser relating to the services provided by the Subadviser hereunder.

(b) The Subadviser shall bear all expenses, and shall furnish all necessary services, facilities and personnel, in connection with its responsibilities under this Agreement. Other than as herein specifically indicated, the Subadviser shall not be responsible for the Fund’s expenses, including, without limitation, advisory fees; distribution fees; interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the Fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the Fund’s securities and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the Fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the Fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the Fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the Fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the Fund, if any; and the Fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the Fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any non-recurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the Fund is a party and the legal obligation which the Fund may have to indemnify the Fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

7. No member of the Board, officer or employee of the Trust or Fund shall receive from the Trust or Fund any salary or other compensation as such member of the Board, officer or employee while he is at the same time a director, officer, or employee of the Subadviser or any affiliated company of the Subadviser, except as the Board may decide. This paragraph shall not apply to Board members, executive committee members, consultants and other persons who are not regular members of the Subadviser’s or any affiliated company’s staff.

8. As compensation for the services performed by the Subadviser, including the services of any consultants retained by the Subadviser, the Manager shall pay the Subadviser out of the management fee it receives with respect to the Fund, and only to the extent thereof, as promptly as possible after the last day of each month, a fee, computed daily at an annual rate set forth on Schedule A annexed hereto. The first payment of the fee shall be made as promptly as possible at the end of the month succeeding the effective date of this Agreement, and shall constitute a full payment of the fee due the Subadviser for all services prior to that date. If this Agreement is terminated as of any date not the last day of a month, such fee shall be paid as promptly as possible after such date of termination, shall be based on the average daily net assets of the Fund or, if less, the portion thereof comprising the Allocated Assets in that period from the beginning of such month to such date of termination, and shall be that proportion of such average daily net assets as the number of business days in such period bears to the number of business days in such month. The average daily net assets of the Fund or the portion thereof comprising the Allocated Assets shall in all cases be based only on business days and be computed as of the time of the regular close of business of the New York Stock Exchange, or such other time as may be determined by the Board.

9. The Subadviser assumes no responsibility under this Agreement other than to render the services called for hereunder, in good faith, and shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law, or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or

 

3


law, or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or omission in the execution of securities transactions for a Fund, provided that nothing in this Agreement shall protect the Subadviser against any liability to the Manager or the Fund to which the Subadviser would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder. As used in this Section 9, the term “Subadviser” shall include any affiliates of the Subadviser performing services for the Trust or the Fund contemplated hereby and the partners, shareholders, directors, officers and employees of the Subadviser and such affiliates.

10. Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict the right of any director, officer, or employee of the Subadviser who may also be a Board member, officer, or employee of the Trust or the Fund, to engage in any other business or to devote his time and attention in part to the management or other aspects of any other business, whether of a similar nature or a dissimilar nature, nor to limit or restrict the right of the Subadviser to engage in any other business or to render services of any kind, including investment advisory and management services, to any other fund, firm, individual or association. If the purchase or sale of securities consistent with the investment policies of a Fund or one or more other accounts of the Subadviser is considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities will be allocated among the accounts in a manner deemed equitable by the Subadviser. Such transactions may be combined, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and consistent with the Subadviser’s policies and procedures as presented to the Board from time to time.

11. For the purposes of this Agreement, the Fund’s “net assets” shall be determined as provided in the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information and the terms “assignment,” “interested person,” and “majority of the outstanding voting securities” shall have the meanings given to them by Section 2(a) of the 1940 Act, subject to such exemptions as may be granted by the SEC by any rule, regulation or order.

12. This Agreement will become effective with respect to the Fund on the date set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided that it shall have been approved by the Trust’s Board and, if so required by the 1940 Act, by the shareholders of the Fund in accordance with the requirements of the 1940 Act and, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, will continue in effect through November 30, 2007. Thereafter, if not terminated, this Agreement shall continue in effect with respect to the Fund, so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (i) by the Board or (ii) by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Board members who are not interested persons of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.

13. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund without penalty by the Board or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the Subadviser, or by the Subadviser upon not less than 90 days’ written notice to the Fund and the Manager, and will be terminated upon the mutual written consent of the Manager and the Subadviser. This Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment by the Subadviser and shall not be assignable by the Manager without the consent of the Subadviser.

14. The Subadviser agrees that for any claim by it against the Fund in connection with this Agreement or the services rendered under this Agreement, it shall look only to assets of the Fund for satisfaction and that it shall have no claim against the assets of any other portfolios of the Trust.

 

4


15. No provision of this Agreement may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated orally, but only by an instrument in writing signed by the party against which enforcement of the change, waiver, discharge or termination is sought, and no material amendment of the Agreement shall be effective until approved, if so required by the 1940 Act, by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities.

16. This Agreement, and any supplemental terms contained on Annex I hereto, if applicable, embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the parties hereto, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. Should any part of this Agreement be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby. This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors.

17. This Agreement shall be construed and the provisions thereof interpreted under and in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

[signature page to follow]

 

5


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by their officers thereunto duly authorized.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS FUND ADVISOR, LLC
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

CLEARBRIDGE ADVISORS, LLC

By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

The foregoing is acknowledged:

The undersigned officer of the Trust has executed this Agreement not individually but in his/her capacity as an officer of the Trust. The Trust does not hereby undertake, on behalf of the Fund or otherwise, any obligation to the Subadviser.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS INVESTMENT TRUST
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

6


ANNEX I

Not applicable.


SCHEDULE A

Legg Mason Partners Growth and Income Fund

Date:

[                ] [        ], [            ]

Fee:

The sub-advisory fee will be 70% of the management fee paid to Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, net of expense waivers and reimbursements.

Exhibit (d)(25)

SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT

This SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made this      day of [            ], [            ], by and between Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Manager”), and Clearbridge Advisors, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Subadviser”).

WHEREAS, the Manager has been retained by Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”), a registered management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) to provide investment advisory, management, and administrative services to the Trust with respect to certain series of the Trust; and

WHEREAS, the Manager wishes to engage the Subadviser to provide certain investment advisory services to the Trust with respect to the series of the Trust designated in Schedule A annexed hereto (the “Fund”) and Subadviser is willing to furnish such services on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth;

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed as follows:

1. In accordance with and subject to the Management Agreement between the Trust and the Manager with respect to the Fund (the “Management Agreement”), the Manager hereby appoints the Subadviser to act as Subadviser with respect to the Fund for the period and on the terms set forth in this Agreement. The Subadviser accepts such appointment and agrees to render the services herein set forth, for the compensation herein provided.

2. The Manager shall cause the Subadviser to be kept fully informed at all times with regard to the securities owned by the Fund, its funds available, or to become available, for investment, and generally as to the condition of the Fund’s affairs. Manager shall furnish the Subadviser with such other documents and information with regard to the Fund’s affairs as the Subadviser may from time to time reasonably request.

3. (a) Subject to the supervision of the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) and the Manager, the Subadviser shall regularly provide the Fund with respect to such portion of the Fund’s assets as shall be allocated to the Subadviser by the Manager from time to time (the “Allocated Assets”) with investment research, advice, management and supervision and shall furnish a continuous investment program for the Allocated Assets consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions, as stated in the Fund’s current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information. The Subadviser shall, with respect to the Allocated Assets, determine from time to time what securities and other investments will be purchased (including, as permitted in accordance with this paragraph, swap agreements, options and futures), retained, sold or exchanged by the Fund and what portion of the Allocated Assets will be held in the various securities and other investments in which the Fund invests, and shall implement those decisions (including the execution of investment documentation), all subject to the provisions of the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and By-Laws (collectively, the “Governing Documents”), the 1940 Act, and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and interpretive guidance issued thereunder by the SEC staff and any other applicable federal and state law, as well as the investment objectives, policies and restrictions of the Fund referred to above, and any other specific policies adopted by the Board and disclosed to the Subadviser. The Subadviser is authorized as the agent of the Trust to give instructions with respect to the Allocated Assets to the custodian of the Fund as to deliveries of securities and other investments


and payments of cash for the account of the Fund. Subject to applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the investment program to be provided hereunder may entail the investment of all or substantially all of the assets of a Fund in one or more investment companies. The Subadviser will place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) to the Funds and/or the other accounts over which the Subadviser or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The Subadviser is authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for a Fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the Subadviser determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities which the Subadviser and its affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The Board may adopt policies and procedures that modify and restrict the Subadviser’s authority regarding the execution of the Fund’s portfolio transactions provided herein. The Subadviser shall exercise voting rights, rights to consent to corporate action and any other rights pertaining to the Allocated Assets subject to such direction as the Board may provide, and shall perform such other functions of investment management and supervision as may be directed by the Board.

(b) The Fund hereby authorizes any entity or person associated with the Subadviser which is a member of a national securities exchange to effect any transaction on the exchange for the account of the Fund which is permitted by Section 11(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder, and the Fund hereby consents to the retention of compensation for such transactions in accordance with Rule 11a2-2(T)(a)(2)(iv). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Subadviser agrees that it will not deal with itself, or with members of the Board or any principal underwriter of the Fund, as principals or agents in making purchases or sales of securities or other property for the account of a Fund, nor will it purchase any securities from an underwriting or selling group in which the Subadviser or its affiliates is participating, or arrange for purchases and sales of securities between a Fund and another account advised by the Subadviser or its affiliates, except in each case as permitted by the 1940 Act and in accordance with such policies and procedures as may be adopted by a Fund from time to time, and will comply with all other provisions of the Governing Documents and the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information relative to the Subadviser and its directors and officers.

4. The Subadviser may delegate to any other one or more companies that the Subadviser controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, or to specified employees of any such companies, certain of the Subadviser’s duties under this Agreement, provided in each case the Subadviser will supervise the activities of each such entity or employees thereof, that such delegation will not relieve the Subadviser of any of its duties or obligations under this Agreement and provided further that any such arrangements are entered into in accordance with all applicable requirements of the 1940 Act.

5. The Subadviser agrees that it will keep records relating to its services hereunder in accordance with all applicable laws, and in compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the 1940 Act, the Subadviser hereby agrees that any records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund, and further agrees to surrender promptly to the Fund any of such records upon the Fund’s request. The Subadviser further agrees to arrange for the preservation of the records required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act for the periods prescribed by Rule 31a-2 under the 1940 Act.

 

2


6. (a) The Subadviser, at its expense, shall supply the Board, the officers of the Trust, and the Manager with all information and reports reasonably required by them and reasonably available to the Subadviser relating to the services provided by the Subadviser hereunder.

(b) The Subadviser shall bear all expenses, and shall furnish all necessary services, facilities and personnel, in connection with its responsibilities under this Agreement. Other than as herein specifically indicated, the Subadviser shall not be responsible for the Fund’s expenses, including, without limitation, advisory fees; distribution fees; interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the Fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the Fund’s securities and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the Fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the Fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the Fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the Fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the Fund, if any; and the Fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the Fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any non-recurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the Fund is a party and the legal obligation which the Fund may have to indemnify the Fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

7. No member of the Board, officer or employee of the Trust or Fund shall receive from the Trust or Fund any salary or other compensation as such member of the Board, officer or employee while he is at the same time a director, officer, or employee of the Subadviser or any affiliated company of the Subadviser, except as the Board may decide. This paragraph shall not apply to Board members, executive committee members, consultants and other persons who are not regular members of the Subadviser’s or any affiliated company’s staff.

8. As compensation for the services performed by the Subadviser, including the services of any consultants retained by the Subadviser, the Manager shall pay the Subadviser out of the management fee it receives with respect to the Fund, and only to the extent thereof, as promptly as possible after the last day of each month, a fee, computed daily at an annual rate set forth on Schedule A annexed hereto. The first payment of the fee shall be made as promptly as possible at the end of the month succeeding the effective date of this Agreement, and shall constitute a full payment of the fee due the Subadviser for all services prior to that date. If this Agreement is terminated as of any date not the last day of a month, such fee shall be paid as promptly as possible after such date of termination, shall be based on the average daily net assets of the Fund or, if less, the portion thereof comprising the Allocated Assets in that period from the beginning of such month to such date of termination, and shall be that proportion of such average daily net assets as the number of business days in such period bears to the number of business days in such month. The average daily net assets of the Fund or the portion thereof comprising the Allocated Assets shall in all cases be based only on business days and be computed as of the time of the regular close of business of the New York Stock Exchange, or such other time as may be determined by the Board.

9. The Subadviser assumes no responsibility under this Agreement other than to render the services called for hereunder, in good faith, and shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law, or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or

 

3


omission in the execution of securities transactions for a Fund, provided that nothing in this Agreement shall protect the Subadviser against any liability to the Manager or the Fund to which the Subadviser would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder. As used in this Section 9, the term “Subadviser” shall include any affiliates of the Subadviser performing services for the Trust or the Fund contemplated hereby and the partners, shareholders, directors, officers and employees of the Subadviser and such affiliates.

10. Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict the right of any director, officer, or employee of the Subadviser who may also be a Board member, officer, or employee of the Trust or the Fund, to engage in any other business or to devote his time and attention in part to the management or other aspects of any other business, whether of a similar nature or a dissimilar nature, nor to limit or restrict the right of the Subadviser to engage in any other business or to render services of any kind, including investment advisory and management services, to any other fund, firm, individual or association. If the purchase or sale of securities consistent with the investment policies of a Fund or one or more other accounts of the Subadviser is considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities will be allocated among the accounts in a manner deemed equitable by the Subadviser. Such transactions may be combined, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and consistent with the Subadviser’s policies and procedures as presented to the Board from time to time.

11. For the purposes of this Agreement, the Fund’s “net assets” shall be determined as provided in the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information and the terms “assignment,” “interested person,” and “majority of the outstanding voting securities” shall have the meanings given to them by Section 2(a) of the 1940 Act, subject to such exemptions as may be granted by the SEC by any rule, regulation or order.

12. This Agreement will become effective with respect to the Fund on the date set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided that it shall have been approved by the Trust’s Board and, if so required by the 1940 Act, by the shareholders of the Fund in accordance with the requirements of the 1940 Act and, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, will continue in effect through November 30, 2007. Thereafter, if not terminated, this Agreement shall continue in effect with respect to the Fund, so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (i) by the Board or (ii) by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Board members who are not interested persons of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.

13. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund without penalty by the Board or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the Subadviser, or by the Subadviser upon not less than 90 days’ written notice to the Fund and the Manager, and will be terminated upon the mutual written consent of the Manager and the Subadviser. This Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment by the Subadviser and shall not be assignable by the Manager without the consent of the Subadviser.

14. The Subadviser agrees that for any claim by it against the Fund in connection with this Agreement or the services rendered under this Agreement, it shall look only to assets of the Fund for satisfaction and that it shall have no claim against the assets of any other portfolios of the Trust.

 

4


15. No provision of this Agreement may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated orally, but only by an instrument in writing signed by the party against which enforcement of the change, waiver, discharge or termination is sought, and no material amendment of the Agreement shall be effective until approved, if so required by the 1940 Act, by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities.

16. This Agreement, and any supplemental terms contained on Annex I hereto, if applicable, embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the parties hereto, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. Should any part of this Agreement be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby. This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors.

17. This Agreement shall be construed and the provisions thereof interpreted under and in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

[signature page to follow]

 

5


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by their officers thereunto duly authorized.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS FUND ADVISOR, LLC
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

CLEARBRIDGE ADVISORS, LLC

By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

The foregoing is acknowledged:

The undersigned officer of the Trust has executed this Agreement not individually but in his/her capacity as an officer of the Trust. The Trust does not hereby undertake, on behalf of the Fund or otherwise, any obligation to the Subadviser.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS INVESTMENT TRUST
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

6


ANNEX I

Not applicable.


SCHEDULE A

Legg Mason Partners International All Cap Opportunity Fund

Date:

[                ] [    ], [            ]

Fee:

The sub-advisory fee will be 70% of the management fee, paid to Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, net of expense waivers and reimbursements.

Exhibit (d)(27)

SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT

This SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made this      day of [            ], [            ], by and between Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Manager”), and Clearbridge Advisors, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Subadviser”).

WHEREAS, the Manager has been retained by Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”), a registered management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) to provide investment advisory, management, and administrative services to the Trust with respect to certain series of the Trust; and

WHEREAS, the Manager wishes to engage the Subadviser to provide certain investment advisory services to the Trust with respect to the series of the Trust designated in Schedule A annexed hereto (the “Fund”) and Subadviser is willing to furnish such services on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth;

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed as follows:

1. In accordance with and subject to the Management Agreement between the Trust and the Manager with respect to the Fund (the “Management Agreement”), the Manager hereby appoints the Subadviser to act as Subadviser with respect to the Fund for the period and on the terms set forth in this Agreement. The Subadviser accepts such appointment and agrees to render the services herein set forth, for the compensation herein provided.

2. The Manager shall cause the Subadviser to be kept fully informed at all times with regard to the securities owned by the Fund, its funds available, or to become available, for investment, and generally as to the condition of the Fund’s affairs. Manager shall furnish the Subadviser with such other documents and information with regard to the Fund’s affairs as the Subadviser may from time to time reasonably request.

3. (a) Subject to the supervision of the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) and the Manager, the Subadviser shall regularly provide the Fund with respect to such portion of the Fund’s assets as shall be allocated to the Subadviser by the Manager from time to time (the “Allocated Assets”) with investment research, advice, management and supervision and shall furnish a continuous investment program for the Allocated Assets consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions, as stated in the Fund’s current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information. The Subadviser shall, with respect to the Allocated Assets, determine from time to time what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained, sold or exchanged by the Fund and what portion of the Allocated Assets will be held in the various securities and other investments in which the Fund invests, and shall implement those decisions, all subject to the provisions of the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and By-Laws (collectively, the “Governing Documents”), the 1940 Act, and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and interpretive guidance issued thereunder by the SEC staff and any other applicable federal and state law, as well as the investment objectives, policies and restrictions of the Fund referred to above, and any other specific policies adopted by the Board and disclosed to the Subadviser. The Subadviser is authorized as the agent of the Trust to give instructions with respect to the Allocated Assets to the custodian of the Fund as to deliveries of securities and other investments and payments of cash for the account of the Fund. Subject to applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the investment program to be provided hereunder may entail


the investment of all or substantially all of the assets of a Fund in one or more investment companies. The Subadviser will place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) to the Funds and/or the other accounts over which the Subadviser or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The Subadviser is authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for a Fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the Subadviser determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities which the Subadviser and its affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The Board may adopt policies and procedures that modify and restrict the Subadviser’s authority regarding the execution of the Fund’s portfolio transactions provided herein. The Subadviser shall exercise voting rights, rights to consent to corporate action and any other rights pertaining to the Allocated Assets subject to such direction as the Board may provide, and shall perform such other functions of investment management and supervision as may be directed by the Board.

(b) The Fund hereby authorizes any entity or person associated with the Subadviser which is a member of a national securities exchange to effect any transaction on the exchange for the account of the Fund which is permitted by Section 11(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder, and the Fund hereby consents to the retention of compensation for such transactions in accordance with Rule 11a2-2(T)(a)(2)(iv). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Subadviser agrees that it will not deal with itself, or with members of the Board or any principal underwriter of the Fund, as principals or agents in making purchases or sales of securities or other property for the account of a Fund, nor will it purchase any securities from an underwriting or selling group in which the Subadviser or its affiliates is participating, or arrange for purchases and sales of securities between a Fund and another account advised by the Subadviser or its affiliates, except in each case as permitted by the 1940 Act and in accordance with such policies and procedures as may be adopted by a Fund from time to time, and will comply with all other provisions of the Governing Documents and the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information relative to the Subadviser and its directors and officers.

4. The Subadviser may delegate to any other one or more companies that the Subadviser controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, or to specified employees of any such companies, certain of the Subadviser’s duties under this Agreement, provided in each case the Subadviser will supervise the activities of each such entity or employees thereof, that such delegation will not relieve the Subadviser of any of its duties or obligations under this Agreement and provided further that any such arrangements are entered into in accordance with all applicable requirements of the 1940 Act.

5. The Subadviser agrees that it will keep records relating to its services hereunder in accordance with all applicable laws, and in compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the 1940 Act, the Subadviser hereby agrees that any records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund, and further agrees to surrender promptly to the Fund any of such records upon the Fund’s request. The Subadviser further agrees to arrange for the preservation of the records required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act for the periods prescribed by Rule 31a-2 under the 1940 Act.

 

2


6. (a) The Subadviser, at its expense, shall supply the Board, the officers of the Trust, and the Manager with all information and reports reasonably required by them and reasonably available to the Subadviser relating to the services provided by the Subadviser hereunder.

(b) The Subadviser shall bear all expenses, and shall furnish all necessary services, facilities and personnel, in connection with its responsibilities under this Agreement. Other than as herein specifically indicated, the Subadviser shall not be responsible for the Fund’s expenses, including, without limitation, advisory fees; distribution fees; interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the Fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the Fund’s securities and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the Fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the Fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the Fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the Fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the Fund, if any; and the Fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the Fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any non-recurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the Fund is a party and the legal obligation which the Fund may have to indemnify the Fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

7. No member of the Board, officer or employee of the Trust or Fund shall receive from the Trust or Fund any salary or other compensation as such member of the Board, officer or employee while he is at the same time a director, officer, or employee of the Subadviser or any affiliated company of the Subadviser, except as the Board may decide. This paragraph shall not apply to Board members, executive committee members, consultants and other persons who are not regular members of the Subadviser’s or any affiliated company’s staff.

8. As compensation for the services performed by the Subadviser, including the services of any consultants retained by the Subadviser, the Manager shall pay the Subadviser out of the management fee it receives with respect to the Fund, and only to the extent thereof, as promptly as possible after the last day of each month, a fee, computed daily at an annual rate set forth on Schedule A annexed hereto. The first payment of the fee shall be made as promptly as possible at the end of the month succeeding the effective date of this Agreement, and shall constitute a full payment of the fee due the Subadviser for all services prior to that date. If this Agreement is terminated as of any date not the last day of a month, such fee shall be paid as promptly as possible after such date of termination, shall be based on the average daily net assets of the Fund or, if less, the portion thereof comprising the Allocated Assets in that period from the beginning of such month to such date of termination, and shall be that proportion of such average daily net assets as the number of business days in such period bears to the number of business days in such month. The average daily net assets of the Fund or the portion thereof comprising the Allocated Assets shall in all cases be based only on business days and be computed as of the time of the regular close of business of the New York Stock Exchange, or such other time as may be determined by the Board.

9. The Subadviser assumes no responsibility under this Agreement other than to render the services called for hereunder, in good faith, and shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law, or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or

 

3


omission in the execution of securities transactions for a Fund, provided that nothing in this Agreement shall protect the Subadviser against any liability to the Manager or the Fund to which the Subadviser would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder. As used in this Section 9, the term “Subadviser” shall include any affiliates of the Subadviser performing services for the Trust or the Fund contemplated hereby and the partners, shareholders, directors, officers and employees of the Subadviser and such affiliates.

10. Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict the right of any director, officer, or employee of the Subadviser who may also be a Board member, officer, or employee of the Trust or the Fund, to engage in any other business or to devote his time and attention in part to the management or other aspects of any other business, whether of a similar nature or a dissimilar nature, nor to limit or restrict the right of the Subadviser to engage in any other business or to render services of any kind, including investment advisory and management services, to any other fund, firm, individual or association. If the purchase or sale of securities consistent with the investment policies of a Fund or one or more other accounts of the Subadviser is considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities will be allocated among the accounts in a manner deemed equitable by the Subadviser. Such transactions may be combined, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and consistent with the Subadviser’s policies and procedures as presented to the Board from time to time.

11. For the purposes of this Agreement, the Fund’s “net assets” shall be determined as provided in the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information and the terms “assignment,” “interested person,” and “majority of the outstanding voting securities” shall have the meanings given to them by Section 2(a) of the 1940 Act, subject to such exemptions as may be granted by the SEC by any rule, regulation or order.

12. This Agreement will become effective with respect to the Fund on the date set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided that it shall have been approved by the Trust’s Board and, if so required by the 1940 Act, by the shareholders of the Fund in accordance with the requirements of the 1940 Act and, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, will continue in effect through November 30, 2007. Thereafter, if not terminated, this Agreement shall continue in effect with respect to the Fund, so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (i) by the Board or (ii) by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Board members who are not interested persons of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.

13. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund without penalty by the Board or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the Subadviser, or by the Subadviser upon not less than 90 days’ written notice to the Fund and the Manager, and will be terminated upon the mutual written consent of the Manager and the Subadviser. This Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment by the Subadviser and shall not be assignable by the Manager without the consent of the Subadviser.

14. The Subadviser agrees that for any claim by it against the Fund in connection with this Agreement or the services rendered under this Agreement, it shall look only to assets of the Fund for satisfaction and that it shall have no claim against the assets of any other portfolios of the Trust.

 

4


15. No provision of this Agreement may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated orally, but only by an instrument in writing signed by the party against which enforcement of the change, waiver, discharge or termination is sought, and no material amendment of the Agreement shall be effective until approved, if so required by the 1940 Act, by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities.

16. This Agreement, and any supplemental terms contained on Annex I hereto, if applicable, embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the parties hereto, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. Should any part of this Agreement be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby. This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors.

17. This Agreement shall be construed and the provisions thereof interpreted under and in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

[signature page to follow]

 

5


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by their officers thereunto duly authorized.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS FUND ADVISOR, LLC
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  
CLEARBRIDGE ADVISORS, LLC
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

The foregoing is acknowledged:

The undersigned officer of the Trust has executed this Agreement not individually but in his/her capacity as an officer of the Trust. The Trust does not hereby undertake, on behalf of the Fund or otherwise, any obligation to the Subadviser.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS INVESTMENT TRUST
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

6


ANNEX I

Not applicable.


SCHEDULE A

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Fund

Date:

[                ] [    ], [            ]

Fee:

The sub-advisory fee will be 70% of the management fee paid to Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, net of expense waivers and reimbursements.

Exhibit (d)(28)

SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT

This SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made this      st day of [            ], [            ], by and between Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Manager”), and Clearbridge Advisors, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Subadviser”).

WHEREAS, the Manager has been retained by Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”), a registered management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) to provide investment advisory, management, and administrative services to the Trust with respect to certain series of the Trust; and

WHEREAS, the Manager wishes to engage the Subadviser to provide certain investment advisory services to the Trust with respect to the series of the Trust designated in Schedule A annexed hereto (the “Fund”) and Subadviser is willing to furnish such services on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth;

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed as follows:

1. In accordance with and subject to the Management Agreement between the Trust and the Manager with respect to the Fund (the “Management Agreement”), the Manager hereby appoints the Subadviser to act as Subadviser with respect to the Fund for the period and on the terms set forth in this Agreement. The Subadviser accepts such appointment and agrees to render the services herein set forth, for the compensation herein provided.

2. The Manager shall cause the Subadviser to be kept fully informed at all times with regard to the securities owned by the Fund, its funds available, or to become available, for investment, and generally as to the condition of the Fund’s affairs. Manager shall furnish the Subadviser with such other documents and information with regard to the Fund’s affairs as the Subadviser may from time to time reasonably request.

3. (a) Subject to the supervision of the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) and the Manager, the Subadviser shall regularly provide the Fund with respect to such portion of the Fund’s assets as shall be allocated to the Subadviser by the Manager from time to time (the “Allocated Assets”) with investment research, advice, management and supervision and shall furnish a continuous investment program for the Allocated Assets consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions, as stated in the Fund’s current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information. The Subadviser shall, with respect to the Allocated Assets, determine from time to time what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained, sold or exchanged by the Fund and what portion of the Allocated Assets will be held in the various securities and other investments in which the Fund invests, and shall implement those decisions, all subject to the provisions of the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and By-Laws (collectively, the “Governing Documents”), the 1940 Act, and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and interpretive guidance issued thereunder by the SEC staff and any other applicable federal and state law, as well as the investment objectives, policies and restrictions of the Fund referred to above, and any other specific policies adopted by the Board and disclosed to the Subadviser. The Subadviser is authorized as the agent of the Trust to give instructions with respect to the Allocated Assets to the custodian of the Fund as to deliveries of securities and other investments and payments of cash for the account of the Fund. Subject to applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the investment program to be provided hereunder may entail


the investment of all or substantially all of the assets of a Fund in one or more investment companies. The Subadviser will place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) to the Funds and/or the other accounts over which the Subadviser or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The Subadviser is authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for a Fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the Subadviser determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities which the Subadviser and its affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The Board may adopt policies and procedures that modify and restrict the Subadviser’s authority regarding the execution of the Fund’s portfolio transactions provided herein. The Subadviser shall exercise voting rights, rights to consent to corporate action and any other rights pertaining to the Allocated Assets subject to such direction as the Board may provide, and shall perform such other functions of investment management and supervision as may be directed by the Board.

(b) The Fund hereby authorizes any entity or person associated with the Subadviser which is a member of a national securities exchange to effect any transaction on the exchange for the account of the Fund which is permitted by Section 11(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder, and the Fund hereby consents to the retention of compensation for such transactions in accordance with Rule 11a2-2(T)(a)(2)(iv). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Subadviser agrees that it will not deal with itself, or with members of the Board or any principal underwriter of the Fund, as principals or agents in making purchases or sales of securities or other property for the account of a Fund, nor will it purchase any securities from an underwriting or selling group in which the Subadviser or its affiliates is participating, or arrange for purchases and sales of securities between a Fund and another account advised by the Subadviser or its affiliates, except in each case as permitted by the 1940 Act and in accordance with such policies and procedures as may be adopted by a Fund from time to time, and will comply with all other provisions of the Governing Documents and the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information relative to the Subadviser and its directors and officers.

4. The Subadviser may delegate to any other one or more companies that the Subadviser controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, or to specified employees of any such companies, certain of the Subadviser’s duties under this Agreement, provided in each case the Subadviser will supervise the activities of each such entity or employees thereof, that such delegation will not relieve the Subadviser of any of its duties or obligations under this Agreement and provided further that any such arrangements are entered into in accordance with all applicable requirements of the 1940 Act.

5. The Subadviser agrees that it will keep records relating to its services hereunder in accordance with all applicable laws, and in compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the 1940 Act, the Subadviser hereby agrees that any records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund, and further agrees to surrender promptly to the Fund any of such records upon the Fund’s request. The Subadviser further agrees to arrange for the preservation of the records required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act for the periods prescribed by Rule 31a-2 under the 1940 Act.

 

2


6. (a) The Subadviser, at its expense, shall supply the Board, the officers of the Trust, and the Manager with all information and reports reasonably required by them and reasonably available to the Subadviser relating to the services provided by the Subadviser hereunder.

(b) The Subadviser shall bear all expenses, and shall furnish all necessary services, facilities and personnel, in connection with its responsibilities under this Agreement. Other than as herein specifically indicated, the Subadviser shall not be responsible for the Fund’s expenses, including, without limitation, advisory fees; distribution fees; interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the Fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the Fund’s securities and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the Fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the Fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the Fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the Fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the Fund, if any; and the Fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the Fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any non-recurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the Fund is a party and the legal obligation which the Fund may have to indemnify the Fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

7. No member of the Board, officer or employee of the Trust or Fund shall receive from the Trust or Fund any salary or other compensation as such member of the Board, officer or employee while he is at the same time a director, officer, or employee of the Subadviser or any affiliated company of the Subadviser, except as the Board may decide. This paragraph shall not apply to Board members, executive committee members, consultants and other persons who are not regular members of the Subadviser’s or any affiliated company’s staff.

8. As compensation for the services performed by the Subadviser, including the services of any consultants retained by the Subadviser, the Manager shall pay the Subadviser out of the management fee it receives with respect to the Fund, and only to the extent thereof, as promptly as possible after the last day of each month, a fee, computed daily at an annual rate set forth on Schedule A annexed hereto. The first payment of the fee shall be made as promptly as possible at the end of the month succeeding the effective date of this Agreement, and shall constitute a full payment of the fee due the Subadviser for all services prior to that date. If this Agreement is terminated as of any date not the last day of a month, such fee shall be paid as promptly as possible after such date of termination, shall be based on the average daily net assets of the Fund or, if less, the portion thereof comprising the Allocated Assets in that period from the beginning of such month to such date of termination, and shall be that proportion of such average daily net assets as the number of business days in such period bears to the number of business days in such month. The average daily net assets of the Fund or the portion thereof comprising the Allocated Assets shall in all cases be based only on business days and be computed as of the time of the regular close of business of the New York Stock Exchange, or such other time as may be determined by the Board.

9. The Subadviser assumes no responsibility under this Agreement other than to render the services called for hereunder, in good faith, and shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law, or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or

 

3


omission in the execution of securities transactions for a Fund, provided that nothing in this Agreement shall protect the Subadviser against any liability to the Manager or the Fund to which the Subadviser would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder. As used in this Section 9, the term “Subadviser” shall include any affiliates of the Subadviser performing services for the Trust or the Fund contemplated hereby and the partners, shareholders, directors, officers and employees of the Subadviser and such affiliates.

10. Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict the right of any director, officer, or employee of the Subadviser who may also be a Board member, officer, or employee of the Trust or the Fund, to engage in any other business or to devote his time and attention in part to the management or other aspects of any other business, whether of a similar nature or a dissimilar nature, nor to limit or restrict the right of the Subadviser to engage in any other business or to render services of any kind, including investment advisory and management services, to any other fund, firm, individual or association. If the purchase or sale of securities consistent with the investment policies of a Fund or one or more other accounts of the Subadviser is considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities will be allocated among the accounts in a manner deemed equitable by the Subadviser. Such transactions may be combined, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and consistent with the Subadviser’s policies and procedures as presented to the Board from time to time.

11. For the purposes of this Agreement, the Fund’s “net assets” shall be determined as provided in the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information and the terms “assignment,” “interested person,” and “majority of the outstanding voting securities” shall have the meanings given to them by Section 2(a) of the 1940 Act, subject to such exemptions as may be granted by the SEC by any rule, regulation or order.

12. This Agreement will become effective with respect to the Fund on the date set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided that it shall have been approved by the Trust’s Board and, if so required by the 1940 Act, by the shareholders of the Fund in accordance with the requirements of the 1940 Act and, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, will continue in effect through November 30, 2007. Thereafter, if not terminated, this Agreement shall continue in effect with respect to the Fund, so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (i) by the Board or (ii) by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Board members who are not interested persons of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.

13. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund without penalty by the Board or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the Subadviser, or by the Subadviser upon not less than 90 days’ written notice to the Fund and the Manager, and will be terminated upon the mutual written consent of the Manager and the Subadviser. This Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment by the Subadviser and shall not be assignable by the Manager without the consent of the Subadviser.

14. The Subadviser agrees that for any claim by it against the Fund in connection with this Agreement or the services rendered under this Agreement, it shall look only to assets of the Fund for satisfaction and that it shall have no claim against the assets of any other portfolios of the Trust.

 

4


15. No provision of this Agreement may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated orally, but only by an instrument in writing signed by the party against which enforcement of the change, waiver, discharge or termination is sought, and no material amendment of the Agreement shall be effective until approved, if so required by the 1940 Act, by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities.

16. This Agreement, and any supplemental terms contained on Annex I hereto, if applicable, embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the parties hereto, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. Should any part of this Agreement be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby. This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors.

17. This Agreement shall be construed and the provisions thereof interpreted under and in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

[signature page to follow]

 

5


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by their officers thereunto duly authorized.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS FUND ADVISOR, LLC
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  
CLEARBRIDGE ADVISORS, LLC
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

The foregoing is acknowledged:

The undersigned officer of the Trust has executed this Agreement not individually but in his/her capacity as an officer of the Trust. The Trust does not hereby undertake, on behalf of the Fund or otherwise, any obligation to the Subadviser.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS INVESTMENT TRUST
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

6


ANNEX I

Not applicable.


SCHEDULE A

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Growth Opportunities Fund

Date:

[                 ] [     ], [             ]

Fee:

The sub-advisory fee will be 70% of the management fee paid to Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, net of expense waivers and reimbursements.

Exhibit (d)(29)

SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT

This SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made this      day of [            ], [            ], by and between Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Manager”), and Clearbridge Advisors, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Subadviser”).

WHEREAS, the Manager has been retained by Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”), a registered management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) to provide investment advisory, management, and administrative services to the Trust with respect to certain series of the Trust; and

WHEREAS, the Manager wishes to engage the Subadviser to provide certain investment advisory services to the Trust with respect to the series of the Trust designated in Schedule A annexed hereto (the “Fund”) and Subadviser is willing to furnish such services on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth;

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed as follows:

1. In accordance with and subject to the Management Agreement between the Trust and the Manager with respect to the Fund (the “Management Agreement”), the Manager hereby appoints the Subadviser to act as Subadviser with respect to the Fund for the period and on the terms set forth in this Agreement. The Subadviser accepts such appointment and agrees to render the services herein set forth, for the compensation herein provided.

2. The Manager shall cause the Subadviser to be kept fully informed at all times with regard to the securities owned by the Fund, its funds available, or to become available, for investment, and generally as to the condition of the Fund’s affairs. Manager shall furnish the Subadviser with such other documents and information with regard to the Fund’s affairs as the Subadviser may from time to time reasonably request.

3. (a) Subject to the supervision of the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) and the Manager, the Subadviser shall regularly provide the Fund with respect to such portion of the Fund’s assets as shall be allocated to the Subadviser by the Manager from time to time (the “Allocated Assets”) with investment research, advice, management and supervision and shall furnish a continuous investment program for the Allocated Assets consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions, as stated in the Fund’s current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information. The Subadviser shall, with respect to the Allocated Assets, determine from time to time what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained, sold or exchanged by the Fund and what portion of the Allocated Assets will be held in the various securities and other investments in which the Fund invests, and shall implement those decisions, all subject to the provisions of the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and By-Laws (collectively, the “Governing Documents”), the 1940 Act, and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and interpretive guidance issued thereunder by the SEC staff and any other applicable federal and state law, as well as the investment objectives, policies and restrictions of the Fund referred to above, and any other specific policies adopted by the Board and disclosed to the Subadviser. The Subadviser is authorized as the agent of the Trust to give instructions with respect to the Allocated Assets to the custodian of the Fund as to deliveries of securities and other investments and payments of cash for the account of the Fund. Subject to applicable provisions of the 1940 Act, the investment program to be provided hereunder may entail


the investment of all or substantially all of the assets of a Fund in one or more investment companies. The Subadviser will place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) to the Funds and/or the other accounts over which the Subadviser or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The Subadviser is authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for a Fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the Subadviser determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities which the Subadviser and its affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The Board may adopt policies and procedures that modify and restrict the Subadviser’s authority regarding the execution of the Fund’s portfolio transactions provided herein. The Subadviser shall exercise voting rights, rights to consent to corporate action and any other rights pertaining to the Allocated Assets subject to such direction as the Board may provide, and shall perform such other functions of investment management and supervision as may be directed by the Board.

(b) The Fund hereby authorizes any entity or person associated with the Subadviser which is a member of a national securities exchange to effect any transaction on the exchange for the account of the Fund which is permitted by Section 11(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder, and the Fund hereby consents to the retention of compensation for such transactions in accordance with Rule 11a2-2(T)(a)(2)(iv). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Subadviser agrees that it will not deal with itself, or with members of the Board or any principal underwriter of the Fund, as principals or agents in making purchases or sales of securities or other property for the account of a Fund, nor will it purchase any securities from an underwriting or selling group in which the Subadviser or its affiliates is participating, or arrange for purchases and sales of securities between a Fund and another account advised by the Subadviser or its affiliates, except in each case as permitted by the 1940 Act and in accordance with such policies and procedures as may be adopted by a Fund from time to time, and will comply with all other provisions of the Governing Documents and the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information relative to the Subadviser and its directors and officers.

4. The Subadviser may delegate to any other one or more companies that the Subadviser controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, or to specified employees of any such companies, certain of the Subadviser’s duties under this Agreement, provided in each case the Subadviser will supervise the activities of each such entity or employees thereof, that such delegation will not relieve the Subadviser of any of its duties or obligations under this Agreement and provided further that any such arrangements are entered into in accordance with all applicable requirements of the 1940 Act.

5. The Subadviser agrees that it will keep records relating to its services hereunder in accordance with all applicable laws, and in compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the 1940 Act, the Subadviser hereby agrees that any records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund, and further agrees to surrender promptly to the Fund any of such records upon the Fund’s request. The Subadviser further agrees to arrange for the preservation of the records required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act for the periods prescribed by Rule 31a-2 under the 1940 Act.

 

2


6. (a) The Subadviser, at its expense, shall supply the Board, the officers of the Trust, and the Manager with all information and reports reasonably required by them and reasonably available to the Subadviser relating to the services provided by the Subadviser hereunder.

(b) The Subadviser shall bear all expenses, and shall furnish all necessary services, facilities and personnel, in connection with its responsibilities under this Agreement. Other than as herein specifically indicated, the Subadviser shall not be responsible for the Fund’s expenses, including, without limitation, advisory fees; distribution fees; interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the Fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the Fund’s securities and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the Fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the Fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the Fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the Fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the Fund, if any; and the Fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the Fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any non-recurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the Fund is a party and the legal obligation which the Fund may have to indemnify the Fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

7. No member of the Board, officer or employee of the Trust or Fund shall receive from the Trust or Fund any salary or other compensation as such member of the Board, officer or employee while he is at the same time a director, officer, or employee of the Subadviser or any affiliated company of the Subadviser, except as the Board may decide. This paragraph shall not apply to Board members, executive committee members, consultants and other persons who are not regular members of the Subadviser’s or any affiliated company’s staff.

8. As compensation for the services performed by the Subadviser, including the services of any consultants retained by the Subadviser, the Manager shall pay the Subadviser out of the management fee it receives with respect to the Fund, and only to the extent thereof, as promptly as possible after the last day of each month, a fee, computed daily at an annual rate set forth on Schedule A annexed hereto. The first payment of the fee shall be made as promptly as possible at the end of the month succeeding the effective date of this Agreement, and shall constitute a full payment of the fee due the Subadviser for all services prior to that date. If this Agreement is terminated as of any date not the last day of a month, such fee shall be paid as promptly as possible after such date of termination, shall be based on the average daily net assets of the Fund or, if less, the portion thereof comprising the Allocated Assets in that period from the beginning of such month to such date of termination, and shall be that proportion of such average daily net assets as the number of business days in such period bears to the number of business days in such month. The average daily net assets of the Fund or the portion thereof comprising the Allocated Assets shall in all cases be based only on business days and be computed as of the time of the regular close of business of the New York Stock Exchange, or such other time as may be determined by the Board.

9. The Subadviser assumes no responsibility under this Agreement other than to render the services called for hereunder, in good faith, and shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law, or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or

 

3


omission in the execution of securities transactions for a Fund, provided that nothing in this Agreement shall protect the Subadviser against any liability to the Manager or the Fund to which the Subadviser would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder. As used in this Section 9, the term “Subadviser” shall include any affiliates of the Subadviser performing services for the Trust or the Fund contemplated hereby and the partners, shareholders, directors, officers and employees of the Subadviser and such affiliates.

10. Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict the right of any director, officer, or employee of the Subadviser who may also be a Board member, officer, or employee of the Trust or the Fund, to engage in any other business or to devote his time and attention in part to the management or other aspects of any other business, whether of a similar nature or a dissimilar nature, nor to limit or restrict the right of the Subadviser to engage in any other business or to render services of any kind, including investment advisory and management services, to any other fund, firm, individual or association. If the purchase or sale of securities consistent with the investment policies of a Fund or one or more other accounts of the Subadviser is considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities will be allocated among the accounts in a manner deemed equitable by the Subadviser. Such transactions may be combined, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and consistent with the Subadviser’s policies and procedures as presented to the Board from time to time.

11. For the purposes of this Agreement, the Fund’s “net assets” shall be determined as provided in the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information and the terms “assignment,” “interested person,” and “majority of the outstanding voting securities” shall have the meanings given to them by Section 2(a) of the 1940 Act, subject to such exemptions as may be granted by the SEC by any rule, regulation or order.

12. This Agreement will become effective with respect to the Fund on the date set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided that it shall have been approved by the Trust’s Board and, if so required by the 1940 Act, by the shareholders of the Fund in accordance with the requirements of the 1940 Act and, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, will continue in effect through November 30, 2007. Thereafter, if not terminated, this Agreement shall continue in effect with respect to the Fund, so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (i) by the Board or (ii) by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Board members who are not interested persons of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.

13. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund without penalty by the Board or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the Subadviser, or by the Subadviser upon not less than 90 days’ written notice to the Fund and the Manager, and will be terminated upon the mutual written consent of the Manager and the Subadviser. This Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment by the Subadviser and shall not be assignable by the Manager without the consent of the Subadviser.

14. The Subadviser agrees that for any claim by it against the Fund in connection with this Agreement or the services rendered under this Agreement, it shall look only to assets of the Fund for satisfaction and that it shall have no claim against the assets of any other portfolios of the Trust.

 

4


15. No provision of this Agreement may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated orally, but only by an instrument in writing signed by the party against which enforcement of the change, waiver, discharge or termination is sought, and no material amendment of the Agreement shall be effective until approved, if so required by the 1940 Act, by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities.

16. This Agreement, and any supplemental terms contained on Annex I hereto, if applicable, embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the parties hereto, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. Should any part of this Agreement be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby. This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors.

17. This Agreement shall be construed and the provisions thereof interpreted under and in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

[signature page to follow]

 

5


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by their officers thereunto duly authorized.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS FUND ADVISOR, LLC
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

CLEARBRIDGE ADVISORS, LLC

By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

The foregoing is acknowledged:

The undersigned officer of the Trust has executed this Agreement not individually but in his/her capacity as an officer of the Trust. The Trust does not hereby undertake, on behalf of the Fund or otherwise, any obligation to the Subadviser.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS INVESTMENT TRUST
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

6


ANNEX I

Not applicable.


SCHEDULE A

Legg Mason Partners Small Cap Value Fund

Date:

[                ] [    ], [            ]

Fee:

The sub-advisory fee will be 70% of the management fee paid to Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, net of expense waivers and reimbursements.

Exhibit (d)(30)

SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT

This SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made this      day of [            ], [            ], by and between Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (the “Manager”), and Batterymarch Financial Management, Inc., a Maryland corporation (the “Subadviser”).

WHEREAS, the Manager has been retained by Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust (the “Trust”), a registered management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) to provide investment advisory, management, and administrative services to the Trust with respect to certain series of the Trust; and

WHEREAS, the Manager wishes to engage the Subadviser to provide certain investment advisory services to the Trust with respect to the series of the Trust designated in Schedule A annexed hereto (the “Fund”) and Subadviser is willing to furnish such services on the terms and conditions hereinafter set forth;

NOW THEREFORE, in consideration of the promises and mutual covenants herein contained, it is agreed as follows:

1. In accordance with and subject to the Management Agreement between the Trust and the Manager with respect to the Fund (the “Management Agreement”), the Manager hereby appoints the Subadviser to act as Subadviser with respect to the Fund for the period and on the terms set forth in this Agreement. The Subadviser accepts such appointment and agrees to render the services herein set forth, for the compensation herein provided.

2. The Manager shall cause the Subadviser to be kept fully informed at all times with regard to the securities owned by the Fund, its funds available, or to become available, for investment, and generally as to the condition of the Fund’s affairs. Manager shall furnish the Subadviser with such other documents and information with regard to the Fund’s affairs as the Subadviser may from time to time reasonably request.

3. (a) Subject to the supervision of the Trust’s Board of Trustees (the “Board”) and the Manager, the Subadviser shall regularly provide the Fund with respect to such portion of the Fund’s assets as shall be allocated to the Subadviser by the Manager from time to time (the “Allocated Assets”) with investment research, advice, management and supervision and shall furnish a continuous investment program for the Allocated Assets consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions, as stated in the Fund’s current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information. The Subadviser shall, with respect to the Allocated Assets, determine from time to time what securities and other investments will be purchased, retained, sold or exchanged by the Fund and what portion of the Allocated Assets will be held in the various securities and other investments in which the Fund invests, and shall implement those decisions (including the execution of investment documentation), all subject to the provisions of the Trust’s Declaration of Trust and By-Laws (collectively, the “Governing Documents”), the 1940 Act, and the applicable rules and regulations promulgated thereunder by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) and interpretive guidance issued thereunder by the SEC staff and any other applicable federal and state law, as well as the investment objectives, policies and restrictions of the Fund referred to above, and any other specific policies adopted by the Board and disclosed to the Subadviser. The Subadviser is authorized as the agent of the Trust to give instructions with respect to the Allocated Assets to the custodian of the Fund as to deliveries of securities and other investments and payments of cash for the account of the Fund. Subject to applicable provisions of the 1940 Act,


the investment program to be provided hereunder may entail the investment of all or substantially all of the assets of a Fund in one or more investment companies. The Subadviser will place orders pursuant to its investment determinations for the Fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant or others selected by it. In connection with the selection of such brokers or dealers and the placing of such orders, subject to applicable law, brokers or dealers may be selected who also provide brokerage and research services (as those terms are defined in Section 28(e) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the “Exchange Act”)) to the Funds and/or the other accounts over which the Subadviser or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The Subadviser is authorized to pay a broker or dealer who provides such brokerage and research services a commission for executing a portfolio transaction for a Fund which is in excess of the amount of commission another broker or dealer would have charged for effecting that transaction if the Subadviser determines in good faith that such amount of commission is reasonable in relation to the value of the brokerage and research services provided by such broker or dealer. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities which the Subadviser and its affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The Board may adopt policies and procedures that modify and restrict the Subadviser’s authority regarding the execution of the Fund’s portfolio transactions provided herein. The Subadviser shall exercise voting rights, rights to consent to corporate action and any other rights pertaining to the Allocated Assets subject to such direction as the Board may provide, and shall perform such other functions of investment management and supervision as may be directed by the Board.

(b) The Fund hereby authorizes any entity or person associated with the Subadviser which is a member of a national securities exchange to effect any transaction on the exchange for the account of the Fund which is permitted by Section 11(a) of the Exchange Act and Rule 11a2-2(T) thereunder, and the Fund hereby consents to the retention of compensation for such transactions in accordance with Rule 11a2-2(T)(a)(2)(iv). Notwithstanding the foregoing, the Subadviser agrees that it will not deal with itself, or with members of the Board or any principal underwriter of the Fund, as principals or agents in making purchases or sales of securities or other property for the account of a Fund, nor will it purchase any securities from an underwriting or selling group in which the Subadviser or its affiliates is participating, or arrange for purchases and sales of securities between a Fund and another account advised by the Subadviser or its affiliates, except in each case as permitted by the 1940 Act and in accordance with such policies and procedures as may be adopted by a Fund from time to time, and will comply with all other provisions of the Governing Documents and the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information relative to the Subadviser and its directors and officers.

4. The Subadviser may delegate to any other one or more companies that the Subadviser controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, or to specified employees of any such companies, certain of the Subadviser’s duties under this Agreement, provided in each case the Subadviser will supervise the activities of each such entity or employees thereof, that such delegation will not relieve the Subadviser of any of its duties or obligations under this Agreement and provided further that any such arrangements are entered into in accordance with all applicable requirements of the 1940 Act.

5. The Subadviser agrees that it will keep records relating to its services hereunder in accordance with all applicable laws, and in compliance with the requirements of Rule 31a-3 under the 1940 Act, the Subadviser hereby agrees that any records that it maintains for the Fund are the property of the Fund, and further agrees to surrender promptly to the Fund any of such records upon the Fund’s request. The Subadviser further agrees to arrange for the preservation of the records required to be maintained by Rule 31a-1 under the 1940 Act for the periods prescribed by Rule 31a-2 under the 1940 Act.

 

2


6. (a) The Subadviser, at its expense, shall supply the Board, the officers of the Trust, and the Manager with all information and reports reasonably required by them and reasonably available to the Subadviser relating to the services provided by the Subadviser hereunder.

(b) The Subadviser shall bear all expenses, and shall furnish all necessary services, facilities and personnel, in connection with its responsibilities under this Agreement. Other than as herein specifically indicated, the Subadviser shall not be responsible for the Fund’s expenses, including, without limitation, advisory fees; distribution fees; interest; taxes; governmental fees; voluntary assessments and other expenses incurred in connection with membership in investment company organizations; organization costs of the Fund; the cost (including brokerage commissions, transaction fees or charges, if any) in connection with the purchase or sale of the Fund’s securities and other investments and any losses in connection therewith; fees and expenses of custodians, transfer agents, registrars, independent pricing vendors or other agents; legal expenses; loan commitment fees; expenses relating to share certificates; expenses relating to the issuing and redemption or repurchase of the Fund’s shares and servicing shareholder accounts; expenses of registering and qualifying the Fund’s shares for sale under applicable federal and state law; expenses of preparing, setting in print, printing and distributing prospectuses and statements of additional information and any supplements thereto, reports, proxy statements, notices and dividends to the Fund’s shareholders; costs of stationery; website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the Fund; Board fees; audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the Fund, if any; and the Fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the Fund and its officers, Board members and employees; litigation expenses and any non-recurring or extraordinary expenses as may arise, including, without limitation, those relating to actions, suits or proceedings to which the Fund is a party and the legal obligation which the Fund may have to indemnify the Fund’s Board members and officers with respect thereto.

7. No member of the Board, officer or employee of the Trust or Fund shall receive from the Trust or Fund any salary or other compensation as such member of the Board, officer or employee while he is at the same time a director, officer, or employee of the Subadviser or any affiliated company of the Subadviser, except as the Board may decide. This paragraph shall not apply to Board members, executive committee members, consultants and other persons who are not regular members of the Subadviser’s or any affiliated company’s staff.

8. As compensation for the services performed by the Subadviser, including the services of any consultants retained by the Subadviser, the Manager shall pay the Subadviser out of the management fee it receives with respect to the Fund, and only to the extent thereof, as promptly as possible after the last day of each month, a fee, computed daily at an annual rate set forth on Schedule A annexed hereto. The first payment of the fee shall be made as promptly as possible at the end of the month succeeding the effective date of this Agreement, and shall constitute a full payment of the fee due the Subadviser for all services prior to that date. If this Agreement is terminated as of any date not the last day of a month, such fee shall be paid as promptly as possible after such date of termination, shall be based on the average daily net assets of the Fund or, if less, the portion thereof comprising the Allocated Assets in that period from the beginning of such month to such date of termination, and shall be that proportion of such average daily net assets as the number of business days in such period bears to the number of business days in such month. The average daily net assets of the Fund or the portion thereof comprising the Allocated Assets shall in all cases be based only on business days and be computed as of the time of the regular close of business of the New York Stock Exchange, or such other time as may be determined by the Board.

9. The Subadviser assumes no responsibility under this Agreement other than to render the services called for hereunder, in good faith, and shall not be liable for any error of judgment or mistake of law, or for any loss arising out of any investment or for any act or

 

3


Comission in the execution of securities transactions for a Fund, provided that nothing in this Agreement shall protect the Subadviser against any liability to the Manager or the Fund to which the Subadviser would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of its duties or by reason of its reckless disregard of its obligations and duties hereunder. As used in this Section 9, the term “Subadviser” shall include any affiliates of the Subadviser performing services for the Trust or the Fund contemplated hereby and the partners, shareholders, directors, officers and employees of the Subadviser and such affiliates.

10. Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict the right of any director, officer, or employee of the Subadviser who may also be a Board member, officer, or employee of the Trust or the Fund, to engage in any other business or to devote his time and attention in part to the management or other aspects of any other business, whether of a similar nature or a dissimilar nature, nor to limit or restrict the right of the Subadviser to engage in any other business or to render services of any kind, including investment advisory and management services, to any other fund, firm, individual or association. If the purchase or sale of securities consistent with the investment policies of a Fund or one or more other accounts of the Subadviser is considered at or about the same time, transactions in such securities will be allocated among the accounts in a manner deemed equitable by the Subadviser. Such transactions may be combined, in accordance with applicable laws and regulations, and consistent with the Subadviser’s policies and procedures as presented to the Board from time to time.

11. For the purposes of this Agreement, the Fund’s “net assets” shall be determined as provided in the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information and the terms “assignment,” “interested person,” and “majority of the outstanding voting securities” shall have the meanings given to them by Section 2(a) of the 1940 Act, subject to such exemptions as may be granted by the SEC by any rule, regulation or order.

12. This Agreement will become effective with respect to the Fund on the date set forth opposite the Fund’s name on Schedule A annexed hereto, provided that it shall have been approved by the Trust’s Board and, if so required by the 1940 Act, by the shareholders of the Fund in accordance with the requirements of the 1940 Act and, unless sooner terminated as provided herein, will continue in effect through November 30, 2007. Thereafter, if not terminated, this Agreement shall continue in effect with respect to the Fund, so long as such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (i) by the Board or (ii) by a vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, provided that in either event the continuance is also approved by a majority of the Board members who are not interested persons of any party to this Agreement, by vote cast in person at a meeting called for the purpose of voting on such approval.

13. This Agreement is terminable with respect to the Fund without penalty by the Board or by vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the Subadviser, or by the Subadviser upon not less than 90 days’ written notice to the Fund and the Manager, and will be terminated upon the mutual written consent of the Manager and the Subadviser. This Agreement shall terminate automatically in the event of its assignment by the Subadviser and shall not be assignable by the Manager without the consent of the Subadviser.

14. The Subadviser agrees that for any claim by it against the Fund in connection with this Agreement or the services rendered under this Agreement, it shall look only to assets of the Fund for satisfaction and that it shall have no claim against the assets of any other portfolios of the Trust.

 

4


15. No provision of this Agreement may be changed, waived, discharged or terminated orally, but only by an instrument in writing signed by the party against which enforcement of the change, waiver, discharge or termination is sought, and no material amendment of the Agreement shall be effective until approved, if so required by the 1940 Act, by vote of the holders of a majority of the Fund’s outstanding voting securities.

16. This Agreement, and any supplemental terms contained on Annex I hereto, if applicable, embodies the entire agreement and understanding between the parties hereto, and supersedes all prior agreements and understandings relating to the subject matter hereof. Should any part of this Agreement be held or made invalid by a court decision, statute, rule or otherwise, the remainder of this Agreement shall not be affected thereby. This Agreement shall be binding on and shall inure to the benefit of the parties hereto and their respective successors.

17. This Agreement shall be construed and the provisions thereof interpreted under and in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

[signature page to follow]

 

5


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by their officers thereunto duly authorized.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS FUND ADVISOR, LLC
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  
BATTERYMARCH FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT, INC.
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

The foregoing is acknowledged:

The undersigned officer of the Trust has executed this Agreement not individually but in his/her capacity as an officer of the Trust. The Trust does not hereby undertake, on behalf of the Fund or otherwise, any obligation to the Subadviser.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS INVESTMENT TRUST
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

6


ANNEX I

Not applicable.


SCHEDULE A

Legg Mason Partners Technology Fund

Date:

[                ] [    ], [            ]

Fee:

The sub-advisory fee will be 70% of the management fee paid to Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC, net of expense waivers and reimbursements.

Exhibit (f)(2)

AS APRROVED

SMITH BARNEY/CITI/SALOMON FUNDS

Amended and Restated Trustee Retirement Plan

As of January 1, 2005

A. Introduction

1. This Amended and Restated Trustee Retirement Plan (this “Plan”) is being adopted by each of the investment companies identified on Appendix A hereto (the “Trusts”), severally and not jointly, in order to recognize and reward the valued services provided by the Independent Trustees (as defined below) to the Trusts. This Plan may hereafter be adopted by an investment company by vote of such investment company’s Board of Trustees.

2. This Plan shall apply to each Trustee of a Trust who is not and has not been an “interested person” of such Trust (collectively, the “Independent Trustees” and individually, an “Independent Trustee”) within the meaning of Section 2(a)(19) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. Each Independent Trustee of a Trust shall, promptly following the adoption of this Plan by the Trust or his or her later becoming an Independent Trustee of the Trust, sign a statement in the form of Appendix B hereto to the effect that he or she agrees and consents to the provisions of this Plan.

3. Except as otherwise provided herein, this Plan is separate and distinct from any other retirement plan or emeritus plan adopted by the Trusts or any other investment company advised or administered by an affiliate of Citigroup Inc. All rights, duties, responsibilities and obligations under this Plan shall be between the Trusts and their Independent Trustees as defined herein. No other person, including any other member of the Boards of Trustees of the Trusts, shall participate in this Plan.

4. This Plan shall be administered by the Independent Trustees of the Trusts or their designee. Except as otherwise specifically provided in this Plan, all decisions or determinations to be made by the Independent Trustees are to be made by a majority of the Independent Trustees then serving as such.

B. Mandatory Retirement Age and Eligibility for Benefits

1. An Independent Trustee may elect to retire from the Board of Trustees of all of the Trusts by giving written notice to the Trusts. In any event, an Independent Trustee shall retire from all of the Trusts as of the last day of the calendar year in which he or she attains the age of 75.


2. To be eligible to receive the minimum retirement benefits under this Plan (the “Minimum Benefit”) an Independent Trustee must retire from the Board of Trustees of all of the Trusts after having attained at least age 67 (the “Minimum Age”) and having served for at least 5 years as a member of the Board of Trustees of one or more of the Trusts. To be eligible to receive the maximum retirement benefits under this Plan (the “Maximum Benefit”), an Independent Trustee must retire from the Board of Trustees of all of the Trusts after having attained the Minimum Age and having served for at least 10 years as a member of the Board of Trustees of one or more of the Trusts. Time served as a Trustee of any one or more of the Trusts shall be counted toward the years of service requirement, provided that no additional years of service will be credited to a Trustee for service on multiple Trusts simultaneously. For purposes of this Plan, a year of service refers to a period of service as an Independent Trustee of twelve consecutive full calendar months.

C. Compensation

1. The Maximum Benefit for an Independent Trustee under this Plan shall be equal to five times the amount of Basic Trustee Compensation paid or otherwise payable to an Independent Trustee during the entirety of the calendar year of the Independent Trustee’s retirement. “Basic Trustee Compensation” for any calendar year shall mean the amount of retainer and regular meeting fees payable to an Independent Trustee for that calendar year (assuming no change in relevant facts for the balance of the year following the Independent Trustee’s retirement), but shall not include fees for special meetings or fees for service as a chairperson of a Board, as a committee member, as a chairperson of a committee, or as a lead Independent Trustee. For purposes of calculating Basic Trustee Compensation for any calendar year, it shall be assumed that an Independent Trustee attended or will have attended all regular meetings during that calendar year.

2. The Minimum Benefit shall be equal to 50% of the Maximum Benefit for any Independent Trustee with 5 years of service, and retirement benefits shall increase by 10 percentage points for each additional year of that Independent Trustee’s service up to the Maximum Benefit at 10 years of service, as set forth in the following table:

 

Years of Service

   Percentage of
Maximum Benefit
 

5 Years

   50 %

6 Years

   60 %

7 Years

   70 %

8 Years

   80 %

9 Years

   90 %

10 Years

   100 %

 

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3. The aggregate amount of an Independent Trustee’s retirement benefits will be fixed at the date of retirement. Retirement benefits shall be paid to the retired Independent Trustee in 20 equal quarterly installments, commencing with the first calendar quarter following the date on which the Independent Trustee retires. Each quarterly installment shall be payable on the last business day of the calendar quarter.

4. No benefits under this Plan may be anticipated, transferred, pledged, assigned, either in law or equity, alienated, attached, garnished, levied or subject to any other legal or equitable process. No benefits under this Plan shall be payable to an Independent Trustee, or to the beneficiary or estate of an Independent Trustee, who is removed for “cause” as determined by the Independent Trustees.

5. An Independent Trustee may receive retirement benefits under this Plan if he or she retires from the Board of Trustees of all of the Trusts after 5 years of service but before the Minimum Age, if a majority of the other Independent Trustees in their sole judgment determine that as a consequence of ill health, disability or for any other reason the earlier retirement date is appropriate.

D. Effect on Emeritus and Retirement Plans

1. As of the January 1, 2002, this Plan superseded the Amended and Restated Trustee Emeritus Plan of the Trusts dated January 1, 2001 (the “Emeritus Plan”), which were thereby terminated. Under the Plan as in effect prior to its amendment and restatement as of January 1, 2005, each Trustee Emeritus was deemed to have resigned as a Trustee Emeritus and to have been entitled to benefits as a retired Independent Trustee under this Plan, provided that the Trustee Emeritus may have been required to execute a waiver (pursuant to an instrument in form and substance satisfactory to the Trusts) of any rights under the Emeritus Plan as a condition to receipt of benefits under this Plan. The retirement benefits payable to an individual Trustee Emeritus under this Plan

 

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was calculated based upon the Trustee Emeritus’ years of service immediately prior to his election of Trustee Emeritus status and based upon the Basic Trustee Compensation for the calendar year ending on or immediately prior to that election. The retirement benefits payable under this Plan to a former Trustee Emeritus shall be reduced by any retainer and meeting fees received by the former Trustee Emeritus under the Emeritus Plan. Such reduction shall be applied first against the last quarterly payment under this Plan and then against each preceding quarterly payment in inverse order of maturity.

2. No Independent Trustee who was at January 1, 2002 covered by the Smith Barney Investment Series Amended and Restated Trustees Retirement Plan dated as of January 1, 2001 (as in effect from time to time, the “SBIS Plan”) shall be entitled to any benefits under this Plan (nor shall his beneficiary or estate be entitled to benefits under this Plan), unless, prior to the payment of any benefits under this Plan or the SBIS Plan to that Trustee or to his beneficiary or estate, that Independent Trustee waived or waives all rights under the SBIS Plan pursuant to an instrument in form and substance satisfactory to the Trusts.

E. Survivorship

1. In the event a retired Independent Trustee dies prior to complete distribution under this Plan, such Independent Trustee’s beneficiary designated by him or her in writing to the Trusts with specific reference to this Plan, shall receive the remaining retirement benefits.

2. In the event an Independent Trustee dies prior to retirement but after 5 years of service, regardless of whether the Independent Trustee has attained the Minimum Age, the Independent Trustee’s beneficiary designated by him or her in writing to the Trusts with specific reference to this Plan, shall receive the amount of the applicable retirement benefit.

3. A Trustee may designate alternate beneficiaries who may receive benefits under this Plan in the event the Independent Trustee survives his or her primary beneficiary. In the event the Independent Trustee survives his or her primary and alternate beneficiaries or if no beneficiary has been designated, the remaining retirement benefits under this Section E. shall be payable to the Independent Trustee’s estate.

F. Lump-sum Payments

1. Subject to the remainder of this Section, an Independent Trustee may elect to receive payments hereunder as a single lump sum at the date the initial installment would otherwise be made in lieu of installment payments. Any such election must be made prior

 

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to June 30, 2005 or the date of the Independent Trustee’s retirement, if earlier, shall become irrevocable as of the earlier of those dates, and shall control the form of payment, that is, installments or lump sum, of all of the Independent Trustee’s benefits whether payable on retirement or following his or her death. For the avoidance of doubt, no one who first becomes eligible for this Plan after June 30, 2005 shall be eligible to elect a lump sum payment in lieu of installments.

2. The lump sum payment shall equal the present value of the installment payments payable to the Independent Trustee, calculated according to the following formula:

Such lump sum shall equal the product of

(i) the aggregate amount of the Independent Trustee’s retirement benefits from the Trusts as fixed at the date of retirement; and

(ii) the Independent Trustee’s “Present Value Factor” as determined below.

3. An Independent Trustee’s Present Value Factor shall be calculated according to the following formula:

Present Value Factor = 1/(1+i) n

where

 

n=   the number of years (expressed to the nearest 1/100 th of a year) remaining until the date that is the midpoint between the date of the first remaining payment and the last remaining payment payable to the Independent Trustee under the Plan (the “Midpoint Date”); and
i=   the “Interest Rate” as determined below.

4. The Interest Rate shall be calculated by determining the per annum yield to maturity of a U.S. Treasury obligation maturing on or most closely prior to the Midpoint Date. Such per annum yield shall be applied as the Interest Rate for purposes of determining the Present Value Factor above.

5. Any calculation of a lump sum payment made pursuant to this section and approved by the Independent Trustees shall be conclusive and binding on all concerned in the absence of manifest error.

 

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G. No Right of Renomination, Etc.

Nothing in this Plan shall in any way derogate from the provisions of a Trust’s Declaration of Trust, as amended and in effect from time to time, regarding the term of office of Trustees. Without limiting the foregoing, nothing in this Plan creates any right of an Independent Trustee to continue to serve as a Trustee of any Trust nor any obligation on the part of the Board of Trustees of any Trust to nominate any Independent Trustee for re-election. Nothing in this Plan will create any obligation on the part of a Trust or a Fund to pay any particular level of compensation to Independent Trustees.

H. Accounting

1. The obligations of a Trust, or if a Trust has multiple investment portfolios or series (each, a “Fund”) the obligations of any Fund, to pay benefits and expenses under this Plan will not be secured or funded in any manner, and the obligations will not have any preference over the lawful claims of a Trust’s or a Fund’s creditors and shareholders. A Trust or a Fund shall be under no obligation to segregate any assets for the purpose of providing retirement benefits pursuant to this Plan, and to the extent that any Independent Trustee or his or her beneficiary or estate acquires a right to receive a benefit under the Plan, such right shall be limited to that of a recipient of an unfunded, unsecured promise to pay amounts in the future and such person’s position with respect to such amounts shall be that of a general unsecured creditor of a Trust or a Fund.

2. The benefits to an Independent Trustee (or his or her beneficiary or estate) described hereunder represent the aggregate amounts payable by all of the Trusts. A Trust shall be responsible for its proportionate share of the payment of the retirement benefits to Independent Trustees, as well as its share of expenses of administration of this Plan, including without limitation administrative, accounting and legal fees. In no event shall a Trust be liable hereunder for amounts greater than its proportionate share of retirement benefits and expenses of administration under this Plan.

3. To the extent that a Trust consists of one or more Funds, costs and expenses will be allocated among the Funds by the Board of Trustees of the Trust in a manner that is determined by the Board or its designee to be fair and equitable under the circumstances.

4. The contingent obligations of a Trust or a Fund under this Plan shall be accounted for in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Upon the retirement of an Independent Trustee, a Trust or a Fund at its option may purchase an annuity contract to meet its obligation in respect of the Independent Trustee.

 

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5. In the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of a Trust or a Fund or distribution of all or substantially all of the Trust’s or Fund’s assets and property, appropriate provisions shall be made with respect to the obligations of such Trust or Fund accrued under this Plan.

I. Amendment or Termination of Plan

A Trust may at any time amend or terminate this Plan as to it or waive any provision of this Plan as to it upon the vote of a majority of that Trust’s Independent Trustees; provided that (1) no amendment, termination or waiver will impair the rights of a retired Independent Trustee, or the beneficiary or estate of a deceased Independent Trustee, to receive the payments to which he or she was entitled under this Plan; (2) no amendment, termination or waiver will reduce or otherwise alter the respective allocation of responsibilities among the several Trusts for benefits accrued or costs incurred without approval of a majority of the Independent Trustees of each Trust affected and (3) no amendment, termination or waiver may result in the benefits of this Plan ceasing to satisfy the requirements of paragraphs (2), (3) and (4) of Section 409A(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”).

J. No Qualified Plan; No Shareholder Approval

This Plan shall not be a qualified plan under Section 401 of the Code and need not be submitted for approval of shareholders.

K. Effective Date

This Plan, as amended and restated as of January 1, 2005, has been approved by the Independent Trustees of the Trusts and shall become effective as of January 1, 2005. As amended and restated effective as of January 1, 2005, this Plan is intended to meet the requirements of paragraphs (2), (3) and (4) of Section 409A(a) of the Code with respect to the payment of benefits hereunder from and after January 1, 2005 (whether accrued before or after January 1, 2005) and shall be operated, administered and interpreted consistent with such intent.

 

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Appendix A

Names of Trusts

Smith Barney Investment Series

CitiFunds Trust I

Smith Barney Trust II

CitiFunds Trust III

Salomon Funds Trust

CitiFunds Premium Trust

CitiFunds Institutional Trust

Variable Annuity Portfolios

Cash Reserves Portfolio

Tax Free Reserves Portfolio

U.S. Treasury Reserves Portfolio

Institutional Portfolio


Appendix B

Instrument of Adherence

I,                                           , do hereby certify that I have read, understand, consent to, and agree to be bound by the foregoing Amended and Restated Trustee Retirement Plan. [Pursuant to Section F of the foregoing plan, I hereby irrevocably elect to receive payments under the plan as a lump sum in lieu of installments, such lump sum to be calculated as provided in the plan.]

 

 

Signature

Dated:                             

Exhibit (f)(3)

AS APPROVED

SMITH BARNEY INVESTMENT SERIES

AMENDED AND RESTATED

TRUSTEES RETIREMENT PLAN

As of January 1, 2005

A. Introduction

1. Smith Barney Investment Series (“the Trust”), a registered investment company having its principal office at 125 Broad Street, New York, New York 10004, has adopted this Amended and Restated Trustees Retirement Plan (“Plan”) for its Independent Trustees (as defined in Paragraph A.2 herein) order to recognize and reward the valued services provided by such trustees to the Trust.

2. An Independent Trustee is a trustee of the Trust who is not an officer, director or employee of SSB Citi Fund Management LLC (or any successor thereto), or any affiliated person thereof and who is listed on Exhibit A hereto.

3. The Trust (or any entity that succeeds to any of its liabilities under this Plan) is responsible for the payment of the retirement benefits, as well as all expenses of administration of this Plan, including without limitation all administrative, accounting and legal fees.

4. Except as otherwise provided herein, this Plan is separate and distinct from any other retirement plan or emeritus plan adopted by the Trust or any other investment company in the Citigroup family of funds. All rights, duties, responsibilities and obligations under this Plan shall be between the Trust and its Independent Trustees as defined herein. No other person, including any other member of the Board of Trustees of the Trust, shall participate in this Plan.

5. This Plan shall be administered by the Independent Trustees of the Trust or their designee.


B. Eligibility

1. To be eligible to receive retirement benefits under this Plan, an Independent Trustee may retire upon attaining the age of 67 and must retire as of the last day of the calendar year in which he or she attains the age of 75.

2. Subject to Paragraph B.5 below, the retirement benefit shall be based upon the total annual compensation (i.e. annual retainer and board and committee meeting fees) the retiring Independent Trustee received from the Trust in calendar year 2000 (as reflected in Exhibit A hereto).

3. Such retirement benefit shall begin at 50% of such total compensation for any Independent Trustee with five (5) years of service and shall increase by 10% for each year of service by such Independent Trustee in excess of five (5) years of service up to a maximum amount of 100% of the compensation for any Independent Trustee who has completed ten (10) or more years of service, as set forth in the following table:

 

Years of Service

   Percentage of Compensation  

Less than 5

   0 %

5

   50 %

6

   60 %

7

   70 %

8

   80 %

9

   90 %

10 or more

   100 %

4. Such aggregate amount of the retirement benefit will be fixed at the date of retirement and shall be payable for each of the ten (10) years commencing in the calendar year in which the Independent Trustee retires (the “Benefit Period”). Payment will be made at the end of each calendar quarter to the retired Independent Trustee in forty (40) equal installments, commencing on the first business day of the calendar quarter following the date on which the Independent Trustee retires.

 

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5. The retirement benefit payable during a calendar quarter under this Plan shall be reduced by any amounts received by the retired Independent Trustee during such calendar quarter within the Benefit Period as compensation under the CitiFunds and Smith Barney Investment Series Amended and Restated Trustee Emeritus Plan effective as of January 1, 2001 and any amendments thereto or under any other emeritus program in which the Independent Trustees may participate hereafter (an “Emeritus Plan”). If the compensation received by a retired Independent Trustee under any Emeritus Plan during a calendar quarter within the Benefit Period exceeds the amount of the retirement benefit payable to such retired Trustee under this Plan during such calendar quarter, the retired Trustee shall receive only the compensation payable under the Emeritus Plan during such quarter and shall not receive any retirement benefit under this Plan during such quarter.

6. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any independent trustee of the Trust, as defined in the Common Sense Trust Trustees Retirement Plan as originally adopted (the “Original Plan”) or such trustee’s beneficiary or estate, which is at the time of the adoption of this Plan subject to and participating in the Original Plan, but excluding the Independent Trustees as defined herein, will continue to receive retirement benefits under the terms of the Original Plan, rather than under the terms of this Plan, except that such retirement benefits payable under the Original Plan will be administered by the Independent Trustees of the Trust, as defined herein, or their designee.

7. No retirement payment benefit may be anticipated, pledged, assigned, either in law or equity, alienated, attached, garnished, levied or subject to any other legal or equitable process. All payments under this Plan are subject to the condition that the recipient’s conduct not be inconsistent with the Code of Ethics established by the Trust and such payments may be discontinued at any time if in the sole judgment of the Independent Trustees the recipient’s conduct is inconsistent with such Code.

 

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8. An Independent Trustee may receive retirement benefits under this Plan if he or she retires before age 67 but after five (5) years of service as an Independent Trustee of the Trust if the Independent Trustees in their sole judgment determine that as a consequence of ill health, disability or for any other reason the earlier retirement date is appropriate.

C. Lump-Sum Payments

1. Subject to the remainder of this Paragraph C.1., an Independent Trustee may elect to receive payments hereunder as a single lump sum at the date the initial installment would otherwise be made in lieu of installment payments. Any such election must be made prior to June 30, 2005 or the date of the Independent Trustee’s retirement, if earlier, shall become irrevocable as of the earlier of those dates, and shall control the form of payment, that is, installments or lump sum, of all of the Independent Trustee’s benefits whether payable on retirement or following his or her death. However, an Independent Trustee eligible for benefits under the Smith Barney/Citi/Salomon Funds Amended and Restated Trustee Retirement Plan as of January 1, 2005 (the “SBCS Plan”), even if the Independent Trustee ultimately elects to receive the benefits of this Plan in lieu of benefits under the SBCS Plan, shall not be eligible to elect to receive a lump sum payment of his or her benefits under this Plan, but instead his election under the SBCS Plan, as between a lump sum and installments, shall be taken into account under this Plan with the same effect as if it had been made under this Plan.

2. The lump sum payment shall equal the present value of the installment payments payable to the Independent Trustee, calculated according to the following formula:

Such lump sum shall equal the product of

(i) the aggregate amount of the Independent Trustee’s retirement benefits from the Trust as fixed at the date of retirement; and

 

4


(ii) the Independent Trustee’s “Present Value Factor” as determined below.

3. An Independent Trustee’s Present Value Factor shall be calculated according to the following formula:

Present Value Factor = 1/(1+i) n

where

 

n=    the number of years (expressed to the nearest 1/100 th of a year) remaining until the date that is the midpoint between the date of the first remaining payment and the last remaining payment payable to the Independent Trustee under the Plan (the “Midpoint Date”); and
i=    the “Interest Rate” as determined below.

4. The Interest Rate shall be calculated by determining the per annum yield to maturity of a U.S. Treasury obligation maturing on or most closely prior to the Midpoint Date. Such per annum yield shall be applied as the Interest Rate for purposes of determining the Present Value Factor above.

5. Any calculation of a lump sum payment made pursuant to this Paragraph C and approved by the Independent Trustees shall be conclusive and binding on all concerned in the absence of manifest error.

D. Survivorship

1. In the event of a retired Independent Trustee’s death prior to complete distribution under this Plan, such Independent Trustee’s beneficiary designated by him or her in writing to the Trust shall receive the remaining retirement benefits of the Independent Trustee, if any. Such benefits shall be paid by the Trust to the Independent Trustee’s estate in the event the Independent Trustee survives his or her beneficiary or if no beneficiary has been designated.

2. In the event an Independent Trustee’s death occurs after five (5) years of service, the Independent Trustee’s beneficiary shall receive the amount of the applicable retirement benefit of the Independent Trustee. In the event the Independent Trustee survived

 

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the beneficiary or no beneficiary was named, the Trust shall pay the Independent Trustee’s retirement benefit to the Independent Trustee’s estate.

E. Termination of the Trust

1. In the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Trust or distribution of all or substantially all of the Trust’s assets and property, the Trust shall pay to each Independent Trustee serving as a trustee of the Trust on the effective date of such liquidation, dissolution, winding up or distribution a lump sum amount equal to the present value (determined in accordance with Paragraph C.2. above) of the applicable retirement benefit using the effective date of such liquidation, dissolution, winding up or distribution as the date of such Independent Trustee’s termination of service, unless such Independent Trustee continues to serve on the board of a successor fund with a retirement plan at least as favorable as this Plan.

2. In the event an Independent Trustee terminates service prior to such liquidation, dissolution, winding up or distribution and such Independent Trustee (or his or her beneficiary or estate) is then receiving payment of benefits at the time of such liquidation, dissolution, winding up or distribution, the Trust shall pay to such Independent Trustee (or his or her beneficiary or estate) on the effective date of such liquidation, dissolution, winding up or distribution a lump sum amount equal to the present value (determined in accordance with Paragraph C.2. above) of the remaining retirement benefit due to such Independent Trustee (or his or her beneficiary or estate).

3. No lump sum payments shall be made pursuant to this Paragraph E. unless consistent with the requirements of paragraphs (2), (3) and (4) of Section 409A(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”). If a lump sum payment cannot be paid because of such requirements, the Trustees shall make such provisions for the eventual payment of the retirement and other benefits of this Plan prior to the liquidation, dissolution or winding up of the Trust or distribution of all or substantially all of the Trust’s assets and property as they deem appropriate and consistent with such requirements.

 

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F. No Right of Renomination

1. This Plan does not create a right for any Independent Trustee to be renominated nor is there any duty on the part of the members of the Independent Trustees or the board to renominate a person for election as a trustee.

G. Accounting

1. The contingent obligations of the Trust under this Plan shall be accounted for in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles. Upon the retirement of an Independent Trustee, the Trust at its option may purchase an annuity contract to meet its obligation in respect of the Independent Trustee.

H. Amendment or Termination of Plan

1. The Trust at any time may terminate this Plan or, from time to time, may modify or change this Plan provided, however, that the right of an Independent Trustee to receive payments under this Plan shall become fixed upon five (5) years of service and no termination, modification or change shall affect his or her rights to receive the payments to which he or she was entitled under this Plan; and provided, further, however, that no termination, modification or change may result in the benefits of this Plan ceasing to satisfy the requirements of paragraphs (2), (3) and (4) of Section 409A(a) of the Code.

I. No Qualified Plan; No Shareholder Approval

1. This Plan shall not be a qualified plan under Section 401 of the Internal Revenue Code and need not be submitted for approval of shareholders.

J. Approval by Board of Trustees

1. This Plan and any modification, change or termination of the Plan shall be approved by a majority of the Trustees who are not “interested persons” of the Trust or “interested persons” of any investment adviser of the Trust and who are listed on Exhibit A hereto.

 

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K. Effective Date

1. This Plan, as amended and restated as of January 1, 2005, has been approved by the Independent Trustees and shall become effective as of January 1, 2005. As amended and restated effective as of January 1, 2005, this Plan is intended to meet the requirements of paragraphs (2), (3) and (4) of Section 409A(a) of the Code with respect to the payment of benefits hereunder from and after January 1, 2005 (whether accrued before or after January 1, 2005) and shall be operated, administered and interpreted consistent with such intent.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Amended and Restated Trustees Retirement Plan has been executed by the undersigned effective as of January 1, 2005.

 

 

Donald M. Carlton

 

 

A. Benton Cocanougher

 

 

Stephen R. Gross

 

 

Alan G. Merten

 

 

R. Richardson Pettit

 

-8-


EXHIBIT A

Annual Compensation Received by

Independent Trustees of Smith Barney Investment Series

in Calendar Year 2000

 

Trustee

   Compensation Received

Donald M. Carlton

   $ 66,100

A. Benton Cocanougher

   $ 71,300

Stephen R. Gross

   $ 66,100

Alan G. Merten

   $ 66,100

R. Richardson Pettit

   $ 71,000

 

A-1

Exhibit (f)(4)

Amendment to the

Smith Barney/Citi/Salomon Funds

Amended And Restated Trustee Retirement Plan

and the

Legg Mason Partners Investment Series

Amended and Restated

Trustees Retirement Plan

THIS AMENDMENT (this “Amendment”), approved by the Boards of Trustees of the Trusts identified on Appendix A hereto (each a “Trust” and collectively, the “Trusts”) as of July 10, 2006, amends (i) the Smith Barney/Citi/Salomon Funds Amended and Restated Retirement Plan , dated as of January 1, 2005 and severally adopted by each of the Trusts (the “Smith Barney/Citi/Salomon Funds Plan” or a “Plan”), and (ii) the Amended and Restated Trustees Retirement Plan of Legg Mason Partners Investment Series (f/k/a Smith Barney Investment Series), dated as of January 1, 2005 (the “LMPIS Plan” or a “Plan” and, together with the Smith Barney/Citi/Salomon Funds Plan, the “Plans”). Capitalized terms used without definition herein shall have the meanings assigned to them in the applicable Plan. Each Plan is hereby amended as follows:

1. Cessation of Retirement Benefit Accruals . Benefits under each Plan shall cease accruing effective as of January 1, 2007.

2. Certain Retiring Trustees Entitled to Payments . Any Trustee who (i) under the Trusts’ Mandatory Retirement Policy (the “Policy”), is deemed to have retired as of the Board Election Date (as defined in paragraph 7 of this Amendment) or (ii) elects to retire under the Policy (each Trustee referenced in clause (i) or (ii), a “Retiring Trustee”), shall be entitled to receive under his or her Applicable Plan, commencing on or about the effective date of his or her retirement, a payment or payments calculated as set forth in paragraph 4 of this Amendment (the “Retiring Trustee Payments”).

3. Election of Payment Method . A Retiring Trustee may elect to receive payments under his or her Applicable Plan (as defined in paragraph 8 of this Amendment) in a single lump sum at the date the initial installment would otherwise be made in lieu of installment payments, provided that any such election is made on or prior to July 10, 2006 or, if earlier, the date of the Independent Trustee’s retirement.

4. Retiring Trustee Payments .

a. Installment Payments . In the event that a Retiring Trustee elects to receive payments under his or her Applicable Plan in installments, Retiring Trustee Payments shall be paid as contemplated by such Plan and shall equal, in the aggregate, the payments


which such Retiring Trustee would otherwise have received under such Plan (the “Aggregate Retiring Trustee Benefit Amount”) calculated as if such Trustee retired on January 1, 2007 and, with respect to the Smith Barney/Citi/Salomon Funds Plan, immediately prior thereto was receiving compensation as a Trustee as such compensation was in effect as of June 30, 2006.

b. Lump Sum Payments . In the event that a Retiring Trustee elects to receive payments under his or her Applicable Plan in a lump sum, Retiring Trustee Payments to the Retiring Trustee shall be paid promptly following the Board Election Date and shall equal the product of (i) “Aggregate Retiring Trustee Benefit Amount” calculated as described above, multiplied by (i) the applicable “Present Value Factor” as determined in accordance with paragraph c below.

c. Present Value Factor. Each applicable Present Value Factor shall be calculated according to the following formula: Present Value Factor = 1/(1+i) n

where:

n = the number of years (expressed to the nearest 1/100th of a year) remaining until the date that is the midpoint between the date of the first remaining payment and the last remaining payment payable to the independent Trustee under the Plan, assuming, in the case of a Retiring Trustee, that the Trustee retired on January 1, 2007; and

i= 5.0% per annum.

5. Payment to Remaining Trustees . Each of the current Trustees who are covered by the Plans and who are not Retiring Trustees (the “Remaining Trustees”) shall be entitled to receive a payment in the amount specified for such Remaining Trustee on Appendix B . Such payments shall be made in 2007 promptly following the Board Election Date. No Remaining Trustee shall be entitled to receive any other payment or benefit under the Plans. Notwithstanding the foregoing, in the event of the death of a Trustee prior to the Board Election Date, the beneficiary of such Trustee shall receive benefits under the Applicable Plan as currently in effect, but shall not be entitled to receive the Remaining Trustee payment provided under this paragraph 5.

6. Retired Trustees . This Amendment shall not adversely affect the rights of each previously retired Trustee who is currently receiving payments under a Plan to continue to receive payments in accordance with the terms of that Plan.

7. Board Election Date . The Board Election Date shall mean the date upon which the persons nominated at the June 2006 meetings who are not already serving as Trustees of the applicable Trust (or any one of Corporations/Trusts in the fund complex) accept their elections and commence service as Board members.


8. Applicable Plan . For purposes of this Amendment, the “Applicable Plan” for (i) Messrs. Berv and Finn and Mses. Harrington and Kerley, shall mean the Smith Barney/Citi/Salomon Funds Plan and (ii) for Messrs. Carlton, Gross, Cocanougher, Merten and Pettit, shall mean the LMPIS Plan.

9. Instrument of Adherence . Each Independent Trustee covered by the Smith Barney/Citi/Salomon Funds Plan shall, promptly following approval of this Amendment by the Boards of Trustees of the Trusts, sign a statement in the form of Appendix C hereto to the effect that he or she agrees and consents to the provisions of the Plan, as modified by this Amendment. Each Independent Trustee covered by the LMPIS Plan shall, promptly following approval of this Amendment by the Board of Trustees of Legg Mason Partners Investment Series, sign a statement in the form of Appendix D hereto, to the effect that he or she agrees and consents to the provisions of the Plan, as modified by this Amendment.


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, this Amendment to (i) the Smith Barney/Citi/Salomon Funds Plan and (ii) the LMPIS Plan, has been executed by the undersigned effective as of July 10, 2006.

 

 

Elliott J. Berv

 

Donald M. Carlton

 

A. Benton Cocanougher

 

Mark T. Finn

 

Stephen R. Gross

 

Diana R. Harrington

 

Susan B. Kerley

 

Alan G. Merten

 

R. Richardson Pettit


Appendix A

Names of Trusts

Legg Mason Partners Investments Series (f/k/a Smith Barney Investment Series)

CitiFunds Trust I

Legg Mason Partners Trust II (f/k/a Smith Barney Trust II)

CitiFunds Trust III

Salomon Funds Trust

CitiFunds Premium Trust

CitiFunds Institutional Trust

Legg Mason Partners Variable Portfolios V (f/k/a Variable Annuity Portfolios)

Liquid Reserves Portfolio (f/k/a Cash Reserves Portfolio)

Tax Free Reserves Portfolio

U.S. Treasury Reserves Portfolio

Institutional Portfolio


Appendix B

Payments to Remaining Trustees

 

Remaining Trustee

   Aggregate Amount  

Susan B. Kerley

   $ 217,984  

Stephen Randolph Gross

   $ 318,788  

Mark T. Finn

   $ 306,079  

Elliott J. Berv

   $ 307,130  

R. Richardson Pettit

   $ 424,976  

Alan G. Merten

   $ 405,257  

Diana R. Harrington

   $ 348,670  

A. Benton Cocanougher

   $ 503,114  

Donald M. Carlton

     N/A *

* It is expected that Mr. Carlton will receive benefits as a “Retiring Trustee,” rather than as a “Remaining Trustee.”


Appendix C

Instrument of Adherence

for the Smith Barney/Citi/Salomon Funds

Amended Retirement Plan

I,                                           , do hereby certify that I have read, understand, consent to, and agree to be bound by the Amended and Restated Retirement Plan of the Trusts (listed on Appendix A), dated as of January 1, 2005, as amended by an amendment approved by the Board of Trustees of the Trusts as of July 10, 2006 (the “Plan”).

(Please check the appropriate box below):

¨ I hereby irrevocably elect to receive payments under the Plan as a lump sum in lieu of installments, such lump sum to be calculated as provided in the Plan.

¨ I hereby irrevocably elect to receive payments under the Plan in installments, except that any payments under paragraph 5 of the July 10, 2006 amendment to the Plan shall be received in a lump sum.

In accordance with Section E of the Plan, I hereby designate the following person as my beneficiary under the Plan:

 

 

By execution of this Instrument of Adherence, I hereby agree that after the Board Election Date (as defined in the Plan), I shall not be entitled to receive any payments under any Retirement Plan from any Trust other than those expressly contemplated by the Plan.

 

 

Signature

 

Dated:  

 

 


Appendix D

Instrument of Adherence

for the Amended Trustees Retirement Plan of

Legg Mason Partners Investment Series

I,                                           , do hereby certify that I have read, understand, consent to, and agree to be bound by the Amended and Restated Trustees Retirement Plan of Legg Mason Partners Investment Series (f/k/a Smith Barney Investment Series) (the “Trust”), dated as of January 1, 2005, as amended by an amendment approved by the Board of Trustees of the Trust as of July 10, 2006 (the “Plan”).

(Please check the appropriate box below):

¨ I hereby irrevocably elect to receive payments under the Plan as a lump sum in lieu of installments, such lump sum to be calculated as provided in the Plan.

¨ I hereby irrevocably elect to receive payments under the Plan in installments, except that any payments under paragraph 5 of the July 10, 2006 amendment to the Plan shall be received in a lump sum.

In accordance with Section D of the Plan, I hereby designate the following person as my beneficiary under the Plan:

 

 

By execution of this Instrument of Adherence, I hereby agree that after the Board Election Date (as defined in the Plan), I shall not be entitled to receive any payments from the Trust under any Retirement Plan other than those expressly contemplated by the Plan.

 

Signature

 

Dated:  

 

 

Exhibit (f)(5)

SALOMON BROTHERS COMBINED BOARD

A MENDED AND R ESTATED E MERITUS R ETIREMENT P LAN

Established effective as of January 1, 2007

WHEREAS, certain of the investment companies identified on Appendix A hereto, severally and not jointly, adopted an Emeritus Retirement Plan (the “ Initial Plan ”) at the June 26, 2006 meeting of the Corporations overseen by the Salomon Brothers Combined Board; and

WHEREAS , the Board Members of the Corporations overseen by the Salomon Brothers Combined Board wish to amend and restate the Initial Plan in order to cover additional investment companies under the Plan;

NOW, THEREFORE, the Initial Plan is hereby amended and restated as follows:

A. Introduction

This Amended and Restated Emeritus Retirement Plan (this “ Plan ”) is being adopted by each of the investment companies identified on Appendix A hereto (the “ Companies ”), severally and not jointly, in order to recognize and reward the valued services provided by certain of the Independent Board Members (as defined below) to the Company. This Plan shall apply to each person who (i) executes an instrument of adherence to this Plan, (ii) as of July 25, 2006 served as a Director or Trustee, or as an emeritus Director or Trustee, of a Company, and (iii) is not an “interested person” of such Company (collectively, the “ Independent Board Members ” and individually, an “ Independent Board Member ”) within the meaning of Section 2(a)(19) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. All rights, duties, responsibilities and obligations under this Plan shall be between each Company and its Independent Board Members as defined herein. No other person, including any other member of the Boards or Board Members of the Companies, shall participate in this Plan.

This Plan shall be administered by the Independent Board Members of each Company or their designee. Except as otherwise specifically provided in this Plan, all decisions or determinations to be made by the Independent Board Members are to be made by a majority of the Independent Board Members then serving as such.

B. Qualification for Benefits

Only an Independent Board Member who (A) (i) is or would be deemed to have retired under the Company’s Amended and Restated Mandatory Retirement Policy as of the Board Election Date (as defined below) (or, with respect to any Company that is a closed-end fund, March 31, 2007 or such earlier date as may be determined in accordance with the Policy) or (ii) elects on or before July 25, 2006 to retire under such Amended and Restated Mandatory Retirement Policy; or (B) as of July 25, 2006, was an emeritus Board Member, shall be entitled to the benefits of this Plan.


For all purposes of this Plan, “ Board Election Date ” means, as to any Independent Board Member and with respect to each Company with respect to which he or she serves as an Independent Board Member,

(i) if such Company (or, as applicable, any series thereof) is an open-end investment company, the date upon which the persons nominated at the June 2006 Board meetings who are not already serving as Board Members of the applicable Company (or any one of them) accept their elections and commence service as Board Members, provided that if such event does not occur in 2007, it shall mean December 31, 2007.

(ii) ) if such Company is a closed-end investment company, March 31, 2007 or such earlier date in 2007 upon which the Board Member retires is deemed to have retired.

C. Benefits

Each Independent Board Member qualifying for benefits under this Plan shall be entitled to an aggregate amount of benefit:

(i) with respect to a Board Member who is not serving as an emeritus Board Member prior to July 25, 2006, equal, in the aggregate, to the payments the Independent Board member would have received under the applicable emeritus program, calculated as if such Board Member: (A) had achieved emeritus status as of January 1, 2007, (B) from that date through the date that such Board Member would have been required to retire his/her emeritus status under the emeritus program to which such Board Member has previously been subject (the “ Emeritus Period ,” the Emeritus Period not to exceed the maximum length of time that the Board Member could have served as an emeritus Board Member under the terms of the applicable emeritus program), had attended all regular in-person board meetings during the year (typically four) based on currently effective Board schedules, and (C) during the Emeritus Period, had received annual retainer and meeting fees as specified under the applicable emeritus program (calculated as if any non-emeritus Board Member was entitled to receive compensation identical to such Board Member’s compensation as such compensation was in effect as of June 30, 2006); or

(ii) with respect to a Board Member who is serving as an emeritus Board Member prior to July 25, 2006, equal, in the aggregate, to the payments which such emeritus Board Member would otherwise have received under the applicable emeritus program, calculated from the Board Election Date through the date that such emeritus Board Member would have been required to retire his/her emeritus status under such emeritus program (the “ Remaining Emeritus Period ”) and as if such emeritus Board Member had, during such Remaining Emeritus Period, (i) attended all regular in-person board meetings during the year

 

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(typically four) based on the currently effective Board schedule, and (ii) had received annual retainer and meeting fees as specified under the emeritus program (calculated as if any non-emeritus Board Member was entitled to receive compensation identical to such non-emeritus Board Member’s compensation in effect as of June 30, 2006).

Unless a lump-sum payment shall have been elected under Section E, benefits under this Plan shall be paid to the qualifying Independent Board Member in equal quarterly installments, commencing with the first calendar quarter following the Board Election Date. Each quarterly installment shall be payable on the last business day of the calendar quarter.

No benefits under this Plan may be anticipated, transferred, pledged, assigned, either in law or equity, alienated, attached, garnished, levied or subject to any other legal or equitable process.

D. Survivorship

Notwithstanding the effective date of this Plan, in the event an Independent Board Member qualifying for benefits under this Plan dies after July 25, 2006 and prior to complete distribution under this Plan, such Independent Board Member’s beneficiary(ies) designated by him or her in writing to the Companies with specific reference to this Plan shall receive the remaining retirement benefits.

A Board Member may designate alternate beneficiaries who may receive benefits under this Plan in the event the Independent Board Member survives his or her primary beneficiary(ies). In the event the Independent Board Member survives his or her primary and alternate beneficiaries or if no beneficiary has been designated, the remaining retirement benefits under this Section D shall be payable to the Independent Board Member’s estate.

E. Lump-Sum Payments

Subject to the remainder of this Section, an Independent Board Member may elect to receive payments hereunder as a single lump sum at the date the initial installment would otherwise be made in lieu of installment payments. An Independent Board Member otherwise electing to receive installments may also elect that any installments otherwise due following his or her death will be paid in a lump sum. Any such election must be made prior to July 25, 2006 and shall become irrevocable as of that date.

The lump sum payment shall equal the present value of the installment payments payable to the Independent Board Member, calculated according to the following formula:

Such lump sum shall equal the product of

 

-3-


(i) the aggregate amount of the Independent Board Member’s retirement benefits from the Companies calculated in accordance with Section C hereof; and

(ii) the Independent Board Member’s “Present Value Factor,” as determined according to the following formula:

LOGO

where:

 

n=   the number of quarterly payments remaining in the period until a Board Member would otherwise have been entitled to payments under this Plan; and
r=   1.2272% (quarterly equivalent of the 5.0% annual discount rate).

Where an Independent Board Member otherwise electing to receive installments has validly elected that any installments otherwise due following his or her death shall be paid in a lump sum, such lump sum shall be calculated in accordance with the foregoing procedure but based on the aggregate remaining amount of such installments, and their otherwise applicable respective dates of payment. Any calculation of a lump sum payment made pursuant to this section and approved by the Independent Board Members shall be conclusive and binding on all concerned in the absence of manifest error.

F. Accounting

The obligations of a Company, or if a Company has multiple investment portfolios or series (each, a “ Fund ”) the obligations of any Fund, to pay benefits and expenses under this Plan will not be secured or funded in any manner, and the obligations will not have any preference over the lawful claims of a Company’s or a Fund’s creditors. A Company or a Fund shall be under no obligation to segregate any assets for the purpose of providing retirement benefits pursuant to this Plan, and to the extent that any Independent Board Member or his or her beneficiary or estate acquires a right to receive a benefit under the Plan, such right shall be limited to that of a recipient of an unfunded, unsecured promise to pay amounts in the future and such person’s position with respect to such amounts shall be that of a general unsecured creditor of a Company or a Fund.

The benefits to an Independent Board Member (or his or her beneficiary or estate) described hereunder represent the aggregate amounts payable by all of the Companies. A Company shall be responsible for its proportionate share of the payment of the retirement benefits to Independent Board Members, as well as its share of expenses of administration of this Plan, including without limitation administrative, accounting and legal fees. In no event shall a Company be liable hereunder for amounts greater than its proportionate share of retirement benefits and expenses of administration under this Plan.

 

-4-


To the extent that a Company consists of one or more Funds, costs and expenses will be allocated among the Funds by the Board of Board Members of the Company in a manner that is determined by the Board or its designee to be fair and equitable under the circumstances.

The contingent obligations of a Company or a Fund under this Plan shall be accounted for in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles.

In the event of a liquidation, dissolution or winding up of a Company or a Fund or distribution of all or substantially all of the Company’s or Fund’s assets and property, appropriate provisions shall be made with respect to the obligations of such Company or Fund accrued under this Plan.

G. Amendment or Termination of Plan

A Company may at any time amend or terminate this Plan as to it or waive any provision of this Plan as to it upon the vote of a majority of that Company’s Independent Board Members; provided that (1) no amendment, termination or waiver will impair the rights of a Independent Board Member qualifying for benefits hereunder, or the beneficiary or estate of such an Independent Board Member who has died, to receive the payments to which he or she was entitled under this Plan; (2) no amendment, termination or waiver will reduce or otherwise alter the respective allocation of responsibilities among the several Companies for benefits accrued or costs incurred without approval of a majority of the Independent Board Members of each Company affected and (3) no amendment, termination or waiver may result in the benefits of this Plan ceasing to satisfy the requirements of paragraphs (2), (3) and (4) of Section 409A(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”).

H. No Qualified Plan; No Shareholder Approval

This Plan shall not be a qualified plan under Section 401 of the Code and need not be submitted for approval of shareholders.

I. Effective Date

This Plan has been approved by the Independent Board Members of the Companies and shall become effective as of January 1, 2007. This Plan is intended to meet the requirements of paragraphs (2), (3) and (4) of Section 409A(a) of the Code and shall be operated, administered and interpreted consistent with such intent.

 

-5-


Appendix A

Names of Companies:

 

Salomon Brothers Series Funds Inc   Salomon Brothers High Income Fund Inc
Salomon Brothers Capital and Income Fund Inc.   Salomon Brothers High Income Fund II Inc
Salomon Brothers Emerging Markets Debt Fund Inc.   Salomon Brothers Inflation Management Fund Inc.
Salomon Brothers Emerging Markets Income Fund Inc.   Salomon Brothers 2008 Worldwide Dollar Government Term Trust Inc
Salomon Brothers Emerging Markets Income Fund II Inc.   Salomon Brothers Variable Rate Strategic Fund Inc.
Salomon Brothers Emerging Markets Floating Rate Fund Inc.   Salomon Brothers Worldwide Income Fund Inc.
Salomon Brothers Global High Income Fund Inc.   Salomon Brothers Municipal Partners Fund Inc.
Legg Mason Partners Variable Portfolios I, Inc.   Salomon Brothers Municipal Partners Fund II Inc.
Salomon Brothers Global Partners Income Fund Inc.   Salomon Brothers Institutional Investment Series Inc

 

-6-

Exhibit (p)(5)

BARRETT ASSOCIATES, INC.

THE BARRETT FUNDS

JOINT CODE OF ETHICS

(As of December 15, 2005)


INDEX

 

          Page

A.

  

PREAMBLE

   1

B.

  

DEFINITIONS

   2

C.

  

PROHIBITED TRANSACTIONS

   4

D.

  

PERSONAL TRANSACTIONS IN MANAGED FUNDS

   6

E.

  

COMPLIANCE PROCEDURES

   7

F.

  

EXEMPTED TRANSACTIONS

   10

G.

  

REPORTING OF VIOLATIONS

   10

H.

  

ANNUAL REPORTING

   11

I.

  

SANCTIONS

   11

J.

  

RETENTION OF RECORDS

   11

 

Appendix A   Insider Trading Policy
Appendix B  

Aggregation &            

Allocation Policy        

Appendix C   Pre-clearance Forms 
Exhibit A       Initial Report            
Exhibit B       Annual Report          


BARRETT ASSOCIATES, INC.

and

THE BARRETT FUNDS

JOINT CODE OF ETHICS

A. PREAMBLE

High ethical standards are essential for the success of Barrett Associates, Inc. (“BAI”) and the Barrett Funds (the “Trust”) and to maintain the confidence of clients. Our long-term business interests are best served by adherence to the principle that our clients’ interests come first. Further, BAI and the Trust have a fiduciary duty to their clients, which requires individuals associated with our firm to act solely for the benefit of our clients. Potential conflicts of interest may arise in connection with the personal trading activities of individuals associated with investment adviser firms. In recognition of BAIs and the Trust’s fiduciary obligations to their clients and BAIs and the Trust’s desire to maintain high ethical standards, BAI and the Trust have adopted this Code of Ethics containing provisions designed to prevent improper personal trading, identify conflicts of interest and provide a means to resolve any actual or potential conflict in favor of the client.

In addition, because of the nature of our business, employees may be exposed to information which constitutes “inside information” or material, non-public information. Federal securities laws prohibit the use of such information for financial benefit. Accordingly, BAI and the Trust have also adopted policies that prohibit the use of material non-public information. The BAI/Trust Insider Trading Policy is attached to this Code of Ethics as Appendix A .

One of our goals is to still allow BAI personnel to engage in personal securities transactions, while protecting our clients and employees of BAI from the conflicts that could result from a violation of the securities laws or from real or apparent conflicts of interests. In this regard, we have set out below procedures governing personal transactions for members of the firm. As part of this process, BAI and the Trust will make every effort to keep confidential all personal information provided by employees.

Adherence to the Code of Ethics and the related restrictions on personal investing is considered a basic condition of employment by BAI and the Trust. If you have any doubt as to the propriety of any activity, you should consult with the Compliance Officer or his/her designee, who is charged with the administration of this Code of Ethics, has general compliance responsibility for BAI and the Trust, and may offer guidance on securities laws and acceptable practices, as the same may change from time to time.

This Code of Ethics is being adopted by BAI and the Trust in compliance with the requirements of Rule I7j-l (the “Rule”) adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “Act”) to effectuate the purposes and objectives of that Rule. The Rule makes it unlawful for certain persons, in connection with purchase or


sale by such person of a security “held or to be acquired” 1 by the Trust:

1. To employ a device, scheme or artifice to defraud the Trust;

2. To make to the Trust any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state to the Trust a material fact necessary in order to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances in which they are made, not misleading;

3. To engage in any act, practice or course of business which operates or would operate as a fraud or deceit upon the Trust; or

4. To engage in a manipulative practice with respect to the Trust.

The Rule also requires that the Trust, and its investment adviser shall each adopt a written Code of Ethics, which shall be approved by a majority of the Board of Trustees of the Trust (including a majority of Independent Trustees) and that contains provisions reasonably necessary to prevent persons from engaging in acts in violation of the above standard and to use reasonable diligence and institute procedures reasonably necessary, to prevent violations of the Code of Ethics.

Set forth below is the Code of Ethics adopted by the Board of Directors of BAI and by the Board of Trustees of the Trust, in compliance with the Rule. This Code of Ethics is based upon the principle that persons associated with BAI, the Trust and certain affiliated persons of BAI and the Trust, owe a fiduciary duty to, among others, the clients of BAI and the shareholders of the Trust to conduct their affairs, including their personal securities transactions, in such manner to avoid (i) serving their own personal interests ahead of shareholders; (ii) taking inappropriate advantage of their position with clients and/or the Trust; and (iii) any actual or potential conflicts of interest or any abuse of their position of trust and responsibility.

B. DEFINITIONS

1. “Access Person” means any trustee, director, officer, or any employee of BAI or the Trust (or of any company in a control relationship to BAI or the Trust) who, in connection with his regular functions or duties, normally makes, participates in, or obtains current information regarding the purchase or sale of a security by a client or the Trust, or whose functions relate to the making of any recommendations with respect to such purchases or sales; and any natural person, or the families of such persons, in a control relationship to the Adviser or the Trust who regularly obtains current information concerning recommendations made to a client or the Trust with regard to the purchase or sale of a security by a client or the Trust. “Access Person” also includes:

(a) An Access Person’s spouse (other than a legally separated or divorced spouse of the Access Person) and minor children;

 


1 A security “held or to be acquired” is defined as (a) if within the most recent fifteen (15) days, it (i) is or has been held by the Trust, or (ii) is being or has been considered by the Trust or its investment adviser for purchase by the Trust, and (b) any option to purchase or sell, and any security convertible into or exchangeable for such a security.

 

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(b) Any individuals who live in the Access Person’s household and over whose purchases, sales, or other trading activities the Access Person exercises control or investment discretion;

(c) Any persons to whom the Access Person

 

    provides primary financial support or

 

    whose financial affairs the Access Person controls.

(d) Any trust or other arrangement which names the Access Person as a beneficiary or remainderman; and

(e) Any partnership, corporation, or other entity of which the Access Person is a director, officer or partner where the Access Person has a 25% or greater beneficial interest, or in which the Access Person owns a controlling interest or exercises effective control.

A comprehensive list of all Access Persons will be maintained by our Compliance Officer.

2. “ Beneficial ownership ” shall be as defined in, and interpreted in the same manner as it would be in determining whether a person is subject to the provisions of Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the rules and regulations thereunder which, generally speaking, encompasses those situations where the beneficial owner has the right to enjoy some economic benefit from the ownership of the security. A person is normally regarded as the beneficial owner of securities held in the name of his or her spouse or minor children living in his or her household.

3. “Client Account” means any account managed by a portfolio manager of BAI which is not a Covered Account.

4. “Covered Account” means any account, other than a Client Account (as defined below) in which an Access Person has any beneficial ownership, with the following exceptions:

(f) Access Person as Trustee . A Covered Account does not include any account for which an Access Person serves as trustee of a trust for the benefit of (1) a person to whom the Access Person does not provide primary financial support, or (2) an independent third party.

(g) Covered Accounts of Other Access Persons . A Covered Account of an Access Person that is managed by another Access Person excluding Covered Accounts of employees of BAI, is considered to be a Covered Account only of the Access Person has a beneficial ownership in the Covered Account. The account is considered to be a client account with respect to the Access Person managing the Covered Account.

 

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otherwise prohibited by any applicable laws. Personal securities transactions for Access Persons may be effected only in accordance with the provisions of this Section.

2. Blackout Periods . As part of the pre-clearance process (as described in Section E, “Compliance Procedures”), the Compliance Officer shall determine, by speaking with the Director of Research and/or the President, whether a personal securities transaction being considered in a Covered Account involves a security that is currently on, likely to be added to or deleted from the list of securities that are being considered by the BAI portfolio management team (the “BAI Focus List”).

(a) If the personal securities transaction being considered involves a security that is likely to or may be added to or be deleted from the BAI Focus List within five (5) trading days, then the Access Person shall not be allowed to trade the security in a Covered Account.

(b) If the personal securities transaction being considered involves a security that is definitely not going to be added to or be deleted from the BAI Focus List within five (5) trading days, then the Access Person shall be allowed to trade the security in a Covered Account.

(c) When a security is first placed on the BAI Focus List, there is an initial seven (7) trading day waiting period before any Access Person is allowed to trade in the security in a Covered Account. After that seven trading day period has expired, the Access Person may trade the security in a Covered Account and must aggregate his or her personal trades in that security with the client trades in accordance with the BAI Aggregation and Allocation Policy (attached as Appendix B).

(d) When the rating of a security on the BAI Focus List changes to “buy,” “sell,” or “lighten” (each of which indicates that BAI clients will likely trade in that security), there is an initial seven (7) day waiting period before any Access Person is allowed to trade the security in a Covered Account. After the seventh day, such trades must be aggregated in accordance with the BAI Aggregation and Allocation Policy (attached as Appendix B).

3. Trading on the Same Day as a Client After Blackout Periods of 2(b) Above . An Access Person may execute a personal securities transaction after the blackout periods of Section 2(b) above have expired for his/her Covered Account on a day during which any client over which BAI has investment discretion (including the Trust) has a pending “buy” or “sell” order in that same security only if the Access Person aggregates his or her personal trade with the clients’ trades in accordance with the BAI Aggregation and Allocation Policy (attached as Appendix B).

4. Short-Term Trading Profits . An Access Person shall not profit in the purchase and sale, or sale and purchase, of the same or equivalent securities within sixty (60) calendar days unless such restrictions would cause undue hardship, as determined by the Compliance Officer, on the individual.

 

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5. Gifts . Absent the approval of BAI’s Compliance Officer, an Access Person may not personally give gifts with an aggregate value in excess of $100 per year to persons associated with securities or financial organizations, including exchanges, other member organizations, commodity firms, news media or BAI advisory clients. An Access Person shall not seek or accept extraordinary or extravagant gifts. Any such gift must be declined or returned in order to protect the reputation and integrity of BAI. The following types of gift may be accepted:

(a) Gifts of a nominal value (i.e., gifts that have a reasonable value of no more than $100, or gifts that, in the aggregate, have a value of no more than $100 per year);

(b) Customary and reasonable business meals and entertainment (e.g., sporting events); and

(c) Promotional items (e.g., pens, mugs, T-shirts).

6. Short Sales . An Access Person shall not engage in any short sale of a security if, at the time of the transaction, any client account or the Trust managed by the Access Person has a long position in such security. Short sales against the box in securities held by a client are permitted except on a day when a client account managed by the Access Person trades in the same security.

7. Initial Public Offerings . An Access Person shall not acquire any direct or indirect beneficial ownership in any securities in any initial public offering.

8. Private Placements and Investment Opportunities of Limited Availability . An Access Person shall not acquire any beneficial ownership in any securities in any private placement of securities or investment opportunity of limited availability unless the Compliance Officer has given express prior written approval. The Compliance Officer, in determining whether approval should be given, will take into account, among other factors, whether the investment opportunity should be reserved for BAI clients and whether the opportunity is being offered to the Access Person by virtue of his or her position with BAI. The Access Person who owns a Private Placement or investment opportunity of limited availability must disclose to the President whenever he or she recommends the purchase or sale of the same investment to a client.

9. Service on Boards . An Access Person shall not serve on any board of directors of any publicly traded company without prior written authorization from the President of BAI. Authorization will be based upon a determination that the board service would not be inconsistent with the interest of any client or the Trust. This restriction does not apply to service on the board of any not-for-profit corporation or organization.

D. PERSONAL TRANSACTIONS IN MANAGED FUNDS

1. Prohibition on Market Timing Trading Activity . No Access Person (including the Independent Trustees), officer or employee of BAI (including full-time, part-time and temporary employees) shall engage in excessive trading or market timing activities with respect to any Managed Fund. For the purposes of the foregoing, “market timing” shall be defined as a series of

 

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purchase and redemption transactions, regardless of size, in and out of the same Managed Fund in a manner that the Compliance Officer deems excessive.

2. Mandatory Holding Period . Access Persons (including the Independent Trustees), officers and employees of BAI (including full-time, part-time and temporary employees) are required to maintain holdings in a Managed Fund for a minimum of ninety (90) calendar days before such persons are permitted to redeem their shares at a profit (the “Mandatory Holding Period”). Any redemption in violation of the Mandatory Holding Period that is not otherwise exempted or excepted from this policy will result in the disgorgement of the profits resulting from the transaction. Proceeds from any disgorgement shall be returned to the applicable Managed Fund.

3. Exemptions and Exceptions . The Mandatory Holding Period does not apply to systematic purchases of shares of a Managed Fund, such as automatic investment plans, purchases through payroll deductions, automatic reinvestment of dividends, periodic rebalancing of an investment portfolio, or similar transactions. Upon written request submitted to the Compliance Officer, the Compliance Officer may grant an exception to the Mandatory Holding Period for certain significant life events (e.g., marriage, education, purchase of home, etc.); however, the Compliance Officer will report such exceptions to the Board of Trustees at the next regularly scheduled board meeting.

4. Pre-Clearance for Transactions in a Managed Fund . All Access Persons (including the Independent Trustees), officers and employees of BAI must pre-clear transactions in a Barrett Managed or Legg Mason Fund. The Managed Fund Pre-Clearance Form at Appendix C-2- shall be used for this purpose.

E. COMPLIANCE PROCEDURES

1. Pre-clearance Requirement . With the exception of Independent Trustees, all Access Persons are required to receive prior written approval from the Compliance Officer before engaging in any non-exempted transaction in his or her Covered Account. The Compliance Officer or his/her designee (who may have no personal interest in the subject transaction) may approve the transaction if the Compliance Officer concludes that the transaction would comply with the provisions of this Code of Ethics and is not likely to have any adverse economic impact on a BAI client or the Trust. A request for pre-clearance must be made by completing the Pre-clearance Form in advance of the contemplated transaction. The Pre- clearance Form attached as Appendix C-l shall be used for this purpose. Any approval given under this paragraph will remain in effect for 24 hours. The Compliance Officer will retain a record of approval.

2. Disclosure of Personal Holdings and Business Activities Under Rule 17j-1 . All Access Persons (with the exception of Independent Trustees) shall disclose to the Compliance Officer all personal securities holdings in an initial report upon commencement of employment, and thereafter as of the end of each calendar year. The initial report shall be made no later than ten (10) days after the person becomes an Access Person. The annual report shall be submitted within thirty (30) days after the end of each calendar year and provide information on personal securities holdings that is current as of a date no more than thirty (30) days

 

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before the date such Annual Report is submitted. The Access Person will also disclose the business activities in which the person has a significant role and the name of banks, brokerage or investment advisory firms where the Access Person maintains accounts. Samples of the Initial Report and the Annual Report are attached as Exhibits A and B, respectively.

3. Duplicate Copies of Broker’s Confirmations and Account Statements .

(a) All Access Persons (excluding Independent Trustees) are required to direct their brokers or custodians or any persons managing the Access Person’s account to supply the Trust’s Compliance Officer with duplicate copies of broker’s trade confirmations within five (5) days after the transaction.

(b) All Access Persons (excluding Independent Trustees) must provide the Access Person’s quarterly brokerage statements.

An Access Person shall not be required to submit broker’s trade confirmations or periodic statements for any transaction in a personal account over which the Access Person has no direct or indirect influence or control. Each Access Person has an affirmative obligation to notify the Compliance Officer promptly if the Access Person opens any new account with a broker or custodian or moves an existing account to a different broker or custodian.

4. Quarterly Reporting Requirements .

(a) Quarterly reporting is generally not required, because all Access Persons (except for Independent Trustees) are required to provide duplicate confirmations and account statements. Independent Trustees, however, are required to report to the Compliance Officer the information described in paragraph (b) of this sub-section (4) with respect to transactions in any security in which such person has, or by reason of such transaction acquires, any direct or indirect beneficial ownership in the security if such trustee, at the time of that transaction knew, or, in the ordinary course of fulfilling his official duties as a trustee, should have known that, during the 15-day period immediately preceding or after the date of the transaction by the trustee, such security was purchased or sold by the Trust or was being considered for purchase by the Trust or by its investment adviser.

(b) Reports required to be made under this sub-section (4) shall be made not later than ten (10) days after the end of the calendar quarter in which the transaction to which the report relates was effected. A report shall contain the following information:

 

    the date of the transaction, the title and the number of shares, and the principal amount of each security involved;

 

    the nature of the transaction (i.e., purchase, sale or any other type of acquisition or disposition);

 

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and file a written memorandum of any exemption granted, describing the circumstances and reasons for the exemption.

F. EXEMPTED TRANSACTIONS

The following transactions are exempt from the pre-clearance requirements (as described in Section E, “Compliance Procedures”) Unless otherwise noted below, the exempted transactions described below are also exempted from the filing requirement of a Pre-clearance Form; provided , however , the quarterly reporting obligations of the Code of Ethics will continue to apply to any transaction exempted from pre-clearance pursuant to this Section.

1. Any transaction involving: (i) securities issued by the government of the United States or by federal agencies and that are direct obligations of the U.S. or any derivative thereof; (ii) U.S. government agency obligations; (iii) bankers’ acceptances; (iv) bank certificates of deposit; (v) commercial paper; (vi) securities issued by exchange traded funds; and (vii) shares of registered open-end investment companies other than shares issued by a Managed Fund;

2. Purchases or sales of securities with respect to which an Access Person has (or by reason of such transaction would have) no beneficial ownership;

3. Purchases or sales that are non-volitional on the part of the Access Person such as purchases that are made pursuant to a dividend reinvestment plan;

4. Purchases effected upon the exercise of rights issued by an issuer pro rata to all holders of a class of the issuer’s securities, to the extent such rights were acquired from such issuer, and sales of such rights so acquired;

5. Transactions effected in, and the holdings of, any account over which the Access Person has no direct or indirect influence or control (i.e., blind trust, discretionary account or trust managed by a third party);

6. Transactions in securities that the Compliance Officer knows, or reasonably should know, are not eligible for purchase or sale by any client of BAI or the Trust, and the value of which is not based upon, related to or determined by reference to any security which is eligible for purchase or sale by any client of BAI or the Trust. A Pre-clearance Form must still be filed with respect to such purchase transactions in order for the Compliance Officer to make the necessary determinations with respect to such transactions.

7. Purchases and sales of 1000 shares or less of stock of companies with more than $1 billion market capitalization; provided , however , the five (5) day and seven (7) day blackout periods described under Section C.2 above shall apply to any purchase and sale of such securities. In order for the Compliance Officer to determine whether the provisions of Section C.2 shall apply, a Pre-clearance Form must be submitted with respect to such transactions.

G. REPORTING OF VIOLATIONS TO THE BOARDS OF BAI AND THE TRUST

1. The Compliance Officer shall promptly report to the Boards all apparent violations of this Code of Ethics and the reporting requirements thereunder.

 

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2. When the Compliance Officer finds that a transaction otherwise reportable to the Boards under paragraph (1) of this Section could not reasonably be found to have resulted in a fraud, deceit or manipulative practice in violation of Rule 17j-l(a), he or she may, in their discretion, lodge a written memorandum of such finding and the reasons therefore with the reports made pursuant to this Code of Ethics, in lieu of reporting the transaction to the Boards.

H. ANNUAL REPORTING TO THE BOARDS OF BAI AND THE TRUST

The Compliance Officer shall prepare an annual report relating to this Code of Ethics to the Boards. Such annual report shall:

1. Summarize existing procedures concerning personal investing and any changes in the procedures made during the past year;

2. Describe any issues arising under the Code of Ethics or procedures since the last report to the Board of Trustees including, but not limited to, information about material violations of the Code of Ethics or procedures and sanctions imposed in response to the material violations;

3. Identify any recommended changes in the existing restrictions or procedures based upon the Trust’s and BAI’s experience under its Code of Ethics, evolving industry practices or developments in applicable laws or regulations; and

4. Certify that the Trust and BAI have adopted procedures reasonably necessary to prevent Access Persons from violating this Code of Ethics.

I. SANCTIONS

The President of BAI, with advice of legal counsel, shall consider reports made to him and upon determining that a violation of this Code of Ethics has occurred, may impose such sanctions or remedial action as he deems appropriate or to the extent required by law. These sanctions may include, among other things, a letter of censure, disgorgement of profits, suspension or termination of employment with BAI, or criminal or civil penalties. The Board may review and amend such sanctions as they deem appropriate.

J. RETENTION OF RECORDS

This Code of Ethics, a list of all persons required to make reports hereunder from time to time or who are responsible for reviewing such reports, a copy of each report made by an Access Person hereunder, each memorandum made by the Compliance Officer hereunder and a record of any violation hereof and any action taken as a result of such violation, and a copy of each annual report to the Boards of BAI and the Trust shall be maintained by the Trust as required under Rule 17j-l.

The Compliance Officer shall keep in an easily accessible place for at least five years copies of all broker confirmations and periodic statements of Access Persons, copies of all pre-clearance forms, acknowledgments and other memoranda relating to the administration of this Code of Ethics.

 

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Appendix A

Insider Trading Policies and Procedures

SECTION I. POLICY STATEMENT ON INSIDER TRADING

A. Definition of Insider Trading

The term “insider trading” is generally used to refer to (i) a person’s use of material, nonpublic information in connection with transactions in securities, and (ii) certain communications of material, nonpublic information. The laws concerning insider trading generally prohibit:

 

    The purchase or sale of securities by an insider, on the basis of material, nonpublic information;

 

    The purchase or sale of securities by a non-insider, on the basis of material, nonpublic information where the information was disclosed to the non-insider in violation of an insider’s duty to keep the information confidential or was misappropriated; or

 

    The communication of material, nonpublic information in violation of a confidentiality obligation where the information leads to a purchase or sale of securities.

B. Policy Statement on Insider Trading

Barrett Associates, Inc. (BAI) and the Trustees of the Barrett Funds (the “Trust”) forbid any officer, director or employee from trading, either personally or on behalf of others, including mutual fund and private accounts managed or advised by BAI, on material nonpublic information or communicating material nonpublic information to others in violation of the law. This conduct is frequently referred to as “insider trading.” BAI’s policy applies to every officer, director and employee and extends to activities within and outside their duties at BAI. Every officer, director and employee must read and retain this policy statement. Any questions regarding BAI’s policy and procedures should be referred to the Compliance Officer.

C. Common Questions and Answers

Who is an Insider? The concept of “insider” is broad. It includes the officers, trustees, employees and majority shareholders of a company. In addition, a person can be considered a “temporary insider” of a company if he or she enters into a confidential relationship in the conduct of the company’s affairs and, as a result, is given access to company information that is intended to be used solely for company purposes. Analysts are usually not considered insiders of the companies that they follow, although if an analyst is given confidential information by a company’s representative in a manner in which the analyst knows or should know to be a breach of that representative’s duties to the company, the analyst may become a temporary insider.

 

A-1


What is Material Information? Trading on inside information is not a basis for liability unless the information is “material,” which is generally defined as information that a reasonable investor would likely consider important in making his or her investment decision, or information that is reasonably certain to have a substantial effect on the price of a company’s securities. Information that should be considered material includes, but is not limited to: dividend changes, earnings estimates, changes in previously released earnings estimates, significant merger or acquisition proposals or agreements, major litigation, liquidity problems; extraordinary management developments; and analysts’ reports on a company’s prospects.

What is Nonpublic Information? Information is nonpublic unless it has been effectively communicated to the market place. For information to be considered public, one must be able to point to some fact to show that the information has been generally disseminated to the public. For example, information found in a report filed with the SEC or appearing on the Internet or in Dow Jones, Reuters Economic Services, The Wall Street Journal or another publication of general circulation is considered public. Market rumors, unless they are accessible (e.g., through an open “chat room”) are not considered public information.

Not Certain if You Have “Inside” Information? If you have any doubts about whether you are in possession of material nonpublic information, consult with the Compliance Officer.

D. Penalties for Insider Trading

Penalties for trading on or communicating material, nonpublic information are severe, both for the individuals involved in the unlawful conduct and for their employers. A person can be subject to some or all of the penalties set forth below even if he or she does not personally benefit from the violation. Penalties include: administrative penalties; civil injunctions; disgorgement of profits; substantial fines; jail sentences; and serious disciplinary measures, including dismissal, imposed by the Trust.

E. Serving as a Director

Because officers, directors or trustees of a publicly traded company have special information about that company, BAI requires the Compliance Officer’s approval before any of its directors, officers or employees agree to serve as an officer or director of a publicly traded company. The Compliance Officer will design appropriate procedures to mitigate any conflicts of interests and any potential insider trading issue depending upon the requirements of each individual situation.

 

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SECTION II. PROCEDURES TO IMPLEMENT BAI’S INVESTMENT ADVISER’S POLICY

A. Procedures to Implement BAI Investment Adviser’s Policy Against Insider Trading

The following procedures have been established to aid the officers, directors and employees of BAI in avoiding insider trading, and to aid BAI in preventing, detecting and imposing sanctions against insider trading. Every officer, director and employee of BAI or of the Trust must follow these procedures or risk serious sanctions, including dismissal, substantial personal liability and criminal penalties. If you have any questions about these procedures, you should consult the Compliance Officer.

 

  1. Identifying Inside Information

Before trading for yourself and others, including investment companies or private accounts managed by BAI, in the securities of a company about which you may have potential inside information, ask yourself the following questions:

 

  (i) Is the information material? Is this information that an investor would consider important in making his or her investment decisions? Is this information that would substantially affect the market price of the securities if generally disclosed?

 

  (ii) Is the information nonpublic? To whom has this information been provided? Has the information been effectively communicated to the marketplace by being published in Reuters, The Wall Street Journal or other publications of general circulation?

If after consideration of the above, you believe that the information is material and nonpublic, or if you have questions as to whether the information is material and nonpublic, you should take the following steps.

 

  (i) Report the matter immediately to the Compliance Officer.

 

  (ii) Do not purchase or sell the securities on behalf of yourself or others, including investment companies or private accounts managed by BAI.

 

  (iii) Do not communicate the information inside or outside BAI, other than to the Compliance Officer.

 

  (iv) After the Compliance Officer has reviewed the issue or consulted with counsel (as appropriate), you will be instructed to continue the prohibitions against trading and communication, or you will be allowed to trade and communicate the information.

 

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  2. Personal Securities Trading

 

  A. Reporting

All Access Persons of BAI are required by the BAI Code of Ethics to submit to the Compliance Officer:

 

  (i) duplicate copies of trade confirmations within 5 days after the Access Person’s personal securities transactions and

 

  (ii) the Access Person’s monthly or quarterly brokerage statements. In addition, all Access Persons are required by the BAI Code of Ethics to submit upon commencement of employment with BAI, a statement listing all of the

 

  (a) securities in which the Access Person has any beneficial ownership,

 

  (b) business activities in which the Access Person has a significant role and

 

  (c) the names of any brokerage firms where the Access Person maintains an account.

 

  B. Pre-clearance.

In addition, the BAI Code of Ethics requires Access Persons to obtain the prior written approval of the Compliance Officer before engaging in any personal securities transaction.

 

  C. Other Code of Ethics Provisions.

The BAI Code of Ethics contains other restrictions on the personal securities trading of Access Persons. The BAI Code of Ethics is incorporated by reference into this policy. A personal securities transaction that would be permissible under the Code of Ethics is nevertheless still subject to this policy.

 

  3. Restricting Access to Material Nonpublic Information

Information in your possession that you identify as material and nonpublic may not be communicated to anyone, including persons within BAI, except as provided in paragraph 1 above. In addition, care should be taken so that such information is secure. For example, files containing material nonpublic information should be sealed; access to computer files containing material nonpublic information should be restricted.

 

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  4. Resolving Issues Concerning Insider Trading

If, after consideration of the items set forth in paragraph 1, doubt remains as to whether information is material or nonpublic, or if there is any unresolved question as to the applicability or interpretation of the foregoing procedures, or as to the propriety of any action, it must be discussed with the Compliance Officer before trading or communicating the information to anyone.

 

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Appendix B

BARRETT ASSOCIATES, INC. (“BAI”)

THE BARRETT FUNDS (the “Trust”)

AGGREGATION AND ALLOCATION POLICY

 

I. Introduction.

This policy sets forth the procedures to be used to: (i) aggregate client and Trust orders for the same security; (ii) aggregate orders for Covered Accounts with client and Trust orders for the same security; (iii) properly allocate securities that have been aggregated; and (iv) deal with directed orders by client. Because each client’s and the Trust’s portfolio are individually managed and have many objectives and restrictions, it is not always possible for all managers to transact client and Trust orders in the same security that other managers are trading at the same time on a given day or even on the same day. BAI does recognize its obligation to ensure that all clients with similar objectives, restrictions and procedures and the Trust are treated as equitably as possible given the practical restraints that confront each manager. It is our intention, that to the best of our ability, that no client or the Trust is disadvantaged in any way.

 

II. Placement of Orders.

All client and Trust orders shall be coordinated to the extent possible and executed, subject to the following exception:

All orders for a Covered Account (as defined in the BAI/The Barrett Funds’ Code of Ethics) shall be aggregated with client and Trust orders for the same security. Orders for an Access Person’s Covered Account executed after a client order in the same security but in the morning or afternoon on the same day will if possible be aggregated and allocated in accordance with Section III below. Directed brokerage trades for Access Persons need not be aggregated with client or Trust trades if no client or Trust trades were executed with the same broker at the directed brokerage firm on the trade date.

 

III. Aggregation and Allocation of Orders.

Aggregation of orders shall be made only in accordance with this Section III. The Allocation Statement (or order ticket) is used to set forth the accounts participating in the aggregation and the intended manner of allocation of the aggregated order among participating accounts.

 

  A. Filling Orders.

Aggregation will be made twice per day: once for trades executed before 12:00 p.m. (noon) and once for trades aggregated after 12:00 p.m. Unless otherwise specified, all allocations of aggregated orders shall be made in accordance with the

 

B-l


designations made by the portfolio managers. Each participating account shall receive the average price of the security executed. All participating accounts shall share any brokerage costs or other expenses of the order on a pro rata basis, based on order size, except as provided in Section III(E) below. Directed brokerage trades for Access Persons need not be aggregated if no client or Trust trades were executed with the same broker at the brokerage firm on the trade date.

 

  B. Partial Fills.

If an aggregated order is not completely filled during the day on which the order is entered, the aggregated order shall be allocated among participating accounts on a pro rata basis, based on order size. No trade for an Access Person will participate in partial fills.

 

  C. Non-Pro Rata Allocations.

A non-pro rata allocation of a partial fill may be made if it is determined that the pro rata allocation is not appropriate for an account. In such case the allocation statement shall be amended to set forth the revised method of allocation and the reason(s) for the revision. In addition, allocations based on filling to completion the orders of the smallest accounts is permissible.

 

  D. Allocation of IPOs.

An allocation of an initial public offering (“IPO”) shall take into consideration a client’s or the Trust’s permitted policies, investment objective, suitability and value in context of a client’s or the Trust’s portfolio. This may result in some clients or the Trust being given no stock on a particular offering. Access Persons and Covered Accounts are prohibited by the Code of Ethics from participating in IPOs.

 

  E. Allocation of Brokerage or Other Expenses.

Brokerage or other expenses of the aggregated order shall be borne by the participating accounts and the Trust based on the size and expense attendant to individual client accounts and the Trust.

IV. Recordkeeping.

 

  A. For each order placed for the purchase or sale of a security for any account or the Trust, whether executed or unexecuted, the portfolio manager placing such order shall provide the following information contemporaneously with the initial order, which shall be recorded on the trade ticket or electronic order:

 

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  1. The account(s)/Trust for which the order is being placed, including the number of shares, principal amount, or dollar amount being purchased or sold for each account;

 

  2. Any market order or limit order and limit price;

 

  3. The name of any broker-dealer directed to execute the order;

 

  4. The name of the person who placed the order;

 

  5. Any other relevant terms or conditions of the order, including any priority, special de minimis requirements or other specific method of allocation among accounts; and

 

  6. The date and time (time-stamped) of entry of the order.

 

V. Directed Orders.

All directed orders shall be executed in accordance with the direction. Whenever possible, directed orders shall be aggregated.

Orders for clients with designated brokers will be executed on a “first-in, first executed basis” in the order these are placed by our managers. This may result in these clients receiving different prices.

 

VI. Review of Procedures.

The compliance officer will annually review these procedures to ensure that they are adequate to prevent any account or the Trust from being systematically disadvantaged as a result of the aggregation and allocation of orders.

 

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Appendix C-l

THE BARRETT FUNDS

BARRETT ASSOCIATES, INC.

PRE-CLEARANCE FORM

FOR TRANSACTIONS IN COVERED ACCOUNTS OF ACCESS PERSONS

Access Persons must complete this Pre-clearance Form prior to engaging in any personal transaction (unless excepted by the Code of Ethics). All capitalized terms used herein have the same meaning as defined in the Joint Code of Ethics (the “Code”) of Barrett Associates, Inc. (“BAI”) and the Barrett Funds (the “Trust”). The Pre-Clearance Form at Appendix C-2 shall be used for transactions in a Managed Fund, as defined under the Code, in lieu of this form.

 

1. Name of Access Person:                                                                                                           .

 

2. Account Title:                                                                                                           .

 

3. Name of Security:                                                                                                       .

 

4. Maximum number of shares or units to be purchased or sold, or amount of bond:                                              .

 

5. Name and phone number of broker to effect transaction:                                                                                                           

 

6. Check applicable boxes:    Purchase   ¨     Sale   ¨     Market Order   ¨     Limit Order   ¨

 

7. In connection with the proposed transaction described herein, I hereby make the following representations and warranties:

 

  a. I do not posses any material nonpublic information regarding the Security or the issuer of the Security.

 

  b. I am not aware that any Managed Fund or any Client Account has an open order to buy or sell the Security or an equivalent Security.

 

  c. By entering this order, I am not using knowledge of any open, executed or pending transaction by a Managed Fund or any other Client Account to profit by the market effect of such transaction.

 

  d. The Security is not being acquired in an initial public offering.*

 

  e. The Security is not being acquired in a private placement or, if it is, I have reviewed Section C.8 of the Code and I have attached hereto a written explanation of such transaction.*

 

  f. I believe that the proposed trade fully complies with the requirements and parameters of the Code.

Representation and Signature

By executing this form, I represent that the information that I have provided herein is true and accurate to the best of my belief. I understand that pre-clearance will only be in effect for 24 hours from the date of the Compliance Officer’s signature.

 

 

  

 

  

 

Employee Name ( please print )    Employee Signature    Date
Disposition of Pre-clearance Request   

Approved                             

  

 

  

 

  

 

Denied                                   

   Compliance Officer    Date    Time                    


Appendix C-2

THE BARRETT FUNDS

BARRETT ASSOCIATES, INC.

PRE-CLEARANCE FORM

PERSONAL TRADING REQUEST AND AUTHORIZATION

FOR PURCHASE OR SALE OF MANAGED FUNDS

All capitalized terms used herein and not otherwise defined have the same meaning as defined in the Joint Code of Ethics of Barrett Associates, Inc. and the Barrett Funds. This Personal Trading Request must be completed by Access Person (including the Independent Trustees) prior to any personal trade with respect to shares of a series of the Barrett Funds or the Legg Mason Financial Services Fund, a series of the Legg Mason Trust, Inc.) (each, a “Managed Fund” and collectively, the “Managed Funds”)

Name:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

Date For Which You Seek Approval:                                                                                                                                                                                               

Dollar amount or number of Managed Fund shares to be purchased or sold:                                                                                                                     

 


 


 


Nature of, and reason for, the transaction (i.e., purchase, sale):                                                                                                                                              

 


 


 


Will the purchase or sale of shares of a Managed Fund result in a violation of the prohibition of short-term profits (cannot profit from the purchase and sale or sale and purchase of securities within 60 calendar days)?    Yes   ¨     No   ¨

Will the redemption of shares of a Managed Fund result in a violation of the Mandatory Holding Period (cannot profit from the sale of shares of a Managed Fund within 90 calendar days of the purchase of such securities)?    Yes   ¨     No   ¨

Is the transaction based on any non-public material information?    Yes   ¨     No   ¨

Your signature below acknowledges that to the best of your knowledge and belief, the answers that you have provided above are true and correct.

 

 

Signature

 

- 2 -


Exhibit A

THE BARRETT FUNDS

BARRETT ASSOCIATES, INC.

CODE OF ETHICS

INITIAL REPORT

To the Compliance Officer:

 

1. I hereby acknowledge receipt of the Code of Ethics and certify that I have read and understand it and agree to abide by it. I hereby represent that all of my personal securities transactions will be effected in compliance with the Code.

 

2. I also confirm that I have instructed all brokerage firms where I maintain an account to supply duplicate copies of my trade confirmations and at least quarterly brokerage account statements to the Compliance Officer at Barrett Associates (this requirement excludes Independent Trustees of The Barrett Funds).

 

3. Except as noted below, I hereby certify that I have no knowledge of the existence of any personal conflict of interest relationship which may involve Barrett Associates or The Barrett Funds, such as any economic relationship between my transactions and securities held or to be acquired by Barrett Associates or The Barrett Funds.

 

4. I hereby certify that I have never been found liable for, nor guilty of, insider trading and that no legal proceedings alleging that I have violated the law on insider trading are now pending or, to my knowledge, threatened by any person or authority.

 

5. As of the date below I had a direct or indirect beneficial ownership* in the following securities (attach pages if necessary):

 

Name of Security

   Number of Shares    Type of Interest
(Direct or Indirect)
     
     

 

6. I hereby represent that I maintain account(s) as of the date this report is submitted in which securities are held for my direct or indirect benefit with the brokers, dealers or banks listed below.

 

Name and Address of Broker/Dealer

or Bank Maintaining Account

 

Account Number

 

Date Established

 

 

Name:  

 

Title:  

 

Date:  

 

 


* Beneficial ownership also includes securities held in the name of your spouse or minor children living in your household.


Exhibit B

THE BARRETT FUNDS

BARRETT ASSOCIATES, INC.

CODE OF ETHICS

ANNUAL REPORT

To the Compliance Officer:

 

1. I have read and understand the Code of Ethics and recognize that I am subject thereto in the capacity of an “Access Person.”

 

2. I hereby certify that, during the year ended December 31,              , I have complied with the requirements of the Code of Ethics and I have reported all securities transactions required to be reported pursuant to the Code of Ethics.

 

3. Except as noted below, I hereby certify that I have no knowledge of the existence of any personal conflict of interest relationship which may involve The Barrett Funds, such as any economic relationship between my transactions and securities held or to be acquired by the Trust or any of its Series.

 

4. As of December 31,              , I had a direct or indirect beneficial ownership* in the following securities:

 

Name of Security

   Number of Shares    Type of Interest
(Direct or Indirect)

 

5. I hereby represent that I maintain the account(s) listed below in which securities are held for my direct or indirect benefit with the brokers, dealers or banks listed below.

 

Name and Address of Broker/
Dealer or Bank Maintaining Account

   Account Number    Date Established

 

 

Name:  

 

Title:  

 

Date:  

 

 


* Beneficial ownership also includes securities held in the name of your spouse or minor children living in your household.

 

- 2 -

Exhibit (p)(6)

CODE OF ETHICS (I NCLUDES P ERSONAL A CCOUNT T RADING AND O UTSIDE B USINESS I NTERESTS )

This Code is pursuant to FSA Conduct of Business 7.13 R, Rule 17j-1 of the US Investment Company Act of 1940 and Rule 204A-1 of the US Investment Advisers Act of 1940.

A Commitment to Integrity

 

I. Statement of Principles - Legg Mason International Equities Limited (“LMIELtd”), and those U.S.-registered investment companies advised, managed or sponsored by Legg Mason (including the former Citigroup Asset Management companies (the “Funds”)) that have adopted this Code of Ethics (“Code”) have adopted the Code in order to establish rules of conduct for persons who are associated with LMIELtd and the Funds, as applicable. The Code’s purpose is (i) to minimize conflicts and potential conflicts of interest between employees of LMIELtd and LMIELtd’s clients (including the Funds), and between Fund directors or trustees and their Funds, (ii) to provide policies and procedures consistent with applicable law and regulation, including but not restricted to the insider dealing provisions of the UK Criminal Justice Act 1993, EU Market Abuse Directive, FSA Handbook, Code of Market Conduct Rule 17j-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and 204A-1 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, and other applicable provisions of the Federal securities laws and (iii) to prevent fraudulent or manipulative practices with respect to purchases or sales of securities held or to be acquired by client accounts. All LMIELtd UK employees and certain immediate family members, including employees who serve as Fund officers, directors or trustees, and all directors or trustees (“directors”) of each Fund, are Covered Persons under this Code. The defined term “Covered Persons” is described in Section II below.

All LMIELtd personnel owe a fiduciary duty to LMIELtd’s clients and must put the customer’s interests first, must protect their confidentiality, must not take inappropriate advantage of their positions, must not act upon non-public information, and are required to fulfill their fiduciary obligations. Personal securities transactions by Covered Persons shall adhere to the requirements of this Code and shall be conducted in such a manner as to avoid any actual or potential conflict of interest, the appearance of such a conflict, or the abuse of the person’s position of trust and responsibility. While the Code is designed to address both identified conflicts and potential conflicts, it cannot possibly be written broadly enough to cover all potential situations. In this regard, Covered Persons are expected to adhere not only to the letter, but also the spirit of the policies contained herein. All Fund directors owe a fiduciary duty to each Fund of which they are a director and to that Fund’s shareholders when conducting their personal investment transactions. At all times and in all matters Fund directors shall place the interests of their Funds before their personal interests. The fundamental standard to be followed in personal securities transactions is that Covered Persons may not take inappropriate advantage of their positions.

As a matter of law and of this Code, no LMIELtd employee must ever discuss (except for those individuals who already know about such information before the conversation.), trade in a security, option, or commodity (including shares of a proprietary open-end or closed-end mutual fund, or unit investment trust (“UIT”)) or disseminate non-public information while in possession of material, non-public information about the issuer or the market for those securities or commodities, even if the employee has satisfied all other requirements of this Code. From time to time the Compliance Department may notify employees who are deemed to be in possession of material non-public information that they are restricted from trading certain securities, which may include mutual funds, for a period of time determined by the Compliance Department.

LMIELtd employees are also subject to and must comply with the following: Legg Mason Code of Conduct; LMIELtd’s Confidentiality Policy, Information Barrier Policy; policies on insider trading; the purchase and sale of securities listed on any applicable Legg Mason restricted list and the receipt or giving of gifts.

The Code is very important to LMIELtd, our clients, and our affiliated entities. Violations by Covered Persons may result in the transaction being cancelled with any gains being forfeited and any losses being incurred by the Covered Person, and also potentially result in demotion, suspension, termination of employment, being banned from the securities business and large


The reputation of LMIELtd and its employees for “best practices” and integrity is a priceless asset, and all employees have the duty and obligation to support and maintain it when conducting their personal securities transactions. If you should have any questions about the Code or any procedures hereunder, please contact the Compliance Department.

 

II. Covered Persons - This Code applies to the following persons:

 

  1. LMIELtd UK Employees: Every permanent employee, including employees who serve as Fund officers, trustees or directors and, generally, temporary workers, independent contractors, and consultants working in any LMIELtd business unit, must comply with all of the provisions of the Code applicable to LMIELtd employees unless otherwise indicated. Certain employees (i.e., portfolio managers, traders and research analysts (and each of their assistants)) are subject to certain additional restrictions outlined in the Code.

The policies, procedures and restrictions referred to in this Code also apply to an employee’s spouse, significant other and minor children. The Code also applies to any other account over which the employee is deemed to have beneficial ownership . (This includes: accounts of any immediate family members sharing the same household as the employee; accounts in which the employee otherwise has a pecuniary interest that allows the employee directly or indirectly to profit or share in any profit; a legal vehicle of which the employee is the controlling equity holder; and an entity in which the employee has an equity interest, provided the employee also has or shares investment control over the securities held by such entity); and any account over which the employee may otherwise be deemed to have control. For a more detailed description of beneficial ownership, see Exhibit A attached hereto.

 

  2. Fund Directors (of US Funds): Independent Fund directors are only subject to the relevant parts contained in Section I - Summary of Principals, Section II - Covered Persons, Section III - Monitoring and Enforcement, Section V - Accounts and Transactions Covered by this Code, Section IX - Blackout Periods, Section XV - Fund Directors, Section XVI - Handling of Disgorged Profits, Section XVII - Confidentiality, Section XVIII - Other Laws, Rules and Statements of Policy, and Section XXI - Exceptions to the Code. However, a Fund director who is also a LMIE employee is subject to all provisions of this Code. Independent directors should consult with independent counsel with regard to any questions concerning their responsibilities under the Code.

 

III. Monitoring and Enforcement - It is the responsibility of each Covered Person to act in accordance with a high standard of conduct and to comply with the policies and procedures set forth in this document, and to report any violations promptly to the Compliance Department. LMIELtd takes seriously its obligation to monitor the personal investment activities of its employees, and to review the periodic reports of all Covered Persons. Any violation of this Code by employees will be considered serious, and may result in disciplinary action, which may include the unwinding of trades, disgorgement of profits, monetary fine or censure, and suspension or termination of employment. Any violation of this Code by a LMIELtd employee will be reported by the Compliance Department to the person’s supervisor, and to the Chief Compliance Officers of the Advisers and the Funds.

 

IV. Opening and Maintaining Employee Accounts - Approval must be obtained from the Compliance Department prior to the opening of brokerage accounts this includes accounts maintained by a spouse or, significant other. If approval is granted, the employee must direct their brokers to supply to the Compliance Department, on a timely basis, duplicate copies of confirmations of all personal securities transactions. In addition, all other provisions of this Code will apply. This requirement also applies to temporary personnel, independent contractors, and consultants (For consultants, Compliance will review this requirement on a case by case basis).

 

V. Accounts and Transactions Covered by this Code - The following types of securities are covered (“covered securities”) by this Code:

 

  1. Stocks, notes, bonds, closed-end funds and off shore mutual funds, hedge funds, exchange traded funds (“ETFs”), debentures, and other evidences of indebtedness, including senior debt, subordinated debt, investment contracts, commodity contracts, futures and all derivative instruments such as options, warrants and indexed instruments, or, in general, any interest or instrument commonly known as a “security.” All provisions of this Code cover transactions in these securities.


  2. Proprietary open-end mutual funds and open-end mutual funds sub-advised by LMIELtd and other group subsidiaries (with the exception of money market funds) are subject to the provisions of this Code as follows: shares beneficially owned by LMIELtd employees must be held for a period of at least 90 calendar days (in accordance with Section VII below).

 

VI. Excluded Accounts and Transactions - The following types of accounts and transactions are not subject to the other restrictions of this Code:

 

  1. Open-end mutual funds that are not managed by LMIELtd and other group subsidiaries and are purchased directly from that fund company. Note: transactions relating to closed-end funds are subject to the pre-clearance, blackout period and other restrictions of this Code ;

 

  2. Estate or trust accounts of which an employee or related person has a beneficial ownership, but no power to affect investment decisions. There must be no communication between the account(s) and the employee with regard to investment decisions prior to execution. The employee must direct the trustee/bank to furnish copies of confirmations and statements to the Compliance Department;

 

  3. Employees may participate in direct investment programs that allow the purchase of securities directly from the issuer without the intermediation of a broker/dealer provided that the timing and size of the purchases are established by a pre-arranged, regularized schedule. Employees must pre-clear the transaction at the time that the dividend reinvestment program is being set up. (No provision in this Code requires a Covered Person to report or pre-clear a dividend reinvestment); and

 

  4. In addition to the foregoing, the following types of securities are exempted from pre-clearance, blackout periods, reporting and short-term trading requirements: ISAs (Cash/Mini/Maxi), however, if you have a select stock ISA then pre-clearance is still required, proprietary money market funds, non-proprietary (including U.S registered) open-end mutual funds for which LMIELtd and other group subsidiaries do not serve as a sub-adviser; unit investment trusts that invest in unaffiliated mutual funds; Government. Treasury bills, Government bonds and notes; mortgage pass-throughs (e.g. Ginnie Maes) that are direct obligations of a sovereign government; bankers acceptances; bank certificates of deposit; commercial paper; and high quality short-term debt instruments (meaning any instrument that has a maturity at issuance of less than 366 days and that is rated in one of the two highest rating categories by a nationally recognized statistical rating organization, such as S&P or Moody’s), including repurchase agreements.

 

VII. Securities Holding Period/Short-Term Trading - Securities transactions by LMIELtd employees must be for investment purposes rather than for speculation. Consequently, employees may not profit from the purchase and sale, or sale and purchase, of the same or equivalent securities. All profits from short-term trades are subject to disgorgement. However, with the prior written approval of the Head of Compliance, and only in rare and/or unusual circumstances, an employee may execute a short-term trade that results in a significant loss . Consequently, all LMIELtd employees must adhere to the following:

 

  1. Proprietary open-end U.S mutual fund shares and open-end U.S mutual funds sub-advised by LMIELtd or other group subsidiaries (with the exception of money market funds), including shares held in the firm’s 401(k) Plan, may not be redeemed or exchanged within 90 calendar days of purchase or prior exchange. A redemption, exchange of shares in a fund or repurchase of shares in the same fund cannot be made within 90 calendar days of the latest purchase of shares from that fund, and must be held for investment purposes and not for speculation. Please note, depending upon the circumstances, the sale or exchange of shares in a proprietary open-end mutual fund or an open-end mutual fund sub-advised by LMIELtd or other group subsidiaries, even beyond the 90 calendar days, could raise “short-term” trading concerns. The following situations are not subject to the calendar day holding period: (i) redemptions or exchanges from a systematic purchase plan; (ii) dividend reinvestments; and (iii) changes to investment fund options to prospective contributions into the firm’s 401(k) Plan;

 

  2. For all securities other than shares in proprietary open-end mutual funds and open-end mutual funds sub-advised by LMIELtd or other group subsidiaries, securities may not be sold or repurchased within 60 calendar days, calculated on a First In, First Out (“FIFO”) basis;


  3. All profits from short-term trades, including exchanges of proprietary open-end mutual funds or open-end mutual funds sub-advised by LMIELtd or other group subsidiaries, are subject to disgorgement.

 

VIII. Pre-Clearance/Notification - All LMIELtd employees and temporary workers must pre-clear all personal securities transactions as set out below (see Section VI for a listing of accounts, transactions and securities that do not require pre-clearance). See attached Exhibit C - Employee Trade Pre- Approval/Notification Form and Exhibit K - Temporary Workers/Independent Contractors Pre-Trade Approval/Notification Form.

 

  1. For all securities other than shares in proprietary open-end mutual funds or open-end mutual funds sub-advised by LMIELtd or other group subsidiaries, a transaction must not be executed until the employee has received the necessary approval from the Compliance Department. Pre-clearance is valid only on the day it is given. If a transaction is not executed on the day pre-clearance is granted, it is required that pre-clearance be sought again on a subsequent day (i.e., open orders, such as limit orders, good until cancelled orders and stop-loss orders, must be pre-cleared each day until the transaction is effected). In connection with obtaining approval for any personal securities transaction, employees must describe in detail any factors that might be relevant to an analysis of the possibility of a conflict of interest.

 

  2. Purchases, redemptions and exchanges of proprietary open-end mutual funds or open-end mutual funds sub-advised by LMIELtd or other group subsidiaries must not be executed until a notification has been sent to and acknowledged by the Compliance Department. A notification is valid only on the day that it is sent.

 

  3. Any trade that violates the pre-clearance/notification process may be unwound at the employee’s expense, and the employee will be required to absorb any resulting loss and to disgorge any resulting profit.

 

  4. LMIELtd employees are prohibited from engaging in more than 20 transactions (not including purchases, redemptions or exchanges of shares in proprietary or non-proprietary mutual funds) in any calendar month, except with prior written approval from their relevant CIO or designee. The Compliance Department must receive prompt notification and a copy of any such written approval.

 

  5. All LMIELtd employees must make a quarterly report to the Compliance Department within 10 calendar days after quarter-end if the LMIE employee acquires any or disposes of any securities (from any account over which the employee exercises control) by gift. This report containing the details of the security, date of gift, number of shares or par value, donor/donee and account where held may be made by email to Compliance Department.

 

  6. Contributions, redemptions and exchanges of proprietary open-end mutual funds or open-end mutual funds sub-advised by LMIELtd or other group subsidiaries in the firm’s 401(k) Plan are not subject to pre-clearance or notification requirements.

 

IX. Blackout Periods - No Covered Person shall purchase or sell, directly or indirectly, any security in which he/she has, or by reason of the transaction acquires, any direct or indirect beneficial ownership if he/she has knowledge at the time of such transaction that the security is being purchased or sold, or is being considered for purchase or sale, by a managed fund, UIT or client account or in the case of a Fund director, by the director’s Fund. In addition, the following Blackout Periods apply to the categories of LMIELtd employees listed below:

 

  1. All employees – may not buy or sell any securities for personal accounts seven calendar days before or after managed funds or client accounts trade in that security;

 

     Blackout period requirements shall not apply to any purchase or sale, or series of related transactions involving the same or related securities, involving a sum of $25,000 worth of shares or less if the issuer has a market capitalization (outstanding shares multiplied by the current price per share) greater than $10 billion and is listed on a European Stock Exchange. For transactions involving shares listed on a US Exchange or NASDAQ the $25,000 will not apply. The applicable exemption will be 500 or fewer shares in the aggregate Note: Pre-clearance is still required . Under certain circumstances, the Compliance Department may determine that an employee may not rely upon this “Large Cap/De Minimus” exemption. In such a case, the employee will be notified prior to or at the time the pre-clearance request is made.


X. Prohibited Transactions - The following transactions by LMIELtd employees are prohibited without the prior written approval from the relevant CIO or designee, and the Regional Compliance Director or designee:

 

  1. The purchase of private placements (See attached Exhibit D - Outside Investment Approval Request Form);

 

  2. The acquisition of any securities in an initial public offering

 

  3. The commitment of capital including loans for investment or business purposes; and

 

  4. A security appearing on various restricted lists applicable to LMIELtd that prohibit employees from executing a transaction in the issuer’s equity, fixed income, option, equity derivatives, warrants, rights, or any other securities related to the issuer.

 

XI. Transactions in Options and Futures - LMIELtd employees may buy or sell derivative instruments such as individual stock options, options and futures on indexes and options and futures on fixed-income securities, and may buy or sell physical commodities and futures and forwards on such commodities. These transactions must comply with all of the policies and restrictions described in this Code, including pre-clearance, blackout periods, transactions in Legg Mason securities and the 60 calendar-day holding period. However, the 60 calendar-day holding period does not apply to individual stock options that are part of a hedged position where the underlying stock has been held for more than 60 calendar days and the entire position (including the underlying security) is closed out.

 

  1. Chief Investment Officer Oversight - The CIO’s or their designees shall review on a periodic basis all LMIELtd portfolio managers’ and analysts’ beneficial ownership of securities (excluding beneficial ownership through owning Fund shares), and will compare the results of such ownership reviews with securities transactions recommended or executed by such portfolio managers and analysts during the review period on behalf of any mutual fund, UIT, off-shore fund, or client account. To the extent any CIO or designee deems appropriate, he or she may implement policies or procedures designed to minimize the risk, effects or appearance of any inappropriate recommendations or executions by applicable portfolio managers or analysts with respect to a managed fund, UIT, off-shore fund or client account.

 

  2. Transactions in Legg Mason Securities - Unless an LMIELtd employee is otherwise notified to the contrary, the employee may trade in Legg Mason securities following the pre-clearance and other requirements of this Code.

 

XII . Outside Affiliations and Directorships - Employees must obtain written approval from the LMIELtd Compliance Department before accepting or conducting outside employment (See attached Exhibit H - Outside Business Affiliations Form) or directorships (See attached Exhibit I - Outside Directorship Form). Approval for outside directorships, in addition to Compliance Department approval, is needed from the employee’s supervisor and, in certain cases, from General Counsel’s office.

 

XIII. Acknowledgement and Reporting Requirements - LMIELtd Employees - All new LMIELtd employees must certify that they have received a copy of this Code, and have read and understood its provisions. In addition, all LMIELtd employees must:

 

  1. Acknowledge receipt of the Code and any modifications thereof, which LMIELtd shall provide to each person covered by the Code; in writing (See attached Exhibit E for the Acknowledgement of the Code of Ethics Form);

 

  2. Within 10 days of becoming a LMIELtd employee, disclose in writing all information with respect to all securities beneficially owned and any existing personal brokerage relationships (employees must also disclose any new brokerage relationships whenever established). The holdings report must be current as of a date not more than 45 days prior to the employee becoming a Covered Person. Such information should be provided on Exhibit F - Initial Report of Securities Holdings Form;

 

  3. Direct their brokers to supply, on a timely basis, duplicate copies of confirmations of all personal securities transactions;

 

  4. Within 30 days after the end of each calendar quarter, provide information relating to securities transactions executed during the previous quarter for all securities accounts;


  5. Submit an annual holdings report containing similar information that must be current as of a date no more than 45 days before the report is submitted, and confirm at least annually all brokerage relationships and any and all outside business affiliations. The holdings report must be current as of a date no more than 45 days prior to the date of the report submitted ; and

 

  6. Certify on an annual basis that he/she has read and understood the Code, complied with the requirements of the Code and that he/she has pre-cleared and disclosed or reported all personal securities transactions and securities accounts required to be disclosed or reported pursuant to the requirements of the Code. (See attached Exhibit G - Annual Certification Form)

 

XIV. Fund Directors - A Fund director who is not an “interested person” of the Fund, within the meaning of Section 2(a)(19) of the Investment Company Act of 1940, and who would be required to make reports solely by reason of being a Fund director, is not required to make the initial and annual holdings reports required by Section XIII.2 and Section XIII.5 above. Also, a “non-interested” Fund director need not supply duplicate copies of confirmations of personal securities transactions required by Section XIII.3 above, and need only make the quarterly transactions reports required by Section XIII.4 above as to any Covered Security if at the time of a transaction by the director in that covered security he/she knew or, in the ordinary course of fulfilling his/her official duties as a director of a Fund, should have known that, during the 15-day period immediately before or after that transaction, that security is or was purchased or sold by a Fund of which he/she was a director or was being considered for purchase or sale by such a Fund.

 

XV. Handling of Disgorged Profits - Any amounts that are paid/disgorged by an employee under this Code shall be donated by the employee to one or more charities as directed by LMIELtd.

 

XVI. Confidentiality - All information obtained from any Covered Person pursuant to this Code shall be kept in strict confidence, except that such information will be made available to the Financial Services Authority, Securities and Exchange Commission or any other regulatory or self-regulatory organization or to the Fund Boards of Directors to the extent required by law, regulation or this Code.

 

XVII. Other Laws, Rules and Statements of Policy - Nothing contained in this Code shall be interpreted as relieving any person subject to the policy from acting in accordance with the provision of any applicable law, rule or regulation or, in the case of LMIELtd employees, any statement of Code or procedure governing the conduct of such person adopted by Legg Mason, its affiliates and subsidiaries.

 

XVIII. Retention of Records - All records relating to personal securities transactions hereunder and other records meeting the requirements of applicable law and regulation, including a copy of this Code and any other policies covering the subject matter hereof, shall be maintained in the manner and to the extent required by applicable law and regulation, including, FSA Conduct of Business Rules Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act, and Rule 204-2 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. The Compliance Department shall have the responsibility for maintaining records created under this Code.

 

XIX. Media Statements - All LMIELtd personnel owe a fiduciary duty to LMIELtd’s clients. Any LMIELtd employee, subject to other Legg Mason policies and procedures, making any Statements through any media outlet (including internet online statements) must be sensitive regarding the securities being discussed. Any such statements should be consistent with the employee’s professional and personal investing practices, and are subject to prior approval by the Corporate Communications Department. See Section I below.

 

XX. Exceptions to the Code - Any exceptions to this Code must have the prior written approval of both the relevant CIO and the Regional Director of Compliance or designee. Any questions about this Code should be directed to the Compliance Department.

 

XXI. Board Review - At least annually, a written report and certification meeting the requirements of Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act shall be prepared by the Chief Compliance Officer for the Funds and presented to the Funds’ Boards of Directors.

 

XXII. Other Codes of Ethics - To the extent that any officer of any Fund is not a Covered Person hereunder, or an investment sub adviser of, sponsor or principal underwriter for any Fund or UIT and their respective access persons (as defined in Rule 17j-1 and 204A-1) are not Covered Persons hereunder, those persons must be covered by separate Code of Ethics which are approved in accordance with applicable law and regulation.


XXIII. Amendments - This Code may be amended as to LMIELtd employees from time to time by the Compliance Department. Any material amendment of this Code shall be submitted to the Board of Directors of each Fund for approval in accordance with Rule 17j-1 of the Investment Company Act and Rule 204A-1 under the Investment Advisers Act 1940 Acts. Any material amendment of this Code that applies to the directors of a Fund shall become effective as to the directors of that Fund only when the Fund’s Board of Directors has approved the amendment in accordance with Rule 17j-1 or at such earlier date as may be required to comply with applicable law and regulation.


TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR LMIELtd CODE OF ETHICS FORMS

 

EXHIBIT

  

TITLE

A    Explanation of Beneficial Ownership
B    Brokerage Account Approval Request Form
C    Employee Trade Pre-Approval/Notification Form
D    Outside Investment Approval Request Form
E    Acknowledgement of Code of Ethics Form
F    Initial Report of Securities Holdings Form
G    Annual Compliance Certification Form
H    Outside Business Affiliation Form
I    Outside Directorship Form
    

Temporary Personnel Only

J   

Brokerage Account Approval Request Form

(Temporary Worker Only)

K   

Trade Pre-Approval/Notification Form

(Temporary Worker Only)

L   

Acknowledgement of Code of Ethics Form

(Temporary Worker Only)

EXHIBIT A


EXPLANATION OF BENEFICIAL OWNERSHIP

You are considered to have “Beneficial Ownership” of Securities if you have or share a direct or indirect “ Pecuniary Interest” in the Securities.

You have a “Pecuniary Interest” in Securities if you have the opportunity, directly or indirectly, to profit or share in any profit derived from a transaction in the Securities.

The following are examples of an indirect Pecuniary Interest in Securities:

 

  1. Securities held by members of your immediate family sharing the same household; however, this presumption may be rebutted by convincing evidence that profits derived from transactions in these Securities will not provide you with any economic benefit. “Immediate family” means any child, stepchild, grandchild, parent, stepparent, grandparent, spouse, sibling, mother-in-law, father-in-law, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, brother-in-law, or sister-in-law, and includes any adoptive relationship.

 

  2. Your interest as a general partner in Securities held by a general or limited partnership.

 

  3. Your interest as a manager-member in the Securities held by a limited liability company.

 

  4. You are a member of an “investment club” or an organization that is formed for the purpose of investing a pool of monies in the types of securities mentioned in this Code Section V.

You do not have an indirect Pecuniary Interest in Securities held by a corporation, partnership, limited liability company or other entity in which you hold an equity interest, unless you are a controlling equity holder or you have or share investment control over the Securities held by the entity.

The following circumstances constitute Beneficial Ownership by you of Securities held by a trust:

 

  1. Your ownership of Securities as a trustee where either you or members of your immediate family have a vested interest in the principal or income of the trust.

 

  2. Your ownership of a vested interest in a trust.

 

  3. Your status as a settler of a trust, unless the consent of all of the beneficiaries is required in order for you to revoke the trust.

The foregoing is a summary of the meaning of “beneficial ownership”. For purposes of the attached Code, “beneficial ownership” shall be interpreted in the same manner as it would be in determining whether a person is subject to the provisions of Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the rules and regulations there under .


EXHIBIT B

L EGG M ASON I NTERNATIONAL E QUITIES L IMITED

Brokerage Account Approval Request Form

Employee Name:                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      

The following information is provided in order to obtain Compliance approval to open and/or maintain a brokerage account:

 

Brokerage Firm Name:  

 

Brokerage Firm Address:  

 

(Where letter should be sent)  

 

 

 

Account Number:  

 

Full Account Title:  

 

 

 

Please indicate the account type you are requesting to open and/or maintain a brokerage account:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

A copy any relevant statement(s) and this completed form must be provided to Legg Mason International Equities Limited- Compliance Department. Mailing address is 7 Floor (07-65), Citigroup Centre 2, 33 Canada Sq, Canary Wharf, London E14 5LB.

 

 

 

    

 

  Employee Signature      Compliance Department

 


EXHIBIT C

L EGG M ASON I NTERNATIONAL E QUITIES L IMITED

Employee Pre-Trade Approval/Notification Form (Page 1)

Instructions:

All employees are required to submit this form to the Compliance Department prior to placing a trade. The Compliance Department will notify the employee as to whether or not pre-approval is granted. Pre-approval or acknowledgment of notification is effective only on the date granted.

This completed form should be faxed to (207) 500 2117.

Employee Information

 

Employee Name:    Phone Number:
Account Title:   
Account Number:   
Managed Account(s)/Mutual Fund(s) for which employee is a Covered Person:

Security Information

 

      IPO    ¨   Yes    ¨   No    Private
Placement
   ¨   Yes    ¨   No

Security Name

   Security Type-e.g.,
equity, mutual
fund, debt, etc.
   Ticker   

Buy/Sell/

Redeem/Exchange

  

If Sale/Redemption

/Exchange, Date
First Acquired 1

  

No.

Shares/

Units

   Large Cap
Stock
Exception?  2
                 
                 

Your position with the Firm:

        (Please check one of the following)   Portfolio Manager / Portfolio Manager Assistant
  Research Analyst / Research Analyst Assistant
  Other

 

NOTE

   • All Portfolio Managers must complete page two of this form.

Certification

I certify that I will not effect the transaction(s) described above unless and until pre-clearance approval is obtained from the Compliance Department, or when executing transactions in proprietary open-end mutual funds or open-end mutual funds for which LMIELtd or other group subsidiaries serves as a sub-adviser notification is acknowledged by the Compliance Department. I further certify that, except as described on an attached page, to the best of my knowledge, the proposed transaction(s) will not result in a conflict of interest with any account managed by LMIELtd or other group subsidiaries (including mutual funds). I further certify that, to the best of my knowledge, there are no pending orders for any security listed above or any related security for any Managed Accounts and/or Mutual Funds for which I am considered a Covered Person. The proposed transaction(s) are consistent with all firm policies regarding employee personal securities transactions.

 

Signature

 

 

     Date   

 

 

For Use By the Compliance Department

Are Securities Restricted?    ¨   Yes            ¨   No           

Pre-approval

Granted/Notification

Acknowledged?

   ¨   Yes            ¨   No            Reason not granted:
Compliance Department Signature:    Date:    Time:

 


1. All securities sold must have been held for at least 60 days. All shares in proprietary open-end mutual fund or open-end mutual funds sub-advised by LMIELtd or other group subsidiaries redeemed or exchanged must have been held for at least 90 days.
2. For purposes of LMIELtd’s Code, a Large Cap Exemption applies to transactions involving 500 or fewer shares in aggregate and the stock is one that is listed on a U.S. stock exchange or NASDAQ and whose issuer has a market capitalization (outstanding shares multiplied by current price) of more than $10 billion. For non US Exchanges a $25,000 exemption applies.


EXHIBIT C

L EGG M ASON I NTERNATIONAL E QUITIES L IMITED

Employee Pre-Trade Approval/Notification Form (Page 2– Portfolio Manager Certification)

All portfolio managers must answer the following questions in order to obtain pre-approval. All questions must be answered or the form will be returned. If a question is not applicable, please indicate “N/A”.

 

1. Have your client accounts purchased or sold the securities (or related securities) in the past seven calendar days?

Yes   ¨             No   ¨

 

2. Do you intend to purchase or sell the securities (or related securities) for any client accounts in the next seven calendar days?

Yes   ¨             No   ¨

 

3. Do any of your client accounts currently own the securities (or related securities)?    Yes   ¨             No   ¨

 

  3a. If yes, and you are selling the securities for your personal account, please explain why the sale of the securities was rejected for client accounts but is appropriate for your personal account:

 


 


 


 

4. Have you, in the past 7 calendar days, considered purchasing the securities (or related securities) for your client accounts?    Yes   ¨             No   ¨

 

  4a. If yes, and you are purchasing securities for your personal account, please explain why the purchase of the securities is appropriate for your account but has been rejected for your client accounts:

 


 


 


 

  4b. If no, and you are purchasing securities for your personal account, please explain why the purchase of the securities has not been considered for your client accounts:

 


 


 


Certification

I certify that I will not effect the transaction(s) described above unless and until pre-clearance approval is obtained from the Compliance Department. I further certify that, except as described on an attached page, to the best of my knowledge, the proposed transaction(s) will not result in a conflict of interest with any account managed by LMIELtd or other group subsidiaries (including mutual funds). I further certify that, to the best of my knowledge, there are no pending orders for any security listed above or any related securities for any Managed Accounts and/or Mutual Funds (including mutual funds for which LMIELtd serves as a sub-adviser) for which I am considered a Covered Person. The proposed transaction(s) are consistent with all firm policies regarding employee personal securities transactions.

 

 

    

 

Signature      Date

 

For Use By the Compliance Department

Are Securities Restricted?    ¨   Yes            ¨   No           

Pre-approval

Granted?

   ¨   Yes            ¨   No            Reason not granted:
Compliance Department Signature:    Date:    Time:


EXHIBIT D

L EGG M ASON I NTERNATIONAL E QUITIES L IMITED

Outside Investment Approval Request Form

LMIELtd policy requires employees to obtain the prior written approval of the Chief Investment Officer and the Regional Compliance Director before making an outside investment. Examples of “outside investments” include, but are not limited to, Private Placements, Limited Partnerships. If the investment is a private placement or limited partnership, you must provide a copy of the prospectus, offering statement, subscription agreement or other similar document. You may also be required to obtain a letter from the issuer’s General Partner or other appropriate person stating that no member company of Legg Mason nor will your status as an employee of LMIELtd be utilized to solicit interest or investment from others.

Employees must not make an outside investment if such investment may present a potential conflict of interest.

 

PRINT Name

      Date                            
Title/Position    Office Telephone Number
Department      
Name of Investment    Anticipated Date of Investment    Amount of investment
£
Type of Investment             ¨   Private Placement             ¨   Limited             ¨   Partnership

Does this entity have, or is it anticipated to have,

an account or investment banking relationship with

a member company of Legg Mason?

   ¨   No    ¨   Yes   

If Yes, Specify Account

Number or Describe

Relationship

 

Is your participation exclusively as a passive investor?    ¨   Yes    ¨   No   

If No, Please explain

any other involvement.

 

Additional Remarks:

        

 

 

 

Employee Representations:

 

  I understand that Legg Mason/ LMIELtd is not recommending, soliciting interest in, or in any way commenting on the advisability or suitability of the investment. My decision to invest was made in my individual capacity independent from Legg Mason/ LMIELtd.

 

  I have not, and will not, receive any selling compensation from anyone in connection with this investment.

Send the completed form and all relevant documents to:

Legg Mason International Equities Limited - Compliance Department. Mailing address is 7 Floor (07-65), Citigroup Centre 2, 33 Canada Sq, Canary Wharf, London E14 5LB.

 

Employee Signature    Employee’s Signature          Date                
Supervisor Approval    Print Name of Supervisor    Title of Supervisor    Signature of Supervisor    Date

Chief Investment Officer

(CIO) Approval (if applicable)

  

Print Name of CIO
   Signature of CIO    Date
Compliance Department Review    Print Name    Signature    Date


EXHIBIT E

L EGG M ASON I NTERNATIONAL E QUITIES L IMITED

Acknowledgement of Code of Ethics Form

I acknowledge that I have received and read the Code of Ethics for Legg Mason International Equities Limited and Certain Registered Investment Companies dated July 12, 2005. I understand the provisions of the Code of Ethics as described therein and agree to abide by them.

 

  Employee Name (Print):  

 

 
  Signature:  

 

 
  Date:  

 

 

This Acknowledgment form must be completed and returned within 10 days of employment to the Legg Mason International Equities Limited - Compliance Department. Mailing address is 7 Floor (07-65), Citigroup Centre 2, 33 Canada Sq, Canary Wharf, London E14 5LB. Original signature must be sent.


EXHIBIT F

L EGG M ASON I NTERNATIONAL E QUITIES L IMITED

Initial Report of Securities Holdings Form

This report must be signed, dated and returned within 10 days of employment and the holdings report must be current as of a date not more than 45 days prior to the employee becoming a covered person. This report must be submitted to the Legg Mason International Equities Limited Compliance Department, Citigroup Centre, 7 Floor, Mail drop 07-65.

Employee Name:                                              Date of Employment:                         

Brokerage Accounts:

 

¨ I do not have a beneficial interest in any account(s) with any financial services firm

 

¨ I maintain or have a beneficial interest in the following account(s) with the financial services firm(s) listed below (attach additional information if necessary-e.g., a brokerage statement). Please include the information required below for any broker, dealer or bank where an account is maintained which holds securities for your direct or indirect benefit as of the date you began your employment.

 

Name of Financial Service(s) Firm and Address

   Account Title    Account Number
     
     

Securities Holdings:

Complete the following (or attach a copy of your most recent statement(s)) listing all of the securities holdings in which you have a beneficial interest, with the exception of non-proprietary open-ended mutual funds for which LMIELtd or other group subsidiaries does not serve as a sub-adviser and Government securities if:

 

  You own securities that are held by financial services firm(s) as described above. If you submit a copy of a statement, it must include all of the information set forth below. Please be sure to include any additional securities purchased since the date of the brokerage statement that is attached. Use additional sheets if necessary.

 

  Your securities are not held with a financial service(s) firm (e.g., dividend reinvestment programs and private placements, shares held in certificate form by you or for you or shares held at a transfer agent).

 

Title of Security

  

Ticker Symbol

or CUSIP No.

  

Number of

Shares

  

Principal

Amount

   Held Since    Financial Services Firm
              
              

 

¨ I have no securities holdings to report.

I certify that I have received the LMIELtd - UK Code of Ethics and have read it and understood its contents. I further certify that the above represents a complete and accurate description of my brokerage account(s) and securities holdings as of my date of employment.

 

Signature:                                              Date of Signature:                     


EXHIBIT G

L EGG M ASON I NTERNATIONAL E QUITIES L IMITED

Annual Compliance Certification Form

(Page 1)

Annually, Legg Mason International Equities Limited employees must confirm details of brokerage, bank trust or other accounts used for personal securities transactions and details of outside business affiliations 1 . Such affiliations include directorships, other business activities and investments in securities that cannot ordinarily be made through a brokerage account (i.e. a private placement or a limited partnership).

I. Brokerage Accounts :

 

¨ I do not have a beneficial interest in any account(s) with any financial services firm.

 

¨ I maintain or have a beneficial interest in the following account(s) with the financial services firm(s) listed below. Please include the information required below for any broker, dealer or bank where an account is maintained which holds securities for your direct or indirect benefit as of December 2005.

 

Name of Financial Service(s) Firm and Address

   Account Title    Account Number
     
     

II. Securities Holdings :

 

¨ I have no securities holdings to report.

 

¨ I maintain or have a beneficial interest in the following securities owned which may be held by a broker, dealer, transfer agent, or bank in an account other than a brokerage account or by an Access Person (or by another party on behalf of the Access Person) or in certificate form (e.g., a stock certificate placed in a safe deposit box) or in a dividend reinvestment plan.

 

Title of Security

   Ticker Symbol    Number of
Shares
  

Principal

Amount

   Held Since    Financial Services Firm
              
              

Please proceed to page 2

 


1 Rule 17J-1 under the Investment Company Act of 1940, and Rule 204A-1 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940.


EXHIBIT G

L EGG M ASON I NTERNATIONAL E QUITIES L IMITED

Annual Compliance Certification Form

(Page 2)

III . Outside Business Affiliations:

 

¨ I have no outside business affiliations to report.

 

¨ I maintain the following directorships, other business activities and investments in securities that cannot ordinarily be made through a brokerage account. Include investments beneficially owned by (i) a spouse; or (ii) an immediate family member in the same household)

 

Firm Name/Investment (add additional lines, if necessary)

   Position/Activity    Date Commenced
     
     

I certify that the above information is complete and accurate as of xxxxx.

I acknowledge that I have received and read the Code of Ethics for Legg Mason International Equities Limited, UK, and Legg Mason Code of Conduct. I fully understand the provisions of the Code- including the new provisions that bring any open-end mutual funds sub-advised by LMIELtd and other group subsidiaries within the scope of this policy as described therein and agree to abide by them. I also fully understand the Legg Mason International Equities Limited Code of Conduct and agree to conduct my activities in accordance with its provisions. I also certify that I have complied with the requirements of the Code of Ethics policy and have pre-cleared and disclosed all securities transactions executed during the period xxxx pursuant to the requirements of the Code of Ethics.

 

Signature  

 

      Date  

 

Name (Print)  

 

      Department  

 

If, during the period xxxxxx – xxxxxx, you failed to seek pre-clearance for a personal securities transaction or otherwise violated the Code of Ethics, you must make your certification subject to that disclosure. If so, please indicate if a member of the Compliance Department has addressed this issue with you and if you fully understand the nature of your violation. Please return the completed and signed certification to the Legg Mason International Equities Limited - Compliance Department. Mailing address is 7 Floor (07-65), Citigroup Centre 2, 33 Canada Sq, Canary Wharf, London E14 5LB. Any questions relating to the firm’s policies, including the requirement to seek pre-approval for personal investments and outside business affiliations, should be directed to the following members of the Compliance Department: Leire Unceta (207-500-2511 ) or Chris Roots (207 500 9567)


EXHIBIT H

L EGG M ASON I NTERNATIONAL E QUITIES L IMITED

Outside Business Affiliation Form

Employees must obtain prior written approval for any outside employment or other business affiliation including self-employment, ownership of or active participation in a business, fiduciary appointments, and any other position for which the employee accepts compensation . ( Requests for approval of Outside Directorships must be submitted to the Compliance Department.)

COMPLETE ONE COPY OF THIS FORM FOR EACH APPLICABLE AFFILIATION.

 

PRINT Name       Date                            
Title    Office Telephone Number
Department Name    Location   
Name of Outside Entity      
¨   Not-for-Profit             ¨   Outside Employment             ¨   Fiduciary Appointment             ¨   Other (specify)
Nature of Business      
Your Title or Function at Outside Entity    Date Association/Term Begins           

Annual Compensation

£

Time Devoted DURING Business Hours per Month    Time Devoted AFTER Business Hours per Month            Total Amount of time

Description of Duties:

     
Does this entity or any principal have an account or other business relationship with LMIELtd or affiliates?    ¨   No         ¨   Yes   

If Yes, Specify Account

Number or Describe

Relationship

Employee Representations:

 

  I will not solicit others within the Firm or clients of the Firm to participate in, contribute to, or otherwise support the activities of the outside entity.

 

  I will inform my supervisor of any material change in the nature of my affiliation with this outside entity or in the nature of the entity’s activities.

 

  I will inform my supervisor and the Compliance Department of any potential conflicts of interest between my outside affiliation and my position within the Firm.

 

Employee Signature    Employee’s Signature          Date                
Supervisor Approval    PRINT Name of Supervisor    Title of Supervisor    Signature of Supervisor    Date
Compliance Department Review    Print Name    Signature    Date

Legg Mason International Equities Limited - Compliance Department. Mailing address is 7 Floor (07-65), Citigroup Centre 2, 33 Canada Sq, Canary Wharf, London E14 5LB.


EXHIBIT I

L EGG M ASON I NTERNATIONAL E QUITIES L IMITED

Outside Directorship Form

Employees must obtain prior written approval from their supervisor (VP, Director or MD level) for any outside directorship position of a not-for-profit or charitable organization. If the entity is in the financial services industry or the employee will be serving on an investment committee or participating in investment related decisions, the employee must also obtain additional approvals. Consult the Compliance Department. Any request to serve as a director of a for-profit organization must be approved by the Compliance Department and one of the Chief Investment Officers of Legg Mason International Equities Limited. Employees serving as outside directors are not entitled to indemnification or insurance coverage by LMIELtd or affiliates unless service on the board is at the specific written request of LMIELtd or affiliates.

COMPLETE ONE COPY OF THIS FORM FOR EACH APPLICABLE ENTITY.

 

PRINT Name

   Social Security Number            

Title

   Office Telephone Number            
Branch/Department Name    Branch/P&L Number    Location

1.      Name of Entity

   Date

2.

          ¨   Not-for-Profit              ¨   For-Profit

      3.
     ¨   Public             ¨   Privately Owned
  

4.      Main Activity of the Entity

                    

5.      Your Title or Function

   Date Association/Term Begins    Date Term Expires    Annual Compensation
$

6.      Time Devoted During/After Business Hours

       Time Devoted After Close of Market        Your Financial Interest in the Entity

7.      Do any affiliates of LMIELtd make a market in any securities issued by the entity?

   ¨   No    ¨   Yes    ¨   Not Applicable

8.      Is the Directorship requested by LMIELtd or its affiliates?

   ¨   No    ¨   Yes    ¨   Attach copy of Request Letter and other details.

9.      Do you know of any significant adverse information about the entity or any actual or potential conflict of interest between the entity and LMIE or its affiliates

   ¨   No    ¨   Yes    ¨   Attach detail and documents.

10.    For PUBLIC COMPANIES attach the Latest Annual Report, and Prospectus

   ¨   Prospectus Attached

         For NON-PUBLIC ENTITIES attach Audit Financial Statements

   ¨   Fin. Stmts. Attached

11.    Does the entity or any principal have an account or other business relationship with LMIE or its affiliates?

   ¨   No    ¨   Yes   

If yes, specify Account No.

or describe relationship

12.    Additional Remarks

        

Employee Representations:

 

  I will not solicit others within the Firm or clients of the Firm to participate in, contribute to, or otherwise support the activities of the outside entity.

 

  I will inform my supervisor of any material change in the nature of my affiliation with this outside entity or in the nature of the entity’s activities.

 

  I will inform my supervisor and the Compliance Department of any potential conflicts of interest between my outside affiliation and my position within the Firm.

 

Employee Signature    Employee’s Signature          Date                
Supervisor Approval    PRINT Name of Supervisor    Title of Supervisor    Signature of Supervisor    Date

Chief Investment Officer

(CIO) Approval (if applicable)

  

PRINT Name of CIO
   Signature of CIO    Date
Compliance Department Review    Print Name    Signature    Date

Legg Mason International Equities Limited- Compliance Department. Mailing address is 7 Floor (07-65), Citigroup Centre 2, 33 Canada Sq, Canary Wharf, London E14 5LB.


EXHIBIT J

L EGG M ASON I NTERNATIONAL E QUITIES L IMITED

Temporary Workers/Independent Contractors Brokerage Account Approval Request Form

 

Temporary Workers/Independent Contractor Name:                                                  

The following information is provided in order to obtain Compliance approval to open and/or maintain a brokerage account:

 

Brokerage Firm Name:  

 

Brokerage Firm Address:

(Where letter should be sent)

 

 

 

 

Account Number:  

 

Full Account Title:  

 

 

A copy any relevant statement(s) and this completed form must be provided to Legg Mason International Equities Limited—Compliance Department. Mailing address is 7 Floor (07-65), Citigroup Centre 2, 33 Canada Sq, Canary Wharf, London E14 5LB.

 

 

 

     

 

  [Employee Signature]       Compliance Department
 

 

     
 

[Supervisor Signature]

     
 

 

     
 

Chief Investment Officer

     

NOT FOR USE BY LMIELTD PERMANENT EMPLOYEES


EXHIBIT K

L EGG M ASON I NTERNATIONAL E QUITIES L IMITED

Temporary Workers/Independent Contractors

Pre-Trade Approval/Notification Form

Instructions:

All temporary workers and independent contractors are required to submit this form to the Compliance Department prior to placing a trade. The Compliance Department will notify the temporary worker/independent contractor as to whether or not pre-approval is granted. Pre-approval or acknowledgment of notification is effective only on the date granted. This completed form should be faxed to (207) 500-2117 .

Temporary Worker/Independent Contractor Information

 

Temporary worker/independent contractor name:
Account Title:
Account Number:
Managed Account(s)/Mutual Fund(s) for which temporary worker/independent contractor is a Covered Person:

Security Information

 

      IPO    ¨   Yes    ¨   No    Private
Placement
   ¨   Yes    ¨   No

Security Name

   Security Type-e.g.,
equity, mutual
fund, debt, etc.
   Ticker   

Buy/Sell/

Redeem/Exchange

  

If Sale/Redemption

/ Exchange, Date

First Acquired 1

  

No.
Shares/Un

its

  

Large Cap

Stock

Exception? 2

                 
                 

Your assignment with the Firm:                                                                                                           

Certification

I certify that I will not effect the transaction(s) described above unless and until pre-clearance approval is obtained from the Compliance Department, or when executing transactions in proprietary open-end mutual funds or open-end mutual funds for which LMIELtd or other group subsidiaries serves as a sub-adviser notification is acknowledged by the Compliance Department. I further certify that to the best of my knowledge, the proposed transaction(s) will not result in a conflict of interest with any account managed by LMIELtd or other group subsidiaries (including mutual funds). I further certify that, to the best of my knowledge, there are no pending orders for any security listed above or any related security for any Managed Accounts and/or Mutual Funds for which I am considered a temporary Covered Person. The proposed transaction(s) are consistent with all firm policies regarding temporary worker/independent contractor personal securities transactions.

Signature                                                                                                    Date                     

 

For Use By the Compliance Department

           
Are Securities Restricted?    ¨   Yes            ¨   No           

Pre-approval

Granted/Notification Acknowledged?

   ¨   Yes            ¨   No            Reason not granted:

Compliance Department Signature:

     Date:    Time:

NOT FOR USE BY LMIE EMPLOYEES

 


2 All securities sold must have been held for at least 60 days. All shares in proprietary open-end mutual fund or open-end mutual funds sub-advised by LMIELtd or other group subsidiaries redeemed or exchanged must have been held for at least 90 days.
3 For purposes of LMIELtd’s personal trading policies, a Large Cap Exemption applies to transactions involving a sum of $25,000 worth of shares or less and is listed on a European Exchange. For Shares in the US the applicable exemption is 500 or fewer shares in aggregate and the stock is one that is listed on a U.S. stock exchange or NASDAQ and whose issuer has a market capitalization (outstanding shares multiplied by current price) of more than $10 billion.


EXHIBIT L

L EGG M ASON I NTERNATIONAL E QUITIES L IMITED

Temporary Workers/Independent Contractors

Acknowledgement of Code of Ethics Form

I acknowledge that I have received and read the Code of Ethics for Legg Mason International Equities Limited and Certain Registered Investment Companies. I understand the provisions of the Code of Ethics as described therein and agree to abide by them.

 

Temporary Workers/

Independent Contractors Name (Print):

  

 

  

 

Signature:   

 

  
Date:   

 

  

This Acknowledgment form must be completed and returned within 10 days of assignment to the Legg Mason International Equities Limited - Compliance Department. Mailing address is 7 Floor (07-65), Citigroup Centre 2, 33 Canada Sq, Canary Wharf, London E14 5LB. Original signature must be sent ; however a fax copy may be sent to (207) 500-2754 in order to meet the ten (10) day deadline.

NOT FOR USE BY LMIELTD PERMANENT EMPLOYEES

Exhibit (p)(7)

BATTERYMARCH

FINANCIAL

MANAGEMENT, INC.

CODE OF ETHICS

Dated: February 1, 2005

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

I.    Introduction    6
II.    Individuals Covered by the Code    6
III.    Standards of Business Conduct    6
   A    Compliance With Laws and Regulations    6
   B.    Fiduciary Duties    7
      1.    Clients Come First    7
      2.    Avoid Taking Advantage    7
      3.    Undue Influence    7
      4.    Disclosure of Personal Interest    7
      5.    Investment Opportunities    7
      6.    Material Nonpublic Information and Insider Trading    7
      7.    Confidentiality    8
      8.    Gifts and Entertainment    8
      9.    Service as a Director    9
      10.    Outside Business Activities    9
      11.    Employee Private Securities Transactions    9
      12.    Political and Charitable Contributions    9
      13.    Marketing and Promotional Activities    10
      14.    Personal Securities Transactions    10
IV.    Personal Securities Transactions in Covered Securities    10
   A.    Preclearance Requirements for Access Persons    10
      1.    General Requirement    10
      2.    Trade Authorization Request Forms    10
      3.    Review of Form    10
      4.    Length of Trade Authorization Approval    11
      5.    No Explanation Required for Refusals    11
      6.    Independent Review    11
      7.    Excessive Trading    11
      8.    Investment Clubs    11
   B.    Execution of Personal Securities Transactions    11
   C.    Prohibited Transactions    12
      1.    Always Prohibited Securities Transactions    12

 

1


         a.    Inside Information    12
         b.    Market Manipulation    12
         c.    Legg Mason, Inc. Stock During Restricted Period    12
         d.    Short Sales in Legg Mason, Inc. Stock    12
         e.    Option Transactions in Legg Mason, Inc. Stock    12
         f.    Others    12
   2.    Generally Prohibited Securities Transactions    12
         a.    Initial Public Offerings (all Access Persons)    12
         b.    Same-Day Blackout (all Access Persons)    12
         c.    Seven-Day Blackout (Portfolio Managers only)    12
         d.    60-Day Blackout (Investment Personnel only)    13
         e.    Private Placements (all Access Persons)    13
         f.    Intention to Buy or Sell for a Client Account or an Account Managed by a Batterymarch Affiliate (all Access   
            Persons)    14
         g.    Option Transactions Not Involving Legg Mason, Inc. Stock (all Access Persons)    14
         h.    Limit Orders to Purchase Covered Securities (all Access Persons)    14
D.    Exemptions    14
   1.    Exemptions from Preclearance and Treatment as a Prohibited Transaction    14
         a.    Exempt Securities    14
         b.    Commodities, Futures, and Options on Futures    15
         c.    Closed-End Index Funds    16
         d.    Open-End Investment Companies Not Registered in the United States    15
         e.    No Knowledge    15
         f.    Involuntary Transactions (Including Certain Corporate Actions)    15
         g.    Automatic Investment Plans    15
         h.    Legg Mason, Inc. Stock Outside Restricted Period    15
         i.    Certain Transactions Under Legg Mason, Inc.’s Employee Stock Plans    15
         j.    Rights    15
         k.    Sales Pursuant to a Bona Fide Tender Offer    15
         l.    Bona Fide Gifts or Contributions of Securities    15
         m.    Certain Transactions in Non-Legg Mason Employee Benefit and Stock Plans    15
         n.    Fixed Income Investments    16
         o.    Miscellaneous    16

 

2


   2.    Exemption from Treatment as a Prohibited Transaction    16
        

a.      De Minimis Transactions

   16
        

b.      Options on Broad-Based Indices

   16
V.    Personal Fund Transactions Involving Legg Mason Funds and Batterymarch-Managed Funds    17
   A.    Preclearance of Transactions in Legg Mason Funds and Batterymarch-Managed Funds    17
      1.    General Requirement    17
      2.    Fund Trade Authorization Request Form    17
      3.    Review of Form    17
      4.    Length of Trade Authorization Approval    17
      5.    No Explanation Required for Refusals    17
   B.    Prohibited Transactions in Legg Mason Funds and Batterymarch-Managed Funds    18
      1.    60-Day Holding Period    18
      2.    Other Prohibited Trading    18
   C.    Exemptions for Transactions in Legg Mason Funds and Batterymarch-Managed Funds    18
      1.    Exemptions from Preclearance and Treatment as a Prohibited Transaction    18
        

a.      Money Market Funds

   18
        

b.      No Knowledge

   18
        

c.      Automatic Investment Plans

   18
        

d.      Certain 401(k) Plan Reallocations

   18
VI.    Reporting Requirements    19
   A.    Initial and Annual Certifications    19
   B.    Acknowledgement of Amendments to the Code    19
   C.    Initial and Annual Disclosure of Personal Holdings    19
   D.    Quarterly New Account Reports    20
   E.    Quarterly Transaction Reports    20
   F.    Duplicate Trade Confirmations and Account Statements    21
   G.    Confidentiality    21
   H.    Availability of Reports    21

 

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VII.    Administration and Enforcement of the Code of Ethics    21
  

A.     Training and Education

   21
  

B.     Annual Review

   21
  

C.     Reporting Violations

   21
          1.     Confidentiality    21
          2.     Types of Reporting    22
          3.     Retaliation    22
  

D.     Legg Mason’s Code of Ethics Review Committee

   22
          1.     Membership, Voting and Quorum    22
          2.     Investigating Violations of the Code    22
          3.     Annual Reports    22
  

E.     Sanctions

   22
  

F.      Review

   23
  

G.     Exceptions to the Code

   23
  

H.     Inquiries Regarding the Code

   23
VIII.    Definitions    23
   “401(k) Plan”    23
   “Access Person”    23
   “Automatic Investment Plan”    23
   “Batterymarch”    24
   “Batterymarch Affiliate”    24
   “Batterymarch’s Compliance Department”    24
   “Batterymarch-Managed Fund”    24
   “Beneficial Interest”    24
   “Client Account”    25
   “Closed-End Investment Company”    25
   “Code”    25
   “Code of Ethics Review Committee”    25
   “Compliance Committee”    25
   “Covered Security”    25
   “Covered Securities Transaction”    26
   “Equivalent Security”    26
   “Exempt Security”    26

 

4


   “Fixed Income Investment”    26
   “Immediate Family”    26
   “Index Fund”    26
   “Initial Public Offering”    26
   “Investment Club”    26
   “Investment Company”    26
   “Investment Company Act of 1940”    26
   “Investment Person” and “Investment Personnel”    26
   “Investment Team”    26
   “Legg Mason”    26
   “Legg Mason Fund”    27
   “Legg Mason’s Legal and Compliance Department”    27
   “Monitored Fund”    27
   “Monitored Fund Transaction”    27
   “Non-Discretionary Account”    27
   “Open-End Investment Company”    27
   “Option”    27
   “Portfolio Manager”    27
   “Preclearance Officer”    27
   “Private Placement”    27
   “Restricted Period”    28
   “Short Sale”    28
   “Supervised Persons”    28
   “Supervisor”    28
VIII.    Appendices to the Code    28
   Appendix 1:   
                          Contact Persons    28
   Appendix 2:     Acknowledgement of Receipt of Code of Ethics or Amendment to the Code    28
   Appendix 3:     Personal Holdings Report    28
   Appendix 4:     Trade Authorization Request Form    28
   Appendix 5:     Legg Mason Fund and Batterymarch-Managed Fund Trade Authorization Request Form    28
   Appendix 6:     Certification of Access Person’s Designee    28
   Appendix 7:     Form Letter to Broker, Dealer or Bank    28
   Appendix 8:     Certification of No Beneficial Interest    28
   Appendix 9:     New Account(s) Report    28
   Appendix 10:   Transaction Report    28

 

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I. INTRODUCTION

Batterymarch and its employees are subject to certain laws and regulations governing personal securities trading and other conduct. Batterymarch expects its employees to adhere to such laws and regulations and has developed this Code of Ethics to promote the highest standards of behavior and ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations.

The Code of Ethics sets forth procedures and limitations that govern the personal securities transactions of every Batterymarch employee as well as the standards of business conduct that Batterymarch requires of its employees. It is designed to protect the firm’s clients and Batterymarch’s reputation by deterring misconduct and guarding against any violation of the federal securities laws. It is imperative that Batterymarch avoid even the appearance of a conflict between the activities of its employees and its fiduciary duties to its client accounts.

Employees must read this Code of Ethics and are expected to comply with both the spirit and the letter of the Code. Personal securities transactions should be conducted in a manner so as to avoid any actual or potential conflict of interest or any abuse of an employee’s position of trust and responsibility.

Failure to comply with the Code may result in the imposition of serious sanctions, including, but not limited to, disgorgement of profits, cancellation of trades, selling of positions, dismissal, personal liability and referral to law enforcement agencies or other regulatory agencies. Known violations of the Code of Ethics must be reported to Batterymarch’s Compliance Department. Any questions regarding the Code of Ethics should be referred to Batterymarch’s Chief Compliance Officer or his designee.

Batterymarch employees must also comply with the Legg Mason, Inc. Code of Conduct , which addresses compliance with laws and regulations, conflicts of interest, confidential information, insider trading and other ethical issues.

II. INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE CODE

The Code applies to all of Batterymarch’s Supervised Persons. 1 The Code’s applicability to temporary employees, consultants, independent contractors and certain employees of affiliates will be determined on a case-by-case basis. The Code imposes different requirements and limitations on Supervised Persons based on the nature of their activities for Batterymarch. For purposes of adhering to the Code’s preclearance and reporting requirements relating to their personal securities transactions, Supervised Persons are classified into one of three categories:

 

  (1) Access Persons;

 

  (2) Investment Persons; and

 

  (3) Portfolio Managers.

 


1 Capitalized words are defined in Section VIII. Definitions.

Supervised Persons should confirm their classification with Batterymarch’s Compliance Department.

The Code covers the personal trading activities of all Supervised Persons in their own accounts and in accounts in which they have a Beneficial Interest.

III. STANDARDS OF BUSINESS CONDUCT

Legg Mason, Inc. has set out basic principles in the Legg Mason, Inc. Code of Conduct to guide the day-to-day business activities of directors, officers and employees of Legg Mason, Inc. and its subsidiaries. The Legg Mason, Inc. Code of Conduct is included in Batterymarch’s Compliance Program Policies and Procedures Manual . Supervised Persons are expected to comply with all applicable laws, regulations and Company policies, and be sensitive to, and act appropriately in, situations that may give rise to actual as well as apparent conflicts of interest or violations of this Code or the Legg Mason, Inc. Code of Conduct . Batterymarch requires its Supervised Persons to abide by the following standards of business conduct in addition to the basic principles and restrictions set out in the Legg Mason, Inc. Code of Conduct :

A. Compliance With Laws and Regulations . In carrying out their responsibilities, Supervised Persons must, at a minimum, comply with all applicable legal requirements, including applicable federal and other securities laws. Supervised Persons should be aware that they may be held personally liable for any improper or illegal acts committed during the course of their employment and that ignorance of laws and regulations is not a defense.

 

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B. Fiduciary Duties . The Code is based on the principle that Supervised Persons owe fiduciary duties to the Client Accounts and must avoid activities, interests and relationships that might interfere with making decisions in the best interests of any of the Client Accounts.

Supervised Persons must at all times comply with the following elements of fiduciary duty:

 

  1. Client Accounts Come First . A “conflict of interest” occurs when the personal interests of a Supervised Person interfere or could potentially interfere with their responsibilities to Batterymarch and its clients. Conflicts of interest also occur when the interests of Batterymarch interfere or could potentially interfere with the interests of Client Accounts. Supervised Persons must scrupulously avoid serving Batterymarch’s or their personal interests ahead of the interests of the Client Accounts (i.e., engaging in “conflicts of interest”). Regardless of whether an activity is specifically addressed in the Code, Supervised Persons should disclose any personal interest that might present a conflict of interest or harm the reputation of Batterymarch.

Doubtful situations should be resolved in favor of the Client Accounts. Technical compliance with the Code’s procedures will not automatically insulate from scrutiny any activities that indicate an abuse of fiduciary duties.

 

  2. Avoid Taking Advantage . Supervised Persons may not use any nonpublic information concerning the trading or investment activities of Batterymarch or any of its affiliates to their own advantage. Supervised Persons may not engage in “front running,” that is, the purchase or sale of securities for their own accounts on the basis of their knowledge of open, executed, or pending portfolio transactions in the Client Accounts, or “scalping,” that is, the purchase or sale of securities for the Client Accounts for the purpose of affecting the value of a security owned or to be acquired by the Supervised Person.

 

  3. Undue Influence . A Supervised Person may not cause or attempt to cause any Client Account to purchase, sell or hold any security in a manner calculated to create any personal benefit to the Supervised Person. For example, a Supervised Person would violate the Code by causing a Client Account to purchase a security the Supervised Person owned for the purpose of increasing the price of that security.

 

  4. Disclosure of Personal Interest . If a Supervised Person stands to benefit materially from an investment decision for a Client Account, and the Supervised Person is participating in the investment decision, then the Supervised Person must disclose the potential benefit to those persons with authority to make investment decisions for the Client Account and Batterymarch’s Compliance Department (or, if the Supervised Person in question is a person with authority to make investment decisions for the Client Account, to Batterymarch’s Compliance Department). The person to whom the Supervised Person reports the interest, in consultation with Batterymarch’s Compliance Department, must determine whether or not the Supervised Person will be restricted in making or participating in the investment decision.

 

  5. Investment Opportunities . Supervised Persons may not take personal advantage of any opportunity (investment or otherwise) properly belonging to Batterymarch or any Client Account. For example, an Access Person should not directly or indirectly acquire ownership in a security of limited availability without first offering the opportunity to purchase such security to Batterymarch on behalf of one or more Client Accounts. Employees must offer any appropriate investment opportunities to the Client Accounts before they may take personal advantage of such opportunities.

 

  6. Material Nonpublic Information and Insider Trading . Supervised Persons possessing material nonpublic information regarding any issuer of securities must inform Batterymarch’s Chief Compliance Officer that they are in possession of such information and must refrain from purchasing or selling securities of that issuer until the information becomes public or is no longer considered material.

Securities laws generally prohibit the trading of securities of an issuer while in possession of material nonpublic information regarding such issuer (“insider trading”). Any person who passes along material nonpublic information upon which a trade is based (“tipping”) may also be in violation of securities laws.

Information is “material” if there is a substantial likelihood that a reasonable investor would consider it important in deciding whether to buy, sell or hold securities.

Information about a company is “nonpublic” if it is not generally available to the investing public. Information received under circumstances indicating that it is not yet in general circulation and which may be attributable, directly or indirectly, to the company or its insiders is likely to be deemed nonpublic information.

 

7


Supervised Persons who possess material nonpublic information about a company (including Legg Mason) may not trade in that company’s securities, either for their own accounts or for any account over which they exercise investment discretion. In addition, employees may not recommend trading in those securities and may not pass the information along to others. These prohibitions remain in effect until the information has become public.

Employees who have investment responsibilities should take appropriate steps to avoid receiving material nonpublic information. Receiving such information could create limitations on their ability to carry out their responsibilities to the Client Accounts.

Supervised Persons should be aware that material nonpublic information may relate not only to issuers of securities but to Batterymarch’s securities recommendations and the investment holdings and securities transactions of Batterymarch’s Client Accounts, including those of mutual funds and other pooled investment vehicles.

Please refer to the Insider Trading Policy Statement included in Batterymarch’s Compliance Program Policies and Procedures Manual . Employees are required to certify annually their compliance with Batterymarch’s Insider Trading Policy Statement .

 

  7. Confidentiality . All Supervised Persons are expected to strictly comply with measures necessary to preserve the confidentiality of information considered confidential by Batterymarch, its clients (and former clients) and other persons or entities Batterymarch conducts business with (e.g., vendors). Supervised Persons have an obligation to keep such information in strict confidence. Confidential information relating to clients may include the client’s identity (unless the client consents to disclosure), the client’s security holdings and advice furnished to the client by Batterymarch. Supervised Persons are prohibited from revealing information relating to the investment intentions, activities or portfolios of the Client Accounts, except to persons whose responsibilities require knowledge of the information.

Employees should refer to and comply with the requirements of Batterymarch’s Informational Barriers Policy , Privacy Policy and the various portfolio holdings disclosure policies included in Batterymarch’s Compliance Policies and Procedures Manual .

 

  8. Gifts and Entertainment . On occasion, because of their position with Batterymarch, Supervised Persons may be offered, or may receive without notice, gifts from persons or entities that do business with or on behalf of Batterymarch (e.g., brokers, vendors, clients or other persons not affiliated with Batterymarch). Supervised Persons should not accept inappropriate gifts, favors, entertainment, special accommodations or other things of material value that could influence their decision-making or make them feel beholden to a person or firm. Similarly, Supervised Persons should not offer gifts, favors, entertainment or other things of value that could be viewed as overly generous or aimed at influencing decision-making or making a client or prospective client feel beholden to the firm or the Supervised Person.

No Supervised Person may receive any gift, service or other thing of more than a de minimis value from any person or entity that does business with or on behalf of Batterymarch. No Supervised Person may give or offer any gift of more than a de minimis value to existing clients, prospective clients or any entity that does business with or on behalf of Batterymarch without pre-approval by Batterymarch’s Chief Compliance Officer.

For purposes of the Code, gifts, services or other things whose reasonable value do not exceed $100 per year that are provided to or from any person or entity that does business with or on behalf of Batterymarch are considered to be of de minimis value.

However, Supervised Persons are expected to be aware that certain clients (such as state or municipal pension funds) may not allow their employees (or government officials) to accept any gifts or entertainment or may have set a different threshold limit for accepting gifts or entertainment (e.g., their employees may not accept gifts with an aggregate value in excess of $50 per year). As a result, no Supervised Person may give gifts or provide entertainment to clients or prospective clients in excess of any limits set by such organizations.

 

8


No Supervised Person may accept cash gifts or cash equivalents (e.g., gift certificates) from or give them to any client, prospective client or any entity that does business with or on behalf of Batterymarch.

No Supervised Person may solicit for themselves or the firm gifts or anything else of value (including entertainment).

No Supervised Person may accept extravagant or excessive entertainment from or provide such entertainment to any client, prospective client or any person or entity that does or seeks to do business with or on behalf of Batterymarch. Supervised Persons may accept a business entertainment event, such as dinner or a sporting event, of reasonable value, if the person or entity providing the entertainment is present and it was offered on an unsolicited basis. The receipt of entertainment from any person or entity should not be so frequent as to raise any question of impropriety.

Unsolicited gifts received during the holiday season by Batterymarch or its Supervised Persons from brokers or other vendors doing or seeking to do business with Batterymarch may be forwarded to Batterymarch’s Supervisor instead of returned provided Batterymarch’s Supervisor offers such gifts to Batterymarch employees and such gifts are offered to Batterymarch’s employees, to the extent possible, on an anonymous basis (i.e., the person or entity providing the gift is not named), the gifts are not viewed as overly generous or with the potential to influence decision-making or make Batterymarch or a Supervised Person feel beholden to the firm providing the gift.

Any inappropriate gifts or entertainment based on the criteria specified above that are offered to or received by Batterymarch employees must be declined or returned in order to protect the reputation and integrity of Batterymarch, its Supervised Persons and the Client Accounts.

Employees are required to certify that they have no conflicts of interest or disclose any existing or potential conflicts of interest by completing Batterymarch’s Conflicts of Interest Questionnaire on an annual basis.

 

  9. Service as a Director . No Investment Person may serve on the board of directors of a publicly held company (other than Batterymarch, its affiliates, the Legg Mason Funds or other pooled investment vehicles which Batterymarch or its affiliates sponsor or promote) absent prior written authorization by Batterymarch’s Compliance Department and Legg Mason’s Code of Ethics Review Committee. This authorization will rarely, if ever, be granted and, if granted, will normally require that the affected Investment Person not participate in making investment decisions related to the issuer on whose board the Investment Person sits.

If a Supervised Person is a director of a private company, he or she may be required to resign, either immediately or at the end of the current term, if the company goes public during his or her term as a director.

 

  10. Outside Business Activities . An employee may not engage in any outside business activities without the approval of Batterymarch’s Chief Compliance Officer or his designee. Outside business activities must also be reported to Batterymarch’s Compliance Department on an annual basis. Please refer to Batterymarch’s Outside Business Activities policy in Batterymarch’s Compliance Program Policies and Procedures Manual .

 

  11. Employee Private Securities Transactions . Direct or indirect ownership of any stock or any financial interest in any other privately owned organization which is engaged in any securities, financial or kindred business must first be approved in writing by Batterymarch’s Chief Compliance Officer or his designee. This includes privately owned investment advisers, broker-dealer banks, other depository institutions and insurance concerns. Employee private securities transactions must also be reported to Batterymarch’s Compliance Department on an annual basis. Please refer to Batterymarch’s Employee Private Securities Transactions policy in Batterymarch’s Compliance Program Policies and Procedures Manual.

 

  12. Political and Charitable Contributions . Supervised Persons are prohibited from making political contributions for the purpose of obtaining or retaining advisory contracts with government entities. In addition, Supervised Persons should refrain from considering Batterymarch’s current or anticipated business relationships as a factor in soliciting political or charitable contributions.

 

9


Batterymarch requires prior approval of certain political contributions and after the fact reporting of others. All political contributions to candidates for, or incumbents of, state and local political office must be preauthorized by Batterymarch’s Chief Compliance Officer or his designee and reported on an annual basis. This policy covers all employees and their immediate family members residing in the same household or if under the employee’s control. Please refer to Batterymarch’s Political Contributions Policy Statement in Batterymarch’s Compliance Program Policies and Procedures Manual.

 

  13. Marketing and Promotional Activities . All oral and written statements, including those made to clients, prospective clients, their representatives or the media, must be professional, accurate, balanced and not misleading in any way. Please refer to Batterymarch’s Marketing and Advertising and Media Relations policies in Batterymarch’s Compliance Program Policies and Procedures Manual.

 

  14. Personal Securities Transactions . Supervised Persons are required to comply with Batterymarch’s policies and procedures regarding personal securities transactions, including the preclearance and reporting requirements of this Code.

Employees with questions regarding any of these principles and restrictions should consult with Batterymarch’s Chief Compliance Officer.

IV. PERSONAL SECURITIES TRANSACTIONS IN COVERED SECURITIES

A. Preclearance Requirements for Access Persons .

 

  1. General Requirement . Except for the transactions specified in Section IV.D.1. (Exemptions from Preclearance and Treatment as a Prohibited Transaction), any Covered Securities Transaction in which an Access Person has or acquires a Beneficial Interest must be precleared with a Preclearance Officer. All Access Persons must notify the Preclearance Officer in writing and receive preclearance before they engage in any purchase or sale for their own accounts or accounts in which they otherwise have a Beneficial Interest.

All requests for preclearance of a Covered Securities Transaction must be submitted by completing a Trade Authorization Request Form (Appendix 4).

 

  2. Trade Authorization Request Form . Prior to entering an order for a Covered Securities Transaction that requires preclearance, the Access Person must complete a Trade Authorization Request Form (Appendix 4), submit the completed form to a Preclearance Officer and obtain written preclearance from the Preclearance Officer. The form requires Access Persons to provide certain information and to make certain representations.

In the event an Access Person is unable to complete a Trade Authorization Request Form, the Access Person may designate another individual to complete the form on his or her behalf. The Access Person’s designee should complete the Trade Authorization Request Form and the Certification of Access Person’s Designee Form (Appendix 6) and submit both forms to a Preclearance Officer.

Proposed Covered Securities Transactions of a Preclearance Officer that require preclearance must be submitted to another Preclearance Officer.

 

  3. Review of Form . After receiving a completed Trade Authorization Request Form, a Preclearance Officer will (a) review the information set forth in the form, (b) review information regarding past, pending and contemplated transactions by any relevant Client Accounts, as necessary, and (c) as soon as reasonably practicable, determine whether to authorize the proposed Covered Securities Transaction.

The Preclearance Officer will notify the Access Person (or his or her designee) in writing whether the request is approved or denied, without obligation to disclose the reason for such approval or denial.

The granting of authorization, and the date and time of such authorization, must be reflected on the form. The Preclearance Officer should keep one copy of the completed form for Batterymarch’s Compliance Department and provide one copy to the Access Person seeking authorization.

No order for a securities transaction for which preclearance authorization is required may be placed by an Access Person prior to the receipt of written authorization of the transaction by a Preclearance Officer. Verbal approvals are not permitted.

 

10


  4. Length of Trade Authorization Approval . The authorization provided by a Preclearance Officer is effective until the earlier of (a) its revocation, (b) the close of business on the trading day after the authorization is granted (for example, if authorization is provided on a Monday, it is effective until the close of business on Tuesday) or (c) the moment the Access Person learns that the information in the Trade Authorization Request Form is not accurate. For example, if an Access Person learns of a pending buy or sell order in a Covered Security for a Client Account after the Access Person has received authorization to trade, but before the Covered Securities Transaction has been placed, the Access Person must refrain from placing the order [unless the Covered Securities Transaction is a de minimis transaction as described in Section IV.D.2.a. ( De Minimis Transactions)].

If the order for the Covered Securities Transaction is not placed by the close of business on the trading day after the authorization is granted, a new authorization must be obtained before the Covered Securities Transaction is placed.

 

  5. No Explanation Required for Refusals . In some cases, a Preclearance Officer may refuse to authorize a Covered Securities Transaction for a reason that is confidential. Preclearance Officers are not required to give an explanation for refusing to authorize any Covered Securities Transaction.

 

  6. Independent Review . If an Access Person seeks preclearance of a Covered Securities Transaction, a Preclearance Officer may seek confirmation from Batterymarch’s Investment Personnel whether there may be a pending buy or sell in the Covered Security for any Client Accounts.

A Preclearance Officer may request, at his or her discretion, any and all information and/or documentation necessary to satisfy himself or herself that no actual or potential conflict, or appearance of a conflict, exists between the proposed purchase or sale and the interest of any Client Accounts.

For example, if a Portfolio Manager wishes to execute a Covered Securities Transaction where the possibility of a conflict of interest exists with client interests (e.g., the Covered Security may appear to be appropriate for the Client Accounts or could potentially be recommended to the Client Accounts within seven (7) calendar days), a Preclearance Officer may request, at his or her discretion, a written explanation from the Portfolio Manager as to why the Covered Security is not appropriate at such time for the Client Accounts. The Preclearance Officer may also, at his or her discretion, seek an independent review by another member of the relevant Investment Team with no personal interest in the issuer to determine whether the Covered Securities Transaction may be appropriate for the Client Accounts prior to granting authorization.

 

  7. Excessive Trading . Excessive trading may be a potential distraction from servicing clients. Batterymarch discourages all employees from engaging in short-term trading, trading that could be deemed excessive or trading that could interfere with an employee’s job responsibilities. Absent special circumstances, an Access Person will be limited to no more than twenty (20) trade authorization requests per calendar quarter.

 

  8. Investment Clubs . Since each member of an Investment Club generally participates in the investment decision-making process, Access Persons must obtain approval from Batterymarch’s Compliance Department before they or a member of the Access Person’s Immediate Family participates in an Investment Club and must thereafter preclear and report all Covered Securities Transactions of the Investment Club. Without such written authorization from a Preclearance Officer, Access Persons (or members of their Immediate Family) may not participate in an Investment Club or the individual Covered Securities Transactions of the Investment Club. Due to the administrative difficulties resulting from such restrictions, Batterymarch recommends that Access Persons refrain from participating in Investment Clubs.

B. Execution of Personal Securities Transactions . Transactions in Covered Securities subject to the preclearance requirements may be executed through any broker, dealer or bank so long as the requirements of Section VI.F. (Duplicate Trade Confirmations and Account Statements) are met. Although making a preclearance request does not obligate an Access Person to execute the transaction, it should be noted that preclearance requests should not be made for a transaction that the Access Person does not intend to make. If a precleared trade is not executed, the Access Person should notify the Preclearance Officer promptly.

 

11


C. Prohibited Transactions .

 

  1. Always Prohibited Securities Transactions . The following securities transactions are prohibited and will not be authorized under any circumstances:

 

  a. Inside Information . Any transaction in a security by an Access Person who possesses material nonpublic information regarding the security or the issuer of the security is prohibited.

 

  b. Market Manipulation . Transactions intended to raise, lower or maintain the price of any security or to create a false appearance of active trading are prohibited.

 

  c. Legg Mason, Inc. Stock During Restricted Period . Any purchase or sale of Legg Mason’s publicly traded securities effected by an Access Person during the Restricted Period is prohibited, excluding the exercise of Options under any of Legg Mason’s employee stock plans.

 

  d. Short Sales in Legg Mason, Inc. Stock . Short sales of Legg Mason’s publicly traded securities by employees are prohibited, with the exception of short sales “against the box.”

 

  e. Option Transactions in Legg Mason, Inc. Stock . Option transactions, other than opening and closing hedging transactions, such as covered call options and protective put options, involving Legg Mason’s publicly traded securities are prohibited. For example, purchases or sales of listed or OTC options or derivatives relating to Legg Mason are prohibited. Transactions under Legg Mason’s incentive or other employee stock option plans are exempt from this prohibition.

 

  f. Others . Any other transaction deemed by a Preclearance Officer to involve a conflict of interest, possible diversions of corporate opportunity or an appearance of impropriety is prohibited.

 

  2. Generally Prohibited Securities Transactions . Unless exempted by Section IV.D. (Exemptions), the following Covered Securities Transactions are prohibited and will not be authorized by a Preclearance Officer absent exceptional circumstances. The prohibitions apply only to the categories of Access Persons specified below.

 

  a. Initial Public Offerings (all Access Persons) . Any purchase of a Covered Security by an Access Person in an Initial Public Offering without the prior written approval of Batterymarch’s Chief Compliance Officer is prohibited. Batterymarch’s Chief Compliance Officer will give permission only after considering, among other facts, whether the investment opportunity should be reserved for a Client Account and whether the opportunity is being offered to the Access Person by virtue of his or her position with Batterymarch, or his or her relationship to a Client Account.

 

  b. Same-Day Blackout (all Access Persons) . Any purchase or sale of a Covered Security by an Access Person on any day during which any Client Account has a pending buy or sell order, or has effected a buy or sell transaction, in the same Covered Security (or Equivalent Security) is generally prohibited, except for de minimis transactions as described in Section IV.D.2.a. ( De Minimis Transactions).

Excluding transactions considered de minimis as described in Section IV.D.2.a. ( De Minimis Transactions), if a Covered Securities Transaction is executed in an account in which a Portfolio Manager has a Beneficial Interest on the same day that a trade in the same Covered Security (or Equivalent Security) is executed on behalf of a Client Account for which the Portfolio Manager has investment discretion and the price received for such Covered Security (or Equivalent Security) by such Client Account(s) is less favorable than the price received by the Portfolio Manager, then the Portfolio Manager will be obligated to disgorge his or her profits. In such instances, profit disgorgement will be equal to the difference between the price received by the Portfolio Manager and the price received by the Client Account(s). Any profits on disgorgement will be allocated to Client Accounts or to a charity of Batterymarch’s choice.

 

  c. Seven-Day Blackout (Portfolio Managers only) . Any purchase or sale of a Covered Security by a Portfolio Manager within seven (7) calendar days of a purchase or sale of the same Covered Security (or Equivalent Security) by a Client Account managed by that Portfolio Manager is generally prohibited. For example, if a Client Account trades a Covered Security on day one, day eight is the first day the Portfolio Manager may trade that Covered Security for an account in which he or she has a Beneficial Interest. Of course, Portfolio Managers must place the interests of the Client Accounts first; they may not avoid or delay purchasing or selling a security for a Client Account in order to profit personally.

 

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It is acknowledged that circumstances may change with the passage of time. For example, at the time of a personal trade in a Covered Security by a Portfolio Manager, he or she may have had no intention to purchase or sell the same Covered Security (or Equivalent Security) for a Client Account and no knowledge that the same Covered Security (or Equivalent Security) would be subsequently purchased or sold for the Client Account. However, such events could occur especially where Batterymarch’s investment process is quantitative and portfolio construction is automated. As a result, it will not automatically be construed to be a violation of the Code should a Portfolio Manager trade in a Covered Security for a Client Account less than seven (7) calendar days after the Portfolio Manager traded the same Covered Security (or Equivalent Security) for an account in which he or she has a Beneficial Interest. However, under such circumstances, the Portfolio Manager must document in a written memorandum addressed to Batterymarch’s Compliance Department why the personal trade by the Portfolio Manager should not be considered a violation of the Code.

To guard against possible violations of this prohibition, Batterymarch’s Portfolio Managers should consider refraining from purchasing/selling a Covered Security in which they acquire/have a Beneficial Interest that is ranked a “buy” or a “sell” or close to a “buy” or a “sell” by Batterymarch’s stock selection model if there is a reasonable likelihood that it may be acquired/disposed of by a Client Account within seven (7) calendar days.

In addition to other appropriate sanctions, Portfolio Managers may be required to disgorge any and all profit realized from such transactions violating the seven (7) calendar day blackout period, except that de minimis transactions as described in Section IV.D.2.a. ( De Minimis Transactions) will not be subject to such disgorgement.

 

  d. 60-Day Blackout (Investment Personnel only) . (i) Purchase of a Covered Security in which an Investment Person thereby acquires a Beneficial Interest within 60 calendar days of a sale of the same Covered Security (or an Equivalent Security) in which such Investment Person had a Beneficial Interest, and (ii) sale of a Covered Security in which an Investment Person has a Beneficial Interest within 60 calendar days of a purchase of the same Covered Security (or an Equivalent Security) in which such Investment Person had a Beneficial Interest, if, in either case, a Client Account held the Covered Security (or an Equivalent Security) at any time on or between the dates of the Covered Securities Transactions by the Investment Person is generally prohibited; unless the Investment Person agrees to give up all profits on the transaction to a charitable organization specified in accordance with Section VII.E. (Sanctions). There is no exception made in the Code for de minimis transactions as described in Section IV.D.2.a. ( De Minimis Transactions). As a result, de minimis transactions involving Covered Securities that violate the 60- day blackout period restriction are subject to profit disgorgement.

Investment Persons should be aware that for purposes of the Code, trading in derivatives (such as options) is deemed to be trading in the underlying security. Therefore, certain investment strategies may be difficult to implement without being subject to profit disgorgement.

 

  e. Private Placements (all Access Persons) . Acquisition of a Beneficial Interest in Covered Securities in a Private Placement by an Access Person is prohibited without the prior written approval of Batterymarch’s Chief Compliance Officer. Batterymarch’s Chief Compliance Officer will give permission only after considering, among other facts, whether the investment opportunity should be reserved for a Client Account and whether the opportunity is being offered to an individual by virtue of his or her position with Batterymarch, or his or her relationship to a Client Account.

Access Persons who have acquired a Beneficial Interest in Covered Securities in a Private Placement are required to disclose their Beneficial Interest to Batterymarch’s Compliance Department. If the Access Person is subsequently involved in a decision to buy or sell a Covered Security (or an Equivalent Security) from the same issuer for a Client Account, then the decision to purchase or sell the Covered Security (or an Equivalent Security) must be independently authorized by a Portfolio Manager with no personal interest in the issuer.

 

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Investment Persons who have prior holdings of Covered Securities obtained in a Private Placement must request the written authorization of Batterymarch’s Chief Compliance Officer to continue holding the security. This request for authorization must be initiated within ten (10) calendar days of becoming an Investment Person and annually thereafter.

Access Persons investing in a Private Placement are not required to preclear any of the securities transactions (whether or not they are Covered Securities Transactions) made by the Private Placement.

 

  f. Intention to Buy or Sell for a Client Account or an Account Managed by a Batterymarch Affiliate (all Access Persons) . Any purchase or sale of a security by an Access Person at a time when that Access Person intends, or knows of another’s intention, to purchase or sell that security or a similar security on behalf of a Client Account or any client account managed by a Batterymarch Affiliate, including the Monitored Funds. This prohibition also applies to transactions in Fixed Income Investments that may be executed on behalf of a client account managed by a Batterymarch Affiliate.

 

  g. Option Transactions Not Involving Legg Mason, Inc. Stock (all Access Persons) . Option transactions involving Covered Securities are generally prohibited. The prohibition regarding option transactions in Legg Mason, Inc. stock is set forth in Section IV.C.1.e. (Option Transactions in Legg Mason, Inc. Stock). Option transactions by Immediate Family members of Access Persons that involve their employer’s stock under their employer’s stock option plans are exempt from this prohibition. Options on certain broad-based indices are also not prohibited as described in Section IV.D.2.b. (Options on Broad-Based Indices).

 

  h. Limit Orders to Purchase Covered Securities (All Access Persons) . Standard orders to purchase Covered Securities at certain prices (sometimes called “limit,” “good-until-cancelled,” or “standing buy” orders; collectively, referred to as “limit orders” for purposes of the Code) are generally prohibited. Limit orders to sell Covered Securities in which an Access Person already has a Beneficial Interest are not prohibited by the Code.

The prohibitions set forth in Section IV.C.2.b. (Same-Day Blackout) and c. (Seven-Day Blackout) apply whether the Covered Securities Transaction is in the same direction (e.g., two purchases) or the opposite direction (e.g., a purchase and sale) as the transaction of a Client Account.

D. Exemptions .

 

  1. Exemptions from Preclearance and Treatment as a Prohibited Transaction . The following securities transactions are exempt from the preclearance requirements set forth in Section IV.A. (Preclearance Requirements for Access Persons) and the prohibited transaction restrictions set forth in Section IV.C.2. (Generally Prohibited Securities Transactions):

 

  a. Exempt Securities . Any transaction in the following: (i) bankers acceptances; (ii) bank certificates of deposit and time deposits; (iii) commercial paper; (iv) repurchase agreements; (v) securities that are direct obligations of the United States Government (but obligations of instrumentalities of the United States Government or quasi-government agencies are not exempt); (vi) securities issued by Open-End Investment Companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (i.e., mutual funds), other than the Monitored Funds; (vii) shares of money market funds (regardless of affiliation with Batterymarch Affiliates); and (viii) units of unit investment trusts provided they are invested exclusively in funds that are not Monitored Funds (this exception is aimed at variable insurance contracts that are funded by insurance company separate accounts organized as unit investment trusts; such separate accounts typically are sub-divided into sub-accounts, each of which invests exclusively in shares of an underlying Open-End Investment Company). For purposes of the Code, collectively, these securities are referred to as “Exempt Securities.”

 

  b. Commodities, Futures, and Options on Futures . Any purchase or sale involving non-financial commodities (such as agricultural futures, metals, oil, gas, etc.), futures (including currency futures and futures on securities comprising part of a broad-based, publicly traded market-based index of stocks) and options on futures;

 

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  c. Closed-End Index Funds . Purchases or sales of Index Funds that are Closed-End Investment Companies;

 

  d. Open-End Investment Companies Not Registered in the United States . Purchases or sales of Open- End Investment Companies that are not registered in the United States;

 

  e. No Knowledge . Purchases or sales effected in accounts in which the Access Person has no direct or indirect influence or control over the investment decision making process and knowledge of the transaction before it is completed (“Non-Discretionary Accounts”). Non-Discretionary Accounts may only be exempted from preclearance procedures when Batterymarch’s Chief Compliance Officer, after a thorough review, is satisfied that the account is truly non-discretionary to the Access Person (that is, the Access Person has given total investment discretion to an investment manager and retains no ability to influence specific trades). For example, Covered Securities Transactions effected for an Access Person by a trustee of a blind trust, or discretionary trades involving an investment partnership, in connection with which the Access Person is neither consulted nor advised of the trade before it is executed, may be considered as non-discretionary.

Standard brokerage accounts generally are not deemed to be Non-Discretionary Accounts, even if the broker is given some discretion to make investment decisions;

 

  f. Involuntary Transactions (Including Certain Corporate Actions) . Transactions that are involuntary on the part of an Access Person, such as stock dividends, dividend reinvestments, stock splits, reverse stock splits, mergers, consolidations, spin-offs and other similar corporate reorganizations or distributions generally applicable to all holders of the same class of Covered Securities and sales of fractional shares; however, sales initiated by brokers to satisfy margin calls are not considered involuntary and must be precleared;

 

  g. Automatic Investment Plans . Transactions effected pursuant to an Automatic Investment Plan;

 

  h. Legg Mason, Inc. Stock Outside Restricted Period . Any purchase or sale of Legg Mason’s publicly traded securities effected by an Access Person outside the Restricted Period;

 

  i. Certain Transactions Under Legg Mason, Inc.’s Employee Stock Plans . The receipt or exercise of an employee stock option under any of Legg Mason’s employee stock plans;

 

  j. Rights . Purchases effected upon the exercise of rights issued by an issuer pro rata to all holders of a class of its Covered Securities, to the extent such rights were acquired from such issuer, and sales of such rights so acquired;

 

  k. Sales Pursuant to a Bona Fide Tender Offer . Any sales effected pursuant to a bona fide tender offer;

 

  l. Bona Fide Gifts or Contributions of Securities . Access Persons desiring to make a bona fide gift or contribution of Covered Securities or who receive a bona fide gift of Covered Securities, including an inheritance, do not need to preclear the transaction. However, the Access Person must report such bona fide gifts or contributions to Batterymarch’s Compliance Department within thirty (30) calendar days of making or receiving the gift or contribution and must disclose the following information: (i) the name of the person receiving/giving the gift; (ii) the date of the transaction; (iii) the name of the broker through which the transaction was effected; (iv) the name of the Covered Security; and (v) the number of shares of the Covered Security. A bona fide gift or contribution is one where the donor does not receive anything of monetary value in return. An Access Person who purchases a Covered Security with the intention of making a gift or contribution must preclear the purchase transaction;

 

  m. Certain Transactions in Non-Legg Mason, Inc. Employee Benefit and Stock Plans . Purchases of an employer’s securities done under a bona fide employee benefit plan of an organization not affiliated with Legg Mason by an employee of that organization who is a member of an Access Person’s Immediate Family do not require preclearance. Moreover, the receipt or exercise of options in an employer’s securities done under a bona fide employee stock option plan of an organization not affiliated with Legg Mason by an employee of that organization who is a member of an Access Person’s Immediate Family do not require preclearance.

 

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In such situations, the family member’s employer has primary responsibility for providing adequate supervision with respect to conflicts of interest and compliance with securities laws regarding trading in its own securities under its own employee benefit and stock plans.

However, sales of the employer’s stock, whether part of the employee benefit or stock plans, do require preclearance and reporting. Furthermore, employee benefit plans that allow the employee to buy or sell Covered Securities other than those of their employer are subject to the preclearance and reporting requirements of the Code;

 

  n. Fixed Income Investments . Any purchase or sale of Fixed Income Investments;

 

  o. Miscellaneous . Transactions in other securities as may from time to time be designated in writing by Batterymarch’s Compliance Department or Legg Mason’s Code of Ethics Review Committee on the ground that the risk of abuse is minimal or non-existent.

The Covered Securities Transactions listed in Section IV.D.1.a. (Exempt Securities), e. (No Knowledge), i. (Certain Transactions Under Legg Mason, Inc.’s Employee Stock Plans), m. (Certain Transactions Under Legg Mason, Inc.’s Employee Stock Plans) and n. (Fixed Income Investments) are also exempt from the reporting requirements set forth in Section VI.C. (Initial and Annual Disclosure of Personal Holdings), D. (Quarterly New Account Reports), E. (Quarterly Transaction Reports) and F. (Duplicate Trade Confirmations and Account Statements). All other Covered Securities Transactions listed in Section IV.D.1. (Exemptions from Preclearance and Treatment as a Prohibited Transaction) are subject to the Code’s reporting requirements.

 

  2. Exemption from Treatment as a Prohibited Transaction . The following Covered Securities Transactions are exempt from the prohibited transaction restrictions that are set forth in Section IV.C.2. (Generally Prohibited Securities Transactions). However, they are not exempt from the preclearance requirements set forth in Section IV.A. (Preclearance Requirements for Access Persons):

 

  a. De Minimis Transactions . A Preclearance Officer may approve certain de minimis transactions even when Batterymarch is trading in such securities for the Client Accounts, provided the restrictions and conditions described below are met. In such instances, the prohibitions in Section IV.C.2.b. (Same-Day Blackout) and c. (Seven-Day Blackout) are not applicable to any Covered Securities Transaction, or series of related transactions, effected over a thirty (30) calendar day period, not exceeding the amount of $10,000 or 100 shares, whichever is greater, in the securities of companies with a market capitalization of $5 billion or higher. However, the prohibition in Section IV.C.2.d. (60-Day Blackout) does apply to de minimis transactions.

The following restrictions or conditions are imposed upon the above-described transactions:

 

  i. The Access Person must not be aware, and must certify on the Trade Authorization Request Form (Appendix 4) that he or she is not aware, that any Client Account has an open order to buy or sell the Covered Security (or an Equivalent Security);

 

  ii. The Access Person must not be using knowledge, and must certify on the Trade Authorization Request Form (Appendix 4) that he or she is not using knowledge, of any open, executed or pending transactions by a Client Account to profit by the market effect of such Client Account transaction;

 

  iii. The Access Person must cooperate with the Preclearance Officer’s request to document market capitalization amounts; and

 

  iv. Approval is limited to two such trades in the securities of any one issuer in any thirty (30) calendar day period.

 

  b. Options on Broad-Based Indices . The prohibitions in Section IV.C.2.b. (Same-Day Blackout), c. (Seven-Day Blackout), and d. (60-Day Blackout) are not applicable to any Covered Securities Transaction involving options on certain broad-based indices designated by Batterymarch’s Compliance Department. The broad-based indices designated by Batterymarch’s Compliance Department may be changed from time to time and presently consist of the S&P MidCap 400, S&P 500, S&P Small Cap 600, Russell 1000, Russell 2000, Russell 2500, Russell 3000, NASDAQ 100, Nikkei 300, NYSE Composite, and Wilshire Small Cap indices.

 

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V. PERSONAL FUND TRANSACTIONS INVOLVING MONITORED FUNDS

The following restrictions apply to transactions and holdings in Legg Mason Funds and Batterymarch-Managed Funds. From time to time, Legg Mason will publish a list of the Legg Mason Funds. This list will be posted in Batterymarch’s Compliance Program Policies and Procedures Manual . Employees should rely on the latest version of this list, rather than attempt to determine for themselves the identity of the Legg Mason Funds.

The requirements below regarding Legg Mason Funds and Batterymarch-Managed Funds are in addition to other requirements of this Code and are not affected by the fact that the Legg Mason Funds and Batterymarch-Managed Funds may be exempt from those other requirements.

A. Preclearance of Transactions in Legg Mason Fund and Batterymarch-Managed Funds .

 

  1. General Requirement . Except for those transactions exempted by Section V.C. (Exemptions for Transactions in Legg Mason Funds and Batterymarch-Managed Funds) of the Code, a Preclearance Officer must preclear each transaction (including any exchange) in any Legg Mason Fund or Batterymarch-Managed Fund in which an Access Person has or acquires a Beneficial Interest.

 

  2. Fund Trade Authorization Request Form . Prior to entering an order for a transaction (including any exchange) involving a Legg Mason Fund or Batterymarch-Managed Fund, the Access Person must complete a Legg Mason Fund and Batterymarch-Managed Fund Trade Authorization Request Form (Appendix 5) and submit the completed form to a Preclearance Officer. The Legg Mason Fund and Batterymarch-Managed Fund Trade Authorization Request Form (Appendix 5) requires Access Persons to provide certain information and to make certain representations.

In the event an Access Person is unable to complete a Legg Mason Fund and Batterymarch-Managed Fund Trade Authorization Request Form (Appendix 5), the Access Person may designate another individual to complete the form on his or her behalf. The Access Person’s designee should complete the Legg Mason Fund and Batterymarch-Managed Fund Trade Authorization Request Form (Appendix 5) and the Certification of Access Person’s Designee (Appendix 6) and submit both forms to a Preclearance Officer.

Proposed transactions in Legg Mason Funds and Batterymarch-Managed Funds of a Preclearance Officer must be submitted to another Preclearance Officer for approval.

 

  3. Review of Form . After receiving a completed Legg Mason Fund and Batterymarch-Managed Fund Trade Authorization Request Form (Appendix 5), a Preclearance Officer will (a) review the information set forth in the form, (b) review information regarding past transactions by the Access Person in the Legg Mason Fund(s) or Batterymarch-Managed Fund(s), as necessary, and (c) as soon as reasonably practicable, determine whether to authorize the proposed transaction. The granting of authorization, and the date and time that authorization was granted, must be reflected on the form. The Preclearance Officer should keep one copy of the completed form for Batterymarch’s Compliance Department and provide one copy to the Access Person seeking authorization.

No transaction in a Legg Mason Fund or Batterymarch-Managed Fund may be placed prior to the receipt by the Access Person of written authorization of the transaction by a Preclearance Officer. Verbal approvals are not permitted.

 

  4. Length of Trade Authorization Approval . The authorization provided by a Preclearance Officer is effective until the earlier of (1) its revocation, (2) the close of business on the next trading day immediately following the day on which the authorization is granted (for example, if authorization is provided on a Monday, it is effective until the close of business on Tuesday), or (3) the moment the Access Person learns that the information in the Legg Mason Fund and Batterymarch-Managed Fund Trade Authorization Request Form (Appendix 5) is not accurate. If the order for the transaction in any Legg Mason Fund or Batterymarch-Managed Fund is not placed within that period, a new authorization must be obtained before the transaction may be placed.

 

  5. No Explanation Required for Refusals . In some cases, a Preclearance Officer may refuse to authorize a transaction in a Legg Mason Fund or Batterymarch-Managed Fund for a reason that is confidential. Preclearance Officers are not required to give an explanation for refusing any authorization request.

 

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B. Prohibited Transactions in Legg Mason Funds and Batterymarch-Managed Funds .

 

  1. 60-Day Holding Period . No Access Person may sell (or exchange out of) shares of a Legg Mason Fund or Batterymarch-Managed Fund in which the Access Person has a Beneficial Interest within sixty (60) calendar days of a purchase of (or exchange into) shares of the same Legg Mason Fund or Batterymarch-Managed Fund, including any individual retirement account or 401(k) participant account.

 

  2. Other Prohibited Trading . Access Persons should not knowingly participate in or facilitate late trading, market timing or any other activity with respect to any Legg Mason Fund or Batterymarch-Managed Fund or any other fund in violation of applicable law or the provisions of the fund’s disclosure documents.

C. Exemptions for Transactions in Legg Mason Funds and Batterymarch-Managed Funds .

 

  1. Exemptions from Preclearance and Treatment as a Prohibited Transaction . The following transactions in Legg Mason Funds or Batterymarch-Managed Funds are exempt from the preclearance requirements set forth in Section V.A. (Preclearance of Transactions in Legg Mason Funds and Batterymarch-Managed Funds) and the prohibited transaction restriction set forth in Section V.B.1. (60- Day Holding Period):

 

  a. Money Market Funds . Acquisitions or sales of money market funds;

 

  b. No Knowledge . Acquisitions or sales of Legg Mason Funds or Batterymarch-Managed Funds effected in accounts in which the Access Person has no direct or indirect influence or control over the investment decision making process and knowledge of the transaction before it is completed (“Non-Discretionary Accounts”). Non-Discretionary Accounts may only be exempted from preclearance procedures when Batterymarch’s Chief Compliance Officer, after a thorough review, is satisfied that the account is truly non-discretionary to the Access Person (that is, the Access Person has given total investment discretion to an investment manager and retains no ability to influence specific trades). For example, transactions in Legg Mason Funds and Batterymarch- Managed Funds effected for an Access Person by a trustee of a blind trust, or discretionary trades involving an investment partnership, in connection with which the Access Person is neither consulted nor advised of the trade before it is executed, may be considered as non-discretionary.

Standard brokerage accounts generally are not deemed to be Non-Discretionary Accounts, even if the broker is given some discretion to make investment decisions;

 

  c. Automatic Investment Plans . Acquisitions or sales of Legg Mason Funds or Batterymarch- Managed Funds effected pursuant to an Automatic Investment Plan;

 

  d. Certain 401(k) Plan Reallocations . Elections regarding future contributions to the Legg Mason Funds or Batterymarch-Managed Funds in Batterymarch’s 401(k) Plan are not deemed to be transactions and are therefore not subject to (i.e., they are exempt from) the preclearance and reporting requirements and the 60-day holding period requirement.

Payroll deduction contributions to the Legg Mason Funds or Batterymarch-Managed Funds in Batterymarch’s 401(k) Plan are deemed to be pursuant to an Automatic Investment Plan. They are exempt from the preclearance and reporting requirements and the 60-day holding period requirement.

Movements of balances (including any exchanges) into or out of the Legg Mason Funds or Batterymarch-Managed Funds in Batterymarch’s 401(k) Plan are deemed to be purchases or redemptions of those funds for purposes of the 60-day holding period requirement and are thus subject to the preclearance requirement of the Code. In lieu of transaction reporting, employees are deemed to consent to Batterymarch’s Compliance Department obtaining transaction information from 401(k) Plan records.

Interests in Legg Mason Funds and Batterymarch-Managed Funds (such as through a spouse’s 401(k) plan or other retirement plan or any other account) are also subject to the preclearance and 60-day holding period requirements of the Code. Please note that certain Legg Mason Funds and Batterymarch-Managed Funds are a common investment vehicle in employee benefit plans in which Immediate Family members may participate.

 

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The transactions listed in Section V.C.1.a. (Money Market Funds) and b. (No Knowledge) are also exempt from the reporting requirements set forth in Section VI.C. (Initial and Annual Disclosure of Personal Holdings), D. (Quarterly New Account Reports), E. (Quarterly Transaction Reports) and F. (Duplicate Trade Confirmations and Account Statements). Transactions pursuant to an Automatic Investment Plan outside of Batterymarch’s 401(k) Plan [as described in Section V.C.1.c. (Automatic Investment Plans)] are subject to the Code’s reporting requirements. However, transactions in Batterymarch’s 401(k) Plan listed in Section V.C.1.d. (Certain 401(k) Plan Reallocations) do not need to be reported since the transaction information is available to Batterymarch’s Compliance Department from 401(k) Plan records.

VI. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS

A. Initial and Annual Certifications . Within ten (10) days of being designated as an Access Person and on an annual basis thereafter, all Access Persons must complete and return to Batterymarch’s Compliance Department the Acknowledgement of Receipt of Code of Ethics Certification (Appendix 2). Access Persons must certify in writing that they have: (a) received a copy of the Code; (b) read and understood all provisions of the Code; and (c) agree to comply with the Code (or have complied with the Code). The Acknowledgement of Receipt of Code of Ethics Certification (Appendix 2) must be signed and dated by the Access Person.

As part of the annual certification, Access Persons will be required to certify that they are not subject to any of the disciplinary events listed in Item 11 of Form ADV, Part 1.

B. Acknowledgement of Amendments to the Code . Batterymarch’s Compliance Department will provide Access Persons with any amendments to the Code. Within ten (10) days of receiving such amendments, all Access Persons must complete and return to Batterymarch’s Compliance Department the Acknowledgement of Receipt of Code of Ethics Certification (Appendix 2). Access Persons must certify in writing that they have received, read and understood the amendments to the Code. The Acknowledgement of Receipt of Code of Ethics Certification (Appendix 2) must be signed and dated by the Access Person.

C. Initial and Annual Disclosure of Personal Holdings . Within ten (10) days of being designated as an Access Person and on an annual basis thereafter, an Access Person must disclose all holdings of Covered Securities and Monitored Funds in which such Access Person has a Beneficial Interest on the Personal Holdings Report (Appendix 3). For purposes of the Code, all Investment Companies and pooled investment vehicles managed by Batterymarch (the “Batterymarch-Managed Funds”) and all Open-End Investment Companies registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (i.e. mutual funds) in which a Batterymarch Affiliate serves as an investment adviser, sub-adviser or principal underwriter (including the Legg Mason Funds) are considered “Monitored Funds.” Please note: Although only transactions in the Legg Mason Funds and Batterymarch-Managed Funds (and not other Monitored Funds) are subject to the preclearance requirement in Section V.A. (Preclearance of Transactions in Legg Mason Funds and Batterymarch-Managed Funds) and the prohibited transaction restriction in Section V.B.1. (60-Day Holding Period), all holdings of Monitored Funds and Monitored Fund Transactions must be reported as required by Section VI.C. (Initial and Annual Disclosure of Personal Holdings), D. (Quarterly New Account Reports), E. (Quarterly Transaction Reports) and F. (Duplicate Trade Confirmations and Account Statements).

The Personal Holdings Report must include: (a) a listing of all accounts that could hold Covered Securities in which the Access Person has a Beneficial Interest regardless of what, if any, securities are maintained in such accounts (thus, even if an account doesn’t hold Covered Securities, but has the capability of holding Covered Securities, the account must be disclosed); (b) a listing of all accounts that hold Monitored Funds (accounts that are listed in (a) above do not need to be listed twice); (c) a listing of all Covered Securities and Monitored Funds held in the above accounts; and (d) a listing of all Covered Securities held outside of securities trading accounts in which the Access Person presently has a Beneficial Interest, such as physical certificates. The Personal Holdings Report (Appendix 3) must be signed and dated by the Access Person.

Personal holdings reports and transaction reporting relating to Open-End Investment Companies that are not Monitored Funds are not required. Therefore, Access Persons do not need to disclose accounts that are capable of only holding mutual funds (“mutual fund-only accounts”) when no Monitored Funds are held in such accounts.

To satisfy this reporting requirement, an account statement for each account maintained with a broker, dealer or bank in which an Access Person has a Beneficial Interest must be attached to the Personal Holdings Report (Appendix 3).

 

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The information contained in the Personal Holdings Report (Appendix 3) must be current as of a date no more than forty-five (45) calendar days prior to the date an employee is designated as an Access Person or the date the report is submitted on an annual basis.

Batterymarch’s Compliance Department will notify all Access Persons on an annual basis when to supply Personal Holdings Reports. Batterymarch’s Compliance Department reserves the right to ask for holding reports in addition to the initial and annual reports described above.

D. Quarterly New Account Reports . If an Access Person opens an account at a broker, dealer, bank or mutual fund (provided the mutual fund account holds any Monitored Funds) that has not previously been disclosed, the Access Person must notify Batterymarch’s Compliance Department in writing of the existence of the account and make arrangements to comply with the requirements set forth in the Code . On a quarterly basis, all Access Persons are required to disclose any new accounts opened in which the Access Person has a Beneficial Interest that have the capability of holding Covered Securities or hold Monitored Funds regardless of what, if any, securities are maintained in such accounts. All Access Persons must complete a New Account(s) Report (Appendix 9) to disclose such accounts and include the following information for each new account: (i) the name of the broker, dealer or bank with whom the Access Person established the account; (ii) the name of the account; (iii) the account number; and (iv) the date the account was established. The New Account Report (Appendix 9) must be signed and dated by the Access Person.

E. Quarterly Transaction Reports . All Access Persons are required to submit to Batterymarch’s Compliance Department a Transaction Report (Appendix 10) no later than thirty (30) days after the end of each calendar quarter covering all Covered Securities Transactions and Monitored Fund Transactions during the quarter. The Transaction Report (Appendix 10) must include information about each Covered Securities Transaction and Monitored Fund Transaction in which the Access Person had, or as a result of the transaction acquired, any Beneficial Interest. The Transaction Report (Appendix 10) must include: (a) the name of each Covered Security and Monitored Fund traded; (b) the number of shares of each Covered Securities Transaction and Monitored Fund Transaction; (c) the transaction type of each Covered Securities Transaction and Monitored Fund Transaction (i.e., purchase, sale, etc.); (d) the price of each Covered Security and Monitored Fund at which the Covered Securities Transaction and Monitored Fund Transaction, respectively, was effected; (e) the name of the broker, dealer or bank with or through which the Covered Securities Transaction or Monitored Fund Transaction was effected; and (f) the date of each Covered Securities Transaction and Monitored Fund Transaction. The Transaction Report (Appendix 10) must be signed and dated by the Access Person.

An Access Person does not need to submit a Transaction Report (Appendix 10) to the extent that all of the required information on the transaction is already included in a trade confirmation or account statement previously delivered to Batterymarch’s Compliance Department in compliance with the requirements described in Section VI.F. (Duplicate Trade Confirmations and Account Statements).

Covered Securities Transactions which were not completed through an account, such as gifts, inheritances, spinoffs from securities held outside of securities trading accounts or transactions through employee benefit plans, must be reported to Batterymarch’s Compliance Department using a Transaction Report (Appendix 10).

Access Persons that had no Covered Securities Transactions and/or Monitored Fund Transactions during a calendar quarter are not required to submit a Transaction Report (Appendix 10).

Furthermore, Transaction Reports (Appendix 10) need not be filed for: (a) any transaction in Exempt Securities [Section IV.D.1.a. (Exempt Securities)]; (b) any transaction effected in a Non-Discretionary Account [Sections IV.D.1.e. and Section V.C.1.b. (No Knowledge)]; (c) the receipt or exercise of an employee stock option under any of Legg Mason’s employee stock plans [Section IV.D.1.i. (Certain Transactions Under Legg Mason, Inc.’s Employee Stock Plans)]; (d) purchases of an employer’s securities done under a bona fide employee benefit plan of an organization not affiliated with Legg Mason by an employee of that organization who is a member of an Access Person’s Immediate Family [Section IV.D.1.m. (Certain Transactions in Non-Legg Mason Employee Benefit and Stock Plans)]; (e) the receipt or exercise of options in an employer’s securities done under a bona fide employee stock option plan of an organization not affiliated with Legg Mason by an employee of that organization who is a member of an Access Person’s Immediate Family [Section IV.D.1.m. (Certain Transactions in Non-Legg Mason Employee Benefit and Stock Plans)]; (f) any transaction in Fixed Income Investments [Section IV.D.1.n. (Fixed Income Investments)]; (g) acquisitions or sales of money market funds [Section V.C.1.a. (Money Market Funds)]; and (h) any transaction in Batterymarch’s 401(k) Plan since the transaction information is available to Batterymarch’s Compliance Department from 401(k) Plan records [Section V.C.1.d. Certain 401(k) Plan Reallocations)].

 

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Interests in Monitored Funds (such as through a spouse’s 401(k) plan or other retirement plan or any other account) are subject to the reporting (transaction and holdings) requirements of the Code. Please note that Monitored Funds are a common investment vehicle in employee benefit plans in which your Immediate Family members may participate.

Please note: Interests in Legg Mason Funds and Batterymarch-Managed Funds are subject to the preclearance, reporting (transaction and holdings) and 60-day holding period requirements of the Code.

F. Duplicate Trade Confirmations and Account Statements . All Access Persons must arrange for Batterymarch’s Compliance Department to receive directly from any broker, dealer, or bank firm (including Legg Mason, if applicable) through which they have effected any Covered Securities Transactions or Monitored Fund Transactions, duplicate copies of all trade confirmations relating to such Covered Securities Transactions and Monitored Fund Transactions and statements relating to each account that holds, or potentially could hold, Covered Securities or holds Monitored Funds in which the Access Person has a Beneficial Interest regardless of what, if any, securities are maintained in such accounts (thus, even if an account doesn’t hold Covered Securities, but has the capability of holding Covered Securities, the Access Person must arrange for duplicate trade confirmations and account statements to be sent to Batterymarch’s Compliance Department). Duplicate copies of trade confirmations and periodic account statements must be received by Batterymarch’s Compliance Department no later than thirty (30) days after the end of each calendar quarter. Access Persons may use the Form Letter to Broker, Dealer or Bank (Appendix 7) as an instruction letter to request such documents from brokers, dealers or banks.

Access Persons are not required to arrange for the delivery of duplicate copies of account statements relating to Batterymarch’s 401(k) Plan.

If an Access Person opens an account at a broker, dealer or bank that has not previously been disclosed, the Access Person must notify Batterymarch’s Compliance Department in writing of the existence of the account as described in Section VI.D. (Quarterly New Account Reports) and make arrangements to comply with the requirements set forth herein.

If an Access Person is not able to arrange for duplicate trade confirmations and periodic account statements to be sent, the Access Person must immediately notify Batterymarch’s Compliance Department.

G. Confidentiality . Batterymarch’s Compliance Department will use its best efforts to assure that the personal holdings information of Access Persons is treated confidentially. However, Batterymarch is required by law to review, retain and, in certain circumstances, disclose documents containing personal holdings information. Therefore, such documents will be available for inspection by appropriate regulatory agencies, and by other parties within and outside Legg Mason as is necessary to evaluate compliance with or sanctions under the Code or other requirements applicable to Legg Mason or Batterymarch.

H. Availability of Reports . All information supplied pursuant to this Code may be made available for inspection to Batterymarch’s Board of Directors, the Board of Directors of each Legg Mason Fund, the Chairman of the Board and the Vice Chairman of Legg Mason, Inc., Batterymarch’s Compliance Committee, Batterymarch’s Compliance Department, Legg Mason’s Code of Ethics Review Committee, Legg Mason’s Legal and Compliance Department, any party to which any investigation is referred by any of the foregoing, the Securities Exchange Commission, any self-regulatory organization of which Legg Mason Wood Walker, Incorporated is a member, any state securities commission and any attorney or agent of the foregoing or of the Legg Mason Funds.

VII. ADMINISTRATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF THE CODE OF ETHICS

A. Training and Education . All Supervised Persons are required to attend any training sessions conducted by Batterymarch’s Compliance Department concerning the Code.

B. Annual Review . Batterymarch’s Chief Compliance Officer will review at least annually the adequacy of the Code and the effectiveness of its implementation and report such findings to Batterymarch’s Compliance Committee.

C. Reporting Violations . All Supervised Persons are required to report violations of the Code promptly to Batterymarch’s Chief Compliance Officer or to another member of Batterymarch’s Compliance Committee (provided Batterymarch’s Chief Compliance Officer also received reports of all violations).

 

  1. Confidentiality . Any reports of violations from Supervised Persons will be treated confidentially to the extent permitted by law and investigated promptly and appropriately. Reports of violations of the Code may be submitted to Batterymarch’s Chief Compliance Officer on an anonymous basis.

 

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  2. Types of Reporting . The types of reporting required include: (a) noncompliance with applicable laws, rules and regulations; (b) fraud or illegal acts involving any aspect of Batterymarch’s or Legg Mason’s business; (c) material misstatements in regulatory filings, internal books and records, client records or reports; (d) activity that is harmful to clients, including shareholders of Monitored Funds; and (e) deviations from required controls and procedures that safeguard clients and the firm. Supervised Persons are reminded to refer to the Legg Mason, Inc. Code of Conduct and the memorandum entitled Employee Reporting of Alleged Questionable Accounting or Auditing Matters , both of which reside in Batterymarch’s Compliance Program Policies and Procedures Manual .

 

  3. Retaliation . Retaliation against an individual who reports a violation is prohibited and constitutes a further violation of the Code.

D. Legg Mason’s Code of Ethics Review Committee

 

  1. Membership, Voting and Quorum . Legg Mason’s Code of Ethics Review Committee is comprised of the individuals identified in Appendix 1. The Committee shall vote by majority vote with two members serving as a quorum. Vacancies may be filled and, in the case of extended absences or periods of unavailability, alternates may be selected, by a majority vote of the remaining members of the Committee; provided, however, that at least one member of the Committee shall also be a member of Legg Mason’s Legal and Compliance Department.

 

  2. Investigating Violations of the Code . Batterymarch’s Compliance Department is responsible for investigating any suspected violation of the Code and shall report the results of any investigation relating to the Legg Mason Funds to Legg Mason’s Code of Ethics Review Committee. Legg Mason’s Code of Ethics Review Committee is responsible for reviewing the results of any investigation of any reported or suspected violation of the Code relating to the Legg Mason Funds. Any violation of the Code relating to the Legg Mason Funds by an Access Person will also be reported to the Boards of Directors of the relevant Legg Mason Funds no less frequently than each quarterly meeting.

 

  3. Annual Reports . Legg Mason’s Code of Ethics Review Committee will review the Code at least once a year, in light of legal and business developments and experience in implementing the Code, and will report to the Board of Directors of each Legg Mason Fund:

 

  a. Summarizing existing procedures concerning personal investing and any changes in the procedures made during the past year;

 

  b. Identifying any violation requiring significant remedial action during the past year; and

 

  c. Identifying any recommended changes in existing restrictions or procedures based on its experience under the Code, evolving industry practices or developments in applicable laws or regulations.

E. Sanctions . If Batterymarch’s Chief Compliance Officer or Legg Mason’s Code of Ethics Review Committee determines that an Access Person has committed a violation of the Code, Batterymarch’s Compliance Committee and Legg Mason’s Code of Ethics Review Committee may impose sanctions and take other actions as they deem appropriate, including but not limited to a warning, a letter of caution and warning, a forced sale of securities, profit disgorgement, suspension of personal trading rights, suspension of employment (with or without compensation), fine, and termination of the employment of the violator for cause. In addition to sanctions, violations may result in civil referral to the Securities and Exchange Commission or criminal referral, where appropriate.

Where an Access Person is required to reverse the transaction in question and forfeit any profit or absorb any loss associated or derived as a result, the amount of profit shall be calculated by Batterymarch’s Compliance Department or Legg Mason’s Code of Ethics Review Committee and shall be forwarded to a charitable organization selected by either Batterymarch’s Compliance Committee or Legg Mason’s Code of Ethics Review Committee. Failure to promptly abide by a directive from Batterymarch’s Compliance Committee, Batterymarch’s Compliance Department or Legg Mason’s Code of Ethics Review Committee to reverse a trade or forfeit profits may result in the imposition of additional sanctions. No member of Batterymarch’s Compliance Department or Legg Mason’s Code of Ethics Review Committee may review his or her own transaction.

 

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F. Review . Whenever Legg Mason’s Code of Ethics Review Committee determines that an Access Person has committed a violation of this Code relating to the Legg Mason Funds that merits remedial action, it will report no less frequently than quarterly to the Boards of Directors of the applicable Legg Mason Funds, information relating to the investigation of the violation, including any sanctions imposed. The Boards of Directors of the relevant Legg Mason Funds may modify such sanctions as they deem appropriate. Such Boards shall have access to all information considered by Legg Mason’s Code of Ethics Review Committee in relation to the case. Legg Mason’s Code of Ethics Review Committee may determine whether or not to delay the imposition of any sanctions pending review by the applicable Board of Directors.

G. Exceptions to the Code . Although exceptions to the Code will rarely, if ever, be granted, Batterymarch’s Compliance Department may grant exceptions to the requirements of the Code on a case-by-case basis if it finds that the proposed conduct involves negligible opportunity for abuse. All such exceptions relating to the Legg Mason Funds must be in writing and must be reported as soon as practicable to Legg Mason’s Code of Ethics Review Committee and to any relevant Legg Mason Funds’ Board of Directors at their next regularly scheduled meeting after the exception is granted.

H. Inquiries Regarding the Code . Batterymarch’s Compliance Department will answer any questions about this Code or any other compliance-related matters.

VIII. DEFINITIONS

When used in the Code, the following terms have the meanings set forth below:

401(k) Plan ” means Batterymarch’s 401(k) plan, the Batterymarch Financial Management Profit Sharing and Retirement Plan.

Access Person ” means each Supervised Person who has access to nonpublic information regarding clients’ purchase or sale of securities, is involved in making securities recommendations to clients or who has access to such recommendations that are nonpublic. A Supervised Person who has access to nonpublic information regarding the portfolio holdings of Monitored Funds is also an Access Person.

Batterymarch’s Compliance Department has designated the following Supervised Persons as Access Persons:

 

  (1) Every officer and employee of Batterymarch (or employee of a company in a control relationship with any of the foregoing), who in connection with his or her regular functions, makes, participates in or obtains information regarding the purchase or sale of a Covered Security by a Client Account;

 

  (2) Every natural person in a control relationship with Batterymarch or a Client Account who obtains information concerning recommendations made to a Client Account with regard to the purchase or sale of a Covered Security, prior to its dissemination or prior to the execution of all resulting trades; and

 

  (3) Such other persons as Batterymarch’s Compliance Department or Legg Mason’s Legal and Compliance Department shall designate.

Non-employee directors of Batterymarch are not considered to be Access Persons since they do not have access to nonpublic information regarding clients’ purchase or sale of securities, are not involved in making securities recommendations to clients and do not have access to such recommendations that are nonpublic.

Any uncertainty as to whether an individual is an Access Person should be brought to the attention of Batterymarch’s Compliance Department. Such questions will be resolved in accordance with, and this definition shall be subject to, the definition of “Access Person” found in Rule 204A-1(e)(1) promulgated under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended.

Automatic Investment Plan ” means a program in which regular purchases (or withdrawals) are made automatically in (or from) investment accounts in accordance with a predetermined schedule and allocation without affirmative action by the Access Person. Examples are as follows:

Dividend Reinvestment Plans (“DRIPs”) . The automatic investment of dividends under a DRIP is deemed to be pursuant to an Automatic Investment Plan. Optional cash purchases (i.e., the right to buy additional shares through the DRIP) are not considered Automatic Investment Plans unless they are by payroll deduction, automatic drafting to a checking account or other means specifically included in this definition.

Payroll deductions . Deductions from payroll directly into an investment account are deemed to be done pursuant to an Automatic Investment Plan. This would include payroll deductions for contributions to 401(k) plans and other employee benefit plans.

 

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Bank Account Drafts or Deposits . Automatic drafts from a checking or savings account directly to an investment account or automatic deposits directly from an investment account into a checking or savings account, are deemed to be made pursuant to an Automatic Investment Plan, provided that, in either case:

 

    There is documentation with the investment account indicating the drafts or deposits are to be executed according to an express schedule, and

 

    At least two drafts or deposits were executed according to the schedule.

Automatic mutual fund exchange programs . Automatic exchanges of a fixed dollar amount out of one mutual fund to purchase shares of another mutual fund are deemed to be made pursuant to an Automatic Investment Plan.

Automatic mutual fund withdrawal programs . Automatic withdrawals of a fixed dollar amount out of one mutual fund are deemed to be made pursuant to an Automatic Investment Plan.

Asset allocation accounts . Asset allocation accounts are investment accounts in which the investor chooses among predetermined asset-allocation models consisting of percentages of a portfolio allocated to fund categories. Once a model is chosen, new money is automatically invested according to the model, and the portfolio is automatically rebalanced periodically to keep it in line with the model. For purposes of this Code, both the investment of new money into, and periodic rebalancings within, an asset allocation account are deemed to be done pursuant to an Automatic Investment Plan. Brokerage accounts, in which the investor has the continuing ability to direct transactions in specific securities or funds, are not asset allocation accounts.

College Savings Plans . Many jurisdictions have college savings plans (often referred to as “529” plans) that provide a tax-advantaged means of investing for future college expenses. These plans vary and the features of the specific plan must be analyzed to determine if it qualifies as an Automatic Investment Plan. A college savings plan could qualify as an Automatic Investment Plan if it meets the requirements for an asset allocation account, bank account draft or a payroll deduction.

Batterymarch ” means Batterymarch Financial Management, Inc.

Batterymarch Affiliate ” means any company that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with Batterymarch.

Batterymarch’s Compliance Department ” means the compliance department of Batterymarch and the persons designated in Appendix 1.

Batterymarch-Managed Fund ” means an Investment Company or other pooled investment vehicle managed by Batterymarch.

Beneficial Interest ” means the opportunity, directly or indirectly, through any contract, arrangement, understanding, relationship or otherwise, to share at any time in any profit derived from a transaction in the subject Covered Securities.

An Access Person is deemed to have a Beneficial Interest in the following:

 

  (1) Any Covered Security owned individually by the Access Person;

 

  (2) Any Covered Security owned jointly by the Access Person with others (for example, joint accounts, spousal accounts, UTMA accounts, partnerships, trusts and controlling interests in corporations); and

 

  (3) Any Covered Security in which a member of the Access Person’s Immediate Family has a Beneficial Interest if:

 

  a. the Covered Security is held in an account over which the Access Person has decision-making authority (for example, the Access Person acts as trustee, executor, or guardian); or

 

  b. the Covered Security is held in an account for which the Access Person acts as a broker or investment adviser representative.

The following is guidance on the application of this definition to some common situations.

 

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Family Members . An Access Person is presumed to have a Beneficial Interest in any Covered Security in which a member of the Access Person’s Immediate Family has a Beneficial Interest if the Immediate Family member resides in the same household as the Access Person. This presumption may be rebutted if the Access Person is able to provide Batterymarch’s Compliance Department with satisfactory assurances that the Access Person has no material Beneficial Interest in the Covered Security and exercises no control over investment decisions made regarding the Covered Security. It will be difficult to rebut this presumption if, with respect to the other person, the Access Person commingles any assets or shares any expenses, provides or receives any financial support, influences investment decisions, includes them as a dependent for tax purposes or as a beneficiary under an employee benefit plan or is in any way financially codependent. Any attempt to disclaim Beneficial Interest with respect to Immediate Family members who share the same household as the Access Person must be based upon countervailing facts that an Access Person can prove in writing.

Partnerships . If an Access Person is a general partner in a general or limited partnership, the Access Person is deemed to own his or her proportionate share of the securities owned by the partnership. An Access Person’s “proportionate share” is the greater of such person’s share of profits or share of capital, as evidenced by the partnership agreement. Limited partners are not deemed to be owners of partnership securities absent unusual circumstances, such as influence over investment decisions.

Shareholders of Corporations . An Access Person is not deemed to own the securities held by a corporation in which the Access Person is a shareholder unless the Access Person is a controlling shareholder or the Access Person has or shares investment control over the corporation’s portfolio.

Trusts . Generally, parties to a trust will be deemed to have a Beneficial Interest in the securities in the trust only if they have both a pecuniary interest in the trust and investment control over the trust. “Investment control” is the power to direct the disposition of the securities in the trust.

Derivative Securities . An Access Person is deemed to have a Beneficial Interest in any security the Access Person has the right to acquire through the exercise or conversion of any option, warrant, convertible security or other derivative security, whether or not presently exercisable.

Access Persons may use the Certification of No Beneficial Interest form (Appendix 8) to rebut the presumption of Beneficial Interest in any Covered Securities.

Any uncertainty as to whether an Access Person has a Beneficial Interest in a Covered Security should be brought to the attention of Batterymarch’s Compliance Department. Such questions will be resolved in accordance with, and this definition shall be subject to, the definition of “beneficial owner” found in Rules 16a-1(a) (2) and (5) promulgated under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended.

Client Account ” means any separate or commingled account for which Batterymarch serves as an investment manager, adviser or sub-adviser, including Investment Companies and other collective funds.

Closed-End Investment Company ” means an Investment Company that has a fixed number of shares and is often listed on a major stock exchange. Unlike Open-End Investment Companies, Closed-End Investment Companies do not stand ready to issue and redeem shares on a continuous basis.

Code ” means this Code of Ethics, as amended.

Code of Ethics Review Committee ” means the Legg Mason committee that has oversight responsibility for issues relating to personal securities trading and investment activity.

Compliance Committee ” means the Batterymarch committee that is responsible for establishing and monitoring Batterymarch’s compliance policies and procedures in accordance with Rule 206(4)-7 of the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. Batterymarch’s Compliance Committee consists of Batterymarch’s Chief Compliance Officer and Supervisors.

Covered Security ” includes stock, obligations otherwise convertible into stock and all derivative instruments of the foregoing, such as options and warrants. Also, includes Closed-End Investment Companies, such as exchange-traded funds, and Private Placements. A Covered Security does not include futures or options on futures or Open-End Investment Companies not registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, but the purchase and sale of such instruments and funds are nevertheless subject to the reporting requirements of the Code.

Unless expressly exempted from the preclearance or reporting requirements of the Code, all securities transactions are considered Covered Securities under the provisions of the Code.

 

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Covered Securities Transaction ” means a purchase or sale of Covered Securities in which an Access Person has or acquires a Beneficial Interest.

Equivalent Security ” means any security issued by the same entity as the issuer of a subject Covered Security, including options, rights, stock appreciation rights, warrants, preferred stock, restricted stock, phantom stock and other obligations of that company or security otherwise convertible into that security. Options on securities are included even if, technically, the Options Clearing Corporation or a similar entity issues them.

Exempt Security ” means any security that is expressly exempted from the preclearance or reporting requirements of the Code, where applicable.

Fixed Income Investment ” means any security that pays a fixed rate of return and is not traded by Batterymarch on behalf of the Client Accounts (e.g., government, corporate and municipal bonds). Convertible securities are not considered Fixed Income Investments.

Immediate Family ” of an Access Person means any of the following persons:

 

  (1) An employee’s spouse;

 

  (2) Children (including stepchildren, foster children, sons-in-law and daughters-in-law);

 

  (3) Grandchildren;

 

  (4) Parents (including step-parents, mothers-in-law and fathers-in-law);

 

  (5) Grandparents; and

 

  (6) Siblings (including brothers-in-law, sisters-in-law and step-brothers and sisters).

Immediate Family includes adoptive relationships and other relationships (whether or not recognized by law) that Batterymarch’s Compliance Department determines could lead to possible conflicts of interest, diversions of corporate opportunity or appearances of impropriety which this Code is intended to prevent.

Index Fund ” means an investment company or managed portfolio that contains securities of an index in proportions designed to replicate the return of the index.

Initial Public Offering ” means the first offering of a company’s securities to the public through an allocation by the underwriter.

Investment Club ” means a membership organization where investors make joint decisions on which securities to buy or sell. The securities are generally held in the name of the investment club.

Investment Company ” means a company that issues securities that represent an undivided interest in the net assets held by the company. An Investment Company may be a “ Closed-End Investment Company ” or an “ Open-End Investment Company .” A mutual fund is an Open-End Investment Company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940.

Investment Company Act of 1940 ” is legislation passed by Congress requiring registration and regulation of investment companies by the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Act sets the standards by which mutual funds and other investment vehicles of investment companies operate.

Investment Personnel ” and “ Investment Person ” mean each Portfolio Manager and any other Access Person who, in connection with his or her regular functions or duties, provides information and advice to a Portfolio Manager or who helps execute a Portfolio Manager’s decisions.

Investment Team ” means the group of Portfolio Managers responsible for the management of Client Accounts invested under similar mandates.

Legg Mason ” means Legg Mason, Inc., the parent company of Batterymarch.

 

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Legg Mason Fund ” means an investment company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (or a portfolio or series thereof, as the case may be) that is part of the Legg Mason Family of Funds, including, but not limited to, each or all of the series in the Legg Mason Income Trust, Inc., Legg Mason Cash Reserve Trust, Legg Mason Tax Exempt Trust, Inc., Legg Mason Tax Free Income Fund, Legg Mason Value Trust, Inc., Legg Mason Special Investment Trust, Inc., Legg Mason Focus Trust, Inc., Legg Mason Global Trust, Inc., Legg Mason Investors Trust, Inc., Legg Mason Light Street Trust, Inc., Legg Mason Investment Trust, Inc., and Legg Mason Charles Street Trust, Inc.

From time to time, Legg Mason will publish a list of the Legg Mason Funds. This list will be posted in Batterymarch’s Compliance Program Policies and Procedures Manual . Access Persons should rely on the latest version of this list, rather than attempt to determine for themselves the identity of the Legg Mason Funds.

Legg Mason’s Legal and Compliance Department ” means the Legal and Compliance Department of Legg Mason Wood Walker, Incorporated and the persons designated in Appendix 1.

Monitored Fund ” means an Investment Company or other pooled investment vehicle managed by Batterymarch (a “Batterymarch-Managed Fund”) or an Open-End Investment Company registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 (i.e., a mutual fund) in which a Batterymarch Affiliate serves as an investment adviser, sub-adviser or principal underwriter. From time to time, Legg Mason will publish a list of the Monitored Funds. This list will be posted in Batterymarch’s Compliance Program Policies and Procedures Manual . Access Persons should rely on the latest version of this list, rather than attempt to determine for themselves the identity of the Monitored Funds.

Monitored Fund Transaction ” means a purchase or sale of shares, units, limited partnership interests or other evidences of ownership interests of Monitored Funds in which an Access Person has or acquires a Beneficial Interest.

Non-Discretionary Account ” means an account for which an Access Person has no direct or indirect control over the investment decision-making process.

Open-End Investment Company ” means an Investment Company that continually creates new shares on demand. The opposite of a Closed-End Investment Company, which issues a limited number of shares, which are then traded on a stock exchange.

Option ” means a security that gives the investor the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell a specific security at a specified price within a specified time frame. Any Access Person who buys/sells an option is generally deemed to have purchased/sold the underlying security when the option was purchased/sold.

 

  (1) Call options

 

  (a) If an employee buys a call option, the employee is considered to have purchased the underlying security on the date the option was purchased.

 

  (b) If an employee sells a call option, the employee is considered to have sold the underlying security on the date the option was sold.

 

  (2) Put options

 

  (a) If an employee buys a put option, the employee is considered to have sold the underlying security on the date the option was purchased.

 

  (b) If an employee sells a put option, the employee is considered to have purchased the underlying security on the date the option was sold.

Portfolio Manager ” means a person who has or shares principal day-to-day responsibility for managing the portfolio of a Client Account. Generally, this will be portfolio managers and research analysts who make recommendations or decisions regarding the purchase or sale of securities for the Client Accounts.

Preclearance Officer ” means the person designated as a Preclearance Officer in Appendix 1 hereof or such person’s designee(s).

Private Placement ” means an offering of securities that is exempt from registration under various laws and rules, such as the Securities Act of 1933. Such offerings are exempt from registration because they do not constitute a public offering. Private Placements can include limited partnerships, certain co-operative investments in real estate, commingled investment vehicles such as hedge funds and investments in family-owned businesses.

 

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Restricted Period ” means the period beginning five trading days before the expected release of Legg Mason, Inc.’s quarterly earnings and continuing for two trading days following the quarterly earnings release.

Short Sale ” means the sale of a security that is not owned by the seller at the time of the trade.

Supervised Persons ” include:

 

  (1) Directors and officers of Batterymarch (or other persons occupying a similar status or performing similar functions);

 

  (2) Employees of Batterymarch; and

 

  (3) Any other person who provides advice on behalf of Batterymarch and is subject to Batterymarch’s supervision and control.

Supervisor(s) ” means, either collectively or individually, Batterymarch’s Chief Executive Officer and President.

VIII. APPENDICES TO THE CODE

The following appendices are attached to and are a part of the Code:

Appendix 1. Contact Persons ;

Appendix 2. Acknowledgement of Receipt of Code of Ethics or Amendment to Code ;

Appendix 3. Personal Holdings Report ;

Appendix 4. Trade Authorization Request Form ;

Appendix 5. Legg Mason Fund or Batterymarch-Managed Fund Trade Authorization Request Form ;

Appendix 6. Certification of Access Person’s Designee ;

Appendix 7. Form Letter to Broker, Dealer or Bank ;

Appendix 8. Certification of No Beneficial Interest ;

Appendix 9. New Account(s) Report ;

Appendix 10. Transaction Report .

 

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Appendix 1

CONTACT PERSONS

PRECLEARANCE OFFICERS

Philip E. Channen

DESIGNEES OF PRECLEARANCE OFFICERS

Denise A. Larson

Jeffrey S. Morandi

BATTERYMARCH’S COMPLIANCE DEPARTMENT

Philip E. Channen

Denise A. Larson

Jeffrey S. Morandi

LEGG MASON’S LEGAL AND COMPLIANCE DEPARTMENT

Gregory T. Merz

Ronald A. Holinsky

Christopher D. Marzullo

Richard M. Wachterman

LEGG MASON’S CODE OF ETHICS REVIEW COMMITTEE

Gregory T. Merz

Edward A. Taber, III

Richard M. Wachterman

Mark R. Fetting

Jennifer W. Murphy

Deepak Chowdhury

 

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Appendix 2

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT OF RECEIPT OF CODE OF ETHICS OR

AMENDMENT TO THE CODE

I acknowledge that I have received the Code of Ethics dated February 1, 2005 and represent that:

 

1. I have read the Code of Ethics and I understand that it applies to me and to all Covered Securities and to all Monitored Funds in which I have or acquire any Beneficial Interest. I have read the definition of “Beneficial Interest” and understand that I may be deemed to have a Beneficial Interest in Covered Securities and Monitored Funds owned by members of my Immediate Family and that Covered Securities Transactions and Monitored Fund Transactions effected by members of my Immediate Family may therefore be subject to this Code. I have also read the definitions of “Batterymarch-Managed Funds,” “Covered Securities,” “Legg Mason Funds” and “Monitored Funds” and understand such definitions and the distinctions between them.

 

2. In accordance with Section IV.A. of the Code, I will obtain prior written authorization for all Covered Securities Transactions in which I have or acquire a Beneficial Interest, except for transactions exempt from preclearance under Section IV.D.1. of the Code.

 

3. In accordance with Section V.A. of the Code, I will obtain prior written authorization for all transactions in the Legg Mason Funds and Batterymarch-Managed Funds in which I have or acquire a Beneficial Interest, except for transactions exempt from preclearance under Section V.C.1. of the Code.

 

4. In accordance with Sections VI.D. and VI.E. of the Code, I will report all new accounts opened on a quarterly basis that may hold Covered Securities or hold Monitored Funds in which I have a Beneficial Interest and provide at least quarterly transaction reports in all Covered Securities Transactions and Monitored Fund Transactions in which I have or acquire a Beneficial Interest.

 

5. I agree to disgorge and forfeit any profits on prohibited transactions in accordance with the requirements of the Code.

 

6. I will comply with the Code of Ethics in all other respects.

 

7. I am not subject to any of the disciplinary events listed in Item 11 of Form ADV, Part 1.

 

 

   
Access Person’s Name    

 

   

 

Access Person’s Signature     Date

 

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Appendix 2A

ANNUAL CERTIFICATION OF COMPLIANCE WITH

BATTERYMARCH’S CODE OF ETHICS FORM

I certify that during the past year:

 

1. In accordance with Section VI.C. of the Code, I have fully disclosed on the Personal Holdings Report (Appendix 3) all holdings of Covered Securities and Monitored Funds in which I have a Beneficial Interest. I have read the definition of “Beneficial Interest” and understand that I may be deemed to have a Beneficial Interest in Covered Securities and Monitored Funds owned by members of my Immediate Family and that Covered Securities Transactions and Monitored Fund Transactions effected by members of my Immediate Family may therefore be subject to the Code.

 

2. In accordance with Section IV.A. of the Code, I have obtained prior written authorization for all Covered Securities Transactions in which I have or acquired a Beneficial Interest, except for transactions exempt from preclearance under Section IV.D.1. of the Code, and except to the extent disclosed on an attached schedule.

 

3. In accordance with Section V.A. of the Code, I have obtained prior written authorization for all transactions in the Legg Mason Funds and Batterymarch-Managed Funds in which I have or acquired a Beneficial Interest, except for transactions exempt from preclearance under Section V.C.1. of the Code, and except to the extent disclosed on an attached schedule.

 

4. In accordance with Sections VI.D. and VI.E. of the Code, I have reported all new accounts opened on a quarterly basis that may hold Covered Securities or hold Monitored Funds in which I have a Beneficial Interest and provided at least quarterly transaction reports in all Covered Securities Transactions and Monitored Fund Transactions in which I have or acquired a Beneficial Interest.

 

5. I have complied with the Code of Ethics in all other respects.

 

6. I am not subject to any of the disciplinary events listed in Item 11 of Form ADV, Part 1.

 

 

   
Access Person’s Name    

 

   

 

Access Person’s Signature     Date

 

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Appendix 3

PERSONAL HOLDINGS REPORT

 

1. In accordance with Section VI.C. of the Code, the following is a list of all Covered Securities and Monitored Funds in which I have a Beneficial Interest:

 

  A. Provide the information requested below for each account that you maintain with a broker, dealer, bank or mutual fund. Indicate “None” if appropriate.

 

NAME OF BROKER, DEALER, BANK OR MUTUAL FUND

   ACCOUNT
TITLE
   ACCOUNT
NUMBER

(Attach a separate sheet if necessary)

 

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  B. Attach the most recent account statement for each account identified above. The information contained in this Personal Holdings Report and in each account statement must be current as of a date no more than forty-five (45) calendar days prior to the date this Report is submitted.

 

  C. If you own Beneficial Interests in Covered Securities or Monitored Funds that are not listed on an attached account statement, list them below. Include private equity investments. Indicate “None” if appropriate.

 

NAME OF BROKER, DEALER, BANK OR MUTUAL FUND

   ACCOUNT
TITLE
   ACCOUNT
NUMBER
  

NAME OF SECURITY/

MONITORED FUND

  

NUMBER OF

SHARES/PRINCIPAL

AMOUNT

(Attach separate sheet if necessary)

2. I certify that the information on this form is accurate and complete.

 

 

   
Access Person’s Name    

 

   

 

Access Person’s Signature     Date

 

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Appendix 4

COVERED SECURITY

TRADE AUTHORIZATION REQUEST FORM

 

1.      Name of Access Person:

 

 

2.      Account Title and Number:

 

 

3.      Name of Covered Security and ticker or CUSIP/SEDOL:

 

 

4.      Maximum number of shares or units to be purchased or sold:

 

 

5.      Name of broker to effect transaction:

 

 

6.      Check applicable boxes: Purchase [    ]    Sale [    ]    Market Order [     ]

Limit Order [    ]    Limit Price:                     

 
(sales only)  

Any other relevant trade details:                                                                              

7. In connection with the foregoing transaction, I hereby make the following representations and warranties:

 

  (a) I do not possess any material nonpublic information regarding the Covered Security or the issuer of the Covered Security.

 

  (b) I am not aware that any Client Account or any client account managed by an affiliate of Batterymarch has an open order to buy or sell the Covered Security or an Equivalent Security.

 

  (c) By entering this order, I am not using knowledge of any open, executed, or pending transaction by a Client Account or any client account managed by an affiliate of Batterymarch to profit by the market effect of such transaction.

 

  (d) The Covered Security is not being acquired in an Initial Public Offering.

 

  (e) The Covered Security is not being acquired in a Private Placement or, if it is, I have reviewed Section IV.C.2.e. of the Code and have attached hereto a written explanation of such transaction.

 

  (f) (Investment Personnel Only.) If I am purchasing the Security, I have not directly or indirectly (through any member of my Immediate Family, any account in which I have a Beneficial Interest or otherwise) sold the Covered Security or an Equivalent Security in the prior 60 calendar days if the same or an Equivalent Security has been held by a Client Account at any time on or between the dates of the Covered Securities Transactions by me.

 

  (g) (Investment Personnel Only.) If I am selling the Security, I have not directly or indirectly (through any member of my Immediate Family, any account in which I have a Beneficial Interest or otherwise) purchased the Covered Security or an Equivalent Security in the prior 60 calendar days if the same or an Equivalent Security has been held by a Client Account at any time on or between the dates of the Covered Securities Transactions by me.

 

  (h) I understand that if this trade is authorized, the length of the trade authorization approval will not extend beyond the close of business on the trading day after the authorization is granted (as stated in Section IV.A.4. of the Code). If the order is not placed within that period, a new authorization must be obtained before the order is placed.

 

  (i) Once this order is executed, I understand that I must satisfy the transaction and periodic statement reporting requirements as stated in Section VI.E. and VI.F. (as applicable) of the Code. If this order is not executed, I agree to notify the Preclearance Officer.

 

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  (j) I believe that the proposed trade fully complies with the requirements of the Code.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Access Person’s Signature

  Date   Time

TRADE AUTHORIZATION OR DENIAL

(to be completed by Preclearance Officer)

 

 

 

 

 

Name of Preclearance Officer   Date   Time

 

 

[    ] Approved

 

[    ] Denied

Signature of Preclearance Officer    

 

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Appendix 5

LEGG MASON FUND AND BATTERYMARCH-MANAGED FUND

TRADE AUTHORIZATION REQUEST

 

1.      Name of Access Person:

  

 

2.      Name of person executing trade (if not listed above) and such person’s relationship to Access Person

  

 

3.      Account Title:

  

 

4.      Account Number:

  

 

5.      Legg Mason Fund or Batterymarch-Managed Fund to be purchased or sold:

  

 

6.      Maximum number of shares or $ amount to be purchased or sold:

  

 

7.      Name of broker to effect transaction:

  

 

8.      Check applicable boxes: Purchase [    ]    Sale [    ]

  

9.      In connection with the foregoing transaction, I hereby make the following representations and warranties:

 

  (a) If I am requesting authorization for a sale, I have not purchased shares of the same Legg Mason Fund or Batterymarch-Managed Fund within 60 calendar days.

 

  (b) By entering this order, I am not using my knowledge of the portfolio holdings of a Legg Mason Fund or Batterymarch-Managed Fund in an effort to profit through short-term trading of such Fund.

 

  (c) I believe that the proposed trade fully complies with the requirements of the Code and the policies outlined in the Prospectus of the Fund.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Access Person’s Signature

  Date   Time

TRADE AUTHORIZATION OR DENIAL

(to be completed by Preclearance Officer)

 

 

 

 

 

Name of Preclearance Officer   Date   Time

 

 

[    ] Approved

 

[    ] Denied

Signature of Preclearance Officer    

 

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Appendix 6

CERTIFICATION OF ACCESS PERSON’S DESIGNEE

The undersigned hereby certifies that the Access Person named on the attached Trade Authorization Request Form for Access Persons (a) directly instructed me to complete the attached form on his or her behalf, (b) to the best of my knowledge, was out of the office at the time of such instruction and has not returned, and (c) confirmed to me that the representations and warranties contained in the attached Form are accurate.

 

 

Access Person’s Designee

 

Print Name

 

Date

 

37


Appendix 7

SAMPLE INSTRUCTION LETTER TO BROKER, DEALER, OR BANK

(Date)

(Broker Name)

(Address)

 

Re: (Account Name)

(Account No.)

To Whom It May Concern:

In connection with my existing brokerage account(s) with your firm, please be advised that my employer should be noted as an “Interested Party” with respect to the account(s). They should, therefore, be sent copies of all trade confirmations and account statements relating to my account on a regular basis.

Please send the requested documentation for the referenced account(s) directly to:

Batterymarch Financial Management, Inc.

Attn: Compliance Department

200 Clarendon Street, 49 th Floor

Boston, Massachusetts 02116

Thank you for your cooperation.

If you have any questions, please contact me.

 

Sincerely,
(Name of Access Person)

 

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Appendix 8

CERTIFICATION OF NO BENEFICIAL INTEREST

I have read the Code of Ethics and I understand that it applies to me and to all Covered Securities and Monitored Funds in which I have or acquire any Beneficial Interest. I have read the definition of “Beneficial Interest” and understand that I may be deemed to have a Beneficial Interest in Covered Securities and Monitored Funds owned by members of my Immediate Family and that Covered Securities Transactions and Monitored Fund Transactions effected by members of my Immediate Family may therefore be subject to this Code.

The following accounts are maintained by one or more members of my Immediate Family who reside in my household of which I wish to rebut the presumption of having a Beneficial Interest:

 

Name

  

Relationship of

Immediate Family

Member

   Brokerage Firm    Account Number

I certify that with respect to each of the accounts listed above (initial appropriate boxes) :

 

  [    ] I do not own individually or jointly with others any of the securities/funds held in the account.

 

  [    ] I do not possess or exercise decision making authority over the account.

 

  [    ] I do not act as a broker or investment adviser representative for the account.

I agree that I will notify Batterymarch’s Compliance Department immediately if any of the information I have provided in this certification becomes inaccurate or incomplete.

 

 

Access Person’s Signature

 

Print Name

 

Date

 

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Appendix 9

NEW ACCOUNT(S) REPORT

I recently opened the following account(s) in which I have a Beneficial Interest:

 

DATE OPENED

  

NAME OF BROKER,
DEALER,

BANK, OR MUTUAL

FUND

   ACCOUNT TITLE    ACCOUNT NUMBER

 

 

Access Person’s Name (Please print)

 

Access Person’s Signature

 

Date

 

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