As filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on December 15, 2014

Securities Act File No. 33-43446

Investment Company Act File No. 811-06444

 

 

 

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. 315   x

and/or

REGISTRATION STATEMENT

UNDER

    THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940   x
    Amendment No. 315  

(Check appropriate box or boxes)

 

 

Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust

(Exact Name of Registrant as Specified in Charter)

 

 

 

620 Eighth Avenue, 49th Floor, New York, New York   10018
(Address of Principal Executive Offices)   (Zip Code)

Registrant’s Telephone Number, including Area Code (877) 721-1926

 

 

Robert I. Frenkel

Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust

100 First Stamford Place

Stamford, Connecticut 06902

(Name and Address of Agent for Service)

 

 

COPY TO:

Benjamin J. Haskin, Esq.

Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP

1875 K Street, N.W.

Washington, D.C. 20006

 

 

Continuous

(Approximate Date of Proposed Offering)

 

 

It is proposed that this filing will become effective:

 

  ¨ immediately upon filing pursuant to paragraph (b)
  x on December 29, 2014 pursuant to paragraph (b)
  ¨ 60 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)
  ¨ on                      pursuant to paragraph (a)(1)
  ¨ 75 days after filing pursuant to paragraph (a)(2)
  ¨ on                      pursuant to paragraph (a)(2) of Rule 485.

If appropriate, check the following box:

 

  ¨ This post-effective amendment designates a new effective date for a previously filed post-effective amendment.

This filing relates solely to ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund.

 

 

 


LOGO

 

 

Prospectus    LOGO    December 29, 2014

 

Class (Ticker Symbol): A (SHRAX), B (SAGBX), C (SAGCX), FI (LMPFX), R (LMPRX), R1 (—), I (SAGYX), IS (LSIFX)

 

CLEARBRIDGE

AGGRESSIVE GROWTH FUND

 

 

 

LOGO

 

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.

 

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


Contents       
Investment objective      2   
Fees and expenses of the fund      2   
Principal investment strategies      3   
Principal risks      3   
Performance      5   
Management      6   
Purchase and sale of fund shares      6   
Tax information      6   
Payments to broker/dealers and other financial intermediaries      6   
More on the fund’s investment strategies, investments and risks      7   
More on fund management      11   
Choosing a class of shares to buy      13   
Comparing the fund’s classes      14   
Sales charges      15   
More about contingent deferred sales charges      18   
Retirement and Institutional Investors — eligible investors      19   
Buying shares      21   
Exchanging shares      22   
Redeeming shares      23   
Other things to know about transactions      24   
Dividends, other distributions and taxes      27   
Share price      29   
Financial highlights      30   

Investment objective

The fund seeks capital appreciation.

Fees and expenses of the fund

The accompanying table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund.

You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $25,000 in funds sold by Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC (“LMIS”), the fund’s distributor. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial intermediary, in this Prospectus on page 15 under the heading “Sales charges” and in the fund’s statement of additional information (“SAI”) on page 57 under the heading “Sales Charge Waivers and Reductions.”

The fund no longer offers Class B shares or Class R1 shares for purchase by new or existing investors. Class B shares will continue to be available for dividend reinvestment and incoming exchanges.

 

Shareholder fees  
(fees paid directly from your investment)                               
       Class A    Class B    Class C    Class FI    Class R    Class R1   Class I    Class IS  
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a % of offering price)    5.75    None    None    None    None    None   None      None   
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) (as a % of the lower of net asset value at purchase or redemption) 1    Generally,
none
   5.00    1.00    None    None    None   None      None   
Small account fee 2    $15    $15    $15    None    None    None   None      None   
                      
Annual fund operating expenses (%)  
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)           
       Class A    Class B    Class C    Class FI    Class R    Class R1   Class I    Class IS  
Management fees    0.69    0.69    0.69    0.69    0.69    0.69   0.69      0.69   
Distribution and/or service (12b-1) fees    0.25    1.00    1.00    0.25    0.50    1.00   None      None   
Other expenses    0.21    0.45    0.15    0.25    0.23    0.22 3   0.14      0.03   
Total annual fund operating expenses    1.15    2.14    1.84    1.19    1.42    1.91   0.83      0.72   

 

1  

Maximum deferred sales charge (load) may be reduced over time.

2  

If your shares are held in a direct account and the value of your account is below $1,000 ($250 for retirement plans that are not employer-sponsored), the fund may charge you a fee of $3.75 per account that is determined and assessed quarterly (with an annual maximum of $15.00 per account). Direct accounts generally include accounts held in the name of the individual investor on the fund’s books and records.

3  

“Other expenses” for Class R1 shares are estimated for the current fiscal year. Actual expenses may differ from estimates.

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes:

 

 

You invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated

 

 

Your investment has a 5% return each year and the fund’s operating expenses remain the same

 

 

You reinvest all distributions and dividends without a sales charge

 

2    ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund


Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:

 

Number of years you own your shares ($)                            
       1 year      3 years      5 years      10 years
Class A (with or without redemption at end of period)      685      919      1,171      1,891
Class B (with redemption at end of period)      717      970      1,249      2,472
Class B (without redemption at end of period)      217      670      1,149      2,472
Class C (with redemption at end of period)      287      579      996      2,158
Class C (without redemption at end of period)      187      579      996      2,158
Class FI (with or without redemption at end of period)      121      378      655      1,445
Class R (with or without redemption at end of period)      145      450      777      1,703
Class R1 (with or without redemption at end of period)      194      600      1,031      2,232
Class I (with or without redemption at end of period)      85      265      461      1,025
Class IS (with or without redemption at end of period)      74      231      401      896

Portfolio turnover. The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 5% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal investment strategies

The fund invests primarily in common stocks of companies the portfolio managers believe are experiencing, or will experience, growth in earnings exceeding 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 offering prospects of long-term earnings growth. However, because higher earnings growth rates are often achieved by small to medium capitalization companies, a significant portion of the fund’s assets may be invested in the securities of such companies. The fund may invest up to 25% of its net assets (at the time of investment) in foreign securities.

Principal risks

Risk is inherent in all investing. There is no assurance that the fund will meet its investment objective. The value of your investment in the fund, as well as the amount of return you receive on your investment, may fluctuate significantly. You may lose part or all of your investment in the fund or your investment may not perform as well as other similar investments. The fund may take temporary defensive positions; in such a case, the fund will not be pursuing its principal investment strategies. The following is a summary description of certain risks of investing in the fund.

Stock market and equity securities risk. The securities markets are volatile and the market prices of the fund’s securities may decline generally. Securities fluctuate in price based on changes in a company’s financial condition and overall market and economic conditions. If the market prices of the securities owned by the fund fall, the value of your investment in the fund will decline.

Recent market events risk. The global financial crisis that began in 2008 has caused a significant decline in the value and liquidity of many securities and unprecedented volatility in the markets. In response to the crisis, the U.S. government and the Federal Reserve, as well as certain foreign governments and their central banks have taken steps to support financial markets, including by keeping interest rates at historically low levels. More recently, the Federal Reserve has reduced its market support activities. Further reduction or withdrawal of this support, failure of efforts in response to the crisis, or investor perception that such efforts are not succeeding could negatively affect financial markets generally as well as result in higher interest rates, increase market volatility and reduce the value and liquidity of certain securities.

This environment could make identifying investment risks and opportunities especially difficult for the subadviser, and whether or not the fund invests in securities of issuers located in or with significant exposure to countries experiencing economic and financial difficulties, the value and liquidity of the fund’s investments may be negatively affected. In addition, policy and legislative changes in the United States and in other countries are affecting many aspects of financial regulation. The impact of these changes on the markets, and the practical implications for market participants, may not be fully known for some time.

 

ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund   3


Principal risks cont’d

 

Market sector risk. The fund may be significantly overweight or underweight certain companies, industries or market sectors, which may cause the fund’s performance to be more sensitive to developments affecting those companies, industries or sectors.

Large capitalization company risk. Large capitalization companies may fall out of favor with investors.

Small and medium capitalization company risk. The fund will be exposed to additional risks as a result of its investments in the securities of small and medium capitalization companies. Small and medium capitalization companies may fall out of favor with investors; may have limited product lines, operating histories, markets or financial resources; or may be dependent upon a limited management group. The prices of securities of small and medium capitalization companies generally are more volatile than those of large capitalization companies and are more likely to be adversely affected than large capitalization companies by changes in earnings results and investor expectations or poor economic or market conditions, including those experienced during a recession. Securities of small and medium capitalization companies may underperform large capitalization companies, may be harder to sell at times and at prices the portfolio managers believe appropriate and may offer greater potential for losses.

Issuer risk. The value of a security can go up or down more than the market as a whole and can perform differently from the value of the market as a whole, often due to disappointing earnings reports by the issuer, unsuccessful products or services, loss of major customers, major litigation against the issuer or changes in government regulations affecting the issuer or the competitive environment. The fund may experience a substantial or complete loss on an individual security.

Foreign investments risk. The fund’s investments in securities of foreign issuers or issuers with significant exposure to foreign markets involve additional risk. Foreign countries in which the fund may invest may have markets that are less liquid, less regulated and more volatile than U.S. markets. The value of the fund’s investments may decline because of factors affecting the particular issuer as well as foreign markets and issuers generally, such as unfavorable government actions, and political or financial instability. Lack of information may also affect the value of these securities.

The risks of foreign investments are heightened when investing in issuers in emerging market countries.

Currency risk. The value of investments in securities denominated in foreign currencies increases or decreases as the rates of exchange between those currencies and the U.S. dollar change. Currency conversion costs and currency fluctuations could erase investment gains or add to investment losses. Currency exchange rates can be volatile, and are affected by factors such as general economic conditions, the actions of the U.S. and foreign governments or central banks, the imposition of currency controls and speculation.

Growth investing risk. The fund’s growth-oriented investment style may increase the risks of investing in the fund. Growth securities typically are very 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 stocks as a group may be out of favor and underperform the overall equity market while the market concentrates on value stocks. Although the fund will not concentrate its investments in any one industry or industry group, it may, like many growth funds, weight its investments toward certain industries, thus increasing its exposure to factors adversely affecting issuers within those industries.

Liquidity risk. Some assets held by the fund may be impossible or difficult to sell, particularly during times of market turmoil. These illiquid assets may also be difficult to value. If the fund is forced to sell an illiquid asset to meet redemption requests or other cash needs, the fund may be forced to sell at a loss.

Portfolio selection risk. The value of your investment may decrease if the subadviser’s judgment about the attractiveness or value of, or market trends affecting a particular security, industry, sector or region, or about market movements, is incorrect.

These risks are discussed in more detail later in this Prospectus or in the SAI.

 

4    ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund


Performance

 

The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the fund. The bar chart shows changes in the fund’s performance from year to year for Class A shares. The table shows the average annual total returns of each class of the fund that has been in operation for at least one full calendar year and also compares the fund’s performance with the average annual total returns of an index or other benchmark. Performance for classes other than those shown may vary from the performance shown to the extent the expenses for those classes differ. The fund makes updated performance information, including its current net asset value, available at the fund’s website, http://www.leggmason.com/individualinvestors/prospectuses (click on the name of the fund), or by calling the fund at 1-877-721-1926.

The fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future.

Sales charges are not reflected in the accompanying bar chart, and if those charges were included, returns would be less than those shown.

LOGO

Best Quarter (06/30/2009): 17.34     Worst Quarter (12/31/2008): (22.67)

The year-to-date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended 09/30/2014, was 12.65

 

Average annual total returns (%)
(for periods ended December 31, 2013)                                 
Class A    1 year      5 years      10 years      Since
inception
     Inception
date
Return before taxes    36.31      21.92      7.76              
Return after taxes on distributions    36.04      21.69      7.65              
Return after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares    20.75      18.05      6.34              
Other Classes (Return before taxes only)                                 
Class B    38.23      22.21      7.70              
Class C    42.67      22.65      7.73              
Class FI    44.52      23.33      N/A      7.40      04/30/2007
Class R    44.32      23.14      N/A      7.32      12/28/2006
Class I    45.12      23.85      8.85              
Class IS    45.30      24.01      N/A      13.63      08/04/2008
Russell 3000 Growth Index (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 1    34.23      20.56      7.95              

 

1  

For Class FI, Class R and Class IS shares, each for the period from the class’ inception date to December 31, 2013, the average annual total return of the Russell 3000 Growth Index was 7.79%, 8.21% and 11.33%, respectively.

The after-tax returns are shown only for Class A shares, are calculated using the historical highest 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. After-tax returns for classes other than Class A will vary from returns shown for Class A.

 

ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund   5


Management

 

Investment manager: Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC

Subadviser: ClearBridge Investments, LLC (“ClearBridge”)

Portfolio managers: Richard A. Freeman and Evan Bauman. Mr. Freeman (a Senior Portfolio Manager and a Managing Director of ClearBridge) and Mr. Bauman (a Portfolio Manager and a Managing Director of ClearBridge) have been portfolio managers for the fund since October 1983 and April 2009, respectively.

Purchase and sale of fund shares

You may purchase, redeem or exchange shares of the fund each day the New York Stock Exchange is open, at the fund’s net asset value determined after receipt of your request in good order, subject to any applicable sales charge.

The fund’s initial and subsequent investment minimums generally are set forth in the accompanying table:

 

Investment minimum initial/additional investment ($)               
       Class A    Class B 1    Class C    Class FI    Class R    Class R1 2    Class I    Class IS
General    1,000/50    1,000/50    1,000/50    N/A    N/A    N/A    1 million/None*    N/A
Uniform Gifts or Transfers to Minor Accounts    1,000/50    1,000/50    1,000/50    N/A    N/A    N/A    1 million/None*    N/A
IRAs    250/50    250/50    250/50    N/A    N/A    N/A    1 million/None*    N/A
SIMPLE IRAs    None/None    None/None    None/None    N/A    N/A    N/A    1 million/None*    N/A
Systematic Investment Plans    50/50    50/50    50/50    N/A    N/A    N/A    1 million/None*    N/A

Clients of Eligible Financial

Intermediaries

   None/None    N/A    N/A    None/None    None/None    N/A    None/None    N/A
Eligible Investment Programs    None/None    N/A    N/A    None/None    None/None    N/A    None/None    N/A
Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund and certain rollover IRAs    None/None    N/A    None/None    None/None    None/None    N/A    None/None    None/None
Other Retirement Plans    None/None    None/None    None/None    N/A    N/A    N/A    1 million/None*    N/A
Institutional Investors    1,000/50    1,000/50    1,000/50    N/A    N/A    N/A    1 million/None    1 million/None

 

1  

Class B shares are not available for purchase by new or existing investors. Class B shares will continue to be available for dividend reinvestment and incoming exchanges.

2  

Class R1 shares are closed to all new purchases and incoming exchanges.

* Available to investors investing directly with the fund.

Your financial intermediary may impose different investment minimums.

For more information about how to purchase, redeem or exchange shares, and to learn which classes of shares are available to you, you should contact your financial intermediary, or, if you hold your shares or plan to purchase shares through the fund, you should contact the fund by phone at 1-877-721-1926, by regular mail at Legg Mason Funds, P.O. Box 9699, Providence, RI 02940-9699 or by express, certified or registered mail at Legg Mason Funds, 4400 Computer Drive, Westborough, MA 01581.

Tax information

The fund’s distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income or capital gain.

Payments to broker/dealers and other financial intermediaries

The fund’s related companies may pay broker/dealers or other financial intermediaries (such as a bank or an insurance company) for the sale of fund shares, shareholder services and other purposes. These payments create a conflict of interest by influencing your broker/dealer or other intermediary or its employees or associated persons to recommend the fund over another investment. Ask your financial adviser or salesperson or visit your financial intermediary’s or salesperson’s website for more information.

 

6    ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund


More on the fund’s investment strategies, investments and risks

 

The fund seeks capital appreciation.

The fund invests primarily in common stocks of companies the portfolio managers believe are experiencing, or will experience, growth in earnings exceeding 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 offering prospects of long-term earnings growth. However, because higher earnings growth rates are often achieved by small to medium capitalization companies, a significant portion of the fund’s assets may be invested in the securities of such companies.

The fund’s investment strategies may be changed without shareholder approval. The fund’s investment objective may be changed by the Board of Trustees (the “Board”) without shareholder approval and on notice to shareholders.

Equity investments

Equity securities include exchange-traded and over-the-counter (OTC) common and preferred stocks, warrants and rights, securities convertible into common stocks, and securities of other investment companies and of real estate investment trusts (“REITs”).

Foreign investments

The fund may invest up to 25% 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.

Short sales

A short sale is a transaction in which the fund sells securities it does not own in anticipation of a decline in the market price of the securities. The fund may hold no more than 25% of its net assets (taken at the then current market value) as required collateral for such sales at any one time.

Cash management

The fund may hold cash pending investment, and may invest in money market instruments for cash management purposes. The amount of assets the fund may hold for cash management purposes will depend on market conditions and the need to meet expected redemption requests.

Investments by other funds

The fund may be an investment option for other funds, including affiliated 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, including by investing in any type of money market instruments, short-term debt securities or cash without regard to any percentage limitations. Although the subadviser has the ability to take defensive positions, it may choose not to do so for a variety of reasons, even during volatile market conditions.

Other investments

The fund may also 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.

Selection process

The portfolio managers emphasize individual security selection while diversifying the fund’s investments across industries, which may help to reduce risk. The portfolio managers focus 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 managers consider whether the company may benefit from:

 

 

New technologies, products or services

 

 

New cost reducing measures

 

 

Changes in management

 

 

Favorable changes in government regulations

 

ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund   7


More on the fund’s investment strategies, investments and risks cont’d

 

More on risks of investing in the fund

Stock market and equity securities risk. The securities markets are volatile and the market prices of the fund’s securities may decline generally. Securities fluctuate in price based on changes in a company’s financial condition and overall market and economic conditions. The value of a particular security may decline due to factors that affect a particular industry or industries, such as an increase in production costs, competitive conditions or labor shortages; or due to general market conditions, such as real or perceived adverse economic conditions, changes in the general outlook for corporate earnings, changes in interest or currency rates or generally adverse investor sentiment. If the market prices of the securities owned by the fund fall, the value of your investment in the fund will decline.

Recent market events risk. The global financial crisis that began in 2008 has caused a significant decline in the value and liquidity of many securities and unprecedented volatility in the markets. Some events that have contributed to ongoing and systemic market risks include the falling values of some sovereign debt and related investments, scarcity of credit and high public debt. In response to the crisis, the U.S. government and the Federal Reserve, as well as certain foreign governments and their central banks have taken steps to support financial markets, including by keeping interest rates at historically low levels. More recently, the Federal Reserve has reduced its market support activities. Further reduction or withdrawal of this support, failure of efforts in response to the crisis, or investor perception that such efforts are not succeeding could negatively affect financial markets generally as well as result in higher interest rates, increase market volatility and reduce the value and liquidity of certain securities.

This environment could make identifying investment risks and opportunities especially difficult for the subadviser, and whether or not the fund invests in securities of issuers located in or with significant exposure to countries experiencing economic and financial difficulties, the value and liquidity of the fund’s investments may be negatively affected. In addition, policy and legislative changes in the United States and in other countries are affecting many aspects of financial regulation. The impact of these changes on the markets, and the practical implications for market participants, may not be fully known for some time.

Market sector risk. The fund may be significantly overweight or underweight certain companies, industries or market sectors, which may cause the fund’s performance to be more sensitive to developments affecting those companies, industries or sectors.

Large capitalization company risk. Large capitalization companies may fall out of favor with investors.

Small and medium capitalization company risk. The fund will be exposed to additional risks as a result of its investments in the securities of small and medium capitalization companies. Small and medium capitalization companies may fall out of favor with investors; may have limited product lines, operating histories, markets or financial resources; or may be dependent upon a limited management group. The prices of securities of small and medium capitalization companies generally are more volatile than those of large capitalization companies and are more likely to be adversely affected than large capitalization companies by changes in earnings results and investor expectations or poor economic or market conditions, including those experienced during a recession. Securities of small and medium capitalization companies may underperform large capitalization companies, may be harder to sell at times and at prices the portfolio managers believe appropriate and may offer greater potential for losses.

Issuer risk. The value of a security can be more volatile than the market as a whole and can perform differently from the value of the market as a whole. The value of a company’s securities may deteriorate because of a variety of factors, including disappointing earnings reports by the issuer, unsuccessful products or services, loss of major customers, major litigation against the issuer or changes in government regulations affecting the issuer or the competitive environment.

Growth investing risk. 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.

Growth stocks as a group may be out of favor and underperform the overall equity market while the market concentrates on value stocks. Although the fund will not concentrate its investments in any one industry or industry group, it may, like many growth funds, weight its investments toward certain industries, thus increasing its exposure to factors adversely affecting issuers within those industries.

Foreign investments risk. The fund’s investments in securities of foreign issuers or issuers with significant exposure to foreign markets involve additional risk. Foreign countries in which the fund may invest may have markets that are less liquid, less regulated and more volatile than U.S. markets. The value of the fund’s investments may decline because of factors affecting the particular issuer as well as foreign markets and issuers generally, such as unfavorable government actions, and political or financial instability. Lack of information may also affect the value of these securities.

The value of the fund’s foreign investments may also be affected by foreign tax laws, special U.S. tax considerations and restrictions on receiving the investment proceeds from a foreign country. Dividends or interest on, or proceeds from the sale of, foreign securities may be subject to non-U.S. withholding taxes.

 

8    ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund


In some foreign countries, less information is available about issuers and markets because of less rigorous accounting and regulatory standards than in the United States. It may be difficult for the fund to pursue claims against a foreign issuer in the courts of a foreign country. Some securities issued by non-U.S. governments or their subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities may not be backed by the full faith and credit of such governments. Even where a security is backed by the full faith and credit of a government, it may be difficult for the fund to pursue its rights against the government. Some non-U.S. governments have defaulted on principal and interest payments, and more may do so.

The risks of foreign investments are heightened when investing in issuers in emerging market countries.

Currency risk. The value of investments in securities denominated in foreign currencies increases or decreases as the rates of exchange between those currencies and the U.S. dollar change. Currency conversion costs and currency fluctuations could erase investment gains or add to investment losses. Currency exchange rates can be volatile, and are affected by factors such as general economic conditions, the actions of the U.S. and foreign governments or central banks, the imposition of currency controls and speculation.

Valuation risk. Many factors may influence the price at which the fund could sell any particular portfolio investment. The sales price may well differ—higher or lower—from the fund’s last valuation, and such differences could be significant, particularly for illiquid securities and securities that trade in relatively thin markets and/or markets that experience extreme volatility. If market conditions make it difficult to value some investments, the fund may value these investments using more subjective methods, such as fair value methodologies. Investors who purchase or redeem fund shares on days when the fund is holding fair-valued securities may receive fewer or more shares, or lower or higher redemption proceeds, than they would have received if the fund had not fair-valued the security or had used a different valuation methodology. The value of foreign securities, certain fixed income securities and currencies, as applicable, may be materially affected by events after the close of the markets on which they are traded, but before the fund determines its net asset value.

Liquidity risk. Liquidity risk exists when particular investments are impossible or difficult to sell. Although most of the fund’s investments must be liquid at the time of investment, investments may become illiquid after purchase by the fund, particularly during periods of market turmoil. Markets may become illiquid when, for instance, there are few, if any, interested buyers or sellers or when dealers are unwilling or unable to make a market for certain securities. When the fund holds illiquid investments, the portfolio may be harder to value, especially in changing markets, and if the fund is forced to sell these investments to meet redemption requests or for other cash needs, the fund may suffer a loss. The fund may experience heavy redemptions that could cause the fund to liquidate its assets at inopportune times or at a loss or depressed value, which could cause the value of your investment to decline. In addition, when there is illiquidity in the market for certain investments, the fund, due to limitations on illiquid investments, may be unable to achieve its desired level of exposure to a certain sector.

Portfolio selection risk. The value of your investment may decrease if the subadviser’s judgment about the attractiveness or value of, or market trends affecting a particular security, industry, sector or region, or about market movements, is incorrect.

Short sales risk. If the price of the security sold short increases between the time of the short sale and the time the fund replaces the borrowed security, the fund will realize a loss, which may be substantial.

Risk relating to investments by other funds. Other funds, including affiliated funds, may invest in the fund. From time to time, the fund may experience relatively large redemptions or investments from these funds as a result of their rebalancing their portfolios or for other reasons. In the event of such redemptions or investments, the fund could be required to sell securities or to invest cash at a time when it is not advantageous to do so.

Cash management and defensive investing risk. The value of the investments held by the fund for cash management or defensive investing purposes can fluctuate. Like other fixed income securities, they are subject to risk, including market, interest rate and credit risk. If the fund holds cash uninvested it will be subject to the credit risk of the depository institution holding the cash. If the fund holds cash uninvested, the fund will not earn income on the cash. If a significant amount of the fund’s assets are used for cash management or defensive investing purposes, it may not achieve its investment objective.

Risk of increase in expenses. Your actual costs of investing in the fund may be higher than the expenses shown in “Annual fund operating expenses” for a variety of reasons. For example, expense ratios may be higher than those shown if average net assets decrease, as a result of redemptions or otherwise, or if a fee limitation is changed or terminated. Net assets are more likely to decrease and fund expense ratios are more likely to increase when markets are volatile.

Please note that there are other factors that could adversely affect your investment and that could prevent the fund from achieving its investment objective. More information about risks appears in the SAI. Before investing, you should carefully consider the risks that you will assume.

 

ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund   9


More on the fund’s investment strategies, investments and risks cont’d

 

Portfolio holdings

A description of the fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of its portfolio holdings is available in the SAI. The fund posts its complete portfolio holdings at http://www.leggmason.com/individualinvestors/prospectuses (click on the name of the fund) on a quarterly basis. The fund intends to post its complete portfolio holdings 14 calendar days following the quarter-end. The fund intends to post partial information concerning the fund’s portfolio holdings (such as top 10 holdings or sector breakdowns, for example) on the Legg Mason funds’ website on a monthly basis. The fund intends to post this partial information 10 business days following each month-end. Such information will remain available until the next month’s or quarter’s holdings are posted.

 

10    ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund


More on fund management

 

Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC (“LMPFA” or the “manager”) is the fund’s investment manager. LMPFA, with offices at 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, New York 10018, also serves as the investment manager of other Legg Mason-sponsored funds. LMPFA provides administrative and certain oversight services to the fund. LMPFA was formed in April 2006 as a result of an internal reorganization to consolidate advisory services after Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”) acquired substantially all of Citigroup’s asset management business in December 2005. As of September 30, 2014, LMPFA’s total assets under management were approximately $247 billion.

ClearBridge Investments, 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. ClearBridge has offices at 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, New York 10018 and is an investment adviser that was formed to succeed to the equity securities portfolio management business of Citigroup Asset Management, which was acquired by Legg Mason in December 2005, but traces back its asset management expertise over 45 years to several prominent firms including Smith Barney Asset Management, Davis Skaggs Investment Management and Salomon Brothers Asset Management. As of September 30, 2014, ClearBridge’s total assets under management were approximately $103 billion.

Western Asset Management Company (“Western Asset”) manages the fund’s cash and short-term instruments. Western Asset, established in 1971, has offices at 385 East Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, California 91101 and 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, New York 10018. Western Asset acts as investment adviser to institutional accounts, such as corporate pension plans, mutual funds and endowment funds. As of September 30, 2014, the total assets under management of Western Asset and its supervised affiliates were approximately $471.6 billion.

LMPFA, ClearBridge and Western Asset are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Legg Mason. Legg Mason, whose principal executive offices are at 100 International Drive, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, is a global asset management company. As of September 30, 2014, Legg Mason’s asset management operations had aggregate assets under management of approximately $707.8 billion.

Portfolio managers

Richard A. Freeman and Evan Bauman have co-managed the fund since 2009. Mr. Freeman has served as portfolio manager since the fund’s inception in October 1983 and Mr. Bauman has served as portfolio manager since April 2009. Messrs. Freeman and Bauman are primarily responsible for overseeing the day-to-day operation of the fund and have the ultimate authority to make portfolio decisions.

Mr. Freeman is a Senior Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of ClearBridge and has 38 years of industry experience. Mr. Freeman joined the subadviser or its predecessor in 1983.

Mr. Bauman is a Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of ClearBridge and has 18 years of industry experience. Mr. Bauman joined the subadviser or its predecessor in 1996.

The SAI provides information about the compensation of the portfolio managers, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers and any fund shares held by the portfolio managers.

Management fee

The fund pays a management fee at an annual rate that decreases as assets increase, as follows: 0.750% of assets up to and including $1 billion, 0.725% of assets over $1 billion and up to and including $2 billion, 0.700% of assets over $2 billion and up to and including $5 billion, 0.675% of assets over $5 billion and up to and including $10 billion and 0.650% of assets over $10 billion.

For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, the fund paid LMPFA an effective management fee of 0.69% of the fund’s average daily net assets for management services.

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 Semi-Annual Report for the period ended February 28, 2014.

Expense limitation

The manager has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse operating expenses (other than interest, brokerage, taxes, extraordinary expenses and acquired fund fees and expenses) so that total annual operating expenses are not expected to exceed 1.30% for Class FI shares, 1.55% for Class R shares, 2.05% for Class R1 shares and 1.00% for Class I shares, subject to recapture as described below. In addition, total annual fund operating expenses for Class IS shares will not exceed total annual fund operating expenses for Class I shares, subject to recapture as described below. These arrangements are expected to continue until December 31, 2016, may be terminated prior to that date by agreement of the manager and the Board, and may be terminated at any time after that date by the manager. These arrangements, however, may be modified by the manager to decrease total annual operating expenses at any time. The manager is also permitted to recapture amounts waived and/or reimbursed to a class during the same fiscal year if the class’ total annual operating expenses have fallen to a level below the limits described above. In no case will the manager recapture any amount that would result, on any particular business day of the fund, in the class’ total annual operating expenses exceeding the applicable limits described above or any other lower limit then in effect.

 

ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund   11


More on fund management cont’d

 

Distribution

LMIS, a wholly-owned broker/dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, serves as the fund’s sole and exclusive distributor.

The fund has adopted a Rule 12b-1 shareholder services and distribution plan. Under the plan, the fund pays distribution and/or service fees based on annualized percentages of average daily net assets, of up to 0.25% for Class A shares; up to 1.00% for Class B shares; up to 1.00% for Class C shares; up to 0.25% for Class FI shares; up to 0.50% for Class R shares; and up to 1.00% for Class R1 shares. From time to time, LMIS and/or financial intermediaries may agree to a reduction or waiver of these 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. Class I shares and Class IS shares are not subject to distribution and/or service fees under the plan.

Additional payments

In addition to distribution and service fees and sales charges, the distributor, the manager and/or their affiliates make payments for distribution, shareholder servicing, marketing and promotional activities and related expenses out of their profits and other available sources, including profits from their relationships with the fund. These payments are not reflected as additional expenses in the fee table contained in this Prospectus. The recipients of these payments may include the fund’s distributor and affiliates of the manager, as well as non-affiliated broker/dealers, insurance companies, financial institutions and other financial intermediaries through which investors may purchase shares of the fund, including your financial intermediary. The total amount of these payments is substantial, may be substantial to any given recipient and may exceed the costs and expenses incurred by the recipient for any fund-related marketing or shareholder servicing activities. The payments described in this paragraph are often referred to as “revenue sharing payments.” Revenue sharing arrangements are separately negotiated between the distributor, the manager and/or their affiliates, and the recipients of these payments.

Revenue sharing payments create an incentive for an intermediary or its employees or associated persons to recommend or sell shares of the fund to you. Contact your financial intermediary for details about revenue sharing payments it receives or may receive. Revenue sharing payments, as well as payments under the shareholder services and distribution plan (where applicable), also benefit the manager, the distributor and their affiliates to the extent the payments result in more assets being invested in the fund on which fees are being charged.

 

12    ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund


Choosing a class of shares to buy

 

Individual investors can generally invest in Class A and Class C shares. Individual investors who invest directly with the fund and who meet the $1,000,000 minimum initial investment requirement may purchase Class I shares.

Retirement Plan and Institutional Investors and Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries should refer to “Retirement and Institutional Investors — eligible investors” below for a description of the classes available to them. Each class has different sales charges and expenses, allowing you to choose a class that may be appropriate for you.

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

 

 

How much you plan to invest

 

 

How long you expect to own the shares

 

 

The expenses paid by each class detailed in the fee table and example at the front of this Prospectus

 

 

Whether you qualify for any reduction or waiver of sales charges

 

 

Availability of share classes

When choosing between Class A and Class C shares, you should be aware that, generally speaking, the larger the size of your investment and the longer your investment horizon, the more likely it will be that Class C shares will not be as advantageous as Class A shares. The annual distribution and/or service fees on Class C shares may cost you more over the longer term than the front-end sales charge and service fees you would have paid for larger purchases of Class A shares. If you are eligible to purchase Class I shares, you should be aware that Class I shares are not subject to a front-end sales charge and generally have lower annual expenses than Class A or Class C shares.

Class R1 shares are closed to all new purchases and incoming exchanges.

The fund no longer offers Class B shares for purchase by new or existing investors. Individual investors who owned Class B shares on June 30, 2011 may continue to hold those shares, but they may not add to their Class B share positions except through dividend reinvestment. Class B shares are also available for incoming exchanges.

Each class of shares, except Class IS shares, is authorized to pay fees for recordkeeping services to Service Agents. As a result, operating expenses of classes that incur new or additional recordkeeping fees may increase over time.

You may buy shares:

 

 

Through banks, brokers, dealers, insurance companies, investment advisers, financial consultants or advisers, mutual fund supermarkets and other financial intermediaries that have entered into an agreement with the distributor to sell shares of the fund (each called a “Service Agent”)

 

 

Directly from the fund

Your Service Agent may provide shareholder services that differ from the services provided by other Service Agents. Services provided by your Service Agent may vary by class. You should ask your Service Agent to explain the shareholder services it provides for each class and the compensation it receives in connection with each class. Remember that your Service Agent may receive different compensation depending on the share class in which you invest.

Your Service Agent may not offer all classes of shares. You should contact your Service Agent for further information.

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

 

 

The front-end sales charges that apply to the purchase of Class A shares

 

 

The contingent deferred sales charges that apply to the redemption of Class B shares, Class C shares and certain Class A shares

 

 

Who qualifies for lower sales charges on Class A shares

 

 

Who qualifies for a sales load waiver

To visit the website, go to http://www.leggmason.com/individualinvestors/products, and click on the name of the fund in the dropdown menu.

 

ClearBridge Aggressive 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 choose a class that may be appropriate for you. Please contact your Service Agent regarding the availability of Class FI or Class R shares. You may be required to provide appropriate documentation confirming your eligibility to invest in Class FI or Class R shares. Your Service Agent may receive different compensation depending upon which class you choose.

 

      Key features   Initial sales charge   Contingent deferred sales
charge
  Annual distribution
and/or service fees
  Exchange privilege 1
Class A  

   Initial sales charge

   You may qualify for reduction or waiver of initial sales charge

   Generally lower annual expenses than Class C

  Up to 5.75%; reduced or waived for large purchases and certain investors. No charge for purchases of $1 million or more   1.00% on purchases of $1 million or more if you redeem within 18 months of purchase; waived for certain investors   0.25% of average daily net assets   Class A shares of funds sold by the distributor

Class B

 

   Closed to all new purchases

   No initial sales charge

   Contingent deferred sales charge declines over time

   Converts to Class A after approximately 8 years

   Generally higher annual expenses than Class A

  None  

Up to 5.00% charged if 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% of average daily net assets   Class B shares of funds sold by the distributor
Class C  

   No initial sales charge

   Contingent deferred sales charge for only 1 year

   Does not convert to Class A

   Generally higher annual expenses than Class A

  None  

1.00% if you redeem within

1 year of purchase; waived for certain investors

  1.00% of average daily net assets   Class C shares of funds sold by the distributor
Class FI  

   No initial or contingent deferred sales charge

   Only offered to Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries and eligible Retirement Plans

  None   None   0.25% of average daily net assets   Class FI shares of funds sold by the distributor
Class R  

   No initial or contingent deferred sales charge

   Only offered to eligible Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund, Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries and Eligible Investment Programs

  None   None   0.50% of average daily net assets   Class R shares of funds sold by the distributor
Class R1  

   Closed to all new purchases

  None   None   1.00% of average daily net assets   N/A
Class I  

   No initial or contingent deferred sales charge

   Only offered to institutional and other eligible investors

   Generally lower annual expenses than all classes except Class IS

  None   None   None   Class I shares of funds sold by the distributor
Class IS  

   No initial or contingent deferred sales charge

   Only offered to institutional and other eligible investors

   Generally lower annual expenses than the other classes

  None   None   None   Class IS shares of funds sold by the distributor
1  

Ask your Service Agent about the funds available for exchange.

 

14    ClearBridge Aggressive Growth 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 rate 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 that you reinvest in additional Class A shares.

The table below shows the rate of sales charge you pay, depending on the amount you purchase. It also shows the amount of broker/dealer compensation that will be paid out of the sales charge if you buy shares from a Service Agent. For Class A shares sold by the distributor, the distributor 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 will receive a distribution and/or 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 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 million          1.50            1.52            1.20  
$1 million or more 1          -0-            -0-            up to 1.00  

 

1  

The 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 and/or 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 and/or 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 18 months 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 shares of funds sold by the distributor to take advantage of the breakpoints in the Class A 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 fund if you are eligible for a letter of intent or a right of accumulation and if you own shares of other 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 a reduced sales charge.

Accumulation Privilege – allows you to combine the current value of shares of the fund with other shares of funds sold by the distributor 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 charges.

If you hold fund shares in accounts at two or more Service Agents, please contact your Service Agents to determine which shares may be combined.

Shares of money market funds sold by the distributor acquired by exchange from other funds offered with a sales charge may be combined. Shares of money market funds sold by the distributor that were not acquired by exchange from other funds offered with a sales charge may not be combined. Please contact your Service Agent or the fund for additional information.

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

 

ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund   15


Sales charges cont’d

 

Letter of Intent – allows you to purchase Class A shares of funds sold by the distributor over a 13-month period and pay the same sales charge, 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 shares of funds sold by the distributor 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 of intent, based on the public offering price at the time of the purchase and any capital appreciation on those shares. In addition, you can include the current value of any eligible holdings toward your asset goal amount.

If you hold shares of funds sold by the distributor in accounts at two or more Service Agents, please contact your Service Agents to determine which shares may be credited toward your asset goal amount.

Shares of money market funds sold by the distributor acquired by exchange from other funds offered with a sales charge may be credited toward your asset goal amount. Please contact your Service Agent for additional information.

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:

 

 

Employees of Service Agents

 

 

Investors who redeemed Class A shares of a fund sold by the distributor in the past 60 days, if the investor’s Service Agent is notified

 

 

Directors and officers of any Legg Mason-sponsored fund

 

 

Employees of Legg Mason and its subsidiaries

 

 

Investors investing through certain Retirement Plans

 

 

Investors who rollover fund shares from a qualified retirement plan into an individual retirement account administered on the same retirement plan platform

If you qualify for a waiver of the Class A initial sales charge, you must notify your Service Agent or the fund at 1-877-721-1926 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 visit the Legg Mason funds’ website, http://www.leggmason.com/individualinvestors/products, and click on the name of the fund in the dropdown menu.

Class B shares

The fund no longer offers Class B shares for purchase by new or existing investors. If you owned Class B shares on June 30, 2011, you may continue to hold those shares, but you may not add to your Class B share position except through dividend reinvestment. Class B shares are also available for incoming exchanges. Class B shares are issued at net asset value with no initial sales charge. If you redeem your Class B shares within five years of your purchase payment, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge based on the schedule of the fund that you originally purchased. 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 retain the contingent deferred sales charges. The fund pays annual distribution and/or service fees of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets of Class B shares. Service Agents receive an annual distribution and/or service fee of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class B shares serviced by them.

 

16    ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund


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 fund sold by LMIS
Approximately 8 years after the date of purchase   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 with no 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 generally will 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. LMIS will retain the contingent deferred sales charges and an annual distribution and/or 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 and/or 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 R1 shares

You buy Class FI and Class R shares at net asset value with no initial sales charge and no contingent deferred sales charge when redeemed. Class R1 shares are closed to all new purchases and incoming exchanges.

Service Agents receive an annual distribution and/or service fee of up to 0.25% of the average daily net assets represented by Class FI shares serviced by them, up to 0.50% of the average daily net assets represented by Class R shares serviced by them and up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by Class R1 shares serviced by them.

Class I and Class IS shares

You buy Class I and Class IS shares at net asset value with no initial sales charge and no contingent deferred sales charge when redeemed. Class I and Class IS shares are not subject to any distribution and/or service fees.

 

ClearBridge 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:

 

 

When you exchange shares for shares of another fund sold by the distributor

 

 

On shares representing reinvested distributions and dividends

 

 

On 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 redeem the shares in your account that have been held the longest.

If you redeem shares of a fund sold by the distributor 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 distributor receives 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:

 

 

On payments made through certain systematic withdrawal plans

 

 

On certain distributions from a Retirement Plan

 

 

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

 

 

For involuntary redemptions of small account balances

 

 

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 visit the Legg Mason funds’ website, http://www.leggmason.com/individualinvestors/products, and click on the name of the fund in the dropdown menu.

 

18    ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund


Retirement and Institutional Investors — eligible investors

 

Retirement Plans

“Retirement Plans” include 401(k) plans, 457 plans, employer-sponsored 403(b) plans, profit-sharing plans, non-qualified deferred compensation plans, employer sponsored benefit plans (including health savings accounts), other similar employer-sponsored retirement and benefit plans, and individual retirement accounts that are administered on the same IRA recordkeeping platform and that invest in the fund through a single omnibus account pursuant to a special contractual arrangement with the fund or the distributor. Retirement Plans do not include individual retirement vehicles, such as traditional and Roth IRAs (absent an exception that is explicitly described in this Prospectus), Coverdell education savings accounts, individual 403(b)(7) custodial accounts, Keogh plans, SEPs, SARSEPs, SIMPLE IRAs or similar accounts.

Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund can generally invest in Class A, Class C, Class FI, Class R, Class I and Class IS shares.

Investors who rollover fund shares from a Retirement Plan into an individual retirement account administered on the same retirement plan platform may hold, purchase and exchange shares of the fund to the same extent as the applicable Retirement Plan.

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. The distributor may impose certain additional requirements. Please contact your Service Agent for more information.

Other Retirement Plans

“Other Retirement Plans” include Retirement Plans investing through brokerage accounts and also include certain Retirement Plans with direct relationships to the fund that are neither Institutional Investors nor investing through omnibus accounts. Other Retirement Plans and individual retirement vehicles, such as IRAs, are treated like individual investors for purposes of determining sales charges and any applicable sales charge reductions or waivers.

“Other Retirement Plans” do not include arrangements whereby an investor would rollover fund shares from a Retirement Plan into an individual retirement account administered on the same retirement plan platform. Such arrangements are deemed to be “Retirement Plans” and are subject to the rights and privileges described under “Retirement and Institutional Investors — eligible investors — Retirement Plans.”

Other Retirement Plan investors can generally invest in Class A, Class C and Class I shares. Individual retirement vehicles may also choose between these share classes.

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries

“Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries” are investors who invest in the fund through financial intermediaries that (i) charge such investors an ongoing fee for advisory, investment, consulting or similar services, or (ii) have entered into an agreement with the distributor to offer Class A, Class FI, Class R or Class I shares through a no-load network or platform (“Eligible Investment Programs”). Such investors may include pension and profit sharing plans, other employee benefit trusts, endowments, foundations and corporations. Eligible Investment Programs may also include college savings vehicles such as Section 529 plans and direct retail investment platforms through mutual fund “supermarkets,” where the sponsor links its client’s account (including IRA accounts on such platforms) to a master account in the sponsor’s name. The financial intermediary may impose separate investment minimums.

Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries may generally invest in Class A, Class FI, Class R or Class I shares. Class I shares are available for exchange from Class A or Class C shares of the fund by participants in the Eligible Investment Programs.

Institutional Investors

“Institutional Investors” may include corporations, banks, trust companies, insurance companies, investment companies, foundations, endowments, defined benefit plans and other similar entities. The distributor or the financial intermediary may impose additional eligibility requirements or criteria to determine if an investor, including the types of investors listed above, qualifies as an Institutional Investor.

Institutional Investors may invest in Class I or Class IS shares if they meet the $1,000,000 minimum initial investment requirement. Institutional Investors may also invest in Class A and Class C shares, which have different investment minimums, fees and expenses.

Class A shares — Retirement Plans

Retirement Plans may buy Class A shares. Under certain programs for current and prospective Retirement Plan investors sponsored by financial intermediaries, the initial sales charge and contingent deferred sales charge for Class A shares are waived where:

 

 

Such Retirement Plan’s recordkeeper offers only load-waived shares,

 

 

Fund shares are held on the books of the fund through an omnibus account, and

 

 

The Retirement Plan has more than 100 participants or has total assets exceeding $1 million.

 

ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund   19


Retirement and Institutional Investors — eligible investors cont’d

 

LMIS does not pay 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, LMIS may pay Service Agents commissions of up to 1.00% of the purchase price of the Class A shares that are purchased with regular ongoing plan contributions. Please contact your Service Agent for more information.

Class C shares — 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 a contingent deferred sales charge. LMIS does not pay Service Agents selling Class C shares to Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund a commission on the purchase price of Class C shares sold by them. Instead, immediately after purchase, LMIS may pay these Service Agents an annual distribution and/or service fee of up to 1.00% of the average daily net assets represented by the Class C shares serviced by them.

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

Class FI shares

Class FI shares are offered only to Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries and Retirement Plans.

Class R shares

Class R shares are offered only to Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund (either at the plan level or at the level of the financial intermediary), to Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries and through Eligible Investment Programs.

Class R1 shares

Class R1 shares are closed to all new purchases and incoming exchanges.

Class I shares

Class I shares are offered only to Institutional Investors and individual investors (investing directly with the fund) who meet the $1,000,000 minimum initial investment requirement, Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund and certain rollover IRAs, Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries and other investors authorized by LMIS.

Certain waivers of these requirements for individuals associated with the fund, Legg Mason or its affiliates are discussed in the SAI.

Class IS shares

Class IS shares may be purchased only by Retirement Plans with omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund, certain rollover IRAs and Institutional Investors, and other investors authorized by LMIS. In order to purchase Class IS shares, an investor must hold its shares in one account with the fund, which account is not subject to payment of recordkeeping or similar fees by the fund to any intermediary.

Class B shares

The fund no longer offers Class B shares for purchase by new or existing investors. Institutional Investors and certain Retirement Plans that owned Class B shares may continue to hold those shares, but they may not add to their Class B share positions except through dividend reinvestment. Class B shares are also available for incoming exchanges.

Other considerations

Plan sponsors, plan fiduciaries and other financial intermediaries may choose to impose qualification requirements 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 distribution and/or service 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.

Your Service Agent may not offer all share classes. Please contact your Service Agent for additional details.

 

20    ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund


Buying shares

 

Generally   

You may buy shares at their net asset value next determined after receipt by your Service Agent or the transfer agent of your purchase request in good order, plus any applicable sales charge.

 

You must provide the following information for your order to be processed:

 

   Name of fund being bought

 

   Class of shares being bought

 

   Dollar amount or number of shares being bought

 

   Account number (if existing account)

Through a Service Agent   

You should contact your Service Agent to open a brokerage account and make arrangements to buy shares.

 

Your Service Agent may charge an annual account maintenance fee.

Through the fund   

Investors should contact the fund at 1-877-721-1926 to open an account and make arrangements to buy shares.

 

For initial purchases, complete and send your account application to the fund at one of the following addresses:

 

Regular Mail:

 

Legg Mason Funds

P.O. Box 9699

Providence, RI 02940-9699

 

Express, Certified or Registered Mail:

 

Legg Mason Funds

4400 Computer Drive

Westborough, MA 01581

 

Subsequent purchases should be sent to the same addresses. Enclose a check to pay for the shares.

 

For more information, please call the fund between 8:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. (Eastern time).

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.

 

   Amounts transferred must meet the applicable minimums (see “Purchase and sale of fund shares”)

 

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

 

   If you do not have sufficient funds in your account on a transfer date, you may be charged a fee

 

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

 

ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund   21


Exchanging shares

 

Generally   

You may exchange shares of the fund for the same class of shares of other funds sold by the distributor on any day that both the fund and the fund into which you are exchanging are open for business. For investors who qualify as Clients of Eligible Financial Intermediaries and participate in Eligible Investment Programs made available through their financial intermediaries (such as investors in fee-based advisory or mutual fund “wrap” programs), an exchange may be made from Class A or Class C shares to Class I shares of the same fund under certain limited circumstances. Please refer to the section of this Prospectus titled “Retirement and Institutional Investors — eligible investors” or contact your financial intermediary for more information.

 

An exchange of shares of one fund for shares of another fund is considered a sale and generally results in a capital gain or loss for federal income tax purposes, unless you are investing through an IRA, 401(k) or other tax-advantaged account. An exchange of shares of one class directly for shares of another class of the same fund normally should not be taxable for federal income tax purposes. You should talk to your tax advisor before making an exchange.

 

The exchange privilege is not intended as a vehicle for short-term trading. The fund may suspend or terminate your exchange privilege if you engage in a pattern of excessive exchanges.

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

You may exchange shares at their net asset value next determined after receipt by your Service Agent or the transfer agent of your exchange request in good order.

 

   If you bought shares through a Service Agent, contact your Service Agent to learn which funds your Service Agent makes available to you for exchanges

 

   If you bought shares directly from the fund, contact the fund at 1-877-721-1926 to learn which funds are available to you for exchanges

 

   Exchanges may be made only between accounts that have identical registrations

 

   Not all funds offer all classes

 

   Funds that offer Class B shares may continue to make them available for incoming exchanges

 

   Some funds are offered only in a limited number of states. Your Service Agent or the fund will provide information about the funds offered in your state

 

Always be sure to read the prospectus of the fund into which you are exchanging shares.

Investment minimums, sales charges and other requirements   

   In most instances, your shares will not be subject to an initial sales charge or a contingent deferred sales charge at the time of the exchange. You may be charged an initial or contingent deferred sales charge if the shares being exchanged were not subject to a sales charge

 

   Except as noted above, 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

 

   You will generally be required to meet the minimum investment requirement for the class of shares of the fund or share class into which your exchange is made (except in the case of systematic exchange plans)

 

   Your exchange will also be subject to any other requirements of the fund or share class into which you are exchanging shares

 

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

By telephone    Contact your Service Agent or, if you hold shares directly with the fund, call the fund at 1-877-721-1926 between 8:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. (Eastern time) for information. Exchanges are priced at the net asset value next determined.
By mail   

Contact your Service Agent or, if you hold shares directly with the fund, write to the fund at one of the following addresses:

 

Regular Mail:

 

Legg Mason Funds

P.O. Box 9699

Providence, RI 02940-9699

 

Express, Certified or Registered Mail:

 

Legg Mason Funds

4400 Computer Drive

Westborough, MA 01581

Through a systematic exchange plan   

You may be permitted to schedule automatic exchanges of shares of the fund for shares of other funds available for exchange. All requirements for exchanging shares described above apply to these exchanges. In addition:

 

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

 

   Each exchange must meet the applicable investment minimums for systematic investment plans (see “Purchase and sale of fund shares”)

 

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

 

22    ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund


Redeeming shares

 

Generally   

You may redeem shares at their net asset value next determined after receipt by your Service Agent or the transfer agent of your redemption request in good order, less any applicable contingent deferred sales charge.

 

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

Redemption proceeds   

Your redemption proceeds normally will be sent within 3 business days after your request is received in good order, but in any event within 7 days, except that your proceeds may be delayed for up to 10 days if your share purchase was made by check.

 

Your redemption proceeds may be delayed, or your right to receive redemption proceeds suspended, if the New York Stock Exchange (“NYSE”) is closed (other than on weekends or holidays) or trading is restricted, if an emergency exists, or otherwise as permitted by order of the SEC.

 

If you have a brokerage account with a Service Agent, your redemption proceeds will be sent to your Service Agent. 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 by you. To change the bank account designated to receive wire or electronic transfers, you will be required to deliver a new written authorization and may be asked to provide other documents. You may be charged a fee on a wire or an electronic transfer (ACH).

 

In other cases, unless you direct otherwise, your proceeds will be paid by check mailed to your address of record.

 

The fund reserves the right to pay redemption proceeds by giving you securities. You may pay transaction costs to dispose of the securities, and you may receive less for them than the price at which they were valued for purposes of the redemption.

By mail   

Contact your Service Agent or, if you hold shares directly with the fund, write to the fund at one of the following addresses:

 

Regular Mail:

 

Legg Mason Funds

P.O. Box 9699

Providence, RI 02940-9699

 

Express, Certified or Registered Mail:

 

Legg Mason Funds

4400 Computer Drive

Westborough, MA 01581

 

Your written request must provide the following:

 

   The fund name, the class of shares being redeemed and your account number

 

   The dollar amount or number of shares being redeemed

 

   Signature of each owner exactly as the account is registered

 

   Signature guarantees, as applicable (see “Other things to know about transactions”)

By telephone   

If your account application permits, you may be eligible to redeem shares by telephone. Contact your Service Agent or, if you hold shares directly with the fund, call the fund at 1-877-721-1926 between 8:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. (Eastern time) for more information. Please have the following information ready when you call:

 

   Name of fund being redeemed

 

   Class of shares being redeemed

 

   Account number

Automatic cash withdrawal plans   

You may be permitted to schedule automatic redemptions of a portion of your shares. 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.

 

The following conditions apply:

 

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

 

   If your shares are subject to a contingent deferred sales charge, the charge will be required to be paid upon redemption. However, the charge will be waived if your automatic redemptions are equal to or less than 2% per month of your account balance on the date the redemptions commence, up to a maximum of 12% in one year

 

   You must elect to have all dividends and distributions reinvested

 

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

 

ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund   23


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:

 

 

Name of the fund

 

 

Your account number

 

 

In the case of a purchase (including a purchase as part of an exchange transaction), the class of shares being bought

 

 

In the case of an exchange or redemption, the class of shares being exchanged or redeemed (if you own more than one class)

 

 

Dollar amount or number of shares being bought, exchanged or redeemed

 

 

In certain circumstances, the signature of each owner exactly as the account is registered (see “Redeeming shares”)

The fund generally will not permit non-resident aliens with non-U.S. addresses to establish accounts. U.S. citizens with APO/FPO addresses or addresses in the United States (including its territories) and resident aliens with U.S. addresses are permitted to establish accounts with the fund. Subject to the requirements of local law, U.S. citizens residing in foreign countries are permitted to establish accounts with the fund.

In certain circumstances, such as during periods of market volatility, severe weather and emergencies, shareholders may experience difficulties placing exchange or redemption orders by telephone. In that case, shareholders should consider using the fund’s other exchange and redemption procedures described under “Exchanging shares” and “Redeeming shares.”

The transfer agent or the fund 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 these transactions.

The fund has the right to:

 

 

Suspend the offering of shares

 

 

Waive or change minimum initial and additional investment amounts

 

 

Reject any purchase or exchange order

 

 

Change, revoke or suspend the exchange privilege

 

 

Suspend telephone transactions

 

 

Suspend or postpone redemptions of shares on any day when trading on the NYSE is restricted or as otherwise permitted by the SEC

 

 

Close your account after a period of inactivity, as determined by state law, and transfer your shares to the appropriate state

For your protection, the fund or your Service Agent may request additional information in connection with large redemptions, unusual activity in your account, or otherwise to ensure your redemption request is in good order. Please contact your Service Agent or the fund for more information.

Signature guarantees

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

 

 

Are redeeming shares and sending the proceeds to an address or bank not currently on file

 

 

Changed your account registration or your address within 30 days

 

 

Want the check paid to someone other than the account owner(s)

 

 

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.

Anti-money laundering

Federal anti-money laundering regulations require all financial institutions to obtain, verify and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. When you sign your account application, you may be asked to provide additional information in order for the fund to verify your identity in accordance with these regulations. Accounts may be restricted and/or closed, and the monies withheld, pending verification of this information or as otherwise required under these and other federal regulations.

 

24    ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund


Small account fees/Mandatory redemptions

Small accounts may be subject to a small account fee or to mandatory redemption, as described below, depending on whether the account is held directly with the fund or through a Service Agent.

Direct accounts

Direct accounts generally include accounts held in the name of the individual investor on the fund’s books and records. To offset the relatively higher impact on fund expenses of servicing smaller direct accounts, if your shares are held in a direct account and the value of your account is below

$1,000 (if applicable, $250 for retirement plans that are not employer-sponsored) for any reason (including declines in net asset value), the fund may charge you a fee of $3.75 per account that is determined and assessed quarterly on the next-to-last business day of the quarter (with an annual maximum of $15.00 per account). The small account fee will be charged by redeeming shares in your account. If the value of your account is $3.75 or less, the amount in the account may be exhausted to pay the small account fee. The small account fee will not be assessed on systematic investment plans until the end of the first quarter after the account has been established for 21 months. Payment of the small account fee through a redemption of fund shares may result in tax consequences to you (see “Taxes” for more information).

The small account fee will not be charged on, if applicable: (i) Retirement Plans (but will be charged on other plans that are not employer-sponsored 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 similar accounts); (ii) Legg Mason funds that have been closed to subsequent purchases for all classes; (iii) accounts that do not have a valid address as evidenced by mail being returned to the fund or its agents; and (iv) Class FI, Class R, Class R1, Class I and Class IS shares.

If your share class is no longer offered, you may not be able to bring your account up to the minimum investment amount (although you may exchange into existing accounts of other Legg Mason funds in which you hold the same share class, to the extent otherwise permitted by those funds and subject to any applicable sales charges).

The small account fee is calculated on a fund-by-fund basis. If you have accounts in multiple funds, they will not be aggregated for the purpose of calculating the small account fee. Some shareholders who hold accounts in Classes A and B of the same fund may have those accounts aggregated for the purposes of these calculations. Please contact the fund or your Service Agent for more information.

Non-direct accounts

“Non-direct accounts” include omnibus accounts and accounts jointly maintained by the Service Agent and the fund. Such accounts are not subject to the small account fee that may be charged to direct accounts.

The fund reserves the right to ask you to bring your non-direct account up to a minimum investment amount determined by your Service Agent if the aggregate 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). You will 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. If your share class is no longer offered, you may not be able to bring your account up to the minimum investment amount. Some shareholders who hold accounts in multiple classes of the same fund may have those accounts aggregated for the purposes of these calculations. If your account is closed, you will not be eligible to have your account reinstated without imposition of any sales charges that may apply to your new purchase. Please contact your Service Agent for more information. Any redemption of fund shares may result in tax consequences to you (see “Taxes” for more information).

All accounts

The fund may, with prior notice, change the minimum size of accounts subject to mandatory redemption, which may vary by class, implement fees for small non-direct accounts or change the amount of the fee for small direct 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 fund or consult the SAI.

Frequent trading of fund shares

Frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares may interfere with the efficient management of the fund, increase fund 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 subadviser 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,

 

ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund   25


Other things to know about transactions cont’d

 

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 investments. 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 funds sold by the fund’s distributor and their long-term shareholders, the Board has approved policies and procedures that are intended to detect and discourage 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 in the fund or in other funds sold by the distributor. In the event that an exchange or purchase request is rejected, the shareholder may nonetheless redeem its shares. 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.

Under the fund’s policies and procedures, the fund reserves the right to restrict or reject purchases of shares (including exchanges) without prior notice whenever a pattern of excessive trading by a shareholder is detected in funds sold by the distributor. A committee established by the manager administers the policy. The policy provides that the committee may take action, which may include using its best efforts to restrict a shareholder’s trading privileges in funds sold by the distributor, if that shareholder has engaged in one or more “Round Trips” across all funds sold by the distributor. However, the committee has the discretion to determine that action is not necessary if it is determined that the pattern of trading is not abusive or harmful. In making such a determination, the committee will consider, among other things, the nature of the shareholder’s account, the reason for the frequent trading, the amount of trading and the particular funds in which the trading has occurred. Additionally, the committee has the discretion to make inquiries or to take any action against a shareholder whose trading appears inconsistent with the frequent trading policy, regardless of the number of Round Trips. Examples of the types of actions the committee may take include heightened surveillance of a shareholder account, providing a written warning letter to an account holder, restricting the shareholder from purchasing additional shares in the fund altogether or imposing other restrictions (such as requiring purchase orders to be submitted by mail) that would deter the shareholder from trading frequently in the fund. The committee will generally follow a system of progressive deterrence, although it is not required to do so.

A “Round Trip” is defined as a purchase (including subscriptions and exchanges) into a fund sold by the distributor followed by a sale (including redemptions and exchanges) of the same or a similar number of shares out of that fund within 30 days of such purchase. Purchases and sales of the fund’s shares pursuant to an automatic investment plan or similar program for periodic transactions are not considered in determining Round Trips. These policies and procedures do not apply to money market funds sold by the distributor.

The policies apply to any account, whether a direct 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 distributor has entered into agreements with intermediaries requiring the intermediaries to, among other things, help identify frequent trading activity and prohibit further purchases or exchanges by a shareholder identified as having engaged in frequent trading.

The fund has also adopted policies and procedures to prevent the selective release of information about the fund’s holdings, as such information may be used for market-timing and similar abusive practices.

The 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. 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.

Although the fund will attempt to monitor shareholder transactions for certain patterns of frequent trading activity, there can be no assurance that all such trading activity can be identified, prevented or terminated. Monitoring of shareholder transactions may only occur for shareholder transactions that exceed a certain transaction amount threshold, which may change from time to time. The fund reserves the right to refuse any client or reject any purchase order for shares (including exchanges) for any reason.

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 be entitled to vote your shares and may seek voting instructions from you. If you do not give your Service Agent voting instructions, your Service Agent, under certain circumstances, may nonetheless be entitled to vote your shares.

 

26    ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund


Dividends, other distributions and taxes

 

Dividends and other distributions

The fund generally pays dividends and distributes capital gain, if any, once in December and at such other times as are necessary. The fund may pay additional distributions and dividends in order to avoid a federal tax.

You can elect to receive dividends and/or other distributions in cash.

Unless you elect to receive dividends and/or other distributions in cash, your dividends and capital gain distributions will be automatically reinvested in shares of the same class you hold, at the net asset value determined on the reinvestment date. You do not pay a sales charge on reinvested distributions or dividends.

If you hold shares directly with the fund and you elect to receive dividends and/or distributions in cash, you have the option to receive such dividends and/or distributions via a direct deposit to your bank account or, provided that the dividend and/or distribution is $10.00 or more, by check. If you choose to receive dividends and/or distributions via check, amounts less than $10.00 will automatically be reinvested in fund shares as described above.

If you do not want dividends and/or distributions in amounts less than $10.00 to be reinvested in fund shares, you must elect to receive dividends and distributions via a direct deposit to your bank account.

If you hold Class A or Class C shares directly with the fund, you may instruct the fund to have your dividends and/or distributions invested in the corresponding class of shares of another fund sold by the distributor, subject to the following conditions:

 

 

You have a minimum account balance of $10,000 in the fund and

 

 

The other fund is available for sale in your state.

To change those instructions, you must notify your Service Agent or the fund at least three days before the next distribution is to be paid.

Please contact your Service Agent or the fund to discuss what options are available to you for receiving your dividends and other distributions.

The Board reserves the right to revise the dividend policy or postpone the payment of dividends, if warranted in the Board’s judgment, due to unusual circumstances.

Taxes

The following discussion is very general, applies only to shareholders who are U.S. persons, and does not address shareholders subject to special rules, such as those who hold fund shares through an IRA, 401(k) plan or other tax-advantaged account. Except as specifically noted, the discussion is limited to federal income tax matters, and does not address state, local, foreign or non-income taxes. Further information regarding taxes, including certain federal income tax considerations relevant to non-U.S. persons, is included in the SAI. Because each shareholder’s circumstances are different and special tax rules may apply, you should consult your tax adviser about federal, state, local and/or foreign tax considerations that may be relevant to your particular situation.

In general, redeeming shares, exchanging shares and receiving dividends and distributions (whether received in cash or reinvested in additional shares or shares of another fund) are all taxable events. An exchange between classes of shares of the same fund normally is not taxable for federal income tax purposes, whether or not the shares are held in a taxable account.

The following table summarizes the tax status of certain transactions related to the fund.

 

Transaction   Federal income tax status
Redemption or exchange of shares   Usually capital gain or loss; long-term only if shares are owned more than one year
Dividends of investment income and distributions of net short-term capital gain   Ordinary income, or in certain cases qualified dividend income
Distributions of net capital gain (excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss)   Long-term capital gain

Distributions of investment income that the fund reports as “qualified dividend income” may be eligible to be taxed to noncorporate shareholders at the reduced rates applicable to long-term capital gain if certain requirements are satisfied. Distributions of net capital gain reported by the fund as capital gain dividends are taxable to you as long-term capital gain regardless of how long you have owned your shares. Noncorporate shareholders ordinarily pay tax at reduced rates on long-term capital gain.

You may want to avoid buying shares when the fund is about to declare a dividend or capital gain distribution because it will be taxable to you even though it may economically represent a return of a portion of your investment.

 

ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund   27


Dividends, other distributions and taxes cont’d

 

A Medicare contribution tax is imposed at the rate of 3.8% on net investment income of U.S. individuals with income exceeding specified thresholds, and on undistributed net investment income of certain estates and trusts. Net investment income generally includes for this purpose dividends and capital gain distributions paid by the fund and gain on the redemption or exchange of fund shares.

A dividend declared by the fund in October, November or December and paid during January of the following year will, in certain circumstances, be treated as paid in December for tax purposes.

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. 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.

 

28    ClearBridge Aggressive Growth 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, adjusted for 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. The fund generally values its securities and other assets and calculates its net asset value as of the close of regular trading on the NYSE, normally at 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time). If the NYSE closes at another time, the fund will calculate its net asset value as of the actual closing time. The NYSE is closed on certain holidays listed in the SAI.

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

Valuation of the fund’s securities and other assets is performed in accordance with procedures approved by the Board. These procedures delegate most valuation functions to the manager, which generally uses independent third party pricing services approved by the fund’s Board. Under the procedures, assets are valued as follows:

 

 

Equity securities and certain derivative instruments that are traded on an exchange are valued at the closing price or, if that price is unavailable or deemed by the manager not representative of market value, the last sale price. Where a security is traded on more than one exchange (as is often the case overseas), the security is generally valued at the price on the exchange considered by the manager to be the primary exchange. In the case of securities not traded on an exchange, or if exchange prices are not otherwise available, the prices are typically determined by independent third party pricing services that use a variety of techniques and methodologies.

 

 

The valuations for fixed income securities and certain derivative instruments are typically the prices supplied by independent third party pricing services, which may use market prices or broker/dealer quotations or a variety of fair valuation techniques and methodologies. Short-term fixed income securities 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.

 

 

The valuations of securities traded on foreign markets and certain fixed income securities will generally be based on prices determined as of the earlier closing time of the markets on which they primarily trade, unless a significant event has occurred. When the fund holds securities or other assets that are denominated in a foreign currency, the fund will normally use the currency exchange rates as of 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time). The fund uses a fair value model developed by an independent third party pricing service to value foreign equity securities on days when a certain percentage change in the value of a domestic equity security index suggests that the closing prices on foreign exchanges may no longer represent the value of those securities at the time of closing of the NYSE. Foreign markets are open for trading 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.

 

 

For investments in exchange-traded funds, the market price is usually the closing sale or official closing price on that exchange.

 

 

If independent third party pricing services are unable to supply prices for a portfolio investment, or if the prices supplied are deemed by the manager to be unreliable, the market price may be determined by the manager using quotations from one or more broker/dealers. 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. These procedures permit, among other things, the use of a matrix, formula or other method that takes into consideration market indices, yield curves and other specific adjustments to determine fair value. Fair value of a security is the amount, as determined by the manager in good faith, that the fund might reasonably expect to receive upon a current sale of the security. 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.

Many factors may influence the price at which the fund could sell any particular portfolio investment. The sales price may well differ—higher or lower—from the fund’s last valuation, and such differences could be significant, particularly for securities that trade in relatively thin markets and/or markets that experience extreme volatility. Moreover, valuing securities using fair value methodologies involves greater reliance on judgment than valuing securities based on market quotations. A fund that uses fair value methodologies 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 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. Investors who purchase or redeem fund shares on days when the fund is holding fair-valued securities may receive a greater or lesser number of shares, or higher or lower redemption proceeds, than they would have received if the fund had not fair-valued the security or had used a different methodology.

 

ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund   29


Financial highlights

 

The financial highlights tables are intended to help you understand the performance of each class for the past five years, unless otherwise noted. No financial highlights are presented for Class R1 shares because no Class R1 shares were outstanding for the periods shown. The returns for Class R1 shares will differ from those of the other classes to the extent that their expenses differ. 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 KPMG LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, whose report, along with the fund’s financial statements, is included in the Annual Report (available upon request).

 

For a share of each class of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended August 31:

 
Class A Shares 1      2014        2013        2012        2011      2010  
Net asset value, beginning of year        $158.56           $127.38           $110.11           $87.14         $81.65   
Income (loss) from operations:                       

Net investment loss

       (0.47)           (0.03)           (0.16)           (0.27)         (0.36)   

Net realized and unrealized gain

       52.55           34.99           20.03           23.24         5.77   

Proceeds from settlement of a regulatory matter

                                             0.08   

Total income from operations

       52.08           34.96           19.87           22.97         5.49   
Less distributions from:                       

Net realized gains

       (1.42)           (3.78)           (2.60)                     

Total distributions

       (1.42)           (3.78)           (2.60)                     
Net asset value, end of year        $209.22           $158.56           $127.38           $110.11         $87.14   

Total return 2

       33.03        28.19        18.42        26.35      6.72 % 3  
Net assets, end of year (millions)        $5,502           $3,729           $3,009           $2,739         $2,422   
Ratios to average net assets:                       

Gross expenses

       1.15        1.23        1.27        1.28 % 4        1.29 % 4  

Net expenses 5

       1.15           1.23           1.27           1.28 4        1.29 4  

Net investment loss

       (0.25)           (0.02)           (0.14)           (0.24)         (0.41)   
Portfolio turnover rate        5        2        8        2      0 % 6  

 

1  

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

 

2  

Performance figures, exclusive of sales charges, may reflect compensating balance arrangements, fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. In the absence of compensating balance arrangements, fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

 

3  

The total return reflects a payment received due to the settlement of a regulatory matter. Absent this payment, the total return would have been 6.63%. Class A received $2,285,684 related to this distribution.

 

4  

The impact to the expense ratio was less than 0.01% as a result of interest expense.

 

5  

The impact of compensating balance arrangements, if any, was less than 0.01%.

 

6  

Amount represents less than 1%.

 

30    ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund


For a share of each class of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended August 31:  
Class B Shares 1      2014        2013        2012        2011      2010  
Net asset value, beginning of year        $131.63           $107.40           $94.12           $75.18         $70.72   

Income (loss) from operations:

                      

Net investment loss

       (1.89)           (1.22)           (1.10)           (1.11)         (1.06)   

Net realized and unrealized gain

       43.37           29.23           16.98           20.05         5.02   

Proceeds from settlement of a regulatory matter

                                             0.50   

Total income from operations

       41.48           28.01           15.88           18.94         4.46   
Less distributions from:                       

Net realized gains

       (1.42)           (3.78)           (2.60)                     

Total distributions

       (1.42)           (3.78)           (2.60)                     
Net asset value, end of year        $171.69           $131.63           $107.40           $94.12         $75.18   

Total return 2

       31.73        26.93        17.28        25.19      6.31 % 3  
Net assets, end of year (millions)        $281           $350           $396           $504         $558   

Ratios to average net assets:

                      

Gross expenses

       2.14        2.22        2.24        2.20 % 4        2.24 % 4  

Net expenses 5

       2.14           2.22           2.24           2.20 4        2.24 4  

Net investment loss

       (1.24)           (1.03)           (1.11)           (1.16)         (1.37)   
Portfolio turnover rate        5        2        8        2      0 % 6  

 

1  

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

 

2  

Performance figures, exclusive of CDSC, may reflect compensating balance arrangements, fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. In the absence of compensating balance arrangements, fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

 

3  

The total return reflects a payment received due to the settlement of a regulatory matter. Absent this payment, the total return would have been 5.60%. Class B received $4,145,432 related to this distribution.

 

4  

The impact to the expense ratio was less than 0.01% as a result of interest expense.

 

5  

The impact of compensating balance arrangements, if any, was less than 0.01%.

 

6  

Amount represents less than 1%.

 

ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund   31


Financial highlights cont’d

 

For a share of each class of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended August 31:  
Class C Shares 1      2014        2013        2012        2011      2010  
Net asset value, beginning of year        $135.30           $109.93           $95.95           $76.39         $71.90   
Income (loss) from operations:                       

Net investment loss

       (1.50)           (0.81)           (0.77)           (0.82)         (0.83)   

Net realized and unrealized gain

       44.68           29.96           17.35           20.38         5.10   

Proceeds from settlement of a regulatory matter

                                             0.22   

Total income from operations

       43.18           29.15           16.58           19.56         4.49   
Less distributions from:                       

Net realized gains

       (1.42)           (3.78)           (2.60)                     

Total distributions

       (1.42)           (3.78)           (2.60)                     
Net asset value, end of year        $177.06           $135.30           $109.93           $95.95         $76.39   

Total return 2

       32.13        27.36        17.68        25.61      6.24 % 3  
Net assets, end of year (millions)        $1,385           $861           $703           $701         $658   
Ratios to average net assets:                       

Gross expenses

       1.84        1.88        1.89        1.88 % 4        1.93 % 4  

Net expenses 5

       1.84           1.88           1.89           1.88 4        1.93 4  

Net investment loss

       (0.94)           (0.67)           (0.76)           (0.84)         (1.05)   
Portfolio turnover rate        5        2        8        2      0 % 6  

 

1  

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

 

2  

Performance figures, exclusive of CDSC, may reflect compensating balance arrangements, fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements. In the absence of compensating balance arrangements, fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements, the total return would have been lower. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

 

3  

The total return reflects a payment received due to the settlement of a regulatory matter. Absent this payment, the total return would have been 5.94%. Class C received $2,045,172 related to this distribution.

 

4  

The impact to the expense ratio was less than 0.01% as a result of interest expense.

 

5  

The impact of compensating balance arrangements, if any, was less than 0.01%.

 

6  

Amount represents less than 1%.

 

32    ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund


For a share of each class of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended August 31:  
Class FI Shares 1      2014        2013        2012        2011      2010  
Net asset value, beginning of year        $158.93           $127.75           $110.45           $87.43         $81.99   
Income (loss) from operations:                       

Net investment loss

       (0.49)           (0.08)           (0.19)           (0.31)         (0.42)   

Net realized and unrealized gain

       52.73           35.04           20.09           23.33         5.86   

Total income from operations

       52.24           34.96           19.90           23.02         5.44   
Less distributions from:                       

Net realized gains

       (1.42)           (3.78)           (2.60)                     

Total distributions

       (1.42)           (3.78)           (2.60)                     
Net asset value, end of year        $209.75           $158.93           $127.75           $110.45         $87.43   

Total return 2

       33.06        28.10        18.38        26.33      6.63
Net assets, end of year (000s)        $41,023           $3,000           $1,469           $853         $581   
Ratios to average net assets:                       

Gross expenses

       1.19        1.34        1.43        1.39 % 3        1.43 % 3  

Net expenses 4,5,6

       1.13           1.30           1.30           1.30 3        1.29 3  

Net investment loss

       (0.25)           (0.06)           (0.16)           (0.28)         (0.46)   
Portfolio turnover rate        5        2        8        2      0 % 7  

 

1  

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

 

2  

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

 

3  

The impact to the expense ratio was less than 0.01% as a result of interest expense.

 

4  

The impact of compensating balance arrangements, if any, was less than 0.01%.

 

5  

As a result of an expense limitation arrangement, effective September 18, 2009, the ratio of expenses, other than interest, brokerage, taxes, extraordinary expenses and acquired fund fees and expenses, to average net assets of Class FI shares did not exceed 1.30%. This expense limitation arrangement cannot be terminated prior to December 31, 2015 without the Board of Trustees’ consent.

 

6  

Reflects fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements.

 

7  

Amount represents less than 1%.

 

ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund   33


Financial highlights cont’d

 

For a share of each class of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended August 31:  
Class R Shares 1      2014        2013        2012        2011      2010  
Net asset value, beginning of year        $156.82           $126.29           $109.40           $86.75         $81.48   
Income (loss) from operations:                       

Net investment loss

       (0.96)           (0.25)           (0.39)           (0.48)         (0.52)   

Net realized and unrealized gain

       51.96           34.56           19.88           23.13         5.79   

Total income from operations

       51.00           34.31           19.49           22.65         5.27   
Less distributions from:                       

Net realized gains

       (1.42)           (3.78)           (2.60)                     

Total distributions

       (1.42)           (3.78)           (2.60)                     
Net asset value, end of year        $206.40           $156.82           $126.29           $109.40         $86.75   

Total return 2

       32.71        27.91        18.18        26.11      6.47
Net assets, end of year (millions)        $68           $28           $14           $12         $10   
Ratios to average net assets:                       

Gross expenses

       1.42        1.44        1.48        1.48 % 3        1.47 % 3  

Net expenses 4,5

       1.41 6          1.44           1.47 6          1.47 3,6        1.46 3,6  

Net investment loss

       (0.51)           (0.18)           (0.34)           (0.43)         (0.58)   
Portfolio turnover rate        5        2        8        2      0 % 7  

 

1  

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

 

2  

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

 

3  

The impact to the expense ratio was less than 0.01% as a result of interest expense.

 

4  

The impact of compensating balance arrangements, if any, was less than 0.01%.

 

5  

As a result of an expense limitation arrangement, effective September 18, 2009, the ratio of expenses, other than interest, brokerage, taxes, extraordinary expenses and acquired fund fees and expenses, to average net assets of Class R shares did not exceed 1.55%. This expense limitation arrangement cannot be terminated prior to December 31, 2015 without the Board of Trustees’ consent.

 

6  

Reflects fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements.

 

7  

Amount represents less than 1%.

 

34    ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund


For a share of each class of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended August 31:  
Class I Shares 1      2014        2013        2012        2011      2010  
Net asset value, beginning of year        $170.79           $136.44           $117.26           $92.40         $86.28   
Income from operations:                       

Net investment income

       0.13           0.56           0.36           0.24         0.01   

Net realized and unrealized gain

       56.72           37.57           21.42           24.62         6.11   

Total income from operations

       56.85           38.13           21.78           24.86         6.12   
Less distributions from:                       

Net realized gains

       (1.42)           (3.78)           (2.60)                     

Total distributions

       (1.42)           (3.78)           (2.60)                     
Net asset value, end of year        $226.22           $170.79           $136.44           $117.26         $92.40   

Total return 2

       33.46        28.65        18.92        26.90      7.09
Net assets, end of year (millions)        $4,159           $2,079           $1,279           $635         $487   
Ratios to average net assets:                       

Gross expenses

       0.83        0.87        0.85        0.84 % 3        0.87 % 3  

Net expenses 4,5

       0.83           0.87           0.85 6          0.84 3        0.87 3  

Net investment income

       0.07           0.36           0.29           0.20         0.01   
Portfolio turnover rate        5        2        8        2      0 % 7  

 

1  

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

 

2  

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

 

3  

The impact to the expense ratio was less than 0.01% as a result of interest expense.

 

4  

The impact of compensating balance arrangements, if any, was less than 0.01%.

 

5  

As a result of an expense limitation arrangement, effective September 18, 2009, the ratio of expenses, other than interest, brokerage taxes, extraordinary expenses and acquired fund fees and expenses, to average net assets of Class I shares did not exceed 1.00%. This expense limitation arrangement cannot be terminated prior to December 31, 2015 without the Board of Trustees’ consent.

 

6  

Reflects fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements.

 

7  

Amount represents less than 1%.

 

ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund   35


Financial highlights cont’d

 

For a share of each class of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended August 31:  
Class IS Shares 1      2014        2013        2012        2011      2010  
Net asset value, beginning of year        $171.87           $137.09           $117.69           $92.64         $86.40   
Income from operations:                       

Net investment income

       0.36           0.72           0.47           0.36         0.13   

Net realized and unrealized gain

       57.10           37.84           21.53           24.69         6.11   

Total income from operations

       57.46           38.56           22.00           25.05         6.24   
Less distributions from:                       

Net realized gains

       (1.42)           (3.78)           (2.60)                     

Total distributions

       (1.42)           (3.78)           (2.60)                     
Net asset value, end of year        $227.91           $171.87           $137.09           $117.69         $92.64   

Total return 2

       33.61        28.83        19.04        27.04      7.22
Net assets, end of year (millions)        $1,004           $643           $523           $308         $228   
Ratios to average net assets:                       

Gross expenses

       0.72        0.73        0.74        0.74 % 3        0.75 % 3  

Net expenses 4,5

       0.72           0.73           0.74           0.74 3        0.75 3  

Net investment income

       0.18           0.47           0.37           0.30         0.14   
Portfolio turnover rate        5        2        8        2      0 % 6  

 

1  

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

 

2  

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

 

3  

The impact to the expense ratio was less than 0.01% as a result of interest expense.

 

4  

The impact of compensating balance arrangements, if any, was less than 0.01%.

 

5  

As a result of an expense limitation arrangement, effective September 18, 2009, the total annual operating expenses for Class IS shares did not exceed total annual operating expenses for Class I shares. This expense limitation arrangement cannot be terminated prior to December 31, 2015 without the Board of Trustees’ consent.

 

6  

Amount represents less than 1%.

 

36    ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund


Legg Mason Funds Privacy and Security Notice

 

Your Privacy and the Security of Your Personal Information is Very Important to the Legg Mason Funds

This Privacy and Security Notice (the “Privacy Notice”) addresses the Legg Mason Funds’ privacy and data protection practices with respect to nonpublic personal information the Funds receive. The Legg Mason Funds include any funds sold by the Funds’ distributor, Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC, as well as Legg Mason-sponsored closed-end funds and certain closed-end funds managed or sub-advised by Legg Mason or its affiliates. The provisions of this Privacy Notice apply to your information both while you are a shareholder and after you are no longer invested with the Funds.

The Type of Nonpublic Personal Information the Funds Collect About You

The Funds collect and maintain nonpublic personal information about you in connection with your shareholder account. Such information may include, but is not limited to:

 

 

Personal information included on applications or other forms;

 

 

Account balances, transactions, and mutual fund holdings and positions;

 

 

Online account access user IDs, passwords, security challenge question responses; and

 

 

Information received from consumer reporting agencies regarding credit history and creditworthiness (such as the amount of an individual’s total debt, payment history, etc.).

How the Funds Use Nonpublic Personal Information About You

The Funds do not sell or share your nonpublic personal information with third parties or with affiliates for their marketing purposes, or with other financial institutions or affiliates for joint marketing purposes, unless you have authorized the Funds to do so. The Funds do not disclose any nonpublic personal information about you except as may be required to perform transactions or services you have authorized or as permitted or required by law. The Funds may disclose information about you to:

 

 

Employees, agents, and affiliates on a “need to know” basis to enable the Funds to conduct ordinary business or comply with obligations to government regulators;

 

 

Service providers, including the Funds’ affiliates, who assist the Funds as part of the ordinary course of business (such as printing, mailing services, or processing or servicing your account with us) or otherwise perform services on the Funds’ behalf, including companies that may perform marketing services solely for the Funds;

 

 

The Funds’ representatives such as legal counsel, accountants and auditors; and

 

 

Fiduciaries or representatives acting on your behalf, such as an IRA custodian or trustee of a grantor trust.

Except as otherwise permitted by applicable law, companies acting on the Funds’ behalf are contractually obligated to keep nonpublic personal information the Funds provide to them confidential and to use the information the Funds share only to provide the services the Funds ask them to perform.

The Funds may disclose nonpublic personal information about you when necessary to enforce their rights or protect against fraud, or as permitted or required by applicable law, such as in connection with a law enforcement or regulatory request, subpoena, or similar legal process. In the event of a corporate action or in the event a Fund service provider changes, the Funds may be required to disclose your nonpublic personal information to third parties. While it is the Funds’ practice to obtain protections for disclosed information in these types of transactions, the Funds cannot guarantee their privacy policy will remain unchanged.

Keeping You Informed of the Funds’ Privacy and Security Practices

The Funds will notify you annually of their privacy policy as required by federal law. While the Funds reserve the right to modify this policy at any time they will notify you promptly if this privacy policy changes.

The Funds’ Security Practices

The Funds maintain appropriate physical, electronic and procedural safeguards designed to guard your nonpublic personal information. The Funds’ internal data security policies restrict access to your nonpublic personal information to authorized employees, who may use your nonpublic personal information for Fund business purposes only.

Although the Funds strive to protect your nonpublic personal information, they cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you provide or transmit to them, and you do so at your own risk. In the event of a breach of the confidentiality or security of your nonpublic personal information, the Funds will attempt to notify you as necessary so you can take appropriate protective steps. If you have consented to the Funds using electronic communications or electronic delivery of statements, they may notify you under such circumstances using the most current email address you have on record with them.

In order for the Funds to provide effective service to you, keeping your account information accurate is very important. If you believe that your account information is incomplete, not accurate or not current, or if you have questions about the Funds’ privacy practices, write the Funds using the contact information on your account statements, email the Funds by clicking on the Contact Us section of the Funds’ website at www.leggmason.com, or contact the Funds at 1-877-721-1926.

 

THIS PAGE IS NOT PART OF THE PROSPECTUS


ClearBridge

Aggressive Growth Fund

 

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

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 during its last fiscal year. The independent registered public accounting firm’s report and financial statements in the fund’s Annual Report are incorporated by reference into (are legally a part of) this Prospectus.

The fund sends only one report to a household if more than one account has the same last name and same address. Contact your Service Agent or the fund 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 the fund at 1-877-721-1926, or by writing to the fund at 100 First Stamford Place, Attn: Shareholder Services – 5 th Floor, Stamford, Connecticut 06902.

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 1-202-551-8090. 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 Room, Washington, D.C. 20549-1520.

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 distributor is offering to sell shares of the fund to any person to whom the fund may not lawfully sell its shares.

 

 

(Investment Company Act

file no. 811-06444)

FD01060ST 12/14


December 29, 2014

LEGG MASON PARTNERS EQUITY TRUST

CLEARBRIDGE AGGRESSIVE GROWTH FUND

Class A (SHRAX), Class B (SAGBX), Class C (SAGCX), Class FI (LMPFX),

Class R (LMPRX), Class R1, Class I (SAGYX) and Class IS (LSIFX)

620 Eighth Avenue

New York, New York 10018

1-877-721-1926

STATEMENT OF ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

This Statement of Additional Information (the “SAI”) is not a prospectus and is meant to be read in conjunction with the current Prospectus of ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund (the “fund”), dated December 29, 2014, as amended or supplemented from time to time, and is incorporated by reference in its entirety into the Prospectus.

The fund is a series of Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust (the “Trust”), a Maryland statutory trust. Prior to October 5, 2009, the fund was named “Legg Mason Partners Aggressive Growth Fund.” Prior to January 1, 2013, the fund was named “Legg Mason ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund.”

Additional information about the fund’s investments is available in the fund’s annual and semi-annual reports to shareholders. The annual report contains financial statements that are incorporated herein by reference. The fund’s Prospectus and copies of the annual and semi-annual reports may be obtained free of charge by contacting banks, brokers, dealers, insurance companies, investment advisers, financial consultants or advisers, mutual fund supermarkets and other financial intermediaries that have entered into an agreement with the fund’s distributor to sell shares of the fund (each called a “Service Agent”), by writing the Trust at 100 First Stamford Place, Attn: Shareholder Services—5th Floor, Stamford, Connecticut 06902, by calling 1-877-721-1926, by sending an e-mail request to prospectus@leggmason.com or by visiting the fund’s website at http://www.leggmason.com/individualinvestors. Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC (“LMIS” or the “distributor”), a wholly-owned broker/dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, Inc. (“Legg Mason”), serves as the fund’s sole and exclusive distributor.

 

1


TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

Investment Objective and Management Policies

     3   

Investment Practices and Risk Factors

     3   

Investment Policies

     24   

Management

     29   

Investment Management and Other Services

     43   

Purchase of Shares

     55   

Redemption of Shares

     62   

Exchange Privilege

     64   

Valuation of Shares

     65   

Portfolio Transactions

     65   

Disclosure of Portfolio Holdings

     67   

The Trust

     70   

Taxes

     73   

Financial Statements

     82   

Appendix A — ClearBridge Investments 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.

No person has been authorized to give any information or to make any representations not contained in the Prospectus or this SAI in connection with the offerings made by the Prospectus and, if given or made, such information or representations must not be relied upon as having been authorized by the fund or its distributor. The Prospectus and this SAI do not constitute offerings by the fund or by the distributor in any jurisdiction in which such offerings may not lawfully be made.

 

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INVESTMENT OBJECTIVE AND MANAGEMENT POLICIES

The fund is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”) as an open-end, diversified management investment company.

The fund’s Prospectus discusses the fund’s investment objective and policies. The following discussion supplements the description of the fund’s investment policies in its Prospectus.

Investment Objective and Principal Investment Strategies

The fund seeks capital appreciation.

The fund invests primarily in common stocks of companies the portfolio managers believe are experiencing, or will experience, growth in earnings exceeding 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 offering prospects of long-term earnings growth. However, because higher earnings growth rates are often achieved by small to medium capitalization companies, a significant portion of the fund’s assets may be invested in the securities of such companies. The fund may invest up to 25% of its net assets (at the time of investment) in foreign securities.

There is no guarantee that the fund will achieve its investment objective.

INVESTMENT PRACTICES AND RISK FACTORS

The fund’s principal investment strategies are described above. The following provides additional information about these principal strategies and describes other investment strategies and practices that may be used by the fund, which all involve risks of varying degrees.

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.

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 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.

Convertible Securities. The fund may invest in convertible securities. A convertible security is a bond, debenture, note, preferred stock or other security that may be converted into or exchanged for a prescribed amount of common stock of the same or a different issuer within a particular period of time at a specified price or formula. A convertible security entitles the holder to receive interest paid or accrued on debt or the dividend paid on preferred stock until the convertible security matures or is redeemed, converted or exchanged. Before conversion or exchange, convertible securities ordinarily provide a stream of income with generally higher yields than those of common stocks of the same or similar issuers, but lower than the yield of nonconvertible debt. Convertible securities are usually subordinated to comparable-tier nonconvertible securities but rank senior to common stock in a corporation’s capital structure.

The value of a convertible security is a function of (1) its yield in comparison with the yields of other securities of comparable maturity and quality that do not have a conversion privilege and (2) its worth, at market

 

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value, if converted or exchanged into the underlying common stock. A convertible security may be subject to redemption at the option of the issuer at a price established in the convertible security’s governing instrument, which may be less than the ultimate conversion or exchange value.

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.

Smaller Market Capitalization Companies. The fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in securities of small to medium capitalization companies when the subadviser believes those companies offer more attractive investment opportunities. Investments in securities of companies with small and medium market capitalizations are generally considered to offer greater opportunity for appreciation but involve special risks. The securities of those companies may be subject to more abrupt fluctuations in market price than larger, more established companies. Small and medium capitalization companies may have limited product lines, markets or financial resources, or they may be dependent upon a limited management group. In addition to exhibiting greater volatility, small and medium capitalization company stocks may, to a degree, fluctuate independently of larger company stocks, i.e., small and medium capitalization company stocks may decline in price as the prices of large company stocks rise or vice versa.

It is anticipated that some of the portfolio securities of the fund may not be widely traded and that the fund’s position in such securities may be substantial in relation to the market for such securities. Accordingly, it may be difficult for the fund to dispose of such securities at prevailing market prices in order to meet redemptions. In addition, transaction costs in smaller capitalization stocks may be higher than in those of larger capitalization companies.

Warrants. The fund may invest in warrants. 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.

Preferred Stock. The fund may purchase preferred stock. Preferred stock pays dividends at a specified rate and generally has preference over common stock in the payment of dividends and the liquidation of the issuer’s assets, but is junior to the debt securities of the issuer in those same respects. Unlike interest payments on debt securities, dividends on preferred stock are generally payable at the discretion of the issuer’s board of directors. Holders of preferred stock may suffer a loss of value if dividends are not paid. The market prices of preferred stocks are subject to changes in interest rates and are more sensitive to changes in the issuer’s creditworthiness than are the prices of debt securities. Generally, under normal circumstances, preferred stock does not carry voting rights.

Foreign Securities. The fund may invest up to 25% 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.

Economic, Political and Social Factors. Certain non-U.S. countries, including emerging markets, may be subject to a greater degree of economic, political and social instability. Such instability may result from, among other things: (i) authoritarian governments or military involvement in political and economic decision making; (ii) popular unrest associated with demands for improved economic, political and social conditions; (iii) internal insurgencies; (iv) hostile relations with neighboring countries; and (v) ethnic, religious and racial disaffection and conflict. Such economic, political and social instability could significantly disrupt the financial markets in such countries and the ability of the issuers in such countries to repay their obligations. In addition, it may be difficult for the fund to pursue claims against a foreign issuer in the courts of a foreign country. Investing in emerging countries also involves the risk of expropriation, nationalization, confiscation of assets and property or

 

4


the imposition of restrictions on foreign investments and on repatriation of capital invested. In the event of such expropriation, nationalization or other confiscation in any emerging country, the fund could lose its entire investment in that country. Certain emerging market countries restrict or control foreign investment in their securities markets to varying degrees. These restrictions may limit the fund’s investment in those markets and may increase the expenses of the fund. In addition, the repatriation of both investment income and capital from certain markets in the region is subject to restrictions such as the need for certain governmental consents. Even where there is no outright restriction on repatriation of capital, the mechanics of repatriation may affect certain aspects of the fund’s operation. Economies in individual non-U.S. countries may differ favorably or unfavorably from the U.S. economy in such respects as growth of gross domestic product, rates of inflation, currency valuation, capital reinvestment, resource self-sufficiency and balance of payments positions. Many non-U.S. countries have experienced substantial, and in some cases extremely high, rates of inflation for many years. Inflation and rapid fluctuations in inflation rates have had, and may continue to have, very negative effects on the economies and securities markets of certain emerging countries. Economies in emerging countries generally are dependent heavily upon international trade and, accordingly, have been and may continue to be affected adversely by trade barriers, exchange controls, managed adjustments in relative currency values and other protectionist measures imposed or negotiated by the countries with which they trade. These economies also have been, and may continue to be, affected adversely and significantly by economic conditions in the countries with which they trade. Whether or not the fund invests in securities of issuers located in or with significant exposure to countries experiencing economic, financial and other difficulties, the value and liquidity of the fund’s investments may be negatively affected by the conditions in the countries experiencing the difficulties.

The returns of the fund may be adversely affected by fluctuations in value of one or more currencies relative to the U.S. dollar. Investing in the securities of foreign companies involves special risks and considerations not typically associated with investing in U.S. companies. These include risks resulting from revaluation of currencies; future adverse political and economic developments; possible imposition of currency exchange blockages or other foreign governmental laws or restrictions; reduced availability of public information concerning issuers; differences in accounting, auditing and financial reporting standards; generally higher commission rates on foreign portfolio transactions; possible expropriation, nationalization or confiscatory taxation; possible withholding taxes and limitations on the use or removal of funds or other assets, including the withholding of dividends; 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 and be less liquid. Foreign securities may not be registered with, nor the issuers thereof be subject to the reporting requirements of, the U.S. 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 U.S. 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. These risks are intensified when investing in countries with developing economies and securities markets, also known as “emerging markets.”

The costs associated with investment in the securities of foreign issuers, including withholding taxes, brokerage commissions and custodial fees, may be higher than those associated with investment in domestic issuers. In addition, foreign investment transactions may be subject to difficulties associated with the settlement of such transactions. Transactions in securities of foreign issuers may be subject to less efficient settlement practices, including extended clearance and settlement periods. Delays in settlement could result in temporary periods when assets of the fund are uninvested and no return can be earned on them. The inability of the fund to make intended investments due to settlement problems could cause the fund to miss attractive investment opportunities. The inability to dispose of a portfolio security due to settlement problems could result 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 liability to the purchaser.

 

5


Since the fund may invest in securities denominated in currencies other than the U.S. dollar, it may be affected favorably or unfavorably by exchange control regulations or changes in the exchange rates between such currencies and the U.S. dollar. Changes in currency exchange rates may influence the value of the fund’s shares and may also affect the value of dividends and interest earned by the fund and gains and losses realized by the fund. Exchange rates are determined by the forces of supply and demand in the foreign exchange markets. These forces are affected by the international balance of payments, other economic and financial conditions, government intervention, speculation and other factors.

Generally, American Depositary Receipts (“ADRs”), in registered form, are denominated in U.S. dollars and are designed for use in the domestic market. Usually issued by a U.S. bank or trust company, ADRs are receipts that demonstrate ownership of underlying foreign securities. For purposes of the fund’s investment policies and limitations, ADRs are considered to have the same characteristics as the securities underlying them. ADRs may be sponsored or unsponsored; issuers of securities underlying unsponsored ADRs are not contractually obligated to disclose material information in the United States. Accordingly, there may be less information available about such issuers than there is with respect to domestic companies and issuers of securities underlying sponsored ADRs. The fund may also invest in Global Depositary Receipts (“GDRs”), European Depositary Receipts (“EDRs”) and other similar instruments, which are receipts that are often denominated in U.S. dollars and are issued by either a U.S. or non-U.S. bank evidencing ownership of underlying foreign securities. Even where they are denominated in U.S. dollars, depositary receipts are subject to currency risk if the underlying security is denominated in a foreign currency. EDRs are issued in bearer form and are designed for use in European securities markets. GDRs are tradable both in the United States and Europe and are designed for use throughout the world.

Securities of Emerging Markets Issuers. Investors are strongly advised to consider carefully the special risks involved in emerging markets, which are in addition to the usual risks of investing in developed foreign markets around the world.

The risks of investing in securities in emerging countries include: (i) less social, political and economic stability; (ii) the smaller size of the markets for such securities and lower volume of trading, which result in a lack of liquidity and in greater price volatility; (iii) certain national policies that may restrict the fund’s investment opportunities, including restrictions on investment in issuers or industries deemed sensitive to national interests; (iv) foreign taxation; and (v) the absence of developed structures governing private or foreign investment or allowing for judicial redress for injury to private property.

Investors should note that upon the accession to power of authoritarian regimes, the governments of a number of emerging market countries previously expropriated large quantities of real and personal property similar to the property which may be represented by the securities purchased by the fund. The claims of property owners against those governments were never finally settled. There can be no assurance that any property represented by securities purchased by the fund will not also be expropriated, nationalized, or otherwise confiscated at some time in the future. If such confiscation were to occur, the fund could lose a substantial portion or all of its investments in such countries. The fund’s investments would similarly be adversely affected by exchange control regulation in any of those countries.

Certain countries in which the fund may invest may have vocal minorities that advocate radical religious or revolutionary philosophies or support ethnic independence. Any disturbance on the part of such individuals could carry the potential for widespread destruction or confiscation of property owned by individuals and entities foreign to such country and could cause the loss of the fund’s investment in those countries.

Settlement mechanisms in emerging market securities may be less efficient and reliable than in more developed markets. In such emerging securities markets there may be delays and failures in share registration and delivery.

 

6


Investing in emerging markets involves risks relating to potential political and economic instability within such markets and the risks of expropriation, nationalization, confiscation of assets and property, the imposition of restrictions on foreign investments and the repatriation of capital invested.

Inflation and rapid fluctuations in inflation rates have had, and may continue to have, very negative effects on the economies and securities markets of certain emerging markets. Economies in emerging markets generally are heavily dependent upon international trade and, accordingly, have been and may continue to be affected adversely by economic conditions, trade barriers, exchange controls, managed adjustments in relative currency values and other protectionist measures imposed or negotiated by the countries with which they trade.

While some emerging market countries have sought to develop a number of corrective mechanisms to reduce inflation or mitigate its effects, inflation may continue to have significant effects both on emerging market economies and their securities markets. In addition, many of the currencies of emerging market countries have experienced steady devaluations relative to the U.S. dollar and major devaluations have occurred in certain countries.

Because of the high levels of foreign-denominated debt owed by many emerging market countries, fluctuating exchange rates can significantly affect the debt service obligations of those countries. This could, in turn, affect local interest rates, profit margins and exports, which are a major source of foreign exchange earnings.

To the extent an emerging market country faces a liquidity crisis with respect to its foreign exchange reserves, it may increase restrictions on the outflow of any foreign exchange. Repatriation is ultimately dependent on the ability of the fund to liquidate its investments and convert the local currency proceeds obtained from such liquidation into U.S. dollars. Where this conversion must be done through official channels (usually the central bank or certain authorized commercial banks), the ability to obtain U.S. dollars is dependent on the availability of such U.S. dollars through those channels and, if available, upon the willingness of those channels to allocate those U.S. dollars to the fund. The fund’s ability to obtain U.S. dollars may be adversely affected by any increased restrictions imposed on the outflow of foreign exchange. If the fund is unable to repatriate any amounts due to exchange controls, it may be required to accept an obligation payable at some future date by the central bank or other governmental entity of the jurisdiction involved. If such conversion can legally be done outside official channels, either directly or indirectly, the fund’s ability to obtain U.S. dollars may not be affected as much by any increased restrictions except to the extent of the price which may be required to be paid for in U.S. dollars.

Many emerging market countries have little experience with the corporate form of business organization and may not have well-developed corporation and business laws or concepts of fiduciary duty in the business context.

The securities markets of emerging markets are substantially smaller, less developed, less liquid and more volatile than the securities markets of the United States and other more developed countries. Disclosure and regulatory standards in many respects are less stringent than in the United States and other major markets. There also may be a lower level of monitoring and regulation of emerging markets and the activities of investors in such markets; enforcement of existing regulations has been extremely limited. Investing in the securities of companies in emerging markets may entail special risks relating to the potential political and economic instability and the risks of expropriation, nationalization, confiscation or the imposition of restrictions on foreign investment, convertibility of currencies into U.S. dollars and on repatriation of capital invested. In the event of such expropriation, nationalization or other confiscation by any country, the fund could lose its entire investment in any such country.

Some emerging markets have different settlement and clearance procedures. 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. The inability of the fund to make intended securities purchases due to

 

7


settlement problems could cause the fund to miss attractive investment opportunities. Inability to dispose of a portfolio security caused by settlement problems could result either in losses to the fund due to subsequent declines in the value of the portfolio security or, if the fund has entered into a contract to sell the security, in possible liability to the purchaser.

The risk also exists that an emergency situation may arise in one or more emerging markets as a result of which trading of securities may cease or may be substantially curtailed and prices for the fund’s portfolio securities in such markets may not be readily available. Section 22(e) of the 1940 Act permits a registered investment company to suspend redemption of its shares for any period during which an emergency exists, as determined by the SEC. Accordingly, if the fund believes that appropriate circumstances warrant, it will promptly apply to the SEC for a determination that an emergency exists within the meaning of Section 22(a) of the 1940 Act. During the period commencing from the fund’s identification of such conditions until the date of SEC action, the portfolio securities in the affected markets will be valued at fair value as determined in good faith by or under the direction of the Board of Trustees (the “Board”).

Although it might be theoretically possible to hedge for anticipated income and gains, the ongoing and indeterminate nature of the risks associated with emerging market investing (and the costs associated with hedging transactions) makes it very difficult to hedge effectively against such risks.

Europe—Recent Events. A number of countries in Europe have experienced severe economic and financial difficulties. Many non-governmental issuers, and even certain governments, have defaulted on, or been forced to restructure, their debts; many other issuers have faced difficulties obtaining credit or refinancing existing obligations; financial institutions have in many cases required government or central bank support, have needed to raise capital, and/or have been impaired in their ability to extend credit; and financial markets in Europe and elsewhere have experienced extreme volatility and declines in asset values and liquidity. These difficulties may continue, worsen or spread within and without Europe. Responses to the financial problems by European governments, central banks and others, including austerity measures and reforms, may not work, may result in social unrest and may limit future growth and economic recovery or have other unintended consequences. Further defaults or restructurings by governments and others of their debt could have additional adverse effects on economies, financial markets and asset valuations around the world. In addition, one or more countries may abandon the euro, the common currency of the European Union, and/or withdraw from the European Union. The impact of these actions, especially if they occur in a disorderly fashion, is not clear but could be significant and far-reaching. Whether or not the fund invests in securities of issuers located in Europe or with significant exposure to European issuers or countries, these events could negatively affect the value and liquidity of the fund’s investments.

Derivatives.

General. The fund may utilize options, futures contracts (sometimes referred to as “futures”), options on futures contracts and other derivative instruments (collectively, “Financial Instruments”). The fund may use Financial Instruments as a hedging technique in an attempt to manage risk in the fund’s portfolio, as a substitute for buying or selling securities (including to attempt to mitigate risk of loss in some fashion, or “hedge”) and as a cash flow management technique. Except as otherwise provided in the Prospectus, this SAI or by applicable law, the fund may purchase and sell any type of Financial Instrument. The fund may choose not to make use of derivatives for a variety of reasons, and no assurance can be given that any derivatives strategy employed will be successful.

The U.S. government is in the process of adopting and implementing regulations governing derivatives markets, including mandatory clearing of certain derivatives, margin and reporting requirements. The ultimate impact of the regulations remains unclear. Additional regulation of derivatives may make them more costly, may limit their availability, may disrupt markets or may otherwise adversely affect their value or performance.

 

8


The use of Financial Instruments may be limited by applicable law and any applicable regulations of the SEC, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”), or the exchanges on which some Financial Instruments may be traded. (Note, however, that some Financial Instruments that the fund may use may not be listed on any exchange and may not be regulated by the SEC or the CFTC.) In addition, the fund’s ability to use Financial Instruments may be limited by tax considerations.

In addition to the instruments and strategies discussed in this section, the subadviser may discover additional opportunities in connection with Financial Instruments and other similar or related techniques. These opportunities may become available as the subadviser develops new techniques, as regulatory authorities broaden the range of permitted transactions and as new Financial Instruments or other techniques are developed. The subadviser may utilize these opportunities and techniques to the extent that they are consistent with the fund’s investment objective and permitted by its investment limitations and applicable regulatory authorities. These opportunities and techniques may involve risks different from or in addition to those summarized herein.

This discussion is not intended to limit the fund’s investment flexibility, unless such a limitation is expressly stated, and therefore will be construed by the fund as broadly as possible. Statements concerning what the fund may do are not intended to limit any other activity. Also, as with any investment or investment technique, even when the Prospectus or this discussion indicates that the fund may engage in an activity, it may not actually do so for a variety of reasons, including cost considerations.

Each Financial Instrument purchased for the fund is reviewed and analyzed by the subadviser 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.

Hedging strategies can be broadly categorized as “short hedges” and “long hedges.” A short hedge is a purchase or sale of a Financial Instrument intended partially or fully to offset potential declines in the value of one or more investments held in the fund’s portfolio. In a short hedge, the fund takes a position in a Financial Instrument whose price is expected to move in the opposite direction of the price of the investment being hedged.

Conversely, a long hedge is a purchase or sale of a Financial Instrument intended partially or fully to offset potential increases in the acquisition cost of one or more investments that the fund intends to acquire. In a long hedge, the fund takes a position in a Financial Instrument whose price is expected to move in the same direction as the price of the prospective investment being hedged. A long hedge is sometimes referred to as an anticipatory hedge. In an anticipatory hedge transaction, the fund does not own a corresponding security and, therefore, the transaction does not relate to a security the fund owns. Rather, it relates to a security that the fund intends to acquire. If the fund does not complete the hedge by purchasing the security as anticipated, the effect on the fund’s portfolio is the same as if the transaction were entered into for speculative purposes.

Financial Instruments on securities may be used to attempt to hedge against price movements in one or more particular securities positions that the fund owns or intends to acquire. Financial Instruments on indexes, in contrast, may be used to attempt to hedge against price movements in market sectors in which the fund has invested or expects to invest. Financial Instruments on debt securities may be used to hedge either individual securities or broad debt market sectors.

Summary of Certain Risks. The use of Financial Instruments involves special considerations and risks, certain of which are summarized below, and may result in losses to the fund. In general, the use of Financial Instruments may increase the volatility of the fund and may involve a small investment of cash relative to the magnitude of the risk or exposure assumed. Even a small investment in derivatives may magnify or otherwise increase investment losses to the fund. As noted above, there can be no assurance that any derivatives strategy will succeed.

 

   

Financial Instruments are subject to the risk that the market value of the derivative itself or the market value of underlying instruments will change in a way adverse to the fund’s interest. Many Financial

 

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Instruments are complex, and successful use of them depends in part upon the subadviser’s ability to forecast correctly future market trends and other financial or economic factors or the value of the underlying security, index, interest rate, currency or other instrument or measure. Even if the subadviser’s forecasts are correct, other factors may cause distortions or dislocations in the markets that result in unsuccessful transactions. Financial Instruments may behave in unexpected ways, especially in abnormal or volatile market conditions.

 

   

The fund may be required to maintain assets as “cover,” maintain segregated accounts, post collateral or make margin payments when it takes positions in Financial Instruments. Assets that are segregated or used as cover, margin or collateral may be required to be in the form of cash or liquid securities, and typically may not be sold while the position in the Financial Instrument is open unless they are replaced with other appropriate assets. If markets move against the fund’s position, the fund may be required to maintain or post additional assets and may have to dispose of existing investments to obtain assets acceptable as collateral or margin. This may prevent it from pursuing its investment objective. Assets that are segregated or used as cover, margin or collateral typically are invested, and these investments are subject to risk and may result in losses to the fund. These losses may be substantial, and may be in addition to losses incurred by using the Financial Instrument in question. If the fund is unable to close out its positions, it may be required to continue to maintain such assets or accounts or make such payments until the positions expire or mature, and the fund will continue to be subject to investment risk on the assets. In addition, the fund may not be able to recover the full amount of its margin from an intermediary if that intermediary were to experience financial difficulty. Segregation, cover, margin and collateral requirements may impair the fund’s ability to sell a portfolio security or make an investment at a time when it would otherwise be favorable to do so, or require the fund to sell a portfolio security or close out a derivatives position at a disadvantageous time or price.

 

   

The fund’s ability to close out or unwind a position in a Financial Instrument prior to expiration or maturity depends on the existence of a liquid market or, in the absence of such a market, the ability and willingness of the other party to the transaction (the “counterparty”) to enter into a transaction closing out the position. If there is no market or the fund is not successful in its negotiations, the fund may not be able to sell or unwind the derivative position at a particular time or at an anticipated price. This may also be the case if the counterparty to the Financial Instrument becomes insolvent. The fund may be required to make delivery of portfolio securities or other assets underlying a Financial Instrument in order to close out a position or to sell portfolio securities or assets at a disadvantageous time or price in order to obtain cash to close out the position. While the position remains open, the fund continues to be subject to investment risk on the Financial Instrument. The fund may or may not be able to take other actions or enter into other transactions, including hedging transactions, to limit or reduce its exposure to the Financial Instrument.

 

   

Certain Financial Instruments transactions may have a leveraging effect on the fund, and adverse changes in the value of the underlying security, index, interest rate, currency or other instrument or measure can result in losses substantially greater than the amount invested in the Financial Instrument itself. When the fund engages in transactions that have a leveraging effect, the value of the fund is likely to be more volatile and all other risks also are likely to be compounded. This is because leverage generally magnifies the effect of any increase or decrease in the value of an asset and creates investment risk with respect to a larger pool of assets than the fund would otherwise have. Certain Financial Instruments have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of the initial investment.

 

   

Many Financial Instruments may be difficult to value, which may result in increased payment requirements to counterparties or a loss of value to the fund.

 

   

Liquidity risk exists when a particular Financial Instrument is difficult to purchase or sell. If a derivative transaction is particularly large or if the relevant market is illiquid, the fund may be unable to initiate a transaction or liquidate a position at an advantageous time or price. Certain Financial

 

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Instruments, including certain over-the-counter (“OTC”) options and swaps, may be considered illiquid and therefore subject to the fund’s limitation on illiquid investments.

 

   

In a hedging transaction there may be imperfect correlation, or even no correlation, between the identity, price or price movements of a Financial Instrument and the identity, price or price movements of the investments being hedged. This lack of correlation may cause the hedge to be unsuccessful and may result in the fund incurring substantial losses and/or not achieving anticipated gains. Even if the strategy works as intended, the fund might have been in a better position had it not attempted to hedge at all.

 

   

Financial Instruments used for non-hedging purposes may result in losses which would not be offset by increases in the value of portfolio holdings or declines in the cost of securities or other assets to be acquired. In the event that the fund uses a Financial Instrument as an alternative to purchasing or selling other investments or in order to obtain desired exposure to an index or market, the fund will be exposed to the same risks as are incurred in purchasing or selling the other investments directly, as well as the risks of the transaction itself.

 

   

Certain Financial Instruments involve the risk of loss resulting from the insolvency or bankruptcy of the counterparty or the failure by the counterparty to make required payments or otherwise comply with the terms of the contract. In the event of default by a counterparty, the fund may have contractual remedies pursuant to the agreements related to the transaction, which may be limited by applicable law in the case of the counterparty’s bankruptcy.

 

   

Financial Instruments involve operational risk. There may be incomplete or erroneous documentation or inadequate collateral or margin, or transactions may fail to settle. For Financial Instruments not guaranteed by an exchange or clearinghouse, the fund may have only contractual remedies in the event of a counterparty default, and there may be delays, costs or disagreements as to the meaning of contractual terms and litigation in enforcing those remedies.

 

   

Certain Financial Instruments transactions, including certain options, are entered into directly by the counterparties or through financial institutions acting as market makers (“OTC derivatives”), rather than being traded on exchanges or in markets registered with the CFTC or the SEC. Many of the protections afforded to exchange participants will not be available to participants in OTC derivatives transactions. For example, OTC derivatives transactions are not subject to the guarantee of an exchange, and only OTC derivatives that either are required to be cleared or submitted voluntarily for clearing to a clearinghouse will enjoy the protections that central clearing provides against default by the original counterparty to the trade. In an OTC derivatives transaction that is not cleared, the fund bears the risk of default by its counterparty. In a cleared derivatives transaction, the fund is instead exposed to the risk of default of the clearinghouse and the risk of default of the broker through which it has entered into the transaction. Information available on counterparty creditworthiness may be incomplete or outdated, thus reducing the ability to anticipate counterparty defaults.

 

   

Financial Instruments transactions conducted outside the United States may not be conducted in the same manner as those entered into on U.S. exchanges, and may be subject to different margin, exercise, settlement or expiration procedures. Many of the risks of OTC derivatives transactions are also applicable to Financial Instruments used outside the United States. Financial Instruments used outside the United States also are subject to the risks affecting foreign securities, currencies and other instruments.

 

   

Use of Financial Instruments involves transaction costs, which may be significant. Use of Financial Instruments also may increase the amount of taxable income to shareholders.

The fund’s ability to close out a position in a Financial Instrument prior to expiration or maturity depends on the existence of a liquid secondary market or, in the absence of such a market, the ability and willingness of the counterparty to enter into a transaction closing out the position. Therefore, there is no assurance that any position can be closed out at a time and price that is favorable to the fund.

 

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Selling Call and Put Options. The principal reason for selling options is to obtain, through receipt of premiums, a greater current return than would be realized on the underlying securities alone. The fund’s current return can be expected to fluctuate because premiums earned from writing options and dividend or interest income yields on portfolio securities vary as economic and market conditions change. Writing options on portfolio securities also results in a higher portfolio turnover. The purchaser of a call option pays a premium to the writer ( i.e., the seller) for the right to buy the underlying security from the writer at a specified price during a certain period. The fund may sell call options only on a covered basis. A call option is covered if the fund owns or has the right to acquire the underlying securities subject to the call option at all times during the option period. The purchaser of a put option pays a premium to the seller ( i.e., the writer) for the right to sell the underlying security to the writer at a specified price during a certain period. The fund sells put options only on a covered basis, which means that, at all times during the option period, the fund would maintain in a segregated account with its custodian cash, cash equivalents or liquid securities in an amount of not less than the exercise price of the option or would hold a put on the same underlying security at an equal or greater exercise price. The fund generally would sell put options when the subadviser wishes to purchase the underlying security for the fund at a price lower than the current market price of the security.

In order to terminate its position as writer of a call or put option, the fund may enter into a “closing purchase transaction,” which is the purchase of a call (put) on the same underlying security having the same exercise price and expiration date as the call (put) previously sold by the fund. The fund would realize a gain (loss) if the premium plus commission paid in the closing purchase transaction is less (greater) than the premium it received on the sale of the option. The fund would also realize a gain if an option it has sold lapses unexercised. The fund may sell options that are listed on an exchange as well as options that are traded over-the-counter. The fund may close out its position as writer of an option only if a liquid secondary market exists for options of that series, but there is no assurance that such a market will exist, particularly in the case of over-the-counter options, since they can be closed out only with the other party to the transaction. Alternatively, the fund may purchase an offsetting option, which does not close out its position as a writer but provides an asset of equal value to its obligation under the option sold. If the fund is not able to enter into a closing purchase transaction or to purchase an offsetting option with respect to an option it has sold, it will be required to maintain the securities subject to the call or the collateral securing the put until a closing purchase transaction can be entered into (or the option is exercised or expires) even though it might not be advantageous to do so.

By selling a call option, the fund loses the potential for gain on the underlying security above the exercise price while the option is outstanding; by writing a put option, the fund might become obligated to purchase the underlying security at an exercise price that exceeds the then current market price.

Each of the U.S. 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 the fund may be able to write.

Purchasing Put Options. The fund may purchase put options to protect ( i.e., hedge) against anticipated declines in the market value of either specific portfolio securities or of the fund’s assets generally. As the holder of a put option, the fund has the right to sell the underlying security 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. 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 at the put exercise price regardless of any decline in the underlying security’s market price. The premium paid for the put option and any transaction costs may reduce any capital gain.

 

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The fund may also purchase put options at a time when the fund does not own the underlying security. By purchasing put options on a security it does not own, the fund seeks to benefit from a decline in the market price of the underlying security. If the put option is not sold when it has remaining value, and if the market price of the underlying security 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 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 underlying security 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. The fund may purchase either listed or OTC options.

Purchasing Call Options. The fund may purchase call options to protect (i.e., hedge) against anticipated increases in the prices of the securities it wishes to acquire. As the holder of a call option, the fund has the right to purchase the underlying security 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 for its portfolio. Utilized in this fashion, the purchase of call options enables the fund to acquire the security at the exercise price of the call option plus the premium paid. At times the net cost of acquiring the security in this manner may be less than the cost of acquiring the security 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 itself, the fund is partially protected from any unexpected decline in the market price of the underlying security 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 it owns in order to protect unrealized gains on call options previously written by it. Call options may also be purchased at times to avoid realizing losses that would result in a reduction of the fund’s current return. The fund may purchase either listed or OTC options.

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 NYSE Composite Index or the Canadian Market Portfolio Index, or a narrower market or industry index such as the S&P 100 Index, the NYSE Arca Oil Index or the NYSE Arca Computer Technology Index.

Options on stock indexes are generally similar to options on stock except for the delivery requirements. 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 being hedged correlate with

 

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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.

The fund will engage in stock index options transactions only when determined by the 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.

A position in an exchange-listed option may be closed out only on an exchange that provides a secondary market for identical options. 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 OTC markets 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.

Stock Index and Interest Rate Futures Contracts. The fund may enter into stock index or interest rate futures contracts.

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 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 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.

The purpose of entering into a futures contract 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.

 

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Although techniques other than sales and purchases of futures contracts could be used to reduce the fund’s exposure to market value and interest 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, 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 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 on the relevant delivery date. The fund intends 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 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. 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.

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 it has committed to purchase or expects to purchase. The fund may also enter into futures transactions as a substitute for buying or selling securities or as a cash flow management technique.

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 2% 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 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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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.

Commodity Exchange Act Regulation. 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 (the “CEA”), and, therefore, are not subject to registration or regulation with respect to the fund under the CEA. As a result, the fund is limited in its ability to trade instruments subject to the CFTC’s jurisdiction, including commodity futures (which include futures on broad-based securities indexes, interest rate futures and currency futures), options on commodity futures, certain swaps or other investments (whether directly or indirectly through investments in other investment vehicles).

Under this exclusion, the fund must satisfy one of the following two trading limitations whenever it enters into a new commodity trading position: (1) the aggregate initial margin and premiums required to establish the fund’s positions in CFTC-regulated instruments may not exceed 5% of the liquidation value of the fund’s portfolio (after accounting for unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such investments); or (2) the aggregate net notional value of such instruments, determined at the time the most recent position was established, may not exceed 100% of the liquidation value of the fund’s portfolio (after accounting for unrealized profits and unrealized losses on any such positions). The fund would not be required to consider its exposure to such instruments if they were held for “bona fide hedging” purposes, as such term is defined in the rules of the CFTC. In addition to meeting one of the foregoing trading limitations, the fund may not market itself as a commodity pool or otherwise as a vehicle for trading in the markets for CFTC-regulated instruments.

Single Stock Futures. The fund may trade standardized futures contracts on individual equity securities, such as common stocks, exchange traded funds (“ETFs”) and ADRs, as well as narrow-based securities indexes, generally called security futures contracts or “SFCs,” on U.S. and foreign exchanges. 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%) 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, 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 SFCs may not correlate as anticipated with the prices of the underlying security. Unlike options on securities in which the 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 an 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 fund may purchase and sell options on futures contracts that are traded on an exchange. Options on futures contracts are similar to options on securities 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

 

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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.

The fund may purchase put options on futures contracts in lieu of, and for the same purposes as, the sale of a futures contract. The purchase of call options on futures is intended to serve the same purpose as the actual purpose of the futures contract. As an alternative to purchasing call and put options on futures, the fund may purchase call and put options on the underlying securities 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 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.

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 stock market prices or 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 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 equity securities or debt securities, 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 market values, 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.

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 from the fund 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.

 

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Use of Segregated and Other Special Accounts. Use of many hedging and other strategic transactions including market index transactions by the fund will require, among other things, that the fund segregate cash, liquid securities or other 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 or financial instrument. 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 or instruments 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 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 securities sufficient to purchase and deliver the securities if the call is exercised. A call option written by the fund on an index will require the 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 the fund will require the fund to segregate liquid securities equal to the exercise price.

OTC options entered into by the fund, including those on securities, financial instruments or indexes, and Options Clearing Corporation (“OCC”)-issued and exchange-listed index options will generally provide for cash settlement, although the fund may 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 options 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, 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 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.

Hedging and other strategic transactions 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 options and hedging and other strategic transactions. 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 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.

Investment in Other Investment Companies. The fund may invest in the securities of other investment companies, which can include open-end funds, closed-end funds and unregistered investment companies, subject to the limits set forth in the 1940 Act that apply to these types of investments. Investments in other investment companies are subject to the risks of the securities in which those investment companies invest. In addition, 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 the fund’s own operation. These costs include management, brokerage, shareholder servicing and other operational expenses.

The fund may invest in shares of ETFs, which are mutual funds or unit investment trusts that are traded on a stock exchange. Typically an ETF seeks to track the performance of an index, such as the S&P 500 Index, the

 

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NASDAQ-100 Index, the Barclays Treasury Bond Index or more narrow sector or foreign indexes, 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.

Unlike shares of typical mutual funds or unit investment trusts, shares of ETFs are designed to be traded throughout the trading day, bought and sold based on market prices rather than net asset value (“NAV”). Shares can trade at either a premium or discount to NAV. However, the portfolios held by index-based ETFs are publicly disclosed on each trading day and an approximation of actual NAV is disseminated throughout the trading day. Because of this transparency, the trading prices of index-based ETFs tend to closely track the actual NAV of the underlying portfolios and the fund will generally gain or lose value depending on the performance of the index. However, gains or losses on the fund’s investment in ETFs will ultimately depend on the purchase and sale price of the ETF. In the future, as new products become available, the fund may invest in ETFs 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 larger discount or premium to actual NAVs.

The fund may invest in closed-end funds, which hold securities of U.S. and/or non-U.S. issuers. Because shares of closed-end funds trade on an exchange, investments in closed-end funds may entail the additional risk that the discount from NAV could increase while the fund holds the shares.

Repurchase Agreements. Under the terms of a typical repurchase agreement, the fund would acquire one or more underlying debt obligations, frequently obligations issued by the U.S. government or its agencies or instrumentalities, for a relatively short period (typically overnight, although the term of an agreement may be many months), subject to an obligation of the seller to repurchase, and the fund to resell, the obligation at an agreed-upon time and price. The repurchase price is typically greater than the purchase price paid by the fund, thereby determining the fund’s yield. A repurchase agreement is similar to, and may be treated as, a secured loan, where the fund loans cash to the counterparty and the loan is secured by the purchased securities as collateral. All repurchase agreements entered into by the fund are required to be collateralized so that at all times during the term of a repurchase agreement, the value of the underlying securities is at least equal to the amount of the repurchase price. Also, the fund or its custodian is required to have control of the collateral, which the subadviser or Western Asset, as applicable, believes will give the fund a valid, perfected security interest in the collateral.

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. If the fund enters into a repurchase agreement involving securities the fund could not purchase directly, and the counterparty defaults, the fund may become the holder of securities that it could not purchase. These repurchase agreements may be subject to greater risks. In addition, these repurchase agreements may be more likely to have a term to maturity of longer than seven days.

Repurchase agreements maturing in more than seven days are considered to be illiquid.

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 accounts for the purpose of entering into repurchase agreements secured by cash and U.S. government securities, subject to certain conditions.

Short Sales. A short sale is a transaction in which the fund sells a security it does not own in anticipation of a decline in the market price of that security. To effect a short sale, the fund arranges through a broker to borrow the security it does not own to be delivered to a buyer of such security. In borrowing the security to be delivered to the buyer, the fund will become obligated to replace the security borrowed at its market price at the time of replacement, whatever that price may be. A short sale results in a gain when the price of the securities sold short declines between the date of the short sale and the date on which a security is purchased to replace the borrowed

 

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security. Conversely, a short sale will result in a loss if the price of the security sold short increases. Short selling is a technique that may be considered speculative and involves risk beyond the amount of money used to secure each transaction.

When the fund makes a short sale, the broker effecting the short sale typically holds the proceeds as part of the collateral securing the fund’s obligation to cover the short position. The fund may use securities it owns to meet such collateral obligations. Generally, the fund may not keep, and must return to the lender, any dividends or interest that accrue on the borrowed security during the period of the loan. Depending on the arrangements with a broker or the custodian, the fund may or may not receive any payments (including interest) on collateral it designates as security for the broker. The fund may hold no more than 25% of the fund’s net assets (taken at the then-current market value) as required collateral for such sales at any one time.

In addition, until the fund closes its short position or replaces the borrowed security, the fund, pursuant to the 1940 Act, will designate liquid assets it owns (other than short sale proceeds) as segregated assets in an amount equal to its obligation to purchase the securities sold short. The amount segregated in this manner will be increased or decreased each business day (called marking-to-market) in an amount equal to the changes in the market value of the fund’s obligation to purchase the security sold short. This may limit the fund’s investment flexibility as well as its ability to meet redemption requests or other current obligations.

The fund will realize a gain if the price of a security declines between the date of the short sale and the date the fund purchases a security to replace the borrowed security. On the other hand, the fund will incur a loss if the price of the security increases between those dates. The amount of any gain will be decreased and the amount of any loss increased by any premium or interest that the fund may be required to pay in connection with a short sale. It should be noted that possible losses from short sales differ from those that could arise from a cash investment in a security in that losses from a short sale may be limitless, while the losses from a cash investment in a security cannot exceed the total amount of the investment in the security.

Short Sales “Against the Box.” 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.

Investments by Other Funds and by Other Significant Investors. Certain investment companies, including those that are affiliated with a fund because they are managed by an affiliate of the manager, may invest in the fund and may at times have substantial investments in one or more funds. Other investors also may at times have substantial investments in one or more funds.

From time to time, a fund may experience relatively large redemptions or investments due to transactions in fund shares by a fund or other significant investor. The effects of these transactions could adversely affect the fund’s performance. In the event of such redemptions or investments, the fund could be required to sell securities or to invest cash at a time when it is not advantageous to do so. Such transactions may increase brokerage and/or other transaction costs of the fund. A large redemption could cause the fund’s expenses to increase and could result in the fund becoming too small to be economically viable. Redemptions of fund shares could also accelerate the realization of taxable capital gains in the fund if sales of securities result in capital gains. The impact of these transactions is likely to be greater when a fund or other significant investor purchases, redeems, or owns a substantial portion of a fund’s shares.

The manager and the subadviser may be subject to potential conflicts of interest in connection with investments in the fund by an affiliated fund due to their affiliation with the investment adviser. For example, the manager and the subadviser could have the incentive to permit an affiliated fund to become a more significant shareholder (with the potential to cause greater disruption) than would be permitted for an unaffiliated investor. Investments by an affiliated fund may also give rise to conflicts in connection with the voting of fund shares. The

 

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manager, the subadviser and/or its advisory affiliates intend to seek to address these potential conflicts of interest in the best interests of the funds’ shareholders, although there can be no assurance that such efforts will be successful. The manager and the subadviser will consider how to minimize potential adverse impacts of affiliated fund investments, and may take such actions as each deems appropriate to address potential adverse impacts, including redemption of shares in-kind, rather than in cash.

Securities Lending. 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 Legg Mason unless it has applied for and received specific authority to do so from the SEC. From time to time, the fund may pay to the borrower and/or a third party which is unaffiliated with the fund or Legg Mason and is acting as a “finder” a part of the interest earned from the investment of collateral received for securities loaned. Although the borrower will generally 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, such payments 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).

Requirements of the SEC, which may be subject to future modification, currently provide that the following conditions must be met whenever the fund lends its portfolio securities: (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 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 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 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. The fund could also lose money if its short-term investment of the cash collateral declines in value over the period of the loan. 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.

Restricted and Illiquid Securities. Up to 15% of the net assets of the fund may be invested in illiquid securities. An illiquid security is any security which may not be sold or disposed of in the ordinary course of business within seven days at approximately the value at which the fund has valued the security. Illiquid securities may include (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 (“TDs”) maturing in more than seven calendar days; (d) securities subject to contractual or other restrictions on resale and other instruments that lack readily available markets; and (e) securities of new and early stage companies whose securities are not publicly traded.

Under SEC regulations, certain securities acquired through private placements can be traded freely among qualified purchasers. The SEC has stated that an investment company’s board of directors, or its investment adviser acting under authority delegated by the board, may determine that a security eligible for trading under these regulations is “liquid.” The fund intends to rely on these regulations, to the extent appropriate, to deem specific securities acquired through private placements as “liquid.” The Board has delegated to the subadviser or Western Asset, as applicable, the responsibility for determining whether a particular security eligible for trading under these regulations is “liquid.” Investing in these restricted securities could have the effect of increasing the fund’s illiquidity if qualified purchasers become, for a time, uninterested in buying these securities.

 

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Restricted securities are securities subject to legal or contractual restrictions on their resale, such as private placements. Such restrictions might prevent the sale of restricted securities at a time when the sale would otherwise be desirable. Restricted securities may be sold only (1) pursuant to Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the “1933 Act”) (such securities are referred to herein as “Rule 144A securities”), or another exemption; (2) in privately negotiated transactions; or (3) in public offerings with respect to which a registration statement is in effect under the 1933 Act. Rule 144A securities, although not registered in the United States, may be sold to qualified institutional buyers in accordance with Rule 144A under the 1933 Act. As noted above, the subadviser or Western Asset, as applicable, acting pursuant to guidelines established by the Board, may determine that some Rule 144A securities are liquid for purposes of limitations on the amount of illiquid investments the fund may own. Where registration is required, the fund may be obligated to pay all or part of the registration expenses and a considerable period may elapse between the time of the decision to sell and the time the fund is able to sell a security under an effective registration statement. If, during such a period, adverse market conditions were to develop, the fund might obtain a less favorable price than expected when it decided to sell.

Illiquid securities may be difficult to value and the fund may have difficulty disposing of such securities promptly. Judgment plays a greater role in valuing illiquid investments than those securities for which a more active market exists. The fund does not consider non-U.S. securities to be restricted if they can be freely sold in the principal markets in which they are traded, even if they are not registered for sale in the United States.

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 (“CDs”), TDs 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.

CDs are short-term negotiable obligations of commercial banks. 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.

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 the 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. Recently enacted legislation will affect virtually every area of banking and financial regulation. The impact of the regulation is not yet known and may not be known for some time. In addition, new regulations to be promulgated pursuant to the legislation could adversely affect the fund’s investments in money market instruments.

Domestic commercial banks organized under federal law are supervised and examined by the Comptroller of the Currency (the “COTC”) 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.

 

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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.

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 COTC 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 subadviser or Western Asset, as applicable, will carefully evaluate such investments on a case-by-case basis

Borrowing. The fund is authorized to borrow money in an amount up to 5% of its total assets for temporary or emergency purposes.

Cybersecurity Risk

With the increased use of technologies such as the Internet to conduct business, the fund is susceptible to operational, information security and related risks. In general, cyber incidents can result from deliberate attacks or unintentional events. Cyber attacks include, but are not limited to, gaining unauthorized access to digital systems (e.g., through “hacking” or malicious software coding) for purposes of misappropriating assets or sensitive information, corrupting data, or causing operational disruption. Cyber attacks may also be carried out in a manner that does not require gaining unauthorized access, such as causing denial-of-service attacks on websites (i.e., efforts to make network services unavailable to intended users). Cyber incidents affecting the fund’s manager, sub-adviser and other service providers (including, but not limited to, fund accountants, custodians, transfer agents and financial intermediaries) have the ability to cause disruptions and impact business operations, potentially resulting in financial losses, interference with the fund’s ability to calculate its NAV, impediments to trading, the inability of fund shareholders to transact business, violations of applicable privacy and other laws, regulatory fines, penalties, reputational damage, reimbursement or other compensation costs, or additional compliance costs. Similar adverse consequences could result from cyber incidents affecting issuers of securities in which the fund invests, counterparties with which the fund engages in transactions, governmental and other regulatory authorities, exchange and other financial market operators, banks, brokers, dealers, insurance companies and other financial institutions (including financial intermediaries and service providers for fund shareholders) and other parties. In addition, substantial costs may be incurred in order to prevent any cyber incidents in the future. While the fund’s service providers have established business continuity plans in the event of, and risk management systems to prevent, such cyber incidents, there are inherent limitations in such plans and

 

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systems including the possibility that certain risks have not been identified. Furthermore, the fund cannot control the cyber security plans and systems put in place by its service providers or any other third parties whose operations may affect the fund or its shareholders. The fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result.

Redemption Risk

The fund may experience periods of heavy redemptions that could cause the fund to liquidate its assets at inopportune times or at a loss or depressed value, particularly during periods of declining or illiquid markets. Redemption risk is greater to the extent that the fund has investors with large shareholdings, short investment horizons, or unpredictable cash flow needs. In addition, redemption risk is heightened during periods of overall market turmoil. The redemption by one or more large shareholders of their holdings in the fund could hurt performance and/or cause the remaining shareholders in the fund to lose money. Further, if one decision maker has control of fund shares owned by separate fund shareholders, including clients or affiliates of the fund’s investment manager, redemptions by these shareholders may further increase the fund’s redemption risk. If the fund is forced to liquidate its assets under unfavorable conditions or at inopportune times, the value of your investment could decline.

INVESTMENT POLICIES

The fund has adopted the fundamental and non-fundamental investment policies below for the protection of shareholders. Fundamental investment policies of the fund 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 voting power of the fund present at a shareholder meeting, if the holders of more than 50% of the voting power of the fund are present in person or represented by proxy, or (b) more than 50% of the voting power of the fund. The Board may change non-fundamental investment policies at any time.

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

Fundamental Investment Policies

The fund’s fundamental investment policies are 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.

 

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(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 the 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. (The fund’s total assets include the amounts being borrowed.) To limit the risks attendant to borrowing, the 1940 Act requires the fund to maintain an “asset coverage” of at least 300% of the amount of its borrowings, provided that in the event that the fund’s asset coverage falls below 300%, the fund is required to reduce the amount of its borrowings so that it meets the 300% asset coverage threshold within three days (not including Sundays and holidays). Asset coverage means the ratio that the value of the fund’s total assets (including amounts borrowed), 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 the 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 the 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 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 the fund from engaging in the underwriting business or from underwriting the securities of other issuers; in fact, the 1940 Act permits the 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 the 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 the fund from making loans; however, SEC staff interpretations currently prohibit funds from lending

 

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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 the 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 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. The 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 the 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. The fund may also 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 the fund can increase the speculative character of the fund’s outstanding shares through leveraging. Leveraging of the 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 the fund from owning real estate; however, the 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 the 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 the 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, the 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 the fund’s purchases of illiquid securities to 15% of net assets. If the 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 may also 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

 

26


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 fundamental policies 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.

Non-Fundamental Investment Policies

The fund’s non-fundamental investment policies are as follows:

1. The fund may not invest in other registered open-end management investment companies and registered unit investment trusts in reliance upon the provisions of subparagraphs (G) or (F) of Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act. The foregoing investment policy does not restrict the fund from (i) acquiring securities of other registered investment companies in connection with a merger, consolidation, reorganization, or acquisition of assets, or (ii) purchasing the securities of registered investment companies, to the extent otherwise permissible under Section 12(d)(1) of the 1940 Act.

2. The fund may not 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.

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.

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.

 

27


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 the 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).

Portfolio turnover will not be a limiting factor should the subadviser or Western Asset, as applicable, deem it advisable to purchase or sell securities.

For the fiscal years ended August 31, 2013 and August 31, 2014, the fund’s portfolio turnover rates were as follows:

 

2013 (%)

   2014 (%)  

2

     5   

 

28


MANAGEMENT

The business and affairs of the fund are conducted by management under the supervision and subject to the direction of its Board. The business address of each Trustee is c/o Kenneth D. Fuller, Legg Mason, 100 International Drive, 11 th Floor, Baltimore, MD 21202. Information pertaining to the Trustees and officers of the fund is set forth below.

 

Name and

Year of Birth

   Position(s)
with Trust
   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 5 Years

INDEPENDENT TRUSTEES # :         

Paul R. Ades

Born 1940

   Trustee    Since 1983    Paul R. Ades, PLLC (law firm) (since 2000)    53    None
Andrew L.
Breech
Born 1952
   Trustee    Since 1991   

President, Dealer Operating Control Service, Inc. (automotive retail management)

(since 1985)

   53    None

Dwight B.
Crane

Born 1937

   Trustee    Since 1981   

Professor Emeritus, Harvard Business School (since 2007); formerly, Professor, Harvard Business School (1969 to

2007); Independent

Consultant (since 1969)

   53    None

Althea L.
Duersten††

Born 1951

   Trustee    Since 2014    Retired (since 2011); formerly, Chief Investment Officer, North America, JP Morgan Chase (investment bank) and member of JP Morgan Executive Committee (1993 to 2011)    53    None
Frank G.
Hubbard
Born 1937
   Trustee    Since 1993    President, Avatar International Inc. (business development) (since 1998)    53    None
Howard J.
Johnson
Born 1938
   Chairman
and
Trustee
   From 1981 to

1998 and
since 2000
(Chairman
since 2013)

   Chief Executive Officer, Genesis Imaging LLC (technology company) (since 2003)    53    None

Jerome H.

Miller

Born 1938

   Trustee    Since 1995    Retired    53    None

 

29


Name and

Year of Birth

   Position(s)
with Trust
   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 5 Years

Ken Miller
Born 1942
   Trustee    Since 1983   

Retired; formerly, President, Young Stuff Apparel Group, Inc. (apparel manufacturer), division of

Li & Fung (1963 to 2012)

   53    None
John J.
Murphy Born 1944
   Trustee    Since 2002    Founder and Senior Principal, Murphy Capital Management (investment management) (since 1983)    53    Trustee, UBS Funds (35 funds) (since 2008); Trustee, Consulting Group Capital Markets Funds (11 funds) (since 2002); Director, Fort Dearborn Income Securities, Inc. (since 2013); formerly, Director, Nicholas Applegate Institutional Funds (12 funds) (2005 to 2010)
Thomas F. Schlafly Born 1948    Trustee    Since 1983    Chairman, The Saint Louis Brewery, LLC (brewery) (since 2012); formerly, President, The Saint Louis Brewery, Inc. (1989 to 2012); Partner, Thompson Coburn LLP (law firm) (since 2009); formerly, Of Counsel, Husch Blackwell Sanders LLP (law firm) and its predecessor firms (1984 to 2009)    53   

Director, Citizens National Bank of Greater St. Louis

(since 2006)

 

30


Name and

Year of Birth

   Position(s)
with Trust
   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 5 Years

INTERESTED TRUSTEE AND OFFICER:      

Kenneth D. Fuller† Born 1958

   Trustee,
President
and Chief
Executive
Officer
   Since 2013   

Managing Director of Legg Mason & Co., LLC (“Legg Mason & Co.”) (since 2013); Officer and/or Trustee/Director of 170 funds associated with Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC (“LMPFA”) or its affiliates (since 2013); President and Chief Executive Officer of LMPFA (since 2013); President and Chief Executive Officer of LM Asset Services, LLC (“LMAS”) and Legg Mason Fund Asset Management, Inc. (“LMFAM”) (formerly registered investment advisers) (since 2013); formerly, Senior Vice President of LMPFA (2012 to 2013); formerly, Director of Legg Mason & Co. (2012 to 2013); formerly, Vice President of Legg Mason & Co. (2009 to 2012); formerly, Vice President—Equity Division of T. Rowe Price Associates (1993 to 2009), as well as Investment Analyst and Portfolio Manager for certain asset allocation accounts (2004 to 2009)

   158   

None

 

# Trustees who are not “interested persons” of the fund within the meaning of Section 2(a)(19) of the 1940 Act.

 

* 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 fund complex.

 

Mr. Fuller is an “interested person” of the fund, as defined in the 1940 Act, because of his position with LMPFA and/or certain of its affiliates.

 

†† Effective April 1, 2014, Ms. Duersten became a Trustee.

 

31


Name, Year of Birth

and Address

  Position(s) with Trust    Term of Office*
and Length of
Time Served**
 

Principal Occupation(s)

During Past 5 Years

ADDITIONAL OFFICERS:

    

Ted P. Becker

Born 1951

Legg Mason

620 Eighth Avenue

49 th Floor

New York, NY 10018

  Chief Compliance
Officer
   Since 2007   Director of Global Compliance at Legg Mason (since 2006); Chief Compliance Officer of LMPFA (since 2006); Managing Director of Compliance of Legg Mason & Co. (since 2005); Chief Compliance Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its affiliates (since 2006)

Susan Kerr

Born 1949

Legg Mason

620 Eighth Avenue

49 th Floor

New York, NY 10018

  Chief Anti-Money
Laundering Compliance
Officer

 

   Since 2013

 

  Assistant Vice President of Legg Mason & Co. and LMIS (since 2010); Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its affiliates (since 2013) and Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer of LMIS (since 2012); Senior Compliance Officer of LMIS (since 2011); formerly, AML Consultant, DTCC (2010); formerly, AML Consultant, Rabobank Netherlands (2009); formerly, First Vice President, Director of Marketing & Advertising Compliance and Manager of Communications Review Group at Citigroup Inc. (1996 to 2008)

 

32


Name, Year of Birth

and Address

  Position(s) with Trust    Term of Office*
and Length of
Time Served**
 

Principal Occupation(s)

During Past 5 Years

Vanessa Williams

Born 1979

Legg Mason

100 First Stamford Place

6 th Floor

Stamford, CT 06902

  Identity Theft

Prevention Officer

   Since 2011   Vice President of Legg Mason & Co. (since 2012); Identity Theft Prevention Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its affiliates (since 2011); formerly, Chief Anti-Money Laundering Compliance Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its affiliates (2011 to 2013); formerly, Senior Compliance Officer of Legg Mason & Co. (2008 to 2011); formerly, Compliance Analyst of Legg Mason & Co. (2006 to 2008) and Legg Mason & Co. predecessors (prior to 2006)

Robert I. Frenkel

Born 1954

Legg Mason

100 First Stamford Place

6 th Floor

Stamford, CT 06902

  Secretary and Chief

Legal Officer

   Since 2007   Vice President and Deputy General Counsel of Legg Mason (since 2006); Managing Director and General Counsel of Global Mutual Funds for Legg Mason & Co. (since 2006) and Legg Mason & Co. predecessors (since 1994); Secretary and Chief Legal Officer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its affiliates (since 2006) and Legg Mason & Co. predecessors (prior to 2006)

 

33


Name, Year of Birth

and Address

  Position(s) with Trust    Term of Office*
and Length of
Time Served**
 

Principal Occupation(s)

During Past 5 Years

Thomas C. Mandia

Born 1962

Legg Mason

100 First Stamford Place

6 th Floor

Stamford, CT 06902

  Assistant Secretary    Since 2007   Managing Director and Deputy General Counsel of Legg Mason & Co. (since 2005) and Legg Mason & Co. predecessors (prior to 2005); Secretary of LMPFA (since 2006); Assistant Secretary of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its affiliates (since 2006) and Legg Mason & Co. predecessors (prior to 2006); Secretary of LMAS (since 2002) and LMFAM (since 2013)

Richard F. Sennett

Born 1970

Legg Mason

100 International Drive

7 th Floor

Baltimore, MD 21202

  Principal Financial
Officer
   Since 2011

 

  Principal Financial Officer and Treasurer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its affiliates (since 2011 and since 2013); Managing Director of Legg Mason & Co. and Senior Manager of the Treasury Policy group for Legg Mason & Co.’s Global Fiduciary Platform (since 2011); formerly, Chief Accountant within the SEC’s Division of Investment Management (2007 to 2011); formerly, Assistant Chief Accountant within the SEC’s Division of Investment Management (2002 to 2007)

 

34


Name, Year of Birth

and Address

  Position(s) with Trust    Term of Office*
and Length of
Time Served**
 

Principal Occupation(s)

During Past 5 Years

Christopher Berarducci

Born 1974

Legg Mason

620 Eighth Avenue

49 th Floor

New York, NY 10018

  Treasurer    Since 2014   Vice President of Legg Mason & Co. (since 2011); Treasurer of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its affiliates (since 2010); formerly, Assistant Controller of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its affiliates (prior to 2010); formerly, Manager of Fund Administration at UBS Global Asset Management (prior to 2007)

Jeanne M. Kelly

Born 1951

Legg Mason

620 Eighth Avenue

49 th Floor

New York, NY 10018

  Senior Vice President    Since 2007   Senior Vice President of certain mutual funds associated with Legg Mason & Co. or its affiliates (since 2007); Senior Vice President of LMPFA (since 2006) and LMFAM (since 2013); Managing Director of Legg Mason & Co. (since 2005) and Legg Mason & Co. predecessors (prior to 2005)

 

* 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 such office for a fund in the Legg Mason fund complex.

Each Trustee, except for Mr. Fuller and Ms. Duersten, previously served as a trustee or director of certain predecessor funds in the fund complex, and each Trustee, except for Mr. Fuller and Ms. Duersten, was thus initially selected by the board of the applicable predecessor funds. In connection with a restructuring of the fund complex completed in 2007, the Board was established to oversee mutual funds in the fund complex that invest primarily in equity securities, including the fund, with a view to ensuring continuity of representation by board members of predecessor funds on the Board and in order to establish a Board with experience in and focused on overseeing equity mutual funds, which experience would be further developed and enhanced over time.

The Independent Trustees were selected to join the Board based upon the following as to each Trustee: character and integrity; service as a board member of predecessor funds (except Ms. Duersten); willingness to serve and willingness and ability to commit the time necessary to perform the duties of a Trustee; the fact that

 

35


service as a Trustee would be consistent with the requirements of the Trust’s retirement policies and the Trustee’s status as not being an “interested person” of the fund, as defined in the 1940 Act. Mr. Fuller was selected to join the Board based upon the following: character and integrity; willingness to serve and willingness and ability to commit the time necessary to perform the duties of a Trustee; the fact that service as a Trustee would be consistent with requirements of the Trust’s retirement policies; and his status as a representative of Legg Mason.

Independent Trustees constitute more than 75% of the Board. Mr. Johnson serves as Chairman of the Board and is an Independent Trustee. Mr. Fuller is an interested person of the fund.

The Board believes that each Trustee’s experience, qualifications, attributes or skills on an individual basis and in combination with those of the other Trustees lead to the conclusion that the Board possesses the requisite attributes and skills. The Board believes that the Trustees’ ability to review critically, evaluate, question and discuss information provided to them, to interact effectively with the manager, the subadviser and Western Asset, other service providers, counsel and the independent registered public accounting firm, and to exercise effective business judgment in the performance of their duties support this conclusion. In addition, the following specific experience, qualifications, attributes and/or skills apply to each Trustee.

Each Trustee, except for Mr. Fuller and Ms. Duersten, has served as a board member of the fund and other funds (or predecessor funds) in the fund complex for at least eight years. Mr. Ades has substantial experience practicing law and advising clients with respect to various business transactions. Mr. Breech has substantial experience as the chief executive of a private corporation. Mr. Crane has substantial experience as an economist, academic and business consultant. Ms. Duersten has substantial experience as a global investment and trading manager in capital markets across multiple asset classes, including as the chief investment officer for the North American region of a major investment bank and service on its executive committee. Mr. Hubbard has substantial experience in business development and was a senior executive of an operating company. Mr. Johnson has substantial experience as the chief executive of an operating company and in the financial services industry, including as an actuary and pension consultant. Mr. Jerome Miller had substantial experience as an executive in the asset management group of a major broker/dealer. Mr. Ken Miller has substantial experience as a senior executive of an operating company. Mr. Murphy has substantial experience in the asset management business and has current and prior service on the boards of other mutual funds and corporations. Mr. Schlafly has substantial experience practicing law and also serves as the president of a private corporation and as director of a bank. Mr. Fuller has been the Chief Executive Officer of the Trust and other funds in the fund complex since 2013 and has investment management and risk oversight experience as an executive and portfolio manager and in leadership roles with Legg Mason and affiliated entities and another investment advisory firm. References to the experience, qualifications, attributes and skills of Trustees are pursuant to requirements of the SEC, do not constitute holding out of the Board or any Trustee as having any special expertise, and shall not impose any greater responsibility or liability on any such person or on the Board.

The Board has five standing Committees: the Audit Committee, the Contract Committee, the Performance Committee, the Governance Committee, and the Compensation and Nominating Committee (which is a sub-committee of the Governance Committee). Each Committee is chaired by an Independent Trustee. The Audit Committee and the Governance Committee are composed of all of the Independent Trustees. The Contract Committee is composed of three Independent Trustees. The Performance Committee is composed of four Independent Trustees and the Chairman of the Board. The Compensation and Nominating Committee is composed of two Independent Trustees. Where deemed appropriate, the Board may constitute ad hoc committees.

The Chairman of the Board and the chairs of the Audit and Performance Committees work with the Chief Executive Officer of the Trust to set the agendas for Board and committee meetings. The Chairman of the Board also serves as a key point person for interaction between management and the other Independent Trustees. Through the committees the Independent Trustees consider and address important matters involving the fund,

 

36


including those presenting conflicts or potential conflicts of interest for management. The Independent Trustees also regularly meet outside the presence of management and are advised by independent legal counsel. The Board has determined that its committees help ensure that the fund has effective and independent governance and oversight. The Board also has determined that its leadership structure, in which the Chairman of the Board is not affiliated with Legg Mason, is appropriate. The Board also believes that its leadership structure facilitates the orderly and efficient flow of information between the Independent Trustees and management, including the fund’s subadviser and Western Asset.

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 Audit Committee assists the Board in fulfilling its responsibility for oversight of the integrity of the fund’s accounting, auditing and financial reporting practices, 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 Board for 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 Audit Committee also assists the Board in fulfilling its responsibility for the review and negotiation of the fund’s investment management and subadvisory arrangements.

The Contract Committee is charged with assisting the Board in requesting and evaluating such information from the manager, the subadviser and Western Asset as may reasonably be necessary to evaluate the terms of the fund’s investment management agreement, subadvisory arrangements and distribution arrangements.

The Performance Committee is charged with assisting the Board in carrying out its oversight responsibilities over the fund and fund management with respect to investment management, objectives, strategies, policies and procedures, performance and performance benchmarks, and the applicable risk management process.

The Governance Committee is charged with overseeing Board governance and related Trustee practices, including selecting and nominating persons for election or appointment by the Board as Trustees of the Trust. The Governance Committee has formed the Compensation and Nominating Committee, the function of which is to recommend to the Board the appropriate compensation for serving as a Trustee on the Board. In addition, the Compensation and Nominating Committee is responsible for, among other things, selecting and recommending candidates to fill vacancies on the Board. The Committee may consider nominees recommended by a shareholder. In evaluating potential nominees, including any nominees recommended by shareholders, the Committee takes into consideration various factors, including, among any others it may deem relevant, character and integrity, business and professional experience, and whether the committee believes the person has the ability to apply sound and independent business judgment and would act in the interest of the fund and its shareholders. 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.

Service providers to the fund, primarily the fund’s manager, the subadviser and Western Asset and, as appropriate, their affiliates, have responsibility for the day-to-day management of the fund, which includes responsibility for risk management. As an integral part of its responsibility for oversight of the fund, the Board oversees risk management of the fund’s investment program and business affairs. Oversight of the risk management process is part of the Board’s general oversight of the fund and its service providers. The Board has emphasized to the fund’s manager, the subadviser and Western Asset the importance of maintaining vigorous risk management. The Board exercises oversight of the risk management process primarily through the Audit Committee and the Performance Committee, and through oversight by the Board itself.

 

37


The fund is subject to a number of risks, including investment risk, counterparty risk, valuation risk, reputational risk, risk of operational failure or lack of business continuity, and legal, compliance and regulatory risk. Risk management seeks to identify and address risks, i.e. , events or circumstances that could have material adverse effects on the business, operations, shareholder services, investment performance or reputation of the fund. The fund’s manager, the subadviser and Western Asset, the affiliates of the manager, the subadviser and Western Asset, or various service providers to the fund employ a variety of processes, procedures and controls to identify various of those possible events or circumstances, to lessen the probability of their occurrence and/or to mitigate the effects of such events or circumstances if they do occur. Different processes, procedures and controls are employed with respect to different types of risks. Various personnel, including the fund’s and the manager’s Chief Compliance Officer and the manager’s chief risk officer, as well as personnel of the subadviser and Western Asset and other service providers, such as the fund’s independent registered public accounting firm, make periodic reports to the Audit Committee, the Performance Committee or to the Board with respect to various aspects of risk management, as well as events and circumstances that have arisen and responses thereto. The Board recognizes that not all risks that may affect the fund can be identified, that it may not be practical or cost-effective to eliminate or mitigate certain risks, that it may be necessary to bear certain risks (such as investment-related risks) to achieve the fund’s goals, and that the processes, procedures and controls employed to address certain risks may be limited in their effectiveness. Moreover, reports received by the Trustees as to risk management matters are typically summaries of the relevant information. As a result of the foregoing and other factors, the Board’s risk management oversight is subject to inherent limitations.

The Board met 8 times during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014. The Audit Committee, the Contract Committee, the Performance Committee, the Governance Committee and the Compensation and Nominating Committee met 4, 1, 4, 4 and 1 time(s), respectively, during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.

The following table shows the amount of equity securities owned by the Trustees in the fund and other investment companies in the fund complex overseen by the Trustees as of December 31, 2013, except for Ms. Duersten, which is as of April 1, 2014.

 

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

   Over 100,000      Over 100,000   

Andrew L. Breech

   Over 100,000      Over 100,000   

Dwight B. Crane

   50,001-100,000      Over 100,000   

Althea L. Duersten

   None      None   

Frank G. Hubbard

   50,001-100,000      Over 100,000   

Howard J. Johnson

   10,001-50,000      Over 100,000   

Jerome H. Miller

   Over 100,000      Over 100,000   

Ken Miller

   Over 100,000      Over 100,000   

John J. Murphy

   Over 100,000      Over 100,000   

Thomas F. Schlafly

   None      Over 100,000   

Interested Trustee

     

Kenneth D. Fuller

   None      Over 100,000   

As of December 31, 2013, none of the Independent Trustees or their immediate family members owned beneficially or of record any securities of the manager, the subadviser, Western Asset or the distributor of the fund, or of a person (other than a registered investment company) directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by or under common control with the manager, the subadviser, Western Asset or the distributor of the fund.

The Independent Trustees receive a fee for each meeting of the Board and committee meetings attended and are reimbursed for all out-of-pocket expenses relating to attendance at such meetings. Mr. Fuller, an “interested

 

38


person” of the fund, 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 Trustees’ fees based upon asset size. Prior to January 1, 2014, the fund paid each of the Independent Trustees its pro rata share of: an annual fee of $120,000, plus $20,000 for each regularly scheduled Board meeting attended in person, and $1,000 for each telephonic Board meeting in which that Trustee participates. The Chairman of the Board received an additional $25,000 per year, the Chair of the Audit Committee received an additional $15,000 per year and the Chairs of the Contract Committee, the Performance Committee, and the Compensation and Nominating Committee received an additional $12,500 per year. Other members of the Contract Committee, the Performance Committee, and the Compensation and Nominating Committee received an additional $10,000 per year. The Trustee designated as the fund’s audit committee financial expert (as defined in the instructions to Item 3 of Form N-CSR) received an additional $10,000 per year.

As of January 1, 2014, the fund pays each of the Independent Trustees its pro rata share of: an annual fee of $160,000, plus $30,000 for each regularly scheduled Board meeting attended in person, and $1,000 for each telephonic Board meeting in which that Trustee participates. The Chairman of the Board receives an additional $55,000 per year, the Chair of the Audit Committee receives an additional $25,000 per year and the Chairs of the Contract Committee, the Performance Committee, and the Compensation and Nominating Committee receive an additional $12,500 per year. Other members of the Contract Committee, the Performance Committee, and the Compensation and Nominating Committee receive an additional $10,000 per year. The Trustee designated as the fund’s audit committee financial expert (as defined in the instructions to Item 3 of Form N-CSR) receives an additional $15,000 per year.

Officers of the Trust receive no compensation from the fund, although they may be reimbursed by the fund for reasonable out-of-pocket travel expenses for attending Board meetings.

Information regarding compensation paid to the Trustees is shown below.

 

Name of Trustee

   Aggregate
Compensation
from the
Fund (2) ($)
     Total Pension
or Retirement
Benefits Paid
as Part of
Fund
Expenses (4)  ($)
     Total
Compensation
from Fund
Complex Paid
to Trustee (3)  ($)
     Number of
Portfolios in
Fund
Complex
Overseen by
Trustee (2)
 

Independent Trustees

           

Paul R. Ades

     69,873         None         217,500         52   

Andrew L. Breech

     70,236         None         210,625         52   

Dwight B. Crane

     72,703         None         217,500         52   

Althea Duersten

     37,259         None         0         52   

Frank G. Hubbard

     68,022         None         211,875         52   

Howard J. Johnson

     76,767         None         227,500         52   

Jerome H. Miller

     60,396         None         211,875         52   

Ken Miller

     69,909         None         211,875         52   

John J. Murphy

     67,406         None         210,000         52   

Thomas F. Schlafly

     67,406         None         210,625         52   

Jerry A. Viscione

     13,073         None         225,625         52   

Interested Trustee:

           

Kenneth D. Fuller (1)

     None         None         N/A         153   

 

(1) Mr. Fuller is not compensated for his services as a Trustee because of his affiliations with the manager.

 

(2) Information is for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.

 

(3) Information is for the calendar year ended December 31, 2014.

 

39


(4) Pursuant to prior retirement plans, the fund made payments of $4,064 to former Trustees for the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.

 

(5) Mr. Viscione retired from the Board effective December 31, 2013.

 

(6) Ms. Duersten joined the Board effective April 1, 2014.

As of November 28, 2014, the Trustees and officers of the Trust, as a group, owned less than 1% of the outstanding shares of the fund.

To the knowledge of the fund, as of November 28, 2014, the following shareholders owned or held of record 5% or more, as indicated, of the outstanding shares of the following classes of the fund:

 

Class

  

Name and Address

  

Percent of Ownership (%)

 

A

  

BNY MELLON INVESTMENT SERVICING

(US) INC

FBO PRIMERICA FINANCIAL SERVICES

760 MOORE RD

KING OF PRUSSIA PA 19406-1212

     36.99   

A

  

MORGAN STANLEY & CO INC

ATTN MUTUAL FUNDS OPERATIONS

HARBORSIDE FINANCIAL CENTER

PLAZA TWO 2ND FLOOR

JERSEY CITY NJ 07311

     21.38   

A

  

PERSHING LLC

1 PERSHING PLZ

JERSEY CITY NJ 07399-0001

     5.51   

B

  

BNY MELLON INVESTMENT SERVICING

(US) INC

FBO PRIMERICA FINANCIAL SERVICES

760 MOORE RD

KING OF PRUSSIA PA 19406-1212

     81.85   

C

  

MORGAN STANLEY & CO INC

ATTN MUTUAL FUNDS OPERATIONS

HARBORSIDE FINANCIAL CENTER

PLAZA TWO 2ND FLOOR

JERSEY CITY NJ 07311

     50.68   

C

  

FIRST CLEARING, LLC

2801 MARKET STREET

SAINT LOUIS MO 63103

     8.94   

C

  

MLPF&S FOR THE SOLE BENEFIT OF ITS

CUSTOMERS

ATTN: FUND ADMINISTRATION

4800 DEER LAKE DRIVE EAST 3RD FLOOR

JACKSONVILLE FL 32246-6484

     7.87   

C

  

UBS WM USA

OMNI ACCOUNT M/F

ATTN: DEPARTMENT MANAGER

499 WASHINGTON BLVD FL 9

JERSEY CITY NJ 07310-2055

     7.53   

 

40


Class

  

Name and Address

  

Percent of Ownership (%)

 

C

  

RAYMOND JAMES

OMNIBUS FOR MUTUAL FUNDS

HOUSE ACCT FIRM

ATTN COURTNEY WALLER

880 CARILLON PKWY

ST PETERSBURG FL 33716-1100

     6.74   

FI

  

NATIONAL FINANCIAL SERVICES CORP

FBO EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF OUR CUST

ATTN MUTUAL FUNDS DEPT 4TH FLOOR

499 WASHINGTON BLVD

JERSEY CITY NJ 07310-2010

     52.50   

FI

  

AMERICAN UNITED LIFE INS CO

UNIT INVESTMENT TRUST

ATTN SEPARATE ACCOUNTS

PO BOX 368

INDIANAPOLIS IN 46206-0368

     13.73   

FI

  

AMERICAN UNITED LIFE INS CO

GROUP RETIREMENT ANNUITY

ATTN SEPARATE ACCOUNTS

PO BOX 368

INDIANAPOLIS IN 46206-0368

     13.65   

FI

  

PERSHING LLC

1 PERSHING PLZ

JERSEY CITY NJ 07399-0001

     5.81   

I

  

EDWARD D JONES & CO

FOR THE BENEFIT OF CUSTOMERS

12555 MANCHESTER RD

SAINT LOUIS MO 63131-3729

     27.64   

I

  

MORGAN STANLEY & CO INC

ATTN MUTUAL FUNDS OPERATIONS

HARBORSIDE FINANCIAL CENTER

PLAZA TWO 2ND FLOOR

JERSEY CITY NJ 07311

     17.71   

I

  

FIRST CLEARING, LLC

2801 MARKET STREET

SAINT LOUIS MO 63103

     8.97   

I

  

NATIONAL FINANCIAL SERVICES CORP

FBO EXCLUSIVE BENEFIT OF OUR CUST

ATTN MUTUAL FUNDS DEPT 4TH FLOOR

499 WASHINGTON BLVD

JERSEY CITY NJ 07310-2010

     7.74   

I

  

MLPF&S FOR THE SOLE BENEFIT OF ITS

CUSTOMERS

ATTN: FUND ADMINISTRATION

4800 DEER LAKE DRIVE EAST 3RD FLOOR

JACKSONVILLE FL 32246-6484

     7.18   

 

41


Class

  

Name and Address

  

Percent of Ownership (%)

 

I

  

RPS-TRADING OPS ET-4

JOHN HANCOCK LIFE INS CO (USA)

601 CONGRESS ST

BOSTON MA 02210-2804

     5.76   

IS

  

LM DYNAMIC MULTI-STRATEGY VIT

PORTFOLIO

ATTN STEVEN BLEIBERG

620 8TH AVENUE 49TH FL

NEW YORK NY 10018-1618

    
19.17
  

IS

  

STATE OF COLORADO COLLEGEINVEST

EQUITY PORTFOLIO SCHOLARS CHOICE

620 8TH AVE FL 49

NEW YORK NY 10018-1618

     11.51   

IS

  

VOYA RETIREMENT INSURANCE AND

ANNUITY COMPANY

1 ORANGE WAY

WINDSOR CT 06095-4773

     9.38   

IS

  

STATE OF COLORADO COLLEGEINVEST

PORTFOLIO 4 SCHOLARS CHOICE COLLEGE

620 8TH AVE FL 49

NEW YORK NY 10018-1618

     7.41   

IS

  

LEGG MASON PARTNERS LIFESTYLE

SERIES INC ALLOCATION 85

ATTN MICHAEL LEDBURY

620 8TH AVE FL 49

NEW YORK NY 10018-1550

     7.37   

IS

  

CHARLES SCHWAB & CO INC

SPECIAL CUSTODY ACCT FBO

CUSTOMERS

ATTN MUTUAL FUNDS

211 MAINT STREET

SAN FRANCISCO CA 94105-1905

     6.77   

IS

  

STATE OF COLORADO COLLEGEINVEST

PORTFOLIO 5 SCHOLARS CHOICE COLLEGE

620 8TH AVE FL 49

NEW YORK NY 10018-1618

     5.31   

IS

  

STATE OF COLORADO COLLEGEINVEST

PORTFOLIO 1 SCHOLARS CHOICE COLLEGE

620 8TH AVE FL 49

NEW YORK NY 10018-1618

     5.27   

R

  

VOYA RETIREMENT INSURANCE AND

ANNUITY COMPANY

1 ORANGE WAY

WINDSOR CT 06095-4773

     38.05   

 

42


Class

  

Name and Address

  

Percent of Ownership (%)

 

R

  

MLPF&S FOR THE SOLE BENEFIT OF ITS

CUSTOMERS

ATTN: FUND ADMINISTRATION

4800 DEER LAKE DRIVE EAST 3RD FLOOR

JACKSONVILLE FL 32246-6484

     10.03   

R

  

VOYA INSTITUTIONAL TRUST COMPANY

ONE ORANGE WAY

WINDSOR CT 06095-4773

     6.26   

INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT AND OTHER SERVICES

Manager

LMPFA serves as investment manager to the fund, pursuant to an investment management agreement (the “Management Agreement”). LMPFA provides administrative and certain oversight services to the fund. LMPFA, with offices at 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, New York 10018, also serves as the investment manager of other Legg Mason-sponsored funds. As of September 30, 2014, LMPFA’s total assets under management were approximately $247 billion. LMPFA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason. Legg Mason, whose principal executive offices are at 100 International Drive, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, is a global asset management company. As of September 30, 2014, Legg Mason’s asset management operations had aggregate assets under management of approximately $707.8 billion.

The manager has agreed, under the Management Agreement, subject to the supervision of the fund’s Board, to provide the fund with investment research, advice, management and supervision; furnish a continuous investment program for the fund’s portfolio of securities and other investments consistent with the fund’s investment objective, policies and restrictions; and place orders pursuant to its investment determinations. The manager is permitted to enter into contracts with subadvisers or subadministrators, subject to the Board’s approval. The manager has entered into subadvisory arrangements, as described below.

The manager performs administrative and management services as reasonably requested by the fund 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 will continue in effect for its initial term and thereafter from year to year, 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 (as defined in the 1940 Act). The Management Agreement is not assignable by the Trust except with

 

43


the consent of the manager. 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 fiscal years ended August 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012, the fund paid management fees to LMPFA as follows:

 

For the fiscal year ended August 31

   Gross
Management
Fees ($)
     Management Fees
Waived/Expense
Reimbursements ($)
     Net Management Fees
(After Waivers/Expense
Reimbursements) ($)
 

2014

     69,199,150         13,689         69,185,461   

2013

     46,751,505         864         46,750,641   

2012

     37,585,137         2,260         37,582,877   

Subadvisory Arrangements

ClearBridge Investments, LLC (“ClearBridge” or the “subadviser”) serves as the subadviser to the fund pursuant to a subadvisory agreement between the manager and ClearBridge (the “Subadvisory Agreement”). ClearBridge has offices at 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, New York 10018. As of September 30, 2014, ClearBridge’s total assets under management were approximately $103 billion.

Western Asset manages the fund’s cash and short-term instruments pursuant to an agreement between the manager and Western Asset (the “Western Asset Agreement”). Western Asset, established in 1971, has offices at 385 East Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, California 91101 and 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, New York 10018. Western Asset acts as investment adviser to institutional accounts, such as corporate pension plans, mutual funds and endowment funds. As of September 30, 2014, the total assets under management of Western Asset and its supervised affiliates were approximately $471.6 billion.

ClearBridge and Western Asset are wholly-owned subsidiaries of Legg Mason. Legg Mason, whose principal executive offices are at 100 International Drive, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, is a global asset management company. As of September 30, 2014, Legg Mason’s asset management operations had aggregate assets under management of approximately $707.8 billion.

Under the Subadvisory Agreement and the Western Asset Agreement, subject to the supervision and direction of the Board and the manager, the subadviser and Western Asset will 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 and sell securities and employ professional portfolio managers and securities analysts who provide research services to the fund.

Each of the Subadvisory Agreement and the Western Asset Agreement will continue in effect for its initial term and thereafter from year to year provided such continuance is specifically approved at least annually (a) by

 

44


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 Subadvisory Agreement or the Western Asset Agreement without penalty, in each case on not more than 60 days’ nor less than 30 days’ written notice to the subadviser or Western Asset. Each of the subadviser and Western Asset may terminate the Subadvisory Agreement or the Western Asset Agreement, as applicable, on 90 days’ written notice to the fund and the manager. Each of the Subadvisory Agreement and the Western Asset Agreement may be terminated upon the mutual written consent of the manager and the subadviser or Western Asset, as applicable. Each of the Subadvisory Agreement and the Western Asset Agreement will terminate automatically in the event of assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act) by the subadviser or Western Asset, as applicable, and shall not be assignable by the manager without the consent of the subadviser or Western Asset, as applicable.

As compensation for their subadvisory services, the manager pays the subadviser and Western Asset an aggregate fee equal to 70% of the management fee paid to LMPFA, net of fee waivers and expense reimbursements.

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 August 31, 2014.

Other Accounts Managed by the 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, other accounts and, if applicable, the number of accounts and total assets in the accounts where fees are based on performance.

 

       Type of Account    Number of
Accounts Managed
     Total Assets
Managed
(billions) ($)
     Number of Accounts
Managed for which
Advisory Fee is
Performance-Based
     Assets Managed for
which Advisory Fee
is Performance-
Based (billions) ($)
 

Richard Freeman

   Registered
investment
companies
     7         11.5         None         None   
   Other pooled
investment vehicles
     4         4.2         None         None   
   Other accounts      47,118         16.4         None         None   

Evan Bauman

   Registered
investment
companies
     3         4.9         None         None   
   Other pooled
investment vehicles
     4         3.3         None         None   
   Other accounts      47,118         16.4         None         None   

 

45


Portfolio Manager Compensation Structure

ClearBridge’s portfolio managers participate in a competitive compensation program that is designed to attract and retain outstanding investment professionals and closely align the interests of its investment professionals with those of its clients and overall firm results. The total compensation program includes a significant incentive component that rewards high performance standards, integrity, and collaboration consistent with the firm’s values. Portfolio manager compensation is reviewed and modified each year as appropriate to reflect changes in the market and to ensure the continued alignment with the goals stated above. ClearBridge’s portfolio managers and other investment professionals receive a combination of base compensation and discretionary compensation, comprising a cash incentive award and deferred incentive plans described below.

Base salary compensation. Base salary is fixed and primarily determined based on market factors and the experience and responsibilities of the investment professional within the firm.

Discretionary compensation. In addition to base compensation managers may receive discretionary compensation.

Discretionary compensation can include:

 

   

Cash Incentive Award

 

   

ClearBridge’s Deferred Incentive Plan (CDIP)—a mandatory program that typically defers 15% of discretionary year-end compensation into ClearBridge managed products. For portfolio managers, one-third of this deferral tracks the performance of their primary managed product, one-third tracks the performance of a composite portfolio of the firm’s new products and one-third can be elected to track the performance of one or more of ClearBridge managed funds. Consequently, portfolio managers can have two-thirds of their CDIP award tracking the performance of their primary managed product.

For centralized research analysts, two-thirds of their deferral is elected to track the performance of one of more of ClearBridge managed funds, while one-third tracks the performance of the new product composite.

ClearBridge then makes a company investment in the proprietary managed funds equal to the deferral amounts by fund. This investment is a company asset held on the balance sheet and paid out to the employees in shares subject to vesting requirements.

 

   

Legg Mason Restricted Stock Deferral—a mandatory program that typically defers 5% of discretionary year-end compensation into Legg Mason restricted stock. The award is paid out to employees in shares subject to vesting requirements.

 

   

Legg Mason Restricted Stock and Stock Option Grants—a discretionary program that may be utilized as part of the total compensation program. These special grants reward and recognize significant contributions to our clients, shareholders and the firm and aid in retaining key talent.

Several factors are considered by ClearBridge Senior Management when determining discretionary compensation for portfolio managers. These include but are not limited to:

 

   

Investment performance. A portfolio manager’s compensation is linked to the pre-tax investment performance of the fund/accounts managed by the portfolio manager. Investment performance is calculated for 1-, 3-, and 5-year periods measured 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) and relative to applicable industry peer groups. The greatest weight is generally placed on 3- and 5-year performance.

 

   

Appropriate risk positioning that is consistent with ClearBridge’s investment philosophy and the Investment Committee/CIO approach to generation of alpha;

 

46


   

Overall firm profitability and performance;

 

   

Amount and nature of assets managed by the portfolio manager;

 

   

Contributions for asset retention, gathering and client satisfaction;

 

   

Contribution to mentoring, coaching and/or supervising;

 

   

Contribution and communication of investment ideas in ClearBridge’s Investment Committee meetings and on a day to day basis;

 

   

Market compensation survey research by independent third parties

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 fund’s portfolio managers.

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 subadviser and the individuals that each employs. For example, 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 subadviser has 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 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 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

 

47


subadviser 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 manager’s management fee (and the percentage paid to the subadviser) 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.

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 funds and/or accounts that provide greater overall returns to the manager and its affiliates.

Portfolio Manager Securities Ownership

The table below identifies ownership of equity securities of the fund by the portfolio managers responsible for the day-to-day management of the fund as of August 31, 2014. These holdings are in addition to the shares held for the portfolio managers’ benefit under the subadviser’s incentive compensation program.

 

Portfolio Manager

   Dollar Range of Ownership of
Securities ($)

Richard Freeman

   Over 1,000,000

Evan Bauman

   Over 1,000,000

Expenses

In addition to amounts payable under the Management Agreement and the 12b-1 Plan (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 the issuance 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; the fund’s pro rata portion of premiums on any fidelity bond and other insurance covering the fund and its officers, Trustees and employees; and 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 any legal obligation which the fund may have to indemnify the fund’s Trustees and officers with respect thereto.

 

48


Management may agree to implement an expense cap, waive fees and/or reimburse operating expenses for one or more classes of shares. Any such waived fees and/or reimbursed expenses are described in the fund’s Prospectus. The expense caps and waived fees and/or reimbursed expenses 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 Trustees 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.

In order to implement an expense cap, the manager will, as necessary, waive management fees or reimburse operating expenses. However, the manager is permitted to recapture amounts previously waived or reimbursed by the manager to the fund during the same fiscal year if the fund’s total annual operating expenses have fallen to a level below the expense cap shown in the fund’s Prospectus. In no case will the manager recapture any amount that would result, on any particular fund business day, in the fund’s total annual operating expenses exceeding the expense cap.

Distributor

LMIS, a wholly-owned broker/dealer subsidiary of Legg Mason, located at 100 International Drive, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, serves as the fund’s sole and exclusive distributor pursuant to a written agreement dated August 5, 2010 (the “distribution agreement”).

LMIS may be deemed to be an underwriter for purposes of the 1933 Act. The 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.

The 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 or interested persons of any such party by votes cast in person at a meeting called for such purpose. The 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.

LMPFA, LMIS, their affiliates and their personnel have interests in promoting sales of the Legg Mason Funds, including remuneration, fees and profitability relating to services to and sales of the funds. Employees of LMPFA, LMIS or their affiliates (including wholesalers registered with LMIS) may receive additional compensation related to the sale of individual Legg Mason Funds or categories of Legg Mason Funds. LMPFA, the subadvisers, and their advisory or other personnel may also benefit from increased amounts of assets under management.

Financial intermediaries, including broker/dealers, investment advisers, financial consultants or advisers, mutual fund supermarkets, insurance companies, financial institutions and other financial intermediaries through which investors may purchase shares of the fund, also may benefit from the sales of shares of the Legg Mason

 

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Funds. For example, in connection with such sales, financial intermediaries may receive compensation from the fund (with respect to the fund as a whole or a particular class of shares) and/or from LMPFA, LMIS, and/or their affiliates, as further described below. The structure of these compensation arrangements, as well as the amounts paid under such arrangements, vary and may change from time to time. In addition, new compensation arrangements may be negotiated at any time. The compensation arrangements described in this section are not mutually exclusive, and a single financial intermediary may receive multiple types of compensation.

LMIS has agreements in place with financial intermediaries defining how much each firm will be paid for the sale of a particular mutual fund from sales charges, if any, paid by fund shareholders and from Rule 12b-1 Plan fees paid to LMIS by the fund. These financial intermediaries then pay their employees or associated persons who sell fund shares from the sales charges and/or fees they receive. The financial intermediary, and/or its employees or associated persons may receive a payment when a sale is made and will, in most cases, continue to receive ongoing payments while you are invested in the fund. In other cases, LMIS may retain all or a portion of such fees and sales charges.

In addition, LMIS, LMPFA and/or certain of their affiliates may make additional payments (which are often referred to as “revenue sharing” payments) to the financial intermediaries from their past profits and other available sources, including profits from their relationships with the fund. Revenue sharing payments are a form of compensation paid to a financial intermediary in addition to the sales charges paid by fund shareholders or Rule 12b-1 Plan fees paid by the fund. LMPFA, LMIS and/or certain of its affiliates may revise the terms of any existing revenue sharing arrangement, and may enter into additional revenue sharing arrangements with other financial services firms.

Revenue sharing arrangements are intended, among other things, to foster the sale of fund shares and/or to compensate financial services firms for assisting in marketing or promotional activities in connection with the sale of fund shares. In exchange for revenue sharing payments, LMPFA and LMIS generally expect to receive the opportunity for the fund to be sold through the financial intermediaries’ sales forces or to have access to third-party platforms or other marketing programs, including but not limited to mutual fund “supermarket” platforms or other sales programs. To the extent that financial intermediaries receiving revenue sharing payments sell more shares of the fund, LMPFA and LMIS and/or their affiliates benefit from the increase in fund assets as a result of the fees they receive from the fund.

Revenue sharing payments are usually calculated based on a percentage of fund sales and/or fund assets attributable to a particular financial intermediary. Payments may also be based on other criteria or factors such as, for example, a fee per each transaction. Specific payment formulas are negotiated based on a number of factors, including, but not limited to, reputation in the industry, ability to attract and retain assets, target markets, customer relationships and scope and quality of services provided. In addition, LMIS, LMPFA and/or certain of their affiliates may pay flat fees on a one-time or irregular basis for the initial set-up of the fund on a financial intermediary’s systems, participation or attendance at a financial intermediary’s meetings, or for other reasons. In addition, LMIS, LMPFA and/or certain of their affiliates may pay certain education and training costs of financial intermediaries (including, in some cases, travel expenses) to train and educate the personnel of the financial intermediaries. It is likely that financial intermediaries that execute portfolio transactions for the fund will include those firms with which LMPFA, LMIS and/or certain of their affiliates have entered into revenue sharing arrangements.

The fund generally pays the transfer agent for certain recordkeeping and administrative services. In addition, the fund may pay financial intermediaries for certain recordkeeping, administrative, sub-accounting and networking services. These services include maintenance of shareholder accounts by the firms, such as recordkeeping and other activities that otherwise would be performed by a fund’s transfer agent. Administrative fees may be paid to a firm that undertakes, for example, shareholder communications on behalf of the fund. Networking services are services undertaken to support the electronic transmission of shareholder purchase and redemption orders through the National Securities Clearing Corporation (“NSCC”). These payments are

 

50


generally based on either (1) a percentage of the average daily net assets of fund shareholders serviced by a financial intermediary or (2) a fixed dollar amount for each account serviced by a financial intermediary. LMIS, LMPFA and/or their affiliates may make all or a portion of these payments.

In addition, the fund reimburses LMIS for NSCC fees that are invoiced to LMIS as the party to the agreement with NSCC for the administrative services provided by NSCC to the fund and its shareholders. These services include transaction processing and settlement through Fund/SERV, electronic networking services to support the transmission of shareholder purchase and redemption orders to and from financial intermediaries, and related recordkeeping provided by NSCC to the fund and its shareholders.

If your fund shares are purchased through a retirement plan, LMIS, LMPFA or certain of their affiliates may also make similar payments to those described in this section to the plan’s recordkeeper or an affiliate.

Revenue sharing payments, as well as the other types of compensation arrangements described in this section, may provide an incentive for financial intermediaries and their employees or associated persons to recommend or sell shares of the fund to customers and in doing so may create conflicts of interest between the firms’ financial interests and the interests of their customers. Please contact your financial intermediary for details about any payments it (and its employees) may receive from the fund and/or from LMIS, LMPFA and/or their affiliates. You should review your financial intermediary’s disclosure and/or talk to your broker/dealer or financial intermediary to obtain more information on how this compensation may have influenced your broker/dealer’s or financial intermediary’s recommendation of the fund.

Initial Sales Charge

The aggregate dollar amounts of initial sales charges received on Class A shares and the amounts retained by the distributor were as follows:

Class A Shares

For the fiscal year ended August 31

 

       Total
Commissions ($)
     Amounts
Retained by
LMIS ($)
 

2014

     12,048,663         1,874,692   

2013

     6,413,065         958,552   

2012

     4,936,444         722,561   

Contingent Deferred Sales Charges

The aggregate dollar amounts of contingent deferred sales charges on Class A, Class B and Class C shares received and retained by the distributor were as follows:

Class A Shares

For the fiscal year ended August 31

 

       Amounts
Retained by
LMIS ($)
 

2014

     12,529   

2013

     1,026   

2012

     1,413   

 

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Class B Shares

For the fiscal year ended August 31

 

       Amounts
Retained by
LMIS ($)
 

2014

     100,581   

2013

     221,628   

2012

     499,022   

Class C Shares

For the fiscal year ended August 31

 

       Amounts
Retained by
LMIS ($)
 

2014

     61,752   

2013

     16,115   

2012

     15,359   

Shareholder Services and Distribution Plan

The Trust, on behalf of 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, Class C, Class FI, Class R and Class R1 shares. Under the 12b-1 Plan, the fund pays distribution fees to LMIS for the services it provides and expenses it bears with respect to the distribution of Class B, Class C, Class R and Class R1 shares and service fees for Class A, Class B, Class C, Class FI, Class R and Class R1 shares. The distributor will provide the 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, Class C, Class FI, Class R and Class R1 shares. In addition, the fund pays distribution fees with respect to the Class B, Class C and Class R1 shares at the annual rate of 0.75% of the fund’s average daily net assets attributable to each such class and with respect to the Class R shares at the annual rate of 0.25% of the fund’s average daily net assets attributable to such class.

Fees under the 12b-1 Plan may be used to make payments to the distributor for distribution services, Service Agents and 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 may also make payments to the distributor, Service Agents and others for providing personal service or the maintenance of shareholder accounts. The amounts paid 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 share investors.

The 12b-1 Plan permits the fund to pay fees to the 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 the distributor and others until the 12b-1 Plan or distribution agreement is terminated or not renewed. In that event, the distributor’s or other recipient’s expenses in excess of fees received or accrued through the termination date

 

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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 distributor 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 of the Trust 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 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. 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, the distributor acts as an agent of the fund in connection with the offering of shares of the fund pursuant to the distribution agreement. Dealer reallowances, if any, are described in the fund’s Prospectus.

The following service and distribution fees were incurred by the fund pursuant to the 12b-1 Plan during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014:

 

Class A

   $ 11,634,280   

Class B

   $ 3,338,637   

Class C

   $ 11,185,449   

Class FI

   $ 43,666   

Class R

   $ 230,814   

Distribution expenses incurred by LMIS during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014 for compensation to Service Agents, printing costs of prospectuses and marketing materials are expressed in the following table.

 

     Third Party

Fees ($)
     Financial  Consultant
Compensation

(Amortized) ($)
     Marketing ($)      Printing ($)      Total Current

Expenses ($)
 

Class A

     11,627,958         0         2,482,786         9,115         14,119,859   

Class B

     2,917,316         60,072         74,478         814         3,052,680   

Class C

     8,879,839         1,092,189         694,368         2,132         10,668,528   

Class FI

     43,666         252,152         57,210         17         353,045   

Class R

     230,814         0         72,471         72         303,357   

 

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No information is presented for Class R1 shares because no shares of that class were outstanding during the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014.

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 may also act as the fund’s securities lending agent and in that case would receive a share of the income generated by such activities.

BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (“BNY” or the “transfer agent”), located at 4400 Computer Drive, Westborough, Massachusetts 01581, serves as the fund’s transfer agent. Under the transfer agency agreement with BNY, BNY 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, BNY 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.

Counsel

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

Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP, 180 Maiden Lane, New York, New York 10038, serves as counsel to the Independent Trustees.

Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

KPMG LLP, an independent registered public accounting firm, located at 345 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10154, has been selected to audit and report upon the fund’s financial statements and financial highlights for the fiscal year ending August 31, 2015.

Code of Ethics

Pursuant to Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act, the fund, the manager, the subadviser, Western Asset and the distributor 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. Copies of the codes of ethics of the fund, the manager, the subadviser, Western Asset and the distributor are on file with the SEC.

 

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Proxy Voting Guidelines and Procedures

Although individual Trustees may not agree with particular policies or votes by the manager, 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 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, a copy of which is 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 1-877-721-1926, (2) on the fund’s website at http://www.leggmason.com/individualinvestors and (3) on the SEC’s website at http://www.sec.gov.

PURCHASE OF SHARES

General

See the fund’s Prospectus for a discussion of which classes of shares of the fund are available for purchase and who is eligible to purchase shares of each class.

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, Class C, Class FI, Class R, Class I or Class IS 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.

There are minimum investment requirements of $1,000 for initial investments and $50 for subsequent investments 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 or its affiliates (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 affiliates, (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 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 (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

 

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according to the NAV determined on that day, provided the order is transmitted by the Service Agent to the fund’s transfer agent in accordance with their agreed-upon procedures. Payment must be made with the purchase order.

Class B Shares. The fund no longer offers Class B shares for new purchases by new and existing investors. Individual investors who owned Class B shares may continue to hold those shares, but they may not add to their Class B share positions except through dividend reinvestment. Class B shares are available for incoming exchanges and for reinvestment of dividends and capital gain distributions.

Class I Shares. The following persons are eligible to purchase Class I shares directly from the fund: (i) current employees of the fund’s manager and its affiliates; (ii) former employees of the fund’s manager and its affiliates with existing accounts; (iii) current and former board members of investment companies managed by affiliates of Legg Mason; (iv) current and former board members of Legg Mason; and (v) the immediate families of such persons. Immediate families are such person’s spouse (and, in the case of a deceased board member, the surviving spouse) and parents, grandparents, children, and grandchildren (including step-relationships). For such investors, the minimum initial investment is $1,000 and the minimum for each purchase of additional shares is $50. Current employees may purchase additional Class I shares through a systematic investment plan.

Under certain circumstances, an investor who purchases fund shares pursuant to a fee-based advisory account program of an Eligible Financial Intermediary as authorized by LMIS may be afforded an opportunity to make a conversion between one or more share classes owned by the investor in the same fund to Class I shares of that fund. Such a conversion in these particular circumstances does not cause the investor to realize taxable gain or loss.

Class R1 Shares. Class R1 shares are closed to all new purchases and incoming exchanges.

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, shareholders may arrange for automatic monthly investments in certain share classes of $50 or more by authorizing the distributor or the transfer agent 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. Shareholders have the option of selecting the frequency of the investment (on a monthly, quarterly, every alternate month, semi-annual or annual basis) as long as the investment equals a minimum of $50 per month. Shareholders may terminate participation in the Systematic Investment Plan at any time without charge or penalty. 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 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.

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 18 months of purchase, you will pay a contingent deferred sales charge of 1.00%.

 

56


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 C Shares. 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 FI, Class R, Class I and Class IS Shares. Class FI, Class R, Class I and Class IS 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, (ii) current employees of Legg Mason and its subsidiaries, (iii) 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 (iv) 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 distributor 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 fund sold by the distributor 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 certain separate accounts used to fund unregistered variable annuity contracts;

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

(g) purchases by direct retail investment platforms through mutual fund “supermarkets,” where the sponsor links its client’s account (including IRA accounts on such platforms) to a master account in the sponsor’s name.

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.

There are several ways you can combine multiple purchases of shares of funds sold by the distributor to take advantage of the breakpoints in the Class A 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

 

57


or the fund if you are eligible for a letter of intent or a right of accumulation and if you own shares of other 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 a reduced sales charge.

Accumulation Privilege —allows you to combine the current value of shares of the fund with other shares of funds sold by the distributor 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 charges.

If you hold fund shares in accounts at two or more Service Agents, please contact your Service Agents to determine which shares may be combined.

Shares of money market funds sold by the distributor acquired by exchange from other funds offered with a sales charge may be combined. Shares of money market funds sold by the distributor that were not acquired by exchange from other funds offered with a sales charge may not be combined. Please contact your Service Agent or the fund for additional information.

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

Letter of Intent —Helps you take advantage of breakpoints in Class A sales charges. You may purchase Class A shares of funds sold by the distributor 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

 

  (2) $50,000

 

  (3) $100,000

 

  (4) $250,000

 

  (5) $500,000

 

  (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 pay 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 funds sold by the distributor.

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

 

58


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 fund sold by the distributor may be credited towards your Asset Level Goal. Shares of money market funds sold by the distributor acquired by exchange from other funds offered with a sales charge may be credited toward your Asset Level Goal.

The eligible funds 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.

Increasing the Amount of the Letter of Intent. 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 the transfer agent, contact the transfer 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 of Intent 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 Asset Level 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 of Intent. You may cancel a Letter of Intent by notifying your Service Agent in writing, or if you purchase your shares directly through the transfer agent, by notifying the transfer 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 of Intent (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 whether because you made insufficient Eligible Fund Purchases, redeemed all of your holdings or cancelled the Letter before reaching your Asset Level Goal, you will be liable for the difference

 

59


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 the transfer agent, the transfer agent, 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 A shares that are contingent deferred sales charge shares are subject to a 1.00% contingent deferred sales charge if redeemed within 18 months of purchase. Class C 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. The following table sets forth the rates of the charge for redemptions of Class B shares by shareholders.

 

Year Since Purchase 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 funds sold by the distributor. 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 distributor receives contingent deferred sales charges in partial consideration for its expenses in selling shares.

 

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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% per month of the shareholder’s account balance at the time the withdrawals commence, 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 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 the distributor or the manager.

The contingent deferred sales charge is waived on Class C shares purchased by retirement plan omnibus accounts held on the books of the fund.

A shareholder who has redeemed shares from other funds sold by the distributor 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 the distributor or the transfer agent of the shareholder’s status or holdings, as the case may be.

Grandfathered Retirement Program with Exchange Features

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

Under the Grandfathered Retirement Program, Class C shares of the fund 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 funds sold by the distributor 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

 

61


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 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 (“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 Class C, Class FI, Class R, Class I and Class IS shares (and Class A share purchases, including applicable rights of accumulation, equaling or exceeding $1,000,000) is equal to the NAV per share at the time of purchase and no sales charge is imposed at the time of purchase. A contingent deferred sales charge, however, is imposed on certain redemptions of Class C shares and on Class A shares when purchased in amounts equaling or exceeding $1,000,000.

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 NAV of a share of the fund as of August 31, 2014.

 

Class A (based on a NAV of $209.22 and a maximum initial sales charge of 5.75%)

   $ 221.98   

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.

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.

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

 

62


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. The Withdrawal Plan will be carried over on exchanges between funds sold by the distributor 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.

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 should be sent to the transfer agent. Withdrawals may be scheduled on any day of the month; however, if the shareholder does not specify a day, the transfer agent will schedule the withdrawal on the 25th day (or the next business day if the 25th day is a weekend or holiday) of the month.

Legg Mason Institutional Funds Systematic Withdrawal Plan

Certain shareholders of Class FI, Class I or Class IS shares with an initial NAV of $1,000,000 or more may be eligible to participate in the Legg Mason Institutional Funds Systematic Withdrawal Plan. Receipt of payment of proceeds of redemptions made through the Systematic Withdrawal Plan will be wired through ACH to your checking or savings account – redemptions of fund shares may occur on any business day of the month and the checking or savings account will be credited with the proceeds in approximately two business days. Requests must be made in writing to the fund or a Service Agent to participate in, change or discontinue the Systematic Withdrawal Plan. You may change the monthly amount to be paid to you or terminate the Systematic Withdrawal Plan at any time, without charge or penalty, by notifying the fund or a Service Agent. The fund, its transfer agent and the distributor also reserve the right to modify or terminate the Systematic Withdrawal Plan at any time.

Redemptions in Kind

If the fund’s manager determines that it would not be in the best interests of the fund’s remaining shareholders to make a redemption payment wholly in cash, the fund may honor a redemption request by delivering portfolio securities to a shareholder to pay all or a portion of the redemption proceeds. However, the fund will not use securities to satisfy any request for redemption, or combination of requests from the same shareholder in any 90-day period, if the total redemption amount does not exceed $250,000 or 1% of the net assets of the fund, whichever is less. When a redemption is paid “in kind,” the securities distributed to the redeeming shareholder will be valued in accordance with the procedures described under “Share price” in the fund’s Prospectus. Because a redemption in-kind may be used during times when the markets experience increased illiquidity, these valuation methods may include fair value estimations and a shareholder may have difficulty selling those securities at the valuation price. A shareholder receiving securities from the fund may incur costs in holding and when subsequently selling those securities, and the market price of those securities will be subject to fluctuation until they are sold. The fund will not use securities to pay redemptions by LMIS or other affiliated persons of the fund, except as permitted by law, SEC rules or orders, or interpretive guidance from the SEC staff or other proper authorities.

 

63


EXCHANGE PRIVILEGE

The exchange privilege enables shareholders to acquire shares of the same class in another fund sold by the distributor. 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 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, Class FI, Class R, Class I and Class IS Exchanges. Class A, Class FI, Class R, Class I and Class IS 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. Funds that offered Class B shares prior to July 1, 2011 continue to make them available for incoming exchanges. Class B shares of the fund may be exchanged for Class B shares of other funds without a contingent deferred sales charge at the time of exchange. 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.

Class R1 Exchanges. Class R1 shares are closed to all new purchases and incoming exchanges.

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 with Exchange Features” 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 trading 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.

 

64


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.

VALUATION OF SHARES

The NAV per share of each class is calculated on each day, Monday through Friday, except days on which the NYSE is closed. As of the date of this SAI, the NYSE is normally open for trading every weekday except in the event of an emergency or for the following holidays (or the days on which they are observed): New Year’s Day, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Presidents’ Day, Good Friday, Memorial Day, Independence Day, Labor Day, Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day. 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.

PORTFOLIO TRANSACTIONS

Subject to such policies as may be established by the 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 and Western Asset manages the cash and short-term instruments of the fund.

The cost of securities purchased from underwriters includes an underwriting commission, concession or a net price. Debt securities purchased and sold by the fund generally are traded on a net basis ( i.e. , without a commission) through dealers acting for their own account and not as brokers, or otherwise involve transactions directly with the issuer of the instrument. This means that a dealer makes a market for securities by offering to buy at one price and selling the security at a slightly higher price. The difference between the prices is known as a “spread.” Other portfolio transactions may be executed through brokers acting as agents. The fund will pay a spread or commission in connection with such transactions. Commissions are negotiated with brokers on such transactions. The aggregate brokerage commissions paid by the fund for the three most recent fiscal years or periods, as applicable, are set forth below under “Aggregate Brokerage Commissions Paid.”

Pursuant to the Subadvisory Agreement, 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 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 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 subadviser or its affiliates exercise investment discretion. The subadviser is authorized to pay a broker or dealer that 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 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. Investment research services include information and analysis on particular companies and industries as well as market or economic trends and portfolio strategy, market quotations for portfolio evaluations, analytical software and

 

65


similar products and services. If a research service also assists the subadviser in a non-research capacity (such as bookkeeping or other administrative functions), then only the percentage or component that provides assistance to the subadviser in the investment decision making process may be paid in commission dollars. This determination may be viewed in terms of either that particular transaction or the overall responsibilities that the subadviser and its affiliates have with respect to accounts over which they exercise investment discretion. The subadviser may also have arrangements with brokers pursuant to which such brokers provide research services to the subadviser 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 subadviser does not believe that the receipt of such brokerage and research services significantly reduces its expenses as subadviser. Arrangements for the receipt of research services from brokers may create conflicts of interest.

Research services furnished to the subadviser by brokers that effect securities transactions for the fund may be used by the subadviser in servicing other investment companies and accounts which the subadviser manages. Similarly, research services furnished to the subadviser by brokers that effect securities transactions for other investment companies and accounts which the subadviser manages may be used by the subadviser in servicing the fund. Not all of these research services are used by the subadviser in managing any particular account, including the fund.

For the fiscal year ended August 31, 2014, 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 ($)

609,545,981    371,356

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 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.

Aggregate Brokerage Commissions Paid

For the fiscal years ended August 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012, the fund paid aggregate brokerage commissions as set forth in the table below.

 

Fiscal Year ended August 31,

   Aggregate Brokerage
Commissions Paid ($)
 

2014

     671,054

2013

     130,370

2012

     815,303   

 

* The increase from 2013 to 2014 and the decrease from 2012 to 2013 in aggregate brokerage commissions paid by the fund are primarily due to differences in cash flows to the fund.

For the fiscal years ended August 31, 2014, 2013 and 2012, 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 other clients of the subadviser. Investment decisions for the fund and for the subadviser’s other clients are made with a view to achieving their respective investment objectives. It may develop that a particular

 

66


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 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.

At August 31, 2014, the fund held no securities issued by its regular broker/dealers.

DISCLOSURE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS

The fund’s Board has adopted policies and procedures (the “policy”) developed by the manager with respect to the disclosure of a fund’s portfolio securities and any ongoing arrangements to make available information about the fund’s portfolio securities. The manager believes the policy is in the best interests of each fund and its shareholders and that it strikes an appropriate balance between the desire of investors for information about fund portfolio holdings and the need to protect funds from potentially harmful disclosures.

General rules/Website disclosure

The policy provides that information regarding a fund’s portfolio holdings may be shared at any time with employees of the manager, a fund’s subadviser and other affiliated parties involved in the management, administration or operations of the fund (referred to as fund-affiliated personnel). With respect to non-money market funds, a fund’s complete list of holdings (including the size of each position) may be made available to investors, potential investors, third parties and Legg Mason personnel that are not fund-affiliated personnel (i) upon the filing of Form N-Q or Form N-CSR in accordance with SEC rules, provided that such filings are not made until 15 calendar days following the end of the period covered by the Form N-Q or Form N-CSR or (ii) no sooner than 15 days after month end, provided that such information has been made available through public disclosure at least one day previously. Typically, public disclosure is achieved by required filings with the SEC and/or posting the information to Legg Mason’s or the funds’ Internet site that is accessible by the public, or through public release by a third party vendor.

The fund currently discloses its complete portfolio holdings 14 calendar days after quarter-end on Legg Mason’s website: http://www.leggmason.com/individualinvestors/prospectuses (click on the name of the fund).

Ongoing arrangements

Under the policy, a fund may release portfolio holdings information on a regular basis to a custodian, sub-custodian, fund accounting agent, proxy voting provider, rating agency or other vendor or service provider for a legitimate business purpose, where the party receiving the information is under a duty of confidentiality, including a duty to prohibit the sharing of non-public information with unauthorized sources and trading upon non-public information. A fund may enter into other ongoing arrangements for the release of portfolio holdings information, but only if such arrangements serve a legitimate business purpose and are with a party who is subject to a confidentiality agreement and restrictions on trading upon non-public information. None of the funds, Legg Mason or 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 the fund’s board.

 

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Set forth below is a list, as of December 1, 2014, of those parties with whom the manager, 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 maximum frequency of the release under such arrangements, and the minimum length of the lag, if any, between the date of the information and the date on which the information is disclosed. The ongoing arrangements may vary for each party, and it is possible that not every party will receive information for each fund. The parties identified below as recipients are service providers, fund rating agencies, consultants and analysts.

 

Recipient

  

Frequency

  

Delay Before Dissemination

1919 Investment Counsel, LLC

   Daily    None

Bloomberg AIM

   Daily    None

Bloomberg L.P.

   Daily    None

Bloomberg Portfolio Analysis

   Daily    None

Brown Brothers Harriman

   Daily    None

Charles River

   Daily    None

Emerging Portfolio Fund Research, Inc. (EPFR), an Informa Company

   Monthly    None

Enfusion Systems

   Daily    None

ENSO LP

   Daily    None

eVestment Alliance

   Quarterly    8-10 Days

EZE Order Management System

   Daily    None

FactSet

   Daily    None

Institutional Shareholder Services (Proxy Voting Services)

   Daily    None

ITG

   Daily    None

Middle Office Solutions, LLC

   Daily    None

Morningstar

   Daily    None

NaviSite, Inc.

   Daily    None

StarCompliance

   Daily    None

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

   Daily    None

SunGard/Protegent (formerly Dataware)

   Daily    None

The Bank of New York Mellon

   Daily    None

The Northern Trust Company

   Daily    None

Thomson

   Semi-annually    None

Thomson Reuters

   Daily    None

 

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

 

Recipient

  

Frequency

  

Delay Before Dissemination

Broadridge

   Daily    None

Deutsche Bank

   Monthly    6-8 Business Days

DST International plc (DSTi)

   Daily    None

Electra Information Systems

   Daily    None

Fidelity

   Quarterly    5 Business Days

Fitch

   Monthly    6-8 Business Days

Frank Russell

   Monthly    1 Day

Glass Lewis & Co.

   Daily    None

Informa Investment Solutions

   Quarterly    8-10 Days

Interactive Data Corp

   Daily    None

Liberty Hampshire

   Weekly and Month End    None

S&P (Rating Agency)

   Weekly Tuesday Night    1 Business Day

SunTrust

   Weekly and Month End    None

Excluded from the lists of ongoing arrangements set forth above are ongoing arrangements where either (i) the disclosure of portfolio holdings information occurs concurrently with or after the time at which the portfolio holdings information is included in a public filing with the SEC that is required to include the information, or (ii) a fund’s portfolio holdings information is made available no earlier than the day next following the day on which the fund makes the information available on its website, as disclosed in the fund’s prospectus. The approval of the funds’ 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 from the policy.

Release of limited portfolio holdings information

In addition to the ongoing arrangements described above, a fund’s complete or partial list of holdings (including size of positions) may be released to another party on a one-time basis, provided the party receiving the information has executed a non-disclosure and confidentiality agreement and provided that the specific release of information has been approved by the fund’s Chief Compliance Officer or designee as consistent with the policy. By way of illustration and not of limitation, release of non-public information about a fund’s portfolio holdings may be made (i) to a proposed or potential adviser or subadviser or other investment manager asked to provide investment management services to the fund, or (ii) to a third party in connection with a program or similar trade.

In addition, the policy permits the release to investors, potential investors, third parties and Legg Mason personnel that are not fund-affiliated personnel of limited portfolio holdings information in other circumstances, 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.

 

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  3. A list of securities (that may include fund holdings together with other securities) followed by an investment professional (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 small number of a fund’s portfolio holdings (including information that the fund no longer holds a particular holding) may be released, but only if the release of the information could not reasonably be seen to interfere with current or future purchase or sales activities of the fund and is not contrary to law.

 

  7. 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.

Exceptions to the policy

A fund’s Chief Compliance Officer, or designee, may, as is deemed appropriate, approve exceptions from the policy. Exceptions are granted only after a thorough examination and consultation with the manager’s legal department, as necessary. Exceptions from the policy are reported annually to each fund’s board.

Limitations of policy

The funds’ portfolio holdings policy is designed to prevent sharing of portfolio information with third parties that have no legitimate business purpose for accessing the information. The policy may not be effective to limit access to portfolio holdings information in all circumstances, however. For example, the manager or the subadviser may manage accounts other than a fund that have investment objectives and strategies similar to those of the fund. Because these accounts, including a fund, may be similarly managed, portfolio holdings may be similar across the accounts. In that case, an investor in another account managed by the manager or the subadviser may be able to infer the portfolio holdings of the fund from the portfolio holdings in that investor’s account.

THE TRUST

The certificate of trust to establish Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust (referred to in this section as the “Trust”) was filed with the State Department of Assessments and Taxation of Maryland on October 4, 2006. As of April 16, 2007, the fund was redomiciled as a series of the Trust. Prior thereto, the fund was a series of Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust, a Massachusetts business trust. Prior to the reorganization of the fund as a series of Legg Mason Partners Investment Trust, the fund was a Maryland corporation.

The Trust is a Maryland statutory trust. A Maryland statutory 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 statutory trust, while the more specific powers, duties, rights and obligations of the trustees and the shareholders are determined by the trustees

 

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as set forth in the trust’s declaration of trust. Some of the more significant provisions of the Trust’s declaration of trust (the “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 of the Trust (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.

A fund is not required to hold an annual meeting of shareholders, but a 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 record 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. There is no cumulative voting on any matter submitted to a vote of the shareholders.

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 limits the rights to indemnification, advancement of expenses or insurance provided in the Declaration with respect to actions or omissions of persons entitled to indemnification, advancement of expenses or insurance 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. All shares offered pursuant to the Prospectus of the fund, when issued, will be fully paid and nonassessable. 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 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 a 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, or as the Trustees otherwise decide.

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

 

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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 that the Trustees may 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 shares of another class. Each share of a 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 a fund and requires the fund to indemnify a shareholder against any loss or expense arising from any such liability. 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 as a Trustee is not personally liable to any person, other than the Trust or its shareholders, in connection with the affairs of the Trust. Each Trustee is required to perform his or her duties in good faith and in a manner he or she believes to be in the best interests of the Trust. All actions and omissions of Trustees are presumed to be in accordance with the foregoing standard of performance, and any person alleging the contrary has the burden of proving that allegation.

The Declaration limits a Trustee’s liability to the Trust or any shareholder to the fullest extent permitted under current Maryland law by providing that 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 to the fullest extent permitted by law against liability and expenses in connection with any claim or proceeding in which he or she is involved by virtue of having been a Trustee, officer or employee. 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, a member or chair of a committee of the Board, lead independent Trustee, 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 a fund or its shareholders as a result of spurious shareholder demands and derivative actions. Prior to bringing a derivative action, a demand by no fewer than three unrelated shareholders must be made on the Trustees. The Declaration details information, certifications, undertakings and acknowledgements that must be included in the demand. The Trustees are not required to consider a demand that is not submitted in accordance with the requirements contained in the Declaration. The Declaration also requires that, in order to bring a derivative action, the complaining shareholders must be joined in the action by shareholders owning, at the time of the alleged wrongdoing, at the time of demand, and at the time the action is commenced, shares representing at least 5% of the voting power of the affected funds. 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 a suit should

 

72


be maintained, then the Trust will commence the suit and the suit will proceed directly and not derivatively. If a majority of the independent Trustees determines 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 consistent with the standard of performance required of the Trustees in performing their duties. If a demand is rejected, the complaining shareholders will be responsible for the costs and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) incurred by the Trust 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 funds’ costs, including attorneys’ fees.

The Declaration further provides that a 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 Trust or a 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 fullest extent permitted by law.

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. 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, gains from the sale or other disposition of stock, securities or 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 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 traditionally 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 20% or more of the voting stock is held by the fund 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.

Although in general the passive loss rules of the Code do not apply to regulated investment companies, such rules do apply to a regulated investment company with respect to items attributable to interests in “qualified publicly traded partnerships” ( i.e. , partnerships that are traded on an established securities market or tradable on a

 

73


secondary market, other than partnerships that derive 90% of their income from interest, dividends, capital gains, and other traditionally permitted mutual fund income). Fund 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 its net investment income ( i.e. , income other than its net realized long-term and short-term capital gains) and its net realized long-term and short-term capital gains, if any, that it distributes to its shareholders, provided an amount equal to at least (i) 90% of the sum of its investment company taxable income ( i.e. , its taxable income minus the excess, if any, of its net realized long-term capital gains over its net realized short-term capital losses (including any capital loss carryovers), plus or minus certain other adjustments as specified in the Code) and (ii) 90% of its net tax-exempt income for the taxable year is distributed to its shareholders in compliance with the Code’s timing and other requirements. However, any taxable income or gain the fund does not distribute will be subject to tax at regular corporate rates.

On August 31, 2014, the unused capital loss carryforward of the fund was $0. For federal income tax purposes, this amount is available to be applied against the fund’s future realized capital gains that are realized prior to the expiration of the carryforward, if any. For taxable years beginning in 2011 or after, capital losses will not be subject to expiration. In the event that the fund were to experience an ownership change as defined under the Code, the fund’s loss carryforwards and any other favorable tax attributes, if any, may be subject to limitation. 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 98% of its ordinary income for that year and at least 98.2% 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, but there cannot be assurance that this will be the case.

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 that are taxable to shareholders as ordinary income, even though those distributions might otherwise (at least in part) have been treated in the shareholders’ hands as long-term capital gains. 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 fails 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) 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

 

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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, may make relevant tax elections, which may affect the recognition, timing or character of the fund’s income and gains, possibly in a manner deleterious to shareholders, and expects to make the entries in its books and records when it acquires any foreign currency, forward contract, option, futures contract or hedged investment with respect to these special provisions of the Code.

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 indexes, 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). With respect to certain types of swaps, the fund may be required to currently recognize income or loss with respect to future payments on such swaps or may elect under certain circumstances to mark such swaps to market annually for tax purposes as ordinary income or loss.

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 (a) 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 (b) 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 (c) 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 certain situations, the fund may, for a taxable year, defer all or a portion of its capital losses realized after October and its late-year ordinary losses (defined as the excess of post-October foreign currency and PFIC losses and other post-December ordinary losses over post-October foreign currency and PFIC gains and other post-December ordinary income) realized after December until the next taxable year in computing its investment company taxable income and net capital gain, which will defer the recognition of such realized losses. Such deferrals and other rules regarding gains and losses realized after October (or December) may affect the tax character of shareholder distributions.

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 the fund’s hands. Except with respect to certain situations where the property used by the fund to

 

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close a short sale has a long-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.

Foreign Investments . Dividends, interest and proceeds from the sale of foreign securities may be subject to non-U.S. withholding income and other taxes, including financial transaction taxes. Even if the fund is entitled to seek a refund in respect of such taxes, it may choose not to. Tax conventions between certain countries and the United States may reduce or eliminate such taxes in some cases. 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. In general, gains (and losses) realized on debt instruments will be treated as Section 988 gain (or loss) to the extent attributable to changes in exchange rates between the U.S. dollar and the currencies in which the instruments are denominated. 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.

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

 

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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 (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 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.

Dividends of net investment income and distributions of net realized short-term capital gains are taxable to a U.S. shareholder as ordinary income, whether paid in cash or in shares. Distributions of net realized long-term capital gains, if any, that the fund reports 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 dividends will not be eligible for the dividends received deduction. Dividends and distributions paid by the fund attributable to dividends on stock of U.S. corporations received by the fund, with respect to which the fund meets certain holding period requirements, will be eligible for the deduction for dividends received by corporations. Special rules apply, however, to regular dividends paid to individuals. Such a dividend may be subject to tax at the rates generally applicable to long-term capital gains for individuals (15% for individuals with incomes below $400,000 ($450,000 if married filing jointly), 20% for individuals with any income above those amounts that is long-term capital gain and 0% at certain income levels; the above threshold amounts will be adjusted annually for inflation), 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: (a) 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 (b) 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. 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 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.

 

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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 (a) 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 (b) 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.

Investors considering buying shares 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.

Under current law, the fund serves to block unrelated business taxable income (“UBTI”) from being realized by its tax-exempt shareholders. Notwithstanding the foregoing, a tax-exempt shareholder could realize UBTI by virtue of its investment in the fund if shares in the fund constitute debt-financed property in the hands of the tax-exempt shareholder within the meaning of Code Section 514(b). Certain types of income received by the fund from REITs, real estate mortgage investment conduits, 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 (a) constitute taxable income, as UBTI for those shareholders who would otherwise be tax-exempt such as individual retirement accounts, 401(k) accounts, Keogh plans, pension plans and certain charitable entities; (b) not be offset by otherwise allowable deductions for tax purposes; (c) not be eligible for reduced U.S. withholding for non-U.S. shareholders even from tax treaty countries; and (d) cause the fund to be subject to tax if certain “disqualified organizations” as defined by the Code are fund shareholders.

If a charitable remainder annuity trust or charitable remainder unitrust (each as defined in Code Section 664) has UBTI for a tax year, a 100% excise tax on the UBTI is imposed on the trust.

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

 

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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 during such six month period. If a shareholder incurs a sales charge in acquiring shares of the fund, disposes of those shares within 90 days and then by January 31 of the calendar year following the year of disposition 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 in a family of mutual funds.

The fund, or, if you hold your shares through a Service Agent, your Service Agent will report to the IRS the amount of proceeds that a shareholder receives from a redemption or exchange of fund shares. For redemptions or exchanges of shares acquired on or after January 1, 2012, the fund will also report the shareholder’s basis in those shares and the character of any gain or loss that the shareholder realizes on the redemption or exchange ( i.e. , short-term or long-term), and certain related tax information. If a shareholder has a different basis for different shares of the fund in the same account ( e.g. , if a shareholder purchased fund shares held in the same account when the shares were at different prices), the fund will by default report the basis of the shares redeemed or exchanged using the average basis method, under which the basis per share is the average of the bases of all the shareholder’s fund shares in the account. (For these purposes, shares acquired prior to January 1, 2012 and shares acquired on or after January 1, 2012 will be treated as held in separate accounts.)

A shareholder may instruct the fund to use a method other than average basis for an account. If redemptions, including in connection with payment of an account fee, or exchanges have occurred in an account to which the average basis method applied, the basis of the fund shares remaining in the account will continue to reflect the average basis notwithstanding the shareholder’s subsequent election of a different method. For further assistance, shareholders who hold their shares directly with the fund may call the fund at 1-877-721-1926 Monday through Friday between 8:00 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. (Eastern time). Shareholders who hold shares through a Service Agent should contact the Service Agent for further assistance or for information regarding the Service Agent’s default method for calculating basis and procedures for electing to use an alternative method. Shareholders should consult their tax advisers concerning the tax consequences of applying the average basis method or electing another method of basis calculation, and should consider electing such other method prior to making redemptions or exchanges in their account.

Backup Withholding . The fund may be required to withhold, for U.S. federal income tax purposes, 28% 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 be notified annually by the fund as to the U.S. federal income tax status of the dividends, distributions and deemed distributions attributable to undistributed capital gains (discussed above in “Taxes-Taxation of U.S. Shareholders-Dividends and Distributions”) made by the fund to its shareholders. Furthermore, shareholders will also 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.

If the fund is held through a qualified retirement plan entitled to tax exempt treatment for federal income tax purposes, distributions will generally not be taxable currently. Special tax rules apply to such retirement plans.

 

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You should consult your tax adviser regarding the tax treatment of distributions (which may include amounts attributable to fund distributions) which may be taxable when distributed from the retirement plan.

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 advisers 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, U.S. 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, 2014, properly reported dividends are generally exempt from U.S. federal withholding tax where they (a) 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 (b) 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 report 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 reports 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.

For taxable years beginning before January 1, 2014, distributions that the fund reports as “short-term capital gain dividends” or “long-term capital gain dividends” will not be treated as such to a recipient non-U.S.

 

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shareholder if the distribution is attributable to gain received from the sale or exchange of U.S. real property or an interest in a U.S. real property holding corporation and the fund’s direct or indirect interests in U.S. real property exceeded certain levels. Instead, if the non-U.S. shareholder has not owned more than 5% of the outstanding shares of the fund at any time during the one year period ending on the date of distribution, such distributions will be subject to 30% withholding by the fund and will be treated as ordinary dividends to the non-U.S. shareholder; if the non-U.S. shareholder owned more than 5% of the outstanding shares of the fund at any time during the one year period ending on the date of the distribution, such distribution will be treated as real property gain subject to 35% withholding tax and could subject the non-U.S. shareholder to U.S. filing requirements. Additionally, if the fund’s direct or indirect interests in U.S. real property were to exceed certain levels, a non-U.S. shareholder realizing gains upon redemption from the fund on or before December 31, 2013 could be subject to the 35% withholding tax and U.S. filing requirements unless more than 50% of the fund’s shares were owned by U.S. persons at such time or unless the non-U.S. person had not held more than 5% of the fund’s outstanding shares throughout either such person’s holding period for the redeemed shares or, if shorter, the previous five years.

In addition, the same rules apply with respect to distributions to a non-U.S. shareholder from the fund and redemptions of a non-U.S. shareholder’s interest in the fund attributable to a REIT’s distribution to the fund of gain from the sale or exchange of U.S. real property or an interest in a U.S. real property holding corporation, if the fund’s direct or indirect interests in U.S. real property were to exceed certain levels.

The rules laid out in the previous two paragraphs, other than the withholding rules, will apply notwithstanding the fund’s participation in a wash sale transaction or its payment of a substitute dividend.

Under legislation known as “FATCA” (the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act), the fund will be required to withhold 30% of certain ordinary dividends it pays after June 30, 2014 (or in certain cases, after later dates), and 30% of the gross proceeds of share redemptions and certain capital gain dividends it pays after December 31, 2016, to shareholders that fail to meet prescribed information reporting or certification requirements. In general, no such withholding will be required with respect to a U.S. person or non-U.S. individual that timely provides the certifications required by the fund or its agent on a valid IRS Form W-9 or W-8, respectively. Shareholders potentially subject to withholding include foreign financial institutions (“FFIs”), such as non-U.S. investment funds, and non-financial foreign entities (“NFFEs”). To avoid withholding under FATCA, an FFI generally must enter into an information sharing agreement with the IRS in which it agrees to report certain identifying information (including name, address, and taxpayer identification number) with respect to its U.S. account holders (which, in the case of an entity shareholder, may include its direct and indirect U.S. owners), and an NFFE generally must identify and provide other required information to the fund or other withholding agent regarding its U.S. owners, if any. Such non-U.S. shareholders also may fall into certain exempt, excepted or deemed compliant categories as established by regulations and other guidance. A non-U.S. shareholder resident or doing business in a country that has entered into an intergovernmental agreement with the U.S. to implement FATCA will be exempt from FATCA withholding provided that the shareholder and the applicable foreign government comply with the terms of such agreement.

The IRS has indicated that an FFI that is subject to the information sharing requirement will need to ensure that it will be identified as FATCA-compliant in sufficient time to allow the fund to refrain from withholding beginning on July 1, 2014. A non-U.S. entity that invests in the fund will need to provide the fund with documentation properly certifying the entity’s status under FATCA in order to avoid FATCA withholding.

Non-U.S. investors should consult their own tax advisers regarding the impact of these requirements on their investment in the fund.

 

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Shares of the fund held by a non-U.S. shareholder at death will be considered situated in the United States and subject to the U.S. estate tax.

The tax consequences to a non-U.S. shareholder entitled to claim the benefits of an applicable tax treaty may be different from those described here. Foreign shareholders should consult their own tax advisers with respect to the particular tax consequences to them of an investment in the fund, including the applicability of non-U.S. taxes.

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.

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

The audited financial statements of the fund (Statement of Assets and Liabilities, including the Schedule of Investments as of August 31, 2014, Statement of Operations for the year ended August 31, 2014, Statements of Changes in Net Assets for each of the years in the two-year period ended August 31, 2014, Financial Highlights for each of the years or periods in the five-year period ended August 31, 2014, 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 October 24, 2014; Accession Number 0001193125-14-380460).

 

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Appendix A

C LEARBRIDGE I NVESTMENTS , LLC

P ROXY V OTING P OLICIES AND P ROCEDURES

AMENDED AS OF JANUARY 7, 2013

 

I. Types of Accounts for Which ClearBridge Votes Proxies

 

II. General Guidelines

 

III. How ClearBridge Votes

 

IV. Conflicts of Interest

 

  A. Procedures for Identifying Conflicts of Interest

 

  B. Procedures for Assessing Materiality of Conflicts of Interest and for Addressing Material Conflicts of Interest

 

  C. Third Party Proxy Voting Firm – Conflicts of Interest

 

V. Voting Policy

 

  A. Election of Directors

 

  B. Proxy Contests

 

  C. Auditors

 

  D. Proxy Contest Defenses

 

  E. Tender Offer Defenses

 

  F. Miscellaneous Governance Provisions

 

  G. Capital Structure

 

  H. Executive and Director Compensation

 

  I. State of Incorporation

 

  J. Mergers and Corporate Restructuring

 

  K. Social and Environmental Issues

 

  L. Miscellaneous

 

VI. Other Considerations

 

  A. Share Blocking

 

  B. Securities on Loan

 

VII. Disclosure of Proxy Voting

 

VIII. Recordkeeping and Oversight

 

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CLEARBRIDGE INVESTMENTS, LLC

Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures

I. TYPES OF ACCOUNTS FOR WHICH CLEARBRIDGE VOTES PROXIES

ClearBridge votes proxies for each client that has specifically authorized us to vote them in the investment management contract or otherwise and votes proxies for each ERISA account unless the plan document or investment advisory agreement specifically reserves the responsibility to vote proxies to the plan trustees or other named fiduciary. These policies and procedures are intended to fulfill applicable requirements imposed on ClearBridge by the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended, the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974, as amended, and the rules and regulations adopted under these laws.

II. GENERAL GUIDELINES

In voting proxies, we are guided by general fiduciary principles. Our goal is to act prudently, solely in the best interest of the beneficial owners of the accounts we manage and, in the case of ERISA accounts, for the exclusive purpose of providing economic benefits to such persons. We attempt to provide for the consideration of all factors that could affect the value of the investment and will vote proxies in the manner that we believe will be consistent with efforts to maximize shareholder values.

III. HOW CLEARBRIDGE VOTES

Section V of these policies and procedures sets forth certain stated positions. In the case of a proxy issue for which there is a stated position, we generally vote in accordance with the stated position. In the case of a proxy issue for which there is a list of factors set forth in Section V that we consider in voting on such issue, we consider those factors and vote on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the general principles set forth above. In the case of a proxy issue for which there is no stated position or list of factors that we consider in voting on such issue, we vote on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the general principles set forth above. We may utilize an external service provider to provide us with information and/or a recommendation with regard to proxy votes but we are not required to follow any such recommendations. The use of an external service provider does not relieve us of our responsibility for the proxy vote.

For routine matters, we usually vote according to our policy or the external service provider’s recommendation, although we are not obligated to do so and an individual portfolio manager may vote contrary to our policy or the recommendation of the external service provider. If a matter is non-routine, e.g. , management’s recommendation is different than that of the external service provider and ClearBridge is a significant holder or it is a significant holding for ClearBridge, the issues will be highlighted to the appropriate investment teams and their views solicited by members of the Proxy Committee. Different investment teams may vote differently on the same issue, depending upon their assessment of clients’ best interests.

ClearBridge’s proxy voting process is overseen and coordinated by its Proxy Committee.

IV. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

In furtherance of ClearBridge’s goal to vote proxies in the best interests 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.

 

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  A. Procedures for Identifying Conflicts of Interest

ClearBridge relies on the following to seek to identify conflicts of interest with respect to proxy voting:

 

  1. ClearBridge’s employees are periodically reminded of their 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 or personal or business relationships relating to another Legg Mason business unit, and (ii) to bring conflicts of interest of which they become aware to the attention of ClearBridge’s General Counsel/Chief Compliance Officer.

 

  2. ClearBridge’s finance area maintains and provides to ClearBridge Compliance and proxy voting personnel an up- to-date list of all client relationships that have historically accounted for or are projected to account for greater than 1% of ClearBridge’s net revenues.

 

  3. As a general matter, ClearBridge takes the position that relationships between a non-ClearBridge Legg Mason unit 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 because ClearBridge operates as an independent business unit from other Legg Mason business units and because of the existence of informational barriers between ClearBridge and certain other Legg Mason business units. As noted above, ClearBridge employees are under an obligation to bring such conflicts of interest, including conflicts of interest which may arise because of an attempt by another Legg Mason business unit or non-ClearBridge Legg Mason officer or employee to influence proxy voting by ClearBridge to the attention of ClearBridge Compliance.

 

  4. A list of issuers with respect to which ClearBridge has a potential conflict of interest in voting proxies on behalf of client accounts will be maintained by ClearBridge proxy voting personnel. ClearBridge will not vote proxies relating to such issuers until it has been determined that the conflict of interest is not material or a method for resolving the conflict of interest has been agreed upon and implemented, as described in Section IV below.

 

  B. Procedures for Assessing Materiality of Conflicts of Interest and for Addressing Material Conflicts of Interest

 

  1. ClearBridge maintains a Proxy Committee which, among other things, reviews and addresses conflicts of interest brought to its attention. The Proxy Committee is comprised of such ClearBridge personnel (and others, at ClearBridge’s request), as are designated from time to time. The current members of the Proxy Committee are set forth in the Proxy Committee’s Terms of Reference.

 

  2. All conflicts of interest identified pursuant to the procedures outlined in Section IV. A. must be brought to the attention of the Proxy Committee for resolution. 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 generally is not brought to the attention of the Proxy Committee for a conflict of interest review because ClearBridge’s position is that any conflict of interest issues are resolved by voting in accordance with a pre-determined policy or in accordance with the recommendation of an independent third party.
  3. The Proxy Committee will determine whether a conflict of interest is material. A conflict of interest will be 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 the proxy. All materiality determinations will be based on an assessment of the particular facts and circumstances. A written record of all materiality determinations made by the Proxy Committee will be maintained.

 

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  4. If it is determined by the Proxy Committee that a conflict of interest is not material, ClearBridge may vote proxies notwithstanding the existence of the conflict.

 

  5. If it is determined by the Proxy Committee that a conflict of interest is material, the Proxy Committee will determine an appropriate method to resolve such conflict of interest before the proxy affected by the conflict of interest is voted. Such determination shall be based on the particular facts and circumstances, including the importance of the proxy issue, the nature of the conflict of interest, etc. Such methods may include:

 

   

disclosing the conflict to clients and obtaining their consent before voting;

 

   

suggesting to clients that they engage another party to vote the proxy on their behalf;

 

   

in the case of a conflict of interest resulting from a particular employee’s personal relationships, removing such employee from the decision-making process with respect to such proxy vote; or

 

   

such other method as is deemed appropriate given the particular facts and circumstances, including the importance of the proxy issue, the nature of the conflict of interest, etc.*

A written record of the method used to resolve a material conflict of interest shall be maintained.

 

  C. Third Party Proxy Voting Firm—Conflicts of Interest

With respect to a third party proxy voting firm described herein, the Proxy Committee will periodically review and assess such firm’s policies, procedures and practices with respect to the disclosure and handling of conflicts of interest.

V. VOTING POLICY

These are policy guidelines that 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 holding the shares being voted. There may be occasions when different investment teams vote differently on the same issue. A ClearBridge 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 Proxy Voting Guidelines, which ISS represents to be fully consistent with AFL-CIO guidelines.

 

  A. Election of Directors

 

  1. Voting on Director Nominees in Uncontested Elections.

 

  a. We withhold our vote from a director nominee who:

 

   

attended less than 75 percent of the company’s board and committee meetings without a valid excuse (illness, service to the nation/local government, work on behalf of the company);

 

   

were members of the company’s board when such board failed to act on a shareholder proposal that received approval of a majority of shares cast for the previous two consecutive years;

 

 

* Especially in the case of an apparent, as opposed to actual, conflict of interest, the Proxy Committee may resolve such conflict of interest by satisfying itself that ClearBridge’s proposed vote on a proxy issue is in the best interest of client accounts and is not being influenced by the conflict of interest.

 

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received more than 50 percent withheld votes of the shares cast at the previous board election, and the company has failed to address the issue as to why;

 

   

is an insider where: (1) such person serves on any of the audit, compensation or nominating committees of the company’s board, (2) the company’s board performs the functions typically performed by a company’s audit, compensation and nominating committees, or (3) the full board is less than a majority independent (unless the director nominee is also the company CEO, in which case we will vote FOR);

 

   

is a member of the company’s audit committee, when excessive non-audit fees were paid to the auditor, or there are chronic control issues and an absence of established effective control mechanisms.

 

  b. We vote for all other director nominees.

 

  2. Chairman and CEO is the Same Person.

We vote on a case-by-case basis on shareholder proposals that would require the positions of the Chairman and CEO to be held by different persons. We would generally vote FOR such a proposal unless there are compelling reasons to vote against the proposal, including:

 

   

Designation of a lead director

 

   

Majority of independent directors (supermajority)

 

   

All independent key committees

 

   

Size of the company (based on market capitalization)

 

   

Established governance guidelines

 

   

Company performance

 

  3. Majority of Independent Directors

 

  a. We vote for shareholder proposals that request that the board be comprised of a majority of independent directors. Generally that would require that the director have no connection to the company other than the board seat. In determining whether an independent director is truly independent (e.g. when voting on a slate of director candidates), we consider certain factors including, but not necessarily limited to, the following: whether the director or his/her company provided professional services to the company or its affiliates either currently or in the past year; whether the director has any transactional relationship with the company; whether the director is a significant customer or supplier of the company; whether the director is employed by a foundation or university that received significant grants or endowments from the company or its affiliates; and whether there are interlocking directorships.

 

  b. We vote for shareholder proposals that request that the board audit, compensation and/or nominating committees include independent directors exclusively.

 

  4. Stock Ownership Requirements

We vote against shareholder proposals requiring directors to own a minimum amount of company stock in order to qualify as a director, or to remain on the board.

 

  5. Term of Office

We vote against shareholder proposals to limit the tenure of independent directors.

 

  6. Director and Officer Indemnification and Liability Protection

 

  a. Subject to subparagraphs 2, 3, and 4 below, we vote for proposals concerning director and officer indemnification and liability protection.

 

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  b. We vote for proposals to limit and against proposals to eliminate entirely director and officer liability for monetary damages for violating the duty of care.

 

  c. We vote against indemnification proposals that would expand coverage beyond just legal expenses to acts, such as negligence, that are more serious violations of fiduciary obligations than mere carelessness.

 

  d. We vote for only those proposals that provide such expanded coverage noted in subparagraph 3 above in cases when a director’s or officer’s legal defense was unsuccessful if: (1) the director was found to have acted in good faith and in a manner that he reasonably believed was in the best interests of the company, and (2) if only the director’s legal expenses would be covered.

 

  7. Director Qualifications

 

  a. We vote case-by-case on proposals that establish or amend director qualifications. Considerations include how reasonable the criteria are and to what degree they may preclude dissident nominees from joining the board.

 

  b. We vote against shareholder proposals requiring two candidates per board seat.

 

  B. Proxy Contests

 

  1. Voting for Director Nominees in Contested Elections

We vote on a case-by-case basis in contested elections of directors. Considerations include: chronology of events leading up to the proxy contest; qualifications of director nominees (incumbents and dissidents); for incumbents, whether the board is comprised of a majority of outside directors; whether key committees (i.e.: nominating, audit, compensation) comprise solely of independent outsiders; discussion with the respective portfolio manager(s).

 

  2. Reimburse Proxy Solicitation Expenses

We vote on a case-by-case basis on proposals to provide full reimbursement for dissidents waging a proxy contest. Considerations include: identity of persons who will pay solicitation expenses; cost of solicitation; percentage that will be paid to proxy solicitation firms.

 

  C. Auditors

 

  1. Ratifying Auditors

We vote for proposals to ratify auditors, unless an auditor has a financial interest in or association with the company, and is therefore not independent; or there is reason to believe that the independent auditor has rendered an opinion that is neither accurate nor indicative of the company’s financial position or there is reason to believe the independent auditor has not followed the highest level of ethical conduct. Specifically, we will vote to ratify auditors if the auditors only provide the company audit services and such other audit-related and non-audit services the provision of which will not cause such auditors to lose their independence under applicable laws, rules and regulations.

 

  2. Financial Statements and Director and Auditor Reports

We generally vote for management proposals seeking approval of financial accounts and reports and the discharge of management and supervisory board members, unless there is concern about the past actions of the company’s auditors or directors.

 

  3. Remuneration of Auditors

We vote for proposals to authorize the board or an audit committee of the board to determine the remuneration of auditors, unless there is evidence of excessive compensation relative to the size and nature of the company.

 

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  4. Indemnification of Auditors

We vote against proposals to indemnify auditors.

 

  D. Proxy Contest Defenses

 

  1. Board Structure: Staggered vs. Annual Elections

 

  a. We vote against proposals to classify the board.

 

  b. We vote for proposals to repeal classified boards and to elect all directors annually.

 

  2. Shareholder Ability to Remove Directors

 

  a. We vote against proposals that provide that directors may be removed only for cause.

 

  b. We vote for proposals to restore shareholder ability to remove directors with or without cause.

 

  c. We vote against proposals that provide that only continuing directors may elect replacements to fill board vacancies.

 

  d. We vote for proposals that permit shareholders to elect directors to fill board vacancies.

 

  3. Cumulative Voting

 

  a. If plurality voting is in place for uncontested director elections, we vote for proposals to permit or restore cumulative voting.

 

  b. If majority voting is in place for uncontested director elections, we vote against cumulative voting.

 

  c. If plurality voting is in place for uncontested director elections, and proposals to adopt both cumulative voting and majority voting are on the same slate, we vote for majority voting and against cumulative voting.

 

  4. Majority Voting

We vote for non-binding and/or binding resolutions requesting that the board amend a company’s by-laws to stipulate that directors need to be elected with an affirmative majority of the votes cast, provided that it does not conflict with the state law where the company is incorporated. In addition, all resolutions need to provide for a carve-out for a plurality vote standard when there are more nominees than board seats (i.e. contested election). In addition, ClearBridge strongly encourages companies to adopt a post-election director resignation policy setting guidelines for the company to follow to promptly address situations involving holdover directors.

 

  5. Shareholder Ability to Call Special Meetings

 

  a. We vote against proposals to restrict or prohibit shareholder ability to call special meetings.

 

  b. We vote for proposals that provide shareholders with the ability to call special meetings, taking into account a minimum ownership threshold of 10 percent (and investor ownership structure, depending on bylaws).

 

  6. Shareholder Ability to Act by Written Consent

 

  a. We vote against proposals to restrict or prohibit shareholder ability to take action by written consent.

 

  b. We vote for proposals to allow or make easier shareholder action by written consent.

 

  7. Shareholder Ability to Alter the Size of the Board

 

  a. We vote for proposals that seek to fix the size of the board.

 

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  b. We vote against proposals that give management the ability to alter the size of the board without shareholder approval.

 

  8. Advance Notice Proposals

We vote on advance notice proposals on a case-by-case basis, giving support to those proposals which allow shareholders to submit proposals as close to the meeting date as reasonably possible and within the broadest window possible.

 

  9. Amendment of By-Laws

 

  a. We vote against proposals giving the board exclusive authority to amend the by-laws.

 

  b. We vote for proposals giving the board the ability to amend the by-laws in addition to shareholders.

 

  10. Article Amendments (not otherwise covered by ClearBridge Proxy Voting Policies and Procedures).

We review on a case-by-case basis all proposals seeking amendments to the articles of association.

We vote for article amendments if:

 

   

shareholder rights are protected;

 

   

there is negligible or positive impact on shareholder value;

 

   

management provides adequate reasons for the amendments; and

 

   

the company is required to do so by law (if applicable).

 

  E. Tender Offer Defenses

 

  1. Poison Pills

 

  a. We vote for shareholder proposals that ask a company to submit its poison pill for shareholder ratification.

 

  b. We vote on a case-by-case basis on shareholder proposals to redeem a company’s poison pill. Considerations include: when the plan was originally adopted; financial condition of the company; terms of the poison pill.

 

  c. We vote on a case-by-case basis on management proposals to ratify a poison pill. Considerations include: sunset provision—poison pill is submitted to shareholders for ratification or rejection every 2 to 3 years; shareholder redemption feature -10% of the shares may call a special meeting or seek a written consent to vote on rescinding the rights plan.

 

  2. Fair Price Provisions

 

  a. We vote for fair price proposals, as long as the shareholder vote requirement embedded in the provision is no more than a majority of disinterested shares.

 

  b. We vote for shareholder proposals to lower the shareholder vote requirement in existing fair price provisions.

 

  3. Greenmail

 

  a. We vote for proposals to adopt anti-greenmail charter or bylaw amendments or otherwise restrict a company’s ability to make greenmail payments.

 

  b. We vote on a case-by-case basis on anti-greenmail proposals when they are bundled with other charter or bylaw amendments.

 

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  4. Unequal Voting Rights

 

  a. We vote against dual class exchange offers.

 

  b. We vote against dual class re-capitalization.

 

  5. Supermajority Shareholder Vote Requirement to Amend the Charter or Bylaws

 

  a. We vote against management proposals to require a supermajority shareholder vote to approve charter and bylaw amendments.

 

  b. We vote for shareholder proposals to lower supermajority shareholder vote requirements for charter and bylaw amendments.

 

  6. Supermajority Shareholder Vote Requirement to Approve Mergers

 

  a. We vote against management proposals to require a supermajority shareholder vote to approve mergers and other significant business combinations.

 

  b. We vote for shareholder proposals to lower supermajority shareholder vote requirements for mergers and other significant business combinations.

 

  7. White Squire Placements

We vote for shareholder proposals to require approval of blank check preferred stock issues.

 

  F. Miscellaneous Governance Provisions

 

  1. Confidential Voting

 

  a. We vote for shareholder proposals that request corporations to adopt confidential voting, use independent tabulators and use independent inspectors of election as long as the proposals include clauses for proxy contests as follows: in the case of a contested election, management is permitted to request that the dissident group honor its confidential voting policy. If the dissidents agree, the policy remains in place. If the dissidents do not agree, the confidential voting policy is waived.

 

  b. We vote for management proposals to adopt confidential voting subject to the proviso for contested elections set forth in sub-paragraph A.1 above.

 

  2. Equal Access

We vote for shareholder proposals that would allow significant company shareholders equal access to management’s proxy material in order to evaluate and propose voting recommendations on proxy proposals and director nominees, and in order to nominate their own candidates to the board.

 

  3. Bundled Proposals

We vote on a case-by-case basis on bundled or “conditioned” proxy proposals. In the case of items that are conditioned upon each other, we examine the benefits and costs of the packaged items. In instances when the joint effect of the conditioned items is not in shareholders’ best interests and therefore not in the best interests of the beneficial owners of accounts, we vote against the proposals. If the combined effect is positive, we support such proposals.

 

  4. Shareholder Advisory Committees

We vote on a case-by-case basis on proposals to establish a shareholder advisory committee. Considerations include: rationale and cost to the firm to form such a committee. We generally vote against such proposals if the board and key nominating committees are comprised solely of independent/outside directors.

 

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  5. Other Business

We vote for proposals that seek to bring forth other business matters.

 

  6. Adjourn Meeting

We vote on a case-by-case basis on proposals that seek to adjourn a shareholder meeting in order to solicit additional votes.

 

  7. Lack of Information

We vote against proposals if a company fails to provide shareholders with adequate information upon which to base their voting decision.

 

  G. Capital Structure

 

  1. Common Stock Authorization

 

  a. We vote on a case-by-case basis on proposals to increase the number of shares of common stock authorized for issue, except as described in paragraph 2 below.

 

  b. Subject to paragraph 3, below we vote for the approval requesting increases in authorized shares if the company meets certain criteria:

 

   

Company has already issued a certain percentage (i.e. greater than 50%) of the company’s allotment.

 

   

The proposed increase is reasonable (i.e. less than 150% of current inventory) based on an analysis of the company’s historical stock management or future growth outlook of the company.

 

  c. We vote on a case-by-case basis, based on the input of affected portfolio managers, if holding is greater than 1% of an account.

 

  2. Stock Distributions: Splits and Dividends

We vote on a case-by-case basis on management proposals to increase common share authorization for a stock split, provided that the split does not result in an increase of authorized but unissued shares of more than 100% after giving effect to the shares needed for the split.

 

  3. Reverse Stock Splits

We vote for management proposals to implement a reverse stock split, provided that the reverse split does not result in an increase of authorized but unissued shares of more than 100% after giving effect to the shares needed for the reverse split.

 

  4. Blank Check Preferred Stock

 

  a. We vote against proposals to create, authorize or increase the number of shares with regard to blank check preferred stock with unspecified voting, conversion, dividend distribution and other rights.

 

  b. We vote for proposals to create “declawed” blank check preferred stock (stock that cannot be used as a takeover defense).

 

  c. We vote for proposals to authorize preferred stock in cases where the company specifies the voting, dividend, conversion, and other rights of such stock and the terms of the preferred stock appear reasonable.

 

  d. We vote for proposals requiring a shareholder vote for blank check preferred stock issues.

 

  5. Adjust Par Value of Common Stock

We vote for management proposals to reduce the par value of common stock.

 

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  6. Preemptive Rights

 

  a. We vote on a case-by-case basis for shareholder proposals seeking to establish them and consider the following factors:

 

   

Size of the Company.

 

   

Characteristics of the size of the holding (holder owning more than 1% of the outstanding shares).

 

   

Percentage of the rights offering (rule of thumb less than 5%).

 

  b. We vote on a case-by-case basis for shareholder proposals seeking the elimination of pre-emptive rights.

 

  7. Debt Restructuring

We vote on a case-by-case basis for proposals to increase common and/or preferred shares and to issue shares as part of a debt-restructuring plan. Generally, we approve proposals that facilitate debt restructuring.

 

  8. Share Repurchase Programs

We vote for management proposals to institute open-market share repurchase plans in which all shareholders may participate on equal terms.

 

  9. Dual-Class Stock

We vote for proposals to create a new class of nonvoting or sub voting common stock if:

 

   

It is intended for financing purposes with minimal or no dilution to current shareholders

 

   

It is not designed to preserve the voting power of an insider or significant shareholder

 

  10. Issue Stock for Use with Rights Plan

We vote against proposals that increase authorized common stock for the explicit purpose of implementing a shareholder rights plan (poison pill).

 

  11. Debt Issuance Requests

When evaluating a debt issuance request, the issuing company’s present financial situation is examined. The main factor for analysis is the company’s current debt-to- equity ratio, or gearing level. A high gearing level may incline markets and financial analysts to downgrade the company’s bond rating, increasing its investment risk factor in the process. A gearing level up to 100 percent is considered acceptable.

We vote for debt issuances for companies when the gearing level is between zero and 100 percent.

We view on a case-by-case basis proposals where the issuance of debt will result in the gearing

level being greater than 100 percent. Any proposed debt issuance is compared to industry and market standards.

 

  12. Financing Plans

We generally vote for the adopting of financing plans if we believe they are in the best economic interests of shareholders.

 

  H. Executive and Director Compensation

In general, we vote for executive and director compensation plans, with the view that viable compensation programs reward the creation of stockholder wealth by having high payout sensitivity to increases in shareholder value. Certain factors, however, such as repricing underwater stock options without shareholder approval, would cause us to vote against a plan. Additionally, in some cases we would vote against a plan deemed unnecessary.

 

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  1. OBRA-Related Compensation Proposals

 

  a. Amendments that Place a Cap on Annual Grant or Amend Administrative Features

We vote for plans that simply amend shareholder-approved plans to include administrative features or place a cap on the annual grants any one participant may receive to comply with the provisions of Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code.

 

  b. Amendments to Added Performance-Based Goals

We vote for amendments to add performance goals to existing compensation plans to comply with the provisions of Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code.

 

  c. Amendments to Increase Shares and Retain Tax Deductions Under OBRA

We vote for amendments to existing plans to increase shares reserved and to qualify the plan for favorable tax treatment under the provisions of Section 162(m) the Internal Revenue Code.

 

  d. Approval of Cash or Cash-and-Stock Bonus Plans

We vote for cash or cash-and-stock bonus plans to exempt the compensation from taxes under the provisions of Section 162(m) of the Internal Revenue Code.

 

  2. Expensing of Options

We vote for proposals to expense stock options on financial statements.

 

  3. Index Stock Options

We vote on a case by case basis with respect to proposals seeking to index stock options. Considerations include whether the issuer expenses stock options on its financial statements and whether the issuer’s compensation committee is comprised solely of independent directors.

 

  4. Shareholder Proposals to Limit Executive and Director Pay

 

  a. We vote on a case-by-case basis on all shareholder proposals that seek additional disclosure of executive and director pay information. Considerations include: cost and form of disclosure. We vote for such proposals if additional disclosure is relevant to shareholder’s needs and would not put the company at a competitive disadvantage relative to its industry.

 

  b. We vote on a case-by-case basis on all other shareholder proposals that seek to limit executive and director pay.

We have a policy of voting to reasonably limit the level of options and other equity-based compensation arrangements available to management to reasonably limit shareholder dilution and management compensation. For options and equity-based compensation arrangements, we vote FOR proposals or amendments that would result in the available awards being less than 10% of fully diluted outstanding shares (i.e. if the combined total of shares, common share equivalents and options available to be awarded under all current and proposed compensation plans is less than 10% of fully diluted shares). In the event the available awards exceed the 10% threshold, we would also consider the % relative to the common practice of its specific industry (e.g. technology firms). Other considerations would include, without limitation, the following:

 

   

Compensation committee comprised of independent outside directors

 

   

Maximum award limits

 

   

Repricing without shareholder approval prohibited

 

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3-year average burn rate for company

 

   

Plan administrator has authority to accelerate the vesting of awards

 

   

Shares under the plan subject to performance criteria

 

  5. Golden Parachutes

 

  a. We vote for shareholder proposals to have golden parachutes submitted for shareholder ratification.

 

  b. We vote on a case-by-case basis on all proposals to ratify or cancel golden parachutes. Considerations include: the amount should not exceed 3 times average base salary plus guaranteed benefits; golden parachute should be less attractive than an ongoing employment opportunity with the firm.

 

  6. Golden Coffins

 

  a. We vote for shareholder proposals that request a company not to make any death benefit payments to senior executives’ estates or beneficiaries, or pay premiums in respect to any life insurance policy covering a senior executive’s life (“golden coffin”). We carve out benefits provided under a plan, policy or arrangement applicable to a broader group of employees, such as offering group universal life insurance.

 

  b. We vote for shareholder proposals that request shareholder approval of survivor benefits for future agreements that, following the death of a senior executive, would obligate the company to make payments or awards not earned.

 

  7. Anti Tax Gross-up Policy

 

  a. We vote for proposals that ask a company to adopt a policy whereby it will not make, or promise to make, any tax gross-up payment to its senior executives, except for tax gross-ups provided pursuant to a plan, policy, or arrangement applicable to management employees of the company generally, such as relocation or expatriate tax equalization policy; we also vote for proposals that ask management to put gross-up payments to a shareholder vote.

 

  b. We vote against proposals where a company will make, or promise to make, any tax gross-up payment to its senior executives without a shareholder vote, except for tax gross-ups provided pursuant to a plan, policy, or arrangement applicable to management employees of the company generally, such as relocation or expatriate tax equalization policy.

 

  8. Employee Stock Ownership Plans (ESOPs)

We vote for proposals that request shareholder approval in order to implement an ESOP or to increase authorized shares for existing ESOPs, except in cases when the number of shares allocated to the ESOP is “excessive” (i.e., generally greater than five percent of outstanding shares).

 

  9. Employee Stock Purchase Plans

 

  a. We vote for qualified plans where all of the following apply:

 

   

The purchase price is at least 85 percent of fair market value

 

   

The offering period is 27 months or less

 

   

The number of shares allocated to the plan is five percent or less of outstanding shares

If the above do not apply, we vote on a case-by-case basis.

 

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  b. We vote for non-qualified plans where all of the following apply:

 

   

All employees of the company are eligible to participate (excluding 5 percent or more beneficial owners)

 

   

There are limits on employee contribution (ex: fixed dollar amount)

 

   

There is a company matching contribution with a maximum of 25 percent of an employee’s contribution

 

   

There is no discount on the stock price on purchase date (since there is a company match)

If the above do not apply, we vote against the non-qualified employee stock purchase plan.

 

  10. 401(k) Employee Benefit Plans

We vote for proposals to implement a 401(k) savings plan for employees.

 

  11. Stock Compensation Plans

 

  a. We vote for stock compensation plans which provide a dollar-for-dollar cash for stock exchange.

 

  b. We vote on a case-by-case basis for stock compensation plans which do not provide a dollar-for-dollar cash for stock exchange using a quantitative model.

 

  12. Directors Retirement Plans

 

  a. We vote against retirement plans for non-employee directors.

 

  b. We vote for shareholder proposals to eliminate retirement plans for non-employee directors.

 

  13. Management Proposals to Reprice Options

We vote on a case-by-case basis on management proposals seeking approval to reprice options. Considerations include the following:

 

   

Historic trading patterns

 

   

Rationale for the repricing

 

   

Value-for-value exchange

 

   

Option vesting

 

   

Term of the option

 

   

Exercise price

 

   

Participation

 

  14. Shareholder Proposals Recording Executive and Director Pay

 

  a. We vote against shareholder proposals seeking to set absolute levels on compensation or otherwise dictate the amount or form of compensation.

 

  b. We vote against shareholder proposals requiring director fees be paid in stock only.

 

  c. We vote for shareholder proposals to put option repricing to a shareholder vote.

 

  d. We vote for shareholder proposals that call for a non-binding advisory vote on executive pay (“say-on-pay”). Company boards would adopt a policy giving shareholders the opportunity at each annual meeting to vote on an advisory resolution to ratify the compensation of the named executive officers set forth in the proxy statement’s summary compensation table.

 

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  e. We vote “annual” for the frequency of say-on-pay proposals rather than once every two or three years.

 

  f. We vote on a case-by-case basis for all other shareholder proposals regarding executive and director pay, taking into account company performance, pay level versus peers, pay level versus industry, and long term corporate outlook.

 

  15. Management Proposals On Executive Compensation

 

  a. For non-binding advisory votes on executive officer compensation, when management and the external service provider agree, we vote for the proposal. When management and the external service provider disagree, the proposal becomes a refer item. In the case of a Refer item, the factors under consideration will include the following:

 

   

Company performance over the last 1-, 3- and 5-year periods on a total shareholder return basis

 

   

Performance metrics for short- and long-term incentive programs

 

   

CEO pay relative to company performance (is there a misalignment)

 

   

Tax gross-ups to senior executives

 

   

Change-in-control arrangements

 

   

Presence of a clawback provision, ownership guidelines, or stock holding requirements for senior executives

 

  b. We vote “annual” for the frequency of say-on-pay proposals rather than once every two or three years.

 

  16. Stock Retention / Holding Period of Equity Awards

We vote on a case-by-case basis on shareholder proposals asking companies to adopt policies requiring senior executives to retain all or a significant (>50 percent) portion of their shares acquired through equity compensation plans, either:

 

   

While employed and/or for one to two years following the termination of their employment; or

 

   

For a substantial period following the lapse of all other vesting requirements for the award, with ratable release of a portion of the shares annually during the lock-up period

The following factors will be taken into consideration:

 

   

Whether the company has any holding period, retention ratio, or named executive officer ownership requirements currently in place

 

   

Actual stock ownership of the company’s named executive officers

 

   

Policies aimed at mitigating risk taking by senior executives

 

   

Pay practices at the company that we deem problematic

 

  I. State/Country of Incorporation

 

  1. Voting on State Takeover Statutes

 

  a. We vote for proposals to opt out of state freeze-out provisions

 

  b. We vote for proposals to opt out of state disgorgement provisions.

 

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  2. Voting on Re-incorporation Proposals

We vote on a case-by-case basis on proposals to change a company’s state or country of incorporation. Considerations include: reasons for re-incorporation (i.e. financial, restructuring, etc); advantages/benefits for change (i.e. lower taxes); compare the differences in state/country laws governing the corporation.

 

  3. Control Share Acquisition Provisions

 

  a. We vote against proposals to amend the charter to include control share acquisition provisions.

 

  b. We vote for proposals to opt out of control share acquisition statutes unless doing so would enable the completion of a takeover that would be detrimental to shareholders.

 

  c. We vote for proposals to restore voting rights to the control shares.

 

  d. We vote for proposals to opt out of control share cashout statutes.

 

  J. Mergers and Corporate Restructuring

 

  1. Mergers and Acquisitions

We vote on a case-by-case basis on mergers and acquisitions. Considerations include: benefits/advantages of the combined companies (i.e. economies of scale, operating synergies, increase in market power/share, etc…); offer price (premium or discount); change in the capital structure; impact on shareholder rights.

 

  2. Corporate Restructuring

We vote on a case-by-case basis on corporate restructuring proposals involving minority squeeze outs and leveraged buyouts. Considerations include: offer price, other alternatives/offers considered and review of fairness opinions.

 

  3. Spin-offs

We vote on a case-by-case basis on spin-offs. Considerations include the tax and regulatory advantages, planned use of sale proceeds, market focus, and managerial incentives.

 

  4. Asset Sales

We vote on a case-by-case basis on asset sales. Considerations include the impact on the balance sheet/working capital, value received for the asset, and potential elimination of diseconomies.

 

  5. Liquidations

We vote on a case-by-case basis on liquidations after reviewing management’s efforts to pursue other alternatives, appraisal value of assets, and the compensation plan for executives managing the liquidation.

 

  6. Appraisal Rights

We vote for proposals to restore, or provide shareholders with, rights of appraisal.

 

  7. Changing Corporate Name

We vote for proposals to change the “corporate name”, unless the proposed name change bears a negative connotation.

 

  8. Conversion of Securities

We vote on a case-by-case basis on proposals regarding conversion of securities. Considerations include the dilution to existing shareholders, the conversion price relative to market value, financial issues, control issues, termination penalties, and conflicts of interest.

 

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  9. Stakeholder Provisions

We vote against proposals that ask the board to consider non-shareholder constituencies or other non-financial effects when evaluating a merger or business combination.

 

  K. Social and Environmental Issues

 

  1. In general we vote on a case-by-case basis on shareholder social and environmental proposals, on the basis that their impact on share value may be difficult to quantify. In most cases, however, we vote for disclosure reports that seek additional information, particularly when it appears the company has not adequately addressed shareholders’ social and environmental concerns. In determining our vote on shareholder social and environmental proposals, we also analyze the following factors:

 

  a. whether adoption of the proposal would have either a positive or negative impact on the company’s short-term or long-term share value;

 

  b. the percentage of sales, assets and earnings affected;

 

  c. the degree to which the company’s stated position on the issues could affect its reputation or sales, or leave it vulnerable to boycott or selective purchasing;

 

  d. whether the issues presented should be dealt with through government or company-specific action;

 

  e. whether the company has already responded in some appropriate manner to the request embodied in a proposal;

 

  f. whether the company’s analysis and voting recommendation to shareholders is persuasive;

 

  g. what other companies have done in response to the issue;

 

  h. whether the proposal itself is well framed and reasonable;

 

  i. whether implementation of the proposal would achieve the objectives sought in the proposal; and

 

  j. whether the subject of the proposal is best left to the discretion of the board.

 

  2. Among the social and environmental issues to which we apply this analysis are the following:

 

  a. Energy Efficiency and Resource Utilization

 

  b. Environmental Impact and Climate Change

 

  c. Human Rights and Impact on Communities of Corporate Activities

 

  d. Equal Employment Opportunity and Non Discrimination

 

  e. ILO Standards and Child/Slave Labor

 

  f. Product Integrity and Marketing

 

  g. Sustainability Reporting

 

  h. Board Representation

 

  i. Animal Welfare

 

  L. Miscellaneous

 

  1. Charitable Contributions

We vote against proposals to eliminate, direct or otherwise restrict charitable contributions.

 

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  2. Political Contributions

In general, we vote on a case-by-case basis on shareholder proposals pertaining to political contributions. In determining our vote on political contribution proposals we consider, among other things, the following:

 

   

Does the company have a political contributions policy publicly available

 

   

How extensive is the disclosure on these documents

 

   

What oversight mechanisms the company has in place for approving/reviewing political contributions and expenditures

 

   

Does the company provide information on its trade association expenditures

 

   

Total amount of political expenditure by the company in recent history

 

  3. Operational Items

 

  a. We vote against proposals to provide management with the authority to adjourn an annual or special meeting absent compelling reasons to support the proposal.

 

  b. We vote against proposals to reduce quorum requirements for shareholder meetings below a majority of the shares outstanding unless there are compelling reasons to support the proposal.

 

  c. We vote for by-law or charter changes that are of a housekeeping nature (updates or corrections).

 

  d. We vote for management proposals to change the date/time/location of the annual meeting unless the proposed change is unreasonable.

 

  e. We vote against shareholder proposals to change the date/time/location of the annual meeting unless the current scheduling or location is unreasonable.

 

  f. We vote against proposals to approve other business when it appears as voting item.

 

  4. Routine Agenda Items

In some markets, shareholders are routinely asked to approve:

 

   

the opening of the shareholder meeting

 

   

that the meeting has been convened under local regulatory requirements

 

   

the presence of a quorum

 

   

the agenda for the shareholder meeting

 

   

the election of the chair of the meeting

 

   

regulatory filings

 

   

the allowance of questions

 

   

the publication of minutes

 

   

the closing of the shareholder meeting

We generally vote for these and similar routine management proposals.

 

  5. Allocation of Income and Dividends

We generally vote for management proposals concerning allocation of income and the distribution of dividends, unless the amount of the distribution is consistently and unusually small or large.

 

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  6. Stock (Scrip) Dividend Alternatives

 

  a. We vote for most stock (scrip) dividend proposals.

 

  b. We vote against proposals that do not allow for a cash option unless management demonstrates that the cash option is harmful to shareholder value.

ClearBridge has determined that registered investment companies, particularly closed end investment companies, raise special policy issues making specific voting guidelines frequently inapplicable. To the extent that ClearBridge has proxy voting authority with respect to shares of registered investment companies, ClearBridge shall vote such shares in the best interest of client accounts and subject to the general fiduciary principles set forth herein without regard to the specific voting guidelines set forth in Section V. A. through L.

The voting policy guidelines set forth in Section V may be changed from time to time by ClearBridge in its sole discretion.

 

  VI. OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

In certain situations, ClearBridge may determine not to vote proxies on behalf of a client because ClearBridge believes that the expected benefit to the client of voting shares is outweighed by countervailing considerations. Examples of situations in which ClearBridge may determine not to vote proxies on behalf of a client include:

 

  A. Share Blocking

Proxy voting in certain countries requires “share blocking.” This means that shareholders wishing to vote their proxies must deposit their shares shortly before the date of the meeting (e.g. one week) with a designated depositary. During the blocking period, shares that will be voted at the meeting cannot be sold until the meeting has taken place and the shares have been returned to client accounts by the designated depositary. In deciding whether to vote shares subject to share blocking, ClearBridge will consider and weigh, based on the particular facts and circumstances, the expected benefit to clients of voting in relation to the detriment to clients of not being able to sell such shares during the applicable period.

 

  B Securities on Loan

Certain clients of ClearBridge, such as an institutional client or a mutual fund for which ClearBridge acts as a sub-adviser, may engage in securities lending with respect to the securities in their accounts. ClearBridge typically does not direct or oversee such securities lending activities. To the extent feasible and practical under the circumstances, ClearBridge will request that the client recall shares that are on loan so that such shares can be voted if ClearBridge believes that the expected benefit to the client of voting such shares outweighs the detriment to the client of recalling such shares ( e.g. , foregone income). The ability to timely recall shares for proxy voting purposes typically is not entirely within the control of ClearBridge and requires the cooperation of the client and its other service providers. Under certain circumstances, the recall of shares in time for such shares to be voted may not be possible due to applicable proxy voting record dates and administrative considerations.

 

  VII. DISCLOSURE OF PROXY VOTING

ClearBridge employees may not disclose to others outside of ClearBridge (including employees of other Legg Mason business units) how ClearBridge intends to vote a proxy absent prior approval from ClearBridge’s General Counsel/Chief Compliance Officer, except that a ClearBridge investment professional may disclose to a third party (other than an employee of another Legg Mason business unit) how s/he intends to vote without obtaining prior approval from ClearBridge’s General Counsel/Chief

 

A-19


Compliance Officer if (1) the disclosure is intended to facilitate a discussion of publicly available information by ClearBridge personnel with a representative of a company whose securities are the subject of the proxy, (2) the company’s market capitalization exceeds $1 billion and (3) ClearBridge has voting power with respect to less than 5% of the outstanding common stock of the company.

If a ClearBridge employee receives a request to disclose ClearBridge’s proxy voting intentions to, or is otherwise contacted by, another person outside of ClearBridge (including an employee of another Legg Mason business unit) in connection with an upcoming proxy voting matter, he/she should immediately notify ClearBridge’s General Counsel/Chief Compliance Officer.

If a portfolio manager wants to take a public stance with regards to a proxy, s/he must consult with

ClearBridge’s General Counsel/Chief Compliance Officer before making or issuing a public statement.

 

  VIII. RECORDKEEPING AND OVERSIGHT

ClearBridge shall maintain the following records relating to proxy voting:

 

   

a copy of these policies and procedures;

 

   

a copy of each proxy form (as voted);

 

   

a copy of each proxy solicitation (including proxy statements) and related materials with regard to each vote;

 

   

documentation relating to the identification and resolution of conflicts of interest;

 

   

any documents created by ClearBridge that were material to a proxy voting decision or that memorialized the basis for that decision; and

 

   

a copy of each written client request for information on how ClearBridge voted proxies on behalf of the client, and a copy of any written response by ClearBridge to any (written or oral) client request for information on how ClearBridge voted proxies on behalf of the requesting client.

Such records shall be maintained and preserved in an easily accessible place for a period of not less than six years from the end of the fiscal year during which the last entry was made on such record, the first two years in an appropriate office of the ClearBridge adviser.

To the extent that ClearBridge is authorized to vote proxies for a United States Registered Investment Company, ClearBridge shall maintain such records as are necessary to allow such fund to comply with its recordkeeping, reporting and disclosure obligations under applicable laws, rules and regulations.

In lieu of keeping copies of proxy statements, ClearBridge may rely on proxy statements filed on the EDGAR system as well as on third party records of proxy statements and votes cast if the third party provides an undertaking to provide the documents promptly upon request.

 

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PART C

OTHER INFORMATION

 

Item 28. 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 811-06444).

(a) (1) The Registrant’s Declaration of Trust dated as of October 2, 2006 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 70 as filed with the SEC on April 16, 2007 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 70”).

(2) The Registrant’s Declaration of Trust dated as of October 2, 2006 as amended and restated as of August 18, 2011 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 213 as filed with the SEC on August 22, 2011 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 213”).

(3) Designation of Series of Shares of Beneficial Interests in the Trust effective as of February 8, 2007 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 70.

(4) Amended and Restated Designation of Series of Shares of Beneficial Interests in the Trust effective as of August 9, 2007 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 72 as filed with the SEC on August 24, 2007 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 72”).

(5) Amended and Restated Designation of Classes effective as of August 9, 2007 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 72.

(6) Amended and Restated Designation of Series of Shares of Beneficial Interests in the Trust and Amended and Restated Designation of Classes effective as of November 8, 2007 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 76 as filed with the SEC on November 30, 2007 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 76”).

(7) Amended and Restated Designation of Series of Shares of Beneficial Interests in the Trust effective as of February 7, 2008 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 87 as filed with the SEC on February 15, 2008 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 87”).

(8) Amended and Restated Designation of Classes effective as of February 7, 2008 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 87.

(9) Amended and Restated Designation of Series of Shares of Beneficial Interests in the Trust effective as of May 8, 2008 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 109 as filed with the SEC on June 3, 2008 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 109”).

(10) Amended and Restated Designation of Classes effective as of May 8, 2008 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 109.

(11) Amended and Restated Designation of Series of Shares of Beneficial Interests in the Trust effective as of June 6, 2008 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 110 as filed with the SEC on June 6, 2008 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 110”).

(12) Amended and Restated Designation of Classes effective as of June 6, 2008 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 110.

(13) Amended and Restated Designation of Series of Shares of Beneficial Interests in the Trust effective as of January 28, 2009 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 133 as filed with the SEC on January 28, 2009 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 133”).

(14) Amended and Restated Designation of Classes effective as of January 28, 2009 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 133.

(15) Amended and Restated Designation of Classes effective as of February 26, 2009 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 137 as filed with the SEC on February 27, 2009 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 137”).

 

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(16) Amended and Restated Designation of Classes effective as of February 26, 2009 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 146 as filed with the SEC on June 25, 2009 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 146”).

(17) Amended and Restated Designation of Series of Shares of Beneficial Interests in the Trust effective as of August 5, 2009 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 150 as filed with the SEC on November 6, 2009 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 150”).

(18) Amended and Restated Designation of Classes effective as of August 5, 2009 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 150.

(19) Amended and Restated Designation of Series of Shares of Beneficial Interest in the Trust effective as of December 7, 2009 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 159 as filed with the SEC on February 16, 2010 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 159”).

(20) Amended and Restated Designation of Classes effective as of December 7, 2009 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 159.

(21) Amended and Restated Designation of Series of Shares of Beneficial Interest in the Trust effective as of February 4, 2010 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 162 as filed with the SEC on March 15, 2010 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 162”).

(22) Amended and Restated Designation of Classes effective as of February 4, 2010 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 162.

(23) Amended and Restated Designation of Series of Shares of Beneficial Interest in the Trust effective as of May 6, 2010 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 171 as filed with the SEC on June 4, 2010 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 171”).

(24) Amended and Restated Designation of Classes effective as of May 6, 2010 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 171.

(25) Amended and Restated Designation of Series of Shares of Beneficial Interests in the Trust effective as of May 6, 2010 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 172 as filed with the SEC on June 16, 2010 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 172”).

(26) Amended and Restated Designation of Classes effective as of May 6, 2010 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 172.

(27) Amended and Restated Designation of Series of Shares of Beneficial Interest in the Trust effective as of June 15, 2010 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 173 as filed with the SEC on July 28, 2010 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 173”).

(28) Amended and Restated Designation of Classes effective as of June 15, 2010 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 173.

(29) Amended and Restated Designation of Series of Shares of Beneficial Interest in the Trust is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 179 as filed with the SEC on December 29, 2010 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 179”).

(30) Amended and Restated Designation of Classes effective as of November 4, 2010 is incorporated herein by reference to Exhibit 1(bb) to the Registration Statement on Form N-14 of Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust as filed with the SEC on November 19, 2010.

(31) Amended and Restated Designation of Series of Shares of Beneficial Interest in the Trust effective as of January 17, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 218 as filed with the SEC on January 25, 2012 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 218”).

(32) Amended and Restated Designation of Classes effective as of January 17, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 218.

(33) Amended and Restated Designation of Series of Shares of Beneficial Interest in the Trust effective as of April 13, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 230 as filed with the SEC on April 13, 2012 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 230”).

 

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(34) Amended and Restated Designation of Classes effective as of April 13, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 230.

(35) Amended and Restated Designation of Classes effective as of August 1, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 243 as filed with the SEC on August 23, 2012.

(36) Amended and Restated Designation of Series of Shares of Beneficial Interest in the Trust effective as of September 12, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 246 as filed with the SEC on September 12, 2012 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 246”).

(37) Amended and Restated Designation of Classes effective as of September 12, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 246.

(38) Amended and Restated Designation of Series effective as of October 1, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 249 as filed with the SEC on November 30, 2012 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 249”).

(39) Amended and Restated Designation of Series dated November 28, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 249.

(40) Amended and Restated Designation of Classes dated November 28, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 249.

(41) Amended and Restated Designation of Classes dated January 1, 2013 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 255 as filed with the SEC on December 12, 2012.

(42) Amended and Restated Designation of Series dated February 6, 2013 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 269 as filed with the SEC on May 10, 2013 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 269”).

(43) Amended and Restated Designation of Classes dated February 6, 2013 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 269.

(44) Amended and Restated Designation of Series dated May 2, 2013 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 269.

(45) Amended and Restated Designation of Classes dated May 2, 2013 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 269.

(46) Amended and Restated Designation of Series dated August 1, 2013 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 282 as filed with the SEC on August 1, 2013 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 282”).

(47) Amended and Restated Designation of Classes dated August 1, 2013 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 282.

(48) Amended and Restated Designation of Classes dated August 15, 2013 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 285 as filed with the SEC on August 15, 2013.

(49) Amended and Restated Designation of Series dated August 19, 2013 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 288 as filed with the SEC on October 11, 2013 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 288”).

(50) Amended and Restated Designation of Classes dated August 19, 2013 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 288.

(51) Amended and Restated Designation of Series dated October 1, 2013 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 288.

(52) Amended and Restated Designation of Classes dated October 1, 2013 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 288.

(53) Amended and Restated Designation of Series dated May 1, 2014 is filed herewith.

(54) Amended and Restated Designation of Classes dated May 1, 2014 is filed herewith.

 

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(b)(1) The Registrant’s By-Laws dated October 4, 2006 are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 70.

(2) The Registrant’s By-Laws dated October 4, 2006 as amended and restated as of August 18, 2011 are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 213.

(c) Instruments defining rights of security holders with respect to Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust are contained in the Amended and Restated Declaration of Trust and Bylaws, as amended and restated, which are incorporated by reference to Exhibits (a) and (b) of Item 28 of Part C herein.

(d) (1) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund, and Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC (“LMPFA”) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78 as filed with the SEC on December 14, 2007 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 78”).

(2) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of ClearBridge Tactical Dividend Income Fund, and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78.

(3) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of Legg Mason Investment Counsel Financial Services Fund, and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78.

(4) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of ClearBridge All Cap Value Fund (formerly known as ClearBridge Fundamental All Cap Value Fund), and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78.

(5) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of ClearBridge International Value Fund (formerly known as ClearBridge International All Cap Opportunity Fund), and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78.

(6) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of ClearBridge Small Cap Value Fund, and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78.

(7) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of ClearBridge Appreciation Fund, and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78.

(8) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of ClearBridge Equity Income Fund, and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78.

(9) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of ClearBridge Equity Fund, and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78.

(10) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of QS Batterymarch Global Equity Fund (formerly known as Legg Mason Batterymarch Global Equity Fund), and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 73 as filed with the SEC on August 27, 2007 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 73”).

(11) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of ClearBridge Large Cap Value Fund, and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78.

(12) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of ClearBridge Large Cap Growth Fund and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78.

(13) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 30% (formerly known as Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 30%), and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78.

(14) Form of Amended Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 30% (formerly known as Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 30%), and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 95 as filed with the SEC on April 4, 2008 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 95”).

(15) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 50% (formerly known as Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 50%), and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78.

 

- 5 -


(16) Form of Amended Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 50% (formerly known as Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 50%), and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 95.

(17) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 70% (formerly known as Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 70%), and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78.

(18) Form of Amended Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 70% (formerly known as Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 70%), and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 95.

(19) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 85% (formerly known as Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 85%), and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78.

(20) Form of Amended Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 85% (formerly known as Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 85%), and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 95.

(21) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of ClearBridge Mid Cap Core Fund, and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78.

(22) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of QS Batterymarch S&P 500 Index Fund (formerly known as Legg Mason Batterymarch S&P 500 Index Fund), and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78.

(23) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of ClearBridge Small Cap Growth Fund, and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78.

(24) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of Legg Mason Investment Counsel Social Awareness Fund, and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78.

(25) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of QS Batterymarch U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund (formerly known as Legg Mason Batterymarch U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund), and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference from Post-Effective Amendment No. 87.

(26) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2015 (formerly known as Legg Mason Target Retirement 2015), and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 120 as filed with the SEC on August 28, 2008 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 120”).

(27) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2020 (formerly known as Legg Mason Target Retirement 2020), and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 120.

(28) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2025 (formerly known as Legg Mason Target Retirement 2025), and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 120.

(29) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2030 (formerly known as Legg Mason Target Retirement 2030), and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 120.

(30) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2035 (formerly known as Legg Mason Target Retirement 2035), and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 120.

(31) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2040 (formerly known as Legg Mason Target Retirement 2040), and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 120.

(32) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2045 (formerly known as Legg Mason Target Retirement 2045), and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 120.

 

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(33) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2050 (formerly known as Legg Mason Target Retirement 2050), and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 120.

(34) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of QS Legg Mason Target Retirement Fund (formerly known as Legg Mason Target Retirement Fund), and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 120.

(35) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of Permal Alternative Core Fund (formerly known as Permal Tactical Allocation Fund), and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 141 as filed with the SEC on April 9, 2009 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 141”).

(36) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of ClearBridge Mid Cap Growth Fund, and LMPFA, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 177 as filed with the SEC on August 31, 2010 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 177”).

(37) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of ClearBridge International Small Cap Fund (formerly known as ClearBridge International Small Cap Opportunity Fund), and LMPFA, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 178 as filed with the SEC on September 29, 2010 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 178”).

(38) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of QS Legg Mason Dynamic Multi-Strategy Fund (formerly known as Legg Mason Dynamic Multi-Strategy Fund), and LMPFA, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 238 as filed with the SEC on June 25, 2012 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 238”).

(39) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of ClearBridge Select Fund, and LMPFA, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 249.

(40) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of QS Batterymarch Managed Volatility International Dividend Fund (formerly known as Legg Mason Batterymarch Managed Volatility International Dividend Fund), and LMPFA, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 259 as filed with the SEC on February 25, 2013 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 259”).

(41) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of QS Batterymarch Managed Volatility Global Dividend Fund (formerly known as Legg Mason Batterymarch Managed Volatility Global Dividend Fund), and LMPFA, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 260 as filed with the SEC on February 25, 2013 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 260”).

(42) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of ClearBridge Energy MLP & Infrastructure Fund, and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 282.

(43) Form of Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of Permal Alternative Select Fund, and Permal Asset Management LLC (“Permal”) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 292 as filed with the SEC on January 10, 2014 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 292”).

(44) Form of Schedule A to the Management Agreement between the Registrant, on behalf of ClearBridge Small Cap Growth Fund, and LMPFA is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 293 as filed with the SEC on January 24, 2014.

(45) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and ClearBridge Investments, LLC (“ClearBridge”), with respect to ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78.

(46) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and ClearBridge, with respect to ClearBridge Tactical Dividend Income Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78.

 

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(47) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Legg Mason Investment Counsel, LLC (“LMIC”), with respect to Legg Mason Investment Counsel Financial Services Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 73.

(48) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and ClearBridge, with respect to ClearBridge All Cap Value Fund (formerly known as ClearBridge Fundamental All Cap Value Fund), is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78.

(49) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and ClearBridge, with respect to ClearBridge Small Cap Value Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78.

(50) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and ClearBridge, with respect to ClearBridge Appreciation Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78.

(51) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and ClearBridge, with respect to ClearBridge Equity Income Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78.

(52) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and ClearBridge, with respect to ClearBridge Equity Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78.

(53) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Batterymarch Financial Management, Inc. (“Batterymarch”), with respect to QS Batterymarch Global Equity Fund (formerly known as Legg Mason Batterymarch Global Equity Fund), is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 73.

(54) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and ClearBridge, with respect to ClearBridge Large Cap Value Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78.

(55) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and ClearBridge, with respect to ClearBridge Large Cap Growth Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78.

(56) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and QS Legg Mason Global Asset Allocation, LLC (“QS LMGAA”) (formerly known as Legg Mason Global Asset Allocation, LLC), with respect to QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 30% (formerly known as Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 30%), is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 74 as filed with the SEC on November 1, 2007 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 74”).

(57) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and QS LMGAA, with respect to QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 5% (formerly known as Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 50%), is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 74.

(58) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and QS LMGAA, with respect to QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 70% (formerly known as Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 70%), is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 74.

(59) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and QS LMGAA, with respect to QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 85% (formerly known as Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 85%), is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 74.

(60) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and ClearBridge, with respect to ClearBridge Mid Cap Core Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78.

(61) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Batterymarch, with respect to QS Batterymarch S&P 500 Index Fund (formerly known as Legg Mason Batterymarch S&P 500 Index Fund), is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78.

(62) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and ClearBridge, with respect to ClearBridge Small Cap Growth Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78.

(63) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and LMIC, with respect to Legg Mason Investment Counsel Social Awareness Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 73.

(64) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Batterymarch, with respect to QS Batterymarch U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund (formerly known as Legg Mason Batterymarch U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund), is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 87.

 

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(65) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and QS LMGAA, with respect to QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2015 (formerly known as Legg Mason Target Retirement 2015), is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 120.

(66) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and QS LMGAA, with respect to QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2020 (formerly known as Legg Mason Target Retirement 2020), is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 120.

(67) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and QS LMGAA, with respect to QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2025 (formerly known as Legg Mason Target Retirement 2025), is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 120.

(68) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and QS LMGAA, with respect to QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2030 (formerly known as Legg Mason Target Retirement 2030), is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 120.

(69) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and QS LMGAA, with respect to QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2035 (formerly known as Legg Mason Target Retirement 2035), is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 120.

(70) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and QS LMGAA, with respect to QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2040 (formerly known as Legg Mason Target Retirement 2040), is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 120.

(71) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and QS LMGAA, with respect to QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2045 (formerly known as Legg Mason Target Retirement 2045), is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 120.

(72) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and QS LMGAA, with respect to QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2050 (formerly known as Legg Mason Target Retirement 2050), is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 120.

(73) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and QS LMGAA, with respect to QS Legg Mason Target Retirement Fund (formerly known as Legg Mason Target Retirement Fund), is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 120.

(74) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Global Currents Investment Management, LLC (“GCIM”) (now merged into ClearBridge), with respect to ClearBridge International Value Fund (formerly known as ClearBridge International All Cap Opportunity Fund), is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 126 as filed with the SEC on November 26, 2008.

(75) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Permal, with respect to Permal Alternative Core Fund (formerly known as Permal Tactical Allocation Fund) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 141.

(76) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and QS LMGAA, with respect to Permal Alternative Core Fund (formerly known as Permal Tactical Allocation Fund) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 141.

(77) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and ClearBridge, with respect to ClearBridge Mid Cap Growth Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 177.

(78) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and GCIM (now merged into ClearBridge), with respect to ClearBridge International Small Cap Fund (formerly known as ClearBridge International Small Cap Opportunity Fund), is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 178.

(79) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and LMIC, with respect to Legg Mason Investment Counsel Financial Services Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 175 as filed with the SEC on August 25, 2010 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 175”).

(80) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Western Asset Management Company (“WAM”), regarding QS Batterymarch Global Equity Fund (formerly known as Legg Mason Batterymarch Global Equity Fund), dated February 2, 2011, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 215 as filed with the SEC on December 16, 2011 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 215”).

 

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(81) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding QS Batterymarch U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund (formerly known as Legg Mason Batterymarch U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund), dated February 2, 2011, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 215.

(82) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding QS Batterymarch S&P 500 Index Fund (formerly known as Legg Mason Batterymarch S&P 500 Index Fund), dated November 4, 2010, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 215.

(83) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund, dated November 4, 2010, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 215.

(84) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding ClearBridge Appreciation Fund, dated February 2, 2011, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 215.

(85) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding ClearBridge Tactical Dividend Income Fund, dated February 2, 2011, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 215.

(86) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding ClearBridge Equity Fund, dated February 2, 2011, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 215.

(87) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding ClearBridge Equity Income Fund, dated February 2, 2011, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 215.

(88) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding ClearBridge All Cap Value Fund (formerly known as ClearBridge Fundamental All Cap Value Fund), dated November 4, 2010, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 215.

(89) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding ClearBridge Large Cap Growth Fund, dated February 2, 2011, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 215.

(90) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding ClearBridge Large Cap Value Fund, dated February 2, 2011, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 215.

(91) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding ClearBridge Mid Cap Core Fund, dated February 2, 2011, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 215.

(92) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding ClearBridge Mid Cap Growth Fund, dated February 2, 2011, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 215.

(93) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding ClearBridge Small Cap Growth Fund, dated February 2, 2011, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 215.

(94) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding ClearBridge Small Cap Value Fund, dated November 4, 2010, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 215.

(95) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding ClearBridge International Value Fund (formerly known as ClearBridge International All Cap Opportunity Fund), dated February 2, 2011, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 215.

(96) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding ClearBridge International Small Cap Fund (formerly known as ClearBridge International Small Cap Opportunity Fund), dated May 5, 2011, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 215.

 

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(97) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 50% (formerly known as Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 50%), dated May 5, 2011, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 215.

(98) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 70% (formerly known as Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 70%), dated May 5, 2011, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 215.

(99) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 85% (formerly known as Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 85%), dated May 5, 2011, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 215.

(100) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding Permal Alternative Core Fund (formerly known as Permal Tactical Allocation Fund), dated February 2, 2011, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 215.

(101) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2015 (formerly known as Legg Mason Target Retirement 2015), dated May 5, 2011, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 215.

(102) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2020 (formerly known as Legg Mason Target Retirement 2020), dated May 5, 2011, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 215.

(103) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2025 (formerly known as Legg Mason Target Retirement 2025), dated May 5, 2011, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 215.

(104) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2030 (formerly known as Legg Mason Target Retirement 2030), dated May 5, 2011, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 215.

(105) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2035 (formerly known as Legg Mason Target Retirement 2035), dated May 5, 2011, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 215.

(106) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2040 (formerly known as Legg Mason Target Retirement 2040), dated May 5, 2011, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 215.

(107) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2045 (formerly known as Legg Mason Target Retirement 2045), dated May 5, 2011, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 215.

(108) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2050 (formerly known as Legg Mason Target Retirement 2050), dated May 5, 2011, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 215.

(109) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding QS Legg Mason Target Retirement Fund (formerly known as Legg Mason Target Retirement Fund), dated May 5, 2011, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 215.

(110) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding QS Legg Mason Dynamic Multi-Strategy Fund (formerly known as Legg Mason Dynamic Multi-Strategy Fund) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 238.

(111) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and QS LMGAA, regarding QS Legg Mason Dynamic Multi-Strategy Fund (formerly known as Legg Mason Dynamic Multi-Strategy Fund) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 238.

(112) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding ClearBridge Select Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 249.

(113) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and ClearBridge, regarding ClearBridge Select Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 249.

 

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(114) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding QS Batterymarch Managed Volatility International Dividend Fund (formerly known as Legg Mason Batterymarch Managed Volatility International Dividend Fund) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 259.

(115) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Batterymarch, regarding QS Batterymarch Managed Volatility International Dividend Fund (formerly known as Legg Mason Batterymarch Managed Volatility International Dividend Fund) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 259.

(116) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding QS Batterymarch Managed Volatility Global Dividend Fund (formerly known as Legg Mason Batterymarch Managed Volatility Global Dividend Fund) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 260.

(117) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Batterymarch, regarding QS Batterymarch Managed Volatility Global Dividend Fund (formerly known as Legg Mason Batterymarch Managed Volatility Global Dividend Fund) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 260.

(118) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding Legg Mason Investment Counsel Financial Services Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 268 as filed with the SEC on April 22, 2013 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 268”).

(119) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding Legg Mason Investment Counsel Social Awareness Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 268.

(120) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and WAM, regarding ClearBridge Energy MLP & Infrastructure Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 282.

(121) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and ClearBridge, regarding ClearBridge Energy MLP & Infrastructure Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 282.

(122) Schedule A to Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Batterymarch, regarding QS Batterymarch Global Equity Fund (formerly known as Legg Mason Batterymarch Global Equity Fund), dated November 28, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 272 as filed with the SEC on May 21, 2013 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 272”).

(123) Schedule A to Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Batterymarch, regarding QS Batterymarch S&P 500 Index Fund (formerly known as Legg Mason Batterymarch S&P 500 Index Fund), dated November 28, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 272.

(124) Schedule A to Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Batterymarch, regarding QS Batterymarch U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund (formerly known as Legg Mason Batterymarch U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund), dated November 28, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 272.

(125) Schedule A to Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and ClearBridge, regarding ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund, dated November 28, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 272.

(126) Schedule A to Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and ClearBridge, regarding ClearBridge Appreciation Fund, dated November 28, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 272.

(127) Schedule A to Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and ClearBridge, regarding ClearBridge Equity Fund, dated November 28, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 272.

 

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(128) Schedule A to Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and ClearBridge, regarding ClearBridge Equity Income Fund, dated November 28, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 272.

(129) Schedule A to Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and ClearBridge, regarding ClearBridge All Cap Value Fund (formerly known as ClearBridge Fundamental All Cap Value Fund), dated November 28, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 272.

(130) Schedule A to Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and ClearBridge, regarding ClearBridge Large Cap Growth Fund, dated November 28, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 272.

(131) Schedule A to Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and ClearBridge, regarding ClearBridge Large Cap Value Fund, dated November 28, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 272.

(132) Schedule A to Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and ClearBridge, regarding ClearBridge Mid Cap Core Fund, dated November 28, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 272.

(133) Schedule A to Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and ClearBridge, regarding ClearBridge Mid Cap Growth Fund, dated November 28, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 272.

(134) Schedule A to Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and ClearBridge, regarding ClearBridge Small Cap Growth Fund, dated November 28, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 272.

(135) Schedule A to Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and ClearBridge, regarding ClearBridge Small Cap Value Fund, dated November 28, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 272.

(136) Schedule A to Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and ClearBridge, regarding ClearBridge Tactical Dividend Income Fund, dated November 28, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 272.

(137) Schedule A to Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and GCIM (now merged into ClearBridge), regarding ClearBridge International Value Fund (formerly known as ClearBridge International All Cap Opportunity Fund), dated November 28, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 272.

(138) Schedule A to Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and GCIM (now merged into ClearBridge), regarding ClearBridge International Small Cap Fund (formerly known as ClearBridge International Small Cap Opportunity Fund), dated November 28, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 272.

(139) Schedule A to Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and LMIC, regarding Legg Mason Investment Counsel Financial Services Fund, dated November 28, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 272.

(140) Schedule A to Subadvisory Agreement between LMPFA and Permal, regarding Permal Alternative Core Fund (formerly known as Permal Tactical Allocation Fund), dated November 28, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 272.

(141) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between Permal and Apex Capital, LLC, with respect to Permal Alternative Select Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 292.

(142) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between Permal and River Canyon Fund Management LLC, with respect to Permal Alternative Select Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 292.

(143) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between Permal and TT International, with respect to Permal Alternative Select Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 292.

 

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(144) Form of Trading Agreement between BH-DG Systematic Trading LLP, with respect to Permal Alternative Select Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 292.

(145) Form of Administration Agreement between the Registrant and LMPFA, with respect to Permal Alternative Select Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 292.

(146) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between the Registrant and Permal, with respect to Permal Alternative Core Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 312 filed with the SEC on July 15, 2014 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 312”).

(147) Form of Subadvisory Agreement between Permal and Atlantic Investment Management, Inc., with respect to Permal Alternative Select Fund is filed herewith.

(e) (1) Form of Distribution Agreement with Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC (“LMIS”) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 128, as filed with the SEC on December 15, 2008.

(2) Form of Distribution Agreement with LMIS, with respect to Legg Mason Permal Tactical Allocation Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 141.

(3) Form of Distribution Agreement with LMIS, with respect to Legg Mason ClearBridge Mid Cap Growth Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 177.

(4) Form of Distribution Agreement with LMIS, with respect to ClearBridge International Small Cap Opportunity Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 178.

(5) Form of Distribution Agreement with LMIS dated August 5, 2010 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 218.

(6) Appendix A, amended and restated as of May 2, 2013, to the Distribution Agreement with LMIS is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 280 as filed with the SEC on July 23, 2013 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 280”).

(7) Appendix A, amended and restated as of August 1, 2013, to the Distribution Agreement with LMIS is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 282.

(8) Appendix A, amended and restated as of November 6, 2013, to the Distribution Agreement with LMIS is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 292.

(9) Appendix A, amended and restated as of June 30, 2014, to the Distribution Agreement with LMIS is filed herewith.

(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 as filed with the SEC on December 5, 2006 (“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 incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 61 as filed with the SEC on January 8, 2007 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 61”).

(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 incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 61.

(4) Amendment to the General Retirement Plan and the Legg Mason Partners Investment Series Amended and Restated Trustees Retirement Plan is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 61.

(5) Amended and Restated Emeritus Retirement Plan relating to certain funds, established effective as of January 1, 2007, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 61.

(g) (1) Custodian Services Agreement with State Street Bank and Trust Company (“State Street”), dated October 5, 2012, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 249.

(2) Fund Accounting Services Agreement with State Street, dated October 5, 2012, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 249.

 

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(3) Letter Agreement amending the Custodian Services Agreement and Fund Accounting Services Agreement with State Street, effective as of November 30, 2012, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 249.

(4) Form of Letter Agreement amending the Custodian Services Agreement and Fund Accounting Services Agreement with State Street is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 259.

(5) Form of Letter Agreement amending the Custodian Services Agreement and Fund Accounting Services Agreement with State Street is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 282.

(6) Form of Letter Agreement amending the Custodian Services Agreement and Fund Accounting Services Agreement with State Street is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 292.

(7) Form of Letter Agreement amending the Custodian Services Agreement and Fund Accounting Services Agreement with State Street is filed herewith.

(h) (1) Transfer Agency and Services Agreement, dated December 19, 2013, between the Registrant and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (“BNY”) is filed herewith.

(2) Form of License Agreement between the Registrant and Legg Mason Properties, Inc. is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 58 as filed with the SEC on April 28, 2006 (“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.

(5) Letter Agreement amending the Transfer Agency and Services Agreement with BNY, dated April 9, 2007, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 76.

(6) Form of Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement Agreement with respect to QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 85%, QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 70%, QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 50%, and QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 30% is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 95.

(7) Form of Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement Agreement, with respect to QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2015, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 120.

(8) Form of Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement Agreement, with respect to QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2020, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 120.

(9) Form of Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement Agreement, with respect to QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2025, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 120.

(10) Form of Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement Agreement, with respect to QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2030, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 120.

(11) Form of Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement Agreement, with respect to QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2035, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 120.

(12) Form of Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement Agreement, with respect to QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2040, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 120.

(13) Form of Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement Agreement, with respect to QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2045, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 120.

(14) Form of Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement Agreement, with respect to QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2050, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 120.

(15) Form of Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement Agreement, with respect to QS Legg Mason Target Retirement Fund, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 120.

 

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(16) Form of Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement Agreement, with respect to Permal Alternative Core Fund (formerly known as Permal Tactical Allocation Fund) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 141.

(17) Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement Resolutions adopted by the Board of Trustees are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 198 filed on April 26, 2011.

(18) Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement Resolutions adopted by the Board of Trustees with respect to QS Legg Mason Dynamic Multi-Strategy Fund are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 238.

(19) Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement Resolutions adopted by the Board of Trustees with respect to ClearBridge Select Fund are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 249.

(20) Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement Resolutions adopted by the Board of Trustees are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 259.

(21) Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement Resolutions adopted by the Board of Trustees with respect to ClearBridge Energy MLP & Infrastructure Fund are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 282.

(22) Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement Resolutions adopted by the Board of Trustees with respect to Permal Alternative Select Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 292.

(23) Fee Waiver and Expense Reimbursement Resolutions adopted by the Board of Trustees are incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 298 as filed with the SEC on February 20, 2014 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 298”).

(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 as filed with the SEC on March 30, 1999 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 24”).

(3) Opinion and Consent of Counsel regarding the legality of shares being registered is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 70.

(4) Opinion of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP regarding legality of Class FI and Class R shares of QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 85%, QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 70%, QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 50%, and QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 30% is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 75 filed on November 19, 2007 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 75”).

(5) Opinion of Venable LLP regarding legality of Class FI and Class R shares of QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 85%, QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 70%, QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 50%, and QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 30% is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 75.

(6) Opinion of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP regarding legality of Class FI and Class R Shares of ClearBridge All Cap Value Fund (formerly known as ClearBridge Fundamental All Cap Value Fund) and ClearBridge Small Cap Value Fund is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 76.

(7) Opinion of Venable LLP regarding legality of Class FI and Class R Shares of ClearBridge All Cap Value Fund (formerly known as ClearBridge Fundamental All Cap Value Fund) and ClearBridge Small Cap Value Fund is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 76.

(8) Opinion of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP regarding legality of Class FI and Class R shares of ClearBridge Tactical Dividend Income Fund and ClearBridge International Value Fund (formerly known as ClearBridge International All Cap Opportunity Fund) is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78.

(9) Opinion of Venable LLP regarding legality of Class FI and Class R shares of ClearBridge Tactical Dividend Income Fund and ClearBridge International Value Fund (formerly known as ClearBridge International All Cap Opportunity Fund) is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 78.

 

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(10) Opinion of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP regarding legality of Class FI and Class R shares of ClearBridge Mid Cap Core Fund is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 79 as filed with the SEC on December 28, 2007 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 79”).

(11) Opinion of Venable LLP regarding legality of Class FI and Class R shares of ClearBridge Mid Cap Core Fund is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 79.

(12) Opinion of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP regarding legality of Class FI and Class R shares of QS Batterymarch Global Equity Fund (formerly known as Legg Mason Batterymarch Global Equity Fund) is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 82 as filed with the SEC on February 5, 2008 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 82”).

(13) Opinion of Venable LLP regarding legality of Class FI and Class R shares of QS Batterymarch Global Equity Fund (formerly known as Legg Mason Batterymarch Global Equity Fund) is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 82.

(14) Opinion of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP regarding the legality of Class A, C, FI, R, I and IS shares of QS Batterymarch U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund (formerly known as Legg Mason Batterymarch U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 87.

(15) Opinion of Venable LLP regarding the legality of Class A, C, FI, R, I and IS shares of QS Batterymarch U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund (formerly known as Legg Mason Batterymarch U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 87.

(16) Opinion of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP regarding legality of Class IS shares of ClearBridge Appreciation Fund, Class FI and Class R Shares of ClearBridge Equity Income Fund, Class FI and Class R shares of ClearBridge Equity Fund, Class FI, Class R and Class IS shares of ClearBridge Large Cap Value Fund, Class IS shares of ClearBridge Small Cap Growth Fund and Class FI and Class R shares of Legg Mason Investment Counsel Social Awareness Fund is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 90 is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 90 as filed with the SEC on February 26, 2008 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 90”).

(17) Opinion of Venable LLP regarding legality of Class IS shares of ClearBridge Appreciation Fund, Class FI and Class R Shares of ClearBridge Equity Income Fund, Class FI and Class R shares of ClearBridge Equity Fund, Class FI, Class R and Class IS shares of ClearBridge Large Cap Value Fund, Class IS shares of ClearBridge Small Cap Growth Fund and Class FI and Class R shares of Legg Mason Investment Counsel Social Awareness Fund is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 90.

(18) Opinion of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP regarding legality of Class IS Shares of ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund, ClearBridge All Cap Value Fund (formerly known as ClearBridge Fundamental All Cap Value Fund), ClearBridge International Value Fund (formerly known as ClearBridge International All Cap Opportunity Fund), ClearBridge Large Cap Growth Fund and ClearBridge Mid Cap Core Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 103 as filed with the SEC on May 5, 2008 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 103”).

(19) Opinion of Venable LLP regarding legality of Class IS Shares of ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund, ClearBridge All Cap Value Fund (formerly known as ClearBridge Fundamental All Cap Value Fund), ClearBridge International Value Fund (formerly known as ClearBridge International All Cap Opportunity Fund), ClearBridge Large Cap Growth Fund and ClearBridge Mid Cap Core Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 103.

(20) Opinion of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP regarding legality of Class FI and R shares of Legg Mason Investment Counsel Financial Services Fund is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 104 as filed with the SEC on May 7, 2008 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 104”).

(21) Opinion of Venable LLP regarding legality of Class FI and R shares of Legg Mason Investment Counsel Financial Services Fund is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 104.

(22) Opinion of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP regarding legality of Class A, C, FI, R, I and IS shares of QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2015, QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2020, QS Legg Mason

 

- 17 -


Target Retirement 2025, QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2030, QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2035, QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2040, QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2045, QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2050 and QS Legg Mason Target Retirement Fund is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 110.

(23) Opinion of Venable LLP regarding legality of Class A, C, FI, R, I and IS shares of QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2015, QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2020, QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2025, QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2030, QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2035, QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2040, QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2045, QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2050 and QS Legg Mason Target Retirement Fund is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 110.

(24) Opinion of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP regarding the legality of Class R1 shares of ClearBridge Appreciation Fund, ClearBridge Large Cap Value Fund, QS Batterymarch Global Equity Fund (formerly known as Legg Mason Batterymarch Global Equity Fund) and ClearBridge Small Cap Growth Fund is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 137.

(25) Opinion of Venable LLP regarding the legality of Class R1 shares of ClearBridge Appreciation Fund, ClearBridge Large Cap Value Fund, QS Batterymarch Global Equity Fund (formerly known as Legg Mason Batterymarch Global Equity Fund) and ClearBridge Small Cap Growth Fund is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 137.

(26) Opinion of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP regarding the legality of Class R1 shares of QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2015, QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2020, QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2025, QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2030, QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2035, QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2040, QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2045, QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2050 and QS Legg Mason Target Retirement Fund is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 140 as filed with the SEC on April 1, 2009 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 140”).

(27) Opinion of Venable LLP regarding the legality of Class R1 shares of QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2015, QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2020, QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2025, QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2030, QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2035, QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2040, QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2045, QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2050 and QS Legg Mason Target Retirement Fund is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 140.

(28) Opinion of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP regarding legality of Class A, Class C, Class I, Class FI, Class R and Class IS shares of Permal Alternative Core Fund (formerly known as Permal Tactical Allocation Fund) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 141.

(29) Opinion of Venable LLP regarding legality of Class A, Class C, Class I, Class FI, Class R and Class IS shares of Permal Alternative Core Fund (formerly known as Permal Tactical Allocation Fund) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 141.

(30) Opinion of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP regarding legality of Class R1 Shares of ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 149 as filed with the SEC on October 30, 2009 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 149”).

(31) Opinion of Venable LLP regarding legality of Class R1 Shares of ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 149.

(32) Opinion of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP regarding the legality of Class R1 shares of ClearBridge All Cap Value Fund (formerly known as ClearBridge Fundamental All Cap Value Fund) and ClearBridge Small Cap Value Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 150.

(33) Opinion of Venable LLP regarding the legality of Class R1 shares of ClearBridge All Cap Value Fund (formerly known as ClearBridge Fundamental All Cap Value Fund) and ClearBridge Small Cap Value Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Post-effective Amendment No. 150.

(34) Opinion of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP regarding the legality of Class R1 shares of ClearBridge Tactical Dividend Income Fund, ClearBridge Equity Fund, ClearBridge International Value Fund

 

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(formerly known as ClearBridge International All Cap Opportunity Fund) and ClearBridge Mid Cap Core Fund is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 153 as filed with the SEC on November 24, 2009 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 153”).

(35) Opinion of Venable LLP regarding the legality of Class R1 shares of ClearBridge Tactical Dividend Income Fund, ClearBridge Equity Fund, ClearBridge International Value Fund (formerly known as ClearBridge International All Cap Opportunity Fund) and ClearBridge Mid Cap Core Fund is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 153.

(36) Opinion of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP regarding the legality of Class R1 shares of ClearBridge Large Cap Growth Fund and QS Batterymarch U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund (formerly known as Legg Mason Batterymarch U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 155 as filed with the SEC on January 6, 2010 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 155”).

(37) Opinion of Venable LLP regarding the legality of Class R1 shares of ClearBridge Large Cap Growth Fund and QS Batterymarch U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund (formerly known as Legg Mason Batterymarch U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 155.

(38) Opinion of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP regarding legality of Class IS shares and Class R1 shares of ClearBridge Equity Income Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 159.

(39) Opinion of Venable LLP regarding legality of Class IS shares and Class R1 shares of ClearBridge Equity Income Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 159.

(40) Opinion of Willkie Farr & Gallagher LLP regarding legality of Class R1 shares of Legg Mason Investment Counsel Social Awareness Fund, QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 85%, QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 70%, QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 50%, and QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 30% is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 162.

(41) Opinion of Venable LLP regarding legality of Class R1 shares of Legg Mason Investment Counsel Social Awareness Fund, QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 85%, QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 70%, QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 50%, and QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 30% is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 162.

(42) Opinion of Venable LLP regarding legality of Class R1 shares of Legg Mason Investment Counsel Financial Services Fund is incorporated by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 170 as filed with the SEC on May 27, 2010.

(43) Opinion of Venable LLP regarding the legality of Class A, Class C, Class FI, Class R, Class R1, Class I and Class IS shares of ClearBridge Mid Cap Growth Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 171.

(44) Opinion of Venable LLP regarding the legality of shares of Class A, Class C, Class FI, Class R, Class R1, Class I and Class IS shares of ClearBridge International Small Cap Fund (formerly known as ClearBridge International Small Cap Opportunity Fund and previous thereto Legg Mason Global Currents International Small Cap Opportunity Fund) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 172.

(45) Opinion of Venable LLP regarding the legality of shares of Class A, Class C, Class FI, Class R, Class I and Class IS shares of QS Legg Mason Dynamic Multi-Strategy Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 230.

(46) Opinion of Venable LLP regarding the legality of shares of Class A, Class C, Class FI, Class R, Class I and Class IS shares of ClearBridge Select Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 246.

(47) Opinion of Venable LLP regarding the legality of shares of Class A, Class C, Class FI, Class R, Class I and Class IS shares of QS Batterymarch Managed Volatility International Dividend (formerly known as Legg Mason Batterymarch Managed Volatility International Dividend Fund) and QS Batterymarch Managed Volatility Global Dividend (formerly known as Legg Mason Batterymarch Managed Volatility Global Dividend Fund) incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 251 as filed with the SEC on December 12, 2012.

 

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(48) Opinion of Venable LLP regarding legality of Class IS Shares of ClearBridge Small Cap Value Fund and ClearBridge Tactical Dividend Income Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 265 as filed with the SEC on March 21, 2013.

(49) Opinion of Venable LLP regarding legality of Class 1 Shares of ClearBridge Large Cap Value Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 269.

(50) Opinion of Venable LLP regarding the legality of shares of Class A, Class C, Class FI, Class R, Class I and Class IS shares of ClearBridge Energy MLP & Infrastructure Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 271 as filed with the SEC on May 16, 2013.

(51) Opinion of Venable LLP regarding the legality of shares of Class A, Class C, Class FI, Class R, Class I and Class IS shares of Permal Alternative Select Fund is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 288.

(j) Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm is filed herewith.

(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 relating to Class A, B, C, FI, R and I Shares is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 74.

(2) Amended Shareholder Services and Distribution Plan relating to Class A, B, C, FI, R and I Shares is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 81 as filed with the SEC on January 29, 2008.

(3) Amended Shareholder Services and Distribution Plan relating to Class A, B, C, FI, R, I and IS Shares dated as of February 7, 2008 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 86 as filed with the SEC on February 15, 2008.

(4) Amended Shareholder Services and Distribution Plan relating to Class A, B, C, FI, R, I and IS Shares dated as of August 7, 2008 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 119 as filed with the SEC on August 28, 2008 (“Post-Effective Amendment No. 119”).

(5) Amended Shareholder Services and Distribution Plan relating to Class R1 Shares dated as of February 26, 2009 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 137.

(6) Amended Shareholder Services and Distribution Plan relating to Class R1 Shares dated as of February 26, 2009 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 146.

(7) Amended Shareholder Services and Distribution Plan dated as of December 7, 2009 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 159.

(8) Amended Shareholder Services and Distribution Plan dated as of February 4, 2010 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 162.

(9) Amended Shareholder Services and Distribution Plan dated as of August 5, 2010 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 177.

(10) Appendix A, amended and restated as of May 2, 2013 to the Shareholder Services and Distribution Plan is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 280.

(11) Appendix A, amended and restated as of August 1, 2013 to the Shareholder Services and Distribution Plan is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 282.

(12) Appendix A, amended and restated as of November 6, 2013 to the Shareholder Services and Distribution Plan is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 292.

 

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(13) Appendix A, amended and restated as of June 30, 2014 to the Shareholder Services and Distribution Plan is filed herewith.

(n)(1) Rule 18f-3(d) Multiple Class Plan of the Registrant pursuant to Rule 18f-3 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 76.

(o) (1) Power of Attorney, dated November 3, 2011, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 215.

(2) Power of Attorney, dated January 31, 2012 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 220 as filed with the SEC on February 22, 2012.

(3) Power of Attorney, dated February 6, 2013 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 257.

(4) Power of Attorney, dated May 2, 2013 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 280.

(5) Power of Attorney, dated February 4, 2014 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 298.

(6) Power of Attorney, effective as of April 1, 2014, is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 304 as filed with the SEC on April 21, 2014.

(p)(1) Code of Ethics of Legg Mason & Co., LLC (adopted by LMPFA, LMIS and QS LMGAA) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 215.

(2) Code of Ethics of Batterymarch dated February 1, 2005 is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 61.

(3) Code of Ethics of Permal is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 312.

(4) Code of Ethics of ClearBridge is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 148 as filed with the SEC on August 26, 2009.

(5) Code of Ethics of Apex Capital, LLC (“Apex”) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 292.

(6) Code of Ethics of River Canyon Fund Management LLC (“River Canyon”) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 292.

(7) Code of Ethics of TT International (“TT International”) is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 292.

(8) Code of Ethics of LMIC is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 298.

(9) Code of Ethics of WAM is incorporated herein by reference to Post-Effective Amendment No. 298.

(10) Code of Ethics of Atlantic Investment Management, Inc. (“Atlantic”) – is filed herewith.

 

Item 29. Persons Controlled by or under Common Control with Registrant

Permal Alternative Core Fund, a series of the Trust, wholly owns and controls the Alternative Core Fund Ltd., a company organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands as an exempted company. Permal Alternative Core Fund and Alternative Core Fund Ltd. file their financial statements on a consolidated basis.

Permal Alternative Select Fund, a series of the Trust, wholly owns and controls the Alternative Select Fund Ltd., a company organized under the laws of the Cayman Islands as an exempted company. Permal Alternative Select Fund and Alternative Select Fund Ltd. file their financial statements on a consolidated basis.

 

Item 30. Indemnification

Article IX of the Registrant’s Declaration of Trust addresses the limitation of liability and indemnification of the Registrant’s Trustees, officers and others. Section 9.2(a) of the Declaration of Trust provides that no current or former Trustee, officer, or employee of the Registrant will be subject to any personal liability whatsoever to any person, other than the Registrant or its shareholders, in connection with the affairs of the Registrant. Further, Section

 

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9.2(b) of the Declaration of Trust provides that, subject to applicable federal law, no current or former Trustee or officer of the Registrant will be liable to the Registrant or to any shareholder for money damages except:

 

    to the extent that it is proved that the person actually received an improper benefit or profit in money, property, or services, or

 

    to the extent that a judgment or other final adjudication adverse to the person is entered in a proceeding based on a finding in the proceeding that the person’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.

Section 9.5 of the Declaration of Trust states requires that, subject to certain exceptions and limitation expressed in the Declaration of Trust, each current and former Trustee, officer, or employee of the Registrant, including persons who serve at the request of the Registrant as directors, trustees, officers, employees, agents or independent contractors of another organization in which the Registrant has an interest as a shareholder, creditor or otherwise (each, a “Covered Person”), be indemnified by the Registrant to the fullest extent permitted by law against liability and against all expenses reasonably incurred or paid by him in connection with any claim in which he becomes involved as a party or otherwise by virtue of his being (or having served) in such position and against amounts paid or incurred by him in settlement thereof. Section 9.5 of the Declaration of Trust further provides that no indemnification shall be provided to the that extent such indemnification is prohibited by applicable federal law. The Declaration of Trust also sets forth provisions outlining presumptions that may be made relating to a person’s standard of conduct and when expenses may be advanced.

In addition, to the foregoing, the Registrant has entered into an Indemnification Agreement with each of its Trustees that provides for indemnification consistent with the principles described above. These Indemnification Agreements set forth certain procedural aspects with respect to indemnification, including the advancement of expenses, and presumptions relating to the determination of whether the standard of conduct required for indemnification has been met, as well as remedies for the indemnitee in the event that, among other things, determinations as to entitlement to indemnification, advancement of expenses and indemnity payments are not made in accordance with the procedures specified therein.

The Trustees 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, as amended.

Insofar as indemnification for liabilities arising under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, may be provided to directors, officers and controlling persons of the Registrant, pursuant to the foregoing provisions or otherwise, the Registrant has been advised that in the opinion of the Securities and Exchange Commission such indemnification is against public policy as expressed in the Act and is, therefore, unenforceable. In the event that a claim for indemnification against such liabilities (other than the payment by the Registrant of expenses incurred or paid by a director, officer or controlling person of the Registrant in connection with the successful defense of any action, suit or proceeding or payment pursuant to any insurance policy) is asserted against the Registrant by such director, officer or controlling person in connection with the securities being registered, the Registrant will, unless in the opinion of its counsel the matter has been settled by controlling precedent, submit to a court of appropriate jurisdiction the question whether such indemnification by it is prohibited as against public policy as expressed in the Act and will be governed by the final adjudication of such issue.

Under the Distribution Agreement, the Registrant agrees to indemnify LMIS, its officers, directors and employees and any person who controls LMIS within the meaning of Section 15 of the 1933 Act, free and harmless from and against any and all claims, demands, liabilities and expenses (including the reasonable cost of investigating or defending such claims, demands or liabilities and any counsel fees incurred in connection therewith) which LMIS, its officers, directors and employees or any such controlling person may incur, under the 1933 Act or under common law or otherwise, arising out of or based upon any alleged untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Registrant’s Registration Statement or arising out of or based upon any alleged omission to state a material fact required to be stated or necessary to make the Registration Statement not misleading, provided that in no event shall anything contained in the Distribution Agreement be construed so as to protect LMIS or such other parties against any liability to the Registrant or its shareholders to which LMIS or such other parties would otherwise be subject by reason of willful misfeasance, bad faith, or gross negligence in the performance of their duties, or by reason of reckless disregard of their obligations and duties under the Distribution Agreement.

 

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The Registrant’s Management Agreements and Subadvisory Agreements generally provide that the manager or subadviser, as applicable, assumes no responsibility under the Agreements other than to render the services called for under the Agreements in good faith. The Management Agreements and Subadvisory Agreements generally further provide that the manager or the subadviser, as applicable, 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, provided that nothing in the Agreements protect the manager or the subadviser, as applicable, against any liability to a fund to which the manager or subadviser, as applicable, 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 under the Agreements. With respect to Permal Alternative Select Fund, the manager and subadvisers have agreed to cross-indemnification for certain acts or omissions except for gross negligence and other exceptions.

 

Item 31. 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 “Advisers Act”). The list required by this Item 31 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 Advisers Act (SEC File No. 801-66785).

Investment Adviser and Subadviser—Permal Asset Management LLC (“Permal”)

Permal was formed in June 2002 under the laws of the State of Delaware as a corporation and is a Delaware limited liability company. Permal is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason. Permal is registered as an investment adviser under the Advisers Act.

The following table notes the officers and directors of Permal, 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.

 

Name

  

Position at Permal

  

Other Positions Held

Isaac R. Souede    Chief Executive Officer and Chairman    None
James. R. Hodge    President, Chief Investment Officer and Director    None
Robert Kaplan    Executive Vice President    None
Judy Tchou    Executive Vice President    None
Karen Hager    Chief Compliance Officer    None
Claude Janssen    Director    None
Peter Mercer    Director    None
Elliot I. Tannenbaum    Director    None

Subadviser—Apex Capital, LLC (“Apex”)

Apex was formed under the laws of the State of California as a limited liability company. Apex is registered as an investment adviser under the Advisers Act. The list required by this Item 31 of officers and directors of Apex, 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 Apex pursuant to the Advisers Act (SEC File No. 801-71380).

 

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Subadviser — Atlantic Investment Management, Inc. (“Atlantic”)

Atlantic was formed under the laws of the Delaware as a corporation. Atlantic is registered as an investment adviser under the Advisers Act.

The following table notes the officers and directors of Atlantic, 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.

 

Name

  

Position at Atlantic

  

Other Positions Held

Bruce Stewart Berger    Chief Compliance Officer and Chief Financial Officer    None
Alexander J. Roepers    President and Chief Investment Officer    None

Subadviser—QS Batterymarch Financial Management, Inc. (“QS Batterymarch”)

QS Batterymarch was organized under the laws of the State of Maryland as a corporation. QS Batterymarch is an indirect wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason. QS Batterymarch is registered as an investment adviser under the Advisers Act.

The following table notes the officers and directors of QS 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.

 

Name

  

Position at QS Batterymarch

  

Other Positions Held

Janet C. Campagna    Director and Chief Executive Officer    Chief Executive Officer of QS Investors, LLC
John D. Kennedy    Director    None
Joseph P. LaRocque    Director    Director at: Legg Mason Asset Management Hong Kong Limited, Legg Mason Asset Management Australia Limited, Legg Mason Asset Management Singapore Pte. Limited, Legg Mason Canada Inc., Legg Mason International Equities (Hong Kong) Limited, Legg Mason Investments (Ireland) Limited, Legg Mason Investments (Luxembourg) S.A., Legg Mason Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna, Legg Mason Canada Holdings Ltd., Brandywine Global Investment Management (Europe) Limited, Brandywine Global Investment Management (Asia) Pte. Ltd., Legg Mason Investment Counsel & Trust Company, N.A., Batterymarch Financial Management, Inc., Legg Mason Global Asset Allocation, LLC, Legg Mason Investment Counsel, LLC, Legg Mason Investment Funds Limited, Legg Mason Investments (Europe) Limited, and Western Asset Management Company Ltd.
Jeffrey A. Nattans    Director    See below under “ClearBridge”
James H. Norman    Director and President    President of QS Investors, LLC
Daniel J. Holman    Chief Operating Officer    Chief Operating Officer of QS Investors, LLC
Steven R. Ducker    Chief Compliance Officer and Secretary    Chief Compliance Officer of QS Investors, LLC
Thomas G. Rose    Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer    Chief Financial Officer of QS Investors, LLC

 

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Subadviser—ClearBridge Investments, LLC (“ClearBridge”)

ClearBridge was organized under the laws of the State of Delaware as a limited liability company. ClearBridge is a direct wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason. ClearBridge is registered as an investment adviser under the Advisers Act.

The following table notes the officers and directors of ClearBridge, 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.

 

Name

  

Position at ClearBridge

  

Other Positions Held

Terrence J. Murphy    Chief Executive Officer, President, Chief Operating Officer, and Director    Legg Mason Private Portfolio Group, LLC – Chief Executive Officer; Legg Mason Capital Management, LLC - Chief Executive Officer, President, Chief Operating Officer and Director
Barbara Brooke Manning    General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer    Legg Mason Capital Management, LLC—General Counsel and Chief Compliance Officer
Harry D. Cohen    Co-Chief Investment Officer    Legg Mason Capital Management, LLC—Co-Chief Investment Officer
Scott K. Glasser    Co-Chief Investment Officer    Legg Mason Private Portfolio Group, LLC – Chief Financial Officer; Legg Mason Capital Management, LLC - Co-Chief Investment Officer
Cynthia K. List    Chief Financial Officer    Legg Mason Private Portfolio Group, LLC – Chief Compliance Officer; Legg Mason Capital Management, LLC - Chief Financial Officer
Peter H. Nachtwey    Director    Legg Mason & Co., LLC –Director; The Baltimore Company – Director; Legg Mason International Equities Limited – Director; QS Batterymarch Financial Management, Inc – Director; BMML, Inc. – Director; Brandywine Global Investment Management, LLC –Director; ClearBridge Investments, LLC – Director; ClearBridge Asset Management, Inc. – Director; ClearBridge, LLC – Director; Legg Mason Commercial Real Estate Services, Inc. – Director; QS Legg Mason Global Asset Allocation, LLC – Director; Legg Mason Investment Counsel, LLC – Director; Legg Mason Political Action Committee (“PAC”) – Member; Legg Mason International Holdings, LLC – Director; Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC – Director; Legg Mason Private Portfolio Group, LLC – Director; Legg Mason Real Estate Securities Advisors, Inc. – Director; Legg Mason Realty Group, Inc. – Director; Legg Mason Realty Partners, Inc. – Director; Legg Mason Tower, Inc. – Director; LM BAM, Inc. – Director; LM Capital Support V, LLC – Director; Legg Mason Towarzystwo Funduszy Inwestycyjnych Spolka Akcyjna – Director; PCM Holdings I, LLC – Director; PCM Holdings II, LLC – Director; Legg

 

- 25 -


      Mason Funding Ltd. –Director; Royce & Associates, LLC – Director; Gray Seifert & Company, LLC – Director; LM Asset Services, LLC – Director; The Baltimore Company – Officer-President; BMML, Inc. –Officer- President; Gray Seifert & Company, LLC – Officer- President; Legg Mason & Co., LLC –Officer- President; Legg Mason Charitable Foundation, Inc. – Officer-Vice President and Treasurer; Legg Mason Commercial Real Estate Services, Inc. – Officer-President; Legg Mason Political Action Committee (“PAC”) – Officer-Chairman; Legg Mason Real Estate Securities Advisors, Inc. – Officer-President; Legg Mason Realty Group, Inc. – Officer-President; Legg Mason Realty Partners, Inc. – Officer-President; Legg Mason Tower, Inc. – Officer-President; LM BAM, Inc. – Officer-President; LM Capital Support V, LLC – Officer-President
Jeffrey A. Nattans    Director    ClearBridge, LLC – Director; Legg Mason Investment Counsel, LLC – Director; Legg Mason Investment Counsel & Trust Company, N.A. – Director; LMOBC, Inc. – Director; PCM Holdings I, LLC – Director; PCM Holdings II, LLC – Director; Royce & Associates, LLC – Director; Western Asset Management Company – Director; Permal Group Limited – Director; Legg Mason Private Portfolio Group, LLC – Director; LMOBC, Inc. – Officer-President

Subadviser—QS Legg Mason Global Asset Allocation, LLC (“QS LMGAA”)

QS LMGAA is organized under the laws of the State of Delaware as a limited liability company. QS LMGAA is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason. QS LMGAA is registered as an investment adviser under the Advisers Act.

The following table notes the officers and directors of QS LMGAA, 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.

 

Name

  

Position at QS LMGAA

  

Other Positions Held

Janet C. Campagna    Director and Chief Executive Officer    Chief Executive Officer of QS Investors, LLC
John Kenney    Director    None
Jeffrey A. Nattans    Director    See above under “ClearBridge”
James H. Norman    Director and President    President of QS Investors, LLC
Joseph LaRocque    Director    See above under “QS Batterymarch”
Daniel J. Holman    Chief Operating Officer    Chief Operating Officer of QS Investors, LLC
Steven R. Ducker    Chief Compliance Officer    Chief Compliance Officer of QS Investors, LLC
Thomas G. Rose    Chief Financial Officer    Chief Financial Officer of QS Investors, LLC

 

- 26 -


Subadviser – River Canyon Fund Management LLC (“River Canyon”)

River Canyon was formed under the laws of the Delaware as a limited liability corporation. River Canyon is registered as an investment adviser under the Advisers Act.

The following table notes the officers and directors of River Canyon, 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.

 

Name

  

Position at River Canyon

  

Other Positions Held

Canyon Capital Advisors LLC    Sole Member    None
Mitchell R. Julis    Managing Partner    None
Joshua S. Friedman    Managing Partner    None
John P. Plaga    Chief Financial Officer    None
Douglas A. Anderson    Chief Compliance Officer    None
Jonathan M. Kaplan    General Counsel    None

Subadviser – TT International (“TT International”)

TT International was formed under the laws of the United Kingdom as a partnership. TT International is registered as an investment adviser under the Advisers Act. The list required by this Item 31 of officers and directors of TT International, 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 TT International pursuant to the Advisers Act (SEC File No. 801-45435).

Subadviser—Western Asset Management Company (“WAM”)

WAM is organized as under the laws of the State of California as a corporation. WAM is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason. WAM is an investment adviser registered with the SEC under the Advisers Act.

The following table notes the officers and directors of WAM, 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.

 

Name

  

Position at WAM

  

Other Positions Held

James W. Hirschmann III    Chief Executive Officer, President and Director    None
Bruce D. Alberts    Chief Financial Officer    None
Brett B. Canon    Director of Risk Management and Operations    None
James J. Flick    Director of Global Client Services and Marketing    None
Gavin L. James    Director of Portfolio Operations    None
Charles A. Ruys de Perez    Secretary, General Counsel and Head of Legal and Compliance    Western Asset Management Company Limited—Director; Western Asset Management Company Pte. Ltd.—Director; Western Asset Management Company Ltd.—Director; Western Asset Management Company Pty. Ltd.—Director; Western Asset Holdings (Australia) Pty. Ltd.—Director

 

- 27 -


Jeffrey A. Nattans    Director    See above under “ClearBridge”
F. Barry Bilson    Director    None
Daniel E. Giddings    Assistant Secretary    None

 

Item 32. Principal Underwriter

(a) LMIS, the distributor of the Registrant, is a distributor of funds that are series of the following registrants: Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust, Legg Mason Partners Variable Equity Trust, Legg Mason Partners Income Trust, Legg Mason Partners Variable Income Trust, Legg Mason Partners Institutional Trust, Legg Mason Partners Money Market Trust, Legg Mason Partners Premium Money Market Trust, Legg Mason Global Asset Management Trust, Legg Mason Investment Trust, Legg Mason Tax-Free Income Fund, Western Asset Funds, Inc.

LMIS is the placement agent for funds that are series of Master Portfolio Trust.

(b) The information required by this Item 32 with respect to each director and officer of LMIS is listed below:

 

Name and Principal

Business Address*

  

Position and Offices

with Underwriter – LMIS

  

Positions and Offices with Registrant

Frances Cashman    Manager and Co-Managing Director    None
Jeffrey Masom    Manager and Co-Managing Director    None
Matthew Schiffman    Manager and Co-Managing Director    None
100 First Stamford Pl.      
Stamford, CT 06902-6732      
Jason Bennett    Chief Financial Officer, Treasurer and Financial Reporting Officer    None
Kenneth D. Cieprisz    Vice President and Chief Compliance Officer    None
620 8th Avenue, 49th Floor      
New York, NY 10018      
Elisabeth F. Craig    Secretary    None
Vicki Schmelzer    Assistant Secretary    None
Susan Kerr    AML Compliance Officer    None
100 First Stamford Pl.      
Stamford, CT 06902      

 

* All addresses are 100 International Drive, Baltimore, Maryland 21202, unless otherwise indicated.

(c) Not applicable.

 

Item 33. Location of Accounts and Records

With respect to the Registrant:

(1) Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust

620 Eighth Avenue

New York, NY 10018

 

- 28 -


With respect to the Registrant’s Investment Managers:

(2) Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC

620 Eighth Avenue

New York, NY 10018

(3) Apex Capital, LLC

25 Orinda Way

Suite 300

Orinda, CA 94653

(4) Atlantic Investment Management, Inc.

666 Fifth Avenue

34 th Floor

New York, NY 10103

(5) QS Batterymarch Financial Management, Inc.

John Hancock Tower

200 Clarendon Street

Boston, MA 02116

(6) ClearBridge Investments, LLC

620 Eighth Avenue

New York, NY 10018

(7) QS Legg Mason Global Asset Allocation, LLC

880 Third Avenue

New York, NY 10022

(8) Permal Asset Management LLC

900 Third Avenue

New York, NY 10022

(9) River Canyon Fund Management LLC

2000 Avenue of the Stars, 11th Floor

Los Angeles, CA 90067

(10) TT International

Moor House

Level 13

120 London Wall

London EC2Y 5ET

United Kingdom

(11) c/o Western Asset Management Company

620 Eighth Avenue

New York, New York 10018

(12) BH-DG Systematic Trading LLP

3rd Floor

10 Grosvenor Street

London W1K 4QB

United Kingdom

 

- 29 -


With respect to the Registrant’s Custodian:

(13) State Street Bank and Trust Company

One Lincoln Street

Boston, MA 02111

With respect to the Registrant’s Transfer Agent:

(14) BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.

301 Bellevue Parkway

Wilmington, DC 19809

With respect to the Registrant’s Distributor:

(15) Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC

100 International Drive

Baltimore, MD 21202

 

Item 34. Management Services

Not applicable.

 

Item 35. Undertakings

Not applicable.

 

- 30 -


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 EQUITY TRUST, hereby certifies that it meets all the requirements for effectiveness of this Registration Statement under Rule 485(b) under the Securities Act and has duly caused this Post-Effective Amendment to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized, in the City of Baltimore, State of Maryland on this 15 th day of December 2014.

LEGG MASON PARTNERS EQUITY TRUST , on behalf of ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund.

 

By:  

/s/ Kenneth D. Fuller

  Kenneth D. Fuller
  President and Chief Executive Officer

WITNESS our hands on the date set forth below.

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Act, this Post-Effective Amendment to the Registration Statement has been signed below by the following persons in the capacities indicated below on December 15, 2014.

 

Signature

  

Title

/s/ Kenneth D. Fuller

   President, Chief Executive Officer and Trustee
Kenneth D. Fuller   

/s/ Richard F. Sennett

   Principal Financial Officer
Richard F. Sennett   

Paul R. Ades*

   Trustee
Paul R. Ades   

Andrew L. Breech*

   Trustee
Andrew L. Breech   

Dwight B. Crane*

   Trustee
Dwight B. Crane   

Althea L. Duersten*

   Trustee
Althea L. Duersten   

Frank G. Hubbard*

   Trustee
Frank G. Hubbard   

Howard J. Johnson*

   Trustee
Howard J. Johnson   

Jerome H. Miller*

   Trustee
Jerome H. Miller   

Ken Miller*

   Trustee
Ken Miller   

 

- 31 -


John J. Murphy*

   Trustee
John J. Murphy   

Thomas F. Schlafly*

   Trustee
Thomas F. Schlafly   

 

*By:  

/s/ Kenneth D. Fuller

  Kenneth D. Fuller, as Agent

 

- 32 -


INDEX TO EXHIBITS

 

Index No.

 

Description of Exhibit

(a)(53)   Amended and Restated Designation of Series dated May 1, 2014
(a)(54)   Amended and Restated Designation of Classes dated May 1, 2014
(d)(147)   Form of Subadvisory Agreement between Permal and Atlantic Investment Management, Inc., with respect to Permal Alternative Select Fund
(e)(9)   Appendix A, amended and restated as of June 30, 2014, to the Distribution Agreement with LMIS
(g)(7)   Form of Letter Agreement amending the Custodian Services Agreement and Fund Accounting Services Agreement with State Street
(h)(1)   Transfer Agency and Services Agreement with BNY Mellon
(j)   Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
(m)(13)   Appendix A, amended and restated as of June 30, 2014 to the Shareholder Services and Distribution Plan
(p)(10)   Code of Ethics of Atlantic Investment Management, Inc.

 

- 33 -

Exhibit (a)(53)

LEGG MASON PARTNERS EQUITY TRUST

Amended and Restated Designation of Series of Shares of Beneficial Interests in the Trust

(May 1, 2014)

WHEREAS, the Trustees of the Trust, acting pursuant to Section 4.9 of the Declaration, have divided the Shares of the Trust in several Series of Shares of beneficial interests in the Trust (each, a “Series”);

WHEREAS, the Trustees have heretofore terminated certain Series so established and designated and/or have changed the names of certain Series so established and designated;

NOW THEREFORE, the following are the Series of the Trust, with certain changes listed below to be effective as of June 30, 2014, each with such relative rights, preferences, privileges, limitations, restrictions and other relative terms as are set forth below:

 

  1. ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund

 

  2. ClearBridge Appreciation Fund

 

  3. ClearBridge Equity Income Fund

 

  4. ClearBridge Tactical Dividend Income Fund

 

  5. ClearBridge Equity Fund

 

  6. Legg Mason Investment Counsel Financial Services Fund

 

  7. ClearBridge All Cap Value Fund

 

  8. QS Batterymarch Global Equity Fund (Legg Mason Batterymarch Global Equity Fund prior to June 30, 2014)

 

  9. ClearBridge International All Cap Opportunity Fund

 

  10. ClearBridge Large Cap Value Fund

 

  11. ClearBridge Large Cap Growth Fund

 

  12. QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 85% (Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 85% prior to June 30, 2014)

 

  13. QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 70% (Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 70% prior to June 30, 2014)

 

  14. QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 50% (Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 50% prior to June 30, 2014)

 

  15. QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 30% (Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 30% prior to June 30, 2014)

 

  16. ClearBridge Mid Cap Core Fund

 

  17. QS Batterymarch S&P 500 Index Fund (Legg Mason Batterymarch S&P 500 Index Fund prior to June 30, 2014)

 

  18. ClearBridge Small Cap Growth Fund

 

  19. ClearBridge Small Cap Value Fund

 

  20. Legg Mason Investment Counsel Social Awareness Fund

 

  21. QS Batterymarch U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund (Legg Mason Batterymarch U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund prior to June 30, 2014)

 

  22. QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2015 (Legg Mason Target Retirement 2015 prior to June 30, 2014)

 

  23. QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2020 (Legg Mason Target Retirement 2020 prior to June 30, 2014)

 

  24. QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2025 (Legg Mason Target Retirement 2025 prior to June 30, 2014)

 

  25. QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2030 (Legg Mason Target Retirement 2030 prior to June 30, 2014)

 


  26. QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2035 (Legg Mason Target Retirement 2035 prior to June 30, 2014)

 

  27. QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2040 (Legg Mason Target Retirement 2040 prior to June 30, 2014)

 

  28. QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2045 (Legg Mason Target Retirement 2045 prior to June 30, 2014)

 

  29. QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2050 (Legg Mason Target Retirement 2050 prior to June 30, 2014)

 

  30. QS Legg Mason Target Retirement Fund (Legg Mason Target Retirement Fund prior to June 30, 2014)

 

  31. Permal Alternative Core Fund

 

  32. ClearBridge Mid Cap Growth Fund

 

  33. ClearBridge International Small Cap Opportunity Fund

 

  34. QS Legg Mason Dynamic Multi-Strategy Fund (Legg Mason Dynamic Multi-Strategy Fund prior to June 30, 2014)

 

  35. ClearBridge Select Fund

 

  36. QS Batterymarch Managed Volatility Global Dividend Fund (Legg Mason Batterymarch Managed Volatility Global Dividend Fund prior to June 30, 2014)

 

  37. QS Batterymarch Managed Volatility International Dividend Fund (Legg Mason Batterymarch Managed Volatility International Dividend Fund prior to June 30, 2014)

 

  38. ClearBridge Energy MLP & Infrastructure Fund

 

  39. Permal Alternative Select Fund

1. Each Share of each Series shall have a par value of $0.00001 per Share and shall be entitled to all the rights and preferences accorded to Shares under the Declaration.

2. The number of authorized Shares of each Series is unlimited.

3. Each Series shall be authorized to hold cash, invest in securities, instruments and other property, use investment techniques, and have such goals or objectives as from time to time are described in the prospectus and statement of additional information contained in the Trust’s then currently effective registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, to the extent pertaining to the offering of Shares of the Series, as the same may be amended and supplemented from time to time (“Prospectus”). Each Share of a Series shall represent a beneficial interest in the net assets allocated or belonging to such Series only, and such interest shall not extend to the assets of the Trust generally (except to the extent that General Assets (as defined in the Declaration) are allocated to such Series), and shall be entitled to receive its pro rata share of the net assets of the Series upon liquidation of the Series, all as set forth in Section 4.9 of the Declaration.

4. With respect to the Shares of each Series, (a) the time and method of determining the purchase price, (b) the fees and expenses, (c) the qualifications for ownership, if any, (d) minimum purchase amounts, if any, (e) minimum account size, if any, (f) the price, terms and manner of redemption, (g) any conversion or exchange feature or privilege, (h) the relative dividend rights, and (i) any other relative rights, preferences, privileges, limitations, restrictions and other relative terms have been established by the Trustees in accordance with the Declaration and are set forth in the Prospectus with respect to such Series.

5. The Trustees may from time to time modify any of the relative rights, preferences, privileges, limitations, restrictions and other relative terms of a Series or the Shares of such Series that have been established by the Trustees or redesignate any of the Series without any action or consent of the Shareholders.

6. The designation of any Series hereby shall not impair the power of the Trustees from time to time to designate additional Series of Shares of the Trust or terminate any Series hereby designated.

7. Capitalized terms not defined herein have the meanings given to such terms in the Declaration.

 

- 2 -

Exhibit (a)(54)

LEGG MASON PARTNERS EQUITY TRUST

Amended and Restated Designation of Classes

(May 1, 2014)

WHEREAS, the Trustees of the Trust, acting pursuant to Section 4.9 of the Declaration, have divided the Series of the Trust into one or more Classes of Shares (each, a “Class”);

WHEREAS, the Trustees have heretofore terminated certain Classes so established and designated and/or have changed the names of certain Classes so established and designated;

NOW THEREFORE, the following are the Classes of Shares of each identified Series of the Trust, with certain changes listed below to be effective as of June 30, 2014, each with such relative rights, preferences, privileges, limitations, restrictions and other relative terms as are set forth below:

 

Series    Class
ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund    A, B, C, I, FI, R, IS, R1
ClearBridge Appreciation Fund    A, B, C, I, FI, R, IS, R1
ClearBridge Equity Income Fund    A, B, C, I, 1, FI, R, IS, R1
ClearBridge Tactical Dividend Income Fund    A, A2, C, I, FI, R, IS
ClearBridge Equity Fund    A, B, C, O, I, FI, R, IS, R1
Legg Mason Investment Counsel Financial Services Fund    A, C, I, FI, R, IS, R1
ClearBridge All Cap Value Fund    A, B, C, I, FI, R, IS, R1
QS Batterymarch Global Equity Fund (Legg Mason Batterymarch Global Equity Fund prior to June 30, 2014)    A, B, C, I, 1, FI, R, IS, R1
ClearBridge International All Cap Opportunity Fund    A, B, C, I, FI, R, IS, R1
ClearBridge Large Cap Value Fund    A, A2, C, I, FI, R, IS, 1
ClearBridge Large Cap Growth Fund    A, B, C, I, FI, R, IS, R1
QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 85% (Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 85% prior to June 30, 2014)    A, B, C, I, FI, R, IS, R1
QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 70% (Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 70% prior to June 30, 2014)    A, B, C, I, FI, R, IS, R1
QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 50% (Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 50% prior to June 30, 2014)    A, B, C, I, FI, R, IS, R1
QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 30% (Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 30% prior to June 30, 2014)    A, B, C, C1, I, FI, R, IS

 


ClearBridge Mid Cap Core Fund    A, B, C, I, 1, FI, R, IS, R1
QS Batterymarch S&P 500 Index Fund (Legg Mason Batterymarch S&P 500 Index Fund prior to June 30, 2014)    A, D, IS, R1
ClearBridge Small Cap Growth Fund    A, B, C, FI, R, I, 1, IS, R1
ClearBridge Small Cap Value Fund    A, B, C, I, FI, R, IS, R1
Legg Mason Investment Counsel Social Awareness Fund    A, B, C, I, FI, R, IS, R1
QS Batterymarch U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund (Legg Mason Batterymarch U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund prior to June 30, 2014)    A, C, I, FI, R, IS, R1
QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2015 (Legg Mason Target Retirement 2015 prior to June 30, 2014)    A, C, I, FI, R, IS, R1
QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2020 (Legg Mason Target Retirement 2020 prior to June 30, 2014)    A, C, I, FI, R, IS, R1
QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2025 (Legg Mason Target Retirement 2025 prior to June 30, 2014)    A, C, I, FI, R, IS, R1
QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2030 (Legg Mason Target Retirement 2030 prior to June 30, 2014)    A, C, I, FI, R, IS, R1
QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2035 (Legg Mason Target Retirement 2035 prior to June 30, 2014)    A, C, I, FI, R, IS, R1
QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2040 (Legg Mason Target Retirement 2040 prior to June 30, 2014)    A, C, I, FI, R, IS, R1
QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2045 (Legg Mason Target Retirement 2045 prior to June 30, 2014)    A, C, I, FI, R, IS, R1
QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2050 (Legg Mason Target Retirement 2050 prior to June 30, 2014)    A, C, I, FI, R, IS, R1
QS Legg Mason Target Retirement Fund (Legg Mason Target Retirement Fund prior to June 30, 2014)    A, C, I, FI, R, IS, R1
Permal Alternative Core Fund    A, C, I, FI, R, IS, R1
ClearBridge Mid Cap Growth Fund    A, C, I, FI, R, IS, R1
ClearBridge International Small Cap Opportunity Fund    A, A2, C, I, FI, R, IS
QS Legg Mason Dynamic Multi-Strategy Fund (Legg Mason Dynamic Multi-Strategy Fund prior to June 30, 2014)    A, C, I, FI, R, IS
ClearBridge Select Fund    A, C, I, FI, R, IS
QS Batterymarch Managed Volatility Global Dividend Fund (Legg Mason Batterymarch Managed Volatility Global Dividend Fund prior to June 30, 2014)    A, C, I, FI, R, IS

 

- 2 -


QS Batterymarch Managed Volatility International Dividend Fund (Legg Mason Batterymarch Managed Volatility International Dividend Fund prior to June 30, 2014)    A, C, I, FI, R, IS
ClearBridge Energy MLP & Infrastructure Fund    A, C, I, FI, R, IS
Permal Alternative Select Fund    A, C, I, FI, R, IS

1. Each Share of each Class is entitled to all the rights and preferences accorded to Shares under the Declaration.

2. The number of authorized Shares of each Class is unlimited.

3. All Shares of a Class of a Series shall be identical with each other and with the Shares of each other Class of the same Series except for such variations between Classes as may be authorized by the Trustees from time to time and set forth in the Trust’s then currently effective registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933 to the extent pertaining to the offering of Shares of the Class of such Series, as the same may be amended and supplemented from time to time (“Prospectus”). The Trustees may change the name or other designation of a Class; and take such other action with respect to the Classes as the Trustees may deem desirable.

4. With respect to the Shares of a Class of a Series, (a) the time and method of determining the purchase price, (b) the fees and expenses, (c) the qualifications for ownership, if any, (d) minimum purchase amounts, if any, (e) minimum account size, if any, (f) the price, terms and manner of redemption, (g) any conversion or exchange feature or privilege, (h) the relative dividend rights, and (i) any other relative rights, preferences, privileges, limitations, restrictions and other relative terms have been established by the Trustees in accordance with the Declaration and are set forth in the Prospectus with respect to such Class of such Series.

5. The Trustees may from time to time modify any of the relative rights, preferences, privileges, limitations, restrictions and other relative terms of a Class of a Series that have been established by the Trustees; divide or combine the issued or unissued Shares of any Class of a Series into a greater or lesser number; classify or reclassify any issued or unissued Shares of any Class of a Series into one or more Classes of such Series; combine two or more Classes of a Series into a single Class of such Series; in each case without any action or consent of the Shareholders.

6. The designation of any Class hereby shall not impair the power of the Trustees from time to time to designate additional Classes of Shares of a Series or terminate any one or more Classes of a Series hereby designated.

7. Capitalized terms not defined herein have the meanings given to such terms in the Declaration.

 

- 3 -

Exhibit (d)(147)

EXECUTION VERSION

SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT

This SUBADVISORY AGREEMENT (“Agreement”) is made this 9th day of June, 2014, by and between Permal Asset Management, LLC (the “Manager”), the investment manager to Permal Alternative Select Fund (“Fund”), a series of the Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust (the “Trust”), a Maryland statutory trust registered as a management investment company under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), and Atlantic Investment Management, Inc., a Delaware corporation (the “Subadviser”).

WHEREAS, the Manager has been retained by the Trust to provide trading, investment advisory, management, and administrative services to the Trust with respect to the Fund, whether directly or through the services of one or more subadvisers or commodity trading advisors; and

WHEREAS, the Manager wishes to engage the Subadviser to provide certain investment advisory services to the Trust with respect to such portion of the assets of the Fund as shall be allocated to the Subadviser from time to time (the “Allocated Portion”) and the 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 between the parties hereto 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 Allocated Portion of 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 in respect of the Allocated Portion, its funds available, or to become available, for investment, and generally as to the condition of the affairs of the Fund in respect of the Allocated Portion. The 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. The Manager shall have the right at any time to reallocate any or all of the Fund assets away from the Subadviser pursuant to this Agreement if the Manager deems such reallocation appropriate.

4. Duties, Responsibilities and Authorizations of the Subadviser . (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 the Allocated Portion with investment research, advice, management and supervision and shall furnish a continuous investment program for the Allocated Portion consistent with the Fund’s investment objectives, policies and restrictions, as stated in the Fund’s current Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information (the “SAI”). The Subadviser shall, with respect to the Allocated Portion, determine from time to time what securities and other investments (including cash) 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 Portion 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, the Commodity Exchange Act (“CEA”), any 1940 Act exemptive order applicable to the Fund, 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, the investment objectives, policies and restrictions of the Fund referred to above, and any other specific policies adopted by the Board and provided to the Subadviser, as well as the instructions, directions and policies of the Manager and the Trust. The Subadviser is authorized as the agent of the Trust to give instructions with respect to the Allocated Portion to the Fund’s custodian (the “Custodian”) and any sub-custodian or prime broker as to deliveries of securities and other investments and payments of cash in respect of transactions. Until such time as notified by the Manager, the Subadviser is also responsible for any collateral and margin requirements associated with investments made for the Allocated Portion, if any, and in doing so will perform in-house reconciliation procedures on such custodial accounts with respect to the Allocated Portion in accordance with its standard practices and provide information regarding such reconciliations to the Manager upon request. This means the Subadviser is authorized as agent to the Trust to give instructions as to cash margin calls for the account of the Fund with respect to the Allocated Portion. The Subadviser will place orders on behalf of the Fund pursuant to the Subadviser’s investment determinations for the Fund either directly with the issuer or with any broker or dealer, foreign currency dealer, futures commission merchant, counterparty or others selected by it. The Fund will act as a principal in such transactions. 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 Fund 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 the 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 may execute on behalf of the Fund certain agreements, instruments and documents in connection with the services performed by it under this Agreement. These may include, without limitation, brokerage agreements, repurchase agreements, reverse repurchase agreements, clearing agreements, account documentation, futures and options agreements, swap agreements, limited partnership agreements, derivative master agreements, other investment-related agreements, and any other agreements, documents, schedules, annexes, instruments, releases, consents, elections and confirmations the Subadviser believes are appropriate or desirable in performing its duties under this Agreement. The Subadviser will be an independent

 

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contractor and will have no authority to act for or represent the Trust, the Fund or the Manager in any way or otherwise be deemed an agent of the Trust, the Fund or the Manager except as expressly authorized in this Agreement or another writing by the Trust or the Manager and the Subadviser.

(b) The Subadviser shall act upon all proxies solicited by or with respect to the issuers of securities in which the assets of the Allocated Portion may be invested in accordance with the Subadviser’s proxy voting policies and procedures, as presented to the Fund, and in a manner that the Subadviser reasonably believes best serves the interests of the Fund’s shareholders and that complies with applicable law. The Subadviser shall maintain records of all proxies voted on behalf of the Fund in respect of the Allocated Portion; and provide information to the Fund, the Manager or their designated agent in a manner that is sufficiently complete and timely to enable the Fund’s compliance with its filing obligations under Rule 30b1-4 of the 1940 Act.

(c) On behalf of the Fund, the Manager 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 on behalf of the Fund, the Manager 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 the Fund, nor will the Subadviser 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 the 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 the Fund from time to time and disclosed to the Subadviser, and will comply with all other provisions of the Governing Documents and the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and SAI relative to the Subadviser and its directors, officers and employees.

(d) On occasions when the Subadviser deems the purchase or sale of a security to be in the best interest of the Allocated Portion, the Subadviser, to the extent permitted by applicable laws and regulations, may, but shall be under no obligation to, aggregate the securities to be purchased or sold to attempt to obtain a more favorable price or lower brokerage commissions and efficient execution. Allocation of the securities so purchased or sold, as well as the expenses incurred in the transaction, will be made by the Subadviser in the manner that the Subadviser considers to be the most equitable and consistent with its fiduciary obligations to the Allocated Portion over time.

(e) The Fund may establish one or more wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Fund through which it may conduct a significant portion of its commodities investing activities or for other investment purposes.

(f) When the Manager provides policies, procedures, restrictions or Governing Documents, or amendments or revisions thereto, to the Subadviser that relate to the Subadviser’s management of the Allocated Portion, the Manager will provide the documents in advance of their implementation as to the Allocated Portion.

 

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5. Delegation . The Subadviser may delegate some or all of its duties under this Agreement to affiliated investment subadvisers (each a “Subadviser-Delegatee”); provided, however, that (i) the Subadviser provides written notice to the Manager and the Manager consents in writing, (ii) any delegation of advisory duties is subject to and conditioned on the Fund Boards’ and/or Fund shareholder’s approval as may be required pursuant to Section 15 of the 1940 Act, (iii) no additional charges, fees or other compensation will be paid for such services, (iv) the Subadviser hereby agrees to advise the Manager of any changes required to be made to the disclosure in the Fund’s registration statement relating to the Fund’s portfolio managers provided by the Subadviser or any Subadviser-Delegatee, and (v) the Subadviser at all times remains liable to the Manager and the Fund for its obligations hereunder regardless of whether services hereunder are provided by the Subadviser or any Subadviser-Delegatee. To the extent that such delegation occurs, references to the Subadviser herein also shall be deemed to include reference to any Subadviser-Delegatee, as the context may require.

6. Records . 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.

7. Valuation . The Subadviser shall, in accordance with procedures established by the Board, which may be amended from time to time, provide assistance to the Trust, Manager or the Custodian in determining or confirming the value of any portfolio securities or other assets of the Allocated Portion for which the Trust, Manager or Custodian seeks assistance from the Subadviser or identifies for review by the Subadviser. This assistance includes (but is not limited to): (i) designating and providing access to one or more employees of the Subadviser who are knowledgeable about the security/issuer, its financial condition, trading and/or other relevant factors for valuation, which employees shall be available for consultation when the Manager’s Valuation Committee convenes; (ii) assisting the Trust, the Manager or the Custodian in obtaining bids and offers or quotes from broker/dealers or market-makers independent of the Subadviser with respect to securities held by the Allocated Portion, upon the reasonable request of the Manager or the Custodian; (iii) upon the request of the Trust, Manager or the Custodian, confirming pricing and providing recommendations for fair valuations; and (iv) maintaining adequate records and written backup information with respect to the securities valuation assistance provided hereunder, and providing such information to the Trust, the Manager or the Fund upon request, with such records being deemed Fund records. The parties acknowledge that the Subadviser, on the one hand, and the Custodian or recordkeeping agent of the Fund, on the other hand, may use different pricing vendors, which may result in valuation discrepancies.

8. Additional Responsibilities of the Subadviser . (a) The Subadviser shall, as reasonably requested by the Trust or the Manager and in accordance with the scope of the Subadviser’s obligations and responsibilities contained in this Agreement (i.e., with respect to

 

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the Allocated Portion of the Fund and the Subadviser’s provision of portfolio management services hereunder), provide reasonable assistance to the Trust and the Manager in connection with the Trust’s compliance with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act and the rules and regulations promulgated by the SEC thereunder, and Rule 38a-1 under the 1940 Act. Specifically, the Subadviser agrees to (i) certify periodically, upon the reasonable request of the Trust, that with respect to the Allocated Portion and the Subadviser’s provision of portfolio management services hereunder, it is in compliance with all applicable “federal securities laws,” as required by Rule 38a-l under the 1940 Act, and Rule 206(4)-7 under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended (“Advisers Act”); (ii) as requested by the Manager: (a) review draft reports to shareholders, proxy statements, marketing materials, Board materials, registration statements or portions thereof and other documents provided to the Subadviser, which relate to, or include, the Allocated Portion or the Subadviser, (b) provide comments on such drafts on a timely basis, and (c) provide certifications or sub-certifications on a timely basis as to the accuracy of the information pertaining to the Subadviser or the Allocated Portion contained in such reports or other documents, (iii) with respect to the Subadviser or the Allocated Portion, provide reasonable assistance as needed in the preparation of all periodic reports by the Trust or the Fund to shareholders of the Fund and all reports and filings required to maintain the registration and qualification of the Fund, or to meet other regulatory or tax requirements applicable to the Fund, under federal and state securities and tax laws; (iv) upon request and reasonable prior notice, cooperate with audits (including compliance audits) conducted by the Manager, its affiliates or the Fund’s independent auditors or any of such auditors’ overseas affiliates; (v) upon request and reasonable prior notice, provide the Trust’s chief compliance officer with direct access to its chief compliance officer (or his/her designee); (vi) upon request, provide the Trust’s chief compliance officer with periodic reports pertaining to the Subadviser’s services hereunder; (vii) promptly provide notice of any material compliance matters; and (viii) if required, prepare and cause to be filed in a timely manner Forms 13F and Schedules 13G with respect to securities held in the Allocated Portion. Except as may be limited by Section 8(c), 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 prepare and furnish to the Manager and/or the Board such reports, statistical data and other information in such form and at such intervals as the Manager and/or the Board may reasonably request. The Subadviser shall also make available to the Trust and the Board at reasonable times, and with reasonable advance notice under the circumstances, its portfolio managers and other appropriate personnel as mutually agreed by the Trust, the Manager and the Subadviser, either in person (including attendance at Board meetings) or, at the mutual convenience of the Trust, the Manager, the Board and the Subadviser, by telephone or other electronic media, in order to review the investment policies, performance and other matters relating to the management of the Allocated Portion.

(c) In furnishing services hereunder, the Subadviser will not consult with any other subadviser to (i) the Fund, (ii) any other Fund of the Trust or (iii) any other investment company under common control with the Trust concerning transactions of the Fund in securities or other assets. (This paragraph shall not be deemed to prohibit the Subadviser from consulting with any of its affiliated persons concerning transactions in securities or other assets.)

 

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(d) 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; Fund legal expenses; loan commitment fees; 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; the Fund’s expenses relating to 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; Fund website costs; costs of meetings of the Board or any committee thereof, meetings of shareholders and other meetings of the Fund (other than the costs of the attendance and travel of the Subadviser’s personnel to Board meetings); Board fees; Fund audit fees; travel expenses of officers, members of the Board and employees of the Fund (other than the travel expenses of officers and employees of the Subadviser), 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 of the Fund and any non-recurring or extraordinary expenses of the Fund 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. The Subadviser shall be responsible for all the costs associated with any special meetings of the Board or shareholders convened for the primary benefit of the Subadviser (including, but not limited to, the standard legal fees associated with preparing a proxy statement or information statement and associated mailing and solicitation costs).

9. Compensation of Board Members and Officers . 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.

10. Compensation . As compensation for the services performed by the Subadviser, the Manager shall pay the Subadviser, within twenty (20) days 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 within twenty (20) days after the end of the month succeeding the effective date of this Agreement. If this Agreement is terminated as of any date not the last day of a month, such fee shall be paid within twenty (20) days after the end of the month of termination, and the fee for such month will be based on the average daily net assets of the days in that month, up to and including the last day for which this Agreement is in effect. 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.

 

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11. Representations, Warranties and Agreements of the Subadviser . (a) The Subadviser represents and warrants that it: (i) is registered as an investment adviser under the Advisers Act and will continue to be so registered for so long as this Agreement remains in effect; (ii) is not prohibited by the 1940 Act, the Advisers Act or other law, regulation or order from performing the services contemplated by this Agreement; (iii) has reviewed the requirements for registration as a “commodity trading advisor” (a “CTA”) under the CEA and is either registered as a CTA and a member of the National Futures Association (the “NFA”) or is relying on an exemption or exclusion from registration as a CTA (or otherwise does not provide commodity trading advice); (iv) has met and will seek to continue to meet for so long as this Agreement remains in effect, any other applicable federal or state requirements, or the applicable requirements of any regulatory or industry self-regulatory agency necessary to be met in order to perform the services contemplated by this Agreement; (v) will comply with the Manager’s policy regarding reimbursements to the Fund of errors that may occur either in the investment decision-making process or in the trading execution process; (vi) has the authority to enter into and perform the services contemplated by this Agreement; (vii) has taken all necessary corporate action to authorize the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement; and (viii) has duly executed and delivered this Agreement.

(b) The Subadviser will promptly notify the Trust and the Manager: (i) of the occurrence of any event that would disqualify the Subadviser from serving as an investment adviser of an investment company pursuant to Section 9(a) of the 1940 Act or other applicable law, rule or regulation; (ii) if it is served or otherwise receives notice of any action, suit, proceeding, inquiry or investigation, at law or in equity, before or by any court, public board or body, involving the affairs of the Fund, or is involved in any pending litigation or administrative proceeding brought against the Subadviser or any of its management persons (as defined in Form ADV), other than ordinary routine litigation incidental to the Subadviser’s business; (iii) if the Subadviser fails to be registered as an investment adviser under the Advisers Act or under the laws of any jurisdiction in which the Subadviser is required to be registered as an investment adviser in order to perform its obligations under this Agreement; (iv) of any material fact known to the Subadviser respecting or relating to the Subadviser or the investment strategies of the Subadviser’s Allocated Portion that is not contained in the Fund’s prospectus and/or SAI, as amended and supplemented from time to time, regarding the Fund, or any amendment or supplement thereto, but that is required to be disclosed therein, and of any statement respecting or relating to the Subadviser, the Subadviser’s investment strategies or the Subadviser’s Allocated Portion contained therein that becomes untrue in any material respect; (v) of any change in the Subadviser’s financial condition which could impact its abilities to perform its duties hereunder and of any reduction in the amount of coverage under the Subadviser’s errors and omissions or professional liability insurance coverage; and (vi) of any change in its status as a registered CTA or member of the NFA or, if the Subadviser is relying on an exemption or exclusion from registration as a CTA, of any event that will make it ineligible for such exemption or exclusion.

(c) The Subadviser represents and warrants that it has adopted a written code of ethics complying with the requirements of Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act, will provide the

 

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Manager and the Board with a copy of such code of ethics, together with evidence of its adoption, and will provide copies of any future amendments thereto. Upon request within forty-five days of the end of the last calendar quarter of each year that this Agreement is in effect, and as otherwise requested, the Chief Compliance Officer of the Subadviser or his/her designee shall certify to the Manager and the Trust that the Subadviser has complied with the requirements of Rule 17j-1 during the previous year and that there has been no material violation of the Subadviser’s code of ethics or, if such a material violation has occurred, that appropriate action was taken in response to such violation. Upon the reasonable written request of the Manager or the Trust, the Subadviser shall permit the Manager or the Trust, its employees or its agents to examine the reports required to be made to the Subadviser by Rule 17j-1(c)(1) and all other records relevant to the Subadviser’s code of ethics. By entering into this Agreement, the Subadviser consents to the filing of its code of ethics as an exhibit to the Trust’s registration statement, as may be required by law or regulation.

(d) The Subadviser represents and warrants that it has adopted and implemented written policies and procedures, as required by: (i) Rule 206(4)-7 under the Advisers Act that are reasonably designed to prevent violations of the Advisers Act and the rules thereunder by the Subadviser and its supervised persons (“Advisers Act Compliance Procedures”), and the Manager and the Trust have been provided a copy of a summary of the Advisers Act Compliance Procedures and will be provided with any future amendments thereto; and (ii) Rule 38a-1 under the 1940 Act, with respect to the Subadviser and the Allocated Portion, that are reasonably designed to prevent violations of the Federal Securities Laws, as defined in Rule 38a-1, by the Subadviser, its employees, officers, and agents (“Fund Compliance Procedures”), and the Manager and the Trust have been provided a copy of a summary of the Fund Compliance Procedures and will be provided with any future amendments thereto.

(e) The Subadviser has provided the Trust and the Manager with a copy of its Form ADV, which, as of the date of this Agreement, is its Form ADV as most recently filed with the SEC and upon reasonable request, will promptly furnish a copy of all amendments thereto to the Trust and the Manager at least annually.

(f) The Subadviser will promptly notify the Trust and the Manager if there is, or there is expected to be, any imminent assignment of this Agreement or change of control of the Subadviser within the meaning of the Advisers Act and the 1940 Act, as applicable, and if there is, or there is expected to be, any imminent changes in the key personnel who are either the portfolio manager(s) of the Allocated Portion or senior management of the Subadviser. The Subadviser agrees to bear all reasonable expenses of the Trust, if any, arising out of an assignment by, or change in control of, the Subadviser.

(g) The Subadviser agrees to maintain a commercially reasonable level of errors and omissions or professional liability insurance coverage from an insurance company that has an A.M. Best rating of at least A (VII) or better.

(h) The Subadviser agrees to the use of its name, the names of its affiliates, tradename, trademark, trade device, service mark, symbol or any abbreviation, contraction or simulation thereof in the Trust’s and the Fund’s disclosure documents, shareholder communications, advertising, sales literature and similar communications. The Subadviser

 

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agrees that neither it, nor any of its affiliates, will knowingly in any way refer directly or indirectly to its relationship with the Trust, the Fund, the Manager or any of their respective affiliates without the express prior written consent of the Manager or its designee, except as required by rule, regulation or upon the request of a governmental authority. However, the Subadviser may use the performance of the Allocated Portion in its composite performance. The Manager hereby grants the Subadviser the right to identify the Trust as a client in the Subadviser’s publicly disclosed client lists.

(i) The Subadviser shall not use the name or any tradename, trademark, trade device, service mark, symbol or any abbreviation, contraction or simulation thereof of the Manager, the Trust, the Fund or any of their affiliates in its marketing materials unless it first receives prior written approval of the Manager or its designee (and may include execution of a trademark licensing agreement). It is understood that the name of each party to this Agreement, and any derivatives thereof or logos associated with that name (“Intellectual Property”), is the valuable property of the party in question and its affiliates, and that each other party has the right to use such Intellectual Property pursuant to the relationship created by, and in accordance with the terms of, this Agreement only so long as this Agreement shall continue in effect. Upon termination of this Agreement, the parties shall forthwith cease to use the Intellectual Property of the other parties, except for the rights of the Manager, the Trust, the Fund or any of their affiliates to use such Intellectual Property during a one-year adjustment period after such termination and to the extent as may be required by applicable laws, rules and regulations.

(j) The Subadviser agrees to provide any and all material composite performance information, records and supporting documentation about accounts the Subadviser manages, if appropriate, which are relevant to the Allocated Portion and that have investment objectives, policies, and strategies substantially similar to those employed by the Subadviser in managing the Allocated Portion that may be reasonably necessary, under applicable laws, to allow the Fund or its agent to present information concerning the Subadviser’s prior performance in the Prospectus and the SAI of the Fund and any permissible reports and materials prepared by the Fund or its agent.

12. Representations and Warranties of the Manager . The Manager represents and warrants that it: (i) is registered as an investment adviser under the Advisers Act and will continue to be so registered for so long as this Agreement remains in effect; (ii) is not prohibited by the 1940 Act, the Advisers Act or other law, regulation or order from performing the services contemplated by this Agreement; (iii) has reviewed the requirements for registration as a “commodity pool operator” (a “CPO”) under the CEA and is either registered as a CPO and a member of the NFA or is relying on an exemption or exclusion from registration as a CPO or has made a permissible delegation of its duties and responsibilities as a CPO to another entity; (iv) has adopted and implemented a written code of ethics complying with requirements of Rule 17j-1 under the 1940 Act; (v) has the authority to enter into and perform the services contemplated by this Agreement; (vi) has taken all necessary corporate action to authorize the execution, delivery and performance of this Agreement; and (vii) has duly executed and delivered this Agreement and this Agreement has been approved in accordance with the requirements of the 1940 Act.

 

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13. Confidentiality . No party to this Agreement will disclose or use any records or information obtained pursuant to this Agreement in any manner whatsoever except as expressly authorized in this Agreement or, with respect to the Subadviser, as may reasonably be required to execute transactions on behalf of the Fund or, with respect to the Manager (or its affiliates), as may reasonably be required to provide its services to the Fund. The parties will keep confidential any non-public information obtained directly as a result of this service relationship; provided that, the Manager may make any disclosure to its affiliates, the Trust, the Fund, the disinterested Board members or their legal advisors or auditors or other service providers to the Fund (including, without limitation, any prospective or current prime broker, broker-dealer, accounting agent, compliance services provider, administrator or sub-administrator and the agents, employees, service providers, subsidiaries, parents, affiliates or divisions of the foregoing), as the Manager may reasonably determine necessary in its sole discretion; provided that no such information may be used for any trading or investment purpose unrelated to management of the Fund. Notwithstanding the foregoing, any party may disclose such non-public information if (a) such information is or hereafter otherwise is known by the receiving party or has been disclosed, directly or indirectly, to others or becomes ascertainable from public or published information or trade sources, (b) if such disclosure is required by applicable federal, state or other law or regulation, (c) if such disclosure is required or requested by regulatory authorities or judicial process, (d) to the extent such disclosure is reasonably required by auditors or attorneys of the party (or of the Trust, Fund, the disinterested Board members or affiliates of the Manager) in connection with the performance of their professional services, or (e) as may otherwise be contemplated by this Agreement. The Subadviser shall not disclose information regarding characteristics of the Fund or Allocated Portion, trading history, portfolio holdings, performance information or any other related information to any third party, except in compliance with the Trust’s policies on disclosure of portfolio holdings or as required by applicable law or regulation.

14. Indemnification . (a) Except as may otherwise be provided by the 1940 Act or any other federal securities law or the CEA, neither the Subadviser nor any of its officers, members or employees (its “Affiliates”) shall be liable for any losses, claims, damages, liabilities or litigation (including legal and other expenses) (“Losses”) incurred or suffered by the Manager or the Trust as a result of any act or omission of the Subadviser or its Affiliates with respect to the Fund, except that nothing in this Agreement shall operate or purport to operate in any way to exculpate, waive or limit the liability of the Subadviser or its Affiliates for, and the Subadviser shall indemnify and hold harmless the Trust, the Manager, all affiliated persons thereof (within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the 1940 Act) and all controlling persons (as described in Section 15 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (“1933 Act”)) (collectively, “Manager Indemnitees”) against, any and all Losses to which any of the Manager Indemnitees may become subject under the 1933 Act, the 1940 Act, the Advisers Act, the CEA, or under any other statute, or common law or otherwise arising out of or based on (i) any willful misconduct, bad faith, reckless disregard or gross negligence of the Subadviser in the performance of any of its duties or obligations hereunder, (ii) any Losses accruing to the extent, if any, caused by or based upon the Subadviser’s misrepresentations, omissions or breach of any representation or warranty in this Agreement or (iii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Prospectus and/or SAI, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Fund or the omission to state therein a material fact known to the Subadviser which was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, if such statement or omission was made in reliance upon information furnished to the Manager Indemnitees or the Trust by the Subadviser Indemnitees (as defined below) for use therein.

 

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(b) Except as may otherwise be provided by the 1940 Act or any other federal securities law or the CEA, the Manager and the Trust shall not be liable for any Losses incurred or suffered by the Subadviser as a result of any act or omission of the Manager with respect to the Fund, except that nothing in this Agreement shall operate or purport to operate in any way to exculpate, waive or limit the liability of the Manager for, and the Manager shall indemnify and hold harmless the Subadviser, all affiliated persons thereof (within the meaning of Section 2(a)(3) of the 1940 Act) and all controlling persons (as described in Section 15 of the 1933 Act) (collectively, “Subadviser Indemnitees”) against, any and all Losses to which any of the Subadviser Indemnitees may become subject under the 1933 Act, the 1940 Act, the Advisers Act, the CEA or under any other statute, at common law or otherwise arising out of or based on (i) any willful misconduct, bad faith, reckless disregard or gross negligence of the Manager in the performance of any of its duties or obligations hereunder, (ii) any Losses accruing to the extent, if any, caused by or based upon the Manager’s misrepresentations, omissions or breach of any representation or warranty in this Agreement or (iii) any untrue statement of a material fact contained in the Prospectus and/or SAI, proxy materials, reports, advertisements, sales literature, or other materials pertaining to the Fund or the omission to state therein a material fact known to the Manager that was required to be stated therein or necessary to make the statements therein not misleading, unless such statement or omission was made in reliance upon information furnished to the Manager Indemnitees or the Trust by the Subadviser Indemnitees.

(c) Promptly after receipt of notice of any action, arbitration, claim, demand, dispute, investigation, lawsuit or other proceeding (each a “Proceeding”) by a party seeking to be indemnified under Section 14(a) or 14(b) (the “Indemnified Party”), the Indemnified Party will, if a claim in respect thereof is to be made against a party against whom indemnification is sought under Section 14(a) or 14(b) (the “Indemnifying Party”) notify the Indemnifying Party in writing of the commencement of such Proceeding; provided that, the failure to so notify the Indemnifying Party in the absence of a showing of actual prejudice shall not relieve the Indemnifying Party from any indemnification liability which it may have to the Indemnified Party. The Indemnifying Party shall have the right to assume control of the defense of the Proceeding by giving written notice to the Indemnified Party within 10 days of receiving notice of the Proceeding (or such shorter period as is required to respond to the Proceeding), and the Indemnified Party shall cooperate fully in the defense of the Proceeding. No Indemnifying Party shall be liable under this section for any settlement of any Proceeding entered into without its consent with respect to which indemnity may be sought hereunder, nor shall any Indemnifying Party enter into any settlement (other than a purely monetary “no admission” settlement) without the consent of the Indemnified Party.

15. Other Business . Nothing in this Agreement shall limit or restrict the right of any member, partner (whether limited or general), manager, director, officer, or employee of the Subadviser 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. The Subadviser may give advice or take action with respect to other investment entities that it manages that differs from the advice given with respect to the Allocated Portion, subject to applicable law.

 

- 11 -


16. Certain Definitions . For the purposes of this Agreement, the Fund’s “net assets” shall be determined as provided in the Fund’s then-current Prospectus and SAI 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, modifications and interpretations as may be granted by the SEC by any rule, regulation or order.

17. Term . 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 June 9, 2016. 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.

18. Termination . This Agreement may be terminated at any time, without the payment of any penalty, by (i) the Board of Trustees, including a majority of the Independent Trustees, by the vote of a majority of the outstanding voting securities of the Fund, on sixty (60) days’ prior written notice to the Manager and the Subadviser, (ii) the Manager on sixty (60) days’ prior written notice to the Subadviser, or (iii) the Subadviser on ninety (90) days’ prior written notice to the Manager and the Trust. This Agreement will automatically terminate, without the payment of any penalty, (i) in the event of its assignment (as defined in the 1940 Act), or (ii) in the event the Management Agreement between the Manager and the Trust is assigned (as defined in the 1940 Act) or terminates for any other reason. This Agreement will also terminate upon written notice to the other party that the other party is in material breach of this Agreement, unless the other party in material breach of this Agreement cures such breach to the reasonable satisfaction of the party alleging the breach within thirty (30) days after written notice. Upon termination in accordance with this paragraph 18, the rights and obligations of the parties under this Agreement shall terminate and be of no future effect, except that paragraphs 13 and 14 and compensation obligations that have accrued and are outstanding as of the termination shall remain in full force and effect.

19. Statutory Trust Matters . 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 series of the Trust.

20. Amendment . 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.

 

- 12 -


21. Miscellaneous . 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. Paragraph headings herein are for convenience only and are not a part of this Agreement. This Agreement may be executed simultaneously in counterparts, each of which shall be deemed an original, but all of which together shall constitute one and the same instrument.

22. Choice of Law . This Agreement shall be construed and the provisions thereof interpreted under and in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.

23. Third Party Beneficiary . The Trust on behalf of the Fund is expressly made a third party beneficiary of this Agreement with respect to the obligations of the Subadviser provided in this Agreement to the same extent as if the Trust had been a party hereto.

24. Notices . Notices and other communications required or permitted under this Agreement shall be in writing, shall be deemed to be effectively delivered when actually received, and may be delivered by US mail (first class, postage prepaid), by facsimile transmission, electronic mail, by hand or by commercial overnight delivery service, addressed as follows:

MANAGER :

Christopher Zuehlsdorff

Deputy Chief Investment Officer

Permal Group

900 3rd Avenue

New York, New York 10022

Telephone: (212) 418-6604 |

Fax: (212) 418-6512

With a copy to:

Matthew Lux

Deputy General Counsel

900 3rd Avenue

New York, New York 10022

Telephone: (212) 418-6622 |

Fax: (212) 418-6611

 

- 13 -


SUBADVISER:

Sarah Christensen

Director of Compliance

Atlantic Investment Management, Inc.

666 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor

New York, New York 10103

Telephone: (212) 484-5077

Fax: (212) 484-5060

Email: AIM_Finance@atlanticinvestment.net

With a copy to:

Christopher M. Wells

Proskauer Rose LLP

11 Times Square

New York, New York 10036

Telephone: (212) 969-3600

Fax: (212) 969-2900

TRUST :

Robert I. Frenkel

c/o Legg Mason & Co., LLC

100 First Stamford Place, 6 th Floor

Stamford, CT 06902

Tel: (203) 703-7046

Fax: (203) 703-6248

[signature page to follow]

 

- 14 -


IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by their officers thereunto duly authorized.

 

PERMAL ASSET MANAGEMENT LLC
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  
ATLANTIC INVESTMENT 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 EQUITY TRUST
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

- 15 -


SCHEDULE A

Permal Alternative Select Fund

Date:

June 9, 2014

Fee per annum:

The following percentage of the average daily net assets allocated to the Subadviser:

1.00%

 

- 16 -

Exhibit (e)(9)

Appendix A

Amended and Restated as of June 30, 2014

 

Name of Fund
ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund
ClearBridge All Cap Value Fund
ClearBridge Appreciation Fund
ClearBridge Energy MLP & Infrastructure Fund
ClearBridge Equity Fund
ClearBridge Equity Income Fund
ClearBridge International Small Cap Fund
ClearBridge International Value Fund
ClearBridge Large Cap Growth Fund
ClearBridge Large Cap Value Fund
ClearBridge Mid Cap Core Fund
ClearBridge Mid Cap Growth Fund
ClearBridge Select Fund
ClearBridge Small Cap Growth Fund
ClearBridge Small Cap Value Fund
ClearBridge Tactical Dividend Income Fund
Legg Mason Investment Counsel Financial Services Fund
Legg Mason Investment Counsel Social Awareness Fund
Permal Alternative Core Fund
Permal Alternative Select Fund


Name of Fund

QS Batterymarch Global Equity Fund

QS Batterymarch Managed Volatility Global Dividend Fund

QS Batterymarch Managed Volatility International Dividend Fund

QS Batterymarch S&P 500 Index Fund

QS Batterymarch U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund

QS Legg Mason Dynamic Multi-Strategy Fund

QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 30%

QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 50%

QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 70%

QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 85%

QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2015

QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2020

QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2025

QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2030

QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2035

QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2040

QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2045

QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2050

QS Legg Mason Target Retirement Fund

 

- 2 -

Exhibit (g)(7)

State Street Bank and Trust Company

Channel Center

1 Iron St.

Boston, Massachusetts 02210

Attn: Richard W. Stowe, Vice President

 

  Re: Custodian Services Agreement and Fund Accounting Services Agreement

Ladies and Gentlemen:

Reference is made to that certain Custodian Services Agreement (as amended, the “ Custodian Agreement ”) and that certain Fund Accounting Services Agreement (as amended, the “ Accounting Agreement ”), each dated as of October 5, 2012 and each entered into by and between State Street Bank and Trust Company and each Fund on behalf of its Portfolios. Capitalized terms used herein without definition shall have the meanings given to them in the Agreements.

Please be advised that the undersigned Fund has established the following new portfolio (the “ New Portfolio ”):

Legg Mason Partners Variable Equity Trust

Permal Alternative Select VIT Portfolio

Furthermore, please be advised that a new fund, Alternative Select VIT Portfolio, Ltd. (the “ New Fund ”), has been established.

In accordance with Section 12(c) and Section 12(d) of the Custodian Agreement and Section 12(c) of the Fund Accounting Agreement, the undersigned Funds hereby request that your bank act as Custodian and Fund Accounting Agent for the New Portfolio and the New Fund under the terms of the Custodian Agreement and the Fund Accounting Agreement, respectively.

Attached as Exhibit A hereto is a replacement of “Exhibit A” to each Agreement, effective as of the date set forth below. The attached Exhibit A is marked to reflect the addition of the New Portfolio and the New Fund.

Except to the extent expressly set forth herein, this letter shall not be deemed to otherwise amend or modify any term of the Agreements. Please sign below to evidence your consent and agreement to the above.

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS VARIABLE EQUITY TRUST
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  
ALTERNATIVE SELECT VIT PORTFOLIO, LTD.
By:  

 

Name:  
Title:  

 

1


Consented and Agreed to:

STATE STREET BANK AND TRUST COMPANY

 

By:  

 

Name:   Michael F. Rogers
Title:   Executive Vice President
Effective Date:             , 2014

 

2


Exhibit A

Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust

ClearBridge Select Fund

QS Batterymarch Global Equity Fund

QS Batterymarch S&P 500 Index Fund

QS Batterymarch U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund

ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund

ClearBridge Appreciation Fund

ClearBridge Energy MLP and Infrastructure Fund

ClearBridge Equity Fund

ClearBridge Equity Income Fund

ClearBridge All Cap Value Fund

ClearBridge Large Cap Growth Fund

ClearBridge Large Cap Value Fund

ClearBridge Mid Cap Core Fund

ClearBridge Mid Cap Growth Fund

ClearBridge Small Cap Growth Fund

ClearBridge Small Cap Value Fund

ClearBridge Tactical Dividend Income Fund (fka Legg Mason ClearBridge Diversified Large Cap Growth Fund)

QS Legg Mason Dynamic Multi-Strategy Fund

ClearBridge International Value Fund

ClearBridge International Small Cap Fund

Legg Mason Investment Counsel Financial Services Fund

Legg Mason Investment Counsel Social Awareness Fund

QS Batterymarch Managed Volatility Global Dividend Fund

QS Batterymarch Managed Volatility International Dividend Fund

QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 85%

QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 70%

QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 50%

QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 30%

Permal Alternative Core Fund

Permal Alternative Select Fund

QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2015

QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2020

QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2025

QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2030

QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2035

QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2040

QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2045

QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2050

QS Legg Mason Target Retirement Fund

Legg Mason Partners Income Trust

Western Asset Adjustable Rate Income Fund

Western Asset California Municipals Fund

Western Asset Corporate Bond Fund

Western Asset Global High Yield Bond Fund

Western Asset Global Strategic Income Fund

Western Asset Intermediate Maturity California Municipals Fund

Western Asset Intermediate Maturity New York Municipals Fund

Western Asset Intermediate-Term Municipals Fund

 

A-1


Western Asset Managed Municipals Fund

Western Asset Massachusetts Municipals Fund

Western Asset Mortgage Backed Securities Fund

Western Asset Municipal High Income Fund

Western Asset New Jersey Municipals Fund

Western Asset New York Municipals Fund

Western Asset Oregon Municipals Fund

Western Asset Pennsylvania Municipals Fund

Western Asset Short Duration Municipal Income Fund

Western Asset Short-Term Bond Fund

Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund

Legg Mason Partners Variable Equity Trust

ClearBridge Variable Aggressive Growth Portfolio

ClearBridge Variable Appreciation Portfolio

ClearBridge Variable Equity Income Portfolio

ClearBridge Variable All Cap Value Portfolio

ClearBridge Variable Large Cap Growth Portfolio

ClearBridge Variable Large Cap Value Portfolio

ClearBridge Variable Mid Cap Core Portfolio

ClearBridge Variable Small Cap Growth Portfolio

QS Legg Mason Dynamic Multi-Strategy VIT Portfolio

Legg Mason Investment Counsel Variable Social Awareness Portfolio

QS Legg Mason Variable Lifestyle Allocation 50%

QS Legg Mason Variable Lifestyle Allocation 70%

QS Legg Mason Variable Lifestyle Allocation 85%

Permal Alternative Select VIT Portfolio

Legg Mason Partners Variable Income Trust

Legg Mason Western Asset Variable Global High Yield Bond Portfolio

Legg Mason Western Asset Variable High Income Portfolio

Legg Mason Partners Money Market Trust

Western Asset California Tax Free Money Market Fund (f/k/a Western Asset California Tax Free Reserves)

Western Asset Connecticut Municipal Money Market Fund (f/k/a Western Asset Connecticut Tax Free Reserves)

Western Asset Government Reserves

Western Asset Liquid Reserves

Western Asset New York Tax Free Money Market Fund

Western Asset Tax Free Reserves

Western Asset U.S. Treasury Reserves

 

A-2


Legg Mason Partners Institutional Trust

Western Asset Institutional AMT Free Municipal Money Market Fund

Western Asset Institutional Cash Reserves

Western Asset Institutional Government Reserves

Western Asset Institutional Liquid Reserves

Western Asset Institutional Tax Free Reserves

Western Asset Institutional U.S. Treasury Reserves

Western Asset Institutional U.S. Treasury Obligations Money Market Fund

Western Asset Municipal High Income SMASh Fund

Western Asset SMASh Series C Fund

Western Asset SMASh Series EC Fund

Western Asset SMASh Series M Fund

Legg Mason Partners Premium Money Market Trust

Western Asset Premium Liquid Reserves

Western Asset Premium U.S. Treasury Reserves

Western Asset Premium Tax Free Reserves

Master Portfolio Trust

Government Portfolio

Liquid Reserves Portfolio

Municipal High Income Portfolio

Prime Cash Reserves Portfolio

Tax Free Reserves Portfolio

U.S. Treasury Reserves Portfolio

U. S. Treasury Obligations Portfolio

ClearBridge American Energy MLP Fund Inc.

ClearBridge Energy MLP Fund Inc.

ClearBridge Energy MLP Opportunity Fund Inc.

ClearBridge Energy MLP Total Return Fund Inc.

Legg Mason BW Global Income Opportunities Fund Inc.

LMP Capital & Income Fund Inc.

LMP Corporate Loan Fund Inc.

LMP Real Estate Income Fund Inc.

Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund Inc.

Western Asset Emerging Markets Income Fund Inc.

Western Asset Global Corporate Defined Opportunity Fund Inc.

Western Asset Global High Income Fund Inc.

Western Asset Global Partners Income Fund Inc.

Western Asset High Income Fund II Inc.

Western Asset High Income Opportunity Fund Inc.

Western Asset High Yield Defined Opportunity Fund Inc.

Western Asset Intermediate Muni Fund Inc.

Western Asset Investment Grade Defined Opportunity Trust Inc.

Western Asset Managed High Income Fund Inc.

Western Asset Managed Municipals Fund Inc.

Western Asset Middle Market Debt Fund Inc.

Western Asset Middle Market Income Fund Inc.

Western Asset Mortgage Defined Opportunity Fund Inc.

Western Asset Municipal Defined Opportunity Trust Inc.

Western Asset Municipal High Income Fund Inc.

Western Asset Municipal Partners Fund Inc.

Western Asset Variable Rate Strategic Fund Inc.

Western Asset Worldwide Income Fund Inc.

 

A-3


Legg Mason Global Asset Management Trust

QS Batterymarch Emerging Markets Trust

QS Batterymarch International Equity Trust

QS Batterymarch U.S. Small Capitalization Equity Portfolio

Legg Mason BW Absolute Return Opportunities Fund

Legg Mason BW Alternative Credit Fund

Legg Mason BW Diversified Large Cap Value Fund

Legg Mason BW Global High Yield Fund

Legg Mason BW Global Opportunities Bond Fund

Legg Mason BW International Opportunities Bond Fund

ClearBridge Global Growth Trust

ClearBridge Special Investment Trust

Legg Mason Capital Management Value Trust

Legg Mason Strategic Real Return Fund

Miller Income Opportunity Trust

Legg Mason Global Asset Management Variable Trust

Legg Mason BW Absolute Return Opportunities VIT Portfolio

Legg Mason Investment Trust

Legg Mason Opportunity Trust

Legg Mason Tax-Free Income Fund

Legg Mason Investment Counsel Maryland Tax-Free Income Trust

Western Asset Funds, Inc.

Western Asset Asian Opportunities Fund

Western Asset Core Bond Fund

Western Asset Core Plus Bond Fund

Western Asset Global Government Bond Fund

Western Asset Global Multi-Sector Fund

Western Asset High Yield Fund

Western Asset Inflation Indexed Plus Bond Fund

Western Asset Intermediate Bond Fund

Western Asset Global Government Bond Fund

Western Asset Total Return Unconstrained Fund

Western Asset Macro Opportunities Fund

Western Asset Income Fund

Western Asset/Claymore U.S. Inflation Protected Securities Fund

Western Asset/Claymore U.S. Inflation Protected Securities Fund 2

Western Asset Premier Bond Fund

Alternative Select Fund Ltd.

Alternative Select VIT Portfolio, Ltd.

Real Return Fund, Ltd.

Alternative Core Fund, Ltd.

 

A-4

Exhibit (h)(1)

TRANSFER AGENCY AND SERVICES AGREEMENT

AGREEMENT, dated as of December 19, 2013 by and between each of the investment companies listed on Schedule A attached hereto, as amended from time to time (each a “Fund” and collectively the “Funds”) and each having its principal place of business as listed on Schedule A, as amended from time to time, and BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc. (“Transfer Agent” or “BNYM”), a Massachusetts corporation with principal corporate offices at 301 Bellevue Parkway, Wilmington, Delaware 19809. Any references herein to “the Fund” are meant to encompass each applicable Fund or series thereof, as the context requires.

WITNESSETH

WHEREAS, each Fund is authorized to issue Shares in one or more separate series, with each such series representing interests in a separate portfolio of securities or other assets. Each such series is identified in Schedule A, as such schedule may be amended from time to time (each a “Portfolio”). References to a Fund in the Agreement shall refer to a Portfolio if the context so requires;

WHEREAS, each Fund desires to appoint Transfer Agent as its transfer agent, registrar, dividend disbursing agent and shareholder servicing agent with respect to each Class of each Fund or Portfolio and Transfer Agent desires to accept such appointment;

NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual covenants and promises hereinafter set forth, each Fund and Transfer Agent agree as follows:

Article 1 Definitions

1.1 Whenever used in this Agreement, the following words and phrases, unless the context otherwise requires, shall have the following meanings:

(a) “Articles of Incorporation” shall mean the Articles of Incorporation, Declaration of Trust, or other similar organizational document as the case may be, of a Fund as the same may be amended from time to time.

(b) “Authorized Person” shall be any person, whether or not such person is an officer or employee of a Fund, duly authorized to give Oral Instructions or Written Instructions on behalf of the Fund as indicated in a written document that has been executed by the Secretary or the Assistant Secretary of the Fund and delivered to Transfer Agent from time to time.

(c) “Authorized Trading Person” shall be any person listed in Addendum A, as it may be amended by a Fund from time to time, who has been authorized by the Fund to instruct Transfer Agent pursuant to Section 9(c) of Schedule B to accept Fund transactions after the close of trading as provided in the Prospectus in good order and consistent with the Fund’s procedures for such trades.

 

- 1 -


(d) “Board Members” shall mean the Directors or Trustees of the governing body of the Fund, as the case may be.

(e) “Board of Directors” shall mean the Board of Directors or Board of Trustees of the Fund, as the case may be.

(f) “Class” shall mean a class of shares of a Fund or Portfolio, as appropriate.

(g) “Commission” shall mean the Securities and Exchange Commission.

(h) “Confidential Information” shall have the meaning set forth in Article 17.1(a) herein.

(i) “Custodian” refers to any custodian or subcustodian of securities and/or other property which a Fund or Portfolio may from time to time deposit, or cause to be deposited or held under the name or account of such a custodian pursuant to a Custodian Agreement.

(j) “1933 Act” shall mean the Securities Act of 1933 and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, all as amended from time to time.

(k) “1934 Act” shall mean the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, all as amended from time to time.

(l) “1940 Act” shall mean the Investment Company Act of 1940 and the rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, all as amended from time to time.

(m) “Oral Instructions” shall mean instructions, other than Written Instructions, received by Transfer Agent from a person reasonably believed by Transfer Agent to be an Authorized Person or Authorized Trading Person, with subsequent Written Instructions confirming the instructions (as described below);

(n) “Prospectus” shall mean the currently effective Fund or Portfolio Prospectus and Statement of Additional Information, including supplements thereto, if any, which has been filed under the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act.

(o) “Service Accounts” shall have the meaning set out in Article 7.4 of this Agreement.

(p) “Service Effective Date” means the business date, following the completion of the conversion of the Funds’ books and records from the recordkeeping system of the Funds’ prior service provider to the recordkeeping system of BNYM, that the first live transaction is processed by BNYM for the Funds on a production basis.

(q) “Shares” refers collectively to such shares of capital stock or beneficial interest, as the case may be, of a Fund or Portfolio or a Class thereof as may be issued from time to time.

 

- 2 -


(r) “Shareholder” shall mean a holder of Shares of a Fund or Portfolio.

(s) “Written Instructions” shall mean (i) a written instruction signed by a person reasonably believed by Transfer Agent to be an Authorized Person or Authorized Trading Person, including manually executed originals and telefacsimile of a manually executed original; (ii) trade instructions transmitted (and received by Transfer Agent) by means of an electronic transaction reporting system access to which requires use of a password or other authorized identifier; and (iii) electronic mail from a person reasonably believed by Transfer Agent to be an Authorized Person or Authorized Trading Person in a format mutually acceptable to the parties to this Agreement sent to an authorized person of BNYM, as listed in a written document provided by BNYM to the Funds, which may be updated from time to time as required.

Article 2 Appointment of Transfer Agent

2.1 Each Fund hereby appoints and constitutes Transfer Agent as transfer agent, registrar, dividend disbursing and shareholder servicing agent for Shares of the Fund. Transfer Agent accepts each such appointment and agrees to perform the duties hereinafter set forth.

Article 3 Duties of Transfer Agent

3.1 Transfer Agent shall be responsible for:

(a) Administering and/or performing the customary services of a transfer agent and dividend disbursing agent; acting as service agent in connection with dividend and distribution functions; and performing shareholder account and administrative agent functions in connection with the issuance, transfer and redemption or repurchase (including coordination with the Custodian) of Shares of each Fund, all as more fully described in the written schedule of Duties of Transfer Agent annexed hereto as Schedule B and incorporated herein, and in accordance with the terms of the Prospectus of each Fund, applicable laws, regulations and requirements of any governmental authority having jurisdiction over the Transfer Agent or the Fund with respect to the duties of the Transfer Agent hereunder, and the procedures established from time to time between the Fund and Transfer Agent.

(b) Recording the issuance of Shares and maintaining pursuant to Rule 17Ad-10(e) under the 1934 Act a record of the total number of Shares of each Class of each Fund which are authorized, based upon data provided to it by the Fund, and issued and outstanding. Transfer Agent shall provide each Fund on a regular basis, at such intervals as the parties hereto shall agree to from time to time, with the total number of Shares which are authorized and issued and outstanding and shall have no obligation, when recording the issuance of Shares, to monitor the issuance of such Shares or to take cognizance of any laws relating to the issue or sale of such Shares, which functions shall be the sole responsibility of the Fund. Transfer Agent will comply with all requirements applicable to a transfer agent for a registered investment company, under the 1934 Act, 1940 Act and other state or federal securities laws, as applicable.

 

- 3 -


(c) Providing information, access and reports upon request to a Fund or the Fund’s Chief Compliance Officer, as necessary for the Chief Compliance Officer or Fund to comply with Rule 38a-1 under the 1940 Act.

3.2 “Blue Sky” Reporting. The Fund or its administrator shall identify to the Transfer Agent in writing the states and countries where the Shares of the Fund are registered or exempt, and the number of Shares of each Class registered for sale with respect to each state or country, as applicable. The Transfer Agent or any delegate will comply in all respects with the Written Instructions of the Fund or its administrator in connection with the identification of such states and countries, and the number of Shares of each Class registered for sale with respect to each state or country, as applicable. The Transfer Agent shall (i) establish parameters on the BNYM system for the daily transmission of a file to the Fund’s designated Blue Sky vendor (“Blue Sky Vendor”) showing sales of Shares by Class in each state or country as may currently be permitted by the functionalities of the BNYM System as of the Effective Date and such additional parameters as the Fund and BNYM shall mutually agree in writing (“Blue Sky Parameters”), and (ii) transmit the “blue sky” file resulting from the application of the Blue Sky Parameters with respect to each business day (“Blue Sky File”) to the Blue Sky Vendor in a format designated by the Blue Sky Vendor which is supported by the BNYM System as of the Effective Date or which is developed and implemented by BNYM pursuant to the mutual written agreement of the Fund and BNYM (“Blue Sky Format”). The Fund or its administrator shall verify that such parameters have been correctly established for each state or country on the system prior to activation. The responsibility of the Transfer Agent for the Fund’s blue sky registration status is solely limited to the establishment of the Blue Sky Parameters and the daily transmission of the Blue Sky File to the Blue Sky Vendor in the Blue Sky Format;

3.3 In addition to the duties set forth in Schedule B, Transfer Agent shall perform such other duties and functions, and shall be paid such amounts therefor, as may from time to time be agreed upon in writing between a Fund and the Transfer Agent. The compensation for such other duties and functions shall be reflected in a written amendment to the Fee Agreement and the duties and functions shall be reflected in an amendment to Schedule B, both dated and signed by authorized persons of the parties hereto.

3.4 In the event that the Fund or the Transfer Agent receives regulatory, judicial or other similar requests for shareholder and share information, Transfer Agent agrees to cooperate with the Fund in responding to such inquiries.

3.5 If the parties mutually agree, they will negotiate in good faith certain service level standards that, once agreed upon, may be incorporated into this Agreement subsequent to the effective date of the Agreement.

 

- 4 -


Article 4 Delegation of Responsibilities

4.1 With respect to any Fund, Transfer Agent may delegate some or all of its Restricted Duties (as defined below) under this Agreement, or any component thereof, to BNY Mellon International Operations (India) Private Limited (“BNY Mellon International”), so long as BNY Mellon International is a SEC-registered transfer agent, and may delegate some or all of its other duties under this Agreement to one or more of the parties listed on Schedule E for the services listed thereon, or, with the consent of the Funds not to be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned, to other parties that after reasonable inquiry Transfer Agent deems to be competent to perform such duties in compliance with all requirements of this Agreement applicable to the duty, or the component of a duty, to be performed by the delegate. In any such circumstance, the Transfer Agent will be responsible for the services of the delegates, as if the Transfer Agent were performing the services itself. A delegate shall be deemed to make all applicable representations and warranties that the Transfer Agent has made in this Agreement, and they shall be continuing representations and warranties to the extent provided in this Agreement. “Restricted Duties” means activities restricted by the 1934 Act to SEC-registered transfer agents. For avoidance of doubt, it shall not be unreasonable for the Funds to condition consent on the receipt of adequate assurances that the delegate can provide the services required, meet the applicable contractual, legal and regulatory standards and Transfer Agent will not share Fund information with other fund groups.

4.2 For clarification: “Supply Chain Sourcing” shall not constitute the delegation or subcontracting of duties or services under this Agreement as those terms are used herein. “Supply Chain Sourcing” means the hiring of third parties to furnish products or services that are used or utilized by the Transfer Agent in performing services under this Agreement but which do not constitute in and by themselves the service that the Transfer Agent is required to perform under this Agreement or any component thereof; and by way of illustration include products such as software and computer equipment and services such as consulting, legal advice, and systems and software analysis, design, development, testing and maintenance. The use of Supply Chain Sourcing shall not relieve the Transfer Agent of any liability or obligations it may have under this Agreement. Each delegate and any party hired as part of Supply Chain Sourcing shall be subject to confidentiality obligations comparable to those provided in this Agreement.

Article 5 Recordkeeping and Other Information

5.1 Transfer Agent shall create and maintain all records required of it pursuant to its duties hereunder and as set forth in Schedule B in accordance with all applicable laws, rules and regulations, including records required by Section 31(a) of the 1940 Act and the rules thereunder. Transfer Agent shall prepare and maintain in complete and accurate form all books and records necessary for it to serve as transfer agent, registrar, dividend disbursing agent and related services agent to each Fund and Portfolio, including (a) all those records required to be prepared and maintained by a Fund under the 1934 Act, 1940 Act, by other applicable securities laws, rules and regulations and by state laws and (b) such books and records as are necessary for Transfer Agent to perform all of the services it agrees to provide in this Agreement and the schedules attached hereto.

5.2 (a) Transfer Agent agrees that all books and records prepared or maintained by Transfer Agent pertaining to a Fund are the property of the Fund and will be preserved, maintained and made available in accordance with Articles 5 and 15, and

 

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will be surrendered promptly to the Fund on and in accordance with the Fund’s request, except that Transfer Agent may retain copies of such books and records in accordance with its records retention policies and as otherwise required by law, rule, regulation or audit requirement. Each Fund and Authorized Person shall have access to such books and records in the possession or under control of Transfer Agent at all times during Transfer Agent’s normal business hours. Upon the reasonable request of a Fund, printouts of books and records in the possession or under the control of Transfer Agent shall be provided by Transfer Agent to the Fund or to an Authorized Person. Upon reasonable advance notice by a Fund, Transfer Agent shall make available during regular business hours the facilities and premises it employs in connection with the performance of its duties under Article 5 of this Agreement (except data centers and facilities housing computer systems, which are addressed in subsection (b) below) for reasonable escorted visits by the Fund, an independent auditor, its manager and employees of the manager, designated agents appointed by the Fund’s Board (excluding transfer agent competitors to BNYM or consultants working on behalf of such competitors) or any regulatory agency having authority over the Fund, subject to Transfer Agent’s where applicable, such records shall be maintained by Transfer Agent for the period and in the places required by the 1940 Act or under other applicable securities laws. Transfer Agent will provide the Fund, at least annually, with the most recent SOC1 report of the Computer Facilities, and will provide executive summaries of the results of the most recent penetration testing conducted by or on behalf of the Transfer Agent.

(b) (1) With respect to the second to last sentence of subsection (a) above, such facilities and premises include data centers and the facilities housing computer systems (“Computer Facilities”) but visits to Computer Facilities shall be subject to subsection (b)(2) below and shall not occur more than once annually, except for the following “Special Visits”:

(i) Following the Fund’s receipt of a notice of a material data breach pursuant to Section 17.3, a Fund may visit Computer Facilities involved in the material data breach; and

(ii) In the event the Fund notifies the Transfer Agent of a documented reasonable concern (which, for the avoidance of doubt, shall include without limitation regulatory issues or potential breaches of contractual obligations) and provides the Transfer Agent with the details of the reasonable concern and, where appropriate, a copy of the associated documentation (unless prohibited by law), the Transfer Agent shall conduct an investigation of the matter and shall provide the Fund with a report of its investigation and, subsequent to its receipt of the investigation report, the Fund may request to visit Computer Facilities involved in the documented reasonable concern, subject to the consent of the Transfer Agent which shall not be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned.

 

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(2) Visits to Computer Facilities shall be governed by the following terms:

(i) Employees of the Fund’s manager, compliance officers and legal officers of the Fund or its manager and employees of independent auditing firms engaged by the Fund, Fund or Board counsel as well as other relevant Fund officers or agents that BNYM may consent to, which consent shall not to be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned, may exclusively participate in the Special Visit;

(ii) The Fund may not conduct a security audit of the Computer Facilities or penetration testing of any Transfer Agent computer system, but the Transfer Agent will provide escorted tours of the Computer Facilities (or relevant Computer Facilities if a Special Visit) and will walk through applicable security policies and standards with the Fund; and

(iii) The Transfer Agent shall make subject matter experts available to answer questions of the Fund’s representatives and to conduct discussions with the Fund’s representatives on the matters that gave rise to the visit.

5.3 In case of any requests or demands by a Shareholder for the inspection of the Shareholder records of a Fund, Transfer Agent will notify the Fund of such request in a timely manner and act as reasonably directed in Written Instructions as to the handling of such request. Transfer Agent reserves the right, however, to exhibit the Shareholder record to any person whenever it is advised by its counsel in good faith that it may be held liable for the failure to comply with such request in a timeframe that would not permit notice to the Funds and obtaining of Written Instructions, provided , however , Transfer Agent shall notify the applicable Fund in a timely manner after it has exhibited the Shareholder records.

Article 6 Fund Instructions

6.1 Transfer Agent will not be liable for its acting upon Written or Oral Instructions, in conformity with written security procedures established by Transfer Agent and the Fund from time to time, delivered by an Authorized Person or Authorized Trading Person in accordance with the terms of this Agreement and the standard of care provided in Article 10, and Transfer Agent will not be held to have any notice of any change of authority of any person, including any Authorized Person or Authorized Trading Person, until receipt of a Written Instruction thereof from a Fund. Transfer Agent will maintain procedures reasonably designed to promptly respond to changes in the identities of Authorized Persons and Authorized Trading Persons.

6.2 At any time, Transfer Agent may request Written Instructions from a Fund and may seek advice from legal counsel for the Fund, or its own legal counsel, with respect to any matter arising in connection with this Agreement, and it shall not be liable for any action taken or not taken or suffered by it in good faith in accordance with such Written Instructions or in accordance with the opinion of counsel for the Fund or for Transfer Agent, provided that the Transfer Agent at its own expense communicates to the Fund such opinion of counsel to the Transfer Agent prior to taking the action in question. Written Instructions requested by Transfer Agent will be provided by a Fund within a reasonable period of time.

 

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6.3 Transfer Agent, its officers, agents or employees, shall accept Oral Instructions or Written Instructions given to them by any person representing or acting on behalf of a Fund only if said representative is an Authorized Person.

Article 7 Compensation

7.1 Each Fund will compensate Transfer Agent or cause Transfer Agent to be compensated for the performance of its obligations hereunder (including for providing support services after a Fund’s termination, liquidation, reorganization or merger if requested) in accordance with the fees set forth in a written schedule of fees (the “Fee Agreement”) except as addressed elsewhere in this Agreement. Transfer Agent will transmit an invoice to a Fund as soon as practicable after the end of each calendar month which will be detailed in accordance with the Fee Agreement, and the Fund will pay to Transfer Agent the amount of such invoice within thirty (30) days after the Fund’s receipt of the invoice, except for any fees or expenses that are subject to a good faith dispute. In the event of such a dispute, the Fund may only withhold that portion of the fee or expense subject to the good faith dispute. The Fund shall notify Transfer Agent in writing within thirty (30) days following the receipt of each invoice if the Fund is disputing any amounts in good faith.

7.2 In addition, each Fund agrees to pay, and will be billed separately for, reasonable out-of-pocket expenses incurred by Transfer Agent in the performance of its duties hereunder. Out-of-pocket expenses shall be the items specified in the written schedule of out-of-pocket charges contained in the Fee Agreement, such other items to which the parties may agree from time to time, and unspecified expenses. The Fee Agreement may be modified only by written agreement between the parties. Unspecified out-of-pocket expenses shall be limited to those unexpected and non-routine out-of-pocket expenses reasonably incurred by Transfer Agent in the performance of its obligations hereunder.

7.3 Any compensation agreed to hereunder may be adjusted from time to time by an amendment to the Fee Agreement executed and dated by the parties hereto.

7.4 Transfer Agent shall establish certain accounts required to provide services under this Agreement that may produce investment returns for the Transfer Agent or the Fund (“Service Accounts”). The Fund and the Transfer Agent will enter into separate written agreements with respect to such Service Accounts, provided that all moneys earned using a Portfolio’s assets must be used for the benefit of that Portfolio.

Article 8 Representations and Warranties

8.1 Each Fund represents and warrants to Transfer Agent that:

(a) it is duly organized, existing and in good standing under the laws of the jurisdiction in which it is organized;

 

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(b) it is empowered under applicable laws and by its Articles of Incorporation and/or By-laws to enter into this Agreement;

(c) all corporate proceedings required by said Articles of Incorporation, By-laws and applicable laws have been taken to authorize it to enter into this Agreement; and

(d) a registration statement under the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act on behalf of the Fund, with respect to all Funds, Portfolios and Classes subject to this Agreement that are to be sold in transactions requiring such registration, is currently effective and will remain effective, absent notice to the Transfer Agent.

8.2 Transfer Agent makes the representations and warranties below, which are and shall remain true and correct throughout the term of the Agreement:

(a) it is duly organized, existing and in good standing under the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts;

(b) it is qualified to carry on its business in jurisdictions in which it is present;

(c) it is empowered under applicable laws and by its Articles of Incorporation and By-laws to enter into and perform this Agreement;

(d) all corporate proceedings required by said Articles of Incorporation, By-laws and applicable laws have been taken to authorize it to enter into and perform this Agreement, which constitutes the legal, valid and binding obligation of the Transfer Agent enforceable against the Transfer Agent in accordance with its terms;

(e) it is a transfer agent fully registered as a transfer agent pursuant to Section 17A(c)(2) of the 1934 Act, and such registration will remain in effect for the duration of this Agreement and Transfer Agent will promptly notify the Fund in the event of any material change in its status as a registered transfer agent;

(f) it is in compliance with all material federal and state laws, rules and regulations applicable to its transfer agency business and the performance of its duties, obligations and services under this Agreement;

(g) the various procedures and systems which it has implemented with regard to safeguarding from loss or damage attributable to fire, flood, theft or any other cause, each Fund’s records and other data and the Transfer Agent’s records, data equipment facilities and other property used in the performance of its obligations hereunder are consistent with industry standards applicable to serving as a transfer agent to a publicly offered registered investment company and that the Transfer Agent will make such changes therein from time to time as it may deem reasonably necessary to make this representation and warranty true throughout the term of this Agreement and any extensions thereof;

 

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(h) it will provide to each Fund, upon request, its semi-annual certification by a senior officer relating to the adequacy of its internal controls for handling of the Fund’s information and, upon request, a copy of its annual SSAE 16 report; and

(i) it has access to the necessary facilities, equipment and personnel to perform its duties and obligations under this Agreement.

Article 9 Indemnification

9.1 The Transfer Agent shall not be responsible for, and the relevant Portfolio shall indemnify and hold the Transfer Agent harmless from and against, any and all losses, damages, costs, charges, reasonable counsel fees, payments, reasonable expenses and liability (collectively referred to as “Losses”) arising out of or attributable to:

(a) All actions of the Transfer Agent or its agents or delegates taken pursuant to a requirement or obligation under this Agreement with respect to such Fund, provided that such actions are taken in good faith and without negligence, bad faith, willful misconduct or reckless disregard of its duties or their own duties hereunder and are not violations of applicable law or regulation pertaining to the manner transfer agency services are performed and not otherwise a breach of this Agreement (including the standard of care provided in Article 10);

(b) The reasonable reliance by the Transfer Agent or its agents or delegates upon, and any subsequent use of or action taken or omitted by the Transfer Agent or its agents or delegates pursuant to: (i) any Written Instructions of any Authorized Person; or (ii) any paper or document, reasonably believed, in conformity with security procedures established by Transfer Agent and the Fund from time to time, to be genuine, authentic and signed by an Authorized Person; unless, in each case, such Losses are due to the Transfer Agent’s or its agents’ or delegates’ failure to perform in accordance with procedures established with the Fund, the Transfer Agent’s or its agents’ or delegates’ negligence, bad faith, willful misconduct or reckless disregard, violations of applicable law or regulation pertaining to the manner transfer agency services are performed or otherwise a breach of this Agreement (including the standard of care provided in Article 10); or

(c) The offer or sale of Shares in violation of federal or state securities laws or regulations requiring that such Shares be registered or in violation of any stop order or other determination or ruling by any federal or any state agency with respect to the offer or sale of such Shares (except to the extent that such violation resulted from the provision of information from the Transfer Agent or any delegate under Article 4.1 in contravention of the standard of care provided in Article 10, the Transfer Agent or such delegate received Written Instructions notifying it of the violation or determination or the Transfer Agent or such delegate failed to comply with the Written Instructions identifying the states and countries where the Shares of the Fund or the Portfolios are registered or exempt, and the number of Shares of each Class registered with respect to each state or country, as applicable).

 

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9.2 A Fund shall not be responsible for, and the Transfer Agent shall indemnify and hold each Fund harmless from and against any and all Losses arising out of or attributable to all actions of the Transfer Agent or its agents or delegates taken outside of the scope of this Agreement or caused by the Transfer Agent’s or its agents’ or delegates’ negligence, bad faith, willful misconduct, reckless disregard of its duties hereunder or violations of applicable laws, regulations or requirements of any governmental authority having jurisdiction over the Transfer Agent or the Fund pertaining to the manner in which transfer agency services are performed or otherwise are a breach of this Agreement.

9.3 In any case in which a party hereto (the “Indemnifying Party”) may be asked to indemnify or hold the other party (the “Indemnified Party”) harmless, the Indemnifying Party shall be promptly advised of all pertinent facts concerning the situation in question. The Indemnified Party will notify the Indemnifying Party promptly after identifying any situation which it believes presents or appears likely to present a claim for indemnification against the Indemnifying Party although the failure to do so shall not prevent recovery by the Indemnified Party, except to the extent that the Indemnifying Party shall have been prejudiced by such failure. The Indemnified Party shall keep the Indemnifying Party advised with respect to all such developments concerning any claim, demand, action or suit or other proceeding (a “Claim”), which may be the subject of this indemnification. The Indemnifying Party shall have the option to participate with the Indemnified Party in defending against any Claim which may be the subject of this indemnification, and, in the event that the Indemnifying Party so elects, such defense shall be conducted by counsel chosen by the Indemnifying Party and reasonably satisfactory to the Indemnified Party, and thereupon the Indemnifying Party shall take over complete defense of the Claim and the Indemnified Party shall sustain no further legal or other expenses in respect of such Claim. The Indemnified Party will not confess any Claim or make any compromise in any case in which the Indemnifying Party will be asked to provide indemnification, except with the Indemnifying Party’s prior written consent. The parties shall cooperate with each other in defense of any Claim. In no event will a Fund or Portfolio be liable for any settlement of any action or Claim effected without its prior written consent. The obligations of the parties hereto under this Article 9 shall survive the termination of this Agreement.

9.4 Except for remedies that cannot be waived as a matter of law (and injunctive or provisional relief), the provisions of this Article 9 shall be a party’s sole and exclusive remedy for Claims or other actions or proceedings to which the other party’s indemnification obligations pursuant to this Article 9 may apply.

9.5 The Board Members of a Fund, its officers and Shareholders, or of any Portfolio thereof, shall not be liable for any obligations of the Fund, or any such Portfolio, under this Agreement, and Transfer Agent agrees that in asserting any rights or claims under this Agreement, it shall look only to the assets and property of the Fund or the particular Portfolio in settlement of such rights or Claims and not to such members of the Board, its officers or Shareholders. Transfer Agent further agrees that it will look only to the assets and property of a particular Portfolio of a Fund, should the Fund have established separate series, in asserting any rights or claims under this Agreement with respect to services rendered with respect to that Portfolio and will not seek to obtain satisfaction of such rights or claims from the assets of any other Portfolio of the Fund or any other Fund or any other Portfolio of another Fund.

 

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9.6 The Transfer Agent agrees to provide each Fund with certificates of its insurance coverage for errors and omissions insurance, fidelity bonds and electronic data processing coverages, and agrees to provide updated certificates annually or as requested by the Fund.

Article 10 Standard of Care

10.1 Transfer Agent shall provide its services as transfer agent in accordance with the applicable provisions of Section 17A under the 1934 Act. In performing the responsibilities delegated to it under this Agreement, Transfer Agent shall at all times act in good faith and agrees to exercise reasonable care, diligence and expertise of a transfer agent having responsibility for providing transfer agent services to investment companies registered under the 1940 Act, but shall not be liable for any Losses arising out of Transfer Agent’s performance of or failure to perform its duties under this Agreement, except to the extent such damages arise out of the Transfer Agent’s own negligence, bad faith, or willful misconduct or that of its employees, agents, representatives or delegates or violations of applicable laws, regulations or requirements of any governmental authority having jurisdiction over the Transfer Agent or the Fund or breach of this Agreement. The Transfer Agent’s liability may arise from or in connection with this Agreement, or from any services under this Agreement provided or omitted to be provided during the term of this Agreement, whether in contract, or in tort, or otherwise.

Article 11 Consequential Damages

11.1 Notwithstanding anything in this Agreement to the contrary, neither Transfer Agent nor the Fund shall be liable to the other party for any consequential, special or indirect losses or damages which the party may incur or suffer by or as a consequence of the other party’s performance of the services provided hereunder. For avoidance of doubt, “as of” transaction losses for which the Transfer Agent is deemed responsible under the terms of mutually agreed upon written “as of” procedures (and subject to any limits which may be set forth in such procedures), shall be deemed direct damages for purposes of this Agreement and not consequential damages under this Article 11.

Article 12 Insurance

12.1 Transfer Agent shall maintain insurance coverage including, without limitation, errors and omissions, fidelity bond (covering, among other things, larceny and embezzlement) and electronic data processing coverages at levels of coverage consistent with those customarily maintained by other high quality transfer agents for registered investment companies. Upon the request of a Fund, the Transfer Agent shall provide evidence that such coverage is in place. Transfer Agent shall promptly notify the Funds in the event that such coverage is cancelled, or in the event there are material claims made with respect to any service provided under this Agreement. To the extent that policies of insurance may provide for coverage of claims for liability or indemnity by the parties set

 

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forth in this Agreement, the contracts of insurance shall take precedence, and no provision of this Agreement shall be construed to relieve an insurer of any obligation to pay claims to the Fund, Transfer Agent or other insured party which would otherwise be a covered claim in the absence of any provision of this Agreement.

Article 13 Security

13.1 Transfer Agent represents, warrants and agrees that it shall itself implement, and also enter into and maintain in effect with appropriate parties one or more agreements which implement, reasonable procedures and systems to safeguard from loss or damage attributable to fire, flood, theft or any other cause (including provision for twenty-four hours a day restricted access) Confidential Information and each Fund’s records and other data and the Transfer Agent’s records, data equipment facilities and other property used in the performance of its obligations hereunder are consistent with industry standards applicable to serving as a transfer agent to a publicly offered registered investment company. Transfer Agent will make such changes therein from time to time as it may deem reasonably necessary for the secure performance of its obligations hereunder, and that Transfer Agent’s equipment, facilities and other property used in the performance of its obligations hereunder are and comply with all applicable laws, rules, regulations and governmental standards, and it will make such changes therein from time to time as in its reasonable judgment, or as reasonably requested by the Fund and agreed to by Transfer Agent, are required for the secure performance of its obligations hereunder. Transfer Agent agrees to review and consider the implementation of any written safeguarding policy concerning the security, confidentiality and privacy of a Fund’s blank checks, records and other data, which policy may be changed from time to time. Transfer Agent shall review such systems and procedures on a periodic basis (no less than annually). Each Fund shall have the right to visit facilities and premises of the Transfer Agent to review these systems and procedures in accordance with Section 5.2. In no event shall the Transfer Agent’s systems and procedures described in this Article 13.1 be less protective than those systems and procedures provided by the Transfer Agent to other registered investment companies.

13.2 If the Transfer Agent or its agents determine after appropriate and prompt investigation that someone has violated security relating to Confidential Information, (a) the Transfer Agent will promptly notify the Fund of such violation, and (b) if the applicable Confidential Information was in the possession or under the control of the Transfer Agent or its agents at the time of such violation, the Transfer Agent will promptly (i) investigate and contain the violation and put safeguards in place that are designed to prevent similar occurrences of the violation, (ii) provide the Fund with assurance reasonably satisfactory to the Fund that such violation will not recur, and (iii) provide credit monitoring services for a one-year period to individuals whose personal information was compromised by the security violation.

Article 14 Disaster Recovery

14.1 Transfer Agent shall either itself or through third party agreements make reasonable provisions for periodic backup of computer files and data with respect to a Fund and emergency use of electronic data processing equipment. In the event of equipment failures, Transfer Agent shall, at no additional expense to a Fund, take reasonable steps to minimize service interruptions caused by equipment failure.

 

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14.2 Transfer Agent shall: (i) maintain a comprehensive business recovery plan that: (A) is not less protective than the plan summary provided to the Fund by the Transfer Agent as part of the Fund’s periodic review of its service providers; and (B) provides for sufficient recovery of its back office and administrative operations to enable Transfer Agent, within 24 hours or such other period as may be agreed upon in writing between the parties after any event necessitating the use of such plan to fulfill its obligations under this Agreement; provided, however, without such agreement BNYM will endeavor to achieve a recovery time objective of four hours or less (a recovery time objective is tested and validated, but it should be noted that there is no guarantee that facilities, operations or services can be recovered in any given time frame due to the unpredictable nature of events, such as a force majeure event), and (ii) test such business recovery plan no less frequently than annually and upon request, the Fund may receive an executive summary of the results of such tests and any plans for remediation. Transfer Agent has provided the Fund with an executive summary of Transfer Agent’s business recovery plan, and upon request, Transfer Agent shall provide the Fund with an executive summary that describes Transfer Agent’s business recovery plan as in effect from time to time. Transfer Agent shall maintain, at a location other than its normal location, appropriate redundant facilities for operational back-up in the event of a power failure, disaster or other interruption. Transfer Agent shall back-up the Fund’s records maintained by Transfer Agent, and shall store the backup in a secure manner at a location other than its normal location, so that, in the event of a power failure, disaster or other interruption at such normal location, the records will be maintained intact and will enable Transfer Agent to perform the services under this Agreement. In the event of a business disruption that materially impacts Transfer Agent’s provision of services under this Agreement, Transfer Agent will promptly notify the Fund of the disruption and the steps being implemented under the business recovery plan.

Article 15 The U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”)

15.1 Transfer Agent shall collect from all accountholders registered on the books of the Funds (each a “Customer”, and, collectively, the “Customers”), valid documentation sufficient to establish the US-status or non-US status, as the case may be, of each such Customer, for purposes of FATCA including by requiring Customers to provide Transfer Agent with an executed United States Internal Revenue Service Form W-8BEN or other applicable United States Internal Revenue Service Form W-8 (or any successor thereto) and/or a United States Internal Revenue Service Form W-9 (or any successor thereto). All such documentation is hereinafter referred to as the “Customer Information.” Transfer Agent shall resolve to the reasonable satisfaction of the Funds any discrepancies in any Customer Information.

15.2 Transfer Agent shall monitor Customers and Customer Information for any changes with respect to a Customer’s US or non-US status in accordance with its reasonably designed FATCA compliance standards.

 

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15.3 Transfer Agent shall promptly notify the Funds of any discrepancies in any Customer Information it is unable to resolve after a commercially reasonable period and any changes in circumstances relating to a Customer’s US or non-US status, as the case may be.

15.4 To the extent required by applicable law, Transfer Agent shall diligently request from each Customer a waiver of such Customer’s privacy, data protection and similar rights in connection with the collection, processing and transferring of the Customer’s personal data pursuant to each Fund’s obligations under FATCA, or otherwise obtain the written consent of the Customer for the Transfer Agent/Funds to collect, process and transfer the Customer’s personal data pursuant to a Fund’s obligations under FATCA, in each case in such form of waiver or consent as provided by the Funds to Transfer Agent.

15.5 Transfer Agent shall comply with all applicable provisions of FATCA to the extent it is a “Foreign Financial Institution,” as that term is defined under FATCA.

Article 16 Term and Termination

16.1 This Agreement shall be effective on the date first written above and shall continue in effect for a term through June 30, 2018, unless terminated pursuant to the provisions of this Section 16 or, with respect to any individual Fund, Portfolio or Class until the earlier liquidation and/or merger of such Fund, Portfolio or Class, as applicable provided that, the Agreement may be terminated by: (1) the Transfer Agent, Fund, Portfolio or Class at the end of any term upon written notice given at least 90 days prior to termination of the then-current term; (2) by the applicable Fund, Portfolio or Class upon written notice to the Transfer Agent of material breach of this Agreement by the Transfer Agent, in which case the termination shall be effective as soon as practicable or such later date as may be specified in this breach termination notice; or (3) by BNYM upon at least 180 days prior written notice given to the Fund of a material breach of this Agreement by the Fund, in which case the termination shall be effective as soon as practicable or such later date as may be specified in this breach termination notice. In all cases, termination by the non-breaching party shall not constitute a waiver by the non-breaching party of any other rights it might have under this Agreement or otherwise against the defaulting party. The term may be renewed by mutual agreement of the parties for successive periods of one year. For purposes of this Agreement, the merger, reorganization or liquidation of a Fund or Portfolio shall not be deemed a termination of the Agreement with respect to any other Fund or Portfolio. Fees with respect to such Fund or Portfolio shall cease on the date of such merger, reorganization or liquidation, except with respect to a non-liquidated fund’s trailing services and expenses, if any.

In the event a Fund is liquidated, ceases operations, dissolves or otherwise winds down operations (“Dissolution Event”) and effects a final distribution to shareholders (a “Final Distribution”), including, as applicable, a merger or reorganization, the Fund shall be responsible for paying to BNYM all fees and reimbursing BNYM for all reasonable expenses associated with services to be provided by BNYM following the Final Distribution, whether provided pursuant to a specific request of the Fund or provided by

 

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BNYM due to industry standards or due to obligations under applicable law or regulation by virtue of the services previously performed for the Fund (“Final Expenses”). In connection with the foregoing, the Fund shall (i) notify BNYM as promptly as practicable following first approval of the Dissolution Event by its Board and furnish BNYM with copies of all materials filed with the SEC or distributed to shareholders related thereto, (ii) calculate (based on reasonable estimates provided by BNYM), set aside, reserve and withhold from the Final Distribution all amounts necessary to pay reasonably anticipated Final Expenses and shall notify BNYM as far in advance as practicable of any deadline for submitting materials appropriate or necessary for the determination of such amounts, and (iii) provide sufficient staff or other accommodations to ensure timely payment of Final Expenses as they come due.

16.2 Each Fund reserves the right, within its sole discretion, to terminate the arrangement for services provided under Article 15 without penalty in the event it determines that Transfer Agent’s responsibilities outlined in Article 15 are not performed in a satisfactory manner.

16.3 In the event a termination notice is given by a Fund (other than in connection with the liquidation, reorganization or merger of the Fund), the Fund shall provide to the Transfer Agent a resolution of the Board of Directors, certified by the Secretary of the Fund, designating a successor transfer agent or transfer agents. Until such a successor transfer agent or transfer agents are designated, this Agreement and the Fee Agreement will remain in effect unless the Transfer Agent is notified otherwise by the applicable Fund.

16.4 Upon the request of a Fund following any notice of termination of services hereunder (whether as to only certain Funds or Portfolios or Classes or as to some or all of the non-core transfer agency services under this Agreement), the Transfer Agent shall commence taking commercially reasonable steps (subject to additional compensation as provided below), to transfer the books and records and any other property of the applicable Fund (or Portfolio) held hereunder to a successor transfer agent, in a mutually agreed upon format then supported by BNYM, and to provide reasonable assistance and cooperation in connection with such transfer, provided however, that such reasonable assistance and cooperation shall be limited to a period of one hundred and eighty (180) days from the date of termination of this Agreement (or such longer period to which the Transfer Agent and the Fund may agree, including any period of post-termination services for the Fund or a Portfolio), under the terms that the parties may agree upon. In the event of a termination, the Transfer Agent will convert the Fund’s account records (including master history and sub-files) from the Transfer Agent’s system (a “Deconversion”) using fund specified industry standard file layouts then supported by BNYM (a “standard Deconversion”). The Fund may elect, at its expense, to use a file layout that is not an industry standard or require other custom programming with respect to the conversion of its account records (a “non-standard Deconversion”). If the Fund makes such an election, the Fund shall provide the Transfer Agent with its conversion requirements. The Transfer Agent shall provide the Fund with a written estimate for approval of such non-standard Deconversion cost, based on the Fund’s specifications and the Transfer Agent’s standard rates in effect at the time, prior to the commencement of any Deconversion activity. If the Fund requests the movement or destruction of original source documentation then held by

 

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the Transfer Agent or its storage vendor or the conversion of proprietary images, such costs shall be separate expenses paid by the Fund and are not part of the standard Deconversion. BNYM will be compensated for Deconversion services as set out in Schedule C at commercially reasonable rates agreed to by the parties.

16.5 The Fund will not be responsible for any fees to Transfer Agent after the date of the Fund’s termination, liquidation, reorganization or merger unless the Fund requests the Transfer Agent to provide support services after such action and the Transfer Agent agrees to provide such services or the Transfer Agent is required by law or regulation to provide such services.

Article 17 Confidentiality/Privacy

17.1 Each party shall keep the Confidential Information (as defined in subsection (a) below) of the other party in confidence and will not use or disclose or allow access to or use of such Confidential Information except as further set forth herein or as otherwise expressly agreed in writing. Each party acknowledges that the Confidential Information of the disclosing party will remain the sole property of such party. The parties further agree that a breach of this provision would irreparably damage the other party and accordingly agree that each of them is entitled, without bond or other security, to an injunction or injunctions to prevent or halt breaches of this provision. Notwithstanding the foregoing, or anything in this Agreement to the contrary, the Fund is hereby authorized to identify the Transfer Agent and describe this Agreement in its registration statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission under the 1933 Act and the 1940 Act, and to file this Agreement as an exhibit to such registration statement.

(a) Subject to subsections (b) and (c) below, “Confidential Information” means (i) this Agreement and its contents, all compensation agreements, arrangements and understandings (including waivers) respecting this Agreement, disputes pertaining to the Agreement, and information about a party’s exercise of rights hereunder, performance of obligations hereunder or other conduct of a party in connection with the Agreement, (ii) non-public personal information of the Fund’s shareholders, (iii) information and data of, owned by or about a disclosing party or its affiliates, customers, or subcontractors that may be provided to the other party or become known to the other party in the course of the relationship established by this Agreement, regardless of form or content, including but not limited to (A) competitively sensitive material, not generally known to the public, including, but not limited to, studies, plans, reports, surveys, summaries, documentation and analyses, regardless of form, information about product plans, marketing strategies, finances, operations, customer relationships, customer profiles, customer lists, sales estimates, business plans, and internal performance results relating to the past, present or future business activities of the Fund or the Transfer Agent, their respective subsidiaries and affiliates and the customers, clients and suppliers of any of them; (B) information related to security, disaster recovery, business continuity and any other operational plans, procedures, practices and protocols, (C) information about technology products, systems, or services, technology documentation, test, audit and exam reports, data in technology systems, technological specifications, computer software, source code, object code, flow charts, database contents, inventions, and know- how and trade secrets, whether or not capable of being patented or copyrighted, and (D) anything designated as confidential.

 

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(b) Information or data that would otherwise constitute Confidential Information under subsection (a) above shall not constitute Confidential Information to the extent it: (i) is already known to the receiving party without a duty of confidentiality at the time it is obtained; (ii) is or becomes publicly known or available through no wrongful act of the receiving party; (iii) is rightfully received from a third party who, to the receiving party’s knowledge, is not under a duty of confidentiality; (iv) is released by the protected party to a third party without restriction; or (v) has been or is independently developed or obtained by the receiving party without reference to the Confidential Information provided by the protected party.

(c) Confidential Information of a disclosing party may be used or disclosed by the receiving party in the circumstances set forth below but except for such permitted use or disclosure shall remain Confidential Information subject to all applicable terms of this Agreement: (i) as appropriate in connection with activities contemplated by this Agreement; (ii) as required pursuant to a court order, subpoena, governmental or regulatory or self-regulatory authority or agency, law, regulation, or binding discovery request in pending litigation (provided the receiving party will provide the other party written notice of such requirement, to the extent such notice is permitted, and subject to proper jurisdiction, if applicable); (iii) as requested by a governmental, regulatory or self-regulatory authority or agency or independent third party in connection with an inquiry, examination, audit or other review; or (iv) the information or data is relevant and material to any claim or cause of action between the parties or the defense of any claim or cause of action asserted against the receiving party.

(d) To the extent that a party hereto discloses the Confidential Information of another party hereto in accordance with this Article 17.1, such disclosing party shall make reasonable efforts to ensure that the recipient of such Confidential Information is bound, contractually or otherwise, to confidentiality terms consistent with and no less stringent than the terms of this Article 17.1.

(e) The provisions of this Article 17.1 shall survive termination of this Agreement.

17.2 Transfer Agent represents, warrants and agrees that it has adopted and implemented, and shall maintain policies and procedures that address administrative, technical and physical safeguards for the protection of customer information and records that are in compliance with Regulation S-P promulgated under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 (“Regulation S-P”) and all other applicable laws, rules, regulations, and governmental standards and Transfer Agent represents, warrants and agrees that it will use Customer Information only in compliance with all of the following: (i) the provisions of this Agreement, including without limitation Article 17; (ii) its own Privacy and Information Sharing Policy, as amended and updated from time to time; and (iii) privacy laws and regulations applicable to the Fund’s and Transfer Agent’s business, including the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999. When Transfer Agent disposes of Confidential Information,

 

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Transfer Agent shall properly dispose of Confidential Information, including, without limitation, any electronic or physical copies in any form, by taking reasonable measures to protect against unauthorized access to or use of the records or information in connection with its disposal, as required by Regulation S-P and all applicable laws, rules, regulations and governmental standards, or as directed by each Fund. Transfer Agent agrees to review and consider the implementation of any written safeguarding policy concerning the security, confidentiality and privacy of Confidential Information provided to it by each Fund, which may be amended from time to time. Transfer Agent shall be liable for its agents’, employees’, representatives’, and delegatees’ compliance with this Article 17 and Article 13.

17.3 Information and records about the Fund’s customers is confidential and shall not be disclosed, sold, copied, or used in any way, except: (1) to carry out the terms of this Agreement; and (2) disclosure pursuant to law, rule, regulation or court or administrative order. Transfer Agent shall immediately notify and report to the applicable Fund, after investigation, any breach incident relating to procedures set out under Article 13 (confidentiality) and/or this Article 17 (information security). Transfer Agent shall take all necessary steps to determine the extent of the breach and in connection with a material breach incident, the Fund impacted by the material breach incident may visit facilities and premises of the Transfer Agent in accordance with Section 5.2. Transfer Agent shall use reasonable best efforts to work with the Fund to rectify any issues that come to light as a result of the breach incident. Transfer Agent agrees that a breach of the first sentence of this Article 17.3 would irreparably damage the Funds and accordingly agree that the Funds are entitled, without bond or other security, to an injunction or injunctions to prevent or halt breaches of the first sentence of this Article 17.3.

Article 18 Force Majeure

18.1 No party shall be liable for any default or delay in the performance of its obligations under this Agreement if and to the extent such default or delay is caused, directly or indirectly, by (i) fire, flood, elements of nature or other acts of God; (ii) any outbreak or escalation of hostilities, war, riots or civil disorders in any country; (iii) any act or omission of any governmental authority; (iv) any labor disputes beyond the reasonable control of such party; or (v) nonperformance by a third party (except for a delegate listed on Schedule E and such persons contemplated under Articles 29 and 30) or any similar cause beyond the reasonable control of such party, including without limitation, failures or fluctuations in telecommunications or other equipment; except, in each case, to the extent that the non-performing party shall have failed to use its reasonable best efforts to minimize the likelihood of occurrence of such circumstances or to mitigate any loss or damage to the other party caused by such circumstances, or has not complied with the terms of Article 14. In any such event, the non-performing party shall be excused from any further performance and observance of the obligations so affected only for as long as such circumstances prevail and such party continues to use commercially reasonable efforts to mitigate damages and to recommence performance or observance as soon as practicable. This Article 18 shall not in any way limit Transfer Agent’s obligations under Article 14.

 

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Article 19 Assignment

19.1 This Agreement may not be assigned or otherwise transferred by Transfer Agent with respect to a Fund, without the prior written consent of such Fund, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld, delayed or conditioned; provided, however, that Transfer Agent may, upon 90 days notice to the Fund, in its sole discretion, assign all its right, title and interest in this Agreement to an affiliate, parent or subsidiary of Transfer Agent who meets all qualifications required of Transfer Agent under this Agreement and is qualified to act as such under the 1934 Act and 1940 Act. Such an affiliate shall be deemed to make all representations and warranties that the Transfer Agent has made in this Agreement, and they shall be continuing representations and warranties to the extent provided in this Agreement. The Transfer Agent will transfer all of its liabilities, duties and responsibilities under this Agreement to any assignee. For avoidance of doubt, it shall not be unreasonable for the Funds to condition consent on the receipt of adequate assurances that the assignment meets the applicable contractual, legal and regulatory standards.

Article 20 Notices

20.1 Any notice or other instrument authorized or required by this Agreement to be given in writing to a Fund or Transfer Agent, shall be sufficiently given if addressed to that party and received by it at its office set forth below or at such other place as it may from time to time designate in writing.

To the Funds :

Legg Mason Funds

100 International Drive

Baltimore, Maryland 21202

Attention: Transfer Agency Oversight and Dealer Services

with a copy to:

Legg Mason and Co., Inc.

100 First Stamford Place

Stamford, CT 06902

Attention: Legal Department

Fax: (877) 298-1313

To Transfer Agent :

BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.

400 Computer Drive

Westborough, Massachusetts 01581

Attention: Alfred Menard

Fax: (508) 871-9625

with a copy to:

 

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BNY Mellon Investment Servicing (US) Inc.

301 Bellevue Parkway

Wilmington, Delaware 19809

Attention: Legal Affairs

Fax: (302) 791-1191

Article 21 Governing Law/Venue

21.1 The laws of the State of New York, shall govern the interpretation, validity, and enforcement of this agreement, without regard to the laws on conflicts of laws.

21.2 Any action arising out of or relating to this Agreement shall be brought only in the Chosen Court. The Chosen Court shall be the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York (“SDNY”), unless such action cannot be brought in SDNY, in which case the Chosen Court shall be the appropriate New York State court located in New York (Manhattan), New York. Each Fund and the Transfer Agent (a) waive any objection to the jurisdiction of the Chosen Court; (b) waive any objection to venue in the Chosen Court; and (c) waive any objection that the Chosen Court is an inconvenient forum.

Article 22 Counterparts

22.1 This Agreement may be executed in any number of counterparts, each of which shall be deemed to be an original; but such counterparts shall, together, constitute only one instrument.

Article 23 Captions

23.1 The captions of this Agreement are included for convenience of reference only and in no way define or delimit any of the provisions hereof or otherwise affect their construction or effect.

Article 24 Publicity

24.1 Neither a Fund nor Transfer Agent shall release or publish news releases, public announcements, advertising or other publicity relating to this Agreement or to the transactions contemplated by it without the prior review and written approval of the other party; provided, however, that either party may make such disclosures as are required by legal, accounting or regulatory requirements after making reasonable efforts under the circumstances to consult in advance with the other party.

Article 25 Relationship of Parties

25.1 The parties agree that they are independent contractors and not partners or co-venturers and nothing contained herein shall be interpreted or construed otherwise.

 

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25.2 Except as explicitly stated elsewhere in this Agreement, nothing under this Agreement shall be construed to give any rights or benefits in this Agreement to anyone other than the Transfer Agent and the Fund, and the duties and responsibilities undertaken pursuant to this Agreement shall be for the sole and exclusive benefit of the Transfer Agent and the Fund. This Agreement shall inure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties and their respective permitted successors and assigns.

Article 26 Entire Agreement; Severability

26.1 This Agreement, including Schedules and Exhibits hereto and any agreed-upon procedures referenced herein, constitutes the entire agreement of the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof and supersedes all prior and contemporaneous proposals, agreements, contracts, representations, and understandings, whether written or oral, between the parties with respect to the subject matter hereof. No change, termination, modification, or waiver of any term or condition of the Agreement shall be valid unless in writing signed by the party affected. A party’s waiver of a breach of any term or condition in the Agreement shall not be deemed a waiver of any subsequent breach of the same or another term or condition.

26.2 The parties intend every provision of this Agreement to be severable. If a court of competent jurisdiction determines that any term or provision is illegal or invalid for any reason, the illegality or invalidity shall not affect the validity of the remainder of this Agreement. In such case, the parties shall in good faith modify or substitute such provision consistent with the original intent of the parties. Without limiting the generality of this Article 26.2, if a court determines that any remedy stated in this Agreement has failed of its essential purpose, then all other provisions of this Agreement, including the limitations on liability and exclusion of damages, shall remain fully effective.

Article 27 Customer Identification Program Notice

27.1 To help the U.S. government fight the funding of terrorism and money laundering activities, U.S. Federal law requires each financial institution to obtain, verify, and record certain information that identifies each person who initially opens an account with that financial institution. The Transfer Agent and certain of Transfer Agent’s affiliates are financial institutions, and Transfer Agent may, as a matter of policy, request (or may have already requested) the Fund’s name, address and taxpayer identification number or other government-issued identification number. Transfer Agent may also ask (and may have already asked) for additional identifying information, and Transfer Agent may take steps (and may have already taken steps) to verify the authenticity and accuracy of these data elements.

Article 28 Changes

28.1 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement:

If commercially practicable, the Fund agrees to provide BNYM with at least 30 days advance written notice of modifications that require BNYM to materially modify the

 

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services it provides under this Agreement. BNYM will respond to such notice within 30 days by providing the Fund with an implementation schedule for the service change or a written explanation of why BNYM cannot implement the service (“Change Notice Response”); provided that, any such legally or regulatory required service must implemented prior to any date required by law, regulation, rule or other requirement applicable to the Fund. BNYM shall be obligated to undertake commercially reasonable efforts to develop and implement any such service modifications as well as service obligations derived from any new or revised law, regulation, rule or other requirement applicable to the Fund in accordance with a written document agreed to by BNYM and the Fund following the delivery of the Change Notice Response; provided, however, in all instances BNYM shall be entitled to fees and expense reimbursement as set forth in the in the written document. “Shareholder Materials” is hereby defined to mean Fund’s Prospectus, statement of additional information and any other materials relating to the Fund filed with the SEC or provided to potential investors or Fund shareholders by the Fund.

Article 29. Enterprise Nature of Services.

29.1 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, in furnishing the services provided for in this Agreement or any component or segment of such services BNYM may utilize any combination of its own properly trained and, where required, licensed employees (“Employees”), facilities, equipment, systems and other resources and the Employees, facilities, equipment, systems and other resources of its affiliates, including Employees, facilities, equipment, systems and other resources shared by BNYM and the affiliates, and BNYM may satisfy its obligations under this Agreement directly or through affiliates. References to Employees, facilities, equipment, systems or other resources of BNYM in this Agreement shall mean Employees, facilities, equipment, systems or other resources of BNYM and its affiliates considered collectively. Notwithstanding the foregoing, when utilizing affiliates to perform Restricted Duties in reliance on this Article 29.1 (in lieu of reliance on Article 4.1), BNYM may utilize only Employees of affiliates that are SEC-registered transfer agents. Notwithstanding the foregoing, nothing in this Section 29.1 shall have the effect of transferring any responsibility or liability of BNYM to any other entity, including the affiliates; provided, however, that nothing in this sentence shall prevent a Fund from seeking an injunction against an affiliate on any basis for which this Agreement permits the Fund to seek an injunction against the Transfer Agent.

Article 30. Centralized Functions.

30.1 The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation is a global financial organization that includes BNYM and provides services to clients through its affiliates and subsidiaries in multiple jurisdictions (the “BNY Mellon Group”). The BNY Mellon Group may centralize functions including audit, accounting, risk, legal, compliance, sales, administration, product communication, relationship management, storage, compilation and analysis of customer-related data, and other functions (the “Centralized Functions”) in one or more affiliates, subsidiaries and third party service providers who do not provide investment

 

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management services to registered investment companies and that are subject to confidentiality obligations comparable to those provided herein (“third party service providers”). Solely in connection with the Centralized Functions: (i) the Fund consents to the disclosure of and authorizes BNYM to disclose only such information regarding the Fund as is required to perform the Centralized Functions to the BNY Mellon Group (excluding without limitation its investment management affiliates and subsidiaries that provide services to open-end mutual funds) and to its affiliate, subsidiaries and third party service providers, provided that no customer specific information or information that may identify the Funds, their managers or their distribution partners, may be disclosed to such third party service providers, and (ii) if required to perform the Centralized Functions, BNYM may store the names and business addresses of the Fund’s employees on the systems or in the records of the BNY Mellon Group (excluding systems and records of its investment management affiliates and subsidiaries that provide services to open-end mutual funds) or its affiliates and subsidiaries. BNY Mellon Group will not provide any access to any Fund information, or any analyses derived from or based on such information, whether or not a Fund or its investors can be identified therefrom, to its investment management affiliates and subsidiaries that provide services to open end mutual funds. Any information provided to Transfer Agent under this Agreement and/or during the course of providing services under this Agreement (1) shall not be misused by the BNY Mellon Group, which for the avoidance of doubt, shall include any use other than those contemplated by this Agreement and (2) shall be subject to Articles 13 and 17 hereof. The use of Centralized Functions shall not relieve the Transfer Agent of any liability or obligations it may have under this Agreement.

 

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IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be executed by their duly authorized officers, as of the day and year first above written.

Each of the Investment Companies Listed On Schedule A Hereto,

Each of Which Is Acting On Its Own Behalf And

Not On Behalf Of Any Other Investment Company

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS EQUITY TRUST
By:  

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS VARIABLE EQUITY TRUST
By:  

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS INCOME TRUST
By:  

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS INSTITUTIONAL TRUST
By:  

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS MONEY MARKET TRUST
By:  

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS PREMIUM MONEY MARKET TRUST
By:  

 

LEGG MASON PARTNERS VARIABLE INCOME TRUST
By:  

 

LEGG MASON GLOBAL ASSET MANAGEMENT TRUST
By:  

 

LEGG MASON INVESTMENT TRUST
By:  

 

 

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LEGG MASON TAX-FREE INCOME FUND
By:  

 

WESTERN ASSET FUNDS, INC.
By:  

 

And the Funds’ Distributor Only with Respect to the Services

Provided Under Section 8 of Schedule B:
LEGG MASON INVESTOR SERVICES LLC
By:  

 

BNY MELLON INVESTMENT SERVICING (US) INC.
By:  

 

 

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SCHEDULE A

LIST OF FUNDS AND PORTFOLIOS

 

Legg Mason Batterymarch Emerging Markets Trust
Legg Mason Batterymarch International Equity Trust
Legg Mason Batterymarch U.S. Small Capitalization Equity Portfolio
Legg Mason BW Diversified Large Cap Value Fund
Legg Mason BW Absolute Return Opportunities Fund
Legg Mason BW Alternative Credit Fund
Legg Mason BW Global High Yield Fund
Legg Mason BW Global Opportunities Bond Fund
Legg Mason BW International Opportunities Bond Fund
Legg Mason Capital Management Global Growth Trust
Legg Mason Capital Management Special Investment Trust
Legg Mason Capital Management Value Trust
Legg Mason Investment Counsel Maryland Tax-Free Income Trust
Legg Mason Opportunity Trust
Legg Mason Strategic Real Return Fund
ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund
ClearBridge All Cap Value Fund
ClearBridge Appreciation Fund
ClearBridge Energy MLP & Infrastructure Fund
ClearBridge Equity Fund
ClearBridge Equity Income Fund
ClearBridge International All Cap Opportunity Fund
ClearBridge International Small Cap Opportunity Fund
ClearBridge Large Cap Growth Fund
ClearBridge Large Cap Value Fund
ClearBridge Mid Cap Core Fund
ClearBridge Mid Cap Growth Fund
ClearBridge Select Fund
ClearBridge Small Cap Growth Fund
ClearBridge Small Cap Value Fund
ClearBridge Tactical Dividend Income Fund
ClearBridge Variable Aggressive Growth Portfolio
ClearBridge Variable All Cap Value Portfolio
ClearBridge Variable Appreciation Portfolio
ClearBridge Variable Equity Income Portfolio

 

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ClearBridge Variable Large Cap Growth Portfolio
ClearBridge Variable Large Cap Value Portfolio
ClearBridge Variable Mid Cap Core Portfolio
ClearBridge Variable Small Cap Growth Portfolio
Legg Mason Batterymarch Global Equity Fund
Legg Mason Batterymarch Managed Volatility Global Div Fund
Legg Mason Batterymarch Managed Volatility Intl Dividend Fund
Legg Mason Batterymarch S&P 500 Index Fund
Legg Mason Batterymarch U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund
Legg Mason Dynamic Multi-Strategy Fund
Legg Mason Dynamic Multi-Strategy VIT Portfolio
Legg Mason Investment Counsel Financial Services Fund
Legg Mason Investment Counsel Social Awareness Fund
Legg Mason Investment Counsel Variable Social Awareness Portfolio
Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 30%
Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 50%
Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 70%
Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 85%
Legg Mason Target Retirement 2015
Legg Mason Target Retirement 2020
Legg Mason Target Retirement 2025
Legg Mason Target Retirement 2030
Legg Mason Target Retirement 2035
Legg Mason Target Retirement 2040
Legg Mason Target Retirement 2045
Legg Mason Target Retirement 2050
Legg Mason Target Retirement Fund
Legg Mason Variable Lifestyle Allocation 50%
Legg Mason Variable Lifestyle Allocation 70%
Legg Mason Variable Lifestyle Allocation 85%
Permal Alternative Core Fund
Western Asset Asian Opportunities Fund
Western Asset Core Bond Fund
Western Asset Core Plus Bond Fund
Western Asset Global Government Bond Fund
Western Asset Global Multi-Sector Fund
Western Asset High Yield Fund
Western Asset Inflation Indexed Plus Bond Fund
Western Asset Intermediate Bond Fund

 

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Western Asset Total Return Unconstrained Fund
Western Asset Adjustable Rate Income Fund
Western Asset California Municipals Fund
Western Asset Corporate Bond Fund
Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Fund
Western Asset Global High Yield Bond Fund
Western Asset Global Strategic Income Fund
Western Asset Government Reserves
Western Asset Intermediate Maturity CA Municipals Fund
Western Asset Intermediate Maturity NY Municipals Fund
Western Asset Intermediate-Term Municipals Fund
WA Macro Opportunities Fund
Western Asset Managed Municipals Fund
Western Asset Massachusetts Municipals Fund
Western Asset Mortgage Backed Securities Fund
Western Asset Municipal High Income Fund
Western Asset Municipal High Income Smash Fund
Western Asset New Jersey Municipals Fund
Western Asset New York Municipals Fund
Western Asset Oregon Municipals Fund
Western Asset Pennsylvania Municipals Fund
Western Asset Short Duration High Income Fund
Western Asset Short Duration Municipal Income Fund
Western Asset Short-Term Bond Fund
Western Asset SMASh Series C Fund
Western Asset SMASh Series EC Fund
Western Asset SMASh Series M Fund
Western Asset Variable Global High Yield Bond Portfolio
Western Asset Variable High Income Portfolio
Western Asset Variable Strategic Bond Portfolio

 

    

Share Class

Western Asset California Tax Free Money Market Fund    A
Western Asset Connecticut Municipal Money Market Fund    A,I
Western Asset Liquid Reserves    A,B,C
Western Asset New York Tax Free Money Market Fund    A
Western Asset Tax Free Reserves    A,B,C
Western Asset Institutional Liquid Reserves    Investors
Western Asset Institutional U.S. Treasury Reserves    Investors
Western Asset Institutional Cash Reserves    Investors
Western Asset Institutional Government Reserves    Investors

 

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SCHEDULE B

DUTIES OF TRANSFER AGENT

1. Shareholder Information. Transfer Agent or its agent shall maintain a record of the number of Shares held by each holder of record which shall include name, address and taxpayer identification number.

2. Shareholder Services. Transfer Agent or its agent will investigate all inquiries from Shareholders of a Fund relating to Shareholder accounts and will respond to all communications from Shareholders and others relating to its duties hereunder and such other correspondence as may from time to time be mutually agreed upon between Transfer Agent and a Fund. Transfer Agent shall provide each Fund with reports concerning Shareholder inquires and the responses thereto by Transfer Agent, in such form and at such times as are agreed to by the Fund and Transfer Agent.

3. Mailing Communications to Shareholders; Proxy Materials. As requested by a Fund or as set out elsewhere in this Agreement, Transfer Agent or its agent will address and mail to Shareholders of the Fund, as disclosed on Transfer Agent’s books and records for the Fund, all reports to Shareholders, dividend and distribution notices and proxy material for the Fund’s meetings of Shareholders and provide such other related services as may be requested by the Fund by Written Instruction. Transfer Agent will provide any other assistance reasonably requested by a Fund in coordinating with a mailing agent for a Fund. Transfer Agent will assist each Fund with consolidating shareholder mailings in accordance with householding practices that are consistent with applicable SEC guidance and regulations.

4. Sales of Shares

(a) Suspension of Sale of Shares. Transfer Agent or its agent shall not be required to issue any Shares of a Fund where it has received a Written Instruction from the Fund or official notice from any appropriate authority that the sale of the Shares of the Fund has been suspended or discontinued. The existence of such Written Instructions or such official notice shall be conclusive evidence of the right of Transfer Agent or its agent to rely on such Written Instructions or official notice.

(b) Returned Checks. In the event that any check or other order for the payment of money is returned unpaid for any reason, Transfer Agent or its agent will: (i) give prompt notice of such return to the relevant Fund or its designee; (ii) place a stop transfer order against all Shares issued as a result of such check or order; and (iii) take such actions as Transfer Agent may from time to time deem appropriate.

(c) Purchase of Shares. Transfer Agent shall issue and credit an account of an investor, in the manner described in a Fund’s Prospectus, once it receives:

(i) A purchase order or other purchase information;

(ii) Proper information to establish a Shareholder account; and

 

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(iii) Confirmation of receipt or crediting of funds.

5. Exchange, Transfer and Redemption

(a) Transfer Agent or its agent shall process all requests to transfer or redeem Shares in accordance with the transfer or redemption procedures set forth in each Fund’s Prospectus and in accordance with agreed-upon procedures.

(i) Broker-Dealer and other Intermediary Accounts.

When a broker-dealer or other authorized intermediary notifies Transfer Agent of a redemption desired by a customer, and a Fund’s or Portfolio’s Custodian has provided Transfer Agent with funds, Transfer Agent shall (a) transfer by Fedwire or other agreed upon electronic means such redemption payment to the broker-dealer or other intermediary for the credit to, and for the benefit of, the customer’s account or (b) shall prepare and send a redemption check to the broker-dealer or other intermediary, made payable to the broker-dealer or other intermediary on behalf of its customer.

(ii) Fund-Only Accounts.

If Shares (or appropriate instructions) are received in proper form, at a Fund’s request Shares may be redeemed before the funds are provided to Transfer Agent from the Custodian. If the recordholder has not directed that redemption proceeds be wired, when the Custodian provides Transfer Agent with funds, the redemption check shall be sent to and made payable to the recordholder, unless transfer authorizations are signed by the recordholder when Shares are held in book-entry form.

(b) Transfer Agent or its agent will transfer or repurchase Shares upon receipt of Oral or Written Instructions or otherwise pursuant to the Prospectus, accompanied by such documents as Transfer Agent or its agent reasonably may deem necessary.

(c) Transfer Agent or its agent reserves the right to refuse to transfer or repurchase Shares until it is satisfied that the endorsement on the instructions is valid and genuine. Transfer Agent or its agent also reserves the right to refuse to transfer or repurchase Shares until it is satisfied that the requested transfer or repurchase is legally authorized, and it shall incur no liability for the refusal, in good faith, to make transfers or repurchases which Transfer Agent or its agent, in its reasonable good judgment, deems improper or unauthorized, or until it is reasonably satisfied that there is no basis to any claims adverse to such transfer or repurchase.

(d) When Shares are redeemed, Transfer Agent or its agent shall, upon receipt of the instructions and documents in proper form, deliver to the Custodian and each Fund or its designee a notification setting forth the number of Shares to be repurchased. Such repurchased shares shall be reflected on appropriate accounts maintained by Transfer Agent or its agent reflecting outstanding Shares of each Fund and Shares attributed to individual accounts.

 

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(e) Transfer Agent or its agent shall, upon receipt of the moneys paid to it by the Custodian for the repurchase of Shares, pay such moneys as are received from the Custodian, all in accordance with the procedures described in the Written Instruction received by Transfer Agent or its agent from the Fund or the procedures described in the Fund’s Prospectus for processing a shareholder request if no Written Instructions are received from the Fund.

(f) Transfer Agent or its agent shall not process or effect any repurchase with respect to Shares of a Fund after receipt by Transfer Agent or its agent of notification of the suspension of the determination of the net asset value of the Fund.

6. Dividends

(a) Upon the declaration of each dividend and each capital gains or other distribution with respect to Shares of the Fund, the Fund shall furnish or cause to be furnished to Transfer Agent or its agent a Written Instruction, setting forth the date of the declaration of such dividend or distribution, the ex-dividend date, the record date, the date of payment thereof, and the amount payable per Share. Such payment will be made in cash or additional Shares, at the election of each Shareholder, in accordance with the Fund’s or Portfolio’s Prospectus.

(b) On or before the payment date specified in such resolution of the Board of Directors, a Fund will provide Transfer Agent with sufficient cash to make payment to the Shareholders of record as of such payment date.

(c) The Transfer Agent will notify the Fund of any dividend and/or distribution payments to Shareholders of the Fund. It is the Transfer Agent’s responsibility to maintain timely position reconciliation with the Transfer Agent’s omnibus account position held for the Fund. Such issuance or payment, as well as payments upon redemption as described above, shall be made after deduction and payment of the required amount of funds to be withheld in accordance with any applicable tax law or other laws, rules or regulations. Transfer Agent shall mail to a Fund’s shareholders and the IRS and other appropriate taxing authorities such tax forms, or permissible substitute forms, and other information relating to dividends and distributions paid by the Fund as are required to be filed and mailed by applicable law, rule or regulation within the time required thereby. Transfer Agent shall prepare, maintain and file with the IRS and other appropriate taxing authorities reports relating to all dividends and distributions above a stipulated amount paid by the Fund to its Shareholders as required by tax or other law, rule or regulation.

(d) For clarification: BNYM’s exclusive obligations with respect to any written statement that Section 19(a) of the 1940 Act may require the Fund to issue shall be, upon receipt of specific Written Instructions stating such, to receive from the Fund the

 

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information which is to be printed on the statement, to print such information on appropriate paper stock and to mail such statement to shareholders, and (B) BNYM’s sole obligation with respect to any dividend or distribution that Section 19(a) of the 1940 Act may require be accompanied by such a written statement shall be to act strictly in accordance with subsections (a) through (c) of this Section 6.

7. Lost Shareholders. Transfer Agent shall perform such services as are required in order to comply with Rule 17Ad-17 of the 1934 Act (the “Lost Shareholder Rule”), including, but not limited to those set forth below. Transfer Agent may, in its sole discretion, use the services of a third party to perform some or all of such services.

(a) documentation of electronic search policies and procedures;

(b) execution of required searches;

(c) creation and mailing of confirmation letters;

(d) taking receipt of returned verification forms;

(e) providing confirmed address corrections in batch via electronic media;

(f) tracking results and maintaining data sufficient to comply with the Lost Shareholder Rule; and

(g) preparation and submission of data required under the Lost Shareholder Rule.

For clarification: Section 7 does not obligate BNYM to perform the services described therein for broker-controlled accounts, omnibus accounts and similar accounts with respect to which BNYM does not receive or maintain information which would permit it to determine whether the account owner is a “lost securityholder”, as that term is defined in the Lost Shareholder Rule.

8. Anti-Money Laundering/OFAC Compliance.

(a) Each of the Funds and the Fund’s distributor, Legg Mason Investor Services LLC (“LMIS”), is subject to certain anti-money laundering (“AML”) requirements pursuant to the Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (the “USA PATRIOT Act”), and the regulations promulgated thereunder (collectively, the “Act”). Transfer Agent shall comply with mutually agreed upon procedures to: implement the Fund’s and LMIS’ Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”) and Customer Identification (“CIP”) Programs, including currency transaction reporting; screen account names and addresses against the U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) list of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (the “SDN list”) and the country-based U.S. trade and economic sanctions programs administered by OFAC; respond to requests for information from the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) pursuant to Section 314(a) of the USA PATRIOT Act submitted to Transfer

 

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Agent by the Fund; file Suspicious Activity Reports (“SARs”), as necessary, on behalf of the Fund; and perform such other anti-money laundering functions as agent of the Fund and LMIS, as provided herein.

(b) Delegation. Each of the Funds and LMIS has developed and implemented a written anti-money laundering program (the “AML Program”) which is designed to satisfy the Act’s requirements. Pursuant to the Act, a mutual fund can elect to delegate certain duties with respect to the implementation and operation of its AML Program to a service provider, including its transfer agent. Each Fund and LMIS is desirous of having Transfer Agent perform certain delegated duties pursuant to the AML Program and Transfer Agent accepts such delegation.

(c) Limitation on Delegation. The Fund and LMIS acknowledge and agree that in accepting the delegation hereunder, Transfer Agent is agreeing to perform only those duties that have been expressly delegated in this Section 8 (the “Delegated Duties”), as may be amended from time to time (including any mutually agreed-upon procedures), and is not undertaking and shall not be responsible for any other aspect of the AML Program or for the overall compliance by the Fund and LMIS with the Act or for any other matters that have not been delegated hereunder. Additionally, the parties and LMIS acknowledge and agree that Transfer Agent shall only be responsible for performing the Delegated Duties with respect to the ownership of, and transactions in, shares in the Fund for which the Transfer Agent maintains the applicable shareholder information. In connection with the latter, the Fund and LMIS acknowledge that there are certain types of accounts, e.g., “broker controlled” accounts, whereby Transfer Agent receives shareholder and transactional information through industry mandated or customized transmissions that preclude Transfer Agent from providing part or all of these services. Transfer Agent will inform the Fund and LMIS of intermediaries or types of accounts for which it may not perform any of the services contemplated in this Section 8. The Fund and LMIS further acknowledge and agree that the Transfer Agent will not be performing the Delegated Duties with respect to any shares for which LMIS acts as distributor or broker-dealer other than shares of the Fund for which the Transfer Agent maintains the applicable shareholder information for the Fund under this Agreement.

(d) Transfer Agent shall perform the following key functions:

(1) Screen Shareholder accounts maintained by the Transfer Agent against the OFAC List of Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (the “SDN List”) and the country-based sanctions programs administered by OFAC (“(the “Sanctions Programs”), as described in paragraph (f) of this Section 8.

(2) Verify customer identification based on particular identifying data elements pursuant to regulations issued under Section 326 of the Act.

(3) Review incoming and outgoing wire activity and other transactions to detect the suspicious movement of monies, and file suspicious activity reports, as necessary.

 

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(4) Comply with restrictions on payment methods accepted for purchase of fund shares (e.g., no transactions in currency, third-party check restrictions, etc.).

(5) Review account opening documentation and check payments for various “red flags” that are indicators of fraudulent or suspicious activity.

(6) Establish and implement policies and procedures to perform the AML functions delegated herein to the Transfer Agent as agent of the Fund and LMIS, as appropriate, and in furtherance of the Act and regulations (the “Transfer Agent’s AML Policies”), and provide a copy of the Transfer Agent’s AML Policies to the Fund.

(7) Designate an individual or individuals responsible for implementing and monitoring the Transfer Agent’s AML Policies.

(8) Train all Transfer Agent employees with respect to the Transfer Agent’s AML Policies in a manner consistent with Section 352 of the Act.

(9) Provide for testing of the Transfer Agent’s AML Policies by independent personnel or by a qualified outside party.

(10) Provide documentation to the Fund of Transfer Agent’s compliance with items 6, 7, 8 and 9 of Section 8(d) of this Schedule B.

(11) Promptly notify the Fund’s Chief AML Compliance Officer in writing of any material changes to the Transfer Agent’s AML Policies.

(12) Provide the Fund’s Chief AML Compliance Officer with all internal or external reports on the testing of the Transfer Agent’s AML Policies upon request.

(13) Develop and maintain a program with respect to any applicable identity theft regulatory requirements (the “Red Flags Rules”). Transfer Agent’s program shall include policies, procedures and controls which are reasonably designed to detect violations of the Red Flag Rules and prevent identity theft (the “Controls”). Transfer Agent agrees to report any such violations to the applicable Fund in accordance with the Red Flag Rules and will notify the Funds if Transfer Agent reasonably determines a significant risk of identity theft may exist with respect to an investor in a Fund and assist the Fund in determining the appropriate response. Transfer Agent will (A) engage an independent auditing firm or other similar firm of independent examiners to conduct an annual testing of the Controls and issue a report on the results of the testing (the “Audit Report”), (B) furnish a copy of the Audit Report to the Fund, and (C) upon Fund request, issue a written certification to Transfer Agent’s continuing compliance with the Controls after the date of the most recent Audit Report.

(e) Consent to Examination. In connection with the performance by Transfer Agent of the Delegated Duties, Transfer Agent understands and acknowledges that the Fund and LMIS remain responsible for assuring compliance with the Act and that

 

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the records Transfer Agent maintains for the Fund relating to the AML Program may be subject, from time to time, to examination and/or inspection by federal regulators in order that the regulators may evaluate such compliance. Transfer Agent hereby consents to such examination and/or inspection and agrees to cooperate with such federal examiners in connection with their review. For purposes of such examination and/or inspection, Transfer Agent will use its best efforts to make available, during normal business hours and on reasonable notice, requested records and information for review by such examiners.

(f) Additional Delegated Duties

(1) Consistent with the services provided by Transfer Agent and with respect to the ownership of shares in a Fund for which Transfer Agent maintains the applicable shareholder information, Transfer Agent shall, on behalf of each Fund and LMIS:

(i) Compare Transfer Agent’s database of Fund investor names and personal information against the OFAC SDN list and the Sanctions Programs and consult with the Fund regarding appropriate action with respect to any possible or verified matches; new accounts and account changes shall be screened daily against such lists by a Transfer Agent compliance specialist and the entire database shall be screened each time the OFAC list is updated or when the Fund submits a FinCEN Section 314(a) Information Request to the Transfer Agent;

(ii) Compare alternate payee standing instructions against the OFAC SDN list and the Sanctions Programs and consult with the Fund and LMIS regarding appropriate action with respect to any possible or verified matches;

(iii) Review redemption transactions that occur within thirty (30) days of account establishment or maintenance;

(iv) Review wires sent pursuant to banking instructions other than those on file with Transfer Agent against the OFAC SDN list and the Sanctions Programs;

(v) Review accounts with small balances followed by large purchases;

(vi) Review accounts with frequent activity within a specified date range followed by a large redemption;

(vii) On a daily basis, review purchase and redemption activity per tax identification number (“TIN”) within the Funds to determine if activity for that TIN exceeded the $100,000 threshold on any given day;

 

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(viii) Monitor and track each incoming or outgoing payment or transfer of more than $10,000 in currency (as defined by the applicable regulations) by, through, or to the Fund or LMIS and monitor payments or transfers in currency under $10,000 for a rolling twelve-month period to determine whether an aggregate amount received in two or more related transactions has exceeded $10,000; file a Currency Transaction Report through FinCEN’s BSA E-Filing System in accordance with the applicable regulations.

(ix) Determine, in coordination with the Fund’s Chief AML Compliance Officer or his or her delegate (“AML Officer”) and, where appropriate, LMIS’ chief AML compliance officer, whether a SAR should be filed pursuant to regulations applicable to mutual funds; prepare and file a joint SAR through FinCEN’s BSA E-Filing System in accordance with the applicable regulations; maintain documents supporting the SAR; provide the Fund with a copy of the final SAR with the filing confirmation attached within a reasonable time after filing; maintain the confidentiality of each SAR and its supporting information and share such SAR and information only to the extent permitted by applicable law; notify the Fund and, where appropriate, LMIS if any further communication is received from FinCEN or other authorized law enforcement agencies regarding the SAR; and reasonably cooperate and assist the Fund and LMIS in responding to inquiries from FinCEN or authorized law enforcement agencies regarding a SAR. If, after coordination efforts among the Fund, LMIS and the Transfer Agent there is disagreement regarding filing a joint SAR, either party may file a SAR independently of the other party.

(x) Undertake reviews of the Fund’s records of accounts and transactions maintained by Transfer Agent on behalf of the Fund to respond to Section 314(a) Information Requests received by the Fund or LMIS and transmitted to Transfer Agent; provide the Fund or LMIS with documents/information necessary to respond to such requests within the time frame required by applicable law; and

(xi) In accordance with applicable law and the procedures agreed upon by the parties (which may be amended from time to time by mutual agreement of the parties) (i) verify the identity of any person seeking to open an account with the Fund, (ii) maintain records of the information used to verify the person’s identity and (iii) determine whether the person appears on any list of known or suspected terrorists or terrorist organizations issued by any federal government agency and designated as such by the Department of the Treasury in consultation with the federal functional regulators.

(2) In the event that Transfer Agent detects activity as a result of the foregoing procedures which necessitates the filing by Transfer Agent of a Currency Transaction Report or other similar report or notice to OFAC, Transfer Agent shall

 

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promptly notify the Fund and consult with the Fund’s AML Officer and LMIS’ chief AML compliance officer regarding the appropriate steps. Transfer Agent shall notify the Fund and, where appropriate, LMIS’ AML Officer no later than 25 days after Transfer Agent determines activity may necessitate the filing of a SAR.

(g) CIP Services. To enable the Fund and LMIS to comply with their CIP pursuant to regulations issued under Section 326 of the Act, Transfer Agent shall perform the following functions:

(1) Implement procedures under which new accounts in the Fund are not established unless Transfer Agent has first obtained the name, date of birth (for natural persons only), address, and government-issued identification number as described in 31 CFR § 1024.220 for the Fund or § 1023.220 for LMIS (collectively, the “Data Elements”) from each corresponding Customer (as defined therein).

(2) Use collected Data Elements to attempt to reasonably verify the identity of each new Customer promptly before or within a reasonable time (generally not in excess of thirty days) after each corresponding new account is opened. In compliance with CIP regulations, methods shall consist of non-documentary methods (for which Transfer Agent may use unaffiliated information vendors to assist with such verifications, providing that (i) Transfer Agent’s contract with such vendor requires the vendor to keep and maintain the confidentiality of any information provided by or obtained about a Customer and (ii) Transfer Agent has and continues to form a reasonable belief that such vendors will maintain the confidentiality of any information so described in (i)) or documentary methods, both of which Transfer Agent believes will meet the minimum requirements to comply with 31 CFR § 1024.220 or 1023.220 for LMIS, and may include procedures under which Transfer Agent personnel conduct additional research to attempt to reasonably verify the identity of Customers who were not verified by Transfer Agent’s initial attempt.

(3) Determine whether the Customer’s name appears on any list of known or suspected terrorists or terrorist organizations issued by any federal government agency and designated as such by the Department of Treasury in consultation with the federal functional regulators.

(4) Record the Data Elements in an electronic repository (or other manner that satisfies the applicable regulations and allows for reasonably easy and prompt retrieval of the Data Elements) designed for this purpose and maintain records relating to verification of new Customers consistent with the applicable CIP regulations at 31 CFR Part X.

(5) Report regularly to the Fund’s AML Officer about measures taken, results obtained and Customers for which identities cannot be verified under paragraphs (1)-(4) above.

 

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(6) Notify prospective Customers, consistent with 31 CFR § 1024.220(a)(5), about the Fund’s CIP or § 1023.220(a)(5) for LMIS; if Transfer Agent provides services by which prospective Customers may subscribe for shares in the Fund via the Internet, by telephone, or by application that is mailed to Transfer Agent, Transfer Agent shall work with the Fund and LMIS to notify prospective Customers about the Fund’s or LMIS CIP.

(7) Transfer Agent shall notify the Fund and, where appropriate, LMIS’ AML Officer no later than 25 days after Transfer Agent determines activity may necessitate the filing of a SAR.

(8) Timely file SARs with FinCEN through the BSA E-Filing System in accordance with applicable regulations, maintain the required records in compliance with 31 CFR § 1024.320 or § 1023.320 for LMIS and, as permitted, Transfer Agent shall submit a copy of the filed SAR with filing confirmation attached to the Fund’s or LMIS’ AML Officer within a reasonable time after its filing.

(9) Certify to the Fund and/or LMIS no less frequently than annually, in a form that is mutually acceptable to the Fund, LMIS and Transfer Agent, that Transfer Agent has implemented the Fund’s and LMIS’ AML program, and that Transfer Agent will perform the specific AML obligations of the Fund and LMIS set forth in this Agreement, consistent with the Act and the implementing regulations thereunder which are applicable to the Fund and LMIS.

(10) Set forth on a separate fee schedule compensation amounts due for CIP and other AML services pursuant to this Agreement.

(11) The Fund and LMIS agree that Transfer Agent is not required to implement CIP procedures for the Fund except in compliance with the requirements of 31 CFR § 1024.220 and § 1023.220 for LMIS and the terms of this Agreement.

(12) Notwithstanding any provision of this Agreement to the contrary, Transfer Agent need not perform any of the steps in paragraphs (1)-(10) above (or any CIP measures) with respect to any Customer who becomes a Customer of a Fund (“Fund A”) via exchange from another fund (“Fund B”) in accordance with the Customer’s privilege to exchange shares of Fund B for Fund A, provided that the other Fund B is within the same family of funds as may be provided to Transfer Agent from time to time.

(13) Transfer Agent agrees to maintain any AML information and records obtained or created as agent of the Fund or LMIS in compliance with the confidentiality requirements of the Act and to limit access to and disclosure of such information and records consistent with the requirements of applicable law.

(h) Correspondent Accounts. Transfer Agent shall establish procedures reasonably designed to prevent the opening of new correspondent accounts for foreign financial institutions, as defined in Section 312 of the Act and 31 CFR § 1010.610, in the Fund or at LMIS without first receiving the written (including fax or email) approval of a valid and complete application by the Transfer Agent.

 

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(1) Transfer Agent shall periodically monitor new accounts and notify the Fund’s AML Officer or LMIS’ chief AML compliance officer, as appropriate, if any account has been opened for a foreign financial institution and shall obtain further instruction from such officer as to such accounts. Every three years each foreign financial institution must re-certify their status as such. If Transfer Agent does not receive a response from the foreign financial institution within 30 days, Transfer Agent will notify the Fund’s AML Officer or LMIS’ chief AML compliance officer, as appropriate.

(2) If the Fund’s AML Officer or LMIS’ chief AML compliance officer, as appropriate, directs Transfer Agent to open an account for a foreign financial institution, Transfer Agent shall conduct additional due diligence for the account in compliance with the requirements of 31 CFR § 1010.610. Transfer Agent shall determine a risk-ranking for the account pursuant to the procedures set forth below.

(3) Transfer Agent shall conduct additional due diligence for the accounts described in (2) (above) in accordance with the following:

(i) Transfer Agent shall attempt to obtain additional information about the accountholder by sending the accountholder a “foreign financial institution questionnaire,” in a form mutually agreed upon by the Fund and Transfer Agent, and shall notify the Fund’s AML Officer or LMIS’ chief AML compliance officer, as appropriate, of each such effort.

(ii) Transfer Agent shall perform an assessment of the money laundering risk presented by the account based on consideration of relevant factors in accordance with applicable law and information provided by the foreign financial institution in the financial institution questionnaire. After assessing the money laundering risk and determining a risk-ranking for the account, Transfer Agent shall notify the Fund’s AML Officer or LMIS’ chief AML compliance officer, as appropriate, of any such account with a risk-ranking of “medium” or above and obtain further instruction from the Fund. If due diligence cannot be completed with respect to such account, Transfer Agent will contact the Fund’s AML Officer or LMIS’ chief AML compliance officer, as appropriate, for further instruction.

(iii) With respect to an account that is maintained following initial due diligence review, Transfer Agent shall conduct a periodic review of the account activity (in addition to regular monitoring of the account for suspicious activities) in order to determine the consistency of account activity with the information obtained in the financial institution questionnaire as to the type, purpose, and anticipated activity of the account.

(iv) Transfer Agent shall notify the Fund’s AML Officer or LMIS’ chief AML compliance officer, as appropriate, promptly in any case where (a) an accountholder fails to complete the foreign financial institution questionnaire after forty-five (45) days from the initial mailing or after thirty (30) days from a follow-up mailing, or (b) the periodic review of account activity discloses activity inconsistent with the type, purpose, or anticipated activity of the account.

 

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(v) Transfer Agent shall provide the Funds or LMIS with a copy of each SAR filed and the filing confirmation attached within a reasonable time after filing and shall notify the Fund’s AML Officer or LMIS’ chief AML compliance officer promptly if any further communication is received from the U.S. Department of the Treasury or other law enforcement agencies regarding the SAR.

(vi) For the purposes of this Section 8, notification or correspondence with the Fund’s AML Officer shall be deemed notification to LMIS and LMIS’ chief AML compliance officer.

(i) Travel Rule. Transfer Agent shall establish procedures with respect to certain transmittals of funds and the related recordkeeping that are reasonably designed to implement the Fund’s and LMIS’ obligations under the Recordkeeping and Travel Rule pursuant to 31 CFR § 1010.410(e) as applicable.

9. Market-Timing/Late Trading.

(a) Transfer Agent shall provide each Fund and its officers with assistance in monitoring, coordinating and reporting late trading of shares as the Funds and BNYM shall mutually agree.

(b) In order to assist a Fund with compliance with the Fund’s policies and procedures related to market timing activity or late trading, Transfer Agent shall, in accordance with the procedures established from time to time by the Fund and Transfer Agent, provide the following services:

(i) Produce with respect to each business day a standard file (or other file that the Funds and BNYM mutually agree to in writing) containing such information, such as short term trader reports, generated from the Transfer Agent’s system, and transmit the file to AccessData;

(ii) Upon Written Instructions from a Fund, take such action authorized by the Prospectus as the Fund so instructs against any shareholder and/or broker determined by the Fund to have been engaging in market timing activity or late trading.

(iii) Date and time stamp orders for purchase, transfer, or redemption of Shares received by Transfer Agent.

(c) Transfer Agent shall not treat trades as late if an Authorized Trading Person has provided Transfer Agent with Written Instructions that the dealer or other intermediary can, consistent with the Fund’s Prospectus, provide trades in good order after the close of trading provided in a Fund’s Prospectus (but prior to the designated cut-off time in the Written Instructions).

 

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10. “As Of” Transactions. Transfer Agent shall process, handle and account for all “as of” transactions in compliance with mutually agreed upon procedures, which may be amended from time to time (“As-Of Procedures”). For purposes of this Section 10, “as of” transactions are the adjustments made on the Fund’s accounting records to correct certain actions in accordance with the As-Of Procedures, such as (i) the failure by Transfer Agent to timely process orders, enter an order as requested, or enter an order in error and/or (ii) the failure by financial intermediaries or institutional investors to transmit an order properly, or the cancellation of orders by such financial intermediaries or institutional investors.

11. Description of Services.

(a) Services provided on an ongoing basis, if applicable:

(i) From Fund System Data, calculate 12b-1 payments to financial intermediaries, including brokers, and financial intermediary trail commissions. “Fund System Data” is hereby defined to mean the data provided to BNYM in the ordinary course of its providing services under this Agreement;

(ii) Develop, monitor and maintain, in consultation with the Fund, all systems necessary to implement and operate the multi-class distribution system, including Class B conversion feature or similar conversion feature for other Classes, as described in the registration statement and related documents of the Fund, as they may be amended from time to time;

(iii) From Fund System Data, calculate contingent deferred sales charge amounts and redemption fees upon redemption of Fund shares and deduct such amounts from redemption proceeds;

(iv) From Fund System Data, calculate front-end sales load amounts at time of purchase of shares;

(v) From Fund System Data, determine dates of Class B or similar conversion and effect the same;

(vi) Establish and maintain proper Shareholder registrations;

(vii) Review new applications and correspond with Shareholders to complete or correct information;

(viii) Issue dividend checks in accordance with agreed-upon procedures;

(ix) Direct payment processing of checks or wires in accordance with agreed-upon procedures;

 

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(x) Provide toll-free lines for direct Shareholder use, plus customer liaison staff for on-line inquiry response;

(xi) As requested by a Fund by Written Instruction, send duplicate confirmations to broker-dealers of their clients’ activity, whether executed through the broker-dealer or directly with Transfer Agent;

(xii) Provide periodic Shareholder lists, outstanding Share and Class calculations and related statistics to the Fund;

(xiii) Provide detailed data for underwriter/broker confirmations;

(xiv) Prepare and mail required calendar and taxable year-end tax and statement information (including forms 1099-DIV and 1099-B and accompanying statements) to Shareholder accounts disclosed on its books and records;

(xv) Notify on a daily basis the investment adviser, accounting agent, and Custodian of fund activity;

(xvi) Withhold taxes on Shareholder accounts as required by applicable U.S. federal, state or local law;

(xvii) Maintain and process letters of accumulation and automatic investment plans;

(xviii) Receive information from third-party administrators to record either plan level or individual participant level information, as require;

(xix) Perform other services with respect to participating broker-dealers or Shareholders as may be agreed upon from time to time;

(xx) Monitor account balances for purposes of determining small account fees; and

(xxi) Effecting mandatory redemption (solely pursuant to the Fund Prospectus or other proper authorization).

(b) Services provided by Transfer Agent under Oral Instructions or Written Instructions:

(i) Accept and post daily Fund and Class purchases and redemptions; and

(ii) Accept, post and perform Shareholder transfers and exchanges.

(c) Shareholder Account Services.

 

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(i) Transfer Agent will arrange, in accordance with the appropriate Fund’s or Portfolio’s Prospectus, for issuance of Shares obtained through:

–     The transfer of funds from Shareholders’ accounts at financial institutions, provided Transfer Agent received advance Oral or Written Instructions of such transfer;

–     Any pre-authorized check plan;

–     Direct purchases through broker wire orders, checks and applications in accordance with agreed-upon procedures; and

–     As provided in a Fund’s Prospectus, purchases made through the contributing of eligible portfolio securities.

(ii) Transfer Agent will arrange, in accordance with the appropriate Fund’s or Portfolio’s Prospectus, for a Shareholder’s:

–     Exchange of Shares for shares of another fund with which the Fund has exchange privileges, including any determination whether an exchange is subject to a sales charge;

–     Automatic redemption from an account where that Shareholder participates in a systematic withdrawal plan; and/or

–     Redemption of Shares from an account with a checkwriting privilege in accordance with agreed-upon procedures.

(d) Communications to Shareholders. As requested by a Fund by Written Instructions, Transfer Agent shall mail any or all communications to a Fund’s Shareholders disclosed on its books and records, which may include the following:

(i) Reports to Shareholders (including annual and semi-annual reports);

(ii) Confirmations of purchases and sales of Fund shares;

(iii) Monthly or quarterly statements;

(iv) Dividend and distribution notices;

(v) Proxy material (including preparing and certifying the accuracy and completeness of Shareholder lists in conjunction with proxy solicitations);

 

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(vi) Tax forms (including substitute forms), accompanying information containing the information required by Section 6, and notices under Section 19 of the 1940 Act (subject to Section 6(d));

(vii) New account information;

(viii) Change of allocation;

(ix) Prospectus fulfillment; and

(x) Shareholder/information letters.

(e) Records. Transfer Agent shall maintain those records required by the securities laws and any laws, rules and regulations of governmental authorities having jurisdiction with respect to the duties to be performed by Transfer Agent hereunder with respect to Shareholder accounts or by transfer agents generally, including records of the accounts for each Shareholder showing the following information:

(i) Name, address and United States Taxpayer Identification or Social Security number;

(ii) Number and Class of Shares held;

(iii) Historical information regarding the account of each Shareholder, including dividends and distributions paid, their character (e.g., ordinary income, net capital gain, exempt-interest, foreign tax-credit and dividends received deduction eligible) for federal income tax purposes and the date, tax basis information as required by Fund policy and under applicable federal laws and regulations (including, Section 6045 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended (the “Code”)), and price for all transactions on a Shareholder’s account;

(iv) Any stop or restraining order placed against a Shareholder’s account;

(v) Any correspondence relating to the current maintenance of a Shareholder’s account;

(vi) Information with respect to withholdings; and

(vii) Any information required in order for the transfer agent to perform any calculations contemplated or required by this Agreement.

Transfer Agent may store documents held at Transfer Agent electronically to the same extent that they would store paper documents. Thereafter, paper documents may be destroyed by the Transfer Agent provided that the electronic document is retained by the Transfer Agent to the extent permitted by applicable law. Any electronic documents stored on behalf of the Funds will be stored by the Transfer Agent in accordance with all

 

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applicable securities laws and regulations and any laws, rules and regulations of governmental authorities having jurisdiction with respect to the duties to be performed by Transfer Agent hereunder. The parties shall mutually agree in writing as to terms related to the retention of Fund records, including without limitation, the format, the use of an escrow agent (if any) and retention periods.

(f) Shareholder Inspection of Stock Records. Upon a request from any Shareholder to inspect stock records, Transfer Agent will notify a Fund, and the Fund will issue instructions granting or denying each such request. Unless Transfer Agent has acted contrary to a Fund’s instructions, the Fund agrees and does hereby release Transfer Agent from any liability for refusal of permission for a particular Shareholder to inspect the Fund’s Shareholder records.

(g) Rule 22c-2 Compliance. Transfer Agent and the Funds will establish mutually agreed upon procedures and services to assist the Funds with its Rule 22c-2 compliance under the 1940 Act and with any other laws and regulations applicable to transfer agent responsibilities for omnibus accounts.

(h) Rule 38a-1 Compliance. Transfer Agent has adopted and implemented written policies and procedures reasonably designed to prevent violations of the Federal Securities Laws (as defined in Rule 38a-1 under the 1940 Act) by the Transfer Agent when acting as transfer agent of the Fund. It will review, no less frequently than annually, the adequacy of the policies and procedures and the effectiveness of their implementation and will report to the Fund any material changes made to the policies and procedures since the date of the last report, and any material changes to the policies and procedures recommended as a result of the annual review. Transfer Agent will provide the Fund with a report of each Material Compliance Matter (as defined in Rule 38a-1 under the 1940 Act) that occurs, as well as, upon request, any other information reasonably required by the Fund to conduct the annual review of the policies and procedures of the Transfer Agent and the effectiveness of their implementation provided, however, under no circumstances will the foregoing be interpreted to require BNYM to (i) furnish any such information or types of information which it determines in its sole discretion, reasonably applied, to be information not provided to other parties pursuant to BNYM security requirements and is not information that BNYM is otherwise under legal or regulatory obligation to provide to the Fund or (ii) information constituting legal advice to BNYM for its sole benefit, legal analysis for BNYM’s sole benefit or legally privileged materials with the privilege belonging to BNYM. Transfer Agent agrees to provide to the Funds a mutually agreed-upon form of quarterly certification with respect to the compliance provisions under Rule 38a-1 of the 1940 Act.

(i) Sarbanes-Oxley Compliance. Transfer Agent agrees to provide to the Funds, Transfer Agent’s standard form Sarbanes-Oxley certification with respect to Transfer Agent’s performance of the services under this Agreement and its internal controls related thereto.

 

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(j) Upon request of the Funds, Transfer Agent agrees to provide assistance with compliance of state laws, including:

(i) Reporting of transactions or holdings under “deadbeat parent” statutes;

(ii) Reporting of transactions or holdings under state tax laws; and

(iii) Withholding of state taxes on distributions from tax-exempt accounts.

12. Tax Advantaged Accounts.

(A) Certain definitions:

 

(i) “Eligible Assets” means shares of the Fund and such other assets as the Fund and BNYM may mutually agree.

 

(ii) “Participant” means a beneficial owner of a Custodied Account.

 

(iii) “Custodied Account” means a Tax Advantaged Account with respect to which the Custodian serves as the custodian.

 

(iv) “Tax Advantaged Account” means (A) any of the following accounts: (i) a Traditional, SEP, Roth, or SIMPLE individual retirement account within the meaning of Section 408 of the Code, and (ii) a Coverdell educational savings account within the meaning of Section 530 of the Code; (B) which is facilitated or sponsored by the Fund (or affiliates of the Fund’s investment advisor or management company and approved by the Fund) and with respect to which the contributions of Participants are used to purchase or invest solely in Eligible Assets.

(B) In addition to appropriate services provided to a Custodied Account and Participants in accordance with other provisions of Section 3 and this Schedule B, BNYM shall provide the following administrative services to the extent the particular administrative service is appropriate under the Code, subject to applicable terms and conditions of the Code, this Agreement, written procedures, BNYM Account Documentation (as defined below) and the Fund’s Prospectus:

 

(i) Upon receipt of a properly completed application for a Custodied Account, establish a Custodied Account in one or more Funds, as appropriate, and maintain the Custodied Account thereafter in accordance with this Agreement;

 

(ii) Process instructions received in good order regarding contributions, including using contribution payments actually received to purchase appropriate Eligible Assets, and keep appropriate records of contributions for tax reporting purposes;

 

(iii) Effect instructions for distributions received in good order and establish and maintain a record of the types and reasons for distributions (e.g., attainment of age 59-1/2, disability, death, return of excess contributions);

 

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(iv) Send blank designation of beneficiary forms to Participants and process designation of beneficiary forms completed and received from Participants in good order;

 

(v) Process instructions received in good order for exchanges of Shares, rollovers, direct rollovers, conversions, reconversions, recharacterizations, return of excess contributions and transfers of assets (or the proceeds of liquidated assets) to a successor custodian or successor trustee;

 

(vi) Upon receipt in good order of a notification of the death of a Participant, process transfers and distributions in accordance with instructions received in good order;

 

(vii) Prepare any annual reports or returns required to be prepared and/or filed by a custodian of Tax Advantaged Accounts, including, but not limited to, an annual fair market value report, Forms 1099R and 5498; and file same with the Internal Revenue Service and provide same to the Participant or Participant’s beneficiary, as applicable;

 

(viii) Perform applicable federal withholding and send to the Participant or Participant’s beneficiary, as applicable, an annual TEFRA notice regarding required federal tax withholding;

 

(ix) Upon the receipt after the Service Effective Date of a request to open a Custodied Account, BNYM shall provide appropriate BNYM Account Documentation to open the Custodied Account and thereafter as necessary to maintain the Custodied Account in compliance with the Code; and

 

(x) BNYM shall maintain the Account Documentation in compliance with applicable provisions of the Code.

(C) BNYM shall arrange for BNYM Trust, BNY Mellon Bank or other qualified institution (which may be an affiliate of BNYM) to serve as custodian for the Tax Advantaged Accounts. The institution serving as custodian pursuant to the foregoing authorization is referred to herein as the “Custodian”. In consideration for such service and the services of the Custodian, the Fund agrees as follows:

 

(i) The Fund will provide sixty (60) days advance written notice to BNYM, the Custodian and Participants in connection with a Fund liquidation or any other event or circumstance or act or course of conduct involving the Fund or assets held in a Custodied Account that would result in an involuntary liquidation of any asset held in a Custodied Account or would otherwise materially affect the Custodied Account, its operation, the rights or obligations of a Participant, any asset in a Custodied Account or the terms or provisions of a Custodied Account (“Material Event”), regardless of whether the Material Event was or was not described in an amendment to the Fund’s prospectus or statement of additional information, and reimburse BNYM and the Custodian for all reasonable costs, including costs of legal counsel, incurred in determining, in consideration of the Material Event, an appropriate course of conduct under the law, including the Code, and under agreements with Participants and in implementing the course of conduct determined to be appropriate;

 

- 48 -


(ii) The Fund, at its cost and expense, at the request of BNYM or the Custodian and in accordance with all applicable provisions of the Code, will:

 

  (aa) appoint and provide for a qualified successor custodian for all Custodied Accounts in the event this Agreement expires or is terminated or if any other event or circumstance occurs which constitutes commercially reasonable cause for the Custodian to resign as custodian of the Custodied Accounts or seek appointment of a successor custodian,

 

  (bb) provide for any interim custodial or transfer arrangements made appropriate by any of the circumstances governed by clause (aa),

 

  (cc) cause all Custodied Accounts and all assets in the Custodied Accounts to transfer to such successor or interim custodians; and

 

  (dd) notify appropriate parties of custodial resignations and appointments.

 

(iii) The Fund, at its cost and expense, will, prior to the Services Effective Date or such later date as the Fund and BNYM may agree upon as the “Transfer Date” (which is hereby defined to mean the date custody of the Tax-Advantaged Accounts is transferred from a prior custodian or trustee to the Custodian and the conversion of the Tax-Advantaged Accounts from a prior service provider to BNYM System occurs), act in accordance with clause (aa), clause (bb) or a combination of clauses (aa) and (bb), pursuant to reasonable instructions received from BNYM or the Custodian:

 

  (aa) where it has the right to do so, unilaterally amend account documentation of Tax-Advantaged Accounts to conform such documentation in all material respects to the BNYM Account Documentation (as defined in clause (bb) immediately below) and communicate such amendments, or furnish such amended documentation, to account owners; and

 

  (bb) require Participants and “Related Parties” (which is hereby defined to mean all employers, advisors or other parties involved in any manner in the creation, sponsorship or administration of Custodied Accounts or their relevant plans or involved in any other capacity with Custodied Accounts or their relevant plans) to adopt, execute or otherwise agree to “BNYM Account Documentation” (which is hereby defined to mean disclosure documents, custodial agreements, account agreements and such other forms, agreements and materials which BNYM reasonably determines to be appropriate for the establishment and administration of the Custodied Accounts or relevant plans under applicable law, including the Code, or for performance of the services provided by BNYM or the Custodian).

 

- 49 -


BNYM shall not be obligated to convert to the BNYM System, or provide a Custodian for, any Tax-Advantaged Accounts of the Fund which BNYM determines are not bound by BNYM Account Documentation or by account documentation substantially similar in all material respects with the BNYM Account Documentation.

 

(iv) Subsequent to the Transfer Date, at its cost and expense, the Fund will provide to persons applying to become a Participant or a Related Party, all BNYM Account Documentation that BNYM or the Custodian has most recently designated as the current version of the BNYM Account Documentation, including without limitation all privacy notices of BNYM and the Custodian, obtain the signature of all such persons on the appropriate BNYM Account Documentation, and, to the extent requested by BNYM, furnish a copy of the executed BNYM Account Documentation to BNYM. The performance by BNYM and the Custodian of the respective obligations set forth in this Section 12 subsequent to the Transfer Date shall be contingent upon the Fund’s compliance with this Section 12(C)(iv) and the Fund shall upon the reasonable request of BNYM certify to its compliance with this Section 12(C)(iv) or otherwise verify or provide verification of its compliance with this Section 12(C)(iv).

 

(v) Subsequent to the Transfer Date, in the event of changes to the BNYM Account Documentation or other need to communicate in writing with Participants or Related Parties: (aa) the Custodian may directly furnish new or revised BNYM Account Documentation and any other written notifications, materials and communications which it reasonably determines to be appropriate to its role as custodian (“Related Custodian Materials”) to Participants and Related Parties at the Fund’s cost and expense, payable upon being invoiced for same, or (bb) in lieu of the distribution method provided for in clause (aa) with respect to particular BNYM Account Documentation or Related Custodian Materials, the Fund will, at its cost and expense, upon the reasonable request of BNYM or the Custodian include such items in a Fund mailing of Fund materials.

(D) In consideration for BNYM or the Custodian furnishing any one or more of the services provided for in this Section 12, the Fund shall pay to BNYM the related Fees and Reimbursable Expenses as set forth in the Fee Agreement. The Fund may direct BNYM to collect such Fees and Reimbursable Expenses from the assets in relevant Tax Advantaged Accounts upon appropriate disclosure to Participants, but shall remain responsible for such Fees and Reimbursable Expenses to the extent it does not so direct BNYM or such amounts are not collectable from the Tax Advantaged Accounts.

(E) For clarification: BNYM shall not be obligated to perform the services described in this Section 12 for Tax Advantaged Accounts with registrations that indicate that an institution other than the Custodian serves as custodian for the account under the Code.

 

- 50 -


13. Miscellaneous.

In addition to and neither in lieu nor in contravention of the services set forth above, Transfer Agent shall: (i) perform all the customary services of a transfer agent, registrar, dividend disbursing agent and agent of the dividend reinvestment and cash purchase plan as described herein consistent with those requirements set forth as at the date of this Agreement; (ii) require proper forms of instructions, signatures and signature guarantees and any necessary documents supporting the opening of Shareholder accounts, transfers and redemptions and other Shareholder account transactions, all in conformance with Transfer Agent’s present procedures with such changes or deviations therefrom as may be from time to time required or approved by a Fund, or the Fund’s counsel or Transfer Agent’s counsel and the rejection of orders or instructions not in good order in accordance with the applicable Fund Prospectus; (iii) provide to the person designated by a Fund daily Blue Sky reports generated by Transfer Agent; (iv) provide unclaimed property services as set forth in Section 14 below; and (v) maintain a current, duplicate set of a Fund’s essential records at a secure separate location in a form available and usable forthwith in the event of any breakdown or disaster disruption of Transfer Agent’s main operation.

14. Unclaimed Property Services. (if this service is elected by the Fund)

(A) Subject to the further provisions of this Section 14 and to Article 28 of the Agreement, BNYM shall employ commercially reasonable measures to comply on behalf of a Fund with the unclaimed property laws and regulations of the States and Territories of the United States (as defined below) (“Unclaimed Property Laws”) with respect to Eligible Property (as defined below). In connection with its performance of the foregoing services (“Unclaimed Property Services”), BNYM and its subcontractors shall be entitled to rely on the written advice of counsel with respect to the interpretation of and compliance with the Unclaimed Property Laws and interaction with the agencies enforcing and administering the Unclaimed Property Laws and neither shall be liable for conduct undertaken in accordance with such advice, provided such advice is a reasoned interpretation of such Unclaimed Property Laws. For purposes of the foregoing:

(i) “States and Territories of the United States” means the states of the United States of America, the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands and any territory or commonwealth of the United States of America with a formal local government substantially equivalent to a state government which subsequent to the Effective Date adopts a statute substantially similar to the Uniform Unclaimed Property Act of 1995 (or its then current successor).

(ii) “Eligible Property” means property beneficially owned by a person or entity other than the Fund and held in a bank account maintained by BNYM for or on behalf of the Fund, or property held in a Fund shareholder account, which is (x) subject to reporting or escheat under an Unclaimed Property Law, (y) of a nature or type or classification reasonably related to the services performed by BNYM under this Agreement (such as cash amounts representing non-negotiated dividend checks and shares in abandoned shareholder accounts), and (z) under the control of BNYM.

 

- 51 -


(B) BNYM shall have no liability for any Loss arising (i) with respect to Eligible Property deemed abandoned or unclaimed before the Effective Date but not reported or delivered to the applicable jurisdiction as required by an Unclaimed Property Law; (ii) from any inaccuracy in, or from the absence of any data or information from, any records of the Fund provided to BNYM and used to perform the Unclaimed Property Services, including without limitation absences due to the failure to record the occurrence or non-occurrence of events relevant to an Unclaimed Property Law; (iii) from any other failure of any party, other than BNYM, its delegates, affiliates or sub-contractors, to comply with an Unclaimed Property Law or to perform a service required for accurate, timely and complete future compliance with an Unclaimed Property Law (collectively, “Compliance Failures”). BNYM will in good faith seek to respond in a reasonable manner to Compliance Failures of which it becomes aware, but shall have no liability for any course of conduct undertaken in accordance with the foregoing. The Fund alone shall be exclusively liable for and shall directly pay any fines, penalties, interest or other monetary liability, payment obligations or remediation requirements that arise due to a Compliance Failure. Notwithstanding any other provision of the Agreement, the Fund shall indemnify BNYM for all Loss BNYM suffers or incurs as a result of or in connection with any Compliance Failure, including without limitation any Loss suffered or incurred as a result of seeking in good faith to respond in a reasonable manner to the Compliance Failure. In addition to any fees and reimbursement of expenses that BNYM may be entitled to under Section 14, in the event BNYM performs any services in connection with Compliance Failures BNYM shall give the Fund prior notice before performing any such services and be entitled to be paid fees for such services at the rate set forth in the Fee Agreement, or if no applicable fee is set forth therein, at commercially reasonable rates (as may be agreed upon by the parties), and to a reimbursement of all reasonable expenses incurred in connection with such services, and the Fund shall pay BNYM such fees and reimburse BNYM for such expenses upon being invoiced. For clarification: BNYM may decline to provide a service if the parties fail to reach agreement on compensation.

(C) The Fund shall be the “holder” under all Unclaimed Property Laws, as that term is defined therein, and BNYM shall act solely as agent of the Fund in performing the Unclaimed Property Services. The Fund hereby authorizes BNYM to sign reports, to sign letters, to communicate with government representatives, current and former shareholders and other appropriate third parties and otherwise to act in all manners on behalf of and in the name of the Fund and to utilize all tax identification numbers or other appropriate identifying numbers or data of a Fund (“Identification Data”) in the scope and manner BNYM reasonably determines to be appropriate to perform the Unclaimed Property Services, including for clarification utilizing the Identification Data associated with each specific portfolio of the Fund (including each class, series, tier or other subdivision of a portfolio, if any) for reporting purposes if such is determined to be appropriate based on an Unclaimed Property Law. The Fund agrees to execute and deliver to BNYM all documentation or instruments reasonably requested by BNYM to evidence such authorization but agrees that the authority of BNYM to act on behalf of and in the name of the Fund as described above and to use the Identification Data shall not be diminished or revoked by the absence of such documentation or instruments, and the Fund irrevocably releases BNYM from any and all Claims against BNYM on the grounds of absence of the authority granted by the second sentence of this Section 14(C). This Section 14(C) shall survive any termination of the Agreement.

 

- 52 -


(D) The Fund agrees, upon the reasonable request of BNYM, to:

(A) execute and deliver to BNYM in a timely manner any reports, forms, documents and instruments reasonably determined by BNYM to be appropriate in connection with its performance the Unclaimed Property Services;

(B) respond in a timely manner to requests from BNYM for information and requests to review information or reports related to the Unclaimed Property Services; and

(C) Provide sufficient letterhead paper of the Fund or its electronic letterhead template for use by BNYM in communications related to the Unclaimed Property Services.

(E) The Fund agrees that upon any termination of the Agreement it will cause all property held in bank accounts maintained by BNYM for or on behalf of the Fund, and all property held in Fund shareholder accounts maintained by BNYM on a Fund’s behalf, to be transferred to the Fund or to a successor service provider and BNYM may condition completion of Deconversion Services on the completion of arrangements reasonably satisfactory to BNYM for such transfers.

15. Red Flags Services.

(1) The provisions of this Section 15 (the “Red Flags Section”) shall apply in the event the Fund elects to receive the “Red Flags Services”, which are hereby defined to mean the following services:

(i) BNYM will maintain written controls reasonably designed to detect the occurrence of Red Flags (as defined below) in connection with (i) account opening and other account activities and transactions conducted directly through BNYM with respect to Direct Accounts (as defined below), and (ii) transactions effected directly through BNYM by Covered Persons (as defined below) in Covered Accounts (as defined below). Such controls, as they may be revised from time to time hereunder, are referred to herein as the “Controls”. Solely for purposes of the Red Flags Section, the capitalized terms below will have the respective meaning ascribed to each:

(A) “Red Flag” means a pattern, practice, or specific activity or a combination of patterns, practices or specific activities which may indicate the possible existence of Identity Theft (as defined below) affecting a Registered Owner (as defined below) or a Covered Person.

(B) “Identity Theft” means a fraud committed or attempted using the identifying information of another person without authority.

(C) “Registered Owner” means the owner of record of a Direct Account on the books and records of the Fund maintained by BNYM as registrar of the Fund (the “Fund Registry”).

 

- 53 -


(D) “Covered Person” means the owner of record of a Covered Account on the Fund Registry.

(E) “Direct Account” means an Account established directly with and through BNYM as a registered account on the Fund Registry and through which the owner of record has the ability to directly conduct account and transactional activity with and through BNYM.

(F) “Covered Account” means an Account established by a financial intermediary for another as the owner of record on the Fund Registry and through which such owner of record has the ability to conduct transactions in Fund shares directly with and through BNYM.

(G) “Account” means (1) an account holding Fund Shares with respect to which a natural person is the owner of record, and (2) any other account holding Fund Shares with respect to which there is a reasonably foreseeable risk to the particular account owner’s customers from identity theft, including financial, operational, compliance, reputation, or litigation risks.

(ii) BNYM will provide the Fund with a printed copy of or Internet viewing access to the Controls.

(iii) BNYM will notify the Fund of Red Flags which it detects and reasonably determines to indicate a significant risk of Identity Theft to a Registered Owner or Covered Person (“Possible Identity Theft”) and assist the Fund in determining the appropriate response of the Fund to the Possible Identity Theft.

(iv) BNYM will (A) engage an independent auditing firm or other similar firm of independent examiners to conduct an annual evaluation of the Controls and issue a report on the results of the evaluation (the “Evaluation Report”), and (B) furnish a copy of the Evaluation Report to the Fund; and

(v) Upon the Fund’s reasonable request on not more than a quarterly basis, issue a certification in a form determined to be appropriate by BNYM in its reasonable discretion, certifying to BNYM’s continuing compliance with the Controls after the date of the most recent Evaluation Report.

(2) The Fund agrees it is responsible for complying with and determining the applicability to the Fund of Section 114 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transaction Act of 2003 and regulations promulgated thereunder by the SEC or other applicable regulatory body (the “Red Flags Requirements”), for determining the extent to which the Red Flags Services assist the Fund in complying with the Red Flags Requirements, and for furnishing any supplementation or augmentation to the Red Flags Services it determines to be appropriate, and that BNYM has given no advice and makes no representations with respect to such matters. This Red Flags Section shall not be interpreted in any manner which imposes a duty on BNYM to act on behalf of the Fund or otherwise, including any duty to take any action upon the occurrence of a Red Flag, other than as expressly provided for in this Red Flags Section. The Controls and the Red Flags Services may be changed at any time and from time to time by BNYM in its reasonable sole discretion to include commercially reasonable provisions appropriate to the Red Flags Requirements, as they may be constituted from time to time.

 

- 54 -


SCHEDULE D

Certain Retirement Plans and Accounts

1. Certain Employer Sponsored Defined Contribution Retirement Plan Accounts.

(a) Background . BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company served as custodian under the Transfer Agency and Services Agreement, dated as of January 1, 2006, between the Funds and BNYM (“TA Agreement”) for certain employer sponsored defined contribution retirement plan accounts which hold shares of one or more of the following Portfolios: Western Asset Core Plus Bond Fund – Class A, ClearBridge Large Cap Value Fund – Class I and the ClearBridge Mid Cap Core Fund – Class I (the “Retirement Plan Portfolios”). In connection with the termination of the TA Agreement and the conversion to the successor transfer agent, the successor transfer agent advised the Funds that it is unwilling to serve as custodian for these employer sponsored retirement plan accounts (the “Defined Contribution Accounts”). BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company resigned as custodian and the Funds contacted owners of the Defined Contribution Accounts to seek their termination through distribution or rollover to an IRA or transfer to another retirement plan provider but were unable to effect the termination of all Defined Contribution Accounts by the termination date of the TA Agreement.

(b) Each Fund agrees to continue in good faith to exert its best efforts to contact owners of the Defined Contribution Accounts in cooperation with BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company to seek a termination of the Defined Contribution Accounts. BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company agrees to continue providing the appropriate retirement plan services set forth at Section 12(b) of Schedule B to the Defined Contribution Accounts. The Funds agree to pay BNYM the relevant fees set forth in the Fee Agreement for such services.

(c) The Funds direct BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company as follows with respect to the Defined Contribution Accounts and their investments in the Retirement Plan Portfolios:

(i) Western Asset Core Plus Bond Fund – Class A should be given exchange privileges with other class A Portfolios;

(ii) ClearBridge Large Cap Value Fund – Class I and the ClearBridge Mid Cap Core Fund – Class I—in the absence of other class I Portfolios, should not be given exchange privileges with any other Portfolios.

(d) In addition, the Funds direct BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company to accept no additional contributions to the Defined Contribution Accounts and no additional purchases of shares of the Retirement Plan Portfolios or any other Portfolio, except with respect to the reinvestment of dividends and capital gain distributions into the same Retirement Plan Portfolio. BNYM agrees to terminate the Retirement Plan Portfolios from the transfer agent processing system used to perform this Agreement upon the termination of all Defined Contribution Accounts.

 

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(e) Notwithstanding any other provision of this Agreement, in connection with the services provided by BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company under this Schedule D, BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company is an intended third-party beneficiary of the Funds’ indemnification obligations under the Agreement. In addition, the Funds agree to reimburse BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company for up to $10,000 in out-of-pocket legal expenses incurred in connection with the circumstances described in the first paragraph and the services performed pursuant to this Schedule D.

(f) Transfer Agent’s duties and responsibilities and entitlement to fees under this Schedule D and the Funds’ duties and responsibilities under this Schedule D shall commence upon the termination of the Co-Transfer Agency And Services Agreement, dated as of April 1, 2009, which provides for an initial term that expires March 31, 2014, and its replacement with this Agreement.

2. 403(b) Accounts.

(a) BYNM agrees to convert 403(b) Accounts to the transaction processing and recordkeeping system of Transfer Agent with other accounts of the Funds and to perform solely the following services:

 

(i) Arrange for BNY Mellon Investment Servicing Trust Company (“BNYM Trust”), The Bank of New York Mellon (“BNY Mellon Bank”) or other qualified institution (which may be an affiliate of BNYM) to serve as custodian;

 

(ii) Perform all appropriate recordkeeping services provided for other Fund shareholder accounts under this Agreement;

 

(iii) Accept and process distributions from the 403(b) Accounts in accordance with instructions received in good order from the record owners and beneficiaries, as appropriate, of such accounts;

 

(iv) Provide federal tax reporting appropriate to federal Form 1099-R; and

 

(v) Provide to record owners of the 403(b) Accounts the custodial documents in use by BNYM as of the effective date and provide custodial documents in amendment or supplement thereto or in replacement thereof as appropriate in the commercially reasonable judgment of BNYM in accordance any changes to the Code or regulations thereunder.

 

- 56 -


(b) “403(b) Accounts” means accounts of Shareholders established under Section 403(b) of the Code prior to the execution of this Agreement that (i) have had no purchases since January 15, 2009 (other than dividend or capital gain reinvestment), (ii) have no outstanding loans, and (iii) are not participating in any special transmission file programs (such as the SPARK file) with TPA’s or other plan administrator vendors.

(c) The Funds agree they shall have the same responsibilities and obligations with respect to the 403(b) Accounts as they have with respect to the Custodied Accounts pursuant to Sections 12(C) and (D) of Schedule B.

 

- 57 -


SCHEDULE E

(dated December 19, 2013)

 

1. BNY Mellon International Operations (India) Private Limited (all services)

 

2. Keane Organization, Inc. (lost shareholder, abandoned property & escheat)

 

3. Unclaimed Property Recovery & Reporting Inc. (lost shareholder, abandoned property & escheat)

 

4. The Bank of New York Mellon (banking services)

 

5. Xerox Services (print/mail services)

 

6. Pitney Bowes (print/mail services)

 

7. Primerica Shareholder Services, Inc. (assist financial intermediaries with a direct transfer agent relationship with the fund with providing services related to recordkeeping, account maintenance and new account applications, customer complaint inquiries and resolutions)

 

- 58 -


Addendum A

Authorized Trading Persons

The following individuals have been designated by the Fund as those who are authorized to instruct Transfer Agent pursuant to Section 9(c) of Schedule B to accept Fund transactions after the close of trading as provided in the Prospectus in good order and consistent with the Fund’s procedures for such trades. The Transfer Agent shall be entitled to rely on the following individuals’ instructions until notified in writing by the Fund that such persons are no longer Authorized Trading Persons for purposes of this Agreement.

 

Name  

 

      Title   

 

Name  

 

      Title   

 

Name  

 

      Title   

 

Name  

 

      Title   

 

Name  

 

      Title   

 

Name  

 

      Title   

 

Name  

 

      Title   

 

Name  

 

      Title   

 

 

- 59 -

Consent of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

The Board of Trustees

Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust

We consent to the use of our reports dated October 17, 2014, with respect to the financial statements of ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund, a series of Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust, as of August 31, 2014, incorporated herein by reference and to the references to our firm under the headings “Financial Highlights” in the Prospectus and “Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm” in the Statement of Additional Information.

 

LOGO

New York, New York

December 12, 2014

Exhibit (m)(13)

APPENDIX A

SHAREHOLDER SERVICES AND DISTRIBUTION PLAN

AMENDED AND RESTATED JUNE 30, 2014

 

Name of Fund

   Name of Class    Aggregate Service
Fee 1 (%)
 

ClearBridge Aggressive Growth Fund

   Class A      0.25   
   Class B      1.00   
   Class C      1.00   
   Class I      None   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class IS      None   
   Class R1      1.00   

ClearBridge All Cap Value Fund

   Class A      0.25   
   Class B      1.00   
   Class C      1.00   
   Class I      None   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class IS      None   
   Class R1      1.00   

ClearBridge Appreciation Fund

   Class A      0.25   
   Class B      1.00   
   Class C      1.00   

 

1   Expressed as an annual rate of the average daily net assets of the Fund attributable to that Class

 


Name of Fund

   Name of Class    Aggregate Service
Fee 1 (%)
 
   Class I      None   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class IS      None   
   Class R1      1.00   

ClearBridge Energy MLP & Infrastructure Fund

   Class A      0.25   
   Class C      1.00   
   Class I      None   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class IS      None   

ClearBridge Equity Fund

   Class A      0.25   
   Class B      1.00   
   Class C      1.00   
   Class O      None   
   Class I      None   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class IS      None   
   Class R1      1.00   

ClearBridge Equity Income Fund

   Class A      0.25   
   Class B      0.75   
   Class C      1.00   

 

- 2 -


Name of Fund

   Name of Class    Aggregate Service
Fee 1 (%)
 
   Class I      None   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class IS      None   
   Class R1      1.00   

ClearBridge International Small Cap Fund

   Class A      0.25   
   Class C      1.00   
   Class I      None   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class IS      None   
   Class R1      1.00   

ClearBridge International Value Fund

   Class A      0.25   
   Class B      1.00   
   Class C      1.00   
   Class I      None   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class IS      None   
   Class R1      1.00   

ClearBridge Large Cap Growth Fund

   Class A      0.25   
   Class B      1.00   
   Class C      1.00   

 

- 3 -


Name of Fund

   Name of Class    Aggregate Service
Fee 1 (%)
 
   Class I      None   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class IS      None   
   Class R1      1.00   

ClearBridge Large Cap Value Fund

   Class A      0.25   
   Class C      1.00   
   Class O      None   
   Class I      None   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class IS      None   
   Class A2      0.25   
   Class 1      None   

ClearBridge Mid Cap Core Fund

   Class A      0.25   
   Class B      1.00   
   Class C      1.00   
   Class I      None   
   Class 1      None   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class IS      None   
   Class R1      1.00   

 

- 4 -


Name of Fund

   Name of Class    Aggregate Service
Fee 1 (%)
 

ClearBridge Mid Cap Growth Fund

   Class A      0.25   
   Class C      1.00   
   Class I      None   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class IS      None   
   Class R1      1.00   

ClearBridge Select Fund

   Class A      0.25   
   Class C      1.00   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class I      None   
   Class IS      None   

ClearBridge Small Cap Growth Fund

   Class A      0.25   
   Class B      1.00   
   Class C      1.00   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class I      None   
   Class 1      None   
   Class IS      None   
   Class R1      1.00   

ClearBridge Small Cap Value Fund

   Class A      0.25   

 

- 5 -


Name of Fund

   Name of Class    Aggregate Service
Fee 1 (%)
 
   Class B      1.00   
   Class C      1.00   
   Class I      None   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class IS      None   
   Class R1      1.00   

ClearBridge Tactical Dividend Income Fund

   Class A      0.25   
   Class C      1.00   
   Class I      None   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class IS      None   
   Class A2      0.25   

Legg Mason Investment Counsel Financial Services Fund

   Class A      0.25   
   Class C      1.00   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class I      None   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class R1      1.00   

Legg Mason Investment Counsel Social Awareness Fund

   Class A      0.25   
   Class B      1.00   
   Class C      1.00   

 

- 6 -


Name of Fund

   Name of Class    Aggregate Service
Fee 1 (%)
 
   Class I      None   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class IS      None   
   Class R1      1.00   

Permal Alternative Core Fund

   Class A      0.25   
   Class C      1.00   
   Class I      None   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class IS      None   
   Class R1      1.00   

Permal Alternative Select Fund

   Class A      0.25   
   Class C      1.00   
   Class I      None   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class IS      None   

QS Batterymarch Global Equity Fund

   Class A      0.25   
   Class B      1.00   
   Class C      1.00   
   Class I      None   
   Class 1      None   

 

- 7 -


Name of Fund

   Name of Class    Aggregate Service
Fee 1 (%)
 
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class IS      None   
   Class R1      1.00   

QS Batterymarch Managed Volatility Global Dividend Fund

   Class A      0.25   
   Class C      1.00   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class I      None   
   Class IS      None   

QS Batterymarch Managed Volatility International Dividend Fund

   Class A      0.25   
   Class C      1.00   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class I      None   
   Class IS      None   

QS Batterymarch S&P 500 Index Fund

   Class A      0.20   
   Class D      None   
   Class IS      None   
   Class R1      1.00   

QS Batterymarch U.S. Large Cap Equity Fund

   Class A      0.25   
   Class C      1.00   

 

- 8 -


Name of Fund

   Name of Class    Aggregate Service
Fee 1 (%)
 
   Class I      None   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class IS      None   
   Class R1      1.00   

QS Legg Mason Dynamic Multi-Strategy Fund

   Class A      0.25   
   Class C      1.00   
   Class I      None   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class IS      None   

QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 30%

   Class A      0.25   
   Class B      0.75   
   Class C1      0.70   
   Class I      None   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class IS      None   
   Class C      1.00   

QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 50%

   Class A      0.25   
   Class B      1.00   
   Class C      1.00   
   Class I      None   

 

- 9 -


Name of Fund

   Name of Class    Aggregate Service
Fee 1 (%)
 
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class IS      None   
   Class R1      1.00   

QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 70%

   Class A      0.25   
   Class B      1.00   
   Class C      1.00   
   Class I      None   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class IS      None   
   Class R1      1.00   

QS Legg Mason Lifestyle Allocation 85%

   Class A      0.25   
   Class B      1.00   
   Class C      1.00   
   Class I      None   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class IS      None   
   Class R1      1.00   

QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2015

   Class A      0.25   
   Class C      1.00   
   Class I      None   

 

- 10 -


Name of Fund

   Name of Class    Aggregate Service
Fee 1 (%)
 
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class IS      None   
   Class R1      1.00   

QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2020

   Class A      0.25   
   Class C      1.00   
   Class I      None   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class IS      None   
   Class R1      1.00   

QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2025

   Class A      0.25   
   Class C      1.00   
   Class I      None   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class IS      None   
   Class R1      1.00   

QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2030

   Class A      0.25   
   Class C      1.00   
   Class I      None   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   

 

- 11 -


Name of Fund

   Name of Class    Aggregate Service
Fee 1 (%)
 
   Class IS      None   
   Class R1      1.00   

QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2035

   Class A      0.25   
   Class C      1.00   
   Class I      None   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class IS      None   
   Class R1      1.00   

QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2040

   Class A      0.25   
   Class C      1.00   
   Class I      None   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class IS      None   
   Class R1      1.00   

QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2045

   Class A      0.25   
   Class C      1.00   
   Class I      None   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class IS      None   
   Class R1      1.00   

 

- 12 -


Name of Fund

   Name of Class    Aggregate Service
Fee 1 (%)
 

QS Legg Mason Target Retirement 2050

   Class A      0.25   
   Class C      1.00   
   Class I      None   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class IS      None   
   Class R1      1.00   

QS Legg Mason Target Retirement Fund

   Class A      0.25   
   Class C      1.00   
   Class I      None   
   Class R      0.50   
   Class FI      0.25   
   Class IS      None   
   Class R1      1.00   

 

- 13 -

Exhibit (p)(10)

ATLANTIC INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT, INC.

CODE OF ETHICS

TABLE OF CONTENTS

 

I. INTRODUCTION    2
II. FIDUCIARY DUTY: STANDARD OF BUSINESS CONDUCT    3
III. PERSONAL SECURITIES TRADING    4
IV. POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS (“Pay to Play”)    8
V. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST    11
VI. ADMINISTRATION OF CODE    13
VII. GLOSSARY    15
VIII. ANNEX A COVERED PERSON TRADE PRE-CLEARANCE REQUEST    16
IX. ANNEX B SECURITIES BROKERAGE ACCOUNTS    17
X. ANNEX C SECURITIES HOLDINGS REPORTS    18
XI. ANNEX D QUARTERLY TRANSACTION REPORT    19

 

LOGO

 


I. INTRODUCTION

PURSUANT TO RULE 204A-1 OF THE INVESTMENT ADVISERS ACT OF 1940 AND RULE 17j-1 UNDER THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940

This Code of Ethics (the “Code”) shall apply to the investment operations of Atlantic Investment Management, Inc. (“Atlantic”). This Code applies to all Covered Persons of Atlantic and their activities in all contexts, whether related or unrelated to their duties for Atlantic. The Code is predicated on the principle that Atlantic has responsibilities to its clients. Accordingly, employees must avoid activities, interests and relationships that are not in the best interest of clients. This Code operates in conjunction with other Atlantic policies and procedures. The Code will be reviewed on a regular basis and updated when necessary or appropriate.

Every employee, director or officer of Atlantic who has access to nonpublic information regarding any client’s purchase or sale of securities or nonpublic information regarding the portfolio holdings of any Reportable Fund (each, a “Covered Person”) must read, acknowledge receipt and understanding of, and retain a copy of, this Code. Any questions regarding this Code should be directed to Bruce Berger, Atlantic’s CCO.

Atlantic takes very seriously all actual or possible violations of this Code or any applicable laws and regulations. All Covered Persons are urged and required to report immediately any material violations of this Code or applicable laws and regulations to the CCO, the President, another member of senior management, or Atlantic’s outside legal counsel. If you are concerned or not sure about a possible violation, please speak to an appropriate member of senior management. The identity of the person reporting the violation will be strictly protected. Any report that you make will be kept confidential to the maximum extent possible, and you will be protected from retribution.

All reports of personal securities holdings and trading as described below should be sent to the CCO. The CCO may satisfy any obligations in the Code that may apply, in his or her capacity as a Covered Person, by having any required reports sent to, or by seeking any required consents or approvals from, Alexander Roepers, the President.

If the CCO is unavailable for any reason, then the President shall carry out all of the functions and responsibilities of the CCO during his absence.

 

2


II. FIDUCIARY DUTY: STANDARD OF BUSINESS CONDUCT

Atlantic and all of its Covered Persons have a fiduciary duty to place the interests of investment advisory clients ahead of the interests of Atlantic and their own interests. All Covered Persons should act with integrity, competence, dignity, and in an ethical manner when dealing with the public, clients, investors, prospective investors and other Covered Persons. This ethical standard requires strict compliance with the applicable laws and regulations of any government, governmental agency or regulatory organization which has jurisdiction over the activities of Atlantic and its Covered Persons, including all federal securities laws.

All Covered Persons are prohibited from engaging in or recommending any securities transaction which places their own interests above that of Atlantic’s clients. In order to avoid conflicts of interest or abuse of one’s position, all Covered Persons shall ensure that all personal securities transactions are conducted consistent with this Code and any other separate procedures in force with respect to Atlantic for the protection of clients.

All Covered Persons must at all times:

 

    Place the interests of clients first: Covered Persons must avoid serving their own personal interests ahead of the interests of Atlantic’s clients. Covered Persons may not induce or cause a client to take action, or not to take action, for personal benefit, rather than for the benefit of the client. The interests of client accounts will at all times be placed first. Investment opportunities must be offered to clients first before Atlantic or any Covered Person may act on them. All personal securities transactions will be conducted in such a manner as to avoid any conflict of interest or any abuse of an individual’s position of trust and responsibility.

 

    Avoid taking inappropriate advantage of their position: The receipt of investment opportunities, perquisites or gifts from persons seeking business with Atlantic or its clients could call into question the exercise of the judgment of a Covered Person. Atlantic personnel should not take inappropriate advantage of their positions.

 

    Conduct all personal securities transactions in full compliance with this Code including both pre-clearance and reporting requirements.

 

3


III. PERSONAL SECURITIES TRADING

Except as otherwise detailed below, all Covered Persons are prohibited from engaging in personal securities transactions in any securities other than corporate debt instruments, special-purpose acquisition companies (“SPACs”), mutual funds, exchange listed funds (“ETFs”), U.S. government securities, money market instruments and index options, publicly traded Master Limited Partnerships (“MLPs”), futures, REITs and Atlantic funds. Atlantic funds may only be purchased by Covered Persons who are also Knowledgeable Employees as defined under Rule 3c-5 under the Investment Company Act. All Covered Persons may not participate in initial public offerings.

Atlantic has adopted these policies and procedures to prevent front-running, scalping, and the misuse of inside information by Atlantic and its Covered Persons. Our policies are intended to ensure full conformity with the laws, rules and regulations of all governmental bodies and self-regulatory organizations that monitor our business activities and the highest ethical standards.

Policy and Procedures

Existing Security Holdings : If, at the time of initial employment by Atlantic, or as of the date of receipt and acknowledgement of this Code, a Covered Person owns or otherwise controls any securities, the Covered Person is permitted to maintain such positions on an indefinite basis. However, it is strictly prohibited to add to such positions. Moreover, if a Covered Person should ever wish to liquidate such positions (“liquidating transactions”), the Covered Person must obtain pre-clearance from Compliance Personnel prior to making any trades.

Duplicate Statements and Trade Confirmations : It is the responsibility of each Covered Person to arrange for his or her broker-dealer to send duplicate confirmations of all trades and monthly, if available, or else quarterly brokerage statements, depending on account activity, to the CCO. The Covered Person is responsible for notifying Compliance of all places in which he or she maintains a brokerage account, along with any other brokerage accounts for which a Covered Person has investment discretion or receives benefits from the account.

Pre-clearance Authorization : All Covered Persons must obtain pre-clearance authorization of each liquidating transaction with a value greater than $1,000 from the CCO. Pre-clearance is not required for transactions in corporate debt instruments, SPACs, mutual funds, ETFs, U.S. government securities, money market instruments, index options, MLPs, futures and REITs.

 

4


Compliance will review and approve all liquidating transactions prior to their execution. All Covered Persons are prohibited from pre-clearing their own transactions. The following procedures should be considered in regards to pre-clearance of liquidating transactions:

 

    Time of Clearance : All authorized personal securities transactions must take place on the same day or next business day that advance clearance is obtained. If the transaction is not completed in the time frame set forth above, a new clearance must be obtained, including one for any uncompleted portion. Post-approval is not permitted.

 

    Form : Pre-clearance must be obtained by completing and signing the Covered Person Trade Pre-Approval Form and obtaining the signature of the CCO. A sample copy of the Covered Person Trade Pre-Approval Form is attached as Annex A.

The CCO, in keeping with the general principles and objectives of this Code, may refuse to grant clearance of a personal securities transaction without being required to specify any reason for the refusal.

Accounts Covered for Pre-Clearance

Covered Persons must obtain advance clearance for any liquidating transaction in a security if they have any direct or indirect beneficial ownership in the security.

The term “beneficial ownership” is defined by rules of the SEC. Generally, Covered Persons are deemed to have beneficial ownership of securities that are in some way held in their name. Examples include the following:

 

    A joint account with a spouse or minor child;

 

    A relative (including in-laws, step-children, or step-parents) sharing the same house; and

 

    An account in which a Covered Person obtains benefits substantially equivalent to ownership of the securities.

Exemption from Pre-Clearance Requirement

Clearance is not required for any account over which a Covered Person does not have any influence or control. However, Covered Persons must report the existence of such an account to Compliance and arrange for duplicate brokerage statements to be sent to the CCO. Compliance has the authority to request further information and documentation from any Covered Person regarding any account over which they claim to have no influence or control.

Special Permission Required for Limited Offerings

Securities issued in private placements (including sales) and limited offerings of any kind (including private placements of corporate securities, hedge funds, private equity funds, and other limited partnership or similar investments) may only be acquired with prior written approval from the CCO. A request for approval of an investment in a limited offering should generally be submitted at least one week in advance of the proposed date of investment.

 

5


Disclosure of Limited Offerings in Subsequent Investment Decisions

Any Covered Person who has a personal position in an issuer through a limited offering must affirmatively disclose that interest if such Covered Person is involved in consideration of any subsequent investment decision regarding any security of that issuer. In such event, the final investment decision shall be independently reviewed by the CCO. Written records of any such circumstance shall be maintained and sent to the CCO.

Reporting Requirements

Holdings Reports : After a Covered Person joins Atlantic, he or she will be required to supply the CCO with a list of all his or her securities brokerage accounts and securities holdings (“Holding Reports”) as detailed in Annex B and Annex C . The information in the reports must be current as of a date not more than 45 days prior to the individual becoming a Covered Person.

A Covered Person can satisfy the initial Holdings Report requirement by timely filing and dating a copy of a brokerage account statement listing all of his or her securities holdings, so long as that statement provides all the information described above. See Duplicate Statements and Trade Confirmation above.

Covered Persons also must submit Holdings Reports containing the information above to the CCO on an annual basis. Annual Holdings Reports can also be satisfied by brokerage account statements.

The CCO or his designee will review the holdings reports or brokerage account statement of each Covered Person. No Covered Person will be permitted to monitor his or her own holdings reports or brokerage account statement for purposes of compliance with the Code. The CCO’s reports must be monitored by another officer of the Atlantic.

Transaction Reports : In addition to the clearance requirement described above, Covered Persons are also required to report their securities transactions, including transactions in Reportable Funds, to the CCO on a quarterly basis. The report shall be made on the Quarterly Personal Securities Transaction Report in the form of Annex D .

Each Covered Person shall report all securities transactions during a calendar quarter to the CCO or his or her designee no later than 30 days after the end of the quarter.

In lieu of furnishing Quarterly Personal Securities Transactions Reports as required above, a Covered Person may authorize the CCO to receive duplicates statements and trade confirmations (provided not less frequently than quarterly) as detailed above.

 

6


Exceptions to Reporting Requirements : Personal trading reports need not be maintained in the following circumstances:

 

    Neither Holdings Reports nor Transaction Reports are required as to securities held in accounts over which the Covered Person has no direct or indirect influence or control.

 

    As noted above, the Quarterly Personal Securities Transaction Report need not be filed to the extent that the required information is contained in trade confirms or account statements that are automatically supplied to Atlantic.

Restrictions on Disclosures

Covered Persons may not disclose any non-public information (whether or not it is material) relating to Atlantic or securities transactions on behalf of clients to any person outside Atlantic (unless such disclosure has been authorized by Atlantic). Covered Persons may not communicate material, non-public information to anyone, including persons within Atlantic, except as permitted by this Code. All such information must be secured. For example, access to files containing material, non-public information and computer files containing such information should be restricted, and conversations containing such information, if at all appropriate, should be conducted in private.

Review

Compliance shall periodically review all Covered Persons’ Holdings Reports, Transaction Reports, brokerage statements and Trade Pre-Approval forms and take reasonable steps to monitor compliance with, and enforce, this Code. Such review will include not only an assessment of whether the Covered Person has adequately complied with his or her reporting obligations, but will also include comparisons of such brokerage statements.

 

7


IV. POLITICAL CONTRIBUTIONS (“Pay to Play”)

Rule 206(4)-5 under the Advisers Act restricts practices commonly known as “pay to play,” where an investment adviser or its Covered Persons directly or indirectly make contributions or other payments to public officials or candidates for public office with the intent of obtaining investment advisory business. In order to prevent violations, Atlantic has adopted a policy prohibiting Covered Persons engaged in marketing Atlantic’s funds or services from contributing more than $350 to a candidate in an election for whom they can vote or $150 to a candidate for whom they cannot vote, as set out below.

Specifically, no Covered Associate (as defined below) shall:

 

    Make any contribution to any Government Official; or

 

    Coordinate, or solicit any third party to make, any Contribution to a Government Official unless such third party is a regulated municipal adviser, investment adviser, or broker-dealer registered with the SEC, and in the case of a broker-dealer, is subject to the rule of a self-regulatory organization.

Definitions

Contribution includes any gift, subscription, loan, advance, deposit of money or anything of value made for the purpose of influencing an election to an elective office. A Contribution includes, without limitation, payment of campaign debts and payment of transition or inaugural expenses.

Covered Associate includes Alexander Roepers, the CCO, and any other Covered Person who actively solicits or offers Atlantic’s funds to any Government Entity.

Government Official means any candidate for elective office or incumbent holding elective office if the office holder (i) is directly or indirectly responsible for, or can influence the hiring of, an investment adviser by a Government Entity or (ii) has the authority to appoint any person who is directly or indirectly responsible for, or can influence the hiring of, an investment adviser by a Government Entity.

Government Entity means any U.S. state or political subdivision of a U.S. state , including its agencies, authorities, instrumentalities, plans, programs and pools of assets. For the avoidance of doubt, Government Entities include all pension plans and collective government funds, including participant-directed plans such as 403(b), 457 and 529 plans.

Policies and Procedures

If a Covered Associate would like to make a Contribution, or to coordinate or solicit any third party to make any Contribution to, or for the benefit of or at the request of, any Government Official, the Covered Associate must get approval from the CCO that includes:

 

    The amount of the proposed Contribution;

 

8


    The Government Official to whom Contribution is being made;

 

    The elective or appointed office or other government position that such Government Official occupies at the time of the proposed Contribution;

 

    The elective or appointed office or other government position sought by such Government Official at the time of the proposed Contribution;

 

    The person who requested that the Covered Associate make the proposed Contribution;

 

    The form of the proposed Contribution; and

 

    A brief description of the reason for the Contribution and any other relevant facts or circumstances.

Covered Associates are not required to submit a written request to the CCO before making Contributions of $350 or less per election to a candidate for whom they can vote and $150 or less per election to a candidate for whom they cannot vote.

Covered Associates are prohibited from doing anything indirectly that, if done directly, would result in a violation of Rule 206(4)-5. For example, a spouse cannot make a Contribution that the Covered Associate could not make for himself or herself.

Two Year “Time Out”

If a Covered Associate makes a Contribution to a Government Official, then Atlantic may not receive compensation in connection with providing advisory services to the applicable Government Entity for two years after the date of such Contribution. If the Government Entity is an existing Investor in a Fund, then Atlantic must waive or rebate any fees or carried interest otherwise payable by the Government Entity to Atlantic (or waive fees or carried interest payable by the Fund in which such Government Entity is an Investor by the amount attributable to such Government Entity) for two years or, alternatively, redeem the Government Entity’s interest in the Fund or permit the Government Entity to withdraw from the Fund.

The two-year “time out” resulting from a Covered Associate making a Contribution will continue to apply even if the Covered Associate is no longer employed by Atlantic. Furthermore, prior Contributions follow an individual if he or she subsequently becomes a Covered Associate of Atlantic (including a non-Covered Associate who is promoted to a Covered Associate position). When hiring Covered Associates or promoting employees to Covered Associate positions, Atlantic shall require disclosure of such Covered Associates’ prior campaign contributions.

Atlantic may also avoid a “time out” if (i) the Contribution is discovered within four months and returned within 60 days after discovery, and (ii) the Contribution did not exceed $350. This “self help” option is limited to no more than two Contributions per calendar year and to no more than one returned Contribution per Covered Associate, regardless of the time period.

 

9


Recordkeeping

At all times that Atlantic is providing advisory services to Government Entities, it is required, pursuant to Rule 206(4)-5, to keep records of:

 

    All direct and indirect Contributions made by Atlantic or any Covered Associates to any Government Officials and payments to state and local political parties and PACs;

 

    A list of names, titles, and business and residential addresses of all Covered Associates;

 

    A lit of the Government Entities to which it provides or has provided advisory services during the past five years.

Other Regulations

Various states, local governments and individual public pension plans have passed legislation, issued regulations or promulgated policies prohibiting or restricting the use of finders or solicitors to solicit public pension plans and/or requiring extensive disclosure with respect to campaign contributions. Rule 206(4)-5 does not preempt any regulation at the state, local or plan-specific level, and Atlantic will adhere to the most restrictive approach in order to comply with all finder/solicitor and political contribution regulations. These requirements may change over time. As a result, Atlantic will monitor state, local and plan-specific regulations and policies that will need to be followed.

 

10


V. CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

A conflict of interest occurs when a Covered Person’s own interest interferes in any way or appears to interfere with the interests of Atlantic or any client of Atlantic. A conflict of interest may arise when a Covered Person takes actions or has interests that may make it difficult to perform his or her work objectively and effectively. Conflicts of interest may also arise when a Covered Person receives improper personal benefits as a result of his or her position at Atlantic.

Business decisions and actions must be based on the best interests of Atlantic and its clients. Covered Persons may not have outside interests that conflict or appear to conflict with the best interests of Atlantic or its clients. Covered Persons are expected to act solely for the benefit of Atlantic and its clients and must not be influenced by a personal interest that may result from other individual or business concerns. Conflicts of interest are to be avoided and, if unavoidable, disclosed to the CCO as soon as possible. Any Covered Person who has any uncertainty regarding whether or not any action or relationship presents a conflicts of interest should contact Compliance for guidance.

It is a violation of duty and loyalty to Atlantic, without the prior written consent of the CCO, to:

 

    rebate, directly or indirectly, to any person, firm or corporation any part of the compensation received from Atlantic as a Covered Person;

 

    accept, directly or indirectly, from any person, firm, corporation or association, other than Atlantic, compensation of any nature as a bonus, commission, fee, gratuity or other consideration in connection with any transaction on behalf of Atlantic or a client account;

 

    own any stock or have, directly or indirectly, any financial interest in any other organization engaged in any securities, financial or related business, except for a minority stock ownership or other financial interest in any business which is publicly owned.

Gifts

Giving or receiving gifts in a business setting may give rise to an appearance of impropriety or may raise a potential conflict of interest. Atlantic has adopted the policies set forth below to guide Covered Persons in this area.

Generally, Covered Persons should not accept or provide any gifts or favors that might influence decisions regarding business transactions involving Atlantic. Although modest gifts and favors may be accepted or given on an occasional basis, which would not be regarded by others as improper, to a reasonable observer, it might appear that the gift could influence business decisions. Where there is a law or regulation that affects the conduct of a particular business and the acceptance of gifts of nominal value, the law must be followed.

 

11


All Covered Persons may not accept, directly or indirectly, anything of value, including gifts and gratuities, in excess of $300 per gift from any person or entity that does business with Atlantic, without the prior written approval of the CCO or President. This restriction does not apply to bona fide dining or entertainment if, during such dining or entertainment, a person or representative of the entity that does business with Atlantic is present.

Outside Activities

All Covered Persons are required to obtain advance written approval before engaging in any of the following activities:

 

    Active participation in any business (paid or unpaid) whether alone or as an employee, owner, shareholder, partner, member, joint venture, officer, director, consultant, independent contractor, agent, employee, or otherwise;

 

    Teaching assignments, lectures, public speaking, publication of articles, or radio or television appearances; or

 

    Service as an officer, director, trustee, or consultant in any private business, public charitable organization, or non-profit organization.

Each employee must identify the name of the organization, the number of hours involved, compensation, and any other information deemed relevant by Atlantic.

Failure to disclose or any intentional misrepresentation with respect to any outside employment or other activity may result in disciplinary action, up to and including termination. All Covered Persons are prohibited from engaging in work activities for another employer.

Covered Persons may not serve on the board of any company without the prior approval of the CCO. If such approval is granted, it may be subject to the implementation of appropriate procedures to isolate investment personnel serving as directors from making investment decisions for a client account managed by Atlantic concerning the company in question.

 

12


VI. ADMINISTRATION OF CODE

Reporting Violations

All violations of this Code must be reported promptly to the CCO. Violations may be reported to the CCO on an anonymous basis. When violations are not reported on an anonymous basis, Atlantic shall take reasonable steps to ensure that the identity of persons who report the violation will be strictly protected. Atlantic encourages and expects the full cooperation of all Covered Persons in enforcing this Code. Atlantic will not tolerate retaliation against any person who makes a good faith report of any violation of this Code.

Dissemination of this Code

Each Covered Person will be provided with a copy of this Code. Covered Persons shall be required to sign an acknowledgement, promptly upon becoming employed or otherwise associated with Atlantic, which evidences his or her receipt of this Code. Annually, all Covered Persons will be required to certify their receipt and compliance with this Code and having reviewed and understood its subject matter.

Enforcement and Sanctions

If the President or the CCO determines that a Covered Person has committed a violation of this Code, Atlantic may impose sanctions and take other actions as it deems appropriate, including a letter of caution or warning, suspension of personal trading privileges, suspension or termination of employment, fine, civil referral to the SEC and, in certain cases, criminal referral. Atlantic also may require the offending Covered Person to reverse the trades in question, and forfeit any profit or absorb any loss. Failure to timely abide by directions to reverse a trade or forfeit profits may result in the imposition of additional sanctions.

Recordkeeping

The CCO shall maintain in Atlantic’s files (i) a current copy of this Code, (ii) a record of all Covered Persons, (iii) records of violations of this Code and actions taken as a result of the violations, (v) copies of all Covered Persons’ written acknowledgements of receipt of this Code, (vi) Covered Persons’ holdings, monthly and/or quarterly brokerage statements, trade confirmations and Trade Pre-Approval forms, (vii) records of decisions approving Covered Persons’ acquisition of securities and limited offerings, and (viii) any other record as may be required under the Code. Such records will be maintained for 5 years, in an easily accessible place, and for the first 2 years in an appropriate office of Atlantic.

In addition, written acknowledgements by Covered Persons of receipt of this Code shall be kept for 5 years from the date the individual ceases to be a Covered Person.

Disclosure of Code to Clients

Covered Persons must inform clients of the existence of this Code, and, upon request by the client, furnish a copy of this Code to the client.

 

13


Undue Influence

Covered Persons shall not cause or attempt to cause any client to purchase, sell or hold any security in a manner calculated to create any personal benefit to such Covered Person. If a Covered Person stands to materially benefit from an investment decision for a client, the Covered Person must disclose to the President or CCO the nature of the beneficial interest that the Covered Person has in that security and where the decision could create a material benefit to the Covered Person. The President and CCO will determine whether or not the Covered Person will be restricted in making investment decisions with respect to the subject security.

 

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VII. GLOSSARY

For purposes of this Code, the following words, in addition to those previously defined, shall have the meanings ascribed to them below:

“Chief Compliance Officer” or “CCO” means the chief compliance officer of Atlantic as appointed by Atlantic from time to time.

“Client” means any person or entity for which Atlantic serves as investment adviser, renders investment advice or makes investment decisions.

“Covered Person” means every employee, director or officer who has access to nonpublic information regarding any Client’s purchase or sale of securities or nonpublic information regarding the portfolio holdings of any Reportable Fund.

“Federal Securities Laws” means the Securities Act of 1933, the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002, the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, Title V to the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, any rules adopted by the Securities Exchange Commission under any of the foregoing statutes, the Bank Secrecy Act as it applies to funds and investment advisers, and any rules adopted there under by the Securities Exchange Commission or the Department of Treasury.

“Knowledgeable Employee” means any natural person who is a Covered Person of Atlantic who in connection with his or her regular functions or duties (other than a Covered Person performing solely clerical, secretarial or administrative functions with regard to Atlantic or its investments), participates in the investment activities of Atlantic, provided that such Covered Person has been performing such functions and duties for or on behalf of Atlantic for at least 12 months.

“Limited Offering” means any private placement or other limited offering of securities, including an offering that is exempt from registration under the Securities Act of 1933 pursuant to section 4(2) or section 4(6) or pursuant to §§230.504, 230.505, or 230.506 of the Securities Act of 1933.

“Reportable Fund” includes any registered investment company (e.g., a mutual fund) for which Atlantic serves as the investment adviser or sub-adviser.

“Security” includes any stock, warrant, option, bond (including municipal bonds), debenture or derivative instrument. In addition, any trades in commodities or futures are also treated as securities for purposes of this Code.

 

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VIII. ANNEX A

COVERED PERSON TRADE PRE-CLEARANCE REQUEST

Pre-approval from the CCO is required for certain transactions set forth in the Code of Ethics. The CCO will check any applicable restrictions prior to granting approval. Please complete this form and return to the CCO.

Date:                             

Covered Person Name:                                                                                  

Account Holder(s):                                                                          

Relationship to Covered Person:                                                                    

Type of Security:                                                                              

Issuer:                                                                                                

Sector:                                                                                               

Sell: Quantity:                          Current Price:                         

Sell: Quantity:                          Current Price:                         

I REPRESENT THAT:

 

  1. I am not in possession of inside information concerning or affecting the issuer(s);

 

  2. I am not aware of a pending research report involving or relating to the issuer(s);

 

  3. I am not aware of a pending Atlantic investor or proprietary trade involving these securities;

 

  4. I am not engaging in personal trading that conflicts with duties owed to Atlantic or its clients or investors; and

These trades conform to the Code of Ethics

COVERED PERSON SIGNATURE:

 

                                                                                      

COMPLIANCE OFFICER ACKNOWLEDGEMENT:                                 

DATE:                             

 

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IX. ANNEX B

SECURITIES BROKERAGE ACCOUNTS

 

Covered Person  

 

  (PRINT NAME)

Information submitted current as of:             , 20    

In accordance with Atlantic’s Code of Ethics, I hereby certify that the following is a true and complete list of all securities brokerage accounts maintained with any broker, dealer or bank at which any securities are maintained in which I have direct or indirect beneficial ownership, and that the following fully discloses all of such accounts:

 

Broker-

Dealer/Custodian

  Account
Title/Owner
  Is Account
Managed by
a Third-
Party?
  Account Number
    Y   ¨     N   ¨  
    Y   ¨     N   ¨  
    Y   ¨     N   ¨  
    Y   ¨     N   ¨  
    Y   ¨     N   ¨  
    Y   ¨     N   ¨  

 

 

Signature

    

 

Date

  

 

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X. ANNEX C

SECURITIES HOLDINGS REPORT

 

Employee:  

 

  (PRINT NAME)

Information submitted current as of:             , 20    

In accordance with Atlantic’s Code of Ethics, I hereby certify that the following is a true and complete list of all securities in which I have direct or indirect beneficial ownership, whether held by broker-dealers, banks or other custodians, at your home, in safe deposit boxes, by an issuer or otherwise.

 

Title of Security

(i.e. ticker/CUSIP)

  

Type

  

Amount

(i.e. # of

shares/principal

amount)

  

Account Held

(use “Personal” if not in

an account)

        
        
        
        
        
        
        
        

To the extent securities are held in any account with a broker-dealer, bank or other custodian, you may satisfy this report by referencing and providing your most recent statement for each such account, otherwise you must list the securities above.

Nothing in this report should be construed as an admission that I have any direct or indirect beneficial ownership in any security to which the report relates.

 

 

Signature

    

 

Date

  

 

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XI. ANNEX D

QUARTERLY TRANSACTION REPORT

Covered Person:                                                  

For Quarter Ended:                                         

 

Security

Name

  

Type

(E/FI)

   Ticker
or
CUSIP
   # of
Shares/
Principal
Amt
   Buy/
Sell
   Interest
rate/
maturity
   Price    Date    Broker,
Dealer or
Bank
                       
                       
                       
                       
                       
                       

I certify that I have reported on this Quarterly Transaction Report all transactions in securities in which I had direct or indirect beneficial ownership during the period covered by this Quarterly Transaction Report as set forth above.

 

 

Signature

    

 

Date

  

 

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