ClearBridge Investments, LLC
Headquartered in New York, ClearBridge Investments, LLC has more than $142 billion in assets under management (AUM), with nearly 100 advisors offering several different types of advisory services. The fee-based firm serves a range of institutional and retail investors, whose numbers total to more than 122,000.
ClearBridge Investments, LLC Background
Clearbridge is a global investment firm that’s been in business for more than 50 years. The firm has offices in New York, New York; Baltimore, Maryland; Wilmington, Delaware; San Francisco, California and London.
The firm’s management includes CEO Terrence Murphy; co-chief investment officer and portfolio manager Hersh Cohen; co-chief investment officer and portfolio manager Scott Glasser; chief operating officer (COO) John Haller; chief financial officer (CFO) Cynthia List; chief marketing officer (CMO) Russell Mahland; general counsel and chief compliance officer (CCO) Barbara Manning and chief human resources officer William Schmitt. Leadership also includes Brendan Dunphy, Charles Harris, Patrick Collier, Farhan Mustafa, Vinay Nadkarni and Nicole Tarallo.
ClearBridge Investments, LLC Client Types and Minimum Account Sizes
ClearBridge offers wealth management guidance for an array of institutional and retail clients. The firm’s institutional clients include state and local governments, corporate and government pension funds, endowments, family offices, foundations, insurance companies and trusts. High-net-worth and non-high-net-worth individuals make up the majority of the firm’s retail or clients.
The firm generally imposes a minimum investment size of $5 million for institutional accounts. The minimum account size for retail clients is $1 million.
Services Offered by ClearBridge Investments, LLC
ClearBridge strictly offers investment management services for its clients.
ClearBridge Investments, LLC Investment Philosophy
Clearbridge says on its firm brochure that it’s dedicated to delivering long-term results through active management. The firm says it works toward this goal by offering investment solutions that emphasize bottom-up stock selection. ClearBridge centers its investment strategies around three investment objectives: high active share, income solutions and low volatility.
Advisors offer investment strategies through separately managed accounts, commingled vehicles, mutual funds, collective investment funds, custom solutions and offshore funds. ClearBridge also utilizes a research group that works to identify new investment opportunities.
Fees Under ClearBridge Investments, LLC
For separately managed accounts, advisory fees are based on AUM and billed quarterly and payable in arrears. The firm also manages funds not registered under securities law, offering these solely to accredited investors or qualified purchasers. These fees range from 0.70% to 1.25% of AUM.
Institutional account U.S. strategies range from 0.40% to 0.95% of AUM, while institutional accounts using non-U.S. and global strategies have fees ranging from 0.60% to 1.00% of AUM.
ClearBridge also earns performance-based fees which allow advisors to earn fees that are based on a share of capital gains or capital appreciation of client assets.
ClearBridge Investments, LLC Awards and Recognition
The firm has been recognized by Pensions & Investments magazine as one of the Best Places to Work in Money Management. The magazine based its results off survey responses from employees. ClearBridge has earned the award for seven consecutive years.
What to Watch Out For
ClearBridge receives compensation from both asset-based fees and performance-based fees, creating a conflict of interest if advisors become incentivized to favor accounts with higher fees.
The firm’s side-by-side management could create situations where investment opportunities are unfairly allocated, but the firm has a compliance department that monitors all allocations. Clearbridge also has a fiduciary duty to work in each client’s best interest.
Disclosures
ClearBridge only has one disclosure that involved one of its affiliates, Legg Mason, Inc. In 2018, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) found the affiliate in violation of section 13 (B)(2)(B) of the Securities Exchange Act. The SEC said the affiliate failed to plan and maintain internal accounting controls regarding introducing brokers and other intermediaries in emerging markets.
To resolve the matter, the affiliate was required to pay prejudgement interest of $6,907,765 and disgorgement of $27,594,729.
Opening an Account With Clearbridge Investments, LLC
You’ll have a variety of options when it comes to setting up an account with ClearBridge. The firm offers a contact form on its website, as well as an inquiry email and customer service line. You can also call or visit any of the firm’s offices to set up an appointment with an advisor. If you live in or near New York, you can reach the firm’s headquarters at 1-800-691-6960.
Tips for Saving for Retirement
- Before searching for a financial advisor, it’s important to consider which specific areas of wealth management you’d like assistance with. Whether it’s investing, retirement planning or estate planning, knowing where you’d like to grow will make your experience and search process much easier.
- If you’d prefer a different route for finding your ideal advisor, SmartAsset’s free financial advisor matching tool pairs you with up to three local advisors within minutes.
All information was accurate as of the writing of this article.
