Legg Mason Partners With Hand Benefits & Trust On 401(k) Roadmap Funds™
A Series of Nine Target Date Retirement Collective Investment Funds That Provide Employee Benefit Plans with Multi-Asset Strategies
NEW YORK, Dec. 2, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Legg Mason (NYSE:LM) today announced the launch of a new series of nine target retirement collective investment funds, the 401(k) Roadmap Funds (Roadmap Funds), which are sponsored and maintained by Hand Benefits & Trust Company (HB&T), a Benefits Plans Administrative Services Company (BPAS). The Roadmap Funds are designed to give employee benefit plans access to asset allocation strategies. QS Investors, LLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Legg Mason, Inc. and a leading customized solutions and global quantitative equities manager, has been retained by HB&T to provide sub-advisory and asset allocation services to the Roadmap Funds. In addition, Sheridan Road Investment Consulting, LLC supports QS Investors by providing investment research and fund analytics.
The Roadmap Funds were designed to be successor funds to QS Legg Mason Target Date Retirement Funds, a series of target date mutual funds that closed on November 14 and, as such, will utilize substantially similar investment strategies and processes as those utilized by the Legg Mason Target Date Retirement Funds, including similar asset allocation glide path and dynamic risk management.
The Roadmap Funds are funds-of-funds and will invest in a combination of underlying funds representing a variety of broad asset classes such as equity, fixed income and inflation-hedging strategies. The Roadmap Funds' glide path is designed to adjust over time to become more conservative by increasing allocations to fixed income securities as investors near retirement and to effectively balance market risk against longevity risk.
HB&T is the trustee and is responsible for the establishment, maintenance and operation of the Roadmap Funds. It is also responsible for the retention and oversight of the sub-adviser and other service providers for the Roadmap Funds.
"Clients are looking for solutions that meet their needs in a low growth marketplace. Hand Benefits & Trust, QS Investors and Sheridan Road Investment Consulting worked together to create a low cost solution that combines a distinctive glide path with a dynamic risk management feature that is fairly unique in today's target date industry," stated Gary Kleinschmidt, Head of DCIO sales for Legg Mason. "The Roadmap Funds are really about providing investors with a streamlined retirement planning option that includes balancing market risk against longevity risk while attempting to reduce portfolio volatility in the five years before and after retirement when investors are most vulnerable to a drop in portfolio value," concluded Kleinschmidt.
For more information on the funds, please access the Legg Mason product page at www.leggmason.com/individualinvestor
About Legg Mason
Legg Mason is a global asset management firm with $720 billion in assets under management as of October 31, 2014. The Company provides active asset management in many major investment centers throughout the world. Legg Mason is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, and its common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: LM).
About QS Investors
Formed in 1999 within a large asset management firm, QS Investors, LLC is an investment firm providing asset management and advisory services to a diverse array of institutional clients. QS Investors delivers disciplined and systematic solutions that address clients' complex investment challenges. The team has developed approaches to integrating quantitative and behavioral investment insights and dynamically weighting opportunities in response to changing conditions in the economy and the market. Risk identification, assessment and management are an intrinsic part of their process. QS Investors offers a broad spectrum of strategies which includes actively managed US and Global equities, Liquid Alternatives, and Customized Solutions. QS Investors is based in New York, serving clients globally.
About Hand Benefits & Trust
Hand Benefits (HB&T), a Benefit Plans Administrative Services, Inc. (BPAS) company, and is affiliates are a national providers of administration, actuarial, consulting and institutional trust services and has extensive experience serving as sponsor and trustee of collective investment funds.
About Sheridan Road Investment Consulting, LLC
Sheridan Road Investment Consulting, an investment adviser registered with the Illinois Securities Commission provides investment research and fund analytics.
To learn more about the 401(k) Roadmap Funds, including each Fund's investment objective, risks, charges and expenses, please see the Funds' Declaration of Investment Account and Investment Policy Statement, which are available upon request by calling 1-866-807-0886.
All investments involve risk, including loss of principal.
QS Investors investment platform is comprised of QS Investors, LLC, QS Batterymarch Financial Management, Inc. and QS Legg Mason Global Asset Allocation (QS LMGAA).
©2014 Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC, member FINRA, SIPC. Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC, QS Investors, LLC QS Batterymarch Financial Management, Inc. and QS LMGAA are subsidiaries of Legg Mason, Inc.
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SOURCE Legg Mason, Inc.
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