Legg Mason Creates a Retirement Advisory Council

BALTIMORE, Nov. 23, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Legg Mason Inc. (NYSE: LM) announced today the creation of the Legg Mason Retirement Advisory Council, a new think tank comprised of 14 retirement industry leaders. The Advisory Council will convene quarterly and examine the major challenges facing retirement products, service providers and the best practices observed by the industry.  

The Legg Mason Retirement Advisory Council consists of participants from across the retirement spectrum from 401k plan providers, brokerage/financial advisor leaders and retirement plan advisors and well-known independent defined contribution industry experts.  Members include:

• Ted Benna, President of Malvern Benefits Corporation 401(k) Association
• Thomas Clark, Jr., President, Lockton Financial Group
• Paul D'Aiutolo, Vice President, UBS Wealth Management
• Charles Epstein, Founder, The 401(k) Coach Program
• Robert L. Francis, Chief Operating Officer, National Retirement Partners
• Joseph Frustaglio, Vice President, Retirement Plans Sales, National Sales Manager,  Nationwide
• Gary Kleinschmidt, Head of Retirement Specialists, Legg Mason
• Dave Master, Managing Director  Strategy and Business Development, Legg Mason
• Joseph Masterson, Senior Vice President, Diversified Investment Advisors
• Joe Mrozek, National Sales Manager – Retirement, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
• Edward O'Connor, Managing Director, Head of Retirement Services, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
• Michael Shamburger, Vice President, National Sales Manager 401k, The Hartford Financial Services Group
• Scott Sides, Senior Vice President& Corporate Benefits Director, Morgan Stanley Smith Barney
• Marcia Wagner, Managing Partner, Wagner Law Group

"Retirement is front and center as an urgent challenge facing Americans," said Tom Hirschmann, Head of Institutional, Americas for Legg Mason. "By creating the Legg Mason Retirement Advisory Council, we're bringing together some of the best minds in the industry to collectively address the obstacles that prevent so many Americans from planning for their retirement. We hope to lend shape to future innovations in products and services and bring about consistent quality in best practices so that investors can with confidence start focusing on their retirement before it's too late," concluded Hirschmann.

Among the issues to be addressed by the Legg Mason Retirement Advisory Council:

• The impact of federal policy in shaping the future of retirement products and services;
• The use and importance of value-added programs for advisors;
• Product innovation including alternatives, ETFs, guarantees;
• Best practices in employee education and defined contribution plans;
• Addressing the new risks of plan sponsor/employer liability;
• A new, realistic approach to retirement planning;
• Creating greater investor urgency around retirement;
• Approaching solutions from the retiree's perspective.

About Legg Mason

Legg Mason is a global asset management firm with $677 billion in assets under management as of October 31, 2010. 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).

Batterymarch Financial Management, Inc., Brandywine Global Investment Management, LLC, Legg Mason Capital Management, Inc., Clearbridge Advisors, LLC, Western Asset Management Co., Global Currents Investment Management, Royce & Associates, The Permal Group, and Private Capital Management are subsidiaries of Legg Mason, Inc. Legg Mason Investor Services is a subsidiary of Legg Mason, Inc.  Legg Mason, Inc., is not affiliated with any of the other entities listed above.  

© 2010 Legg Mason Investor Services, LLC. Member FINRA, SIPC

SOURCE Legg Mason, Inc.