Legg Mason to close three exchange-traded funds

Legg Mason announced Wednesday that it would liquidate and close three small exchange-traded funds.
The closings come after the Baltimore-based investment management firm reported a big loss for its fiscal third quarter and the launch of a cost-cutting plan that would consolidate and automate operational functions among its affiliates.

Legg said it was closing the funds “based on an ongoing review of its product lineup and to ensure it meets the evolving needs of its clients.”

The funds Legg plans to close include:

• Developed ex-US Diversified Core ETF, 
• Emerging Markets Diversified Core ETF and 
• US Diversified Core ETF. 

Exchange-traded funds are investment funds like mutual funds but shares can be traded on a stock exchange — the Nasdaq market in the case of these three Legg funds.

The Developed ex-US Diversified Core fund had just $10.7 million in assets under management. The Emerging Markets Diversified Core fund had $14.6 million in assets., while the US Diversified Core fund had less than $3.1 million in assets.

All three funds will stop accepting new orders on March 6 and are expected to stop trading on March 15. Proceeds from the liquidation are expected to be sent to shareholders on March 22.

Legg Mason remains heavily vested in exchange traded funds with more than $800 million in such funds as of Jan. 31. The company had $727.2 billion in assets under management as of December 31.