Legg Mason Inc.* / LM
About Legg Mason Inc.*
100 Light St., Baltimore, Md. 21202
www.leggmason.com
| 410-539-0000
| Founded: 1899
Industry: Financial Services | Category: Top Companies Headquartered in Maryland
It would be only a slight exaggeration to say that Legg Mason reinvented itself during the past year. In June, it struck a momentous agreement with Citigroup, selling its stock brokerage business — with about 1,400 stockbrokers — in exchange for Citi's mutual fund business. The unusual transaction roughly doubled the amount of assets Legg has under management; the figure exceeded $850 billion early this year.
The deal, valued by Legg Mason at $3.7 billion, was designed to play to each firm's strengths and avoid conflict-of-interest problems. Legg wanted to concentrate on managing mutual funds and other investment products and get out of retail brokering. Citi wanted to do the opposite. Both wanted to avert the regulatory issues that arise when brokers recommend their own firm's investment products.
Legg Mason's financial results for 2005 include continuing and discontinued operations and reflect a gain on the sale of discontinued operations.
In a separate accord, Legg bought a majority stake in Permal Group, a Paris-based concern that manages a fund of hedge funds.
Meanwhile, Bill Miller, the firm's star manager who runs the Legg Mason Value Trust, outperformed the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index for the 15th consecutive year, by far the longest streak in the mutual fund world.
In March of this year, Legg Mason's board named James W. Hirschmann as its president and the expected successor to chief executive Raymond A. "Chip" Mason. Since 1999, Hirschmann had been chief executive of Western Asset Management, a bond investment firm that Legg Mason bought in 1996.
President, chairman and CEO: Raymond A. Mason
2005 Financial Data
Revenues: $2,028,232,000 | Net Income: $1,111,759,000Asssets: $9,436,364,000 | Earnings Per Share: $8.93
Stockholder Equity: $5,640,682,000 | Annual Dividend: $0.66
Total employees: 4,086 | Local employees: None
Did You Know
Until recently a diversified financial services company best known in the region for its retail brokerage business, Legg Mason has become fully focused on the business of managing money. The firm is the nation's fifth-largest money manager.
