ClearBridge Dividend Strategy 1 LCBOX

Peter Vanderlee will be stepping away as comanager on ClearBridge Dividend Strategy effective Dec. 31, 2024. The strategy is still in good hands, as experienced comanagers John Baldi and Michael Clarfeld remain. The strategy’s Morningstar Medalist Ratings are unchanged. Vanderlee is not leaving the firm; he was tapped to manage a Master Limited Partnership strategy following an impending manager retirement there. Investors should not expect any changes to the dividend strategy’s direction with Vanderlee gone. Clarfeld has managed the portfolio since August 2009, and John Baldi joined in April 2019 following a couple of years as a portfolio analyst supporting Clarfeld and Vanderlee. The portfolio has posted lackluster results relative to the Russell 1000 Index in the trailing 12 months through September 2024, but its dividend mandate prevents it from holding some of the market’s big winners. This portfolio makes its hay on the downside, and its defensive profile should continue without Vanderlee.