About the manager

ClearBridge Advisors was created following Legg Mason Inc.'s transaction with Citigroup in December 2005, but traces back its asset management expertise more than 45 years to a number of prominent and well-established firms that have made meaningful contributions to its modern-day culture and investment philosophy. ClearBridge Advisors is the largest equity manager of Legg Mason, combining research-driven fundamental investing with the insights of its veteran portfolio managers to seek long-term competitive portfolio performance for institutional and retail clients.

Investment philosophy

ClearBridge's philosophical approach to the stock market is to think and act like long-term investors in a business — the difference between behaving like an "owner" of a company instead of a "renter". The firm's experienced portfolio managers have their own distinct investment processes and priorities when managing their portfolios, but they all share a fundamental approach to security selection and valuation analysis. ClearBridge maintains a flexible approach to analysis, with a common focus on real economic returns and cash flow. Both portfolio managers and analysts are responsible for research. Because many of the firm's portfolio managers have a background in fundamental analysis, they typically conduct their own research in addition to what analysts produce, including regular interaction with corporate management teams.

Investment approach

The ClearBridge Advisors Socially Aware Large Cap Value Strategy utilizes an interactive, research-driven approach to identify companies with strong business franchises and attractive valuations. The Strategy seeks to identify companies with proven business models that the managers understand; companies with a sustainable competitive advantage; and stocks capable of generating superior returns across a range of potential scenarios. It places a heavy emphasis on higher certainty of near/medium term cash flows while heavily discounting earnings from emerging business models or products, and considers valuations relative to normalized earnings power. The Strategy focuses primarily on U.S. large cap companies that typically have market capitalizations of $5 billion or more, and also may invest in non-U.S. equities or American Depositary Receipts.

The Strategy combines bottom-up fundamental analysis with a macroeconomic outlook to construct a diverse portfolio of stocks that are believed to provide an optimal mix of risk and return. Once the investment criteria for the Strategy have been met, the fundamental analysts, representing sector and sustainability research, will integrate the  Environmental, Social, and Governance [ESG] criteria into the final recommendations to be approved by the investment team. Portfolio risk is managed through position size and sector diversification, a continuous monitoring of existing holdings and a dedicated risk management team.

Portfolio managers

The ClearBridge Advisors Socially Aware Large Cap Value Strategy is co-managed by Robert Feitler Jr. and Dmitry Khaykin, along with Socially Aware Investment Portfolio Manager Mary Jane McQuillen.

Robert joined a predecessor organization in 1995 and has 15 years of investment industry experience. Previously, Robert was a financial analyst in the footwear industry. He began his career at Marine Bank as a commercial credit analyst. Robert received a BA in Economics from Haverford College and an MBA in Finance from the University of Wisconsin. 

Dmitry joined a predecessor organization in 2003 and has 13 years of investment industry experience. Previously, he was a research analyst at Gabelli & Co., where he concentrated on the telecommunications sector. He began his career at Morgan Stanley & Co. as an associate in the Risk Management Division. Dmitry received a BA in Computer Science from New York University and an MBA in Finance and Accounting from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania.

Mary Jane joined a predecessor organization in 1991, has 13 years of investment industry experience and has been a senior member with the SAI program since 1996. Previously, she was an analyst for Smith Barney Harris Upham, Inc. Mary Jane received her MBA from Columbia Business School and a B.S. in Finance from Fordham University. She serves on the Board of Directors for the Social Investment Forum (SIF) and the New York Society of Security Analysts (NYSSA). Mary Jane is also an active member of the United Nations Environment Program Finance Initiative (UNEP FI) Asset Management Working Group (AMWG), as well as a frequent contributor to industry publications on ESG integration, mission-related investing (MRI), and responsible investment performance studies. In 2008, Mary Jane was named a "Rising Star of Corporate Governance" by the Millstein Center for Corporate Governance and Performance at the Yale School of Management.

ESG commitment

Established in 1987 via a predecessor firm, ClearBridge Advisors’ SAI Program is designed for clients who wish to have portfolios managed in accordance with their sustainable investment guidelines. The firm has a long history of managing assets on behalf of clients seeking a variety of SAI mandates, and experience drafting Investment Policy Statements for Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) and mission-related investments.

ClearBridge's SAI Program includes ESG integration, continuous company engagement and active proxy voting & shareholder advocacy, as well as a public education component. The proprietary ESG evaluation process is integrated into the stock selection for the primary ClearBridge investment styles as part of a bottom-up approach to investing that seeks "best-in-class" names within each industry. The process is fortified by the expertise of analysts who are dedicated to sector and sustainable investment research on ClearBridge's Fundamental Research Team, working with experienced portfolio management teams. In addition to the firm’s commitment to UNEP FI, the SIF, and the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, ClearBridge Advisors has been a Signatory to the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) and to the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP).

Pax World Management makes no assurance that the manner in which ClearBridge Advisers manages its assets in the ESG Managers® Portfolios is the same as or entirely consistent with the manner in which it manages any of its other Funds or accounts.

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ClearBridge Advisors is not affiliated with ALPS Distributors, Inc.

Funds that emphasize investments in smaller companies may experience greater price volatility.