Legg Mason Adds Bond ETF

Today Legg Mason rolled out a fixed-income ETF covering short-duration securities. The Western Asset Short Duration Income ETF (WINC) will invest primarily in investment-grade corporate debt denominated in U.S. dollars, according to the prospectus.

The new fund comes with an expense ratio of 0.29% and lists on the Nasdaq stock exchange.

WINC is actively managed and can also invest up to 15% of its portfolio in asset-backed and mortgage-backed securities. It will typically have an effective duration of no more than three years, the document says. It is the second Legg Mason ETF to be managed and subadvised by Legg affiliate Western Asset Management Company.

Pending Closures

The launch comes on the heels of the announcement that Legg would be shutting three of its ETFs. The firm will close its three multifactor equity ETFs, which are as follows:

• Legg Mason Developed ex-U.S. Diversified Core ETF (DDBI)
• Legg Mason Emerging Markets Diversified Core ETF (EDBI)
• Legg Mason U.S. Diversified Core ETF (UDBI)

All three funds launched at the end of 2015 as the multifactor ETF trend was ramping up. They were the first ETFs to debut from Legg, but they never gathered significant assets among a very crowded multifactor field. Their last day of trading will be March 15.

Contact Heather Bell at [email protected]