WASHINGTON — Baltimore-based Legg Mason will eliminate some administrative jobs as part of a realignment in the face of trends that show investors moving away from actively managed investment vehicles.
The cuts were first reported by The Wall Street Journal, and confirmed in an emailed statement from a company spokeswoman by Bloomberg News.
Legg Mason will cut about three percent of its administrative staff, or 30 jobs, to refocus resources in response to “the disruption” affecting the asset-management industry, Bloomberg quotes spokeswoman Mary Athridge as saying.
Individual investors have been shifting their investment strategies to passive investments, such as mutual funds and electronically traded funds that simply track industry sectors or stock indexes. They carry lower fees and, in the case of ETFs, generally no ongoing fees at all, other than to buy or sell them.
Bloomberg reports BlackRock Inc., the world’s largest money manager, is said to be firing more than 30 people in its active equities group.
Legg Mason manages about $773 billion for its investors.
