New names: Western Asset, Legg Mason and the legacy-neutral Clearbridge. Legg Mason has re-named its separately managed account (SMA) portfolios, a move it says was required "as part of the transaction in which it acquired substantially all of the worldwide asset management businesses of Citigroup" in 2005 -- including the biggest SMA program on the planet.

Rose is a rose

Baltimore-based Legg Mason's equity SMA portfolios take the name ClearBridge, as in ClearBridge Large Cap Growth. Legg Mason coined "ClearBridge" earlier this year as a banner for the equity management it had just acquired from Citi.

Most of Legg Mason's fixed-income SMA portfolios, including most of those that came over from Citi, take the Western Asset name after the company's largest proprietary fixed-income manager. A few fixed-income and balanced portfolios managed by ClearBridge without the involvement of Western Asset take the ClearBridge name.

Legg Mason's multiple-discipline accounts (MDAs) will take the Legg Mason name "because they may take advantage of the investment capabilities of several Legg Mason investment managers." Before Legg Mason took it over last year, Citigroup Asset Management was the biggest MDA manager in the world and a pioneer in developing multi-sleeve investment products for retail distribution.

Legg Mason will also rename the in-house managers that provide investment advice for its SMAs. CAM North America becomes ClearBridge Advisors. Salomon Brothers Asset Management becomes ClearBridge Asset Management. In addition to meeting tenets of its 2005 agreement with Citi, Legg Mason says the "new names will help investors more clearly recognize these investment portfolios as part of the Legg Mason family." -FWR

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