Smith Barney is introducing Legg Mason‘s discretionary mutual fund program, called Mutual Solutions, to its financial advisors. A Smith Barney official said the firm is launching the program with its advisors because it did not have a discretionary fund program itself.
Legg Mason had $800 million in the platform, a number that is expected to grow significantly. Smith Barney also recently started offering a non-discretionary program called Smith Barney Advisor.
The official said the firm is considering other products as well for its advisor force from the Legg Mason lineup. Smith Barney Consulting Group is the No. 1 provider of wrap and separately managed accounts, according to several research firms. Consultants expect the Legg Mason deal to only add to that.
Citigroup swapped its asset management capabilities for Legg Mason’s private client brokerage and capital markets businesses last year. The deal marked the realization that brokerage forces can’t sell in-house funds and are more reliant than ever on open-architecture platforms such as Mutual Solutions.