UNITED STATES
SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549
FORM 10-K
(Mark One)
| x | ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2003
or
| ¨ | TRANSITION REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 |
For the transition period from to
Commission File No. 1-8529
LEGG MASON, INC.
(Exact name of registrant as specified in its charter)
| Maryland | 52-1200960 | |
| (State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization) |
(I.R.S. Employer Identification No.) | |
| 100 Light Street Baltimore, Maryland |
21202 | |
| (Address of principal executive offices) | (Zip Code) | |
Registrants telephone number, including area code: (410) 539-0000
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(b) of the Act:
| Title of each class |
Name of each exchange on which registered | |
| Common Stock, $.10 par value | New York Stock Exchange |
Securities registered pursuant to Section 12(g) of the Act: NONE
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days. Yes x No ¨
Indicate by check mark if disclosure of delinquent filers pursuant to Item 405 of Regulation S-K is not contained herein, and will not be contained, to the best of registrants knowledge, in definitive proxy or information statements incorporated by reference in Part III of this Form 10-K or any amendment to this Form 10-K. ¨
Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is an accelerated filer (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act). Yes x No ¨
As of September 30, 2002, the aggregate market value of the registrants voting stock, consisting of the registrants common stock and the exchangeable shares discussed below, held by non-affiliates was $2,571,640,000.
As of May 23, 2003, the number of shares outstanding of the registrants common stock was 65,069,442. In addition, on that date a subsidiary of the registrant had outstanding 2,256,745 exchangeable shares which are convertible on a one-for-one basis at any time into shares of common stock of the registrant.
DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE
Portions of the registrants definitive proxy statement dated June 18, 2003 are incorporated by reference into Part III.
PART I
| Item 1. | Business. |
General
We are a holding company that, through our subsidiaries, is principally engaged in providing the following services to individuals, institutions, corporations, governments and government agencies:
| | asset management; |
| | securities brokerage; |
| | investment banking; and |
| | other related financial services. |
We currently operate through four business segments: Asset Management, Private Client, Capital Markets and Other.
In our asset management business, we provide asset management services to institutional and individual clients and investment advisory services to company-sponsored investment funds. As of March 31, 2003, our subsidiaries had an aggregate of $192.2 billion of assets under management. We classify our asset management business into three groups: Mutual Funds, Institutional and Wealth Management.
In our Mutual Funds business, we sponsor domestic and international equity, fixed income and money market mutual and closed-end funds and other proprietary funds. We have two asset management subsidiaries that primarily focus on managing proprietary investment funds:
| | Legg Mason Funds Management, Inc., which is located in Baltimore, Maryland; and |
| | Royce & Associates, LLC, which is located in New York, New York. |
Our Institutional asset management subsidiaries provide a wide range of asset management services and products to domestic and international institutional clients. Our Institutional asset management subsidiaries are:
| | Western Asset Management Company and Western Asset Management Company Limited, which are primarily located in Pasadena, California and London, England; |
| | Perigee Investment Counsel Inc., which is primarily located in Toronto, Canada; |
| | Brandywine Asset Management, LLC, which is located in Wilmington, Delaware; |
| | Batterymarch Financial Management, Inc., which is located in Boston, Massachusetts; |
| | Legg Mason Capital Management, Inc., which is located in Baltimore, Maryland; and |
| | Legg Mason Investments Holdings Limited, which is located in London, England. |
Our Wealth Management subsidiaries provide customized discretionary investment management services and products to high net worth individuals and families, endowments and foundations and institutions. Our Wealth Management subsidiaries are:
| | Private Capital Management, L.P., which is located in Naples, Florida; |
| | Bartlett & Co., which is primarily located in Cincinnati, Ohio; |
| | Barrett Associates, Inc., which is located in New York, New York; |
| | Berkshire Asset Management, Inc., which is located in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania; |
| | Legg Mason Focus Capital, Inc., which is primarily located in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania; and |
| | Legg Mason Trust, fsb, which is primarily located in Baltimore, Maryland. |
Our Private Client and Capital Markets business segment activities are primarily conducted through Legg Mason Wood Walker, Incorporated (Legg Mason Wood Walker), our principal broker-dealer subsidiary. Legg Mason Wood Walker is a full service broker-dealer, investment advisor and investment banking firm operating primarily in the Eastern and Southern regions of the United States.
Our Other business segment consists primarily of the operations of Legg Mason Real Estate Services, Inc., our real estate finance and mortgage banking subsidiary. Legg Mason Real Estate Services is primarily engaged in commercial mortgage banking and servicing and discretionary and non-discretionary management of commercial real estate-related assets.
See Item 7. Managements Discussion and Analysis of Results of Operations and Financial ConditionFiscal 2003 Compared with Fiscal 2002Results by Segment for the net revenues and pre-tax earnings of each of our business segments. See Note 17 of Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements in Item 8 of this Report for the net revenues and pre-tax earnings generated by Legg Mason in each of the four principal geographic areas in which we conduct business.
Legg Mason, Inc. was incorporated in Maryland in 1981 to serve as a holding company for Legg Mason Wood Walker and other subsidiaries. The predecessor company to Legg Mason Wood Walker was formed in 1970 under the name Legg Mason & Co., Inc. to combine the operations of Legg & Co., a Maryland-based broker-dealer formed in 1899, and Mason & Company, Inc., a Virginia-based broker-dealer formed in 1962. Our subsequent growth has occurred through internal expansion as well as through the acquisition of asset management, broker-dealer and commercial mortgage banking firms.
Additional information about Legg Mason is available on our website at http://www.leggmason.com. We make available, free of charge, our annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form 10-Q, current reports on Form 8-K and amendments to those reports filed or furnished pursuant to Section 13(a) or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and our proxy statements. Investors can find this information under the Inside Legg Mason-AboutInvestor Relations section of our website. These reports are available through our website as soon as reasonably practicable after we electronically file the material with, or furnish it to, the Securities and Exchange Commission. The information on our website is not incorporated by reference into this Report.
Unless the context otherwise requires, all references in this Report to we, us, our and Legg Mason include Legg Mason, Inc. and its predecessors and subsidiaries.
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Revenues by Source
This table shows certain information about our revenues by source.
LEGG MASON, INC. AND SUBSIDIARIES
| Years Ended March 31, |
||||||||||||||||||
| 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | ||||||||||||||||
| (Dollars in thousands) | ||||||||||||||||||
| Amount | Percent | Amount | Percent | Amount | Percent | |||||||||||||
| Investment Advisory and Related Fees: |
||||||||||||||||||
| Separate Accounts |
$ | 488,614 | 32.0 | % | $ | 423,745 | 29.2 | % | $ | 306,390 | 22.5 | % | ||||||
| Mutual Funds: |
||||||||||||||||||
| Advisory Fees |
223,540 | 14.6 | 186,642 | 12.9 | 168,711 | 12.4 | ||||||||||||
| Distribution Fees |
137,024 | 9.0 | 159,961 | 11.0 | 170,345 | 12.5 | ||||||||||||
| Related Fees |
11,153 | 0.7 | 10,244 | 0.7 | 8,546 | 0.7 | ||||||||||||
| Total |
860,331 | 56.3 | 780,592 | 53.8 | 653,992 | 48.1 | ||||||||||||
| Commissions: |
||||||||||||||||||
| Listed and Over-the-Counter |
197,339 | 12.9 | 212,531 | 14.6 | 217,769 | 16.0 | ||||||||||||
| Mutual Funds |
77,671 | 5.1 | 80,276 | 5.5 | 90,363 | 6.6 | ||||||||||||
| Insurance and Annuities |
36,408 | 2.4 | 31,547 | 2.2 | 40,931 | 3.0 | ||||||||||||
| Options |
5,301 | 0.3 | 6,539 | 0.5 | 9,499 | 0.7 | ||||||||||||
| Total |
316,719 | 20.7 | 330,893 | 22.8 | 358,562 | 26.3 | ||||||||||||
| Principal Transactions: |
||||||||||||||||||
| U.S. Government and Agency |
58,500 | 3.9 | 46,868 | 3.2 | 19,746 | 1.5 | ||||||||||||
| Municipal |
31,777 | 2.1 | 30,435 | 2.1 | 35,155 | 2.6 | ||||||||||||
| Corporate Debt |
35,569 | 2.3 | 31,431 | 2.2 | 25,560 | 1.9 | ||||||||||||
| Equities |
32,348 | 2.1 | 30,166 | 2.1 | 44,095 | 3.2 | ||||||||||||
| Total |
158,194 | 10.4 | 138,900 | 9.6 | 124,556 | 9.2 | ||||||||||||
| Investment Banking: |
||||||||||||||||||
| Corporate |
93,350 | 6.1 | 88,424 | 6.1 | 59,607 | 4.4 | ||||||||||||
| Municipal |
15,681 | 1.0 | 13,760 | 0.9 | 6,270 | 0.4 | ||||||||||||
| Total |
109,031 | 7.1 | 102,184 | 7.0 | 65,877 | 4.8 | ||||||||||||
| Interest Income |
108,781 | 7.1 | 168,073 | 11.6 | 282,201 | 20.7 | ||||||||||||
| Other (1) |
62,326 | 4.1 | 57,970 | 4.0 | 51,065 | 3.8 | ||||||||||||
| Total Revenues |
1,615,382 | 105.7 | 1,578,612 | 108.8 | 1,536,253 | 112.9 | ||||||||||||
| Interest Expense |
87,136 | 5.7 | 127,271 | 8.8 | 175,389 | 12.9 | ||||||||||||
| Net Revenues |
$ | 1,528,246 | 100.0 | % | $ | 1,451,341 | 100.0 | % | $ | 1,360,864 | 100.0 | % | ||||||
| (1) | Includes revenues from commercial mortgage servicing and commercial loan originations in fiscal years 2003, 2002 and 2001 of $24,760, $23,751 and $18,821, respectively. |
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Asset Management Business Segment
Our Asset Management business segment provides asset management services to institutional and individual clients and investment advisory services to company-sponsored investment funds. Operating in offices primarily located in the United States, and also located in the United Kingdom, Canada and Singapore, our asset management subsidiaries provide a broad array of investment management products and services. Our investment products include proprietary mutual funds ranging from money market and fixed income funds to equity funds managed in a wide variety of investing styles, non-United States funds and numerous unregistered, alternative investment products.
As of March 31, 2003, our subsidiaries had an aggregate of $192.2 billion of assets under management, of which approximately 31% was in equity related products and approximately 69% was in fixed income related products. During the year ended March 31, 2003, our assets under management grew by 9%, primarily as a result of growth in assets managed by Western Asset Management Company and Western Asset Management Company Limited.
Our asset management business has had steady growth over the last ten years, both in absolute terms and in terms of the percentage of our revenues and profits that it generates. During that period, our assets under management have grown from $13.1 billion to $192.2 billion and our investment advisory and related fee revenues, which include distribution fees that are included in the Private Client business segment, have grown from $79.6 million to $860.3 million. This growth in our asset management business has occurred through both internal growth and strategic acquisitions of asset management businesses. It is our strategy to continue to grow the asset management business, both in absolute terms and as percentages of our total revenues and profits.
We conduct our asset management business primarily through 15 subsidiaries. Each of these subsidiaries generally focuses on a different aspect of the asset management business in terms of the types of assets managed (primarily equity or fixed income), the types of products and services offered, the investment styles utilized, the distribution channels used and the types and geographic locations of its clients. These subsidiaries are generally operated as individual businesses, in many cases with certain administrative functions being provided by the parent company and other affiliates, that market their products and services under their own brand names. Consistent with this approach, we have in place revenue sharing agreements with Legg Mason Funds Management, Legg Mason Capital Management, Royce & Associates, Western Asset Management Company and Western Asset Management Company Limited, Brandywine Asset Management, Batterymarch Financial Management, Private Capital Management, Bartlett & Co., Barrett Associates and Berkshire Asset Management and/or certain of their key officers. Pursuant to these revenue sharing agreements, a specified percentage of the subsidiarys revenues is required to be distributed to us, and the balance of the revenues is retained to pay operating expenses, including salaries and bonuses, with specific expense and compensation allocations being determined, subject to our approval, by the subsidiarys management.
We classify our asset management business into three groups: Mutual Funds, Institutional and Wealth Management. Mutual Funds encompasses the subsidiaries that are primarily engaged in providing investment advisory services to proprietary mutual and closed-end funds and the proprietary funds operations of our other asset managers. Our Institutional managers are subsidiaries that focus on providing asset management services for institutional clients. Our Wealth Managers are subsidiaries that focus on providing asset management services for high net worth individuals and family groups. There is overlap among the three groups of subsidiaries as many of our Institutional subsidiaries and Wealth Managers also manage mutual funds that are included in Mutual Funds and each subsidiary may provide asset management services to other types of clients. These groups are described in more detail below.
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Our assets under management mix is as follows: Mutual Funds$35.9 billion, Institutional$136.8 billion and Wealth Management$19.5 billion. Mutual Funds includes all assets in our proprietary investment funds and all separate accounts managed by our Mutual Funds subsidiaries. Institutional includes all non-proprietary investment fund assets managed by our Institutional managers. Wealth Management includes all non-proprietary investment fund assets managed by our Wealth Managers. In addition, assets managed by other subsidiaries that are not part of our Asset Management business segment are included in Institutional or Wealth Management as appropriate.
For the fiscal years ended March 31, 2003, 2002 and 2001, our Asset Management segment produced net revenues of $648.1 million, $557.9 million and $445.0 million, respectively. Our net revenues by group within Asset Management for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2003 was as follows: Mutual Funds$200.0 million; Institutional$328.1 million and Wealth Management$120.0 million. In reporting our net revenues by Asset Management group, we include in each group all revenues of the subsidiaries within the group, including revenues earned for providing investment advisory services to proprietary funds. Revenues for the Mutual Funds group also include revenues for certain administrative, marketing, sales and distribution services (excluding those distribution and service fee revenues that are included in our Private Client business segment) provided to proprietary retail mutual funds. Revenues for the Institutional group also include revenues for certain administrative, marketing, sales and distribution services provided to proprietary institutional mutual funds and offshore funds.
Mutual Funds
In our Mutual Funds group, we sponsor domestic and international equity, fixed income and money market mutual funds, closed-end funds and other proprietary funds. Our mutual funds business primarily consists of two families of proprietary mutual and closed-end funds, the Legg Mason Funds and the Royce Funds. The Legg Mason Funds are 21 separate mutual funds that invest in a wide range of domestic and international equity and fixed income securities utilizing a number of different investment styles. The Royce Funds are 14 mutual funds and three closed-end funds that invest primarily in small-cap domestic company stocks using a value investment approach. Of our $35.9 billion in Mutual Funds assets as of March 31, 2003, $24.2 billion were in these two proprietary fund families.
The Legg Mason Funds consist of 21 separate mutual funds. Of these funds, three are money market funds, seven invest primarily in taxable or tax-free fixed income securities, nine invest primarily in domestic equity securities and two invest primarily in international equity securities. Investment objectives for the Legg Mason Funds range from capital appreciation to current income. Equity investment strategies may emphasize large-cap, mid-cap or small-cap investing. The largest of the Legg Mason Funds is Legg Mason Value Trust, Inc., which has received recognition for its investment performance over the last twelve calendar years.
Legg Mason Funds Management, Inc. is the primary equity investment advisor to the Legg Mason Funds. Legg Mason Funds Management serves as investment advisor to four of the equity funds in the Legg Mason Funds family, including Legg Mason Value Trust, Inc. Legg Mason Funds Management also subadvises the mutual fund managed by the joint venture described below and investment products sponsored by Perigee and Legg Mason Investments. Legg Mason Funds Managements investment process uses a variety of qualitative and quantitative techniques to develop an estimate of the worth of a business over the long term. The objective is to identify companies where the value of the business is significantly higher than the current stock price. With one of our employees, we own 50% of a joint venture that serves as investment manager of one equity fund, Legg Mason Opportunity Trust, within the Legg Mason Funds family.
In addition to Legg Mason Funds Management and the joint venture, a number of our other subsidiaries manage Legg Mason Funds. Western Asset Management Company is investment advisor to four taxable fixed income funds and two taxable money market funds; Legg Mason Trust, fsb serves as investment advisor to three tax-exempt fixed income funds and one tax-exempt money market
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fund; Batterymarch Financial Management serves as investment advisor to two international funds; Brandywine Asset Management serves as investment advisor to two equity funds; and Bartlett & Co. and Barrett Associates (since May 1, 2003) each serve as investment advisor to one equity fund.
The Royce Funds consist of 14 mutual funds and three closed-end funds that invest primarily in small-cap domestic company stocks. The investment objective of each of these funds is long-term appreciation of capital using a value approach. The funds differ in their approaches to investing in small or micro-cap companies and the universe of securities from which they can select. Further, two of the funds are used as funding vehicles for insurance products.
Royce & Associates, LLC is investment advisor to all of the Royce Funds. In addition, Royce & Associates also manages other accounts that invest primarily in small-cap domestic company stocks, using a value approach. Royce & Associates stock selection process seeks to identify companies with strong balance sheets and the ability to generate free cash flow. Royce & Associates pursues securities that are priced below their estimate of current worth. We acquired Royce & Associates in October 2001.
Our proprietary mutual funds are distributed through a number of channels. Legg Mason Wood Walker is the principal underwriter for the Legg Mason Funds. The Legg Mason Funds are primarily distributed to retail investors through our Private Client Group financial advisors and through our funds marketing departments. The Royce Funds are primarily distributed through non-affiliated funds supermarkets, non-affiliated wrap programs, direct distribution and our Private Client Group financial advisors. In addition, two of the portfolios in the Royce Funds are distributed only through insurance companies. For the fiscal years ended March 31, 2003, 2002 and 2001, we received from our proprietary mutual funds and offshore investment funds approximately $137.0 million, $160.0 million, and $170.3 million, respectively, in asset-based distribution and service fees, of which $112.7 million, $132.5 million and $141.1 million, respectively, are included in the Private Client business segment.
Our Mutual Funds group also includes the Western Asset Funds, a proprietary family of mutual funds that are marketed primarily to institutional investors. Western Asset Management Company sponsors these funds and manages them using a team approach under the supervision of Western Assets investment committee. The funds primarily invest in fixed income securities. Western Asset also manages two closed-end funds. The Western Asset Funds, and the institutional and financial intermediary classes of the Legg Mason Funds, are marketed to institutional investors primarily through our institutional funds marketing department.
Our Mutual Funds group also includes five groups of proprietary funds that are sponsored and managed by our Institutional managers, Mutual Funds managers and Private Capital Management and are offered and sold only outside the U.S. to non-U.S. persons. The Legg Mason Global Offshore Funds, a family of 12 Netherlands Antilles domiciled funds, are managed by Western Asset, Legg Mason Funds Management, Private Capital Management and Batterymarch Financial Management. Domiciled in Ireland, the Legg Mason Global Fund plc, is a family of five funds managed by Western Asset, Legg Mason Funds Management, Legg Mason Investments and Royce & Associates that are primarily offered to investors in Europe. The Legg Mason Worldwide family of funds includes two funds domiciled in Luxembourg that are managed by Batterymarch Financial Management. Perigee manages a group of 17 funds that are sold in Canada. Finally, Legg Mason Investments manages 8 unit trusts in the United Kingdom.
Institutional
Our Institutional managers provide a wide range of asset management services and products to domestic and international institutional clients. These subsidiaries manage a range of domestic, international and global equity, balanced, fixed income and cash management portfolios for their institutional clients. Our domestic and international institutional clients include pension and other
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retirement funds, corporations, insurance companies, endowments and foundations and governments. Our seven Institutional asset management subsidiaries are described below.
As of March 31, 2003 and 2002, our Institutional asset management subsidiaries managed assets with a value of $135.8 billion and $118.5 billion, respectively (excluding assets with a value of $13.2 billion and $12.0 billion, respectively, in proprietary funds managed by these subsidiaries). These amounts also exclude $1.0 billion and $0.8 billion, respectively, of institutional assets managed by subsidiaries, primarily Legg Mason Real Estate Services, outside of our Asset Management business segment. Over 80% of the assets managed by our Institutional managers are in fixed income assets managed by Western Asset and Western Asset Limited. The growth in assets managed by our Institutional subsidiaries during the fiscal year primarily resulted from growth in fixed income accounts managed by Western Asset and Western Asset Limited, supplemented by growth in assets at Batterymarch, and partially offset by declines in assets managed by our other Institutional subsidiaries.
Western Asset Management Company is a leading fixed income asset manager for institutional clients. Among the services Western Asset provides are management of separate accounts and management of mutual funds, closed-end funds and other structured investment products. Based in Pasadena, California, Western Asset offers over 30 fixed income asset management products, including its core and core plus products. Western Asset targets four key areas in managing fixed income portfoliossector allocation, issue selection, duration exposure and term structure weighting. For global portfolios, country/currency allocation is a fifth key area.
Western Asset Management Company Limited contains the United Kingdom operations of Western Asset Management Company. Based in London, Western Asset Limited manages non-United States dollar currency and fixed income assets for many of the international clients of Western Asset.
Perigee Investment Counsel Inc. is an institutional investment manager in Canada. The types of clients for whom Perigee provides investment management services include: pension plans for public and private sector entities, managed on both a separate account and pooled basis; third party mutual funds; government sponsored funds; insurance companies; trusts and foundations; and individual investors, whose portfolios are managed separately or on a pooled basis. Perigee offers products managed in a number of different equity and fixed income investment styles.
Brandywine Asset Management, LLC manages equity portfolios for institutional and, through wrap accounts, high net worth individual clients and manages global and international fixed income accounts for institutional clients. Brandywine, based in Wilmington, Delaware, pursues one equity investment approachvalue investingand is known for its classic or deep value equity management style.
Batterymarch Financial Management, Inc. manages U.S., international and emerging markets equity portfolios for institutional clients. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, Batterymarch primarily uses a quantitative approach to asset management. The firms investment process for U.S. and international portfolios is designed to enhance the fundamental investment disciplines by using quantitative tools to process fundamental data.
Legg Mason Capital Management, Inc. manages equity portfolios primarily for institutional accounts. Legg Mason Capital Management and Legg Mason Funds Management are generally operated as a single business, and Legg Mason Capital Management manages client portfolios using the same management style and approaches that are used by Legg Mason Funds Management to manage its proprietary funds.
Legg Mason Investments Holdings Limited primarily manages, for investors in the United Kingdom, unit and investment trusts, which are similar to open and closed-end funds in the United States, and has increasingly focused on distribution of asset management products rather than management
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of assets. Legg Mason Investments utilizes a team-oriented, research-driven approach to investment management and generally employs a growth investment style.
Wealth Management
Our Wealth Managers provide customized discretionary investment management services and products to high net worth individuals and families, endowments and foundations and institutions. Our Wealth Managers seek to provide portfolio management, client service and other financial services in a disciplined manner that is tailored to meet our clients particular needs and objectives. This group includes five asset management subsidiaries, our trust company subsidiary and a joint venture, all of which are described in more detail below.
As of March 31, 2003 and 2002, our Wealth Management subsidiaries managed assets with a value of $17.0 billion and $17.6 billion, respectively (excluding assets with a value of $0.9 billion on each date in proprietary funds managed by these subsidiaries). These amounts also exclude $2.5 billion and $2.8 billion, respectively, of wealth management assets managed by subsidiaries outside of our Asset Management business segment. A majority of the assets managed by our Wealth Managers are managed by Private Capital Management. The growth in assets under management by Private Capital Management during the fiscal year was offset by declines in assets managed by most of the other subsidiaries in this group.
Private Capital Management, L.P. manages equity assets for high net worth individuals and families, institutions, endowments and foundations in separate accounts and limited partnerships. Based in Naples, Florida, Private Capital Managements value-focused investment philosophy is based on an analysis of a companys free cash flow. In executing this philosophy, Private Capital Management seeks to build a portfolio consisting primarily of securities of mid-cap companies that possess several basic elements, including significant free cash flow, a substantial resource base, and a management team with the ability to correct problems that Private Capital Management believes have been excessively or inappropriately discounted by the public markets. We acquired Private Capital Management in August 2001.
Bartlett & Co. manages balanced, equity and fixed income portfolios for high net worth individual and institutional clients and follows a value investment philosophy. Bartlett operates out of offices in Cincinnati, Ohio and Indianapolis, Indiana. Bartletts research and stock selection criteria emphasize a variety of fundamental factors, and they seek to invest in companies that generally possess some combination of the following characteristics: financial strength, potential for growth of earnings and dividends, attractive profitability characteristics, sustainable competitive advantage, and shareholder-oriented management.
Barrett Associates, Inc., (82% owned as of March 31, 2003), is an equity asset manager for high net worth individuals and family groups, endowments and foundations. Based in New York, New York, Barrett Associates focus is to build wealth for their clients through the selection of stocks of high quality companies. Barrett delivers services through separately managed portfolios for individuals and institutions as well as through their proprietary mutual fund, the Barrett Growth Fund. In May 2003, the business and operations of another Wealth Management subsidiary, Gray Seifert & Co., Inc., were transferred to Barrett to reduce costs, where they operate as the Seifert Group within Barrett.
Berkshire Asset Management, Inc. provides equity, balanced, and intermediate duration high quality fixed income asset management services to individuals and institutions through separate accounts and limited partnerships. Based in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, Berkshire seeks to invest in high quality businesses that are selling at prices below Berkshires estimate of intrinsic value.
Legg Mason Focus Capital, Inc. primarily serves equity investors and features three products: Focus Global Equity, Whole Market Equity and Core Equity Income Plus. Focus Capital
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believes that the market reflects all available public information, and that active management adds value to an index over time by distinguishing information which is reflected accurately from that which is distorted.
Legg Mason Trust, fsb is a federally chartered unitary thrift institution with authority to exercise trust powers. Legg Mason Trust provides services as a trustee for trusts established by our individual and employee benefit plan clients and manages fixed income and equity assets. Through various subsidiaries, Legg Mason provides brokerage and asset management services for a significant portion of the assets held in Legg Mason Trusts accounts.
Bingham Legg Advisers LLC is a joint venture that is equally owned by Legg Mason and Bingham McCutchen LLP, a Boston-based law firm. Because Bingham Legg is a joint venture, we do not include the assets it manages within our assets under management. Bingham Legg limits its focus to clients with a minimum of $1 million to invest and then seeks to provide them a high level of personal service.
Each Wealth Management subsidiary retains its own investment style and regional operations, seeking to generate ongoing growth in its core business through direct new business efforts in its market. In addition to these core efforts, we offer a wealth management program, directAdvantage,SM which is designed to provide our Private Client Group financial advisors with a single platform through which they can deliver the full range of our wealth management investment advisory services to our brokerage clients. The directAdvantage initiative is a fee-based program enabling brokerage clients to pay a single, asset-based fee and receive custody, recordkeeping, consolidated reporting, transaction execution, and investment advisory services.
Private Client Business Segment
Our Private Client business segment distributes a wide range of financial products through its branch distribution network, including equity and fixed income securities, proprietary and non-affiliated mutual funds and annuities. This business segment is conducted primarily through Legg Mason Wood Walker.
Private Client Securities Business
For the fiscal years ended March 31, 2003, 2002 and 2001, our revenues derived from securities transactions for individual investors (excluding interest on margin accounts) constituted approximately 64%, 66% and 78%, respectively, of our total revenues from securities transactions and 22%, 24% and 29%, respectively, of our net revenues. Despite a significant decline in the percentage of revenues contributed by our Private Client securities business as a result of difficult market conditions and an increase in Asset Management revenues, we believe that this business will continue to be a significant source of our revenues in the foreseeable future, although the percentage of net revenues it provides may continue to decrease primarily as a result of increases in Asset Management revenues. We charge retail commissions on both exchange and over-the-counter (OTC) transactions in accordance with an internal schedule. We grant discounts from the schedule in certain cases. When we execute OTC transactions with an individual client, we allocate commissions to Private Client which are included in the Revenues by Source table as Principal Transactions. We also offer account arrangements under which a single fee is charged based on a percentage of the assets held in a customers account and no charge is imposed on a transaction-by-transaction basis. This single fee covers all execution and advisory services, including advisory services provided by our asset management subsidiaries and selected independent advisory firms. In addition, we provide asset allocation and advisor performance and selection consultation services. We have entered into dealer-sales agreements with a number of major distributors that offer mutual fund shares through broker-dealers. We also sell shares of our proprietary mutual funds though our retail sales network. See Asset Management Business SegmentMutual Funds.
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Brokerage Offices
This table shows, as of March 31, 2003, information with respect to our retail securities brokerage offices.
| Location |
Number of Financial Advisors |
Number of Offices | ||
| United States: |
||||
| Maryland |
302 | 18 | ||
| Pennsylvania |
180 | 20 | ||
| Virginia |