Legg Mason shuts sub-scale European fund

Legg Mason has wound up its £7m Continental European Equity fund following a run of poor performance, as it continues with the restructure of its US business.

The fund, run by Adam Petryk at US subsidiary Batterymarch Financial Management, has lagged the benchmark since launch in 1997, returning 5% compared to the IMA Europe ex-UK average of 8.5%. It has also struggled in recent years, returning 9.8% compared to the benchmark of 12.2% over the last five years. Investors will be able to transfer into another Legg Mason fund free of charge or redeem their investment, the group said. The closure of its European mandate comes after a major restructure of its US business. In May, Legg Mason announced it would lay off 62 members of staff at Ba...