Legg Mason is on a mission, declares CEO Mark Fetting. In the new year, the firm looks to attract international clients and make strategic acquisitions, reports the Washington Business Journal.

At the company's annual shareholders meeting on Tuesday, Fetting told shareholders that non-U.S. clients own about 37 percent of the firm's $632 billion in assets under management, a figure he wants to grow to 50 percent. Most of this international growth he foresees will come from clients in Asia — particularly Japan, China and Singapore — as well as Latin America and Australia.

Meanwhile, performance for the fiscal year took a hit. Net income fell to $220.8 million in 2012 from $253.9 million in 2011. Revenue was also down to $2.66 billion in 2012 from $2.78 billion in 2011.

Fetting attributed declines to a tough stock market, also pointing out that the company recently laid off 300 workers at its headquarters in Baltimore, transferred some administrative functions from Baltimore to its affiliates, and opened new funds to stem the flow of investors pulling money out of the company's funds. Legg Mason also repurchased of 13.6 million shares in 2012 and reduced its debt by about $350 million.

"We're proud of the progress we've made," Fetting said. "We're not satisfied with the total results."

According to Zacks Equity Research, although Legg Mason performed better than estimates, Zacks will maintain its neutral recommendation on Legg Mason shares. 

Edited by: Irene Park


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