Legg Mason’s New ETF Kicks Off

Legg Mason is starting a value-focused ETF that will conceal its holdings.

The ClearBridge Focus Value exchange-traded fund begins trading on the Chicago Board Options Exchange on Thursday under the ticker CFCV. The equity product will be actively managed and disclose its holdings just once a quarter, instead of doing that daily like most ETFs.

So-called non-transparent ETFs are appealing for managers looking to shield their strategies from front-running or replication from rivals. That structure made sense for CFCV, which will have a relatively “concentrated” portfolio of 30 to 40 companies with value investing characteristics, according to Dmitry Khaykin at Legg Mason’s affiliate ClearBridge Investments.

“We try to buy the blue-chip companies that we can feel comfortable owning throughout the cycle,” said Khaykin, a portfolio manager with the firm. “We try to be opportunistic to buy them at reasonable valuations.”

The timing of CFCV’s launch is fortuitous. After a brutal decade for value investing, easing stay-at-home guidelines and reopening optimism are buoying shares of smaller and beaten-down companies.