BALTIMORE, Nov. 22 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Legg Mason, Inc. today announced that effective November 20, 2006, it had rebranded substantially all of the U.S. mutual funds, including most Smith Barney and Salomon Brothers mutual funds, it acquired in the Citigroup transaction into the Legg Mason Partners Funds family. It is one of the final steps in the year-long rebranding effort to transition the funds and to create Legg Mason Partners as a unified and cohesive fund family. * Also, effective November 20, 2006, Legg Mason implemented a new pricing structure across the entire family of Legg Mason Partners Funds to create uniformity across all equity and fixed-income mutual funds. This will allow full exchangeability across all Legg Mason Partners Funds for clients of most distribution partners. Full exchangeability for Smith Barney clients will take place in January, 2007. Legg Mason established the Legg Mason Partners brand in April 2006 and began the renaming process with the former Smith Barney Mutual Funds. In July 2006, Legg Mason and the Fund Boards announced proposals to streamline its mutual fund offering from approximately 170 funds to 119, to reduce its fund boards and realign the board structure and to implement other measures designed to simplify administration of the fund family. Those proposals are currently being voted on by shareholders, and, if approved, the proposals will be implemented in the first quarter of 2007. Legg Mason markets its mutual funds under four principal brand names: -- Legg Mason Partners Funds - full spectrum of equity and fixed-income strategies serving investors and their advisors with a variety of share classes. -- Legg Mason Funds - focused equity and other strategies serving retail investors through a primary class model as well as institutional clients. -- Royce Funds - small-cap equity specialists serving retail and "instividual" clients. -- Western Asset Funds - fixed income strategies for institutional fund investors. While most US-based Salomon Brothers Mutual Funds have been renamed Legg Mason Partners Funds as of November 20, 2006, there are a few exceptions to that rule. On October 2, 2006, Salomon Brothers Institutional High Yield Bond Fund was renamed Western Asset Global High Yield Bond Portfolio, Salomon Brothers Institutional Emerging Markets Debt Fund was renamed Western Asset Emerging Markets Debt Portfolio, and Salomon Brothers Institutional Series Funds Inc. was renamed Western Asset Funds II, Inc. On December 1, 2006, Salomon Brothers Opportunity Fund will be renamed Barrett Opportunity Fund. Legg Mason is a global asset management firm, structured as a holding company with on-the-ground management capabilities around the world. As of September 30, 2006, Legg Mason's total assets under management (including all products) aggregated approximately $891 billion. The firm is headquartered in Baltimore, Maryland, and its common stock is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (symbol: LM). * Certain U.S. and offshore funds will continue to license the Citi, Smith Barney and Salomon Brothers name from Citigroup until the spring of 2007. Investors should consider a fund's investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses carefully before investing. The prospectus contains this and other important information about the fund. To obtain a free prospectus, please call your financial professional. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing. DATASOURCE: Legg Mason, Inc. CONTACT: Mary Athridge, +1-212-559-0104, for Legg Mason, Inc. Web site: http://www.leggmason.com/

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