Fund Evaluator:
BrandywineGLOBAL Flexible Bond IS (LFLSX)
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Best Performing in Multisector Bond Over the Last Year
| 7.1% | Morningstar Multisector Bond (MSTMX) |
| 6.0% | Fidelity Advisor Strategic Income Z (FIWDX) |
| 5.4% | Russell Inv Opportunistic Credit Y (RGCYX) |
| 5.4% | Russell Inv Opportunistic Credit M (RGOTX) |
| 5.2% | Payden Managed Income SI (PKBIX) |
Fund Details
BrandywineGLOBAL Flexible Bond IS Overview
BrandywineGLOBAL Flexible Bond IS (LFLSX) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Multisector Bond fund. Franklin Templeton Investments launched the fund in 2016.
The investment seeks current income and capital appreciation. Under normal market conditions, the fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets in fixed income securities or other instruments with similar economic characteristics. The subadviser has broad discretion to invest in multiple types of fixed income securities including, but not limited to, sovereign debt, emerging markets debt, corporate debt, high yield debt, bank loans, supranational issues, Separate Trading of Registered Interest and Principal of Securities ("STRIPS"), inflation-linked securities and hybrid securities. The fund is non-diversified.
About BrandywineGLOBAL Flexible Bond IS (LFLSX)
There are 6 members of the management team with an average tenure of 8.16 years: Anujeet Sareen (2017), Jack McIntyre (2017), Brian Kloss (2016), Tracy Chen (2016), Michael Arno (2020), Renato Latini (2020). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.
The fund has 1 primary benchmark: Bloomberg US Agg Bond TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. BrandywineGLOBAL Flexible Bond IS has 216 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 29.7% of the fund’s assets. The fund meets the SEC requirement of being classified as a nondiversified fund. The fund is not considered to have an ESG focus with its investment selection and management.
BrandywineGLOBAL Flexible Bond IS is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond fund group. BrandywineGLOBAL Flexible Bond IS has 40.8% of its portfolio invested in foreign issues. The overall assets allocated to domestic stock is 0.0%. There is 0.0% allocated to foreign stock, and 3.3% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 88.9% (48.1% domestic bond, 40.8% foreign bond and 1.7% convertible bond). BrandywineGLOBAL Flexible Bond IS has 6.2% of the portfolio in cash.
Assets Under Management
The fund has $136 million in total assets, which is below the $1 billion average for the Multisector Bond category. Normally, lower assets under management translates to higher average expense ratios, and greater total assets are desired. However, for some investment categories, such as small-cap investing, it may be difficult for the manager to fully employ the desired active strategy if assets grow too large or too quickly.
LFLSX Performance and Fees
The expense ratio measures how much of a fund’s assets are used for administrative expenses and operating expenses, including adviser fees and fees for the transfer agent and custodial services. The BrandywineGLOBAL Flexible Bond IS expense ratio is above average compared to funds in the Multisector Bond category. BrandywineGLOBAL Flexible Bond IS has an expense ratio of 0.64%, which is 32% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a B. While it is difficult to predict returns, it is known that high annual expense ratios reduce your rate of return, and excessive fees are difficult to overcome. Active management normally comes with higher expense ratios than passive index management. Certain investment categories such as small company and foreign also normally have higher expense ratios. It is best to compare fund expense ratios against the category averages for meaningful assessments.
High portfolio turnover can translate to higher expenses and lower aftertax returns. BrandywineGLOBAL Flexible Bond IS has a portfolio turnover rate of 60%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.0 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 162% for the Multisector Bond category.
Recently, in the month of July 2026, BrandywineGLOBAL Flexible Bond IS returned -0.2%, which earned it a grade of A, as the Multisector Bond category had an average return of -0.7%. The letter grades of A, B, C, D and F are based upon relative rankings within the investment category. A grade of A, for example, would indicate that the return is in the highest 20% for that time period compared to all funds in that category.
BrandywineGLOBAL Flexible Bond IS has a trailing yield of 6.71%, which is above the 5.31% category average. The fund normally distributes its income quarterly and its capital gains semi-annually.
It’s natural to seek the best-performing investments, but you must consider the relationship between risk and return and the impact of costs and taxes on your realized returns.
BrandywineGLOBAL Flexible Bond IS Grades
Year to date, the fund has returned 3.0%, 2.1 percentage points better than the category, which translates into a grade of A. The fund has returned 7.1% over the past year (grade of A), 6.2% over the past three years (grade of D) and 2.3% per year over the past five years (grade of C) and 4.5% per year over the past 10 years (grade of A).
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LFLSX Trailing NAV Total Returns Data as of 7/31/26
| Last Month |
Last Quarter |
Ann'l. 1Yr |
Ann'l. 3Yr |
Ann'l. 5Yr |
Ann'l. 10Yr |
|
| LFLSX Return (NAV) | -0.2% | 1.2% | 7.1% | 6.2% | 2.3% | 4.5% |
| LFLSX Grade | A | A | A | D | C | A |
| +/- Category | 0.5% | 1.2% | 2.8% | -0.1% | -0.1% | 1.0% |
| Multisector Bond Avg | -0.7% | 0.0% | 4.3% | 6.3% | 2.4% | 3.5% |
| LFLSX Tax Cost Ratio | na | na | 2.7% | 2.9% | 2.3% | 2.2% |
LFLSX Annual NAV Total ReturnsData as of 7/31/26
| 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | 2020 | 2019 | 2018 | 2017 | 2016 | |
| LFLSX Return (NAV) | 3.0% | 8.9% | 2.9% | 9.7% | -10.8% | 1.1% | 15.1% | 10.9% | -2.0% | 7.5% | na |
| LFLSX Grade | A | B | F | B | C | D | A | C | C | B | na |
| +/- Category | 2.1% | 0.8% | -2.8% | 1.3% | -0.6% | -1.1% | 8.8% | 0.6% | -0.1% | 0.9% | na |
| Multisector Bond Avg | 0.9% | 8.1% | 5.7% | 8.4% | -10.1% | 2.2% | 6.3% | 10.3% | -1.9% | 6.6% | 7.5% |
| Risk Measures | |
| Standard Deviation: | 5.9% |
| Total Risk Index: | 0.48 - Below Average |
| Category Risk Index: | 1.32 - High |
| Category Risk Grade: | F (96% Rank) |
| Beta: | 0.94 |
| R-Squared: | 81% |
| Leveraged Fund: | No |
| Inverse Fund: | No |
| Portfolio Characteristics | |
| Equity Investment Style: | na |
| Bond Investment Style: | High Quality Limited Sensitivity |
| Yield: | 6.7% |
| Dividend Distribution: | Quarterly |
| Cap Gains Distribution: | Semi-Annually |
| Total Assets: | $465 Mil |
| Fund Total Assets: | $ 136 Mil |
| Share Class Type: | Inst |
| Portfolio Turnover: | 60% |
Management Team
| Number of Managers: 6 | |||
| Longest Tenure: 10.2 years | |||
| Average Tenure: 8.2 years | |||
| Managers (Year): Kloss Brian (2016), Chen Tracy (2016), Sareen Anujeet (2017), McIntyre Jack (2017), Arno Michael (2020), Latini Renato (2020) | |||
Portfolio Composition (as of 6/30/26)
| # of Holdings: | 216 |
| % in Top 10 Holdings: | 29.7% |
| Fund is Non-Diversified: | Yes |
| % in Foreign Issues: | 40.8% |
Portfolio Allocation |
|
| Domestic Stock: | 0.0% |
| Foreign Stock: | 0.0% |
| Preferred Stock: | 3.3% |
| Domestic Bond: | 48.1% |
| Foreign Bond: | 40.8% |
| Convertible Bond: | 1.7% |
| Other: | 0.0% |
| Cash: | 6.2% |
Purchase Information
| Fund Family: | Franklin Templeton Investments |
| Phone Number: | 877-656-3863 |
| Website: | www.leggmason.com |
| Status: | Open |
| Inception Date: | May 31, 2016 |
| Min. Initial Purchase: | $1,000,000 |
| Min. Initial IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
| True No-Load: | Yes |
| Front Load Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Deferred Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| Redemption Charge Maximum: | 0.00% |
| 12b-1 Fee: | na |
Expenses and Fees | |
| Expense Ratio (%): | 0.64% ( Rating : Above Avg ) |
| Category Average Expense Ratio (%): | 0.94% |
| Share Class: | BrandywineGLOBAL Flexible Bond IS |
| Min. Subsequent Purchase: | $ 0 |
| Min. Subsequent IRA Purchase: | $ 0 |
