Fund Evaluator:

Western Asset SMASh Series TF Overview

Western Asset SMASh Series TF (LSMSX) is an actively managed Taxable Bond Miscellaneous Fixed Income fund. Franklin Templeton Investments launched the fund in 2015.

The investment seeks to maximize current interest income that is excluded from gross income for regular federal income tax purposes. Under normal circumstances, the fund invests at least 80% of its assets in municipal securities and other investments with similar economic characteristics, the interest on which is exempt from regular federal income tax but which may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. The fund is non-diversified.

About Western Asset SMASh Series TF (LSMSX)

There are 5 members of the management team with an average tenure of 5.88 years: Ryan Brist (2024), John Mooney (2023), David Fare (2015), Michael Buchanan (2024), Robert Amodeo (2015). Management tenure is more important for actively managed funds than passive index funds.

The fund has 1 primary benchmark: Bloomberg Municipal TR USD index with a weighting of 100%. Western Asset SMASh Series TF has 248 securities in its portfolio. The top 10 holdings constitute 18.5% 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.

Western Asset SMASh Series TF is part of the Fixed Income global asset class and is within the Taxable Bond fund group. Western Asset SMASh Series TF has 3.6% 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 0.0% is allocated to preferred stocks. The bond allocation as a percentage of total assets is 99.7% (96.1% domestic bond, 3.6% foreign bond and 0.0% convertible bond). Western Asset SMASh Series TF has 0.3% of the portfolio in cash.

Assets Under Management

The fund has $92 million in total assets, which is below the $734 million average for the Miscellaneous Fixed Income 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.

LSMSX 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 Western Asset SMASh Series TF expense ratio is low compared to funds in the Miscellaneous Fixed Income category. Western Asset SMASh Series TF has an expense ratio of 0.04%, which is 86% lower than its category average, making the fund expense ratio grade a D. 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. Western Asset SMASh Series TF has a portfolio turnover rate of 18%, indicating that holds its assets around 0.1 years. By way of comparison, the average portfolio turnover is 115% for the Miscellaneous Fixed Income category.

Recently, in the month of July 2026, Western Asset SMASh Series TF returned -1.9%, which earned it a grade of F, as the Miscellaneous Fixed Income 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.

Western Asset SMASh Series TF has a trailing yield of 3.95%, which is below the 5.98% category average. The fund normally distributes its income monthly.

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.

Western Asset SMASh Series TF Grades

Year to date, the fund has returned 1.0%, 0.5 percentage points worse than the category, which translates into a grade of D. The fund has returned 7.0% over the past year (grade of B), 3.5% over the past three years (grade of F) and 0.7% per year over the past five years (grade of D) and 2.3% per year over the past 10 years (grade of D).

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