The assets of the Legg Mason Australian Credit Trust are managed on a sub-advisory basis by Western Asset Management Company Pty Ltd ("Western Asset"), a subsidiary of Legg Mason, Inc. and an affiliate of Legg Mason Australia.
The Australian credit investment process focuses on identifying relative value opportunities at the sector, industry, and individual security levels through the fundamental analysis of credit quality and the forecasting of appropriate credit spreads. The assessment of the credit quality of a particular issuer is based on intensive "bottom-up" credit research, with the analysis focusing on the ability of the issuer to pay interest and repay principal in a timely manner. Relative value assessment compares the risk-return relationship of a particular security with the risk-return relationship inherent in other securities available in the market.