ClearBridge All Cap Growth ESG ETF (CACG)

The ClearBridge All Cap Growth ESG ETF was an actively managed exchange-traded fund run by ClearBridge Investments, a manager owned by Franklin Templeton through its earlier purchase of Legg Mason. The fund began trading on Nasdaq in May 2017 under the ticker CACG and was part of the Legg Mason ETF Investment Trust. The fund was among the earliest actively managed equity ETFs offered by the Legg Mason family, which Franklin Templeton absorbed when it completed that acquisition in 2020.

The portfolio held growth companies of all market capitalizations, selected through fundamental research combined with ClearBridge's environmental, social and governance analysis. Its holdings leaned toward large technology, health care and consumer names, and the fund stood out at the time as one of a small number of actively managed ESG equity ETFs. Managers could invest in both established leaders and younger growth companies, and they used engagement with company management as part of their sustainability process instead of relying only on exclusion screens.

The fund stayed relatively small. In February 2024 the trustees approved a plan to merge it into a sister fund, the ClearBridge Large Cap Growth ESG ETF, which trades as LRGE and follows a similar sustainable growth approach. Because both funds were in the same trust, no shareholder vote was needed. Fund sponsors commonly merge small ETFs into larger sister funds with similar strategies, which lowers costs and avoids a taxable liquidation for shareholders.

Shareholders' positions were valued as of the close of business on June 14, 2024. Substantially all of the fund's assets were transferred to LRGE, and investors received LRGE shares at net asset value plus cash for any fractional share, after which CACG ceased to trade. The reorganization was structured to let shareholders keep a similar sustainable growth exposure in one larger fund managed by the same ClearBridge team.