UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM N-Q

QUARTERLY SCHEDULE OF PORTFOLIO HOLDINGS OF REGISTERED

MANAGEMENT INVESTMENT COMPANY

Investment Company Act file number 811-06444

Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust

(Exact name of registrant as specified in charter)

620 Eighth Avenue, 49th Floor, New York, NY 10018

(Address of principal executive offices) (Zip code)

Robert I. Frenkel, Esq.

Legg Mason & Co., LLC

100 First Stamford Place

Stamford, CT 06902

(Name and address of agent for service)

Registrant’s telephone number, including area code: 1-877-721-1926

Date of fiscal year end: October 31

Date of reporting period: January 31, 2013

 

 

 


 

ITEM 1. SCHEDULE OF INVESTMENTS.


LEGG MASON PARTNERS EQUITY TRUST

CLEARBRIDGE SMALL CAP GROWTH FUND

FORM N-Q

JANUARY 31, 2013


CLEARBRIDGE SMALL CAP GROWTH FUND

 

Schedule of Investments (unaudited)    January 31, 2013

 

 

SECURITY

   SHARES      VALUE  
COMMON STOCKS - 94.3%      
CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY - 12.1%      

Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure - 3.5%

     

Bally Technologies Inc.

     535,620       $ 25,795,459

Penn National Gaming Inc.

     411,610         20,028,943
     

 

 

 

Total Hotels, Restaurants & Leisure

        45,824,402   
     

 

 

 

Media - 2.1%

     

Lions Gate Entertainment Corp.

     1,349,830         24,728,886

Millennial Media Inc.

     184,760         2,132,130
     

 

 

 

Total Media

        26,861,016   
     

 

 

 

Specialty Retail - 6.5%

     

Advance Auto Parts Inc.

     260,290         19,136,521   

Hibbett Sports Inc.

     385,760         20,314,121

Jos. A. Bank Clothiers Inc.

     348,192         14,115,704

Lumber Liquidators Holdings Inc.

     360,632         21,342,202

Stage Stores Inc.

     387,110         8,845,463   
     

 

 

 

Total Specialty Retail

        83,754,011   
     

 

 

 

TOTAL CONSUMER DISCRETIONARY

        156,439,429   
     

 

 

 
CONSUMER STAPLES - 2.7%      

Food & Staples Retailing - 2.7%

     

Casey’s General Stores Inc.

     288,399         15,784,077   

Susser Holdings Corp.

     447,590         18,736,118
     

 

 

 

TOTAL CONSUMER STAPLES

        34,520,195   
     

 

 

 
ENERGY - 5.1%      

Energy Equipment & Services - 4.6%

     

Lufkin Industries Inc.

     333,750         19,327,462   

Newpark Resources Inc.

     954,330         8,226,325

Oceaneering International Inc.

     368,100         23,267,601   

TETRA Technologies Inc.

     1,010,140         8,586,190
     

 

 

 

Total Energy Equipment & Services

        59,407,578   
     

 

 

 

Oil, Gas & Consumable Fuels - 0.5%

     

Comstock Resources Inc.

     386,900         5,644,871
     

 

 

 

TOTAL ENERGY

        65,052,449   
     

 

 

 
EXCHANGE-TRADED FUNDS - 4.5%      

Exchange Traded Funds - 4.5%

     

iShares Russell 2000 Growth Index Fund

     574,610         58,403,360   
     

 

 

 
FINANCIALS - 7.9%      

Capital Markets - 3.6%

     

Affiliated Managers Group Inc.

     96,055         13,825,196

Duff & Phelps Corp., Class A Shares

     546,580         8,685,156   

Financial Engines Inc.

     564,120         18,762,632

WisdomTree Investments Inc.

     588,500         5,090,525
     

 

 

 

Total Capital Markets

        46,363,509   
     

 

 

 

Commercial Banks - 2.4%

     

Old National Bancorp

     832,160         11,117,657   

SVB Financial Group

     301,170         19,988,653
     

 

 

 

Total Commercial Banks

        31,106,310   
     

 

 

 

Diversified Financial Services - 0.8%

     

Primus Guaranty Ltd.

     1,134,275         10,605,471 *  
     

 

 

 

Real Estate Management & Development - 1.1%

     

Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.

     146,000         13,452,440   
     

 

 

 

TOTAL FINANCIALS

        101,527,730   
     

 

 

 

 

 

See Notes to Schedule of Investments.

 

1


CLEARBRIDGE SMALL CAP GROWTH FUND

 

Schedule of Investments (unaudited) (cont’d)    January 31, 2013

 

SECURITY

   SHARES      VALUE  
HEALTH CARE - 14.3%      

Biotechnology - 1.5%

     

Acorda Therapeutics Inc.

     429,174       $ 12,394,545

ARIAD Pharmaceuticals Inc.

     333,290         6,625,805
     

 

 

 

Total Biotechnology

        19,020,350   
     

 

 

 

Health Care Equipment & Supplies - 2.0%

     

Insulet Corp.

     385,170         8,885,872

Integra LifeSciences Holdings Corp.

     294,866         12,428,602

Volcano Corp.

     207,550         5,197,052
     

 

 

 

Total Health Care Equipment & Supplies

        26,511,526   
     

 

 

 

Health Care Providers & Services - 5.2%

     

Accretive Health Inc.

     1,033,650         13,344,422

Hanger Orthopedic Group Inc.

     648,741         18,638,329

Mednax Inc.

     280,172         23,971,516

Owens & Minor Inc.

     383,100         11,726,691   
     

 

 

 

Total Health Care Providers & Services

        67,680,958   
     

 

 

 

Health Care Technology - 2.3%

     

athenahealth Inc.

     237,170         20,508,090

Medidata Solutions Inc.

     188,680         8,828,337
     

 

 

 

Total Health Care Technology

        29,336,427   
     

 

 

 

Life Sciences Tools & Services - 2.5%

     

Luminex Corp.

     480,990         8,840,596

Mettler-Toledo International Inc.

     107,920         22,936,238
     

 

 

 

Total Life Sciences Tools & Services

        31,776,834   
     

 

 

 

Pharmaceuticals - 0.8%

     

Auxilium Pharmaceuticals Inc.

     562,520         10,350,368
     

 

 

 

TOTAL HEALTH CARE

        184,676,463   
     

 

 

 
INDUSTRIALS - 13.9%      

Aerospace & Defense - 0.8%

     

Orbital Sciences Corp.

     715,803         10,522,304 *  
     

 

 

 

Commercial Services & Supplies - 1.5%

     

Copart Inc.

     374,570         13,450,809

Corrections Corporation of America

     159,200         6,032,088   
     

 

 

 

Total Commercial Services & Supplies

        19,482,897   
     

 

 

 

Construction & Engineering - 1.5%

     

Quanta Services Inc.

     682,120         19,761,016 *  
     

 

 

 

Electrical Equipment - 0.9%

     

Thermon Group Holdings Inc.

     474,190         11,475,398 *  
     

 

 

 

Machinery - 4.9%

     

Chart Industries Inc.

     303,150         20,065,499

IDEX Corp.

     603,460         30,106,619   

Tennant Co.

     279,850         12,884,294   
     

 

 

 

Total Machinery

        63,056,412   
     

 

 

 

Trading Companies & Distributors - 4.3%

     

H&E Equipment Services Inc.

     422,750         8,150,620   

MSC Industrial Direct Co. Inc., Class A Shares

     315,260         24,943,372   

United Rentals Inc.

     430,260         21,779,761
     

 

 

 

Total Trading Companies & Distributors

        54,873,753   
     

 

 

 

TOTAL INDUSTRIALS

        179,171,780   
     

 

 

 
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY - 27.9%      

Communications Equipment - 0.5%

     

Comverse Technology Inc.

     1,019,671         4,445,765

 

See Notes to Schedule of Investments.

 

2


CLEARBRIDGE SMALL CAP GROWTH FUND

 

Schedule of Investments (unaudited) (cont’d)    January 31, 2013

 

SECURITY

   SHARES      VALUE  

Communications Equipment - 0.5% (continued)

     

Palo Alto Networks Inc.

     37,160       $ 2,057,178
     

 

 

 

Total Communications Equipment

        6,502,943   
     

 

 

 

Electronic Equipment, Instruments & Components - 1.7%

     

FEI Co.

     353,810         21,568,258   
     

 

 

 

Internet Software & Services - 6.7%

     

Active Network Inc.

     459,290         2,539,874

Bazaarvoice Inc.

     167,620         1,295,703

comScore Inc.

     528,688         7,787,574

Cornerstone OnDemand Inc.

     372,120         12,160,881

Dice Holdings Inc.

     594,410         5,593,398

LivePerson Inc.

     1,114,720         14,903,806

MercadoLibre Inc.

     248,317         21,951,223   

Monster Worldwide Inc.

     990,190         5,743,102

Responsys Inc.

     663,500         5,062,505

Trulia Inc.

     237,630         6,247,293

XO Group Inc.

     358,270         3,446,557
     

 

 

 

Total Internet Software & Services

        86,731,916   
     

 

 

 

IT Services - 2.0%

     

Cardtronics Inc.

     293,080         7,587,841

MAXIMUS, Inc.

     119,060         8,163,944   

ServiceSource International Inc.

     1,549,237         9,372,884
     

 

 

 

Total IT Services

        25,124,669   
     

 

 

 

Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment - 4.2%

     

CEVA Inc.

     343,960         5,221,313

Cymer Inc.

     188,060         19,364,538

Integrated Device Technology Inc.

     1,095,290         7,918,947

LSI Corp.

     2,262,472         15,927,803

Monolithic Power Systems

     270,770         6,308,941   
     

 

 

 

Total Semiconductors & Semiconductor Equipment

        54,741,542   
     

 

 

 

Software - 12.8%

     

Aspen Technology Inc.

     840,600         25,722,360

Comverse Inc.

     102,107         2,948,850

Eloqua Inc.

     212,610         4,994,209

Fortinet Inc.

     1,010,660         23,841,469

Imperva Inc.

     205,910         7,062,713

MICROS Systems Inc.

     257,484         11,851,989

Monotype Imaging Holdings Inc.

     682,100         12,332,368   

Qualys Inc.

     334,660         4,384,046

ServiceNow Inc.

     141,070         3,910,460

Solarwinds Inc.

     511,700         27,846,714

Sourcefire Inc.

     589,608         25,117,301

Verint Systems Inc.

     456,895         15,443,051
     

 

 

 

Total Software

        165,455,530   
     

 

 

 

TOTAL INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

        360,124,858   
     

 

 

 
MATERIALS - 3.5%      

Chemicals - 2.3%

     

Kraton Performance Polymers Inc.

     249,840         6,558,300

Rockwood Holdings Inc.

     424,694         23,243,503   
     

 

 

 

Total Chemicals

        29,801,803   
     

 

 

 

Metals & Mining - 1.2%

     

Compass Minerals International Inc.

     211,566         15,243,330   
     

 

 

 

TOTAL MATERIALS

        45,045,133   
     

 

 

 
TELECOMMUNICATION SERVICES - 0.7%      

Wireless Telecommunication Services - 0.7%

     

SBA Communications Corp., Class A Shares

     126,750         8,829,405
     

 

 

 

 

 

See Notes to Schedule of Investments.

 

3


CLEARBRIDGE SMALL CAP GROWTH FUND

 

Schedule of Investments (unaudited) (cont’d)    January 31, 2013

 

 

SECURITY

                SHARES      VALUE  
UTILITIES - 1.7%           

Electric Utilities - 1.7%

          

ITC Holdings Corp.

          266,110       $ 21,554,910   
          

 

 

 
TOTAL INVESTMENTS BEFORE SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS
(Cost - $873,519,341)
             1,215,345,712   
          

 

 

 
     RATE     MATURITY
DATE
     FACE
AMOUNT
        
SHORT-TERM INVESTMENTS - 6.7%           

Repurchase Agreements - 6.7%

          

Interest in $675,000,000 joint tri-party repurchase agreement dated 1/31/13 with RBS Securities Inc.; Proceeds at maturity - $86,667,313; (Fully collateralized by various U.S. government obligations, 0.000% to 11.250% due 2/15/15 to 8/15/41; Market value - $88,400,637) (Cost - $86,667,000)

     0.130     2/1/13       $ 86,667,000         86,667,000   
          

 

 

 
TOTAL INVESTMENTS - 101.0 %
(Cost - $960,186,341#)
             1,302,012,712   

Liabilities in Excess of Other Assets - (1.0)%

             (12,653,673
          

 

 

 
TOTAL NET ASSETS - 100.0%            $ 1,289,359,039   
          

 

 

 

 

*       Non-income producing security.

          

 

#       Aggregate cost for federal income tax purposes is substantially the same.

          

SCHEDULE OF WRITTEN OPTIONS           

SECURITY

   EXPIRATION
DATE
    STRIKE
PRICE
     CONTRACTS      VALUE  

Advance Auto Parts Inc., Call (Premiums received - $75,172)

     2/16/13      $ 80.00         737       $ 35,008   
          

 

 

 

 

See Notes to Schedule of Investments.

 

4


Notes to Schedule of Investments (unaudited)

 

1. Organization and significant accounting policies

ClearBridge Small Cap Growth Fund (formerly Legg Mason ClearBridge Small Cap Growth Fund) (the “Fund”) is a separate diversified investment series of Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust (the “Trust”). The Trust, a Maryland statutory trust, is registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”), as an open-end management investment company.

The following are significant accounting policies consistently followed by the Funds and are in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”).

(a) Investment Valuation. Equity securities for which market quotations are available are valued at the last reported sales price or official closing price on the primary market or exchange on which they trade. The valuations for fixed income securities (which may include, but are not limited to, corporate, government, municipal, mortgage-backed, collateralized mortgage obligations and asset-backed securities) and certain derivative instruments are typically the prices supplied by independent third party pricing services, which may use market prices or broker/dealer quotations or a variety of valuation techniques and methodologies. The independent third party pricing services use inputs that are observable such as issuer details, interest rates, yield curves, prepayment speeds, credit risks/spreads, default rates and quoted prices for similar securities. Short-term fixed income securities that will mature in 60 days or less are valued at amortized cost, unless it is determined that using this method would not reflect an investment’s fair value. If independent third party pricing services are unable to supply prices for a portfolio investment, or if the prices supplied are deemed by the manager to be unreliable, the market price may be determined by the manager using quotations from one or more broker/dealers or at the transaction price if the security has recently been purchased and no value has yet been obtained from a pricing service or pricing broker. When reliable prices are not readily available, such as when the value of a security has been significantly affected by events after the close of the exchange or market on which the security is principally traded, but before the Fund calculates its net asset value, the Fund values these securities as determined in accordance with procedures approved by the Fund’s Board of Trustees.

The Board of Trustees is responsible for the valuation process and has delegated the supervision of the daily valuation process to the Legg Mason North American Fund Valuation Committee (the “Valuation Committee”). The Valuation Committee, pursuant to the policies adopted by the Board of Trustees, is responsible for making fair value determinations, evaluating the effectiveness of the Fund’s pricing policies, and reporting to the Board of Trustees. When determining the reliability of third party pricing information for investments owned by the Fund, the Valuation Committee, among other things, conducts due diligence reviews of pricing vendors, monitors the daily change in prices and reviews transactions among market participants.

The Valuation Committee will consider pricing methodologies it deems relevant and appropriate when making fair value determinations. Examples of possible methodologies include, but are not limited to, multiple of earnings; discount from market of a similar freely traded security; discounted cash-flow analysis; book value or a multiple thereof; risk premium/yield analysis; yield to maturity; and/or fundamental investment analysis. The Valuation Committee will also consider factors it deems relevant and appropriate in light of the facts and circumstances. Examples of possible factors include, but are not limited to, the type of security; the issuer’s financial statements; the purchase price of the security; the discount from market value of unrestricted securities of the same class at the time of purchase; analysts’ research and observations from financial institutions; information regarding any transactions or offers with respect to the security; the existence of merger proposals or tender offers affecting the security; the price and extent of public trading in similar securities of the issuer or comparable companies; and the existence of a shelf registration for restricted securities.

For each portfolio security that has been fair valued pursuant to the policies adopted by the Board of Trustees, the fair value price is compared against the last available and next available market quotations. The Valuation Committee reviews the results of such back testing monthly and fair valuation occurrences are reported to the Board of Trustees quarterly.

The Fund uses valuation techniques to measure fair value that are consistent with the market approach and/or income approach, depending on the type of security and the particular circumstance. The market approach uses prices and other relevant information generated by market transactions involving identical or comparable securities. The income approach uses valuation techniques to discount estimated future cash flows to present value.

GAAP establishes a disclosure hierarchy that categorizes the inputs to valuation techniques used to value assets and liabilities at measurement date. These inputs are summarized in the three broad levels listed below:

 

5


Notes to Schedule of Investments (unaudited) (continued)

 

   

Level 1 – quoted prices in active markets for identical investments

 

   

Level 2 – other significant observable inputs (including quoted prices for similar investments, interest rates, prepayment speeds, credit risk, etc.)

 

   

Level 3 – significant unobservable inputs (including the Fund’s own assumptions in determining the fair value of investments)

The inputs or methodologies used to value securities are not necessarily an indication of the risk associated with investing in those securities.

The following is a summary of the inputs used in valuing the Fund’s assets and liabilities carried at fair value:

 

ASSETS

 

DESCRIPTION

   QUOTED PRICES
(LEVEL 1)
     OTHER SIGNIFICANT
OBSERVABLE INPUTS

(LEVEL 2)
     SIGNIFICANT
UNOBSERVABLE
INPUTS

(LEVEL 3)
     TOTAL  

Common stocks†:

   $ 1,215,345,712       $ —           —         $ 1,215,345,712   

Short-term investments†

     —           86,667,000         —           86,667,000   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

Total investments

   $ 1,215,345,712       $ 86,667,000         —         $ 1,302,012,712   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

LIABILITIES

 

DESCRIPTION

   QUOTED PRICES
(LEVEL 1)
     OTHER SIGNIFICANT
OBSERVABLE INPUTS

(LEVEL 2)
     SIGNIFICANT
UNOBSERVABLE
INPUTS

(LEVEL 3)
     TOTAL  

Other financial instruments:

           

Written options

   $ 35,008         —           —         $ 35,008   
  

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

    

 

 

 

 

See Schedule of Investments for additional detailed categorizations.

(b) Repurchase agreements. The Fund may enter into repurchase agreements with institutions that its investment adviser has determined are creditworthy. Each repurchase agreement is recorded at cost. Under the terms of a typical repurchase agreement, the Fund acquires a debt security subject to an obligation of the seller to repurchase, and of the Fund to resell, the security at an agreed-upon price and time, thereby determining the yield during the Fund’s holding period. When entering into repurchase agreements, it is the Fund’s policy that its custodian or a third party custodian, acting on the Fund’s behalf, take possession of the underlying collateral securities, the market value of which, at all times, at least equals the principal amount of the repurchase transaction, including accrued interest. To the extent that any repurchase transaction maturity exceeds one business day, the value of the collateral is marked-to-market and measured against the value of the agreement in an effort to ensure the adequacy of the collateral. If the counterparty defaults, the Fund generally has the right to use the collateral to satisfy the terms of the repurchase transaction. However, if the market value of the collateral declines during the period in which the Fund seeks to assert its rights or if bankruptcy proceedings are commenced with respect to the seller of the security, realization of the collateral by the Fund may be delayed or limited.

(c) Written options. When the Fund writes an option, an amount equal to the premium received by the Fund is recorded as a liability, the value of which is marked-to-market daily to reflect the current market value of the option written. If the option expires, the premium received is recorded as a realized gain. When a written call option is exercised, the difference between the premium received plus the option exercise price and the Fund’s basis in the underlying security (in the case of a covered written call option), or the cost to purchase the underlying security (in the case of an uncovered written call option), including brokerage commission, is recognized as a realized gain or loss. When a written put option is exercised, the amount of the premium received is subtracted from the cost of the security purchased by the Fund from the exercise of the written put option to form the Fund’s basis in the underlying security purchased. The writer or buyer of an option traded on an exchange can liquidate the position before the exercise of the

 

6


option by entering into a closing transaction. The cost of a closing transaction is deducted from the original premium received resulting in a realized gain or loss to the Fund.

The risk in writing a covered call option is that the Fund may forego the opportunity of profit if the market price of the underlying security increases and the option is exercised. The risk in writing a put option is that the Fund may incur a loss if the market price of the underlying security decreases and the option is exercised. The risk in writing an uncovered call option is that the Fund is exposed to the risk of loss if the market price of the underlying security increases. In addition, there is the risk that the Fund may not be able to enter into a closing transaction because of an illiquid secondary market.

 

(d) Security transactions. Security transactions are accounted for on a trade date basis.

2. Investments

At January 31, 2013, the aggregate gross unrealized appreciation and depreciation of investments for federal income tax purposes were substantially as follows:

 

Gross unrealized appreciation

   $ 395,885,344   

Gross unrealized depreciation

     (54,058,973
  

 

 

 

Net unrealized appreciation

   $ 341,826,371   
  

 

 

 

During the period ended January 31, 2013, written option transactions for the Fund were as follows:

 

     Number of
Contracts
    Premiums  

Written options, outstanding as of October 31, 2012

     299      $ 22,126   

Options written

     1,779        176,099   

Options closed

     —          —     

Options exercised

     (418     (51,074

Options expired

     (923     (71,979
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

Written options, outstanding as of January 31, 2013

     737      $ 75,172   
  

 

 

   

 

 

 

3. Derivative instruments and hedging activities

GAAP requires enhanced disclosure about an entity’s derivative and hedging activities.

The following is a summary of the Fund’s derivative instruments categorized by risk exposure at January 31, 2013.

 

Primary Underlying Risk

   Written Options
at value
 

Equity Risk

   $ 35,008   
  

 

 

 

During the period ended January 31, 2013, the volume of derivative activity for the Fund was as follows:

 

     Average market value  

Written options

   $ 22,520   
  

 

 

 


ITEM 2. CONTROLS AND PROCEDURES.

 

  (a) The registrant’s principal executive officer and principal financial officer have concluded that the registrant’s disclosure controls and procedures (as defined in Rule 30a- 3(c) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (the “1940 Act”)) are effective as of a date within 90 days of the filing date of this report that includes the disclosure required by this paragraph, based on their evaluation of the disclosure controls and procedures required by Rule 30a-3(b) under the 1940 Act and 15d-15(b) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934.

 

  (b) There were no changes in the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Rule 30a-3(d) under the 1940 Act) that occurred during the registrant’s last fiscal quarter that have materially affected, or are likely to materially affect the registrant’s internal control over financial reporting.

 

ITEM 3. EXHIBITS.

Certifications pursuant to Rule 30a-2(a) under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended, are attached hereto.


SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

 

Legg Mason Partners Equity Trust
By   /s/    R. J AY G ERKEN        
  R. Jay Gerken
  Chief Executive Officer

Date:

 

March 26, 2013

Pursuant to the requirements of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and the Investment Company Act of 1940, this report has been signed below by the following persons on behalf of the registrant and in the capacities and on the dates indicated.

 

By   /s/    R. J AY G ERKEN        
  R. Jay Gerken
  Chief Executive Officer

Date:

 

March 26, 2013

 

By   /s/    R ICHARD F. S ENNETT        
  Richard F. Sennett
  Principal Financial Officer

Date:

 

March 26, 2013