The asset management firm Legg Mason said it would search for a new leader after its chairman and chief executive, Mark R. Fetting, decided to step down amid struggles to turn around performance and retain client money.
“The opportunity to lead Legg Mason through a crucial period of its history has been both challenging and fulfilling,†Mr. Fetting said in a statement on Tuesday. “Now is the right time for new leadership to take the baton and continue to move the Company forward into its next phase of growth and development.â€
The firm, which manages about $636 billion, said a current director, W. Allen Reed, will become nonexecutive chairman and Joseph A. Sullivan, its global head of distribution, will serve as interim chief as the company searches for a replacement.
Legg Mason's clients have steadily withdrawn their money from the firm since the financial crisis, and assets have failed to recover in a meaningful way. In late 2007, the firm's asse ts under management broke the trillion dollar mark, placing it in an elite club of managers. But a tough 2008 pummeled assets as well as the firm's stock price. Now, shares trade at about $25, a quarter of where they were in early 2007.
The company said Tuesday that Mr. Fetting would remain with the company through the year as a consultant.
