Martin Currie SMASh Series EM Fund

^Prospectus LOGO

^{December 1,
2023}

MARTIN CURRIE

SMASh SERIES EM FUND

Symbol: LCSMX

The Securities and Exchange Commission has not approved or disapproved these securities or determined whether this Prospectus is accurate or complete. Any statement to the contrary is a crime.

INVESTMENT PRODUCTS: NOT FDIC INSURED • NO BANK GUARANTEE • MAY LOSE VALUE


Contents
Investment objective			2
Fees and expenses of the fund			2
Principal investment strategies			3
Principal risks			4
Performance			8
Management			9
Purchase and sale of fund shares			9
Tax information			9
Payments to broker/dealers and other financial intermediaries			9
More on the fund’s investment strategies, investments and risks			10
More on fund management			18
Buying shares			21
Redeeming shares			22
Other things to know about transactions			23
Dividends, other distributions and taxes			24
Share price			25
Financial highlights			26

Investment objective

Long-term capital appreciation.

Fees and expenses of the fund

The accompanying table describes the fees and expenses that you may pay if you buy and hold shares of the fund. Shareholders should be aware that, as shown under “Management fees” in the table below, the fund pays no fees under its management and advisory agreements to the fund’s manager and subadviser. However, fund shares are only offered to participants in separately managed account programs who pay fees to program sponsors for the costs and expenses of the programs, including fees for investment advice, custody and portfolio execution. When a program participant, alone or with his or her program sponsor, elects to allocate assets to an investment strategy managed or advised by the fund’s subadviser or an affiliate of the subadviser, the subadviser or that affiliate typically receives a fee from the program sponsor for providing such management or advisory services to the managed account, including with respect to assets that may be invested in the fund. In certain cases, a program participant will pay a fee for investment advice directly to the subadviser or an affiliate in its capacity as manager, adviser or subadviser to the participant’s managed account.


Shareholder fees
(fees paid directly from your investment)
Maximum sales charge (load) imposed on purchases (as a % of offering price)		None
Maximum deferred sales charge (load) (as a % of the lower of net asset value at purchase or redemption)		None


Annual fund operating expenses (%)
(expenses that you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Management fees¹		0.00
Distribution and/or service (12b‑1) fees		None
Other expenses		0.06
Total annual fund operating expenses		0.06
Expense Reimbursement²		(0.06)
Total annual fund operating expenses after reimbursing expenses		0.00

Neither the fund’s manager nor the fund’s subadviser charges a management fee to the fund. Shareholders should be aware, however, that the fund is an integral part of separately managed account programs, and the fund’s manager, the fund’s subadviser or their affiliates will be compensated directly or indirectly by separately managed account program sponsors or program participants for managed account advisory services.

²	The manager has agreed to reimburse 100% of the fund’s operating expenses (other than interest, brokerage, taxes, extraordinary expenses and acquired fund fees and expenses). This arrangement cannot be terminated prior to December 31, 2024 without the Board of Trustees’ consent.

Example

This example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other mutual funds. The example assumes:

•

You invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated

•

Your investment has a 5% return each year and the fund’s operating expenses remain the same (except that any applicable fee waiver or expense reimbursement is reflected only through its expiration date)

•

You reinvest all distributions and dividends without a sales charge

Although your actual costs may be higher or lower, based on these assumptions your costs would be:


2				Martin Currie SMASh Series EM Fund


Number of years you own your shares ($)
	1 year	3 years	5 years	10 years
Martin Currie SMASh Series EM Fund	0	13	27	70

Portfolio turnover. The fund pays transaction costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher portfolio turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or in the example, affect the fund’s performance. During the most recent fiscal year, the fund’s portfolio turnover rate was 12% of the average value of its portfolio.

Principal investment strategies

Under normal market conditions, the fund pursues its objective by investing at least 80% of its net assets plus borrowings for investment purposes, if any, in securities of issuers with substantial economic ties to one or more emerging market countries and other investments with similar economic characteristics. The material factors the subadviser considers when determining whether an issuer has substantial economic ties to an emerging market country include whether the issuer:

•

is included in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index;

•

is organized or headquartered in an emerging market country, or maintains most of its assets in one or more such countries;

•

has a primary listing for its securities on a stock exchange of an emerging market country; or

•

derives a majority of its exposure (e.g. percentage of sales, income or other material factors) from one or more emerging market countries.

Emerging market countries are predominantly found currently in regions including Asia, the Indian subcontinent, South and Central America, the Middle and Near East, Eastern and Central Europe and Africa.

The fund will invest primarily in equity and equity-related securities, which may include common stocks, preferred stock, convertible bonds, other securities convertible into common stock, depositary receipts, real estate investment trusts, securities of other investment companies, including exchange-traded funds (ETFs), and synthetic foreign equity securities, including international warrants. The fund will primarily invest in securities directly in foreign markets, but may gain exposure to foreign markets indirectly through depositary receipts and synthetic foreign equity securities. American Depositary Receipts are receipts issued by a bank that demonstrate ownership of underlying foreign securities and trade on U.S. markets. Synthetic foreign equity securities are a type of derivative issued by a bank or other financial institution designed to replicate the economic exposure of buying an equity security directly in a particular foreign market. The fund will use synthetic foreign equity securities to obtain market exposure where direct access is not otherwise available. The fund may also enter into index futures contracts, a form of derivative contract, as a substitute for buying or selling securities, to obtain market exposure, in an attempt to enhance returns and to manage cash.

Within an emerging market country, the subadviser selects securities that it believes have favorable investment potential. For example, the fund may purchase stocks of companies with prices that reflect a value lower than that which the subadviser places on the company. The subadviser may also consider factors it believes will cause the stock price to rise. In general, the subadviser will consider, among other factors, an issuer’s valuation, financial strength, competitive position in its industry, projected future earnings, cash flows and dividends and environmental, social, and governance risks and opportunities when deciding whether to buy or sell investments. The fund may invest in companies of any size and market capitalization.

The subadviser assesses environmental, social and governance (“ESG”) risks and opportunities that could impact the ability of an issuer to generate future sustainable returns. These may include such factors as:

•

shareholder rights,

•

accounting standards,

•

remuneration,

•

board structure,

•

labor relations,

•

supply chain,

•

data protection,

•

pollution/hazardous waste,

•

water usage, and

•

climate change.

The subadviser assesses these ESG factors both quantitatively and qualitatively, through its proprietary ESG ratings system and its direct research and engagement process. The subadviser’s proprietary ESG ratings capture this analysis, with companies assigned a risk rating on each of governance and sustainability (i.e., environmental and social) from 1 (low risk) to 5 (high risk) following a consideration of environment, social affairs and corporate governance sustainability factors. Companies that have a sustainability or governance risk rating of 4 or higher will not be purchased for the fund.

The subadviser considers sustainability risks tied to ESG factors relevant to the returns of the fund. Because investing on the basis of ESG criteria involves qualitative and subjective analysis, there can be no assurance that the methodology utilized by, or determinations made by, the subadviser will align with the beliefs or values of a particular investor, and other managers may make a different assessment of a company’s ESG criteria.

In addition, the fund seeks to avoid investing in companies that, based on its exclusionary criteria, the subadviser has determined:


Martin Currie SMASh Series EM Fund					3

•

generate more than 5% of revenue from tobacco production, distribution or wholesale.

•

generate more than 5% of revenue from the production or distribution of conventional or nuclear weapons.

•

generate more than 5% of revenue from coal based power generation or the mining or distribution of thermal coal.

•

generate revenue from the production, sale or distribution of dedicated and key components of controversial weapons (i.e., antipersonnel mines, biological and chemical weaponry and cluster munitions).

•

as ‘fail’ under the principles set forth in the UN Global Compact.

The subadviser may engage with issuers to gain information on environmental, social and governance related issues and to promote best practices in the management and disclosure of these issues.

The subadviser applies its ESG process (as set out above) to the issuer of each security held in the fund’s portfolio, provided that the subadviser does not apply its ESG process to cash and instruments used for liquidity (including mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, short-term money market instruments and derivative contracts).

The fund may invest in companies domiciled in any country that the subadviser believes to be appropriate to the fund’s investment objective. Subject to the fund’s 80% investment policy, the fund may invest a substantial amount of assets (i.e., more than 25%) in issuers located in a single country or a limited number of countries, but will always be invested in or have exposure to no less than three different emerging market countries. The fund may invest in securities denominated in foreign currencies or in U.S. dollars.

The fund is classified as “non‑diversified,” which means it may invest a larger percentage of its assets in a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund.

Principal risks

Risk is inherent in all investing. The value of your investment in the fund, as well as the amount of return you receive on your investment, may fluctuate significantly. You may lose part or all of your investment in the fund or your investment may not perform as well as other similar investments. An investment in the fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or by any bank or government agency. The following is a summary description of certain risks of investing in the fund. The relative significance of the risks of investing in the fund may change over time. The fund is intended to be used as part of a managed account program. The performance and objectives of the fund should be evaluated in the context of the investor’s managed account program. The fund is not designed to be used as a stand-alone investment.

Stock market and equity securities risk. The stock markets are volatile and the market prices of equity securities held by the fund may decline generally. Equity securities may include exchange-traded and over‑the‑counter common stocks, preferred stock, depositary receipts, trust certificates, limited partnership interests, warrants, rights, securities convertible into equity securities, and shares of other investment companies, including exchange-traded funds, and of real estate investment trusts. Equity securities may have greater price volatility than other asset classes, such as fixed income securities. The market price of a security may fluctuate in price based on overall market conditions, such as real or perceived adverse economic or political conditions or trends, tariffs and trade disruptions, inflation, substantial economic downturn or recession, changes in interest rates, or adverse investor sentiment. Changes in market conditions will not typically have the same impact on all types of securities. If the market prices of the equity securities owned by the fund fall, the value of your investment in the fund will decline. If the fund holds equity securities in a company that becomes insolvent, the fund’s interests in the company will be subordinated to the interests of debtholders and general creditors of the company, and the fund may lose its entire investment.

Foreign investments and emerging markets risk. The fund’s investments in securities of foreign issuers or issuers with significant exposure to foreign markets involve additional risk as compared to investments in U.S. securities or issuers with predominantly U.S. exposure, such as less liquid, less transparent, less regulated and more volatile markets. The value of the fund’s investments may decline because of factors affecting the particular issuer as well as foreign markets and issuers generally, such as unfavorable or unsuccessful government actions, reduction of government or central bank support, inadequate accounting standards and auditing and financial recordkeeping requirements, lack of information, political, economic, financial or social instability, terrorism, armed conflicts and other geopolitical events, and the impact of tariffs and other restrictions on trade or economic sanctions. Geopolitical or other events such as nationalization or expropriation could even cause the loss of the fund’s entire investment in one or more countries.

In addition, there may be significant obstacles to obtaining information necessary for investigations into or litigation against issuers located in or operating in certain foreign markets, particularly emerging market countries, and shareholders may have limited legal remedies. To the extent the fund focuses its investments in a single country or only a few countries in a particular geographic region, economic, political, regulatory or other conditions affecting such country or region may have a greater impact on fund performance relative to a more geographically diversified fund.

The value of investments in securities denominated in foreign currencies increases or decreases as the rates of exchange between those currencies and the U.S. dollar change. Currency conversion costs and currency fluctuations could erase investment gains or add to investment losses. Currency exchange rates can be volatile, and are affected by factors such as general economic and political conditions, the actions of the U.S. and foreign governments or central banks, the imposition of currency controls and speculation. The fund may be unable or may choose not to hedge its foreign currency exposure.


4				Martin Currie SMASh Series EM Fund

Less developed markets are more likely to experience problems with the clearing and settling of trades and the holding of securities by local banks, agents and depositories. Settlement of trades in these markets can take longer than in other markets and the fund may not receive its proceeds from the sale of certain securities for an extended period (possibly several weeks or even longer).

The risks of foreign investments are heightened when investing in issuers in emerging market countries. Emerging market countries tend to have economic, political and legal systems that are less developed and are less stable than those of more developed countries. Their economies tend to be less diversified than those of more developed countries. They typically have fewer medical and economic resources than more developed countries, and thus they may be less able to control or mitigate the effects of a pandemic or a natural disaster. They are often particularly sensitive to market movements because their market prices tend to reflect speculative expectations. Low trading volumes may result in a lack of liquidity and in extreme price volatility.

Issuer risk. The market price of a security held by the fund can go up or down more than the market as a whole and can perform differently from the value of the market as a whole due to factors specifically relating to the security’s issuer, such as disappointing earnings reports by the issuer, unsuccessful products or services, loss of major customers, changes in management, corporate actions, negative perception in the marketplace, or major litigation or changes in government regulations affecting the issuer or the competitive environment. An individual security may also be affected by factors relating to the industry or sector of the issuer or the securities markets as a whole, and conversely an industry or sector or the securities markets may be affected by a change in financial condition or other event affecting a single issuer. The fund may experience a substantial or complete loss on an individual security.

Non‑diversification risk. The fund is classified as “non‑diversified,” which means it may invest a larger percentage of its assets in a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund. To the extent the fund invests its assets in a smaller number of issuers, the fund will be more susceptible to negative events affecting those issuers than a diversified fund.

Large capitalization company risk. Large capitalization companies may fall out of favor with investors based on market and economic conditions. In addition, larger companies may not be able to attain the high growth rates of successful smaller companies and may be less capable of responding quickly to competitive challenges and industry changes. As a result, the fund’s value may not rise as much as, or may fall more than, the value of funds that focus on companies with smaller market capitalizations.

Small and mid‑capitalization company risk. The fund will be exposed to additional risks as a result of its investments in the securities of small and mid‑capitalization companies. Small and mid‑capitalization companies may fall out of favor with investors; may have limited product lines, operating histories, markets or financial resources; or may be dependent upon a limited management group. The prices of securities of small and mid‑capitalization companies generally are more volatile than those of large capitalization companies and are more likely to be adversely affected than large capitalization companies by changes in earnings results and investor expectations or poor economic or market conditions, including those experienced during a recession. Securities of small and mid‑capitalization companies may underperform large capitalization companies, may be harder to sell at times and at prices the portfolio managers believe appropriate and may have greater potential for losses.

Model risk. The subadviser’s investment models may not adequately take into account certain factors and may result in the fund having a lower return than if the fund were managed using another model or investment strategy. When a model or data used in managing the fund contains an error, or is incorrect or incomplete, any investment decision made in reliance on the model or data may not produce the desired results and the fund may suffer losses.

Industry or sector focus risk. The fund may be susceptible to an increased risk of loss, including losses due to events that adversely affect the fund’s investments more than the market as a whole, to the extent that the fund may, from time to time, have greater exposure to the securities of a particular issuer or issuers within the same industry or sector.

Portfolio management risk. The value of your investment may decrease if the subadviser’s judgment about the attractiveness or value of, or market trends affecting, a particular security, industry, sector or region, or about market movements, is incorrect or does not produce the desired results, or if there are imperfections, errors or limitations in the models, tools and data used by the subadviser. In addition, the fund’s investment strategies or policies may change from time to time. Those changes may not lead to the results intended by the subadviser and could have an adverse effect on the value or performance of the fund.

Illiquidity risk. Some assets held by the fund may be or become impossible or difficult to sell, particularly during times of market turmoil. These illiquid assets may also be difficult to value. Markets may become illiquid quickly. Markets may become illiquid when, for instance, there are few, if any, interested buyers or sellers or when dealers are unwilling or unable to make a market for certain securities. As a general matter, dealers have been less willing to make markets in recent years. If the fund is forced to sell an illiquid asset to meet redemption requests or other cash needs, or to try to limit losses, the fund may be forced to sell at a substantial loss or may not be able to sell at all.

Derivatives risk. Using derivatives can increase fund losses and reduce opportunities for gains, such as when market prices, interest rates, currencies, or the derivatives themselves, behave in a way not anticipated by the fund’s subadviser. Using derivatives also can have a leveraging effect and increase fund volatility. Certain derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of the initial investment. Derivatives may not be available at the time or price desired, may be difficult to sell, unwind or value, and the counterparty may default on its obligations to the fund. Derivatives are generally subject to the risks applicable to the assets, rates, indices or other indicators underlying the derivative. The value of a derivative may fluctuate more than the underlying assets, rates, indices or other indicators to which it relates. Use of


Martin Currie SMASh Series EM Fund					5

derivatives may have different tax consequences for the fund than an investment in the underlying asset, and those differences may affect the amount, timing and character of income distributed to shareholders. The U.S. government and non‑U.S. governments have adopted and implemented regulations governing derivatives markets, including mandatory clearing of certain derivatives, margin and reporting requirements. The ultimate impact of the regulations remains unclear. Additional regulation of derivatives may make derivatives more costly, limit their availability or utility, otherwise adversely affect their performance or disrupt markets. A synthetic foreign equity security in which the fund may invest is a form of derivative instrument that may be subject to all the risks of derivatives described above.

Investing in ETFs risk. Unlike shares of typical mutual funds or unit investment trusts, shares of ETFs are traded on an exchange and may trade throughout a trading day. ETFs are bought and sold based on market values and not at net asset value, and therefore may trade at either a premium or discount to net asset value and may experience volatility in certain market conditions. The fund will pay brokerage commissions in connection with the purchase and sales of shares of ETFs. In addition, the fund will indirectly bear its pro rata share of fees and expenses incurred by an ETF in which it invests, including advisory fees. These expenses are in addition to expenses that the fund bears directly in connection with its own operations. Certain ETFs are also subject to portfolio management risk. Investments in ETFs are subject to the risk that the listing exchange may halt trading of an ETF’s shares, in which case the fund would be unable to sell its ETF shares unless and until trading is resumed.

ESG investment strategy risk. The fund’s ESG investment strategy limits the types and number of investment opportunities available to the fund and, as a result, the fund may underperform other funds that do not have an ESG focus. The fund’s ESG investment strategy may result in the fund investing in securities or industry sectors that underperform the market as a whole, or forgoing opportunities to invest in securities that might otherwise be advantageous to buy. The fund may also underperform other funds that apply different ESG standards. In addition, the subadviser may be unsuccessful in creating a portfolio composed of companies that exhibit positive ESG characteristics. In evaluating a security or issuer based on ESG criteria, the subadviser may use information and data from third-party providers of ESG research, which may be incomplete, inaccurate or unavailable. There is no uniform set of ESG standards, and different third party providers may provide different or inconsistent information and data. There may be limitations with respect to availability of ESG data in certain sectors, as well as limited availability of investments with positive ESG assessments in certain sectors. As a result, there is a risk that the subadviser’s analysis may be conducted based on incomplete or inaccurate information. The subadviser’s evaluation of ESG criteria is subjective and may change over time.

REITs risk. The value of real estate investment trusts (“REITs”) may be affected by factors including the condition of the economy as a whole, changes in the value of the underlying real estate, the creditworthiness of the issuers of the investments, property taxes, interest rates, liquidity of the credit markets, poor performance by the REIT’s manager, and the real estate regulatory environment. REITs that concentrate their holdings in specific businesses, such as apartments, offices or retail space, will be affected by conditions affecting those businesses.

Valuation risk. The sales price the fund could receive for any particular portfolio investment may differ from the fund’s valuation of the investment, particularly for securities that trade in thin or volatile markets or that are valued using a fair value methodology. These differences may increase significantly and affect fund investments more broadly during periods of market volatility. Investors who purchase or redeem fund shares on days when the fund is holding fair-valued securities may receive fewer or more shares or lower or higher redemption proceeds than they would have received if the fund had not fair-valued securities or had used a different valuation methodology. The fund’s ability to value its investments may be impacted by technological issues and/or errors by pricing services or other third party service providers. The valuation of the fund’s investments involves subjective judgment, which may prove to be incorrect.

Market events risk. The market values of securities or other assets will fluctuate, sometimes sharply and unpredictably, due to factors such as economic events, governmental actions or intervention, actions taken by the U.S. Federal Reserve or foreign central banks, market disruptions caused by trade disputes, labor strikes or other factors, political developments, armed conflicts, economic sanctions and countermeasures in response to sanctions, major cybersecurity events, the global and domestic effects of widespread or local health, weather or climate events, and other factors that may or may not be related to the issuer of the security or other asset. Economies and financial markets throughout the world are increasingly interconnected. Economic, financial or political events, trading and tariff arrangements, public health events, terrorism, wars, natural disasters and other circumstances in one country or region could have profound impacts on global economies or markets. As a result, whether or not the fund invests in securities of issuers located in or with significant exposure to the countries or markets directly affected, the value and liquidity of the fund’s investments may be negatively affected. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian stocks lost all, or nearly all, of their market value. Other securities or markets could be similarly affected by past or future geopolitical or other events or conditions. Furthermore, events involving limited liquidity, defaults, non‑performance or other adverse developments that affect one industry, such as the financial services industry, or concerns or rumors about any events of these kinds, have in the past and may in the future lead to market-wide liquidity problems, may spread to other industries, and could negatively affect the value and liquidity of the fund’s investments.

Raising the ceiling on U.S. government debt has become increasingly politicized. Any failure to increase the total amount that the U.S. government is authorized to borrow could lead to a default on U.S. government obligations, with unpredictable consequences for economies and markets in the U.S. and elsewhere. Recently, inflation and interest rates have increased and may rise further. These circumstances could adversely affect the value and liquidity of the fund’s investments, impair the fund’s ability to satisfy redemption requests, and negatively impact the fund’s performance.


6				Martin Currie SMASh Series EM Fund

The United States and other countries are periodically involved in disputes over trade and other matters, which may result in tariffs, investment restrictions and adverse impacts on affected companies and securities. For example, the United States has imposed tariffs and other trade barriers on Chinese exports, has restricted sales of certain categories of goods to China, and has established barriers to investments in China. Trade disputes may adversely affect the economies of the United States and its trading partners, as well as companies directly or indirectly affected and financial markets generally. The United States government has prohibited U.S. persons from investing in Chinese companies designated as related to the Chinese military. These and possible future restrictions could limit the fund’s opportunities for investment and require the sale of securities at a loss or make them illiquid. Moreover, the Chinese government is involved in a longstanding dispute with Taiwan that has included threats of invasion. If the political climate between the United States and China does not improve or continues to deteriorate, if China were to attempt unification of Taiwan by force, or if other geopolitical conflicts develop or get worse, economies, markets and individual securities may be severely affected both regionally and globally, and the value of the fund’s assets may go down.

Cybersecurity risk. Like other funds and business enterprises, the fund, the manager, the subadvisers and their service providers are subject to the risk of cyber incidents occurring from time to time. Cybersecurity incidents, whether intentionally caused by third parties or otherwise, may allow an unauthorized party to gain access to fund assets, fund or customer data (including private shareholder information) or proprietary information, cause the fund, the manager, the subadvisers and/or their service providers (including, but not limited to, fund accountants, custodians, sub‑custodians, transfer agents and financial intermediaries) to suffer data breaches, data corruption or loss of operational functionality, or prevent fund investors from purchasing, redeeming or exchanging shares, receiving distributions or receiving timely information regarding the fund or their investment in the fund. The fund, the manager, and the subadvisers have limited ability to prevent or mitigate cybersecurity incidents affecting third party service providers, and such third party service providers may have limited indemnification obligations to the fund, the manager, and/or the subadvisers. Cybersecurity incidents may result in financial losses to the fund and its shareholders, and substantial costs may be incurred in order to prevent or mitigate any future cybersecurity incidents. Issuers of securities in which the fund invests are also subject to cybersecurity risks, and the value of these securities could decline if the issuers experience cybersecurity incidents.

New ways to carry out cyber attacks continue to develop. There is a chance that some risks have not been identified or prepared for, or that an attack may not be detected, which puts limitations on the fund’s ability to plan for or respond to a cyber attack.

These and other risks are discussed in more detail in the Prospectus or in the Statement of Additional Information.


Martin Currie SMASh Series EM Fund					7

Performance

The accompanying bar chart and table provide some indication of the risks of investing in the fund. The bar chart shows changes in the fund’s performance from year to year. The table shows the average annual total returns of the fund and also compares the fund’s performance with the average annual total returns of an index or other benchmark. Updated performance information for the fund may be obtained by calling the fund at 877‑6LM‑FUND/656‑3863.

The fund’s past performance (before and after taxes) is not necessarily an indication of how the fund will perform in the future.

Sales charges are not reflected in the accompanying bar chart, and if those charges were included, returns would be less than those shown. Sales charges do not apply to purchases of fund shares by managed account program participants, but (as discussed above), managed account program participants pay fees to program sponsors for the costs and expenses of such programs. In addition, performance does not reflect the fees and expenses paid by participants in separately managed account programs to program sponsors. You should evaluate the performance of the fund in the context of your managed account program.

Best Quarter (12/31/2020): 30.64 Worst Quarter (03/31/2020): (25.50)

The year‑to‑date return as of the most recent calendar quarter, which ended September 30, 2023, was 3.59


Average annual total returns (%)
(for periods ended December 31, 2022)

	1 year	Since inception	Inception date
Return before taxes	(27.23)	(0.88)	01/10/2018
Return after taxes on distributions	(27.35)	(1.24)
Return after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares	(15.92)	(0.67)
MSCI Emerging Markets Index (Net of foreign withholding taxes (USD)) (reflects no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes, except foreign withholding taxes)	(20.09)	(2.06)

The after‑tax returns shown are calculated using the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect the impact of state and local taxes. Actual after‑tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. Returns after taxes on distributions and sale of fund shares are higher than returns before taxes for certain periods shown because they reflect the tax benefit of capital losses realized on the redemption of fund shares.


8				Martin Currie SMASh Series EM Fund

Management

Investment manager: Franklin Templeton Fund Adviser, LLC (“FTFA”) (formerly known as Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC)

Subadviser: Martin Currie Inc. (“Martin Currie”)

Portfolio managers: Primary responsibility for the day‑to‑day management of the fund lies with the following portfolio managers. These portfolio managers, all of whom are employed by Martin Currie, work together to make portfolio management decisions.


Portfolio manager	Title	Portfolio manager of the fund since

Paul Desoisa, CFA	Portfolio Manager	2019

Colin Dishington, CFA	Portfolio Manager	2019

Andrew Mathewson, CFA	Portfolio Manager	2018

Divya Mathur, ASIP	Portfolio Manager	2019

Alastair Reynolds	Portfolio Manager	2018

Paul Sloane	Portfolio Manager	2019

Aimee Truesdale, CFA	Portfolio Manager	2022

Purchase and sale of fund shares

Shares of the fund may be purchased only by or on behalf of separately managed account clients where the fund’s subadviser or an affiliate of the subadviser (each a “Managed Account Adviser”) has an agreement with the managed account program sponsor (the “Program Sponsor”), or directly with the client, to provide management or advisory services to the managed account or to the Program Sponsor for its use in managing such account.

There are no maximum or minimum investment requirements in the fund (although your Program Sponsor may have certain investment requirements).

Redemption orders are made based on instructions from your Managed Account Adviser or Program Sponsor to the broker/dealer who executes trades for the account. Shares of the fund can be redeemed through the broker/dealer on any day the New York Stock Exchange is open.

Tax information

The fund’s distributions are generally taxable as ordinary income or capital gains.

Payments to broker/dealers and other financial intermediaries

The fund’s related companies pay Service Agents for the sale of fund shares, shareholder services and other purposes. “Service Agents” include banks, brokers, dealers, insurance companies, investment advisers, financial consultants or advisers, mutual fund supermarkets, managed account program sponsors and other financial intermediaries that have entered into an agreement with Franklin Distributors, LLC to sell shares of the fund. These payments create a conflict of interest by influencing your Service Agent or its employees or associated persons to recommend the fund, or a managed account strategy of which the fund is a part, over another investment. Ask your financial adviser or salesperson or visit your Service Agent’s or salesperson’s website for more information.


Martin Currie SMASh Series EM Fund					9

More on the fund’s investment strategies, investments and risks

Important information

The fund’s investment objective is long-term capital appreciation.

The fund’s investment objective may be changed by the Board of Trustees (the ”Board”) without shareholder approval and on notice to shareholders. There is no assurance that the fund will meet its investment objective.

The fund’s style is best characterized as growth at a reasonable price.

Under normal market conditions, the fund will invest at least 80% of its net assets plus borrowings for investment purposes, if any, in securities of issuers with substantial economic ties to one or more emerging market countries and other investments with similar economic characteristics (the fund does not currently intend to borrow for investment purposes).

The fund’s 80% investment policy may be changed by the Board without shareholder approval upon 60 days’ prior notice to shareholders.

The fund’s other investment strategies and policies may be changed from time to time without shareholder approval, unless specifically stated otherwise in this Prospectus or in the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”).

The fund is classified as “non‑diversified,” which means it may invest a larger percentage of its assets in a smaller number of issuers than a diversified fund.

Emerging market countries

The material factors the subadviser considers when determining whether an issuer has substantial economic ties to an emerging market country include whether the issuer:

i.	is included in the MSCI Emerging Markets Index;

ii.	is organized or headquartered in an emerging market country, or maintains most of its assets in one or more such countries;

iii.	has a primary listing for its securities on a stock exchange of an emerging market country; or

iv.	derives a majority of its exposure (e.g. percentage of sales, income or other material factors) from one or more emerging market countries.

As of September 29, 2023, the MSCI Emerging Markets Index consisted of the following 24 emerging market country indexes: Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Czech Republic, Egypt, Greece, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey and United Arab Emirates.

Equity investments

Equity securities include exchange-traded and over‑the‑counter (“OTC”) common and preferred stocks, warrants and rights, securities convertible into equity securities and securities of other investment companies and of real estate investment trusts (“REITs”).

Exchange-traded funds (ETFs)

The fund may invest in shares of open‑end management investment companies or unit investment trusts that are traded on a stock exchange, called ETFs.

Derivatives

Derivatives are financial instruments whose value depends upon, or is derived from, the value of an asset, such as one or more underlying investments, indexes or currencies. The fund may engage in derivative transactions, specifically, index futures contracts. The fund may enter into these index futures contracts:

•

As a substitute for buying or selling securities

•

As a cash flow management technique

•

As a means of attempting to enhance returns

•

As a means of providing market exposure

Using derivatives, especially for non‑hedging purposes, may involve greater risks to the fund than investing directly in securities, particularly as these instruments may be very complex and may not behave in the manner anticipated by the fund. Certain derivative transactions may have a leveraging effect on the fund.

Use of derivatives or similar instruments may have different tax consequences for the fund than an investment in the underlying asset, and those differences may affect the amount, timing and character of income distributed to shareholders.

A derivative contract will obligate or entitle the fund to deliver or receive an asset or cash payment based on the change in value of one or more underlying investments, indexes or currencies.


10				Martin Currie SMASh Series EM Fund

Registered investment companies are subject to regulatory limitations on their use of derivative investments and certain financing transactions (e.g. reverse repurchase agreements). Among other things, a fund that invests in derivative instruments beyond a specified limited amount must apply a value‑at‑risk based limit to its use of certain derivative instruments and financing transactions and must adopt and implement a derivatives risk management program. A fund that uses derivative instruments in a limited amount is not subject to the same restrictions. Regulatory restrictions may limit the fund’s ability to use derivatives as part of its investment strategy and may not work as intended to limit losses from derivatives.

Synthetic foreign equity securities

Synthetic foreign equity securities in which the fund may invest include international warrants. International warrants are financial instruments issued by banks or other financial institutions, which may or may not be traded on a foreign exchange. International warrants are a form of derivative instrument that may give holders the right to buy or sell an underlying security from or to the issuer of the warrant for a particular price or may entitle holders to receive a cash payment relating to the value of the underlying security, in each case upon exercise by the holder. The fund may invest in low exercise price warrants which are international warrants with an exercise price that is very low relative to the market price of the underlying instrument at the time of issue (i.e., one cent or less). The buyer of a low exercise price warrant effectively pays the full value of the underlying common stock at the outset.

Cash management

The fund may hold cash pending investment, may invest in money market instruments and may enter into repurchase agreements and reverse repurchase agreements (which have characteristics like borrowings) for cash management purposes. The fund may invest in money market funds, which may or may not be affiliated with the fund’s manager or the subadvisers. The amount of assets the fund may hold for cash management purposes will depend on market conditions and the need to meet expected redemption requests.

Defensive investing

The fund may depart from its principal investment strategies in response to adverse market, economic, political or other conditions by taking temporary defensive positions, including by investing in any type of money market instruments and short-term debt securities or holding cash without regard to any percentage limitations. If a significant amount of the fund’s assets is used for defensive investing purposes, the fund will be less likely to achieve its investment objective. Although the subadviser has the ability to take defensive positions, it may choose not to do so for a variety of reasons, even during volatile market conditions.

Other investments

The fund may also use other strategies and invest in other investments that are described, along with their risks, in the Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”). However, the fund might not use all of the strategies and techniques or invest in all of the types of investments described in this Prospectus or in the SAI.

Selection process

The subadviser’s overarching investment philosophy is that building stock-focused portfolios, driven by fundamental research, can help to exploit market inefficiencies with the goal of generating consistent outperformance.

The subadviser’s global emerging markets team builds long-term, high conviction stock-focused portfolios, driven by fundamental research within its risk framework. The subadviser may engage with issuers to gain information on ESG (environmental, social and governance) related issues and to promote best practice in the management and disclosure of these ESG issues. The subadviser assesses those ESG factors that could impact the ability of an issuer to generate sustainable returns, which may include shareholder rights, accounting standards, remuneration, board structure, labor relations, supply chain, data protection, pollution/hazardous waste policies, water usage, and climate change policies.

The research process is intended to deliver high-conviction stock ideas based on fundamental bottom‑up analysis. The team aims to identify companies whose cash flow and return profiles are not adequately reflected in their share prices. The team’s internally generated research aims to build up a detailed picture of a company’s operating performance to fully understand the factors that have historically driven cash flow, those that have generated capital returns and how each of them is expected to evolve in the future. To do this, the team conducts a financial analysis and a qualitative assessment of the business (including a broad sustainability assessment), factoring in the team’s conclusions on macroeconomic, regulatory and political risks. This is achieved through the consistent application of its investment process.

The portfolio managers seek to maintain a process that:

•

is consistently applied and adhered to, regardless of the market environment

•

is highly transparent with explicit and documented output

•

has a long-term investment horizon

•

integrates a broad sustainability assessment

•

is inherently risk aware

An investment case is built from the fundamental analysis. This thesis is subjected to a formal peer review, where investment ideas are debated by the team. The team makes a unanimous stock decision for inclusion on the approved research list.


Martin Currie SMASh Series EM Fund					11

The team would expect to use reasonable efforts to promptly sell a stock if:

•

the shares have reached their target price and on review, the team has concluded that there is little further upside

•

the investment case has been undermined and the team’s conviction is therefore reduced

•

the stock has been displaced by a higher conviction idea

•

the subadviser has determined that the issuer fails one or more of the exclusionary criteria described above under “Principal investment strategies.”

•

the proprietary governance or sustainability rating assigned by the subadviser to an issuer changes to a rating of 4 or higher.

More on risks of investing in the fund

Following is more information on the principal risks summarized above and additional risks of investing in the fund.

Stock market and equity securities risk. The stock markets are volatile and the market prices of equity securities held by the fund may go up or down, sometimes rapidly or unpredictably. Equity securities may include exchange-traded and over‑the‑counter common stocks, preferred stock, depositary receipts, trust certificates, limited partnership interests, warrants, rights, securities convertible into equity securities, and shares of other investment companies, including exchange-traded funds and real estate investment trusts. Equity securities may have greater price volatility than other asset classes, such as fixed income securities. The market price of an equity security may fluctuate in price based on overall market conditions, such as real or perceived adverse economic or political conditions or trends, tariffs and trade disruptions, inflation, substantial economic downturn or recession, changes in interest rates, or adverse investor sentiment. The market price of a security may also fall due to specific conditions that affect a particular sector of the securities market or a particular issuer. Changes in market conditions will not typically have the same impact on all types of securities. If the market prices of the equity securities owned by the fund fall, the value of your investment in the fund will decline. If the fund holds equity securities in a company that becomes insolvent, the fund’s interests in the company will be subordinated to the interests of debtholders and general creditors of the company, and the fund may lose its entire investment.

Foreign investments and emerging markets risk. The fund’s investments in securities of foreign issuers or issuers with significant exposure to foreign markets involve additional risk as compared to investments in U.S. securities or issuers with predominantly U.S. exposure, such as less liquid, less regulated, less transparent and more volatile markets. The markets for some foreign securities are relatively new, and the rules and policies relating to these markets are not fully developed and may change. The value of the fund’s investments may decline because of factors affecting the particular issuer as well as foreign markets and issuers generally, such as unfavorable or unsuccessful government actions, tariffs and trade disputes, economic sanctions, reduction of government or central bank support, inadequate accounting standards and auditing and financial recordkeeping requirements, lack of information, political, economic, financial or social instability, terrorism, armed conflicts and other geopolitical events. Geopolitical or other events such as nationalization or expropriation could even cause the loss of the fund’s entire investment in one or more countries.

The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, which regulates auditors of U.S. public companies, may, from time to time, be unable to inspect audit work papers in certain foreign or emerging market countries. Investors in foreign countries often have limited rights and few practical remedies to pursue shareholder claims, including class actions or fraud claims, and the ability of the Securities and Exchange Commission, the U.S. Department of Justice and other authorities to bring and enforce actions against foreign issuers or foreign persons is limited. Foreign investments may also be adversely affected by U.S. government or international interventions, restrictions or economic sanctions, which could negatively affect the value of an investment or result in the fund selling an investment at a disadvantageous time. To the extent the fund focuses its investments in a single country or only a few countries in a particular geographic region, economic, political, regulatory or other conditions affecting such country or region may have a greater impact on fund performance relative to a more geographically diversified fund.

The value of the fund’s foreign investments may also be affected by foreign tax laws, special U.S. tax considerations and restrictions on receiving the investment proceeds from a foreign country. Dividends or interest on, or proceeds from the sale or disposition of, foreign securities may be subject to non‑U.S. withholding or other taxes.

It may be difficult for the fund to pursue claims against a foreign issuer or other parties in the courts of a foreign country. Some securities issued by non‑U.S. governments or their subdivisions, agencies and instrumentalities may not be backed by the full faith and credit of such governments. Even where a security is backed by the full faith and credit of a government, it may be difficult for the fund to pursue its rights against the government. In the past, some non‑U.S. governments have defaulted on principal and interest payments.

If the fund buys securities denominated in a foreign currency, receives income in foreign currencies, or holds foreign currencies from time to time, the value of the fund’s assets, as measured in U.S. dollars, can be affected unfavorably by changes in exchange rates relative to the U.S. dollar or other foreign currencies. Currency exchange rates can be volatile, and are affected by factors such as general economic and political conditions, the actions of the U.S. and foreign governments or central banks, the imposition of currency controls and speculation. The fund may be unable or may choose not to hedge its foreign currency exposure.

In certain foreign markets, settlement and clearance of trades may experience delays in payment for or delivery of securities not typically associated with settlement and clearance of U.S. investments. Settlement of trades in these markets can take longer than in other markets and the fund may not receive its proceeds from the sale of certain securities for an extended period (possibly several weeks or even longer) due to, among other factors, low trading volumes and volatile prices. The custody or holding of securities, cash and other assets by local banks, agents and depositories in


12				Martin Currie SMASh Series EM Fund

securities markets outside the United States may entail additional risks. Governments or trade groups may compel local agents to hold securities in designated depositories that may not be subject to independent evaluation. Local agents are held only to the standards of care of their local markets, and may be subject to limited or no government oversight. In extreme cases, the fund’s securities may be misappropriated or the fund may be unable to sell its securities. In general, the less developed a country’s securities market is, the greater the likelihood of custody problems.

Risks related to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Russia’s military invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the resulting responses by the United States and other countries, and the potential for wider conflict have increased volatility and uncertainty in the financial markets and adversely affected regional and global economies. The United States and other countries have imposed broad-ranging economic sanctions on Russia and certain Russian individuals, banking entities and corporations as a response to its invasion of Ukraine. The United States and other countries have also imposed economic sanctions on Belarus and may impose sanctions on other countries that support Russia’s military invasion. These sanctions, as well as any other economic consequences related to the invasion, such as additional sanctions, boycotts or changes in consumer or purchaser preferences or cyberattacks on governments, companies or individuals, may further decrease the value and liquidity of certain Russian securities and securities of issuers in other countries that are subject to economic sanctions related to the invasion. To the extent that the fund has exposure to Russian investments or investments in countries affected by the invasion, the fund’s ability to price, buy, sell, receive or deliver such investments may be impaired. The fund may determine that certain affected securities have zero value. In addition, any exposure that the fund may have to counterparties in Russia or in countries affected by the invasion could negatively impact the fund’s portfolio. The extent and duration of Russia’s military actions and the repercussions of such actions (including any retaliatory actions or countermeasures that may be taken by those subject to sanctions) are impossible to predict, but could continue to result in significant market disruptions, including in the oil and natural gas markets, and may continue to negatively affect global supply chains (including global food supplies), inflation and global growth. These and any related events could significantly impact the fund’s performance and the value of an investment in the fund, even beyond any direct exposure the fund may have to Russian issuers or issuers in other countries directly affected by the invasion.

Model risk. Investment models may not adequately take into account certain factors and may result in the fund having a lower return than if the fund were managed using another model or investment strategy. In addition, investment models used by the subadviser to evaluate securities or securities markets are based on certain assumptions concerning the interplay of market factors. The markets or the prices of individual securities may be affected by factors not foreseen in developing the models. When a model or data used in managing the fund contains an error, or is incorrect or incomplete, any investment decision made in reliance on the model or data may not produce the desired results and the fund may suffer losses.


Martin Currie SMASh Series EM Fund					13

Illiquidity risk. Illiquidity risk exists when particular investments are impossible or difficult to sell. Although most of the fund’s investments must be liquid at the time of investment, investments may be or become illiquid after purchase by the fund, particularly during periods of market turmoil. Markets may become illiquid quickly. Markets may become illiquid when, for instance, there are few, if any, interested buyers or sellers or when dealers are unwilling or unable to make a market for certain securities. As a general matter, dealers have been less willing to make markets in recent years. When the fund holds illiquid investments, the portfolio may be harder to value, especially in changing markets, and if the fund is forced to sell these investments to meet redemption requests or for other cash needs, or to try to limit losses, the fund may be forced to sell at a substantial loss or may not be able to sell at all. The fund may experience heavy redemptions that could cause the fund to liquidate its assets at inopportune times or at a loss or depressed value, which could cause the value of your investment to decline. In addition, when there is illiquidity in the market for certain investments, the fund, due to limitations on illiquid investments, may be unable to achieve its desired level of exposure to a certain sector.

Derivatives risk. Derivatives involve special risks and costs and may result in losses to the fund, even when used for hedging purposes. Using derivatives can increase losses and reduce opportunities for gains, such as when market prices, interest rates, currencies, or the derivatives themselves behave in a way not anticipated by the fund’s subadviser, especially in abnormal market conditions. Using derivatives also can have a leveraging effect which may increase investment losses and increase the fund’s volatility, which is the degree to which the fund’s share price may fluctuate within a short time period. Certain derivatives have the potential for unlimited loss, regardless of the size of the initial investment. The other parties to certain derivatives transactions present the same types of credit risk as issuers of fixed income securities.

The fund’s counterparty to a derivative transaction may not honor its obligations in respect to the transaction. In certain cases, the fund may be hindered or delayed in exercising remedies against or closing out derivative instruments with a counterparty, which may result in additional losses.

Derivatives also tend to involve greater illiquidity risk and they may be difficult to value. The fund may be unable to terminate or sell its derivative positions. In fact, many over‑the‑counter derivatives will not have liquidity except through the counterparty to the instrument. Derivatives are generally subject to the risks applicable to the assets, rates, indices or other indicators underlying the derivative. The value of a derivative may fluctuate more than the underlying assets, rates, indices or other indicators to which it relates. Use of derivatives or similar instruments may have different tax consequences for the fund than an investment in the underlying asset, and those differences may affect the amount, timing and character of income distributed to shareholders. The fund’s use of derivatives may also increase the amount of taxes payable by shareholders. The U.S. government and non‑U.S. governments have adopted and implemented regulations governing derivatives markets, including mandatory clearing of certain derivatives, margin, and reporting requirements. The ultimate impact of the regulations remains unclear. Additional regulation of derivatives may make derivatives more costly, limit their availability or utility, otherwise adversely affect their performance or disrupt markets. The fund may be exposed to additional risks as a result of the additional regulations. The extent and impact of the additional regulations are not yet fully known and may not be for some time.

Synthetic foreign equity securities in which the fund invests are subject to counterparty risk which is the risk that the counterparty to the derivative will default prior to the expiration of the contract and will not make the payments required by the contract.

With respect to the fund’s cleared derivative transactions, the fund will be required to maintain its positions with a clearing organization through one or more clearing brokers. The clearing organization will require the fund to post margin and the broker may require the fund to post additional margin to secure the fund’s obligations. The amount of margin required may change from time to time. In addition, cleared transactions may be more expensive to maintain than over‑the‑counter transactions and may require the fund to deposit larger amounts of margin. The fund may not be able to recover margin amounts if the broker has financial difficulties. Also, the broker may require the fund to terminate a derivatives position under certain circumstances. This may cause the fund to lose money.

Risks associated with the use of derivatives are magnified to the extent that an increased portion of the fund’s assets is committed to derivatives in general or is invested in just one or a few types of derivatives.

Investing in ETFs risk. An investment in an ETF is subject to the risks of investing in other investment companies. Investing in securities issued by ETFs also involves risks similar to those of investing directly in the securities and other assets held by the ETF. Unlike shares of typical mutual funds, shares of ETFs are generally traded on an exchange throughout a trading day and bought and sold based on market values and not at net asset value. For this reason, shares could trade at either a premium or discount to net asset value, which may be substantial during periods of market stress. An ETF will generally gain or lose value consistent with the performance of its portfolio securities. The fund will pay brokerage commissions in connection with the purchase and sale of shares of ETFs. In addition, the fund will indirectly bear its pro rata share of the fees and expenses incurred by an ETF in which it invests, including advisory fees. These expenses are in addition to expenses that the fund bears directly in connection with its own operations. Certain ETFs are also subject to portfolio management risk. An index-based ETF may not replicate exactly the performance of the


14				Martin Currie SMASh Series EM Fund

benchmark index it seeks to track for a number of reasons, including transaction costs incurred by the ETF, the temporary unavailability of certain index securities in the secondary market or discrepancies between the ETF and the index with respect to the weighting of securities or the number of securities held. Investments in ETFs are subject to the risk that the listing exchange may halt trading of an ETF’s shares, in which case the fund would be unable to sell its ETF shares unless and until trading is resumed.

REITs risk. Investments in REITs expose the fund to risks similar to investing directly in real estate. The value of these underlying investments may be affected by changes in the value of the underlying real estate, the quality of the property management, the creditworthiness of the issuers of the investments, demand for rental properties, and changes in property taxes, interest rates and the real estate regulatory environment. Investments in REITs are also affected by general economic conditions. REITs are also subject to heavy cash flow dependency on the property interests they hold, defaults by borrowers, poor performance by the REIT’s manager and self-liquidation. REITs usually charge management fees, which may result in layering the fees paid by the fund. REITs may be leveraged, which increases risk. In addition, REITs could possibly fail to (i) qualify for favorable tax treatment under applicable tax law, or (ii) maintain their exemptions from registration under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. The above factors may also adversely affect a borrower’s or a lessee’s ability to meet its obligations to the REIT. In the event of a default by a borrower or lessee, the REIT may experience delays in enforcing its rights as a mortgagee or lessor and may incur substantial costs associated with protecting its investments.

Cash management and defensive investing risk. The value of the investments held by the fund for cash management or defensive investing purposes can fluctuate. Like other fixed income securities, they are subject to risk, including market, interest rate and credit risk. If the fund holds cash uninvested, the cash will be subject to the credit risk of the depository institution holding the cash and the fund will not earn income on the cash. If a significant amount of the fund’s assets is used for cash management or defensive investing purposes, the fund will be less likely to achieve its investment objective. Defensive investing may not work as intended and the value of an investment in the fund may still decline.

Market events risk. The market values of securities or other assets will fluctuate, sometimes sharply and unpredictably, due to factors such as economic events, governmental actions or intervention, actions taken by the U.S. Federal Reserve or foreign central banks, market disruptions caused by trade disputes or other factors, political developments, armed conflicts, economic sanctions and countermeasures in response to sanctions, major cybersecurity events, the global and domestic effects of widespread or local health, weather or climate events, and other factors that may or may not be related to the issuer of the security or other asset. Economies and financial markets throughout the world are increasingly interconnected. Economic, financial or political events, trading and tariff arrangements, public health events, terrorism, wars, natural disasters and other circumstances in one country or region could have profound impacts on global economies or markets. As a result, whether or not the fund invests in securities of issuers located in or with significant exposure to the countries or markets directly affected, the value and liquidity of the fund’s investments may be negatively affected. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Russian stocks lost all, or nearly all, of their market value. Other securities or markets could be similarly affected by past or future geopolitical or other events or conditions. Furthermore, events involving limited liquidity, defaults, non‑performance or other adverse developments that affect one industry, such as the financial services industry, or concerns or rumors about any events of these kinds, have in the past and may in the future lead to market-wide liquidity problems, may spread to other industries, and could negatively affect the value and liquidity of the fund’s investments.

The long-term impact of the COVID‑19 pandemic and its subsequent variants on economies, markets, industries and individual issuers is not known. Some sectors of the economy and individual issuers have experienced or may experience particularly large losses. Periods of extreme volatility in the financial markets, reduced liquidity of many instruments, increased government debt, inflation, and disruptions to supply chains, consumer demand and employee availability, may continue for some time. The U.S. government and the Federal Reserve, as well as certain foreign governments and central banks, took extraordinary actions to support local and global economies and the financial markets in response to the COVID‑19 pandemic. This and other government intervention into the economy and financial markets may not work as intended, and have resulted in a large expansion of government deficits and debt, the long term consequences of which are not known. In addition, the COVID‑19 pandemic, and measures taken to mitigate its effects, could result in disruptions to the services provided to the fund by its service providers.


Martin Currie SMASh Series EM Fund					15

Risk of increase in expenses. Your actual costs of investing in the fund may be higher than the expenses shown in “Annual fund operating expenses” for a variety of reasons. For example, expenses may be higher if the fund’s average net assets decrease, as a result of redemptions or otherwise, or if a fee limitation is changed or terminated. Net assets are more likely to decrease and fund expense ratios are more likely to increase when markets are volatile.

Significant redemptions. The fund is intended to be a component of a managed account strategy in managed account programs sponsored by third party financial institutions. A program sponsor’s clients may, alone or in the aggregate, have substantial investments in the fund. If a program sponsor decides to remove the strategy as an available option for its program participants or to cease investing in the fund to implement the strategy, or if a large program client decides to terminate its managed account, the fund may experience relatively large redemptions and could be required to liquidate its assets at inopportune times or unfavorable prices or increase or accelerate taxable gains or transaction costs, which may negatively affect the fund’s net asset value, performance, or ability to satisfy redemptions in a timely manner and could cause the value of your investment to decline.

Valuation risk. Many factors may influence the price at which the fund could sell any particular portfolio investment. The sales price may well differ—higher or lower—from the fund’s last valuation, and such differences could be significant, particularly for illiquid securities and securities that trade in relatively thin markets and/or markets that experience extreme volatility. If market conditions make it difficult to value some investments, the fund may value these investments using more subjective methods, such as fair value methodologies. These differences may increase significantly and affect fund investments more broadly during periods of market volatility. Investors who purchase or redeem fund shares on days when the fund is holding fair-valued securities may receive fewer or more shares, or lower or higher redemption proceeds, than they would have received if the fund had not fair-valued securities or had used a different valuation methodology. The value of non‑U.S. securities, certain fixed income securities and currencies, as applicable, may be materially affected by events after the close of the markets in which they are traded, but before the fund determines its net asset value. The fund’s ability to value its investments may also be impacted by technological issues and/or errors by pricing services or other third party service providers. The valuation of the fund’s investments involves subjective judgment, which may prove to be incorrect.

Operational risk. Your ability to transact with the fund or the valuation of your investment may be negatively impacted because of the operational risks arising from factors such as processing errors and human errors, inadequate or failed internal or external processes, failures in systems and technology (including those due to cybersecurity incidents), changes in personnel, and errors caused by third party service providers or trading counterparties. It is not possible to identify all of the operational risks that may affect the fund or to develop processes and controls that eliminate or mitigate the occurrence of such failures. The fund and its shareholders could be negatively impacted as a result.

Please note that there are other factors that could adversely affect your investment and that could prevent the fund from achieving its investment objective. More information about risks appears in the SAI. Before investing, you should carefully consider the risks that you will assume.


16				Martin Currie SMASh Series EM Fund

Portfolio holdings

A description of the fund’s policies and procedures with respect to the disclosure of the fund’s portfolio holdings is available in the SAI. The fund intends to make complete portfolio holdings information available on a quarterly basis at www.franklintempleton.com/smashfunds (click on the name of the fund) no later than 14 calendar days following the month-end.


Martin Currie SMASh Series EM Fund					17

More on fund management

Franklin Templeton Fund Adviser, LLC (“FTFA” or the “manager”) (formerly known as Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC) is the fund’s investment manager. FTFA, with offices at 280 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10017, also serves as the investment manager of other Legg Mason-sponsored funds. FTFA provides administrative and certain oversight services to the fund. As of September 30, 2023, FTFA’s total assets under management were approximately $171.9 billion.

Martin Currie Inc. (“Martin Currie” or the “subadviser”) provides the day‑to‑day portfolio management of the fund, except for any portion of the fund’s cash and short-term instruments that is allocated to Western Asset Management Company, LLC (“Western Asset”). Martin Currie has offices at 280 Park Avenue, New York, New York 10017. Martin Currie provides asset management services primarily for a global client base of financial institutions, charities, foundations, endowments, pension funds, family offices, government agencies and investment funds. As of September 30, 2023, the total assets under management of Martin Currie and its affiliates were approximately $20.1 billion.

Western Asset manages the portion of the fund’s cash and short-term instruments allocated to it. Western Asset, established in 1971, has offices at 385 East Colorado Boulevard, Pasadena, California 91101 and 620 Eighth Avenue, New York, New York 10018. Western Asset acts as investment adviser to institutional accounts, such as corporate pension plans, mutual funds and endowment funds. As of September 30, 2023, the total assets under management of Western Asset and its supervised affiliates were approximately $365.2 billion.

FTFA, Martin Currie and Western Asset are indirect, wholly-owned subsidiaries of Franklin Resources, Inc. (“Franklin Resources”). Franklin Resources, whose principal executive offices are at One Franklin Parkway, San Mateo, California 94403, is a global investment management organization operating, together with its subsidiaries, as Franklin Templeton. As of September 30, 2023, Franklin Templeton’s asset management operations had aggregate assets under management of approximately $1.37 trillion.

Portfolio managers

Primary responsibility for the day‑to‑day management of the fund lies with the following portfolio managers. The fund is managed by a broad team of portfolio managers.


Portfolio manager	Title and recent biography	Portfolio manager of the fund since
Paul Desoisa, CFA	Mr. Desoisa is a co‑manager of Martin Currie’s global emerging markets strategy, where he is responsible for researching stocks in the industrial and utilities sectors. He has 10 years of investment experience. He joined Martin Currie in 2013 as an investment trainee in technology, media and telecoms research before progressing into a portfolio management role with the North America team. He previously worked as a trainee actuary for Punter Southall and has undertaken internships at J.P. Morgan and Redburn Partners.	2019
Colin Dishington, CFA	Mr. Dishington is a co‑manager of Martin Currie’s global emerging markets strategy, with responsibility for researching stocks in the communication services sector, and has 12 years of investment experience. Before re‑joining Martin Currie in 2018, he worked as a research analyst at Matthews Asia, an Asia-only investment specialist. Before this, Mr. Dishington worked at Martin Currie from 2010 to 2012, initially as an assistant research analyst working on global financial stocks, before progressing to assistant portfolio manager on Martin Currie’s Japan team. Mr. Dishington began his professional career at Chiene & Tait Chartered Accountants. He was then at Lloyds Banking Group before joining Martin Currie.	2019
Andrew Mathewson, CFA	Mr. Mathewson is a co‑manager of Martin Currie’s global emerging markets strategy and has 21 years of investment experience. He is also a member of Martin Currie’s investment executive committee. He has had responsibility for researching stocks in the consumer	2018


18				Martin Currie SMASh Series EM Fund


	and healthcare sectors since the formation of the global emerging markets team in 2010. Prior to then, he worked in Martin Currie’s Asia and Global Emerging Markets team as an investment manager for the Global Emerging Markets product with a research focus on the markets of Europe, the Middle East and Africa. He joined Martin Currie in 2005 from Scottish Investment Trust, where he was an investment manager for UK equities. Mr. Mathewson has a BSc (Hons) in Economics from the University of St. Andrews.
Divya Mathur, ASIP	Mr. Mathur is a co‑manager of Martin Currie’s global emerging markets strategy, with responsibility for technology sector research, and has 29 years of investment experience. He joined Martin Currie in 2010 from Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, where he was investment director on its global emerging markets strategy desk. As portfolio manager, Mr. Mathur was lead manager of the Global Emerging Markets Infrastructure Fund and co‑manager of the balanced mandates. As sector analyst, he was responsible for stocks across the technology and utilities sectors in emerging markets. Earlier, he spent over a decade at Henderson Global Investors in London, where he began his career as a quantitative strategist, before managing global emerging markets strategy and dedicated Indian equity portfolios for eight years.	2019
Alastair Reynolds	Mr. Reynolds is a co‑manager of Martin Currie’s global emerging markets strategy and has 32 years of investment experience. Mr. Reynolds has specific responsibility for researching stocks in the automotive, transport and energy sectors. He joined Martin Currie in 2010 from Scottish Widows Investment Partnership, where he was research manager on its emerging markets desk and lead manager of Global Emerging Markets smaller companies and specialist for Central and Eastern European mandates. Prior to joining Scottish Widows Investment Partnership in 2000, Mr. Reynolds was an investment manager with Edinburgh Fund Managers. He began his career with Scottish Amicable Investment Management.	2018
Paul Sloane	Mr. Sloane is a co‑manager of Martin Currie’s global emerging markets strategy and has responsibility for researching financials stocks. He has 30 years of investment experience. Mr. Sloane first joined Martin Currie in 2003, leading its global financials research and co‑managing its Global Financials Absolute Return Fund from 2006 to 2011 and global alpha strategy since 2013. He left the firm in 2017 and rejoined in 2018 as part of the global emerging markets strategy team. Prior to his time at Martin Currie, Mr. Sloane was at Deutsche Bank, where he was responsible for specialist sales in the pan‑European insurance sector. He started his career in 1993 as a trainee chartered accountant at Standard	2019


Martin Currie SMASh Series EM Fund					19


	Life before moving into an investment analyst role at Standard Life Investments in 1997.
Aimee Truesdale, CFA	Ms. Truesdale is a co‑manager of Martin Currie’s global emerging markets strategy, with responsibility for healthcare sector research, and has 10 years of investment experience. She joined Martin Currie in 2021 from Jupiter Asset Management, where she worked as an assistant fund manager and equities analyst and collaborated with the firm’s stewardship team to oversee environmental, social and governance issues at investee companies. Prior to joining Jupiter Asset Management, Ms. Truesdale worked in the global equities and Asia equities teams at Waverton Investment Management. Ms. Truesdale has a BSc (Hons) in Physics from the University of Edinburgh.	2022

The SAI provides information about the compensation of the portfolio managers, other accounts managed by the portfolio managers and any fund shares held by the portfolio managers.

Management and subadvisory agreements

The fund does not pay advisory fees to FTFA or the subadvisers. A discussion regarding the basis for the Board’s approval of the fund’s management agreement and subadvisory agreements is available in the fund’s Annual Report for the period ended July 31, 2023.

Additional information

The fund enters into contractual arrangements with various parties, including, among others, the fund’s manager and the subadvisers, who provide services to the fund. Shareholders are not parties to, or intended (or “third-party”) beneficiaries of, those contractual arrangements.

This Prospectus and the SAI provide information concerning the fund that you should consider in determining whether to purchase shares of the fund. The fund may make changes to this information from time to time. Neither this Prospectus nor the SAI is intended to give rise to any contract rights or other rights in any shareholder, other than rights conferred by federal or state securities laws.

Distribution

Franklin Distributors, LLC (“Franklin Distributors” or the “Distributor”), an indirect, wholly-owned broker/dealer subsidiary of Franklin Resources, serves as the fund’s sole and exclusive distributor.

Additional payments

The Distributor, the manager and/or their affiliates make payments for distribution, shareholder servicing, marketing and promotional activities and related expenses out of their profits and other available sources, including profits from their relationships with the fund. These payments are not reflected as additional expenses in the fee table contained in this Prospectus. The recipients of these payments may include the Distributor and affiliates of the manager, as well as Service Agents through which investors may purchase shares of the fund, including your Service Agent. The total amount of these payments is substantial, may be substantial to any given recipient and may exceed the costs and expenses incurred by the recipient for any fund-related marketing or shareholder servicing activities. The payments described in this paragraph are often referred to as “revenue sharing payments.” Revenue sharing arrangements are separately negotiated between the Distributor, the manager and/or their affiliates, and the recipients of these payments.

Revenue sharing payments create an incentive for an intermediary or its employees or associated persons to recommend or sell shares of the fund to you. Contact your Service Agent for details about revenue sharing payments it receives or may receive. Additional information about revenue sharing payments is available in the SAI. Revenue sharing payments, as well as payments by the fund for recordkeeping and/or shareholder services, also benefit the manager, the Distributor and their affiliates to the extent the payments result in more assets being invested in the fund, or a managed account strategy of which the fund is a part, on which fees are being charged.


20				Martin Currie SMASh Series EM Fund

Buying shares

Shares of the fund are purchased at net asset value without a sales charge or other fee.

The fund may not be available for sale in certain states. Prospective investors should inquire as to whether the fund is available for sale in their state of residence.

Shares of the fund may be purchased only by or on behalf of separately managed account clients where the fund’s subadviser or an affiliate of the subadviser (each a “Managed Account Adviser”) has an agreement with the managed account program sponsor (the “Program Sponsor”) (typically, a registered investment adviser or broker/dealer), or directly with the client, to provide management or advisory services to the managed account.

There are no maximum or minimum investment requirements applicable to the fund (although your Program Sponsor may have certain investment requirements for separately managed accounts). Purchase orders are made based on instructions from your Managed Account Adviser or Program Sponsor to the broker/dealer who executes trades for your account. To make a purchase, your broker/dealer must submit a purchase order to the fund’s transfer agent, either directly or through an appropriate clearing agency (e.g., the National Securities Clearing Corporation—Fund/SERV).

For more information about buying shares, please contact your Program Sponsor.


Martin Currie SMASh Series EM Fund					21

Redeeming shares



Generally		Redemption orders are placed on your behalf by your Managed Account Adviser or Program Sponsor with the broker/dealer that executes trades for your managed account. Shares of the fund can be redeemed through the broker/dealer on any day the New York Stock Exchange (the “NYSE”) is open. Shares of the fund may be held only by investors participating in an eligible managed account program and cannot be transferred. The fund reserves the right to redeem shares of any investor if the investor ceases to be a participant in an eligible managed account program. The liquidation of fund shares will have tax consequences for the investor. Each investor, by participating in a managed account program that purchases fund shares, agrees to the redemption of such fund shares upon termination of its participation in such program. Subject to applicable law, the fund may, with prior notice, adopt other policies from time to time requiring mandatory redemption of shares in certain circumstances.

Redemption proceeds		Your redemption proceeds normally will be sent to the broker/dealer that executes trades for your managed account within 2 business days after your request is received in good order, but in any event within 7 days, regardless of the method the fund uses to make payment (e.g., check, wire, or electronic transfer (ACH)). Your redemption proceeds may be delayed, or your right to receive redemption proceeds suspended beyond 7 days, if the NYSE is closed (other than on weekends or holidays) or trading is restricted, if an emergency exists or otherwise as permitted by order of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Under normal circumstances, the fund expects to meet redemption requests by using cash or cash equivalents in its portfolio and/or selling portfolio assets to generate cash. The fund also may pay redemption proceeds using cash obtained through borrowing arrangements that may be available from time to time. The fund may pay all or a portion of your redemption proceeds by giving you securities (for example, if the fund reasonably believes that a cash redemption may have a substantial impact on the fund and its remaining shareholders). You may pay transaction costs to dispose of the securities, and you may receive less for them than the price at which they were valued for purposes of the redemption. During periods of deteriorating or stressed market conditions, when an increased portion of the fund’s portfolio may be comprised of investments that have lower liquidity, or during extraordinary or emergency circumstances, the fund may be more likely to pay redemption proceeds with cash obtained through short-term borrowing arrangements (if available) or by giving you securities. For more information about redeeming shares, please contact your Program Sponsor.


22				Martin Currie SMASh Series EM Fund

Other things to know about transactions

Restrictions on the availability of the fund outside the United States

The distribution of this Prospectus and the offering of shares of the fund are restricted in certain jurisdictions. This Prospectus is not an offer or solicitation in any jurisdiction where such offer or solicitation is unlawful, where the person making an offer or solicitation is not authorized to make it or a person receiving an offer or solicitation may not lawfully receive it or may not lawfully invest in the fund. Investors should inform themselves as to the legal requirements within their own country before investing in the fund.

This Prospectus, and the offer of shares hereunder, are not directed at persons outside the United States. In particular, the fund is not intended to be marketed to prospective investors in any member state of the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein or Norway (collectively, the “European Economic Area” or “EEA”). No notification or application has been made to the competent authority of any member state of the EEA under the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (or any applicable legislation or regulations made thereunder) to market the fund to investors in the EEA and it is not intended that any such notification or application shall be made.

U.S. citizens with addresses in the United States, and non‑U.S. citizens who reside in the United States and have U.S. addresses, are permitted to establish accounts with the fund. For these purposes, the “United States” and “U.S.” include U.S. territories.

The fund generally does not permit persons who do not reside in the United States or who do not have U.S. addresses to establish accounts. Therefore, U.S. citizens residing in foreign countries, as well as non‑U.S. citizens residing in foreign countries, generally will not be permitted to establish accounts with the fund.

For further information, you or your Program Sponsor may contact the fund at 877‑6LM‑FUND/656‑3863.

Anti-money laundering

Federal anti-money laundering regulations require all financial institutions to obtain, verify and record information that identifies each person who opens an account. When you sign your account application, you may be asked to provide additional information in order for the fund to verify your identity in accordance with these regulations. If you are opening the account in the name of a legal entity (e.g. partnership, limited liability company, business trust, corporation, etc.), you may also be required to supply the identity of the beneficial owners and a control individual with management authority, prior to the opening of your account. Accounts may be restricted and/or closed, and the monies withheld, pending verification of this information or as otherwise required under these and other federal regulations.

Frequent trading of fund shares

The Board has adopted the following policies and procedures with respect to frequent trading in fund shares (“Frequent Trading Policy”).

The fund does not intend to accommodate short-term or frequent purchases and redemptions of fund shares that may be detrimental to the fund. For example, this type of trading activity could interfere with the efficient management of the fund’s portfolio or materially increase the fund’s transaction costs, administrative costs or taxes.

Through its transfer agent, the fund performs ongoing monitoring of shareholder trading in shares of the fund and other Franklin Templeton affiliated funds in order to try and identify shareholder trading patterns that suggest an ongoing short-term trading strategy. If shareholder trading patterns identified by the transfer agent through monitoring or from other information regarding the shareholder’s trading activity in non‑Franklin Templeton affiliated funds leads the transfer agent to reasonably conclude that such trading may be detrimental to the fund as described in this Frequent Trading Policy, the transfer agent, on behalf of the fund, may temporarily or permanently bar future purchases into the fund or, alternatively, may limit the amount, number or frequency of any future purchases and/or the method by which you may request future purchases and redemptions.

In considering an investor’s trading patterns, the fund may consider, among other factors, the investor’s trading history both directly and, if known, through financial intermediaries, in the fund, in other Franklin Templeton affiliated funds, in non‑Franklin Templeton affiliated mutual funds, or in accounts under common control or ownership. The transfer agent may also reject any purchase or redemption request, whether or not it represents part of any ongoing trading pattern, if the fund’s investment manager or transfer agent reasonably concludes that the amount of the requested transaction may disrupt or otherwise interfere with the efficient management of the fund’s portfolio. In determining what actions should be taken, the fund’s transfer agent may consider a variety of factors, including the potential impact of such remedial actions on the fund and its shareholders.

Because the fund is used only as a component of separately managed accounts that also invest, at the direction of or based on the advice of the Managed Account Adviser, in individual securities and other investments, the fund may be purchased or redeemed on a frequent basis for rebalancing purposes. The transfer agent does not consider this an ongoing short-term trading strategy that violates the fund’s Frequent Trading Policy.


Martin Currie SMASh Series EM Fund					23

Dividends, other distributions and taxes

The fund generally pays dividends and distributes capital gain, if any, once in December and at such other times as are necessary. Shares will generally begin to earn dividends on the settlement date of purchase. The fund may pay additional distributions and dividends in order to avoid a federal tax. Dividends and capital gain distributions will be paid in cash into your managed account.

The Board reserves the right to revise the dividend policy or postpone the payment of dividends if warranted in the Board’s judgment due to unusual circumstances.

Taxes

The following discussion is very general, applies only to shareholders who are U.S. persons, and does not address shareholders subject to special rules, such as those who hold fund shares through an IRA, 401(k) plan or other tax‑advantaged account. Except as specifically noted, the discussion is limited to federal income tax matters, and does not address state, local, foreign or non‑income taxes. Further information regarding taxes, including certain federal income tax considerations relevant to non‑U.S. persons, is included in the SAI. Because each shareholder’s circumstances are different and special tax rules may apply, you should consult your tax professional about federal, state, local and/or foreign tax considerations that may be relevant to your particular situation.

In general, redeeming shares and receiving dividends and distributions are all taxable events.

The following table summarizes the tax status of certain transactions related to the fund.


Transaction		Federal income tax status
Redemption of shares		Usually capital gain or loss; long-term only if shares are owned more than one year
Dividends of investment income and distributions of net short-term capital gain		Ordinary income, or in certain cases qualified dividend income
Distributions of net capital gain (excess of net long-term capital gain over net short-term capital loss)		Long-term capital gain if reported as capital gain dividends by the fund

Distributions attributable to short-term capital gains are taxable to you as ordinary income. Distributions attributable to qualified dividend income received by the fund, if any, may be eligible to be taxed to noncorporate shareholders at the reduced rates applicable to long-term capital gain if certain requirements are satisfied. Distributions of net capital gain reported by the fund as capital gain dividends are taxable to you as long-term capital gain regardless of how long you have owned your shares. Noncorporate shareholders ordinarily pay tax at reduced rates on long-term capital gain.

If the fund realizes capital gains in excess of realized capital losses in any fiscal year, it generally expects to make capital gain distributions to shareholders. You may receive distributions that are attributable to appreciation of portfolio securities that happened before you made your investment but had not been realized at the time you made your investment, or that are attributable to capital gains or other income that, although realized by the fund, had not yet been distributed at the time you made your investment. Unless you purchase shares through a tax‑advantaged account, these distributions will be taxable to you even though they economically represent a return of a portion of your investment. You may want to avoid buying shares when the fund is about to declare a dividend or capital gain distribution. You should consult your tax professional before buying shares no matter when you are investing.

A Medicare contribution tax is imposed at the rate of 3.8% on all or a portion of net investment income of U.S. individuals if their income exceeds specified thresholds and on all or a portion of undistributed net investment income of certain estates and trusts. Net investment income generally includes for this purpose dividends and capital gain distributions paid by the fund and gain on the redemption or exchange of fund shares.

A dividend declared by the fund in October, November or December and paid during January of the following year will, in certain circumstances, be treated as paid in December for tax purposes.

If the fund meets certain requirements with respect to its holdings, it may elect to “pass through” to shareholders foreign taxes that it pays, in which case each shareholder will include the amount of such taxes in computing gross income, but will be eligible to claim a credit or deduction for such taxes, subject to generally applicable limitations on such deductions and credits. If the fund does not so elect, the foreign taxes paid or withheld will nonetheless reduce the fund’s taxable income. In addition, the fund’s investment in certain foreign securities, foreign currencies or foreign currency derivatives may affect the amount, timing, and character of fund distributions to shareholders.

After the end of each year, your Service Agent or the fund will provide you with information about the distributions and dividends you received and any redemptions of shares during the previous year. Because each shareholder’s circumstances are different and special tax rules may apply, you should consult your tax professional about your investment in the fund.


24				Martin Currie SMASh Series EM Fund

Share price

You may buy or redeem shares at their net asset value next determined after receipt of your request in good order. The fund’s net asset value per share is the value of its assets minus its liabilities divided by the number of shares outstanding.

The fund calculates its net asset value every day the NYSE is open. The fund generally values its securities and other assets and calculates its net asset value as of the scheduled close of regular trading on the NYSE, normally at 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time). If the NYSE closes at a time other than the scheduled closing time, the fund will calculate its net asset value as of the scheduled closing time. The NYSE is closed on certain holidays listed in the SAI.

As mentioned above, orders to buy or redeem shares are made based on instructions from your Managed Account Adviser or Program Sponsor to the broker/dealer who executes trades for the account. In order to buy or redeem shares at a certain day’s price, the broker/dealer must receive the order on behalf of the separately managed account before the scheduled close of regular trading on the NYSE on that day to receive that day’s price. If the NYSE closes early on that day, the broker/dealer must receive the order prior to the scheduled closing time.

Valuation of the fund’s securities and other assets is performed in accordance with procedures approved by the Board. These procedures delegate most valuation functions to the manager, which generally uses independent third party pricing services approved by the Board. Under the procedures, assets are valued as follows:

•

Equity securities and certain derivative instruments that are traded on an exchange are valued at the closing price (which may be reported at a different time than the time at which the fund’s net asset value is calculated) or, if that price is unavailable or deemed by the manager not representative of market value, the last sale price. Where a security is traded on more than one exchange (as is often the case overseas), the security is generally valued at the price on the exchange considered by the manager to be the primary exchange. In the case of securities not traded on an exchange, or if exchange prices are not otherwise available, the prices are typically determined by independent third party pricing services that use a variety of techniques and methodologies. Investments in mutual funds are valued at the net asset value per share of the class of the underlying fund held by the fund as determined on each business day.

•

The valuations for fixed income 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 fair valuation techniques and methodologies.

•

The valuations of securities traded on foreign markets and certain fixed income securities will generally be based on prices determined as of the earlier closing time of the markets in which they primarily trade. The prices of foreign equity securities typically are adjusted using a fair value model developed by an independent third party pricing service to estimate the value of those securities at the time of closing of the NYSE. When the fund holds securities or other assets that are denominated in a foreign currency, the fund will normally use the currency exchange rates as of 4:00 p.m. (Eastern time). Foreign markets are open for trading on weekends and other days when the fund does not price its shares. Therefore, the value of the fund’s shares may change on days when you will not be able to purchase or redeem the fund’s shares.

•

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. When such prices or quotations are not available, or when the manager believes that they are unreliable, the manager will price securities in accordance with the valuation policy. Among other things, the use of a formula or other method that takes into consideration market indices, yield curves and other specific adjustments may be used to determine fair value. Fair value of a security is the amount, as determined by the manager in good faith, that the fund might reasonably expect to receive upon a current sale of the security. Fair value procedures may also be used if the manager determines that a significant event has occurred between the time at which a market price is determined and the time at which the fund’s net asset value is calculated.

Many factors may influence the price at which the fund could sell any particular portfolio investment. The sales price may well differ—higher or lower—from the fund’s last valuation, and such differences could be significant, particularly for securities that trade in relatively thin markets and/or markets that experience extreme volatility. Moreover, valuing securities using fair value methodologies involves greater reliance on judgment than valuing securities based on market quotations. Fair value methodologies may value securities higher or lower than another fund using market quotations or its own fair value methodologies to price the same securities. There can be no assurance that the fund could obtain the value assigned to a security if it were to sell the security at approximately the time at which the fund determines its net asset value. Investors who purchase or redeem fund shares on days when the fund is holding fair-valued securities may receive a greater or lesser number of shares, or higher or lower redemption proceeds, than they would have received if the fund had not fair-valued the security or had used a different methodology.


Martin Currie SMASh Series EM Fund					25

Financial highlights

The financial highlights table is intended to help you understand the performance of fund shares for the past five years, unless otherwise noted. Certain information reflects financial results for a single fund share. Total return represents the rate that an investor would have earned (or lost) on an investment in the fund, assuming reinvestment of all dividends and other distributions. Unless otherwise noted, this information has been audited by the fund’s independent registered public accounting firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, whose report, along with the fund’s financial statements, is incorporated by reference into the fund’s SAI (see back cover) and is included in the fund’s annual report. The fund’s annual report is available upon request by calling toll-free 877‑6LM‑FUND/656‑3863 or via the following hyperlink:

(https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1474103/000119312523243361/d461030dncsr.htm).


For a share of beneficial interest outstanding throughout each year ended July 31, unless otherwise noted:
	2023¹			2022¹			2021¹			2020¹			2019¹

Net asset value, beginning of year		$9.47			$13.23			$9.03			$8.14			$9.25

Income (loss) from operations:
Net investment income		0.14			0.16			0.18			0.16			0.27
Net realized and unrealized gain (loss)		0.84			(3.54)			4.08			0.81			(1.26)
Total income (loss) from operations		0.98			(3.38)			4.26			0.97			(0.99)

Less distributions from:
Net investment income		(0.05)			(0.11)			(0.06)			(0.08)			(0.12)
Net realized gains		(0.05)			(0.27)			—			—			—
Total distributions		(0.10)			(0.38)			(0.06)			(0.08)			(0.12)

Net asset value, end of year		$10.35			$9.47			$13.23			$9.03			$8.14
Total return²		10.51	%		(26.21)	%		47.25	%		11.92	%		(10.58)	%

Net assets, end of year (000s)		$1,268,356			$1,099,543			$1,007,360			$184,520			$22,551

Ratios to average net assets:
Gross expenses³		0.10	%⁴		0.09	%		0.09	%		0.35	%		3.68	%
Net expenses^5,6		0.00	⁴		0.00			0.00			0.00			0.01
Net investment income		1.45	⁴		1.43			1.48			2.03			3.33

Portfolio turnover rate		12	%		27	%		33	%		27	%		29	%

¹	Per share amounts have been calculated using the average shares method.

Performance figures do not reflect the effect of fees and expenses associated with a separately managed account, nor a management fee or other operating expenses of the Fund. Such management fees are paid directly or indirectly by the separately managed account sponsor to the Fund’s manager or subadviser. All operating expenses of the Fund were reimbursed by the manager, pursuant to an expense reimbursement arrangement between the Fund and the manager. If such fees were included, the total return would have been lower. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

³	Gross expenses do not include management fees paid to the manager and subadviser. Management fees are paid directly or indirectly by the separately managed account sponsor.

⁴	Ratio includes the impact of fees paid indirectly. In the absence of these fees, the gross and net expense ratios and the net investment income ratio would have been 0.06%, 0.00% and 1.45%, respectively.

⁵

The Fund’s manager has entered into an expense reimbursement arrangement with the Fund, pursuant to which the Fund’s manager has agreed to reimburse 100% of the Fund’s ordinary operating expenses. The expense reimbursement arrangement does not cover interest, brokerage, taxes, extraordinary expenses and acquired fund fees and expenses. This arrangement cannot be terminated prior to December 31, 2024 without the Board of Trustees’ consent. Prior to March 7, 2019, the expense reimbursement arrangement did not cover custody holdings charges.

⁶	Reflects fee waivers and/or expense reimbursements.


26				Martin Currie SMASh Series EM Fund

Legg Mason Funds Privacy and Security Notice

Your Privacy Is Our Priority

Franklin Templeton* is committed to safeguarding your personal information. This notice is designed to provide you with a summary of the non‑public personal information Franklin Templeton may collect and maintain about current or former individual investors; our policy regarding the use of that information; and the measures we take to safeguard the information. We do not sell individual investors’ non‑public personal information to anyone and only share it as described in this notice.

Information We Collect

When you invest with us, you provide us with your non‑public personal information. We collect and use this information to service your accounts and respond to your requests. The non‑public personal information we may collect falls into the following categories:

•

Information we receive from you or your financial intermediary on applications or other forms, whether we receive the form in writing or electronically. For example, this information may include your name, address, tax identification number, birth date, investment selection, beneficiary information, and your personal bank account information and/or email address if you have provided that information.

•

Information about your transactions and account history with us, or with other companies that are part of Franklin Templeton, including transactions you request on our website or in our app. This category also includes your communications to us concerning your investments.

•

Information we receive from third parties (for example, to update your address if you move, obtain or verify your email address or obtain additional information to verify your identity).

•

Information collected from you online, such as your IP address or device ID and data gathered from your browsing activity and location. (For example, we may use cookies to collect device and browser information so our website recognizes your online preferences and device information.) Our website contains more information about cookies and similar technologies and ways you may limit them.

•

Other general information that we may obtain about you such as demographic information.

Disclosure Policy

To better service your accounts and process transactions or services you requested, we may share non‑public personal information with other Franklin Templeton companies. From time to time we may also send you information about products/services offered by other Franklin Templeton companies although we will not share your non‑public personal information with these companies without first offering you the opportunity to prevent that sharing.

We will only share non‑public personal information with outside parties in the limited circumstances permitted by law. For example, this includes situations where we need to share information with companies who work on our behalf to service or maintain your account or process transactions you requested, when the disclosure is to companies assisting us with our own marketing efforts, when the disclosure is to a party representing you, or when required by law (for example, in response to legal process). Additionally, we will ensure that any outside companies working on our behalf, or with whom we have joint marketing agreements, are under contractual obligations to protect the confidentiality of your information, and to use it only to provide the services we asked them to perform.

Confidentiality and Security

Our employees are required to follow procedures with respect to maintaining the confidentiality of our investors’ non‑public personal information. Additionally, we maintain physical, electronic and procedural safeguards to protect the information. This includes performing ongoing evaluations of our systems containing investor information and making changes when appropriate.

At all times, you may view our current privacy notice on our website at franklintempleton.com or contact us for a copy at (800) 632‑2301.

*For purposes of this privacy notice Franklin Templeton shall refer to the following entities:

Fiduciary Trust International of the South (FTIOS), as custodian for individual retirement plans

Franklin Advisers, Inc.

Franklin Distributors, LLC, including as program manager of the Franklin Templeton 529 College Savings Plan and the NJBEST 529 College Savings Plan

Franklin Mutual Advisers, LLC

Franklin, Templeton and Mutual Series Funds

Franklin Templeton Institutional, LLC

Franklin Templeton Investments Corp., Canada

Franklin Templeton Investments Management, Limited UK

Franklin Templeton Portfolio Advisors, Inc.

Legg Mason Funds serviced by Franklin Templeton Investor Services, LLC

Templeton Asset Management, Limited

Templeton Global Advisors, Limited

Templeton Investment Counsel, LLC

If you are a customer of other Franklin Templeton affiliates and you receive notices from them, you will need to read those notices separately.

THIS PAGE IS NOT PART OF THE PROSPECTUS

GOF LPR 10/22

Martin Currie

SMASh Series EM Fund

The fund’s website is www.franklintempleton.com/smashfunds.

You may visit the fund’s website for a free copy of a Prospectus or Statement of Additional Information (“SAI”). The fund will post its complete portfolio holdings on its website on a quarterly basis. The fund’s website also contains information regarding how the fund voted proxies (if any) relating to portfolio securities during the most recent 12‑month period ended June 30. The fund’s Annual and Semi-Annual Reports are not made available on the website because the reports are intended for the information of the fund’s shareholders and not for distribution to prospective investors.

Shareholder reports Additional information about the fund’s investments is available in the fund’s Annual and Semi-Annual Reports to shareholders. In the fund’s Annual Report, you will find a discussion of the market conditions and investment strategies that significantly affected the fund’s performance during its last fiscal year. The independent registered public accounting firm’s report and financial statements in the fund’s Annual Report are incorporated by reference into (are legally a part of) this Prospectus.

The fund sends only one report to a household if more than one account has the same last name and same address. Contact your Program Sponsor if you do not want this policy to apply to you.

Statement of additional information The SAI provides more detailed information about the fund and is incorporated by reference into (is legally a part of) this Prospectus.

You can make inquiries about the fund or obtain shareholder reports or the SAI (without charge) by contacting your Program Sponsor, by calling the fund at 877‑6LM‑FUND/656‑3863, or by writing to the fund at Legg Mason Funds, P.O. Box 33030, St. Petersburg, FL 33733-8030.

Reports and other information about the fund are available on the EDGAR Database on the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Internet site at http://www.sec.gov. Copies of this information may be obtained for a duplicating fee by electronic request at the following E‑mail address: [email protected].

If someone makes a statement about the fund that is not in this Prospectus, you should not rely upon that information. Neither the fund nor the distributor is offering to sell shares of the fund to any person to whom the fund may not lawfully sell its shares.



		Franklin Distributors, LLC 100 International Drive Baltimore, MD 21202 franklintempleton.com Martin Currie SMASh Series EM Fund


Investment Company Act file #811‑22338 © 2023 Franklin Templeton. All rights reserved. 10% Total Recycled Fiber 00268110		MCXX424828ST 12/23