Clarion Partners Real Estate Income Fund Inc. Celebrates Three Years of Strong Performance With Its Differentiated Approach

With its investor-friendly approach to core commercial real estate exposure, this 40 Act Fund offers individual investors the opportunity to access Clarion’s highly experienced team

The Fund has delivered strong yields, diversification, and a hedge against inflation with competitive fees and conservative leverage

Leading real estate investment manager Clarion Partners is celebrating the three-year anniversary of the launch of the Clarion Partners Real Estate Income Fund Inc. (“the Fund”) an innovative fund designed to provide investors of all types and sizes with access to a portfolio of research-backed institutional quality real estate holdings managed by Clarion’s industry-leading team.

Clarion Partners, an independent investment manager of Franklin Templeton, has been a leader in building and managing private real estate portfolios for some of the world’s largest institutional investors for more than 40 years. As of September 30, 2022, the firm has more than $83.5 billion in real estate assets under management. The firm’s overall philosophy, which centers around the vision, judgment and execution to generate value for its investors, is the same approach underpinning the Clarion Partners Real Estate Income Fund.

“Our goal in launching the Clarion Partners Real Estate Income Fund was to provide financial advisors and individual investors with a meaningful new choice so they could better build out their core real estate holdings. For too long, the ‘democratized’ options meant exposure to sub-optimal properties, high fees, long lockups, and an overreliance on leverage. Our Fund continues to provide solutions for each of those issues, and we’re thrilled to be marking this milestone and continuing to educate the marketplace about the benefits of thoughtfully constructed direct real estate exposure,” said Richard Schaupp, Clarion Partners Managing Director and Portfolio Manager for the Fund.

Since its launch in September 2019, the Fund has delivered an annualized return of 14.2% net of fees, and as of October 2022, the Fund has delivered a distribution rate of 5.23%. (See full historical performance below.)¹ Investors and advisors have been drawn to the Fund’s highly differentiated approach, offering investors ease of access as a 40 Act vehicle, downside risk management with an investment strategy utilizing conservative leverage, and strong relative performance with very competitive fees.

“While other approaches to providing direct real estate exposure have morphed to become more private equity-like than private real estate, with this Fund we have stayed true to what has made Clarion such a valued partner for so many institutional investors for the past 40 years,” said Janet Souk, Senior Vice President and Portfolio Manager. “Our disciplined approach to direct real estate investment has anchored us through both smooth markets and periods of heightened volatility as we are in now and has been the main driver of our success.”

The Fund’s portfolio is made up of holdings in those real estate sectors that form the core of Clarion’s experience and expertise, including industrial, multifamily, and life sciences. Clarion has been investing in each of those sectors for years, and regularly publishes research designed to educate investors and help them understand the most meaningful trends shaping the real estate space in both the short- and long-term, with samples available here.

For more information about the Clarion Partners Real Estate Income Fund, please visit www.cpreif.com.

About Clarion Partners Real Estate Income Fund Inc. (CPREIF)

CPREIF offers individual investors direct access to a portfolio of privately-held, income-producing commercial real estate properties through an innovative investment fund driven by Clarion's deep real estate expertise. CPREIF is a non-diversified, closed-end management investment company that continuously offers its common stock. The fund’s investment manager, Legg Mason Partners Fund Advisor, LLC is an indirect, wholly owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources, Inc. (“Franklin Resources”) and the fund’s investment sub-adviser, Clarion Partners, is an indirect, majority-owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources. In addition, the fund’s securities sub-adviser, Western Asset Management, also is an indirect wholly owned subsidiary of Franklin Resources. Hard copies of the fund’s complete audited financial statements are available free of charge upon request.

About Clarion Partners

Clarion Partners, an SEC registered investment adviser with FCA-authorized and FINRA member affiliates, has been a leading U.S. real estate investment manager for 40 years. Headquartered in New York, the firm maintains strategically located offices across the United States and Europe. With $83.5 billion in total assets under management, Clarion Partners offers a broad range of real estate strategies across the risk/return spectrum to its more than 500 domestic and international institutional investors. More information about the firm is available at www.clarionpartners.com.

About Franklin Templeton

Franklin Resources, Inc. [NYSE:BEN] is a global investment management organization with subsidiaries operating as Franklin Templeton and serving clients in over 155 countries. Franklin Templeton’s mission is to help clients achieve better outcomes through investment management expertise, wealth management and technology solutions. Through its specialist investment managers, the company offers boutique specialization on a global scale, bringing extensive capabilities in equity, fixed income, multi-asset solutions and alternatives. With offices in more than 30 countries and approximately 1,300 investment professionals, the California-based company has 75 years of investment experience and approximately $1.3 trillion in assets under management as of October 31, 2022. For more information, please visit franklintempleton.com and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook.

Performance shown represents past performance and is no guarantee of future results. Current performance may be higher or lower than the performance shown. Investment return and principal value will fluctuate so shares, when redeemed, may be worth more or less than the original cost. For performance data including the effects of sales charges, Class S shares reflect the deduction of a maximum front-end sales charge of 3.5%. Class T shares reflect the deduction of a maximum front-end sales charge of 3% and a dealer manager fee of 0.5%. Total returns assume the reinvestment of all distributions at net asset value and the deduction of all Fund expenses. Total return figures are based on the NAV per share applied to shareholder subscriptions and redemptions, which may differ from the NAV per share disclosed in Fund shareholder reports. Performance shown excluding sales charges would have been lower, if the applicable sales charge been reflected. Had fees not been waived in various periods performance would have been lower. All classes of shares may not be available to all investors or through all distribution channels. For the most recent month-end information, please visit www.cpreif.com.

Investment Risks

An investment in the Fund involves a considerable amount of risk. The Fund is designed primarily for long-term investors, and an investment in the Fund should be considered illiquid. Shareholders may not be able to sell their shares in the Fund at all or at a favorable price. Fixed income securities involve interest rate, credit, inflation and reinvestment risks. As interest rates rise, the value of fixed income securities fall. High-yield bonds possess greater price volatility, illiquidity and possibility of default. The Fund’s investments are highly concentrated in real estate investments, and therefore will be subject to the risks typically associated with real estate, including but not limited to local, state, national or international economic conditions; including market disruptions caused by regional concerns, political upheaval, sovereign debt crises and other factors. Asset-backed, mortgage-backed or mortgage-related securities are subject to prepayment and extension risks. The Fund and/or its subsidiaries employ leverage, which increases the volatility of investment returns and subjects the Fund to magnified losses if an underlying fund’s investments decline in value. The Fund may use derivatives, such as options and futures, which can be illiquid, may disproportionately increase losses, and have a potentially large impact on Fund performance.

Liquidity Considerations

The Fund should be viewed as a long-term investment, as it is inherently illiquid and suitable only for investors who can bear the risks associated with the limited liquidity of the Fund. Limited liquidity is provided to shareholders only through the Fund’s quarterly repurchase offers for no more than 5% of the Fund’s shares outstanding at net asset value. There is no guarantee these repurchases will occur as scheduled, or at all. Shares will not be listed on a public exchange, and no secondary market is expected to develop.

Before investing, carefully consider a Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. You can find this and other information in each prospectus, or summary prospectus, if available, at www.franklintempleton.com. Please read it carefully.

All investments involve risk, including loss of principal. Past performance is no guarantee of future results.

Any information, statement or opinion set forth herein is general in nature, is not directed to or based on the financial situation or needs of any particular investor, and does not constitute, and should not be construed as, investment advice, forecast of future events, a guarantee of future results, or a recommendation with respect to any particular security or investment strategy or type of retirement account. Investors seeking financial advice regarding the appropriateness of investing in any securities or investment strategies should consult their financial professional.

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

1. This statement is in reference to Share Class I. Distribution rate is calculated by annualizing the most recent distribution amount paid, excluding special distributions, divided by the closing market price or NAV. As of 9/30/2022, the Fund estimates that the distributions will be paid from: 100% investment income; 0% realized capital gains; and 0% return of capital. A return of capital is not taxable and results in a reduction in the tax basis of a shareholder’s investment. The Distribution Rate is subject to the change and is not a quotation of Fund performance. The Board of Directors may terminate or suspend the managed distribution policy at any time. Any such termination or suspension could have an adverse effect on the market price of the Fund’s share. For more information about a distribution’s composition refer to the Fund’s distribution press release or, if applicable, the Section 19 notice located on our website.
2. Other fees and expenses may apply. Please see Fund prospectus for additional information.
3. LMPFA receives a monthly management fee at the annual rate of 1.25% of the Fund’s average daily NAV. LMPFA has agreed to waive its management fee from April 1, 2021, through December 31, 2022. The waiver cannot be terminated prior to December 31, 2022, without the Board’s consent and such waived management fee will not be recoupable by LMPFA.
4. “Other Expenses” are estimated based on Fund net assets of $200 million and anticipated expenses. LMPFA has agreed to waive fees and/or reimburse the Fund’s expenses (including organizational and offering expenses, but excluding property management, acquisition, disposition expenses, any other expenses related to investments in real property, debt and real-estate related securities, expenses related to Borrowings or the issuance of Preferred Stock, interest, brokerage, tax and extraordinary expenses and acquired fund fees and expenses) to the extent necessary to ensure that the total annual Fund operating expenses (excluding Specified Expenses) attributable to Class I Shares, Class D Shares, Class S Shares, and Class T Shares will not exceed 1.75%, 2.00%, 2.60%, and 2.60%, respectively, of NAV, subject to recapture as described below. These arrangements cannot be terminated prior to December 31, 2022, without the Board’s consent. LMPFA is permitted to recapture amounts forgone or reimbursed within three years after the fiscal year in which LMPFA earned the fee or incurred the expense if the total annual Fund operating expenses have fallen to a level below the limit described herein. In no case will LMPFA recapture any amount that would result, on any particular business day of the Fund, in a relevant class’s total annual operating expenses exceeding the applicable limits described above or any other lower limit then in effect.

©2022 Franklin Distributors, LLC, member FINRA, SIPC. Franklin Distributors, LLC, and Clarion Partners, LLC are all subsidiaries of Franklin Resources, Inc.

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“Our goal in launching CPREIF was to provide a meaningful new choice so investors could better build out their core real estate holdings. We’re thrilled to be marking this milestone," said Richard Schaupp, Clarion Partners Managing Director.