Putnam Investments was founded in 1937 by George Putnam. At the same time, he founded its first mutual fund offering, The George Putnam Fund of Boston.[1] Putnam has offices in London and Tokyo, and its headquarters is located in Boston, Massachusetts.
Since 1970, Putnam has been a subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan Companies (MMC)[2], a global money management firm. On February 1, 2007, it was announced[3] that Putnam is being acquired by Great-West Lifeco Inc., a subsidiary of Power Financial Corporation, a Montreal-based company with interests in the financial services industry globally and nearly $100 billion in assets under management. The purchase is expected to take place by mid-2007 for a price of approximately $3.9 billion.
As one of the largest mutual fund complexes in the United States, Putnam has nearly $166 billion in assets under management, 180 institutional clients, and over 8 million shareholders and retirement plan participants as of 2007.[4]
Regulatory Issues
The company was involved in the mutual fund scandal of 2003 and admitted to allowing its portfolio managers and some investors to market time its funds. Under agreements with the SEC and the Office of the Secretary of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts (William Galvin), Putnam will pay $110 million in penalties and restitution to settle charges with the state and federal regulators. Total assets at Putnam dropped substantially in light of these events.[5]
Since November 2003, Putnam has implemented reforms and changes including replacing CEO Lawrence Lasser with Ed Haldeman as well as new appointments for CAO, COO, CFO, General Counsel, and compliance officer. On June 10, 2008 it was announced Bob Reynolds will take over as CEO while Mr. Haldeman will be Chairman. Mr. Reynolds is the former COO of Fidelity and helped built the firm into a powerhouse.
In addition, Putnam was the first mutual fund company to implement "Mutual Fund Protection Principles", an industry standard for compliance and investor protection[6]. Putnam has gone to great lengths in disclosures to salvage its reputation[7] and has won acclaim for dedication to compliance issues and ethics[8] for these efforts.
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