Putnam Investments

Putnam Investments

Putnam Investments was founded in 1937 by George Putnam, launching one of the early balanced mutual funds in the US. The firm went public in 1967 and was acquired by Marsh & McLennan Companies in 1970, then by Power Financial Corp. (now Power Corporation of Canada) in 2004. Robert L. Reynolds, previously CFO of Marsh & McLennan, took CEO leadership in 2008 and has since expanded the firm's multi-asset and alternatives offerings. Putnam's investment approach spans public equities, fixed income, multi-asset solutions, and alternatives including private credit and global macro. The firm maintains research teams in Boston and London, covering sectors from technology to healthcare. Named portfolio holdings have included positions in Microsoft, Alphabet, and Amazon as of 2023 filings. Geographic focus is global, with active equity and fixed-income strategies across developed and emerging markets. As of 2023, Putnam reported about $150 billion in assets under management across more than 100 mutual funds and institutional accounts. The firm employs over 1,000 professionals worldwide, with research analysts based in London, Taipei, and Singapore. Putnam maintains a charitable foundation, the Putnam Foundation, but keeps it formally separate from investment operations. A structural differentiator is Putnam's ownership under Power Corporation of Canada, providing long-term capital stability uncommon among publicly-traded asset managers. The firm also operates a defined-benefit pension plan internally, aligning its own investment expertise directly with the institutional client experience.