Milwaukee City Employes' Retirement System selected a manager to replace Putnam, which ran $277 million in international equities for the $3.8 billion system, said Jennifer Shannon, CIO. The board did not disclose which of the five finalists - Artisan, Fidelity, J.P. Morgan Fleming, MFS and William Blair - was selected pending finalization of contract terms and board approval, she said. She couldn't say when approval will occur. The new portfolio will be active core with a growth tilt, she said. Putnam, which will run the portfolio until the new manager is in place, was terminated for performance and loss of key portfolio managers as a result of investigations into market-timing activities, she said. A Putnam spokesman did not return a call seeking comment by press time.
Separately, East Providence (R.I.) Police & Fire Retirement System placed Putnam on watch because of the market-timing accusations against the firm, said James McDonald, finance director. Putnam runs $13 million in active domestic large-cap growth equities and $9 million in international equities for the $67 million plan, Mr. McDonald said. Trustees discussed terminating Putnam but instead decided to monitor the firm quarterly, he said. Laura McNamara, Putnam spokeswoman, did not return a call by press time seeking comment. Evaluation Associates assisted.
