BOSTON — Putnam Investments agreed to pay a total of $110 million to settle accusations by the SEC and Massachusetts regulators that the firm did not disclose improper market timing by its portfolio managers. Overall, Putnam agreed to pay a $100 million civil penalty and the restitution of $10 million in profits from the market timing.
Charles "Ed" Haldeman, Putnam president and chief executive, said in a news release that the settlement agreements "reflect our commitment to put these matters behind us and continue to move forward as a firm focusing on rebuilding investor confidence and delivering consistent, dependable, superior investment performance over time."
Separately, Putnam's assets under management dropped by $6 billion during March, according to the money manager's latest numbers. As of March 31, the Boston firm was managing $227 billion for 11 million individual investors and 500 institutional clients at the end of last month, down from $233 billion at the end of February, said spokeswoman Sinead Martin. Of the March 31 total, $157 billion was in mutual funds, down from $160 billion, and $70 billion was institutional money, down from $73 billion, Ms. Martin said.
