Putnam Investments’ customers pulled an
estimated $9.7 billion of funds in less than two weeks after the
mutual-fund manager became the first company charged with fraud in
the widening investigation of the $7 trillion industry.
The withdrawals, representing about 3.5 percent of Putnam’s
assets, include about $3.9 billion redeemed by mutual-fund
investors from Putnam’s stock funds, according to AMG Data
Services in Arcata, California. An additional $5.8 billion is
being pulled by institutional clients such as state pension funds
in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Iowa.
“To lose so much money in such a short time is probably
unparalleled,” said Burton Greenwald, an industry consultant in
Philadelphia, who estimates the redemptions at Putnam will result
in the loss of at least $32 million in annual management fees.
Bloomberg News
