Putnam Investments CEO Bob Reynolds is among the recipients of this year's Lump of Coal Awards, handed out by MarketWatch columnist Chuck Jaffe. The awards, now on their 15th year, recognize managers, executives, firms, watchdogs and other fundsters for "misguided, bumbling, offensive, disingenuous, reprehensible or just plain stupid" actions, the Wall street Journal reports.

Reynolds takes a "lump" for talking a better game than he plays, Jaffe writes. Reynolds' call for incentives for business investment and job creation, along with reforming Social Security and the nation’s retirement system will fallon deaf ears on Capitol Hill until he fixes Putnam's funds; none of which earn a top, five-star rating from Morningstar, according o Jaffe.

Hedgie-turned-mutual fund manager Joel Greenblatt also takes his lump from Jaffe, who warned investors that Greenblatt's system of looking for earnings yield and returns on capital from a portfolio of no more than 30 names will not continue in his newly launched mutual funds, which were unveiled under the Forumla Investing brand in early November.

In fact, Greenblatt's funds will actually have 2.5 to 4 times the number of securities that make up his Little Book's "magic formula," meaning they’re following a "not-quite-magic formula," wrote Jaffe.

Other "winners" of the Coal award include: Managers at the Baron Funds; management at the Bridgeway funds; Investors in the VIX; Trustees of the Virtus Funds; AXA Rosenberg and Bruce Bent Sr. and Bruce Bent II of the Reserve Funds.  

Edited by: Hung Tran


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