Bob Reynolds is splitting up Jeff Carney's old duties and promoting another Fidelity veteran. Today the Putnam [profile] CEO revealed the promotion of strategic relationship chief Scott Sipple to head of investment product management and development. Yet Sipple will not take Carney's old post of head of marketing and product, which, Reynolds said, will not be replaced.

MFWire.com reported last week that Carney will join Schwab at the end of March as head of the brokerage giant's retail branch network [see MFWire.com, 3/9/2012].

"We appreciate the many contributions Jeff made to Putnam over the past three years and wish him all the best," Reynolds stated.

Reynolds confirmed that Mark McKenna will continue to lead advertising, corporate marketing sports sponsorhip, while Jon Goldstein will continue to lead strategic communications. Goldstein and McKenna now report directly to Reynolds, while Sipple will still report to global distribution chief William Connolly.

Sipple, like Carney, is a Fidelity alum who joined Putnam after Reynolds took over [12/16/2009]. He will now oversee Putnam's investment product, product development and strategy, and product initiatives teams. He'll also remain in charge of strategic relationships.

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Company Press Release

PUTNAM INVESTMENTS NAMES SCOTT SIPPLE TO HEAD INVESTMENT PRODUCT MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT

BOSTON, March 13, 2012 — Putnam Investments today named Scott C. Sipple as Head of Investment Product Management and Development, responsible for overseeing the firm’s equity, fixed income and global asset allocation product management and development teams, in its work providing investment management offerings to the retail, institutional, and retirement markets.

Effective immediately, the Putnam investment product teams, product development and strategy team, and product initiatives team will all report to Sipple, a 25+ year industry veteran. In addition to his new role, Sipple, who joined Putnam in 2009, will continue to oversee Putnam’s strategic relationship function, which works with the asset management research platforms of major U.S. financial services firms. Sipple continues to report to William T. Connolly, Head of Global Distribution.

“As a firm, we are committed to aggressively looking for opportunities to address the complex challenges of the current investment era by developing a 'modern solution set' for the marketplace, delivered with a unique mix of practice management tools and leading investment thinking,” said Robert L. Reynolds, President and Chief Executive Officer, Putnam Investments. “Under Scott’s able leadership, Putnam looks forward to bringing all of its product resources to bear in helping advisors and their clients work toward their long-term investment goals.”

Reynolds further indicated that the firm’s corporate marketing, advertising and sports sponsorship programs will continue to be spearheaded by Mark McKenna. Putnam’s strategic communications efforts, including public and community relations, will continue to be led by Jon Goldstein. McKenna and Goldstein will now report directly to Reynolds, further elevating the importance of ongoing dialogue with the marketplace in every segment that the company does business.

The continuing build-out of Putnam’s brand and the firm’s overall marketing strategy will remain on its current course, leveraging leading web capabilities; traditional and social media; print, broadcast and digital advertising; and high-profile sports marketing sponsorships, Reynolds explained.

Reynolds noted that Head of Marketing and Product, Jeffrey R. Carney, will be leaving the firm to pursue other opportunities and that his role will not be replaced. “We appreciate the many contributions Jeff made to Putnam over the past three years and wish him all the best,” explained Reynolds.

Bringing a “Modern Solution Set” to the Marketplace

Under Reynolds’ leadership, Putnam has launched over 20 new products over the past several years, seeking to create a “modern solution set” that combines traditional investment strategies with a series of new offerings designed to help advisors and investors manage risk and seek return amid an unprecedented confluence of high volatility, systemic risk anxiety and repressed interest rates that may persist for years.

“We are seeing increased demand from investors and advisors for better volatility management and more downside protection,” Reynolds said recently. “Advisors and their clients have endured extreme levels of market volatility in recent years – driven by a perfect storm of geopolitical and economic uncertainty, high correlation across and within asset classes, irregular valuation of securities and fewer sources of investment income. We believe investors want providers to offer a more modern solution set, using new portfolio construction tools to complement existing strategies, to help them manage a growing pool of volatility factors.”

About Putnam Investments

Founded in 1937, Putnam Investments is a leading global money management firm with nearly 75 years of investment experience. At the end of February 2012, Putnam had $124 billion in assets under management. Putnam has offices in Boston, London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Singapore and Sydney. For more information, visit putnam.com.

 

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