Fund firm's financial results are confirming just how bad a year it was for the industry in 2001. Both Stilwell Financial and Putnam Investments reported $80 billion drops in assets under management during 2001.

Total assets under management at Putnam fell to $304 billion from $381 billion in 2000, according to an earnings release from Putnam parent Marsh & McClennan Companies. The report added that revenue at Putnam fell to $629 million from $740 million for the final quarter, a fall of 15 percent from a year ago.

Meanwhile, Stilwell Financial reported that earnings fell by half. The parent to the Janus and Berger mutual-fund families, said its fourth-quarter net income fell 52 percent due to an asset base that shrunk by 35 percent to $186.3 billion from $284.7 billion a year earlier.

Stilwell earnings fell to $73.7 million from from $153.2 million in the fourth quarter of 2000. For all of 2001 it reported earnings of $302.3 million down from $663.7 in 2000.

Both firm's reported that they are keeping a tight control on costs to maintain profitability as assets in the funds declines.  

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