The biggest mutual fund industry deal of 2023 is now complete.

Jennifer M. "Jenny" Johnson Franklin Resources, Inc. (dba Franklin Templeton) President, CEO

This morning, Jenny Johnson, president and CEO of Franklin Resources, Inc. (aka Franklin Templeton) [profile], confirmed that yesterday the San Mateo, California-based fund firm closed on its planned acquisition of Boston-based Putnam Investments [profile] from Winnipeg, Manitoba-based Great-West Lifeco, Inc. The deal, which was first unveiled in May 2023, turns Great-West into a "long-term strategic shareholder" of Franklin, owning about 6.2 percent of the publicly traded asset manager.

Putnam had $142 billion in AUM as of November 30, 2023 (not counting its PanAgora unit, which stayed with Great-West and is not part of the Franklin deal). Franklin had more than $1.4 trillion in AUM as of November 30.

Johnson lauds "the talented team at Putnam" and their "complementary capabilities and a track record of strong investment performance."

"Putnam expands our ability to offer more choice to more clients," Johnson states. "The addition of Putnam accelerates our growth in the retirement sector by increasing our defined contribution AUM and expands our insurance assets, further strengthening our presence in these key market segments to better serve all our clients. Putnam also shares our client-focused culture and emphasis on delivering strong investment results." 

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