Putnam Investments Hires Dr. Van Harlow to Spearhead Development of Innovative Investment Solutions

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Putnam Investments today announced that Dr. W. Van Harlow has been named Director, Investment Retirement Solutions, responsible for creating a new generation of products and services that seek to address key investment goals while simultaneously reducing the impact of cost and risk — such as volatility, inflation and longevity — on eventual outcomes. Harlow, who has been serving in a consulting role with Putnam, will report directly to Jeffrey L. Knight, Head of Global Asset Allocation, and also work closely with the firm’s Head of Marketing, Products and Retirement, Jeffrey R. Carney.

“The hiring of Dr. Harlow builds upon the intellectual firepower and thought leadership that has driven innovation at Putnam over the past two years, and brought new product offerings, services and strategies to better serve our clients”

In his new position, Dr. Harlow, 54, will also be focused on the development of asset allocation tools and planning methodologies used by financial advisors, consultants and plan sponsors in the retirement and institutional markets. Harlow, who holds an MBA, a Ph.D. in financial economics and a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation, has been a thought leader in the asset management industry for over two decades.

His statistical analysis and research played a key role in the firm’s creation of its ground-breaking Lifetime Income^SM Analysis Tool and in the methodology that led to the incorporation of absolute return investment strategies into the company’s RetirementReady^® lifecycle funds.

“Dr. Harlow has already made substantial contributions as we have introduced innovative thinking and product solutions for the retirement market,” said Knight. “His uniquely insightful, yet practical analysis and application of quantitative analysis to create understandable, user-friendly products and tools will be enormously valuable to Putnam clients and investors.”

In discussing the need for a new generation of more risk-aware solutions designed for an era of greater market uncertainty, Carney noted, “Investors need help in meeting the market challenges that have changed significantly over the past generation. They won’t succeed in meeting their objectives by relying on outdated strategies and ways of thinking.

“The hiring of Dr. Harlow builds upon the intellectual firepower and thought leadership that has driven innovation at Putnam over the past two years, and brought new product offerings, services and strategies to better serve our clients,” Carney continued.

Harlow received a B.A. degree in physics and mathematical science from Rice University and an MBA and a Ph.D. in financial economics from the University of Texas (Austin). He has received such prestigious honors as the Financial Analysts Federation’s Graham and Dodd Award and the Journal of Finance’s Smith Breeden Distinguished Paper Award.

Harlow has long been active in professional circles, serving as Editor-in-Chief of the Financial Analysts Journal from 1993 to 1998, and also on the Council on Education and Research and the Research Foundation for the CFA Institute. His research publications have appeared in numerous academic and practitioner journals.

Prior to serving as a financial consultant, Harlow held a number of senior positions with Fidelity Investments from 1991 to 2008, including serving as Managing Director of the Fidelity Research Institute, Managing Director of Strategic New Business Development and President and Chief Investment Officer of Fidelity Asset Management Services. Before joining Fidelity, Harlow was a vice president at Salomon Brothers Inc., where he was responsible for quantitative investment and trading strategies. Previously, he taught at the University of Texas and the University of Arizona from 1984 to 1989.

Putnam’s Commitment to Financial Innovation

Since Putnam President and Chief Executive Officer Robert L. Reynolds took the helm in July 2008, the 70-year-old Boston-based company has undergone a dramatic turnaround. The company’s revival has been driven by innovative new products and platforms, improved performance and a renewed focus on the retirement market. Among the steps that have been taken are:

Launching a suite of three U.S. multi-cap equity funds, available in its entirety by late September 2010, to provide investors and their advisors with an approach to investing by style — value, core/blend, growth — regardless of the market capitalization of the underlying securities;
Developing Putnam Absolute Return Funds^*, the mutual fund industry’s first suite of absolute return mutual funds, designed to provide positive returns over time, with less volatility than more traditional mutual funds, whether markets are rising or falling;
Introducing Putnam Spectrum Funds, which invest in the securities of leveraged companies while looking to generate returns through investments;
Expanding the scope of the actively managed Putnam Global Sector Funds to target stocks in dynamic sectors across global markets, covering nine sectors across the entire MSCI World Index, and which can be combined to create a highly customized portfolio. In addition, Putnam recently launched the first fund-of-sector-funds in the global equity space, providing exposure to all sectors contained in the MSCI World Index — in weighted proportions — by investing in eight Putnam global sector funds;
Becoming the first investment manager to add target absolute return strategies to the mix of underlying investments in target-date/lifecycle funds via Putnam RetirementReady® Funds, the firm’s suite of retirement funds. Employed in retirement portfolios, absolute return strategies are intended to pursue positive returns in up and down markets, to protect against the harmful effects of adverse investment returns and to reduce volatility, particularly for investors in or near retirement.

About Putnam Investments

Founded in 1937, Putnam Investments is a leading global money management firm with over 70 years of investment experience. The firm was recently ranked #1 out of 61 fund families based on its funds’ performance during 2009 in a Lipper/Barron’s Fund Families Survey and named “Mutual Fund Manager of the Year” by Institutional Investor. At the end of May 2010, Putnam had $112 billion in assets under management. Putnam has offices in Boston, London, Frankfurt, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Singapore, and Sydney. For more information, visit putnam.com.

Putnam mutual funds are distributed by Putnam Retail Management.

* Putnam’s target Absolute Return Funds are not intended to outperform stocks and bonds during strong market rallies.