Consolidation Strikes 401(k) Market Again as Franklin Templeton buys Putnam Investments

Though the defined contribution business is just a part of asset managers’ and b/d’ s businesses, retirement plan assets are coveted and dominated by the largest money managers in the world, leading to the sale of Putnam Investments to Franklin Templeton. Once a highflier with $371 billion in AUM in 2000, Putnam was hit by the mutual fund scandals as assets…