News Flash- Putnam Sets Limit on Perks

Putnam Investments is cracking down on the perks brokers use to entice fund managers and other executives to give them their business.

Beginning April 1, Putnam's 5,000 employees will not be allowed to accept perks with values of more than $150, excluding meals.

If the gift is a ticket, it must be for an event in the area where they work. Spouses and family members cannot accompany them, and such boondoggles are limited to just six a year, plus the event must relate to business. These are the new rules that Tony Ruys de Perez, Putnam's new chief compliance officer, spelled out last week.

In the past, fund managers have accepted such lavish sprees as tickets to celebrity golf tournaments, all-expense paid trips to the Super Bowl and spa holidays. As far as business meals are concerned, some, but not all, of the aforementioned rules apply. Putnam is the first firm implicated in the fund scandal to lay down such laws on business perks.

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