Putnam Agrees to 2% Redemption Fee

Putnam Investments’ board of trustees approved a 2% redemption fee on short-term trades today, a move that should help curtail the market timing practices that have marred the nation’s fifth largest fund firm.

Investors in both mutual funds and Putnam 401(k) plans who sell fund shares within five days after purchasing them will be subject to the 2% fee beginning this first quarter of 2004. The company said other fees are already in place for short-term traders.