Putnam Investments has signed two new global equities mandates worth almost $400 million, roughly 10 per cent of the amount it had managed on behalf of BT Financial Group before being replaced by fellow US manager, AQR, earlier this year.

Putnam’s new country head, ex-Zurich investment specialist Peter Walsh, said a core global equities mandate with a public-offer fund-of-funds platform was for $270 million, while an emerging markets mandate with a super fund would take the Boston manager’s Australian total to “well over $300 million”. Walsh said the platform was yet to advise clients of Putnam’s appointment, even though the money transitioned last week, while the super fund had refused to release information about its mandate. Walsh said he was “well advanced” in the process of hiring an institutional salesperson, while an admin support person is also set to join the fledgling Sydney office. Walsh said the institutional gatekeepers “already know Putnam” from its stint with BT, so he was focusing on communication with retail research houses and dealer groups. Putnam launched two Australian-domiciled retail funds last week, a multi-sector debt security fund and a concentrated global equity fund.