Putnam's Haldeman gives mea culpa at Tiburon summit.(Conference Calls)

Investment News, April, 2007

Byline: Brooke Southall

SAN FRANCISCO - Charles "Ed'' Haldeman Jr. has told his peers that he shares blame for the publicity fiasco that nearly sank Putnam Investments.

The Boston-based chief executive of Putnam failed to grasp how his attempts at a quick settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission would play to the public, he told the crowd at the Tiburon CEO Summit here this month.

"I deserve some of the blame [for Putnam being pilloried by the media], because we were so transparent'' during the aftermath of the 2003 scandal, Mr. Haldeman said.

The mistake was misjudging how state regulators would react. Instead of seeing Putnam's forthcoming approach as guileless penance, the securities cops saw it as a rush...