Perot Systems Replaces Putnam As Retirement Plan Administrator

Disclosed in a regulatory filing this week, Plano, Texas-based Perot Systems said Putnam would no longer be administering the retirement plans as of January 1, 2004.   The company also announced JP Morgan Retirement Plan Services LLC would be assuming administration of the plan, according to a Dow Jones report.

With the change in plan administrators also comes a blackout window, the details of which were divulged by Perot.   Participants in the plan will not be able to reallocate or make investment changes to their accounts between December 24 and sometime during the week of January 18.   Also, during that period, executives and directors of Perot may not trade Perot shares.

Perot Systems is one of the latest companies to take business away from Putnam Investments, which faces state and federal charges of civil fraud related to the trading-abuse scandal in the mutual-fund industry (See Spitzer Fund Abuse Probe Pumps Out More Subpoenas ).   Others on that list include Wal-Mart Stores, Merck & Co. and Revlon (See Wal-Mart Bails Out of Putnam Funds ).  

Additionally, more than 10 state pensions have dumped Putnam investment options (See  More Pensions Pull Money From Putnam ), including Indiana earlier this week (See  Putnam Scandal Outflows Continue ).   Due to the unrelenting outflow Putnam said on Monday its total assets under management fell by $32 billion to $245 billion in November.