Great-West CFO explains Putnam buy

Great-West Life & Annuity Insurance Co. acquired Boston-based Putnam Investments to obtain "instant recognition" and a "better brand" in the U.S. market. That’s according to Mitchell Graye, chief financial officer of the Winnipeg, Canada-based insurer who made his comments during a panel discussion at the Standard & Poor's Insurance Conference today in New York. Mr. Graye noted that Great-West is well-known in Canada, where it "touches one in four Canadians," but does not have comparable name recognition in the U.S. But he could not comment on how the insurer plans to overcome Boston-based Putnam's questionable reputation among U.S. financial advisers -- given its past regulatory problems stemming from market-timing abuses -- because the acquisition has not yet closed and the company has told executives not to discuss the matter.