Marsh & McLennan, Putnam Investments’ parent company, appears to be having a change of heart. The insurance broker has reportedly started to shop the Boston-based fund firm.

Six months ago, the New York-based firm shot down the idea of selling any of its big subsidiaries. Yesterday, however, it hinted that it was open to such a possibility, according to a Boston Globe report.

"We will evolve this business," CEO Michael Cherkasky said at an investment conference in New York. "This business will not look the same. It will not have the same components five years from now that it does today."

Although Cherkasky didn't identify which business units could be up for sale, at one point during his presentation, he declared that Putnam has to be fixed.

Marsh & McLennan has several other businesses in its fold, including a huge insurance broker and a risk consulting company. But Putnam emerges as a possible candidate for sale because it doesn’t tie in well with other subsidiaries, and it has been posting negative growth, according to Stanley Nabi, vice chairman of Silvercrest Asset Management Group, which owned roughly 126,000 Marsh shares in September.

Putnam has been a regular target of sale rumors. The most recent attempt made by Marsh to quash speculation that a sale is in the offing occurred in June. 

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