Putnam [profile] is eyeing the Chinese market. The Boston-based mutual fund specialist has opened offices in Beijing as part of an effort to go after business from large institutions, according to press reports.

Michael Luo, an American-educated, Chinese national who joined Putnam from Invesco Great Wall in Shenzhen, is heading the office, reports the Boston Herald.

The Boston Globe quotes Putnam CEO Bob Reynolds as explaining that "You have to go in with the idea that this is a long-term play."

Putnam already has offices in Asia, including an investment office in Tokyo and a joint-venture office in Singapore.

Separately, Joseph T. Phoenix, head of Putnam Global Institutional Management, told Pensions & Investments that nearly a quarter of Putnam's AUM comes from Asia.

In December, money market mutual funds attracted $8.8 billion in China, while equity funds took in $3.5 billion, according to Cerulli Associates, a Boston consulting firm to the investment business.

The Globe points out that managing money in China is not the only opportunity for U.S. mutual fund firms. Fidelity Investments has 200 workers in Dalian. They are not managing money but working instead on Fidelity IT projects. 

Edited by: Sean Hanna, Editor in Chief


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