Putnam Investments has ventured to the Citi to find help for its fund management. The decision to hire Brian O'Toole as its chief investment officer is the highest profile attempt to date by the Boston fund firm to turn around the performance of its funds.

The unit of Marsh had built a reputation for style consistency through the mid-nineties that it was able to ride to success both with brokers and with corporate plan sponsors. That aura fell apart with the crashing of the new economy, however, and the firm has been losing both customers and employees.

O'Toole's mandate will be to turn around the performance half of the equation at the firm. He will head an investment team of six and specialize in large-cap, growth equities. Included in his purview will be the Voyager and Growth Opportunities funds. He reports to Steve Oristaglio, Putnam's deputy head of investments.

Both flagship funds have suffered steep losses since the bear market started, and Growth Opportunities is down to a one star rating from Morningstar.  

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