Power Financial Corp., the Montreal-based company whose empire includes Boston fund firm Putnam Investments, is looking at deals to expand its insurance and asset management businesses, Bloomberg quotes Power CEO Jeffrey Orr as saying.

"We're always looking at acquisitions," Orr told reporters on Tuesday. "We are looking in our chosen areas, in our chosen strategies," including asset management in the U.S. and group insurance in the U.K.

Power Financial unit Great-West Lifeco purchased Putnam from Marsh & McLennan for $3.9 billion in 2007.

In an interview published in the Globe and Mail on Tuesday, Great-West Lifeco CEO Allen Loney said Great-West would likely be in better shape had it waited a year before buying Putnam (see The MFWire, 05/12/09).

"Would we rather have bought this at another time? Probably," said Loney, whose predecessor Raymond McFeetors pulled the trigger on the Putnam purchase.

But Loney also said that the turnaround strategy is beginning to show results.  

Stay ahead of the news ... Sign up for our email alerts now
CLICK HERE