Wal-Mart Drops Funds, Declares Dividend

Wal-Mart Stores Inc. of Bentonville, the nation’s largest private-sector employer, is eliminating two Putnam funds from its 401(k) plan — more unwelcome news for a mutual-fund firm that has been jolted by allegations of improper trading.r

The funds affected include the Putnam New Opportunities Fund and the Putnam International Growth Fund.r

Sharon Weber, a spokeswoman for Wal-Mart, declined to say why the investment options were being dropped, but noted that the company’s retirement-plans committee “monitor(s) all of these funds and make(s) decisions that will be of benefit to our associates.”r

As of Jan. 31, 2002, Wal-Mart’s 401(k) plan had $1.56 billion in assets and 532,729 participants with account balances, according to regulatory filings. The retail giant has a total of about 1.2 million employees.r

Wal-Mart joins an expanding list of corporations that have severed some ties to Putnam, a unit of Marsh & McLennan Cos. State pension funds and individual investors also have pulled out money recently.r

Weber couldn’t immediately say whether Wal-Mart had found replacements for the Putnam funds. The firm’s 401(k) participants have about 15 investment options from a variety of fund families to choose from, she said.r

The retailer’s board also recently declared a quarterly cash dividend on the common stock of nine cents per share, payable Jan. 5, to shareholders of record on Dec. 19.r