Putnam Investments has placed a large, concentrated bet that struggling U.S. shopping malls can transform themselves even as key tenants shut stores or file for bankruptcy, Reuters reported. So far, it is winning - to the chagrin of hedge funds like Alder Hill Management LP that are on the other side of the bet. Putnam, a Boston-based mutual fund firm, holds more than $1 billion worth of derivatives tied to mortgages on shopping malls, office buildings and hotels, according to interviews and filings analyzed by Reuters.
