Putnam Investments Interview Questions

29 total interview insight submissions
Interview Experience (92%)

The Interview Experience is a score from 1 star (very negative) to 5 stars (very positive) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. If you hover over the various sections of the donut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more reviews, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire dataset.

3.8
  • Very Negative
  • Negative
  • Neutral
  • Positive
  • Very Positive
Interview Difficulty (96%)

The Interview Difficulty is a score ranging from very difficult (red) to very easy (green) generated based on the Interview Insights at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. The higher the number, the more difficult the interviews on average. If you hover over the various sections of the doughnut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few interview insights). Simply put, as a company gets more insights, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to its simple average and away from the average of the entire data set.

3.1
  • Very Easy
  • Easy
  • Average
  • Difficult
  • Very Difficult
% Interns - FT Offers (42%)

The % of Interns Getting a Full Time Offer chart is meant to provide a realistic estimate of the hiring practices of the company based on the reviews at this company.

The number you see in the middle of the doughnut pie chart is the simple average of these scores. If you hover over the various sections of the doughnut, you will see the % breakdown of each score given.

The percentile score in the title is calculated across the entire Company Database and uses an adjusted score based on Bayesian Estimates (to account for companies that have few reviews). Simply put, as a company gets more reviews, the confidence of a "true score" increases so it is pulled closer to the simple company average and away from the average of the entire data set.

35%
  • 0%
  • 10%
  • 20%
  • 30%
  • 40%
  • 50%
  • 60%
  • 70%
  • 80%
  • 90%
  • 100%

Interviews at Putnam Investments

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Filter by:
Year
Job Title
Group/Division
Location
Experience
Difficulty
Summer Associate Intern
Year 2015
Job Title Summer Associate Intern
Group/Division Equity Research
Location Boston
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Difficult
Research Associate
Year 2012
Job Title Research Associate
Group/Division Fixed Income
Location Boston
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2015
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Investments
Location Boston
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Very Easy
Incoming Analyst
Year 2014
Job Title Incoming Analyst
Group/Division Sales
Location Andover
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Easy
Intern
Year 2014
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Equity Capital Markets
Location Boston
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Average
Summer Associate Intern
Year 2014
Job Title Summer Associate Intern
Group/Division Investments
Location Boston
Experience
Very Positive
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2014
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Equity Research
Location Boston
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Average
Intern
Year 2012
Job Title Intern
Group/Division Consumer - Retail
Location Boston
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Difficult
1st Year Analyst
Year 2013
Job Title 1st Year Analyst
Group/Division Investment Research
Location Boston
Experience
Neutral
Difficulty
Average
Summer Associate Intern
Year 2013
Job Title Summer Associate Intern
Group/Division Generalist
Location Boston
Experience
Positive
Difficulty
Average

Interview Questions & Answers - Putnam Investments Examples

Associate Interview - Investment Research

Anonymous interview candidate in Boston
Interviewed: October 2019
Date Submitted: Oct 27, 2020
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
Interview
1 short HR phone screen, 3 calls with PMs/Analysts, 6 more calls with Analysts/PMs. A final technical project. Be prepared to explain your past projects and basic investment concepts (modern portfolio theory, factor models, etc.)
Interview Questions
Nothing unexpected. They are not there to trick you and genuinely wants to learn about your background.
Sample Answer

Equity Research Externship Interview - Generalist

Anonymous employee in Boston
Interviewed: March 2020
Date Submitted: Oct 07, 2020
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
Emailed alum from school about traditional summer internship, and he passed my resume on. First round was call with HR. Second round call was with PM. Both interviews were pretty short. In call with PM, was asked about thought process when evaluating a business.
Interview Questions
You walk inside a retail store at a mall. What are you looking for when you are looking to invest in the company.
Sample Answer

Analyst Interview - Generalist

Anonymous interview candidate in Boston
Interviewed: January 2016
Date Submitted: Mar 04, 2020
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
Interview
Stock pitch (long) with a senior analyst. The analyst didn’t spend much time on soft questions they were only on the pitch.
Interview Questions
Tell me what your most difficult time at school was? It was a weird question to ask because they had not asked any soft questions before this and I was understood that the interview was supposed to be a pitch. This was the second interview.

They also asked questions about the pitch that were clearly not about the thesis but if we knew the company well. Aka what is the margin on the business? They are looking for someone who pays attention to the details.

They also asked questions about the company’s historicals which I didn’t think were fair in my opinion.
Sample Answer

Summer Equity Analyst Interview - Equity Capital Markets

Anonymous interview candidate in Boston
Interviewed: September 2018
Date Submitted: Feb 20, 2019
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
Employee Referral
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
Skills Test
Personality Test
Background Check
Interview
I talked on the phone with an employee informationally around September and they said that they thought I might be a good fit for the Summer Equity Analyst program. The next morning HR emailed me for a phone screen and they called me that afternoon. All behavioral and I thought it went well. They emailed me two days later for another call and it was all technical. I really was not prepared on that call and it went horribly, ended up not getting an offer.
Interview Questions
"I went to a wedding and rented a car and a suit. My car rental cost the same as my suit rental. Why would this be?"
"How do you follow the mrkets?"
"What stocks do you follow and what valuations are most important in your analysis of them? Why?"
"I own a hotel. We lose money in the winter but make money in the summer. At what point should I shut down?"
"Why did you choose your college? Your major"
"Walk me through your resume."
"What's an interesting class you have taken?"
"Have you ever personally invested your money? If so, in what?"
Sample Answer

Summer Analyst Interview - Equity Capital Markets

Anonymous interview candidate in Boston
Interviewed: November 2018
Date Submitted: Jan 24, 2019
Outcome
Declined Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
I initially had an interview on campus with an analyst. The interview was pretty conversational but had some brain teasers to see how I thought about business. The next round happened at their offices in Boston.
Interview Questions
There was a question about why tuxedos are so much more expensive to rent than cars. There was also questions about basic things like revenues and profits involving a fake business they had me make up in my head. This was nothing major, however. I used the example of a furniture store and they were fine with that. There were also further questions about my investing philosophy where they basically tried to find faults in my thinking and had me explain the ideas to them. This seemed like more of a text to see whether I could stick with my ideas than a test of whether I actually knew investing.
Sample Answer

Associate Internship Interview - Generalist

Anonymous interview candidate in Boston
Interviewed: September 2017
Date Submitted: Sep 04, 2018
Outcome
Declined Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Group Interview
Interview
I learned about the firm through my university. I sent in a resume and cover letter. I had a one-on-one interview with an analyst at the firm that mostly consisted of brain teasers and come questions about markets. I got a call back to fly to Boston and interview at their offices. This interview consisted of speaking with a variety of people analysts at the firm for about 45 minutes each and in succession.
Interview Questions
There were some brain teasers. They asked about why renting a tuxedo is equal in cost to renting a car even though cars are more expensive. They also asked me what kind of business I would start if I was starting a business on campus at the college I go to. They asked some follow-up questions about my university. Most of the interviews were based on conversation where they were just trying to get to know me and see how I thought about investing. They weren't really specific questions that they just cycled through.
Sample Answer

Marketing Information Analyst Interview - Marketing

Anonymous employee in Boston
Interviewed: October 2017
Date Submitted: May 23, 2018
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Applied Online
Length of Process
1-2 months
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Background Check
Interview
There was an initial phone screen, mostly just to discuss me as a candidate; my resume/experience, my goals, what I thought I would be able to give to and get from this position. Then there were two separate days of three-hour interviews, where I met with six people each time around. Questions were largely fit-based with a fair bit of probing on my experience and honest dialogue about career progression out of the position, and shortly after the second day, I was extended an offer. The whole process, from application to hire, took about a month.
Interview Questions
Due to the nature of the position, there weren't any really difficult interview questions, certainly not of the sort that one would be confronted with when interviewing for an IBD or an analyst role. The biggest thing for Putnam, and this was discussed after I was hired, was that I came prepared with strong, probing questions and had clearly done my homework on the company. As far as the question that brought about the toughest discussion, I was asked about my career goals, which is to earn the CFA charter and make the jump to the analyst track, and was politely told that doing so would be difficult but possible with the right connections around the firm.
Sample Answer

Putnam Investments Interview - Investment Research

Anonymous employee in Boston
Interviewed: October 2011
Date Submitted: Jan 10, 2018
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
1 on 1 Interview
Group Interview
Interview
Came on campus at career fair and then did an interview. Was sent to Boston office for group interview
Interview Questions
What was a time when you led a project that did not go well? Generally the questions were more focused on the stock pitch and why investment management. The final round is a group interview with the heads of each investment division so can be intimidating. Just keep your cool and explain why Putnam is the right place for you and why you are interested in investment management. They love to see non-investing backgrounds as well so do highlight anything unique about yourself, especially unique accomplishments.
Sample Answer

Global Distribution Asscociate Interview - Sales

Anonymous interview candidate in Boston
Interviewed: October 2017
Date Submitted: Nov 14, 2017
Outcome
No Offer
Interview Source
College / University / On Campus Recruiting
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Phone Interview
1 on 1 Interview
Interview
They came on-campus for an info session. Got a first round, which was 2 30 min interviews on-campus. Then had a superday at the downtown office that consisted of giving a pitch and 5 interviews.
Interview Questions
Why Sales, Why Putnam, Tell me if you think you are good at Sales, tell me about Putnam's competitive advantage in the global distribution business. Most of the questions were behavioral as the pitch was supposed to be slightly more technical. Most of the questions were generally based off the resume as well.

Be ready to either seem like the "ideal fit" for Putnam or pretend really well that you are an ideal fit. They are looking to fill the program with people who may "seem" different, but are essentially the same people.
Sample Answer

Investor Service Representitive Interview - Financial Services

Anonymous employee in Andover
Interviewed: December 2015
Date Submitted: Mar 03, 2017
Outcome
Accepted Offer
Interview Source
Recruiter
Length of Process
Less than 1 month
Application
Group Interview
Interview
Spoke with a recruiter at a campus career fair, did not have a real interest in the position at first but gave them my resume anyways. A few months later in November, I received a call from one of the supervisors and asked if I would like to set up an interview. Before the interview they sit you down to do a skills assessment, which consisted of simple math and general knowledge. The interview was straight forward, two supervisors from different areas in the department (one was specialty services, the other was the normal client group) sat with me and asked normal questions; what my strengths/weaknesses were, why I wanted to work there, what I knew about the company/the position. Very straightforward. Later on in the day after the interview I received a call and was offered a position (I feel like this may be an unlikely outcome, and I lucked out with the amount of positions they had left open).
Interview Questions
Who is the CEO of Putnam Investments? I know this is a straightforward, expected answer, but at the time I was not the best interviewer and did not exactly know what I was going into. Again, you should obviously be way more prepared than I was, but this was an easy interview.
Another hard question (for me at least) was 'what is the hardest thing you have ever had to do?', this was a tough one for me because I came from a privileged background and the toughest thing I went through could be a non-issue for a lot of people.
Sample Answer