(MONEY Magazine) – --PUTNAM In November the Boston fund company, which is one of the largest managers of 401(k) assets in the U.S., settled market-timing charges with the SEC. Putnam agreed to adopt a rule that its employees must hold their investments in the company's funds for at least 90 days, and that managers have to hang on to any stake they may buy in their own fund for a year. Putnam faces monetary damages as well, but the amount has not been determined. New York State attorney general Eliot Spitzer blasted the deal, writing in the New York Times that "the first settlement in a complex investigation always sets the tone for what follows. In this case, the bar is set too low."

--PBHG Pilgrim Baxter & Associates, as well as co-founders Gary Pilgrim and Harold Baxter, were hit in late November with civil charges by the SEC and the State of New York. Pilgrim and Baxter have left the firm. Among other things, the suit claims that the firm allowed a hedge fund to trade in and out of PBHG Growth fund. Pilgrim, who managed PBHG Growth, owned a stake in the hedge fund.

--INVESCO The SEC and the State of New York brought civil charges in early December against Invesco Funds Group and its CEO, Raymond Cunningham, for allowing dozens of market timers to trade in their funds. Invesco's parent company disputed the charges.

--STRONG On Dec. 2, a month after stepping down as chairman of the board of the Strong mutual funds, Dick Strong resigned his post as CEO of Strong Financial. The company is also looking for potential buyers. Spitzer has accused Strong of personally making rapid-fire fund trades. --STEPHANIE D. SMITH