NEW YORK (AP) — Marsh & McLennan Companies Inc., the nation's largest brokerage, has not yet decided whether to sell or spin off — or keep — its troubled Putnam Investments unit, senior executives said yesterday.Marsh & McLennan's chief executive, Michael G. Cherkasky, told an investor's day conference that the company was still grappling with what to do with its mutual funds and investment management division.

Cherkasky said that Putnam attracted "a high number of interested parties" and that a variety of options were under discussion.

"That is ongoing now, and we haven't reached a conclusion except to say that it's a market check," Cherkasky said.

He said he expected a decision by the end of 2006 but acknowledged the timetable could slip into 2007.

Putnam is one of New York-headquartered Marsh & McLennan's four major divisions. The others are Marsh risk and insurance services, Kroll risk consulting and technology, and Mercer Human Resource Consulting.

Putnam Investments paid more than $190 million to settle federal and state investigations launched in 2003 into mutual fund trading abuses. Investors upset with the market-timing scandal pulled their assets out of Putnam accounts, reducing the Boston-based mutual fund company's holdings from $251 billion at the end of 2002 to $182 billion at the end of September. After months of declines, the company announced its first positive investment inflows in October, boosting assets under management to $187 billion.

Asked by an analyst why Marsh & McLennan was hesitating over selling or spinning off Putnam, Cherkasky said: "It's an incredibly valuable asset to us." He added that it would be sold "only, in fact, if it's the right deal".

Marsh & McLennan has been under pressure to spin off at least one of its businesses since 2005, when it agreed to pay $850 million to settle allegations of bid rigging and price fixing in the sale of property and casualty insurance to businesses. Part of the settlement was an agreement by Marsh & McLennan to stop accepting special commissions, which has reduced its operating revenue.

In yesterday's conference, Marsh & McLennan indicated that more than half of its revenue came from risk and insurance services, with Mercer contributing 35 percent and Putnam, 12 percent.