(Bloomberg) ? Marsh & McLennan Cos., the world?s largest insurance brokerage, decided to keep Putnam Investments and all its main businesses after reviewing options including a possible sale of the money manager.

Marsh completed a ?strategic review? of Putnam, along with its Mercer consulting unit, its Marsh insurance brokerage, its Guy Carpenter reinsurance brokerage, and Kroll, an investigative firm, the company said today in an e-mailed statement.

?The company has no plans to sell or spin off any of these businesses,? New York-based Marsh said in the statement. Analysts such as Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.?s Jay Gelb had said the review might result in a spin-off of Putnam fetching as much as $5 billion.

The company began an assessment of its businesses in March after spending $850 million to settle New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer?s allegations that it rigged insurance bids. Profit at Putnam, a Boston-based money manager, plunged 82 percent to $90 million in 2004 as clients pulled their money amid accusations of improper fund trading.

?Nobody is going to pay decent money for a troubled business,? Stanley Nabi, a vice chairman at Silvercrest Asset Management Group in New York, which oversees about $6 billion, including about 126,500 Marsh share, said before Marsh?s announcement. ?If I were them, I would fix it, then make a decision to sell it or spin it out to shareholders.?

Shares of Marsh fell two cents to $28.58 in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. The stock is down 38 percent since Spitzer sued the company on October 14, 2004.

Insurance broking is Marsh?s biggest business by revenue, followed by Putnam, then Mercer.

Keeping the units together may help Marsh report more consistent earnings as its brokerage recovers from the January settlement with Spitzer, said Williams Capital Group LP analyst Peter Streit, who rates Marsh shares a ?strong buy.? In addition to paying the settlement, Marsh agreed to give up commissions from insurers that brought in about $850 million in annual revenue.

Putnam clients withdrew about $114 billion over six quarters after the US Securities and Exchange Commission and state regulators in October 2003 accused the company of allowing rapid fund trades that diluted the value of client holdings. Putnam announced a settlement with the SEC in November 2003 and has agreed to pay $193 million to settle the allegations.

?Our hope was that MMC would spin-off Putnam,? Lehman?s Gelb said in a research report today. Gelb would have added as much as $5 to his $28 target price for Marsh shares. Marsh spokeswoman Barbara Perlmutter declined to comment beyond the statement.

The regulatory scrutiny extends to Marsh?s third business too. Mercer, which advises companies on employee benefits, is one of several pension fund consultants that have been asked by the SEC for information about compensation they might receive from money managers for promoting their funds.

Chief Executive Officer Michael Cherkasky sparked speculation of a sale or spinoff in a CNBC interview last month by saying he was ?going to take a hard strategic look about what?s in the best interest of shareholders?.