second-quarter earnings rose 33 percent, fueled by gains at its Putnam Investments fund-management unit.

New York-based Marsh & McLennan said net income for the quarter ended June 30 rose to $193.4 million, or 72 cents a diluted share, from $145.0 million, or 56 cents, in the year-earlier period. That beat the average estimate of 70 cents from a survey of analysts by First Call Corp. Revenue at Putnam rose 32 percent to $587 million, as assets under management grew 34 percent to $278 billion from a year earlier.

"The marketing machine continues at Putnam,'' said Jay A. Cohen, an analyst at Merrill Lynch & Co. "They continue to attract new money in very impressive fashion.'' Insurance brokerage revenue rose 5.0 percent to $784 million. Revenue at its Mercer Consulting division climbed 9.2 percent to $379 million.

For the first six months of the year, net income rose 37 percent to $424 million, or $1.59 a diluted share, from $309 million, or $1.29, in the year-earlier period. -- Bloomberg