ACTIVE EQUITY

Consistently balanced to pursue growth and income with lower risk

GEORGE PUTNAM BALANCED FUND

Overall Morningstar Rating
out of 695 funds in the Moderate Allocation category based on total return as of 02/29/24.


A consistent balance of 60% stocks and 40% bonds over time

This classic balanced fund invests in stocks that represent Putnam's high-conviction research ideas and high-quality bonds to generate income and reduce volatility. The fund has pursued a classic balanced strategy since 1937 and continues to be managed by an experienced team.

A record of solid long-term rankings

5-star Morningstar Ratings™ as of

Time period Funds in category Morningstar Rating
Overall 695
3 yrs. 695
5 yrs. 655
10 yrs. 487
Morningstar category: Moderate Allocation

Lipper rankings as of 02/29/24

Time period Rank/Funds in category Percentile ranking
1 yr. 6/404 2%
3 yrs. 12/386 4%
5 yrs. 9/363 3%
10 yrs. 7/291 3%
Lipper category: BALANCED FUNDS

Experienced managers pursue a broad range of opportunities

“The fund's diversification and balanced approach are designed to moderate volatility for investors.”

—Kathryn B. Lakin, Director of Equity Research

In managing the stock portion of the portfolio, Kate Lakin works with a team of equity research analysts. The team pursues a risk-aware strategy and invests in stocks across all sectors that may have value or growth characteristics.

For the fund's fixed-income investments, Andrew Benson assembles a mix of government and investment-grade bonds. Historically, government bonds have shown relatively low correlation with stocks, which can help to dampen the impact of stock market downturns on fund performance.

Kathryn B. Lakin
Portfolio Manager
Director of Equity Research

Kathryn B. Lakin, Portfolio Manager, Director of Equity Research

Andrew Benson
Portfolio Manager

Andrew Benson, Portfolio Manager

Insights from our equity team

The power of diversified alpha

The power of diversified alpha

Our diversified alpha approach seeks to avoid performance extremes. We use a stock-driven, rather than style-driven, process that gives us the chance to outperform our benchmarks in all market environments.

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Why Gaza war has not yet caused an oil price spike

Why Gaza war has not yet caused an oil price spike

The calamity of war in Gaza since early October has so far had a more muted impact on oil prices than might have been expected. We analyze the market and share our outlook.

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High rates and lower bank lending may lift BDCs

High rates and lower bank lending may lift BDCs

Tighter bank credit conditions may drive new growth opportunities for some business development companies (BDCs).

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The Morningstar Rating™ for funds, or "star rating," is calculated for managed products (including mutual funds, variable annuity and variable life subaccounts, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, and separate accounts) with at least a 3-year history. Exchange-traded funds and open-ended mutual funds are considered a single population for comparative purposes. It is calculated based on a Morningstar Risk-Adjusted Return measure that accounts for variation in a managed product's monthly excess performance, placing more emphasis on downward variations and rewarding consistent performance. The top 10% of products in each product category receive 5 stars, the next 22.5% receive 4 stars, the next 35% receive 3 stars, the next 22.5% receive 2 stars, and the bottom 10% receive 1 star. The Overall Morningstar Rating for a managed product is derived from a weighted average of the performance figures associated with its 3-, 5-, and 10-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. The weights are: 100% 3-year rating for 36–59 months of total returns, 60% 5-year rating/40% 3-year rating for 60–119 months of total returns, and 50% 10-year rating/30% 5-year rating/20% 3-year rating for 120 or more months of total returns. While the 10-year overall star rating formula seems to give the most weight to the 10-year period, the most recent 3-year period actually has the greatest impact because it is included in all three rating periods. Ratings do not take into account the effects of sales charges and loads.