Always Aware. Always Active.
Sustainable Future Fund (Class Y) (PMVYX)
Investing in growing companies solving sustainability challenges
Companies making an impact
The portfolio managers seek companies that are creating solutions to some of our greatest sustainability challenges.
See examples of impact companies (PDF) 
Impact approach
See what differentiates our approach (PDF)
Highlights
Objective
The fund seeks long-term capital appreciation.
Strategy and process
- Impact companies: The fund invests in growth companies that directly demonstrate positive impact in social, environmental, or economic development.
- Active strategy: The managers utilize bottom-up research to identify companies with attractive sustainability, fundamental, and valuation characteristics.
- Veteran team: A dedicated sustainable investing team is backed by Putnam's equity research and quantitative/risk analysis groups.
Fund price |
Yesterday’s close | 52-week high | 52-week low |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net asset value |
$17.05
0.35% | $0.06 |
$22.17
09/14/18 |
$13.49
12/24/18 |
Consistency of positive performance over five years
Performance shown does not reflect the effects of any sales charges. Click on the dots to see specific returns in each five-year period as of the date revealed. Note that returns of 0.00% are counted as positive periods. For complete fund performance, please click on the performance tab.
26.06%
Best 5-year annualized return
(for period ending 03/31/14)
-5.20%
Worst 5-year annualized return
(for period ending 03/31/09)
9.54%
Average 5-year annualized return
Fund facts as of 03/31/19
$386.26M
14%
Annually
54
April
746802198 / 1856
04/02/02
Growth
PMVYX
Management team
Manager commentary | Q4 2018
Sustainable criteria helps uncover resilient stocks
Katherine Collins, Head of Sustainable Investing, explains how analysis can lead to higher-quality stocks.
Literature
Fund documents |
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| Fact Sheet (Y share) (PDF) |
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| Fact Sheet (VT) (PDF) |
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| Summary Prospectus (PDF) |
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| Statutory Prospectus (PDF) |
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| Statement of Additional Information (SAI) (PDF) | |
| Annual Report (PDF) |
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| Semiannual Report (PDF) |
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| Quarterly Commentary (PDF) | |
| Proxy voting results (Form N-PX) (PDF) | |
| Equity Outlook (PDF) |
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| Comparing Putnam's U.S. equity funds (PDF) |
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| Q&A document (PDF) | |
ESG investing: Identifying leaders in data management
Data security and privacy practices can significantly affect business models, and leading companies may offer strategic and financial advantages.ESG Outlook for 2019
We see increasing evidence that systems thinking is becoming more prevalent and influential throughout corporations and the investment community.How company diversity can help performance
The potential to improve work performance is perhaps the most intriguing and least understood argument for diversity — and worth examining in more depth.Performance
Total return (%) as of 03/31/19
Annual performance as of 03/31/19
Annualized Total return (%) as of 03/31/19
| Annualized performance | 1 yr. | 3 yrs. | 5 yrs. | 10 yrs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before sales charge | 11.70% | 10.38% | 7.31% | 16.31% |
| After sales charge | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A |
| Russell Midcap Growth Index | 11.51% | 15.06% | 10.89% | 17.60% |
| Russell 3000V-Russell MidcapG Linked Benchmark | 11.51% | 12.22% | 8.56% | 15.03% |
Current performance may be lower or higher than the quoted past performance, which cannot guarantee future results. Share price, principal value, and return will vary, and you may have a gain or loss when you sell your shares. Performance assumes reinvestment of distributions and does not account for taxes. Returns before sales charge do not reflect the current maximum sales charges as indicated below. Had the sales charge been reflected, returns would be lower. Returns at public offering price (after sales charge) for class A and class M shares reflect the current maximum initial sales charges of 5.75% and 3.50% for equity funds and Putnam Multi-Asset Absolute Return Fund, 4.00% and 3.25% for income funds and 2.25% and 0.75% for Putnam Floating Rate Income Fund, Short-Term Municipal Income, Short Duration Bond Fund, and Fixed Income Absolute Return Fund, respectively. Class B share returns reflect the applicable contingent deferred sales charge (CDSC), which is 5% in the first year, declining to 1% in the sixth year, and is eliminated thereafter (except for Putnam Floating Rate Income Fund, which is 3% in the first year, declining to 1% in the fourth year, and is eliminated thereafter). Class C shares reflect a 1% CDSC the first year that is eliminated thereafter. Performance for class B, C, M, N, R, and Y shares prior to their inception is derived from the historical performance of class A shares, adjusted for the applicable sales charge (or CDSC) and, except for class Y shares, the higher operating expenses for such shares (with the exception of Putnam Tax-Free High Yield Fund and Putnam AMT-Free Municipal Fund, which are based on the historical performance of class B shares). Returns at public offering price (after sales charge) for class N shares reflect the current maximum initial sales charge of 1.50%. Class R5/R6 shares, available to qualified employee-benefit plans only, are sold without an initial sales charge and have no CDSC. Class Y shares are generally only available for corporate and institutional clients and have no initial sales charge. Performance for Class R5/R6 shares before their inception are derived from the historical performance of class Y shares, which have not been adjusted for the lower expenses; had they, returns would have been higher. Class A and M shares of Putnam money market funds have no initial sales charge. For a portion of the periods, some funds had expense limitations or had been sold on a limited basis with limited assets and expenses, without which returns would be lower.
Performance snapshot
| Before sales charge | After sales charge | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 mt. as of 03/31/19 | 1.38% | - | |
| YTD as of 04/18/19 | 18.24% | - | |
Risk-adjusted performance as of 03/31/19
| Alpha (3 yrs.) | -0.67 |
|---|---|
| Sharpe ratio (3 yrs.) | 0.76 |
| Treynor ratio (3 yrs.) | 10.34 |
| Information ratio (3 yrs.) | -0.55 |
Volatility as of 03/31/19
| Standard deviation (3 yrs.) | 12.18% |
|---|---|
| Beta | 0.89 |
| R-squared | 0.94 |
Capture ratio as of 03/31/19
| Up-market (3 yrs.) | 88.19 |
|---|---|
| Down-market (3 yrs.) | 91.27 |
Lipper rankings as of 03/31/19
| Time period | Rank/Funds in category | Percentile ranking |
|---|---|---|
| 1 yr. | 196/530 | 37% |
| 3 yrs. | 433/478 | 91% |
| 5 yrs. | 363/416 | 88% |
| 10 yrs. | 128/306 | 42% |
Morningstar Ratings™ as of 03/31/19
| Time period | Funds in category | Morningstar Rating™ |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | 368 | |
| 3 yrs. | 368 | |
| 5 yrs. | 318 | |
| 10 yrs. | 225 |
Distributions
| Record/Ex dividend date | 12/06/18 |
|---|---|
| Payable date | 12/10/18 |
| Income | $0.265 |
| Extra income | -- |
| Short-term cap. gain | $0.086 |
| Long-term cap. gain | $4.166 |
Lipper rankings are based on total return without sales charge relative to all share classes of funds with similar objectives as determined by Lipper. Past performance is not indicative of future results.
The Morningstar RatingTM 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 three-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 three-, five-, and 10-year (if applicable) Morningstar Rating metrics. The weights are: 100% three-year rating for 36-59 months of total returns, 60% five-year rating/40% three-year rating for 60-119 months of total returns, and 50% 10-year rating/30% five-year rating/20% three-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 three-year period actually has the greatest impact because it is included in all three rating periods.
The up-market capture ratio is used to evaluate how well an investment manager performed relative to an index during periods when that index has risen. The ratio is calculated by dividing the manager’s returns by the returns of the index during the up-market, and multiplying that factor by 100. The down-market capture ratio is used to evaluate how well an investment manager performed relative to an index during periods when that index has dropped. The ratio is calculated by dividing the manager’s returns by the returns of the index during the down-market and multiplying that factor by 100.
Compare
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** FundVisualizer comparison based on Putnam fund versus the largest fund in its Morningstar category.
Holdings
Top 10 holdings as of 03/31/19
| Salesforce.Com | 4.70% |
|---|---|
| Danaher Corp | 4.32% |
| Unilever | 3.82% |
| Mccormick Md | 3.66% |
| Everbridge | 3.57% |
| Adobe | 3.55% |
| Alphabet | 3.20% |
| Novozymes A/S - B Shares | 3.18% |
| BD Medical | 3.07% |
| Fortive Corp | 3.01% |
| Top 10 holdings, percent of portfolio | 36.08% |
Portfolio composition as of 03/31/19
| Common stock | 96.40% |
|---|---|
| Cash and net other assets | 3.60% |
Equity statistics as of 03/31/19
| Median market cap | $13.67B |
|---|---|
| Weighted average market cap | $73.24B |
| Price to book | 4.37 |
| Price to earnings | 26.22 |
Fund characteristics will vary over time.
Due to rounding, percentages may not equal 100%.
Consider these risks before investing: Stock values may fall or fail to rise over time for several reasons, including general financial market conditions, changing market perceptions, changes in government intervention in the financial markets, and factors related to a specific issuer, industry, or sector. These and other factors may lead to increased volatility and reduced liquidity in the fund's portfolio holdings. Growth stocks may be more susceptible to earnings disappointments, technological obsolescence, falling prices and profits, and the market may not favor growth-style investing. Investments in small and midsize companies increase the risk of greater price fluctuations. International investing involves currency, economic, and political risks. Emerging-market securities have illiquidity and volatility risks. The fund's sustainable and environmental, social, and/or corporate governance (ESG) investment strategy may cause the fund to forego otherwise attractive investment opportunities or may increase or decrease the fund's exposure to certain types of companies and, therefore, to underperform funds that do not invest with a similar focus. From time to time, the fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in companies in one or more related industries or sectors, which would make the fund more vulnerable to adverse developments affecting those industries or sectors. In evaluating an investment opportunity, we may make investment decisions based on information and data that is incomplete or inaccurate. Due to changes in the products or services of the companies in which the fund invests, the fund may temporarily hold securities that are inconsistent with its sustainable investment criteria. You can lose money by investing in the fund.
Top industry sectors as of 03/31/19
| Information technology | 27.01% |
|---|---|
| Health care | 20.98% |
| Financials | 12.16% |
| Consumer discretionary | 8.51% |
| Consumer staples | 7.48% |
| Materials | 7.29% |
| Industrials | 6.60% |
| Communication services | 4.60% |
| Cash and net other assets | 3.60% |
| Other | 1.77% |
0
The unclassified sector (where applicable) includes exchange traded funds and other securities not able to be classified by sector.
Sectors will vary over time.
Expenses
Expense ratio |
Class A | Class B | Class C | Class M | Class R | Class R6 | Class Y |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total expense ratio | 1.07% | 1.82% | 1.82% | 1.57% | 1.32% | 0.67% | 0.82% |
| What you pay | 1.07% | 1.82% | 1.82% | 1.57% | 1.32% | 0.67% | 0.82% |
Sales charge
| Breakpoint | Class A | Class B | Class C | Class M | Class R | Class R6 | Class Y |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $0-$49,999 | 5.75% / 5.00% | 0.00% / 4.00% | 0.00% / 1.00% | 3.50% / 3.00% | -- | -- | -- |
| $50,000-$99,999 | 4.50% / 3.75% | 0.00% / 4.00% | 0.00% / 1.00% | 2.50% / 2.00% | -- | -- | -- |
| $100,000-$249,999 | 3.50% / 2.75% | -- | 0.00% / 1.00% | 1.50% / 1.00% | -- | -- | -- |
| $250,000-$499,999 | 2.50% / 2.00% | -- | 0.00% / 1.00% | 1.00% / 1.00% | -- | -- | -- |
| $500,000-$999,999 | 2.00% / 1.75% | -- | 0.00% / 1.00% | 1.00% / 1.00% | -- | -- | -- |
| $1M-$4M | 0.00% / 1.00% | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| $4M-$50M | 0.00% / 0.50% | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| $50M+ | 0.00% / 0.25% | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
CDSC
| Class A (sales for $1,000,000+) | Class B | Class C | Class M | Class R | Class R6 | Class Y | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0 to 9 mts. | 1.00% | 5.00% | 1.00% | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 9 to 12 mts. | 1.00% | 5.00% | 1.00% | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 2 yrs. | 0.00% | 4.00% | 0.00% | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 3 yrs. | 0.00% | 3.00% | 0.00% | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 4 yrs. | 0.00% | 3.00% | 0.00% | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 5 yrs. | 0.00% | 2.00% | 0.00% | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 6 yrs. | 0.00% | 1.00% | 0.00% | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| 7+ yrs. | 0.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | -- | -- | -- | -- |
Trail commissions
| Class A | Class B | Class C | Class M | Class R | Class R6 | Class Y | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 0.25% | 0.25% | 1.00% | 0.65% | 0.50% | 0.00% | 0.00% | |
| NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | |
| NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
For sales and trail commission information on purchases over $1 million and participant-directed qualified retirement plans, see a Putnam fund prospectus and the statement of additional information.
The Russell Midcap Growth Index is an unmanaged index of those companies in the Russell Midcap Index chosen for their growth orientation. The Russell 3000 Value Index is an unmanaged index of those companies in the broad-market Russell 3000 Index chosen for their value orientation. The Russell 3000 Value - Russell Midcap Growth Linked Benchmark represents performance of the Russell 3000 Value Index through March 20, 2018 and performance of the Russell Midcap Growth Index thereafter. You cannot invest directly in an index. As of March 21, 2018, the Russell Midcap Growth Index replaced the Russell 3000 Value Index as the benchmark for this fund because, in Putnam Investment Management, LLC’s opinion, the securities tracked by this index more accurately reflect the types of securities that generally will be held by the fund.
Consider these risks before investing: Stock values may fall or fail to rise over time for several reasons, including general financial market conditions, changing market perceptions, changes in government intervention in the financial markets, and factors related to a specific issuer, industry, or sector. These and other factors may lead to increased volatility and reduced liquidity in the fund's portfolio holdings. Growth stocks may be more susceptible to earnings disappointments, technological obsolescence, falling prices and profits, and the market may not favor growth-style investing. Investments in small and midsize companies increase the risk of greater price fluctuations. International investing involves currency, economic, and political risks. Emerging-market securities have illiquidity and volatility risks. The fund's sustainable and environmental, social, and/or corporate governance (ESG) investment strategy may cause the fund to forego otherwise attractive investment opportunities or may increase or decrease the fund's exposure to certain types of companies and, therefore, to underperform funds that do not invest with a similar focus. From time to time, the fund may invest a significant portion of its assets in companies in one or more related industries or sectors, which would make the fund more vulnerable to adverse developments affecting those industries or sectors. In evaluating an investment opportunity, we may make investment decisions based on information and data that is incomplete or inaccurate. Due to changes in the products or services of the companies in which the fund invests, the fund may temporarily hold securities that are inconsistent with its sustainable investment criteria. You can lose money by investing in the fund.