Prior to April 30, 2018, the fund was known as Putnam Absolute Return 700 Fund.

Multi-Asset Absolute Return Fund (Class A)  (PDMAX)

Seeks positive returns with a similar level of volatility

Multi-Asset Absolute Return Fund received an  Overall Morningstar Rating™  of  
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Multi-Asset Absolute Return Fund (PDMAX)

Highlights

Objective

The fund seeks positive total return.

Strategy and process

  • Targeting positive returns:The fund seeks positive returns with a similar level of volatility over a full market cycle.
  • Global flexibility:The strategy dynamically combines efficient beta and uncorrelated alpha strategies to create a well-diversified portfolio.
  • Diversification potential:Less influenced by traditional market risks, the fund can be an effective choice to improve portfolio efficiency.

Fund price

 Yesterday’s close 52-week high 52-week low
Net asset value $11.28
-0.09% | $-0.01 		$11.79
09/04/19 		$10.53
12/24/18
Historical fund price

Consistency of positive performance over five years

Performance represents 5-year returns in rolling quarter-end periods since inception.

Performance shown does not reflect the effects of any sales charges. Note that returns of 0.00% are counted as positive periods. For complete fund performance, please click on the performance tab.

6.55%

Best 5-year annualized return

(for period ending 03/31/14)

1.29%

Worst 5-year annualized return

(for period ending 12/31/18)

3.88%

Average 5-year annualized return

Fund facts as of 10/31/19

Total net assets
$1,133.09M
Turnover (fiscal year end)
479%
Dividend frequency
Annually
Number of holdings
775
Fiscal year-end
October
CUSIP / Fund code
746764315 / 0061
Inception date
12/23/08
Category
Absolute Return
Open to new investors
Ticker
PDMAX

Management team

Robert J. Schoen

Chief Investment Officer, Global Asset Allocation

James A. Fetch

Co-Head of Global Asset Allocation

Jason R. Vaillancourt, CFA

Co-Head of Global Asset Allocation

Brett S. Goldstein, CFA

Portfolio Manager

Manager commentary | Q3 2019

Alternative strategies to manage risk

Jason Vaillancourt, Co-Head of Global Asset Allocation, explains the roles of non-directional and directional strategies.

Literature

Actively targeting inflation risk for retirement savers
We explain why a dynamic approach to hedging inflation risk in a target-date fund may be a better way to protect a retirement nest egg.
Market volatility returns to "old" normal
Our outlook for stock market volatility sees the levels reached in 2018 continuing, in part because these levels were close to the long-term norm.
Calibrate equity allocations with higher savings rates
Evidence of higher savings rates by plan participants make it reasonable to consider lower equity allocations across the glide path of target-date funds.

Performance

  • Total return (%) as of 09/30/19

  • Annual performance as of 09/30/19

Annualized Total return (%) as of 09/30/19

Annualized performance 1 yr. 3 yrs. 5 yrs. 10 yrs.
Before sales charge 2.99% 3.20% 2.43% 3.64%
After sales charge -2.94% 1.18% 1.22% 3.03%
ICE BofAML U.S. Treasury Bill Index 2.46%1.54%1.00%0.56%

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 10/31/19 -2.22% -7.84%
YTD as of 11/15/19 5.42% -0.64%

Volatility as of 10/31/19

Standard deviation (3 yrs.) 4.81%

Morningstar Ratings™ as of 10/31/19

Time period Funds in category Morningstar Rating™
Overall 236
3 yrs. 236
5 yrs. 180
10 yrs. 60
Morningstar category: Multialternative

Distributions

Record/Ex dividend date 12/18/18
Payable date 12/20/18
Income $0.373
Extra income --
Short-term cap. gain --
Long-term cap. gain --

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.

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Holdings

Fnma Fn30 Tba Umbs 03.5000 11/01/2049 7.16%
Fnma Fn30 Tba Umbs 04.0000 11/01/2049 4.49%
Fnma Fn30 Tba Umbs 03.0000 12/01/2049 4.39%
Citi Commod F3-F0 4x Levered Index 3x Note 12/16/2019 1.67%
Utilities Select Sector Spdr Sedol 2371812 1.67%
Samsung Electronics 1.64%
Consumer Discretionary Selt Sedol 2424341 1.61%
Consumer Staples Spdr Sedol 2369389 1.60%
Real Estate Select Sect Spdr Sedol Byz65y9 1.59%
Health Care Select Sector Sedol 2371823 1.58%
Top 10 holdings, percent of portfolio 27.40%

Portfolio composition as of 10/31/19

U.S. Treasury/agency 56.23%
U.S. stocks 20.61%
Agency pass-through 18.52%
Commercial MBS 12.56%
Commodities 12.16%
Agency CMO 6.44%
Bank loans 2.51%
International stocks 2.28%
Emerging-market bonds 1.61%
Residential MBS (non-agency) 1.19%
Asset-backed securities (ABS) 0.53%
Investment-grade corporate bonds 0.26%
Emerging-market stocks -0.12%
High-yield corporate bonds -6.85%
Net cash -27.93%

Fixed income statistics as of 10/31/19

Average effective maturity 10.69 yrs.
Average effective duration 3.94 yrs.
Average yield to maturity 3.17%
Average coupon 2.86%

Maturity detail as of 10/31/19

0 - 1 yr. 47.63%
1 - 5 yrs. 51.73%
5 - 10 yrs. -0.45%
10 - 15 yrs. 0.61%
Over 15 yrs. 0.48%

Fund characteristics will vary over time.

Due to rounding, percentages may not equal 100%.

Consider these risks before investing: Allocation of assets among asset classes may hurt performance. The value of investments in the fund’s portfolio may fall or fail to rise over extended periods of time for a variety of reasons, including general economic, political or financial market conditions, investor sentiment and market perceptions, government actions, geopolitical events or changes, and factors related to a specific issuer, asset class, geography, 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, and value stocks may fail to rebound. Bond investments are subject to interest-rate risk (the risk of bond prices falling if interest rates rise) and credit risk (the risk of an issuer defaulting on interest or principal payments). Interest-rate risk is generally greater for longer-term bonds, and credit risk is generally greater for below-investment-grade bonds. Unlike bonds, funds that invest in bonds have fees and expenses. Lower-rated bonds may offer higher yields in return for more risk. Funds that invest in government securities are not guaranteed. Mortgage-backed securities are subject to prepayment risk, which means that they may increase in value less than other bonds when interest rates decline and decline in value more than other bonds when interest rates rise. The fund may have to invest the proceeds from prepaid investments, including mortgage- and asset-backed investments, in other investments with less attractive terms and yields. International investing involves currency, economic, and political risks. Emerging-market securities have illiquidity and volatility risks. Our alpha strategy may lose money or not earn a return sufficient to cover associated trading and other costs. Our use of leverage obtained through derivatives increases these risks by increasing investment exposure. Risks associated with derivatives include increased investment exposure (which may be considered leverage) and, in the case of over-the-counter instruments, the potential inability to terminate or sell derivatives positions and the potential failure of the other party to the instrument to meet its obligations. The fund's efforts to produce lower-volatility returns may not be successful. The fund may not achieve its goal, and it is not intended to be a complete investment program. You can lose money by investing in the fund. The fund’s prospectus lists additional risks.

Expenses

Expense ratio

 Class A Class B Class C Class M Class R Class R6 Class Y
Total expense ratio 1.04% 1.79% 1.79% 1.54% 1.29% 0.69% 0.79%
What you pay† 1.01% 1.76% 1.76% 1.51% 1.26% 0.66% 0.76%

† The fund's expense ratio is taken from the most recent prospectus and is subject to change. What you pay reflects Putnam Management's decision to contractually limit expenses through 02/28/20

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 0.00% / 1.00% -- -- -- -- -- --
$1M-$4M 0.00% / 1.00% -- -- -- -- -- --
$4M-$50M 0.00% / 0.50% -- -- -- -- -- --
$50M+ 0.00% / 0.25% -- -- -- -- -- --

CDSC

  Class A (sales for $500,000+) 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 $500,000 and participant-directed qualified retirement plans, see a Putnam fund prospectus and the statement of additional information.

The ICE BofAML U.S. Treasury Bill Index is an unmanaged index that tracks the performance of U.S. dollar denominated U.S. Treasury Bills publicly issued in the U.S. domestic market. Qualifying securities must have a remaining term of at least one month to final maturity and a minimum amount outstanding of $1 billion. You cannot invest directly in an index.

Each fund seeks to earn a positive total return that exceeds the rate of inflation by a targeted amount over a reasonable period of time regardless of market conditions. There can be no assurance that a fund will meet its objective. The fund is not intended to outperform stocks and bonds during strong market rallies. Consult your financial advisor to determine which fund fits into your investment goals and time horizon.

Consider these risks before investing: Allocation of assets among asset classes may hurt performance. The value of investments in the fund’s portfolio may fall or fail to rise over extended periods of time for a variety of reasons, including general economic, political or financial market conditions, investor sentiment and market perceptions, government actions, geopolitical events or changes, and factors related to a specific issuer, asset class, geography, 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, and value stocks may fail to rebound. Bond investments are subject to interest-rate risk (the risk of bond prices falling if interest rates rise) and credit risk (the risk of an issuer defaulting on interest or principal payments). Interest-rate risk is generally greater for longer-term bonds, and credit risk is generally greater for below-investment-grade bonds. Unlike bonds, funds that invest in bonds have fees and expenses. Lower-rated bonds may offer higher yields in return for more risk. Funds that invest in government securities are not guaranteed. Mortgage-backed securities are subject to prepayment risk, which means that they may increase in value less than other bonds when interest rates decline and decline in value more than other bonds when interest rates rise. The fund may have to invest the proceeds from prepaid investments, including mortgage- and asset-backed investments, in other investments with less attractive terms and yields. International investing involves currency, economic, and political risks. Emerging-market securities have illiquidity and volatility risks. Our alpha strategy may lose money or not earn a return sufficient to cover associated trading and other costs. Our use of leverage obtained through derivatives increases these risks by increasing investment exposure. Risks associated with derivatives include increased investment exposure (which may be considered leverage) and, in the case of over-the-counter instruments, the potential inability to terminate or sell derivatives positions and the potential failure of the other party to the instrument to meet its obligations. The fund's efforts to produce lower-volatility returns may not be successful. The fund may not achieve its goal, and it is not intended to be a complete investment program. You can lose money by investing in the fund. The fund’s prospectus lists additional risks.