Separately Managed Accounts

Putnam strategies seek to outperform indexes with a disciplined investment process.

Each SMA provides exposure to Putnam's deep research expertise. Our teams seek securities with idiosyncratic risks that can outperform their benchmarks. The portfolio managers have autonomy to pursue ideas with great potential value as alpha drivers. Active risk management helps to mitigate unintended bets.

Characteristics of Putnam managed account strategies

A focus on selecting securities with idiosyncratic risks
Pursuit of alpha to achieve meaningful separation from benchmark indexes
Portfolio construction designed around client outcomes

Putnam managed account strategies fall into four categories

No assurance can be given that the investment objective will be achieved or that an investor will receive a return of all or part of his or her initial investment. Actual results could be materially different from the stated goals. Investors should carefully consider the risks involved before deciding to invest. As with any investment, there is a potential for profit as well as the possibility of loss.

Our checklist can help you decide if an SMA is right for you

Larger investment amounts
Values-based investing
Special tax situations

SMAs are emerging as the vehicle of choice for more and more investors. The below checklist can help to determine if an SMA may be appropriate, based on client financial situations, investment objectives, risk tolerance, and other factors.

Does the client have at least $100,000 to invest?
An SMA might be the right choice.
A mutual fund, ETF, or model portfolio might be a better choice.
Does the client have a special investment risk, such as a large amount of company stock?
An SMA would allow many ways to help diversify investment risks through customized portfolio positioning.
A mutual fund or an ETF could be used to help diversify investment risk, but allows no personalized control.
Does the client have special tax considerations?
An SMA allows the financial representative to make buying and selling decisions based on a client’s tax situation.
A mutual fund is less desirable, as it distributes capital gains to all shareholders equally based on portfolio manager’s decisions.
Does the client want to own securities that better reflect their values?
SMAs are available with ESG or sustainable strategies. Also, an SMA allows the financial representative to make buying and selling decisions that are better aligned with the client’s values.
An ESG, a sustainable mutual fund, or an ETF can also be aligned with an investor’s values, but they do not allow the investor to screen out specific securities.

An exchange-traded fund, or ETF, is a security that tracks an index, a commodity, or a basket of assets like an index fund but trades like a stock on an exchange. ETFs experience price changes throughout the day as they are bought and sold. Separately managed accounts are not suitable for everyone. Other types of investments may provide the same or similar benefits as separately managed accounts, possibly at a lower cost.

Learn more about our separately managed accounts

To learn more about our offerings, please call our Client Engagement Center (CEC) at 1-800-354-4000. We can explain the experience of the portfolio managers and the discipline of each investment process. We can also provide you with portfolio characteristics and performance information.

Retail managed account programs: Putnam Investment Management, LLC (“Putnam”) offers non-discretionary investment advisory services through managed account programs and platforms sponsored by non-affiliated financial intermediaries (“Unaffiliated Financial Intermediaries”) pursuant to “model delivery” managed account arrangements. In such arrangements, Putnam generally provides ongoing investment recommendations through one or more "model" portfolios, and the Unaffiliated Financial Intermediary, rather than Putnam, makes investment decisions and executes trades on behalf of its underlying clients. The Unaffiliated Financial Intermediary decides in its discretion whether to make any changes to the model that Putnam recommends and is also solely responsible for determining the suitability of the strategy and investments for each client that participates. Putnam also offers discretionary investment advisory services through managed account programs and platforms sponsored by non-affiliated financial intermediaries pursuant to “single contract” and “dual contract” managed account arrangements. In such arrangements, an Unaffiliated Financial Intermediary and its client enter into an agreement with regard to the Unaffiliated Financial Intermediary's overall management of the client's assets pursuant to which the Unaffiliated Financial Intermediary identifies managers that it believes are suitable for each client. Either the Unaffiliated Financial Intermediary or the client then selects the applicable managers to manage portions of the client's portfolio. In a “single contract” arrangement, if Putnam is selected, Putnam enters into an agreement with the Unaffiliated Financial Intermediary pursuant to which Putnam will provide investment advice with respect to a portion of the portfolios of certain clients of the Unaffiliated Financial Intermediary. However, Putnam does not enter into a separate agreement with each applicable client. In a “dual contract” arrangement, on the other hand, if Putnam is selected, Putnam enters into an agreement with the Unaffiliated Financial Intermediary's client. As a result, a client in a single contract arrangement enters into a single contract with the Unaffiliated Financial Intermediary, whereas a client in a dual contract arrangement enters into two separate contracts — one with the Unaffiliated Financial Intermediary and another with Putnam. There is no guarantee that any investment strategy illustrated will be successful or achieve any particular level of results. Information and other marketing materials created by Putnam concerning a model delivery, single contract or dual contract strategy — including holdings, performance and other characteristics — may not be indicative of a client's actual experience from an account managed in accordance with the strategy. This material has been created by Putnam and the information included herein has not been verified by an Unaffiliated Financial Intermediary and may materially differ from information provided by an Unaffiliated Financial Intermediary Putnam is not responsible for overseeing the provision of services by a Unaffiliated Financial Intermediary and cannot assure the quality of its services.