Pursue tax-exempt income with an active, research-driven approach

Tax-exempt investing strategies

Municipal bonds offer an attractive source of yield free from federal income tax, as well as a low historical default rate compared with corporate bonds.

With a well-established muni capability, Putnam offers 12 open-end tax-exempt funds. Our muni portfolio managers have 25 years of investment experience on average and are part of a broader fixed income organization of more than 80 investment professionals. They work together to provide comprehensive coverage of the risk and opportunities in municipal bond markets.

Putnam Strategic Intermediate Municipal Fund: Tax-exempt income from a leading fund

Putnam municipal bond funds offer tax-free income as your money helps to fund education, health care, housing, and more. Explore the solid performance of Putnam Strategic Intermediate Municipal Fund (PAMYX) compared with other national municipal bond funds.

Credit quality, duration are drivers of muni performance

Portfolio Manager Garrett Hamilton, CFA, explains how PAMYX focuses on the intermediate space and has the flexibility to invest across the muni landscape.

Consistent results through flexibility to adjust to changing market opportunities.

5-star Morningstar Rating™

out of 255 funds in the Muni National Interm category based on total return as of 9/30/23.

Has outperformed its Morningstar peer average 100% of the time in one-year returns each month over the past 3 years as of 9/30/23.

83%

Sharpe ratio was higher than its peer group average in 83% of rolling 1-year periods over the last 3 years as of 9/30/23.

Putnam Strategic Intermediate Municipal Fund (PAMYX)

Try this tool to compare income from muni bonds with CDs.

Conservative investors are often drawn to certificates of deposit (CDs) because of their stability. But investing too conservatively can expose your clients' assets to the steady erosion of inflation and taxes. See if an investment in tax-free municipal bonds makes sense for your clients.

Answer a few questions:

My tax status is

I live in

CD rate

Muni rate

My annual income is approximately

I want to make an investment of

I want annual after-tax income of

After-tax income generated

Initial investment required

Redeploying assets into a combination of one or more municipal bond funds may generate an equivalent amount of income that is not subject to income taxes.

Answer the questions to find out. For you, filing singly in Massachusetts, an investment in munis would generate an extra $593/year. For you, filing singly in Massachusetts, an investment in munis would give you $84000 left over to invest elsewhere.

CDs

Munis

If municipal bonds makes sense for you, we can help you choose.

Evaluate yields on a tax-equivalent basis, taking into account your tax liability on the interest earned from each.

Tax-Equivalent Yield Calculator

Sources: Yields are from Bloomberg as of 9/29/23. The rate of the composite of U.S. Certificate of Deposit offerings was 5.83%; the Bloomberg Municipal Bond Index yield-to-worst was 4.32%.