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. To obtain the most recent month-end performance, visit putnam.com. 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 Absolute Return 500 Fund and 700 Fund, and 4.00% and 3.25% for income funds (1.00% and 0.75% for Putnam Floating Rate Income Fund, Putnam Absolute Return 100 Fund and 300 Fund, and Putnam Short-Term Municipal Income 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, Putnam Absolute Return 100 Fund and 300 Fund, and Putnam Short-Term Municipal Income Fund, which is 1% in the first year, declining to 0.5% in the second 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, R, T1, 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). 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, M, and T1 shares of Putnam money market funds have no initial sales charge. For a portion of the period, some funds had expenses limitations or had been sold on a limited basis with limited assets and expenses, without which returns would be lower.
Absolute Return 700 Fund (Class A) (PDMAX)
Seeking positive results balanced with lower volatility over time
Multialternative (funds in category)
(278)
(278)
(150)
Highlights
Objective
The fund seeks to earn a positive total return that exceeds the return on U.S. Treasury bills by 700 basis points (or 7.00%) on an annualized basis over a reasonable period of time (generally at least three years or more) regardless of market conditions.
Strategy and process
- A wide range of securities for diversification: The fund can invest across multiple asset classes and can adjust dynamically as opportunities change.
- Ultimate flexibility to be independent of indexes: Freed from the constraints of traditional benchmarks that may carry unwanted risks, the portfolio managers can invest across diverse securities, asset classes, and strategies.
- Modern investment tools seeking reduced risk: With the ability to hedge and use market neutral strategies, the fund can provide a new type of diversification to traditional portfolios.
Fund price |
Yesterday’s close | 52-week high | 52-week low |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net asset value |
$11.92
-0.17% | $-0.02 |
$12.59
12/11/17 |
$11.62
03/23/18 |
Fund facts as of 03/31/18
$1,022.63M
559%
Annually
786
October
746764315 / 0061
12/23/08
Absolute Return
PDMAX
Management team
Literature
Fund documents |
||
| Prospectuses/SAI | ||
| Fact Sheet (A share) (PDF) | ||
| Fact Sheet (Y share) (PDF) | ||
| Annual Fund Report (PDF) | ||
| Semiannual Fund Report (PDF) | ||
| Quarterly commentary (PDF) | ||
| Quarterly comparison of Putnam's alternative funds (PDF) | ||
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Stock market rallies often need to climb a wall of worry, and we see that wall getting higher.Performance
Consistency of positive performance over five years
Performance shown above 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 see below.
6.55%
Best 5-year annualized return
(for period ending 03/31/14)
2.53%
Worst 5-year annualized return
(for period ending 03/31/16)
4.37%
Average 5-year annualized return
Total return (%) as of 03/31/18
Annual performance as of 03/31/18
Annualized Total return (%) as of 03/31/18
| Annualized performance | 1 yr. | 3 yrs. | 5 yrs. | Life (inception: 12/23/08 ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before sales charge | 2.81% | 1.55% | 2.89% | 4.79% |
| After sales charge | -3.11% | -0.43% | 1.68% | 4.12% |
| ICE BofAML U.S. Treasury Bill Index | 1.04% | 0.53% | 0.35% | -- |
Performance snapshot
| Before sales charge | After sales charge | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 mt. as of 03/31/18 | -0.42 % | -6.15 % | |
| YTD as of 04/24/18 | -2.30 % | -7.91 % | |
Volatility as of 03/31/18
| Standard deviation (3 yrs.) | 4.73% |
|---|
Morningstar ratings as of 03/31/18
| Multialternative | Rating | Funds in category |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | (278) | |
| 3 yrs. | (278) | |
| 5 yrs. | (150) |
Distributions
| Record/Ex dividend date | 12/19/17 |
|---|---|
| Payable date | 12/21/17 |
| Income | $0.236 |
| Extra income | -- |
| Short-term cap. gain | -- |
| Long-term cap. gain | $0.064 |
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.
Holdings
Top 10 holdings as of 03/31/18
| Net cash | 38.13% |
|---|---|
| Fnma Fn30 Tba 03.5000 05/01/2048 | 5.09% |
| S&P Gsci Total Return Index 3x 144a Note 12/10/2018 | 2.38% |
| S&P Gsci 3x Note 04/01/2019 | 1.99% |
| Fnma Fn30 Tba 04.0000 04/01/2048 | 1.91% |
| Ishares Msci India Etf | 1.90% |
| Utilities Select Sector Spdr Sedol 2371812 | 1.50% |
| Samsung Electronics | 1.48% |
| Technology Select Sect Spdr Sedol 2369709 | 1.44% |
| Consumer Discretionary Selt Sedol 2424341 | 1.42% |
| Top 10 holdings, percent of portfolio | 57.24% |
Portfolio composition as of 03/31/18
| Net cash | 38.13% |
|---|---|
| U.S. stocks | 32.49% |
| U.S. Treasury/agency | 23.21% |
| Commodities | 22.54% |
| Commercial MBS | 9.29% |
| Agency pass-through | 8.41% |
| Agency CMO | 6.10% |
| International stocks | 4.50% |
| Bank loans | 2.15% |
| Emerging-market bonds | 1.96% |
| Residential MBS (non-agency) | 1.14% |
| Asset-backed securities (ABS) | 0.38% |
| Investment-grade corporate bonds | 0.26% |
| Emerging-market stocks | -0.65% |
| High-yield corporate bonds | -15.13% |
Fixed income statistics as of 03/31/18
| Average effective maturity | 3.90 yrs. |
|---|---|
| Average effective duration | 5.00 yrs. |
| Average price | $92.86 |
Maturity detail as of 03/31/18
| 0 - 1 yr. | 89.71% |
|---|---|
| 1 - 5 yrs. | 11.88% |
| 5 - 10 yrs. | -2.62% |
| 10 - 15 yrs. | 0.17% |
| Over 15 yrs. | 0.86% |
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 stocks and bonds in the fund's portfolio may fall or fail to rise over time for several reasons, including general financial market conditions, changing market perceptions of the risk of default, changes in government intervention, and factors related to a specific issuer or industry. These factors may also lead to periods of high volatility in the financial markets and reduced liquidity in the bond markets. 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 greater for longer-term bonds, and credit risk is 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 and the risk that they may increase in value less when interest rates decline and decline in value more when interest rates rise. 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 and may make it more difficult at times for the fund to achieve its targeted return. Under certain market conditions, the fund may accept greater-than-typical volatility to seek its targeted return. 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.
The Absolute Return funds are not intended to outperform stocks and bonds during strong market rallies.
Allocations may not total 100% of net assets because the table includes the notional value of certain derivatives (the economic value for purposes of calculating periodic payment obligations), in addition to the market value of securities.
Expenses
Expense ratio |
Class A | Class B | Class C | Class M | Class R | Class R6 | Class Y |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total expense ratio | 1.21% | 1.96% | 1.96% | 1.71% | 1.46% | 0.87% | 0.96% |
| What you pay | 1.21% | 1.96% | 1.96% | 1.71% | 1.46% | 0.87% | 0.96% |
Sales charge
| Investment Breakpoint | Class A | Class B | Class C | Class M | Class R | Class R6 | Class Y |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $0-$49,999 | 5.75% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 3.50% | -- | -- | -- |
| $50,000-$99,999 | 4.50% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 2.50% | -- | -- | -- |
| $100,000-$249,999 | 3.50% | -- | 0.00% | 1.50% | -- | -- | -- |
| $250,000-$499,999 | 2.50% | -- | 0.00% | 1.00% | -- | -- | -- |
| $500,000-$999,999 | 0.00% | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| $1M-$4M | 0.00% | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| $4M-$50M | 0.00% | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
| $50M+ | 0.00% | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- | -- |
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% | -- | -- | -- | -- |
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 stocks and bonds in the fund's portfolio may fall or fail to rise over time for several reasons, including general financial market conditions, changing market perceptions of the risk of default, changes in government intervention, and factors related to a specific issuer or industry. These factors may also lead to periods of high volatility in the financial markets and reduced liquidity in the bond markets. 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 greater for longer-term bonds, and credit risk is 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 and the risk that they may increase in value less when interest rates decline and decline in value more when interest rates rise. 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 and may make it more difficult at times for the fund to achieve its targeted return. Under certain market conditions, the fund may accept greater-than-typical volatility to seek its targeted return. 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.
The Absolute Return funds are not intended to outperform stocks and bonds during strong market rallies.
Allocations may not total 100% of net assets because the table includes the notional value of certain derivatives (the economic value for purposes of calculating periodic payment obligations), in addition to the market value of securities.