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.
Always Diligent. Always Active.
Tax-Free High Yield Fund (Class A) (PTHAX)
Pursuing a high level of tax-free income for shareholders since 1993
Highlights
Objective
The fund seeks high current income exempt from federal income tax.
Strategy and process
- Tax-advantaged income: The fund pursues above-average income free from federal income tax by investing in higher-yielding, lower-rated municipal bonds.
- Focus on performance: The portfolio managers select bonds that offer attractive return potential relative to risk and position the portfolio based on Putnam's fundamental research and risk management.
- Leading research: Members of Putnam's fixed-income organization have a range of skills to analyze the credit risk of below-investment grade bonds and help build a well-diversified portfolio of tax-exempt bonds.
Fund price |
Yesterday’s close | 52-week high | 52-week low |
|---|---|---|---|
| Net asset value |
$13.07
0.08% | $0.01 |
$13.07
08/16/19 |
$12.18
11/15/18 |
Fund facts as of 07/31/19
$887.55M
39%
Monthly
468
July
746872407 / 0040
09/20/93
Tax-free Income
PTHAX
Literature
Fund documents |
| Prospectuses/SAI |
| Fact Sheet (A share) (PDF) |
| Fact Sheet (R6 share) (PDF) |
| Fact Sheet (Y share) (PDF) |
| Annual Fund Report (PDF) |
| Semiannual Fund Report (PDF) |
| Quarterly Commentary (PDF) |
| Brochure (PDF) |
Munis feel knock-on effects of tax reform
The municipal bond market will likely see a reduction in supply in 2018 because of certain provisions in the new tax reform law.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.
10.93%
Best 5-year annualized return
(for period ending 12/31/13)
-1.89%
Worst 5-year annualized return
(for period ending 12/31/08)
5.61%
Average 5-year annualized return
Total return (%) as of 06/30/19
Annual performance as of 06/30/19
Annualized Total return (%) as of 06/30/19
| Annualized performance | 1 yr. | 3 yrs. | 5 yrs. | 10 yrs. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Before sales charge | 6.58% | 3.40% | 5.05% | 7.01% |
| After sales charge | 2.31% | 2.00% | 4.19% | 6.57% |
| Bloomberg Barclays Municipal Bond Index | 6.71% | 2.55% | 3.64% | 4.72% |
Performance snapshot
| Before sales charge | After sales charge | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 mt. as of 07/31/19 | 0.67% | -3.35% | |
| YTD as of 08/16/19 | 8.78% | 4.43% | |
Yield
| Distribution rate before sales charge as of 08/16/19 |
3.13% |
|---|---|
| Distribution rate after sales charge as of 08/16/19 |
3.01% |
| 30-day SEC yield as of 07/31/19 (after sales charge) |
2.32% |
Risk-adjusted performance as of 07/31/19
| Sharpe ratio (3 yrs.) | 0.61 |
|---|---|
| Information ratio (3 yrs.) | 0.71 |
Volatility as of 07/31/19
| Standard deviation (3 yrs.) | 3.63% |
|---|---|
| Beta | 1.01 |
| R-squared | 0.90 |
Lipper rankings as of 07/31/19
| Time period | Rank/Funds in category | Percentile ranking |
|---|---|---|
| 1 yr. | 70/184 | 38% |
| 3 yrs. | 75/152 | 50% |
| 5 yrs. | 70/134 | 52% |
| 10 yrs. | 32/86 | 37% |
Morningstar Ratings™ as of 07/31/19
| Time period | Funds in category | Morningstar Rating™ |
|---|---|---|
| Overall | 155 | |
| 3 yrs. | 155 | |
| 5 yrs. | 136 | |
| 10 yrs. | 88 |
Distributions
| Accrual days | 31 |
|---|---|
| Accrual start date | 07/01/19 |
| Accrual end date | 07/31/19 |
| Payable date | 07/31/19 |
| Non-taxable income | $0.036464887 |
| Extra taxable income | -- |
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 07/31/19
| 1.245 R Iswp Fwd Munipsa P 07/12/2025 07/12/2025 | 3.75% |
|---|---|
| Nthrn Tob Asset Bkd-A 05.0000 06/01/2046 | 1.49% |
| Buckeye Tob Asset-A-2 06.5000 06/01/2047 | 1.20% |
| 1.737 P Iswp Fwd Munipsa R 07/12/2040 Ci | 1.13% |
| Ky Pub Energy-C-1 04.0000 12/01/2049 | 1.07% |
| Ms Business Fin-Ref 02.5000 04/01/2022 | 1.06% |
| California St-B-Txbl 02.1930 04/01/2047 | 1.00% |
| Mmd Aaa R Sp 0.0 09/04/19 Ci09/04/2019 | 0.99% |
| Centrl Plains Energy 05.0000 03/01/2050 | 0.99% |
| Jefferson Co-Cabs-F 00.0000 10/01/2046 | 0.94% |
| Top 10 holdings, percent of portfolio | 13.62% |
Portfolio composition as of 07/31/19
| Municipal bonds and notes | 97.87% |
|---|---|
| Cash and net other assets | 2.13% |
Fixed income statistics as of 07/31/19
| Average stated maturity | 20.84 yrs. |
|---|---|
| Average effective maturity | 6.11 yrs. |
| Option adjusted duration | 7.24 yrs. |
| Duration to worst | 5.06 yrs. |
| Average yield to maturity | 4.15% |
| Average coupon | 4.93% |
| Average price | $107.95 |
| AMT exposure | 9.26% |
Quality rating as of 07/31/19
| AAA | 0.68% |
|---|---|
| AA | 6.90% |
| A | 21.58% |
| BBB | 31.25% |
| BB | 12.51% |
| B | 5.76% |
| Not Rated | 19.19% |
| Cash and net other assets | 2.13% |
Fund characteristics will vary over time.
Due to rounding, percentages may not equal 100%.
Consider these risks before investing: Capital gains, if any, are taxed at the federal and, in most cases, state levels. For some investors, investment income may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. Income from federally tax-exempt funds may be subject to state and local taxes. 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. The fund may invest significantly in particular segments of the tax-exempt debt market, making it more vulnerable to fluctuations in the values of the securities it holds than a more broadly invested fund. Interest the fund receives might be taxable. 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, geography, industry or sector. These and other factors may lead to increased volatility and reduced liquidity in the fund's portfolio holdings. You can lose money by investing in the fund.
Credit qualities are shown as a percentage of net assets. A bond rated BBB or higher (SP-3 or higher, for short-term debt) is considered investment grade. This chart reflects the highest security rating provided by one or more of Standard & Poor's, Moody's, and Fitch. Ratings may vary over time. Cash and net other assets, if any, represent the market value weights of cash, derivatives, and short-term securities in the portfolio. The fund itself has not been rated by an independent rating agency.
Top industry sectors as of 07/31/19
| Health care | 20.68% |
|---|---|
| Education | 13.89% |
| State Debt | 11.48% |
| Transportation | 9.68% |
| Tobacco | 8.82% |
| Utilities | 7.68% |
| Land | 6.67% |
| Local Debt | 5.10% |
| Financials | 4.83% |
| Other | 11.17% |
0
Sectors will vary over time.
Expenses
Expense ratio |
Class A | Class B | Class C | Class M | Class R6 | Class Y |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total expense ratio | 0.82% | 1.44% | 1.59% | 1.09% | 0.56% | 0.59% |
| What you pay | 0.82% | 1.44% | 1.59% | 1.09% | 0.56% | 0.59% |
Sales charge
| Investment Breakpoint | Class A | Class B | Class C | Class M | Class R6 | Class Y |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| $0-$49,999 | 4.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 3.25% | -- | -- |
| $50,000-$99,999 | 4.00% | 0.00% | 0.00% | 2.25% | -- | -- |
| $100,000-$249,999 | 3.25% | -- | 0.00% | 1.25% | -- | -- |
| $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 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 Bloomberg Barclays Municipal Bond Index is an unmanaged index of long-term fixed-rate investment-grade tax-exempt bonds. You cannot invest directly in an index.
Consider these risks before investing: Capital gains, if any, are taxed at the federal and, in most cases, state levels. For some investors, investment income may be subject to the federal alternative minimum tax. Income from federally tax-exempt funds may be subject to state and local taxes. 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. The fund may invest significantly in particular segments of the tax-exempt debt market, making it more vulnerable to fluctuations in the values of the securities it holds than a more broadly invested fund. Interest the fund receives might be taxable. 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, geography, industry or sector. These and other factors may lead to increased volatility and reduced liquidity in the fund's portfolio holdings. You can lose money by investing in the fund.
Credit qualities are shown as a percentage of net assets. A bond rated BBB or higher (SP-3 or higher, for short-term debt) is considered investment grade. This chart reflects the highest security rating provided by one or more of Standard & Poor's, Moody's, and Fitch. Ratings may vary over time. Cash and net other assets, if any, represent the market value weights of cash, derivatives, and short-term securities in the portfolio. The fund itself has not been rated by an independent rating agency.