U.S. Small Cap Growth Equity

Uncovering high-quality and fast-growing small-cap companies

Combining quality and aggressive growth

Pursues strong risk-adjusted return potential through a foundation of high-quality growth stocks augmented by aggressive growth stocks

Research-intensive process

Applies rigorous fundamental research to identify growth opportunities where the market has undervalued the duration or magnitude of a company’s growth potential

Long-term growth potential

Seeks to harness the power of compounding growth and embed risk management at multiple levels

Strategy highlights

Inception date

January 31, 2000

Benchmark

Russell 2000 Growth Index

Total strategy assets

$1.8B

(as of February 2024)

Investment vehicles

  • Separate account
  • U.S. mutual fund
  • SMA/Model
  • CIT

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.

Assets may include accounts that are not reflected in the composite.

Investment team

Performance

Annualized composite performance (%) as of February 29, 2024

  MTD QTD YTD 1 Year 3 Years 5 Years 10 Years
U.S. Small Cap Growth Equity (gross) 12.55% 12.85% 12.85% 29.79% 3.48% 15.45% 12.35%
U.S. Small Cap Growth Equity (net) 12.48% 12.70% 12.70% 28.75% 2.65% 14.52% 11.41%
Russell 2000 Growth Index 8.12% 4.66% 4.66% 14.18% -4.59% 6.50% 7.33%

Calendar-year composite performance (%) as of February 29, 2024

  2023 2022 2021 2020 2019 2018 2017 2016 2015 2014
U.S. Small Cap Growth Equity (gross) 24.42% -27.20% 15.51% 49.49% 39.32% -1.26% 21.69% 9.54% -1.95% 3.21%
U.S. Small Cap Growth Equity (net) 23.42% -27.78% 14.58% 48.29% 38.21% -2.05% 20.72% 8.66% -2.90% 2.18%
Russell 2000 Growth Index 18.66% -26.36% 2.83% 34.63% 28.48% -9.31% 22.17% 11.32% -1.38% 5.60%

Past performance is not a guarantee of future results. An investment in this strategy could lose value. Most recent month-end performance is preliminary. Returns are subject to change.

Periods less than one year are not annualized. Performance is stated in U.S. dollars and includes the reinvestment of dividends and interest.

Literature

Related topics

Equity Insights

Strategy

Strategy profile

Important disclosures

The Putnam Investments U.S. Small Cap Growth Equity Composite (the "Composite") strategy seeks to outperform the Russell 2000 Growth index over a full market cycle by investing mainly in common stock of small U.S. companies. The strategy seeks to build a portfolio that offers above-average growth with a focus on quality and stability. The Composite's benchmark is the Russell 2000 Growth Index. Derivatives, including futures, options, warrants, and swaps, may be used for hedging or non-hedging purposes. The Composite comprises all fully discretionary accounts, including carve-out assets, managed by Putnam Investments in this investment style. A "carve-out" is a portion of a portfolio that is by itself representative of a distinct investment strategy. It is used to create a track record for a narrower mandate from a multiple-strategy portfolio managed to a broader mandate. The Composite inception date was January 31, 2000. The Composite creation date was October 18, 2000. Effective March 31, 2017, there was a portfolio manager change for this strategy.

The Russell 2000® Growth Index is an unmanaged index of those companies in the small-cap Russell 2000® Index chosen for their growth orientation.

Gross performance includes the deduction of transaction costs but does not include the deduction of management fees and other expenses that may be incurred in managing an investment account. A portfolio's return will be reduced by advisory and other fees. Net performance reflects the deduction of a model fee applied on a monthly basis, equal to the actual management fee incurred by a portfolio in the Composite or the highest management fee that would be charged to a prospect of the strategy, whichever is higher. The model fee may change over time. Actual advisory fees may vary among clients with the same investment strategy. The Composite includes all actual, fully discretionary accounts with substantially similar investment policies and objectives managed to the Composite's investment strategy. Benchmarks are generally taken from published sources and may have different calculation methodologies, pricing times, and/or foreign-exchange sources from the Composite. The effect of those differences is generally deemed to be immaterial. The securities holdings of the Composite strategy may differ materially from those of the index used for comparative purposes.