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Not FDIC Insured

May Lose Value

No Bank Guarantee

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A BALANCED APPROACH

A WORLD OF INVESTING

A COMMITMENT TO EXCELLENCE

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Markets demand new ways of thinking

• Stock market volatility has increased since 2007

• Bonds and cash offer low yields and limited upside

• Better portfolio diversification may be possible with Putnam Absolute Return Funds

Diversification does not assure a profit or protect against loss. It is possible to lose money in a diversified portfolio.

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0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90Higher

Frequent market volatility argues for reducing equity risk

• Stock market volatility has worsened in recent years

Source: CBOE Market Volatility Index, June 2000 – June 2014.

August2011

Lower

Stock volatility index

Lehman Brothers

bankruptcy9/11 Iraq War

September2001

March2003

August2005

September2008

HurricaneKatrina

Europeandebt crisis

S&P cuts U.S. credit rating

June2014

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Aaa-rated bond 10-year Treasury Inflation0

1

2

3

4

5

4.15

2.532.1

| 5

Bonds may offer limited upside

• Bond yields are at low levels, and vulnerable to inflation

Sources: U.S. Federal Reserve (Moody’s Aaa-rated corporate bond, 10-year Treasury constant maturity); U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Consumer Price Index 12-month change.

(%)Bond yields and inflation as of June 2014

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Cash is safe, but lacks growth

• The Fed is holding down short-term interest rates

Source: Federal Reserve’s Open Market Committee, July 30, 2014.

“The Committee continues to anticipate … that it likely will be appropriate to maintain the current target range for the federal funds rate for a considerable time after the asset purchase program ends …”

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Are there mutual funds that seek more consistentreturns with less volatility?

PutnamAbsolute Return100 Fund®




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What is absolutereturn investing?

A strategy that targets positive returns above T-bills with less volatility than markets.

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Absolute return versus traditionalrelative return strategies

Absolute return Relative return

Defines success as achieving positive returns

Defines success as beating a benchmark, even if negative

Seeks low volatility and limited market risk

Sets no absolute volatility targets

Independent of traditional benchmarks

Tied to a benchmark index

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Putnam was the first to offer a suite of absolute return funds

Each fund seeks to earn a positive total return that exceeds the return on U.S. Treasury bills on an annualized basis over a reasonable period of time (generally at least three years or more) regardless of market conditions. There can be no assurance that a fund will meet its objective.

The funds are not intended to outperform stocks and bonds during strong market rallies.

Seeks to outperformT-bills by Invests in Alternative to

Putnam Absolute Return100 Fund 1%

Global fixed-income sectors

Short-term securities


Global fixed-income sectors

Bond funds


Global fixed-income sectors,stocks, and alternative assets

Balanced funds


Global fixed-income sectors,stocks, and alternative assets

Stock funds

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How Putnam managesabsolute return

1Wide rangeof global securities

2Progressive risk management

3Ultimate flexibility

4Experienced management

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The funds have delivered positive returns in turbulent markets

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 a loss when you sell your shares. The class A share performance shown assumes reinvestment of distributions and does not account for taxes. Before-sales-charge returns do not reflect a maximum load of 5.75% for Putnam Absolute Return 500 and 700 Funds, and 1.00% for Putnam Absolute Return 100 and 300 Funds. Had the sales charges been reflected, returns would have been lower. “What you pay” reflects Putnam Management’s decision to contractually limit expenses for the Absolute Return 500 Fund through 2/28/15. For a portion of the periods, the funds had expense limitations, without which returns would have been lower. To obtain the most recent month-end performance, visit putnam.com.The BofA Merrill Lynch 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.It is not possible to invest directly in an index.

As of 6/30/14

Class A sharesbefore sales chargeInception: 12/23/08

1 year

before sales charg

e

1 year after sales

charge

3 years before sales

charge

3 years after sales

charge

5 years before sales

charge

5 years after sales

charge

Life before sales

charge

Life after sales

charge

3-year Sharpe ratio

3-year standar

d deviatio

nExpense

ratio What

you pay

AR 100 Fund®

1.67%

0.65% 0.86% 0.52% 1.42% 1.22% 1.57% 1.38%0.61% 1.24%

0.64%—

AR 300 Fund®

4.06 3.02 2.13 1.79 3.10 2.89 3.32 3.14 0.70 2.90 0.78 —

AR 500 Fund®

5.64 -0.43 3.50 1.47 4.63 3.40 4.76 3.65 0.89 3.82 1.141.12%

AR 700 Fund®

7.73 1.54 4.35 2.31 5.96 4.71 6.29 5.15 0.89 4.75 1.26 —

BofA Merrill Lynch U.S. Treasury Bill Index

0.07 — 0.10 — 0.15 — 0.16 — — — — —

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Markets are likely to be influenced by Fed

• Signs of inflation will raise the stakes for the Fed’s policy communications

• Favorable conditions for leveraged strategies could reverse quickly

• Reasonable valuations and the Fed’s policy goals continue to support risky assets

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Absolutely for all kinds of investors

• Talk with your financial advisor to set your goals

• Review your portfolio and risk profile• Add Putnam Absolute Return Funds to

diversify a portfolio of traditional funds

• The funds have provided positive performance with low volatility in the up and down markets since 2008

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An alternativeto short-term securities

An alternativeto bond funds

An alternativeto balanced funds

An alternativeto stock funds

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Consider these risks before investing: Our allocation of assets among permitted asset categories may hurt performance. The prices of stocks and bonds in the funds’ portfolio may fall or fail to rise over extended periods of time for a variety of reasons, including both general financial market conditions and factors related to a specific issuer or industry. Our active trading 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. 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 ongoing 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. International investing involves certain risks, such as currency fluctuations, economic instability, and political developments. Additional risks may be associated with emerging-market securities, including illiquidity and volatility. Our use of derivatives may increase these risks by increasing investment exposure (which may be considered leverage) or, in the case of many over-the-counter instruments, because of 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 funds may not achieve their goal, and they are not intended to be a complete investment program. The funds’ effort to produce lower-volatility returns may not be successful and may make it more difficult at times for the funds to achieve their targeted return. In addition, under certain market conditions, the funds may accept greater volatility than would typically be the case, in order to seek their targeted return. For the 500 Fund and 700 Fund, these risks also apply: REITs involve the risks of real estate investing, including declining property values. Commodities involve the risks of changes in market, political, regulatory, and natural conditions. Additional risks are listed in the funds’ prospectus. You can lose money by investing in the funds.

The views and opinions expressed are those of the speaker, are subject to change with market conditions, and are not meant as investment advice.

Investors should carefully consider the investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses of a fund before investing. For a prospectus, or a summary prospectus if available, containing this and other information for any Putnam fund or product, call your financial advisor or contact Putnam at 1-800-225-1581. Investors should read the prospectus carefully before investing.

Putnam Retail Management putnam.com

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