With over seventy years of investment experience, Putnam Investments offers investors 79 mutual funds across a range of asset classes and investment styles. The fund has over $120 billion in assets under management and serves 103 institutional clients including the pension funds of several states and many large corporations. Putnam considers its team of 143 seasoned portfolio managers to be its biggest assets and relies primarily on original, fundamental research on a global scale.
Below we will share with you 5 top rated Putnam funds. Each has earned a Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) as we expect the fund to outperform its peers in the future. To view the Zacks Rank and past performance of all Putnam funds, then click here.
Putnam Tax-Free High Yield A (PTHAX) seeks high current income exempt form federal income tax. The majority of its assets are invested in fixed-income securities, interest from which is exempt from federal income tax but is subject to federal alternative minimum tax. The fund returned 17.61% in the last one year period and has a three year annualized return of 3.61%.
Paul Drury is the fund manager and has managed this Putnam mutual fund since 2002.
Putnam Diversified Income A (PDINX) invests between 15 to 65% of its assets in investment grade and lower rated bonds issued by U.S companies, U.S government securities and bonds issued by foreign governments and corporations. The fund has a five year annualized return of 4.82%.
The Putnam mutual fund has a minimum initial investment of $500 and an expense ratio of 1.09% compared to a category average of 1.13%.
Putnam Asset Allocation: Conservative A (PACAX) seeks both current income and capital appreciation. Between 55% to 85% of its assets are invested in fixed-income securities and 15% to 45% are utilized to purchase equity securities. It also rebalances its portfolios on occasion in order to improve performance and meet its investment objectives. The fund returned 11.49% in the last one year period.
As of December 2009, this Putnam mutual fund held 673 issues, with 2.61% of its total assets invested in Fannie Mae.
Putnam Global Natural Resources A (EBERX) invests heavily in companies which are part of the energy and natural resources sector. The fund focuses on acquiring common stocks, typically value stocks of large and mid-cap companies. It is non-diversified and may consider companies of smaller sizes for investment purposes. The fund has a ten year annualized return of 6.52%.
The Putnam mutual fund has a minimum initial investment of $500 and an expense ratio of 1.43% compared to a category average of 1.56%.
Putnam CA Tax Exempt Income A (PCTEX) seeks current income which is not subject to federal income tax and California personal income tax while aiming to preserve capital invested. At least 90% of the income distributed by the fund is exempt from these taxes. The fund returned 12.54% over the last one year period.
The Fund Manager is Jeffrey L. Knight and he has managed this Putnam mutual fund since 2002.
To view the Zacks Rank and past performance of all Putnam mutual funds, then click here.
About Zacks Mutual Fund Rank
By applying the Zacks Rank to mutual funds, investors can find funds that not only outpaced the market in the past but are also expected to outperform going forward. Learn more about the Zacks Mutual Fund Rank at http://www.zacks.com/funds/mutualfund/
