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Fund summary
Goal

George Putnam Balanced Fund seeks to provide a balanced investment composed of a well-diversified portfolio of stocks and bonds which produce both capital growth and current income.

Fees and expenses

The following tables describe the fees and expenses you may pay if you buy, hold and sell shares of the fund. You may pay other fees, such as brokerage commissions and other fees to financial intermediaries, which are not reflected in the tables and examples below. You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in Putnam funds. More information about these and other discounts is available from your financial professional and in How do I buy fund shares? beginning on page 19 of the fund’s prospectus, in the Appendix to the fund’s prospectus, and in How to buy shares beginning on page II-1 of the fund’s statement of additional information (“SAI”).

You may qualify for sales charge discounts if you and your family invest, or agree to invest in the future, at least $50,000 in Putnam funds.
$ 50,000
Shareholder fees (fees paid directly from your investment)
Shareholder Fees - George Putnam Balanced Fund
Class A
Class C
Class M
Class R
Class R5
Class R6
Class Y
Maximum Sales Charge Imposed on Purchases (as a percentage of Offering Price) 5.75% none 3.50% none none none none
Maximum Deferred Sales Charge (as a percentage) 1.00% [1] 1.00% [2] none none none none none
[1] Applies only to certain redemptions of shares bought with no initial sales charge.
[2] This charge is eliminated after one year.
Annual fund operating expenses (expenses you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)
Annual Fund Operating Expenses - George Putnam Balanced Fund
Class A
Class C
Class M
Class R
Class R5
Class R6
Class Y
Management Fees (as a percentage of Assets) 0.51% 0.51% 0.51% 0.51% 0.51% 0.51% 0.51%
Distribution and Service (12b-1) Fees 0.25% 1.00% 0.75% 0.50% none none none
Other Expenses (as a percentage of Assets): 0.17% 0.17% 0.17% 0.17% 0.20% 0.10% 0.17%
Expenses (as a percentage of Assets) 0.93% 1.68% 1.43% 1.18% 0.71% 0.61% 0.68%
Example

The following hypothetical example is intended to help you compare the cost of investing in the fund with the cost of investing in other funds. It assumes that you invest $10,000 in the fund for the time periods indicated and then, except as indicated, redeem all your shares at the end of those periods. It assumes a 5% return on your investment each year and that the fund’s operating expenses remain the same. Your actual costs may be higher or lower.

Expense Example - George Putnam Balanced Fund - USD ($)
Expense Example, with Redemption, 1 Year
Expense Example, with Redemption, 3 Years
Expense Example, with Redemption, 5 Years
Expense Example, with Redemption, 10 Years
Expense Example, No Redemption, 1 Year
Expense Example, No Redemption, 3 Years
Expense Example, No Redemption, 5 Years
Expense Example, No Redemption, 10 Years
Class A 664 854 1,060 1,652        
Class C 271 530 913 1,788 171 530 913 1,788
Class M 490 787 1,104 2,003        
Class R 120 375 649 1,432        
Class R5 73 227 395 883        
Class R6 62 195 340 762        
Class Y 69 218 379 847        
Portfolio turnover

The fund pays transaction-related costs, such as commissions, when it buys and sells securities (or “turns over” its portfolio). A higher turnover rate may indicate higher transaction costs and may result in higher taxes when the fund’s shares are held in a taxable account. These costs, which are not reflected in annual fund operating expenses or the above example, affect fund performance. The fund’s turnover rate in the most recent fiscal year was 80%.

80.00%
Investments, risks, and performance

Investments

We invest mainly in a combination of bonds and common stocks (growth or value stocks or both) of large U.S. companies, with a greater focus on common stocks. For example, we may purchase stocks of companies with stock prices that reflect a value lower than that which we place on the company. We may also consider other factors that we believe will cause the stock price to rise. We buy bonds of governments and private companies that are mostly investment-grade in quality with intermediate- to long-term maturities (three years or longer). We may consider, among other factors, a company’s valuation, financial strength, growth potential, competitive position in its industry, projected future earnings, cash flows and dividends when deciding whether to buy or sell equity investments, and, among other factors, credit, interest rate and prepayment risks, as well as general market conditions, when deciding whether to buy or sell fixed-income investments. We may also use derivatives, such as futures, options, warrants and swap contracts, for both hedging and non-hedging purposes.

Risks

It is important to understand that you can lose money by investing in the fund.



 



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, outbreaks of infectious illnesses or other widespread public health issues, 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, may negatively impact the fund’s performance, and may exacerbate other risks to which the fund is subject. Growth stocks may be more susceptible to earnings disappointments, and value stocks may fail to rebound.

Bond investments are subject to interest rate risk, which is the risk that the value of the fund’s bond investments is likely to fall if interest rates rise. Bond investments also are subject to credit risk, which is the risk that the issuer of the bond may default on payment of interest or principal. Bond investments may be more susceptible to downgrades or defaults during economic downturns or other periods of economic stress. Interest rate risk is generally greater for longer-term bonds, and credit risk is generally greater for below-investment-grade bonds (sometimes referred to as “junk bonds”), which can be more sensitive to changes in markets, credit conditions, and interest rates and which may be considered speculative.

Our use of derivatives may increase the risks of investing in the fund 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 risk of a party failing to meet its obligations may increase if the fund has significant investment exposure to that counterparty. The value of derivatives may move in unexpected ways due to unanticipated market movements, the use of leverage, imperfect correlation between the derivative instrument and the reference asset, or other factors, especially in unusual market conditions, and volatility in the value of derivatives could adversely impact the fund’s returns, obligations and exposures. Derivatives are also subject to other risks, including liquidity risk (e.g., liquidity demands arising from the requirement to make payments to a derivative counterparty), operational risk (e.g., settlement issues or system failures), and legal risk (e.g., insufficient legal documentation or contract enforceability issues).

The fund may be an investment option for mutual funds that are managed by Franklin Resources, Inc. (“Franklin Templeton”) and its affiliates as “funds of funds.” Additionally, other investors from time to time may make substantial investments in the fund. Such shareholders may at times be considered to control the fund. Dispositions of a large number of shares by these shareholders may adversely affect the fund’s liquidity and net assets. These redemptions may also force the fund to sell securities, which may increase the fund’s brokerage costs.

There is no guarantee that the investment techniques, analyses, or judgments that we apply in making investment decisions for the fund will produce the intended outcome or that the investments we select for the fund will perform as well as other securities



 



that were not selected for the fund. We, or the fund’s other service providers, may experience disruptions or operating errors that could negatively impact the fund.

The fund may not achieve its goal, and it is not intended to be a complete investment program. An investment in the fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.

Performance

The performance information below gives some indication of the risks associated with an investment in the fund by showing the fund’s performance year to year and over time. The bar chart does not reflect the impact of sales charges. If it did, performance would be lower. Please remember that past performance is not necessarily an indication of future results. Monthly performance figures for the fund are available at www.franklintempleton.com.

The performance information below gives some indication of the risks associated with an investment in the fund by showing the fund’s performance year to year and over time.
The bar chart does not reflect the impact of sales charges.
Please remember that past performance is not necessarily an indication of future results.
www.franklintempleton.com
Annual total returns for class A shares before sales charges
Year-to-date performance through
Sep. 30, 2024
16.59%
Best calendar quarter
Jun. 30, 2020
14.59%
Worst calendar quarter
Mar. 31, 2020
(11.79%)
Bar Chart
Average annual total returns after sales charges (for periods ended 12/31/23)
Average Annual Total Returns - George Putnam Balanced Fund
1 Year
5 Years
10 Years
Class A 13.03% 9.17% 7.37%
Class A | After Taxes on Distributions 12.63% 7.67% 6.26%
Class A | After Taxes on Distributions and Sales 7.83% 6.86% 5.63%
Class C 18.00% 9.64% 7.37%
Class M 15.11% 9.14% 7.09%
Class R 19.62% 10.18% 7.73%
Class R5 20.22% 10.76% 8.30%
Class R6 20.32% 10.84% 8.39%
Class Y 20.17% 10.75% 8.28%
George Putnam Blended Index (no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 17.82% 10.25% 8.27%
Russell 3000 Index (no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) 25.96% 15.16% 11.48%
Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index (no deduction for fees, expenses or taxes) [1] 5.53% 1.10% 1.81%
[1] All Bloomberg indices are provided by Bloomberg Index Services Limited.
The table above compares the fund’s returns to the performance of three indexes: (i) the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index, a broad measure of market performance, (ii) the Russell 3000 Index, a broad measure of market performance, and (iii) the George Putnam Blended Index, and additional, custom index that Putnam Management (defined below) believes more closely reflects the fund’s principal objectives and strategies.
The Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index is an unmanaged index of U.S. investment-grade fixed income securities, the Russell 3000 Index is an unmanaged index of large U.S. company stocks, and the George Putnam Blended Index is an unmanaged index administered by Putnam Management (defined below), 60% of which is the S&P 500 Index and 40% of which is the Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond Index.
After-tax returns reflect the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect state and local taxes. Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown. After-tax returns are shown for class A shares only and will vary for other classes. These after-tax returns do not apply if you hold your fund shares through a 401(k) plan, an IRA, or another tax-advantaged arrangement.
Class C share performance reflects conversion to class A shares after eight years.
BLOOMBERG® is a trademark and service mark of Bloomberg Finance L.P. and its affiliates (collectively “Bloomberg”). Bloomberg or Bloomberg’s licensors, own all proprietary rights in the Bloomberg Indices. Neither Bloomberg nor Bloomberg’s licensors approve or endorse this material, or guarantee the accuracy or completeness of any information herein, or make any warranty, express or implied, as to the results to be obtained therefrom, and to the maximum extent allowed by law, neither shall have any liability or responsibility for injury or damages arising in connection therewith.
After-tax returns reflect the historical highest individual federal marginal income tax rates and do not reflect state and local taxes.
Actual after-tax returns depend on an investor’s tax situation and may differ from those shown.
After-tax returns are shown for class A shares only and will vary for other classes.
 
It is important to understand that you can lose money by investing in the fund.
 
An investment in the fund is not insured or guaranteed by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or any other government agency.