Prospectus Supplement	August 1, 2016
George Putnam Balanced Fund
Prospectuses dated November 30, 2015

Effective September 1, 2016, the sub-section Annual fund operating expenses in the section Fees and expenses will be deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:

Annual fund operating expenses
(expenses you pay each year as a percentage of the value of your investment)

		Distribution and		Total annual fund
Share class	Management fees	service (12b-1) fees	Other expenses	operating expenses
Class A	0.52%	0.25%	0.24% =	1.01%
Class B	0.52%	1.00%	0.24% =	1.76%
Class C	0.52%	1.00%	0.24% =	1.76%
Class M	0.52%	0.75%	0.24% =	1.51%
Class R	0.52%	0.50%	0.24% =	1.26%
Class R5	0.52%	N/A	0.20%	0.72%
Class R6	0.52%	N/A	0.10%	0.62%
Class Y	0.52%	N/A	0.24% =	0.76%

* Applies only to certain redemptions of shares bought with no initial sales charge.

** This charge is phased out over six years.

*** This charge is eliminated after one year.

⁼ Restated to reflect current fees resulting from a change to the fund’s investor servicing arrangements effective September 1, 2016.

Effective September 1, 2016, the sub-section Example in the section Fees and expenses will be deleted in its entirety and replaced with the following:

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.

Share class	1 year	3 years	5 years	10 years
Class A	$672	$878	$1,101	$1,740
Class B	$679	$854	$1,154	$1,875
Class B (no redemption)	$179	$554	$954	$1,875
Class C	$279	$554	$954	$2,073
Class C (no redemption)	$179	$554	$954	$2,073
Class M	$498	$810	$1,145	$2,088
Class R	$128	$400	$692	$1,523
Class R5	$74	$231	$402	$897
Class R6	$63	$199	$346	$774
Class Y	$78	$243	$422	$942

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